Eating healthy is on everyone's minds. Even if you're at the drive-thru of McDonald's reading this, you're thinking about 'how healthy is this for me?'
Well, the first comment I always hear (and sometimes think), 'eating healthy is expensive, and I just... well, can't afford it.'
Alright, I only sometimes accept that excuse. Food that is organic can be really expensive, but I think some people would be surprised at how many items in the grocery store are organic. Everyone would be just as surprised at how many items contain Genetically Modified ingredients.
The real reason I'm posting... I just watched a film "Genetic Roulette - The Game Of Our Lives". It is about how the genetically modified foods found in almost all our foods, besides those that are organic or GMO free, are causing so many of our illnesses. The reason these items exist is because a business created a product that had attractive attributes (by genetically modifying) and lobbied farmers to buy the product.
As most things, we didn't know the dangers at the time of first implementation. Just as you didn't realize that you were going to fall off that ladder when you first stepped on it.
Unfortunately, we now realize that GMs have a huge impact on digestion and disease. It got me thinking of how when I first moved to Mississippi I was on this path of eating organic/local in an effort to be healthy. When I go on these kicks, the clean-out my body goes through is amazing. For a few days my body just gets rid of the toxins and I feel the transition (in more ways than one).
Once I am through with the transition phase, I seriously feel like a different person. I, since then, have stopped eating so healthy and have relied on eggs, peanut butter and pasta to get me through the day.
I'm going to try this challenge... Eating healthy, GMO free foods, on a budget. We'll see how it goes, but it's a challenge I'm up for.
I also must shout-out the Mississippi Food Corps members in Jackson, MS that have inspired me to find a connection with food and how it's something we can't live without.
Showing posts with label challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label challenge. Show all posts
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tell Me You Love Me...
Yes, it happened.
On Wednesday, 3/4 of the way through class my students stopped working. They put their pencils down and refused to work. They said, "Mr. Wright, we're not working any more until you tell us you love us."
As much I wanted to keep my love a secret, my students needed to hear it... about time. I calmy stated "I love you all, every single one of you. That's why I expect a lot from you."
Their response... "Yes you do... okay we'll work now" :)
I never thought I'd love these students so much. They are the class that ran me up a wall at first. I had them for homeroom and 1st period every day. They cried in my class, they yelled in my class and they got sent out of my classroom. They've given me so much trouble that I thought some of my students really had no interest in learning.
They've proven me (right) wrong. They really do want to learn. I knew they could learn, but I questioned their intent... and they have blown me out of the water. My student that always put his head down, told me he was leaving to go back to another school and always talked about his nation (gang)... he is my pride now.
Every day, my most difficult student comes in EXCITED to learn... I used to want to yell at him to keep his head up... now I can't get him to shut his mouth (because he's yelling out answers)... Equally as annoying, but I'll settle for the positive.
I willingly told my 2nd period class that I love them because they too deserve to hear it. They've shown me what they're capable of and how willing they are to do the work that I give them and they show pride in their work.
I still have a lot of work to do in my 3rd block, but we're working on it. They have gotten gypped a lot due to shortened classes and it being lunch period. I don't take that as an excuse, but we need to work together before I will be able to openly love them and share in the pride of our work.
I'm proud of my students and what they are doing. We have our days of boredom and excitement. We have our days of tension and relaxation... Ultimately, we're working toward a common goal of success...
I think it's time to show them what they are working for... show them what success can look like. I look forward to decorating my classroom with college banners... And I don't want them from local schools. I want my kids to travel the country and world. My alma mater will be representing on our walls.
Maybe I'll make it an extra-credit project. Choose one person that is your role model, research their life. List their strengths and where they have been challenged. What have they overcome to become successful and how did they work hard to get where they are. What have their rewards been?
I'm out for the night. Teaching is hard, but it gives me Peace.love.Happiness.
On Wednesday, 3/4 of the way through class my students stopped working. They put their pencils down and refused to work. They said, "Mr. Wright, we're not working any more until you tell us you love us."
As much I wanted to keep my love a secret, my students needed to hear it... about time. I calmy stated "I love you all, every single one of you. That's why I expect a lot from you."
Their response... "Yes you do... okay we'll work now" :)
I never thought I'd love these students so much. They are the class that ran me up a wall at first. I had them for homeroom and 1st period every day. They cried in my class, they yelled in my class and they got sent out of my classroom. They've given me so much trouble that I thought some of my students really had no interest in learning.
