PLN 12

Tyler Aikens
December 6, 2012
English 9
1st Hour

PLN #12

The article, “What teachers really want to tell you” by Ron Clark, gives us the viewpoints of students, teachers, and parents in order to describe how aggravated teachers get parents being angered with them.
The article, “What teachers really want to tell you” by Ron Clark, identifies why our teachers get angered with our parents because it is developing into a big problem. As soon as parents get the “devastating” news that their child has been acting up in class, received a bad grade, or is not cooperating, they immediately blame all of these problems on the teacher. The teacher is someone who should challenge the student and tell the parent if their are problems that could interfere with their academics, and even if they are doing their jobs correctly, parents nationwide are still deeply angered at the teacher. Basically what the article is saying is for parents to back off. They need to realize that the teacher is doing all that he/she can do to assist your child and if they have a problem, then they need to address it appropriately. Too often are teachers being blamed for “their” mistakes and parents just need to realize (even if they don’t want to) that there child is there problem. A final note from teachers to you: support us and your child, let the system operate, and it will work itself.

PLN 10

Tyler Aikens
November 15, 2012
Buchwald English 9
1st Hour

PLN #10

The document, “In Praise of the F Word” by Mark Sherry, delivers to us the harsh and effective ways to get slacking students from flunking the class, and to them into productive workers for a better tomorrow.
The document, “In Praise of the F Word” by Mark Sherry, opens our eyes and makes us look into the harsh, but needed punishment that could be given to the students that are falling behind in school. Praising the F word is not the %$#@ word, but it is a word feared by most, but completely ignored by fellow peers, and that is the problem. Some students do not fear failure until they are forced to look at it straight in the face. Once they do that, they start to look into the future ahead of them and see that where they are going is not going to be very pleasurable. An example given by this document is the series of events in Scott’s life. He was a student that sat in the back, talked, and giggled as the people around him were getting the education that they needed. After the annoyed teacher delivered to him the belligerent punishment of flunking the class, he immediately stepped up. He finished the semester with an A. The meaning of this punishment does not only solve problems in the local classroom, but also solve distractions that occur all around the country. We can do this by doing one simple thing. Get the person to perceive what is at stake. Once he/she has done that, they will fix the problem almost immediately. Flunking is just an example of one possibility, it worked in the past and it will work today. Fail or succeed, it is a new opportunity for students to create a better future for themselves.

PLN #9

Tyler Aikens
Buchwald 1st Hour
English 9

The article, “Single Sex Schools” written by Lise Eliot and R. Campbell, reveals to us the ups, the downs, the opinions, and the facts about what a single-sex school can do to the results of a student’s academic career.

“Single Sex Schools” written by R. Campbell and Lise Eliot, identifies the key outcomes of a single gender academic environment. In 2005, a group called the ACLU set on a quest across 15 for the answer to a question that all schools ask. What is better? a normal academic environment, or a single gender environment? In my opinion, I believe that we should keep our schools the way that they are, and not change the classrooms by taking away the other gender that seem to cause too many “distractions.” Also, the ACLU also found that girls who were placed in a single gender classroom excelled, but these were the same students that were also excelling in their previous grades and teachings. As for the boys, their results lagged. If anything, their grades dropped and we actually found out that with higher “doses” of girls in the classroom, came higher grades. Components and results of this quest show us that the right way to go for successful education in America is to keep multi-gender classroom environments.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203406404578075533343990760.html

Tyler Aikens
October 25, 2012
English 9 1st Period

PLN #8

An article by Alison Gopnic titled, "What's Wrong With the Teenage Mind?" delivers us an opening into a teenagers mind and describes what influences and bodily changes we are under while approaching the situations we are forced to face.

"What's Wrong With the Teenage Mind?" by Alison Gopnic drags us inside of a teenage mind, describes what influences we are under, and why we strive to meet these goals as much as we desire.

One of the reasons that the teenage mind is such a delicate structure is the fact that kids these days are hitting puberty sooner, and reaching adulthood later. This results in more time for poor decision making, dangerous activities, and even sex drives. But why do we do these things? I believe that the answer to this is peer pleasure. Peer pleasure is simply a need to do something that would entertain your fellow friends, and sometimes these needs can be very dangerous and could result in life-changing effects. For example, when someone says,"Do it dude, you'll be fine," there are many key words that are being used to lure you into the situation. The word "dude," (at least how I see it) is a connection between the two people, making us want to do something in order to impress and/or entertain them. Other key words lie, "you'll be fine" are words that seem to eliminate all side effects from the situation, causing you to overlook the bad of the situation and make it look as if what you are about to do is harmless.

