No red pill, no blue pill

Hello, My name is Maya and I am also a student from Mr. Lees Hum 8 class, this is in response to your post “No red pill, No blue pill”.

     I really enjoyed reading your post, it was a nice different out look on a topic that has been greatly stressed and reviewed by my elementary teaches in the past. The poetic type of beginning really grasped my attention and since you also touched up with it throughout the entire writing it gave the piece a really nice edge, that intrigues people to read more. Even though I’ve watched the Matrix (but still am kind of fuzzy on the confusing story line to the movie) I wouldn’t have gone as far to make a comparison about it to my school life. It was a brilliant idea to make a connection of the red pill, blue pill from a popular movie and compare it to learning and how students now lack motivation. The similarities on the topic are really coming out for me now and it was a clever way to grasp attention. However even without that, from the first mysterious sentence you had me hooked to read more. It was a very well thought out attention grabber while the pictures are really worth a million words and they amplified the message you were trying to create.

In my opinion the message you were trying to give wasn’t only that both students and teachers have to participate to keep the other motivated, that it’s each owns job and responsibility to become and stay inspired, but that you can’t have one without the other. For a student to stay inspired the teacher has to keep faith in that student, or else the student will become discouraged and lose their inspiration. Same goes for the teacher, if a teacher tries with all his/her might to educate a student but the student refuses to learn then neither will prosper. Each one holds a power over the other both positively and negatively, because the attitude of one will alter or dent the others. Without the motivation from both sides the effort from just one of them is in vain and dies out quickly.

 They need participation from each other just like a safe needs a key and how a  economical flashlight needs a person to wind it.Think about it this way, if there is great potential and prosperity inside a safe but no one has a key to open it then soon force and quick rash decisions to try and open the safe may end up damaging it, just how a student can be brought down by damaging comments when they are ignored in a process of trying to learn something, then expected to perform said task perfectly when asked. They need someone that doesn’t lose hope and try to help them by supporting them but it’s their job as well, to first show the promise that the other needs to know how hard they have to try to succeed. Also to how a economical flashlight needs someone to wind to to keep the light going, even though the light may flicker and not be as bright at times or it may not perform as well as you want it too, or even as well that you know it can, it still needs you to help and wind it the entire time so that even the smallest of flicker or biggest of beacons of light don’t go out. If you lose hope that the flashlight will work well, or get tired and frustrated about it along the way and stop trying to make it work, then the flashlight won't work on it’s own. How can it? Even though everything it needs to work it there, it has to have the support of someone else along the way, students need a teacher that will have hope in them throughout their entire learning career. So that they always know to stay motivated even when they are just barely flickering like a flashlight about to go out.

I think this is part of why Ms. Lees showed us your post, since we just started high school some of us might be becoming overwhelmed. We might try to forget our responsibilities to our schoolwork because the teachers aren’t breathing down our necks forcing us to do it. Since we have all the structure we need it’s becoming both of our jobs to stay motivated and actually finish the work in class, to read that page that our teacher assigned, to pay attention to the board even though our friends aren’t, to listen in class even though our phones are so much more tempting, to still study for that test even though its almost spring break and we can taste the anticipation of leaving school. She wanted this to remind us that we have to work more as a team because in the long run, which is a REALLY long couple years to come since we only just started, we have to remember that this work now will affect us. The work habits we have  now, or lack off are what will bring us into a pattern. If we don’t have any disposition to work and explore subjects now, later on that will be very hard to change.

We still have to be inspired and motivated to do our work because really there’s only so much that, that one side can do. Theres only so many times a person can open a safe with a key before the opening  door rusts shut. Only so many times a person will attempt to wind up that non-battery flashlight before they leave it for something easier, like grabbing their phone instead. Sadly the most often case of lack of motivation isn’t the teacher fault, sometimes they won’t pay enough attention to the student so finally it’s them who gives up, but I believe you were trying to say that “each it’s own but later on both will clash and become undone”. That’s something my Grandma tells me, later on everything I do will affect me somehow, big or small if I expect it or not.  It’s the same for school work, in my school some kids don’t finish their work or study because they think it’s only grade 8 and grades now won’t affect them for the future, or that they don’t need the material now for the long run. Even some students that know they need the material for future classes that still isn’t enough for them to begin trying with the school work they make now. The teachers and students each have to try their best to keep material interesting and relatable, thats where the need for motivation comes in because without any school work is dull and and the both students aren’t really trying but just barely scraping by.

