A call to the Readership

What is the essence of iQ? How would you define the community, the system and/or the principles? How could the problems students and staff deal with be solved? (Falling behind, lack of communication/interest in events, connectivity between students, etc.) Most important, what should we as students focus on to make our unique school as good as it can be, for us and those to follow down the long and winding road of virtual education?

We at the Student Blog would like to hear from you! Post your comments (or email them if you'd rather,) and make yourself heard.

~ The Blog

What Next?

First read this:

--Flatulent kangaroos could save the planet.--

Australian scientists plan to isolate, and possibly transfer to other species, the 'roos digestive bacteria, which unusually produce almost none of the potent greenhouse gas methane.

One of the primary sources of atmospheric methane is the digestive tracts of millions of cows, sheep, pigs and, um, humans. It's the byproduct of trillions of bacteria, properly called digestive flora, without which no mammal could get nutrition from starches and plant fibers.

With each belch and colonic gaseous emission, large plant-eating livestock contribute a bit more to global warming.

"Fourteen percent of [greenhouse-gas] emissions from all sources in Australia is from enteric methane from cattle and sheep," Queensland state government research scientist Athol Klieve told Agence France-Presse. "And if you look at another country such as New Zealand, which has got a much higher agricultural base, they're actually up around 50 percent."

But kangaroos, which eat plenty of plants, appear to have different digestive flora, emitting almost no methane. If those bacteria could be substituted for those of cows and sheep, it could drastically cut down on the amounts of methane pumped into the atmosphere.

source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,315586,00.html
----

Wow. That's my first reaction. Second reaction: That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. For those of you who read the last issue of Virtually News, you might have read my article on Global Warming. If you didn't read it, go read it, and read the counterpoint by Alex Dunn.

Questions that come to mind regarding this research: How much methane is put into the atmosphere? How much does it contribute to the greenhouse effect compared to carbon dioxide emissions? What about all the methane the ocean gives off? Is this a natural thing that we should just leave alone???

Thinking out loud,

Em

Revenge of the Pencils

Well, the old WKCE testing strikes again! Poor little sophomores get their nerves all hyped up and then after it's all over, let out a huge sigh of relief. I had the pleasure of sitting in a chair at the Madison Public library for about seven hours today. After waiting for a few minutes for a group of people to clear out of the room we were going to use, (I occupied my time with straitening shelves which I have gained the habit of after volunteering at our local library. Where are those silly Madison library volunteers anyway?) I found a seat and couldn't wait to get started!! heh.... yeah. So, the wonderful teachers, Mr. Wright and Mrs. Pease, (that we are so grateful for for spending most of their day watching high schoolers take a test) went through the instructions and handed out our number 2 pencils (remember, ONLY number 2 pencils) and other helpful things including calculators and a nice little cardboard ruler. Then we were off! We had around 35 minuets to complete each "session" or test. The first three contained around three types of stories and then we had to answer a few multiple choice problems. After completing each session we would quietly show one of the teachers that we had in fact completed it. They would write down the time we had completed the session and we would then move on to the next.

After going through three sessions of reading, three sessions of mathematics (which I will confess, I don't think I represented our school to well. I hope I got at least a couple right...) and around two sessions of science, I started to get a little tired of it. This was the first booklet. While I sat there at the table, almost becoming hopeful that I would finish this wonderful booklet of questions, Mr. Wright announced that it looked like some of us were rushing through the test (not I) and that there was still another to come! That definitely made me excited. I eventually made it through the first booklet and decided to keep on going without stopping to take a lunch break. Who needs energy for this magnificent test anyways? Once again I found myself trying to make it through a couple sessions of social studies and writing. I actually almost feel confident that I did close to alright with writing. I wrote about the Age of Technology! Fun stuff... I even mentioned online learning. I think I should get an award for that! After a few more grueling hours of multiple choice questions and filling them in with my number 2 pencil, I was done! All I can say is, I'm glad this does NOT count toward our grade and that it is not our lovely school alone making us poor kids do the test. I also would like to say, those who have this wonderful experience ahead of them, try to at least think of doing your best and representing our school! And that's about it. I can't think of any other reason to be thankful for the test at the moment... Oh, I know. I won't have to use a #2 pencil to take a test again for the rest of the year!

