My passion project this semester was to do research on the brain of people 18 and under. I feel like I have spent my Fridays wisely, because (for me) it is a really interesting topic!
I am about halfway done with describing the parts of the brain, but I didn't work on specific facts for each age group too much.. so I'll need to concentrate on that. I haven't found a lot of information for some of the age groups, so that is something which could possibly be an obstacle. To avoid this, I could try combining the age groups; for example, instead of ages 6-9 and ages 10-12, I could make it ages 6-12.
Hopefully, I will be able to finish my project with the seven Fridays we have left!!!
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Friday, November 15, 2013
Update: Passion Project
For my new S1 project, I am going to build a robot! (My old project wasn't working out). My plan is to build one small robot and one bigger one.
So, since I'm starting over, I have to:
Choose my robot(s)
Get materials
Build them!
An anticipated obstacle is not having enough time to finish my project. So, in order to overcome that, I just have to manage my time wisely on 20% Days!
So, since I'm starting over, I have to:
Choose my robot(s)
Get materials
Build them!
An anticipated obstacle is not having enough time to finish my project. So, in order to overcome that, I just have to manage my time wisely on 20% Days!
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Grades. Ugh.
Grades. Something scarier than The Twilight Zone.
Grades drive me crazy!! It's been drilled into me that grades are one of the most important things in life. UGH! That might be why I hate getting B's on anything - I'm afraid that it will lower my grade. I'm never satisfied unless it's a 95 or higher. In fact, I think I put more pressure on myself to get good grades, even more than my parents, sometimes!
Grades drive me crazy!! It's been drilled into me that grades are one of the most important things in life. UGH! That might be why I hate getting B's on anything - I'm afraid that it will lower my grade. I'm never satisfied unless it's a 95 or higher. In fact, I think I put more pressure on myself to get good grades, even more than my parents, sometimes!
So then why do we have grades, if they drive everyone nuts? I guess 'the people' think they help us see where we are with school and what we need to improve. 'The people' also think they're motivators for some people.
I actually don't know why we have grades. They've just always been there, I suppose.
On to the 100 point system! It seems too complicated to me. Now everyone's worrying that if they have an 89, they have a B, they don't have high honor roll, ugh. In elementary school, our report cards were out of 4, so 2/4 was satisfactory. Technically, that translates to a 50, which is just something I do not want to think about. *shudder* But what I'm trying to say, is that our current system of A = 90-100, B = 80-89, etc. is too stressful. It puts pressure on us to always get something high (for me, it's always 93 or higher). Plus, I know this really has everything to do with nothing, but I don't understand how some students get money or puppies for getting 'straight A's'... others (cough cough the ROGATEs) get a bored "good job". It's all because of the 100 point system!
And while we're on the topic of grades being stressful (duh)... I would just like to point out that some teachers are always telling us that if we want to be successful, get into a college, and all that, grades will help us:
Study = Get 'good grades'
Get good grades = Be put in advanced classes
Do well in those classes = Colleges are happy
Colleges are happy = You get into an Ivy League College (or another successful one)
Good college education = More jobs
Job = Money
Money = Family? Happiness? Success!
Although it is a little off topic, teachers sometimes don't help with the stress of grades... but, they tell us to be successful... so...?
Anyway. I do NOT think our grades represent us accurately. Those kids who seem to know everything never need to study, and get amazing tests and quizzes. But another kid in the same class might need to study for an hour every night to get that same grade. Does that grade really represent the same thing for both of those people? Grades should represent your change/improvement, I think. Another thing is, unfair extra credit. In my Honors Geometry class, if you wore the themed clothes for Spirit Week, you would get a coupon for extra points. Since I was absent for two days that week, I was unable to get the coupon, and other people got extra points just for wearing the Spirit clothes. I don't know about you, but that's a little unfair! One last thing: they're not fair because your final grade is based on everything; assignments you may have missed, not understood, etc. You could have this:
Quiz 1 - 100
Homework #1 - 0
Homework #2 - 50
And bam! A 50 for that class. This is especially true for classes where you don't have many assignments.
For SBG, you are not marked based on how many things you got wrong; it's sort of like the ASK testing, with advanced, proficient, or partially proficient. I think Northern should switch to SBG to take the stress off of everyone. With our current system, one bad grade could mess you up for the rest of the year (it happened to me). But maybe with SBG, we could understand our topics better, and not just be given a number.
In conclusion, I think grades stink. Half the time, they're not even true, and grades are used to 'honor' students, to make them seem 'better'. Someday, I hope that grades won't be as controlling and stressful as they are now, and we can all get on with our lives. Hey, I don't want people in the future worrying if their 82 on a test affects the rest of their education and life. But I think there's no getting around grades; they're inevitable. But maybe someday, we'll find a way of making it better for everyone!
I actually don't know why we have grades. They've just always been there, I suppose.
On to the 100 point system! It seems too complicated to me. Now everyone's worrying that if they have an 89, they have a B, they don't have high honor roll, ugh. In elementary school, our report cards were out of 4, so 2/4 was satisfactory. Technically, that translates to a 50, which is just something I do not want to think about. *shudder* But what I'm trying to say, is that our current system of A = 90-100, B = 80-89, etc. is too stressful. It puts pressure on us to always get something high (for me, it's always 93 or higher). Plus, I know this really has everything to do with nothing, but I don't understand how some students get money or puppies for getting 'straight A's'... others (cough cough the ROGATEs) get a bored "good job". It's all because of the 100 point system!
And while we're on the topic of grades being stressful (duh)... I would just like to point out that some teachers are always telling us that if we want to be successful, get into a college, and all that, grades will help us:
Study = Get 'good grades'
Get good grades = Be put in advanced classes
Do well in those classes = Colleges are happy
Colleges are happy = You get into an Ivy League College (or another successful one)
Good college education = More jobs
Job = Money
Money = Family? Happiness? Success!
Although it is a little off topic, teachers sometimes don't help with the stress of grades... but, they tell us to be successful... so...?
Anyway. I do NOT think our grades represent us accurately. Those kids who seem to know everything never need to study, and get amazing tests and quizzes. But another kid in the same class might need to study for an hour every night to get that same grade. Does that grade really represent the same thing for both of those people? Grades should represent your change/improvement, I think. Another thing is, unfair extra credit. In my Honors Geometry class, if you wore the themed clothes for Spirit Week, you would get a coupon for extra points. Since I was absent for two days that week, I was unable to get the coupon, and other people got extra points just for wearing the Spirit clothes. I don't know about you, but that's a little unfair! One last thing: they're not fair because your final grade is based on everything; assignments you may have missed, not understood, etc. You could have this:
Quiz 1 - 100
Homework #1 - 0
Homework #2 - 50
And bam! A 50 for that class. This is especially true for classes where you don't have many assignments.
For SBG, you are not marked based on how many things you got wrong; it's sort of like the ASK testing, with advanced, proficient, or partially proficient. I think Northern should switch to SBG to take the stress off of everyone. With our current system, one bad grade could mess you up for the rest of the year (it happened to me). But maybe with SBG, we could understand our topics better, and not just be given a number.
In conclusion, I think grades stink. Half the time, they're not even true, and grades are used to 'honor' students, to make them seem 'better'. Someday, I hope that grades won't be as controlling and stressful as they are now, and we can all get on with our lives. Hey, I don't want people in the future worrying if their 82 on a test affects the rest of their education and life. But I think there's no getting around grades; they're inevitable. But maybe someday, we'll find a way of making it better for everyone!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)