journalism
This year, I worked for the Animas High School Quill. Below are some of my articles from this year!
beating ballot bafflement (op-ed)
It's getting to be the Thanksgiving season, and Americans are filled with thankfulness, happiness, and gravy. If you're like me, you need something to be really angry about to push through this season of warmth and comfort. Every November, I find myself regressing to optimism and inspiration until I eventually return to the majestic, bottomless pit of cynicism in our country: politics.
Amendment 68 was annihilated by a margin of 71% to 28.9%, and I am not proud in saying that I voted in favor of the amendment while having no idea what it meant.
As an educated young man in a democratic society, I received my first ballot in the mail this year, looking forward to using my crucial vote to create the society of my dreams. Little did I know, the amendments that I was voting on would be worded in lengthy, confusing sentences I could not decipher.
The amendment that caused me the most difficulty was Amendment 68, which asked me: "Shall state taxes be increased $114,500,000 annually in the first full fiscal year, and by such amounts that are raised thereafter... [blah blah school funding blah blah horse racing blah blah gambling.]" I resorted to internet searches, overcome with the guilty feeling that I was cheating my country.
I read through the first few pages on Amendment 68, and was able to gather a few basic facts. The nay-sayers at voteno68.com claim that the amendment is solely for the benefit of a Rhode Island-based casino and is too vague in its details. However, this website hardly gave any evidence and I left as confused as I began.
The other side was similarly vocal, especially yesforbetterschools.com. They say that the already underfunded Colorado school system needs a boost, and that the casino taxes would ultimately help public schools to provide students a better education.
Great! I love education! I thought, enthusiastically shading in the "yes" bubble and mailing in my ballot. Before the results came in, though, I looked into the issue further.
I found that the main advocates against the amendment were the casinos already in place in Colorado. They feared that a new casino in Arapahoe County would cut down the profits of existing casinos, as well as force Arapahoe residents to pay extra taxes for transportation upkeep in the area.
Then again, the main opponents of the amendment weren't in Arapahoe County, but rather in the districts that already had casinos helping to fund their schools; the classic "sin-tax".
As if this wasn't confusing enough, the Denver Channel reports that this was also one of the most expensive campaigns in Colorado, with millions of dollars contributed on both sides. Everything I read on the amendment made it more interesting and more baffling.
With such intricate and nuanced issues, it can be difficult to make the right decision during election season, especially simply by reading the ballot. My question is to the media and to the government: why make these things so confusing? I believe that I could make an informed political decision on amendment 68 after the fact, but I know that many citizens wouldn't go through the time to look at sources on both sides of the issue.
We are a democracy that has thrived because of the public voting on what it believes. When media and the ballot perpetuate confusion instead of laying down the facts for voters, we the people are the ones who lose.
While we're in no danger of losing the right to vote, I'm afraid that we're losing the right to easily know what our votes mean. Unfortunately, I have only one solution to the problem: do your research and, when you're 18, know what you're voting for. Good luck and happy Thanksgiving.
Amendment 68 was annihilated by a margin of 71% to 28.9%, and I am not proud in saying that I voted in favor of the amendment while having no idea what it meant.
As an educated young man in a democratic society, I received my first ballot in the mail this year, looking forward to using my crucial vote to create the society of my dreams. Little did I know, the amendments that I was voting on would be worded in lengthy, confusing sentences I could not decipher.
The amendment that caused me the most difficulty was Amendment 68, which asked me: "Shall state taxes be increased $114,500,000 annually in the first full fiscal year, and by such amounts that are raised thereafter... [blah blah school funding blah blah horse racing blah blah gambling.]" I resorted to internet searches, overcome with the guilty feeling that I was cheating my country.
I read through the first few pages on Amendment 68, and was able to gather a few basic facts. The nay-sayers at voteno68.com claim that the amendment is solely for the benefit of a Rhode Island-based casino and is too vague in its details. However, this website hardly gave any evidence and I left as confused as I began.
The other side was similarly vocal, especially yesforbetterschools.com. They say that the already underfunded Colorado school system needs a boost, and that the casino taxes would ultimately help public schools to provide students a better education.
Great! I love education! I thought, enthusiastically shading in the "yes" bubble and mailing in my ballot. Before the results came in, though, I looked into the issue further.
I found that the main advocates against the amendment were the casinos already in place in Colorado. They feared that a new casino in Arapahoe County would cut down the profits of existing casinos, as well as force Arapahoe residents to pay extra taxes for transportation upkeep in the area.
Then again, the main opponents of the amendment weren't in Arapahoe County, but rather in the districts that already had casinos helping to fund their schools; the classic "sin-tax".
As if this wasn't confusing enough, the Denver Channel reports that this was also one of the most expensive campaigns in Colorado, with millions of dollars contributed on both sides. Everything I read on the amendment made it more interesting and more baffling.
With such intricate and nuanced issues, it can be difficult to make the right decision during election season, especially simply by reading the ballot. My question is to the media and to the government: why make these things so confusing? I believe that I could make an informed political decision on amendment 68 after the fact, but I know that many citizens wouldn't go through the time to look at sources on both sides of the issue.
