Unrestricted Thoughts

Common Core, Should It be so Common?

The Common Core is the standard of education across America. It is used by all most American students, yet it does not effectively teach students. The Common Core is not effective and fails students when they get to higher studies and the workforce.

The Common Core often does not prepare students for the real world, and cost far too much to integrate. According to a FairTest (a Common Core Watchdog ) report, “Entire states, like Alaska, have canceled tests because of technical problems. More than 30 states have reported computer testing problems since 2013” (“The Common Core hurts students and Costs Billions” 2). This shows that not only do things as simple as operating systems to run the tests sometimes prevent students from learning, as well as mandated online test making it so that students can not even take benchmark tests, making the system ineffective and costing the schools money.

Even after dealing with the headache of these technical issues, these tests are meant to show where students are in the very specific learning areas, areas that do not prepare kids for their future or give them the skills to find the information to prepare themselves. The common core, however, does give students an idea of where they are in a specific area, but it fails to further the learning of students, further their ability to gather knowledge of their own or prepare them to apply these skills later in life. According to the NAEP in 2013, ¨Connecticut high school seniors performed at the very top of the entire country on the reading test. “Their performance was not at all a result of the Common Core since the new standards have only been recently implemented across the state in the past year or two, and this cohort of high school seniors never experienced them in the classroom¨ (Scarice 1). Therefore, the Common Core does not actually help students, instead, it helps to rank groups of students, not to teach and educate students.

Some would argue that the common core provides a steady baseline of education for all students in all areas. Cheryl Mosier, an Earth Science teacher from Colorado states, ¨“With the Common Core, we’re not going to have pockets of really high performing kids in one area compared to another area where kids aren’t working on the same level,¨ While it is true that the common core tries to keep a steady base of learning, it often sacrifices discovery and individuality in learning, stresses normality, and transforms kids from students to numbers.

Common core is, in short, a method that hurts students and fails to prepare them for the future. It is expensive and sometimes does not even work. It attempts to create a flat standard of learning, but in doing so it compromises creative learning and the individual interests of students.

Romeo and Juliet, Time to get Serious

I have finished acts 2 and 3, watched 2 versions of the death scenes, and taken my impressions. I am beginning to see why Shakespeare is so famous and I find myself throwing “doth” into random sentences. I’m afraid there is no going back.

First Impressions- Again!

Ladies and Gentleman, things are getting serious, like people are dying serous. But love first I guess. One of the main scenes features Juliet speaking aloud into the night about her new love. “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” Juliet sings into the dark air.

Romeo not to be outdone by that display, Romeo speaks back, “I trust your words. Just call me your love, and I will take a new name. From now on I will never be Romeo again.” Now maybe it was the both of them casting their names into the fire of love, or the wine at that party, but the lovers agree to marry.

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My impressions of this scene, even if you have never seen it referenced, you would know it was iconic. Half of my heart is in love with this scene, and the other half begs to call a relationship counselor. I feel the love they have, I recognize the desire to carve their love in the stone of marriage, I feel for the lovers.

On the other hand, have you check the clock kids? Its been 48 hours since the lovers have MET, and now they are to marry! The hatred of their families is by far a more driving force then the love they share, so that helps facilitate the crazy situation.

I have to address the 2 deaths we saw in this section. First, Tibalt and Marcucio engage in a, frankly silly duel in nature, and it is clear no one is meant to die. However Romeo, sick in the head with his 48 hour love cold, attempts to hold back Marcucio. This turns the friendly squabble into a homicide when Mercutio is stabbed, tragic tragic tragic.

Romeo, now all consumed with the murder he has caused, charges with death in his eyes for Tibalt. Now I was wondering through my first run through, “Is the murder of Tybalt really worth it to Romeo?” But it is, Romeo must feel guilt for the murder he has caused, and it back to justify it in his own mind. After a dramatic scene in all renditions, Romeo takes the life option and serves Tibalt a fresh serving of death by blade, tragic.

Now Romeo faces banishment and separation from his new love, leaving his in a rough situation. Friar Laurence is continuing to help Romeo on his crazy quest of love, he suggests Romeo and Juliet should run away together.

