9B: Halfway there

It's so hard to believe that I am already done with half of my first college semester!  I still remember the first day, all the nerves and not knowing what to expect. Since the semester is halfway over already professors have posted midterm grades on Banner Web.  They do this so that students can see exactly where they are at and how they can improve or maintain their grade for the last half of the semester.

Signing into Banner Web, I was a little nervous to
find out what my grades were.  I saw that my midterm grades were A-, A-, B, C+, and C-.  I was definitely relieved when I saw that I was actually doing pretty well!  The only grade that I am upset about is my C-.  I received that grade in Spanish and that is the class I am having the most trouble with.  Iv'e never been good at Spanish, even when I took it in high school.  It just never has clicked with me. I'm not going to let that one grade upset me though.  In all my other classes I am doing very well.  I do all of my homework and so far I have been prepared for tests and quizzes.  I talked to my math professor about my C+ and she told me my average is a 79.  All I have to do is bring it up one point for it to be in the B range!

Overall , I am so happy with my grades except for Spanish.  My goal for the end of the semester is to finish with at least a C in this course.  I really need to keep up with all my homework.  Even if I know I won't do great on tests if I keep my homework and participation grades up that will boost my average. In order to raise my grade before the end of the semester I need to stop telling myself I can't.  My biggest problem with Spanish is that it doesn't come easily to me so I get discouraged.  I need to stop putting myself down about it.  I think if I have hope in myself I can bring up my grade.  I need to start believing that I can!

9V: Ways of thinking

Critical Thinking: the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion.

I think critical thinking means to not only think outside the box but to dig deeper into something.  The answer to a question or problem sometimes needs some extra thinking.  Critical thinking also deals with judging the true value of a statement, and going in depth to seek errors. 

Another way of thinking is literal thinking. This means limited to the explicit meaning of a word or text; conforming or limited to the simplest or most obvious meaning of a word or words.  A person who is a literal thinker takes every single word for what it actually means. This week I also learned the definition of the word Anecdote.  I have heard the word used in my English classes before but I never actually knew the real meaning of it.  Now I know that an Anecdote is a short story about a specific event.  Most anecdotes are usually short narratives of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident.

9I: Be like a sponge!

On Monday the 21^st I attended the Sonia Sotomayor event in the Lyman Center.  This was a very important event because Sonia wrote My Beloved World , which was our common read over the summer.  I will always look back and remember attending this event because Sonia is a very important figure and is the Supreme Court Justice.  Sonia answered some questions that students submitted to her.  I thought this was very interesting because it showed that she wanted to talk about what we wanted to hear, instead of just talking to us in general.

Sonia gave some great advice to all of the students in the audience.  She told everyone to follow their dreams and do what they want in life.  She made me really appreciate that I am attending Southern.  She said to use the resources around us to better ourselves.  Every professor at Southern is here to help us students be successful people and to pursue our dreams.   She mentioned to “be like a sponge.”  I thought about this for a while, and even after the event it entered my mind.  This statement really stuck with me.  Sonia’s advice is perfect.  To be successful in life you need to listen to the advice that is given to you.  Don’t just hear it, but let in sink in and really listen to people when they are trying to help you.  Sonia also said to take courses to broaden your horizon.  She said take classes that interest you or classes that will just overall better you as a person.  This is great advice to help students become well rounded successful people.

It was a really great thing for Southern to hold an event like this on campus for first year students.  Sonia uses her own experiences to help others live their dreams just like she is doing.  Through all her struggles in life she never gave up.  She explained that yes, she has doubted herself at certain times in life.  But the incredible thing about Sonia is that she didn’t let the negativity affect her in the long run. 

9A: The Real world

College is much different than high school in many ways.  It is a bigger atmosphere, there are all new people, and you are on your own and independent.  Teachers in high school often give you work to complete and directions on how to complete that work.  I have found that college is much different in this aspect.  Professors expect more out of you once you reach college, they don’t draw everything out for you like they used too in high school.  Professors now expect more critical thinking.

The real definition of critical thinking is the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion.  This can also be understood as thinking outside the box.  In college, professors don’t lay it all out for you, and they do this on purpose.  They want students to actually think and analyze things on their own now.  I have noticed that all of my professors do most of the same things.  We take a lot of notes and when the test comes, I have to study all of it because they don’t tell me what specifically is going to be on it.  Back in high school all my teachers would give us study guides and problems to practice so we knew what exactly was going to be on the test.  I had no practice critically thinking because of this.  I didn't have to dig deeper and really learn the material.  I would just study and learn strictly what my teachers would say I would be tested on.

