TOW #21: High School Students Having Part Time Jobs

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-kobliner/should-high-school-students-have-part-time-jobs_b_3454076.html

The Huffington Post makes a few points throughout the article about the Pros and Cons of having a part time job as a high school student. For example, if you work you will have less student debt, however, you will spend less time on homework. They had a statistic claiming if you have a part time job you spend 49 minutes less on homework the day you work. They also found if you spend 30 minutes extra on your homework your grade in the class could increase 2 letter grades. Therefore, having the job would decrease your time on homework ultimately lowering your grade.

Jobs teach a student responsibility, time management, and life skills. They look better for college and it is easier to get a job in college if you have already previously had a job. Learning how to balance school work, hobbies, activities and work can be very beneficial for a student (as long as they don’t get too stressed). Jobs also provide the student income which not only helps pay for gas, college, savings, and activities, but it enables the student to learn how to balance their money. They have to learn how much they can spend, how much they have to save, what they have to pay for, when and how much to save up for certain payments, and so much more. Jobs enable a student to learn how to balance time and money.

Though a job can be great for a student there are so many negative factors that contribute as well. Having a job can indeed lower your grades. More time making money, and less on the books can really take a toll on your grade. A lot of time and energy goes into your job even if it is part time. Students in high school tend to have high stress levels due to their school work and course load not to mention social issues they may have at school regarding friends, etc.

Students also need time to just be a kid. Childhood lasts 18 years and they are going to be working for the rest of their life. Let them be a kid.

TOW #20: Howard Gardner’s 9th Addition to his Intelligence Theory

Howard Gardner is the theorist who designed the Multiple Intelligence Theory. This theory showed people the way their brain interprets concepts and what types of activities they can tackle and how to do so. For example, an author has verbal linguistic intelligence for they can develop a meaningful text and not only enjoy doing so but are seen as good at writing. They were probably very good with words and got good grades in their English classes. Someone who is good at working within a group or team can be seen as very interpersonal because they are good at being cooperative. They can read emotions of other people and respond to them. The intelligences continue.

Previously, there were 7 intelligence's: interpersonal, linguistic, logical mathematical, intrapersonal, visual, bodily and musical. Naturalistic intelligence came later and was a nice addition. Naturalistic people are able to understand and categorize things in nature. Recently I have a read an article and there was a 9th addition. There have been many theories as to more intelligences that should be added such as spiritual and sexual intelligence. The 9th intelligence that was listed in the article was existential intelligence which is defined as “sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence such as, What is the meaning of life? Why do we die? How did we get here?” I do not identify such as another intelligence.

The other intelligences have a larger basis. They are broad but rightfully so. This new so-called intelligence is entirely theoretically based. Now, I realize the term is redundant as this entire idea is a theory. However, the definition of the intelligence is all based on another theory. These questions are indeed difficult to answer but the question “How did we get here?” cannot be answered so simply. Clearly, it takes intelligence to develop a theory but it’s something you cannot prove. You cannot prove we got here from developing from a fish, monkey, or brought here by God. None of us know for certain. How can you base an intelligence off the unknown?

TOW #19: Technology and Children

In past generations, technology was not prominent. My mother tells me when she was a kid, her and her friends spent their time outside and were very active. Technology is taking over our world. Today, many households have laptops, computers, ipads, tablets, and every member of the family has a cellphone. Technology is taking over households and is holding families back from strong bonds and relationships.

Times have definitely changed. Children in my own high school are almost never away from their phone and it is almost always on their person. Many don’t eat as a family either. That’s only high school. My younger sister and brother both have their own ipads and if they aren’t on their ipads they are watching tv. When their friends come over they seclude themselves to their electronics. Where’s their imagination? They’ve had no experience in the world and parents acceptance of technology is a major part of the problem.

This picture illustrates how man has become dependent on technology. Rather than having a daily catch with their son, a man entertains him with the electronic world so he can busy himself with other media knowing his/her child will not be injured or in harm. The image shows that being a more active member in a child’s life teaches them more life lessons and skills that can’t be acquired from a screen.

How is a child to become ready to parent and teach their children lessons from their childhood and their morals when they had no help shaping it themselves? Without an active environment not dependent on technology, children have no ability to learn, understand things, and set appropriate goals and values for the rest of their life. If parents made their house less reliant on technology and forced their kids to spend more time in the real world, children will be able to step away from a virtual reality to understand their own reality.

TOW #18: On Education by Emerson

Emerson writes of his belief about how education needs to be addressed and followed through as. He believes education should be about trial and error. The mothers, teacher, and older generations need to teach the students of the younger generations of their experiences so they can try and see for themselves what the outcome is and how to get there. We also need to limit the amount teacher’s press students to have one right answer. We need to focus more on teacher to student relationships and the individual intelligence between each student. Is this the right way to go about education?

