Social Voice

Technology Addiction

2011-03-25T13:14:00.001-07:00

Is technology addiction a big issue? Is it common? Is it real?

Tell us your thoughts.

Your World

2011-03-02T13:29:00.002-07:00

Why is it important to know what's going on in the world?

Racist

2011-02-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

by Joselin

racist faces
in different places
who wants war
it makes fighting a chore
Sure someones brown
does that mean people have to look down
and if your white
thats no reason to fight
lets fix our country before its ruined
after all were all human

The Ups and Downs of Fear

2011-02-16T05:02:00.000-07:00

by Briyith

Is fear a good thing or bad? Most people think fear sucks because they don't want to be afraid of anything. Even tho fear might suck were going to have to deal with it. It might I think that fear is a good thing because it turns you into a better person.

Fear is a good thing because it makes you become a better person. It helps you through tough times. Also it can also can help you build up confidence. Even tho fear sucks you try to not be afaid of something and try your best to fight it off. Thats why fear is a good thing and it can build up your conficence

Fear is a bad thing because life wouldn't be the safe. There would just be a disaster because people wouldn't care. For example If you wanted to bungie jump you wouldnt be scared to get hurt or to even be safe. They would think of anything and just do it without being secure. If there wasnt fear you would be dead.

Segregation in Pictures

2011-02-14T05:03:00.001-07:00

Two Haikus

2011-02-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

by Jacky

Earth
We are causing harm
By causing global warming
Second by second

Winter
Snow is falling down
With flakes of different types
What a pretty sight

How to Make Tamales

2011-02-10T13:27:00.005-07:00

by Evelyn

Ever wanted to make Traditional Mexican Food? Tamales are a classic mexican food. They're easy to make. They take a while to make. You have to be very patient if you want to make Tamales. Mexicans tend to make more than one Tamale because they either have a party or they sell them. It's a true tradition within our culture, oftentimes during Christmastime.

First of all if your going to make tamales you need dough or masa. The ones they sell at Mexican themed stores work really well. Next, you prepare the meat. You need pork meat and these ingredients: salt, onion, garlic, peppercorns and oregano. Once it starts to boil it's ready. You next get the fillings you want. Vegetables or sauce are what you can have in your tamale. Set your tamale ingredients on the table.

Next, you need the corn husks. The weak sides of the corn husk you rip off into little strips. Grab the whole corn husk and rub dough all over the husk. After you've finished that you need two spoonfulls of the pork meat. The fillings go next. Grab the fillings and put them on the meat.

After you have everything in the Tamale you tie it. The reason you tie it, is because so the insides won't fall out. The way you tie it is , you roll it up and then the two ends you tie them with the strips of corn husks. Make a knot and make sure its secure. Put them in the pot once your finished. Their done when the dough doesnt stick to the corn husk.

Tamales are easy to make but they take a while. They're really good and they don't use that many ingredients. They're easy to make and easy to eat. Tamales are great for holidays and for partys. They are Mexicans favorite treat. Tamales are DELICIOUS and a TRADITIONAL meal.

How would these pictures change public perception?

2011-02-09T09:02:00.006-07:00

Sunrise

2011-02-08T08:14:00.001-07:00

a haiku by Ana

Inspect the sunrise.

I love how the tree makes shade.

Enjoy every day.

the truth

2011-02-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

by Jonathan

white to black

yes to no

life to death

all these things are important

yet so fragile

jai guru deva om

once said by four wise men

now we look into the lens

Solar Ovens

2011-02-03T15:58:00.001-07:00

Students have been creating solar ovens. Here are some initial test models they created:

Why does poetry matter?

2011-02-01T11:18:00.003-07:00

Don't be fooled by the sweater and the smile. This man was revolutionary.

Create a brainstorm of all the reasons that poetry matters. Or, if you're so inclined, give a reason in a paragraph.

Communism and Capitalism

2011-01-27T06:28:00.012-07:00

by Cassandra

Communism is different then the capitalism. In communism, everybody is treated equally. In capitalism there is no equality, but there is more freedom. In other words one offers freedom while the other offers security. To me, it would be better to have freedom of choice and decision-making than have all your needs taken care of.

