As we all know, prayer is no longer encouraged or promoted in school...is this a good or a bad thing? It is said that "controversy is brewing in a northern Georgia community after about 50 students
prayed together Wednesday morning when school officials
said they should have been in class." Personally, I see nothing wrong with praying in school. However, missing class is a problem, which makes this issue complicated to justify. In the article, 'Extended prayer at North Georgia school ignites debate,' it said that "it was a student-led initiative. The student showed up at the coach's office
and the coach did pray with them and it went into the school day, over into the
first period of the day." At my school we have the event, 'See You at the Pole,' Christian Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and several Christian teachers and students. Our teachers are not allowed to lead prayer or bible studies, but students are allowed to do so and Christian Club and FCA meetings are held during school hours.
It seems that these rules about prayer in school are as clear as mud. The school's superintindent, Dewey Moye, said "the student who initiated the prayer is part of the school's Fellowship of
Christian Athletes chapter. The superintendent said that before the prayer
ended, 50 students had joined in. Moye said that the students were within their
rights." I do agree that the students do have the right to pray in school. For all we know, they may not be able to at home and school is the only place that they feel like they can. After Mr. Moye said the students had the right to pray he said "from now on, there will be no prayers during school hours." It is almost as if he has contradicted himself. He is just rocking the boat.
With all of these rules and arguments, it is hard to decide if prayer in school is a good or a bad thing. Both of my great grand parents are retired teachers and they believe prayer should be put back in schools. My gran talks about reading bible stories and leading prayer with her third graders. Fifty years ago that was perfectly fine during school hours, but not now. This shows how times have changed and makes a person wonder if times should go back to how they used to be.
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/22145783/extended-prayer-at-north-georgia-school-ignites-controversy
Extended prayer at North Georgia school ignites debate
By Aungelique Proctor, FOX 5 reporter
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
Technology is Taking Over
As technology is constantly improving, the supply of its products are increasing. According to CBS MoneyWatch, Apple is worth $405.56 billion, right under ExxonMobil Corporation being at $410.02 billlion. As we all know, Exxon is where we get our gas supply and Apple provides us with music, iMacs, iPhones, iPods, and several other electronic devices. These statistics show the impact that technology has upon our daily lives. It is being questioned, "will Apple or ExxonMobil still be number one at the end of the decade?" Honestly, it would not surprise me one bit if Apple rose to what Exxon is worth, or even higher. As an Apple product user, I have seen how the company has improved on its technology and still is to this day.
Seeing what various corporations are worth truly shows how our society holds value to what is on the market. In the article, it is shown that Wal-Mart Stores is worth $254.24 billion dollars. That makes a huge difference between that Wal-Mart and Apple. I suppose this means that people are spending more money on Apple electronics than groceries at Wal-Mart. The text states that "the lesson here is that the future is very uncertain." I agree with that statement. If technology keeps progressing, we will be living in an even more techno-friendly world than we are today.
Seeing what various corporations are worth truly shows how our society holds value to what is on the market. In the article, it is shown that Wal-Mart Stores is worth $254.24 billion dollars. That makes a huge difference between that Wal-Mart and Apple. I suppose this means that people are spending more money on Apple electronics than groceries at Wal-Mart. The text states that "the lesson here is that the future is very uncertain." I agree with that statement. If technology keeps progressing, we will be living in an even more techno-friendly world than we are today.
Lessons from the List of Most Valuable Companies
By Allan Roth | CBS
MoneyWatch
Monday, March 11, 2013
Caring for Cancer Kids
As healthy human beings we do not realize how blessed we are and often times do not take the time to think about those who are not doing well. However, on Saturday March 9th, Taylor Swift "made a special visit to Omaha’s Children’s Hospital & Medical Center to visit a young fan who’s been battling cancer." This is not the first time that Taylor has done something like this before. In the past, she has visited cancer patients, has taken fans to award shows as her date, and has even been to proms with her fans that are cancer patients. It is no surprise, but she is known for practicing philanthropy amongst her fellow country-pop artists. The ten year old girl that Taylor vistied is Lauren Hacker "and her family and friends have been lobbying for her to meet Swift via a social media campaign." Being stuck in a hospital room has to get old and pretty lonely. Instead of being selfish, Taylor takes the time to visit patients like Lauren because she has sympathy for them.
Pediatric patients are very special to me because my best friend has spent a lot of time at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee because she was born with a liver disease, Biliary Atresia. My best friend, Lauren, had her liver transplant in July of 2001. I remember being so excited to go visit her at Le Bonheur because we missed each other so much. I know she missed her family and friends a whole lot, but she was appreciative when she did have guests. Being a pediatric patient was so important to Lauren, that she asked for teddy bears for her birthday one year, just so she could give them to the children at Le Bonheur. Lauren was very thankful and humbled by being able to do that for all those kids at her children's hospital. She understood that they liked visitors just as much as she did.
My friend, Lauren, and Taylor Swift care enough for kids like Lauren Hacker and other children's hospital patients. Their philanthropic acts are examples of how we all should be. I am thankful for people like that, but surely not as much as the patients.
Pediatric patients are very special to me because my best friend has spent a lot of time at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee because she was born with a liver disease, Biliary Atresia. My best friend, Lauren, had her liver transplant in July of 2001. I remember being so excited to go visit her at Le Bonheur because we missed each other so much. I know she missed her family and friends a whole lot, but she was appreciative when she did have guests. Being a pediatric patient was so important to Lauren, that she asked for teddy bears for her birthday one year, just so she could give them to the children at Le Bonheur. Lauren was very thankful and humbled by being able to do that for all those kids at her children's hospital. She understood that they liked visitors just as much as she did.
