April 1st

Shawn Achor and the science of happiness and potential.

This man is SO funny, and incredibly easy to listen to.  I felt like I was the only one laughing during this video!  I think it's because I was the only one laughing.

I've never heard of positive psychology before, and I found this video to be very informative.  There were many things that I enjoyed about this video:

• "Amy!  Wait!  No human lands like that.  You're a unicorn!"  I had noticed that when you're in different emotional states, pain is also different, but I never thought anything of it.  Achor informed me that the brain is a single-processor and can only devote it's resources and parts to one thing at a time.  I knew that humans were unsuccessful multi-taskers, but I never thought to bring that fact into the world of emotions.  I wish tricks like that would work on my mother-in-law.  To be able to just switch the direction of a conversation with such ease!  

• Being a student, I know about the pressures that they can face.  I obviously don't understand to the degree of Harvard students, but I have certainly felt pressure.  Let's take the middle years program, for example.  There are only 40 seats.  I want one of those seats.  If I don't get into the middle years program, I won't be moving on with a bunch of the friends that I've made.  I also will then be taking a year off because I don't want to move away from my husband or my home, and I don't want to commute. A year behind in school means that I'm a year behind in having kids, as well.  Sometimes I think I'll be okay if I don't get in, and other times not so much.  It would be SO nice to be done school before I start to settle down into my life.  I know this stress isn't at the same level as Harvard students, but it is still stress.

•  So interesting that depression rates are 10 times higher now than they were during the great depression.  I was shocked to hear that.  I think cosmetics companies and the fashion industry need to stop making women feel inadequate so that they will buy their products.  

• the mean age for depression to begin is 14.  Again, I partially blame the fashion and cosmetics companies.  In 1960, the mean age was 29.  That's a better number.  You're approaching your third-life crisis, and there can definitely be some things to cause you stress at that age.  But 14?  That's so terrible.  14 year olds should be enjoying the comforts of living at home and spending time with their families.  I think that the adolescent stage would contribute greatly to this number as well.  It's a time of finding yourself, and losing your childhood innocence (hopefully in a non-sexual way).  

Figure 1 - Self-reported wait times for diagnostic services

• I was recently doing a project on the current state of Canada's health care system, and I borrowed a book from the library called Healthy Canadians.  In this book, I found a table on self-reported wait times for diagnostic services (Figure 1).  The table looked pretty good to me.  I then read the advisory comment, which informed me that individuals that had not yet received diagnostic services were exempt from this collection of information.  They didn't say how many people were yet to receive services, so that could be seriously affecting the information.  Removing the outliers seriously compromises the integrity of the information.  I like to see where those outliers are and as Achor suggests, learn from them. 

• Funniest part of the film:  Achor is talking about the studies that have been done on both children and doctors.  One group of kids were primed to be happy, and they outperformed the other group by 50%.  One group of doctors was primed to be happy through the use of sweets and they outperformed the other doctors in their testing group by 50% again.  When he stated his methods, I laughed out loud for quite some time.  They weren't even allowed to eat the candy!  A strategy of mine for studying is to write a few pages of key notes, and then take them to class with me.  Then I can quiz myself in the hall and check the answers, subsequently inducing fear and stress.  I think next time I'm going to buy a sprinkle donut.  I love sprinkle donuts.   They are happy looking, and exceptionally delicious.  Maybe I'll give that a shot for some of my finals!  Good time to test it out, I think.

March 4th

Today in class we watched a video called, "  How difficult can this be?; The FAT city workshop."  It was teaching people what life might be like for a child with a learning disability.  I have never had the opportunity to work with children with learning disabilities, but I am related to a few.  I have a cousin who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder.  I am sure that he had a difficult time trying to make it through the public school system, but as he is quite a bit older than I and we grew up in different provinces, I can't say for sure.  What I do know about the man is that he is absolutely brilliant.  He excels at anything he puts his mind to and he has several degrees from several schools around Canada.  He has an art degree from NSCAD, a carpentry degree from Olds college, and he almost has a film degree from RDC.  He is also thinking about going to school to become an architect.  I have met few people more intelligent than this fellow.  Some of the things I heard in the video I kind of figured, but I was also shocked at how much I didn't know.  I am finding the video incredibly informative and I know it will be beneficial for me and my career.  Following are some points made in the film that I thought were particularly interesting and my thoughts.

- 69% of American children (in 1989) had been diagnosed with a learning disability.  That was shocking for me to hear!  I had no idea that they were so common.

- The man in the video has a slight speech impediment.  I really enjoy listening to people with lisps talk.  My thoughts strayed seldom during the film.

- One thing that the fellow said was, "using sarcasm with children creates a victim".  I think it's really good for me to hear that.  I find myself to be a very sarcastic person sometimes, and I would hope that it wouldn't come out with my future students.  It makes complete sense that it would create a victim, but I had never before seen it that way.  For younger kids, sarcasm is like a slap in the face, and it happens in front of all of your classmates.  I can imagine how traumatizing that would be, and I have seen it with some of my teachers.  When I was in grade four, I had the unfortunate opportunity to be taught by a mean spirited, stout woman.  One day there were a few students that hadn't completed their assignment the night before and it involved some coloring.  The way that this teacher dealt with that was to have the kids write her a letter explaining themselves.  One young man named Shaun wrote that he had "forgotten his colors".  Instead of speaking to Shaun about this in private and possibly giving him some one on one instruction, she decided it would be appropriate to read it aloud to the whole class.  I still remember the sarcasm, and I remember everyone laughing at him.  The actions of this teacher was borderline abusive, and I look back on that teacher with utter disgust.  There was nothing that I found admirable about that woman, and she stands out in my mind as a great example of what not to do.

