Over the course of my life I have come to notice that no source of information stands a chance next to actually getting out there and experiencing; so this passing week, we took our project to its point of origin, Pucusana. On Monday the members of Mi Pescador Peruano, went for a visit to km 57, a mass fishing site for artisanal fishermen who make a living by selling their produce to providers.
It was truly incredible speaking to these hard-working men who spend numerous days out at sea, only to be rewarded with a mere 1 sol per kilogram of fish. Listening to their stories truly changed my perspective of the whole fishing industry; I was amazed of how different their lives where from us. These men lead truly unstable lives, they face real ambiguity, given the prices of their work tend to change overnight. When there is little competition their fish can be sold to a price of 6 soles, yet when the market is full the prices drop exponentially. What I enjoy the most about this project is that we actually have the opportunity to change the lives of those who are less fortunate, to honestly make a difference. If anything this field trip has served as a true inspiration, only after actually seeing what I have read being portrayed before my eyes was i able to notice the bigger issue at hand. Now I am completely aware that this is a problem that has to be addressed, and i am glad to say that I'm going to be one of the people who lets these stories be told to the world.
1 Comment
This week, after having a long discussion about projects, I was faced with a decision: Photography or film. Now to understand my frustration with this topic, you must know i consider myself someone prone to the medias, I enjoy taking pictures, drawing, and basically any type of technological representation of ideas. However, when it comes to film-making, I find myself clueless; and that terrifies me. I was given the opportunity to modify the final product of Cuéntame Perú, which lead me to two options, either stick videos, or migrate to images. I thought about this decision a lot and couldn't seem to reach a consensus between the logical and illogical sides of my brain. One side of me opted towards the easy pick: photography, it was the safe decision to go through with. I already had plenty of experience with the topic and could even improve my current skills. However, once I listened to the other side of my mind, I knew which decision I had to take. Film-making is something I have never done before; sure I have made a couple of I-movie videos, but never something professional. Film represents the adventurous life-style, the risk-taking personality that many wish could have. By choosing to do film, I am not only showing others, but showing myself that I am not afraid to take scary situations and turn them into exhilarating challenges, to truly embrace the dare.After this sudden realization ,that fear, that fright, turned into excitement, because in this case, film-making stood for so much more. Of course, I still have my doubts; but I know that if I go through with this and give it my all, I will be able to succeed. This decision only means that I have to put all my strength into my work, but simultaneously, as my work multiplies, the pleasure of seeing the final product completed will multiply as well. Because in life we are always going to be faced with great challenges, and it takes a true risk taker to follow the road less travelled. “feedback when given well should not alienate the receiver of the feedback, but should motivate them to perform better.” -M.O., Manager. Fortune 500 Company This past Thursday, all of 10th grade Innovation Academy gathered up along with a few parents and teachers to present a project pitch. The purpose of this was mainly to share our ideas and receive some constructive feedback, which is exactly what happened. I must say that I did not expect much of this, I was completely prepared for the mothers to nod and compliment our presentations, so I was pretty shocked when my group received some of the best feedback I have ever heard in my life.
