Tuesday, May 27, 2008

School Shootings

Teasing and bullying are one of the main reasons why school shootings occur. Many of these occurances can be prevented, people sometimes overlook teasing and don't realize the damage it is actually doing.



Most people stereotype the teens who wear Goth makeup to be most of the attackers but studies have shown that the attackers were of all races and family situations, with academic achievement ranging from failing to excellent. Though most of the attacks have been male people should not rule out someone for being dangerous just because of gender. Since the shooting at Columbine there have been over 220 deaths in schools, including at least 99 by shooting, 30 by stabbing, 12 by miscellaneous weapons, 35 suicides, 28 murder-suicides and 15 listed only as “other”. Teachers made up 60 percent of all school shooting victims. Some reasons why teens decide plan a school shooting: pressure from peers or family from teasing or bullying, they feel like they should punish the cruel and they think they are doing a good thing or they are influenced by television or media and families that have guns or any type of weapon around the house are the weapons used at most school shootings. Teaching critical thinking at a young age can help prevent occurances like these.

Teasing and bullying is the base cause of these violent attacks and it can be the easiest to prevent. Just because it may make you feel better about yourself just think of the damage it may be causing the other person. Teasing over time could escalate into violent attacks that could possibly kill friends and loved ones.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking is very important. It is thinking beyond the first thought that comes to your mind and allows you to think outside the box and come up with unique ideas.

You can use critical thinking to solve tough problems that may require much time and effort. Making the right decisions in life requires critical thinking because these decisions may affect you for the rest of your life. Some people don't use critical thinking because they believe that the choice they made is the right one for them. Less mistakes will be made by taking the time to rethink your options and using your best judgement to make decisions.

Critical thinking is a very important aspect of life that some people overlook. Without critical thinking we wouldn't have much of the technology or unique inventions that have been thought of.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Cause and effect

Gambling is an example of cause and effect. People can become addicted to it and it can destroy peoples lives. They may gamble away more than they own and fall into debt because they can't control their addiction.
The first mistake that people can make is bringing too much money to the casino to gamble with. Another mistake is going to often because the odds favor the casino and so over time the casino will slowly be taking your money. Some people experience the effect of "tilt", where a player loses a lot of money in a short amount of time and then tries to win a big hand to win all of that money they just lost, and the player continues to lose.
People don't realize that gambling is just a form of entertainment and not an effective way to make a living. Once players fall into a hole they think that if they go back they have a chance to win it all back and they keep falling deeper and deeper.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Excellence Essay

"The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it." I chose this quote because that is how I view excellence. Being the best at what you do is what I consider excellence. The road to excellence can be extremely tough because of the amount of work and practice you need to put into your job or activity to help you improve.



When I was 13 years old we won the state tournament for baseball. That was my first experience of excellence that I have had. We were the best 13 year old and under baseball team in the state. All of the practicing and the games that we played that summer led up to the state tournament at the end of the summer, where it all paid off. The whole team effort was the most important part of the win. This is because if you have 9 of the 13 players on the team working hard, and the other 4 don't care, they are holding the team down. Therefore, the team won't be as successful.



In the essay, "Looking out for more Blairs" (Ludwig, 2004), it talked about past events where students have cheated during college. The Center of Academic Integrity at Duke University found that on most campuses, over 75 percent of the students that attended that university had admitted to some form of cheating. (Ludwig, 2004)This is important because if the students cheat they will not gain any of the experience, skill or knowledge that would come from completing an assignment or test.

Excellence is being the best that you can be, not cheating yourself of skill and working hard to achieve a goal.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Works Cited

Dead Poets Society. Director, Peter Weir. DVD Touchstone Pictures, 1989

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Education

Taylor VanOverbeke
Grammar for College
April 21, 2008
Education Paper

Education is the most important in a person’s life. Learning is involved in almost every activity. Education is extremely important to children because they will gain experience that helps them succeed and also help the person know how to think, make the right decisions and help decide right from wrong. School isn’t the only place where people learn and gain experience in life, parents also have a big influence on their child’s education.
Parents play a big role in education because they make their children go to school and do their homework to succeed in school and learn. Sometimes when a child doesn’t have parents that push them to succeed their education will be badly effected. Having parents encourage their child to have fun and try new things is important because they will learn new ideas and concepts of life without even realizing it. Children will use this education later on in life for professions and making big life decisions. Learning is most important in the early stages of life. Parents can help their child read, speak and write before they enter school. Once the child has finished high school they have the ability to make their own decisions on where they want to go school and what kind of job they look to pursue. In the movie The Dead Poet’s Society Neil didn’t have the freedom to make his own decisions, his father believed that he knew what was right for his son and it didn’t matter if he wanted to do that or not.
Friends and family can influence education because you may try things that you wouldn’t try by yourself and you may miss out on activities and learning you may never experience in your life. In The Dead Poet’s Society they learn about secret group the Mr. Keating used to enjoy so Neil tries to revive the group by getting people that were in his class to come with him, people were hesitant at first but everyone decided give it a chance after a few people agreed to join.
Teachers also play a big role in education because if they keep the class fun and exciting it will keep the class interested and willing to learn. Some teachers just go by plan the class will just lose focus. In the Dead Poet’s Society Mr. Keating kept the class interesting by doing things that an average teacher would never do. Mr. Keating stood on his desk and described that you should view things in a different way to truly understand them.
Education is important because starts early and prepares you for life. You learn and gain experience everyday and in everything you do, the people you are around may be the biggest influence in your life early on but as you grow your education should have prepared you to make your own life decision

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Personal Statement

I feel construction is a great option for me to pursue because I enjoy building, repairing, and accomplishing complicated projects. I have improved my skills in this field by taking many classes that involve construction and maintenance of households. Some of the classes I have taken were Basic home maintenance and agriculture, and I have also taken 2 woods technology classes during my high school career.
Some of my goals is to find a job I can stick with for a long time and something that I enjoy doing. I have a lot of interest towards this occupation so I have more dedication to complete projects.
I have worked at Arctic Glacier and the County Fair Bakery so I have built up a lot of responsibility allowing me to be on time and accomplishing tasks required of me. Working at arctic glacier has built my strength because I had to lift 50 pound bales of ice and stack them to be loaded onto trucks.
I feel I should be chosen of other people because I am more dedicated and I am very reliable when being asked to complete a task.