Multi-Genre Project Proposal

For my multi-genre research project I've chosen the topic of gender equality. It's a broad topic, so there are a lot of areas that I could focus on. I want to mainly research the domestic aspect of gender equality because many people are aware that it happens in developing countries but they don't realize that it is also an issue in America. The pay gap is one of the issues within the US that I would like to learn more about. As for the interviews, I'm still figuring that out. Ms. James suggested that I talk to someone from SPS's diversity department, so I might end up doing that. I find this topic personally meaningful because gender equality is an issue that directly affects me. As a female planning on going into a profession that is more than 70% males, I am concerned by issues like unequal pay for equal work. I want others to be aware of these types of issues as well.

Multi-Genre Project Reflection

I read Happily Ever After in the Media?, which was basically about how the media, specifically fairytales, affects the way girls think about life as they grow up. While I agreed with the main idea, the author basically repeated the same supporting detail over and over to prove her point.

Overall, I like the idea of a multi-genre research project. It gives us the opportunity to present our research in an exciting and creative way. I haven't decided what I'm going to research for sure, but I'm leaning towards the topic of gender equality. I was interested in the issue of gender equality before I wrote about it for my millennium goals post. The fact that I am already somewhat educated on the issue and that I feel passionate about it leads me to believe that gender equality would be a good topic to research for this project.

Promoting Gender Equality

The goal that interests me the most is number three, promote gender equality and empower women. The specific target for this goal is to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005, and in all levels of education by 2015. We have achieved worldwide equality between girls and boys in primary education, but very few countries have yet to achieve that type of equality in higher levels of education. Beyond education, women in many countries still face discrimination in work, as well as participation in any type of government decision making.

Poverty is the main barrier between girls and secondary education. Girls in rural ares are dealing with cultural and financial restrictions when it comes to education. In Somalia a program supported by UNICEF is providing girls with scholarships in order to encourage them to pursue education.

To encourage female participation in politics, Uruguay has begun to require that women make up at least 30% of parliament. (That's almost twice the percentage of US women who held seats in congress in 2014.)  In 2012 UN Women held a training program for young female politicians in Uruguay. The women spent time with politicians, who acted as tutors for the women to prepare them for candidacy.

I find the issue of gender equality interesting because as a female, I am directly affected.While equal education is not really an issue in the United States, American women are still facing barriers in the workplace and in government. Women working full-time only earn about 77% of what their male counterparts earn, and only 18.5% of congress is made up women.

Start Something That Matters

Good Spread Peanut Butter was the first story to catch my attention. Good Spread Peanut Butter's aim is to prevent malnutrition in third world countries by providing therapeutic meals to suffering children. They use the profits from every packet of peanut butter sold to give away a packet of a therapeutic paste to a malnourished child. I found this story interesting because I already had some background knowledge about MANA Nutrition and I think it is a wonderful organization.

Half4thehungry does double the good, fighting both hunger as well as obesity. At participating restaurants, customers pay full price for a meal but receive only half the portion. The other half is donated to those in need. This is a great idea because it is an almost effortless way for people to help prevent two issues that are huge in America.

A 2nd Cup is a nonprofit coffee shop that works to fight human trafficking. The proceeds from coffee sales will be used to fund after-care solutions for human trafficking victims including, housing mentoring, and life skills for reintegration into society. This idea really sparked my interest because I find human trafficking horrifying and believe that no one deserves to be devalued in that way. Human trafficking is a serious issue and victims deserve some sort of support.

If I didn't have to worry about money I would want to provide medical care to those in need. I strongly believe that no one deserves to be in pain when they don't have to be. My goal for the future has always been to create a positive impact in the lives of others, and I would gladly do that with or without money.

The Gaokao

I became interested in the gaokao when my correspondent, Severine, mentioned it in her response. When I looked it up, I was shocked to find how different China's college admission procedure is from America's. The more I found out about the gaokao, the more I became interested.

The gaokao is China's national college entrance exam. The two-day exam determines not only where the students will attend college, but also what they will study. Severine describes it as "A very important exam in China. Students like me have to pass the Gaokao and get a good grade then go to a university." (Dong) Students are under a lot of pressure to do well, and spend most of their high school years preparing for the test. According to Custer, "The final year of high school, especially, is often focused intensely on preparation for the exam, and it isn't unheard of for parents to quit their jobs to help their children study during this year. This pressure has even been linked to some case of depression and suicide among Chinese teens." (Custer)

Students taking the gaokao exam.

