Making a change

Did you know 1 in every 3 teens is abused in a relationship? Or that dating violence is the leading cause to injury among women? When I found this out, I was so shocked. I never realized how much of a problem violence in relationships were until I googled it. Mr. Larkin wants us to join or create a movement on the internet that can inspire others. I decided to do relationship violence because I've seen movies and news reports of women that have been killed by their significant other. It sickens me to know that there are people out there that think it's okay to hurt people they "love." Many people that are being abused do not even know it. Relationship violence includes, controlling what a person does, physical and mental abuse, stalking or spying on them, and making a person feel unsafe. I know that a lot of girls have problems getting out of relationships with their boyfriends if they are being abused. The main belief they have is that their boyfriend can change. The girl stays with the boy in hopes he will stop hurting her, and it really only leads to more violence. No, I have never been in a situation like this, so I can't relate to it first hand, but I strongly believe that relationship violence is wrong. I want to raise awareness for relationship violence because I learned victims of teen violence are more likely to use drugs, have eating disorders, and even attempt suicide. This is not a problem from the past; dating violence is currently happening all around us and it really needs to stop. If you believe we can make a change for dating violence, join this facebook group Facebook against Violence
All of my information was found on Dating Facts and Relationship Violence

Helpful Tools

A helpful website I found is 50 tools students want to use. This website shows tools that are helpful to students today. The side bar shows different subjects that can be helped with on the website. It gives you tools that can be used to communicate with other students, like Whispurr and meebo. This website can be used to help with literacy and music.Kobobooks is a really helpful literacy tool that lets you read wherever you need to. These tools can help students adjust to using the internet more and I think they are very helpful

To be boring, or not to be boring? That is the question

My principal was telling us about a blog he wrote talking about his son asking why school was so boring. In elementary school, everything was repetition. Practice your multiplication tables 5 times a week and repeat, learn how to spell big words and repeat. Yes they added games to make it fun, but once middle school came into my life, things started to change. Middle school is like the awkward middle child in a family. It is trying to get students ready for high school and college. In middle school, you no longer get to play the little fun games that helped you learn things. This is a reason I think that school was so boring. In middle school, we were so focused on just learning the necessary subjects for high school, we didn't have time to have fun. Also, as sad as it is to say, math and english are seen as more important than art and music. The free time we used to have in elementary school to express ourselves through art, music, or any activity really, was taken away. In middle school we barely had recess! Our time to stretch our legs and let our minds be focused on games rather than learning was getting pulled away. Truthfully, I learn more when I'm playing a game rather than sitting in a seat listening to a teacher go on and on. I could probably sing you the planets song or the alphabet song, but not recall what I learned in my seventh grade math class. I learned these songs in kindergarten and still remember them. The fun things in elementary school are easily remembered compared to middle school things. Yes, singing to a song might be a little immature, but I will never mess up the planet order and I can even sing the alphabet backwards because of a silly song. I guess what I'm getting at is that we need to incorporate fun things into learning. I'm not saying you need to sing to high school juniors to get your point across, but relating things to their everyday life would be a start. I know I keep going on about these singing stories, but last year in chemistry, my teacher taught us chemistry songs about famous chemisists, and I actually still remember. Ask me what my first subject we learned about in math last year and I would have no clue. If schools don't want to be boring, we should be less worried about cramming everything into one year, and just focus on one thing at a time. Kids remember fun things, not boring educational lectures. Just a thought.

The blog from my principal is Boring School

COLLEGE!

I just got a letter from one of my top choices this week that really made my day. It read, Congratulations, You are accepted into Roanoke College. Even though I haven't been down to see Roanoke, I've done virtual tours, and it's gorgeous. This letter kind of got me scared though. I've been living under my parent’s roof for the last 17+ years. Next year, I'll be away from them and there is always that possibility that I could never move back home. Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited for college, but I am worried. All the "what ifs" pop into my head. What if I get sick? What if I don't know where to go? What if my grades start to slip? It's not like my parents are going to make a 17 hour drive every time I have an issue. For Pete’s sake I don't even have my own bank account how am I going to live on my own!? I know every kid worries about this, but it's not the same for me. The farthest person that's moved away from my family has been to Florida and that only lasted 2 years! All of my siblings live in Boston or Lowell. I think that I'll get homesick and chicken out of doing one of the biggest things in my life. College is going to shape my future and I don't want to go to a mediocre school around here if I can get a better education somewhere else! Another problem is that I won't know anyone. What if I can't make friends or get a weird roommate? These thoughts are going to haunt me until the day I make the decision as to which school I attend. I'm excited for the future, but am I really ready for it? It doesn't seem like it matters if I'm ready or not, my future is coming no matter what.

