Talk:Puerto Rico and the United States
From High School Online Collaborative Writing
The teachers at East Side Community High School, NYC made some mistakes with this article. We asked everybody to post their reactions to different articles about Puerto Rican history to the same article. The result was an article that had no structure, lots of repetition... and it made most students feel lost, not knowing where to start. Wikis are new to teachers too, and we are learning how to create places in the wiki (articles) where students can productively deal with the messiness of revising their own texts and other's texts.
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[edit] Where do I start?
We're going to start the article on Puerto Rican history again. Everything that people contributed so far is on this discussion page. There are several options for what to do next.
- Read through all of this and find a paragraph or two that you think would make sense to put into a section that has been created on the article page. Copy and paste that paragraph there.
- Choose a paragraph or two from the text below, copy it and start a new article with a title different than Puerto Rican History.
[edit] Everything from the first attempt to write this article
How do you feel about the Puerto Ricans Possession? How do you think the author feels an how he wants you to feel?
[edit] Like taping their mouths shut
"Puerto Rico as a Permanent Possession," is an article published in The New York Times on July 11, 1898 by an American business man. It's about taking over Puerto Rico. The United States wanted to take Puerto Rico as a possession and keep it since it has beatutiful landscapes to put factories in.
In this article Puerto Rican peoples voices are nowhere to be found, which is not right at all. If their voices were included, they wouldn't be too happy. The article only takes the perspective of the American people.
In this article the only people that benfit from this are the American people. Puerto Rico has no say. The Americans don't have to worry about having a argument. The people who are hurt are the Puerto Rican people. It's like the Americans taped their mouths shut and they couldn't say a single word.
This text can be described as "dry" and "questionable". When you finish reading it, it leaves a lot of questions about the issues unanswered. The most signifigant sentence is: "Despite all of these factors, PR supported it's relatively large population and had a foreign trade system of $35,000,000 a year." It is not fair that people are taking so much money from the Puerto Ricans. And you know that they are taking away a lot of money. If they can manage to get an estimate of $35,000,000 a year for taxes! We don't have to pay that much in the United States.
The author wants us to think is that Puerto Rico is a nice place to live and it is manageable because of the amount of people that live there.
This 1898 article states that " The U.S. Should take Puerto Rico as its possession and keep it for all time." I find that rude. There's no doubt that the U.S. can take over P.R. But why humiliate them by saying, " take Puerto Rico as its possession"? The only people that have a say in this text is the Americans. What about the people in P.R.? what do they think? what do they want?. The only Reason the U.S. wants P.R. is because it's a nice vacation spot. And they're looking for a new way to get money.
[edit] No Justice
Justice is not pursued in this article. If it was, then they would put what the Puerto Ricans believe. Peole can write articles like this only because the U.S. has taken over P.R. The American people judge what they think on this article. The only people that benifit from this article is the Americans. They excluded the Puerto Ricans for a reason. They probally have good reasons to why their land should not be taken over. But the U.S. won't listen.
This text was written 107 years ago. In The New York Times. Hopefully, the U.S. has improved since then.
[edit] Why the U.S. wants P.R.
Puerto Rico is a well populated island and how there's about how capabale Puerto Rico has been even as an American Colony. This article shows how the U.S.A should so many people there because of the soil and the climate leaving people live in there in comfort. If you read nothing else of this text read this sentence."Puerto Rico would be an excellent possession of the United States in terms of it's economic valve."
The most important line in the artcle is "It is certain that there would be great advancement from the present state of things, and that the island would be of great valve to the United States and to the Puerto Ricans themselves."
Puerto Ricans are wanted to the USA they thought that it will be best if they was part of them.
This article argues that they will have a better life and willl have a great advancement.One big idea is that they will make a lot of money and it will be a great valve for the puerto ricans and United States. United states will help them achieve.
What the author wants me to feel is good that the United States can interact with Puerto Ricans and help them be better and by helping USA. shit fuk
[edit] How the author makes his points
The way he acccomplishes theses things is by making good remarks upon us and say why they want our land.
"Fortune has allowed that Puerto Ricans can be ours, as a reward for getting rid of the last clutch of spain from the kingdom which columbus brought to light and the best and fairest part of which has long been our own heritage."
In a book called People's Voice: Puerto Rico.This book is about Puerto rico's business and government.
This story is going to be about Puerto Rican economy and how they lost there jobs and that there unemployed.
