en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/5341482 Comments by MackSlusser http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/01/voices-from-the-classroom-218/#IDComment512495484 During lecture Sam asked us to compare two women wearing a Muslim head wrap with two average American women. The majority of the class agreed that the two women, one Muslim one American, who were wearing more tight, popular clothing were trying to attract men more other than the other two who were in yoga pants and slacks. This is due to the fact that most men are attracted to who ever has the more form fitting clothes and to someone who is not afraid to be a little risky with their clothing. Even if the women aren’t thinking what they are wearing is meant to attract men, they sub consciously choose what they want to wear with the man’s point of view in mind. Straight women wear clothes that would attract a certain kind of man because that’s what most people are looking for, someone who finds them attractive. I am going to admit, the majority of days I wear clothes to attract a certain type of men, but I consciously choose clothes that doesn’t look like I’m trying to look cute. My style is more laid back and really chill. A pair od skinny jeans, cami, cardigan, and uggs is the perfect outfit for me. With this outfit I hope to attract an equally laid back guy who is in to chilling but having fun at the same time. I think my look describes me to a tee. On any given day I could be rocking a cute outfit or bumming it in sweats saying that I don’t really care what I look like. I would hope that a guy would like me for my personality other than what I wear. I do think that women should look presentable at times and dress like a girl, but when girls dress to impress is when it gets out of control. Women should dress in what ever makes them comfortable and not worry what guys think. I wish this could be societies outlook because if it was I would wear sweats every day with no makeup. But in reality I am looking for a male partner who will want to be with my for the rest of my life and most people who end of spending their lives together find each other attractive because that’s how relationships work. All in all, women have no choice but to dress with men in mind because there aren’t enough perfect men in the world who will love you solely on your personality. If anyone knows one, please let me know, I’ve been looking for twenty years. Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:23:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/01/voices-from-the-classroom-218/#IDComment512495484 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/11/voices-from-the-classroom-206/#IDComment494489401 Sam showed a video in class of the man, Jorge, spending day in and day out giving back to the immigrants who are unable to maintain a jobs. Besides holding his own full-time job, Jorge makes meals for the immigrants who are waiting outside all day hoping to find a job. These men are mostly homeless and the meal they receive from Jorge is usually their first meal of the day, which doesn’t come to them until nine o’clock at night. He acquires the work from him mothers and sister to help him make the food, which is a process that takes all day long. When asked when he takes time for himself, he simply laughs under his breath and replies, “the workers don’t ask to be homeless, so I don’t make a break.” Simple as that. In my eyes, this man is doing Gods work. I have been brought up in a Christian household and have been taught to follow the word of God and walk in his path. Jorge, I believe, is doing just that. I have been taught that Jesus followed God the Father’s word and saved the people. Jorge is following God’s word and saving the people, the people in this case being the immigrants. Jesus was a Jew whose mission was to save his people. Jorge was once an immigrant whose mission is to now save fellow immigrants who are trying to succeed in life by saving their families in Mexico. Jesus wasn’t paid to do his work nor was he forced, he did what he had to do to save his people and to never see anyone suffer. Jorge is on the same path. He wasn’t asked to make dinner every single day of the year, rain or shine, nor does he receive any payment. He buys the food all out of pocket and then slaves away all day to make it. The people Jorge does the work for praise him like they would if he was a God. He is the reason that they are able to stand and wait for work because he gives them the food that nourishes their body just enough to work. If asked if he would consider himself doing work like Jesus, he would be the first to say that he does what he does because it’s what God would want him to do. Jesus would have said the same if asked the same question. So when I’m asked the question, “Are the acts of a selfless person modeling Jesus?” I would say absolutely, simply look at Jorge’s story. Jorge is one of the most selfless people I have ever learned about and its going to take one amazing story to top his. Mon, 19 Nov 2012 01:40:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/11/voices-from-the-classroom-206/#IDComment494489401 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-199/#IDComment483291574 Sam stated in class that a majority of the funds Americans raise to give to third world countries comes back to America and doesn’t assist the other countries at all was a heartbreaking news. I personally pride myself in giving to the poor, especially those who have no control over their poverty situation. I feel as if I am financially stable then is it my moral duty to give to people who don’t have