Pulse
The College Life (for me)
The bad part comes out here: there is a heavy drinking and smoking culture. The administration has made steps to address this with smoking zones, and there is a club on campus that I joined (SEAL, Students Engaged and Awake to Life) that has a focus of drug free activities. Also, much of the partying and drinking happens at the river way far in the back of campus, and while it is refreshing during the day - I stay clear of that area at night. Anyway...
I lost my baggage (the airline actually did) so the first night I slept with just a jacket. However I was "compensated" by meeting two other Californians that very night, who live close to my hometown.
...
Here is a great resource on how to use wikis in education that he and the folks at EduTopia offered up.
Lucas is one of countless young dogs across the US in training to become a seeing-eye dog for the blind and visually impaired. I have been raising Lucas since April and we have grown together in his...
Imagine you live in a world in which you are not trusted, just for existing and making decisions. You always have to be on guard or you risk being screamed at for your actions, or glared at with a contempt so disheartening it makes your stomach drop. People will get in your face and talk you down so that you can “get in line.” You will be interrogated over small things, like where you go or what you say.
It happens everywhere.
Say you're at a buffet restaurant and you drop a dish. Out comes the manager at a slow pace, grimacing, and then he or she just yells, “What is WRONG with you, huh!” A fellow customer then walks up to you and slaps your hand, “Get your food and GET back to your table, you understand?” When you return to your seat your family just glares at you in silence. After...
I never intended to take a band class, but I had heard the teacher was awesome and well loved. So I decided to do it. I play percussion, so I don't always have much to do, but it's great fun just to sit and watch the teacher interacting with the kids, making them laugh and smile, all the time creating great music. It's...
As the summer came to a close and the fifth of September rolled around, it seemed so surreal, it almost seemed like my class and I might actually just meet in our little classroom, and embrace each other like we did every year, and say how much we missed everyone, and have many conversations about all our adventures that summer. But it become apparently clear that this was not how it was going to happen. And somehow I ended up in a brand new school where I knew no one to hug or tell about my summer.
It also was harder to grasp than I think I...
Another man, slightly older, stood beside him, also in uniform. My peers looked curiously over at the table, and most of them wandered over and talked to the two men. The kids asked them questions and looked through all of the material the men had brought.
Later, I talked to one of my friends, who had gone over to talk to the recruiters. He announced that he had decided that day to join the Marines. I asked him why, and he told me he wanted to do something with his life. He wanted to be a hero. He told...
Meeting the status quo. That's what it's all about. Don't do too well, don't stand out. Kids use the term “rebel” fairly often in my school. In dictionary terms, this means someone or a group of people who rise up against the government. In my school, it's someone who fails. Someone who steals. Someone who is not in a good place in their life. The Rebels are revered.
For the first time in my life I have felt pressure not to...
It was the end of the day and I was walking with my friend to basketball practice. My teacher stood in the hall. I called to him, "So, did I get an A on that assignment?" in a joking tone. You see, we had to create these books for our social studies class, and I was laughing about...
English 9, period 2. We were all hurrying into our places at our desks before the bell rang. My friend swore loudly and announced he had forgotten his homework.
“I am so getting a detention,” he said unhappily.
You see, if you forget your homework, come late to class, come unprepared to class, grab the wrong binder for that class, fail a test, speak out of turn, or goof off, you receive a mandatory one-hour invite to an after school detention. If you miss, skip or are unable to attend this detention, you receive a two-hour detention on Friday. If you fail to attend the Friday attention, you get a “quiet” detention on SATURDAY FROM 8 TO NOON. (That's four hours!!!) During quiet detention, you are not...
I loved school. Every minute of it. There wasn't a day when I thought it was a drag to go to school. It was perfect for me. We learned to learn. My teachers taught to teach. We weren't tested, graded or analyzed. I had a second family of twenty-four kids my age and a teacher who probably knew me better than I knew myself at most times. The thought of leaving broke my heart a little every time I thought about graduation. It seemed almost surreal to me. I had known nothing else my whole life. But the inevitable day came when I...