Now I have realized real life is not like that.  There is not always going to be someone there giving you the answers or telling you exactly what to focus on.  This is where critical thinking comes in.  Now that I am on my own I need to rely on my own thinking skills to study and learn.  It’s definitely a hard concept to grasp and I haven’t totally gotten the hang of it yet.  I need to do extra things at home, like read chapters before class, and question things I don’t understand.  Once I get my brain in the habit of critically thinking I know it will be an easier thing to do for me.   For now I am just trying my best.  My grades from my first few tests were a wake up call to me.  Not every answer is going to be there right in front of me anymore.  Thinking critically on my own to solve problems and doing extra work to help me understand things better will help me get those test scores up.

Education Program Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ss3noq6zZ8&feature=youtu.be

8I: Majors expo

         This past Wednesday I attended the Majors Expo taking place in the Adanti Student Center.  I went to go take a quick look around 1:30 that day.  The whole ball room was filled with tables.  There were so many people there!

          I found my way over to the Education Program table.  I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher and the ladies at the table made me want to even more.  Everyone in the education department is super nice and friendly!  They are willing to help with anything.  They explained to me how to get into the education program and that Southern, unlike many other schools, does not have a limit for how many students they accept into the program each year.  This information made me feel really good.  I couldn't imagine meeting all of the requirement and then not being accepted into the program of my dreams due to no more space! The Majors Expo was very informational and I ended up spending more time there than I thought I would.

8V: 10,000 rule

mas·ter·y comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment

          When I was younger my whole life revolved around gymnastics.  I always wanted to learn and perfect new skills.  My coach would hand out purple ribbons when she thought we had “mastered” a skill.  The best feeling in the world was bringing one of those purple ribbons home. I would be super excited to show my mom that I mastered a new skill.  It didn’t mean that I just learned the skill; the ribbon meant that I had learned it perfectly.

          In order to master something completely a lot of work has to be put into it, 10,000 hours, or 10 years to be exact. According to studies it takes someone ten years to be perfect at what they do.  It can be a job, a sport, or even playing a musical instrument. In an article we read "How to be Great: Rising Above the Talent Myth" it explains that you’re not born with all the talent you can achieve.  If you deliberately practice you can become great at something.  If you do this for about ten years, you can even master it!

          Some other words that are important are expertise and moxie. Expertise means a special skill or knowledge: the skill or knowledge an expert has.  This word closely relates to mastery.  In order to be an expert at something you have to master it first. Moxie is courage and determination, the ability to be active.  You need to show moxie as you are practicing.  Moxie is what separates practice from deliberate practice. Practice is just going through the motions.  When you deliberately practice something you are showing moxie. You have determination and you’re actively fixing and working on errors.

          

8B: six words will never be enough

          My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor was assigned as common read this past summer.  Everyone who attends Southern had to read this book and come up with their own six word memoir.  My six word memoir is very simple and self-explanatory.  Six Words Will Never Be Enough. It means that there is so much to see and do in life it can’t be concluded into six short words.  I think that everyone should live life to the fullest and just take chances.  When an opportunity comes your way, take it.  When a door closes, open a new one.  You should live life now because later in life you will only regret the things you didn't do.  When I am older and asked to sum up my life, all I can hope is that my answer will be “Six words will never be enough”.  All I can hope is that I live my life how I want to, and that I take opportunities before it is too late.

          Sonia definitely was able to live her life the way she wanted to.  She ended up being very successful in life even though she faced a rough childhood.  Sonia was very poor growing up and had to work for her family.  She also had diabetes and lost her father and her grandmother at a very young age.   Even though she faced all of these terrible things, she never gave up on herself. I think that this is why My Beloved World was chosen for the common read.  She never gave up on who she was as a person.  She was the first to attend college in her family and now she is the Supreme Court Justice of the United States.

          First year, or any year, college students can learn from Sonia’s memoir.  She teaches us that no matter what challenge you may face in life if you keep pushing you can get through it.  College is definitely difficult, especially the first year.  Instead of breaking down and giving up, which seems like the easier option, Sonia teaches us to stand tall and keep moving on.  The next time I feel as if I should give up, I am going to think about Sonia’s childhood.  If she could get through all the hardships in life I could succeed too.

