A Class That Matters

This semester we worked on different types on writing varying from a rhetorical analysis, to a proposal, to an application essay. They all revolved around a “big idea” which was the main focus of each piece. Every piece had some type of quality that would help us to develop different pieces when we are writing for a career in the future.

A rhetorical analysis helped us in ways that were not very obvious. When you do a rhetorical analysis you have to think about how the work is written not what it is about. It made us more aware of what a “good” piece of work is versus a “bad” piece. It also showed what you should be focusing on more and what people pick up on. Being able to revise other peoples work in class was interesting in this aspect. Someone could have noticed something about a paper that you would have never picked up on. It was interesting to see what other people thought that a writer did well versus what people thought was not needed.

While writing a proposal we had to pick a common problem that needed to be fixed and have a realistic solution. During this project we had to think of benefits that would give the company or person an incentive to actually fixing this problem. For example the problem that freshmen residents are not allowed to have cars on campus because of a lack of space. The proposal was to have more parking lots and space for the cars to park. There were many benefits for the college to be able to get more money from this idea. This will help us in a future career because we learned how to make the proposal benefit a company, which would make it more likely to be approved.

An application essay helped in many different ways. College is extremely expensive so people need to apply for scholarships regularly; the applications ask you to write an essay about a given topic. No one was really taught how to right one well and what components needed to be included. Doing one in class was helpful because we got to read other peoples work and compare what someone else had and you maybe didn’t have. This helped with our future because job applications usually ask for a written piece and it is important to know what you should talk about and what should be left out.

Every piece helped us learn different writing styles and different components that should be included in one and not included in another. While writing all of these over the semester no one really realized that every piece that we did was important in its own way.

 

Students Need Their Cars!

Dear Mr. President Frederick W. Clark,

I am writing to express my concern about freshman not being able to have a car while living on campus. If freshmen residents were allowed to have cars on campus the universities economics will improve greatly and the overall happiness of parents and students will increase.

College is a big adjustment for new freshman. It is their first time really living on their own and being away from home. Some students need that freedom to be able to go back home whenever they need to or want to, not whenever their parents can pick them up.

Some students do better with the big adjustment when they are able to go home on the weekends. If students did not have to arrange times to be picked up just to go home for the weekend it would be a lot easier to go home and regroup when they would need to. Having a familiar place to study and get work done is helpful at times to be a successful student.

Students come from all over the place to attend your college. Not every parent can just drive twenty minutes down the road and be able to pick up their children. If students were allowed to have a car, then parents would be a lot more satisfied and less stressed out about rides.

Having a car on campus would help out a lot when we leave for breaks. For winter break we need to be out of the dorms on Friday by five o’clock. Parents usually work close to that time so it is not easy for students to get a ride home. If freshmen were able to have a car on campus they could just leave once their final was over with out any problems or stress.

Family is important to a lot of students our age. It is important to be able to see your family and be able to attend family events such as birthday parties, weekend vacations, or just family dinners. With the freedom of having a car on campus it would be a lot easier to get home for these important times.

Another benefit would be that students get to go and work when they are able to go home on the weekends. College is very expensive especially when you are a resident. Students quit their jobs in order to go off to college, which leaves them with a limited budget for food and other extra purchases. It is not easy to get a job on campus, so just being able to go home and work a couple shifts on the weekends makes a difference.

I understand that it will cost a lot of money and space for the university, but if we charged for a parking pass for the semester or year, that money will be earned back within a couple of years.

A parking tenant would be required to check if a person has a parking pass or not. If there is not one then the university could give out tickets, which would be another way to earn that money back. In the long run the university will benefit from having parking spaces designated for freshman.

If freshman had a place to keep their car I believe that there would be an improvement in the universities economics and overall happiness of students and parents.

Thank you for your consideration,

Kasey Mammone

 

Standardized Tests…Why Bother?

Many young adults stay up countless nights, full of stress and studying, to prepare for a standardized test. The real question is, does it accurately determine how smart you are and where you should be placed for a class or determine if you get a job or not? Standardized tests are not an accurate way to evaluate somebodies ability to succeed in a class or in a career.

Standardized tests began in imperial China and it was used to determine one’s eligibility for positions in the government of the ruling class, according to Concordia Online Education in an article called Do Standardized Tests Show an Accurate View of Students’ Ability. Alfred Binet developed the IQ test, which was used to determine positions in World War One for the new recruitments. In 1926 the College Board invented the SAT. It is used to test vocabulary, analogies, and math.

According to the Washington Post in an article called Study says Standardized Testing is Overwhelming Nation’s Public Schools by Lyndsey Layton, a typical student takes about 112 standardized tests between the years of kindergarten and twelfth grade. Most of those tests are taken during the eighth grade year, which equals out to about 25.3 hours of testing. This statistic shows that too much time is being spent on standardized tests.

