Blog Posts

Since Looks Can Kill

11/12/2017

"Beauty is only skin deep." It is in the "eye of the beholder." But when the eye is a camera lens and the beholder is a multi-billions in advertising and fashion dollars, then beauty is defined by eating disorders/mental illnesses that dictate society must be thin.

There are a few game changers. Plus-size yoga instructor, Jessamyn Stanley, urges women "to fight skinny stereotypes...no matter what their shape or size," and Sarah Rae Vargas is big, bold and beautiful.

Nevertheless, with so many strides in reshaping other "societal norms," the definition of beauty is still heavily debatable.

Click on the image to read the article. Look at all the images as well. Then, comment on the following prompt: How much responsibility does the media have in defueling society's image of beauty?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

You MUST respond to at least TWO other posts from any student. Your replies cannot be identical comments on different posts and posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will earn you a zero. Make sure your reply addresses the comment that you are responding to.

These are blog posts, not essays. Your responses should not be lengthy. Be concise. Make your point, and move on.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

CAUTION!! Do NOT embarrass me, yourself, your class, the English department, the school or your parents with tasteless, meaningless comments. This is for a grade.

Due: Fri., Nov. 17, 2017 11:59 p.m. CST

Guns. Who's Controlling?

11/5/2017

Texas is notorious for its big image. Big hats. Big trucks. Big food portions. And, big numbers of murder victims from mass shootings with big guns. The latest? A mass church shooting.

There is something terribly wrong in a world where people feel like they have the absolute right to walk inside a church, a movie theater, a concert..or anywhere..and kill people.

That's exactly what happened Sunday morning. As churchgoers clutched Bibles, prayed, worshiped God and pronounced their faith, a gunman walked inside and, with a big Texas-size gun, murdered more than 20 people in cold blood.

No one knows why he did it. It doesn't matter why he did it. Knowing why may help to wrap your mind around things, but ultimately, "why" is not a problem solver, resurrecter or bandage. It doesn't heal the hurt. It simply adds to the coffin of carnage that, once and for all, needs to be laid to rest when a solution is reached on what to do about guns, or people with guns.

As the smoking guns cool from the mass murders committed with them in this country, what will we do and who will we blame? The guns? The people with guns? The government?

Comment on the following prompt: To what extent do gun control laws really protect people from being killed by guns?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

You MUST respond to at least TWO other posts from any student. Your replies cannot be identical comments on different posts and posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will earn you a zero. Make sure your reply addresses the comment that you are responding to.

These are blog posts, not essays. Your responses should not be lengthy. Be concise. Make your point, and move on.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

Low-fat Pig

10/31/2017

According to news reports, Chinese scientists have genetically modified pigs and "created" pigs with 24% less body fat than normal pigs. The plan is to make pig meat less expensive and "healthier" for human consumption, so they genetically modified pig genes with rat genes to make their body temperatures rise in colder weather. Slimmer pigs? Healthier meat: bacon, pork, ham and pork rinds.

Comment on the following prompt: To what extent should scientists manipulate genes to create genetically modified foods for the sake of artificially "fixing" the health of humans, instead of encouraging exercise?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to TWO classmate's posts. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

The Struggle is Real

10/23/2017

According to Winston Groom, "Life is like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're going to get." But what if you did? What if life was always exciting and rewarding? Could you still be happy? What about pain? Suffering? Heartache? Sadness? Are those emotions essential to living completeness? How would you grow? What would you learn from a life full of bliss? Do you need to struggle? Hmm..you decide.

Instructions. Comment on the following prompt: Is struggle essential to happiness? How or Why?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to TWO classmate's posts. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

#MeToo | #itwasme

10/17/2017

October 16-20 is Domestic Violence Awareness Week. All week long, people have been wearing purple in support, and social media has been flooded with stories about domestic assault, followed by the hastag, #MeToo.

First, the Harvey Weinstein scandal, then Alyssa Milano posted this on Twitter:

And women did it.

