Mr. Zito:

“I am going to go bake in the dessert because I hate this weather. 105 degrees is just how I like it. What is this—it’s May!”

Mrs. Caryotakis:

“I am going to the mountains for a week with my family. Then, I will spend my time de-fleaing my cats and doing date night with Mr. Caryotakis.”

Mr. Estrada:

“I am going to spend time with my grandchildren in the LA area. I am also going to Seattle to visit my great-grandniece.”

Mrs. Osborn:

“I am preparing for my trip to Israel and Egypt in December. I need to prepare now, this summer, because once school starts, all of my shopping must be done—completely finished, there is just no time after that!”

Mr. Stuart:

“I am going to spend a lot of time with my wife and newborn baby. Let me just say, there are going to be lots of walks.”

Ms. Mell:

“Let’s see, we are going to England and we are going to drive to Cotswolds then, from there, we are going to drive to Dover. In Dover, we are then going to take a cruise over to Ireland, see Dublin, and then stop in the Channel Islands.”

Mrs. McMills:

“I am teaching a program for advanced student from the Ravenswood School District. Sometimes they are not as prepared as the kids from Hillview and La Entrada for the advanced classes. This program will help they stay advanced. I am also going to Mexico and will probably go back to Bakersfield, my hometown, a few times.

As most kids don’t know, psychology is a very small elective that’s split into two periods: one taking Psych with Ms. Otsuka for a semester, and the other taking Gender Studies with Ms. Galliano at the same time. Ms. Otsuka’s psych class teaches a basic overview of various parts of psychology, most notably the ideas of conformity and listening to authority. Psychology students were given a project in these fields, make an experiment to test people’s willingness to either conform or listen to a supposed authority. Inspiration came from a series of candid camera tapes which showed similar experiments ranging from standing in the elevator backwards to not stepping on any black squares on a checkered floor.

Ms. Otsuka described the experiments as a moment “to step back and observe some aspect of social behavior”. She strongly believes that the experiments are very informative, not for their results, but for the experience of stepping out of social situations and observing, allowing students to formulate their own understanding. She was not looking for a detailed report on the experiment; she was looking for effort and innovation on the part of the student. She sees the experiments as “all simple little things [that] illustrate strong principles”.

In previous years, a wide range of experiments have been conducted, but the most memorable, Ms. Otsuka recounts, was the “how close is too close” experiment. Students would be talking to someone, either friend or acquaintance, and slowly inch their way toward the person watching to see how the person reacted, if they scooted away, or commented.

One of the more unique experiments this year was done by several students revolved around the psyche student Rosa. In a class with her baby’s father, the fake news that she had gone into labor was released. The teacher and a few students in the class all knew the news was fake, but the observed the other students of the class and analyzed their reactions. They hypothesized that the students closer to Rosa and her boyfriend would be more openly emotional in both comments and movements, offering more support and congratulations than those who did not know Rosa.

Other experiments ranged from sitting on a desk in a classroom rather than in the seat to see how many others would follow suit to putting a sign on a slide that it was out of order and seeing how many concerned parents would stop their kids from sliding down. All the experiments were innovative and unique, and Ms. Otsuka was extremely proud of the work her students had turned out.

“It really was just a fantastic experience,” says Nicole Barnes. “Best experiment in all of high school”.

Organized and hosted by Western Civ teachers Dana Pattison and Linda Ryne, students “were required to make a primary source artifact ranging from 1933 to 1950,” according to Ms. Pattison, and “were supposed to zoom in on one particular aspect, a certain detail, rather than talk about the entire Holocaust.”

On May 4^th, students’ artifacts were put on display in Ms. Pattison’s room for other classes to view and admire.

“It was very informative,” said sophomore Brady Coggins, “the artifacts

[which the students made themselves] actually looked really realistic.”

And everyone else seemed to agree. “All the teachers would bring back multiple classes just because they loved it so much,” said sophomore Zach Klein.

It was so popular, Ms. Pattison said, that she “had to turn away teachers who wanted to bring their classes because all the slots were full.”

Students participating seemed to all appreciate the creativity of the assignment. “I thought it was a good way to understand the holocaust,” said Sarah Hoffman, one of Ms. Pattison’s students, “We had to do our research to understand the artifacts and make them look realistic.” Hoffman then added that she was glad they were able to share their work with other students. “I think it puts just how devastating the Holocaust was into perspective.”

In the end, The Holocaust Museum had none of the hitches one might expect for a project that has never been tried before and required such complete student participation. According to Ms. Pattison, “The students really rose to the challenge and created meaningful, poignant artifacts covering many aspects of the Holocaust.”