The tests are not effective because teachers are spending too much time trying to teach the kids how to take a test when they should be spending time on the curriculum, according to Concordia Online Education. If teachers are spending too much time trying to teach how to take a test, the kids will not understand the material of what is actually on the test. This way of teaching will not allow future generations to succeed because they wont remember what they were tested on, they will only remember how they took the test.

Standardized testing is ineffective because it only tests a student on one day. If a student stayed up all night because of family problems or something else going on in their family, that can affect the persons testing. The tests only score you on what you did on that piece of paper. Some people can be extremely smart but do not test well. That should not determine if they graduate or where they can get into college to further their education.

The tests are also used to evaluate the teachers. According to the Washington Post in an article called 11 Problems Created by the Standardized Testing Obsession by Valerie Strauss, the Obama administrations “Race to the Top” tells the states to use the test scores to evaluate the teachers performance. It does not make sense that if some kids have other things going on in their lives and they do badly on a test, it is not all the teacher’s fault. Teachers should be evaluated in different ways not by standardized tests.

Standardized tests have put too much pressure on children ages’ from kindergarten to twelfth grade. More natural factors should be included to determine if a person passes and continues on to the next grade.

It’s a Bike, It’s a Skateboard…It’s a Segway Board?

You are walking to your first class of the day; people on skateboards, bikes, scooters, and busses are passing you. You continue to walk but are wishing there was a different way to get to class. Someone speeds by you on this new item. It looks like a Segway but it does not have any handlebars. The semester goes on and more people are getting these cool new boards. These hands free Segway boards are a new way to get around campus without walking.

Hands free Segway boards are a fun and exciting way of getting around. They come in many different styles and colors. The most popular type that you would most likely see is the board with seven-inch wheels. They can also come with ten-inch wheels and another model even has blue tooth speakers so you can listen to music while you ride.

The board is created to charge fast. The charge lasts about an average of about eleven miles before it needs to be charged again. The average speed is about eight miles per hour. Most of the boards can hold up to 220 pounds. But of course they do not run cheap, they range anywhere from $355 to $1,799. According to hov-board.com, a website with all information about the Segway boards.

Ashaley Zaniboni, a freshman at Bridgewater State University, describes what riding a hover board is like. “It was very hard to balance on. I couldn’t stand up straight I don’t know how people do it around campus.” She says with a worried look on her face. “It is hard to turn but this was only my first time riding one. I think that with practice it will become easier to ride and it could possibly be a new way of transportation.”

Seven out of ten students that were interviewed believe that hover boards are going to become a new way of transportation. Vanessa Spring, a student at Bridgewater State University, states “I have started to see a lot more people on campus using these new boards. They seem really cool but I would be scared to use one. I give a lot of credit to these people that are riding them to and from classes.”

Karen Mammone, a barber in the city of Leominster Massachusetts, states her concern. “I used to see kids walking home from the high school every day, now I seem a couple of them on these hover boards. They seem to be replacing bikes and all the other so called old school ways to get around.” Mammone is concerned about the physical effects that this could have on kids.

The question is how could this be beneficial for people if they are trying to get physical activity in? Most people that have these Segway boards are going to be riding them instead of walking to their destination. According to Andy Clarke, a writer for planetizen, expressed that these boards will be another reason for people to get outside and get fresh air. People will be learning to use the boards instead of sitting inside. Which will lead to more physical activity among the society.

The hands free Segway boards could very well become a popular way of transportation in colleges and cities in the world.Its

African Homeschooler Manipulated by “Mean Girls”

The movie “Mean Girls” directed by Mark Walters shows the audience how power corrupts people in a creative way. This dramatic comedy portrays life in high school in a funny but serious way. It takes all of the every day problems with girls and exaggerates the every day problems but still in a way that people can relate to.

Cady Heron who is the main character played by Lindsey Lohan, moves to the United States after twelve years of being homeschooled in Africa by her zoologist parents. She attends a public school for the first time in her life. She undergoes many different situations on the first day of school that leads her to become upset and eat lunch alone in the bathroom stall. She meets two people named Damian, played by Daniel Franzese and Janis, played by Lizzy Caplan, who later explain to her who the “teen royalty” of the school is also known as the “plastics”.

The “plastics” are a group of three girls that are very popular. Regina George, played by Rachel McAdams, Gretchen Weiners, played by Lacey Chabert, and Karen Smith, played by Amanda Seyfried have all been friends for a while. Janis and Damian make a plan for Cady to spy on the “plastics” and figure out what goes on in their life. Cady later is sabotaged by the “plastics” and is left to win her friendships back.

The acting in this movie is wonderful. The actors really understand how to make things believable and get into their character. It really shows how high school is behind the scenes, which makes it funny. They take it to another level by exaggerating everything. The most realistic part of the movie is when they are eating lunch and it describes the cliques. The different groups of people are really funny and something that everyone can relate to.