A Moment of Silence

I've come to realize, despite all the promises and mildly-competent attempts to follow through on them, that things in the iQ Commons are never going to achieve their former organizational glory. We have homepages that no one knows about, we have forums that no one cares about, and the commons announcements are messed up nearly to the point of illegibility. Even our faithful macs are being phased out now, in favor of PC's. Things are changing, and certainly not for the better...

When I first joined iQ, there were at least 3-4 intelligent students who were consistently involved in serious discussions in Commons. While I was just a freshmen, I saw something there that I wanted to be involved in, and did so. Several major flame wars and a bunch of other stuff later, I was a full fledged member of the discussion board group. If something came up that I was interested in, and back in the day things did, I joined in and had my say. My Sophomore year was similar, though slightly more students were more interested in chatting than discussion. (And that year, last year, was the year they shut down the chat rooms.) Back then, we had real, heartfelt discussions where we furiously disassembled the other side's arguments, until we grew tired of that subject and started another. It was a community, like any other community, and it was a great enjoyment to participate.

Now, this year, after the whole blackboard system seems to have been renovated, everything is, to put it bluntly, a mess. The announcements in commons should be in the announcements section of the Discussion Board "Course" and they shouldn't be in obnoxious colors, and they shouldn't stretch the screen so you have to scroll sideways to read them. The Homepages should be right there too, where people can see them. The discussion boards should have all the functions set up, so people can edit the errors in their posts, etc. They should be able to mark posts as read or unread too, like we used to be able to do.

Unfortunately, the thing that really matters, the people, seem to have disappeared. The veterans of the first several years of iQ Academies have gone now, and in their absence, no one has showed up. There might be 10 participants in the discussion boards at the moment, but none of them care to start an serious discussion, and sadly enough, they all seem to agree completely on everything. Not to mention, no Philosophy and Religion board, AND they actually removed the Politics board! So the primary composition of topics is literally "How's the buddy program going?" "How's school going?" and "Homework help".

I should've seen this coming. Similar situations have played out in other organizations, especially online, that I've been involved in. Things fall from their glory as time drags on. People get worn down and lose ambition. Ever since Stacy McKnight left, things truly haven't been the same for iQ's student-to-student relations. (For those of you who don't know, she was our Go-To person for all the commons stuff, and Proms/Dances/Basketball tournaments etc.) I thought someone else would pick up the baton, but it's apparent that there isn't anyone else with the talents Stacy had to organize things for our sake, and make things more interesting for *us*.

Maybe someone else will come along eventually, but who knows. Maybe the iQ Administration is no longer interested in hip younger (pre-30's) people to work for them. If things continue down the road as they are, however, I fear for iQ's success as a whole. You simply cannot maintain a school without giving the students a significant, well thought-out and appropriately-managed commons (Not to mention the need for someone who can relate to students, and the organization of fun events.)


All that said, I'd like to take a moment of silence in memory of the past.

Discussion Board Quandary

Alright, what's the deal? It took a while to get Commons setup, and then longer to get the Discussion Board Suggestions section setup, but now that they did that, the only thing they've done is create three mildly pointless boards that don't actually allow for any serious debating...

Am I the only one gradually moving from "Patience" to "Frustration" at an exponentially greater rate? Or is this actually bothering some of you as well?

Personally, I want discussion. Even just an acknowledgment of the suggestions posted by students in that section. After all, why ask if they don't seem to care?

Salutations!

