Blogging Around

In Deena M's blog, she expressed her thoughts on how good a clean room feels. I replied back by saying,

This blog is really easy for me to read because I can completely relate to it. My closet is always a huge mess, with clothes and other things piled up until I realize that I can't take it anymore, but once I clean it the mess returns in a matter of weeks. But whenever my room is nice and tidy theres just a feeling of relief and comfort that comes ove me, its so much nicer being in a clean room.

Also, cleaning something that is very cluttered is always an accomplishment and definelty gives me a positive attitude as well.


In Danny C's blog, he brought up important questions that were stated in Sophies World and it helped me to understand the value of the material in the book.

This post really made me look outside just the book, and take the questions that the author brings up as something to definetly look into. Up until basically now I was just reading the book and gaining knowledge on the material inside of it, but was not properly understanding it.

I think one of the main purposes of us reading this book was to put our own lives in perspective and genuinley think about the questions that are asked, and not just read over them.
I
 completely agree with you in that things are irrelevant without thinking about these things because not only do they help us question things about our lives but also it really makes you think about the rest of the world.

Get Organized

My room has never been as messy as it is now. There are clothes spewed out all over the floor, and I am basically unable to determine clean from dirty. This may be strange, but looking at this mess is very intimidating. I do not know what part of my room to tackle first.

It is actually stressful to walk into a cluttered room every day. It makes it feel like you do not have space to live much less breath. As I begin to sort through the clothes, papers, pens and books thrown on my green carpet, I immediately want to stop cleaning. I know my room will be messy again in just a matter of days so whats the point? And this time, just like every other time, I push that thought out of my brain and keep cleaning.

45 minutes later, I stand by my door and look at my spotless room and automatically feel accomplished and relaxed.

I had never thought how good I would feel after simply cleaning up my own mess, a normal and common activity. A clean room makes things much easier. I can now study in my room, without feeling like I'm sitting in a laundry bin or just relax and not constantly have to be reminded of how sloppy I am.

Before truly thinking about how I would feel after I clean, straightening things up was always a chore for me. Something I dreaded doing because I knew it was counterproductive. Now, I still do not really enjoy the process of cleaning, but I know how much it can help in other aspects of my life instead of just having a clean place to sleep.

Best of The Week: Socrates

This is the one chapter of the book I found myself instantly drawn to. Socrates theory and philosophy interest me greatly.

The most amazing thing I thought of this chapter was the story of the people in the cave. After reading that story my mind went on a journey and explored so many different aspects of our everyday life and helped me determine how important they were. It made complete sense to me as to why the other cave dwellers were so unhappy with the one who escaped. If someone told me everything I ever knew and believed was a complete lie I would have a similar reaction.

It really goes to show that even the little things in life, that we often take for granted, are worth appreciating.

I will definitly use his teachings and prinicples in my everyday life, whether it be related to the story of a different aspect of Socrates philosophy. Each aspect opens new doors which can lead to endless possibilities of thinking in which I am willing to explore.

Metacognition: Shadow Catcher

During the first quarter, we did many things in class that I would consider to be unusual in other classes. One of these things included reading the novel The Shadow Catcher. It was a book that was definetly hard to understand in the beginning and throughout the course of the book.

When I was reading this book I remember constantly thinking "What is the point of this story?" and putting the book down in frustration because everything that was written seemed to be irrelevent. Each time I read a new page I wondered why I even bothered reading a book I did not understand.

Then, I decided to put all of my opinions outside of my reading for one night, and basically start fresh with book. Instantly, I like it and wanted to keep reading. I surprised myself when this happens. Usually when I get frustrated with things, I give up on them.

One thing I wished I changed about my thinking is that I start keeping an open mind from the beginning, and I should not have to dislike something in order for my thinking to change.

Blogging Around

In Maria G's blog, she talked about how the photographer from Born Into Brothels also struggled just as the kids did, but in a different way. I replied to that by saying :

Maria, what I enjoyed most about this post was that you focused more on the photographer and how she struggles along with them. This gave me a different perspective of the movie, because i just looked at it through the eyes of the children and how hard it was for them.

Also, I never thought to really connect it back to Shadow Catcher in the way that you did. I always took different angles but I agree that the importance of identity was definitely a major part in both of these works of art.



In Deena M's blog, she talked about the importance in your expression of style, and not wearing a uniform. I replied to that by saying:
I can relate to this blog post probably more than most people, since I went to a catholic school for 10 years of my life. Not only did the uniforms bother me by there appearance but I don't think that it is fair for someone to punish you based on your appearance. There is much more to it than just being able to pick your own clothes. The school I went to, everyone was the same. Not only in the way we dressed, but since we all dressed the same then we were classified as basically the same snobby rich north shore kid.

These things bother me. 

When you talked about teenagers being able to express themselves and have a sense of freedom; I completely agreed with that. Having your own sense of style is something that makes a person different from everyone else. 

Best Of The Week: Born Into Brothels

What struck me most about this film was the attitude of the children. I had made the assumption that these kids had the idea that they will go no where in life already ingrained into their brains from what they see on a daily basis and how they are treated. I discovered that that idea was far from the truth. Each and every one of those kids saw something inside of themselves and knew they could succeed if they were given the chance to. That inspired me to see more in myself. These children that lived in the ghetto of India never stopped giving up on themselves no matter how hard life was for them.

I was very glad that the filmmakers decided to show us the red light district through the perspective of the children because it gave the viewers a completely different insight of how these families lived.

I value the attitude of the children greatly because they were always laughing, smiling and looking at life on the bright side no matter how hard it became for them. I admire people who can bring out the best in themselves and others when times get hard and after watching this film, these kids inspired me to become more like them and never give up on my dreams no matter how unattainable I may think they are.

Connection: OLPH and Creativity Crisis

Every day for 9 years, I had the same routine. Wake up, throw on the same navy, forest green and white school uniform and walk about two blocks to the jail that I called school. Everyone and everything was exactly the same at this school. We all wore the same clothes, ate the same lunches, and did the same activities. Everyone was almost the exact same; like we were clone copies of each other. This is was exactly how the administration wanted it to be. I still rememeber the countless amount of detentions I recieved during these 9 years of my life. Looking back, I realize how ridiculous these rules were. For being different by wearing jewelry, nail polish, different socks, adding color to the bland uniform or just expressing your personality through accessories you would get punished. This stunted my creative mind greatly because I was so brainwashed in this system of everything being forced down my throat the way these teachers wanted it to be. When I read the article Creativity Crisis, I instantly flashed back to my days at OLPH.
 
Our society today lacks motivation and inspiration for kids to think outside the box, or to look at something and take away a deeper meaning of that thing. We are pushed to read, study and memorize and if we do not do that than there are consequences.
 
It's the same thing, day in and day out. What if things were different here? I know in some places it is different; students learn what makes them happy or excited and those kids succeed more than the ones being forced into school.
 
In the article, teachers from schools in Asia say how they find it almost funny how here in America we are still learning based off this system, while they are trying to reform theres to what they presume ours is like. 

carry it forward: creativity crisis

I wouldn't say I'm a naturally creative person, but I do think of unique ideas and try to think outside the box. Learning the information about how the American society is losing creativity somewhat shocked me because I always thought of our country as creating new things that no one has seen before, and being somewhat of an innovator for the rest of the world. Another thing I took out of it is that you can't teach creativity, but only help kids and students tap in to their creative side and enrich them in that experience. This information will challenge me to think deeper about things in my everyday life, and also think about the future for myself and my children to hope that they will learn to do the same.