Learning for the Future

In preparing students for the twenty-first century we need to educate them in certain ways. Skills in certain areas will be necessary because of recent advances in technology, for example, the human race will need to accept that computers and robots may do our jobs better than we do. In other words we must learn humility. Other skills will become the norm as well, for example it will be necessary in day-to-day life to have basic programming skills in all the major languages, we will also need to be able to service the hardware side of things too.

I believe this video is the newest version, correct me if I’m wrong. It was originally made by Karl Fisch (see his blog at The Fischbowl) for a presentation on how his high school should be teaching kids. It has been remade so many times it’s not even worth mentioning who else helped.

I’ve always loved this kind of video – words that shock you along with some quiet music. This goes along with someone talking made into animations, such as Alan Watt’s videos. This was actually assigned to be watched, which is progress in our school system, however it was also assigned that we fill out a sheet and analyze the video, which totally ruined all the progress. The writing in the top paragraph is actually one answer of what I’m handing in! Even this is a connection to the video. If the right steps are made soon all classes will be on computers, and, even further along, blogs, which is why I like including my homework into something I consider fun.

This video makes me think. If a laptop available in 2049 will surpass the combined technological power of the human race put together, than what are we left to do? As much as anybody I wouldn’t like an “I, Robot” situation however this may be for the better. I choose to see these advances as an opportunity; with all the “menial” (think open heart surgery) jobs out of the way our kind will have all the time we need to express ourselves in ways we can’t program computers to; such as the arts. Think about it.

Tip II coming soon.

Tip I

Alright, I was a bit tired when I wrote my last post, so I failed to reveal that I was to include tips about school life. And thus, tired again, I will do my best to write the first.

Tip I:

Don’t be too prepared.

Having recently spent a day at Walmart (among other places, thank god), I should know that preparing is hard. It can be a bit fun, fighting the crowds, sifting through the piles of stuff, squeezing into tight places to let that obnoxious person past to the checkout lane… But enough is too much. Get in, get out, and try to do it early. Later they may give you back to school prices, but they will wear you and your patience out very quickly.

After the ride home look at your items. Consider how much stuff you have. You’re not going to want more than one binder per class, so if you have too many discard or save them. Notebooks are essential for some classes but not others, find out from your teacher or maybe a friend. Pencils and maybe pens are obviously a must, but erasers are usually not necessary, the pencil ones will suffice. Your teacher may have recommended a calculator, even if this is not a requirement it is a very good idea for math classes. I suggest the TI-84, be it plus, silver, plus silver edition, or something else I have not yet heard of, it works very well for anything up to and even past college and the investment might as well be made now. Other than that accessories such as post-its and pencil sharpeners are surplus and not recommended by me, because they become clutter.

These are my main recommendations for materials for the beginning of the school year. I will take no responsibility if anyone gets in trouble their first day because of these, I am not forcing you to use these guidelines, merely suggesting. It’s rather ironic that as I type I am in my first day of high school, right before lunch, but this underlines my point that I do have experience and so am not a total dimwit when it comes to school preparation. It’s debateable as to whether this applies to blogging, but anyway… Try to enjoy or at least get through without mishap your first day at school.

Have you been dancing?

It’s not very surprising that I haven’t blogged recently, most of the time I blog when I have other things to do that I actually want to, and summer is full of things I want to do. However, I seem to have pulled myself together a bit to post a movie I recently saw:

I find it reflects a lot on my view of life; I find it very annoying when I know (to use that metaphor) that I can dance, but am unable to due to everybody around me, for example, my previous school system (HCS) was horrible and failed to meet my needs (a “larger dance floor”).

Keep dancing!

Alan Watts’ videos (yes there are more and they rock!)

Summertime has come!

This will only be a short post because I am doing many things in the summer, including being bored, reading, being bored, biking, swimming, being bored, reading some more, using the computer, being lazy, being bored, and sleeping. With the occasional burst of eating every now and then.

Other than that, well, it’s pretty much obvious that school is now out, therefor summer has started in the minds of most non-insane people, however, the calendar says that summer starts June 21st, or something like that… So, even with legal technicalities, summer has started.

Have a good one!

More Writing

I haven’t posted in a while, and it seems like Arthus’ writing section stimulates me, because once again I have seen it and chosen to post a piece of writing. Again I am doing a poem. Please forgive me if it is a bit sappy and way too hormone influenced. (only arthus understands the title and it’s classified information so sorry for any confusion)

Frodo

I see her walking by
And my heart pounds
In a metaphorical sense, of course
I don’t see the use in talking to her (I would just make myself a fool more)
Except for the occasional comment
I watch from a distance
I am no stalker, just a teenager
I chat once in a while
And that’s okay with me
I don’t really want anything to happen
People offer me help, to get to know her
But I am okay where I am now, watching
I decline.
I listen to my techno music while thinking
Should I do anything?
I know that is is only a “puppy love” situation
But I also know that I like her
In most songs I hear
They talk of love
It is a touchy thing, and all of them get it wrong
All of us can feel it
But never describe it
I cannot describe it either.
All we can do is try to explain how we feel
And mess it up and try and try again
Nobody really understands how it feels for any person other than themselves
And we know this
We all know this
So why am I even trying?
I know nothing will ever happen with us, except maybe a dance or two, because I am just a stupid teenager in this gigantic planet full of them. I am just a stupid geek, damn it, I’m typing this on my blog on the internet, but still…
So I sit back in the chair and think some more.

I don’t like or dislike writing any more (I used to hate it), and it makes me feel strange, especially poetry on touchy subjects. I hope I will gather my courage and ask Frodo to dance after graduation, but I doubt I ever will. But I think we all have and have had our middle school (so sue me if I haven’t had a crush yet, I’m a nerd) crushes, and like it that way.