Math Is Hard

Image stolen from www.saltdean.brighton-hove.sch.uk

Greetings from Liberty airport in Newark, New Jersey, where I am about to return to Ottawa after an unexpectedly expensive weekend in New York. Unseen flight change fees, hours-long delays, the need to hire pricey limousines, the destruction of three umbrellas in the rain storm, and now the foolish loss of my hat, scarf and gloves has rendered this particular voyage well into the red.

Anyway, I just bought my "breakfast" (at 2pm), a Caesar wrap, at one of those overpriced kiosks by the departure gates. Total price: $7.48. Wishing to rid myself of US change before returning to Canada, I gave the fellow $10.48. He said, "that didn't really help; you're still getting more change", and tried to give me $1.30 back.

I stared at him for a couple of seconds, then explained. "The bill was $7.48. I gave you $10.48."

"Oh," he said, taking back the $1.30 and giving me two one-dollar bills instead.

At that point, I reasoned that the amusement I experienced was totally worth the $1 still owing to me, not to mention having one's stereotypes of the US education system confirmed. So I smiled to myself and moved on.

Then I walked to the kiosk next door, a Starbucks, and ordered a grande Americano, my standard airport drink of choice. The post-tax price came to $2.51, allowing to get rid of more unwanted coins. I handed over two dollar bills, two quarters and a penny, and waited for my coffee.

The woman examined my money several times, with a puzzled look on her face, before finally returning one dollar to me.

??

At that point, I could not hide the amusement from my face. Bilked of a dollar by one proprietor, and given an extra one by the next, I came out even. But it does make me wonder how ledgers ever manage to add up.

I know that there's a good chance the two service people today might have been having a bad day. It's Sunday, after all, and we're all hung over, myself included. So what I'm going to say next is not necessarily directed at these specific two individuals, but rather at the seemingly growing trend of declining math and langauge skills across all levels of North American (yes, Canada, I'm looking at you, too!) society, and the concordant comfort with said decline.

Frankly, I'm tired of people shrugging off their laxity with a giggle and a coy, self-explanatory, "I'm not good at math." We math types (I trained to be a high school math teacher) are fond of saying that no one would ever say proudly, "I'm not good at language," so we should not tolerate that same attitude with respect to numeracy.

But, sadly, we've indeed reached a point where there is no longer any shame in eschewing basic literacy skills, too. The anti-education, anti-intellectual movement is, in many ways, an epidemic. There is no longer shame in ignorance, yet somehow there is shame in brandishing knowledge. It's cool to be a know-nothing braggart, but uncool to be a well-informed Poindexter.

So now when someone frakks up my change, I feel quite justified in smirking visibly, because I'm quite tired of pretending that "oh, that's okay; it's only math, and math is hard."

I know that my amusement is probably viewed by some of you as elitist snobbery. But when and how did it become snobbery to expect basic math skills on the part of service providers, especially providers who are handling my money? I'm sure I'd get the same response if I were to smirk at an official's brutal mishandling of my beloved English language.

How did we get to a point in society where I am the bad guy for expecting basic literacy and numeracy skills on the part of North Americans who've benefitted from years of state-financed public education? Why do we feel compelled to tolerate --nay, celebrate!-- the intellectual laziness of others?

So if any of my students are reading this --and I know you are!-- keep in mind the mood I will be in when I mark your upcoming papers and exams! Intellectual laziness will no longer be tolerated. It may, in the end, affect your chances of landing that choice Starbucks job at the Newark airport after you finish your degree. And we can't be having that.

Current Events Quiz #2

Remember back in November, I gave my 4th year class a quiz on current events. I then shared the quiz online and invited YOU to report your marks. This is how you did:








...which is slightly better than how the students did. But remember that online respondents could have cheated, and perhaps only those who did well took the time to report their results. The two sets of results are therefore not comparable and no conclusions can be made from these observations. It doesn't matter. This is not a contest, merely an educational opportunity.

This week, I gave the students their second current events quiz. This time, I narrowed the parameters significantly. The test would be on the news as reported by BBC World News radio broadcast (or their saved podcasts), within the period from Feb 1 to Feb 5 inclusive.

I haven't marked the quiz yet. But I thought you would like to take your shot, as well. As before, the answers are at the bottom of this blog post. And when you're done and you want to share your results with the rest of the world, click here:

http://doodle.com/6mbwmskkkxsdeph2

Remember: This is not a contest.

