H.W 58- Parenting 102

Unfortunatly i was not present for the guest speaker, so im not able to add quotes from that, but i will do my best with the interview i conducted of my mom.

Well i interviewed my mom, and im not gonna add it all on here but i will talk about the important things i got from it. First off she talked to me alot about her childhood, not the easiest. Coming from a family in Ecuador, where everyone knows everyone and her parents were respected, there was not much she could have done. Having 9 brothers and sister, and prefrences over the boys caused a gender role division, in which the women in the household, no matter the age, had to cook clean and keep their grades up. I wont go into details about her childhood but i do want to tie it back to what people say about childhoods and parenting.

My mom though in her childhood experienced this, has never been one to ¨teach us lessons¨ by rasing her hand. She believed this was not the way to go, that problems would just rise due to it. She was the kind of mom that would sit us down, talk to us and explain the situation, what we did wrong ,why she didnt like it and many times the flaw she could have possibly done to contribute. By doing so she allowed us to open our eyes to the bad things we did and change them so in the future we could be in a way, better.

She was never one to make us learn, instead she helped us grow, which i believe is great. She never put stress on us at a young age, though of course as we got older we were taught just how important grades and learning are. One thing i belive most parents should do is allow a child to grow and develop in the wayt hey are meant to. Allow them to be themselves and learn by themselves , not by playing a dvd that will help them be advanced.

Parenting seems so hard, but why should it be? its a s though now we parent ourselves. We are taught and teach ourselves what is wrong and right, we have many many ideas of the way one should act so why would it be hard to pass these things along to someone we love, such as our kids.

I will agree that one way of parenting is not the exact way to go, but do parents ever fail? Did my grandmother being so harsh on her kids fail? i dont think so. My mom didnt turn out that way , my mom is the complete opposite , so why do we sometimes blame childhoods for things adults do? Can we honestly say that a parent of a killer was the one who did wrong? What if the parent did its best to be the best parent for this person?

When thinking about it parenting can be sort of controversial. One person can see a parenting skill as wrong, while another seees it as completly fine and the way to go. At this time the idea of parenting becomes so complex, and the stress of it grows. We are teaching and building up our future, the kids who will become someone in the future, corny but true. We come to this idea that we MUST be the best parents, we must be the perfect parents, when that doesnt even exist. So what do we do, i cant talk for everyone but im very confident in the way i will parent my kids, i know that the way i will choose to do so will be a way that will make me proud and make me see the effort i will put in it.

H.W 57- Parenting 101

I dont believe there is an exact way for kids to be parented. I do believe though that there are different things that should go into parenting, love, care, enjoyment, happiness, education, and any more. I know when i have kids i will probably follow the way my parents raised me. what i love about how i was raised was that it was in a pretty tight family, its big, but we are all close. My mom has 9 brothers and sisters , and i was raised around most of them , making us all have different but strong bonds. Also the fact my mom raised me as thinking of her as a best friend has been the best thing she could have done. It has given me support,love , and encourgement (also basics to parenting i believe)

If i was in that position , i cant say i will follow a certain routine. I dont have this certain idea and am stuck with it, i guess i would be open to different ideas. One thing i do know is that i have this idea of what is wrong and right. Whne it comes to children, i would teach them to respect and be respected, to be unselfish, to be able to help others and think about others needs , as well as their own. I would want my kids to be happy , to be intelligent , and to know how to love and recieve love.

Its hard when we think about it. So may ideas so many options which one should we follow. Should we allow kids to be independent and get their way or should we out restrictions. Speaking formyself i dont believe kids should have there way 100 percent, they shouldnt be spoiled.They need to know the valause of some things, they need to know what it means to have something. Sure we can please them a little but honestly, i dont want my kids to end up being brats. i will teach my kids how to be humble and sweet and most importantly thankful.

With all that being said i do believe that parenting will come naturally, as it did with my mom whom i belive has done a great job. Parenting isnt a subject we need to learn and study for, its something we should love doing , enjoy doing and do it not always based on what a book says.

I read ¨When Parenting Theories Backfire¨ first off this article was very funny. Not only were the outcomes of following the technique funny, but so was the idea that someone would actually think something like this would work or be useful. First i would just like to say that i dont understand why many people think that when it comes to things such as parenting, which i know would be stressful, intimidating, and seem so hard , they believe that following what a book says will be the right way to go. Parenting as i said before should come naturally because you should do what you think is right, and have seen it as being right, based on the way you were raised and etc.

The ideas behind this technique is giving kids option, now im not saying you shouldnt give kids options, but really now? what in the world will choosing a yellow cup over a red one do to a 2 year old??? i find that hilarious actually. With that being said , i would think that parents would realize that this technique would be a recipe for disaster. Honestly yes kids are smart and comeone when given the option of two choices they will definetly go for the third unspoken of choice, the third choice you ha dno intention of bringing in and gives them the authroity you think you are fooling them into having.

i dont believe that is is neccesary to put yourself and your child in this kind of situation. Why not speak to your child from a young age, explain to them why you are choosing something for them based on the circumstances you are i, if they ask for a certain , specific thing give it to them if availabe, simple as that, why must we go into this whole¨parenting must be this way¨ scenerio?

H.W 56-Interviews and Survey Question

Part One -

Question 1- Do you believe that others expect a lot from you? If so, who does the most?

Question 2- What effects do these expectations have on you?

Question 3- Do you in return expect much from others?

Question 4- Where do you believe these expectations come from?

Question 5- Do you expect more from strangers or those close to you?


Part Two-

First Interview-

Q1 Answer: Know? not really Im older, i have expectations for my self. At your age , yes. My family expected Alot from me , more than anyone, i guess they knew my potential, they wanted me to show it when i really wans't.

Q2 Answer: The expectations from my family caused me to really question myself , and question what i wanted in the long run, it made me realize i couldnt just live for the now, as fun as it was, i needed to think about the future as well.

Q3 Answer: Its funny because when things are being expected from you , we usually dont like it, but truth is we expect from everyone, though we dont realize.

Q4 Answer: Im not really sure where it came from exactly, but i can say that its from everything round us. With just our everyday life we expect alot, so why not expect so much more from those around us?

Q5 Answer: Those close to me, its weird because sometimes we know someon so well, yet expect something we know they will never do .

Second Interview-

Q1 Answer: I think everyone expects alot from anyone , let it be my family,friends, co- workers ,or teachers. They are different expectations, but expectations non least.

Q2 Answer: Expectations can have either negative or positive effects. It just depends, such as in school, i was always expected to do good work, and it did, it helped me grow and keep myself at the pace i needed to be at.

Q3 Answer: Im not sure i expect alot from others due to being expected on from others. Im sure expectations are just a natural part of us, to make us feel ,hmm im not sure i want to say complete but it doesnt really make sence haha.

