On the 18th of November after S.O.S I walked into my working with words class fully expecting to have a lot of dry work and not much fun at all. Usually the only thing that makes this class and the work in it bearable is the use of my iPod. Unfortunately that day I sat down at my desk with my iPod and binder ready for the class. The handout gets passed out and I settle into my chair seeing the work I have an hour to complete. Oddly Dr. Sky objected to the use of my iPod and said that a new rule had been put into effect and that we could not use our iPods. I openly objected to this saying that we always used our iPods. The only thing she had to say was that it was a rule and she had to follow it.
That class was absolute torture. Not only did I have seven page of grammar I had to listen to other people complaining about the same thing I was. After what seemed like double the time we were dismissed for lunch and to the freedom to talk to each other. At that moment I remembered that my friend from another school had written a petition and was able to go off campus at lunch so I thought why not do the same here. That is why I am writing a petition volleying for the use of our iPods in class.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Only Fuel to Hate is Indifference
“The only fuel to hate is indifference” Dr. Eva Olsson came to SJK to say some very simple words with an astounding meaning. I was awestruck to find out that this old, frail woman standing in front of me was in fact a survivor of the worst deed done by humans. She was a survivor of the Holocaust. Dr. Olsson came and spoke with such enthusiasm and belief that you had to not only believe, but accept what she said. Not only was she speaking, she also had a visual slide show in the back showing the mounds of people being loaded on trains, the gas chambers where millions were killed, and the mass graves where millions were buried.
”You went to the left or the right”. Eva Olsson said in her presentation. “If you went left you got a free walk into the gas chambers where you suffocated. If you went right you got the privilege of serving the rest of the war or the rest of your life (whichever came first) to hard labour in a field or factory making tanks or bullets for the Nazi army”. Leaving that day I realized that what happened to Eva is happening to a lot of people every day around the world. In Africa children are starving to death every day and the entire world is turning a blind eye on it. If I have learned anything from Eva it is that the worst thing you can do is nothing, unfortunately that is exactly what happened when she and millions of others were in the fight of their lives against the Nazis and starvation.
As Eva recalled stories of the Nazis forcing everyone to leave their shoes behind on the rivers edge and March down the road to the gas chambers where the air was forced from their lungs I thought back to earlier in her presentation when she said that the Nazis would shout any woman holding a baby. First I thought it was just another thing they did but then realized there was more cruelty behind it than there appeared. The bullet would pass through the baby’s head and into the woman’s heart therefore saving a bullet for the next person. If anything this showed me that humans are capable of great compassion and great cruelty. Having Eva speak to me has forced me to finally see the world as it is, a smudge of dirt in the endless expanse of space, but remember this planet is not just dirt, there are also diamonds.
”You went to the left or the right”. Eva Olsson said in her presentation. “If you went left you got a free walk into the gas chambers where you suffocated. If you went right you got the privilege of serving the rest of the war or the rest of your life (whichever came first) to hard labour in a field or factory making tanks or bullets for the Nazi army”. Leaving that day I realized that what happened to Eva is happening to a lot of people every day around the world. In Africa children are starving to death every day and the entire world is turning a blind eye on it. If I have learned anything from Eva it is that the worst thing you can do is nothing, unfortunately that is exactly what happened when she and millions of others were in the fight of their lives against the Nazis and starvation.
As Eva recalled stories of the Nazis forcing everyone to leave their shoes behind on the rivers edge and March down the road to the gas chambers where the air was forced from their lungs I thought back to earlier in her presentation when she said that the Nazis would shout any woman holding a baby. First I thought it was just another thing they did but then realized there was more cruelty behind it than there appeared. The bullet would pass through the baby’s head and into the woman’s heart therefore saving a bullet for the next person. If anything this showed me that humans are capable of great compassion and great cruelty. Having Eva speak to me has forced me to finally see the world as it is, a smudge of dirt in the endless expanse of space, but remember this planet is not just dirt, there are also diamonds.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
We Day
4:30 my eyes are forced open by the insistent yelling of my mother.
5:00 I leave for school
5:20 I arrive at school
7:00 I arrive at the Air Canada Center
9:30 the presentations begin
When I stepped off the bus in Toronto I had no idea of what to expect. We were about a block away from the ACC. At the ACC there were about a hundred people at the gate. I thought at that point that there was no way that we would fill all the seats. When we were finally let in half an hour late we were forced to stand in another line. After an hour of waiting we were finally let through the doors into the arena. As people filled in through the doors I became aware of a problem that was yet to be. Behind me were two little girls who could easily make you go deaf from their screaming if they were on the other side of the stadium. Again they were right behind me!
