What is Freedom?

“Atheist Group Sues High School After Faculty Refuses to Change Morning Prayer Tradition” written by Katherine Weber, portrays the story of a school’s religion infused day and its negative impact on atheist students. The legal arm of the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit saying that Fayette High School violated the “Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by allowing a Christian-themed prayer to take place on school grounds.The prayer was reportedly held by one of the high school's math teachers, Gwen Pope, at the start of every day after the school buses arrived at the school but before classes began…” The prayer was announced by the principal over the intercom to inviting students to attend the prayer. “Pope also reportedly invited students during the prayer to remember their sick classmates and participated in saying ‘amen.’” The school district's policy says teachers “‘may not sponsor, promote, or lead student-initiated groups or meetings. However, a teacher, administrator or other school employee may be assigned to the meeting to monitor facility use and student conduct.’"

At Arapahoe teachers cannot teach with influence of religion. I feel that this is a very controversial issue in many places today. We have the freedom of religion yet it seems that we don’t. At school we have to refrain from religion in respect for others who may believe differently.

But isn’t that the irony of it? We have these freedoms so that we can think differently. I do disagree that religious practices be announced over the intercom during school hours. Then again, in school students recite the pledge of allegiance which states, “under God.” There is already a huge debate about keeping “under God” in the pledge. We have to limit our freedoms in certain situations in order to have freedoms. But how far should these limitations be allowed to go? Is it called freedom if you have to refrain? Is it considered freedom if we have to limit what we say and do? With religion it's especially difficult to categorize what is acceptable and what is not. For example at Fayette High School the principal was able to hold a prayer with and for students because of their religion, but students were also able to file lawsuit on the practice because of their religion or lack there of. How have our views and the limits they are bound by shaped the world today?

How do Words Change us?

    “The Power of Words” written by Benita Porter, explains the effect and importance of words in daily life. Porter’s article describes how words got her through the hardest situations throughout her life. Reading the stories of countless authors, Porter states, “I felt nurtured through the words of authors who wrote in the context of their communities, triggering images and memories of extraordinary characters I longed to know and emulate.” When Porter was just eleven years old she exclaimed that on an August afternoon in 1963 she stood at Washington Monument. “For sixteen electrifying minutes, the melodious speaking voice of Martin Luther King Jr. flowed forth with a cascade of words to lift, inspire, instruct, and transform the world.” She states, “ Even fifty years later, my tears run as I recall my mother’s arms encircling me when he cried out, ‘Free at last.’” Porter goes on to describe how words and the art of writing helped her through when she lost a friend to ovarian cancer. Words were there for her when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 24. “Words comforted and healed...” her discontent when her “...beautiful first-born son was severely autistic with limited speech.” Words consoled her when her husband suffered a paralyzing stroke.

    Porter states, “ Words became a valuable tool for analysis, confrontation and redress, my best friend in a fight for justice. Over time, my words morphed into a therapeutic balm, a means to dispel negative thoughts, a way to conjure positive self-affirmations. Humor crept into my pages, allowed me to laugh at the consequences of my own uniqueness. Words allowed me to embrace life, to claim my power as an African American woman, and to challenge ignorance and bigotry.” That single quote wrapped up writings whole meaning to me. Words affect us in such a huge way, and most the time we don’t notice it. The world itself runs on words. It is how we communicate, negotiate, and live.  It is an escape. As Porter displays, words allow you to do anything. You can release bad emotions and collect positive ones. How do words really affect you as a person? Things people say, and words you read may change you as a person. What would the world be without a language? What would we do with no way of communication? How would that change the way we view and describe things? Porter portrays that no matter what she went through words were always there for her. You may lose a friend, or a job, or a family member, but no matter what the power and magic of words will never leave.

A View on Teenage Generation

  Alison Gopnik's "What's Wrong With The Teenage Mind? "presents science as a reason for youth to reach puppetry at a younger age and adulthood at an older one, thus creating "teenage weirdness." Gopnik agrees that "If you think of the teenage brain as a car, today's adolescents acquire an accelerator a long time before they can steer and brake." The article states that there are two different neural and psychological systems that help turn teenagers into adults. The first system deals with emotion and motivation. "It is very closely linked to the biological and chemical changes of puberty..." This system is what makes young children become restless and emotional teens. The second system deals with control. It harnesses our energy. This system helps our decision-making and impulses. Gopnik hopes that by using this information "We can actually shape and change..." The adolescent brain.

