If you could design a curriculum for students your age—that is, the classes they would take in school—what would you design? Seriously.
Would you schedule the usual classes—English, math, science, etc., or would you add other classes that you think are important—or, if not important, classes that would be cool or useful?
How would you make sure that the basic skills were taught? What specifically would you do to make sure that students learned to read, write, and do math and science in a smart and sophisticated way?
What would your day-to-day schedule be? What electives would you add? Would students stay in the school building all day long, either occasionally or for extended periods of time?
What about homework? Would there be more? Less? What would the homework be?
Write about it.
If I could redo the curriculum, it would be a dream come true. First of all, I would change the word “curriculum” to something cuter and easier to say. If I could really do this, it would be a drastic change, and it might take some getting used to, but I think in the overall aftermath it would be more beneficial than the way things are currently. If I had this opportunity to remake the curriculum, middle school would be the exact same, but at the end of middle school, you would take a test that would help you decide what you want to do for the rest of your life. If things started like this, there would be a lot of people that are less confused about their future (like myself). After you took this test and were certain that you made your choice and you are happy with it, you would move on to high school, where you would take courses that were picked to go along with your intended career. For example, if you wanted to become an interior designer, you would take a few math courses, art courses, career planning, business education, and other similar courses that are useful for your future. I think it is silly that everyone has to take the same classes when they will never use it in their life. Math, English, Science, and History would be taught briefly and in a basic manner, but after assessing that your knowledge is sufficient, you could move on to other courses that will help your career.
If I was making the choices, students would come to school at ten. They would leave around 2pm, and they would carry on their day with homework, possibly a job, and taking time for themselves also. I think that by giving students a later time to come in, people would be more awake and there would be less absences and lates.
As far as electives, students would get their choice of electives. If they wanted, they could even take one elective that was out of interest, and maybe might not have anything to do with their career.
Homework. Oh how I hate homework. As much as students and people my age despise homework, it is still something that needs to be given to see if things are applicable when a teacher is not around to spoon feed answers to a student. I would include homework in my curriculum, but it would not include boring research papers and silly worksheets, it would be things that my students could go out into the world and apply to themselves. Instead of giving a problem like y= x + 9yz -123, I would make sure that the information that would be required to do for the homework would always under no exceptions be useful in the future. It is silly that I have things like that as homework, because once I leave Central Regional High School, I will never see those types of problems again. I think that this curriculum change is extreme, but I also think it is something that would help today’s youth.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Blog 22 - Wisdom, Defined
What is wisdom?
Or is wisdom something else—something that a person cannot take a test for? Can people without “qualifications” have wisdom? If so, how do they get it?
Finally, do you know a person or people whom you consider wise? How old are they? (Does being wise necessitate being old?) What do these people do or say to make you think they’re wise?
Write about it.
Wisdom’s dictionary definition is sagacity, discernment, or insight. To me, wisdom isn’t any of that. From experience, I think that wisdom comes from time, effort, and hard work. People that are wise have lived longer and fuller lives. Wisdom does not mean getting A’s on report cards, and it doesn’t mean graduating with a Ph.D. from a terrific university. It doesn’t mean rising to the top of a corporation. It doesn’t mean possessing photographic memory. Wisdom isn’t something you can acquire, wisdom comes to you.
One of the most wise people I know would be my grandfather. My grandpa passed away in 2001 when I was still very young, but he was what I think of when you say wise.
Another thing that I think gives a person wisdom is passed on information. For example, this weekend I made crumb cake. However, this was no normal crumb cake. I got my crumb cake recipe from Buddy Valastro's Cake Boss Book. Not only is it filled with stories about how Carlo's Bakery began, but it has original recipes that Buddy tested and made into easy recipes for the home. So I decided to read up on how to make the perfect crumb cake. When I started the recipe, I realized that you have to refer to another recipe to complete the first recipe, and then after that you have to refer to a third recipe to complete the second recipe which then completes the first and final recipe. So naturally it took me hours to make it and I was completely in over my head. Not only did I use the whole kitchen and half of the flour in the house, but when I put it in the oven, it overflowed and was pouring out of the pan and onto the bottom of the oven, making the oven smoke and smell weird. The crumb cake was supposed to bake for twenty-five minutes, but an hour later was when it was finally done. As I fought with my mom the whole time I cleaned the oven, I started to realize something: from suffering through those three recipes, I took all of Buddy's wisdom about cakes, mixed with my father's wisdom about not fighting with my mom, and then put those together with my newfound knowledge of all things baking, and I inherited that wisdom. I may not be wise, but I know a lot more and I can't wait to share that knowledge with others.
