Different Schools

Jen asked us to talk about one of the two schools she left for us to read about on her blog. I want to talk about the least structured one.

This school is all about learning at your own pace to the extreme! I don't know if it really does work for the best though. This school seems like more of a hang out than an actual school. I get the concepts that this school lets kids make their own decisions about how they learn and what they learn, for instance the kid who created a class about SAT test taking so he could prepare for the SAT/ACT for applying to college. While that is a step into this idea of experiential learning, it feels like the teachers don't really have a purpose at that school except to be there just in case of a fire or something along those lines. In some ways though, this school is a lot like Linworth in the sense of the whole experiential learning idea, but with Linworth there is a lot more structure.

At Linworth we have more structure with our schedule, seeing as we actually have a schedule to follow everyday and there's only four classes everyday(unless you take classes at the home schools) and we are actually graded on our performance in each of those classes. Then every Weds. we have Town Meeting scheduled during the second half of part of one class period. Usually we have discussions with the whole school or whoever is actually at school during this time, though it seems like Town Meetings have been going downhill without Su-Yang to make his annoying proposals. At least we had something to actually vote on.

This school is very different from the normal school setting, even with a school as liberal as Linworth, with no structured classes at all and now tests or homework to do, it's amazing how these kids can actually graduate from high school let alone go to college. With their only graduating requirement being a paper on why they should graduate, you would think that this school would be in the statistics for illiteracy in the U.S. But it seems, that even though there is no class there are still vague similarities. Like their form of Town Meeting, since this is a K-12 private school, the only kids that do participate are the older kids who are interested in how the school runs and since everything is optional here, I assume that most of the older kids don't actually go to these meetings.
One thing I actually like about this school is their internships that they go to once a week instead of our yearly Interim. Though I guess not everything can be perfect.

My opinion of this school is mixed, I think it's a very different approach, but I think there should be more structure than the whole sit around school all day. Though I can see only vaguely how this school would work, I don't think I would be able to stay in this school for long. Even though I hate the structure and firmness of school, I don't think I would be able to learn much and would probably become another statistic in this country.

Who Makes You Happy?

I've been thinking for a lot since I read Jen's assignment about who or what makes me happy. So, I've decided to write about my cat Chris.

At my house, I have three cats, Leo, Jack, and Chris and one dog named Sasha. Now I love all my animals, but I would have to say that out of all of my cats though, Chris is my favorite.

We originally fostered Jack and Chris. They came to our house at about 3-4 weeks old with their mother, Angel, and five more brothers and they all came with respiratory infections. We had to give them all this pink medicine that got all over them. Then the stuff usually stuck on their faces because they didn't know how to clean themselves and Angel had her paws full with seven rambuncious little buggers running around my parents bathroom. Sometimes we actually had to wash them in the sink because they were covered in feces and medicine. Eventually at about 7-8 weeks old we had to give up our little buddies. But little did we know that we were going to end up taking Jack and Chris back.

Around the very last few days of October 2004, my mom, my brother, and I decided to adopt Chris and Jack. For months after returning them and their family to the shelter that we fostered from, my mom and I visited them almost every Monday after my piano lessons. Eventually it was down to those two and they kept being passed up because they caught feline herpes from the kittens in the cage next to them and that Jack has a bad eye. Unlike the kind of herpes people can receive from others, feline herpes is actually a kind of viral disease that just never goes away. With symptoms like coughing and sneezing to corneal ulceration, it was easy to see that my cats were "damaged goods". Fed up with the lack of treatment and the "unadoptablility" of our foster babies, my mom decided to adopt Jack and Chris as a late college graduation gift to my brother.