Q4 Answer: The expectations def come from what we see around us. T.v shows, ads, movies, our own ideas of how things should be.

Q5 Answer: I would say i expect more from those i dont know , because i just simply dont know what they will be capable or able to do for me or others depending on the kinds of relationship.

Third Interview-
Q1 Answer: I actually think that know that i am older people expect alot more from me, i have more responsibilities , so that to me means expectations grow. I would say that the person who has always and will always have the most expectations towards me is my mom, for sure.

Q2 Answer: I dont know, it has mostly been positive though , it has showed me what im capable of, im not sure if all expectations have lead to that, i must admit i have let some down.

Q3 Answer: I belive we expect from everyone because its just how things are, its weird but expectations are a way for us to shape or try to shape people into what we want them to be.

Q4 Answer: Like i aid before but adding on, i believe expectations come from what we want from others, the ways we want them to be.

Q5 Answer: im not sure, i would say i expect more from those i love, because i know them i want to make them happy, so in return i want them to do anything to make me happy, sometimes even if it means shaping into someone i want, messed up huh?

Part Three-

Based on the interviews i got this idea that expectations are these "dreams" one can say of what we want from others. On a bigger scale we can say that expectations are our ideas of the perfect person. Lets say we are in a relationship, we have this idea of a perfect man , we then turn this idea into an expectation of this "perfect man" being the complete gentelman, opening our doors etc. Its very unrealistic in situations such as these. From the interviews i also got this idea that whether it be people you just met or people you love expectations will arise. They might be major for those we know, and less for those we dont, we might expect dissapointment from one more than the other as well.

Part Four-

Survery Question :
Do you believe expectations lead to disapointment?

H.W 55- Independent Research

Independent Research Question/Topic :

Part One:

Can the expectations your family has of you affect the relationship with your friends? Is this the cause of the ¨two sides¨of yourself ?

One thing i hear alot about is kids constantly saying what their parents want from them, the things they are expecting, how they want them to be. It can be about anything, be it school, types of friends, the people they date, anything, but what is true is that everyones parents have this idea of what there child should be, they have a dream of the great things their child will accomplish, after all they are our parents, they want whats best for us. But can this become overwhelming? Knowing that (i hope) such important peoples in our lives expect so much from us? Because from what i have heard, these expectations tend to be a bit over the top. How do we deal with the fact that our parents want so much from us? I guess the easiest solution is to put up this front, put up this mask and make them BELIEVE that what they are seeing is the true us. But then the problem rises, when do we drop this mask, do we show it to everyone? do we hide our true selves?

When it comes to family and friends many people say that this is where people have two sides to them. The one in which we please our family, and the one in which we please our friends. Honestly, its probably very rare when you hear someone say that what their parents want is exactly what their friends want from them and many times your parents might not even like who you hang out with. Again, we form this identity that fits with the people we want to hang out with, but that just bring up another question of , are these the people we want to hang out with?

Now, lets say your parents accept what you want to end up being in life, completly agree with everything you say and do, would that make it easier for us to be our one true self in front of everyone around us? Would that be a possible solution to this idea that we have two different selves. With that being said family and friends are the , i would stay, most important kinds of relationships we have. These are people that will be with us for a long time. So i guess its only logical that in away they will affect each other in either a positive or negative way.

Part Two-

Elvis-

I liked the idea you were going for. Like i said before, friendships and families are the strongest of the relationships, maybe the most important depending where in your life you are, so choosing between them is honestly one of the hardest things one can do, though i do believe , with my case anyways, family will probably come first,though i know i wont be in a situation in which i would have to choose. I like that you said you have a best friend who you consider family, theres that bond in which you know this one person is honestly your true friend, someone which ALOT of people dont have. Try changing your question from ¨how can anybody choose¨to ¨what causes one to choose¨ or maybe you can expand it to show the outcome of putting friends first : ¨what are some affects that putting friends first might have on your family life?¨ Overall your on a good start, hope it helped.

(I will do the second one soon, once my partner or someone else posts this)

Part 3 -

Possible revised Question : What are some affects expectations have on our relationships?


The first article talks about unrealistic expectations. These unrealistic expectations can be found in all our relationships , but where is it written that we MUST follow them? The article goes on to show how expectations come from ourselves, at even a young age. it also talks about how expectations, whether are directed towards us or we direct them towards others, affect us in a way in which we are self critical. Also these expectations can be due to bigger issues we might not be aware of. They go on to stay that there are realistic expectations, in which we realize that no one is perfect and we control our lives, no one elses.

http://www.improvingyourworld.com/relationships/expectations_in_friendships_and_in_romantic_relationship_001437.html

This article starts with stating the obvious, expectations will be found in any and all kinds of relationships. They go on to say that any relationship is give and take, with this being said they go on to say what not fulfilling these expectations may lead to. In romantic relationships this may be break up, friendships might end etc. They say that

In a romantic relationship expectations generally go as follows:

• Each partner expects loyalty from the other.


• Each partner expects respect and love.


• Each partner expects to be a priority.

the following are some typical expectations found in a friendship:

• That you hang out.


• That you return calls.


• That you not stab one another in the back.

I dont really agree with the whole friendships expectations, returning calls and hanging out is not what i expect, but i guess it differs per person.

http://www.stresscure.com/health/expcting.html

This article i found very interesting. On a different approach they tell us that expectations are bad for us. Stress is something we all have , and expectations can cause stress in our lives. They say we have to realize that many times these expectations aren't realistic or fair, and only then will we free ourselves and feel better. Expectations can lead to : emotional distress, relationship conflicts, job related stress, stress of raising children, and so many more. It shows us that expectations can come from many places we wouldn't think of and affect us in ways we didn't believe or know possible.

H.W 54

ISFJ - "Conservator". Desires to be of service and to minister to individual needs - very loyal. 13.8% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

Introverted (I) 68.42% Extroverted (E) 31.58%
Sensing (S) 70.37% Intuitive (N) 29.63%
Feeling (F) 69.44% Thinking (T) 30.56%
Judging (J) 51.52% Perceiving (P) 48.48%

*Funny thing Ellen actually guessed these results for me , claiming this one fit me, she was right lol*

So i actually took the test twice. The first time it just didnt feel right, maybe it had to do with the fact that i would read the question then discuss with the people around me about why or how i chose what i did, the second time around i actually focused on what i was answering and what i was putting down, this kinda made me realize sum mitakes i made taking it the first time.

