For my second Genius Hour project I wanted to learn more about the effect of uniforms worn to school. Is it better and more appropriate to wear uniforms to school? The following question was my research topic that I wanted to learn more about.

I chose this topic because I myself is a student and I have been to different schools where in some schools I wore uniforms and the others I did not. So because I was not able to tell whether uniforms helped me in anyway, I decided to learn more about it.

I learned that there are pros and cons of wearing uniforms but in my opinion more pros than cons. The pros are that when students see that their fellow classmates are wearing the same clothes, they feel more comfortable because not all people can afford trendy clothes. Not only that but also, students can be themselves around others and not have to act a certain way to fit in. Now the cons are that students will not be able to express themselves by which some people show by the type/kind of clothing they wear so that might make them feel sad or uncomfortable.Learning about the pros and cons of wearing uniforms to school did not help me grow as a person in anyway because I kind of already knew what and what not to do in school whether I had on uniforms or not.

On this Genius Hour project I chose to do something totally different, something that I have never done before. I decided to make an animation video that would do everything by itself unlike a google presentation which takes up time to move up to the next slide. I really like the animation video called powtoon because it not only captures the audience’s attention but it also makes them engaged into the presentation whether they are interested or not.

What I learned helped the community in a way because I indirectly taught them what and how the uniforms can help students in school. The indirect message was ‘treat people the way you would want to be treated and don’t judge others because you think you are better than them.’ These indirect message fits in with my topic because when students wear their own clothes to school you can kind of tell who is wealthy and who is not and that only makes some people feel unworthy or unimportant because they will get bullied.

For now I am not really sure what my next Genius Hour project will be about but I am sure it will help the world, community, myself and or animals in some way.

Here is the link to my powtoon video:

https://www.powtoon.com/m/bGo84OUpQUw/1/

 

 

 

Sutiblr. Naby school boy uniform with tights. Photograph. Flickr. Flickr. December 18, 2010. Feb. 8, 2016.

Santa Fe Relocation Services. Group Of Students Working At Desks In Chinese School Classroom. Photograph. Flickr. Flickr. April 6, 2012. Feb. 8, 2016.

In my opinion, this society is controlled by “Media”. When people watch television, video, film, and popular music they captured certain things that they don’t purposeful and it can be either positive or negative. Most people nowadays only focus on media and not the actual reality thinking that it is making their lives better but it can also get worse. Messages are conveyed in many different ways and it is like because people like or are addicted to media so much they think that everything that is said is true while it’s not always. An example of this is when advertisements and things gets us to buy their products that are not very liable and we just spend our money on it. Another example is when a celebrity, a president or just someone famous advertises something, they kind of makes us trust whatever they are advertising and then we get even more comfortable and buy it ourselves. Impact of media on gender roles is just like in the real world but they can sometimes exaggerate. Women on media are the ones that are mostly, cooking, cleaning and just basically doing house chores while men are the ones that go to work and provide everything for their families. Some things show on media can be sexist at times because it is not only men that go to work and provide things for the women and it is not only the women that do house chores. Some things shown by media can influence others to act a certain way because like I said before most people rely on media so much that they trust everything it says. 

For my 2nd Genius Hour project I chose a different topic. Is it more appropriate to wear a uniform to school or normal clothes? In order to get more valid information on my topic, I was assigned to follow 10 people on twitter who were related to my project which were all school administrators.

The following admins were: @Dr_LMR, @rvoltz, @ewilliams65, @L17RGY, @NicholasADiaz,  @MrLeBrun, @andre_meadows, @DrConnieDF, @shanestevens and @StevenAlanCohen.

I followed school administrators because I think they are the ones that control the clothes students wear to school. These people relate to my Genius Hour project because I thought since they work at a school they might know which is the appropriate clothes for their students to wear. I asked them all different questions but I think the general question that I was try to come across was if they thought that uniforms should be enforced in schools. This information would help me in my project because then I would know how many people think that uniforms are more appropriate.I really did not expect anyone to reply to my questions but thankfully @StevenAlanCohen, @andre_meadows and @DrConnieDF did give me clear and accurate answers. Luckily out of all the people I tweeted to, @andre_meadows was the only one that followed me back. None of them offered more assistance but after having all of the information that I need I don’t think I need anymore help. I also did not continue the conversation with them because they were so clear and straight-forward in what they had to say. I might use this process in the future in school to help teach others with the knowledge I gained from all of this.

I was born in the States but consider myself as Gambian not only because my parents are from there but because I feel more at home every time I go there to visit. The Gambia is a small country located on the western coast of Africa. It is a country with a population of 1.2 million people. Every time I go to The Gambia I get very excited to eat all the different types of fruits that I only see there and not anywhere else but something that I really like seeing is my aunt cooking a very famous dish that is mostly cooked in occasions called “Benachin,” another word for it called “Jollof Rice.” It can be cooked either with meat or fish depending on the person. To be honest I still don’t know the steps in making it but the main ingredients are cooking oil, onion, chili pepper (any spice of your choice), bell pepper (any vegetable of your choice), canned tomato, tomato puree, salt, water and rice. Benachin is not my favorite food but I think it is one of the easiest food anyone can make for an occasion in The Gambia.

