Randy Le

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

26 March 2019

The “Authority Figure” Effect

How do people act with the knowledge of there being no authority figure observing them? In any group of children, it is inferred that some may act in an inappropriate manner when a matured figure leaves the scene. More specifically, children tend to get a sense that responsibility is brushed off their shoulders when an authority figure is not present but the moment authority is established again, responsibility becomes a motive to become more civilized. When people are observed by an authority figure, their thought process and actions gravitate towards a state of civility. In contrast, the absence of an authority figure pushes people into a place where they lack self control.

In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, different scenarios are brought up that illustrate components of human ideology and behavior. From the beginning, a group of boys are stranded on an island with no adults around. In turn, this creates a gap where the boys transition from civilized to savage, under the knowledge that an authority figure is not observing them. One of the boys, Piggy, says “What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages? What's grownups going to think? Going off--hunting pigs--letting fires out--and now!” (Golding 91). This shows the awareness that there is no longer an authority figure to be obedient towards. Building off of that, there is an establishment of fear in Piggy’s voice which sparks the transition from civility to savagery. Piggy notices that the boys are rather living based off their primal instincts and are devolving into savages. Without there being an authority figure, the boys have already changed their line of thoughts and structured their own community apart from the moral-based civilization with an authority figure. Piggy seems to comprehend the dangers of the primal acts but has no say in such a nonfunctional community.

In primary school, students wish for the day that a substitute teacher takes the role of their actual teacher. The desire to be in a learning environment is lost as this gives the students opportunities to misbehave. Sammy Kayes was a substitute for more than three years and in his years of being a substitute teacher, he conducted his own research of why some students may behave differently around substitutes. Through a process of asking teachers (including substitutes), Kayes was able to get an answer of students desiring to “get away” with their tasks but most importantly, their responsibilities. Responsibility comes through as a hidden theme throughout his experience and Kayes states “My initial theory was that students are trying to “get away from” whatever they’re doing. I actually wanted to be wrong.” From here, a conclusion was drawn that classes with substitute teachers behave poorly because of the fact that students would prefer to do something else. Kayes goes further to notice that the problem is more of a systematic problem rather than a problem on the teachers. In a community where behavior varies so vividly, a clear problem can be seen that may pertain more towards the people than the ones teaching.

Towards the end of the novel, the boys, who have been engulfed by savagery, target Ralph who had desired a society structured by law and order. Before the savagery could take over and possibly end Ralph, a Naval officer arrives, causing the boys to stop. They begin to cry and notice their actions throughout the story. Just from the presence of an authority figure, the boys were able to fade away from their untamed thoughts and notice the wrong acts they have done. Elaborating, the Navy officer stated “I should have thought that a pack of British boys一you’re all British, aren’t you?一would have been able to put up a better show than that一I mean一” (Golding 201-202) which criticized the behavior by saying they should have been organized and enlightened as should the British were (who were civilized). In addition, the sudden pause of action is enough to determine the impact an authority figure has on a community. The boys were able to recognize their actions and stop any more violence from occurring which shows the importance of an authority figure.

In comparison, students in a classroom may have different reactions when subsubtites are present versus when they are not. Returning to Sammy Kayes, he says “What I noticed was that every day, in almost every class, students would cheer and dance that I was there instead of their regular teacher. Students loved having a substitute teacher. They really wanted to get away, so much that it was a celebration when they finally could.” His line of thought correlates with the idea that there is some type of relief when no authority figure is present. In addition, he presents the idea of the students “getting away” by leaning towards an ideology of not only taking responsibility but distancing themselves from it. All in all, the process of becoming uncivilized accordingly to the absence of an authority figure becomes a prominent theme even when taking a look through the lens of a substitute teacher.

Taking everything into account, the absence of a authority figure shifts the behavior of human beings from civilized to more or less, savage. Glancing at the transformation of the boys, the readers can see how the absence of an authority figure can take a pivotal role in the behavior of humans. The boys ,who were previously classified as civil, became more like savages which connects with the “substitute teacher effect” when students would behave differently around substitutes. In addition, Sammy Kayes and his story as a substitute teacher further elaborates the definitive truth behind authority coupled with human beings. Ultimately, this proves that people will act differently upon the knowledge of an authority figure observing them. Whether it be performing a task or presenting yourself to the public, the large message is that people will act in a civilized manner when an authority figure is present but will act in a savage manner when the authority figure is no longer present.

