Brainstorming Ideas - Service Learning Plan

1) We planned on gathering information about a place
2) Interview some people to get a jist of how it works
3) Ask permission for pictures, if not we can obtain them online
4) Poster vs. Website - Website in favor
5) Add the information and publicize it (such as facebook, twitter)

3 Ideas - Dosomething.org

Our three ideas for our project intially were to volunteer at rec centers, to hand out fliers to parents with children, and to make poster boards to display around the school to inform students about recreational centers located near them to give them something to do during the summer.

Quote Choice

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of humanity"

To me, this quote means that a person has not started fully understanding life until they can put their problems aside and try to make a difference. Sometimes being selfish gets you no where.

How Much Oil Has Leaked Into The Gulf?

What I don't understand is how does BP not know how much oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico? According to this article, oil has reached the ocean floor on April 22nd. 5,000 barrels a day is estimated to be the amount of oil spilling into the gulf, which happens to be 210,000 gallons. It's said that the rate of the oil can go up. As of May 6th, there were 3,000,000 gallons of oil that have leaked into the Gulf. That's insane. Imagine all of the animals that have to suffer through this. I can't even begin to fathom why nothing is being done.

Be The Change You Want To See In The World

To me, this quote means that the world depends on you as a person. The only way to ratify things is to live in that mindset. In other words, the only way to change things is if you are already that way or if you change yourself.

Bread Art

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." -Martin Luther King Jr.

In other words, a person has not started fully living until they can learn to be unselfish in the world and care for humanity. 

In response to Magnet Schools

Arlene Ackerman... what a mess. I haven't been too fond of her since the first day she started to be honest. Ackerman says that there is not enough diversity in schools... obviously she is completely oblivious - either that or she's just that damn dumb. Has Ackerman been in our schools? Every school I have seen so far has been completely diverse. I don't believe in race anyway! 

A draft? So we're going to draft people into schools now? That is going to threaten the academic balance of magnet schools in many ways. A minimum point system of 1000 - 600 for grades, 200 for behavior. This is just like affirmative action... suppose a student is passionate  about being accepted to Central but is Hispanic (suppose Hispanics make up 60% of Central), and has the grades. However, a Caucasian person (suppose Caucasians make up 10% of Central), who does not have the grades, applies to Central. The white person gets accepted because of a lack of diversity, and the smart Hispanic who cares about school gets stuck in a horrible neighborhood school. That's not fair.

I fear for the future of this generation... I really do.

In Response to The No Child Left Behind article

Barack Obama: Under these guidelines, schools that achieve excellence or show real progress will be rewarded, and local districts will be encouraged to commit to change in schools that are clearly letting their students down.

Local districts will be encouraged to commit to change in schools that are clearly letting their students down? How are staff members in certain districts letting their students down? This is such a biased and broad statement, to say the least. I understand thousands of students cannot make the 2014 deadline of being proficient in math and reading, but did the government honestly expect them to?

Consider the circumstances that some students come from -- every student's background and home life is different. There are students who come from backgrounds where they are taught to not care about school... a policy known as No Child Left Behind will not fix this. There are always going to be people that just do not care, regardless of how many opportunities that are laid out in front of them. 

For Barack Obama to basically persecute the teachers is completely ridiculous. There are wonderful teachers all over that are placed in neighborhood schools with students that just do not care. Though the teachers try their hardest... when it comes down to it, it is not a one-way relationship.

Ms. ANNE BRYANT (Executive Director, National School Boards Association): We really do know how to turn around schools. It's hard, it's complex, and it has a lot do to with professional development and changing strategies of teaching. But there just is no evidence that changing the staffing, necessarily, leads to greater student achievement.

Of course. How does changing around the school and possibly replacing staff members lead to greater student achievement if the students are not putting forth any effort whatsoever to do anything?

Whether America has the No Child Left Behind law or not, there will always be those who do not feel like participating.