 Your outlook on it that it cannot be either, no red pill no blue pill, is really refreshing that you're not blaming either side for anything but saying that they must work together for either to prosper. Everyone must participate so that the guidance can come everywhere and the entire group of students and teachers and pull each other forward when everyone has an attitude that makes them eager to learn, and not only learn but work and participate to the best that they can. So that from the motivation to learn that becomes a desire and finally and impulse  to become better in everything that you can.

I also agree with Sydney that the pictures were a very nice touch and they added to the mysteriously intriguing writing style that you used. I enjoyed reading your post and I hope to get some feedback from you about my response! :)
 Thank-you

“No Red Pill No Blue Pill”- Response

After reading the "No Red Pill No Blue Pill" I think that it is very well written and kinda poetic in a way. I think that the author is very talented to be able to do something like this, because I know I never could! The author did a good job of relating to their own life and making a connection with their reader. The pictures are interesting but I didn't get what was the point of them and how they had anything to do with the writing. In my opinion I think that young kids are using technology for learning too much now, like what happened to just reading a paper book. But everyone does have their own opinion. You have a very good writing style so keep that up!

 There are a few spots in your writing where there are like 3-4 spaces between words. I agree and disagree with the content of this article. I agree that using the Internet as a learning source is a great tool and we definitely should be using it. But, I think that we shouldn't get carried away with using technology for learning and remember that we still have books and paper to use. I also like how you were comparing different types of schools. For example, you were comparing university's to high schools, elementary and on line schooling, which is very good to connect with your readers, good job!

 This article also let me realize that teachers do so much for theri students and that if teachers don't haev faith and help their students the students will not do good with their work. This connected to me in many ways. For example, I always hear students saying they hate homework and school, but maybe if they used technology and their teachers have faith in them they might be more interested in doing their work. I also thought you did a great job of telling and expressing what you really thought to the audience and made sure they understood what you are saying well.

  Overall I thought that it was really good and you have talent and keep up the good work. You have a very good writing style and its poetic which is very cool!  I am not sure if my tips will help you but just try to think of them as you are writing. Just remember to check your spacing in you wors and take out the pictures or make them more related to the topic. great job though, I really liked it! :)

"No Red Pill, No Blue Pill" Response

    Today I read an article, No Red Pill, No Blue Pill by Ana Cristina Pratas. I like the beginning and end of it, because the writer used a somewhat poetic style and a scene to go along with it. This served as an attention-grabber for me and it made me want to read more of it. I also like how the writer described what she would like learning to be like, and how reality is so different. The quote about the red pill and blue pill also made me think about why she put it there. I agree with it because with learning you cannot choose to see an illusion where you can believe whatever you want. You just get taught by yourself or an educator and learn what you have to. The links in the article also helped me when I was reading it, letting me understand concepts or words that I wasn't familiar with (like "Red Pill" and "Blue Pill"). The charts helped me illustrate the writer's thoughts in my head, so I found that useful.

    I agree with the content of this article because education is something that is constantly changing, especially in these digital years. Motivation is indeed an important part of learning. Even if you are a very smart student, if you aren't determined to learn you will not learn well. I like how the writer said that the teachers can only inspire the learner, not motivate them. This idea is good because when a student is inspired to learn, they will continue to learn if they motivate themselves (based on the inspiration from the teacher). The writer also said "Resistance to change is easier than change itself", and this is true because it applies to learning habits - it is easier to keep your motivation low than to motivate yourself further than before.

    Though I agree with most of the items in this article, I think that "fear" of learning depends on the situation you're in. If you are not inspired or motivated to learn, you will be scared to explore what is ahead of you. However, if you do want to learn, the feeling will overcome and cover up the fear inside.

    Overall, this was a good article because I could make connections with it, just as it said "Connections do happen". Learning digital skills is hard, especially when you are in a place where no one uses them, but when you do learn them you can post articles like these. That way you can share your ideas with the world and get replies from others, so that you could improve on your writing.

