“Learner Profile: Sisi Xia”
Today, I learned a lot about my classmate Sisi. She is from Wenzhou, China. She has been living in New York almost six years. She can speak Chinese, English, and a little Spanish. She lives in Flushing. She lives with her parents, grandmother, sisters and brother. She graduated from Robert F. Kennedy Community High School. Her goal is to pass the CAT/W this semester. She wants to study nursing when she attends college. She works part time as a cashier. After she finishes her work, she likes to eat some food first and play a computer game called “League of Legends”. She really loves to eat meat and some fast food. She knows it is bad for her health, but she can’t control herself.
Today, I learned a lot about my classmate Sisi. She is from Wenzhou, China. She has been living in New York almost six years. She can speak Chinese, English, and a little Spanish. She lives in Flushing. She lives with her parents, grandmother, sisters and brother. She graduated from Robert F. Kennedy Community High School. Her goal is to pass the CAT/W this semester. She wants to study nursing when she attends college. She works part time as a cashier. After she finishes her work, she likes to eat some food first and play a computer game called “League of Legends”. She really loves to eat meat and some fast food. She knows it is bad for her health, but she can’t control herself.
“My Dream House”
Everyone should have their dream, I am no exception. My dream house should be out of the city, located in countryside. It’s quieter than where I have lived before. My dream house should have two floors. They are made of wood. On the first floor, there will be a lot of space. The living room, kitchen, and playing room will be located on the first floor. Next, on the second floor, it will have four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and one study room. My bedroom will paint pink, and I want to have a big bed in my room. In addition, I want to have a garden, so I can plant lots of vegetables and different flowers in it. At last, in the back of my house is a swimming pool. I like swimming by myself pool. In brief, my dream house is pretty and cozy. I like to my family live together. I love my dream house.
Everyone should have their dream, I am no exception. My dream house should be out of the city, located in countryside. It’s quieter than where I have lived before. My dream house should have two floors. They are made of wood. On the first floor, there will be a lot of space. The living room, kitchen, and playing room will be located on the first floor. Next, on the second floor, it will have four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and one study room. My bedroom will paint pink, and I want to have a big bed in my room. In addition, I want to have a garden, so I can plant lots of vegetables and different flowers in it. At last, in the back of my house is a swimming pool. I like swimming by myself pool. In brief, my dream house is pretty and cozy. I like to my family live together. I love my dream house.
“Arthur”
This section is about Arthur. Arthur is a nudist, who always talks about how his family and wife go to a nudist campground. Arthur used to be Shawn Kinkade’s partner , but he likes Peter’s schedule, so now he works with Peter. Arthur likes to drive, and he is a maniac. Peter and Arthur always argue with each other. Sometimes they hate each other, but sometimes they like each other. Arthur listens to the oldies station on the radio. Arthur likes to go home earlier, but Peter is the opposite. Arthur relies on Peter, and is friends with Peter. Finally they go to a nursing home to see a patient, and make the patient happy. Therefore, I like this section about Peter and Arthur‘s relationship.
In “Arthur”, Peter Canning writes about his relationship with his co-worker Arthur. They work hard together. After reading this section, I thought of an experience about work with my partner. Eight years ago, I worked in a supermarket as an accountant. I worked with my partner Lisha. She was a cashier. She was just learning to be cashier, so I always helped her. I taught her to learn accounting book, but she is a lazy person. Sometimes we argued about small things. However, most of the time we were happy. We treated each other like sister. As partners, we had to help each other, and try our best to process the job.
This section is about Arthur. Arthur is a nudist, who always talks about how his family and wife go to a nudist campground. Arthur used to be Shawn Kinkade’s partner , but he likes Peter’s schedule, so now he works with Peter. Arthur likes to drive, and he is a maniac. Peter and Arthur always argue with each other. Sometimes they hate each other, but sometimes they like each other. Arthur listens to the oldies station on the radio. Arthur likes to go home earlier, but Peter is the opposite. Arthur relies on Peter, and is friends with Peter. Finally they go to a nursing home to see a patient, and make the patient happy. Therefore, I like this section about Peter and Arthur‘s relationship.
