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The Greatest Contraction of American Democracy
By Kolbe Renkert, V Form
The following speech was written in response to the prompt, “What event in history most contracted or expanded American democracy?” I chose to write about the Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson as the greatest contraction of American democracy.
The legalization of second-class citizenship. The legalization of inferiority among races. The legalization of segregation. The 1896 Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson was the greatest contraction of democracy in the history of the United States because it gave power to the majority, created inequality among all citizens, interfered with personal liberties, and increased further segregation in public institutions. American democracy includes the (more…)
Making the Connection Between Food and Animal on the Farm
By Claire Benning, V Form–Currently Attending Chewonki Semester School
{Editor’s note: The following piece is graphic in its real, intelligent, and vivid portrayal of the writer’s experience of slaughtering a chicken.}
This is not something that we usually do at Chewonki. Legally we are not allowed to slaughter our own chickens to then serve to the dining hall; we have to send them to a slaughter house. This was a one-time opportunity that was made available to us by one of our faculty members who works in the woodshop. He had three roosters who were causing him some trouble and were dangerous to keep around both his hens and his baby daughter. He asked our (more…)
$$$ Entrepreneurship Makes You Bank $$$
By Jonathan Qu, V Form
It is well known to St. Marker’s that clubs here usually meet once or twice a year and then die out. This is not to say that all clubs cease to meet, but maybe 77% of clubs are categorize by this stereotype. Luckily, the Entrepreneurship Club is part of the other 23%. Up till now, Logan Kelly and I have had the duty to plan at least two meetings per month. So far, our main goal, to meet regularly, has been achieved; the next step for us is to set up a Shark Tank simulation. In ABC’s series Shark Tank, aspiring entrepreneurs stand before a panel of astute businesspeople who (more…)
A World Cup Preview for St. Markers: in English and en Español
By Drew Ladner, V Form, Taylor Collins, V Form, Kemar Darlington, VI Form, and Chris Wong, VI Form
In Mr. Neil Cifuentes’ “Contemporary Issues in Latin America” course, the class has completed a recent unit on the World Cup; the students were asked to work collaboratively in groups to create a magazine article, blog, or documentary previewing the Latin American qualifiers to the World Cup. The following project aims to provide the St. Mark’s community with a comprehensive preview with predictions. (more…)
Ambition, Energy, Enthusiasm, and Grit: Getting Accepted to St. Mark’s and Following the Road to Success
By Elise Morgan, Associate Director of Admission
Interviewing prospective students is an art, not a science. Admission officers have a very small window to connect with prospective students when they come to interview, typically 30 minutes. Great kids can have an off day leading to an unimpressive interview and kids that may not be a good fit for the school can sometimes fool us with a fabulous interview (which is why we carefully evaluate the entire admission application). However, every now and then admission officers interview an applicant that is so impressive that they just know for sure that this is a kid that they definitely want at their school.
Ernie Pichardo (St. Mark’s Class of 2014) had a powerful motivation to achieve his goal of attending an independent (more…)
Donald Trump Is a Dinosaur–and You Can Be One, Too!
By James Wallace, Director of Music
“For which century are you educating your students?”
So began a faculty workshop with guest lecturer Charles Fadel, co-author of 21st Century Skills – Learning for Life in our Times[1] back in December. According to Fadel, economists now commonly say that due to advances in technology, most of the jobs current high school students will hold 15 years from now do not yet exist. How does a school prepare its students for a workplace that hasn’t yet come into existence? (more…)
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