PLN #7

In the article "Highlight of the Night" by ESPN,  the heroic win by the New York Yankees gives them the chance to the down the Baltimore Orioles for the postseason. The Orioles have had a pretty surprising year that has led them to their first playoff apearance since 1997 and are eager to win the pennant. After defeating the Yankees and tying the series 1-1, on wednesday, karma happened on the diamond. The Yankees were trailing the Orioles 1-2 since the fifth inning and had one more inning to fight back. After one out, the Yankee's head coach Joe Girardi made the risky decision to take out their all-star Alex Rodrigez was slumping. After hearing about his decision, Alex said to Coach Girardi, "You gotta do exactly what you gotta do." Raul Ibanez was put in the superstars place and had big expectations. With no runners on, Raul blasted a solo home run to right field. The crowd roared as the ball was caught in a fans hand and they headed to extra innings. Scoreless through 3 innings, Raul Ibanez was called up to the plate again, and blasted a game winner to right field. He had won the game for the Yankees! Because of Ibanez's courage and believing in himself he was able to set the Yankees ahead of the Orioles in the series 2-1.
In the article "Highlight of the Night" by ESPN,  the heroics of Raul Ibanez shocked many baseball fans across the nation. He batted twice and hit two home runs, both of them in clutch moments that I do not think I would be able to cope with. Coach Girardi's decision to pinch-hit his all-star for a decent player was very courageous, but it had to be done. Alex Rodriguez was in the slump of his career batting 1-14 in the postseason and had his mind running through different thoughts that were effecting his game. The mental side of baseball did not seem to effect Ibanez while in his calling, he managed to pull out the possible hidden potential that had been locked within him. I believe that this courage, pride, and trust presented by the Yankee organization and Raul Ibanez should be taken note of throughout the baseball world. If you were a baseball player, you would be able to picture being in this situation, but the amount of stress put upon you is truly unimaginable. In order to overcome this you need courage, discipline, and most importantly be able to believe in yourself as not only a hitter, but as a miracle worker. Even with the circumstances that were given, he was still able to do what he needed to do.

My Question: When you are in a stressful situation in sports or school, what do you do to calm yourself down in order to do what needs to be done.

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=321010110

PLN #6

Tyler Aikens
Buchwald English 9

PLN 6

In the youtube clip, “What if?” originally by Karl Fisch, put us in the shoes of teacher from the past, and compares their issues to our modern day ones. The video kicks of with a quote from the Teacher Confrence from 1703 that states, “Students today can’t prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend on their slates which are more expensive. What will happen when the slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write!” Then they talk about how students are relying too much on their papers and how they do not know how to properly clean their slates. About 200 years later at the National Association of Teachers, one teacher points out that if the students run out of ink from the store, they will not know how to make their own ink. These problems are certainly not ones that we as students do not have to worry about today. During the final slides of the video, the teachers ask questions that are in doubt of the future of technology and its impact on the school education system. One district employee in 1995 said, “Teacher will NEVER use email.” Signs in 2006 were posted around saying, “What if we’d listened?” Thats a great question because now every teacher uses email, every classroom has a computer, and technology takes part in our everyday lives.
In the video, “What if?” by Karl Fisch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJVMj1tQrcQ, our minds are boggled by the question of what if we would have listened to the teacher that did not believe in technology. If we had not believed in our technology on the rise, the way of teaching would be drastically changed in unimaginable ways. Everyday when I enter the classroom, I am surrounded by projectors, computers, televisions, and smartphones that are all being used for the purpose of education. By listening to these unbelievers, we would be in a school without the convenience of facts about a historical figure, know information given by an educational video, or be able to ask our mentors questions before school, or after school with email. It’s hard to believe that 200 years ago we were worried about us not being able to clean our slates properly, and now I do not even know what a slate is! Just 100 years ago we were also worried about running out of ink in our pens, and just 60 years ago, calculators were outlawed. Just recently teachers were uncomfortable with technology when without it, I would have been able to do this assignment!

