Blogging Around

The first blog post I commented on was Katie Dwyer's post on modernism and postmoderism. She forst explained how hes was kind of comfused on the topic, but then drove by a playround and it clicked.   She related how playgrounds have resolved to modernism.  Since we have been kids playgrounds have evolved and changed significantly.  She then showed pictures of examples of how different playgrounds have become.  Then the last point she made was how this newest playground broke the old boundries and was made appealing for the modern eye. 


 Katie D,
I like how you related what we were doing in class to something we see everyday. I never would have thought to do that. You really made me understand how modernism has developed into postmodernism. This is very insightful and clever. Just to think that the first playground is what we grew up with and already it has developed into the last picture you posted. That just shows how fast things can move forward and change. You rock Katie D! - Kimmy D

The second blog post I commented on was Mark J's. His blog was a Change of mind blog about modernism and postmodernism.  What made him change his  mind and realize what those concepts were, were the car commericials.  He also made the connection to how art is shown in these car commericials. 

 

 

 

Mark J,
I completely agree with everything you said here. I did not really understand what postmodernism and modernism were. I like how you related to specific examples that made you realize the differnece between modernism and postmodernism. I like how you realized that commmercials contain a lot of differnt aspects of art.
Nice Job Marky J!
-Kimmy D

Change of Mind: Postmodernism

     An activity that changed my mind was when we talked about postmodernism during class. When we first started going over the chart I had no idea what Mr. Allen meant by Modernism and Postmodernism.   I never really understood either of those concepts.
     One of the descriptions on the chart of Postmodernism states,"you cannot express or grasp the 'whole'(Allen)."  Before this activity I thought postmodernism was about things that happen after the present.  I thought it was the theory of things that are predicted to happen.  I also thought modernism just meant new.  I never really thought twice about it.
     I was way off.  Modernism is a period that actually ended in 1945.  I never would have known that. When I think of modernism I think of houses that have a lot of windows or something like that.  Lets just say I was clueless.  Postmodernism is the concept that I really had a change in view point about.  The first day we were going over this chart Mr. Allen showed us a video that really got me to understand this concept a little bit more.
    Mr. Allen showed us a clip from the movie The Devil Wears Prada.  I have seen this movie many times before, but I never caught the reference to postmodernism.  The clip he showed us was when the mean boss was telling the naive secretary how the sweater she was wearing was actually chosen for her.  This is when it hit me.  We actually live in a world where our decisions are not one hundred percent our decisions.  We live in a place where other people chose things for us.  Society makes that decision.  We see what is popular and that is what we choose.  There are advertisements everywhere we go, even the internet.  These advertisements influence our decisions.  
     Although I may not comprehend this concept fully yet, I undertand it a lot more.  We live in a life of advertisements and things chosen for us.  

Connection: MLK Jr. and Obama

     Martin Luther King Junior and Barak Obama are two very well known americans who have many things in common.  The article Letters from a Birmingham Jail really explained what the civil rights movement meant to MLK Jr. and why he was pushing so hard for it.  Barack Obama has made history by being the first black president, which has really impacted america.  Both Obama and MLK Jr. have stepped out against the status quo and have had their voices heard.
     One very obvious thing that they have in common is their skin color.  Although the times are very different now from when MLK Jr. was present, blacks still are not completely equal to whites.  They both risked their lives and stood up for their race.  They are leaders.  They both made firsts.  For example, MLK Jr. was the first african american to pursue a non-violent movement.  Obama was the first african american to become president.  They both made sacrifices. They made sacrifices by putting themselves and their families in danger to stand up for what they believe in and want.  When Obama first became president, the african americans around the world were finally feeling like they are close to equality.  When MLK Jr. made his I Have a Dream speech, the african americans around the world felt like their race was finally making a step in the right direction.
     While they both made their race extremely happy, they were also both willing to go against the status quo.  MLK Jr. did this by starting a non-violent movement.  The thought was that if they were violent the whites would back off, but MLK Jr took a completely different approach.  Not only did he go against the status quo against the whites, but he also did so within his race.  That is how he was noticed and how he gained so much respect from everyone around the world.  Obama went against the status quo by putting himself out there to run for president.  I am pretty sure no other black man has every ran for the president before.  He saw a need for change. The presidents for the USA have typically been middle to older white men who had a lot of experience.  He wanted change.  He sought out what he wanted and he achieved it.
     These two individuals made history.  If MLK Jr. had not started the civil rights movement, Obama might not have run for president.  MLk Jr. gave the next generations inspiration and hope.  By these two stepping out of the status quo, my experience growing up is completely different that what it would have been if they did not do what they did.  I go to school with african americans and I can call them my friends.  I do not think this would have been as easy during MLK Jr's years.  There are still some changes that need to be made.  People still discriminate, but our country has come so far partly because of these two individuals.  The life I live today would not have been possible without these two standing up against the status quo.

Blogging Around

     The first post I responded to was Katie Jenning's entry Get Organized: Cleaning my room.  In this response Katie wrote about why her room can become messy and what she did to clean and organize it.  She included a lot of details about how she organized it.  She then explained the importance of having a clean room, to her she feels that when her room is clean she is less stressed. She also described what got her to concentrate to tackle the task of organizing her room.  

Katie,

I can really relate to a lot of the things you said in your blog post. I know the feeling of having so much to do, that the last thing on my mind is to clean my room. Usually I am also an organized person, but just like you my room can get a little messy which bothers me. I can really relate to the feeling you described when you stepped back and took it all in. It feels as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. I also love the way you described the process of cleaning you room.
Solid work KatieJ!

