Although this is the last week for all of your blogging adventures, I hope that some of you will continue to post information on your blogs. You are all living is such an interesting time in our history. You have the ability to truly be heard through the tools of technology. Social networking sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Blogger allow you to share your ideas with friends around the corner and peers across the world. To not take advantage of such a powerful tool is a shame and a travesty. Don't get me wrong - I certainly do not think you should rely only on technology to share your thoughts, but I do believe that the use of technology should become an essential tool in your arsenal for communication.
And really, when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, it is ALL about effective communication. Having the ability to effectively communicate your ideas orally, textually, and visually will get you far in life. But, effective communication is not just about sharing ideas, it is also about understanding how other ideas are shared with you. A clear understanding of all of the information being communicated to you relies upon a broad knowledge base (which hopefully you are getting through your schooling), active, analytical observation and listening, and reflection. The world has much to offer, but if you allow it all to enter your mind passively, you will be easily controlled and manipulated.
While living in a place like Weston, it is easy to take your education for granted. Hell, it is handed to you on a silver platter. You don't have to seek it out, you don't have to fight for it, you don't even have to take advantage of it. But, through thick and thin, it is there. This is not the case in many other places in the world. So, for my last class post, I want to leave you with a parting bit of advice that I hope you will never forget. What you have in your life is special. You are given the opportunity to improve your body and mind through a free education. You have access to a plethora of books, resources, technology, and ideas. Use it well. Not everyone has these opportunities.
To conclude this final post I would like you to take a couple of minutes to read a news report about a place across the world. This place does not offer all of its citizens an education. But, somehow, someway, they find a way to seek one out...
22 comments:
The popular saying "you don't know what you have until it's gone" definitely applies to most children that are educated in America. Because we've always grown up with resources to learn it's quite hard to imagine life without them.
I've never had the chance to even meet another teen not having the right to learn. There's a whole other world out there and I think that is the point you are trying to get across.
I thought that news article was really inspirational for their eagerness to learn. Those women sacrificed humility to have the chance to learn simple sentences. I feel really appreciative that I have the opportunity to learn because as the famous saying goes knowledge is power. This blog remind me of my favorite quote which I think is completely necessary. Milton Berle once said "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door," and that is exactly what those pakistani women did.
My parents tell me this every day. They tell me that I should be thankful for what I have and what I have accomplished. They have made me understand the importance of having a free education and that I should take advantage of it. Not everyone gets the chance that we get to go for it and enjoy it while I can. You never know what can happen in a second. I read through the article and I’m really impressed with their way of learning. I have never looked at a text message that way before. This article made me realized that I had the chance to learn how to read and I took it. I feel bad for all those people who don’t get that chance. They are older woman and they don’t know how to read, something we learn when we are in kindergarten or even younger. They don’t even know their age and when don’t even think about how we know so much of ourselves. We should be thankful and pray for those who don’t get the opportunities that we have all gotten throughout our entire lives. We should pray for them to get the same education one day as we did. All that I have gone through and how my parents have raised me and from what I have seen other people go through I am thankful every day for what I have and I wish that others someday could have what I have.
I agree with you and believe that education is an opportunity that should be taken advantage of more. In the long run, those who attain knowledge do get further in life. The article really made me understand that knowledge really is unavailable in other places and that some people will really fight for it. I am relieved that this is the last blog. I think that blogging is really a great way to use technology to get out our ideas in a different way.
I think that it is very sad that our current generation in the U.S. is able to take so many important things for granted, such as education. Education, especially one of such high quality, is a luxury in life which most people in the world go without. We represent such a small percentage of the world, yet we believe that everyone has the same opportunities that we do- that is far from the truth. Millions and billions of people go without any sort of education for their entire lives. My father certainly didn't have the same opportunities that I have today, and because he fought and struggled to secure the luxuries that my family has now, I too seem to forget how lucky I really am. I have lived in much poorer countries in the past and I know how terrible conditions in said countries can be, especially education-wise. For all the education that we hold, we somehow seem to forget that we are truly lucky in having such opportunities. That is why it sickens and disgusts me when people, which there are a lot of in Weston, take so many of the things they hold for granted. Yes, it really does become difficult to understand the significance of the things we hold in life, especially when living in a place like Weston, but I owe it to my father, to the people of the world, and to myself to understand, appreciate and make the most out of the opportunities that I now have in life- opportunities that most people would kill to have.
