America's Got Talent: Rigged for Voices?

Attack Dance Crew displays impressive choreography

After settling down to watch America's Got Talent last night, we noticed that a majority of the performers were singers. Which of course wasn't surprising. We decided to look up previous year's results and realized that many if not all the winners of the finales, were in fact singers. Is it just that America has a soft spot for the few gifted with the 'perfect' voice, or is it maybe do to the fact that North America is greatly influenced by today's 'vocal artists'? Take Justin Bieber for example: More American teenagers know when his birthday is than when the declaration of Independence was signed.

   There are many other acts (dancing, comedy, magic acts, animal acts, and more) that work at least as hard if not harder than the singers. Many had to work hard for the talent rather than be gifted with it. These acts should be on a level playing field with vocalists. As it seems that the 'singers' always manage to dig their ways into the judges hearts. Nothing against them, but it would be good to see someone else who has a different type of talent to be exposed: Take the 'Brothers' on the show last night, whipping around the stage on motorcycles performing risky feats, and a male dancer twirling 13 ft in the air, These acts take a lot of strength and a lot of time to work on, while it seems that all the credit goes to the singers-wouldn't it be different if a non-singer won this years competition.
Or has American viewers locked themselves into place-favoring the singers and refusing to try something new? A lot of people are said to not like change and would prefer to have the same thing happen every day-because its comfortable and they have grown accustomed to whom they place their votes on.
There are some singers this season that do have alot of talent!
But Come On America-Show everyone that you have other talents too: That you will give a chance.

Career Feature: Choreographer

*'Choreographers create dance routines and show dancers how to perform them. Dance instructors teach people how to dance.'  -Career Cruising


Tasks:

• Create dance routines for performances and productions
• Choose dances, music, and the props for productions
• Teach dancers how to perform routines
• Prepare students for productions

Work environment:

• Dance studios and rehearsal rooms
• Travel if production is on tour
• Work long, irregular hours
• Physically demanding

Salary:

• $25 000 - $75 000 (choreographer)
• $10 - $40/hour (private instructor)
• Depends on experience, place of work, employer, reputation, etc.

Education and Training:

• Years of dancing experience
• Program or courses in dance or choreography instruction
• Teaching at school requires Bachelors of Education degree and teaching certificate
• Teaching at college or university requires a Masters degree or PhD

Skills Needed:

• Knowledge of many dance styles
• Creative
• Ability to communicate well
• Ability to motivate others
• Physically fit

High School Career Path:

Grade 9

English Mathematics Science Social Studies Creative Arts Health & Physical Education French Business / Technology

Grade 10

English Mathematics Science Social Studies Career & Personal Development Dance Dramatic Arts Health & Physical Education

Grade 11

English Mathematics Science Social Studies Dance Health & Physical Education Dramatic Arts

Grade 12

English Mathematics Dance Health & Physical Education Dramatic Arts Social Studies

So, if you're interested in becoming a choreographer, those are some tips for you to follow! This is Neko and Teko reporting from the dance floor. *All the information in this article was discovered on Career Cruising

Announcement! Career Feature

Your decisions today can make a huge impact for your future. If you're in elementary school, in high school, or just in between, some of your choices may decide what your career is years from now.

But how can we prepare for our futures with no idea what we want to do? We, Neko and Teko, have a solution. Every once in a while, we will feature a specific career choice. We will also include the path you must take to get there (courses, level, etc.).

If you have a request for us to feature, please feel free to leave a comment on any of our posts. 

We hope that you appreciate this as we think it will be very helpful.

This is Neko and Teko reporting from the classroom.

                                                                           

Easter: Bunny Sightings?

sImage via Wikipedia

   


 As many of you probably know, this weekend was Easter weekend. Many of you probably had an Easter egg hunt with family and friends. Many of you probably spent this time thinking about Jesus on the cross. Well, whatever you did, we hope that you had a good time during this nice long weekend. Our question is: what happened to the bunny? Very few people claim to have seen the Easter bunny this year, but many still received chocolate or treats from the bunny. How is this possible? Well here are some accounts on one bunny sighting.

Little Child: It hop in backyard! I seen it!

Medium Child: It left us the Easter eggs! It's an Easter miracle!

Teenager: THERE'S NO EASTER BUNNY!

Parents: I can't believe how expensive chocolate is these days!

Grandmother: I wish I could have seen it! But my eyesight isn't as it once was. (sigh)

There you have it people. A first-hand account of an Easter bunny sighting. Many claim to have not seen an Easter bunny, but the blue thing instead! We suspect that Carl is behind this.....
Well, we hope that you have had a happy Easter whether you celebrate Jesus on the cross, or just look forward to the chocolate. This is Neko and Teko reporting from the BUNNY SIGHTING LIVE station.

The Royal Wedding-A Royal Interuption?

On April 29 at Westminster Abbey, the world will come together as two souls are joined. And of course this is no ordinary wedding, this is the connection of Prince William and Kate Middleton
The world will be watching (Europe and North America anyway) As the wonderful lady wearing the expensive dress and the man with the creepy smile, (Look at prince William' smile, its creepy you got to admit.)
Fun Fact: The two are getting married on Neko's Birthday, Ya you got that right.
But news just in, that they may be having an unexpected guest watching them from the crowds.
He himself is a King. And He himself wants to claim the beautiful princess for himself.

