Metacognition : A tribute to Aristotle

          I had kept piles of paper and schoolwork from last year. All the math, science, history, and English binders were placed on my shelves. I never had a chance to throw it away or organize them. I was kind of overwhelmed and did not know where to start. Before I organize my desk, room, and drawers, I felt chaotic and unfocused when I sat on my desk to study. Many post-it notes were taped in front of my desk and piles of books were stacked up.

          Since I had a lot of free time over Thanksgiving break, I promised myself to clean up my room. I threw away unimportant papers from previous years, took off all the posts-its on my wall, and threw away the clothes that I never wore, or will wear. It took a few hours to clean and organize everything, but in the end, I felt relieved.

          Now, I know where everything is located in my room. I donated my clothes and school supplies that I do not use. I have lots of extra space and I can focus more on my desk. I threw away all the stuff that distracts me. I do not know why I never cleaned my room before. I feel like my life is more organized. I will be easier to clean up next time becasue I already finished the hardest work. I think I should organize myself more and through away all the things that distract my life.

Change of Mind : new technologies

On Tuesday in class discussion, we compared between is and ought. Mr. Allen asked us a question, “Ought we to need a cell phone or smart phone?” And he said, the cell phones are distracting people, and it is not necessary to have them. He even changed his smart phone to a regular free phone, because he does not want any distractions.

When we talked about this in the class, I deeply thought if I need a smart phone? Because everyone has one, or do I really need one? Not even just cell phones, but I get distracted by other technologies. I constantly check Facebook and e-mail, and I listen to music every time. I feel like I miss something when I do not check them.   

I changed my mind through this discussion. Most of the technologies that were invented in the 21^st century, it can be convenient, but we ought to not need them. Even a few years ago, people were fine without having a smart phone or Facebook. They did not have to check mail or go on the internet every few minutes. The new inventions can help people in one point, but it hurts and distracts some part of people’s life. Now I choose not to be distracted by other technologies that surround me. I promise myself not to spend more than 30 minutes on Facebook or e-mail every day.

iMedia: Pilsen Mural

           

I went on a field trip to Pilsen, a neighborhood located in Chicago, for my Latin America class. Many artists lived in Pilsen until a few years ago. However, the murals that they painted still remain on the wall.

            When I saw a mural on the street, I never looked at it closely. I thought it was simply just a painting that people just drew. However, from this field trip, I learned that a mural has a lot of meaning behind it. The muralist painted the symbols of what they wanted to tell people.

             The mural on the left is my favorite. When I looked at it at first, I could not understand what message the muralist was trying to relay. However, when I looked at it closely and thought about the symbols that he painted, all the ideas came together in my mind. The eagle symbolizes Mexico, and the ribbons symbolize different religions and countries. The tree that is pointing to the earth shows that immigrants are trying to lay their roots down in America. The ribbons are covering the people, because they do not have a freedom to say, see, or protect them. Since the muralist was Mexican, he tried to tell people that immigrants did not have these rights even though Constitution states that they should.

            Even though Pilsen is only located only 30 minutes away from Glenview, the atmosphere of the neighborhood is very different. More immigrants from Mexico are living in Pilsen. Therefore I could see Mexico’s culture through different murals. Most of the murals display messages from immigrants. Since I am an immigrant, the murals were familiar and I could understand the meanings. They try to tell their hopes and dreams in America.

Connection: Complexity

The Shadow Catcher and Sophie’s world have a similarity. They both have complex stories. Marianne Wiggins did not tell the story directly. She always had the readers think and the stories were full of twists. She wrote two different stories in one book and connected them at the end. These two different plots can easily confuse a reader. Jostein Gaarder also made the readers think while they read. The whole story is kind of mysterious. Sophie got mail, a video cassette, and a Hilde letter from a person she never met. The story does not make sense in real life, but it makes the reader curious and continues them to read.

 Recently, there are many books and movies that have a complex story. Inception is an example.  I was very confused throughout the entire movie. Even when I came out of the theater, I could not stop thinking about the movie. Inception did not end when the movie ended. I started a thought process which left me with millions of unanswered questions. It has a twisted story and has a multiple layered plot like The Shadow Catcher. 

