Introduction

Introduction
Do you feel like you are just surviving in school? Emily: I feel like I am not only surviving but thriving. Ellen: I feel like I am doing well in school. cam: no i personally hate school Forcht: Just curious, Cam. //Why// do you hate school? Carrington: I think I'm doing really well in school Noah: I think I'm doing pretty good in school Grace: No. I feel like I am being challenged in all the areas that I excel in. Megan: I don't feel like I am just surviving. I think I'm doing really well in school. Forcht: That's great, Megan!

What would help you thrive in school? Ellen: Having challenges that are out of my comfort zone might help me thrive in school. Emily: Challenges that cause me to think and question my personal abilities. DeBo: I agree with emily Everybody: I agree with emily cam challenges yaaaa Carrington: agree with Emily Noah: I agree with emily Grant: I completely agree with Emily. I sometimes dread it, but once I get here I get through the day and breeze through my classes. My goal is to not have missing assignments, although I have just one right now. Grace: Deadlines help me to focus, and having as little structure as possible makes it easier for me to get stuff done. Megan: To be challenged, to have to think more. Maybe?

Respond to the following quote: “Ownership of and responsibility for your education cannot be given to you by someone else; it’s a gift that you need to give yourself. It has to come from inside you.” Do you agree or disagree? cam ya i agree with that you have to care Ellen: I agree, in other words it says you have to work for what you want. Emily: I strongly agree with this statement. No one can make you want to be better, you have to decide that for yourself. Carrington: I agree a lot! I didn't get like this because of someone else I made myself be the person I am. If I didn't push myself I wouldn't be this good in school. Grant: I completely agree. You have to have self direction. Although school is easy for me, I still give all of my effort, and the result I get is good grades. Josh Wilson's Idol:I agree, You have to work for what you get.. Like basketball. I put up 400 shots up a day in the summer.. Im still working i wasn't just born with the ability. Noah: i agree life isn't given to you on a silver platter ,unless your royalty, you have to work and set extraordinary goals Grace: It's true. If you don't want to take responsibility for your education, no one can make you. It has to be something you want, or you will never reach your full potential. Megan: I agree. You have to want to learn, because nobody can make you. You have to want to do well.

What does ownership and responsibility for education look like to you? Ellen: Showing ownership and responsibility for education means keeping your grades up and trying your best, in my opinion. Grant: I do my work and take notes. When I take responsibility for my education and work, I simply pay attention and try. Emily: To me, ownership and responsibility for education are shown by completing all the necessary work to complete a class. It is actually caring about your education and doing the best you can do. Noah: I try my hardest in school so i can get into stanford im not like emily and trying to get into harvard :-) Debondt: I care about my grades. cam:you have to take responsibility for your actions Grace: It's doing your assignments, taking care of your grades, and making sure that you know what is expected of you. <span style="color: #126ee2; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Megan: It's doing your work, and doing your best to understand what you're learning about.

Other thoughts? Devyn: I don't think that enhancing learning and enhancing fun is possible, if you try to make learning fun, you take away from the learning. You have to work hard for what you learn. Stanford > Harvard.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Forcht: I find it interesting that Devyn doesn't think learning can be fun. If learning is always "hard work" why do people do it? You all mention that you like challenges, but challenging yourself can be fun. Josh Wilson's Idol talks about putting up 400 shots in basketball--this is a physical challenge and it's only grueling work if someone besides YOU is pushing you to complete the task or reach the goal. Education is no different. The first question I posed on this page was to Cam to ask why he hates school. My guess is that Cam hates the structure of school, but he likes learning and being challenged.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">My question to you all is: How could we as teachers/administrators make "school" a more dynamic place for learning?

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Last interesting factoid... My children are descendants of Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose statue stands in Harvard Yard. Their grandparents and their uncle all attended Stanford. You will need scholarships to attend either, but they are available. But you need the grades, the school resume of extracurricular activities and community service, and the stamina to meet the rigorous requirements of attending school with the elite. I believe you can do it if you want. But I will say, the University of Iowa is counted among the top research institutions in the country, and you can get in-state tuition there. My advice is to go local for your Bachelor's degree, save up for graduate school, and then move out of state for the advanced degrees. You can always move back when you're done.

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 * **The Rejection That Led to the Founding of Stanford University**
 * ** Summary of the eRumor: ** According to the story, two "country hicks" came to Harvard and wanted to talk with the president. A haughty secretary resisted the couple and made them wait for hours. In exasperation, she finally asked the president to see the visitors, which he did if for no other reason to get rid of them. The couple told him their son had attended Harvard for a year and he had loved it, but had been killed in an accident and they wanted to build a memorial to him. The president discouraged them, saying they couldn't erect a memorial to every student who had died. The couple said they were thinking of donating for an entire building in their son's honor. The president discouraged them and mentioned how much all of the buildings at Harvard were worth. The lady commented to her husband that if that was all it took to build a university, they ought to construct their own. So...Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford went to Palo Alto, California and built a school in honor of their son...a memorial to a student that Harvard no longer cared about. || [[image:http://www.truthorfiction.com/_themes/bubbles/bd14565_.gif width="15" height="15" caption="bullet"]] || **The Truth:** According to Stanford University, this eRumor is not true. Leland Stanford was once governor of California and in 1876, he bought the first of what would become more than 8,000 acres of land on the San Francisco peninsula. Leland and Jane Stanford had one son, Leland, Jr., but he never attended Harvard. He died at the age of 15 on a family trip to Italy, but from typhoid fever, not from an accident. Within a few hours of his son's death, Stanford said to his wife, "The children of California shall be our children." That was the beginning of Stanford University, according to the official account. ||   ||
 * **For more information:**
 * ** Summary of the eRumor: ** According to the story, two "country hicks" came to Harvard and wanted to talk with the president. A haughty secretary resisted the couple and made them wait for hours. In exasperation, she finally asked the president to see the visitors, which he did if for no other reason to get rid of them. The couple told him their son had attended Harvard for a year and he had loved it, but had been killed in an accident and they wanted to build a memorial to him. The president discouraged them, saying they couldn't erect a memorial to every student who had died. The couple said they were thinking of donating for an entire building in their son's honor. The president discouraged them and mentioned how much all of the buildings at Harvard were worth. The lady commented to her husband that if that was all it took to build a university, they ought to construct their own. So...Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford went to Palo Alto, California and built a school in honor of their son...a memorial to a student that Harvard no longer cared about. || [[image:http://www.truthorfiction.com/_themes/bubbles/bd14565_.gif width="15" height="15" caption="bullet"]] || **The Truth:** According to Stanford University, this eRumor is not true. Leland Stanford was once governor of California and in 1876, he bought the first of what would become more than 8,000 acres of land on the San Francisco peninsula. Leland and Jane Stanford had one son, Leland, Jr., but he never attended Harvard. He died at the age of 15 on a family trip to Italy, but from typhoid fever, not from an accident. Within a few hours of his son's death, Stanford said to his wife, "The children of California shall be our children." That was the beginning of Stanford University, according to the official account. ||   ||
 * **For more information:**
 * **For more information:**
 * **For more information:**

[] Stanford website with details on the beginning ||^  ||