Then today, Roy Price, the head of Amazon Studios, resigned after allegations of sexual assault in the workplace were exposed.

Since, a firestorm of stories about women being sexually assaulted have blazed the Internet. To read these stories is stunning. Women are publicly exposing their abusers in unprecedented numbers. As of Monday, Twitter reported more than half a million #MeToo tweets.

Women have had enough.

Finally, women have forced a conversation about sexual harassment/abuse that is difficult to stay quiet about. Shockingly, even abusers are taking responsibility for their crimes, writing about them on social media with the hashtag #itwasme.

People have had enough.

Comment on the following prompt: What do you think will be the impact of women (and men) coming forth on social media about sexual abuse? Do you think it is necessary to expose those kind of truths on the Internet?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to TWO classmate's posts. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

Image Reflection

10/10/2017

In order to prevent swaying your opinion one way or the other, I've decided to let you give me your thoughts before I give mine.

The image above is a Dove ad that the company ran to "highlight the fact that all skin deserves gentleness."

Instructions. Analyze the image above then answer the following question: What do you think about the ad? Ready...go!

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to TWO classmate's posts. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

Call A Spade A...Diamond?

10/2/2017

According to several news publications, in his possession, Stephen Paddock had 42 guns, lots of explosives and "several thousand rounds of ammunition." With some of these weapons, Paddock mortally wounded 59 people and severely injured more than 500.

However, as heinous as his crime was, it earned him the labels "lunatic," "psychopath," "crazed," "evil," "the gunman," "lone gunman," "desperate," a "lone-wolf," and many other woe-is-me type names. Also, pictures of Paddock and his family and girlfriend depict...a victim. Yet, unequivocally, not one media outlet will call him what he truly was: a terrorist.

Facts: all over social media, many people are expressing anger about the delicacy with which Paddock is being portrayed because they believe that had he been black or brown, the worst depictions of him would have been plastered all over social and traditional media within minutes of the massacre. They believe news stories would have ended with, "We'll update this story as more information becomes available," not waiting to report what's factual versus the character they want to present.

Something is seriously wrong in this country. And lately, with peaceful protests being defined as disrespectful, mothers being called SOBs by the free-world's leader, and racial injustice at its peak, America's makeup is starting to run and no one seems to know what to do about it. Do you?

Comment on the following prompt: How does the media's portrayal of cultural representations and practices influence society's behavior?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to TWO classmate's posts. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

Conspiracy or Coincidence?

9/24/2017

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

According to the Natural News online news publication, "nearly every 'official source' is constantly lying to the public" about medicine, agriculture, geology and of course, meteorology.

Oddly, a plethora of hurricanes and earthquakes have occurred in places that, hauntingly, the United States have issue with: Mexico and Korea. Some experts say it is likely that these "natural disasters" are not natural at all, but instead, man-made phenomena.

With reports revealing that weather weaponization technology is real, and the United States Government recognizes and has granted 175 patents on weather modification/weaponization technology, is it possible that the US has secretly launched geological warfare on these countries? What information does there exist that proves or disproves this theory? Hmm..you decide.

Instructions. Comment on the following prompt: To what extent are the hurricanes and earthquakes, that have recently occurred, geological coincidences or geological conspiracies?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to TWO classmate's posts. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

....Rules the Nation?

9/17/2017

Instructions: On one hand, there's police brutality, gang violence, violence against teens and corporate corruption. Then on the other, there are neighbors helping each other through hurricanes and earthquakes and a police officer buying diapers for a woman accused of stealing them. In either case, read and think about the quote above. Is it true or not? Explain your answer.

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

True or False?

9/10/2017

Instructions: Defend or challenge whether the statement above is true and provide an explanation for your answer.

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than FIVE sentences and no less than FIVE. You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

The Hate You Give...

9/5/2017

camMother Nature seems full of hate these days! Over the past few weeks, we've witnessed the devastation of Hurricane Harvey on Houston, Texas and all the surrounding areas it tangled with. Now, his side-kick, Irma, is on her way to Florida.

