They Tried to Make Me Go to Rehab (I said: I really can't afford that)

In the case of deciding what should be more prioritized: rehabilitation or punishment, I stand in the middle. While I believe that rehabilitating violent criminals is a very important thing to do, I also think that punishment for crimes is practically required to maintain order.

There are plenty of crimes and for each a punishment the government finds fit. We have these set rules for a reason. In the system we currently have, the threat of punishment is supposed to be enough to keep people from committing crimes. The downfall is: it’s just not enough. No matter how strict the laws are on punishments for a crime, there will always be people who commit it anyway. This is why punishment for crimes isn’t going to be the end all.

Now, rehab isn’t a way to fix this problem. That’s not the point of rehab. Rehab and punishment are extremely different and really they combat different problems. Punishment is a threat for those who are considering or planning to commit a crime. It’s supposed to hang over their heads and be a sign to the public that we don’t take things lightly. Rehab is something that we should be doing more of the help those who have committed these crimes.

Basically, the reason rehab is an important part of the justice system is that as a country we should care about the mental stability of our citizens, even the ones who have committed crimes. Not to mention the prevention of double offenders.

Many crimes are committed because of psychological issues that can stem from a number of places. A way of better understanding what causes people to do these crimes and therefore knowing ways to take preventive measures would stem from rehabilitation. If we could record information about prisoners while trying help criminals work their way back into a functional member of society is a win-win.

This, however, raises the issue of what our government can afford. Obviously, in today’s society, our government is far more concerned with the punishment side of this argument. And while I would love to have a solid argument for why rehab is more important, I don’t. It is important that we rehabilitate those who commit crimes, but I think the number one issue is getting people who are a threat to the public off the streets.

Not to mention, if we start treating criminals like we owe them the help, how are we showing the victim we are concerned for them? I think the line of how to best handle this is a very tangled one. On the one hand, you don’t want to treat a criminal as dirt. You want to try and help them and rehabilitate them back into a ‘normal’ person or someone who wouldn’t commit the crime again. But, if we focus more on the rehabilitation side and less on punishment for the crime, we’re probably going to offend a lot of victims who didn’t do anything to deserve whatever crime was committed against them.

Overall, I will say again, that the line for what’s right and wrong in this case is far from straight forward. I think they’re both things the government should focus on, but I’m not really sure how I can justify that economically. In the end, I think what we should do and what they can afford right now are insanely different.

Hopefully that stream of consciousness made sense to someone!

Can’t wait to hear what Kathleen has to say!

Uneducated

This topic is going to be a bit difficult for me for two reasons: I’ve never had experience with online education personally and I don’t know much about how it works outside my area.

I will say this: I’m not very fond of it as a theory. I mean, the idea of having the ability to do things on a more flexible schedule in the comfort of my home is nice. But, when you get down to it, there are just too many cons. (I am doing this from what I know of the way online education works on the high school level.)

I think a large amount of the learning process (as Kelsey mentioned) is the relationship you can have with your teacher. If you have a problem understanding then you can talk it through and work on it. The only way you can get through it online is practice in a way that maybe you aren’t particularly good at learning in. While I understand that there are actual teachers, I don’t think they’re very effective because explaining a problem is a lot easier to do in person. Just like explaining the solution is.

I have met people who learn in every different way you can think of. I think that online learning restricts you because it makes you learn primarily through text or video/graphics. But I know a lot of people who are hands on learners who need real life examples or something tangible to learn better. These students would be hindered in an online environment.

I don’t have any personal experiences with online education and therefore I think going into depth about this topic would be misinformed. So, I would love to open this up for discussion and know everyone else’s opinions on the matter.

Sorry for the third week of mediocre posting, hopefully I can respond to comments and make up for it. Can’t wait for Kathleen’s opinion on the matter tomorrow!

Accessibility and Such

I think the main problem with how desensitized our youth is, when it comes to violence,  how accessible it is. Let’s face it: violence in entertainment has been around for forever. But today, you can download it whenever you want and we just don’t really think anything of it at this point.

Kelsey covered the medium everyone seems to be most concerned about, video games. This is a big one. This is the one all the plastic surgery fixed, suburban mothers whine about all the time. And while it is a big issue, I don’t think those same mothers think much of it when they go home and watch the new episode of Grey’s Anatomy or when they buy their kids the second book of The Hunger Games.

