Bitch

This has nothing to do with my TED talk, but it is just something that was on my mind with Thanksgiving approaching quickly... why is it that people feel the need to bitch about things all the time? I have seen it all the time especially on college campus and I think it has become more and more prevalent. The sad thing is i'm not sure if it is the non-realistic college world or something else going on, but people complain to start conversations. Did you have that at lunch it was disgusting or did you see this on campus it was awful. Parking, meal plans, underpaid, bla, bla, bla! I'm sorry but who cares. It is almost thanksgiving and people should be thankful for what they have. We just recently had our RA in-service which is a time where all the RA's on campus come together and all get on the same page. This happens once a month and this month it was a huge bitchfest! Everyone was asking for a raise, or for meal plans to be paid for, cut back the amount of work we have to do, bla, bla, bla!

Personally, I was getting so fed up because 1. we signed up for the job. Yes, it may not be glamorous all the time, but it has its perks and we get free housing! That is somewhere around $10,000 a year and people are complaining about pay. They should be thankful to have the job since there are only 84 RA's on campus and over 200 people who came out interested in the RA position.

This is just one example, but I have been noticing it all too often and it is pretty upsetting. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching my hope is people not only be thankful for what they have on one day of the year, but to take that attitude and apply it more everyday. We are lucky to have what we have and have who we have in our lives. I hope that everyone can appreciate that a bit more often than one day a year.

Why Would You Ever?

First, I am so excited that our ted talk only has to be 10 minutes. I thought it had to be 20 and was freaking out a little bit.

Second... I'm thinking about doing my topic. I think I want to talk about something to do with animals. I changed my mind because I wanted to talk about something I am very passionate about. I LOVE animals! I hate people that mistreat animals and would be in jail if I could have my way with some of those people. I thought about being an animal cop, but again I would probably be in jail because I would kill the people that hurt the animals.

I am a vegetarian and started a club at Stockton called the animal friendly organization where we do community service projects and raise money for different animal organizations. Last year we worked with a horse rescue that saved horses from the slaughter auction, rehabilitated the horses, and put them up for adoption to loving homes. This was an amazing experience. This year we are doing a dog show called the "shelter show." It's going to happen in the spring and we are going to have local shelters bring dogs that are up for adoption. We are going to have categories where people can also enter their dogs to win either best looking, best dressed, best mixed mutt, or best trick. All the proceeds are going to benefit the local shelters. I did this in high school for save the satos. Basically the same concept, but it was dogs from Puerto Rico.

We raised a littler over $2000 at my high school so I am hoping that as a college event we make even more!

I have been a vegetarian for 4 years. I stopped eating red meat 6 years ago. I wouldn't get up in front of the class and tell everyone to stop eating meat, but I would just educate. I will stay away from the gory stuff because that turns people off. My aim and so what would be for people to not just turn off to the idea of not eating meat. That people can survive without eating meat and can not only survive, but be healthy. That being a vegetarian does not mean you are weak and fragile. Does not mean you do not get enough protein. I would want people when they hear someone say that they are a vegetarian, not to shut out the idea or stop listening right away, but to have an open mind and see that it is a possibility or just hear the person out for why they are a vegetarian with an open mind.

I am not oblivious to the fact that most people completely reject the idea of being a vegetarian, but I also know that most people have a lot of misconceptions about being vegetarian. My hope would be to change some of the misconceptions.

Tell me what it was for you :)

So I am going with this magic theme and how kids think the world is magical. I'd like to know what was magical for you when you were a child, if it still is, and if it isn't why is it no longer magical? If you want to not share with everyone my email is stephanieronan26@gmail.com I would love any feedback and/ or any suggestions for my talk :)

So far in class today when thinking about conflict I was thinking about why adults do not see the things in the world or little things in the world as magical anymore. I know that there as we grow up we take on more responsibilities and there is more to worry about. As a child there is nothing to really worry about and everything is planned for us, but even with worries in the world think of something like a box. To adults a box is something that we ship books in, we pack away clothes for the winter, or we store holiday decorations. For kids a box is better than the present inside the box. A box is a club house. A box is a rocket ship. A box is a secret island where all their creature live. A box is a magical thing to be played with.

So why is it that adults cannot see a box as magical anymore? Is there somewhere in life where we lose the sense of wonder that kids have such a great grasp of? I think if we close our eyes and think about something without putting real world meaning to it and over analyzing things like people sometimes do we could see the magic in little things again.

What makes magic so appealing? No matter your age magic is intriguing. Not only kids are mesmerized by magic tricks, but teens and adults as well. Magic allows people's imaginations to go wild. They can make up endless possibilities when it comes to finding answers. There is not wrong answer when it comes to magic which is why kids are so amazing. This is how kids imaginations work all the time until they are taught that there are only so many right way to do things. Teaching kids that there are only so many or only one right answer to a problem causes narrow mindedness or inability to think outside the box. For example when we walk into a room, what do we do? Turn on a light. If Albert Einstein accepted that there was only one way to do things correctly we would not have light today. If Ransome Eli Olds did not think outside of the box we would not have ever had assembly lines which would severely impact the world today. Great inventors do not think inside the box. They may get tangled up in some of society’s “patterns” or “cultures”, but they are not afraid to take chances and make mistakes.

Learning should be magical for students. Learning in classrooms should swallow up students the same way a magician does the audience. Children should have fun and be learning at the same time. In a second grade class, why can we not make cartoons? Why are we not playing to learn? Direct instruction has taken over the education system and is boring kids in schools every day.

Do you remember being in pre-school? Many people do not remember pre-school. Personally, I do not, but I taught in a pre-school and as a young adult I never had so much fun learning. Kids have a passion for learning. They play, color, dance, think, innovate, and grow through all different ways. Going to an ice cream store… just a trip for fun? No, we learned colors, textures, manners, and other things. In high school chemistry students make ice cream. I bet this is one of the lessons students remembering them most. I remember tye-dying in high school chemistry. Think back to any grade level. What is the most vivid memory you have learning a lesson in school? I guarantee that it was either something fun and interacting or in some way playing and this lesson stuck.

I know it gets harder as kids get older to let kids learn though playing, but even adults have fun innovating and working together. When did a quiet classroom become such a big deal? Why does the classroom have to be quiet all the time. Observing in a school day, I’d say about 85% of the day students are told to be quiet. Now think about yourself as an adult. 85% of the day being told to be quiet… kind of unrealistic! Adults are making phone calls, interacting with people, asking questions, and making connections. Are we limiting social skills in schools by asking students to work quietly so often? Just another something to think about.

Therefore, even though kids get older, their play time, imagination and creativity should not be limited. Middle school should have more lessons hands on and creating things. High school should have lessons where they make cartoons and tell stories about them. A certain age level should not limit the mind and its possibilities. The brain has ideas that are magical and no matter what age, just like magic, should be limitless for all ages.

Here is a fun sight for kids :)

http://magicalchildhood.wordpress.com/tag/activities/

Make Learning Magical

http://magicalchildhood.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/balloon-plants/

Hello :)