Thursday, November 6, 2008
Comment on Value from Capitalization of Innovation's Blog
I commented on Value from Capitalization of Innovation's blog about Miz Alice's view on education and how high school teachers can use different methods of teaching, check it out here
Miz Alice's View on Poverty
Miz Alice’s response to Heat-Moon’s question about the cause of poverty on her island: “We have no poor except those who choose to be – those that would be poor as a gar broth anywhere, the ones who work only so they can quit. No, the cause is education. Not enough of the proper kind at the right time” also shows how highly she views education, and shows similarity between Smith Island and other places. No matter where you go, there will always be people suffering from poverty. I agree that some people bring poverty upon themselves.
But why do so many people choose to be poor?
I have always wondered this myself. A lot of times, poverty is a choice, so why do so many chose to live in it? With all the government grants, educational opportunities, and other government programs out there, why do so many choose to do so little? I think that unless you are physically or mentally disabled, there is truly no excuse for being poor. There are a lot of people who choose to live very simply because "things" just don't mean that much to them. Many poor people say they do not choose to be poor and that they were born poor. I think that if anyone tries, no matter how many generations of their family have been poor, anyone can work their way out of poverty. I agree that education at a young age helps children realize how they should be living. If children never see anything different than their poor surroundings, they will never know the difference. This can relate to the fact that Miz Alice has never seen anywhere other than Smith Island. If poor people see nothing but poor surroundings, they never know the difference. Just like Miz Alice has seen nothing but her surroundings on Smith Island, and she expects it to never change. If Miz Alice were to travel to a big city, I think she would have a completely different view on modernization.
But why do so many people choose to be poor?
I have always wondered this myself. A lot of times, poverty is a choice, so why do so many chose to live in it? With all the government grants, educational opportunities, and other government programs out there, why do so many choose to do so little? I think that unless you are physically or mentally disabled, there is truly no excuse for being poor. There are a lot of people who choose to live very simply because "things" just don't mean that much to them. Many poor people say they do not choose to be poor and that they were born poor. I think that if anyone tries, no matter how many generations of their family have been poor, anyone can work their way out of poverty. I agree that education at a young age helps children realize how they should be living. If children never see anything different than their poor surroundings, they will never know the difference. This can relate to the fact that Miz Alice has never seen anywhere other than Smith Island. If poor people see nothing but poor surroundings, they never know the difference. Just like Miz Alice has seen nothing but her surroundings on Smith Island, and she expects it to never change. If Miz Alice were to travel to a big city, I think she would have a completely different view on modernization.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
I Commented on Small Town Girl's Blog
I just made a comment on Small Town Girls blog about how I think Miz Alice will impact Heat-Moon throughout the rest of his journey. Check it out here.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Miz Alice's View On Education
Have you ever sat through a class a felt that your teacher’s opinions were superseding the facts? I have. I have even been given a worse grade than I deserved because my opinions did not match those of my teacher. I think that it is incredibly unprofessional for a teacher to treat a student differently because they have a different opinion. Teachers should present the information and let their students form their own opinions. Miz Alice presents this same idea in Heat-Moon’s story.
A member of my discussion board pointed out a quote from Miz Alice referring to children that says, “there is only one place they can get an education- in the school of thought.” I think she means that young children should need around and understand their surroundings and the beauty of the world. Anyone can tell a child to memorize equations and rules, but this that not truly useful education. She also says, “Once your eyeballs start working, then you can see what’s around, you can see history isn’t a thing of the past” and “education is thinking, and thinking is looking for yourself and seeing what's there, not what you got told was there." I think that education today places too much importance on core subjects and not enough focus on "real-life" subjects. Of course, it is important to learn America's history and algebra, but it is also essential for someone to learn through personal experience. People can only learn so much from textbooks. Heat-Moon benefits himself through his journey because he is diving into real-life experiences you cannot get from sitting in a class room.
A member of my discussion board pointed out a quote from Miz Alice referring to children that says, “there is only one place they can get an education- in the school of thought.” I think she means that young children should need around and understand their surroundings and the beauty of the world. Anyone can tell a child to memorize equations and rules, but this that not truly useful education. She also says, “Once your eyeballs start working, then you can see what’s around, you can see history isn’t a thing of the past” and “education is thinking, and thinking is looking for yourself and seeing what's there, not what you got told was there." I think that education today places too much importance on core subjects and not enough focus on "real-life" subjects. Of course, it is important to learn America's history and algebra, but it is also essential for someone to learn through personal experience. People can only learn so much from textbooks. Heat-Moon benefits himself through his journey because he is diving into real-life experiences you cannot get from sitting in a class room.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Should I Live Alone?
Living by yourself in college would have its advantages and disadvantages. One of its advantages is having your own space. You could decorate the any way you like. You would not have to worry about getting home late because you would know that there is no one waiting for you. And as far as visitors go, you could invite anyone over that you wanted without having to wonder whether or not my roommate liked them, and you could entertain guests for the weekend without having them get in my roommate's way.
