Not like it wil affect me anyways, since I'm going to be in high school, but is it good to switch to a block schedule next year?
What are the pros and cons of a block schedule? Theoretically, since a block schedule only has 4 class periods a day, the result would be less homework each night, compared to 7 class periods a day; where it is possible to have 7 periods of homework in one night. A block schedule can also allow more time to complete daily homework for example, if a class is taken every other day; then the students have the extra day, given in a block schedule, to go into the teacher's classroom and ask questions on problems not understood which could be very beneficial.
So, in my opinion, I think I would like the block schedule, although, since I'm moving on to high school after this year, it wouldn't really matter to me what the junior high did. A block schedule would be fun.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Television
Technology has taken its slow but deadly course, and something has crept into the society of the twenty-first century: television. Conquering the youth, television has taken over what was once hard-working, diligent, and responsible minds. Television, though millions could argue otherwise, is very destructive, because it wastes valuable time, can become very addictive, and it distracts individuals from school, work, and home.
According to the A.C. Neilson Co., the average daily household TV viewing is about eight hours, and the average American watches about four hours of TV every day. Do we have time to waste four hours every day staring at a TV screen? There are definitely more productive things to do!
Television is addictive. We all know that. Taylor Stoehr, from the University of Massachusetts, states, “The media function very much like drugs and alcohol, whether or not one thinks of them as addictive.” And she is absolutely correct. The youth of this country are, if not already, becoming severely addicted to television. Most kids are so addicted, that they are even willing to ignore the threat when their parents yell, “Turn that TV off and get to bed or you’re grounded!!”
Children and teens who are addicted to television are becoming more and more lazy when it comes to schoolwork. One of my teachers has exclaimed, “Students nowadays just don’t care anymore about schoolwork or grades!” It’s true. Television, and other factors, have affected the progress and performance of today’s students greatly. It’s time to take a stand.
As you can see, television is ruining the lives of the world, because it is so highly addictive and distracting! So the next time you are about to turn on the TV, think about what you are doing. It is not worth it to stare at a television screen and waste valuable and precious time, when you could be doing other, more productive activities!
According to the A.C. Neilson Co., the average daily household TV viewing is about eight hours, and the average American watches about four hours of TV every day. Do we have time to waste four hours every day staring at a TV screen? There are definitely more productive things to do!
Television is addictive. We all know that. Taylor Stoehr, from the University of Massachusetts, states, “The media function very much like drugs and alcohol, whether or not one thinks of them as addictive.” And she is absolutely correct. The youth of this country are, if not already, becoming severely addicted to television. Most kids are so addicted, that they are even willing to ignore the threat when their parents yell, “Turn that TV off and get to bed or you’re grounded!!”
Children and teens who are addicted to television are becoming more and more lazy when it comes to schoolwork. One of my teachers has exclaimed, “Students nowadays just don’t care anymore about schoolwork or grades!” It’s true. Television, and other factors, have affected the progress and performance of today’s students greatly. It’s time to take a stand.
As you can see, television is ruining the lives of the world, because it is so highly addictive and distracting! So the next time you are about to turn on the TV, think about what you are doing. It is not worth it to stare at a television screen and waste valuable and precious time, when you could be doing other, more productive activities!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
16
Only about one year till I get to drive. Excitement is a biggie. But it seems so.....weird that I'm almost going to be driving! When you're small, you always think of people that drive, people that are in high school as huge, OLD...people. But when you get to the age, you feel like maybe you're TOO young.
Animals For Scientific Research?
Should we be using animals for scientific research? Is it right?
In a way...we are animals, aren't we? So why is it all right to test drugs on mice, or monkeys, etc. when we believe it's cruelty and un-just to test on humans?
But in another way, medical technology wouldn't be what it is today without the tests and experiments on "animals". So is this a good or bad thing? The animals will die in a few years anyway right?
I don't agree that we should test drugs on and murder innocent animals, even IF they'll die in a few years anyways. But it's is probably the only way. Maybe, after time, we'll be able to create artificial animals to test on.
In a way...we are animals, aren't we? So why is it all right to test drugs on mice, or monkeys, etc. when we believe it's cruelty and un-just to test on humans?
But in another way, medical technology wouldn't be what it is today without the tests and experiments on "animals". So is this a good or bad thing? The animals will die in a few years anyway right?
I don't agree that we should test drugs on and murder innocent animals, even IF they'll die in a few years anyways. But it's is probably the only way. Maybe, after time, we'll be able to create artificial animals to test on.
Favorite Subject
When asked what my favorite subject, I often become confused. I can't tell if the people are trying to say, "What's your favorite class or period to be in?" or "What subject of school do you enjoy doing the most?" Of course, I don't really think of it that much, because, well...it's school. And in ANY teenager's eyes......i'll leave it at that.
