Technology

Respond to that idea. What do you think about it? Do you think that teachers could be more effective if they used technology tools (think podcasts, web videos, online discussion forums, electronic assignment submission, tech-related project assignments)? Are modern students technologically inclined? What about being a student in Utah? Do you think that being in Utah keeps you a little behind-the-times as far as technology learning is concerned? Would YOU do better if more multi-media was used in your classrooms to teach and present, and for you to demonstrate your learning and communicate?

I do not believe that teachers would be anymore effective if they used things like podcasts, videos, etc. Why, you ask, not? Most students have an automatic response to a screen and a dark room. "I can talk..." I think that if teachers used more things like that students would space out more and pay less attention. When it's a teacher talking face to face you feel more inclined to pay attention. A, they're more likely to catch you. B, you feel that you need to show respect. You don't feel like that when you're watching a screen. I believe modern students are technologically inclined, yes. But maybe not in terms of education. Most teenagers you know can use technology way more effectively than adults over the age of 20-30. However, I think that education should entail an actual teacher. If I had a choice between taking an online class or a class with a physical teacher, I would take the physical teacher. You feel like you learn more with someone there talking at you. As far as Utah goes, I don't know. In all the schools I've been in (all of four, but most not here) it seems to me that I hear tales of other schools who have WAY more technology. I think that it doesn't have quite as much to do with Utah (some, but not as much as you'd think) as it does with the money for the district or school. I mean, if you take kids who live in a poor district in New York, and ones who live in a filthy rich district, obviously the one will have technology that the other won't just because they can afford it. I think that if we were to become so much more multimedia, I would fail. I am not technology savvy. I want to be, but not to use it in my education per say, more so that have that knowledge and information in case I need it.

Teachers (bum bum bum!)

Since we're reading Nothing But The Truth, which involves a boy who doesn't get along with a teacher, I want you to consider teacher-student relationships you've had in the past. Have you had teachers that you just got along with whether or not you did well in their class? Have you had teachers whose personality just didn't mesh with yours? Without naming names, expound upon these ideas and thoughtfully consider how personality differences or similarities have affected you in your classes.

Teachers in general have a tendency to like me. I like learning and I generally only dislike classes for my peers or specific people IN the class. I almost always do well in all of my classes. Personality conflicts are few and far between with me in life itself, but even more so with teachers. If I don't particularly like a teacher, or if I'm indifferent to that teacher, or that teacher is indifferent to me or dislikes me, I know I don't enjoy the class as much as I could. That doesn't happen often though, and when it does it's not that big a deal. Thusly, the whole teacher-student relationship thing doesn't affect me much. However, from things other students have said and discussions I've had, when a teacher doesn't like a student, or vice versa, it totally messes with the class and subject itself. Students who don't like a teacher might just not do their work to spite the teacher.

Honesty

How important is honesty to you? Is it more important than kindness? Share a story of a time you or someone you know was not honest and it caused problems or was 'too honest' and it caused problems.

Honesty is very important to me. I don't value either kindness or honesty above the other. I think that a situation could call for both, or one or the other, and whichever is more appropriate and condusive to happiness is what is needed.
Once upon a time, there was this young lady. We will call her, Harrieta (she is a real young lady, and this was a real situation, we're just not going to call her her real name). She was a young woman, maybe eight or nine. She often was untruthful, but as she was young, it didn't matter much. However, one day, she wanted to come with our family on a little outing. We asked her, "Did you ask your mother?" She said, "Yes, I asked her. She said yes." We took her along. Much later that day, after we have returned, Harrieta's mother comes over. "Do you know where Harrieta is?" she asks. "Why yes," we say, "She's with us. We just got home." She says, "I've been looking and looking. I've been so worried. I didn't know what to do. She was gone, she didn't ask me if she could go anywhere, she didn't say she was going anywhere, she left and I haven't heard anything from her for hours!" We then explained that Harrieta had told us that she had given Harrieta permission to go with us. This had caused her mother hours of worry and frustration, and Harrieta weeks of being grounded.

The End of the World

The world is ending. There are natural disasters happening everywhere. You know that soon you will be stranded in your house with only the food left in your cupboards. You make a mad dash to the grocery store but everyone there is in such chaos that you know you'll only have time to grab one item before escaping with your life. What item of food do you grab?

In such a scenario, I would get a fifty pound bag of potatoes. That is a lot of food for only one item and a potato is starch. You don't need a lot to fill you, or at least to sate your hunger. I would most definitely share it with my family. How could I not? I wouldn't to be holed up in my house with my whole family and watch them die of starvation one by one while I had enough food to keep us all alive for awhile. Once, maybe twice a day, we would each eat one half on one potato. Eat it sparingly. If we had a way to cook it, we would. If we had something to put on it, we would. Once there were only ten potatoes left, we would all get to eat one whole potato for the last meal we would ever have.

Superpower!

Imagine that you have a superpower. The Power of Persuasion. You can convince anyone of anything. How would you use that power? What would you try to get, do, change? Would you use it for good? Or evil? Describe what the Power of Persuasion is.

The Power of Persuasion. Hmmm... well now. My description would be that of: you can manipulate and convince anyone to do anything with just your words, but they do not know or understand that that is what you're doing.

If I had the Power of Persuasion, I would use it do my advantage. But not like, "everybody do what I say and I get all your money," and junk like that. No, I would use it do good. I mean, everyone wants to be thought good, kind, and compassionate, but really. If I had that kind of power I would use it for such things that are beificial to society as a whole. And maybe a candy bar once in awhile. But maybe I wouldn't use it at all. Such a power would bring up the whole, "is that ethical because it's really sort of brainwashing people and taking away their ability to choose," thing. If that question were out of the way however, and we didn't bother thinking about that, then I would use my powers, oh so much! I could convince people to not sell drugs. I could convince people they don't need drugs (as in addicts), convince people to not make or sell tobacco or alcohol. Convince the idiots in America that debt is a bad thing and they should go about getting out of debt. I would convince the people and places who had resources to help and share with places who didn't. I would travel the world brainwashing tyrants and dictartors with corrupt policies. I would also have one heck of a research assistant because I wouldn't want to change people's religious beliefs. Okay... now we're getting into the whole, "Would that be right?" thing. I don't know if it is, or if I would use my power at, in reality and thinking more about it. I think I would end up using it only when absolutely necessary.

ASL

Alfons is a security guard in a small museum in the small country of Liechtenstein. He is an 83 year old man and about 5' 8". He had been born in Liechtenstein, but at the tender age of 4 he and his family moved to the the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. From the time he was 4 until about 21, he lived and trained with Dabir, the greatest master of Surma stick fighting in the history of this world. He then returned to Liechtenstein to seek his fortune. However, he didn't because he found a lovely woman, married her, and had a family. And got a job at the museum, where he used his Surma stick fighting skills to guard the ancient treasures found in the dinky little museum.

Describe your ideal Winter Break. Where would you go? What would you do? Money is not an obstacle. If you could do anything you wanted, what would that be?

Um... Ideal winter break... I don't know. I wouldn't mind traveling to some awesome foreign country or some such thing, but that's only two weeks and at Christmas time. I would rather do such things in the summer anyway. My ideal winter break would be spending time with family, shopping for Christmas presents, eating amazing food, being able to hang out with friends whenever I wanted, but most of all, being able to spend as much time as I wanted with my Best Friend, and then with whoever else I wanted with us. No problems, or inconviences, or any such thing. Just life without adversity. But only for those two weeks because otherwise, I would end up in a state of unfeeling nothingness, which would be lame.