I know I’ll look for any excuse not to work, and if someone else is there, I have someone to talk to and a reason to stop my work. Having a single would give me fewer ways to procrastinate. Freshman year, I had to make the long cold trek to the library; with a single, my room is always a cozy study space with all of my creature comforts around me.
Sleep at college is very important. You’ll be working furiously hard most of the time, and when you’re not, you’ll want to sleep. With a single, you can go to bed at 4am without having to work with a flashlight under the sheets because your roommate wants to get to bed at nine, and you don’t have to wake up at 5am to the sound of your early-rising roommate’s alarm.
Living alone could be quite a challenge too. Although you would have an undisturbed sleep, you would not get immediate help when needed. If you were running late, no one would help you prepare your things. It also feels empty not to have someone when you go home. However, this is a matter of choice and circumstances. In order to be happy with what you have, you should learn to appreciate the things that you can do. For some people, the idea of living alone seems boring and uneventful, while others like their privacy.
I know I’ll look for any excuse not to work, and if someone else is there, I have someone to talk to and a reason to stop my work. Having a single would give me fewer ways to procrastinate. Freshman year, I had to make the long cold trek to the library; with a single, my room is always a cozy study space with all of my creature comforts around me.
Sleep at college is very important. You’ll be working furiously hard most of the time, and when you’re not, you’ll want to sleep. With a single, you can go to bed at 4am without having to work with a flashlight under the sheets because your roommate wants to get to bed at nine, and you don’t have to wake up at 5am to the sound of your early-rising roommate’s alarm.
Living alone could be quite a challenge too. Although you would have an undisturbed sleep, you would not get immediate help when needed. If you were running late, no one would help you prepare your things. It also feels empty not to have someone when you go home. However, this is a matter of choice and circumstances. In order to be happy with what you have, you should learn to appreciate the things that you can do. For some people, the idea of living alone seems boring and uneventful, while others like their privacy.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Realizing What You Have
When I went home last weekend I participated in a volunteer project to clean up the mess that was left over from hurricane Gustav. I participated in many projects just like this one after hurricane Katrina also. Though the damage done by hurricane Katrina was far more destructive, there were still things that needed to be picked up. I worked in a very poor area in New Orleans where there were people living in about every other house. Most of the houses that we were gutting had been left untouched since hurricane Katrina. I actually remember working on some of the same houses. Both times during this project I can remember thinking how grateful I am for my nice home and that my home had almost no damage to it after each storm.
From this experience I learned that many people need all the help they can get and that the smallest bit of help from someone else can really make a huge difference. When we arrived the people were so glad to see us, most of them had not even begun to clean up their houses because they knew we were coming. One woman in our group brought along her six year old son, who no one thought would be a help to the project. He actually turned out to be a huge help. As the older group members would tear off roof shingles he would take them and put them in the garbage. We probably would have been there at least an hour longer if he wasn’t there.
After participating in this project I learned that I need to stop saying that I have “no clothes.” Compared to those people, I have a department store full of clothes. I also need to stop wanting more and more new things. I have everything I really need to survive, I just want more. After seeing that those people barely had enough to survive, I realized that I really have to appreciate more the things that have been given to me.
From this experience I learned that many people need all the help they can get and that the smallest bit of help from someone else can really make a huge difference. When we arrived the people were so glad to see us, most of them had not even begun to clean up their houses because they knew we were coming. One woman in our group brought along her six year old son, who no one thought would be a help to the project. He actually turned out to be a huge help. As the older group members would tear off roof shingles he would take them and put them in the garbage. We probably would have been there at least an hour longer if he wasn’t there.
After participating in this project I learned that I need to stop saying that I have “no clothes.” Compared to those people, I have a department store full of clothes. I also need to stop wanting more and more new things. I have everything I really need to survive, I just want more. After seeing that those people barely had enough to survive, I realized that I really have to appreciate more the things that have been given to me.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
My First Weekend Home
When my parents came to Dallas for family weekend my mom told me that she thought I should come home soon. She said it seemed like I missed my old friends a lot, and I hadn’t even realized it. I talked about my old friends so much. So when my parents were leaving she said “Just let me know whenever you want to come home.” I hadn’t really thought about going home anytime soon, but later in the week I kept getting phone calls from all my friends back home saying how much they missed me and wanted me to come visit.
I came to the conclusion to ask my mom if I could come home this weekend. She did not seem surprised at all by my question, she knew it was coming. She gladly arranged my flight for me and sent me the boarding pass to print out. I am so excited to be going home and I never realized how much I missed my friends until my mom hinted to me that I was always talking about them. My best friend from high school is picking me up at the airport and we are going out to dinner to talk about our college experiences. I can’t wait to hear all about what she’s done, and I know she feels the same way. Yeah, we talk on the phone at least twice a week so I know somewhat of what’s going on with her life, but discussing things in person is much better.
