Best Of Week: Born into Brothels

Pity is an easy way to stunt learning. Someone who has had greater struggles than you have probably could tell you a lot that you could not learn otherwise. It is when we get past pity that we can really help a cause and also help ourselves. This is how selflessness can really work most effectively. 

In order to really learn from the film Born into Brothels it is necessary to exercise this kind of selflessness. When we really look at these children's situation it is easy to be discouraged. In their own country of India they are considered the lowest of low, and then India is considered a third world country. Pity would drive most people to want to give money, food, or clothing to these children. This is extremely helpful but someone came into their life that really gave them what they needed. 

Zana Briski is a photographer that originally had traveled to the brothel to document what was happening for the kids. Then she looked past her pity and looked for a concrete way to ensure their safety and even removal from the brothel. The first thing she did was teach them photography. Many would argue that this is an impractical skill to teach them for a multitude of reasons; they can't afford cameras, it is hard to find a job with this skill, and it requires further education that the children could not afford. I think she saw what they really needed, and that was creativity. When the children were taking pictures they had to think outside the box to get the perfect picture in the box. This is teaching them problem based learning and giving them an opportunity to grow and learn in a way they were not getting in their normal lives. 

This grabbed the attention of a lot of people. The children's pictures were shown in many shows and people started to really care about their situation. This attention eventually led to the filming of this documentary and many other opportunities for the kids. The best part is that Briski worked to get the children enrolled in boarding school so they were away from their unhealthy environments and they had a chance to get a good education. 

Without Briski the children most likely would have stayed in the brothels their whole lives and then bore children into the brothel and so on. Briski was able to hopefully break the chain because she really cared, she learned, and she was able to provide for them in a way that they could really use for a long time and not just to satisfy and immediate need. Many would argue that Briski learned the most in this situation, and we can learn from her as well so we can bring to light new ideas to creatively and effectively solve all the worlds’ problems!

It Matters: Back to school with multiple intelligences

Today is a fantastic time to be a student in the United States. Education is a hot topic with concerns that range from teacher benefits, budget problems, the necessity of the arts in schools, and the list continues. More recently the hot issue in schools has been how can teachers improve their students' learning? As a student I am very aware of how I learn and what I would like to see changed, but my learning style is most likely pivotally different from the person sitting in the desk next to me in any given class. The question then becomes how do teachers satisfy every students learning needs? I can testify as a student that we as students are demanding. We would also like to tell you that teachers are demanding in a different way. The discussion between teachers and students doesn't have to be a battle; it should be an enlightening conversation. 

The real problem is this: Sitting at home with an assignment that makes no sense to me, not knowing how and where to begin, and then coming in to class and being the only one who is as clueless as you. Every student has his or her own personal learning styles and habits, and when a student is stuck mentally it can be good and it can be bad. Challenge is good, discomfort and failure are not. We students are frustrated but we, unfortunately, can't strike. Luckily our cry has been heard by many teachers and researchers and there have been amazing and numerous results. 

Debbie Jacob writes the article attached to this blog.  The article references Gardener's Multiple Intelligences, a theory that breaks up humans intelligence into categories based on learning preference. More teachers are moving to teaching methods that effectively are inclusive of a variety of learning methods. This article suggests that if you know your specific learning style you are more likely to not only be more successful in learning in an educational environment, but also you are more likely to feel more comfortable with yourself in daily life! 

This is different from just knowing what you are good at. Most students today are incredible multi-taskers. Most students are involved in a multitude of activities, and this confuses our brains ability to know what we are truly most comfortable with. It is also not uncommon to have more than one best learning intelligence. When teachers and students are both aware of the students learning style the student will learn better. It is huge to know this information! Teachers now have the potential to change the way we as students learn, and students have the opportunity to really invest in learning and not mindlessly complete tasks! The only real question is how will we utilize this information? It truly is a fantastic time to be a student in the United States. 

http://www.guardian.co.tt/columnist/2012-09-03/back-school-multiple-intelligences?qt-realestate_classfieds=0

Carry It Forward: The Creative Personality

Glenbrook South is huge! Not necessarily in comparison to other schools even in the area but it’s big! We all have pretty extensive groups of friends but most of us stay within those groups. Admit it, if you attend GBS you probably don’t know everyone in your graduating class. That’s ok! If anyone were to know everyone in his or her class it wouldn’t be me.

Stop calling it shy. 

Even though that is a valid point to make it’s a silly one. A lot of people are shy and all for different reasons; personality, habit, experiences, ect. Shy is an adjective that can be applied to a multitude of circumstances and stories. There are very specific and purposeful reasons for my “shyness” the biggest one having a perfectly logical explanation!

The article The Creative Personality by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi thoroughly described ten traits about creative minds. I found the article extremely insightful and thought provoking, especially one point. He said that “Creative people tend to be both extroverted and introverted” (Csikszentmihalyi). Let’s break that down!

The pure definition of extroverted is “an outgoing, overtly expressive person”.

The pure definition of introverted is “a shy and renitent person”

Csikzentmihalyi goes on to say that “extroversion and introversion are considered the most stable personality traits that differentiate people from each other and that can be reliable measured”.

So the question is how on earth can a person exhibit both at once?!

The answer is that it is uncomfortable. In my situation the introversion part stems mostly from fear of judgment and pure, unfiltered awkwardness. The extroverted part is easily explained by a want for people to know me and the ideas I have about life! The biggest problem is that I have some kind of “wall” that prevents the sharing of these ideas. I will very rarely raise my hand or participate in class voluntarily even though I have a yearning to! It really has created a war within me.

I'm not shy!

The most unfortunate part about all of this is that Mr. Csikszentmihalyi (What a name!) did not discuss a coping solution to this problem, only the idea that it exists. I think the biggest part of this is that the article only described the creative mind, and didn’t suggest that there was anything wrong with having the personality described. In fact it is important now more than ever because the creative mind is being stifled! We need creative minds like mine and maybe yours to speak out, which is ironically a problem for me!

I think what I really can learn from this and carry into my life is that my ideas are important and worth it! I need to remember that merely existing on this planet gives me license to grow and share just as much as any other person. So you actually read this and do know me as one of the people in your graduating class, feel free to push me out of my comfort zone and approach me. Better yet, maybe I’ll even raise my hand in class! This really is an exiting time in life where we as young people can be changed so radically! Being a person who is both introverted and extroverted, I have a unique view of life that many others cannot share with me. So which one is it? Only the winning side will tell!