Today was my last day of tenth grade. It was a great year. I made some really good friendships, learned lots of cool stuff, and made a bunch of money making websites.
Muegh, I sound like I’m signing someone’s yearbook. Enough of that!
My summer is teh 3xC17i|\|G! It looks something like this:
- Leave school two days early to go spend a month backpacking in Colorado.
- Spend one (only one!) month in Albany.
- Spend five weeks programming in Washington D.C. for my super-secret new company (one that is hiring me, that is)
- School again!
Tomorrow I’m heading out to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorodo for a month of backpacking. It will be the ultimate breath of fresh air. For this entire year, I was attached to a computer pretty much wherever I went. There will be no more of that. No more daily digg, no more programming, no more Kitty Cannon.
While I’m backpacking, I’ll be working on maintaining trails, carving stairs, and other fun things. The trip is a production of the Student Conservation Association (SCA). I’ll be with five other kids from all over the country (seriously, every part!). By this time tomorrow, I’ll have met them all.
Finally, if anyone wants to contact me over the next month, that’s too bad! I’ll be in backcountry and totally out-of-communication. To who needs plugin support or stuff like that, your best bet is the #wordpress IRC room or the WordPress support forum. I can’t wait for the 100+ support requests I’ll have in my inbox from people who ignore this post!
Well, that’s all for today. Have a great summer everyone. I’ll be sure to post some pictures of the trip on here. See you in a month!
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Well this may seem a little late and out of context, but I’m writing this none the less. I’d like to write about my trip to the National Young Leaders State Conference (NYLSC). I know Nella (I’ll call him “Ian”) will have something to say, because we went together. This should be a fair and honest review/story of the NYLSC program from someone who went as a 9th grader (Just an FYI to all you NYLSC googlers). Here goes nothing:
Arriving early to catch our AMTRAK train to Sacramento, Ian and I were hyped. We had just gotten up way too early, thrown on our *casual business* attire and met up for the 3 (ish) hour trip to Sacramento. Boarding the train with our briefcases and sunglasses, we felt so suave. I mean, we were missing school for this!
Well it wasn’t long before we found another guy who was headed to NYLSC. So the three of us grabbed a table, stowed our briefcases and got comfy. It was a long, somewhat boring ride. But the magic of being away from school and being trusted to make it to Sacramento without our parents was … exhilarating. When we arrived in Sacramento, we kind of just bumbled around the city until we found the metro. But we bumbled in style, of course, with our shiny dress shoes and shades. We are the future! was the attitude we rode in with. The metro was nice and clean, and we were sitting happily at our seats when we realized we didn’t have tickets. Someone on the train overheard us, and told us to chill, because we were almost there and the ticket-checkers probably wouldn’t show up. Well, they did, but they didn’t make it to us, so we avoided the no-ticket fine. Heh. Our next project was to make it to the actual hotel where this whole NYLSC thing was about to go down. We called up the hotel and they sent us a minivan to pick us up. Score!
The scene at the hotel was pretty bopping. There were a couple hundred other teens, all looking pretty much exactly the same as we did. Ahh, we’ve come to right place, I thought. There were still a lot of parents hovering over their kids, fixing their ties and tucking in their shirts, and looking nervously at the other kids. Everyone was in some sort of line, and we figured out it was for being assigned group numbers and given work booklets and *pens*. Yea, that’s right, we spent ~$1200 and we got *pens*. Shweet. Ian and I had been assigned to different groups and different roommates (which was good, I can only take so much of that guy 
). Next we were told to head up to our assigned room numbers and just chill. When I got there, some kids had already found their way there, and were happily introducing themselves to eachother. Almost too happily, you might say. We must have played the name game 40 times or so.
After waiting around in our tiny room for about half an hour, our instructor Tommy showed up. And he had us play the name game once more. Heh. Well now that everyone’s names were etched into my brain, we were ready to get started. For starters, Tommy just kind of told us what we were going to be doing (learning leadership stuff) and the rules (don’t do anything stupid), so that lasted for quite a while. We started with some basics, respecting other people’s opinions and not being bossy. He wanted to get us started as nice leaders before we actually starting…err…leading. I don’t really remember what all we did after that.
