I'm just excited to finally get started!!! It feels like we've just been working on this for forever and it does seem like peoples excitement for it is going down :( So i think it'll be really good to just get going!! I'm really pumped for my person too, I think Trista seems really cool and I can't wait to get to know her!

Mission statement

In order to build and improve relationships general education and special education through mentorship and games because we believe that all students are equal and deserve to have a positive relationship in school and with other students.

INTEGRITY

The thing that stuck out to me with the speaker today is that you always need to be thinking about where your morals will come in. I had never thought about planning ahead of time with work and stuff like that. The sentenced that summed it up for me was "what is expected of you, and how do your core values fit in with it." I think that this is really important to keep in mind because usually when you look at if you can do something you think about if you're capable of it, do you have the knowlege, skills, etc..but never about if it fits in with who you are. This is probably because a lot of people now try to tell others that morals don't matter, and that I guess morals aren't 'smart' because they come in between you and success. You can't have success, at least in my opinion, if you're miserable with yourself though which I don't think some people realize. The whole thing was just neat to think about :) something new.

PDSA numero 2

The alligator egg simuation I think worked out very well. We planned out things a lot ahead of time and followed the instructions. With this one also even though we all had the same idea of how to move it we stopped and discussed other options and ways to improve it. When things didn't go as planned no one got blamed, the group just went along with it that everyone was a part of the problem and then we fixed it so that we wou'dn't drop the egg again. :) Over all everything went great, everyone listened to everyone and the group worked really well together. The only thing that was "bad" was that we didn't realize we couldn't use the ball in our planning...whoops. Other than that though, everything went according to plan. :)

PDSA numero uno

Our first PDSA attempt thing worked pretty well :) the only thing was that there wasn't a specific leader which I think was a problem. Because there wasn't a leader that everyone would listen to people jumped to different steps and thought that they knew what was best instead of sticking to the order, planning stuff out, and following what we had planned. I think that this probably happened because we were all on the same page to start out with, we all had the same idea about how to solve the problem so we didn't plan out other things and got excited to just do it.

Communication

I really liked the activity last week because I think it was a great chance to actually see our strengths and weaknesses in real life. I noticed that well, it's like we've been talking about in class, how you need to have ONE leader. I've always thought that this wasn't right, I mean I know that when I'm in a group situation I hate it when one person just takes charge. However, learning more about it this week I realize that the problem with it isn't that there's one person in charge, it's WHO is in charge. I think that a good group leader is someone who helps direct the group and organize thoughts, versus group dictatorship which is what happens a lot. I think this is really important because this class is pushing us to be leaders, and we always have to make sure that we are the right kind of leader :)

Law of Choice

This weeks lesson really just stuck out to me. I hadn't ever thought about how many choices a day that we all make..EVERY DAY! And each choice can make a little or huge difference in your life. It sort of puts more pressure on you, because everything that you do will make an impact.

Another thing that I had never thought about with making choices is to not let your emotions get involved, it makes sense. However, everyone's always saying "just do what you want," or the cliche "follow your heart." Even songs like in Moulin say "you must be true to your heart." In all of these things it's saying do what your heart tells you, which I guess I've always interpreted as mixed in with emotions. On the other hand, it's just occurred to me that it can also mean follow your conscience, which we've been talking about how if you do what is right, other things will follow. It's all up to interpretation, and accurate facts. :D just like choices.

My speech

Today there are currently 27 million slaves around the world. We can't avoid slavery anymore, we have to confront it. Out of the 27 million, 25 million kids, (ages 5-14) are enslaved and working twenty hour days. Most cannot hope to live over the age of 45. Think about how miserable that would be! Some people may think that it's not our problem, yeah it's awful, but it doesn't effect us, it's up to other countries to control that stuff in their own borders. Well some countries have laws but they don't have the funds or force to enforce them! Like in Mauritania where there have been laws against slavery since the 1980's, but there are still hundreds of slaves there! Recently in Missouri a man was found to have forced a young girl into sex slavery and prostitution, he's now being prosecuted but this went on for years right in our back yard!!! In the United states there are estimated to be anywhere from 5,200-8,700 slaves. "With liberty and justice for all" that's in our pledge of allegiance..does that not mean anything? Our country has already fought a war against slavery, we already know where we stand on the issue, so then how is this allowed to happen? Some people may think, all this is awful and all but what can we do about it? Check where your goods that you purchase come from, that's an easy thing to do. You can also donate to organizations that fight against slavery, one little donation can make a difference. As citizens of this world we cannot let slavery co-exist with our country, it brings down our legitimacy and international standing.

