English 1010 (0442) Fall 2010: Week 2: Blog entry

English 1010 (0442) Fall 2010: Week 2: Blog entry: "Think of your life experience or the life experience of a close friend or relative. What is a significant moment from that experience, a mom..."
I was born and raised in China. But then i moved to America at age of ten. The life in China was great. Everyone knew everyone and be nice with everyone because we all lived in a small village. Therefore before coming to USA, i thought all the people in the world are just like us; like a big family. Then the next thing i knew is i am in New York! Everything changed or i should said it is different here. I started to see all kinds of people. Dark skin, light skin, nice people, bad people and the people that laughted at me just because i have Asian looking face! However, when God closed a door, he will always open up a window for you. Therefore i found a place name "Chinatown". This place made me feel i am back home! But good day never last long. After living in New York for two years, my parents decide to move to Ohio (another significant moment in my life). Living in Ohio are so much different from New York. Even my "label" changed, from "the chinese girl" to "the Chinese girl that's from New York". The people in Ohio were curious about me because they barely see Asian people in there and never see a Asian person that's from New York. Honestly i never like Ohio! I always feel New York is the best place for me to live in and so does my brother. So we kept convince our parents about moving back to New York. After three years, we finally succeeded to convince our parents. So we back in New York. Right now, i have been living in New York. I felt it is different from the New York i used to Know. Maybe is because now the people i knew are more mature than before, so the laughting stop. And all the other negative things are less than before. This make me love the New York even more!

Lead Found In School Water

According to a survey done in August of 2002 the New York City school system discovered high levels of lead contamination found in school water. The cause of the lead contamination was found coming from old rusted water pipes. In order to remove the lead from the water, the city needs to reconstruct the old pipes. The old rusty pipes are the reason why the water is being contaminated.

Facts on Lead Contamination

1) Lead contamination can inter fear with a child's growth and development of the brain and nervous system.
2) Children who are 6 years or younger have a higher risk of a deficiency to occur.
3) If the lead reaches a high level then it can damage the kidneys, blood and brain.

Allies and Roadblocks

Allies: Students, Teachers, and the Department of Environment
The students and teachers feel astonished about the fact that lead was found in school water. The Department of Environment states the the presence of lead in school water is in a violation of the health code. In order to control this problem the school board will have to get the old rusted pipes fixed.

Roadblocks: School Board and the Department of Administration
The school board is not willing to pay for the repairment of the rusty old pipes since it will go over their budget plan. They disagree with the fact that lead is found present in the school water fountains.

Plan for Success

1) Filter and purify the water.
2) Get the school board to repair the old rusted pipes.
3) If the school board rufuses then start a petetion by the students and teachers.
4) Have the Department of Environment to help us.

Strategies

We hope to start a petetion signed by the students, parents and teachers.

Working The Media

In order to get our message across we plan on writing a letter to the Board of Education.

To whom it may concern,
We are a group of students from Mr. Web's U.S Government class who have been doing research on school water. From our research we found that school water contains very high levels of lead which is can be harmful to the students and teachers. The cause of the problem is due to the rusty old water pipes. When the water passes through the pipes, it gets contaminated with lead. This is a serious issue that concerns us all. We need your help in order to fix this problem. We need the school board to get these old pipes repaired before someone gets seriously ill. Your cooperation is needed to quickly find a solution for this problem.

Sincerely Yours,
Marryam, Israt, Joy, and Bryonna