Education Display

Going to the education display in the JFSB was really interesting. I loved all of the old books that they had, and all of the other old artifacts they had from the 1800s. Some of the stories about how BYU has been able to survive over the years is just amazing proof that God wants this school to last. The display showed how important education really was to the early saints, and I think it was good they thought it so important. It really helped the saints progress more by being educated.

Disciple-Scholar and Survey Results

When reviewing my survey results, I discovered what I've known all along: that I'm a procrastinator. I also got a little bit of a wake up call; if I don't change my study habits soon, then I'm gonna have a tough four year ahead of me. I also need to exercise, and I need to get more sleep, in order to keep my health and performance levels high. Hopefully I'll whip into shape and do what I need to do to have successful school year.

When deciding who my disciple-scholar hero was, I discovered that I didn't really have one. I decided upon James E. Talmage, a man of great humility and faith, but also of great amademic intellect. This is a man we should all strive to be like. If there were more people like him, imagine how much better this world would be to live in!

Metacognition and Survey

I went on Blackboard and couldn't find the metacognition powerpoint on there, so I didn't get to review it. What I do remember about it is that metacognition is thinking about thinking. I think I've heard of the concept before, but I don't think I've ever actually thought about thinking before. When I looked up metacognition on Wikipedia.com, it said: "Being engaged in metacognition is a salient feature of good self-regulated learners." So, practicing metacognition is something that a disciple scholar should do. Metacognition will help me memorize things for school, but I need to practice it to discipline my mind like a good disciple scholar.



I also did the survey that we were supposed to do. I didn't really learn a lot; I just had reinforced to myself the fact that I need to become a better disciple scholar. I'm also spending too much free time playing rather than studying, and that my grades might suffer for it. I need to stop procrastinating, but it's a hard habit to break. Hopefully as the year goes on I will be able to stop this bad habit.

Realize...

So doing this assignment made me realize some things:

1. I'm not a very good disciple scholar, because I'm not humble enough. I need to overcome my fear and pride of asking questions so I can do well in college.

2. I like working with my hands, which is something I've never really thought about doing as a job before. I would love to make a career out of it, but since I'm going to be an officer in the Air Force, I can't. I'm exicted to figure out my major today, because then I know what I'll be doing with my life for the next few years. I already know at least 10 of them will be spent in the military.

3. I am addicted to procrastination, and I need to overcome it, or college is going to suck for me.

This was a fairly easy assignment. I hated the paper, only because I hate writing with a passion. That is something I need to learn how to do better: write. I think career counseling is an awesome idea, and really helpful for people like me who don't know what to do for what they want to do. This assignment made me more self aware about some things, things that I need to work on. I learned about myself this time!

Disciple Scholar Hula

So teaching the hula was easy. I walked outside and found three people and asked if I could teach them; one of the girls ended up being a former student of Univ 101, so she kind of knew it, but I taught/re-taught it to her anyway. On the paper they had to sign, there was a quote by Paulo Freire that read: "Whoever teaches learns in the act of teaching, and whoever learns teaches in the act of learning." I've also heard something like this in a song Phil Collins wrote for the Tarzan soundtrack: "In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn." I don't know exactly what I was supposed to learn in teaching people a ridiculous hula. Everyone probably learns something different; they can meet new people, or learn something about a friend that they didn't know before. Maybe some learn to overcome their shyness, by having to step out of their comfort zone and teach something, to be the one in charge.

I don't know what I teach teachers. Maybe I teach them about myself; about my personality, my likes, dislikes, etc., and they can get to know me better through teaching me. Simply put, they learn about me. I know that when I taught piano, I had to learn some patience. Sometimes it wasn't always easy, like when a kid forgot to do their homework, or if they weren't getting something we'd been practicing for a while; it was frustrating. But looking back, they taught me that practice is SO important; when they practiced, they were so good at the next lesson. I also learned that different kids have different needs. One of the girls had a problem with rhythm, and so I suggested ways to improve her playing. One of the other girls was spazzy, and just crazy, and I wasn't as hard on her as I could've been, I think. If I had been more firm, she might've learned more under my direction. It was a learning experience for me to teach a child one-on-one; I had directed a chime choir for elementary school kids before, but that was dealing with a group of kids, not just one. I also started to learn how to teach piano. I think I would be better at it now than I had been when I started. We learn to be better teaches when we teach.

A Child of God

One of the key points in Elder Eyring's talk is that you can't become a disciple scholar without humility, and the way to gaining that humility is recognizing we are all children of our Heavenly Father. I think this is good information to know. I don't think we are always pondering the fact that we are our Father's children. It's not something that is always on everyone's mind, at least for me personally. This is a talk that brings this fact into awareness, and hopefully humbles people when they read it. I know that as teenagers, we have this attitude that we know everything. This article warns us about that mindset, because if we aren't humble we can't learn, and then we won't know everything.

I have a big problem with humility. I don't like to admit that I'm wrong, and a lot of times I feel embarrassed when I feel like I need to ask the teacher a question, and usually resort to asking my fellow students instead. Elder Eyring says that to be a "great learner," one must be accepting of criticism and correction, and should actually want it so that they can better. I know then that I'm not that great of a learner. I've always turned to fellow students for help with having essays read over or for help on math, but I'm always nervous to ask someone more experienced than I am, like a teacher or older student. If I want to be a great learner, though, I will need to ask for help from my teachers.

I am a very lazy person. I procrastinate on my work a LOT. However, Elder Eyring says that "For the child of God who has enough faith in the plan of salvation to treat it as reality, hard work is the only reasonable option." Do I not have enough faith in the plan of salvation? Apparanlty my actions don't seem to say that I do, even though I think with an eternal perspective a lot; however, according to this quote, I need to work my butt off to prove my faith. We should give Heavenly Father all that we can. I know that I don't, and this is not a good thing. I guess that I've never really thought that everything we do should be for Him. I've always been taught to choose the right, but now I'm learning that we should give Him our all. However, He gives us everything without question; He loves us more than we can ever know. How then can we not give Him all our love? It may seem like a big concept, to do everything for Heavenly Father; I know when I first read this that I was having thoughts like, "Everything?" Obviously, I've been touched by the world a little too much. However, we really have nothing, for everything we have, He gave to us; therefore, it's only fair that we give it back.

This article has taught me a lot. I never would've thought that in order to learn I had to be humble; usually one just thinks they need to be smart. But learning has such a stronger spiritual aspect to it than I think people know. I can only hope to gain more humility so that I can do the things that I need to and learn as much as I can.