TOW #30: Dear Future AP Student

Dear Future APELC Student,

   First of all, congratulations on your entrance to this class. It takes determination and courage to enroll in this class, especially if its one of your first AP courses. There are a few things I learned taking this class that I would like to share with you. One: your writing sucks. You may be a star student in 10th grade honors English, but most of your writing just will not measure up to the expectations of an AP english student until about the middle of the year. So with that said, once you get your first 3 back on an essay, don't fret. This is completely normal. Build thick skin, you'll get over it. At the end of the day, your progression in the class is 100 times more important than the final grade. After writing your summer essay, keep it in a safe place. At the end of the year, take it out and compare it to one of your most recent works. I'm sure you will get a laugh out of it. Two: You might have been a straight A student your underclassmen years, but those few B's in the tough courses this year really will not matter. I know you've heard this before from all your teachers. Every time I heard it I would never believe it because colleges will never see any progression, they just see a letter. It doesn't matter. When those colleges read your application essays, they'll understand too. So when you get your first B in a tough class, dance around the room because you're getting a B in a college level class! That is two years above where you should be, and that is pretty cool. Three: Do not be scared of your teachers. They are there to help, they want to see you succeed. I know there are some teachers who are just there for the job and not for their students. But trust me when I tell you Mr. Yost and Ms. Pronko are here for you, they want to help you. So never be scared to ask for help, conference, or just have a chat. Four: Many times during the year you will probably hate yourself for enrolling in this course. You probably will not thank yourself until June when the exam is over and you are reflecting on your work. You just got to keep pushing through. Develop the perseverance because you will need that in college. I am so thankful I took this course. I can easily tell my writing is above my peers, and my work ethics have improved. Last thing: DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. You will not survive your junior year. Save yourself stress, get things done before they are due. Your sleep schedule will drastically improve, your stress levels will decrease, you honestly will be overall happier. This course is not going to be easy. I was a straight A student before I got into junior year. After stressing many times, I soon realized getting a B in an AP level class is darn good. When your junioritis kicks in mid April, just remember it's not real and it's all in your head. Do not let junioritis take you over.
   You are in charge of your future path. You decide whether you want to slide by in the course, or get as much out of it as you can. Your grades will not define what you have learned, they also do not define what kind of student you are. Neither does your AP score, neither does your midterm or final grades. It is extremely easy to obsess over a grade, and it is okay to check Sapphire twice a day. But once you start thinking that your grades are changing the kind of student you are, that's when you need to take a step back and look at the big picture. You didn't take the course to boost your GPA, you took it to improve your writing. Always go back to the big picture. Because in five years from now it won't matter what grade you got in 11th grade AP English, what will matter is when you get an A on that college paper because of your wicked writing skills. If you ever need help or guidance at any time during the year, never hesitate to contact me! I would love to help you succeed on your APELC journey.

Former APELC Student,
Sami Neumann

TOW #29: Food, Inc.

   In the 1930s, the horrors of the meat packing industry were exposed to America's public through use of the media. The unsanitary practices used to package raw meat shocked America and caused meat boycotts across the nation. But since the country thrives on the production and consumption of meat, there had to be a solution. The government created an agency to monitor the practices of this industry, but also to oversee the entire food and drug industries. Still around today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is required to monitor food and drug processes for the safety of America. Although this is the perfect idea to overlook important industries that run our lives, there are problems that lie in the power. The problem in our food system today lies in our government dominated by the industries that it was meant to be regulated.
  In recent years, our seed industry has been radically changed and dominated by the company Monsanto. Farmers are forced to use the genetically modified seed made by Monsanto, or else the company will sue them. As a farmer, being sued by a multi-million dollar company has its obvious problems. So why is it legal for Monsanto to control these innocent farmers? How come the government regulatory systems have not stepped in? To the unaware Americans, it seems there have already been court cases for this problem. But if one digs deeper, we can see the problem is lying in the multiple positions government agents have. Take Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as an example. He wrote the majority opinion that these companies are allowed to prohibit farmers from saving their own seed. That is not a problem until we take into account that he has been an attorney for the Monsanto company. Robert Shapiro, a past CEO of Monsanto, had close ties to the Clinton administration. He was a member on President Clinton's Advisory Board. Margaret Miller, a current FDA Branch Chief, used to be a chemical lab supervisor at Monsanto. Linda Fisher, a former EPA Deputy Administrator,  was the Vice President of Government and Public Affairs at Monsanto. Michael Taylor is another government agent with two sides. In his job at Monsanto as King and Spaulding Lawyer and Vice President for Public Policy, he advised Monsanto to label their foods with genetically modified stickers. In his next job as a Deputy Commissioner for Policy for the FDA, he oversaw FDA's decision not to label genetically modified foods. The key decisions regulating Monsanto's huge control has a direct tie to the corporate and judicial positions of our government and positions in Monsanto's company. The people that are supposed to be regulating our food industry, have an alter ego in the companies they are supposed to be regulating.
   The Food and Drug Administration is supposed to be regulating our industries for the safety of America without bias or outside influence. But today, the FDA and other government regulatory agencies are not true to its purpose. Because its agents are also involved with food companies, there is extreme bias and outside opinions influencing key decisions that have radically changed our food industry. The power of these food companies are not being regulated like they should be, resulting in an unsafe eatery for America. The government that was made of the people, by the people, and for the people is not protecting its people like proposed.