Puerto Ricans had to learn how to speak english since the americans were taking over there land. Also that if they go to america they need to know in order for them to communicate with americans and since there are going to be americans soon.Americans is building factories in puerto rico and there business don't have to pay taxes.
In this story
This material needs to be organized...
"Operation BootStrap:Success or Failure" is a feature article in The Peoples Voice: Puerto Rico.
You may wonder why are they Operatating a BootStrap and now you know what it means. Now, we understand it because we didn't know what they meant and now we know.
I can't help thinking about whose voices are heard in this text, and whose are not. I had no idea whose voice were being heard.
Money figures big time in this text. Because they had many factories moving to Dominican Republic and Haiti.
I find myself thinking about how this text takes the perspective that I think that the U.S benefits from this and the people that are hurt are the Puerto Rican Population.
It's gotten me thinking about this will ever happend to the U.S. I mean, we probably run out of money. For example the MetorCards cost is rasing.
I've been reading "Operation Bootstrap: Success or Failure", Some features that I notice is that it is two pages long, has to pictures and both of them are on the right side of the page on the book The Peoples Voice:Puerto Rico. If I had to squish the whole thing into just one or two words, the words I'd pick would be "Economy" and "Boring". It's mostly about the way people live and the thing that were going on in Puerto Rico. If you read nothing else of this text, read this paragraph and you'll get the gist of it:
After the 15 to 17 year tax period many of the new industries that employed a lot of people left Puerto Rico.They moved to other countries such as the Dominican Republic and Haiti where they could pay workers less money.
What the author wants me to know is that the U.S helped the Puerto Ricans by giving them food stamps. This feature article makes explicit the fact that the U.S helped and that they gave Food Stamps because many factorys where moving to DR and Haiti.
What the author wants me to think is that they stuggled. This is part of what is implicit in this text. The idea that factorys shut down and that they had hospitals, doctors, and public health care are implied but not stated outright in the text. I say this because these are some positive and negative things.
What the author wants me to feel is that the Puerto Rican population needed more help. The subtext here is that the negetive facts are the most important.
Back Firing Exercises "Panel Backs Firing Exercises in Puerto Rico" is mainly about the United States presidentail panel is allowing the Navy to resume live firing exercises on Navy property in Puerto Rico, even after a Puerto Rican guard was killing in a training exercise. It is very suprising that something this serious has not been covered widely in the news. Even though a Puerto Rican native was killed, the Puerto Rican government does not have the right to force the Navy to stop live ammo firing exercises because it is the Navy's land. This was an isolated accidental insident and the Navy should not be penelized for it.
However it is the Navy's job to make sure that these type of accidents do not happen. So maybe the Navy can be acusted of a small degree of neglagence.
The article is about "operation bootstrap", a feature article in Success or Failure. If I had to squish the whole thing into just one or two words, the words I'd pick would be " sad " and " mad ". It's mostly about Puerto rico. If you read nothing else of this text, read this line, and you'll get the gist of it:
In 1942 a project called Operation Bootstrap began in Puerto Rico.What the author wants me to know is that the U.S. needs to help Puerto Rico out.
What the author wants me to think is that Puerto Rico does not have that much money. This is part of what is implicit in this text. The idea that and the idea that are implied but not stated outright in the text. I say this because how they say it make puerto rico poor.
What the author wants me to feel is sad for Puerto Rico. The way they accomplish these things is to how the article says it. Do you see how the author manages to shape your understanding of the issue? Yes I do.
The article is about "Operation Boot Strap: Sucess or Failure," to know what the U.S. did to Puerto Rico. I am Puerto Rican.
I think the big idea in this article is that the U.S. is trying to do something to Puerto Rico like try to take people alway.
I have little world knowledge, text knowledge or personal experience on this topic. I know from having read the article that the Puerto Ricans don't have that much money, and that, "American businesses would not have to pay taxes to the to the Puerto Rican goverment for 15-17 years." From personal experience I know that when someone has more experience or more power and they help someone that doesn't have power it doesn't always work out. The first feature of this text that helps me is the title because it is phrased as a question. You have to read the article to find out what it says. The title does not tell you much.
