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Scott Carlson
English 2010
Mr. Buffington
December 8, 2014
English 2010 Reflection
Dear Reader,
The best thing about this class is how it added to my knowledge of writing. I learned
mostly how there are many different kinds of forms of writing, that can really add to your
message or could even take away from it. For example, I wrote about Ebola and its spread. I felt
that a research paper wouldnt help the problem. Thats why I wrote a proposal essay and before
this class I knew about it but never knew the key points to that kind of essay. English 2010 really
helped me add more pathways to writing.
Some teachers might wonder how much they helped out their students but what my
teacher did was showed me things at the beginning I needed to change. At first I had a little
problem within my paragraphs. For example I would change from using the past tense to the
future tense. I would a casually lose the reader from moving around too much. With the help of
Mr. Buffington, he gave the critique and guidance to change those bad habits. Also proof reading
was a challenge. However I made the small changes that in the last essay I could notice more
errors that at first I wouldnt have noticed.
This class allowed me to understand more of English and how to write a well thought out
essay. It gave me a few tools that I can use to shape my future writing essays but set me in the
right direction. Class was organized in a way that allowed us to understand things. Sometimes I
felt it went fast because after getting introduced to the subject, we would have the assignment

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due in the coming weeks. It just gave the basics, however, I hope as time goes on I will grow
these skills that I learned.
For my first essay I had the choice of writing about a time where I changed or about
somebody. I just got home from a LDS mission and felt that changed me a lot. I began to write
and capture the moments that were important to me. How I wrote it was to appeal to a religious
person and to somebody that has no religious interest. I tried to capture lessons I learned from
being around great people and also the beauty of the Czech Republic.
The proposal essay was a little trickier because I had to come up with an idea to stop the
spread of Ebola. I researched the topic and thought how to stop the spread of the virus. I felt I
captured how I wanted to list steps to stop this epidemic.
I also chose these two essays because they are almost opposite in my writing. The
memoir is very happy with little quotes and facts. It was more of me just writing what I could
remember and shaping it on a page. The proposal is more based in facts and how could change
this problem.
The last is the public service announcement that two other classmates were assign to
bring this problem into the light. I did all the voices and it is a complete different challenge to
read something into a mic, rather than writing down a script. However the assignment showed
why common core was a bad. The hardest thing about this project was making it multimedia
because im not a computer person, but with a lot of playing around. My group designed a video
that had sound.
In closing this class really did so a lot in writing and forming strong points. As I move on
to higher education this will be a stepping stone to help understand how to help share important
knowledge with people.

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Scott Carlson
Mr.Buffington
English 2010
September 10, 2014
The Czech Republic
After having survived the twenty-seven hour flight from Salt Lake City Airport to
Pragues airport, I emerged from the airplane with the feeling that I made it to the place I will
call home for the next two years. I was excited to finally see the country that I tried to understand
from Google images and Wikipedia pages. I felt that I knew the country well because I read how
in 1918 Czechoslovakia was created. I imaged then what it was like to see communism after
World War II and then the birth of the Czech Republic in 1991. In 2 years I realized how books,
websites, and images cant teach you everything and how two things that seem similar can be
very different.
When I left the terminal, I was greeted by the Mission President, his wife, his assistants,
humidity, and my best friend jetlag. We gathered our luggage and piled into the cars, they
brought for us. We took the forty-five min car ride back to the mission headquarters which was
just the office for our president. After throwing our stuff there, we took a quick tour of Prague.
As we passed buildings that are older than America, I wasnt focused upwards at the
buildings. I didnt gaze at how ten foot men lifted columns on the outside of buildings or even
how the green metal rooftops were mixed so well with red shingle roofs. For our two hour tour I
was looking at the cobblestones that were under our feet for the majority of the walking. Its
fascinating how a team of three to four people laid each two inch by two inch block of grey
colored rock next to one that looks identical for the entire street and side walk. When cars drove

