If I was Incharge of The Education System

If I was incharge of the education system I would definitely bring more creativity and ease up on kids. I think we should let kids move at their own pace, but also encourage them to get work in on time, and be punctual. I would also like to start classes at about 9 or so, and still end around the same time. I would bring back OAC because kids now a days have been pressured to move on, they are nervous and not ready to go out into the real world. I feel that kids have no idea what to do after high school because we are getting told we have to do so many things quick and right if we want to succeed out there. I see where they are coming from, but give us a break, we're only kids once, let us be kids. Now Homework. I think that the homework part in school is a joke! You rarely get homework if you're in a College Level Course, but if you're in University Courses, you do get homework, but it's still pretty straight forward if you follow along. I'm not saying we should bring in more, I'm just saying that I think its funny the lack of homework we do get. I could go on all day about the things that I would change, but I feel these topics I covered were the most important ones to me.

Twitter

I have always heard about Twitter, but I don't have any means to get it. I have Facebook, which I hardly use, but Twitter is basically the exact same thing. Describe yourself, put a picture, and let people creep. I like the whole idea of Facebook, and Twitter, like trying to interact with friends, family, and even trying to find old friends, like your graduating class. I know people who creep Twitter to find girls or boys for relationships and stuff, but I think that is wrong. I believe it should be used to communicate with people you already know. Soon we will have a new and more advanced " Twitter " and people will soon move on to that.
I have thought about getting Twitter just to see the actual differences.

Ipods Banned From Schools

I do not agree with this at all. There is a time and place when you should and shouldn't use your Ipod. If a teacher is done explaining the instructions, and you are assigned work, I do not see the problem with using your Ipod and a certain volume. I can see not having Ipod visible when a teacher is giving a lesson, but to ban it period, I think that is just dumb. Cell phones are totally different. Every kid today has a cell phone, and to try and take a kids cell phone probably won't turn out so well. I see were the teachers are coming from like, cause for years if a parent ever needed to get a hold of their child, they would just call the school. So cell phones, I can see. But back to the Ipod issue, I love listening to my music when I'm working, I personally think it helps me focus better because I can block out all of the other noise surrounding me.
Therefore, I think the School Board and teachers should not be so anal towards Ipods in schools.

Seeing And Believing

I think it can go both ways here. But for the most part, I like to see things to believe them. If a friend tells me something, like " Jonny broke his leg". Thats not too big of a deal, so I'll probably believe them. But if someone said " I heard Jonny died in a car crash last night" I don't think I would believe them until I saw it with my own to eyes, or heard it on the news. People always talk and stuff, and that's how rumours get started. So I think that everyone should not say anything until they are 100% sure that it is the truth.

Thoughts On Angels & Demons

Not a big book guy, much like the Da Vinci Code. I personally thought that the book got really indepth about some topics, when it shouldn't have focused as much on that and kept on truckin' throught the story line. One thing that I actually liked about this book is that it always gave you little bits of information and hints that eventually related and tied together at the end. If you're into action, thriller, and mystery type books, this book is perfect for you. I wouldn't recommend this book to someone who was looking to read one for fun, they would have to be into mystery, ect..
I wish I had have been able to go and see the movie, but unfortunitly I had to get a prom tux. I was looking on the internet and this movie had great reviews. It was released in Europe I think 2 weeks before North America and it was on the top charts and was sold out every show. From what I have heard this movie is great. Better than the Da Vinci Code. I thought that movie was pretty good.
I am going to have to go to the theatre and see for my self how good this movie really is.

Punk Rock Scientist

Hmm I was in Florida when we watched this video and blogged on it. I tried to find some type of information, or even this video on google so I could blog on it, but I didn't have any luck. I was told it was about a scientist who used to be a rocker, had very religous beliefs, and was also talking about the Large Hadron Collider. Im not sure if this helps me out at all, but it's definitely worth a try!

Ingersoll Open School

I think the whole " Open School " idea is great, but not in a town like Ingersoll. We already have The Fusion Centre, and they had the same idea. I can't recall any student that ACTUALLY goes to Fusion to do work. I don't know how this is going to sound, but when I hear fusion, I think of kids going for drugs. If Ingersoll did get and Open School I think it would help some kids, but it would also lead kids to more bullying. A lot of people don't think this, but I went to Kumon, a tutoring centre in Dorchester, and I had people teasing me and stuff, it wasn't good at all. I stayed for about 2 years in total. And I think that would happen to majority of kids. An Open School in London would be great, because it's a bigger city, with more kids and schools. Chances that youre going to know another kid would be slim. It's also pretty cool how these Open Schools are volenteers wanted to help kids who are struggling. Great idea, but not in this small town.

