tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411761316576526132024-02-20T06:48:10.033-08:00Welcome to NeverlandKathryn Syverinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05212868710933802393noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841176131657652613.post-70948205114344005362015-11-09T19:31:00.001-08:002015-11-09T19:41:29.214-08:00Prioritizing Holism in Schools: A Philosophy of Learning and Cognition<div class="s2" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: #8e7cc3; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;">What you are about to read (btw, thank you so much for taking the time to do so if you are), is an essay I wrote on my personal philosophy of learning and cognition for my Educational Psychology class. Only a small portion of my passion for education is because I like spending time with kids (which is really saying something, because I LOVE kids); my drive almost entirely comes from my anger and sadness. I am angry that the APS system chooses to ignore expert advice and has for the past several decades. I am sad that so many millions of American children are being raised by a system that no longer seems to value them as PEOPLE and not a machine. I could go on for hours. But because I am asking you to read this probably "TL;DR" kind of essay, I'll stop here. The rest says it all. Hopefully this will give some insight in to why I post everything I do. Like in Dance Marathon, please just remember: #FTK <i style="font-weight: bold;">always</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The current American Public School system places an inordinate focus on standardized curriculums and testing. In the past </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">fifty or so years </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">since preschools began receiving federal</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">funds, the drive to teach young children academics over allowing them constructive and </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">imaginative play has seen a dramatically increased rise, much to the detriment of students across the country</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(Glazer, 2008)</span></span></a><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Alternative schools that follow the philosophies of Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Loris Malaguzzi</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, paired with the research behind developmental and educational psychology, have shown time and time again that constructive learning techniques used in partnership with play, music, and exploration (especially natural) are the most powerful learning and cognition tools out there.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">These alternatively holistic education settings, along with the theories of most specifically Albert Bandura, Lev Vygotsky, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Ho</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ward Gardner</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Robert Sternberg</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">have </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">inspire</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">d</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> a complex educational philosophy that emphasizes </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">individualized exploration and expression in order to more holistically develop critical thinking and intrinsic motivation towards </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">individuals’ own </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">passionate interests.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">R</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">esearch consistently shows that children, especially those of preschool age, learn far more thoroughly through play than through any form of direct instruction. However, the push for strong academic success beginning with kindergarten has pressured teachers into formatting classroom curriculum’s in contrast to what they believe is best for their students, and as such have seen a rise in sensory issues such as abnormal frustration with medial tasks and interactions. Children may be doing better on tests, but their social and emotional lives are in disastrous turmoil, and research points to a lack of relaxed, imaginative, and child-led play </span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(Strauss, 2015)</span></span></a><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Similar to play and the lack thereof in early childhood environments, non-performative musical play has decidedly disappeared from our pre-formal, primary, and secondary education settings. Research has shown that a child’s window for effective musical education and the </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">efficient learning of rhythms, pitches, and other musical affects begins to close at the age of nine. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">After this time, learning may become exceptionally difficult for students, similar to trying to learn a second language into the preteen years. Additionally, western culture has placed a detrimental emphasis on performance when it comes to the arts, focusing on talent over enjoyment and participation. Programs like Music Together</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">™</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">have shown that encouraging musical play, especially between child and parent, can be enormously beneficial to the child’s development not only artistically, creatively, emotionally, and socially, but intellectually as a whole </span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(Levinowitz, 1998)</span></span></a><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. Students exposed to frequent casual musical play throughout their youngest years additionally show to consistently score higher in the realms of literacy and mathematics once school begins</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, as musical intelligence is not only as important as logical intelligence, but can also help students form powerful connections that tie well into the other academic disciplines</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Thus, it has been shown that allowing for play both musical and otherwise has an enormous effect on how students both learn and perceive schooling (if said play is introduced in an educational setting)</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(Viney, 2015)</span></span></a><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. The dichotomy between home and school is then less pronounced, and fewer students view schoo</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">l as boring and inconsequential.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Likewise, when students enjoy learning, more learning occurs. These ideas of increased play promoting healthier and brighter children coincide well with numerous theorists. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">When theories like the triarchic theory of intelligence, social cognitivism, multiple intelligences, and others are viewed as interconnected and integral to each other, a more holistic approach to education can be reached. