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!