A textbook mistake

In the beginning of my senior year, a very remarkable teacher told us that textbooks were a waste of time and money. Being a left-brained thinker, I just about imploded. My back, however, rejoiced at the idea. The previous year it had been tortured with a two-inch thick American History book along with a chemistry, algebra, and English Lang. book, each married to a binder just as packed with paper. Throughout the course of the year, our teacher would pass out packets of notes that would go along with each lesson. He would make us think about the answers, not spoon-feeding us one. This irritated me. A visual learner myself, I wanted examples.
     Before the first nine weeks was up, I could all but rejoice at how light my load was every day when I walked into school. All I had to carry was a single binder, a single inch thick. Mr. Doe (as we'll call him) would fully expect us to keep up with those packets until the very last day of school. Again, I thought this was stupid; but then I realized how much I was retaining. How much everyone was retaining! Instead of simply copying down answers from the back of the book -- which many of the textbooks have, especially in mathematics -- we had to invent ways to get the correct answer.
     On the last day, Mr. Doe told us that it was never his job to teach us math. He wasn’t there so he could teach us textbook math (he laughed at his own pun, too). The sole reason he was there so that he could make us into problem solvers, not robots that memorize information.

“Textbooks are worthless,” he said. “They teach you nothing you can’t find out on your own.”

High school vs. home school

The high school experience offers more than just getting that perfect GPA or getting ready for the rest of our young lives. Cliques, status quo, and the overall higharchy of those four years teaches us about the real world we can't learn whilst glued to a computer screen. Making friends is key in order to survive the wilderness of brick walls and tiled floors. This cannot be done alone. Then again, the distractions in solitude are limited, though lonelyness is sadly all too common. The social ladder is parallel to the real world. The jock. The "Barbie." The nerds. Everyone belongs somewhere, and these things things are easily found out in high school, especially when you wear the wrong shirt or last years shoes. Those four years teach rejection, failure, struggle. Not everything is peachy dandy in the world as portrayed in the home. Things are hard, things change. Rules are unfair and the chopping block is inevitable. It's better to get the heartbreak out of the way and learn to build up a semipermeable wall than realize the abrasive side of the outside world for the first time. Lovers. The idea that everyone craves... Until The Breakup. Sure it's the end of the world now, but it won't be as harsh later on if divorce ever rolls around. Stick with what works in the world miniaturized into a class room setting. We live and learn, wading through the days of adolescence until we reach the age we are forced to learn, whether we like it or not.

Book-et List

The Graveyard Book
By: Neil Gaiman
In my own little mind, I've always been a little bit of an off-set, though I strive to make others think differently; but Bod couldn't care less. He's excluded to living in the graveyard because the second he leaves, he dies. For as long as I can remember I've loved the paranormal and mystery books, and this seems like a great one to peak my interest.


Artemis Fowl
By: Eoin Coller
Being a teenager rich beyond your wildest dreams? Doesn't sound like a bad idea. Everyone dreams of having a little spare change, and I'm no exception. I can't wait to see what possible troubles lie ahead for a teenager with more than pocket change.


Peeps
By: Scott Westerfeld
The vampire trend is out. Old news. Yesterday's meatloaf; but this is something new. No one wants to even be a carrier of this disease. Yes, I was a huge fan of Twilight until all the movies came out, ruining my entire image of Edward and Bella (darn you Robert and Kristen!). This book is something still far from mundane, but still on the fringes of a horrifying reality. Definitely look forward to reading this! Not to mention, Westerfeld is the author of the Uglies series, which I absolutely loved!


Children of the Fog
By: Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Being a mom without being a mother, there's always a fear of something happening to my baby brother, seeing how he's only five years old. In this book, little five-year-old Sam is kidnapped by "The Fog", along with another little girl. If nothing else, I just need to find out what happens to Sam.


Kite Runner
By: Khaled Hosseini
Upon a little amount of research, I found I could relate to Amir, a boy whose father is critical of him beyond reasonable, and the fact that Amir is a writer. Being one myself, I wonder how much different his life would play out in an entirely different world where expectations are higher, and the risks are much greater for insubordination.


Beautiful Demons
By: Sarra Cannon
Witchcraft is something that, although I have no interest in pursuing, is irrevicobly interesting to read about in books. And when the new girl in town turns out to be "cheerleader worthy", she's instantly recruted. The only thing different with this squad? They're witches. How can such a huge secret be kept in a school that size? Peachville isn't exactly NYC.


