21 May 2012

“Student Fines” is an article about Noble Street College Prep, a charter school is Chicago, that fines its students for breaking the rules. Such fines come from untied shoe laces or buttons that are unbuttoned. The dean of the school Michael Milkie, says that it is the best thing he has come up with and that it works great. Some people find this unfair; especially the parents you can’t afford to pay the fines, while other families say that they “need to tell their kids to straighten up”. While many have protested this and tried to remove it from the school it has not worked. Milkie has noted that is works and he won’t do away with it.

                Although I can see the good in a policy such as that one, I would not like to attend a school like that. I believe teachers and school officials should focus more on inspiring the students to do more with their life so they enjoy getting an education instead of focusing on the little stuff that will make them want to drop out of school. Students don’t like getting in trouble, and when they are repeatedly are getting detentions for untied shoe laces they are just going to stop coming to school. I believe that is less students got ISS for their breast hanging out then more people would be at school here at Pine Ridge. I will be the first to admit I don’t want to see someone breast or butt however if we let the students here be more comfortable then maybe more students would come. We need to focus on the big issues like fighting, cheating on exams, and smoking on campus.

                My conclusion is this, let student’s feel comfortable. The more restrictions you give us the less we want to follow them. If you let us be us a little more maybe we will follow your rules. Also giving us a bunch of rules to follow is NOT going to inspire us to want to make it through high school and move on with our lives.

                In parts of New York, it is illegal to even have a cell phone while on school campus. They don’t care if it’s on or off. They even check your person while entering the school. They have taken away this privilege because they feel they were distracting the students. They were paying way to much attention to the phone compared to the teacher. Brevard County has a rule saying that the schools can no longer do checks for lice, send a child home with it, or even tell the parent until the end of the day. I personally do not agree with that. Then of course one from Volusia County our unbelievable strict dress code! I really don’t think I have to say much about this since I already did in the first part of this blog.

                Out of these three policies I honestly prefer the dress code. I don’t like being away from my cell phone, I use it for a lot more stuff then just texting my friends, as a matter of fact I barely use it to talk to friends.  And that thing about lice, I got one thing to say, EWWW! If I was a risk for lice I would want that kid to go home and stay away from me. I would want to know and passing this policy has made it easier for lice to spread amongst children in elementary schools. I think that hardest rule to implement is the no cell phones. Today’s generation is attached to these things. We sleep with them on our pillows for goodness sake! Telling students they can’t have them has to be one of the biggest fights a school can put up. So in conclusion, is some spots in New York you cannot bring a cell phone on campus for any reason! In Brevard County, elementary schools no longer have to do routine lice checks, which I think were necessary. Lastly right here at home we have an outstandingly stick dress code, that I do not find necessary.

18 May 2012

Senior-ides is the worst part of becoming a high school senior. At the end of the year you get so tired of doing work that your body just shuts down. Some people might even get this feeling at the end of their junior year! Almost all seniors get this feeling; they don’t want to do anymore work. They start procrastinating even more than before. This especially sinks in right after exams. Most teachers do their exams about a week early for seniors so they don’t have to rush to put the grades in. However they still assign work to the students, who feel like high school is done and don’t do the work! The feeling of Senior-ides can and has prevented people from graduating. The students become such slackers that they let themselves fail the class. It’s actually kind of sad, knowing that you failed with just a week or two before you were finally done!

One of the best ways to get over this is to never let it set in. To prevent senior-ides from setting in you have to stay focused. Remember that school doesn’t end with exams, it ends when the school says you’re done. Another good way to prevent this is to not think about what you want to do over the summer. When you think about the summer you end up putting your mind in that setting and it’s too hard to take it back out. It’s kind of like winter break, you’re gone so long you can’t get back, however summer has a stronger pull.

