Sunday, March 31, 2013

Blog Post #10

My Response to John T. Spencer's Cartoon I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga on his blog Adventures in Pencil Integration
  In this picture you are shown two people, with unique names and with different descriptions about themselves but what you see is not the real meaning. Papermate is a popular brand of pencils that are so ordinary and common that most people in the U.S. have used them during their education years. It is shown as a middle age man in a suit and tie most likely showing its long age in sell pencils. Ticonderoga is a brand of pencils as well but they are vastly more expensive than Papermate even though when you compare them they are made of the exact same material. This pencil is shown as a young man wearing clothes much like a teenager or college student might wear too. Here you have two pencils that each do the same tasks as the other but one cost more because of its brand; this is not about pencils. I believe that Mr. John T. Spencer is trying to explain is that a teacher does not always need the latest item or program to teach but that sometimes the most effective way to teach is the simplest. Papermate and Ticonderoga both do the same functions and in the cartoon he is saying that the "hipster" teacher will buy the more expensive item to stay up-to-date when it is not needed. Yes, I love a SmartBoard and I see how a class blog will help my students build up not only their communication and writing skills but also their self esteem in putting their works out into the world but I see that there are some task that do not call for a computer. Need to get them working on math problems? Write out some worksheets. Want to link Literature and Art together? Have them draw a picture and write its story. I think what Mr. John T. Spencer is saying is that not everything needs smoke and mirrors to get the message across and as teachers we need to know where to draw the line so that we do not waste time and money on items that will do the same task as ones that are cheaper. I know that there are some subjects where technology will do more than I can for my students but I also know that sometimes all they need is a pencil and paper to learn. I see the benefits of both of these "pencils" and I know that when it comes time for me to teach that I will understand which will be best for each assignment and which I can save for another day.















My Response to John T. Spencer's Why Were Your Kids Playing Games? on his blog Adventures in Pencil Integration
  In this dialogue between a teacher and principal, you see that the principal want the students to be taught in the terms that they will be tested on only, while the teacher wants to do more. He explains that they were not "playing games," but instead were creating real-world solutions to varies scenarios. They were having to think on multiple levels, for different outcomes and be able to back up their reasons for their actions just like they will have to do in the real world. The principal wanted to teach what was going to be on the state exams and nothing more. This is what Professor Strange calls the "burp back" method, where children are only taught what is on the final exams and how ever much a child "burps back" on the paper is their grade. This is only about memorization for one exam and nothing else. I remember an event from high school where in history we had to made a project about the civil war and I was paired with one of the smartest kids in the class. While working, I saw that he could state dates, important facts and people but when I asked questions like "how do you think this would had effected us today if the war happened when Columbus found America?" I found out that he did not understand the subject pass the exam paper. He could tell you anything about the subject if it was in the text book but did not understand the subject itself; he could not think outside of what he knew or connect the dots to other subjects. He was the perfect example of  a "burp back" student. In Mr. John T. Spencer's post he is trying to explain that we cannot teach ABC when a student is young and then wonder why they cannot think in terms of XYZ when they are adults. By using what a student already knows, like games or songs, and twisting them into a way that they are learning new skill while sharpening old ones, you are changing how they think. He even showed a way that the teacher in the dialogue could follow the rules placed by the principal, while still teaching in the method that he wanted: he connected the state reading and writing requirements into a project called the "Factory Game." I never want to be the teacher who only taught what was required and not once inspired my students to dream and think in new ways. I will not be a "burp back" teacher.


My Response to Scott McLeod's Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please? post on his blog dangerously ! irrelevant
  In this post, Mr. Scott McLeod is, in a creative way, stating the same excuses that many give as to why both they and their children are not "tech savvy  in today's world. Common remarks I heard from other adults in my family when I started this class are listed here like twitter being a "bunch of crap" and that if you give a kid a computer that they will not use it for school but find porn instead. I see technology as a loaded gun: this can both help and hurt both them and others so I need to teach them how to use it properly. First, I would not simply hand it over to them, expecting them to know common sense of how to use it and then getting angry if they never use it to help themselves. The first thing that I would do is talk about every bad or wrong thing that this gun or "technology" can do and show them how to spot warning signs of a predator. I would explain that the same tools used to help can also hurt, but that by learning more they can spot these dangers and be able to maneuver better and be responsible. Next, I would explain that there are different types of "technology" that you can use and each type has a specific way of getting the information out to their audience. I would explain that there are many different ways to hit their goal for the communication, such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Blogger. In order to know which to use they need to practice in a safe, adult controlled environment where they can learn new skills and see where they are comfortable. If they can only use a BB gun or "find videos on YouTube about a class subject" then they need to stay there until they feel more comfortable but that they need to still keep learning. At the end of the post after he says "don't do any of it please" he states "really/ 'cause i'm doing all of it with my kids/ can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two/ can you?". I think that what Mr. Scott McLeod was trying to explain is that the world is changing at a much faster rate that it has before and to not allow your child to be a part of it because you do not see its value will do more harm than good. He is asking us to stop using excuses as to why we do not want to be connected and instead learn how because soon what we are trying to figure out today will become second nature to our children sooner than we think.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Blog Post #9


















