Tuesday, March 10, 2015

A Different Vision for Boredom

when we think of the word BOREDOM, what comes to mind? Do we think of sitting on a couch, having nothing to do? Do we think of having no friends to interact with? Do we think of requirements  that are not fun but need to be completed?

Do we think of school?

What!?

Did you say yes to that last question!?

Are you serious!?

ARE YOU SERIOUS!?

Are you SERIOUS?!

Phew, Yerevan just joking. Thankfully. I began to hear numerous marching bands carrying (and booming) drums of doom inside my ears, and these drums of doom echoed inside of my heart, and then...and then...

Okay, let's return to our normal discussion of boredom. So: we all think of different experiences and events when it comes to boredom. And yet, in Chapter 12 of THE BREADWINNER by Deborah Ellis, we hear Parvana's inner hopes: "She wanted to sit in a classroom and be bored by a geography lesson. She wanted to be with her friends and talk about homework and games and what to do on school holidays. She didn't want to know any more about death or blood or pain," (130).

This inner desire of Pravan shows us a different view of BOREDOM--one that is safe, stable, and absolutely joyful.

We all have different experiences, and while very few of us may have endured the kind of deep trauma and tragedy that Parvana does, we all bring our past experiences into the ways we view school.

So, now that we know Parvana's feelings about school--it's safety and stability--what are yours? In other words: how do yo view school and what does SCHOOL symbolize for you?

Share your ideas below!

And our word of the day today is ARDUOUS, which is an adjective that means extremely difficult, as in this example: Climbing Mt. Washington may be arduous, but reaching the peaks and viewing the world from there is stunning and worth the work. 

61 comments:

  1. I veiw school as a place of learning but the homework i veiw as annoying

    Dwight Childers

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  2. I love school!!! I love learning and I love having friends at school. School symbolizes freedom and independence and also hope for the future for me.
    --Grace Acton

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  3. The way I view school is that it does not seem boring, but it is also not the most exciting place ever. I want to go because I don't want to be stupid and incapable of anything, but I also think that sometimes I'm too tired to do stuff and sometimes we need a little bit of fun time. For me school symbolizes being social, being more knowledgeable, and somewhere to figure out my future. I think it is being social because you may not know the friends you know if it weren't for school. I think it is getting more knowledgeable because you learn more about everything including yourself. I think it is somewhere to figure out my future because it exposes us to different kinds of topics that you make like to learn, if you think about it school is not just a place of learning, but it has many more things. I may be boring sometimes, but it has other good qualities too.
    -Angela Xing

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  4. For me school can be interesting, fun, hard, dull, or any other adjective. It all depends on what we are learning or how I feel that day. For me I view school differently in different situations.
    Fiona Morrison

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  5. I view school as an opportunity to get an education, and a place to meet up with friends, and make new friends

    --Colin McHugh

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  6. School had a few symbols for me, security, and the road ahead. For my view in school, some times it can be very irking, not arduous, but then other times I really like it. For example when we do fun types of things, but I do understand that we have to do boring stuff; I just prefer fun things.

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  7. Education and a job in the future, but i think it is boring because i would like to do other things than learn while i could be enjoying my time and playing around

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  8. I would not call school arduous and it doesn't represent boredom but it doesn't represent something I want to do all the time like it does for Parvana. For me school symbolizes learning and listening not a fun place like an amusement park. Sometimes school can be fun but that isn't what it symbolizes. I think that if I had to do what Parvana was doing, I would feel the same way.
    --Emmalyn Mirarchi

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  9. School for me symbolizes, basically to sum it up, anxiety. With school, there is always a test, or quiz you have to study for, and then there is waking up early in the morning, before the sun even rises, and dragging your sorry butt out of bed/couch to do homework. For me, it feels endless. But there is also the fact that I keep in the back of my brain, is that, at least I'm getting educated. At least I know how to read and write. School is also like a necessity to me. Whether you're educated or not can make a big difference in your future.
    -Shreya Kumar