Communism is like that everybody is treated equally and its kind of boring because if somebody is doing something bad the rest are also going to get in trouble and thats not fair. If a group of people fail to manage their money, everyone pays. This leads to a lack of desire. Everyone would just choose to be lazy. Also everybody owns everything and so no one takes care of anything.

Capitalism is were you have freedom and its better because you can do mostly what ever you want. However, it's possible for people to work really hard and get nowhere. It's possible for people to experience things outside of their control, like when the housing market crashes. So capitalism can feel unstable and unfair to some people.

Either way, neither system gives true freedom or safety to everyone. There will always be pros and cons in both.

What happens to a dream left in waiting?

2011-01-25T12:47:00.001-07:00

Langston Hughes asks the question, "What happens to a Dream Deferred?" What do you think happens to a dream that is left to wait? What ultimately happens?

Eco-Houses

2011-01-20T16:07:00.002-07:00

Students have been designing eco-friendly houses with ideas including:

Changing the distribution of volume
Using recycled materials
Changing insulation
Garden walls / floating gardens
Using solar ovens, solar panels and other solar energy

After designing them and creating blogs describing their functions, the students created models:

Are Netbooks a Good Idea?

2010-12-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

by Natalia

For almost half a year now, our class has been using netbooks. We don't go to a computer lab. They're just there with us, like a book or a paper and pencil. While some people might see this as unusual, the netbooks have become totally normal for our class. So, are they a good idea?

The netbooks are a good idea, because we get to go to web sites that you need to search for. For example, we might need a new fact on a persuasive essay or we might want to answer a question and summarize it from three sites. We can do that with netbooks. In addition, netbooks are better to use because you don't get to waste paper each time you need one. Also, the netbook is a good system for typing, because you can save your writing on a blog instead of opening a one new. It's more interactive when we use Google Docs.

Some people are against it, because they think they're going to unoppropite web sites, however that doesn't tend to be a problem. The bigger issue involves unpredictable issues with the netbooks. For example, sometimes the netbook freezes and erases the blog or page you are on. This happened more in the beginning when there would be random system updates that shut down the computers. Other times, when you need to go to google and search for information, sometimes it says Internet not available and you find out that anything you want to do is impossible since the internet is down.

If schools want to invest in netbooks for students, then it's probably a good idea. However, they need to make sure there is reliable internet and that teachers know about Google Docs and blogs and all the ways the netbooks can be used for learning. If this happens, it's worth it. If not, it will be a waste of money.

Were they guilty?

2010-12-03T14:29:00.001-07:00

Many of the Nazis claimed that they were "just following orders" in committing the Holocaust crimes. Do you think they were still at fault?

Where the Red Fern Grows

2010-11-24T08:37:00.006-07:00

by Oscar

No More Uniforms!

2010-11-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

by Jennifer

Why do we have to wear uniform clothes? I know that the bad consequences are that people could carry weapons if they are regular clothes but their are many schools that don't have have uniforms and they are very safe. For Example my cousin is in 5th grade and she doesn't have to wear uniform clothes in her school and nothing dangerous has ever happened in her school that she knows of. There are many teachers in this school that worry too much about having students follow the dress code like having their shirt tucked in at all times and they're mind isn't fully on teaching them new things. That also distracts students on learning because it wastes class time and their learning time when they have to tuck in their shirt in the middle of class time or when they have to change undershirts because it's not the right color.

Another reason why wearing regular clothes is a good idea is because some students don't have enough money to buy uniform clothes. Uniforms are expensive.They might only have one pair of uniform clothes and have to wash it every day. If there wasn't uniforms it would save them money to buy things that are more necessary. What if their was a student that would get uniform clothes for Christmas because their family didn't have enough money? That would be very sad and I bet the kid would start to cry. School people say that wearing regular clothes is a distraction but is it really? Isn't it the other way around that uniform clothes is a distraction?The reason why I say this is because students get distracted when they have to tuck their shirts in and they worry that they are wearing school appropriate clothes. Those are all my reasons why wearing regular clothes is an excellent idea.

army

2010-11-22T14:42:00.002-07:00

by Jorge

Stop Harming Our Earth!

