Thursday, August 30, 2012

Period 2- August 30, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/opinion/men-who-needs-them.html

1. Read the article. Consider the author's tone and your personal reaction.

2. Please add an intelligent comment (minimum 3 sentences) in response to the linked article from the NY Times. Be sure to reference specifics from the article.

3. Comment on a classmates post in a second post (minimum 3 sentences)

*Use only your first name, last initial and period of class to identify yourself.

18 comments:

  1. I agree with the scientific potion of this article; however I disagree with the point of not needing men as a species. Hampikian stated that “Fathers are of great benefit. But that is a far cry from “necessary and sufficient for reproduction.” All of the points listed in the article were true in that you do not need a man to reproduce; there are other ways such as artificial sperm. This may be true, however I think it is important to have a father figure in your life to teach you different things. If there were no men anymore, what would happen to all of the baby boys once they grew up?
    Julia W per.2

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  2. In response to what the author has to say, I think having a father and a man around is better than not having one. Women can do fine on their own but I think having a man around is more helpful. The author has strong points on why women don’t need men but overall I think more women would rather have a man around than be alone. In the article the author says “If a woman wants to have a baby without a man, she just needs to secure sperm” that is true but it takes more than sperm to raise a child and be able to support it, which can be done easier with the help of both parents. I suppose it just matters who you are and what you believe in.
    Morgan L, period 2

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  3. In response to what the author had said in his article, I think although it is not necessary to have a man to reproduce, it’s necessary to have a man around a child. I think it’s necessary to have a man around a child who has just been brought into this world because it can be easier on the other parent, and so that the child has more than one parent to look to. I will however give the author credit on getting his point in this article though; he made a point of saying “If all the men on earth died tonight, the species could continue on frozen sperm. If the women disappear, it’s extinction.” I thought that this sentence right here also really helped get his point across but this sentence is also a fact.

    Maxine H, Period 2

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  4. I agree with what Maxine and Julia have to say and my point of view on this article is the same as theirs. I really liked the question that Julia asked at the end because it really made me think.
    Morgan L, period 2

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  5. I do agree with the scientific position of this article, that women do not need an actual man in order to reproduce. However, I believe women do need men just for their own benefit and wellbeing. Hampikian states, “If all the men on earth died tonight, the species could continue on frozen sperm. If the women disappear, it’s extinction.” It is true that women can continue to reproduce as long as there is access to sperm, but I do believe that every child should have some sort of father figure in their life. Hampikian even says, “And I credit my own father as the more influential parent in my life.” Scientifically, women do not need a man to continue life, but having a man present would beneficial for the child.
    Rebecca W. Per 2

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  6. I agree with what Julia and Morgan both said. I agree with them because it seems that they both are looking at the article and processing it the same way that I did. I really liked the article references that both of them had touched on. I also really liked the question at the end of Julia’s reply because it does make me think of what the world would be like if there were no men.

    Maxine H, period 2

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  7. The author Mr. Hampikian was in a realistic kind of mood when he wrote this. The world doesn't need men to survive. There is enough sperm that is frozen to produce many, many generations of babies. He is just trying to point out that women are the most influential part in a babies life. He even says in some cases the dad isn't even in the picture. So in conclusion women are necessary for a baby, but a man is not.

    Conor Smith
    Per.2

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  8. The article in my opinion was a gross oversimplification of the process of reproduction and child growth. The author acts like we were all conscious and living as egg cells, and the father barely did anything to contribute to our births’, when in actuality the importance of the father is drastically more important in reproduction than the author implies, and is in no way measured by the simple comparison of how much weight was contributed by each partner. We didn’t exist as a growing organism until that matter, which was passed off as insignificant by the author, combined with the egg cell. We owe half of who we are genetically to our fathers. Even though females might be capable of more physical contributions in infanthood, both sexes are absolutely required for survival at this point.
    Steven K Per. 2

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  9. Hampikian makes it very well known that men serve little to no importance in the creation of a child before birth. Could a child be born without a father? Yes. However, what this author has yet to mention is that a male figure in the household is just as important as having a female role model. Scientific studies show that children perform best with heterosexual parents. But, maybe this is just because it’s what the majority of people choose to do. With the growing number of homosexual relationships, I believe that gay/lesbian relationships are just as capable of fostering a successful child. As far as the male role model goes, I think it is very much necessary for a healthy child.