“No Red Pill No Blue Pill”- Responds

The basic idea of this digital narrative was that motivation is a key factor of success, and that your teachers aren’t responsible for it. I completely agree with this. If you don’t motivate yourself, how are you supposed to get anything done? The answer to that is you don’t. You have to find what motivates you and remember it every time you feel like giving up. In her post, she explained how some students blame their teacher for not encouraging them enough. Doing this is like blaming your coach for not being a good player; even though he/she did everything in his/her power to train you. It is up to the player to practice to become better. In this case, it’s up the student responsibility to practice too become better.

This post can address a lot of different people, for many different reasons. However, I think that this is more relatable for student because of our work habits. Say you’re a high school student, and you’re taking a class that doesn’t interest you at all, therefore you don’t try to do well. After reading the post, you’ll realize that if you’re not going to try, what’s the point of going to school? This point is mentioned numerous of times and is very true.

She had a very unique style of writing, which I enjoyed, along with the images and links. She used lots of examples which helps you relate to the topic better. She also had a very good attention grabber that made me want to read more. In my opinion, her style of writing is very confusing. However, this made me reread the digital narrative several of times as well as think about it for hours. Some people thought that the images were very distracting, but I personally enjoyed them. I found that since the post was very long, the images helped me take a break and understand the concept without using words. The links were very useful too, if I didn’t know or wanted a better understanding of a word or phrase.

If students designed their own schools speech response

After I watched the video, if students designed their own school or program It made me think about how we are barely aloud to do anything we want in school these days, Genius hour opened up a slot to promote our creativity and improve our skills in the way we want without the teacher telling us exactly what to do.
The program that the kids have made in the video not only lets your creative mind take over, but it shows your leadership skills and helps work better in groups with criticizing other projects or just helping other people if they are stuck on something. Of course you will always need some sort of supervision as some kids may want to just join the program to try and get away from doing any work, so having a supervisor in once a week would definitively be a good idea.
The program can also help you in the future with choosing a job, if you have learned allot of different skills in the independent program then you will have an idea of what kind of jobs are out there and have a understanding of how to do them and what to expect if you sign up.
I think that this program would definitely be a good idea at Fraser heights maybe for higher grades because by then they are thinking about what kinds of jobs they could get and this program could definitely help.

If Students Designed Their Own School - Responds

The video “If Students Designed Their Own School”, was based on “The Independent Project”. This project gives students the freedom to learn what they want while still staying in the curriculum. They also still have the knowledge and support of the teachers if needed. By letting students learn want they want to, they are more interested to learn as much as possible on their topic. This leads to completing their project to the best of their ability. This video shows that even students who aren’t academically doing well in school, they can still get an education. But it isn’t just researching and presenting the whole time, it’s also about collaboration. At the last three weeks of this program, the group has to do a final project together. This means that the group has to an agreement of what the project will be about, and what the roles are for everyone. This was the main idea of what was shown in the video.

As great as this project sounds, many schools would be against this project. This is because of the lack of teacher supervision. It is a major concern that students will slack off or not even come to class. And yes this issue was mentioned in the video, but there were only nine students in the program. If there were say twenty students in this program, there would definitely be at least three or four students not trying or caring about what was accomplished in that semester. The whole program would be a waste for that three or four students and they would’ve just gotten through a whole semester without doing any work. It really depends on the type and amount of student that are in this project for it to be a success. “The Independent Project” a good was for students to teach themselves information they want to know. In my opinion, for this project to be effective, you would have to have a small class and students that are interested in exceeding in life.

When I first watched this video, the first thing that I thought of was genius hour. “The Independent Project” gave you the choice to research and learn anything that interest you, the same choices are given for genius too. The difference between them is that in genius hour, there is a teacher observing the process of your project and your final presentation. So if a student wasn’t making any progress, the teacher would know right away and fix the problem. Genius hour and the independent project are similar, but also very different.      

 If we were to start this program in our class, it would be a disaster. We are only grade 8, and at this point in our life, most of us haven’t decided what we’ll do in the future. And at this age, we wouldn’t get any work done. In the video the students in the program were all in grade 12, this resulted to completing their work. In grade 12, most students have their next steps of life planed out and are focused on one main interest. Therefore if “The Independent Project” were to come to Fraser Heights, it would be best to only involve grade 12 students.

