Category: Writing

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015
Motherhood for Dollars
By Cristina Sampang
“They come from alien cultures to fill our culture’s most important job, raising our kids. We’ve decided to let other women take care of our children so that we can give them a better life. It’s an excruciating decision, as the nannies know better than anyone…”
Susan Cheever, Global Woman
It’s beginning of September at Vancouver’s Jericho Park. Today, as I sit alone on a knoll absorbing the sunshine, the oaks and the maple trees around me are gently shedding their leaves. To my right lies the duck pond surrounded by weeping willows. To the east, tall evergreens conceal the apartment buildings that line Fourth Avenue. To the north, the undulating peaks of Cypress Mountain guard the beaches of English Bay. Yet I didn’t see the magic nor feel the peace these surroundings offer. Instead I peer beyond the bay towards the Pacific Ocean. As if I could discern across this ocean the two adjacent houses in Antipolo, a town in central Philippines — where two of my daughters live with their families. This evening, I watch the bay and I think about them. It’s early morning back there. They should be waking up soon.
Jericho Park represents the North American edge of my fractured life, the cliff upon where I could look down at the deep, invisible divide that keeps my dreams forever incomplete. Season after season, this park never fails to remind me where my brain says I should be as opposed to where my heart wants to be, and that getting them in the same place remains to be done.
But I’ll see my girls tonight when I get home. We’ll exchange news, trade stories, laugh together and have a good look at each other, then blow kisses and say, “Bye-bye. Lub you. Mwah-mwah!”  Afterwards I’ll go to bed happy, back to my own life. And they back to theirs. We do this regularly through our web cams. I’ll have to wait for a few more months though, before I can really kiss them and hold them in my arms, and distribute the presents I’ve been hoarding in my
Balikbayan
Box.  My life revolves around these homecomings.
I’m here and they’re over there because years ago I made a tough choice.  A single parent at the age of 26, I left my three daughters in my mother’s care to look after other women’s children in Singapore, then four years later, in Vancouver, Canada.  In return, my children went to a good school, they had generous allowances, mobile phones, and all the brand-name denim jeans my money could buy. They had everything, except my presence.
I remember the first time I left for Vancouver. My whole family went to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to see me off. We walked together to the departure gates, as far as the security personnel would let us. When it was time to go, I kissed each of my three daughters goodbye, then walked towards the doors. I heard Maricel start to cry. Maricar and Catherine joined in. My heart was pounding. I walked away, faster and faster, without once looking back. Because I knew that if I stopped, if I looked back — like Orpheus at the gates of Hell — my dreams would disappear. But I had to leave. My plans for them were only half-achieved.
While working in another country, I think about them every day. I silently tallied in my calendar all the birthdays and hugs and kisses that I missed. I made sure that I talk to my daughters by phone at least once a week, to send their allowances twice a month, and go home to them every year. I reminded them every chance I got that I was here and they were there because I wanted them to have the things I never had as a child. I told them that going away was very hard for me, but sacrifice was required of us to break away from poverty and lack of education, circumstances that most of the people from my farming village in the Philippines will spend the rest of their lives in.
Until today, I never realized I’ve been living my life in smug delusion. Although I had been physically absent from my kids’ daily lives, I’d believed I’ve raised them right, and expressed my motherly love in a variety of personal and material ways. I thought I’ve learned from, and done better than other mothers like myself.
“Not so,” writes Catherine, my youngest, about the past: “When I was a kid, I’d wanted to tell you, ‘I don’t care about the allowances and the toys. I want you to stay home with me and my sisters. You’ve always said you loved us. Do you think I believe you?’ But I never expressed these things because I was afraid that if I did, you would never come back.”
“Not so,” says Maricar, my middle child, of the present: “Me, I would never leave my kids to work in a foreign country. I can’t imagine my child crying alone in the middle of the night because I’m not there. I know what it feels like.”
Because I waited too long, I failed to bring my daughters to Vancouver. Maricar and Catherine both dropped out of college and got married in their teenage years. Only Maricel, my first-born, has a university degree. All three of them have their own families now and are living away from me. Catherine lives in Washington, USA, with her American husband. Yet, despite these kids having grown up and chosen their own paths, they remain little children in my mind. I stay trapped in a time warp, doomed to be fighting my guilt and trying to make up for the years I’ve lost: visiting yearly, bringing them chocolates, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and umbrellas; treating them to mall shopping trips… cooking with them, snuggling with them and telling them stories; treating them like little kids. And whenever I leave to pursue my own life once again, we’re back to replaying the same old good-bye drama at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, only this time my daughters are accompanied by their own children and husbands.
Until perhaps, I promised myself, I’ve managed to bring all of them to Vancouver. Next time I leave them at the airport gates, I will look back and wave, because my dream has changed.
Argument Essay” Writing”:
Instructions:
* This is an open book assignment. You may use a regular dictionary, a thesaurus. You also use the reading.
* Essays must be written legibly and “double-spaced”. Cite the information you borrow from the text and use APA as your method of documentation.
* Write an essay on ONE of the following topics. You should demonstrate essay organization with about “450 words”.
* Your essay should reflect your knowledge of good grammar, structure, cohesion, unity and completeness.
1) Topic: Referring to the article “Motherhood for dollar”, argue for or against the idea that mothers need to stay home and take care of their children in order to give them love, education, and a sense of experiencing the warmth in a family. Some relevant ideas can be: abortion, feminist movement and independent women, surrogate motherhood, etc.

1. If a 18 year old girl that is 5 foot 7 inch tall and weighted 135 lbs did her laundry for one hour how many calories would she burn? 2. If a 18 year old girl that is 5 foot 7 inch tall weighing 135 lbs drove a car for 45 minutes how many calories would she burn? 3. If a 18 year old girl that is 5 foot 7 inch tall weighing 135 lbs did power yoga for 1.5 hours how many calories would she burn? 4. If a 18 year old girl that is 5 foot 7 inch tall weighing 135 lbs washed dishes for 30 minutes how many calories would she burn? 5. What are some activities that you looked up?

