16. My Involvement

Up to the quarter term report, I have not taken on any large roles in class.  I put forward my ideas and do my best to make interesting discussions in the classroom.  I help with posters despite my lack of ability in art and other craft-like tasks.  I have been putting forward a greater effort outside of the classroom.  I volunteered to be in charge of collecting ink cartirdges, cameras, etc. to raise money for the club and ensure they are disposed of properly.  I am also an executive member on Adventure Club.  Furthermore, I am doing my best to be a leader by taking care of certain problems that have arisen.  I have been doing my best to look after individuals which takes a great deal of time.  Very serious events came to my attention that needed to be dealt with and continue to require efforts as of now.  I do not care to expand on these circumstances.    

15. A Lack in Votes

Many youth do not take interest in politics for a variety of reasons:

1.)  In school, we are taught to regurgitate information, not seek it ourselves or analyze it.  It is acceptable and easy to excel by merely knowing the data presented in front of us.  This has resulted in the failure of youth to find information on their own about politics.
2.)  Many parents lack proper parenting skills.  Instead of encouraging independent thought, the vast majority of us are taught to listen without question to authority.  When we inquire why we must do something, the response is "Because I said so."  If we are told to vote for a certain party, we do.  If nothing is said, nothing is done.  Not to mention, many parents do not care about politics themselves as democracy begins to fail from the people not taking an interest.
3.)  The 'politics' in politics are rediculous.  Many of the things said and done are twisted to sound different than the truth.  It is increasingly difficult to make a decision without dicephering endless lies and nonsense to intentionally confuse and manipulate the people.
4.)  Large businesses control a great deal of politicians, buying them over and threatening them with their large amounts of money, power and influence.  The system is corrupted by businessmen and the thought of possessing power and money.  Decisions are not made by what is best for the people, the environment or morals. 
5.)  Students are constantly barraged with copious amounts of homework and must work a large number of hours each week in the hopes of saving enough money to pay for further schooling.  We do not have the time to look into politics and properly investigate our decisions without compromising a social life.

Until at least one or more of these factors changes, there will continuely be a low number of youths voting in elections.

14. Why Do White People have Black Spots?

I found the interviews conducted with children from Africa to be very eye-opening.  Despite not having what western civilization would consider a modern 'education', these children analyze and reflect on some highly relevant and wordly questions.  However, the thing I will remember most about this video is how happy and content they seemed to be with their lives.  It makes me question whether my lifestyle as well as my friends' and family's is really any better than the African's.  We see those as a developing countries and seek to rescue them from their unadvanced world but perhaps we are doing qutie the opposite.  Maybe it is western civilization that needs rescuing.    

13. The Chosen Ones

There is no fair way of picking the 100 people that should be allowed to participate in Challenge Day other than a random draw.  The leadership class does not know everyone in the school, especially what their lives are actually like, so it is not fair for us or anyone else to make that call.  Furthermore, I quite frankly, would be offended and refuse the opportunity if someone asked if I would like to particpate.  I would wonder what they think of me and why they think I need this.  In my opinion, the only good way of going about this is to do a random draw with everyone's name in it.  That way, the chosen ones are randomly selected and have nothing to feel bad about and each person has equal opportunity to be eligible for the event.  As for the actual Challenge Day, I am interested to see how it will go down.  I rarely talk about personal matters, even to close friends and family and often struggle with things such as this.  Therefore, I do not have any suggestions as to how the event should be run.

12. Nelly's Side

Nelly Furtado's talk about Africa and the Middle-Eastern regions of the world was all to save face.  She goes on about how Africa is such a great place to go and how much she learned there but its all a farce.  She conveniantly didn't mention the fact that her concert was paid for by a dictator with dirty money or how she never really gave back to the people of Libya, only that she "wanted" to.  If she really wanted to, then why didnt she?  If she really learned so much and cared about how sad it is over there, why did she just get rid of her dirty money once people found out and go back to her big house to continue making more money?  Its because she did not want to give back to the people of Libya, she did not really learn anything in Africa and she just does not care about anything she talked about.  It was all to save her image and trick people into believing she is a good person. 

6. Down n' Dirty Comments

The people who commented on the school's tradition saying that it was not a good thing have no idea what they are talking about.  Its people like them who make education boring and try to put safety bubbles around everyone.  Anything that is not 'proper' and mature are seen as poor choices and actions when really its something called 'fun'.  I am tired of those who took out the merry-go-round in the park because kids were getting hurt on it.  The reason kids got hurt on it is because they actually used it unlike all of the other stuff they throw in there and call fun.  I am tired of the people who took out the metal slide, again another park reference, because it got hot in the sun.  Its fine!  They are the reason that so many kids hate school and yes, I say hate because that is how the majority of us feel.  Only 10% of kids, "the good kids", actually like and look forward to school and that is all many people care about.  As long as "the good kids" like it, then its ok for everyone else.  Sadly, those 10% of kids who actually excel at the weird concept of school are the ones who will continue this boring tradition and stamp out all fun when they get older.  I realize this is a little off topic but it is those same kind of people that do not like Banting's tradition, that continue to destroy the concept of childhood and actually learning something in school. 

8. Words from Jack Layton

The last words of a dieing man should be heard above all others as they can be some of the most honest and important words he will ever speak.  Jack Layton passed away last summer but he left a significant letter in his stead that demonstrated qualities of a true leader.  It was sophisticatedly written but still understandable to the average person as it delivered its message to Canada.  He spoke of the future, trying to rally the youth of the nation and change things for the better and gave his last words of support to the coalition, doing his best to stand up for what was right.  It portrayed the commitment and passion that every leader needs as he continued to fight for causes even as he lay on his death bed.  For this, I have a new respect held towards Jack Layton leader of the NDP.  I did not always see eye-to-eye with him on political views but I can appreciate that, in the end, he did what he thought was best for Canada and its people.  

