Maybe would help..?

Too be honest, I don't know much about our economic status other than that we're in debt. I'm not sure where I would begin to reverse this tremendous debt, but decreasing our imports and outside expenses would seem like a reasonable place to start. Keeping our money circulating around our country would build up our economy. Also, although Americans hate taxes, raising the taxes in order to pay off our debt could be helpful. These are the two most reasonable ideas I can think of, however, I'm not the most aware of all economical solutions.

my issues with school

First off, the amount of kids allowed to attend one school needs to be lowered. It is nearly impossible to push your way through the hallways in between classes, and not to mention the lines for the bathrooms extend into the hallways. With all these students crammed together in the small hallways, it begins to small. Secondly, the food in the cafeteria is disgusting, and not all people are able to eat it. There is something called a gluten intolerance, which I have, and it for the most part narrows down my food choices to water. The pizza and chicken sandwiches served everyday give the students no variety and, more importantly, is a cause of obesity. No healthy kid can eat multiple pieces of pizza each day. The amount of carbs and sugar in each cafeteria item is way over the top.

Late school changes

I have been in both a large public school, as well as a small private school, and both had their advantages and downfalls. However at Henry Clay the more time I spend here the more I want to change it. One of the first things that always comes up in my mind is the biased budget allocations: whether that be in sports or the decisions made in the classroom. Plasmas are put in the cafeteria and smart boards are put in every room. I would say about 25% of the teachers that own a smart board actually know how to use it to its full potential. Thats about 5,000 dollars per smart board that goes to waste. Why not spend it on something that might be beneficial to students? For example an academy class was not able to have text books for the first half of the year and had to raise money just so we could have them for all of second semester. One smart board could have paid for that. Also IPads are a great idea. Textbooks are a thing of the past and soon everything will be electronic. So it makes sense for Henry Clay to try to use Ipad's, but for an Algebra 1 class? Wouldn't a rigorous AP class make more sense? Where the students are constantly having to look through previous assignments and need all the outside help they can get.

Finally the sports budgeting could use some rethinking. I may be biased sense I play on the soccer team but its no secret that football, baseball, and basketball, all receive more money then the soccer teams. Football especially is hard for me to understand. I think the sports funding should be based on success, not fans. I mean look at Kentucky. The majority of the money is spent for basketball players, their locker rooms and housing are some of the nicest in the nation. This is because they win. You don't see Kentucky giving the football program more money just because twice as many people come to see them lose. The football team has failed to make it past districts since I have been a student at Henry Clay, Meanwhile they have new uniforms every 3 years and a multi thousand foot locker room and weight room that is solely theirs. I don't care that they sell more tickets then soccer games (even though that has evened out in past years) funding should be based on results.The soccer team meanwhile, has won districts and regions 3 of the past 4 years, won the state championship last year, and made it to the final four again this year. Yet all they get is a tiny, 5o year old weight room with machines that don't work, and a doubles as a locker room. The whole team can barely fit in there and we are trying to sit around rusty machines at the same time. The teams that are most successful, should be the ones seeing the benefits.

Assignment 21: 100 years

From the inquisitive mind of Allan Tsai...

You accidentally froze yourself.

Whoops.

Fortunately, you are not frozen forever. Unfortunately, when you do become non-icicular, it's 2112.

What is the world like 100 years in the future?

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, March 18 at 11:59 pm

How do solve a problem like schools?

Students are a menace to schools. They are disrespectful to teachers, disrespectful to their school, and they shamelessly cheat on or BS an assignment. But how can you have school without students?

The simple answer is you can't. It is "about kids", after all. But why do students act in a manner so contrary to what is accepted? We have no respect.

I say "we" because I fully realize that I am just as guilty as anyone who has ever talked during class, or furiously done their hmwk right before the teacher picks it up. These are things I've grown accustomed to. But I HATE it. I want more than anything to start anew, and for school to be perfect.

So yes, what we need is a revision of attitude, especially for the Academy. I have trouble being motivated to do my hmwk anymore...but, again, I HATE it. Deep down, I know that I will live my whole life wishing that I had been 100% on top of the game. Wishing that I had been successful enough in AP Chemistry to want to take the AP test. But sadly, you can't go back, no matter how hard you try.

