Amelia+Jones

=__Amelia Jones__=

1. How old are you? How might your age affect both you know and your attitude toward gaining knowledge?

I am seventeen years old. The generation and those that you are raised with plays a large role in your attitude as well as gaining knowledge. Although age is such a huge landmark in our society, I believe sometimes it is stressed too much. Life events and the knowledge you gain from things around you play a larger role then just the anniversary of your birth each year. I feel that some fifteen year olds have greater knowledge and a wider view on the world then some forty year olds who have not experienced things in life or have not sought out to gain their own knowledge. T hat is an interesting observation that you make in your first sentence: your age determines your peer group and your place in history and you're right, that is bound to affect your thinking just as much as the // number // of years you have been alive or the // amount // of experience you have had. 2. What is your mother tongue? What other languages do you speak? How might particular langueges effect your knowledge?

My native language is English. I was born into an English speaking family and have been surrounded by the English language since out of the woom. I do not fluently speak any other claimed langues, although am in the midst of learning spanish. As talked about in Spanish class recently, prior knowledge of Latin roots or quite frankly any array of understand the grammar and vocabulary of a vast about of languages positivley effect the ability for the brain to obtain more langues. The more the better. Referring to language as " English," "Spanish," "French" etc. I also think of language as lingo or the way you speak it. For instance, different generations have different knowledge of how to present your words, rather it is informal or not etc.

3. What sex are you? Does gender role effect how you see the world and what expectations you have about your knowledge and education? I am female. I am a girl, a women; a young women at that. I come from a fresh feminist perspective, although I realize many women see themselves, their opportunities in education and society underneath those as men. I feel fortunate to have been born into a family and a generation that gives a fresh view of equal rights no matter your gender. I enjoy being a women and I feel that sometimes my gender and feminist outlook may even be more extreme then those of men, due to my knowledge of prior women's suffrage. Yes, I too am very aware of how hard women have had to struggle to gain justice in this society, and I also think a lot about women in societies that are still oppressed by unfair laws and practices. I believe we cannot be careless about our hard-won rights (rights we should never have had to fight for in the first place!), as I think women are still in a very vulnerable position. I like to look for as much objective, empirically verifiable evidence as possible to show that the two genders have equal cognitive ability. I also like to work at constructing very well-reasoned and persuasive arguments in defense of gender freedom. These articles might interest you: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=girl-brain-boy-brain&page=3 http://www.psychologymatters.org/thinkagain.html 4. Are you urban or rural? How might living in a city or living in a countryside effect how you have learned and what you know?

Also technically I am 6th generation Idaho, I claim I am urban. I have had the opportunity to be raised in a city ( although Boise is not a huge city, it is a city at that; compared to being raised on a desolate farm) and have been fortunate enough to be summered in others cultures through traveling and volunteer work. Surroundings play a large role in the knowledge you gain. For instance, living on a farm in Kuna your whole life, you would not know any better of how to treat different races, cultures, religions, working classes etc. and it may be out of pure innocent that you are shocked when seeing two men holding hands in San Francisco.

5. What is your spiritual worldview? How do you think that following a particular religion, or not doing so, affects your knowledge?

my overview on how I view the spiritual world is an overall picture. I don't believe in claiming one particular religion, I rather look at the universe as one great spiritual being and believe that spirits and some type of higher being our connected on a different level to each person, finding your connection is your own path. How you connect or claim your connection is the individuals personal decision. Knowledge plays a huge role in educating yourself in your spiritual worldview and in my opinion the more knowledge and openness a person has to all beliefs and spiritual practices the more all around knowledge one can gain. Not claiming yourself to one religion. opens the pathways to more knowledge. I believe religion is not black and white.

6. What other aspects of your background belong here? For me personally, with out getting into intricate, I feel my life and background/knowledge has been shaped dramatically in my seventeen years. I have dealt with vast amounts of change and difficult obstacles ; emotionally and physically and although have had much pain, I try to look to the obstacles to gain knowledge and help shape me and my life to come, rather then dwelling.

