en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/4278829 Comments by lpartida5310 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/20/voices-from-the-classroom-156/#IDComment343874311 So the question was: would my parents be more accepting of me if I were gay or bisexual than if I were to date a person of a different race. Well I already know the answer to one of them because I have done it already, and no, I am not gay or bisexual. Being Mexican, and coming from a town heavily populated with Caucasian farmers, I have been in a few relationships with girls of a different race than my own. But I think that either way, my parents would be accepting of me if I were to be gay or bisexual. I really lucked out when it comes to having good parents. My parents are so accepting, that my dad tells me that if I were to ever get a girl pregnant (at an age where I could not provide for a family of my own) he wouldn’t kick me out like we tend to hear a lot of parents do, he instead said he would help me out with everything he could. But that’s not the point of this blog. Anyway, yeah, like I was saying before my parents are really accepting. But my parents are a tad traditional in values though, so if I were to tell them I was gay or bisexual, I think they would at first be a little sad, or disappointed maybe, but eventually at the end of the night they would come to terms with it and accept me for who I was. And as for dating a girl of a different race, my parents are totally cool with that. I think they would probably prefer me to be with a Mexican girl, but they are just fine with me dating a black, white, or any girl of whatever race. My mom is a little bit more traditional than my dad though, so I think the first time I brought home a white girl, she was a little disappointed, but she is cool with it now. I know that if I ever become a parent, I would want to treat my children just like my parents treat me. I know that if my son were to come to me and tell me he is gay or bisexual, I would probably be a little disappointed at first, but just like my parents would, I would most likely accept him and love my son for who he was. But who knows for sure though, times are changing. A few decades ago people were heavily ostracized for being gay, and now we are more accepting as a culture. So I wonder what it will be like when it comes time for me to have children. I think the world will be even more accepting of peoples’ choices, which is awesome. Sat, 21 Apr 2012 02:25:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/20/voices-from-the-classroom-156/#IDComment343874311 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/06/voices-from-the-classroom-143/#IDComment338469833 I feel that I have a lot of skills that I could provide the people of Haiti with to benefit them. To start, I am fluent in English. So for the people in Haiti that don’t know English, teaching them the language is one thing I could help them with. I am also fluent in Spanish, so I could teach them that too. And I also have four years of French under my belt, so if I refresh my memory some that’s another skill I have to offer. Something I have to offer that I’ve learned in college is pretty much everything I’ve learned in college. I’m a computer science major, so for pretty much everything I do, all I need is a computer. I think that if the people of Haiti learned computer programming they would benefit a lot from it. They great thing about being a programmer is that you can work from anywhere in the world and easily distribute your product all across the world. So I guess, more specifically I could teach the people in Haiti how to program in Java so they could program Android apps, or make applications that could be uploaded to the web. I could teach them C# so they could program for Windows phone. Teaching them HTML would allow them to make web pages (I know this might sound like a long list of boring computer talk, but I need the 450 words). The beautiful thing about computer programming is that since more and more companies are using computers to conduct business, they need people to work for them that know what the hell they’re doing. So we are very high in demand. Also, there are so many books out there and so many forums, that if one does enough research, they could learn as much programming as a graduate student. Also, software development companies are very profitable so if the people of Haiti were to learn all these skills and apply them to make high selling product, they would most likely be able to make enough money to be able to buy certain food that are imported from other countries, and they could also make enough to give back to the community to better the schools for the kids, and buy more farming land, and provide the adults with knowledge of how to get the most efficiency out of the land they have to farm with. I’m sure that if most of the population were to learn these skills, the country could possibly be able to come out of poverty. But that goal isn’t very realistic. But if a handful of people acquired these skills and used them to make profitable products, I’m sure that they could make enough to help their village live more comfortably. All you need is a couple of computers. Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:08:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/06/voices-from-the-classroom-143/#IDComment338469833 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-141/#IDComment332817815 So I’m really not qualified to be talking about this topic since I’m a guy, but whatever, I’ll just talk about how I see the subject through my own perspective. So my blog is about women having self respect, or the lack of self respect when wearing bikinis. I guess there are a number of reasons why some women think that being comfortable with one’s body and wearing a bikini in public could be seen as having no respect for one’s self. I think that one of the big reasons someone could see it as having no respect is because it is well known that men like to see women in bikinis. And some could see it as though women wear bikinis not for themselves, but to please men because that is what we want to see them in. I think a lot of the women that believe this are women who may have come from places with less freedom in America. Places where women do not have many rights, where women must be escorted by men where ever they want to go, and whose sole purpose in society is to please their husband. I can’t really think of any examples of countries that are like this, but they are out there for sure though. And then there is also the case where maybe some women aren’t as comfortable with their bodies enough to wear a bikini out in public, and maybe to be spiteful to the women who are comfortable enough, they say that wearing a bikini is a way of lacking respect for yourself. I’m not sure about this, I’m sort of talking out of my ass here, but that’s the way I see it. Now on to the women that say it is respecting one’s self by wearing a bikini out in public. To that I have to say, cool. If you’re comfortable enough with your own body to wear that out in public, then awesome. I see it the same as how us men can walk around with no shirt on. It’s not a lack of respect to us to be walking around without a shirt, so why should it be lacking respect to women by wearing a bikini. And to the whole wearing bikinis for men’s pleasure argument, some women see that as a form of empowerment I think. Which is sort of cool I guess? If you can walk around with a bikini and make fools out of men then good for you. Actually it’s not that cool, it’s sort of cruel, but I guess that’s what those guys get for being easily manipulated. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s not disrespect for a woman’s self to wear bikinis out in public. Yup, that’s how I see it. Fri, 6 Apr 2012 04:47:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-141/#IDComment332817815 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/27/voices-from-the-classroom-135/#IDComment328190513 I don’t know if the video where the reporter interviews all those international Asian kids and asks them to say something about sports would be as funny if the reporter were interviewing white people from other countries “like Russia or something.” I’m pretty sure that part of the reason for going up to only Asians was how they are characterized by the stereotype that they focus mostly on school. If you are like this reporter, and are probably thinking with a racist mind, you are going to pick these dudes that you probably think spend all their time in the library studying (let me take this time to emphasize that this is what a racist person would think. This in no way reflects my personal view of the Asian community) and know nothing about sports. I’m not really sure what the reporter was going for either. Like, was his little bit supposed to be funny? Or was it supposed to be serious and he just felt like he was going to be a dick and call out kids that don’t know much about our culture? So as for putting myself in their shoes and getting made fun of in another country for not knowing about their culture, would I get pissed? Probably not. But then again, I have been exposed to many shows like Chapelle’s Show, South Park, and Family Guy where a lot of their jokes deal with race. And I have been exposed to many jokes that made fun of my culture. A lot of my friends make their racist jokes as well, especially the white guys. So I guess it is one of those things where the humor would vary from person to person depending on what kind of environment they grew up in. And I guess another thing that matters is what kind of relationship you have with the person making fun of you. For example if some dude out of no where came up to me and made a racist joke and I didn’t know them, I would probably get pissed, and if they would happen to be smaller than me, then I’d probably throw a punch their way too. So since the people interviewed by this reporter had no pre existing relationship with the people he asked to say whatever it was he asked them to say, they would probably feel embarrassed and mad if they found out what this guy did. And if they have an accepting sense of humor, they might even think it’s funny too. But, like I said before, it varies from person to person. Me personally I thought it was funny because I have heard so many jokes poking fun at my culture that I have just grown to accept it. Sat, 31 Mar 2012 01:52:00 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/27/voices-from-the-classroom-135/#IDComment328190513 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/22/voices-from-the-classroom-128/#IDComment322865126 I think society is pretty messed up if it with out a doubt sends a black man to jail if he shoots a person that is white, but here we have a white guy that shot a black kid, let’s not forget to mention that he was an innocent seventeen year old black kid, just minding his own business, gets shot to death by a white man who claimed it was “self-defense.” This dude is still out on the streets, he has not been arrested, and he still has a permit for his gun. How many more innocent minorities have to be killed in order for us to