Instructions: Predict what you think is going to happen when Irma hits land. Do you think they are ready? Is the economy, residents and oil industry ready? Are we ready? How do you think it will impact Florida and the rest of the United States?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

After the Storm: Hurricane Harvey

8/31/2017

Instructions: One of the key elements of social responsibility is being knowledgeable about the world around you AND being able to form a well-educated position about topics that impact society, globally. The goal of this assignment is not to update you on the happenings, but to increase your knowledge of news media, expand your vocabulary, and help you form a world view. Watch the video above then provide an analysis about what you saw.

INCLUDE: Last name, first initial AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to a classmate's post. Do not post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will earn a zero. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

To Be Or Not To Be...

8/24/2017

Instructions: Since different cultures have different moral codes, there is no objective "truth" in morality. Right and wrong are only matters of opinion and opinions vary from culture to culture. To that end, defend or challenge whether the confederate statues should be removed.
INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

It Could Happen to You...

5/10/2017

Instructions: Look at this explanation of gentrification. Gentrification is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district's character and culture. The term is often used negatively, suggesting the displacement of poor communities by rich outsiders. But the effects of gentrification are complex and contradictory, and its real impact varies.

Gentrification has been the cause of painful conflict in many American cities, often along racial and economic fault lines. Neighborhood change is often viewed as a miscarriage of social justice, in which wealthy, usually white, newcomers are congratulated for "improving" a neighborhood whose poor, minority residents are displaced by skyrocketing rents and economic change.

Next, look at all three of the videos I've put links to below to get a glimpse of what happens when people ban together:

Artist Activism
Social Change

Change Agent

Then, I want you to deconstruct each video by either talking aloud with friends and family, taking mental notes or talking out loud to yourself. To deconstruct, ask yourself the following questions:

What are the people in each video saying?
Why is what they are doing important?
What do you think about what they are saying?
What is the one thing the people in each video have in common?
There is a difference between being awake and being woke. What is it?

Consider this: Are you part of the Walking Dead? That means, you are a participant in the victimization of people when you don't do anything to help.

Now, click on the image above and look at the videos, read the articles, listen to the audio by clicking the three lines on the right. This is what's happening right here in your city, in the community of west Dallas. You can turn your radios to 90.1 and listen or download the KERA app to tune in as you ride, walk, relax, work, etc.

Then know this: THIS IS EXACT SAME THING CAN HAPPEN TO YOU. What WILL you do, to not only save your community, but help your neighbors in West Dallas?

Challenge: Use this link and send me an E-MAIL explaining how you can help your neighbors in West Dallas fight back. Include what you can do to wake up someone's consciousness and change a negative situation that can benefit everyone.

SUBJECT LINE: Mixed Ink: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Note to IB Year 1 & Year 2: This will be your final project. We will consider all of the ideas I receive, then choose and make plans to make the best one happen for a CAS project next year. Any money made from that project will be donated to the TOP listed on the site.

CAUTION!! Do NOT embarrass me, yourself, your class, the English department, the school or your parents with tasteless, meaningless comments. This is for a grade.

Due: Fri., May 19, 2017 11:59 p.m. CST

More In Common Than We Think...

4/19/2017

Instructions: Be inventive and write two questions that would be exceptional ice breakers or conversation starters! Your questions MUST REQUIRE A YES OR NO RESPONSE and they must be related to a social issue.

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

CAUTION!! Do NOT embarrass me, yourself, your class, the English department, the school or your parents with tasteless, meaningless comments. This is for a grade.

Due: Fri., April 28, 2017 11:59 p.m. CST

Don't Talk About It..Be About It

4/12/2017

"You are what you do, not what you say." ~Tuan Haji

Teenagers have the world in front of them by the time they graduate. There is absolutely nothing stopping you, but yourself, from doing whatever you want to do with your life.

Many teens make plans and say they will do one thing or another, but unfortunately, for whatever reason, a year or two later, those plans are collecting dust as distant memories in the back of their minds. What happens?

