My name is Maranda Tapia I am now a sophomore in college. I play softball for Yavapai College and it is a lot of hard work. However it teaches many life lessons. I do actually like school, I know I am crazy. Learning about things that I am interested in is enjoyable. My family is my all and always will be. I plan to be a Child Psychologist because I love kids and psychology. That's me in a nutshell.
Mother and Child For my community event I went to a special showing of a film at Harkins Theater in Sedona. The film was called Mother and Child. The show was about a mothers love for her children. There were multiple stories throughout the film that all dealt with the subject. One family was not able to bear a child of their own. Another had a child at fourteen and gave her up for adoption. The last story was about a young woman that slept around and ended up pregnant. These stories seemed to make me think back to the book we read in class, The Handmaid’s Tale. The family that was having difficulties conceiving was looking for a child to adopt. They had been through a couple interviews already but hadn’t found anything they liked. Finally they met a twenty year old that demanded the truth about the family and wanted nothing but the best for her unborn baby. The family ends up passing all the tests that the mother puts them through. However, when the baby is born the mother decides that she cannot give up her child. She leaves the family in so much pain, but they understand. This story reminds me of the end of The Handmaid’s Tale when Offred tells Nick she cannot give up their baby. She wants to risk being killed in order to keep her child. Both mothers in these two stories demonstrate the unwillingness to handoff their child to a stranger. They realize that the child is a part of them and was created by them. The next story was about a forty year old that was living her life in regret. At fourteen she discovered that she was pregnant. Her mother forced her to give the child up for adoption when she was born. For this, she never lived a day without thinking about her daughter. When she finally decides to look for her it is too late. However she is somewhat pleased to find out that her daughter was looking for her as well. This story reminds me of Janine in The Handmaid’s Tale when she has her child. When was reading the book I pictured what I would feel like if my child were to be taken from me. I put this feeling inside of Janine’s character to make the story more relatable. The emotion that I gave to Janine is the same emotion that the mother that had in the movie. Regret and pain. The woman that was sleeping around was 35 years old. She was a strong business woman with an appetite for sex. She moved from town to town once things began to get too complex for her. Sleeping around with other people husbands and older men was her specialty. They never used protection because when she was thirteen she had her tubes tied in Mexico. Surprisingly she did end up pregnant. This story is similar to The Handmaid’s Tale by the action of having sex with strangers. Just like in the book when the deed was done she women switched to another man/family. The film was comparable to The Handmaid’s Tale on many factors. The main theme being the love a mother has for her child. The first one was the unconditional love a mother has for the child. Another is the pain that goes along with having to give up your own child because someone is forcing you to. The last similarity was having sex with multiple people in order to gain something. Maybe I am reaching out a little too much but this film immediately made me think of The Handmaid’s Tale.
Sexual Slavery on Main Street (Librart Source) Cooper, Elissa. "Sexual Slavery on Main Street." Christianity Today 54.5 (2010): 17. MAS Ultra - School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 21 July 2010.
This article talks about Christian organizations that are taking steps to reduce the teen trafficking in the United States. They have come up with many resources in order to fund their organization through federal grants and donations. It seems that many people are not aware of sexual slavery in the U.S but once they find out they want to help. The article gives many facts and statistics about the rate of teen disappearances due to trafficking, how many victims have been saved, and how many offenders have been caught. It also claims that the consequences of sexual slavery are low. It gives a few examples of how females were lured into sexual slavery. The stories go on to tell of the horrors the women went through and how they got out. I plan to use this article in my paper by taking the statistics about trafficking and use them to have a better foundation for my paper. As said before many do not know how common teen trafficking really is. This article also gave me a better understanding of what sexual slavery is. Sexual Slavery on Main Street also made me realize that there are many organizations in the U.S that dedicate their time to saving sex trafficking victims.
Russia Today (Video Source) YouTube. 9 Dec. 2008. Web. 20 July 2010. . This video is a T.V broadcast from Russia Today about sex trafficking in the U.S. The anchor woman gives information about the sex trafficking statistics. She says that Washington D.C has the highest percentage rate for sexual slavery across the United States. The broadcast then goes into a interview with a victim of sex trafficking. The victim tells about her experience. She says that she was forced to sell herself for sex. Sadly she was convicted for prostitution and the man forcing her to sell herself was never convicted. Police made her believe it was her fault and also told her nothing would happen to the offender. Lastly the video moves on to an organization that helps victims and others that may be at risk for sexual slavery. I plan to use this source in my paper to have more statistics for the support of my paper. However I will only use little information from this source. It was more for me to get a better understanding and view on the topic.
