AI has certainly had a significant impact on various aspects of our lives, including language and communication. While AI can help with translation and grammar checks, it cannot replace human creativity, critical thinking, or contextual knowledge. English language skills are still quite beneficial in that regard, since we cannot completely depend on AI for everything. Considering that AI struggles with human creativity, critical thinking, and contextual knowledge, practicing those skills is 100% beneficial.
In the era of AI, there are several advantages to studying the literary arts and improving your English language skills. First, literature gives readers a complex and thought-provoking way to explore complicated ideas, human emotions, and societal challenges. Futhurmore, the ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and creatively through writing and speaking is essential. While AI can help with text generation, it still lacks the creativity, originality, and adaptability that come from professional authors. Even though AI can perform many tasks that humans cannot, they still pose a significant risk. They could appear to be fully beneficial because depending on AI allows us to justify our laziness. AI is already gradually replacing tasks that people used to perform in the distant past, and although it's very common for scientific advancements to occur over time, AI has the potential to completely change everything we've ever known. "Students will need to practice using AI tools to get information, the same way previous generations learned the card-catalog system to navigate the library." - AI Literacy, Explained. This direct quote from the article "AI Literacy, Explained" published on EducationWeek by Alyson Klein, makes a good point on how AI can be a good thing for students and shouldn't get banned. This is due to how back in the day, people had to learn to use new technology to their benefit for learning and such. So how come AIs like ChatGPT are getting banned even though it's our stand-in for new technology. If people back then could use new technology to their advantage, why can't we? Therefore, I find that AI is very useful and schools definetly shouldn't ban websites like ChatGPT because it can seriously benefit students in a positive manner. But I still believe that society should have its limits when it comes to AI and how far we should develop it. I think that the place where AI is standing at right now is quite comfortable and safe. I fear that as time goes forward people may get carried away and either use AI for the worse, or make our society way to dependent on it. Is Shylock Good or Evil? This is a very popular question that is always asked after reading The Merchant of Venice. Although the answer to this question depends on your personal opinion, it's still good to imagine from both perspectives and consider all the possible arguments as to why. Today I will be discussing reasons as to why people view Shylock as the villian and why poeple sympathize with him, then I'll be stating my personal opinion on the question.
Shylock is Evil: Many characters within the story believe that Shylock is the ultimate bad guy. Our main characters in the book are all Christians, and as we are aware, Christains and Jews have a serious feud. The fact that Shylock is Jewish leads characters like Antonio, Bassanio, and Portia, to believe he is a utterly terrible person. Shylock is also quite greedy, jealous, and obsessed with money in The Merchant of Venice. These factors highly contribute as to why Shylock is viewed as a villian. Shylock is Good: A very unpopular opinion within the mindsets of our main characters is that Shylock is actually good. As we know, Jews are treated poorly during this time period. People like Antonio hate on Shylock all due to his beliefs, which is immoral. It is believed that Shylock acts the way he does due to the lack of respect he experiences in his community. Being constantly discriminated against could lead to Shylock having sour feelings towards Christains, hence why he acts so rudely towards Antonio and desperately wants to win the trial. All Shylock wants is justice for his people, but in the end he recieves none as his ultimate punishment is converting to Christianity. Conclusion: After examining and trying to understand both point of views, I have to agree that although Shylock isn't "good", he is still a victim. Throughout the whole story we are shown how a bunch of Christains gang up against Jews. For example, during the court scene we see how Portia tries to break-down Shylock's agreement with Antonio. As Antonio is about to lose a pound of flesh, everyone is desperate to save him, which causes everyone to argue with Shylock. Portia finds a flaw in Shylock's agreement with Antonio and declares that because Shylock is Jewish, that he wants to get revenge on Christians and murder Antonio. Of course this isn't correct at all. Antonio agreed to Shylock's conditions and he failed to keep his end of the bargain. This technically means that Shylock has all rights to do what he planned to do--take a pound of Antonio's flesh--as Shylock is a moneylender and that's what they do when the deal is not met. In the end, Shylock faces an extreme punishment and has to convert to Christianity. This has to be the worse possible outcome for Shylock because as we know, Shylock despises Christains. "Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?" - Shylock (Act 3 Scene 1) This quote from Shylock in Act 3 Scene 1, is a prime example of how Shylock just wants justice. He states that Jews are human just as Christains are. How is it fair that they have to face reprocussions for their beliefs? They bleed when you cut them, they consume the same food, and laugh when they are tickled. Therefore, Shylock is 100% right for wanting justice for his people. At the end of the day, Shylock may have not been the nicest person, but he was still a victim of prejudice. Marginalization, what does it mean? This term refers to specific groups in society that are discriminated against and seen as minorities. Examples of groups that face marginalization are: the LGBTQIA+ community, people of color, people with disabilities, and much more. The specific group I would like to discuss today is people who have to struggle with disabilities.