With that being said, the second time i took it i felt the results were pretty much accurate. It pretty much said that ISFJ were quiet, loyal ,friendly, responsible, considerate with how others feel, accurate ect. I guess, since Ellen guessed right , this does fit me perfectly. I find it funny though that all the percentages my results showed were very high except for judging which was fairly close. I like the fact that my feeling side beats my thinking side. Its funny because Ellen and i always laugh about how ¨soft¨we are, as she said in her blog , we cry during movies, i watch tru stories and see people cry and i cant help but tear up , and thought that is kinda corny, i like the fact that im sensitive. It helps me understand people , and put myself in their shoes beacuse as it says in my results, i always like to make sure those around me that i care for are happy. Its one thing about me thatmy mom always tells me to be stronger about. Im the type of person that if we have a issue , i will do anything in my power to make u feel better, to make you happy, even if in occasions im not. When i was younger i would do this alot, but as time went on i learned that i actually need to put myself first, if i dont no one will, and then people will just take advantage of me.

When it comes to being introverted, im not the kind of person that lets say will be drained after talking to someone for hours, but i am the kind of person that enjoys being alone. Its refreshing to just be alone and think about things that are going on , it helps me realize not only what i did wrong, but clear out my mind and just relax. Alone time, is me time, and honestly with a schedule such as the one we have been having in school , sometimes i need it more than other times, when im done though i feel better, especially if i took the time to fix a problem.

My sensing percentage i feel was on point. i follow what i feel and as weird as it sounds , if something feels right to me, i know its what i should do, im almost never wrong. I follow what my heart tells me to do, i follow what i feel ius right . The one thing that did sorta disapointment was the judging and percieving. I have never thought of myself as judging , but since the percentage was so close i guess i am sorta both. If someone does something i guess i do sorta criticize them but i think it has to do with how people around me are , like my aunts lol. They live for ¨bochinche¨ for criticizing people but in a friendly way, to make each other laugh. With that being said, my mom raised with this idea that doing the right thing , is simply right.

I looked at Ellens results, since we are close friends, and i pretty much agree with her aboit her thoughts on her results. They seemed to define Ellen , minus sum extreme parts. The same goes for Moes results, they were very accurate. This shows us that we can say the test is reliable. It pretty much does tell you where you fit on these different categories and where your percentage stands. Also i guess the test can be useful to maybe see the key pasrts of yourself. To understand who you are maybe?

H.W 53-Survey Analysis

Yes, i took the survey.



Taking the survey was very easy for me. I found myself being completely honest with the answers i was giving , thinking about the way i would reply to each question was easy as well. While takin gthe survery, such as the family part, i found myself feeling lucky to be able to answer many of the questions with positive answers, such as you feel comfertable talking to your family about personal issues, you talk to an adult for more than 5 minutes, your family cares alot about how u feel etc. When it comes to my family i am completly thankful for them. My family is a huge group of people that care for each other, love each other and will do anything for each other. I have a close bond with many people in my family, such as my mom, sister and cousin. My mom , i know i have talked about her on here before, but she is the one person i know will always be there for me. The relationship my mom and i have is different from most, ,many people dont trust their parents, lie to them etc, thats not the case. I have 100 percent trust in my mom i tell her everything, i dont lie to her, shes like a bestfriends. Many kids arent lucky enought to have that. The same goes for the questions on friendships , they were easy to answer and by my answers i know i am lucky to be surrounded by the people i call my friends, they truyky know me , undertsand me and i know we will be friends for a lonngggg time. ¨



Over all the results were not shocking. I was honestly expecting something sort of like seeing that people really arent what they put off. One of the results that did stick out to me was that one of ¨you worry what others think of you¨ in which the percentage from yes to maybe was very small. Its interesting because many people say they dont care what people think of them, they are simply themselves, YET as we see in many of the results many students said that they confrom but want to be special, that they do stupid things in order to be accepted by some , and that they worry about what people think of them. It sorta does not make sence, even when it comes to friends people will mold themselves into being someone that other people will like , when they should be someone that they would like to be , or enjoy being. Also the percentage of ¨your tired of the people in school¨made me wonder about how true the friendships are. Its funny because i remember someone in our class claiming that everyone in the grade got along very well, as well as that they all accepted each other and were friends, the results how otherwise. 29 % said were tired of the people in school, so i guess this grade wide ¨freindship¨isnt as tru as people say it is, or try to fake it is.

It seems like when answering the questions of getting drunk and such and molding each other to be accepted shows us that people dont really have an idea of who they are. Im soo lost when it comes to people showing off the negative side of themselves. Why would i want someone to see me as sloppy and such.

The survery i looked at stated that 23.8% of students drunk alcohol before the age of 13 for the first time. It relates to our school survery because many people have said they had gotten drunk, In the case of the survery i dont undertsand why before the age of 13 kids have had more than a few sips of alcohol. Its just setting people up for a life in which partying and getting drunk, ultimatly lookin sloopy is accepted. I know drinking can be fun, but is it really fun to drink soo much that u pass out and cant relemeber a thing, is it fun to wake up with a nagover, and it is fun to be known as the one who needs to have a drink. I dont think so, i think people, teens especially, should have a better idea of how much alcohol they can take, and should take, because i know telling kids to stop drinking will just be impossible.

H.W 52- Initial Theories of Human Relationships

So i guess ill start with what i believe when it comes to human relationships. When it comes to the way people act, i honestly dont get it. I guess it goes all the way back to how we are raised, I for one, was raised to have self respect as well as respect for others, to be able to defend my self when needed but to be reserved , something i guess i do well , being shy and all lol. With that being said, self respect is something that is needed when dealing with all these kinds of relationships , be it love, friendship, family etc the only problem is that i have noticed that when it comes to many of these relationships many, many people dont have this. They seem to not care if they have a ¨bad ¨image such as screaming, not talking, about their drunk days , constant parties and sleeping with many people, sure you can do these things if you want, but why make it so public, i believe that is one example of not having self respect, why would i want people to see me and know me with these negative images ? This goes back to a question ive been thinking about : why do we act this way? Why does it seem like now the most important thing for our images is the number of parties we have been to and things along those lines.

When it come sto friendship , a good friend is someone who is there for you always, someone who even though they might not understand you , they will try to help you, this person has to make you feel comfertable and as though you can trust them with anything. I think choosing friends has to be a ¨procees¨ one can say of choosing people that seem to be like you , or can rekate to you. All my life i have never been one to have more than 10 good friends, and im happy about that. These people are the true people i know will always be there for me and thats important. I dont think its important to have a HUGE group of friends , in my case in school i have 3 close friends and i believe that to be perfect, i dont see why i must show off the amount of people that like me like most do. Once again why is that ? Why do we feel this sence of power when we are surrounded by many people? I guess we can say that thereason we like showing off number is like money the more yiou have the better you are. The more friends you have the more people will think you are cool , i guess.

