Ted Presentations

Today was the final day. The project we had put in hours and hours working towards for the past month. Today was the day of our TED presentations.
When I first heard that we would be working on the TED projects for a month, it seemed like we had an infinite amount of time to complete them. But, as October went along, two weeks passed with ease and we were already meeting with our groups in person. This signaled the halfway point to the final presentation day and was a great help with organizing our website. For the two weeks after that we all worked together to prepare for our presentation the best we knew how.
As with anything else in life, we had our ups and downs. There were some problems with getting some people in the group to work, and even getting some people to relax a little and not work so much. I thought the revisions we made to the rubric and instructions of the TED project during class helped iron out a lot of the wrinkles that were in the project last year. I liked the aspect of having a group and individual grades because the individual grades motivated us (well most of us) to do our best, and the group grade encouraged us to collaborate with our other group members.
The actual presentation day was full of a lot of useful and interesting information. The different presentations made me think about things I might never have otherwise. There was a slight problem during the beginning with the sound in the Emerald City but it was quickly fixed. One reoccurring problem was that the groups ran out of time for their Q&A session at the end because of the abundant information they wanted to share. Overall, I thought the TED project ran more smoothly than it did last year and I enjoyed it.

Captured Thought: Rain

Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day...
It just so happens that as I am writing this blog, I am sitting on my bed and looking out my window at the little, sparkling droplets dripping from each red and yellow leaf on my tree. To me, rainstorms can be some of the most beautiful forms of weather our planet offers. It comes in many variations such as storms or drizzles, and can last for seconds or days. And in the most beautiful of all cases, a brilliant rainbow with all its majestic colors shines through in the end.
But, for some reason, many people do not feel the same way about rain as I do. It is often seen as a nuisance that causes negative emotions such as fatigue or depression. How is it that one thing can cause such polar opposite feelings for different groups of people? On one end, joy and love. On the other, sadness. I guess it all depends on the way you view the situation. You can either choose to see the beauty in God's creation, or let stereotypes of this depressing weather get to you.

Captured Thought: Men's Egos

For as long as the earth has been spinning, men have been stubborn and egotistical. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think that men are selfish pigs. They just have a problem admitting when they are wrong (because they are never wrong..ha). A classic example of this typical male behavior is trying to get a man to ask for directions. If you have ever been on a road trip when a man has been driving, often, they know where they are going and can get you there in an unusually speedy amount of time (because they have been speeding..). But, on the rare occasion you seem to be moving a little more slowly and the male driver is scratching his head and looking around, it takes slightly longer to arrive at your destination. If you simply ask if you are lost, he will immediately grumble, "no," and keep driving. Once more time has gone by and you have passed the same restaurant seven times, you quietly suggest that he asks somebody for directions. This is the moment where his alpha male instincts kick in and he suddenly knows more than anybody else in the entire world. He will insist that he knows exactly where he is going and stopping is just a waste of time. Whether you end up at your destination rests solely on your luck from then out. Telling a man to ask for directions makes him feel like you are doubting his ability to fend for himself and triggers something inside him that makes him feel the need to be right, even if he knows he is wrong. There isn't much we can do about this. It is the way men have always been and probably always will be.
I guess women aren't perfect either. : ]

Blogging Around

Leanne's blog is about the word "love" and how it is often abused. She also discusses the nature of "swear words" and asks many questions about why they are considered "bad."

My comment: Leanne-
When reading your blog, I was reminded of thoughts that I have often had in the past. We wonder a lot of the same things, and you prompted other great questions in my mind. I agree with you that age shouldn't matter when it comes to love. When I hear girls using the word constantly to basically every person that they know, it bothers me a little. Love is a strong emotion that only people who have truly been in love understand. Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether you are in love or not, but I agree that whether you are a teenager in a relationship or a happily married couple, the same emotion can be experienced. And as for you thought on swear words, I have often asked myself the same questions that you did. But, for some reason, society views certain words as "bad," so we will just have to accept that for now.

Albert's blog is about homework and the different paces at which students learn. He feels that students learn better with one on one attention, but in large classes, homework is not always needed in order for certain students to keep up. He also mentions that busy, repetitive work can have negative impacts on students.

My Comment: Albert-
I agree with you that the amount of homework teachers assign isn't necessarily best for learning and can often become busy work. I am in the same math class as you and have the option of whether or not to do my homework because I have maintained an A or B average in the class, but I choose to do my homework anyway because I think that practicing what you have learned in class on your own is an important part of actually learning how to do something. But, I believe that some students can pick up on things more easily than others, and if they can maintain a good grade without doing homework, good for them. I am curious about what type of problems could occur from repetitive work, though. I know that it is annoying and unnecessary if you already understand the material, but I am not sure what harm could come from it. I would be interested to elaborate on that.

360 Degrees: Homework

Ever since we were little, our teachers have been giving us homework. And of course, being a kid, I have always hated it. Who wants to do things for school while they aren't even in the building? Nobody. But, it is proven that students learn things better when they apply the skills by themselves, rather than just hearing it from the teacher. Although this is a valid reason to give students homework, is it really necessary to give hours upon hours of work each night? The lack of sleep that many students suffer is not healthy and wears down their immune systems. In turn, this causes students to get sick and miss more school which will cause them to miss out on more learning and have more homework piled up. It's all one vicious cycle. Teachers mean well when the assign homework because they want their students to work to their full potential, but would assigning less cause us to learn more in the long run? I'm not sure what the outcome of that would be, but I think it would be an interesting theory to test. I think that parents would appreciate a lighter homework load as well because they enjoy spending time with their children too. They also have things they would like to ask their children to do, but don't because they are always swamped with homework. What is the proper amount of homework? We need to find somewhere in between swamping and not enough to have a lasting impact. Where is this happy medium? I don't know yet.