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1. A handful of Americans face kidnapping charges for trying to "rescue" orphans --who turned out not to be orphans-- from what country? (Broadcast Feb 1)

a. Bangladesh
b. Haiti
c. Croatia
d. Iraq
e. Afghanistan

2. Attempts to move large numbers of people off their land in India is, according to the government, necessary to protect them from underground heat and fires. Critics suggest, though, that the government and industrial interests really want to gain access to what underground resource? (Broadcast Feb 1)

a. Uranium
b. Coal
c. Oil
d. Gold
e. Bauxite

3. The President of Iran made what surprising offer to the international community? (Broadcast Feb 3)

a. He offered to send Iranian uranium abroad to be enriched, rather that developing domestic enrichment capacity
b. He offered to abandon domestic nuclear production in exchange for direct financial aid and debt reduction
c. He offered to step down and institute open elections with direct international oversight
d. He offered to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel
e. He offered to decriminalize homosexuality in exchange for reduction in American and European economic sanctions

4. In Basra, Iraq, a new hospital called the "Sara Center" just opened. What does it focus on? (Broadcast Feb 3)

a. Maternal and reproductive health
b. Mental health
c. Treatment of children injured in the war
d. HIV/AIDS
e. The medical needs of American war veterans

5. A new study showed that in the UK, the cost per person for this disease is greater than that for cancer, heart disease and stroke, and concluded that this is probably also true for the rest of the world. What disease are they talking about? (Broadcast Feb 3)

a. Depression
b. HIV/AIDS
c. Obesity and/or diabetes
d. Dementia
e. Infertility

6. The international criminal court is facing an appeal that may see Omar al-Bashir charged with genocide. Omar al-Bashir is the current leader of what nation? (Broadcast Feb 3)

a. Yemen
b. Serbia
c. Rwanda
d. Sudan
e. Algeria

7. This country recently test-fired a ballistic missile (likely containing test animals), making many surrounding nations quite nervous. (Broadcast Feb 4)

a. Yemen
b. Iraq
c. Iran
d. North Korea
e. Cuba

8. India has offered to resume diplomatic talks with what nation, after relations were suspended due to a terrorist incident in 2008? (Broadcast Feb 4)

a. Afghanistan
b. Iraq
c. Iran
d. Pakistan
e. Sri Lanka

9. Which republic of the former Soviet Union had federal elections scheduled for Feb 7, 2010? (Broadcast Feb 4)

a. Georgia
b. Lithuania
c. Ukraine
d. Romania
e. Uzbekistan

10. What breakthrough at Cambridge University might help millions of people around the world who suffer from diabetes? (Broadcast Feb 5)

a. Genetically engineered insulin
b. A subcutaneous insulin pump
c. A rapid, safe weight-loss drug
d. A carbohydrate digestion blocker
e. An artificial pancreas

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Answers:
1. b
2. b
3. a
4. b
5. d
6. d
7. c
8. d
9. c
10. e

Memories of Student Journalism

Patricia Rozema

On Friday I was interviewed by the University of Ottawa's student paper, The Fulcrum. The interviewer was a first year student, and I couldn't help but recall my own student journalism days, many many many years ago.

I was a writer for the University of Toronto student papers, The Varsity, The Gargoyle and The Newspaper. This was back in the late 1980s and early 90s, so there were no websites back then, and even email was a rarity. Many would type out their articles on typewriters! Gasp! I know!

I wrote mostly arts reviews, and rarely something more serious. I wrote about 40 articles for those journals back in the day, and at least one was included (without my permission, I will add) in some Japanese coffee table book about an art installation I'd reviewed ("Ball Crowd Illuminates Riotous Architecture", The Varsity, Oct 2, 1992). The rest were of variable quality, but each had the fullness of my attention. The experience, without a doubt, helped me to develop the skills and discipline to become a professional writer.

My very first editor was Isabel Vincent, who went on to Canadian journalistic fame. The article I wrote for her was a review of a new TV show called Star Trek: The Next Generation. I'd concluded that the show would probably not have a long run. I was quickly pigeonholed as the "Star Trek guy", and was subsequently sent out to review a couple of Star Trek conventions. Yeah, chicks dig guys who write about Star Trek. Right?

My old high school friend Simon Houpt was my subsequent editor. Simon, of course, is now a superstar arts writer for the Globe & Mail, and author of Museum Of The Missing: A History of Art Theft. I remember that one of Simon's thrills was occupying the Gargoyle office once owned by David Cronenberg when he, too, was a student journalist. The lineage of such things is deep and important.