- Children with learning disabilities hold to the belief that "if I can't see the teacher, the teacher can't see me".  I'm quite certain that I don't have a learning disability, but I certainly agree with this statement.  I find it to work fairly well in certain situations, as well.

- The man in the wonderful haircut also mentioned the difference between distractibility and attention spans, which I thought was bang on.  Children that have short attention spans pay attention to nothing, while children that are easily distracted pay attention to everything.  Everything in the room catches their attention and draws them away from the teacher and the lesson.  I can relate to these types of students, because I think that I am a very easily distracted person.  Quite often what a teacher says will spark my memory and I am off.  Usually I catch myself after a few moments and try to return my attention to the teacher and the lesson.  While I am speaking, I often am reminded of something more interesting that I wanted to share, so I'll take a break to tell that story, and then try to remember the first story and return to it.  Cleaning my house is quite challenging as well.  I always think that I'm going to start in one room, finish it and then move on to the next.  It just seems to be the most logical route for me to take.  I start with one room and I find something that takes me to another room.  Perhaps there is a cup in the living room.  I take the cup to the kitchen and then get distracted by the mess there.  This usually happens more than once per cleaning, and I am constantly surprised to enter different rooms, see my half finished work, and continue on.  I'm not sure whether this is normal, but my husband assures me it isn't.

- I found it quite interesting that when he accepted "I don't know" as an answer, it was immediately used by the next three people he called upon.  I can completely understand this.  I was in a kinesiology class last semester, and for a component of the lab we had to run a track.  I am not an extremely active person, and I certainly don't enjoy running.  My husband has forced me to run the trails with him, and that I enjoyed.  There's so much to distract you from the toiling of your body.  That day on the track, we were to run two laps and then pause to take a reading of our heart rates.  I was doing spectacular!  I didn't stop anymore than was required, and I was sure getting tired.  This went on for about 15 minutes, and I was doing well tricking my mind into continuing.  The only time I stopped was when I saw two others walking.  The second I saw them, my resolve shattered and I walked a quarter lap.  People tend to follow examples provided for them.  I hadn't realized how this was relevant inside the classroom before.

- The man also noted the difference between vision and perception.  Vision is simply seeing something, while perception is the meaning that you attach to that vision.  If a child is having trouble with perception, then there is no amount of bribery or punishment that can help them sort it out.  They need to be taught, oddly enough.

February 18th

1.  Gender Ideal Activity
2. Gender - a learned behavior

1.  I must say that I really enjoyed this activity!

Julie Andrews
I picked this woman to represent the female gender, because I think she is just amazing!  She is an incredibly talented woman, and she seemed to be morally upright.
    sidenote:  I just realized that the beliefs I have about Julie Andrews personality are based off of her famous character, Frauliene Maria.  I googled her and found nude pictures.  I think I need to read an extensive bibliography on this woman before I talk about how great she is again.


Dick Van Dyke
I picked this man as an ideal representative of the male gender because there are a lot of things that I admire about him.  He came from a time when courtesy and respect were high on the list of priorities.  He played wonderful roles in some amazing movies, and he is an incredibly talented man.  I won't fully back this guy either, until I read a biography on him too.

One of the views on gender development discussed in the next class was the 'gender schema theory'.  This is not a developmental theory, but an information processing approach.  A child learns schemas that are passed down form family, friends, and society.  There are a few general categories for people in this theory.

• In the first situation, the individuals schema and society's schema partially overlap.  There are some things that the individual and society have in common, but there are also many differences.
• Second, the individuals schema and society's schema are completely separate.  There are no similarities between the individual and society.  
• Lastly, the individuals schema and society's schema perfectly align.  Apparently, these people are the most confident.  I would have to argue with that, though.  I believe that society is used as a giant marketing scheme.  There is always someone out there who is wanting to get rich quick, and they will do anything for it.  A tactic that I particularly dislike is when they try to make you feel inadequate.  They make you feel that you are less of a person, or that you literally need what they are offering in order to be a whole, healthy person.  I think that individuals can remain happy with this schema so long as the listen to and cater to what society is telling them.

I was asked by my professor about which of these categories I would place myself in.  I quickly put myself into the second category, stating that the shared qualities are limited.  Then something happened.  A classmate mentioned that it was unrealistic of him to expect to find a woman that stays at home, cooks and cleans.  I realized then, that I don't fit into this societies schema for women at all!  I am a married woman.  I only ever dated one boy.  I have never gotten drunk.  I have never smoked anything.  I dress modestly.  I don't spend money on hair cuts and colors (partially due to the fact that I am related to many hairdressers).  I love the hair color that God gave me!  I am in school now and pursuing a career, but that is not what I want to do for the rest of my life.  I want to be a mom and a wife.  I was stressing about the middle years program not too long ago.  I was sitting on my bed and thinking to myself, "what if I don't make it and I never become a teacher?"  I was surprised that after that thought passed through my mind, I wasn't met with unbearable grief.  I was surprisingly okay with that.  (I think this was partially because the unofficial 'plan b' is to have babies earlier than we had originally planned.  Yay!).  Sometimes when I think about the possibility that we may not be able to have kids, I feel like crawling into a hole and crying.  I wouldn't be okay if I was never a mom.  I honestly feel like I was designed for that job.  I also feel like I was designed to stay at home!  There is nothing I love more than spending my day at the house, cooking, cleaning and working with yarn.  (This love also contributes greatly to my hatred of school.  It drags me away from home and I don't have time to do any of those previously listed things.)  I can confidently say that I share no similarities with society's ideal woman.  Especially if it is Kim Kardashian...

Painfully arrogant fellow - Kim Kardashian?  Seriously?