Violence is pretty much everywhere. In the news, in your daytime Soaps, in that new book you picked up that everyone is saying you just have to read. It’s everywhere. That’s the problem: we are, as a generation, getting a lot more used to it. I mean, some of Shakespeare’s greatest scenes were fight scenes but you couldn’t download them in 5.6 seconds in 1520, could you? Today, you hear something on the news about a shooting or you want to know who died in this week’s episode, you can figure it out in pretty much no time. We have all the information someone could imagine wanting in a few clicks. That is really scary. Out of all the people I asked for opinions on this, I think the one quote that sums it all up is: “Convenience is a double-edged sword (which is a perfect metaphor in this context).” (Taylor, grade 11)

Another problem I thought about a lot during the outlining of this topic was: I think a lot of the times the media over glamorizes violence so that we like it. Because they aren’t going to produce something you won’t buy. So, is it our fault that it’s everywhere then? I will say, we as humans seem to almost thrive on violence in our entertainment world. Like, the gorier it is, the more we all flock towards it. I can't say if that is a result of overexposure or over-glamorization or just human nature. No matter what though, I think people blaming this big bad looming presence we call 'the media' for our desensitization is a little odd, seeing as they only give us what we are willing to pay for.

This post was extremely short and it sucks because I have so many opinions on this, but I do not want to over work this topic because I think it has to potential to be very clear and direct.

Kathleen, I cannot wait to hear what you have to say tomorrow. Hope everyone has a nice and safe Memorial Day!

Asdfghjkl;

Yes, I just keyboard smashed for my title. Because, as most of us know, that is the universal sign of a fangirl. This is something I tend to avoid doing, but let's face it, we all do once in a while.

I grew up on a mix of P!nk’s Missundaztood, Bowling for Soup’s A Hangover You Don’t Deserve, and everything Shania Twain. Not to mention an abundance of Jimmy Buffet, Uncle Kracker and Aaron Carter. Both my parents are from Kentucky, so country music was always present and pop was just a normal thing for us. How this affected my current taste in music? I’m not sure.

I will say that I still love most of those bands/performers. But, nowadays, I don’t really listen to them as much as I do different genres. My taste in music has been described to me as “emo alternative” as well as “acoustic indie crap” (thanks for your opinion Brandon) but I don’t agree with either of those to sum it all up. I really like a mixture of different genres. I usually stick to country, pop, “alternative”, and the like. I don’t like the term alternative, or even pop for that matter, because neither are stationary descriptions of music, but it’s the best way to get the point across here.

My top twenty five songs in iTunes consists of a mix of: All Time Low, Bowling for Soup, Mayday Parade, Demi Lovato (don’t judge), Felicia Day & Neil Patrick Harris, Taylor Swift, Paramore, and Katy Perry. I will admit, that’s quite a mix. But, I really like all of that and it makes complete sense to me.

I like listening to complete albums at a time, sometimes even a single song repeatedly. That’s just how I like it and having Sick Little Games by All Time Low at number one does not surprise me, because I will play it five or six times in a sitting.

Some of my favorite bands/singers that aren’t in that group include (but are not limited to): Barenaked Ladies, Cartel, Dixie Chicks, Evaescence, Flyleaf, Green Day, He is We, Automatic Loveletter, Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, Miranda Lambert, No Freaking Doubt, P!nk, Panic! At The Disco, along with an assortment of YouTube-inality and musical theater music. And by musical theater music, I really mean things of the musically theme. Things like: Once More With Feeling, Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, RENT, Wicked, Chicago, etc.

I wanted to pick on group to talk about most, and for that I chose Rise Against. (Mainly because, at the moment, they are definitely number one on my list) I recently went to a concert of theirs and ADTR’s (in February) and it was… amazing to say the least. It’s really stupid, but I think I agree with Kelsey that the way lyrics hit me, I feel like most of the time I couldn’t relate more.

While this isn’t always the case with Rise Against’s music, I feel like there is always something there that makes it easy for anyone who knows the words to sing along and really mean what they are saying. When we all sang out the words to songs like Swing Life Away, Collapse, The Good Left Undone, Audience of One, Make It Stop, and wrapping things up with a song like Savior, you could hear how much everyone was pouring their hearts into those songs. It was insane. I don’t think I’ve had a better experience in my life.

And I think that’s why I like Rise Against so much, because no matter what they’re talking about, they are always so passionate. And, under most circumstances, someone’s passion can make or break a band for me. I think if I was going to fangirl about any band, it would be that one, for sure.

I want to say how sorry I am for my late posting and I hope you guys can forgive me. In all honesty, I just forgot. And I would have posted this earlier today, but between school, picking up Toby, driving all over creation, and still having a history project to do, I just now got around to it. I hope you guys had a wonderful Thursday (along with a great Memorial Day weekend) and I cannot wait to see what Kathleen has to say tomorrow. Cheer up everyone, it’s almost Friday!

