The ending was what specifically got me, and why I didn’t want to do a straight-forward review. I want to talk (or write) a bit about that ending. Here are the circumstances: nuclear plant shift supervisor Jack Godell, played by the phenomenal Jack Lemmon, has come to realize that his plant has some structural issues that could be gravely dangerous to the surrounding area of Southern California. After trying again and again to get the attention of the people in charge, he goes to extreme measures, stealing a gun from a security guard and barricading himself in the control room of the plant. The only thing that will make him leave is if local news reporter Kimberly Wells, played by Jane Fonda, interviews him on national television so that he can reveal once and for all the faultiness of the plant.

This comes after a near-catastrophic accident that Kimberly and her cameraman Richard (Michael Douglas) witnessed at the beginning of the film. The plant attempts a complete cover-up, even refusing to refer to the event as an accident and asserting that no one was ever in danger. Throughout the film, Kimberly and Richard realized what exactly they’d seen and urged Jack to come clean. After some soul searching, Jack recognized that the right thing to do was tell the truth, but the people in power rebuffed him repeatedly.
By the time Jack barricades himself in the control room, he’s at his wit’s end. His bosses agree to the interview, but are secretly positioning SWAT teams to infiltrate the room. Just as a hysterical Jack is about to reveal the truth on national television, the awful accident from the beginning of the film is recreated to distract him while the SWAT team enters the room. Jack is in the frantic process of attempting to stop the “accident” when he is shot multiple times. The plant is nearly destroyed by the event, but manages to gain control at the last minute.

Kimberly and Richard, both in a state of shock after Jack has just died in their arms, wander outside. The streets are crowded with reporters trying to find out what happened. The owner of the plant is molding a swift coverup for the news, telling everyone that Jack Godell was an insane alcoholic who didn’t know what he was talking about and that no one was ever in any danger. Kimberly holds herself together to quickly interview Jack’s closest friend, who reveals that Jack wasn’t insane and was trying to protect everyone. The man is quickly whisked away (and no doubt chastised) by his bosses.

Kimberly turns to the camera and tries to breathe. Tears stream down her face as she clutches the microphone, attempting to pull herself together. She’s still on the air. Richard, watching her through the camera, whispers words of support to Kimberly, even though she can’t hear him. She gives a brief summation of her experience, of her observations of Jack Godell’s honest and warranted concern, of her hope that this event–this accident–will never again occur, before the news cuts back to the studio. Two screens are shown side-by-side: the preview of what’s being filmed in real-time, and the actual footage that’s currently being aired. On the on-air screen, the anchorman cuts to commercial, where a housewife is advertising a microwave pizza.

On the preview screen of real-footage, Kimberly’s tear-streaked face moves towards the camera. Richard appears beside her and wraps her in a hug as she weeps. Their screen cuts to color bars as the commercial plays on the other side, before the entire screen cuts to color bars. They flash for a few seconds, and then the credits roll over silence.

My detailed explanation doesn’t do this ending justice. I had chills running up my arms and tears in my eyes as I watched this. I was stock still, bracing the table as I stared at the screen. This ending was horrifying, beautiful, poignant without being preachy. We saw Jack’s bumbling bravery, Kimberly’s unwavering desire for the truth, Richard’s quiet support. We saw the fallacies being advertised to the masses as the truth was filmed but discarded.
Sometimes the way something is ended serves as the deciding factor for how much I like it, and in the case of “The China Syndrome”, the ending gave me a whole new respect for the film. I may not have absolutely adored the entire movie–as I said above, there were a few moments that dragged, though most of it was pretty fantastic–but that ending. Wow. It was a thing of beauty.

Here’s the Nova PTSA budget report for the month of April.  Look closely and you may see information about projects you’ve been involved in!  Anyone who is interested about how these decisions are made should join Budget Committee Thursdays at 1:30 in Susan’s room.  You have the opportunity to either come to Budget with a proposal for money, or vote on proposals (or do both–you just can’t vote on your own!).  We always love to hear about student-led projects and add new voices to our discussions.

The book was an influential piece encouraging Americans of the 30’s to consider the Chinese as allies when the war against the Japanese that came soon after. Buck brought awareness of the Chinese culture to the United States. I have a great respect for people that have a passion for working towards a better understanding of others cultures. I have a passion for this with bringing the message of God to communities that usually would not have any opportunity to learn about it.