In summation, wisdom is something that has given someone a permanent knowledge of information that they might pass on in their future. Not everyone, has wisdom, in fact more people don't have wisdom then people that do. Personally, I think if you have wisdom you should pass it on and let others in on that part of your life.
Or is wisdom something else—something that a person cannot take a test for? Can people without “qualifications” have wisdom? If so, how do they get it?
Finally, do you know a person or people whom you consider wise? How old are they? (Does being wise necessitate being old?) What do these people do or say to make you think they’re wise?
Write about it.
Wisdom’s dictionary definition is sagacity, discernment, or insight. To me, wisdom isn’t any of that. From experience, I think that wisdom comes from time, effort, and hard work. People that are wise have lived longer and fuller lives. Wisdom does not mean getting A’s on report cards, and it doesn’t mean graduating with a Ph.D. from a terrific university. It doesn’t mean rising to the top of a corporation. It doesn’t mean possessing photographic memory. Wisdom isn’t something you can acquire, wisdom comes to you.
One of the most wise people I know would be my grandfather. My grandpa passed away in 2001 when I was still very young, but he was what I think of when you say wise.
Another thing that I think gives a person wisdom is passed on information. For example, this weekend I made crumb cake. However, this was no normal crumb cake. I got my crumb cake recipe from Buddy Valastro's Cake Boss Book. Not only is it filled with stories about how Carlo's Bakery began, but it has original recipes that Buddy tested and made into easy recipes for the home. So I decided to read up on how to make the perfect crumb cake. When I started the recipe, I realized that you have to refer to another recipe to complete the first recipe, and then after that you have to refer to a third recipe to complete the second recipe which then completes the first and final recipe. So naturally it took me hours to make it and I was completely in over my head. Not only did I use the whole kitchen and half of the flour in the house, but when I put it in the oven, it overflowed and was pouring out of the pan and onto the bottom of the oven, making the oven smoke and smell weird. The crumb cake was supposed to bake for twenty-five minutes, but an hour later was when it was finally done. As I fought with my mom the whole time I cleaned the oven, I started to realize something: from suffering through those three recipes, I took all of Buddy's wisdom about cakes, mixed with my father's wisdom about not fighting with my mom, and then put those together with my newfound knowledge of all things baking, and I inherited that wisdom. I may not be wise, but I know a lot more and I can't wait to share that knowledge with others.
In summation, wisdom is something that has given someone a permanent knowledge of information that they might pass on in their future. Not everyone, has wisdom, in fact more people don't have wisdom then people that do. Personally, I think if you have wisdom you should pass it on and let others in on that part of your life.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Blog 21 - Relative Importance of Jobs
Is a doctor's job more important than a teacher's? Is a teacher's job more important than a bus driver's? Is a dishwasher's job more important than that of a woman who sews dresses?
How do you determine how important a job is? Obviously, some people take home bigger salaries than others: is that how job importance is rated?
In the world today, there are many jobs. You have hundreds of jobs in the school I am sitting in right now. Not only do you have plenty of teachers, but you have the principal, janitors, lunch ladies, etc. I, personally, do not think that any one person’s job is more important than another person. If you got rid of one job, such as the janitors, our school would be filthy. If you got rid of the lunch ladies, we would all be starving. If you eliminate one group, it messes up the whole order and sanity in the building. When you compare doctors versus teachers, some may say that doctors have a more important job. I think that’s nonsense. If those doctors never had teachers, they wouldn’t be doctors. They need their teachers to educate them to be a doctor, so therefore they would be useless without their teachers. And if teachers didn’t have doctors, they could be suffering a disease that they don’t know how to fix. And how would they get better? They wouldn’t. Everyone in the world and every job is a circle of life, and if you take out anyone than it ruins the order. When you compare a teacher and a bus driver, you have to think: how would students get to school if there was no teacher? And where would the bus drivers drive the children if there were no teachers? Everyone needs each other. Say you compared construction workers and professors at a college. People might think that the professor is more important because he is fully educated, probably has multiple degrees, and graduated to become someone who educates for life. That, no doubt, is an awesome job and he or she deserves a lot of praise for it. But to leave out the construction worker is wrong. That construction man worked his ass off to build a place for all those people to further their education at. He made a home to hundreds, maybe thousands, of students, teachers, administrators, counselors, janitors, prospective educators, and he needs to get recognized for all that work he put in. No one can be put down for the work that they do, because no matter what when people try it should be good enough for the world, and no one should judge them based off the job that they have. No one should be the judge of anyone else, so I can not judge any one by their occupation. My grandfather used to tell my dad that “the world needs ditch diggers, too.” When my father told me this, it sounded kind of mean and it was worded in a way that would probably come off as offensive, but I think that he meant that there is no job too small and no job that is unimportant.