Education and... Stuff

This post will most likely end up being extremely disjointed and won’t really seem like it makes sense, but sadly I 1) do not know much on the topic and 2) have become extremely busy all of the sudden for no real reason. This being said, I’m going to throw in my two cents from the high school perspective.

I am going to touch on three of the topics that others this week have already mentioned. Hopefully my 

opinion will vary some; however, I’m not quite sure that it will.

Let’s start off with the teacher: To be a successful teacher in my opinion, means doing everything you can to give your student the ability to be prosperous. Now, when I say give them the ability, I mean you need to supply them with things like this: all the knowledge they need to pass your class, how to use the things they learn in your class to their advantage in “the real world”, and every option to be a successful student within your class. As a teacher, you should help me if I need help (within reasonable hours for us both). If you have tried everything and can’t help me, then you should point me in the direction of someone/something that can. And finally, if I am failing you’re class then I really do find it your responsibility to at least try to do something about it, to some extent. That being said, I think as a teacher, you are not responsible for a student’s grade completely. I think the line between whether it’s the student’s job or the teachers to make sure you passes is a bit gray for most people.

Next, I’ll talk about that fine line between when it’s a problem with the teacher and when it’s a problem with the student. As a student, you have responsibilities too. You have to show up, you have to give it all you’ve got to get through every class (whether you like the class/think you’ll use it or not), and you have to speak up if you are struggling. You don’t need to be excited about school or even want to be there, you just have to accept that you are there and you need to take advantage of the free education. If you aren’t motivated by something/someone, then motivate yourself. Think of all the things you can accomplish if you actually tried. It’s insane, isn’t it!? Well, I think that’s where to draw the line. If the student is being given every chance at success by the teacher and still will not complete the work or try, then it is the students fault. But, when teachers say things like, “It really isn’t my problem if you fail” it’s all bullshit. Not only do your grades reflect you, but they are going to affect that teacher’s job standing. Maybe it won’t affect it a lot, but it will affect it somewhat. As a student you need to try, you need to know when to ask for help, and you will have to stay up extra late to do all those projects/study for finals. It’s a part of the “we’ll provide you with education” deal. You have to want to use that education to be successful.

Lastly, I’ll touch on the problem with teacher’s salaries. I agree a lot with John on this topic, so I won’t go too in depth. But, the way I see it (and I know people who agree with my opinion on this) is simple: raising the salary of a teacher will only improve our teachers. If the salary for teachers was higher, the demand would go down, and the qualifications would go up drastically. Because more is at stake for the school system, then they will try harder to find the best people to do the job. I think the lack of a decent incentive for teachers going into the field is extremely discouraging. The fact that, because of how much they make, teachers are still looked down upon because of their career choices is extremely annoying. Teachers make or break a child’s ability to succeed in most cases. If you have extremely bad teachers in one subject your entire education career, what are the chances you’re going to want to have anything to do with it? Zero. If we were paying the teachers more, they would want to do better and would want to be better. That simple.

“Out of 34 countries, the U.S. ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math.” (USA Today) That is sad. And it’s not all the teachers OR students fault. It’s not society or the media, either. It’s the people in change of herding us all around and making sure everyone passes the state standards. We need intervention from the school boards and government, now. We need to worry more about the future adults we’re producing because one day everyone in charge now will be dead and this generation will be in charge. What they teach us and how is vital. Right now, it’s looking like we’re going to be royally screwed.

Basically, everyone needs to do their part to make this countries education worthwhile. This post wasn’t really about education reform, I would say. But, it’s what I feel about the matters that have been presented previously this week. So, yeah. Can’t wait to see what Kathleen has to say in this week’s wrap up. Thank God it’s Friday. 

Stuck in the Middle

So, as you know now after Brandon’s post on Tuesday, I am the middle child of three. In case you can’t remember, Brandon turned twenty in January and Laura will be turning nine in a little over a week.

I would like to make some big statement telling you exactly how being a middle child affected everything, but I really can’t; because I do not know anything else. Brandon mentioned he was interested to see what I had to say about this for a couple reason:

1.      I was a youngest until I was six

2.      I was a middle child until he moved out

3.      I now play the role of oldest while he’s away

Now, I wouldn’t say I agree with those things. While, they did happen, I don’t think I really played those roles.

