ABC's

To what extent do our schools serve the goals of a true education?

I asked myself what the definition of education is. Education is general knowledge, useful for life decisions and reasoning, which prepares one intellectually and physically for the future. Schools have the tendency to coast off of the true meaning of education. Knowledge is not taken in through force and specific requirements. Schools need to provide an environment in which a student would be willing to learn new things, through trial and error, giving one a sense of accomplishment when reaching a certain goal. Schools pave the pathway for the futures of the world's youth.

 At times it feels as if the minds of students are being occupied by random and unnecessary facts and information that one will most probably never use throughout their lives. Instead of focusing on redundant material, classes with a more critical and strategic base, when one is required to use out-of-the-box reasoning in order to succeed. I find this teaching method more effective, rather than being lectured about facts, facts and more facts. Many of the world's most intelligent and successful people, have not received a formal education such as, William Shakespeare, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Amadeus Mozart. Math, History and Chemistry are not what create a mature individual. It is the general knowledge and understanding of life and being able to reason and make resourceful decisions. 

Students turn in assignments and study for exams and quizzes for one purpose only. That purpose is to get a good grade and not fail the course. Students are rewarded for their success, giving them the wrong reasons to study and learn. 

Schools need to gather their thoughts on this dilemma and form a type of educational system that digs through the true meaning of education. 

The City of Love

"Man Found Dead In His Apartment 8 Years After Apparent Suicide"

- The Huffington Post

by Sara Gates

Who knew that the only form of life one could find in Paris is not love? A man who recently purchased his new apartment in France, was in for quite a treat when he set foot into his new home. According to Le Parisien, a man was found dead in a busy Saint-Georges flat eight years after his suicide. On Wednesday, police identified his body as a man named Thomas Ngin, a Cambodian man who worked as a security guard before his death in 2005. Ngin would have lived to be fifty years of age today, however is believed he hung himself beause he was let go of his job. Since he had cut the tied between his family and himself, Ngin was not reported missing, according to the Radio France Internationale. 

His mummified corpse was found last Friday, when the locksmith and the new owner of the apartment entered the property. Ngin was found hanging with a bedsheet behind the front door. In the case of this man's death, none of the neighbors seemed to have attempted to enter the premises. This was apparent because of the piled up bills and mail that was left untouched. 

Recieving no response from the tenant, his associaton decided to sell the property. However, because of Ngin's overpowering debt, the bank seized the property and sold it at an auction earlier this month. It was not until days later that the new owner went to clean out the apartment and discovered the body. "This is the tragedy of the greater Paris area," a source familiar with the case told the Agence France-Presse, "the capacityof being isolated in the middle of a crowd."

-October 23, 2013

Breaking Bad?

"Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix, Mexican Drug Lord, Killed By Assassin In Clown Costume"

- The Huffington Post

by Hunter Stuart

The member of a once-powerful drug clan was assasinated during a child's birthday party. Who knew that clowns do not always wear a smile on their faces. Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix was the oldest brother of the Arellano Felix Cartel. He was shot in the chest by a gunman disguised as a clown in a rental house at the Cabo San Lucas resort on the Baja California peninsula. The gunman's disguise included a standard and typical look of a clown with a colorful wig and a big, red nose. The motives of the assassination are not yet clear however. 

Beginning in the 1980's, the Arellano Felix cartel ran a lucrative drug business between California and the Mexican border city of Tijuana. This cartel was portrayed in the movie Traffic (2000), where the cartel was shown battling for power in the Mexican city of Juarez.

The cartel is said to have smuggled tons of cocaine and marijuana. However the crime did not stop there. The Arellano Felix cartel corrupted peoples lives with murder and bribed law enforcement officials and military officers. 

Recently, the power-hungry cartel began to slowly denature, as members were arrested and murdered. This might seem to be a relief to one, however the cartel is now slipping into the reigns of Francisco's sister Enedina and her son Fernando, otherwise known as "El Inginiero" (The Engineer.)

It might take a little more then the death of the Francisco, to terminate this dominant cartel. 

October 20, 2013

Lives Saved?

