As most of us know, measles seem to be all over our nation's news. The latest case, outbreak, and possible movement of this virus are closely monitored and immediately put on our televisions. The fact that this topic in the USA started in everyone's favorite theme park can cause the average American to panic when seeing kids get those red spots on their faces. The virus is spreading in our nation, but how serious can it get?
Compared to other countries, the current status is just a dot next to a circle. According to Disneyland measles outbreak continues to spread, 57,000 cases were found in the Philippines compared to less than one hundred here within two months. In addition, measles are not as life threatening as the news displays it. "Measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and sore throat, and is followed by a rash that spreads all over the body. About three out of 10 people who get measles will develop one or more complications including pneumonia, ear infections, or diarrhea. Complications are more common in adults and young children," according to the CDC website. Measles can be controlled. Several vaccines and shots have been made to treat the virus. The numbers are just large in other countries because of a weaker infrastructure compared to the USA. The USA has controlled the virus in the past and can do it again.
Measles is not the next ebola. Compared to the devastation ebola has caused, this is nothing. According to the CDC, only one out of one thousand people will actually die from measles. There are not even a thousand people in the USA with measles. The chances of getting measles is extremely low with today's vaccines and the chance of this creating a national disaster is even lower.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Local News
From what I heard from one of my teachers, local news is apparently completely trash. This surprised me since I always thought news was important. Because of this opinion, I decided to watch the local CBS news at 6:30 with my dad for a week. My results surprised me as all I could say was "this is local news?" The average news was a small event happening to some rich and social looking family, cute animals, "Seaworld," Bill Cosby, and local sports. The occasional "breaking news" did put some action into the broadcast but I didn't really see it as "breaking" since reporters seem to already have a detailed story on it. A car crash or chase was the only action that seemed to close the gap in the circus of stories in local news. The news pretty much has every genre of movies but condensed into short stories. Local news is meant for the entertainment of the average viewer, not to give consistent information of major events.
Among my "favorite" stories are "couple has star wars themed wedding," "woman's new car burns up in flames shortly after returning home from the dealership," "more than a hundred people wait in front of an unopened Chick-fil-A for free chicken," and "cat stays stuck underneath a moving car for ten miles before found." Stories like these have no real purpose for the average person watching the news. I even had a hard time believing this was news at several times. Everyday I began to laugh at the ridiculously exaggerated stories the news presented. As a hard working high school student, I can't imagine that I would grow up to enjoy useless stories like these as an adult.
Not all of the news was trash though. The occasional stories that could relate to me, such as a school lock down, did catch my attention. I'm not saying that local news is just the "Anchorman" in 30 minutes, but maybe just a significantly less extreme version of it. I'm not sure if it was just my age, school, or what my teacher said that caused this, but all I know is, I would rather watch national news.
Among my "favorite" stories are "couple has star wars themed wedding," "woman's new car burns up in flames shortly after returning home from the dealership," "more than a hundred people wait in front of an unopened Chick-fil-A for free chicken," and "cat stays stuck underneath a moving car for ten miles before found." Stories like these have no real purpose for the average person watching the news. I even had a hard time believing this was news at several times. Everyday I began to laugh at the ridiculously exaggerated stories the news presented. As a hard working high school student, I can't imagine that I would grow up to enjoy useless stories like these as an adult.
Not all of the news was trash though. The occasional stories that could relate to me, such as a school lock down, did catch my attention. I'm not saying that local news is just the "Anchorman" in 30 minutes, but maybe just a significantly less extreme version of it. I'm not sure if it was just my age, school, or what my teacher said that caused this, but all I know is, I would rather watch national news.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Traditional or Year-Round?
I'm sure we all love our three-month long breaks in the summer. Who wouldn't want not having to worry about procrastination for three months? However, do we actually need three months to recover? I bet you're probably wishing that this break would last a little longer. I, for one, feel like I need more time to sleep for next week. Students need that extra two weeks during winter and spring breaks instead of summer breaks to not feel burned out in the middle of the year. Because of this, I think that the year-round school calendar will be more beneficial to high school students and should not be removed from the district.
The winter and spring breaks are crucial points in a high school student's year. The semester is about to end and finals are coming. Much pressure builds up for a typical student at these times of the year and the breaks are important ways to relieve it. However, two weeks may not be enough to gain all of the sleep lost from the previous months. Without enough time to recover, a student can crash in the most important weeks in the year. The year-round schedule provided a month off for these two breaks, compared to two weeks in the traditional calendar. The balance would be only one month off in summer for the year round calendar. The year round calendar would be much more beneficial to high schools because students would have enough rest during breaks and not lose as much information during the three-month long summer break.
