The need for help at home and abroad! Plus more!

Hello everyone,

I know I have not posted the last few days, and I regret it as I have had a lot on my mind. First off I want to talk about the horrible tornadoes that are occurring right now in the Southern part of the United States. Over 250 people have been killed and it is likely the death toll will raise. As some of you may or may not know, depending on how much news you read, the US and world has been hit with large disasters lately. We are all citizens of the world and need to put forth effort to help one another. There are several ways to do this, whether through a local charity or the Red Cross. I encourage all of you to give what you can, be it time or money or something else that will benefit those in need. More info on the tornadoes can be found below.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/30/severe.weather/index.html?hpt=T2

Now, not only has the US been hit hard lately, but so has many parts of the world. There are so many things that are going on in this world that we can all make a small difference. About a month and a half ago I went to the LA Travel and Adventure show, and one of the exhibits there was all about helping Japan. Now, you did not have to give money, although I did end up giving some. Their idea was to have you write in Japanese, "we love you." Following that they would take a picture of you holding your sign and then it would be sent pack to Japan and printed in papers, put on TV or posted in public places. I thought this was such a cool idea and a way to help others in a way that money can not express. If you have cool ideas like this I would love to hear them.

Finally, I want to talk about how we can make a difference in out community, right here in our home! We need to be doing more for our youth, for our schools and most importantly for ourselves! So many people today are suffering from all forms of hardships including: low income, no education, no family, depression, sickness and abandonment. I truly believe that we need to start doing more in the community especially for our youth. While there are local sports and even some after school programs, I do not think they are going far enough to truly inspire our kids. I propose that we establish after school programs that will have locals come in and teach kids and also allow more sports and community service opportunities, geared towards high school students. Well that is all for today! Let me know what you think.

Thank you,
Students Worldwide

Family support and why it is important

Hello everyone,

For those of you who do not know or may not know, I am currently a high school teacher working at an alternative education high school. Now the reason I bring this up is because today I was having a discussion with my kids and the role that family plays within this. One thing that I found most interesting is that a overwhelming majority of my students said they had parents that were uninvolved and was often the reason they got in trouble. The reason I find this so interesting is because I have never experienced uninvolved parents or family for that matter. Both my parents have been active in my life, as well as my brothers. As a result we both have grown into young responsible adults.

What shocked me while discussing this subject with my kids is how they said they wished their parents would of been more active. Whether it was signing them up for AYSO or talking to them about their day. Ultimately it came down to having someone care about them and show it, not simply say it. As I look at my students and saw sincere sadness, I stopped and thought what I as a teacher, concerned community member and fellow human being could do for them.

Why don't we as a society try to catch these kids when we still have a chance at making an impact in their lives. Why is money squandered and wasted where programs could be established to get these kids excited about school, life, and their future. Several students have expressed no interest in going to college rather just get a job. Why is it that in America where opportunity is endless and the possibility to better ones life is much greater then other parts of the world are we not inspiring our youth?

When I was in Uganda, every student I worked with was excited about school and had a hopeful outlook even given the circumstances that they lived in. I truly feel that we need to try to inspire the youth and give them opportunities to show their talent or chase their dreams. As sad as it may sound, I feel that some kids not the majority but still they are kids, are simply being left behind. It is sad to see someone at age 16 not seeing anything out there to make their lives better.

It comes down to this question: What do we want our future generations to be like? Do we want them to simply be drones or do we want to revitalize that passion for education and a hope for a better tomorrow that I have seen in my travels. Let me know what you think!

Thank you,
Students Worldwide

World Peace Game

Hello,

Today I stumbled on something that truly represents teaching and what education should be about.  That of course is making children and young adults use critical thinking skills to examine the real world.  The link below shows a great game created by a teacher named John Hunter.  Mr. Hunter created a game that allowed students to examine all of the worlds issues on a simple peace of plywood.  Now over time this has involved into much more.  Students examine global warming, wars, famine, diplomacy and more all through this game.  It is something that I think all teachers should implement into their classroom.  It is deffenityly a first step at improving the world.

 Thanks and let me know your opinion,
Students Worldwide

Game
 http://theworldpeacegame.com/

Presentation
http://www.ted.com/talks/john_hunter_on_the_world_peace_game.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2011-04-26&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email

Chernobyl anniversary and more!