Posted on Sep 04, 2010 - 08:30 PM by Zuleika Irvin
I'm in college now, and I like it. People are friendly, for the most part. It is very diverse for a school in such a secluded location.The bad part comes out here: there is a heavy drinking and smoking culture. The administration has made steps to address this with smoking zones, and there is a club on campus that I joined (SEAL, Students Engaged and Awake to Life) that has a focus of drug free activities. Also, much of the partying and drinking happens at the river way far in the back of campus, and while it is refreshing during the day - I stay clear of that area at night. Anyway...
I lost my baggage (the airline actually did) so the first night I slept with just a jacket. However I was "compensated" by meeting two other Californians that very night, who live close to my hometown.
...
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Wikis are transforming teachingPosted on Aug 31, 2010 - 06:32 PM by Scott Nine
Last week I had the privilege of listening to celebrated teacher Anthony Armstrong throw down his approach to using wikis to open up the learning process with his middle school students. It was a powerful display of what can happen when creativity, technology, and a spirit of collaboration infuses the learning process. My favorite thing he said: "The singular goal of our assessment process is to not ask any questions our students can Google and find the answer."Here is a great resource on how to use wikis in education that he and the folks at EduTopia offered up.
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Lucas: A Puppy with a PurposePosted on Aug 06, 2010 - 10:50 PM by Claire Russell
I stood waiting in line under the fluorescent light of my local Super Wal-Mart, a container of juice in my right hand. This was a very rare scene for me because I don't shop at Wal-Mart as a habit, but what made this occasion really rare was what was in my left hand. I looked down at the leather leash in my fist, the kind they usually use for service dogs in training. I followed the leash down until my gaze was met with soft brown eyes. At my side sat a six-month old black lab puppy wearing a red 'Guiding Eyes for the Blind' bandanna and a matching red collar with a name-tag that read: LUCAS.Lucas is one of countless young dogs across the US in training to become a seeing-eye dog for the blind and visually impaired. I have been raising Lucas since April and we have grown together in his...
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The Culture of Fear and Oppression in SchoolsPosted on Jul 28, 2010 - 03:15 PM by Zuleika Irvin
**Imagine you live in a world in which you are not trusted, just for existing and making decisions. You always have to be on guard or you risk being screamed at for your actions, or glared at with a contempt so disheartening it makes your stomach drop. People will get in your face and talk you down so that you can “get in line.” You will be interrogated over small things, like where you go or what you say.
It happens everywhere.
Say you're at a buffet restaurant and you drop a dish. Out comes the manager at a slow pace, grimacing, and then he or she just yells, “What is WRONG with you, huh!” A fellow customer then walks up to you and slaps your hand, “Get your food and GET back to your table, you understand?” When you return to your seat your family just glares at you in silence. After...
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Living in Archaic TimesPosted on Jul 27, 2010 - 10:25 AM by Zuleika Irvin
Having old (mom and dad being 50 and 74 respectively) parents has got me thinking about behavior, and how it evolves. It makes me wonder, will there ever be a point where I am content with "living" in the past? When I think of an old person I get a sensation of being trapped or stuck in one dimension or another. They seem to sag and drag, as if their past is personified, physically and cognitively weighing them down. If it comes down to living in an archaic state of mind, unmoved by change, then elderhood is not something I look forward to. Although it's not fun or even bearable, I can get all the wrinkles and degeneration, but if my mind is not keen on change and progress, then that is my biggest problem. I don't want to grow up to watch reruns and only care about the "old jams"...Read More... 2 Comments
A Glimpse of Compassion in Room 114Posted on Apr 14, 2010 - 08:27 PM by Claire Russell
In my Waldorf grade school, compassion and inspiration were the norm, which was a beautiful thing. However, in my current public high school it is much harder to come by, which is something I dearly miss about my old schooling. Words like "stupid" and "retarded" are thrown around like they mean nothing and like they aren't hurtful. However, every once in a while you can truly see the heart of the student body, and that is precisely what inspires me to write about this.I never intended to take a band class, but I had heard the teacher was awesome and well loved. So I decided to do it. I play percussion, so I don't always have much to do, but it's great fun just to sit and watch the teacher interacting with the kids, making them laugh and smile, all the time creating great music. It's...