8A: Mastery of blogging

          I think in the beginning of this semester blogging was definitely a challenge for most people.  I know it was for me.  I had never had a blog before so I didn't even know what to expect.  Now that it is already week 8 and almost everyone has a good grip on blogging. When I blog I usually look at what other people write too, I find it enjoyable to see what their personal opinions are and sometimes it also helps me get my own ideas.  Two blogs that really stand out to me and show A+ work in my opinion are Briana Quintiliano and Paige Slack’s blogs.

          I think Paige’s blog shows mastery in blogging.  Her blog (http://paige2017.blogspot.com/ ) is very colorful and draws you in before you even read anything!  Her text is easy to read with a white background so it’s not distracting to your eye.  Paige usually writes a lot for each her blogs.  Sometimes this can make the reader not want to read the whole thing but I don’t think this is a problem in her case.  She is great at using detail to make the reader want to read on.  I noticed that she adds a concluding paragraph to most of her blog posts.  She sums up what she has already said and ends the post in a clear way that really flows.

          Briana’s blog also is A+ material in my opinion. (http://brianaq.blogspot.com/)  Brie’s blog is very colorful, and she uses a very creative font.  I've noticed that Brie really puts in a lot of detail in her blog.  Just by reading them you can tell that she doesn't rush through them or do them just to get them done.  She puts a lot of effort into each post by using quotes, adding more than one picture, and putting in her own opinions.  She often asks questions to the reader, which really makes them think and connect to her writing.  The things I like most on Briana’s blog are her vocabulary posts.  She first puts her own understanding of the word, then the real dictionary definition, and she explains in detail what the word means.  I can tell she puts a lot of time into her vocab posts every week.

          These two blogs definitely show A+ work and mastery of blogging.  They are full of color to grab the reader’s attention, they are clear and easy to read, they include pictures to go along, and they also show a lot of effort and detail in every post.  I think everyone should work towards the goal of mastery of blogging!

Midterm video draft

This is the link to my midterm video draft... I am planning on uploading a few more interviews then adding more facts about the education program itself. (what specific majors are offered etc)

http://youtu.be/qBeZq2obcxk

7V: Learn from failure

fail·ure The lack of success. The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends.

Failure, by definition means to not succeed or get the results that you wanted.  I think that failure is much more than just not achieving the desired outcome.  I think that failure can be used as a form of motivation.  If we never failed in life we wouldn't know how good it feels to succeed.  Without failure there is nothing to strive for.  Of course as it is happening failure is not fun, but in the long run it can teach you valuable lessons.  We can all learn from our mistakes and things we have failed at.  Failing should make you try even harder the next time.

Other words that are important are desire and improvement. Desire is a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.  I think that it is very important to have desire for success; if you don’t then that means you are okay with just settling with failure.  It’s always important to want to succeed and have a desire to chase your goals. Improvement means to better something. There is always room improvement.  I think that it is very important to work hard at everything in life, especially when it comes to school. 

7I: Early Childhood Education

 On Friday October 11th I attended the Education program meeting in Davis Hall, room 211. Since a very young age I knew I wanted to work with children.  I declared my major during orientation but I didn't really know how much there was to it, and that is why I attended this meeting.

Dr. Marx explained all of the classes I need to take before I can be accepted into the education program.  She said that I need to start thinking about a second major outside the school of education. I also need to take MAT 105, ENG 112, EDU 206, and SED 225.  In order to be in the education program here at Southern I need to pass the Praxis I exam and maintain at least a 2.7 GPA.

Getting so much information thrown at me all at once definitely was a bit overwhelming.  The meeting was very helpful though in terms of preparing me for what classes I will have to take.  I know that getting into the Education program will be a lot of work but it is something that I am willing to work hard at and accomplish.

7B: numbers, numbers, numbers

                An aspect of college in which I am failing a little bit is in my algebra class.  I have always been a slow learner in math; numbers just don’t come naturally to me.  I can sit down for hours and write something but I can’t do that with math.  In high school I barely got by. I would only pass my math classes because I would turn in all my homework, but I’d fail all my tests.  This year I want that to change.  Somehow I got placed into math 100, which is intermediate algebra at a fast pace.  My class only meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My professor teaches really fast, she takes time to answer our questions on each section, but we only spend one class per section. 