With the success of this years Holocaust Museum, it seems that an annual event has begun to both honor those lost in the Holocaust and to educate students on one of history’s darkest times.

Although Pattison has no personal connection to the Holocaust, she still believes it “must never be forgotten.”  She advises that not only must we “honor the memory of those who lost their lives,” but also educate ourselves.  “The Holocaust may be over,” says Pattison, “But persecution and discrimination remain.  By educating ourselves about the past, we can change the future.”

Ms. Pattison is looking forward to doing the project again next year and appreciates the worth of the project, saying, “The only way to tell the story of the Holocaust is through the voices of those who lived it. A museum brings to life what is a very meaningful human event.”

The following playlist is a sampling of songs that are inspirational, many are stereotypical and common, but often times the most well know song is the most important. The music ranges from metal to reggae, and even contains a Disney song. They are specifically chosen to provide a wide berth of inspiration, for those of varying tastes.

Eye of the Tiger (Survivor): No song has ever been able to match the slow build up to splitting guitar which Survivor crafted. The song has one of the catchiest beats ever written, and still manages to work some piano in to supplement the key notes.

Don’t Stop Believing (Journey): Everyone has heard this song. But no matter how many times you listen to it, when you hear “just a small town girl” you start mouthing the words, and you and all your buddies break out into a chorus of “livin’ in a lonely world”.

Livin’ on a Prayer (Bon Jovi): I’ll be honest, I have a weakness for Bon Jovi. I just find his voice to be one of the greatest things on earth, there is just an intensity which makes me want to get up, and to put in simplest terms, strut. I want to strut and tell everyone to have a nice day.

Keep on Rocking in the Free World (Neil Young): The first time I heard this song, I was remarkably unimpressed by what I heard to be just standard guitar, I didn’t see anything special about the song. Then I listened to the words.

We’re Not Going To Take It (Twisted Sister): You would never connect this glam rock song to church music, but the song was inspired by O Come All Ye Faithful. It is fitting that such a rally call to a generation came from an age old rally call of faith.

No Sacrifice, No Victory (HammerFall): I’m not the worlds biggest fan of metal, but this song delivers something that (in my untrained opinion) most metal songs don’t, a clear positive message, understandable lyrics, and truly epic bone shaking vocals that don’t rely on just screaming.

Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones): Simplicity is the nature of the Ramones well known hit, it doesn’t go for fancy instrumentals, it doesn’t go for fancy lyrics, it just captures that guttural feeling which pushes us to rise to the occasion.

Machine Gun (The Commodores): Sometimes inspiration from the most basic of human emotion, and in this case, happiness. This is simply the happiest song ever made. It doesn’t need vocals; the basic beat and light hearted playing fulfils the role of any clever rhyme.

I’ll Make a Man Out of You (Disney): Disney may be cheesy and childish, but it is undeniable that they seem able to capture the most basic truths in their songs, the purest meaning. When they wrote this song, they searched for a way to inspire both the soldiers in the film, and the audience to connect them to the struggle. They succeeded, and created the song I still listen to when I need to get pumped up.

Never Going To Give You Up (Rick Astley): Surprisingly, Rick Astley did not write this song with the intention of having millions see his music video as a prank. He wrote it to send a message. Granted, this message has been a little ruined by the millions of false links, but it’s still a real one.

The Safety Dance (Men Without Hats): Who would have thought a Canadian pop group would create the single greatest line ever “you can dance if you want to”. An anthem to independence, I find myself mumbling the words practically every week.

Dream On (Aerosmith): This song displays a different type of inspiration, in the vein of the previous playlist; it progresses from the simple roots of looking into a mirror and moving all the way to dreaming all the way until your dream comes true.

Get Up, Stand Up (Bob Marley): You wouldn’t think that such a relaxed song would be so, for lack of a better less sued word, inspirational. You hear Bob Marley jamming it about not giving up, and you just feel his message.

You Can Get It If You Really Want (Jimmy Cliff): It’s the trumpets. It’s the trumpets that make this song fantastic, they lend such a light and playful mood to the song which relaxes the listener and allows them to soak in the warm fuzzies.

Lean On Me (Bill Withers): Purity of message is a key part of inspiration, and Withers could not have done a better job illustrating his simple thematic statement of friendship. Nothing is more inspiring than knowing others have your back.

Here are just a select few seniors who have benefited the M-A community. Click on their name for a picture.