Works Cited

Bodenner, Chris. “When Students Physically Dominate a Sub.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 26 Sept. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/09/substitutes/501227/.

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Penguin Books, 2006.

Kayes, Sammy, and Sammy Kayes. “The ‘Substitute Teacher’ Effect.” Student Voices, Student Voices, 12 Feb. 2017, mystudentvoices.com/the-substitute-teacher-effect-adc1a4a801c0.

Maaaaan, I wish I got something for doing these chores. Isn’t that right Lucy? (Laughs) You’re such a good girl. Let me see you do a trick. On three, jump as high as you can! One, two, three! Woah! (Laughs) That’s enough Lucy, get out the bathroom. I need to finish cleaning.

(moment of silence until a sudden loud slam from a door)

I don’t know! It wasn’t me! I didn’t knock over the vase, I swear! (Noise progressively getting higher) You told me to do my chores before playing games so I’ve been trying! What do you mean? Go to my room? (Door slams one more time as Oliver locks the door)

I just don’t get it! She blames me for everything! Whether it be spilling the tiniest amount of water on the floor to simply doing a chore, I’m still blamed! Everything! (Deep breath)

Why does she do this? All I want to know is why.

(Silence)

It’s been like this for years. Ever since my father left to Virginia for work, things been different. It’s, like, unexplainable. My mom looks at me differently and so does my brother. It’s like I’m alone in this world and no one left to look for.

(Deep Breath)

C’mon, look up, Oliver. That’s you in the mirror. Now look down. That’s you in the getting nearer. Nearer to giving yourself to the false blames of your mom. Look up. (echo followed by silence)

Is it really my fault? Is it really my responsibility to carry these actions? I know I didn’t do it but why am I affected? It’s like my self-esteem, my confidence... is this really what I’m worth? Am I worth being the blamed for something I didn’t do?

No I’m not but my father isn’t here. He’s the only one I appreciate in my life but he’s not here for me. He left to Virginia to pursue his music career and I don’t know when he’s coming back. He left me alone but why? He did music over here before but why over there? So many questions that surround my mind and I just can’t get an answer. Hmm...

Maybe, this was on purpose. If my father was watching over me now, he wouldn’t want me to keep whining in the damn bathroom.

He’d want me to face my problem. He’d want me to find what I am worth. He’d want me to see the clearer picture.

That clearer picture is… it’s not my fault, but my parents. I don’t like this answer but I’m going to have to live with it. I don’t have control over what people think of me nor should I care. It’s not my responsibility to hold this guilt that isn’t mine. This is the turn in my life where I need to seize the opportunity.  

Right in front of me is a door. It’s separating me from my mother. The only thing I can do now is stand up for myself loudly. Disregard the consequences because once I find my voice, it’ll be heard. Oliver… I know this will not be fun and not easy so prepare yourself. Stand up strong and survive the moment in your life. Your main goal is to survive. Once this is over, you can escape…

(Door creaks open)

Mom. Mom? Mom!

(Door slams one last time)

Recognize, Adjust, Navigate, Decide, and Yawn?

Randy Le

Think about yourself. Give yourself credit where it’s due. We all have our strengths and weaknesses but that doesn’t mean I do too. In response, I will be diving only into my three respective strengths which is perseverance—to not give up, determination—to stick with a goal, and lastly, curiosity—to find new things and make mistakes. Also, if you haven’t noticed, the first letter from each word in the the title, spells out Randy!

Just Keep Going, Just Keep Going...

In my eyes, perseverance means to never give up. It is the effort to keep going despite the challenges or difficulties you run into. No matter how many times you may get rejected or how many times you seem to “fail”, you keep going. Ever since I was born, I was one who kept trying even if it took hours or many loses. One time, I was challenged by my cousins to beat them in a game of basketball. It was a 3v3 but they were much older and bigger. Despite the size, growth, and skill advantage, my team was still willing to keep going. I believe this strength of perseverance isn’t only applied to me when given a group situation because it was brought to my teammates and we were able to take the win. Unfortunately, we lost the next game but that’s besides the point.

