Natasha Snapper

Purple Block

Jan. 21st 2013

Term Two Extra Credit

          One of the formative assessments I completed this term was the Imperialism essay. During the process of writing this essay I revised multiple drafts. There was a total of about 6 drafts in this process. The first draft was an outline and a body paragraph. The second draft, was peer edited by my classmates. The third draft was edited by Ms Shapero. The fourth draft was one that I self edited, then revised. The fifth draft was edited by one of my peers and my dad. Then finally, I proof-read and printed my final draft. Later on, after getting back my essay, I did one final draft of a body paragraph.
           The most common types of feedback I received were times where I was redundant, wasn't specific enough, had awkward phrasing, or my analysis did not connect back to the question that I was aiming to answer. I addressed those common mistakes by going to the places where the feedback occurred and made sure I understood what I could improve on. Then, I went and revised the places where my essay needed revision and kept those recurring mistakes in mind, striving not to make them again. In my future writing I will keep in mind the common mistakes I usually make, and then go over my draft and make sure there are not places where I made those mistakes. I will re-read my essay out loud seeing if there is any awkward phrasing I can re-word. Also, I will go through each of my analyses and remind myself of the question I am aiming to answer, then making sure I am successfully answering it. Also, I will make sure there are no redundant words, phrases or sentences I could get rid of. Lastly, I will read my essay multiple times and make sure there aren't any places I could be more specific. In my drafts of my writing there were a lot of times I was not being specific on who I was talking about. There were multiple times I would be vague and say “Europeans” which confused many of the people who edited my writing. The first part where I made my writing more specific was when I changed “ although the Europeans changed many things..” to “ although the British changed tradition..”. This allowed the reader to understand exactly who I was talking about and what they specifically changed. Overall I thought the process of formative assessments results in improvements throughout my writing.

Secretary of Energy and Veterans Affairs by Thomas Berman

Secretary of Energy and Veterans Affairs by Thomas Berman 

The United States Secretary of Energy heads the department of energy, which was formed in 1977 under the administration of President Jimmy Carter. The mission of the department of energy as stated by energy.gov is “to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environment and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions”. The secretary’s job is to help implement the President’s energy agenda. For example, in the current administration, the secretary’s mission is to decrease our dependency on foreign, address climate change, and create jobs in energy. Along with the president’s agenda, the secretary was originally designated to focus on energy production and management, technology, and energy education. Since the cold war, the secretary’s job has also included supervision of nuclear energy and radiation control.

The secretary of veterans affairs is a position in the cabinet of the executive branch. The position was first implemented in 1992. The secretary is charged with supervision over the department of veterans affairs, tasked with managing issues such as veterans benefits and other concerning matters. As supervisor, the secretary is responsible for overseeing the department and advising the president on matters concerning veterans. The secretary is also responsible for implementing the president’s agenda on matters concerning veterans.  

Victoria K. - Extra Credit

Formative assessment 1-11-13

By using formative assessment I wrote 3 drafts of my Ying Yang and Confucianism paragraph and was able to have it edited by my peers, my mom and finally Ms. Shapero. Most of my edits were clarification and grammatical errors. They helped because while I knew what I was trying to say, my reads did not understand, so I ad to rewrite my paragraph to make it more clear. For my evidence, in the first draft I stated, “relationships between parent and child, husband and wife, older sibling and younger sibling, older friend and younger friend and ruler and subject”. But my peers did not this this was specific enough. I needed to be clearer on what I was trying to say. So for my second draft I said, “relationships between parent and child and husband and wife”. To make sure I will always write better paragraphs that are clearer I will try to read my paragraphs with an outside perspective to see if anything needs clarification.

The Secretary of Transportation oversees eleven agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and the National Highway Safety Administration. They want to "develop and coordinate policies that will provide an efficient and economical national transportation system, with due regard for need, the environment, and the national defense."

The Secretary of the Navy is the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the department of Defense. This was a cabinet position until 1949, when they were made subordinate to the Secretary of Defense. All authority within the Navy and Marine Corps, unless exempted by law, is derivative of the authority of the Secretary of the Navy. They are responsible for recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, mobilizing, and demobilizing. They are responsible for overseeing construction and repair of Navy vessels and equipment. They are supposed to administer the military justice system. They are supposed to implement policies and objectives established by the Secretary of Defense.

Alison- Health, Education, Welfare

Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare was a cabinet position from 1953 to 1979. The department was later changed into two different positions, Secretary of Education and Secretary of Health and Human Service. Department of Education looks to promote success in education for United States Students. They work to create programs that will help create equal opportunities to all Americans in the public school system with programs like financial aid. Often they focus on key education topics that students need to improve upon. Health and Human Service department works to provide essential human service to all Americans, but especially those who are unable to help themselves. The department has over 300 programs targeted to improving the quality of life of all Americans.

