Okay i know this isn't a picture paper, but... I just wanted to post some pictures of the event my paper is on...

Personal Narrative ....

I really did not know what to write but I think I came up with something.  It's still rough, and i'll add more but this is some for now... just to wet your taste buds :)

                 I saw our neighbors leaving, packing up; I didn’t think it seemed all that bad.  Our power only had just gone out, I was painting my nails.  I had never experienced something of this magnitude, something that could potentially damage my home, my town, and my life.  My dad went out to talk to them, wearing a poncho but still yet coming back soaking wet.  They were leaving before they were demanded to do so.  That’s when I got the saddest command.

            “Get a few things together, we’ll find a place to go”

            I had never been evacuated; the weather had never been bad enough.  I didn’t know what to pack.  What could I not live without?  I looked around my room realizing that I might not ever see my room again.  I was holding back tears as I packed, as I packed my memories away, or said goodbye to them for what could be forever.  I finished what I could, and got in the car.  It was just in time as we later found out.  We found refuge at my dad’s co-worker’s house but not before we passed bridges and roads closed, parking lots filled with water, and the roaring river as it came ever closer to wiping out the only street left in town.  

            Mike Lilly however had power, little rain, and a police scanner which was tremendously helpful as it provided background noise to the overwhelming silence and information.  He was upbeat about the weather and assured that it wasn’t more than a few inches of rain. 

            The river across the street from my house was reaching extremes heights, even a car floated along the powerful extra 15 feet of water.  The bridges connecting our town to the surrounding towns were washed away.  The area in which I lived, the 5 blocks below, and the 2 above, we’re all closed off waiting for the possible doom.  The police scanner continued to spit out the details of destruction.  We called those we knew and worried about.  

High Fructose Corn Syrup...

So... by the title, this little post is about the joyous, yummy, yet equally bad for you substance... HFCS :(.  This little thing is causing me so many instances of sadness as I go to the Cannon wanting some ketchup with my fries, or I want some juice, or even some bread.  It is really quite pitiful that so many foods are layered with this, but anyways to the point.  I am doing this for extra credit, I am going 5 days without eating anything with HFCS, easier said than done.  It will be a challenge but... hello 7 points extra credit! I think definite yes :).  So at the end of this school week, I will report back on what I learned, and maybe even some of the surprise foods that have HFCS hidden in them.
I also by the way had to find out my BMI and go on myplate.gov, which shows you how many calories/how many servings of what you should eat.  It's pretty handy.  I suggest everyone use it because if you didn't know... fun fact... 67% of americans are either overweight or obese and since the 1980's the number has been consistent, or increasing (not one year with decreasing numbers).  Stay healthy my friends :)

                                                                     Naughty ketchup! :(

Festival of Colors

This past weekend was really exciting because my really close, brother-like figure, was coming down from BYU-I with his wife to visit.  It was the first time I was able to see him since ... I don't remember when.  They came down Friday night and we (my fiance and I) went out to eat with them, and then the next day... we went to Festival of Colors.  This is by far one of the coolest, most adventurous things I've ever done.  Throwing chalk everywhere, being incredibly dirty, it was amazing.

I think it is important to remember that we appreciate other cultures and religions.  That we can enjoy just being together and at times... throwing chalk in each other's faces.  Overall great weekend!

Even more...

I also plan on using some of these amazing quotes further on in my paper:

-“We have data that shows some teachers are amazing, they get amazing outcomes and, if you, as a student, get a bunch of those in a row, you do great. And some are the opposite of amazing and, if you get a bunch of those in a row, you do very poorly. Yet we don't evaluate teachers” (Gates).

-“now it's all based on seniority and do I have a master's degree--it's completely independent of student outcomes” (Gates).

-“The National Crime Victimization Survey data show that an estimated 2.7 million violent crimes take place annually either at or near schools (Nolin, Davies, & Chandler)” (Harrison 39).

-“The general pattern was that the problems were the most severe in urban schools, and least severe in suburban schools, with rural schools in the middle” (Harrison 48).

-“TENURE, seniority-based pay scales, strict working condition regulations, and similar restrictions are a central part of the nation's publics school systems, designed to protect teachers from the whims of their superiors and from political influence. In most school systems, once teachers serve two or three years, they are, within certain parameters, largely assured of lifetime employment. Removing a tenured teacher requires serious commitment” (Hess and Maranto 1).

-"And observers hail the apparent successes of administrative reforms overseas and in American state and local governments.  [They] have seemingly saved large sums of money and improved public service, in part by ending tenure and making the jobs of high-level managers contingent on meeting performance goals specified in their contracts. (Hess and Maranto 1).

Continuation of the paper...

In the school system now, although having great teachers that do great things, and are involved in their student’s lives, there are the others that lack the motivation, the time, and even the talent that is necessary to be not only good but a great teacher.    

            This view on tenure however isn’t widely accepted.   In the article, “Superintendent Staying Power,” it states how, “It found a positive correlation between longevity and academic achievement. District leaders who focus on the right goals, manage change effectively and stick around long enough to see results tend to have higher-performing students” (Pascopella).  Although understanding how having a teacher or superintendent stay in a school, adjust, and then try to make changes, this is not the pattern that is apparent.  