Spark Notes(Web Source) SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Handmaid’s Tale.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2003. Web. 21 Jul. 2010. Spark Notes is an online source that a reader can go to for any information they want about a book. They have a list of characters and analysis of characters. The source also gives chapter by chapter summaries allowing you to make sure, as a reader, you didn’t miss anything. There is also a link for symbols and themes that let the reader know the hidden meaning behind the text. This site also offers a quiz over what the book was about. This really helps the reader to make sure he/she understood the text. This source really helped me come up with my essay topic. I was having trouble narrowing down topics and this source helped me greatly. Throughout much of the book I was confused and irritated by the way the book left me to fill in all the missing holes. I was able to use this source to check my interpretations and get a better understanding of the text.
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. Print.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood was a type of dystopian literature. This book is pulled from the first person narrative. The author changes Cambridge of Massachusettes into the Republic of Gilead and women’s rights are taken form them completely, not allowing them to own any property. Women who are unable to produce or bear child were either sent away or assigned other jobs. Those that were fertile were assigned to a household to produce a child for a husband and wife and they were called handmaids. Once the handmaid did their jobs, they were sent to another household to do the same thing. If rules were broken, they were either sentenced to death, sent away or were forced into prostitution. Some of the women and men in the Republic were a part of a group to restore things back to order. This was women’s only hope. The Handmaid’s Tale was the main source for my paper. I was able to base my thesis around the text of the book. I plan to take quotes from the text in order to solidify my paper and prove me point. I plan to use more information of the text to prove my thesis more thoroughly.
Book to Movie Comparison It is well known to many book fanatics that the book is most likely always better than the film. In the case of The Handmaid’s Tale this judgment would be correct. Text versions of a story allow the reader to get deeper into the story. This helps the reader to develop a more personal relationship to events and characters. Films can lack this personal connection. Movies also tend to change things around in order to catch more of the audience’s attention. However, to the readers it changes the whole meaning of the story. The film of The Handmaid’s Tale alters symbolism in the text, the order of events and the first person perspective of Offred. One major symbol in the book was the meaning behind the white wings that were worn by the Handmaids. The white wings were a type of headdress that restricted a Handmaid’s sight. The headdress was to be worn at all times except in private. Her vision was not completely covered but taken away just enough to belittle her. Handmaids were nothing more than a womb and ovaries to the higher status, and that was how they were treated. They were demeaned of any powers and luxuries. That was exactly what the white wings were designed for. Seeing was a privilege that Handmaids were not to have. The film’s version of the headdress was a scarf that was worn around the Handmaid’s hair. Not only was it not covering their face at all times, but it was also see through. Totally degrading the meaning and purpose the book describes. The order in which the story is told in the book is greatly different than the movie. The text version of The Handmaid’s Tale jumps from one event to another often confusing the reader. Flashbacks seem to come out in the middle of an event. The flashbacks are difficult to catch and understand when in text form. Also, there seems to be more of these recollections in the book than in the film. The order of events in the movie made more sense to me. I was not left to make sense of the events like I was in the book. Given that the events were in better organization in the film it was easier to understand what was going on. Guessing as a reader only leaves me unsure of my interpretations. The text edition of The Handmaid’s Tale is a first person narrative. This style of writing allows the reader to see and experience things through the main character’s eyes. However in the film the first person perspective is not present. Not being able to know Offred’s thoughts and feelings takes away from the story. Not having Offred’s insights makes the story less meaningful. Being able to hear her thoughts in the book had a greater effect on me than not knowing them while watching the movie. As a reader I was able to develop a bond with Offred, this bond was not there during the film. Like most books that are made into movies The Handmaid’s Tale follows the pattern of the book being better than the film. It was not necessarily a bad film, but it took away from the meaning of the story. Changing the headdress worn by the Handmaids was a big change in the movie. Also not knowing Offred’s thoughts made it less personal than the book. One thing that did better the story was making more sense of the order of events. A movie is meant to entertain for a few hours while a book allows the reader to become part of the story.
