Sparta’s ruthless education may have been controversial, but it made them into one of the most battle-hardened city-states to ever walk the earth. The Spartans’ notoriously tough education allowed them to become one of the largest military powers of their time, even though their population was relatively small. Although Spartan education was brutal by modern standards, the system was extremely beneficial to the country and its survival. The strengths of Spartan education did outweigh the weaknesses for three reasons: it provided physical training, training of mentality, and important life skills. The brutality of Spartan education forced young Spartan boys to become tougher, and didn’t leave room any slack. The most obvious example of this is the harsh conditions young Spartan boys were forced to put up with. These conditions forced members of the agoge to either adapt and harden themselves, or die. In addition, Spartan boys were not provided with much, and had to live through the year with only 1 garment and scarce amounts of food. Finally, girls were not exempt from physical training, because Spartans believed that strong parents produced strong offspring. All of these aspects of Spartan education kept young children extremely fit and in shape, and also helped them adapt to tough conditions. These skills would be incredibly valuable once they moved on to become adults. Although the Spartans were mainly focused on physical dominance, they were also taught to have a tough mentality. The scarce amount of resources provided to young Spartans prevented them from becoming spoiled, which would prepare them better for adult life. Discipline and obedience were also important concepts taught at the agoge. Finally, young Spartan boys were taught to show respect to those who deserved it; namely, men who were older than them. Oftentimes, people are easily hurt or influenced by words and peer pressure among many other forms of non-physical forms of influence, but the Spartans were trained to withstand the effect of these kinds of situations. Finally, Spartan education taught young Spartans many important life skills. As mentioned earlier, Spartans were almost always being trained to survive under harsh conditions, which made them more resilient and able to withstand pain in the future. Also, because they were only allowed one garment throughout the whole year, they were taught to easily adapt to any type of weather. They were also taught to read and write, but, because this was purely for practical reasons, they were effectively prevented from wasting time reading and writing non-essential text, which gave them more time to focus on more important tasks at hand. These aspects of Spartan education kept Spartans both effective and resilient, and provided great boons to their lives in the future. It is true that Spartan education had some weaknesses when it came to the harshness it exhibited on young children. However, the three reasons presented above – that Spartan education provided both physical and mental training, in addition to important life skills – show that, in the end, the strengths of Spartan education outweighed its weaknesses.
Young Bloggers
The Beatles: Talent and Courage
The Beatles showed mental, intellectual, and social courage as they created a new genre of music, brought it to places that didn’t believe in it, and performed it without fear whilst being the most popular band in the world, and in history. There were a lot of things that influenced their huge worldwide breakthrough. But it started when they formed in 1960. Then they went on to dominate the UK in 1963. This was also around the time when the name “Beatlemania” became a thing, coming from the extreme support and infatuation of fans to the Beatles. They continued to dominate the whole world in 1964 and 1965 and then appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, which was their first U.S. TV appearance. A lot of fame with the “Beatlemania,” came along with so much success for the Beatles. And allegedly, fans constantly swarmed them, which seems very overwhelming. One member who handled that well was Paul McCartney. He was said to be very good at not letting fame get to his head, and he remained humble his whole career. It seems hard to not let it “get to your head” considering the amount of stressful and even dangerous situations they would get involved in, not even intentionally. For example, when the Beatles went to perform in the Philippines. This was an incident that proved to be at one of their last scheduled performances. The incident occurred when the Beatles traveled to the Philippines as part of their 1966 tour. They said, “As soon as we got there it was bad news,” and in short terms, the Beatles were “bullied” by the staff there (as in, being ordered around and being spoken to with harsh words). This was unlike any way that you would ever speak to members of such high up and famous personalities. And that wasn’t the only mishap. Early one morning, an invitation was extended to them to perform at the palace for Ferdinand Marcos and “high ranking officials’” children. When the Beatles didn’t show up at the scheduled time, there was a large amount of chaos, as it turned out that no one had ever notified the Beatles. But eventually, they rushedly performed their two sets. These are just some of the many examples of just how popular the Beatles were. But, they weren’t just magically popular. There were many things which they did that boosted themselves and helped themselves stand out, such as creating an entire new genre of music. The Beatles influenced the new era of rock music. Most things they did were small and subtle but they revolutionized rock music forever. For example, adding feedback to their songs. Something that seems so unimportant to you would make you wonder why I am even mentioning it. Well, think about it. Listen to any rock song, and I guarantee you there is some point where they feature feedback. Feedback essentially sounds like a ringing sound getting increasingly louder. It is sort of a ricochet effect from one electric output to another, which results in an extremely loud sound as a result. Many rock bands use it, as it sounds “high tech” and rough, which is the sound that most rock bands aim for. The Beatles, however, discovered it by accident, but kept it and recorded it intentionally. It was a happy accident as one of the members learned their acoustic/electric guitar against