PLN #12 Chains That Set Us Free

The article "Chains That Set Us Free" by Jonah Lehrer matters to me because it shows people like me that guidelines can help, imagination isn't everything. Many people think that way, but many artists use borders and are successful because of that. Constraints can be very helpful because it helps the mind. Who knew that overcoming obstacles may actually do us good! Being challenged increases your ability to work with concepts. This makes sense because as we have all heard, "you learn from your mistakes." Overcoming obstacles will do the same thing. It teaches you, but also makes you more creative. It expands your creativity and helps you later in life when problem solving will be key. Flexablitiy helps you come up with new ideas, making everything a whole lot easier. Thinking outside the box; outside the boundaries is extremely useful. Your brain takes time figuring out what not to notice, which is holding us back. Being challenged will allow us to come up with something we wouldn't have come up with normally. Poets, artists, and singers use their minds to create more. This is what we all need to take away from this, guidelines and challenges should be taken advantage of and used. It will only do us good.

PLN #11 My Teacher is an App

The article, "My Teacher is an App" by Stephanie Banchero matters to me because my future schooling could be based on the computer through Internet schools, or using apps with lessons all planned out for me. I guess the new thing, according to the article, is going to school online. Instead of sitting in a classroom learning, you can sit in your bedroom taking courses on the computer or your phone. I think the whole idea is terrible because school has much more of a value than just learning things to help you in the future. A big part of school is the people you meet and the relationships you build. You can't do that at home all alone. Yes, there are advantages like preparing for college, which is the reason some high schools require an online course, as the article said. But overall, it is a bad idea. Some day school won't even exist because everything we need to learn will be online. That is weird thing to think about because your teacher will now be an app, something you download, not something or someone you get to know and learn from. Education now has a whole new path and works a whole lot different. Going to school everyday is a much better way to learn. I don't want to spend hours on my phone every day to get information that I can get at school, while acquiring other skills at the same time.

PLN #10 Moab Man Embraces Simple Living in Cave

The article "Moab Man Embraces Simple Living in Cave" by Jason Blevins matters to me because it shows me that living with no possessions could actually be satisfying. Daniel lives in a cave with nothing. He believes that people should take things as they come naturally. I guess it has worked for him because he is a very healthy man who lives his life just the way he wants to. Daniel went to college and worked for a homeless shelter, until he realized he had to much stuff. So of course, he sold it all. Now he lives without anything, including money. He reminds me a lot of Chris McCandless because they both felt like living naturally is the way of life and they both were as happy as they could be. Daniel is happy, even without money or possessions. Money doesn't buy happiness. This makes me wonder if I could do this, what he is doing now, living with none of the things I rely on everyday. Maybe living a simple life would be quite fulfilling. He didn't like society, but he sure liked to learn from it. He would never accept possessions from others and just lived a stress free life. The catch is, is that he really is somewhat homeless. He goes through trash, lives outside, and lives how most homeless people live. But he doesn't care, he doesn't worry or fret. He just takes life as it comes and doesn't care about what the future holds. Maybe one day everyone will live like him, happy and satisfied, a very simple life.

Beliefs

1. Family
2. Friendship
3. Health
4. Live life with no regrets

For most of my beliefs I would go as I far as I have to go for them. If that means being in prison or even dying. I would do anything for my family's safety. But I wouldn't do anything to keep up with living life with no regrets. It is important to me, but not as important that I would stay in prison for it. I also think health is important, but if I were being held captive or about to die, I would definitely give it up because living is more important than health. I think my beliefs also depend on the situation. If my family's lives were at risk than I would do anything, but if they were just fine and I was being tortured by an Iranian prison, than I would probably give it up. I don't have strong beliefs yet. I am still not quite sure what is right, wrong, important, and not important. The only belief I would give my life for is my family. And i know family will be the most important belief to me for my whole life.

Manifesto

I walk on this planet for a reason, for myself and for others. I enjoy life and take it as it comes. I just go with the flow, and that has always worked for me. I live by the saying, "live life with no regrets." I take hold of things and try to never say no. I never have fun when I say no. I care about my family, friends, and school. I strive to get the best grade. I want to be successful, go to college, have fun in college, not just study, and get a good job that I enjoy and look forward to every day. I like money. I have lived happily, ever since the day I was born. I live a colorful life, full of things that brighten my day and make everything better. I am colorful. I love life. I won't let it go. I will always live life with no regrets.

PLN #9 Is This the Future of Punctuation!?

The article "Is This the Future of Punctuation!?" by Henry Hitchings matters to me because it is important that people realize that punctuation can be effective and how we use it is crucial. A very long time ago punctuation didn't exist. In the 15th and 16th century, punctuation came about and was used regularly. As Hitchings says, "punctuation is being renounced" and its true. I don't use much of it, I try, but when I do, I overuse it. Some people probably just give up because their teacher keeps telling them that they have too many commas in one sentence, so they don't use it anymore. Punctuation can be confusing and I think that is what is effecting the future of it. Many punctuation marks have become popular like the dash and hyphen but others have drifted away like the colon and apostrophe. This makes me wonder why some are increasing in use and some are decreasing. The future of punctuation is a mystery. Tons of punctuations marks are created and tons die off. No matter what, people like to not use punctuation. Most people think it isn't necessary, I think it is effective. Some day the whole idea might even be extinct.