Tuesdays with Morrie A few years ago I read a book that happened to change my life. It was recommended to me by one of my parents, and because I don’t have a huge passion for reading I reluctantly agreed just this once. This book is “Tuesdays with Morrie”, written by Mitch Albom. I had recognized the author because Mitch Albom happens to be a world renowned sports writer and is on many weekly sports television shows. Because of this I decided to sit down and try a chapter or two just to please my parents. I quickly realized that I had made a very good decision. For the next day and a half I could not put the book down. It says on the cover that this is a book about “an old man, a new man, and life’s greatest lesson”. This lesson is to live every day to the fullest, because the tomorrow is never a guarantee in life. Morrie Schwartz was Mitch’s college professor. After many years and an unlikely television exclusive on “Nightline”, the teacher and student were reconnected. What transpired next is certainly overwhelming. It taught me to live every day as if it were my last and to love unconditionally. To be so content with my life that if I were to leave this world tomorrow, I would be happy with how I left it. Morrie was a man without much time left in this life. He is petite person who has recently been diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. This disease attacks the muscle and muscle tissue, slowly diminishing it until it is no more. Thus leaving the body weak and unable to take another breath. It is in this episode of “Nightline” I referred to that Mitch becomes aware of his old professors situation. Mitch was flipping through the channels on television one night and he happened upon Morrie. He was exactly the man he remembered and was delighted to see him, until he realized why “Nightline” was there. After he got over the shock of it all, he decided to spend as much time with him as he possibly can before he passes. Mitch lives in Detroit and Morrie still lives near the campus in Boston, Massachusetts. Mitch flies back every Tuesday for about four months to see Morrie. Thus becoming his student once again, but this time the subject is life and the way to live it. Despite all that Morrie is going through, he still manages to be happy with his life. On Mitch’s third visit, they talk about feeling sorry for yourself. Morrie says “I mourn what I’ve lost, I mourn the slow, insidious way in which I’m dying. But then I stop mourning... I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life” (Albom, pg 57). This is remarkable, even though his body is wilting away before his own eyes he still manages to be joyful about his life. When asked how he can be this way when he has such a horrible disease he replies “it’s only horrible if you see it that way. It’s horrible to watch my body slowly wilt away to nothing. But it’s also wonderful because of all the time I get to say good-bye. Not everyone is so lucky” (Albom, pg. 57). Lucky? He is dying of a disease that slowly turns your muscles into pudding and he describes his condition as lucky. However, in an odd way I agree with him. I wish that I could only be so lucky as to tell all my loved ones how much they mean to me before I go. But before I read this book, I don’t know that I would have had the maturity to fathom this reality. I believe that anyone who reads this book will really connect with at least one, if not all of the topics they discuss. The topic that stood out the most to me is something that I had struggled with frequently. This topic is death. A topic that would literally keep me awake at night because of the fear that death is inevitable. Morrie states that “everyone knows they are going to die, but nobody believes it”(Albom, pg. 81). This is an absolutely perfect way to put it. Normally people choose not to discuss death because they fear it, because they don’t want to think about it until it is upon them. Most people think that by simply keeping it out of mind, they can live their lives better without the fear of death looming. But Morrie disagrees, saying “there’s a better approach. To know you’re going to die, and to be prepared for it at any time. That’s better. That way you can be more involved in your life while you’re living it”(Albom, pg. 81). This is a very important point that can possibly make life a lot more enjoyable for people, it certainly has for me. But perhaps the most important quote in the book for me, Morrie declares later in the chapter. “Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live”(Albom, pg. 82). One I read this quote I truly felt I was headed on the right path of learning how to live. It made me realize that running from my fear of death wasn’t allowing me to live my life to the fullest. This insight provided by Morrie I was able to slowly work towards making my life more fulfilling on a day to day basis. Even in the face of death, Morrie Schwartz was a visionary. Knowing that his days were limited, he was able to be happy with himself and his life. He was able to have one more class, with one of his favorite students. I would like to thank Morrie for this last class because he unintentionally taught me to live the right way. It goes without saying, but it obviously changed Mitch’s life instantly. He took a dire situation as a sports writer in Detroit and turned it into a booming career as a prominent person in his field. Morrie told us all to embrace our lives, to love unconditionally and to never take any moment or situation for granted. Although Morrie doesn’t know it, it is actually his final course. So much information was taught about how to look at life in a better way. We must embrace ourselves and roll with the punches. There are no quizzes or exams, just one final. The final is pass/fail, that final is life. Works Cited Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie. New York, NY: Little, Brown & Company, 2004. Print.
The Handmaids Tale is a text full of mystery. The story leaves you guessing on almost every page. It is up to the reader to fill in the missing details as the story progresses. What I am questioning is how the people of the church overturned our system of checks and balances? In school and in the work place we as a country are always trying to respect others religious beliefs. In school we are asked not to say the Pledge of Allegiance because of the simple word “Amen” at the end. We were told that we were disrespecting those that did not believe in God. There was also no studying religion in public school systems. There are many other occasions where we as a country have had to walk on egg shells to respect others beliefs. Our government has always maintained a well working system to keep order in our country. So I want to know how the people of the church had enough power to overrule the government. The topic I plan to research is how much power the people of the church really have. Obviously they took matters into their own hands about the declining birth rate and got the government to work in their favor. The people of the church either overturned it single handedly or manipulated it to work in their benefit. I chose this topic because throughout my reading I always wondered how our country could ever turn into what is happening in Atwood’s book. Researching this topic will help me understand the basis of the story and how it evolved.
1. Sentence A is the weakest thesis statement. - Thesis statement A makes no claim by telling what the paper is going to be about.
