The First Amendment

     We have been learning all about the First Amendment this past week. I (just like many) have so many remaining questions on the topic. I want to know what the country would be like without these freedoms, or just without speech in individual? I want to know if we have other amendments other than the five we learned in detail?

     As I previously stated I want to know what would happen to the country with out freedom or speech or visa- versa.

     Without speech we wouldn't have the freedom of press or really petition. In China they don't have freedom of speech. They are supposed to have freedom of speech but it is heavily censored. What I mean is that the government controls practically everything that is publicized. My point is a world without out freedom of speech does exist!
     When you think about it without the other four amendments to have the freedom of speech wouldn't be as valuable. You wouldn't have the right to petition or write what ever you want. Its like having money but nothing to spend it on. I am glad that we have all five!

    Another Question was weather there were other amendments. I googled it and this is what I found!
    

#	Amendments	Proposal date	Enactment date	Full text
1st	Protects the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press, as well as the right to assemble and petition the government	September 25, 1789	December 15, 1791	Full text
2nd	Protects an individual's right to bear arms	September 25, 1789	December 15, 1791	Full text
3rd	Prohibits the forced quartering of soldiers during peacetime	September 25, 1789	December 15, 1791	Full text
4th	Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause	September 25, 1789	December 15, 1791	Full text
5th	Sets out rules for indictment by grand jury and eminent domain, protects the right to due process, and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy	September 25, 1789	December 15, 1791	Full text
6th	Protects the right to a fair and speedy public trial by jury, including the rights to be notified of the accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and to retain counsel	September 25, 1789	December 15, 1791	Full text
7th	Provides for the right to trial by jury in certain civil cases, according to common law	September 25, 1789	December 15, 1791	Full text
8th	Prohibits excessive fines and excessive bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment	September 25, 1789	December 15, 1791	Full text
9th	Protects rights not enumerated in the constitution.	September 25, 1789	December 15, 1791	Full text
10th	Limits the powers of the federal government to those delegated to it by the Constitution	September 25, 1789	December 15, 1791	Full text
11th	Immunity of states from suits from out-of-state citizens and foreigners not living within the state borders. Lays the foundation for sovereign immunity	March 4, 1794	February 7, 1795	Full text
12th	Revises presidential election procedures	December 9, 1803	June 15, 1804	Full text
13th	Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime	January 31, 1865	December 6, 1865	Full text
14th	Defines citizenship, contains the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and deals with post-Civil War issues	June 13, 1866	July 9, 1868	Full text
15th	Prohibits the denial of suffrage based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude	February 26, 1869	February 3, 1870	Full text
16th	Allows the federal government to collect income tax	July 12, 1909	February 3, 1913	Full text
17th	Establishes the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote	May 13, 1912	April 8, 1913	Full text
18th	Establishes prohibition of alcohol (repealed by Twenty-first Amendment)	December 18, 1917	January 16, 1919	Full text
19th	Establishes women's suffrage	June 4, 1919	August 18, 1920	Full text
20th	Fixes the dates of term commencements for Congress (January 3) and the President (January 20); known as the "lame duck amendment"	March 2, 1932	January 23, 1933	Full text
21st	Repeals the Eighteenth Amendment and prohibits violations of state laws regarding alcohol.	February 20, 1933	December 5, 1933	Full text
22nd	Limits the president to two terms, or a maximum of 10 years (i.e., if a Vice President serves not more than one half of a President's term, he or she can be elected to a further two terms)	March 24, 1947	February 27, 1951	Full text
23rd	Provides for representation of Washington, D.C. in the Electoral College	June 16, 1960	March 29, 1961	Full text
24th	Prohibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of poll taxes	September 14, 1962	January 23, 1964	Full text
25th	Codifies the Tyler Precedent; defines the process of presidential succession	July 6, 1965	February 10, 1967	Full text
26th	Establishes the right to vote for those age 18 years or older.	March 23, 1971	July 1, 1971	Full text
27th	Prevents laws affecting Congressional salary from taking effect until the beginning of the next session of Congress

 In short there were other amendment that we didn't cover. I kind of want to know more about them. I wish we had enough time to cover them all!

Grades

    To me grades are completely unnecessary. To teachers I'm they are the epitome of school. Grades are teachers way of judging us, whether they realize it or not.
     I think we should be graded in a way that we get the help and know exactly what we need to do to get better. I believe we need to transfer to a standards- based grading system and a "tutor". What I mean is we should get a graded on a proficiently scale and then a teacher should help you go through anything you didn't understand one child at a time. I believe grading needs to be totally revised.

Are schools killing our creativity?