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  10. For me school can be fun sometimes but sometimes really boring. It's also a place of a lot of drama, though I suppose school is for learning. I don't dislike school but I don't love it either.
    (First Comment)

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  11. For me school can be fun sometimes but sometimes really boring. It's also a place of a lot of drama, though I suppose school is for learning. I don't dislike school but I don't love it either.
    (First Comment)

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  12. For me school can be fun sometimes but sometimes really boring. It's also a place of a lot of drama, though I suppose school is for learning. I don't dislike school but I don't love it either.
    (First Comment)

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  13. For me school can be fun sometimes but sometimes really boring. It's also a place of a lot of drama, though I suppose school is for learning. I don't dislike school but I don't love it either.
    (First Comment)

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  14. School to me is something that makes you do work for 6 hours. It prepares you to go to collage if you want to. School is alright but I wish we had no homework and tests. If we had no homework then I would like school!
    - Olivia Gomez

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  15. School is delicious, i cant get enough

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  16. Well I think that I'm obviously not going to have the same feelings as Parvana. It's almost impossible to feel what she feels about normal everyday things that we don't even stop to focus on. We are guilty of taking advantage of so many things, because they are not constantly taken away from us like Parvana's rights (or no rights) as a woman in Afghanistan. Sometimes school feels like a drag, but to Parvana school is not even an option without being constantly in fear of being penalized or even killed.
    ---Raiya Suliman

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  17. Even though school can be tiring and we have to get up SOO early it does prepare us for life. If we didn't have it, we wouldn't be able to get jobs and that would not be good. I view it as a opportunity for later on in life.
    -Tessa (:

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  18. I have mixed feeling about school. I like getting an education, but I dont like school its self. If I was in Parvanas situation, I would probally have a different perspective of school.
    -Anna Shlimak

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  19. To me, school symbolizes knowledge. I personally don't like all my classes and they sometimes bore me but I think if we didn't have the option to go to school, we would miss seeing our friends and being there.
    ~ Cierra Wilkins

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  20. I think school can be very boring at times, but in the long run I don't mind it too much. For me, school symbolizes a chance for potential and learning. I think this because at school, they are always preparing you for what there is to come in life, and they teach you tactical skills that will help you. That is how I view school.

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  21. I think school is a symbol of hopes and dreams. Everybody that goes to school has a future and everyone has a hope and/or a dream that they want to accomplish. So school; school helps you find your hope and learn how to accomplish your hopes. And at the end, when you are out of school. Then you are most likely going to know what you want to do and have the skills that you need to have to accomplish your hope/ dream. That is what I think school is for and what school symbolizes.
    - Alondra Pacheco-Fllores

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  22. School symbolizes learning to me, but sometimes this is lost when I worry about an upcoming test, how I just did on one, or homework. Depending on the day, it can be boring, interesting, fun, demanding, or effortless. Sometimes one class can be boring, like having a long lecture, and the next can be fun, like a game or activity.
    Liza Toll

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  23. I view school just as my average daily routine. I think that it depends on the class but sometimes I find it really boring. However, I would have never met my friends if it weren't for school. I don't really have a strong opinion on school; it's just part of my life.

    --Meili Stanten

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  24. unlike me I probably wasn't afraid like Parvana to go to school I actually feel safe at school. Scholl symbolizes knowledge and making friends. I view school is a place to learn while having fun with your friends.
    -Jacob elliott

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  25. To me, school represents learning and education. I view school as a place to learn things you have never learned before and also finding new friends.
    --Emily Rypinski

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  26. For me, school really symbolizes a place where I can join up with the rest of my community. Just seeing everyone five times a week feels like a reward itself. If we didn't have school, we might not get to know each other as well as we know them now.