Courtney Arrington

Courtney Arrington has been in leadership for the past 3 years. As a junior, Courtney served as the class president and redeemed the same role her senior year. As senior president, she presides over the 4^th period leadership class and also serves as committee chair of the Senior Committee, which is responsible for planning the senior events, like prom and the fashion show. This coming fall, Courtney will be attending the University of Washington. Courtney was attracted to Washington partly because the World Vision office is right by campus. World Vision is the second largest humanitarian organization in the world, ranking just behind the Red Cross. Courtney hopes to major in international studies or nonprofit management and “ultimately work with World Vision and do some humanitarian work.”

Nate Major

Nate Major was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 4. Nate says that while in kindergarten, sitting at a desk surrounded by other students was extremely overwhelming for him. To relax, he would “just sit on the top of the climbing structure” because it would make him feel “as weightless as possible.” Nate has come a long way since then. Recently, in psychology class at M-A, Nate gave a speech about what it is like to live with Autism and to provide information about the Autism Speaks Walk. Nate organized a walk for Autism Speaks, which takes place on June 5. Nate says that the goal of the walk is “to raise awareness and promote understanding about people with Autism.” This outstanding senior also served as the M-A baseball team manager for all 4 years of his high school career. He has a true passion for baseball, and thinks that it would be fun to be a base coach or a ball boy for his favorite major league team, the Giants. Nate plans to attend a Junior College, and hopefully serve as baseball team manager there, and then transfer to a UC or State School.

Ulisses Castellanos

Ulisses Castellanos is in the first generation of his family to continue his education after high school. In the fall, Ulisses will be attending Cañada College. He plans to eventually transfer to a private college after preparing himself at Cañada. His motivation to continue his education came from his mother. As an only child to a single parent, Ulisses wants what is best for his family and to make his mother proud. 4 years ago, Ulisses and his mother moved to California. On his first day of school, Ulisses didn’t speak a word of English, depending on the teachers in his ELS classes to help him along. Now, Ulisses has graduated from the ESL program and is taking regular classes. Ulisses wants to be either a psychologist or a physiatrist. He chose this profession because “It makes me happy to solve other people’s problems.”

The Alexander Most Perspective

Had you been at the showing of Race To Nowhere, you would have noticed one predominate fact about the crowd that had gathered to watch: they were all middle aged mothers. Outside of the PAC lay an ocean of parents coming to hear about how their children were overworked -even the news reporter who showed up to report on the film was a middle aged woman.
It was this composition of the crowd that helped define the film. Race To Nowhere is a documentary about parent’s growing concern for their children’s education, presenting issues such as childhood depression, excessive and potentially useless amounts of homework, teaching to the test and neglecting to teach to learn. These issues are presented in conjunction with how the race to be in the top their students going to the top tier schools is crippling students with absurd and expanding expectations.
The film’s maker, Vicki Abeles, was inspired by the overstressing of her own children and growing medical problems stemming from this stress, and a local suicide of a 13 year old girl because on stress at school. She attempts to reveal the deep-seated issues in our school system that hurt students and force students into habits such as cheating and stimulant drug use. Essentially, she hopes to expose “the dark side of America’s achievement culture”.

Before actual commentary on the message, a quick comment on the production. This film was excellently produced; everything from the introduction screen to end credits looked beautiful. Interviews and tapes of classes came together seamlessly. The only complaint I have would be the varying quality of video, several interviews seemed to be done on much lower quality film than others which created a unique flavor for many parts of the film, but took away from the cohesion of several arguments.

The film begins beautifully: a series of short clips from various people interviewed in the film, relating key points that will be made, using provocative statements to get the audience receptive and engaged. These clips serve as a hook, investing the audience in the film. It could not have been better done, with taste and style, representing the creative highlight of the film. The film then progresses into the filmmaker’s story, how she was inspired, and the initial interviews that begin to reveal the many issues underneath the surface of our educational institutions. The film then hits the apex of its focus, where in a passing comment a student utters the ultimate thesis of the film, that all of school and all the stress is merely “a race to nowhere”.

But then the major flaw of the film is quickly revealed when this statement, this statement is dropped and not expanded upon. The film flows to another issue. As the viewers watched, they were shown various issues such as whether boys struggle with coping with failure or the crippling standards of No Child Left Behind. But no issue was fully explored. In a stroke of irony, a film discussing how schools teach too broadly but not deep enough itself fails to provide any depth on the issue. Some of the most compelling and controversial pieces (such as doctors being taught to the test with specific criteria and answers and thus being less able to innovate and work around problems they have not yet been faced with) are merely mentioned for a period of maybe two minutes, and then never brought up again.

