Pressing Issues that Earth Faces

There are many issues that are causing the world's problems of today, and although individually the problems are not huge, when combined they become hugely important. I think the the main issue today is greed. This has caused many problems, from outsourcing jobs causing lots of people to be laid off, to the current economic crisis, to the war for oil, I mean the 'war on terrorism'. I have never been one to point fingers, but alot of the problem comes from wealthy American capitalists looking to make the most money in the easiest way possible, not worrying about who it affects. This leads into my second biggest issue, selfishness. This is directly related to greed, but this applies more to the human aspect instead of money. Selfishness has lead in everyone thinking only of themselves, and not caring about their fellow human beings. This can lead to war, ignorance, and indifference. The third most important issue is overpopulation. There are way too many people on the earth, and they all can't be supported by our natural resources. This can lead to shortages of vital resources such as water and food. The fourth biggest issue is pollution. As I said before, there aren't enough resources to go around as it is, so it only makes things worse if things are wasted and our renewable sources of energy aren't beaing taken advantage of. The fifth biggest issue affecting the world today is disrespect. It seems to me that every year, people become more disrepectful of other people, other people's possesions, and even themselves. I may sound like an old man sitting in Timmies, but the kids of today have no respect. I can see myself now: sitting on my porch, chasing a kid with my cane yelling "You damn kids get off my lawn!". So there you have it, the problems of today summed up in one nice, conveniant paragraph: Greed, Selfishness, Overpopulation, Pollution, and Disrespect.

If I was in Charge of Education...

If I was in charge of the education system I would make a few changes. The very first thing I would do would be to change the school schedule to something similar to the British schedule. This is where the school year goes almost all year long, with 6 weeks for summer, 2 weeks for spring, and 2 weeks for christmas. I would start school an hour later, because I HATE getting up in the morning, and it also has been shown to be a poor learning time for teenage students. I would also completely update the teaching method. This would involve: getting rid of textbooks for digital learning media, replacing chalk boards with smart boards, and training teachers to be more technologically aware and know what they're talking about. This would allow for a much higher education system.

American Teen Continued

I ABSOLUTELY agree!! Attending IDCI provides a huge pressure cooker, since everyone knows everyone and this helps to eliminate your personal life. However, coming from Thamesford, IDCI seems alot larger than what I used to deal with. In TPS (Thamesford Public School), we had about 300 students, with about 40 kids in each grade. This meant that I was with the same kids every single year, for the most part. In fact, except for some people who moved, my grade 1 class was almost identical to my grade 8 class. this allowed for a situation where it was impossible for someone to not notice you. Even just living in town meant that everyone knew you, or atleast your parents. This got me in trouble multiple times, if I was doing something or going somewhere my parents didn't want me to, since alot of people in town knew me, they would tell my parents and I would get in trouble. Living in a small town means it is almost impossible to have a private life. I hear almost daily something like "Hey I saw you the other day driving through town" or "Hey I saw you going to the store yesterday". This creates a pressure cooker situation, since it gives you the feeling that you are constantly being watched.

American Teen

I really liked this movie, it showed how stressful a teenager's life can be at times, although it did seem over dramatic. to quote Mr. McG it seems very "The Hills-ish". Take the preppy girl for example, i can't remember her name at the moment, but she is your definitive preppy, stuck up, american, b****. She likes to think that she is the centre of the universe, and that no one else is important. She ended up TP-ing someones house just becaue she didn't get the prom theme she wanted, then she ended up not even getting in trouble. The whole movie seemed rather over-dramatic, although it very well could have been edited to appear that way. One thing that this movie made me realise more than anything else, was just how different Americans are versus Canadians. Take sports for example, I was on the football team this year and the only time we had a big audience was during the buyouts, and once school was over, almost two thirds of the audience left. In the movie, the basketball games are considered THE most important thing to go watch, and they get tons of people to turn out. I really was sympathetic to the nerdy guy, however alot of his problems seemed to be self inflicted. To put it simply, he was just, weird. I thought that his story was sad, and felt bad for him since most people didn't want anything to do with him. However, he seemed to find his niche in college. Overall impression: I really really liked this movie. like, really.

Growing up Online

After watching the show, it really made me think. I was thinking about how technology has changed the world, and especially the education system. Technology in schools has changed so much in the last two decades, and will bring even more drastic change in the years to come. Because of computers, the education system has been exposed to all sorts of advancements in the school system, however, it also has created problems. problems of plagarism are now much more prominent, as is the amount of cheating. I think that the school system, and especially teachers, should try to embrace change and this won't be as much of an issue. I think that our education system needs a serious technological overhaul, do away with outdated books and other teaching strategies, and bring in more smartboards, videos, and other diverse ways of teaching. If this was done efficiently, it would not only solve the problems mentioned above, but it would also help to improve student's averages and the attendence rate. because, if school is fun, then why would you not show up?

Angels and Demons

I LOVE this book! I had already read Da Vinci Code and enjoyed it thoroughly, but the plot to angels and demons is so much more exciting and the plot is more rivetting, which kept me turning the pages until I was done. Angels and Demons is a great book, and I'm glad we picked it.

Once Upon a School

I really like the idea of the once upon a school, but I also know that it could never work in an area such as Ingersoll. We are just too narrow minded in Ingersoll. Take Fusion for example, even though it sounds like a great place to go, and helps alot of people out, it carries with it this terrible stereotype that only drugies, weird kids, and 'dirties' go there. I hate to admit it, but I used to believe this stereotype too, but I know it's not true now. This goes to show that hardly anyone would go to once upon a school in Ingersoll, because they would be afraid of being labelled. However, I think that this is a great idea for places that are a little more open minded about things that are different.