the opportunity to feel that way. The thought that my hard working dollar that I gave up to help those in third world countries doesn’t go to the makes me furious. Whenever I give to charity, however, there is always the thought that it’s a scam. I mean think about it, how easy is it to stand somewhere with a picture of a poverty stricken African American boy in Africa starving, cold, and sick and then say that your dollar could save his life? It’s too easy. This is why you have to look into the charities you give to, look at the copy rights and research the who, what and where the money actually goes to. If it looks even a little unrealistic then exit out immediately. This is so unfortunate and gives America another negative connotation. I would love to know why there are not stricter legislations and rules regarding donations, and permits needed to acquire money charity so that it assures that the money will be going to where it said it would. Its very hear-renching news to find out that people could be so low that they would basically steal from charities and have the audacity to lie to the generous people who are willing to give their hard earned money to people they don’t even know. With the economy the way it is, it’s getting harder and harder to get people to donate money to charities in the first place which means real charities are struggling as it is to acquire donations. How do they expect people to give money out of their pocket if people raise the question where is their money actually going? The sad thing it that the money that is meant to help the people the third world countries is leaving them in even more detrimental conditions then they already are. Most third world countries depend on the United States, on of the wealthiest countries in the world, for a source of income to clothe, feed, and provide shelter to those less fortunate. Every penny can help in some why and when people take away from this it puts the fight against poverty to last even more. Yes the United States is also in need of funds, and we are stricken with poverty across the nation but we have the resources and money to pull out of poverty if we put in the effort. Third world countries have the determinism but its virtually in possible for them to rise above poverty due to the conditions they are surrounded by. When people take charity money that is meant for third world countries will cause a major set back in the world economy and will result in more deaths due to unfit conditions. Wed, 7 Nov 2012 18:03:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-199/#IDComment483291574 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480772591 When Sam started openly discussing the controversial issue of rap and abortion he quickly caught my attention. I have always been interested in hearing men’s perspective on this topic because they are the first to judge a woman when they are in that situation. I am particularly interested in this issue because it is one of my deciding factors when I cast my ballot in a few days; whether the candidate is pro-life or pro-choice. In the video, Sam seemed to be directing this question more to the men of the class, asking how would they feel if a woman they loved was put in the situation where they thought aborting their baby due to rape, and if they would feel empathy for a women they didn’t know in that situation. I, however, am going to answer this question through a women’s perspective, as if I had to make the unfortunate decision for myself. I have no problem talking about my point of view when it comes to abortion or even who I’m voting for presidency, but I don’t understand why I have to keep my opinion to myself when we supposedly live in a completely free country. I would never push my beliefs on someone if they don’t agree with me, I like the idea that we, as a nation, can live in an area where we are equal even if we have completely opposite views on major social issues. With that being said, I feel very strongly that women, and people in general, should be able to make their own decisions about what happens to their body. I think it is very wrong that people think its ok that they can pass laws that inhibit people from doing things to their own body. If what they are doing starts to harm others quality of life then that’s a different story but I believe that people should be able to do what ever they want to their own body and that also applies to abortion. When abortion comes into play in a rape case I think it’s a total no brainer on what to do; abort. I don’t now from personal experience, but I can’t even imagine having to carry a child made from your attacker; someone who took advantage of you against your will and forced you to do things sexually that you didn’t want to do, this constitutes as rape. The emotional aspect of the experience should be enough to make your decision, not even considering the physical and financial aspect of baring a child that you didn’t want and having to look at the child every day and just seeing the attackers face behind their eyes. With that in mind, I do understand why some people would not want to go through abortion in a rape case. Having a child and then giving it up for adoption is another option, but there are still countless amounts of emotions that go along with that as well. All in all, I believe that women should be allowed to make their own decisions when it comes to abortion, and if any person, man or woman, decides to take away that right of mine, I will be on the fore front fighting for it back. Mon, 5 Nov 2012 03:49:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480772591 