Kerly Leรณn O.
Kerly Leรณn O.
Josephine Javens January 10, 2017 Imbabura,
Ecuador
Table of Contents Portfolio Letter Class Essays (4) -Response Essay -Exploration/ Investigation -Essay Interpretation (Collaborative) Essay -Argumentation Essay Final Research Project: Essay (1) Thank you letter
Kerly León Universidad Yachay Tech Imbabura, Ecuador December 9, 2016 Dear Portfolio Reader: My name is Kerly León. Thank you for giving me your time to read my portfolio. This portfolio contains different work done towards the end of my studies in the English Language Program at Yachay, which will demonstrate my strengths and weaknesses in the language in addition to the skills I learned during the program. This has taught me that I can improve every day and that the teacher's advice is the best help. So I am sure that the English language will help me throughout my university career. Since I started to study English, I had problems concentrating and understanding dialogues in class, and I was afraid to speak in public because of the errors in my vocabulary. I remember one of the first homework assignments that I did; this consisted in making a paragraph about my life as a student and reading it in front of everyone, but although it was very short I could not go out in public, and besides I could only write three lines. But now I have come to have more confidence in myself and I can write a paragraph without problems and I can talk more with my classmates. My main improvement was an increase in my vocabulary, which allowed me to convey my ideas to the teacher and my classmates and to participate in classes. This was thanks to activities in classes such as writing, reading, and discussing. So when I had my first group work in level six, I was able to correctly interpret alongside my classmate the poem ¨ The Road not taken, ¨ and together to expose and perform an
interpretative essay. I was able to express all my ideas and feelings about this poem and transmit it in my exposition so that I could respond without fear to my classmates’ questions. This experience helped me gain confidence in the communication of my ideas. Also, I improved my ability to present a structured thesis according to the problem of my final research; this can be observed from my first essay to the last essay. First, I had problems focusing on a specific topic and not organizing my ideas, but thanks to my teacher's advice I can now summarize my ideas, choose the correct thesis, and use clear sources that support the initial idea. So, now I can write texts with a clear and specific introduction. This shows that every day, learning something new and developing your skills depends on your effort. For this reason, dear reader I hope you can observe my progress through my portfolio and you can forgive my mistakes in my work because I still have to improve, but I am sure that I will continue with my studies and be better.
Sincerely, Kerly LeĂłn
Response Essay
Be better or be yourself: The Human Enhancement by Kerly LeĂłn
Do you think that it is right for someone to play God? All think in the possibility of human enhancement but we don’t think in the changes that will happen in our life in our human integrity. I think one the most common ideas on text discussed in class "the ethics of human enhancement" (Miah, 2016) are the problems to cause of the increase of modifications and alterations on the human. So, the solution for the control of human enhancement is through a personal commitment based in ethical principles and morals. The text talks about the principals causes of the quest to achieve an improvement and as the use of technology decrease value human, besides the violation to the preservation of the human quality due the creation of "perfect person". Thus, the author considers that the need for ethical laws is important for the search of principles that govern this process. The first point according to the text is, how the humans begin these processes because of their constant desire for competition and the need to achieve a life with their family. Generating a total loss of ethics and morals of each person and a subsidiary of technology, unaware that does not create their own way. So, what will be our identity if we don’t have the surprise of something new because we know before it happens, by that I mean the arrival of a new being; if you change your genetics is not a natural birth, it is an artificial birth. Thus human quality is lost by biotechnology and we are "playing God" (Miah, 2016, p. 3)
Another important point in which the text is centered is the use of drugs to improve physical performance (Miah, 2016, p. 2), which I think is necessary that we can improve education about the use of these products and the consequences of their abuse. The author considers this issue as a moral impact that depends on the choice of each person and try to make own choice ethics. Also it proposed as a possible solution the creation of ethical principles that control the behavior of human improvement at all levels (Miah 2016, p. 3). I think this is a good solution that can be used for creating laws that control these processes and we can work together for this. Also, is necessary consider the clarity of ideas to explain the importance of the creation of ethics laws, and methods that increase the participation of all, to achieve a strategy of control of human enhancement. Thus, the use of human enhancements requires a global response. (Miah, 2016, p. 3) However, the text focuses of general form to the problems caused by human improvement and not conducting a study or consider examples describing the result of the misuse of science. Therefore, it is important to make a contrast between the benefits and consequences, because it is a fact that the problem is the lack of limits and knowledge of the real future that awaits us.
References Miah, A. (2016). The Ethics of Human Enhancement . 5.