Very interesting responses, thank you, Amelia. 6/7

PART II

1. Until a year ago, I was educated through the public school system. K-6 we had one teacher who taught all core subjects. We then would have scheduled art designated one day a week art days and would have physical education and music class two days a week with differnt teacher. As demonstrated, we only had arts 1-2 days a week, which proves that art was not emphasized in this specific school system. Religion and politics were rarely discussed and were not introduced or incorporated into curriculum or aloud in class discussion. Sports were a big social aspect of my education, as the coaches emphasized commitment/balance at a young age.

2. Honestly, In an overall picture I feel there was not any specific subjects emphasized, arts were just under emphasized. As opposed to a specifics of subjects being emphasized,I feel that memorization of facts, dates etc. were very vital and apparent in my previous education- a non in depth study and the students memorizing a test to pass EOC multiple choice tests, instead of interpreting why we were learning what we were learning.

3. As stated before, although a look at my 7-9 grade schedule it may appear to have been "balanced" in subjects, analyzing in more depth: balance is not by subject. Balance, such as in the IB program in my mind refers to incorporating why we are learning what we are learning through all of our subjects and an overall picture of our thinking mind- completely contradicting my learning experience and academic schedule and North Junior High, which went subject after subject, muliple choice after multiple choice etc etc.

4/5. My previous academic experience had more guidelines and strict policies to abide by- making sense due to needing to control 800 students. A dress code was enforced, No spaghetti straps, boxers showing etc. Consequences would result in wearing a gross PE uniform for the rest of the day. Teachers always had to be addressed by Mrs. or Mr. and their personal lives and opinions were rarely shared ( although teachers some were exeptions and were more open.) In compared to Riverstone, another difference was the presence of an SRO officer. Due to the vast amount of diverse backgrounds and quantity of teenager, overall strict lawful discipline I believe is justified, although of course situations differ and their will always be controversy on different situations.

6. On a competitive level, I felt North Junior High was divided. There were the rigorous academic people, events, opportunities and then there were the people who did not care. I feel that the public school system sets the "rigorous academic children/ (in a lot of cases, sadly higher class children) on a pathway starting at the beginning of education to success. The motto " No child left behind" I feel is inaccurate, for many kids without the family resources or who have fallen under the bad influence of the group they hang out with fall off the path, a path competitive path that is hard to hop back onto and an educational path that is crucial for the rest of our lives.

7. As above, I will be honest and state the majority of kids in my accelerated classes were from upper class families. I will say,the lower income side of the school, did have resources given to them; they were put in study halls and given extra help/ In ninth grade, I was a tutor/mentor for a seventh grade study hall. From my personal experience, almost each one of these kids could have been in accelerated classes, although due to their family sitatuons ( non-involved parents etc etc) they were immediately put in standard classes and given study hall instead of a chosen elective such as music or art. How will look for colleges?

8. A good student to me is one who embraces the opportunities they are given and look beyond the context of the text book. Look beyond the memorization of dates, facts and realize there is more depth to the subject we are learning, I realize memorization is crucial to learning and to being a student, but there is a difference between being a learner and a thinker. Thinking and applying your whole self and the world around you is the key to being a "good student" in my opinion. I really enjoyed reading all your observations - this final point you make is very insightful. I want to copy it out and stick it up as an inspiration! • In • What possibilities for knowledge are opened to us by our senses as they are? What limitations? As discussed in class, our five senses are crucial to gaining knowledge with the world around us. I believe that like most things in life, there is always a basis and foundation for the specific structure. The structure of knowledge in my opinion includes, taste, smell, touch, hearing and sight. Although the five senses sound simple, they can be interpreted simply or complex. It can be as simple as gaining knowledge through touching something hot and learning not to do that again, due to the burn you received. Looking into the bright sum is another example, you gain the knowledge through scientific proof that the corena of you eyes can not handle the UV rays. Smelling a gas leak or smoke from the basement, gives you the knowledge that your safety is in danger. Hearing, allows you to interpret the world around you. Like in most things, there are times when things are compromised. For an example, a deaf person is unable to gain knowledge through hearing, so they compensate with other senses, such as sight. I believe that although society views are senses in a simplistic manner ( such as learning the five senses in kindergarten) the senses are much more, then just a labeled name. They ARE the keys to knowledge and there truly are not many limitations. Although the five senses are the traditional and most commonly talked about, I also truly feel that the possibilities for gaining knowledge through your six sense is a learning tool as well, although the sixth sense has its limitations. For instance, you can learn a lot about the vulnerability of a situation depending on your internal gut. If you feel, that you should be leaving the area or that the outcome may not end well, that would be an example of using your six sense. Going back to how everything has a foundation, the foundation for the sixth sense is partially composed of your five senses ( your internal gut would analyze the environment, with the sight and smell) but your sixth sense would internalize it and gain the knowledge that you should be leaving the situation. The five senses ( as well as the sixth) are powerful tools for gaining knowledge and I feel the possibilities are endless, although limited when a sense is compromised.

