When the Police are Enemy #1...

"If you were on a consulting committee to a police force, what would you suggest as a means to address the problem of police officers killing unarmed citizens? Is this a matter of improved training, restricted weapons, stronger consequences following incidents, or something else?"

I believe that in order to curb the occurrence of police officers unjustly killing citizens who are not posing a direct threat to anyone, there must be a variety of measures put into place. Everything mentioned above in the reflection question including improved training, restricted weapons, and stronger consequences would help in this case. But above all, what needs to be changes is the mind set of these people.

 It seems as if there is a large number of police officers who's position of power has poisoned their minds, making them think that they are above the law. Others have become numb to the horror of killing someone. Mental screening must be done regularly in order to catch these kind of tendencies, so that we have officers with the right mindset keeping us safe from bad people, instead of becoming the bad people themselves. 

The NYPD body camera pilot project seems like something that could very easily deter police brutality, because most people act differently when they know they are being watched. In the end, something must be done, as there seems to be an increasing number of instances of wrongful police action. 

Facing the Future

“I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them.”― Elizabeth Taylor

Being a little older than most of the students in this class, I've experienced a little bit of the freedom that is to come. I've already worn my gown and cap, I have my high school diploma, and I've applied to, been rejected by, and accepted by Ontario universities. At that point in my past, I was looking at my future, and frankly, that future was something that didn't appeal to me. Living in Toronto, going to a snobby-feeling, crazy dressing school situated in a shoe box way up in the sky, propped up by pencil crayons? Yeah that didn't seem like me, no matter how prestigious OCAD was, or how proud people were of me for getting in.

Seriously?! What were they high on when they built this place?

So then there comes this quote from the fabulous Liz Taylor, a glamorous, diamond obsessed, much loved and adored old-Hollywood actress who passed away in 2011.

Elizabeth Taylor, 1932-2011.

“I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them.” - Elizabeth Taylor

This quote from her really speaks to me because it seems as if the last 5 years of my life have been filled with incredible opportunities, and will continue to be. It encourages me to continue taking those chances and looking behind those doors. I am excited for the future, and it certainly does not scare me. Bring it on, I'm ready.

Remembrance Day

Since I was not at the Romeo Dallaire assembly or the Remembrance Day service due to being sick, I am going to talk a bit about the meaning of Remembrance Day.

We take many things for granted every day, like the clean water we drink, the food we eat, the clothes on our backs, and the school we go to. The biggest thing, and by far the most imporant, is our freedom. Not every country has the level of freedom that we do here, and things that we take for granted here like stating our own opinion and feeling safe while walking around town are only the hopes of people in other countries. Remembrance Day is an important day for us to look back on how we came to have this freedom and thank all those who have fought, currently fight, or have lost their lives in the name of Canada in order to secure our freedom. We are eternally grateful for the sacrifices these men and women have made, and it is only right to have a day devoted to them.

Costume Conundrum

I love Halloween. I turn into a big kid, excited to dress up, go to haunted houses, and carve pumpkins. It's just such a fun tradition. One night that you get to be someone else, to be something scary, or something cute, or funny. My artsy side definitely feeds off of Halloween as well. I love making my own costumes. However, one thing that upsets me about Halloween is the increasing amount of elementary schools which are banning costumes, and even the distribution of candy. The reasons for banning costumes are wide spread, from cultural differences, to it being too much work for teachers, to kids being scared of some costumes. This is an age of overprotective parenting, where parents raise bubble-wrapped kids who will eventually fall apart as soon as they hit the real world. I mean, c'mon, no candy?!

But here’s the thing with banning costumes at school…in Canada it's really freaking cold for Halloween, so kids go out trick-or-treating with full on parkas and hats. Or they don’t wear a coat and develop pneumonia, or they go to the mall to go trick-or-treating, which is lame. So insert costume wearing at school… yay! Way more fun for the kids - they actually get to show off the costumes that their parents spent so long making or paid a ridiculous amount of their hard earned dollars for. It’s about the kids here. I repeat, Halloween is for the kids. Just because you're an adult and no longer have any joy left in your soul, doesn't mean kids should comply to your no-fun joy-sucking ideals. So what if they lose a day of elementary school teaching in order to be able to parade around and eat candy? How much are they learning that is actually fundamental to moving on in life? As for the teachers complaining about how much work it is to attend to costume wearing children all day long? Get over it! That’s the life of a teacher teaching children. Let the kids enjoy their childhood.

This years costume, featuring me as a deer and Blaize as a hunter. :)

Thoughts on Poetry

This week, Mrs.Reidel's question to us was:

WHAT IS POETRY TO YOU? WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM WRITING IT?

Poetry hasn't really done much for me. I don't really connect with writing it and I find most of my attempts at writing poetry end up totally fake because I try too hard to sound deep and thoughtful. I much prefer writing fiction. I do however enjoy reading good poetry, and I am always astounded at how the author has put together the words to have such a beautiful flow. There is also a wide range of really interesting, off-beat poets who's work I find really intriguing to read. One of the books of poetry we have in class, Cigarette Salad by Mike Freeman, has really caught my interest with it's crazy topics and nonsense writing - it is a very entertaining read. Overall, writing poetry again has affirmed my previous dislike for writing it, but expanded my interests in reading it. 

This is basically how I feel about writing poetry.  :)  :)  :) 

School is for YOU

How can you, as the manager of your own education, ensure that school assignments meet your needs? Is there are way to meet the instructor's expectations, while also following your own interests?

I believe there is always a way to bend the assignment to fit your interests. If you are able to choose your topic, you can choose something which you are interested in or want to learn about, as long as it fits the criteria. Most teachers are fairly supportive of outside interests and some will allow you to do something a little different if you talk to them first. It is up to you to find ways to interject your interests into your assignments whenever you can. Doing this will allow you to do the project with more passion, therefore resulting in a better mark and making it more enjoyable for yourself. It's hard to do an assignment when you couldn't care less about the topic. Have to do a history assignment on the 1800's? If you find it a snore-fest but really like music, give a brief overview of the time period, answer all the necessary questions, and then instead focus on the way music in the 1800's has influenced modern day songwriting or compare the two etc. Same goes for anything else, just make sure it's okay with your teacher so you don't get bagged for "not understanding the assignment."

"Don't let schooling get in the way of your education." - Mark Twain

Stephen The Wise

   “I am always chilled and astonished by 

the would-be writers who ask 

me for advice and admit, quite blithely, that 

 they "don't have time to 

read." This is like a guy starting up Mount 

Everest saying that he didn't 

have time to buy any rope or pitons.” ― 

Stephen King

This quote from American contemporary horror author Stephen King really speaks to me because I believe that a lack of reading and literacy is a very large problem in today's world. Due to this sad disdain for reading that many people show, we end up with people who write utter junk and will continue to write garbage until they have read some proper works of literature. Since the 70's, King has been a largely successful author, laying claim to 55 published novels which have sold over 350 million copies worldwide. He often criticizes modern day society in regards to technological advances and the poor state of today's developing writers.