Now what are you suppose to do if it does sink in? The best way to get out of senior-ides is to take away all fun plans you have before school is over including going to movies, beach on the weekends, anything fun you cancel from your schedule just like you would during the normal school weeks. What if this doesn’t work? Honestly if this doesn’t work just get someone to slap you or scream at you to get your butt into gear! By doing such things your body will reject the senior-ides to prevent it from happening again. However these methods only work during the first 48-72 hours of getting the disease! If you wait till after this time frame you may never pull yourself out of it!

Getting stuck in senior-ides is the worst thing ever! You can prevent yourself from graduating, your friends get pulled down with you, and last by no least the teachers will have no mercy! Teachers don’t care if you mentally check out early from high school. Some teachers might even assign work all the way through to the end of the year just to catch the students you get senior-ides. If your one of the students who caught junior-ides you might be able to control which classes you get senior-ides for. This is not suggested and those who decide to try should be very careful. For example, you might not need to do anything for maybe 2 or 3 of your classes so you let yourself get senior-ides for them; however the other classes you stay focused in alert in! You have to remain on your toes at all times that way you are prepared for anything the teachers through at you, such as a 600 word blog about anything!

With these tips I hope that everyone can stay out of senior-ides and if they do get sucked in that they are able to pull themselves out before it’s too late. This damaging disease has been around for years and these are the only tips that have been able to be formed. As a last warning of the day, males have a harder time with senior-ides; this is caused by their natural stupidity.

23 April 2012

This article is about a man named Peter Chernin who has invested $200 million dollars in a Providence Equity partnership. This investment is being used in media and technology companies. Chernin has teamed up with an Asia-based media investment company and several strategic investments in the U.S based technology. Chernin hopes to support “the growth of innovation media and entertainment companies.” As Chernin stated their goal is to “build a global, diversified media company that leverages the key areas of value and growth in the world today.”

                I chose this article because the title seemed interesting. When I first clicked on the article and read the first couple of sentences I was kind of interested because I like looking at the facts of the business world. It’s about the entertainment world but without all the annoying information about the newest plastic surgery the Brittany got done. The article was about relevant information about the upcoming events of the entertainment world. If this project goes through we will be seeing a new world of movies. I think this article might be interesting to other people because it can give them some insight on what to expect in the future of the entertainment universe.

                After reading this article people will know about the investments of a producer named Peter Chernin, and how they may impact our society. If I were other people I would look up some of the productions that the article has on the bottom of the page (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Oblivion, New Girl, ect). By watching some of these movies or TV shows you will be able to get a better understanding of Chernin’s work, and whether or not you should be excited about his new investment. If you are someone who doesn’t like the works listed on the bottom of the article you could look into what other investors are working with him, again to see if you should be excited about the upcoming events.

18 April 2012

“Napster Got Busted. Are You Next?” is an article about the new laws that are trying to be put into place to try and prevent illegal downloads of music and movies. The new protocol would allow internet providers to give out your name, address and phone numbers to the recording companies whose music you are illegally downloading. They have also created “Robots” which attach to files to see what you have been sharing or downloading. However these are not perfect. For one it attached to a file called Harry Potter, which was nothing more than a book report.

I think people should get in trouble for illegally downloading media because they are breaking the law. The people who make these albums or movies should get paid for their work and they won’t get fairly paid if people continuously are downloading them for free.  However, it is just a song or two, or maybe a movie. There are ways to get these things that aren’t illegal. For one, we could just listen to the music on YouTube and record it on our phones; however we take the effort to get the better version. I think that downloading music shows people that our generation is smart. We can figure out how to get the things we won’t without spending money, so parents should be thankful.

I don’t listen to a lot of music but when I do it is usually Pandora or YouTube. I don’t actually own a lot of music. If I was a musician I would not want people to download my music for free, however I know that it would happen and no matter how many laws or regulations they put into place there will always be someone to go around them. Musicians also make money from concerts, merchandise, selling their music to cites like Pandora and YouTube. In my opinion the government needs to lay off on this stuff. Sending “Robots” into our files online is just plain rude!

