Every year, just after Thanksgiving, my parents pound me with questions about want I want for Christmas. I hate asking for too much and sounding like a brat so I never reveal the giant list I make in my mind. In the beginning of the season I reply to their nagging simply by saying "I don't know" or "surprise me". As time goes on, I become impatient with their persistent interrogating so my answers become rude and sarcastic "What do I want for Christmas? How about you guys leave me alone?! that's all I want!". Rude remarks are exactly what I try to avoid, so this year I have a plan: I'm going to make a list so my parents don't need to play detective.
I decided to send my list to my parents by email, and as I sat staring blankly at the computer screen, music was all that could come to mind. As I'm maturing, I'm starting to see what I want to do with my life, and I know I want to stick with music for sure. I guess this shows how I need to get my priorities straight. Is music really my top priority?
I also asked for gift cards for clothing stores. I don't trust my parents with picking out clothes for me, so gift cards are the perfect solution. But clothing? I've never asked for clothes before. When I was little and my brother would get excited to open a pack of socks, I thought he was crazy, but I'm starting to see why it'd be worth getting excited about. With everything going on in my life right now, I have neither the time or the desire to go shopping like I used to. I can't be care-free and shopping all the time, I need to get work done.
I concluded my listing by asking my parents to refrain from spending a fortune on me. I'm in high school which means college is just around the corner, and I want as many options as possible. My family is decently stable, so I'm not sure what I'm worrying about, I'm just the kind of person who wants to be more than prepared. I want to be responsible and successful, and seeing so many other people fail at doing this, I seem to feel like money would make that go away.
This years wish list is basically a sign of maturity. My mind is preoccupied with what I can do to make my future better, but maybe I should step aside and Christmas to indulge myself. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Collborative Learning(Grade please)
Students having to work in groups has been a trend among teachers everywhere. When my mother was getting her teaching credential 15 years ago she learned these techniques, and they've grown into a controversial mess.
I, as I'm sure most students do, feel as though it's unfair that those who naturally work hard are doing all the work, and those who tend to slack, are just along for the ride. However, some may also say it gives a new challenge: pitching ideas to peers and working in an environment similar to the "real world"
Nevertheless, it definitely shows a lot about how our society thinks. We seem to have this obsession with what I like to call the "Robin Hood Technique", taking from those who are better off and spreading the wealth with everyone. It shows up in other issues too, such as Barack Obama's taxation plans saying that those with more money's taxes would cover those who aren't as well off. The collaborative learning process is very similar: students who work hard end up covering for the people who aren't as hard of workers.
The other thing it reveals is our fascination with preparing children for the "real world", where it's essential to communicate and work with others. Even though we probably are never going to be assigned four other people to give a presentation, the process of preparing that presentation is still useful to understand. It's comforting to think that future generations already know how to work efficiently together. Even if collaborative learning doesn't necessarily guarantee that, it still offers the possibility of succeeding generations improving the world.
Collaborative learning definitely has potential to help our society, it just has some bugs to work out. Our society wants everything to be equal and better quality, but perhaps it'd be better for us to focus on making assignments more fair and realistic.
I, as I'm sure most students do, feel as though it's unfair that those who naturally work hard are doing all the work, and those who tend to slack, are just along for the ride. However, some may also say it gives a new challenge: pitching ideas to peers and working in an environment similar to the "real world"
Nevertheless, it definitely shows a lot about how our society thinks. We seem to have this obsession with what I like to call the "Robin Hood Technique", taking from those who are better off and spreading the wealth with everyone. It shows up in other issues too, such as Barack Obama's taxation plans saying that those with more money's taxes would cover those who aren't as well off. The collaborative learning process is very similar: students who work hard end up covering for the people who aren't as hard of workers.
The other thing it reveals is our fascination with preparing children for the "real world", where it's essential to communicate and work with others. Even though we probably are never going to be assigned four other people to give a presentation, the process of preparing that presentation is still useful to understand. It's comforting to think that future generations already know how to work efficiently together. Even if collaborative learning doesn't necessarily guarantee that, it still offers the possibility of succeeding generations improving the world.
Collaborative learning definitely has potential to help our society, it just has some bugs to work out. Our society wants everything to be equal and better quality, but perhaps it'd be better for us to focus on making assignments more fair and realistic.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
This morning I went to church, nothing out of the ordinary, I do that every Sunday, and it's the same thing everytime. Every week as I'm leaving the sanctuary, the same little old lady gives me a big giant hug, and every week I find this hug to be a little peculiar. I've known this lady for years, but seldom do we talk, the only contact I make with her is this weekly hug. During the hug today, I began to question why this lady is embracing me.