They've proven me (right) wrong. They really do want to learn. I knew they could learn, but I questioned their intent... and they have blown me out of the water. My student that always put his head down, told me he was leaving to go back to another school and always talked about his nation (gang)... he is my pride now.
Every day, my most difficult student comes in EXCITED to learn... I used to want to yell at him to keep his head up... now I can't get him to shut his mouth (because he's yelling out answers)... Equally as annoying, but I'll settle for the positive.
I willingly told my 2nd period class that I love them because they too deserve to hear it. They've shown me what they're capable of and how willing they are to do the work that I give them and they show pride in their work.
I still have a lot of work to do in my 3rd block, but we're working on it. They have gotten gypped a lot due to shortened classes and it being lunch period. I don't take that as an excuse, but we need to work together before I will be able to openly love them and share in the pride of our work.
I'm proud of my students and what they are doing. We have our days of boredom and excitement. We have our days of tension and relaxation... Ultimately, we're working toward a common goal of success...
I think it's time to show them what they are working for... show them what success can look like. I look forward to decorating my classroom with college banners... And I don't want them from local schools. I want my kids to travel the country and world. My alma mater will be representing on our walls.
Maybe I'll make it an extra-credit project. Choose one person that is your role model, research their life. List their strengths and where they have been challenged. What have they overcome to become successful and how did they work hard to get where they are. What have their rewards been?
I'm out for the night. Teaching is hard, but it gives me Peace.love.Happiness.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Beliefs to Live and Teach By.
Students learn through exploration, challenge, and dialogue.
So often we forget that students have dreams. Each child has at some point looked up to somebody as who they want to be. Each child has at some point thought about being a certain profession when they grow up. Some children have lost this. Students are trying to have fun when they're messing around and as adults we look at them as needing to grow up. How do we expect children to grow up if they're not given the chance to explore and discover? Challenging students to participate in activities of discovery promotes growth. The dialogue that students have amongst each other and share with family/friends furthers their understanding of the world around them. Students should be given the opportunity to explore, challenge, and converse as they need to create a path for themselves "grow up" and become adults.
My students are able to solve problems, given the opportunity.
Doesn't this go back to exploring and challenging? If I don't give my students the chance to think about a solution, of course they will never reach that conclusion. When I teach material and teach a process, I'm robbing my students of the intellectual growth of an opportunity. As adults, we look for opportunities to solve problems. Lack of household income - find a job. Miss your best friend in England - Skype them. No matter the situation, we are always looking for solutions. Kids must be given the chance to also learn how to problem solve. It is within a free context that the most creative answers are produced. With different ways to solve a problem, the more unique perspectives and better answers.
Math is based on concrete principles made abstract.
One of the most intriguing things that I've heard today is that "Math is abstract. You don't walk around the world seeing 2s like you do chairs." This is wholly true but we are founding our desire for abstract math upon the concrete principles that we are trying to solve. For example, we needed math to build the Hoover Dam. We could have created a unique mathematical principle for the Hoover Dam to prevent cracking at the Dam's particular size and the amount of water it will hold. From that principle, we can then take it out of context and apply those concepts to more abstract situations around the world. This is how discover in the real world. We look for examples and ask questions about that specific circumstance. Why are beehives shaped a certain way? Why do arches hold so much weight? From that point of discovery we then apply the same concepts abstractly. It's beautiful. Stone Arches are some of the longest surviving structures of nature... and now some of the longest existing bridges were built with arches.
Math is a body of knowledge, not a checklist of skills.
This is hotly debated. You needs skills to do math. True, necessary, but definitely not sufficient. If math was strict skill, we would not be able to apply addition and subtraction to every situation we come across. I wouldn't be able to balance a check-book because I was never taught. I can add my money in my pocket, but I can't track how much money is in my bank account. Knowledge is the ability to use skills in different contexts. We look at knowledge as abstract, but it is only abstract because it is applicable widely. Math is useful in everything we do, therefore is must be knowledge. That knowledge is supported by the skill that is required to actually perform the action we need to accomplish (If I know we need to subtract 3 from negative 5, I have to know how to actually perform the action versus just say it is necessary in my situation)
Math is beautiful, useful, and exciting.
