Monday, July 26, 2010
Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Suess
If I were the last book in existence I would most likely be Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss (1950). Many of Dr. Seuss’s books seem to have underlying messages that are important to not only young children but adults as well.
Yertle the Turtle is about a king who is portrayed as a dictator over his kingdom which starts out as a nice little pond. The pond provided the turtles with everything that they needed and all of the turtles were happy, except for King Yertle, he wanted more. He commanded the turtles to stack up so that he would be higher and see more because he felt that he should be ruler of all that he could see. He let the turtles under him suffer with pain and starvation just so he could gain power. The more Yertle saw the higher he wanted to go. The turtle at the bottom of the stack let Yertle know of the turtles’’ pain and suffering and Yertle's reply was “SILENCE! I’m king and you’re only a turtle named Mack”. “You’ve no right to talk to the world’s highest ruler”. (Yertle the Turtle)
Yertle was not happy with ruling over just the clouds, land and sea; he wanted nothing to be higher than he. He wanted to be higher than the moon and was going to stack the turtles to heaven. His pride became his downfall and it was the plain little turtle named Mack who made it happen with just a burp. This shook the throne of King Yertle which made him fall and that was the end of his rule. “And today the great Yertle, that Marvelous he is King of the Mud. That is all he can see. And the turtles, of course…and the turtles are free as turtles and, maybe all creatures should be.” (Yertle the Turtle)
To me this is a powerful message to anyone in power; you should not have self gain at the cost of the suffering of others. And an even more powerful idea, the sufferers should not stand back and let it happen.
Yertle the Turtle is about a king who is portrayed as a dictator over his kingdom which starts out as a nice little pond. The pond provided the turtles with everything that they needed and all of the turtles were happy, except for King Yertle, he wanted more. He commanded the turtles to stack up so that he would be higher and see more because he felt that he should be ruler of all that he could see. He let the turtles under him suffer with pain and starvation just so he could gain power. The more Yertle saw the higher he wanted to go. The turtle at the bottom of the stack let Yertle know of the turtles’’ pain and suffering and Yertle's reply was “SILENCE! I’m king and you’re only a turtle named Mack”. “You’ve no right to talk to the world’s highest ruler”. (Yertle the Turtle)
Yertle was not happy with ruling over just the clouds, land and sea; he wanted nothing to be higher than he. He wanted to be higher than the moon and was going to stack the turtles to heaven. His pride became his downfall and it was the plain little turtle named Mack who made it happen with just a burp. This shook the throne of King Yertle which made him fall and that was the end of his rule. “And today the great Yertle, that Marvelous he is King of the Mud. That is all he can see. And the turtles, of course…and the turtles are free as turtles and, maybe all creatures should be.” (Yertle the Turtle)
To me this is a powerful message to anyone in power; you should not have self gain at the cost of the suffering of others. And an even more powerful idea, the sufferers should not stand back and let it happen.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Reasoning Skills In Primary School...Good or Bad
Reasoning is the skill of determining whether there is an adequate justification or information to accept the conclusion or argument as true.
Reasoning skills along with the ability of using language to reason should be taught from an early age. This allows a repetitive cognitive function that will strengthen the neurological function of the brain responsible for reasoning. Of course not all young children will be able to sit down and have a conversation about whether or not something is reasonable, but they can begin to develop skills that lead to reasoning through targeted games and activities. Children begin to reason around the age of seven, give or take a year or so, because this is when a “child’s conscience begins to mature enough to guide his/her actions. In fact, there is typically a marked surge in moral and mental maturity at that special moment in development”. “Rapid changes in brain anatomy, physiology and chemistry are the underpinnings of a growing clarity about what is real”. www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=7241. Prior to this age when children are asked a question they respond with what they have been told, around the age of seven children begin to problem-solve in a new way, using reason.
When children begin to develop reasoning they are better able to understand/respect the rules of a game. There are many games targeted to the learning outcomes of children such as reasoning. News week was an article covering the affects on children who educational video games, “after just eight weeks, children’s reasoning scores, on average, increased by 32 percent” http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/nurture-shock/2009/12/10/new-research-13-christmas-gifts-13-point-gain-in-kids-iq.html. There are many educational games on line that aim at educating kids such as www.pbskids.org, www.funbrain.com, and www.nick.com/games/brain-surge-brain-training.html.
I found an interesting article that shows negative effects of children who are not at a desired reasoning level (as well as adults because statistically only one-third of adults can reason)
From the point of view of schooling, when children typically enter first grade at about age 6 years, only one third are able to use any logical reasoning. That means that they are not ready for much of what is usually taught at that grade. This issue of readiness is a significant one for schooling and this table gives the first general information about readiness. Some teachers and principals have estimated for me that about one-third of the matters in junior high school require formal reasoning. Yet, at those ages (12-14 years) no more than 20% have reached that reasoning level. That means that most of the children cannot understand the most significant matters being taught in junior high school. In essence they are being taught in a foreign language. The result is that such children begin to pay no attention and begin, as is now well known, to consider dropping out of school. When they arrive in senior high school and the lack of understanding continues, drop-out behavior becomes a real alternative. www.brainstages.net/4thr.html
It can be argued that children are not able to comprehend reasoning skills and we should wait until later in life to approach them with such abstract thinking. In my opinion teaching reasoning in a indirect approach will enable them (give them the tools) to handle the enormous amount of information we expect them to process in the first 25 years of life and will be very useful though out their entire lives.