It’s Hard For a Reason...

When I was younger, I was taught to do one thing at a time and to stick with it. My father would always “If you’re going to do something, do it. If not, don’t do it.” This stuck to my ribs and ever since, I defined it as determination—to stick with a goal. Determination has been a well-known strength of mine. I want to succeed but the main part about how I define determination is the parts where you struggle. The struggle is where you learn the most from and after you overcome them, you become overall stronger.

Did Curiosity Really Kill The Cat?

Curiosity is one of my favorite and respective strengths. While it may be one that can be overlooked, I feel like the potential of the strength can be incredibly important. The new ideas that are formed and accepted allow for unexpected results that can be good or bad. If it’s bad, then you can learn from the mistake and flesh out a new idea from it. To add to that, curiosity has personally brought me to a point of life where I am able to express my creativity in ideas.  

How Does This Help Me With CTE Engineering?

With the combination of the strengths, I believe my time as an engineer would be great. In my eyes, part of engineering is learning through trial and error. Being able to fight through challenges and continuing going for success is a crucial strength in learning. To add to that, my strength of curiosity can bring new ideas in times where I might be stuck or when I am just having fun. Nonetheless, these strengths can positively influence my time in the CTE Engineering Program including my time at JMT Engineering.

Randy Le

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

September 21, 2018

911, What’s Your Emergency?

The aching sounds from my father was painful. I felt like it was looping through my mind as I tried to sleep. I wondered if closing my eyes would help, but it only made the sound louder.

I got off the bus and walked along the sidewalk to my house. I was feeling the scorching hot rays from the sun that laid upon me. Every step, I could hear a different noise that resembled the painful sound from my father and would never stop—until I stop.

I finally arrived at my house and went directly upstairs. My father was lying on the ground, next to my bed. I looked to see if he was okay, but I couldn’t tell because he was sleeping. I went back downstairs, put my bookbag on the couch, and proceeded to find some food.

When I was younger, I was not entirely focused on anyone’s well-being. I was loud, energetic, and only wanted to play around. I remember my father doing some heavy-duty work, but it was nothing that I really cared for. Most of the time, I would be at  my grandma’s house, playing with my cousins. Until I got older, this was the story of my relationship with my father. Eventually, all the heavy-duty work built up and caused some wear and tear on my father’s body. It was not until I was age 11, where I could see the detrimental side effects of the sciatica. It would come back every year and strike my father with excruciating pain. I wasn’t the only one witnessing his pain, but that didn’t make me feel safe with how my father’s welfare was going.

My dad shouted from up stairs, “Randy! Randy!”

“Yes? What’s up?” I said, rushing upstairs to his room.

My father asked, “Can you get me a bottle of water?”

“Sure, no problem.” I replied back while rushing downstairs to grab a bottle from the fridge.

“Here you—” I said as I walked in the room, shocked at what I seen.

My father started to groan in pain while I stood there in shock. He was rolling on the ground, pointing towards his back and left leg while my muscles tensed up.

My brother, Kenny, rushed in and asked “What is happening?”

“I don’t know!”

Kenny and I panicked as he told me to go get his medicine from downstairs. I searched through multiple plastic bags, in hopes I could find a bottle of pills, but no luck. I went upstairs with a disappointed look on my face as I saw Kenny holding a phone to his head.

I unintentionally shouted, “Who are you calling?”.

“Keep it down, Randy. I’m on the phone with the ambulance.”

I sat down on my bed and waited for Kenny to be done talking. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen but the thought of my father being gone shadowed over my mind. I tried to not think about it but, the pain I just witnessed was like no other. I felt my throat begin to choke up and my face becoming numb. The ambulance finally arrived as I could barely watch the process of getting my father into the truck. The ambulance team had to act quick and needed certain requirements to bring my father from the second floor to the first floor. The first step was to check if my father was in a suitable position to be placed in a mobile chair. The team had to work together with my father so no one else gets hurt because the team must lift my father down many steps. At some moment the agonizing pain would build up to my father as he began to yelp in pain.

