The Achievement Gap

1. What do you think causes the achievement gap? I think that kids just stopped caring about school, and their parents are too busy with other things, like work, so they arents pushing their kids to do better in school. Some teachers also stop caring about some of their students' education.
2. What can students do to close the gap? Students need to start studying more at home, and stop watching so much t.v. and stop using myspace. I also think that they should understand that without their education they can't really do anything. Another thing that students should do is ask for help from their teachers, if a student doesn't underdstand something they should ask questions.
3. What can parents do? Parents should be more concerned about their child's education. They should keep up with the grades that their child has, and also check their homework to see that they did it.
4. What can teachers/schools do? I think teachers should have the same expecations for all of their students. I also think that some schools should hire better teachers so that students actually learn something. I also think that students shouldn't judge students by their background, because some teachers think that if a student is poor, they probably won't care about learning, and that's not right.

Questions About Tom Hayden

1. What do you think of Mr. Hayden?
I think Mr. Hayden is a very lucky man who has had the priveledge of meeting and interviewing many civil rights leaders. I like the fact that he does not boast about having met those people, but instead he uses what he learned to educate others.

2. Tom Hayden does not think of himself as a civil rights leader. Do you see him as one? Why or why not?
I don't see him as a civil rights leader, but I also don't see him as a follower. I do think that he is trying to change America by educating us about America's past. I also dont see him as a civil rights leader because he doesn't have thousands of people supporting him.

3. Tom Hayden feels that the leaders are not as important as the hundreds of thousands of people behind them. What does he mean by that?
I think he met that without all of those people behind him, leaders wouldn't be leaders. The crowds are what makes leaders "famous."

well today is going alright.

everyone got their seats changed in mr. carr's class.

and now i'm at the front of the room,

and i dont like it because the speaker's in my ear,

and because i like my old seat better. but oh well.

science was alright, not as fun as usual but it was alright.

i really wanted to go to the basketball game today.

but my parents didnt let me go,

because they couldnt come pick me up.

so hopefully they'll let me go to the soccer game next week. :)

my stomach hurts. :(

my sister's birthday is on monday!

yay! haha. she's turning 13!

aww she's finally a teenager. lol.

my birthday is coming up too.

its on the 21st of this month.

i'm turning 15! chyeeaahh!

STOP HURTING YOURSELF

I think this can mean many different things.

it could just be something small,

like not doing your homework,

which affects your grade.

or it can be a big thing,

like consuming too much alcohol,

or doing drugs.

I think it's trying to tell us to

really think before we act.

and if the outcome doesn't look too good,

then we really shouldn't make that choice.

I think the drinking incident is a good example of this.

The student knew that they shouldn't be drinking,

especially not at school, but they didn't listen to their friends

when they told them to stop drinking.

and the consequence for that was ending up in the hospital,

and who knows what else....