In a recent decision, the school district decided to remove the year-round calendar from SDUSD schools. Many elementary schools will be forced to switch over to the traditional calendar in the next school year. In my opinion, the year-round calendar should of at least been tested on high schools before being scrapped. Balanced breaks would have created a more positive attitude for all of the students that need rest. The three-month summer breaks always did seem to long for me and I would gladly use some of it now if I could.
The winter and spring breaks are crucial points in a high school student's year. The semester is about to end and finals are coming. Much pressure builds up for a typical student at these times of the year and the breaks are important ways to relieve it. However, two weeks may not be enough to gain all of the sleep lost from the previous months. Without enough time to recover, a student can crash in the most important weeks in the year. The year-round schedule provided a month off for these two breaks, compared to two weeks in the traditional calendar. The balance would be only one month off in summer for the year round calendar. The year round calendar would be much more beneficial to high schools because students would have enough rest during breaks and not lose as much information during the three-month long summer break.
In a recent decision, the school district decided to remove the year-round calendar from SDUSD schools. Many elementary schools will be forced to switch over to the traditional calendar in the next school year. In my opinion, the year-round calendar should of at least been tested on high schools before being scrapped. Balanced breaks would have created a more positive attitude for all of the students that need rest. The three-month summer breaks always did seem to long for me and I would gladly use some of it now if I could.
Monday, December 15, 2014
The Future of Students
All students procrastinate. I'm sure we all can acknowledge this fact in our generation. Most of us can admit that we done homework at 11:00, 12:00, and sometimes even pass 1:00 at night. This trend continues to grow and grow until we find ourselves doing this almost everyday. Other than extra curricular activities, technology is obviously one of the factors keeping us up all night. From social media to video games to just simple TV, technology occupies our time and continues to occupy even more time each time the latest iphone comes out. However, what will happen to homework when technology completely takes over a student's night?
The definition of procrastination is different for each student. The time homework is started is different for all students. What isn't different is how each student will probably do something relaxing before starting homework to relieve stress. This activity can involve technology. Often the time used for this activity is more than the student planned. As stress builds up throughout the year, students may want to spend more time "relieving stress," which means spending more time playing on a tablet. This can lead to procrastination, but the grip of technology is what really causes the trend. New products and trends force students to waste time and build a tolerance for little sleep each night. Little sleep means not so good grades. An effective way to end this trend would to cut technology completely out of the process but this would cause several students to go crazy. Time management could be an option, but are all students capable of going through the technology withdrawal?
In theory, technology will cause students to procrastinate even more by creating more distractions. Technology will just get better and more time consuming. Students will have even less time to sleep and grades will drop. Education will suffer if students do not learn how to avoid wasting time. If our parents were able to sleep at around 8:00 and our generation at 11:00 or 12:00, what time will the next generations sleep at. If we can't properly manage out time as students, how will the future of our generation and future generations turn out?
The definition of procrastination is different for each student. The time homework is started is different for all students. What isn't different is how each student will probably do something relaxing before starting homework to relieve stress. This activity can involve technology. Often the time used for this activity is more than the student planned. As stress builds up throughout the year, students may want to spend more time "relieving stress," which means spending more time playing on a tablet. This can lead to procrastination, but the grip of technology is what really causes the trend. New products and trends force students to waste time and build a tolerance for little sleep each night. Little sleep means not so good grades. An effective way to end this trend would to cut technology completely out of the process but this would cause several students to go crazy. Time management could be an option, but are all students capable of going through the technology withdrawal?
In theory, technology will cause students to procrastinate even more by creating more distractions. Technology will just get better and more time consuming. Students will have even less time to sleep and grades will drop. Education will suffer if students do not learn how to avoid wasting time. If our parents were able to sleep at around 8:00 and our generation at 11:00 or 12:00, what time will the next generations sleep at. If we can't properly manage out time as students, how will the future of our generation and future generations turn out?
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Old School vs New School
Have you ever noticed how the little tools you use for writing slowly change as you go up each level in school? I'm not talking about the change from crayon to pencil to pen. I'm just talking about the pencil.