The two parts of the film that are never dropped and remain core arguments are homework and mental health. The filmmakers believe that homework is being assigned too much, and that the additional work causes stress which has detrimental effects on the student populace. This remains the strongest argument of the whole film, managing to remain solid despite several statements that incite doubt that all school can be taught in just school hours, that parents should discuss abolishing AP’s at their school, and that an new AP teacher cutting homework raised pass when the possibility that the teacher was merely better was never considered. But the strength of these arguments is weakened by the huge amounts of partially developed” stances which were insufficiently supported. Had the film spent five minutes explaining it’s various solutions and data to support (maybe even present opposing arguments if there is time) then the film would have halted doubt in its viewer’s minds.
At the start of the film, Vicki Abeles commented that they needed to start the film as it was 85 minutes and in her words “very long”. The truth is that the film was not long enough. The film need to be about half an hour longer, just to expand and interconnect the arguments.
A final note, this is a film for parents. Though it has suggestions for students, parents, teachers, and administrators, the arguments are often based on pathos, appealing to the emotions of parents worrying about their children. Students who watch the film most likely will not be moved, simply because nothing new is presented to them; this is the world they live in, and they understand it to a level that not even a documentary can fully convey. As much as the film wishes to be branching out to a diverse audience, the line into the PAC remains mainly middle-aged mothers.

Grade: Read the review, I wouldn’t want to cause the filmmaker any stress.

The Anna Luke Perspective:

The movie “Race To Nowhere” discusses the way the curriculum is set up in schools today. The movie broke down the educational process from the student board, to teachers, to parents and family life then to the actual students themselves. The general message was that schools are pushing kids too hard academically, and that they are teaching kids only to perform well on tests and not to actually learn. It also described the sources of the stress students are feeling: pressure from their parents, coaches for sports, and their teachers at school.

I appreciate the fact that the makers of the film want to change the goal of school so that kids actually learn—as of now, many students are only retaining information for tests, not to actually process the information. The filmmakers are encouraging parents to talk to their kids about their schedules, so that the kids have a better idea of what they can handle, as well as an idea of what will help them be successful. Another one of their ideas: having less homework will help students’ stress levels.
The only thing I did not like about the film was that it gives the impression that with these changes, teenagers’ stress will decrease dramatically. I felt relieved after seeing the film because maybe with some of the recommended changes, students’ schedules would become more manageable. But after thinking about it more I realized that these changes will happen slowly and it will be a long process. The film is a first step to the changes that need to be made for the future generations of students, so that they can become as successful as possible.

The Lindsey Sepulveda Perspective:

The Race to Nowhere, a documentary film that examines the pressures put on youth, was shown at the Menlo-Atherton PAC last Tuesday. The movie tells the story of young students who have been pushed passed their breaking point and the challenges that face educators and parents because of the competitive atmosphere. Three members of our staff give their feedback:

If I hadn’t received a free ticket to Race to Nowhere by Vicki Abeles, I probably would have never watched it. The movie has many respectable themes and ideas, but it is directed to people who have to deal with over-stressed and hormonal teenagers, specifically parents, educators and government officials. I felt like I wasted an hour and a half of time that could have been dedicated towards homework.

This movie focuses on the stress put on students by school, extracurricular activities, and colleges, but the movie completely ignores other stresses, like the effects of the economic crisis on students who have to work to provide for their family while staying in school. Also it fails to acknowledge the stress on students who are in relationships in general, whether it’s between the teenager and their family, friends, boyfriends, or girlfriends. And most importantly the movie didn’t mention one of the biggest problem among all teens, peer pressure, which can be just as stressful as staying up to do some English project that is due no later than eight o’clock in the morning.
Like many people, I enjoy relating to movies and often visualize myself in the film, but rarely am I able accomplish that. There wasn’t much racial diversity or a variety of personalities either. It seemed as if all the students were exactly the same. They all had the same mindset and the same issues. I felt like it was too repetitive. I got the message very quickly, so I didn’t need to hear it over and over again.

Vicki Abeles created the documentary, Race to Nowhere, to inform the nation of the stress that is put on students through school, after watching her kids suffer from the difficulty of school. She gathered several students throughout the nation to tell their story and how they’re dealing with school and life now. Abele also promotes different solution on how this stress epidemic can be dealt with by changing the way education is structured. She offers students, parents, teachers, and other government officials different advice on how they each can tackle the big bad wolf known as the American school system.

Although Abeles is very convincing that together we can change the school system because some student can’t cope with the work, it doesn’t mean the entire nation should conform to their needs. I think the people who do like our school system should stick to what they believe in and not change just because 90-minute documentary told them they were wrong.

Although many students regard the Badminton team as a joke, their season started off with rigorous conditioning and, for the first time in M-A history, cut some students because they had too few spots on the team for the unexpectedly large turnout. Sophomore Sarah Hoffman surprised me by saying, “I take it seriously in matches because I want to win, and our match matters in the overall score of the team… Overall I would say yes, I take it seriously.”

