If You Spread Kindness It Will Make Its Way Back to You

After reading "The Art of Being a Neighbor" by Eve Birch, I realized that numerous people care more about their own success than the simple enjoyment of life. Now that America has descended into a depression, times are harder. People are losing jobs, houses, and some are even losing hope. In these times if we don't lend a hand to each other every once in a while then how will we live happily with our neighbors. Selfishness is not the resolution that any of us should come to.

Eve Birch tells in her essay how she was homeless and jobless so she moved to an isolated hollow. To her surprise the neighbors that she encountered were of the utmost kindness. They were the simple kind that didn't care so much about money or jobs but more about the enjoyment of their life with their loved ones. They always invited her to do different activities since she was alone and they would sometimes stop by just to say hi. I wish that the people of the urban areas in America could be like this.

If everyone just did simple deeds like these kind folk did then think of how much happier we could be. Sometimes the rudeness of some of the modern Americans is astonishing. Why is it so hard just to be a good neighbor? I think everyone knows that sometimes we just need help from those around us because we aren't always strong enough to take care of ourselves.

Few Teachers Are Giving Full Effort to Help Students Learn

As I was reading "Rigor Redifined" by Tony Wagner it suddenly appeared to me that if teachers don't give their full effort in their curriculum, then students will recieve minimal education to prepare them for what is ahead. It seems that nowadays teachers have begun to give up on the students because we don't seem to be interested in the curriculum. Many people think that it is the teacher's responsibility to educate the students efficientely. However, I believe that students are taking partial action in this fall of education. The students have recently begun to slack off causing a chain reaction to occur. As soon as your friends slack off you want to also. Then the teachers will try to keep us interested, but the students are all so stubborn that the teacher (if they are not giving full effort) will give up on keeping us interested. In the article that I read the author explains how a good teacher should educate their students. Then he gives examples of some bad teachers. A good teacher (the author says) teachs the students to use critical thinking, leadership, adaptation, initiative, written communication, analyzing information, and imagination. If a teacher tries their best to engage us in these activities then I believe we, as students, will be interested in the class and recieve beneficial education.

Why will 2020 be this way?

As I was watching Mr. Fisch's video "2020 Vision" I thought why would you want the world to be this way? I am sorry but that's just not how I think the world is going to turn out, however I respect that Mr. Fisch made this stunning video. I think that if all these companies (google, yahoo, Microsoft) control almost all activities then they will become monopolies and gain too much power for their own good. Mr. Fisch explains how Google will hold a free online college and I think that that is absurd. Students that actually care about college work to get it. If it was freely given out to everyone then they would have no drive or determination to do well and receive maximum education and a "college experience". Only around 35-40% of people go to college before 25 says most articles. "Greater percentage of Americans educated" from USATODAY gives great details. If all the education became perfect and everything was perfectly efficient where would all that fun be?! At schools fun activities and athletics would go down the drain and the students social life would be not very interesting. If learning became the first objective of all things then lost arts would begin to emerge. Cooking, art, dance, fashion, sports, and many more activities and passions would become lost arts! I do agree with Mr. Fisch that everyone should give effort to change to world and take care of each other. I also agree that technology is becoming a huge part of our lives. However people have to understand that not everyone wants the world to be taken away by technology. I am a very artsy person and to think that all this technology is taking over makes me a little upset actually. Technology is helping our world alot! However, in my opinion, technology isn't everything.

Creation vs. Evolution

Today I was reading David Warlick's blog "2 Cents Worth" on "The Evolution of Evolution". This brought up many questions in my mind. Is Mr. Warlick an evolutionist? Where did Darwin get his facts? How have Darwin's ideas of evolution changed in modern day? I soon learned that Mr. Warlick is an evolutionist and I strongly disagree with him. The main reason I don't believe in evolution is because how could things as beautiful as people, passion, animals, personalities, life, and love all come from a big bang? The complexity of the human mind is unbelievable and so to believe that that we came from apes, to me, is insane! Scientists with PhDs coming out of their ears have calculated the possibility of this world being created by evolution, and it is a number so small that it is impossible.
How can this universe be made from nothing unless a force outside of the universe created the world? I believe the answer is God. I believe the world is impossible to make with out His miracles and creation. Everything on this planet has been planned out so meticulously that it is impossible to be an accident. I have realized that since I am coming from a christian school to a public one that teachers might push me to believe in evolution. However, I think I will be able to stand my ground and defend what I believe in. I believe that us as humans and this entire world has been created for a purpose and isn't one big accident. Notice I say the word "believe" a lot. This is because believing is having full, faithful trust in something that is unproven, and I believe in creation.

Learn Vocab While You Increase Your Vocab

On Mr. Fisch's blog "The Fischbowl" he posted a blog about "Free Rice". I went to check this website out for my self because I thought it was possibly a scam. However, it turned out to be true! This website is a win-win situation because you receive increased diction while feeding starving people across the world. I don't know who created this website but they must have a big heart. On the website you match multiple choice synonyms and you receive twenty grains of rice for everyone you answer correctly. Every time you answer three in a row it goes up one level higher, but no one has made it past level forty-eight. I advise anyone who is reading this to check out this unbelievable website and see the greatness for yourself. The website is http://www.freerice.com/. Just think of it, if we told all of our friends about this site and they told their friends (and so on) a numerous amount of people all around the world would possibly live just because we all took fifteen minutes a week to get them free rice over the web. The web has now made so many things possible and this new website is another one of its great creations. Actually it isn't the web. It's us.

Suprising Execution in Ohio

As I was reviewing the article "Ohio Plans to Try Again as Execution Goes Wrong" by Bob Driehaus I learned that the third execution that failed at killing its subject took place today. In the state of Ohio Mr. Broom, a convicted rapist and murderer of a 14 year old girl, was planned to be executed by a deadly IV injection, however the executor couldn't find a good vein for the IV. When the IV was finally injected Broom didn't die but instead he just showed a bit of pain. I believe that everything in our lives happens for a reason or purpose and that Broom living is no coincidence. I also strongly disagree that execution should even be legal. Killing someone who has killed another doesn't bring back or make-up for the person that is lost. Instead you end up with two dead people instead of letting the killer have a chance (in life long jail) to understand what they did was wrong and seek forgiveness. If a small boy was mischievous and punched another small girl do you punch the boy to make him learn his lesson? No! Murdering a murderer isn't much different (in theory). Broom's execution is supposed to be tried again on Tuesday however it is unlikely that this will pass the court. Most likely he will continue in jail for life. I believe that is the way it should be.

My Thoughts on the New Literacy Today

Thinking about the article "Clive Thompson, The New Literacy" and the YouTube video "Web 2.0 The Machine is Us/ing Us" brings up numerous questions. Where will our technology be in 30 years? What jobs will be available? Is this a new age of literacy? Is the new "text" diminishing our writing skills or helping them? Most of our questions about the future will remain unanswered until they reveal themselves when the time comes. However this doesn't mean we can't prepare ourselves for what is coming. I believe in Lunsford's thoughts (The New Literacy) of this new age of literacy. I believe that this era is more exposed to writing and ideas than any other era because we have the benefit of web 2.0. Everyone who is making scoff remarks about how we use "text language" and waste time on the internet are avoiding one crucial fact: regardless of where we are writing on the web we are still using our minds to create our own ideas and publications. In this new era we aren't just limited to text but we also have pictures, videos, and more. I feel like it is a privilege not a disadvantage to be in this new age of literacy and I need to use it for my own and others benefit.