Acting towards other people should be once again , with some sence of respect. Im not saying you should be all formal with your friends etc but you should have some kind off respect towards them , and anyone. Many people seem not to have this, we see constant bullying, we see constant mockery , arguing, fights, things that make absolutely no sence, but bring people attention. Attention i think is what many people seek when it comes to human relationships, i think everyone wants this, some make it so much more obvious than others, as i bet many of us have seen in S.O.F while others do it in a less noticible way , just with there group of friends or family, not the whole audience in front of them.

From friends also comes the idea of love. When it comes to this part of human relationships once again i believe self respect and respect for the other person. I dont think a relationship can work without any of these. Loyalty and trust also must go. When it comes to relationships i dont see the point in messing around with other peoples feelings, making people think you like them, going out with someone you know you wont be with for more than a week, whats the point? Why not be with someone , or find someone that you know will make you happy and you know will love you? Why settle for a one night stand, or for being used by this person?

These small thoughts on the topics i guess are more things i live by, the way i believe some things should be , and what i have been taught. With that being said our life is always going to be hving to deal with some sort of relationships so its something that we need to know how to do, im not saying the way i do things is the way that is one hundred percent right, but its the way that has worked for me and has made me happy with myself.

H.w- 50

Gatto-

Boredom. Gatto talks about boredom being everywhere in his world. He goes on to say that indeed even the school teachers were every bit as bored as the students. But then who is to blame for the boredom if we blame them and they blame us. He tells the story of how he was "cured of boredom" A story in which his grandfather told him his boredom was his own fault with no one else to blame. "Do we really need school?" he clarifies that he means the forced schooling, not education. He goes on to question this structure he says : Is this "twelve year deadly routine" really necessary? His answer pretty much connects to boredom, he says, "Well schooled kids have a low threshold for boredom" Also "urge them to to take on serious matter."


I thought Gatto's idea's were interesting. He was in no way saying no to education , but he wasn't saying that the way it is right now is probably the best. What he means by that is the whole structure of what we learn and the amount of time we spend. I guess we can say that he is kinda against it. His idea of schooling and boredom go hand in hand. Boredom comes from not enjoying the way schooling works. Not enjoying the structure that we are forced to go through for a long period of time. So, in order to stop being bored we must figure out a way to enjoy the education, to actually want to learn. I agree with this thought. Wouldn't school be that much better if everyday we are walking in and knew that what we were gonna learn was going to be enjoyable? But then again, is that all it takes? "curing" boredom?




Delpit-


Here we are introduced to Distar lessons. Pretty much it is a way of teaching that focuses on "higher education level critical thinking skill." She goes on to talk about how this way of teaching only helps people who know these skills to exhibit the skills, and those who don't end up "needing remedial instruction." Her idea is that students must be taught the codes necessary to "participate fully in the American life." She goes on to say that the appropriate education for poor children should be consulted with adults from their own culture. She proposes five aspects of power , that is a complex theme.


I don't agree with the whole Distar lesson. I think its a way to make students who "aren't " for any reason able to prior learn these schools feel as though they aren't to the level of others. Its sorta a way to discriminate the "bad" students from the "good." I'm not sure the way its done is the best. Then again we need to keep in mind the fact that maybe some of these students are in need of extra help, or are not yet to the level of others for a and b reasons. Going into the codes she believes necessary , who knows what the codes truly should be? What if her ideas of these skills and codes don't work for everyone , just a certain amount of students. How do we know that, that way is truly, genuinely the right way to start ones education.


Mr.Fanning-


Liberal arts schools was one of the topics Mr. Fanning came in and started taking about. He went over what some people have said and thought about liberal arts schools and what his own opinion is. He also talked about the way schools are resembling the structure of S.OF. , even though "we've being doing it that way for years." Fanning also told s what he believed a perfect education was...¨constantly learning, throught out your whole life, and meeting class goals that are set, BUT having your own goals in mind and meeting those as well.¨ He stated that before school was a way to get ahead , now we have this mentality of we HAVE to go, so we do.

I though what Mr. Fanning had said about what a perfect education is was interesting.

The fact of learning your whole life is sorta intimidating, but when we think about it we learn any way, almost everyday we learn something new. Also the ides of setting our own goals and meeting them is something very important, and that we should and need to do. Its a way of knowing and figuring out what we are capable of and keep going from there. Over all Fannings ideas were things i haave heard before but i can tell he really believes in.

Freire-










*I am not done with this post as you can see, i will be finishing up by tonight , i just wanted to post some work to show that i have been working on it*

H.W 49

My class film was not finished, so i wil be discussing the film Class A put togeather. For my class film though i will say that i did not contribut much . The days of filming i was either late or absent , and the one day i was there, not much went on. Selected characters were acting and it seemed to take alot to make that part of the film as the director wanted it to end up. The film for my class was not supposed to be the typical teacher saves student situation, but on the other hand how the student saves the teacher. My class decided to make a situation in which the teacher is in a bad situation and the student comes in and helps them see through their ways. The ending was supposed to be one in which the student made an impact on someone they truly cared about, the teacher who was ultimatly going in the wrong path.

I guess a message we can get from the film my class was preparing is that not only teachers have the power to change someone, or something. We kind of always have this idea that teachers are these great people who are there to help us and show us the right way, we students are never on the right path, we need this guidance and help from the teachers, but thats not always true. Its true that usually when thinking of school we think of these wise teachers passing on the knowledge they have gained to these poor lost kids, but thats not always the case. Students can teach the teacher so much more aswell. Students can also have the power to help a teacher, be their savior. The tone went from a bad to a good one, we see the teacher at his low, only to end up being helped and get to be the good person they know he can be.

Our film wanted to switch the roles of the teacher and student, following with that after seeing the film class A put togeather you can see the different idea they wanted to show us. Pretty much that not in every case a teacher will be our savior , that in many cases there is just no hope and the teacher will give up. We can also say that the wanted to show just how much what we are being taught really matters. We see the student question what the teacher is saying and at the end we see the teacher lash out on them, calling them out for what they ¨truly are.¨

With that being said we automatically see the contradictions from their class film and the films we have seen in class. The films in class show how patient the teacher is, how not even their personal lives can stop them from helping these (once again) poor unfortunate kids. They are so determined to help them out that they will stop at nothing. While in the film we see that the teacher at the beggining seems to try to enjoy his class but at the end just cant take it anymore and gives up . In this class film the teacher isnt being taken serious, he isnt inspiring anyone, he isnt changing or helping anyone, hes just there. We see at the end that even him lashing out on the students isnt important, they go on to what they were doing previosly.

Salvation and education just seem to go hand in hand. Teachers are teachers to change kids, to open doors, to be able to feel like they are making some sort of difference in the crazy society we live in. We support teachers, we always say that in order to be a teacher you must love that job, you must enjoy it and wake up and be hapy to go out and do it, kind off like we see in the films in class.