So what is this sixth sense? Is it a composite of all the emotions, associations, assumptions, inferences and deductions that we add into whatever basic information our five physical senses are giving us? As you suggest, we need all these extra ideas in order to interpret and analyze what we are sensing, connect it into everything else that we believe and be able to use it to inform what we do. But are these extra ideas all originally derived from physical perception or are some of them truly and completely metaphysical? Thoughtful observations. 6/7

Through out the craziness of the start of school, I finally feel I have my CAS priorities planned out for myself- things I feel passionate about, as well as enjoy doing. **Model UN **is a school club that I joined last year, each week I will be attending the weekly meetings ( taking part on the Human rights comittee) as well as contributing to out of school MUN outings and the conference we will be preparing for in the coming months. I enjoy the group and the learning process behind the United Nations, as well as learning and doing research on a specific ( this year Afghanistan, which I am truly excited for) Model UN is not like anything I have done before, it forces your mind into looking at things from other countries views, not just from an American Standpoint- a crucial trait I feel, to help the world become united.** Planned Parenthood: **Planned parenthood is an organization that I truly feel passionate about, as well as learn so much and enjoy being surrounded by the ( mostly) women who work there. Advocating for comprehensive sex education from a teenagers point of view, is a powerful feeling that I have received from my activities I have done, such as making phone calls to DC regarding health reform involving family planning. - I have discovered that although I am not 18 and can not legally vote, our voices can be just as important. I have been volunteering with Planned Parenthood off and on since ninth grade, although this year have made it a point to seek them out and let them know I will be doing weekly volunteering/rallying when needed and managing booths at events. YITK ( Youth in the Know) is a 6 week course, I graduated from two years ago. Now I am eligible to help assist in teaching these sex ed classes every tue, at 6 week time frames. I am looking forward to this opportunity greatly.** Bikram hot yoga: **For the physical aspect ( as well as mental ) part of CAS- hot yoga is a wonderful fit for me. I have some health restrictions/problems; Anklosying Spondylitis - a form of arthritis effecting my ankles, knees and lower back. Being diagnosed with this chronic condition four years ago, I had to change my lifestyle in many aspects, quitting competitive travel soccer, as well as other team sports such as all other court sports- it turns out yoga is one of the bests medicines for my condition,- I began when I was twelve, although felt forced and did not enjoy it. Last year, Sybil introduced me to Bikram hot yoga and I fell in love with the practice, although very challenging at times and tests my limits. Being diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, a year ago in September my digestive system/immune system has been through many obstacles over the past year, making it physically difficult to exercise at times - I am learning a lot about myself and the healing power of mind- body connection. You're an amazing girl. It's wonderful what you are doing with Planned Parenthood. You have devised a very balanced program for yourself. Thank you! I am slightly embarrassed I published this, due to the fact that I wrote this at 11 30 last night. There is most definitely some spelling errors, I will revise :) ** Reflecting of the end of September Activities**:** 1) What new information, ideas, impressions, connections or skills have you learned from your CAS activity this week? Model UN meetings 9/15, 9/22, 9/28 - Our weekly meetings have been wonderful opportunities for me to analyze my fellow students in the area of connecting with each other. The first weeks of MUN have been very introductory based, therefore having us participate in activities such as "ice breakers" and "crossing the line if you believe.." opinion bases games. Interacting with the group, gave me the impression and the connection that we even if we are different or have a different perspective on an issue, we are united by the passion and want to understand how the world works and help work and educate ourselves towards the path to future peace
 * CAS Journal:

