Mythology Orientation

For this week's reading I chose to read the Blackfoot Stories Unit . Specifically, I chose to focus on the story Blackfoot: Cold Maker's Medicine . At first I was unsure if I wanted to write my notes about this story. The beginning of the story was peculiar. An old women killing men to commit cannibalism and feed her tamed black bears. It wasn't until the end of the story that I was able to appreciate and understand the story. Although the story was odd, I couldn't stop reading. I wanted to know what happened, and I think this is an important characteristic of any great story: it draws and keeps your attention. I like how the author explained Cold Maker's medicine. For example, how producing his own smoke via a pipe prevented the smoke from the fire continuing to lower. I thought this was a very creative addition. I thought the story was well written and easy to follow. I like how they story was narrated but also included direct quotes from the characters. I also ...

When Your Brain Doesn't Sleep What is at least one thing that the article CONFIRMED for you that you knew already One thing I already knew and that this article confirmed was that proper sleep hygiene is critically important to our brain. What is at least one NEW thing that you learned that you did not know before? One things new I learned was that poor sleep can actually result in volume loss in brain hemispheres. What is the one thing you are now CURIOUS to explore (i.e. something you want to try in your life, something you want to research and learn more about, etc.) and what are you going to do in order to act on that curiosity? One thing I am curious to explore is the irreparable damage caused to the brain by "all-nighters". Specifically, I would like to know if "catching up on lost sleep" is actually any benefit at all. I know there is published research regarding this topic, so looking at the research that has already be...

Assessment, Choice, and the Learning Brain What is at least one thing that the article CONFIRMED for you that you knew already? One thing I already knew that the article confirmed was that many teachers--and professors for that matter--have an outdated method for assessing student understanding. Many test the students' ability to memorize facts, figures, formulas, etc., but do not focus on how to best help students retain and encoded this knowledge into long-term memory. What is at least one NEW thing that you learned that you did not know before? Although I have developed and used both of these types of goals depending on the subject/class, I never viewed academic goals as either performance-related or mastery. This does make a great deal of sense to me. I can still recall information that I was determined to master for one reason or another.  What is the one thing you are now CURIOUS to explore (i.e. something you want to try in your life...

For the second part of the Apache Unit reading this week, I chose to focus on Apache: Coyote and Porcupine . This story is very odd and involves a lot of tragic death. The story begin by the porcupine tricking a buffalo into helping him cross a river. The buffalo agrees but is ultimately killed by the porcupine. The porcupine then tricks the Coyote into butchering the buffalo. A battle ensues between the porcupine and Coyote with the porcupine eventually winning and the Coyote and his children are killed.  When you think about it, this is a really sad story. I chose this story not because I necessarily liked it but because I liked how it showed the intelligence of the porcupine. He tricked multiple individuals (animals) to do the hard work for him so he could relax and enjoy the final product. Someone may focus on the death in this story and miss the meticulous intellect of the porcupine. I think it is cool how this is a subtle yet important aspect of the stor...

For the first part of the reading this week I chose to read the Apache Unit . Particularly, I am going to focus on the story Apache: Coyote Secures Fire . To be honest, I found many of the stories in this unit difficult/challenging to read. I felt as if significant background information is needed to be able to fully understand what they meant for the story to mean. I chose Apache: Coyote Secures Fire  because of the realistic nature of the children's knowledge. Specifically, there is an instance where the children are asked something that they know but refuse to answer. Coyote then creates a string of beads and brides the children to tell him what he wants to know. Since there is a reward involved the children comply and tell Coyote what he wants to know. I thought this was really interesting. This is very realistic and true but since the author creates the story they can write it however they want. I found it interesting how the author revealed the selfish nature of the ch...

For the second part of the Nigeria Unit reading, I am going to focus on the story The Election of the King Bird   by Elphinstone Dayrell. I think this is a really interesting story. I have read stories about animals assisting with human tasks, but I have never read anything about the organization and hierarchy of these animals. Although the story mainly focuses on the animals and the battle that ensues, I think it is very interesting that the King chose animals over humans.  There are many different aspects and characters in this story but I feel like the  author did a great job of incorporating each character and creating a cohesive atmosphere in the story. I think it would be cool to use this as the story's base but instead of focusing on the king of the birds, focus on the king of the beasts, the elephant. I think this would create a fun and exciting story that would easily grab people's attention. Although the elephant may not be the most fe...

For this week's reading, I chose to read the Nigeria Unit . Overall, I really enjoyed reading the first part of this unit. In particular, my reading notes are going to focus on the story,  Of the Pretty Stranger who Killed the King .  This was a very interesting story. It was action packed and easily kept my attention. It started by providing background information about the situation and then moved on to the plan. I especially like the deceptive nature of this story. I think it would be really fun and interesting to write a story focusing on deception. Compared to other stories, this story was also very barbaric and vivid. This added an extra layer and depth to the story. I think I am going to use this story for the basis of my next portfolio addition. I also like the ironic statement at the end! Overall, this was a really great story. It did a great job at setting up a whole society and situation in a very short and easy to follow manner.  Also, although this ...