Though I love all my cats, Chris would have to be my favorite, you see Chris was very shy and not very social with humans, he didn't like to be petted and hated to be picked up. Then there is the fact that he's sort of the black sheep of the family. He is the cat that receives the most grief from our dog Sasha, whenever he's on my bed and our oldest cat Leo gets up there too, Leo jumps off almost immediatly, just because Chris is there. Even his own blood brother Jack gives him a hard time sometimes, once while talking on the phone with my brother, Chris came over and sat down in front of me and Jack came up behind him and just randomly bit the back of his neck as hard as he could and made Chris cry out. I have no idea why that even happened, it just did. So, you can see that Chris gets most of the grief from the animal part of our family. But we soon discovered that our little black sheep loves to be scratched and likes it even better to be brushed. It's one of his favorite things in the whole wide world.

Why might this little cat be my favorite? I guess it might be because he's sort of the underdog of our animals. Or the fact that he's probably the cutest cat in the world and our other animals are just jealous of him. (He's like that guy that is so good looking that no matter how awkward the angle, he still looks good.) But I guess one of the reasons why he's my favorite cat is because I'm his favorite person. I know that sounds kind of pompous, but it's true.

While most of the animals that reside in my house really like my mom the most, Chris for some reason likes me best. Everyday he spends most of his day lying at the foot of my bed sleeping and at night he snuggles up aganist my feet. Sometimes he will try to snuggle aganist my stomach, but it's mostly my feet and shins. When I come home from school he usually gets on the island in my kitchen and does a little head bob to get my attention so I'll scratch his head. Usually when I watch T.V. he sits somewhere in the room, like on the other side of the couch or on the floor somewhere. I know it's not very obvious, but he doesn't really do this for anyone else, even my mom.

Chris even comes when he's called, occasionally. One time I was just sitting on the couch and did my little Chris call, "Chris Chris Chris" and after a second or two, I was met with silence so I went back to what I was doing and a minute or two later, Chris was walking pretty quickly towards me.

My little cat doesn't really like to cuddle that much, or sit on someones lap, or be held for any length of time. But one day while I was watching T.V. and doing my math homework out of the textbook, Chris took the initiative when I took the book out of my lap, to get in it. Never the less, awkwardness persued. I sat from probably fifteen minutes cross-legged with my awkwardly postioned cat spread out across my knees. To someone who is not familiar with Chris, they would probably think that this isn't special, but to me, Chris sitting in my lap ment the world to me. It was sort of a token gesture that he really did enjoy my company and that he cared for me in his little cat mind.

I guess for me, Chris makes me happy because he's "my cat". He likes to be around me and shows me in the little things that he does that he likes me best and it makes me feel good to think that he cares about me in his own way, whether it be meeping at my adorably or sitting in my lap awkwardly, Chris has created a bond with me, his favorite person, that is truly amazing in my animal activist mind. (Though sometimes I think seeing if I could get him to model for L.L. Bean catalogs)

Scary Conservatives

Today while researching for some kind of crazed PETA activist blog, I managed to find a website called LMAO. LMAO is a blog for hard right winged conservatives. There is not anyone person that wites on it, it's an effort created by a few people to get the "word out" on why conservatives are amazing and right all the time. Sometimes these blogs end up having something to say that actually makes some kind of sense for a hippie flaming liberal like myself. But most of the time these guys are saying violent things to justify why certain actions are made. It has even gone so far as to actually sell merchandise like t-shirts that say things like "Fred 08, Even Allah won't save you now" or "Don't be a hate-filled lefty or I'll punch you!".

This site makes me very nervous for many reasons;
A. These are people that are not trying to look at a situation from all perspectives.
B. Like to shoot shit at people but when they turn around and fire back they get super defensive and angry.
C. Some of their ideas are interesting, and maybe useful, but it seems that they want to create more hate than good.
D. If these are only some of the people out there, will the rest of them have these same attitudes.
E. Degrading people and organizations is one of the only things they write about. (Though I will admit that PETA is crazy, they atleast try to advocate for stuff through emotional propaganda instead of using fear and torture on people, like the KKK.)
There are many more reasons, but people who talk like this make me nervous. I know part of it is the way I was raised to respect everyone no matter what, but I don't think it's a good thing to promote the killing of other people becuse they are Muslims better than killing people because they are Americans or Christians.

