Week 1 Review: Getting Started Early!

I have begun this review earlier than I anticipated meaning that there is only one current course announcement posted August 22nd. This course announcement packed in a lot of information about getting started early for the course, which I was excited about doing! I hope everyone has had the opportunity to get started earlier on this course than normal. Lat year, when I took Myth and Folk I started and ended the course early! this became a major help when my final exams came around. I would encourage anyone enrolled in these courses this semester (or any semester) to start early! It will really help! I am excited to see what other students start posting about in Week 2 when we really start reading these epics!

Course Announcement August 22nd, 2015

Famous Last Words: Week 1

Monday marks the beginning of a new semester, my last Fall semester in my undergraduate career. It is a little bittersweet as I begin my senior year. There are of course things I wish I had done differently... tried a little harder here, had a little more fun there. In the end I am okay with the decisions I have made and the path I am headed down. I feel pretty lucky at this point in time. I am confident about my career decision and I have a plan for the future. I know there are a lot of young people who don’t have a clue where they are going, and that is a frightening prospect. 

This semester is going to be very interesting. It is one of the first semesters in my academic life that I was able to almost fully choose my coursework. I am taking classes I will enjoy instead of force fed general education required courses. Of course, I am very excited for Indian Epics. As an anthropologist I get infatuated with cultures and being able to dive into one in such a way as this course allows is really exciting. In addition to Indian Epics I am also enrolled in a Women Gender Studies course called LGBTQ Movements. I am excited to start this course and I am super ecstatic that the University offers a course like this. I am also taking two anthropology courses including the Anthropology Capstone course and Archaeology of North America. I am both excited and nervous for these courses, but we will see how this course-load progresses throughout the semester.

Since this is the first week of this course I have not yet had time to really delve into any reading. However, I am excited about what I have seen so far. We discussed growth mindset and its benefits and even though I was skeptical about weather this type of learning system would work in our current education system I was very excited about the idea. This week I was also able to look back at previous semester’s students storybook projects. I was not only very impressed with what I saw, but I was also deeply inspired by their work. I am excited to get started on the storybook project for this new semester.

Im looking forward to getting to know new people, new places, new things this semester.

Farewell India - The Taj Mahal

Growth Mindset - Good Idea, but I’m a Skeptic

At first I was a little confused while watching the Ted Talk video about Growth Mindset. Professor Dweck touched on a lot of topics all pertaining to this idea of Growth Mindset, but the shorter video we watched helped me understand what this idea was all about! Growth Mindset, as I understand it, is essentially the idea that when students are making all A’s or really good grades they are not actually learning. Instead Growth Mindsets sees students that are being mentally challenged with concepts in various fields as growing, learning and not just simply already knowing therefor not learning. It is a very simple and very great idea. I just have one problem. The current education system is not set up to measure how much someone learns, but instead it measures if a student has mastered a couple particular concepts. The way testing is set up K-12 I think students are being stunted to not continue to learn past what they are required to do. I really like this idea of a Growth Mindset learning vs. the standard learning system, but I honestly do not see it happening in the near future.

An example of what I mean...
In high school my goals was to get as many A’s as possible because I knew that to get into college I was gonna need A’s and a little luck, and I was out of luck. The question is, how do you get an A in high school? It is pretty simple in the current education system.
Step 1: You a told what to do/ learn
Step 2: You do/learn it
Step 3: You take standardized test with learned material on it
Step 4: You get A or B (hopefully) and then move on to the next required class
The problem is you are not growing very much in the education system. I learn... sure, but I do not learn a lot. In fact, I would argue that in high school I hated learning in the classroom and I learned way more watching Animal Planet or with my mother than I ever did in school, but I cannot blame education for all of that.

If you were a high school student right now and you had the goal to go to college what would you choose... get the A and almost definitely go to college or challenge yourself with difficult courses, make a B or C and maybe go to college. This is similar to the decisions I faced in college and I almost wish I could say I struggled with the decision, but in fact I did not. I chose the route that work best for me to obtain the goals I had. To get into college.

I think Carol Dweck hit the nail on the head at minute 4:13 in her Ted Talk video when she said. “We should praise wisely, not praising intelligence or talent." I can attest that 'in my day a.k.a. not that long ago’ intelligence was praised heavily and this definitely motivated me to become better at learning how to get an A, not learning for the sake of learning.

