Dear future APELC student,
You are in for a challenging year. This course is not designed to be easy because the curriculum is designed to push you to the next level. This year is meant to challenge you but it is not meant to break you, so don't get too overwhelmed.
There are things you have to understand before you try to tackle this class. You are in a class with the best of the best. There won't be many kids in the class who shouldn't be there; more than likely you will be surrounded by the best your grade has to offer. I know that I struggled with trying to feel up to par with my classmates, but just remember everyone is struggling just as much as you are. The way essays are scored in this class is probably not something that you are used to. There are going to be papers that you turn feeling fully confident only to get a grade that you are not used to. I know that for my first essay I received a grade on a paper that I had never gotten on an English paper before. I'm not going to lie it sucks to get an inadequate grade on a paper, but the thing you have to keep in mind is that it's okay to do poorly as long as you take the right steps to improve. The most important thing, and the thing that I wished I had known during my time in APELC, is that when you get that bad grade don't hide that paper in the away in an effort to conceal your defeat. When you get a bad grade just accept it for how it is, and try everything in your power to improve on the mistakes that you made. In the long run getting a bad grade on a paper will not hurt your overall grade, but the thing that will hurt you the most is not fixing your errors.
Just another little reminder if you are a person who worries about their grade, which is perfectly normal, it's okay to get a bad grade; because everyone gets a bad grade once in a while. You may finish the year with B, like I did, but you have to keep in mind that the information that you are gaining from taking this course will help you for the rest of your life.
You got this!
Best Wishes,
Kaitlyn Gallagher
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
TOW #29 Blackfish Argument
Whenever there is an argument on animals it usually boils down to whether animals have the same emotional capacity to that of humans. In the documentary Blackfish the argument arose that the whales that were kept in captivity were going mentally insane, which was to root cause to them attacking their trainers. I believe the captivity of animals causes mental problems similar to those that they would find in the human mind.
In the documentary there is the main Orca Whale named Tilikum who wound up killing multiple of his trainers, while in captivity. Whales have gotten the bad rap now that swimming with them could lead to death, and the documentary even mentioned the fact that SeaWorld now has the rule that trainers are not allowed in the water with the killer whales anymore. The reputation that the whales are getting is similar to that of Pit Bulls, the breed of dog has almost become synonymous with fighting. There are people who believe that Pitbulls are a terrible breed of dog, and they should not be family pets. Pitbulls are not bad dogs they are simply trained to be bad by their owners, some may have some attack instincts, but it is the actions of the owners that lead to them becoming vicious animals . It was not choice of Tilikum to kill his trainer, he may have had the tendency but it was a direct cause of their actions that he killed. The whales should not be given a bad rap just because there have been some instances of attacks.
In in documentary the intelligence of the whales was displayed through numerous examples. The animals display characteristics that are similar to humans. The whales have their own means of communications, and can form intimate relationships with one another. While being held in captivity the whales will gang up o one another and will even attack the other whales when they feel threatened. With this logic it only makes sense that an animal with the mental capacity can also break while in captivity. I can only draw the conclusion that these animals are capable of going insane while being held in such confined locations.
Tilikum was not responsible for the deaths of his trainers. He was the reason that they died, but he had no control over the fact that he would lose his mind while being kept in a space that did not hold up to the standard that would keep him from killing people,
In the documentary there is the main Orca Whale named Tilikum who wound up killing multiple of his trainers, while in captivity. Whales have gotten the bad rap now that swimming with them could lead to death, and the documentary even mentioned the fact that SeaWorld now has the rule that trainers are not allowed in the water with the killer whales anymore. The reputation that the whales are getting is similar to that of Pit Bulls, the breed of dog has almost become synonymous with fighting. There are people who believe that Pitbulls are a terrible breed of dog, and they should not be family pets. Pitbulls are not bad dogs they are simply trained to be bad by their owners, some may have some attack instincts, but it is the actions of the owners that lead to them becoming vicious animals . It was not choice of Tilikum to kill his trainer, he may have had the tendency but it was a direct cause of their actions that he killed. The whales should not be given a bad rap just because there have been some instances of attacks.
In in documentary the intelligence of the whales was displayed through numerous examples. The animals display characteristics that are similar to humans. The whales have their own means of communications, and can form intimate relationships with one another. While being held in captivity the whales will gang up o one another and will even attack the other whales when they feel threatened. With this logic it only makes sense that an animal with the mental capacity can also break while in captivity. I can only draw the conclusion that these animals are capable of going insane while being held in such confined locations.
Tilikum was not responsible for the deaths of his trainers. He was the reason that they died, but he had no control over the fact that he would lose his mind while being kept in a space that did not hold up to the standard that would keep him from killing people,
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