My favorite holiday, and I didn’t even realize it up until this point, is the Fourth of July. This is because I’ve had so many memories from the Fourth of July, and enjoyable times to look back on. Every Fourth of July, up until a few years ago, my sister, my mother, my three cousins, my aunt, uncle, and I would meet up at my grandparent’s house in the Hamptons (Long Island) and spend the weekend there. Every year it was sunny and beautiful. We would swim in the pool and run around basically all day. I remember one year we put on a “play”, and then another year we played a game of kickball. Every year, it was just as much fun as the last, and those are the memories that I will look back fondly on. Now everyone’s older, we don’t get along as much, but I miss these times at the beginnin of summer every Fourth of July.

The best thing about living in my state would have to be the weather, and the fact that we get to experience all four seasons throughout the year. You can’t fully appreciate summer & spring until you’ve been through a long cold winter full of ice and snow. Also, my state has the best of both worlds. You can go to a big city, go to the country, or the suburbs. It’s a pretty calm/pleasent place to live. Also, it’s only a short ride to New York, or Massachusetts.

My school is unique in a few different ways. Firstly, there are a select few teachers that I feel have really influenced me & my whole education. Most of the classes are enjoyable & I have to admit that I’ve learned a lot in my three years here. Also, I really enjoy the oppurtunity to not only have academic classes but also have other classes like wood shop, art, sewing, and cooking. Lastly, There is some freedom of choice. You get to choose what sports you do in gym, etc. There are a lot of different types of kids, and even if somebody isn’t on your team, you still have oppurtunities to see them in school.

The real question is why shouldn’t we use technology in school? The whole world is moving over to computers but yet kids are still sitting in desks writing with pencils and pens in school. When my peers and I go and get jobs what will we be working with? The answer is technology. If school is supposed to prepare us for the future then why are we not using technology in the classroom if technology is the future? School administrators all over the world are too stuck on their old ways. They are unwilling to move over to this new way of thinking because the internet is “scary”. The internet is anything but scary. It is a roadway for new and exciting opportunities if used the correct way.  Administrator’s unwillingness to change will lead to failure in America when children show up for their jobs the first day and don’t know how to click a mouse (okay, maybe not that far but still I hope my point gets across.)

Some days I sit at my computer and think, what is the point of writing a blogs since nobody is reading it anyway? I think that the expectations for writing blogs are too high. Everybody expects a thousand people from around the world to read their blog. I think the more important part of blogging is for your peers and teachers to read your blog. I have read the blogs of kids in my class that I hardly talk to. I have learned things about my peers that I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t read their blog. It seems like students are more willing to open up on their blog and wiki. You can open up and share hard things that you probably wouldn’t be comfortable saying in person. I’ve learned so many interesting things about the people who surround me everyday in the classroom. I’ve learned more about them on a blog then I have in 8 years in a classroom.

Hmmmm………
Well I think that the United States flag looks pretty cool
because of the stars and the stripes.
Stars make it look interesting, i wonder to myself that the stars mean “we are one or glory or freedom” somethings like that.
Stripes make it look catchy, catching ur attention to notice it.
Thats my opinion

Amanda^^

     I’m really nervous about high school which is the natural feeling for most 8th graders that are going to be going into high school next year. I am so ready for the whole preparing for high school process to just be finished with. I have had to deal with this since the summer thanks to my lovely sister. You see, she decided that she wanted to apply for a ton of private schools ranging from Choate, to Sacred Heart and Westover Academy. She was being very ambitious when she started getting the booklets for all these schools and we didn’t end up applying to most of them. None the less, I got taken along for the ride and I decided to apply for Sacred Heart Academy just for the heck of it. I went and took the test for 3 hours which was … fun. I didn’t expect anything to come of it. I always just assumed that I would be going to Sheehan.

     Then, about two or three weeks ago we got acceptance letters to Sacred Heart and that’s when I found out I got a scholarship for scoring in the top 10 of the entrance exam and I qualified for high level courses. I didn’t know what to do. I knew this school was an excellent school with a great reputation, and I felt that if I was to pass up this experience I would be missing out on a great opportunity. I didn’t want to regret this decision my whole life thinking “what if I had gone”, and I didn’t want my parents and grandparents to be disappointed in me.  I also felt like not going there would mess up my future plans because I want to go to Yale and I know that a lot of people from Sacred Heart have been accepted there.

