Tag: Education

A Penny for Your Consent

mariethearistocatLeave a comment

BuzzFeed is known for its clickbait and quirky news updates. But, occasionally they use their large following for good use. A video titled “Would You Steal $5?” is a perfect example of that good-doing. A simple message is put across as it begins: “What is considered stealing?” The narrator lists different scenarios in which someone has $5, and each scenario shows another situation classified as stealing. But at the end, it’s revealed that the $5 is a symbol for consent. In simpler terms, without consent you are stealing from someone.

What is consent? Most claim to know the answer, but in reality, not many do. Consent is defined as permission for something to happen or agreement to do something. Mostly, consent refers to situations involving any romantic or sexual interactions. It seems simple enough, if one or both members aren’t up to doing something, then both have to accept that they shouldn’t be doing whatever that is. Yet somehow, rape and sexual violence is still all too common.

No one knows the severity of rape culture. On average, 288,820 people are raped annually in the U.S. alone. That is one person every 2 minutes. That number surely disgusts many, yet rape is still a taboo subject. Why is it that consent isn’t taught at all schools? Sex Ed is only mandatory in 24 states, and not all of those have to teach consent. No wonder the headlines are filled with reports of rape and violence against women and men.

Consent is honestly so simple. If you or your partner is uncomfortable, drunk, unready, or unwilling, don’t have sex! If someone says no to any activity, don’t do it! It’s simple, really.

Watch the BuzzFeed video below:

Homework?

raining17Leave a comment

School is a designated time and place for people to learn and increase their knowledge. Because of that, I don’t think it’s fair for copious amounts of work to be assigned out of school as well.

When long hours are spent every day sitting in chairs and taking in lots of information, it seems like overkill to continue to practice what we’ve learned later in the day.

Many teachers argue that class time is for learning the material, and that through homework we are supposed to prove our knowledge. That is a legitimate point, however, if we didn’t have homework, then there would actually be time to execute our skills during class itself.

Photo Credit: jbmthinks.com

So much time is spent during class periods assigning, explaining and reviewing homework. If no homework was assigned, the time originally spent talking about homework after we’ve learned the lesson could be spent proving what we’ve learned. Then, we would have learned what we needed to know and have proven our intelligence all within the class period, without having to do even more work at home.

With all the homework that is assigned – coupled with after school activities – many students are staying up late into the night, and are not sufficiently rested for the next day. That causes them not to perform their best in school.

If this education system could be revised, students would be more attentive in school, have a higher motivation to get their work done in class and overall be more successful academically.

Bright Room, harsh lights

frog3Leave a comment

fefe

Sitting in the darkened room.

Plastic flashing, sounds pulsating.

The light, when on, is harsh and unnatural.

A man, tall and large, lives within these confines.

Quick to anger, slow to reason, his intelligence is low.

A role he is given to shape minds and stuff them of knowledge.

Knowledge he said, scoff I said.

If you cannot think on your own,

how can you teach others to do the same?

October 16, 2009

kirbyfullyloaded1 Comment

I was thirteen when I attended Spudfest at the Ojai Valley School Upper Campus.

Spudfest is an annual campus-integrating event that introduces students of the Lower Campus to high school life.

We had Team Comp(etition) and battled it out in various events for points, the winner would be rewarded with a pizza party.

We did all sorts of games, including, but not limited to, the chicken launch, the Barbie drop, tug-o-war, candy mummies (where someone got wrapped in tape and rolled on a tarp with candy all over it), and the shoe scramble.  It was all very jazzy.

Afterward we had a party up at the campus.

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FOUR MORE DAYS !!

yrreskrapLeave a comment

OKAY.

I KNOW I SAID I WOULDN’T THINK ABOUT IT UNTIL AFTER I FIND OUT THE RESULTS BUT…

i just cant.

ALKEJFIOSDJFLSEMNFOALDKCM!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY!?
I feel like these four days are killing me.

On December 1st, I will receive two emails from Williams and Amherst, letting me know whether or not I have been accepted. I don’t know what time the emails will come which makes things worse for me! I will be checking every five minutes on that day! Will it come at noon like the last email? If so will it come at noon Eastern Time? Would that make it arrive in my inbox at nine?

I am scared because Williams and Amherst are one of the nations top colleges. Williams is rated #1 in Forbes Best College List and #1 liberal arts schools in U.S. News and World Report Best College List. Amherst is #4 on Forbes and #2 in U.S. News and World.

Williams College is a small school of just over 2,000 students with an acceptance rate of 20 percent. SDLKFJSDLJF. So 20 out of 100 students that apply get in. 80 get a rejection.

Amherst is even worse. It has an acceptance rate of 16. So in this case, 84 would get the boot.

What I am scared the most about is, like I said in my previous blog, whether or not I will hate the isolation. I am scared that I will hate being in the middle of nowhere (being three and a half hours away from Boston) and find myself hating the weather too!

I think too much.

I am both dreading and waiting for Thursday to come.

God, please choose the right school for me.

The Pursuit of Nationality

vabenissimoLeave a comment

I am Korean. And, I am Americanized.

My circle of friends varies–Koreans who have never been in America, Koreans who have tasted American culture, Korean-Americans, Americans, and Europeans.

As a high school senior who began boarding in 2003 as a fifth grader at a private school in California, I know what America is. As I get older, I now face some dilemmas within the Korean and American social structures, and I am not alone in this journey of confusion and struggles.

Here is my case:
My mother completed her education in Korea while my father did in America. Weighing the benefits and disadvantages of American educational system, my parents provided me the chance to broaden my insights. Before I took off on my journey to this land of opportunities, they clarified on this one thing–you are Korean. I did not get it because I was legitimately Korean. But the more days I spent in America where the culture vastly contrasts from the one in South Korea, I started to doubt about my manners, logics in English, semi-understanding of American trend, English writing skills, Korean speaking and writing capabilities, and most importantly, adapting to the Korean and American social structures.

I do not know where I will settle to live and work.

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Unguaranteed Success

vabenissimoLeave a comment

Of course, a mother would want her child to receive an excellent education

However, in South Korea, this desire is taken far too extreme.

South Korean “Children” are forcefully sent abroad without any guaranteed success.

Often times, these students end up in committing unethical behaviors such as underage drinking and substance abuse and become anxious and obfuscated with their conflicting cultural identities; to simply put, unhappy.

Exceptions exist. They can benefit from the early experiences of independence and cultural diversity and possess careers within international range.

My point is not about tilting onto one side of this global study overseas issue. It is about recommending much more careful judgment about this experience and not merely following a trend based on an obscure success.

Check out this New York Times article, “For English Studies, Koreans say Goodbye to Dad” by Norimitsu Onishi.

Nowhere

vabenissimoLeave a comment

What a wonderful sight! The South Korean students are chained to their desks for hours at both home and school. Neither a sign of sparkle nor spirit is observed in their eyes. Routinely, their parents, teachers, and even the South Korean government shout about the merits of entering “elite” schools.

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