Looking towards becoming a doctor.

My whole life I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, a doctor. From looking at the structure of a cell to watching open heart surgeries, I knew that my one and only love was medicine. So, if I had 20% of my Gifted Program dedicated to doing anything I wanted, there was no question to what I was doing. I was going to be researching common diseases that affect many every day and every year. Then I will turn all of it into a book. What I need: a computer and printer. Problems that I may encounter are nothing major but I may not be able to find all the information I set out to look for (for each disease). Someone who I can consult is my doctor. My doctor has obtained a great amount of knowledge that may be able to help me with my research on the many common diseases in our world. The extra time I have been given will help me explore the medical field that much more.

If Only You Let Me Work...

When I was in kindergarten we were asked to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grow up and so I drew a doctor while the boy next to me drew an astronaut.  He looked up, saw my drawing and made a face that said: She’s a girl, she can’t become a doctor.  Flash-forward eight years and we are in class raising our hands to volunteer to help set up props for a play. My teacher called on five boys and me. When we got to the stage room all the boys went straight for all the big, heavy props, leaving me with a cardboard cutout of a snowman. “Hey Girl, don’t break a nail moving that heavy snowman,” a boy yelled.

Girls and women, if you must consider the difference, have always been thought less than men in jobs, school, and just about everything in life. It is a testament to the power of institutional sexism that women, despite making up 51% of the population, are a minority group.  It has been almost tradition for men to belittle women for their own comfort and to prove that they are more superior. I know that times have changed and women and men are now equal, but are they truly equal?  Women often work more than men, yet are paid less. Take Lilly Ledbetter for example. Ledbetter worked as production supervisor, not long ago, at a Goodyear tire plant in Alabama. She filed an equal-pay lawsuit regarding pay discrimination, since she discovered that a man doing the same work as her was getting a significantly greater pay. Just because Ledbetter is a women doesn’t mean she’s any less human, and Lilly made sure that wouldn’t happen again. Her proposal was a success; getting a law regarding pay discrimination, signed by President Barack Obama in 2009.

Discrimination against women started from for them the moment they are born. In many parts of the world, people put babies up for adoption just on the fact that they are a girl.  Some 50,000 female fetuses are aborted every month in India. Baby girls are often killed at birth, either thrown into rivers, or left to die in garbage dumps. It's estimated that one million girls in India “disappear” every year. But discriminating doesn’t stop there, it continues throughout their life. During childhood, many young girls suffer from educational disadvantage. As it so happens, girls in third world countries usually don't even attend school due to the belief that they are only good for cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids. The people who restrict girls (usually men) are so simple minded that they can't even see that some educated girls grow into the world's greatest leaders. Indira Gandhi, India's Prime Minster from 1966–77 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984, was a very powerful women who lead India. Gandhi became known for her political ruthlessness and unprecedented centralization of power. She did the most unexpected thing a women could do, rise to power. This clearly showed many that women are not their slaves that they could push around.

For many girl's adolescent years onwards abuse and discriminating of women only gets worse.  Adolescent girls are, typically, more prone to depression and being sexually and/or physically abused by men. On average, 1 out of 5 girls have been abused in some way during their teen years. Among women who report having been mistreated in their lifetimes, 54% say that it occurred before the age of 18. As in comparison to men, it is minimal. Statistics show that neglect continues as they grow up. Also, girls receive less food, healthcare and fewer vaccinations overall than boys. Not much changes as they become women. Tradition, in India, calls for women to eat last, often reduced to picking over the leftovers from the men and boys.

When a boy is born in most developing countries, friends and relatives exclaim congratulations. A son means insurance. He will inherit his father's property and get a job to help support the family. When a girl is born, the reaction is very different. Some women weep when they find out their baby is a girl because, to them, a daughter is just another expense. Her place is in the home, not in the world of men. In some parts of India, it's traditional to greet a family with a newborn girl by saying, "The servant of your household has been born." Though times are changing and more and more women are taking a stand when they feel like they are being discriminated, women discrimination is a major problem in our world.

Reflections and Resolutions

2012 is a year I cannot summarize in a few lines. It was a year of both ups and downs. Maybe I have even unlocked a whole new version of me, but more of that latter. Right now I'll tell you about how I learned that I have a really good memory. I use to think that I couldn't remember anything. Thus I locked the door to trying to remember or memorize anything. But in 2012, I decided to take a risk and peek through the key hole only to find that I misjudged myself greatly. I was listening to We are Never Ever Getting Back Together and after listening to it once I found myself residing all the words perfectly. I was surprised that I was able to continue doing this with other songs I heard. So, finally, it struck me that I have a really good memory. The way I unlocked a whole new me is that confidence in what I say and do skyrocketed; I realized that I'm more than what I think. In 2013 I want to stop procrastinating. I procrastinate a lot, and I mean a lot. Once I had to write a ten page book on dolphins and I waited until the day before. I think I might have a problem... I guess I have to drive myself out of my habit of procrastination habit! What I also have to do is practice old and current dance routines so I don’t forget them
Till next time!