When you hear the word, pencil, you're probably thinking about a mechanical one since pretty much everyone uses a mechanical one. However, why do you use a mechanical one instead of a classic wooden one? Sure, there are several valid arguments that put the mechanical on top but what was your first reason for switching over? Was it the cool look it has? Or that clicking feature everyone loves? Or was it a friend showing it off? Despite all of our opinions and answers, I'm sure we all can agree that mechanical pencils took over quickly and quietly. There weren't any big announcements or debates. One day we had a wooden one. The next, we had a mechanical one. We didn't think twice about our decision. We kept it since almost everyone made the same one.
In our generation, we are probably assuming that wooden pencils are going to disappear since technology is quickly taking over. Who needs to write when we could just type? In reality wooden pencils are still alive and are actually still growing in sales. According to the article, "Pencils Survive and Sales Thrive, Even in a Digital Age," more people are buying wooden pencils than in previous years. Wooden pencils didn't disappear. We just hid them. One reason we use mechanical pencils is to fit in. But fitting does not give you the memories you had as first grader. I still use a wooden pencil for the nostalgia. I feel like I'm still connected with my years in elementary school every time I hold a wooden pencil. I would rather carry five wooden ones than one mechanical one everyday just to have that feeling. I do use mechanical pencils, but it doesn't feel the same as wooden pencils. With this being said, would you switch over to using a wooden pencil again if you don't already use one or would you continue using those new mechanical pencils?
When you hear the word, pencil, you're probably thinking about a mechanical one since pretty much everyone uses a mechanical one. However, why do you use a mechanical one instead of a classic wooden one? Sure, there are several valid arguments that put the mechanical on top but what was your first reason for switching over? Was it the cool look it has? Or that clicking feature everyone loves? Or was it a friend showing it off? Despite all of our opinions and answers, I'm sure we all can agree that mechanical pencils took over quickly and quietly. There weren't any big announcements or debates. One day we had a wooden one. The next, we had a mechanical one. We didn't think twice about our decision. We kept it since almost everyone made the same one.
In our generation, we are probably assuming that wooden pencils are going to disappear since technology is quickly taking over. Who needs to write when we could just type? In reality wooden pencils are still alive and are actually still growing in sales. According to the article, "Pencils Survive and Sales Thrive, Even in a Digital Age," more people are buying wooden pencils than in previous years. Wooden pencils didn't disappear. We just hid them. One reason we use mechanical pencils is to fit in. But fitting does not give you the memories you had as first grader. I still use a wooden pencil for the nostalgia. I feel like I'm still connected with my years in elementary school every time I hold a wooden pencil. I would rather carry five wooden ones than one mechanical one everyday just to have that feeling. I do use mechanical pencils, but it doesn't feel the same as wooden pencils. With this being said, would you switch over to using a wooden pencil again if you don't already use one or would you continue using those new mechanical pencils?
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Schools Need Uniforms
In our generation, bullying is a major issue, especially in school. Students are constantly judged on little details about themselves. One of these details is how students dress themselves. People instantly make assumptions of people they never meant based on how the person looks. Most of the time, theses assumptions are negative. Judgments like this occur in schools. Kids can make fun of another kid's shirt, shoes, pants, and basically anything that makes that student stand out. This bullying needs to stop and there is only ONE solution to this. That solution is a strict uniform policy.
Uniforms will stop diversity in clothes in schools and create a better environment for students. Students will not be able to judge others instantly and will be forced to interact with others before avoiding them. These interactions can give all students a better chance of making friends since clothes is no longer an issue. Students will be more unified and will be able to cooperate with others more efficiently. In addition, students will be more disciplined and can focus more on their education. Test scores will rise over time with the elimination of the distraction of diversity in clothes. A stable and judgment-free environment will eventually be created. This will give schools a better public picture and boost the excitement students have for schools.
To ensure schools remain stable, the uniform policy must strongly be enforced. Students will wear their uniforms on all five days of the school week. Uniforms should also be completely white. Any slight piece of color may cause students to disapprove of the uniform by simply saying "I don't like that color." This can cause the return of judgments and instability to that school. Students will target that student for having different ideas. Also, accessories should not be allowed in schools. A little colorful bracelet can cause students to question the dress code and go against school policies. This will damage the productivity of schools. Because of this, students should have only the exact school uniform on while in school without any deviation, including backpacks. Suspensions should also be enforced if these problems become frequent.
These simple ideas will cause a better learning experience for all students. Bullying will slowly disappear, students will have more friends, and test scores will greatly rise. In time these students who went through this program will lead our country and put America onto a better path because of a better school experience.