My Responds to Mr. Joe McClung's What I've Learned This Year (2008-09) 
  In Mr. McClung's blog post he shares all that he has learn in his first year as an elementary teacher. While some of the concepts are very simple, such as communicating with your students and being flexible with what happens in the classroom, the weight they have in a students' life is greater than what they seem. He starts out saying that many teachers do not make their lessons "student centered" and do not know "How to Read the Crowd" meaning that they think in terms of what needs to be taught but not if the students are getting it or not. Yes, having the skills to speak in public is a wonderful talent that everyone should work at but if hearing your voice is the only way you teach then the students will loose focus. Communicate is a two way street where you need to learn as much as you can about your students because as a teacher we may be the only person in a student's life who listens to them as if they are a person and not a waste of time. He also talks about being reasonable with our expectations of them because we set back everything in their lives when we raise the bar too high and scold them if it is not met. Remember: we are "dealing with children" and to expect perfection from them I believe is both heartless and cruel. He goes on to explain that technology has become a part of our lives and to give up trying to use it simple because you might find it difficult is not right. I have seen classrooms from complete opposite sides of the world be linked by technology and the children are better for it; we need to keep using what our students know to teach them or we might loose them instead. Finally, he simply states that we are to never stop learning. What is the point in asking your students to think differently than they did yesterday or find a new way to complete a task if we are not willing to do the same? I am very grateful for Mr. McClung for giving these lessons to others so that when we start to teach, maybe this time we do not make as many mistakes and keep sharing what we learned.


My Responds to Mr. Joe McClung's What I Learned This Year - Volume 4 (2011-12)
  In this blog post Mr. McClung is in his fourth year of teaching and I was very proud to see that within the first few sentences he states that he did not learn but two points over the past year. I was happy to see that he has changed over the years and pray that one day I too only have a handful of lessons I learned in one year because it means that I did more things right than wrong. The first point he talks about is not worrying about what your other fellow teachers think about your teaching methods. He states that as a teacher your main goal is the students and if they are having fun learning in your classroom. Will wondering if the math teacher likes your history quizzes make your students learn it better or will concentrating on only your students make them better? He explains that we need to focus on our students and not if the other teachers like us or not. The second point is that we need to challenge ourselves and not become so comfortable with where we are or what we are doing to the point that we begin to begin to not care anymore. He talks about how after he was teaching for a while he began to get into a routine where he would reuse old lesson plans and loose his creativity. He was saved when he was asked to teach another level of history and was forced to learn new material and rethink his lessons. This stopped him from being like his old teachers who did not made school enjoyable because he reached the point where he could do the same lessons over and over or begin to keep challenging himself on what he could do differently and he chose the latter. He decided that he would keep thinking of ways to help his students learn and I believe that it is this teachers, the ones who change their methods and lessons again and again over the years trying to find new ways to teach, that no the most good for their students by never settling for less.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Blog Post #8