Being raised as a Unitarian Universalist has made is easier, in my opinion, to see the world with clearer eyes. Though I will say this, it has made it harder for me to socialize with people of the Christian faith. My religious community has a high population of people who come who are tired of Christianity and ideals and like the idea of not having to believe in one thing instead of the other. Many of the adults in my community, when teaching classes about religion usually skip Christianity, skim over it, or as in my case repeat the same stories over and over again(i.e. Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Christ). Many of these adults end up going or converting to Paganism, Buddhism, etc. But for those of us who are second generation UU's and so on, we have a small background of Christianity and more of an understanding of other religions. Many time adults make it seem like Christianity as the big bad wolf. So, for awhile I know I have been very intolerant of Christianity and have wanted nothing to do with it, but as I get older I know it is important for me to get along with people who have Christian ideals.

It has been a hard road for me and many of my Unitarian friends, but we are trying to keep our eyes open and try to understand people who are of the rigid right winged Christian background. But this blog shows my doubts about people like this and proves my suspicions of why Christian are "bad". A younger me would have just assumed as much and would make this blog an excuse to consider Christians as the bad guys. But, I'm trying to not just generalize anymore, and it's hard considering most of my life the adults of my community have been making Christianity out to be this big bad influence in the world. I'm willing to go aganist this idea and just respect that these are just a group of people's thoughts and ideas. No matter how radical this blog is.

Target is off Target

After reading the article and seeing the supposed ad that is degrading to women, I became kind of pissed at Target. Not for the advertisement, but because of the treatment to their potential customers. I feel that Target has stepped out of line by refusing to talk to anyone who does not use "mainstream" media sources. This store has just basically said that it will not answer the concerns of one customer, and that basically if a bunch of people get together and make a loud enough racket, Target will answer. This is a slap in the face for every individual customer. For a company that is considered main-stream, they sure are being a bunch of dickheads.

Tipping Over the Point

I'm not too thrilled with the style of Malcolm Gladwell's writing. It reminds me too much of the style of writing of Stephen Covey and "the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". That book used examples like Gladwell did, though not as pointless as Covey's were. I think a better example instead of the Hush Puppies fad would be the Ugg Boots fad that's going on right now.

My freshman year of high school, it seemed that a lot of teenage girls were wearing Ugg Boots. Uggs are made from an Australian company and I hear they are quite comfy. While I do not own a pair, I hear that not only are they comfy they're good for year-round use. They're warm in the winter and they don't over heat your feet in the winter. Keep in mind that I don't actually know if this is true or not.

Why are these boots coming back in an even greater number? Maybe it's because some girls think they're stylish, or that they're good for the weather around hear. I don't know, but it seems like they've come back and are twice as popular.

One concept I found interesting in this book was the 80/20 concept. It's basically this concept that out of every kind of epidemics twenty percent of the population do eighty percent of the work. The thought is is that these are the people who are at fault for doing most of the spreading of an epidemic. Say a guy who has AIDs spreads it to most of his partners while another guy who has it either spreads it to another person before he finds out or he finds out before he can spread it to someone else. This means the first guy who gives mos of his partners AIDs has done more work than the second guy who gave away to at least one person. Therefore, the first guy did eighty percent of the work while the second guy did twenty percent of the work.

All in all, even though I don't like his style of writing. I think "The Tipping Point" will be a very interesting read.

Wash Your Darn Hands!

After reading the article about the personal hygeine of medical staff, I was disgusted. Washing your hands is a no brainer in my mind. I mean, if I was the leukemia mentioned in this article and had received an infection because someone didn't wash their hand, I would be furious.

