I believe that Chris Langan is very successful. Although he was unable to go to college, and therefore not taking very seriously in the science community, he is still the smartest man in the U.S.A. Also, he has been able to make kim self happy, and succeed more than many other people. Currently, he lives on a farm with his wife, and raises animals. Although some people may say he can do more with his potential, that may not be necessary. I believe success is a matter of opinon, and if he did what he wanted to do, then he IS successful. I think that if you accomplished your goals, no matter what they are, then you are successful.
Fun Fact? Chris' IQ measures between 195 and 210, which is currently the highest in the U.S.A.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The Kindergarten Debate
Currently we are reading the book "Outliers" in G&T. At a part we are at, we are debating whether it is good or bad to hold your kids back a year when starting kindergarten, based on their age. We read an article named "Delay Kindergarten at Your Child's Peril" alongside our book, so we can see to sides to the argument..
I disagree with the idea in the article about how a child starting kindergarten late can have a negative impact on them. I believe that the "Outliers" is correct in the view it states. Matthew Gladwell says that most children who start school late will have it better, because being the older children in the grade, they will appear to be smarter, and therefore get more attention. This is the same as what happens in sports, when because a child is bigger and stronger, coaches assume they are just better. The name of this is "accumulative advantage". I believe that if you are older, and start when you are older, you will be able to comprehend things easier, which will give you a major jump start.
The article about how children would do worse overall if they start late does makes good points though. One, is the observations that they observed. They say "In a class of 25, the average difference is equivalent to going from 13th place to 11th. This advantage fades by the end of elementary school, though, and disadvantages start to accumulate. In high school, red shirted children are less motivated and perform less well. By adulthood, they are no better off in wages or educational attainment — in fact, their lifetime earnings are reduced by one year." This means that although the older children will start off better, they will fall farther and farther behind as time goes on. They also say this will have an effect on their financial success in life.
All in all, I believe that it would be better if a child starts late, because i think that Matthew Gladwell's idea of accumulative advantage would be in place. This would make their time in school more successful and, in turn, their chances at a more successful future would be higher.
I disagree with the idea in the article about how a child starting kindergarten late can have a negative impact on them. I believe that the "Outliers" is correct in the view it states. Matthew Gladwell says that most children who start school late will have it better, because being the older children in the grade, they will appear to be smarter, and therefore get more attention. This is the same as what happens in sports, when because a child is bigger and stronger, coaches assume they are just better. The name of this is "accumulative advantage". I believe that if you are older, and start when you are older, you will be able to comprehend things easier, which will give you a major jump start.
The article about how children would do worse overall if they start late does makes good points though. One, is the observations that they observed. They say "In a class of 25, the average difference is equivalent to going from 13th place to 11th. This advantage fades by the end of elementary school, though, and disadvantages start to accumulate. In high school, red shirted children are less motivated and perform less well. By adulthood, they are no better off in wages or educational attainment — in fact, their lifetime earnings are reduced by one year." This means that although the older children will start off better, they will fall farther and farther behind as time goes on. They also say this will have an effect on their financial success in life.
All in all, I believe that it would be better if a child starts late, because i think that Matthew Gladwell's idea of accumulative advantage would be in place. This would make their time in school more successful and, in turn, their chances at a more successful future would be higher.
Monday, September 24, 2012
All About Being Gifted Post
Myths of Being Gifted
(from familyeducation.com)
Myth 1: Gifted students don't need any help
Truth 1: Gifted students will need help. Usually gifted students are gifted in one area, and might be bad in another. For example, I'm good at history and language arts, but I'm bad at things like science and math. I usually ask for help in those classes.
(From nagc.com) Myth 2: Academically gifted students are socially awkward nerds that do nothing but do calculus and read Shakespeare for fun
Truth 2: This is not true. Every single person in my gifted class has multiple friends, does sports (or some other extracurricular such as theater or an instrument), and most don't even like school work.
(From nagc.com)
Myth 3: All children are gifted
Truth 3: No, not all children are gifted. While some might argue, there are many kids that don't have talent. Many kids will end up going through there life being mediocre, especially if they never find something that they might be good at.
Ups and Downs of Being Gifted
(From byrdseed.com) There are many ups and downs to being gifted. The first one is that although you will be advanced in a certain area, many gifted students end up lacking in another area. For example, usually do well in history, and find it very interesting, but then when it comes to math I find it hard to concentrate and although i do well, i am not excelled in this area. The second up/down is that although you may be able to process info, many might not be able to handle it because a lot of gifted students also develop emotionally slower than other kids.This means that although you can understand the info , you might not be able to handle it, and you could easily over react/become very upset.For example last year, when learning about the Holocaust, many kids became easily upset, because they could comprehend the basis of the information so well. The third and final up/down is that many children might be too gifted for their age level, and there motor mechanics are too poor for their age. One example is if you are a 7 year old, highly intelligent, but have awful handwriting, he would marked down on grades, because teachers don't like his handwriting.
(from familyeducation.com)
Myth 1: Gifted students don't need any help
Truth 1: Gifted students will need help. Usually gifted students are gifted in one area, and might be bad in another. For example, I'm good at history and language arts, but I'm bad at things like science and math. I usually ask for help in those classes.
(From nagc.com) Myth 2: Academically gifted students are socially awkward nerds that do nothing but do calculus and read Shakespeare for fun
Truth 2: This is not true. Every single person in my gifted class has multiple friends, does sports (or some other extracurricular such as theater or an instrument), and most don't even like school work.