After a time of who knows how long we were told that it was lunch. I had no idea that I was really hungry. The speakers and performers had done their job better than I thought possible. I stayed sitting down for over three hours! In the halls behind the stadium it was impossible to move faster than a slug. The only difference between those few minutes and half time in a leafs game was that the washrooms were still half empty.
5:00 I leave for school
5:20 I arrive at school
7:00 I arrive at the Air Canada Center
9:30 the presentations begin
When I stepped off the bus in Toronto I had no idea of what to expect. We were about a block away from the ACC. At the ACC there were about a hundred people at the gate. I thought at that point that there was no way that we would fill all the seats. When we were finally let in half an hour late we were forced to stand in another line. After an hour of waiting we were finally let through the doors into the arena. As people filled in through the doors I became aware of a problem that was yet to be. Behind me were two little girls who could easily make you go deaf from their screaming if they were on the other side of the stadium. Again they were right behind me!
After a time of who knows how long we were told that it was lunch. I had no idea that I was really hungry. The speakers and performers had done their job better than I thought possible. I stayed sitting down for over three hours! In the halls behind the stadium it was impossible to move faster than a slug. The only difference between those few minutes and half time in a leafs game was that the washrooms were still half empty.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Norval
Norval
On October 20th the entire of the SJK middle school population went to a team building day. The day started 15 minutes early because Ms. G told everyone to be at school 15 minutes early. We left the school on two overly cramped busses. At Norval we were separated into our grades and had some fun. The grade eights got to do pig toss, or Inuit blanket toss in which everyone held a part of a circular blanket and threw someone in the middle into the air and then caught them again. We were then split into two smaller groups. The group I was with went to the base of a fourteen foot wall and were told the only thing we could use to get over the wall was each other. We pent the first fifteen minutes just “talking” about how we would get to the top. Eventually we came up with the system of Wyatt and Cassie would hoist one person at a time as high as they could reach. Then the person being lifted would grapple with the top of the wall to get over.
The Third activity that we did was appropriately called mission impossible (movie #1). One person was strapped to a harness with four ropes attached and was told to pick up four balls on the ground, without touching the ground. This “impossible mission” would have been impossible if there was no communication. This game taught me that if no one speaks up then nothing will get done. After a healthy lunch of jam sandwiches we went inside the main building for the afternoon. Inside we were greeted by three overly enthusiastic drummers who proceeded to teach us with very few words how to make a song with over a hundred drums a have a lot of fun.
Sitting in my chare and miss spelling chair even though the computer says that I am not I find it easy to think back and recall the fun of getting over wall, throwing people with a blanket, or swinging people in the air with only the trust of the person in the air to keep it all together. On the wall the person dangling in the air above every on else had to depend on the people on the other side of the wall standing on a platform to make sure that they did not fall to the ground. Though in the other group there was a lack of communication resulting in the fall of Aureon onto the ground half an inch away from Tristan nearly knocking him unconscious. Not to mention killing the unicorn (and donkey) that Aureon now insists saved his behind from a very prickly situation.
On October 20th the entire of the SJK middle school population went to a team building day. The day started 15 minutes early because Ms. G told everyone to be at school 15 minutes early. We left the school on two overly cramped busses. At Norval we were separated into our grades and had some fun. The grade eights got to do pig toss, or Inuit blanket toss in which everyone held a part of a circular blanket and threw someone in the middle into the air and then caught them again. We were then split into two smaller groups. The group I was with went to the base of a fourteen foot wall and were told the only thing we could use to get over the wall was each other. We pent the first fifteen minutes just “talking” about how we would get to the top. Eventually we came up with the system of Wyatt and Cassie would hoist one person at a time as high as they could reach. Then the person being lifted would grapple with the top of the wall to get over.
The Third activity that we did was appropriately called mission impossible (movie #1). One person was strapped to a harness with four ropes attached and was told to pick up four balls on the ground, without touching the ground. This “impossible mission” would have been impossible if there was no communication. This game taught me that if no one speaks up then nothing will get done. After a healthy lunch of jam sandwiches we went inside the main building for the afternoon. Inside we were greeted by three overly enthusiastic drummers who proceeded to teach us with very few words how to make a song with over a hundred drums a have a lot of fun.
Sitting in my chare and miss spelling chair even though the computer says that I am not I find it easy to think back and recall the fun of getting over wall, throwing people with a blanket, or swinging people in the air with only the trust of the person in the air to keep it all together. On the wall the person dangling in the air above every on else had to depend on the people on the other side of the wall standing on a platform to make sure that they did not fall to the ground. Though in the other group there was a lack of communication resulting in the fall of Aureon onto the ground half an inch away from Tristan nearly knocking him unconscious. Not to mention killing the unicorn (and donkey) that Aureon now insists saved his behind from a very prickly situation.
