Dear President-elect Donald Trump...

Dear President-elect Donald Trump, have you seen the movie Before the Flood? It’s a documentary featuring Leonardo Dicaprio, and it’s about the dangers of global warming and what we need to do in order to stop it. In the movie, Leonardo Dicaprio travels the world and shows us how far global warming has gone. In the movie, we learn that 97% of scientist believe that climate change is real and that it is caused by humans. Even though such a large number of scientists agree on this issue, over half of congress say they believe that climate change is a hoax. The US is one of the biggest emitters of fossil fuels and greenhouse gasses in the world. The US needs to set an example, and reduce the amount of fossil fuel spendings and lean towards renewable resources. This is why it is so important that the president-elect takes global warming seriously, and we urge you to look away from your political interests and focus on the importance of preserving the earth for future generations.

Dear President-elect Donald trump, according to New York times, global warming may indeed be the sharpest example of how policy in Washington will change under your administration.

-You have called human-caused climate change a “hoax”. Here is one of you tweets: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” On December 30, 2015, you told the crowd at a rally in Hilton Head, S.C., "Obama's talking about all of this with the global warming and … a lot of it's a hoax. It's a hoax. I mean, it's a money-making industry, okay? It's a hoax, a lot of it."

-You have also already vowed to “cancel” last year's Paris climate agreement, which commits more than 190 countries to reduce their releases of planet-warming carbon dioxide pollution, and to dismantle the Clean Power Plan, Mr. Obama’s domestic climate change regulations.  

Dear President-elect Donald Trump, we are aware of your plans. Withdrawing the laws that ensure some safety. Removing to-be-former President Barrack Hussein Obama’s start of improvements, CO2 cuts. With a force of nature as our opposition, we need to act accordingly. Simple measures won’t be enough, slight differences won’t help and worst of all; you’re plan will be disastrous. Not only will it affect the Americans that you will be responsible for when you enter the White House, but also us, the people of the world. Acknowledge the fact that you were wrong. Acknowledge the fact that your changes might lead us into a direction where our blood will be on your hands.

Dear President-elect Donald Trump, if you’re not planning on watching Before the Flood, which I suspect you won’t, at least read this from the European premiere in London October 2016, where DiCaprio introduced the film as follows: "Before The Flood is the product of an incredible three-year journey that took place with my co-creator and director Fisher Stevens. We went to every corner of the globe to document the devastating impacts of climate change and questioned humanity's ability to reverse what may be the most catastrophic problem mankind has ever faced. There was a lot to take on. ll that we witnessed on this journey shows us that our world's climate is incredibly interconnected and that it is at urgent breaking point.(...)”

This was written by Ingrid, Simon and I.

Challenges with living in a foreign culture

Cultures around the globe differ significantly in a multitude of ways. They’ve all developed in different areas with different languages and different possibilities, laying the groundwork for a variety of lifestyles that aren’t very similar in terms of ways of thinking, comprehending and communicating.

Cultural differences are vast, which is why integrating someone into a culture that they previously haven’t had any encounters with might lead to misunderstandings. The main issue lies in understanding the norms of the new culture, as that is the first step towards integrating oneself into a new society. It is excessively easy to quite simply stick to what one is used to rather than trying to change your own view on life as a whole. The beliefs that everyone shared where you came from are suddenly unheard of in your new culture. This undeniably leads to a feeling of being lost and a feeling of discomfort, which is the biggest driving force towards forfeit (giving up on the idea of integrating into the new culture).

Direct contradictions between cultures are another issue that prevents integration. In the movie, The good lie, a character Jeremiah decides to give food to someone who really needed it. Jeremiah was from Sudan and had recently moved to The United States. He worked at a supermarket and was supposed to throw away old food and replace it with new food. However, despite direct orders from his supervisor, he gave the food to a starving woman instead. To Jeremiah, this was the ethically right thing to do. His boss, on the other hand, didn’t share the same views and culture, so his focus was on the economic aspect of it. This shows the clear contradictions between cultures that have derived from very different areas with a different basis for survival. Jeremiah was used to a culture of cooperation, where people worked together to survive. The owner of the supermarket grew up in the US in a time where food had never been scarce. His focus was on making the most money, which was considered much more essential in the US culture than the Sudanese culture.

