Educational (not) Rant

A rant on anyone of our education unit readings...I'll keep this short seeing as it is a Friday night, and the fact that I can not readily absorb many of these documents.

John Holt and his essay "School Is Bad For Children" is the direct counter essay to "In Defense of Elitism." Holt begins by saying that all children goes into school more willing to learn and smarter than they will ever be in their school life, as well as the real life. I'm not sure where to stand on this issue. Holt also claims that the things we learn are school are not really necessary for our future, and that there are more ways of learning the required skills, as school is just a supplementary. I would have to say I agree, because really, do I really need to learn about colonial America or Pascal's triangle in order to go on with life? Most of it is irrelevant and is keeping me from learning what I really need to learn, like social interaction and etiquette. Holt states his view on school as "you come to school to learn" and that leads to "as if the children were incapable of learning on their own." This may be a false accusation, as I see schools saying "you come to learn more and build upon the knowledge you already know." Holt also argues that students become a blank document, for the teacher to write and teach as they please. What the students learn is judged and determined by the teacher. And we only allow that to happen because we are bribed into doing so by grades. And he proposes the only way to cure this problem is to allow students to teach themselves, each other, and go out of school to learn the things they would need in the future. To me, Holt seems to look at teachers differently. He is saying teachers are like dictators, feeding us with information they want us to know, and I see teachers as guides to the educational process. Though his proposals for change are a bit extreme, I would actually consider the abolishment of the attendance system, to determine which students are actually willing to learn (and saves money in this case); and allow field trips outside of school to allow students to expand their intellectual capabilities.

Blah, as Connie Tang has already stated, this is starting to sound like crap. I just woke up from a 2 hour nap and I am very disoriented. I should avoid naps, but my body shuts down at a certain time. Until next time, lets hope I will do a freewrite. I have cereal in mind, but that will probably lead into something new.

Suicide 2

Second Suicide, however, I don't think I'll will try and rant for 15 minutes straight. I shall just blab about whatever comes to mind first until I run out of ideas. *Ms. Fidelibus, am I suppose to send each blog entry to your email, or will posting just be enough?*

I remember when I was a child, I read this book that was so appealing to me. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. The book is about how a little boy and a tree became friends. And as time passed and the boy got older, the tree would always provide things for the little boy, from apples for money, branches for shelter, and the trunk for a boat. The boy would always take these things and leave the tree alone to pursue his own dreams. The climax of the story occurred when the boy comes back as an elderly man. The tree, now just a stump, didn't think it had anything to provide for the man, but all the man wanted was a seat. The stump was perfect for a seat. I just found it interesting how the tree stayed loyal to the boy even thought the boy only came back for needs. It also gave the message that you don't need a lot of money or items to make someone happy, as shown the the stump.

I have liked this book since I was 4, and it is still my favorite book. Unlike the majority of the people, I don't find The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter all that interesting. Both are a good read, but I just don't see myself reading the book over and over again. My next favorite book would have to be Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, in the sense that the language is so similar to mine. I read it during my sophmore year, and I couldn't understand the book at all until my teacher told me the meaning of the story. I was shocked at how everything fell together so nicely in the end. I think I should read more of Salinger's writings, like Franky and Zoey. (I'm not sure if that is the title, but I just know there's something along the lines of Zoey in there) I'm also interested in Dan Brown's works. Everyone talks about The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, but it never caught on with me until now. I didn't know the plot, so I stayed away from it. But with the movie well on its way, I can't help but go out and buy the book when I have the time.

Enough about books, I'm not that much of a literary person. I don't think I have ever read a novel or a long book on my leisure time. Most of the time, I read just for a school assignment. I guess I don't have much of an imagination when reading to actually be taken away by books. Music is a different story. Music always takes me away from my troubles, and is essential to my life. I listen to almost any kind of music especially alternative, rock, vocal, trance, pop, and some hip-hop. The only genres of music I tend to not bother with are rap and country. Rap just doesn't have the vocals I would like to listen to. It just sounds like a regular conversation with beats in the back. As for country, it has the vocals, but the beats are debateable. It isn't enough for me to enjoy, as it is somewhat too mellow for my taste.

I shall conclude my suicide for now. I haven't run out of ideas as I've stated earlier, but I see my clock, and 15 minutes have passed. Sure, it's alright to write more, but I have other homework to tend to. So until next week's entry, go get yourself a slice of pie!