“Sir, we need you to stay still so we can transport you to the vehicle,” said one of the ambulance workers.

Eventually, my father would be brought to the ambulance and my brother joined them to make sure he was okay. My mom told me to go to sleep because it was getting late, but I just couldn’t. The thought of my father wouldn’t go away. There was a indefinable sound that I couldn’t put my mind to, but it haunted me for the rest of the night.

Ever since that day, I wish for sciatica to never strike back at my father (or anyone). He had returned from the hospital in just a few days after, and he’s in good shape today. I found that, just in an instance, one thing could turn anyone’s life in any direction. Without my parents, I wouldn’t be living the life I have now and the days without my father being home were the worst. After being seperated from my father, it made me realize that my parents were the most important people in my life.

Litter Pick-Up Conquest

Let yourself know.

You might have been surrounded by trash throughout your childhood.

Although… you wonder why you see your streets and neighborhood struggling to be clean.

Some think littering is the problem but is it something we are willing to stop?

Even if you pick up the litter around your house, it just seems to come back.

Why? Maybe it’s because you just need to stay patient and wait until people start to notice.

So how did I make a change?

Well, before you continue on, please check on my previous posts, “Straws, Something You Find Everywhere” and “Something More Than A Litter Bug”. In my first post, I discussed about how plastic straws negatively affect our environment in ways of endangering animals as well as how we can avoid using these plastic straws by simply doing less. For my second post, I did an physical observation outside my neighborhood to collect photos of litter and some photos of straws to demonstrate how trash can be hiding from us.

Photos of my observation from “Something More Than A Litter Bug”

As I continued my journey in attempt to help solve this problem, I’ve been thinking about multiple ways I can be an agent of change. My first idea was posting flyers around my school and other places such as restaurants but as I was getting this idea approved, I was asked “What more could I do?” and this was when one of my ideas, that I first thought I could never do, popped up. On an article, asking if you were one of those “weirdos” who picked up litter, I was inspired to do something that involved with picking up litter. This article explained a personal experience on what happened when a lady picked up litter and caused an entire movement to spark up.

Inspired by the article, I was thinking about making a litter pick-up day where students will go out and see whom can grab the most litter in a certain amount of time. This idea sounded great on paper but the way to get this idea approved and make time for it would be risky. So instead of doing my pick-up day in school, I decided I might need to do this outside of school. This meant I wouldn’t be able to grab the most amount of people but I still continued this idea. I sent out some flyers to gather around 10 people and so the journey began on my litter pick-up conquest!

On May 8th, 2018, I rounded up the volunteers who let me know, the day of, and we began our fun adventure to find the most litter and pick it up.

Many of the participants stuck together but secretly, they were on their own. One of my participants, Jacob, was on his own most of the time and decided that he’d be a lone wolf and collect litter on his own. The tactics and locations were the key part to this conquest. Jacob went with the lone wolf tactic and end the end, he successfully won.

Photos of participants who collected litter in this event

In the end, I believe the purpose is to not litter in the first place. Even though we are cleaning up and picking up litter, we would not have to do this to if we hadn’t littered in the first place. I like to think back to my first blog post where I discussed on how you could actually do more by doing less. This meant that you were able to make a change by stopping the behavior of littering or using plastic straws.

Nonetheless, this was a project that I can be proud of. I came into the project, thinking that I had to do something that I did not want to do but as I progressed throughout the project, I realized this project can be something I would be proud to present in the future. I learned many new ways of problem-solving and one of them had to be about working around people. I realized that sometimes it is difficult to gather people for a project because there’s so many variables on what can happen at the last minute but I manage to solve this problem by constantly reminding them about the event and eventually I was able to have a decent amount of people.

Photos of all participants who collected litter and supported the cause (photographer on the right corner of the right picture)

Overall, I think there’s still a lot left for this problem to be solved because littering is one of those problems that may not be fully stopped but can definitely be reduced. I believe others and myself have done almost our full potential of solving this problem as of now with a project like this because we are still 9th grade students whom are all working to solve on our problems for this project. To end off with a bang, the winner of the conquest, Jacob Prunes, wanted to say “Winner, winner, please don’t litter!”

