Jeff Bliss Fights For Our Education System

Student Freaks Out In Front Of His Class And Says What We're All Thinking About Our Education System

Duncanville High School student Jeff Bliss got in trouble in class for talking out of turn. What was he talking about? Basically everything that's wrong with our education system today. It's a mic-droppingly epic speech.

This was not an indictment of his teacher; to me, this was an indictment of the entire teach-to-the-test standardization that has been forced on our teachers and has broken our country's education system. 

By Kasim Khan

The first Eco-friendly Mega city

Iskandar Malaysia - the green mega-city rising above Singapore

Planned eco-city for 3million people matches Luxembourg in size and showcases urban 21st-century smart living, say developers

Standing opposite Singapore, across the strait of Johor, is the site of a new project that its architects and developers hope will be the future of urban life in south-east Asia – a mega-city built along eco-friendly lines, with green energy and an end to the pollution that afflicts so many of Asia's cities.

Occupying an area the size of Luxembourg, the site is expected to have a population of 3 million by 2025, living as an ultra-modern "smart metropolis". Energy will be provided from renewable sources, transport will be publicly provided, waste will be diverted to other uses, and the city is planned by the Malaysian government as a showcase to be copied on a bigger scale across the region.

The world's urban population overtook the number of rural-dwellers for the first time in 2007, and future population growth in south-east Asia –at least 9bn people are expected to inhabit this planet by 2050, up from 7bn at present – is expected to be mainly in cities in the developing world. By far the greatest growth will be in slums, by current estimates.

Iskandar Malaysia offers an alternative. The plans are for a city that not only incorporates the latest in environmentally friendly technology, but that is designed for social integration. Green spaces and areas where people can mingle and relax will improve people's mental wellbeing and encourage social cohesion, it is hoped. Skyscrapers will be mixed with low-rise buildings and small self-contained "neighbourhoods".

Najib Razak, prime minister of Malaysia, said in a speech: "Iskandar Malaysia [is] a smart city template – protecting the environment, promoting equitable development and addressing urban development challenges [through] the creation of smart, liveable urban communities that will yield an improved quality of life for thousands of citizens, with safer, cleaner, healthier, more affordable and more vibrant neighbourhoods, serviced by more efficient and accessible transportation systems – great destinations for businesses."

Ellis Rubinstein, president of the New York Academy of Sciences, which is working on the "edu-city" university campus area, said it could be "a model to countries needing to accommodate the social and economic needs of fast-rising populations and environmental challenges".

However, the project's developers will have to overcome significant obstacles. New eco-cities have been planned in the past, from China to the US, but most have floundered. China's Dongtan was heralded as the world's first planned eco-city, but plans have been mired in difficulty for years. A UK project for "eco-towns" was widely ridiculed and has been all but abandoned.

So far, the Malaysian government has managed to attract support from Pinewood Studios, which will build new facilities in Iskandar, and Legoland which will build its first Asian theme park in the city. Several UK universities – including Newcastle and Southampton – are also planning to open up remote campuses.

More than $30bn has been promised for the city, of which more than a third will come from outside Malaysia.

Why I Hate Society, But Love Humanity

'Why I Hate Society, But Love Humanity || Spoken Word'
- Inspired by Jefferson Bethke & Suli Breaks.

I created this spoken word video to highlight how humanity is slowly losing sense of purpose and reality, the more we go on through the ages. I wrote the poem entirely by myself and I presented the poem myself. I also directed, produced and edited the video myself. I hope you all enjoy it and I hope you can connect with me on the same level. Jamie :)

***(If anybody wants to use my words for their own production, please contact me for approval first!)***

*SCRIPT BELOW*

START- 
In our Society today, do you class yourself as free?
Or are you constantly clinging onto things, which give no guarantee?
Do our materialistic items ever deliver to us real happiness?
Or do they distort us from reality, and for our conscience are they poisonous?
See happiness comes within, yet we always tend to forget,
We spend our whole lives chasing money, and on our deathbeds seem to regret.
I used to be unaware of this; I'd let others shape my desires,
I'd give in to authority's logic, only to realise it came from liars. 
See, I would always be looking for freedom, but I never found it until I realised,
That in order to truly experience it, then maybe I should dematerialise?
But there are only few who live this way... those sometimes stereotyped as pathetic,
However honestly to be fair, it's those who judge that are wrongly Apathetic.
See this was me 3 years ago; I was ignorant & naïve with plenty of confidence,
I'm only 20 now, but I realise that back then I just had no social conscience.
And you may think: this might be me? Or you may just not have realised yet,
But if getting wasted just doesn't fulfil you, then on that, I'd place a bet. 
See apparently we're doing things the right way, hunting fame for the reward of 'happiness',
But does this actually full fill us? Or do we forget about just living in contentedness?
It's like just because we don't break laws; it doesn't necessarily make us innocent, 
African children are dying and suffering from illness, and we're sat there cursing immigrants? 
See first world problems are always seen on the news, prioritised over third world needs...
We apparently preach we're all human; yet seem to be incapable of such good deeds.
And this is real immaturity, yet it mostly comes from adults, who would have 'thought'?
We don't accept responsibility for our planet, and we just hope we don't get caught. 
In World War 1 and World War 2, those people fought for our peace,
We talk with respect in history, but the Morales we've learnt have mostly deceased.
For example if we know that violence only promotes more violence, then why do we still fight wars? 
If we really want to protect each other, then why aren't we removing the root cause?
See we need to stop following public opinion, and start thinking properly for ourselves,
We need to stop separating nations, and throw our pride upon the shelves.
I've learnt that just because I'm not blind, it doesn't automatically make me see,
Are you satisfied with the way things are? Are you searching for truth like me?
You can't tell me we're fulfilling our purpose; we seem to ignore it more each day,
We pretend we're on route to peace on earth, but truthfully we've lost our way.
And you may think that I'm just illogical, you may think I'm just a dreamer,
You may think this is all inevitable but trust me; I'm not just your average believer. 
See it's our society that is unworthy; we seem to be forgetting how we got here,
You would have thought that we have matured by now, and realised that time is dear.
Because if humanity doesn't become aware of this, and if our ignorance goes too far,
Then the future for all life is ruined, because one day, our earth will scar. 
-END

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Filmed by Ryan Ball
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