Analysis Essay
“The Story of an Hour” (1894, Chopin) This story was writing in third person to achieve that the reader can feel the reality of characters. This story is focused on the loss of freedom that can feel a woman in her marriage. So the author expose to woman like a victim of routine, problems and abandonee in her marriage, this can see through her reaction when she received the news of her husband’s death she goes to her room alone and slowly. She begins remember all the moments with her husband, she takes time to see the window and she think of freedom. She can listen “the notes of a distant song” (1894, Chopin), she sees the “blue sky through the clouds” (1894, Chopin) and the color in the air that significate the new world that wait her. So, she had a reflection of her wishes like woman and with terror in her eyes she said: “free, free, free” (1894, Chopin), this provoked her to feel like a monster because she had loved him sometimes and now she though in the years that coming and that “she would live for her self” (1894, Chopin). So, we can see the conflict that she has with herself and that her freedom depends of her husband’s death. For this reason, when she sees to her husband “she died of heart disease for the joy that kills” (1894, Chopin). Thus, this story learn that the value of the freedom only depends of us.
Reference Chopin, K (1894). The story of an hour.
Interpretation(Collaborative) Essay
Interpretation of: The Road Not Taken Do you believe that your life would be different if you could change a decision you made in the past? Maybe the answer is yes, but how can we know? We will always feel a kind of confusion at the moment of making a decision. It is due to not being able to take all the roads; it is impossible. We have to choose only one option. That feeling of indeterminacy is what Robert Frost tries to describe in his poem: “The Road Not Taken”. It is a lyric poem with four stanzas of five lines each, published in 1916. In his poem Robert Frost tries to explain the ambiguity that we have at the moment of making a decision. In the first stanza, the poem raises the metaphor of life as a journey in which the alternatives force us to choose which path to follow. At the beginning Robert frost (1920) says “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” (p. 9); here he is using the metaphor of the roads to denote the decisions that we have to make; and when the author says “And I sorry I could not travel both" (Frost, 1920, p. 9) he is trying to say that he would like to see beyond, to see which will be the result of the different options, and in that way make the best decision. But honestly, it is not possible; therefore, what the poet is really trying to express is the ambiguity that we have by ignoring the consequences of made a different decision. In the second stanza the author tries to show the difficulty of choosing only one option. Here the speaker seems to be confused because he already has made a decision, but it seems that he isn’t sure about that. Indeed, when Robert Frost (1920) says “Then took the other, as just as fair” (p. 9) tries to said that make a decision is difficult, because we don’t know the consequences of each road, therefore our decision should be fair and impartial. In the same way, when the author says “Though as for that the passing there had worn them really about the same” (Frost,
1920, p. 9),it means that he would have chosen any road. Again it represents uncertainty because first he is confused and second, if he had known the result of taking the other road he would not have said “Had worn them really about the same” (Frost, 1920, p. 9). The third stanza makes evident the disappointment of knowing that the real life doesn't allow us to return make another decision. To validate this idea, the author express feelings of doubt and repentance through the use of phrases like “I doubted if I should ever come back"(Frost, 1920, p. 9). It would be great if we could return in the time, but we know that it is impossible, for that reason we have a feeling of disappointment. In addition, knowing that we cannot go back to make another choice; we would show confusion and insecurity due to the responsibility of making a decision. Moreover, would be easier if we knew the consequences of all the options. All this can be considered as a process of vagueness before making a big decision, because The final paragraph focuses on facing the decision made and how choosing the less traveled road allow us create our own road and get experience. Although this stanza isn’t as related with the others parts of the poem, it has a reflection. Sometimes the road more traveled can create conformist people that don’t think in achieve something better and be different. Hence, Despite the fear that we feel when we risk in a way all the mistakes and doubts, taking our own road can generate changes positive in our future and increase our opportunities. It would guide us a better destination. As we can see, the poem of Robert Frost shows the vagueness that we feel at the moment of make a decision. And it is due to once taken a road is not possible to change its course. To demonstrate his point of view he uses some literary elements,
mostly metaphors. Subsequently, we can induce a final reflection from this poem. It is that we don’t have to regret about the road not taken. We should try to have as many experience as we can and always try to make the best decision. It is hard, but in the deep we always now what is better for us.
References Frost R. (1920). The road not taken. Mountain interval(pp.9).New York: Henry holt and company. Retrieved from: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29345/29345-h/29345-h.htm
Argumentative Essay
Technology: Changes in the Humanity Over time technology has experienced many changes like the first telephone, TV, computer, internet; all this like a help or better option to communicate, but thinking that something new is better. However, we must think the consequence of changes or which is the limit of technology. I think that technology like smartphones, the internet, computers make people less smart because they lose their capacity of communication and they became conformist. So, if we think in the past, for example: First, when we wanted to do a movie, we
learned specific skills to edit the film or put the lights according to the scene “make copies to distribute them” (Cooppersmith, 2016), but now we have a smartphone and this have a filmmarker or program that is easier and we don’t have to lose time in learning or discovering like do it. Second the smartphone to achieve through of apps to send email or “emojis” in the message, that we lose the interest to see to a person and talk with her, we can know her feelings or her expressions, that are ways of communication. Third, the “digital amnesia” (Roberts, 2015) is a effect of the
internet that show the conformist people that we are. The digital amnesia is called to the lose of memory when we only remember like the information was found or which is the web-sity but we don’t remember or we haven’t knowing about the information. Fourth, reduces our memories, one example is when we take a photo
with our smartphone, we only remember few objects or details about the photo, this is result of us fail of analyze or look the world. But, other people think that all this changes in the technology are a big help to have a better life without problems with small things. In addition, they think that is a way of advance. So, we must think that technology only is good if we know use it, but if we don’t understand the limit, all the process that we be humans like communication or our capacity to think can lose them.