Watching the world around us we can easily see that many people have a passion for spreading “the word”, whatever their word may be. Often times we see it in religious groups who try to convert people. We see this in politics, republican or democrat, even a dictator is trying to spread his ideas (in a infective way may i note). People do this in their writing, as Buck has. Education is spreading a knowledge that the educator believes is relevant and important.

We may think that this book has no relationship or relevance to us. I wondered why I was reading this book at first, and truthfully through the whole book.

Perseverance to escape poverty flows in the heart of the main character, Wang Lung. He had faith in his land and never gave that up through streaks of luck and fortune, and streaks of loss and poverty. He fought his way through and ended up sending his sons to school and buying a lavish home with luxurious furniture and many coy ponds (a proof of riches in China during the 1930’s). All great morals and all quite nice to think about, but what does this have to do with me? How can I relate? I CAN’T!

Until I was long done reading this novel, I didn’t see the relevance. But sometimes we must look at the purpose of the book and not the book itself. I try and spread the love of God, Buck was spreading awareness of an allied culture. I needed to see that similarity and I then became open to what the book had to offer.

This book has given me a newfound appreciation for learning about others cultures so as to learn how to effectively teach my culture. Just as I believe my message is worthy, that person’s word is also worthy. I need to learn from them what I hope they learn from me. So I thank this book for a life long lesson, and I applaud the author for a beautiful piece.

http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Pearl-S-Bucks-The-Good-Earth-at-a-Glance

How did you sign up for health care? What was this experience like?
Because we’re members of Costco, we get access to healthcare through them. The experience involves filling out information, having basic health exam (so they know about any pre-existing conditions). I felt like it was pretty straightforward.

How did you decide which provider to go with? Do you have any tips for people going through this process?
Because we’re self-employed, we’re not part of a larger subscriber group. As a result, monthly premiums [monthly payment that serves as the cost of purchasing health insurance. Is as main source of revenue for insurance providers (Nicholson, n.d.)] will be higher, so I looked for the broadest range of covered services in a price bracket we could afford. I would advise people to find out which in surance companies their providers are contracted with so they stand the best chance of getting covered.

As a self-employed person, how does your healthcare situation differ from others? Do you have any stories about what it was like choosing health care options when you weren’t self-employed?
When you’re not self-employed, you often don’t have a choice about choosing a health plan. Often your employer is already contracted with a health plan, so you’re just on that plan. So that’s a big difference. When you’re self-employed, you can shop around for the best rate and coverage.

How long do you imagine I’ll stay on your plan?
Until you hit the legal age limit, which I think is twenty-three now, but I’m not sure [the age is actually 26 now].

I asked her two other questions. One was about her understanding of the difference between Medicare and Medicaid. She didn’t really know, which is why I didn’t include her answer, but I did a little research on my own. I found out that Medicare is a federal program run through Social Security that is available to all U.S. citizens 65 and older. It’s also provided for people with certain types of disabilities. Unlike Medicaid, it has nothing to do with income. Medicaid, on the other hand, is both a federal and state program that helps low-income people pay for medical care. Since it is funded roughly 50% by the state as well as the federal government, there are fifty varying Medicaid programs (one per state). (Smith, 2010)

The other question I asked her was about family health issues I would need to know for negotiating my own health care. Her answer isn’t relevant, but the issue of pre-existing conditions and family health histories are important pieces of information for people to know as they venture into the world of health care.

Additional information from:

Nicholson, J. (n.d.). What is a healthcare premium. eHow. Retrieved May 7, 2012, from

http://www.ehow.com/about_4688263_what-healthcare-premium.html

Smith, L. (2010, December 12). What’s the difference between medicare and medicaid.
Investopedia. Retrieved May 7, 2012, from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/07/medicare-vs-medicaid.asp#axzz1uDQCktAg

Do you feel like you understand how human reproductive systems work?
Yes – 25 people
No – 0 people
Sort of – 6 people

On a scale of 1 to 5, how well do you feel like you understand these systems?
1 = don’t understand at all – 0 people
2 = understand a bit, but not very much – 2 people
3 = understand the basics, but not the details – 4 people
4 = understand pretty well – 18 people
5 = understand perfectly – 7 people

How best do you think you would have learned about these systems?
diagram – 15 people
verbal explanation – 15 people
written explanation – 9 people
3-D model – 9 people
computer animation – 5 people
art/poetry/story – 8 people
other:
Internet – 3 people
exploration – 1 person
pornography – 1 person
researching how to avoid/get rid of pregnancy – 1 person

