History, Sorta

A question that my TOK class is currently pondering is why teach history? We were discussing it today via liveblog when my teacher posted a link that, well, irritated me. Let me start with saying it irritated me because I always believed history to be fact. I did not know why we taught it, I just knew they where true facts. But now with TOK, I have developed a reflex to QUESTION EVERYTHING. Thinking about I realize, that there is more to history.

While questioning everything, we came up with that history is more like an interpretation. It is us students learning about what someone interpreted to have happened. So is history even true? One point brought up is from The DaVinci Code. The book says that history is written by the winners. That is where the article that bothered. An article, in my opinion, that proved this to be true.

This article talks about Texas. I state that I really really really hate now. The Texas school board was writing a new curriculum that would go in to the textbooks. They decided that one figure, Cesar Chavez, is not important enought to be taught to the students. What makes them decide what is important or not?

Here is a short history lesson. Chavez taught people to stand up for their rights. He did this peacefully and did a lot for the Latino nation. But the Texas Board of Education does not think that this is important for the students to know. The article describes it as the 'board not seeing a historical value in the students knowing this. Texas Governer Rick Perry also agrees with this. "Republicans don’t see it in their best interest to teach children about civil rights figures who could inspire black or brown people." This quote is bolded in the article and does anybody doubt that this is an accurate reason? The article than continue to say, "The last thing they want is to have a whole new generation of children who will grow up to stand up for their rights, hold vigils and organize boycotts." And I agree. This school board is trying to supress these kids and make them think that this is the way it is and there is nothing I can do to change it. (sounds like another school I know........)

My problem is that this is not right. I do not think that it is right for anything to be left out. But the reason that is stated in this article makes it worst. That proves that history is written by the winners. If the Board wins then they sorta decided what history is. Even if they do succeed, that won't stop people learning it. They still have their parents to teach them, other people, and the internet. So should we believe anything we learn in history class?

CSAP

The best part of being upper classmen is not having to take CSAP. It is just stupid. First, no one actually gets graded on the test, but it is treated more importantly than a test we take to actually pass school. Yeah I know, It tests the school and depending on the scores the school gets funding. I am not actually sure where that money goes though. That could be that I honestly do not care, or that I just do not pay that much attention. All I do know is that Eveywhere I turn every club, person, or group of somesort is fundraising still. There is a possibility that the funding goes to changes in the school, but in all the years I have been there, I don't remeber any changes. I do notice how muh time it wates, and the big deal everyone makes about it. The random adults that are always hanging out in the hallway always gives you a set of things to do. Like "make sure you get plenty of sleep". I am going to get the same amount of sleep I do everynight. "Wake up a little earlier and eat breakfast!!!" Listen, no way in hell am i waking up earlier. Not gonna happen. And why would i do it if when I get to school we eat there. It might not be the best thing i can eat (warm juice and ripped-off fruit loops) but it saves my sleeping time. Then they go around saying how important it is. Maybe to you. To ME AND EVERY OTHER STUDENT it something we speed through than pretend we take our time on. There may be someone who takes it seriously but whatever. This test also takes up half the day. So I dont have most my classes. I miss these required classes that are so important that people get yelled at for missing any other day. And the rules are possibly stupider. Not just for the fact that Each year since 1st grade you have to hear them. Day after day after day, year after year after year, You hear these rules. I know them just as well as I know anything else. But I have to sit there and listen to my teacher talk more than usual. I am so happy that I am a Junior and get to sleep in while everyone else has to get up and take this.

Today the 10 of February, 2010

I was only going to right about the field trip that we took for music class. But the whole day was just EPIC!!! We went to the opera house by the Buell Theater and saw "The Barber of Seville". Nobody really cares what it is about but the whole thing was, well, epic!!! Even the chairs where awesome. They were comfy and had a head rest. Everyone and to scooch down to have there head hit it, but I didn't. Yeah!!! Me and those 5 year olds got it covered!!! I still do not understand why kids that young where there!!! The fudgen play was in itallian. They had subtittles in front of the seats. Could they even read?!?!?!!? And what about when they said jackass. They probably dont even know what that means. So when they go up to their parents and ask, "what is a jackass?" how do they respond. Exactly. And they all had better seats than us!!!! WHAT THE HELL!!!! We are in high school. If I can pick you up and throw you into a garbage can, you should so not have better seats. Everyone was dressed nice. Except us. We were all in green and orange polos, cacky pants, sneakers, and hoodies. We walked by people with their hair curled, pretty much dressed well. I looked at us and asked if anyone else felt under dressed. The play started and there was a ninja light. NINJA LIGHT!!!!!!! It was epic. This big light in the middle of the room got darker and slowly started rising into the dark cieling. The actual play was pretty epic too. Exspecially when all of a sudden it turned into slow motion. The charachters where pretending to fight and they did it slow motion. People where fighting over guns, punching and kicking people, and my favorite was when soldier picked up another soldier and spun him around. All in slow motion!!!! I am still amazed how all the people stood still. Moments where the actors just froze for 3 minutes at a time and didnt move once. It was also epic. I dont know how they do it. I couldnt. But I also couldnt act. Then of course there was the bus ride home. And joe epiclly fell. He face planted on the bus, as it was turning, into the seat next to him. Luckily Micheal had his phone out and it is now on youtube. It is called Joe's ninja fall. Go check it out. Anyway, the perfect ending to this day had to be the pixie stixs, PIXIE STIXS, we ate in spanish class. So dont you agree? Is this not one pretty epic day?

High School: Part1

This is the actually rant. I know that schools are supposed to have rules and be stupid, but mine takes the cake. First of all, lets start with the dress code. I am not complaining about that, but dang do they have to make them so damn uncomfortable. Like today, I decided not to wear a damn collered shirt. I went into the office to get one when I was told and they gave me a freakin turtle neck!!!!!! So not the same thing. I even asked the princapal if it looked like a collered shirt. He said yes of course. Dude, if you can't distinguish between the two than I so don't want to be learning from you. And Sean got a fudgen normal shirt!!!! And they didn't tell him to take his shirt off like they did me. She told me to go back there and change and I wouldn't cause i would just put it over my shirt. She said that they needed an article of chlothing. Ummmmmmmm..... no I am not taking my short off for you. So I took of my shoe and gave it to her. What kind of school only tells the girls to hand in a shirt. One that wants to get sued.

Then my school has a fudgen that building that isn't up to code. DANGEROUS!!!!!! Do they want us all to die. Don't answer that because it is probably true. I heard that the walls are wrong. I am not really sure. They also had to take the doors off the bathroom because they were not wheel chair acceptable. So not only is the school sexist, they don't care about people who can't walk!!!!!! And the major one is that a couple weeks ago there was a gas leak. A GAS LEAK!!!!! They solved that by sending us all back into the building.

Then of course there was the bathroom issue before the doors were taken off. We were not aloud to go during class. They thought we would miss something important. So I had five fudgen minutes to go to the bathroom before class and also get across the building. Sounds impossible. And if I was late than hall sweeps it is. So my choices are to miss the whole class or get a bladder infection.

My last problem is with the walk throughs. I understand that the administration wants to make sure we are learning, but when you enter the room, the teacher gets nervous. And they are more worried about having the object on the board than us understanding things. Why cant the objective be: Students will be able to actually learn today?

I want to end with this just being a rant. I know that the school is just doing their best and trying to exceed in my education. But sometimes it does not seem like that. And its not just me it is also my friends and other students.