Wastefulness Bothers Me

There are many conflicts and controversies in society today, as there always have been. These conflicts range from the many starving children in third world countries to a conflict between a single mother and her rebellious teenager.  Many times people might be tempted to just put these conflicts out of their mind because they do not understand them or because they are too emotionally hurtful to think about. There is also the classic, “I’m just one person so what can I do anyway.” I believe these are the sort of conflicts that the main character Montag is referring to in the book Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury. New York: Ballentine Books). In this book Montag states, “We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while… about something important, about something real?”

There have been many instances in my life in which I have been bothered by conflicts such as these. The last time I was really bothered about something such as this was about a month ago. I am taking an online biology course this semester and one of the projects I have been required to do was a water use project. This project consisted of a four day study on how much water I consumed and how much I could conserve when consciously making an effort. The study lasted a period of four days, and I learned that I used more than twice the amount of water that I actually needed to on a regular basis. The sad thing about it is that I am not alone in my wasteful consumption of water.

The U.S. Geological Survey publishes some good information in graph form about water usage and water availability here in America. It does show that Americans conserve water when there is a shortage, and many people will claim to conserve water all the time. Some people will also say that we built this country into what it is and a plentiful supply of clean water is one of the perks. I believe there is some truth to this. We should not create problems by conserving water to the point of disease infestation due to lack of good hygiene as some third world countries are forced to do. However, we can make a better effort to live sustainably and not use more than we need.

My findings in my short and simple experiment bothered me tremendously. Today, because of that little experiment, I continue to make a conscious effort to conserve water as well as some other things. I also take the opportunity to educate my peers about this problem whenever it is presented to me. It’s like saving a penny, we have a long way to go before we get a dollar, but every little bit helps. I am doing my part on a small penny like scale right now, but should I find a way to make a difference on a large scale I will certainly seize the moment.

Here are some more good websites:

www.nationalatlas.gov

www.america.gov

www.gcrio.org

Thinking Outside The Box

It is very important that children start learning at an early age to mentally solve problems both with piers and also with themselves. In order to be effective at doing this one has to think outside the box so to speak. We’re all human! We aren’t born knowing the correct solution to every problem we will face in our lives. This mental activity that allows us to determine a corrective action to a problem is called a reasoning skill. 

Some children may have a difficult time learning reasoning skills indirectly because of the variety of learning styles they may have as individuals. Teaching children reasoning skills directly such as a subject in school would ensure that all children show some sort of progress in learning these skills. Therefore, I agree that reasoning skills should be taught directly in the school systems today.

Teaching children reasoning skills will not only benefit them in their social activity, but will also help enable them to be independent when they are older. It is a part of a large process to prepare our young people to become a positive influence on our society as a whole. I believe these skills should be taught in school as well as the home. However, when it comes to school many people may be anxious about other aspects of education that may be sacrificed in order to teach these skills directly. Never-the-less, these sorts of skills should be learned.

The previous method of teaching these skills indirectly has become obsolete with our gain of knowledge of the many different combinations of learning styles that we posses as individuals. Also, there are many factors contributing to individual decision making as discussed in an article put out by the Universities of California and Arizona. With this knowledge we can also conclude that some children may find it difficult to learn through the use of subtle hints. I myself often do not understand ideas until they are directly explained to me. Teaching these skills in school would require children to demonstrate some understanding of them and how to use them in everyday life. Whether they actually choose to apply them is a different problem.

It is a difficult but rewarding endeavor to set our children up for success. However, with each new generation of society comes new and improved technology to make this task of educating our children a little easier and more effective. Simple assessments such as the Edutopia quiz exemplify that there are a number of different learning styles out there. It appears to me that the most prominent way to ensure that our children are learning reasoning skills is for them to be taught as a subject in school. This would allow educators as well as parents to track children’s progress in learning these skills. In turn children will benefit greatly from these skills when they become independent adults.

Just in case anyone is interested, there are assessments online that can help identify what type of reasoning skills your child possesses in the event that the school they attend is unsuccessful at teaching these important skills. Here is a link for one such assessment. In addition to this, you can also visit the Tempe Elementary website where you can see videos of children actually being taught reasoning skills in the classroom.

Technology vs. Tradition

     Technology is continuously advancing, and the impact that technology as a whole has had on human society is tremendous.  One aspect of technology that I find most interesting is the internet, and more specifically the Facebook network (by this I mean the realm of websites on the internet that provide similar services as Facebook).
   Even though Facebook allows people to stay in touch with everybody they know near and far from the comfort of their own home, it has had an adverse impact on society. The use of Facebook means that people do not have to have any physical or verbal interaction with each other. It also means that people do not have to leave their homes as much to run errands that they might do without the availability of the Facebook network, which in turn means that people are less active. However, the Facebook network could be a positive thing if people regulated their use of it.

     Technology has definitely advanced in many helpful ways, but it often comes with a sacrifice. It is great that keeping in touch with friends in foreign countries or becoming re-acquainted with lost, distant relatives is so easy. Never-the-less, when that technology is used in a way that changes human interaction with each other from day to day it should be questioned.

    Traditionally people would physically visit their friends and family at their homes if they had the means, and if not they would at least be able to hear each other’s voices over the phone or read a thoughtful letter with complete sentences. Instead of physically going to visit a loved one, someone these days might just write a “how are you doing” on Facebook. This way if they decide the conversation is getting boring or heated, they can simply quit typing and blame it on getting sidetracked. This makes our lives just a little more cold and distant.

    Furthermore, the Facebook network or actually the entire internet for that fact enables people to just sit at their computer all day and never leave their home. That pertinent little bit of exercise you might get from walking down the street to share the latest neighborhood news with your neighbor, or from driving to the post office to mail a letter is no longer there. However slight it is, that small amount of exercise becomes a significant amount of exercise over a period of time, and is what helps keep us humans healthy and active.

      As we discussed in class it is difficult for many people to grasp the idea that there isn’t one solution that is completely right.  Consequently, I don’t think Facebook is entirely wrong I just think that, as often happens when the latest and greatest technology comes out, it is abused. It is simply ridiculous that people cannot do something so simple as to walk down the street, or drive, or even get up and make a phone call. Is having a real conversation with somebody that terrible?

Go outside once in a while! It's much more beautiful than a computer screen!



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