  Richard Miller is showing a truth in today's world that many either do not like or do not see: how we interact and communicate is changing faster and on more levels now than in any time of history. In our parent's generation, when they were doing research or finding an answer, they went to the library and looked for hours only to spend even more time writing their findings down, but now it is different. Today, we can listen to lectures by professors from the top universities in the world, watch videos on every subject imaginable and be able to talk to experts, each from diffident parts of the world, at the same time. The time of only getting your information from the newspapers or having a small portion of your community see your work is over. Richard Miller explains that we live in a world that is changing how we gather information and present our ideas to others and as educators we need to use it.
  He did an article for Academe on the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting and he wanted to link the violence in the country to the way that government officials voted on what was called the "Bush Doctrine." This was the phrase many used to describe the foreign policy principles of President George W. Bush. Not once did he step in a library or open a book to create his work. Soon, it was in the magazine. What he said next though, I knew, but did not really understand until now: if it was only in the magazine it would be heard and then most likely thrown away but since it was also on their website it is here forever. This is an "incremental" change, meaning that instead of finding information in one means you can now find it all over, which now allows others to "shar[e] knowledge infinitely." Another change is being able to communicate with devices like Skype or Google+ to create documents that use text, pictures, videos or sounds and present them in both print and visual/sound documents. By utilizing all these new tools, children who are learning the information you are presenting can also see how you presented it and use these tools to explain the subject to someone else. A "fundamental" change is the vase works, updated information and the concept that we can "share ideas freely." Today, we are no longer limited to the four walls of the classroom but instead we can connect our students to the world by means that have never been seen before and it is this change, this rush of information, that makes learning so important.
  Just the other day I hear about two teachers, both have taught Literature for decades,  speaking about how neither one of them likes how the world is changing today. They want the old days where if you had a question you asked the teacher and the library was your only place to find resources. They still teach the same way, they use nothing from this century to help their students and it sounds like they do not even want to learn how to change. I remember many teachers like these who, while the other classes were learning how to type or find articles online, they only taught how to write with a pencil and paper and said that the library was the only "credible" source of information. We were learning the right way to write and that we could learn how to "play on the computer" on our own time; it was because of teachers like that, many students did not want to come to school. I saw my parents use a computer everyday and they showed how valuable it is for them and their business.  I do not want to be the teacher that does not use what is here to help my students, so I will follow Richard Miller's advice and keep learning. I want my students to leave knowing how to present their ideas to a world where the only limits we see are "the ones we place on ourselves."


2.) Responds to Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12
  In Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12 she explains the kind of teacher she wants to be for her students, why and how she wants to inspire them to do/be more, activities she has already begun to plan out for them and the kind of people she wants them to become. Here is a young woman who held onto her love of reading, writing and never staying still for life into a passion to teach other children this same joy. She has already begun to collect videos for her YouTube playlist and have linked them to lessons about being yourself, holding onto their creativity and looking for ways to change both their own and their peer's perspectives of others. I loved how she wants to create a classroom that is entertaining and want her students to actually enjoy their works by "reach[ing] them on levels they know and understand". She is not using technology to show videos and Power Points then forcing a book down their throats and wondering why they do not like reading or writing. She is using it as a tool to bring them into the world of Literature must like Richard Miller wants teachers in today's world to do and I am proud to have her example. I had only one teacher like Carly in college: he taught a class about the concept of physics and biology with superheros. He would show all the information about a hero to his students and have then, in scientific terms, how and why they could do what they did. It made many students want to learn more about the sciences and I believe that if there are more people like Carly succeed in becoming teachers then the world will make another great change for the better.

3.) Responds to The Clipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies
  Of the two videos I think that the EDM310 for Dummies shows the importance of the class in terms that it teaches time management  how to build your Personal Learning Network and the different ways to correctly include technology into the classroom. The Clipper Series sums up what might happen to a good portion of students who are not taught to look, learn or think on their own. Everyone told Clipper she was great, gave her awards instead of having her earn them and when she reached her last step before the real world she blamed everyone else but herself for failing. If I could take this same concept I would do a video when I would pick a group of freshmen students in high school, a group of freshmen in college and follow them for a year. I would ask them about their views on world topics, how their classes are going, what they have planned for the next few years and what they think of using technology in their classrooms. After a year I would show the high school students the college videos and the college students the high school videos and have them meet together. I would ask them what about the other group stuck out the most, did they say/doing things that you did not understand and is there something about them you want to do too. This way the high school students can see that college is not about drinking or playing hooky from class but as a means to prepare yourself for the real world. And the college students can see how much they have changed since high school as a way to encourage them to stay in school and keep going. I have always believed that when we see both the past and the future we are able to make better decisions about our lives because we are learning from our mistakes while preparing for a better day.