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on these Lego block roads you would hear a sound as if helicopters passing by. The only thing
that separated the difference between road and sidewalks was a line of bricks and how the
sidewalks pattern was arches on top of arches. After we crossed the famous St. Charles Bridge,
that was built for King Charles IV, we had dinner and went to the hotel room for a much wanted
rest.
The next morning we woke up and had breakfast with our Mission President and his wife.
We then sat with the men who were going to train us. My first city I was going to was called
Ostrava. After having to be in a train for six hours with no air conditioning and a window that
only opened two inches, I arrived in Ostrava and viewed one thing that I came to love. I saw a
tram. Its large metal body in the shape of a cylinder with a large red line that went around the
eggshell colored body was the popular model. The metal wheels screeched as they came around
the corner. As it stopped, I walked on to see very hard seats and a homeless man passed out in
the back. Right before I left Utah, there was a lot of talk about planning to build some trams
thinking that it will be very productive way of travel. In Europe, they are very productive
because trams were designed for Europes type of living. In Europe, the buildings and
neighborhoods are built very close together. There are little stores that sell food and clothes
located on almost every street. In Ostrava my house was a five minute walk to the nearest store.
Another city that I lived in, Plzen, was the farthest away from a store and took 15 minutes.
However, at my house in Utah, its a 30 minute walk just to the store. The tram is a great idea for
places that can allow this huge metal monster, but for most parts of America it wouldnt be
efficient.
In a matter of a few months I left Ostrava and stayed in a city called Hradec Kralove. I
stayed there for just a few months and then I was assigned to the place I will call my second

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home, Brno. When I arrived in Brno, I thought I knew Czechs well because I could speak to
them and lived in their country for already eight months. A man named Peter will teach me my
favorite lesson from a Czech person. My companion Nathan told me, we dont teach peter
because he doesnt stop talking. When he talked I couldnt understand him. However,
something changed when I was sitting down trying to piece what hes saying. I just asked him,
Peter, how can I help you with your house? Carlson, you need to come by Friday to help build
on to my house, said peter. Every week we went over and helped him build onto his dream
house. While there he taught us how to install a door the Czech way. Turns out that they are
very different because doors here need to be screwed into the doorframe and a pin would fall into
the hinge to hold it together. In Czech homes, the door frames have a metal pin already attached
to it. The person just has to slide the door on and if for some reason it doesnt work, you add
washers to help align everything.
After about 6 months of this teaching and helping, Peter opened up to us. His
conversations werent telling stories that he already told, but they were heartfelt. If we ever need
something he would help us. One time my favorite blue tie was coming undone in the back. He
said, Carlson(always called mey Carlson) I will bring you a tie. I replied, no that isnt
necessary. The next week when I met him at church he gave me one of his ties. Looking back
Peter taught me that trust cant be given out but must be earned. When finally someone can earn
your trust then that person should be treated as your brother.
Every good thing must come to an end. I left the Czech Republic a place I called my
home. When I was on the plane and flying back I had twenty nine hours to think about
everything. Even though I read pages on the culture, they didnt really tell me the truth. Czechs
are like castles. You have to get through their first, second, and sometimes their tenth wall. But,

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when you get into their inner court yard, they are youre friends for life. Now being home I have
been saying this line that I said a lot in my mission and adding a few words to it. Its from the
bible and it says, gird up your loins because now you have more work to do.
America and Europe are two different places that have their own culture and rules.
Things there that sound weird there are the norm. It turns out that even though we are all humans
that dont mean we are all the same.

