Krista Tippet is the owner of “On Being” which is an award winning public radio conversation; on her podcasts, Tippet interviews various people about questions pertaining to human nature and life. On a recent podcast, Tippet had the privilege of questioning Seth Godin, a modern philosopher and teacher. Godin has written seventeen books with a variety of topics, ranging from the post-industrial revolution and the way ideas spread, to leadership, and “changing everything.” I discovered their podcast a few weeks ago and believe that it serves as a perfect definition of my English class. It also helped me to reflect on my progress this year in English, and made me realize just how much I have learned in a few short months.
STRENGTHS
In their conversation, Godin talked much about how “everyone is an artist.” He claims that one person can make a product or idea that can change the world for others. He also points out, that in this day in age we can succeed by being one who creates and innovates. He further argues that those who have become successful, have done so by going against everything that they learned at school; they have not allowed their schooling to limit the way they think. This is a concept that, at the beginning of the year, I would have had a very difficult time believing. However, after spending a few weeks in Mr. Ziebarth’s class, I have fully captured this idea. My most prized masterpiece so far, is my second reflection. For this reflection, I created a power point presentation that demonstrates many smaller projects that I completed over a few weeks time period. I titled this reflection, “Elevate Learning,” and feel that this title perfectly explains everything that I have done in this class. My presentation can be found at…
Godin also brings up the idea that “we are all marketing, whether we want to or not,” by the way we live. This concept made me ponder the question, what am I giving to/telling the world by the way I live? Due to my family background, and religious views, the concept that I can make a difference in the world, through my actions, is not hard to believe. There is a program in my church, called Personal Progress, which is a method of self mastery, and improvement. This program consists of years of studying scripture, applying knowledge, and completing projects. Its purpose is to help the young women of the church to become better, more confident members of society. In this program we are taught how to make and set goals, how to teach others without words, and how to impact the world through our example. Because of my completion of this rigorous program, I feel that I have a pretty clear idea of what I hope to tell the world through my actions. This year in English, I have had the opportunity to share the things that I learned from Personal Progress, on the international web. I feel that two of my posts from my publishing house blog perfectly exemplify this. They are titled, “This is Water” and “What Matters Most” and can be found by using the links below…
NECESSARY IMPROVEMENTS : Future Learning Moments
After listening to the podcast, I would like to have more opportunities to use my ideas to improve the community. I would also like to be able to expand my “tribe” internationally. As Godin talks about his younger years, he explains how growing up his family had a rule that “if someone needs a place to stay, they stay with you…if someone needs help, you help them.” This is a rule that is true in my house as well. There have been many days where my friends, have come home with me to eat dinner with my family, because they lack food in their house. As a firm believer that words mean nothing unless acted upon, I feel that it would be very beneficial, if in my English class, I was allowed time to try and improve the community through my ideas and actions.
As a result of the internet, there is almost no place to which we cannot become connected. I hope that in future class periods, I will be given the opportunity, to expand my “tribe” of connections; that I will be able to communicate with students from all around the world to get feedback on my ideas. I first began to consider this idea after visiting Dubai, during the Thanksgiving break. My trip helped me to view another culture, and evaluate how different countries in the world are in need of innovation. I hope that in the near future, I will be able to add international views to my contributions.
INTERESTS
As we are currently learning about the change of thought in History, I became very interested in the podcast when Godin began talking about the evolution of the brain. I began to be intrigued when, Godin mentioned that “technology empowers evolution.” This is because one of my first blog post on my publishing house blog, is Anti-Technology. I would like to hear more about Godin’s view of technology’s affect on society. After listening to the podcast, I believe wholeheartedly that if used in proper ways, technology can enhance and empower our lives for the better. However, I feel that in modern days, most people don’t know how to use technology as a tool. This is something that I would love to ask Godin about.
The following is my second post on my groups publishing house blogs:
This video gives great insight into the society that we live in today. It discusses the harm that technology is having causing in our lives. This is an issue that many teenagers deal with that they don’t even realize. We are often too busy worrying about which of our “friends” we can talk to online instead of talking to the ones that are present in the room with us. This is very detrimental to our society as people are losing the skill of personal interactions and talking face to face. I am not suggesting that technology should be done away with as it has a great influence in society as well. However, it is necessary that we use technology as a tool, and not as a toy; that we use it to enhance our social skills rather than inhibit them. My parents often tell my brothers, sisters, and I to “Be Here Now.” When the say this they expect us to turn off our technology, and rather talk and play with those we are physically with. This is a phrase that I suggest everyone apply to their lives. If we all do this willingly, we may be able to improve technologies benefits, while keeping real relationships alive rather than only creating virtual ones.
– Gabby Johnson
hbgabbyjohnson 