February 14th

Which multiple intelligence do I most identify with?  I think there are a couple:

• Verbal
• I am literally captivated my speech impediments.  I hang on people's every word when they have a lisp of some sort, and I love trying to figure out how the different sounds are made by their mouths.  My mother noticed this in me when I was younger, and she encouraged me to get into speech pathology.
• I love reading out loud, and just reading in general.  I feel so enriched.  I also love the way that a good book improves my writing abilities.  
• Musical
• I love to sing!  I do it whenever I can (weddings, church and the like), and I have a good ear for music as well.  I love to whistle, and I typically listen to music while I study or do homework.  The song I am currently listening to is Africa, by Toto.  80's music is incredible!  

Sir Ken Robinson is an incredible speaker!  I particularly enjoyed that he didn't step or move his feet through the whole presentation!  That was nuts.  I found his talk to be so inspirational!  I disagree with diagnosing and medicating children as frequently as happens.  I have a cousin that has an intense case of ADHD.  He is in his later 20's now, and he is brilliant!  He is an artistic genius, he has incredible carpentry skills, he is a wonderful writer, and he is a daring explorer.  He hitchhiked across the country 5 or so years ago, and he always has an interesting story to tell.  I can't imagine him being on medication.  All it would succeed in doing is stifle his creative genius.  I think that there's just so much inherent brilliance inside of him that it is continually flowing forth.  This of course causes problems for teachers, and he had a hard time getting through elementary and high school. But I am so excited to see what that man ends up doing in his life.  It's going to be just amazing.  Let's say that a farmer has a horse that is astoundingly energetic.  He could build bigger fences so that the horse doesn't jump them, and he could make the size of it's environment smaller so that it stops running around so darn much, but this would kill the horses spirit.  The farmer needs to alter the environment to best suit the needs of the horse in order for the beast to truly flourish.  I think that students who go against the grain in such incredible ways should be placed in environments that allow them to flourish.  I think we need to nurture those gifted individuals, not medicate them.  (Talk to me a year or two after I've taught in a classroom, and I may have changed my mind on that one, but hopefully not).  If that woman from his story (the dancer) hadn't been placed in a school for dance, there would have been one more unhappy, overmedicated woman in the world.

February 4th

Today in class we learned about Heinz' dilemma, something that I had never before heard about.

"Heinz' wife is dying.  One special drug, discovered by a local druggist, might save her, but the druggist is selling it at an exorbitant price.  So Heinz, after failing to borrow the money he needs, pleads with the druggist to sell the drug cheaper, or let him pay later.  But, the druggist refuses.  Should Heinz steal the drug for his wife?  Why?"

It was an interesting class and I quite enjoyed the discussions.  My initial thought was that the answer depends on the type of wife he has.  I thought this was a good answer, but I didn't realize how true I found it until after class ended.  I have known some people in my life who have been part of truly terrible marriages.  I look at them and I think to myself, "what could have possibly persuaded them to get married in the first place?"  It can be quite terrifying seeing how drastically things can change for some people.  I will focus on only one couple to make my point.  The husband of this couple was an odious man.  He was treated his daughter-in-laws with disdain, only being kind to one in order to hurt the others.  When he died, his wife and children were literally free.  His wife joined clubs and began to travel the world, taking a grandchild with her on each trip.  His family no longer had to endure him.  For a person like that, the family will be less likely to go to such lengths to save them.

Later in the class, we examined Kohlbergs levels and stages of moral development.

I. Preconventional.
Our text defines this as:
   -lowest level of moral development
   -no internalization of moral values
   -moral reasoning is controlled by external rewards and punishments

Young children are found here, and this is why they're taught and trained in the ways that they are.  They can't reason and so they have to be manipulated.

a.  Punishment.
The primary goal of individuals is to avoid punishment, or other unpleasant things.
      When I was growing up, my little brother and I shared a room.  We had the same bed time, and neither of us ever wanted to go.  What we would do is smuggle crayons into our room and color, or listen to tapes until we were ready to sleep.  We were caught a few times, and I still remember the surge of fear hearing my fathers foot steps coming down the hall.  We tried our hardest to avoid punishment.

b.   Hedonism.
In this stage, an individuals intense desire for something out weighs the negative repercussions that will ensue.
      Growing up, my grandfather had a dairy farm.  My cousins and I loved to go there on Sunday afternoons after church to play.  There were tricycles that we could drive around the cow barn, and then there was the hay loft.  The farm was a dirty place, and so my grandfather had a set of children's coveralls that we would sport before heading out.  We tucked our sunday dresses into the coveralls, and booked it for the hay loft.  We discovered something truly amazing that day.  There was an area in one corner of the loft where there was a massive pile of chaff.  There also happened to be a rope hanging from a rafter in just the perfect place.  We had a pretty good idea of what the consequences would be, but it didn't hinder us in the least.  I still remember the sheer delight of swinging from the old, worn rope, landing softly in the chaff, and watching the dust plume.  We walked, quite uncomfortably, away from the barn that day feeling truly fulfilled.

II.  Conventional.
Our text defines this as:
   -Internalization of moral values is intermediate (locus of control begins to move inward)
   -Standards are still imposed by others

a.   "Nice girl/boy!"
The main motivator of individuals found in this category is the opinions of those around them.  I definitely know this feeling!
   One evening, I was spending time with my oldest brother, Josh, and his new wife.  Josh had made burgers, and they were no small burgers either.  They were massive, and wonderfully delicious.  Josh had eaten two burgers, I was stuffed full with one, and there were two left over.  They had been cooked, and so they would've been thrown out.  For starters, I don't really like to see food wasted, especially such delicious food.  Secondly, I saw an opportunity to impress my older brother.  It took me a long time, but I managed to eat another two burgers.  Needless to say, my brother was impressed.  I was not acting out of hunger, but out of a desire to please my brother.

b.   Law and Order
Individuals found in this level make decisions based on the law, and only the law.
   I'm not going to lie to you.  I don't often find myself in this category.  There is a part of me that gets a rush from breaking the rules sometimes.  I try to keep this unruly part of me under control, but sometimes I just don't want to.  I worked at a summer camp where there was a strict curfew of 11 pm.  I would wait in the pool building until I thought no one was there, and then I would try and sneak up the stairs without setting off the motion sensing lights.  I also have been known to hop golf course fences and go for a dip in a beautiful little pond.  I stopped doing this when I learned what they put into the water to make it that lovely blue.  I didn't do this because I enjoyed swimming in tiny, chemically maintained ponds, but because I enjoy breaking rules.