I believe education should be about the student’s potential and intelligence. Their strengths and weaknesses and improving all of their talents and fallbacks but at the same time allowing them to strive in what they’re really good at. I agree with Emerson in the sense that everyone deserves and should be able to have an education that focuses more on their needs as a student. A system that allows them to focus on their goals and strengths and persevere through it.

Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence proves that students all have certain or a few strengths and I think each school should help them focus on them more. But what is the multiple intelligence theory? Gardner defined intelligence as “a property of all human beings, a dimension on which human beings differ, and the way in which someone carries out a task to complete a goal.” His theory has 8 intelligences that are ways in which students understand ideas and how they attack tasks. Having teachers that attend to each intelligence and help them more forward in their interests with the support of that intelligence. I think education should tend to the individual and if the student has more support by their educators they get more one and one advice. I believe Emerson is onto something.

TOW #17: Best in Class by Margaret Talbot

Best in Class by Margaret Talbot

Margaret Talbot writes her essay about the idea of a valedictorian at different schools and the effect it has. Talbot relies heavily on student examples and anecdotes to appeal to logos of her audience. She provides countless examples of examples of different students to discuss the different attempts at a solution and effects of the valedictorian alterations. Illustrating all of the solutions she shows which ones worked best and which did not work well through the different perspectives. Overall, we can come to the conclusion that none of the solutions really work. The conflict between valedictorians is huge. School boards tried to make multiple valedictorians, change requirements, and nothing is working.

Talbot also uses strong diction to demonstrate the severity of the valedictorian competition. In paragraph 9, she describes the competitors actions as “clawing and scratching.” This helps her discuss the effects the competition has on the various students in the school. She also says terms and phrases like “peril” “traumatic” “sad to abolish” and “faintly ridiculous” to describe the severity further.

Furthering her argument, she writes of a comparison one made to the valedictorian problem. They believe that a valedictorian is nothing more than an MVP in sports. There are many sports awards, titles, and recognitions that are not abolished ike the valedictorian title. It was seen as unfair. This appeal to logos helps Talbot explain to her audience the different perspectives different people have on the subject and allow her audience to determine their own opinion towards the matter. The different points of view presented allow for ethos for Talbot as well because it shows rubido, which shows she can argue against any rebuttal a person may put forth.

TOW #16: Live Your Legacy Now by Barbara Greenspan Shaiman

Live Your Legacy Now by Barbara Greenspan Shaiman is a book that was written to to strive to inspire people to make meaning in their life. To do so, she adds anecdotes of different people that followed through with her step by step system. Using multiple anecdotes she is able to prove to her audience that many people have used her system and ‘lived their legacy.’ Inspiring her audience with different people’s stories, she shows people that everyone in different situations and conditions can be inspired to moving forward and make a change.

She includes quotes by different people regarding her idea for making a change. Alluding to different people she helps prove her purpose by using famous people to show her audience that many people would agree with her idea of living your legacy and everyone deserves a chance to do so. She also provides guiding questions to help the reader in their process of figuring out how to indeed ‘live their legacy.’ She provides pages of questions to help her audience discover how they can live their legacy and move forward with their passion and succeed in something that is meaning and powerful to them. The questions also allow her audience to branch out into other means of ‘living’ by guiding them to move forward in other locations and other people.

Shaiman also provides graphs to illustrate her ideas, steps, and meanings behind all of her ideas, motives, and descriptions. Giving her audience a visual, she is able to connect to the more visual-spatial audience members to ‘show’ them how the effects of her ideas and show how they follow a logical order.

Ultimately, Shaiman inspires her audience through anecdotes, graphs/visuals, and quotes to show her audience how making a change and moving forward is not impossible and her book describes how they can do so in 10 simple steps.

TOW #15: Car Radio: Twenty One Pilots

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92XVwY54h5k

In the beginning of the music video, it starts with the singer in a corner in a black and white screen. He is sitting rubbing his head looking as if he is losing his mind. The song discusses how “somebody stole his car radio and now he just sits in silence.” As a result, he begins to lose his mind. He can’t focus on anything but his microphone and he just rubs his head. His actions showcase the result of silence and how it can drive someone made- like a schizophrenic.

The songs words are more spoken than sung. He emphasizes the result of the silence to his mind by saying all of the words blankly as he stares into the distance. The words slide off his tongue as if he has internal pain he physically can’t express. The words are said sharply to emphasize not only the result of the silence but to inflict a powerful message to the audience to try and alter their emotions. While “singing” he shows the audience pain. Hurting.

After the consistent monochromatic, lonely setting the scene changes to a crowd of people and the scene changes to a colorful area and the music gets louder and more intense. The change symbolizes what is going on in his mind that he cannot express. He is hurt and his mind is going crazy.

The craziness is shown further by him shaving his own head while looking as if he is scream singing. He continues to scream onstage with a mask on because this is not the person everyone else sees. So when he acts like this, he hides himself behind a mask. When he takes off the mask he is going crazy but cannot express it.