Michael Peckham

1/15/2013

Postmaster General

The United States Postmaster General is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service. They are in charge of all affairs with the mailing service. The Postmaster General is appointed by the president and has an indefinite term length. This post was created in the united states at the birth of the nation, however it did not become a part of the presidential cabinet until 1829. This position is also the second highest paying government official job paying almost $277,000 a year. The current Postmaster General is Patrick R. Donahoe, the 73rd Postmaster General of the United States.

Whitehouse Chief of Staff

The job of the Chief of Staff is typically to oversee the actions of the White House staff, they manage the president's schedule, make meetings for the president and advise the president of current issues. The jobs of the Chief of Staff has oftentimes been called The Power Behind the Throne and the Co-President. This post was created in 1946 and has been in existence ever since. While there is no requirement to actually fill this post, it has always been occupied since its formation. Currently the chief of staff is Jack Lew.

Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security was founded after the 9/11 attacks and is responsible for protecting the country against terrorist attacks. The department is also responsible for  responding to natural disasters. In addition, the department is also in charge of immigration services after acquiring the Immigration and Naturalization Services in 2003. Homeland Security has taken many measures to prevent terrorist attacks, including a color-coded system for notifying Americans of the severity of a terrorist threat. Homeland Security also has a National Cyber-Security Division, and also runs the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. The current Secretary of Homeland Security is Janet Napolitano.

Secretary of Defense

The Secretary of Defense is the leader of the U.S Department of Defense, and controls all of the country's defense forces. The Secretary of Defense is second in command to the President, and thus is sometimes called the "deputy commander in chief" of the military. The Secretary of Defense works with the President to create the National Command Authority, which is the only authority that can authorize the launch of nuclear weapons, and both of them must agree in order to launch a nuclear attack. The Secretary of Defense also has control over the secretaries of all the military departments. He or she is also one of a few people who can appoint court-martials for military trials. Leon Panneta is the current Secretary of Defense, and thus is sixth in the line of presidential succession.

Veterans Affairs and Navy

Graham Steele

11/14/13

Political Science

The United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs

The first United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs was Ed Derwinski who was appointed by President George H. W. Bush in 1989.  Although it is not a requirement, so far every appointee has been a United States veteran.  On January 20th, 2009 the Senate unanimously confirmed retired General Eric Shinseki as the seventh Secretary of Veterans Affairs.  The main responsibility of this position is to head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, more commonly known as the VA.  This department is the second largest after the Department of Defense, and has a budget of $87.6 billion.  The VA employs about 280,000 people and has Veterans’ Affairs medical centers, clinics, and benefits centers around the country in order to ensure that veterans receive the benefits and attention they need.

The United States Secretary of the Navy

The position of United States Secretary of the Navy was created in 1798 and was an executive office until 1947 when it was combined with the Department of Defense.  The current Secretary of the Navy is Ray Mabus, who began acting on May 19, 2009.  In order to become the Secretary of the Navy, people must at least five years removed from active military service, which makes them legal civilians.  They must also be appointed by the president and confirmed by a majority of the Senate.  The Secretary of the Navy is the head of both the Navy and the Marine Corps.  He is also responsible for recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, and mobilizing both sections of our military.  In addition, the Secretary of the Navy oversees the construction and repair of naval ships, equipment, and facilities.

Commerce and Defense

Commerce


 The United States Department of Commerce was created in 1903; however, it was known as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor until 1913 when The Department of Labor became its own independent office. The current secretary is Acting Secretary Rebecca Blank. She was a Professor of Economics at Northwestern University before beginning her career in the Department of Commerce. Her department’s duties are promoting economic growth in the United States. According to its mission statement, the department “promotes job creation, economic growth, sustainable development and improved standards of living for all Americans by working in partnership with businesses, universities, communities and our nation’s workers.” The department provides grants to programs it feels works towards these goals. The Commerce Department also conducts the census and monitors weather.




 Defense

 The United States Department of Defense was created by Harry Truman on December 19, 1945 by consolidation of the Department of War and the Department of the Navy. The intention was to limit wasteful spending and cut down on inter-departmental conflict. Today, the Department of defense has the largest budget of any federal agency, with a budget of $549.1 billion in 2011. This amounts to more than one half of all federal discretionary spending. Leon Panetta is the current Secretary of Defense, and was Director of the CIA before assuming that role. However, Panetta is retiring, and President Obama has nominated former Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to replace him. The Department of Defense is tasked with managing military operations, as well as installations, which include all bases and infrastructure in over 50 countries around the world. The Department of Defense also operates the National Defense University and the National War College.