I was thinking of starting talking about all the negative tones and images we think of when we hear the word poverty.  So my thesis idea is something like “When I hear the word poverty I don’t think of sadness or despair because I know all of that can be overshadowed by the positive simplicity that creates happiness and joy”.  I know this isn't quite a full thesis and it is missing a lot so if you have any ideas on where I can improve it that would be great!

I will use narrative by talking about my trip to Kenya and the attitudes of the people who lived in the “slums”.  Some of my points to highlight the positive look on poverty I was thinking about covering were how poverty allows us to focus on the important things like family and friends, how it allows us to be more grateful for all we have, and how it gives us less of a distraction in life so we can focus and admire the world around us.

 I was thinking of also being persuasive to prove that it is crucial for us as individuals and a society to take a step back from everything we are wrapped up in and notice all that surround us like you would have to do if you lived in poverty.  I have a lot of pictures from Kenya to visually represent what I am trying to prove.  The TED talk that I chose to listen to talked about vulnerability and one of the quotes in it said something like “vulnerability was the birthplace of true joy and happiness”.  I think it would be cool to tie this into my talk. 

In conclusion I was thinking maybe relating it to other hard situations that we are facing.  To look at the issue simply and to focus on the good that can come out of it or the good around you.  I could connect this to the positive characteristics that develop from living in poverty. 

I feel like it's kinda mixed up and like I am straying away from my main point so any feedback and suggestions would help a lot!

Mike Rowe TED talk analysis

My favorite TED talk we have watched in class so far was the one that Mike Rowe did talking about experiences he has had on Dirty Jobs.  A quote that he said towards the end of his talk really interested me was “People with dirty jobs are the happiest”.  I think Mike is saying that having a job you enjoy doing, no matter what it is, will be better than going to a clean, easy job every day that you hate.  This idea I think is important for all seniors who are graduating from high school to keep in mind.  Graduating from high school opens many doors and paths that we can choose to take.  A career path is one that we will have to choose.  I guess the first choice is whether or not to go to college.  Most people will tell you that going to college and getting a degree is the best option for you in the long run.  But what if you do as they say and go to college to get a degree and get a high paying job, but everything about that job you hate?  Is it really the best thing for you?  I think as graduating seniors we should have an idea of what we want to do, or at least know what our passion is and a career option that can fulfill that.  Mike’s observation of the man who picks up road kill while whistling is a good example of not having a high paying or common job, but it was just what the man needed.  He was able to be optimistic in the spite of what many Americans would consider an awful job.  I’m not saying that we should sell ourselves short and settle on an easy job.  But to choose a career path that you are interested in and can see yourself liking it for years to come.  

“The lamb gets up and falls down and gets up and falls down and goes and lays in the corner after doing it this way”

Savanna picked out this quote and explained that Mike Rowe shouldn't second guess the procedure of the people who do it for a living (referring to the castration of the lambs).  She did a nice job of identifying that what he and major organizations thought was right and humane, was not the case at all. 

Mike Rowe said in his TED talk that this Dirty Job moment really changed how he had been looking at the show before.  I think his realization of some of societies “accepted ways” or “norms” should be looked at more carefully and decide upon as individuals if we agree.  As Savanna pointed out, Mike assumed he knew more about the procedure than the people who do it for a living.  I feel that this could be a lesson for us as a way to humble ourselves by not thinking that we know all the facts just because we heard or read about it.  We need to realize that sometimes what may seem absurd or extreme can be the less harmful alternative.  In Mike’s situation using the band caused not only harm and discomfort for the lamb, but discomfort for Mike having to see it lying in pain.  Whereas the way Mike thought was unethical ended up only bringing the lamb momentary pain and was less harmful to the lamb overall.  If I was in Mike’s situation, I would have suggested the same alternative method that he did by using the bands.  And like Mike I would reconsider what I had thought to be true.  I would not go through the procedure as he did, but I would have a better understanding and respect for this unusual method.  

TED Talk Topics

One idea I was thinking about doing was how there is happiness in poverty or non-ideal situations .  I thought about this during the Mike Rowe TED talk because he was talking about how happy the man was who cleaned up roadkill.  I would also like to do this topic because two summers ago I went to some of the poorest parts in Kenya.  I was really touched by the people there and amazed by how happy and giving they were, yet had nothing.  I have some good pictures from the trip that would make the presentation more exciting.  

Another idea I was thinking about was the effect animals like therapy dogs have on people.  I work at an assisted living facility that has 15 residents.  Once a week the therapy dog comes in to visit the residents and I get to see how their face lights up.  There is a cat that lives in the home too who some of the residents love to have around.  I would need to do more research on it but I think it would be kinda fun to maybe interview one of my residents asking them how having an animal companion around makes them feel. 

I am interested in the impact the internet and technology in general has affected youth.  How it has effected them in how much they actually go outside to play, how it has maybe cut back on family time, but also the benefits it brings with school and social life. If I did thins topic I would argue against youth getting phones until 15 or 16 years old.  I just think that it's more important for younger kids to spend time actually talking to each other than siting in front of the computer all day or only texting their friends.

Another topic I was considering doing was how society's advertisements today shape a false image of what women need to look like to be beautiful.  Billboards, magazines, TV shows and commercials all project  the ideal women to look a certain way.  With the rise of technology and the amount of adds we see everyday I believe it negatively affects young girls mainly.  These types of adds may lead to eating disorders for young girls and boys.  

One last topic idea I thought of was arguing that the idea to pay kids for good grades doesn't work very effectively.  In my AP econ class we watched a short video of a school who tried this idea out and the conclusion seemed to be that if the grades rose, it was due to the parents involvement in their child's life.  I think this would be interesting to learn more about.    

Fallacies in "The Wife-Beater"

"One woman stated that it even made guys look "manly". So manly equals violent?" (529)

In Gayle Smith's "The Wife-Beater", many fallacies are used.  This quote can been seen as a hasty or sweeping generalization because she is using only one woman's reaction to jump to the conclusion that every woman thinks that the shirts make men look more manly.  She is also jumping to the conclusion by saying someone looks manly means that they are also violent just because of the common name the shirt has developed.  She uses her own emotions to connect the woman's reaction to her point she is trying to make, when there is no evidence to prove the other women agrees that manly equals violent, or that the shirt portrays that thought. 

A fallacy is in the quote "Everybody wears them" (528).  Here Smith again is using hasty or sweeping generalization.  She is trying to hook the reader in to her article by finding some common ground they can agree on.  This might have worked better if she used the word "majority" instead of "everybody".  This overwhelming generalization that everyone wears a wife-beater stated in the very first sentence of her article is a fallacy, therefor possibly affecting the reader to feel that the rest of what she is saying may not be accurate and view her argument as invalid.  

"More than 4 million women are victims of severe assaults by boyfriends and husbands each year" (529).  Smith tries to play on to the reader's emotional side by giving this sad statistic.  She also tries to use this to strengthen her argument.  But the problem with that is that it has no relevance to the previous statement or to the argument as a whole she is trying to make.  Although the statistic may be true, there is no effective reason to put it into her argument because it is irrelevant.   This type of fallacy is known as Non Sequitur (It Does Not Follow)