an amp that was switched on. This made it create the signature feedback sound, which stunned the members, but in a good way. They proceeded to pluck a note at the end of a track until it produced feedback. And that simple sound has become one of the most staple things in rock music. Another thing that they did that changed rock music, was close-miking guitars, basses, and drums, and even brass instruments. “Close miking” refers to putting the microphone so close to the instrument that it is almost touching. The first time they ever did this was in “Eleanor Rigby.” In this track, they took the instruments and propped them right near the microphones so that the sound was “fuller” and less like “Mancini strings.” In the days they did it, it was like a cardinal sin to mic things that way. But these days it is a common practice. When it comes to performances, it is where the band can showcase their talent. It is a very major thing in a music career. It also takes a lot of courage. Think about it, performing your craft for a large audience is stress inducing for sure. But the Beatles were very good at performing their songs, and not only with that coveted confidence but with talent and style. Many people find that the Beatles’ energy and stage presence was what made them so great on stage! There was no “one thing” that they did on stage which made their talent shine through. It was the whole conglomeration of little things that they did such as interacting with each other, moving around on stage, interacting with fans, and much more. All in all, it was their sheer energy and excitement when performing which drove the fans crazy. Many people admire how closely the Beatles would make their performances sound like the original studio versions and even improve upon them. These are just a few ways that the Beatles used courage and innovation in their career to become the famous band that we still revere today. Sources Wikipedia. “Cultural Impact of The Beatles.” Wikipedia, Wikipedia, 16 November 2004, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_impact_of_the_Beatles#Cultural_legitimisation_of_pop_m usic. Accessed 25 February 2021. Edmonds, Kemp. “How The Beatles Changed Music.” https://techcamps.digitalmediaacademy.org, 21 Jan 2016, https://techcamps.digitalmediaacademy.org/2016/01/21/howthebeatleschangedmusic2/.
My Covid Birthday
“Prisha! Pack your bag! We are going to the beach for your birthday!” My mom declares. It was true, my 8th birthday was coming up. I am always super excited for my birthday and wait for it all year long. This year, however, I didn’t know what to expect. I couldn’t meet my friends and celebrate with them due to Covid. So, when I heard we were going to the beach, I was SOOO excited! “Okay! I will!” I say, and take my luggage. My luggage is light brown, and has a car, blue and orange. In my luggage, I pack a LOT of books. I would guess about 20! And “Zoom!” A few days later, we headed to the beach. Tomorrow is my birthday! Finally, the 2-hour drive to the beach is over. We arrived at the beach. Aloha Beach! I can’t tell you how much I love beaches. I absolutely adore them. The beach sand was soft, almost like feathers, and relaxingly hot. The waves were the complete opposite, cold as a freezer. And the color. The sand was a yellowish gold, and the waves, more like a skyish blue. We stayed over for the sunset which is one of my most favorite activities to do on a beach – watching the sunset. The sunset was pink, red-orange and gold, and beautiful. It blazed across the sky. I am always spellbound by the beauty of sunset. I wish I could paint like that on a canvas. We walked along the beach, and lots of logs were there. But I didn’t mind. I was too excited. My birthday is tomorrow! Hours later… I open my eyes. TODAY is MY birthday. “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear…..” My parents sang the happy birthday song. Aloha day! Everywhere, there were decorations, and balloons. There was a banner that said 8 on it! My parents must have been awake all night, decorating for me! “Thank you!” I responded with a big smile. I gave my Mom and Dad a hug and peeked out to the terrace. It was indeed a gorgeous day. The sun was out and the waves were waving hello to me My ordered breakfast arrived. It was pancakes! I love them! I quickly ate them, and then we went to the Prehistoric Museum. The museum had a fossil area, a geode center, a crystal center, and the bones of ancient animals. It had lots of meteorites and petrified wood as well. There was a huge dinosaur skeleton near the entrance. When we reached the geode center, my dad said I could choose any birthday gift for myself from the museum shop if I wanted. I happily decided to get a Geode and to my surprise the cashier said I can crack it myself! In the geode center, there was a basket of geodes! SOOO many! I picked one, and went to a cracking machine. I put the rock-like geode in the machine, and pulled the lever-thingy and “Crack!” The geode cracked. Inside was a whole new world. Outside, it just looked like a plain rock, the kind you would think is just a normal rock and kick it aside. But however, tiny, black, and as pretty as a picture, crystals lay on the inside. It was so beautiful and dazzling inside and when the light fell into these crystals, they were shining bright. It looked like a galaxy of stars was inside the geode. And I’d say THAT is how geodes are related to us, humans. Some people, on the outside, may not look so good, like a geode. But, on the inside, they are beautiful, and they rock! After the geode experience, we had lunch. Fish and chips with my favorite clam chowder! On the way to our hotel, we got some campfire equipment and headed to the beach! A few hours later, we set up the campfire on the beach. But we couldn’t because it was too windy. Then I remembered a place in our hotel, where a fire pit was already lit! We went there, and no one was there! A whole place to ourselves! We opened the marshmallows and toasted them. My mom and dad taught me how to make s’mores with them! Even though I could not celebrate this birthday with my friends, I still had a memorable one. This shows that people should try to make the most of every moment even if it seems you can’t. I also learnt a very important lesson that just like a geode, no matter how people look on the outside, they are beautiful on the inside and we should try to look into it. I really enjoyed my birthday! It rocked!
