GEVER TULLEY-TINKERING SCHOOL

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gever_tulley_s_tinkering_school_in_action.html

After watching the link above I began thinking about my personal experience with school and learning strategies or types that help me learn or expand my ideas. I came to the conclusion that I have no idea how I learn best or what learning types help me get the most out of my education. The high school that I attended did not focus on helping students with their own personal needs or helping to expand their ideas. Going to class, looking at a power point, taking notes, watching the same informational videos become a routine for every single class period, day after day. Although I rarely had group assignments, from the group work I have experienced before I do believe I work better by myself. However, if I was given the opportunity to grow and expand my knowledge by communicating and working with others than I would do it. Besides gym class, I did not have one single class that had any hands on work. Yes, I could have taken woods or mechanic based classes but that is not the only circumstance where hands on material should be used. By providing materials and giving assignments where the students may make or do whatever they wish with the project, it gives them room to grow and plan out projects that they have interest in. Through trial and error kids can find ways that work best for them on their hands on projects and can expand their thought processes further for future assignments. Although not every person learns by hands on activities it may show them that they are in fact more of a visual or listening type of learner. It could, however show them that the physical project making is their way of learning best and could definitely benefit them on their study techniques or learning practices in the future.
      Change is more often than not a positive experience. Schools should focus less on what classes to cut or how much more they should charge a family to keep budgets manageable and change to focus a little more on how staff members could teach more efficiently and in different ways to help students learn their best. Some may strive and some may fail miserably but in the end they know how that learning process helped them in a positive or a negative way. Personally, I would enjoy attending a school or a class that had a “hands on” based curriculum. Although I may not enjoy every aspect of the experience I would have broadened my horizons on how I can improve my personal learning style.
     If only life were simple, we would know everything there is to know if we were ever going to use it in our lives after we learn it. I have come to ask myself the same question of “When will I ever use this information again?” In all honesty I think a good chunk of things I have learned in my education I will not ever bring up in my life again. I need to try it and see it to believe it and use it to know it. My learning experiences outside of my schooling are just as important as those inside of a classroom. I do not learn from just one technique, there are several factors of each learning process that I can benefit from. I guess that until I reach that point where I have experienced multiple learning techniques I will never know my full potential for learning information or studying efficiently. I may succeed or I may fail but at least I’m doing something that will teach me whether to continue my schooling how I am or how to change myself to learn more efficiently. In the end, all I really have to say is that change is good. Being different and trying things out is a great way to learn and that I wish a lot more people were open minded to new things or techniques. Society may reject the unfamiliar and respond poorly to failure, but at least someone is trying to do something different and make a change. I thought that Gever Tulley’s video showed the potential for some peoples learning capabilities and brought the idea of “you never know until you try” back out on the table for everyone to think about or experience.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Going camping is an activity that my family and friends do every year, including this one. This past Labor Day weekend my family and I decided that we would go back to Jellystone Campground in Warrens, WI like we used to do when I was younger. For me, camping was something I enjoyed doing but this year I was very disappointed. Recently, Jellystone was sold over to new owners who it seems don’t really care about making the campground fun and presentable. I know it isn’t possible to enjoy this campground as much as I did when I was little when I thought everything was amazing, but something about the place with these new owners wasn’t right. When we first arrived we received a flyer of things that were going on or activities to partake in. Although they made those suggestions available to us, it seemed like everything we wanted to do was not taken care of, closed down for the day or just taken out completely. The band that night didn’t show along with the “free fresh cotton candy” guy. The miniature golf course was overgrown with weeds and there was only one golf club allowed per grouping of people. Half of the outdoor water park was shut down and some pools were empty, however, the entire new indoor water park was just shut down completely with storage being held in that area. The indoor and outdoor arcade were both closed and emptied out and the outdoor theater screen was removed. The little train I used to ride when I was young was broken down on the side of a trail for everyone to see and every time you decided to leave your campsite with your golf cart security would stop you at the end of your camping row to make sure you had a valid license.

 I literally got stopped by these so called “guards” at least 20 times. The bathrooms and showering area was about 10-12 rows of campsites over. And if all this wasn’t enough to put a damper on my camping experience, the weather was cloudy and windy at 45 degrees. After shivering my butt off all night long, tossing and turning to keep myself from growing icicles on my nose, we decided to get breakfast inside the “Three Bears Lodge” hotel at Jellystone. Only three tables were taken in the restaurant yet we waited 45 minutes for pancakes that had a full mayfly and a long red hair in them. This was a very disgusting, disappointing camping/Labor Day weekend. I will probably never go back to the Jellystone in Warrens again. :(

INTRODUCTION





Hello. I’m Rachel Priebe. I’m from Holmen, Wisconsin which is only about 12 miles from Western. I am 18 years old and just graduated from Holmen this past spring. I am still living at home and just drive back and forth every time I have class. Keeping up with work and school is something I’ve had to do for years so I’m used to managing my time the best I can. I waitress an average of 30 hours a week all year long, but during the summer I work about 65 hours total because

of my summer job at the Holmen Aquatic Center. I’m a very random person; I tend to go from one topic to another in a matter of seconds. I like expressing my opinion, especially if it’s on a topic that I’m passionate about. I am very protective of my friends, family and pets so you can go ahead and pick on me all you want, but say one thing about any of them and you better watch it. :) Traveling, listening to music, eating, sleeping, watching movies, spending time with friends and family are just a few things that I love doing. Listening to people is something I do often and I've been told that I give great advice. I am a huge animal lover and have had a variety of pets. Currently I have one dog and one cat. Driving insanely fast is an everyday occasion for me. My obsession with cars has grown bigger over the years and I'd do anything for a really nice Ford Mustang. I have 6 piercings and 2 tattoos; I got my belly button pierced when i was 14 and my first tattoo at 16. There's quite a bit more to know, so don't be afraid to contact me and ask. I'd love to hear your opinions, comments, etc.