Best of Week: Born into Brothels

The most intriguing idea I had from class this past week was from watching the film Born into Brothels.    One person really can make a difference.  This documentary really changed my opinion and outlook on so many things that I never really thought about before.  So many people in this world could make a tremendous impact, but are not given the chance.  These kids in Calcutta were given a chance.  

The kids in the red light district in Calcutta had no future other than growing up and living in the brothels for the rest of their lives.  Those types of kids are never given a chance to step out of the red light district.  They were lost causes.  Then, Zana Briski made everything possible for them.  She changed their lives forever.  

Zana Briski took a risk by venturing into Calcutta and recording it.  She risked her life to get to know these kids, and teach them.  Just a little thing like Zana teaching them photography brought on this new level of intelligence for all of these kids, and a new level of respect from them to her.  These kids idolized her as a role model and a teacher.  Zana made their stories so interesting to follow.  

I saw things in this documentary that I never imagined happening. The way those ladies talked to their kids was terrible, but the more amazing thing was the way the kids took it.  They were such bright kids and always seemed so positive, just loving the little things in life.  They were put into the worst possible situations yet seemed to be perfectly fine.  This makes me think, how many kids around the world live like these seven did? What do their futures hold for them?

I believe that more people, and organizations should be out there helping kids growing up in brothels just like Zana did.  Imagine if all of these kids were given the chance to receive an education and reach the full potential all children should have the chance to reach.  This one lady changed the lives of seven unfortunate children, imagine the impact of just a few more! They do not deserve the way they are being treated and should get a chance! 

When these kids were given a chance almost all of them found their way out of the red light district, and began new lives for themselves.  These kids are role models for me.  If they can survive what they did, I can do anything I set my mind to.  They are true heroes and so is Zana Briski.  

Connection: Steve Wozniak and Philo Farnsworth

One thing that Steve Wozniak and Philo Farnsworth have in common is that they are both technological geniuses.  Everyday life would be much more complicated without the wonderful inventions these men thought of. While I read the article The Televisionary I realized that Philo Farnsworth was in a very similar position as Steve Wozniak because they both aren't greatly remembered.  How were these two geniuses who played major roles in developing new technologies forgotten? These two had different yet similar reasons for being forgotten.

 Philo Farnsworth was the original man to come up with the idea for the television, but does not get the credit for it.  He believed that if you had the vision of the invention, it was yours.  That was one of his mistakes, he did not understand that the execution of the invention was just as important.  Another mistake he made was that he believed that an invention belonged to one person, but an invention required a collaboration of ideas.  Farnsworth liked total control and that kind of mindset just does not work.  Farnsworth did not want help, if he had help he would have been much more successful.  On the other hand, Wozniak's story was a little different.

When people think of apple computers, the name that immediately comes to mind is Steve Jobs.  Although Steve Jobs contributed a massive amount to apple computers, he did not invent the original design, Steve Wozniak did.  Why is it that Wozniak is so easily forgotten? Wozniak was in an unfortunate plane crash and quit Apple computers.  He then went on to finish college to get his degree in electrical engineering and computer science.  From then on he did not take on a roll in the apple computers industry which is why he is not as well known today.  With such a different reason to not execute his vision, they both ended up in the same position, not remembered.

One thing that is similar to why these two aren't well known is because they both had the vision of the invention but did not pursue it all the way.  In Farnsworth's case he just did not want help, similarly, Wozniak just did not put in the effort that Steve Jobs did to make the company super successful.  Their stories show some very good lessons that anyone could use daily.

Both of their cases show me that an idea is not everything.  If I have an idea I should act on it.  Also, another thing to take out from their past experiences is that help is always better.  Two brains are better than one.  In any situation I am in, I should keep it in mind that asking for help is always an option, and I will be more successful if I just ask for help.

What If?: The Creativity Crisis.

What If?: The Creativity Crisis.

A class of kindergartners is sitting at a table playing with play doh.  One kid might come up with a huge elaborate design, or another might just roll it into a ball and throw it at his peer.  What these kids are doing with the play doh shows a lot of how creative they are going to be later on in life.  What happens if kindergarten classes stop playing with play doh, or other fun activities? The creativity might just come to a stop.  What if our education was based on creativity?

Remember when on the first day of third grade everyone rushes into to class to see who the teacher is and who there classmates will be for the entire year.  Also, how everyone is assigned a desk and supplies with certain colors or each subject, and all the same pens and pencils. What if everyone got to decorate their desk, or pick their favorite colors for their folders.  Instead of sitting down at a desk and learning how to multiply four by six on a piece of paper, they got skittles or blocks that they could use to help them. The way kids learn at that early of an age can effect the way they think for the rest of their lives.

Every year the IQ scores increase and the creativity scores decrease, is there a problem in our education(Bronson, Po)? Yes we seem to be nailing ACT scores but what will that test on paper really do for us later in life? All teens think it's an accomplishment to get a perfect score, yes thats incredible, but what about those teens who aren't the best at test taking.  A score on a test doesn't necessarily prove how successful one is going to be later on in life.  The Chinese seem to always be a step ahead of everyone else because in their education they really focus on creativity. Our country would develop much more creative thinkers if there our education was based more on innovative thinking.

What if not everyone had to take the ACT to get into college, and instead there was a test where one had to problem solve using something creative. Based on that test one would be scored, and thats how teens would get into college.  Would that not be amazing? Our country is currently having some major problems, yes we have brainiacs graduating from Harvard and Yale, but we need people in our country to problem solve with creative ideas.  Just imagine how much more successful and powerful our country would be if we had more creative thinkers.

Our country focuses way too much on standardized curriculum and memorization, we need to step it up! With educating kids at young ages to be innovative yet brilliant thinkers our country would be unstoppable.  What if we eventually reached China's model and beat them out.  All of this is totally possible, we just can't let all our creativeness go and we should encourage it in schools.  With creative thinkers the US might just become even more powerful than it already is, so China better watch out.