Kayla, I agree with you completely. Single sex classrooms are only beneficial to a certain extent. They may be more profitable only for the beginning years of a student's education (single sex art, math, and science classrooms in elementary school and middle school) so young children can feel free to explore their interests in a judgement and stereotype free setting. But, like I said on my blog, we can only shelter children for so long. They need to face reality and feel comfortable with what they love and what they would like to pursue in life. People are always going to be judged and kids are going to have to realize that eventually. I also mentioned on my blog that the real world does not have single-sex work places and there are few single sex colleges. If schools are going to have single-sex classes, they should compromise, like you stated, to also have co-ed classes.

Natasha, I can relate to your post about your favorite childhood toy. I, too, had a thin, white cloth blanket that I brought with me everywhere and slept with every night. I didn’t have a name for it, but I remember that I had more than one, so if I lost one or one got dirty, my mom could replace it. That blanket was my favorite, along with my Simba stuffed animal. I’m too sure what happened to them, but they are probably stored away int he attic with some other old things of mine. My little cousin, Autumn, who is 12, still has her favorite blanket from when she was younger. She calls it her “Munna”. She used to bring it with her everywhere, and she even had a “Munna” for her baby doll. It’s pretty worn out and tattered now but she won’t through it away. I guess, every child has a favorite stuffed animal or blanket, and not necessarily a toy. I was having a little bit of trouble coming up with what my favorite toy was, but after reading your post, I remembered my blanket, and all of the memories it reminds me off. Even as you get older, there will always be that one thing that you never want to let go of because it brings back so many memories for you. I used to a purple sweatshirt that I got in 6th grade. I literally wore it everyday, weather it was summer or winter or fall. I was worn out and fraying and had holes int he cuffs but every time I wore it I would remember all of the fun memories from middle school and freshman year. However, my mom made me throw it out Sophomore year.

Erin, I agree with you. The teacher you mentioned in your post is an extremely good teacher. She helps each and every one of her students whenever they may need her. She takes time out her day to make sure every reaches their fullest potential in her subject. She is also very good at reviewing before and after tests which really helps all her students. I agree that availability to help students is a key character trait that all teachers should have. Whether a teacher has 10 kids or 70 kids to teach, they should take the time to get to know each one, recognize their needs and offer them some form of assistance to bring them to where they need to be. I also agree with the fact that teachers should not leave their students to help themselves. When a teacher takes the time to help a student, it not only makes the kid a better student but also makes the teacher the best he or she can be. All students really want is to have their teachers there to help to them. It’s best when a teacher wants you to succeed as much as you want yourself to succeed. You’ve written this very well and I like that the theme of your post was that the best advice a teacher can receive is to be there for their students. I think this is why we are very lucky at Bishop Connolly- the small class sizes and close-knit environment make it easy for teachers to help their students in every way possible.

Melissa, I agree with you completely. I, too, picked Alecia More (P!nk) for my celebrity role model. You are extremely right, Pink has always managed to keep her name out of the news, and out of the bad press. She’s kept image clean, and a lot of people know she’s not someone to mess with. She is strong, independent and extremely smart. She’s also very ambitious and motivated. She got herself to where is, singlehandedly. She did not need to sleep around, or lie, or scam her way to the top. She is a true rock star, and she sings and writes because it is something she loves, not something someone is telling her to do. I also agree with you in the fact that Alecia she uses her ambition and compassion in other ways than just through her music- she is a huge advocate for animals and animal rights. She uses her power to help those who cannot help themselves. Something else I added in my post was that, although I don’t like her music, I like the messages that come through in her songs. Her recent song, “Perfect”, gives the message to young teens, both male and female, that they don’t have to match up to the pressures from society and their peers. It doesn’t matter what you look like or how many crazy parties you go to- that is not who you are. Her songs are real- about real people and real life situations. They are not all about drinking and glitter and substance abuse. Pink is like the anecdote to the bad influences of celebrities like Paris Hilton, Ke$ha or Miley Cyrus.

Amanda, I completely agree with your blog. Your two main points regarding Facebook and what people post make sense. Your first point, for example, made much sense- how people try to be someone they aren't on Facebook just to impress others to get a slew of comments simply to boost their self-esteem, and sometimes, ego. People try to elicit a response from people, who in reality could probably care less. This issue flows into your next point, how teenagers are making careless mistakes when in using the social networking site. Teenagers don't think when they post pictures of parties or of themselves doing other things that wouldn't want maybe their parents or a college admissions director to see, especially when they may doing things that aren't of age to them. People take Facebook and what they post on it, too lightly. Anyone can see what they are doing, no matter how private thei.r page is. Like I said in my post, people post things that they probably shouldn't. For example, someone may post that they were taking a personal day and going shopping, forgetting that they are friends with their boss or other colleagues on Facebook. They had called in sick, when in reality, they were simply skipping work. This resulted in them being fired. Or there are others who post that they will out or vacation for "x" amount of time, telling their whole Facebook community that "Hey, my house is going to empty for 12 days, feel free to drop by and take whatever you want." In general, I think you pretty summed out what Facebook was intended to be in your closing sentence: Facebook should be kept as a place of simple communication but in doing so, one must proceed with caution.

Zac, I honestly don't agree with any of this at all. For one, cheating is not "a part of human nature". It's not a natural instinct for kids to cheat. An instinct to cheat is something that I think develops over time. The point you make about cheating becoming an instinct when kids are in panic mode is very true though- when people aren't prepared for a test they automatically turn to cheating as a way to get by the test without failing. Although it is wrong to cheat, there is still no excuse. If you didn't have the time to study or read or whatever it is you needed to do you should tell the teacher. You'll either fail or get a second chance to take the test. A lot of teachers can be really understanding, but the bottom line is that you were honest. On another note, cheating on a test or something that "isn't relevant to the real world" is not okay at all. I understand that's your opinion but I think it's kind of ridiculous. A lot of the stuff we learn in school won't be relevant to what we want to do as a career but that's what high school is. That's pretty much saying that it's ok to cheat in high school because we won't need the stuff for what we want to do with life, but in college we won't cheat because we'll actually use the material we learn. It just doesn't work that way.

Lily, I agree with you completely. No matter what the drinking age is, there is nothing the government or police can do to prevent underage drinking and alcohol abuse. I think that the problems and abuse that arise from drinking in America have everything to do with our values. In other countries there are less drinking problems, especially among teens because they have been accustomed to and taught about alcohol consumption and it's problems. In countries such as Italy and Portugal, kids drink at very young ages- they are taught of alcohol moderation and drink it simply with dinner- not for "fun" or to have a good time. In other countries, such as China, like you mentioned, children are taught more of the consequences of such reckless drinking. In America, children aren't raised like that or given the complete knowledge of alcohol and its' consequences. Instead children are influenced by the media- music, tv, movies, etc. that advertise drinking as being fun and wild- people just wanting to have fun. This is why drinking is such a problem in America among teenagers and young adults. So I agree with you for those reasons that the drinking age should not be lowered in America.

Alex, you will obviously have no problem getting into Bryant! Don't stress. You're one of the few people I know who actually has all their college applications done so you've got nothing to worry about. You'll get your acceptance letters soon enough then everything will calm down. You do need to relax and really just enjoy this year. I really agree that life is not meant to be rushed, even though we're all excited for college, this is our last year as kids! Don't worry about a thing, this year is gonna go by so fast as it is! Enjoy it and just have fun!