Sarah jokes that she enjoys playing badminton because anyone can “pick up a racket and play, even if they have no athletic ability such as myself.”  But don’t be fooled by the lighthearted tone- these athletes train more than you think.  Despite my initial expectations, the players’ comments left me a little lost for words; I anticipated answers that would support my own belief that badminton was a joke.

This season’s coaching staff includes five different coaches, all of whom received praise from the students. The coaches are, according to students, “great badminton players who do a great job of demonstrating and teaching different skills.” After hearing the players’ comments, I can say for sure that I no longer consider this sport to just be a way to earn credits.   It is definitely a competitive and serious high school sport.

English teacher Karl Losekoot is a supporter of the STAR Tests. While he warns that “you have to be cautious of spending too much time preparing for a test,” and that you shouldn’t “have test prep take over a course,” it can be helpful in focusing a class. “If you can look at the standards and the skills that the test is asking you to address and decide that those are good skills,” says Losekoot, “then you can weave those into your curriculum in a way that doesn’t make it test prep. Then I think that maybe the class becomes more focused.”

John Giambruno, also an English teacher, sees both good and bad in the tests. Giambruno admits that “there needs to be a way that we can be measured” but “it’s such a limited scope of what is being measured…that I think there should be another way to hold us accountable besides just one or two tests.” To improve the tests, Giambruno would like to see some sort of “holistic grading system” that had students submit a portfolio of work along with the standardized tests so that the students could be evaluated on a much broader and more complete level. Still, he isn’t worried about how the tests will make him look as a teacher, acknowledging, “my kids always do fine.”

Math teacher Manja McMills perceives inequalities in the tests. “I would say of the more affluent kids it’s a somewhat fair evaluation, but for the disadvantaged kids not as much, and for the teachers that teach those kids, it’s harder.” Math at M-A is heavily influenced by STAR Testing as kids who might not be ready for certain levels of math are sometimes forced into those classes anyways so that they can be prepared for the STAR Tests. “We put all these kids who aren’t ready into algebra 1 and then they take these tests that they are just going to fail anyways, and so that’s not good for their psyche.” To avoid penalizing both students and teachers for a student not being prepared to take a class, McMills proposes that students “test into these classes,” rather than being forced to take them to pass a standardized test.

All benefits and detriments considered, the tests are state mandated. Whether you want to or not, we have no choice but to accept the STAR Test and it’s consequences –– both good and bad.

Note from the editor: Mrs. McMills was incorrectly quoted as saying the tests are a good evaluation of more “fluent” students rather than “affluent”. The mistake has been corrected and we want to apologize to Mrs. McMills for the error.

Time (Pink Floyd): I’ll be honest, when I wake up, I don’t really want to wake up; after that initial ringing of the clocks I just want to lounge. That’s why I’ve allotted a good long mellow song to doze in to.

Zuton Fever (The Zutons): Aaaand then the dozing is broken by trumpet solos. Thank you Zutons for such a lyrically deep yet loud song.

Drinking Gasoline (Ben Godwin): When waking up, it’s good to try to be optimistic, if only or a moment. That’s where Ben Godwin comes in, his upbeat voice and piano helps raise spirits, that is, until you notice the lyrics are about the depravity of the city.

Seven Seas of Rhye (Queen): As your mind slowly starts to slip back into the dream world over a soggy bowl of oat-flake-meal, use this Queen song for a truly trippy experience.

Swagger (Flogging Molly): In case Queen wasn’t enough, Swagger is here to restore your spirits. Think of it as coffee. Coffee with banjos.

Rude Awakenings (Dropkick Murphys): Not all mornings are as brilliant as we like. Sometimes they just suck. Hopefully you won’t be waking up in a strange house, but I’m sure you can relate to this song’s… tone.

Cold Hard Bitch (Jet): It’s what mornings are. Cold.

Fake It (Seether): In the mornings you need a little self deprecation to get going. Sometimes life sucks, but you gotta keep moving.

Wenches and Mead (Alestorm): Consider this song inspiration to get on with your day.

The Great Escape (We Are Scientists): Try to understand the song’s meaning; that will get your brain going first thing in the morning.

In Bloom (Nirvana): Perhaps Kurt Cobain’s fate will wake you up. You could reflect on the weakness of the human mind and the short nature of life; how we must cherish the moments we have and get on with our day. Or perhaps you will just fall back asleep.

Wake Up (Rage Against The Machine): There is not a more blatant song on this playlist. Just listen to the minute long chanting of the title if you need inspiration to get moving.