III. Post Conventional
Our text defines this as:
   -Highest level of moral development
   -Complete internalization of moral values
   -Moral values are not based on external standards
Individuals that are truly in this group are terribly rare.

a.   Social Contract

b.   Universal Ethical
Jesus, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr.

February 2nd

What is my main priority in life?

In July, I married a truly amazing man.  He listens to me when I talk to him, he provides for me, and he is my best friend.  Just last week, he came home and told me that he had a surprise for me.  I have, however, learned to approach surprises from my husband with caution.  Once, he had what he called a surprise for me, when it was really something for him.   I was left feeling quite disappointed.  But this time, he took me to the mall to go dress shopping!  I've heard of amazing husbands, but I think mine beats them all.  He is so considerate and kind.  He is my main priority in life.  School is important, but it's definitely not my main priority.  In fact, I hate being in school sometimes.  All I want to do is cook, clean and crochet.  I have to keep reminding myself that this is the only way that I can get to where I want to go.  I am so excited to be a teacher!

We learned about Erik Erikson and his eight stages of human development.  I don't like that he has eight stages because I know I have to memorize them.  But I do think his levels are very accurate.

I.  Trust vs. Mistrust - 0 to 1 years
   In this stage, individuals are completely and entirely dependent on those around them.  If the individuals are well taken care of, then they will continue to trust in those people.  Children in this level need to feel love and warmth.

II.  Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt - 1 to 2 years
   In this stage, individuals extend themselves out into the world.  There is a bit of independence gained from the parents or parent figures.  They can do a few things on their own, and new elements of their personality and character are being revealed.

III.  Initiative vs. Guilt - 3 to 5 years
   In this stage, children are often overcome with initiative.  There is an endless number of things that need to be done, and they can do it all on their own.  Parental assistance?  Completely unnecessary.  I have a nephew who is about 1.5 years old, but he exhibits behavior that would place him in this category.  The boy loves to swim, but he won't take anyones hand when he is walking around the shallow waters.  My sister is continually watching him, and often stooping to grab his hand before he goes under or falls into something.  He is continually wanting to do things on his own, such as walking up and down the stairs, and my sister has become his shadow to try and keep him from hurting himself too terribly.

IV.  Industry vs. Inferiority - 6 to puberty
   Individuals in this stage are mastered by their curiosity.  I remember being in this stage.  My home growing up backed onto a good sized forest, and I always stared at it imagining what I would find in there.  One afternoon, my cousin, little brother and I went for a walk in the back woods, and we discovered a pond!  There was a little hill on one side, and I remember being so overwhelmed with excitement that we had discovered this amazing thing.  It became ours, in a way.  We would pack picnics and fish algae out of the pond with sticks.  It was so great.  Then my cousin, who has always been quite paranoid, thought she saw a man in a black top hat with a gun walking around the pond.  We never went back.

V.  Identity vs. Identity Confusion - adolescence
   This stage is the one that plagues most teenagers.  At this point in life, individuals are trying to find out who they are, where they fit in, and what they will be like in the future.  This can be a very turbulent time, as most teens suffer from what Piaget calls 'adolescent ego-centrism".  Literally everything that happens to a teen at this stage, is an earth-shattering, huge deal.  They feel as if everyone is as concerned with their issues and concerns as they themselves are, and they are continually under scrutiny.  Every day is a performance.  I have a terribly hard time with people in this category.  I lack sympathy, and they make me want to vomit.  I don't think I'm cut out to teach in middle schools or high schools.

VI.  Intimacy vs. Isolation - early adulthood
   This stage is a particularly exciting one.  At this point, individuals are moving away from their families of origin, and looking for a spouse.  I am very thankful that I found my spouse fairly early in life.  I had actually met him once when we were both 14, which he doesn't even remember.  I still like to bring this up sometimes in good fun.

VII.  Generativity vs. Self Absorption - middle adulthood
   At this point in life, individuals are wanting to contribute in some way to the younger generations.  My parents are in this stage, and they have recently been blessed with a few grandchildren.  I have never seen my father do the things he does with his grandkids.  He loves to spend time with them, and he is so excited about the two new arrivals in March.  Both of my parents just love their grandkids, and they invest into them all the love they can manage.  Those children are so loved.

VIII.  Integrity vs. Despair - late adulthood
   Individuals in this stage

January 26th

Today we watched a very interesting video in class called 'how great leaders inspire action', by Simon Sinek.  I looked forward to this video, knowing that any good teacher is one that inspires action and learning in students.  Although, I was slightly troubled when my instructor turned out the lights. I couldn't see at all, and there were so many things I wanted to write down!  Here are some of the things that I particularly enjoyed from his TED talk:

Why?

What?

How?

• Imagine, if you will, that these circles are stacked beautifully on top of one another.  Due to my lack of technical know-how,  I was unable to illustrate this image properly.   The largest circle, entitled 'what', being on the bottom, and the smallest circle, 'why', being on the top.  'How' rests peacefully between the two.  What Sinek was saying was that most people think from the outside in.  They figure out the 'what', the 'how', and then finally the 'why'.  Sinek argued that inspired people think from the inside out.  They start with the 'why', and everything else falls into place.  The 'how' and the 'what' become simpler, or are at least provided with more direction.  

