The Empathy Tour

Like in the immortal horizon, robotics kids come from all different backgrounds and interests. While many are solely in robotics, there are many who take part in sports and other activities; they participate in sports from swimming to running track and cross-country to soccer, plus more. Yet, they find time to build a robot (or multiple) throughout the school year, which takes up most of their time. Each team has a team (usually not related to their school) which allows them to have specific outfits for their competitions. These teams exist throughout the country and the world, including in China, Colombia, and Canada. Among those in the twin cities, there is KING TeC (Prior Lake), The Fighting Calculators (Woodbury), RoboCats (Waconia), and the Technocrats (Hopkins). While each team wears different “uniforms,” Prior Lake’s team, KING TeC wears capes and crowns to each competition.  Each team looks different and prepares for their matches differently, like the runners in Immortal Horizon, some might eat "Pop-Tarts and candy bars and geriatric energy drinks" (Jamison 91) to keep them awake after late nights preparing for the match, and some teams wear ridiculous outfits that make hem recognizable to other teams. 

Each team works for what seems like night and day to build their robot so that it completes the goal for that year’s competition. While their official “build season” is only six weeks long, some teams build replicas of their robot so that they can test out any changes and know how their robot functions the best for the competition. You may wonder why they don’t just make those changes on the official robot. They aren’t allowed to. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics made a rule that they have to put their robot away on a specific day, which they call “bag day,” and the teams can only take it out and work on it for six hours after that day. The teams follow a rule book and game book (that changes yearly) that tells them "'exactly where to go,'" (Jamison 97) or rather what to do in their competition. 

Once competitions start, the teams compete for specific awards which can qualify them for the “world” competition in St. Louis towards the end of April each year. Teams strive to get the chairman’s award, which is given to the team that “best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.” The teams are considered based on how they try to make an impact in their community to help others. Upon winning this award, teams get a bid to Worlds and they get to try to win the award again there.

Each year, more and more teams join first robotics. The teams make their members feel like they are part of something. Everyone contributes in some way, whether by building the robot or taking care of the social aspects.  People notice how much robotics can help someone while in high school and after high school, even if they don't go into engineering.

Works Cited 

“FIRST Robotics.” FIRST, FIRST, www.firstinspires.org/. Accessed 30 Apr. 2017.

“FRC Team List.” The Blue Alliance, VEXPRO, www.thebluealliance.com/teams. Accessed 30 Apr. 2017.

Hauppauge Robotics. “FRC Statistics.” Team358.Org - Robotic Eagles - FIRST® Robotics Competition, 2017, www.team358.org/files/frc_records/index.php. Accessed 29 Apr. 2017. 

“KING TeC 2169 Robotics.” KING TeC 2169, 2017, kingtec2169.com/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2017.

Devil's Bait and Morphology of the Hit

Devil’s Bait:

“Her chin and cheeks show sores covered with pancake makeup… ‘I’ve messed with a part of my chin,’ she confesses. ‘It’s almost like trying to pull out a piece of glass.’ Her chin looks like something raw and reddish has been chalked with beige powder… She says she’s been finding it harder and harder to leave her house. She’s too embarrassed by her face. I tell her I don’t think her face is anything to be embarrassed about. ‘It’s harder when it’s your own body,’ I add awkwardly. ‘I know that’” (Jamison 36-37).

Society teaches people that any “imperfection” on your face or body makes you unworthy of being part of society. Anyone who doesn’t fit perfectly into the cookie-cutter ideals of society gets put down. This idea impacted Kendra so much that the felt embarrassed to show her face in public. A disease that doctors tell her she made up makes her actions out of her control, and she feel ashamed to show her face because of how her face ends up looking.

I chose this quote because I had the same sort of thing happen to me, where I felt ashamed to show my face because of scarring that I had on my face. I ended up getting a huge wound on my chin from an accident while on vacation, and the wound (and later, scar) covered most of my chin. I would try my hardest to cover it with make-up, but at first, it wouldn’t do anything. Now, there are bumps and scarring, but it isn’t noticeable. It took a lot of courage for me to go out at first because of the wound, and now I’ve realized that others didn’t care. It became a big deal for me because it was on my face and I saw myself as an outcast, without seeing what others thought.

Morphology of the Hit:

“They saw me right off and knew what I needed. They’d been in fights. This kind of injury wasn’t anything new. They gave me wet rags, ice, a beer. I kept putting all three against my face, very gently. I wasn’t sure if my nose was loose enough to push out of place. I couldn’t even look them in the eye. I was ashamed. I wouldn’t be able to explain this properly to anyone” (Jamison 73).