Extra Credit Opportunity- The Class

While watching the movie I realized how much more realistic this was, the situations put forth were a bit more releatable, unlike the other movies in which the teachers main priority are the students. I mean the other movies gave out these great ideas of how good some teachers are , how dedicated, and how they can really make a change. This movie on the other hand showed us a different side, in which the teacher was a bit more "real."

When it comes to the situation with Souleymane I think we have all been in a class with someone like that. Someone who sits there seeming not to have a care about the class, makes jokes, starts arguing with the teacher and ends up arguing with the students, insults are thrown, words are said, someone ends up leaving the class. Many times, actually almost all the time situations such as these are resolved by simply kicking the student out, such as one of the teacher states in the movie when speaking of how she handles the situation with Souleymane, SOF does this. Whenever a student acts up security is called, they are asked to leave, the problem is "resolved." I'm not sure if this is the right way to handle it, but if not what could work? It kinda goes with that mentality if you don't see it then there is no problem, as long as the student isn't there to distrupt the class, then everything is fine. Difference to the film, SOF doesn't seem to follow up on these small incidents, they are let go, until it gets out of hand of course, but it seemed as though the school in the movie takes a bit more action, not alot more, but there is something. They have meetings discussing the students , choose weather to warn them or deliberate expulsions. Maybe that is something we should work on, fixing the problem not ignoring it unless its happening right in front of our eyes. It may seem like a simple disruption isn't much during math class, science class, history class, or any class but the safest thing to do is look into it, pay attention to it, follow it.

When Souleymane was sitting with his mom and the teachers I couldnt help to think about what I would do in the situation, the first thing that went through my head was whether expulsion was an option, replaying what had happened in my head i wasn't sure, sure he got out of hand, but it wasn't ALL his fault. With that being said, i don't think not ONE single person can be held responsible for what had happened. The finger should not have been pointed only to Souleymane, he was just the bubble that had enough and burst. Mr. Marin wasn't a great teacher compared to what we have seen in the other films, but he wasn't someone who just gave up on the students either, as we saw when Souleymane did a good job in his self portrait. Mr. Marin contributed to the problem, calling the girls "bitches" having problems with the students, being many times "disrespectful" but again, he is not completably responsible. It was like a domino effect, sure you push the first one, but they all fall and hit the others. then again, Mr. Marin did do wrong in not adding what he had done, he sorta "sold him out" by making it as though the whole problem was Souleymane, when it wasnt.

At the age of 14- 15 its hard to say they have to be morally responsible for their own actions, sure thats the way it should be but that doesnt mean its the way its going to be. With the excuse of them being "children" we can say no, they are not yet completly responsible for their actions and choices , but they are responsible for some of it. They should think more into outcomes of what they do , how it will affect them and others, but what 14-15 year old sits there and does this, very few. Thats why its so complicated , I for one cant say yes or no to this question , im in the middle of it all. Now is the teacher responsible for finding a solution? Again the logical is yes he is, when a teacher becomes a teacher he shouldnt only teach, he should be there to help, atleast in their classroom. With that being said sometimes teachers don't know what to do, if they are trying and the student isn't colaborating then theres point, nothing will change. It takes two to tango, corny but i think many of us , students and teachers, shoud keep this in our heads. How can we point fingers if we make faults? How can we ask for change when we arent trying to do anything ourselves? Its something we need to think about.

Over all i really enjoyed the film , I liked the realistic feel, the fact that i could relate, and how it made me think about the situation shown.

H.w 48- Treatment for Savior/Teacher Movie

The movie starts off with the music , loud "hard" music. The rebel is walking around, with a huge posse behind him. Hes making not so funny statements , but they still laugh along. The girls have adoring eyes, the guys casually glare, yet they still stand there and follow him into the classroom. They sit crowded around him, unimportant conversation is going on, no one really cares. The week before the last teacher ran out, she couldn't handle them, it was funny, it seemed like no one could, no one was on their level, no one got them.
On the other room a guy is meeting with the principle, discussing his first day, the principle warns him, they aren't a easy bunch, he thinks he can handle them, they stare at each other, the principle with a worried look, the teacher with smile, he thinks he can conquer the world.
Back in the classroom, They wondered if they were gonna have another free period, but suddenly the door opens, its the principle, hes not important no one pays attention. He has some sort of ¨important¨announcement , suddenly this guy walks in. Hes kinda odd looking, hes smiling, dressed in clothes as thought trying to show hes different, he definitely looks different. The principle introduces him, looks at him with pity then walks away shaking his head. The teacher has no idea whats coming for him, but they do.
He tries to get a word across, not gonna work , hes blabbering , blah blah blah, no one hears a thing, no one pays attention.Hes loosing the battle he doesn't know what to do. The rebel walks out he doesn't care , the rest follow, the teacher sits there, now what? He sits there hand in his hair, he cant achieve it, he knows it, he puts his head down, he has given up.

H.W 47-Class Film Preperation

List of ideas-

*-Of course there has to be a ¨bad boy¨ or the rebel, the one who just isnt giving into what the ¨savior¨ is trying to show. IDK why , but it seems to me like this should be a guy, the cool laid back type.

* -The student who secretly wants to find out why this ¨savior¨ is trying so damn hard. The one who is interested in what they have to teach.

- The students who follow the rebel, the savior wont get through to them , no matter how hard they try, they must get to the rebel first.

- I guess our film should focuse on the typical classroom scene,where the teacher tries to get their attention, fails, brings up some weird topic that will catch them, then they pay attention only for the teacher to fail in the end once again.

-OR we can do a different scene. In which the students are habing problems
(fight scene or such) where the teacher comes and ¨saves the day¨only in their eyes, to end up feeling rejected by the students.

*- Something key has to be the words that are said by the students and the teacher. There has to be that sarcasm from the student, showing they dont care, and the remarks from the teacher must be strong, riddely almost, something that sorta confuses them but pulls dem in as well.

- Also we can make the film sorta mocking the teacher/savior situation. Not so sure how.

The thoughts with the star by them are the most important because they will make the film that much more powerful. Having that one person who does not believe in the teacher is key beacause it shows the difficulties of both the teachers ans students. The teacher for trying to get to them and the student for just not being able to let go off what they have seen, lived and have been raised to believe and be like. Also the student who secretly very curious about the teacher is important because it shows us hope, once again hope for both teacher and student.

H.w 46- Research and Writting

¨What are My Rights?"

Chapter 2- You and School

So since my topic focuses on the the difference in the school system and the ways of schools in both here (me now) and in Ecuador (when my mom was young)I chose the questions in this chapter that seem to relate a bit more. They are -

Do I have to go to school?