In response to the Stand With Haiti video

What I fail to understand is why exactly does it take 2-3 days to even consider looking at a patient's wounds and providing them the aid that they deserved 16 DAYS AGO? From what I have been following, apparently all of this aid is being sent over to Haiti, yet with every video I watch... nothing. Absolutely nothing. All I see are a bunch of wounded people that have to WAIT and HOPE for medical treatment. It was mentioned in the video that many wait for spinal cord surgeries, just surgeries in general. If someone were to be told to wait in America for a surgery that was needed.. well of course that would be completely unheard of -- so why is it any different in Haiti? Those people are suffering. On the news this morning I saw people clawing at gates, desperate for just a bag of rice. With all the money and the food that is being provided to those people.. how come they aren't seeing any of it? Something just doesn't seem right to me. There are people laying there without limbs, probably in a great deal of pain, yet nothing seems to be done about it.

this year thus far

This school year in a nutshell has been stressful. I've been lacking motivation and have not worked up to my full potential. I've been cutting my grades close, procrastinating, & shirking all of my responsibilities for activities that I felt benefitted me at the time. It wasn't until mid-second semester did I realize that college is in 2 years and I'm running out of time. It was either now or never to shape up. 

This new semester, my plans are completely different. Without coming off arrogant at all, I know I'm an intelligent person whose capable of anything if I put my mind to it. I want to leave the last two semesters I have left with the straight A's that I was capable of achieving months ago, all the while I was being irresponsible. Because of my lack of responsibility, I have suffered greatly grade-wise when I shouldn't have. I've been told that I won't change or I won't shape up, however I suppose actions speak louder than words. The rest of my year is going to be a good one, even if it kills me.

Imagine by John Lennon -5 Paragraph Essay

Imagine that just listening to a song could influence you and the world that lies around you. Music -- lyrics, especially have a way of coming together to make you understand things, relate to them, and sometimes shed a new light to something you've never experienced before. The way things are written have a certain way to get under people's skin and allow them to see the deeper meaning of things. John Lennon's song Imagine does just that. In his song Imagine, John Lennon can visually express how he feels the world should be and what would happen if people came together. 

How a song or poem sounds is really important to whoever is reading it. In Imagine, John Lennon uses similies, metaphors, rhythm and repetition. One of the ways he uses repetition is that he is constantly reiterating the word "Imagine", and he has a chorus that repeats over twice. John Lennon also uses similies, such as "And the world will live as one". 

Using the power of words, John Lennon is easily able to paint a picture in my mind about how he feels the world should be. One of the lines that he says is "Imagine all the people sharing all the world", which creates a picture in my mind of peace and people looking after each other. Also, John Lennon's song Imagine appeals to my hearing as well. In the line "Imagine all the people living life in peace", it appeals to hearing because if everything is peaceful, then it is quiet and serene and there's no more yelling or screaming in the streets.

The song Imagine also allows me to see things in a new perspective. Everyday on the news you hear about people being killed and nothing really seems to be done about it. With John Lennon's song Imagine, it is somewhat inspirational because it pretty much says that people who come together can make a difference if they really strive for it.

