My cousins and sisters.
My Cousins
My older sister and I at her graduation.
My younger sister and I
Monday, May 6, 2013
Inner Peace
“Whatever course you
decide upon there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are
always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right.
TO map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires…courage.” –
Ralph Waldo Emerson.
When I was in high school, we had
to memorize poetry and analyze different stories for the majority of our
literature classes. One of my favorite time periods in American writing was the
transcendentalist writers.
Transcendentalism was a religious and philosophical movement that
was developed during the late 1820s and 1830s that stressed the importance of
nature. Some of the more famous among
these writers were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow. Thoreau lived in the woods
at Walden Pond for two years and two months with very little human interaction.
He started living there in July 1845 and left September 1847.He went there to
get in touch with himself and put himself in nature where he would be
comfortable to do his writing. Ralph Waldo Emerson, my personal favorite of the
group, was any essayist and a poet. Emerson's
religious views were often considered radical at the time. He believed that all
things are connected to God and, therefore, all things are divine. He believed
that one could come to peace with God through nature. His critics accused him
of taking away from the traditional ways of being with the Holy Father. Emerson
was a renowned orator and was seen as an individual who had a way of
influencing others and inspiring people.
My
yearbook of my senior year in high school we were allowed to customize a “senior
page” to put into the end of it. Part of the page had to include a quotation. I
had no problem finding pictures to put on the page, but I couldn’t quite find
the quotation I wanted that I felt explained what I wanted to say. I was
reading through an article that talked about Ralph Waldo Emerson and I found
the quote I wanted.
“What lies behind you and what lies in
front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.” – Ralph Waldo
Emerson
My biggest fear in life is the
future. What might happen, what will happen, all these if questions pass
through my mind. They affect every decision I a make. This quotation inspired
me that all that I have already conquered, and have yet to face, do not compare
to the person that I have already become. And that the person I have become
will help me through my future.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Response to "Harness Your Digital Smarts"
I was told to watch a short video
called Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts. This short video
is about a teacher who teaches at a school where her students use different
types of technology. This woman has a blog called the Cool Cat Teacher that won
the Edublog award for best teacher blog in 2009. She also travels to share her
ideas about education and what she is doing in the classroom. Her main focus
over all is about teaching her students and opening up the door for them to new
possibilities. She uses all kinds of
technology in her classroom to teach her students, from blogs to advanced software.
What stuck out to me the most in
this video was the part at the end where the lady talked about being from a
small rural town in southern Georgia. Being able to bring a new experience into
someone’s life may be very beneficial to them. You could be introducing them to
a new passion, or hobby. These children
who are from these rural areas did not always have the opportunity to be
exposed to these kinds of technologies. So when you do expose them to this you
are opening a new realm of possibilities for them.
I like to think that in a classroom
anyone can teach someone something. Teachers can learn from the students just
like the students learn from the teacher. The woman says that she doesn't think
a teacher should be worried about knowing everything in their field so that
there is always room for them to expand their own knowledge. Today’s society is going to keep changing and
one of the major changes is the way that we will be educating our youth. This video gave me insight to why I am in an
education technology class, and why it is important to adapt to this new style
of education. It will be very essential to the next generation.
Social Networking
Social Networking plays an
important role in many people’s lives around us today. The majority of people
have a smart phone, laptop, or some other means to access the internet. In today’s
society the norm now is to have a Facebook, Twitter, or an account on a website
similar to these. There have been several positive things from social
networking. Radio shows, companies that design a product, and multiple advertising
companies all use Facebook to get the word about their product or service. In the past these companies would have to
print off flyers but now with free social networking these companies are saving
money that they would have used. Social
networking has the ability to unite people through common interests or goals
that they want to experience. It has also opened opportunities for bloggers and
writers to express themselves.
However, there are also negative
things about social networking. Social networking is addictive. Research has
shown that social networking takes away a certain individual’s motivation. This
is especially true for teenagers and students. They might rely on technology and
the internet instead of learning the practical knowledge and expertise of the everyday
life. Younger kids who use social networking can be exposed to terrible things
at such a young age that might have negative outcomes. Another bad thing about
social networking is sharing personal information on the internet. Anyone can
look at this information. Just because you don’t have something set to “public” doesn't7/ mean that they cannot find a way on to your profile.
There are positive and negative
things about social networking. There are people who cannot go five minutes
without checking one of their profiles on one of their sites that they are on. There are also people who do not use social networking at all. I personally only have a Facebook and the only reason I have one is because of
my large family I want to keep in touch with, and my teachers from my high
school so that I may ask for advice in my college years.
Sites:
Monday, April 29, 2013
Introduction
My name is Taylor,
I currently attend Henderson State University. My major is
Social Sciences and I hope to pursue a career in the education field, teaching
high school History. I am currently in my Sophomore year and am on
track with my goal. I attended Catholic High School for Boys. The school was a
private, college prep school. There were strict hair regulations, no
air conditioning, and we were required to wear ties. There are two priests who
live there and one Franciscan brother. Then there is Zeke,
the German Shepard that lives at the school. Many of the teachers
attended the school when they were younger. While I was there I was apart of
the Marine Corps JROTC, and participated on the Wrestling team. While I was
there the ROTC won the MCROA award three times, being an "Honor
School" four times, and National Fitness Team Champions twice.
I was brought up in an Italian family. I was taught at an
early age that family is the most important thing and that no matter what your
family would always be there for you. I feel as if I figured out what was truly
important to me early on in life. One reason I came to Henderson was because my
Godfather and my Godmother lived in town and my cousin attended Henderson. I
currently live off campus close to the school and live with a friend of mine
who went to Catholic with me. He is in the National Guard and goes to Henderson
as well. After my First year I was debating leaving Henderson. That summer my
Godfather passed away and I decided I would stay at Henderson so that someone
in the family would be close to my Godmother if she ever needed anything. Those
are the kind of things you do for your family.
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