After conducting several interviews and hearing several perspectives, I have came to the conclusion that I will not be mentally prepared to have a child until I am around the age of thirty or so. I never realized how hard it is to take care of a child before I spoke to actual parents and they told us their experiences.
In class we had two guest speakers, Mr. Marks and Mrs. Plaza. Both are parents, and both came in to talk about the birthing process and how being a parent has changed their mindsets. Mrs. Plaza told us that having a child is” hard work” and that you have to be “mentally ready to have one”. So often on television, we see teenagers having babies at the age of sixteen and seventeen, but we often don’t realize how severely having a baby impacts your life. We watch these shows thinking we don’t ever want to be that person, we don’t want to have a child at such a young age, but in reality we don’t know to what extent having a child really changes you. Mrs. Plaza said she had a case of the “baby blues”, which is like post-partum depression, but a less severe case. She thought about “abandoning” her child, she didn’t care for it for a short time, and she was just always depressed. Mr. Marks also said that his wife had a case of depression after the birth of their child. You would think that having a child would be the most wonderful thing in your life; after all you just continued your family line and brought a human being into the world. But supposedly, having a case of depression is quite common for mothers. It is kind of depressing to think about, knowing that you just went through nine months of pain and several hours of labor contractions in order to have a child, and then you don’t even care for it.
Through this mini-unit, I have to admit I learned a lot about parenting. Recently I have become a fan of watching 16 and pregnant, and I always think “I would probably kill myself if I was that person”. I always wondered how people could have a baby at such a young age, and watching these shows made me think about that even more. After listening to Mr. Marks and Mrs. Plaza talk about “baby blues” and how big a responsibility is to take a child, I don’t think I want to have a child for another ten or fifteen years. I want to be able to have a stable career and marry someone before having a child, because I know myself, and I know I will not be able to take care of a little one. During the summer I work at camp, and I love my kids, but at the end of the day I can just return them to their parents, especially if they are annoying me. Having children are a full time job and I don’t think most teenagers around my age are ready for that job just yet. We’re still young and enjoying life, we can’t take care of somebody else.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Homework 57- Parenting 101
As a teenager with rules and a curfew, I always promised myself I would be that “cool” parent, the parent that lets my child do whatever they want as long as they get good grades and stay safe. I hate having a curfew, when my friends don’t. I hate having to always call my mom and tell her where I am, and I hate feeling that my parents don’t trust me (because honest to God, what parent trusts their teenage daughter?). I always try to do my best in school, and in return I would like to have a later curfew and some freedom. I don’t do anything for my parents not to trust me. What I am basically trying to say is that I want to be that cool, nonchalant, loving, caring parent, the parent that my kids are not embarrassed to be around. But I never thought about how hard it actually is to be a parent, especially of a teenager. At my current age, I feel that I should be treated as an adult, but my parents don’t think the same. Which results in a clash of minds.
I believe that the perfect parent would be the parent that has some rules and boundaries for their child, but also lets them make mistakes. I find that I learn best from making my own mistakes. People tell me not to do something, and what do I do? I do it anyway, just to experience it for myself. We as humans are constantly making mistakes to improve our wellbeing, and parents need to realize that our young minds are still developing, and we need to be able to explore what the world has to offer. However, I believe a child should try their best in school, meaning getting a B as the lowest grade they will receive. Think of it as a compromise, the child receives freedom and only some boundaries, but in return they produce a report card with straight A’s and make it into a good college. Sounds about fair in my opinion. I think parenting is all about compromise, what works best for both parties? Now I don’t believe that a child/teenager can be out all night, getting wasted and ending up in jail. I believe that can hang out with their friends and have fun, as long as they are staying safe and not doing anything stupid.
I do believe that my parents are good parents though; I am not going to lie. Over the years, my mom and I had a rocky relationship, because neither of us was willing to compromise. About two years back, I absolutely hated her guts, as I am sure she did mine. I would go out practically every weekend, and break curfew all the time (but with a ten o’clock curfew, who could blame me?) I hung out with the worst people, and completely messed up my first semester of junior year, because I just didn’t care about anything. I had a boyfriend at the time, and spent all my time with him and his friends. My mom hated him, which made him so much more attractive, on my opinion. We barely talked about anything, and I had so much teenage angst that when she would talk to me I would completely blow her off. Things got a little better a couple of months later, as I dumped the guy and started to focus more on my schoolwork. But then things went down the hill again, as I started dating a new guy whom my parents liked at first. But after ten months, they detested his guts. They hated who he was, and how he treated me, and how he changed my outlook on life. They claimed he had no future goals, and always reminded me that school work came before anything. We got in so many arguments about him, and once again I broke curfew and lied about where I was and who I was with just to be with him. Once we broke up, I started to talk to my mom about my feelings, and open up more, because I needed someone to listen to me and she was there. Our relationship started to rebuild, and we became friends once again. Now I am always telling her about my day, about the latest gossip, or about whoever else is new in my life. My curfew is flexible, and I no longer lie about who I am with or what I am doing. Throughout all of this, I have to give my mom props, because through writing all of this down, I realized I was not the best daughter in the world. However, she never gave up on me, and always pushed me to achieve my dreams. That’s one thing I believe every parent should do, make their children set a dream and work towards it. My dream at the beginning of senior year was to make it into Northeastern University, and my mom never doubted me even though I believed she did at some points. Once I did get in, she worked her hardest to help me receive aid to attend the school, and now that is my school I will be attending for college.
One piece of advice my mother always told me was to set a goal for any and everything you do, and work towards it no matter what happens along the way. I use to be satisfied with getting B’s in my classes, but my mother made me realize that if I push myself, I could do so much better. A good parent has to show their children that they can achieve their dream, and always remind their child that they will be there supporting them through any and everything that happens. Although parents and their children might fight, they are still connected through a bond, and that bond will never break no matter what happens.
For the texts, I chose to read the article “When Parenting Theories Backfire”. I found this article hilarious for two reasons, the kids sounded adorable although a little troublesome, and this theory is not the brightest theory I ever heard of. Sure, you would assume that giving children some sort of choice makes them feel as if they have power over their decisions, but honestly, why do children need such power? After giving a child endless options, they begin to take advantage of them, thinking that everything their parent offers them is a choice, not a demand. Gradually, when a child gets older, I do believe that they should be able to have a say in the matter, but at the tender age of five or six, why the need for free choice? I think that when kids get freedom of choice at such an early stage, they go through life thinking that everything is catered to their needs and preferences, thus making them spoiled brats. Parents need to decide when the best age to give their children freedom of choice is.
For the second text, I chose to read the article “Ferber Method”. This method actually made more sense than the above theory, because it helped the child become more independent. By extending the periods to which you check on your child when they are falling asleep, you are showing the child that they are becoming independent, and don’t need to rely on someone else to help them fall asleep. This helps the child not become too dependent on their parents, and gives them a sense of power by being alone.
I believe that the perfect parent would be the parent that has some rules and boundaries for their child, but also lets them make mistakes. I find that I learn best from making my own mistakes. People tell me not to do something, and what do I do? I do it anyway, just to experience it for myself. We as humans are constantly making mistakes to improve our wellbeing, and parents need to realize that our young minds are still developing, and we need to be able to explore what the world has to offer. However, I believe a child should try their best in school, meaning getting a B as the lowest grade they will receive. Think of it as a compromise, the child receives freedom and only some boundaries, but in return they produce a report card with straight A’s and make it into a good college. Sounds about fair in my opinion. I think parenting is all about compromise, what works best for both parties? Now I don’t believe that a child/teenager can be out all night, getting wasted and ending up in jail. I believe that can hang out with their friends and have fun, as long as they are staying safe and not doing anything stupid.
I do believe that my parents are good parents though; I am not going to lie. Over the years, my mom and I had a rocky relationship, because neither of us was willing to compromise. About two years back, I absolutely hated her guts, as I am sure she did mine. I would go out practically every weekend, and break curfew all the time (but with a ten o’clock curfew, who could blame me?) I hung out with the worst people, and completely messed up my first semester of junior year, because I just didn’t care about anything. I had a boyfriend at the time, and spent all my time with him and his friends. My mom hated him, which made him so much more attractive, on my opinion. We barely talked about anything, and I had so much teenage angst that when she would talk to me I would completely blow her off. Things got a little better a couple of months later, as I dumped the guy and started to focus more on my schoolwork. But then things went down the hill again, as I started dating a new guy whom my parents liked at first. But after ten months, they detested his guts. They hated who he was, and how he treated me, and how he changed my outlook on life. They claimed he had no future goals, and always reminded me that school work came before anything. We got in so many arguments about him, and once again I broke curfew and lied about where I was and who I was with just to be with him. Once we broke up, I started to talk to my mom about my feelings, and open up more, because I needed someone to listen to me and she was there. Our relationship started to rebuild, and we became friends once again. Now I am always telling her about my day, about the latest gossip, or about whoever else is new in my life. My curfew is flexible, and I no longer lie about who I am with or what I am doing. Throughout all of this, I have to give my mom props, because through writing all of this down, I realized I was not the best daughter in the world. However, she never gave up on me, and always pushed me to achieve my dreams. That’s one thing I believe every parent should do, make their children set a dream and work towards it. My dream at the beginning of senior year was to make it into Northeastern University, and my mom never doubted me even though I believed she did at some points. Once I did get in, she worked her hardest to help me receive aid to attend the school, and now that is my school I will be attending for college.
One piece of advice my mother always told me was to set a goal for any and everything you do, and work towards it no matter what happens along the way. I use to be satisfied with getting B’s in my classes, but my mother made me realize that if I push myself, I could do so much better. A good parent has to show their children that they can achieve their dream, and always remind their child that they will be there supporting them through any and everything that happens. Although parents and their children might fight, they are still connected through a bond, and that bond will never break no matter what happens.
For the texts, I chose to read the article “When Parenting Theories Backfire”. I found this article hilarious for two reasons, the kids sounded adorable although a little troublesome, and this theory is not the brightest theory I ever heard of. Sure, you would assume that giving children some sort of choice makes them feel as if they have power over their decisions, but honestly, why do children need such power? After giving a child endless options, they begin to take advantage of them, thinking that everything their parent offers them is a choice, not a demand. Gradually, when a child gets older, I do believe that they should be able to have a say in the matter, but at the tender age of five or six, why the need for free choice? I think that when kids get freedom of choice at such an early stage, they go through life thinking that everything is catered to their needs and preferences, thus making them spoiled brats. Parents need to decide when the best age to give their children freedom of choice is.
For the second text, I chose to read the article “Ferber Method”. This method actually made more sense than the above theory, because it helped the child become more independent. By extending the periods to which you check on your child when they are falling asleep, you are showing the child that they are becoming independent, and don’t need to rely on someone else to help them fall asleep. This helps the child not become too dependent on their parents, and gives them a sense of power by being alone.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Homework 56 - Interviews and Survey Question
Questions:
1. Would you ever try an online dating website?
2. Do you think a relationship started because of an online dating website will last? Why or why not?
3. If you were to participate in an online dating website, what would be some questions you would ask to help you get to know someone?
Results:
Interview with my mom:
Would you every try an online dating website?
no because I would not trust it.
Do you think a relationship started because of an online dating website will last? Why or why not?
no it will not last because only crazy or desperate people go online dating.
If you were to participate in an online dating website, what would be some of the questions you would ask to help you get to know someone?
what do you like, what are your interests, what do you like to do with your free time, what’s your favorite movie?
Interview with my sister:
Would you every try an online dating website?
no because I don’t think it would be accurate.
Do you think a relationship started because of an online dating website will last? Why or why not?
no because you’re meeting the person online.
If you were to participate in an online dating website, what would be some of the questions you would ask to help you get to know someone?
what do you like to do, how would you describe yourself, what do you look for in a person?
Interview with my friend Yang:
Would you every try an online dating website?
nope
Do you think a relationship started because of an online dating website will last? Why or why not?
possibly because it really depends on the people and how they are in a relationship or how they get along etc., not how they met.
If you were to participate in an online dating website, what would > be
some of the questions you would ask to help you get to know someone?
many.... basics: name, age, school/job, fam
then other things like exs, longest relationships& why they ended, where they live, what they lilke to do for fun ex hobbies, fav sports etc so i know we would agree on plans when we go out etc.
Interview with Carrie Li:
Would you ever try an online dating website?
Maybe, but only when I get really desperate and can't find anyone I like otherwise
Do you think a relationship started because of an online dating website will last? Why or why not?
Yes. Just because you're meeting them online doesn't make them freaks. I'm sure you can find a real genuine person online that's looking for the same things as you do.
If you were to participate in an online dating website, what would be some questions you would ask to help you get to know someone?
Hobbies, what kind of movies/music you like, future goals, questions that will get them to show their personalities
Results Analysis
These interviews actually did not provide me with any new insight into my research question, because the three people I interviewed told me they would not try a dating website. I asked some of my other friends if they would, and they also said no. This made me realize that finding somebody who would use an online dating website will be hard, because most of my friends are my age and have no trouble finding guys, and my family members are married. As a teenager, we don’t think about using online dating websites because we can just step outside and meet new people, especially since we are going to college soon. Online dating websites are for people who cannot meet other people they match with on their own, and need the help of others. Although it was hard to find people who would use or used online dating websites, I am not going to change my research question because I still am interested in how well they work out.
Survery Question
On a scale on 1-10, how accurate do you believe online dating websites and compatibility matches are in creating a lasting relationship, would you try an online dating website?
1. Would you ever try an online dating website?
2. Do you think a relationship started because of an online dating website will last? Why or why not?
3. If you were to participate in an online dating website, what would be some questions you would ask to help you get to know someone?
Results:
Interview with my mom:
Would you every try an online dating website?
no because I would not trust it.
Do you think a relationship started because of an online dating website will last? Why or why not?
no it will not last because only crazy or desperate people go online dating.
If you were to participate in an online dating website, what would be some of the questions you would ask to help you get to know someone?
what do you like, what are your interests, what do you like to do with your free time, what’s your favorite movie?
Interview with my sister:
Would you every try an online dating website?
no because I don’t think it would be accurate.
Do you think a relationship started because of an online dating website will last? Why or why not?
no because you’re meeting the person online.
If you were to participate in an online dating website, what would be some of the questions you would ask to help you get to know someone?
what do you like to do, how would you describe yourself, what do you look for in a person?
Interview with my friend Yang:
Would you every try an online dating website?
nope
Do you think a relationship started because of an online dating website will last? Why or why not?
possibly because it really depends on the people and how they are in a relationship or how they get along etc., not how they met.
If you were to participate in an online dating website, what would > be
some of the questions you would ask to help you get to know someone?
many.... basics: name, age, school/job, fam
then other things like exs, longest relationships& why they ended, where they live, what they lilke to do for fun ex hobbies, fav sports etc so i know we would agree on plans when we go out etc.
Interview with Carrie Li:
Would you ever try an online dating website?
Maybe, but only when I get really desperate and can't find anyone I like otherwise
Do you think a relationship started because of an online dating website will last? Why or why not?
Yes. Just because you're meeting them online doesn't make them freaks. I'm sure you can find a real genuine person online that's looking for the same things as you do.
If you were to participate in an online dating website, what would be some questions you would ask to help you get to know someone?
Hobbies, what kind of movies/music you like, future goals, questions that will get them to show their personalities
Results Analysis
These interviews actually did not provide me with any new insight into my research question, because the three people I interviewed told me they would not try a dating website. I asked some of my other friends if they would, and they also said no. This made me realize that finding somebody who would use an online dating website will be hard, because most of my friends are my age and have no trouble finding guys, and my family members are married. As a teenager, we don’t think about using online dating websites because we can just step outside and meet new people, especially since we are going to college soon. Online dating websites are for people who cannot meet other people they match with on their own, and need the help of others. Although it was hard to find people who would use or used online dating websites, I am not going to change my research question because I still am interested in how well they work out.
Survery Question
On a scale on 1-10, how accurate do you believe online dating websites and compatibility matches are in creating a lasting relationship, would you try an online dating website?
Monday, May 10, 2010
Homework 55
Part One
The topic I hope to explore is the relationship between two people. I want to explore what romantically links two people to each other. In this topic, I plan to explore how dating websites and compatibility surveys match two people up and how often these websites and surveys are successful in pairing two people in a long term relationship. My question will be something along the lines of “how does online dating and compatibility matches create a lasting relationship for a couple?”
Revised question:
How accurate are the online dating and compatibility matches in creating a lasting relationship, and how often do relationships come about through the use of an online dating website?
Part Two
Kate,
I really liked this question "Is friendship worth the emotional drama we feel for the little time we actually feel good to be in the company of others?", but i wonder, how exactly can you research this topic? it seems more opininated and less research filled. Maybe you can create a survery in a research based style that can help you generate answers for this question? it seems rather tricky otherwise.
otherwise i think your topics and questions are well thought out and i like them.
-Rachel
Jia Min,
i like where you are going with your topic, i just think you need to focus in on one part of it more. it seems rather broad, and maybe if you set a limit to what you're exploring your research will become more narrow minded.
i think for the question "How does one feel to be a closer friend and how many boundaries does one need to cross to be that closer friends?", you should rephrase it such as "on what basis does a friend go from being a mutual aquaitance to a best friend?" something along those lines.
-Rachel
Part Three
Caruso, Great. "Does Match.com Really Work???." HubPages. 2010. Web. 10 May 2010..
This article is more of a blog post that details one woman’s experience in using the online dating website, match.com. She explains why it was helpful in her relationship, and gives a detailed explanation to how it helped her meet her husband.
"Online dating 'good for romance' ." BBC News [UK, 14 Feb. 2005: Web. 10 May 2010..