          I found this point to be particularly interesting.  As has been discussed in previous blogs, I am a crocheter.  There is little I enjoy more than sitting down with a lovely ball of yarn and a good idea.  I find myself continually designing things in my mind.  I see a need for something, and I think about how I could fill that need with some yarn and determination.  Typically, these projects are finished quickly.  

What?:  I will make something.

How?:  I will crochet the structure using my previously acquired skills.

Why?:  there is an immediate and direct need.

The 'why' is sitting right in front of me, and the project is done before I know it.  There are also times when I just think of things to make right out of the blue.  I don't fully know where these little inspirations come from, but I do enjoy them.  I've also got a few projects on the go that I was interested in to keep me busy, but then I lost my desire.

What?: I was making something.

How?:  I was crocheting it.

Why?:  No reason in particular.

I have many a project, sitting in a heap near my buckets full of yarn, that have come to a halt.  The reason that they have stopped, is because I either didn't have, or lost track of my 'why'.  When there is no obvious reason, the production slows and eventually ceases.  I feel that the same will go for students.  I can tell them what to do and teach them how to do it, but until they understand the 'why', they will not become inspired to finish the task on their own.  They will need continual encouragement.  

   Another example is that of my younger self.  When I was young, I was never told to clean my room.  My parents had five children, I was number four, and they had enough things occupying them that the state of my room was insignificant.  I would look at it sometimes.  I knew it was dirty.  I knew what I had to do.  I knew how to do it, but I just couldn't understand the why.  Because of this conundrum, I rarely cleaned my room.  Also when I was young, I would look at my bedroom door sometimes and think to myself, "something must be done about this door".  I still remember the wave of inspiration that came over me.  I was going to cover that unsightly door with candy wrappers.  I had an overpowering 'why'.  The door was ugly, and candy wrappers were, and still are, beautiful!  It was a logical sequence of thought for me.  It took me a little while, but I eventually collected enough candy wrappers to carefully cut them out, and tape them to my door.  I never had to talk myself into working on this project.  I loved working on it, because I saw the reason behind it.  It made sense to me.

• Don't tell people what, but tell them why.

If you have a pack of robots following you, all you have to do is tell them what to do.  They won't understand any reason why.  They are machines.  They will do exactly what you tell them to do, and the product you had in mind will be achieved exactly.  If you have a pack of children following you, all you need to do is explain the reason you would like something to be done.  They hopefully will be as inspired as you by this objective, and then you just sit back.  People that are inspired require less leadership.  They have the goal in sight, and they each have a unique way of getting to it.  The beauty of people is that they can surprise you.  I have been taken aback more than once by an amazing thing a child has done when I gave them a set of simple instructions.  Let them be creative and try things out for themselves.  

January 21st

Lev Vygotsky.

This guy knows what he's talking about.  I agree entirely with this fellow regarding the influence of society in the growth of a child.  One Mr. Piaget doesn't really look into society at all, but I think it plays an incredible role.  Vygotsky has three main assumptions:

• Children move along a developmental trajectory.

Kids aren't just aimlessly wandering about and doing things for the heck of it, they are learning in a very particular and unique way.  This is a useful assumption for a future teacher, because there can be some prediction as to what comes up next.  Obviously, the predictions won't be perfectly accurate, but a teacher can plan a long range lesson plan more effectively with this in mind.

• Cognitive skills are structured by language.

At first I felt that I completely disagreed with this assumption, but the more I tried to find evidence to disprove this point, the more I found I agreed with it.  I think that children are thinking far before they speak, though.  I don't think that the ability to speak and understand words just hits kids out of nowhere.  There is a long process, and they are very responsive to language before they can speak properly or even at all.  I have a good friend that has been blessed with a beautiful baby boy.  This boy, Gabe, was being changed by his mom.  She was pleasantly talking to herself, or so she thought, and she said that he needed to roll over in order to fit his arm into his sleeve.  The boy responded with the exact motion she was speaking about.  This happened several times over the course of the change, and it is evidence of thought before verbal language.  Even when kids begin to "speak", they understand a great deal of what is said to them, and they respond well to it.  In my effort to refute this assumption, I thought about children who are deaf or mute.  Mute children can still understand and communicate, and sign language is a very beneficial thing to teach your young child.  Before they speak, they can communicate with their parents.  I have spoken to many parents, and they could communicate effectively with their children from very young ages.  Instead of having a fussing child that you didn't understand, the child could tell you what they wanted or disliked.  

• The importance of social relations and culture.

Figure 1

I am behind Vygotsky on this one.  Culture directly affects the development of children.  Our society is telling kids that they need to be rich, pretty and successful.  There is less and less common decency in the world, I feel.  You can hardly turn the radio on with out some person trying to get as much money out of you as they can.  "You need botox, a pedicure, a haircut, a tan, because you deserve it".  The person from this ad doesn't care about the happiness of it's customers.  What they want is money.  They want women to be unhappy with themselves so that they'll feel as if they need their product.  Little girls are dressing more and more like floozies, and there is a company that is modeling this for them.  In figure 1, you will see what I'm talking about.  A distorted image of beauty is being handed down to our nations girls.  Figure 1 shows what this kind of beauty is:

      - unrealistically full lips

      - seductive glances

      - copious amounts of makeup

      - little shirts

      -short skirts

      - high heeled shoes

      - visible mid-drift

      - perfect hair

These dolls can be so bad for the self esteem of little girls.  They look at unrealistic beauty like that, and they become unhappy with themselves.  Companies are sacrificing the happiness and self esteem of little girls everywhere in order to make a quick buck.  I definitely think that products like this will have far reaching consequences.  