                I have been really trying to pay attention in class and ask questions when I don’t understand something.  I think the class is just too fast for me, I need a lot of time to learn things.  I need to sit there and really analyze a question and work through it slowly to understand how I got the answer.  This Tuesday I got my first test back and I was super disappointed.  I ended up getting a 64.  This made me feel really bad about myself because I really did try my best.  I will not settle for failure though.  In the future I am planning on doing extra problems on my own time to help me understand things at my own slow pace.  I am also planning on having study sessions with a group of kids from my class.  If we all work together we can help each other pass.

                Even though I know I’m not actually failing the class, I know I’m not doing as well as I could be.  In the future I will try to put extra effort in to get the best possible results I can.  I am determined to get a good grade and to get a better score on my next test.

7A: You have to fail to succeed

                Everyone has a different opinion of the word failure.  Some people think that it is a bad thing, but others look at it as a form of motivation, something to push you even harder the next time.  I am definitely the type of person to use failure as a learning experience.  Growing up my parents have always encouraged me to try my best, when I failed at something they didn't make it seem like I was disappointing them, they just wanted me to try harder the next time.  I think that the way they raised me really helped me later on in life.

               
                Even though I think that failure isn't a bad thing, I also don’t think that it is okay to just accept failure.  I still remember standing behind the starting line at one of my big track meets in high school.  The race was really important to me and I remember having butterflies in my stomach.  When the gun went off I didn't hesitate at all, I pushed all the way until I crossed the finish line.  I came in second place and was really proud of that.  I ran up to my coach to tell him I came in second place and I still remember his exact words to me “Second place is the first loser, don’t ever settle for second.”  When he said that to me my heart sank and all my excitement went away.  After looking back and thinking about what he said to me that day,  I now realize he wasn't trying to make me upset.  My coach just didn't want me to settle for second, he didn't want me to think that that was the best I could do.  He wanted me to fight even harder the next time.  His words that day definitely made me try even harder in the future.

               In today’s world kids always get upset when losing a game and end up crying if they are not the winner.  I don’t think that this is a good thing to teach children.  We need to let kids know that it is okay to fail sometimes and that you can’t always be a winner.  In the article The Fringe benefits of Failure, J.K. Rowling quotes “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default”  Everyone needs to realize that they will fail at some point in life to a certain extent. The key is to not dwell on that failure in a bad way; you should learn to use that mistake in a positive way.  Failure can be used to improve and try even harder the next time.

6B: Gritty people

This week in class we talked a lot about grit and what makes somebody a gritty person. Being a gritty person means that you will try and try and never give up even when it seems like the easiest option.  It's a hard trait to master, because it takes a lot of will power and motivation to keep pushing through challenges. In the article I had to read about grit it said, "The grittiest students-not the smartest ones-had the highest GPAs." (Angela Duckworth) This quote really made me think, if you have persistence and keep trying towards something you can achieve it, no matter how smart you think you are. This concept relates back to many other articles that I have read for class.

A few weeks ago we learned about delayed gratification.  This is the ability to wait for a long term result, which brings me back to being a gritty person.  You need to have to ability to be able to have patience and think of the future outcome in order to be successful. Delayed gratification and grit go hand and hand.  Patience and being able to wait for an outcome is one thing, but just waiting won't do you any good.  You have to be gritty and put all your effort into something even when you know it's going to be hard. Then while you are being gritty patience is key, don't rush a result.

Another article that relates back to grit is the "Work Hard or Work Smart" article.  This article really pointed out that if you make a plan and stick to it, you can get things done. "You have way more in you than you can imagine.  You are stronger than you think you are, you are more creative than you believe yourself to be, you are infinitely more powerful than you believe you are and you can reach that summit." This quote really stood out to me because it tells you that you are better than you can ever imagine and if you put your mind to it you can do outstanding things with your life.  Being a gritty person while believing in yourself can help you accomplish the unthinkable.

6I: West Rock adventures

This Wednesday after my media studies class I met up with a few friends from class.  We wanted to do something fun and exciting, but something different than usual.  It was Emma's idea to hike up West Rock.  The hike didn't take too long, and  it wasn't too steep. The view from the top was spectacular but even while we were hiking the view was nice.  Autumn is the perfect time of year to go hiking in my opinion.  All the leaves are beautiful colors and the air is so fresh and crisp. 

At the top of the rock we had a great view of downtown new haven and all the pretty trees near campus. It was so relaxing to just stand up there and look down on the business of the world.  I would highly recommend hiking up west rock before all the leaves fall off the trees!