Class Size Matters

This topic interested me because of my public school experience.  I never really paid too much attention to the class size until my sophomore year of high school.  In my high school the classes were a little bit bigger then my junior high classes, but not by much.  My first day in biology class was my first experience with class size being a factor.   My biology class was team taught with two teachers and combined with two classes, but no only that the two classes combined  was enormous, even the one class itself would be humongous.  I can say from experience that it was harder for me to learn in that class than any of my other classes that year.  In my opinion, classes should be smaller to help the students learn and stay focused. 

In this article it mentions Utah as one of the schools who have loosened legal restrictions on class size.  I am a former public school student in Utah and this worries me.  Schools, not only in Utah, but everywhere should be lowering the class size not making them bigger!  Many people agree with me on this, most of all, the parents, teachers, and students!  Since the 1980s teachers and many other educators have embraced research finding that smaller classes foster higher achievement.  Many worries come along with budget cuts and classroom sizes.  I am glad I picked this article it has really opened my eyes to the important of class size! 

Tight Budgets Mean Squeeze in Classroom by Jonathan Alcorn for the New York Times

Driver's Education at Viewmont High School!

The thing I described in essay three was when I learned how to drive at Viewmont High School.    The first step in learning how to drive is to take the Driver’s Education class. The second step of learning how to drive in Driver’s Ed is the “Simulators”.  The third step of Drivers Ed at Viewmont High School is that we actually got to drive real cars.  Taking Drivers Education was a required class, and I could not have gotten my driver’s permit without it.  I am glad I took the class because it taught me all the rules of driving and it helped me get my driver’s license.  I love to drive and I do not know where I would be without the knowledge I have of driving!  Thank goodness I am through with Driver’s Education!  Honestly, I did learn a lot, and I love driving!  Thanks, Viewmont driver’s ed teachers for the info! 

Jeff Foxworthy, the famous comedian should come to Viewmont and go to a driver’s ed class.   He could get some great comedy material here.  Some of the things he might say are:   

·         “You might be a Viewmont driver’s ed student if you drive on the wrong side of the road in Viewmont’s parking lot to avoid those humongous speed bumps.”

·         “You might be a Viewmont driver’s ed student if you see more middle fingers than a manicurist.”

·         “You might be a Viewmont driver’s ed student if your mother gets pulled over for speeding while taking you to your early morning driver’s ed class.”  (Yes, this really happened to me.)

·         “You might me a Viewmont driver’s ed student if you win the keys to success car, and you do not even have a driver’s license yet!” 

Pioneer Trek Reenactment

When I was seventeen, I went on a pioneer trek reenactment with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Centerville, Utah Stake.  This happened in the summer of 2009.  The pioneer trek was for kids to know what their ancestors went through to get to Utah. The stake had many meetings to help the kids know what to bring and what to prepare for.  From the picture, you will notice that we all wore a hat or bonnet, long skirts or dresses, and aprons.  Each person was allowed to bring one 5-gallon bucket with personal items.  The handcarts we were pulling are in the background of the picture.  Another thing you may notice is that we are all smiling in the picture.  This was a process that didn’t last too long…the trail was difficult!

                On the day of the trek, my stake went to Wyoming and we all met with our pioneer families. Before we started on the journey all my friends got together really fast and gave my camera to someone.  Whoever it was took a really quick shot of us.   It was a very spontaneous picture and all of us were laughing hard because we had to start trekking, and we were having our picture taken.  

In the picture above are the wonderful friends I made in junior high, along my life journey.  The trek was a lot of hard work and taught me more about my ancestors, the pioneers!

Cause and Effect/Moment

From my essay, the moment I am writing about was when I was nice to Sarah.  The main cause of me being nice to Sarah, is that she picked Kaitlan and me to be her best friends.   Contributory causes of Sarah’s decision to become my friend were:  she was part of the special ed program, she felt that Kaitlan and I were approachable and we were all in the same grade.  One immediate effect of Sarah’s decision was that my other friends did not want to play with me anymore.  Another immediate effect was that I realized for the first time in my life that some people are shallow.  Some of the remote effects were that I had good friends that believed in the same things as me, and I realized who I was.  The greatest remote effect that I discovered was that it is important to be nice.  The causal chains that I found are I was nice to Sarah, she became Kaitlan and my friend, my friends did not like us anymore, I made friends that believed in the same things, and realized that it was important to be a friend to everyone. 

What I hope to become and do that benefits the human race!

I know that I have a purpose.  I just do not know what it is yet!  Ever since I have been little all I have wanted to do is help the people around me.  I have done a lot for my community in recent years.  I served on the Centerville City Youth Council for the past five years.  This opportunity gave me the chance to serve and help my community.

  My wish has always been to help people.  Today to make my wish come true, I am trying a heap of new things.  For example, this semester I am taking a Social Work class, and I have really liked it so far.  In this class I have to perform twenty hours of service learning.  That is quite a lot of service hours, but I cannot wait to learn more about the Social Work field and learn how to help people in need. 

             I can do a bunch of things that will benefit the human race, like just doing something as small as saying hi to someone who is lonely.  Being nice in general can make the world I live in a better place.   I hope to become a person that is a nice to everyone, and become a person that people put their trust in.  I hope that I can do my best to make the world a better place for the human race! 

P.S. I am a poet and I didn’t even know it! :)

Who am I and what makes me, me?

I am a fun person to be around.  I love making people laugh and smile.  I am a person who tries their hardest in everything they do. The person I am today is all because of my friends. My friends made me the way I am!  My friends are one of the most important things in my world.  I am so glad I have the friends I have.   My friends always do what is right and help me to do the same.  My high school years were so amazing with my friends. All of these friends and I are really close.  We have so many fun memories together.  My friends really helped me become me and they shaped me to who I am today!