Extreme measures are taken to prevent cheating. Cameras are placed in every classroom, and students have to go through security scanners, like the ones in airports, as well as use finger print scanners. Wearing bras has even been banned to prevent students from sneaking in cameras and receivers. Every year around 9 million graduating seniors take the test, which takes place in June. Of the 9 million students only about 7 million will have high enough scores to be admitted to a university. (Schrock) Students who are not accepted to a college can either choose to enter the work force or repeat their last year of high school.

American teens, including myself, dread taking the ACT and SAT, but after reading about the gaokao I consider myself lucky. In China, your acceptance to college depends solely on a test score that you only get one chance to take, but in America not only can you take the ACT/SAT as many times as you want but colleges look at more than your test score. Not only that, but we also have the ultimate say in where we go to college.

Works Cited:

Dong, Severine. "Re: Autobiography Correspondence." Message to Caroline Knetzer. 7 Nov. 2014. E-mail.

Custer, Charles. "The Gaokao." About. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014. <http://chineseculture.about.com/od/historyofchina/fl/The-Gaokao.htm>.

Schrock, John Richard. "The Gaokao-The Test Where Time Stands Still -University World News." RSS. 13 June 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014 <http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20140612091916875>.


"China exam season: questions to make you quail." Telegraph Online 9 June 2009. Student Resources in Context. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=SUIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=News&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=SUIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CA311645754&source=Bookmark&u=spri34014&jsid=41c596ea209ad4b46cb6a6473af7434a>.

In Class Response

During class today, we looked at many things that had to with racism and discrimination. I didn't really understand the point of taking the implicit bias test. I thought it was strange and inaccurate because I received results that I don't necessarily agree with. I don't see how a simple test like that can determine which race a person prefers.

Listening to the Face-to-Face responses was eye opening for me. I realized how many people were affected by 9/11 and Pearl Harbor first hand, even though they weren't in New York City or at Pearl Harbor during the attacks The story that stuck out to me was about the Muslim guy that was harassed by his boss. Three days after 9/11 happened his boss called him into his office and said he needed to check him for bombs. I couldn't believe that someone could be so ignorant.

Another story that I found interesting was about the Japanese American who was so tired of being harassed by the FBI after Pearl Harbor that he hung himself in his barn. This particular story reminded me of the police violence that has happened recently. It's surprising to me that after more than seventy years US citizens are still being harassed because of their race, not only by the government but also by other citizens.

Reading Response #3: If I Stay

If I Stay

By Gayle Forman

Mia, an extremely gifted cellist, had always thought the hardest choice she would ever have to make was between attending her dream school, Julliard, and choosing a different path to stay with her boyfriend, Adam. When a family drive to her grandparent's house ends badly, everything is changed. As Mia lays in the hospital in a medically induced coma she must make the ultimate choice. Mia must decide whether to die, or whether to live in a world without her mother, father, and younger brother who were all killed in the crash.

While Mia is in the ICU, a nurse comes in and starts talking about how Mia "runs the show." Because of what the nurse said Mia realizes that she's the one who decides her fate. "If I stay. If I live. It's up to me. All this business about medically induced comas is just doctor talk. It's not up to the doctors. It's not up to the absentee angels. It's not even up to God who, if He exists, is nowhere around right now. It's up to me." (Page 74)

If I Stay doesn't just focus on death, though. The book is mostly flashbacks, which emphasize how hard of a choice Mia has to make. The flashbacks show Mia's relationships with her best friend, boyfriend, and her family, and her love for classical music.

Chloe Grace Moretz as Mia 

I chose to include a picture of Mia playing the cello because music seems to be the center of the novel. Mia is a musician, her parents were musicians, and even her boyfriend is a musician. Mia notices that the song playing in the car before the crash continues playing after. I think in this book music is a metaphor for life itself. Life, much like the song in Mia's car, goes on even after death and tragedy.

The plot of If I Stay has the potential to be good, but it the plot didn't really go anywhere. I felt like it was at such an easy reading level, and the writing seemed sort of amateur to me. Overall, the book was boring and I lost interest. I still haven't finished it to be honest, so I don't think I would recommend If I Stay.