     Are schools killing creativity????? That seems to be the question asked by many creativity specialists, including Sir Ken Robinson. In Ken's TED talk speech he brought it to my attention that schools are killing the generations "creativity". I 100% agree with him! Schools may not even notice it, but they are making us think in a convergent matter. Meaning that it's almost like traveling on a one way street, there is no room to veer off the road or go another direction or end up/go in a different direction. Training our minds to think that is in a way making us grow out of our creativity.
     Schools, I believe need to "gear" or even work with our creativity, not work without it. In my opinion schools need to rewrite their whole curriculum to incorporate more work that we can use our creativity. Throughout the course of reading the paper about creativity, many specialists stated that in many schools math and LA are the priorities. Music, art, and creativity are the least important in the learning pyramid. I think schools need to realize what they are doing!

Being Gifted

      There are many advantages and disadvantages that come with being labeled "Gifted". Behind that name are also many myths and truths.
      Being gifted can be very stereotypical. For instance, We are "smart in every subject." Or we "know everything." We "don't need help." This is not always true.  According to National Association for Gifted Children, 61% of teachers don't know how to help us! They don't have the training to assist us therefore, we don't have the opportunity to reach our full potential.
      I must say that there are some good things about being in a gifted class, for example we do get to be challenged. Not to mention getting an extra 7 points on our overall GPA and getting to meet some awesome people.
     Don't get me wrong, being gifted is hard. People expect so much from you, expect you to know everything. Sometimes people put so much pressure on you, because "you know the answer, you're smart, you're in that smart people class." You can and will be used in ways too many to count. We can be  bullied or put down, for being ourselves... for being smart.
     Being followed with the myths and truths of being gifted can sometimes be a burden. Following is a list of misconceptions about Gifted children.

Myths: the following myths are linked to NAGC
 Gifted Children always get good grades: Gifted student may get bad grades due to a lack of interest or to fit in also known as "dumming down"
  Gifted students don't need help, they find everything easy: Just like everybody else these students need to be guided to reach thier full potential.
  Gifted students are all nerds: these students can be sometimes classified as "nerds" but this is also untrue.
  Gifted students think they are too good for "avarage" kids: This statement can be true sometimes, but most of the time that is untrue.
Gifted children get good grades in every subject: this is rarley true. Every gifted student have their stronger subjects or maybe none at all.
They are just like everybody else: weather you want to believe it or not a gifted student is different from every other child. They are stronger in a least one area.

Truths:
Every gifted child has at least one talent: that is how they got labeled gifted.
Is mentally above average child for their age: according to the states definition if a gifted child is gifted if he or she is "above the average"
In the end being gifted can be pretty awesome, but it does come with a price.

Learning Style Test Results

    I took two tests today. They gave me a chance to look at my self in a new way.
    According to the Gardner test I learn Musically. This means that I think in rhythms and melodies. I need things like music playing all the time.
    I also learn Bodily-Kinestheticly. This means I learn through stomatic sensations. (stomatic means physically.) I love dancing (fits me perfectly!) and I learn best with hands on activity.
    Finally I learn Interpersonally, by bouncing ideas off of other people and leading.
    I think this test describes me very well.
 

    The second test was Anthony Gregorc's Learning Styles Test it turned out that I scored 15pts. for each category! I guess this means that I am a Concrete Random Learner, Concrete Sequential Learner, Abstract Random Learner, and an Abstract Sequential Learner all at the same time. (following deffinations from Gregorc's test).
Concrete Random Learner: I learn by problem solving, working out things out, trying out my ideas, and finding things out on my own.
Concrete Sequential Learner: I learn by doing practical things and being told exactly what to do, working logically, and I love when I get things right.
Abstract Random Learners: I also learn by talking to others, using my imagination, using drama, art and music and liking work to be fun and working with other people.
Abstract Sequential Learner: I also like to read and work alone, and organizing my school work.

    This all helps me in school because I know know that I can learn in many different environments/ways so there is no more excuses.
  
  One person I admire is my Mom. I think she learns in a Logical-Mathematical way. This is because she is very good with mental math and puzzles and solving problems. I think she also learns Interpersonally. This is because she likes to lead just like me.
    Another person I admire greatly is my Dad. I believe he works Intrapersonally. This is because he is very to himself when working.
     Finally, I admire my dance teacher. I believe she works Linguistically. This is because when she is very big on describing things to us. I don't think she even realizes she's doing it but she does it so well.

First Post!

My Name is Katherine Narwid.
I am now in 8th grade.
My favorite subject in school is Reading.
My favorite thing to learn about outside of school has got to be new dance moves.
In my free time (which I rarely have) I love to dance.
When I grow up I really want to become a professional dancer. But it is SUPER hard to make it in the professional world, so I would also like to own my own dance studio!
So many things make me happy, (and i know this sounds cliche) but dance, my family, my friends, and when I do something that makes others happy.