Who is Gopnik to judge the mind of a teenager? Was she not once one of us? Gopnik asks “What happened to the gifted, imaginative child…” Well, that child has entered the world of a teenager. This world is harder than any other world that exists. That child has just entered a world full of heartbreak, hopelessness, and hate. The article states that children are reaching puberty faster and adulthood later. I disagree. Teenagers of this generation are having to grow up faster than ever. We are going through the hardest time of our lives, and having to go through situations adults can’t even handle. Gopnik states that the reason for teenage “weirdness” is two biological systems that have become unbalanced over time. She concludes that these unbalanced systems create reckless energetic teens. The teens I know are tired and very low on energy. What teens are Gopnik referring to? The teens today are nothing like the ones described in the article. Gopnik agrees that “... children have very little experience with the kinds of tasks that they’ll have to perform as grown-ups.”  In the video “ A Vision of Students Today” we learned that most students are being prepared for jobs that don’t even exist yet.  Why are we so overlooked? From the viewpoint of this article we are a reckless weird underprepared generation. Gopnik suggests that getting summer jobs would be a good opportunity for”real responsibilities.” We do have real responsibilities. Although we may be stereotyped as the lazy, irresponsible generation we still have many things to balance, like school homework jobs and homelife. Gopnik closes the article by saying “The good news, in short, is that we don’t have to just accept the developmental patterns of adolescent brains. We can actually shape and change them.” Who are you to even suggest altering the mind of a human? Let alone a child growing into the person they will spend their life being. Particles in our body do not decide what type of person we will be. We decide that ourselves.

It doesn't Stop in High School, Body Image Problems Continue

In the article “The Sorority Body-Image Problem”, Catherine Mitchell from North Carolina describes the harsh criticism and negative effects of selfimage judging caused by sororities. Catherine received only one offer from the 10 sororities she put in for. As she confirmed her choice she cried. From the beginning she had felt that sorority life was not for her. She states that she was constantly judged for her weight which she had always been comfortable with before college. Frequently matching uniforms were chosen for rush. These outfits were often ones she could not wear. The author was put on kitchen duty or put somewhere out of sight during rush. During sorority inspections “ a state pageant-queen-turned-image-consultant came to our house to give us a crash course on proper femininity… she proceeded to critique our appearances and make recommendations. ‘My husband won’t even look at me if I walk around without my makeup on...’ right before she encouraged us to buy the new products in her personal makeup line.” The article states that research shows that women with higher BMIs have a bad experience sometimes even before joining a sorority. “They report more negative feelings during rush.” Studies have also shown that sorority membership have a negative effect on eating behavior and correlate with eating disorders.”

This article was extremely interesting. Sorority situations have always been disturbing. In movies and stories girls will line you up in your bra and panties and circle your fat in red marker. That seems a bit much. When we come out of the movie world it seems equivalent to what's occurring in real life. Mitchell states, “I’ve always had issues with my weight, but I had always done what I wanted to do, regardless of what my body looked like. My sorority put my positive body image to the test.” What does this say about the impact of “sisters” on each other in a sorority? This is no different than discrimination of skin color or religion. Girls with different traits are given different treatment. Whether this treatment be positive or negative; why are girls treated differently because of the way they look. Does discrimination effect most college decisions? Not only inside the sorority but out? In the case of Fisher vs. Texas one student was not accepted while another was when she had a lower GPA. The student was not accepted even though she had better grades and was involved in more activities. Her argument was that she was not accepted because she was white. How does discrimination hurt student experiences? Students like Catherine state, “What I didn’t know was how stressful and demoralizing the experience would be…” What can be done to limit the discrimination caused in college?

Is Technology Helping or Hurting Education?

Michael Wesch’s video “A Vision of Students Today” features college students who portray life as a student in college today. The students featured in the video cast a message that suggests what they are learning is irrelevant to their lives. They also suggest that the ways they are being taught do not help their learning. Wesch’s students state that they “complete 49% of the readings assigned…” of which only 26% are relevant to their lives. Students pay for 100 dollar textbooks that they never open. The class average size is 115 students, and only 18% of teachers know students names. Could Wesch’s video be pondering if the way college students are being taught is effective?