In “Arthur”, Peter Canning writes about his relationship with his co-worker Arthur. They work hard together. After reading this section, I thought of an experience about work with my partner. Eight years ago, I worked in a supermarket as an accountant. I worked with my partner Lisha. She was a cashier. She was just learning to be cashier, so I always helped her. I taught her to learn accounting book, but she is a lazy person. Sometimes we argued about small things. However, most of the time we were happy. We treated each other like sister. As partners, we had to help each other, and try our best to process the job.
“Classification Essay”
Have you ever found a job? What type of jobs are you interested in? Finding a good job is not always easy. There are three types of job categories that attract me: the helping professions, hands-on jobs, and problem-solving jobs.
First, I am interested in the helping professions. According to my internet research, Helping professions require specific knowledge, values, and skills to guide the helping activity. Some examples of helping professions are teacher, social work and nurse. They all use their specific knowledge to spread education, solve the problem, and take care of people. Although they make little money, they are very happy. They spend lots of time in the community with people. I like to contact and know people. Most importantly, helping people makes me happy.
Another job I am interested in is the hands-on jobs. According to my internet research, the preferred method of learning for people with hand-on jobs is by doing, rather than by studying or reading a book. Some examples of Hands-on jobs are farmer, gardener, and painter. A farmer plants greenery and feeds domestic animals, so people can eat fresh vegetables and meat. A gardener makes gardens beautiful, and a painter makes the work look nice. Therefore, they all use their hands to do a nice job, and makes things pretty. I am interested in Hand-on jobs, because Hand-on jobs do not only take exercise, but also improves people’s physical and mental health.
The last job that attracts me is problem-solving jobs. According to my internet research, Problem solving jobs is the process of working through details of a problem to reach a solution. Problem solving may include mathematical or systematic operations and can be a gauge of an individual’s critical thinking skills. Some examples of problem solving jobs are doctor, lawyer, and marketing person. When people have problems, doctors and lawyer will find problems, and help people solve the problem, making people better than before. A marketing person looks for an existing problem in the market, and improves the market. Thus, they solve the problem, and help people solve the problem, so everyone feels good. I like problem-solving jobs because I can learn special knowledge to enrich myself, and make me smarter.
In conclusion, I am interested in the helping professions, hands on jobs, and problem solving jobs because they all serve and help people, and make the world beautiful and people happy.
“How to Apply to Gifted& Talented Programs”
Do you known about the Gifted &Talented (G&T) programs in NYC? Are you interested in the G &T program? Children who are New York residents in pre-kindergarten through second grade are eligible to participant in Gifted &Talented admissions. All New York families interested in a kindergarten through grade 3 Gifted &Talented program placement for September 2015 can apply. According to the application handbook, applying to the G &T program requires four steps.
First of all, families submit a request for testing form. This step is to sign up for testing to determine whether your child is eligible to apply. There are two ways to submit testing form. One way is to submit online. The online form takes only a few minutes to complete at nyc.gov/schools/GT. Another way is to submit on paper. Families can go to their child’s school office to ask for help. Both submitting online and on paper require a child’s name, birthday, current grade, grade applying to in 2015-2016, address information, school ID, and current school name.
Next, prepare for and take the exam. Children must take both nonverbal and verbal exams to whether they are eligible to apply for G&T placement. The nonverbal questions include four types of questions: pattern completion, reasoning by analogy, serial reasoning and spatial visualization. Children will be tested on their ability to solve problems and to demonstrate an understanding or relationships on the Nonverbal questions. Verbal questions include verbal comprehension and verbal reasoning, and this part tests a child’s thinking skills. This step is very important. Children should practice again and again before take the exam.