Thinking deeper about First Amendment rights

Did you ever wonder about the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
Did questions like: "Does law over take religion?" or , "When does the government interfer with your rights?" Well I'm no expert but I will do my best to answer. Hopefully, I be able to help some of you.


Which types of speech are not protected by the First Amendment?

Although different scholars view unprotected speech in different ways, there are basically eight categories:

• Obscenity
• Fighting words
• Defamation (includes libel, slander)
• Perjury
• Blackmail
• Incitement to imminent lawless action
• True threats
• Solicitations to commit crimes

Some experts also would add treason, if committed verbally, to that list. Plagiarism of copyrighted material is also not protected.

Are public school students required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance?

Public school are not required to do so as from 1943 onwards. The decision was made by the West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, the U.S. Supreme Court whi have determined that the First Amendment protects a student’s right not to engage in certain speech. Also, the high court extended the reach of the First Amendment to also prohibit the government from compelling speech.

Did the Supreme Court decide that there can be no book censorship in public school libraries?

Not exactly. The Court ruled that books could not be removed from a public school library unless they were educationally unsuitable or “pervasively vulgar.” The ruling did not extend to the acquisition of books — leaving schools to decide which books they would purchase.

May students pray or discuss religion in public schools?

Yes, students have the right to pray and discuss religion in school. Yet, teachers, principals, or administrators are not allowed to force them to pray.

This does not mean that students have an unfettered right to speak on religious subjects. Students can be punished for interrupting class time for any type of speech. Also, school officials can make sure that students are not speaking to a captive audience or harassing others by overzealously advocating their religious beliefs.

Thank you First Admendent!

To answer more of your questions about our rights/freedom please click here or here.

Grades

Grades. What is the purpose of them? They are for administrative purposes, to give students feedback about their progress and achievement, to provide guidance to students about future course work, to provide guidance to teachers for instructional planning, and to motivate students.

What about the system of grading? The traditional 100 point system has been most effective and efficient, in my opinion. The system uses grades that are based on a 100 point system would be easy to convert into a fraction or decimal. Yet, the traditional grading doesn't distinguish the overachievers since the maximum number of points that could be given is 100. So we should continue the system we are currently using. Yet if we can be adjust it into having a bonus point section, then we can see which students are going above and beyond.

The traditional system consists of:

A= Advanced Proficient

B= Above Average

C= Average

D= Below Average

F= Fail

The Creativity Crisis

I have recently read an article on The Creativity Crisis in America. The main point of the article is about how Americans are losing their creativeness and how. Creativity is the production of something original and useful. If you see our progress now, we are not being as creative as how we were in the 60s-90s. From 2000- till now, Americans have been doing everything straight out of a book.  

Learning Style and Intelligence Tests

In Rogate class we were told to take two tests. One was by Gardner and the other was Gregorc. In the Gregorc test I found out that I was an abstract sequential learner. Now you all must be thinking: "What is an abstract sequential learner?" Don't worry because I'm going to tell you. An abstract sequential learner likes to think of problems in a logical matter. What makes sense to them is using exact, well-researched information, learning more by watching than doing, logical reasoning, a teacher who is an expert in his/her subject, the world of abstract ideas, and taking time to work through an issue thoroughly. So I learned that I in order for me to fully understand a concept I have to look at it logically. The Gardener intelligence test results say that I'm logical, mathematical. I learned that I am able to interpret logical situations. This can help me by knowing how to approach real life problems the best way I can.

 

My mom's learning style would probably be abstract random. This is because my mom likes to look at and make her own diagrams to understand new concepts. My mom likes to express to others what she learns. My mom's intelligence would most likely fall under the category of spatial. She likes to working and creating new creative puzzles, drawings and paintings when she has time.

 

I believe my dad's learning style would be abstract sequential because he talks only logic and only listens to logic. Plus my dad's intelligence would be logical, mathematical since he is great at mathematical problems. He also likes going to planetariums and science museums, as do I.

 

I think that if Steve Jobs took the Gregorc test then he would have gotten the concrete sequential group. This is because he had a huge imagination and risk takings when he developed Apple products. Plus he was intelligent and creative enough to design the actual creation. For the Gardner test I would believe he would have been in the linguistic or interpersonal category because he liked making speeches and bouncing off other people's ideas.

 

Bye for now! ^_^