Spicy Foods vs. Sweet Foods

Sweet and spicy foods are two completely different types of tastes. Sweet food has the flavor of sugar. Sugar is what makes sweet food sweet. In contrast, spicy food has little to no sugar and if it does then it can not be detected. As its name suggests, spicy food usually has a mixture of spices. When you eat sweet foods you stimulate your taste buds in a different way then when you eat spicy foods. Sweet foods such as chocolate or cake taste sugary  and smooth. It is, no pun intended and for the lack of a better word, a sweet taste. In contrast spicy foods can create that sense where you are dying for water. Spicy foods are the ones that leave you sucking in air to rid yourself of the strangely addicting burn in your mouth. Spicy foods are the ones that leave your tongue tingling. When you compare a lollipop to a jalapeno the difference is pretty clear. One is a ball of sugar and one is a mouth full of hot. The same thing applies to a pie and Spicy gumbo. The pie satisfies the sweet tooth while the spicy gumbo satisfies your need for "pop". Sweet foods are more delicate in taste while spicy food have an added "bam" to it. In both cases, sweet and spicy foods satisfy the hunger of many people and when combined, at times, can create a beautiful neutral dish.

How Weather Affects My Mood

Weather definitely has the power to affect my mood. On sunny days everything looks bright and rays come in through the cracks in the window. Due to the bright nature of a sunny day, I too feel bright and full of energy. The sunny weather makes me want to be outside and awake. However, sometimes when it is extremely hot I feel irritable and wish I could just be in a pool all day. In contrast, cloudy weather is the complete opposite. When it is cloudy, everything looks gray and dark. Because of this I too feel gloomy. I feel like being inside the house and sleeping all day. The nature outside doesn't seem to be awake and thus I end up feeling sleepy. On rainy days the drops of water make a splish splashy sound. Sometimes, not always, this makes me want to go outside and play in the rain. I want to feel the rain on my skin. Other times it makes me want to stay inside and stay warm under a blanket. When the weather forecast is heavy winds I sometimes feel like being outside just to feel the wind move through my hair. Other times, since I see the trees almost in a wrestling battle with the wind, I feel like staying safe inside my house where everything is peaceful and calm. I don't necessarily feel these ways every time the weather changes. While weather has the power to affect my mood it does not always do so.

Public Schooling vs. Homeschooling

Public Schooling and Homeschooling are two completely different experiences. On both occasions, material is being taught and learning is being done. Material for the appropriate grade level is being taught to the child in the corresponding grade. With that said, almost everything else is different. When it comes to public schooling you can expect there to be a lot of children. There are children from various age ranges, in various grades. In contrast, when it comes to homeschooling you can expect only one child. While homeschooling is not only limited to one child, the majority of children home schooled in one household most likely does not exceed five. Homeschooling is chosen by some parents because of the extra attention a child receives. In public school the ratio of students to teaches is probably about 30:1. On the contrary the ratio of students to teacher in homeschooling is about 1:1. there is a huge difference in these ratios and the attention a teacher can give to a particular student depends on these numbers. Thus, children in homeschooling benefit from a one on one student- teacher relationship. What homeschooling does not have that public schooling does is the opportunity for social interaction and social growth. Public schooling is also free while home schooling under most circumstances has to be paid for. When it comes to public schooling vs. homeschooling, both have much to offer, both have a few cons, and both are up to the parents to decide.

Allowances

Semester Essay # 6 Prompt 5

Many Parents give children a weekly or monthly allowance regardless of their behavior because they believe an allowance teaches children to be financially responsible. Other parents only give children an allowance as a reward for completing chores or when they have behaved properly. Explain what you think parents should do and why.

            Regardless on what condition or to what standards a child receives an allowance, receiving an allowance at all is a privilege. Not every child receives an allowance but most if not all would not mind one. However, I believe an allowance can teach valuable lessons and for that reason I think an allowance should be earned. An allowance should not be given regardless of a child’s behavior. An allowance should be given as a reward for completing chores asked and for showing exemplary behavior.