"If Students Designed Their Own School" Response

  After watching the video about "If Students Designed There Own School" I would not like to join their student designed school. I wouldn't like to join their school because I really don't see what yuo get out of tis school for College and University. Also, if you have the wrong kids or kids my age that were in this program they would probably be slacking off or fooling around the whole time. The students in this program are pretty much doing a Genius Hour every week, but in theri own school program where it is not as organized. I think that just staying a normal school program and doing Genius Hour is a better choice than creating your own school. I really can't see this program being a sucess with lots of students joining it in the future.In our schools we have everything planned out for us and we know exactly where to be a whatever time. Where as in their self created school they are just doing a project on something the whole day and discussing it. i think our school program is a lot more organized then theirs. Also, you have to make sure that everyone is doing something that they actually want to do, not something that is just quick, easy and simple to do. Also, there school may have teacher's that tey meet up with to talk with every so often, but it's not like our school where you almost always havae a teacher int he room with you. And that's why i think if you joined this self designed school program you could get off task very easily. Also, I don't really understand either how they get grade;s for the work they do if they don't have a teacher in the room with them marking them. Overall I think that designing your own school is a very cool and unique idea but I wouldn't join it and I don't think itr will be a great sucess in the furure.

"If Students Designed Their Own School" Response

    The video that I watched about a student-designed school/program made me think about regular school systems. After a half-year in high school, I'm used to a system where we all have different teachers and students in our classes, as well as independent schedules. The classes are also all planned out for us, including what we do and when we do them. This system is steady and concrete, so our school can be more organised because of the amount of students we have. However, in a single class or a very small school, like the student-designed school in the video, the things that we learn should be flexible.

    This program, "the Independent Project," is located in a public school, which means that the students can have some interaction with the other teachers and students. However, they learn more independently and work in small groups. The students "design their own learning" through three activities: weekly questions, individual endeavours, and collective endeavours. Through these projects, they can choose what they are passionate about while practising both individual working and collaboration skills. This could be a good idea because when you get a job you want to do something that you're interested in, and when you go to university things not related to your job don't matter as much. Because there are only nine students in the program, the students can make better relationships with each other and get closer to each other, like when they discuss what has recently happened to them. In a regular high school, you only meet most people in one or two classes a day, so it's harder to get to know everyone better. After all these points, the Independent Project concludes to be a program that is more adaptable to what you want to learn and letting others know about you more. This sounds like Genius Hour, and it is good because you have the passion and determination to learn what you want, enhancing your experience.

    If this program were to happen in Fraser Heights, there would be a lot more than 9 students in it. However, the important thing is that people would learn what they want, and the environment would be a lot different from the regular school - you would be able to meet the other students more often. To do mostly Genius Hour type projects for one whole semester would be nice for those who want to set their own goals, and it would be interesting to see a student-designed school happen in our school.

My repsonse to "If Students Designed their own Schools"

                       I found it hard to even imagine a school where students had so much control over their own curriculum. That they could critique each others work and then pick out projects that suited their own interests on a weekly basis. Not only that but the teacher weren't really teachers, they still helped the students is they asked for it but they functioned more as coaches. Although the idea was very intriguing and it seemed to work for those students I'm not sure that I'd want to attend a school like that. The "If students designed their own school" philosophy in my opinion would work better for the older grades, around 9-12. This is because in those older grades the students would have their minds more set around what they want to do for a living and they'd be able to create their curriculum and projects around a topic or idea that would better help them for the future. In younger grades with the freedom of choosing what to learn and peers having to critique each others work typically they'd slack off and not learn as much if anything because its very hard to get students out of their comfort zone with no push from teachers if they never have gotten any before. Thats because there would be a different type of structure, one not as strong as most students get now from teachers but perhaps it would be even better from the peer pressure of doing well.

If I was to choose what school to attend, if a regular model or this “Student Designed” one I’d pick the regular model only because I wouldn’t feel that I was learning as much if I was to choose all the areas to research and if I had to create the ideas for all my projects and a rubric for how they must be done. When learning or working on a project and the material that needs to completed is already written out for me I prefer it because then I can expand into what mandatory while adding on some of my preferences. I do enjoy creating my own projects but only once in awhile so theres some mixture of tactics in my learning.

Always having to choose the areas of research would be too stressful for me since I’d always feel to be missing something or not to be learning enough. Its nice to switch it up for a change every once in awhile but having to plan out your own system of learning all the time would get tiring and if you had gotten tired from choosing complicated processes for learning each time chances are you’ll slack off later on.