Society teaches people, or rather women, to feel ashamed after getting into a fight or after getting hurt. Even when she knew that those men in the bar experienced the same things, she felt ashamed to face them because society told her that her getting attacked should be something that she feels ashamed of. She shouldn’t have to carry the burden of that attack and I think that there are a lot of things that people get impacted by, that they shouldn’t. People shouldn’t have to feel ashamed of the actions of others, especially if those actions were against them.

I picked this quote because it shows how different men and women are regarded. The whole story does, but this part shows how women see themselves as different as well. How women see that they shouldn’t be in fights, shouldn’t be hurt, whether it is their fault or not.

The Empathy Exams Journal 1

“There are things I’d like to tell the version of myself who sat in the Planned Parenthood counseling room. I would tell her that she is going through something large and she shouldn’t be afraid she’s ‘making too big a deal of it.’ She shouldn’t be afraid of not feeling enough because the feelings will keep coming—different ones—for years. I would tell her that commonality doesn’t inoculate against hurt. The fact of all of those women in the waiting room, doing the same thing I was doing, didn’t make it any easier” (Jamison 11).

In something as difficult as an abortion, feeling like your feelings are valid and deserve to be seen becomes difficult—like the most difficult thing in the world. But those feelings deserve to be seen because it is a difficult thing and no one else can help you through those feelings. Just because someone else goes through the same things as you do not mean that they know who you are feeling, that you and the other person feel the same thing. 

I chose this passage because I’ve noticed how a lot of people struggle with showing their emotions. People don’t know how to show that they are struggling, and they end up hurting alone, without anyone knowing that they are suffering. I think people should always know that their emotions are valid, that they are allowed to feel those things, but people struggle with it, and I know that I have struggled with it, as well. Just because you are around other people, should not mean that you aren’t allowed to show your emotions and show that you are suffering.