realize that this man has to go to jail? The man who shot the kid was on duty for his neighborhood watch. He called 911 and claimed there was a suspicious character walking around and was going to take care of it. The person on the other end of the 911 call told the guy not to do anything, and to wait for the police to take care of it, but he refused. And what made this kid so “suspicious?” he was wearing a hoody with his hood up. In his hands, this kid had a bag of skittles, and a container of tea. He meant no trouble; all he was doing was going over to his dad’s house. Apparently he was doing something wrong because his killer is still free. And like what was said in class, if this were a white kid that was killed by a black man, the black man would undoubtedly be in jail right now, and would probably be sentenced to execution. This story makes me wonder, if you are wearing a hoodie with the hood up, are you only suspicious if you are a person of color? Or can a white person be suspicious for wearing their hood as well? I myself am brown, so I guess I can’t wear my hood up anymore. I think one of the questions that was asked in the video was, “what can we do to stop this?” I think we have to stop being racist. This man could have easily waited in his car for the police to come if he truly felt the kid walking around was suspicious. And his claim to justify his shooting was self defense is bullshit (sorry to those who may read this blog, although I’m skeptical if anyone really reads it). I think one of the details to the story is that the man ran after this kid, shot once, missed, and shot him again to kill him. If he had to run after him to shoot him, then there was no reason he couldn’t wait around for the police to come take care of the problem. So I don’t think there’s anything we can do to really stop things like this from happening unless all of a sudden racism is abolished. All I know is that this guy needs to go to jail for the crime that he committed. Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:57:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/22/voices-from-the-classroom-128/#IDComment322865126 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/15/voices-from-the-classroom-121/#IDComment317253977 So the videos that Sam showed in class today were really surprising to me. Of course, by living in America, we see ourselves and the American army as the good guys, but today, I saw a video of our country’s soldiers, destroying the truck of what seemed to be an innocent man (I’m not absolutely positive that he was innocent, but I will assume he is). I really couldn’t believe it, because it never crossed my mind that our soldiers in Iraq would abuse their power like this. I picked up from the video that the soldiers did this because the man was caught stealing wood and they wanted to teach him a lesson. Now, I don’t know what it feels like to go into war. I don’t know what it does to you or what kind of feelings it makes you feel when you encounter people of the country that you are fighting against, but as I’m sitting there watching the video, I just keep thinking “this isn’t right.” I could well understand that soldiers would destroy the truck of someone if it was known that the person that owns the truck had the intent to cause harm to me, my fellow soldiers, or any innocent citizens. But I’m pretty sure that that was not the case in the video. And after watching it I felt even more horror after doing what Sam said and putting myself in that man’s shoes. I imagined that I was a man living in a country with many soldiers from a foreign country telling me what to do. I also kept in mind that these soldiers were here to help me. I just started thinking of all these scenarios. Like, what if that man was stealing that wood because his roof was leaking. The area that they were in looked really poor, and his truck didn’t look like it was a truck of a man who had money. So what if the man had to steal the wood because he couldn’t afford it, and he wanted to do everything he could to fix the house where he and his family lived. And here come the soldiers, and they catch him, and they shoot and run over this man’s truck. He’s a cab driver, and that was his only means of income, and it is now destroyed. How will he feed his family now? If I were him I would not know what to do. I would feel helpless without any means to provide. And I thought, would these soldiers do this to someone living in the United States? Maybe we should put a greater emphasis to the soldiers fighting the war in Iraq, that we should treat the innocent people of that country like we would to someone living here at home, because as Sam said today, a lot of them our grateful that we are trying to help them. And I do understand that many times, there is no way you can know that someone is innocent. But we should still try show more empathy and put ourselves in other people’s shoes. It’s something that I will try to do more of from now on. Fri, 16 Mar 2012 03:52:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/15/voices-from-the-classroom-121/#IDComment317253977 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/29/what-more-do-you-want-to-think-about/#IDComment312531172 The thing that struck me the most this year was the thing about what determines where we’re at right now. Whether it be fate that brought us to this point in our life or our personal choices. The reason it struck me so much is because I realized how true it was that usually people with a lower economic standing say everything that has happened in their life, and everything that brought them to