Joyas Voladoras

     The meaning I take from Brian Doyle's Joyas Voladoras is that all hearts are different physically, but emotionally we all have weaknesses that can break our hearts.  I think it is discouraging and pessimistic because it says "You can brick up your heart as stout and tight and hard and cold and impregnable as you possibly can and down it comes in an instant..." and "All hearts finally are bruised and scarred, scored and torn..."This means that no matter what we do to protect ourselves from heartbreak, we will always be hurt in the end.  One of my favorite lines is "...the memory of your father's voice early in the morning echoing from the kitchen where he is making pancakes for his children..."  I like this like because I can relate to it.  Every Sunday morning my dad wakes up early and makes pancakes for me and my sisters before church.  It is something we look forward to, and has become kind of a tradition.

Quotes

These are some of my favorite quotes.

     "Take your victories, whatever they may be, cherish them, use them, but don't settle for them."-Mia Hamm

     "Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is."-Vince Lombardi

     "We often regret the things we didn't do more than the things we did do."-Unknown

     "I am thankful for all of those who said no to me.  It is because of them I'm doing it myself."-Albert Einstein

     "Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."-Ralph Waldo Emerson

     "Some people want it to happen, some people wish for it to happen, others make it happen."-Michael Jordan

     "You cna't just beat a team, you have to leave an impression in their mind so they never want to see you again."-Mia Hamm

     "Never let success get to your head; never let failure get to your heart."-Unknown

    

    

What is Worth Knowing?

     "They don't teach you how to love somebody.  They don't teach you to be famous.  They don't teach you how to be rich or how to be poor.  They don't teach you how to walk away from someone you don't love any longer.  They don't teach you how to know what else is going on in someone else's mind.  They don't teach you what to say to someone who's dying.  They don't teach you anything worth knowing."  This quote by Neil Giaman tells us that in school, they don't teach us anything that will help us get through inportant situations in life.  The things we learn in school make it easier for us to get into college, get a job, and be successful.  However, they don't teach us how to take care of the things that make life more than just a job.  They don't teach us how to be good to people.  They don't teach us how to have a happy family.  We need to know how to read and write, but we don't need to spend ten years of our lives on it.  We need to take time and learn the other things, too.  They are they things worth knowing.

Photo Essay - Okinawa

This is a Japanese temple. When I lived there, this was where my friends from school would go to church.
Posted by-Akira ASAKURA

This is a little extreme, but most of the buildings on Okinawa were made of concrete and looked something like this.
Posted by-Akira ASAKURA

This is a part of Okinawa outside of the cities.
Posted by-Teruhide Tamori 

This is the aquarium, which was one of my favorite places to go there.  They had hundreds of different fish.
Posted by-Stephanie Cornell



Posted by-ippei & janine naoi



This is the mall in Okinawa.  The view from the top of the ferris wheel is amazing.  
Posted by-Akira ASAKURA



This is an Okinawan mythical creature that is a combination of a lion and a dog.  Okinawans always had one outside of their house to protect them from evil spirits.
Posted by-nana.leder



This is an Okinawan sunset.  The sunsets there were amazing because it is so close to the equator.
Posted by-Akira ASUKARA

Recently in ROGATE we watched the documentary Wasteland.  It was about the biggest landfill in the world located in Rio, Brazil.  It is called Jardim Gramacho.  The documentary focused on the people who work there to collect recycled material from all the garbage.  These people are called pickers.  The story told is about Vik Muniz, an artist who goes to the landfill and takes pictures of the pickers.  He takes the pictures back to the studio and puts recycled materials in the lines and shadows instead of paint.  The final result is an image of the people made out of what they work with.
     The most memorable part of the movie for me was the part where one picker's picture is sold at an auction for 50,000 dollars.  His reaction was complete amazement and gratefulness.  He had never been so cared for or blessed in his life, and all of a sudden a stranger had come in and made 50,000 dollars for him.  He cried tears of happiness and thanks.
     From the movie Wasteland, I learned that you cannot judge people by what they do and where they come from.  Just because you are not rich and don't work as a lawyer of a doctor, doesn't mean you are less than everyone else.
     For the people who had their daily lives turned into something big and famous, it was exciting and terrifying at the same time.  They was finally recognized and cared for, but at the same time they had their lives advertised for everyone to see.  They were probably scared of what might come out of it in the end.
     If I were the subject, I would be happy, excited, thankful, and scared at the same time.  Part of me would be thinking how amazing and lucky I am, and part of me would be scared of the outcome and having my life shown to the world.
     Finally, I cannot really picture a part of my life turned into art, and I don't think that any part of my life is big enough for that.  To the pickers, the garbage was a part of them.  They worked there.  If the garbage was not there for them to make money from, they wouldn't be able to live.