    ~Lwiza AitDowd

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  27. school means a time to see friend every day and talk about whats happening but on the other hand i think it could be more hands on and funner for the students
    --Isaac noble out *drops mic*

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  28. Some of the classes in school are a little boring but other classes are not. What I think of school depends on what class your talking about. If in that class the students can participate in the class and we do activities and everyday is different then I like that type of a class. But if we just sit there for 45 minutes the teacher just stands at the front of the room and talk as we just sit there that is boring to me.

    --Natalie L'Ecuyer

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  29. As much as I dislike school it servers many purposes and I under stand this. It help develop your mind and teach new ideas and ways of thinking that help you in everyday life. Saying this I agree with Parvana and encourage all kids to go to school and get and eduction.
    ~~~~Dylan Ashe~~~~

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  30. I view school as place where I learn the things I need to help me live my life. A place can sometimes be extremely hard and boring, but is a definite necessity. It also is kind of the place that forces me out of my house and makes me social because, if I'm honest, I would barely leave the house if there was no school -- Besides, school is where you meet and make friends with people.

    For me, school symbolizes and opportunity and the future I'm going to have years from now. I, personally, don't really view it as a bad thing.

    ~ Allie Hunter

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  31. School to me means that I am getting the education I need to succeed in our society, because without it i wouldn't be able to do anything really. I wouldn't be able to read great novels (or read anything), I wouldn't be able to experience the world the way it should, and worst of all... I wouldn't be able to make money to support myself. So to me, like Parvana, school symbolizes safety, in the form of a good life in the future.

    ~Magnus Miller

    P.S: you have a typo in your post, "This inner desire of Pravan shows", you spelled Parvana wrong.

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  32. To me, school symbolizes learning, and continuing with life growing up, if there were a scale that represented knowledge, adults sides would be heavier, since they have more knowledge, and with everything we learn we add to the symbolic scale. Even if school is not always fun.
    Fiona Nash

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  33. For me school symbolizes friendship, my life because I love to learn and how I can connect to the world through education and learning.

    -ChrisPickreign

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  34. For me, school represents future, friends, and being really tired/bored. Future, because I will learn, for the future. Friends because I get to hang out with my friends. And lastly being tired/bored because I have to wake up in the morning on the same, tiring, boring routine, and go to school, where I am still half asleep. I love going to school, (don't get me wrong) because I can still have fun lessons (like in English class 😉) and see friends and learn for my future.

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  35. In my mind, school means books, pens, teachers, and complaining students. It means an education, and in some places a step in the right direction to equality. School can be boring sometimes but I'm happy I'm out and about, not stuck in my house all day. For some people it may seem different but I see school as hope for the human race's future.
    -Gwyneth Smedley

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  36. When I think of school I think of lunch, my friends, and homework

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  37. For me school symbolizes learning, because everyday you are learning at least one new thing. Even through you meet many people, you are still learning thing from everyone. These might be in the forms of reactions, gossip, teachers, and of course from the subjects you are taking.

    -- Anna Laursen

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  38. SCHOOL symbolizes learning and boredom but mostly unsafe.

    --Sean McNamara

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  39. I think that for me, school symbolizes as a requirement. It is something I think that I have to do and since everyone else does and it's the law. It also symbolizes a place of learning and obedience; it is a place that teaches how live life in the "real world."
    :)

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  40. I view school as a place that I don't usually want to go, but sometimes I have fun. I know that I have to go to school to learn skills for life

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  41. I always call school a prison. I don't like having to do so many things JUST for school. Waking up early, dealing with drama, and dealing with homework are just some of the things that I have to do for school. But at the same time, I love school for many reasons. I meet so many amazing people with different backgrounds and personalities and sometimes I go home knowing that I accomplished something new that I didn't know I could accomplish.

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  42. Although school can be extremely boring, its a very important part of our lives. I think school is a symbol of education. Without school we would be dumb, and being stupid is not going to help you anywhere in life.

