Are school uniforms helping or hindering?

By Lisa Flam

 
In this article by Lisa, she talks about how school uniforms are better for public schools. She states, "Having kids wear uniforms will reduce bullying because kids won’t pick on each other for how they’re dressed..." i completely disagree with this statement because it's making kids feel more afraid in the real world where not everyone wears the same thing. It's also getting rid of self expression which is really important in a teens life. Flam also stated that not having school uniforms is distracting for other students. I also don't agree with this because once again, in the real world, nobody is going to be in specific uniforms except for some jobs ofcourse.

But later in the article, Lisa shows Robyn Silverman 's point of view. Robyn is is a child and teen developement specialist and knows what is good for students. She states,“At a time where teens and preteens want to express themselves, clothes provide a vehicle, a benign vehicle, to allow them to express themselves and say, ‘I’m different,’ without having to approach more risky ways of saying the same thing,”  This is basically stating what I said before, so I totally agree with her.

To conclude, school uniforms are not always the answer. Teens need self expression and also need to be able to make their own decisions.

Sports Article

Today, I learned that the key to being a good athlete isn't always just talent, but also having the right mindset. A lot of people who competatively participate ina thletics usually only think about the technique in the sport. I read an article about famous tennis player Rafa Nadal, and how he not only has great technique but also a great head game. He talks about he isn't ranked so high in theworld of tennis from being just plain old good, but by having a confident mindset.



Sometimes we forget that we have to believe in,ourselves before we can actually do anything, this is commonly forgotten because we only think about winning and nothing else. This article shows that a sport is so much more than that. You can ultimitely do anything you want to if you think you can, and you work hard towards that goal. It may not even be in sports, it may be in school or anything you are ttrying to accomplish something in. For example, wanting to get an A in a class may be tough, but if you study and keep hard at it, you can do it.


Many people like to blame things on their coaches, or instructors for not "teaching" them well, but really part of the blame is to be put on the student. Because, most likely part of the reason they aren't doing as well as they wish is because they don't have the right mindset.

Divergent

Tris seems like your typical teenager... but she lives in a not-so-typical society. She lives in a Utopian society located in post-war Chicago where they are divided into factions (groups) and that determines how they will dress, what they will do, and who they will live with. She lives in a society where having multiple qualities is frowned upon and considered "threatening". They call it Divergent. Tris takes an aptitude test to determine which faction she will choose when she is 16, but runs into a small problem... she is Divergent.

She always knew she was different and thought she didn't "fit in", but never expected to be a threat to society, she never expected to be Divergent. Tris has to try to choose a faction where she can "blend in" and can't let anyone know she's different. She also has to later on decide if she is going to conform with this society or do something about it.
Tris is easy to relate to because she really is your typical teenager, with no special superpowers except that she is different. It shows that different is really a good thing not a bad thing.
Divergent trailer

Krista: Raising kids to embrace the world, then they

In this column by Krista, she explains how when your child is young, you want to encourage them to do great things in the world, but when the time finally comes, there's a little bit of monotony in it. She explains how the parent is still blissful seeing their kid do such great things, but at the same time it's hard to do so.
Column


The line in this column that I believe is best written is the very last line when she says, "It's the most humbling lesson of parenting: We may be in charge of the prologue, but only they get to write the story of their lives." The way she kind of compares life to a novel really impacts the reader because it shows how little of time our parents are actually in charge of our lives. It made me feel as if there is a whole life waiting for me after schooling. In this line she uses one long and involved sentence, but while she does this, she splits it up with a colon and multiple commas to make it seem less run-on. I believe she does this because she can't really get that one point across in multiple sentences. She also kind of uses connotation in her writing to kind of make you feel something.


I think Ramsey's writing style is; she tries to get the reader to relate to the subject instead of just giving all facts. In her column, For better vision, kids need time outdoors, she makes you kind of relate to her writing by stating, "The kid who used to walk home from school looking at houses and trees now rides home staring at a screen not much bigger than his hand. The teenager who used to research at the library or hang out with friends outdoors now does her studying and socializing in front of a computer in her bedroom." Most kids can kind of relate to this quote because almost every teenager is on his/her phone for a large portion of their day. It's a fact. Ramsey makes you relate in her article Super Bowl QBs score points for great style, is when she states, "And almost no one dresses up any more for things that were once considered something of an event – dinner at a nice restaurant, religious services, plane flights." This is relatable because for almost everyone there has been a time where maybe we were supposed to dress up, but we didn't. In her article Raising kids to embrace the world, then they do, she makes the reader relate because when she says, "They think of it as heading home. We think of it as leaving home." This is relatable because a lot of teenagers are excited to leave "home" and make a new one, when the parent thinks the exact opposite.