University Professor

This Universty Professor believes that students should not strive to get good grades, he simply thought that students should pick their grades, and go from there. I personally DO NOT agree with this at all because if students are garuanteed a perfect grade, why would they show up to class, when they can graduate with an amazing grade average and get a job anywhere. Secondly, they will not get the education they need to get into they work place, and if they did get into the work field that they were applying for, THEY WOULD BE LOST! And i just have one question... when an employer is trying to choose the right employee for the job, how would they pick the right one, when all of the students have the same grade??!?! Tough decision eh? This is just my opinion though. When we go off to Post Secondary Schooling, most of us have to pay for our tuition out of our own pocket. The drop out rate for first year students is very very high right now, and I simply believe that it would sky rocket if the schooling system ran like the way this professor thinks. The teachers don't care if you come nor if you get the credit.

Growing Up On The Internet

The Internet, do you think it's a good thing or bad thing? I personally think that the internet is a great invention, but there is many people using it for the wrong purpose. Take school for instance, if a student doesn't understand a topic, usually the student will not go directly to the teacher for help, because they don't want to be embaressed so instead they just go on the internet because all the information you need is virtaully ONE CLICK away. Most of the information on internet research sites is pretty acurrate and correct. So why not take the easy way out if you're not going to get in trouble right? Wrong. I think it should go back to reading books to find answers because I'm sure that kids don't even read what they are researching on the internet, i bet they copy and paste it and change a few words here and there so it looks like a students sence of word choice. As for having the internet as a social life, I don't really know what to say about that. You can't really give these kids trouble because all they are doing is trying to be a kid and fit in. Lets take " Autum Meadows" I think her name was. She had no friends when she was at school, until one day she got intoduced to the internet. She was 14 years old putting very sexual pictures on the internet, she was well developed, and sertanly did not look like she was 14. I thought she looked around 17 or so. This really helped her ego, she had hundreds and hundreds of friends on this site, more adding her everyday, people always talking to her, commenting on photos. She was loving it. Her mom eventually found out and Autum lost it all as quick as she had gained it. Her mother made here delete every single picture, which I thought would be so embarressing. Like I can see telling her to delete them on her own, then coming back to check and make sure they are all gone. But doing it right infront of her, that would be hell! I bet it taught her a good lession. When Autum turned 15 or 16 her mother let her get back on this site but not with the same revealing pictures. Her mom finally realized that Autum was an outsider and this is the life she loved. I believe that Autum was actually getting professional pictures done. She had the internet life back, and she seemed to be pretty content with that.
Overall, to me, I think that the internet is awsome, but has to be used in the correct manner.

Beginning of Angels & Demons

Hmmm Angels & Demons... first of all, I'm not really into books, but if I have to read a book for a school project ect... I would choose a sports or action one. In a way I guess Angels & Demons is kind of action. So far I don't mind it, I'm really interested in the X-33 Plane because it goes something like MAC 15! North America to Europe in an hour, that's amazing! Also, I really want to see Victoria's legs. As much writing there is about this women she better be a looker and have some steller legs. I guess we'll see when we go to the theatre to see this movie. I'm only as far as where the second cardinal has been found. I was in Greece so I'm a little behind the class in reading, I'll have to catch up.

Teens Going To University

I fully understand when people say that they are scared or even unprepared to go off to post secondary school. Ever since the school board has taken out OAC, high school students are going into universities at 17-18 years old! COME ON! I'm 18 right now, and im not prepared to go off. But point being, if OAC was still here, students would be going when they are 19-20 years old. I personally think that right in that age area is when you really mature and start to get your life going, because the decisions you make from here on out reflect on what you do in the future. Studies have proven that OAC being gone, the drop out rate for first year students in post secondary has sky rocketed compaired to 10 years ago. It's not that were getting any dumber, or lazier, it is all the pressures we have to deal with. It's all competition to get anywhere in life as soon as you leave high school and I think that scares kids. People don't know or what to expect from the future. So I think we should ease up a little, and let kids move at their own pace. Also bring back OAC and we all notice a difference.