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  43. Well i think that school can be boring at times, when is start to think to myself i say "man i'm really lucky right now. There are kids in these places like Afghanistan and even in the hoodlum parts if the us where kids don't have the opportunity to have an education and have to live in fear". School symbolizes freedom to me.
    ~~Clayton Hanlon~~

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  44. for me, school symbolizes education, and a hope for our future generations. also, when I think of school I think of that awful feeling when I first wake up and how mean some of the people can be. but overall, I think school symbolizes a future.
    -Riley Neville

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  45. I think that school is to help you learn to be successful. For me, school is like water for a flower bud.

    Vivien

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  46. Stefan ScornavaccaMarch 10, 2015 at 8:07 PM

    For me school may be boring but you need to do it. It may be boring but we need education it is an important thing. You need to be smart because a lot of your life depends on it.

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  47. I view school as a really cool place to learn things. The more I learn, the better I feel to a point where I can learn how things work. Also it’s a key to understand normal everyday things in life in more intriguing possibilities.School symbolizes for me a great area to do great things in life, achieve in more experiences, and great chances for me to be successful in life.

    --Tommy Wacek

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  48. School to me helps me be more successful and actually less bored. School makes me have more things to do instead of having nothing to do. It gives our generation stuff to talk about and will help grow our economy.

    ---Lucy Bodtman

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  49. After reading this, school symbolizes freedom and how I am blessed just to be able to go to school instead of being stuck in a one room apartment for the rest of my life like Parvana's family.
    ~~~Ted Justicz

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  50. School for me is knowledge. it is when you learn information and facts. It can be boring is it isn't done in an exciting way for that student. I would like it see school as the branches to a tree. The roots are memories, the trunk is support, the branches is school, and the leave are wisdom and experiences.
    ~Brianna

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  51. school can be boring sometimes but it could be fun but it is better than being in afghanastan living in fear and haveing no opportinnaty to learn
    -Robert Arellano

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  52. I think that school symbolizes something that you just have to do. A mandatory thing. I think that school at times can be really boring but it is one of those things that you have to do if you want to get anywhere in life. Even though you don't like it.
    ~Caroline Mara

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  53. I personally think school, although it can be ARDUOUS at times, a great symbol for freedom. I think that us getting an education is a great thing and we are very lucky to have it

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  54. To me, I think of school as an opportunity to learn the things we need to learn to be successful later in life. I believe that boredom and stress and all the other cons of school is just the price you have to pay to have an education. Not only are our academic skills to be developed during school, but we learn to build friendships between our classmates, and another important part of school is dealing with the problems that it gives you. Stress and sometimes boredom are parts of some jobs that students might have. Throughout our lives, we will always have problems and school prepares us for them.

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  55. School symbolizes many things for me. Some things includes: learning, the future and a routine that I have to do. Sometimes school can be annoying with tests and homework, but I love spending almost everyday with my friends and being able to learn things I would't have at home. I feel that I am very lucky to be able to get any sort of education.
    - Rachel Shrives

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  56. For school as giving one good opporotuniteis and a stable, succesful life. If you try hard in school and get good grades, you could have amazing opporotunities in you life time.

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  57. i think school is half useful have things that you will never use in ur life and can be important. School symbolizes a 1000 mile sprint that you must do to only be able to do a 1/4 mile sprint

    Will Armstrong

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  58. I think school for most people feels like the worst thing in the world, but when you think about what else is happening in the world it's really a good thing . Although, I would want to not have grades or homework in school.

    -- Kellie Sundeeen

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  59. For me, school is often times boring but it's very helpful to then become successful. But it represents our future and what's to come. - Callie Frackiewicz

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  60. Without school we would not be living in the world we live in today. Without school we wouldn't have electricity and other tools that help us with daily life. School is preparing me for adulthood where I will have to contribute to the society I live in. I enjoy school, without school I'd be working all day for a meager paycheck.

    Nick Joe Lewis

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  61. I think that even though school is boring, it is really beneficial because without out it we wouldn't really know anything and it helps shape us as a person who will one day live in society.

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