Then, find out the result and apply for placement. After children take the exam, families will receive score reports for their children, and score results determined whether the children can apply for placement. Students who scores at or above the 90th percentile on the G&T exam are eligible to apply for placement in district G&T programs. Student scoring at or above 97th percentile on the exam are eligible to apply for placement in both district and citywide G&T programs. Therefore, when parents choose which area school to apply, it depends on child’s testing score.
Finally, receive placement notification. All applicants will receive a notification letter in May, 2015 indicating whether they can be offered a placement at that time.
In conclusion, the G&T program is a special program for children. It is to lay a solid foundation for children’s future. If you want to apply to the G&T program, you must follow the four steps above.
Mid Tern Evaluation
After I take mid tern test, it is a good time to stop and take a break. It is good time to think about where I have been and what I have been done, where I am and what I am doing, where I am going and what I will do.
First ,about reading. I learned from “Rescur471” and some articles from The New York Times. When this semester started , I think the “Rescue 471” is difficult for me. They are lots of medical vocabulary in it,we have practiced the reading skills in class. Finding the main idea of text, taking notes from text, and using reading logs. After read articles, I think wrote summaries and response are the most useful for me .It is know how you understand the articles and reflect you. Now I feel the “Rescur471” is easier than before.
Second, learn vocabulary. We try three different systems to learn vocabulary in class. I think the second system is the best for me. I learned vocabulary from the sentences of the book, and I check the dictionary to find the meaning and what parts of speech. The vocabulary from the sentences were memories longer. I made the plan for myself. When I have free time, I think about my vocabulary and try to memories them. Some vocabulary were a little difficult to me. I made a flash card and think about many times, repeat i few days I can remember them. Before I go to sleep, I lie down the bed and think about today’s vocabulary, and vocabulary as same as film in my brain. Now I like to learn new vocabulary.
Next, about writing. Writing is my weak part. I came to clip before, I just learned writing few days. When I have a topic, I am not confidence, and I feel nervous. Sometimes i have lots ideas in my brain. I can not express well because my limited vocabulary. After I learn new vocabulary almost two months, I feel more confidence than before. When I start to write, I always feel hesitate to write. I think this way is not good, or that way maybe not correct. It waste a lot of time to write. I learned essay structures skill. I should work on read newspaper, so that open my eyes, enrich my knowledge. Also , I should learn more vocabulary and increase my word -base.
Then,I think learned about health this semester is the most significant and the interesting things. Everyone should know health knowledge, It is good for yourself. When you go to hospital,you know some health knowledge and easier for you. Learning health is interesting thing for me . Maybe i will choose nursing major , it is good for my future’s major.
Next, we’ve already talking about jobs and working in this semester. Maybe i will choose nursing for my major. Nursing is very difficult major. When you work in hospital, you will have a good benift. If you study nursing major, you will learn lots of knowledge about health. You can care about your body and your family members healthy.
In conclusion, I should learn more vocabulary, and practice more writing. Keeping going to write journal. Also, I should feel more confidence to writing essay. Professor should give us more homework to practice and teach us study skills.
Business Academy Presentation
On October 22, we had academy event in the Oakland dining room. The presentation’s name is “Business Academic on Team Work and Presentation Skills.” The presentation was from 12:10 pm to 2:00pm. The presenters were Margolin, Frank A, Tuker. I chose this event because i want to know more know about business academy presentation, and it is good for my future.
The Oakland dining room is located on top of a small mountain. My four classmates and I walked to run field, and climbed up to the top of the stairs, there we found the Oakland dining room. There are two presenters and twenty-five audience members in the Oakland dining room. They served cookies and coffee for everyone who attended. We were all excited to wait for the presentation. The first presenter was Margolin. He is an accountant, and he used his experiences to talk about personal family issues and business issue. Also, he talked about technical skills, emotional skills, social skills, and communication skills. When we work on team, not having a bad experience is very important. He used tax return to explain how to present on team work. The second presenter was Tucker. He is a CEO, and he has his own company. He used power point to analyze presentation skills .A presentation can sell, teach and persuade audience, improve audience’s motivate , and inspire to be successful. When you present, do not show fear, make eye contract, and demonstrate a positive attitude. Use visual aids including : power point , slides , white board, easel and charts. When you have presentation, you need to prepare material, choose appropriate environment, and think about subject matter. After the end of a presentation ask questions and interact with audience. He gave us example about his daughter presentation: His daughter feared to present,and he taught his daughter. Sometimes the girl follow father’s presentation. Step by step, she felt self-confidence. Now she graduates from university, and works Tuker’s company. She is a good presenter, too.