Boston.com Photo Essays

I found this picture in a photo essay on Hurricane Sandy recovery.  I chose it because I think it shows hope in a time of trouble.  These volunteer workers are hanging up a symbol of hope among wreckage.   3 volunteer workers are pictured here.  Something that might be missed at first glance is the expression of happiness on the workers' faces.  They are working in the wreckage of people's homes, but they look happy to be helping out.  The story this photo tells is that even after a horrible disaster, hope can be found.  This picture tells a story of three people who decided to make a difference.  This picture means that there is always hope because there are people out there willing to help.  

Source:boston.com/bigpicture  Photo taken by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

20% Project

     In ROGATE, we are working on a 20% project.  This means that we will spend 20% of our class time a week working on a project we are passionate about.  I am working with Jessie and we are doing a music video for Drops of Jupiter by Train.  One roadblock we will face is getting a piano to practice with.  She is singing and I am playing the piano, so we really need one.  Another roadblock we will face is being able to film in the classroom.  Space is limited and we don't have a piano.  It is also not very quiet in there Friday 9th period.  We really hope this project will work and that it will turn out great.

Looking Back on 2012

In 2012, I learned a lot about life, the world, and myself.  I learned that I can survive the end of the world.  I also made some resolutions. 
     To be honest, I didn't think 2012 was going to be anything special.  I was so wrong.  In 2012, my great aunt passed away, I started at a new school, started a new soccer team, and worked at the Jersery shore helping Hurricane Sandy victims.  The last one was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had.  I learned so much from working there for a day, I would never take back the boring, cold wait or the long drive.  I learned to never take anything for granted.  Honestly, when someone shows up wanting food and you hand them a bottle of water and a granola bar, and they act like it's a meal at a 5 star restaurant, you realize how much you really have.  I will never forget it.
     In 2013, I have 2 resolutions.  The first is to train more for soccer and lacrosse on my own.  The second is to not procrastinate.  I wait until the last minute to do everything.  For my honors geometry project, I waited until the day before it was due to start it.  If I have homework over the weekends, I will literally wait until 11:00 to do it.  I already feel accomplished, because it it 5:30 and I am done my homework.  Other than that, I didn't really think about resolutions.
     Thanks for reading!

Thinking Deeper About the First Amendment

     We have been discussing the 1st amendment in ROGATE, and I am still wondering about the right to free speech.  Exactly how far does it go? Obviously we have the right to express ourself, but to what extent?  Also, how would the other rights be affected?
     According to http://www.freedomforum.org/packages/first/curricula/educationforfreedom/supportpages/L04-LimitsFreedomSpeech.htm, we have the right to say anything that does not create a dangerous situation, incites violence, is not truthful, or is obscene.  This makes sense, and these restrictions are better than getting rid of free speech all together.
     What would happen if we did not have the right to free speech?  Would we still have the rights of petition, assembly, religion, and press?  Probably not, because these rights depend on each other.  If we did not have the right to express ourselves freely through speech, we would probably not be able to freely publish our thoughts.  If we could not protest through speech, we proably wouldn't be able to protest through petition or assembly.  
      In conclusion, even thought the right of free speech has very few restrictions, we are not allowed to go around saying whatever we want.  We are not allowed to take advantage of our right and use it to harm others or cause violence.  Finally, the other 1st amendment rights would be affected or not exist at all if the right of free speech did not exist.  
    

Grades!

