My project has been turning out well. The only problem I believe I have is the fact that I have had more girls than boys take my survey, thus maybe altering the results than if I have had an equal amount take the survey. For my survey, I have had a few simple questions that are accompanied by a few simple choices for answers. It is very interesting to see what current high school teenagers have to say about their educational system in their country. All in all, this was a very interesting experience and I am excited to share my results when presenting.

My study has been going well, I have had a few questions I have had to eliminate from my survey however I believe it will be for the best.

I have started my survey Thursday. It is going well, with 3 people having already looked it over. I will be looking for people who have gone to public school and people who have gone to private school, and I will try to have my survey being both boys and girls, however obviously going to an all girls school there will be more girls that take this survey.

For my project, I will be completing a research survey. With this, I will be asking current students of IHA a few questions on how they feel about their school and our education system overall. I will be asking some who have been through Catholic school their whole lives, and I will also be asking some who have switched from Public to Catholic schools. One of the questions I will be asking would look like:

"do you believe most of what you are learning now will benefit you further in your future?" and such.

I will hope students that partake in this survey are 100% honest, giving the survey their full opinions.

For my project, I will be doing a survey research. I believe this is the best way to provide people's and student's own opinions regarding their education. The students are the main people who are affected by education, and learning their opinions on how they believe their education system would be best for my project.

*please ignore the creepy baby type troll thing in the background of this video, I honestly do not even know or want to know to be honest, I hope it doesn't distract the viewer too much*

The all time question that plagues the back of student's minds, night after sleepless, caffeine filled night writing paper after paper that they'll never remember in months to come: "is college really worth it?"
When we think of the first positives of college, we think of:

• how we'll have such a well rounded education after we graduate and complete our courses
• the job opportunities which we will be presented to in life through having the degree of our choosing 
• the future in general, how we believe it will be benefiting us better if we have a college degree to guide us through life

And as an IHA student, I can speak for us all that we are CONSTANTLY  being pressured regarding the topic of college, making Naviance pages basically the first few weeks of freshman year, correct? 

"Welcome to Immaculate Heart Academy! So nice to see you decorated your laptop case, it looks great. Now, let's talk Harvard." 

So now...is college really worth it?

• 10 page papers assigned in one night due the next day about literally nothing that is re searchable
• Classes start at 8 in the morning....and end at 8 in the morning
• some professors do not know your name yet it's the third month in and you sit right in front of their desk
• the topic of living on campus or staying at home...drive to school every morning and come home every night or eat ramen for the next 4 years while typing your lab while the party next door is still going on at 2 in the morning, doing your own laundry *which may not be bad for some people* but becoming independent in general and having to clean up after yourself 
• roommates. Sometimes, they're just.......
• job interviews every other week to hopefully be able to keep up with some bills
• two words: student loans

However, in the long run, all those papers, noisy floor mates, ramen noodle filled nights will pay itself off.

If you pay close attention to the video, he will explain how dollar for dollar how college really IS worth your time and while. It basically pays itself off. 

So next time you think to yourself as you take time out of your busy schedule to do your dreaded college apps, maybe watch this video first and remember, it is worth it. You could always have that feeling of "I should have gone to college", "my future could be so different than it is now", "I could have such a better job" ,"I could be in such a better place in life than I am now". 

One more thing.....

If anyone knows me very well, you will know that John Green is my favorite author. Anyone who else is a fan, you might have watched his vlogs on his Youtube account. At the beginning of the video, Green begins to discuss how ready students should be returning to school after summer to learn about the great achievements we have made. He then goes into saying how we do not take our education for granted, "you may often feel your studies are mind numbing instead of mind stimulating". I do agree with this statement that he makes, due to the fact that most of other teenagers in third worlds can never have the education I will ever have or other teenagers have, and I feel as though kids take their education for granted. Let's face it, we all do. "Uhh, I have to do an essay on top of math questions on top of studying for three tests on top of a project on top of reading a book for English on top of reading and highlighting 10 pages for religion class. Oh yeah, maybe I can get an hour of sleep....wait, no, I forgot about SAT prep. I can just sleep tomorrow night  guess." This is usually the thought of an average IHA student. Sitting in class, thinking that the clock is actually ticking backwards wonder how it's even possible.  However, did we ever stop to think...

I know we complain a lot about how much work we have, and I do admit, I'm guilty of complaining about the amount of work my school gives me. However I am thankful for it in the long run. I am thankful for the education I am being given. And I believe that by the end of senior year,  most of us IHA students will realize that all this hard work we're putting into ourselves will pay off. Look at the picture. Have you ever really thought about it? How many lives could be saved if that one person could afford an education? So start listening in class, get off whatever other website you're on instead of taking notes, listen to your teachers, study for your tests, do your work, because you never know. You may be the person to cure cancer. You may save millions of lives. Use your education wisely.

School Closings

The past few months have been a pretty tough time for my local New York Catholic grammar schools. The New York Archdiocese has declared that there would be closings of a few schools, even though over the years there have been numerous closings. I have been a student of a closed school, and after 6th grade I had to start attending another school due to the fact that my current school had a lack of enrollment. Starting 7th grade and the high school process was enough but on top of that having to go to another school was pretty stressful. However, now I have been informed that the school I have attended after having to leave my first school is now closing. I've found out of this unfortunate news through faculty I know and my friends who have younger siblings still in the school, and  I even have a younger cousin in the school still. However, Archbishop Dolan claims it will "serve the kids better". Yet I am still confused on how this is possible. How is closing a school benefiting the child if you are taking away their education? Through the article read in The Daily News, it discusses how Archbishop Dolan continues to say that this is the right thing to do. I understand how he is trying to justify these actions. However, I do believe that they are straying away from the whole reason of why Catholic Schools even started, to give young children an education based on the Catholic beliefs. Taking away this from them is not really "serving the kids better" in my opinion. If there is a lack of enrollment, merging the schools should be taken into consideration. If there is a lack of funds, again merging with another school and/or budget cuts along with fundraising. There are many different paths that can be taken other than the immediate closure of a school. These children are our future and deserve only the best, and these schools *some which show impressive test scores* should stop being closed and should start being put first on the list of priorities of the Archdiocese.

Hi, my name is Jaime, and I picked education for my Sociology blog topic. I chose this topic because I believe that there are great faults in our education system in today's society. I hope you enjoy my blog, and thank you for visiting =)