Our Communal System
For our second presentation in this speech class, our class chose two out of several topics to expand on. Group four was the first to present. They informed us about the environment, public safety, and economics. They spoke about how culture and laws influence the protection of our atmosphere and emphasized values and strategies we can apply to protect it. I learned that many important agencies exist to protect our flora and fauna. These agencies often come to be after major disasters and pressure from the public. Cultures such as the ones of indigenous tribes and the Japanese, uphold the tradition of living in one with nature and respecting it as if it were a person. Similarly, in Europe, recycling is widely enforced. On another note, this group brought the pollution problem our planet faces to our attention. They stated that pollution can harm the future of our lands. Also mentioning a few tactics towards a safer atmosphere, they spoke upon water protection and waste management. Money and cultural values deeply impact how we treat the Earth. Touching base on public safety as well, I learned that cybersecurity threats are one of the biggest problems the United States faces and that gun control laws are strict here. A surprising fact they spoke about was that in Great Britian police officers aren’t armed with weapons as they’re illegal in that region. At most, they carry tasers, batons and eye sprays for their defense. They explained that economic growth allows for more regulation and enforcement when it comes to environmental and safety laws. This is because it costs money to monitor, inspect, and enforce penalties. Something interesting they researched was that during economic recessions, deregulation or protection delays occur. Countries with poor and or weak economies often loosen their regulations to protect the workforce, which obviously has a negative impact on safety and environmental protection. Overall, this group brought forth points that suggest some nations prioritize their economy over sustainability and vice versa. The next presentation, which I formed a part of presented information about families and education. We dove into the dynamics of community involvement and home values contributing to civic growth. Events such as wellness fairs, back to school drives and food pantries build civic responsibility. These collaborations demonstrate universal values of care and equality. Parents' participation in school projects and homework create strong bonding ties with their children. My part of the presentation focused on homeschooling, government assistant programs, and how children teach their families as well. Many parents opt for the homeschooling option because of concerns about their kid’s safety, disabilities, religious beliefs, and time management amongst many other reasons. A group member of mine mentioned that some classroom sizes don’t allow for the personalized attention students need, another reason parents homeschool. The fact that homeschooled children outperform public school students is especially noteworthy. For those low-income families that chose traditional schooling for their child, government programs that offer subsidies and financial reliefs are available. A few are the free or reduced school lunch program, scholarships, and in some countries one hundred percent free tuition. I also spoke about how parents teach their children things that aren't taught in a classroom like manners and hygiene habits, for instance. Relatedly, children also often teach their siblings and parents things like languages for nonnative families and stuff they were taught in school, something that’s often overlooked. Other group members spoke about patriarchy, and high expectations from their parents. Some parents enforce strict expectations of outstanding grades from their children, putting a vast amount of stress on them. Shockingly enough gender norms and stereotypes still exist today and are especially prominent in some countries. I learned that some nations ban women and girls from receiving a formal education and have laws that harm females’ opportunities. In conclusion, my group taught that when families engage in their children’s education and society in general, communities grow socially, academically, and morally. The following group gave information about healthcare and immigration. The specifically touched upon healthcare in America and internationally, its’ history, federal programs, its’ economic and social impacts, and the challenges immigrants face accessing healthcare. They started off by defining healthcare, “an organized system that provides medical services that incorporates technology and policy.” There’re universal and private healthcare insurances. Universal healthcare offers medical attention to everyone, although some medicines aren’t covered, and there are limited choices for doctors and hospitals. Private insurance, on the other hand, offers better care. Strong health care is defined by its’ accessibility, affordability, and high-quality care. Weak health insurance, however, is recognized by high costs, limited access to care, short staff, outdated medical equipment, long wait times, and poor coordination. Between the 1920’s and the 1940’s, work-based health insurance systems came to be. They were only available to the working- and middle-class population. When 1965 rolled along, Medicaid and Medicare were invented for the elderly and low-income people. Regarding immigrants accessing this care, there’s much to say. Undocumented immigrants have access to very limited emergency care like the one offered in community clinics. Obstacles such as language barriers, deportation fears, and costs, hinder immigrants from receiving the healthcare needed. Since immigrants many times don’t get preventative checkups, in the long run, the healthcare system ends up spending more money because of advanced stages of illnesses, diseases and conditions. The fact that many immigrate to America to receive healthcare that is not available in their countries was emphasized. The last group presented immigration and society. Factors such as economic, political, environmental, and social pressures are the reasons people immigrate. Safety, jobs and educational opportunities pull people into traveling to other countries. Economic opportunities are the primary pull factor. Work visas, student visas, and green card processes offer the chance for foreigners to legally immigrate although many illegally immigrate crossing our country’s borders. Immigration processes in America take years whereas in many other countries the process only lasts months. Rapid immigration can cause problems like competitive workforces and outlandish housing demands. More than four fifths of our nation’s recent growth is due to immigration. A whopping 50 million of our inhabitants in the U.S are immigrants! On a positive note, more immigrants start businesses than native born Americans. Something new I learned that one group member mentioned was that important tech companies such as Google and Tesla were founded by immigrants. All in all, I learned much from each group’s presentation and thoroughly enjoyed listening to what each member had to say about these important topics that I believe everyone should have basic knowledge of.
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