Teenage Wasteland by Donna Gaines 

The article “Teenage Wasteland” is about four teenagers who committed a suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning by one of the teens in Bergenfield, New Jersey. The author from this article wanted to know the reasons why these adolescents ended with their lives. But during her investigation she found that something else is wrong with them because they weren't just friends they also had an intimate social bound linking them together, and Gaines tried to go deeply into their personal backgrounds of these teens and what she found is some social problems such as: broken families, drug and alcohol abuse, economic problems, and so on. 

This article written by the author Donna Gaines brings the problem of teens running away of reality and taking the worse decisions for their lives. But this is what society may think, but this is not what it really is. They have been labeled as “burnouts, druggies, and losers” which made them feel isolated and have nothing to do in life. Society has an impact over them and shapes their lives putting them near the bottom academically, economically, and socially. This article reflects the kind of problems that many American families are facing nowadays. That is why is very important to know and understand their behavior in society because behind their attitude, there could be something important role missing, especially played by their parents.

Gaines concludes her article by giving her opinion and the possible reasons why they committed a suicide. She believes that teenage suicide will not go away until their bad lives go away. I think that what they need is just more communication, attention, love, and support especially from their authority (parents). 

Sense and Nonsense about Surveys by Howard Schuman

This article shows us how a survey should be studied, the characteristics and how and why it is important and beneficial.

According to Howard, surveys draw on two human propensities that have served us well from ancient times. One is to gather information by asking questions. The other is to learn about one’s environments by explaining a small part of it which is the basis of sampling.

Howard talks about the history of survey and the right and wrong way to collect data. But what is a survey? According to the book “Intro to Sociology” a survey is a study, generally in the form of an interview or questionnaire that provides researchers with information about how people think and act. Also the survey is an example of quantitative research, which collects and reports data primarily in numerical form.

Surveys involve two districts steps: One is to choose the right information by generating questions, which is an effective way of acquiring more information and greater understanding of all kinds and assuming that a person answers accurately. The other is inclination which is an examination of a small part of the population.  When it is a population sampling, the data or facts should be representative of the entire society and the sample should have sufficient size to guarantee statistical analysis.

Surveys need to follow some steps as mentioned before. It can be from a specific group (sample) or a group as a whole (population), and it has to be analyzed correctly to get a good picture of what society needs or wants. In other words, a good survey needs to be worded by questions to clarify any doubts to determine any conclusion. 

Who am I?

Who am I??

My name is Jhojaira, and I was born on January 29, 1994 in Ecuador. My parents thought me the importance of education. When I lived in Ecuador before coming to the United States, I was educated in a religious school, where they thought me to value life and other important beliefs. These values helped me to grow up as a better person in society. During those years in Ecuador, I represented my school on the basketball team. At the same time, I played an instrument; which was the flute for handicapped children and the elderly. This helped me to be more charitable.

I was thirteen years old when I came to the United States. At the beginning it was very difficult because I grew up in a different country, speaking Spanish. But learning a new language was another challenge for me to face it.

In my school, I was in a class full of people that could only speak Spanish. It was a comforting environment, but it was a situation that kept me from learning to speak English fluently. It was a challenging situation, but I would always put my best foot forward. In this school I have learned to be sociable and interact with those who speak English. Besides that I began to share with other cultures which made me feel excited because I learned from them and they learned from me. 

My main goal is to obtain a strong academic knowledge, and become a Pediatric Nurse. Trying to get a degree in this field is not an easy task, but neither impossible. Once I was in a museum, I saw a quote that says " I cried for a pair of shoes until I saw a child without feet". The famous Ecuadorian painter, Oswaldo Guayasamin, adopted this phrase from the bible and wrote this quote in his museum. When I feel that I can no more and I want to give up I always remember this phrase and this makes me think that I have what I need in my life, and any obstacle that appears in my life, I can surpass it.

My biggest influences in my life are my parents. They are an important part of my life because they always support me in my decisions, they are always next to me whenever I need them. They are my inspiration to succeed in life, and simple because they are my role model to follow.

The respect that I learned as a very young person certainly carried over into my life in later years. Now living in a society full of diversity made me learn from a lot of cultures,  traditions, and respect different point of views. This county shape our lives in the way we decide; to do good and stay positive
or fail and ruin our lives. We already have the opportunities to achieve our goals in this nation, everything is in our young hands because we are the success for the next generations.