Genuinely Giancarlo

In my sociology class on Wednesday, we had a discussion on school, probably the second most important social institution in our society (after the family). We talked about how school forces conformity, the sad reality that blacks have a lower graduation rate than whites (and the causes/effects of that truth), and also had a pretty cool talk about the pros and cons of public school and private school. But my favorite part was when we talked about standardized testing. Here's the thing: there are approximately 14.9 million students in high school in America this year. And trying to make sure that every single one of those 14.9 million students learns what they're supposed to learn is an insanely difficult task. And it's even harder to check if your methods are working out right. I get that. I understand that the way that schools check if their teachers and their teaching models are working out is to test the students to see what they know. But it's not being done ...

Tonight, I will be present at Copper Hills High School when the Grizzlies take on the West Jordan Jaguars in the final game of their regular football seasons. West Jordan and Copper Hills are the two high schools in the city of West Jordan, and are "rival" schools - always competing for supremacy in "Dub Town". Any event in competition between the two schools is certain to hold a slightly more special meaning to the athletes competing and the spectators watching, and a win of one over the other is just a little more special than a normal win. And that's all fun and everything. Something that makes a game more exciting is always welcome. But sometimes, the rivalry went too far. I used to attend West Jordan High, and I admit that there was a point in my life when I got caught up in the theatrics of it all and I had developed a weird sort of hostility towards Copper Hills. I didn't have any desire to associate with any kids from Copper Hills, unless I alrea...

Over the past couple days, a lot of people have asked me exactly what I'm planning to do with this blog. And the thing is, I don't know. I really don't have specific boundaries set on exactly what I am doing here. But I like that. In school, most of the things you're assigned to do are pretty firm. Yeah, there is some flexibility in exactly how you choose to do the task you're assigned, but ultimately there are clear expectations set and obvious requirements to be accomplished. Here, there's none of that. There are no expectations. There are no grades. There is no stress caused by the confusion of not knowing exactly what someone else wants you to do. For me, this blog is exactly what I want it to be. I am free to do whatever I want with it, and there are no restrictions. And that's freaking awesome. I am free to express myself in my truest and most sincere form. It might sound lame, but that's exactly why I chose the name "Genuinely Gianc...

First of all JON CAR LOW DEE OH TIE YOU TEE Yes, that's how you say my name. It's Italian. And awesome. But really confusing at first glance. So there it is. Now that we have that out of the way, we can begin. (As a note: this post is intended a lot more for the people that are reading this blog that haven't met me before. I mean yeah you can totally read this even if you see me every day, but it probably won't be all that exciting to you. Your choice, though. Don't let me stop you.) I am a seventeen year-old boy from South Jordan, Utah. I am currently a junior at Bingham High School, and I love it there. This is my first year at Bingham, and it's been great so far. I transferred there because I moved in April, but I only live about 15 minutes away from where I used to live. I used to go to West Jordan High School, and that was great as well. I miss West Jordan a lot, but having the chance to meet so many new people and make so many new friends ...

Today, I turn seventeen. Not that I find seventeen to be of any glamorous significance, but it's all exciting nonetheless. And so with a change in my age, I decided to make a few changes in my life. This blog is the first one. I've never run a blog before, and I actually found out that it's really quite complicated. There are so many options and so many ways you can do things, which makes it hard to get it exactly how you want it. But I took on this change because I wanted to do something. You see, I'm a thinker. I think and I think and I think and ultimately all of those thoughts just stay in my head and they don't go anywhere; they don't have any effects. And I was sick of that. These things that I think are just stuck and I couldn't find a way to get them out. I wanted to share these ideas that I've had, but I never found the right way to do it. So one day, through all of the thinking, I realized something. I realized I could create a blog...