However, you can always change for the better, and I hope that we, especially me, will learn to change our attitudes and be better students. We as the Academy are supposed to be a beacon of light, and we've painted our bulb black.

public education: the impulse shopaholic of government programs

There's a lot to be said about how well the public education system handles its money. Our school buses are cheap, but effective, our chairs are economical but sturdy, and our classrooms are full of nice gadgets that don't break the bank. However, I'm not here to talk about any of that. I'm here to talk about useless flat-screens and unused smart boards, and the bizarre assortment of technology that could totally go to a better cause. I personally will have pay thousands of dollars next year if I want to continue calculus. My APUSH class didn't even have textbooks for half of the year (we almost had to buy them ourselves), and only now, after 6 years, am I able to get a reasonably up to date French textbook. Of course, the school should be paying for all of this, but the excuse I and at least eighty of my peers hear is "we don't have the funds."

My call on this response -- BS

Instead of giving money to the kids who are doing well and allowing them to advance at their own pace, they bought 30 ipads for algebra I, 4 flat screen televisions that are NEVER used, smart boards for teachers that don't even use them (or know how to), and loads of other useless junk. Granted, the ipads were partially paid for by a grant, but that's my entire point. Where's my grant? What about my needs? Why should I be forced to pay exorbitantly because I'm doing well in school when so much money is wasted?

Why?

I’m sure most of you have heard this spiel before, but I can’t mention this enough.

Why do we have the budget to buy 6 plasma screen TVs?
Why do the Algebra I students get iPads?
Why does every teacher get a SmartBoard and document camera, when only half of them use either?
Why don’t we have enough money to get new textbooks?
Why doesn’t the music department have enough rental instruments or soundproofed walls?

We need to alter the budget. A good deal of this stuff pertains to technology. Many of the “tools” that the school buy to better educate the public won’t have much of a difference unless several criteria are met.

Firstly, the teacher needs to use these things. I’ve seen many a teacher who just uses the SmartBoard as a glorified projector frame, and the document camera once in a blue moon. Sure, it’ll be useful occasionally, but the only teachers who I see use document cameras and SmartBoards every day are usually math and science teachers. If teachers who don’t need all of this fancy tech every day pass on getting one, there’ll be enough money to put into things that these teachers will use.

Also, the students have to be willing to learn. Most Algebra I students, to be honest, don’t have the incentive to learn. Even if you give them iPads and fancy graphing programs, most won’t use them for their intended purpose or at all. Higher-level math students can actually put these to use. For example, graphing f(x), f’(x), and f”(x) could be useful early on in Calculus to explain derivatives and the correlations between the functions. Calculus BC students could explore polar graphs, series, and other things like fractals (which are not native to Ti-84s) on an iPad, which would be better suited to handle these things. Hell, if we didn’t get iPads, maybe we could get enough textbooks before the school year starts, instead of getting them about four months in. Or maybe, we could get online textbooks on these iPads! Who would have thought of that?

The plasma-screen TVs in the foyer, library, and cafeteria just scream, “Unnecessary!” every time I see them. We just don’t need them. They sit there, with their volumes off, playing useless things. The one in the foyer plays a one-slide PowerPoint saying, “Good Morning, Henry Clay!” or something to that extent, and occasionally puts up some valuable information that’s posted right underneath on a piece of paper. The ones in the library play random videos promoting books – these videos last about ten minutes a pop and don’t give any relevant information on the books because there’s no sound coming out of the speakers. Don’t even get me started on the ones in the cafeteria. Sure, have played the announcements once or twice, but nobody can hear a thing because the lunch room is about 100dB constantly. Usually, it plays some random sports games, but recently, I’ve been seeing them show Days of our Lives, also known as A Sitcom with Sex Scenes that Probably Shouldn’t Be Allowed on Daytime Television on. Honestly, these TVs could be useful if they had sound or played relevant and useful information, but nope, that would be educational, and educational is boring.

I could go on with this rant, but you know where this is going. Sell or don’t buy new things, or at least repurpose them to be used by people who actually need them. Hey, if the school’s looking to get some money, I’m sure a bunch of students would love to buy a SmartBoard, or an iPad, or a flat-screen TV, for a reduced price, that is. The point is, spending less money on unused things would let us buy things that would be useful, like soundproofed walls for the orchestra and band.

Because really, who in their right minds would put them right next to each other?

“Hey guys, since they’re both music, let’s put the orchestra and band next to each other! They definitely will need that! It’s not like they’ll fight for space in the practice rooms or that the walls are useless since there are wooden doors connecting the two rooms.” – The architect who designed the school