If I was asked the latter question, the answer I would give would most likely be math. Why? Math comes very easy for me, although the LOADS of homework we get in my class are irritating, frustrating, and tedious. So if asked the FIRST question, I wouldn't say my math class. My favorite period of the day would probably be seminary. That time of the day is always calming, peaceful, and never gives any stress.
I think math gets a little TOO complicated. Why in the WORLD would someone spend ten hours figuring out when Jack and Jill would finally see eachother if Jack left two minutes after Jill did, and their houses were 253.84628463721548 miles apart, if Jack was biking at 7.162548 miles per hour and Jill was jogging 3.1643659 miles per hour?? Come ON!! All we want to do is just GET THROUGH COLLEGE!! Is that too much to ask? Ok, a little off topic, so back to the point. Let me rephrase my thoughts. I like math, when it isn't so complicated and frustrating that i need a rest!
If I was asked the latter question, the answer I would give would most likely be math. Why? Math comes very easy for me, although the LOADS of homework we get in my class are irritating, frustrating, and tedious. So if asked the FIRST question, I wouldn't say my math class. My favorite period of the day would probably be seminary. That time of the day is always calming, peaceful, and never gives any stress.
I think math gets a little TOO complicated. Why in the WORLD would someone spend ten hours figuring out when Jack and Jill would finally see eachother if Jack left two minutes after Jill did, and their houses were 253.84628463721548 miles apart, if Jack was biking at 7.162548 miles per hour and Jill was jogging 3.1643659 miles per hour?? Come ON!! All we want to do is just GET THROUGH COLLEGE!! Is that too much to ask? Ok, a little off topic, so back to the point. Let me rephrase my thoughts. I like math, when it isn't so complicated and frustrating that i need a rest!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Winter: probably my least favorite season. Why? Because of the snow and the rain. You're probably thinking, "This guy is CA-WAY-ZEE!!" But I have a good reason. I don't mind the snow and the rain, OR the cold weather, but i DO mind it when, because of the snow and the rain, they park officials TAKE DOWN THE TENNIS NET! Can't they build a huge roof or something?? It drives me mad how for a whole fourth of a year of my life, I can't play tennis like I usually do, because of something called nature! Everybody says practice makes perfect, but I can't practice anymore. They only way I can play tennis this time of the year is every week, when I have my private lessons, but lessons are never the same. It's better and a whole lot more entertaining to play and mess around with your friends.
CRAMMED!
Life really needs variety. This is my schedule every school day of the week: get up, school, come home, homework, read, and piano!!!! I wouldn't say working is BAD, but it certainly IS when the ratio of work to play is 10,000:1!!! Some parents think it's WISE to force their kids into working 24/7, when it's one of the most FOOLISH THINGS TO DO!! Parents need to let their children have a good balance between work and play, because it can extremely stress them out, and it's IMPERATIVE to have some rest after tedious work.
Stress: a MAJOR factor in an average teen's life. I know from experience that stress can be disasterous. In my life, I'm stressing all the time, whether it be from piano, homework, school, or simple matters at home. As we all know, that doesn't feel good at ALL. Too much stress could result in total mental breakdown (haha i can SEMI-relate to that....) and could affect schooling, and other work, which would be ironic, since parents are trying to get their children to do WELL in those parts of their lives. It's very foolish to force your kid to work hard and well, when, in the end, it'll stress them out and they'll do even worse.
Have you ever wondered why school's have recesses or lunch breaks? The obvious reason is most likely because students need rest from their schooling. When in elementary, I've always looked forward to the half-hour breaks of the day, as most of us all have. A good play refreshes the mind, and clears out some stress.
As you can see, it's really important for parents to ease up on their kids, because stress can be terrible, and the play time relaxes the mind. Parents need to see if they are too hard on their kids, because it would be an abomination to try and work your kids to death, which would go against their main goal.
Stress: a MAJOR factor in an average teen's life. I know from experience that stress can be disasterous. In my life, I'm stressing all the time, whether it be from piano, homework, school, or simple matters at home. As we all know, that doesn't feel good at ALL. Too much stress could result in total mental breakdown (haha i can SEMI-relate to that....) and could affect schooling, and other work, which would be ironic, since parents are trying to get their children to do WELL in those parts of their lives. It's very foolish to force your kid to work hard and well, when, in the end, it'll stress them out and they'll do even worse.
Have you ever wondered why school's have recesses or lunch breaks? The obvious reason is most likely because students need rest from their schooling. When in elementary, I've always looked forward to the half-hour breaks of the day, as most of us all have. A good play refreshes the mind, and clears out some stress.
