Not Afrraid

In the article "Footprints in the Digital Age" put out by Educational Leadership, the author, Will Richardson, proposes an interesting view on being Googled. Richardson leads us to think of how we are known to other people, even to those who we do not know directly. This is an odd thought to wrap your mind around that billions of people may know me, just for what they read on Google. What will these unknown people know me for? Will it be for my uncanny good looks and my unnatural ability to sing anywhere? No, well maybe that, but I more so believe they will know me for whom I am, and not for what I am. Well who are “They”? "They", can be a lot of people, people from all corners of the world. This is an incredible thought. I could be found by a Chinese boy half way around the world. To add on to this notion, I most likely won't be the one writing it. This comes from the lips of Richardson when he says, " Your personal footprint—and to some extent your school's—is most likely being written without you, thanks to the billions of us worldwide who now have our own printing presses and can publish what we want when we want to.". Not only is the straight-up fact unbelievable, but even more so is the idea that I will be known, through what others write about me. One example of this is Wikipedia. This site allows you to write whatever you want about a person. My ideal job would be to be a CEO of a large global company.  So this means that I have be what I want to be known as, everywhere I go, and in whatever I do. For example, if someone see’s me doing unorthodox practices. They could then potentially write about it on Wikipedia and from Wikipedia, to the ever watching eyes of the Tabloids. If gossip is spread of unruly decisions I might make, then the dream could be crushed. On the other hand, if "they" see me doing extraordinary things for the betterment of mankind, then good things will come out of Google's endless pit of knowledge. In the end it winds down to, that I, must always strive to be what I set out to be. 

The Battle Cry

           

             In the article “Oil Well is Dead, But Pain Will Remain for Years" put out by CBS NEWS, some hope finally arrives for the Gulf Coast oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill that killed 11 workers and spewed 206 million gallons of oil, left a permanent affect on the surrounding wildlife. It also however, left a mark on the people who make their living from the Gulf Coast and the surrounding communities. Expressed through this quote, "The spill caused an environmental and economic nightmare for people who live, work and play along hundreds of miles of Gulf shoreline from Florida to Texas.” is my support for the previous statement I made. This quote makes you think about several things. I find myself going through my daily routine, seeing how easy it is to go through the normal motions. I then imagine myself being a fisherman who needs to support his family and going through his daily routine. I notice how he can't do his job, because most of the Gulf is blocked for unsafe fishing.  Then how even once I catch some fish, people won't buy it, for they feel it may be contaminated. So after comparing my life currently to this fisherman, I realize, I need to be more thankful for what I have. Instead of thinking about what I want, I should take into more consideration what I have now.  My next point would be that, if I were a kid living there now, what would I think about this all? There is no clean beach, no more fresh fish from Dad, and why does Daddy and Mommy cry every night, as they look through finances? So many questions I would have, so many worries that would

haunt me. So what about the environment? It will take several years to undo the damage that has been done. Clean up is happening, but with so much to do, it will be hard to manage full scale renewal. But none the less, we begin to notice a community coming together to make the difference happen. An even greater hope came when announced, "A permanent cement plug sealed BP's well nearly 2.5 miles below the sea floor".  Now that no more oil is leaking through, clean-up can now gain ground, instead of fighting a losing battle.  So yes, there is good to be found in even the grimmest situations. So the battle continues, no, not in Afghanistan, No not in Iraq, but on the front lines of everyday people coming together to help renew all of their lives. 

The Pancake People

 In Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” shown in The Atlantic, it presents the reader with a view on technology, which is often overlooked. He states that sites, like Google, are manipulating our minds to quickly search for information, the quickly skim it, and then find something else to do.  We are becoming “Skimmers of the Twenty-First Century”. In my opinion, Google can do both, make us more intelligent in knowledge, while also decreasing our attention span in deep-reading. With Google it is easy to go from one article to the next. So our attention span for something that is two paragraphs, opposed to a five page essay, is much greater.  This is primarily because we can explore so many sites, that we find it odd to read something that says the same info in a long essay; compared to a short and concise paragraph that quickly and intelligently states all the same items of importance.  I know for a fact I am a skimmer, but I think of the pros and cons to this. One pro is that I can find things of importance much faster in a large article, able to pick out what I find important and skip over what I feel is unimportant. However, with every pro, there is a con.  My con is that now, in textbooks and in articles of importance, I find it extremely hard to dig deep into the text.  

