School Scandals: A Quick Lesson on What Not to do as a Teacher

This article was inspiring to me in an ironic way; it told me one thing to never do as a teacher, and that is to change students answers to boost up the test scores. In Atlanta, Georgia it seems that some of the faculty have been accused of cheating, and the entire community has been in an uproar ever since these accusations arose.

While this scandal polluted the Atlanta school system, it was not that the only problem that the school system faced. The school superintendent has also decided to quit her position for reasons other than the current cheating fiasco.

I believe that there is an honor code for teaching, and I believe that every teacher should teach the student to the best of their abilities. However, they should not allow the student to gain credit for things they are not capable of doing.

There is a question that sticks out in my mind. Where the teachers under pressure? Teachers are often blamed for the short-comings, inability, or disiplinary problems of their students, but a majority of the time it is not their fault. Society must realize that teachers are human; not miracle workers, and there is a limit to what they can do.

Kite Runner Final Assesment

My final assement choice for the Senior Project will be writing the short story. I have decided to write the scene in which Assef meets Amir from Assef's prospective.

Etymology and Me

Disdain- Disdain comes from the Old French word desdeignier it means to repudiate, scorn, and refuse.

Veracity - Veracity comes from the Middle Latin word veracitatem which means truthfulness. It also may come from the Latin word verax which means truthful.

Quagmire - from the 1570s from the archaric word quag, which means marsh, and mire which means swampy ground.

Patronize - comes from patron and ize, means to treat in a condescending way.

Atrophy - this word's orgins seems to stem from the Greek word atrophia which means wasting away. It is also a medical term which means the deterioration of muscles.

Dialectical Journal: Kite Runner: Chapter 12

"I know it sounds childish, but the Ziba wrote her own letter, I knew there was nothing else I'd ever want to be but a teacher. I was so proud of her, and I felt I had done something worthwhile, you know?" Pg. 132

This quote, this sentiment of Sorya's, was so profoundly beautiful to me that I had to write about it. This feeling she has, to me, should be the feeling everyone gets from doing a certain job. I feel as if Sorya has found her passion, which so few people do nowadays.

I was also wondering how hearing this story made Amir feel. As we all know, Amir used to ridicule Hassan about his inability to read, and it seems he never once thought of teaching Hassan. I feel as if he would've felt an immense guilt over this, especially considering Hassan's loyalty to him, and his almost inherent reluctance to accept Hassan as a friend in the eyes of the world

Dialectical Journal: Kite Runner: Chapter 11

"It's not so bad now" he said... but I'd seen the way he winced and rubbed his wrists on damp days... "Besides I didn't bring us here for me, did I?" Pg. 113

This excerpt to me shows a pivotal turning point in the story. Baba is shown, for the first time in the novel, to be weakened. His strong willed personality is becoming overwhelmed by his physical ailments, and while Baba seems to love the idea of America, as Amir stated at the beginning of the chapter; it seems that actually living in America does not agree with Baba.

I connected this to several things which I am familiar with. The first connection that popped into my mind would have to be a connection with my history class. During the beginning of the class we'd always hear about the horrible treatment that immigrants would get in this country. We'd hear about the way doctors would be degraded down to janitors, and I thought of how painful that must be to Baba, how embarrassed he must be on the inside, and how painful it must be to hold that all in because of his pride.

I also made a small connection with "Stand and Deliver". I thought of my mini-monologue in Act II in which Escalante explains to the kids the trials and tribulations he faced when he came to America. I remembered how he said that he had to mop floors, bus tables, learn English, take classes about courses he had already taught, and other embarrassing things. When I did that scene I always felt some sort of pain, shame if you will, when I was in character, and I can empathize with Baba.

America: Falling Behind?

Thanks to Mr. Abrams I have slowly, but surely become addicted to reading at least one article from the New York Times every week or so. I was perusing the website this weekend when I stumbled upon this article. It was about the technological advances of other societies(specifically India's) educational system, and how America is falling behind the times.

I instantly thought of Senior Project and how Mr. Abrams is always trying to add different levels of technology to his lessons. This opinion article is focused on IIT, or the Indian Institute of Technology( modeled after MIT), and how it's high standards, student living policies and attitude towards technology are the reasons this school is cranking out some of the world's top "innovators, and entrepreneur and the article finished with a poignant statement, " there’s something for America to learn from these institutes (which, incidentally, were modeled on MIT) if we are to regain our innovative edge."

After reading this I thought to myself that LHS does a pretty good job when it comes to technology and education. Of course we could always do better but, for a smaller school I think LHS offers an extremely well versed technological education, and I'm sure in the future, the school will take the relationship between education and technology futher.