No one ever said breaking away from Britain was going to be easy. Not Thomas Paine, not John Hancock, and not George Washington. They only said we had to, because “all that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men to do nothing.” Patriotism is fighting to make your country a better place to live whether that’s in a war, in a court or political office, or in a tea party.
My friend Dawson said patriotism is “standing with your country right or wrong.” I disagree with this. If your country is doing things poorly, fix them. We fought for that right in America. If we would have followed this thinking in revolutionary times, we never would have become an independent nation. But, by hearing this thinking, I did change my definition up a little to include fighting in a protest or political office. My grandmother described patriotism as “knowing in your mind that your country is the best place to live in on the Earth.” This was very interesting to me. I had always thought of being patriotic as doing actions for your country. I’d never thought that patriotism could be a mindset, and of course your thought will always come out in your actions. I fully agree with my grandmother’s definition of being a patriot.
We the people of this great High School of Coppell, in order to form a more perfect educating facility, must not be restricted by the burdens of homework. It is wrong for one man or woman to control a classroom of individuals. Now it is reasonable for the student body to be required to study or finish what they did not finish in class. But it is ridiculous for the body to be forced to do projects such as storybooks, posters, and five page papers. It is simply an outrage to be forced to such assignments that can be described as “busy work” on our own time.
The students of these united classes have athletic competitions, work responsibilities, and family duties to attend to. There is no time for such homework things. Granted, teachers spend much of their time grading assignments and planning studies. But it is simply not necessary to assign so many projects, and the incidences of busy work need to be limited to none at all. The education professionals must be more aware of extra-curricular activities, or they will be made aware.
I believe it is necessary for classes to be made more time oriented. Maybe an on-level course should be allotted less time than an advanced one. If this cannot be done, then all classes should be made shorter to allow for a study hall period. Make this study hall period optional, so those who have time and patience for more school will not suffer.
These are the trespasses of Coppell High School. I have put forth several solutions to fix the problems we are facing. If these solutions are not fulfilled, the students are more than willing to complain. A lot.