Business academy presentation and presentation skills is good, but the presenters spoke too fast, so sometimes I missed words. I think this presentation is useful for college students. When students graduate from college,some of them are looking for jobs. If you learn presentation skills, it will be easier to find a job. I had a experience about interview presentation. Thirteen years ago, I graduated from college which was two years college in China. I tried to look for a job. It is difficult to find job for graduated student. At last, I received a call from cars’ sale company. The manage interviewed me, so i felt very nervous. I researched some information about the company, and prepared about my accounting knowledge. I asked some accountant’s interview experience. I attended the interview, and i got the job. Therefore, I think learning presentation skills very important,and helps a lot in future’s life.
Rescue471
This week I finished the book Rescue 471 by Peter Canning. The final two sections are called “Memory” and “The Job” Although the ending is bittersweet, it ended on a high note.
In the chapter called “Flirt”, Peter and his partner pick up a woman who has been hearing voices most of her life. The woman is forty, but she looks much younger than her actually age. Peter tells the woman, and she looks like Peter’s friend Kevin. The woman talks about her family, says and her father is a flirt. A significant idea in the chapter is on page 260 the woman says, “He still flirt.” Although the woman’s father is a paraplegic, he is still a flirt.
In the chapter “Asthma,” Peter and Arthur respond to a call for difficulty-breathing asthma. The patient is a woman, and she does not have air movement. She has a history of asthma. Peter uses the tube forcing air into the woman’s lungs. After the woman gets air into her lungs, Arthur and Peter take her to the hospital. A significant idea in the chapter is on page 271 Peter thinks, “You see people’s face, their individual smiles. Amid the din of sounds, you hear human voices, laughter. You feel a part of the life.” Clearly, Peter is surrounded by noise and tragedy; he is able to appreciate the beauty of life and humanity.
In the chapter called “Ups and Downs”, Peter talks to Rick Domina, who Peter thinks is one of the best medics in the company. They talk about burnout. Burnout happens when some people stay on the job too long, and become exhausted. Everyone goes through periods of burnout. Sometimes it seems good, and sometimes (feel opposite.) A significant idea in the chapter is on page 277 Peter states, “The bumps are less abrupt, and the emotional line straightens, but it is not flat.” I think Peter means that he saw bad things less than good thing, and his emotion is an unsteadiness. Sometimes are up, and sometimes are down. It is not always the same, just as this chapter’s title “Ups and Downs”.
I would recommend this book to someone who wants to learn about medical major. If you read this book, you will learn a lot from the paramedic Peter. You will know what burnout is? How did burnout affect Peter? How did Peter deal with burnout? After you read this book, you will know lots of knowledge about burnout, and you can prevent and avoid burnout to happen to you, and try you best to do in your future job.
“Clutter Consultant”
This profile is about Michelle Passoff. He is a clutter consultant. A clutter consultant is someone who helps people deal with papers, clothes, furniture, and memorabilia, whatever. Clutter can be anything that has become unrelated in your situation. He used to work in public relations for 20 years, but he started to have his own business and chose to focus on physical areas of clutter. He has been working as clutter consultant since 1991. Most of his business is on the spot counselor, mostly at homes and office at homes. He charges seventy-five dollars an hour for his counsel. Most of his customers are women. Michelle Passoff loves his customers. He and his customers appreciate each other.
