| http://fabulouslymundane.blogspot.com/
i just might be a big girl now. :P
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| it really isnt so often that i am absolutely irate about anything.
nor have i bothered to post an entry up on my xanga in a long time.
but this is important.
if you went to lowell, and/or care at all about the education of students in san francisco...
i was visiting ms canepa yesterday at lowell, because that's what i do. i love that woman because she has gone through so much and she is still such a giving and wonderful person. i have never been able to function with patience and care that she does when she teaches.
i was waiting after her class to talk to her and she was helping two girls with their paper. one girl, a freshman at lowell (so if you think about it, she's supposed to be the "cream of the crop" in san francisco, right? i mean, lowell is an academic alternative school. you're supposed to achieve in the higher range of test scores and what not to get in... ) could not properly conjugate the verb "to do," much less understand subject/verb/predicate agreement. she didnt understand the difference between spoken english and written english. and this is coming from me, who writes like i talk, but at least is aware that when i write, grammar is important. these girls had no grammar background. basic stuff.
the other girl, probably has some kind of learning disability and has trouble reading, and so she doesnt. but the problem is that in school, one needs to read in order to learn. and so she is not only failing english but math and science also.
so after they left, i asked canepa "what the hell just happened there?"
apparently middle schools dont teach them anything anymore. one girl had a class where they would "read" the book, watch the movie in class, and then her teacher would ask them to summarize the plot, except they didnt even call it the "plot" of the movie.
so... i said, "what can we do?"
apparently CSF isnt functional anymore. no one cares. no one does anything. it's not even the cool or the "smart people" thing to do anymore. but if they DID work, they could be teaching these underclassmen BASIC grammar so that canepa and the other teachers dont have to and can teach them reading comprehension, like they should be.
we cant blame or punish these freshmen for not having had the education that they should have been receiving in grade and middle school. but they are at lowell. and the proper resources should be available to them so that they can be caught up and perform at the caliber that is expected of them. they also dont have resource centers anymore becuase there is no one to manage them and no funding for it.
after talking to a couple counselors, i gathered that this is a national phenomenon. well, at least a social change that has been happening over the past couple of years.
i dont know what we can do but i really feel like we need to do something.
i dont know how many of you guys are still around or care, but if you are and do, let's do something.
i think a start would be trying to get CSF to be more involved in the lives of the underclassmen, but with intentionality.
let's do something guys...
let me know what you think.
/soyoun
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| i choked.
my grownup christmas wish list:
sex and the city - the complete six seasons
will and grace - ditto
CALVIN AND HOBBES!!!
world peace.
really cute shoes.
your love.
time.... to read.
christmas in rome and new years in paris and a florentine vacation with my favorite ellie in the whole wide world...
oh wait. THREE MORE DAYS!!!
and finals to be over...
i know. patience...
oh.. add that to the list too.
long quarter.
good talks.
amazing friends.
we have a ball pit now. no joke.
moving forward.
holla at your girl.
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| school has started.
i find myself having less and less to say on this damn thing.
oh well.
i'm taking hebrew and hindi.
and that makes me happy.
and i'm finishing my major this quarter. wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
i killed my computer. seriously.
i gave it a love tap with the magnetized vacuum cleaner and lost everything.
que triste.
the only thing i miss is my research paper from last year.
muy triste.
i miss my roommate.
/swen
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| almost all moved in. :P yay trancos staff!!
just got back from staff retreat in SF at the haight. it was alot of fun. i think it'll be a very busy year.
but dont forget to come visit.
Trancos 220
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