Yesterday in ROGATE we had a very in-depth discussion about grades.  We were asked what is the purpose of grades?  What is our opinion on the grading system?  Do we think that the current system accurately represents our skills and knowledge?  Do we think that we should stick with the current grading system, switch to standards based grading, or use a combination of the two?
     First of all, what are standards based grades?  This is a grading system based on previously set standards.  We take the test, and it is graded based on where the educators think we are when compared with where we should be.  Standards based grading tells us where we are compared to the highest standard.  I think everyone knows what the current system of numbers and letters is.
     So what is the purpose of grades?  I think that the purpose of grades is to tell you where you are on a set scale.  A means you are already there and you fully grasp the subject.  B means you are there but there is room for improvement.  C means you are just barely there and you can do the bare minumum.  D means you seriously need to work on the subject, and F means you epically failed and have no idea what you are doing.  So there it is.  Grades tell you where you are and where you can improve.  Finally, they give you something to strive for.  The other side to that is that if you don't see the actual test, you have no idea what to improve on.  For example, you can see your grades in Powerschool, but you don't know exactly what you got right or exactly what you got wrong.   
     My opinion of our current grading system is that it is just fine.  It tells us exactly what we did wrong, and exactly what we did right.  the problem with standards based grading is that you either meet or don't meet the standard.  You never know exactly what you did wrong or right, so you can never improve on exactly what needs improving.
     I think that the current system accurately represents your level of skills and knowledge because it tells you exactly where you are on a one hundred point scale.  Standards based grading does not do this.  For example, when you get your NJ ASK scores back, it gives you a little dash on a scale.  This does not tell you exactly where your skills and knowledge are, it tells you of you are advanced, proficient, or partly proficient.  You never get an exact percentage of what you did right.
     I think we should stay with the current grading system because it is the most accurate and grades you on what you individually did wrong and right.  This is the only way you will improve.
     In conclusion, standards based grading is a grading system that grades you on previously set standards.  The purpose of grades is to tell you where you are on a set scale.  Grades tell you whether or not you grasp the subject, what you know, and what you need to improve on.  Our current grading system works because it accurately represents our skills and knowledge.  Finally, we should stick with our current grading system.

    

Creativity Crisis?

     A week ago in ROGATE, we read an artical called "The Creativity Crisis".  This article talked about how creativity is declining in schools and what we can do to fix it.  This is what I think. 
     Creativity crisis?  What the heck is going on?  What happened to the Steve Jobs in our society?  Can we save our society from eventually having no creativity at all? 
     The creativity crisis is what the experts call a decline in society's creativity.  Research shows that American creativity is declining.  However, other countries' level of creativity is not.  What are they doing that they can keep their creativity?  Can creativity be taught?
     According to Ted Schwarzrock, the accepted definition of creativity is production of something original and useful.  America has created things that are original and useful, so why do people say our creativity is declining?  It starts with our education system.  Our country's public schools use a system of teaching that does not foster creativity.  Other countries, such as China, are fostering creativity in their schools by doing away with the "drill and kill" system.  This means that teachers teach a subject, drill it into your head, then give you a test and never mention the subject again.  Where's the creativity there?  Anyway, we need to to foster creativity in our schools.  The hard part is how to teach creativity.  According to the article, human beings can actually train their minds to use the equal parts convergent and divergent thinking requires.  I think that creativity can be taught if done the right way.  In sixth grade, I was making a poster.  The teacher thought it was not creative enough; that I could do more with it.  She said to be creative.  I was like WHAT?  So I went back to my desk, and told myself to think harder and come up with creative ideas.  It worked.
     We also watched a Ted talk by Sir Ken Robinson, who talked about how schools are killing creativity.  Robinson said that we all have extraodinary talent, but our education system kills it.  The educators aren't concerned about our minds, they are concerned about our amount of knowledge.  I agree with this.  My sixth grade pre-algebra teacher introduced a way to do a word problem, and I thought of a way to do it differently.  He said in that annoying teacher voice, "You have to do it this way or it'll never work."  My teacher was actually pretty awesome (for a teacher) but I was sooo mad.  My way actually worked!  Anyway, Robinson also said that we do not grow into creativity, we are actually educated out of is.  This is so true.  The article said that toddlers ask about 100 questions a day.     This is because toddlers always want to know the whos, whats, and whys to EVERYTHING.  Robinson also said that schools are teaching kids that it is not ok to be wrong.  Kids are so afraid of being wrong, they never take risks, therefore never using their creativity.
     In conclusion, America is suffering a decline in creativity, and unless we change our education system, we will continue to fall into a state of no creativity.  This would not only hurt our society physically, but it would make for a very dull world.  That's it for now.  Thanks for reading!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Learning Styles

     Last Friday in ROGATE, we took two tests to determine how we learn and what intelligences we have.   These are the results.
     The first test was the Gregorc Learning/Teaching Styles test.  Its results tell us who we are and how we learn.  I tested into the concrete random group.  This means I am independent, creative, a risk-taker, unusual, an experimenter, inventive, a problem solver, curious, investigative, and intuitive.  All of these apply to who I am, except for the creative one.  I have no idea how I came up with creative in my results.  Anyway, the test also lists how I learn.  Apparently I learn best with:

