Texts to be memorized:

Sample #2 Is Google Making Us Stupid?

YES
Who doesn't love Google? In the blink of an eye, the search engine delivers useful
information about pretty much any subject imaginable. I use it all the time, and I'm
guessing you do too. But I worry about what Google is doing to our brains. What
really makes us intelligent isn't our ability to find lots of information quickly. It's
our ability to think deeply about that information. And deep thinking, brain
scientists have discovered, happens only when our minds are calm and attentive.
The greater our concentration, the richer our thoughts. If we're distracted, we
understand less, remember less, and learn less. That's the problem with Google—
and with the Internet in general. When we use our computers and our cellphones
all the time, we're always distracted. The Net bombards us with messages and other
bits of data, and every one of those interruptions breaks our train of thought. We
end up scatterbrained. The fact is, you'll never think deeply if you're always
Googling, texting, and surfing. Google doesn't want us to slow down. The faster
we zip across the Web, clicking links and skimming words and pictures, the more
ads Google is able to show us and the more money it makes. So even as Google is
giving us all that useful information, it's also encouraging us to think superficially.
It's making us shallow. If you're really interested in developing your mind, you
should turn off your computer and your cellphone—and start thinking. Really
thinking. You can Google all the facts you want, but you'll never Google your way
to brilliance.
NO
Any new information technology has both advocates and critics. More than 2,000
years ago, the classical Greek philosopher Socrates complained that the new
technology of writing "will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls because they
will not use their memories." Today, Google is the new technology. The Internet
contains the world's best writing, images, and ideas; Google lets us find the
relevant pieces instantly. Suppose I'm interested in the guidance computers on
Apollo spacecraft in the 1960s. My local library has no books on that specific
subject—just 18 books about the Apollo missions in general I could hunt through
those or turn to Google, which returns 45,000 pages, including a definitive
encyclopedia article and instructions for building a unit. Just as a car allows us to
move faster and a telescope lets us see farther, access to the Internet's information
lets us think better and faster. By considering a wide range of information, we can
arrive at more creative and informed solutions. Internet users are more likely to be
exposed to a diversity of ideas. In politics, for example, they are likely to see ideas
from left and right, and see how news is reported in other countries. There's no
doubt the Internet can create distractions. But 81 percent of experts polled by the
Pew Internet Research Project say the opportunities outweigh the distractions.
Socrates was wrong to fear the coming of the written word: Writing has improved
our law, science, arts, culture, and our memory. When the history of our current age
is written, it will say that Google has made us smarter—both individually and
collectively—because we have ready and free access to information.

Argumentative Essay Work Sheet

Single Parent Struggle
For many years, children growing up in a single parent family have been viewed
as different. Being raised by only one parent seems impossible to many yet over
the decades it has become more prevalent. In today’s society many children have
grown up to become emotionally stable and successful whether they had one or
two parents to show them the rocky path that life bestows upon all human beings.
The problem lies in the difference of children raised by single parents versus
children raised by both a mother and a father. Does a child need both parents?
Does a young boy need a father figure around? Does the government provide help
for single parents? What role do step-parents and step-siblings play? With much
speculation, this topic has become a very intriguing argument. What people must
understand is that properly raising a child does not rely on the structure of a family
but should be more focused on the process or values that are taught to these
children as they learn to mature. Children of single parents can be just as
progressive with emotional, social and behavioral skills as those with two parents.
People claim that the only way for children to gain full emotional and behavioral
skills is to be raised by both a mother and a father. When a topic such as this one
has a broad number of variables it is impossible to simply link these problems to
only having one parent. In the article, “Single-parent families cause juvenile
crime”, author Robert L. Maginnis states, “Children from single-parent families are
more likely to have behavior problems because they tend to lack economic security
and adequate time with parents”. The simple statement that raw criminals are
products of single-parent adolescence is absurd. What this writer must understand
is that it can be extremely difficult for one parent to raise a child by themselves for
many reasons. A single-parent must work full time to be able to afford to provide
for themselves and their child. They must also be able to still have time to offer an
exuberant amount of emotional time for the well-being of their child. However,
even though this may seem impossible, it can be done.
As this subject continues to be looked down on people must realize that single
parents are becoming more common in today’s world. Since 1995 the American
family structure for children ages fourteen to eighteen consists of forty-two percent
living in a first marriage family with both parents, twenty-two percent living in a
second marriage step-family, twenty-one percent living in a single parent, divorced
or separated family, six percent living in a single parent never married family and
three percent living in a single parent widowed family. This is an extremely scary
statistic considering that fifty eight percent of children in America are living in a
single parent family. This is a chilling percentage because it shows how little faith
is put into a relationship before actually deciding to have children. Unfortunately,
not all single-parents take the time to perform the vital tasks needed to raise their
children. Parents who think they would never be able to provide emotional stability
for their children by themselves should have taken the time to think this through
before deciding to become parents. Accidents may happen once in a while but in
most cases, adults know what is at stake when planning to have a child. Plain and
simple, if you’re not ready, then don’t do it. If you do decide to have this child and
you love this child, then you can be a good parent. There are many ways to
enhance the well-being of your child if you simply apply yourselves as parents.
Maginnis later states that, “Boys who do not have fathers as male role models
suffer especially”. While it is extremely important for a male child to have his
father around, there are other ways of teaching a young boy the lessons he needs to
become a man. I know from personal experience that what the author of this article
is trying to convey is wrong. I never had my father around while growing up and I
did in fact have many positive male role models. My Grandfather was always there
to help guide me as I slowly blossomed into a young man. Anytime my mother had
to work to support us, my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins would step up
and provide the time and attention I needed. Therefore, I had the best support
group I could have had as a young man. Being a child with a single mother had its
benefits. Although I came to find how hard it really was for her to always meet the
needs of her child, she did the best job that she possibly could and gave me the
knowledge that I needed to become a successful man without the guidance of my
father.
I did however have the experience of dealing with a step-parent. Today, twenty
five percent of all-American children will spend at least some time of their
growing-up years in a stepfamily. This seems fine for single parents because they
feel like they can start over in a new relationship and receive help from their
spouse both emotionally and financially. A step-parent can cause confusion and
emotional stress on the child since they have just had to adjust to only one parent
and now have to adjust to a new parental figure stepping into the family role.
Another factor of bringing a step-parent into a single family’s life is new step-
siblings to get along with. It might not be justified for a stepparent to punish their
step-child like they would their own flesh and blood. As long as both parents have
an understanding that their family comes first and that it is important to
communicate between themselves and with the children, a step-family could
survive.
Children who are raised with both a mother and a father have more attention
from both parents therefore they get the emotional time they need to progress in
life. This could be true but not in all circumstances. It would not be beneficial at all
to grow up in a two-parent family who did nothing but argue and put each-other
down. Naturally, a child who sees this from a very young age until they are ready
to be out on their own would only follow in the footsteps of all that they have ever
known. Children who are raised by one parent who devotes their time and emotion
into their child would benefit much more than a child who has both parents
showing them that fighting and arguing is acceptable.
Not all families are lucky enough to have a healthy structure. It is important for
society and government aids to notice these structural differences and take action.
There should be government funded programs to help assist single-parent families
with childcare and finances for parents who must work and still have time for their
children.
Whether it’s a mother and a father, a single mother, or a single father, children
need guidance. They will only become a product of what they are taught from a
young age and these children are deeply affected emotionally by the amount of
love and compassion that is put into raising them. Whichever family structure is
implied it must be one of respect and strong moral values that they can someday
pass on to their family.