City of Ashes
By: Cassandra Clare
City of Bones capitvated me. Very rarely will I get so caught up in the drama of a fictional world that I'll physically yell at the characters when they make stupid choices or run off without a word to the wind. These books are one of those rare times. Not to mention I'm a hopeless romantic. So when Clary and Simon slowly start to become more than friends in their own mundane world, it makes it that more more enticing.


November Blues
By: Sharon M. Draper
November has lost her boyfriend to a stupid stunt a few of his friends put together. Worse so, she's pregnant. Even though I don't have a boyfriend myself, nor am I pregnant, I can't imagine losing the one person you loved most, and having to face such a trying time alone. How can she?


Beautiful Darkness
By: Kami Garcia
I read the first book "Beautiful Creatures" a few years back and loved it. It wasn't until today I realized there were more! (Cue the excitement). In this book, Ethan is tested more than Lena when horrible visions start to plague his thoughts. I can't wait to find out what more dark secrets hide within the cracked sidewalks and moss covered trees of Gatlin.


Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You
By: Joyce Carol Oates
Things left unsaid can be the hardest to live down. When someone dies, how can you tell them you're sorry? That you still had something left to say? I know exactly how the main character feels. My best friend died, and I never even got to tell him bye. This book will hopefully ease that little knot resonating in my chest by living the life of the girl with a few things she forgot to tell.

Rebel Without a Cause

Rebel Without a Cause had its first debut in 1955. Directed by and written in part Nicholas Ray, Jim Stark (played by James Dean) is a teenage boy that is anything but cookie cutter. Veiled family issues boiling past the brim, Jim is frequently cencured for his anger managment problems, especially when he's called "Chicken". This trigger word throws him into Fight Mode. Moving to Los Angeles doesn't help with this delema. Buzz Gunderson (Corey Allen) and his gang decide to make an example of this newcomer and show the comedian who's boss with a Chickie-Run, ending in Gunderson's death. Remarkably, like nothing had ever happened, everyone seems to forget about Buzz, marking this movie as unrealistic as a Barbie. The human race tends to mourn over our loved ones a little bit more than a few days. Natilie Wood, who plays Judy, is probably one of the least responsive to her newly-dead boyfriend, instantly attaching onto Jim like a starving leech. She seems to be a mooch, willing to latch on to whoever appears to be in charge, belittling herself to "that guys girlfriend." Dean's character seems more determined to defy every law set in front of him by both nature and adults.
This technical accomplis in a murder, girl-stealing, rule breaking jailbird shows the world how it's done in his attempt to be different; but by doing so, fails to grasp a true sense of reality. People, by natural law, crave companionship, but Sal Mineo (Plato) takes things a bit far by going TOO far. After only one (sober) encounter with Jim, Plato is already attempting to plan a sleepover as though the two were long-time pals. Yes, this friendship results in Jim eventually attempting to save Platos life, but it's like stories with love at first sight that end in a happily-ever-after --- a fairytale. Aka, not too realistic.
Though the first few impractical scenes give a sense of an overly dramatic melodrama, a certain depth is obtained as the film progresses, revealing, that, even though we bury ourselves in our own differences, we yearn to fit in.

Kill 'Em! Crush 'Em! Eat 'Em Raw!

Q: John Mcmurty's essay begins with a personal anecdote about the results of playing sports-especially football- since childhood. When he can no longer ignore his physical condition, he seeks treatment and is hospitalized. How does the anecdote lend credibility to his argument.

A: Because Mcmurty knew through personal experience, he can offer up a valid argument not solely based on facts or statistics (logos) but can also lend pathos when he describes his own physical destructions. He loved the sports he sacrificed his body to, enough to bring him to a state of complete burnout. The serotonin (a pain killer) released in our bloodstream controls the levels of dopamine (the "reward") our brain recieves. This is also known as the "runners high" because their levels are relatively higher than other sports. So why are these boys and girls so attached to sports? Is it our natural instinct to protect the dignity of our roots through bloodshed, whether war or a game? Or is it that we're addicted to the rush; the adrenaline; the sound of those cheering for us and losing their voices to our victorious name?

Q: Paragraphs 5-7 compare and contrast football and war. Is this comparison convincing? How does the comparison appeal to logos?

A: Yes. The armor, the battleground, the armies, all add up to a war; but one of those is play and (usually) no one is killed. Football is lauded as a mans sport, just as going to war would be a symbol one was now a man. The bloodlust is evident throughout both events, and those who are on either side craving the blood just as much. Our concupiscence for our own side to win is more potent than any other stench that permiates trough the air.

Q: Consider the language of football, especially the words shared by the military. What sports other than football have a militaristic side?