Then it was dinner time. Everyone filed out of our little room and headed downstairs, where a giant opening banquet was in store. The food was excellent the entire trip (even for a picky eater like me). My only qualms were that occasionally I would have liked a bigger portion. Ian seemed to feel that way a lot. This was also our first chance to socialize with the other kids; they all seemed to be from similar backgrounds as Ian and I. One thing I liked was all the diversity. There were people from every little nook and cranny of California, big cities and small cities alike. When I signed up for NYLSC, I was worried that it would just be a bunch of upper-middle class white kids talking politics. But it was so much better. There were plenty of people of other ethnicities, and kids who claimed loyalty to all sorts of political parties. *Sigh of Relief* A lot of the kids had big egos, used to being dominant (leaders) at their own schools. But now, everyone was like that, so the atmosphere was a little odd, with so many strong-headed chaps in one room.
Once our last bite of dessert was finished, we were excused to our rooms, and told to get plenty of rest for the huge day tomorrow. Looking at the schedule, I decided the counselours were right, and that I should get as much sleep as possible. They had about 20 things they had selected for us to learn! My roommate was great, and yes, we had our own beds. *Set alarm clock* *Go to sleep*
**BBBZZZ** Time for school! Wait no, I don’t have school today. Haha those suckers, back at home who have to learn stuff…Err nevermind, I’m probably learning more here anyways. Got dressed, took a shower, went for breakfast, etc. That day, we learned so much. Our group leader Tommy got us going with a couple focus and teamwork games, which were a blast, then set in for some discussions about what a great leader is and how to be one and all that fun stuff. There was actually a ton of great information. Problem solving and team work were focused on a lot.
We pretty much worked hard for the next two days without much stopping. We finally got tired of working in our cramped hotel room and decided to go outside and work from there. We were told to formulate a plan to cross the freeway by the side of the hotel. Not that we were actually going to do it, but just to see if we could come up with a feasible plot that we could all agree on. That was good.
One thing worth mentioning were the dances the last two nights. They ruled. They were pretty much the perfect way to blow off steam, and a lot of the kids were really into it (even those that I could tell would never be into it at their own school dances). Ian and I were pretty much kings of the dancefloor, and he started break dancing and all. After that, we thought we were the hottest shit in the world.
After all that bonding, I’ll bet you can guess what happened. Crushes? Secrets? Heh, yup. Some people stayed up quite late talking on the hotel phones, not really saying much, just sort of gossiping and all that. Then one of the girls called us and told us to turn to channel 4 on our TVs. Hehe, topless chicks riding horses. Hehe. Considering it was like 2 AM and we had cable TV, it was bound to be noticed by someone. Not something the NYLSC people could predict, or I’m sure they would have been all over blocking that channel. Heh.
By the end, everyone was glued to eachother. Literally. My group was so in love with Tommy that everyone pitched in to buy him a teddy bear. People were getting eachothers’ screen names and emails, giving millions of hugs, and some were super into the “we are family” kind of thing. I wasn’t wild about everyone in my group, so I wasn’t like “Omigosh I’m gonna miss you sooooo much you have to email me and stay in touch forever. I feel like you’re my brother. Omigosh.” There were some cool people though, some people I’d like to stay in touch with (more than half a year later, I haven’t really done that). Well that about sums it up. Here’ s a quick recap:
Was it worth $1200? Certainly.
Would you do it again? Nah, probably not.
Did you actually learn leadership skills? I think so. There are some things I still apply today that I learned from it, which is good. We got a lot of excellent information, which I didn’t exactly go into detail with in my ramblings above. Ya, good stuff.
Democrat or Republican? … Democrat.
Well there it is. All my thoughts on NYLSC. I wrote this up in a flurry so there may be some typos and wacky sentences, but suck it up! If you’ve landed on this page and are considering going to to NYLSC..I’d say go for it. You’ll enjoy it. Feel free to post a comment or question (below) and I’ll be happy to answer it. Also, if any of you people from the organization want to say anything, go ahead. Peace.
One thing that has always bothered me about school is how much paper we use. This year alone, I’m positive I’ve used over a thousand sheets. Handouts, packets, worksheets, lined paper, notes, you know the drill. It’s disgusting. The sheer amount of resources needed for paper, pencils and all that is staggering.
Today I was discussing this with my English teacher, Mr. Rapson, and he agreed. If we could only…get rid of it all. Pencils, paper, everything. Imagine how efficient everything would be. And computers (tablets) would take their place.
Here’s what I propose: every student receives a password and username, that they keep secret. Next, every classroom is stocked with 30 tablets (touchscreens and keyboards included). Kids are never assigned a tablet, they can use any one to log into their name. Once logged in, they are given a choice from their list of classes, and they select the one they are currently attending. The screen then presents the day’s lesson as prepared by the teacher. 