This article actually shows that online dating is good for creating a long-term lasting relationship. It talks about how bonds are created through the use of chatrooms and text messages, and then includes a debate where people share their opinions on this topic.
"Essay: The Disastrous Effects of Match.com and What Women Can Do About It." The Washington Post [Washington D.C, 28 Jan. 2007: Web. 10 May 2010..
This article was written by a woman who actually uses Match.com to find dates. It talks about how Match.com actually does not benefit women in the dating scene, because it creates an opportunity for men to be highly selective and picky. With Match.com, women feel the need to always look their best for men, and make sure they look exactly like how men want them to look like. It then goes on to talk about her personal experience using Match.com.
Morales, Tatiana. "'The Rules For Online Dating'." CBS News.com [New York City, NY] 2 Aug. 2002: Web. 10 May 2010..
This article is all about tips to online dating. It explains the rules to online dating, and how a woman should react to certain situations. Some of these tips come from the book "The Rules for Online Dating: Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right in Cyberspace."
The topic I hope to explore is the relationship between two people. I want to explore what romantically links two people to each other. In this topic, I plan to explore how dating websites and compatibility surveys match two people up and how often these websites and surveys are successful in pairing two people in a long term relationship. My question will be something along the lines of “how does online dating and compatibility matches create a lasting relationship for a couple?”
Revised question:
How accurate are the online dating and compatibility matches in creating a lasting relationship, and how often do relationships come about through the use of an online dating website?
Part Two
Kate,
I really liked this question "Is friendship worth the emotional drama we feel for the little time we actually feel good to be in the company of others?", but i wonder, how exactly can you research this topic? it seems more opininated and less research filled. Maybe you can create a survery in a research based style that can help you generate answers for this question? it seems rather tricky otherwise.
otherwise i think your topics and questions are well thought out and i like them.
-Rachel
Jia Min,
i like where you are going with your topic, i just think you need to focus in on one part of it more. it seems rather broad, and maybe if you set a limit to what you're exploring your research will become more narrow minded.
i think for the question "How does one feel to be a closer friend and how many boundaries does one need to cross to be that closer friends?", you should rephrase it such as "on what basis does a friend go from being a mutual aquaitance to a best friend?" something along those lines.
-Rachel
Part Three
Caruso, Great. "Does Match.com Really Work???." HubPages. 2010. Web. 10 May 2010.
This article is more of a blog post that details one woman’s experience in using the online dating website, match.com. She explains why it was helpful in her relationship, and gives a detailed explanation to how it helped her meet her husband.
"Online dating 'good for romance' ." BBC News [UK, 14 Feb. 2005: Web. 10 May 2010.
This article actually shows that online dating is good for creating a long-term lasting relationship. It talks about how bonds are created through the use of chatrooms and text messages, and then includes a debate where people share their opinions on this topic.
"Essay: The Disastrous Effects of Match.com and What Women Can Do About It." The Washington Post [Washington D.C, 28 Jan. 2007: Web. 10 May 2010.
This article was written by a woman who actually uses Match.com to find dates. It talks about how Match.com actually does not benefit women in the dating scene, because it creates an opportunity for men to be highly selective and picky. With Match.com, women feel the need to always look their best for men, and make sure they look exactly like how men want them to look like. It then goes on to talk about her personal experience using Match.com.
Morales, Tatiana. "'The Rules For Online Dating'." CBS News.com [New York City, NY] 2 Aug. 2002: Web. 10 May 2010.
This article is all about tips to online dating. It explains the rules to online dating, and how a woman should react to certain situations. Some of these tips come from the book "The Rules for Online Dating: Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right in Cyberspace."
Homework 54
My Result:
Extroverted (E) 68.42% Introverted (I) 31.58%
Sensing (S) 53.13% Intuitive (N) 46.88%
Feeling (F) 58.33% Thinking (T) 41.67%
Judging (J) 52.63% Perceiving (P) 47.37%
Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)
These results actually surprised me a bit, to be honest. I felt that these results connected to me extremely well, they describe me exactly. A couple of weeks ago, we took a personality career oriented test from Devry University in college class, and my result was that I should go into the marketing or hospitality field. Looking at the results shown above, it seems as if the results are also oriented into a marketing field. I do feel as if I am “sociable” and a fairly well “hostess”. I also feel as if I am extroverted, I love being around people and being social. I do feel that I sense instead of using my institution, and rely a lot on my emotions instead of logically figuring something out. Last I do feel that I judge more than I perceive, as I am more focused on materialistic items and first opinions than on theories and practicalities. What really surprised me was that only 12.3% of the total population received this result after taking this test. That’s a pretty large number compared to the other numbers that people received on their results, and makes me think that a lot of people in our society are like me.
In class, we discussed the results from the Myers-Briggs test, and found that most people did indeed match up with their results. For example, Kate and Carrie received a result telling them that they were introverted, which is true on their part, and I received a result telling me that I was extroverted, which is also true. Right away we could tell who was introverted and who was extroverted without even having them tell us their result from the test, because we were able to judge them by their personalities. The other parts of the result, such as if they were sensing or intuitive, feeling or thinking, or judging or perceiving, were harder to decide right on the spot about somebody. These parts required a little more thought, a little more knowledge about the person in question. Overall I think this test was extremely successful in describing what each person’s personality is like.
Extroverted (E) 68.42% Introverted (I) 31.58%
Sensing (S) 53.13% Intuitive (N) 46.88%
Feeling (F) 58.33% Thinking (T) 41.67%
Judging (J) 52.63% Perceiving (P) 47.37%
| ESFJ - "Seller". Most sociable of all types. Nurturer of harmony. Outstanding host or hostesses. 12.3% of total population. |
These results actually surprised me a bit, to be honest. I felt that these results connected to me extremely well, they describe me exactly. A couple of weeks ago, we took a personality career oriented test from Devry University in college class, and my result was that I should go into the marketing or hospitality field. Looking at the results shown above, it seems as if the results are also oriented into a marketing field. I do feel as if I am “sociable” and a fairly well “hostess”. I also feel as if I am extroverted, I love being around people and being social. I do feel that I sense instead of using my institution, and rely a lot on my emotions instead of logically figuring something out. Last I do feel that I judge more than I perceive, as I am more focused on materialistic items and first opinions than on theories and practicalities. What really surprised me was that only 12.3% of the total population received this result after taking this test. That’s a pretty large number compared to the other numbers that people received on their results, and makes me think that a lot of people in our society are like me.
In class, we discussed the results from the Myers-Briggs test, and found that most people did indeed match up with their results. For example, Kate and Carrie received a result telling them that they were introverted, which is true on their part, and I received a result telling me that I was extroverted, which is also true. Right away we could tell who was introverted and who was extroverted without even having them tell us their result from the test, because we were able to judge them by their personalities. The other parts of the result, such as if they were sensing or intuitive, feeling or thinking, or judging or perceiving, were harder to decide right on the spot about somebody. These parts required a little more thought, a little more knowledge about the person in question. Overall I think this test was extremely successful in describing what each person’s personality is like.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Homework 53 -Survey Analysis
This survey had some interesting questions, some were straightforward and easy to answer, and some required a little bit of thought. One of the questions was “Do your parent(s)/ guardian(s) know who you really are?” or something like that, and this question stumped me. If course they don’t, I first thought. I don’t tell them everything that goes on in my life, as it is better that way. Yes I tell them the important stuff, but little details such as what I ate for lunch or who I met (if I met someone new) seem to escape my mind. But this question made me think about if anyone really knows the real you. I believe that everyone puts on a different face when interacting with different people, so how can someone really truly know who you are? Honestly, I highly doubt 75% of people even know who they really are. We can say who we think we are, but truly we are all actors and actresses trying to fit into a role that society molds for us.
There was also another question that said “are you happy” or something along those lines, and I again had to stop and think. Am I happy? Well, I guess you could say I am. Sometimes I feel as if school is pointless, or I say the very common saying “f*** my life”, but does that mean I’m unhappy? I believe that I am happy with my life, and I am happy a lot of the time. I have an amazing family (who annoy me at times), the best of friends, and a lot of wonderful opportunities that can open doors for my future. So I guess you could say yes I am happy. But this question makes me pose another question, what makes someone unhappy?
Some of the results to this survey actually surprised me a bit. The questions that I had a hard time answering seemed to generate the most shocking results, in my opinion. One of the questions/statements was “you know something about your family you wish you didn’t”, and I had the hardest time answering this question. I had to think hard, but in the end I couldn’t come up with something that I know about them that I wish I didn’t know. However, a lot of people said they did indeed know something about their family that they wish they didn’t. I was curious as to who answered yes to this question, and to what they know about their family that is so bad that they wish they didn’t know. Another question/statement that stumped me was “your family would/do accept you if you were/are gay.” I would like to say yes they would, but honestly I don’t think they would. In my family it is not looked down upon to be gay, we have a cousin who we are convinced is. However, I don’t believe it would be as accepted in my immediate family (such as my mother and father) as it would be if it happened to my cousin and my immediate family were the ones judging. A lot of people actually said that their family would support them, and while it should not have surprised me, it did. In my family, I am use to strict rules and regulations, and to see someone’s answer that their family would support them if they were/are gay, it shocked me. One of the biggest surprises I received in looking at these results, however, were how many people said yes to the statement “I feel happy alone”. When I first read this question, I thought it meant “I feel happier alone”, but now I realize it means just being content even though you are by yourself. In our society, I always feel that people feel happier when they are around other people, especially in our school. It seems that everyone in our school has friends, and everyone is always hanging out with somebody else. But when people agreed that they felt happy alone, I reconsidered my previous thought. “Who are these people that answered yes to this statement?” I thought, “are any of them my friends?” I admit when reading the results to this survey; I was a tad curious as to who answered yes or no to certain questions.
I read the survey results from the article “DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE LAUNCHES HEALTHY TEENS INITIATIVE” and some of these results actually shocked me. Nearly 50% of New York City public high school students have had sex, and one in ten have had sex before the age of thirteen. In my opinion, that is a ridiculously high number and people having sex before they are even of age to be a teenager? What is wrong with these kids now days? One similarity between these results and our survey results is that students in our school also admitted to being sexually active. Understandable, since we are seniors in high school. One thing that was different between our results and the results of the survey done by the department of health and mental hygiene is that people in our school use condoms or other safe-sex technology, while only 8% of sexually active teens reported to using birth control pills. 8% is not a very large number, and makes me wonder if anybody in our school has used birth control pills.
Between comparing these two survey results, I believe that I learned a lot. The best way to understand results is to compare two different types of results. When reading just our results, I only could look at the answers of the 52 people in our grade that chose to answer this survey. But when looking at a general study of New York City public students, I was able to look at a wide range of students, and then compare the results to the results from our survey. I was able to see what similarities and differences in results the two surveys generated.
There was also another question that said “are you happy” or something along those lines, and I again had to stop and think. Am I happy? Well, I guess you could say I am. Sometimes I feel as if school is pointless, or I say the very common saying “f*** my life”, but does that mean I’m unhappy? I believe that I am happy with my life, and I am happy a lot of the time. I have an amazing family (who annoy me at times), the best of friends, and a lot of wonderful opportunities that can open doors for my future. So I guess you could say yes I am happy. But this question makes me pose another question, what makes someone unhappy?
Some of the results to this survey actually surprised me a bit. The questions that I had a hard time answering seemed to generate the most shocking results, in my opinion. One of the questions/statements was “you know something about your family you wish you didn’t”, and I had the hardest time answering this question. I had to think hard, but in the end I couldn’t come up with something that I know about them that I wish I didn’t know. However, a lot of people said they did indeed know something about their family that they wish they didn’t. I was curious as to who answered yes to this question, and to what they know about their family that is so bad that they wish they didn’t know. Another question/statement that stumped me was “your family would/do accept you if you were/are gay.” I would like to say yes they would, but honestly I don’t think they would. In my family it is not looked down upon to be gay, we have a cousin who we are convinced is. However, I don’t believe it would be as accepted in my immediate family (such as my mother and father) as it would be if it happened to my cousin and my immediate family were the ones judging. A lot of people actually said that their family would support them, and while it should not have surprised me, it did. In my family, I am use to strict rules and regulations, and to see someone’s answer that their family would support them if they were/are gay, it shocked me. One of the biggest surprises I received in looking at these results, however, were how many people said yes to the statement “I feel happy alone”. When I first read this question, I thought it meant “I feel happier alone”, but now I realize it means just being content even though you are by yourself. In our society, I always feel that people feel happier when they are around other people, especially in our school. It seems that everyone in our school has friends, and everyone is always hanging out with somebody else. But when people agreed that they felt happy alone, I reconsidered my previous thought. “Who are these people that answered yes to this statement?” I thought, “are any of them my friends?” I admit when reading the results to this survey; I was a tad curious as to who answered yes or no to certain questions.
I read the survey results from the article “DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE LAUNCHES HEALTHY TEENS INITIATIVE” and some of these results actually shocked me. Nearly 50% of New York City public high school students have had sex, and one in ten have had sex before the age of thirteen. In my opinion, that is a ridiculously high number and people having sex before they are even of age to be a teenager? What is wrong with these kids now days? One similarity between these results and our survey results is that students in our school also admitted to being sexually active. Understandable, since we are seniors in high school. One thing that was different between our results and the results of the survey done by the department of health and mental hygiene is that people in our school use condoms or other safe-sex technology, while only 8% of sexually active teens reported to using birth control pills. 8% is not a very large number, and makes me wonder if anybody in our school has used birth control pills.
Between comparing these two survey results, I believe that I learned a lot. The best way to understand results is to compare two different types of results. When reading just our results, I only could look at the answers of the 52 people in our grade that chose to answer this survey. But when looking at a general study of New York City public students, I was able to look at a wide range of students, and then compare the results to the results from our survey. I was able to see what similarities and differences in results the two surveys generated.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Homework 52 - Initial Theories of Human Relationships
Everyday of our lives we are interacting with humans, associating ourselves with strangers, friends, coworkers, loved ones, etc. But what makes humans act the way we do? Why do we associate with some people the way we do? Why are we mean to some and nice to others? Why do we always strive to be better than someone else, turning life into a game filled with deceit and lies. Why do we distinguish each other by ethnicities, gender, and race? Now I don’t have the answer to all these questions, but I do have a couple of theories.
Humans need social interactions in their daily lives; otherwise they feel alone and cut off from the world. Without the feelings of being loved, or feeling that they matter to someone, humans will feel a sense of isolation which results in a sense of alienation and thoughts of suicide. As humans, we are nurtured from the beginning, back when we were little babies and people use to go crazy over us and our mothers would fuss over every little thing we did, to the end, when we are old and have to have people perform tasks for us because we are too weak to. Every stage of our lives involves other humans, and every institution we are forced into makes us learn to interact with others.
Along with establishing relationships, humans are always trying to set a status or reputation or the society the live in. And one way of doing this is by having power and be among the top rungs of a social ladder. We are always taught to want the best in life, to want everything and lose nothing, to lie, cheat, and con others in order to get to the top. Now you might disagree, but everyone does it, whether they are aware of it or not. As humans we always want what somebody else has, and we will do anything to achieve it. As adults, humans always want to have power and money, the two major factors of living a meaningful life. Once you hit it big, you feel as if your life is meaningful.
One big factor that dictates our lives is the feeling of love. Whether it be for family, friends, or a significant other, love is the bond we all share. But what exactly is the definition of love? What makes us as humans search for love, to make it our life mission to settle down with our significant other, or to build meaningful relationships with friends and families? In my opinion, there is no universal definition for the word love. How can someone tell someone else what love means? Today in class, Adam Wardas asked Gavin McCarthy and I what the definition of love was, and I was stumped. How can I sum up such a powerful emotion in a couple of words? Better yet, how can I explain how I see love, when Adam could see it completely different? To me, there are two types of love. One is the love you have for friends and family. That type of love is the bond that will never break, the bond that people share in order to feel connected to each other. The second type of love is the intimate bond between you and your significant other. This type of love is the love that makes you feel as if you are on top of the world when you are with this person, and they constantly make you happy. They constantly make you feel special, and they constantly make you feel as if you matter to them. Now feel free to disagree with me, after all, love is an emotion, and each person experiences emotions in different ways. However, most people encompass love in their lives in order to make themselves feel as if their life is meaningful. The theory of love ties back to the theory of humans needing social interactions in their lives. Love makes people feel wanted, it makes them feel as if they matter to someone.
Now the confusing thing about love? People are always saying that people throw the words “I love you” around way too easily. To some extent, I agree, but to some extent I have to disagree. I have to agree that the girl who claims she is in love with her boyfriend that breaks up with him and moves on to the next guy and claims she is in love with him also is just throwing the words around. She doesn’t understand what it means to be “in love” if she can say she is “in love” with each guy she meets and ends up with. But I believe there is a difference between saying “I love you” and “I am in love with you”. For example, I love my friends, I love my family, and I love my boyfriend. But I am not “in love” with any of them. I believe that love is just the feeling you get when you are happy with the people surrounding you. I love my best friends, they make me happy and I love spending time with them. I love my family, even though they annoy me sometimes. And I love my boyfriend, but I am not “in” love with him. I love spending time with him, and he makes me happy, but I doubt he’s my soul mate, or the person I am going to spend the rest of my life with. I say “I love you” easily to a lot of people, but that’s because I understand the extent to which I mean it. I can go up to Carrie Li, and say “I love you”, and it will be true. I do indeed love her, I love her to death, and she’s one of my best friends in the world. Did I throw those words around like they mean nothing? No I don’t think I did. Now if I just met a guy and started going out with him, and after two days I claimed to be “in love” with him, then yes indeed I would be throwing the words around. I think people fail to understand that there is a difference between saying you “love” someone and you’re “in love” with someone. So next time you want to criticize someone for throwing around the words “I love you”, stop and think about how they mean those words. The saying goes “don’t judge a book by its cover”, so let’s not judge someone by their word choice.