the state they’re currently in, is all due to fate. And then people from a higher class attribute all their success and all their wealth to decisions that they have made in their life. I come from a town with a lot people of all kinds of economic backgrounds. I have a lot of friends that are poor and a good couple that are pretty darn rich. And of course, I know that the topic is not true for everyone. When I was younger, my family used to be a lot poorer than we are now, we lived in a really poor part of Los Angeles and my parents used to say that we were where we were because of fate. Now we’re more middle class, and my family credits that to our decision of moving out of California and coming to Pennsylvania. I thought it was pretty interesting to see that my parents, who used to be a lot poorer, and lived very poor most of their childhood, changed their belief that fate brought them to the place that they were. After earning more money and entering a higher class, they went to crediting their success to themselves. It’s interesting to see it firsthand. Now, whenever I think of how I got to the place where I’m at, I wonder if it was fate or if it was due to the choices I’ve made in my life. Considering where I was growing up the first couple of years in my life, I always wonder if I would be here, at Penn State if I hadn’t have made the decisions I made in my life. Also, whenever people tell me about the reasons behind why they have everything they have, I wonder is that really true? Or are you telling me this because it is what most people say coming from the economic background that you come from. It’s one of those things that you really don’t have an answer to because it’s all up to interpretation. I guess something I want to know is: what does a lot of the middle class population say about the matter? Is it a mixture of both answers? A lot of the statistics we discuss in class are more centered towards different races and the rich and the poor. I sort of think that the middle class is misrepresented at times. Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:35:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/29/what-more-do-you-want-to-think-about/#IDComment312531172 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/22/voices-from-the-classroom-110/#IDComment300217343 It also blew my mind that there are factors that deal with race when comparing peoples’ ability because I was also a big believer that abilities come with the opportunities and environment in which you’re presented with. And I always noticed how specific races were better at some things than other races, like blacks in running, and other sports, but I guess I never realized that being of a different race actually does contribute to other peoples’ success. The thing that Sam said in class earlier this week about when races specify what race they are when taking tests affects their scores, that also really blew my mind. Being Mexican, it has crossed my mind when taking standardized tests, that being of that race, people expect me to score worse than other racial groups. But I never really thought that it was something that could affect my score. It sucks because if the tests makes me specify what race I am, I’ll subconsciously do worse, and now more than ever since Sam made it more apparent to me. This topic actually has me thinking on how it may affect other things that make people specify race, like filling out applications for different things. Because sometimes, while I’m filling out an application for a job or a scholarship, I sometimes ask myself as I’m checking the “Hispanic or Latino” check box, I wonder if by checking this box, I’ll have a higher chance of getting this job, or winning this scholarship. When it comes to overcoming these differences based on race, is there anything we really can do? I guess that in the situation with the exams, they can take out the section asking about race out, or at least put it at the end of the test so that it doesn’t affect the person taking the test until after they finished. As for sports, there’s something I can’t think of a solution for. How are you supposed to overcome something that’s embedded in your DNA? I mean, I guess you could put the races that excel in the sport in their own separate division, and the others in their own division, but is that something that’s really reasonable or worth doing? I think that the way we have sports now is alright. Sure there are more of a race that does better in the sport than other races, but that’s life. And there are always the exceptional people from races that are not expected to do well, but end up being one of the best players, Jeremy Lin for example. All in all, I think that these differences that depend on race is just something we have to deal with. Let’s give opportunities to the people that deserve it, but not assume that just because a person is of a specific race, that they must excel in something without knowing how they actually perform. Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:47:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/22/voices-from-the-classroom-110/#IDComment300217343 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/10/voices-from-the-classroom-101/#IDComment289347595 I honestly don’t know what to think about what Sam said about the Shaman. I don’t think I can have an opinion until I go somewhere in the rainforest and experience it myself. There was someone in my discussion group that mentioned the Shaman and flat out said they didn’t believe an ounce of it. They said Sam was full of shit. While he was saying this I was thinking to myself, yeah, I guess if you’re not open to believing things like that you can totally refuse the idea. And maybe Sam’s crazy stories about his drugs trips influenced him to completely negate the idea, but I don’t know what to think. I mean, I guess if you live in places completely submerged in nature, and don’t use any modern technology at all, you can definitely become more in tune with nature. Who am I to say no, you’re making it all up. And I’m definitely not sure what to think about going on drug trips and hearing nature call out to you to tell you what plants to use when wanting to cure something. This is not the first time I’ve heard stories about indigenous tribes having rituals where they go on drugs and starve themselves and have visions of spirits telling them about stuff. In my art history class, I heard about one tribe that would dance in circles, take drugs, and heal their sick. Stuff like this makes me think that yeah, it’s possible, because how do other tribes with no modern day experience in medicine heal people? They go out and find plants that have the right medicine in them. And when it comes to comparing how Shaman learn how to heal the sick, and how we in more advanced countries heal the sick by sitting in classes and going to medical school, I guess that people living away from nature don’t really have a choice, and that to be a Shaman you really have to dedicate your life to full heartedly believing that nature calling out to you while you’re on drugs is legit, and if you choose not to believe it you can go to medical school. And if you go to medical school, you have to rely on drugs made by pharmaceutical companies instead relying on plants that you can find around your house or hut or where ever Shaman live in. And while doctors in advanced countries have scientific reasoning for why their techniques work, that doesn’t mean that Shaman that believe in stuff that other people not in tune with nature might not understand, don’t know what they’re doing. I mean, Sam’s ankle was healed right? I don’t believe that he made up the story. So I guess to summarize, both can be legit ways of healing people, it’s just a matter of how in tune you are with nature and it also depends on where you live and how you were brought up. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:57:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/10/voices-from-the-classroom-101/#IDComment289347595 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment283359032 I feel that I’ve come to learn a lot about life and about how we as humans act from everything that has happened to Joe Paterno, may he rest in peace. First of all, let me say that Joe Paterno is a man that deserves a lot of respect. He took this school to such a high level of excellence. Without him, Penn State would not be half of what it is today. He not only brought us excellence in football, he brought a new standard of academics, not only for football players, but for everyone. I feel that this school owes him so much, and that we treated him unfairly with everything that happened with the scandal. So one thing I learned about our society, is how the media centers around people of great standards and accomplishments, like Joe Paterno, and as soon as something happens that in some way soils their name, like the scandal, the media focuses on that person. The scandal was about the horrifying acts of Jerry Sandusky, but all you ever saw in the news was Joe Paterno, and how Joe Paterno screwed up. Sure, Joe Paterno did screw up, I hate to think that he did, but it is what it is. What Sam said in class really shed a lot of light on the topic for me. It grouped all of the thoughts I had floating in my mind and compressed them into one thought that I always had but didn’t really realize. And what Sam said is what I’ll always remember and what I’ll always recite when someone asks me about the issue. Joe Paterno was thought of as someone that was above everyone else, someone not human, but of higher status. But the truth is Joe was human, and humans make mistakes. I think it’s horrible how the media portrayed him in his last weeks of life, and ultimately, like a lot of people, I think it played a big role in his death. In my opinion, the media killed Joe Paterno. But as soon as he passed away, all the stories took a turn and honored him for all of his accomplishments. It shouldn’t have been like that. The media should have yes, acknowledged the mistake that Joe made, acknowledge that he actually did tell his superiors, and also acknowledge the great contributions he made to millions of lives, not wait until they killed him to acknowledge all the great things that he did. I know that I’ll always see Joe Paterno for the great man that he was. I’ll remember the huge positive effect he had on so many people. And I’ll always strive to be like him. I’ll try to promote academic excellence. I’ll try to promote success with honor. I know that I’m not the only one that will take these lessons from Joe, and by promoting them, Joe will live on. And I’d like to think that Joe can see us from where ever he is, and see that what he taught made an impact on many people. And I also hope, but know that it will not be likely, but I’ll still hope that the media sees what kind of damage they can do to a person’s reputation, and see that the stories they publish can kill people, and I hope that they change how they pick what to focus on when they publish stories. Sat, 4 Feb 2012 03:50:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment283359032 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/20/questions-from-class/#IDComment276541187 