Uniforms will stop diversity in clothes in schools and create a better environment for students. Students will not be able to judge others instantly and will be forced to interact with others before avoiding them. These interactions can give all students a better chance of making friends since clothes is no longer an issue. Students will be more unified and will be able to cooperate with others more efficiently. In addition, students will be more disciplined and can focus more on their education. Test scores will rise over time with the elimination of the distraction of diversity in clothes. A stable and judgment-free environment will eventually be created. This will give schools a better public picture and boost the excitement students have for schools.
To ensure schools remain stable, the uniform policy must strongly be enforced. Students will wear their uniforms on all five days of the school week. Uniforms should also be completely white. Any slight piece of color may cause students to disapprove of the uniform by simply saying "I don't like that color." This can cause the return of judgments and instability to that school. Students will target that student for having different ideas. Also, accessories should not be allowed in schools. A little colorful bracelet can cause students to question the dress code and go against school policies. This will damage the productivity of schools. Because of this, students should have only the exact school uniform on while in school without any deviation, including backpacks. Suspensions should also be enforced if these problems become frequent.
These simple ideas will cause a better learning experience for all students. Bullying will slowly disappear, students will have more friends, and test scores will greatly rise. In time these students who went through this program will lead our country and put America onto a better path because of a better school experience.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Schools, Safety, and Natural Disasters
Today, natural disasters are becoming more intense. Fires are more common. Floods are wiping out more land. Even earthquakes are expected to have a larger impact on humans today than those a thousand years ago. More people means a bigger disaster. Global Warming will continue to intensify these problems if change doesn't occur. The massive temperature changes caused by Global Warming will cause environments to become unstable, which will lead to the creation of natural disasters. Since a big enough change is unlikely to happen soon, proper preparations should be made for the inescapable. The schools of today are not safe enough for these natural disasters.
The recent earthquake drill is a perfect example. Several students were hiding at uncomfortable spots in classrooms that provided little protection from an actual earthquake. If something were to actually fall from the ceiling, the object would simply hit the student's desk, causing the desk to tip over with great force onto the student, and cause the student to receive large injuries. The point of hiding underneath the desk is to lessen the chance of being injured from a falling object, but in reality, the desk doesn't provide enough protection. The only solution to this problem is a complete change to the layout of schools.
Desks will be the first to change. The average students desk should be made out of only steel. Steel is a hard and strong metal alloy that will provide much more protection than the flimsy wooden desks. The ideal shape of the desk would be a complete box with one side cut out for leg space or the student's body if an emergency were to happen. All windows should also be eliminated to avoid injuries from shattered glass. The average classroom would become a concrete dome with only one air-tight door to ensure maximum protection. Tornadoes would not penetrate the building, fires will not go through the walls, and floods will not breach through. All plants should be taken out of schools to completely prevent the chance of a fire spreading.
These ideas may seem extreme on a school's budget, but governments can reduce spending on major projects such as wars. According to the article "World Military Spending," the estimated spending of the world on military purposes in 2012 was 1.756 trillion dollars. This money could have easily funded this plan if our governments would cooperate in peace. There should be no money limit for the safety of our future leaders. Other than this money issue, there is no other problem that I can imagine with this extremely beneficial plan.
The recent earthquake drill is a perfect example. Several students were hiding at uncomfortable spots in classrooms that provided little protection from an actual earthquake. If something were to actually fall from the ceiling, the object would simply hit the student's desk, causing the desk to tip over with great force onto the student, and cause the student to receive large injuries. The point of hiding underneath the desk is to lessen the chance of being injured from a falling object, but in reality, the desk doesn't provide enough protection. The only solution to this problem is a complete change to the layout of schools.
Desks will be the first to change. The average students desk should be made out of only steel. Steel is a hard and strong metal alloy that will provide much more protection than the flimsy wooden desks. The ideal shape of the desk would be a complete box with one side cut out for leg space or the student's body if an emergency were to happen. All windows should also be eliminated to avoid injuries from shattered glass. The average classroom would become a concrete dome with only one air-tight door to ensure maximum protection. Tornadoes would not penetrate the building, fires will not go through the walls, and floods will not breach through. All plants should be taken out of schools to completely prevent the chance of a fire spreading.
These ideas may seem extreme on a school's budget, but governments can reduce spending on major projects such as wars. According to the article "World Military Spending," the estimated spending of the world on military purposes in 2012 was 1.756 trillion dollars. This money could have easily funded this plan if our governments would cooperate in peace. There should be no money limit for the safety of our future leaders. Other than this money issue, there is no other problem that I can imagine with this extremely beneficial plan.
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