Had you asked me a week ago about my current Innovation Academy project, I would have had a whole plan as to how I was going to accomplish a set goal. I would have had dates, assignments and tasks to complete; however, if you ask me now, I have no clue. Some may think that this realization is a projection of declining productivity, but actually this change of direction might as well be the best thing that has ever happened to this project. Because if you count the number of days we would have lost following the wrong plan, instead of a few steps backwards, this is a giant leap forward that will surely propel us in the direction of success. Throughout my months in Innovation Academy, I have grown fond of feedback giving and receiving; Breakthrough, of course, being my number one example. Having the several iterations of the magazine cover, searching for different points of view and denying conformation with nothing but the best we had, is what lead us to succeed and create beautiful work. And I am 100% prepared to return again to the same quest for perfection, and here is where it begins. This whole experience truly comes to show that feedback is actually crucial in the efficient development of a project, and that in fact two minds think better than one; especially when one of them has a different perspective on the subject. Sometimes when we are too close to an idea, we get caught up in the details and seize to see the bigger picture, which is why feedback is so helpful. Feedback can really change a whole project, it can take something decent and make it extraordinary. And beyond schoolwork, beyond projects in life constructive criticism is extremely helpful. But what happens when we don't have somebody else to consult? We won't always have another set of eyes to give us their opinion, which is why this project has lead me to the realization that cultivating a critical mind is a true gift and advantage in life. Learning how to question your ideas and your deepest thoughts is the highest level of reflection one can undergo, and the consequences are always positive given that you begin to notice things that you didn't see before. The basic concepts of evolution state that in order to survive, one must learn to adapt; weather it is in a group of species, a progressing business or the 'learning experience' change is a crucial step towards success and perdurance. If we look back 20 years from now, we can say with confidence that several things have changed, like: technology, music, architecture, fashion, and so much more. But when we come to think about education, we are faced with confusion. Of course, there have been evident advances in tools that facilitate learning; however, two decades have passed and for the most of it, us students are still sitting at our desks listening to the teacher talk about the same subjects our parents learnt in school. Having education be a subject of such great importance, it is incredible to say that through the years it has not developed much. The student-teacher relation has stayed the same, even though the individuals and their perspectives are now completely different. On Wednesday, Mr. Akin showed the class an out-dated promotional video of what once was Colegio Roosevelt; It showed progression of design, change in the buildings, and even the uniforms. As we quietly sat and watched, Mr. Akin said something that got me thinking: " It's funny to see how much physical change Colegio Roosevelt has undergone, however our students are still here learning the same lessons, sitting in the same classes, teacher to students." In my opinion, learning is advancing at a slow speed. World-wide, numerous innovators and education enthusiasts are doing all they can to jump-start new projects like the Innovation Academy, and it is these projects which are going to make 'the learning experience' move forward. After an eternal, yet, time-flying summer break, school is back; and neither students nor teachers are losing time to begin working. We opened up the first class of innovation with Mr. Bon's keynote; however, we weren't seated for long. As soon as the presentation reached a conclusion, we began doing some hands-on work. As pitched by Bonnici, freedom is our topic this semester. our projects will somewhat relate to the greater subject, and finding some ideas for that project was our task that Tuesday afternoon. Before we knew it, we all got into groups and began debating. Everybody had their own ideas in mind and wanted to share them with our peers. That same day, once I got home, I opened my laptop and began to organize. The incidents at school really got me thinking more about my organization this semester. If such efficiency is being led so early into the semester, then I must be efficient in my own time as well. D I G I T A L O R G A N I Z A T I O N T I P S :1. Folders are your best friends: Please don't be one of the desktop-clustering type of person, color code and organize your documents into folders. 2. Evernote for to-do's: Get into the habit of writing down your homework or pending errands in an Evernote checklist. 3. Hard-drive it: Don't have enough memory and are sad to erase data? Buy a hard drive to store it all, and keep your laptop junk-free. I have to say this has definitely been one of the most productive first weeks of school. Not only did we quickly jump into conversations and discussions; however, watching us all engaged and embracing what will be our future innovation project, was something that brought me true inspiration.
Gifted hands is an inspirational biography about a boy from Detroit who turned his life around. Coming from the streets, a broken home and a discriminatory school, success was clearly something that did not come easy to the Carson boys; yet, with the help of a loving mother who inspired her children to thrive, and a strong believe in the greater power of god, Ben, against all odds, was able to surpass expectations. Ben's story begins when his dad is thrown out of his home for being unfaithful, he and his mother had married at a very young age, and after putting up with him for a long time, Sonya Carson finally made him leave. For a young boy of only 8 years, this was quite devastating; Ben did not understand the motive of his father's absence, and Sonya, being the protective mother she was, refused to tell his boys the truth, no matter how angry or sad it made her. For a while, things for the Carson's kept spiraling down, Ben was a victim of bullying at his school for having low grades, and being the only colored boy in his class did not help with the teasing. However, as the years passed things slowly began to improve. Ben got glasses, he began to study more, and his mom put her foot down on certain obligations her boys had to do. She made them read rather than watch TV, learn the times tables, and overall improve their study habits. This was all very hard for Sonya, given she only received a third grade education, yet she refused to stand by and watch her kids do less than the best they could. It would be a lie to say that life went perfectly afterwards, Sonya had to be hospitalized some weeks in a mental institution for depression and Ben began to develop a strong temper that could have gotten him into severe trouble; however, with faith on his side, he was able to maintain his grades high throughout his education. This resulted in him earning a scholarship in Yale, and later on attending to Med school in the university of Michigan. Today, Ben Carson is a mastermind in the field of medicine. He is most known for being the first doctor to successfully separate conjoined twins joined at the head. He is widely recognized as being a doctor who gives children a second chance, granting them miracles in the field of sciences. I believe that the true moral of this story is that there are no excuses to succeed. If you really want something, you can achieve it, because we are the ones who lead the path to the life that we will lead. I recommend this book to anyone who wants some inspiration and a good time. I personally enjoyed reading this book, it was well narrated, and allowed room for reflection, overall I found this book delightful and truly inspirational. After completing the investigation on colleges last month, I was finally ready to take action and visit these prospective universities. I had already arranged for tours around the campus and drives through the cities in order to get the complete feel of what it would be like to actually attend one of these institutions.
