Spring break'll be exciting this year, because my family's going to be heading down to Orlando. As a Harry Potter enthusiast, it'll be a dream come true to visit Universal, and I'm looking forward to visit Disney and the beach as well. What I'm most excited about, however, is the lack of snow in Orlando--what a novelty, to experience a spring vacation that doesn't look like winter!
My family and I are going down to Orlando, Florida for spring break. My parents do most of the planning--I’ve also been researching some places to visit while we’re down there. It’s helpful to do some exploration on where you’re vacationing in order to be better prepared when you visit, especially in a large city like Orlando--for one thing, it’s dangerous to be completely out of your element, and for another, having an idea of what you’re doing makes the vacation more fun. Google Maps is helpful for looking at routes, attractions, restaurants, and just getting a feel for the area.
For our themed basketball game tonight, it might be more fun and interesting to combine the navy blue with something brighter. Students feel like they're a part of something bigger when they're asked to participate in “school pride” activities--it makes them feel like they belong in a community. It’s also encouraging for the players when fans show their support in a way that isn’t distracting or obnoxious.
There are some parts of this article I agree with, and some I don't. I agree that we learn in school to be cautious, to care more about success than we do about actually stepping up and trying something challenging, but I also think that we learn how to set aside distractions in school and work towards a goal, something that the article addressed.
I’ve realized that there are two parts to education: passion and discipline. Passion is the ability to feel enthusiastic about learning something, to strive to make a difference in the world on one's own terms; discipline is about being able to take those steps. School focuses more on the latter than the former, which isn't a bad thing, but earns it a bad rap. I think that it’s always a big deal when a government official passes away, and the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia is no exception. First of all, he was a long-time member of the Supreme Court, so everybody was used to him and his policies; now they are going to have to choose a successor, who will be an unfamiliar quantity. In addition, his death was unexpected--that always leaves an impact. Finally, his death leaves the Supreme Court evenly split between conservatives and liberals, which might lead to changes in the government.
I believe that there are several reasons people might “settle for mediocrity.” First of all, if a task doesn’t interest somebody, then they are not going to go above the accepted standards when it comes to completing it--this is something I see in school all the time. Second of all, people want to fit in. They might underperform in order to feel more like the rest of the group.
However, I don’t believe that anybody’s completely, one hundred percent mediocre in everything: everybody has their passions. A kid who slacks off in math class might be completely devoted to a sport, and vice versa. In middle school, I never put any more effort into sports than was necessary, but I always devoted hours to book projects and never felt that they were properly completed. “Ambition” and “happiness” are usually seen as polar opposites: it’s seen as impossible to both reach for success and be content with how your life is right now. I don’t believe that’s completely true, although it’s not completely false, either. In music, for example, it’s a common belief that the groups who felt satisfied with their performance usually performed worse that the groups who walked away obsessing over the details they got wrong, but after they received their score, who do you think felt more satisfied? |
My thoughts concerning books, school, and everything else.
To see the prompts for the posts in my school journal, visit my teacher's journal blog. AuthorChristina Anderson Archives
April 2016
Categories |