2. Sentence A is the weakest thesis statement. - Thesis statement A is too broad. It does not bring out the complexity of the subject like thesis statement B does.
3. Sentence B is the weakest thesis statement. - Thesis statement B is also too broad. Sentence A is arguable, assertive, and is specific about the types of jeans.
4. Sentence A is the weakest thesis statement. - Thesis statement A points out the obvious and leaves no room for argument. Also, the statement is a summary.
5. Sentence A is the weakest thesis statement. - Thesis statement A is overly descriptive. The sentence goes way too into depth, and is a bunch of little sentences rather than one argument.
Thesis statement: Handmaids were forced to give up their bodies under government rule to help the declining birth rate.
Why did the government obtain complete control of the handmaid’s and their bodies? The government obtained complete control over women’s bodies in order to fix the declining birth rates. They were sent to school in order to train to be a handmaid. Handmaids were assigned to conceive a child with a commander. They were being used for their abilities to bring the gift of life into a family for those who were unable on their own. They were responsible for the future. Because of this handmaids were sheltered. Always having to obey rules and be watched after continuously. Once the handmaid had conceived a child they would become released from their duties. The government used this as a way of a bribe to increase births in the country. Freedom from this life was what a handmaid had dreamed of. However, their one task was not that easy.
This statement is arguable because one would say the handmaids were not forced. It is also specific and I can use support from the text. There are many assertions in the book that lead to the handmaids being forced to bear a child. The consequences are either being killed or being exiled to another country.
Dear Mrs. Darrow, My biggest challenge so far in this class has been trying to reach the full potential of analyzing a text. It is difficult for me to get the whole meaning behind the text and to put it into words. I have been able to grasp half of what is required but I would like to expand it much further. It has also been difficult for me to balance of work schedule along with my other priorities this summer. I have never taken any summer classes so I am not used to having any school stress on my shoulders right now. I am a really big procrastinator right not and I am not usually like that. My biggest success would be, being able to understand more complex texts. Part of this success would be due to me understanding the concept of annotating. Annotating has helped me a lot in understanding the texts we have read in class. Learning this new method has helped me substantially with my assignments, not just in this class but others as well. The readings in this class have affected me in different ways. Reading The Things They Carried has really made me realize how awful the war was and is now. I never really paid much attention to what was going on with our country. I lived in my own little naïve world. The Handmaids Tale really caught me by surprise. It was hard for me to grasp on to the concept of all the horrible things going on in the story. It is really surprising to see our world conform so dramatically. It makes me remember to be thankful for all the things we take for granted every day. Literary analysis is different from others types of writing in that it really forces thinking outside the box. Reading between the lines and seeing things that are not literally written out is difficult to do. Details and description are no longer of great importance. Literary analysis requires critical thinking skills and being able to see things from all angles. Learning to master this skill will help in many ways in school and future careers. My goals for the second half of the session are to be able to reach full potential of analyzing a text. This is something I struggle with so it is important to me I learn to do it correctly and fully. I have a lot of room for improvement in this area and I plan in accomplish just that. I am learning and listening to the feedback you are giving me, and it has helped me already. I know the areas of analysis I need to improve on which are seeing individual concepts rather than the whole picture at once. I must learn to break thins down and focus on one thing at a time. Another goal of mine is to get my work turned in earlier to I am not stressing myself out so much. Part of this is managing my time better and not putting my work off until the last minute. Doing these simple things will also improve my work quality which is my last goal. Sincerely, Maranda Tapia
The main focus in “The Things They Carried” were unrequited love. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was unquestionably in love with a girl named Martha. He spent most of his life wishing that she would love him as much as he loved her. Jimmy often found himself thinking about Martha rather than the task at hand. Being a Lieutenant he was responsible for his platoon and they needed nothing less than his undivided attention. The story goes on to tell of all the things that they carried. They carry necessities, things for survival and things they need for the current mission. Depending upon rank and field of specialty, you carried things pertaining to that specific duty. On a psychological level they carry emotions including shame, guilt, doubt, pressure, embarrassment, and pain. The story goes on to tell that one of Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’ men was shot and killed while on a mission. Jimmy blamed himself because all he could focus on was Martha. This was the turning point in Jimmy’s life during the war. He felt so much guilt for the death, he decided to let go of Martha. Releasing Martha from his mind, not his heart, he decided to put all his focus into becoming a better Lieutenant. Jimmy Cross was absolutely obsessed with Martha, not being able to go a minute without her crossing his mind. His obsession took its toll on him and his men, even though they didn’t know it. O’Brien closes with “…his obligation was not to be loved, but to lead”(pg. 26). It was nice to finally see Cross realize his priorities and be the leader that he needed to be.