4.) Learn to Change, Change to Learn 
  After watching the video I am so delighted that the way I was taught in the past will never be seen by my own children because I want them to be connected to the world around them and to have the confidence to make their own mark. When texting first started I would watch these same two boys in my class text back and forth even when the teacher was talking to them and not once were they caught or did their grades fall.I finally asked them how they did this and their answer was simple: they worked. First they learned how to text, then how to do it while talking to someone and then finally they learned how to have multiple conversations with their friends through text while listening to the class lesson. It was amazing that they had done so much and they could so this because they learned to adapt. No one looked at the wheel and said "walking's better" and no one thought of penicillin and said "why not just give them some tea instead". Over time we kept changing and evolving how we learn, live, communicate and think and now we have entered a time where even the makings of the stars have been answered. My favorite part was at the end when the professor said that these times are "the death of education but the dawn of learning" because it is true. Today we have the means to use Apps to help locate constellations, games about math or reading, movie discussions on world topics or even social media sites to take us further than we even have before.

5.) Scavenger Hunt 2.0
Item #3 Make Beliefs Comix









Item #4 Photo Peach
  Here you can create slide shows like Power Point that have photos, music and quizzes on them to either help with the lesson or present to others what the students did for the day. With this you can start a class going over the main points, use photos or music to present it in a more upbeat manner and then have a quick quiz to see if you need to stay on the subject longer or if you can move on. This slideshow can also be embedded on blogs which the students can see ahead of time which will help make subject, especially the harder parts of history or math, easier to follow. If they can see what they are about to learn and actually enjoy it then they will want to keep learning and after a while have them create their owns to show on the class Blog. This way not only is the teacher showing them how it is to be done and presenting it in as a entertainment for learning but this way they can begin to get their thoughts and ideas out into the world in a safe environment  Now we can communicate with other students and teachers and see how others are learning, different ways to use the program and even start making their own Personal Learning Network.

Item #5 Poll Everywhere

Teacher Comments - Part 2

My Comment to Mrs. Kathy Cassidy's "Primary Preoccupation" Blog
Subject: The Use and Abuse of Technology in the Classroom
  Mrs. Cassidy explains that simply having computers in the classroom will not make your students read better, understand the material, or even listen if they are not used correctly. Computers are a teaching tool that can help bring the world to a student to help them learn on a level that will continue to follow them long after school is finished. She also states that it should also not be used when the same task is accomplished with paper like writing math problems or drawing a picture. One example she used was programs that read the books out loud while highlighting the words so that the students can see the words and hear their sounds as they read along. She states that students should also be given the choice to use what they have learned or already know so that they can see the pros and cons themselves and begin to grow for the better. 

  In my post, in regards to her blog, I stated that I agreed with her point that if a child is not shown how to be responsible with technology, then we are harming both our students and our future. I said that the proverb "give a man a fish he'll eat for a day but teach a man to fish he'll eat for life" should be used with technology as a standard of teaching. Too many times I see peers view computers as a means of gaming and entertainment and they wonder why they find essays and projects so difficult. It is because they do not know how to use what they already know. I told her how after my Mom showed me how to use Google Drive so that all of my group members could work on a paper together while never seeing each other. I was shocked that I knew so little about an item I use everyday. Now I know where the best places to find information are, how to present my findings correctly, and why I need to show credit to my sources. I was very glad that someone finally listed the reason why we need to show students how to be responsible with technology as well as the consequences that come if teachers do nothing. 


Subject: How Can I Get Followers for My Classroom Twitter Account?
  Mrs. Cassidy talks about how teachers can use Twitter to help their classroom, how they can begin to set it up and the best ways to get others to follow your class. She talks about how after creating their classroom Twitter account, her students are asked to read out loud their favorite comments, what they liked about what they had read and how they think they could make it better. By starting this Twitter account, her students were able to see students from France using the same language that they were learning and over time, as stated in their video posted below, they began to read better. She also states that following parents or friends on Twitter is not the best idea since many times people use Twitter to complain about others or make rude comments. In the video, the students are excited about using Twitter, learning more about how to use it, the people they have met and that their reading skills are improving. 

  In my post, in regards to her blog, I told Mrs. Cassidy I agreed that even a social media site could be used to further a child's education. I said that I liked how she gave control over the Twitter account to her students which gave them pride in their work, while still making sure that they were safe by making sure anyone they wanted to follow was safe. I hoped that other teachers would use her post as an example to do the same for their own students. I also said that I loved how the students were learning French and she showed them a French Twitter account by students their own age. It gave a real world connection to what they were learning. I told her when I was learning Italian in New York City that I loved going to Little Italy because the more I studied the more I could understand as I walked through the streets. I believe that what Little Italy did for me her French Twitter account will do the same for her students. 