Small Things
It has now been half an hour of class and it has taken me this long to realize that, for me, there is nothing that stands out. You could blame this on global warming and all the pollution that is dulling my brain or video games but I strongly believe that only we can be at blame. A while ago I was reading the paper and I noticed an article about how where you come from could help determine your grades in school. As I started reading I thought that it was all just someone’s opinion and was not backed up by any facts. The paper said that most children whose parents or grandparents came from southern china are very good at math. As I read on it explained that those whose parents worked in the rice fields were the one’s with better marks and that was because they put two and two together and found that if they worked hard they got paid more.
If you worked in a rice field you got paid more if you harvested more rice. In school it is the same story, if you work hard at writing a 2-3 paragraph story about what little things make you’re life better instead of slacking off and procrastinating you will probably get higher marks. Here in North America there is a general idea that things will simply fall into place and you don’t have to work for it. I myself can easily fall into the category of the people who slack off. Though I am trying to change that I am finding it much harder than I Originally thought it would be.
After racking my brain for anything that I am thankful for I realise that I actually have a lot to be thankful for. My grand mother needs hip replacement and ankle fusion, she can get it. I go to school, I can go to summer camps, and I am growing up in a safe environment away from child slavery and abuse. If I were asked if I wanted anything different I would be tempted to say I want a new Mac, a bigger TV, or a million dollars. Though all these things would be great after a while of having them I would feel guilty that I did not say; abolish slavery, cure all the diseases in the world, or have global peace. No matter what is thought of me I hope I leave this world with one thing done, and that is to have made someone happy.
If you worked in a rice field you got paid more if you harvested more rice. In school it is the same story, if you work hard at writing a 2-3 paragraph story about what little things make you’re life better instead of slacking off and procrastinating you will probably get higher marks. Here in North America there is a general idea that things will simply fall into place and you don’t have to work for it. I myself can easily fall into the category of the people who slack off. Though I am trying to change that I am finding it much harder than I Originally thought it would be.
After racking my brain for anything that I am thankful for I realise that I actually have a lot to be thankful for. My grand mother needs hip replacement and ankle fusion, she can get it. I go to school, I can go to summer camps, and I am growing up in a safe environment away from child slavery and abuse. If I were asked if I wanted anything different I would be tempted to say I want a new Mac, a bigger TV, or a million dollars. Though all these things would be great after a while of having them I would feel guilty that I did not say; abolish slavery, cure all the diseases in the world, or have global peace. No matter what is thought of me I hope I leave this world with one thing done, and that is to have made someone happy.
Friday, October 2, 2009
poverty
The difference between feeding your dog and feeding all the people in the world is only two billion dollars, and that only includes Europe and the United States. The annual expenditure of money for pet food in Europe and the United States is 17billion dollars. To eliminate global hunger it would only cost 19 billion dollars, just 2 billion more than what is spent on pet food in some countries. In the United States 17 percent of children live in poverty. In the USA Poverty is most predominant among black and Latino children. These statistics show that although there are people helping to make the world a better place most people just turn there backs on poverty.
In Canada children living under the poverty line make up approximately 15 percent of Canada’s population. In 2005 close to one million people depended on food banks for survival. That number hasn’t changed very much since then, if anything it is only going up. Half he people using Canadian food banks in 2005 were children under the age of 18. Only one tenth of Canada’s children living in poverty use a food bank. This means that some of them don’t need to use a food bank but are still considered below the poverty line.
While you read this you should realize that you are well above the poverty line. The cost of a computer is well above the price that people less fortunate would like to spend on a luxury item of minimal proportions while they starve to death on the streets. The number that corresponds to this fact is something around 600 million children. That’s 600,000,000 CHILDREN. While at the same time 800,000,000 children go to sleep hungry every night. Every year 11,000,000 children die before their fifth birthday. Place yourself in that situation and think just how cruel life is.
In Canada children living under the poverty line make up approximately 15 percent of Canada’s population. In 2005 close to one million people depended on food banks for survival. That number hasn’t changed very much since then, if anything it is only going up. Half he people using Canadian food banks in 2005 were children under the age of 18. Only one tenth of Canada’s children living in poverty use a food bank. This means that some of them don’t need to use a food bank but are still considered below the poverty line.
While you read this you should realize that you are well above the poverty line. The cost of a computer is well above the price that people less fortunate would like to spend on a luxury item of minimal proportions while they starve to death on the streets. The number that corresponds to this fact is something around 600 million children. That’s 600,000,000 CHILDREN. While at the same time 800,000,000 children go to sleep hungry every night. Every year 11,000,000 children die before their fifth birthday. Place yourself in that situation and think just how cruel life is.
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