Doing a poll for my next story:
http://www.twiigs.com/poll/Society_&_Culture/95326

Rap Isn't a Game

         I've noticed something these past few... months: Rap music. I don't know if it's just me or if everybody who listens to rap is seeing it too. But in 2010 and throughout the beginning of 2011 rap music had this sound of death coming from it. It's like Young Money decided they'd take over and some how the music began to die. No offense to Drake, because he's the only good representation of rap music attached to the title "Young Money". But it's like as soon as Nicki Minaj invaded with their spokes boy Tyga and their mascot Lil Chuckee "Young Money" became a joke, but some how made a name for themselves as the "face" of rap music. (Ridiculousness)

         I think things are looking up for 2012. Towards the end of last year we started to see new faces for rap on the come up. Wiz Khalifa is doing his thing, J. Cole is making a name for himself, and the rise of Machine Gun Kelly is on it's way. If you haven't listened to at least one full mixtape from each of these rappers you can't call yourself a fan of rap music. They're the only rappers in the lime light (or damn near) attempting to keep what you use to be able to call "Hip-Hop" alive!

What's Missing: Student poll reveals void in curriculum

What do you learn school: science, math, English, and history? The basic stuff, right? In history there’s an entire world of knowledge. But in class we tend to concentrate on the things deemed important by the Board of Education: America’s History, the World’s history, and even Latin history. Lately students and teachers have been noticing a few stories missing from the history books.

A poll was taken within Hallandale High School asking students and teachers if the felt Black history was taught enough in school and about 94% of the people asked responded “No”.

Tiffani Clark, sophomore at Hallandale High School, said “No, as you move up in grades, black history is taught less” Meanwhile, Vicky Bharastising debated “Yes, because in class history teachers’ base their class around it, kids just don’t pay attention”

Along with the poll, the students were asked to name a few black history facts, but most of the facts give were either incomplete or incorrect. The upsetting parts of the interview were that a large percentage of students asked were in some way African America, therefore proving students don’t know they’re own history. Do we blame the school system or whether the students were paying enough attention?

Teachers feel that black history is something that needs to be a part of the ongoing curriculum, especially at a school like Hallandale where 66% of the students are African American, but social studies teacher Mr. Jones says “there is only so much time in a year”. Therefore, he along with many other teachers are considering adding black history as an elective course so students who want to learn the history can, but still if you teach black history and don’t tie it in with what else was going on in the world at the time parts could still become unclear. The problem, says Jones, is “… the Instructional Focus Calendar (IFC) turns teaching black history into an option. Teachers are mandated to teach certain things.” Not only that but some teacher, such as American history teach Ms. White agree with opinions previously stated that as you advance within grade school black history is taught less.

“When I taught middle school we did a lot on black history, but when I began teaching high school black studies wasn’t in the curriculum.” White said.

Black history is a major part of America’s culture and the World’s history so why are these stories being withdrawn from the history books? The curriculum in high school doesn’t include black history to be mandatorily taught in classes so most teachers do not take the initiative to teach it; therefore making the information almost inaccessible to the students. If black history is being forgotten by students inevitably, in generations to come, the knowledge of their past will be obsolete and a piece of the puzzle will be missing. If the class is entitled history why are pieces of the past being deleted?

Barrack Obama is the first black president of the United States of America, but who paved the way for him to be able to take this position? Everybody’s heard of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but some don’t even understand what he had truly done. People know of Malcolm X, but who was he and why is he so significant? Rosa Parks, W.E.B Dubois, Hiram R. Revels, Carter G. Woodson, why are these people’s names even being mentioned in the world?

By leaving stories out, there are unanswered questions and by the year 2023 these stories will be lost in time. When did we claim the power to erase history?

Teens & Sleep

Teens seem to never get enough sleep. Teens say it’s because school starts too early and parents say it’s because teens go to sleep too late. Well science says they’re both right.

The Early Birds

Teens need more sleep than children and adults, it’s a proven fact. The problem is teens bodies are wired to stay up later than children and adults. It’s not because of their “rebellious” nature as some parents like to say, it’s because of their hormonal balances.

A recent study found in an article by Gisele Glosser “biological changes that take place in puberty keep kids from being able to fall asleep as early as when they were younger”.

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Teens just can’t fall asleep too early and to some nine o’clock is way too early. However, in order for the average teen to wake up at 6 a.m. and still manage to receive the doctor recommended 8-9 hours of sleep a night they’d need to go to bed somewhere around 8-9 p.m. But the pattern in which teens brains are wired makes this virtually impossible. Teens are wired to fall into the dream state later than they should.

There are plenty of ways teens can keep themselves from becoming sleep deprived. Here are some tips:

○       Set a bedtime. No matter how lame it sounds having a set bedtime (around 10pm) can cause for you to be more alert in the mornings.

○       Avoid caffeine after noon. Caffeine too late can cause for you to have trouble falling asleep.

○       Turn off the TV before you go to bed. Some people say TV helps them fall asleep, but the noise and bright lights cause you to wake up in the middle of the night.

○       Don’t go to sleep more then two hours past your usual time on the weekends. Doing this could cause your sleep patterns to be thrown completely “out-of-wack”

○       Don’t take long naps. A 30 minute nap after school refreshes you, but still allows your body to fall asleep at night.