So in short, I really like this learning system called Growth Mindset. I think it is going to be effective in the future, but it is going to take time... a lot of time by my measure. We need a complete overhaul of the education system and this needs to happen As Soon As Possible!

Sincerely,
Skeptic

Growth Mindset Meme

Storybook Favorites

I decided to stick to Indian Epic storybooks. Since I have had experience making a storybook project already I was looking for titles that were really creative. For the storybook projects I read I was very excited to see some really great ideas about fun and creative ways to make the Indian Epic stories fun! While reading through storybook projects I was also trying to keep in mind how I was going to complete my project for this coming semester. I am very excited to incorporate the new comic books into my storybook project this year and I hope that this is an available option!

Screen Shot of Real housewives of Ramayana by Andy Cohen

The first storybook project I read was titled The Karma Times. The storybook was well set up and also very entertaining. Overall the navigation was very easy. I enjoyed reading the introduction to this storybook project because it was told in the view of Karma. In general I think most people see Karma as a cause and effect type effect and not something that has a personality or human emotions, but this story book project brought Karma to life and made it real. I think this will strengthen my storybook project for a source of ideas and inspiration. 

https://sites.google.com/site/karmaupdates/i-have-no-deadline

The title of this storybook project is Real Housewives of Ramayana! Of course this immediately caught my attention. Growing up I used to sit with my great grandmother and watch television shows like the Bachelor and the Real Housewives of (whatever was on)... this title quickly grab my attention as a very unique way of telling the stories from Ramayana. The author of this storybook project did an excellent job with making the stories from Ramayana very modern sit-com-y. I enjoyed reading through the material! 

https://sites.google.com/site/realhousewivesoframayana/

The last storybook project I am going to discuss is the one I found to be my particular favorite! The modernization and different aspects of this project really had my imagination going for how I would like my storybook project to end up and I think the creator did an excellent job! The creator of this project used social media to make the characters divulge their stories. I found this method of delivery to be particularly interesting and creative. 

https://sites.google.com/site/carmenformans/

Course Content Overview: My Questions & Interest

Where do I start? I am already very impressed by the stories and reading material available to us through the Public Domain and libraries here at OU. I guess I would start this post by explaining my current knowledge about India or more specifically Indian Epics. That is to say I have very little experience or knowledge of India or its cultural history. When I started college I became friends with a girl from India. She is one of the only people I have met from the country and again I had little knowledge before hand. During my freshman year I celebrated with her Diwali, or The Festival of Lights, and Holi, or the Festival of Colors! With my friend from India I have briefly discussed religion, but no much. I have also been exposed to the hindu religion and Indian culture through my current favorite television show Sense8 and one of my favorite movies Slumdog Millionaire. I have also been exposed to the world famous Mumbai (Bombay) film industry, also known inappropriately as “bollywood", through a course I took at the University of Oklahoma called the Anthropology of Media.

It goes without saying that one of the most influential people in the world is from India and is one of my personal heros... Mahatma Gandhi. Ever since I was a child I have looked up to Gandhi as a source of inspiration for everyday life. I have always been interested in his life history.

A short clip from Sense8 showing a scene with a "Bollywood" type dance number

Holi - the Festival of Colors (Wiki Commons)

Diwali - The Festival of Lights (Wiki Commons) 

Mahatma Gandhi (Wiki Commons)

Me, Myself and I... an Introduction to Who I Am: Week 1

Hello,

My name is Christian Allen. I am a Senior at OU majoring in Anthropology and minoring in International Studies. I am specifically interested in Archaeology, (One of the four subfields of Anthropology), of the Pacific NW. I found my passion for Archaeology after taking some anthropology classes on campus. If you haven’t yet taken an Anthropology class I highly recommend it!

I was born in Joplin, MO, but have moved around a lot as a child. Interestingly the hospital I was born in is no longer standing, due to the Joplin tornado of 2011 (It doesn't seem that long ago!) I graduate high school from Broken Arrow High in OK and now live in Norman. I have also lived in Kansas and Arkansas.

I am currently employed at the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey, where I analyze archaeological material from different sites in Oklahoma, and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, where I am an administrative assistant for the staff and employees at the museum.

Do NOT be alarmed if you see two of me walking around campus. I have a twin brother who recently transferred here to the University of Oklahoma from OSU. He is studying Public Affairs and Administration and is working on a career in Emergency Management.

