Without wanting to cause a major fight, we would like to bring it to administrations attention that many students and parents are mad and disappointed in the new rules pertaining to dressing up at the Junior Ring Ceremony and National Honors Society. For many students they have watched the junior ring ceremony since freshman year and have looked forward to getting their rings and being able to dress up, many feel that it is almost like a right of passage to dress up like the “big kids” and officially become upperclassmen, and it is unfair to have any portion of the juniors day and ceremony to be taken away from them. When it comes to National Honors Society many feel as if the people who were chosen for the honor of being a part of the society
The novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko follows a young man, Tayo through his journey beginning when he returns home to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation, from World War Two; and is very ill. During the narrative Silko introduces us to Tayo's life before the war, which gives insight to reasons of why Tayo is ill. Through out his illness Tayo goes through many ceremonies both literally and metaphorically to try to cure his ailment. One of the ceremonies that is performed, is lead by Old Ku'oosh, the medicine man, where he performs a cleansing ceremony for someone who has killed someone in battle, even though Tayo doesn't recall killing anyone. However, he adds that this ceremony, which he has been performing for many of the returning war soldiers, has not worked for all of them. He then recommends another medicine man with the tools to cure and perform ceremonies, for the old ceremonies, since the white man had arrived, have not been able to cure the new diseases. Along with the medicine man ceremonies he also goes to American "white" doctors, which also acts as some what of a cleansing for him. In his case vomiting is can also be used as a ceremony for Tayo because he uses it to cleanse his body of the poisons and evil, both physical illness and mental illness. The ceremonies that Tayo goes through whether traditional through a medicine man or contemporary like visits to the psychiatrist and stays in the hospital, all add to his recovery, either through physical or mental cleansing.
Tayo’s Lack of Guidance Parentless, alone, and divergent, Tayo seeks to reach stability despite his strenuous losses and misfortunes. In Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel, Ceremony, she uses descriptive imagery to explain Tayo’s immense struggles with a lack of guidance. Growing up, Tayo was raised by his Auntie, and he continues to reside with and rely on her after his difficult return from the Second World War. She tries her absolute best to assist Tayo with his post-traumatic stress. “She brought him a bowl of blue cornmeal mush.
The inherent desire to belong to a group is one that is fundamental to human nature. In his article “Evolution and Our Inner Conflict,” Edward O. Wilson writes, “A person’s membership in his group – his tribe – is a large part of his identity.” Wilson explores multilevel group selection and the proclivity for people to define themselves based on their belonging to the group. He goes on to say that people often form these groups with those who look like them and belong to the same culture or ethnic group. In the novels Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko and The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick, the identities of the protagonist are predominantly shaped by the ethnicities and heritages that they identify with. The identity of Tayo, the protagonist of the novel Ceremony is largely shaped by his ethnicity as both a Native American and part white. Tayo’s background leads directly to his own identity as an outsider and is central to the storyline. In the novel The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick, the title character Puttermesser’s identity and subsequently her story is also influenced by her Jewish heritage.
During Shakespeare's time, the wedding and engagement rings indicated commitment. The rings Portia and Nerissa gave to Bassanio and Gratiano, that they were never to remove, were just that. "I give them with this ring, Which when you part from, lose, or give away, Let it presage the ruin of your love And be my vantage to exclaim on you" (3.2.171-4). The rings stood for the man's commitment to his wife just as rings Bassanio and Gratiano would give to Portia and Nerissa at their weddings would stand for the wives' commitment.
America was founded on popular sovereignty and individual freedoms. What do Americans do when the freedoms given to them from birth are restricted or taken away from them? They fight! Throughout time the government has attempted to take away our civil liberties because they viewed them to be for the greater good. One huge government failure was the attempted prohibition of alcohol. It is well known that alcohol can be very dangerous and it should be restricted. However, the government went too far when it tried to take it away completely and just like their rebellious founders the American population just found ways around the law. Similarily, Carroll High School and other schools throughout the nation are severely restricting the students’ rights to express themselves through their visual appearance. The administration, relying on the crutch of limiting distractions and violence, is taking the dress code over the line and is infringing on our right of expression regardless of the lack of results that they are witnessing.
Although this pressure to have a perfect appearance doesn’t stop after high school, the Bedford North Lawrence Community Schools should be understanding and more lenient on some of the less scandalous clothing choices to make students feel comfortable and give them a realistic feel for how people dress and behave in public. In the end, everyone’s body is their own personal business and should not be dictated by another person or shamed for how it is presented, however BNL behaved the exact opposite of this at the beginning of the school year, making the way the administration handled the situation inappropriate.