Instructions: Defend or challenge whether when it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you have done?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than five (5) sentences and no less than five (5). You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

You Ain't Grown til You're Gone

4/2/2017

"A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough." ~Bruce Lee

Instructions: Defend or challenge whether youth, ages 17-19, should be legally forced to get out of their parents home when they feel that they do not have to abide by their rules.

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than five (5) sentences and no less than five (5). You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

Parents and Their Children

3/27/2017

"They say the apple don't fall too far from the tree, but every apple has it own seeds." ~O. S. Hickman

Instructions: Defend or challenge whether parents should be held responsible for the crimes of their children.

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than five (5) sentences and no less than five (5). You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

Women's History Month

3/21/2017

Instructions. Answer the following questions: If you could meet any influential woman, whom would you choose and what three (3) questions would you ask her?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 5 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

Dying to Control...

3/6/2017

Instructions: Click on the image above and read the article it links to. Then, defend or challenge whether we, as a nation, can defend ourselves against bioterrorism. Who do you think the 30 million would affect? Why?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

You Are What You Eat: Part 5/5

2/27/2017

Warning: This video is more than one hour long. You have an entire week to watch it at your leisure. Use your time wisely. This is not your only assignment.

Instructions: Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the information revealed in the video above that whole, organic foods and juices can heal terminal illnesses, and explain your reasoning for the position you take.

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in NO MORE THAN FIVE (5) sentences and no less than three (3). You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

You Are What You Eat: Part 4/5

2/15/2017

Instructions: The young man in this next video researched what foods are going into his body and what they are doing to his body and the environment. Consequently, he has decided to take his health into his own hands. Watch the video by clicking on the image above, then answer the following questions:

How have the videos you've watched during this series made you think about how you and your family eat? Have they made you think about your health two, five and ten years from now? Do you have a plan for better health? What is it? If you don't have a plan, why not and what do you think your consequences will be?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

You Are What You Eat: Part 3/5

2/9/2017

Instructions: In the video, the teens rap about junk food being the main killer of teens, more so than drugs and gun violence. They demand that fast foods and processed foods be taken out of their neighborhood. Watch the video by clicking on the image above, then mosey on over to Canvas and answer the questions that are posted. Click on the link to get there fast: https://lancasterisd.instructure.com/login/ldap

CAUTION!! Do NOT embarrass me, yourself, your class, the English department, the school or your parents with tasteless, meaningless comments. This is for a grade.

Due: Sun., Feb. 12, 2017 11:59 p.m. CST

You Are What You Eat: Part 2/5

1/29/2017

Instructions: Watch the video by clicking on the image above, then answer the following questions:

How do you feel about what Ietef Vita is doing in his community, and what do you think it would take to make the same movement happen in your own? What would be the implication of such a movement happening in your community?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

You Are What You Eat Part 1/5

1/24/2017

Instructions: Watch the video by clicking on the image above, then answer the following question:

Finley argues that gardening can be an incredibly important part of urban life. If so, why is the practice of gardening almost nonexistent in urban neighborhoods and would you be willing to garden? Why or Why not?

INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five. You must also reply to a classmate's post. You cannot post identical comments on different classmates' posts. Posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will not earn you a passing grade. Make sure your posts address the reply that you are responding to.

Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

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Mixed Ink

Mixed Ink is our class blog, the window into our souls. It was designed to improve students' writing, critical thinking and communication skills by giving them a platform to provide meaningful content based on their interpretation of what they see.

Although the students receive a grade based on a rubric for completing this assignment, they are not graded on complexity of thought. This is a place where students of all levels can freely, confidently and creatively express themselves and their opinions in a nonjudgmental platform. They are required to respond to and critique each other, but degradation, slander, lewdness, etc., will not be tolerated.

Bridge Builders

All subjects are vital to learning, but English is the bridge of communication. So let's build the arch, one word at a time...

Grading Rubric

Learning Objectives

Communicate effectively
Be aware of current events
Write concisely
Boost critical thinking skills
Be accountable
Follow directions
Have a voice about what goes on in the world around you