That article was touching. I love reading about positive events in other people's lives, it's beautiful and gives me a warm glowing feeling. Our society is not appreciative of what they have but I try to be. Opportunities are so important and you have to take them. It's up to you and only you to live your life.
Students care only about their grades and as those are part of our opportunities, I do not believe that's all we should have on our minds. There are certain proprieties for certain age groups and you have to take all the advantages and opportunities you can. If I went through my entire school career never caring about art or literature and wanting to go into anything other than fry-cook I would be utterly useless in my trade. Our time calls for creative team members in companies and communities and culturing yourself is important. There are social skills you need to survive in a work environment. I could rant all night but the bottom line is that as we do have many opportunities, you have to have a little fun while learning.
I am very fortunate that I was born here in Florida, especially here in Weston. Here you have free education and like Mrs. Stoklosa said, it's basically given to us in a silver platter. People like the lady shown in the website don't even know how old they are. My parents always tell me to be thankful for having the opportunity to be able to go into college and get a degree and make a good living, juxtapose to these women in this village that have to learn from a cellphone. My parents didn't have such great opportunities as I have now, but by working hard they managed to gain all the luxuries that we have. Now that this is given to me easily I must take advantage of it and use it wisely to make my parents proud.
This article really makes you appreciate what is a given and for some people considered a right in the United States, your education. Most kids always constantly complain about going to school or having to much homework when they should be grateful to have the opportunity to go to school and get an education. We are granted an education so we can be successful later in life, and be able to use the knowledge we have gained in the future. This article was shocking, because it made you realize how much of a privilege education is; this Vietnamese women did not even know their own age. They searched and took the advantage of the opportunity of even a moderate form of education through cellphone texts. This article really teaches you to be appreciative of what you have and grateful of the education that's given to you.
Education is constantly being taken advantage of, especially in places like Weston. Many people here don't realize that it's so easy to get an education here, but in other places it's not so easy. For example, as the article states, India is a place where getting an education is a difficult task. I think these programs, such as the cell phone one, is a good way to teach the women to read and educate them. In the future, I believe that there will be more ways to educate people who aren't as fortunate.
Mrs. Stoklosa! You're right about the education offered to different students and they are not able to take advantage of their resources. Also, now in days technology advances and student need to start using more the bloggers to express their thoughts and be heard. Student should have that motivation to be something in life, and to go out there and meet new networks.
This generation is based on the advancement of technology. We have been brought up with the use of computers and cell phones. Education has really taken a hold of technology and using it for everyday purposes. The new millennium would be completely different without technology.
Everyday I use technology as if it is just a norm. There are other people across the world who do not have the opportunity that I do when it comes to technology. I use something as little as a cell phone to call my parents or search the web while there are children without those securities or entertainment.
Education is an extremely valued thing in my life. I think that those women are extremely admirable for the motivation to want to get an education. Here in America, or at least Weston, we take our education for granted. But what some of us don’t realize is that other places around the world are not as lucky as we are here in America. So, we should take our education seriously, and take every opportunity that we can possibly can.
I enjoyed so much the opportunity to be able to blog and place my views and knowledge in the global network. I think the article is very impacting and it shows you just how key and truly precious my educational oppurtunities are. We take so much in life for granted and we need to search around for what we truly have in life. Life is amazing and some people around the world really dont get the expierences that we do. Take nothing as given, journey through each event as if it was a pinicle in your life.
This article was amazing to me and really opened my eyes on how good we have it . Your completely right all the resources we have are amazing.These people were so egar and proud to learn and use all they had , where I just stick to the basics and look at new advanced technology as to difficult. I should really start embracing it and take advantage of all the wonderful things including the amazing technology this world has to offer.