Curse Words

What's the trend among young kids? Swearing seems to be the fad that's taking over our future generations minds. Every time I walk by a group of kids; I am able to hear swears, even if they aren't as severe as others. Curse words are used everywhere in the world and I think it's time we really thought about them. Not only are they derogatory, but they can offend people. If someone started swearing at me, I would consider them rude. Even if they aren't yelling, young kids use them in their everyday language. I admit I have sworn before, but sometimes it just gets ridiculous. A lot of the stories I have been told by my friends include these derogatory terms. It doesn't make people look cool; it just makes them look immature. I really think kids and even adults should learn to rephrase what they say because it is offensive, and people will take it personally.

Researching

I was reading an article today on how college kids have trouble researching and it really made me think. The website was called, College Students Don't Know how to Research and I thought, it's not only college kids, it's high school kids too. The habits I learn up until my last day as a senior, will be brought to college with me. All of the research projects I have ever done in high school have involved me just going on the internet and google my topic. Every now and then, my teacher tells us we have to use a book source, and that seems to freak everyone out. Our generation is based on technology; 15 years ago, instead of blogging, I would be writing in a journal or diary. This problem with being so connected to the internet has been a main factor for losing a lot of old habits. In elementary school, if I had to do a research project in Social Studies, I'd have to break out my encyclopedia's at home. Yes, I still have them! I know it's way easier to just type something and print it out, but it's so rewarding being able to open a book and actually find information no one else may have. College kids don't know how to research because in high school, it was okay to use search engines and websites like Wikipedia. Well news flash, these websites are not reliable. Wikipedia can be altered by anyone! I feel that if we were taught proper researching methods in middle school and high school, college students wouldn't be having this issue. Students can't be expected to know the proper way to research if we're not taught. Those computer classes we took in elementary school are not going to be beneficial enough to survive in college.

"Formspring Me!"

There's a website called Formspring that lets people ask others random questions. This may seem harmless, but it really is not. A girl named Alexis Pilkington committed suicide and police believe that it was connected to nasty comments she got on this website. Truthfully, I don't see the point of a formspring. Obviously the questions are going to be absurd if they are sent by anonymous people. It's exactly like honesty box on facebook. I had an honesty box for a while and I had weird questions asked. Like Honesty Box, Formspring is a place where you can vent your feelings about someone. These comments are usually very rude. I don't want to hear what people anonymously say about me; I'd rather have them say it to my face. If people are too scared to say something to someone's face, they really have no business to talk about them behind their back. Formspring is an example of cyber bullying. This is a website where you can't get caught for posting rude comments. It should be taken down because it can really lead to self-esteem issues or even cause suicide. The last thing a person wants to hear is awful comments about themselves. I believe if you have something to say, you say it to the person's back. Going to use a website to talk about someone because you’re too much of a baby to confront them is ridiculous. So I say that form spring is a "no-go."