PLN #8 Poetry, Painting to Earn an M.D.

The article, "Poetry, Painting to Earn an M.D," by Laura Landro matters to me because doctors who have the most empathy always make the best doctors. Whenever I go to the doctor, I hate it, but the doctors with the most empathy always make my sick days a lot better. That's why it is so important to teach this at medical school. Having a writing workshop at college is a good idea because this will get doctors in training thinking about patients and will make them a better doctor. Understanding your patient and listening to them to figure out what is happening in their life is key, which can be taught through writing. Writing poetry, shorts stories, and any other writing will get their experiences on paper and get them thinking about what it's like to be a patient. This article is similar to PLN #7 in the way that we need to learn more than just the basics, we need to learn critical thinking. Instead of performing tons of surgeries a day to learn how to become a doctor, having a writing lab dealing with people's experiences will help doctors be the best they can in their profession. Death is one of the hardest things to go through and to deal with, when doctors can understand what is happening in someone's life when this happens to them, their patient will have a much easier time. Patients are always number one in the medical career cluster, after all that is what being a doctor is all about. So if a doctor can learn to be empathetic, they will get much more out of the M.D. degree.

PLN #7 Rigor Redefined

The article "Rigor Redefined" by Tony Wagner matters to me because in school we learn basic things, but not other critical skills. At school we learn how to add, subtract, read, write, and study different things, which is all important, but what about the other skills. When Wagner interviewed Clay Parker, it struck me that we don't know some of the critical skills we need to learn in order to get a good job and succeed in the future. Asking good questions, engaging in good discussions, and the seven other survival skills are all crucial for the growing brains to know. I personally haven't been taught some of them and think that there should be classes starting to include these skills. When he observed different schools he found that students didn't really apply themselves to the task at hand. They answer questions, but not to the level of depth they should be able to. Some people won't be able to adapt to the workplace when they are put in it because they have never learned or had to do it before. I think the biggest skill we need to learn is curiosity and imagination. Lets start wanting to learn, wanting to go to school, and caring about what we learn. Lets get the most out of what we have available to us. Imagining will get us far in life and curiosity is the key to learning. We are the next generation and if we don't learn these critical skills, our country isn't going to do as well as it can. Schools need to start teaching skills, and if they do, our country will be much more advanced in the future.

PLN #6 The Machine is Using Us

The YouTube video "The Machine is Using Us" matters to me because I never realized how the Internet really works because I never actually think about what I use everyday, I just use it. When it showed how the format of different websites are made, I was flabbergasted. I had no idea that's what it actually looked like.  All the abbreviations and symbols for different parts of a site were so confusing, but somehow made sense. I mean there is no other way you can organize all this information. Most people use the Internet just because they can. They take it for granted. But, imagine not being able to type anything, look up anything, or connect with anyone. You had to write everything with a paper and pen, not pencil. The web has enabled us to do so much. Another thing that astonished me was when it said that we organize the data the Internet contains. I have never thought about where the websites I go on daily are coming from and how they are created. I have always thought along the lines of technology has its own mind and has created itself. But, people have made this thing called computers. I don't know why I didn't know that before, is seems so obvious but no one knows about it. People have put together this giant database of everything there is to know about. One day I could be making a website. People, us, are controling what the Internet does. After all, we made it. Websites are changed and updated daily so who knows what the Internet could look like in a decade. This video impacted me because it gave me a reality check. I need to start thinking about what websites are and do. I need to remember that people actually are making the Internet. I just happen to be one of over a billion users of it. But maybe someday I will be the one organizing the data.

PLN #5 Footprints in the Digital Age

In “Footprints in the Digital Age” by Will Richardson, I think all of the websites connecting people from around the world and the way students learn and look things up are not helping students today because it is making us not able to do things we should. Students are not learning to their best ability. They have the capability to do so much but they never use it. Why? Because we spend so much time doing things that don’t have anything to do with learning. We are always on the computer looking someone up and depending on the Internet. One day we will look someone or something up and not get any helpful results. We don’t know what to do after that because we don’t learn effectively. Today you can drive legally over the age of 18 without taking a drivers education class. Imagine the world in 10 years with a ton of inexperienced drivers. The likelihood of people getting in car accidents will start to get extremely high. No one cares about learning anymore and that is a problem. Like what Richardson said how when kids come to class they “turn the lights off” it is so true. Over half of the class doesn’t care and doesn’t want to be there. All students take school for granted. Just think of the olden days when barely anyone could go to school and you were very lucky to even go. It is so much different now. The things students do now is distracting us from things we need to do. Somehow we need to find a solution to this and get kids wanting to learn.

PLN #4 The Leaning Tower of Piza

The leaning tower of Piza was standing in its leaning position, its normal place, leaning at the same angle on a July sunny day. The town was going on with their regular daily lives and so was Amy. She was grocery shopping at the little local grocery shop, Billy’s Fresh Market, getting food for her husband and 7 kids. She lived in an apartment right next to the tower because her family couldn’t afford a regular house. Her apartment building was 10 stories and her room was on the 10th floor. Her family lived happily there with her children going to school each day, her husband going to work, and herself doing the household chores.