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Blog Post #7

This is a picture of the book 'The Last Lecture'
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch 
  In this, his most famous lecture, Professor Pausch talks about why it is so important for us, even as adults, to fight to make our dreams a reality while still helping others achieve their dreams too. And he did this while only having a few short months to live. Not once was he sad or in denial of what was to come but instead summed up why he was there in this one sentence: "We cannot change the cards we are dealt just how we play the game". Of his lecture I found three parts that I want to use both in my own life and in my own classroom. The first is his story about how Coach Graham rode him hard during practice one day telling him over and over and over what he was doing wrong, making him to it again and not once did he stop. Afterwards another coach came up to him and said that what Coach Graham did was good because if no one is telling you what you are doing wrong anymore it means that they have given up on you. He meant that all day long Coach Graham was telling him that he was not giving up on making him better. I want to use this in my own classroom because I want to create a place where when a students' mistakes are shown they say "okay, show me how to fix it" and not "why should I care?" This can also be linked to his teaching that brick walls are a good part of our lives because they allow us to "prove how badly we want" it and that these challenges help to make us better. When many see a wall in front of their dream most leave, some try and give up but only a small few work together to get over it to prove that they wanted it bad enough that they fought to get it. I also want to show others through my own actions that even when a dream is hard you still need to try because whether you fail or succeed you will be placed where you need to be at that time. Professor Pausch learned this when he was not hired as a Disney Imagineer but later helped to create the technology they used in their Aladdin-Magic Carpet Ride and helped them on other projects for the next ten years; this shows that even when you fail you need to keep going because you do not know if that dream is really dead.
  The second part that I want to use with my students is where he talks about how his friend Tommy made his dream of working on the next Star Trek movies come true with hard work and that he wanted to see if this drive to achieve could be replicated. He did a project where groups of his undergrad students would do whatever they wanted as a project by using Virtual Reality but when they came back after two weeks their work was better than he ever imagined. When he asked what should he do next he was told to tell them that while what they did was good, they could do better because when you set the bar you set a goal that when it is met many will stop trying. So the students kept working and at the end of the year they presented everything to the school but before they could the Dean polled who was in the audience. Every department was present. Soon it became a yearly event where the students could experiences what it felt like to show a work that made others happy and excited. I want to help my students find this joy while teaching them about leadership, bonding and to push themselves to be better than what you are now. I hated it when a teacher always said "good job" whether you did a little or a lot of work but the teacher who kept saying "do better" I learned to respected. Not because they pushed others to be better but because it helped us learn what we needed to do to make our dreams and goals a reality by asking us to take just one more step.
  The last part that I want to include in my classroom is the concept of hidden teaching where he said that he was the Mad Hatter to his "Alice". Alice is a program that teaches children how to make movies and games. What the children did not know is that while they were playing on their computers they had been tricked to learn a complex system of programming. He has used this all of his life and shows a link between those in authority and the chances of the ones under them having a dream come true. He talks about how his parents helped children in other countries go to school and that they taught him to keep helping others too. He talks later about being taught by his bosses and students to work better with others, to use what others enjoyed to teach them what they do not like and to tell others to have fun no matter what is going on in their lives. This is very visible in his "loyalty is a two-way street" part when he vouched for his friend Dennis to the Dean because he believed in him and years later Dennis is carrying on Alice even after Professor Pausch is gone. He gave Dennis his loyalty because he believed and trusted in him which helped Dennis learned to trust in himself and now he is doing wonders all around the world. By giving his trust to one he has helped to change the world for the better.
  In conclusion, I learn that my actions or inaction can alter how a child sees themselves and if they will fight for their futures. I need to work harder to help those around me and to fight with them so that they can do the same for others. If ever someone wondered if the phrase "phase it forward" was true then they should look at those touched by what Professor Pausch has done. With The Last Lecture he shows that you need to listen to others, use what you are being told, teach what you have learned and keep going even when you have reached the bar. But his "head fakes" that this lecture was about living your life and to teach his children one more time was by far the best example of the type of person you want to be at your own "Last Lecture".

