Detention and In School Suspension (ISS)

Detention and In School Suspension (ISS)

This makes no sense to me. Especially the latter. Champlin Park's goal is basically for every student to strive for academic excellence, why pull the students out of class to sit in a room all day and look at a wall? They say that the kid is a disturbance, but are they?

Example- Student has nine tardies to class. They are given ISS.

Now what's the point of this? Being late to class truly isn't a disturbance. Maybe it's annoying for the teacher, they have to go back into the system and do attendance, but who cares? To pull the kid out of class for the entire day and let them fall even more behind in their classes is stupid. Excuse my language, but there is no point to it. That isn't a fair way to discipline a student. Even more low down, they get ISS on the last week of the trimester. It is the student's fault for being late, but the consequences for that don't make sense.

I only included detention because I don't really see the point in disciplining students for tardies like that. I know it isn't that big of a deal, but I don't like the principle behind it. If the student is consistently late, their grades will suffer (probably). Why not just let the kids have the responsibility of being in class on time?

I mean, maybe school officials are scared of asking too much of us dumb children.

PS - I see the point of ISS and detention for other reasons such as fighting. That truly is disturbing.

PPS - Why does the school get involved in every aspect of life? For instance, when a kid gets a minor for drinking during the summer or during the school year. That doesn't disturb anything, yet they still receive consequences...

11:59 vs. 7:40

11:59 vs. 7:40

One of the last obstacles I have to conquer is the Written Task 2 for English. Now granted, I've known that it has been due for the past two weeks now, but like most people, I haven't done it. Tonight I have my first wrestling match, and I won't get home until 10:00 (more than likely). So how am I supposed to write my paper while being physically and mentally tired in less than two hours? Needless to say, I made a mistake...

Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days...

But seriously, what's the difference between making a paper due at 11:59 and 7:40? The majority of people probably do their homework at night, but for those of us who are different, we wake up and do our homework at four in the morning. With that extra sleep, I would be more focused on the paper and be able to get it done. Plus, it isn't like the teacher will be up in the middle of the night grading the papers, so why make it due at midnight?

I'm just sayin', I'm gonna be up no matter what time you make it due at.

Smarts and Personality

Smarts and Personality

Some friends and I have been talking about this a little bit. Basically, to what extent does a person's level of intellect influence their personality?

Personally, I think that how smart somebody is has a lot to do with their personality. Well, maybe not necessarily personality as much as it is choices. I am kind of struggling with this question. I may change my mind.

Anyways, your opinion would be appreciated because I'm not sure what I think about this.

Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity

So I was exploring the internet and came across this conservative dude named Adam Kokesh. He is basically a talk radio host/political activist. Well anyways, I was watching one of his rants on Youtube and it was about childhood obesity. He basically argued that if a child is fat before age 10 (or some arbitrary number, I don't exactly remember), you are a child abuser. It is child abuse to let a kid get fat.

Well, I'm not really sure where I stand on this issue. In a sense, I agree with him. To me, it is the parent's responsibility to ensure that their child is healthy. Weight is a component of that. However, I also understand that some kids struggle with weight a lot more than others. But still, those things can be combatted, correct?

Anyways, what do you think of that viewpoint? I think I lean towards agreeing with him because for the most part, children are helpless.

Time

Time

I was just looking at a calendar and thought to myself: Time is so arbitrary.

I know this seems like a DUH moment, but it kind of isn't. I guess it is kind of a knowledge issue. My example lies in the Bible (I don't intend to offend anybody).

So here's my first example: God created the Earth in seven days. Now, you could argue that it truly was seven days (by how we count a day now); however, I think it is more plausible that the Earth was created over the span of many thousands of years (days were just measured differently back then).

I'm not trying to challenge what you believe and such, but I think it is very clear that how we count time has changed. We have made other accommodations for time (a.k.a daylight savings time).

My second example: some people in the Bible lived over 500 years. Now we all know that there is no way a body could sustain itself for more than 500 years. However, it could be argued that through God, these people were able to live for a very long time. To me, it seems more likely that a year was simply measured differently.

You could not believe in Christianity and that is totally okay with me. If that is the case, you can void those two examples and make a different argument, but I'm just using something that was easy for me to think of (being a Christian, literally).

Plus, who decided that a day consists of 24 hours, an hour of 60 minutes, and a minute of 60 seconds? That's kind of rhetorical because I know the answer (I think), but I hope that you see my viewpoint.

PS - The answer to that question would be astronomers/scientists, I would assume. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I Feel Guilty

I Feel Guilty

Let me prelude this post with this - in no way am I trying to brag.

I was born five years before my sisters. As I went through school, I excelled. I was reading at an eighth/ninth grade level and doing Algebra I in fifth grade. I know that these are only minor accomplishments, but needless to say, I had no problems with school. I brought home my "A Honor Roll" report cards every quarter and made Mom and Dad proud. My sisters grew up in my footsteps, seeing how happy I made them. Well now, my sisters are in seventh grade and I'm seeing the effects of my overachievement. My sister, Faith, is struggling with middle school History and English. They were not hard at all, and I have no idea how she is having trouble with them, but she is. Well, tonight, my mom was talking to her about her grades and she runs of the kitchen crying and she yelled, "I'm sorry I'm not like Christian!"

Now this has me thinking. My sisters excel in things that I don't, like soccer, but not in things that really seem to matter (in my opinion), like school. I understand middle school grades don't really matter a whole lot, but I see that I have affected their self esteem and they're trying to live up to me. I feel guilty because of it.

I guess this isn't exactly a knowledge issue, but a blog post about something pertinent in my life.

Distractions

Distractions

I have noticed that I do better in school when I have distractions. For instance, when I play a sport, work a job, participate in activities outside of school I get higher grades than when I have more free time. I guess school isn't necessarily easier, but I do better.

Why do you think that is? Do you guys (microaggression) notice this same trend?

I'm a little worried because wrestling starts tomorrow, and this means that I have a huge time commitment. However, from my past experiences, I always turn out okay. Should I use this trend to calm myself?

Just an interesting thing I've noticed about myself.