Questions for Krista Ramsey:
1) what inspired you to be a columnist and share your ideas with everyone?
2) How do you show your voice in your writing so well?
3) What do you do to connect with the reader so well?

Uglies reflection

The book Uglies is mainly about Tally Youngblood, a 15-year-old ugly who just wants to be pretty.  When you are born you are called a little and once you turn 12 you are officially an ugly.  When you are ugly you have weird quirks and look different. But once you are 16, you get a special operation that makes you a “pretty” and all your problems go away.  You go to new pretty town which is all parties.  Tally’s best friend Peris, is only a couple months older than her but gets turned a pretty first.  While Peris was a pretty Tally meets a girl named Shay.  They become great friends until Tally finds out Shay does not want to be pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally has to choose between betraying Shay or being pretty.

Tally is easy to relate to because at some point everyone wants to feel "pretty" but you realize that you are fine the way you already are, and probably better off that way. A lot of girls and boys now a days try to conform to society and "fit in" when sometimes it is better to be yourself. Uglies teaches you that it's fine to be the way you are and no one should change you.

Final Blog Post Reflection

               

Throughout the trimester, in my opinion I think my writing has definitely improved by a lot.  One way I think that it has improved is my closing statement being more of a close to the post.  In one of my first posts my closing statement was, “These messages bring the girls together for the search for A.”  This isn’t exactly a bad ending but it doesn’t really “seal the deal”, or makes it really seem like the post is done.  For example, it’d be like talking to someone and they just walk away without saying “bye”.  It feels incomplete and awkward.   In my more recent blog post my closing statement was, “Hopefully this sparked your curiosity so you' just have to read the book to find out the next!”  See here, you can tell I am done writing because it’s not exactly saying “I’m done”, but you get the point that I am done talking.  Another example of my growth in writing would be,  my detail in my writing.  In my older blog post I said, “In the summer before 8th grade, Alison went missing and was never found.”  This is very broad and there are hardly any details.  In my more recent post I said, “.  Sometimes when the alien is put into a new host the memories of the human remain and they can still kind of think for themselves.  So basically Wanda and Melanie are sharing a body.”  Which are a lot more detailed and you can tell what is going on in the story more. 

 

 

One thing that I struggled with throughout the experience was finding the right thing to blog about.  I read almost every night but not nearly as much as I should have.  I believe if I had read every night I would have had an easier time blogging about different things because I would have read more.  I overcame this struggle by starting to read more in my study hall class instead of sitting around doing nothing.  One of my strengths that I had with blogging was when I had an idea to blog about, I actually executed quite well in my opinion.  I usually made them very well thought out and detailed.  I did not meet my reading goal but I came pretty close and I used goodreads.com to see any other good book recommendations but I didn’t update how much I was reading as much as I should have.   I have improved as a reader in quite a few ways.  I think I understand books easier now because I take my time when I read instead of rushing through a book like I used to do.  I also enjoy reading more because of our blogs and good reads I can find more interesting books for my taste.  So in conclusion, I believe my blogging has improved by a ton but I could also still improve it and make it even better.

Diva Article in School Newspaper

In the most recent version of the school nespaper, the chronicle, I read a really interesting article about bring out your "inner diva". For most people, being a diva isn't such a good thing... but if you think about it, bring out your inner diva can sometimes be a good thing.  Being a diva isn't just about being sassy, it's also about being extremely confident with yourself.  A lot of students at Mason High school have found their inner diva by looking up to the famous singer, Beyonce. 


She is known as one of the most powerful women in the world because she is extremely confident in hersle and doesn't let others opinions ruin her day and stop her from doing what she wants to do.  People see her as a role model because she is easy to look up to and her confidence makes up her whole image.  If she was insecure, and normal, she couldn't make a difference in peoples lives and make other people want to be confident she is.