In all honesty, I don’t have much to say about ever being a younger sibling other than I don’t really remember much of my childhood. I don’t remember anything from before I was five and only snippets from before I was eight. I remember events and random memories, but not an abundance of them. So, as far as being the younger child, I think my brother could tell you better than I could how I acted when that was my role.

And, I don’t really feel like I’ve taken over the eldest role either at this point. I think that went to my grandmother who moved in with us a year and a half ago.

I would say that I definitely think being a middle child affect how I acted and how I set my morals and such. As either of my siblings could tell you, I was a bit of a brat. (I still can be at times) I wouldn’t say this is me exactly defending my actions as much as explaining them.

Being a middle child is… difficult. Now, that’s not to say being a younger or older sibling is any easier, but since I don’t have as much experience there, I can’t say. Growing up in the middle child slot was so affective on me for two main reasons: my siblings. You have to realize this is how I see my parents seeing the three of us:

First we have my brother. Now, in the eyes of my preteen self my brother was something I really couldn’t be. My brother was the responsible, intelligent, and practical older sibling.

Second is my little sister, who for most of my life played the role of little angel to my parents. I felt like maybe, especially during the divorce, they overcompensated with her. They felt bad that we didn’t have to money or the family bond we had when me and my brother were growing up. While, this is true and I think they did the right thing making sure she knew how loved she was, it was a little disheartening to me.

The result of those two influences in my life lead to thoughts like: “Well, if he can pass all his classes and have nice friends, why in the hell can’t you? What’s wrong with you?” and “They love her, they love her so much more than they love you. Can’t you tell?”  Now, remember, I was in that angsty transition from annoying little person to even more annoying teenage person.

I always kind of felt left out because I felt like my parents were just so proud of my brother because of the things he did and they were so proud of my sister because they thought they had to be. While I know that my siblings don’t see my parent’s actions in the same light as me that was just how it felt at the time. I felt like they never noticed me and if I did something great it really didn’t matter. But, of course, if I screwed up it was the end of the world.

This being said, I was known to be a bit obnoxious and rude and stupid. I did those things because I really wasn’t sure if it was worse to be completely ignored or to be yelled at. At this point in time, I really think that I put myself at a disadvantage because I can’t take back any of those stupid things I did. I’ve been told that my entire purpose was to make everyone around me miserable and that kind of killed me inside. I think being ignored would’ve been better.

That’s not to say that I’m not so, so, so thankful for my brother and sister. They taught me great things. I don’t think I’d be who I am without the bar my brother mentioned setting. And my sister has really showed me a lot, and I think she can show me so much more about compassion and helping people as she gets older. I am blessed to have such amazing people around me and I’m really glad I’m a middle child.

With those two things in mind, ways that I think being in the middle affected me:

I am extremely quiet; I’m not known to particularly… anything really. I am really under the radar. I don’t know if that was because I kind of let Brandon and Laura do all the talking or just because I knew it being the center of attention wasn’t always a good thing.

It also made me extremely protective of both my siblings. I don’t think I can imagine anything happening to either of them. I think I’d walk in front of a moving train if it meant keeping them from getting hurt. As well as being protective of my siblings, I’m also extremely protective of the people that I’m close to.

I really like bottling things up because I don't like bothering people with my problems because after getting more in depth with how the things that happened in my family affected the other people involved, I noticed people really couldn't care less sometimes and they shouldn't have to worry about your problems as well.

I take things to heart a lot and I think it’s because of the neighborhood I grew up in as well as being the one in the middle and just being more sensitive then my siblings. I also really try to do right by everybody I know because I just hate hating people, because it never ended well for me with my siblings. Arguing is the reason me and my sister aren't close and my brother and I are only close because he's not here to argue with.

Lastly, I know it helped having a role model and having that high bar to have to rise to. I think it will also make me more conscious about my moves with my future because I know my sister will be watching.

So, that came out a little ramble-y and made a lot less sense then I would have liked, but maybe I’ll get better at this blogging thing. We’ll see.

Hope you guys enjoyed Birth Order Week and can’t wait to see next week’s topic opinions!

Not Exactly Clear Cut

Morning everybody! So, as Kelsey said this weeks topic is Religious History. Here we go.

So, okay, I wouldn’t exactly say religion has always played a major role in my life, but it has kind of always been there in the background. My mother is Methodist, my father is... undecided on the whole affair. I was raised Methodist, and I really still consider myself as a Methodist, even though I don’t really know where I stand.

I haven’t been to church regularly in about three or four years, nor was I ever really explained what Methodism entailed. Basically, what I gathered of Methodism is that they are all really chill and laid back and that seemed attractive when it came to a church. I went to the same church with the same people for so long I guess I thought I just didn’t need to know the details because none of them expected me to. I kind of wish now I knew more, because if I say I’m a part of something, I’d like to know what it is. But, alas, I do not. Yet.