Project #9 - PLN

This is a cartton strip involving a mother, her daughter and her daughter's progress report. First slide: mom says 'This is a terrible progress report young lady'. Second slide: mom says 'it makes me really worried about your final grades this semester'. Last slide: daughter says 'hmm...I guess that's the difference between you and me, I'm an optimist'.
My Personal Learning Network
  My Personal Learning Network has been a challenge because I do not know what is the best means to keep everything I have learned and the names/blogs of people who can help me in an organize manner. My method of keeping records before this class has been simply writing them down on paper but now I have been debating over using SymbalooNetvibes or Delicious as my main place to store everything once I have left college. I want one place that holds everything I need or that I have found so that I can have the blogs, names and websites that have helped me to forward as a student. So far my PLN consist of three parts. The first is the usual collection of Pintrest, Youtube, Facebook, Blogger and Twitter where I have learned more about the different ways I can use them as well as how to add my own parts. The second are the blogs of the teachers I have commented on in the past as well as the students from elementary, middle or high school. I like looking back on their first post and see how far they have come and I want to keep encouraging them to post more and more. Who knows, maybe reading a student blog and giving them advice to make it better might become a part of my weekend routine. The last part of my PLN was shocking but after our recent podcast, working night and day making sure that all was right, I can now add myself to the list. I did not know that I could follow directions, find videos on solving our problems or figure out C when I learned A and B. After this class is finish and I begin to look towards my future I want to keep adding on to my network so that when a student asks how to be organize I can use it as an example not simply to teach but as a first step. If I have learn anything in this class it is that where you start, if you keep going, will not be were you end.

P.S. Thanks to this class I was able to post my very first video on Youttube and I have loved it so much that I want to keep adding more during the summer. I have decided to add videos or voice overs of me reading popular books read in middle and high school. In them after I have read one or two chapters I will discuss its meaning, the history of the time the book was written, its author and why their works have become so popular over the years. If you have any advice on this please leave a comment. Thank you.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

C4K Blogs - Part One

Here is a picture of a William Shakespear in modern pajamas, looking at a computer, about to click a mouse while thinking 'To blog or not to blog. That is the question'.


Week One: Hanna
Hanna wrote her post about the historical fiction book called An Acquaintance with Darkness by Anna Rinaldi that she was reading. She stated that even though she was only half way through with the book that she was already in love with it and could not wait to finished it. I told her that I was very happy that I had found someone else who loved books too and that she should hold on to that love all throughout her life. She will be amazed how a love to read can change everything. The only part I would have changed on her blog is that I wanted her to write more: why did she like it, what were her favorite parts and so on. I wanted to leave some suggested reading but feared that they might be for an older grade level so I hope that she will read this blog and think about reading these too:
If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry


Week Two:
Matt titled his post "Banned Super Size Soda" where he stated that there is no reason why schools should have super size carbonated drinks. One can contains 360 calories and 100 grams of sugar and that drinking these can help lead a child closer to obesity. I stated that I agreed with him and that in my own high school we had mostly water, juice or Gatorade and that there were only one or two that had a small amount of carbonated drinks. I asked him that if he was the principle of the school what other changes would he make beside banning super size sodas like having healthy and delicious school lunches and P.E. I also asked that if he were an obese child who wanted to change what other help could you need from those around you. I hope that his school do take those drinks out; it might be that one time a child chose something healthy that helped to change their lives for the better.


Week Three:
Paula titled her post "Perimeter" where she explains using a picture of a rectangle, its measured sides, what a perimeter is and how to find the perimeter. I told her that I liked how she used a picture and not just words/numbers to explain what she was doing and that I was happy to find someone who loved math too. I also included that next time she should write out on the side what she is doing and how she got her answer. This way when others see her blog they can follow along and learn how to solve the problem. I liked her post and hope she makes more.


Week Four:
Amy titled her post "Hegemony" which means a controlling or dominating influence over another. Here she explains her hurt over teachers and other Christians who judge and look down on her when they see that she is not the same as them; that she believes differently than others. She also states that she should "be able to express [her] beliefs without being belittled or judged." I was very shocked and hurt that she had been so mistreated and told her that she should never feel like this when speaking her mind. I told her about my days in an all girls Catholic school in New York and that even though my classmates believed differently then me they where not different. I remember many lunch periods spent asking each other questions, seeing our similarities/differences and even laughing at the thought that to an outsider what we each do might seem funny. We all had a different belief but we respected each other enough to work, learn and grow together and I hope that Amy can find such people too. I also told her to ignore those who talk about her or try to force their beliefs on her because if they were really there to help her then they would not wish to harm her and that she will be in my prayers.

Podcast Project #8