Teacher of the Month: Ms. Ramirez

February 9, 2011 By 1 Comment


This article also appeared in the Toiler Times, the student newspaper of Manual Arts High School.

By Carlos Guerrero

All of us have had many teachers in the past years, but we rarely get to meet teachers who go out of their way to help students. Since middle school I have met only a couple teachers who take their own time to help students with whatever we might need. Mr. Galarza, Ms. Garibay, have been really great teachers, teachers you can really count on. Those are the kind of teachers we really need to have. Ms. Ramirez, my ninth grade teacher, is someone who I feel I can always count on, Not that she is the only one, but she is the only teacher from ninth grade I still talk to.

Ms. Ramirez has been working here at Manual for three years and has really helped us out since. Before she worked here she worked at a middle school. While she was working there she felt that teachers weren’t doing their job and realized that we need better teachers that will be willing to help. That is when she decided to work for high schools and she chose Manual. The reason she helps students so much whether they’re hers or not is because she grew up the way a lot of us did, neeeding a lot of help with school, but having parents who cannot help. That is why she takes time to help us out when she doesn’t have to. I went to her for any help I might need during lunch or nutrition. She has stayed with me and other friends, students that are no longer hers after school to help us out with work. I find that really great because many teachers wouldn’t take their own time to help us out the way she does.

Overall I feel that students need more teachers like this who will take time to help us and understand where we’re coming from. Teachers that aren’t willing to help students and don’t really try to help shouldn’t have picked a career in teaching. That is why I took my time to write this to show my appreciation to how this few teachers have been really helpful and put up with me because I know I play too much. These are teachers that I feel have really gone out of their way to help us out. Mr. Galarza, Ms. Garibay, and Ms. Ramirez have all been great and I thank you guys for that.

Filed Under: High School Notebook Tagged With: , , ,

Music = Life

February 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment


This article also appeared in the Toiler Times, the student newspaper of Manual Arts High School.

By Juanita Yat

Music inspires all types of people and age groups from the youngest to the oldest. To many people in many cultures music is an important part of their way of life. In most cases music shows people who they are. While some use the art of music as entertainment other use it for other use it for inspiration. Sometimes it helps say what’s on your mind without saying it yourself. It’s a way people and bands express their feeling about society and the government

Personally for me, music is everything. Music can help in my rough times; just by listening to the lyrics I know I’m not alone, that somebody else felt or went through what I am feeling. Many people like me find that music is what calms and relaxes them and makes them feel safe. Hear it because you are living it.

Music is important to me because it’s a way I express my feelings, also music was a bond between me and dad. One of my favorite bands that brought us together was HIM. I was around 7 or 8 when I was looking up to my dad and his HIM interest. The very first album I ever had was Greatest Love Songs vol.666 which was my Dad’s. I would have to say my favorite songs from that album would have to be The Heartless, When Love and Death Embrace, and For You.

Soon my passion for HIM grew bigger I started asking for cd’s like Razorblade Romance, Venus Doom and Dark Light. These albums included songs like; Dead Lover’s Lane, The Kiss Death, Dark Secret Love, Wings of a Butterfly and Killing Loneliness. Each of these songs have meaning to me and many have got me through problems greater than life. I think at first it wasn’t only the beat of the drums, base, and an awesome guitar solo but the lyrics that touched my heart. I just sink to my music and everything is okay.

Music is everywhere. There is no noise, only sound.

Filed Under: High School Notebook Tagged With: , , , ,

In Favor of Free Dress Day

February 7, 2011 By 1 Comment


This article also appeared in the Toiler Times, the student newspaper of Manual Arts High School.

By Mariana Ruiz

Over a year ago the administration decided to give our school uniforms. The reason for this was to reduce the presence of gangs, but that hasn’t changed.

Everybody is unique, everybody has different styles, and everybody has different interests. If every kid wears the same outfit and looks the same as everyone else, they’re losing their individuality. We look like a sea of purple, grey and black and we need more colors. Teenagers’ expressing themselves can help find who they are.

Having free dress day can be a school motivator. I think Friday would be a good day to have free dress day because it’s the day right before our weekend, day where many students don’t come because of it. If the school were to let us have our free dress day every Friday, it’d help students come to school.

We’d all fit into one place. We have our Jocks, Cheerleaders, Goths, Emos, Geeks, Class clowns, Band freaks, etc. if the school gave us an opportunity to let us be who we are once in a while, it will help build community.