 

MLA: secretlondon123. jollof rice. Photograph. Flickr. Flickr. Sept. 13, 2008. Nov. 4, 2015.

 

What is a calendar? A calendar is a chart where you can track your days, weeks, months and years. The reason why I chose a calendar as my new widget was because it is useful in many different ways. It is useful for me as a blogger because when ever I look through my site I can know the date very easily. It is also going to be useful for the people in other countries because they can be in a different country and would easily know the date according to where I am. This is an easy way for others to get an idea of student blogging and communicating with others around the world.

 

     The topic I researched in Genius Hour is Giving, and by giving I mean giving to the poor. I was not very interested in it but interested enough to present to others and tell them what they can do to help. The biggest thing that I learned in my topic was that money is not a really good thing to give the poor because you do not know what they might do with the money and some of them might even buy drugs.

     Based on my effort and learning, the grade that I would give myself would be a 90% because on my presentation, I barely had any words on a slide no more than 5 or 6 and I clearly informed my audience on what they can do to help the poor. I don’t really know if the class is actually trying to help but at least every weekend I go on the streets and give the poor food or money depending on the condition they are in. For my next genius hour project, I am planing to get videos from Youtube to show how to give and what to give to the poor. For my next genius hour project the topic that I would choose would be; Which animals are close to be extinct? How was google made? What do people like the most apple or microsoft?

Link to my genius hour presentation : https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qpwXBP8uE0fPNn5Ui6e8queX5yAXHIu-SIB2S6DTPBw/edit?safe=active#slide=id.p

How can you succeed without failing? It is never possible for someone to succeed without having to struggle at anything. I am here to inform you all about how to be successful in school. “The struggle you are in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.” – Robert Tew. This quote means that all the hard things that you have been facing will only make you stronger for the outcome that is yet to come. My dad once told me, “Everything that you do today whether you like it or not, will benefit you tomorrow.” Which means that in order for me to be successful I need to work hard each and everyday.

When I was younger than I am today I used to complain about everything in school saying  that it was hard but then I realized that complaining does no better but slowed me down even more. After that, I started actually trying instead of folding my arms and saying that I was not capable enough to do so. I later on realized that success comes through hard work, pain and struggle.

In this picture a little girl looks like she is struggling at what she is doing but that did not make her want to quit because as you can see she is still working hard on it.

5 tips to be successful are:

1. Concentrate

2. Try your best

3. Never give up

4. Try not be be late for class

5. Follow instructions

For more information on tips click on the links below:

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Successful-High-School-Student

http://barstow.k12.ca.us/BHS/page&mode=view&ID=3811

If you are willing to take my advice I would like for you to post these hashtags on any type of social media you have:

#nevergiveup

#tryyourbest

#learntobesuccessful

MLA Citations:

Johnson J. “The struggle you are in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.” Photograph. Webshots. SearchQuotes, 26 July 2014. Web.  20 Sept. 2015.

http://www.searchquotes.com/viewimage/The_Struggle_You’re_In_

Today_Is_Developing_The_Strength_You_Need_For_Tomorr/1282/

Harrison C. “Hard lesson: the primary school selection process can be tough.” Photograph. Webshots. Belfast Telegraph, 11 December 2014. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/claire-harrison/why-should-a-teachers-child-have-better-chance-of-a-place-at-a-school-30820103.html

An event that had a significant impact on my life was when I was reunited with the rest of my family again in the past year. At that time I lived in Senegal for almost four years doing second, third, fourth and fifth grade in I.S.D. Around the end of fifth grade my parents planned for me and my two brothers to go to the States for some while and live with my aunt and cousin. The news was exciting for us until we actually got to the States. We really missed our friends and family that we really wanted to come back. We lived in Michigan for two years and those two years were the longest and the most coldest years of my life. It snowed like crazy every winter that some times we couldn’t even go to school.  At first I thought living without our parents was going to be the best thing ever since we could do a lot of things that they would not have let us done but later on, was when I felt lonely without them. From time to time they would come and visit us but the hardest part for me was when they would leave. I cried from when they left till they called to tell me they had arrived. Our last two weeks in the States were the best, it was then that we had fun and did the most shopping that we had ever done. At the airport people would normally cry when they leave someone behind but my brothers and I just gave a quick hug to my aunt after having our last double cheese burger from Mc Donald’s and ran to the plane. The feeling of excitement grew higher when we arrived in Dakar. See my dad smiling and waving at us got us all running to him while we were supposed to wait and get our passports checked. When we got home my mom, my nanny and even the guard that we have never met before, gave us the best welcome ever. That experience made me not want to be apart from my family ever again. Even if we go through hard times I always think positive that we can make it together as one big happy family.

What is a blog? How do you think you will use it?

A blog is a place where you post comments frequently about anything, mostly about the things you did or about a certain topic/interest. A blog can run by an individual, a small group, or a whole committee. Bloggers can even talk to each other on their blogs. I think we will be making our own blogs and posting things continuously. The posts we make are going to be commented on and viewed by our teacher and fellow classmates.