Current Connection 1.1

In Diane Ravitch’s article entitled “School Reform’: A Failing Grade,” she argues that American students have never been good at taking international tests.

According to “International Test Scores”, conducted by 4brevard.com, an educational website, found that, elementary schools scored “average” but high school is a different story. This website states that high school students scored either basic or below in 2011.
 For example, according to Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY, out of all of the high school students that took the ACT in the year of 2013, only 43% of them earned a score that indicates that will succeed in the first year of college.

What is the problem? I believe schools don’t have the right kind of classes preparing us for what life has to offer in the long run.

 Mary Beth Marklein, a Representative of US TODAY further notes,  “Average scores on the nation's most widely used college entrance exams barely budged this year, raising anew concerns that today's high school graduates will be unprepared to compete in a global marketplace.”

 Schools should be taking automatically talking action based on these test scores; test scores that can and will shape the future of high school students, not only in America, but all around the world.

Has my school started taking action? Yes, they have, as they should! We actually have a full class devoted to preparing us to make a better score on the ACT test. It is actually called “ACT prep.”

 Marklein ended her passage with a quote from the College Board, stating that “...Millions of skilled jobs left unfilled here at home, it is essential to ensure that our students are prepared for college and careers.”

For example, students in America should have a fair opportunity of getting local jobs, just as every other country does.

My question would be… are schools putting off the need for more test prep just because it would cause more work for themselves?

Current Connection #2

                THV.com does an article on stress levels for Americans, adults and teens.

          “…18-33- the millennial generation are plenty stressed, and it’s not letting up. 39% say their stress has increased in the past year. 52% say stress has kept them awake at night in the past month. And more than any other age group; they report being told by a health care provider that they have either depression or an anxiety disorder.” The average stress levels for 2012 for 18 years and older is 4.9. But for millennial, it is 5.4.

          Mike Hais of Arcadia, California explains how young people have a higher stress rate than older people. “it may be they are more willing to admit it. It may be a phase of life. They just don’t know where they’re going in life.”

          “Overall, the survey finds that 20% of Americans report extreme stress, which is an 8, 9, or 10 on the stress scale.” 1 being little to no stress, 10 being the most stress ever.

          My connection to this is that I, too, can relate to stress. I have a lot of stress and it is something hard to deal with. There are also side effects that come with stress. With me, I get headaches. There are many other that could come along, I’m sure.

          Stress is hard but it can be reduced. Breathing exercises can always help, getting a massage, taking a nap, or even just laying in a quiet place and think alone.

Current Connection #1

     On THV.com they tell the story of 24-year-old Clayton Otwell who was killed yesterday from using synthetic drugs.

“The chemicals in Otwell’s body sent him into seizures, and he never regained consciousness.” Stated THV.com Bill Bryant of the Arkansas Drug Enforcement Administration explains the dangers of buying illegal drugs on the streets. “You don’t know where this drug comes from or who put it together. Do they have the right chemical degree?” I, myself, don’t exactly know anything about drugs, but I’m assuming the drugs Clayton Otwell took did not have the right chemicals in them and his seizures are a result of that.

Dr. Joseph Lasky at Tulane University Hospital also puts major stress on how risky, dangerous, and unpredictable these types of drugs are. “There’s no predicting the effect or the magnitude of the effect that this drug is going to have.”Explains Lasky. “That makes it particularly dangerous.”
Tim Brown explains a drug “Molly” that is similar to the one Otwell used. “Nationally, Molly gets quite a bit of publicity, but Bryant said more cases of manmade drugs have surfaced in the southern region.” THV.com informs.

My connection to the world is this isn’t the first story I’ve heard about these drugs.

This can be prevented! Maybe if more people know how dangerous these drugs actually are, people will come to their senses and realize that using these are not safe.

Book Review- Twenty Boy Summer

Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer brings out all of the emotions inside. It makes you laugh, cry, and it even made me angry at times but I have to admit, I absolutely could not put this book down once I started reading it.

If I had to choose only one word to describe the theme to this book, it would have to be confusion. Not that the book itself is confusing, just that the situations all of the characters are put into are very hard to make any decisions about. A life lesson this theme gave me was that life is hard. It does not matter who you are, how much money you have, or how famous you are. Everyone will always be faced with day- to- day situations where you have to make tough decisions. Some are harder than others and some will affect your life as you know it. You just have to do what you think is the right thing, have faith, and hope for the best.