As humans, we are bred to love, to hurt, to deceit, to betray, to trust, to lie, to compete for what we want. We all have an ultimate goal in live, and will strive at anything to reach that goal. But how do the ways we as humans interact with others help us learn about our species? In this unit I hope to understand why humans interact with each other the way they do, and why some humans chose to isolate themselves from society.
Humans need social interactions in their daily lives; otherwise they feel alone and cut off from the world. Without the feelings of being loved, or feeling that they matter to someone, humans will feel a sense of isolation which results in a sense of alienation and thoughts of suicide. As humans, we are nurtured from the beginning, back when we were little babies and people use to go crazy over us and our mothers would fuss over every little thing we did, to the end, when we are old and have to have people perform tasks for us because we are too weak to. Every stage of our lives involves other humans, and every institution we are forced into makes us learn to interact with others.
Along with establishing relationships, humans are always trying to set a status or reputation or the society the live in. And one way of doing this is by having power and be among the top rungs of a social ladder. We are always taught to want the best in life, to want everything and lose nothing, to lie, cheat, and con others in order to get to the top. Now you might disagree, but everyone does it, whether they are aware of it or not. As humans we always want what somebody else has, and we will do anything to achieve it. As adults, humans always want to have power and money, the two major factors of living a meaningful life. Once you hit it big, you feel as if your life is meaningful.
One big factor that dictates our lives is the feeling of love. Whether it be for family, friends, or a significant other, love is the bond we all share. But what exactly is the definition of love? What makes us as humans search for love, to make it our life mission to settle down with our significant other, or to build meaningful relationships with friends and families? In my opinion, there is no universal definition for the word love. How can someone tell someone else what love means? Today in class, Adam Wardas asked Gavin McCarthy and I what the definition of love was, and I was stumped. How can I sum up such a powerful emotion in a couple of words? Better yet, how can I explain how I see love, when Adam could see it completely different? To me, there are two types of love. One is the love you have for friends and family. That type of love is the bond that will never break, the bond that people share in order to feel connected to each other. The second type of love is the intimate bond between you and your significant other. This type of love is the love that makes you feel as if you are on top of the world when you are with this person, and they constantly make you happy. They constantly make you feel special, and they constantly make you feel as if you matter to them. Now feel free to disagree with me, after all, love is an emotion, and each person experiences emotions in different ways. However, most people encompass love in their lives in order to make themselves feel as if their life is meaningful. The theory of love ties back to the theory of humans needing social interactions in their lives. Love makes people feel wanted, it makes them feel as if they matter to someone.
Now the confusing thing about love? People are always saying that people throw the words “I love you” around way too easily. To some extent, I agree, but to some extent I have to disagree. I have to agree that the girl who claims she is in love with her boyfriend that breaks up with him and moves on to the next guy and claims she is in love with him also is just throwing the words around. She doesn’t understand what it means to be “in love” if she can say she is “in love” with each guy she meets and ends up with. But I believe there is a difference between saying “I love you” and “I am in love with you”. For example, I love my friends, I love my family, and I love my boyfriend. But I am not “in love” with any of them. I believe that love is just the feeling you get when you are happy with the people surrounding you. I love my best friends, they make me happy and I love spending time with them. I love my family, even though they annoy me sometimes. And I love my boyfriend, but I am not “in” love with him. I love spending time with him, and he makes me happy, but I doubt he’s my soul mate, or the person I am going to spend the rest of my life with. I say “I love you” easily to a lot of people, but that’s because I understand the extent to which I mean it. I can go up to Carrie Li, and say “I love you”, and it will be true. I do indeed love her, I love her to death, and she’s one of my best friends in the world. Did I throw those words around like they mean nothing? No I don’t think I did. Now if I just met a guy and started going out with him, and after two days I claimed to be “in love” with him, then yes indeed I would be throwing the words around. I think people fail to understand that there is a difference between saying you “love” someone and you’re “in love” with someone. So next time you want to criticize someone for throwing around the words “I love you”, stop and think about how they mean those words. The saying goes “don’t judge a book by its cover”, so let’s not judge someone by their word choice.
As humans, we are bred to love, to hurt, to deceit, to betray, to trust, to lie, to compete for what we want. We all have an ultimate goal in live, and will strive at anything to reach that goal. But how do the ways we as humans interact with others help us learn about our species? In this unit I hope to understand why humans interact with each other the way they do, and why some humans chose to isolate themselves from society.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Homework 51
Through this unit and my extensive research, I have looked at the difference between public high schools and private Catholic high schools in New York City, and how religion plays a role in the curriculum taught at private schools. I interviewed several of my friends who attend private Catholic schools, and read a novel about a boy who attends a private all boys’ Catholic school. Throughout all of this, I have come to the conclusion that both public and private schools teach the same values and subjects, but in a different curriculum. While private schools incorporate religious values into their curriculum, public schools tend to stay away from anything religious because of the diversity found in public schools. Public high schools gives students the ability to develop their own thoughts and create their own insights while private Catholic high schools teach students what they should know and limit their ability to develop their minds through the use of religion.
In my neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, I am faced with private schools all around me. Xaverian High School (an all boys school), Bishop Kearny High School (an all girls school), Fontbonne Hall Academy (also an all girls school), Bay Ridge Preparatory School (a coed school), and Poly Prep (also a coed school) to name a few. Several of my friends attend these schools, and people from around my neighborhood are always surprised when I tell them I attend a public school in Manhattan. It’s unheard of, unless the school is some popular, big name school, such as LaGuardia or Stuyvesant. Why would you bother to attend a public school when you can attend a private school that’s in your area, they would ask me. It never bothered me that I didn’t attend a private school, after all I am not Catholic, and these schools are Catholic schools. However, I did start to wonder what was so special about private schools. What can they possibly teach that is so wonderful, that they can stick a ridiculous ticket price on to the tuition? Sure they explore religion, and students are required to take a religion class, while public school students are not required to because religion does not play a role in a public school curriculum. But what else is so special about it?
I asked one of my friends, Moose, who went to and graduated from Xaverian high school, on his opinion on attending Xaverian. He told me that when he was younger, he attended a public school and did not care about grades or doing well in school. But he begged his parents to let him attend Xaverian for high school, and going to Xaverian changed his life. He explained to me that he gained an immense amount of school spirit, and that Xaverian pushed him to work harder in school. Through the strict rules of the teachers at Xaverian, Moose was motivated to work hard in school and succeed. Upon graduation, Moose now attends John Jay with a full scholarship.
A lot of my friends attend Xaverian high school, so I asked another friend of mine his opinion of Xaverian. His name is Aidan, and he is a second time senior at Xaverian. He told me that he loves his school and reps his school as much as possible. He stated that he has immense love for his school, and everyone that attends it. Maybe that’s why he got left back, because he just didn’t want to graduate this school. When I asked Aidan about his opinion on religion classes at Xaverian, he told me that he never really thought about it. To him, religion classes were just a part of the curriculum, but he never really thought about how they affected him. He was content learning about religion it never bothered him.
In the terms of this matter affect the meaning of my life, it doesn’t affect me at my current age. I have attended public school all my life, and although I am attending a private university in the fall of 2010, that is different than attending a private high school. However, this matter will affect me at a later age, when I do have a family and have to decide where to send my children to college. Sure some of these pros and cons are subject to change (such as the tuition costs and curriculum), but by knowing the basics I can have some idea of where I want to send my future children. Although it is rather early to be deciding this at my age, I can also help my family members (such as my cousins who have toddlers) decide upon sending their child to a public or a private school.
For my independent research, I read the book The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. In this book, one boy decides to defy the administration, and disturb the universe. Jerry Renault attends a private all boys Catholic school where everyone listens to the administration and to the secret society named the Vigils. Each year the school has a chocolate sale, where students are required to sell a certain amount box of chocolates in order to raise proceeds for the school. This year Jerry decides not to sell the chocolates, thus upsetting the principal and the Vigils. This story depicts how Jerry goes from being a hero to be shunned by his classmates.
This novel was exactly what my topic was all about. Here we have a teenage boy who attends a Catholic all boys’ school who decides to defy the orders given to him by the administration. Through the values of the school he attends, he is then punished because he doesn’t listen to the rules set forward by the Sister and Brothers that work in his school. The Chocolate War shows the reader how one student who decides to defy the religious administration of his school goes from being viewed as a hero by his fellow students to being shunned by them because the Virgils and the principal tell them it is wrong to follow Jerry’s lead. Religion plays a big role in the education and lives of private school students, and this book shows just how much of an influence it has in their lives. The principal, or Father, decides what happens in a student’s life when they are attending the school, and the student has no say whatsoever in it. Religion provides a stricter curriculum, and teaches students that there is only one way to go about their lives, only one structure to stick to.
I decided to ask my mom about her opinion on public high schools versus private Catholic high schools. Or rather, which she would prefer me to attend (regardless of the cost). She replied that she would prefer to send me to a public school because she believes that we don’t need a religion background or meaning in our lives. She believes that in high school, students are too young to be learning about religion, and having religion control our lives. She said that public schools “give you more of a chance to develop your own mindset and think about things more freely, where private schools force you to incorporate religion into your lives and mindset.” My mom doesn’t believe that religion should dictate someone’s life at such a young age.
I then asked our fellow classmates, Adam Wardas and Carrie Li if they had to choose to attend a public high school or private Catholic high school, which would they choose? Adam replied “private because I know I’d have a better life after going there rather than the public school.” I then asked how he believes religion plays into a private school education, to which he replied “I don't think religion should play a role in education, but if it’s there, then it will affect the mentality of the students because it still influences them nonetheless.” After this I followed up with how would it affect your mindset, to which he replied “well if you believe that religion is real, then all your decisions will be directed towards living in that religions "perfect" society, where you try to get to "heaven" ”. Even though Adam would prefer to attend a private school, he doesn’t believe religion should play a role in a private school education. Carrie said she would prefer to go to a public school (“but it can't be a crappy one”) because “typically I would consider a private school to be strict”. When I asked how she believes how religion plays into a private school education, she replied with “it seems that religion based education allows less freedom from students where the students aren't encouraged as much to express their thought because from my perspective religions seem so close minded. They seem to be more into instilling religious concepts into their student’s minds than letting them think freely or giving them a chance to challenge these ideas”. Carrie believes that religion sets boundaries for students, thus limits their ability to think and develop their mind on their own.
In conclusion, I have found that public high schools and private Catholic high schools both have the same values and teach the same subjects, where as private Catholic schools create more of a focus through the use of religion while public high schools give students the ability to learn and develop their own mindsets. Public high schools gives students the ability to develop their own thoughts and create their own insights while private Catholic high schools teach students what they should know and limit their ability to develop their minds through the use of religion.
In my neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, I am faced with private schools all around me. Xaverian High School (an all boys school), Bishop Kearny High School (an all girls school), Fontbonne Hall Academy (also an all girls school), Bay Ridge Preparatory School (a coed school), and Poly Prep (also a coed school) to name a few. Several of my friends attend these schools, and people from around my neighborhood are always surprised when I tell them I attend a public school in Manhattan. It’s unheard of, unless the school is some popular, big name school, such as LaGuardia or Stuyvesant. Why would you bother to attend a public school when you can attend a private school that’s in your area, they would ask me. It never bothered me that I didn’t attend a private school, after all I am not Catholic, and these schools are Catholic schools. However, I did start to wonder what was so special about private schools. What can they possibly teach that is so wonderful, that they can stick a ridiculous ticket price on to the tuition? Sure they explore religion, and students are required to take a religion class, while public school students are not required to because religion does not play a role in a public school curriculum. But what else is so special about it?
I asked one of my friends, Moose, who went to and graduated from Xaverian high school, on his opinion on attending Xaverian. He told me that when he was younger, he attended a public school and did not care about grades or doing well in school. But he begged his parents to let him attend Xaverian for high school, and going to Xaverian changed his life. He explained to me that he gained an immense amount of school spirit, and that Xaverian pushed him to work harder in school. Through the strict rules of the teachers at Xaverian, Moose was motivated to work hard in school and succeed. Upon graduation, Moose now attends John Jay with a full scholarship.
A lot of my friends attend Xaverian high school, so I asked another friend of mine his opinion of Xaverian. His name is Aidan, and he is a second time senior at Xaverian. He told me that he loves his school and reps his school as much as possible. He stated that he has immense love for his school, and everyone that attends it. Maybe that’s why he got left back, because he just didn’t want to graduate this school. When I asked Aidan about his opinion on religion classes at Xaverian, he told me that he never really thought about it. To him, religion classes were just a part of the curriculum, but he never really thought about how they affected him. He was content learning about religion it never bothered him.
In the terms of this matter affect the meaning of my life, it doesn’t affect me at my current age. I have attended public school all my life, and although I am attending a private university in the fall of 2010, that is different than attending a private high school. However, this matter will affect me at a later age, when I do have a family and have to decide where to send my children to college. Sure some of these pros and cons are subject to change (such as the tuition costs and curriculum), but by knowing the basics I can have some idea of where I want to send my future children. Although it is rather early to be deciding this at my age, I can also help my family members (such as my cousins who have toddlers) decide upon sending their child to a public or a private school.
For my independent research, I read the book The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. In this book, one boy decides to defy the administration, and disturb the universe. Jerry Renault attends a private all boys Catholic school where everyone listens to the administration and to the secret society named the Vigils. Each year the school has a chocolate sale, where students are required to sell a certain amount box of chocolates in order to raise proceeds for the school. This year Jerry decides not to sell the chocolates, thus upsetting the principal and the Vigils. This story depicts how Jerry goes from being a hero to be shunned by his classmates.
This novel was exactly what my topic was all about. Here we have a teenage boy who attends a Catholic all boys’ school who decides to defy the orders given to him by the administration. Through the values of the school he attends, he is then punished because he doesn’t listen to the rules set forward by the Sister and Brothers that work in his school. The Chocolate War shows the reader how one student who decides to defy the religious administration of his school goes from being viewed as a hero by his fellow students to being shunned by them because the Virgils and the principal tell them it is wrong to follow Jerry’s lead. Religion plays a big role in the education and lives of private school students, and this book shows just how much of an influence it has in their lives. The principal, or Father, decides what happens in a student’s life when they are attending the school, and the student has no say whatsoever in it. Religion provides a stricter curriculum, and teaches students that there is only one way to go about their lives, only one structure to stick to.
I decided to ask my mom about her opinion on public high schools versus private Catholic high schools. Or rather, which she would prefer me to attend (regardless of the cost). She replied that she would prefer to send me to a public school because she believes that we don’t need a religion background or meaning in our lives. She believes that in high school, students are too young to be learning about religion, and having religion control our lives. She said that public schools “give you more of a chance to develop your own mindset and think about things more freely, where private schools force you to incorporate religion into your lives and mindset.” My mom doesn’t believe that religion should dictate someone’s life at such a young age.
I then asked our fellow classmates, Adam Wardas and Carrie Li if they had to choose to attend a public high school or private Catholic high school, which would they choose? Adam replied “private because I know I’d have a better life after going there rather than the public school.” I then asked how he believes religion plays into a private school education, to which he replied “I don't think religion should play a role in education, but if it’s there, then it will affect the mentality of the students because it still influences them nonetheless.” After this I followed up with how would it affect your mindset, to which he replied “well if you believe that religion is real, then all your decisions will be directed towards living in that religions "perfect" society, where you try to get to "heaven" ”. Even though Adam would prefer to attend a private school, he doesn’t believe religion should play a role in a private school education. Carrie said she would prefer to go to a public school (“but it can't be a crappy one”) because “typically I would consider a private school to be strict”. When I asked how she believes how religion plays into a private school education, she replied with “it seems that religion based education allows less freedom from students where the students aren't encouraged as much to express their thought because from my perspective religions seem so close minded. They seem to be more into instilling religious concepts into their student’s minds than letting them think freely or giving them a chance to challenge these ideas”. Carrie believes that religion sets boundaries for students, thus limits their ability to think and develop their mind on their own.
In conclusion, I have found that public high schools and private Catholic high schools both have the same values and teach the same subjects, where as private Catholic schools create more of a focus through the use of religion while public high schools give students the ability to learn and develop their own mindsets. Public high schools gives students the ability to develop their own thoughts and create their own insights while private Catholic high schools teach students what they should know and limit their ability to develop their minds through the use of religion.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Homework 50
The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher
The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher, by John Taylor Gatto, is a speech given by him when he received the New York State Teacher of the Year award in 1991. His speech is basically stating that teachers are always using the same six lessons in their classrooms, when they are teaching their fellow students. He says that teachers try to strip away the value of a student’s worthiness, and that students learn that the teachers are always the ones that are right no matter what happens. He also explains that teachers teach students that they are always being watched, and that homework is assigned in order to provide a surveillance system at home.
When I read this speech, I was beyond shocked. At first I could not understand if Gatto agreed or disagreed with these lessons, and then I realized that he did indeed disagree with them, but he was trying to explain that some teachers agreed and obeyed them. I find some of these lessons ridiculous, such as lesson five “I teach that your self-respect should depend on an observer's measure of your worth”. I think in no way should a teacher be the one determining a student’s worthiness. Who are they to judge what self-respect a student should have, or how worthy they should be in everyone’s eyes? I would never want a teacher to tell me that I am worthy of this grade, and that is the only thing I am worthy of. I don’t want someone else telling me what I am worth, that is no place in anyone’s right to say. I understand some people argue that grades are a way to evaluate a student’s worthiness, however I disagree. Grades are a way to evaluate a student’s progress, not what respect they should have for themselves because of how they are seen in someone else’s eyes. I thought that Gatto had a point when he was disagreeing with the six lessons most teachers use in the classroom. These lessons are wrong and degrading students everywhere. School is not about stripping away a student’s ability to think and have their own mindset, it’s about letting a student explore the world around them with the help of teachers. However with these lessons, that is nearly impossible to do.
