This week's blog post is supposed to be about endings and beginnings, and i'm going to write about it by responding to a quote.
God wants us to know that life is a series of beginnings, not endings. Just as graduations are not terminations, but commencements. Creation is an ongoing process, and when we create a perfect world where love and compassion are shared by all, suffering will cease.
- Bernie Siegel
While the quote in whole is a very deep and inspiring one, I will be focusing on the first half of it for this post.
Bernie states that life is not just endings, they can be interpreted as beginnings too. An example he gives is graduation. Instead of leaving the life and school you've been in, you are just beginning a new one. While this is a very true and creative way to interpret life, I think that the endings should be considered just as much as the beginnings. Yes you are going to a new school, meeting new people, but at the same time you are leaving a foundation that you have been a part of for 8 years, with people that have never left your side. Now in high school with all new classes and hundreds of other people, there is a definite possibility that some of those relationships will end.
One way I like to think about beginnings and endings is considering life. When you are born, you start your official "life". But even as we grow, learn, communicate, we are also stepping closer to the end. Every second that passes by is a second closer to death. In this perspective we can consider life an ending and beginning, at the same time.
In conclusion, I think that endings and beginnings are an integral way of how we perceive and get through life, as one ending can be the beginning of something far greater, or the end of life can lead to a Heaven leagues beyond what we see now.
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Sunday, April 16, 2017
STANDARDIZED TESTS
Standardized tests. One of the many banes of my existence. Even the name sounds boring and unpleasant. "Standardized", meaning normal, causing to conform to a standard. "Test", a one time "display" of your knowledge that is wrongfully used to measure your overall intelligence.
One example of these tests is the PARCC test. Much like the term "Standardized Test", the name is not only unpleasant, but also a trick! The test does not deserve to be named the PARCC, as it reminds many of a park, a place of fun and relaxation, adventure and activity. The test is in reality, the stark opposite.
Besides the nasty feeling you get saying it, there's also the annoying reality of taking it. You answer page after page of misleading questions, forcing you to abandon what YOU thought was the right answer, for what the PARCC thinks is the right answer. It confuses and frustrates you, because you have no idea on how to tackle the test! Each strategy you come up with is shot down by another bad question or another haphazard passage.
One example of these tests is the PARCC test. Much like the term "Standardized Test", the name is not only unpleasant, but also a trick! The test does not deserve to be named the PARCC, as it reminds many of a park, a place of fun and relaxation, adventure and activity. The test is in reality, the stark opposite.
Besides the nasty feeling you get saying it, there's also the annoying reality of taking it. You answer page after page of misleading questions, forcing you to abandon what YOU thought was the right answer, for what the PARCC thinks is the right answer. It confuses and frustrates you, because you have no idea on how to tackle the test! Each strategy you come up with is shot down by another bad question or another haphazard passage.
The most important thing that I think is wrong about not only the PARCC, but most standardized tests is that they are used as a definitive measure of you intelligence and capability to learn. They are a one time representation of not only 1 year, but many years of knowledge and experience. The test can make you stressed, which can impact your performance.
Other events that can be going on at the same time can also impact your performance. The placement of the PARCC at a time like the end of a school year, the YEAR BEFORE HIGH SCHOOL is a recipe for stress, distraction, and frustration. There's high school issues, end of the year issues, sports issues, and it all just doesn't make sense.
The PARCC is a bad, poorly executed test, but what REALLY bugs me are tests like the ACT AND SAT. They are of a MUCH, MUCH higher stake than the PARCC, being the mostly deciding factor for your college and life. They're the gateway to Ivy League colleges, and the obstacles to them at the same time. One thing about them that is cool is that you can retake them, but even then you have so many chances.
Overall, I believe that standardized tests are a bad way of measuring the intelligence of students, and a worse way to deciding their future.
Monday, April 10, 2017
Sunday, April 9, 2017
A Tribute To Someone Special
Most people would write a tribute to someone in their family, or someone really close to them. However, I feel that I express this usually, especially to my family. I want to dedicate this to someone who's responsible for teaching me what I know. He's someone who really deserves this, and even a blog post won't do him justice. This person is Mr. Carris. He's the Social Studies Teacher at my school, and he's one of the best teachers I've had so far.
He always explains things the subjects we're learning not only in the standard way, but in a way we can relate to and understand. He uses modern topics as analogies for conflicts and events, which really does help us absorb what's happening in the past. He's never afraid to teach us the gritty and real events of all the wars we've learned about.
He always cracks jokes and makes sure that whatever we're focused on has a bit of humor in it. There's never a moment where tension, or any negative feelings are present in the classroom, as he never fails to break it. He doesn't fluff up what we learn, and isn't afraid to be completely honest about the feelings of people concerning the topic.
Mr. Carris is truly someone who is not only great at his job, but is also someone who is great at lightening the hearts of those he knows. Even when I get to know more people and have more teachers, there is no one who will surpass Mr. Carris at what he does and no one who will take his place in my life.
He always explains things the subjects we're learning not only in the standard way, but in a way we can relate to and understand. He uses modern topics as analogies for conflicts and events, which really does help us absorb what's happening in the past. He's never afraid to teach us the gritty and real events of all the wars we've learned about.
He always cracks jokes and makes sure that whatever we're focused on has a bit of humor in it. There's never a moment where tension, or any negative feelings are present in the classroom, as he never fails to break it. He doesn't fluff up what we learn, and isn't afraid to be completely honest about the feelings of people concerning the topic.
Mr. Carris is truly someone who is not only great at his job, but is also someone who is great at lightening the hearts of those he knows. Even when I get to know more people and have more teachers, there is no one who will surpass Mr. Carris at what he does and no one who will take his place in my life.
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