Is this the college life in store for all students? Wesch’s video leaves a discomforting feeling about education after high school. The most important quote in the video was “If students learn what they do… what do they learn sitting here.’ This wraps up the entire mood of the video. Students sit in a classroom with an average size of 115 students. Listening to teachers teach irrelevant subjects to students they don’t even know. Is there really any positive outcome of spending thousands of dollars on information and time that is useless and wasteful? Wesch definitely challenged my thinking. Could technology be helping or destroying the learning world? Students spend 9.5 hours per day on technology! They only spend 3 hours in class and 3 hours studying. If teachers don’t engage their students, and technology is where they spend most of their time; should learning be moved to pure technology? As time changes technology changes along with it. Math will never change. Science and history will never change. Maybe current information on current resources is the best way to prepare and engage students today.

Information can Protect Better than a Shield

CBS News’s article “The Washington Navy Yard Shooting as it Happened” presents the events of the Washington shooting, and the story of Aaron Alexis. The article states that Alexis moved to Washington D.C about 3 weeks before the shooting. Alexis worked as a subcontractor at the Navy Yard. The article acknowledges that “..two days before the massacre, Alexis visited Sharpshooters Small Arms Range in Lorton, Virginia… he bought a shotgun and 24 shells.” The morning of the shooting Alexis used his security card to enter the building. He had been “granted a ‘secret’ clearance by the Defense Service five years ago.” After Alexis entered the building he headed to the fourth floor overlooking an atrium filled with employees. He then shot down into the atrium killing and injuring several employees. After police forces arrived Alexis was shot and killed by a D.C. police officer and a U.s. Park Police officer.

The article states that Alexis “...had no personal issues.” It also assures that the owner of Sharpshooters Small Arms Range ran a background check on Alexis. His background check came out clear. What the article failed to address is that Alexis not only suffered from post traumatic stress and insomnia, but had also suffered from mental illness for 10 years. Alexis had several run-ins with the law. He was arrested twice from shooting incidents. One in Seattle in 2004 and one in Texas in 2010 which caused him to be discharged from the navy in 2011. Why was this information not included in the article? How was Aaron’s background check cleared when he had all this criminal history? As readers and learners it’s important to know about these things but even more important to find out the whole story. Alexis was granted secret clearance to enter the building five years ago. Who exactly allowed his “secret” clearance and why was it allowed? Things like this should be avoided simply by research. Alexis should have never been able to buy that gun or enter the building. His mental illness and criminal record should have had several people concerned. Although, what most likely caused this not to happen was lack of information. Many people didn’t know of this information because it was not given to them. Just as it was not provided in the article. What can we do to stop these events? Use our role as learners to spread as much information as possible. 

The Inspiration of Bully

Bully

The movie Bully, by Lee Hirsch acknowledges the horrifying results of bullying. This documentary features several kids who have been, or were currently being bullied. Hirsch captures the everyday lives of bullying victims, along with the impact from parents, schools, and communities. Bully not only portrays the shocking effect of abuse that goes on everyday, but it also caused viewers and communities to stand up for victims.

Bully has changed my views on so many things. It’s amazing that people who have such hard lives can have such strong hearts. Just seeing how Kelby can smile so sweetly and enjoy simple things like rain after all she has been through amaze me. After all Alex has endured he laughs and smiles and gets butterflies over girls. Hirsch did an unbelievable job with Bully. He portrayed the lives of the community perfectly. Showing the lives of both the parents and the school board is what made the documentary breathtaking. The school has to be dedicated to every single student and each of their parents or nothing will be done. The school board had no interest in helping anyone. It’s not their problem until it’s personal. That was the most frightening part of the documentary. It’s disgusting to see how unmotivated they were. It’s even worse that they would need a child of their own to go through the same thing to understand. There also seemed to be no confidence in kids. Devon was the only child in Bully who stood up for himself. He was also the only one who said the bullies left him alone. Alex states “I don’t believe in luck but I believe in hope.” This quote will stay with me forever. You can hope for luck can’t you? Then again without that hope there would be no luck. Alex, along with the rest of the characters continue to astonish me with their beautiful hearts. Everyone should walk away from this movie and want to do something to make a difference. It’s so important to make an impact. Everything starts with one.