So, I guess, Methodist isn’t a good title for me. I guess I would say: I believe in God, in Christianity. (As well as Judaism and Islam) I believe He’s there but I don’t know what I believe after that. I guess I would say I’m a Christian, what specific section, I don’t know.

Here’s kind of how my adventure with religion has gone up to this point:

Like I said, I grew up going to the same church regularly with my mother, who taught Sunday school, for about twelve years. We stopped going around the time my parents split up, which makes sense because my mom was stressed, not everybody always wanted to go, and it just made sense that we put it aside of all things.

Now, don’t take me not going to church as me not keeping my religion a part of my life. I didn’t really focus on it, but it was still there. The past three years, since our first move my seventh grade year, I’ve been keeping my religion in my life as best I could on my own without putting the people around me at an inconvenience. I didn’t talk about it, I didn’t ask to go to church every weekend, I didn’t even pray in front of people just because it didn’t seem like the kind of thing people needed to be bothered with. It was just something I was doing for me. It was just something I wanted to do because I felt like it.

A couple of months ago, though, two friends asked me to join them at the local church, which was also Methodist, for a “contemporary” service. It was, essentially, a lot of really awesome music and a video of a pastor from I’m not sure where giving a sermon. I really liked it and it reminded me how much I missed just the idea of a church and other people who shared your beliefs and would stand with you for an hour or two just to remember that.

Since then, I’ve really wanted to just get back into things that are religious and to get involved and be a part of it more. But, I haven’t been, maybe I will in the future, maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll just keep praying at night and reading sermons on the internet because that’s what I’m comfortable with.

And, the things is, I’m okay just being comfortable with the situation. Because for me, religion is something you do for you. If I really feel like I need to go to a church to keep my faith, I will. Right now, I don’t have that need.

So, that’s pretty much how things have been for me in the past. Now onto my opinions and such on how people perceive my religion.

People always talk about “the invisible man in the sky” and how that’s ridiculous. (And that’s something that’s done across the board. I won’t deny that, every set of beliefs are screwed over in the stereotype department.) That was always something that bothered me because I never viewed God as that person. That destiny maker, the game changer, the big guy in charge, I just didn’t. He was just there. He was just someone that I could confine in and trust and ask for help from. And that’s still how I view Him.

I still see religion as something that you do if you feel like you need it. If you need faith, if you need something to believe in, then religion is a really easy way to do that. I feel like I need my faith to keep balanced in my life and so I keep it in my life. If someone is comfortable with their life without a religion or with a different one, who am I to say that’s wrong? Honestly, it’s really hard to prove anything in a world we know so little about and fighting over it just seems a little pointless to me.

The stereotype that all Christians are against anything that isn’t heteronormative is quite annoying. Because, most of the people I’ve come across in my own religion aren’t like that. I’m not. You do with your life what you want. Who in the hell am I to say what you can and can’t do? Who am I to say who you are? Or who you love? Or what you believe?

Honestly, it just seems kind of contradictory to me to be Christian and hate or judge someone else for how the way they live their life. I mean, isn’t that the whole point? That God is going to be the one to make the big judgment? Like, I don’t know what you’ve learned, but that’s really how it came across to me. Acceptance is something that is supported, isn’t it? Aren’t we supposed to love everybody or something like that? It just never made sense to me.

Two other things that people assume about me solely because of my religion: I’m pro-life and that I’m against contraception. Like, seriously? Firstly, this goes back to the whole, your life is none of my business thing. I shouldn’t judge you for choices you make. I also shouldn’t try to make those choices for you. And neither should the government. And we all know this. These are just topics people bring up during elections to make people uncomfortable and to hit them at home. My views on both of those things are plain and simple: your life, your choice. I support contraception, but I also support those who do not want to use it, because that’s their choice. I support abortion as a real option, that doesn’t mean you can’t have kids.

I think that’s something people confuse with religion too much. They think that by believing something, it means you automatically want everyone else to believe it to. No, I don’t want that. I think you should do what you want. If you live a miserable life believing things you don’t want to and being forced to do things you don’t want to, then you are going to regret everything. If you are basically being told how to live, then it’s not really living. Is it?

I feel like I have rambled quite enough for this topic. I think I’ve hit everything I wanted to and I hope everybody the best for their week. Can't wait to read what Kathleen has to say tomorrow. 

Happy Monday!