Where primarily did you learn about human reproduction?
from parents/family/guardians – 15 people
from friends – 8 people
from media (movies, TV shows, books, music, magazines) – 8 people
from school – 18 people
other:
Internet – 3 people
girlfriend – 1 person
pornography – 1 person
clinics – 1 person
personal research – 1 person
teaching workshops – 1 person

How old were you when you first heard about human reproductive systems?
never “didn’t” talk about it/was always talked about – 1 person
one – 1 person
five – 1 person
five to six – 1 person
six – 1 person
less than or equal to seven – 1 person
seven – 1 person
seven to ten – 1 person
eight – 5 people
eight to nine – 1 person
nine – 4 people
eleven – 1 person
thirteen 1 person

My reason for conducting this survey was simple curiosity. We hear a lot in the news about the importance of having or not having comprehensive sex education in schools. It’s a polarizing topic, and I was curious about where Nova students fit in. I wondered how well, and, more interestingly to me, where people had gotten their reproductive information. I don’t know if these results prove or disprove anything, but it is sort of intriguing to see certain patterns emerging.

The farm class wants YOU to come to our first ever Farm Fest! It will be held on May 29th from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Nova. Anyone who would like to help make this happen can sign up to do any of the following:

• Donate baked goods for our cake walk.
• Perform music, dance, poetry or anything else that you would like to share with our community.
• Run a booth to sell crafts, teach people to make things, or give information about a committee or other group you are a part of. If you sell something, 10% of your proceeds must be given to the farm class to put in a fund to provide food for Nova students in need.
• Bring in canned food for our food drive. This will be put to the same purpose.
• Show up! Spread the word!

To sign up to do any of these things, or ask us any questions you might have, contact Hailey Spencer (halitruewinx@yahoo.com). Chloe Wood-Henrickson (chloe.wood.henrickson@gmail.com), or Nicole Southerland (n.southerland@hotmail.com).

See you there!

I’m often told it’s odd for someone to have gotten into the scene at such a young age, and to have stayed involved. Especially as a girl. I never understood why it wasn’t considered “normal.” I just continued living my weird, punk rock life when people said those things. And while not seeing many other young people did bother me a little bit, I ignored the feeling. But I always did, and still do, hope to see more teens at shows. Oftentimes, the only other high school age kids attending them are friends that I bring with me. Occasionally I’ll see other kids, but rarely are they girls. Young female punks are few and far between here.

When I first started going to shows, I faced a fair amount of discrimination for my age. I was told that I couldn’t be a punk rocker because I was young, therefore didn’t know anything. Despite all the shit I got, I still went to shows. I tried hard to get involved in the scene and prove myself. I wanted it to be known that no matter your age, gender, orientation, or any of that, you could be a damn fine punk rocker. I was sick of seeing holier-than-thou elitists telling others that they weren’t punk rock.

I used to be wary about going to shows. I was afraid of getting made fun of, or getting shit from older punks. I was just a young girl trying to find a place that I could be accepted. It’s really shitty that today’s standards and views on women and children have to affect us in such a way. If people weren’t so judgemental, if people didn’t care how old you were or what you were carrying in your pants, or what you wore or believed in, life would be a hell of a lot easier. We live in a time period where many minority groups are much more accepted than they were 30 years ago, and still we see this judgement every day. Seattle is a pretty open-minded, accepting place, but still, I see this discrimination all the time: in our scene, in schools, out in public. Our lives are short. Why the fuck should we waste them judging others, when we could be doing so many better things?

Great people come in all forms. We should be able to accept and be accepted, tolerate and be tolerated. Sure this all sounds cheesy and generic, but we all deserve a chance. We all deserve to be treated equally. So about a year ago, I started a nonprofit called Punks for Tolerance. I mostly started it because I’ve faced a lot of torment in and out of the scene, and because I was sick of seeing others harassed just for their beliefs and appearances. Originally, I was just trying to set up a benefit show for a club at school. That kind of fell through, but I wanted to keep going with the idea. So at 14, I decided “fuck it, I’ll start a non-profit.” Now, as a 15 year old female, I book benefit shows for various causes, write articles for zines, and am a moderator on a local punk message board. Let that be a big “fuck you” to anyone that thinks kids and girls can’t do anything in the punk scene. Seattle punks need to work on really unifying the scene. No one should be left out because they’re too young, or too old, or too feminine or what have you. We’re all people. We’re all here for the music. We’re all outcasts. We should band together, instead of split off into our little cliques and act like jerks to one another.

