The "H" grade

Okay so some schools in our country have decided to take Fs away and replace them with Hs, which stand for held, and this means that no students fail and will have the opportunity to make up the work late on for full credit. Now I think that is BS but many people think that this might actually be a good thing. People are saying that if students don’t have the negative connotation of failing, then they will do better in school, and that if the F is replaced then students would never fail and grades could be made up. Some people back up this argument by saying that there has been a 15-48% raise in students passing classes, well that’s no shock to me because if you let a student choose when they want to do their work and let them do whatever the hell they want, then they are obviously going to do it later on for a full grade once a kid who actually deserves the grade has done it.

In my opinion this is ridiculous, and even stupid. All this does is promote laziness and say that its ok for you not do your work because you can turn it whenever you want, well that’s wrong because that’s not going to prepare anyone for the real world, and all it’s going to do is baby people. The argument of F having a bad connotation is also a poor argument because failure often drives to kids to do better in school because they have the fear of failure and they don’t want it to happen. It is also unfair to the kids who try and do their work on time because the lazy kids are going to get the exact same grade for putting in less effort, that’s cheap an it really is unfair to the kids who try hard and actually do the things they are suppose to do. All this is going to do is create a lazier generation that will eventually fail in the real world because they wont have any sense of punctuation or doing their work on time, and it will also cast a giant shadow over those kids who actually try because as far as grades go, the kid who did shit, and the kid who did everything on time will have the same grade. This is a ridiculous idea and I don’t even see how people find excuses for kids not doing their work and they are now changing the grade system for the kids who don’t deserve the grades and do nothing. This will only give the ability to not do work and make kids who don’t deserve grades equal to the ones who do, and that’s just not fair because eventually they will have to compete for college spots, and the ones who did the work on time will be no different from the others.

Religion

Religion in our society, I think, governs too much. Too many people go by religion instead of our natural rights, and sometimes that can even lead to discrimination even though we might not think it does. We are suppose to have a separation of church and state, which means that there should be no religious influence in our laws, because our people have the right to do what they want with their lives and follow which ever religion they please. But this sometimes doesn’t go as it is suppose to, people think that we have a separation of church and state, but in reality we really don’t. Gay marriage is one of those things that are discriminated against because of religion, and it is not allowed in almost all of America because o religion, people say that it is immoral and wrong. But that is because their religion says so, and the state actually makes the people vote on this even though it shouldn’t even be a question because were suppose to have a separation of church and state, but since so many people are religious, it doesn’t get to happen because people vote against it, even though that is unfair, and because that is based 100% on religion, no matter what anyone tries to say.

Religion also affects people in other countries, like the girl who married the 60 year old, it creates a lot of commotion because many people disagree it, and our world shouldn’t be based on religion, but on what people want to do with their lives as long as it doesn’t affect anyone else. Because right now in our world, religion is effecting millions of people in a negative way. I'm not saying religion is bad; it’s actually a good thing because it gives guidance and hope, but it shouldn’t be forced onto other people. It is wrong to push your beliefs on someone, not even if your a 100% sure its the right thing, people have the right to think what they want so religion should not be forced on them in any way, shape, or form.

Is a school strip search on a 13- year old bad???

OK well I don’t have a picture for this one but we'll manage. Savana Redding, 19, who was an eighth-grade honors student at Safford Middle School was strip searched at her school by her school administrators because they heard that she might have prescription-strength ibuprofen pills, they're like strong Advil. Once her administrators heard about the rumor, they called down the 13 year old girl to perform a strip search, it has scared her tremendously and she is now taking it to the Supreme Court.

There are many moral issues with this story, and especially considering the fact that they did not find anything on her. The girl is taking her case to the Supreme Court after two other courts have ruled that the school had every right to perform that search. She says that she has been traumatized her since, she has few friends and doesn’t like going outside, she also has many trust issues because of this violating search. She said she didn’t say know because she’s the type of girl who listens to her superiors. They did not notify her mother, and it was the nurse who performed the strip search, not a police officer.

Now I think that this is totally wrong. They had no right to search her unless they had tangible proof or a better source, because it’s too easy to get ten kids together to lie about someone to get them in trouble. She says that she has had a lot of emotional distress because of this. They had to right to do this unless first notifying her parents, or the authorities, they had no right to violate a girl like that. I am still two faced about this story though, because the school did do it for the safety of others, and apparently were allowed to do that by law. Now there should definitely be some procedures in the future, like notifying her parents, or the police. It’s too easy for that to happen to someone and especially a 13 year old girl when it scared her for life. She is now 19 but still has problems coping with everything. (The actual event happened in 2003) What do you think of this? Do you think it is just that she was strip searched? Or do you think it was a violation of her body?

Cultural difference??

Does this sound right to you??? In Afghanistan it is legal for a 60 year old man to marry an eight year old girl. And you might think to yourself, do these things really happen? Well they do, a young 8 year old girl has recently taken to court her marriage for divorce, she said she was raped by the man several times. The terms of marriage are simple, you can have sex until she has reached puberty, but the man couldn’t wait so he raped her. The marriage was not her idea, her brother set her up to get with the other mans sister.