On the Rainy River, writtin by Tim O’Brien was an untold story. Tim was twenty one years old and had just graduated from Malcaster College when he got a draft notice in 1968. He thought that the Veitnam war was wrong. He took a stand against war in his college years. A while after he got his notice he began to think about running to Canada to escape. He was often skeptical about the situation and was back and forth between going and
not going.
After some time he decided he would leave town and went to the Canadian border. He stopped at the Tip Top lodge and stayed there for six days free of charge. The guy working at the lodge, Elroy Beddahl, took Tim in. Tim was so torn between running off
to Canada and going into the army he made himself sick. Elroy gave Tim some money for helping out around the lodge. The two went for a fishing trip and that is when Tim decided he would go to war after all.
Analysis:
This untold story is based on being ashamed and embarrassed. Tim had no desire to go fight in the war and risk his life along with others. He though that the war was pointless and there was no reason for it. However, he admits to being young and not understanding politics. Tim thought he had too much to live for, he was too smart and had too much going for him to waste his life in the war. As the story progresses we see Tim’s struggle with either going to the war or bailing. The only reason that he ends up staying is because he does not want to be the laughing stalk of his town. He also does not want to let down his parents. Tim still has no desire to go to war but he chooses to anyways. His six days with the lodge worker, Elroy bring him to his final decision to go to war.Tim closes with, “I was a coward. I went to war” (O’Brien Page 61). Tim thinks that since he goes against what he wanted to do he is a coward. In my opinion he is, however he had a duty to his country that overpowers his own wants and needs.
Sam Hamill said many interesting things in his essay. Out of all the material that I read one sentence kept my attention throughout the rest of the essay. “-the only condition worse than being a victim is to be an executioner”(Hamill 1990). This sentence was taken out of the paragraph that was talking about battery. It was saying that coincidently a lot of the men in jail for battery had also been a victim themselves. Relating this to one of my psychology classes, when we are younger we look to our parents on how to act. They may not know it but as children we are observing their every move and that is partly how we develop. Thus, it only makes sense that a child being a victim of battery will also victimize their children. When I read the sentence I thought to myself, why would any one want to cause the same pain that they went through as a child on their own children? They know how bad it hurts, how bad it makes one feel and the damage it does psychologically. For one person to realize the only thing worse than feeling this type of pain is to inflict the same pain onto another is an accomplishment. This small lesson will be noticed among others and hopefully be repeated. This essay is related to the “Poems of Witness” in that people witness horrible things happen right before them and choose to do nothing to stop it. Sam Hamill’s essay talked about abuse being passed down from one generation to another. Somewhere down the line someone could have noticed this and chosen to stop this behavior. In “Song of Napalm,” the man witnessed a little girl burning to death and he sat back and watched her die. Also, in “Charlie Howard’s Descent” the parents of the boy’s that killed Charlie encouraged his murder rather than prevent it. Not choosing to take action to prevent something will keep the horrible pattern going.
The two poems that I reacted strongly towards were “Charlie Howards Descent,” by Mark Doty and “Song of Napalm,” by Bruce Weigl. In “Charlie Howard’s Descent” I was shocked by the cruelty but then inspired by the power of forgiveness. A man lived his whole life being ridiculed and tortured by everyone around him. “I, imagine he took the insults in and made them a place to live…” (Doty lines 21-22). He was able to take the insults and lock them up to where they would not cause him pain. In the end he was killed for being gay and somehow he forgives his murderers. Having the ability to forgive those who have taken your life away is remarkable. He will never be able to see anyone that he loved again but he does not think of it in that way. In fact, he is much more mature than his neighbors, because rather than hating them the way they hated him, he chose to see beyond that. After reading Bruce Weigl’s “Song of Napalm” I was distraught at the image of the little girl burning alive. When I finished the poem I was able to see the remorse he felt and the willingness to be strong for his wife. The picture I was able to create of the little girl was unbearable seeing as how I have a strong passion for children. I wanted nothing more than to believe that she had flown away and was rid of all her pain. “So I can keep on living, So I can stay here beside you” (Weigl lines 28-29). The amount of willpower it takes to try and forget such a dirty deed is astonishing. The power of love always seems to rise above all others.
Nabokov thinks that imagination, a dictionary, an artistic sense, and a memory all make up a good reader. I do agree with Nabokov. The four items that he lists are all things that contribute to making a good reader. You must have a good imagination to be able to put yourself in the story, relating with characters, situations, and emotions. The reader must have a dictionary to fully understand the text and grasp the whole meaning that the writer intends for the reader. An artistic sense will allow you to see and create all possible angles to come up with what the writer really means. It would do you no good to read without knowing what you read when you are finished. That is where your memory comes into play.
In my opinion, the characteristics of a good reader are basically what Nabokov previously stated with the addition that in order to be a good reader you have to be able to think critically about the text and the story that you are reading. A good reader is able to see all possible angles that the writer may be saying, then evaluates these angles and comes up with a logical reason as to which one is correct.