Greetings!
My name is Mandy, I am a Senior here at iQ. I think that this is a wonderful idea to really get to know people and what is going on in their heads. It is a fabulous idea! I have actually been a student here at iQ for 3 years, and for good reason. I am a former student of West Bend West, I left after my Sophomore year, and a very unsuccessful one at that. I had a knee and sinus problem, a problem that had me in and out of school for more than 2 months out of the school year, sprawled throughout that year due to surgeries and therapy.
iQ was answer to a prayer.
My Junior year had been interrupted, however, as my parents split up, and my mother, my brothers (3) and I had left the house, and I was unable to finish a portion of school, as where we were residing did not have internet.
Last year went very good, my Senior year, but I decided I would stay one more year to prepare myself for going to college.
So, that is where I am. I am technically a Senior+. *riendose en voz alta*
Glad to be here, pleasure to meet you all, and I look forward to getting to know you all!
Here's to a good year, and a great start!

~Mandy Massingale

My First Week At iQ

My first week has been super hard. I've been trying to figure out how to navigate all my classes.AP Government is really hard. I also couldn't figure out how to get my printer to work. If anybody wants to help, please email me at horsecrazyaly15@yahoo.com.The school is pretty cool all together. Everybody have a good week!

CarlySmash is in the house!

Okay, that was lame.

And I'd been sitting here staring at the screen, listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with no ideas at all.
But then I realized, I could use my lack of ideas as a decent post.

So I took a page from the Book of Streeter Seidell,
and made this.

Why This Student Thinks... (fill in the blank)

However many people may not agree with me on this, I'm going to say it anyways; iQ is a great school. I was never one to hide my bluntness, and that's my honest opinion.

Right now, I'm on a secluded tiny island that looks on a map that China is eating it; it's raining. Not only that, but only a few people on this island speak English; the rest speak either Mandarin Chinese or the slightly different Taiwanese. Kinmen, (pronounced Jing-men) the island I'm on, has one internet server, one. But, with this one server, I'm able to post this, early morning for you people stuck in Wisconsin, from across the continent of North America, plus the Pacific Ocean. Now that's amazing. Technology astounds me.

So what is my point? How does this "little island being eaten by China in the middle of nowhere" have to do with iQ being a great school? If I wasn't doing iQ and I wasn't homeschooled, I wouldn't be here. Well, in Kinmen at least, I'd still be in the supposedly newly green Wisconsin bothering a bunch of people. And, I'd be going to school. With four/five weeks of school left, I'd have major spring fever and be absolutely sick of the monotony.

Instead, I'm in an amazing little country with an amazing history and an amazing future, seeing amazing people and meeting amazing (and adorable) little kids. For a whole month. Spring break lasts, what, a week? But no, I'm here for an entire month, and, yeah, I brought school with me. Up on the shelf sits my World History book... It's collecting dust, but Mr. Sajdak doesn't know that.

With iQ, I can be absolutely anywhere in the entire world that has internet connection (yeah, even one dinky little server) and be connected with my school and keep my grades looking nice and shiny. If I went to a face-to-face school, I'd be... well, at this point I'd be sleeping in or getting ready for church, but I would have to go Monday morning and sit in class for about eight hours, propping my eyelids open with my pens and paging through my very worn Geometry book trying to remember all the insane formulas.

However, here in Kinmen, I'm getting to do a lot of face-to-face learning, but not stuck in a classroom. I get to go out, whenever I want and be attacked by the smell of stinky tofu, aromatic spices and Taiwanese chocolate (all mixed together). I get to go to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei and learn about "that Chiang dude" and everything he did; things I learned in World History, but I'm now seeing where they happened. I get to sit next to an older man on a plane and listen to him tell me the history of the country he loves and then his political viewpoints, in a completely different country where I have no say in what happens.

So, maybe I'll pay for all this "face-to-face" learning when I get home a week before school ends and have major jetlag and try to finish about three weeks of school in one week. But that's the beauty of iQ, you can put it off until the end and then be mercilessly attacked by such procrastination, only to completely wear yourself out and be left for dead when the clock strikes midnight on May 29th.

As a side note: My sister, who graduated with iQ, misses that huge adrenaline rush the last week of school brings us procrastinators.

Anyways, just as a summary, my thesis statement of sorts, iQ is great because you can do it absolutely anywhere and if your parents are okay with it (or you're old enough), you can go to a foreign country and learn stuff face-to-face without having to be "away" from school technically.

That was long.