       Vygotsky also believed in a thing called the zone of proximal development.  This was a space inside which learning occurs.  The role of the teacher is to "scaffold".  The teacher in the ideal situation gives the students goals that are just beyond their reach.  The teacher then builds them a "scaffold" of knowledge, instruction and encouragement to help the children reach those goals.  Interestingly enough, I have just had the great displeasure of meeting a teacher here at the college who doesn't believe in this nonsense.  He gives us goals that are beyond our reach, but he doesn't go out of his way to equip us to do well.  He is cold, unapproachable, and I disagree with so many of his teaching strategies that I can hardly stand it.  It hurts me to think that I've got to spend the rest of my semester with such a teacher.  But I guess you learn well when you are able to contrast the good and the bad.

January 19th, 2011

Jean Piaget!

This fellow had three definitions for cognitive processes.

I.  Schema: a concept or framework to organize information.
     A particular schema I have is for my crocheting.  I learned the stitches and a whack of other things associated with crocheting.  It's there in my mind, organized beautifully.

II.  Assimilation: the new information being obtained fits unobtrusively in with what's already known.
    When I was still acquiring my crocheting skills, there were many stitches I needed to learn.  I learned the single crochet stitch, which is terribly basic and dull, and from there I learned the double, half double, and treble crochet stitches.  These stitches were all variations of the single crochet, so they fit nicely within my previously constructed schema.

III.  Accommodation: the new information doesn't fit into the schema, and requires that information be reorganized.
    One day I decided that I was going to learn to knit.  My husband dreamed of having a knitted argyle hat, so I set to learning this new skill in order to surprise him with a lovely hand-knit hat.  I had to completely leave behind everything I knew about crocheting.  I originally thought that it might fit into my schema, but I had to shuffle a bunch of things around.  Instead of one hook, there are two or more needles.  Loops can fall off and destroy your work, and it is terribly difficult to take stitches out.  I was very surprised at how hard it was for me to pick up knitting.  I had years of experience with crocheting, but it didn't prepare me for the challenge.  I successfully learned to knit and surprised my husband with a lovely argyle hat.
    A few more examples of this:
   -I grew up in an amazing town in Ontario that was right on the vast and majestic Lake Huron.  We were wonderfully close to the beautiful beach where I spent many warm, summer days.  My younger brother, Josiah, was about 3 or 4 when my parents gave us all a warning about undertows.  They weren't terribly common on our beach, but they happened enough to strike fear into the heart of my mother.  We had our talk, and then we were released into the clear, blue waters.  Josiah stood on the shore and fearfully asked my mother, "how big are undertoads?"  It took some convincing to get him into the water again, but thankfully he accommodated this information into his schema and we had many good times in the water.
-A friend that I acquired on a trip to Panama told me a story from her childhood.  She said that one day she was informed that it was physically impossible for a human to stand on a cloud.  She said it was one of the saddest days in her child hood.  She also had to accommodate this new information she had been given and alter her previous assumptions.

    This Piaget guy also had four levels of development.

One:  Sensorimotor
- from birth to around two years of age.
At this stage of infancy, there is no thinking involved.  The children in this stage are simply feeling their way through their environments.
I have a nephew that is in this stage.  My sister, Sherah, is ready to have her second child any day now, and her first boy is a whirling ball of energy.  Their home is under some minor renovations and they are missing some cabinet doors in their kitchen.  One day, Simeon grabbed the glass blender out of the lower cupboard.  My sister saw this and instructed the boy to bring it to her.  He must have known that bringing her the blender would end his fun with this dangerous toy, so instead he ran with it in the opposite direction.  He can't think about what he is doing and he doesn't understand the danger that comes with playing with a blender.  All he knows is that he wants it.  Other than playing with the blender, he has always got his hands on something.  When he finds himself naked, he's got two hands on his man-bits, and he doesn't know how inappropriate that is.  He lacks the ability to think with any complexity.

Two.  Preoperational
-  two to seven years of age
My other nephew, Isaiah, is just shy of two years old and he fits nicely into this category.  He is just beginning to use language to communicate with those around him.  He'll pick up the phone and talk on it, and he'll repeat things he hears with a considerable amount of accuracy.  He is also experiencing ego-centrism.  His perspective is the same as everyone else's.  When his lunch is late, the whole world stops and everyone may as well follow his example and bang their heads on things.  All of his decisions are based on intuition.  It's not logical to think that you can sit on an immobile lawn mower for hours on end, but Isaiah wants to do it.  His mother takes him off and he is consumed with anger.  He doesn't show his anger like most children, though.  He glares and then sneaks in a good bite.

Three.  Concrete operational
-seven to eleven years of age
Operational refers to mental operations that are reversible.  At this stage, conservation is obtained.  Conservation: the idea that some characteristic of an object stays the same even though the object might change in shape.  The volume of water stays the same, even though the height and width of the glass holding it may change.  These children need to have concrete physical objects in order to understand concepts.  Often small objects will be found inside classrooms for these kids to work with.  My school had small animals, and plastic teddy bears of different sizes and colors.  Addition and subtraction can then be translated into physical objects.  Three animals minus two animals leaves one animal behind.  Therefore, 3 - 2 = 1.  I remember a time when we were taught about ratios and each of us were given a bag of delicious jelly beans.  I don't remember encountering any difficulty in understanding the concept, and I am fully convinced it was the jelly beans.

