"Hey hey ho ho, fossil fuels have got to go!"and "What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!"are only a few things the hundreds of thousands of people were chanting on September 22 at the 2014 People's Climate March in New York City including moi.. me!
I have to say I was shocked to see how many people showed up for this amazing event! It really gave me a new respect for humanity that I have never had before. You could really feel the power and energy flowing through every single person there! It was beautiful.
This march was by far the largest climate march in history. An estimated 400,000 people participated in the march, but to me it felt like a lot more. We started marching in the middle of the crowed and by the time we had walked about thirty blocks we could see from a big TV screen that there was still a gigantic wave of people who were still only at the beginning; a few thousand or so! Again, I was thunderstruck by how many people showed up for this thing! People from around the world, as far away as South Africa and India, came to be a part of this world wide intervention, but it wasn't just in the US. The TV screens also showed the marches going on all around the world!
Before the march I felt pretty small. I felt that I didn't have a say in what happens to my planet, my life. I also didn't have much hope for humanity. I thought that no one else cared. Then I went to The Peopls' Climate March in New York City, and that all changed. I realized that my voice was important, that one person can make a change. I realized that people do care and that they also want to help change the world for the better.
Many people were active in the march but the one particular group that I thought was most important was the youth. The youth play a big role in stopping climate change. You know why? Because the young people of today are the future and if they don't get involved now then there will be no future.
Before I went to the march I went to a youth convergence and was excited to see how many people, ranging around the ages of 13 to 20, were pumped to stop climate change and help the world become a more eco-friendly place. One person who really stuck out to me though was a 14-year-old activist named Xuitezcatl Martinez. Martinez is the Youth Director of an organization he founded called the "Earth Guardians", an orgnization that works to protect the environment, not just locally, but internationally. As of now they have Earth Guardian Crews operating in five different continents. He is also a hip-hop artist. Martinez and his younger brother incorporate their message of environmental conservation into their music as a way to connect with the youth of this generation. Martinez knew, at a young age, that he wanted to protect the Earth. He educated himself on topics such as fracking in order to understand the problems so he could create solutions. Martinez is living proof that young people have the power to create change.
When I was at the youth convergence I listened to the different views and opinions of everyone around me. At one point we were in this one break-out session were we split up into groups. I felt very inspired when I heard all of these diffrent ideas on how we can make a difference in the world. Even though I was nervous, I contributed some of my own opinions and ideas to the group. It really was empowering.
I know it is a difficult concept, but our world is dying and in order to save Mother Earth we need to take action. The climate march was exciting and I really think the world is aware of the condition our world is in, but now we need to take the next step. What needs to be done to stop climate change? How can we create a world in which we don't rely on fossil fuels and factories? The answer, the solution, resides in the people.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
On Equality
So I was having a conversation at a get together a few weeks ago and it really ruffled my feathers, but it also made me realize some viewpoints in society that I have been blind to. I was angry but now I'm glad we talked because I was able to write this very interesting blog post that will make you go, "Huh...yeah!That is true!"
(I want to respect this person's privacy so I will be designating her the name of Jane.)
We were discussing the topic of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer). Jane's viewpoint on the subject was that anyone who doesn't like the opposite sex or likes both sexes has something medically wrong with them. She told me a story of a person she knew who felt like "he" should have been born a woman. Later on they found out that she had both female and male genitalia. She had surgery so that she would only have female genitalia. After I was told this story, Jane said that all cases are either like this or the person has some sort of mental problem. I don't remember how I responded to this but I do remember I was frustrated. Just because someone likes the same sex or both sexes doesn't mean they are mentally unstable; it just means that they found another person who they really connect with and like a lot.
I don't exactly know what my sexuality is, but even if I was a lesbian, that shouldn't change the way people view me. I'm still the same funny, intuitive, and awesome person I've always been. (I'm modest too!) She also thought that it isn't right for today's generation to be "experimenting" with their sexuality. This statement was very confusing to me. Even if you are a girl and you are straight, unless you find "Mr. Right" on the first date you aren't going to be with one guy your whole life. You will "experiment" by going out with different guys. I've never dated but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't fall head over heels in love with the first guy or girl I go out with.
