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!