Michelle Passoff loves his job for several reasons. First, with a new customer, Michelle Passoff asks and gets a little information about what their variety of clutter is. Second, he gives customers a homework assignment. Next, he helps customers to set up the goal, and teaches customers nine principles to achieve their goals. The nine principles are very useful, and help the customers fulfill their personal goals. Finally, customers appreciate Michelle Passoff to help them, and they give a hug and a kiss to Michelle Passoff.
A couple of things surprised me about this profile. I was surprised that most of Michelle Passoff’s customers are women who are celebrities, heiresses, and philanthropists. He treated customers like friends. He opened his own business not only just to make money, but he was also interested in his personal growth. Customers need him, and he liked to help customers. After he helped customers, customers gave him a hug and a kiss, and he could not describe how happy he is. When I read this chapter, I thought about my son’s family teacher. Every Sunday, the teacher comes to my home, and teaches my son reading and writing. She says that she does not just make money, she also likes to help kids to improve their English. When she teaches the kids, she feels happy. Just as Michelle Passoff says, she can’t describe how happy she is. No matter what field, we should have a good attitude, great passion, and think about important aspects of work other than money.
“Burnout and Recovery”
What do you do? Have you ever felt burnout? In modern society, burnout can be everywhere. It is from workplace, school and family. According to online research, “burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.” It makes feeling empty, lack of motivation, and beyond caring. Burnout can influence your job, your relationship, and your health. Burnout is a problem, we should find it in time and heal it.
In an online article “Prevent Burnout: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Coping Strategies,” the researcher stated that most of burnout cases are from your job. Someone who feels overworked and undervalued is at risk for burnout. For example: sometimes a house wife has the heavy responsibility of taking care of children, and doing the housework. Furthermore, work-related, lifestyle, and personality traits can cause burnout. If you recognize the warning sign of impending burnout in your life, you should take burnout prevention tips to get your life back into balance. For instance, try something new, or resume a favorite hobby, and learn how to manage stress. While the tips for preventing burnout are still helpful at this stage, recovery requires additional steps. First, you need to make yourself slow down or take a break. Second, where you are burned out, turn to your loved ones for support. Finally, take time to think about your hopes, goals, and dreams. If you are neglecting something that is truly important to you, burnout can be a chance to rediscover what really makes you happy and to change course accordingly.
In Rescue 471, Peter worked as a paramedic, and he experienced burnout. He was tired of his job, and he felt exhausted. A bad new dispatch system, a new large national company instead of the old company, the bad weather, and some patients made Peter angry and out of Peter’s control. Peter saw lots of bad things happen. He wanted to help patients, but he couldn’t control, so he felt helpless. He had no passion with his job. Peter wanted to go back to before when he never knew these bad things. Although the factors above caused Peter burnout, Peter found problems and solved them. Peter heard the governor cut in the state budget for EMS, but Peter wrote “battle plan” to send to the editor; Peter participated in an EMS conference, and he learned a lot from the class; He taught a new paramedic Rebecca, and he also learned something he never knew from Rebecca. Peter recognized that he had been wrong before. Peter changed his mind and worked hard. He loved his job as a paramedic, and he thought being a paramedic was the best job in the world.
Recently, I read the article “Preventing Worker Burnout Can Boost The Bottom Line” from NPR radio. NPR’S Yuki Noguchi reports about three companies that have burnout problems, and how they solved the problems. First, burnout was a problem at Aptify, a Virginia software company. Long hours of working affected motivation and morale. As a result, the company implemented unlimited vacation time and told employees they could take as many paid days off as they wanted. Second, Wist Office Products in Phoenix came up with a different approach. They suggested employees rotate and switch jobs with other employees, and people are generally happier that they have some variety and they do not suffer the burnout that they had been seen in the past. Finally, Point B Consulting CEO Mike Pongon says he believed his company’s flexible schedule attracts better employees and kept them for longer because they remain happier. As shown, companies should find the problem in time and adjust them.
Burnout is very widespread. I had experience with burnout. