PLN 10

I think that we spend to much time at school. Flat out too much time. We are here more then we are at home, and when we are at home the only things we do are homework, sleep, eat, and maybe watch a little t.v. All of our time is spent at school. Now, it's good that we're learning, but i think that the administration should lessen the school day so we have more time to do other things. I get up for school, then after i get home, I get started on my homework, and usually it goes well into the night. I finish around 6 or 7pm. Then i eat dinner, shower, and go to bed. Then get up to start all over again. And that pattern repeats for five days straight. Then Saturday, i sleep well into the day because i don't get enough sleep in the week. And my mom yells at me for sleeping until around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Is it just because I'm a teenager? Isn't it that most teenagers sleep into the day because they stay up late? In around 2005/2006 there was a study that showed kids in grades 7-12 don't get tired until 10 or 11pm, and children in preschool-6th grade get tired around 7 or 8pm. Children in elementary wake up early in the morning and kids in grades 7-12 wake up later in the morning. Yet, Older kids schools start earlier and younger kids start later. Wouldn't it make more sense to have it the other way around? Plus if the younger kids who have to have their parents drop them off at kindergraden or first grade get up earlier, almost the same time as their parents, but their school doesn't start for another two hours, would it not make sense to have their school start later so it could be more convienant for the working parents/guardians. i think that we should lesson the school day and have it start later.

PLN 9

I read Heritage High School in Littleton Evacuated. It said that there was in ill student and they found a white powdery substance in his locker. The school officials had issued the school to be evacuated and then they are still deciding on whether to have classes tomorrow or not. Six people, two teachers, and four kids were sent to the hospital. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is to me because one of my best friends who is closer than a sister to me goes to Heritage and I would be devastated if she was in trouble like that or sent to the hospital. This is really big, because it involves drugs, and drugs are a horrible thing. It's not just teenagers that do drugs. Many adults do too. And it's bad, because it influences your brain and kills a lot of your brain cells. It's said that one hit of weed is just as bad as four cigarettes. So when people say, "Weed is better for you then cigarettes", it may seem that way, but it's not. Both are bad for you. You are only given one body and one brain, so why would you want mess them up? When you’re young, you can do a lot of things and get away with it, like cracking your knuckles. But when you’re older you'll probably going to have arthritis. So my main point is that why would you do drugs or drink achohal when you only have one body and one brain to use?

PLN 3 -Redo-

For my third PLN I read 2 Cents Worth “If it’s Not About Technology, Then what is It About?” While reading I realized that we do use technology to do our learning a lot more then we should. Students refer to the internet rather than books. It may be quicker than going to a book store or library and finding the book, but if you do, you know that they information is right because there’s a lot on the internet and it’s not all true. But with technology, I would say that it is about our students, their today’s and their tomorrows. Students learn with technology. And then with what students learn, they put it to work. Making even more technology. This has a big impact, because the human brain is constantly learning, even from the simplest thing. So you could be sitting next to the next person to invent the biggest form of technology. Students are the people who will be the next big thing in the world. Soon enough we all will be the one’s running the country and deciding what amendments should be passed, who should be in congress and the president, basically what happens to the place we live in. Our futures are above us, and with the education system being redone each year so that we learn in greater detail and at a younger age, the smarter we will become. Therefore, the more advanced we will be and the better understanding for things. Our students will be the ones who invent the newst technology and do what matters to them.