"Leatrice Brewer, Woman Who Drowned Her Three Children, Gives Birth to Her Fourth"

- The Huffington Post

by Taboola

October 11, 2013

It all began when Long Island mom, Leatrice Brewer called the Nassau County Police Department claiming that she murdered her three children. The police investigation that took place on February 24, 2008 was not an easy one to be apart of. The team found the woman's three children drowned in the bathtub of their New Cassel home in New York. The names of the children were Jewell Ward, 6, Michael Demesyeux, 5, and Innocent Demesyeux, 1.
Now this is where the news begins to come into place. According to the Mid- Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center in New Hampton, where she has been incarcerated since 2008, thirty-three year old Leatrice Brewer has been impregnated, prepared for her fourth child. The center has refused to comment or answer any questions the reporters might have due to privacy laws. As of now it is unclear who the father of this baby is, or how the woman got pregnant in a closed off and secure facility.
In 2008, Brewer was found not guilty due to mental illnesses and was admitted to the center instead of serving time in prison. When the father of her deceased children was questioned about her pregnancy he responded, "This person's supposedly in a secure facility and she gets pregnant. This is the woman who had no idea what she was doing when she murdered our children." Psychiatrists who evaluated Brewer said she had a major depressive disorder and confirmed that she most likely killed her children to save them from deadly effects of the voodoo. According to Leatrice Brewer, she saved her children's lives. It is safe to say that the rest of the world, does not exactly have the same perspective as Brewer.

Class Speech Analysis

"The Ballot or Bullet"

- Malcolm X

Speech Analysis By:

Sam Ekimyan and Kevin Koseyan

"The Ballot or Bullet" speech simply demands immediate attention to it, because of the strength and power the title holds. Malcolm X, being the revolutionary speaker and civil rights activist that he is, showed justice to his audience. Sam and Kevin did an outstanding job analyzing his speech from every aspect. The SOAPS-T was constructed clearly and gave the class a brief idea of what the speech was about, its purpose and general information about Malcolm X. Even if one has not read or heard the speech that Malcolm X recited, Sam's and Kevin's powerpoint presentation gave a description of the speech and its main points. They kept their audience interested, since rascism had an immense role in this nations past in a negative way. Hearing about a civil rights leader persuading his people to take a stance and exercise their rights against violence leaves a fulfilling thought in one's mind. 

Sam and Kevin did a great job locating different literary devices in "The Ballot or Bullet" speech. The certainly caught one's attention by stating that the ethos was building and automatic. However the idea that they had behind the statement made sense, for Malcolm X had an obvious automatic ethos, but throughout his speech he builds a certain character with the audience which whom he is speaking to.  The classical oration was also clearly stated however there might have been an error in the use of the word 'induction' instead of 'introduction' in the first part of the classical oration. Other than that minor detail, an A+ for Sam and Kevin!

A Rough Past

"Congo's Conflict Mineral Fund Rebels' Brutal War, Use of Child Soldiers in Sub Saharan Africa"

- The Huffington Post

The device that one is using to read this blog post, is most probably an aspect of one's blood and suffering in the country of Congo. Diamonds are not the only minerals which are the source of violence and conflict in sub- Saharan Africa. In the October issue of National Geographic, Jefferey Gettlemen journeys to Congo, where the mines uncover treasures such as cobalt, copper and even gold. However one mineral, which is even more valuable than any stone and jewelry is a minerall called tantalum. Tantalum is used to make microchips for electronics. Unfortunately, these incredible  and powerful device creates the worlds most humanitarian crisis in one of the worlds most atrocious nations on the earth. 

Gettlemen's expedition to Congo was not exactly too much of an "adventure." While driving through the grassy terrains of the nation, child soldiers would be hiding in the tall bushes with a gun in one hand and a bundle of marijuana in the other. The children ranged from about fourteen to fifteen years with tattered clothes and dirt all over their fragile bodies. This scene that Jefferey Gettlemen witnessed was on the road to Bavi, a rebel-controlled gold mine on the Democratic- Republic of Congo's wild east. Congo is sub- Saharan Africa's richest country on paper, because of its contant flow of diamonds, gold, copper, tin, tantalum and most of the worlds widely used minerals. However because of the neverending wars and feuds, it is one of the most traumatized nations in the world. Understanding that the milita- controlled mines are feeding raw materials and minerals to the entire world for electronics and jewelry is what contributes to the chaos. Turns out that the phones, tablets and computers that are widely used by society in this day of age, has had a remarkably tragic and traumatizing past.

October 5, 2013
By: Kavitha A. Davidson