The second feature that helps me is the picture, because it tells me that
readingBlog: They Got Them (P.R and D.R) If i had to squish these article into one or two words i would say "editable" and "uneditable". What i mean is that they found out how to pay the people more cheaper so they moved the factories to D.R. So while they were paying people in P.R. 25 cents an hour they were paying people in D.R. 20 cents an hour. so thats what the people edit about the factories to pay them less. But people knew that they were paying the cheapers so some people would quit so that why it wasnt editable cause some quite the job cause of the money. To me the author wants me to know how the U.S factories destoried Puerto Rico and the way they did the same to Dominican Republic. What the passage makes me thinkk that they put factories in propertys that wasnt even their and it wasnt it theirs to begin with. The way the author wrote it it made me feel angry because the way they put factories in P.R. But i got happy when they move to D.R but also angry because they put factories there like they did in P.R. and they dont even ask. What is expilicit in this article is that the american are cheaters and cheap people. Puerto Rico Starves Continued... ashleys dr icon: If I had to switch this whole text into just one or two words, I would pick devastating. The most significant line in this article is where Dona Licha says "I thought it was a curse from the devil.It looked like a plague on my life. I cried for days. I thought we were finished." I think this is very important because this is based on a tragedy that happened in Puerto Rico, and this is something that a woman who had to face the tragedy said. The author wants me to know that everybody suffers in life, and this was just something that a lot of people had to suffer with, but we as people can grow stronger and overcome the fear and anxiety. The author acomplishes this, by writing a descriptive article to get the message across to readers everywhere who pick up this article to read. This text makes the way the people had to live after this very explicit, because he includes a lot of quotes, making sure to write down everything the people said. The subtext to this article is that we should appreciate the life we live and the people we live with because weather it is a tsunami, a terrorist attack or a deadly decrese in our food supply, we should apreciate everything and not take anything for granted. My mind has changed about the way I think of Puerto Rico, I now know more about it. Editable Version-# | Ashley R | posted 3/24/05; 10:13:18 AM | Discuss
readingBlog: Puerto Rico Starves ashleys dr icon: I have just finished reading "Dona Licha's Island", by Alfredo Lopez. This article is about a woman and her neighbors in the small city of Ponce, in Puerto Rico, who are being deprived of thier main food source. The people who live in that area all wake up at the crack of dawn to catch fish for the day. Their main meals are different cources of fish. That is until one day the Americans came and started building new establishments and buissneses to invest in more money. They clouded the air with thck black smoke, and polluted the precious waters of Ponce with the oils and gasses from thier boats and ships.
I am reading this to understand the history of Puerto Rico, and how it invloves the American government. The big idea of this is to get the message across how the people of Puerto Rico had to suffer due to the American ways. I was expecting many quotes from people who lived in Ponce while reading this to get the people's perspective of this matter. I didn't really have any backround knowlegde about this because I never really studied the history of Puerto Rico. The first feature of this article that hit my eye was the little animation of a village in a tropical island. The title also caught my eye because it said Dona Licha's Island, I was questioning how can an island, belong to someone? This article did have an effect on me, because it was about how a small town had suffered through the losses of thier food, it made me think more about appreciating the food my mother cooks and prepares for me, becuase one day she wont be here, and I will have to make my own food. :-(
This article had a very big effect on me, I now know more about Puerto Rico. It helps to learn about other places, and compare them to the place you live.
readingBlog: The Voice of the People 2
I've been reading "Operation Bootstrap:success or failure?" If I had to squish the whole thing into just one or two words, the words I'd pick would be "informational" and "boring". It's mostly about how the U.S helped P.R became wealthy and gave them a life of profit. What the author wants me to know is how the U.S helped the Puerto Ricans survive. This article makes explicit the fact that P.R can do better without the americans and that the puerto ricans were strong enough to make it on their own, but from what I've read they can't do any thing without the americans. The author wants me to think what my actions would be if I had been in P.R's situation.
I think the author wants me to feel sad for P.R, but I don't because they should have at least tried to go against the rise in the prices for food. If they would have their quality of life probably wouldn't have dropped so fast and it would have caused problems between P.R and the U.S which nobody wanted.readingBlog: The Dominance of America I am now writing the second part of the article "Puerto Rico as a Permannent Possesion continued from part one I wrote on Tuesday.
I am reading this because I want to know why American's are always trying to take over things. In the text it says " There can be no quesion in any resonable person's mind that the U.S should take Puerto Rico as it's possesion and keep it for all time..." They have lots interest in Puerto Rico because of the climate that gives Puerto Rico a good place to make business out of the food that they grow. The Americans also like Puerto Rico because of the tropical weather, a good place for vacations and touring, and the natural attractions.
