Maslow's Hierarchy

Maslow's Hierarchy is a description of things that need to take place in order for Self-Actualization. A real life situation for example; If you are feeling ill, you aren't very likely to care about what other people think of you, because your main concern is to feel better. In the simplest terms, its an order of physical and mental states that have to be in this certain sequence in order to reach the top. It goes from the bottom, which is "Physiological" to "Safety", then "Belonging", "Esteem", and finally "Self-Actualization". A great example of this pyramid, as unfortunate as it is, would be the Holocaust. In order to have complete control over the Jews the way Hitler did, took a lot of planning and strategy. He started at the topmost section, "Self-Actualization" by convincing Germans that the Jews were taking all of their money and putting them in a bad economical position. Next, he hit the "Esteem" and "Belonging" stages both simultaneously by distributing propaganda such as news papers  that made the Jews look bad not only to Germans, but to other Jews as well. They were saying things like "The Jews are our misfortune", which to me is pretty degrading. He hit the last two at the same time, "Safety" and "Physiological", and for this to happen, he had to take the already dignity-ridden Jews into controlled spaces; what is known as concentration camps. There, he was able to control their behavior, such as sleeping and working, as well as their food/water intake. Oh, don't forget the prison-like buildings they were kept in. From then on, you know what happened. I think Maslow's Hierarchy is very applicable to everyday life, and it plays a big part.

Allegory - The Sneetches

An Allegory is something, usually in a story, that has two different meanings; a literal one, and an abstractly symbolic one, that has a deeper meaning than it's initial appearance. Dr. Seuss is famous for stories like these, and the one I'm specifically referring to is "The Sneetches". The literal part of his story is the star-bellied Sneetches are supposedly better than the other Sneetches, and there's a big controversy over the whole issue. All the ones without stars, tried to get them... it's kind of confusing to explain, but in the end, everybody learned that your social status shouldn't be defined by something physical about you, it doesn't matter what you look like. you should always be accepted no matter what.

First Book Theme

I think the theme within my book is to never give up hope. A man and his son (they aren't given names) are traveling from somewhere that seems to be pretty far north, as they're in snow-covered mountains. Their objective is to travel to the south somewhere, but I'm not sure specifically. I don't believe it's ever listed in the book. While they move through the mountains, they are battling hunger, sleep deprivation, and the always relentless cold. There seems to be no real end to the misery and loneliness of the road. The only people they ever encounter are the "bad guys", that want nothing more than to kill the man and his son. A magnum, with only 2 bullets total to use; he must use them wisely. Through all of this anguish, neither one ever give up hope, even though at times you would think "there's no way I'd make it through that". That is one of the main reasons I like this book, because it has a great descriptive story line, and the characters are genuinely good people with a set objective, as opposed to a story that has no focus on a certain point.

Pretty decent book...

My book of choice is "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children", and so far I love it. It's written in an easy-to-read way, where my brain can keep the flow going. In other words, the sentences make sense to me. Jacob's grandfather, Abraham, shared stories of his childhood with him. The stories being told to this 6 year old boy were easily believable at this age, but as he grew up, he realized that the stories, and pictures were fake. Abe was getting pretty old, and he started "losing it". He called Jacob at work asking where the key was, referring to the key that opened his locker full of guns and knives. Abe claimed the "monsters" from his childhood were after him. Jacob thought he was just senile, but still, he left work at his uncle's "Smart Aid" franchise early that day to check on him. Upon his arrival, he noticed the house was trashed by what looked like robbers, but really it was his grandpa looking for the key. Eventually they made there way to the backyard, then to the woods; Where Abe's trail led them. Jacob found his grandpa laying face down in the dirt, and soon after, he died. Now, because of the trauma that Jacob suffered, he has to go see a psychiatrist. That's about all I've read so far. A question i have is: What do Abe's last words refer to? Right before he died he told Jacob "Find the bird. In the loop. On the other side of the old man's grave. September third, 1940." I really would like to know what all that means...

I may have read this book once already, but it's a great book. My second favorite... even though I've only read a total of 2 legit books. "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy has more adjectives in its 307 pages then I use in a normal month. I'm not saying that's a bad thing though. The biggest question I have right now would be: Why are they going south/what do they expect to find there? Right now they seem to be in a snow-covered mountain type area, where it's normally cold and nasty weather. Every now and again the man (he has no name) says something about the fact that they're traveling south, that they can't stop. Well, one obvious thing would be the temperature. It's without a doubt a lot warmer in the south, which would make living easier for sure. Other than that though, there really isn't anything I can think of. I guess the only I can do is keep reading right?

The book I'm reading is "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. It's about this man and his son that are traveling a road (go figure) after the world has ended, due to nuclear warfare. I've read this book before, and I can tell you that it's a great book. The words used are very descriptive and paint a beautiful mental picture. Well, how "beautiful" can the world be after nukes?... Something I find interesting is that neither the dad nor the son are ever named throughout the whole book. Cormac always refers to them as "the man" or "the boy". hmm.. I wonder how the war started that ended with the nukes? That would be cool to know. A movie was made based on this book, also titled "The Road", and I've never seen it. Sure would like to though...

Things need to change...

              The way school is right now, is "just fine" to some people. These people being the ones that always do what they're told without argument or questions; the robots. Life is no fun if you can't do anything you want to, or that you're good at. Sir Ken Robinson in his video (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html) makes several very good points. Like, the whole video is just filled with awesome points. At one point he talks about how schools today are based on a "fast food". Which means students are treated like factory line products. Teachers need to slow down. You might not cover as much in a semester, but by the time school's out, students would remember a lot more for future use in other classes. Things today, especially in math, move way too fast for some people to understand and do well. I know how these people feel, because I am one. I switched into an extended algebra class because I couldn't keep up with the "normal" pace. SLOW DOWN. Teachers wonder why students can't remember the things they're taught? Because they aren't being taught correctly and efficiently. All we are taught "is how to decode a textbook and use formulas" (Words from Dan Meyer's video "Math class needs a makeover" @ted.com)
                Dan is another man who talks about how things are too fast and factory-like. We students are all treated the same in most ways at school and it needs to change. I know I keep repeating myself, but it's because this crap is getting old. All this standardized testing and stuff doesn't test ANYTHING except raw memory of things we don't care about. "Make the most of whatever it is that floats your boat..." -Ken Robinson.