all the pieces of femininity are coming together

Okay, so...  I found these two pictures separately on google when I searched feminine and I thought that they fit together perfectly.  However, it does take a little while to explain, so bear with me. 

If you look at the picture on the bottom of the girl coming together by putting the puzzle pieces together, you will see that it is as if society is putting her pieces in the right spots for her, or at least that is how I took it.  They are giving her a specific skin tone and shaping her the way they want by the different shaped puzzle pieces.  Then, the picture on the top shows a puzzle put together except it is missing one piece, and that piece is confidence.  When society puts generalizations and stereotypes on different kinds of people, these people feel, in a way, obligated to look the way that society is telling them to in order to fit in.  However, by doing this, they loose a piece of themselves and the confidence that they have in the person that they really are, look and action wise.  Also, the top picture is made up of all white pieces.  I saw this as if society shapes people to make them all the same, in this case a plain white puzzle, and everyone starts to blend together and look the same.  But, they are all plain and normal, and actually boring.  I mean, who wants to look at a plain white puzzle when you could look at a puzzle of the jungle or a city that is full of different colors and shapes???

cool... i guess

What is the definition of the word, 'cool'.  Well, according to the dictionary, it means, "fashionably attractive or impressive".  When I think of cool I think of the kids at school who stand out for being popular and having a lot of friends and being involved in a lot of school activities, sports in particular.  But who does this definition actually fit??? What are the standards you need to face in order to be considered cool??? How do you become cool???  The answer to all of the questions comes back to the topic of masculinity.  The definition actually fits those who are perceived to be masculine and be fashionably and physically attractive.  In order to become cool you must be masculine and you can only become cool if you are masculine.  However, why does whether or not you are deemed masculine affect if you are considered cool??? This is because we look up to those who stand out because they are strong or fashionable.  We decide who and what is cool.  But, we also decide what is masculine and what is not.  This is very unfair to the rest of the people of society who are not considered cool.  We have set so many standards for men that we are now telling boys to want to grow up and be masculine  and make a lot of money, play sports and be strong, and to never show their emotions.  We think that we are helping these boys, but, in fact, we are hurting them and holding them back.  Being less masculine is like taking a step down.  Everyone wants attention and wants people to like them but we are focusing too much on this aspect and now, boys are losing a sense of personal identity because of it.  I personally don't understand why a guy cant play with dolls, or like art, or play the flute without being identified as less masculine.  But, I guess the rest of society who makes the rules disagrees.  So, how can we change their minds???

Educaiton 101

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMBSBgzxil0

Disclaimer: This blog requires you to watch the attached video above before reading.

And now...

On with the blog!!!!

So, I know this blog is kind of weird because we didn't really do much in class, but I figured I would find a cool video with a couple of cool fun facts and write about that for a bit.  In the video, it talks about the American education system.  I particularly liked this video because it was not biased in any way, as some of the other videos I watched were.  The video says that we, as in the United States, are ranked 14th in the world based on our education, however, then it goes on to say that 14% of adults are not literate/ cannot read. I find it challenging to wrap my head around that.  The fact that the American education system is looked so highly upon makes it hard to believe that a pretty significant percentage of our adult population cannot even read.  You might be thinking, well, how is this possible?  And that is a very good question, in which I do not have the ability to answer.  In a different video I watched, it said that the number of kids attending school is decreasing more and more every year.  I think that part of the reason for this could be the significant amount of money parents have to pay in order for their student to receive an education.  Take a look back at the video, 1:07 in particular.  That blows my mind. I will leave you with this very familiar question, who does the American education system truly serve?
Thanks for reading,
Samantha :)

the forgotten gift

Throughout class this past week, we talked about the general topic of education.  During the Socratic seminar, we talked a lot about all of the flaws in the current and future education system.  I made note of the fact that a majority of the conversation was based on how creativity is being taken away from the current and future students and the importance from creativity is being shifted to the core classes.  I feel like this quote by Albert Einstein perfectly replicates what it was that we were talking about.  To have this special gift is a major blessing, but often times we forget about the significance of these gifts and focus on the ‘faithful servant’ that is always there no matter what.  This, in part, is due to the schooling system putting more emphasis on grades, testing, and the S.T.E.M. classes.  It may sound pleasing to give the servant a minute in the spotlight but, how would you feel if you were the sacred and special gift.  As you read this next part, try to put yourself in the shoes of the gift, in this case, creativity.  You are a one in a million gift, you are special and there is only one of you.  You know you are unique but you still feel left out because everyone else looks the same.  You no longer feel special and start to transform into being the same as everyone else because you are being forgotten.  Okay, now, bringing it back to reality, how does this make you, the gift feel? It probably does not make you feel good about yourself or special anymore, however, this is reality.  We are forgetting about you, the gift. We are leaving you behind for something more standard and uniform.  We are shifting away from your kind to that of everyone else.  We are leaving you for the thing that we are supposed to be.  So, I leave you with this thought… don’t forget how special you are, don’t be afraid to shine, because you are a gift and you deserve to stand out.