Though this King doesn't have a creepy 'charming' smile that Prince William has and has been working on his smile trying to get it as creepy as he can be.
This king is the king of ten aliens, His name is Ben 10.

He hopes to sway the princess over by using his Alien Awesomeness, though she finds it gross and won't date someone who is only 10 years old. So his 13 year old self from the second series came but she still rejected his slimy alienness. He threatened her, saying he would wreck the wedding so Kate has hired the Care Bears   to guard her wedding.

If Ben 10 tries anything they will swing in song and dance and fire popcorn from their weird things on their bellies.


We will see how the wedding turns out and it will hopefully be "Wonderific."

This is Neko and Teko Reporting from Care Bear Land!

*This is fiction.

Canadian Election: The Perfect Party

Its time for the 3rd election in a span of 5 years. When there is supposed to be only one every 4 years. You know all the parties platforms. You've heard of the Conservatives, Blocs, Liberals, Green, NDP parties. But have you heard of the ultimate party?

The party that obviously has the best platform? 

The *Ekotastic party!

Us, Neko and Teko have created this party thinking that we us KIDS can think of better ways to change our country than the current parties can.

 Here is what we believe should be done:

Education:

-Free University Education for those who get 85% or higher average in required fields of study

-More resources and programs for elementary and secondary schools

-Better Music and Art program

-More Internships (For Experience)

-Individualized learning and teaching program

-Harder levels in elementary ie: Essential, Applied, Academic, this will help kids to get the stylized education they need

-Class trips, and programs learning about other cultures (Food, Clothing, etc.)

Health Care System

-Hospitals should be updated and given better technology regulary 

-Promotion of fitness in Elementary and High School Students

Environment

-Hybrids will go down in price

-Gas will be cheaper per litre if you are buying it for a Hybrid

-Promote Public Transit by offering more transportation

-Public Transit prices should decrease in price

-We won't have a Carbon Tax...(Because all that will do is get US money and not actually do anything)

-Promotion of walking, biking and such

Work/Government affairs

-At least 50% of items in stores such as Walmart, have to be made in North America

-More Job 'exploring' in High school

-Broader Country Trading, Especially with Free Trade Countries such as Africa

-Broader country relations

-Recession plan

-Less Credit Card Companies to promote less debt, 

-Lower Gas Prices (once all cars are replaced with Hybrids)

 

Food

-Local In season food only, No Imported preserved meats or produce

-Tax on Imported food, To Promote local grown food

Recreation:

-Free summer programs run by the community 

-Free Sports programs 

-More YMCA facilities 

-More Community events, (Fairs, Art programs, Libraries, etc.)

Military:

-Less Military Funding, Money will be put into Health Care/Research and Education 

-Promotion of Peace instead of War

*Not a real party. Work of fiction

The Girl Effect

This video is very inspirational. It reminds us all how much power one choice or opportunity can have in our own lives and in those of others. I hope you are inspired by this video, not only girls, but guys who want to be better people too.

"Once you educate the boys, they tend to leave the villages and go search for work in the cities, but the girls stay home, become leaders in the community, and pass on what they’ve learned. If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to educate girls."

— Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time)

To learn more about the girl effect, donate to the cause, or to downlad cool features, visit:
http://www.girleffect.org/question

Three Cups of Tea: Is it a Fake?

 

Does this book have all it's facts straight? Is Greg Mortenson a phony? Well, today, April 18. 2011, Greg Mortenson was accused in the New York Times of exagerating parts of his non-fiction book, Three Cups of Tea (the above image is the junior version).

In his story, Mortenson describes that he became lost on a mountain and found a small village, Korphe (in Pakistan). He said that the  townspeople nursed him back to health and he promised to build a school for them. However, a 60 minutes report (see link below) found the sherpas, who are mountain experts, who travelled with Mr. Mortenson, who deny this.

Also in the book is a part where Greg Mortenson describes how he was kidnapped by the Taliban, who are people who support terrorists. But 60 minutes apparently found the men and discovered that they are not the Taliban but actually educated people with jobs.

The Central Asia Institue claims that 54 schools have been built educating 28,000 students. Reporters visited nearly 30 schools and found that almost half of them were empty.

This statement, however, is all from one point of view. From only one side of the story. More to follow on Greg Mortenson's side.

Make sure to check back regularly for updates on this latest news. This is Neko and Teko reporting from a confusion.

Find out More!

• Did Three Cups of Tea Author Greg Mortenson Fabricate Much of His Memoir (and Charity Work)?" and related posts (see the article here)http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7363068n&tag=related;photovideo

Would you believe it if I told you that this little hedgehog killed an elephant? Probably not, because it's so cute. *

If I told you that this little girl scared her neighbours away because she runs around like a maniac, you probably would't believe me. She's just too cute!*

         Well, this is something I like to call reverse psychology. Humans generally think a certain way based on what they see on the outside. So if you tell someone that a cute kid is really a monster, they will have a hard time believing you.

        People use this technique to their advantage in games like Survivor; playing weak and innocent so that no one considers them a threat and they aren't voted out. 

        Sometimes parents use this technique in a situation like if their daughter/ son lies to them. The parents pretend that their child lying to them has really hurt the parents' feelings. This makes the child feel bad and apologize. 

         Now that I have told you a little about reverse psychology, you can use it too. Just make sure that it's to your own advantage.

     This is Neko and Teko reporting live from, well, where are we?

  Image by Christopher Lotito via Flickr