So on that day, while Amy was picking out her veggies and beans and rice, she felt something, some kind of bad feeling that something no good was about to happen. Now this day was a Sunday, her family was all up in their apartment room going on with their business. Amy quickly checked out and bagged her food. She drove home quickly to her home to see everything going smoothly with her family. Nothing was happening besides what was supposed to happening. Amy unpacked all of the food and put it in it's specific location. All of a sudden, she felt the same feeling something was wrong again. But this time, she was right.

She heard some cracking right above her. So she searched the house looking up at the ceiling. Nothing was there. Nothing she saw could have made that noise. So she looked out the window, and she saw something so unusual, so flabbergasting, she almost passed out. Amy yelled to anyone she could and yelled to her family, "Get out! Get out! The tower is falling! Run!"

Her husband, Jimmy, said, "No! We can't leave you. If we do, you will die."

She replied back, "No! Go! You must! I will die for you!"

So her family ran out the apartment down all the stairs and out of the house. Then the tower actually started falling. Amy was right under it. The only thing she could do was catch it. She stood in the middle of the room with her arms up ready to catch it squeezing her eyes closed. And then some kind of miracle happened. She didn't feel anything coming down. There was nothing to catch. She opened her eyes and saw Will Stronghold from Sky High standing right next to her holding the tower. He saved her life. She was going to die for her family so they could get out before it crushed them too. But now Will was saving her. Will pushed the tower up and flew it up to an upright position. Then he left. He was gone.


Amy and her family were all safe now. The tower was standing up, and they felt safe. The point is it's ok for one person to die to save a whole bunch of people. But having the person to die allow it to happen, is very important and is needed for them to die for everyone else.

PLN #3 Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Nicholas Carr's "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" matters to me because the Internet and web in general is completely breaking down our minds. It is making us less capable to do everything and lessening what our brains can do. Kids, especially teenagers spend almost 4 hours on the computer or watching TV. Have you ever heard anyone say, “Your brain will turn to mush if you watch too much TV”?. I definitely have. I have always ignored it and thought it was completely impossible. But it’s true, technology can truly make many things more efficient and easier, but can also get used in the wrong way most of the time. I think the whole reason why America is now something like the 24th smartest country is because of the Internet. What happened to America being on top in terms of smarts? How is it that Japan has as many honor students as we do kids? Google really is making us stupid and this is the effect. I find it very hard to get through a book, essay, short story, article. or anything requiring reading ever since about 4th grade when computer wasn’t in my vocabulary. Google and the Internet in general is making the human brain less capable to do all it can. We have brains so we can use them. They’re supposed to be smarter than computers, but with how much everyone uses the Internet, our brains aren’t accessing all it can and using all it can. I think Google is making us stupider and stupider by the minute as we are on it. We just need to figure out how to prevent  it.

PLN #2 What Matters to Me

Many things matter to me like surfing, soccer, and my family. I honestly don’t know how I would live without any of them. They are close to my heart and keep me going in life.

Surfing matters to me. When I think of a happy place, I think of the ocean and me surfing in it. I love to surf. It gives me a sense of pleasure and freedom whenever I start paddling out. I would say surfing is my life, but that would be a lie since there is no ocean near Colorado. My dad grew up in Hawaii so whenever we visit the family, he takes us out surfing and shows us what his life was like when he was our age, hitchhiking to the ocean everyday and surfing for hours. He teaches us then techniques and how to know when to catch a wave and how to just simply keep your balance. People learn from mistakes, if it’s not turning in homework, or falling off the board onto a coral head because your stance is off. But you get better. You practice and practice and finally master it. I learn so much about him and myself while riding waves. It is a great time for just thinking without anybody there. After all, surfing isn’t a team sport. You do it alone and teach yourself. The ocean connects with me and I lose myself in a carefree life.

Soccer matters to me. Ever since I was a little 5 year old on a team with my best friends, just running randomly just because it made us happy was all that mattered. Having my dad be the coach along with two other dads seemed like a fantasy at the time. As the years progressed, our team consisted of the same people every season. We grew up together and bonded even if we lost a game and left the field crying, we loved each other. As we got into about 3rd grade, we actually started trying to play soccer. We started winning every game and even got a mascot; a 4 foot tall stuffed husky. My soccer team became my other family. We stuck together for 7 years and every player still has a part in my life showing how I got to where I am at in soccer today.

My family matters to me. After all, they kind of have to love me through everything. But they don’t make it feel like it. They are the most important thing in my life and I love them to death. They also support me in anything I do, whether it is being my number one fan at a soccer game or pushing me to get good grades at school. They care for me and I care for them back. I am so close with them, sometimes I would rather be with them than any friends at all. Surprising, right? They believe in me, love me, and would do anything for me as I would for them. They teach me too. They teach me to be independent and other life lessons. I will carry these on for the rest of my life. My family is amazing. They mean the world to me and are one of the most important things in my life.