I write to...

I write to escape. Writing allows me to relax and connect with what I am thinking. Once I have written words on paper I enjoy reflecting on them and revising my document meticulously.Writing is a stress relieving technique along with a great relaxation tool. Writing is something that everyone at some point has to do, for many it is a daily routine. I have learned to enjoy writing, I have learned different styles over the years that help accentuate my feelings at that particular time. When I write I feel calm and collected, nothing else at the moment matters or bothers me. I am just focused on the task at hand and have very little distraction with all messiness in my life. I think it is bad to bottle emotion and keep it in your head, writing it down is very helpful and I believe it something everyone should try to do.

A Reflection Of My Colleagues and Myself.

This is a personal reflection of my classmates comments and their blogs..

This process was very interesting, I learned a lot about my classmates. Each blog was different, each blog had a distinctive voice which made each read contrasting. The topics were the same but each response held a very distictive perspective. It was nice to read the comments that my classmates had made about my work, the recognition felt really good. It was nice to finally write and get recognition rather than just handing it in and feeling that recognition as a mark. Feedback from my peers is very valuable, it is a different perspective then the one my teacher may have, it was nice to feel appreciated. That is just a small glimpse of what professional writers must feel when they publish books. Maybe its that feeling that makes them write. Well they obviously enjoy what they do and want to get opinions and stories on paper so that it can be read and communicated around the world. However the recognition and appreciation definitely makes writers feel alive, positive feedback and appreciation must feel better than a big paycheck. Anyways, this has been a pleasant experience. I think the entire class enjoyed blogging and responding to one another, this was a great exercise and I might just keep on blogging even without the pressure of my teacher to do so.

"One-Size-Fits-All" Curriculum

This post is in response to the following video about a second grade teacher who is fed up with his elementary school's 'One-Size-Fits-All' curriculum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBSgchJe2Z0

Stephen Round, the dissatisfied teacher who has decided to stop teaching at his elementary school, is reading his resignation letter to the Human Resources Department, but also to anyone else who is watching in order to get his point across. Stephen is very passionate and caring when it comes to teaching. He really cares about his students and wants what is best for them not what is easiest. Sure it might be easy to discipline and use more textbooks. Teaching is more about what the teacher has to offer rather than what the books do. Speaking in terms of monotonous readings and studies. The school board wants better "test takers" rather than enriched thinkers. When I was in elementary school, things were very social I feel like I learned more socially then mentally. Although the current educational board would think this would be a waste of time, in all honesty my social interactions on the playground and with teachers gave me a well rounded mind along with a good conscious.

Stephen Round stands for everything the educational system should be; teachers should be more concerned about problem solving abilities rather than creating good "test takers". Children should have the ability to react properly to different events that happen around them, this cant be taught in the classroom. Threatening or shortening recess would only be detrimental to a child's well-being and it would hinder future success as that child grows older. Stephen has made an excellent video and I hope that it gets the awareness it deserves.

Dear Randle McMurphy

Dear Randle McMurphy,

You will be greatly missed. The humor and ideals that you brought to my classroom and my thoughts could never be replaced. It is sad to watch you leave but I know you had an impact on any one that read your story. For myself the big question was “who is really crazy, the people running the place or the inmates themselves”. Through your unique tone and perspective it was clearly the people running the asylum, crazy how that works. You taught me that authority and entitlement is not always correct. Just because people who end up on the right side of the fence preach something, does not always mean it is right. You made me think beyond a uniform or badge, you made me into a real thinker. I learned that you need to go beyond appearance before accepting whether someone is right, you need to give both sides an equal chance. The way you carry yourself is truly admirable, remember the time you pretended to watch the World Series baseball game just to piss off nurse Ratchet. That was hilarious! You are quite the character. To think that an instruction manual is replacing you is absolutely crazy! I know your probably in stitches over this whole thing but students across America will be missing out on the best read of there lives.

Your attitude towards mistreatment is commendable and the way you inspire others is biblical. Although you are being replaced, I know people will always remember your witty humor and great leadership ability. You have taught me things that I will never forget, best of luck.

Sincerely,

Kevin Timothy

What are your thoughts?

A High school Crisis

By Kevin Timothy

The United States has said that they will be implementing research books as the new curriculum. This is the wrong thing entirely; they want to teach students facts that they will need to join the workforce. Well then, what is more important, a well-rounded student or an ignorant, socially numb robot. The idea of removing classic novels is very upsetting, I certainly learned a lot about society and myself when reading these various novels. The fact that the United States thinks factual instruction manuals will be more useful to young minds than imaginative and morally satisfying stories is beyond me. I cannot imagine school without the great novels that I have been introduced to. Although I was naïve to the fact of reading these novels they certainly were more than I expected and I am glad I had the chance to read them. I believe the new literature the United States is introducing should belong in the science department and away from the English classrooms.

