Skype with Samar

During the skype conversation I was surprised to find out some of Samar’s opinions, how she dressed, and how upbeat she was. Like most people in class I was expecting someone who was more refined and quite in a way. Instead I felt that Samar had an upbeat, positive personality that made her who she is. I did not find her shy at all, but totally willing to ask us questions, answer our questions, and talk about her life. When it came to her clothes I did not expect her to wear clothes that are common here in the United States. The news and other sources have given me the idea that the women from Iraq hide their faces and keep to themselves. I found that fact that my previous thoughts to be refreshing. It is nice knowing that although there is a war going on Samar has maintained her personality as well as normal parts of a 21 year old woman’s life. She told us how she still hangs with friends just usually at her or their houses instead of out because of fear of lack of security. She told us that she wanted the American troops to stay over there. This is so unlike what is presented to Americans in the news. I was also surprised that they lose power often and that they all have to have generators because the power supplied by the government last only about three to four hours a day. I personally think that losing power randomly would not be fun, however, Samar seemed like it did not phase her.
If we have another conversation with Samar I would like more culture, religion, and personal questions such as dating. During the conversation the war, her visit to USI, and how she felt about America were dwell covered. In my opinion it would be a little more interesting if information about Iraq was given such as culture, weather, and religion.

Multiple Choice Testing

In class most of the students were saying that they disliked multiple choice testing. I was surprised that most of the class felt like this. Some of the reasons they said that they did not like multiple choice testing were that they left students who guessed with good chances of doing good, after awhile you could figure out the pattern of answers if had the same teacher multiple years in a row, and if was stuck between two choices the reasoning for picking the answer you did could not be explained. I agree with some of these reasons but not all of them. I agree that it isn’t fair that those who did not study can pull out good grades. I think it is very hard to figure out the pattern the teachers use because in my experience the pattern usually changes from test to test.
In my opinion multiple choice testing is good under many circumstances and did contribute to my learning. I think that multiple choice questions are good for classes where multiple chapters are covered at once. This usually means that there are many details to remember, which can be a bit overwhelming. I feel that to do well on multiple choice questions the basics must still be known to help narrow down the options. I also think multiple choice tests are good for comprehensive finals for the same reasons. Another reason I like multiple choice is that if when you look at the test and you stress out and your mind goes blank you can at least make an educated guess rather than trying to pull something out of thin air for a short answer, essay, or fill in the blank question.
There are times that I feel that all multiple choice questions on a test are not good. I think that some questions require explaining of why we but certain answers ifs a good thing. I personally think that a mixture of different types of questions on test would be the best. I say this because it tests students understanding on true or false, multiple choice, short answer, fill-in-blank, and essay questions.

John's case

In my opinion I believe that John should have got the treatment he needed. I’m not saying give this to him for free because everything costs something. Ideas were thrown out in class about having fundraisers and other community activities to get money donated to help pay the bill. I think that doing those things would help a lot, especially in tight nit caring communities. I personally think that the hospital should have worked with him to establish a payment plan. Payment plans our done for cars, houses, furniture, and even dental work. Why withhold a major surgery that could possibly save a man’s life? Hospitals aren’t made to make money. It is their job to save people’s lives. I know that saving every life is impossible and that in order to stay open and be able to treat as many people as they do; they must make some money. I’m not saying this is a bad thing but I do believe that hospitals could be more flexible and work with the patients on billing.
As for the question today, I think that universal health care is both good and bad. I say it is a bad thing because raising taxes isn’t going to help the economical situation. People who cannot afford insurance right now aren’t going to be able to pay higher taxes in most cases. I also say it is bad because it may take longer for people to see doctors and the surgeries may be pushed months away from when they need them. I also say no to universal health care because with that more and more people will become bigger dependents on the government even if they are fully capable to work. I say that it is a good thing strictly because it will give everyone health care and people who are hard working, have insurance (just doesn’t pay as much as it needs too), and are in desperate need of care are turned down.