School Uniforms Help Students and Schools

Twenty percent of public schools in the United States use school uniforms in the 2013-2014 school year. School uniforms continue to grow in popularity, even among public schools. Kids around the country face danger from gangs and bullying, school uniforms help to protect kids from bullying and help with the gangs that threaten those kids. School uniforms protect the kids and encourage individuality in ways other than their outward appearance. School uniforms help not only the school but also the students who wear those uniforms.
School uniforms started becoming common in the 19^th century in charity schools in the United Kingdom. Community members donated uniforms and schools started using them to promote school pride and patriotism in the country (Scott). In the United States, schools began using school uniforms during the industrial age to connect the schools to industrialization, capitalism, and show the schools’ national loyalty. Some schools used them to show religion or maintain tradition. The uniforms promoted formality, self-discipline, and patriotism. School uniforms continue to promote unity among the student bodies and students form friendships based solely on the personalities of their peers, rather than allowing the wealth of their peers to influence their opinions.
Now, when people think of school uniforms, they tend to think of private schools, but more and more public schools adopt the idea of school uniforms in efforts to make their school a better environment and help their students excel. School uniforms in public schools “[gain their] first perceptible momentum in 1994 when the Long Beach Unified School District in Long Beach, California [adopt school uniforms] for its … elementary and middle school students” (Huss 31). Most high schools choose not to enforce uniforms, which gives kids the opportunity to still wear what they want to wear. Now, school uniforms tend to appear in cities and more kids attending the schools with uniforms tend to qualify for free and reduced-price lunches (Fast Facts). The schools want to make all their students equal to their peers and uniforms allow for their equality. Since school uniforms tend to appear in private schools and areas with a lot of poverty, so people tend to associate them with the rich and the poor, rather than all ages and levels of wealth. Parents worry about sending their kids to a public school with uniforms because they think it “is an unsafe place to send their child” (Walmsley 65). Even if the uniforms make the schools safer, they schools get a reputation of danger because of the schools’ environment before uniforms. Parents choose not to consider the safety of the schools after getting uniforms and assume that the schools continue putting the students in danger. More public schools need school uniforms so that parents feel safe sending their kids to a school with uniforms.
School uniforms protect children from gang presences and make violence less prevalent in schools. Gangs usually utilize colors or insignias to show who belongs to their gang. One mother shares the story of how a gang spares her sons’ lives because of their school uniforms. Four men point guns at her sons and demand to see their shirts, since “they [do] not have on any red or blue; they [are] dressed in in uniform—a white shirt and tie and black/grey pants” (qtd. in Brunsma 82), the gang allows them to live. If kids choose to wear the wrong colors, gangs might threaten their lives. Uniforms help prevent that. In the first four years of school uniforms in the school district of Long Beach, California, crime drops ninety-one percent, weapon offenses drop ninety-two percent, drug charges drop sixty-two percent, overall attendance reaches an all-time high, and overall test scores rise (Cruz 36). Schools in the area that never implement school uniforms never experience the same changes. The school in Long Beach becomes safer and a better learning environment for the kids. The uniforms also make it obvious when possible danger walks through the doors by identifying “non-enrolled, truant students… and other outsiders” (Alleyne, LaPoint, Lee, Mitchell 425). When all of the students wear that same things, faculty easily recognizes people who could endanger the students. Kids stay safe because they wear uniforms, and they become better students and people.
With school uniforms teachers notice a change in the behaviors of students. Students show more responsibility with school uniforms. Students focus on their education, rather than “’jone-ing’ [competitive, back and forth verbal bantering] on individuals in class” (Alleyne, LaPoint, Lee, and Mitchell 423). The students focus more during class and choose to work on their school work, not goof around with their classmates. When the kids stop goofing off in class, they learn more effectively and thoroughly. Along with less goofing around in class, school uniforms reduce “teasing, absenteeism, and school violence… [and] increase students’ confidence, pride, and self-esteem” (Alleyne, LaPoint, Lee, and Mitchell 424). School uniforms make the teachers’ jobs easier, the students more focused in class, and the students feel responsible enough to attend class and make it to class on time. The students show more respect towards their teachers and other adults. The kids who wear uniforms “are less cocky towards adults… better behaved—less attitude” (Huss 36). Uniforms make students more responsible for their actions. Uniforms also prepare kids for when they go to work and follow a dress code or wear a specific uniform (Alleyne, LaPoint, Lee, Mitchell 420). In their futures, a lot (if not, all) of those kids face uniforms or dress codes that they will need to follow in their jobs, and the school uniforms get them more comfortable with the idea of uniforms, and prepare them for their futures and jobs. School uniforms help kids in their futures and make them into better people.
School uniforms promote a better learning environment for the students, helping the teachers with their jobs. With school uniforms, schools experience “’fewer classroom disruptions’ and ‘fewer incidences of quarreling’… the school takes on a quieter, studious atmosphere” (Huss 36). The students behave better when in uniform, preparing to learn, rather than disrupting school and wasting time. Kids in school uniforms also tend to out-perform the non-uniformed students on standardized testing (Bodine 69). The kids’ more productive learning becomes obvious during standardized testing because of higher test scores. The atmosphere that uniforms provide helps the kids learn better and motivate them to focus and respect their teachers and the other people they encounter in their daily lives.
Parents worry about the financial burden of school uniforms, but in the long run, school uniforms save money. Parents, rather than buying new clothes for their children whenever fashions change, only buy school clothes once for the whole year, only needing to buy replacements. In the United Kingdom, all schools, even public, require school uniforms and “parents appreciate needing to buy only a few shirts, a few trousers, skirts, tights, and possibly a blazer, cardigan, or sweatshirt for the entire school year” (Walmsley 64). In comparison to the clothes that kids normally want for school, parents end up spending a lot less money with school uniforms. When Angela Walmsley, a parent and teacher herself, moved to the UK and sent her kids to school there, she notices how she “[spends] less money and [needs] far fewer items of clothing for [her] children when they [wear] school uniforms” (64). Her observation includes the clothes that her kids wear outside of school. The kids need less clothes for at home and the weekends, so the parents spend less money. Once more schools utilize uniforms, the prices also lower. In the UK, where all schools require uniforms, so many places carry those uniforms that they become a lot cheaper due to the demand for the uniforms and the competition for the sales (Walmsley 64). The high demand helps to lower prices, so if more schools get uniforms, they become more affordable for all families. With uniforms, parents pay less throughout the year for new clothes and more easily afford other things. Uniforms become preferred for all people involved, students included.
Students tend to dislike the idea of school uniforms initially, but eventually they prefer school uniforms. Students see how they put everyone on an equal playing field. Students face an inability to judge based on how people dressed, which shows their wealth, because all the students wear the same thing. Students no longer tease their peers with remarks like “didn’t you wear that yesterday?” because they all wear the same as what they wore the day before. Ms. Flanagan, a teacher at a school that adopted a policy of school uniforms (name not disclosed), notices how the girls in her class display less “catty” characteristics with school uniforms (Huss 36). They no longer pick on their peers because of their clothes, since the school uniforms took that opportunity from them. The kids feel pride in wearing their uniforms and kids start to feel excited to go to school because of an increase in school spirit (Huss 36). The kids enjoy wearing the uniforms and see how they benefit them, so even upon getting the opportunity to not wear uniforms, many choose to wear the uniforms. A principal from Houston’s students even petition for wearing uniforms. That fall, “out of 1,800 kids… twelve report not in uniform” (Cruz 39). Those students fight for school uniforms and, with their parents, implement school uniforms for their district. Rather than choosing what to wear each day from their closet full of options, they know their options right away, so they grab their uniform and go. They eliminate a lot of the prep time in the morning for kids, as one student from San Antonio points out (Cruz 39). Kids enjoy the ease of the uniforms and how uniforms positively impact the school’s environment.
Some people worry about uniforms turning the kids into “uniform minds,” but uniforms promote individuality in ways other than outward appearances. Uniforms make all of the kids equal, but they promote each child to act how they want to act and let their personality grow. Other kids see their peers as equal, and they bully less, which allows kids to let their personality shine. Those uniforms make the kids feel like they belong (Huss 32). Since the kids feel like they belong, they act how they would when most comfortable. Normally, kids hide their true personalities in a normal school setting. The kids make friendships based on personalities, rather than allowing how their peers dress to impact their opinion of those peers. Thus, their relationships with others improve and make the school better (Huss 32). While school uniforms make kids look the same, the kids still act based on their personality, which makes them into their own individual and makes them happier with their school.
Many people think that school uniforms cause little change in the safety and academic environment of schools. They see dress codes as more beneficial as school uniforms, but dress codes end up taking more time away from teaching. “One principal said he spends 60 to 90 minutes each day dealing with dress code issues” (qtd. in Walmsley 66). The time that teachers and administrators deal with dress code violations takes away from the students’ learning and causes more time where students sit in class before the teacher starts teaching. Dress codes allow students to dress in similar ways as normal; Dress codes limit little of what the students wear, so the possibility exists that they still wear clothes showing their connections to gangs. With school uniforms, school administrators interpret necklaces, like Harrison County’s Ryan Green’s Star of David necklace, as gang symbols (Cruz 23). Kids feel attacked because of teachers trying to uphold dress codes and get rid of the influence of gangs. Even if the symbols hold no connection to gangs, faculty still see some of the students’ clothes as gang related. School uniforms eliminate this problem. Dress codes also limit the clothes that students wear so that, often, wearing clothes that show pride in their race or religion gets them in trouble, like with Ryan Green’s Star of David. Students who choose to wear “t-shirts with messages such as ‘the blacker the college, the sweeter the knowledge’ [receive] warnings from the school’s administration” (Cruz 25). When those kids show pride in their race, they face trouble with their schools’ administrators. Even if school uniforms still prohibit kids wearing shirts like that to school, the kids never face punishment for showing pride in themselves and their race. While dress codes work in some schools, they bring problems along with them that cause more frustration in comparison to school uniforms and the frustration that they bring.
Even with all of the concerns about school uniforms, they help the kids and schools turn into the best versions possible. Kids prepare for their future and become more respectful towards others, while learning more productively. School uniforms reduce violence at schools and help identify possible dangers in their school. Schools provide a clear guideline of what they allow kids to wear, which keeps the kids and teacher in class. School uniforms help kids and if more schools implemented those uniforms, the bad stigma surrounding them would disappear.