Fanning's Interview
In our class, Mr. Fanning came in to answer a set of questions posed by us, the students. He answered the questions posed in a pretty generic way, but also added his own twist to them. By this I mean that he was not the “education is the most important thing in your life, end of story” speaker, instead he was the “education is the most important thing in your life, and here is why” speaker. He explained that when he was younger and in high school, he did not really care for school, instead he just wanted to start a rock band. Remarkably he went to an outstanding college, Skidmore College, while deciding to pursue his dream to be a rock star. After he graduated he became a rock star, but soon retired and came back to teach. One thing Mr. Fanning said was that education is the most important gift someone can ever give you. A pretty generic answer, but he then went on to expand on this statement. He explained that college opens a lot of opportunities for you, and that you can always learn something new, no matter what age you are at. He explains that people are always going back to school to further increase their education, because it is the one thing that sets the building blocks for the rest of your life. Sam Kaplan asked Mr. Fanning how living the rock star lifestyle influenced his teaching style at SOF. To this, Fanning replied that he understands what we are going through as teens. He knows what we are going through, but wants to see all of us succeed at life. Fanning also went on to explain how he loves being principal at SOF because of the diversity around him. Beacon high school, he said, screens its students, and expects them all to get perfect grades, and to always listen to the teacher. However, at SOF, there is a large variation of students, ranging from struggling students to excelling students. He explains that it is this diversity that makes him enjoy teaching (when he did) and being principal at SOF.
It was surprising to hear Mr. Fanning answer the questions in the way he did. I always thought of him as someone who wanted to push the value of education on us, and to make us all want to go to college (not that I ever had a doubt in my mind about going). However, listening him talk about his life shown me a new side of him. I thought it was really cool how he was a rock star at first, and then went on to find a career in the education system. I agree with him that SOF is an extremely academically and racially diverse school, and sometimes I wondered why this was. After listening to him compare SOF to Beacon, I realized the answer to my question. It gives me appreciation for the teachers at SOF, because they have to make sure each student gets their needs met. Each student learns at a different pace, and with such an academically diverse student body, teachers need to work hard in order to help each student in their own way. I always understood the value of education, and never had a doubt in my mind that I would attend college, and then possibly attend grad school if that’s where my future takes me. However, after listening to Fanning talk about all the different ways an education can shape you, and how you can always learn something new, I now further appreciate the ability to have such an outstanding education. Fanning’s interview really made me think about education in a new light.
John Gatto: Teacher of the Year Acceptance Speech
In John Gatto’s Teacher of the Year Acceptance Speech, he is criticizing our education system and how schools are run now. He explains that schools are no longer used to educate students, but rather to teach them to obey orders. He also states that schools force students to sit in a confined area with other people their age, and all learn the same thing. They never see diversity in their school lives, thus cutting them off from reality and what happens to them in their future. He also states that school leaves little time for a child’s mind to grow and develop on their own. Children are constantly under surveillance, even when they are at home (through the use of homework) and have no time to decide what they want to do with their lives or what they want to do for fun. Towards the end of his speech he explains what he wants to change about the school system, and how it should be reformed.
When I first started reading his speech, I have to admit I was genuinely shocked. What teacher would create an acceptance speech that criticizes the very system that he works in and just accepted an award based on? But into further reading his speech, I realized that Gatto had a point. The school system is all about making children into students who memorize everything the teacher tells them. Students don’t have a chance to think on their own, or a chance to explore something using their mind. Instead they are forced to memorized formulae that would never help them in their future unless they go into that particular field. Gatto is right when he says schools don’t educate us, instead they teach us to obey orders. Schools are like a factory, with the teachers being the ones in charge and the students being the assembly workers always going through the same routine without paying much attention to what they are doing.
Lisa Delpit on power and pedagogy
Lisa Delpit argues that students who were raised in a family that taught them basic skills would further advance in schools than students who were not taught basic skills would. She argues that students who come from a “culture of power”, whom are mainly white kids, will do better in school because they all ready know the basic things. However students who don’t come from this “culture”, whom are mainly the minorities or poor kids, will struggle in school, and once teachers see that happening, they will deem them a slower learner, and make them take remedial courses. Delpit argues that a fair curriculum should be created for everyone, including the students who were not raised in the “culture of power”. She suggests that an appropriate education is created for these minority students.
I agree with Delpit because it is harder for students to learn as quickly as they should if they don’t have a background in the basic skills. Everything she is talking about goes back to the theory of “culture maps”, and how some people are born into the “typical American culuture map”, while others are born into a map that doesn’t prove education to be too important. Although most people don’t connect race and class with the education field when you first think about schools, Delpit shows people that it is a huge controversy when students are learning.
The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher, by John Taylor Gatto, is a speech given by him when he received the New York State Teacher of the Year award in 1991. His speech is basically stating that teachers are always using the same six lessons in their classrooms, when they are teaching their fellow students. He says that teachers try to strip away the value of a student’s worthiness, and that students learn that the teachers are always the ones that are right no matter what happens. He also explains that teachers teach students that they are always being watched, and that homework is assigned in order to provide a surveillance system at home.
When I read this speech, I was beyond shocked. At first I could not understand if Gatto agreed or disagreed with these lessons, and then I realized that he did indeed disagree with them, but he was trying to explain that some teachers agreed and obeyed them. I find some of these lessons ridiculous, such as lesson five “I teach that your self-respect should depend on an observer's measure of your worth”. I think in no way should a teacher be the one determining a student’s worthiness. Who are they to judge what self-respect a student should have, or how worthy they should be in everyone’s eyes? I would never want a teacher to tell me that I am worthy of this grade, and that is the only thing I am worthy of. I don’t want someone else telling me what I am worth, that is no place in anyone’s right to say. I understand some people argue that grades are a way to evaluate a student’s worthiness, however I disagree. Grades are a way to evaluate a student’s progress, not what respect they should have for themselves because of how they are seen in someone else’s eyes. I thought that Gatto had a point when he was disagreeing with the six lessons most teachers use in the classroom. These lessons are wrong and degrading students everywhere. School is not about stripping away a student’s ability to think and have their own mindset, it’s about letting a student explore the world around them with the help of teachers. However with these lessons, that is nearly impossible to do.
Fanning's Interview
In our class, Mr. Fanning came in to answer a set of questions posed by us, the students. He answered the questions posed in a pretty generic way, but also added his own twist to them. By this I mean that he was not the “education is the most important thing in your life, end of story” speaker, instead he was the “education is the most important thing in your life, and here is why” speaker. He explained that when he was younger and in high school, he did not really care for school, instead he just wanted to start a rock band. Remarkably he went to an outstanding college, Skidmore College, while deciding to pursue his dream to be a rock star. After he graduated he became a rock star, but soon retired and came back to teach. One thing Mr. Fanning said was that education is the most important gift someone can ever give you. A pretty generic answer, but he then went on to expand on this statement. He explained that college opens a lot of opportunities for you, and that you can always learn something new, no matter what age you are at. He explains that people are always going back to school to further increase their education, because it is the one thing that sets the building blocks for the rest of your life. Sam Kaplan asked Mr. Fanning how living the rock star lifestyle influenced his teaching style at SOF. To this, Fanning replied that he understands what we are going through as teens. He knows what we are going through, but wants to see all of us succeed at life. Fanning also went on to explain how he loves being principal at SOF because of the diversity around him. Beacon high school, he said, screens its students, and expects them all to get perfect grades, and to always listen to the teacher. However, at SOF, there is a large variation of students, ranging from struggling students to excelling students. He explains that it is this diversity that makes him enjoy teaching (when he did) and being principal at SOF.
It was surprising to hear Mr. Fanning answer the questions in the way he did. I always thought of him as someone who wanted to push the value of education on us, and to make us all want to go to college (not that I ever had a doubt in my mind about going). However, listening him talk about his life shown me a new side of him. I thought it was really cool how he was a rock star at first, and then went on to find a career in the education system. I agree with him that SOF is an extremely academically and racially diverse school, and sometimes I wondered why this was. After listening to him compare SOF to Beacon, I realized the answer to my question. It gives me appreciation for the teachers at SOF, because they have to make sure each student gets their needs met. Each student learns at a different pace, and with such an academically diverse student body, teachers need to work hard in order to help each student in their own way. I always understood the value of education, and never had a doubt in my mind that I would attend college, and then possibly attend grad school if that’s where my future takes me. However, after listening to Fanning talk about all the different ways an education can shape you, and how you can always learn something new, I now further appreciate the ability to have such an outstanding education. Fanning’s interview really made me think about education in a new light.
John Gatto: Teacher of the Year Acceptance Speech
In John Gatto’s Teacher of the Year Acceptance Speech, he is criticizing our education system and how schools are run now. He explains that schools are no longer used to educate students, but rather to teach them to obey orders. He also states that schools force students to sit in a confined area with other people their age, and all learn the same thing. They never see diversity in their school lives, thus cutting them off from reality and what happens to them in their future. He also states that school leaves little time for a child’s mind to grow and develop on their own. Children are constantly under surveillance, even when they are at home (through the use of homework) and have no time to decide what they want to do with their lives or what they want to do for fun. Towards the end of his speech he explains what he wants to change about the school system, and how it should be reformed.
When I first started reading his speech, I have to admit I was genuinely shocked. What teacher would create an acceptance speech that criticizes the very system that he works in and just accepted an award based on? But into further reading his speech, I realized that Gatto had a point. The school system is all about making children into students who memorize everything the teacher tells them. Students don’t have a chance to think on their own, or a chance to explore something using their mind. Instead they are forced to memorized formulae that would never help them in their future unless they go into that particular field. Gatto is right when he says schools don’t educate us, instead they teach us to obey orders. Schools are like a factory, with the teachers being the ones in charge and the students being the assembly workers always going through the same routine without paying much attention to what they are doing.
Lisa Delpit on power and pedagogy
Lisa Delpit argues that students who were raised in a family that taught them basic skills would further advance in schools than students who were not taught basic skills would. She argues that students who come from a “culture of power”, whom are mainly white kids, will do better in school because they all ready know the basic things. However students who don’t come from this “culture”, whom are mainly the minorities or poor kids, will struggle in school, and once teachers see that happening, they will deem them a slower learner, and make them take remedial courses. Delpit argues that a fair curriculum should be created for everyone, including the students who were not raised in the “culture of power”. She suggests that an appropriate education is created for these minority students.
I agree with Delpit because it is harder for students to learn as quickly as they should if they don’t have a background in the basic skills. Everything she is talking about goes back to the theory of “culture maps”, and how some people are born into the “typical American culuture map”, while others are born into a map that doesn’t prove education to be too important. Although most people don’t connect race and class with the education field when you first think about schools, Delpit shows people that it is a huge controversy when students are learning.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Homework 49
Our class did not finish making our film, so instead of I will be writing about how our video would have turned out if it was indeed finished. For our film, I was one of the extras; I sat in the background and raised my hand when the teacher asked for volunteers. The message of our film was that teachers always want to act like they helped a student, and taught them everything they know, even when that isn’t true. In our film, we were going to have the main character as the student who didn’t care about schoolwork, and didn’t do anything during class. The teacher thought lowly of her, and so did the other main character, the teacher’s pet. In the end of the film, the student who didn’t care about schoolwork came out on top, and passed a test with flying colors. The teacher thought that it was his accomplishment, and prided himself for teaching the student everything she ever learned. Instead of arguing and pointing out that she studied and did all the work by herself, and taught herself everything she knew, she sat back and watched the teacher brag. In some cases, it’s better to let someone feel proud of themselves even if they didn’t do anything.
Unlike other films we watched, such as Freedom Writers, Blackboard Jungle, Dangerous Minds, etc. our film would have flipped the stereotypical teacher role. Instead of showing a smart white teacher coming into a new classroom and trying to help the minority students, our film would have a shown a white teacher coming into a classroom and not attempting to help the minority students at all. However, in the end, the minority student would come out on top, because of all the work and effort she put into studying. Unlike the other films, our teacher figure was not the savior, he wasn’t the one who came in and saved the day. Instead he was the one who made fun of the student who didn’t try in class, and praised the ones who did.
In our culture, teachers always believe that they can go into a classroom filled with minority students and/or people who don’t want to try in school, and change their lives. They believe that can change their mindset, and make them want to learn, make them see the value of their education. It doesn’t help that every movie every created about schooling shows this stereotypical teacher role. But how many teachers actually do this? Sure it seems like a good idea, come in to a new school, try and help students who everyone else has given up on, and make them see that continuing their education is better than living out their lives on the street. But how often does this work out? About as often as a Disney fairytale comes true. When you find out prince in shining armor, who saves you from the wicked witch or the dangerous dragon, I’ll show you a teacher who can change the mindset of students who frankly just don’t give a crap anymore. I believe that if teachers do want to make a change and help students, they can’t take them on as a little experiment. They can’t try and connect with them, or act like they know what the students are talking about. Instead they have to make what they teach interesting. Why would a Hispanic boy from the ghetto, who saw his best friend get shot in a drive by, want to learn calculus or physics? He doesn’t. But he might if he realizes how it connects to his own life. Teachers have to realize that instead of sympathizing or acting like they understand what the student is talking about, they should let the student vent, and then take it day by day. Don’t try and force a student into learning, because some people don’t want to do that.
Unlike other films we watched, such as Freedom Writers, Blackboard Jungle, Dangerous Minds, etc. our film would have flipped the stereotypical teacher role. Instead of showing a smart white teacher coming into a new classroom and trying to help the minority students, our film would have a shown a white teacher coming into a classroom and not attempting to help the minority students at all. However, in the end, the minority student would come out on top, because of all the work and effort she put into studying. Unlike the other films, our teacher figure was not the savior, he wasn’t the one who came in and saved the day. Instead he was the one who made fun of the student who didn’t try in class, and praised the ones who did.
In our culture, teachers always believe that they can go into a classroom filled with minority students and/or people who don’t want to try in school, and change their lives. They believe that can change their mindset, and make them want to learn, make them see the value of their education. It doesn’t help that every movie every created about schooling shows this stereotypical teacher role. But how many teachers actually do this? Sure it seems like a good idea, come in to a new school, try and help students who everyone else has given up on, and make them see that continuing their education is better than living out their lives on the street. But how often does this work out? About as often as a Disney fairytale comes true. When you find out prince in shining armor, who saves you from the wicked witch or the dangerous dragon, I’ll show you a teacher who can change the mindset of students who frankly just don’t give a crap anymore. I believe that if teachers do want to make a change and help students, they can’t take them on as a little experiment. They can’t try and connect with them, or act like they know what the students are talking about. Instead they have to make what they teach interesting. Why would a Hispanic boy from the ghetto, who saw his best friend get shot in a drive by, want to learn calculus or physics? He doesn’t. But he might if he realizes how it connects to his own life. Teachers have to realize that instead of sympathizing or acting like they understand what the student is talking about, they should let the student vent, and then take it day by day. Don’t try and force a student into learning, because some people don’t want to do that.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Homework 48 - Treatment for Savior/Teacher Movie
Scene One:
Cut to the high school hallways, where students loiter around waiting for their classes to start. They talk to their friends about their summer, and catch up on everything that they missed over the summer break. The bell rings, and students enter their classrooms, waiting for the new day to start.
Scene Two:
Jose Santiago, a straight A student , an active participant in the school’s debate club, the chess club, and the baseball team, watched as the new teacher stepped into the classroom. A tall Caucasian woman who looked at the class with frightful eyes. She glances around the classroom and introduces herself as Mrs. Smith, and explains that she is the new junior English teacher. She rambles on some more about what they will be doing for the rest of the year, and how excited she is to be there teaching. She gives us a brief speech about her background, how she graduated from Boston University and went to graduate school at Harvard University. Soon after the bell rang and class was over.
Scene Three:
Cut to the high school hall way scene once again, this time the students who just had junior English discuss the new teacher. They talk about the prestigious vibe she sets off, and how having English with her should be fun. Once again the bell rings, and the students go to their next class.
Scene Four:
Mrs. Smith sits in the teacher lounge, introducing herself to the other teachers. She explains to them that she wants to help the students to reach their full potential. The other teachers ask her what she means by that, and Mrs. Smith explains that her class is full of minority students, and she wants them to believe that they also matter even though they are not Caucasian. One female teacher tries to explain to Mrs. Smith that there is nothing wrong with her class, they are all bright and receive good grades. A male teacher cuts her off however, and with a smirk on his face, tells Mrs. Smith that sounds like an excellent idea and she should pursue it and give them an update each day. Mrs. Smith looks pleased with herself and thanks the male, while promising him she will update him each day.
Scene Five:
The next day, Mrs. Smith once again enters the junior English classroom, this time with a purpose. She looks each student in the eye and then announces that she is here to help them. Jose looks at her with a question in his eyes, as he is sure other students do also. Mrs. Smith then goes on to explain that she understands they are a minority based class, and that she believes everyone should be treated equal. She believes that each student deserves to go to a prestigious college, like she did. She doesn’t ask them about their background or their families, instead of asking them for their names. Once she hears a mix of Hispanic and African names, with some Asian and Caucasian, she feels as if her thoughts are confirmed. These are students screaming for help, and lucky for them, she can provide it for them.
