Whining about school while blogging seems to be the new pink, so I figure I should try it.
Well, I now know why some people just quit after high school. School gets old, real fast. College is interesting, and I like it WAY better than high school, but there is work. I had my fair share of work in high school too, I know what to expect. I guess last semester was much easier and I didn’t have as much; and now I’m just lazy(er).
Researching for this project all the time gets tedious. And the blogging. Yes, blogging, I still don’t really like you.
These past two weeks I had to do drawings for my art class, and those take a while to do. With all the other homework and the fact that I’m a HUGE procrastinator piled on top of that, I’ve been busy. Japanese is getting harder, and I’ve got to start studying for that more often. I’m horrible at foreign languages, and they just don’t ‘click’ with me. I have to work really hard at them. There’s also the fact that the Japanese have 3 different writing systems -_-. Why can’t they have just one?
Now I’m one word away from 200……there we go, I’m home free. See you guys Tuesday. Alright, this marks my lamest post yet. YES.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Brainstorming Thoughts Again
School shootings are happening a lot lately…they seem to be coming more and more. My project is on school assessment, so this interests me. Earlier I thought it was partly the teacher’s fault for the shootings; even the movie I reviewed, To Sir, With Love, kind of supported this. Well, Wendy questioned if it really is the teacher’s job, and if they should take time out of class to discuss it.
To be honest, I really have no idea. Every shooting is different, and who knows what’s going on in the minds’ of those shooters. It may not be the teacher’s fault at all. I’m not saying that they are to blame; they’re not parents after all. But to me, a school should educate kids on issues like that. If teachers AND parents just choose to ignore them, then things like shootings can happen. I’m not saying that teachers should be obsessed with the idea or make a special class for the issue, but teachers should at least be involved with the students. It sounds so obvious, just typing this, but I’m sure there are at least some teachers out there who don’t care at all.
I’m not confident in this post at all. I really have no clue what I’m talking about, and I definitely need to look into this more. As of right now, this is just what I think….and who knows? Maybe it’ll change completely…..
To be honest, I really have no idea. Every shooting is different, and who knows what’s going on in the minds’ of those shooters. It may not be the teacher’s fault at all. I’m not saying that they are to blame; they’re not parents after all. But to me, a school should educate kids on issues like that. If teachers AND parents just choose to ignore them, then things like shootings can happen. I’m not saying that teachers should be obsessed with the idea or make a special class for the issue, but teachers should at least be involved with the students. It sounds so obvious, just typing this, but I’m sure there are at least some teachers out there who don’t care at all.
I’m not confident in this post at all. I really have no clue what I’m talking about, and I definitely need to look into this more. As of right now, this is just what I think….and who knows? Maybe it’ll change completely…..
Bowling For Columbine Review
For my other movie review, I watched Bowling for Columbine. My first time watching a Michael Moore film, so I really didn’t know what to expect.
I didn’t have much of an opinion going into it, and I still don’t have much of one coming out. When I sat down to write the review the next day, a lot of things occurred to me. The side that supported guns in the film was portrayed as stupid pretty much. But the side that didn’t was shown in a much better light. I really didn’t like this honestly. The film seemed way too one-sided. For a more affective argument, he should’ve explored the opposition’s opinion in a more favorable light. He should’ve shown them more evenly, but then it really wouldn’t be propaganda I guess. He definitely wants people to believe what he says, or at least get people thinking and questioning; I guess Moore feels his side is the only one that can do that.
It was obvious he had a huge agenda in the movie. There really wasn’t as much on Columbine as I’d thought there would be. He touched upon (or fully covered) several different issues, some of which were too far out there for me. It seemed like a huge collection of his beliefs.
I wish there would’ve been more on Columbine though, I mean, Columbine was in the title of the movie…
I didn’t have much of an opinion going into it, and I still don’t have much of one coming out. When I sat down to write the review the next day, a lot of things occurred to me. The side that supported guns in the film was portrayed as stupid pretty much. But the side that didn’t was shown in a much better light. I really didn’t like this honestly. The film seemed way too one-sided. For a more affective argument, he should’ve explored the opposition’s opinion in a more favorable light. He should’ve shown them more evenly, but then it really wouldn’t be propaganda I guess. He definitely wants people to believe what he says, or at least get people thinking and questioning; I guess Moore feels his side is the only one that can do that.