I consider myself an average reader. I possess two out of the four characteristics Nabokov believed created a good reader. I am able to put myself in the story and relate to the text. I can also retain what I read for later uses.
Maranda Tapia Eng. 101 4-5-10 Essay #3 A Deeper Look Deciding your career path is one of the most difficult decisions that you will ever have to make. There are so many different careers in this world and you can only pick one. A quote that helped me with my decision was, “Find a job that you love and you will never work a day in your life.” I wanted a job that I would look forward to waking up and going to every day and I would never dread it. I have always enjoyed children and I knew that I wanted a career that involved working with them. My first semester in college I took my first psychology class and it was amazing. I talked with my teacher about the possible career opportunities I could venture into and he gave me a lot of great suggestions. It was then that I made my difficult decision on which career path I would want to take, Child Psychology. Child psychology is not a specific degree so I would obtain my degree in counseling psychology and specialize in children. Counseling psychologist’s help people deal with their everyday problems and help improve their quality of life. Helping people feel better about their situations, their problems, and many other things is something I love to do. Walking away from someone knowing that I did whatever I could to put a smile on their face makes me feel like I had just achieved something extraordinary. The feeling I get is a sense of accomplishment and success and that is one of the greatest feelings to me. I enjoy making children laugh and smile and when they do my love for them only grows stronger. If I could do anything within my power to take away a child’s pain I would do it in a heartbeat, even with never meeting the child before. I love knowing I have assisted them in moving past the obstacles in their lives and I have helped give them the power to overcome the burdens that have trapped them in a bad place. The job outlook for psychologists is on the rise but not substantially. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics it is expected to increase 11% through 2018. The competition to be a psychologist depends on the type and degree you have earned. It is said by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that job prospects will be best for those that have a doctorates degree and those with a masters will have a harder time finding jobs. Salaries vary from profession, experience, and degrees, the middle 50 percent earned between $48,700 and $82,800. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $37,900, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $106,840 (Bureau). There are many levels of counseling psychology in which I could enter into and they all require different amounts of schooling. The path that I choose to take is to attain my doctoral degree, which would give me the ability to have my own practice without working under an employer. There is quite a long process I would have to go through in order to achieve my doctorates. First I would have to go through all the basic schooling and get my Associates of Arts degree, which will take two years. Second I would have the choice of obtaining my bachelors degree or my master’s degree, taking another two to four years. My last step would be the hardest and the longest step, getting my doctoral degree, adding on five years. The total amount of time I would be attending school would be nine to ten years. After school I would then go through trying to get my licensure to open up my own practice. After all is said and done my career aspiration would be complete and I would be doing what I love. My career choice has always been one of my most thought about decisions. I always knew that I wanted to help people in their time of need since I was a little girl. I was one to constantly ask what was wrong and I feel like I have this special sense to notice when others are not happy at that moment. After offering them any help that they needed or wanted I felt very content knowing that I made a difference in that person’s life. Children are another thing that make me feel happy and content. Combining the two, psychology and children, would make for a great career and I would enjoy going to work every day of my life. Being a child psychologist would enable me to help children better their lives and develop a trusting relationship with them so I can help them to the fullest potential. I am most certain that I have made the right career choice and I am eager to get started. The biggest controversy that a psychologist faces is the right to prescribe prescription drugs. The debate has been going on for many years now and has still not come to an end. Out of fifty states only two have been granted the right to prescribe drugs, New Mexico and Louisiana. The law states that only psychologists with a PhD in the area of clinical psychology may prescribe prescription drugs. They must be trained in hundreds of hours in pharmacology, physiology, and drug interactions (Mental Health Weekly). Psychologist’s opinions on the subject vary from psychologist to psychologist. Some believe that they should be able to because they are just as qualified as psychiatrists. They say that the medications they are prescribing have everything do with mental health, which they are more than familiar with. Others argue the matter because they say that just because they may be qualified that does not make them a medical doctor. There are many different opinions on the topic and that is what makes it a leading controversy among psychologists.