(A decade later, Simon and I would meet Ted Turner in the men's room of a movie theatre. Simon would go on to interview Billionaire Ted in an article that briefly caused a little stir in American print media. I mentioned the meeting briefly in one of my wrestling columns at the time.)

I recall fondly my first "big name" interview, which was arranged by Simon. It was with film director Patricia Rozema at the so-called "Festival of Festivals", which is what the Toronto International Film Festival was called back then. It's quite the giddy thing for a naive 20-something to be cast into the world of glamorous film festivals, with a catering room, press pass, press kit and everything! I would go on to review the TIFF for a variety of magazines years later, as my career matured.

Ms Rozema was very helpful, as she could probably tell how nervous I was. She told me to stop recording and check to see if the tape recorder was actually working. Now that I myself am sometimes interviewed, often by inexperienced journalists, it's something that I find myself doing: asking the interviewer to check on his recording device. I was such a pathetic sod, that at one point the interview turned into a therapy session as Ms Rozema attempted to console my broken heart, recently made so by an ended relationship.

I'll never forget something she told me during the formal interview. She was talking about how people search for meaning through family and by doing good deeds, leaving their mark, etc. I asked her then what her purpose in life was, and she replied, "To make beautiful things through my art." At the time, I thought it was the stupidest, flakiest and most self-obsessive thing I'd ever heard. I'm not so sure anymore.

I'll also never forget the reception that my interview received, so typical of idiotic, self-important youth. The first line of the article was, "Patricia Rozema is a beautiful woman in every respect." Predictably, the newspaper received letters of complaint that I was "objectifying" her. Insert rolling eyes here.

One of the curious things about student journalism, especially at a big and important school like the University of Toronto, is that you never know who your coworkers will become. Another old friend of mine, Matthew Vadum, was big on the student journalism scene and now makes it big on American TV and print. Another gadabout in those days was Hal Niedzviecki, who has certainly carved out a niche for himself in Canadian culture.

Back in the Varsity days, I worked alongside many future big names. Two necessarily come to mind: Naomi Klein, who is now one of the most famous women in the world; and Tim Long, who is now a writer and producer for The Simpsons. (And I will personally attest that long before the Powers That Be noticed him, Tim Long was a reflexively hilarious writer and a naturally hilarious fellow.)

As a result, despite whatever small success my writing has afforded me, I hope you will forgive me for never quite feeling up to the task. Look to whom I must constantly compare myself!

So what's the lesson here? There is none, except to say that so much of student experience separate from the formal academics plays a role in shaping one's skills and path in life. I wonder who the young woman who interviewed me on Friday will become in 15 years.

Your Dream Is Still In Reach

Here on the second post of the new year, I've already begun to cheat. Today's post is actually my January entry in my MicroSoft Small Business Forum column. Don't judge me!





I was recently riding the public transportation system of a major North American city, where I saw an ad for a local college's continuing education program. The ad featured a slogan, something like, "Your dream is still in reach", and a big glossy photograph of an astronaut conducting a spacewalk.

The intent of the message is obvious, that one's dreams are often linked to one's career, which is often dependent on one's education, which is often cut short by life's unexpected demands. Furthermore, the message is a hopeful one, that the opportunity to return to the path of achieving one's dreams can be had by simply returning to school... Not just any kind of school, but a continuing education program, which is specially designed to service the educational needs of individuals who typically must continue to work full-time and perhaps have been out of the formal education system for a while.

It's an excellent message, and I applaud it. When in doubt, more formal education is rarely a bad option in life. In fact, for literally millions of dispossessed, marginalized or simply poor people around the world, it's education that offers the sole hope of ascension through society's hierarchical ranks.

It's a message that I wish more of my university undergraduate students would take to heart. In a Western liberal democracy, especially one with socialized services like we have in Canada, it is a historically rare and invaluable service to have formal taxpayer-subsidized post-secondary education available to anyone who can make time for it. Indeed, it's a gift that hundreds of millions of people globally would give much to receive. Yet, it amazes me how many take this gift for granted.

In an increasingly globalized economy, especially in these dire times of worldwide depression, the vital need for marketable and demonstrable skills has never been greater. The number of students opting for the easiest path through their educational experiences is nonetheless great indeed, and saddeningly so. Many deliberately choose programs that require minimal or zero writing, for example, or trivial amounts of mathematics. In short, many students eschew educational experiences that may challenge the extant gaps in their skills sets. This is precisely the opposite to what they should be doing if they wish to maximize their educational experiences to enable an advantage in the workplace.