Filed Under: High School Notebook Tagged With: , , ,

Manual Arts student speaks at USC Annenberg

February 6, 2011 By 2 Comments


This article also appeared in the Toiler Times, the student newspaper of Manual Arts High School.

by Carla DeLeon

On December 4, 2010, I was selected from my journalism classroom to present my school’s newspaper article at USC. The program with which I was going with is called Youth Media Los Angeles Collaborative. In the auditorium there were about 100 people, everyone from all over LAUSD. I was happy I wasn’t going to be the only student presenting.

I didn’t have much time to prepare my presentation because I arrived about 25 minutes before the event started. This made me very nervous; I wasn’t exactly sure about what it was I was going to say. My mentor, Silva, helped me out with as much as she could and prepared a presentation with prezi.com for me.

When the big day came, my mentor was directing people to the auditorium and helping others. While she did that, I was in the back with her laptop thinking of what exactly I would say for each slide of the Prezi. Silva wasn’t able to help me out as much as I wished she could because she couldn’t be at ten places at once, but thank goodness that my boyfriend Carlos, my friend Kerlie, and brother Marvin were there to help me out.

The event started at 11:15 a.m. A lady taking photographs was telling us to go inside the auditorium. Silva, Mike, and the director of journalism school, Geneva Overholser, began the event. After that, high school students and college students presented on women’s rights, Cesar Chavez, public matters, and more.

The whole time, I was counting down for when it would be my turn. I was a nervous wreck. I felt cold sweat running down my neck and I was shaking like an earthquake. Soon I knew I would go up to the podium. Carlos was telling me to relax and that it would be okay, but I didn’t want to listen. I believed it wasn’t going to be okay until I was home.

When my turn finally arrived, I went up on stage. The prezi Silva prepared malfunctioned. I figured I had already started everything wrong. After a few seconds the prezi started working so I began to talk about my article, which discussed teen suicides among gay, lesbian, and intersex students.

When all the presentations were over, the audience began asking questions. Public matters and Alejandra Cruz were receiving most of the questions so I figured I was safe because no one would ask me any questions. I was dead wrong. Out of nowhere, people began asking me questions.

But by the end of the day, I felt such a relief to be done with it. Even though I did have a few problems, such as forgetting what to say and not knowing how to answer the audience questions, I had a good time and the experience was amazing. Knowing I can present something in front of many people felt good and I can’t wait to do it again.

Filed Under: High School Notebook Tagged With: , , , ,

A Word of Advice to Freshmen

February 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment


This article also appeared in the Toiler Times, the student newspaper of Manual Arts High School.

By Jose Cornejo

Welcome to Manual Arts Senior High School. We are happy to have you here, We are looking forward to working with you and helping you to achieve your goals. In your first year of high school, classes should be smooth. You will learn how our system works and know what classes to take. What you don’t want to do in your first year is fall back in your classes.

When I was a freshman I slacked off and did not work. I always talked to my friends or disrupted the teacher from teaching. The times I was doing my work, there was always a person distracting me and it preventing me from finishing. Going to the third semester, I started doing my work. I had teachers that cared about me and wanted me to do well in school.

Talk to your teachers when you start to fall behind. Most likely the two teachers you will have are Mr. Garlaza and Mr. Gailbraith. If you have problems with any work they would gladly help you. What you could also do on your own time is to go talk to them. Both teachers are supportive and trustworthy, when he sees students interested in passing their class.

Absences have a great impact in your freshman year as well. The more you miss, the more work piles up. First year shouldn’t be stressful. That’s the year were most fun is, but at the same time do your work. Ninth grade you should not be missing a lot classes, because they are easy. School is mostly about just coming, paying attention, and doing your work. If you notice, every test the teacher gives you is just a review of the same work over and over.

Filed Under: High School Notebook Tagged With: , , , ,

Before starting life, you have to complete senior year

December 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment


By Jennifer Macias and Nataly Flores, Fremont Magnet High School

Oh no! The SATs! The ACT! The AP tests! Finals! God, can life be any more complicated? Oh wait, it can: college applications. If I knew senior year year would be so difficult, I would have dropped out in kindergarten—JUST KIDDING! But I’m not kidding about the stress.

We don’t want to freak out incoming seniors, but eleventh grade and senior year are on two totally different levels. If you think finals are hard enough, just wait until you take a four-hour test that determines your future.

