Questions of Freedoms

My thoughts led to the freedoms of young people in other countries. I wondered how their freedoms were in Afghanistan and countries near there. I found out that girls were being tortured in a cruel and unusual punishment. They were being forced to get married when they were around fifteen years old, some were married younger. So many of the girls were abused and tortured by their husbands. Governments should make it a priority to protect the rights of these women and girls.

In the article I read, a girl was married when she was 15. She couldn't finish school because she had two kids before she was even 18. Her kids were 5 months apart. This was not good for her, and made her bleed excessively. She was put on bed rest for 6 months. Her husband also poured acid all over her back and face, 2 and a half months after they got married, causing her eye sight to be pour. Her life was ruined because of her child marriage.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) estimated that over 100 million girls will get married over the next decade. Many of those girls would be under-aged. The director of the women's rights division at the Human Rights Watch said, "Governments should work harder to prevent child marriage and to increase awareness of the harm that they cause." I agree with this because a lot of people don't know what is happening to the girls in Afghanistan and other countries, but maybe if enough people are aware we can stop this. These girls shouldn't be violated of the human rights of physical and mental well-being, education, and children’s ability to live free of violence.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/10/10/un-mark-day-girl-fighting-child-marriage

Grades

Everyone thinks differently of grades. In my opinion the purpose of grades is to rank students and put them into catergories. I think the only reason schools use the current 100 point scale system is because it is easy. 100 is an easy number to work with and grade with. I don't think this system is accurate, becuase some people may be very smart, but get nervous when taking a test and get a bad grade. Students may understand what they are learning in class, but are rushed when taking an assessment. I think that we should change the way students are being graded. We should use some things from the traditional grading system and the standard-based grading system. Grading should be changed.

Creativity in America

This week in Rogate we talked about the creativity. In my opinion, schools in America making creativity endangered. I think this for many reasons. To begin with, most of the school's focus is on the NJASK which includes math, English/language arts, and science. They are putting more time in the day for math and writing, which is decreasing the amount of electives we can take where our creativity is usually at its highest in school. As said in Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk creativity is being destroyed at school.

The topic of learning and teaching creativity came across in The Creativity Crisis. I think that creativity can be taught and learned. For example, if you take art class, which can be a form of creativity, on the course of the class you can become more creative. In my experience this happened; I began to think more abstract over time. This led me to believe that learning and teaching how to be creative is possible over the course of time.

Some people don't understand that creativity is used in almost everyone's life on a daily basis. We use creativity to make food, solve problems, and entertainment. When we get older we will need creativity to get a job and execute it. We will have to find solutions to problems, sometimes even on the spot. We need creativity to invent and accomplish things no one has ever done before. People now a days always want the new things, but what some people don't realize is to get the new things someone has to use their creativity to create them. If children don't have creativity at a young age how will they ever continue to create?

The Tests

The two tests I took, taught me a lot about myself. To begin with, the Gardner Multiple Intelligence Test told me that I am logical-mathematical. It thought me that I think by reasoning, love to experiment and solve puzzles. Also, that I should some trips to science museums and planetariums. In addition to being logical-mathematical, I am interpersonal too. I learned that I think by bouncing ideas off other people, and love to organize and manipulate. The Gardner Test was  pretty accurate in my experience. The Gregorc Test said that i am concrete sequential. This test thought me that I am ordered and detailed. It thought me that I am good with data and computers. The results of this test is also true, because I am good with computers and is an organized person. 

This new knowledge from both tests can help me in school in many ways. It can help me think about learning more about science (Gardner Test). From the Gregorc Test results, I can try more hands-on activities and see how my grades will reflect. Overall, the two tests are leading me to a mathematical or scientific direction in school. 

After doing the Gardner and Gregorc tests, I think I can place the people who I admire in a learning style. The first person I admire is my cousin. I think she would fit best in the logical and mathematical style, because she is very good at logical thinking and calculating things. Also, because she loves math. The second person I admire is my mom. I think she is a concrete random learner on the Gregorc test. She likes to create things and try new things. According to the Gardner test her learning style is spatial. The third person I admire is my older sister. Following the Gregorc test, I think she is an abstract sequential learner. Using the Gardner test her learning style is linguistic. I think tbis because she loves to read books all the time. I think I know the people who I admire enough to figure out their learning styles.

The Ups, The Downs, The Myths, and The Truths of Being Gifted

Many people don't understand how hard it is to be gifted. Many people only see the ups, but not he downs of being gifted. To begin with, gifted people have to deal with all of the expectations and pressure others put on us. In addition, being gifted you most likely will run into the problem of asynchronous development. Also, according to the NAGC gifted children are more vulnerable than others. On the other hand, being gifted brings many ups. For example, we can get into some advanced classes. In my experience, i went to ACT in elementary school. Gifted kids also may be advanced in one subject or more. This can make your GPA higher. Being gifted is both good and bad.

People create many myths about gifted people, but not everyone knows the real truth. One myth is that people may think that if you get bad grades you can't be gifted. However, the truth is you may be getting bad grades just because you are bored, or lose interest in the subject. This is very easy to do; I know because I've done it many times before. Another myth is gifted kids need to serve as examples for everyone else and have extra responsibility. But the truth is other people are more likely to be motivated by peers who are at the same level as them. People who are gifted don't need more responsibility. I know I don't want the responsibility. I don't think I motivate my little sister, because she is learning things I learned about four years ago.

Introduction

I am Saher, in 8th grade. My favorite subject is math. I like to learn about cupcakes and baking outside of school. In my free time I make desserts. When I grow up I want to be an eye doctor or a baker. Spending time with my family makes me happy.