Romeo and Hate:

Hate drive a massive portion of our story, especially with the young lovers. Romeo is no exception to the hate that runs through their families. Romeo and Juliet both make a public display of casting out their family names in defiance. Their hate is a massive part of their decision to get married in full response to the feud of their families.

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Hate also drives Romeo to murder. He does this, of course in response to another murder (Thanks Shakespeare). The hatred of Tybalt after Mercutio is killed drives the dramatic battle in which Romeo makes it clear that is hate is so strong that, even if it is him, someone will die in this duel. This bit of hate is the straw that broke the camel’s back because Romeo is now soon to be banished. This is important because it sets a ticking time bomb to our story. Romeo has limited time to flee the city, and he wants to go with Juliet, or go out in a body-bag.

Mercutio and Tybalt- “Another One Bites The Dust”

Now we must focus on the two deaths we saw in the Act. Both were directly or indirectly roped into Romeo, lover boy turned homicidal maniac. First, a duel merely to blow off some steam turned deadly after Romeo attempted to end the mostly harmless duel. Romeo attempted to hold back Marcucio in order to end the harmless conflict, instead he set in motion a domino effect that would in turn have Tibalt die under the vengeful sword of Romeo.

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I believe that they are both equally to blame, because Tybalt was looking for a fight, but Mercutio was more then willing to duel. Not to mention, both me were not looking to kill, it is clear that without intervention both men would have survived. Both characters were somewhat likable, so why kill them off? That answer, to set forth the domino effect. It takes a massive event to set this play in motion to the point of a double suicide, so two deaths, on at the hand of the lead was 100% necessary.

Movie Renderings

I found that the Luhrmann adaptation of the scene best represented the hate, anger, and rash decision making of Romeo. The transition of a sunny day on the beach to Tybalt taking a bullet on the street in the pouring rain really show Romeo’s progression of anger.

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The second scene also shows the regret and understanding that barely come off of Tybalt. He has a gun, so does Romeo, but even after being charger, he does not fire. He understands that what he did was a terrible accident and it seems that he has no real desire to kill Romeo. However Romeo has other plans and takes swift revenge.

Romeo and Juliet, Star-Crossed and Crazy

After the first act of the timeless classic, I have a few thoughts.

First Impressions

I was surprised by how quickly Shakespeare turned the drama dial up to ludicrous amounts in even the first scene. I should not have been surprised by the master of drama crafting some in the first scene, but a sword fight was not what I expected. I find that when people

think about the play, they often time associate it with an over the top and frankly sappy love story, but the two families going after each other with blood and hate running thick is something I expected to see in the Godfather, not from the quill of Shakespeare.

The fast introduction of the characters was a bit confusing, but the fight as well as this introduction helped to create a more chaotic atmosphere, which would later contrast Romeo’s depression. The text, being crafted by the famous Bard himself, is no doubt challenging, but I have found that the constant drama and pressure is enough to keep me willingly engaged. I was not off put by the text because I felt that some of the messages were still relevant today (maybe not the double suicide but anyway). The mix of a classic story, engaging scenes, and relevant messages was far enough to keep me going.

Love at First Sight

Romeo and Juliet is possibly the most famous love at first sight story out there, and for good reason. Romeo originally falls in love with Juliet because he has been rejected by his crush on Rosaline, and the beauty of Juilet captured him. Romeo’s sudden love is represented by the line,”O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!”(Romeo and Juliet 1.5. 44)

This love will build passion and suspense, all fueled by the love at first sight, and move the play along. The love at first sight will burn beyond reason and blind the two lovers for the remainder of the play.

Hate and Romeo

Throughout the beginning of the story, I have explored the connection between Romeo and his hate. The initial rejection from Rosaline fueled Romeo’s depression and hate of himself. This hate of himself, to a degree, mixed with the hate of his family rivalry has amplified Romeo’s love and lust for Juliet. Romeo’s hate run parallel to Juliet’s hate of her own families, this brings them together even more and drives a sense of rebellion between the two young lovers and their families.

