Monday, October 17, 2011

Michaela Dempsey's Blog #15


Blog 1: http://nuweb4.neu.edu/nuin/mochkarovaa/2011/10/14/the-effect-of-poverty-on-children/
            For my blog essay I’m going to write about the poverty in impoverished countries, specifically in Costa Rica. This topic is very close to me because last March I visited Costa Rica for a week on a school trip and saw the severe poverty first hand. The first blog I found was written by blogger Anna M..  M. discusses time she spent in Costa Rica for a midterm project. She talks about the poor conditions and lack of education that the children in Costa Rica deal with every day. She definitely uses Aristotle’s Rhetorical appeals in her blog, especially pathos. M. says about the children, “On a daily basis, they witness the negativity and violence that many people my age could not imagine,” (http://nuweb4.neu.edu/nuin/mochkarovaa/2011/10/14/the-effect-of-poverty-on-children/). To me, this is extremely disturbing; no children should go through what these children do. This blog was different than other things I have read because it focuses more on the authors’ personal experiences than facts and statistics of the country.

            The second blog that I found was written by Eric Van Rheenan. He discussed the debate on the correlation of poverty and conservation of parklands. Van Rheenan writes that the conservation of natural sites, “Generates economic benefits by…promoting tourism and improving infrastructure in remote areas,” (http://www.livingabroadincostarica.com/blog/2010/06/parklands-in-costa-rica-help-reduce-poverty/). This utilizes Aristotle’s logos because it emphasizes the logic behind conserving because of the benefits it grants to Costa Rica. This article is different than other articles that I’ve read because it provides a map of Costa Rica that shows the location of conserved areas and the different levels of poverty all over the country.

            The third blog that I read did not have the authors name listed by was titled Ending Poverty and Food Insecurity Proves to be an Elusive Goal. This article detailed the different ways in which people from impoverished areas can grow their own food in order to save money and have extra food to feed their families. This blog used logos to enforce the idea that anyone and everyone can sustain themselves food wise, “This is no-excuses food production. Don’t have room for a garden? Go vertical. Pacheco and his students are growing tomatoes in hanging plastic bags. Can’t manage a big garden? Plant small. Pacheco demonstrated a planting container made from a plastic jug,” (http://blog.isevoyages.org/2011/06/06/ending-poverty-and-food-insecurity-proves-to-be-an-elusive-goal/). The article is able to dissolve all excuses that could possibly be made by people to not grow their own food by providing simple and logical solutions. This article is different from other articles in that it did not have the authors name available for the reader to see.

            The final blog that I found was posted by Kale. He discussed the correlation between poverty and students dropping out of school. He used logos to demonstrate this, “Official statistics show that last year, 12 of every 100 junior high school students dropped out, while national data indicate that each year 6.8 percent of all students, 64,459 children, quit school,” (http://povertynewsblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/costa-rica-poverty-causes-school.html). This blog was different from other blogs that I’ve read because I believe that a lot of it was taken from another source.

3 comments:

  1. I think your topic is very interesting, it seems like there is a lot for you to look at for information.

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  2. The first blog you chose follows the criteria we wrote down in class. This blog is in the form of a narrative. Also it's very current in what's happening now so therefore it is in reverse chronological order.

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  3. A question I would further ask is are there any programs that can help better poverty in Costa Rica?

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