Metacognition: creativity essay

Throughout the construction of my essay it was difficult to think of an effective topic, I was trying to think of something that could be explained thoroughly. I went back and reviewed the creativity articles to refresh my mind on the major ideas of the articles. With the information I reviewed, it helped me think of what I could apply the main ideas of creativity to. I began thinking of certain courses that I have taken throughout high school, which seemed to lack the application of creativity. I had an idea of a few classes that could fit the topic of the essay, but I wanted to select the one that would best apply in this situation. It was difficult to come up with a topi for this essay, and i wish i would've  had a more effective manner of coming up with an idea. It was a very time consuming process for me and i feel like it may have effected my ability to create a great paper. Thinking about what to write was difficult because my ideas weren't backed completely with strong support so it was a challenge to think of  a good idea.

I would like to improve my thought process and the manner I come up with an idea. I think I should have a more effective manner that would take up last time. It would be more efficient to plan my idea quicker, or have a method which I could use to help focus my idea. I was surprised to realize how much time the planning of this essay actually took me. I was hoping it wouldn't consume as much time, but for future essays I hope to construct a better planning process, using what i learned from this experience

Blogging around

 The first blog I commented on was Miguel's "Carry it forward" post. In the post he reflected on the article "The creativity Crisis" and  explained his feelings towards it. He made good points about the effectiveness of the article and how it impacts the reader.  I felt many of the same things that he did after reading the article. I too was interested in using my creativity much more often after reading the points that the article discussed.

I commented "I had similar feelings about the article before reading it. I didn't realize how effective creativity can be. After reading the article I too wanted to learn about using my own creativity. I think you made great points on how this article can really help people realize how important creativity is".

The Second Blog I commented on was was Rachel's "Best of week : Born into Brothels". In her post She explains her thoughts on the film we watched in class Born into Brothels, and the key points of the film. The film was a very eye opening and she explains the affect it had on her and what it made her realize. As well as points about the film that she liked and didn't. I shared many of the same opinions as she did and I then commented "I think you made great points on how big this opportunity was for all the children and what it would've done for them. I too was upset with the mothers who decided to take their kids out of schooling or those who didn't even allow them to attend school. I too believe it was incredibly selfish act and that education was the children's only hope for a god future".

The creativity crisis

In class we were given an article called, "The Creativity Crisis" in which the article discusses the decline of creativity in the last 20 years. The article explains how our school system isn't teaching properly to make students think more creatively. Instead we tend on basing our school system on standardized testing and memorization. This article really made me think about our school system,and how school would be different if we all approached learning differently. The idea of being more creative makes a lot of sense,I beleive it can be much more affective than the standardization method we've been using. There are many current issues and worldwide problems that need to be solved but without creativity, how can we solve these issues? If the education system was to enforce creativity and keep in in the system throughout every grade, I believe we could find more success in our future, and more creative minds can make the world better by intoducing new brilliant ideas to help world issues.

It is important to stress the importance of creativity early in school, so that kids can be comfortable with the idea and adapt to the mindset of being creative. Other countries are picking up this method of teaching and stressing the importance of creativity in the educational systems. It would be wise if we follwed a path like this because it could mean great success and innovation for the future of our country and its people. Creativity comes with a different way of viewing this and having a more open mind, as a result creativity comes with success and success is exactly what we need especially during tough times. for the best interest of the country i believe that including creativity in the educational systems could be greatly beneficial for the country as a whole.

Sea of information

The article "Sea of information" had very interesting information and I found connections to other literature that i had previously read and studied. I found the author's opinions and ideas very interesting and different. I really liked her opinions. There were certain points she made clear that made me think of Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried". She talks about the elements of fiction and she makes specific points that directly relate to the main elements in "The Things They Caried". Barret, the author of "The Sea of Information" she talks about emotion, and how emotion is the central element of fiction. Barret states "emotion-the central element of fiction-derives not from information or explanation, nor from a logical arrangement of facts, but specifically from powerful images and from the qualities of language:diction,rhythm,form,structure,association,metaphor"(Barret).

Emotion is a big factor in fiction and it is clear in pieces of literature such as "The Things They Carried" and "The Sea of Information". Tim O'Brien is very talented with this technique and he uses it very affectively. what he does is create a story to describe a certain moment or his specific feelings that he was feeling at that moment. His strategy allows the reader to feel strong emotion and helps the reader understand the situation and emotion a lot better. Although he uses lies to tell the truth, it is an effective method that is very powerful if used correctly. Barret tries using this same method and she explains it when she says "I'm trying to shape a narrative that allows a reader to feel what it was like to be a particular person, or set of persons, caught in a particular situation at a particular time"(Barret). That is basically the main idea of the strategy O'Brien uses and that Barret is trying to use and make it her own. the purpose of this method is to get the audience to feel the same way the author felt at that moment to help understand the exact emotions that the author is feeling at that precise moment. I find this method very interesting and extremely effective, it makes complete and sense and i find literature much more interesting when this method is used and it makes agree with the fact that emotion is the central element of fiction.

Born into brothels

Throughout the week and last week we watched a documentary titled, "Born into Brothels". The documentary explores one of the brothels in India, but more specially the kids living in that brothel. A photographer comes to the brothels originally to learn more about the women, but as she gets there she becomes much more interested in the children living there. She quickly learns about the children and their lives. The children are faced with such difficult struggles and are given no opportunities to succeed. she sees the perfect chance to help the children through photography. She uses photography as an escape for the children, an escape from the brothel and photography allows them to do something productive with their time .Many of them quickly find themselves enjoying taking pictures and many of them actually have talent in this field. As the days go on they become more interested in photography and they go around their city taking pictures and many of them take quality pictures. She then attempts to help the kids further their education because they are not going to school, and it is clear that these kids have the capabilities to achieve greater things in the world. Through hard work she is successful and gets the kids in school where many of them continued their education.
I think this documentary was a great example of the many things we can do to help others in situations much worse than us.With the power of photography and encouragement these unfortunate kids that the world had given up on, were given the opportunity of a life time to go to school and be able to escape the horrors of the brothel. This documentary made me truly realize the power we have to help others. I believe its extremely important to help other given the chance. What may seem hopeless, like the future of these children, can easily be changed with a little bit of effort. I am truly happy for all these kids that were able to overcome these horrible conditions they were put in. It takes a lot of courage and responsibility to make such a crucial decision that could change their futures at such a young age, but the kids were spot on when they chose to pursue their education and make something out of their lives. We can all learn from these kids, we know to appreciate what we have because many kids are in much worse situations. We also learn that if we all help one another the world can truly changed and the future of many can be saved as well.