National History Day Topic Selection: Aristotle

Kris Pearce
Brasof 1 / Thompson 3
November 12, 2008

National History Day

History today is constantly being made, no matter where someone is. People in general change everyday and do not realize it. There are many people who don't take the time to wonder why they are put on this earth, or why they are walking in the shoes they are in today. Philosophy is a huge part of history, for it is history in itself; however, philosophy digs a bit deeper and challenges history. Over the thousands of years, many philosophers have been studying the world, wondering of their existence, of what is real and what is not, and studying the human mind along with behavior.
The word philosophy is of the Ancient Greek origin, and it means "love of knowledge and wisdom". Philosophy is something that has always held my interest, however the philosopher that appealed to me most was Aristotle.
Aristotle was born in Stageira, Chalcidice in 384 BC. His father was a physician to the kind of Mecadonia and when Aristotle was seven, he was sent to study at the academy. He there began as a student, only to move on to a researcher and then a teacher. He was a member of the aristocracy, which is a form of government. Aristocrats often saw themselves as the highest of society and that no other government was above them.
Aristotle’s personality could best be described as very complex. He believed everything had souls and everything was living; however some had more primitive souls. He believed plans had souls but only in the nutritive faculty.
Aristotle believes in imagination and says that imagination is a bridge between sense perception and intellect. However, he doesn’t relate imagination to memory because he feels imagination requires perception as a foundation and can lead to understanding; in turn, according to Aristotle, imagination can’t be reduced to any combination of “perception, belief, knowledge and intellect.”
He believes intellect is something only humans have and that other creatures lack. Aristotle believes that there are two kinds of intellect which are passive and active. Passive is intellect that a person has prior to experience and active intellect is intellect that someone gains after something happens.
One of Aristotle’s most famous quotes was that “For it was their curiosity that first led men to philosophize and that still leads them.” By saying this, he means that the curiosity for knowledge is the essence of philosophy and believes that all philosophers try to overcome ignorance and obtain knowledge to use it for good.
Aristotle believes that everything harvests a body, such as tables and other miscellaneous objects. He calls inanimate objects artificial and real bodies natural. He believes both of them have the ability to be moved. He believes that bodies are separate from the physical world.
In 335 BC, Aristotle traveled to Athens to start teaching his students. He was a student of Plato who died a few years earlier and he wanted to teach people everything he learned from Plato and things that he came up with himself. He lectured people on logic, physics, astronomy, zoology, metaphysics, theology, economics, meterology, ethics, rhetoric and poetics.
Not everything he taught was written by him and a lot of it was later rewritten by his followers. Aristotle spent thirteen years as a teacher and decided to write. He wrote mainly about logic, which consisted of the classification of notions, judgments and propositions, the syllogism, demonstration, the problematic syllogism and fallacies. He had logical treatises which was called the “Organon” which was the first systematic treatment of the laws of thought in relation to the knowledge.
The four causes were also derived from Aristotle’s doctrines, which falls under metaphysics. The material cause, the formal cause, the efficient cause, or the final cause which are still used today. Metaphysics is the science of being as a being which he discovered.
His practical philosophy was something he was exceptionally known for. It all started with one question: In what does happiness consist? Aristotle dared to question such things and had other people try to answer it and learn from it.
Aristotle has also written many books. He wrote books on Physical treatises, which were Physica, Physica Ausculatio, De Cocelo, and Meteorologica. He’s written books on biological and zoological treatises, which are “Historiae Animalium, De Generatione et Corruptione, De Generation Animalium and De Partibus Animalium. He’s written books on psychological and anthropological treatises, which are De Anima, De Sensu et Sensibilli, De Memoria et Reminiscentia, De Vita et Morte, De Longitudine and et Brevitate vitae. He’s written books on ethical and political treatises which is Ethica Nocomachea, and Politica. He’s also written books on poetical and rhetorical treatises which are De Poetica and De Rhetorica. Aristotle wrote everything in a different language and usually used either Syriac, Arabic or Latin to publish his works
Aristotle is important to history because he encouraged others to think with their own minds. One of his famous quotes was, “We must not listen to those who urge us to think human thoughts since we are human, and mortal thoughts since we are mortal; rather, we should as far as possible immortalize ourselves and do all we can to live by the finest element in us – for it Is small in bulk, it is far greater than anything else in power and worth.”
His ideas are still used today and when most people think of philosophy, they think of Aristotle and his works. All of his teachings came from him and in the beginning they were just considered “myths”, however other people would listen to him and start to believe his “myths” because they made sense. Aristotle has proven that if you have an idea, you can definitely put it to work.

Reflection on the Election

I felt like this was an amazing election. Not only did the first African American win the presidency, but he won it by a landslide. It was clear to everyone who had won and who America really wanted as their president. It was also different for the republicans because it was the first time there was a woman in the vice presidential spot--even though most of us can't stand her; including myself. I believe that by electing Barack Obama, we have reestablished the hope that has been lost during these 8 years. I'm grateful to have been alive to witness his election and to follow his campaign. He has also beaten the odds and have shown everyone that if there's a will, there's a way.

I am almost certain that the Obama administration will aid the United States into recovery and that though it will be hard at first, it will be worth it. America definitely isn't going to be the same--but I'm sure it'll be ten times better.