Four.  Formal Operational
- eleven/fifteen years to adulthood
Here there is a move beyond concrete thinking towards abstract thinking. Syllogism is introduced here:  2 premises, wherein if the two premises are true, then the outcome will be true.  An example provided in class:  All men are mortal.  Socrates is a man.  Therefore, Socrates is a mortal.
     Hypothetical deductive reasoning happens in this stage as well.  Definition: the concepts that adolescents can develop hypotheses about ways to solve problems, and systematically reach conclusions.  Due to the fact that these are adolescents, the conclusions reached are not always constructive.  I shall use my father as an example.  When he was an adolescent, he noticed that feed bags held air well.  He also harbored enmity towards cats.  (I'd like to point out that this story probably isn't going where you think it is).  He would take a cat, gently place it in a feed sack, and he would attach a parachute made out of another feed sack. He would then climb up the silo and toss the hapless cats off.  There were always a few guys at the bottom with a sheet just incase the chute didn't deploy, but it always did.  I guess if there was a family of risky felines that lived on top of a silo, you would want to know that there is a quick and safe way to get them all to safety.  My father saw that potential issue, and he successfully developed and tested a hypothesis, solving the problem.
    Perhaps the most nauseating trait that comes about in this group is adolescent ego-centrism: the heightened self consciousness that is reflected in adolescents beliefs that others are as interested in them as they themselves are.  The nausea arises when I think back to my own adolescent years, as I am thankfully subject to few adolescents these days.  Every little thing that happened to me was a huge, monstrous deal, and everywhere I went, I knew that people were looking at me.  I simply had to perform.  I thank the Lord that I'm past that self-involved stage of my life, and I'm praying for patience when I have to see it happen in my own children.

January 17th

Class five.  Today we watched a video of a young teacher in Saskatchewan who implemented a 20 minute physical activity program into her math class.  It was quite an interesting video.  As the video started, I began copying the notes from a friend for the last class that I had missed.  It was on being a wise consumer of information.  I will go down the list and decide whether I think the information in this video is safe to consume.

I.  Be cautious of popular media reports. 


Popular media exists for the single purpose of manipulating it's readers/viewers.  There is no such thing as a perfectly biased report on anything, because there is always an objective. There are always people wanting you to see their side of things, and they typically decide to report on only some aspects of a story.

II.  Avoid drawing conclusions about individual needs based on group research.


While there were many advantages to the students in the movie, I wonder whether it would be as successful for every type of student.  The group in the study was a troubled bunch of teens, some that had behavioral and/or learning disabilities.  This approach may have been ideal for them, but I wonder if it would have worked so well for bright young students, or for younger children.  Seeing the results of this study, I would not attempt to apply this too all ages or all stages of development.

III.  Recognize how easy it is to overgeneralize about a small or clinical sample.


As I began to explain above, what worked best for this group of students won't necessarily work as well for other students.  I would be interested to see how it would work with dedicated and successful students.  Would there be as drastic a change?  Also, what would the effects be on different age groups?  I doubt very much that putting a 4 year old on a tread mill will help with much.  Just because it's true for this one group, it is not true for all.

IV.  Be aware that a single study is not usually the defining word.


In science, a hypothesis can never be found to be true.  It can only be proved not false for the same reason as this fourth point.  Scientists know that years down the road things could be drastically different, and their research could possibly be trumped.  Technology and human kind will both advance, and it is impossible to predict where either will go.  Just because a study is found true today, new evidence could possibly arise to contradict it.


V.  Always consider the source of information and evaluate it's credibility.


As a reader, it is important to consider the source of the article that you're reading.  As a viewer, it is important to consider the makers of that video.  It is vital to realize that every news piece is trying to pull it's readers/viewers in a certain direction.  I know that if I went to the green peace website, I would be flogged with articles yelling at me to take action against those that are abusing the planet.  If I were to go to a children's toy website, I would be told about how wonderful the toys are and how they can help with the development of my child.  What these articles fail to mention is that the Rainbow Warrior was kicked out of Alaskan waters for not having an emergency oil spill plan, and that lead paint is used to decorate those wonderful kids toys.  You can never take an article or video for it's face value.  You need to look into the story and try to figure out what they didn't want you to.  Only then will you be a responsible consumer.

January 14th, 2011

This week has certainly been adventurous!  On Monday afternoon, I was backing our car up our driveway, and an mound of packed snow grabbed the bumper of the car and nearly yanked it off. I didn't notice this, and my husband came home and thought that I had hit something.  He set it back on, but it can be easily thrown off again.  Last night, it snowed about a foot, and we live in a residential area ad our street is literally never plowed.   If I had attempted to drive out of the drive way, I would have knocked the bumper off, and then run it over.  I thought I'd try to avoid that.
I copied the notes from a friend.  I missed the lecture on being a cautious consumer of information about educational psychology.  I find that these tips can be used in all areas of life, though.  I am trying to be a wise consumer of all information, and these tips will help me out.

I.  Be cautious of popular media reports.
      I don't believe that there is such thing as an objective media report.  Each person has interpreted the story in a particular way, and they will each put a little spin on it in order to manipulate the readers.   I don't think that this is always done intentionally, but I believe that it always the case.  I believe this is true concerning educational psychology, as well as everything else.

II.  Avoid drawing conclusions about individual needs based on group research.
      You can't look at a study done on a group of people and expect that every person in that study responded to it well.  There are always a few that it doesn't effect.

III.  Recognize how easy it is to overgeneralize about a small or clinical sample.
      I can understand how easy it would be to look at a small group, take a result there and assume that it is going to be as effective everywhere else.  I would call that wishful thinking. If you are supportive of a certain study, then you hope that it will be effective everywhere, and it is easier for those people to overgeneralize.

IV.  Be aware that a single study is not usually the defining word.
      This is quite obvious.  If a study has been done, the chances are quite slim that the exact same results can be found anywhere else.  There will always be variation in the study groups, the methods, and the evaluation of the results.

V.  Always consider the source of information, and evaluate it's credibility.
      Humans lack the ability to write objectively.  Whether they intend to or not, they view things with a certain lens, and therefore report with a biased perspective.  They will expound on certain aspects while neglecting others.  Consumers have to consider this as they read reports on really anything.  What news paper or website has published this article?  What is the background of the writer?  For instance, I wouldn't read an article on the Green peace website and take it as complete truth.  I would first investigate, gather facts from other sources and then come to a conclusion concerning it's credibility.