The problem, I think, is in the distinction between education and certification. We are, I believe, entering an era wherein certification --the obtaining of a degree or diploma-- is less important than the extent to which one can prove and demonstrate the skills that the certification purports to represent. In other words, days of the "paper chase" may be coming to an end. In my post-PhD days, when I was enduring several job interviews per week, it was not unusual to undergo skills testing for specific knowledge and skills that my expensive and lengthy doctoral degree presumably conferred upon me. Having the degree was not sufficient for many potential employers; proof of its value was needed. And this is as it should be.

The saddening part, though, is the unspoken lie that subtends the ad. While it's true that further education is an excellent lever to improve one's position in society, it's also true that there still exists a window of opportunity for optimally effecting that improvement. It is unlikely indeed that someone returning to that college's school of continuing studies could aspire to the position of astronaut, as the ad suggests, because, frankly, they'd be in competition for that prized position with individuals who'd never taken any educational breaks, and who'd committed their lives to obtaining the requisite skills at a world class level.

Despite this caveat, I believe it remains an important truth that the path out of economic distress is a combination of many factors, among them luck, industry, enterprise and, most inaccessible of all, education.

Current Events Quiz

This past week I gave my 4th year global health class a brief quiz on current events related to issues in global health and development. They were instructed to monitor major news sources daily since the start of term, with specific attention to stories that might have a direct or cursory connection to global health and development. This might include stories relating to war, politics and economics.

The reason for scheduling the test is that I was concerned that we are doing a disservice to our students by not making their education more relevant to the current state of the world, and by not engendering in them an appreciation for the daily happenings of society. This is particularly important in global health, a subject that changes hourly and that is dependent on an interdisciplinary familiarity with the changing nature of law, politics, science and general knowledge.

The intent is not to punish lack of knowledge, but rather to encourage the valuing of knowledge. Part of the lesson is to be able to asses one's own level of general knowledge relative to the overall level of knowledge in our society.

Therefore, to provide some hand-waving data for discussing the quality of these questions, I'm doing something I ordinarily would not do. I'm publishing the quiz on this website. You will find the questions below, with the answer key immediately after.

You are, of course, welcome to take the test yourself. I would further encourage you to input your score to an online service by clicking this link:

http://doodle.com/yw6gz78tyb2x6kks

Please note: this is not a formal academic study, and therefore has not undergone any ethics clearance. These data will not be published, though they will be discussed in my class. If you enter your results, those results will be visible by everyone. Feel free to enter a fake name, if you'd prefer. But I would like you to enter your true profession, if you feel comfortable doing so. It goes without saying that this is a strictly voluntary exercise.

Also, please don't cheat. This is not a contest.


-----

1. In 2009, the Nobel Peace Prize was controversially awarded to what person?

A. Nelson Mandela
B. George W. Bush
C. Barack Obama
D. Al Gore
E. The Dalai Lama


2. In early November, 2009, the people of Germany noted the 20th anniversary of what?

A. The death of Adolf Hitler
B. The fall of the Berlin Wall
C. The founding of NATO
D. Germany’s entrance into the European Union
E. The assassination of Chancellor Angela Merkel


3. Who is Dr. Abdullah Abdullah?

A. One of the candidates in a recent Presidential election in Afghanistan
B. Head of one of the larger semi-legal organ trafficking rings in India
C. The scientist who led the development of an experimental HIV vaccine in Africa, currently undergoing limited clinical trials
D. Recently appointed Deputy Director General of the World Health Organization
E. Author of a controversial study recently published in The Lancet, about excess deaths in the wake of the US invasion of Iran


4. On November 11, 2009, a joint report by the American Cancer Society and Global Smokefree Partnership was published. The report predicts that cancer deaths due to smoking will double in 12 years in what region or population?

A. The Caribbean
B. China
C. India
D. Africa
E. Aboriginal communities in the Western hemisphere


5. Who is the current Director General of the World Health Organization?

A. Margaret Chan
B. Ban-ki Moon
C. James Orbinski
D. John Baird
E. Aung San Suu Kyi


6. In October, 2009, Desire Munyaneza, the first person to be convicted under Canada’s War Crimes Act, was sentenced to life imprisonment after a court found him guilty of seven charges relating to what?

