School Sweet School

Picture courtesy of http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/as/images/boystudy.gif

Just last night as I was making dinner, a lady called from the School Board and asked if she could survey me. I normally don't do phone surveys, but since it was for educational purposes, I reconsidered. As she was asking me questions, I began to really think about my answers. She started asking me whether I thought high school gave me a better idea of what I wanted as a career and if it provided me with "lifelong skills." I agreed with the lifelong skills tidbit, but not so much the former.

When she asked why, I told her that many of the subjects I discovered I was interested in, such as Philosophy and Archaeology, are not offered in high school. I understand that there are perfectly legitimate reasons for this (there is a shortage of teachers, too much money will be spent on wages, etc.), but I feel that schools are capable of further helping students plan out their career paths. So far, I've spent one year trying to figure out my career plans and yet, I'm still not sure what I want. Indeed, one of the main purposes of post-secondary is to show students their options; however, I believe that highschools can do more to help minimize the time students spend planning out their career paths.

Here are some of my recommendations:

1. Provide a better variety of classes. Usually, high schools only offer one or two classes per field. They should aim to provide a better selection of classes so students may discover their interests more easily.

2. Encourage seminars. Many colleges and universities send representatives to high schools to persuade students to apply to their institutes. I think these post-secondary institutions should also provoke professors and students of various departments to travel to highschools to explain the fields they are in and what kinds of things they teach/learn.

3. Instigate a better work experience program. At my high school, I had no idea what was available to me in terms of work placement opportunities. I think teachers should create a questionnaire of some sort that determines a student's interests and matches them with an appropriate work place that corresponds.

Do you think these could work? What are your recommendations?

Lions & Tigers & Ligers -Oh My!

For some reason, I've been hearing fascinating information about animals recently. First, I heard about that frozen mammoth (the one I was talking about in the post before this), then my Philosophy teacher was telling my class about apes and how a team of scientists are now fighting for "ape" rights. Apparently, these scientists believe that apes have the same capabilities as humans because they, too, can communicate with other apes and humans. They also believe they have the same capacities for emotions. Thus, the scientists are trying to pursuade others into believing that apes can actually fit into our everyday society as do humans. My teacher told us there was a video about this; once I find out what it's called, I'll let you know!

photo courtesy of http://animalradio.com/Liger.321.jpg

I already found the ape thing pretty interesting, then, just now, I heard about a new species of animals called 'ligers.' Ligers are the offspring of a lion and a tiger (as shown in the above picture). This was a total suprise to me; I've never heard about them before! So, of course, I let my curiosity get the best of me and decided to do some research. As it turns out, there's another species of animals that a lion and a tiger can produce: a tigon! According to Wikipedia, when a male lion and a female tiger mate, they breed ligers; when a female lion and a male tiger mate, they breed tigons. Pretty cool, eh?

p.s. I hope you like the colour scheme! ;)

Mammoth Alert!

Yesterday I read one of the coolest articles ever and, amazingly, it had nothing to do with protesters or celebrities re-entering rehabilitation facilities. Instead, it unfolded a story about the discovery of a frozen baby mammoth in Northern Siberia. The mammoth was said to be only 6 months old when he died, but the carcass is apparently between 10,000 and 40,000 years old! Sure, discoveries like these are made quite frequently, but how often is an ancient animal found almost completely intact? Hardly ever. Apparently the the body was kept in immaculate condition due to the protective shields of permafrost. However, although the mammoth's "trunk and eyes [are] virtually intact and [there's] even some fur remaining," the mammoth was missing two things: his ear and his tail (which were most likely "bitten off" by another animal). According to scientists, this discovery will help researchers understand the climage change over the past centuries. The baby mammoth is currently being shipped over to Japan for further studies.

