When you hear the word community college? What strikes your mind? Is it: easy way to get a degree? Cheap way to pay through school? The easiest way to make your parents happy? Well, there are a lot of things that come to the mind when mentioning a community college. Community colleges are a great way to put your foot in the door to many opportunities that can help you along the pathway to success.

I'll admit, when I used to hear about Illinois Central College, I never wanted to go there. I wanted to straight up move out away from this area and develop my learning skills from a different, bigger campus. Currently, I am in my second semester here and am only 17 years old. My high school provides students with the option to take classes here for their senior credits. Obviously, it is a great opportunity to have this not only on your transcript, but for jobs to see that you are mature enough to handle yourself in college as a high school student.

In high school, I've never really fit in. I've had many friends, but since I'm different, it's always been hard for me to relate to people. Also, being mature and understanding are qualities that really aren't accepted around the younger crowd. Another problem about high school was there was not many art classes that pertained to what I want to do in life. So, I jumped at the chance to be able to take Theatre and Art or any classes that had to do with the Fine Arts.

Doing this program has been a great honor to me. Not only will I be able to spread the word to other students who are bored with the "high school life", I can inform other students that they can take their education into their own hands. Being able to go to school and being able to do what I love really has made my thoughts about this community college change drastically. Now when I hear the word "community college", I think of change, opportunities, hope, and etc.!

Peer Review by Kris Russell for Moe Hunt.

1. What worked well? Explain.

It felt as if she really put her emotions into her paper and you could tell that her opinions have really changed about school.

2. What needs work? Explain.

Maybe more explanation about her transition and maybe needs to be a little longer.

3. Does the essay follow the rules of the assignment and contest guidelines? Explain.

Yes.

4. Do you as a reader find the essay engaging? What aspects? If not, what could be changed to bring it more to life?

Yes, because it doesn't really sugar coat the experience or thoughts first.

Peer Review for Monica Hunt by Jen.

1. What worked well? Explain.

The way she first states her opinions of what comes to her mind about community college.

2. What needs work? Explain.

Maybe the paper needs to be a bit longer.

3. Does the essay follow the rules of the assignment and contest guidelines? Explain.

Yeah, it's under 500 words and talks about community college.

4. Do you as a reader find the essay engaging? What aspects? If not, what could be changed to bring it more to life?

Yes, but make it a little longer.

Moe Hunt review for Kris Russell.

1. What worked well? Explain.

His hook was nice and the paper flowed very well.

2. What needs work? Explain.

Maybe the transitions could be a little better.

3. Does the essay follow the rules of the assignment and contest guidelines? Explain.

Yes, he uses correct grammar too.

4. Do you as a reader find the essay engaging? What aspects? If not, what could be changed to bring it more to life?

Well, I like it because Kris is in the same program as I am, so it's interesting to read.


Monica Hunt Peer Review for Jen.

1. What worked well? Explain.

The paper used correct grammar and really had a great feel to it.

2. What needs work? Explain.

Maybe add a few more reasons why she likes ICC.

3. Does the essay follow the rules of the assignment and contest guidelines? Explain.

Yes. Correct grammar and follows the guidelines.

4. Do you as a reader find the essay engaging? What aspects? If not, what could be changed to bring it more to life?

Yes, because it doesn't sound fake about her experience.

Thing for English 111.

With so many minorities in the world and so many cultures surrounding us we should all take notice. Not only as adults, but by starting off as young children. The article of "Children Speak about Interethnic and Interracial Friendships in the Classroom: Lessons for Teachers" by Cinzia Pica-Smith speaks exactly what and how teachers should handle introducing different colored children to each other.

This article tries to fend off racism from affecting the current children of the new generations to come. For many years minorities were forced to be in lower educations systems, segregated from other colors, and treated like dirt. By the segregation laws being forbidden in the U.S., this gives many children a chance in life to develop long lasting friendships with children of other backgrounds. By children being able to interact with other races, it increases understanding and racism decreases. Children also develop better social and behavior traits when they are in an interracial friendship. Which allows them to be diverse in their activities.

