Change is back!

Well I have changed my research paper back to the original topic and format. My plan is to make the second part of my paper fit with the first part of my paper. The paper is ultimately about collaboration and half of the paper is about the world changing. I must include these facts because my points cannot be proven without them. I have decided to not put quite as much emphasis on 21st Century skills. I will interview my father about his business so that I will have something to connect the first part of the paper with the last. Mr. Hinds gave me the idea and I am excited to get it done this weekend. I will not do it during Thanksgiving.

21st Century Skills is the New Topic... Scratch Collaboration

I have gotten my research paper back and have realized that my thesis is not proportionally equal in topics to the rest of my paper. It would be too drastic of a change for the paper to be rewritten; so instead, I will rewrite the thesis and organize the paragraphs accordingly. I spent this last friday helping Danny Seyffer with his senior project. I chose to help him for two reasons. The first reason is that I love doing the work and I would do it for any of my friends. The seconds is that one should never expect help on his own project until he has helped someone else. I am planning to finish the research paper this weekend so that I will have it finished before Thanksgiving. Along with two other papers and various other homework assignments, I must finish my work as soon as possible so that I can actually spend my Thanksgiving with my family (that is if I don't die trying to make it to Thanksgiving). I have decided to change my thesis to "21st Century Skills" instead of focusing strictly on Collaboration. I feel that I have already written in depth about each of the 21st Century skills, and I want to keep my focus on the idea that our world is changing. Until next time.

Searching for supplies...

I am actually looking to start the construction of the activities I plan to do in the Spring. I am excited to shop around and plan how I want to build the activities. Hopefully, I will not have too much trouble determining the exact calculations for the project. I plan to spend some time next weekend examining the different choices in materials for these structures. I need to probably start collecting my thoughts for the manual that I must prepare. It should probably be written already when I introduce the activities to the children. This seems like a good idea because it lets Mrs. Myers be on the same page as me when we begin to run the activities. I am excited to have turned in my paper and I actually appreciate the subject that I researched. I have been able to include my topic into many conversations, as well as in my thought processes for future work-related decisions. I have discovered that engineering is a highly competitive field and that I probably would do well not to enter that field of study. I am leaning toward the option of business because I am interested in Economics and the different aspects of how a company runs. It will be interesting to see what advice I receive when I get my paper back.

Party together.

As my title says, today was a day of celebration among the senior class as we turned in our life from the past few days. As I walked into the door, I saw coffee being chugged and rings under eyes. I had worked diligently most of the week and this weekend to complete my paper and I still ended up staying up late working on homework. I learned that we are now forced to collaborate as citizens of America. The world is now part of the competition and Amercia will be left in the dust if we do not find a way to compete. A very important start is to teach the rising generation valuable 21st century skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. There is no longer an option because nations such as India have already become part the competition. I think that the goal at Oakbrook should be to prepare children for the world, not college. If we just prepare the students for college, the students will have trouble later in life when these skills are found more valuable than just a basic education. I think that this is what sets Oakbrook apart for Dorman or other public schools. I am glad the I have gotten an opportunity to look into the vision for the future of our school. Because it is new, people will fear the change. A worse result comes from not changing. Students will be missing a vital part of their education. Are we ready for what our new world has to offer?

The paper is coming, the paper is coming!

I like my topic. I do not have time. I like the books. I do not have time. I am currently at 75 notecards and have written the introductory and some of the second paragraph. It is something that is easier to write about because all the information is solid in my sources. I flip to the pages about collaboration and it seems that there are many things to cite. I have some of my bibliography but I assume I need them written on notecards. To me, that seems a little silly because it will all be transferred to paper anyway. Time is valuable and there is never enough of it. Bye bye long weekend.

getting prepared...

So, I have been accumulating resources from Mr. Hinds. I also told my mentor, Mrs. Myers about my thesis and she liked the idea. I have still not had enough time to start compiling notecards from the books but that will be a project of this weekend. I found it interesting that Ms. Autenzio made the statement today about getting the work done for the research paper and not spending time doing recreation, when I have hardly any time do my school work. This class of seniors is diligent to the fault. We try to be excellent in too many things and it results in unhappiness and frustration. But I digress... I am excited about the prospect of starting the buying and building of the activities. In my timeline for my proposal, I planned to start the building in november. I know it is early but I am still preparing myself. I am much more motivated to think about an exciting project such as a low-ropes course than a research paper that is due too soon. My plans are to seriously research the topic this Saturday and begin to write things down. If I have enough information, I will begin to write an outline of my paper. I believe I am underestimating how much work this will be, but I am willing to be disappointed. Ta ta for now, and a jolly good day to you!

FINALLY!!!, and as a very important man once said, "It is finished..."

Here is a cool new Thesis that I am pretty excited about! I sat down with Mr. Hines today and got some valuable information. Here it is:

Thesis:

 Collaboration is an integral part of the learning process for 21^st Century skills because technology and globalization require it in our changing world.

Sources:

Keen, Andrew. The Cult of the Amateur. First Edition. New York, NY: The Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, 2007. 228. Print.

Friedman, Thomas. The World Is Flat. 2nd rev. and Expanded ed. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. 660. Print.

Wagner, Thomas. The Global Achievement Gap. New York, NY: Perseus Books Group, 2008. 290. Print.

I have to print it out and turn it in tomorrow, but I am pleased what I have finally come up with. I has been a long time coming and past many due dates but I am glad to say that I have come up with something that will be better than if I had rushed trying to finish it for the due dates.