"In a gentle way, you can shake the world."

-Mahatma Gandhi

Our Recommendation for this month is Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard Aabye Soeren was born in Copenhagen on May 5, 1813. His father was a feudal worker on the grounds of the church and had disliked his work to such a degree that he climbed one day to the hilltop and cursed solemnly God. When he was twenty one years old, his father was freed from his servitude and relocated to Copenhagen as a salesman. He could never shake off the culpability he felt for the curse of God, which was only exacerbated when five of his seven children and his wife died early in life. This shame gave him a dark demeanor and a rigid religious upbringing, which he passed on to Soeren Kierkegaard. At a prodigious rate, he began to write anonymously. Fear and Trembling was one of his first works, published in 1843. He became more and more upset with the hypocrisy of the Danish Church overtime. Kierkegaard was practically all-out disliked in Copenhagen at the time of his death, and his works were mostly overlooked. Kierkegaard talks on the account of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac from the Bible, Genesis 22:1-18. Abraham usually is recognized as the father of faith for that conduct, but no one is really satisfied with faith in our day and age. Everyone believes they can start with faith and go much higher. The writer points to how inexplicable is the faith of Abraham in the Exordium and Eulogy on Abraham. Abraham did not question God's intentions, he neither complained nor wept, he could not explain himself to anybody, he just followed the commandments of God. The Exordium offers four possible courses Abraham may have chosen, all of which may have made it more comprehensible for people to grasp the ideas of Abraham; even though they would no longer make Abraham the father of faith. The story makes us understand that there is a lot to understand regarding faith and also morality itself. It makes us question the true intentions of everyone in the story of Abraham as well as giving us a whole new perspective and ideas to adapt or to explore in our lives. I think that one must absolutely read Fear and Trembling at least once in their lifetime.

Since 2013, European School has offered Microeconomics and Macroeconomics Advanced Placement classes, first in the American High School sector, but now in IB DP as well. In this class, students from grade 10 study the different factors which affect goods and labor markets, as well as the fluctuation of a country's GDP, along with many other topics. The curriculum equips students with the ability to apply common concepts to real world situations and provide solutions for economic problems.

To demonstrate the students' abilities to discern and evaluate economic circumstances, we can take a look at the conference which took place in the European School on the 25th of May. With no theme for individual projects, the participants were given the freedom to talk about a topic of their choosing; however, 3 out of 10 projects ended up being tied in with economics. Two DP students, whose advisors were their economics teachers, provided interesting analysis of two markets. Giorgi Maisashvili spoke about the effect of subsidies on the electric car market, while Giorgi Tevzadze used economic and mathematical analysis to determine the effect of Coronavirus on the wine sector in Georgia. I, Mariam Chakhnashvili, presented my evaluation of the New Deal as a response to the Great Depression, where I provided a review and analysis of different New Deal policies and developments, and their effectiveness in combatting America's crisis.

It's clear how AP classes improve a student's comperehension of the subject outside of class, as well as inside, and this holds true for AP Economics. In today's circumstances, it's important that we understand the world around us and the different factors which influence every part of our lives, and the Economics classes in our school have bettered our analytical thinking for this purpose.

-Mariam Chakhnashvili

Have you ever seen a woman walk past you while nitpicking at the little specks of dust on her shirt? Have you ever seen a girl uncontrollably picking at her nails? Have you ever seen someone having a conversation with themselves, as 2 different people? Yes? Of course, you have, and so have I. These are all signs of mental illnesses, but what truly are mental illnesses? And how are they regarded as today?

Mental illnesses are conditions which change the state of emotion, thinking, or behavior, associated with distress, problems in functioning in society, or even work and family activities.

Mental illnesses have been around for an awfully long time. They have always been something most people were ashamed of. They hid their own feelings to themselves. They kept their identities locked away, until disaster happened. People used to get judged, treated differently, called inhumane for having these illnesses. Yet they are not any different from us. They might not fit into the social norm of what people might call “normal”, but they are not any less of a human, quite frankly most of their brains function much better than the average human’s.

Movies have been depicting mental illnesses as very degrading, sometimes even overexaggerating the true behaviors and acts which these people conduct. Hollywood is now starting to incorporate more mental-illness friendly scenes, as well as characters, to help viewers understand that having a mental illness does not mean the end of the world. These movies, along with advertisements, newsletters, and pretty much all the means of awareness, help people better understand, evaluate, and sense, if someone around them may be suffering from a mental illness.

Mental illnesses can be so undetectable, that we may not even understand that even one of our closest friends may have 3 personalities, or severe depression. People are better at faking, masking, and hiding, then they were before. Society put them into such a box, gave them such a stigma, that they have developed mechanisms to sort-of overshadow their existence, and their true faces.

Now of course, people with mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, multiple-personality disorder, and others of that type, may be prone to be more dangerous. It is not easy for them to deal with what they are feeling, or even thinking. Some may not have enough power to even comprehend if they ever do something bad. Even those kinds of people should not be given a negative stigma. As a society, instead of fearing them, and clearing them from our community, we should act as a team and provide them with the care, and the facilities which they most definitely will need.

For our friends who are undergoing suicidal thoughts, who fear or believe that life has no meaning, who can’t go outside because they hate it when society’s eyes are on them, we can be their grounds, their shoulders, their strongholds. We can be the ones who give them enough courage and will to open up to us about their problems, to help them in every way possible, to provide them with all that they desire and need, even just for undergoing basic daily activities.