            An allowance can teach a child a lot about the world that will come running at them in just a couple of years. It will teach them financial responsibility, and with that point alone I argue nothing. Financial responsibility in an unstable financial world is a necessity. Without financial responsibility, the chances of a person living with as little debt as possible are impossible. My argument comes in when parents continue to give children an allowance without having them earn it on the sole reason of financial responsibility. In the real world money will not be handed to them every week by people for no reason at all. It would be great to have a world where money is given out every week for free but the reality is that in the real world you will have to earn money. Basically if you want money you will have to work for it. That is a fact of life for all working class people so why not start teaching a child that from the beginning, and what better way than by having them earn their allowance.  When parents have their children do chores in order to receive an allowance, the children learn that they have to work to receive money.

            Parents should also give an allowance if the children behave properly. If a child behaves horribly and still receives an allowance they learn that they can do whatever they want and still get money. Growing up with this state of mind will get a child into a lot of trouble and ultimately cost them a great, successful future. In the working world, if you behave horribly at your job you are fired. If you do not listen to your boss and respond with negative comments you are fired. For this reason an allowance should be given if and only if the child behaves properly. It is better to teach a child that bad behavior gains nothing by not giving them an allowance when they act terrible, than have them face the consequences when they grow up and learn this lesson the hard way. Overall, the lessons that come with making a child earn their allowance benefits them more than not making them earn it. Making a child work for his or her allowance is better parenting and will account for better children.

Understanding vs. Knowledge

As written in dictionary.com, understanding is the mental process of a person who comprehends while knowledge is the acquaintance of facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation. Both understanding and knowledge are mental process a person makes. However, I believe there is a difference. For you to understand something, there must be a "click" in your mind. for example if you see a rose flower with thorns on the stem and someone tells you that thorn hurts, it is easy for something to click in your mind and you to see the sharpness to the thorn and understand that that thorn can hurt you. However, you do not know how much it could hurt you or what the degree of pain is. That comes from knowledge because the only way you can find out exactly how much it hurts is by experiencing it yourself.  Understanding comes from the mind while knowledge comes from an act. In other words you do not need knowledge to understand. You can understand something first and then choose whether you want to investigate it and become knowledgeable on the particular subject. Having knowledge is going beyond what a normal person would understand in a subject. Understanding and knowledge can work together or they can stand alone. Either way both are important.

An Especially Interesting Person

I know many interesting people and for that I am grateful, but the most recent interesting person in my life is my niece, Grace. She is six months old and adorable. The reason I say she is interesting is because I can never tell what she is truly thinking. I guess that is a quality of babies that makes them especially interesting. You could always take a guess at what goes on in their mind but until they can talk there is no way of knowing for sure. Making Grace laugh is one of the greatest feelings. I have narrowed it down to three reasons. One she either laughs because she thinks what I did was funny, two she laughs of nerves, and three she thinks I'm crazy. Whatever the answer is the laugh is worth it. Sometimes I feel I am so close to making Grace laugh but she just won't. I start jumping around and making faces and tickling her. She will laugh and make little squeaks that lets you know she is so close to laughing but then she somehow makes it stop. Grace is interesting because she is so interested in everything. She wants to touch every thing and then put it in her mouth. She has even tried to bite my cheek once or twice or she will stare at something for a long time and I wonder what she is thinking. Other times she can't stop looking around. It is interesting to contemplate the way Grace sees the world.

Effective Teacher

I have been lucky enough to encounter various effective teachers throughout my years in school. One of the most effective teachers I have ever had is my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Evans. Mr. Evans was the teacher for gifted students at Bennett Kew Elementary School. I came into the school year late because I had just moved to Inglewood from Echo Park. When I got to his class, that first day was horrible. True to the gifted part, the class was way ahead in the curriculum than I was in my old school. I did not know if I would be able to catch up but Mr. Evans told me to keep going. Mr. Evans was a effective teacher because he made learning fun. He would have us play games, sing songs in the morning, and earn bear bucks. Nevertheless, he constantly expected the best from his students. I personally feel he made math easy to understand and quite enjoyable. Reading was a pleasure in his class. There was even a competition when it came to reading books from a list. I felt I would never come close to winning the competition and at the end of the school year I took first place in the accelerated Reading Competition. He gave rewards for good manners. One time I remember he was passing out pretzels to the class. I was the only one to say thank you and I got five extra pretzels. After that everyone always remembered to say thank you. Mr. Evans even had a class game of pushing chairs in the desks. When a student got up they were supposed to push their chair into their desk. if they failed to do so, another student from another group could get up and push the chair in for the other student. Thus the student who failed to push in their chair would lose a point for their group while the student who pushed in the chair would get a point for their group. Mr. Evans was a great effective teacher.