Monday, September 20, 2010

Schools So Over Rated These Days!

Please go to the following link and view the video: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gever_tulley_s_tinkering_school_in_action.html


Well before watching the video I really thought it was going to be some boring English literature type of video, but now I have completely changed my mind on this. All I can say is why didn’t my parents send me to a place like this when I was younger. I really envy those kids that are able to go to this place. Through this type of learning that is being taught, kids are learning some of the most valued skills in life. Things that can help them solve minor problems, but things that if they want they can let their minds soar and they can create new and even bigger things.


I know that my years going through school I went to a Catholic High School where only the basic english, math, science and social studies type classes were taught, plus religion class, but we were never offered any type of industrial tech type of courses. I know that going through school this is one thing that I know I wish I really had the opportunity to take, because some of the lessons learned in these classes are lessons that can be used countless times in life. I think it should be mandatory for schools to offer industrial tech and shop classes to students because some of the lessons taught can be more useful than some of the other lessons taught in classes that are offered. These classes offer life lessons that can be used many times through life.


I think Tulley is saying that sometimes you have to take out the pressures of school and just allow kids the opportunity to make mistakes and be able to learn from them. Give them the opportunity to be creative and help them as much as you can along the way to complete what they set out to accomplish. I really like his point in the video about how the kids don’t have to take tests. I think tests make kids way over stressed and most kids cram as much in as they can before a test, when it is based on fact that unless you review something seven or more times, this information they studied will only be in their short term memory and will shortly be forgotten.


Some of my experiences like the ones these kids have exposure to I have had either from learning from my dad or from some of my closest friends that are guys and they enjoy doing this kind of stuff in their spare time. Other than that I really have not had much exposure to this kind of learning that these kids in the video have had.


I would love to be able to attend a school like this, I have taken tests to tell me the best ways in which I learn, and have been told multiple times by them that I learn best by using my hands. So this says that I can interact with the way I am learning, and I believe this to be very true because I most often catch myself using my hands in some way when I am trying to learn.


I think much too often society gives up when they see that they are going to fail, or they think there is no way in hell they will be able to accomplish a certain task and give up before they even gave it a shot. We need to be taught that even if you fail, there is always some way you can turn it around to get something out of it, and many lessons are learned through failure, so if you give up before you fail, how are you suppose to be able to learn, build from it, and move on to accomplish more things.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

My Labor Day Weekend Excitment!

Over the Labor Day weekend, I took a trip up to the Minnesota State Fair. While I was there the first thing I did was walk through the horse barn. After the horse barn I went for a walk through the streets and looked at all the food that was being sold, trying to figure out what stuff I would like to eat. After walking around for a bit, I took a walk through the International Bazaar, but didn’t really find anything that interested me. Towards the middle of the day I went in the Miracle Barn where all the baby animals are. While in there I pet a baby duck and had a calf suck on my finger. This was one of the best parts of the day so far. As me and my boyfriend were getting ready to leave, we went into the arena. Inside they had horse drill teams competing inside. This was very cool to see how people had control over their horses enough that they could put on a very exciting show for us. Lastly we stopped at a vendor and got some Italian food to eat before we left. All in all it was a very fun weekend at the fair.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Hello! This Is Who I Am

Hello, my name is Bailey Brabbit. My birthday is January 20th and I am 18 years old. I currently live in Winona, Minnesota. Every day I drive 45 minutes one way to come to class. I am looking forward to my enrollment into the Physical Therapy Assistant program here at Western Tech. I have blond hair and blue eyes and I stand about 5'9". I have two brothers and a sister. I graduated from Cotter High School, in Winona, in 2010. During high school I was very active in volleyball, softball and track and field especially the field part. This past summer I decided to try a slow pitch co-ed softball team with a bunch of my friends. We had some good times and some even better memories. In my spare time I enjoy four-wheeling, snowmobiling, snowboarding, bonfires and just hanging out with friends. I work at St Anne's Extended Health Care and I also do home health care. I really enjoy the home health care because it pays very well, but I have also learned so much from the lady that I take care of. My favorite color is blue. I love eating at Olive Garden. I'm a big t-shirt, sweatshirt and jeans type of person. This is my first year of college and I'm hoping I can get everything I can out of it and learn a lot to help me transition into my program next fall.