It is important to note and to comprehend that society will never function if all we want or all we strive for is indifference and identical beings. People will come and go, of all sorts, of all shapes, sizes, and mental capabilities. The true power which society holds, can be measured through the acts which members commit. Pay more attention to the behavior of your loved ones, be more attentive to the needs of the people around you, understand that not everyone is going to be the same, offer help to anyone who you know cannot seek it on their own. Be the example for society. Become aware of mental illnesses. Together, we can help make mental illnesses more free, more understandable, and most of all, more acceptable.

In the academic year 2021-2022, American High School is offering a wide selection of Advanced Placement classes to its students, including many first-time APs. In 12th grade, students will be able to take Computer Science as in the previous years, but in addition, they are now offered Statistics, English Literature and Composition, Environmental Science, 2D and 3D Design, and AP US History. All of these classes are being offered for the first time in the history of the American High School curriculum, which opens up many new opportunities and career paths for our students. With the addition of APUSH, all three major AP history classes will be offered to students in consecutive years. English Literature and Composition will also be offered the students in grade 11 next year. Depending on your previous electives, you could also be eligible for AP Research and Calculus BC. These classes were all picked based on the students' preferences and requests - Environmental Science hadn't even been considered until a student voiced their ­­wish to take it. Many new teachers will be joining our administration starting next year, opening the door to new experiences, and letting the students branch out with their studies, adding many subjects which are not taught in any other school in Georgia. These AP courses make their way to other sectors, such as Economics finally being offered in IB DP since 2020. This is also a great opportunity for students to improve their weighted GPA, since AP classes improve your GPA by a wide margin, and even with just 3 APs, it's possible to have a weighted GPA of up to 4.37, which is higher than the average weighted GPA of all Ivy League universities. Overall, at the request of the students, American High School was able to open new doors and support the futures of even more students than before.

-Mariam Chakhnashvili

1. Was grade 11 difficult for you? If yes, why?

Overall grade 11 was fairly difficult for me, because of how many things I had to manage at once - extracurriculars, AP classes, college preparation, online school... It wasn't all bad though; at the start of the year the workload was manageable, and currently it's even lighter since we have already finished all our AP classes. I think the administration and the teachers tried to make this year easier for us, but it was still hard to find motivation to keep up with my studies.

2. Did you adapt better to online schooling? Or would you still prefer to be in the at-school regimen? Explain

I personally prefer the at-school regimen, and while online schooling isn't very difficult, I find that I'm less motivated while studying from home. I don't like that school and home are mixing together as concepts, because work and rest are hard to distinguish. I perform better at school, but I've seen that online schooling has been good for many students, so I guess it's personal preference.

3. Are you ready for grade 12?

I feel prepared for grade 12, but I have a lot to do over the summer, so I'm still in a constant state of preparation for the next year. I have to tweak certain details of my college application to make my transition to grade 12 easier.

4. Was grade 11 different, more so harder than grade 10? In which ways?

Both grade 10 and 11 were partially online for me, so they weren't very different in terms of difficulty. I had the same number of classes both years, and the workload was pretty much the same as well. Grade 11 was only slightly more difficult because of the added college counselling, but otherwise, there wasn't much difference.

5. What would you advise for the future generations?

I would advise to worry less in general. Chances are, if you're reading this interview, you're trying to prepare for grade 11, and while being prepared is good, you should also trust the process. If you're working hard, you have no reason to think something won't work out for you. As I've seen, everything works out in the end, and no single issue is going to be the end of the world for you, so let yourself relax and face your challenges as they come up in your life; there's no rush.

6. Are you nervous that there is only 1 more year left before university?

Honestly, yes, I think everyone is nervous about this. Soon we'll have to make one of the biggest choices of our lives, something that could dictate our future, and it's always going to be stressful when you get to that point. I'm trying to look at it positively; while college may be difficult, there's always going to be something good about that transition, and there's always going to be a path for me to choose even if my favorite colleges don't accept me. So while I am worried, I try not to be scared, but rather to convert that worry into excitement.

7. Have you started the preparation for university?

Yes, I've been having meetings with our college counselor. In the second semester of grade 11, everyone will have meetings with him, and you can ask for individual meetings as well. I've asked some teachers to write me recommendation letters, I've been studying for TOEFL and IELTS, I've been practicing SAT material, and I've been compiling my extracurricular activities. Along with this, you'll be asked to research andpick prospective universities. This sounds like a lot, but the meetings are only weekly, and after APs, you'll have plenty of time for extra work like this.

8. Have you taken the SAT? Was it as hard as it is said to be? |you can say your SAT score if you are comfortable, if not then that is completely fine :) |

I've taken the SAT twice, and it was pretty difficult. The math section is very easy, actually, but the reading section is where I struggle. It takes a while to improve your reading score, and it's different from most work we've done in school, so it took me a lot of practice. On my first SAT I got 1500, and the second time I got 1470, and my superscore ended up being 1510. I might retake it once again in August, since I'm tutoring someone right now.

9. Are you excited that the school year is almost over?

Yes, I'm glad we're able to catch a break from studying. I think this summer will be a great opportunity for me to prepare for the next year, since I'll basically be free 24/7. I find that in the summer I often get bored and start studying random subjects, even though I don't like studying them in school.

10. Are there any particular accomplishments that you have achieved this month?

This month I received a certificate for a school conference where I evaluated the New Deal in response to the Great Depression. Nothing else, really, since it's hard to balance everything at once, but soon I'm going to receive certificates in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, and I'm planning on helping out Georgian students with the Charte.ge charity case. More on that in a future issue of the newspaper!