Ever since I was a little kid, I've had speakers come visit classrooms, taken many health classes, etc. Even though I can't see germs and bacteria with the naked eye, I know they're there. Everyday, I try to wash my hands at least after I go to the bathroom if not before anything else. It's common sense, because it's really disgusting to go to the bathroom and see someone else go to the bathroom and not wash their hands, usually I then wash my hands extra longer so to make up for their lack of washing. I know that sounds kind of extreme but it really disgusts me that people don't always wash their hands after they go to the bathroom. Then again after fifteen minutes I'll probably forget about them not washing their hands and take food from them if it's offered.

Seriously though, it's so gross to think that nurses and doctors haven't washed their hands. This makes me kind of nervous actually, because I recently went in for blood work for the third time this year and the nurse cut off part of the elastic glove to find a good vein(which she had trouble sticking a needle into might I add). If I hadn't of read this article I wouldn't have even cared, but since she also used that finger to touch the needle before it went in and the actual opening where the needle came from, I could've received an infection. Maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but since there is apparently a problem of doctors and nurses forgetting to wash their hands, I think I have some right to feeling this way.

Another thing that bothered me was how some doctors resented being told what to do by their patients. It's one thing to be asked by your leukemia patient to wash your hands, it's another if she's asking you to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Yeah, sure nobody likes to be bossed around, I know I don't, but it honestly isn't as crazy a request to do. It's very selfish to not wash your hands and lie about it before you actually move their antibiotic line.

Heath Heath Ledger has died, so now what???

It's sad that Heath Ledger died at the age of 28 years old, but I don't think it's something for everyone to be upset about. Sure he was famous, but does that mean his death deserves more recognition than the death of another drug overdose victim? What about that person's family and friends? How awful do they feel since they couldn't stop their loved one?

America needs to get it's head out of the clouds and start being more realistic. News isn't about what Paris Hilton wore to the Oscars or whether Brittney Spears will ever get her life back on track. News is about the going ons in a country, state, county, city, or town. Not the celebrities that inhabit it.

America idolizes it's celebraties, they're all suppose to fit in this box of perfectness and when they step out of it, it becomes facinating because they're living the lives that we've always dreamed of living and are willing to do things that we're scared to do. They give us an excuse to be a stalkers. Whether or not they actually want you to stalk them is another question in itself, but they're people just like us who have been given the resources and opprtunities of a lifetime. To be able to be an idol for some kid living in the ghetto who has nothing better to do than watch VH1 is something that should be taken seriously, but many celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton don't actually realize that they're affecting that kid in the ghetto. They make getting smashed look cool and glamorous, when it's really embarassing to have your boyfriend or bestfriend drag you back to your hotel room because you can barely stand up. I'm pretty sure they barely even remember what actually happened the next morning until they read the tabloids while nursing their hangover.

Whenever I go to check my e-mail on Yahoo, it seems that every story is about Britney Spears going to rehab or Russell Crowe is throwing phones at bell hops, there is the occasional story that is actually about something sort of relevent, like which desserts won't ruin your diet.(???) Then at the middle point of the screen there is actual news, like an article about how Chad rebels are fighting troops in the capital. Yahoo, and other companies that have news needs to start setting their priorities straight about what is newsworthy. I think the fact that Chad has rebels fighting troops near the capital is more important than whether or not there will be a Michael Jackson ad during the Superbowl.

I think probably the best part about Heath Ledger dying (if you can even think someone's death is good) is that atleast he has finished filming for the next Batman Movie!!!

Ok, now in all seriousness, it is sad that the world has lost a wonderful actor, but I'm sure Hollywood will find another actor who is handsome and can act well.

Just a Rant

I wrote this rant while bloggin for my last entry and I wanted to post it because I felt that it was not worth erasing after all the hard work and thought that went into writing it.

