Alayna 5B

After reading “It's A Girl!” by Kathleen Fackelmann, I had two hotspots. The first one was on page 361. It says “Some parents-to-be hope for a girl. Some wish for a boy. The outcome, however, has always been pretty much a matter of chance.” This is the first thing it says one the first page, and it wasn't my hotspot until I read the section and knew what it was about. This is my hotspot because I think this is the way it should be and stay. I think that it's ridiculous that there are couples out there who can't have a child and would do anything to have one, and at the same time, there are people out there who can have children so easily that they've gotten to the point that they want to pick what they will give birth to. I think it's sad. I also think it's sad because, although I don't have a child myself, one of my best friends does and one of the most exciting parts about her nine months being pregnant, was the day she figured out if it was a boy or a girl. I don't think people should give that up. There are a few special times when you're having a baby that make the nine months special and maybe go by quicker and I would imagine that that day is one of them.
My second hotspot was on page 364. It says “Rothman, for example, worries about parents who choose a sex because they are seeking to fulfill stereotypical, perhaps unrealistic roles.” This was my second hotspot because I agree with Rothman. I think that the only reason a family would pick the gender of their child is because they are being stereotypical. I think couples choose the gender because there are certain things they want to do with their son or daughter, and to their surprise, it may not always turn out like that. Like the book says, you might pick a girl because you want to pick out prom dresses and take her to get her nails done. What if she doesn't like dresses? What if she'd rather play in dirt every day and wear old jeans? I don't think you should pick a gender based on what you want to do, I think you should be lucky you can even have a child and take your child for what it is and who they are.

While reading “Why We Should Go To Mars” by Kim Stanley Robinson, I came across two hotspots. The first one was on page 390. This was where it said that “one of the most powerful scientific methods for understanding something is to compare it with other things like it, and there aren't many options when you look around for other planets to compare with Earth.” This was one of my hotspots because before reading this, I hadn't put much thought into going to Mars and I was kind of leaning towards no.. not for any good reason. After reading this, it kind of sold me. I think this is a great reason to go to Mars and I like the way it was said. I think I agree because I can relate. In science classes, you compare things to one another to help you get a better understanding and this would just be one really big science experiment. This would help us learn more about Earth and look into new life elsewhere. It's kind of a win-win situation.
My second hotspot was on page 390. It says “Some will say we can send robots to make these investigations.” I think this is a bad idea. Maybe not bad, but surely not thorough. Robots can do a lot, but I don't think we'll be able to dig as deep as we'd like at Mars. I also think it would be more of an experience for the astronauts who get to go up and come back with a story. Robots are great for technical things, but I feel as though it would be more of an accomplishment for the U.S to send people there and walk like they did on the moon, we take pride in that and we could take pride in this. I just think there could be so much more we could gather with a human body up there. At the same time though, I wonder if it would be more expensive for a robot or human? And if we only send two robots compared to six humans, how much would that cost? That's basically the only reason I have doubts about going to Mars, because of the price. I feel like our economy is in such a hell hole right now, that we would have to wait awhile and choose the cheapest route when doing so.