The Flint Michigan Water Crisis is an ongoing issue that started in April of 2014. Flint is a city in Michigan with a population of around 98,000 and is located 70 miles north of Detriot. Until April 2014, Flint’s water source came from the same water source of the city of Detroit which is Lake Huron, but in an effort to save money, the city of Flint decided to switch its water supply to that of the Flint River. Immediately, residents began to complain about the water’s discolored appearance, poor taste, and foul smell. Officials insisted that nothing was wrong with the water even after residents developed rashes, nausea, fatigue. The city has since switched back to its previous water source with Detroit, but the damage had already been done.

The Flint River water was found to be much more corrosive than that of Lake Huron. The corrosive water combined with the city’s aging pipes caused lead to seep somehow into the water supply. A number of class action lawsuits against the city, state, and several public officials have resulted from this crisis causing former President Obama to declared it a state of emergency. 5 million dollars in aid has been authorized to the city of Flint and the Michigan National Guard has been mobilized to help distribute clean water to residents. As of 2017, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality stated that “lead levels in the city’s water tested below the federal limit in a recent six-month study”.

The safety of children has been a major concern in this crisis. In September 2015, the Hurley Medical Center released a study showing that children who had elevated lead levels in their blood nearly doubled since the city switched its water supply. According to the World Health Organization, “…lead affects children’s brain development resulting in reduced intelligence quotient (IQ), behavioral changes such as reduced attention span and increased antisocial behavior, and reduced educational attainment. Lead exposure also causes anemia, hypertension, renal impairment, immunotoxicity and toxicity to the reproductive organs. The neurological and behavioral effects of lead are believed to be irreversible. ”

Since 2014, between 6,000 to 12,000 children have been exposed to the lead-contaminated water and are at risk of severe illnesses in the future.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/04/us/flint-water-crisis-fast-facts/

Here’s the Introductory Paragraph draft from my Essay:

Imagine America’s education system as a 100-meter track and field event. Students come to line up at the start line, but instead of a traditional lineup where participants are positioned side by side each other, they are instead positioned by their socioeconomic status. The lineup is now completely different. Students from middle-income households are situated at the start line like usual, but students from low-income households are starting 25 meters behind the start line. The race begins, and hurdles are placed in the lanes of the students from low-income households. It’s apparent that this is an unfair race and low-income students have no way of closing the gap. At the finish line is graduation from high school, finding a college, or beginning a career. The middle-income students cross the finish line, while low-income students have to make up the extra distance. This race is just an illustrative example that represents the achievement gap. The achievement gap is a term used to describe the ways in which a person’s race, ethnicity, social class, and several other factors on how they relate to a person’s academic performance or educational attainment. A person’s socioeconomic status, or SES, is one of is one of the highest observed disparities in academic achievement among students. According to the American Psychological Association, “children from low-SES households and communities develop academic skills more slowly compared to children from higher SES groups”(). Justice is an equal opportunity for education and academic success regardless of social class. To obtain equilibrium in America’s educational system, we must consider the needs of the students whose families fall into low-SES.

I’ve written much more since then, yet I honestly still don’t know what my strengths are. Maybe I still need a little more time to realize and see what they are or maybe someone else can see it themselves in the paragraph above. However, I can tell what my weakness. I’ve always had trouble with summarizing very broad topics, so much so that I had to narrow down the subject of my essay to something more specific. I didn’t mind doing this especially since we’re limited to one article.

Another thing I’m still trying to work on are the supporting sentences. While I know in my head what I’ll be writing, about I spent hours on deciding what exactly I’ll be arguing in the essay. I’ve also tried to use the 5 paragraph style essay that we discussed in class, but I’m not so sure it’ll work well with the points I’ve chosen to write about. I probably shouldn’t stress so much over it. I’m nearly finished, and I can’t wait to see what others have come up with. If you’re reading this and we’re in the same class then good luck!

Social Justice is a term that can mean different things to different people. In my essay, I’ve chosen to write about social justice regarding America’s education system. Therefore, social justice in my case is an equal opportunity for education and academic success regardless of socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status, or SES, is often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation. It is commonly conceptualized as the social standing or class of an individual or group.” It is apparent that students from lower SES households academically lag behind students from higher SES households early on in their educational career. Students of low SES, sometimes subjected to poverty, are less likely to have the finances or available time to get the needed academic support. This makes it tougher to score well on college entrance exams needed to get into educational institutions. There is much untapped scholarly potential in these students and they must not be neglected simply because of their social statuses. Info courtesy of the American Psychological Association.