Education Schmeducaton!!For my last comment on your blog I'll disagree with you just because I'm a pain in the butt. I think educaton is completely overrated. I mean the world still went on just fine without reading and writing.Im no stranger to education...you know the rules and so do it.Wouldnt the world be a more peaceful place if it wasn't for this "education". The saying "ignorance is bliss" isn't a saying,it's a lifestyle. If you got to this link and you'll see the study on how education is bad for the world.
http://tinyurl.com/yh8xjp4
url is real long so i used tinyurl
I have realized that many of us in our community take our free education for granted. Growing up in Weston, many kids are not thankful for what they have. They hate school and always want something. We all want what we can't have. Growing up where everyone gets basically what they want makes many of us pass up such good opportunities, such as our education. Many people around the world are dying and we think we have the worst lives because we are forced to attend school daily. People would do anything for an education that we are just handed, making us less thankful for it. We all need to take advantage of what we are handed and make the best of everything. You only live one and might as well take the things we are given for free because everything else comes at high costs.
It is true, leaving in this country and being educated here has many opportunities and it gives us advantages that no one else has. In Venezuela, for example, children that go to public school still have to pay for their books and it is not a good education at all, not even private schools have an education as good as public schools in United States.
In this article they state that "it is with great pride that they unscroll the papers they have been clutching, certificates that testify to the program they have completed." This quote shocked me and made me realize how lucky we are of being able to have education programs like the ones we have, be healthy, have friends, and, even the most basic, know how old we are.
That news story that you had invoked a feeling of... I can't put my finger on it but it opens my eyes, even more so, to how well off everyone here in Weston is. I have always realized that Weston is a bubble, partly because I was not always raised in a Utopian community such as Weston, and I can see now that something we take for granted such as our cell phones are being used by people in third world countries to better their lives. Blogging has been a great experience for and even though it can be a pain in the ass at times I am sincerely glad you made us do it. I must admit it's fun to recount my travels because in a way I get to relive all of the things I have done.
This article was very intense. It is crazy how a women learned how to read just by having a cell phone! It is amazing what people could do with technology today.
My mom is constantly telling me about these things. It gets very irritating but at the same time, it is very true. We never really know what we have until it is gone and that is a sad fact because there are other people in this world who are suffering just to be able to have one of the things we have.
My parents and grandparents are always telling me and my siblings stories of how they didn't have all the opportunities that I have today. They always try to remind me to be grateful for what I have and to not take it for granted. The article really shows how in other places around the world people have a lot less opportunities. I experienced seeing this when I went to Colombia. My family decided to go into a small village and we saw many kids, as young as six years old, having to find different ways to earn money so that they could help out their families. I couldn't believe that while most other kids would be in school, these children were walking out in the streets performing little shows or stories trying to earn money. I am thankful for my parents reminding me of all the opportunities I have, and reminding me to not take any of it for granted.
I've learned this the hard way. I was forced to move from my home to here in Florida. I'm originally from Iowa so I was so used to the curriculum there and the harder courses. Iowa has an amazing school system while Florida always ranks in the last ten within the country. I actually value education because I see how it is so different within a different region. In the piece I find it so hard to believe that people can be so deprived of something so important. If I was illiterate I would feel lost. Reading and writing encumbers my life and it is used everyday. I really wish I could impact these womens lives and find a way to even just fit in a small lesson on elementary facts that they should know. Maybe I could make a difference in their lives.
I believe that students, specially those at our school, should be grateful for the education they obtain. I will definitely be more thankful after reading the inspiring article on women struggling for an education. Meanwhile, education is "given to us on a silver platter", as you mentioned. Education is a gift of life that truly nourishes the mind and one should take advantage of that. "Education is the key to success", as many teachers have told me. Over the years, school and my peers have encouraged me to take education seriously because it is what will assure you with a career later on. I am thankful for those people who have showed me the importance of obtaining a strong education. You are one them! Thank you for what you've taught me about college because it is truly important to think about getting educated before doing anything else in life. Education comes first!
Well, I don't want to make it to long as all the other post are just because posting a long script is defenetly different than commenting. So what I'm saying before I make it long my self is that you're right we really never stop to look at what we have and the quote the katie said fits perfect in such a maner. "You don't know what you have until its gone." Education is key, a key that will help us open any door in the future.
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