At least once in our lives, we have all known someone who deals with a disability. Whether it's a physical disadvantage they have or a mental one, these people never seem to get treated equally in society. Individuals who have to deal with physical disadvantages, such as those who use wheelchairs, always seem to have to face those certain people that don't seem to care. As we are all aware, grocery stores have special parking spots meant for people who face physical disabilities. Whether they use crutches or a wheelchair, these parking spots are easy and accessible for a reason. Sometimes, people ignore that some may need these special parking spots, and automatically park in them because it's closer to the store. In every way possible that is wrong, since it's difficult enough already for people who face physical disabilities to do daily activities. Something so little can make a huge difference in people's lives, even if it's something as simple as a closer parking spot. Another prime example is how people who struggle with mental disabilities are treated. Many students in school struggle with learning disabilities and work differently than their peers around them. I've seen many examples of how these specific people get treated within the school society, and it's saddening. Although there will be those certain people who treat these kids nicely with respect, there also tends to be those people who will tease, mock, and embarrass these kids. These events just prove how if you're unique in any way, there will always be those people who will bully you for it. Overall, it's unfair to make fun of people who live with mental disabilities since it's inevitable. A lesson we should all take from this blog post is how we all need to be there for each other. Life is difficult enough, so imagine having to deal with a disability that can prevent you from living like everyone else around you. Some people can't even do daily tasks without struggling. Therefore, all we need to do is be a little nicer, kinder, and empathetic towards these individuals. I'm not suggesting that we treat them like they are hopeless, they're still human. I'm suggesting that we just be decent human beings and do the right thing. Next time don't park in those special parking spots, and don't make fun of kids with learning disabilities just because everyone else does it, since all it takes is that one kind act that can completely alter someone's day. A picture is worth a thousand words.. but can pictures tell a story as effectively?
Personally, I believe that although pictures can help each individual view the shot in different ways, that it's difficult to tell a complete well-rounded story based on visuals. This is why photo essays include text, such as captions, to help explain to the viewer what they are seeing if they couldn't tell already. Text plays a huge role in society. We depend on text to explain to us the deeper meaning of things, such as photo essays, to avoid using our brains. It's a natural human reaction to give up when something seems too difficult. For example, imagine you're browsing through a photo essay, but you are having struggles understanding the story. These captions or paragraphs that are provided along with the pictures can grant quick and easy answers, which humans love! Although text seems to be very convenient the majority of the time, there is one disadvantage I'd like to discuss. As I mentioned before, humans love quick and easy answers, which text provides. The issue with this is that we are becoming too comfortable with relying on a few sentences to explain deep and complex stories. Every once in a while, we should train our minds to decipher stories out of single pictures. For example, imagine you come across an article, but within the article there are no words, only a singular picture. Your goal is to understand the story this picture is attempting to get across. Although it may be difficult to pin-point exactly what the picture is trying to say, merely because the beauty of pictures is that there can be many stories being told at once. After reading about the image "The Vulture and the Little Girl", my insight is that what the photojournalist did was wrong. The photojournalist simply got his photograph and left without helping the poor little girl at all. He had the chance to save a life, and he avoided that opportunity. I understand that it's not a photojournalist's job to help and alter the situation they are photographing, but I believe any decent person would at least TRY and do something.
Personally, I stand by the fact that no matter who you are, it's best to try and help someone or something if you have the chance. For example, If you see a student getting bullied, you're going to help them because it's the right and decent thing to do. In this situation with the photojournalist, he could've and should've done the same thing. Just because he happens to be a photojournalist doesn't mean that excuses him of being a good person. I understand that it's his job to get a photograph of on-going world issues, but why couldn't he have gotten his photograph and simply helped the young girl? It's a simple act of kindness. If anything, although photojournalists are supposed to bring awareness to serious issues, the photojournalist in this story is contributing to the issue he's trying to bring awareness to. Overall, I completely disagree with the actions of Kevin Carter. He had the opportunity to help that little girl and make a difference, but he didn't. At the end of the day, he contributed to the issue he was "trying" to prevent. After watching those two videos from "ABC 20/20" about stereotyping, it's pretty clear to say that within those 12 minutes of the video, the audience witnessed a lot of racism. The difference between the white actors vandalizing compared to the black actors was significant. The white actors only got one police phone call, but the black actors got 10! That's a huge difference in numbers. I find it very odd because the white actors were doing the exact same thing the black actors were doing. I believe that if one group of actors got multiple 9-1-1 phone calls that the other group should ALSO experience the same thing. Another thing that struck me as surprise was how there were about two phone calls for 9-1-1 about the black actors sleeping in a car. I find it unfair how these witnesses automatically presumed that these kids were up to no good, or planning to rob someone, all because they were resting in the car. Compared to what the white actors were doing, these kids sleeping in the car aren't doing anything wrong. Overall, the racism and stereotypes being used in this social experiment are unbelievable. Not only did we see in-equality being presented, but we also saw how some witnesses were AFRAID to get close to the black actors. Personally, I find that unfair because even though they have a different skin tone from the other actors, it doesn't mean they are any less of a human.
