Often we come across days where we wish that life could be just a little better. We walk past a mall, wishing that our parents gave us a few more dollars to buy one more shirt to hang in our closet for the next six months, whereas others of us wish that we could be dismissed from the immense pressure to do well at school. Completely submerged in fulfilling our own desires, we forget about those who ask to live for just one more day, those who pray to fill the stomachs of their children for just one more night and those children who yearn to be educated. (continue reading…)

There was a time when an AP or IB class was a destination, kind of like an academic Bali. But it seems that this is no longer the case,  AP and IB courses have become mere layovers on the way to something better, akin to the 4 hour layover in Bangkok. To compete in the meritocracy that is the modern world, TAS students strive to build their resumes with credentials that are sure to impress the gatekeepers of their ambition.  So here at TAS we not only consume a steady diet of AP and IB coursework that some marketing department has labeled “college-level”, but we have started to look for more ways to challenge students to prove their academic worth. (continue reading…)

In light of Tiger Wood’s latest media coverage, maybe it’s time to rethink the adage, “there is no such thing as bad publicity.”

This past December, headlines and articles revealing the news of Tiger Woods’ marital infidelity flooded the papers, and flashed across the globe quickly, inciting shock and dismay from his many fans.

Woods announced on his website on December 11, 2009 that he would be taking an “indefinite break” from professional golf to try and rebuild his personal life. “I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children… I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I’ve done, but I want to do my best to try,” said Woods. (continue reading…)

The IB vs. AP debate has taken on the dimensions of a spectacle sport.  IB students tangled among the 4000 words of their Extended Essay paper call their programme more “demanding”; those for the AP call it “mindless busywork”.  We wrangle over value, and rigour, and credentials and choice, all while underclassmen end up simply mired in confusion.  I remember the end of sophomore year as the time we found ourselves asking our classmates: “so, are you IB or AP?” (continue reading…)

When teachers, administrators or parents start talking about the four values of TAS the first reaction for some students is to roll their eyes and think “whatever”. It isn’t cool to discuss such things as a teenager, especially with a ‘know-it-all-but-know-nothing’ adult. (continue reading…)

Thirty minutes before lunch. You are sitting in class listening (or not) to your teacher lecture on some new concept. Your stomach grumbles. You begin to think about what you are having for lunch. Forty minutes later, you are satiated, happily chatting with friends and throwing out half-eaten carrot sticks – unaware of and apathetic to the silenced 1.02 billion people around the world whose hunger never goes away. (continue reading…)