Hello everyone,

I know the website is not up yet and this blog may seem more personal then for a charity.  However, right now I would like to talk about something that had a huge impact on many people, that being Chernobyl.  For those of you who do not know Chernobyl was a nuclear facility in Ukraine that melted and caused wide spread radiation damage.  Like the reactors in Japan that are causing a great of problems so did those of Chernobyl.  The lasting problems from the radiation stay long after the reactor has been shutdown.  For those of you who are interested in seeing some pictures on this I will provide a link that I found to be very informative.  Why is it that so many had to suffer as a result of this and why is it that even today as a similar situation is developing in Japan we are not looking at our world history and learning from it.  Many children were affected by this horrible event and the present mimics the past. 
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/04/chernobyl_disaster_25th_annive.html

Now onto something else that has been bothering me.  Why is it that so many people today feel that they are entitled to everything.  We as a country and a world need to have attitude that does not focus on entitlement but rather puts the emphasis on working hard and achieving your goals through legitimate work.  Now of course not everyone is this way, nor will no one ever be this way.  We will always live in a society where people feel entitlement for whatever reason.  However, lets challenge ourselves and those we love to be better and and have more empathy for the have nots. 

Finally, the other day in church I got upset when the priest told a story about a family in need and that he would pray for them.  I myself am a religious man who often prays, however I believe it is much better to be proactive.  I felt like the priest should not of simply offered prayers, but rather offer food or shelter until the family gets back on their feet.  Remember you may think that you will never need help and it is their fault for being in need, but life sometimes throws curve balls and it is important we help those in need.  Think its easy?  Check out this game  http://playspent.org/

Thanks for listening and always leave you comments!
Students Worldwide

Happy Easter

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Easter today!  Whether you celebrate it or not, I hope you had a great day and got to spend time with those you love. 

Only think I want you to think about is whether or not we as  a society do enough for those with nothing.  Leave me a comment if you would like, I would love to hear from you!

Life, Money and Love

Hello again!

The other night something very sad happened, which resulted in the loss of my girlfriends dog.  The reason I bring this up is because life is something that is meant to be cherished and should be respected at all cost.  Flower was an older dog who had lived a good life, but yesterday she took a turn for the worse and began to bleed from the eye.  Thus the decision was made to end its suffering by putting it to sleep which is a difficult task in itself!  While Flower is at peace now it is important to realize that life is about quality and not so much about the quantity(length).  I say this because surely we could of kept Flower alive for a few more days but would she be living a good life?  I think not.

Which brings me to love, love is a essential part of life and is seen everywhere.  Often times we forget how important someone is to us or something.  I find it odd that in the age of social media where the ability to communicate with those you love is at a all time high, that we do it so little.  I encourage everyone to try to do this more and not just some mass text or email.  It needs to come from the heart and be sincere.  As we know we never know when life will be cut short or when some life changing event can take place. 

Finally, money which is of course often seen as equaling happiness but it is not.  The reason I am bringing up money is not out of greed, rather a friendlier reminder for everyone to keep planing for your future.  The us debt is almost at 14.3 trillion which is slightly below what it is allowed to be at.  While, I do not think that immediate collapse or collapse in the US will occur, I still think it is important to plan for the future.  Whether it is through retirement or putting a little bit extra away in a separate account each month.  I would like to leave you guys with this website that my girlfriend sent to me about making a difference through protecting rain-forest.  I know Earth day was the other day but we can still do our part for as little as 2 dollars!

http://www.coolearth.org/

Thanks for reading!

Welcome

Hello everyone,

For those of you who do not know this blog is going to focus on a charity which I started.  The charity that I am referring to is Students Worldwide.  You can access this site, though it is under construction at studentsworldwide.org  The goal of this charity is going to be to have students help students.  It is a simple concept that I hope will grow into something much larger.

For those of you who do not know me... I am a high school history teacher, who loves soccer and traveling.  I also am a true believer in making the world a better place and being actively involved in the community!  I spent some time in Africa teaching underprivileged children and out of that I have grown to believe we can make a difference.

I will also include articles,pictures and whatever else is on my mind.

Thank you,
Student Worldwide :)