Scene Six-Sixteen:
Follows the same sequence of switching from Mrs. Smith trying to help her students in the classroom setting to following a new student home in each scene. When following the students home, the viewers realize these students all live in wealthy families and are bright educated people.
Scene Seventeen:
It’s parent teacher conference, and Mrs. Smith meets all of her students parents. After a couple of parents, she realizes that her students have no problems at all. Their parents are all educated and well off, and so are their sons and daughters. Mrs. Smith has an epiphany and realizes that all her hard work was for nothing, she didn’t need to help these students, and they didn’t need help.
Scene Eighteen:
Mrs. Smith goes into her classroom the next day and apologizes for trying to change them, especially since they did not need to be changed. She explains how ridiculous she feels, and how she didn’t mean to treat them like they were stupid.
Scene Nineteen:
Once again cut to the scene of the high school hallway, this time however showing the students getting ready to leave school and go home.
The End
Cut to the high school hallways, where students loiter around waiting for their classes to start. They talk to their friends about their summer, and catch up on everything that they missed over the summer break. The bell rings, and students enter their classrooms, waiting for the new day to start.
Scene Two:
Jose Santiago, a straight A student , an active participant in the school’s debate club, the chess club, and the baseball team, watched as the new teacher stepped into the classroom. A tall Caucasian woman who looked at the class with frightful eyes. She glances around the classroom and introduces herself as Mrs. Smith, and explains that she is the new junior English teacher. She rambles on some more about what they will be doing for the rest of the year, and how excited she is to be there teaching. She gives us a brief speech about her background, how she graduated from Boston University and went to graduate school at Harvard University. Soon after the bell rang and class was over.
Scene Three:
Cut to the high school hall way scene once again, this time the students who just had junior English discuss the new teacher. They talk about the prestigious vibe she sets off, and how having English with her should be fun. Once again the bell rings, and the students go to their next class.
Scene Four:
Mrs. Smith sits in the teacher lounge, introducing herself to the other teachers. She explains to them that she wants to help the students to reach their full potential. The other teachers ask her what she means by that, and Mrs. Smith explains that her class is full of minority students, and she wants them to believe that they also matter even though they are not Caucasian. One female teacher tries to explain to Mrs. Smith that there is nothing wrong with her class, they are all bright and receive good grades. A male teacher cuts her off however, and with a smirk on his face, tells Mrs. Smith that sounds like an excellent idea and she should pursue it and give them an update each day. Mrs. Smith looks pleased with herself and thanks the male, while promising him she will update him each day.
Scene Five:
The next day, Mrs. Smith once again enters the junior English classroom, this time with a purpose. She looks each student in the eye and then announces that she is here to help them. Jose looks at her with a question in his eyes, as he is sure other students do also. Mrs. Smith then goes on to explain that she understands they are a minority based class, and that she believes everyone should be treated equal. She believes that each student deserves to go to a prestigious college, like she did. She doesn’t ask them about their background or their families, instead of asking them for their names. Once she hears a mix of Hispanic and African names, with some Asian and Caucasian, she feels as if her thoughts are confirmed. These are students screaming for help, and lucky for them, she can provide it for them.
Scene Six-Sixteen:
Follows the same sequence of switching from Mrs. Smith trying to help her students in the classroom setting to following a new student home in each scene. When following the students home, the viewers realize these students all live in wealthy families and are bright educated people.
Scene Seventeen:
It’s parent teacher conference, and Mrs. Smith meets all of her students parents. After a couple of parents, she realizes that her students have no problems at all. Their parents are all educated and well off, and so are their sons and daughters. Mrs. Smith has an epiphany and realizes that all her hard work was for nothing, she didn’t need to help these students, and they didn’t need help.
Scene Eighteen:
Mrs. Smith goes into her classroom the next day and apologizes for trying to change them, especially since they did not need to be changed. She explains how ridiculous she feels, and how she didn’t mean to treat them like they were stupid.
Scene Nineteen:
Once again cut to the scene of the high school hallway, this time however showing the students getting ready to leave school and go home.
The End
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Homework 47 - Class Film Preparation 1
1. The movie can be a different version of every serious movie about school (taking the original structure of a movie such as Freedom Writers and turning it into something funny, taking the stereotypical teacher saving the students role and showing how the students also change the teacher). *
2. It can be shown from the students view instead of the teachers view. *
3. It can be a spoof, something funny instead of something serious.
4. We can show different teachers and their teaching styles, and how they differ from each other.
5. A key image would be a classroom setting, but I think we should film a couple of classes and then edit them all together.
6. Each student can come up with a different character, and how they believe it fits into the film.
2. It can be shown from the students view instead of the teachers view. *
3. It can be a spoof, something funny instead of something serious.
4. We can show different teachers and their teaching styles, and how they differ from each other.
5. A key image would be a classroom setting, but I think we should film a couple of classes and then edit them all together.
6. Each student can come up with a different character, and how they believe it fits into the film.
Homework 46 - Research and Writing
In The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier, one boy decides to defy the administration, and disturb the universe. Jerry Renault attends a private all boys Catholic school where everyone listens to the administration and to the secret society named the Vigils. Each year the school has a chocolate sale, where students are required to sell a certain amount box of chocolates in order to raise proceeds for the school. This year Jerry decides not to sell the chocolates, thus upsetting the principal and the Vigils. This story depicts how Jerry goes from being a hero to be shunned by his classmates.
My topic explores how private school and public school education differs, and how religion plays an aspect in private school education. The Chocolate War relates to my topic because it is set in a Catholic all boys private school, where everyone listens to the administration. They are very religious and pray every day. By reading this book I was able to understand how religion plays into the lives of students who attend private Catholic schools.
The Chocolate War shows the reader how one student who decides to defy the religious administration of his school goes from being viewed as a hero by his fellow students to being shunned by them because the Virgils and the principal tell them it is wrong to follow Jerry’s lead. Religion plays a big role in the education and lives of private school students, and this book shows just how much of an influence it has in their lives. The principal, or Father, decides what happens in a student’s life when they are attending the school, and the student has no say whatsoever in it. Religion provides a stricter curriculum, and teaches students that there is only one way to go about their lives, only one structure to stick to.
My topic explores how private school and public school education differs, and how religion plays an aspect in private school education. The Chocolate War relates to my topic because it is set in a Catholic all boys private school, where everyone listens to the administration. They are very religious and pray every day. By reading this book I was able to understand how religion plays into the lives of students who attend private Catholic schools.
The Chocolate War shows the reader how one student who decides to defy the religious administration of his school goes from being viewed as a hero by his fellow students to being shunned by them because the Virgils and the principal tell them it is wrong to follow Jerry’s lead. Religion plays a big role in the education and lives of private school students, and this book shows just how much of an influence it has in their lives. The principal, or Father, decides what happens in a student’s life when they are attending the school, and the student has no say whatsoever in it. Religion provides a stricter curriculum, and teaches students that there is only one way to go about their lives, only one structure to stick to.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Homework 45 - More Big Thoughts on Schools
Both E.D. Hirsch & Ted Sizer have different views on education and how schools should be run. Sizer argues that students should be able to develop their minds in school, and further expand their thinking habits. On the other hand, Hirsch argued that school should teach students the fundamental building blocks of our society. He claimed schools should schools should teach students the knowledge that would help them in their future. While Sizer focused on how schools can influence a student at their current period of time, Hirsch focused on how school can develop a student into becoming someone successful in life.
Hirsch and Sizer’s theories contradict each other. Hirsch chooses to focus on the future while Sizer chooses to focus on the present. Having an education at one of the schools Sizer funded and started, I realized that I did indeed learn how to use my mind well. Using the habits of mind, I can be intellectually alert and be able to think about important aspects learned and school and compare and connect it to my life and the society I live in. I believe that Sizer’s theory is more resonant in my own personal experience because he shows that a student’s opinion is valued just as much as a person of higher status. In the New York Times article Theodore R. Sizer, Leading Education-Reform Advocate, Dies at 77 , Fox states “The principles hold, among other things, that a school is an egalitarian community and that the student is a valued worker in that community, with the teacher in the role of mentor or coach.” To Sizer, a student is not just somebody who a teacher can reprimand and look down upon. They are someone that is “a valued worker in that community”, the community being the school system they are in. The teacher serves the role of the “mentor or coach”, someone who can help the student figure out how to connect social aspects to their life. The teacher doesn’t teach and expect the student to understand, the teacher helps the student learn how to connect what they learn and further develop their thinking. The article also states “Do not make trouble for me, the teacher’s side of the compact went, and I will demand little of you in return.” This is saying that teachers do not want to start drama with a student, they don’t want to cause trouble. If the students listen and don’t act up, the teacher will treat the student as a valued part of the community. I believe that some teachers do this in School of the Future. I believe that there are some teachers who are passionate about what they teach and what students to understand how it connects to their daily lives. They don’t want to just teach something out of the textbook where the student can not connect to, they want to teach something out of a textbook and then relate it to a student’s life.
Hirsch believes in a theory that is not used in School of the Future, for obvious reasons. He believes that schools should teach students the basic knowledge in each core subject, so they can comprehend anything that is thrown at them. In the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._D._Hirsch,_Jr, it states “He concluded that schools should not be neutral about what is taught but should teach a highly specific curriculum that would allow children to understand things writers take for granted.” Hirsch believes that schools should teach students a “highly specific curriculum”, this way students can have basic knowledge in every subject, and not be dumbfounded later in life. I don’t believe that this theory works too well because of that fact that Hirsch does not think about how the school curriculum affects a student’s life. Why would a student want to learn about history when that doesn’t affect them right now, or what makes a student want to learn calculus when they only need basic math skills to go shopping? Hirsch does not make a curriculum interesting to students, meaning less students will want to learn. They will not want to pay attention in school because they don’t see how it connects to their lives. With Sizer, teachers connect what is learned in the classroom to the outside world, helping students understand how what they learn in class affects how they actively participate in society. Hirsch is just teaching students to memorize a couple of facts. I believe that Sizer has the better theory because he understands what students need, and understands how teachers accomplish this goal.
Hirsch and Sizer’s theories contradict each other. Hirsch chooses to focus on the future while Sizer chooses to focus on the present. Having an education at one of the schools Sizer funded and started, I realized that I did indeed learn how to use my mind well. Using the habits of mind, I can be intellectually alert and be able to think about important aspects learned and school and compare and connect it to my life and the society I live in. I believe that Sizer’s theory is more resonant in my own personal experience because he shows that a student’s opinion is valued just as much as a person of higher status. In the New York Times article Theodore R. Sizer, Leading Education-Reform Advocate, Dies at 77 , Fox states “The principles hold, among other things, that a school is an egalitarian community and that the student is a valued worker in that community, with the teacher in the role of mentor or coach.” To Sizer, a student is not just somebody who a teacher can reprimand and look down upon. They are someone that is “a valued worker in that community”, the community being the school system they are in. The teacher serves the role of the “mentor or coach”, someone who can help the student figure out how to connect social aspects to their life. The teacher doesn’t teach and expect the student to understand, the teacher helps the student learn how to connect what they learn and further develop their thinking. The article also states “Do not make trouble for me, the teacher’s side of the compact went, and I will demand little of you in return.” This is saying that teachers do not want to start drama with a student, they don’t want to cause trouble. If the students listen and don’t act up, the teacher will treat the student as a valued part of the community. I believe that some teachers do this in School of the Future. I believe that there are some teachers who are passionate about what they teach and what students to understand how it connects to their daily lives. They don’t want to just teach something out of the textbook where the student can not connect to, they want to teach something out of a textbook and then relate it to a student’s life.
Hirsch believes in a theory that is not used in School of the Future, for obvious reasons. He believes that schools should teach students the basic knowledge in each core subject, so they can comprehend anything that is thrown at them. In the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._D._Hirsch,_Jr, it states “He concluded that schools should not be neutral about what is taught but should teach a highly specific curriculum that would allow children to understand things writers take for granted.” Hirsch believes that schools should teach students a “highly specific curriculum”, this way students can have basic knowledge in every subject, and not be dumbfounded later in life. I don’t believe that this theory works too well because of that fact that Hirsch does not think about how the school curriculum affects a student’s life. Why would a student want to learn about history when that doesn’t affect them right now, or what makes a student want to learn calculus when they only need basic math skills to go shopping? Hirsch does not make a curriculum interesting to students, meaning less students will want to learn. They will not want to pay attention in school because they don’t see how it connects to their lives. With Sizer, teachers connect what is learned in the classroom to the outside world, helping students understand how what they learn in class affects how they actively participate in society. Hirsch is just teaching students to memorize a couple of facts. I believe that Sizer has the better theory because he understands what students need, and understands how teachers accomplish this goal.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Homework 44 -Big Expectations for School
For all of our lives, since we were born until the day we graduate college, we are told that attending school will prepare us for our futures, and help us find fulfilling and well playing jobs. We are constantly told that the only way we can have a successful career is to attend school. However, according to Thomas L. Friedman, most corporations will hire international employees because Americans don’t have the education required to do what others in other countries know how to do. Friedman states “These local incentives matter because smart, skilled labor is everywhere now. Intel can thrive today — not just survive, but thrive — and never hire another American.” Although this seems rather harsh, especially the “never hire another American” part, it makes me question whether institutions are actually preparing us for our futures as much as they same they do. If other people in other countries are just as skilled as we are, and they probably work for less, what makes us so special? Instead of just competing with other Americans for a job, we are competing internationally for the same job. Also in the article, the quote ““As a citizen, I hate it. As a global employer, I have the luxury of hiring the best engineers anywhere on earth. If I can’t get them out of M.I.T., I’ll get them out of Tsing Hua” — Beijing’s M.I.T.” appears. Even though Americans don’t want to hire international employees, they will because these other employees are way better than Americans these days. Friedman explains that international employees are more common to become hired because of their intelligence levels. In America, where our schools lack the proper education and many students are just sliding by with teachers who will pass any student, we have nothing to show for ourselves. Once being one of the smartest countries, we are now part of a dumb generation where American corporations won’t even hire their own kind.
After reading Obama’s speech, my hopes were lifted. This speech was moving, powerful, and gave me a reason to attend school every day. After reading Friedman’s article, I wondered why even try when someone else in some other country will land the job I am dying for? However, Obama’s speech changed my mind. I was able to connect to him, to forget that he was the President of the United States; instead he was another human being that went to school. One thing that always provides contradictions between people are whether schools do another to prepare students for the future. Obama touched on this topic in his speech, when he said “But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.” This made so much sense to me. The schools we attend can have the best teachers in the world, the teachers that dedicated their lives to providing us with the education they feel we deserve. We can have the most supportive parents in the world, ones who are always there pushing us in order to make sure we succeed in everything we do, and even if we don’t we know that we tried. We can have all of this, but none of it matters if we don’t contribute to our education. What is a good teacher if there are not students who are willing to learn? What is a supportive parent if their child does not try in anything they do? Obama was correct when stating that we need to try in school in order to have a successful career. His speech really struck me, and made me understand the benefits of school.
After reading Robert Kiyosaki’s article “We need two school systems”, I beg to differ. Sure schools are preparing students to become future employees, but two types of schools? That’s just ridiculous. What if some people don’t know if they would prefer to be an employee or an entrepreneur? I like Kiyosaki’s idea of teaching students two tracks, the track to being an employee and the track to being an entrepreneur. But I would edit his plan in the way of combining these two tracks. Give students an option to take a couple of classes in entrepreneurship in high school, to show them what it takes to run a business. Maybe they aren’t sure what goes on to it, how can they just jump right away into a college that focuses on running your own business? I think he makes a valid point that schools are constantly preparing students to be future employees of America, but if students know of no other option, what do they do? Most schools don’t offer classes in entrepreneurship, but maybe if they did we’d have more future CEO’s in our society.
I believe that schools should prepare their students as well as they can to have a successful career. In our current school, it is very easy to pass a class, as long as you do the work and participate somewhat of the time in class. In order to fail a class, you have to never attend. The teachers will pass you no problem, but what is this saying for our generation? We barely try that hard in school, while kids in Stuyvesant have about five hours of homework a night. Sure we have exhibitions, but we have a whole year to work on them, and sure we have tests and quizzes, but how often is that? Now that I am complaining of course, but after reading the previous article, I feel stupid. If I’m in America, shouldn’t I have the benefits of receiving a good education to have a successful career? Not if somebody from another country ten times smarter than me will take that same job. This makes me question the institutions we call schools values and beliefs, are they really working to prepare us for our future, or are they beginning to give up on us as a whole?
After reading Obama’s speech, my hopes were lifted. This speech was moving, powerful, and gave me a reason to attend school every day. After reading Friedman’s article, I wondered why even try when someone else in some other country will land the job I am dying for? However, Obama’s speech changed my mind. I was able to connect to him, to forget that he was the President of the United States; instead he was another human being that went to school. One thing that always provides contradictions between people are whether schools do another to prepare students for the future. Obama touched on this topic in his speech, when he said “But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.” This made so much sense to me. The schools we attend can have the best teachers in the world, the teachers that dedicated their lives to providing us with the education they feel we deserve. We can have the most supportive parents in the world, ones who are always there pushing us in order to make sure we succeed in everything we do, and even if we don’t we know that we tried. We can have all of this, but none of it matters if we don’t contribute to our education. What is a good teacher if there are not students who are willing to learn? What is a supportive parent if their child does not try in anything they do? Obama was correct when stating that we need to try in school in order to have a successful career. His speech really struck me, and made me understand the benefits of school.