Teen Electronic Lifes

We are the generation that is growing up with all of these new electronic devices, and this can be an advantage for us, or a disadvantage. An advantage this can have for us is that I personally believe that majority of the work field in the next few years is all going to be used with electronics. A disadvantage that this has for us, is that teens today are glued to these electronic devices, and have no social life. Atfer we watched a short video on teens todays with electronics, we had a classroom discussion and some people felt that if you need an electronic device to not feel alone, then you have issues. But I personally think that this is a last resort for them, because they have tried every other possible resort to fit in. I feel so bad for kids like this. For instince, a kid goes to school, and gets picked on every day, no friends, and eats alone because everyone makes fun of him. If I was treated like this I don't know what I would do. But in the other hand, this same kid goes home after school, and has a totally different life at home on the internet. He can talk to people, and about his problems. For the most part no one will judge him because he is just another person with no face. I know people that use facebook, ect.. to try and make new friends, but thats different because they already have friends.
Overall, I think that kids should try to make friends, and fit in, and not always rely on the internet or cell phone.

Earth Hour

I totally agree with Earth Hour, but I think that we should do it more than an hour a year! Ofcourse it's a positive thing to do, but come on, once a year! That's nothing. Even if we went once a month, or even once a week. Im sure people can take one hour out of their day to help greatly. I play my xbox frequently, and I would even turn it off for an HOUR A DAY, because every person doing this will conserve energy. And for like factories and businesses and stuff, if they started an hour later, that would be 5 hours a week from each factory or business. No one takes Earth Day seriously, and I think that we should promote this more, and all participate.

Oak Island

Alright, I'm not sure if Oak Island is a hoax of if it is cursed, but some unreal and strange things that can't be explained have happened here. From what we have read and researched in class, I'm thinking that Oak Island is actually haunted. There is an old myth that there is money burried some where on Oak Island. This is reffered to as the " Money Pit". Thousands of people have tried to find this " money" and they have been coming across planks of wood in a quick sandy area. This really makes me think that pirates had something to do with it because they were lazy, seemed pretty easy, and the planks of wood would stop thier money from sinking. I also think that when they realised that it just kept sinking, the pirates would have moved it to another spot, or just taken it with them. To explain for people dying while trying to find the treasures, I simply believe that the Island is cursed and that explains everything. The treasures not ment to be found nor moved!

American Teen

The movie American Teen really protrayed some of the typical lifes of students in high school. Jake really stood out to me because he was kind of socially akward, and he knew it, but kept on trying to fit in. He would also go and talk to pretty girls, even though he was sure that he would get rejected. I also really noticed Megan because she had the " I'm better than you" attitude and was pretty snotty towards people that she thought were lower than her. I really felt bad for Hannah as well because her and her boyfriend had been together for a while, and it seemed like all he wanted was sex. And when they finally had sex, he broke up with her. Im pretty sure he was using her.
At the end of the movie Jake had found himself a girlfriend and they seemed to be going pretty strong, and I think they will last for a while. As for Megan, she claims that she has matured and wasn't a bitch anymore. HMMM...
Overall, I thought the movie was pretty good, and I think that it targeted the average teen lives in high school.

Pope

The Pope claims that the use of condoms will not stop the spread of AIDS nor help it at all. I believe this to be totally wrong. Using condoms will not 100% guarantee help to stop AIDS or any sexual transmitted diseases, but it will definitely reduce the chances of getting it. Just because the Pope is Catholic, and does not believe in premarital sex, he outright lies to Africa, and he knows he is wrong. There is a lot of talk and anger because everyone knows that the Pope is lieing.

Schools and Lack of Creativity- Ken Robinson

I agree with Ken Robinson when he says we are taking the creativity out of our students and focusing more on numbers and textbook work. Ken also talks about all the pressure being put on kids to be right, so when they actually go out into the real world, they are affraid to try something new, or are affraid of being wrong. I believe that if we give students the chance to open up with their minds and allow creativity, I think they will succeed much better. All of the technology that has been invented have only been found by a small portion of people that have been given the opportunity to be creative. So point being, if we allow everyone to be creative, there is that much more room for further technology to be created.

Blog

I haven't had any experiences in blogging because i have never blogged before.