Picture courtesy of http://www.pinktentacle.com/2007/07/frozen-baby-mammoth-headed-to-japan/

Isn't that absolutely fascinating? I always found issues like that astounding, especially when it comes to dinosaurs. Lucky for me, I'm taking a course about dinosaurs next semester (I can't wait!). Maybe one day they'll uncover the body of a dinosaur; one can only hope!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,288975,00.html

Transit Etiquette

Usually I'm not the one to complain or get annoyed easily, but lately I've been noticely a lack of courtesy and respect from passengers using public transit. Just this morning I encountered a very hostile young man (probably in his late 20's or early 30's) on the skytrain while commuting to work. I'm not exactly sure what happened to make him uneasy, but let me tell you, he was not a happy camper. I think it was because he and another fellow (probably in his mid 40's) had previously argued about who took who's seat. At least, I think that's what they were fighting about. But anyways, the two men parted and took a seat in different areas; the other fellow sat in the middle and Hostile Man sat in the far end of the skytrain, just across from me. Suddenly, Hostile Man began ranting and raving to himself for a good 10 minutes, using vulgar, obscene, and highly inappropriate language. Now don't get me wrong, swearing I can handle, but I've never heard someone publicly rant as atrociously as Hostile Man.

As I looked around the skytrain, I noticed all the passengers tense up in discomfort. Finally, Hostile Man's stop was next, so he got up (still ranting) and waited by the doors. Then (this is the fun part), he decided to use me as his catharsis pole. Next thing I know, Hostile Man is rudely directing his offensive murmurs towards me; he even started making personal attacks, commenting on my "Little Miss Trouble" t-shirt and reciting things I never want to be repeated again. So what did I do, you may ask? Nothing. What could I do?

So, you see, I direct my point to all you choleric crazies out there: When taking public transit, please have some respect for the people around you.

Mind you, I'm not just talking about unbecoming verbal manners, I'm talking about physical manners too. Here are a few courtesy guidelines that I think would make the transit environment better if followed:

1) Remove your backpack. No one likes to get getting knocked over by a backpack when someone turns around.

2) Give up your seats to the elderly. This one is just common courtesy; it's simply a matter of respecting your elders. Plus, don't you feel bad when senior citizens who can barely walk come onto the skytrain and there's no seats available for them? (That's right, I'm using the guilt trip!)

3) Don't talk so loud on your cell. Let's face it; sometimes we really really really need to talk on the phone. That's fine, but remember that there's other people around you who really don't want to hear about how Amanda's in a dilemma because she can't find her red pumps.

4) Don't take up too seats unless you absolutely have to. Does your jacket really need its own chair? Didn't think so.

5) Watch where you're going. We all have places to be and things to do, but rushing will only get you to wherever you want to go a few seconds sooner and anger the people around you.



Thanks for listening to me vent; I found this very soothing. And I didn't mean to sound cold or mean or anything like that; I just have a dream that the world could be a happy place for everyone!

It's in You to Give

In a recent poll, 52% of Canadians said that, in the past, they or a family member have needed blood for medical reasons. It is estimated that nearly every minute someone in Canada is in need of a blood donation. The graph to the right shows how many units of blood are needed for various surgeries. Keep in mind that blood donors are allowed to give a maximum of half a litre of blood when donating and that one unit (as displayed in the graph) is only equal to a cup (450 mL).


Photo courtesy of http://www.bloodservices.ca/

I, myself, have not yet donated. However, I do plan to attend one of the blood drives this week. So how did I get into this, you may ask? Actually, it was the simple word-of-mouth phenomena that encouraged me to donate blood. My friend had been doing it for a few years now, and when she told me about the statistics, I couldn't just say "oh, that's too bad" and do nothing about it. I couldn't just let it go if I knew I could help. I think that's one of the biggest problems in today's society: so many people claim they would help if they knew how. Well, now you know, so there's no excuse!

However, there are certain rules and regulations for donating blood; they don't accept just anyone. In order to be eligible, you must:

• be atleast 110 lbs
• be between 17 and 71 years old
• pass a hemoglobin test that determines whether your blood has enough iron
• pass a screening test comprised of a series of health-related questions

They will not accept applicants who

• have had dental treatment (fillings, extractions, cleaning, restoration, etc.)
• have a cold, flu or sore throat at the time they donate
• have any recent body piercings or tattoos

For more information on the guidelines and how you can go about donating, please visit http://www.bloodservices.ca/ .

Sure, a needle may be scary, but such fear is nothing compared to what patients and their families feel when they are told there is not enough donated blood available to perform their operations. Plus, knowing that you've helped save a life is probably one the most satisfying feelings you can get. There's no better time to get involved and give back to the community than RIGHT NOW!