Age of Miracles and Public Education

Yay! First post! Hi peoples!

It's crazy to know that you- yes you right there- are reading my words off of the world wide web. Weird right?

Anyways, let me give you a summary of what is going to be on this blog. I'm a ninth grade creative writing major at School of the Arts. This means I will constantly be blogging about reading and writing. I love to read contemporary novels and a sprinkle of fantasy here and there. I love John Green, Veronica Roth, A.S. King, Ellen Hopkins, this list goes on and on and on.

Right now, for example, I am reading The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. This novel follows a middle schooler name Julia who, writing in past tense, looks back on the time when the rotation of the earth started to slow, also known as the slowing. I'm currently on chapter 12 and it's... interesting. To be honest, I'm starting to get scared that the slowing might actually happen. I guess that means the novel has had an impact on me...??

Now this is obviously an abrupt transition but I really need to talk about this. I want to talk about Public Education. You have probably heard about this on the news about every other day for months now but all those reports are missing something. Let me ask you this: do any of the countless newspapers give a student's opinion? None in my city.

Where I live is one of the worst school districts in the state, let alone the country. That is not my personal opinion, blame the surveys. Even though my school has the highest graduation rate in the city, it's still a mess. We're on the state's watch list and our classes are constantly being observed by representatives from the state or the district. The Education department, or who ever is in charge, think these observations and surveys are going to help but they're 100% wrong.

But wait! Here's a brilliant idea! How about we listen to the people who are learning in those classrooms and the people who are really affected by the school's education quality. Do you sense the sarcasm? Good.

I have told countless teachers and classmates about this idea and they support it. Then they say "but..." and my heart sinks because I know what they're going to say; it's the same every time. They say, "But the state and district think you're unreliable." Unreliable!? Give me a break!!! How are the students unreliable?? We're the ones that are suppose to benefit from public education so are we unreliable!?!?!?

I have accepted the fact that change probably isn't going to happen while I'm still in high school. The real reason I want to do this is for the kids I babysit and tutor after school because they need and deserve a better education for when they're going through the system themselves.

Okay, okay, my rant is over. This my personal opinion and it's 100% okay if you don't agree. I just needed to get my voice out and into the world.

I know I'm not the only one that feels like this. So if anyone reads this, get those fingers tapping across that keyboard and comment your opinion.

Sincerely,

Wonderland

PS- tell me if there is any typos please (insert cute monkey emoji)