This is the first question asked in this chapter. This seemed important to me because though we ask ourselves this questions many times through out the week we dont really know the answer. Pretty much the first sentence answers the questions ¨By law, all U.S. children are required to go to school¨ (Bummer huh? -_-) We go on to find out that depending on the state in which you live in , the minimum age to start school may differ. They also state tho that children five to six years of age are requiered to attend first grade . Theres different options of schooling and attendance, such as: home schooling, charter schools etc. We are allowed to choose where we want to go to school but going is a must. An important fact is that before starting school we must meet the requierements of immunization.

When it comes to my topic on the difference in the schoool systems in the U.S and Ecuador I already see a difference. Though school is techniqually requiered in Ecuador , if you do not attend you are not doing anything wrong, you are in no trouble whatsoever. Though many kids want to go to school (usually in the poorer parts) sometimes they just cant go. They must help their families and go out to work at young ages. Due to poverty many people cant afford going to school , the cost of the uniforms (requiered up until grade 6 and now maybe even beyond) books and many other supplies are just too much for some. Also, schools in Ecuador are almost all ¨Catholic Schools type¨ From first to sixth grade you are requiered to go to these schools that reflect catholic schools , wear uniform , and usually its same sex. Once out you may transfer to a same sex school.

Its weird though, because something most people take for granted such as education, other people might never experience and want to.

Do i have to obey my teacher ? and Do i have complete freedom of expression at school?

These two actually seemed to relate to me. First in the questions Do i have to obey my teacher? What i got was that sorta you do lol. They have the right to ¨discipline¨you for breaking any rules that are set , they have the right to suspend and expell you , but not anything crazy like give you a criminal record. what i didnt know was that corporal punishment may be allowed as long as its not excessive, and physical discipline is not prohibited by the Constitution. It ios though against the law to insult and abuse a teacher, the state ¨because of there special position in the community , teachers are given extra protection by the law." The second questions answer starts of ¨Noone whether a juvenile or adult has complete freedom of expression¨Kinda sums the whole passage up.

In Ecuador you MUST obey your teacher while in school at all times. No if ands or buts. Teachers there are to be respected and listened to, if not you will get punished. Teachers have the right to punish you in the way they see right, such as hitting hands with rulers, pulling ears, yelling, or seperating from anyone. Its harsher there, you pretty much have no say in anything that disagrees with what the teacher is trying to get you to say , do , or even be. When it comes to your freedom of expression, in school you dont normally have any , IF its against what the school believes, yo u will just end up being a rebel.

I find it ionteresting how discipline here and there differ. Here a simple detention can be given for someone talking back to a teacher in a rude manner, while in Ecuador you can get your hands hit with a ruler about 5 times just for seeming disrespectful.

* Im not done yet, i will try to add more in the next day or two*

H.W # 45- More Big Thoughts on School

After reading the small article that compares both Hirsch and Sizer's theories on education, realized that both these guys are to thank for some sort of form of our education. Which even though most people would say differ, really dont.

Ok, so technically they are different Sizer says "Students should leave school as well-informed skeptics, able to ask good questions as a matter of habit" while Hirsch says "Students should be able to read and know the basic number facts by the end of the first grade" This shows us that not only do the focuses on different grade leves in school "Hirsch worries motly about elementary schools, while Sizer about high schools" but they focuse on different ways of learning, different parts that make a school good.

With this in mind though we can agree that both Sizer and Hirsch goal was just to make education better, the way THEY saw that it would be able to help us grow as students. This is something I believe they have in common, that "drive" to sorta make a difference.This shows us that though these theories arent like two peas in a pod (alike in anyway), they can be like strawberries and cherries (both rich in color and flavor) lol.

Based on my experience in S.O.F i would say Sizers theory does help us think better, use our minds and what not, its almost as i said in my last post, we have it within our reach, but we dont grab onto to it, we let it fade into the back , not realizing how helpful it can really be.

H.W #44- Big Expectations for School

Where The Bar Ought to Be:
I thought the ideas of Ms. Kenny were great. I believe that we are always thinking of how to make schools great, how students should be taught, how they should behave that sometimes it may seem as though we forget that one of the importants parts of schools are teachers. We seem to forget that if it was not for many teachers schools just wouldnt be schools. Teachers are the basic blocks of building a school, we need them, but we also need them to emjoy what they do.
It may seem corny, as we have seen in all these movies (Freedom Writers and Dangerous Minds), the way teachers seem so into what thet do, how they put the students first and how they try and keep trying no matter how many times they fail, but lets be honest we all like that idea of someone caring, someone knowing we CAN make it , giving us tha push we need. Most teachers should be “talented and passionate” in what they do, and we need to keep that in mind in order to not only benefit the schools, but the students that attend every day.

Obama Speech:

This speech focused on us as students. The fact that we need to make that effort, we neeed to WANT this education that in the end will benefit us. We have the responsibility to do good, we should be thankful for it, appriciate it and want it.
This speech sorta took me back to does days where my momwould tell me how lucky my sister and I were to be getting an education here, how we had a great opportunity to BE someone , unlike many people in ecuador and many parts of the world. She always said its up to us though, to take advantage of what we are recieving , to not take it for granted. Its kinda funny though how it seems to everyone else how pur education is a gift. while we DO take it forgranted, we skip, we dont wanna go, sometimes we just give up and are happy with barely passing. Its important though for us to take this serious. I guess school should be our number one priority, at least we are told that. We gro up seeing that without it , we just become nothing at all.

H.W 41- Initial Internet Research on Schooling

Internet Research on Schooling-


"Ecuador- Educational System- Overview" http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/400/Ecuador-EDUCATIONAL-SYSTEM-OVERVIEW.html
This article gives us some insight on the education in Ecuador starting in the nineteenth century.It starts off telling us that Ecuador's educational structure was under the control of the Catholic Church. We learn that due to this the school environment was very strict and harsh, teacher's were not allowed to teach anything that would be considered different than what the church believed. School years were spread differently , primary schools education consisted of only religious and moral education , reading, writing, Spanish, and weights and measurements. Secondary school differed from location and school and it's curriculum varied on different subject matters.

insideschools.org

This article is very similar to the one above, except for the fact that it focuses on what schools in N.YC. are like. It goes through the criteria. We learn about different schols, what they teach, the way they teach it and why. We learn about school days, vacations , and days off. Based off of this website we can see the different structure of schools, we see what is expected from each school in any part of n.yc.

http://www.harlemlive.org

This article focuses on discussing the dop out rate in many schools, i found this article interesting because i would like to compare the drop outrates from both Ecuador and N.Y.C. Thought this article gives some number on drop-out rates it didnt have much information , i couldnt find anything else that can make me compare and see what typical school life is like.