As you can see, it's really important for parents to ease up on their kids, because stress can be terrible, and the play time relaxes the mind. Parents need to see if they are too hard on their kids, because it would be an abomination to try and work your kids to death, which would go against their main goal.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
I miss eighth grade! I miss my english class, because we didn't have to do the tedious AR tests! Why do we even have to? Shouldn't reading be a student's choice? When reading is forced, it trains all of us students to HATE reading. Schools need to think of a new way to get us to read, or simply just dump the idea of FORCING us to read. We shouldn't have AR tests because they don't really evaluate how well a student has read and understood the book, they can DISCOURAGE reading, and it's not right to force students to read.
I've taken many tests where they were made carelessly. These tests don't evaluate how well you REALLY have understood the book. It's just a bunch of questions. If schools wanted to see how well their students have read, they should have teachers talk to them, and have the students tell and explain what happens in the book, and what they think about it, not take a test on 10 or 20 questions that just ask what happened.
People can cheat on AR tests. All someone has to do (Don't look at me, I'm just guessing.... ) is just ask someone who has already read the books to tell them about it, and they would have the main idea of what happens, and most likely pass the test. I know someone who had to take a test for science and didn't even read the book. He passed the test, which shows how accurate the tests really are....
When people like us are forced to read, we don't enjoy it like the schools are trying to make us. Books should be read for FUN, not for grades.
I've taken many tests where they were made carelessly. These tests don't evaluate how well you REALLY have understood the book. It's just a bunch of questions. If schools wanted to see how well their students have read, they should have teachers talk to them, and have the students tell and explain what happens in the book, and what they think about it, not take a test on 10 or 20 questions that just ask what happened.
People can cheat on AR tests. All someone has to do (Don't look at me, I'm just guessing.... ) is just ask someone who has already read the books to tell them about it, and they would have the main idea of what happens, and most likely pass the test. I know someone who had to take a test for science and didn't even read the book. He passed the test, which shows how accurate the tests really are....
When people like us are forced to read, we don't enjoy it like the schools are trying to make us. Books should be read for FUN, not for grades.
I really need a new computer!!
About three weeks ago, my computer at home broke down, and, unfortunately, my dad won't let me use his laptop. tch! So these past weeks, I have had to go to our neighbors to do all my homework. (Thompson, if you're reading this, HINT, HINT!)
A good thing is, that I'M GETTING A NEW COMPUTER! YAY! I think after five or six years using the new computer, I'll break it so we can get a newer one... haha joking!!
About three weeks ago, my computer at home broke down, and, unfortunately, my dad won't let me use his laptop. tch! So these past weeks, I have had to go to our neighbors to do all my homework. (Thompson, if you're reading this, HINT, HINT!)
A good thing is, that I'M GETTING A NEW COMPUTER! YAY! I think after five or six years using the new computer, I'll break it so we can get a newer one... haha joking!!
More Sports in School
One thing that really bugs me about junior high, is how they don't have as many sports as, in my opinion, high school does. Yes, it has wrestling, volleyball, basketball, but what happened to football, soccer, and TENNIS???? Junior high schools should have more sports, because teenage interests aren't just volleyball, basketball, and wrestling, people who like other sports need to wait till high school, and more sports are fun!
There are so many more sports out there than volleyball, and wrestling, etc. And I'll bet anything most people out there prefer football over volleyball. So why does the school district insist on the current sports? Is volleyball cheaper or something? School would be so much better if they had more sports.
Sports encourage exercise. If there were more sports, then people's interests would be suited more, and more people would start playing sports. If junior high had tennis, I would probably be playing and exercising 24 hours a day. But they don't, so I'm this hobo that stays at home doing homework and reading... blech. I had to wait three years, and I'm still waiting for the high school tryouts to come.
Football and tennis, and all those other sports would make school so much fun, because it would suit the interests of more and more people. School HAS to be more than just volleyball, wrestling, track, and basketball!!
There are so many more sports out there than volleyball, and wrestling, etc. And I'll bet anything most people out there prefer football over volleyball. So why does the school district insist on the current sports? Is volleyball cheaper or something? School would be so much better if they had more sports.
Sports encourage exercise. If there were more sports, then people's interests would be suited more, and more people would start playing sports. If junior high had tennis, I would probably be playing and exercising 24 hours a day. But they don't, so I'm this hobo that stays at home doing homework and reading... blech. I had to wait three years, and I'm still waiting for the high school tryouts to come.
Football and tennis, and all those other sports would make school so much fun, because it would suit the interests of more and more people. School HAS to be more than just volleyball, wrestling, track, and basketball!!
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