Time Strategies

I don't think I'm alone in saying that I struggle with procrastination. However, I typically procrastinate because I dread the work I have to do. I don't think I will have a problem in this particular class. I'm really looking forward to working on assignments for this course, both the readings and the blog posts. Furthermore, I am excited to think I can bear down and complete this course early. And if I do find myself struggling with procrastination, I can use the tips I found at The Important Habit of Just Starting by Jory Mackay and Time Management Tips Just for Creatives by Amanda Oliver. The tips from these articles that I think will help me the most are managing my energy, not just my time, and to just simply start.

A handy flowchart. Source: flickr

Technology Tools

Ever since I could remember, I have been relatively tech savvy. I started playing games like Reader Rabbit on our family's personal computer when I was 2 or 3 years old. I remember watching and learning from my cousin, to whom I am quite close, as he built and programmed websites in the early 2000's using html. However, I have never blogged or published my own website. I look forward to developing those skills because I believe they will be rather useful as I progress into my own professional career.

The IBM 5150 personal computer was released in 1981. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Class Assignments

Typically, I do not look forward to working on assignments. But, after reviewing the core assignments and possible extra credit for this class, I'm surprisingly excited to get to work on assignments for this course. I have already been having fun creating and using this blog page. Now, I look forward to the stories I will have the chance to read and the stories I will get to write, myself. I am also enthusiastic about the extra credit assignments, specifically the "Wikipedia Trails." I will sometimes follow the rabbit holes of Wikipedia links just for fun. Now, I can earn class credit for it!

A 3-D model of the Wikipedia icon. Source: Wikimedia Commons

My Humble Opinion on Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset

The popular Bear Grylls meme format. 

While used for TFW type memes, I'm using it here un-ironically.

I had yet to come across the idea of the "Growth Mindset" before Dr. Gibbs provided me with links to listen to the lectures and read the articles about Carol Dweck's ideas and research (see what I did there) For anyone reading who does not get the subtle reference I made within the first few words of this post, here are those links. Initially, I completely agreed with her. Her idea of challenging a student while praising effort and rewarding progress instead of simply judging a student's capability, or incapability, based on the results of a single task, resulting in the student developing a "fixed mindset" appeared to be the ideal middle ground between the ideas of "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" and, to quote Yoda, "do, or do not, there is no try." Furthermore, I always find that to better understand an idea, it is useful to hear the critics of that idea with an open, and ideally unbiased, mindset. So, I also read the counterpoints to the "Growth Mindset." After reading the points made by a few of Dweck's critics, I found that the argument made by Alfie Kohn to be quite convincing and completely agreed with him as well. Kohn notes that Dweck focuses on how children are learning, not what they are learning. By doing so, she unintentionally presents the idea that students must be fixed to overcome an immutable, or fixed, obstacle. Believing that both Dweck and Kohn are right, I thought that there could be a missing link that would account for both the challenger and the challenge. Before I continue, I would like to note that this is my opinion and in no way is proven by my own or another's research, as far as I know. Knowing that every student learns and approaches tasks differently, a major challenge for every teacher and one of the main reasons I wish to dedicate my life to teaching, this is based on my personal, idealistic philosophy and observations. I think the links are the intangible human traits: creativity and imagination. By applying one's creativity/imagination, one can have the mindset to accept a challenge and then attempt to approach it from different angles, finding the best way to overcome the obstacle. To provide a metaphor, a student must approach a problem much the same way a rock climber climbs an "immutable" cliff, using creativity to plan an optimal route and sound technique to execute it. Because I hold this idea, I am a strong advocate for an eclectic and comprehensive education, especially in lower levels of schooling. I believe the arts: music, theater, and poetry, and history are just as important as math and science, but these subjects are typically disproportionately esteemed and glorified. From my own background in history, I know that the ancient philosophers, who are still studied today, considered all aspects of life when deriving their philosophies about life, itself. Most remarkably, the great thinkers of the Renaissance best demonstrate my point. They developed profound mathematical theories and revolutionary inventions that are still revered today. At the same time, the same men exceptionally revolutionized artistic expression. Rather than single-mindedly specializing in a single discipline and closing themselves off from out-of-the-box thinking, they sought to become proficient in a multifarious skills, across various different disciplines, in order to effectively, ingeniously, and creatively utilize them to innovate. Disciplines, if viewed as a see-saw, with the arts on one side and math/science on the other, history can be placed in the middle to balance it. History can be a useful tool, used to learn from past mistakes, improve upon past successes, and inspire new ideas. Those same Renaissance innovators where inspired by those same ancient philosophers. And I am inspired by those Renaissance innovators. I'm unsure if my father realizes how much he impacted my life by giving me two simple pieces of advice. He encouraged me to become as well-rounded of a man as possible, always telling me, "know a little bit about a lot of things," and that to succeed, all I need is the "attitude, effort, and ability, in that order," to overcome any obstacle I face. Not only did he outright give me this advice, he demonstrated it to me in everything he did. I took his advice and have always striven to become adept in various principles and postulates, acquiring skills like a craftsman collects tools. Tools to be used, along with a "never surrender" attitude, a whole-hearted and dedicated effort, and the ability gained from experience, to conquer any obstacle that stands in the way of progress. To conclude, the ability to cerebrate and to creatively solve problems are humans' true instincts. Those instincts are not able to be taught as they already lie within us. Instead, they must be uncovered and coaxed out from deep within us. Teachers have the near impossible task of doing this for a class of 20+ children during a relatively small portion of time, each child needing unique measures and special attention to allow them to reach their true potential. Parents are the child's most important teacher. Perhaps, I will leave that loaded topic for a later post, but for now, I feel I have rambled far enough. If you made it this far, thank you for reading. Feel free to leave comments giving me feedback and letting me know your take on the matter.