My friend, Lauren, and Taylor Swift care enough for kids like Lauren Hacker and other children's hospital patients. Their philanthropic acts are examples of how we all should be. I am thankful for people like that, but surely not as much as the patients.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Movies Make Impacts
From watching The Oscars, it is obvious that movies make impacts from traditions of the past, present, and future. This year made it the "85th" Academy Awards. With this going on for over eight decades, it is clear that movies do influence people. The Oscars would not exist if they were not important. On this year's show, there was a time of remembrance for "fifty years of bond." James Bond movies are still popular to this day. This goes to show how long an impact or influence can last.
The Academy Awards illustrate the relevance of motion picture films at various times. The host stated that the "ceremony is being watched by close to a billion people worldwide." That is a chunk out of our globe's population today. Every single one of those viewers related to The Oscars because of the movies on the award show. A guest on the Academy Awards stated that "the academy is about recognizing the great achievements of the present, honoring our past, and ushering in the future of movies." All of that contributes to how movies speak to people. Through them, people are able to relate and connect.
The Academy Awards illustrate the relevance of motion picture films at various times. The host stated that the "ceremony is being watched by close to a billion people worldwide." That is a chunk out of our globe's population today. Every single one of those viewers related to The Oscars because of the movies on the award show. A guest on the Academy Awards stated that "the academy is about recognizing the great achievements of the present, honoring our past, and ushering in the future of movies." All of that contributes to how movies speak to people. Through them, people are able to relate and connect.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Music is a Universal Language
Every year the Grammy Awards are held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Music speaks to people of all nationalities and ethnicities in various ways and the Grammy Awards show that. LL Cool J hosted the 55th annual Grammys on February 10, 2013 and stated that "music is a form of communication." I believe that statement is true. At the awards show there were performers and audience members from all over the United States, Barbados, England, Canada, and other countries as well. At the Grammys, there were several artists that performed together to combine genres, including Maroon 5 and Alicia Keys. With Maroon 5 being a Pop-Rock band Alicia Keys being a Rhythym & Blues artist, they were able to sing 'Daylight' and 'Girl on Fire' together. With their performance, they showed that regardless of the music classification, songs that are twisted into two genres can still speak to people.
Before presenting award nominees, Tim McGraw said "a song, it all begins with a song. It'sz the heart beat of what we do and the soul of our industry." To add to that his wife, Faith Hill stated "the beauty, artistry, and ability to tell you how you feel in just a few short minutes in a word is magic." Faith and Tim told how music affects everyone in just a few sentences. Regardless of the language, anyone can sing, write, or listen to songs and music. Even though modern artists are making impacts in the music industry today, musicians that have passed away are still making them today. There numerous tributes made at the Grammy Awards, including Kelly Clarkson singing 'Tennessee Waltz' and 'Natural Woman' in honor of Patti Page. Even though Patti wasn't able to sing the songs herself, the audience still applauded Kelly for her performance. This shows that any kind of music can always reach out to people.
With 'Yahoo' having eight Grammy Awards headlines and the Grammys being twitter's biggest social media day, I think it is clear that music truly does have its own way of communicating with people.
Before presenting award nominees, Tim McGraw said "a song, it all begins with a song. It'sz the heart beat of what we do and the soul of our industry." To add to that his wife, Faith Hill stated "the beauty, artistry, and ability to tell you how you feel in just a few short minutes in a word is magic." Faith and Tim told how music affects everyone in just a few sentences. Regardless of the language, anyone can sing, write, or listen to songs and music. Even though modern artists are making impacts in the music industry today, musicians that have passed away are still making them today. There numerous tributes made at the Grammy Awards, including Kelly Clarkson singing 'Tennessee Waltz' and 'Natural Woman' in honor of Patti Page. Even though Patti wasn't able to sing the songs herself, the audience still applauded Kelly for her performance. This shows that any kind of music can always reach out to people.
With 'Yahoo' having eight Grammy Awards headlines and the Grammys being twitter's biggest social media day, I think it is clear that music truly does have its own way of communicating with people.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
I Think We All Knew You Were Trouble
Just about every teenage girl can relate to what Taylor Swift writes about...I know I can. On December 13, 2012, Taylor's music video for 'I Knew You Were Trouble' premiered on VEVO. The music video has 35,800,783 views and counting. Despite the fact that 'I Knew You Were Trouble' was released as a single on iTunes in October of 2012, the video reviews prove that Taylor's message through her song is being spread. On January 21, 2013 Taylor Swift tweeted "It's official--'I Knew You Were Trouble' is #1 on pop radio!! You guys are unbelievable. I'm smiling SO big right now." So far, this tweet has been retweeted 13,002 times and favorited 12,126 times. Taylor's audience obviously agrees with what 'I Knew Your Trouble' illustrates. If she was not reaching to people, she would not have all these views.
Taylor Swift's viewers and listeners have a connection with this song and video. With an edgy image, she states that "I don't know if you know who you are until you lose who you are." Girls know exactly what this means. This is like when you know a guy is "trouble" but you still go for him anyway, you change who you are, then he forgets about you. As stated in the lyrics of 'I Knew You Were Trouble,' that feeling is kind of like "now I'm lying on the cold, hard ground." From my friends and I being fans, we know exactly what Taylor is saying here. From the looks of her twitter, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and fanpage accounts' follwers, subscribers, and friends, plenty of other fans do too. Taylor clearly knows what she is doing.
'I Knew You Were Trouble' is on Taylor Swift's debut album, RED, which was number one on iTunes in over 30 countries and also number one under the Country genre. The single was also number one on iTunes and the Country genre. The 'I Knew You Were Trouble' music video is a perfect demonstration of everything listed.
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