Review Week 6

"Creativity"

The semester is going by already done with week 6! I am feeling better about how my storybook is coming along. I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

I went to a yoga class this morning and I think this picture from the class announcements fit really well to wrap up my week.

To connect the dots in different ways you should free your mind and be creative. This can also help with writing.

Have a great day!

Learning Challenge: Article: Why attitude is more important than intelligence

Attitude over Intelligence 

An article by, Travis Bradberry titled: Why attitude is more important than intelligence. I found this article in the growth mindset challenges, under the growth mindset links. 

This research was conducted from Standford University by psychologist Carol Dweck. Like other articles from Dweck, it is discussed that there are two mindsets. 

1. fixed mindset

2. growth mindset 

If you have a growth mindset you believe you can always improve. The key to having a growth mindset is all in how you react to handling setbacks and challenges. People with a growth mindset will welcome these with open arms. Dweck says, " success in life is all about how you deal with failure." 

People with a growth mindset would respond with something like: 

"Failure is information- we label its failure, but it's more like This didn't work, and I'm a problem solver, so I'll try something else" (Article) 

The second half of this article talks about strategies that can help fine tune to a growth mindset. 

Don't stay helpless

Be passionate

Take Action 

Go the extra mile

Expect results 

Be  flexible

Don't complain if things go wrong 

When something goes wrong simply learns from the mistake and move on. You can not change the past. You can work on a brighter future. Avoid the feeling of being helpless. You are making a change in yourself every day. What you ay lack in talent you can always make up for with passion. To find out what really drives you write down 25 things you feel passionate about. Then cross out the bottom 20. You will be left with your top 5. Let that drive you! People who have a growth mindset are empowered. "Empowered people know that there's no such thing as a truly perfect moment to move forward." (article) This is why you much take action.  Take all your worries and concerns and cover them up with positive actions. You must give it your all, go that extra mile. Allow no limits and no excuses. Keep going till you reach the top, then go even farther and discover a new top. When you expect results you keep yourself motivate to reach them. You never know when something might go wrong or an unexpected object interfere. So like they say just roll with the punches and be flexible. A fixed mindset is one that will complain. With a growth mindset, you will find an opportunity in everything. No more complaining. 

Flickr by Joel Osteen

Like the famously known quote, "It's the little things in life." Is all you need to do is focus on practising on all these little things and the big picture will fall together. Work hard every day and keep an open mind. The only thing stopping you from your dreams is the bull$#*!! stories you keep telling yourself. So tell yourself you can and you will! 

Week 6: Reading Diary, Extra: Thunder and Anansi

I choose to highlight the story, Thunder and Anansi from the Africa Unit.

I enjoyed reading this story because it was always catching me off guard. I was always guessing what would happen next and never guessed right. I like it when this happened. Who likes a predictable story? Okay, maybe some people do. I also enjoyed that in the end Anansi got exactly what he deserved.

To sum up the story real quick here is what happened: 

Anansi was a father and husband and very hungry. He went out searching for food and found a tree with nuts up in it. He was lucky to find a boat and get to the bottom of the tree. Once he was at the top of the tree he dropped the nuts down to the boat. Every single nut had missed the boat through and fell into the water. Anansi couldn't go home empty handed so he dove down into the water. Once he arrived at the bottom he came to Thunder's cottage. Thunder had sympathy for this man so he sent him home with a magical pot. This magical pot would make a great meal for him and his family. Anansi was pleased and started to head home with the pot.

This is when he grew greedy and choose to keep the pot for himself. He didn't want the magic to run out. As time went on he got more plum and more plum. His family became thinner and thinner. The family knew something was up and found the pot Anansi had hidden. His wife was not greedy and brought the pot to feed everyone in the village. The pot ran out of magic though and was ruined.

Then Anansi found out and went back to Thunder's cottage. He returned with a stick this time that started to beat him for his greedy acts.


