Okay, so school just got out like three days ago for me, and summer’s ahead. I love summer.

I’ve decided that I should start using my blog again; I never really stopped, I just haven’t had the time to update it. My junior year was the most busiest school year of my life, I do believe…Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it…Anyways, summer’s here and I am really really hoping that I will have time to enjoy and relax. I doubt it, but you never know.

I just went through my entire blog and updatted every single post. There are now little lines next to introductions to posts and everything is just a touch more uniform and organized, how I like it. Going through my whole blog and reading my past…makes me miss everything so much. I miss Magic Pens, and my old blog, and I wish I had transferred over all of the comments. I missed quite a few, but I got most, so it’s okay. I also really hope that I will come to love this new blog just as much as my old and that I will get some more readers. In Magic Pens I was used to having anywhere from 5-10 readers on each post and receiving many comments and feeback. This blog barely gets 5 pageviews at all and I am left to feel so alone… :\

I plan to post some more essays I wrote over this year, make some more minor updates, and perhaps start creative writing again!

I continue to praise Minot High School, even through my English assignments…

This is an argumentative essay that was required to include documented research and not persuade the reader to a certain point, but to merely state a problem and a possible solution. I chose what I thought to be a simple topic: cell phone use in school.

A minute electrical device could save a life in the case of an emergency, create persistent distractions that causes a student’s grades to drop, interrupt classes with an array of annoying sounds, violate personal privacy, help keep track of time and events, and even act as a tool to cheat in school, and everyone has one in his pocket. A necessity in most people’s lives, the cellular phone contributes to modern society adding to the list of valuable tools available. Yet school boards disagree with each other on policies to regulate cell phone use in school; some argue that students should be trusted with the freedom to possess cell, while others state that the devices should never reside on school grounds. With so many teens possessing a cell phone, schools should create a fair policy to deal with the popular technology.

Over the years cell phones have increased in popularity and usefulness. As the machines grow smaller, the programs, applications, and features continue to grow enabling their users to accomplish just about any simple task. People can now send text messages, play video games, surf the Internet, find street directions, check their e-mail, capture video, and take pictures with their cell phones, along with the original use of making phone calls, and with each new model, new possibilities arise. People often use their cell phones to keep in touch with friends, navigate their busy schedules, and contact others in times of need or assistance. These gadgets are created with simple controls and easy-to-learn functions to allow anyone to use. Young elementary school children, high school students, parents, and even seniors carry the phones and the age range expands each year, infecting more and more in the electronic craze.

A common sight, finding students using their cell phones during school hours no longer brings about attention. Students all continue to use their phones, especially with their friends, and many no longer think much of the ignored rules. Teens feel that if everyone is using a phone during class, then the consequences aren’t too risky. From a desk amongst the rest, I can sometimes see what the teacher cannot: girls pretending to find a chap stick in their purses when actually texting in their bags, and guys texting from the cover of their hoodie pockets.

I, myself, have a cell phone which I bring to school each day. Although I normally remember to turn my phone off before leaving my house to catch the school bus, I occasionally forget to hit the power button. Set to “Vibrate” as a back-up plan, if my phone did happen to receive a call during class one day, the silent vibrations would not cause a distraction from inside my backpack. I have never needed to rely on this back-up plan, however, as I have never received a call during class hours.

While I may not text in class or make a phone call during passing periods, I still enjoy the freedom bringing my phone to school. Admittedly, I have turned my phone on during school before to show some friends a picture or to bring up a conversation that I had earlier. Checking dates and times on my phone helps me remember past events and keep track of time. If students only used their phones for good purposes, then schools wouldn’t have so much difficulty dealing with the mobile devices.

Unfortunately, most students break school policies and use cell phones when they shouldn’t. Rumors, including dangerous threats, can instantly spread throughout a school with the help of cell phones and cause wide spread panic. “Students can text-message rumors of bomb threats or school shootings—credible or not—to their parents and hundreds of classmates within seconds,” states Michaela Saunders, Omaha World-Herald staff writer, in her article “Safety Propels School to Limit Cell Phone Use; Rumors Spread by Text Hard to Stop.” This can be troublesome whether the rumors hold true or not, and can leave principals and other school officials defenseless.

When a crisis strikes, many parents wish their students to possess a mobile phone. Many parents begin to panic after seeing events of emergencies on the news and will worry when faced with no way to contact their children. When the child calls home with a cell phone and lets his parents know more about the situation, parents’ fears no longer urge them to frantically call into the school’s main office trying to contact their children. Cell phones are also faster alternatives to reaching help when an emergency arises, as pay phones may not always reside nearby and a lack of spare change can end the hope of operating the phone. Thought as godsends to students and parents after witnessing events such as the Columbine High school shootings and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the New York Trade Center and Washington, D. C., schools in some states have relinquished their bans on cell phones. “In fact, among the first phone calls to the emergency ‘911’ telephone number service for help at Columbine High School were ones from students dialing in from their cell phones,” writes Vanessa St. Gerard in The Education Digest, with her article, “Updating Policy on Latest Risks for Students with Cell Phones in the School.” Because of these simple facts, many schools, including those in Ohio, have changed their policies to no longer ban cell phones.

Still wary to allow cell phones because of the recent rise in cheating, teachers contribute to phone-restricting policies. Phones with built-in cameras have created a new family of crime that students feel obliged to commit. To cheat, students secretly take pictures of tests to show to other students who will take the exam in a later class period, and insert test answers into their cell phones, creating the opportunity to glance into their pockets for a perfect score. Recording answers with an electronic device has produced a problem for many teachers, dampening their chances of supporting cell phone freedoms for students. With phones now able to take pictures and videos, students not only turn the lens to tests; reports of inappropriate pictures of students and staff were taken in various schools across the nation. In fact, disturbing images were found on, both, student and staff’s, phones in the two high schools I have attended, Minot High School, and William Howard Taft High School. Parents and staff worry about personal privacy, especially in bathrooms and locker rooms. “Kids are now taking pictures of their math test for later classes and taking very inappropriate photos of other students and posting these pictures on the Internet before school is even dismissed,” principal of Rocky River Middle School, David Root, stated in Gerard’s article, figuring that half of his students have cell phones. With a camera in everyone’s hands, people lose their sense of security and begin to feel violated.