(From nagc.com)
Myth 3: All children are gifted
Truth 3: No, not all children are gifted. While some might argue, there are many kids that don't have talent. Many kids will end up going through there life being mediocre, especially if they never find something that they might be good at.
Ups and Downs of Being Gifted
(From byrdseed.com) There are many ups and downs to being gifted. The first one is that although you will be advanced in a certain area, many gifted students end up lacking in another area. For example, usually do well in history, and find it very interesting, but then when it comes to math I find it hard to concentrate and although i do well, i am not excelled in this area. The second up/down is that although you may be able to process info, many might not be able to handle it because a lot of gifted students also develop emotionally slower than other kids.This means that although you can understand the info , you might not be able to handle it, and you could easily over react/become very upset.For example last year, when learning about the Holocaust, many kids became easily upset, because they could comprehend the basis of the information so well. The third and final up/down is that many children might be too gifted for their age level, and there motor mechanics are too poor for their age. One example is if you are a 7 year old, highly intelligent, but have awful handwriting, he would marked down on grades, because teachers don't like his handwriting.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
First rogate post
Name: James (people call me JJ)
Grade: 9th
Favorite school subjects: History, Lunch, Gym.
Favorite topics: Lacrosse, cross country (distance running), war, movies, video games.
Free time spent: playing video games, watching movies, running, practicing lacrosse, sleeping.
Future job: buisness owner/teacher
Happy: being with friends
Grade: 9th
Favorite school subjects: History, Lunch, Gym.
Favorite topics: Lacrosse, cross country (distance running), war, movies, video games.
Free time spent: playing video games, watching movies, running, practicing lacrosse, sleeping.
Future job: buisness owner/teacher
Happy: being with friends
Monday, June 11, 2012
Rogate Last Post of the Year
My favorite part of ROGATE was my table that I worked at.
My favorite unit was Google 20% project, because it was really fun and we got to have freedom to research.
Blogs can be used more efficiently if we use them more often, and it was mandatory ro post/ comment a certain amount of times per week.
The thing i will miss the most about middle school are my teachers and the cafeteria.
What do we get to do now that we couldn't do before?
I plan on hanging out a lot with my friends that are not going to Northern, and spending time at my beach house.
Signing off for a couple months atleast
-JJ
My favorite unit was Google 20% project, because it was really fun and we got to have freedom to research.
Blogs can be used more efficiently if we use them more often, and it was mandatory ro post/ comment a certain amount of times per week.
The thing i will miss the most about middle school are my teachers and the cafeteria.
What do we get to do now that we couldn't do before?
I plan on hanging out a lot with my friends that are not going to Northern, and spending time at my beach house.
Signing off for a couple months atleast
-JJ
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Kickstarter Project
Kickstarter, what I would spend my $500 on:
The first thing would be the product Laser app tag, and I would pledge $120. This means I would get 4 laser app tags for a discounted price. You can attach them to nerf guns, and use the nerf guns as laser tag guns. It is like a real world video game! The camera on the device transmits the image and aiming reticule onto the screen, and by moving the gun around, the aiming reticule moves too.
The second thing I would donate money to is $240 to the Pebble. If I donate this amount, I get two Pebbles in any color.
This product is a very special watch. This watch can be customized with several different screens, has very useful app (such as timers and pedometers) and can connect wireless to iphone/android. This watch is also very sleek and nice looking. I would love to buy this watch.
The third and final thing i would donate my remaining $160 to is the production of the video game "Zombie Playground". It is going to be a video game, with the setting in a school. You play as children in the school, who are fighting to survive. Because of the amount I am donating, I would get a special pair of shoes for my character in the game, ones that will help me in the dark, as well as every single prize before this too.
Laser app tag:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonatherton/apptag-laser-blaster?ref=live
Pebble:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android?ref=live
Zombie playground:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/massiveblack/zombie-playground-zpg-3d-action-online-battle-rpg?ref=live
The first thing would be the product Laser app tag, and I would pledge $120. This means I would get 4 laser app tags for a discounted price. You can attach them to nerf guns, and use the nerf guns as laser tag guns. It is like a real world video game! The camera on the device transmits the image and aiming reticule onto the screen, and by moving the gun around, the aiming reticule moves too.
The second thing I would donate money to is $240 to the Pebble. If I donate this amount, I get two Pebbles in any color.
This product is a very special watch. This watch can be customized with several different screens, has very useful app (such as timers and pedometers) and can connect wireless to iphone/android. This watch is also very sleek and nice looking. I would love to buy this watch.
The third and final thing i would donate my remaining $160 to is the production of the video game "Zombie Playground". It is going to be a video game, with the setting in a school. You play as children in the school, who are fighting to survive. Because of the amount I am donating, I would get a special pair of shoes for my character in the game, ones that will help me in the dark, as well as every single prize before this too.
Laser app tag:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonatherton/apptag-laser-blaster?ref=live
Pebble:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android?ref=live
Zombie playground:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/massiveblack/zombie-playground-zpg-3d-action-online-battle-rpg?ref=live
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
TripAdvisor is a perfect example of crowdsourcing. It relies on reviews of it's members to give more info about vaction spots, transportation, and trips. It is an example of crowdsourcing because it takes the input of thousands of people to give more info to others. The definition of crowdsourcing is "the act of outsourcing tasks...to an undefined, large group of people (crowd)". This sounds exactly like what TripAdvisor does.
http://www.callcentrehelper.com/ten-examples-of-crowdsourcing-14133.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/davidgracia/crowdsourcing-at-tripadvisor
http://www.callcentrehelper.com/ten-examples-of-crowdsourcing-14133.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/davidgracia/crowdsourcing-at-tripadvisor
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