Friday, February 25, 2011

Homework (due Wednesday, March 2)

Address one of the following questions in a paragraph answer of 125 words.

Why are drop out rates so high (in secondary and postsecondary education) in your opinion?

What is more important to our future, the arts or the sciences?

Find out more about ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). What is your reaction to this information?

Post a copy of your answer here as a comment and please bring a word processed and printed copy to class on Wednesday.

15 comments:

Brad said...

With our world obsessed with the magic of new technology, with many of our citizens deeply absorbed by smartphones (their faces bathed in an eerie blue glow), with political convention voting conducted on the internet, it is easy to assume that science will be the most important factor determining our collective future. I disagree. In fact, I am deeply worried by the direction we, as a society, are taking. Science can create new things, yes, and it has done so with astonishing rapidity, particularly in the past five years. What it cannot do is teach us what to make of this change, how to behave, how, in the end, to live lives that are marked by bewildering and often alienating new technologies. I argue for the arts, where our artists and writers will, through their imaginations, help us to make new meanings. Let us hope that we still have time.

—150 words

Darija said...

Although the science is very important for our life, whereby helping our life to be easier, I vote for the art. The art induces our creativity and stirs our imagination. What may soothe us when we are sad if not music? How can we shift us to remote places, meet strange people, or peer into other’s cultures if we don’t have books? What can cause an eruption of our positive and negative emotions if not a good movie? Conversely, science brings us many devices which make us to be passive lookers. It also forces us to catch up with new technology putting more stress on people. It is comfortable to have light and electric heating, but it is more comfortable to enjoy a good book in your hand.
128 words

Niloufar said...

After searching about “ADHD” in Google, I got shocked because this disease was totally new for me. It is hard to imagine that children with ADHD, in ages four to seventeen, have difficulties to control what they’re doing and saying. Normally, children are inattentive and restless even without ADHD, now picture the once with ADHD, which request a lot of attention from their parents. I found that there are three kinds of ADHD, and each of them appears in some general signs such as: constantly chatting, jumping, running, and interrupting people. Moreover, it is really interesting that ADHD are more common in boys than girls. Lastly, scientists are not sure yet that what causing the ADHD, but they’re guessing that food additives specially coloring may have an effect on it. (130 words)

Marwa said...

For me art means beauty of nature, but science is everything that we need for a better life. These days we are facing many diseases, and every day the researchers find new medication for it. Therefore, we have all sorts of technologies and everyday there’s a new discovery, so people have more understanding and chance to live a better life. I really appreciate that I live in a modern world where I can educate myself and enjoy the ongoing technology. I hope that science will never stop discovering new things that make our life more comfortable and enjoyable .I agree that, Science is about gaining knowledge of our world, and hopefully people will use it in good way and will not harm others.

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Yi said...

It may appear that science has been one of the major forces that moved our society forward. Without the invention of compass, man would not be able to sail across the ocean and there would not be the discovery of the new continent by Columbus in 1492; without the invention of computer and internet, we would have not had the convenience to sit in front of computer at home while linked to the world. Indeed, science has profound and enormous impact in every inch of our life. However, I would not think that science is more important to our future than arts, the power that awakens, reaches, and rejoices our souls. Without arts, a man’s soul lives in a barren land, even if the modern science can give you all the convenience of living. Maybe one day science can build robots that are as smart as or even smarter than man, but one thing for sure, is that a robot will not have a soul, and that, is the most precious thing for man.

170 words

Matthew said...

Art and science are both important to the maturation of the human species. Where would philosophy be without literature (or vise versa), or our understanding of the human anatomy be without Da Vinci’s drawings, or Darwin’s illustrations of young species that lead to the enlightenment of that era? One cannot be without the other. Now, ponder this: in about five billion years (which is an instant in physics time) the Andromedia Galaxy will collide with this tiny, insignificant suburb of the universe we live in, destroying everything that has ever been. I know not what the solution to this would be, but I know that the answer lies within the sciences; technology, quantum physics, the lot of it. Let us move away from the mortifying to the manic depressive. Imagine no music, no literature, no impressive paintings or drawings. No output of one’s emotions and ideas. I say this is a ghastly thought where life has a tinge of grey bespattered about it. There would be nothing worth saving if we were naught but vapid, ill-cultured animals. I think it was Stephen Fry who said that science is that which advances man, but art is what inspires him – they are two sides of the same coin.

- 207

Kyle said...

I've always had a more personal opinion on why there are so many drop outs post elementary school, for I am one of them. For secondary students, it's a mixture of having little comprehension of why you're doing this for years on end, with stress. For post secondary students, it's just stress. All this stress to learn in today's society to get good grades or you'll be stuck with a sub-standard job for the rest of your life; how would you feel being told that at 13?. Then being reminded every grade after that until you've actually finished school? Teens often don't see the connection between 13+ years of school and a prosperous career. For post secondary students, it's high marks or bust. It's a harsh world for us students, sometimes it gets the better of us.

~137 words

Unknown said...