Distractions in class continue to give cellular phones a dishonorable reputation, and keep them at the top of each teacher’s unfavorable list. “About four of every five teens age 13 to 18 have a cell phone, according to a national survey released in September by a wireless trade association. That’s up from 40 percent in 2004,” wrote Saunders. With so many phones, teachers have learned to deal with ring tones interrupting their lectures and students must sacrifice concentration and focus. Noisy cell phones can disturb students during examinations, possibly affecting their grades. Even when set to “Vibrate,” a phone’s vibration can cause a rattling sound when set on a desk or when touching the chair, even from inside a pocket. I am amazed when students choose to use their phones during classes, especially during tests, and the constant buzzing, beeping, and ringing generates an irritating distraction.

Although thought to be nothing but nuisances in class by school staff, both students and parents feel that cell phones should remain a privileged freedom. Granted the ability to contact a parent at times such as before and after school and during lunch can help students keep tabs with their parents on activities and plans. Parents rely on cell phones to arrange ways for their children to come home, to arrange transportation, to aware each other of schedule changes, and even to arrange lunch plans. A student cannot always receive or make a call with a pay phone or through the main office, and if cell phones were not permitted on school grounds at all, too many students would be lined up to use a school phone after the final bell. Generally more convenient, reasonable, and handy, cell phones make students more responsible and organized.

School boards all across the nation are discussing the cell phone situation and modifying school policies to address the issue. Warren District 121 President John Anderson renounced the forcing of students to keep phones off and stored in lockers stating, “If it’s out of sight, it doesn’t matter if it’s in their backpack or in a locker.” Board member Michael Penich added, “More locker break-ins could occur if phones were deposited in them each day,” in the Chicago Daily Herald’s article, “Warren Clarifies Cell Phone Rules,” written by Bob Susnjara. Warren District 121’s policy related to electronic devices now states that pupils may bring cell phones to school but the devices must remain turned off during school hours or on buses. Any student who violates the policy receives a detentions or an out-of-school suspension. “We’re going to have signs put up and constant reminders of what our rules and regulations are,” District 121 Superintendent Phil Sobocinski assured. With different views, New York City Public Schools enforced bans on cell phones on school property by confiscating thousands of phones from students and Rocky River Middle School requires students to keep their cell phones in their lockers during school hours. When a rule is violated, detentions are granted, phones are confiscated, and parents are called to claim phones from the main office. Severe consequences are fashioned, intending to scare teens into leaving their phones at home.

Now, the terror of cell phones force elementary schools to create rules to regulate younger children and their new phones. Jerri Moore, principal of Copan Elementary School, in the state of Oklahoma, bans cell phones at her school during school hours. “Elementary school students will not be allowed to carry phones during the day, while riding on the bus, or during after-school activities,” writes Helen Eriksen in her article, “Katy Alters Policy / District Adopts New Rules on Cell Phones at School,” in the Houston Chronicle. School policies tend to remain more lenient to students of older age.

With so many different school policies across the country, every school has addressed the cell phone issue differently. The most reasonable policy I have seen regulates those at Minot High School located in Minot, North Dakota, and in various other middle and high schools in Nebraska. These schools allow students to possess cell phones and use the electronics at any time in the day, when not in a class. The phones are acceptable in the hallways to check the time, the cafeteria to find friends and arrange a lunch date, in the commons to contact parents, and on buses to chat with friends. Remaining turned off and kept out of sight in classrooms, phones are allowed out of class and in study halls. With this policy, parents feel safe knowing they can contact their children at school, especially in the event of an emergency, students enjoy the freedoms of bringing their phones to school, and teachers and school officials appreciate the decrease in classroom interruptions due to cell phones. With the privilege of using their phones after class, students are less motivated to secretly risk having their treasures confiscated, so a peaceful balance resides in the classroom.

Just another conflict between teenagers and adults, cell phones bring up another disagreement. Students need to accept responsibility for the devices and school officials should come to an understanding and construct reasonable and fair policies. Giving and taking eases conflicts and creates peace among people, especially if each group receives a benefit. By coming to an accord on the cell phone issue and accepting the consequences, schools will run more effectively with less classroom distractions. If students were trusted to use cell phones when policies allow, and principals gave fair time to use the gadgets, a peace would exist in schools. Perhaps then, these annoying classroom terrors would become an understood freedom for all.

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Sources:

Eriksen, Helen. “Katy Alters Policy / District Adopts New Rules on Cell Phones at School.” Houston Chronicle. 26 Jun 2008. 1. 05 Feb 2009.

Michaela Saunders. “Safety Propels Schools to Limit Cell Phone Use; Rumors Spread by Text Hard to Stop.” Omaha World Herald. 08 Oct 2008. 01A. 05 Feb 2009.

Susnjara, Bob. “Warren Clarifies Cell Phone Rules.” Chicago Daily Herald (Paddock). 12 Jun 2008. 3. 05 Feb 2009.

St Gerard, Vanessa. “Updating Policy on Latest Risks for Students with Cell Phones in the School.” Education Digest, The. 01 Dec 2006. 43. 05 Feb 2009.

My Saturdays have been occupied with Ready Writing UILs quite often now…I attended another UIL competition, this time at MacArthur High School on January 31, 2009. This was one of the bigger contests with a stricter competition, or so I was told by my teachers and instructors. I believe there were about 56 contestants at this Ready Writing competition, and I placed 6th. I admit this essay is the worst that I have written so far and I am really not pleased with it. I struggled with it more, and just know that it can be improved in so many ways. The topic I chose is listed followed by the essay I wrote.

“It is the art of mankind to polish the world, and everyone who works is scrubbing in some part.”
-Henry David Thoreau, The Writings of Henry David Thoreau (1906)

As time proceeds and the future becomes the past, the world is constantly changing. Mountains rise from the flat plains they once were. Oceans split apart lands, destroying continents, but creating new ones. Trees loom and fall while flowers blossom and die. The world grows and dies in a constant cycle that continues to repeat itself time and time again. Along with the world, mankind has endured time’s challenges and has changed and grown. Humanity, however, is not trapped within a cycle doomed to repeat itself. With unique individuals each working to improve his own life, culture is created and knowledge is shared to aid the development of mankind and the world. Mankind’s development has become an art, and everyone who works applies his own stroke of color.