So let me start by stating what I think the American dream is. It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything about what the America dream is, but I remember it being about being married, having a 9 to 5 job, owning a nice house with a white picket fence and having 2 or 3 children. At least that’s what it used to be. In my opinion, the American dream today is more about living like celebrities, having a huge house, multiple expensive classy cars. That’s what it is for Americans. I think that people talk about non US citizens embracing the American dream because non US citizens embrace the original family friendly American dream. Some of the immigrants coming to this country come from places where there’s not a lot of freedom and maybe only the rich can afford land and have a nice home, and then they come here and they see that if they work hard enough they can earn enough money to buy a home and actually own land to have a nice place to raise children. Then Americans, having all this freedom their whole lives, are constantly being bombarded with the stories of people who have made it big, and they live these lavish lives. MTV Cribs has been a big part in showing people the lives of the rich. Americans see this and they make it their goal to have the lives of the rich and famous. To not care so much about being lucky enough to have the opportunity to own a home and own land, and care more about having enough money to show off and buy stuff you don’t really need. I think that this is something that has sort of helped in corrupting America, and because of this I do agree that America has lost its value. Seeing these immigrants come here and considering themselves lucky to have what they have, having things that most Americans consider to not be enough does sort of lead me to believe that maybe Americans do take America for granted. I also think that anyone can have the American dream if they’re willing to work for it. I don’t think you can, and I don’t think you should be able to live the American dream if you’re not willing to work for it. It grinds my gears when people are so full of themselves that they think they don’t have to do anything and still lead a lavish successful life. So yes, if you’re not from this country but you work your ass off to live the American dream, then in my opinion, yes, you should be able to live the American dream. People like that deserve to live it. Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:44:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/20/questions-from-class/#IDComment276541187 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/17/voices-from-the-classroom-90/#IDComment270814023 As a Mexican American I always saw immigration as something that only applied to Mexicans. I never really paid a whole lot of attention on the issues of immigration with other cultures. I guess that is because schools mostly focus on the immigration of other people like the Irish and the English and others in history classes and I haven’t had a history class in a long, long time. Every time I used to think of immigration I would always instantly think of it as a form of suppression of man. Then I would hear stories of a loss of jobs and I would link immigration to hard working immigrants take jobs that Americans see themselves as too good to have. I would also link it to lazy immigrants coming here and taking advantage of the welfare system and that would piss me off. I think that the people coming to this country should be willing to work for something, not sit around and sponge off everyone else. So I guess I see immigration as something that may not exactly be wrong, just as long as the people coming into the country come here to work and do something and not think of themselves as maybe being too good for the work they are able to get. As for the stuff that was said about Native Americans, that stuff was eye opening. It was crazy I couldn’t believe it. The people that have the most right to be here are living in dumps and drinking and beating themselves to death. They live worse than the immigrants that come here from nothing. I don’t think it’s fair at all that the Americans (the true immigrants) running this country are deciding what little tiny chunks of land the Native Americans are allowed to live on. It is ridiculous. I think that if I were a Native American, especially one living on a reservation surrounded by crime, I would never stop thinking about how my people and I were cheated out of our country. Before, every time someone would mention Native Americans I would picture, yes people living on reservations, not having much land, but living at peace with each other. Not what I saw in the video in class. I actually want to start watching Alaska State Troopers because I just find it so hard to believe that a whole race of people can suppressed enough to be living in the conditions that they are, that I just have to see more of it to continue to believe it. Also, there’s the branding that Sam was talking about. There are a bunch of sports teams and other brands out there today that depict Native Americans as happy little cartoons and what not. I see that as just another way for America to bring the Native American people down. I hope that something changes and that these people can rise up and become just as big of a part of American society as the other cultures that immigrated here have come to be. Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:16:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/17/voices-from-the-classroom-90/#IDComment270814023