Left Brain vs. Right Brain

Author's Note: In psychology class, I was asked to write about which brain dominates for me. Even though everyone uses both sides of their brain, many people have either more left or right brain characteristics.

I am more left brained than right brained. Right brain dominant people tend to be more creative, impulsive, and less organized, while left brain dominant people tend to be logical, careful about decisions, and organized. On both of the tests, I scored much higher for the left hemisphere than I did the right hemisphere. The scores for the first test were 30% and 72%, while the scores for the second test were 37% and 63%. The first test was a little easier to complete because the questions had to be answered in a rating scale. What made the second test harder was that it was either yes or now. However, I really could have answered either of them. For example, one of the questions asked if I found algebra or geometry easier. I thought they were both fairly easy, and I completed both of the courses online in less a year combined in middle school. Another question that was hard to answer was one that asked if when I am hanging a picture, I measure it so it hangs in the middle of the wall, or just eyeball it. I prefer things to be centered, and therefore have a good eye. Plus, I am too lazy to get tools to actually measure it out, but I almost always would do it correct the first time. Although the tests had their flaws, I do believe they were accurate representations of who I am. The explanation the first test provided was perfect: “Left brain dominant individuals are more orderly, literal, articulate, and to the point. They are good at understanding directions and anything that is explicit and logical. They can have trouble comprehending emotions and abstract concepts, they can feel lost when things are not clear, doubting anything that is not stated and proven.” Before taking the tests, I did originally think I was left brain dominant, because although I enjoy music and art, I struggle to come up with original concepts of both. For example, I find it hard to paint something without a reference, and I struggle to write music without putting random notes on the page until it sounds nice. I have always been what I would consider “smart”, fairly organized, and deep in thought about decisions. I tend to be indecisive because when two or more options present themselves to me, I try to think about all the pros and cons I can, but end up not being able to choose without the insight of someone else if there is not a clear answer speaking to me. Overall, my personality and actions mostly reflect those of left brain dominant people.

A Simple Proposal

Author’s Note: This piece was a satire summative assessment. Since elementary school, every year I have grown less and less impressed with the school lunch program, maybe even annoyed. This piece was written for anyone who thinks school lunch programs in general, are not very good. My purpose is to help encourage the audience to generate new ideas that could be implemented by letting them know something needs to be done, and that something is probably not the idea I am proposing.

It has been brought to my attention from personal experience and my peers’ experiences that although it claims to be high and mighty, our school lunch program is clearly not the best. In fact, many school lunch programs around the nation are not reaching their full potential. They never will. Unless something is done about it.

For many years, I have complained about many terrible aspects of *city*’s school lunch program, and have witnessed horrible spectacles such as large bins filled with fruit, but only one fruit, and even worse, blue trays lined up on the counters, filled with food that will be thrown away. I have come up with many solutions on my own, but unfortunately, since I am just a “thoughtless student”, I was never given the chance to present those ideas. One such idea was to buy an assortment of fruits and vegetables so that every day each week there would be at least three fruits and three vegetables for students to choose from, and another idea was to invest in higher quality food so more students would be willing to try the meal, realize they like it, and continue to buy it, therefore allowing the school to gain a larger profit. Obviously, these ideas would take too much effort to implement, so I am proposing something much more simple: something that would take a lot less effort.

The school should simply get rid of the school lunch program. The 838 students who attend *a* High School would be better off if they just brought a lunch from home every day. Even if only half of the school gets school lunch each day, that’s over 400 students for the lunch staff to serve. The school would no longer have to pay for food. Although this would mean the school would no longer have a profit from the lunches served, there will be no need for lunch staff, and therefore there would be less people the school would have to pay. In fact, dropping the lunch program and the staff would most likely save the school money in the end.