Jammie Thomas –Rassett has been ordered by the court to pay $1.5 million to the RIAA for 24 illegally downloaded songs. This is the 3^rd jury that has seen this case. Thomas-Rassett has stated that she kept fighting simply because she doesn’t have the money. Although the initial offer to drop the case was only $5,000 and more recently it was a donation of $25,000 to any music charity. The governments plan for the future is to stop pirated music for good, which I don’t think will ever happen. If someone who is a fan of pirated music read this, it would probably slow them down for a bit. However I don’t think it will stop them entirely. The people who illegally download their music don’t think that it’s a bad idea, so they would most likely just shrug it off and move on.

In the article Napster, they tells us about the new ways they are trying to stop the illegal downloads of music. For one, internet providers now have the right to give your name, address and phone number to the RIAA if expected of illegally downloading music. They are also allowed to attach “Robots” to the files that are exchanged over the internet to monitor what kinds of files are being shared. However these methods are flawed because not all internet providers are willing do to such things, and not all files that robots attach to are something important, they might just be a research paper for example. In the case of Jammie Thomas-Rassett, she was order to pay $1.5 million dollars for 24 illegally downloaded songs. Thomas-Rassett’s case has seen 3 juries and she still refused to pay thing absence amount of money, even though the first offer was to drop the case for just $5,000.

9 April 2012

Where do I see myself in 10 years? Well I am not exactly sure yet, but I do know some of it. For 1 I know I will have a degree in accounting by then from Stetson University. Second I would like to be moved out of my mom’s house, either by myself in an apartment or with a roommate. Last but not least I would like to be starting my career by then. My dream job is in an accounting firm making big choices like a CEO, but I know it is going to take me time to work up to that position. However I know that if I work really hard over the next 10 years I know that I would have made a great improvement of my life.

                My biggest goal I want to accomplish in the next 10 years is getting my degree in accounting. In the fall of 2012 I will be started my education at Stetson University. I will be majoring in accounting and having a minor in family business. I hope to be working while going to school so I have money saved up but I am not too thrilled on working while I am going to school. I believe that having these degrees will help me land any job I want in the future. Also I would really like to help my mom open up the business of her dreams and I know that I will have the right knowledge to teach her how to make it successful.

                10 years from now I really want to be moved out of my mom’s house. As much as I love my mom, and I know that it is a better financial decision to live with her while I go to school, I would love to have my own space. I know that it is very pricy to live on your own, and since I don’t want to have a boyfriend I will probably have a roommate. I know I still won’t have my own space; I will definitely have more space to myself. I really just want my own bathroom! I also like having independence and the ability to go and come as I please and I can’t do that at my mom’s like I would be able to do if I had my own apartment or house.

                In 10 years I would like to be starting my career as an accountant in a big firm. I would one day like to become a CEO of a large company or something of that sort but I know it will take time to reach that goal. I know that fresh out of collage I will be starting off my career as the “run it” girl. You know the girl who runs to get coffee or make copies. But I know that if I work really hard by the time I graduate from Stetson University I will be able to start down the path to my dream job, heck you never know maybe ill skip over a few steps on the way.

                So let’s recap, in the next 10 years there are at least 3 things I would like to have accomplished. The first one is graduating from Stetson University with my accounting degree. I have been dreaming of that for the last 4 years! My second goal is moving out of my mom’s house. I love her to death, but I need my own space away from her. My last goal to accomplish within the next 10 years, is starting my career in a big accounting firm. I would one day like to be the owner, or big investor, but being the “run it” girl in the beginning will help me in the long run.

2 April 2012

“Throwing in the Towel” is an article about the NBA and that changes it has made over the last couple of years. For example for the first time ever in the NBA the teams have no financial incentives to play better. Due to this change players like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Amar’e Stoudamire have become independent agents. Another large change is the amount of income the NBA has. In 1989 there was a $400 million dollar revenue, now it is about $4 billon. However this hasn’t helped the team owners because the salaries of the players have increased as well. Going up to about 5.6 million a year from the $275,000 it was in 1989.