     In the end, I just decided to go with my instincts which was to go to the public high school. Sure, going to Choate or Sacred Heart might be an interesting experience, but I finally realized something. It doesn’t really matter where I go to high school. I could do amazing at the public school… or at Sacred Heart. There will be mean girls across the street and at Sacred Heart. No matter where I go, a high school is a high school. Also, high school should be a place where a teenager gets to have fun and I don’t think going through a rigorous four years at Choate or Sacred Heart would be very fun. I’m ready for next year. I’m not really scared, but I’m hoping to get with at least a few more of my friends than this year considering I got split up from most of them. I also hope that I will be able to keep up with the work considering the … interesting course load that I am taking.

 Comments That I Left: International, Airhead101, TonksPenguin

 When I think of Martin Luther King I think of trying to make a difference, being brave, and speaking up even when it’s hardest. Those are just a few of the many great traits that Martin Luther King possessed. He is known as being one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of the United States. He started out as just a simple baptist minister, but he grew into so much more. He spoke against violence and civil disobedience. He also lead the Montgomery bus boycott, and was president/founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He led many African American people in the fight against racial segregation. He is extremely well known for his “I Have a Dream” speech recited at the March on Washington in front of 250,000marchers. Martin Luther King received many awards for his great work among that being his Nobel Peace Prize ( he was the youngest person to ever receive such an honor.) At only 39 years old he was assassinated. I am amazed at how he was able to make such a difference in that short amount of time. 

The reason that our schools are closed is to honor Martin Luther King, his life, and all he achieved during his life. I guess, the point of a day off is so that we won’t forget all he did during his life and take some time to remember him. I was actually thinking about this and it hit me. What exactly is the point of us having a day off? Martin Luther King NEVER got a day off he worked, and worked because he was committed. I know that usually during Martin Luther King day most kids stay at home and lay around all day doing nothing so how is that promoting Martin Luther King’s message of “hard-work”? Also, why should weall get the rewarded for Martin Luther King’s work by having a day off? Wouldn’t the day be more productive if we followed Martin Luther’s message by staying in school on the 21st, working hard, and perhaps learning a little something about Luther’s life? How can anybody expect to make a difference like Martin Luther King did if they have useless days off from school where they accomplish nothing?

“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.”
-Martin Luther King, Junior

The Essay: I think the video “The Essay” was defenitley about how everything is made so difficult these days. Everybody is always trying to make things complex when in reality it’s really easy. For example, the man in the video needed to get a detailed explanation on how to open a book. Of course, in the real world people might not go as extreme as making opening a book complex but it is a dramatisized version of things we DO do in real-life. If something is really easy people always try to find a way to make it hard. People just can’t believe that something can be non-difficult so therefore they try to find ways to make it harder for themselves. Also, people are always second guessing themselves.

I wonder why people are so quick to waste things. I have to include myself in that and I am sort of being a hypocrite. Simple things, for example, when I brush my teeth I leave the water running. It runs for five minutes while I’m in the bathroom. Gallons of water are completely wasted. Why are we so quick to waste things? How can people waste thousands and thousands of dollars on silly things? How can people go out and buy thousands of dollars at a store like Chanel for one, single piece of clothing? How can people spend $2,000 on a Louis Vuitton purse or $400,000 on a sports car when people are starving and dying of AIDS? Please tell me because I don’t understand. There are dirt poor people and the filthy rich are spending their money on trivial things. They are completely wasting it. How can people waste their lives always worrying about bad things happening like getting kidnapped or shot instead of just living and letting fate do it’s work? I think humankind is also really wasting the world and it’s natural resources. Oil, for example, is taken for granted. I don’t think I will ever understand how much people seem to waste everything, it’s something I will always wonder about but I doubt an answer exists.

Comments: Airhead101, Smart’s Blog