It was obvious he had a huge agenda in the movie. There really wasn’t as much on Columbine as I’d thought there would be. He touched upon (or fully covered) several different issues, some of which were too far out there for me. It seemed like a huge collection of his beliefs.
I wish there would’ve been more on Columbine though, I mean, Columbine was in the title of the movie…
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Let’s Not Get Out the Vote Essay Response
I did a blog post like this a little while ago, and the speaker sounds exactly what I was trying to get across in my post. This article triggers the idea I immediately had about voting- what good would I do voting and not knowing anything about it? I’d rather remain apathetic as the article states; it would be far smarter than thinking I’m an American citizen just because I went out and put a mark on a piece of paper or punched a button on a computer.
The speaker stroke me as intelligent, you could tell by his word choice. I can tell this is an old article, so I envisioned him as a middle aged, well dressed man writing this at this desk. I think this man might be just a normal citizen actually; if he was a part of either of the two political parties, than he would be advocating for people to vote-not against it. I can’t really pinpoint any political affiliation to him…He just seemed nonpartisan to me. He wasn’t arguing for the rights or beliefs of either of the parties, but rather the right of voting itself-a right belonging to anyone of both parties.
I always have trouble stating what the audience of an article or speech might be, and this time it’s not any different. To me, he just seems like he’s aiming at anyone who votes. He spoke of those who vote intelligently, stupidly, and those who just don’t. That’s everyone who calls or doesn’t call themselves voters. His audience might be for those who don’t vote precisely. He was arguing for the right to not vote, a right I’m sure non-voters hold high. Those who don’t vote are probably being pressured by those who do, and this article was most likely written in accordance.
I remember, back when I watched MTV a few years ago, they always had commercials telling teens and young adults to get out and vote, and ‘make your voice be heard.’ They didn’t say anything like getting out and reviewing the candidates or learning more about political issues, but just getting out and voting period. Probably because a lot teens and young adults don’t care to review the candidates or learn more about political issues. MTV was just campaigning for kids to get out and vote-no matter who or what they voted for and how much they knew beforehand. These commercials were entirely different than the article. Instead of aiming for everyone regardless of age group, the commercials aimed solely at teens and young adults. Its message was much more simple-get out and vote, we don’t care how or what for.
The source essay, in the end, was just simply arguing for the right to not vote. Voting apathy is far more effective and reliable than voting because of stupidity. This argument works very well for me, as a non-voter. I don't vote simply because of apathy, and I’d much prefer it that way. Casting a retarded vote for someone I don’t even know about is about the worst thing I could do. This article proves it, not only thorough plain statements, but also through things like math. It appeals to me because I agree with it so much, and it taught me a lot of things I didn’t know-like the votes cancelling each other out. A part of me does feel a tiny bit guilty for not voting-it’s my ‘duty’ after all. But I just can’t stand to go out and do something where I have no idea what I’m doing. Voting is important, and I’m not going to waste the opportunity. Teens that like and are interested in politics can go and vote. But teens like me who couldn’t care less should not. We wouldn’t be doing anything worthwhile and wouldn’t be benefiting anyone, except maybe the party not in power as the article states.
It doesn’t surprise me at all that this article was written in 1955-I could tell just by reading it. But I know its message applies even now, and especially back then as well. The issues might change, but the factors surrounding them do not. Corruption and Voting Rights-it’s been around and will always be around.
This article only states a single fact: Times change, people do not. People were apathetic then, before, and now. People stealing and lying in campaigns has been around and will continue to be around. The issues or parties or anything like that doesn’t even matter. People and their thought processes have been the same forever. And people’s thought processes is what directly affects things like voting and political parties. So if people don’t change, then those won’t change either.
The speaker stroke me as intelligent, you could tell by his word choice. I can tell this is an old article, so I envisioned him as a middle aged, well dressed man writing this at this desk. I think this man might be just a normal citizen actually; if he was a part of either of the two political parties, than he would be advocating for people to vote-not against it. I can’t really pinpoint any political affiliation to him…He just seemed nonpartisan to me. He wasn’t arguing for the rights or beliefs of either of the parties, but rather the right of voting itself-a right belonging to anyone of both parties.