I first met her when she taught my third and fourth grade Sunday school class. I was her favorite student because I had perfect attendance and always brought my bible, she thanked me for my efforts by giving me small gifts like coloring books, pencils, and one week I was so good she gave me a beanie baby. I was always shy in class so I rarely participated in class discussions, and when the rest of the class would leave, I'd stay and ask her questions about faith and life in general. Through these little conversations I learned that Santa Clause doesn't exist and that Jesus was in fact Jewish. These topics were pretty serious and heavy for my young and hopeful mind and I always found it hard to trust her after she ruined my juvenile dreams, but she continued to talk to me, telling me her favorite bible scriptures and sharing stories of her own life. She had been divorced countless times because the husbands she had emotionally or physically abused her. Her determination to be free from domestic abuse made her become one of my heroes, but once I got too old to be in her Sunday school class, I never got to hear anymore of her stories.
When I graduated from her class, all I got was this weekly hug. Her stories faded from my mind and I forgot the meaning behind why this lady who seems so foreign to my life was wrapping her arms around me. She kisses my face and tells me she's proud of me, and I never understood why. I gave the woman the company she was looking for, and in return she's given me inspiration. During the week, I never think about her, but after thinking about her so intensively today, I think she will definitely show up a lot more in my thoughts and prayers, and next week when when she hugs me I will hug her tighter than I ever have before. It's haunting and yet a pleasure to know when you're feeling lonely or like there's no one to trust that there's someone out there who loves you that you never think twice about, whether is a family member, a pet, a friend or even the little old lady who sits in the pew behind you at church, there's always someone who's subtle compassion lets you know they care.
I first met her when she taught my third and fourth grade Sunday school class. I was her favorite student because I had perfect attendance and always brought my bible, she thanked me for my efforts by giving me small gifts like coloring books, pencils, and one week I was so good she gave me a beanie baby. I was always shy in class so I rarely participated in class discussions, and when the rest of the class would leave, I'd stay and ask her questions about faith and life in general. Through these little conversations I learned that Santa Clause doesn't exist and that Jesus was in fact Jewish. These topics were pretty serious and heavy for my young and hopeful mind and I always found it hard to trust her after she ruined my juvenile dreams, but she continued to talk to me, telling me her favorite bible scriptures and sharing stories of her own life. She had been divorced countless times because the husbands she had emotionally or physically abused her. Her determination to be free from domestic abuse made her become one of my heroes, but once I got too old to be in her Sunday school class, I never got to hear anymore of her stories.
When I graduated from her class, all I got was this weekly hug. Her stories faded from my mind and I forgot the meaning behind why this lady who seems so foreign to my life was wrapping her arms around me. She kisses my face and tells me she's proud of me, and I never understood why. I gave the woman the company she was looking for, and in return she's given me inspiration. During the week, I never think about her, but after thinking about her so intensively today, I think she will definitely show up a lot more in my thoughts and prayers, and next week when when she hugs me I will hug her tighter than I ever have before. It's haunting and yet a pleasure to know when you're feeling lonely or like there's no one to trust that there's someone out there who loves you that you never think twice about, whether is a family member, a pet, a friend or even the little old lady who sits in the pew behind you at church, there's always someone who's subtle compassion lets you know they care.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Watch this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI
I've always loved this video. While I was working in the nursery at my church today I found a copy of the speech in a box of puzzles. I thought this would be a good place to share it with everyone. Imagine what our generation could do with all the nuggets of genius this speech/essay offers us. Some of my favorite points:
1. "Do one thing everyday that scares you": Make your life worth living. We're in high school and life can seem pretty cyclical, or that's how it feels to me anyway. Go to school, go to lessons, go to rehearsals, go to church and repeat. If we do one thing that scares us everyday it will break that cycle, make life interesting and it could even improve the world around us.
2. "Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults, If you succeed in doing this tell me how": If you were to ask me to recall a compliment right now, I wouldn't be able to say one, instead my mind would just go through a list of insults I've heard. That's just how our brain works, negative things tend to stick to your mind. People claim that insults make you stronger, but they just wear you down. Compliments can bring a smile to your face, and if people point good things about you, chances are it'll be easier for you to find good things about other people. Compliments are just a never ending chain of happy, insults take you nowhere.