The Start of the Paper ... EEP

So I actually... just changed my subject, although interested at first in reading development, I recently was taught/watched a very intriguing video that immediately made me passionate about something new, my now subject.  Wanting to be involved in the education system, the public school system is going to be a pretty large part of my future life.  I have experience with it as do most of you, and we all recognize some of the common failing and problems that schools face.  This is what my paper is about:

Question:

 What are the problems facing public schools in America? How can we go about solving these problems?

Thesis:

  Despite once leading the world in academic achievement the United States has now fallen behind in test scores in the subjects of math, reading, and science.  Through the practices such as tenure, tracking systems, and an incredible amount of inequality, public schools are becoming less likely to produce well educated students.

Here is the start mostly focusing purely on tenure :),

Tenure and the Effect on Public Schools

            If a teacher was doing a bad job they would be fired.  Is this a true or false statement?  Under the agreements tenure offers, this statement is false.  Tenure or “strong job protections for teachers” makes it nearly impossible for a school to fire an underperforming teacher. (King and Hechinger 1)  Once receiving tenure, this job security, some teachers, bad teachers, stop teaching in class and this, however, doesn’t stop them from being paid.  How could this happen?  Why don’t people stop this?  This is one of the main problems facing American public schools today.

            In any other job that requires licensing the person practicing can lose his or her license.  Doctors and lawyers are examples of this.  In the documentary, “Waiting for Superman”, they list the statistics for doctors and lawyers losing their license compared to that of teachers for the state of Illinois: “One in 57 doctors loses his medical license and one in 97 lawyers loses his law license, only one in 2,500 teachers loses his credentials, because of union rules.”  Tenure has made it nearly impossible to rid public schools of bad teachers. 

            Solutions have been thought of but unfortunately they don’t result in great benefits for the students or the schools.  In some situations as shown in the film, teachers that are awaiting misconduct hearings in New York City sit in a room for seven hours a day doing nothing except collect salary (in the end costing the state about 65 million dollars a year), in others bad teachers are rotated from school to school in a process called the “dance of the lemons” as schools try to rid themselves of the worst in hopes of gaining a better teacher from another school.  In both situations the problem is not resolved.  Quoting Bill Gates in an interview with Kenneth Whyte,

“We've ended up with a personnel system that essentially does no evaluation. It doesn't identify whether teachers are weak or strong and gives them no incentives for improving their weak points. Nor does the system identify the few teachers that don't belong in the profession because they either don't have the ability or they're just not trying hard enough.” (Gates)

More will be added most likely tomorrow but I think splitting it into shorter sections for now will make it easier for review.  Happy reviewing :) 

Dress Shopping

I must truly apologize in advance because... most of my posts from now on will be concerning the girly side, the  wedding details in which I am completely and at times unfortunately preoccupied :).  Recently I had one of the most significant pre wedding experiences as I went... dress shopping :).  Going from shop to shop trying on beautiful gown after beautiful gown I ... did not have the experience I was expecting.  Perhaps having unrealistic ideals because of countless episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, or the multiple times I had watched Father of the Bride as a young girl, I wasn't disappointed as much as I was overwhelmed.  The decision in front of me seemed daunting, so many choices, so many different fabrics, cuts and styles, ivory/white/off-white, different lengths in veils or no veil.  I was confused, I no longer knew what I wanted.  I luckily am able to relate this to life, to broaden the scope to all readers out there that don't give a hoot for my wedding worries :).  In this crazy life, we are overcome by decisions, small to large, they are there and we must choose.  We try to get advice from our friends and family, we try to make note of the positives and negatives, what we need/what we want/what we can afford.  We, at times, will become overwhelmed, we won't know what to do.  But it's in these situations where we can grow and become strong, it's in these decisions where we can turn to the Lord and get advice, following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  I'm of course not saying that the Lord will help direct my wedding dress choice but... the Lord will help us in big decisions, He will help guide our lives if we let Him.  Anyways, to share, I didn't really find the "dress", but I will share some of the maybe options with you :).

The engagement!

Well, if you are not in my English class/i don't know you/i don't talk to you/you're a creeper get off my page (just kidding, well sort of ;)) you wouldn't know that I recently, as in about a month ago, got engaged :). On February 17th, my boyfriend of nearly three and a half years became my fiance.  After dating in high school and waiting while he served a mission far far away in Rio de Janeiro Brazil (yes i did wait for a missionary, the statistic is around 3%, we're pretty awesome :)), we had finally ended up at BYU together, and after countless ring shopping trips (yes i was present, it's a big purchase and i don't like surprises :)), we went to the Provo Temple one Friday evening... and the rest is history.  We will be married in the Washington, D.C. temple on August 17th.  We really couldn't be more excited.  And now my life is filled with wedding details, questions about dates/invites/dresses/appetizers etc. fill my conversations, and although at times stressful (i am planning a wedding 2500 miles away from my home), I know that everything will work out :).

the ring to all those curious on lookers :)