This book is about three best friends, Anna, Frankie, and Matt. Anna and Matt are in love. Frankie and Matt are brother and sister. Their all three basically joined at the hip until Matt was killed in a horrific car accident. While he was alive, he made Anna promise not to tell her best friend Frankie about them so that he could tell his little sister on their yearly family vacation. But he was not given enough time before the car accident happened. So Anna is left with many, many life alternating decisions to make. Should she brake her promise to Matt and tell Frankie? Or should she keep and major secret from her best friend as their both going threw this ruff time together? What does she do?

A year after the accident, vacation time came around and Frankie's parents invited Anna to go along. Frankie likes the idea but wants to make a game out of it. Since she is still grieving, Anna agrees. They have to talk to at least twenty boys before the vacation time is up.

Read this book set in Zanzibar Bay where Anna will attempt to go along with a little game that Frankie plays. See if Anna is strong enough to keep her secret about Matt from Frankie and a secret about a newly developed crush from Matt.

My American Dream

The future is something my boyfriend, Jacob and I talk about almost every day. We have been together for a little over two years, so our plans have been set and stone for a while. These plans consist of living my American Dream of being successful.

The first leap to success would have to be finishing high school. Shortly after that Jacob and I plan to move. Something we found out in the early time of our relationship is that we are both absolutely in love with Miami, Florida. Therefore, it is only natural that this is where we plan on moving. Of course, neither of us has actually been there. With this in mind, we took the liberty of planning a trip. My senior year is next year, and my parents have been saving for my senior trip since before I was even brought into this world. Since they are both on board with mine and Jacob’s plan, they have agreed to let us take my trip a summer early! This is great for Jacob and me because my parents have also agreed to take Jacob along and even let us choose the place. Miami, here we come!

Prior to moving to this amazing dream place, Jacob and I have also chosen our future careers. Jacob has chosen to become a cardiologist, a lifelong dream of his. Me? I could not decide on just one career so I have decided to become a hair stylist to pay my way through nursing school, where I will go to become a registered nurse.

The cost of living in Miami vs. the cost in Batesville, AR is a huge difference. Research shows that the average grocery cost in Miami is $105 and the cost of food in Batesville is only $96. Although food is a big part of living, we will also need a house. The cost of housing is 45% cheaper in Batesville. This will be difficult but we have both agreed to stick to our jobs so paying for these expenses will not become a problem.

All of these leaps to success will be difficult, but I know Jacob and I can do it. Once we do, we will both be living my life-long American Dream.
 

When bullying is taken too far

Bullying, acting with negative intentions to hurt someone physically or emotionally, is something almost every child has been through at some point in their lives. Some more than others. Some just get bullied by one person by words just one time. Then there is there attacks that need to be taken care of before they occur. For example, in the article entitled, "The Daily Home- When bullying Goes Too Far." This article tells readers about a little twelve-year-old boy who hung himself in his very own room because he was bullied by kids at his school for over a year.
It's natural for littler kids to be bullied or "picked on" for a short time in school just because of the fact that they are, what the bullies would call, "an easy target." This or any other bullying to any extreme should be tolerated, ever. Yes, it's going to happen, but I believe that this should not be tolerated in any way. No matter how little or how severe the attacks are. Bullying should not be tolerated, allowed in any place.

Current Connection- A few things you might want to know if your a coffee drinker.

In a recent article by Veronique Greenwood entitled "Why Bacteria, But Not Humans, Can Live on Caffeine," Greenwood is very descriptive and interesting to coffee drinkers (me). His purpose of writing this article is to clearly answer the question "why bacteria, but not humans, can live on caffeine.
The first point that caught my eye was this, "When the molecule seeps into the brain and interferes with neurotransmitters, blood pressure rises, neutrons work faster, and adrenaline production jumps." It's sort of common since that coffee gives you a boost when your tired.. Exactly why people drink it in the morning, before work and even before school. Except I did not know the next thing that caught my eye. Greenwood provides readers with a diagram, curiosity of Wiki media Commons, that shows the break down of the two carbon and nitrogen rings at the molecule's core. He goes on saying, "Human liver enzymes, which have the task of processing caffeine and other drugs, can get part of the way there. They can remove that Ch3 groups stuck to the rings, just as bacterial enzymes do. But after that, while humans show the caffeine derivatives, the most simple of which is known as Xanthippe, the door, the bacteria hang onto them, chopping down the rings to their component elements and harvesting energy." For all of you non science people out there, Greenwood also provides a more simple sentence, "The specific reason caffeine isn't an energy source for us, thus, is that we don't have the gear to digest derivatives further."
Myself, a big coffee drinker, obviously needs to be looking more into this.