BIG families

Yelling, the sounds of pots and pans banging together as my mom cooks, and the television blaring. Yes, this is the daily afternoon for me. I'm part of a pretty large family and let me tell you it gets loud. I do know other people with families of up to 10 kids and I'm amazed at how they deal with each other. With 5 other brothers and sisters, keeping my sanity is near to impossible. The things I've learned growing up in a clan of 6, is that it's always the youngest fault, you'll never get new clothes if you're not the oldest, and seniority rules. In ugly situations, I used to be the first one to point the finger at my little sister. I may have been the mastermind behind a couple of these events, but if I wasn't the one doing it, it wasn't my fault. The youngest- being my little sister Michaela- are always the easiest to trick. As we get older, I've noticed that the trickery has failed and I guess I'm not as scary as I used to be. Clothes on the other hand; they never get too old according to my mom. I think I wore the same shorts for about 4 years because they were still in good shape. My older sister Lauren was the lucky one. Being the oldest girl, she got the new clothes, then when she got too big they went to Katie, and being the lucky third child, I got them when she no longer needed them. Some of the clothes I have been handed down have been absolutely horrendous. My cousin gives me some clothes that look like they were worn in the 80's. In middle school, it was hard seeing all the other girls with brand name clothing, like Hollister, and I was still in the "GAP" stage. My mom didn't want to spoil us, so if we wanted new clothes we had to buy them ourselves. Let me see some company hire a 13 year old girl to their store so she could make money to buy clothes that would be out of style in less than a year. Well that didn't happen, so earning money included vacuuming, doing the dishes, cleaning the garage, and cleaning the bathrooms. With 7 other people in my house, let’s just say that the house wasn't always the cleanest. It was a good day if I found matching socks in the laundry. Due to my big family, I have learned to become a bargain shopper as I get older. Brand names don't mean anything if you still have good fashion taste. Old Navy is just as nice as Abercrombie and it costs a third of the price. I saw a 100$ winter jacket at Hollister once and I thought, "You wear this 1/4 of the year, what's the point of wasting that much money?" If I was part of a smaller family and had my mom pay for everything, I would be a spoiled brat. With big families come big rivalries. The oldest- who is my brother Jay-, thinks they have the power over all the rest of the kids. This was always a problem for me because I didn't, and still don't like to be bossed around. Whenever one of my siblings would tell me to do something, I really didn't have a choice. They were bigger and stronger than me, and if I wanted to live in peace, I did what they said. Maybe this is why I was such a grumpy kid. I hate to be told what to do, and my older siblings used that to their advantage. Despite my negativity, big families also results in a lot of trust. I know that any one of my siblings has my back at any point in my day. Whether I need a ride, or I need to borrow 5 bucks, they are always there for me. I know I can lean on anyone and being so close in age with my siblings, also means they know what I'm going through because they themselves are going through it or they have been through it. Older siblings also give examples as to what's right and wrong. Having a big family means there has been a lot of mistakes. I have watched my siblings do something wrong, involving school or something with my parents, and I have learned what I should do in situations. I love my big family, even if we are dysfunctional the majority of the times.

Dismissals.

So for high school, you have to get dismissed by a parent. This seems pretty logical to most people, but to me it's a little aggravating. Surrounding schools let their students leave for lunch and if they are 18 years old, they can dismiss themselves. I know that the administration is probably worried most kids will take advantage of this but I have an idea. I think if the student meets a certain criteria, like has a GPA of a 3.0, they should be able to have more freedom. I'm going off to college next year and I'm going to have a ton of freedom. I can skip class if I want( I dont plan on it) and not get in trouble, and I won't have to ask to go the bathroom from my professor. I know that Lexington lets their kids leave early for lunch because they don't have the accomodations at their school, and we do, but I still think we should have the choice. Our government is raised up on letting their citizens choose what they want to do, with the exceptions of minors. This little freedom like going out to lunch, lets the students know that their school trusts them. I think that if we are old enough to vote, serve our country, buy scratch tickets, and but cigarettes, we should be allowed to dismiss ourselves from school. If I'm not feeling well and can't get ahold of my mom, I'm stuck laying in the nurse's office, feeling too awkward to try to rest. Maybe it's just me, but I'd be embarrassed if some other student was walking by to go the bathroom and saw me passed out on one of the nurse's "beds." These little freedoms will connect us to the world we are about to enter after high school or college. I really wish BHS let us to dismiss ourselves, just like other schools are.