After reading Robert Kiyosaki’s article “We need two school systems”, I beg to differ. Sure schools are preparing students to become future employees, but two types of schools? That’s just ridiculous. What if some people don’t know if they would prefer to be an employee or an entrepreneur? I like Kiyosaki’s idea of teaching students two tracks, the track to being an employee and the track to being an entrepreneur. But I would edit his plan in the way of combining these two tracks. Give students an option to take a couple of classes in entrepreneurship in high school, to show them what it takes to run a business. Maybe they aren’t sure what goes on to it, how can they just jump right away into a college that focuses on running your own business? I think he makes a valid point that schools are constantly preparing students to be future employees of America, but if students know of no other option, what do they do? Most schools don’t offer classes in entrepreneurship, but maybe if they did we’d have more future CEO’s in our society.
I believe that schools should prepare their students as well as they can to have a successful career. In our current school, it is very easy to pass a class, as long as you do the work and participate somewhat of the time in class. In order to fail a class, you have to never attend. The teachers will pass you no problem, but what is this saying for our generation? We barely try that hard in school, while kids in Stuyvesant have about five hours of homework a night. Sure we have exhibitions, but we have a whole year to work on them, and sure we have tests and quizzes, but how often is that? Now that I am complaining of course, but after reading the previous article, I feel stupid. If I’m in America, shouldn’t I have the benefits of receiving a good education to have a successful career? Not if somebody from another country ten times smarter than me will take that same job. This makes me question the institutions we call schools values and beliefs, are they really working to prepare us for our future, or are they beginning to give up on us as a whole?
Monday, March 1, 2010
Homework 42- More Research and More Thinking
The question I hope to answer my research is: “What is the difference between public high schools and private Catholic high schools in New York City, and how does religion play a role in the curriculum taught in private schools?”
In my neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, I am faced with private schools all around me. Xaverian High School (an all boys school), Bishop Kearny High School (an all girls school), Fontbonne Hall Academy (also an all girls school), and Bay Ridge Preparatory School (a coed school) to name a few. Several of my friends attend these schools, and people from around my neighborhood are always surprised when I tell them I attend a public school in Manhattan. It’s unheard of, unless the school is some popular, big name school, such as LaGuardia or Stuyvesant. It never bothered me that I didn’t attend a private school, after all I am not Catholic, and these schools are Catholic schools. However, I did start to wonder what was so special about private schools. What can they possibly teach that is so wonderful, that they can stick a ridiculous ticket price on to the tuition? Sure they explore religion, and students are required to take a religion class, while public school students are not required to because religion does not play a role in a public school curriculum. But what else is so special about it?
In the terms of this matter affect the meaning of my life, it doesn’t affect me at my current age. I have attended public school all my life, and although I am attending a private university in the fall of 2010, that is different than attending a private high school. However, this matter will affect me at a later age, when I do have a family and have to decide where to send my children to college. Sure some of these pros and cons are subject to change (such as the tuition costs and curriculum), but by knowing the basics I can have some idea of where I want to send my future children. Although it is rather early to be deciding this at my age, I can also help my family members (such as my cousins who have toddlers) decide upon sending their child to a public or a private school.
In my neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, I am faced with private schools all around me. Xaverian High School (an all boys school), Bishop Kearny High School (an all girls school), Fontbonne Hall Academy (also an all girls school), and Bay Ridge Preparatory School (a coed school) to name a few. Several of my friends attend these schools, and people from around my neighborhood are always surprised when I tell them I attend a public school in Manhattan. It’s unheard of, unless the school is some popular, big name school, such as LaGuardia or Stuyvesant. It never bothered me that I didn’t attend a private school, after all I am not Catholic, and these schools are Catholic schools. However, I did start to wonder what was so special about private schools. What can they possibly teach that is so wonderful, that they can stick a ridiculous ticket price on to the tuition? Sure they explore religion, and students are required to take a religion class, while public school students are not required to because religion does not play a role in a public school curriculum. But what else is so special about it?
In the terms of this matter affect the meaning of my life, it doesn’t affect me at my current age. I have attended public school all my life, and although I am attending a private university in the fall of 2010, that is different than attending a private high school. However, this matter will affect me at a later age, when I do have a family and have to decide where to send my children to college. Sure some of these pros and cons are subject to change (such as the tuition costs and curriculum), but by knowing the basics I can have some idea of where I want to send my future children. Although it is rather early to be deciding this at my age, I can also help my family members (such as my cousins who have toddlers) decide upon sending their child to a public or a private school.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Homework 41- Initial Internet Research on Schooling
Kennedy, Robert. "Private vs Public Schools". The New York Times Company. February 23, 2010 http://privateschool.about.com/cs/employment/a/teachingcond.htm
This article explains the differences between public and private schools. It contains pros and cons on both sides, and also explains how private school education and teaching defer. However, this article is very broad, and does not focus on one city. It focuses on the generalization of private and public schools. What was very interesting about this article was the fact that it stated that there is no clear winner in the game of public versus private schools; it is more based on the personal preference of teaching style a student prefers.
This short article deserves reading for its simple and easy to read context. It has subtitles and text underneath the subtitles to detail what each paragraph is about, and is written in simple English, a language anyone can understand. With resources listed on the bottom of the article, readers can understand where the author pulled his information together from.
Kelly, Melissa. "Teaching at Private Versus Public Schools". The New York Times Company. February 23, 2010
This article explains the differences between being a teacher at a public versus a private school. It also contains pros and cons on both sides, and explains how even though private school teachers get to choose their own curriculum to teach, they still have guidelines to follow. It also explains how private school teachers receive less money than public school teachers in salary earnings. However, this article also is very broad, and does not focus on one city. It focuses on the generalization of the pros and cons of teaching at private and public schools. However, one can assume that the pros and cons are mostly the same for each city across the United States, except for a few differences.
This short article also deserves reading for its simple and easy to read context. It, like the first article, also has subtitles and text underneath the subtitles to detail what each paragraph is about, and is written in simple English, a language anyone can understand. With resources listed on the bottom of the article, readers can understand where the author pulled his information together from. There are also links in this article that send the reader to other articles, with information that may be relevant to the topic.
Vitello, Paul. "14 Catholic Schools May Shut Down". The New York Times. Feburary 23, 2010
This article explored why fourteen Catholic Schools in New York City might close down. Two of the reasons were the enrollment figures were declining, causing a decrease in budgets. With a decrease in budgets, the schools are not able to maintain their teacher’s salaries and state of the school. One very interesting fact stated in this article was Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, a school in Jackson Heights, Queens, currently only has 180 students enrolled, when decades ago it had 2,500 students. The article than went on to list other schools that were scheduled to shut down or merge with other schools at the end of the current school year.
This article was also simple and easy to read, and had the writing style of a typical New York Times article. The article listed statistics and included a photo, making the reader engaged when reading this article. This article also included a text from a Bishop, giving the reader a sense of understanding how a school official is reacting to this news.
Hernandez, Javier C. "Secular Education, Catholic Values ." New York Times (2009): n. pag. Web. 1 Mar 2010..
This article explored how Washingtown has transformed catholic schools into charter schools, and how Mayor Bloomberg has unveiled a plan to transform four Catholic Schools in New York City into charter schools. The article also explains how this change has happened in Washington, and how it has affected the students whom attend the now reformed charter schools. Since the change has already happened in the state of Washington, this article explores how schools were affected, and how the community has reacted to this change.
This article was also simple and easy to read, and even though it focused on schools in Washington, it tied together the plan Mayor Bloomberg also has in turning catholic schools into charter schools. It gave several examples, but focused directly on one school and explained the students and teachers reacted. This article also had the writing style of a typical New York Times article, like the article above. It listed statistics and included a photo, making the reader engaged when reading this article. This article also included a quote from a senior scholar at Boston University, and quotes from parents of children who attend the schools.
Chen, Grace. "God, Allah, Christmas, and Ramadan: Should Any Religion Be Expressed in Public Schools?". Public School Review. March 01, 2010.
This article explored the pros and cons of having religion be expressed in public schools, and whether religion should be able to be taught in public schools. Along with listing the author’s thoughts, the article also has quotes from newspaper articles and journalists. The article does not stand a conclusion as to whether religion should be taught in public schools; rather it provides enough information for the reader to decide the answer to that question.
This article was extremely simple and easy to read because of its subtitles and topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. Written as if it was a speech for a debate, this article plays devil’s advocate, and explores both the pros and cons of religion in public schools.
GreatSchools Staff. "Private versus Public". Great Schools. March 01, 2010.
This article also explored the idea of public versus private schools, and which is better in a parental perspective. This article explains the differences between tuition costs, the admissions process, and benefits of, teachers, curriculum, and class size between public and private schools. This article is written catered to parents, and offers advice based on what is best for their child.
This article was more towards the bias side, stating facts mixed with opinions. The subtitles make the article easy to read and follow, and since it is a rather long article, the subtitles make the article easy to skim if needed.
Additional Works Consulted
Mascia, Jennifer. "Teachers Strike at 10 Catholic High Schools." The New York Times [New York City, NY]. The New York Times Company, 15 Apr. 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.
Postman, Andrew. "What's the bestw ay to go-private school or public? A parent on the brink of the big decision does his homework and parses the alternatives." New York Family Guide [New York City, NY]. New York Family Guide, 2004. Web. 23 Feb. 2010..
"Frequently Asked Questions About Our Issues". Americans United for Separation of Church and State. March 01, 2010.
This article explains the differences between public and private schools. It contains pros and cons on both sides, and also explains how private school education and teaching defer. However, this article is very broad, and does not focus on one city. It focuses on the generalization of private and public schools. What was very interesting about this article was the fact that it stated that there is no clear winner in the game of public versus private schools; it is more based on the personal preference of teaching style a student prefers.
This short article deserves reading for its simple and easy to read context. It has subtitles and text underneath the subtitles to detail what each paragraph is about, and is written in simple English, a language anyone can understand. With resources listed on the bottom of the article, readers can understand where the author pulled his information together from.
Kelly, Melissa. "Teaching at Private Versus Public Schools". The New York Times Company. February 23, 2010
This article explains the differences between being a teacher at a public versus a private school. It also contains pros and cons on both sides, and explains how even though private school teachers get to choose their own curriculum to teach, they still have guidelines to follow. It also explains how private school teachers receive less money than public school teachers in salary earnings. However, this article also is very broad, and does not focus on one city. It focuses on the generalization of the pros and cons of teaching at private and public schools. However, one can assume that the pros and cons are mostly the same for each city across the United States, except for a few differences.
This short article also deserves reading for its simple and easy to read context. It, like the first article, also has subtitles and text underneath the subtitles to detail what each paragraph is about, and is written in simple English, a language anyone can understand. With resources listed on the bottom of the article, readers can understand where the author pulled his information together from. There are also links in this article that send the reader to other articles, with information that may be relevant to the topic.
Vitello, Paul. "14 Catholic Schools May Shut Down". The New York Times. Feburary 23, 2010
This article explored why fourteen Catholic Schools in New York City might close down. Two of the reasons were the enrollment figures were declining, causing a decrease in budgets. With a decrease in budgets, the schools are not able to maintain their teacher’s salaries and state of the school. One very interesting fact stated in this article was Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, a school in Jackson Heights, Queens, currently only has 180 students enrolled, when decades ago it had 2,500 students. The article than went on to list other schools that were scheduled to shut down or merge with other schools at the end of the current school year.
This article was also simple and easy to read, and had the writing style of a typical New York Times article. The article listed statistics and included a photo, making the reader engaged when reading this article. This article also included a text from a Bishop, giving the reader a sense of understanding how a school official is reacting to this news.
Hernandez, Javier C. "Secular Education, Catholic Values ." New York Times (2009): n. pag. Web. 1 Mar 2010.
This article explored how Washingtown has transformed catholic schools into charter schools, and how Mayor Bloomberg has unveiled a plan to transform four Catholic Schools in New York City into charter schools. The article also explains how this change has happened in Washington, and how it has affected the students whom attend the now reformed charter schools. Since the change has already happened in the state of Washington, this article explores how schools were affected, and how the community has reacted to this change.
This article was also simple and easy to read, and even though it focused on schools in Washington, it tied together the plan Mayor Bloomberg also has in turning catholic schools into charter schools. It gave several examples, but focused directly on one school and explained the students and teachers reacted. This article also had the writing style of a typical New York Times article, like the article above. It listed statistics and included a photo, making the reader engaged when reading this article. This article also included a quote from a senior scholar at Boston University, and quotes from parents of children who attend the schools.
Chen, Grace. "God, Allah, Christmas, and Ramadan: Should Any Religion Be Expressed in Public Schools?". Public School Review. March 01, 2010
This article explored the pros and cons of having religion be expressed in public schools, and whether religion should be able to be taught in public schools. Along with listing the author’s thoughts, the article also has quotes from newspaper articles and journalists. The article does not stand a conclusion as to whether religion should be taught in public schools; rather it provides enough information for the reader to decide the answer to that question.
This article was extremely simple and easy to read because of its subtitles and topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. Written as if it was a speech for a debate, this article plays devil’s advocate, and explores both the pros and cons of religion in public schools.
GreatSchools Staff. "Private versus Public". Great Schools. March 01, 2010
This article also explored the idea of public versus private schools, and which is better in a parental perspective. This article explains the differences between tuition costs, the admissions process, and benefits of, teachers, curriculum, and class size between public and private schools. This article is written catered to parents, and offers advice based on what is best for their child.
This article was more towards the bias side, stating facts mixed with opinions. The subtitles make the article easy to read and follow, and since it is a rather long article, the subtitles make the article easy to skim if needed.
Additional Works Consulted
Mascia, Jennifer. "Teachers Strike at 10 Catholic High Schools." The New York Times [New York City, NY]. The New York Times Company, 15 Apr. 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.
Postman, Andrew. "What's the bestw ay to go-private school or public? A parent on the brink of the big decision does his homework and parses the alternatives." New York Family Guide [New York City, NY]. New York Family Guide, 2004. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.
"Frequently Asked Questions About Our Issues". Americans United for Separation of Church and State. March 01, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Homework 40- School Interviews
Part A
Interview with my sister, Kayla:
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes , because it would be more fun and you don’t have to associate yourself with subjects that you do not care for. I would like to study what I enjoy. Such as history, English, and science to name a few. But I could do without math, because I am not a big fan of it.
At what age do you have the right to choose your own curriculum?
College is the correct age. While you’re still developing you don’t know what you want to do, or what you want to pursue. Once it comes time to college must make a decision because adult, and you know what you enjoy and like learning about, and have a sense of what you want to do with the rest of your life.
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
It helps you get a job and it helps you learn how to socialize with others because you are around others a lot.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
I want to attend college because people don’t look down on you, look at you as an equal on an intelligence level with a college degree. If you don’t people look at you as if you are not as smart as they are.
Interview with my friend Billy
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes I think that students would deffinitly have a larger desire to learn=)
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
Of course has basically taught us all the skills we need to be successful in life...without a good education your doomed.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
Encouragement from friends and family helps people gain confidence in themselves to attend college.
Interview with Adam Wardas:
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes, because you'd be interested in the subject, so you'd want to learn more about it
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
School has helped me see the differences in people... it gave me problems that I had to solve.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
Society has made college look fun, however i still see it as an institution of learning.
Interview with my friend Yang:
If no one influenced or pressured you to go to college ever in your life would you still consider going, why or why not?
Yes because i want to be able to have a career and life of my own when I’m older. i don’t want to have to depend on others and i feel a college education is essential to having a better future career wise.
Do you believe you would receive a better education at a private school versus a public school, and to what extent would the education be better(if it is)?
i don’t think it is a matter of private or public school, I think it’s a matter of each individual school. there are some public schools that have given kids a better education including better range of class choices, better staff teaching them, more available extra tutoring, etc than others and then there are some private schools that don’t teach well or much at all but have kids with better grades because the teachers are easy graders but the kids don’t even learn anything. It’s all about each individual school but i feel a majority of my friends in public schools have gotten better educations.
How do you believe the material we learn in school affects our society and workforce?
hard to answer....not sure how to answer this. i'd say yes and no, depending on class. example: economics teaches us a lot for investments and such...i don’t know this question confuses me.
Interview with myself:
If no one influenced or pressured you to go to college ever in your life would you still consider going, why or why not?
I would still consider going to college because I feel that without a college degree, you can not succeed anywhere in life. Even though I had college drilled into my head since I was a freshman, I still believe that college is a huge milestone in our lives. Without a college degree I feel as if people would judge you, and it would be harder to get a steady job.
How do you believe the material we learn in school affects our society and workforce?
I believe that what we learn in school helps prepare us for our future. Even though algebra, trigonometry, and physics might not seem as if they play a big role, I believe that it is better to know these things. But having a variety of knowledge in each core subject, one can be extremely diverse.
Do you believe you would receive a better education at a private high school versus a public high school, and to what extent would the education be better(if it is?
I don’t believe that a private high school education differs from a public high school education. The core subjects are still taught. In some particular private schools, religion is taught as a class. Religion is not allowed to be taught at public schools, because of the diverse student community. Except for the price tag on a private school, I highly doubt private schools are any better than public schools. In the case of high school education anyway.
Part B
After conducting my interviews, I realized that even though people complain about going to school all the time, they still believe it is a big part of our lives. If given the choice to not attend college, people would still attend because they believe that a college degree helps them succeed in life. Initially, I thought that people would feel that if they did not have to attend college they would not. From what I hear from my friends and others, school is such a hassle for them. All the school and homework, all the stress of receiving grades, the waking up early in the morning. But here I was, giving them a chance to throw all that away. I told them they would not have to listen to others pressure them into attending college, but here they are telling me they would still attend. I have to admit I was rather shocked, but I was also proud.
