not up to yu.

I recently read this story from Curvature.com which is a leftist-feminist (surprise) blog focusing on politics. Its a story about a school district in Maryland that has adopted a policy of informing pregnant teens parents, whether or not the teens ask them to. my comment on that situation is simply that its ridiculous! My doctor could not inform my parents for me of any of my medical history against my choice, its on the law books that even minors have that right to privacy! so why should my teacher be able to or forced to do any different? every teen has a different family situation, a pregnancy is not something you can hide forever. unless of course the teen has the means to quietly get an abortion without notifying her parents or needing their help. If that is what the teen decides than so be it if they can pull it off good for them. in most other circumstances the parent well find out, probably through telling the parents themselves. honestly if a teen confides in a teacher about a pregnancy its not the teachers business to run and tell their parents. if the pregnancy is the product of rape then by all means the teacher has the legal obligation to report it to the proper authorities but i think that in the situation of a flat out teenage pregnancy the young women can suffice without intervention from a nosy faculty member. It has nasty repercussion and few benefits. there are teens w/ abusive parents and faculty could be reprimanded for not complying to the policy. Also if i was a teen w/ abusive parents who had the school inform them that i was knocked up. i think I'd know exactly who i wanted to sue first. I think anyone in that situation may have a sturdy case because "Maryland’s minor consent law, which applies to those younger than 18, says teenagers do not have to inform parents to receive health services, including pregnancy testing, contraceptives and treatment for sexually transmitted infections."

So clearly this policy is on some very shaky legal footing and unneeded.

without grades.

I love the idea of alternative learning environments and the benefits they can bring but clear water is not a shining example. one thing i think that needs to be measured in letter grades is the students drive to reach their potential. However many times the staff at a school cant form the relationship necessary to make this happen. None the less I dont think casting out grades completely is solution. What this article reminded me of was the year and a half i spent home schooled. The times i picked up a text book in those years could probably be counted on one hand. however my mom was never alarmed because i never got much out of the public school system and had always preferred learning on my own. i did go to the library weekly and would check out books. i usually finished one a day, I loved historical fiction particularly American history. i also was drawn to books on world cultures. I taught my self various things including sign language although i never got very proficient. Ultimately even though i was learning about a lot of things through my reading i wasn't developing. i was staying entirely in my comfort zones and even when i returned to public schools for a long time i always elected to not even try rather than put effort forth and not succeed. i wouldn't have ever taken a math class had it not been required. I wouldn't have pushed my self if i didn't have the carrot of Linworth dangling in front of me. Staying at Linworth meant performing to my potential. even though you can argue that you don't need grades to learn or need advanced math to get a job, you do need to learn to challenge yourself. For most including my self you need the fear of not getting a high school diploma is enough to force yourself to do things your not gifted in.
Also I dont think the Clearwater experience can prepare you for the real world.To function in society you need to learn to bullshit your way through a few elements. Thats just how things are. how would you ever learn the subtle ways of appeasement that are often necessary without grades or what it feels like to go beyond that level and be acknowledged for what you've put forth. these Little, intricate, stupid, strategies, social skills and rules are taught and reinforced through grades. that in its self to me justifies the practice of letter grades.
I love Linworth and i have this fear of what would have happened to me if i lived in any other community besides Worthington. if i had no other options in my education other than the main campuses it would have been a nightmare. I think our school reaches a balance that the Clearwater school does not. To really be a knowledgeable person it is necessary to learn things from other people and not sitting at home reading. I wonder how the kids of Clearwater learn to be critical of themselves and others if they don't have people around to bounce off of. It seems too isolated to me but, i am a very extroverted person and learn a lot through discussions and questioning the validity of a situation. I also think not having other around in the learning process is an easy way to learn to overlook the many facets of a topic. i think it could cause people to be overly black and white about things if they have been total self taught.
Us Linworth kids follow our passions, can balance our time and they are more than proficient in the art of bullshit. We also know what it's like to work for ourselves and succeed. Just think of all the amazing walkabouts we send our seniors on. I would be scared to send a Clearwater kid into a situation as challenging as walkabout. At Linwoth we have ample opportunity to learn from the entire community. Linworth kids have a chance to really hear and consider their peers opinions. In the classes that our teachers (sometimes students) hold there are so many different opinions and much knowledge to be absorbed. It would be a waste to learn only on your own and not have access to those types of group learning situations.
Maybe the clear water school could be a viable option if that was how things ran in the real world or college. How ever unfortunate you may think it is our society is no where near that. There are quotas and sales figures to meet and problems that need to be fixed in a time frame. I'd gladly pick letter grades, Linworth and Larry any day because I know that the teachers and environment have given me all the tools i need and given me an opportunity to explore what cannot be taught within the walls of Linworth.