With no school lunch, there will be no need for siblings to share school lunch accounts. Students won’t need to starve in June if a sibling uses the last of the lunch money in a joint account. There will be no more trays lined up on the walls, ready to be thrown away. No more food will be wasted, so the school won’t contribute as much garbage into the ever growing landfills of America. The average high school student produces around 50 pounds of garbage just at school, and the average elementary school student produces around 100 pounds of garbage. That means *a* High School is throwing away roughly 41,900 pounds per year (not even including the teachers). If the school lunch program was abolished, that number would greatly decrease. Even though students would still have garbage from packed lunches, they are more likely to eat the specially packed lunch instead of the questionable substances served by the school, therefore reducing the amount of food thrown away.

Some parents may argue that the only meal some children get all day is lunch. Although this doesn’t tend to happen in *this city*, it certainly does in other parts of the world where this proposal may be implemented. The school lunches are so overpriced that it would actually be cheaper to go to the store and buy food for children instead of paying for the school lunch. In *this city*, school lunches are either $2.40 or $3.75, but the school purposely makes all of the lesser enjoyed lunches $2.40 and the lunches students are more likely to enjoy $3.75. That is a lot of money for the quality and quantity of the food served. A family of four can have a full dinner for less than $5, and that is after the grocery stores raise the prices to make a profit. That means in theory, lunches should be less than $1.25+ a profit margin. Even if the school wants to get twice what they paid for, the school lunches should cost $2.50 at most, not $3.75. Thus, buying food at grocery stores is much cheaper. 

The advantages of my proposal obviously outweigh any possible disadvantages that opposers might bring up. First, the school would no longer have to pay for food, and would save money by getting rid of the lunch staff. Second, it would eliminate the amount of garbage the school produces. Third, it would be cheaper for parents and students to buy food from the grocery store anyway. My proposal would benefit both the students and the *a* School District, and should therefore be taken very seriously.

Birdie Egg

Author’s Note: This was my first summative this year for English. The following is the author's note that I wrote for the piece. This piece was written for anyone who is growing up and worried about giving up things that you loved as a kid. I guess everyone is always growing up, although at different stages, so this piece is for everyone who needs a reminder that it’s okay to not grow up at lightning speed. I decided to write this piece because even though I knew all along I was growing up, at the start of the school year, I realized how much I was really growing up. I had gotten a job, my license, and now had more responsibility. Plus, I wouldn’t be riding the bus to school like I had almost every day of my life since Kindergarten. This represents a new stage in my life. Throughout my piece, I reflected on a few of the various stages of life I went through all relating to one topic.

One of my first memories, maybe even my first memory, was of my dad squatting down to pick up a random rock while I stood at the porch of my old house, watching him, as any curious two year old would. He held up the small stone for me to see, saying, “Look, Lauren, it’s a birdie egg!” I squealed with delight as he pressed it into the palm of my hand.

Turning around to show my mom, I showed it to her, saying, “I have a birdie egg!”

She didn’t say anything back to me, but as I became distracted with other random things due to my extremely short attention span, she told my dad, “Why are you teaching her things that aren’t correct? She’s going to grow up believing all of these weird lies you tell her.”

A year or two later, when I took my birdie egg off my doll house shaped book shelf, my dad came into my room. “You know that’s not a real birdie egg, right?”

“Yeah, I know. I still like it.” Even though I had known it was just a rock, it always felt like more to me. Disappointed that it was not special, I set it back on my shelf and tried to forget about it. But every so often, I would still eye it, every time I was crushed. Crushed with new realization that I was too old to believe in silly lies. Crushed that I was growing up.

***

It was the first day of Kindergarten. A huge yellow bus clunked down the street, and after my parents took a few pictures, I was off. The bus only had kids my age, and not anyone older than me like my parents had told me there would be. (I later learned this was because only the Kindergarteners rode the bus that day.) I was never afraid, since my parents rode with me on the crowded bus earlier that week. Sitting all by myself, I can’t recall what I was thinking, only that I saw a green house come into view. I saw two little girls. One was my age, standing near the curb, and wearing a green and pink coat covered with flowers and carrying a matching backpack, while the other was very young and watching from the door. The girl my age seemed a little nervous as she conquered the giant stairs, but her nerves changed to confidence as she strolled up to me and stopped.