A: Soccer. Each movement, precise. Each shot, perfect. Everyone must rely on everyone else for their victory to be savored. Without their teammates, victory is far from reach.

Q: Who is McMurtry's audience? Is it necessary for the reader to understand or care about football in order to understand what McMurtry is saying about society? Explain.

A: I understand football about as much as ancient Egyptian algebra. I cannot tell you what a first down is or anything else except a touchdown for that matter; but I love my hometown and support my team through thick and thin. His audience is anyone with pride for where they reside, but not many people want to think their town is perfect. McMurty urges us to realize how far we've dug ourselves into a sheltered a little hole.

In this Lifetime

"No Child Left Behind" is a slogan only the simple-minded can hear and truly believe. It's suppose to mean that those will a lower vantage point for learning won't be left in the dust of those who will succeed in every aspect of life. To those who look closer, it means something else. Yes, everyone is given the same opportunity to graduate and become greater things, but to those who's vantage point can brush the stars, this is a drawback that pulls them down so hard and so fast it gives them whiplash.

In this lifetime, we will experience "our modes of Education [aiming] to expedite, to save labor; to do for the masses what cannot be done for the masses, what must be done reverently, one by one" because some guy in a nice looking suit said that no child was to be left behind. That our educaters must, for a lack of better words, dumb things down in order for everyone to be able to keep up.

We will be challenged, yes; but not the point where we must spend countless night pouring over a text book and accompanying worksheets heavy enough to pull my arm from its socket. Instead, I will read, just as everyone else has, To Kill a Mockingbird, and answer questions that are completely irrelevant and frankly idiotic. This lets us "slip by" through high school, maybe even college; but then come the oh-so-sweet words of endearment turned into a sour "No!" when our mediocre credentials don't come to terms with the rest of the world's standards.

Emerson had things right down the the heartbeat of the entire entity. Our system requires that everyone succeeds; but we need those who do the "not so important jobs" like being the who pours cement to lay the foundation of the home where you depend on it holding in a storm, sheltering your family. Our world needs those who, without a "proper" education, think differently because they were never exposed to the methods we use to teach. Many teachers of mine tend to focus on the fact that "the lesson is done for today" and don't hone in on the fact that no one has any idea what they're talking about. Then after an extensive amount of added stress in the form of "questions 1-50", we break, losing our lust in chasing after what our society requires out of us.

Because of what they tell us, we will go with the flow of things, trudging along with twenty pound blogs strapped to our feet as we wade through the mud of High School. At this point, a writer would point out that "it's for the better of things". Sadly, no, it's not. Our doctors are suppose to be smarter than others. They control the outcome of our lives! But because this doctor was taught the same as the guy scanning bar codes at Wal-Mart, he'll give the wrong dosage. Perscribe the wrong medicine. Cut open the wrong thing.

In this lifetime, we have destroyed the next.

Got Milk?

 
It's easy to see how gorgeous this girl is... a flat stomach, blond hair, and basically all around perfect. More than likely it's screaming to the rest of us "look what milk can make you look like!" because I've yet to see someone who was overweight advertising something that's claimed to be so crucial. At first glance, you might see her overly flashy shirt or skin tight pants, but your eye makes it's way down to the milk in her hand, and the slight milk mustache, and you instantly know it's yet another "got milk?" ad. These ads are so famous it's hard to look around a school without seeing at least three or four of them, and just those two words make someone picture a milk mustache. For the most part, they use people that are well-known and possibly role models to a few people, giving those who idolize the famous the want or need to drink milk
     Our society screams at us to be thin; to be sexy. Tall thin, blond, with big boobs is considered the perfect body by the town that runs our thoughts: Hollywood. But what would you do if I told you that a glass of milk wouldn't give you that body? An 8oz glass of 2% has as much fat in it as one and a third medium order of fries from McDonald's? I can't imagine how much whole milk has! On the opposite end of the spectrum, milk is insanely good for you, having a ton of vitamins and minerals that help you make it through your day until you find a way to wipe off that overly-present mustache.
     And wouldn't it be better if the glass was empty? That way it shows she drank it all, not just put it up to her lip to create the most famous and rather fun trademark of this ad. Not everyone can be perfectly shaped, and not everyone is. Most girls struggle to be confident in the morning with everything about themselves, and that's the way it is an always has been. No amount of milk (especially whole or 2%) will change that unless the rest of your diet is healthy and you exercise. Maybe they should put a girl/guy on those posters that are the norm when it comes to weight. I'd look up to someone that was normal looking more than I would a Barbie.