Compare and Contrast: Zeffirelli and Luhrman

I watched both the Zeffirelli and Luhrman versions of the first meeting scenes and took the following observations.

In both the Zeffirelli and Luhrman versions of the timeless story of two desperately star crossed lovers, many key similarities are shared. For one, the music sets a slow, dreamlike sequence as both Romeo and Juliet move through the crowd to find each other. The crowd was also of the same crowed and blocking atmosphere in both scenes. Most importantly, drama and suspense built into the passionate kiss is shared between both leads.

On the other hand, the scene do share some key difference as well. First, the modern setting of the Luhrman version (most notably the space suit) is a bright contrast from the old and somewhat traditional take of the other scene. The overall drama and passion of the Luhram scene is far more than the Zeffirelli scene, this is because of the more intense kiss and the interaction with Tibalt. Further, I predict that the same passion and excitement will continue to keep me on my toes in the coming acts.

Questions

Perhaps the most umm, pressing question I have is, how will the story end up in the deaths of our main characters? The prologue is clear that both the lovers will be taking their lives, but what will lead up to this? We shall see.

Second, will Romeo ever bring up the fact that he was in love with Rosaline to the point of depression, and did a full 180 onto Juliet. I wonder if Romeo will think back on his past love over the four days that Romeo and Juliet will spend together.

R&J Love Connection?

In Romeo and Juliet, dreams are described as the, “Children of of an idle brain.” I agree with the fact that dreams are a product of sleeping minds, but I feel that dreams have a message to share about yourself that you may not know. Dreams need previous knowledge to come into fruition, without it, there is no material for which a dream can form.

I could not give you an example of a dream that I thought would come true, or one that ever did, but some very real aspects of our life are tied into dreams. When you dream, you can feel emotions to their full extent, sometimes on levels you have never felt before. I often dream of people, some close to me and occasionally some I’ve talked to only once or twice. Usually it’s the same one or two people. I feel love, hate, betrayal, sadness, happiness, and crave to isolate myself from that person, or isolate myself with that person, both on two sides of the scale. Of corse, once you’ve had the craving to spend time with someone, or cut them out, it can be hard to let those feeling go. This can lead to something you had no control over guiding conscious actions.

I think our dreams tell us things that we are not yet ready to admit to ourselves. They show us hidden emotions for people, objects, or situations that we may not be ready to accept. It’s wise to acknowledge the messages of these dreams, but to to use them as a catalyst for our actions.

Anthem Reflection

Anthem is a novella written by Ayn Rand. The story is set in a futuristic and communist-based society and follows main character Equality. The society is focused on the betterment of the collective sense of man, instead of the individual. Rand has used her childhood of growing up in Soviet Russia to craft a captivating society. Equality is clearly mentally and physically different than those around him, which is frowned upon by those in his community. The idea of the collective mind is shown perfectly when Equality is shamed for being taller or smarter, even though it has no relative detriment to the society.

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The author escaped from communist Russia as a child and her escape is clearly reflected in the novela. The novela beautifully shows the transition from living for those around you as a collective and living for yourself as an individual. The novela however more accurately shows the struggle to fight the communist nature the characters were raised in. The characters use “we” and “our” to refer to themselves but towards the end of the story the characters adopt the use of “I” and “me”. This is a powerful change that mirrors Rand’s escape from communism and the collective, as well as the start of the characters creating an individual identity.

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Although his society held the idea over his head, Equality realized that his own happiness was more important than what he had been taught. The text tells us, “I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them”, and “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.” These two quotes show the mental transition from Equality being a captor of the communist society to being free of the chain of his brothers and the hero of his own fate. This change is not an easy one however. In the picture above, you can see the mental and physical isolation that lead Equally to leave, but only through the struggle against the principles in which he was raised was Equally able to escape.

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I have learned a great deal from Anthem. The story has taught me much about following the crowd and what is conconciderted the “norm” if you will, verses what you think is right and what you want to pursue. I have learned above all else, that it is not worth sacrificing your goals and passions for the approval of the others around you, even if it is difficult to do so.