Science: a study of the world and what materials consist of and the arts: mastering our skills or technique and being creative our own way. Both the arts and the sciences are somehow similar when it comes to interpretation and brainstorming; as Daniel J.Levitin said in his book "This is your brain on music: the science of a human obsession","what artists and scientists have in common is the ability to live in an open minded state of interpretation and reinterpretation of the products of our work." because two different people are both in pursuit of the truth, exploring more by brainstorming that consist stages of development to make believe of a hypothesis or prediction. Unfortunately I cannot decide for which one depends for the future, so I will say for both; science is about exploration into how our world works and consist of whereas art is about upgrading, but mostly expanding out talent/skills. We need both because we need an "open-minded state of interpretation", but mostly we want to prepare ourselves for the future.

Amy Dong said...

I feel confused about the importance of the arts or the sciences. The arts can make us happy or relax in our mind. On the premise of living well, we are just in the vein for enjoying the art. Just think. If we don’t have enough food and clothing, will we like to admire a painting or music? The science has created many new things for us such as the light and the airplane. They give us the convenience of living and travelling. And we will live better in material terms in future because the science still continues creating some useful things for us. Therefore, it’s hard to tell what is more important to our future, the arts or the sciences, and I will choose the science if I have to choose one.

Steven said...

The cause of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, is a mystery. It’s treatable by medication (stimulants, in major cases), but still incurable. The diagnosis is not easy either. These facts make ADHD seem rare but it’s actually the most commonly studied psychiatric disorder among school age children in North America. According to the Wikipedia on the Internet, about two to sixteen per cent of children (compare to three to five per cent, globally) suffer from the symptoms of it. In addition to the medication, health life style, nutritional diet, and regular exercises ease on patient’s life as well. No wonder some blame to the dysfunction of the families in our society. Since we can’t prevent ADHD form happening, living a healthier life style, both physically and mentally, may be the best way to deal with it. – 136 words

Angelika said...

According to the US Census Bureau in 2000 one in three Americans drops out of college. In my opinion, it is due to lack of motivation, low academic readiness and financial difficulties. For some students is hard to keep themselves motivated throughout five years. Students can think that they can be skilled labour and make as much as most college graduate without any degree and payments of student loans. Students’ academic readiness is also a reason. It is a challenge for the student to continue education if he or she doesn’t have fundamental knowledge. Money issues are also a factor. I am talking not only about tuition fees, but living expenses as well. Lucky students can rely on their parents’ support, but if they can’t they can get deeper and deeper into debts. Because it is hard to study, lack of motivation and money issues, students can be under stress all the time and not think about education any more.

-160 words

Lisa Cai said...

Many reasons can cause high drop out rates (in secondary and postsecondary education), but the main reasons, in my opinion, (in here I am emphasizing on secondary education) are students themselves, family status, and schools management system. First, some students can’t pay attention to the teacher in class and they never review and do their homework after school. Some students are addicted to playing computer games until midnight every day. This vicious cycle makes them lose interesting in study. Secondly, the families’ status and environment affect these students so much, such as parents devoice, or quarrel and fight in front their children. Finally, the school management system is not strict with students. Schools have an undeniable responsibility for high drop out rates because there is no strict managing system for their students and school board doesn’t give teachers right to control students. Some schools even provide daycare for some teenage mothers.(they are too young to have baby at that age.) Because of these reasons, we have high drop out rates in secondary education.

Anonymous said...

I think for our future both science and art are equally important.For me personally I would always choose art first because it puts us in agreat emotional state and allows you to express yourself and your ideas.As an individual I would much rather watch the good movie,listen some great music and conect with other people through the art.But on the other side if there is no science there wouldnt be art,we would still be stuck in the tribes fighting for our lives.I just cant wait to see what other new things science will bring us.So my opiniom is they are equall, art because it help us to grow as a person and science because we grow as a race.

Brad said...

From Ensieh:

Dropping Out
There are several reasons that the rate of drops out is high in secondary and postsecondary.For example, family problems are one of the commen issues that causes the students to drop out of their classes. The issue might be the seperation of their parents and that really affects their lives and they cant focus on their studying.An other reason may be that they are not interested in their classes.They took the class because their parents want them to and forced them to take that specific class. Finally, the most commen reason is that most of the students have financial difficulties. They might have to work for long hours and they are too tired to participate and concentrate on their studying.Although the rate of dropping out is quite high in secondary and postsecondary education, we still can reduce the percentage by finding the solution to students' problems.

jenny said...

It is the alternative of the arts or the sciences to our future. In my opinion the arts is more important than the sciences. Maybe we just think Arts is like music, draw, dance, and so on, it does not more effect the future. Actually, it just is a little part of arts. The arts is "imaginative, creative, and non-scientific branches of knowledge considered collectively, especially, as study academically". Sciences could made the society improve, yet Sciences make bigger negative condition. Some advanced munitions will be fall into war and destroy our future. Comparing the influence of science enable us to find that arts should develop the whole society morally and intellectually. Arts is peace, but sciences is competition.
(122 words)