Highschool Forecast

At BHS we have crazy temperature jumps not only outside, but INSIDE our school. Take a trip to the history hall and you'll feel like your in florida, but head south to the science rooms and you'll need to grab a sweatshirt and mittens out of your locker. The temperature situation has been like this for a while. My brother graduated 5 years ago and I remember in the senior retro, they were making fun of the crazy temperatures in the school. We have a pretty old school; the pipes are old and some are even broken, but how does the weather change from hallway to hallway? I have to wear layers to school to figure out what it's going to be like. One minute i'm in astronomy wearing my winter hat, and the next minute i'm in history sweating. The array of temperatures makes it difficult to dress in the morning. I know last year that I had to run from gym to history and I would be sweating the rest of the day because the walk alone made me hot, but then I had to sit in a hot class for the next 45 minutes. I know we aren't the richest school in the area- especially with all the money we just used for our new football field, but i think we should at least have a constant weather temperature throughout the day. Maybe that's what makes our school different from the rest, but I would prefer to be like everyone else and know what the weather's going to be like in school during the winter and spring seasons.

The Death March

We live in a pretty cold part of America during the winter if you want my opinion. In the winter, I get up in the morning throw on sweatpants, my uggs, and a sweatshirt and pray I'll be warm enough for the frigid temperatures outside. When it comes to the weather, I am the biggest baby. I hate the cold and complain about it all the time. Every morning when I get to school, I park my car and get ready to make that long walk into the high school. Yeah it wasn't bad in nice 80 degree weather, but as the temperature has dropped, so has my will to make the walk. I know that everyone has complained about our walkway to the highschool, but i'm here to backup my statements. I come prepared everyday with a winter hat and and ice scraper in the back of my car, but it's not enough. When that freezing wind rips through my jeans, all i want to do is run back into my car. I think teachers and students should switch parking lots for a day to realize the everyday struggle we have. I don't even bother to dress up anymore because I know once I step out of my car, my legs will freeze because I'm wearing a skirt. Teachers may actually realize the pain we are put through everyday. I'm not allowed to leave my house if my hair is somewhat wet because I know that it will become crystallized on my walk in. Teachers say that what students wear shouldn't matter, but what if it was them? What if they had to dress like a scrub everyday because they didn't want to risk getting the flu? Not only is the walk long buts it's really dangerous in the snowy weather. When we get ice on the ground, the student population risks embarrassment if they fall. My friend last year slipped on ice walking to the stairs and really hurt her ankle. The stairs are a dangerous place. It's like that scene from Home Alone when the burglar is struggling up the icy stairs. We grab onto the railing for dear life and hope for the best. If someone just slipped, we could be looking at a concussion or broken bone. When it is icy, don't even think to walk up next to the stairs unless you want your boots or shoes to get snowy and wet and have numb feet for the next five hours. All in all, the student's walk to the high school everyday is a trek that separates the weak from the strong. I'm weak and would appreciate a closer walk...or heated boots.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

So it's close to winter and I have already gotten pretty sick. I had to stay home two days last week because of a viral infection and now to top it off I have a bad cough. I'm not blaming it on New England's weather but seriously this is why I want to move to the south! People are saying this winter is going to be mild, but for me mild is 75 degrees and sunny! Even though I've lived in New England for all of my life, I swear I was meant to live in the tropical islands. This weather not only messes with my immune system, but weirdly enough, my sleeping patterns are so off. I feel like a bear and I should be hibernating! My mom wakes me up every morning because I'm incapable of waking myself up and I've noticed as the weather has gotten colder, I've been sleeping later. At the beginning of the school year, I would wake up around 610; now that its 50 degrees out, I'm sleeping until at least 6:30. I know it has nothing to do with me staying up late because I went to bed last night at 10 pm and woke up at 6:25. Yes that's still early, but being a girl, I need to straighten my hair, do my makeup, find an outfit, and pick up one of my friends all before the bell rings at 7:30! Maybe I'm just getting lazy but HOW am I supposed to get up every morning in the winter!? Maybe it's me but I can't wait until spring and I can feel my toes again.

I Know What You Did Last Weekend.

Today in class we were googling people we know. I found it SO weird that I could find any information I wanted about someone on the internet. I googled myself and all of the articles for my sports came up. Even my old myspace account came up! When I googled my cell phone number, it brought me to my facebook page where I wrote my cell phone number on someone's wall! I also searched my friend Kristin and all her information came up. Its creepy to know that anyone can access my information on the internet. It makes me aware of what I should and shouldn't put up. With college searches going on now, colleges can see what I've been up to and they can go on my facebook to see what I've written. Getting denied from a college because of some bad comments on my facebook is not on my "To Do" List. This exercise in class has got me realizing that what I might think is private on the internet really isn't. So be aware what you put on the internet!

