Alternate Update!

School is crazy, especially if you're in our class. There are days where work gets done with lightning speed (scorchmarks included), where chapter after chapter gets handed in and our teachers are drowning in paper marked with blue ink.
Then we have days where the work gets put down in favour of class disscussions, music appreciation, art projects, and other enjoyable activities. It can be a challenge to find a balance between the two, especially with the end of the year coming closer and the weather smiling and calling "pick me! pick me!" with its sunny dispostion.
 Often we find our own ways of keeping focused (listening to music, ear plugs, going to the "quiet room") but sometimes we all need a swift kick from our teachers (metaphorically, of course ;) and a little perseverance.
In this class the definition of perseverance is not in fancy dicitonary terms but in names. It's people like Demetri, Jonathon, Summer, Alyssa, Vic, Nikki, John G, Riley, Morphia, and myself. These students make up this class, and without them the world would be lacking something special indeed.

The Pen, the Paper, and the writer's block

The Pen, the Paper, and the writer's block

It was staring at me. No, I was sure it was staring at me. But that's crazy! I thought, it can't stare at me, it's not even alive! I looked down again. There it was looking back at me without eyes, its faint blue line and creamy smoothness beckoning to me. Write on me, it begged, pleading with my sanity. But I couldn't. My mind was full of ideas, of witty remarks and romantic adventures, but I couldn't even form a sentence let alone an entire page. You cannot possibly be a writer then, it taunted, because if you cannot even write a single page then how is it possible for you to write a book with hundreds of pages? No! My mind cried out. I am a writer! I am able to imagine, create and live within the words I have written! Then what will you do? it asked, a whisper in my head. With determination I grabbed my pen loaded with black ink. I will write, I told it, until I no longer have any words left. I put my pen to paper and began, the words coming faster and faster until they flew onto the page. Black crows streaking into the creamy white expanse.

We have all experienced writer's block before. that frustrating feeling when the words and sentences just don't seem to fit together. I have had some major writer's block in my life where I believed I couldn't write. for weeks and weeks I tried so hard to force the words out.
I had so many ideas all jumbled inside my mind I couldn't even think straight. so I stared at the paper, and stared, and then stared some more. After a while I started talking to the paper. My dad thought I had gone crazy when he walked in my room and found me arguing with a sheet of 8 by 10 looseleaf. After a while I introduced my pen into the conversation. Then suddenly I thought, what if i wrote down the conversation I just had between my school supplies? Thus The pen, the paper, and the writer's block was born.
I think that sometimes we all just need a break from ourselves. By doing something I had never done before (talking to inanimate objects) I opened a whole new door in my mind. Maybe this will help you during your frustrating times. I don't know, but if it can help even one person, if even one person reads it and likes it then it's worth it.

Written by Jessica Hebbel

Collaborative Art Project

Alternate Ideas has just completed a collaborative Art Project. Each member of our class completed 2 panels that were then attached to a large piece of poster paper and fixed to the wall.  Starry Night has now become a mural on the classroom wall.  Come check it out - it looks beautiful!

Revolutions in Egypt and Libya, the same yet so different.

                The revolutions in Libya are similar, yet different than the events in Egypt. Though what the people want is the same, the government reaction is completely different.  The former President of Egypt, Mubarak has stepped down but Ghadafi, the leader of Libya refuses to step down, he will fight until his death making himself a martyr. Protesters did die in Egypt, there was violence, however the turmoil in Libya has seen horrific violent actions directed at the people. To silence the protesters, people have been shot and killed by Ghadafi’s order and he is not willing to stop until the protesters stop. This is a very terrible situation and I hope Ghadafi follows Mubarak’s decision to leave the country for the people.

Taken For Granted

Everyone in this world takes everything that they have for granted. Kids who get what they want get mad if they don't get what they want. There are kids in this world that would be happy even if they got something that was used. Every day people in this world work all day just so they can feed their family right here in Vancouver, B.C. There are people pan handling for money just so they can have some food. Even teenagers are homeless begging for food. If they go to a shelter they usually have a time limit and many teens can not getthe help they need in that short of time and usually end up back on the streets where people keep on stereotyping every one down there like they are on drugs or have mental disabilities. There are people down there wishing they could have what some people take for granted in this world. If everyone stopped to think of every thing that gets offered to us or what we get every day or all the time we would be able to help a lot of the people who might need clothes or a place to live or anything that many people get. There are people even in the small places that need help but people do not care for them they do not care about anything but themselves. People could make someones day if they gave them some clothes or maybe some food once in a while or volunteer at places that would help these people. It would show that we have so much given to us that we need to think about other people who might need some help or might need medication yet cannot afford it or get it because of how they are. People need to stop and think about how much they have and what they don't have and help some one who needs it more then you.

John Grann

The Rainbow Room.

It is an early February morning; the sun is beginning to rise. You trudge up the sidewalk, your feet are dragging. It is cold and an icy wind slaps your cheeks into blooming roses. Your feet echo hollowly as you take the few wooden steps to the door. Your hand grasps the metal handle. Slowly you pull the door open. Immediately your senses are assailed by a warm gust of air. You take a few steps into the room.  You can smell coffee and that distinct dusty scent of old books that seems to permeate schools and libraries. As you prepare a cup of coffee to kick off your day you look around at the walls. Projects plaster the walls; Haiku's with drawings, portraits done in pencil, charcoal drawings, autumn oil pastels, acrylic paintings of far off landscapes, posters of distant lands and finally, above the teacher’s desk, a row of drawings incorporating the names of each student.

There are desks arranged in rows and clusters, one long table sits next to the kitchen area, its brown expanse clear of any clutter- but only for the moment. You can see four computers lined up beneath the windows, soldiers ready to complete any task demanded of them by their commanders. Two long rectangular teacher's desks are placed under the names on the wall. Everything is symmetrical here; two desks lined up side by side, two chairs, two identical white baskets, two women sit and mark with their dreaded red pens.
There is laughter here, a relaxed and comfortable environment. In this class smiles are not scarce, and discussions range from the turmoil in distant lands, to the upcoming graduation and the subsequent dresses and tuxedos. It's different, but that's the charm of it. A rainbow of thoughts, ideas, and people. This is our classroom, this is Alternate.

written by Jessica Hebbel.

Salute to the Holy Land.

When the issues in Egypt started going down, I was thinking it was going to be a couple of signs and a few angry people, and according to my local and national news I have been mistaken.  Not only does it make me appreciate what we have offered to us in Canada, but it is also a huge influence on the world.  If a nation can come together to bring down corruption and false government, why can't we?  We are so quick to judge as Canadians that we are bound together, but can we really do what the Egyptians citizens are doing right now?  No, because we have jobs, kids, brothers, sisters, school ect.  We find that more important than standing up for a country that you claim to be so proud to reside in.  We would rather get up in the morning, put on our suit and tie and turn our heads away from the violence, gangs, rape, and child abuse that is happening maybe 20 minutes away in good traffic.  If we must go on with our jobs and school, instead of saying "No, today I’m going to stand for what’s right", then I don't know why I was forced to sing “We stand on guard for thee” every morning for 8 years.   


Written by Jonathan Todd