Gamelan Percussion is so cool

I found another cool video, only this one happens to be a gamelan orchestra in Indonesia. I love this. If you watch the metal "xylophones" (I don't know their official name), they are playing with one hand a muting the notes in their other with quite a bit of speed. As far as I can tell there isn't a conductor, either. So they have somehow instilled a great sense of pulse in these people, even with what seems like meter changes, too. I wonder how, and if that can be applied to an American group. I may have to look into that.

The Case for Music Education

I was surfing youtube, and I found this video helping support music education. It was even shown on national television. Why are we still fighting for music programs with all of the scientific knowledge we have gained about the connection between math and reading skills and music? If we want better test scores, maybe we should have every child enrolled in a music class. Wouldn't that be an interesting turn of events?

An Update on the drug situation

I was able to point out the girl that was talking about a guy taking prescription drugs at school to the counselor I am working with. Unfortunately she said it is hard to get programs/assemblies in the building because they do not like taking kids out of class (probably due to CSAP scores, something I may touch on later when I have more time to rant). She said that she's heard it's more of a problem, especially since the ninth graders go over to the high school to do sports. Well, yes, you can say that is one thing, but the lack of anti-drug anything in that school may also be to blame. I remember my years of middle school and drug-free posters were all over the place, but this school has a lot of achieving excellence posters. I am not saying they should not push excellence, but how great is it if a student achieves while using drugs or doesn't achieve where they could due to their drug use? I'm still trying to find a way I can reach even a few kids. Being able to spot the girl will hopefully get the group of kids she is associated with to think twice before using again, not due to being in trouble, but maybe I can provide them with some information on how harmful the supposed "safer" prescription drugs are.

Prescription Drug Use in Our Schools

I am involved in a class where we get to work in the Junior High Schools, and today was our first tour of one of the schools. The class got to check the school out, and then we were supposed to observe the hallways just to see kids in their "natural environment". I got to see them interact, joke with each other, flirt, and talk about all of the hip things people do. Well, apparently the new cool thing to do is Oxycotin. Yep, that's right, prescription pain-killers. I overheard a group of girls talking about a boy that had taken FIVE pills at school. FIVE! Normally after a surgery the normal amount taken is two about every eight hours. This child is very lucky to still be alive. According to various sources (WebMD and drugfree.com) an overdose of these pills can cause resperatory depression (aka you stop breathing right). I have no idea why kids this young are doing this, and if the school even knows. I told the vice principal and even looked at a yearbook to try to find the girl that had been talking, but unfortunately I couldn't identify her. They're going to watch the site for a group of girls with the description I gave in the location so they can try to get the situation dealt with. I'll be working in the counselling office for the rest of the semester, so I hope I can do something to help. Get a drug-free program in there as an assembly or something. Or at least show kids videos like this one.

Heavy Backpacks

I just got back from a long day of class... 7:30 am to about 6:30 pm jam packed full of classes. I don't have a chance to put books anywhere, so I end up carrying three binders, four textbooks, and one notebook with me on an average Thursday. I am just going to go ahead and guess that my backpack weighs about 25 pounds, plus or minus a few. I still live in the dorms, so I end up walking to class, too (approximately four miles of walking each day). I got back and realized how great it was to take my backpack off and not have to carry it around for the rest of the night. I then got thinking about the issue of school children and heavy backpacks. I found an article on the problems heavy backpacks can cause, and it is a little scary. The experts say a backpack is not supposed to weigh more than 10-15 percent of a person's total body weight. Basically that means that unless I weigh 250 pounds (which I do not), I am definitely carrying way too much in my backpack., Unfortunately, I need all of those materials in my classes. Soon I will be driving from my ED350 class, so I 1.) won't be walking as much 2.) will be able to leave some books in my car. Thank goodness. As a future educator I just wonder what teachers can do to help with kids having heavy backpacks.

My First Post for EDUC331 Sec. 002

I am just trying this out to make sure it works. Hope it does. :)

More to come later.

Alyssa