PLN 5

Tyler Aikens
August 30, 2012
English 9
Buchwald

A Vision of Students Today PLN 1/5

        A Vision of Students Today, a video created by the students of Kansas University portrays what we suspect in the future of education in tour colleges. As the video begins, it reveals a college classroom that could hold around 100 students, and one teacher in which students are expected to learn from. After just a few words from the students,you can already tell that with the distractions, money wasted, and the multitasking that is included in their daily basis, college is not a very pleasurable experience. A survey asked a simple question, “What is it like being a student today?” 200 students made over 360 edits, and all 200 students seemed to be at a disgrace to what we believe college is. They spent thousands of dollars on textbooks that they never open, very few teachers know them, and the overwhelming cost and wages in the world all seem to be piled on top of their desks. They say technology is the solution. They say they will solve these problems, but they have yet to solve anything.
        A Vision of Students Today, created by Kansas University, I believe, offers and considers many different changes that can and should be made. The first change that I believe would solve problems would be to minimize the class sizes, helping to create a better learning environment for the students. Second, they say technology is the solution, but I believe that it is a problem. Too many students are on Facebook, chatting with friends, or are being distracted with some other sort of technology. At the end of the video, I could not help but notice the man writing on the chalkboard and this sparked an idea.Why don’t reel back time to maybe twenty years ago, back when education rarely consisted of computers more sophisticated than a calculator. Why? Because this way of learning is obviously not working.

High School, Only Shorter

Tyler Aikens
PLN 4
Buchwald

PLN 4

“High School, Only Shorter” an article written by Sue Shellenbarger, places us in the shoes of students who have decided to skip their Senior year of high school. Some 2.9% of sophomores in 2002 graduated from high school a year early this year because of avaliable online classes, gifted minds, and  the students future endeavors. Nicholas Meyers from New York City was one of these students whose dream was to get out of high school a year earlier. by doing this he said,”If I get out a year early, that's a year extra of pay, and that's a year earlier of retirement. That's a whole year of my time that I can do whatever I want—make some money, invest some money or just relax.” Luke Prieb was a middle schooler with a very bright mind. His father, afraid of the speed of learning causing him to lose his love for school, moved Luke up into high school classes. By his third year of high school, he had run out of classes to take; therefore he graduated before his classmates. Other vigorous students decided that they wanted to explore the more complex world and could not wait to do so. In conclusion, if you are a bright-minded student and/or looking forward to the world ahead, this may be the right path for you.
“High School, Only Shorter” a mind-boggling article written by Sue Shellenbarger gives us the good and the bad sides of graduating with the upperclassmen. In my opinion, graduating early and spending all of those extra hours for just one year less of high school is not worth it. Why not have a good time with your friends and not worry about you future as much as you focus on the now? If I were to graduate in  my junior year, I would be 17, and by that time, I do not believe that i will be mentally, and physically prepared for college. It would simply be rougher than sandpaper, and I do not want to go through that. As for a gifted middle schooler, I am perfectly fine to jumping to a skill level that is more comfortable with me and the pace at which I learn.  Also, if you were to enroll in this fashion, you would most likely get out-of-state collges begging for you, and I know that my mom would not approve of that. To conclude, I believe that early graduation is an idea filled with poor outcomes and that you should take lifes path to wherever it leads to.

PLN #3 "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"

Tyler Aikens
September 12, 2012
PLN #3

“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Summary

“Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, an article Nicholas Carr portrays just how much Google changes the way we think, read, and do things in general. As the article begins, Nicholas tells us how he feels uncomfortable, and that he senses that someone or something is tampering with his brain and been reprogramming it. For the last decade or so, he has been reading many online articles. Short, online articles. Mr. Carr says that these condensed articles have been altering the way we think about things, and are sparking are interest in a shorter amount of text causing us to become bored with reading more lengthy texts. Also, instead of spending hours at the library looking up needed information, we can type a few words and get answers to our questions within seconds. This proves to be less of a stimulating activity, proving that Google could quite possibly be making us stupid. At the conclusion of the article, we get a taste of Richard Foreman’s thoughts of Google. He explains that Google is actually draining us of our character, and opening us up to the technology of “instantly available.” In conclusion, Google may in fact change the way we think, read, and do things in general.

“Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, a controversial article Nicholas Carr, identifies the good and the bad effects of Google. Most of us now just how easy and convenient Google is for use in our everyday lives, but most of us do not know the side effects of this revolutionary system. Nicholas Carr says that Google is reprogramming the way that we read and act. Being a teenager, I read a plethora of condensed articles and blogs. The article says that doing this shortens our attention span and causes us to lose interest of ongoing books and such much faster than ever before. After taking note of that statement, I believe it and feel the exact same way that he does. Richard Foreman also states that Google is draining our character, and I do not agree with that statement. When I am using the system, one simple search sparks my curiosity further than at any other point, and I am engulfed in the world around me. Based on these statements, bonded by my opinions, I conclude that Google is a needed, world changing system that has done effectively more good than bad.

PLN #2

Tyler Aikens  

September 6, 2012

PLN #2

A Single Lucid Moment Summary

            “A Single Lucid Moment” by Robert W. Soderstorm displays to us the true love and hope of other countries, and the selfishness of our own. The short story starts off by introducing us to Robert and his wife, Kerry, who were both missionaries heading to the Eastern Highlands Providence of New Guinea. As they enter the village of 800 people, they are greeted by it’s people, and they were very generous when it came to caring for them.  After a few minutes, they had figured out that the colony was very self sustaining, had no connection to the outside world, and everyone was similar in terms of money, income, and housing. As the villagers were telling each other stories, Robert decided to pass pictures around previously snapped pictures of Chicago, his hometown.  One of the villagers pointed out two homeless man not knowing about the concept of homelessness, he asked. The reply he got was horrifying to the entire village. Out of the kindness of their hearts, the colonists built houses for the people of Chicago and tried to convince Robert to move them to their new world. This act was awe inspiring to not only Robert and Kerry, but to me as well.

            “A Single Lucid Moment” by Robert W. Soderstorm exaggerates how poorly we as humans do things as a whole. In America, we are to selfish to think about providing for a homeless man, or even give a dollar to his requesting, empty can. How did we evolve in such a way that we did? I believe that if we can put just a little more compassion in our hearts, the world will be a much, much better place. We should also not be so shy and afraid to rely on others for help because that is what we do. We help those in need when we can stand our own ground just fine. Too many people just like to watch their world pass by, and not enter others to help their own lives be easier.  Like others, I have discovered that small things do matter. 

Tyler Aikens
August 30, 2012
English 9
Buchwald

A Vision of Students Today PLN

A Vision of Students Today, a video created by the students of Kansas University portrays what to expect in the future of education in the world. As the video begins, it reveals a gargantuan classroom in which students are expected to learn. After just a few words from the students, I can already tell that with the distractions, money wasted, and the multitasking that is included in their daily basis, college is not very pleasurable. They asked a simple question, “What is it like being a student today?” 200 students made over 360 answers, and all 200 students seemed to be at a disgrace. They spent thousands of dollars on textbooks that they never open, very few teachers know them, and the overwhelming cost and wages in the world all seem to be piled on top of their desks. They say technology is the solution. They say they will solve these problems, but they have yet to prove anything.
A Vision of Students Today, created by Kansas University, I believe, offers and considers many different changes that can and should be made. The first change that I believe would solve problems would be to minimize the class sizes, helping to create a better learning environment for the students. They say technology is the solution, but I believe that it is a problem. To many students are on Facebook or chatting with friends. At the end of the video, I could not help but notice the man writing on the chalkboard and this sparked an idea. let us reel back time to maybe twenty years ago, back when education rarely consisted of computers more sophisticated than a calculator. Why? Because this way of learning is obviously not working.

The Three Little Pigs Summary

Tyler Aikens
August 26, 2012
English 9 1st Hour
Mrs. Buchwald

The Three Little Pigs

If you have ever read the story of the three little pigs,  you probably have realized the importance of hard work and effort.

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs who were looking to build a home for themselves. Two of the three little pigs did not like the fact that they would have to put hard work into there houses, so they found the simplest, easiest way possible. One pig built his house out of straw while the other pig built his out of sticks. Once the pigs were done, they sang and skipped over to their brothers house to find that he was using sturdy bricks. Soon after the three brothers were finished, the big bad wolf had come along to attempt to eat the pigs! The wolf had easily huffed, puffed, and blew the delicate, effortlessly built houses to pieces. The two bigs raced frantically to their brothers sustainable house that the wolf found he could not blow down. The wolf was determined to get the pigs, so he jumped into the house through the chimney. He fell directly into a boiling pot of water, dashed off into the woods, and never attacked the three little pigs ever again.

This classic story of the three little pigs is sure to encourage many that hard work and effort will pay off someday.

TEST POST 

TEST POST 

TEST POST 

-TylerA2016