Learning Challenge: I Wish My Teacher Knew

I read the "I Wish My Teacher Knew" article.  This article was truly eye opening. I was a bit shocked that such depth was coming from children in such a young age group. This proved that we really do not know what people are going through, and we should take every opportunity to be kind to others. I now believe that asking for feedback such as this, even anonymously, can help a teacher tailor her teaching style to the needs of the classroom. I have friends that are education majors, and I am excited to show this article to them. I think that more teachers, and more people in general, should seek feedback such as this in order to gain some perspective and empathy for others.

Empathy 

Growth Mindset: Bad Habits

I read the article 6 Bad Mental Habits That Sabotage Your Success. I found this to be very helpful as I am guilty of a few of these, and I know that I need to work on them. A few that I am guilty of are fearing the future, self doubt, and second guessing myself. I know that if I can work on conquering these bad mental habits, then I will grow as a student and a person in general. The cool thing about this article is that it pointed out things that I was not even consciously aware of that I do. It is hard to fix something if you are not aware that is a problem. I am glad this article brought these bad habits to my attention and I will work on conquering them this semester.

Growth Mindset 

Tech Tip: Twitter Widget

I added a twitter widget of my twitter profile to my blog.

Story Lab: Advice to Writers

The most valuable piece I found was about how writing is all about selection. You begin your writing by selecting words. Then you select sentences and paragraphs. The power rests with the writer. If something is interesting to the writer, then it goes in the story. If not, then it goes out. Writing is all about selection. I found this an interesting thought to consider. Another valuable piece of advice was to forget yourself. You should look more closely at the world around you and gain inspiration from that rather than yourself. I think this will be a big help in my writing in the future. I am always trying to come up with stories that I can personally relate to. I need to work on breaking out of my comfort zone and writing about stuff as I see it rather than as I personally experience it.

Advice to Writers

Writing 

Reading Notes: Why The Owl is not the king of birds

This is the story of how the birds chose their king. It is stated that all the other animal groups had a king but the birds did not. The birds took time to think it over. This is when one bird suggested that the owl be their king. The crow protested this decision because the owl is sour looking in his opinion. The birds decided to choose the turtle dove as their king. This started the tradition of owls and crows fighting. I think this would be an interesting story on how a feud could start between two people. For example, two students are running for class president of their small school. The campaign turns ugly and they become enemies. In the midst of their fighting, it is decided that neither of them will become class president. Someday else is chosen. However, the feud between the students goes on long into the future.

Bibliography: Why the owl is not the king of birds.

Owl 

Reading Notes: The Foolish Timid Rabbit

I read the story about the foolish timid rabbit. This rabbit had a dream that the earth would be destroyed. Then, right as he woke up, a coconut fell behind him and shook the ground. Without looking, he took off running in fear of the earth being destroyed. When other rabbits saw him running, they joined him. Then, deer joined him. Other animals kept joining until the lion saw them and stopped them. He asked what they were running from, and eventually narrowed down the rabbit that started the running. He then took the rabbit back to where he said the earth was being destroyed and saw the coconut. It was clear that this was a false alarm that everybody fell for. The moral of this story is do not start a frenzy if you are unsure of the facts at hand. There are a variety of stories I could retell in this form. One idea is a story of a kid in a school who thinks there is an emergency but is unsure and starts an uproar that turns into a panic by students and teachers alike until the principal realizes that it was a false alarm.

Bibliography: The Foolish Timid Rabbit

The Lion and the Rabbit