PLN 8

I tried reading some different things from the blogs I’m subscribed to, but I didn't really find anything appealed to my interest. So I decided to reflect on something that happened to me earlier. Today I stayed after school so I could make up some of my quizzes. My teacher was in a meeting until 3, so my friend, Pari and I went to LIFEspot to hang out with our friends. While we were standing in front of LIFEspot an owner from a surrounding business came out and yelled at us. She told us that other people were intimidated by us. The thing I didn’t understand was why she would come out and yell at us for just standing there and talking. I started to get mad because I hadn’t done anything wrong. So I told her it was my right as a citizen of the United Starts to be able to stand and talk. Then she threatened to call the cops on us. And I admit, this probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but I was pretty pissed off, so I told her to go ahead and call the cops, and they could settle the agurement. In the end she didn’t actually call the cops, but we did leave because we had to go make up our quizzes. Though, later when we came back there were other people doing the exact same thing we had done. Just standing and talking in front of LIFEspot. The lady that had yelled at us walked by them several times and didn’t say a word. So I began to wonder what the difference was between my group of friends and the people were standing and talking. Then I saw that they way my friends and I dress and look compare nothing to what the other kids looked like and dressed. So the lady yelled at us because we didn’t look the way she wanted us too. Which brings me to my basic point: there is so much discrimination amongst the world on the why people look and dress. This connects to “clicks” because each “click” has a different look to it. I’m not one to label people, in fact I hate labels. I think it is extremely wrong to judge a person by how they look. I know kids that look like they would have straight A’s and wouldn’t get into any trouble, but really their failing their classes, and they have a record. Then I know people that look like they cause trouble all the time and fail every single class. But in reality they are a genius and are at the top of their class. It is ridiculous that we are judged by the way our hair is cut, how our make-ups done, and the type of cloths we were. All it is is different styles. And by having different styles it just proves that not every person is the same; that people have different tastes because they are different. And the “clicks” are just a group of people that get along because they have some of the same interests. I am friends with many different “clicks” and I may not look like every one of them. Independence and difference is what makes us who we are. We can’t just all be the same; then the world would be boring and there would be no fun or excitement. Why should it matter if I dress differently then someone else? Why should it imply that I’m a horrible kid that’s damned to hell? Why should it imply that I get horrible grades, and I’m not a good kid?

PLN 7

I decided to not read something online for my seventh PLN. Sure, there are some good articles to read, but I thought about something today that I think is a good enough topic. It's about how we are so attached to technology. We rely on so much technology I began to wonder if we are capable of living without it. We use technology for everything. Cooking, communication, entertainment, learning, everything. Have you ever spent a whole week with touching a single thread of technology? Could you do it? I think that it's not so much people ranging in ages 30+, but morally teenagers. Have you ever heard the saying, "when it comes to technology, when in doubt, ask a teenager."? Many times an elder person will ask me how to work their simple phone, or how to send an email, or zoom in on a picture. Things I find simple is more than just confusing to elder people. My father asks me many times to teach him how to attach a document to an email or even change the font size. If I do say so, it's rather pathetic how much the universe relays on technology. We use TV and internet to entertain ourselves when we are bored; whatever happened to getting up and going outside to play so basketball? We use cell phones, email, texting, instant message, and land lines to communicate with each other; what happened to just writing a letter with pen and paper? We use stove tops, toasters, ovens, and microwaves to cook; what happened to a good old fire? We learn for the internet (that's not always right); what happened to books? Sure, I admit that I use just as much technology as the next person. But are they thinking about it? Today I raked leaves with my mother, but to get the job done quicker we got a leave blower. Which is technology. Technology is a very good tool and helps a lot. But if you think about it, if there wasn't all this technology, then our electric bills wouldn't be so high, in fact we wouldn't have electric bills at all. But then again, if we didn't have electricity then there wouldn't be as much money in the world because consumers wouldn't have so many things to invest in. Or would there be more money in the world because people wouldn't invest so much money into new inventions? I find sense in either explanation.

PLN 6

In the Denver Post, I read "Police: Wal-Mart shooter demanded money before killing". This made me mad because it said that no one knows why the shooter beat and shot the victim. I don't think it’s right for someone to beat horrendously and shoot someone, let alone for no reason. It’s wrong to kill. In fact, Why do people kill people that have killed people to show that killing is wrong? I understand that if someone were to kill or hurt someone very close to me and that I loved, I would probably want them to suffer the same fate, but I do think that it would be better for them to have life imprisonment so they could live with what they have done for their rest of their lives. This is a very big problem in the world because there are a lot of murders in the world. And sometimes punishment is not carried out as should be. I think that killing anything of any kind is murder. But then it kind of brings us way back in time when, if you’re religious, God created the earth and animals. And he made animals for us to eat. So we have to kill them to eat. And back to all the wars that have happened in history. It is in mankind to destroy and conquer: but why does it have to be each other? Though, if it’s not each other, what would it be? Many people are against war and killing of any kind. Some aren’t. Some people want to have ever-lasting peace. But through history shows that is practically impossible. I believe that War is just a demonstration of the weakness is human will. I know as soon as I can, I will be the change I want to see in the world. And I as one person will change the world, even if just a little.