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Work Cited
Bible, King James Version, Salt Lake City,2013

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Scott Carlson
October 26, 2014
English 2010
Mr. Buffington
How to tackle Ebola
Since the beginning of time, viruses have killed more humans than war and genocide put
together. This enemy doesnt discriminate between men, women, or children. The enemy is
disease and currently we have an epidemic in West Africa, which if not controlled, could be a
plague of the 21st century. Ebola can spread to places like India and I feel Nicholas Kristof wrote
it best in The New York Times, Ebola in India would be a catastrophe. However now we must
figure out how to contain this outbreak.
The Economist published an article called The War on Ebola. This article explained
that Ebola was discovered in 1976 when a nun, who was gravely ill, took some of her blood and
sent it to doctors. Later the author mentions that the doctors realized that this new virus has never
been seen and named it after the Ebola River, where the nun sent the sample. Since 1976, it
hasnt evolved and can only be spread through bodily fluid only. The real concern is when any
virus is spreading; it gives the virus time to evolve. That evolution is cultivated by how much the
virus can pass to somebody else and how many microorganisms can reproduce. In nature animals
change to survive and a virus it does the same thing. The History of Vaccines wrote an article
that explains the evolution of a virus, The more beneficial the mutations are to the viruss
survival, the more likely that mutated virus will be to reproduce itself. We must do more than
locking border thinking it will go away. This process will inform the people, contain the sick,
invent vaccines and early detention kits, and finally cremate.

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Closing borders or just stopping air traffic isnt an answer. People will just sneak across
the border and could carry this virus into new countries that havent had it before. Like the
Mexican border with America, when we closed the border, it hasnt stop the people from coming
in. already with in certain parts the economy is starting to fail. With closing air traffic then you
wont allow people to get the things they need. Also, it will be hard to bring the right doctors into
affected areas.
I have a friend named Matt Smith, who served a mission in the country of Ghana. We
were in a car driving when I asked him about Ghana. He told me culture is rooted deep in their
lives. Matt later explained to me how when a person dies that they will kiss and hug them for
around 3 days; sometimes taking them out of the coffin and putting them in their own beds. This
tradition of burial can be broken and the best weapon to achieve this is knowledge. Some West
Africans have been creating songs to rally the concern of dont touch the dead or any bodily
fluids. In all three countries, the government has passed out leaflets that list all the symptoms and
warning everyone to wash hands frequently. As more people understand that the spread of Ebola
is greater in a dead body or from their blood then they dont abandon their traditions but rather
mourn in a safer way. Matt said it best, They shouldnt take care of the dead and risk the lives
of their family.
Even though the thought of building a large building outside of the city will help more
people, truly it wont be that effective. For example in school people learn better when there
arent a lot of people. They get that direct communication with the teacher. Its the same way
with doctors with smaller units: it allows doctors to not feel overwhelmed thinking that they
must look after 70 people. Instead the patients can get the attention they need.

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NPR wrote an article that describes how contagious Ebola is to people. R nought," is a
mathematical term that tells you how contagious an infectious disease is. Ebola typically sits
around 1.5 to 2.0. With knowing this R nought scale it makes more sense that only 4,500
people have been confirmed cases but experts say around 10,000 may have it. However, we must
relieve that even though its only 2 that number can change. The economist published an article
named Much Worse To Come and it mentioned this, R nought is not a constant. It depends
on the biology of the virus, the setting of its spread, and the behavior of the people. Later in that
same article they quoted a man who helped identified the Ebola virus in 1976. Peter Piot said,
[T]he course of an outbreak does not always follow smooth curves; it can stutter and flare up.
This is just more proof that we cant sit by and let the virus to flare up.
If we build buildings, then they will be scars to the African nations affected by Ebola.
They will never be used again because people will believe the virus is still lingering in some
corner. My idea is to build buildings for the infected will be just a big tent. It will be the shape of
a rectangle. In the middle will be a hallway that doctors can go from one room to the next with
ease. On the outside of each room will be another door that will allow Ebola patients to enter
rather than infecting the hallway. The walls will be making of something called 3mill plastic. 3
mill plastic is a strong plastic sheet that is used to contain mold in houses. It keeps mold particles
inside this contained area which should keep Ebola in this room. The 15 rooms on each side of
the hallway will not be connected to the wall of the room next to it. Instead one sheet will be a
wall for one room while another sheet will be a wall for the other room. Almost think of each
room as a giant zip lock bag. When a person goes through the effects, they exude up to ten liters
of virus-laden fluids a day. If we cant clean with bleach then the room will be grabbed and
burned. Each room will also contain its own toilet. When I constructed these rooms like things