Reasoning skills along with the ability of using language to reason should be taught from an early age. This allows a repetitive cognitive function that will strengthen the neurological function of the brain responsible for reasoning. Of course not all young children will be able to sit down and have a conversation about whether or not something is reasonable, but they can begin to develop skills that lead to reasoning through targeted games and activities. Children begin to reason around the age of seven, give or take a year or so, because this is when a “child’s conscience begins to mature enough to guide his/her actions. In fact, there is typically a marked surge in moral and mental maturity at that special moment in development”. “Rapid changes in brain anatomy, physiology and chemistry are the underpinnings of a growing clarity about what is real”. www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=7241. Prior to this age when children are asked a question they respond with what they have been told, around the age of seven children begin to problem-solve in a new way, using reason.
When children begin to develop reasoning they are better able to understand/respect the rules of a game. There are many games targeted to the learning outcomes of children such as reasoning. News week was an article covering the affects on children who educational video games, “after just eight weeks, children’s reasoning scores, on average, increased by 32 percent” http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/nurture-shock/2009/12/10/new-research-13-christmas-gifts-13-point-gain-in-kids-iq.html. There are many educational games on line that aim at educating kids such as www.pbskids.org, www.funbrain.com, and www.nick.com/games/brain-surge-brain-training.html.
I found an interesting article that shows negative effects of children who are not at a desired reasoning level (as well as adults because statistically only one-third of adults can reason)
From the point of view of schooling, when children typically enter first grade at about age 6 years, only one third are able to use any logical reasoning. That means that they are not ready for much of what is usually taught at that grade. This issue of readiness is a significant one for schooling and this table gives the first general information about readiness. Some teachers and principals have estimated for me that about one-third of the matters in junior high school require formal reasoning. Yet, at those ages (12-14 years) no more than 20% have reached that reasoning level. That means that most of the children cannot understand the most significant matters being taught in junior high school. In essence they are being taught in a foreign language. The result is that such children begin to pay no attention and begin, as is now well known, to consider dropping out of school. When they arrive in senior high school and the lack of understanding continues, drop-out behavior becomes a real alternative. www.brainstages.net/4thr.html
It can be argued that children are not able to comprehend reasoning skills and we should wait until later in life to approach them with such abstract thinking. In my opinion teaching reasoning in a indirect approach will enable them (give them the tools) to handle the enormous amount of information we expect them to process in the first 25 years of life and will be very useful though out their entire lives.
Monday, June 28, 2010
The Wonderful World of Technology
Choose one way in which technology has changed human society and explain the impact of that change, positive and/or negative.
Communicating is what the world revolves around, it is why we are seeing a globalization that is unlike any ever seen before. This is studied and theorized by many economists such as in the book The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman. Advances in technology are connecting the world in ways that make it possible for us to communicate with someone half way across the world like they were sitting in the same room and innovation is improving the way we communication every day.
My main focus is the way that new cell phone technology has changed our society in many positive ways from families keeping in touch, response time in emergency situations, medical care accuracy, and improved business communication.
Ironically, today my oldest son just got his first cell phone. Some might not agree that a 10 year old boy should have a cell phone, but this is for my own peace of mind. He is over at other peoples houses either playing with friends or doing chores for income and as I do not have a home line many other people don’t either. I feel like now I can keep in contact with my son while he is away. Especially because my son’s father and I are no longer together I don’t always know who my son is with or where he is at while he is under the care of his father. And if he needs to get a hold of me in case of an emergency or just to say he loves me, he can just pick up his phone.
Cellular phones have reduced the amount of time that it takes for an emergency to be reported. We no longer have to find the closest land line to call 911 and relay an emergency message. It takes seconds in most cases to pull out a cell phone and dial. Just think about driving long distances and there being a car accident or brush fire and the closest phone is 30 or more miles away (except for the interstates in California that have emergency lines available along the roadways) by the time you get to a phone a situation could go from minor to severe. I do have to say that there are also problems created by the use of cell phones apposed to land lines, a land line location will come up in the data base of the emergency responders where cell phones are not as accurate. There are tracking devices for emergency situations but according to The Relationships Between Fire Service Response Time and Fire Outcomes (Neil Challands. Fire Technology. Norwell: Jul 2010. Vol. 46, Iss. 3; pg. 665) finding the location of a call made from cellular device is proving to be difficult and reduces the response time in some situtions. People just must not know were they are at anymore, we are walking around lost!www.springerlink.com/index/l504425760780402
On the other hand, hospital use of cellular phones helps to reduce the error rate in medical care, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine in the US. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-141451172.html . Medical staff is more able communicate with other staff members and other medical professionals that care for a patient. However another study showed that the hygiene associated with personal cellular phones has become an issue. “Only 3% reported washing their hands after use and 53% reported never cleaning their phone. In total, 101 mobile phones were cultured for micro-organisms; 45% were culture-positive and 15% grew Gram-negative pathogens.” Journal of Hospital Infection
Volume 70, Issue 2, October 2008, Pages 160-165. In other words personal cellular phones are transporting infections from one room to another, gross!