The different actors all had an important role in the movie. It seemed like everyone served a purpose to the plot of the movie. The length of the movie was perfect. Every scene was crucial to have to make the movie make sense. The movie was not too long or too short. It did not leave the audiences with any questions about what happened.

“Mean Girls” is not just targeted for teenage girls that are in high school. Winning seven awards and being nominated nineteen times, people of all ages will find it funny. It is appropriate for people in middle school and older. The director Mark Walters did an outstanding job of targeting this movie for all ages.

Blue Devils Defeat Rivalry Team the Pioneers

In Leominster Massachusetts, on October 30^, 2015, the Leominster Blue Devils and the Saint John’s Pioneers of Shrewsbury battled it out on the football field resulting in an exciting 47-35 win for the Blue Devils to clinch a home field advantage for playoffs.

In the first quarter Leominster had a 21-0 lead over Saint John’s. Leominster’s head coach Dave Palazzi talks about his defense “they had some huge stops that kept us going and want to continue to play hard, I hope we preform like this next week too.”

Palazzi explains how everyone worked hard for this game because they knew it was going to determine the playoffs. “Everyone put in 110 percent all week at practice. We had to beat them there was no other option.”

“We will just have to work hard at practice. We will watch film and see where we can improve and what can stay the same. We just need to pull through next week and get Saint Johns out of playoffs. I believe we can if we work hard enough.”

Coach Palazzi gives a lot of credit to Anthony Dandini a junior fullback and middle linebacker and junior quarter back Noah Gray. Gray passed 196 yards and ran 38 while Dandini ran 55 yards. He also had three rushing scores and a thirteen-yard touchdown from Gray.

Dandini talks about how important playoffs are. “We are very excited to be in playoffs, our team is really strong and motivated this year. We are very focused and all want to end it right. I have a feeling we will.”

On Friday they will be hosting Saint Johns again in the first round of playoffs. Dandini said “in order to beat them again we need to work hard all week at practice and just come ready to play.” He has no doubt that Palazzi will work them hard.

Spectator Steven Mammone says “This is always a hard team to beat, the games are always close between Saint Johns and us. The boys worked hard and it paid off.” Mammone has watched these boys grow up. Being an elementary principle he has been able to watch them grow. “Its really cool to see how much they grow up. All the kids at my school look up to them. Its really an awesome thing.”

“Palazzi will keep those boys in line. He knows how to make them work hard. I have no doubt that they will win next week.”

What is Really Going on When you Yawn?

Yawning is something that everybody does. It happens only when you’re tired right? When you stayed up to late writing that paper? When you have finished the last episode of season three on Netflix? Many people don’t actually understand why we yawn and how it happens.

According to an article called “What Makes us Yawn” by Melanie Radzicki McManus, a writer and editor that now is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the Society of American Travel Writers, tells us what yawning is. “Yawning is an involuntary action that causes us to open our mouths wide and breathe in deeply”. It usually happens when we are bored, tired, or drowsy.

There are a couple theories about why we yawn. A study led by Andres Gallup, a postdoctoral research associate in Princeton’s University’s department of Ecology and evolutionary Biology explains that yawning varies depending on the season that you are in. He took a poll of 160 people and studied their yawning in the summer and the winter. He concluded that people are less likely to yawn when outdoor temperatures exceed body temperature. He believes that yawning will act as a brain cooling technique when the body is hot.

A new study has shown that yawning is a way to cool down the brain. In an article by James Vincent, a scientist and reporter for The Independent- a news branch, explains how yawning does not make us less tired but it cools down our brain making us more alert and awake. Here we understand that you do not need to be tired or bored to yawn, if you are doing a lot of work that requires a lot of thinking you will yawn in order to cool down your brain.

One theory that is known by a lot of people is that yawning helps deliver oxygen to the brain faster. When we are tired or bored we tend to breathe slower meaning that not enough oxygen is getting to the brain. When we yawn it opens up our airways taking in more oxygen that can be delivered to our brain. According to a website called loc.gov in the section every day mysteries.

There are many theories and facts as to why we yawn and what it does for us. Scientists continue to work to discover why people yawn and what affects it has on the brain and body. Yawning is something that nobody thinks of why we are even doing it or what its purpose is. This involuntary action leads to many questions about our body.

One Man Can Change The City

Robert Salvatelli has made an impact on Leominster Massachusetts in his last seventy-four years of living there. He has been involved in many different organizations such as teaching, being a principal, being on the city council, and starting an organization called “Karens Closet” which donates supplies to the less fortunate. While being a part of all these great things, he still managed the time to raise a wonderful family.

Being one hundred percent Italian, one can already tell what kind of personality my grandfather has. His loud voice and strong opinion has shaped him into the revolutionary man that he is today.