“I have a birdie egg,” she said to me, holding out a spherical white piece of clay.

“That’s not a birdie egg,” I said back, annoyed. Still, I turned so she could slide in to sit next to the window. She wanted to sit there anyway.

“Yes it is,” she insisted. “I found it.”

“It’s just a piece of clay.” We continued arguing all the way to school, where we stood in separate lines to go to our separate classrooms.

By the time the end of the day rolled around, with our very short attention spans, the girl and I had forgotten all about the argument. After walking to the bus, making sure not to step over the bright green line painted on the sidewalk, I found the same seat I was sitting in that morning empty, and sat down. A few minutes later, the girl came and stood by my seat, waiting for me to turn so she could sit by the window. Little did I know, this would be our routine almost every school day for the next ten years.

***

In second grade, I had decided my birdie egg was still special to me, even if it really was just a rock. Although I don’t remember for sure, I think I became obsessed with it. Or at least, I was playing with it in the sand box in my backyard with my brother, Connor, and babysitter, Ben. I set it on the railing surrounding the sand box. A minute later, it was gone. I started freaking out, since I didn’t know if it dropped into the wood chips surrounding the sandbox, or into the sandbox where Connor was manipulating the sand with his trucks.

“What are you looking for?” Ben asked.

“My birdie egg. I lost my birdie egg! It was sitting right here and now it’s gone!”

I think somehow, he knew what I was talking about. When we couldn’t find it, I started crying.

“It’s okay. Here, I’ll find you another one,” he tried to make the situation better, handing me a small white pebble, half the size of my birdie egg. “But it’s not the same! My birdie egg is bigger and not the same color!” I protested. Nothing could replace the thing, as useless and unimportant it seemed to others, that represented my childhood, my staying young. I didn’t want to give up my birdie egg, didn’t want to lose any more time, didn’t want to grow up.

A few weeks later, when I saw the birdie egg up on my shelf, I was shocked. How did it get there? I ran downstairs, asking my mom if she had found it. I don’t remember her answer, but the important thing was that it was still there. I took the replacement one Ben gave me out of my pocket, and put it on my shelf next to the original one. It is still on my shelf to this day, and will always be, a representation of growing up. At the beginning of junior year, when I realized I wouldn’t be riding the bus with my best friend anymore, it was a rude, aching awakening. Although I knew it all along, it struck me hard that we were growing up.  Even though people change as they grow older, there is still that child inside everyone, just slightly hidden (sometimes more securely than others) by layers of new personality and interests. Growing up shouldn’t mean destroying everything that is near and dear to your heart. It instead should mean exploring, trial and error, and new opportunities.

Keep the Childhood, Don't Throw it Away

Every parent’s hope is that their child is successful in life. Though they have differing opinions on how they can best help their child, everyone can agree that they want their children to have a great, successful life. However, starting a child’s learning career earlier than the age of three, especially with an intense tutoring program, does not make them more successful. It does not further prepare them for school or enhance their learning abilities, and it takes away from their childhood.

Although school is extremely important for children, and it is a good idea to start sending them to school at the age of 3 for a couple of hours, children before the age of three do not need intense tutoring, or really any tutoring at all other than from daily living with their parents. To be successful in life, children need to be more focused on things like independence, social skills, and how to deal with emotions, instead of memorizing facts and learning how to do math. Sure, content knowledge is important, but small children don’t need all of that content knowledge. They will either forget it right away, or remember it and struggle with basic life skills.

Later in life, academics become more important, but at a very young age, learning essential skills is extremely important. “Social readiness, not academic readiness, should be a priority,” says Claire Haas, vice president of education at The Kiddie Academy in Abingdon, Maryland. Teachable moments come from the child's observations or from things they're interested in because children are excited and curious to learn more. Children are way more likely to be interested in ordinary objects than in learning academic subjects, especially not before the age of three, and probably not before the age of five. They can learn through fun, exciting ways in preschool.