I think most people have the biggest issue with this complex. We're raised in a society where we were taught PEMDAS, FOIL, SOHCAHTOA... acronyms by which to remember how to perform operations. We're forced to memorize these, otherwise we will not succeed. The truth is that math is so much more than these mundane, sometimes useful, sayings. Let's anaylze the beauty of math. Take a look at this picture:
Beyond your inclination to say "I don't like cities" or "I love the city. OMG So Pretty"... What is beautiful about it? The sky-high buildings? The lights that showcase the calm streets? Is it the calm, tree-lined streets?
Would it have been possible to build this city without math? The beauty of it all was founded on ideas that required math to develop. Every additional level on a building required engineering to prevent collapse, financing to ensure completion and even architecture to develop beautiful structures.
Math's uses turn into beautiful things. We can envision every swipe of the pen(cil) on the paper as one more movement toward beautiful creations.
The utility is clear. With math we create living spaces, we create movement in the world and even more now-a-days, we see the need to calculate our remaining resources and developing solutions to prolong depleting our nature.
Every advancement is exciting. "New Drug Prevents Death From Over-Caffeination" (I'm hoping they develop this for my sake). Our lives are getting increasingly better and we are living better and better. We see happiness as we raise the levels of those around us. Happiness breeds happiness, which breeds excitement for more happiness. It's a loop, but nonetheless a useful one.
My commitment:
My commitment rests on how I will use all of these beliefs to better those lives of my students in context of math. My commitment is to use beauty in every lesson, to allow students to develop knowledge and to never forget my students are young adults waiting to grow by bounds and bounds. I will give them the chance to explore, create solutions and create more beauty in the world. You can see this in my vision for my students and the discussion-based method of teaching I will use in class. I'll post that vision in a few hours after I complete it more.
So often we forget that students have dreams. Each child has at some point looked up to somebody as who they want to be. Each child has at some point thought about being a certain profession when they grow up. Some children have lost this. Students are trying to have fun when they're messing around and as adults we look at them as needing to grow up. How do we expect children to grow up if they're not given the chance to explore and discover? Challenging students to participate in activities of discovery promotes growth. The dialogue that students have amongst each other and share with family/friends furthers their understanding of the world around them. Students should be given the opportunity to explore, challenge, and converse as they need to create a path for themselves "grow up" and become adults.
My students are able to solve problems, given the opportunity.
Doesn't this go back to exploring and challenging? If I don't give my students the chance to think about a solution, of course they will never reach that conclusion. When I teach material and teach a process, I'm robbing my students of the intellectual growth of an opportunity. As adults, we look for opportunities to solve problems. Lack of household income - find a job. Miss your best friend in England - Skype them. No matter the situation, we are always looking for solutions. Kids must be given the chance to also learn how to problem solve. It is within a free context that the most creative answers are produced. With different ways to solve a problem, the more unique perspectives and better answers.
Math is based on concrete principles made abstract.
One of the most intriguing things that I've heard today is that "Math is abstract. You don't walk around the world seeing 2s like you do chairs." This is wholly true but we are founding our desire for abstract math upon the concrete principles that we are trying to solve. For example, we needed math to build the Hoover Dam. We could have created a unique mathematical principle for the Hoover Dam to prevent cracking at the Dam's particular size and the amount of water it will hold. From that principle, we can then take it out of context and apply those concepts to more abstract situations around the world. This is how discover in the real world. We look for examples and ask questions about that specific circumstance. Why are beehives shaped a certain way? Why do arches hold so much weight? From that point of discovery we then apply the same concepts abstractly. It's beautiful. Stone Arches are some of the longest surviving structures of nature... and now some of the longest existing bridges were built with arches.
Math is a body of knowledge, not a checklist of skills.
This is hotly debated. You needs skills to do math. True, necessary, but definitely not sufficient. If math was strict skill, we would not be able to apply addition and subtraction to every situation we come across. I wouldn't be able to balance a check-book because I was never taught. I can add my money in my pocket, but I can't track how much money is in my bank account. Knowledge is the ability to use skills in different contexts. We look at knowledge as abstract, but it is only abstract because it is applicable widely. Math is useful in everything we do, therefore is must be knowledge. That knowledge is supported by the skill that is required to actually perform the action we need to accomplish (If I know we need to subtract 3 from negative 5, I have to know how to actually perform the action versus just say it is necessary in my situation)
Math is beautiful, useful, and exciting.