A climber must combine technique and creativity to put

 themselves in the best position to reach the top. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

A Brief Introduction

Hello, everyone! My name is Baylor Boyd. I was born and grew up in Enid, Oklahoma. I am majoring in Classics: Latin and plan on graduating in the the fall of 2020. I am somewhat unsure of exactly what I want to do immediately after leaving OU. Classics provides me a plethora of different career options, but one of my possible plans includes continuing school in order to earn a masters degree, and perhaps even a doctorate. Eventually, though, I wish to teach, whether it be Latin, history, and/or English at the high school level or Classics as a college professor. When I'm not translating Latin prose and poetry, I spend a good chunk of my time working for the University of Oklahoma Softball Team. My official title is Student Manager but I spend the majority of my time catching the pitching staff in the bullpen. Over the past 3 years, I have worked with and befriended some of the best coaches and players in the game of softball, including a few current professional and Olympic athletes. Working for the team has also given me the opportunity to travel all over, to places such as California, Oregon, and Mexico, with trips planned for this upcoming year to Florida and Utah. But my favorite place to go with the team is Oklahoma City, home to the Women's College World Series. In 2107, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the team that won the National Championship.

There I am, back row, third from the right.

(Personal picture taken June 2017)

In the rare event that I have some free time, I typically spend it reading or spending time with friends. I also enjoy watching documentaries, specifically about history. To share a fun fact, I consider myself an amateur vexillologist. For some reason, I have always found flags particularly interesting. That's about it. I think that about covers my brief introduction. If you got this far, thanks for reading.

My Storybook Favorites

While browsing through past students' storybooks, there were a few that caught my eye. The first of which was "Olympus University." I like how the author portrayed Greek myths as romantic exaggerations of typical college stories, approaching the Trojan War as the Red River Rivalry and the constellations as stealing other schools mascots. I thought the idea of Hercules being a fraternity pledge and having to perform his 12 labors was pretty clever. And, though it took me a minute, referring to Olympus University as OU was funny. You can read this storybook found here.

The next storybook I found worthwhile was "Elf Tales." The author of this storybook must have had a revelation while watching the movie "Elf," in which Papa Elf proclaims elves love telling stories because this project is a collection of stories told from elves across popular culture. The author creatively takes modern stories known by most of his or her readers but adds his or her own different perspective to the story placing a unique spin to the story. I also like the idea that elves from across pop-culture used to hang out with each other.

Picture from "Elf Tales" which you can check out here.

Sticking to the theme, the last storybook I thought was interesting was "Real Housewives of Greek Mythology." It, too, took stories that most readers might find familiar, Greek mythology, and presented it as a popular television series. Taking the dramatic and complex relationships of the main cast of Greek goddesses and viewing them through the lens of a reality TV show puts a modern spin on the stories and perhaps allows them to be more able to relate. In a sense, these same Greek myths were in fact the Greeks' version of reality TV. You, too, can be entertained by reading this clever storybook by clicking this.

My Favorite Place - Silesia

For three summers, I traveled to Poland as a volunteer in an organization that holds English camps for middle school and high school level students. My primary role as a native English speaker was to just converse with the students so that they could practice the English they had learned in school. Apart from the few trips I took to Krakow and Katowice, I spent most of my time in cities, towns, and villages in the Silesian Voivodeship.

Rynek (market place) in Żory. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

I will always cherish the friends I made there, the families who shared their homes with me, and the few Polish words and phrases I picked up along the way.

Me (on the left) in Krakow with Saint Mary's Basilica in the background. 

(personal photo from July 2016)