The world itself continues to create and destroy itself while mankind continues to progress. Our cave dwellings have become wooden shacks which grew to be known as brick buildings, then evolving to tower over the Earth’s surface as gleaming skyscrapers. Inventions are constantly being upgraded with ways of life improving and expanding. Instead of recreating beauties only to become destroyed once again, as a flower will bloom, the climax of its life, before shriveling into the ground allowing room for a new plant to exist, man continues to renew what he has created and polish the world. Buildings are given facelifts, softwares are upgraded, models are renewed, and humanity is improved. To progress and mature as a whole, the old must become the new.

Humanity will never cease to progress and will always polish and refurbish the world. An intelligent presence upon the Earth, man has developed a sense of duty and responsibility to help the world improve and to create better lives for future generations. Each person plays a part and unknowingly contributes to the world’s refinement. While cities are added to maps and are brought up across the world, they could not exist without the participation of each individual. Jobs are given to improve the lives of the individuals, but also help with the upkeep of the planet. A complex system or machine cannot operate without each gear functioning properly and completing its own simple task. Although improvement cannot be accomplished by an individual alone, it cannot come about as a whole in general.

Perhaps the most complicated art form, mankind’s maturity and progression continues to expand. Human presence on the planet may never recede because of the effort, intelligence, determination, and importance of the individuals that make it up, each working to create a more refined world and help civilization develp. Nature, alone, does not possess this knowledge and culture to progress, grow, and evolve, and so it has become the duty and art of mankind to polish the world.

You will not believe how much we write in my English class…I haven’t even been posting all of it. This was an essay we were to write after reading “Too Much Pressure,” written by Colleen Wenke. It deals with cheating in schools. At least it’s a better topic than politics…

After carefully monitoring her grades throughout the semester and struggling to put full effort into each of her projects and all of her completed homework, an overachieving student destined for the Ivy Leagues finds herself facing a major obstacle. Although she had studied the night before, the multiple-choice test resting upon her desk that glared back at her now seemed to mock her, eating away any focus she could create. Racing thoughts of college, parents, teachers, counselors…too many thoughts cluttered her mind with each passing minute being pounded into her ear by the ticking of the clock against the wall behind her. She could not fail this test, she could not get a B, she could not upset her parents, and she could not give up her chance at a potential college. So many factors depended on whether or not she shaded a circle marked “A,” “B,” “C,” or “D.” Willing to sacrifice just a bit of integrity in order to save her future life plans, she glances to the tattered piece of paper in her pocket and mindlessly fills in the bubbles as if reading an instruction manual.

Cheating, or claiming one’s work as your own, has become an increasingly popular crime in schools and has been explored by many writers including Colleen Wenke. In her essay, “Too Much Pressure,” Wenke describes how common cheating has become compared to previous years and provides possible explanations. A national survey conducted in 1997 by Who’s Who in American High School Students stated that 98 percent of students have admitted to cheating, an amount Wenke describes as much larger than her parents’ generation. With students, including herself, thinking that everyone cheats and it’s just how school is, the morals of the students are lowered and cheating is more widely accepted. “In this kind of society, morals take a back seat to how much you earn and how prosperous you are.” The best jobs are given to the students who graduate from the best colleges, and the students who are accepted into the best colleges are those who can correctly fill in the most lettered bubbles. When wanting to succeed in life, some students fall prey to taking the easy path and retrieve the answers before taking an exam to ensure their success. Family, school, church, media, and government are proposed to add stress to young people’s lives, especially with “the dramatic change in the role of the family over the past generation,” thus leading to an increase in cheating. When those who cheat succeed and do better than those who don’t, it sets a tempting example and can thrust a student who’s frustrated at working so hard for something with no prevail to resort to the cheat sheet. “Copying work or cheating was the only way to keep up with the rest of the class.”

Surveys and articles are constantly crying out that each new generation is dealing with more and more stress. Students are not only expected to do well in school, but are also anticipated to become involved with a sports team, get a job, volunteer on weekends, keep up with their chores, stay fit, and keep an eye out for colleges. With so much pressing on their lives, it’s apparent how some can buckle under the pressure and frantically search for an easier way out. With goal-oriented students determined to compromise values to achieve their goals, the rise of cheating begins. Those who normally cheat are almost rewarded and are thought of to be normal. Those who rarely cheat, but begin to do so follow the crowd and hope to take a share of some of the success cheaters are obtaining, and those who would never cheat sometimes fall victim to those who surpass with better grades, (although not true grades.) This system has become corrupt partly because of the schools, themselves. Turning to multiple-choice tests with simple answers and easily memorized patterns allows students to freely share answers. Numbers and statistics have substituted the importance of knowledge and growth. Staring blindly at the bare numbers on a report card that are supposed to represent all a student has learned that semester, how much he has progressed not only in his studies, but also in his life and with his true understanding of the world, and how he manages and uses his knowledge, people become too consumed with A’s and B’s.

While cheating is an offense and should not be taken lightly, there are reasonable explanations as to why students choose to do so. Schools have been drifting away from the importance of pure knowledge and the richness of understanding and have become obsessed with percentages, statistics, and standardization. When the frustrating stresses of a student’s life are replaced with what truly matters, then what appears to be the easy road will no longer be desired and cheating will decline.

Another assignment to analyze Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration Address…Oh joy. This time we were to read an article in the New York Times, summarize it, then give our thoughts. The article is cited at the bottom of the essay.

In this “new era of responsibility,” President, Barack Obama, has explained the personal engagement needed to solve the nation’s problems through his Inaugural Address. With an ailing economy, weakening school systems, and energy crisis, followed by numerous disasters and emergencies, he brought to attention the troubled state the nation has fallen into. With this awakening, he brought hope, however, introducing his ideas to help and the new responsibilities each citizen should carry out.