Interview with my sister, Kayla:
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes , because it would be more fun and you don’t have to associate yourself with subjects that you do not care for. I would like to study what I enjoy. Such as history, English, and science to name a few. But I could do without math, because I am not a big fan of it.
At what age do you have the right to choose your own curriculum?
College is the correct age. While you’re still developing you don’t know what you want to do, or what you want to pursue. Once it comes time to college must make a decision because adult, and you know what you enjoy and like learning about, and have a sense of what you want to do with the rest of your life.
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
It helps you get a job and it helps you learn how to socialize with others because you are around others a lot.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
I want to attend college because people don’t look down on you, look at you as an equal on an intelligence level with a college degree. If you don’t people look at you as if you are not as smart as they are.
Interview with my friend Billy
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes I think that students would deffinitly have a larger desire to learn=)
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
Of course has basically taught us all the skills we need to be successful in life...without a good education your doomed.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
Encouragement from friends and family helps people gain confidence in themselves to attend college.
Interview with Adam Wardas:
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes, because you'd be interested in the subject, so you'd want to learn more about it
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
School has helped me see the differences in people... it gave me problems that I had to solve.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
Society has made college look fun, however i still see it as an institution of learning.
Interview with my friend Yang:
If no one influenced or pressured you to go to college ever in your life would you still consider going, why or why not?
Yes because i want to be able to have a career and life of my own when I’m older. i don’t want to have to depend on others and i feel a college education is essential to having a better future career wise.
Do you believe you would receive a better education at a private school versus a public school, and to what extent would the education be better(if it is)?
i don’t think it is a matter of private or public school, I think it’s a matter of each individual school. there are some public schools that have given kids a better education including better range of class choices, better staff teaching them, more available extra tutoring, etc than others and then there are some private schools that don’t teach well or much at all but have kids with better grades because the teachers are easy graders but the kids don’t even learn anything. It’s all about each individual school but i feel a majority of my friends in public schools have gotten better educations.
How do you believe the material we learn in school affects our society and workforce?
hard to answer....not sure how to answer this. i'd say yes and no, depending on class. example: economics teaches us a lot for investments and such...i don’t know this question confuses me.
Interview with myself:
If no one influenced or pressured you to go to college ever in your life would you still consider going, why or why not?
I would still consider going to college because I feel that without a college degree, you can not succeed anywhere in life. Even though I had college drilled into my head since I was a freshman, I still believe that college is a huge milestone in our lives. Without a college degree I feel as if people would judge you, and it would be harder to get a steady job.
How do you believe the material we learn in school affects our society and workforce?
I believe that what we learn in school helps prepare us for our future. Even though algebra, trigonometry, and physics might not seem as if they play a big role, I believe that it is better to know these things. But having a variety of knowledge in each core subject, one can be extremely diverse.
Do you believe you would receive a better education at a private high school versus a public high school, and to what extent would the education be better(if it is?
I don’t believe that a private high school education differs from a public high school education. The core subjects are still taught. In some particular private schools, religion is taught as a class. Religion is not allowed to be taught at public schools, because of the diverse student community. Except for the price tag on a private school, I highly doubt private schools are any better than public schools. In the case of high school education anyway.
Part B
After conducting my interviews, I realized that even though people complain about going to school all the time, they still believe it is a big part of our lives. If given the choice to not attend college, people would still attend because they believe that a college degree helps them succeed in life. Initially, I thought that people would feel that if they did not have to attend college they would not. From what I hear from my friends and others, school is such a hassle for them. All the school and homework, all the stress of receiving grades, the waking up early in the morning. But here I was, giving them a chance to throw all that away. I told them they would not have to listen to others pressure them into attending college, but here they are telling me they would still attend. I have to admit I was rather shocked, but I was also proud.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Homework 39 -First School Assignment
Part A
People are always talking about how much they hate school, and how they can’t wait until we don’t have to go anymore. I have to admit I had this same thought at times, but when you actually think about me, school helps us develop and grow. This sounds really stupid now, but honestly, if we were not in school what else would be doing with our time? When you actually think about it, up until we are about sixteen (if you’re lucky), you can not get a job, meaning you will not have a source of income to support yourself. Sure you can live off your parents, but what about once they kick you out? School helps us develop our minds, and teach us things we will need to know in the future. Sure learning quadratic functions or the formula for a circumference of a circle seems stupid now, but maybe you might need it in the future. It’s not a definite possibility, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. What I’m basically trying to state is the fact that without school, we will have nothing to do with our lives. Sure you can sleep in late and not have to worry about homework, but you also won’t have your friends you met at school or learn how to use your brain to think.
I also believe that school is the government’s way of civilizing us. Every since we were young, we were taught manners, how to interact with others, and how to share by our elders. But what better way to actually work on these techniques then by surrounding us in a room with others our age, for five days a week, approximately six hours a day. By surrounding us with others our age since we were young, we were able to understand the proper way to interact, the proper way to be kind to others, etc. The school system helps young minds learn to become civilized when all they care about is themselves, and think everything belongs to them. We also learn how to speak and write, further continuing our ability to interact with others.
One of the most interesting and powerful questions I believe was raised in class was how is school similar to a hierarchy, where the teachers are the ones in command and we but simple followers? Another question I had was how do private schools compare to public schools; do private school students receive a better education? Another question is how does religion play a role in our education system?
Part B
Sitting down, tapping my pencil, my eyes room to the clock on the wall. Ten more minutes until I am free, I think. The teacher writes some more formulas on the board. More note copying, isn’t it wonderful? This my friends, is what I call a classroom setting where we the students sit down quietly and copy the notes our teachers so kindly write on the boards. Civilization at its best is how I think of it. We all sit down at our tables, copying down notes that we will never again review once the school year is over. We act like we are listening to the teacher giving a lecture in the front of the classroom, but really we are thinking about our plans for afterschool or how adorable our crush looked today in the hallway. It’s a strange experience in my opinion, how we all so cooperatively sit down and write down facts that we could rather not care about.
As Andy so kindly puts it, our classrooms we sit in are like boxes that we are always trapped in. We travel from box to box, learning different things in each class. Rather robotic in a sense, we arrive at school, follow our fellow classmates to our next class, and maybe shoot out a smart comment at times. This all goes back to my theory that school is the government’s way to civilize us. Somehow, without us even realizing it, they managed to trap us in a boxed building, letting us out only for lunch, which is less than an hour. They managed to keep us occupied for six hours of our day, making sure we are all safe in a contained building, learning useless information. When you think about it this way, school doesn’t seem so interesting now does it?
Of course there are consequences to trapping us in boxes, without giving us an opportunity to think on our own. We become so use to having things told to us that we lose the ability to think on our own. We forget how to process something, how to analyze and further develop our thoughts. Without any free space to think and learn on our own, we become trapped in our own minds.
People are always talking about how much they hate school, and how they can’t wait until we don’t have to go anymore. I have to admit I had this same thought at times, but when you actually think about me, school helps us develop and grow. This sounds really stupid now, but honestly, if we were not in school what else would be doing with our time? When you actually think about it, up until we are about sixteen (if you’re lucky), you can not get a job, meaning you will not have a source of income to support yourself. Sure you can live off your parents, but what about once they kick you out? School helps us develop our minds, and teach us things we will need to know in the future. Sure learning quadratic functions or the formula for a circumference of a circle seems stupid now, but maybe you might need it in the future. It’s not a definite possibility, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. What I’m basically trying to state is the fact that without school, we will have nothing to do with our lives. Sure you can sleep in late and not have to worry about homework, but you also won’t have your friends you met at school or learn how to use your brain to think.
I also believe that school is the government’s way of civilizing us. Every since we were young, we were taught manners, how to interact with others, and how to share by our elders. But what better way to actually work on these techniques then by surrounding us in a room with others our age, for five days a week, approximately six hours a day. By surrounding us with others our age since we were young, we were able to understand the proper way to interact, the proper way to be kind to others, etc. The school system helps young minds learn to become civilized when all they care about is themselves, and think everything belongs to them. We also learn how to speak and write, further continuing our ability to interact with others.
One of the most interesting and powerful questions I believe was raised in class was how is school similar to a hierarchy, where the teachers are the ones in command and we but simple followers? Another question I had was how do private schools compare to public schools; do private school students receive a better education? Another question is how does religion play a role in our education system?
Part B
Sitting down, tapping my pencil, my eyes room to the clock on the wall. Ten more minutes until I am free, I think. The teacher writes some more formulas on the board. More note copying, isn’t it wonderful? This my friends, is what I call a classroom setting where we the students sit down quietly and copy the notes our teachers so kindly write on the boards. Civilization at its best is how I think of it. We all sit down at our tables, copying down notes that we will never again review once the school year is over. We act like we are listening to the teacher giving a lecture in the front of the classroom, but really we are thinking about our plans for afterschool or how adorable our crush looked today in the hallway. It’s a strange experience in my opinion, how we all so cooperatively sit down and write down facts that we could rather not care about.
As Andy so kindly puts it, our classrooms we sit in are like boxes that we are always trapped in. We travel from box to box, learning different things in each class. Rather robotic in a sense, we arrive at school, follow our fellow classmates to our next class, and maybe shoot out a smart comment at times. This all goes back to my theory that school is the government’s way to civilize us. Somehow, without us even realizing it, they managed to trap us in a boxed building, letting us out only for lunch, which is less than an hour. They managed to keep us occupied for six hours of our day, making sure we are all safe in a contained building, learning useless information. When you think about it this way, school doesn’t seem so interesting now does it?
Of course there are consequences to trapping us in boxes, without giving us an opportunity to think on our own. We become so use to having things told to us that we lose the ability to think on our own. We forget how to process something, how to analyze and further develop our thoughts. Without any free space to think and learn on our own, we become trapped in our own minds.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Homework 38 - Art Project Cool
The Cool Fool from Sandy G. on Vimeo.
This project actually turned out differently than from what we planned. In the beginning, we wanted to have a scripted video, showing cool vs. uncool. Andy would play two different versions of Mike. One as the cool kid who everyone wants to be friends with, and one as the uncool kid who tries too hard to fit in. After a bunch of takes, we decided to just scrape that idea and put together a video portraying what we thought was cool, along with some of our old ideas. We put in scenes about people playing basketball in gym, us hanging out and playing cards, and us just having fun in general, because we felt that was our definition of cool. Our definition of cool is just having fun and not caring what people think, and our video portrays that. Of course, we did play the roles of our characters, me being the one obsessed with Mike, Carrie being the one who doesn’t know who he is, Sandy the one who doesn’t think he’s cool but will act like she does, and Kate just thinking he’s a loser. We wanted our video to be funny, and portray coolness in school.
In our art, we just wanted people to understand that there are many definitions of art, not just one universal definition. In our video, we showed people that being cool is just having fun with the people around you. When people watch this video, they won’t see an obvious structure or a scripted story, because to us that is fake. We didn’t want to have to script our something in order to show people what we believed was cool, we wanted to show how cool can be found in our daily lives. By scripting out what each person says, and how they try to act cool, we are not truly representing how cool directly affects us. In my opinion, our video helps people understand that they don’t need to act a certain way to be cool. They don’t need to follow unspoken rules, and act like someone they are not just to fit in. “Just be yourself” is an overstated statement, but I believe that we should instead be who we are, and act the way we are. We shouldn’t have to act like someone we are not in order to be deemed “cool”.
Making art does seem cool to me. To me, art is a portrayal of an individual’s creativity. When someone puts themselves out there, whether it is in the form of art or others, I think it is cool because they are showing the world what they want people to know about them. I also believe that making art is a talent, and talents are cool. Although an individual’s art varies because their taste varies, the essence of making something important to show the world is still there. I believe that being cool means portraying to yourself who you want to be, and art is one form of doing just that.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Homework 37- Cool Paper Done Draft
We are stuck in a society that believes that cool involves fitting in, having a packed social life, wearing the right clothes, owning the right materialistic items, and adorning our bodies with tattoos or piercings. We constantly try to change the image we portray to the world in order to receive the approval of others, while scrutinizing what others wear and deeming them cool or uncool. We buy the latest technology to fit in to a certain quota, and have the right group of friends to improve our social status. But does this make us seem “cool”, or are we buying into what our culture tells us is “cool”? Being cool means fitting in while standing out, being different while being the same, owning the latest items while acting like you could care less, having the most stylish clothes, while acting as if they’re nothing. Being cool means fitting into our culture’s standards, and always adorning our body or changing our image to be accepted by others.
Every day, the word “cool” is tossed around as if it is nothing, effortlessly leaving people’s lips, without requiring much thought to the definition behind this four letter word. What is the definition of “cool”, and who defines what is considered “cool”? Does your style make you cool, the way you act, your personality? Or is it something completely different? What do people mean when they say “you’re cool”?
I do not believe there is a universal definition of the word “cool”, rather a definition chosen by that of the person. Different people define what is “cool” in different ways; some people might say that being cool involves not caring or being a rebel, while others might think being cool means conforming to society’s standards. I believe that being cool ties into the idea of being popular, or being liked by many people. Your style might be cool or your personality might be cool, and that might make you cool to others. But what makes you “cool” to others? I believe what makes you cool is the ability to make people like you, and follow you. Sadly, our society is filled with followers rather than leaders, and when one spots a leader type, someone who isn’t afraid to show authority, they automatically think, “hey they’re cool”. There’s no fundamental base to what is cool, no concept written in textbooks, or steps to follow. Being cool is based on one’s perspective of others. I can say that I think Kate D’Auria, or Carrie Li, are cool (which I do believe is true), however people might beg to differ. I could argue that Carrie’s effortless style makes her cool in my eyes, and Kate’s ability to be nice to everyone makes her cool also. But this is my perspective, someone, let’s say Maggie Zheng, might think differently. We could argue over whether or not Kate and Carrie are cool, but what difference would it make? It’s an opinion, not a fact.
One way to make ourselves seem cooler to others is by adorning our bodies with tattoos. These tattoos that we receive on our body portray to the world how we want people to look at us. By getting a tattoo, we are using our bodies to show the world who we are as a person. Depending on where and what you get as your tattoo, you can come off as sweet and innocent (a simple butterfly on your ankle), tough and brolic (a tattoo on your bicep), or slutty (a tramp stamp). Or the final option, mysterious and worldly. People do this by getting other languages tattooed on their bodies (most common languages are Asian languages). By getting “love” in Chinese or “courage” in Japanese, we are forcing others who don’t speak the language to ask us about our tattoo, therefore drawing attention to ourselves. Think of it as an ice breaker, of some sort.
Dan Brown once said (as proclaimed in his book “Angels and Demons”) “The human spirit craves mastery over its carnal shell” What makes a tattoo any different? We as humans are always trying to make ourselves stand out, to make ourselves feel superior over others of our kind. Our “carnal shells” are our bodies; the shells are the barrier we break through with body piercings or tattoos. We “crave” the feeling of being different, of being unique, of being unlike the others. But we want to be thought of as “cool” the entire time. We adorn our bodies with symbols or materialistic items that set us apart from all the rest, that make us feel “important” or “special”. By getting inked, we are portraying to the world that we are “different”, that we are not like the rest of the humans.
One of our friends, Jacara, wants to get a tattoo as soon as she turns eighteen. She wants a circle on her arm, to represent cycles and how they never end. Cool and mysterious right? Now if a random person was to see her tattoo, they would ask her why she got it, thus sparking up a conversation. However, her mother does not want her to get a tattoo. But of course Jacara wants one, because she craves that "mastery" over her "carnal shell", that feeling that she owns and controls everything that goes on her body. That feeling of power. We are constantly changing our image to gain the respect and approval of our peers.
Another technique in adorning our bodies with tattoos, we also choose to adorn our bodies with piercings. Although they don’t represent one’s personality as a tattoo does, they do represent the image a person wants to portray to the world. There are many types of piercings you can get, and many possible places to pierce. In my opinion, a simple ear piercing (or several) represents nothing to wild, just that the person wants to adorn their body with jewelry. A piercing on the face presents that the person wants to draw attention to their face. A piercing on other body parts such as the belly button represents that the person likes to keep their piercing hidden unless they feel like showing it. It’s a secret they keep under wraps until they feel like opening up and sharing it to the world. It is very common to see a teenager get a piercing in an act of rebellion. Whether it be rebelling against parents or society, piercings represent an act of defiance. When someone gets a belly button or tongue piercing even though their parents forbid them too, they feel as if they are in control of their own body. By adorning our bodies, we want to represent to the world that we are indeed in control of our own thoughts, and do what we please. However, getting a piercing is a mainstream idea, and people also do it to feel cool. So being rebellious while being cool…the two ideas clash, but they also fit in our minds.
When asked what people think being "cool" involves, people automatically reply "being different" and having your own "sense of style". The ability to not "care" what others think, and "being ourselves". But what does it mean to be ourselves, when we were born into a society that puts us into categories since we were young? Every day of our life, we are in these "boxes", these labels that we fit ourselves into in order to fit in with the rest of society. Ever since we were born, we were dressed in pink or blue clothes, depending on our gender. In school, we are categorized into boxes by our classmates and peers. "Oh she's the nerd or he's the jock." So how can one be different when being different just means changing your label? When it means changing out current perspective on life and our appearance, but looking just like all the other people who want to be "different." What does it mean to be different, when being different means being the same but in a different way? We can appear different to somebody who is not in our same "category" or "box", but the same to somebody who is. How can we be ourselves when we don't know who we really are? People can say "oh I'm different because I'm being myself", but who are you? You're just somebody else who conforms to our society’s standards but in a rebellious way. We always want to gain the approval of our peers, even if we do it unconsciously.