When children start academic learning at a very early age, their childhood is being taken away. If they start working intensely on school work and not on social skills, it prevents them from having a more “normal” childhood. “Research suggests that there is little benefit from this kind of tutoring; that young children learn just as much about math, if not more, fitting mixing bowls together on the kitchen floor” (Schulten). Children are naturally good at figuring things out. They learn from past experiences and use the new knowledge in future situations.

Tutoring before preschool does not prepare them for school or enhance their learning abilities; it takes away from their childhood. The best way to teach kids is to let them figure out things for themselves and to take advantage of learning opportunities. Kids don’t need help being taught things they could easily figure out on their own. Children are naturally curious and learn that way, not from being taught.

Works Cited

"Are Adults Hurting Young Children by Pushing Them to Achieve?" The Learning Network Are

Adults Hurting Young Children by Pushing Them to Achieve Comments. 16 May 2011.

Web. 18 May 2015.  

"Before Starting Preschool: What Your Kids Should Know." Parents Magazine. Web. 18 May

2015.

Elegy

Your old age and wispy beard always

steered me far away.

I wish I had more time to see you

instead of remembering that day.

Every weekend I would look forward

to going up north to see the farm

but never to see you.

It was a million years ago (hyperbole)

I saw you sitting silently in that chair (alliteration)

alone, outside.

You never were a talker,

so I pulled a chair right next to you,

thinking you wouldn’t talk to me.

Of course that’s not the truth.

You really talked to me,

the only conversation I remember.

Sure there are other things

like your love for big toys. (oxymoron)

I’m sorry I didn’t know you more,

but I never will forget.

Author’s Note: The type of poem I chose to write was an elegy. It was written to commemorate my great grandpa, who died in February 2013. As a kid, I remember being afraid of him not only because he was “old” or had a wispy beard, but also because on one foot he didn’t have any toes because a long time ago, a chain from a caterpillar fell onto his foot and he had to have his toes amputated. (I couldn’t really put that in the poem…). In the poem, when I said “that day”, I am referring to both the last time I saw him and at his funeral. The part that I don’t want to remember as much as the others is when he mistook my brother for my cousin, and the last thing I ever heard him say was “How’s your arm?”. My cousin had broke his arm in a snowboarding incident (or something like that), and my great grandpa thought it was my brother who broke his arm. I would prefer not to remember him as someone who was confused. The “every weekend I looked forward to going up north” is there because during the summer, especially when I was younger, almost every weekend, my family would go up to the Sheboygan area and see my great uncle race in his sprint car. (As for the farm part, my great grandparents lived on a farm, and technically my great grandma still does, but there isn’t a barn or any animals anymore). I wrote “but never to see you” because I was always super excited to pet the stray cats and see my great uncle race, but I never got “excited” to see my great grandparents. When I was in 6th grade, I went outside to read my book next to my great grandpa (as it says in the poem), and all of a sudden he asked me what my boyfriend’s name was. I was shocked, because, well, I was 12! Most 12 year old girls don’t have boyfriends. I told him that I didn’t have a boyfriend yet, and he told me that I should get one. That is the only conversation I remember having with him, so I had to include it in the poem. I made it a hyperbole because it feels like so long ago and like yesterday at the same time. In included the euphonic alliteration “sitting silently” to illustrate how my great grandpa never really talked, and seemed peaceful. The “big toys” refers to the excavating company he ran. There were always big trucks, bulldozers, caterpillars, and other equipment up at the farm. I know that he always enjoyed excavating. Lastly, I wish that I knew more about my great grandpa, and who he was, but I won’t ever forget about him.

 

Spring 2015 Concert Review

Author's Note: The band teacher had us do another review like the one I did two years ago. I'm pretty sure it's much better than the other one. 

On Wednesday, April 22, 2015, the Pewaukee High School Bands - Concert Band and Symphonic Band- performed at the High School. All of the pieces were either composed or arranged by Wisconsin musicians. Waves of sound filled the auditorium with beautiful sounds that made the audience want to move along with the music.