How do you determine how important a job is? Obviously, some people take home bigger salaries than others: is that how job importance is rated?
In the world today, there are many jobs. You have hundreds of jobs in the school I am sitting in right now. Not only do you have plenty of teachers, but you have the principal, janitors, lunch ladies, etc. I, personally, do not think that any one person’s job is more important than another person. If you got rid of one job, such as the janitors, our school would be filthy. If you got rid of the lunch ladies, we would all be starving. If you eliminate one group, it messes up the whole order and sanity in the building. When you compare doctors versus teachers, some may say that doctors have a more important job. I think that’s nonsense. If those doctors never had teachers, they wouldn’t be doctors. They need their teachers to educate them to be a doctor, so therefore they would be useless without their teachers. And if teachers didn’t have doctors, they could be suffering a disease that they don’t know how to fix. And how would they get better? They wouldn’t. Everyone in the world and every job is a circle of life, and if you take out anyone than it ruins the order. When you compare a teacher and a bus driver, you have to think: how would students get to school if there was no teacher? And where would the bus drivers drive the children if there were no teachers? Everyone needs each other. Say you compared construction workers and professors at a college. People might think that the professor is more important because he is fully educated, probably has multiple degrees, and graduated to become someone who educates for life. That, no doubt, is an awesome job and he or she deserves a lot of praise for it. But to leave out the construction worker is wrong. That construction man worked his ass off to build a place for all those people to further their education at. He made a home to hundreds, maybe thousands, of students, teachers, administrators, counselors, janitors, prospective educators, and he needs to get recognized for all that work he put in. No one can be put down for the work that they do, because no matter what when people try it should be good enough for the world, and no one should judge them based off the job that they have. No one should be the judge of anyone else, so I can not judge any one by their occupation. My grandfather used to tell my dad that “the world needs ditch diggers, too.” When my father told me this, it sounded kind of mean and it was worded in a way that would probably come off as offensive, but I think that he meant that there is no job too small and no job that is unimportant.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Blog 20 - What is love? Baby, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me no more.
People write about love all the time, but they almost never define it.
Can love be defined? Can a person say, “Well, love, of course is ____________ and ____________ , with a little of ____________ mixed in.” (Would a simple formula like that satisfy you?)
What is love, anyway? Can you describe it? What does it look like? What does it feel like? Smell like? Sound like? Taste like?
Where does a person find it if she or he is looking for it? Is it in a certain place? Does it have certain habits or routines? If so, what are those? Is it hard to get? Easy to get? Do you need to be qualified to get it? Is there anyone who doesn’t have it? Is there anyone who can’t have it? Is there anyone who has too much of it? Is it something people eventually want to get rid of?
Write about it.
What is love? According to a dictionary, love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend; sexual passion or desire. But to me, a dictionary can’t tell you how to be in love. The dictionary doesn’t do the word “love” any justice. Love looks like two people genuinely and compassionately being sincere and falling for each other. It looks like the woman and man sitting on a bench in a park, holding hands, resting their heads on each other, never wanting to let go. Love smells like the perfume or cologne that you know they love so you wear it to impress them. Love sounds like music playing as he leads you in a dance in the rain that you have dreamed of all your life. Love tastes like your favorite restaurant where they take you out to enjoy a beautiful night together.
If your looking for fake love, you can go just about anywhere. You could put yourself on eHarmony and find a date in about five minutes. But that isn’t real love. You don’t need to look for true love; true love will find you when you least expect it.