People are individuals and I am sick and tired of our society singling out a specific group of individuals and shaming them for being who they are. Being gay or lesbian isn't just some choice someone makes. It isn't like deciding what color shirt you are going to wear. I have friends who are gay and they didn't just wake up one morning and say,"Hmm, I think I will be gay today."No, it is how they were born. It is who they are meant to be and no one should tell them otherwise. You know why LGBTQ is such a problem? It is because people are scared of what they don't know. They ridicule anyone who is different because they don't know what else to do. I really have to laugh at this because it is ridiculous! I mean what is there to be afraid of? Oh that guy is in love with another guy? Who cares! What are they going to do to you!? What is the harm in that relationship?
If person A likes person B on a very personal level, not considering the gender, wouldn't it make sense for them to be together? It isn't rocket science people. If an individual loves another individual they should be together no matter the gender. And that is sane to me.
(I want to respect this person's privacy so I will be designating her the name of Jane.)
We were discussing the topic of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer). Jane's viewpoint on the subject was that anyone who doesn't like the opposite sex or likes both sexes has something medically wrong with them. She told me a story of a person she knew who felt like "he" should have been born a woman. Later on they found out that she had both female and male genitalia. She had surgery so that she would only have female genitalia. After I was told this story, Jane said that all cases are either like this or the person has some sort of mental problem. I don't remember how I responded to this but I do remember I was frustrated. Just because someone likes the same sex or both sexes doesn't mean they are mentally unstable; it just means that they found another person who they really connect with and like a lot.
I don't exactly know what my sexuality is, but even if I was a lesbian, that shouldn't change the way people view me. I'm still the same funny, intuitive, and awesome person I've always been. (I'm modest too!) She also thought that it isn't right for today's generation to be "experimenting" with their sexuality. This statement was very confusing to me. Even if you are a girl and you are straight, unless you find "Mr. Right" on the first date you aren't going to be with one guy your whole life. You will "experiment" by going out with different guys. I've never dated but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't fall head over heels in love with the first guy or girl I go out with.
People are individuals and I am sick and tired of our society singling out a specific group of individuals and shaming them for being who they are. Being gay or lesbian isn't just some choice someone makes. It isn't like deciding what color shirt you are going to wear. I have friends who are gay and they didn't just wake up one morning and say,"Hmm, I think I will be gay today."No, it is how they were born. It is who they are meant to be and no one should tell them otherwise. You know why LGBTQ is such a problem? It is because people are scared of what they don't know. They ridicule anyone who is different because they don't know what else to do. I really have to laugh at this because it is ridiculous! I mean what is there to be afraid of? Oh that guy is in love with another guy? Who cares! What are they going to do to you!? What is the harm in that relationship?
If person A likes person B on a very personal level, not considering the gender, wouldn't it make sense for them to be together? It isn't rocket science people. If an individual loves another individual they should be together no matter the gender. And that is sane to me.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
What's In A Name?
When you first saw the title of this blog you were probably wondering, "what was going through this girl's head to make her choose a name like "Chickens and Tchaikovsky"?" Well first off it rhymes, sounds funny, and sounds so random that you can't help but read my posts (Mwahahaha!). But, there is a method to my madness! This title actually has a meaning. It isn't random. I wanted a title that represents what kind of education I want as a homeschooler.
In school I was so tired of the "education" I was receiving. I couldn't breath because of the mold the school district and their standardized way of learning was trying to stuff me in. I felt as though they were putting my peers and I through a system that resembled Henry Ford's assembly line.
Imagine this, a room small and suffocating just like all the others in the building. Look around the room. What do you see? You may notice the kids silently studying the same textbooks or looking up at the same blindingly white board and sitting slumped in the same dirty, written on desks under the annoying hum of the fluorescent lights. Up front is the teacher, teaching the lessons that she has taught to all the other kids in the previous years. You know what I see? I see a factory and a bunch of unfinished products being put through a machine. Under the fluorescent lights in the small suffocating room this machine processes these unfinished products until they are completely pasteurized, no raw material is left.
The students may seem like they are harmlessly working at their desks but are they? They are more likely being worked on themselves. This process known as "learning" is stripping away kids' individuality, stopping them from questioning the world around them, and haulting them from figuring out who they are. But is this learning... or is it schooling?