I think most people have the biggest issue with this complex. We're raised in a society where we were taught PEMDAS, FOIL, SOHCAHTOA... acronyms by which to remember how to perform operations. We're forced to memorize these, otherwise we will not succeed. The truth is that math is so much more than these mundane, sometimes useful, sayings. Let's anaylze the beauty of math. Take a look at this picture:
Beyond your inclination to say "I don't like cities" or "I love the city. OMG So Pretty"... What is beautiful about it? The sky-high buildings? The lights that showcase the calm streets? Is it the calm, tree-lined streets?
Would it have been possible to build this city without math? The beauty of it all was founded on ideas that required math to develop. Every additional level on a building required engineering to prevent collapse, financing to ensure completion and even architecture to develop beautiful structures.
Math's uses turn into beautiful things. We can envision every swipe of the pen(cil) on the paper as one more movement toward beautiful creations.
The utility is clear. With math we create living spaces, we create movement in the world and even more now-a-days, we see the need to calculate our remaining resources and developing solutions to prolong depleting our nature.
Every advancement is exciting. "New Drug Prevents Death From Over-Caffeination" (I'm hoping they develop this for my sake). Our lives are getting increasingly better and we are living better and better. We see happiness as we raise the levels of those around us. Happiness breeds happiness, which breeds excitement for more happiness. It's a loop, but nonetheless a useful one.
My commitment:
My commitment rests on how I will use all of these beliefs to better those lives of my students in context of math. My commitment is to use beauty in every lesson, to allow students to develop knowledge and to never forget my students are young adults waiting to grow by bounds and bounds. I will give them the chance to explore, create solutions and create more beauty in the world. You can see this in my vision for my students and the discussion-based method of teaching I will use in class. I'll post that vision in a few hours after I complete it more.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Marathon Monday - Dreams to Pursue
Marathon Monday - a day that is heavily celebrated in Massachusetts every third Monday of April. Most college students drink all day, stumble down the streets and cheer for the runners as they slur, "You're almost there!" It's not something I'm into - the drinking that is.
The Boston Marathon is something that is admirable. For the last two years I have spent part of my day out on the streets cheering for the people that I can't help but look up to. Each person that runs the marathon has traveled through life and decided to prepare themselves for a 26.2 miles run.
Last year I said, "I want to do the Boston Marathon." I felt a passion, an excitement but I was clueless how to go about it. Today, again, I said "I want to do the Boston Marathon." It's an exciting proposition.
In order to actually be eligible I a) must run a marathon in 3hours 15minutes or b) commit to raising a certain amount of money for a charity. I really think that option b is my most viable path to the marathon, but I want to know that I can challenge myself to complete the course. It's not just important to commit to raising enough money for an organization, but for every dollar that is raised, to commit to finishing the race.
By no means do I expect to win the race, but I plan on making it across the finish line.
My thought is... this summer I can train. Now, this is the area I get stuck. How does one train for such a long run? I naturally am not a long-distance runner - or maybe I am? I know that I love running and I know that I can run well, but 26.2 miles scares me. Up until last summer I had never run more than 2.5 miles in one run. Emily, one of my best friends, introduced me to a run around the Charles River that totaled 4-6 miles, depending on our actual path that day. But that was an accomplishment. The first time I ran it, I did not think I was going to make it - but I survived, and boy did I feel good.
I want to feel that challenge again.
Perhaps the motivation I need is to share my story. If I do this, I want to raise the money for cancer research and treatment. At this point, I don't know if the American Cancer Society is on the charitable organization list (but I'm sure it is).
Perhaps the motivation I need is my mother and grandfather - they can be the guiding light that I need to run up the Newton Hills and run along a crowd of people that I'm sure will be passing me and challenging me. I know that toward the end I'll have the support of my school, Boston University, because we surround Kenmore Square - one mile from the finish line in Copley Square.
I really want to commit, and I think the first step is talking to my doctor/s about the possibility. I need to see a nutritionist and find out what I really should be eating to keep me healthy.
It is a possibility that I may start a video blog to document my journey. It would make it easier to take everyone along the journey with me, to keep in contact, and for me to track my progress.
This week I will talk with a few people to see how they think I should go about it - to ask if they think I can do it - to ask for their support. I know that this will be a challenge, and I know that there will be days I will want to quit, but if you have a support base, you can do anything.
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