Why are scholarships important?

Scholarships are important for students in more ways than just helping them pay for school. Say one student was incapable of going to college for financial reasons. With a scholarship they could finally attend college. Although, with most academic and athletic scholarships students are required to maintain a certain GPA and attendance record to keep their scholarship. This makes sure that students are on their best behavior and are focused on doing well and receiving their degree. After they get out of college and their employers see the work they did in school, they will be greatly impressed by their perseverance and dedication. Scholarships promote attending and getting good grades in college, it is not just free money you have to prove yourself.

Do I Have What It Takes?

It is quite hard to get into college and I think that I have a lot left to accomplish before I start applying to all the colleges I would like to go to. I have taken my SAT, but I need to do it again and get a better score as well as my ACT. I need to fill out my FAFSA and increase my GPA. I would like to have most of these done by November of this year because it is the early admission deadline for most of the colleges I would like to attend. I think I have spent a lot of quality time choosing the colleges I would like to go to. My mother and I have been comparing colleges and prices for what feels like ages. The ones I really like I have visited or plan to visit. I am really excited to see what this journey has in store for me and what choice I will finally make.

US v. Australia: Schooling Opportunities

I believe the United States allows many opportunities for students in regard to schooling and their future. Although, those opportunities come at a cost. Such as the length of our school days and school years. In Australia students have around the same opportunites but have to go to farther lengths to reach them. There are not as many colleges in Australia as there is in America. Meaning that if a student cannot find what he or she likes in Australia, they are forced to look ourside their country for better opportunities. This can come at a great cost to the student because outside of Australia they do not recieve the same amount of government assistance to finance their degree. I believe America is up their with countries such as England and Germany when it comes to our rating of college opportunities.

Economic and Social Success With a Degree

I believe that a degree is definitely worth the time and money it takes to achieve one. Without a college degree it is a struggle everyday to provide for yourself and your family on minimal income. There is no room for savings without a degree, you are forced to live paycheck to paycheck. The amount of money and time you pay for your degree are small in comparison to the struggles you would have to face without one. Along with not having the necessary income you would also not have as much social respect as those with a degree. Having been to college is worth it socially because it allows you to access a broader social group and learn new things. People believe that someone with a degree is smarter than those who don't and is therefore more respectable. Having a college degree is a necessity in the modern world we live in.

Spring Break

Over spring break I spent most of my time haning out with my family and friends! It was a much needed break from school, even though I had quite a bit of homework to do. I guess my actual spring break starts in April when I go on vacation with my family and I cannot wait!

Dead Poets Society: Questions

1.) The most influential leader I've ever had is my mother. She is the strongest most caring person I know. I can trust her with anything and I value her opinion, that's why she has the most influence on me. 

 2.) I think he means that with our professional careers we live to work but poetry is what we do after work and the things we work for. Everyone works to sustain what they love and care about in this world, they work to achieve what we are passionate about. I agree with his statement, poetry is something beautiful and manages to capture all the great things about being a person. 

3.) I agree with him, it is important to consider things from another person's point of view even if it is yours. When I write papers and other things that I know will affect other people, I make sure to consider their point of view so you don't offend them and to make sure you get your point across clearly. 

4.) I hope that in my life I will impact many people on a personal level. That is the impact I want to leave and the verse I would like to contribute. You can leave money or material things but what really matters are the way you leave the people who were apart of your life. 

Dead Poets Society: Questions

1.) I think that Neil would not have committed suicide if Mr. Keating hadn't come into his life. Although, without the influence of Mr. Keating his entire life would have been one not worth living.  He was always troubled it was just the events that happened after he confronted his father that sparked his desire to end his life. If Mr. Keating had never been a teacher there Neil would have never realized his dreams and what he wanted from his life, and he would have never killed himself. 

2.) I believe that the bravest of Mr. Keating's boys was Neil, he took Keatings advice to heart and really tried to implement it in his life by standing up to his father and pursuing his dreams. The coward of Mr. Keating's boys was Richard Cameron. He didn't want to learn what Mr. Keating had to teach him and was always worried about what other people would think of him. 

3.) I think Mr. Keating put the book ther but the only person that would know that is Neil and he would never tell anyone Keating did that. Keating wanted to give him the book to give him a chance to learn more than just his schoolwork and to embrace poetry and the true meaning of carpe diem. Keating didn't care about what other people thought of him, his main goal was to impact his student's lives on a lasting level. 

Dead Poets Society: Themes

I feel like the central theme in Dead Poets Society is what the boys say to themselves through out the movie; carpe diem. Mr. Keating encourages the boys to seize the day and make the most of their lives. It is evident the boys take this to heart because they all find their unique way to apply carpe diem into their own lives. With Neil, he uses carpe diem as a motivator for him to follow his dreams in acting not matter what his father says about it. Charlie seizes the day by being his loud outgoing self and standing up for others and himself. Todd realizes towards the end that he must learn to seize the day and do what makes him truly happy in life. At the end of the movie he puts Mr. Keating's teachings into action when he stands on the desk and salutes Mr. Keating as he leaves Welton Academy. When analyzing the characters and the plot in Dead Poets Society it is evident that carpe diem had an affect not only on all the lives of the students, but on the faculty as well. The idea of seizing the day is a theme relevant throughout the movie and changes all of the characters for different purposes as they all attempt to achieve a sense of carpe diem.