• Games and simulation
• Problem solving
• Creating products
• Independent study
• Experiments
• Unusual solutions
• Options
• Open-ended work
• Practical ideas
• Few restrictions

     Again, all of these apply, although I am not the best at creating things unless given exact instructions.
     The second test was the Gardner Multiple Intelligences test.  The results tell us where our true intelligences lie.  I tested into four groups.  They are logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and interpersonal.  I also was strong in the spatial category.  These all make sense for me, except for the musical one.  While I play the piano, I have a hard time being enthusiastic about Mozart, and it might kill me to sit through a long opera.
     I think that if Steve Jobs had taken the Gregorc test, he would have tested into the abstract random group or the concrete sequential group.  This is because he was imaginative enough to create Apple and most of it's products, and he was practical enough to design and make products that would be useful to other people.  If Carli Lloyd took the Gardner test, she probably would have tested into the bodily-kinesthetic group.  You have to be athletic to score four goals in Olympic soccer.
     This is how I learn and where my intelligence is the strongest.  This is what I think the reults would be if these people had taken these two tests.  Thank's for reading!

The Ups and Downs, Myths and Truths of Being Gifted

     There are ups and downs to everything.  Ups and downs to being young, ups and downs or being an adult, and ups and downs of being popular.  But what are the ups and downs of being gifted?
     One of the ups is that it sets you apart.  www.ngac.org  says that gifted kids make up around 6% of the student population.  People find it cool when they know someone unusual.  The downside of this is that people think you are perfect.  They set very high expectations, and when you don't do well on a test, or anything else, they are disappointed.  This is because they think, "That person is gifted.  They know things few people do, and they should definitely ace the test."   I'll tell you I hate this.  It puts a lot of stress on you.  Another up is that you may have more privileges.  People trust smart people.  This is a downer though, too.  People also trust you to do favors for them.  At my old school, we had a special needs girl in my class.  I was the one the teacher called on to help her, so when I was helping her, I was getting behind.  The teacher would then say, "Megan, why are you not done?" I was so frustrated. 
     As with most things, there are myths and truths to being gifted.  One myth is that gifted kids are perfect.  People think we can handle anything.  The truth to this is gifted kids often go through asynchronous development.  That's some big word the Columbus Group came up with.  This means our maturities are not in sync.  Who watched the synchronized diving in the Olympics?  Gifted kids would be terrible at that. Our physical, emotional, intellectual, and social maturities progressing at the same rate.  Divers need to do everything at the same rate.  An example of this is lunch.  You are sitting around a table with all your friends, and you start talking like a nerd before you realize this may scare people.  Your intellectual and social maturities are asynchronous.  Okay, enough with the big words.  Another myth is that gifted kids are small, vulnerable nerds with giant glasses.  The only truth in this is that we are vulnerable to dumbing ourselves down.  I warn you NEVER DO THIS OR YOU WILL BE ARRESTED BY MS. MYSTRENA!  Anyway, we are not small or weak.  
     Sounds confusing?  It's not, just do not make assumptions about us.  I mean, how would you like it if someone thought you were small and scrawny just because you're smart?  GO NERDS!!
 

All About Me

     Hi ROGATE!  My name is Megan.  I am in 8th grade at Northern Burlington Regional Middle School.  My favorite subjects are ROGATE, math, and PE.  I like to learn about how things work and what is going on in the world. 
     In my free time, I like to do anything involving sports, going to the beach, and traveling.  I also like to surf.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE soccer and lacrosse, and my favorite time during the week is sports practice. I also LOVE to read.  The Hunger Games is the best!  One more of my favorite things to do is play outside.  I enjoy getting dirty, playing manhunt, and climbing trees. :) 
     When I grow up, I don't know what I want to do.  I am torn between three different careers.  These are professional athlete, orthopeadic specializing in sports injuries, and production designer.  
     What makes me happy? A lot of things do.  Some of these things are my family, my dog, sports, reading, and music.  When I am frustrated about anything, for some reason going for a run makes me feel better.  When I need to relax, I read a book or listen to my iPod.  My dog or my family always seem to work the best though.  My dog does so many stupid things, I can't help not laughing at her.  

    This is all about me.  Thanks for reading!