To be qualified for love, you don’t need to do much – you just need to keep your heart open. If you are poor, you can fall in love. If you are rich, you can fall in love. If you are mean, you can fall in love. If you are nice, you can fall in love. Anyone in the world can find love. You might think opposites attract, or that you are exactly like the person you love. I think any of that is fine as long as you are both truly in love.
One thing that is questionable is young love. I’m not talking about my age, I’m talking about those obnoxious middle schoolers who think they have found their soul mate. I personally think that if you are that young, you haven’t found love, you have found obsession. When you take a step up into high school, you might also think you found love, but I am here to tell you that if he even mentions sleeping with you, chances are he will mention it to another girl in a month. People in high school haven’t found love, they have found lust. Occasionally, there are people that fall in love in high school and get married, but if you have that idea then you will most likely end up getting hurt.
I think that often people over use the word love. “I loooooveee this purse!” It isn’t that you have a warm personal attachment or deep affection towards the purse, you just like it.
At times in my life, I have thought I was in love. I actually don’t know if I have been or not, but I know that having someone love you is a really good feeling. It can be stressful at times and it can be a burden if you don’t know how you feel back, but in the end you feel good about yourself. For me, I find it hard to believe. I can never trust anyone and I am very cautious of letting my walls down because of my past, but recently I have been able to experience something very close to love. My friends didn’t approve, and my parents hardly like how often I was out, but I felt careless and free and I loved it.
Can love be defined? Can a person say, “Well, love, of course is ____________ and ____________ , with a little of ____________ mixed in.” (Would a simple formula like that satisfy you?)
What is love, anyway? Can you describe it? What does it look like? What does it feel like? Smell like? Sound like? Taste like?
Where does a person find it if she or he is looking for it? Is it in a certain place? Does it have certain habits or routines? If so, what are those? Is it hard to get? Easy to get? Do you need to be qualified to get it? Is there anyone who doesn’t have it? Is there anyone who can’t have it? Is there anyone who has too much of it? Is it something people eventually want to get rid of?
Write about it.
What is love? According to a dictionary, love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend; sexual passion or desire. But to me, a dictionary can’t tell you how to be in love. The dictionary doesn’t do the word “love” any justice. Love looks like two people genuinely and compassionately being sincere and falling for each other. It looks like the woman and man sitting on a bench in a park, holding hands, resting their heads on each other, never wanting to let go. Love smells like the perfume or cologne that you know they love so you wear it to impress them. Love sounds like music playing as he leads you in a dance in the rain that you have dreamed of all your life. Love tastes like your favorite restaurant where they take you out to enjoy a beautiful night together.
If your looking for fake love, you can go just about anywhere. You could put yourself on eHarmony and find a date in about five minutes. But that isn’t real love. You don’t need to look for true love; true love will find you when you least expect it.
To be qualified for love, you don’t need to do much – you just need to keep your heart open. If you are poor, you can fall in love. If you are rich, you can fall in love. If you are mean, you can fall in love. If you are nice, you can fall in love. Anyone in the world can find love. You might think opposites attract, or that you are exactly like the person you love. I think any of that is fine as long as you are both truly in love.
One thing that is questionable is young love. I’m not talking about my age, I’m talking about those obnoxious middle schoolers who think they have found their soul mate. I personally think that if you are that young, you haven’t found love, you have found obsession. When you take a step up into high school, you might also think you found love, but I am here to tell you that if he even mentions sleeping with you, chances are he will mention it to another girl in a month. People in high school haven’t found love, they have found lust. Occasionally, there are people that fall in love in high school and get married, but if you have that idea then you will most likely end up getting hurt.
I think that often people over use the word love. “I loooooveee this purse!” It isn’t that you have a warm personal attachment or deep affection towards the purse, you just like it.
At times in my life, I have thought I was in love. I actually don’t know if I have been or not, but I know that having someone love you is a really good feeling. It can be stressful at times and it can be a burden if you don’t know how you feel back, but in the end you feel good about yourself. For me, I find it hard to believe. I can never trust anyone and I am very cautious of letting my walls down because of my past, but recently I have been able to experience something very close to love. My friends didn’t approve, and my parents hardly like how often I was out, but I felt careless and free and I loved it.
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