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Theories like Sternberg’s triarchic theory that promote analytical, creative, and practical learning as equally important can be thought of as holistic styles that prioritize the students’ whole life and where their learning will lead into the greater community. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">When schools are structured to fit the needs of every child, rather than standardizing, children </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">can not only empathize better, but feel more motivated to following their own passions.</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> When students are given the freedom to discover their own greatest intelligences, then problem solving becomes remarkably easier. School settings that promote social cooperation help students utilize their individual strengths in harmony with their peers, which not only allows for healthier development throughout childhood, but follows them into adulthood</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and real world application</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(Santrock, 2011)</span></span></a><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> American elementary school students spend an average of 943 hours in the classroom, and secondary students spend upwards of 1,000 hours at school </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">any given year </span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">(Chalabi, 2014)</span></span></a><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> This is a </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">truly </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">significant portion of students’ lives. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">To create such a stark dichotomy between home life and school life robs students of the most imp</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ortant learning: how to live with both </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">themselves and those around them.</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Schools that focus strictly on academics and how to score well on tests allow a powerful majority of student life to be ignored. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Holistic schooling not only emphasizes literacy and logical problem solving, but socializa</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">tion, empathy,</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> altruism,</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> and full living. This is exceptionally critical, especially during the earliest years of life (but should be continued throughout). American children are among the most privileged in the world, yet the school system has been built to say otherwise. The needs of students are not being met at a variety of levels. Looking at Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it seems as though the goal of education should be to provide an </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">environment in which all students, regardless of background, have equal opportunity in attaining some form of self-actualization (and perhaps self-transcendence). Schools currently are set for equality, yet all students come in with uniquely diverse sets of needs</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> which then requires a redefinition of equality.</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> No one needs the same exact things as another, and thus school mu</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">st be approached as such, beginning with the allowance of </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">uniquely </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">imaginative play early on.</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Let's raise people, not test scores.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Works Cited</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Chalabi, M. (2014, September 4). </span></span><span class="s10" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">American Kids Will Spend An Average Of 943 Hours In Elementary School This Year.</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Retrieved from FiveThirtyEight.</span></span></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Glazer, N. (2008). Preschool Politics. </span></span><span class="s10" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">EducationNext</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. Retrieved from EducationNext.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Levinowitz, L. M. (1998, Fall). The Importance of Music in Early Childhood. </span></span><span class="s10" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">General Music Today</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Lewis Brown, L. (2013). </span></span><span class="s10" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Comparing Preschool Philosophies: Montessori, Waldorf and More</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">. Retrieved from PBS Parents.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Santrock, J. W. (2011). </span></span><span class="s10" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Educational Psychology</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> (5th ed.). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Strauss, V. (2015, September 1). The decline of play in preschoolers — and the rise in sensory issues. </span></span><span class="s10" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">The Washington Post</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Viney, L. (2015, October 26). </span></span><span class="s10" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Jamming with your toddler: how music trumps reading for childhood development.</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Retrieved from The Conversation.</span></span></span></div>
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Kathryn Syverinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05212868710933802393noreply@blogger.com0Decorah Decorah43.315924 -91.804612tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841176131657652613.post-49276216349126383412013-09-27T20:00:00.003-07:002013-11-10T17:34:48.570-08:00"When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer"<div>