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for my job it took about 1 hour and 30 minutes to raise the walls. A cost of a roll of 3 mill is
about 100 dollars.
The actual clinic will be enclosed in a wire fence. When a person arrives they will answer
2 questions: are your symptoms like these, who have you come in contact since the symptoms
started? After they will be lead to a simple tent with beds. They will have a checkup every
morning and evening. Dr. Todd Hatchette, director of virology and immunology at Dalhousie
University in Halifax, explained how tricky it is to detect Ebola, people that return from Africa
with a fever don't have Ebola they have something more common, like malaria." When this
mistake is relieved they can leave. When the early detection kits arrive then they can just give
blood and find whether they have Ebola or just malaria. If the person has Ebola then they will be
sent to the big tent that has already been mentioned.
There is currently a vaccine that is being produced and working very well. Reuters
published an article written by Ben Hirschler explaining how close we are to a cure. The
vaccine is already undergoing initial testing in the United States and is one of two to have been
injected into people in clinical trials. Vaccines can be the greatest deterrent for a disease. Rather
than building these tents every time an epidemic is discovered. Polio which crippled many
people and including president Roosevelt was eradicated in major countries because of the
vaccine. This vaccine must be produced for large amounts of people. Instead of injecting we
should look to the past and see if we could hand them out simply and easy. Again we could look
to the past because polio was destroyed because of handing sugar cubes with the vaccine not by
shots.
The last step is we must be burn the bodies but remember the people who died. Ebola can
survive in a dead human body for long periods of time. Fire will burn away the virus and leaving

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no trace of it. Establishing a day of remembrance will be the final step to this long process. It
will give the families who lost someone a day to remember them. This anniversary wills
commemorate the important time to the people. It doesnt have to the day that Ebola epidemic
started but rather it could be when it officially ended. Allowing everyone the good news when
this long dark time finally ended and the joy that came back. Building a memorial wouldnt be
the greatest idea. When it is constructed it will alienate certain people because you are
remembering a certain time rather than any of the other break outs since 1976. Then, there are so
many people that havent been reported that makes you wonder how are going to collect all the
names for the memorial? Also, how are West African nations going to afford it, when they dont
have a lot of money? With the holiday, it will give people and families their own way to morn.
This will bring people who lost someone from different outbreaks closer together. They could
gather to discuss how to deal with a loss.
This process could finally allow us to get a grip on the Ebola epidemic and not make
countries spend a lot of money. It even could be used when another disease come about. We
might change some of the basic features but still keep the basic plan. In the coming years when
men and women will be informed in greater detail. They can help keep themselves contained and
clean Ebola cant kill large groups of people when we stay away from the sick.
This epidemic shows us that we arent prepared for something like this on a large scale.
However, it shows what we must do and how to improve. We dont need to take a lot of money
to solve a problem with this process we can save the people and protect the environment in
Africa.

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Work Cited
Kristof, Nicholas. How to Defeat Ebola. New York Time. 23 October, 2014: a31+ print
The War on Ebola. The Economist 18 October, 2014. 11 print
Cancer Vaccines and Immuno Therapy. Vaccine Science. History of Vaccines, 2014. Web
October 26, 2014
Matt Smith, Personal Interview, 26 October 2014
Doucleff, Michaeleen. No, Seriously, How Contagious is Ebola? Npr.02 October 2014. Web
25 October 2014
Much Worse to Come. The Economist. 18 October 2014.11 print
Hirschler, Ben. Canadian Ebola Vaccine to be Testted in Europe, Gabia, Kenya. Reuter. 29
October 2014. Web. 29 October 2014

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Our public service announcement was a video and TJ sent you a link

Changed the last slide that now it has audio

Took out the explosion sound from the final slide

Changed the animation where it doesnt spin but bounces in.