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/24/voices-from-the-classroom-194/#IDComment472681485 My belief system was, and is still being, sculpted by my parents. They have always taught me to never judge a book by its cover. Every day is try my hardest to keep my beliefs firmly in the back of my mind so I let them influence my judgment in a positive way. Naturally, when you look at someone walking past you or from across the room you think of a slue of judgments and critiques pertaining to that person, who you probably have spoken to or even met. You automatically are thinking guessing where they are from, what social class they are in, and how much money they have; well at least those are my thoughts at first glance. When I was in high school, however, these thoughts would have never come to mind when seeing someone for the first time. Being away from my parents and as I start to form my own beliefs, I can slowly see my outlook changing dramatically for the worse. I seem to be judging more and forming an opinion about someone I have never met. Of all people, I would think that I would be the last one to submit to the social trend of judging a person strictly on looks because I have been the victim of negative connotations because of my looks. At one point many people thought I was gaining weight because I had given up on myself and didn’t care about anything anymore, but little did they know that I am battling a chronic disease that causes you to gain and immense of weight because of all the medicine I have to take. In the recent weeks Sam has really brought me back to reality and forced me to rethink my beliefs to bring me back to the person my parents have raised and whom I strive to be. Based on the statics he has relayed to us, I have realized that money and someone’s social economic status has nothing to do with who they really are as a person. Looking at the people in the video, at this point in my life I automatically judge them on their looks. I see the black kids with baggie clothes and bored looks on their faces and think they have no interest in school and are from a lower class home system based on the look of their clothes. The girl I think she is in the upper class, with lots of money. I draw the conclusion that she doesn’t pay for her own education because her parents can afford it and she doesn’t have to work while getting her education because she has no financial stressors. It’s very hard for me to admit this, but I want to be totally honest. I am really trying hard to remove stereotypes from my belief system and work even harder to not let others influence my out look in life. I think this class will be the perfect place to help form my new belief system and slowly integrate Sam’s ideas, my parent’s belief’s, as well as my own to opinions into my new system. Thu, 25 Oct 2012 17:21:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/24/voices-from-the-classroom-194/#IDComment472681485 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/18/voices-from-the-classroom-191/#IDComment469558567 Affirmative action has been a small but constant influence throughout my whole life due to the fact that I grew up as the minority in my community, even though I am white. I grew up in an area that was predominately black. The average income in my hometown is pretty normal compared to an average American community. There we upper class citizens attending my school as well as kids living below the poverty line but the over all race of my school was black. Out of a class size of one thousand kids I was one of about forty white kids. Luckily there were not racial issues in my school and every body treated each other equally, never looking at the color of people skin when making an evaluation of the persons over all personality. The realization that affirmative action was prevalent even in our “equal” school district came in strong force when my class of 2011 became seniors and we all started to apply to college and for scholarships. Personally, I was at the top of my class, ranking number twelve out of one thousand, so of course I was a recipient to many scholarship opportunities. I was competing against my fellow classmates who were all African American. Its no secret that Winslow Township High School was mostly black kids, we were often called the “ghetto” of south Jersey simply from the stereotype that the ghettos in the local inner city of Camden is also mostly black. My school, however, ranked very high on the SAT scale and scored high on most standardized testing. Affirmative action came into action in my favor when it came down to me and a fellow classmate competing for the award of student of the year in my school. The winner received a one thousand dollar bond and moved onto a statewide competition to compete against other “student of the years.” For the past twenty years that Winslow had been an established school they had always had black representative at this statewide competition. My principle called me and my competitor into his office and explained to us that we had tied and the staff simply could not chose a winner, but had told us that he was going to choose me to move on simply to receive more money from the state by showing diversity. (I’m not sure exactly the words he used to explain the situations, but in simple words that’s what happened.) Affirmative action is exactly that; taking factors such as race in consideration in order to benefit an unrepresented group. At the time I was the unrepresented group as the minority in the school, and the school was benefiting from me by receiving more money for being a more diverse school. At the time I was happy about