He has been on the city council for the last sixteen years and is wrapping up his last one now. He had made many accomplishments in his time that have helped the city improve. One of the projects that he is most proud of is being a part of the purchase of over 1000 acres of land for different recreation activities that anyone can use.

Salvatelli also had the opportunity to Chair the Finance committee, which he explained as a “powerful” position that would make the recommendations to the city. He contributed to the building of a new library and schools for the children.

Most people would wonder what accomplishment he would be most proud of. His answer was that “I am very proud to represent my family in the community”. Salvatelli was also on the city council with his brother John Salvatelli.

“I am very proud that my family can represent the city in this way.” He said with a smile on his face.

Salvatelli’s wife Linda was also very proud of him. Being married to Robert for fifty years, Linda learned a lot about the city. She understood that he made a commitment to represent the city and she has been nothing but supportive of him the last sixteen years.

“Bobby has learned a lot about how the city works and what needs to be changed. He has become more of an independent man from this experience,” Linda said. They have both learned to appreciate every little thing that goes into making the city so wonderful.

Robert Salvatelli’s daughter Karen Mammone is also very supportive of his involvement. She has watched him over the years become more educated with how the city runs.

She said “if my dad was never on the city council I would not have had such a big interest in politics or the city that we live in. I now appreciate how the city runs and I understand the problems that need to be fixed to make it a better place.” She explains, “My dad has always loved to help people in any way that he can. I think being on the city council was something he loved because of how many people he helped at once.”

Robert said, “I have learned a lot about the city. I learned the valuable lessons about how a city runs and how it deals with a certain budget. After many years I would have to say that most importantly, I learned how to become a trustworthy person. In order to continue to get elected for sixteen years people need to trust you. This experience shaped me into a more trustworthy person and I think that it what I can take away most.”

The Final Decision

April was slowly coming to an end. It was a cool spring day; I was sitting around the round dinner table with my family. The everlasting question came up once again.

“Kase, you need to make a decision, where do you want to go to school?” my parents asked for about the 300^th time. We needed to send in a deposit so I was cutting it kind of close.

I was given a piece of lined paper and a blue pen. My body filled with confusion. Why did my parents give me this paper? They looked at me expecting me to know what they wanted me to do.

“What is this for?” I asked.

“Make a pro and con list about the schools you are deciding between, time is running out.” My dad answered me, he had those wrinkles on his face when he raised his eyebrows, I knew he meant business.

I had a short list of four schools that I needed to pick from. I had gotten accepted to everywhere that I applied so that made it a little harder. When I was applying to schools I knew that I wanted to get away from Leominster. I did not want to be anywhere near that place. I needed a new start, new friends, and no parents around. So with my pen and paper in hand, I began to write.

I made a chart that consisted of Bridgewater State, Fitchburg State, Westfield State, and Franklin Pierce. Each section was broken into two columns, one was pros and one was cons.

I started with Bridgewater I learned that the teaching program was really good. I thought that it was the perfect distance from my house, about an hour and a half; I could go home whenever I wanted to and I could live there too. It looked like a nice campus and I could see myself living there.

Next was Fitchburg. It was really close to my house, about ten minuets, so it wouldn’t be that logical to live there, the teaching program was awesome, the campus was pretty, but I really wanted that “college life” experience. I didn’t think that Fitchburg would be able to provide that for me.

Westfield state was pretty far for my liking at about two hours away from my house. The campus was nice but I didn’t really hear much about the teaching program. There was not really anything to do around campus. I felt kind of stranded.

Franklin Pierce was really nice but I thought that it was small. The teaching program was not that great. It didn’t make sense to pay out-of-state tuition for that school.

From my list I had concluded that Bridgewater State would be the best fit for me at that point in time. The answer was pretty clear, my body let out a sigh of relief. I finally knew where I would be going to school. I would finally have an answer when people asked where I was going to go.

What Does Hard Work Mean to You?

Write about a time when “hard work” paid off. In 250 words or less.

As I have grown up I have really started to understand the meaning of hard work. Many different experiences have led me to believe how hard work really pays off. The most important experience is the one that shaped me into who I am today.

I remember walking into the first day of field hockey tryouts in August of freshman year. I had worked hard all summer in order to get in shape and try to learn the sport of field hockey. I decided to try out for being a goalie.

When I saw my name on the freshman team list, I felt a little disappointment. I wanted to be on JV not the typical freshman team. As the season went on, the coach pulled me aside and said that they needed me for the JV team. I was extremely nervous but this was my chance. I did really well that game. They kept me on both the JV and freshman team. Now I had an opportunity to get better and work my way up varsity.

The next summer I attended camps and clinics that would make me a better goalie. August came back around and my name was on the varsity list as a sophomore. I was so excited. I had finally understood what hard work meant. I learned that if you keep working at a goal you would achieve it.