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<span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i style="background-color: #0c343d;">*A poem analysis done for my Senior Utopian/Dystopian Literature course.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #0c343d; color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“When I heard the learn’d astronomer,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #0c343d; color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #0c343d; color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #0c343d; color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #0c343d; color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #0c343d; color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #0c343d; color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #0c343d; color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #0c343d; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Very vaguely, yet obviously still, does Whitman connect to the dystopian genre of literature, and dystopian life in general.</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“When I heard the learn’d astronomer, when the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me…”</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, I couldn’t understand what I was supposed to be learning. I couldn’t understand when the learn’d astronomer, when this genius of the endless night skies, wasted his breath trying to explain the stars through </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">images</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">equations</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MATH. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The stars are not about math; this “learn’d” and scholarly astronomer has got it all wrong. He is overthinking one of the most basic interests of the human species. I don’t necessarily want to know exactly and technically </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">why</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, I just want to be absorbed in the absolute majesty of it all. And you think you can convey this beauty to me through silly drawings on a chalkboard? </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Everything about a dystopian universe screams, </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LISTEN TO THESE FACTS, FIGURES, LOGIC, LOGIC, LOGIC, LOGIC. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No one is permitted to think and feel for their human selves. “Truths” are bombarded in their faces, never allowing for any abstract thoughts and ideas, no faith or dreaming of what else there could be. “This is that, and that will always be this.” In the case of </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brave New World</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, higher caste children are taught that babies are made through test tube incubation, and that is that. Wholly ignoring one of the most expressive and beautiful actions of the human’s sexual nature, making love, these sons and daughters of science will never learn to believe in stars, in love. John is the only hope for Huxley’s “brave new world” in terms of opening his peers up to possibility of submission into the night sky.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I don’t want to learn about the stars by way of lecture; that’s not what the stars and the sky are about. Such as life, where the most dystopian idea out there is never being able to dream and think freely. Closing off my perception of the sky is like closing off </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">my </span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">belief in God, or another’s belief in soul mates, etc. By creating a reason for everything there is no development, no progress. Yes, some ideas and theories do have answers, answers we can all agree upon (see: 2+2=4). But I don’t want to learn about the stars by way of lecture; I want to learn about the stars by crawling out my window, onto my roof, and gazing. Simply drifting into a comatose, closed off in my mind for a little while. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My </span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">mind, not yours, and certainly not the learn’d astronomer’s. To drift into </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">my </span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">mind, in perfect silence, “in the mystical, moist air”. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #76a5af; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My only fear in life is to have this dream state ripped away from me by the government, by skewed public education, by whomever it may be. There is a time for logic, a time for noise, a time for listening, but there is always a time for silence. I believe, while biology and neurosciences help prove much of why we act how we do, introspection succeeds the most in humility and perspective, something any dystopian society’s citizens will never understand as long as they are holed up in a lecture-room, listening to even the most learn’d of astronomers.</span></div>
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Kathryn Syverinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05212868710933802393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841176131657652613.post-42373772205780441682013-08-25T22:06:00.002-07:002013-08-25T22:06:30.587-07:00Au Naturale?I'm going through a phase.<br />
I hope it lasts.<br />
I really am sick of all of these toxic and unnatural words I read on my food, my drinks, my "natural" face wash/shampoo/conditioner/etc. You get the picture.<br />
I really am sick of being so lethargic all the time. Of not being strong like I was when I was doing gymnastics.<br />
I am weak physically, and I am done with it. Starting right now, at 1:05 am, August 26th, 2013 I am going completely natural. No more toxic sugars and artificial junk.<br />
My brother has been doing kundalini yoga recently. I did some studying, and I'm decided.<br />
No more artificiality. Yoga and meditation every day.<br />
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I really am becoming a hippie.<br />
<br />Kathryn Syverinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05212868710933802393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841176131657652613.post-73224434576793768752012-12-22T13:08:00.000-08:002012-12-23T04:50:05.526-08:00Songs for Christmas, for baby Jesus..After and during a rough patch in my life, I really like to listen to music. I mean, I like to listen to music all the time, but when life is kicking you down, melodious tunes are especially healthy. I like to think it's an even better medicine than laughter (though that's pretty helpful too). Sufjan Steven's <i>Songs for Christmas</i> albums are by far my favorite daily "pill". His banjo playing, sweet singing, groovy moving songs put a smile on my face in seconds. They also get me really thinking; I've been trying to get into the Christmas mood, you see. And it's been very difficult. So last night when I couldn't sleep, I turned on Sufjan's beautiful voice and got to contemplating. I feel like people only picture the commercial, materialistic Christmas. That Christmas makes me want to throw up. So, like any self respecting Lutheran, I tried to grasp the real meaning of Christmas. I started by reminding myself that in the Christian theology, Jesus is not really the genetic offspring of God, as that would be physically impossible (seeing as God the Father is an invisible, higher power entity with no reproductive organs). Many people fail to realize this, and forget that Jesus is God. He is the human manifestation of Him. So why do we celebrate Christmas? People say it's for family, for compassion, for giving, for forgiveness, for loving... Well it's for all of those. Jesus came to Earth during a crazy time. The rulers of his day killed toddlers just to try and destroy the most powerful human being ever, for pete's sake (well, King Herod at least)! God saw the destruction, and gave himself to the human population. We just kept on sinning. He forgave us for all of the messed up shit we did daily. He loved us because He made us, just like a mother or father loves any of his/her children. We are a family. Christmas is a time to celebrate the whole family. God's family.<br />