Now we might say things like, "that’s disgusting" or "how could they let that happen". Well in those countries its legal because women aren’t treated equally, and there is even a LAW that says wives are obliged to have sex once every four weeks. Women are not respected and things like that happen all the time, and when we question them and ask them what they're thinking, they just reply by saying "its just a cultural difference". They also get offended and say that westerners should be forcing their beliefs on them, and the say it is in their sacred script, because everything that is not forbidden, is allowed.

So what would i say to that? I say that that is completely wrong and it is not a cultural difference. Humans are born with morals and even the 8 year old girl cried and felt violated even though she was always taught that that’s how its suppose to be. So even if it is in their culture, it is a violation of natural human rights, but not because my western ideals think so, but because an innocent girl having been taught nothing else still knows that that was wrong. So should it really be allowed? I say NO but many people will just argue that its a "cultural difference".

Social Security Checks! Good or Bad?

Okay, first of all if you really want to get into this subject, then I strongly recommend watching the movie that I have put as my picture. It is very interesting and will make you look and think about the flaws of this country that need to be fixed.

Social Security was the first Government program, it was established in 1936 to originally help the elderly, widows, and disabled people. But it soon turn into something that everyone would take advantage of.

Should drug addicts receive money? Because I think that if they are addicted to something and they are given money because they can’t get a job and all they do is drugs, it is just ridiculous because the obvious answer would seem to be that they just buy more drugs with the money.

Drug addiction is considered a "disease" in America, so if you decide to do crack and get addicted, it’s not your fault, and you should be entitled to money for doing Sh*#t. Well I think that that is completely ridiculous, and honestly stupid. Drug abuse is considered a disease so people with drug addictions are entitled money every month for the government, and I think that is stupid because all they are obviously going to do is buy more drugs with the money because they see that all they have to do to attain the money for drugs, is actually just do the drug. So what do you think about that?

Honestly they should be stricter with this, sure it has helped a lot of people in though times but it has also been abused and some people think that it might actually promote not getting job and doing drugs because it is so easy to get that money for free. Now sure there are exceptions and it is actually a very good program to help those in need, but they should have tighter regulations and they should definitely rethink about giving drug addicts money.

So what do you think about all this? Is it right to give a person money because they have a so called "disease" that is their own fault, and they choose to not go out and get a job. Now sure it is a good program and is helping people nationwide, or it should keep on going but it should definitely reconsider its regulations to just make it an all around better program.

Marijuana!

Marijuana has been a very controversial topic for years. It has its pros and its cons but the legalization of it might not be such a bad thing after all.

The first thing that people are going to think when they read this is that I smoke, but that’s not true at all. But I do know the facts of it and how it could actually benefit our society. First of all it has its medical uses, many people can actually cure some diseases using the plant, and even though it gives you the feeling of being "high", it still not all that bad. Compared to cigarettes marijuana is completely natural and has actually killed millions and millions less than cigarettes. It is also a stress reliever and would help many people in difficult times.

Marijuana, if we choose to believe it or not, is in fact a multi billion dollar business. IN California it is the 4th cash crop of the state, it would actually help California get out of their debt if they legalized marijuana because it would because a booming business and it would clear up thousands of jail beds, and it takes 27,000 dollars per person to keep them in jail for one year, so think of how much money that would save. It has also not a federal crime anymore, because it was decided that it would be the states choice.

It is also a way that teenagers have fun, and it is not that bad for you, but there are bad sides to it. It can cause impaired judgment and possibly cancer, even though that has not been proven yet. But if it were legalized it would take the weight off the shoulders of many kids, considering that probably 65% of the kids at cypress bay have probably tried it once. So maybe if California does legalize it, it might actually spread and become legal in other states, and eventually be accepted into society. But all we can do is wait, and if it does happen, see what the outcome is.

Gay Marriage

What better controversial topic to start off this new blog with then gay marriage. Many people are against this because they think that it’s a sin and against their religion or they think it’s just plain wrong. A couple of states allow it and many states are actually against. . .yea they actually choose what people can and cannot do when it comes to there love life, and people call this freedom?? Don’t get me wrong, im definitely not gay and I don’t really like them that much but they are entitled to their opinion and nobody should be allowed to take that away from them.

Many people say that it is against their religion so it is wrong. . . well people need to grow up and realize that other people are living in this world and that they are entitled to do whatever they want with their lives. I am not a religious person at all, I don’t necessarily believe it because it’s a book, anyone can write a book, and for some reason they decided to say that gay marriage was wrong, but that is unfair. And to force those ideas on other is simply wrong. Gays have been suppressed for a long time but they shouldn’t be, its their own personally choice and people need to accept that because its wrong to hate someone because they like people of the same sex, and its definitely wrong to not allow them to get married to each other.

If a gay couple really like each other then they should have the privilege of getting married because marriage is about love, so I don’t see the problem. People can be very ignorant when it comes to this subject because they think it’s wrong so they don’t think it should be allowed. But what if one day someone said that straight marriage is wrong, then would we have to restrict that?? Well I think its wrong how gays are restricted. I don’t personally like them that much but they are entitled to do whatever they want with their lives and we do not have the right to tell them otherwise. People need to grow up and accept people for who they are and stop restricting them just because of their beliefs.