Basketball 2011 Edition.

So I have been playing basketball since I was in second grade or so, and this year I don't think i'm going to try out for the team. I keep getting yelled at by my friends to play because we're getting a new coach, but they don't get it. The coach wasn't the reason I quit, I really don't like the sport anymore. My friends want me to play because it's my senior year but i don't know what to do. My choices are be with my friends and be miserable or join track and try something new. My uncle told me that I should do whatever I want but i shouldn't regret it. I think I am too stubborn to go back to basketball because I already told people I was quitting. This decision is really hard and I only have a few more weeks to decide my fate of becoming a trackie or ball for one more year.

RSA Animate Video- Ken Robinson

In the video we watched yesterday, I found out that kindergartners could find 100 ways to play with a paperclip, while older people have a hard time figuring out more than 10 ways. The public education system has seemed to stop expanding our creative minds, but just focusing on getting us to graduate. Our creativity is what shapes us, and as we get older, we are losing our creative ideas because of school systems. The video showed me that we need to focus on what we love. In twenty years, if your doing something you hate, who can you blame it on?

Helpful Links

Today in class we were looking up helpful links and new blogs. I found another blogging website called Weebly. Like blogger, it is also free and you can design it to your liking. Also what I learned is that it doesn't do pop ups, so there is no advertising. Another website I found was Dolnk. It helps you make animations to make your blog more interesting. The last website I found was called Zoho. It is more focused on businesses and helps organize events and projects. It almost seems to act like an email account. These may be helpful to me in the near future. If you have any more helpful web sites let me know!

Bullying at BHS

Severe bullying is almost non-existent at BHS. Yes, there are those kids who make rude remarks, but I wouldn't consider that bullying. The most bullying I see is from people making fun of their friends. Yes, this could effect the person's self esteem, but they should be able to tell their friends to stop. Most bullying comes from girls in my opinion. From "stealing boyfriends," to "going behind backs," girls are BRUTAL when it comes to bullying. We blame it on being too emotional, but I think that girls know when they've crossed the line, and still do it. Teachers and administration are not the only ones to blame in not stopping bullying. Students are also at fault. Truthfully, if I saw someone being bullied, I don't know what I'd do. Yes, just to make myself feel better, I would say I'd stop it...but would i really? I think students need to start helping eachother and the bullying may be put to rest.

Get a Voki now!

College Applications.

I am applying to colleges this month and it is just rediculous! To apply to my colleges I have to do a common application. If the school I'm interested in doesn't have a common app, I have to do their own application! Let it be known that only 1 of my 8 schools does the common app. That means I have to fill out 8 different applications! Yes, I am complaining and I know all seniors have to do this but WHY does this process have to be so long and difficult? Why do schools need to know where your parents and siblings went to school? They're not applying to the school! I get that they need extra curricular activites and volunteering bits, but why should I have to fill the same application out 8 different times?! I think all schools should do the common app. It would make my life so much easier. Also, my friend Sam has to sign up for financial aid. She was telling me that she can't apply for it until January even though she is doing early action. Why is it that we have to wait to apply for it? It's just a hassle and I am getting so stressed trying to do all my homework, get my recommendations, activites list, and applications done. I wish applying for a college was so much easier, but I guess this is the burden I must bear for now.

News that grinds my gears

Alright, so everyday at 5 o'clock, the news comes on. I do watch it a lot because I like keeping up with the current news around the world. Truthfully, some of the news stories REALLY grind my gears. It bothers me so much that I am not hearing about the current war or international issues but instead get to listen to how a cat was saved after an electrical storm. I think news stations waste their time talking about stories that are not very beneficial to our country. I would rather be hearing about our current situations in Iraq and Afghanistan than people that got into a car accident on route three. Yes, I understand that it is sad and important to the family, but I do believe their are more important things going on out in the world. The government shields the media and only tells us what we want to hear and that is not very good. I want to know all the facts, good or bad. It isn't helping America when we are lied to and not know about what is going on around the world. During the Vietnam War, we weren't showed pictures of the innocent people we were killing Southeast Asia, but rather the media showed pictures of the United States Army doing good things like destroying enemy bases. This is still happening today! Half the things happening in Iraq are not told in the media and it leads to bad images of the opposing country. Yes, there are bad people, but there are still innocent people in Iraq that are still seen as enemies because of where they live. I believe that media outlets should tell the hard cold truth, whether we will like it or not.

