In December a member of our sophomore class, Kunal Datta,  traveled to his homeland of India. While he was there our teacher had asked him to take a few minutes each day and write down some observations about differences between the United States and India, especially in education.

Kunal explained in his writing that the students in India regard education differently than here in the U.S. “They take education to the next level,” he said, explaining that they attend school, get tutored for two to three hours and then study. He told us that there are three different types of schools: government, private, and public.

Kunal shared that all schools in India require students to wear a uniform, provided by the school. He also stated that in India there is no division of classes based on ability. Rather, students are coalesced into one group. After 10th grade, they are divided into three categories based upon their strengths and ability to learn.

Kunal’s experience visiting India has left him with an appreciation of both countries and both educational systems. What a wonderful and fortunate thing it is to feel that the culture that your family comes from has so much to offer and the culture that you’re currently experiencing has something wonderful to offer as well. Maybe you don’t have to be better than someone else, just a little different, and you can learn from both. Now that’s an education.

— Jessie Chandler, Editor

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Thoughts on Haiti

By Rafael Maciel>

The Haiti earthquake has really me made me think. It is strange to think that something that has been there for years can be destroyed in seconds. What really makes me sad is knowing that many people were trapped in the rubble of the buildings. Many survived the earthquake but later died because they were stuck under the ruins of buildings.

It is great to see how much help Haiti is receiving now, but this is just another example of how we, not just Americans but people of all nations, wait until something tragic happens and then we offer our help. Haiti needed our help way before this earthquake and yet most of us, me included, didn’t do anything to help. Had we helped Haiti earlier, maybe things would be better than they are now. There was no way of preventing this earthquake, but maybe we could have helped them prepare, by helping the people who are so poor. Still, I am happy to see how many people are helping and I hope that people keep Haiti in their thoughts even after this is over.

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Unbelievable Tragedy

By Alex Mark>

One child lost, one mother gone, people frantically looking under the debris just hoping that they won’t lift up a sheet of rock and find a loved one lying there lifeless.

Devastation has been a main fact of life in Haiti for the past month. The tragedy there has affected hundreds of thousands of Haitians, and now it is time for the rest of us to really take action, even if it’s a simple donation that will help because the people of Haiti need everything that they can get. Just try to imagine the kind of pain these families are feeling. Nothing will ever be able to help them get over those feelings of loss, but it always helps to know that you have someone out there supporting you and making sure that even if you have been stuck under a pile of rocks, help is available and it’s not going to be your last fight.

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Miracle Needed

By Madison Hughes>

On Jan. 12 an earthquake hit Haiti. So many people are facing injuries and losing family members. There are huge food shortages. About a week ago the U.S. had dropped food packages for the Haitians. But the Haitian government stopped people from going to get the food. There are so many desperate people searching for food and help, and yet when we sent the food the Haitian government hoarded it. On Jan. 15 it was said that the disaster had claimed between 100,000 and 200,000 lives; today we know that the figure is closer to 250,000. Haitian authorities confirmed that 150,000 bodies had been buried or burned as of Jan. 22. An estimated 400,000 are homeless. This all makes you think how unfair the world is; we need to find help for these people. They need a miracle.

We Want to Help

By Courtney Mussell>

Our U.S. history class has decided to continue helping other people. Right now, Haiti is going through a lot and we have made a decision to help them out in any way we can. All donations from our readers are accepted with grateful thanks, and we will be raising money in the same way that we raised money for shipping textbooks to Alabama. We have a great plan for making money for Haiti and helping to educate people. All the money we raise will go straight to Haiti. We hope to help as much as possible and hope you wish to help also.

Midterm Misery

By Kyle Francis>

Midterms: what do people think of them? I personally don’t mind them at all. I mean, who wants to take a two-hour test, but still, you get out of school at noon and you have two hours to finish one test. I do understand, however, why people don’t like them. They take forever! They make my head hurt, and there’s a lot of reading and writing. (I hate reading.) Oh, and when you’re finished some teachers make you just sit there until the two hours that they have to watch you are up. Not fun at all. Imagine sitting in a hard chair for two hours. It starts to hurt. So that’s what midterms are all about.

Nantucket and Vineyard Back

By Tyler Araujo>

The Vineyard and Nantucket rival football game will be back in place next season. The game was greatly missed this past year, and when we caught the whisper that there was a chance we might be playing them again, emotions soared. It was the one game that the team looks forward to every year, and now that it’s in place again the 2010 season is much more anticipated.