Prompt: 6
When I was younger I loved to name myself different names. I always loved naming people. Every year my favorite name changes because I get sick of the name. I love thinking about what I am going to name my children because I think names are important and names also represent a person. In the book Freakonomics, the authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner they came up with names that were going to be popular in 2015. In the book the authors guessed 2015 names.  In the book the most popular girls names were Emma, Ava, Isabel, Sophia, Quinn, Grace, and Maeve. The most popular boy names in the book were Liam, Jackson, Aidan, Oliver, Will, Keyon, and Cooper. The most popular girl names in 2015 are Emma, Olivia, Ava, Sophia, Isabella, Mia, and Emily. The most popular boy names in 2015 are Liam, Jackson, Aidan, Oliver, Logan, Noah, and Ethan. A lot of these names are the same. There are a few that are similar, but then there are some that aren't similar at all. The authors made really good guesses because a lot of the names are the most popular names in 2015. They guessed most of the names right.

Parents care about names. Names are important because people have to live with there name for the rest of there lives. In the book the authors state, "There is a clear pattern at play: once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder"(204). Parents that have money, would rather have names that aren't popular. When a name gets popular it starts to go down because parents with money would like to have less popular names. In the book, Freakonomics, the authors state, "But as a high-end name is adopted en masse, high-end parents begin to abandon it. The lower-end parents, meanwhile, go looking for the next name that the upper-end parents have broken in(205)." Everyone is different and some parents want high-end names and other would rather be different. Parents would rather have low-ended names.

Names matter a lot to parents. In the book it states, "They may want something traditional or something bohemian, something unique or something perfectly trendy. It would be an overstatement to suggest that all parents are looking weather consciously or not for a "smart name or "high-end" name"(207). Every parent is different and every parent wants something different for their child. A name represents who they are, so they would like a good name for their child. I also think names matter a lot because you have to live with your name. My parents gave me my name and they thought about it a lot so it mean a lot. Unique names are the best kind of names because then people will not have the same name as you. People have to live with their name for the rest of their life, so names do matter. Most names have a meaning toward it.


Prompt: 5

Kids get stressed out because of their parents. Kids should decide where they want to go to school, not parents. In the book Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen K. Dubner it states, "True believes of school argue that their tax dollars buy them the right to send their children to the best school possible. Critics worry that school choice will leave behind the worst students in the worst schools"(158). Going to school gives kids a good education. Parents should let their kids decide where they want to go because they have to spend every day their and if they don't like it they won't have a good time their. In the book It states, "But it isn't so much a matter of what you do as a parent; its who you are. In this regard, an overbearing parent is a lot like a political candidate who believes that money wins elections- whereas in truth, all the money in the world can't get a candidate elected if the voters don't like him to start with"(178). Parents have to let their kids make their own choices. Kids like making their own decisions and with their parents bothering them all the time they don't like that. Putting pressure on kids and making them do things they don't want to do will make the kid mad. Parents should not pick where their child to go to school because its not the parents decision, its the kids decision.

If experts went to Hinsdale central to look around they would think of it as another school. Experts don't care if its a great school. They think if you go to any kind of school then that's good. In the book Freakonomics it says, "The proof is in this comparison: the students who won the lottery and went to a "better" school did no better than equivalent students who lost the lottery and were left behind"(160). The school that people go to does not matter. If people go to a school they will still get a good education. Parents and experts don't think the same. Parents that have children would like there children to go the best schools. Parents that have students at Hinsdale Central love Hinsdale Central because it gives kids good education. Hinsdale Central parents are happy with Hinsdale Central because their kids learn a lot and their kids can also get into good colleges. Hinsdale Central is known for being a good school so parents want their kids going there.

Who we are born to does matter and what our parents do with us matter also. It says in the book, "The child has highly educated parents. The child's mother was thirty or older at the time of her first child's birth. The child's parents have high socioeconomic status"(170-171). Your parents have an impact on your life because of genetics. The way you turn out is on your parents and how they were like, so who we were born with does matter because they made us who we are. In the book it says, "The child's parents speak English in the home. The child has many books in his home"(172-174). What parents do with us do matter because they made us who we are. If the parents have books in the house, then the kids are more likely to pick up a book and read it. This helps kid become more intelligent and have higher test score. Who you are born to matters and what your parents do with you matter also. Kids should be able to make their own decisions and parents should let them.