Written by Ole and Leon

My advice to the Minister of Education

ICT is everywhere these days. It communicates for us and makes everything more simple. Though it is a great tool that is constantly being used by everyone, its field of utilization could be vastly improved. Imagine an educational system where responses, help, feedback and tasks are shared from all over the world, or an interface that helps to automatically find your weaknesses and the best ways to improve those for you specifically. With today's technology, everything is possible.

At the High School I go to, Sandvika Videregående Skole, we are encouraged to use ICT as much as possible. Before starting 1st grade everyone is offered a deal with an electronic company, giving us a lower price so that most people are able to afford a computer for their attendance. We are also offered a scholarship which is enough to pay for the cheapest of the computers. This helps everyone afford a computer. Besides this, Sandvika uses many online tools to communicate with students from other countries. In our English class, we are using blogs, twitter and previously Skype. Personally, I have received comments on my blog from a Chinese student from Australia. We have used twitter to communicate with an astronaut and we are attempting to incorporate it as much as possible with our work. Sandvika is on a great path, not only by using ICT to convey with foreigners but also in the classroom, making learner more efficient. With amazing tools like Quizlet, Kahoot, Duolingo and the simplest of things like facebook, we at Sandvika experience a different learning platform. However, it can be improved. Not every teacher is as fluent with using technology and there is always room for improvement.

The technology we have today is a major aid for all students, even though not everyone uses it as much. Using technological devices like Kahoot improves a student's spirit towards learning. Kahoot is a quiz game like Quizlet.live. Making a quiz is simple and it is an awesome way of interacting with your students. In addition to simply being a simple, yet efficient aid for every teacher, it is also great for the students. Getting competitive is a fun way of learning and is also a coherent way to make everyone eager to do more.

Although ICT aids seem like all-around amazing add on to our education it has its flaws. It is great for aiding the learning process, but when it comes to concentration it is quite the opposite. With so many opportunities on a computer, you might never be certain what your students are doing on their computer. With distractions such as Facebook, Netflix and so on, us, the students, often get tempted. Now, there are ways to prohibit us from using such websites. The teachers are able to define our browser capability or just stand in the back, making it easier for them to spot whether or not a student is paying attention. But, is that really the point of using ICT? Having to force students to participate? Not at all. With ICT there are so many options that make learning so much more fun. I am aware that learning is not always possible to make fun, but it is possible to motivate the students enough for them to still be eager to take a part.

With all the technology we have today, a big issue is that the teachers are unaware of the possibilities and that they are inexperienced. Some teachers do not even know how to operate some of the programs that we are suggested to be using. Teachers should be fluent users of the technological devices, programs, and tools that are available specifically for learning. Update yourself, try something new! I am not suggested "classes" for the teachers, but more of a trial and error period where they have the opportunity to experience the program's, device's or tools' options. Most of the time nowadays, students are very aware of how these options work and how to operate them, and so should the teachers. Not only can it be confusing for the student if the teacher is unacquainted with its functions, but also embarrassing for the teacher. Hopefully, something will be done.

Looking at the schools' developments since I was a kid a lot has changed. So imagining how far we will have come within the next ten years is almost impossible. But I have hope. I hope that we have had yet another technological breakthrough within Artificial Intelligence or that we have discovered something better. Because I believe that that is the route to go. Something that can help the students figure out what they are not learning and how THEY, specifically that student, can improve themselves. A system that will know that Tom learns best if he is preparing for a presentation, that Julia learns best from watching a movie and that Henrik learns best from writing a blog post. That is the future that I believe is worth putting resources in. A future where everyone can be helped.