Imagine always believing everything that you're told. What kind of world would it be if everyone believed every single thing they were told and listened to everything they were told to do? What if people were promised a democracy but were told that in turn, they would have to fulfill a few goals in order for this democracy to be established; only to have it blow up in their faces after they've worked so hard at achieving this. Animal Farm is a perfect example of a democracy gone wrong, where the dictators play their cards right and the other animals fail miserably at achieving happiness. In Animal Farm, the way character's respond to the stories has a strong connection on their ability to survive. First off, there's Squealer who's Napolean's right-hand man and he has a knack for twisting stories up; making the other animals seem crazy. For example, the 7 commandments were written, one being that "no animal shall sleep in a bed." Eventually, the pigs started sleeping in the beds in the farmhouses and the other animals found out about it and questioned it. Squealer happened to overhear and said, "you have heard now comrades, that we pigs sleep in the beds in the farmhouse..." He further went on to argue that a bed was a bed, no matter what, and that the real commandment was that "no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets." In spite of that, he also tricked up the animals when the milk and apples went missing. Napolean was found eating them and Squealer explained that the pigs didn't even like milk and apples; they were just eating them to benefit the animals because it was good for their health. In the end, Squealer ended up living and kept his position as Napolean's right-hand man. Next, we have Benjamin who doesn't like to get involved in anything. He doesn't like to speak his mind much because he doesn't believe everything he is told and he questions everything that happens. He doesn't get too enthustiastic about anything either. For example, when the windmills were rebuilt, it was said that "Only old Benjamin refused to grow enthustiastic about the windmill, though, as usual, he would utter cryptic remarks that donkeys live a long time." Then, Benjamin questions Boxer's death. Since Benjamin is really the only literate one on the farm, he can read mostly anything. Boxer was taken away to the slaughter house and Benjamin didn't believe Squealer's lies when he said that Boxer died in the hospital, because Benjamin could read the side of the truck. In the end, Benjamin ended up living because he knew better than to open up his mouth and challenge the pigs. Lastly, we have gullible Boxer, who believes everything he is told. Boxer works extra hard on the farm and two of his mottos are, "I will work harder" and "Napolean is always right!" A few animals were killed on the farm and Boxer felt it was a bit wrong, but with a little reassuring from Squealer that they deserved it, Boxer soon believed him and called it a victory. The way Boxer was so easily persuaded and uneducated determined his fate, which was death in the end. The story Animal Farm is a perfect example of if people lack education, they get screwed in the ending. Squealer was pretty smart because he knew how to persuade people; Benjamin knew how to read but knew better enough to keep his mouth shut, and Boxer was oblivious to everything, and in the end, him and many others ended up dying. It's a perfect example of not being educated enough to see through the lies that you're being told.