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I sound like a preacher.<br />
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I guess that's ok.<br />
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Merry Christmas.<br />
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P.S. If Jesus is supposed to return to judge the living and the dead, especially when we have gone "awry", then I guess we can expect him soon. Ha.Kathryn Syverinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05212868710933802393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841176131657652613.post-51268312511040173252012-03-19T20:00:00.001-07:002012-03-19T20:02:30.376-07:00Nostalgia in CologneSpring is without a doubt my favorite time of year. It's warm, but not hot. I can go biking for several hours before its dark without having to wear multiple layers of clothing. Spring is the time to jump on the trampoline then run across the yard, barefoot, into the pergola. My favorite part of spring is the sunset. Sitting next to my father and brother silently brings a sense of tranquility I crave all year round; I feel accepted into the world of my older brother, and appreciated by my dad. I also really like the aroma of my father's pipe. And Old Spice. The problem with spring, however, is that it is too nostalgic. I feel like I should be five years old, nuzzling into my father or mother's chest as the sunsets, while a cool breeze blows my hair. I mean, I still do that, but there is a difference. I am older, two years shy of adulthood. Well, the literal meaning of adulthood. Really I am simply Peter Pan. I will never grow old, I will forever be a child, at least during springtime. <div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnx1Zj76GTVq9_nIqZs_QkqvIOvRfQfSbv0galgGRbWPkpYkORDcF4uLofkhy2wa957jR73oaA_6nsdMmfI2zHpcnlfxheYq9yr-T45TT5vZ6dXvBkJUDqP0CTcg_v8_f9j6oy0Kav3I/s640/blogger-image-842099877.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnx1Zj76GTVq9_nIqZs_QkqvIOvRfQfSbv0galgGRbWPkpYkORDcF4uLofkhy2wa957jR73oaA_6nsdMmfI2zHpcnlfxheYq9yr-T45TT5vZ6dXvBkJUDqP0CTcg_v8_f9j6oy0Kav3I/s640/blogger-image-842099877.jpg" /></a></div>Kathryn Syverinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05212868710933802393noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841176131657652613.post-3349272267778772832012-03-12T17:54:00.002-07:002012-03-12T17:54:51.877-07:00My Body is a TempleMy freshman year of high school I met an amazing friend. While we are not incredibly close, I can say she is one of the sweetest, most caring people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. This friend, Ashley, founded the non-profit organization <i>My Body is a Temple</i>. MBIAT is targeted to boys, girls, and people of all religions. Ashley, and many people like her (including myself), wish to rid the world of self-hatred and eating disorders, along with overall improved lives. We all deserve to live comfortably, and often times the distortion media instills in young (and old) people minds gets in the way of our goals. Please do whatever you can to be involved in this incredible movement against self-loathing.<div>
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Go to <a href="http://mbiat.org/">http://mbiat.org/</a> to learn more!</div>Kathryn Syverinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05212868710933802393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841176131657652613.post-61094520382994627572012-03-03T18:53:00.001-08:002012-03-03T18:53:24.676-08:00BabysittingI am not going to help you choose your pajamas, you are a big boy, do it yourself.<br />
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I am not going to scoop you ice cream or get you another glass of soda, it is past 9 o'clock.<br />
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I am not going to get a movie ready for you, you were supposed to be in bed a half hour ago.<br />
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I am not going to read you another story. Two Spongebob picture books are enough (with the voices of course)<br />
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I am not going to say it again: "Remember to go to the bathroom." "Brush your teeth for gosh sake!"<br />
"I won't drag you up the stairs, your legs are there for a reason."<br />
"GO. TO. BED. NOW."<br />
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I am not going to leave you.<br />
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I am not going to let the monsters get you. <br />
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I am not going to let you have night-terrors.<br />
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I promise.Kathryn Syverinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05212868710933802393noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841176131657652613.post-23166522426130455342012-02-28T19:29:00.000-08:002012-02-28T19:29:56.795-08:00Procrastination is a Female Dog1) I have not posted in a while. My mom thinks I gave up.<div>
2) I'm just lazy. And I am not all that creative, it is HARD to come up with an interesting topic to blog about.</div>
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3) I have a 4-5 page paper due in two days that because of an awful rough draft, I practically have to rewrite entirely. I mean, I GUESS I don't mind staying up until 11 pm+ every night. Musical rehearsal isn't enough, so my teachers help out by piling on the homework. FUN. This picture describes how I feel right now. Minus the hippie glasses.</div>Kathryn Syverinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05212868710933802393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841176131657652613.post-46634149830334153452012-02-02T19:07:00.001-08:002012-02-02T19:09:32.789-08:00That Sad Moment When...You have to say no. And not the self-satisfying no, but the no where someone you like's feelings will be hurt. The moment is sad because no matter how much you know that deep down, the decision you are making is the right one, you just want to give them a break. Even when the health of others is at stake. Life really sucks sometimes.Kathryn Syverinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05212868710933802393noreply@blogger.com0Ellington Ellington41.911856 -72.509249tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841176131657652613.post-69154052236162368442012-02-01T18:08:00.000-08:002012-02-01T18:08:12.588-08:00Know What Really Grinds My Gears?Jeans that are too small after only two weeks of owning them. And the only other pair you own are too big. Then when you complain about it, people get pissed and tell you to just be grateful you're a size 3. <div>
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Whatever.</div>
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On a brighter note, welcome to Neverland! I've never tried this blogging thing until now, so get ready for some awkward starter posts.</div>Kathryn Syverinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05212868710933802393noreply@blogger.com0