To study children and interracial friendships they had to gather research. Apparently having extracurricular activities really helped the children bond and develop friendships. In the article the researcher felt that the best way to get a child's understanding of the topic is to best ask the children themselves to have them explain friendships and interracial friendships and how teachers help interracial relationships to grow. The interviewer decides to find out what keeps the formations of these relationships to form and increase by using the children as subjects of the research and have the children speak out their thoughts and opinions. The children interviewed recieved these questions: 1) how would you describe a friend? (2) I hear a lot of children talking about their best friends, what is the difference between a friend and a best friend? (3) Would you tell me a little about your friends? (4) Are any of your close friends from a different ethnicity/race and cultural background than your own? Tell me about your friendships with them. (5) How could children's friendships with children of different ethnicities/races and cultural backgrounds be encouraged? The children mostly answered that intergroup friendships are not as abundant, but so wonderful when found..

Most of the children interviewed that had interracial relationships described them as rewarding, but a lot of hard work. The children with the interracial friends also said they enjoyed being able to learn about new cultures and explore new opportunities with their friends. Especially new hobbies that they might of not even heard of before.

As much as the children liked interracial friendships, there is also some unlikeable qualities. Sometimes they would rather just hang out with friends that like the same things as they do. A child of color, Letrell, explains it in his own way, "I noticed that my friends who are the same cultural background like me, like kind of the same stuff as I do ... my friends who aren't the same cultural background as me like different things than we like. So the good things about having different friends is that you can do different things and learn something new. But the bad things is that you have to try to make yourself like the same things that they do, and try to do it right ... try to do it as good as they do. Like if you are not used to it, and you make yourself like it." Some of the children have trouble with the parents having the other children coming over who are not the same color as their child. It seems that one child's parents are okay with it, while the other set of parents are iffy on the friendships. (Not known, but possible.). Some of the children feel like the same race understand them better and are even easier to talk to about things.

Even though the interracial friendships are fun, they face obstacles. Such as teasing. Children are often made fun of for the way they look and where they come from. It is hard for the children of color to feel good enough to hang out with white children or any other races. Also children's parents can be hesitant about these types of relationships, and may prevent the development of them.

Finally, they support intergroup friendships when they model and share stories of their own friendships. Children explain that teachers may act as barriers to intergroup friendships in several ways: when they do not respond to interrupt critical incidents involving racial prejudice, when they do not provide or facilitate opportunities for children to interact in interethnic/interracial group situations, and when they do not demonstrate their interest and investment in interethnic/interracial friendship. Teachers are another big impact on the prevention of these friendships. If a teacher does not stop or prevent racial discrimination it can cause children to catch on to their behavior. Another obstacle is children who do not live nearby or in close neighborhoods are not likely to develop friendships outside of school because of quality time that could not be spent together.

To develop better interracial friendships, teachers need to take a stand and prevent racial slurs. Also, by allowing group projects and quality time in the classroom, new friendships can form in the least likely pairing possible! Allowing children to interact with each other more will prevent racism in the classroom and eventually to the playground!

English 111.

This is the year 2010. By now, people thought we would be watching Michael J. Fox riding around on a floating scooter, or that robots would take over the world. Who would think that after all these years of human development and learning from the past, that racism and not being able to understand is such a big part of our country.

This is no longer the 1800's, but why is it, that racism is still part of our culture? As someone of the younger generation, I thought that tolerance was embedded into our blood now. Apparently not. Constantly people still use racial insensitive words or create stereotypes based on color of skin.

I grew up in a small town of about 3,000 people. (Almost all Caucasian.) A small town with non understanding people. African Americans were scarce, Asians almost minute, and rarely a Hispanic person around. Still, the people from this small town make jokes, call names, use racist comments about people they've never really interacted with before. And people wonder why this town is so small? Why would anyone of any diversity want to settle down in a town where they are not welcome in? Racism is such a pathetic way to represent any part of who you are or your country.

Do all African Americans go on Welfare? NO! Are all Asians smart? NO! Are Mexicans dirty? NO! Can anyone lose site of who people really are because of skin color? YES! I, myself, am in an interracial relationship with the guy of my dreams! He so happens to be Asian. Since it is 2010, you would think that this would fly by easily. HAH. No. Either people accept us, or they don't. He's been treated with disrespect from White people and Asians, as so have I. Even at Disney World over Christmas break, we were gawked and glared at by so many people. A man at Epcot even got his fun by giving a death stare for about 25 minutes in a line. Talk about friendly.

As the United States of America is known as "The Land of Opportunity" and "Freedom", who is it really free for? Why can racism still be so prominent in a land full of diversity? How can after so many years, people still believe in "White Power"? Love should be spread around for anyone, no matter where you come from.