Friday, November 19, 2010

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Should Student's have to wear uniforms?


Should you be able to express yourself freely? Wear what you want to wear? To school? These controversial questions have been debated for a long time by school administrators, parents, teachers, and students. Wearing what you want to school without the restriction of uniforms gives students a way to express themselves and make your own choices.
          
  Wearing school uniforms restricts the ability to express yourself. With uniforms everybody looks the same and you aren’t allowed to show who you are through what you wear. For some people wearing particular clothes and dressing a certain way communicates a part of them. Uniforms also limit the ability to make choices. Making choices is a process that we face throughout our whole lives. If our ability to make choices is restricted in high school, how will our skills for making choices be effected in life after high school? Without uniforms, many people can see diversity between people and understand better that person and who they are. In some cases uniforms can restrict expression of religious beliefs.
           
 Many people may also argue that uniforms defy the first amendment. The first amendment of the US Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. This guarantees certain freedoms including the freedom of expression. For example in the Pyle v. South Hadley School Committee Jonathan and Jeffery Pyle sued the South Hadley High School Principal, superintendant and school committee for violation of their first amendment. The two boys were accused of wearing t-shirts that went against the dress code. This resulted in South Hadley coming up with a new formal dress code.
           
 However, along with the overwhelming evidence that students should not have to wear uniforms, some support good reasons for school uniforms as well. It is said that in some cases behavior improves when school uniforms are mandatory. Some people believe it helps reduce the threat of violence. This all ties to the fact that with uniforms students may be less distracted than without uniforms.

Research shows that wearing uniforms can help some schools and have no effect on others. In her article, “Parents: Do School Uniforms Make a Difference?” Pauline Wallin, PhD noted that when principals, teachers, and parents were asked whether they believed that school uniforms made a positive difference, they often answered that their school's attendance, behavior, and achievement had improved. However, when researchers looked at school attendance, number of fights, and discipline referrals, the results were inconclusive. In some schools, there were improvements, but in others, it was the same or worse. Nevertheless despite, many parents, and school officials claims that uniforms make a difference there is insufficient evidence to require uniforms. On the other hand freedom of expression and students ability to practice making choices as simple as what should I wear to school today are important opportunities to help develop young people into to responsible adults.

Martin Luther King

Monday, November 15, 2010

Martin Luther King Jr. Biography

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. As a young boy he lived in elegance and comfort. When he was young he was part of a gang and chased after many different ladies. He attended Crozer Seminary in the North. He lived in a new world of ideas unlike that in the South. He had a girlfriend but he was unable to marry her because mixed marriages could be fatal. People tended to degrade black people. Later on King married Coretta Scott. They then moved to Montgomery, Alabama where King became the pastor at Dexter Avenue Parish. MLK was a radiant speaker and captured his audience. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott became involved in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and MLK soon took a leadership role. Meetings were held at his church and people tried to use coercion to make MLK leave, he began to receive up to fifty threats a day.

 The Montgomery Bus Boycott was considered a success because in 1956 the Montgomery Buses became integrated. Martin Luther King traveled around the country and saw that segregation remained. Traveling he gave a speech “Stride for Freedom.” At one point during his traveling he was traveled like a black women but it turns out that she was just insane. However this reminded MLK of the dangers that threatened him every day. He tried to continue to apply the lessons of the Montgomery boycott to the rest of the south. MLK came across black students that tried to order lunch from a white lunch counter. He coherently decided despite prior warnings to help the students. The perpetuation of his goal to end segregation helped continue in his efforts.  Here he got arrested and thrown into jail, where he was moved to solitary confinement where he was devoid. JFK was running for president and trying to get blacks votes, helped release Martin Luther King from jail. From this JFK was elected president.

 JFK and MLK were weary allies but had many similarities. JFK never demonstrated any oppression towards King. MLK decided to make his stand in the most segregated city of the time, Birmingham. Here he met non- violence with brute force. Martin Luther King was a militant person but believed in non- violent protest. Birmingham police chief was determined to keep Birmingham segregated. He then had his March on Washington when he gave his famous speech, “I Have a Dream.” After this Kennedy and Hoover put MLK under wire tap where they discovered the King had many mistresses. They were going to expose King. Many people exalted King and this would have a negative effect. After this Martin Luther King had a meeting with Hoover.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Montgomery Bus Boycott News Article

On December 1,  the Montgomery Bus Boycott began, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. The blacks have decided they are tired and feel the time has come to boycott the buses. There was a mass meeting at the Holy Street Baptist Church. It was agreed that on Monday, December 5 all blacks were going to boycott riding the buses to work, to town, to school, and any other place. Today as you looked at the buses passed by they were empty. The usually overflowing buses were empty with the occasional person or two. The sidewalks are crowded with tons of men and women walking to work and school. A huge influential person that participated in this whole boycott was Martin Luther King Jr. On this day it was said that you could see him riding around with Ralph Abernathy with a smile on there face from the success of the boycott.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Coretta Scott King Biography