 In the 21^st century, the world is full of complexity, and people enjoy it. The Shadow Catcher, Sophie’s World, and Inception challenge the viewer but also respect the viewer’s intelligence. 

iMedia: Guatemala children

              

In Latin America History, we are learning about Guatemala, Ecuador, and some other developing countries. A few days ago, we did a computer lab activity and we searched for pictures of Guatemalans. I found many different pictures, but I liked this picture the most. I think this picture shows how Guatemalan children are living now days. I would never find this kind of sight in the United States. People would never find their food in the garbage dump on a daily basis.

                This picture personally moved me. I reflected upon my life through the eyes of this picture. I complain because I do not have an I-phone, a new computer, and clothes. Also, I throw away unfinished food. I regretted what I have done and I was ashamed of myself after I looking at this picture. Even though these children are living in poor condition and do not get enough food every day, they are smiling and they look happy in the picture.

                All teenagers in the Unites States should be thankful for the lives that they have. They might think their family is not wealthy, but compared to other countries in poverty, we should be thankful about what we have now. While we are throwing away our food and clothes, they are looking for food in the garbage dump.    

Best of Week : Born into Brothels

The documentary, Born into Brothels, was very shocking when I watched it in class. Through this movie I was able to see the daily lives of a group of children whose mothers work as prostitutes. I could not imagine how these children were able to live in a village of prostitution and I felt so much pity watching them. 

Watching these lively children and their poor surroundings made me think about how I am living a privileged life. They did not get any education, but helped their mothers’ work and house chores. I was very embarrassed myself because, even though I live in very wealthy surroundings, I always complain about my life and school. However, these children were happy and thankful to just have the privilege of taking pictures. This movie took me into another world. It’s not common to see their type of lifestyle in America. Through this movie, I became more interested to see different country’s cultures and lifestyles.

Metacognition: College essay

When I became a senior, it was time for me to think about college. I searched colleges and looked up essay questions. Over the weekend, I sat down and tried to write. I just wanted to get done with it so I wouldn’t have to worry about it. However, I did not know how to start. The questions that they were asking were all similar: “who inspired you the best?” “What interests will you bring to our campus?”, and ‘describe an experience that demonstrates your character.” They were looking for essays that show my personality and stories that might impact my learning.

            While I was writing the essays, I realized that I never thought about myself deeply before. I never really thought about the person who had an impact on my life, what I am good at, or how I affected my community. I was astonished by myself because I do not know myself very well. I decided to brainstorm before I started to write. I sat in my room quietly, and jotted down what I have accomplished in my high school years, and how I have changed through those accomplishments.

            I wrote more than one page about myself. After I made an outline, I learned things about myself that I never thought about before.  The most difficult part of the college essays was to write a personal story. After I came up with an idea, I was able to write smoothly. I needed to work on my essay more personally so that the college admission can learn about me.  

Blogging Around

I read Kathryn's college essay blog. She wrote about her feeling while she was writing her college essays. Because she has to write her personal things on her essay, it is hard to make it appealing to a college admission. In order to fix her problem, she said she needs to focus on her ideas very specifically.
"Kathryn, I totally understand how difficult it is to write a personal things in college essay. I have to think very deeply and know myself very well. I have the same troubles that you have. Just take a time and brain storm your ideas and thoughts before you write an essay. Good Luck~"

I read Klaudia's metacognition blog. Her blog was about how feeling inspired is very important. When she feels positively about the assignment, she thinks it is easier to get it done and much faster. Sometime she procrastinate on something, but she try to resist it, and follow her process.
"Klaudia, I think you made a good point. When I do my homework, I always rush and try to do fast, but no correctly. From your blog, I learned that I need to make my assignment feel positive. Also, I need to take a time and think  before I start.  "

Metacognition: Painting final project

The final project in painting class was painting anything that represented me. I was happy because I thought the assignment was easy. She gave us a month to prepare for this assignment, but I started two weeks before the deadline because I thought I could finish in a few days. Two weeks before the due date, I started to think about what I needed to draw. I thought it will be easy to come up with the ideas, but I realized that it was the hardest assignment I got in this class. I could not think of just one picture that represented me perfectly.