For my annotated bibliography, please visit the link here.

A. What is negative space (explain this concept to a fourth grader that has never heard of it)

Negative space is pretty much the space around an object. For example, in the photo attached, the blue on the right side is pretty much the negative space. It almost outlines the the tree shape. In other words, negative space is also the space you wouldn’t color if you had to color something for example.

B. Explain how you found negative space in your cut out?

I found negative space by looking out side of the tree and pretty much cut around it as an outline. After that, I went deeper into the negative space that was within the tree. (this would be holes, where you could see through)

C. Why does it help an artist to see in negative space?

It helps an artists to see in negative space because the artists can see the outline of what they are trying to draw. In addition, negative space is just as important is positive space and to incorporate both elements in is key because it guides the viewer’s eye in what the focus is.

D. Does seeing in negative space enhance drawings, why or why not?

Seeing in negative space does indeed enhance drawings because we can see the difference of what an drawing can be. For example, picture may have a vase as its positive space but for its negative space, it looks like two faces.

Something More Than A Litter Bug

If you haven’t seen my recent post on litter, come check it out here.

My first blog post was diving into an online research about litter. I discovered that one of the contributors to litter was straws. I found that I had to go further with straws after seeing a video of a straw stuck inside a turtle’s nose. I visited many websites on how straws could affect wildlife, more specifically marine animals. And so my journey began and I am here today to take my research onto the real world.

For my further research, I decided to go out and observe the area nearby my neighborhood. I first needed to make a list of what I needed to observe and have my purpose to be clear. I was first thinking about only focusing on straws but why ignore the remaining litter because any type of litter is still endangering. So then I came up with my purpose of observing litter in general. Many questions occured around me and some were “How many people littered?”, “How did they litter?, “Why did they litter?”. The questions could go on forever

I decided that I shouldn’t focus too hard on finding one thing because I needed an open mind while doing this research. There’s so much to find and everything could contribute to my research. I simply took out my phone and decided to take a walk around my neighborhood. I found many places where litter could be hidden or tossed into. Strangely, there are many places where litter can be found but there is almost a go-to litter place around the neighborhood where piles of litter can be found. Whether it be leftover food containers or old household items, it is still considered litter and I took note of this.

A photo taken of large amounts of litter stockpiled in a hidden gap.

A photo of litter found in the corners of houses.

As I continued my observation, littering became more obvious. I had never sat down and watched if litter occurred as often as it does now. I like to relate this to cutting or skipping a lunch line. Many people still do it and many people hate it. It’s something that we all know and can relate to. Some methods could be “meeting with a friend” or just straight up cutting. This goes in the same way as littering because I find that people sneak a empty bottle around a corner when nobody's watching or they throw trash without caring. To add to that, others also openly litter by dropping off their remainings of their lunch from their car window.

Photos of straws found hidden next to rocks or within grass.

After I was finished with my observation, I continued my online research. Recently, a CURBED Philadelphia article has been published. The article speaks about a new map that users could test the litter around their neighborhood on a scale of 1-4. I recently test this on my neighborhood and found that the average score was about 2.5. According to my observation, I found this accurate because I wouldn’t say everything is terribly dirty but there is still litter. In addition, the map also shows that the deeper you’re in Philadelphia, the more litter you might find.

In the end, change needs to happen and it will. Currently, Philadelphia is identifying the problem using a snapshot of how polluted the city is currently. Knowing this, I am thinking of my agent of change to be something around my neighborhood and friends. I want to start small and I can do this by referring back to plastic straws. I have seen many organizations on plastic straws and I plan to help them out by possibly calling restaurants nearby to only give straws upon request only.

Check out my Annotated Bibliography for further information

Straws, Something You Find Everywhere

Everyday, we are slowly drinking up our oceans and polluting the Earth with straws. Although a small and slim tube may not sound much of a problem, straws have been growing to be one of the biggest contributors to litter problems. For my You & The World project, I have decided to focus my ideas into littering. Litter is something you can find anywhere and everywhere and there are many causes and dangers that could happen.