References Coopersmith, J (2016). Is the technology making us dumber or smarter? Yes Roberts, G (20015). Google Effect: is technology making us stupid?
Final Research Project: Essay
Genetics: A Negative Change for Humanity Over time the human has sought different ways to achieve a great change in their lifestyle to increase or improve the abilities of each; this was only a dream, but now, thanks to studies based on the use of genes, was created the genetic engineering. Therefore we can talk about the genetic improvement to develop new physical skills that permit create better humans. So, have you ever thought about the possibility of being a superhuman? The humanity is close of a great change. Thus, we must know the meaning of the genetic enhancement which is the change nonpathological human traits for optimize of capabilities and go up to higher levels in relation to other humans knowing that a gene may supplement the functioning of normal genes or may be superseded with genes engineered or through somatic cell modification. ¨The genetic enhancement is not recent if one considers genetically engineered drug products used to alter physical traits as genetic enhancements. For example, human growth hormone (HGH), which before 1985 could be obtained only in limited quantities from cadaveric pituitary glands, now can be produced using recombinant DNA technology.¨ (Kathi E. Hanna, 2006) Thus, today there are different treatments one of them is the CAR-T therapy performed by the company ¨Juno therapeutics¨, which is based on the extraction of immune cells from the blood and through genetic processes it can eliminate cancerous cells, however the first studies have shown that despite of being a great help on diseases like leukemia and lymphoma, the therapy generates exaggerated reactions in the immune system including the swelling in the brain known as cerebral edema (Pollack, 2016). This allows us to understand that the realization of processes involving the genetic material generate dangers for the human being.
Therefore, the creation of better human beings through genetic is a danger to the future of mankind that would change the meaning to be a human being. Thus, is necessary we talk about of the changes that humans would suffer. First, the change on cognitive skills like result of physical enhancement which is known as ¨superintelligence ¨, according to Nick Bostrom (2009) this would possible if we achieve to understand the genetic component of the intelligence that would help to election for embryos with a high IQ. However this would mean that an embryo with a lower IQ does not have the possibility to develop, which is inhuman since the human being also has the capacity to increase cognitive processes in a natural way such as the performance of mental games or activities during their development, and the consumption of foods that strengthen his memory. In addition, the creation this type of selection interferes in a normal process as is natural selection, which is part of the meaning of being a human being. In second, the edition of genome to bring about changes in physical appearance changing the human conception, which is known as creating "designer babies"; that is performed through a process called ¨Crispr¨, which is still in research and consists of correcting or add a gene, which would allow to choose the specific characteristics of a future baby as the color of eyes or extra strong bones besides the elimination of hereditary diseases. However, this would means passing the germinal limit that is to say the DNA in the nucleus, the real matter that makes us who we are (Corbyn, 2015).
In third, the use of gene therapy to increase the life time would generate overpopulation in the future. Genetic therapy considers the possibility of using telomerase to aid in the division of the useful cells since it has the ability to transform mortal cells into immortals without transforming them into cancerous ones (Andrews, 2009), which helps in the treatment of aging. But if we think about the future, a long life means: food shortages, overpopulation which is currently a social problem, besides making changes in the life time. Therefore if this type of process continues the problem could not be predicted. And finally, the reduction of human diversity by reducing the prevalence of widely disvalued traits or unusual combinations of traits, thanks to the use of techniques or biotechnological processes to remove the genetic material and to generate a better selection of species, will cause each organism to lose its initial traits and only inherit traits artificially created, which means the loss of the genetic diversity. However, there are scientists and people who consider genetics as the beginning of a new evolution, allowing to create new or better species that can adapt, have a better quality of life, a greater number of possibilities to continue improving as a species, but they do not think about the risks or the limit of the science, in addition all the genetic processes investigated do not possess a total acceptance or valid tests for their realization. Therefore genetics must have a limit; each process such as using genes to improve cognitive abilities, having a longer life span, must ensure a real benefit to humanity should not be just a dream of being a better species, because to be human are all the weaknesses, mistakes, habits that we develop through time without not play with nature.
References Andrews, W. (2009, August). Life Extension. Retrieved from http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2009/8/Turning-on-Immortality-TheDebate-Over-Telomerase-Activation/Page-01 Bostrom, N. (n.d.). Nick Bostrom's Home Page. Retrieved from http:// http://www.nickbostrom.com/superintelligentwill.pdf Corbyn, Z. (2015, May 10). The guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/10/crispr-genome-editingdna-upgrade-technology-genetic-disease Pollack, A. (2016, July 7). Juno Halts Cancer Trial Using Gene-Altered Cells After 3 Deaths. The New York Time.
Thank you dear reader, I enjoyed this experience in my English class, I hope that you too.