More about Ayn Rand

Writing Training Camp Reflection

The writing training camp has made me think about the way I write both in a technical and creative scene. I found that I have been drifting toward a more natural-speaking way of writing, which is not good. I also found that to be a creative and technically good writer, I have to shorten some of my sentences. I found that I tend to use long, drawn out sentences too much. These sentences bore my audience instead of adding detail.

First Blogging Feedback Reflection

The feedback on my blog was helpful. I found tremendous value in the raw observation of my blog. The organization of the blog was important to me, but I needed to be more focused on the needs of those who read my blog. There was an absence of pictures in my fourth post for example, and it was noticeable to those who were reviewing my blog. In the future, I will focus more on my thoughts and analyzation of the text as opposed to just a summery. The blogs that I read that were more focused on their own thoughts and ideas stemming from the text were more interesting and I will focus more on that style.

Promise Me Dad #4

Facing the responsibilities of a job and your co-workers can be a challenge when dealing with a serious illness in the family. This situation is made harder when you’re the Vice President and the co-worker is one of the most powerful men in America

In my reading of the book today, Joe speaks more about Obama than his son Beau’s illness. But just because his work is distracting him from his issues, doesn’t mean the issues of his boss and his country can be forgotten as well.

Joe uses the skills and mentality he has developed with Beau and his time in government to give advice to Obama. The two talk about how important hope is, and how to give others hope, you must give it out yourself.

In politics, anger and frustration come with every new challenge or problem. When you work closely together on some of the worlds most complicated issues, like Joe and Obama, you’re bound to clash. This happens with Joe and Obama, but the unwavering respect they have for each other keeps them off Twitter and into a daily private meeting where they talk out issues, like men.

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The ideas of perseverance are incredibly present in the book. The dynamics of balancing sickness and political changes that can impact the world tend to weigh down on people. Joe talks about the sometimes hopeless nature of the people around him politically and his family, both which rely on him to persevere and keep the ship sailing.

Promise Me Dad #3

In my previous blog post, I discussed the point in “Promise Me Dad” by Joe Biden where the politics and Joe’s famous sympathetic and emotional connection collided. Today’s reading dove even deeper and more recently into this dynamic.

The book is not beginning to get into how Joe met Obama. Their relationship starts with Joe out ranking Obama politically, but Obama’s powerful speeches quickly earned massive respect in Joe’s eyes.

Obama also had a subtle, respectful, power to him in everyday conversation and mannerisms. This allowed Joe and Obama to become good friends and close political collages.

The book also begins to touch on Obama asking Joe to be his vice president. Joe gives a very strongly rooted no in the beginning but Obama asks him to talk it over with his family. Joe’s family is so pro running for the vice presidency that it leaves Joe almost astonished and confused on what to do.

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This reading stirs up a sense of nervousness in me because the theme of change is presented so quickly on the matter they I often felt lost on what I would do in Joe’s shoes. Of course, the entire book is one of change, and for me, hearing about how much change both good and bad that has happened in Joe’s life was shocking. The change he experienced in his family was crushing, but the fact that he was dealing with an incredibly difficult problem while running an incredibly powerful office was mind-blowing.

Promise Me Dad #2

With “Promise Me Dad” being written by Joe Biden, I was expecting some commentary on the political climate when he was in office. My most recent reading of the book delivered on that point.

The reading began by following the developing story of Joe’s son Beau and his tumor. The chapter follows the hopelessness that Joe and the rest of his family were feeling as the first diagnosis was presented and the first surgeries started. Joe admires Beau’s sense of confidence, determination, and stubbornness during the treatment and begins to use that determination to drive him forward politically.

But the duties of a Vice President do not leave Joe alone, and Joe is called to represent the president at a funeral for two police killed on the job, and later an unarmed black teen killed by police. Joe meets with the families and sympathizes with them after dealing with death in his own family. He makes genuine connections with the families in the tragedies and the grieving families look to him as a trusted figure.

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However, other politicians use this time of grieving to strengthen their stances on various issues as the eyes of the nation are looking at these terrible incidents.