Photo of straws collected near a beach that could have harmed many animals

I grew up seeing trash everywhere I walked. The world isn’t perfect but the amount of trash left on the streets was much more than I’ve seen in other places. In one moment of my life, I went on to the beach and found many littered items. One of them happened to be a straw and I had seen it around a trash bin but it may had fell off by the wind. Later on, I saw a bird go by and suddenly, my natural reaction was to scare the bird away. It was strange but now that I realized it, I might have saved that bird’s life. Ever since then, I feel some type of way towards littering which is what led up to this point of my life.

Knowing this, littering has been one of the topics that has not been brought up to many people and often times ignored. What we’re doing is ruining the future of our planet and by doing this, we are slowly hurting many animals besides us humans currently. In addition, one of scientists’ main purpose of looking out into outer space is to find a new planet that can support life which wouldn’t be needed if we could conserve and help Earth. Nonetheless, I plan to start small and build up to bigger goals that are possible. By beginning with straws, we are able to start small and have a gateway to solving greater problems with littering and plastic pollution.

The amount of straws being used is enough to fill the Yankee Stadium over 9 times a year

Straws are commonly found in fast food places or diners where it is unnecessary to have a straw for a beverage. A place where plastic straws are commonly found and most dangerous to animals are near beaches. Plastic straws end up being caught in the ocean and there has been a video of a turtle with a straw was stuck inside one of its nostrils. This was only an example of what happened with plastic straws but the journey to end plastic straws starts now.

Photo of the straw in the turtle’s nose

Knowing this, littering has been one of the topics that has not been brought up to many people and often times ignored. What we’re doing is ruining the future of our planet and by doing this, we are slowly hurting many animals besides us humans currently. In addition, one of scientists’ main purpose of looking out into outer space is to find a new planet that can support life which wouldn’t be needed if we could conserve and help Earth. Nonetheless, I plan to start small and build up to bigger goals that are possible. By beginning with straws, we are able to start small and have a gateway to solving greater problems with littering and plastic pollution.

An image of litter in Philadelphia

Plastic straws have specific problems as to why they are bad for the environment and living organisms. One of them is because straws are not biodegradable, meaning the plastic will only get broken up into small pieces which could be consumed by living organisms. Another problem is that straws can only be recycled once and only little amounts of the straw makes it through to be used again. Lastly, plastic straws still exist as one contributors to the amount of plastic that is in the air, ground, etc. Overall, plastic stays in our environment because there is nothing in nature that can biodegrade plastic which means stopping the use of plastic straws can be a gateway to solving bigger problems with plastic.

Now, you may ask what can you do now? The answer may sound tricky but you could actually just do less. If we prevent the use of plastic straws, then we can slowly help the give out a message that plastic straws are not healthy for the environment. In addition, there are many alternatives to plastic straws such as reusable straws. Typically, plastic straws are used once and then tossed into a trashcan where the light, small tube is blown away into the environment.

Overall, I plan to further my research on my ways to help bring the numbers of litter down. I want to first focus on straws to use it as a gateway to start small and simple. One of my goals is to avoid the use of plastic straws nearby my neighborhood and everyday life.

Annotated Bibliography

When I first began to create the slide, I found that something that would be incredibly important is large text. From the “Slide Design for Developers” page, I found that one crucial point was large text that even the people from the back seats could even see. I made each text size at least 50 pt so that the text can pop. In addition, I made sure that the text was something simple and quick because a paragraph is dreadful to see when watching a slideshow. Next, I wanted to pay attention to the colors I used. I wanted some colors to pop while giving a pretty decent contrast in colors. This creates flexibility for the text, backgrounds, and objects. Now, I wanted to make the background something simple and not overwhelming. I used a grey radiant gradient background which added a touch of movement by giving a bit of difference in color. Next, I went back to the “Slide Design for Developers” page and found that my text could be used as shapes and I played around with the font and how the text was arranged and came out with something that would look better than 3 straight lines of text. From here, I decided to add a couple of images. One of them would be a simple wire while I would also have a Playstation console. I knew both of the images will add movement because there are almost guidelines. I tried to make the images go along with the words by following the same tilt of text. Overall, I tried to be simple focus on large text, less words, and colors that were consistent and close to each other.