the decision because I had won and I wasn’t really thinking about race, but now that I’m taking Sociology 119 I am realizing how sneaky and wrong that decision was. Personally I do not agree with affirmative action and I think there should be other was to get through unfair situations. Mon, 22 Oct 2012 02:23:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/18/voices-from-the-classroom-191/#IDComment469558567 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-183/#IDComment460868071 As I watched the short documentary on the life of Tammy and her family I didn’t know how to feel. On one hand I didn’t feel bad; I thought about my parents rising over diversity and paying their way through college so they could make a better life for my siblings and me. So I didn’t understand why Tammy kept making excuses for herself as to why she couldn’t make a better life. Her son was the only that seemed to have a decent head on his shoulders to realize that how he was living was not how he wanted to live for the rest of his life and realized he had to make the effort to better himself. But then it dawned on me that the life Tammy was living has been the only life she’s ever known so what should we couldn’t expect anything more than she knows. You grow up and mature by models around you, this is crucial part of development. It seemed by the video that her father and mother were a lot like herself. In her eyes she’s doing an ok job raising her family in a trailer surrounded by trash and wearing the same clothes everyday. Her oldest son is a rarity, showing promising signs with his future, but Tammy’s other son is falling right into the never-ending cycle of failure. He has no motivation to better himself with school or activities and he even takes pride in the title of “couch potatoes.” As much as the older brother tries to show good examples, the younger brother is distracted by his negative surroundings. If I could talk to Tammy and give her some advice I would tell her that the cycle could end with her. I would tell her that the only way to get out of poverty is to stay focused and work for a goal, which in her case would be, to make a better future for her kids. She should make better decisions with her money and practice good hygiene because when you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good you work better. I would tell Tammy that she needs to encourage her older son more often because even if she believes she cant get out of poverty she can give her son the confidence to have a better life. If the older son has this outlook than the younger son will most likely follow in his footsteps allowing for a positive outlook for both of them. At this point Tammy is stuck between a rock and a hard place; she knows she has to work really hard to get out of this cycle but doesn’t have the motivation to do so. With a little help and guidance from an outside organization Tammy would eventually get on the right track and have the life that she always wanted. Thu, 11 Oct 2012 17:45:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-183/#IDComment460868071 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/03/voices-from-the-classroom-176/#IDComment457887134 In class Sam showed us a graph that compared the average income salary for different races in America. Sitting far at the top were Asians and whites, with a significant decrease when it came to blacks and Mexicans. Sam called two students up to the class, one wealthy Asian and one wealthy white guy. Both were then asked to explain the graph in their own words, they were asked to explain what the graph showed. The Asian explained that they were on top because to come to America in the first place from Asia you have to have some money, and then gave the example of her parents, who both were engineers but had money in the family in order to go college in the first place and then come to America. This was her explanation for why Asians were on top of the yearly income chart. Next the white guy believed that whites have been here longer and had a longer time to establish themselves, which was why they had more income than blacks and Mexicans. Next a black guy and Mexican explained their opinion of the chart; all which I agree with. I think all of the students who went up were correct with their reasoning to why their raises were where they were financially. Races tend to stick together in where they decide to live. If you look on a map shaded with the dominant races in a specific area the shading would be pretty block like. A lot of blacks live in the same area as well as whites and Mexicans. Unfortunately the majority of blacks and Mexicans tend to live in the poverty-stricken areas of America and that’s why I think their salaries on the chart are so low. Also there has been research that has shown that blacks and Mexicans are more likely to not marry but still have kids which is a reason for such a low-income level. When there is only one income coming into a household and that household has numerous mouths to feed, the salary will go away fast, causing the statistics to also be low. Asians and whites, however, tend to have a better marriage rate and averaging only two kids per household allowing for more money to come and stay into the house. Blacks and Mexicans are stuck in the viscous cycle of lower incomes that has plagued America for the past fifty years. Yes there are some who make it and excel in the financial world; heck we have a black president. But there is nothing we can do to change this cycle. Its up to the individuals involved to preserver over diversity and break the statistics. I believe that one day in the