It is a known fact that corporations manipulate teens into buying their products, all while pretending not to, as shown in “Merchants of Cool”. Companies hire people to go “cool-hunting” for them, people who will find those 20% of teens who set the trends, who make their own style, who don’t feel the need to confine to the next best trend. They take pictures of these teens, and sell them to companies so that companies know what teens find cool. But once companies market off these styles to be cool, it is not cool anymore. Everyone says that in order to be cool, you must be yourself, and have self-expression. But when buying mass produced products, how can one be cool and be yourself at the same time? We all want to appear as if we don’t care about being cool, and we don’t care what others think of us, but while doing this there is a part of us that seeks that attention and approval from our peers. Companies, as shown in “Merchants of Cool”, know this, and decide to subtly sell off their products without overselling the product. Once something “new” comes out, such as a new trend, teens flock to it. They gobble up the merchandise, spend millions of dollars on their new wardrobes, all trying to confine to the definition of “cool.” This works out in the companies favors, because they’re making millions of dollars. Once that trend dies out, something new will pop up, gaining a company more money.
Does this make corporations evil? Are they the enemy in our lives, always trying to sell us the next best thing? Or are they our best friends, the ones who show us the next greatest thing, the new trends that make us seem “cool” to our peers? I don’t believe it is evil that corporations manipulate the minds of young people for the sake of profit. Yes, when put in that sentence, corporations seem like the enemy, the ones who want to take our money and make a profit. But think about it…marketing is the process where people sell a new trend or product, and make money of off it. Isn’t this how our society works? We buy mass produced products, making corporate companies richer, and making ourselves happy because of our new products? Companies are actually smart for manipulating the minds of young people, because they know that young people follow the trends the most. They know we always want the next best thing, the things that will make us appear “cool”, and feed off of that. So maybe they make a profit of off it…isn’t that how capitalism works? It’s a cruel world, it’s true.
With every rung we climb, we either push ourselves up or lower ourselves down on our social ladders. With every move we make, we are constantly being watched and/or criticized by the people surrounding us. With every path we decide to travel on, we are either following our cultural maps for being cool or defying the unspoken rules. But throughout all of this we are always trying to decide just who we are, and how cool we are. By buying materialistic items, we are portraying to the world how we want them to see us, and showing them what image we want to put forth of ourselves.
Shakespeare once said "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players" (As You Like It). This is true. We are constantly putting on "acts" that other people watch, speaking "scripts" that are merely thoughts portrayed by others. If our life was a movie, we'd each be a star in our own way. But in the end, we're all just playing a role in a society that controls everything we do. We are like puppets, getting pulled this way and that, in order to fill a category that is imposed onto us. We are "merely players", constantly being watched, our roles getting reversed or switched, and the "world" is the "stage" where our acts come alive.
But how do we know which roles to play in our society? Who makes that decision for us, is it our choice or were we born into a pre-scripted destiny? Playing into this idea is the idea of culture maps. In each culture and sub-culture, people alike are following their “cultural maps to being cool.” In each culture and sub-culture, we have our elders or others telling us how we should behave and how we should conduct ourselves. We try to combine their personal maps with ours, try to incorporate all ideas into one, and try to set a direction for our lives. We want to be different from all the others, but then again we want to be the same. Let’s take the Asian culture for example. Being of Asian descent myself, I can speak comfortably about my experience with my map to being “cool”. Every since I was young, it was hammered into my brain that I must succeed in school, always push myself to get the best grades possible, and hang out with only the right people. Once I started getting older, the word “college” got hammered into my head. My mother was not the best student in school, nor did she go to one of the best colleges in America. She attended night classes in college, and her mom couldn’t care less if she went because she didn’t believe college mattered. But for me, college mattered more than anything in the world. My mom wanted me to go to a good college, so I can get a good job, and be able to support my family in the future. If I wanted to go take a year off and travel the world after high school, I’d get shunned. After all, why travel the world instead of going to college? A college education is more important anyways…or so I’m told. To my family, being “cool” means following the path created for me from birth…be nice to your elders, get good grades, get into a good college, get a good job, and have a family. No questions asked. Not that I would have bothered to question my cultural map.
To reiterate what was said in class (in no way is this my opinion), a typical cultural map for African-Americans living in our society is to not really care about school, rather caring about surviving in the streets and impressing their friends. Your grades don’t matter, but your clothing does. Your intellectual level does not matter, but the way you walk and talk does. Let’s say there is a teenager who wants to succeed in school, of African-American descent. He tries hard in school, and wants to get into college. But his friends make fun of him for it. They question his desire to do well in school, and ask him why he feels the need to go to college. With the constant bantering and criticizing, he will soon give in and reform to their ways. With no one backing him up and giving him the power to stand up to his friends, he feels weak and alone. Of course he is going to give up, what choice does he have? But is it our right to make fun of him for not going to college? No of course not. He tried, and admittedly failed in the end, but all because he was following a cultural map provided for him. Instead of creating his own for his life, he decided to follow what people in the past have done. Why the need to be different, when being the same is so much easier? If following a generic cultural map is what makes him cool in his friend’s eyes, he is going to follow it. It’s not fair to any extent, considering he had potential to be different. But what can you do when the person you want to change is not willing? Absolutely nothing.
With the constant need to adorn our bodies with tattoos and piercings, or buying the latest trends and styles, WHY do people feel the need to be cool? Especially teenagers. Well for one, it ties back to the theory of the culture maps of our society. In America, we have one universal culture map, the map that tells us to buy the newest clothes, spend all our money on materialistic items, have a big group of friends, and make money. We as Americans always want to appear “cooler” to our fellow peers, or more “popular”. We crave the ability to fit in, because no one wants to be the oddball that everybody makes fun of on a daily basis. We want to feel as if we belong, even if we are categorizing ourselves into something we are not. People who claim that they do not feel the need to be "cool" are lying to everyone, and especially themselves. In our society, we are constantly scrutinizing others and their apparel, along with ourselves. In the back of our mind we are always trying to make ourselves seem cool in someone else's eyes.
Bibliography
Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons. New York: Pocket Books, 2000. Print.
"Media Giants." Frontline: The Merchants of Cool. PBS Online, 2001.
Web. 7 Feb. 2005.
Florman, Ben and Hopson, David. SparkNote on As You Like It. 24 Jan. 2010
Every day, the word “cool” is tossed around as if it is nothing, effortlessly leaving people’s lips, without requiring much thought to the definition behind this four letter word. What is the definition of “cool”, and who defines what is considered “cool”? Does your style make you cool, the way you act, your personality? Or is it something completely different? What do people mean when they say “you’re cool”?
I do not believe there is a universal definition of the word “cool”, rather a definition chosen by that of the person. Different people define what is “cool” in different ways; some people might say that being cool involves not caring or being a rebel, while others might think being cool means conforming to society’s standards. I believe that being cool ties into the idea of being popular, or being liked by many people. Your style might be cool or your personality might be cool, and that might make you cool to others. But what makes you “cool” to others? I believe what makes you cool is the ability to make people like you, and follow you. Sadly, our society is filled with followers rather than leaders, and when one spots a leader type, someone who isn’t afraid to show authority, they automatically think, “hey they’re cool”. There’s no fundamental base to what is cool, no concept written in textbooks, or steps to follow. Being cool is based on one’s perspective of others. I can say that I think Kate D’Auria, or Carrie Li, are cool (which I do believe is true), however people might beg to differ. I could argue that Carrie’s effortless style makes her cool in my eyes, and Kate’s ability to be nice to everyone makes her cool also. But this is my perspective, someone, let’s say Maggie Zheng, might think differently. We could argue over whether or not Kate and Carrie are cool, but what difference would it make? It’s an opinion, not a fact.
One way to make ourselves seem cooler to others is by adorning our bodies with tattoos. These tattoos that we receive on our body portray to the world how we want people to look at us. By getting a tattoo, we are using our bodies to show the world who we are as a person. Depending on where and what you get as your tattoo, you can come off as sweet and innocent (a simple butterfly on your ankle), tough and brolic (a tattoo on your bicep), or slutty (a tramp stamp). Or the final option, mysterious and worldly. People do this by getting other languages tattooed on their bodies (most common languages are Asian languages). By getting “love” in Chinese or “courage” in Japanese, we are forcing others who don’t speak the language to ask us about our tattoo, therefore drawing attention to ourselves. Think of it as an ice breaker, of some sort.
Dan Brown once said (as proclaimed in his book “Angels and Demons”) “The human spirit craves mastery over its carnal shell” What makes a tattoo any different? We as humans are always trying to make ourselves stand out, to make ourselves feel superior over others of our kind. Our “carnal shells” are our bodies; the shells are the barrier we break through with body piercings or tattoos. We “crave” the feeling of being different, of being unique, of being unlike the others. But we want to be thought of as “cool” the entire time. We adorn our bodies with symbols or materialistic items that set us apart from all the rest, that make us feel “important” or “special”. By getting inked, we are portraying to the world that we are “different”, that we are not like the rest of the humans.
One of our friends, Jacara, wants to get a tattoo as soon as she turns eighteen. She wants a circle on her arm, to represent cycles and how they never end. Cool and mysterious right? Now if a random person was to see her tattoo, they would ask her why she got it, thus sparking up a conversation. However, her mother does not want her to get a tattoo. But of course Jacara wants one, because she craves that "mastery" over her "carnal shell", that feeling that she owns and controls everything that goes on her body. That feeling of power. We are constantly changing our image to gain the respect and approval of our peers.
Another technique in adorning our bodies with tattoos, we also choose to adorn our bodies with piercings. Although they don’t represent one’s personality as a tattoo does, they do represent the image a person wants to portray to the world. There are many types of piercings you can get, and many possible places to pierce. In my opinion, a simple ear piercing (or several) represents nothing to wild, just that the person wants to adorn their body with jewelry. A piercing on the face presents that the person wants to draw attention to their face. A piercing on other body parts such as the belly button represents that the person likes to keep their piercing hidden unless they feel like showing it. It’s a secret they keep under wraps until they feel like opening up and sharing it to the world. It is very common to see a teenager get a piercing in an act of rebellion. Whether it be rebelling against parents or society, piercings represent an act of defiance. When someone gets a belly button or tongue piercing even though their parents forbid them too, they feel as if they are in control of their own body. By adorning our bodies, we want to represent to the world that we are indeed in control of our own thoughts, and do what we please. However, getting a piercing is a mainstream idea, and people also do it to feel cool. So being rebellious while being cool…the two ideas clash, but they also fit in our minds.
When asked what people think being "cool" involves, people automatically reply "being different" and having your own "sense of style". The ability to not "care" what others think, and "being ourselves". But what does it mean to be ourselves, when we were born into a society that puts us into categories since we were young? Every day of our life, we are in these "boxes", these labels that we fit ourselves into in order to fit in with the rest of society. Ever since we were born, we were dressed in pink or blue clothes, depending on our gender. In school, we are categorized into boxes by our classmates and peers. "Oh she's the nerd or he's the jock." So how can one be different when being different just means changing your label? When it means changing out current perspective on life and our appearance, but looking just like all the other people who want to be "different." What does it mean to be different, when being different means being the same but in a different way? We can appear different to somebody who is not in our same "category" or "box", but the same to somebody who is. How can we be ourselves when we don't know who we really are? People can say "oh I'm different because I'm being myself", but who are you? You're just somebody else who conforms to our society’s standards but in a rebellious way. We always want to gain the approval of our peers, even if we do it unconsciously.
It is a known fact that corporations manipulate teens into buying their products, all while pretending not to, as shown in “Merchants of Cool”. Companies hire people to go “cool-hunting” for them, people who will find those 20% of teens who set the trends, who make their own style, who don’t feel the need to confine to the next best trend. They take pictures of these teens, and sell them to companies so that companies know what teens find cool. But once companies market off these styles to be cool, it is not cool anymore. Everyone says that in order to be cool, you must be yourself, and have self-expression. But when buying mass produced products, how can one be cool and be yourself at the same time? We all want to appear as if we don’t care about being cool, and we don’t care what others think of us, but while doing this there is a part of us that seeks that attention and approval from our peers. Companies, as shown in “Merchants of Cool”, know this, and decide to subtly sell off their products without overselling the product. Once something “new” comes out, such as a new trend, teens flock to it. They gobble up the merchandise, spend millions of dollars on their new wardrobes, all trying to confine to the definition of “cool.” This works out in the companies favors, because they’re making millions of dollars. Once that trend dies out, something new will pop up, gaining a company more money.
Does this make corporations evil? Are they the enemy in our lives, always trying to sell us the next best thing? Or are they our best friends, the ones who show us the next greatest thing, the new trends that make us seem “cool” to our peers? I don’t believe it is evil that corporations manipulate the minds of young people for the sake of profit. Yes, when put in that sentence, corporations seem like the enemy, the ones who want to take our money and make a profit. But think about it…marketing is the process where people sell a new trend or product, and make money of off it. Isn’t this how our society works? We buy mass produced products, making corporate companies richer, and making ourselves happy because of our new products? Companies are actually smart for manipulating the minds of young people, because they know that young people follow the trends the most. They know we always want the next best thing, the things that will make us appear “cool”, and feed off of that. So maybe they make a profit of off it…isn’t that how capitalism works? It’s a cruel world, it’s true.
With every rung we climb, we either push ourselves up or lower ourselves down on our social ladders. With every move we make, we are constantly being watched and/or criticized by the people surrounding us. With every path we decide to travel on, we are either following our cultural maps for being cool or defying the unspoken rules. But throughout all of this we are always trying to decide just who we are, and how cool we are. By buying materialistic items, we are portraying to the world how we want them to see us, and showing them what image we want to put forth of ourselves.
Shakespeare once said "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players" (As You Like It). This is true. We are constantly putting on "acts" that other people watch, speaking "scripts" that are merely thoughts portrayed by others. If our life was a movie, we'd each be a star in our own way. But in the end, we're all just playing a role in a society that controls everything we do. We are like puppets, getting pulled this way and that, in order to fill a category that is imposed onto us. We are "merely players", constantly being watched, our roles getting reversed or switched, and the "world" is the "stage" where our acts come alive.
But how do we know which roles to play in our society? Who makes that decision for us, is it our choice or were we born into a pre-scripted destiny? Playing into this idea is the idea of culture maps. In each culture and sub-culture, people alike are following their “cultural maps to being cool.” In each culture and sub-culture, we have our elders or others telling us how we should behave and how we should conduct ourselves. We try to combine their personal maps with ours, try to incorporate all ideas into one, and try to set a direction for our lives. We want to be different from all the others, but then again we want to be the same. Let’s take the Asian culture for example. Being of Asian descent myself, I can speak comfortably about my experience with my map to being “cool”. Every since I was young, it was hammered into my brain that I must succeed in school, always push myself to get the best grades possible, and hang out with only the right people. Once I started getting older, the word “college” got hammered into my head. My mother was not the best student in school, nor did she go to one of the best colleges in America. She attended night classes in college, and her mom couldn’t care less if she went because she didn’t believe college mattered. But for me, college mattered more than anything in the world. My mom wanted me to go to a good college, so I can get a good job, and be able to support my family in the future. If I wanted to go take a year off and travel the world after high school, I’d get shunned. After all, why travel the world instead of going to college? A college education is more important anyways…or so I’m told. To my family, being “cool” means following the path created for me from birth…be nice to your elders, get good grades, get into a good college, get a good job, and have a family. No questions asked. Not that I would have bothered to question my cultural map.
To reiterate what was said in class (in no way is this my opinion), a typical cultural map for African-Americans living in our society is to not really care about school, rather caring about surviving in the streets and impressing their friends. Your grades don’t matter, but your clothing does. Your intellectual level does not matter, but the way you walk and talk does. Let’s say there is a teenager who wants to succeed in school, of African-American descent. He tries hard in school, and wants to get into college. But his friends make fun of him for it. They question his desire to do well in school, and ask him why he feels the need to go to college. With the constant bantering and criticizing, he will soon give in and reform to their ways. With no one backing him up and giving him the power to stand up to his friends, he feels weak and alone. Of course he is going to give up, what choice does he have? But is it our right to make fun of him for not going to college? No of course not. He tried, and admittedly failed in the end, but all because he was following a cultural map provided for him. Instead of creating his own for his life, he decided to follow what people in the past have done. Why the need to be different, when being the same is so much easier? If following a generic cultural map is what makes him cool in his friend’s eyes, he is going to follow it. It’s not fair to any extent, considering he had potential to be different. But what can you do when the person you want to change is not willing? Absolutely nothing.
With the constant need to adorn our bodies with tattoos and piercings, or buying the latest trends and styles, WHY do people feel the need to be cool? Especially teenagers. Well for one, it ties back to the theory of the culture maps of our society. In America, we have one universal culture map, the map that tells us to buy the newest clothes, spend all our money on materialistic items, have a big group of friends, and make money. We as Americans always want to appear “cooler” to our fellow peers, or more “popular”. We crave the ability to fit in, because no one wants to be the oddball that everybody makes fun of on a daily basis. We want to feel as if we belong, even if we are categorizing ourselves into something we are not. People who claim that they do not feel the need to be "cool" are lying to everyone, and especially themselves. In our society, we are constantly scrutinizing others and their apparel, along with ourselves. In the back of our mind we are always trying to make ourselves seem cool in someone else's eyes.
Bibliography
Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons. New York: Pocket Books, 2000. Print.
"Media Giants." Frontline: The Merchants of Cool. PBS Online, 2001.
Web. 7 Feb. 2005.
Florman, Ben and Hopson, David. SparkNote on As You Like It. 24 Jan. 2010
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