For those in the Magnet program at Manual Arts High School, you know that you’re expected to complete a “Life Plan” in Mr. Edwards’ government and economics class. This report is like no other report you have seen. It is a detailed project that encompasses the next ten years of your life after high school. When I say detailed–I mean it. The average length of the “Life Plan” is forty pages!

Another thing on a senior’s agenda is prom. Ah, prom, the night where seniors can finally let loose (but not too loose) and enjoy the fact that they are finally leaving high school. Girls spend a few months trying to find the perfect dress and guys spend a few months trying to find the perfect date.

Don’t think, however, that senior year is going to be a huge bomb that’s going to explode in your face. There are some days where stress is nowhere to be found. The company of your friends is really going to help relieve some of that stress. But then again, it’s difficult to party it all off when you have the ghost of the “Life Plan” looming about.

The “Life Plan” might seem like an extremely overwhelming task, but that is why you have a year to accomplish the project that should, in turn, help you have an idea about your life after high school.

Setting the “Life Plan” aside, which you shouldn’t do because procrastination will only hurt you, there are many projects that must be completed before graduating high school and starting life. You must first get through the tasks of standardized tests, college applications, prom and, of course, walking the stage!

Filed Under: High School Notebook Tagged With: , , , ,

Community service: a high school requirement you may enjoy

December 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment


Chantel Carter, Fremont Magnet High School

Many high schools in Los Angeles require students to complete community service hours before graduating. At Fremont Magnet High School, all students are required to complete 160 hours and many have trouble choosing a good place to volunteer.

Community service is a good thing. Working for local organizations enables you to become an involved citizen in your neighborhood. Also, when the time comes to apply for college, community service always looks good on the application and gives you an advantage over students that haven’t taken the time to contribute to their community!

I know that the last thing that you would like to do when you’re not doing schoolwork is waking up to volunteer. I’ll take being lazy in bed over being an “involved citizen” any day. Unfortunately, no matter how hard we can wish for this requirement to go away, it won’t. So we’ve got suck it up, wipe the sleep out of our eyes, and get it out of the way. And with four years to complete these hours, there is really no excuse not to complete your service.

Can’t think of where to do your community service?

A misconception that a lot of students have is that community service means that you have to go out and pick up trash on the side of the freeway. That’s not always the case. The truth is, there are many places you can do community service that are right in your face. You can do community service anywhere, like a school, church, or a local business.

If you don’t want to do community service in your neighborhood, there’s always the possibility of traveling. If you go to another state with your family, see if there’s anyway that you can get a few hours done on your vacation. If you can’t leave the state, you can do something small like go to another city, or even another part of Los Angeles! Just know that there are opportunities everywhere to do your service, and who knows? You might just find something that you really enjoy, and those 160 hours will just fly by.

Filed Under: High School Notebook Tagged With: , , ,

No home to call my own

December 24, 2010 By 3 Comments


The author of this piece has requested to remain anonymous.

By a student at Crenshaw High School

Do you know how it feels to lose a parent not to death but the government taking them away? Or to have to grow up with people you know but really don’t like? Well, I don’t live with either of my parents or my family members; instead I had to join someone else’s. None of us are really related but somehow we call each other family. The government or foster care want us to call each other family, but the people I live with are not.

I had a family but the police took my mother away, and they have had her for two years now. They just keep changing her court date and blowing her off because she was not born here. And my father lives in another state, calls every now and then but I don’t feel like he’s doing all he can. They want me to call the house we live in my home but yet I was not born into it, I did not buy or choose it.

I live with a lady, her spoiled daughter who is 11 years old (but thinks she’s 30.), and her husband who has a problem with yelling. There are also two foster boys who are 13 and 7 years old. The 7-year-old is what society calls mentally challenged and the 13 years old is clinically depressed and has to take pills. Then you have my sister still in state of shock by the death of her father and for some reason, hates everyone in the house. I think she is like this because she lost her dad at an early age. She’s depressed and should probably take pills for help.

Then you have me. Born in Kingston, just turned 17 years old and I feel like I’m grown because as long as I have lived, I have been taking care of everyone else. I’m always cooking, cleaning, yelling or mad, because I have a life but can’t live it. I have to watch the kids and the truth is I don’t really like little kids.

When I grow up I want to be an attorney for children or a social worker because I don’t want other kids to have to go through things like this. Don’t get me wrong, I love helping people solve problems and doing important things for others, but chores aren’t the same as my work at home. All those kids and it’s only me doing house work. I have to get rid of my anger and problems by listening to music because I can’t do anything else.