* im having alot of trouble finding articles that help me in the topic i have chosen, taking this into consideration i am looking into changing my topic or making it a bit more clear*

H.W 40- School Interviews & Synthesis

Interview of Mom about School:

1.How was your experience of school in Ecuador?

School in Ecuador was very, very strict. I was a straight A student, mostly b/c if I wasn't I would sure hear about it from my mom and teachers. Back then teachers had ABSOLUTE power, you couldn't scream at them, give them attitude , like I see most students now do, if u did they would stand you in front of class , hands out and hit them with rules, it was very harsh.

2. Wow, did you feel intimidated?

At times yes, but coming from a small place where if I didn't go to school I would have to stay home and cook, clean etc. I was very excited about getting and education, and I was never a trouble maker, no one really was.

3. What about your social life?

If it wasn't for school I wouldn't have had a social life, my mom was very strict , she's didn't even let me go out with my friends I had to beg and beg and then maybe was allowed. But during school hours I had many many friends, over there its different, everyone knows you , everyone liked me I was the "sweet, pretty girl" who people voted for to participate in parades and I marched as a "bastonera" (sorta like a cheerleader over there). I loved my school life when it came to friends, I can say it was the most fun I had.

4. What do you think about how schools are now?

Its sad to see. Mostly b/c you see there lite kids act like they are tough and grown. They have no respect for their peers , teachers, or themselves. It scares me, your sister is in 7th grade and I don't want her to become one of those rude kids, she should he respect to the teachers but den again not let them step over here, there are boundaries and limits that go both ways.

Interview with older cousin:

1. How was your school experience?

Woww, honestly I was a bad ass. I'm not the type to take shyt from anyone and my high school yrs where like that. I used to fail many classes, I guess getting with the wrong crowd affected me, we used to cut and fight a lot, I transfered schools twice until I got my act straight and now I'm competly different.

2. Do you regret anything from school?

No because that whole long process helps you discover yourself. More than learning about history , science, etc. I learned about myself, my friends and life. I learned how to trust and not trust people, how to stay with friends, in a way you are a "grown " up in school, you look after yourself .

Interview of other cousin:

1. How was your experience of school?

I've always been lazy , but back when I went to SOF I was excited , my mom thought wow I got into a good school in the city, I had a bright future. I tried to do my best in school, I was in the basketball team and ended up in a good college. I made the best of my time in high school, I wanted it to be the most memorable , and it kinda was.

Interview of Friend:

1. How is your experience in school so far?

So far in school I've seen both the good and bad sides. I was a A student then almost failed now I'm in between , I had great friends, live the drama , got them back and went over it again a couple of times. It can bever be perfect I think, but it helps u grow.

2. In what way?

I guess you learn all that important stuff haha, but u also learn and see and realize things that you might not have otherwise . It teaches your how to be independent, atleast for 6 hrs a day. The way my school works if I slack off one bit I'm done, so I have to be on track , no one there to really help.


From the interviews I saw 3 different possible views/ sides of school. They differ such as my mom wit respect toward the "authorities" and my cousins "bad-ass" persona and her wanting to be in charge of everything. Its like a fight of dominance, but is the teacher always right and student always wrong?
I found interesting how in Ecuador teacher did always , and even to this day have all the power in school. Why is it that over there it is still like that? While here we can say kids take education for granted? Does it have to do with the lack of resources in places such as Ecuador? Or with just simply the structure, I will try to look into that soon.
Its also interesting how power even goes into school? Should school be about intimadation and power , does this help us at all? Or make things worse for us?

First School Assignment

Part A-
List of Questions:
1. How did school come to be?
2. What was the first public school ever?
3. Will there ever be an alternative to school?

List of Ideas:
1. School separates us based on the knowledge we show to have.
2. School can either make or break someone's self esteem
3. School goes hand in hand with the putting out there the ideas that media wants us to believe

List of Experience:
1. Small group of friends in all my years of school.
2. Stress of grades and keeping up with the work in a way you have always done.
3. Seeing how people get treated.

Part B-
When people think of school I'm sure the first thing that comes to their heads are "education, friends, knowledge" but do they ever think " gossip, enemies" and things of that sort? Most of the time no. Though school is made as a pathway to knowledge and a brighter future , at the same time there is a hidden pathway to depression, loneliness and so. We must admit that school was started with "good intentions" a way to keep us mentally healthy? To have a social life, while at the same time learning new things, but as time went on it turned into something soo deeply complicated.

School, for some people can be the greatest time , while others just pray for it to end as quickly as possible. Some can't handle the stress, some can't handle the bullying and the negativity from peers, this can ultimately lead to disasters. But what can be done? We can't blame the system for the way people are, because I believe the reason school has become so negative is due to the way people are. I believe school can lead some people to do things that they wouldn't other wise due. So far in all the years of school I've seen people who are extremely shy, they are picked on constantly , they are taken advantage of, and all I can think of is "why?" Why must people be this way to others? School is like a second home we spend about 6 hrs surrounded with the same group of people for yrs, shouldn't we treat them like family maybe? I would be interested in seeing why or how this can be changed.

* Finally got it up, not going to go on about why its late, but here it is*

My group for this art project was Ellen and Moe. Initially we had a set plan on what our video would look like, it was going to be the "8 Rules of Cool" BUT as you can see that didn't really work out. We were stuck on ideas and decided to take a break and started having just random conversations , which Ellen so slickly (-_-) tried to record on the camera. We went on with topics of anything that came to mind, but ended up on the topic of alcohol and different lifestyles.

The insight i guess could be portrayed as showing different views of cool, based on our back round. As we know Moe is Muslim, so his view and ideas of what is good, wrong, bad, right and cool is very different from my 23 yr old cousins lifestyle, that she is ultimately used to. I guess people can see from our video that cool varies, cool is made out of what we believe , and were raised to believe. This just proves the point that cool can be soo different .

Based on this project making art is not soo cool, its actually really difficult, when it comes to a video at least, there's a lot of thinking and planning that goes into it, very different from a simple painting or drawing, as i did in the last unit. When it comes to the final outcome art is very cool though (not sure if our video falls into the category tho) Seeing the hard work being paid off and how beautiful the outcome is , is ultimately cool.

Draft (more will be up)

What do we strive for in life? Though many of us say stuff such as "happiness" and "good fortune" what we really want is ACCEPTANCE. We are constantly in the look out for the acceptance of those around us, and how do we try and gain this? By trying to be "cool" ofcourse!!

WHAT IS COOL?

"Cool" is many things, but most importantly its our way to try to feel, be and act like something we definately are not. What we don't realize is that we NEED this idea of cool in our lives because without it we would just be plain lost.