2) Think about your new knowledge: What was its source? What kind of knowledge/belief/idea is it: subjective/objective, empirically verifiable, your own opinion, someone else’s opinion, empathy, sympathy, a conclusion reached through a process of reasoning, a flash of inspiration? How reliable is this new awareness? Do you trust it? Why? On Saturday, September 27, I attended a 7 hour hot yoga workshop. Taught by Rashashree Choudhury, Bikrams wife ( Bikram, the creator of of this 90 min 26 pose series) it was a challenge/honor to be in her presence. It was my first time returning back to hot yoga since being very ill over the summer. Not only did this meditative workshop wakeup my body physically, I feel that the words of Rashashree truly connected with me as well. Although she is not a Dr., she speaks highly of the healing power of yoga ( accompanied with medication, if need be) for chronic illness, as well as just the overall healing of the body and the surplus of benefits this practice comes along with for a life time. At the end of the long, sweaty, although rejuvenating day, all 60 + of us all went around the room and were asked to say one word to describe what yoga was for us. Each time I practice, I still think of the various answers and let the one word answers inspire me. " peace," "life" "balance" "connection."

will cont.

- If people speak more than one language, is what they know different in each language? Does each language provide a different framework for reality? In regard to the readings we were given, I interpret that indeed what people know in each language is in fact slightly altered. Gender plays a large role when discussing this issue, for certain objects or things in one language may be regarded as female, or male. Comparing people who speak to German to people who speak Spanish, I found it truly interesting that in fact the gender of a word does indeed force their mind to pursue that particular object as more feminine or more masculine. When asked to simply describe a bridge, I found it fascinating the contradicting answers that came about- the Spanish speaker “big, dangerous, long” and the “beautiful, elegant, pretty, peaceful” Reading about that one simple experiment of the gender between words, opened my mind and made me realize that indeed, each language does provide a different framework for reality. In fact, the examples of personification through art is a historical and visual perspective on the power of language/different interpretations of it. 85% of personification within art is predicted by the grammatical gender of the word in the artists native language. Thinking about the crucially of gender, it made me realize and reflect on my experience of learning Spanish. So much of what we have learned this year is based on gender and important it is to learn it correctly ( although obviously mistakes will be made when learning) It just proves that small quirks you make can effect someone’s thinking and completely change the way something is portrayed in all aspect.

I think we are often unwilling to acknowledge that our ideas are influenced by something as arbitrary as a gender assignation within our language, we like to think that our ideas are founded on something more rational and objective. The influence embedded in language is pervasive and mostly subliminal and it is only when we become aware of the ideas that are being put into our heads through the particular idiosyncrasies of our language that we consciously decide whether we think they are accurate, wise or helpful or not. Kyle wrote something very interesting about the differences between English and Korean: in Korean respect for those older than you is embedded in the vocabulary you must choose when speaking to them, so when he is speaking in English to an older person, the fact that he is using the same words that he would use when speaking to a friend makes him feel automatically disrespectful and very "weird" as he puts it. Of course we have other ways in English of conveying respect - tone, body language, facial expression, even phrasing things as questions instead of commands, such as "would you like to sit down?" versus "sit down" - but who thinks to explain this to a Korean learning English? I'm glad you enjoyed the article by Lena Boroditsky so much. I also thought it was fascinating.

"The idea is to remain in a state of constant departure while always arriving."- A Waking Life The quote itself may seem simple to some, yet my interpretation of the meaning behind this particular quote can be summed up by another phrase that many people choose to attempt to live there life by " live in the moment." I feel the quote is waking life, expands upon the idea of meeting in the midpoint of ones consciousness. To be as equally in tune and in sink with your environment, in both the states of consciousness, the actual moment and the future moments to come. It is in human nature, to look towards the future, to form worry, excitement- human emotions towards moments that have not yet arrived, "departing" from the actual moment you are leaving in. Arriving refers to the idea of "always arriving" meaning breathing the environment, events, wisdom, emotion that are arriving in that very moment. The idea behind this quote is to strike a balance between both natural human instincts. " Living in the moment," is a well known phrase that explains have of the quote in A Waking Life, yet "The idea is to remain in a state of constant departure while always arriving" strikes the balance on both spectrums.  I like this interpretation - the trick is to live fully in the moment, but living fully in the moment // includes //  using this moment to anticipate what comes next. This is very insightful.