When I was asked whether anything should be changed about the way that the school is run, my immediate thought was that there should be a compulsory, designated reading time. Reading has been a big part of my life, as I find that I retain more information from books then I do from alternate sources, such as the internet, or from teachers lectures. Reading improves your spelling, extends your vocabulary, and lets you explore other worlds. It teaches you to see things from a range of different perspectives, as no author will a tell a story the same way, and no two persons will ever read the same book. Another great thing about books, and reading overall is the variety you get. There are books about mostly every subject in the world, from fictional worlds to ancient philosophers, the history of art and a book of every word in the English language. Sure, the internet can give you results to a question in a split second, but rarely do these answers stick in your head. Reading from books also limits distractions such as drifting off into other tabs and straying from your work. There are people I know that haven’t picked up a book in over a year! This seems crazy to me, as I couldn’t go a week without reading a book or two. Not only do books open you to a whole new world, but they stay with you once you have read from cover to cover. After you have finished these books, you collect these stories, stories that have taught you life lessons and painted your dreams into words on paper. Adding a compulsory reading time would benefit not only the students, but the teachers and I feel that applying this to our daily school life would improve our overall grades and outlook on life.
I am conflicted about zoos. I worry they’re an extension of our other colonial activities, marking our territory at the apex of the natural world, and a form of species-level dominance that shares a root with the domination of men over women and of majority over minority. Or perhaps I’m overthinking things. Maybe they’re just a playground to take the children, rather than go stir crazy at home? Whatever they used to be, zoos are now playing a different role in conservation and reminding people of the challenges humans have created for the diversity of global fauna.