A. The Rwandan genocide
B. The Sudanese (Darfur) genocide
C. War crimes committed during the Congolese civil war
D. The selling of counterfeit HIV drugs in sub-Saharan Africa
E. War crimes committed during the NATO peacekeeping activities in Somalia


7. In December, 2009, representatives of 192 countries will meet in Copenhagen to discuss what?

A. The on-going humanitarian crisis in Darfur
B. The global threat of terrorism
C. Pandemic influenza
D. Global food production
E. Climate change

8. In November, 2009, this man’s war crimes trial at the World Court in The Hague was postponed till March, 2010, to give his new lawyer time to prepare.

A. George W. Bush
B. Radovan Karadzic
C. Wanderlei Silva
D. Slobodan Milošević
E. Ramush Haradinaj


9. In what year is Canada is scheduled to withdraw the bulk of its troops from Afghanistan?

A. 2010
B. 2011
C. 2012
D. 2013
E. 2014


10. After the May, 2009, conclusion of civil war lasting over two decades, the government of this country has just agreed to release the remaining 136,000 refugees forced to live in government refugee camps.

A. Democratic Republic of Congo
B. Nicaragua
C. Sri Lanka
D. The former Yugoslavia
E. Sudan

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Answer key: 1c 2b 3a 4d 5a 6a 7e 8b 9b 10c

We Don't Need No Euduction

Grrr. Why did it take me 15 minutes to check my email on the "high speed internet" this morning? I want my gratification instantly, damn it!

Back when I was in grade 7, I attended Earl Grey Sr. Public School in Toronto, land of bullies, miscreants, an ill-placed doughnut factory next door, and an odd assortment of bizarre students and teachers. This was back in 1979, ancient history for some of the people reading this, I know.

The place was so unkempt and anti-intellectual that I cherish a particular memory. This was back in the days when Pink Floyd ruled the airwaves, and Another Brick In The Wall was every pre-teen's anthem. I was tickled pink (pun intended) to find one day spray-painted across the wall of one of the teaching portables:

"We don't need no euduction" [sic]

I wish I'd taken a photo.

There were two teachers in particular that I will discuss today. They were both named "Jewell". She was a delicate Australian music teacher and her husband was a gruff, old-fashioned two-fisted beast of a man who taught Gym, Science, English and History --because in Ontario, all those subjects are pretty much interchangeable. Back in my day, the school was so unruly and dominated by bullies and thugs that the more idiotic students would terrorize classmates and teachers alike, spitting in teachers' coffee and throwing desks at the black board. Really.

The delicate music teacher, bless her heart, tried to ply us with relevance, teaching us the intricacies of the music of the day (Kiss, David Bowie, Led Zepelin, etc.) For her efforts, she was oft rewarded with, you guessed it, boogers in her coffee and desks aimed at her head. That's when she would call down to one of the portables, from whence her manly husband would charge into the music room, howling thunderous terror to any and all in his path.

One day, Mrs Jewell foolishly tried to teach us a medieval English folk song from the 13trh century. It was called "Summer Is A-Comin' In", and you can hear a 1928 recording of it here. The lyrics, as you can read here, include the line, "Groweth seed and Bloweth mead."

That's right. She let a bunch of 12 year old thugs sing the line, "Bloweth mead". Not one of her brightest moments.

But I was reminded of one of her shining moments last night during a long drive from Ottawa to Toronto, during which I was listening to a Neil Young marathon. Mrs. Jewell was the one who introduced us to the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song, Ohio, which was about the Kent State shootings of 1970. The song has never left my head since hearing it that first time in her class in 1979. And with the benefit of hindsight, I can see how groundbreaking, courageous and valuable Mrs. Jewell's educational approach was: the Kent State shootings were only 9 years old when we learned of them --not in history class, but in music class-- and the power of contemporary art to reflect the relevant happenings of the day was demonstrated to us in a very real, poignant fashion.

I have described Mr Jewell as a gruff fellow. That's not fair. I really enjoyed his teaching style. In a school of thugs, it was nice to look forward to a class that was guaranteed to be in control, as his were. He publicly encouraged my love for science fiction, which is no small thing. He also made the mistake of once announcing to the class that everyone should be more well-behaved like me, embarrassing me to no end. Thus, it was my duty to act up in that particular class, earning me an exile into the hallway. Dude, I was on your side; no need to brand me as uncool!

I hear rumours that Mr Jewell has since passed on. I don't know if that is true. I have no idea whatever happened to Mrs Jewell, or indeed if in this age of transient marriages if she even remained Mrs Jewell. It is sad, though, that it has taken be almost 3 decades to full appreciate the very subtle value of her courageous music classes.