My opinion on the matter is I would take the side of not allowing psychologists the privilege to prescribe medication for multiple reasons. First of all psychologists are not qualified to prescribe prescription drugs. Allowing them to do so will only decrease the level of safety for patients. Psychologists do indeed go through many years of school but not the required schooling to prescribe medications. They specialize in social and behavioral sciences rather than courses involving the body cavity. The knowledge they would need to attain is the understanding of physiology, chemistry, and the symptoms, risks, and outcomes that all drugs are capable of. The education that is supposed to be equal to other prescriptive authorities does not equal one and the same. The requirements to become a prescribing psychologist are highly toned down and not made as serious as it should be. Psychologists would have to undergo two years of additional learning which is done on their own time in the evening, weekend, or home courses (Dombeck). Psychologists do not know the effects of the medications they will be giving to their patients and the seriousness and expertise involved when prescribing the mental health drugs. Mental health drugs are among the most powerful in modern medicine. The risks involved can lead to serious health problems or even death (Dombeck). Another reason that we do not need to grant psychologists the right to prescribe medications is simply because we already have enough prescribing professionals that are capable of doing so. Giving psychologists this privilege would only create unnecessary work for a psychologist. On a more serious matter this would also raise health care costs. Due to this raise it would flow over to the taxpayers and their patients. Additionally, it would inflate psychologists’ liability insurance. With our economy not being in the best condition at this time I am sure that people will not be willing to pay these increases. These are all things that we as a society could do without. Those that are for the right for psychologists to prescribe prescription drugs argue that they know just as much about these medications as those who prescribe it. Psychologists work with mental health drugs from a day to day basis regarding their clients. They have to be familiar with what their patient is taking and the effects it has. Another point is psychologist see their patients more frequently than a psychiatrists who rarely sees them. Many psychologists claim they have been through the proper schooling and deserve the right to have the privilege of prescribing mental health medications (Charushila). To be able to have this right they would have to go through the proper schooling just as those who are able to prescribe. They then would have the same qualification as any other prescribing professional, equaling the authority. Those that are against the right to prescribe prescription drugs argue that psychologists are not qualified in the field of prescription drugs. They debate that they specialize in relating to patients with mental health problems not the treatment of mental health problems. Those that have the authority to prescribe these medications have a great amount of training in this area. They have undergone many years of schooling to gain this expertise in which psychologists have not. Another claim is that there is no need for psychologists to be entering this medical area. There are no signs of shortage of prescribing professionals. If psychologists are granted the right to prescribe mental health medications then they will start to take out those professions that already have this privilege (Dombeck). There are many arguments that go against the right to prescribe prescription drugs and all are rational and logical. The need for allowing psychologists to prescribe prescription drugs is unnecessary and unwarranted. There are already plenty of prescribing professionals in place that have gone through the proper training, licensure, and practice. Passing on this right to psychologists would only uncover many avoidable issues and controversies that do not need to be uncovered. The system that is in place now has worked well and adding psychologist into the mix of prescribing professionals would only cause problems. I believe that if psychologists feel the need to be qualified to prescribe drugs to their patients, they need to go back and get the proper schooling and certification to do so. Many of the most credible associations of psychology agree that they do not want this privilege and are not encouraging this to be passed.
This video was very helpful with my topic of controversy. It gave a lot of points of view as to why Psychologists should able to prescribe prescription drugs. I could most definitely use this information in my essay.
This video shows the bill for psychologists to be able to prescribe prescription drugs being proposed. The video discusses many valid points for the allowance for this this action. It emphasises how there are very few psychiatrists and allowing psychologists to prescribe medications would increase the mental health of our society.
From the interview I did learn as much as I would have liked to. This is due to the fact that I did not really ask specific questions only broad questions. However, I did get some great advice from the interviewees’ responses. He gave me a lot of good advice about my desired profession that I will carry on with me into my schooling and my career. These tips will be extremely helpful throughout my schooling and I my career if I choose to make use of them. For essay purposes, I do not think that I will use much from the interview, maybe one or two things. The interviewee is a very reliable source coming from years and years of being around psychology. He has conducted many researches, been in different fields around psychology, and also teaches it now. This interview was helpful, but I plan to ask him more questions at a later time.
All Psychology Careers. Web. 07 Apr. 2010. . The creditability for this site seems to be very good but I am not very familiar with this particular site to know for a fact. The two are often confused and said to be the same, when in fact they are totally different. Before I found this website I completely lost and very confused about which to choose. There is also a lot of information about the career. On this page there are links that will lead you to other sites that are helpful as well. This site also offers a video on counseling psychology that talks about how hard the career is but is worth it because of the joy you get out of helping someone. Helping others out, especially children was exactly what my goal was in picking a career. I will be able to use little information in my essay that comes from this site, it was more a personal learning experience.
American Psychological Association. APA. Web. 01 Apr. 2010. . In this source the organization gives a lot of information about psychology. There are many different tabs that you can access depending on the information that you are looking for. The thing that I found most interesting was the career portion on the site. The career parts gave me a lot of information and actually lead me to my final decision in career choice in psychology. The site is not very appealing in the sense of color and being catching the reader’s eye. However all the information that it gives makes it appealing. I am learning a lot about psychology that I never knew before from this site. I am planning on using a lot of the material I read on this page in my background part of the paper.
