Category: school

Online School

Recently, in my English class, we had to write a selection of essays about a given topic. I decided to share with you my expository essay on the topic of Has online school affected students negatively or positively?

I tap at my keyboard frantically, hoping for at least a flicker of life. When none comes, I groan and reach for the charging cables, hoping that I won’t miss too much. I believe online school has negatively affected students by making them lazy, reliant on slideshows, and inactive classroom members.

“Please turn your cameras on, please!” begs my dance teacher as the warm-up sequence begins. Online school has made students lazy, especially in their gym classes. The teacher can’t tell what is happening unless the students put their cameras on, which most of the time, they don’t. It’s hard for the teachers and isn’t a good habit to develop in students.

I sort through the slides, realizing that I would have memorized them better if I had written them down. Online school has made students reliant on slideshows. When students have all of their information on Google Slides or Peardeck, they see no reason to take notes. Taking notes helps many people memorize information and without those notes, getting good grades is harder.

I frown as I’m the only one raising my hand for the third time in a row. Online school has made students inactive in their classes. Many times, there are only 2-3 people who participate, while in in-person school, everyone gets a chance to share their opinions. Students who don’t participate much in online school also probably don’t participate in in-person school either, so this has affected teachers.

I groan as I realize how much I’ve missed in the few moments my computer was dead, then belatedly realize I was unmuted. I believe online school has negatively affected students by making them lazy, reliant on slideshows, and inactive students.

I hope you enjoyed! What’s your view on online school?

World Peace Essay

In my MUN class, we had to write an essay on ideas that’ll help achieve world peace. Here’s what I wrote. I hope you enjoy!

World Peace. It’s something that’s not in reach considering the world we live in today. But world peace is something we always aim forward to, something we strive for, no matter what. Even though the fight seems hard, world peace is something that we have to hope to achieve someday. Some ways to spark a world with peace include placing better people in power, empowering the younger generation, and sharing power with smaller countries. If we go about these ideas with an open mind and work together while doing them, then world peace isn’t such a far away concept.

I think everyone can agree that not all countries have the right people in power. Some countries have corrupt rulers and others have leaders who won’t do anything. Obviously, not everyone will agree on who the right leader is, but having someone who will benefit the country is an important step that can lead to world peace. The young generation is a proud and strong one and they will stand up for what’s right. People like Malala or Greta Thunberg have been standing up for what they think is right and inspiring people all over the world. If we empower the young generation and provide them with the supplies and help they need to keep standing for what they think is right, people everywhere will be inspired and empowered. Lastly, we need to share power with smaller or younger countries. These countries, being “unimportant” are often pushed aside and there aren’t many ways that they contribute to the bigger countries’ ideas, other than the UN. These countries could have ideas that could change our world, but we don’t listen to them because they’re smaller. If we listen to these countries more or share some of the bigger countries’ power with them, we could grow new ideas with the help of other strong minds.

Obviously, world peace isn’t something that we will be able to achieve tomorrow, with the Russia and Ukraine situation. But if we all work together across the globe, world peace doesn’t look so far away. It’s not something that will happen quickly, but if we are able to achieve it, it’ll be one of the most memorable achievements and one that’ll go down in history. World peace is a far away concept at this moment, but if we replace the corrupt leaders, empower the younger generation, and share power with the smaller countries, it won’t be as hard. Right now, it’s far away, but that doesn’t mean it always has to be.

Feelings as Poems

Recently, in my English class, we started our poem unit. We have to pick a general topic and write a few poems under that topic in different styles. My main topic was feelings. I hope you like my first poems!

Joyful- Couplet:

Feel so ecstatic like I’m breaking through
glad, eager, I’ve turned into someone new

Feel so jubilant, powerful, and free
cheerful and playful, I’m free to be me

Feel so confident, I’ve never felt so good
I can’t be dignified, it’s impossible

I’m happy, free, and so, so joyful
Passionate, me, it’s so delightful

Disappointed- Cinquain:

Disappointed
Not enough
Falling down, down
I always feel so
Empty

I hope you enjoyed these poems!

My Outsiders Project

Recently, in my English class, we read the Outsiders by S.E Hinton, then we did a project on it. I chose “Loaded Language,” where I had to choose a major event from the story and write a newspaper about it from a Greaser and Soc point of view. I hope you enjoy!

The Output- A Greaser View

The most important news from the most trusted Greasers in town!

A Killing in the Park
Reported by:

Last week, there was blood in the fountain of the park. There was a switchblade lying next to the body, blood coating its handle. Dried blood pooled on the pavement, leading to a dead body. This body was of Robert Sheldon, a 17 year old Soc. A Soc in a Greaser park is highly unusual as most of the time each group follows their own boundaries. But it isn’t strange that a Soc would be the first one to break the treaty.