After a long week of traveling, my partial college visits where completed, leaving me with answered questions and many plans for the future. I concluded that overall, before picking a university, I have to be more educated on the topic, which is why I am going to be visiting some more colleges next summer. Secondly, if I want to have a better intake on college life, I should probably think of joining a camp this winter break, something that would also look great in my application!
Something I have come to notice these past few weeks is that along with the summer holidays comes a lot of free time. Having all of these extra hours of unproductively can easily result in slacking, therefore, it is crucial for one to set up plans and make goals; however, even after setting goals, even after creating schedules and plans I still happen to find myself with more time than I can spend. Given that my final target to accomplish within these vacations is productivity, I have decided to take on a small project that will not only entertain me in my boredom, but grandly serve purpose in a not so far away future. t h e C O L L E G E H A N D B O O KTaking into consideration the fact that with the coming of March a lot of decisions will have to be made regarding my classes for Junior year, the fact that next week I will be traveling to visit potential universities my brother may desire to attend to, the fact that maybe next year the one going to college visits will be me, I have decided to begin my research regarding my future options of these educational institutions.
So far, I have gotten to register 12 solid candidates in my handbook, and by using it I have managed to convince my mother to purchase a flight to Michigan within my trip next week, to visit one of the universities I like the most. Overall I must say this book has served a good purpose, and I'm sure it will continue being useful in the future. Now I have to focus my time into thinking out some questions to ask the admissions counselor in my college visit the following week, and of course adding on new universities I find worthy.
I have set myself up for these goals for the following months because I want this year to be as, or even more productive than last year. I finished the past semester proud of my hard work, and my grades where evidence of that; however, I am aware that in order to improve I must continue with the good habits I created in 2014. In my opinion a solid start is key to a solid ending, thus I plan on being completely proactive these vacations.
The careless period of the summer break has already gone by, and I say this 100% self-assured: I have to make the most of the time I have left, it's time to get back on track! On a sunny Thursday morning my grandfather passed away. He had lived through 90 long years and it was already his time to go. His death didn't shock me so much, I had never been too close to him, more than mournful I felt happy, that bittersweet sensation that you get once you have passed to a new phase of life. I felt glad for my grandfather, I knew he was in a better place, yet sad because I was't going to see him ever again.
As they lured his coffin into the ground I began to think about his life, his true meaning here on earth. See, I believe that we are all alive for a reason, we all have a purpose in life, and once we have achieved our mission we are free to go. While my grandfather was alive, he didn't impact me so much as a person; however, his death made me realize countless things for which I will be eternally thankful. I didn't visit my grandfather nearly as much as I would have wanted, i never truly new him as a person and now that i have realized this it is too late to go back. Yet his passing away opened my eyes towards realizing that I had been taking things for granted. Samuel Fischman was an amazing man with thousands of stories to tell, stories that now I will never be able to listen. Yet, I am lucky enough to still have two grandparents alive, two grandparents that have so much to tell and so much to teach me. And thanks to my grandfather, Samuel, now I will make sure their stories are heard. This week I was ready to blog about finishing my POL, nearing the end of the school year and reflecting on my progress as a learner, yet I have noticed that things like these come unexpected; however, I still believe this blog can relate pretty well. Weather it's nearing the finale of a book, a project or a phase of your life, endings can be scary, but if I have learned something from this experience it's that that everything happens for a reason, and every end is just the start of a new beginning. |
INNOVATE“The earth has music for those who listen.” MY BLOGS:
March 2017
CATEGORIES |