The Joy of Undergrads

Hey, big shout out to all my students who might be reading this. Hi! Stop reading this blog and go write your papers!

I love my students, I really do. Even the annoying ones. Sometimes they underwhelm me. Sometimes they overwhelm me. Sometimes they disappoint me. Sometimes they surprise me with their excellence. But it's always a joy to see them. Really.

(And if any of them are still reading this: just because I like you, it doesn't mean I won't kick your ass (figuratively) if you piss me off!)

Today one of my older students in my first year class brought her son to sit in on my lecture. The little fellow appeared to be about 11 years old, but I really don't know. But man, was he ever impressive. In a room of 200, only he knew the answers to two very basic (but obscure) geography questions: where are the nations of San Marrino and Andorra?

After class, I quizzed him briefly on some tougher geography questions: what are the capital(s) of South Africa? How about Iceland? Suriname? He got them all right. He gave me a question in response: What's the capital city of Tuvalu? I had no idea. (The answer is Funafuti, by the way; I looked it up.)

I tells ya, that young fellow filled me with a great deal of optimism for the intellectual quality of our upcoming generations... despite contrary evidence. I hope he comes back to class!

Meanwhile, a colleague at a different university was kind enough to share with me some tidbits from application essays to his/her programme. Here are some of the best quotes:

"I am also a big fan of billiard. Trick shots require a great amount of thinking and pulling them off provides a great sense of satisfaction."

"Being taught CPR can always come in handy just in case of emergencies."

"The teachers kept saying change was good. That change meant new horizons. I didn’t see any change. I’ve only realized how much longer I will remain shackled to the educational system."

"I took care of homeless dogs in my garage, because in the house I was not allowed. But I did, very rarely, maybe ten time, managed to snick a cat into my room."

"I have always wanted to succeed. Even when I was a baby I wanted to."

"I want to maximize my generativity"

"Therefore, I borrowed a couple of books about Einstein. They always surprise me with how little I know."

"Having a balanced life is more weighty."

"So I’m celebrating the fact that I’ve moved prisons? It’s like hopping over the fence just to find out there’s another fence with barb wire. This was ridiculous. Free air conditioning? Considering we’re paying for the rental of the place, the damn air conditioning better be free."

"At school I am one of the leaders of C.I.A "

"In the community I have also volunteered at different events such as ‘Free Hugs’ and Police Picnics."

"But I bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel."

"My body slowly burns from the inside. It is disintegrating, disappearing, changing. Energy is what burns the fat slowly into sweat, like the sun melts wax - slowly. There is no more presence of softness or excess curves. Instead my body is toned. My curves are tight now, whereas once they were buried beneath more unpleasant, unwanted flesh. I look into the mirror and see a stranger."

"It seems the more advanced we become the easier it becomes for people to commit crime."

"You are repeating something that makes you different but the fact that you are continually repeating proves that fact that you are staying the same in a way."

"My interests and participation in activities outside the classroom has made me independent and confident because of the expression of my inner beauty."

"'Too much of everything is bad,' a man once said."

Re: USA. "In spite of their intervention in World War 2 to impede the drastic war for being more dreadful, they are still noted for being one of the most hated countries in the world."

"In the life’s of Tupac Amaru Shakur, Christopher Wallace you will find true American poets and role models"

"I am also responsible for contacting the photographer who is required for taking snapshots of our graduates during this special night"

"I am also a member of the Biology Club, participating in dissections to receive observational and practical experience dealing with animal parts."

"I realized that even the very fundamentals of music would cling onto me permanently"

"'The more things change, the more they stay the same', the following aphorism can be used to describe society’s need and love for sports."

"To summarize, even as everything around us changes from our politicians, to our culture, to our technology, our need for sports and the love that we express towards them on a day to day basis stays the same."

"Also, I enjoy retail therapy and I know that loads of shopping will not relieve me of my stress, but I always comfort myself by saying how by shopping, I am helping the country’s current economic crisis."

"The major value in participating in extracurricular activities is that you can take your mind off the burden of school"

"... you can intermingle with them, without having to compete with them to attain the highest grade average."

"Beyond the classroom you will find more people than there are inside it."

"If we would have given up on improving the 1885 car, than we would not have cars driving us nowadays."

Now, I would not be an educator if I did not seek to remedy this... um... misfortune. So for those interested in improving their writing abilities, I recommend Purdue College's online writing resources.