What if #2-What if the Memphis City School system went bankrupt?

As a graduate from White Station High School, I have experienced both the positive and negative actions of the Memphis City School system. As a terrified freshman in high school, I walked the halls daily with barely enough room to move my arms. The overcrowded hallways, stair wells, bathrooms, and classrooms became one of the most difficult problems for the students. The air was thick and stuffy, and the smell was almost unbearable. It had a serious effect on the acedemic status of the school. Rated the most prestigious public school in Memphis and Tennessee, for years, by 2005 White Station High School quickly began to move down the list. To fix the problem, the Memphis City School Administration had to quickly react. By my sophomore year, the busing was gone. The school district was smaller, and this resulted in a drastic drop in the student population. Honestly, over the four years I attended White Station High, this was probably the only effiecient action made by the Memphis City School System. My senior year of high school, we were recquired to wear badges with our name, and picture ID. The sole purpose of these badges was to make the process of writing attendence slips easier for the faculty. If we forgot our badge it was considered a uniform violation. No warnings. I recieved multiple detentions for not having my badge on the days they decided to check us. This was a ridiculous decision made by the school system. They wasted the money that was to be used for buying us new/more text books, repairs on the building, better classroom equipment, etc. to enforce uneccessary ID badges that were to be worn at all times. There were a few instances of tiles falling from the ceilings of our classrooms nearly hitting my classmates. Also, we were lucky if all of our classrooms had working air conditioners. During the hot days, we had to deal with the heat. Nothing could be done about it. For the past four years, I have heard of so many complaints from parents, students, and especially teachers that are involved in the Memphis City School System. The Memphis City School administration has failed at spending their money efficiently. Every year, more students are not graduating and dropping out of high school. Every year, a new problem emerges and is not being handled correctly. They are losing money, students, teachers, and hope. So, honestly I would not be surprised at all if the Memphis City School System went completely bankrupt.

The Hot Zone: Reflection Essay

Aimee Gundlach

Prof. Wendy Sumner Winter

2/10/10

Reflection Essay

The Hot Zone

“A hot virus from the rain forest lives within a twenty-four-hour plane flight from every city on earth”(Preston 16). This horrifying account, “The Hot Zone”, tells the true story about a viciously contagious disease that spread around the world. Preston’s factual evidence was obtained by emerging himself into the setting. The gruesome imagery and style of writing that Preston uses completely consumes the reader as they essentially relive this horrible epidemic. Each anecdote that Preston includes allows the mind to feel the pain and suffering of the poor and innocent victims of the Marburg and Ebola infections. The first victim that Preston includes, Charles Monet, experienced the most unthinkable pain and sickness only ending in a slow death. The subject of this novel reminded me of, “Fever 1793”, which was about the epidemic of Yellow Fever that originated from mosquitoes killing thousands of people in Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War. The descriptions of the sickness and process of death from both novels are very similar. They both use imagery that sticks throughout the whole story. Emotions and feelings of pure anxiousness surfaced as I read about Nancy Jaax’s experience of entering an enclosed room filled with infected monkeys being tested for the infection. The pain and suffering of the animals was even a little difficult to read. Her risk of being infected by the deadly sickness was so high she was constantly checking herself and fellow partners. The fact that Richard Preston, himself, travelled to the cave where Monet obtained the disease proved an incredible sense of dedication to his writing that I appreciate very much after having read this book.

Annotated Bibliography #1

Aimee Gundlach

English 1020

2/16/10

Annotated Bibliography

Psychedelic Research: Annotated Bibliography

Sessa, Ben. “Can psychedelics have a role in psychiatry once again?”. Oxford:

The British Journal of Psychiatry (2004). 186: 457-458. MRCPsych. Web. 9 Feb.

In this article, Ben Sessa includes the history and current status on psychedelics and their role in psychiatry. He begins by summarizing how psychedelics became so popular among the 1960’s culture. He mentions the history of psychedelic research performed by scientists in the 60’s and 70’s. Sessa includes accounts given by researchers during this period, and how scientists believe that psychedelics can be used as tools for psychotherapy. He then explains how and why psychedelic research came to a sudden halt due to the government ban on psychedelics because of the misuse among the 60’s culture. Then, Sessa includes the current research around the world and how it is slowly emerging back into the scientific world. He mentions current studies that are being done in Spain, Israel, and the USA. He concludes his article by stating the importance of continuing to research psychedelics because of their proven ability to be used as important tools in psychotherapy.