Asking for a change.

Humans are a sad race. No, it's true. I mean, what do we really bring to this world? Some thoughts? Maybe.

but wars, global warming and famine? Yes. That we do bring.

Humans are a sad race. And what is our last craze? Oh yes, being illegal while we don't know we are breaking the law.

This is indeed a post about downloading. This is also indeed a post about how stupid the arguments for illegal downloading are. Of course, it will be a post about how I hate you.

I would like to begin with the argument I heard while discussing this is class. It is one of the weakest I have ever heard, and believe me, I have heard many.

"Why should I pay a lot of money, for something I can download for free?"

What? How? Why? I don't see your argument at all.

Why should you pay for something you might as well steal? Oh I don't know, because following the law is the right thing? Because STEALING is ILLEGAL?

Would you walk into a record store and take 5 CD's? Because when you download five albums that is exactly what you are doing. The argument "but I am not taking something that is physical, something you can touch" won't work with me, because I think you're an idiot. When you download, even "just one song" you are stealing profit from those who deserve it.

The fact that you don't want to pay the singers or actors high salary won't affect me. That is not the only person who gets payed. No, quite the opposite. Hundreds, if not thousand of people are involved in making this thing you feel you have the right to steal.

When it all comes down to it, what right do you have to get this material for free? Why shouldn't you pay for what you get? Can anyone give me a real answer here? Anything sensible? For I have never heard an answer that many any kind of sense.

You don't have that right. No one does.

What is it with you people, don't you understand that you are killing an entire industry? If you don't stop now, there will be no new movies to download in the future. There will be no new music or books.

The movie industry for example, is completely built on sponsoring. If you pay 10 million for a movie, then you expect it to make 16 million, so that you get you ten million back and then have enough profit to pay everybody who worked with making the movie.

But what happens when the profit is only 6 millions? Who gets the money? The investor, who will lose at least 4 million, or all of those depending on their salary?

An industry is dying, and this is because of you.

Now, I'm too tired of this discussion. I don't understand how you can keep doing this. Why don't you understand that is it illegal? Why doesn't it feel as if it is illegal?

Why won't you just stop!

Give the students computers!

This seminar is about computers 1:1, and so far I have become more convinced that this is the way to work in school.

I thought this wouldn't really matter to me, because I already am a student with a computer, but I have learned more about what you can do with computers.

One man spoke about tablet computers, and how great it was for the teachers to have them during lectures and presentations. You can draw straight on the presentations, like you would on a whiteboard.

It seems a lot easier than using a smartboard during a presentation.

It was also a very clever thing to have when you correct a paper, for you do no longer need to print it to make comments, but can instead take noted directly on the document.

During the seminar.

Some thought along the road.

Due to lack of internet yesterday, I didn't write down my thoughts of the seminars. I will however do so after todays learning. What I did do, together with Maria, was a little vlog about the first seminar. That can be found here.

As I walk around here I find myself in awe of how far our school seems to have gotten. This entire conference seems to be more about IT as a goal, a goal they haven't reached yet. They want the computer, as my teacher said, they see it as a goal, not as a way to reach the goal. On YBC we use the computer in everything we do. It is seen as a must, for without the computer we cannot work.

I see this as a con of technology. That people see the computer as a must, and not a privilege, which is the way it was a few years ago. If you don't have access to internet in these days, you feel isolated and left out of the world. Phones are no longer meant for calling, but for instant internet connections.

How did we go from letters to internet on your cellphone?

The world is constantly changing, and unfortunately we have to change with it, even if the road isn't leading towards where we thought we were heading. All in all, we move towards something new every day, every minute, every second.

Now it's time for a new seminar, this time about Computers 1:1 in the classroom. Our principal himself will speak, and we, sitting here with out computers, will probably we asked plenty pf questions.

Sarah

Inspiration for life.

Usually Mondays makes my eyes tear, my body shake and my head hurt. Today was different. Starting the first lesson with 20 minutes of Juno was wonderful. The story behind this is actually quite odd, for the class is Italian.

Last week we were supposed to watch an italian movie during the Thursday lesson, but since someone had stolen the DVD, and the movie store failed to mention this, we only had the features DVD. So, after fifteen minutes of laughing, complaining and some looks of apology from our teacher, we started watching Juno.

After these twenty minutes of well-written bliss, half the girls in the school went into the 'BC aula' to listen to a lecture. Before entering the room, all we knew was that it was supposed to be information about drugs. From all other lessons and lectures about this we have had during the years, I expected a few wasted hours. Lucky for me it wasn't.

We had two speakers, one man and one woman. The man began with telling his story, and from the first second you were caught in what he was telling us. You could tell that he had accepted his past and what he had done, and had moved on. He had such self-perception it was unbelievable. He could actually smile and tell his story with a laugh, something I think many have problems with. A past like his can not be easy to accept.

I have never experienced anything related to abuse of drugs or alcohol, but I can still say that I know it is hard to drag oneself out of that, no matter how determined one is.

This is where on would usually say that one knows all there is to know about alcohol and drugs, the effects the consequences and whatnot. The usual explanation? "I've read about it" or "I saw this documentary once"

Unless we have actually been there, down at the bottom crawling through the shit of life, we cannot say we understand what it is all about. Sure we can say it is hard, but we cannot know just HOW hard. How impossible. How much it hurts. We cannot know anything actually.

The girl, she was much younger than her friend, and I felt as if she still could bear what had happened to and with her. Maybe it's because a woman is so much more easily abused and used than a man. Also because she was still so young, and only got control of her life a few years ago. The man had had around 16 years to understand and think about what he had done, the girl had not had at all as many.

I was truly amazed that they could stand there in front of a bunch of neglecting teenagers and share that amazing and tragic story. I don't believe I could ever have that courage. Maybe not that many people have.

The kind of courage they showed today isn't something you are born with. Courage doesn't even mean that you dare to do everything. It's simply doing what you afraid of even though you are afraid.

So, with those few words to think about maybe, I will go to bed.

Tomorrow I can be found on the "Framtidens Lärande" (translation:The future's learning) conference in Nacka Strand. I'll be blogging and tweeting during the day, as our teachers has told us to.

I am looking forward to be a part of this, all in all I think we're twenty students from YBC going. It will be interesting to learn more about what is happening in the school-world, and to hear people's thoughts and beliefs.

Quote of the day:

“No one ever gets far unless he accomplishes the impossible at least once a day.”

Elbert Hubbard