When someone apologizes to you, it means they promise to never make that mistake they made again. Sometimes apologies are easy to accept, especially when it's about something small. But when it's about something as big as police brutality, it's difficult for people to accept. It's nice that the police force can own up to their mistakes and admit their wrong-doings, but it doesn't mean anything if they don't take action. People still find that even though the chief of police has apologized around a year or two ago, that the same mistakes are being made yet again. People of color, black people in particular, are being targeted on the daily. Clearly old patterns are being repeated. I believe that no matter your status, whether you're an average person, a police officer, or even the president, murder is murder. These police officers should be charged with the same things that average people would get charged with. The police force has too much power and some are taking advantage of it. Apologies are appreciated, but sometimes they aren't enough. An apology can't bring back the victims of police brutality. People have lost their families, friends, and loved ones all because of an unfair privilege officers get. Therefore, an apology doesn't mean anything if nothing changes, and sometimes an apology just isn't enough.
Police misconduct and brutality has been a thing for many years now, and only recently has it started appearing on television and social media. After watching the video essay about police brutality, I have a few opinions that could really benefit and change the perspective of other individuals. A very serious issue with police brutality is the fact that the cops who hurt an innocent person never end up getting any backlash for it. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the cops are given a bypass and are turned into the victims, when in reality they aren't. Sometimes, if a cop is caught on tape assaulting an innocent person, they are given access to the video so they can prepare a statement for the public. Personally, I don't find that very fair. How are the cops allowed to basically get a cheat code while the victims are left with the repercussions? This actually relates to "The Hate U Give" because in chapter 14, we read about how officer 115 was portrayed as a good person and the victim in this story. Officer 115's father even switched up the truth stating that Khalil and Starr were being unreasonable and aggressive towards his son. In reality, Officer 115 had no right to do what he did to Khalil. This also relates to how many people of color are faced with harmful stereotypes. In "The Hate U Give" the news reporters keep on mentioning that Khalil was a drug dealer, but little do they know that he sold drugs to help support his family. The outsiders of the issue never try to understand from everyone's point of view. If they were to put themselves in Khalil's shoes, or anybody who was being held at gunpoint, they would be able to sympathize with them and understand WHY they did what they did. It's not fair to the families and friends of the victim when the real story is twisted and manipulated to be in favor of the cop. I personally find it extremely ironic how the police are supposed to protect their community, yet on multiple occasions they put their people in danger. Overall, police misconduct is a terrible thing that needs to be addressed. It's unfair to the people who are missing out on their lives, people like Khalil who are murdered at a young age before they really start their life. Everyone deserves a chance to live, nobody's life should be taken away from them.
Art is a very complex term considering there are multiple different ways to describe it. Some more straightforward examples are visual arts, literature, music, cinema, architecture, and many more. Even though you may not realize it, as a student you have the possibility to do different forms of art every single day. Although art does present itself in many different forms, not just the traditional types that I stated earlier. Anything you create or do can be qualified as art. Even if your creation isn't extraordinary, everything you create will be unique, which many people would classify as art. Personally, I find that art can be anything. It can also be used to express many different things. Sometimes people find it hard to express their thoughts and feelings through spoken words, so many creative people turn to writing or painting as a form to express what they are feeling on the inside. That just proves that art isn't only to look at and admire, but can also be used to get messages across, express emotions, to change peoples lives, and to alter how individuals view the world. Thus, art doesn't have to be something that you can physically see or observe, but it can be something that you hear, or read, or feel. Creativity is a huge factor when it comes to creating art. Sometimes artists lack creativity which then leads to their creation being bland or unoriginal. But having that spark of creativity and singularity can help you create something that actually moves people instead of just being there and contributing nothing. Therefore, the terms "art" and "creativity" aren't always easy to break down and define. Everyone has their own opinions and will each lead to their own answer. One thing that is for certain though is that art is a huge part of this world and can affect people for the better.
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Author:
Dayna Petralia |