Coretta Scott King was born on April 27, 1927 in Heiberger, Alabama. Coretta’s parents were truck farmers. Her and her sister often helped out around the farm. To get to school Coretta had to walk about six miles. Coretta was very smart and did very good at school , particularly music, and was valedictorian of her class at Lincoln High School. Even at the college level Coretta was interested in civil rights. She joined the college's Race Relations and Civil Liberties Committees. She attended New England Conservatory of Music and graduated with a degree in voice and violin. She was married Martin Luther King, Jr. Together they had four children Yolanda, Martin Luther III, Dexter, and Bernice. She was a activist and worked with her husband through the 1950's and 1960's. Coretta joined in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. She helped to organize a boycott of the cites buses. She published a memoir in 1969 titled My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. Her husband Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated in 1968. After this Coretta established the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta. She was the President and executive officer. Coretta pushed to have a national holiday made in honor of her husband. When Coretta was 77 she began to experience some health problems. She suffered many strokes and small heart attacks. Her last appearance before she died was a dinner to honor her husband. Coretta died on January 30, 2006.




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Coretta Scott King

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Girls and Women in Sport: Playing, Believing, and Achieving

"Playing, Believing, and Achieving" is all part of playing sports. At Provincetown High School playing is something that everybody gets the chance to do. I started playing sports when I entered as a seventh grader. I started right away Varsity Soccer and JV Basketball. My eighth year I played Varsity Soccer, Varsity Basketball, and Varsity Softball. Since then I have continued to play all these sports.

 Usually,Playing sports isn't a right but a privilege, but having the opportunity to play is always present at Provincetown High School. Believing however is something that you yourself have to achieve. For me that was challenged often. With small numbers of players, there was never any second team on the bench waiting to be put in, therefore believing was something that had to happen. At Provincetown there are only 30 kids grades 10-12. This gives us the numbers of 13 for soccer, 8 for basketball, and just enough for softball. Believing that we could win when we were down, Believing that our shots were going to go in, or that we were going to hit the ball just far enough.

Achieving, however is a team effort. Personally, I can become the best I can be but in the end in all three of my sports it’s all about the team. As  Coach Manley says, "We're not just a team; were a family." This statement is completely true, together you win, together you lose, and this is why we achieve together. For me to achieve my goal of succeeding as a team, I have to first improve myself.

Playing, believing, and achieving are all part of my sports life, and succeeding in a game. Over the past four years, there was one constant thing in my life that made me be able to keep playing, believing and achieving and that was my coach, Coach Manley. He always encouraged, taught me, and made me a better athlete and person all together.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

My Place

When I was little my parents used to leave me to spend the day with my Grampa Jerry. These were the good days, the days I looked forward to every time my parents went away. These days always consisted of one major element, the outdoors. No matter what we did we always did it outside.

My favorite however was by far going to Beech Forest. While many people could say that Beech Forest is a lovely place, a serene place, to me it was even more. It was a place where you could walk in quiet, feel the breeze through your hair, the sun poking through the trees on to you below, and so much more. Every time was the same but different. While the place was the same, and the routine was the same, there was always something new to be observed.

We'd drive up and park Grampa's Dodge Dakota in the parking lot and begin our walk, always starting on the left side. We’d begin walking slowly, in no hurry, just enjoying being outdoors. We'd stop at the trail leading to the dock over the pond and head down there to see if we could see any frogs. Next we'd walk along till we came to the opening. This was the sign that we were almost there. There being the tree in which we fed the birds. We’d get ready for feeding the Chick a Dees by crushing the peanut butter crackers in our hands. We'd walk slowly over to the tree, whose branch stretched out far to the right, at the perfect level to rest our arms. Lying are arms across the thick branch we'd wait, quietly, listening for the noises of the Chick a Dees. Soon we'd her chick a dee dee dee, chick a dee dee dee, the call of the bird. Soon enough we would see them hiding on the branches, checking there surroundings, taking in any threats. Then they shutter their wings and fly over landing  gently on our hands. There claws digging softly into the cold palms of my hands. While my siblings Emma, Natalie, and Patrick always shied away when the Chick a Dees went to land i never did. My grampa said i had a knack for that. From then on he called me "The Bird Lady." This place, the place where I felt at home, the place I always looked forward to going, this was the place where my greatest memories formed.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Technology

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Technology as a whole has many pros and cons. Ipods have increased are ability to do certain things such as listen to music wherever and whenever. Some Ipods allow you to access the internet and therefore being a new means of communication. However Ipods also have their down side. Having an ipod eliminates the need for a radio. With the growing number of Ipods radio stations are becoming more and more limited and this is bad for advertising. Without children listening to the radio they cannot advertise towards them. However it is also a good thing that children aren’t being subjected to these advertisements. It is also argued that the music quality on an Ipod is not as good as it was before. Ipods are one of the many technologies that have many pros and cons.