The unhappy stepparents found that living with two families of kids who hated each other was _________________________—something had to change.
clamor
contract
duplicity
equivocal
irresolute
rescind
stagnant
uniform
untenable
vilify

Why is it important to use proper grammar, punctuation and capitalization in English writing?
Find a picture of an office room online. Then, write a descriptive paragraph consisting 4-5 sentences containing:
an introductory sentence,
location of the office,
interesting features of the office, and
what you feel about the office.
Please attach the image after you write the paragraph.

Depending on your comfort level, you can choose to visit a physical art museum or view an online art exhibition; both are excellent options for this assignment. Links to specific art exhibitions is featured at the bottom of the page. I am happy to review one (1) draft of your essay and provide feedback. You can submit your essay draft directly to Canvas or via email, but please plan to do so by Monday, June 27th so I have adequate time to provide feedback and you have adequate time to make changes. Late submissions are accepted for this assignment, but will be marked down 5 points for each day after the due date. The last day for late submissions is Wednesday, July 13th. As you view your chosen art exhibition… Think about the following questions and jot down some notes. Your answers to these questions will become the body of your essay. Is the exhibition planned around a certain theme? A specific art movement or individual artist? How is that theme/subject made clear to the viewer? Through the art works displayed? Through text, audio, video? Through the exhibition title? How do you enter the exhibition and how do you navigate it? If the exhibition is physical, describe the set up and how you moved through the space. If the exhibition is online, describe the webpage set up and how you navigate through it. Is it clear how you should advance through/interact with the exhibition? What indicators suggest how you should navigate the exhibition? How are the art works organized within the exhibition? Chronologically? By artist? Thematically? Another way? What do you interact with first upon entering the exhibition? An artwork? A text explaining the exhibition? What is the impact of that first interaction? How is the exhibited artwork contextualized? In other words, how are the art works explained to the audience? Through text, video, audio? Something else? How does the exhibition end? What is the last thing the audience interacts with?  Your essay should address the following questions specifically: In your opinion, what was the goal of your chosen exhibition? (This is your argument/thesis statement.) In your opinion, were the goals of the exhibition achieved? Why or why not? How were the goals achieved or not achieved? (This is where your answers to the above questions will come into play.) In your opinion, could the exhibition be improved? How so? Be specific in your suggestions. (This often serves as a good conclusion to your essay.) The purpose of this assignment is to think about the importance of context and display methods in how we understand art, so as you go through the exhibition think about what it does well, what it fails to do, and what it could have done better. General Notes for Art History Essays The titles of art works and exhibitions should be italicized. Typically art history essays should feature footnotes, but due to the introductory nature of this course I am fine with any citation method. I recommend using the citation method you are most comfortable with if you require citations; it is likely you will not need citations for this assignment. Grading Rubric A Paper – Excellent Strong, clear, coherent thesis statement with a specific argument supported by substantial evidence and observations. Writing is organized, grammatically correct, and free of typos. Sentence structure is varied and lively. B Paper – Good Strong thesis, clear and coherent, but not as specific as it could be. Thesis supported by solid visual evidence and observations. Writing is organized, grammatically correct, with minimal errors and typos. C Paper – Average Thesis statement is present, but vague. Evidence does not fully substantiate claims. Writing is not fully organized. There may be consistent grammatical errors and typos. D Paper – Inadequate Thesis statement does not present an argument. Evidence is sporadic and does not substantiate claims. Paper may veer into other subjects instead of maintaining focus on the assignment. Significant problems with writing organization, grammar, and typos. F Paper – Failing No thesis statement. Paper is unfocused and does not present claims nor substantiate them. Writing errors inhibit reading. Suggested Online Exhibitions via the Google Arts & Culture Project Vincent Van Gogh’s Love Life The Creative Process of Federico Barocci’s Drawings Ingenious Carving: From Bamboo to Peach Stones African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond Parallel Lives: Frida Kahlo and Amrita Sher-Gil You do not have to use one of the exhibitions listed above. To explore other exhibitions: Visit the Home page of the Google Arts & Culture Project. Click the Menu button in the top left-hand corner and select “Collections.” This will bring you to a list of museums. Select a museum from the list to view the online exhibitions available from that museum. The online exhibitions are called “Stories.” You may choose any “Story” to explore and analyze in your essay. Suggested In-Person Exhibitions at Local Museums Be sure to check exhibition ticket availability and museum hours before visiting. Wayne Thiebaud: A Celebration, 1920-2021 at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento Radiant & Eternal: Chinese Jades from the Permanent Collection at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento Nampeyo & the Sikyátki Revival at the de Young Museum in San Francisco Alice Neel: People Come First at the de Young Museum in San Francisco Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco Seeing Gender at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco

For the Spanish words below (1-4), use Urban Dictionary to list the English word. We are using Urban Dictionary because Google
Translate couldn’t translate them. 1. guera 2. bruja 3. chingao 4. mandito

Alphabet Knowledge
and
Phonological Awareness
are extremely important aspects of teaching literacy in preschool.  Define each of these terms and list the different components of each term.

speech 36 LEARN 4 LIFE English 10B, Credit 3 (Rev. 8/20/18) CHANGES LIVES Based on the checklist on the previous page, how
effective do you think this speech was? Did the speaker achieve his/her purpose? Why or why not? In this section, be sure to discuss
the checklist and include examples from the speech you watched.

Type out the equation the signer signs, and the answer for the math equation. For example, if the signer signs, “What does five times three equal?”. You would type in the box, “5×3=15”.