    Cassidy M Per. 2

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  10. I agree a lot with what Cassidy says. Yes a child can be born without a father, but she also includes how much better kids grow with heterosexual parents. I also like that she added the parts about the same couple marriage. I thought her post was very nice and reveling about child growth.

    comment on post
    by Conor Smith
    per. 2

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  11. In response to what Hampikian had to say in this article, I believe that women could not survive without men. Although women are capable of surviving on there own I think that having a man around when having a child is very important. Scientifically I think that Hampikian made a good point and I agree with her scientific facts however, I think there's more to reproducing and having a child than just the scientific facts. I think that kids need a father around. In the article Hampikian says "if a woman wants to have a baby without a man, she just needs to secure sperm (fresh or frozen) from a donor (living or dead)." I disagree with what he said because reproducing taking more than just sperm. The father may not do much before the child is born but after the father plays a big roll in a child's life.

    Jackie W per.2

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    Replies
    1. I agree with Jackie's statement. Yes scientifically men are not essential but through a childhood and even adulthood, men play a huge part, in addition to women, in shaping and influencing a life.

      Delete
  12. This article was very interesting to read but I don’t think what the author was saying about men is right. In his point of view, children don’t need their fathers in their lives and that’s a way of looking at it, but I think fathers are necessary in a child’s life, especially a boy’s. Girls need guidance by their mothers while growing up and going through puberty, and boys need the same thing from their fathers. In the article Hampikian says “…just an infinitesimally small packet of DNA, less than one-millionth of your mass.” I thought this was an awful thing to say because he’s basically saying the father doesn’t even have a part in creating that human being. He makes it sound like there’s only an extremely tiny part of a baby that will have the fathers DNA but that’s not true at all.

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  13. This article was very interesting to read but I don’t think what the author was saying about men is right. In his point of view, children don’t need their fathers in their lives and that’s a way of looking at it, but I think fathers are necessary in a child’s life, especially a boy’s. Girls need guidance by their mothers while growing up and going through puberty, and boys need the same thing from their fathers. In the article Hampikian says “…just an infinitesimally small packet of DNA, less than one-millionth of your mass.” I thought this was an awful thing to say because he’s basically saying the father doesn’t even have a part in creating that human being. He makes it sound like there’s only an extremely tiny part of a baby that will have the fathers DNA but that’s not true at all.
    Katlyn G. Period 2

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  14. I agree with what Becca said because it’s true that scientifically reproduction could still happen without men, but most women would rather have a man in their life. It’s also hard to raise a baby on your own so that’s where the father comes in. I also agree with what Julia said and I really liked her ending question. Men disappearing, wouldn’t last long because more would just be born.

    Katlyn G. Period 2

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  15. I agree with Katlyn that boys need their father's guidance during puberty and throughout their life. I also agree with Maxine; a child needs more then one parent to look up to. Not only is it easier for a parent to have a helping hand, but it's better for the child to not just have to rely on one parent.

    Rebecca W. period 2

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  16. Page 2 paragraph six this article Hampikian states, “If all the men on Earth died tonight, the species could continue on frozen sperm. If women disappear, it’s extinction.” This phrase is clearly implying that men are un needed in the lives of children. While I agree, that yes, frozen sperm is very great resource. Men are very important to every aspect of a child’s life. For example, it might be that a young boy would want male attention in his first football game, or first encounter with a girl. If women take on more during the reproduction process then, it may be in every day life that a child will need male guidance. Both men and women are equally important to the lives of children.
    I also would like to take Cassidy’s post into account. Could it just be that majority of households have heterosexual parents, that it is scientifically proven to be better? I could not agree more that with the growing number of gay and lesbians in our country today, they are also just as capable to raise a great child.

    Isabella S. Period 2

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  17. When speaking in terms of science, the author provides a valid point; men are not necessary for reproduction in the physical sense and many children with single mothers who have a decent financial background turn out to be normal adults, but if looked at in a realistic view, men serve a significant role in society. The times were men dominated the job market and were the true bread winners has long past as Hampikian acknowledges when he remarks “It’s true that men have traditionally been the breadwinners”, but I personally believe men served and continue to serve a bigger role than bread winner in the family. A man can serve an essential role in parenting children and I personally believe that children flourish when both a female and male adult,be it a family member or a family friend, is there to guide them. Children, especially sons, look up to male role models in their lives and often want support from a male figure in their life. Without men, what other male role model would a son or a young boy have to look up to? In this article, I believe the author is making a assumption about one particular gender without looking at it on a global spectrum. In some cultures men are very essential and in other cultures not so much, but they serve a role either way. - Fatoumata S. period 2

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