Metacognition: My Thinking while Working on Assignments

When I start any big project or essay my first thought process is the dread of starting the thing. When I have a lot of time for a big assignment I tend to wait at least a few days to really start. In these few days I sometimes do some preliminary planning or at least think the assignment, but at this point all plans are in my head or non-existent. Sometimes I wait to start because I’m legitimately too busy, and other times it is purely procrastination. This is a habit of delaying the start of big assignments mine that is unproductive for me and I should cut out this stage all together. Thankfully, I have gotten better since my freshman year, when I was the start-a-day-or-two-before-its-due kind of student. It was always very stressful no-break or fun kind of work that would usually take the whole day.  As of recently, I have realized that once I finally start something, and brainstorm what I will do, I realize that it won’t be as hard or time consuming as I had thought. And then I work better and get over the “ugh” of having to do it. 

Once I officially start an assignment, I usually think about: how long it will take me, when I will be able to work on it, and when I should do it. Since my senior year has started, I have been getting better at planning out the time that it will take to finish my assignments. I am the kind of person who hates doing the entirety of a project the day before it’s due, because that situation is always way too stressful and the work never comes out the best that it can be. I like doing projects and papers with several, or at least a few days before the due date so that I can do a little each day. I have barely stressed out with schoolwork at all this school year because of how I have been planning out my time. I used to be so bad in terms of procrastination and I’m glad I have been improving my time management skills, because I know they will be helpful in college and in life.  

Before I actually hands-on work on any assignment, I like to come up with an on-paper plan. For papers, I always have some sort of outline and for projects I draw sketches or take notes on my ideas about the project. I find it very helpful to put my thoughts and ideas somewhere where I can see, organize, and edit them as I go on. While I’m working I often come up with more ideas, and it’s easy to just jot or draw them into the plan that I already have.  

When I actually start working on my project or paper I only work for short periods of time. I break the work up into smaller, stress-free parts.  So I usually don’t work on one assignment for more than an hour and half at a time, because to be honest my attention span doesn’t last much longer than that. This method also stops me from getting frustrated by having to work for hours on end. When I do have to work for a few hours I will take short breaks. When I work on something, I like to be comfortable, usually with music or TV to listen to as I work. Most of the time I work while sitting on my couch or bed. But I like my desk too sometimes.  I keep it relaxed while still being productive. As I work, I try to add creativity to my assignments. For example, in my Mindbook and other projects I try to add colors, borders, and other decorations so that my work is visually appealing. In my papers and other formal writing, I go over and edit my work for grammar, but also for flow, vocabulary and sentence / paragraph structure so that it is “pretty” too. I willingly put time and effort into my work to make good quality work.

My attitude and thoughts about school and grades has completely changed this year. Except surprisingly, not in the “senioritis” kind of way. Now that high school grades are supposed to be less important to me as a senior, I am actually getting better grades than I have ever. I think I am doing so well because all of my classes genuinely interest me and I want to do well in them for myself. Now that I am doing the work for reasons other than a good GPA, I feel liberated. I am more motivated than ever, and it doesn’t feel like work so much anymore. And that’s pretty much the biggest relief I’ve ever experienced.

Blogging Around

Annika’s Blog: “Captured Thought: Never Say Never”

-This blog was about taking time to understanding things completely before rejecting them.

I totally agree with you about having respect for Mr. Allen’s ability to go through life trying to understand things the best that he can before he decides to reject them. It’s easy to be closed-minded, but it takes effort to live open-mindedly. I believe that it is a good way to live life, because the world is a very diverse place and there are a lot of things that you may like out there, but you will never discover them unless you give things a fair chance. I believe that this is how everyone should live, and I am going to do my best to live this way from now on. It may be because of our age, but it is not always easy to take time to truly understand things before we decide we don’t like them, despite it being the right thing to do. I also think that figuring out what you truly do and do not like leads to self-discovery.

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Zlatina’s Blog: “Carry it Forward:Creative Crisis”

-This blog was about the article “The Creative Crisis”, and discussed declining creativity in America, and how education affects creativity. 

I totally agree that our educational systems in America do not emphasize individual creativity. And that is really too bad, because creativity is one of the most important skill to have in the world today. It is also very true that this “drill and kill” system used in America often involves a ton of pressure and stress on the student’s part, when there are better systems to educate. School should not be about competition, grades and memorization (as it generally is now); it should be about learning, but also about developing, applying, and exercising one’s unique creativity. This would make school much more suitable and enjoyable for students, and more real-life applicable. It is scary to me that creativity in America is declining, because that really shows that as a country, we are doing things all wrong. In school, kids should be taught to be their own unique person and to express their creativity in a variety of ways.  