Overall, I think the story had a great lesson. It tells how when one makes an act out of greed it will come back at you. Otherwise known as karma. Anansi was given the pot because he was always out working hard hunting for food. Then he didn't want to work anymore and kept the pot all to himself. He went with his family and let them go hungry. The story was also entertaining and interesting to read.

Nuts in a tree From Wikipedia 

Story Source: From West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilea Sinclair (1917)

Week 6: Storytelling: Smoke

-Smoke-

In the forests of India lived a young snake named Smoke. Smoke was a piercing black king cobra. Smoke's family of cobras were known to other animals as deadly and dangerous. The other animals kept their distance to stay safe. Smoke, on the other hand was not as mean and violent as the rest of his family.

Smoke the Black Cobra

Souce: Youtube-deadliest animals 

One day smoke was out and about roaming the forest grounds.  Smoke arrived at the river he had seen a human on the other side. Humans are not meant to be in this part of the forest. This was the darkest and deepest part of the forest where no human ever ventured into. 

Smoke was a curious snake so he made his way across the river to get a closer look at this human. Smoke was somewhat admiring this human that he had made it so far into the forest. He was a strong man with dark black hair and a full grown beard. He wore all black and carried a sheath on his side that held a sword. The end of the sword had a snake head engraved on it with black diamonds as snakes eyes. 

The man started to walk upstream of the river and Smoke followed. The man began to talk to himself so Smoke listened. The man was headed to find his lover, she had been kidnapped. Clearly Smoke believed the man because he was in the dark forest. Smoke knew no man ever dared to go through the dark forest. 

Smoke knew he couldn't let his family harm this man or take his life. He wanted the man to find his lover and rescue her. Smoke decided to help this man through the dark forest. The king cobras were not the only creatures you needed to worry about in this forest. There were also black panthers that hide high up in the trees. 

Dark Forest
Found on Flickr by Craig Cloutier

Smoke was keeping a close eye on the man and was impressed by how well the man noticed his surroundings. Yet, the man was not looking up into the trees. Smoke knew the panthers hide there though and spotted one up ahead.  Smoke had to do something so he took off and headed up the tree. Right as the panther was about to leap down onto the man Smoke sprung from the branch he was on and began wrapping his body around the panther. The panther and Smoke fell to the ground right in front of the man. The man quickly grabbed his sword and stabbed the panther through the heart. Smoke uncoiled himself from the panther and was staring at the man. They both paused and no one moved. The man was hesitant but also took off sprinting. Smoke felt a sense of relief then took off after the man. 

Smoke caught up to him and found him near a small waterfall. This was no average waterfall though. It was the spiders waterfall. One bite would kill any man. Smoke snuck up close to the man and checked for any spiders. He looked around but couldn't see any. Then he looked up and saw about a hundred spiders hanging from their webs right above the man. Smoke had never had to worry about being bit by one of them. His scales were too thick and strong for any creature to bit. Smoke made his way to the top of the waterfall then in one swift motion leaped from the top and caught all the webs the spiders were hanging from. The spiders were no longer hanging over the man, he was safe. 

When Smoke had snatched up all the spiders the man had been looking down in the water. The man saw Smoke flying above him in the reflection of the water. The man thought the snake was following him and became anxious. 

The man got up from drinking the water and slowly started walking again. Smoke noticed and quickly followed behind him. The man and Smoke were almost out of the dark forest. Smoke was starting to feel very pleased and happy the man was going to make it. Then, all of a sudden the man fell. Smoke slithered up ahead and found the man in a pit of quicksand. Smoke began to panic because he could not fight back with quicksand. It was just as dangerous to Smoke as it was to the man. Once again Smoke looked up and a branch hung directly above the pit of sand. Smoke made his way up and curled his tail around the branch. 

Smoke slowly lowered himself down and bit onto the back of the man's jacket. The man did not notice until he felt himself being lifted up. The man had though the Smoke was about to eat him as soon as he pulled him out of the quicksand. Smoke had pulled him out and set him on the branch next to him. All of a sudden the branch broke. Smoke fell in the pit of quick sand. The man looked down at Smoke and climbed down the tree. Smoke was trying as hard as he could to get out but he was falling fast. Once the man got out he ran the side of the pit and pulled out his sword. He swung it right at Smoke.  The sword stopped right before it hit Smoke. Smoke look at it and it was the handle of the sword, the snakes head.