EBSCO. 17 May 2004. Web. 07 Apr. 2010. . This database will be really helpful with writing my essay. It deals with the controversy of whether or not psychologists should be able to prescribe prescription drugs. So far psychologists are only allowed to do this in two states out of fifty. There a lot of controversy’s about the topic that has been dealt with over the years. Many psychologists don’t even want this privilege. Although those that are allowed in New Mexico and Louisiana are making almost twice as much money as they did before. Many do not like the idea because they say that psychologists are not qualified to prescribe drugs to anyone. This source have great credibility because it is from a health magazine and is strictly facts.
Garbagnati, Alfred. Personal interview. 5 March 2010
This interview was helpful but I felt like I would have gotten more out if it if I knew exactly what I wanted to ask him. I had some ideas of what I wanted to know but nothing specific. I feel like the specifics are the things that I need to know right now. This is very reliable source because he had been around psychology for years and years and knows so much about it. He helped my see the pros and con’s and what I would need to focus on the most in the schooling process. For essay purposes I don’t think that I would be able to use anything that he said because it was too general, but for personal purposes he gave me a clearer understanding. One of the things that stood out the most was he told me that you are only responsible for what you can control. Going into the psychology world I think that this will be a really important aspect to understand.
1. http://www.apa.org/ The American Psychological Association has been around for more than 100 years. With 150,000 members and is continually increasing. APA, is the largest organization for psychologists in the world. The organization is based out of Washington DC. Their mission is to increase psychology as a science, a profession, and a method to encourage human welfare and health. I found this site really intriguing and could spend hours searching through all the information that is presents. Just by skimming the site I have already learned so much more about this field. The site includes categories such as; About APA, Psychology Topics, Publications, Psychology Help Center, News and Events, Research, Education, and Careers. There are many resources that I could definitely use to my advantage on this webpage.
2. http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/03/23/why-psychologists-shouldnt-prescribe/ This blog gives no personal information about the author, only lists his name. With it being an opinion blog I would have to find others sources that would solidify my findings. However, this blog will provide me with a very good insight of the topic on psychology and prescribing drugs. This is well known controversy to psychologists. Some really want this privilege and others are not particularly interested it in. This blog states that if psychologists were able to prescribe prescription drugs they would double the money that they earn with only two more years of schooling. The page also has others opinions on the matter that would be of use to me. Along the sides on the page are also more links to other blogs that are related to the world of psychology. This page will be helpful to me in numerous ways. I will be able to use many of the sources that it provides.
3. http://education-portal.com/articles/Child_Psychology_Certification_Program_Summary.html This article does not list an author that I saw. It was not your ordinary article either. The format was much like that of a regular webpage. However, it was very helpful in learning about the field of psychology. It gave a lot of school information, like the time frame and the courses and the skills that you need. It also gives a brief job description outlining the things a child psychologist would do. It goes on to list the salaries of a child psychologist, saying that the higher your degree the more you get paid. It moves to the job outlook, only making me realize more that obtaining my doctorates degree would give me the best advantage. I can tell that this website will be really helpful and offer me a lot of useful information.
4.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology This is a Wikipedia source, I know that the information is not completely reliable bit it gives a lot of information about psychology. It would take some work to prove that the site is creditable because it is such a free maintained site. It gives a list of references at the bottom of the page making it more reliable. I really liked how the site outlined the information in a way that you can just click on it and it takes you to that specific topic. This information is up to date and current, being recently revised on March 8 of 2010. The site contains information on the history, careers fields, controversies, research methods, and external links for additional information. I enjoyed reading about the criticism of psychology because before this assignment I was not aware of all the negative ideas about the topic. This site will be helpful, but not as much as the other sites I listed above.
I have been back and forth between many different careers in the past few years. I have always known that I wanted to do something that involved helping others, although I was never really sure what it would be exactly. Then, as the years went by I developed a strong love for children and a love for interacting with them. After realizing my passion for this, I began looking at different areas in which I thought I could succeed. In my last semester I took a psychology class and I absolutely loved it! The connection with the teacher was awesome and I was able to relate to the material very well, which helped me understand it even better. Now, I have absolutely set in stone on becoming a child psychologist. It is exactly what I am looking for, involving children and giving me the ability to help them in so many different ways. Doing this assignment will help me learn all about the field of child psychology. I hope to learn exactly what courses I should take, how long it is going to take to become a child psychologist, and how many different fields there are in this particular area. I am really excited to begin the education I will need to achieve in order to obtain my goal. I am even more excited to get start my career as a child psychologist.
ter in Sedona. The film was called Mother and Child. The show was about a mothers love for her children. There were multiple stories throughout the film that all dealt with the subject. One family was not able to bear a child of their own. Another had a child at fourteen and gave her up for adoption. The last story was about a young woman that slept around and ended up pregnant. These stories seemed to make me think back to the book we read in class, The Handmaid’s Tale.
