The book that I decided to read for the independent reading project was Blackhawk Down by Mark Bowden. This book has been very interesting to me since I am interested in military events (at least the ones that have occurred World War II and after). It has been very interesting so far, and I have also watched the movie, which was very good but considered by many to downsize parts of the true events of the day. The book details the events of the first Battle of Mogadishu (which went under the code name Gothic Serpent). They entered the Bakara and anticipated a quick one hour mission which would end in the capture of two tier one aides of Mohammad Farrah Aidid with very few injuries to American forces. Local spies had reported where the two personalities would be meeting and the Army had soon set up a plan. Members of the Army Rangers would set up positions on corners of the block where the building was to prevent anyone from entering. Elite Delta force troopers would then enter the building using flash bang grenades, stunning the people and getting them on the grounds before they could react, as they had been taught to do.
This would be most easily done using helicopters, which normal pilots would be hard pressed to navigate in the narrow allies of the Bakara market. However, the army had the 160th division (also known as the Night Stalkers) which was an elite force of pilots who had even trained themselves to fly during the night. The Rangers would be brought in on MH-60 Blackhawk helicopters while the Delta force flew in on the smaller MH-6 Little Birds (which would be armed with mini guns and 2.75 inch rockets). At the same time a ground force would leave for the base and meet up at the house where the prisoners would be loaded on and taken back to base. All of this went terribly wrong when two the Blackhawks got shot down by Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG’s). The army started talking massive casualties as they fought to the crash sights while all of the market continued to rise against them. Eventually they got to the crash sights after suffering casualties to find many of the pilots dead. After all that they had to set up posts for the night where they had to defend themselves from the constant Somali attacks, eventually being rescued by the UN peace keepers also in a peaceful part of Somalia. At the end many of the Rangers and Delta forces couldn’t fit in the cars and had to run the distance to the stadium, while being shot at, after a night of constant fighting. This magnificent run became known as the Mogadishu Mile. I was greatly disturbed by the fact that people called US forces out for accidentally hitting women and children, when in fact, these women and children were running towards the fighting, running towards the Americans and thus blocking the Somali fighters from being hit. They involved themselves in the fight, when kids sit on top of a Somali shooter to protect him they involved themselves and made themselves combatants.
This book really brought to light the massive sacrifices our armed forces make for us. Many suffered debilitating wounds such as having their finger shot off, or suffered through unendurable pain while they slowly died after trying to save one of their friends. Not only has this book been very interesting, but it has made me respect those who serve our country much more than before.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Pursuit of Knowledge
Schools are very important in a person’s desire to obtain knowledge. While it is true that some people are born with an innate hunger for knowledge, many others get inspired to learn from what their teachers tell them, or what they read in books. This is why many schools now seek ways to inspire kids, not just to do well in school but to also continue their education afterwards, whether by reading books or going to universities.
Private schools are very good at inspiring kids because they have more resources available to them and, because they are a smaller school, can do more things that reflect what their students’ desire. If they are currently studying a certain subject, in say, History and it reminds a student of something else or it parallels to something else then they can possibly take the time to look at that idea or assign homework or extra credit for that particular subject.
The problem with public schools is that they lack the money and resources that private schools do. They also have a far larger class size and thus cannot vary their schedule as much. That would cause a school class to get further ahead or behind the other classes. Also, the teachers won’t be as willing to divert the class for the interest of a few students. The other thing is that the teachers lack the same kind of enthusiasm that private school teachers have because they had already been paid. The money of the taxpayer pays the public school teachers and faculty workers. Since they are assured their pay, no matter how their class does, they don’t have a desire to make sure that class does well or is interested in the learning. This is one of the vital problems with our public school systems. Private school teachers, however, can get easily fired for not living up to standards, have higher standards to live up to, and don’t get paid by taxpayers. Instead, they get paid by the students or the students parents so if the parents or students realize that the teachers aren’t doing well then they can choose to leave that school, thus influencing the teachers pay.
Those teachers that are so dedicated to their students that they will help to excite the students do so by taking time to do the things that the students want to do. The parents join the teachers in this by telling the student how much the education they receive means and how important it is to continue that education in order to have a good life.
Due to the lack of motivation in our public schools, our students of today are facing problems with lack of motivation. With a few changes this could be remedied, though the change would not be immediate. These schools have a profound effect on the students desire to learn, and should be reminded of that more often. That might inspire them to work harder to inspire their kids and help our future.
Private schools are very good at inspiring kids because they have more resources available to them and, because they are a smaller school, can do more things that reflect what their students’ desire. If they are currently studying a certain subject, in say, History and it reminds a student of something else or it parallels to something else then they can possibly take the time to look at that idea or assign homework or extra credit for that particular subject.
The problem with public schools is that they lack the money and resources that private schools do. They also have a far larger class size and thus cannot vary their schedule as much. That would cause a school class to get further ahead or behind the other classes. Also, the teachers won’t be as willing to divert the class for the interest of a few students. The other thing is that the teachers lack the same kind of enthusiasm that private school teachers have because they had already been paid. The money of the taxpayer pays the public school teachers and faculty workers. Since they are assured their pay, no matter how their class does, they don’t have a desire to make sure that class does well or is interested in the learning. This is one of the vital problems with our public school systems. Private school teachers, however, can get easily fired for not living up to standards, have higher standards to live up to, and don’t get paid by taxpayers. Instead, they get paid by the students or the students parents so if the parents or students realize that the teachers aren’t doing well then they can choose to leave that school, thus influencing the teachers pay.
Those teachers that are so dedicated to their students that they will help to excite the students do so by taking time to do the things that the students want to do. The parents join the teachers in this by telling the student how much the education they receive means and how important it is to continue that education in order to have a good life.
Due to the lack of motivation in our public schools, our students of today are facing problems with lack of motivation. With a few changes this could be remedied, though the change would not be immediate. These schools have a profound effect on the students desire to learn, and should be reminded of that more often. That might inspire them to work harder to inspire their kids and help our future.
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