From a business aspect cellular phones have made business more mobile. We no longer have to sit in an office and answer a phone. My husband and I own a masonry company and it just doesn’t make sense to be tied down to a land line. I can answer a phone while I am delivering rock or my husband can answer while he is at a job site. Once again there is a negative to all positives; I shouldn’t be taking on the phone while driving is obvious. Another situation we run into it the dependence of our employees. In situations that they could have probably figured out a problem by using “critical thinking” they are on the phone calling us all day instead of figuring it out for themselves. This can prove to be positive as well, they might not figure out the best solution and it could cost us a lot of money in the end.
Over all the advances in cellular phone technology has improved our society by leaps and bounds. With innovation we will continue improve and evolve with more efficient means of communication.
Communicating is what the world revolves around, it is why we are seeing a globalization that is unlike any ever seen before. This is studied and theorized by many economists such as in the book The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman. Advances in technology are connecting the world in ways that make it possible for us to communicate with someone half way across the world like they were sitting in the same room and innovation is improving the way we communication every day.
My main focus is the way that new cell phone technology has changed our society in many positive ways from families keeping in touch, response time in emergency situations, medical care accuracy, and improved business communication.
Ironically, today my oldest son just got his first cell phone. Some might not agree that a 10 year old boy should have a cell phone, but this is for my own peace of mind. He is over at other peoples houses either playing with friends or doing chores for income and as I do not have a home line many other people don’t either. I feel like now I can keep in contact with my son while he is away. Especially because my son’s father and I are no longer together I don’t always know who my son is with or where he is at while he is under the care of his father. And if he needs to get a hold of me in case of an emergency or just to say he loves me, he can just pick up his phone.
Cellular phones have reduced the amount of time that it takes for an emergency to be reported. We no longer have to find the closest land line to call 911 and relay an emergency message. It takes seconds in most cases to pull out a cell phone and dial. Just think about driving long distances and there being a car accident or brush fire and the closest phone is 30 or more miles away (except for the interstates in California that have emergency lines available along the roadways) by the time you get to a phone a situation could go from minor to severe. I do have to say that there are also problems created by the use of cell phones apposed to land lines, a land line location will come up in the data base of the emergency responders where cell phones are not as accurate. There are tracking devices for emergency situations but according to The Relationships Between Fire Service Response Time and Fire Outcomes (Neil Challands. Fire Technology. Norwell: Jul 2010. Vol. 46, Iss. 3; pg. 665) finding the location of a call made from cellular device is proving to be difficult and reduces the response time in some situtions. People just must not know were they are at anymore, we are walking around lost!www.springerlink.com/index/l504425760780402
On the other hand, hospital use of cellular phones helps to reduce the error rate in medical care, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine in the US. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-141451172.html . Medical staff is more able communicate with other staff members and other medical professionals that care for a patient. However another study showed that the hygiene associated with personal cellular phones has become an issue. “Only 3% reported washing their hands after use and 53% reported never cleaning their phone. In total, 101 mobile phones were cultured for micro-organisms; 45% were culture-positive and 15% grew Gram-negative pathogens.” Journal of Hospital Infection
Volume 70, Issue 2, October 2008, Pages 160-165. In other words personal cellular phones are transporting infections from one room to another, gross!
From a business aspect cellular phones have made business more mobile. We no longer have to sit in an office and answer a phone. My husband and I own a masonry company and it just doesn’t make sense to be tied down to a land line. I can answer a phone while I am delivering rock or my husband can answer while he is at a job site. Once again there is a negative to all positives; I shouldn’t be taking on the phone while driving is obvious. Another situation we run into it the dependence of our employees. In situations that they could have probably figured out a problem by using “critical thinking” they are on the phone calling us all day instead of figuring it out for themselves. This can prove to be positive as well, they might not figure out the best solution and it could cost us a lot of money in the end.
Over all the advances in cellular phone technology has improved our society by leaps and bounds. With innovation we will continue improve and evolve with more efficient means of communication.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
First Blog: Why am I here
I am taking Introduction to Popular Culture to fulfill the requirements for the Agricultural Management Degree. It was very interesting when I took the BBC Thinking Style Quiz for this course it actually recommended a field of work related to the Agriculture industry.
I hope to learn about my own thought process as well as being able to understand the thought process of other people. Not only will the life skills that will be taught in this course help in a work environment but also personal relationships such as with family members and friends. I am looking forward to learning what this class has to offer both from the instructor and other students.
I hope to learn about my own thought process as well as being able to understand the thought process of other people. Not only will the life skills that will be taught in this course help in a work environment but also personal relationships such as with family members and friends. I am looking forward to learning what this class has to offer both from the instructor and other students.
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