We are a democracy that has thrived because of the public voting on what it believes. When media and the ballot perpetuate confusion instead of laying down the facts for voters, we the people are the ones who lose.
While we're in no danger of losing the right to vote, I'm afraid that we're losing the right to easily know what our votes mean. Unfortunately, I have only one solution to the problem: do your research and, when you're 18, know what you're voting for. Good luck and happy Thanksgiving.
teacher mentorship feature
Every good hero starts out naive and unproven: a humble farm boy, a hobbit in the Shire, a new teacher at Animas. They all have the power within them to save the world, but they need a mentor: one who has raised dragons, defeated a Balrog, even tamed a class of incoming freshmen.
This was Humanities teacher Jessica McCallum's thought when she decided to start the AHS Teacher Mentorship Program. This program pairs new teachers, padwans, with their own Project-Based Learning (PBL) jedis. It is designed to help new teacher seamlessly adapt to the rigor of AHS culture.
The fact is, PBL-raised students are needy, curious beings dedicated to making their teachers' lives as intellectually difficult as possible. For this reason, new teachers need support to become fully fledged Ospreys.
Chemistry teacher Steve Smith was part of the program last year, but finds this year's more formal mentorship program more fruitful. He finds that mentoring helps him with his own teaching as well: "You learn by teaching... That's really when you develop mastery on something... and I enjoy that process."
His mentee is physics teacher Brian Morgan, who has had to create multiple projects for his freshman class. Morgan talks about his extensive work with Smith on designing the project: "Steve gives me feedback, he comes in and does some observations. He's helped me to refine how I interact with students... He has a different way of eliciting responses from students than I do."
Smith and Morgan were paired because of their similar thinking styles and their involvement in the AHS science department. Likewise, new mathematics teachers Kyle Edmondson and Hannah Starbuck were paired.
Though Edmondson is new to Animas, he has had experience teaching PBL and mentoring teachers at High Tech High in California. He says that Starbuck is a natural and that his role doesn't make it feel like he's teaching her: "Mostly what I've done is just questioned her about the [projects] she's thinking about... How long will this take?... It's not our role to give them all the answers."
Starbuck is also new to Animas this year and loves teaching in the competitive Animas culture. She says that Edmonson has been a great mentor so far: "He's not overwhelming, he's not overbearing to me. He checks in with me when he feels he needs to and he's always available for me to ask questions and he's very responsive. He's been a great fit for me."
While the Teacher Mentorship Program has been effective so far in bringing new teachers up-to-speed with AHS culture and academics, Humanities teacher and self-titled Consular of Teacher Dopeness Jessica McCallum would like to keep the program going next year: "I hope it opens doors to further measures of collaborative support between our faculty. We want to create a professional culture of getting better all the time and teacher mentoring is a piece of that puzzle."
This was Humanities teacher Jessica McCallum's thought when she decided to start the AHS Teacher Mentorship Program. This program pairs new teachers, padwans, with their own Project-Based Learning (PBL) jedis. It is designed to help new teacher seamlessly adapt to the rigor of AHS culture.
The fact is, PBL-raised students are needy, curious beings dedicated to making their teachers' lives as intellectually difficult as possible. For this reason, new teachers need support to become fully fledged Ospreys.
Chemistry teacher Steve Smith was part of the program last year, but finds this year's more formal mentorship program more fruitful. He finds that mentoring helps him with his own teaching as well: "You learn by teaching... That's really when you develop mastery on something... and I enjoy that process."
His mentee is physics teacher Brian Morgan, who has had to create multiple projects for his freshman class. Morgan talks about his extensive work with Smith on designing the project: "Steve gives me feedback, he comes in and does some observations. He's helped me to refine how I interact with students... He has a different way of eliciting responses from students than I do."
Smith and Morgan were paired because of their similar thinking styles and their involvement in the AHS science department. Likewise, new mathematics teachers Kyle Edmondson and Hannah Starbuck were paired.
Though Edmondson is new to Animas, he has had experience teaching PBL and mentoring teachers at High Tech High in California. He says that Starbuck is a natural and that his role doesn't make it feel like he's teaching her: "Mostly what I've done is just questioned her about the [projects] she's thinking about... How long will this take?... It's not our role to give them all the answers."
Starbuck is also new to Animas this year and loves teaching in the competitive Animas culture. She says that Edmonson has been a great mentor so far: "He's not overwhelming, he's not overbearing to me. He checks in with me when he feels he needs to and he's always available for me to ask questions and he's very responsive. He's been a great fit for me."
While the Teacher Mentorship Program has been effective so far in bringing new teachers up-to-speed with AHS culture and academics, Humanities teacher and self-titled Consular of Teacher Dopeness Jessica McCallum would like to keep the program going next year: "I hope it opens doors to further measures of collaborative support between our faculty. We want to create a professional culture of getting better all the time and teacher mentoring is a piece of that puzzle."