The idea that I came up with was a girl who was wearing a dress and looking at the sky. I painted the sky with a mix of colors of light and dark blue. The girl represented me because she symbolized my personality and the big issue that I had at that time. I was a junior when I painted this picture, and I had big worries about future. Since I did not know what I wanted to be when I grew up. That was the biggest concern. And the dark color of the sky showed my anxiety about my future and the light color of the sky showed that there will be a way to figure out. I finished this piece with a hurry, but it came out how I wanted it to.

 I was surprised with my idea; it fit perfectly into my junior year life.  Many people painted very cliché ideas. They just painted the things that they like, family, or friends’ face. I was so proud of myself that I painted a very unique piece, and it has a meaning behind it. If I have to paint this kind of assignment later in my life, I will make sure I get plenty of time. I regretted that I wasted two weeks that the teacher gave me. If I had used the time efficiently, the piece might have become the best painting I ever painted.   

Best of Week: Temple Grandin

The video about Temple Grandin was very inspiring to me. She has autism, but she influenced the world. Half the cattle in the U.S and Canada are handled in equipment that she has designed for meat plants. The one of the reason why she could have done this was she has a special skill. She has visual thinking that majority of people do not have. When she thinks, she is thinking in pictures. This video made me think deeply about autistic people. When people look at them, they do not act like a normal people. They look anxious, cannot stay in calm, and they cannot focus. However, I realized that this is not always true. Some autistic people are much smarter than regular people. They just look different because their brain works very quickly and differently. This video was very connected to me because my cousin has autism so it was very interested to watch the video about her. When I see him, he was different than my families. He focuses on only one thing for many hours and he has his own world in his mind. He draws same thing on his notebook for several hours. Because I do not see him very often, I thought he is very weird. However, after I watch this film, now I can understand his unusual actions. He is same as everyone else, but he has particular thinking skill. If I see him next time, it will be interesting to see him and I would understand him more.  

Connection : Mind book and art

Since I was 7 years old, I started to paint and draw. I love to paint someone else’s work or create my own. It has been only 3 weeks of taking Humanities, but I realized that art and humanity class are much related. When I paint or draw, I had to be very creative. Before I start a sketch, I brainstorm ideas, collect related pictures, and see other people’s work. I have to be unique and different from other people. I use a variety of materials and different techniques. When we do mind books in class, it is similar to works of art. The mind book does not have to be fancy or decorated with different colors, but they are similar in some ways. When I do the mind book, I have to think and brainstorm myself. I need creative ideas that will express my feelings, thinking, and opinions. It could be writing a story, writing poems, painting, or drawing. We can express our motions visually. The reason why I love to paint and draw is that the art work shows my personality. One piece of art can carry many meanings behind it. I think the mind book is going to be my personal story book like my art pieces.

Change of mind: The dancers

I like to watch videos in the class. One day, I walked into English class, and Mr. Allen prepared to play a video for us. When he played the video, I saw two people dancing on the stage with some delicate music. When I watched it the first time, I was not paying attention, because I am not interested in modern dance. But after the video was over, Mr. Allen asked us a question. “What did you guys notice about this dance?” I was not sure what this question meant. At that moment, one girl raised her hand and said “Dance has a story.” I was confused when she said it, because I did not see any kind of story in the dance. It was just two people that were dancing, hugging, and spinning. After she said that, Mr. Allen played the video again. Because of what she said, I actually paid attention to the video that time. It was the same video that we watched before, but it seemed like a different video. It amazed me that I could see the dance in a different way. I could see the story in the dance. The girl wanted to leave, but the guy kept holding onto her and did not want let her leave. Also, the dance matched with the music, and the story. After, I saw it in a new way, I started to like this dance. It was fun to listen to the music and watch the dance at the same time. I realized that the two dancers were amazing and they tried to express everything with their body. Their body motions were gorgeous and beautiful.