Pros - video games are good!

Pros- violent video games are good!

       Playing violent video games boosts children's learning, health, and learning skills according to American Psycoholgist research. According to Isabella Granic, PhD at Radbound University says that "important research has already been conducted for decades on the negative effects of gaming, including addiction, depression, and aggression, and we are certainly not suggesting that this should be ignored...however, to understand the impact of video games on children's and adolescents' development, a more balanced perspective is needed." Playing video games may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as navigation, reasoning, memory and perception skills. A 2013 meta-analysis found that playing video games improved a players capacity to think about objects in three dimensions just as well as academic courses designed to enhance these same skills. Also playing video games may also help children develop problem solving skills. The more adolescents reported playing strategic videos games, such as role-playing games, the more they improved in problem solving and school grades the following year according to a long-term study published in 2013. When playing video games, the youth allows themselves to learn about the possible consequences of their harmful actions. Since the kids are able to see the results of particular violence with their enemies in the game, they would think that it should not be done in real life. It also teaches them how to accept defeat especially when they loose to someone better than them in a game.


Facts:
- The authors of angry birds also highlighted the possibility that video games are effective tools for learning resilience in the face of failure
- By learning to cope with ongoing failures in games, the authors suggest that children build emotional resilience they can also rely upon their everyday lives
- Multiplayer games become viral social communities where decisions need to be made quickly about whom to trust or reject and how to lead a group
- People who play video games even if they are violent that encourage cooperation that are more likely to be helpful to others while gaming than those who play the same games competitively a 2011 study found

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/02/video-game.aspx


-Helps in expressing aggression and establishing their peer group
- Able to release whatever aggression they have through a game
- Allows themselves to learn about the possible consequences of their harmful actions; since the kids are able to see the results of particular violence with their enemies in the game, they would likely think that it should not be done in real life
- Learns how to accept defeat especially when they lost to someone better than them in the game

http://healthresearchfunding.org/video-game-violence-pros-cons/

- Video games are therapeutic for children with chronic illness
   - University of Utah released a study that examined the effects of regular gaming on children diagnosed with illnesses like autism, depression, and Parkinson's disease
   - Kids who play certain games shows signs of improvement in many fields
   - Researchers believed the games' ability to act on neuronal mechanisms that activate positive emotions and the reward system and that helped improve kids' demeanors as they faced the daily challenges of their illness
- Video games reduce stress and depression
   - 2009's Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedince included a study that found that gamers who suffered from mental health issues such as stress and depression were able to vent their frustration and aggression by playing video games
   - Hypothesized that games give a certain "type A" personalities
   - Time to relax in "a state of relative mindlessness"
- Video games provide pain relief
  - Not only provides relief from emotional pain but also physical pain
  - Psychologists at University of Washington developed a game that helps hospital patients suffering from immense physical pain by using an age-old trick; distraction
- Video games improve your decision-making skills
   - Most video games require fast reaction and slip-second decisions that can mean the difference between virtual life and virtual death
   - Cognitive neuroscientists at the University of Rochester in New York found that these games give players' brains plenty of practice for making decisions in the real world

http://theweek.com/articles/466852/7-health-benefits-playing-video-games

Rainstorm Poem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xLvLX8tZuk

I chose this poem because it meant something. The meaning of the poem is meaningful to me because the poem is about beauty and how the rain storm can get away the sadness and everything that bothers you in the world. When the rainstorm leaves it shows brighter days and happier days so that the bad days were gone away with the wind. The poem was very hard to get to concept of memorizing the poem, but it was easier than memorizing the monologue. When I was memorizing the poem it went with the flow once you get to concept. The only problem with memorizing the poem was the length and some of the words repeated itself, and the lines sounded the same just because it was poem. The techniques that I used while memorizing with separting each section into four stanzas so they would have the pair that rhymed with the previous line. So by separating into sections I could just focus on one section at a time. As I separated them into sections I color coded them so that I could remember was color was after a certain color. Since that was my first time trying that, I was nervous because I don't know how long it would take, or if it was even effective. Doing that was a struggle for me because it took it twice as long as it usually would for me when it comes to memorizing. When I realized that wasn't working for me, I had to tried another situation that I've used in the past, but this technique is very useful but very time consuming, but I had to use it. When memorizing and using the technique, I had to write down each stanza down many times so that I would memorize it. Doing that made it easy because I wrote it many times, then I can read it multiple times so that it would stay in my head. It took many days to get the concept and memorize it, but by the end of the day, it was worth it because I was able to perform in front of the class (even though it took about 20 tries)

Blog #4

All of the poems that were performed in class were all different, in many ways. We each had our different styles of picking a poem, so they were all neat and interesting. My poem was about the rain and beauty, Lauren's was about time and change and all the other ones were about change about a catipiller. This project is many forms of public speaking because you can do a poem about anything, make a beat to it, do some hand gestures and many other things to make the poem interesting to the audience.

Since only two poems were performed, I can't really talk much about each of the poems, but I can talk about Lauren's and my poem because they were the only ones that were performed.