Questions (the random capitalization is courtesy of the district, not me):

1) Start up date: When will your “Creative Approach” school begin?

2) Give an Overview of your Creative Approach School Design:

3) Creative Approach characteristics: Please give explicit detail and elements of your design plan.

4) Parent and Community Involvement: How are parents and community members involved in this plan? What partnerships, if any, will you anticipate developing to support your Creative Approach School?

Some pieces of each of these questions are based on information we already have and can therefore be pieced together for answers, while other parts will require a bit more discussion within the community. The themes will fit nicely into answers.

Themes:
- structure and freedom
- coherence
- interactions with community outside Nova → school without walls
↪ permission to work with other schools
- “Open Studio” – open work/learning time throughout the day
- the integration of social justice and sustainability in core content
- community inclusiveness in creating safe space
- food and facilities
- accountability vs. “the joker” (with freedom comes responsibility) vs. responsibility
- individualized education
- more support for skillbuilding
- communication in the community
- leadership
↪ student teachers
- scheduling
↪ time for teachers
↪ shorter due dates
- teacher/coordinator/student relationships
- student voice different from student leadership
- committees and Nova government
- epistemological modesty (the idea that teachers are comfortable/not defensive with regard to information they don’t know)

By the end of the meeting, the group had worked together effectively in creating this list. We are now prepared for our small team of volunteer teacher writers to synthesize the list into answers for the required questions. Next time, we’ll take a look at the teachers’ answers and determine any changes that need to be made. Just another step in the Creative Approach Process.

There are also some STIs that I don’t feel like I know a lot about–or anything, really. I decided to do a little research into less common STIs so that we can have a bit of knowledge about these potential health risks we don’t know much about.

Just as a note, I use the newer term STIs, because it’s more encompassing than the term STDs (or sexually transmitted diseases), but my sources use the older term STDs. The term STIs is used more frequently in the medical field now because it doesn’t have the permanent connotations that the term STDs does (and is therefore more accurate since many STIs aren’t permanent) (MedicineNet.com, n.d.).

Chancroid – causes a painful genital ulcer. Rare in U.S. Sores are fairly distinguishable. Usually can be diagnosed just by appearance, although you can be tested for the bacteria Haemophilus ducreyi. Treated with antibiotics (usually needs more than one round) (Boskey, 2008) (Epigee: Women’s Health, n.d.)

Molluscum Contagiosum – causes itchy skin blisters. Often in children, but can be sexually transmitted in adults. Usually diagnosed by appearance, but sometimes a biopsy is used. Will usually heal on its own. Rash can be treated if there’s significant discomfort, but home remedies are not recommended. (Boskey, 2008) (Epigee: Women’s Health, n.d.)

Lymphogranuloma Venerum (LGV) – a type of chlamydia infection, with symptoms more reminiscent of syphilis. Can be difficult to test for due to its misleading appearance. Treated with antibiotics. (Boskey, 2008) (Epigee: Women’s Health, n.d.)

MRSA – usually seen as an infection picked up in the hospital, but recent studies show that it can also be transmitted sexually. Is an infection caused by the bacteria staph aureus, which resists treatment. Having MRSA on your skin does not necessarily mean you have the infection, but you may have an increased risk of getting one. (Boskey, 2008)

Granuloma Inguinale – causes small, painless ulcers and warts. Sometimes mistaken for syphilis or chancroid. Can be a dangerous infection if left untreated due to the ulcers bursting, spreading, and growing. Treated with antibiotics. (Boskey, 2008)

Just remember that there are more STIs than just the well-known ones to be aware of in the future, and if you’d like more information about any of these, take a look at the links below.

Information from:
Boskey, E. (2008, July 23). Questions about rare stds.
About.com. Retrieved March 19, 2012, from http://std.about.com/od/overviewofstds/a/faqhubrare.htm

Epigee: Women’s Health. (n.d.). Uncommon stds. Retrieved
March 19, 2012, from http://www.epigee.org/uncommon-
stds.html

MedicineNet.com. (n.d.). Sexually transmitted diseases in men. Retrieved April
26, 2012, from http://www.medicinenet.com/sexually_transmitted_diseases_
stds_in_men/article.htm

Image of antibiotics from:
Yin, D. (2010, May 16). The antibiotics shortage and how to
solve it. StoneSoup.wordpress.com. Retrieved April 23, 2012, from http://stonesoup.wordpress.com/tag/antibiotics/