SHE ASKED FOR IT

Alright without starting a big fuss:

1. She's fully clothed.
2. She's in winter clothes .
   
3. She's OBVIOUSLY MAKING A SNOW ANGEL.

Now lets say it once OMIGAWD HER VAGINA! Breath, is it out of your system? If you stop focusing on the fact that under those layers of clothing she's wearing there are some naughty bits the image isn't troublesome. now in the context of it being a image that is derogatory to women, I'd like to say NEXT time you see a female try and remember there's more to her than her vagina. That's what will truly end the derogatory nature in which women are treated. So stop looking at that picture in a misogynistic and ovary phobic manner and see it for what it is a lame target ad. this target ad compared to most other ads is disney stamped. want to get riled up over an offensive ad look at this one that Dolce & Gabbana ran in the beginning of 2007 in Spain and France.Then you can be genuinely offended and we can talk about the obscene way women are portrayed as sex objects by the media and the culture of rape.

to some it up the ad you saw from target wasn't what caused you to construe it as offensive. Our patriarchal society was the looking glass thru which it became offensive and I'd rather be rid of misogynistic outlooks than the ad. Yeah so this is a pet peeve and a passion of mine I'm not just my body. The day the world looks at that billboard and sees a forgettable ad for a department store will be a happy day for me.

MINI-RUSH

So i just finished having a yelling match with my brother over global warming...Debates over politics are a pass time in my house but no one enjoys them it's just a Bootes thing YOU DON'T BACK DOWN. For those of you who do not know chase he is quite the character. He is 12 years old in the 6th grade he loves to fight. we used to beat the shit out of each other but he's learned a much more sure fire way to tick me off. CONSERVATIVE POLITICS! He recently he acquired a MP3 player that he fills with pod casts of Rush Limbaugh and his favorite conservative talking head Glenn Beck. For Christmas my dad bought chase and my sister a copy of Glenn Beck's book. It was on their wish list they are 11 and 15! My sister reads it out loud to him its quite the bonding ritual. Another bonding ritual that many of my friends can attest to is the fact that upon walking to my house you well often find all the TVs off with my Brother and Sister listening to conservative talk radio. as I'm writing this he's taunting me with something about how Europe sucks. Some how since I'm liberal that means European/French policy are my supreme wish and I should take any offense to these far away lands very personally. not my logic don't ask. anyways this is a very regular occurrence in my house and since we are loud ppl and its 4-1 conservative to liberal ratio i often run to my room (sometimes in tears or in a slew of choice words) when i can't handle anymore abortion/global warming/Iraq/religious/yu name it debate.
so unsurprisingly when I'm looking for political blogs i like them left leaning. Sometimes i need a reprieve from the conservative bullhorn. When i get to feeling this way one of my stops is Alternet.org . upon opening the browser window I'm greeted with titles like Huckabee's Biblical Madness: Dispatches From the War on Stupidity and Your Time Is Up, Mr. President -- the National Guard Is Coming Home. Seeing these titles just gives the "femi-nazi"** "dirty liberal"*** child I am the warm fuzzies. I believe that the site is pretty bias but the stories there are interesting, thought provoking and liberal enough to keep me coming back for more. I mean i figure i deserve to cater to my bias since I'm so often listening to the red side (albeit unwillingly).

** NO, I'm not literally a Nazi! "Femi-nazi" is what Rush Limbaugh regularly calls feminists on his talk show...yeahh its high brow stuff google him and Glenn Beck if you'd like more of the sort.
***I think it goes without saying that one.

reach the tipping point

The Three laws laid out by Gladwell make a lot of sense. I think that for an epidemic to kick off, all three are required. One cant happen with out the other. Social epidemics start all the time. They aren't started by just anyone in any situation and there has to be that flash that makes it stick in your mind. I think this has so much to do with all factors of human behavior.

There are many instances were people wouldn't do things otherwise. without epidemics little would be accomplished. When i take time to think about it there are a lot of things i wouldn't bother doing if it wasn't a social epidemic. Clothes, Make up, spending money on frivoulous things and certain patterns of speech . These are all things that I wouldn't be motived to do on my own out side the context of modern society and its epidemics. I don't think these epidemics are bad things. Sure its annoying but there are also benifits. Without epidemics I think there would be a lot missing in my life. Epidemics can bring enjoyment to a lot of people. Just think of all the things you do every day and where your life would be without them. in some ways it maybe better but in others you may not be fufilled. I mean its a personal Stance but im not off put by all of societies epidemics. Alot of things would be missing in my life if there wasn't a women's right epidemic. Social Epidemics are a powerful medium for change. I think it can be positive I'm sure many may disagree. 

HUSHPUPPY

So far to me this book is interesting. when i first picked the book up in the marketing section of Barnes and nobles i was concerned. However the way he relates epidemiology is very engrossing. the hush puppy story isn't that interesting though fashion trends especially ironic ones annoy me. I guess this raises an interesting point though people well wear all manners of shit if some exculsive group does it first. I guess this story of the outdated unattractive shoes shows just how susceptiable people can be. Its an excellant explaination of epidemiology

and this computer for sure i swear has no spell check. (MICHELLE)

Research and linking the second chapter

Sometimes I check on a blog called forksplit.com. Its written by a younger anonymous women living in new york. Her blog sucked me in because when i read it i feel like i know her.  Although she keeps a distance from her readers never replying to comments or there urging for her to share more. She posts on her own terms and it reads like a theraputic outlet. She often talks about her trouble with her parents. Her father is an alcoholic  and her mother is an anal retintive WASPy type. She's is a vivid storyteller and writes in a sarcastic confessional tone. She writes about a lot of tough issues like personal drug use, family relations and the distance she likes to keep from others. When she writes about these things it comes off so natural that it causes me to check back every once in awhile even though she posts maybe twice a month. This blog is a good humorous but meaningful read and i would suggest it to anyone.