Best of the Week: The Elusive Big Idea

               I believe the article “Elusive Big Idea” is very thought provoking. It brought up many observations and ideas about our society that I had never thought about. When I first started reading the article, I thought it was going to be one of the clique articles stating that our current generation is lazier than past generations due to T.V. watching or plain laziness or something along those lines. But the article went on to state a very original and analytical view of today’s society. Neal Gabler, the author of the article emphasizes that our slow-down of ideas is due to the age of Enlightenment coming to an end. In the “post Enlightenment” society that we live in now often puts more importance on learning and knowing the discoveries and ideas of the past rather than coming up with our own ground-breaking ideas. This is mainly because there is so much information out there nowadays that trying to learn it all is impossible, so people often don’t think creatively or divergently in order to come up with new brilliant ideas. 

                One observation that I totally agree with is that part of the reason for our passive thinking and lack of ideas is the rise in popularity of social networking and the Internet. With the Internet, people are able to access any information they could ever want to know, in a very quick and convenient way. Social networking is a very useful tool to connect with friends close and far, but it does not do a whole lot for the formation of ideas. Social networking helps to widen one’s social circle, and even to pass on ideas; but it does not allow one to discover much about themselves or the world around them. I personally have realized that Facebook is one of the biggest unproductive time-suckers ever invented. I now think of it as very dull compared to other things I could do with my free time like create something or read a good book. I have honestly gotten to the point where I would rather clean my room or organize something than go on Facebook. But I wasn’t always this way, I admit I used to be so easily distracted by Facebook and could easily spend way-too-much time browsing on the site. 

                 If divergent and creative thinking is not practiced, then the future will also experience a horrible lack of ideas. I believe that it is society’s responsibility to teach and emphasize divergent thinking in order to produce more useful discoveries in the future. Although I may not make any huge or significant discovery, after reading this article I am going to try my best to do more useful and idea-producing thinking. I usually try to think outside the box while learning in school, while creating art, and even while picking out an outfit to wear as well as in many other aspects of my life. I will also try to keep my mind open to different subjects to study and just to think about or research. I am always open to new interests, activities, and experiences. I prefer unconventional, new, and creative concepts to old and accepted ones. Hopefully, in the future we will see a world full of ideas and discoveries that change our world and way of living in more ways than just technologically and electronically.

It Matters: Born into Brothels

 >>Link to article about brothels & sex trade in India<<

Today in class, we watched a documentary called Born into Brothels. It really opened my eyes to the horrific sex trade problem in India. It is a horrible reality for millions of women as well as children worldwide. Millions of women and children under 16 are workers in the sex trade in India alone. The sex trade is especially prevalent in Calcutta, which is a very large “red-light” area in India. Red-light areas are urban areas where a lot of prostitution takes place. Most women living in this Calcutta, as well as in other red light areas, are prostitutes. 

            These prostitutes are doomed to a hard life. They are unaccepted in society. They are often very poor and live in bad and dirty conditions; sometimes with children.  They are often blackmailed, manipulated, and raped by their pimps and police officers due to their involvement in the illicit sex trade. I believe this is a horrible reality that needs to be known about and dealt with worldwide. The number of prostitutes will only continue to rise if nothing changes. Another problem that arises from a thriving sex trade is the spreading of HIV among populations. The percent of infected people has risen to 9% recently in Sonagachi, India- an all time high for the area. HIV has been spreading far, wide, and fast in India. This is because many men come to red light areas in India while working and bring diseases back to their homes in other towns or even countries. If nothing is done soon, an HIV epidemic is bound to occur in India. If it can happen there, can’t it happen anywhere or even everywhere?

            Fortunately, there is an organization that formed in the 1990s called DMSU that represents sex workers in India as well as in other countries where prostitution is prevalent. The DMSU works to prevent HIV among the sex trade and to establish “reliance, respect, and recognition,” in the sex trade. They make condoms available cheap for the sex workers, but not everyone chooses to or is able to always use them. The organization also educates the sex workers about HIV prevention and sometimes tests them for HIV. For their protection, they are often not told when they test positive. I understand that it is so that they are not harmed or killed, but what I don’t understand is why they bother to test the sex workers if they let them go untreated and allow them to most likely spread the disease more. I believe that this group (or possibly a new one) should strive to eliminate HIV and eventually the whole sex trade system all together. 

            All of this matters because no one should have to sell their body just to make a living. Especially children. What is even worse is the rising HIV statistics that are caused by the sex trade. It’s scary because other diseases are also spread. And all of this can be prevented if prostitution and general promiscuity is seized to exist worldwide. I do not want to see widespread HIV and STD epidemics in the world when it can all be prevented so easily. Except it’s not so easy to prevent when not everyone is on board, because there are millions and millions of people involved in the sex trade worldwide; most of it done out of the view, thought, and concern of public officials or law enforcement. Another reason why more should be done to prevent prostitution worldwide is the kids that are born and grow up around its realities. Whether they were involved or their parent is, no child should ever be exposed to the sex trade first hand. If there is an opportunity for me to help these people I would take it because the images in that documentary were heartbreaking and it needs to stop.