UNIT THREE: Exploration One

Following the research I have done for my community analysis essay, a variety of questions, thoughts and curiosities arose, all of which I believe I can find more information about thru extensive library-research in academic articles and books.

1. Is it beneficial for a child to find his/her birth parents?
The most controversial question regarding the adoption process is whether a child should search for his biological parents.

“Since my parents died I have been feeling rootless and lonely; I have nowhere to turn to. I do not belong. My parents had no relatives and they relied too much on each other… something I feel is missing from my life. I must now know about my blood relations and fine my birthmother… I wouldn’t perhaps feel like this if my parents were alive, but this has become very important for me now, too important to stop.” –Male adoptee.

A child must know that the circumstances of his birth do not reflect on the basic worth of either his biological parents or himself. Adoptees fantasize about birth parents. They fantasize about who they are, where they are, how they look, what kind of family and work life they have, and why they gave them up. Adoptees searching for their biological parents may experience a rollercoaster of emotion; is this risk worth taking?

2. How easy is it to say goodbye to a baby?

Not all birthparents are in the same situation. Most tend to make the generalization that all birthparents are unmarried teenagers. This is not always the case. Placing a child for adoption is a loss along with a long-term impact in birthparents’ lives. The grief that birthparents feel is generally not recognized by those around them, most often because of a mistaken belief that the loss is voluntary and therefore insignificant in that the birthparents choose the adoption route. However, it is not an easy task for birthparents to come out of the closet and share their secret. The secrecy and shame of many years make it difficult to find the confidence to accept this and hold the secret in for years.

There is no time frame for experiencing phases of grief that a birthparent may feel. Individuals differ; events in life can either trigger or inhibit them.

3. How the adoption revolution is transforming America: Society’s view of adoption.

Adoption was at once, a process masked in shame. It is rapidly metamorphosing into a radically new process that is both sweeping the nation and changing it. Prior to Roe versus Wade you couldn’t be an unwed mother. Motherhood was synonymous with marriage. A single woman who became pregnant was shunned by family and friends, evicted from school and sent away to maternity homes to have their children alone. They were told that surrendering their children was by far the best solution, and that doing so would allow them to simply move on and forget.

Adoption affects almost all our lives, whether we realize it or not. But negative stereotypes still remain.

Who Deserves a Head Start

1. When comparing “Who Deserves a Head Start” by Erin Collins to Erin Elmore’s “Pursuing an Educated Mind” both pieces include a piece of history and suggestions of what needs to be done. Collin’s essay takes different stances and looks at the current involvement and what children should be served.

“Since 1965 Head Start has helped more than 15 million children to develop the vital skills needed to become productive citizens of the United States. Yet, what about the other millions of children not able to attend Head Start because the government does not fund every child eligible for the program? To service one million children is the goal for the year 2002. However, why only one million and not everyone?”

Collin’s essay includes more prominent numbers as evidence, where as Elmore’s essay’s is more as to what educators observe as the most effective.

“According to Nancy Kole, Principle at Lee School and Coordinator for the district’s ESL program, ‘The need for such programs in Manhattan has always been present – the students have always been there – but formal entrance and exit tests and ESL evaluations did not start until last year, the 2000-2001 year.”

I see the numbers and the used by Collin to be more effective. She poses many questions that keep the reader engaged and make him/her think. Elmore’s use of an introductory story grabs the reader and shares a piece of the past, making it known that she has a connection to her writing.

I think Elmore’s section on specific programs in the Manhattan area is less effective and may be beneficial information to those that live in the area. It may have been more effective to compare two different areas and the programs offered and results.

Pursuing an Educated Mind

3. The essay provides evidence in number and percentages. Erin Elmore also includes information provided by educators and the programs offered. I think the evidence or opinions of educators about what programs are the most efficient is the most persuasive. However, the numbers supplied is an addition of a realization of the truth.

4. Erin Elmore’s section headings give an introduction to the information that follows. A reader is able to find their way to a particular section that he/she only wishes to know about.

Readings

3) When reading this essay I came across a lot of different sources. They ranged from websites to books to personal interviews. One that really hit home for my was towards the beginning of the essay. It was from Double Talk and it gave a statistic that 2.8 million students didn't speak fluent english. That made it so the reader could realize that this really is a problem. I then went on to read and was looking at the personal interview. Since this was coming from an actual person it persuades me to the argument a lot more then research. 

4) The headings make the paper a lot stronger. One way is that you can go through the essay and find exactly what topic you want to focus on reading about. It also shows all the main points that the writer demonstrates throughout the paper. I think this is a very effective and purposeful way of organizing an essay. 

Exploration 1

 

            While doing all the research for my community analysis essay I realized that surgeons really interest me. I had a lot of questions that arose and many things made me want to learn more! One of the main things that really interested me was the definition and study of malpractice. When ever I talked to anyone else about malpractice they thought it just meant being sued. Through research I actually found out that its much more then that. The research that would be most helpful would be research books and academic articles. By using these I can look up the definition and then read different examples of real surgeons who have had this happen to them.

            Another question that I have involves cancer patients. The whole cancer epidemic really does interest me since there are so many people that are affected by this disease. I am very interested in the research part of surgery. I want to learn more about controversial research options for the treatment of certain cancers. Some ways I would do research is again academic articles and some books. I’m not sure that there will be a lot of books on the new techniques but there may be some on what was used in the past and if they are still practiced now.