11. Nelly Furtado Comments

"I'm all for school in Kenya, but wouldn't it be more appropriate to direct this donation towards the Libyan people?" - Unknown.  I feel that Furtado should have donated the money back to the people from which it came.  Building schools in Kenya is a good cause but the money was stolen from Libyan citizens and should have been returned to them.  If it were me, my conscience would not be cleared until those people were reimbursed for their losses.

10. Nelly Furtado

Despite the fact that Nelly donated $1 million to a charitable cause, I still dont think she deserves any praise.  The dictator that paid her that much stole it from the peopl of his country, making it dirty money which she knowingly excepted.  This obviously weighed on Nelly's conscience, obligating her to give the money away.  She tried to make up for a wrong she committed and for that, I see her as being neutral; neither worthy of praise or criticism.     

9. Poster

Hannah, Nicoletta and I made the poster which says 'Creative'.  At first, I thought the poster would be too busy because of all the different designs and pictures that were on it but, from a distant, the word still stands out well.  I also thought using a variety of colours helped to catch the eye and that using 'Creative' as our adjective was a good fit for IDCI due to all of our art students.  The only regrettable part of the poster was the attempt at an oregami sun.  Too much time was spent as each of us tried to make the sun and failed.  However, if our oregami skills were better, I still think it would have been a good idea to make part of the poster 3D.  Overall, I am happy with the way it turned out.

7. b) Heroism

I do not believe that the term 'hero' should be used lightly but rather be reserved for someone who commits an outstanding deed for the betterment of others while risking everything for themselves.  I have never encountered a person to do such a thing and therefore am unable to proclaim such an honourable title on either a great individual or an action.

7. Book of Awesome

The Adrenaline Rush While Playing an Intense Sport

            There is nothing quite like the massive rush of energy that shoots through your body as what feels like an electric current, energizes your muscles, propelling you to achieve feats you previously thought were not possible.  The thrill of performing at your absolute best with your brain single-mindedly focused on the task at hand, allows any worries to disappear for the time being and just enjoying the epic moment of glory.     

Down n' Dirty

IDCI should definatley have an event similar to Banting's 'Field Riot'.  It is a fun and exciting way to introduce grade 9s into high school, allowing them to act like children one more time while playing in the mud before society expects them to grow up.  As long as the event is optional and no one is pressured into participating, it would be a great time for participants and spectators alike.  High school is often a strict and boring place and this would be a good start to changing the general attitude towards education.

Pat Tillman

Although I never met Pat Tillman, based on what I know, I would declare him a hero and martyr.  He was a great football player making millions of dollars every year and was, as most people would say, 'living the life'.  However, he thought his country needed him so he gave his football career up to join the military and become a marine.  I can think of no man or women that I know who would do such a thing for their country and for others in general.  This act alone is enough for for Mr. Tillman to be considered a great man.  Sadly, once Pat arrived in Iraq to fight the war, he began to find things were not quite as he expected.  He was brave and morally sound enough to speak up against the treacheries committed by the army and, I personally believe, died because of it.  He must have known the risks of telling others about the laws the military was breaking but did it anyways.  That takes a lot of courage and even though he was killed, most likely intentionally by his fellow soldiers, Pat Tillman is a hero for his relentless efforts to help others even in the face of death.  

Ineffective Habits

1.)  Having an uncaring attitude is the worst habit someone can have to damage a successful life.  I refer to this attitude as a habit because people frequently choose to not care or really put an effort forward.  It is a mental state which people often resort to in order to avoid feeling of failure or fear of it.  This lack of caring causes reduced efforts which in turn, will result in failure.

2.)  Highly emotional thought patterns are a receipt for disaster.  It is great to just enjoy the moment and live life to its fullest but important decisions should not be made on a mere whim or how you are feeling that day.  Life altering choices should be based purely on logic and reasoning.  Those two things may factor in your own personal feelings but decisions should never be emotionally based.

3.)  Choosing ignorance over reality is one of the worst habits a person can develop.  Problems need to be confronted head on, not overlooked and pretending that they do not exist.  Ignorance is not bliss.  Although it may temporarily provide some relief, it allows issues to fester and become worse in the future.  If things are dealt with immediatley, they will not have a chance to develop into something much more serious.

4.)  Thinking negatively is almost a guarantee for failure in whatever you attempt.  If you do not think that you will be successful in the task at hand, then it will become a self-fulling profecy. 

5.)  Procrastination is another horrible habit that can damage a successful life.  Leaving tasks to the last minute will not provide enough time to produce quality work or at least work that is below the person's true capabilties.
      

The Leader Within

Under the right circumstances, everyone can be a leader when the opportunity presents itself.  Not everyone is or will be a leader during their lifetime but I think that every person is capable of standing up for something and leading others along the way.  There is something in each peron's life that they would stand up for and influence the actions of others in some way to do the same thing.  Again, the perfect situation for this series of events to arise may never happen but it is definately possible for everyone to be a leader.  

Leadership Defined

A leader is someone who guides others through tough times when everyone else fails to take on the challenge.  They are individuals who will pursue their goals and lead by example.  They stand strong and do the right thing even when their efforts may seem futile.  Above all else, a leader cares and must be passionate about whatever they strive towards.  They must care about the task at hand, the cause they fight for and the people they lead as well as those who oppose them.  Only then can one be a true leader.