I always have trouble stating what the audience of an article or speech might be, and this time it’s not any different. To me, he just seems like he’s aiming at anyone who votes. He spoke of those who vote intelligently, stupidly, and those who just don’t. That’s everyone who calls or doesn’t call themselves voters. His audience might be for those who don’t vote precisely. He was arguing for the right to not vote, a right I’m sure non-voters hold high. Those who don’t vote are probably being pressured by those who do, and this article was most likely written in accordance.
I remember, back when I watched MTV a few years ago, they always had commercials telling teens and young adults to get out and vote, and ‘make your voice be heard.’ They didn’t say anything like getting out and reviewing the candidates or learning more about political issues, but just getting out and voting period. Probably because a lot teens and young adults don’t care to review the candidates or learn more about political issues. MTV was just campaigning for kids to get out and vote-no matter who or what they voted for and how much they knew beforehand. These commercials were entirely different than the article. Instead of aiming for everyone regardless of age group, the commercials aimed solely at teens and young adults. Its message was much more simple-get out and vote, we don’t care how or what for.
The source essay, in the end, was just simply arguing for the right to not vote. Voting apathy is far more effective and reliable than voting because of stupidity. This argument works very well for me, as a non-voter. I don't vote simply because of apathy, and I’d much prefer it that way. Casting a retarded vote for someone I don’t even know about is about the worst thing I could do. This article proves it, not only thorough plain statements, but also through things like math. It appeals to me because I agree with it so much, and it taught me a lot of things I didn’t know-like the votes cancelling each other out. A part of me does feel a tiny bit guilty for not voting-it’s my ‘duty’ after all. But I just can’t stand to go out and do something where I have no idea what I’m doing. Voting is important, and I’m not going to waste the opportunity. Teens that like and are interested in politics can go and vote. But teens like me who couldn’t care less should not. We wouldn’t be doing anything worthwhile and wouldn’t be benefiting anyone, except maybe the party not in power as the article states.
It doesn’t surprise me at all that this article was written in 1955-I could tell just by reading it. But I know its message applies even now, and especially back then as well. The issues might change, but the factors surrounding them do not. Corruption and Voting Rights-it’s been around and will always be around.
This article only states a single fact: Times change, people do not. People were apathetic then, before, and now. People stealing and lying in campaigns has been around and will continue to be around. The issues or parties or anything like that doesn’t even matter. People and their thought processes have been the same forever. And people’s thought processes is what directly affects things like voting and political parties. So if people don’t change, then those won’t change either.
Monday, February 11, 2008
To Sir, With Love
I just watched To Sir, With Love yesterday. It was a good movie, but I thought the formula for the movie was a little ‘been there, done that’ in terms of movie themes. Of course, it is from the ‘60s, so I wasn’t too surprised.
The British slang kept throwing me off a bit, because obviously I didn’t know what they were saying. I also don’t know if I liked Mr. Thackeray’s character very much (he was the teacher). He just seemed so…bland at parts. But I guess he was supposed to be that way. Overall, I liked the movie though.
I got a little stuck writing the review. I really didn’t know what I wanted to say when I started. Right at the end though, I got a stroke of inspiration from thinking about it a little more. It was hard to see since the movie covered so many issues, but I tried to relate it to school assessment.
One of the themes of the movie was supposed to be racial issues, but I really didn’t see that much. I saw more of social issues and things like that. Being a movie from the ‘60s, I thought that it would be entirely about racial issues, but it wasn’t. At times I thought that this couldn’t really happen and that it was too perfect of an ending, but I bet I’d be surprised. This movie helped me see that teachers matter a lot more than I thought.
If anyone is doing school assessment, you should give To Sir, With Love a try.
The British slang kept throwing me off a bit, because obviously I didn’t know what they were saying. I also don’t know if I liked Mr. Thackeray’s character very much (he was the teacher). He just seemed so…bland at parts. But I guess he was supposed to be that way. Overall, I liked the movie though.