future that chart will be equal and there will be no dominant races. Mon, 8 Oct 2012 02:14:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/03/voices-from-the-classroom-176/#IDComment457887134 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/25/im-wondering-how-i-would-see-things-if-i-walked-in-this-mans-shoes/#IDComment450056445 I had to read the article that goes along with the video numerous times to truly take in all of the information and the real emotions of this man. I think at first I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to believe that our country could do such a horrible thing to an innocent man; a man who was an honorable father, husband, and farmer. He was just living his life when he was invaded by American soldiers and whisked off to a torture prison. They charged him with possessing bomb motors that were used in an attack; this was something that Mohammad Nasim had no knowledge of. He was being charged with something he had nothing to with; he was at home farming to feed his family when the attack took place. The government didn’t matter, they were charging him and sent him to prison. Mohammad was tortured, beaten, and moved around the world to different prisons for five years until the U.S government confirmed his innocence. At this point, however, Mohammad was furious with the U.S and couldn’t believe he lost five years of his life for something he didn’t do. This exact true scenario is why so many other countries despise the U.S. Mohammad sais it himself; he want the U.S out of Afghanistan because, in his eyes, they are always doing damage. Honestly, who can blame him for thinking that way? The experiences he went through would scar people for life, and the U.S just released him with no compensation for his five years of unnecessary incarceration. He was left to fend for himself and his family. It really hurts to hear these stories and to find out what the U.S is really doing overseas. We are fed all of these lies within the media, glorifying the armed forces and what they do, but in reality they are torturing the locals who didn’t ask for any of this. The locals of Afghanistan never asked us to come over to their land and invade their lives, but they were respectful enough to let it happen without much fight. But how do we expect them to act when we hear stories like this? If things like this went on in America, there would be a rebellion and uproar in close to 30 seconds, but for the people of Afghanistan is sounds like it’s a regular thing. I am not trying to bash our armed forces or discredit all of the progress they have done over seas, but at some point enough is enough and we have to let other countries recover on their own. I think its time to call it a day, and come home for good. Thu, 27 Sep 2012 17:56:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/25/im-wondering-how-i-would-see-things-if-i-walked-in-this-mans-shoes/#IDComment450056445 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/20/voices-from-the-classroom-170/#IDComment447260233 When I found out that we were talking to an Iranian named Pedrum a plethora of questions flashed across my mind. It was the first time in Sam’s class that I wished it wasn’t full of seven hundred students. I wanted nothing more than to have a one on one with Pedrum to have him answer all of my unanswered questions about the Iranian culture. When everyone heard we were skypeing an Iranian, I heard a bunch of stereotypes fly through room. Students thought he was going to be in a dirt hut, wrapped in cloaks, but what we saw was far from that. Pedrum was sitting in his room filled with posters and Xbox, laughing at South Park and How I Met Your Mother jokes. He is just a normal student, just as interested in us as we are of them. The funny thing is, we aren’t much different. We are all people, we all need air to breathe and food to eat; he’s not an alien, like my fellow student made him out to be. I do, however, have a lot of questions about his culture and everyday life to see what is different then me. I would love to know the education is system works in Iran. I have always wondered how long a normal student goes to school for or what is the normal length of time for a normal student. It is very normal for all students to go to some sort of schooling after high school, and the rate of students who continue schooling is only increasing. It would be very interesting to compare the social norms of schooling and students outlook on going to school with Pedrum. It would also be very cool to see what the do’s and don’ts are of an average teenager/ young adult. American norms are always changing, especially when it comes to when it’s socially acceptable to be an adult. Earlier in history it was acceptable to get married have a kids at a very young age, and for women not to work. As generations went on the tables have turned and now there is no timetable for marriage or children. I know however that in Iran, culture is much different and women are expected to be much more of a homemaker than women in America. I would like to talk to Pedrum to either confirm or correct my ideals. Another thing I would love to know from Pedrum is Iran’s policy on their citizens going to war and how he feels about war in general. It would be so amazing to see another person’s point of view from the other side of the world. The opportunity to talk to Pedrum is mind-blowing and is something that I will never forget; I hope we have another chance to connect with him. Mon, 24 Sep 2012 03:43:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/20/voices-from-the-classroom-170/#IDComment447260233 