“Certain tasks … cannot be accomplished by volunteers showing up occasionally or contributing a few hours a week,” writes The New York Times, reflecting Obama’s ideas. Opportunities to serve the community need to be expanded, and plans for doing so have been introduced. Democrat of Massachusetts, Edward Kennedy, and Orrin Hatch, Utah Republican, have introduced their Serve America Act to the Senate, an act that should “expand the number of full-time and part-time national service volunteers eligible for minimal living expenses and a modest educational stipend.” These new positions will be targeted at strengthening education, cleaning the environment, repairing our economic state, responding to emergencies and disasters, and boosting energy efficiency. A well thought out plan, everyone is invited to become involved, including “people of all income levels and ages.” Along with the Volunteer Generation Fund the will help nonprofit groups with volunteers, our new President along with the Senate are aiming at creating new jobs and aiding the nation’s economy. Personal engagement is most needed at the moment, as the country won’t repair itself.

With our families and neighbors losing their jobs all around us and businesses constantly having to close their doors for a final time, it’s amazing how we can act as if nothing is happening. Citizen activity and willingness to help is essential to keep the country running. Where would the country be without her people? Amongst our diverse crowds, we need to grasp the idealism and unity that makes us who we are and increase the productive national and community service granted to our communities. With the help of the Senate’s proposed Serve America Act, “tens of thousands of meaningful new positions for people ready to work hard for the public good” should become available and with the Volunteer Generation Fund, volunteers will be gifted many opportunities to help nonprofit groups. By helping our neighbors, our homes, our communities, and our country, we help each other. We help restore our economy to the stable platform it once rested upon. We help deliver rich knowledge to the children of the next generation. We help the air become more pure and the leaves on the trees thrive as green as they once did. By volunteering and getting involved with programs in our communities and with the new acts proposed under our new President, America can be revived and once again become an inspirational land that bestows upon her people what they put effort into.

Every citizen carries his own responsibilities and plays a part in the restoration of America. To solve the nation’s problems, Mr. Obama declared that each person would need to become involved. The “spirit of service” that he spoke of in his Inaugural Address is within all of us, and it needs to be awoken.

“The Moment for National Service.” The New York Times 26 Jan. 2009. 26 Jan. 2009

We’ve been spending a lot of time in English analyzing Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration Address. It’s really annoying to me, personally. I have no interest in politics and really didn’t know who I preffered into office…but we’re breaking down every word he says, piece by piece. Anyways, this assignment was to just write an introduction as if we were going to write an analytical essay on his Inauguration Address, so I didn’t write the actual essay, just the introduction.

A cold and frigid morning, millions were anxious to hear from their newly elected leader. After speaking the sacred oath, Barack Obama, chosen to become the first African American President of the United States of America, still had many words to speak. The moments were writing themselves in the history books and each word and idea he expressed needed to change the world, or at least the thoughts of its people. He was America’s inspiration after all, and her citizens were waiting to hear his voice. The styles of his phrases, the choices of his words, and the organization of the ideas that made up his fore coming speech had been carefully examined with a single purpose in mind. Using his skill of rhetoric, Barack Obama was expected to deliver hope to the world.

Any of you interested on reading about my new school? We had an English assignment to write an essay comparing two things so I compared Minot High School with my new school, William Howard Taft High.

Adjusting from one high school to another can bring many challenges because of the many differences. Moving to San Antonio, Texas, from Minot, North Dakota, has introduced many new experiences to my life, and although adjusting to living just a few miles from the border of Canada to that of Mexico can be difficult, not everything is so foreign. Overlooking my past school, Minot High School, and my new exposure, William Howard Taft High School, many similarities and differences come to view.

Comparing Minot High School, located in the quaint town of Minot near an Air Force base with the same name in North Dakota, it seems quite different from William H. Taft, which rests in the busy city of San Antonio, located in southern Texas. The town of Minot has been gifted the nickname the “Magic City” due to its sharp growth in the railroad ages, “magically” appearing overnight after the railroad tracks were laid down. Minot High School honors this tradition with its mascot, the maroon and gold magi, or magician, paired with bunny cheerleaders frolicking with rabbit ears upon their heads, mimicking the famous “rabbit-out-of-a-hat” magic trick. One of Minot High School’s buildings, the upper classmen campus, also shares the town’s nickname, “Magic City.” Although no interesting story supports Taft High School, students cheer for the red and white Raiders, matching with the school’s Presidential name. With the nearby military base having to rely on Minot High for education, military families have no other choice but to send their kids to Minot, causing a large military influence to reside within the school. Military decorations adorn the hallways, including a collection of flags for each active-duty personnel that flutters along the lower classmen campus entrance, and military families enjoy certain privileges and exceptions. Because students constantly transfer in and out of Minot High due to the Air Force, many races pass through Minot with no primary dominance. With Taft being so close to the Mexican border, however, the Hispanic race is more commonly seen and the military is not so commonly known because the nearby Air Force bases come equipped with their own high schools. From the Canadian border to the Mexican, the differences add up along with the miles in between the two.

The main difference between these two high schools is the physical arrangement. Minot High is split into two different campuses, each on different sides of the town. Resting in the heart of downtown Minot, Central Campus, houses ninth and tenth grade while across town, Magic City Campus educates eleventh and twelfth grade students. Although shielded under the same school name, each campus has its own rules, regulations, activities, and staff. With such a confusing double-campus set-up, Minot strives to stay as organized as possible even to the extent of giving away free planners, schedules, calendars, and activity lists to its students. This organization does not compare to the single building which houses all grades at Taft High School, however. Within the buildings, students attending Taft walk across aged tile and pass red and white painted walls in a simple, confined floor plan, while those at Minot walk within spacious hallways along carpeted floors passing by interesting design features including maroon and gold pillars that hold up many high ceilings with sun roofs embedded within.

At Minot the school year starts later than at Taft and releases earlier in the year, but students at Minot do not receive a Spring Break and also do not enjoy as many days off for holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving. Throughout the school year, Taft is broken into six six-week long cycles, while Minot is split into four nine-week quarters. School begins at 7:50 in Minot while Taft students have an extra hour to rest, beginning their classes at 8:50. Although both schools have seven classes, Taft has eight “periods” allowing students a full forty-seven-minute period for lunch and Minot students have about 30 minutes for lunch scheduled somewhere around their fifth “hour” classes, having seven forty-minute “hours” total. Within classes, both schools’ students relocate from class to class spread amongst three floors. Those at Minot only need five minutes for passing time as all classrooms remain indoors in a neatly organized floor plan. With some of Taft’s classrooms located outdoors in portable buildings and students coming from the sister school, Communication Arts, students have six minutes to travel from building to building. To inform its pupils that passing time is about to end, Taft gives a series of bells, causing students to rush to their classes with just a few minutes left. A series of bells at Minot, however, alarms students that passing time is over and they have become tardy. At Minot one long tone bell rings to announce that class will end in a few minutes while the same bell announces that class has begun at Taft.