The value of reading different literature offers a different perspective to the way you think. It is like an in depth version of children’s movies. The lessons learned by children usually stem from movies and literature. High school students need moral guidance and ideas for various problems; one way to provide solutions is through literature. Through every book I have read in high school I have learned something new and taken away something very important. Different literatures allow exposure to certain problems or dilemmas that you may never have heard of. Literature at a high school level is a way of teaching through self-motivation and discipline; it is perhaps the best way of teaching. English is the most important course throughout high school that’s why it is mandatory. The lessons learned in English are life long lessons unlike how to solve binomials or write different lab reports. You will need to know how to interpret different scenarios throughout life, provided the different literatures and studies you should have a good understanding of what to do or what is going on.

The new direction that the United States has decided to go on is certainly detrimental to the students well being. The United States will be producing graduates with purely factual knowledge that may get them some jobs but it will definitely prevent them from moving up in management. Well-rounded people get better jobs; it is simple, if the United States thinks it is fine to produce a large quantity of jobs rather than quality ones than I believe they are mistaken. The literature we study here in Canada is a big eye opener to the fact that there are things happening on this each that our beyond our two-dimensional minds at that current time. The literature exposes us students to various situations, and gives us the confidence to use ethical manner as a method of solving issues and acting accordingly. Without the classic novels studied in high school, future students will definitely be missing out and will be one step behind as to what is going on all around us

I Am From

I am From

By Kevin Timothy

I am from a smooth bunk bed,

A dark crawl space,

Little green army men,

And a small glaring light

I am from a bright yellow dump truck,

An unfinished pool,

An echoing tree house,

And fake dinosaur bones

I am from the soothing melodies of John Mayer,

The rebellious Lynrd Skynrd,

Motivational U2,

And always-wonderful Blink-182

I am from tedious hockey practices,

Two magnificent hole in ones,

A seven-goal soccer game,

And a DSBN gold medalist

I am from social media,

A silver laptop,

A shiny touch screen phone,

And an intricate camera

I am from the bright green forest of Algonquin,

The gold beaches of Florida,

The beautiful Cape Cod,

And Jamaica’s tropical terrain

I am from a loving family,

A big lazy dog,

A psychotic brother,

And a quite old house

I am from a desolate island,

Infected with children,

In search of democracy,

And savage like behavior

I am from war,

A fascination with the supernatural,

A very loving wife,

And an overwhelming lust for power

I am from high school,

Crazy about a particular girl,

Have a strange ability to climb anything,

And wear a blue and red suit

I am from a loving father,

Determined to solve a mystery,

Fascinated with simple situations,

And always carrying a Swiss army knife

I am from a group of  “crazy” men,

A woman who hates me,

An amazing fishing trip with the men,

And have a great ability to lead

I am from a murder mystery,

Sentenced for jail time,

Strangely falling for an unlikely partner,

And working with a woman with many tattoos and piercings

I am from Florida,

Have an ability to go to bed easily with women,

Frequently become overly intoxicated,

And have a criminal record

The Power of Literature In High School

The value of reading different literature offers a different perspective to way you think. Its like an in depth version of children’s movies. The lessons learned by children usually stem from movies and literature. High school students need moral guidance and ideas for various problems; one way to provide solutions is through literature. Through every book I have read in high school I have learned something new and taken away something very important. Different literatures allow exposure to certain problems or dilemmas that you may never have heard of. Literature at a high school level is a way of teaching through self-motivation and discipline, it is perhaps the best way teaching. English is the most important course throughout high school that’s why it is mandatory throughout. The lessons learned in English are life long lessons unlike how to solve binomials. You will need to know how to interpret different scenarios throughout life, provided different literatures and studies you should have a good understanding of what to do or what is going on.

My experience reading the “One who flew over the cuckoos nest” was very powerful. I thought it was very interesting and raw. It was the first book we studied that used profanity and sort of mimicked real life situations more than any other piece of literature I had ever read before. I remember being really influenced by the main character, I thought he had the ability to control a situation and have an effect over anyone within his vicinity. That was very powerful for me.

This book made you ask the question, who is really insane? Is it the people running the mental institute or the member of it? In a bigger picture it sort of made you wonder which types of authority were actually correct in what they were doing. Just because they have some sort of entitlement people usually view that way of doing things as correct. And we simply agree without question or analysis of what is actually being done. No other book has really made me think like this.