Newark Arts H.S.

After visiting Newark Arts High School last week it made me miss high school desperately! Walking through the halls as students were passing to their next class and listening to all the comraderie just made me miss my own high school in ways I can't explain. Although high school doesn't sound like it was a long time ago (3 years in June), I feel like my time spent out of high school has taught me more than I could ever learn in the classroom. I also realize stepping back in a high school how much I have matured and grown as a person. When I was sitting in the auditorium listening to the wonderful voices from the students I felt old...let's get something straight, some of those students may have only been a few years younger than me, but they still have a lot to learn before they graduate as well as before they walk into their future university. I realized that although teaching may have not been my number one choice for a career, it seems that after a few education classes and in-depth conversations in class about the problems etc with schools, it makes me want to help students of the future in ways that teachers couldn't help me.


As far as my opinion of the school itself, I was impressed. It was very similar to the image that I had pictured in my head. Since Dr. G has spoken about the school as "special" and you need to apply and get accepted, it immeadiately made me think of my own high school. I went to Bergen County Technical High School and the admission process was the same, you needed recommendations, admissions exams etc. Each student in the school was full-time but also had a major, just like Art H.S., my major was called Business Information Technology Systems(BITS for short). In BITS I learned primarily about computers and Microsoft Office applications. The school also had many other major from cosmetology to Auto Mechanics and everything in between. I am excited to see how the classes are conducted in Arts HS, but not excited to realize that the environment I am stepping into (urban area problems) I may not be 100% ready for. Overall though I was very pleased with the visit and truly look forward to the day I will spend there.

Health Education

My official topic/question for my inquiry project is...

Is the health education curriculum outdated? If so, how can we change it to make it better?

I think that this question is thought-provoking and very interesting. The ways to gather my data will be done during community service hours and also through talking to many people and seeking out their opinions. As stated in my last blog I do believe that the system needs a bit of updating, although I do think that people don't want to realize that our young children are not the little angels that they had hoped they would be. Having a fourteen year old sister will make this project even more applicable to my situation because I need to realize that some time in the near future she will be seeking out information and if she can't find it at school she will look to other places for answers. Hopefully she will come to me so I can help her make the "right" decisions in her life.

Any comments, suggestions from my classmates would be fantastic! Also even if you don't leave comments, take the poll that I have created in the right column!