I got a little stuck writing the review. I really didn’t know what I wanted to say when I started. Right at the end though, I got a stroke of inspiration from thinking about it a little more. It was hard to see since the movie covered so many issues, but I tried to relate it to school assessment.
One of the themes of the movie was supposed to be racial issues, but I really didn’t see that much. I saw more of social issues and things like that. Being a movie from the ‘60s, I thought that it would be entirely about racial issues, but it wasn’t. At times I thought that this couldn’t really happen and that it was too perfect of an ending, but I bet I’d be surprised. This movie helped me see that teachers matter a lot more than I thought.
If anyone is doing school assessment, you should give To Sir, With Love a try.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Admitting You Don't Know Anything
On Monday I couldn’t decide what the quote “Writing is admitting you don’t know anything” meant. To me, writers always seem like they knew more than your average person (if they wrote really good stuff). Nonfiction and fiction writers always seemed to be very insightful, fiction writers especially. So when Mr. Everett said that line, it left me very confused.
When we went to the interview on Tuesday in class, he pretty much answered it for me: Once you start writing, you realize how little you know.
After hearing that, I wondered why that didn’t come to me before as the meaning, but I guess it all depends on how you approach it.
Once you begin looking into what you want to write about, I suppose you realize things are much deeper than you thought. Researching one thing leads to another, you find connections and get even more questions in your mind. You realize how small things can be, and how truly big the world is.
I’ve learned that getting into this project. I knew at the start I didn’t know anything about public schools or their policies. Trying to research and go even deeper into the topic, I realize how small my mindset was when entering. Coming out of it, maybe I’ll be able to say “I really don’t know anything about school assessment”. ;)
When we went to the interview on Tuesday in class, he pretty much answered it for me: Once you start writing, you realize how little you know.
After hearing that, I wondered why that didn’t come to me before as the meaning, but I guess it all depends on how you approach it.
Once you begin looking into what you want to write about, I suppose you realize things are much deeper than you thought. Researching one thing leads to another, you find connections and get even more questions in your mind. You realize how small things can be, and how truly big the world is.
I’ve learned that getting into this project. I knew at the start I didn’t know anything about public schools or their policies. Trying to research and go even deeper into the topic, I realize how small my mindset was when entering. Coming out of it, maybe I’ll be able to say “I really don’t know anything about school assessment”. ;)
Too much Work, Not Enough Drive
I just Wendy’s blog post about “Too Much Work.” I have seen some people blogging about how much school sucks, and I have to agree. No, it really does.
I completely understand what Wendy was talking about, ‘if you work hard, it’ll be worth it’ thing. Or at least I hope so. I don’t have the best work ethic to be sure, but I do get my work done.
College still doesn’t match up to my Junior year of high school, but I’m sure I’ll be eating those words in a few semesters here.
As far as ‘burden’ goes….well, you do give a lot of work Wendy, I’m not gonna lie ^^’. Last semester I just had to write a few 3-4 page papers and do some reading in the book…so I’m not used to all of this work in an English class XD <--(this is a laughing face…). Your not majorly unfair or anything, I’m just lazy and I hate homework :\.
I just can’t seem to get these blog posts done, and end up doing them all (or most) Friday night. I’m still not 100% into this blogging, so it’s kind of troubling. I’m seriously going to try to do them more often. ‘Try’ being the key word there…
Yes, I’m getting back to work Wendy.
I completely understand what Wendy was talking about, ‘if you work hard, it’ll be worth it’ thing. Or at least I hope so. I don’t have the best work ethic to be sure, but I do get my work done.
College still doesn’t match up to my Junior year of high school, but I’m sure I’ll be eating those words in a few semesters here.
As far as ‘burden’ goes….well, you do give a lot of work Wendy, I’m not gonna lie ^^’. Last semester I just had to write a few 3-4 page papers and do some reading in the book…so I’m not used to all of this work in an English class XD <--(this is a laughing face…). Your not majorly unfair or anything, I’m just lazy and I hate homework :\.
I just can’t seem to get these blog posts done, and end up doing them all (or most) Friday night. I’m still not 100% into this blogging, so it’s kind of troubling. I’m seriously going to try to do them more often. ‘Try’ being the key word there…
Yes, I’m getting back to work Wendy.
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