Within the classrooms, those at Minot enjoy the special benefits they receive from the large funds they receive for being the only school to educate, not only the town, but also the Air Force base. Taft High School receives a partial fund from the city of San Antonio and must charge its students for benefits they would receive at Minot for free. Because of the constant flow of money that Minot collects, small fees exist allowing them to offer free Summer School, when Taft students face a $200.00 Summer School entrance fee. Taft High also charges a $250.00 fee for band when the only band charges found at Minot are for renting an instrument. Lunches also reflect the economic status of each school with a $1.75 price tag at Minot compared to the $2.00 one at Taft. Not only do students at Minot evade extra fees, but they also take pleasure in nicer materials. Resting in more comfortable desks than those at Taft, students gaze upon the SmartBoards that hang in every classroom with matching projectors mounted on the ceiling. These electronics connect to Apple computers to create a more interactive learning environment for students and easier lesson plans for teachers. Students also receive newer textbooks in better condition than ones students receive at Taft, if they receive them at all. At Taft, supplies often run short and a “Book Room” with limited hours and a clueless staff, assigns books to students rather than the teachers assigning them themselves. Because of the lack of supplies, art teachers must buy materials themselves, and other teachers cannot assign homework because all of their students do not have the proper textbook. Not only is there a lack of materials at Taft High School, but also the quality is much lower with pages of textbooks falling from the seams when the students first receive them. Funding certainly helps a school become better prepared to educate and Minot benefits from having such a wealthy share.

Strong national standards within our country require both schools to teach the same curriculum to its students, and both, Taft and Minot High, follow these rules with few differences. Not as important in Minot, social studies doesn’t apply to all grades while students must pass a Drivers Education and a swimming class. Taft does not provide such classes and therefore does not require them for graduation. Taft does offer a gym class, but does not give it as much value as Minot, which requires students to choose from an expansive list of gym courses. Within both districts, students may take Advanced Placements classes if they wish for more of a challenge. Both Taft and Minot encourage students to take PSAT tests, but those in Minot must sign up for them themselves on a weekend of after school and pay a fee while students at Taft automatically take the PSATs for free during regular school hours. Taft students also partake in TAKS tests and benchmarks while North Dakota does not issue statewide tests to its students. Overall, Minot gives more custom classes while Taft sticks to the Texas curriculum.

With its custom classes created to fit each student’s needs, Minot wishes for its students to become as successful as possible with as few restrictions as needed. At least an hour before school begins each day, with the exception of Monday, every teacher must occupy his or her classroom to help students who decide to come in early. Failing students or those who have work to make up must come to these “before-school help sessions” until they bring their grades up to a passing level and finish all their assignments. Designated to help students even further, people can find many open resource areas including free computer labs, libraries, help centers, and other areas scattered around both the lower and upperclassmen campuses of Minot. Always open during school hours, including at least an hour before and after school, these resource areas insure that students receive all the help they need. With all this extra help available, students at Minot need to mantain a 92% to achieve an “A” while a 90% is an “A” on a Taft report card. Each school has the advantage of granting students the option of checking their grades on-line, and both districts have created school websites for extra resource. Both schools have organized clubs for students to join, but Minot offers a greater diversity including an art club, a writing club called Magic Pens (keeping with the magical theme,) and a drama club called PlayMakers. While Taft students have the option of joining an extra-curricular club, there aren’t as many to choose from. With such a busy schedule, Minot tries to keep its students relaxed and stress-fear by requiring most to have an “off-hour” three days a week. Students can use this 40-minute period to leave the campus, visit the cafeteria for a meal, work on homework, use a resource area, visit with a teacher, make up an assignment, or for any other school-appropriate activity. Students are also granted with the privilege to use electronics such as MP3 devices and cell-phones in designated areas such as the commons, cafeteria, and locker bays at any times. Locker bays are areas in which every single student’s locker resides in one convenient area preventing hallways from congesting and allowing friends to meet in one location. More convenient and larger, these lockers include more shelving and hooks than the scattered lockers found at Taft. Within Taft’s walls students must turn off and put away all electronic equipment at all times of the day, unlike those in the North.

Minot pays extreme attention to health and not only requires gym class to each grade but also creates a restricted lunch menu with specific rules. Minot does not serve “unhealthy” foods including pizza, soda, french fries, and potato chips. Taft not only supplies these foods but also does not enforce physical education as strongly as Minot. Although Minot cares more about its students’ health, Taft has it beat with a nurse’s office. Minot schools do not have nurse’s offices and do not allow students to go home when feeling ill.

Each school has its special memories such as Prom and Homecoming and fights for school spirit with its other school opponents, but Minot grants extra attention to these events. While releasing early for pep rallies and for special Homecoming Coronations, Taft students never enjoy an early dismissal. Also in Minot, a large majority of the student body decks out on any day specified as a “dress-up day.” Mimes can be seen walking around school on “Black and White Day,” with floaties and beach balls being thrown around the halls on “Beach Day,” and maroon and gold beads given out to every student on “Maroon and Gold Day.” Students at Minot never miss out on a fun school event while Taft students do not become as involved. Most students at Minot know the single, fast school song, written by a previous Minot High graduate, but few at Taft know either of its two slower school songs. School spirit runs so strongly through Minot that the school even gives out free maroon and gold items including beaded necklaces, T-shirts, stickers, posters, and other school-proud items to share pride with the students and the rest of the town.
When the school day comes to an end and students return home, both schools offer buses; although in Minot, the bus system differs greatly from those in other schools. Since the Air Force base rests so far from the small town of Minot, which doesn’t collect as much traffic as San Antonio, only those traveling to the air base may ride a bus. Only four buses arrive at the school each day. The buses always come in the same order and arrive in the same location making it easy for Minot students. Any student can ride a bus at Taft, but they come in a more hectic manner. Many buses parade in front of students at Taft as they carefully watch for the one number they seek. The numbers never arrive in order and the buses constantly move to different locations, matching the busy hustle of the city. With the spacious, rural surroundings of Minot compared to San Antonio’s compact traffic-filled layout, it takes about the same amount of time to come home from school, roughly thirty minutes after leaving, but with Taft’s strange bus schedule, this adds another thirty minutes before the buses even leave.