2010-11-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

by Jennifer

Do you know how many people die because of the effects Global Warming?This year 20000 people were killed in Europe because of the climate change of the world. But it's not only affecting humans it's also affecting animals. Many animals are loosing their homes. For example polar bears homes is getting warmer and they might get extinct because they need the cold to survive. Technology is taking over wildlife. The effects of Global Warming is affecting many people, animals and plants.

One of the causes why the earth can come to an end soon is because of air pollution. So many people have their own cars and that makes the air around us dirty and unhealthy because of the gas. Also so many people don't recycle and many people litter and that affects our earth. The air might get so dirty we might not be able to breath and die.If we want the earth to last longer we should start taking the bus and giving rides to other people. Also we should recycle and stop littering so the air won't be so polluted and the Earth could last longer. When people cut down trees they might be cutting down an animals home. Those are some of the living things that Global Warming is affecting.

Another cause is that their are being so many trees cut down to make new buildings like stores and houses. The average number of trees that are being cut down in a day are 6 billion. People keep shortening wildlife by cutting down many animals homes and that is making them become endangered. Soon allot of animals are going to be extinct because of humans. There is so many new technology and less and less nature. A solution for that would be to plant more trees so their could be more oxygen and more wildlife.

The last reason why we need to take care of the earth is that the water is being polluted. Oil spills make the water and rain dirty,and unhealthy which causes many sea animals to die and be endangered. Also many people would throw their trash in the water. One time I went to the park and the lake was very dirty and filled with allot of trash. I also saw like three dead fish in the water. If we don't start taking care of our earth allot of fish are going to die and other sea creatures to. People need to stop littering so the earth's water could be clean and healthy.

Nature is being affected by Global Warming because people keep cutting down trees and polluting the earth. It's affecting the weather ,water we drink , and air we breath. Global Warming is affecting everyone but you can do something to stop it. Doing as little as recycling, throwing away a piece of paper or riding on the bus will help slow down Global Warming. Please start picking up trash and stop littering the earth if you don't already take care of the earth.

Global Warming Is Melting Our Future

2010-11-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

by Joseph

Global warming is a very dangerous cause in the world people could die if this continues. Some of the global warming causes is littering throwing stuff on the floor that could be recycled is a bad habit. One fact is that global warming is caused by humans not by anything else. Last year (2009) was one of the top five hottest years because of global warming. If you can pick trash of the ground do it don't drive to short destinations walk or take your bike.

Global warming is also harmful to animals all over the world the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico is harming the animals under the water. This happening all over the world Glaciers are melting that will harm the animals atmosphere over there. Another fact 2000- 2009 is the hottest decade if this continues it will be a bad future to come for the world. Another fact is carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is higher today then anytime.

People everywhere has at least litter once or did something harmful to the earth. If you have help the earth pick some trash off the floor recycle your cans or other things that can be recycled. Another way to keep global warming out is help grow trees and flowers a lot of company's are tearing down trees and we need to grow them back. If you want the next generation of your family to suffer with global warming then you need to help with this cause.

Do you love your earth? Do you care about the future and your children's future? If you do then you might already are helping the cause of global warming. If your not then you should because its serious. Global warming is going to kill us all if we don't stop pollution and more recycling to the earth. If you don't care about this cause then you need to start because it is a serious cause.

The last decade of people gave the earth a decent amount of pollution but this decade was the Hottest we ever seen. We need to stop pollution on the earth so this decade is not as hot as the last one. We need to help pick up trash from the ground turn off lights in the house when you don't need it stop watching t.v and go play outside. If you want your kids to have bad air when they grow up then you need to help this cause.

Veterans

2010-11-16T14:44:00.002-07:00

by Natalia

Straw Challenge

2010-11-15T05:36:00.000-07:00

Students had to build platforms that could hold a water bottle only using straws. At first, students simply bent the straws and folded them. Then they began inserting straws into other straws using parts that had been cut out and eventually they used straws as ties (think string).

A Scene from a Book

2010-11-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

by Jesus