The man was saving Smoke. Smoke grabbed on and the man pulled him out then set his sword down on the ground. Smoke crawled off then looked at the man. The man looked back and said thank you snake. The man had pointed his sword at Smoke and motioned for him to crawl up. Smoke accepted and crawled up onto the man's shoulders.The two finished their journey through the dark forest and found and saved the girl. 

Authors Note: I generated this story from reading,  How the Raven Saved the Hunter. In this story, a man was about to drink from a poisonous river. Then a raven swooped down and stopped him. At first, the man thought it was a mistake. Then it happened again, this time, the man was a bit upset. One last time the man tried to drink the water and the raven stopped him once more. This time, the man was very mad and killed the raven. After the man was curious and thought maybe the raven did not want the man to drink the water. So the man hiked to the head of the river and saw the water coming from a snakes mouth. The water was poison then the man felt terrible for killing the raven. 

I got the snake (Smoke) idea from the water coming from the snakes head. I wanted to chance the main plot of the story be instead of killing the animal (raven) they became friends. The man in the forest realized that smoke was trying to save him. So instead of not noticing before it was too late and killing him, they became friends. 

I choose the forest in India because it is one of the places king cobras live. I also like to change the scenery in my stories from the original. 

Bibliography: 

From the Tibetan Folktales unit, Tibetan Fold Tales by A.L. Shelton (1925) Story: How the Raven Saved the Hunter. 

Info on the king cobra found on wikipedia.org

Week 6: Reading Diary, Continued: How the Raven Saved the Hunter

From the second half of this weeks reading unit: Tibetan Folk Tales, I want to highlight the story, How the Raven Saved the Hunter. 

This was one of the shorter stories but it held a strong meaning. The Tibetan proverb for this tale was, "For a foolish official to speak skillful words is as difficult as for lighting to split a lump of bronze." 

In this story, a man was out in the mountains and grew thirsty. He had a cup and filled it with the water from the river. Right as he was about to drink this water a raven came rushing down and took the cup. At first, the man thought it was just by accident. He didn't think much of it at all. Then the man went to fill another cup from the river and the same thing happened. This time, the man was curious and getting annoyed by the raven. For a third time, the same thing happened and the man was not furious with the raven. The man took out his weapon and killed the raven. 

Now the man had not taken the time to think before he took action. After he had already killed the raven he stopped to think. He though that this happened three times it was no coincidence but intentional. Maybe the raven didn't want me to drink the water. Now curious the man decided to walk upstream to see where the water came from. Once he got to the top the water was coming from the mouth of a giant snake and around it lay many dead animals, skulls and bones. 

For now, the man felt foolish and hurt by his actions. He had killed the raven when the raven was trying to save his life. 

Raven Picture by, Creative Commons Attribution

The lesson from this story is to think about your actions before taking them. You shouldn't just act off of anger or one specific emotion. It counts to take the time and get the rest of the story. It may also help to stop and ask questions. 

When I was young I always thought that my way was the best way. My dad, on the other hand, was very specific about how he wanted things done. As I have grown up I have realized that certain things are done in specific ways for a reason. The reason could be to prevent injury such as stretching before a game. The reason could also be due to a past experience when something went wrong. For example, when unhitching a trailer, you should place blocked under the wheels so it doesn't roll back. I am sure before this was ever done a trailer was left wth no block and rolled away. It is always a good idea to take a step back from things and try to see the big picture. 

Story Source: Part of the Tibetan Folktales unit, Tibetan Folk Tales by A.L. Shelton with illustrations by Mildred Bryant (1925). 

Week 6: Reading Diary: How the Fox Fell a Victim to His Own Deceit

This week's reading was from Unit: Tibetan Folktales.