When comparing the two schools that I have attended side-by-side, I find it difficult for me to choose which of the two I like better. Each school has its own advantages and disadvantages, and each school has something that’s better than the other. While Minot seems to have many more advantages than Taft, the quality of those advantages have an effect. I am glad to avoid the required swimming class in Minot by coming to Taft and am relieved to only need a 90% to achieve an “A.” I am also more satisfied with the way lunch and certain classes run in Taft High School. Overall they both balance out to be fine schools and I cannot officially choose which one I enjoy more. Either way I’m proud to call myself a Minot Magician and a Taft Raider.

We read The Crucible by Arthur Miller and my English class, then watched the movie. Afterwards we had an assignment to write an essay on how the movie shows something more clearly than the play. This is the essay that I wrote.

As the camera fades out leaving the lone figure silhouetted in the solitary spotlight, the music swells to a dramatic climax leaving the audience breathless. Vivid imagery and compelling music that touches the soul thrusts the viewer into the heart of the story allowing them to see the pains, feel the joys, and truly understand the story. Books can have the same effect on a person but do so in a much different manner. When Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible was shifted from stage to screen he was given the opportunity to use film’s advantages to fully express his points once more. One point that is more easily seen in the film is the constant self-saving motivation that many of the villagers have, driving them to continue their murderous lies.

When the entire town of Salem, Massachusetts becomes infested with the idea of witchcraft, innocent people are brought to their deaths by the accusations of their friends and neighbors. Motivated by fear of the unknown and the need for a scapegoat, many villagers blindly ended their neighbors’ lives while some used this newfound power to protect themselves. Changes to Arthur Miller’s play in the movie format clearly show these selfish acts, especially near the end of the film. After John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and many others are accused of witchcraft, suspicion continues to torment the minds of many. When the accused are excommunicated from the church in the film, Parris is shown to be using his power to get rid of those who oppose or frighten him. Because Parris had seen the girls’ childish act near the beginning of the story and was aware that witchcraft did not play a part he knowingly sentenced innocent people to hang and banned them from the Church, saving his valuable reputation. Following the excommunications Parris is then shown attending some of the hangings that were also not written in the original play. On film, viewers can see the nervous guilt that is buried within him along with his cowering stature and uneasy, scanning eyes. With such a strong visual, it is difficult to doubt that Parris knows what he is doing is morally wrong. Not only is Parris shown as having self-preserving motivations within the film, but Danforth and Abigail are as well. When Abigail comes running to Danforth claiming that one of the councilmen’s wives is a witch, Danforth calmly claims it couldn’t possibly be true although he had previously believed that anyone who was accused must of been a witch. He tells her that her evidence is untrue and that she cannot be believed, yet does not doubt her evidence or liability from before. This new scene shows that Danforth begins to doubt the entire witchcraft trials, yet decides not to speak up in order to preserve his reputation and career. After accusing so many people, another new scene shows Abigail pleading to Proctor, trying to convince him to run away with her. Through her conversation she explains that she knows she has done wrong and has been lying to save herself from punishment and is going to ultimately save herself by fleeing from town. Although Proctor declines her offer, this scene gives the audience a closer look at the true Abigail.

While the play and the film for Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, both give the same message and tell the same story, some may argue that the film shows the images much more clearly. With the addition of new scenes in the film version, Miller tried another approach to portray the inner workings of his characters. With images and atmosphere that couldn’t be seen and felt through the play, Miller takes advantage of the film and reveals the selfish murderers within his tangled plot.

I feel like a failure…bottom-line, and I feel like everything I care about and work hard at…dies…I don’t know what it is. There’s just been WAY too many things for me to deal with at the moment…

I really really kind of want…need someone to read this…I really need some feedback and this…dead silence…is killing me. Please, people! I need Magic Pens! …

I am tired of being disappointed and I am tired of feeling useless…I try so hard to be as good a contribution to those around me and to life in general as I can be, to a point, but…I don’t seem to be doing much good. Or if I do bring good, it’s only a temporary high…that will always crash and just leave me even more hurt and scarred than before…I keep getting up and trying to bring everything back to how it was, but I just can’t keep from falling…I know I sound kind of stupid, but this is how I think and feel…

Everyone always tells me that I bring the best out in people…and my teachers say I am their most studious student…my friends say I work too hard, get too little sleep, don’t eat well, take care of myself…I sacrifice myself, and some tell me that they can’t go on without me. I really try to make things better, and I love participating and helping out…I really love, just being a good role model, or just a good person. And then taking something and making it great…I am willing to take time to do that…I love that…That’s what I live for…That’s just…me…

But lately…I…haven’t been doing a good job. I know this…Everybody keeps reminding me of this…I keep letting people down and I am the biggest disappointment in my own eyes. I can’t let people down…I just can’t…Especially not myself, and I have pretty high standards, so it’s quite often. I need feedback…I thrive on words from a friend…and in 9th grade, Magic Pens was one of the greatest helps…I didn’t even realize it. I am so sorry! I am so sorry that I was so blind to it! I didn’t know…I wrote so much in 9th grade. It was awesome. I posted about twice a week, or more…That was just so awesome…and I loved it…I made progress, improvement, new ideas, stories, characters…I had so much fun, and I read a lot of other people’s always leaving HUGE comments…I miss those days so much…I can’t even explain it…I can’t believe how much I miss 9th grade, and even 10th grade… I just miss Minot so much…and I can’t explain it, but…I really really miss Magic Pens.

I…have been thinking about this for so long…but I have been so incredibly busy…If I thought I was busy before, then holy crap, I was so wrong! This week I have had a tiny amount of free time…basically just right now (got back from a Writing Competition…) so I was so excited…I was all “Oh my gosh! I want to write something, post on my blog, perhaps draw a new layout, read old stories, read posts by other members, update the website!!! ” I log on…and…Magic Pens… is…gone…? Is it…done? Are we done? Is this it? I mean…Mr. Gifford…he’s leaving? Is that it? No other teacher…will want to do this… No other teacher could do this…Mr. Gifford…we can’t do this without you!