Think about it? What is cool? Its this mask we put on and try so hard not to take off. When it comes to what people think cool is though, we more often then not get " being original" and "confidence" aswell as "being yourself." Are these things the real definitions of cool? They might be. Cool is what we want it to be, what we grew up seeing as cool, like a story told and told through out years. As said in class cool can be based on our "cultural maps" these maps reflect where we grew up, who we grew up with hence making our ideas of cool different right? Truth is overall no matter where you grew up, what you believe in etc cool is a performance that looks real, but is not. Its the idea that we can look so calm, chill, as though we have no worries in any situation.

This cool lifestyle is much more than seeming cool, its a way of life for each and everyone of us. We are raised with this idea of what to be like and how to act, but is this good for us?

HW 36

Elvis-
If we have realized that cool is our own definition of our own state of mind, than we would be doing more cool things to benefit ourselves than benefit others.
Umm I would add-
Our own definition of cool can allow us to branch out into individuals who can be truly happy. Without realizing that our current idea of "cool" is trapping us into certain "acts" that we play in our heads we are being held back from allowing ourselves to expand. This idea of feeling empty can be filled by finding ourselves. Its easier said than done though, we have been "trained" to have this idea of cool and stick to it and be limited to it that change is hard. It could be possible though, and once we get it done we can feel the relieve of being emotionally, physically and mentally relieved.

Katherine-
These (cool) paths don’t allow us to be authentic in any way and force us to become actors performing a character.

Try something such as-
This feeling of "cool" can only affect us in a way that does not allow us to be our true selves. We are forced to constantly change who we really are because we feel less than someone who seems to be "cooler." Honestly our status of "cool" can't be changed. Its already determined by what we have grown up to believe to be cool. This idea of trying to be cool is only making us waste significant time we can ver get back.

H.W# 33

Paper Outline (possible not 100%)


Thesis- Trying to be "cool" is actually making us loose who we truly are.

"Cool" is "uncool" - showing how this cool idea that has been put on us is wrong (maybe even bad?)

Possible Arguments-

* Having an idea of the different types of cools there are, how we fit into them, what happens if we don't (outcast?)

Ummm I'm not set on the arguments , since I haven't decided on my thesis but I know I will put in these things that we have learned about and talked about during class discussions:
-Merchants of cool -"how something is made 'cool'"
- The empty feeling- how it relates to cool, can it be due to the "stress" of trying to be cool?
- The way of living cool, looking cool..
-Tattoos "cool" image
- Cultural maps- what they see as "cool"
- Cool Pose

Most of these will probably be one category since they all relate, but once I'm set and stone with one thesis I can have a more structed , detailed list.

HW 32 - Tattoos & The Presentation of the Self

My cousin was about 18, making me 13 , when she got her first tattoo. I don't even remember what it originally was since she changed it about 3 times since, each time not liking what she chose. Its on her lower back, a red rose with vines spreading through the sides. When I first saw it I have to admit I was pretty excited , of course I had seen tattoos but not soo close up before then. I thought " woww I'm definitely getting one" and for a couple of yrs (maybe 2) I went on with ideas of what this tattoo would be and look like, then I got over that.

My family honestly sees tattoos as "trampy" (kinda funny since my cousin got what is considered a "tramp stamp" -_-) but with dat aside, if your covered with them they might just look down on you, think your damaging the "sacred temple" that Is your body. When it comes to me, I wouldn't get a tattoo, of course unless it signifies something VERY important, it would b very,very tiny in a place where almost no one can see it (behind my ear maybe?) But for now I have no plans of that, not anytime soon either.

To me, tattoos should signify something, the way I see it ( and the way Fanning put it very well when he talked to us about his) a tattoo is a commitment. Its something that you HAVE to commit to, think about it, this picture ,symbol, or w.e is going to stay on your body permanently , you can never get rid of it (unless you remove it with laser or what not) So why would u put something completely pointless and something you saw and thought "hey that's cute,pretty etc." On your body to stay on for a long period of time. I guess there's also the idea that tattoos are "art" but I don't think there is any reason for us to be living art pieces.

We can relate these "art tattoos" to being "cool." When u get a tattoo that is very out there, very colorful,very big, what's the point behind it? We can get the typical "I liked it" but when we look deeper into it I could say people get tattoos not for themselves but for others, why else would it be so big and flashy? Kinda like a new car, you drive it around with loud music so everyone can look and go "omg is that (add name) in that new (add car type)" tattoos work that way. You flash them to people you know,even worse people you don't know so they can have a certain idea of you, or maybe think differently about you. People might think it takes some guts to get a tattoo or they might respect you more than before, or it can back fire, they can look at you and say "wtf , that was pointless, why did he/she do that to themselves" Overall people get tattoos to seem different , right? But how can It be different if everyone is doing it now?

I believe there's a deep hidden reason for tattoos ( the flashy ones anyway) kinda like dat empty feeling maybe? Maybe people get these kind off tattoos because they are insecure or want to seek approval from their piers? I don't know lol, and I don't want to critize anyone with these kind off tattoos because they all have their reasons, they have their "special story" behind each and everyone.

H.W # 31

I asked my friends (close friend) do you like the way you look? I could tell she wanted to give me and honest answer, she thought about it and replied " I know everyone is different, and we all try to look like the idea of perfect that we have, sure Im not 100% happy with the way i look, and many times i try to change things" she went on to say " i want to accept who i am though, Im trying to anyway."

I asked a couple more questions for example:

how do you try to change the way you look?

- Make-up, sometimes i might go crazy with it. My hair as well , I cut it differently, or dye it in order to look different.

Im not adding the rest of the questions but I will talk about them. I thought her answers were honest, though i could tell she didn't talk about this at all. I didnt get any deeper answers but i thought they pretty much showed what many people think and do when the are insecure about the way they look. I dont think with any individual we can get 100% into what they really think and do in order to have this cool presentation.

When it comes to me i dont go cray with my presentation. I mean there are thing i dont like that i try to change

example: my small looking eyes- i put on about 3 layers of mascara to make my eyes look bigger (i still dont think it works but im learning to like my eye shape lol)

my thick hair- i flat iron it to look like it just falls and so it wont seem as bouncy PLUS i love curly hair so i curl mine with a curling iron and with gel and hairspray.

and there are things i do to feel good such as-

try to dress nice, match seem fashionable

try to looked "clean" (lol) smell good stuff like that

There are something though that i dont like doing such as

i have a piercing, but i dont show it unless im at the beach or pool (kind defeats the purpose?)

i hate taking pictures and having pages such as in facebook and myspace, i dont like the idea of everyone looking at and knowing my every move.

Like i said i dont think we will get 100% out of people, that is including myself.