I liked that at the beginning of every story there was a Tibetan proverb. In other words the moral or lesson of the story. From the first reading assignment, my favorite story was, How the Fox Fell a Victim to His Own Deceit.

In this story, there is a mother tiger who has a cub. The mother tiger was out one day and found a young fox, she decided to bring the fox as a playmate for her cub. The two became friends and play together every day. Another day the other tiger was out and found a young calf, she did the same and brought him home as another playmate.

Calf: By,Pezibear on pixabay

This is where the story gets interesting. The fox grows jealous of the calf and things everyone loves him more. Shortly after the mother grows ill. Before she passes she tells her son and the calf, " Although you are not of the same father and mother, yet you are brothers. I don't want you to ever quarrel, but to live happily here together, and if anyone should tell you lies don't pay any attention to them, but always be friends."

Mother and Cub: By, Sponchia on pixabay

The fox came up with a plan to turn the tiger cub and calf against each other. Every morning the calf would be jumping around. While the tiger rested. This is when the fox came up to the tiger and told him that the calf was gaining his strength by jumping around to kill the tiger one day. From that day on the tiger and calf became enemies. The tiger kept a close watch on the calf. 

Then my favorite part of the story, one day the calf came up to the tiger and simply asked why he wanted to kill him. The tiger told him that the fox said you were trying to kill me. The two they found out that neither wanted to kill each other and the fox had tricked them. The two had regained their true friendship and came up with a plan to rebutle against the fox. 

The calf and the cub decided they would fake fight and have to fox watch. When they began to fight the fox got close enough that the tiger jumped onto him and killed him. Just like their mother had told the two, never let a lie come between you brothers. 

The Tibetan proverb for this story was, "Between the official and his people is confidence if the headman is skillful." 

What I took from this story is the bond between two true friends can never be broken. No matter what comes between them they will always find a way back to each other. 

Story Source: Part of the Tibetan Folktales unit, Tibetan Folk Taled by A.L. Shelton with illustrations by Mildred Bryant (1925). 

Growth Mindset: Dweck Interview / Tech Tip: Embedded Youtube

This weeks growth mindset challenge was very interesting. I watched a video by, Carol Dweck: Mindset Interview . In this interview Professor Dweck talks about how there are two groups of people; one is those going around the world curios to learn, the other group is going around trying to look and feel smart. The group that wants to feel smart bases their action off of weather or not they will be seen as intelligent. This group doesn't want to be laughed at or seen as stupid. Yet, Dweck says, "nobody laughs at a baby saying how stupid they are." It is because people know babies are new to the world and still learning. Shouldn't this go for everyone at every age though?

Open Mind: Pixabay

In my point of view you can never stop learning! Every day there is so much out in the world you can learn. Weather it be form school, friends, experiences, or on your travels. Everyone has their own pace they are traveling at. So, remember this next time you may laugh or mock someone. They might now they answer to the question you are experienced in. Yet, maybe you don't know much about what they are experienced in. This is why meeting new people is such a great experience for me. Every person has their own unique story and own knowledge. They may know something no one else does. They only way to share that is if you get to know them and listen to what they have to say.

Back to Professor Dweck's interview, she help an eight session workshop with a class of students. Half of these students were taught growth mindset study skills, the other half were just taught study skills. The half that where taught with growth mindset learned that the mind is like a muscle. The mind can get stronger as it growth with knowledge. At the end of the semester the student with the growth mind set skills showed an advancement, compared to the students who did not learn the great mindset.

At the end of Dweck's interview she told us how a race car driver contacted her after learning about her growth mindset teachings. He agreed with her about growth mindset and said it even applied on the race track. The difference in a winning driver compared to a losing driver is how they act upon the mistakes they make through the long race. The ones who could recover would be the winners, the ones who had a growth mindset. Dweck also say that in the business world flexibility of a growth mindset is essential.  She say, "you can't keep up with the changes in the world f you can't grow and can't learn."

Carol Dweck: Mindset Interview

Remember never be afraid to learn and open your mind to different possibilities.