English 3 Lesson 30

“Why has this theme remained popular since 1587?”

Be it through a movie, a game, or a book you have most likely heard the trope of a character making a contract with Satan in order to gain something. The trope, popularized by Doctor Faust, a German alchemist who claimed to have workings with evil, and his writings, has since become a commonplace topic to touch on. But, with the religious reprimand the mere idea brings, why has it persistently been popular, even over 400 years later?

The answer itself is simple, because it touches into human morality. Man’s greed, desperation, and punishment are all traits associated with this trope, and many authors find it interesting. Many stories using this trope usually follow a being desperate for something, whether it be more power or for things to go their way. In this desperate state, they form a pact with a devil, which grants them their initial wish, but they soon come to find it comes with more detriments than it does benefits, and by the time they regret their decision, they find it’s too late.

It is not a shock that humans are drawn to subjects of immorality; we are born creatures of sin, after all. It is not uncommon to find works that have immoral actions in them. Thus, this concept brings an alluring aura which readers and authors find attractive. There remains a demand for it, and thus, despite its sinful contents, it remains popular.

Economics Lesson 25

How does making a budget reduce impulse shopping?

A budget is used to indicate the amount of money available for a specific purpose. People put budgets together when looking to buy something purposeful. When you have no budget, you’re more prone to impulse purchases, as you’re given no clarity as to how much money is available.

When you have no idea how much money you actually have, you’re likely to make unnecessary purchases because you think you have the money for it. It’s how people land into credit card debt so easily; you’re not given an idea on how much you actually have, you just assume you have it and spend. Creating a budget is important for combating impulse shopping. You’ll be less tempted to make purchases, as you don’t want to go past your budget.

It all boils down to ignorance. When you create a budget, you know exactly how much money is in your possession, and you’re given that clarity before buying anything.

Economics Lesson 20

Is it worth my time to get a part-time job at the minimum wage?

I will answer this question first with an objective standpoint, and then a personal.

Part time jobs are common amongst teenagers, and even at a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour (not factoring taxes..) many choose to take them. There are many reasons minimum wage jobs seem appealing to teenagers, as for many, it’s the one of their first steps into adulthood. It helps build a small fund, which they can use for future use, such as college or a start into buying a house.

As for me, I would consider it worth my time, lord knows I have an abundance of it I’m not using anyway. I would consider it worth it to take up a part time job. As aforementioned, it would be the start of a small fund that would gradually increase with time. It could go towards funding a career path I might choose to take, or towards helping out my family. Whatever I choose to do with it, there’s no such thing as “too much money.” Any money would be good, so even it’s something small, I’d consider it worth it.

English 3 Lesson 25

Now that I have finished the section Montaigne, would I read any more of his essays? Why or why not?

Montaigne is famous for being a rather creative writer. He is known for his unique way of words; simply viewing a single sentence is enough to know it was written by him. However, there are occasions where his pretty words end up obscuring the true meaning behind them. It can get confusing to read his works sometimes, however that is not a major deterrent.

There are many features to his writing that makes it unique to his time and creative, such as his skeptic mindset which he incorporated into his works. He was a highly intelligent man and this is made apparent in his essays. I would happily read more of his essays in the future; it’s very interesting seeing such an unique personality from so long ago.

Government 1A Lesson 20

Describe Bastiat’s concept of the politics of plunder.

Bastiat’s concept of plunder starts with the explanation of the three god given rights of man, personality, liberty, and property. Bastian states the government uses the law to oppress these rights, however the law itself is not plunder. Politicians and important figures alike use the law to further rob the populace. They do their best to convince the populace that their objective is to abolish the laws that allow powerful figures to abuse the average people, but most politicians are interested in nothing but lining their own pockets.

Bastiat explains the concepts of “naked greed” and “misconceived philanthropy”. Both concepts twist the law so more money lines the rich, but misconceived philanthropy is more among the lines of giving money to the wrong people; such as stealing money from the hard working to allow those who use money unwisely to survive.

Bastiat says that anything the state does to oppress these rights is plunder, which was one of his biggest qualms with slavery, saying it was an oppression of liberty. He presents three solutions; to have the few plunder the many, to have everyone plunder everyone, and to have no one plunder anyone. He states, quite obviously, that the third will be the best option for society. However, due to the greed of man, a plunder-less society would be impossible. Man will always be filled with greed; those given power will always desire more. It’s one of the many downfalls of the human species; we long for the best for everyone, however, we ourselves are the only thing stopping it from happening.