5 Paragraph Rough Draft for Animal Farm

Imagine always believing everything that you're told. What kind of world would it be if everyone believed every single thing they were told and listened to everything they were told to do? What if people were promised a democracy but were told that in turn, they would have to fulfill a few goals in order for this democracy to be established; only to have it blow up in their faces after they've worked so hard at achieving this. Animal Farm is a perfect example of a democracy gone wrong, where the dictators play their cards right and the other animals fail miserably at achieving happiness. In Animal Farm, the way character's respond to the stories has a strong connection on their ability to survive.
First off, there's Squealer who's Napolean's right-hand man and he has a knack for twisting stories up; making the other animals seem crazy. For example, the 7 commandments were written, one being that "no animal shall sleep in a bed." Eventually, the pigs started sleeping in the beds in the farmhouses and the other animals found out about it and questioned it. Squealer happened to overhear and said, "you have heard now comrades, that we pigs sleep in the beds in the farmhouse..." He further went on to argue that a bed was a bed, no matter what, and that the real commandment was that "no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets." In spite of that, he also tricked up the animals when the milk and apples went missing. Napolean was found eating them and Squealer explained that the pigs didn't even like milk and apples; they were just eating them to benefit the animals because it was good for their health. In the end, Squealer ended up living and kept his position as Napolean's right-hand man.
Next, we have Benjamin who doesn't like to get involved in anything. He doesn't like to speak his mind much because he doesn't believe everything he is told and he questions everything that happens. He doesn't get too enthustiastic about anything either. For example, when the windmills were rebuilt, Benjamin said "windmill or no windmill, that's not going to help the farm". Then, Benjamin questions Boxer's death. Since Benjamin is really the only literate one on the farm, he can read mostly anything. Boxer was taken away to the slaughter house and Benjamin didn't believe Squealer's lies when he said that Boxer died in the hospital, because Benjamin could read the side of the truck. In the end, Benjamin ended up living because he knew better than to open up his mouth and challenge the pigs.
Lastly, we have gullible Boxer, who believes everything he is told. Boxer works extra hard on the farm and two of his mottos are, "I will work harder" and "Napolean is always right!" A few animals were killed on the farm and Boxer felt it was a bit wrong, but with a little reassuring from Squealer that they deserved it, Boxer soon believed him and called it a victory. The way Boxer was so easily persuaded and uneducated determined his fate, which was death in the end.
The story Animal Farm is a perfect example of if people lack education, they get screwed in the ending. Squealer was pretty smart because he knew how to persuade people; Benjamin knew how to read but knew better enough to keep his mouth shut, and Boxer was oblivious to everything, and in the end, him and many others ended up dying. It's a perfect example of not being educated enough to see through the lies that you're being told.

Animal Farm Paragraph

In the story Animal Farm, the animals are solely responsible for Napolean's rise to power. First of all, the animals allow Napolean to take advantage of them because they chose not to become fully educated. If they wanted, they could have stuck together and pushed to learn the whole alphabet. Therefore, by not being able to read properly, the animals aren't able to completely verify that Napolean has changed the commandments. Secondly, Napolean was also described as "not much of a talker, but always got his way", and the animals could have seen that coming when Napolean chased Snowball off. The windmill that they completed the first time was knocked down and then Napolean simply said that the animals would build another one - so they agreed. In spite of all of that, the animals should have acted out when Napolean had some of them killed. It was said in the seven commandments that "no animal shall kill another animal" and that "all animals are equal". The animals knew this was true, however, they did nothing to rebel against Napolean. Lastly, the animals knew something was up when the pigs started wearing hats and entering the houses. Squealer had said that you could "sleep in a bed without sheets" because "a bed was a bed" so that was their excuse for sleeping in the farmhouse bedrooms. In conclusion, because of this and many other reasons, the animals were responsible for Napolean and the pig's rise to power because they could have prevented it by acting out when they clearly knew something was wrong.

Thesis Statement & 3rd Annotation

Turner, William. "Aristotle." Catholic Encylopedia: Vol 1. October 27th, 2007. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01713a.htm

This article explains in full detail Aristotle's works and his youth. It's written in chronological order and is lengthy but is to the point. This article also discusses Aristotle's philosophy and has a few examples of his writings.

Aristotle is most famous for his physics and philosophies. 

This article references many primary sources, such as Plato and many documents written by Aristotle himself. This has been helpful to my research because most of the websites I went to were extremely long and drawn out, and though this is a bit lengthy, it's to the point and explains everything much better. I plan on checking out a book sometime soon on Aristotle because I believe reading directly from a book would be much better.

IRB Log # 2

Book: Lush
Author: Natasha Friend
Page #: Completed

Overview: I enjoyed the book and liked the way it was written. The author really knew how to protray a young girl who was having a rough time dealing with her dad's alcoholic addiction. She hid it from her friends, however, she eventually ended up telling them when she got drunk at a party and was found by one of her friend's older sisters. Her dad was put in rehab and continued to do better. Eventually, everything got better for her and she started to heal.

Annotation #2

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/34560/Aristotle; Online Encyclopedia

The second article tells about Aristotle's youth and his contributions to his academy. It also tells of his travels and where he has taught in the world. His writings, legacy and doctrines are also listed there, along with his major works. I believe this article was a bit more informative than the other one because this one was somewhat short and to the point.