Response to AP English essay question

I took the AP English Language exam a few days ago, and I think I did very well. What this blog is about isn't how well I did, but how I feel about the synthesis essay question. The question provided sources for and against the integration of technology into schools as a form of teaching and doing work. I wrote my essay in favor of this, because I've used computers my entire life and think school using just computers would be infinitely more effective. What bothered me is that the only arguments against the integration all say the same thing: computers stunt children's imaginations and make them unable to appreciate things like books and symphonies, that require focus. I think this argument is complete bullshit and demeaning to the human psyche. Computers, especially the internet, have not stunted me in my intellectual growth at ALL, and I've been using one my entire life. The Internet has, in fact, served to expand my horizons and introduce me to new concepts, music, and people that I would never have known otherwise. I'm an atheist because of the internet. I'm better at critical thinking because of the internet. I've learned more from the internet than I have in the past 4 or 5 years of public schooling. I really don't think I'd be any different if the internet didn't exist, merely my means of learning new information and communicating would be.

I understand that old people are generally opposed to change and see the growing use of computers to perform tasks humans do as anathema to what they grew up with. They have to understand that what you grow up with is not always going to be the best method of doing things, as I will have to understand when I am old.

We lost

My band was in a battle of the bands last night at the local Methodist church. There were nine bands, we were fourth to play. I thought perhaps there was one band that could compete with us in the first three, until I got on stage. My band destroyed; the crowd loved us and energy in the room was super-high. We got so many compliments afterward that I was sure we were a shoo-in for first. The seventh band up was quite good, and what they lacked in songwriting they made up for in getting the crowd on their side. With their performance, I would have been happy with second place (as both first and second place got to play at the local teen venue in downtown Nashville, Rocketown). The results came in... and two of the shittiest bands got second and third, and an average band came in first. I was very confused and upset, but I figured out that all three bands had one thing in common: their members all went to that church. Two of the four judges worked at the church, knew the kids, and purposefully gave them higher scores, despite my band receiving the highest marks from the other two judges. So we are left with no gig, no prize or anything. And you know what I think?

This reminds me a whole lot of the trial of Barabbas and Jesus, when the Jews sent Jesus to his death and freed a murderer.

GO WITH ME ON THIS. The Jews are the biased judges that robbed us of our prize. Pontius Pilate stands for the two noble judges who pushed for our victory. Barabbas is the band that won wrongfully. And my band- we are Jesus Christ, sent to die for all of mankind. The common theme: RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION

Think about it.