Read More... 2 Comments
Success or Just a Broken Promise?Posted on Mar 22, 2010 - 08:00 AM by Claire Russell
Before the beginning of this school year, I made a promise to myself. I vowed that no matter what happened in my new school or whatever experiences I would have or problems I would encounter, I would not change who I was or what I believed in.As the summer came to a close and the fifth of September rolled around, it seemed so surreal, it almost seemed like my class and I might actually just meet in our little classroom, and embrace each other like we did every year, and say how much we missed everyone, and have many conversations about all our adventures that summer. But it become apparently clear that this was not how it was going to happen. And somehow I ended up in a brand new school where I knew no one to hug or tell about my summer.
It also was harder to grasp than I think I...
Read More... 1 Comments
Uncle Sam Wants YOU… and he’s waiting in the cafeteriaPosted on Feb 15, 2010 - 06:16 PM by Claire Russell
He stood there like a statue -- dressed head to foot in the full uniform of a United States Marine. His hands were behind his back with unmatched pride. He stood behind a table that was sitting in the middle of my cafeteria. The banner on the front of the table read "Marine Recruits."Another man, slightly older, stood beside him, also in uniform. My peers looked curiously over at the table, and most of them wandered over and talked to the two men. The kids asked them questions and looked through all of the material the men had brought.
Later, I talked to one of my friends, who had gone over to talk to the recruiters. He announced that he had decided that day to join the Marines. I asked him why, and he told me he wanted to do something with his life. He wanted to be a hero. He told...
Read More... 2 Comments
Reverse Pressure: The Pressure to FailPosted on Jan 10, 2010 - 05:20 PM by Claire Russell
In schools across America, young teens walk their halls with the heavy burden of perfection always upon them. Whoever instills this need for being flawless is often the one pushing young people. Their parents, their teachers, their family. However, at my school there is a new kind of pressure that is exceedingly different from the classic one: The pressure to fail.Meeting the status quo. That's what it's all about. Don't do too well, don't stand out. Kids use the term “rebel” fairly often in my school. In dictionary terms, this means someone or a group of people who rise up against the government. In my school, it's someone who fails. Someone who steals. Someone who is not in a good place in their life. The Rebels are revered.
For the first time in my life I have felt pressure not to...
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Bullied by a Role ModelPosted on Dec 20, 2009 - 05:00 PM by Claire Russell
I write today from my heart, which, like my head is very confused and upset. I have been at my new school for nearly three months and I am happy to report I have not once been bullied, or teased -- until today. We all went through getting teased when we were children, and I have to admit I even did my fair share of teasing when I was young too, but it's an easy thing to fix. When you're teased as a child, you run to your teacher for comfort and advice. The scary thing is, this time the bully was my teacher.It was the end of the day and I was walking with my friend to basketball practice. My teacher stood in the hall. I called to him, "So, did I get an A on that assignment?" in a joking tone. You see, we had to create these books for our social studies class, and I was laughing about...
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The Mention of DetentionPosted on Nov 22, 2009 - 05:39 PM by Claire Russell
Just so everyone knows, I will be blogging every two weeks. Usually on Sundays.English 9, period 2. We were all hurrying into our places at our desks before the bell rang. My friend swore loudly and announced he had forgotten his homework.
“I am so getting a detention,” he said unhappily.
You see, if you forget your homework, come late to class, come unprepared to class, grab the wrong binder for that class, fail a test, speak out of turn, or goof off, you receive a mandatory one-hour invite to an after school detention. If you miss, skip or are unable to attend this detention, you receive a two-hour detention on Friday. If you fail to attend the Friday attention, you get a “quiet” detention on SATURDAY FROM 8 TO NOON. (That's four hours!!!) During quiet detention, you are not...
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From Student to ConformistPosted on Nov 06, 2009 - 09:58 PM by Claire Russell
Hi, my name is Claire Russell. I am a freshman at a mainstream public high school in rural Maine. I attended a "Waldorf-inspired" alternative school from the moment I walked into my first day of kindergarten, until the day I graduated from eighth grade last June.I loved school. Every minute of it. There wasn't a day when I thought it was a drag to go to school. It was perfect for me. We learned to learn. My teachers taught to teach. We weren't tested, graded or analyzed. I had a second family of twenty-four kids my age and a teacher who probably knew me better than I knew myself at most times. The thought of leaving broke my heart a little every time I thought about graduation. It seemed almost surreal to me. I had known nothing else my whole life. But the inevitable day came when I...
Read More... 3 Comments