When hearing Lauren's, her poem was very interesting. It was all about time, but the words that were put together in a poem showed a true meaning. The poem showed meaning about time, and that time puts your day together and makes it complete. I liked her poem because it was original, and the words were put together which made the poem interesting. Also I liked how Lauren performed because she used hand motions while performing the poem, and her hand motions went with the poem. While she was doing hand motions, it wasn't too much, but it wasn't too little so it wasn't overwhelming.

Performing my poem, was never racking but I got it done. I liked how my poem just went with the flow and was easy to remember because each line had a pair to go along with and rhymed. The music went along with it and the starting of the poem was just right. It took many tries but towards the end of the class, but I finally got there.

Debate topics

1.) Sport stars should be positive role models

2.) Sharing music online should be allowed 

3.) Video games are too violent 

4.) Smoking should be illegal 

5.) Same sex marriage should be allowed 

6.) Frades should be abolished 

Poem

You were born to be a rainstorm,

To send your voice throughout the night,

To sing your song with falling raindrops, 

To break the darkness with your light,

You were born to show raw beauty,

To wash the dirt out from their eyes,

But the whole world ran for cover,

When you opened up your skies,

So you made your thunder silent,

And learnt t bite your tongue,

You gave them what they wanted,

You gave them life with endless sun,

But as they watched their lives grow weaker,

Watched as their leaves turned brown and dry,

They wished they didn't take for granted,

Your blooming presence in the sky,

You were born to be a rainstorm,

To be chaotic and be bold,

To show there's beauty in the knowledge,

That you cannot be controlled,

Because you might think your not needed,

Life without you is the same,

But nothing beautiful would ever grow, 

If it wasn't washed with the rain. 

Goals in the Marking Period

The main goals that I set for the second semester marking period was not to fall behind or be lazy. Setting those goals for myself would make me a better person in and out of the classroom. The main reason I said to not fall behind is because making up work is terrible, but even more terrible is making up work and having other homework to do also that's due the next day. If I do that, then I will be lazy and not do the made up work, and then fall behind to the point where I'm almost failing. So far with only two weeks left of the marking period, I am not falling behind and keeping up the work, and sometimes do more work than needed. (which I call not being lazy) Compared to last semesters in high school, my work improvement has improved greatly and that has made me a better student in and out of the classroom. In the years to go, I will continue to work hard and maybe harder for everything in the class room so that it would pay off in the long run.

I mainly worked on getting my work done and asking for help when I need too this marking period, more than I ever did in any other marking period. I improved on completing full homework assignments and asking for help when I needed help and going to extra help if I don't get anything. (mainly before tests/quizzes) I think I need to work on mainly keeping up with assignments and not turning in anything late. Also one of my goals that I need to work on this semester and next is getting the same grade in every class, no matter how hard it is. Do all the work, go to extra help if I don't get anything that's going on in the class.

The goals that I set for the next marking period is to do everything that will make you become a good student. In the classroom especially, participating in more discussions, be an active thinker in group activities and many more. To me being an active body in a classroom will help you become a better person out of the classroom but also in the long run when you aren't in the classroom. Being that kind of student will make you do better even on your homework assignments and tests because,your an active listener and will help you study.

The thing I might do this upcoming period is described above. But my goals is to make my school year easier by just doing the hard work first and everything else last. By this I mean, when a project is assigned, do that whenever you have free time just to get it done so you don't have to worry about it in the long run. This can also means not slacking and waiting for the last minute to get everything done.

Putting all of these things together will hopefully become successful in the long run; college. 

I Believe Reflection and Speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1fOcPPSAEQ


I wrote this speech based on my family. In the speech I wrote that my family meant everything to me, and how the formed and shaped me to be the person that I am today. In the speech I wrote about my mom, and my two brothers that inspired me the most.

In my speech I mentioned my mom because my mom was the one who raised me. She's the one who was able to play the mom and the dad figure with no problem. She raised eight kids, mainly by herself with the help of my dad's side of the family before he passed away. My mom had a huge impact on my life because she's the one who consequence me when I did something wrong, but when I did something bad, she made me feel like the best person in the world. Also, she put her family before anything, if someone needed help she would be right there no matter where it was. The best thing about my mom is that she always forgave me for what I did no matter how bad it was, she never stopped loving me.

My two brothers who inspired me the most is three years older than me and six years older than me. My brother Kyren plays college football in Texas. I look up to him because I plan on doing the same thing he's doing but at a lower level in college athletics. He always tells me how coaches are, what they do, and how they "work" because every college coach is different. Playing football he has plenty of coaches and each one of them are different. One might be your best friend and the other might hate you or vise versa. He says no matter how rough they are or how they act to you, your hard work and your attitude is all that matters.

My oldest brother Daniel has a family now, but before this he always told me to respect my body and other people around me, but mainly my body. He says that as a pretty young black female, everyone wants you and thinks your "easy" because of the past movements with blacks, but all I gotta do is prove them wrong so that people start changing their mind and seeing blacks as just normal people. Some girls don't do that, but as a young black girl I can do that and it will hopefully change in the years to come.

At the end of the video I state a quote from the bible that means my family is everything. You should always put your family first and before anyone because they are the strongest bond you will ever have until you get married.