I'll admit that I was pretty skeptical about most of my classes this semester, but I'm finding that it's true what they say; no matter how old you get or how much you think you already know about a certain subject, there's always more to be learned...always.
This week in my Geography class I found out that the beautiful colors seen during a sunset are caused by air pollution. So the more vibrant & breath-taking the sunset, the higher the level of pollution - depressing, right? But speaking of depression, my professor also told us that because the North Pole experiences almost a full 6 months of night, the depression & suicide rates were pretty high in that part of the world. Apparently the lack of sunlight has both a physiological & psychological effect on us. How did they solve the problem? They invented lightboxes which, according to my professor, "trick your brain into thinking it's getting real sunlight." But honestly, is anyone really surprised to learn that suicide rates are higher in a place where there's NOTHING to do?
In my Chicano Studies class about World Immigration, Ron Takaki, the author of one of our books "A Different Mirror," makes an interesting point about American History as a subject. He talks about a time during which he taught a predominantly Black class American History. He realized that as an Asian-American, he had learned a completely different version of American History, different from what these students knew. In essence he states that he had to "relearn" American History so as to be able to relate better to his classroom. What American History did you learn in school?
Check this song out, see what you think. & no, it's not in English...or Spanish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igmjTM1JHqc
& for contrast, something a bit more light-hearted & funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT4XO3Hjp7M
This week in my Geography class I found out that the beautiful colors seen during a sunset are caused by air pollution. So the more vibrant & breath-taking the sunset, the higher the level of pollution - depressing, right? But speaking of depression, my professor also told us that because the North Pole experiences almost a full 6 months of night, the depression & suicide rates were pretty high in that part of the world. Apparently the lack of sunlight has both a physiological & psychological effect on us. How did they solve the problem? They invented lightboxes which, according to my professor, "trick your brain into thinking it's getting real sunlight." But honestly, is anyone really surprised to learn that suicide rates are higher in a place where there's NOTHING to do?
In my Chicano Studies class about World Immigration, Ron Takaki, the author of one of our books "A Different Mirror," makes an interesting point about American History as a subject. He talks about a time during which he taught a predominantly Black class American History. He realized that as an Asian-American, he had learned a completely different version of American History, different from what these students knew. In essence he states that he had to "relearn" American History so as to be able to relate better to his classroom. What American History did you learn in school?
Check this song out, see what you think. & no, it's not in English...or Spanish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igmjTM1JHqc
& for contrast, something a bit more light-hearted & funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT4XO3Hjp7M
The other night my friend Tina told me that she'd found a mixed CD I had made for her 17th birthday. In high school I was pretty infamous for giving mixed CDs as birthday presents. I always felt that it was a thoughtful gift, something someone could keep & use for a while. After she told me this, I got to thinking - does anyone else have any of the CDs I made for them? What if they found one today? Would they person still like the songs? Would they remember why I put those songs on the CD?