Today, Johnny Cade, a 16-year old Greaser, has confessed to killing Robert. As of this time, he is in the hospital and we were not able to get a statement from him. Johnny is a part of Dallas Winston’s gang, though we were unable to get a statement from him either. We did learn that 14-year old Ponyboy Curtis assisted in the crime and he was open to giving a statement for us.
“It was late and Johnny and I were just hanging at the park. Suddenly this car pulls up and out comes 5 of the Socs for just the two of us. One of them was drowning me and I was almost dead when Johnny, well Johnny saved my life. He just pulled out his switchblade and killed their leader. They all ran off after that,”

Self-defense was all it was. When someone you know is getting drowned, what else would you do? Our next story is…

Platinum- A Soc’s Newspaper

We get you your news with the straight facts.

Robert Sheldon, Dead
Reported by:

Most of the Socs were worried when they didn’t see Robert Sheldon on Sunday last week. Then on Monday, when he didn’t come to school, they knew something was wrong. Most of them wondered what could have happened to Bob, a steadfast Soc. Well, wonder no further.

Robert Sheldon, a 17 year old Soc, was killed on Saturday by Johnny Cade, a 16 year old Greaser. Yesterday, Johnny admitted to killing Robert. He is in the hospital now and we were unable to speak to him. We did get a statement from David, a Soc who was there at the time.
“So Randy and Bob came up to me and 2 others. They were drunk and angry and wanted revenge on these Greasers for picking up their girls and I said yes. I was just frightening the other one a bit, nothing much, when the one you called Johnny stabbed Bob. We all ran off after that, because everyone knows never to fight a crazy Greaser,”

So there it is. Johnny Cade killed a Soc with absolutely no reason other than a bit of frightening. On the next story…

Chennai

Days lazing at home
AC on, and so is the TV
Cuddled up close with my family
I’m finally in Chennai

Eating home-made food
Reading my old comfort books
Peaceful as can be
I’m back in Chennai

Family all around
Reconnecting face-to-face
No need for tiny screens
I’m in love with Chennai

Can’t wait to see the sights
Back after two years
Old and new combined
I’m marveling at Chennai

Packing up slowly
Never wanting to leave
But school starts again soon
I have to leave Chennai

Flying away through blue skies
Knowing I’ll be back soon
To this wonderful, wonderful place
I’ll always come back to Chennai

What I’m looking forward to in the 2021-2022 School Year

School is starting up soon! My middle school starts on the 23rd and I am very excited. I can’t wait to go in-person this year and experience 7th grade. There are many things that I’m looking forward to, so I thought that I’d share some with you.

  1. In-Person School
    Last year, I was virtual for all school year. For 7th grade, I get to go back in person (fingers crossed). I’m excited to see how middle school classes are in person. Meeting my friends is an added bonus!

  2. Student Council
    This year, I got into the Student Council or STUCO. I’m very excited for this opportunity and the ways that I can use it in my daily life. I can’t wait to meet others with this club!

  3. Meeting My Friends
    I’ve made some friends last year and while I have met them, I’ve only seen them about 3 or 4 times. I don’t have them in a lot of my classes, but I am glad that I will see them a few more times this year.

  4. Meeting my Teachers
    Last year, I rarely saw my teachers in-person. I am elated that this year, I’ll be able to talk to them face-to-face. This also helps with my learning, because I’ll be able to understand my lessons more.

What are (or were) your favorite parts of school?

My Peace Poem

For my English class, I made a poem about peace and how I would describe it. I hope you like it!

Describing Peace

Peace is a view
One for everyone to see
Maybe it’s when the sun dips
Over and out, on the beaches of Hawaii

Peace is a sound
To be heard everywhere
A bunch of friends, perhaps,
Laughing without a care

Peace is a taste
Let everyone try
Like ice cream dripping down the side of your cone
While you join your friends nearby

Peace is a smell
Candles all lined up in a row
Quick, come and take a sniff
Before we start to blow

Or maybe peace is a feeling
For both you and me
The familiarity of chlorine infused water
Or swimming in the sea

A warm blanket, snuggle in
With your friends and family close
Because peace is a feeling
Much better than most

My In-Person School Experience

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been to my school thrice, twice for the STAAR (end of year tests) and once for a dance recording. I’ll also be going this week, on Wednesday or Thursday for another dance performance. These are the only times when I’ve actually been in the school (for more than 5 minutes) since March 2020. Being in school was really fun, but it did get boring after a while. Here’s how I felt during my few days at in-person school.

I interacted with a lot more people than I usually do (that’s to be expected, of course). It was nice (and I’ll admit, slightly unusual) to talk to people normally. I saw people who I had never seen before. Another fun part was meeting my teachers. I’ve also only seen them through a screen, so it was nice to meet them face-to-face.

Then there was the boring part. After we took the STAAR and ate lunch, we sat in the auditorium for the rest of the day (about 3 hours). Our classes gave us “do-nows” (simple and quick work) which didn’t last long. We had to rely on what we had to entertain us (book, paper, computer, etc.). I did have enough to do luckily, but I did get bored. Overall, I will say that it was a fun time, mainly because I got to see a lot of my friends and teachers, and had a few fun conversations with them. Have you gone in-person to your school or work yet this weird year? If yes, did you enjoy the experience?