ellenahh
Aug 22, 2009
Undergraduate / commonapp #2: political science, discuss issue and importance [4]
Common App
Option #2: Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
So I started writing this essay and it's already almost 700 words and although it isn't quite finished yet I can't help second guessing myself as if this is alright.
Any feedback would be great.
I feel like it's a little.. informal... and I know that it doesn't have to be strictly formal, but is that more advised? Succinctness?
Background information: I'm looking to go into political science.
Main points I would like to hit at:
-Children are experiments. Compare to science experiment.
-Why this applies to me
-Advocation for education
In parentheses are things that I'm questionable about leaving in the essay..
and the conclusion is just something I whipped up total last minute -__-
Children are experiments. Simply put, no harsh feelings. This isn't something I personally came up with, but when I first heard it I was astounded. How cruel to compare a cute little child with something that brought up thoughts of horrid mandatory fifth grade science fair projects. But over the years, I've become less quick to judge and I'm seeing myself agreeing more and more with this statement. I mean who taught our parents to be parents anyways. Whoever it was obviously didn't do a very good job. Why couldn't my dad be the type that takes the whole family fishing or my mom be the next Sarah Lee cooking us warm, homemade meals everyday? But the reality is that no one taught our parents to be parents.
Just as in the beginning of my science experiment I had no idea even where to begin, parents aren't handed a manual on how to raise children. I actually remember trying to borrow a "science fair project how-to" book from the library in hopes of some guidance and inspiration only to be utterly let down. There were manuals galore and every single one seemed to pinpoint a different point or aspect on fifth grade science fair projects. I mean how many angles could there possibly be on a simple experiment! Even with a manual I had no beginning or ending in sight. The same is with raising children. The sea of books and help is endless and sometimes you get lost in the midst of looking for help.
It is funny how by the time this essay is being read I will have already taken over fifty courses alone in my high school career. Although I know that George Washington had wooden teeth and Napoleon was actually only five foot two, I have yet to take a course about life, about children, and about parenting. According to Census' most recent Current Population Survey conducted in 2008, a little less than half or 37.5 million American households have children under the age of 18. However, does the average American know that the first six years of a child's life are the most crucial in its development? Do they know it is because the brain is forming connections to set the stage for lifelong learning, behavior and health? The US government requires licensing for the smallest hot dog stand in New York City and yet nothing is required of us when it comes to having a child. If people need to be licensed on how to put a hot dog on a hot dog bun, I think it isn't too much to ask nor is it out of the question to require a class on parenting during high school. (The average age women in the US give birth for the first time is twenty-five. My peers and I will be twenty-five in six to seven years and if we don't educate ourselves we will no more be prepared to have a child now than we are seven years from now.) Advocating and providing education is the preventive measure to help parents with children. Having preemptive information can only serve to help and defend parents as they swim the treacherous waters called parenthood. Education will help not only parents, but children and families as a whole.
My generation and the generation after me will be the future of this country as well as the world. This issue is personal to all because we all have some sort of a family background. Having considered the fact that my mother was a first generation Korean as well as a single mom, it really strikes a personal cord that minorities and single moms especially have a hard time with their children because they don't have the economic stability to worry about things outside of their day to day living. (26% of single parent households are living under the poverty line which is higher than both married families and single person families and statistics also show that minority households are also more likely to be living under the poverty line.) I know that if my mom had been educated in the art and science of parenting, if she had been "certified" to being a parent when she was being certified as a public accountant, that my younger years would have been flown by with more ease. On the other hand this issue also expands out to anyone and everyone, locally, nationally, and internationally. Parents kindle their young from the womb now and it will affect their tomorrow. Changing our future by advocating for education in parenting starts now and will affect the youth of our tomorrow.
Common App
Option #2: Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
So I started writing this essay and it's already almost 700 words and although it isn't quite finished yet I can't help second guessing myself as if this is alright.
Any feedback would be great.
I feel like it's a little.. informal... and I know that it doesn't have to be strictly formal, but is that more advised? Succinctness?
Background information: I'm looking to go into political science.
Main points I would like to hit at:
-Children are experiments. Compare to science experiment.
-Why this applies to me
-Advocation for education
In parentheses are things that I'm questionable about leaving in the essay..
and the conclusion is just something I whipped up total last minute -__-
Children are experiments. Simply put, no harsh feelings. This isn't something I personally came up with, but when I first heard it I was astounded. How cruel to compare a cute little child with something that brought up thoughts of horrid mandatory fifth grade science fair projects. But over the years, I've become less quick to judge and I'm seeing myself agreeing more and more with this statement. I mean who taught our parents to be parents anyways. Whoever it was obviously didn't do a very good job. Why couldn't my dad be the type that takes the whole family fishing or my mom be the next Sarah Lee cooking us warm, homemade meals everyday? But the reality is that no one taught our parents to be parents.
Just as in the beginning of my science experiment I had no idea even where to begin, parents aren't handed a manual on how to raise children. I actually remember trying to borrow a "science fair project how-to" book from the library in hopes of some guidance and inspiration only to be utterly let down. There were manuals galore and every single one seemed to pinpoint a different point or aspect on fifth grade science fair projects. I mean how many angles could there possibly be on a simple experiment! Even with a manual I had no beginning or ending in sight. The same is with raising children. The sea of books and help is endless and sometimes you get lost in the midst of looking for help.
It is funny how by the time this essay is being read I will have already taken over fifty courses alone in my high school career. Although I know that George Washington had wooden teeth and Napoleon was actually only five foot two, I have yet to take a course about life, about children, and about parenting. According to Census' most recent Current Population Survey conducted in 2008, a little less than half or 37.5 million American households have children under the age of 18. However, does the average American know that the first six years of a child's life are the most crucial in its development? Do they know it is because the brain is forming connections to set the stage for lifelong learning, behavior and health? The US government requires licensing for the smallest hot dog stand in New York City and yet nothing is required of us when it comes to having a child. If people need to be licensed on how to put a hot dog on a hot dog bun, I think it isn't too much to ask nor is it out of the question to require a class on parenting during high school. (The average age women in the US give birth for the first time is twenty-five. My peers and I will be twenty-five in six to seven years and if we don't educate ourselves we will no more be prepared to have a child now than we are seven years from now.) Advocating and providing education is the preventive measure to help parents with children. Having preemptive information can only serve to help and defend parents as they swim the treacherous waters called parenthood. Education will help not only parents, but children and families as a whole.
My generation and the generation after me will be the future of this country as well as the world. This issue is personal to all because we all have some sort of a family background. Having considered the fact that my mother was a first generation Korean as well as a single mom, it really strikes a personal cord that minorities and single moms especially have a hard time with their children because they don't have the economic stability to worry about things outside of their day to day living. (26% of single parent households are living under the poverty line which is higher than both married families and single person families and statistics also show that minority households are also more likely to be living under the poverty line.) I know that if my mom had been educated in the art and science of parenting, if she had been "certified" to being a parent when she was being certified as a public accountant, that my younger years would have been flown by with more ease. On the other hand this issue also expands out to anyone and everyone, locally, nationally, and internationally. Parents kindle their young from the womb now and it will affect their tomorrow. Changing our future by advocating for education in parenting starts now and will affect the youth of our tomorrow.