-Kimmy 

     The second post I commented on was Mark J's Get Organized: Task That Seemed Easy at First Sight.  In this post Mark started off with explaining how he had a fun weekend planned, but made a promise to himself that he would organize his room first so he could enjoy it. Then, he went on explaining how he made a realization that his mind had already categorized items into certain groups even before he had started organizing.  After, he came across some memorable letters from his friends in Korea.  By finding these Mark felt he was able to see more clearly into himself.  

MarkyJ,
Overall, your blog entry was very interesting. I can really relate to when you said you thought cleaning your room would take 10 minutes but it ended up taking more than 30. I also really liked how you brought and related Aristotle to what you were doing. It was also very cool to see that you made a realization about your mind, how it can separate things into separate categories. It was also very interesting to read about how you found old letters from your friends in Korea. Those must of been really nice to find! Just by cleaning your room, you were brought back with many good memories. Awesome job!
-KimmyD

Get Organized: A Tribute to Aristotle

     The project I chose to tackle was to clean and organize my room.  My goals were to organize my closets so all of my clothes were neat and folded, clean off my desk so there is less clutter, and organize the cabinets in my bathroom.   My room is never spotless, and my goal was to make it spotless.  I knew this was not going to be easy, but I was ready for the challenge.
    My initial thoughts were that this was going to take forever and that I would get frustrated.  I gave myself so much to do, that I could not get side tracked.  I started with my closets and just quickly made sure everything had a hanger, and everything was folded.  Then I found myself making a pile of clothes that I do not wear anymore that I could give away.  My mom had been bothering for awhile to do that, so I thought I mine as well do it while I am cleaning.  I found it hard to give away some of my clothes.  I always have that doubt in my mind, well, what if I do need it someday?  That was a struggle for me.  I did not know I was so sentimental to things.
     After finally finishing my closets I had to move onto my desk.  I have so many different papers and books around my desk that I probably did not need anymore.  So I just made sure I did not throw away anything important, and that part was easy! Once my closets and desk were clean I felt a lot better.  I do not know how, but just having a clean room made me feel more calm.  Next, I was off to my bathroom.
    I just tried to find a place for everything that was sitting on the counter in a cabinet and then I was golden!  All of this was not as hard as I thought it would be.  I felt so much better having a clean and organized room.  My mind had to work to find places for everything in my room, and I guess once I found a place for everything, I was satisfied.  I now know that if I really focus and concentrate on one thing at a time, that I can finish it quickly.  Now I know that it is possible to get things done efficiently.

Metacognition: Creativity Essay

     Some classes in our school really lack creativity.  Same exact thing every day.  When we were assigned the creativity essay, I was really stumped on what class I should pick.  I have taken so many classes over my high school career, but to pick one the one that was lacking in creativity the most was difficult.
     I could not narrow down my choices so I just decided to go with math classes in general.  I came to this conclusion because we have done the exact same thing every single day for four years.  Every single math class is the same. Yes, it is different material but the layout of the classes are identical.  Once I had made my choice, I was supposed to come up with reasons as to why this class was not creative and give suggestions.
    I had my a couple of complaints and suggestions, but once I started writing the essay I felt like I did not have anything to say.  I felt like I could have said what I needed to say in three paragraphs, the goal was one thousand words.  I was at a lost of words.  I found that when I did not know what to say I would just take a break.  I do not think that was effective at all.  Because I would take breaks, when I would go back to writing,  I repeated things I had already said.
   My essay was much to repetitive due to the fact that I was stuck at recommendations to make for math classes.  I guess because my creative side is never challenged in Math, I could not come up with recommendations to switch it.  This was proof that my creative side is terrible because I am never given the chance to use it.
    If my thinking was more creative, I would have have been able to come up with a lot more suggestions.

Best of Week: Starling Activity

     Out of everything we did this week in class, I believe that the most interesting thing we did was the starling activity. We were forced to use our creative sides to come up with a myth about what the starlings do. We also had to use our scientific sides to come up with a reasonable explanation of how they are able to do this. There are so many different logics to why these birds can fly in formations like this, and that is where we were all forced to use our creativeness.
     When Mr. Allen showed us the video of the starlings, it made me think of how animals can do so many amazing things. I never really realized how other creatures can do so many unique things. Starlings making amazing formations was not the only thing that intrigued me. When we were told to come up with a myth, I had no ideas in my head. I was lost. I did not really know the definition of a myth.
     When I think of the word myth, Greek gods automatically pop into my mind.  I think myths are just the backgrounds of how and why everything was created.  We all had such different ideas of a story we could make up.  I am guessing this is kind of how myths were made, the Greek gods made logical assumptions of how things were created.  Thinking of a myth is more difficult than it sounds.  It is very hard to come up with something that is fake, yet sounds like it could actually happen.
      We all have such different imaginations.  I sat down with my group, and I ideas just started coming out of all of us.  It is weird to think that we were all given the same original material and came up with completely different stories. In school these days, we are rarely given the chance to use our creativeness or imaginations.  
    When I am writing, I never become very creative.  I feel like if I had the chance to use my imagination more often, it would be much greater. Just in circumstances that I encounter every day, I wish I use more of my imagination.  Now, when I think of random objects or traditions etc., in the back of my mind I am going to be making a myth for why that is the way it is.
     Using our imagination is key to being a creative person.