Top 10 Things I Learned in Highschool

Coming in as a freshman, I was nervous about highschool. Throughout the four years I have been here, I have learned a lot and hopefully this list will help upcoming freshman!

1.) There is no third floor or pool at BHS.

2.) Despite what people say, our school lunches are actually good! (I still don't know about the hotdogs)

3.) Dismissals are NOT like middle school; you can just leave once you get the pass. WAY more lenient!

4.) Sports do help you make friends! One of my best friends was met through softball

5.) Don't care what people think how you look or act like.

6.) Technically you don't need a pass to walk the halls. The "crazy hall monitors" idea is fake, I have never
been yelled at or even asked for a pass

7.) The librarian is protective over her books and "home" don't mess with her

8.) Skipping= ISS. don't be dumb!

9.) Low grades freshman and sophomore year will get you when your applying to colleges TRUST ME.

10.) Everyone goes to the football games and dances. They are not lame so go!

High school is awesome and if I knew these ten things as a freshman, it would have been even better. So I am here to let the freshman know that high school is not scary and is the best time of our lives!

How to attract people to blogs

Having people follow your blog is easier said than done. I have been researching the internet and have been trying to find ways to have people join my blog. I came across a website that gave me three ideas on how to get followers. The first idea was that you need to be active on the internet and comment on other blogs and eventually others will follow you. Another idea is to label pictures with Alt text. Doing this will link you to that picture, so when someone tries to find that picture on the internet, it can be linked to your blog. The third way is to connect to YouTube. Since so many people go on youtube, it will help you gain followers. Other ways to have followers is promote your blog on facebook or twitter. Your friends can see it and tell others to look at it. These ideas could have you going from 5 followers to 50.

Halloween

Okay, so I have gone trick or treating since I was a baby. When I was in ninth grade, my mom told me I wasn't allowed to go anymore. I get where she's coming from because she doesn't want me to get in trouble, but seriously...FREE CANDY. Halloween is my favorite holiday besides christmas...obviously I like getting presents. Having my mom tell me I was too old to dress up and go door to door and get candy was really depressing. Halloween connects me to old memories and having my mom say I wasn't allowed to go was like ripping away my freedom and rights! I still like trick-or-treating because it reminds me of the times when I was younger and was only allowed to go through my neighborhood. Even though my mom is right( I'm a little old to go out), I still like reminiscing about past times and how much I have grown. This year I will probably go around with my sister...unless she goes to another neighborhood :( It's time to let go of my favorite past time.

What students think of when bored in class

When has a student ever not been bored in a class? If you're thinking to yourself, "Oh, I'm always interested in class discussions," YOU ARE LYING. Seriously though. I do get distracted easily and I am going to tell you the top ten things I think of while daydreaming in class.
1. Do I have any texts? ...probably from my mom.
2. What am I doing after school?
3. I wish it was summer
4. What am I going to eat for lunch?
5. Looking at what everyone else is wearing
6. What's the weather like?
7. Why didn't my friend say hi to me when I walked by ?
8. I wish I was home sleeping
9. Sporting events
10. What am I doing tomorrow?

At one point I think everyone has thought of at least one of these...If you know any more i missed let me know!

Rutger's student committed suicide due to facebook video!

I read this article about the Rutger's boy that committed suicide and it was so sad! His roommate had no right to video him and his "friend" and he really should face the consequences. Not only did he video it, he posted it on facebook! Facebook is supposed to be used as a way to connect with friends and family, not post unnecessary videos or comments. I think facebook should not allow any videos that show any inappropriate content. They should monitor what they allow people to upload. As for using facebook in school; I believe it is not needed. The only time I go on my facebook, is to check notifications or friend requests. Kids do not need ANOTHER distraction in school (Our attention spans are short enough!). College students should be mature enough and not post things that will get them in trouble. I blame the idea that facebook allows you to do whatever you want on your own terms. Facebook is a privilege not a right, and in this case, we learned that the hard way.