Nicholas Carr states, “Foreman concluded, we risk turning into “‘pancake people’—spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button.”. Is this true? Yes. I can type in “Napoleon” and about 127,000,000 results show up. The most interesting part however, is that it took Google .11 seconds to gather
all these WebPages from their database. In .11 second s I have everything I need to know to
write an essay on Napoleon.

The info is right there, there is no need for the library, no need for verbal communication, and hardly any reason for deep thinking. I am able to skim every webpage given to me, and only one, maybe, will I go into a deep trance of thought. So how ironic, that Carr would make his article so long, I could hardly pay attention to it. So let me ask you something, did you skim, or did you think and process the words that I have just stated?

I fear of becoming a “Pancake people”, what would change? What would I being doing? How would I be educated? One thing is for sure however, the human race is ever growing and forever evolving, so the future can hold, whatever we make it to be.



Out of the Ash, A Rose Blooms

In the New York Times, written by Clyde Haberman, the article " A New Career of Caring, Started in Death on 9/11", sheds light on a normally depressing fact of history, nine eleven. Brooke Jackman was one of the victims of nine eleven. She was the last one to send a phone call out before the system fell. Sent to her family, it explained how their current conditions were, how they were all in a corner barley breathing. The last thing she said was, " I love you guys", then it was cut off. Nine Eleven is an event in history looked down upon for all that happened. So many questions came out, so much panic ensued. How could this happen? Who and what failed? This event is also a fading memory, it is my generation that is the last to remember that day. We are the ones who must be able to tell about this, we must not forget all that happened. We must teach the younger generations why stories like this one, are so significant. So with all the sadness around this day, how is it that any good can come from this? Well the Jackman family found a way. Brooke J. had always wanted to be a child counselor and to help children. So the Brooke Jackman Foundation was created, "dedicated to promoting literacy, especially among elementary school children in the city who haven’t caught many breaks in life. Over the years the foundation has distributed thousands upon thousands of books and backpacks — dubbed Brooke Packs — often to children mired in domestic violence and other predations.". It is an interesting and quirky feeling I get. It is such a bad day, yet, it is now helping children who might not even know why this day is so important, none the less remember it. So why do it? We do it because Americans are strong, we continue forward. I feel proud to say I am an American, for things like this. Careless acts of unconditional love toward other human beings. Brooke Jackman paid the ultimate sacrifice for her nation. No, not by falling as a soldier, but by creating a better life for those, who are here in the present and going to soon, make a difference. So yes, it is a bad date, and yes, it is hard do think of happy thoughts on this day. Yet still, through all the ash, a rose had bloomed, and now, after nine years, people are beginning to stop, and smell the Roses.

The Hikers

The YouTube Video “A Vision of Students Today”, opened a few doors of reality for me. I did not know that students may have twenty six and a half hour days; this is two and a half hours longer than a normal day. It would seem to be impossible to fit twenty six and a half hour days into a normal twenty four hour day, but as one student expressed” I am a multi-tasker, (I have to be)”. This seems to explain why some students “drop-out”. Without the skill and previous knowledge of knowing how to multitask, these students will have an extra hard time at excelling in their future world experiences. So why is it then, that these students did not learn it previously? Well this cannot be answered by the successful student, nor by the scientists at Harvard, this, is only answerable by the ones who fail. Multitasking is not a gift, it is something you must learn, and this can only be taught, by yourself.


I was also struck by the fact that, “When I graduate I will probably have a job, that doesn’t exist today”. What an interesting thought, that by the time I am through college or even High School, I will be doing a job that right now doesn’t even exist. It just goes to show, what a constantly evolving world we live in. That no matter how much I study and prepare for the future, I will never fully be ready to embrace my future job, with full knowledge of it.

Lastly, I knew that students came away from college with big dept, but twenty thousand now that just might be crazy. In this age of economy, how is it that students coming out of college with nothing, can pay that off, and still be successful? Some may say, it is impossible, but it is not. Millions of students are going through that today, but through perseverance and hard work, they will someday, become our future leaders. I also found it odd that the student made that particular sign so color full and exciting, it is odd how she could still find joy in that, even thought is a daunting thought.

Student’s everydays are hiking the mountains of the future, and most are making it to the top. So I ask you, will this too, be you?