Economics Lesson 15

If the state regulated garage sales, would poor people be better off?

The concept of “garage sales” are to be easy and cheap ways of selling off junk you don’t want. The hosts don’t wish to trouble themselves with selling online, and would rather make a bit of money than just throw everything away. The “bit of money” is not just a saying, it’s a universally known fact that objects sold in garage sales are far cheaper than retail, which for many is the appeal of visiting.

The freedom that comes with garage sales are what make them so common. Both the buyer and host escape the government regulated landscape that is retail. Thus, regulating garage sales is a quick and easy way to discourage anyone from doing them. The process of having to set a garage sale that way would be excruciating and would most likely make the host lose more money.

It would inflict the slew of retail problems onto the individuals; items would be taxed, government favoritism that would end up hurting one party more than the other, it wouldn’t ever be a favorable affair and people would just find ways to do them illegally. So no, I don’t think it would benefit anyone to regulate them. Most things end up collapsing after government regulation, this is no different.

Economics Lesson 10

If you were flying across country, would you rather sit in first class, or would you rather your parents gave you the difference between the first-class fare and the coach fare?

The answer to this question is dependent on the person answering. There are many pros and cons to sitting in both fares, however I personally would choose coach. Whilst first class comes with a many wonderful benefits, it is also much more expensive. Should I fly across country, I’d imagine such an event would happen with experiencing that place in mind.

Money is a very important variable in a lot of things; travel is not exempt from this. When traveling, you have to consider a many factors, such as the flight you choose, the hotel you’re staying at, the locations you choose to visit. All of these cost money, a lot of it. Thus, unless you are unbelievably rich, it would be in your best interest to take shortcuts to save as much as possible. With this in mind, I would not mind flying coach. My comfort is not worth an extra thousand.

English 3 Lesson 20

Is the language of Foxe still compelling today?

Language is a complex, fluid concept. Even though there will always be base rules in place, language will always change with time. In the case of the English language, it has evolved to favor shortening words to convey the same meaning in less time. Foxe would use words like “thereunto”, “dwelleth”, “benumbed”, and so forth. By their appearance alone, you can conclude that these are not words you’ll be hearing in a modern conversation.

The entirety of Foxe’s story is riddled with these words. The book was released in 1563, it’s expected that it would be written with these words, as these words were commonly used during this time period. However, when writing for a specific time period, you have almost guaranteed that your work will expire with time. Modern day students may have trouble comprehending this work due to the outdated language it uses. Thanks to the fluidity of language, most of these words are unheard of, as they’ve been replaced with quicker, shorter words that mean the same thing.

So, no. I don’t believe that the language Foxe used would be compelling to the modern reader. The effort of having to learn a new vocabulary just to read a book isn’t appealing to most people, so they would just rather read something else.

English 3 Lesson 15

Was More risking persecution by the church because of this book?

The contents of the book were nothing that could risk church persecution. The concept of the book itself is the author writing of a fictional land that was heavily laced with satirical context, so if a church official were to read the book they most likely wouldn’t take it seriously.

The most I could think that could get him in trouble was how in Utopia, priests were given limited authority and there wasn’t an agreed upon religion. The 1500’s was a time where religious differences could equal serious reprimand, so writing of a religion that’s mocking the biggest one could be a major risk. Nonetheless, he never got in trouble, so it seems no one took it seriously enough.

Government 1A Lesson 15

Write 250 words on this proposition: “Online education is bad for society because it puts classroom teachers out of work.”

I don’t necessarily agree with this statement. Online education, prior to the worldwide pandemic, wasn’t a popular option when it came to schooling. It wasn’t a popular option, for a multitude of reasons, some of which having to do with parents being involved. Thus, it wasn’t ever a threat to classroom teachers jobs.

Teachers are necessary to modern society as education is a crucial part of a child’s life. Even when the pandemic hit, in-class teachers still were essential. Online schooling didn’t render them jobless, they merely had to educate online. This ties into the next point, that online education doesn’t mean teacherless. There are jobs for both online teachers and in class teachers, and these two peacefully co-exist.

With all of this in mind, I can conclude that the statement “online education is bad for society because it puts classroom teachers out of work” isn’t correct. There will always be more classroom teachers than there are online teachers, however neither pose a threat to the other. They both serve the same function, to teach. Forgetting this is what creates such incorrect statements.