Being only 18 years old, I believe that I have accomplished a lot within my small amount of time on this earth. For me, the high school experience was not simply going to school, completing the schoolwork and repeating that day to day. For me, high school was about making tangible memories. It is within extracurricular actives that I found myself as a leader and honed in on my planning and organizational skills. National Honor Society(NHS) has played a tremendous part in this. NHS stands for its four pillars - scholarship, leadership, service, and character. It is through these four pillars that I have felt myself grow as a person and have found many opportunities to shine as a leader. This year, I was elected the President of our National
"Dress Code!" MasterFILE Complete. Educational Leadership, Dec.-Jan. 2014-2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2016. This article comes from the point of view of a school principal Thomas R. Hoerr. Hoerr starts of with a comment that was made to him about a young girl and what she was wearing. The comment referred to her undergarments. The author continues to explain the two points he learned, and because of those points, he made his school a casual place. The dress code he established only proclaims to be “neat and clean.” The author saw no problem until the attire came so close as to be dressing at the beach, so he conducted a meeting with his staff and decided something should be said. When the author wrote the work dress guidelines, he got the input of the teachers and what should be expected by each guideline. However, the author only sent out the draft to people who had worked with him for fifteen or more years, so the question arose that the world is changing and he needed opinions from younger teachers. When he received feedback, he was questioned on if some codes really made a difference, and he made some changes. Next Hoerr tells his readers that when they give a restriction on something, they must have a rational reason why. Hoerr’s reason was that the school staff needed to have a professional experience, which make since because some students might not take their teacher seriously if he or she is dressed for bed. This article uses logos by appealing to logic on
The standards for entrance into the National Honor Society are scholarship, leadership, character, and service. Through this paper I will strive to prove that I possess all of these qualities, and moreover, that I am qualified for entrance into an organization as prestigious as the National Honor Society. Over the past four years as a scholar, I believe that I have demonstrated all of these characteristics. That I have the scholarly ability required to be a NHS member is indicated simply by the fact that I was nominated for entrance into the NHS in the first place, though since I get the impression that more than this is required, I will point out that I have consistently made the honor roll every quarter during my years in both High- and Middle-school. Also, my involvement in the school's "Jets TEAMS" (Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science) team during my Junior year functions as an indicator of my scholarship. Jets TEAMS is an intense, annual competition in which schools send 8 of their strongest students to compete against other schools in a nationwide contest. During my Junior year I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the eight students (only 3 of whom were Juniors) who would go to the competition, and through our team's efforts, we were able to come in first in the state of Connecticut, earning recognition not just for ourselves, but for the town of Granby as well. Through my involvement in Jets TEAMS and my solid academic record, I feel that I have demonstrated the scholarship required for entrance into the National Honor Society. It is difficult to narrow things down to a single situation in which I have demonstrated leadership qualities to the extent that is required for entrance into the NHS, but for the purposes of this paper (and the sake of brevity), I will focus on my past involvement in the "People to People: Student Ambassador Program." People to People is a nationally recognized organization which sends groups of American students to foreign countries where they can learn about another culture by experiencing it firsthand. Their itinerary also stresses the development of leadership skills and the importance of teamwork. Through my involvement in this program, aside from learning a lot about a foreign culture (I traveled to Australia for 3 weeks), I also learned a great deal about the responsibilities and obligations that go along with being a leader.
In a bigger picture, students don’t come to school for a fashion show they come to school for an education. Somewhere along the line some students and parents have forgotten that simple fact. In some districts, like Wilson County Schools, the dress code violations got so out of hand that administration had to threaten suspensions, “During the first six days of the policy change 184 high school students were suspended.” (Creech, 1). The Lima Senior High School campus made the same decision as the Wilson County Schools. On Tuesday January 27, 2009, the Lima City Schools suspended about 164 students for dress code violations. They both knew that their students were having problems following the rules, and since the punishments that were set didn’t affect the students they did the one thing that got the students attention.
Both Male and Females have complained that the dress code is “sexist and “biased” toward young women. One teenager said that the school should be an all-boys school. Since the code only applies to women. Another student said that “it was humiliating to be pulled aside like an object” to be told that her outfit is inappropriate.
Towards the beginning of this school year, I decided it was time to start. I engaged myself in volunteer work at the Chester County SPCA almost every weekend and I will continue to work there. My efforts towards making a difference have only just begun, but I am enthusiastic about expanding these efforts further through NHS programs such as tutoring and fund raising. Not only have I volunteered, but I have also been employed by the West Goshen Parks Department as a summer camp counselor. With this job, I had a lot of responsibility that is unique to a teenager of 16 years of age as I had to ensure that the children were both safe and happy. Working hard has always been something that I have been reliable to do, whether it be in school work, sports, club activities, volunteer work, and employment. I look forward to being able to add National Honors Society to that list. As a member, I would abide by all rules that the society has set forth, and be willing to contribute to any and all activities. Thank you for the opportunity to be a member of this prestigious organization, and I appreciate your
One of the greatest controversies that is spreading throughout high schools in the United States is parents and their children against the enforcement of their school’s uniform policy. More schools have been adopting uniform policies within the past decade. Rules contained in the policy that are implemented range from wearing certain types of tops (shirts) in specified colors to students being required to tuck in their shirts. In the past, uniforms were exclusively for students who attended private schools because they were “well-off”, but now uniforms are being seen more frequently in public schools on students of all economic levels. Having gone through a school system that considered adopting a uniform policy, I would have to press
Though I can understand the school's view on things, I still have my own personal opinions. I know that the school worries about people bringing extra attention to themselves by having things like body piercings and tattoos, but I don't really think that they have any business telling the students how they can and cannot dress. I can also see where they might think that the student runs a risk of getting the jewelry pulled out of their skin if they rough-house too much or if they aren't careful. However, I feel that the student can make that decision on their own.
The first dress code was sent to be decided by the Supreme Court. The problem was that students were protesting against the Vietnam War by wearing black wristbands which educators thought to be disrupting to the classroom. However, these codes help prepare kids for the real world where they must dress to the appropriate attire. Research shows, that students learn better when there is a dress code in place and the staff says many students are less worried about what they are wearing and focusing more on completing their school work. Dress codes also introduce a healthy learning environment for kids and help reduce violence. Other statistics have changes as well. Attendance has gone up and gang violence has gone down. Some students are feeling uncomfortable and are saying students are going to have to start dressing the same due to the dress code. On the same note, students also feel that their individualism has gone down because there are so many restrictions on what they can and cannot