January 12th, 2011

Today we learned about many different aspects of effective teaching.  I found a few particularly interesting.

• Effective teaching involves social and ethical matters.
• Not only is the teacher responsible for presenting the curriculum in an understandable way, but they are partially responsible for teaching and encouraging them how to behave socially.  
• The teacher also lays down the moral law in the classroom.  At the beginning of the school year, it is made known to the children what is unacceptable under that teachers authority. 
• Those things are so important for children to learn at early ages
• Effective teaching involves multicultural students.
• When I worked at a summer camp, I was the leader of a few children from foster homes.  I would consider this a multicultural difference.  I tried several different tactics to attempt to convey my desires to these campers, and I couldn't understand why they didn't work.  I discovered that they were from foster homes, and I had to alter my methods to accommodate them.
• Children from other countries would be challenging to teach, especially if they were raised for some time in another culture.  Those children would have a hard time trying to adjust to new teaching methods, a new language and a new culture all at once.  This would require exceptional sensitivity and grace from the teacher.
• Effective teaching depends on subject matter competence.
• In my past, I have attempted to write essays after doing almost no research.  Essentially, your objective is to teach someone that doesn't know anything about your essay topic.  I remember staying up into the wee hours of the morning and painfully trying to wrench an unwilling essay out of the depths of my mind.    I would imagine that teaching a class about something you don't know would be something like that.  You are standing before a gaggle of students, all of whom have different styles of learning, and you have to convey to them a certain concept.  If you have only one way of explaining this concept, or know nothing about the concept, then you probably won't be prepared for the students questions.  Referring back to Blooms taxonomy, you need to be at the level of at least understanding, but ideally the level of analyzing.  If you know the reasons why and can see past the surface of the concept to the "moving parts", you will be able to convey the concept to your students in more effective ways.
• Effective teaching is dependent upon commitment.
• In grade 5, I remember one teacher in particular who didn't care whether certain students did well or not.  There was a young man in our class who came from a rough home who didn't accomplish his homework one day.  She had him write a letter explaining why he didn't finish his coloring assignment.  He had apparently struggled with writing because he wrote that he "forgot his colors".  I know what he wrote because she laughed as she read it, and then read it aloud to the whole class.  This teacher had no concern for the boys success, otherwise she wouldn't have embarrassed him so.  She should have been more sensitive and gracious, and most certainly wouldn't treat him the way she did.  The boy was mocked and teased by certain other children, and that is entirely the fault of that teacher.  She was not committed to his social or academic success.

And so it begins...

I walked into my first educational psychology class late: not a good start to a hopefully informative and interesting class.  I sat down and was pleased to see that my professor was a pleasant fellow, with a sense of humor that I understood well.
One of the first things he asked us to consider was our current definition of educational psychology.  I have never taken a psychology course before in my life, and the only thing I know about it is it's correct spelling.  He also asked us to think about a particular question we had about educational psychology.  My question is this:  what is educational psychology?  Given that this is my one question, I know that I'm going to learn a lot from this course.
      We learned about Bloom's taxonomy, which are 6 different forms of engagement.  These are the different levels:
I.  Knowledge
II.  Understanding
III.  Application
IV.  Analyzing
V.  Evaluation
VI.  Creation
I had never before heard of Blooms taxonomy, but I can see how important it is for a future teacher to understand.  I am pleased when I learn about a concept or theory, and can immediately see it in my own life experiences.  It helps me to understand it and remember it well.  I saw these stages in my hobby of crocheting:
I.  Knowledge.
      I began crocheting in high school in my family studies class.  I have many women in my family who have done things like knitting and crocheting, so I had seen it happen but never done it myself.  The first step was learning what a crochet hook looked like, and how to hold both it and the yarn in my hands.  After that, I learned the most basic of crochet stitches.  I could do almost nothing with them, but I remember taking my tiny ball of yarn and crochet hook to my English class and practicing until I was scolded.
II.  Understanding.
      The next step for me was to understand the differences between the crochet stitches, and how to do something with them.  My first attempt at an actual piece was a hat.  I didn't get too far as I couldn't read the pattern and had to wait for my teacher to come around and inform me of my next steps.  But I slowly began to wrap my mind around the stitches, what they looked like and how they might be used.
      I also began to learn how to read patterns.  I didn't want my inability in that area to hold me back.
III.  Applying.
      The application of the knowledge and understanding showed up in my first ever afghan. I had a friend help me out and I began to crochet a blanket for my sister.  I learned new stitches, and put them all together successfully in a lovely blanket.
      A little while later, I also had my first success in reading a pattern on my own.  I made my mother an afghan which I figured out almost entirely on my own.
IV.  Analyzing.
      Before I began crocheting, I remember spending time with my grandmother and looking at various hand made items.  When she looked at them, she could tell which were crocheted, which were knitted, and even some of the stitches used in them.  I was baffled by this because all I saw was yarn.  But eventually, I began to see it too.  Crocheted things have a very different look, and they don't feel quite the same.  I could even look at a hat and figure out the pattern to make one myself.  The first few things that I made were quite rough, but I made them on my own.  Sweet success.
V.  Evaluation.
      I continued to crochet, and began to evaluate my earlier pieces.  I made some changes that improved both their comfort and quality.  I could also look at other peoples work and see opportunities for improvement.
VI.  Creation.
      I took everything I knew and developed my own pair of very unique slippers.  They took some time to perfect, but I think I have it.  I have ideas sometimes for crocheted things, and I love sitting down with yarn and figuring out the best way to bring those ideas into reality.