ISSUES that matter to us (Middle Ground)

The first video I decided to watch was "Straight A vs. Flunking: Do Good Grades Matter." I choose this video in particular, because I consider myself a straight A student and school has always been apart of my everyday life. However, I never took the time to think about how students with low grades may see things differently. The first problem they discussed was "do grades define intelligence," and most of the participants said no. When  it comes to courses that you take in school such as math or science, then yes grades do show that you are intelligent, but only in that category. There are a lot skills that schools do not teach, which is why a grade shouldn't define how smart you are because there is not a grade for every thing in life. Another argument they discussed was "I can get good grades if I work hard enough," and the answers varied. Some participants did believe that if you put in the effort then you will earn the grades that you want. In reality though there are other obstacles students have to face that others do not. For example, a young African American female struggled in her English class in middle school, no matter how much work she did she always ended up receiving a c grade or lower. It was not until later on she found out that her teacher was actually racists and was not grading her papers fairly. Another claim was that teachers have favorite students who they reward even though they may not deserve it, and some students have "road blocks" that other students do not struggle with. The last important topic they discussed was  "I am smart" and everyone agreed to this statement. They all came to the agreement that there are different forms of smart such as book and street smart. Everyone has something that they can offer to the table that another person does not know about, meaning everyone is smart in their own way

The second video I watched was "Climate Change Activists vs Skeptics: Can they see eye to eye." This first topic they discussed was "I believe global warming should be our number one concern" and only the activists agreed. They decided that if earth does not survive then neither will we because we will not have a a home. While the Skeptics argued that no matter what regulations and rules the US puts in place to help climate change, it will not have an impact because other countries are not following the same regulations. If we did create these regulation it would put us at an economic disadvantage with other countries. The second topic they discussed was "I know people who have been affected by environmental regulation" and everyone sat down, but had different view points. The skeptics said that they have seen people lose their jobs such as truckers due to regulations and how severe they can be. While the activists agreed that these regulations can be difficult, but only at first because you have to look at regulations long term and what benefits they will have in the future. The final topic they discussed was "An Eco-friendly lifestyle is expensive," and only the skeptics agreed. They all came to the conclusion that green energy such as wind and power is twice the price as regular energy. However, the activists made some very good points that the skeptics were not taking into consideration. Such as there are incentives for choosing a Eco-friendly life style, it will help prevent larger costs in the future, and it will benefit your health. The activists also discussed that you can use all the water you want for green yard or whatever else you need large amounts of water for, but you are going to have to pay for it.

Brainstorming for Research Paper: (bold: favorite ones)

1. Climate Change
• Should citizens be held responsible for climate change and if so what precautions do we need to take to help fight climate change?
• Should the US number one concern be climate change? If yes then why and how will this effect the citizens
• Why do some people believe that they should not be held responsible for climate change? How do we persuade them to change their minds?
• Is a Eco-friendly life style to expensive for the average citizen? What can our government due to make going Eco friendly easier for the people?
• Do environmental regulations infringe on citizen's rights and are doing more harm then good?
2. Endangered Wildlife
• How should environmental groups address endangered wildlife? What are some of the things they can do to push the government and corporations to protect the environment?
• As citizen, how can we help protect endangered life and make sure our government is also protecting the animals?
• Why are we so concerned with endangered wildlife? How will losing certain wildlife negatively impact our planet?
• Extinction is a natural process but it has rapidly increased compared to the past, why is the bad? Do humans have an influence on greater extinction rates?
3. Environmental Pollution
• Should the government be held responsible for environmental pollution or the citizen? What regulations or change in life styles should we put in place to decrease environmental pollution?
4. Stress
• Is school more stressful now then what it was in the past? Should schools be held responsible for these high levels of stress? What actions can schools put in place to help decrease student's stress levels
• Do practices such as meditation, soft music, and dietary changes help reduce stress
5. Work Life Balance

• Are low wages causing people to work more hours and ultimately spend less time with their families? Would higher wages (including a higher minimum wage) solve the problem?
• Is technology causing workers to be over scheduled? Is it causing a negative effect on workers home life? What should companies do to help?

Paragraph topic: Is a Eco-friendly life style to expensive for the average citizen? What can our government due to make going Eco friendly easier for the people?

Some citizen are making the decision to switch from their regular life style to one that does not harm the environment. Choosing a life style that is not harmful to the environment is called Eco-friendly. However, there is a lot of  debate if an Eco friendly life style is possible for all citizens, because most people believe that this type of life style is too expensive. What people do not realize is that choosing to be Eco friendly does not have to be expensive, it is just changing little things like eliminating food waste and reducing how much power you use in order to the better the planet. If everyone was Eco friendly, it could have a huge impact on our planets over all health. Sadly, people refuse to switch to this lifestyle because they feel they can not afford it , which raises the question what can our government due to make going Eco friendly easier.