Worksheets are managed are worked on, essays are written, tests are taken, etc. Once a document is finished, it is sent to the teacher instantly. It would basically replace the need for any paper, and be infinitely easier to organize documents. The class would not be tied to this machine though, as any there would still be hands-on activities and all.
When someone is logged into their class, their tablets are restricted, as in no checking their email. Teachers would be able to override all of the screens in the class at any time, allowing them to give slide shows etcetera.
Of course, these tablets would have GPS trackers of some sort to prevent theft. It would not be a privacy concern because the tablets should never make it out of the classroom. If one did, it would be easy to track down. They’d also have to be made of a very durable plastic, and flexible OLED screens.
Homework, now this could be more of a problem. As kids would not be able to bring their tablets home, they’d have to be able to access their data from the web. A web interface would allow them to download documents, upload documents, and everything. This program would probably have to be introduced at a private school where everyone has a computer at home. Otherwise, there would be a library with full access that would be open till…9 pm or so.
One more thing. Would all this actually improve schooling? With all of their data digitized, would something be lost somewhere? A common method of teaching involves students listening to lectures and taking notes. This requires them to actually write what they are hearing. But would teachers still require the kids to type up the notes that they are displaying on their giant screen at the front of the class?
There’s my preliminary outline. Anyone see any gaping holes or have questions? This sounds like a great college project to work on at MIT or something…heh. I can just imagine it, developing the tablet and piloting it in a small private school.
Ahh, Standardized Testing. Weird schedules(waaaayyy too long periods), boring tests, and just an all around feeling of monotony. Let me paint this mental picture for you.
8:31 A.M.: Room 212…(I think) Ms. Porter is sitting there waiting for everyone to show up. She starts calling off peoples names, I’d say about a fifth of the class wasn’t there when the bell rang. So Ian and I are sitting talking about…Oh…Some darned thing and answering as our names are called off. About 10-12 minutes into class, a girl walks in. Now when certain members of my class do anything…I mean ANYTHING, all Hell breaks loose. I think it took about 5 minutes for Ms. Porter to restore order. She says in a voice that just tells you that she has no control: 
“Please, this is my first time doing STAR testing. So please be quiet.” I think it actually got louder at that point
We finally shut up and got started on the test. I gotta tell you, just reading the examples makes the whole test worthwhile. Solely from reading the language arts section I learned about Carrier Pigeons, Seeing Eye Horses, Air Force One, and The Dangers of Diving Equipment. I have to admit though, some of those examples are pretty entertaining. I especially like the inspirational stories. Like the one about how someone would rather be a weed than a flower (read: I am ugly so I’ll make the best of it). And the ones where we had to figure out whether or not “communitys” was spelled correctly.
And then there was “The Mint Snowball.” It’s the heartwarming story of a girl who’s waxing nostalgic about something she never tried. Now maybe I’m being critical, but I’m not going to cry just because I never got to try a family recipe. (Although I must say the mint snowball sounds strangely appetizing)
So I’m sittin’ there, decoding the mysteries of Air Force One, when I hear noise. Just that girl in the back with her headphones up way too loud. Then she’s sitting there braiding another girl’s hair and they’re now singing. Wonderful…
Jump ahead to when Ian and I have both finished. The class is getting pretty frickin’ antsy. I’m sitting near the door and it’s open. Rees is sitting closest to the door in the room directly across the hall. Naturally, I strike up a game of rock, paper, scissors with him. The game was going quite well until one party got beaten and during his reaction to the defeat, got a funny look from the teacher. It was about that point Ms. Porter closed the door. Big mistake. Because the test is over, people now want to “go to the bathroom.” Now I’m not questioning the morality of my classmates, but I know they sure as hell aren’t going to the bathroom. So I’m sitting there looking the other way. I’m not sure of exactly the sequence of events but here’s the sounds I heard.
“Ms Porter can I go to the bathroom? Thanks.” tap tap tap click SLAM! (from outside the hallway) “Yo dawg!” Thump! About 10 minutes farther into this way too long period, said student comes back in, leaving their companion at the door to make funny faces through the glass.
—Break-time—
Back to class, finish the test. Doodle for a while. This is when the sh** hits the fan. So Ms. Porter disappears and some guy comes to take her place. This guy’s got less control than Porter. I commented to Ian that this guy’s a total weenie but Ian swears he’s cool. So the people are eating, yelling, making a lot of noise. The eating was weird. This girl in front of me’s swigging a Sprite and dipping Flamin’ Cheetos in Cream Cheese (add that to the list of things that makes me shiver). So the music gets loud again and the Weenie man yells at us
“If you don’t turn it down, I’ll confiscate it!” He gave up eventually. Because the class sure as hell didn’t care.