                The article says they are not trying because they really aren’t. Team owners are trading good players for bad ones so they can save up the money to eventually have one really good team. They are not trying to win, they are trying to stay afloat long enough to have at least 1 wonderful season. More and more teams are hesitant to spend money because they never know if it’s worth taking a chance. If the outcome is not certain they are more hesitant because they don’t want to lose money. I think the NBA should regulate salary prices. I don’t believe that a sports figure should get paid that much, I don’t care how good they are. The NBA should set a range of how much they can ask for and how much the team can spend in total on the salary of the players.

                The current day version of the NBA draft as started in 1987. The draft/lottery system was started to help make the teams more equal. It was suppose to allow players to be fair picks. The lottery portion selects the first 3 teams of the draft, then the remaining non-playoff teams selected in inverse order of their regular season record. This made it so that even the worst team gets at least 4^th choice. It works like this, the teams that made it to the play-offs get first pick, then the worst team of the season goes, then second worst then so on. Some find it unfair because the crappiest teams get to choose first, so if you are a fan of a really good team you come later in the game, possibly after all the good players have been bid on. So now that the bad teams have bid on them, you have to bid even more on them.

                The NFL does their draft the same way, the worst teams get first pick. NBA works in the same way as well. If the worst standing score is a tie between two teams then the previous year’s standings in the tie breaker. Apparently these ways of drafting inst as unfair as some people make it sound. If all of the major sports leagues are doing the same thing then they must find it to be the fairest way of drafting new players into the game. I suggest that if someone doesn’t like it then they don’t watch the sport because I don’t think it will change.

26 March 2012

“What A Degree is Worth” is an article that tries to show you comparisons between the lifetime earnings of a collage graduate and that of a high school graduate. An $800,000 difference in the two salaries was reported on the Collage Board web-site in 2002, this number have been disproved and replaced with the correct number of $450,000. The most important thing to remember about this article is that is in not telling you that you will make a lot of money by going to college, just ask Kelly Dunleavy who is working as a journalist and whose father is paying her $700 a month loan payments. The article is simply telling us that you have the possibility to make more money when you further your education. The average collage graduate makes $450,000 more a year than the average high school graduate. I still believe that collage is still worth it, if broadens your horizon and gives you opportunities that a high school graduate would not have. I will be paying for my collage education with grants, scholarships, and loans. By the end of my 4 years I will have about $44,000 is loans to pay off. In my opinion everyone should think about a collage graduation, but you don’t have to go. Weigh the pros and cons and see what fits you best; collage is not right for everyone so don’t go just to make others happy. In conclusion it have been proven that the average collage graduate will make more than the average high school graduate, however this in no way means that you will one of these people. So take your time before deciding what to do with your life.

                The approximate cost of Flagler’s Collage tuition is about $22,500 a year, Stetson University’s average is $36,000 a year. The cost of a 4 year degree at these schools will cost $90,000 for Flagler and $144,000 for Stetson. Both these schools recommend Bright Futures, and the Pell Grant. Stetson University has their own scholarship program, when you apply you are automatically put in for these scholarships and if you are approved then will send you the information on it. Flagler has a similar program however it does not reach as far as Stetson Universities program. The English book I found that is recommended for college freshman cost $115.00 on Amazon.com, and that’s on sale, $75.00 for a used version. Collage is very expensive, I will be attending Stetson University in September, spending $36,000 a year not including living cost, books, and food. By the time I finish my four year degree in business I will be $44,000 in debit. Although the average beginning salary for an accountant is $60,000 a year I am not guaranteed that, leaving me with a huge opportunity to run myself into the ground.  If you think about it, it’s more of a risk going to collage then to not too, all because we want to achieve that American Dream.