There’s so many things running through my mind…I have had so many let-downs and problems lately…I am seriously fed up with everything, especially myself and fricken time. I hate time! I wish that I had time! I haven’t had some time in so long…I mean, I do have some free time…but I always have some big thing to do…I can’t even list it all…Even over the summer I attended Summer School, and taught a computer class, attended a poetry class, then had to pack and do garage sales and things for moving…This summer was nothing…then school started, and bam! I move…New school and everything and you won’t believe how hard it is to transfer. My whole schedule next year are classes I need for graduation…none are my choice. Plus this school sucks more than Minot…I have officially decided.

College is coming up soon and I still need some help with that. I don’t know what college I want to go to, or should go to, I don’t know how to apply for scholarships, or college, and I don’t know if I’m good enough…My grandmother was upset that I’m not in National Honors Society, and I don’t volunteer often…I did that volunteer teaching that computer class…I’ve still got all A’s 4.0 top of class grades…but…Math is so hard now…they moved me into Pre AP Calculus which I wasn’t in in Minot, so it’s so hard…I might get a B… I don’t know if I can pay for college…I have no money saved, nor do my parents…I need to get all A’s and do volunteer, and extra things…College-credit classes, and pass AP exams…I need to find out how to do all these things! I need time for this! I am…college is one of my worst fears right now…it’s coming up way too quickly…I’m so scared…

Took the PSAT…got a 170…I don’t know how good that is, but I don’t think it’s very good…I know two people who did a lot better… :\ I got … disappointing scores… It upsets me greatly…I need to do well on these PSAT SAT something else with an A things…but I don’t even know when and where to take all these things as well…Most people already have…I’m so behind…

I am so tired of working so hard on something and being disappointed…I can’t tell you all that’s happened to me! There’s too much!

In Band in this school, you can try out for a chair placement at any time…I can’t play well in front of people…so when I try out, I completely suck…In Minot I was 4th chair when I tried out…but the next year, Mrs. Feldner moved me to second because she just knew that I was better than 4th which was the level I played when I was in front of her alone in the auditioning room… :\ This school…anybody can challenge or be challenged for a chair. They stuck me on 8th chair out of 8 because I just moved here…I have to challenge to move up…And out of 3 Bands, 1 being the best, I am in 2nd band…only because I am a junior. They didn’t actually make me audition. Well 7th Chair, Olivia, she annoys me…She texts during class, won’t even play most of the time, she doesn’t show up for concerts, shows, parties, functions, fundraisers, or anything…She was the only one who didn’t get her Secret Santa anything. She doesn’t even bring her music to class! She loses it all and has to look off mine…she doesn’t even practice and just hates band. She said she can’t wait to quit and thinks it’s the worst class…This girl is a chair ahead of me…so I practiced a piece of music so so much and I challenged her. I showed up half an hour early to practice more…then there was the challenge…and I lost. I accept that I lose things when I believe I could have done better and that the winner is better than me and deserves it…but this! This…was just upsetting! I had practiced so hard! I had the song memorized! And she didn’t even know what song it was! She didn’t have it! She basically sight-read it at the Challenge…and she fricken beat me! This story goes on…but I’m just not in the mood…

Math. Math is hard. I hate math…It’s my worst subject…Okay, I get that…but…I try really hard…and I seek help, and take it home and study and work hard at it…Why do I…suck? I am struggling to keep my A…trying so hard…and my math teacher isn’t cutting me any slack for missing the first month of school…And…just…other things…

I need a shoulder to fricken cry on!!! But that’s…a different…topic…

Found out my friend’s pregnant by the way as well…Dropped out of high school, moved away from home and everything. Joy, joy…

Why do I feel like crap…? I feel terrible…I think it’s just cuz’…Magic Pens…I don’t know…Maybe it’s just all these thoughts and feelings all built up…Everything from over the months…I miss Minot…and I fail. And I keep disappointing people and not doing the best and stuff….And I am stressed and have too much to do and everyone is upset with me…And I cry. Mr. Gifford…I can’t believe he’s leaving…He gave up…If he gave up…there’s no hope for me…

I don’t know what to say…my absence…my lack of participation…my suckiness…Everyone says that they have too much to do…I held a position! I ran things, organized things, drew things, did everything! I advertised, created things, managed things…I was right up there but Mr. Gifford…there is no way in the world I could do it without him. No one else would even do what I did…No one else was on enough…or willing to..you can’t make people do that anyways…I volunteered for it all…it was the only way it would get done, and I seriously enjoyed it.

We had to write big essays for English…It was graded on a scale of 1-4, 4 being the best… I worked on mine for like three full class periods, took it home and worked on it, and came before class…I was darn proud of that essay, unlike my other recent ones…and I fricken got a 3. I would be all right with that really if I wasn’t so proud of it…and…my friend got higher than me…Writing’s my thing! Not his! He’s already better than me at everything else…can’t I have…something…?

Mrs. Eno, my English teacher just told me yesterday…I was special to have Mr. Gifford in my life…and to have him with Magic Pens and all you guys…You really do help…and I didn’t realize how much you did…I need you guys…I need to write a story and have Bret and Jared fight over who reads it first…and have Rebecca love it and Desirae quietly read it…Mr. Gifford give advice, Hannah say it’s cool…Randy or Matt may drop by and say hi. And I draw an awesome picture and recode my layout…Get all excited…stay up all night and just read and write…I love that…I loved that…

Why did WordVentures have to die on us? We were going to be prepared! I was looking forward to that! Come on! That was just the coolest thing! Don’t you guys remember that news cast?! “With one book under their belt…these writers are destined for greatness…” We can’t give up! We’re destined for greatness! We can’t…We were so good we were even on the news! Look what we’ve created…look at this…A circle of writers, a group of inspiration…a tight pack of friends…And we got so close to becoming official…If we just kept that up…we would have been so awesome! We can do that! I’m here…I’m here…I’ll do anything! I mean…just ask…If it will save the club, I’ll do it…I’ll find time, I’ll make time…I’ll do it! Please…Just…I don’t want this to die on me as well…