God I don’t know if I can take 2 more days of this.
It’s almost over! The third quarter of the 2004-2005 school year comes to an end in two days. Time to celebrate! Ok, so we still have a quarter left of school, enough time left to screw up our semester grades, but we are coming to the final stretch, that last straightaway that leads right to summer, and freedom…more or less…
So what is it that makes the third quarter so agonizing? Maybe it wasn’t agonizingly bad, but there is something about the third part out of four that always seems to drag on and on… I’d like to make an analogy to running the mile (on a quarter mile track). The first lap you zip off the line, settling into a cruise, finding your pace. The second you hold up, feeling a little pain, trying to move up within the competition. And then the third…pain…aaaah you’re tired, and even though you’re already more than halfway done, it seems so far from the end. Third lap is the time of hopelessness, tiredness, boredom, the whole why am I doing this trip… and it’s the same with school. By third quarter we’re all drooping. Classes are putting us to sleep; homework gets more and more sloppy and neglected. Even the multiple week-long breaks don’t seem to help much, I almost would rather just keep on plugging away at school and get it over with! We’ve been in school for so long, yet the end isn’t in sight…
And now we’re almost over the hump, and BANG! Time for the gun lap. Now the race begins. Now it gets exciting. Fourth quarter, the fastest, the most frantic, just what we need in order to wake up from the drone of 3rd quarter. Tomorrow is Friday! There’s only one more chapter in the book! Just two more problems on that endless math homework!
So here’s to the end of 3rd quarter and to the beginning of the Finish!!! Good luck to everyone!!!
*Anyone who doesn’t feel the 3rd quarter blues, speak up! Let us in on your secret to survival!*
Looking for information about NYLSC? Check out my full story and review here
Today I was particularly annoyed during french. Last week we had taken a test that I had a feeling I was going to get an exceptionally good grade on. I received an 86% (which is actually pretty good for french). The thing that bugged me was the fact that I could have so easily gotten much higher (93%) if I had read the instructions more carefully. Now I admit that this was 110% my fault for not reading the directions and doing what I was supposed to do. I was more pissed at myself than anything else. The directions said to answer the questions, but I chose to translate them instead. Now my translations were perfectly correct, and if that’s what my teacher had asked for, I would have gotten 93%. Instead of giving me partial credit for this blunder, she marked the whole thing wrong, which may or may not have been fair.
The part that gets to me has nothing to do with french, myself, or my teacher. What bugs me is the tests. To start off, what are teachers asking for when they give us a test? Depending on who you ask, they are a) Seeing how well they are teaching you b) Seeing how well you pay attention and do your work c) Finding excuses to fail you d) Seeing your ability to cram.
Many of the tests I take fall into category d. And, in my opinion, they are the worst kind. I’d really like to know how many people could ace the same tests they aced two years ago if they were given no time to study. I doubt many people would do as well as they did. The current system measures your willpower to study and cram.
There are many kids, myself included, who never used to study and maybe still don’t. They paid attention in class, did their homework, and come test-day, they would know everything to ace the test. Well in high school, things have changed. With a 7 class, 8 hour school-day, its getting harder and harder to work like that.
Back to tests. What do they reflect on the student who took it? How gifted they are (paying attention etc.). I recently had an argument with Ian: Does everyone have the same potential? Is it really a level playing field for students? Can everyone get an A+ if they try hard enough? In my opinion, no. Some people just can’t do it. I don’t know if this is a fair comparison but here goes: If I tried hard enough, could I win a gold medal in the olympics? Not bloody likely. There is some inherent attribute that separates elite from the rest. These people have a much better chance of succeeding in life.
Again, I’ve digressed. Tests in their current state are bad. I suggest a bigger helping of projects. In the freshman debates, I learned more than any other 3 weeks of school. It was real-life experience. We had to cope with working in a team, deadlines, and still had math and english in the mix. We had to present speeches in front of large crowds, debate, and do research. That was a damn good project if you ask me. I think projects should account for a much higher percentage of your grade, where tests should be less. Tests just show the teacher how sticky your brain is. It is good to measure that, to make sure the curriculum is working, but should they really be 70% of your grade? It would be better to apply your test grades to the teacher, and have them get paid for how well their class is performing. Of course, what would be the motivation for students? What if the teachers got a lame class of dumb kids?
Grades are the key to success in life. Good grades = good college = good job = good life. Or something.. 
At your job, does it matter if you can cram? I wouldn’t think so. So schools aren’t preparing us well for the “real” world.” I should write a book… 
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