Works Cited

Alleyne, Sylvan I., Velma LaPoint, Jennifer Lee, and Harold W. Mitchell. "Black Educators' Views on Middle School Students' Dress and Uniforms: Addressing Challenges from Commercialism." Journal of Negro Education vol. 72, no. 4, 2003, pp. 418-426. JSTOR. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

Bodine, Ann. “School Uniforms, Academic Achievement, and Uses of Research” The Journal of Educational Research vol. 97, no. 2, Nov./Dec. 2003, pp. 67-71. Academic Search Premier [EBSCO]. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

Brunsma, David L. The School Uniform Movement and What It Tells Us about American Education: A Symbolic Crusade. Lanham, MD: ScarecrowEducation, 2004. Print.

Cruz, Bárbara. School Dress Codes: A Pro/Con Issue. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Pub., 2001. Print.

"Fast Facts." National Center for Educational Statistics. US Department of Education, 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2017. <https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=50>.

Huss, John A. "The Role of School Uniforms in Creating an Academically Motivating Climate: Do Uniforms Influence Teacher Expectations?" Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research vol. 1, 2007, pp. 31-39. Academic Search Premier [EBSCO]. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

Scott, Jenny. "School Uniforms: A History of 'rebellion and Conformity'." BBC News. BBC, 05 Sept. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2017. <http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-29047752>.

"Uniforms, School." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Encyclopedia.com. 28 Mar. 2017 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Walmsley, Angela. "What the United Kingdom Can Teach the United States About School Uniforms." Kappan Magazine, Mar. 2011, pp. 63-67. Academic Search Premier [EBSCO]. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.