The first follower

The main things that I got out of the video were:

1) You have to as a leader make your movement easy to follow

2) As the leader you have to accept followers as equals

3) Once you get started momentum gets you going

Going into these more in depth:

1) If the movements difficult people won't want to join. It's one thing to stand up and join with someone, but it's something totally different if doing so makes yourself more of the fool, the average person won't join in.

2) No one wants to be part of a dictatorship, it shouldn't be about one individual, it should be about what each individual stands for together, one common thought that connects them and turns them into a group.

3) Once a couple people join in, other people aren't scared anymore. It's like an avalanche, one rock may fall, and then two, and then everything comes tumbling down after them. :)

Goals for October :)

1) Spend at least 5 minutes nightly on Kirkwood and AP World

2) Say hi to two people a week that I usually wouldn't

3) Review Spanish twice a week for ten minutes

Fifth week :)

"A mans character is his fate"

Core values:

1) Attitude: gives you opportunities, and keeps me going
2) Relationships: support system, helps influence
3) Faith: Anchor, keeps me centered
4) Character: Live with no regrets, helps relationships with others
5) Health: lets me do everything else :)

Fourth week :)

"Don't ever let someone tell you that you can't do something."~ Pursuit of happiness

This quote is very important, because you can have a vision, you can plan things out, you can work towards your vision, but then someone can tell you that you can't accomplish your dream and people get discouraged. You should always try to reach your vision, and not let other people deter you from your dream.

I think that risk is one of the most important things for vision because you can see something, and want to reach it, but if you don't ever take that first step you'll never reach any goals. That's what sets people apart, the people who make something of themselves and those who don't. Taking a risk is what makes people extraordinary.

Third week :)

So the thing I really learned about leadership this week is that you ALWAYS have to be leading. No matter where you are, people are going to see you, and be influenced by how you behave. I was reminded by this because a couple of kids this week in the hall and at lower elementary, whom i didn't know, said hi to me..by name. It just got me thinking, like you can really influence people with out knowing it, so you always have to be making sure that the influence is positive. And that kind of reminded me of the law of process and everything because..even if you start little people are still going to notice and no matter what you do you're going to have an effect on the people around you.

Things I want people to say about me when i'm ancient :)

1) Tried to do what was best
2) Loyal
3) Lived my faith
4) Positive
5) Helped push others to be better
6) Understanding
7) Stuck with beliefs
8) Made a difference in their lives
9) Forgiving
10) Not judgemental
11) See outside the box

2) Loyalty: In my life friends are very important, and I don't like it when people back stab their friends. I think it shows a lot of character and courage to be able to stick up for what you believe in, and I believe in my friends :) You should WANT to stick with your friends, if not then why are you friends with them in the first place?

5) Push others to be better: It's like in math and stuff when they tell you that if you really know something you should be able to explain it to others. If you live your life a certain way, others should be able to tell, and live their lives the best way that they can. The way you live should make others WANT TO BE BETTER and improve themselves.

7) Stuck with beliefs: If you believe something, like really truly believe it, and someone tells you that you're wrong, you shouldn't be able to be influenced that easily. If there's something that you KNOW is right, you shouldn't be afraid to stick with it even if others don't. Otherwise..do you really believe it?

"Daily dozen" ..but 9 of them so far

1)Attitude
2)Trust
3)Open minded
4)Priorities
5)Care for others
6)Live full out
7)Core beliefs
8)Keep big picure in mind
9)Love

First week of class :)

"I choose to live until death, not spend the time dying until death occurs" ~Mattie

That quote really summarizes what I got most out of this week. The story of Mattie is a reminder to live life to the fullest and make as much of a difference as we can every single day, because before we know it it can all be gone. I think a lot of the time we think 'well it doesnt matter if i do this' 'i can do it later' etc. and I mean, we never think that procrastination is a privilege that some people don't get. It's kind of a reminder of Jess too, like you never know when something might happen which can take your life, so we should all do as much as we can each day.

I think that the thing we concentrated this week on concentrating on every single day, because we talked about the 'daily dozen' also. I mean, really we've just been talking about reaching our full potential, by pushing boundaries and in order to do that you have to realize your goal to begin with.