Even my guild…has been dying…One of my best friends and greatest leaders/help with the guild has quit…permanently…Another did as well…and the co-leader, another good friend of mine is so disappointed in me…He’s been doing so much trying to keep the guild alive…I can’t thank him enough…It’s sad…I really…need to do something. I have been working really hard at it though. I don’t want my guild to die either…although it feels almost like it already has. It’s just cuz’ I’m such a terrible leader and everybody else has to pick up my slack and make up for my absences…I try my best, but I just can’t do anything right…I’d promise them I’d never leave…

My Social Studies teacher wants me to write a complete research paper for National History Day by February 5. He said that there’s no doubt that I would win. I have to learn a flute ensemble by February 7ish with only three practices. I just entered an art contest…lots of rules, lots of restrictions…one full week where I dedicated every minute to it…I don’t think I’m going to win…My Spanish teacher wants me to participate in some National Spanish test…I don’t know Spanish that well…I’ll just fail and make a fool out of myself. My English teacher wants me to keep up these Ready Writing Competitions and join Literary Magazine and Journalism. My Science teacher just wants me to finish… (err…start) my Science project for the Science Fair…due January 23rd…

Just from reading this I don’t think you guys will understand…I have so much on my mind, on my chest, on my schedule…

Even my health is scaring me…I’m not sleeping well, or eating well…I’ve been having terrible stomach pains, my knee randomly gave out one day…made me drop my PrismaColor colored pencils on the school floor, then I was late to class, cried in front of my teacher in a breakdown of stress and pain…was forced to the Nurse’s office although I begged not to be sent…she recommended I go home…she told me to…but I had a Math test to take so I refused to go home…A test I did bad on…and I had to wear a brace and couldn’t walk very well…had to use the elevator and stuff…couldn’t bend my knee, or reach my locker…I have a bottom one…that sits on the floor…I’ve been losing blood, too…There are some serious signs I may have an ulcer…My dad does and my grandfather, and I’m showing the same signs as my dad did before we found out about his…I have been getting random pains all over…my new tooth is growing in…from where they pulled out one…and that hurts…the right side of my mouth still hurts when I chew…I get random muscle and bone pains, especially in my wrists, arms, and upper legs, oh and especially hips when I walk. People complain my backpack is WAY too heavy…Then I keep getting aching stomach pains, especially when I am hungry or right after I eat. What is fricken wrong with me!?

Attended another UIL writing competition today…(I am an official member of the Ready Writing team here at Taft High School now.) This competition was at Medina Valley High School. Ah, there’s so much to say about it…but basically, the topics this time were REALLY hard and I took the first hour (out of two) just analyzing them. I didn’t have a topic chosen by the first hour! Mostly everybody was done by then; one person was finished within the first half hour. Three went from my school (27 participants in total,) and all three of us were the only ones there after an hour and we took both hours. When I was finished I returned to the Cafeteria and told my English teacher that my essay was even worse than last time and I just did really bad. I didn’t think I had much of a chance. She reminded me that’s what I said last time when I got third place, but I assured her that I did a lot worse this time…Well we waited for 5 hours for results…The two others from my school got 7th and 10th place, but I got 1st! I was so shocked… On my scoring sheet, I got a perfect on every category. But I realized I forgot the comma in my title, (I can’t believe I did that! I realized it right after I turned it in…) so they scribbled out the perfect for punctuation and took off a point. Still 1st place though. Anyways, my essay is after the topic. Reading it now, I still think it needs a lot of work, and I should have done a lot of things, but I got 1st, so I’m satisfied.

Topic: “The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of the rhetoric than to any other force.”
-Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), Mein Kampf

Use force on a man and he may follow for a year, but feed his mind with your ideas and he will follow for life. Speech has been known to be one of mankind’s most valuable tools and treasures, but when sharpened, can be more powerful than any other force. Many memorable leaders throughout history have caused action from their mastership of rhetoric, bringing change to the world through persuasive speeches and convincing words. New leaders continue to arise even to this day, using their sharp tongues to control our minds and manipulate our thoughts. Control people’s minds and you control the world.

Logic and reason are often thought to be the most powerful weapons in war and in life. Malleability is both a strength and a weakness of the human brain allowing our minds to develop and grow. We are able to take the thoughts from others and make them our own to bring reason, purpose, and understanding to our lives. Our actions are directly related with these thoughts, causing our minds to become the valuable keys to our very beings. Persuasive speech is used to collect the key to the audience’s mind and use it to one’s advantage. When a person is fed with ideas that appeal to their reasoning they instantly become a prisoner to their supplier and unknowingly become dependent on that person, the supplier now their puppeteer able to direct their movements with the simple pull of a string. Conquering a world is effortless when there are no opponents to challenge you.

Throughout history the world has witnessed reigns of great leaders and of poor ones. Some leaders became a powerful influence and left a greatly exposed scar upon the Earth. Many of these leaders’ voices can still be heard today, their words travelling from mouth to mouth, their ideas still continuing to seep from mind to mind. History books deliver their speeches and students use their quotes to add value to an essay. Through charismatic talent these people appealed to the broad masses of a population and took advantage of their greatest weakness.

“I have a dream,” is one of the most well-recognized quotes in America. These words brought about one of the most powerful movements and helped bring an end to segregation, spoken from the lips of Martin Luther King Jr., a skillful speaker who shared his ideas rather than violence to change his country. Honored and respected today, he is thought to be a hero and a muse who displayed the tremendous power rhetoric can have over the world. Although this leader is said to have brought a virtuous presence about the world, some leaders are respected for their incredible use of speech to harm it. Adolf Hitler is another well-known and often respected leader, although viewed at through much different eyes. Hundreds listened to his speeches and unknowingly allowed his immoral ideas to poison their minds through the sounds of his voice. Hitler caused much action by causing people to agree with him and unshed the reason from his movement. He used his rhetoric talent to dominate his country, his people, and a great portion of the world. Many fear the simplicity of Hitler’s weapon and how easily people can be persuaded due to their appeal of rhetoric.

Speech is not often thought of to be a weapon but certainly can be used as one. Rhetoric is a skill that can be trained and sharpened to become a powerfully effective tool. Many have discovered this obscured secret and have used it to conquer the world. The appeal of rhetoric is stronger than any other force in the world because of the simple fact that the broad masses of a population are more amenable to it and freely surrender their minds to it. With all minds on one side, thinking and agreeing together, the world is in a tight grasp, with but a single conqueror.