I have to fake like I belong here but the government doesn’t want me because I wasn’t born here. I know the truth and all the answers to everyone’s questions about my mother’s situation but I’ve been told that if the truth is told, it might kill her.

I’m the girl who wants to show my emotions but I’m told not to and that I have to be strong. The girl who had it all until the justice system came and made it into their own story, something they would like to read. That story was once someone’s life, my life, and now it’s a memory, a dream I’m waiting on to see come through.

My life now is just waking up to yelling and arguing, going to school and getting in trouble for something stupid. Coming home and forgetting to do something and getting in trouble for it. My social worker says I have to go to school and get good grades but how am I to do that when I always have to go to court for paper work? She also gave me anger management classes but I don’t think I have any problems –it’s just I don’t like when people say they are going to do something and then don’t.

On Sundays I wait by the phone to get a chance to speak to my mother. I’m waiting on the call and to hear my mom say the judge has released her, but each time it’s her saying they pushed her date back.

I’m doing all I can so that I can join the justice system and try and change some things about the way it works because these people in charge have power and don’t know how to use it. They stay they are helping me by doing all this but when I ask to get a job, ask for help or ask for anything, nothing ever gets done. I just want everything to go back to the way it was, the way things are supposed to be.

Filed Under: High School Notebook Tagged With: , , , , ,

South Los Angeles high school students produce Office Max commercial

December 21, 2010 By 1 Comment


Office Max authorized us, the Urban Media Foundation news team, and subsequent producers to create a video project addressing the lack of school supplies within our nation’s schools. As a multitude of issues plague our nation’s education system, we believe this video project has the power to facilitate results, and inspire people to reinvest themselves in the future of our nation’s youth. This video project is driven by our thoughts, perceptions, and personal experiences. In addition, these anecdotes are accompanied by several dramatizations that we hope will inspire activism.

imageFrom left: Brandi Finney, Erdavria Rose Simpson, Destany Charles. In the back: Jerriel Biggles.

Even though this project was created by only a few students in Los Angeles, California, we thought it was important to address these issues on a broader scale. A flawed education system does not only affect the students in the system, but it affects the society who counts on these students to become competent citizens. According to the Alliance for Excellent Education, dropouts from the class of 2010 will cost the nation more than $337 billion in lost wages over the course of their lifetimes. If U.S. High schools and colleges were to raise the graduation rate of Hispanic, African American, and Native American students to the levels of white students by 2020, the potential increase in personal income would add more than $310 billion to the U.S. economy.

Our goal for this project is to hopefully expedite changes within flawed education systems. We are aware that this will take time; however, any small change is a step in the right direction. During moments of comic relief, we hope viewers will remember to think of the schools in their communities. We hope after hearing our stories viewers will want to lend a helping hand. We hope to shed light on an issue currently sitting in the dark.

We know we are still successful students despite the overwhelming statistics. Even though, we lack certain tools we still prevail. As a whole, we do not make excuses for ourselves because this hinders our learning capabilities. Instead, we appreciate the teachers, parents, and community members who are picking up the slack in order to give us the proper tools to learn.

Filed Under: High School Notebook Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Life in a different language

December 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment


Irving Velasquez, Crenshaw High School

When I came to the United States in 2004, I started school in the 7th grade. My first day at school was the worse day of my life. I did not speak a word of English and most of my teachers did not speak Spanish, my native language.

I was in my first period. The class had barely started, and I wanted the class to be over already. When the period ended, I felt like crying, but I knew I had to be strong. I knew that what was happening was not going to be forever. I knew that I would learn the language and would succeed in life.

In order to succeed in life I knew I had to get some kind of help. One person that helped me a lot those days was Ms. Sanchez. I am very thankful to her, because she helped me when I needed it the most. She was my math teacher, but she turned into an English teacher in order to help me. She would help me with everything I needed. In nutrition and lunch I would go over to her class so that I could practice my English. That helped me a lot. Now I’m in high school, about to graduate, and it’s all because of my courage and her help. If one day I had the chance to help someone that needs it like I needed back then, I would do it with my best intentions, because I want to give back what I once received.

Some people don’t know how much teachers can help. I know, because I once needed that help and, lucky for me, I found it. Not everyone looks for help in their teacher, because they think that nothing will change the situation. Well things are not like that. Teachers will help if you let them.

Filed Under: High School Notebook Tagged With: , , ,
«Previous Page
Next Page»