My Rant on America's Pets

America today has a habit of spoiling their pets and of not knowing when to draw the line from baby to animal. As more and more empty nesters, infertile couples, etc. get lonely, many of them get pets to keep them company when they come home. Most of them do a fairly good job at distinguishing between dog and child. But then there are people, like this lady, who seem to not be able to distinguish between the two. What they're doing is called humanizing and it's a growing concern in my mind. Some people, who have hundreds of dollars to spare, are spending five hundred dollars a week on toys, clothes(why does Sasha need a ball gown now?), expensive collars, beds, etc. Some even take their dogs to the salon to have their fur dyed pink, or green, or blue, or even rainbow if you want. I know it sounds crazy, but there are seriously people out there who will do it.
The real problem with all this humanizing? Many times these people are the ones that harbor dangerous dogs that will end up biting someone. I know a lot of people think that their Snookums would never do that, but since the people of the house have let Snookums walk all over them since the beginning, Snookums basically owns the house. Also, many people get small dogs, like Chihuahuas, so they don't have to exercise them as much and think that a walk down to the mailbox is enough exercise for them. This of course is not the case, being that many of these dogs were bred to do work like killing rodents. Exercise is mandatory for any kind of dog, not just the big dogs.
From lack of exercise we have lack of stimulation for the dog and not much of a chance to become a well socialized and well mannered dog. Some people try to make up for not walking by taking their dog to the dog park so the dog can get all the exercise he or she needs. Usually, these are the yippy dogs that run around and bark at everyone and charge other dogs to show'em "who's boss". But usually nobody understands that their small dog is acting dog aggressively and think that it's cute because their dog is small and cute looking, but if a German Sheperad or a Rottweiler came up and did that to a Chihuahua, I'm pretty sure the owners would have to leave and have to worry about a lawsuit.
Some dogs, the ones that are not socialized with people very well, become people aggressive. Meaning they can't be trusted to not bite someone. I know small dogs are not seen as the vicious biting types, but believe me I think they can be some of the most vicious dogs ever. This is coming from first hand-experience. Usually these little guys get away with biting a person because they're cute, though sometimes there is actual reason why he/she is not going to get introuble. Like if a little kid trys to take away a dogs food bowl while they are eating from it. That I can understand, but when some little rat dog runs up to me right as I walk by their house and bites my ankle, and their owner tries to justify it that I don't understand. The dog that ran up and bite me I think is a lot more vicious than the pitbull that starts barking, jumping, and trying to lick my face because I'm standing in the doorway.

Anyway, that's my opinion on dog aggression and I hope that Jen doesn't count this aganist me.

Chihuahua Nuthead

I found a blog about this lady who is crazy for Chihuahuas. She owns three of them and blogs in and out of the perspective of her dogs and herself. Now, it's one thing to write a newsletter or blog using the cat that sits on the computer moniter as a mascot, or to write an article from his/her perspective, but to blog about Snookums, Iddy-Pumpkins, and Froggy Doddle Pie from their perspectives and writes anthems about them is a whole lot more freakier.
For me personally, it's definantly hard for me to read this blog and take this woman seriously. I could never read this blog on a day to day basis because she reminds me of those people who have nothing better to do then spend $100 on Fido's water bowl. I actually know people who would do it too and she reminds of the crazy people that I've meet throughout my animal "activist" intrests. Plus her pictures of her dogs aren't even that cute.

Chihuahua Craziness

League of Women Voters of San Francisco

After looking at some of the more "interesting" blogs that Blogspot offers, I found a very interesting one that is from the "League of Women Voters of San Francisco". Written from the perspection of an average everyday woman and the issues and topics that surround San Francisco. In one blog she writes about Muni, the public transportation system, and how there seems to be more and more accidents occuring because of crowded streets in the city. In another blog she talks about global warming and how San Francisco women keep complaining about the rain and how unimportant rainy days will be if the Earth keeps getting warmer.
All in all, I think I wouldn't read this blog often. It's one of those blogs I would read every once in awhile or if I was moving or getting ready to take a vacation in San Francisco. Just so I could understand the ins and outs of the city.

League of Women Voters of San Francisco