In this article even the author of this article written in The New York Times on July 11, 1898 approves the Americans to take over Puerto Rico. The reason why I think the author agrees is because he is an white American. He agrees with his own people of dominance. I conclude that American's will always stay dominant and be dominant in the future. They would one day take over another country too.
readingBlog: Puerto Rico As An American Colony
annlicon: This 1898 article states that " The U.S. Should take Puerto Rico as its possession and keep it for all time." I find that rude. There's no doubt that the U.S. can take over P.R. But why humiliate them by saying, " take Puerto Rico as its possession"? The only people that have a say in this text is the Americans. What about the people in P.R.? what do they think? what do they want?. The only Reason the U.S. wants P.R. is because it's a nice Vacation spot. And their looking for a new way to get money.
Justice is not pursued in this article. If it was, then they would put what the Puerto Ricans believe. I belive that because the U.S. can take over P.R. they use that power to write articals like these and over throw them. The American people judge what they think on this artical, so if you asked me the only people that benifit from this artical is the Americans. I think they excluded the Puerto Ricans for a reason. They probally have good reasons to why their land should not be taken over. But the U.S. won't listen.
This text was written 107 years ago. In The New York Times. I am sure the U.S. has improved since then.
readingBlog: Puerto Rico as an American Colony I am reading an article called Puerto Rico as an American Colony. The purpose of reading this text is to get credit in Humanities class. I think the big idea of this text is that with the little bit amount of people in Puerto Rico, they still managed to get $35,000,000 a year from taxes which is unfair because how do they get that much money with only 800,000 peoplein the Puerto Rican economy. I think that there wasn't enough text feautures. I don't think there was none at all. It effects the article, because the article looks boring, and with no text feautures, it doesn't catch the eye of the readers. I think there are no text features because I think a student wrote this article in Humanities class and also I think this article was apart of the CityWide Test.
I've been reading Operation Bootstrap: Success or Failure an article in The Peoples Voice: Puerto Rico. If I had to squish the whole thing into just one or two words, the words I'd pick would be unentertaining and boring. It's mostly about Puerto Rico and back in the days of Puerto Rico. If you read nothing else of this text, read this sentence, and you'll get the gist of it:
With less food being grown in Puerto Rico, most food had to be imported and food costs went up."
What the author wants me to know is that Food costs went up in Puerto Rico, and that less food was being grown in Puerto Rico. This article makes explicit the fact that people had to pay more for food and that food was not growing as fast as before in Puerto Rico .
What the author wants me to think is that Puerto Rico was alittle bit poor back then before Puerto Rico today. This is part of what is implicit in this text. The idea that food was imported and the idea that the cost of food started incresing are implied but not stated outright in the text. I say this because people could've starved if they increased food costs and food was not growing fast at all.
What the author wants me to feel is surprised. The subtext here is that Puerto Rico wasn't rich and didn't have lots of food either.
The way he accomplishes these things is to try to give as much details as he can in the article. He does use some grammar and punctuation.
"By 1975, the United states government had to provide food stamps for 50% of the Puerto Rican population,"
I see that he wants people to read his article and especially for people that have never been there before, and doesn't know anything about it.
Operation Bootstrap: Success Or Failure? #2 nicholeb: I'm reading "Operation Boot strap: Success or failure?", a feature editorial : The people's voice magazine. I notice myself trying very hard to be interested in the text. What this says about the text is that it wasnt all that attractive. What this says about me is that I am a very picky person when it comes to editorials I want to read.
I can't help thinking about whose voices are heard in this text, and whose are not. People who are heard are the higher authority and not the employee.
Money and power figure big time in this text. The Operation Boot strap was made to improve money and success for the economy. The Government had gotten the most money out of the project.
I find myself thinking about how this text takes the perspective of a person who has mixed feelings. I say this because in the first part of the article, they talk about the good things that the project brought to the island, yet in the second half or the article they talk about the negative outcomes the project had caused.
One of the groups of people that has been excluded from this text are people who thought the project was overall positive, and another group who thought the project was overall negative.They would probably say " the people who thought the project was good would over emphasize the good things, and the people who thought the project was bad would over emphasize the bad things."
It's gotten me thinking about whether the island be better off without the program?. I mean, would the island find a way to succeed on it's own?