Although the tone of the very first note played in the concert, which was during the piece “Couple O’Chunes”, was wobbly with bad intonation, it blossomed into a lively, energetic piece with no further intonation errors. The Concert Band piece, “Patrick on the Railway”, sounded like a variation of “The Ants go Marching In”, bringing the audience back to their childhood and producing a feeling of nostalgia. “Different Voices”, performed by Concert Band, brought attention to the different sounds that can be produced using our instruments, voices, and tapping instead of the usual instrument playing methods. After every piece performed by the large ensembles, a piece was performed by a small ensemble, bringing variety to the auditorium, so the audience could get a feel for what the different instruments sounded apart from the big group. Flute choir’s piece “Toccata” opened up very flowy with slurs plus crescendos and decrescendos, then opened up into a fun, bouncy piece.

In general, the performers seemed to be very prepared and maintained correct posture throughout the performance. However, the biggest things that could be improved throughout the ensemble are balance and intonation. For the most part, balance and intonation were alright, but when they weren’t alright, the contrasting sounds pierced the audience’s eardrums. If all of the balance and intonation issues were worked out, the performance would have sounded even more lovely and pleasing to the ears. Overall, the concert was a gorgeous combination of music performed by extremely talented young musicians.

The Power of Love

Author's Note: Also in English, we read Elie Wisel's Night. This is the summative I wrote. It was a little rushed, so there still might be some mistakes, but it's not too bad (I hope).

Words are used to express ourselves and convey feelings. No matter what, all words can have an impact on people, whether it be a positive one that strengthens them or negative one that tears them down. Although hope has been known to give people a sense of purpose and motivate them to move forward, Elie Wiesel’s purposeful punctuation in Night reveals that the most powerful word is love, proving that we must preserve love or at the end of the day, when all hope decays, we will be left with nothing.

Someone may believe that hope is the most powerful word in the English Language, due to Wiesel’s use of exclamatory comments. In order to prove their power, the Nazis blamed the Jews for the loss of World War 1, and attempted to eradicate them. At first, they were mocked and Jewish stores were vandalized. Little did Elie know that it was the beginning of worst times. Jews were cut off from the world and put in enclosed streets, called ghettos. When the time came to come out, Elie and his family were ecstatic about being part of the world again. Except they were really being transported to concentration camps, shoved in extremely tight quarters on the trains. They were they dumped into huge camps, along with thousands of other Jews. Eventually, the prisoners were to transfer from Auschwitz to Gleiwitz. They were forced to walk for miles, but had hope that if they pressed on, they could survive. Elie states that the S.S. officers shouting at them gave the prisoners hope; “‘Hold on! We’re almost there!’ ‘Courage! Just a few more hours!’ ‘We’re arriving in Gleiwitz!’ These words of encouragement, even coming as they did from the mouths of our assassins, were of great help” (Wiesel 92). The officers’ optimistic words pushed the Jews forward. At first, Wiesel gives the illusion that hope is needed and powerful, however, Elie, along with other Jews, lose hope and cling onto love for survival.

Therefore, love is the most powerful word in the English language as demonstrated by Wiesel’s purposeful punctuation. After spending countless hours with no one to talk to except his father, Elie’s relationship with him grew. Before the camps, Elie hardly knew his father, but now they know each other inside and out. Now they are equal with understanding. Elie describes, “I felt a tear on my hand. Whose was it? Mine? His? I said nothing. Nor did he. Never before had we understood each other so clearly” (Wiesel 68). Of course, Elie had always loved his father, but with nothing else left- no possessions, no other family, no free will- Elie needs to preserve their love and make it grow to protect his father no matter what. If Elie doesn’t preserve his love for his father, when there is no hope and nothing else to live for, the battle for life will be lost.

Although hope can give the illusion of purpose, love is the most powerful word in the English language. If there is no love, only hope for love, then when all hope is gone, there will still be no love, and there will be nothing left to live for. However, if we love one another and create bonds and relationships, when all hope is lost, there will still be love.