            The last question that arose when studying was about the surgical nurses. After observing them for two days I was blown away by the way that they were treated. I think that they should been shown a lot more respect. A lot of my research could come from interview nurses and observing them. Also I could research if there was any type of code that gave nurses certain rights and ways that they needed to be treated. 

Unit 3- Exploration 1--> Researchable Questions

After sifting through all of my research, observations and, previous explorations I came up with a few thought provoking questions. For the most part, I decided to stay in the same vein with breast cancer, but reach outside of the survivors and go into the actual disease.

Question #1) Mammograms (other types of screening) for women under 40?

So first of all, what about the women who have a family history but mammograms aren’t recommended until age 40? What about the woman who doesn’t have a family history and she is the FIRST one to get breast cancer, but by the time she had her first mammo, the cancer is already spreading? It seems as though a blanket age for the first mammo should be lowered. Why not get a baseline of your breast tissue? Then if something does develop, you will be able to see what your “healthy” breasts looked like on x-ray! I feel like this question has a few varying answers but ultimately each doctor has his/her own opinion about the age to start mammograms. Also, the library research probably wouldn’t be terribly solid. I would probably find a lot of varying opinions and different “schools of thought” on this one. I think this topic would be extremely interesting to see if there are other guidelines in the works, if a patient does have a strong family history. I would also be curious to see what the ranging opinions are and why doctors and radiologists have those opinions.

Question #2) Lumpectomy or complete mastectomy?

This might sound really strange but I have often thought about this question. If I found out tomorrow that I had breast cancer and was given the option to have the lump removed or have my entire breast removed—what would I do??? Of course there would be instances, because of the advanced stage of cancer, where the doctor would recommend a double mastectomy. My question would be- what if that isn’t the case, and you had to decide whether or not to be conservative or radical? Do you have a breast removed for peace of mind or do you only remove what is cancerous? If you decide to have a lumpectomy and the cancer comes back again, do you beat yourself up over not removing it on the earlier occasion? For the most part, this is a personal choice.

My great aunts, Marla & Karla (who are twins) were both diagnosed with the exact same type of breast cancer, three weeks apart from one and another! Karla decided she would only have a lumpectomy, so she could return to work sooner. On the other hand Marla decided on a double mastectomy. They both recovered and are now cancer free but it just shows how different a treatment path can be. Although this issue would yield discussion, I feel so much of it would be based completely on opinion. I would definitely be able to compare and contrast with women who have chosen different treatment options. I’m sure I could also find library research to back up both sides but I’m not sure how deep I would be able to go with it. Sure, I could argue one side against the other, but the decision ultimately lies with the woman facing surgery.

Question #3) BRCA 1 & 2- Genetic Testing

Honestly, this topic intrigues me beyond belief! I have personally been researching this topic for almost two years and I am continually discovering new and fascinating information. I am so interested by the many facets this controversy/ issue has to offer. If either the BRCA 1 & 2 genes are found in women, this means they are predisposed to developing breast cancer in their lifetime. If a patient has the BRCA 2 gene, the chance that she will develop breast or ovarian cancer goes up to 85%! What makes me so interested in this is—what do you do with that information? Some women who are testing positive for this particular gene mutation are having prophylactic double mastectomy before they show any sign of cancer. This is highly controversial and rightfully so. I know that I can find many academic sources and can even get a personal interview with a woman who has the BRCA 1 & 2 gene mutation. It has also been in the news, with Christina Applegate, recently having a prophylactic double mastectomy after her BRCA genetic testing. This topic reaches far and wide on a personal level and on a scientific level. There is also the debate about if the genetic testing is ethical, because some Christians believe that a woman shouldn’t alter “God’s plan”. This topic is extremely intriguing and I feel as though since it is relatively new, I will be able to write a good, informative paper.

WCA Reading & Responding

Pursuing an Educated Mind

3) There are several types of evidence used throughout the essay. Personal experience/ observations, reliable print sources a news program "Double Talk", websites and interviews were all used to create a backbone for the essay. In my opinion the personal interview with Nancy Kole is the most persuasive because first hand information proves a point to me in the best, most direct way. Although the "History of Bilingual Education is definitely an important aspect of the essay, it doesn't serve to persuade me to either side of the issue.

4) The bold faced sections heading serve several purposes. It seems to me that the titles draw the reader's attention into the main points. They also help to see the ideas being discussed in the essay, at a glimpse. I also feel as though it adds to the argument, almost like having a table of contents right at your finger tips throughout the essay. Perhaps someone reading the essay disagreed with only one aspect of the argument, that reader could quickly locate the area of interest. It seems the headings are multipurpose.

Who Deserves a Head Start?

1) In comparing the two essays, "Who Deserves a Head Start" and "Pursuing an Educated Mind", I felt as though both did a good job in getting the point across. One specific area where I felt as though the text was rather ineffective in getting the point across was in the "Head Start" essay pg. 325- 3rd paragraph. The author goes into great detail about the hypothetical situation of- "If the government was now to spend an additional 7.37 billion a year....". I felt as though the information was only very slightly important. It didn't seem to matter in the grand scheme of things. In the other essay "Educated Mind", there were many effective points but one that stood out to me was on pg. 283- 3rd & 4th paragraph. The author is focusing on the types of programs that have been implemented, "If students can first understand a concept-- such as the idea of writing....". I felt this was a great way to really break down what the actual program was aiming to do. The way the author described each point, made for a better, well rounded essay with a personal touch added.