3."Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.": This one is particularly important to kids our age. I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me where I want to go to college and I just said "I don't really know". It feels like I'm giving them the wrong answer, but It's okay to not know. I've been telling people for the longest time that I want to pursue music for the rest of my life, that I want to make a career out of it; but I'm starting to question it now. I feel like I have no other alternatives and that my family will only support me if I go into music. I have to keep in mind I'm only fifteen and I have my whole life ahead of me. We shouldn't be trapped in the life people want us to have, and we should always have an open mind
Pay attention to this video closely, even look up the words, you can learn a lot from it!
I've always loved this video. While I was working in the nursery at my church today I found a copy of the speech in a box of puzzles. I thought this would be a good place to share it with everyone. Imagine what our generation could do with all the nuggets of genius this speech/essay offers us. Some of my favorite points:
1. "Do one thing everyday that scares you": Make your life worth living. We're in high school and life can seem pretty cyclical, or that's how it feels to me anyway. Go to school, go to lessons, go to rehearsals, go to church and repeat. If we do one thing that scares us everyday it will break that cycle, make life interesting and it could even improve the world around us.
2. "Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults, If you succeed in doing this tell me how": If you were to ask me to recall a compliment right now, I wouldn't be able to say one, instead my mind would just go through a list of insults I've heard. That's just how our brain works, negative things tend to stick to your mind. People claim that insults make you stronger, but they just wear you down. Compliments can bring a smile to your face, and if people point good things about you, chances are it'll be easier for you to find good things about other people. Compliments are just a never ending chain of happy, insults take you nowhere.
3."Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.": This one is particularly important to kids our age. I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me where I want to go to college and I just said "I don't really know". It feels like I'm giving them the wrong answer, but It's okay to not know. I've been telling people for the longest time that I want to pursue music for the rest of my life, that I want to make a career out of it; but I'm starting to question it now. I feel like I have no other alternatives and that my family will only support me if I go into music. I have to keep in mind I'm only fifteen and I have my whole life ahead of me. We shouldn't be trapped in the life people want us to have, and we should always have an open mind
Pay attention to this video closely, even look up the words, you can learn a lot from it!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Dear Bloggers...(grade)
Most of the blogs I've read seem pretty pointless; people telling stories of what they had for breakfast or what they did after they dropped their kids off at work. The general public doesn’t care about the tasks you have posted on your blogs, your meaningless stories. STOP MAKING MINDLESS BLOGS!!!!!
The way I see it there are two different kinds of bloggers: those who are middle aged parents using blogs are a tool to vent and get their aging minds off of work, and those who actually take their readers into consideration. For example, the other day I was reading http://www.mommyofmany.com/. She has some really good points, she really wants people to know how tough her life is, but she rarely makes her text relatable, it's hard for the reader to actually understand all the tribulations of her life. As for a blog that people can actually relate to, I personally like http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ Without directing their words to the reader, this blog still makes a point. Although the point might be offensive to some, it's there and it's meant to be read and for people to think about how the content relates to their own lives
It's perfectly acceptable for you all to talk about the little details in your life, I'm not here to stop you and take away your happiness; but just keep in mind the best blogs to read are the ones that actually make a point.You can still talk about what happened in your day, just makes sure you somehow include the reader into the story, make them think about what happened and how it applies to their own life.
The way I see it there are two different kinds of bloggers: those who are middle aged parents using blogs are a tool to vent and get their aging minds off of work, and those who actually take their readers into consideration. For example, the other day I was reading http://www.mommyofmany.com/. She has some really good points, she really wants people to know how tough her life is, but she rarely makes her text relatable, it's hard for the reader to actually understand all the tribulations of her life. As for a blog that people can actually relate to, I personally like http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ Without directing their words to the reader, this blog still makes a point. Although the point might be offensive to some, it's there and it's meant to be read and for people to think about how the content relates to their own lives
It's perfectly acceptable for you all to talk about the little details in your life, I'm not here to stop you and take away your happiness; but just keep in mind the best blogs to read are the ones that actually make a point.You can still talk about what happened in your day, just makes sure you somehow include the reader into the story, make them think about what happened and how it applies to their own life.
raaaaaawr!!!! I'm a mouse! :D
Hi everybody!!!! how are you today? I'm sitting next to Miki in the computer lab. she has pink fingernails!!!!!!!!!! I never really liked blogs, but now i know why everyone makes them, it's fun!!!
"I Feel so loved"~Miki Holmes
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)