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/12/voices-from-the-classroom-162/#IDComment442099374 For the first time this semester, I completely agree with Sam’s view of people with differences. The idea that society needs to highlight the differences of people so its known in a positive other than a negative is the exact attitude we should all have. One of the worst characteristics of Americans is that we judge every book by its cover, meaning we are so quick to judge others without knowing their true story. If we were more educated on different kind of differences and made it ok to be different in society, there wouldn’t be issues in this category. America is also known for having the picture perfect life. The “poster family” is usually a white, middle class family with a happy wife, bread winning dad, and two healthy kids. In the past if you didn’t look like that you were labeled as “different” and being different wasn’t a good thing. Today, being different is becoming more and more acceptable but is still shunned in some situations. Social media and the internet has helped a lot in making being different a lot more acceptable, but I believe there should be more attention in spreading awareness from the local government and society in general. The lack of exposure of different people both physically and culturally accounts for the ignorance towards those who are different in society. A major proponent of “differences” is the sitcom/ musical TV show, Glee. Glee is a show that highlights people’s differences and how everybody, regardless of what they believe or look like, comes together and are all friends. This show skyrocketed on the charts as well as popularity in the average home. It led to a world wind movement of people being proud with differences they have. People were embracing being different and if they felt like they weren’t different they changed their life style so they could say they were different in some way. Glee allowed having differences to be highlighted other than hidden and because it made it such a major movement, society is slowly letting the idea of being different acceptable. I think our generation especially is embracing being different both racially and physically and that’s why Same is so passionate in trying to get us to look at the world a different way. He knows that we are the stepping stones in making our world a better place and that its not going to happen overnight. It takes a lot of time and effort to change some ones out look or opinion; however, I think Sam is on the right track with his attempts to take away the negative aspects of being different. Mon, 17 Sep 2012 01:52:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/12/voices-from-the-classroom-162/#IDComment442099374 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/08/30/voices-from-the-classroom-130/#IDComment437357419 It is scientifically proven that black skin and Asian skin have thicker and more compact dermis than white skin. This means that over time, colored skin had to adapt over time due to inclement and harsh weather conditions. The fact that colored skin is “thicker” than white skin is true, but only in the biological aspect and not the emotional one. Having “thick” skin derived from the idea of people going through trials and tribulations and rising above adversity, this would then result in you having “thick” skin because of your ability to arise above struggle. As people mature and go through different situations their skin will figuratively get “thicker” over time based on their experiences. Having “thick” skin has nothing to about the color of someone’s skin but what that person has gone through and made them into the person they are. People might argue that blacks have “thicker” skin because of slavery that has occurred throughout history, but I could equally argue because hundreds of thousands of white Jews suffered through the Holocaust. I would say that a survivor of the Holocaust has one of the thickest skins in the world due to all the struggles they went through, not because of the environment they lived in. As far as blacks having thicker skin because they have to live through racial slurs more then whites, I also believe is not true. Honestly, I think blacks sometimes are to sensitive and want to use the excuse of their “ancestors going through diversity” as a reason to why they have the right to be more offended over a racial slur other than a white slur. I agree with the fact that there are more racial slurs directed towards blacks then whites, but I think it depends on the individuals self assurance and how they feel about themselves. The word “hick” might not sound offensive to most of the population, but to an urbanized white family, being called hick is very offensive, just like a black person being called a colored person. I think that having “thick” skin has a lot to due with were the individual lives. If a white boy lives in the black set of Camden, he is going to need a thick skin in order to hold his own and understand that, because of his color, will have a harder time fitting in to the community unlike a black boy who just moved there. The same goes for a black boy moving to a predominantly white neighborhood. He will have to rise about diversity, just like the white boy in the black neighborhood. To conclude, the idea of having “thick” skin, in my opinion, has absolutely nothing to do with the color of persons skin, but based on the experiences the individual has gone through. Not just anyone can have thick skin. Sun, 9 Sep 2012 15:06:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/08/30/voices-from-the-classroom-130/#IDComment437357419