I live with my boyfriend or two years, he's also a student at OU, and we have one dog. He is an English Bulldog named Sargent, or Sarge for short. Below is a picture of him from this morning as he lazily refused to get out of bed. His favorite pass times include playing in kiddy pools, placing your hand in his mouth, and sleeping... a lot. He loves going on long walks and meeting new dogs. He hopes to one day bring about world peace, but for now he is content with his life in Norman.

Sargent, the funny sleeping puppy (Personal Photo)

Our Small Family - - - Boyfriend - Left, Dog - Middle, and Myself - Right (Personal Photo)

Sarge in his Kiddy Pool! (Personal Photo)

Storytelling Week 1: The Boy and The Toy

Timothy was a very young lad and had a fruitful mind. He knew exactly what he wanted and he was very careful about planning out how to get what he wanted. For two whole weeks Timothy had his eye on a brand new toy car that had just come out. During this time he had created a plan to get what he wanted. He asked his mother if he could clean the house for some allowance. She was hesitant at first because the family did not have much money to spare on frivolous items such as toys.

"Why don't you help me set the table, and then go and play with your friends? You don't need a toy to be happy" She said.


“Oh, please mom, the whoooole house,” he begged.

She could not say no to her precious boy and he was soon at work cleaning the house. While his friends played outside he found himself sweeping and mopping, dusting and scrubbing and worst of all changing the cat's litter! All the while he cleaned he could only think about the brand new toy he would get, but first he had to come up with a plan to make enough money for even cleaning the house was not going to be near enough to afford the new toy.

He planned to buy an apple from the grocery store and plant the seeds in the into the garden of his backyard. When his apple tree was grown he would then sell the apples and make a very large profit, enough to buy many toys.


“Soon,” he exclaimed “I will have that toy.”


He was given his allowance, as promised by his mother, and ran as fast as possible to the grocery store. As he walked into the entrance he was stopped by a beautiful gum ball machine. With money in his hand he wasted no time and was soon happily chomping on a bubblegum flavored gum ball. Continuing on his journey to buy an apple his dream of owing this brand new toy was unknowingly cut short when the cashier said, “That will be thirty-eight cents please.” Panicked Timothy had just learnt of his mistake, he had spent all but a nickel of his allowance. With the purchase of the gum ball vanished his apple seed, tree and all hopes of every owning that new car toy.

A Boy with a Hoop (Public Domain Wiki)

Authors Note: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch!
This story was about a milkmaid who planned to use her milk to make butter to sell to then buy eggs and hatch chickens and then sell to buy a dress and look good for potential suitors. Unfortunately for her, the milk spilled and he dreams and plans were washed away and she could no longer find a suitor.


Bibliography:
The Aesop for Children. Aesop. N.d. The Project Gutenberg. Rand McNally & Company, 2 Dec. 2002. Web. 13 Aug. 2014.

North West Pacific & Israel... My Favorite Places

North West Pacific Coast, US: As an Anthropology major in the Archaeology discipline there is a tremendous amount of pressure to try to decide what area of study you want to do before you get to graduate school. Most graduate schools for Archaeology are specialized in two or three areas, so it can be tricky to decide where to go. Last year I fell in love with the area along the NW coast of the US known as the Pacific North West. This December I am applying for some graduate schools in the Pacific NW and I am excited to get started on my next path after undergrad! 

Mt. Rainier from Stevens Canyon Road (louelke)

Tel Aviv & Jerusalem, Israel: This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Israel for an archaeological dig in northern part of Israel known as the Jezreel Valley. While there, I was able to explore the world around me for the first time. I have never had the opportunity to be free and independent like I was in Israel. During my time there I was able to affirm my love for anthropology and archaeology. I spent a lot of my time in my two new favorite cities Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. I loved both of these cities for different reasons. Jerusalem is a conservative city with a crazy amount of diversity packed into a seemingly small area. We walked around the Old City and went from the Christian quarter to Jewish quarter to the Muslim and Armenian quarters. Tel Aviv is a modern and more secular city. I made it to Israel in time for Tel Aviv gay pride, the largest gay pride parade in the Middle East and certainly a pride parade the compares in size to New York city’s Pride Parades, in both size and celebration! Tel Aviv is a beach city and makes for a great vacation destination. Both cities are beautiful from top to bottom!

Jerusalem City Streets (Personal Photo)

Jerusalem City (Personal Photo)

Tel Aviv Gay Pride Collage (Personal Photo)

Photo of myself at the Legio Archaeological Dig Site (Personal Photo)