After we go to dinner we are heading to her apartment to get together with all of our old friends and just hang out there for the night. On Saturday I am going to the LSU football game. This is going to be the peak of my weekend. LSU games are always a memorable experience. The fans are so wild and the games are the exact same. It is unheard of the just tailgate for an LSU game. It shocked me when I came here to see how many people don’t go to the football games.
After my long day on Saturday I will most likely go to bed early to get rest for my early flight on Sunday to head back to Dallas. This is going to be my first time home since school began and I am ecstatic about seeing all of my friends. I hope to stay in touch with m best friends from high school throughout my entire life. Everyone needs a long-lasting relationship in their life; it shows you who your real friends are.
I came to the conclusion to ask my mom if I could come home this weekend. She did not seem surprised at all by my question, she knew it was coming. She gladly arranged my flight for me and sent me the boarding pass to print out. I am so excited to be going home and I never realized how much I missed my friends until my mom hinted to me that I was always talking about them. My best friend from high school is picking me up at the airport and we are going out to dinner to talk about our college experiences. I can’t wait to hear all about what she’s done, and I know she feels the same way. Yeah, we talk on the phone at least twice a week so I know somewhat of what’s going on with her life, but discussing things in person is much better.
After we go to dinner we are heading to her apartment to get together with all of our old friends and just hang out there for the night. On Saturday I am going to the LSU football game. This is going to be the peak of my weekend. LSU games are always a memorable experience. The fans are so wild and the games are the exact same. It is unheard of the just tailgate for an LSU game. It shocked me when I came here to see how many people don’t go to the football games.
After my long day on Saturday I will most likely go to bed early to get rest for my early flight on Sunday to head back to Dallas. This is going to be my first time home since school began and I am ecstatic about seeing all of my friends. I hope to stay in touch with m best friends from high school throughout my entire life. Everyone needs a long-lasting relationship in their life; it shows you who your real friends are.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Will My Home Still Be There?
Considering that I live only 20 miles from the city of New Orleans and off of a branch of the Mississippi River, I know what it’s like to come home to a place that looks completely different than the way you left it. Though my father and I did remain at our home during hurricane Katrina, it was still a shock to look outside after the storm had passed and not be able to even begin counting the number of trees that had fallen in our yard. Every power line in my neighborhood had fallen. There was no hope for electricity for at least 2 weeks. My mother and sister evacuated to Colorado with my grandparents while my father and I chose to stay home. We had no clue what we were in for.
We lived in my house for 2 weeks with no power and no way to get out unless we wanted to swim through the highly polluted waters. Luckily my house was raised high enough off the ground that no water had raised into the house. Military boats drove right up to our front porch to bring us MRE’s and water. After the water went down, all the people in my neighborhood made their way out to what we thought was the street. There was no way out. Every man who had a chain saw began sawing away at the tress that were blocking the street, after 3 hours the men only managed to clear out 1 block. But they kept going; they would do whatever it took to get out. They stayed up all night and the next day met paths with the city workmen. Then finally work was begun on the power lines. This seemed like a never ending process, but everyone’s power came back day by day.
When I learned that there was another hurricane headed for New Orleans, I panicked. No one was at my house. My parents had gone out of town for the Labor Day holiday and my sister was in Baton Rouge. I did not know what to expect. But once I learned that Gustav was being handled with much more organization than Katrina, my nerves settled somewhat. My parents had no way of getting home and my sister was already half way to Tennessee. Who was going to watch our house? All the cell phone lines were busy but finally my dad got in touch with a neighbor who agreed to keep watch over our home as best as he could. As of right now, my house is fine. We had 2 trees down in the front yard and the river rose up to about 4 feet under my house. I have prayed everyday for that and I thank God that my home is ok.
We lived in my house for 2 weeks with no power and no way to get out unless we wanted to swim through the highly polluted waters. Luckily my house was raised high enough off the ground that no water had raised into the house. Military boats drove right up to our front porch to bring us MRE’s and water. After the water went down, all the people in my neighborhood made their way out to what we thought was the street. There was no way out. Every man who had a chain saw began sawing away at the tress that were blocking the street, after 3 hours the men only managed to clear out 1 block. But they kept going; they would do whatever it took to get out. They stayed up all night and the next day met paths with the city workmen. Then finally work was begun on the power lines. This seemed like a never ending process, but everyone’s power came back day by day.
When I learned that there was another hurricane headed for New Orleans, I panicked. No one was at my house. My parents had gone out of town for the Labor Day holiday and my sister was in Baton Rouge. I did not know what to expect. But once I learned that Gustav was being handled with much more organization than Katrina, my nerves settled somewhat. My parents had no way of getting home and my sister was already half way to Tennessee. Who was going to watch our house? All the cell phone lines were busy but finally my dad got in touch with a neighbor who agreed to keep watch over our home as best as he could. As of right now, my house is fine. We had 2 trees down in the front yard and the river rose up to about 4 feet under my house. I have prayed everyday for that and I thank God that my home is ok.
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