Name: __________________________________________________ Grade and Section: __________________

Reflection paper on River of Dreams by Billy Joel

Directions: Write a reflection using the following questions about the song.

1. What issues about life are confronting the speaker in the song?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Among these issues, what do you think he values the most? Why do you say so?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. If you were him, how would you resolve the issue?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Why is it important for you to know and become aware of the different social issues in life?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please paste this part in your English notebook:
The Common Social Issues affecting Society
What are Social Issues? – are the general factors that affect and damage society.
Is normally a term used to describe problems with a particular area or group of people in the world. Often involve problems
that affect real life.
Examples of Social Issues
Poverty, Child Labor, Graft and Corruption, Cyber Sex, Drug Abuse, STD, Anti – Social Behavior, Alcohol Abuse,
Economic Deprivation, Unemployment, Natural Disasters and more.
Definitions
1. Poverty - The world at its worst when people are deprived of basic everyday things that we take for granted like food,
water, shelter, money, and clothes.
2. Child Labor - Work that harms children or keeps them from attending school, work by children that harms them or
exploits them in some way (physically, mentally, morally, or by blocking their access to education).
3. Cyber Sex - a form of a virtual sexual activity performed by two persons directly or indirectly through the use of the
world wide web. Also called as pornography or computer sex.
4. Drug Abuse – Addiction - Compulsive nature of the drug use despite physical and/or psychological harm to the user and
society and includes both licit and illicit drugs.
• Substance abuse: Frequently used broad range of substances (including alcohol and inhalants) that can fit the addictive
profile.
5. Graft and Corruption – is the unscrupulous use of a politician’s authority for personal gain where it occurs when funds
intended for public projects are intentionally misdirected in order to maximize the benefits of private interests