Students+cell phones= ?

What is the method behind using cell phones in class? Yes, it might be easier to text a survey answer back to your teacher, but what other use can a cell phone be in class. In my english class, my teacher makes us put our phones on the wall in pockets so we don't get distracted in class. Yes, I admit, I have texted in class, so not having my cell phone on me in English is annoying. My teacher is smart because she knows no one will get distracted in class and that is really good. Cell phones could have a purpose for being used as calculators or going on the internet. But since there are so many other gateways to contacting others, cell phones are not necessary in school. Cell phones should be turned off before school or left at home. Unless you have crazy parents that need to know your whereabouts at every second, there is no point for cell phones in school. Your friends are already there and if there is something important to tell them, find them in the hall or wait until you see them at lunch!

 http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2010/09/should-students-be-allowed-to-use-cell-phones-on-all-assignments-and-assessments.html

My Best Friend Raghav

My friend Raghav has been bothering me to blog about him. He has asked me about a million times to mention his name in his blog, but I haven't and he has been getting really aggravated. So today, I am blogging about Raghav Tanna. He is a senior and quite the nuisance. My nickname for him is Rig Ragz. He hates it, but it has become suprisingly popular- our english teacher even calls him that! He plays tennis, but he's not that good. He told me if i blog about him he'll go to my field hockey game. Well today is the day Raghav will attend his first game. Even though he has no idea how to understand the game, we had a deal and he is GOING! Alrighty, well it's been real, but I have to go. Hopefully you know a little more about my best friend!
Thanks,
Jillian

Skyping in School

I really think we should try and skype in the high school. I believe that if we got to see and talk to other students from across the country, it would be really helpful. Yes of course twitter and blogging connect us, but I don't get that personal feeling when I'm talking to a computer. Obviously we would have to monitor who students are skyping, but I believe we would be able to do it. The kids in Iowa we are currently talking to might feel the same way and I really think we could exchange more ideas and learn more about eachother if we could skype! Just an idea and maybe a possibility in the near future?

New Blog Found!

Since I am really interested in history, i found a teacher's blog on some of our government's history. This blog also includes powerpoints that are helpful on World War 1 and 2, America before WW2 and the Progressive Era. This blog will be really helpful in case i want to pursue my history education in college. Check it out!  History Blog

School for Hackers

The article, School For Hackers describes how important it is for kids to be able to build things and not just sit in a desk for 6 hours. At my school, you can take art classes that work with pottery and clay, but it is not mandatory. I think if we did more building activities, more kids would want to be involved. For younger kids, they can get distracted easy, so sitting in a desk is a hassle. Kids would be more well-rounded if they got the opportunity to think outside the box and create things no one else has thought of. Even though we want students to be scholars, there is more to life than just reading a book. I think schools should take time out of the school day to let the kids express their ideas and expand their creative thinking.

My PLN

In my Personal Learning Network, I want information about sports, including the three I play; softball, field hockey, and track. I am going to be a first year track athlete, so i need all the information I could get on track. The PLN helps you use websites to find useful information to help you and your interests. I am also really interested in History, so my PLN would help me find Historical information i may find interesting. The PLN really would help me navigate the internet easier and i would suggest using it.

Field Hockey!

We won our first field hockey game last week! We beat Melrose 5-0 for the first time in four years. Last year we tied Wakefield, but we did not have any wins. It felt so good to finally win and hopefully we'll have more wins soon!

Emerging Ed Tech

The website EmergingEdTech seems really helpful for students just learning about blogs and the internet. It also gives you tips on how to keep your personal and worklife separate. Who would want to go into a job interview with a bad reputation just because someone wrote something bad on their facebook page? The website seems helpful for kids just getting out of highschool or college that are looking for a job. IT can help a person seem more professional and serious about their job. You should read it if you already haven't. http://www.emergingedtech.com/

I am a new blogger and have no idea what i'm doing so please bear with me. This class has helped me conquer the internet and i am still learning. Thanks for visiting this blog!