Character Question

1.) I believe that Neil is the most changed through out the film. He was most affected by the teachings of Mr. Keating and tried to implement them the most in his own life through his relationship with his father.
2.) The person who was least affected by the teachings of Mr. Keating was Richard Cameron. He was the one who turned in Mr. Keating for Neil's death and continued throughout the movie to criticize his teachings.
3.) Mr. Keating is an inspiring well rounded character who wants to influence others with good intentions. He is greatly changed by his experience in the film he because as he taught the students, they did him as well.
4.) Neil- Niel is very charismatic and a good leader, he has many passions but has a fear of following his dreams due to his fathers controlling nature. He does and does not overcome his fears. He does as in he confronts his father on his dreams and intentions but doesn't because in the end he takes his own life.
Todd- Todd was very shy and did not like having all the attention on himself. Todd had a fear of disappointing others, he never spoke his opinion or did anything to draw attention to himself because he though that everything he did was wrong. He eventually overcame his fear when he recited poetry with Mr. Keatings help and defended him at the end of the movie by standing on the desk and saluting his teacher.
Knox- Knox was a very determined young man who wouldn't take no for an answer. Knox had a fear of being alone, he wanted this girl and chased after her until she was almost forced to go out with him. He is always following the boys and seeking their approval. He eventually overcomes his fear and learns to be independent.
Charlie (Nwanda)- Charlie is a very outgoing person who doesn't want to be what everyone else wants of him. Charlie's fear is the fear of conformity. He doesn't want to be like everyone else and will do anything to not be. He does and doesn't overcome his fear because he does conform by being a follower of Mr. Keating but refuses to stay quiet like everyone else.

Mona Lisa Smile: Discussion

1.) In the 1950's women were supposed to be homemakers and social butterflies. Women were socially shunned if they attended graduate school or didn't get married. Women could go to college but were encouraged to take special courses that got them ready for home life such as interior decoration and family finance. Back then, women were supposed to cook and clean and take care of children. All while maintaining their outward appearance and social presence. Kathrine Watson thought more of women. In her mind, why couldn't women go to graduate school and pursue a profession? Why couldn't women focus on themselves and not get married? It all seemed unfair and demeaning to in her eyes. Kathrine saw marriage as something to do when you were ready for it, even if that means waiting a long time. She pushed students to further their educations and get jobs in whatever they wanted to do. Kathrine was helping change the way women were viewed by others, and themselves. 

3.) In the movie, Joan wants to become a lawyer and dreams of attending Yale. When she gets the application from Ms. Watson Betty, her best friend, tells her that she shouldn't do it. Betty tells Joan she is getting married and she need not want anything in life after that. She should spend the rest of her time and energy focusing on her husband and building a home. Betty is a product of the society back then, she believes that a woman's soul responsibility is to that of her husband and children. She was groomed since birth by her mother to become a wife, and she cannot bear to see Joan doing the opposite. I would like to believe that if I were Betty I would not have reacted the same. I think I would have told her she could do whatever she wants to and if that is going to Yale then do it. Although, times were different back then so there is no telling what I would have said back then. I think my reaction would have in no way been similar to Betty's 

Progressive Teaching

In the movie Mona Lisa Smile Ms. Watson has a very different teaching style than most teachers in her age. Rather than just teaching from the book she chooses to have a different outlook on how she wants to teach her class. She goes off from her syllubus to give her students a more envolved and new class they had never seen before. This style of teaching is much better than that of other teachers. Those facts that they teach don't stay with you for the rest of your life like Ms. Watson's. The way she teaches challanges her student's minds and really makes them learn what she is teaching. 

Mona Lisa Smile: Theme

My favorite theme in the move Mona Lisa Smile is the different views of marriage and divorce between the early 50's and now. It is incredible how much our ideals and the traditions of marriage have changed in such a short time. Back then it was ridiculous to even think about getting a divorce, now it seems like a little less than half of all marriages end in divorce. Not to mention the structure of even dating is different. When you date someone you aren't necessarily looking to get married until it becomes a little more serious. Girls in Mon Lisa Smile are only dating to get married, even though they are only in their early twenties. The way we think about dating, marriage, and divorce has changed enormously throughout the 20th century. Mona Lisa Smile shows the changing times of the 50's and makes clear that some traditions are meant to stay in the past.

Mona Lisa Smile

I think this movie is going to be about a woman who goes to work at a new school and faces some difficulty. In the trailer, it looks like the teacher struggles with some students on the ideas of women's roles in the society of their time. I think that she will change the minds of some of the students that their lives are more than what they think. They can go off to further their degree and even continue their profession, there are no limits. Although, I am not that sure of how she is going to do that it seems hard to change an entire school's point of view.

College v. High School

College testing is very different from high school testing. Colleges are not concerned with an amount of grades or a quota they have to meet. In college, tests are an actually demonstration of how much you have learned and how hard you work. You may only have one test the whole year or one every week, it all depends on the teacher you have. When you finish a test and there is not extra lecture or work you can just go home. Unlike high school where you are stuck there all day. College tests are usually a lot harder than in high school and require much more effort. The grade you get on that test or exam could really change your overall grade, it all depends on how much your teacher weights them. With this in mind you should study very hard no matter what kind of test you are taking. Your grades are very important in high school and college, they both deserve the same amount of effort no matter where you are.