If you walked in to any school and asked a handful of students who they think they are as an individual the most likely answer would be "Ummmm" or "I don't know". How do I know that? I was one of them for 9 years. I also know that school alters a teen's view on what qualities are important. I don't exactly know why but in school students strive to be smart, popular, funny, and athletic. I didn't exactly want to be popular but I yearned to be smart, funny, and athletic. I wanted to be accepted on some level. The day I realized that I should focus on who I am and not who other people think I should be, I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders. I took a step back and stopped trying to be the perfect student. I knew I was unhappy and that is when I decided to create my own education, but I am still working out the kinks. I believe it will take me time to get out of the mind set that there is a "right way" to learn.
Chickens and Tchaikovsky represents my expressive and individualized way of learning. Yes, this is what I consider learning. If I want to learn how to raise and take care of chickens I will. If I want to learn about famous composers like Tchaikovsky I will. The world is my textbook and no one can tell me otherwise. Sure you can work yourself to the point of exhaustion trying to get a good grade on last night's homework, but do you really want a number to describe your intelligence, to describe who you are? And sure you can block out the rest of your life, the parts that you love and actually care about, but why? For the sake of regurgitating information on a test sheet that you will completely forget about the next year. Learning should be something you get excited about, not something you are forced to do that makes you miserable.
I am a new homeschooler and this blog is my first step into a world where I am free to chose my own education. As Albert Einstein is credited as saying, "Wisdom is not the product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to aquire it." I am on a journey to aquire wisdom and I hope others like me will start their own journey to cultivate their own educational experience.
In school I was so tired of the "education" I was receiving. I couldn't breath because of the mold the school district and their standardized way of learning was trying to stuff me in. I felt as though they were putting my peers and I through a system that resembled Henry Ford's assembly line.
Imagine this, a room small and suffocating just like all the others in the building. Look around the room. What do you see? You may notice the kids silently studying the same textbooks or looking up at the same blindingly white board and sitting slumped in the same dirty, written on desks under the annoying hum of the fluorescent lights. Up front is the teacher, teaching the lessons that she has taught to all the other kids in the previous years. You know what I see? I see a factory and a bunch of unfinished products being put through a machine. Under the fluorescent lights in the small suffocating room this machine processes these unfinished products until they are completely pasteurized, no raw material is left.
The students may seem like they are harmlessly working at their desks but are they? They are more likely being worked on themselves. This process known as "learning" is stripping away kids' individuality, stopping them from questioning the world around them, and haulting them from figuring out who they are. But is this learning... or is it schooling?
If you walked in to any school and asked a handful of students who they think they are as an individual the most likely answer would be "Ummmm" or "I don't know". How do I know that? I was one of them for 9 years. I also know that school alters a teen's view on what qualities are important. I don't exactly know why but in school students strive to be smart, popular, funny, and athletic. I didn't exactly want to be popular but I yearned to be smart, funny, and athletic. I wanted to be accepted on some level. The day I realized that I should focus on who I am and not who other people think I should be, I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders. I took a step back and stopped trying to be the perfect student. I knew I was unhappy and that is when I decided to create my own education, but I am still working out the kinks. I believe it will take me time to get out of the mind set that there is a "right way" to learn.
Chickens and Tchaikovsky represents my expressive and individualized way of learning. Yes, this is what I consider learning. If I want to learn how to raise and take care of chickens I will. If I want to learn about famous composers like Tchaikovsky I will. The world is my textbook and no one can tell me otherwise. Sure you can work yourself to the point of exhaustion trying to get a good grade on last night's homework, but do you really want a number to describe your intelligence, to describe who you are? And sure you can block out the rest of your life, the parts that you love and actually care about, but why? For the sake of regurgitating information on a test sheet that you will completely forget about the next year. Learning should be something you get excited about, not something you are forced to do that makes you miserable.
I am a new homeschooler and this blog is my first step into a world where I am free to chose my own education. As Albert Einstein is credited as saying, "Wisdom is not the product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to aquire it." I am on a journey to aquire wisdom and I hope others like me will start their own journey to cultivate their own educational experience.
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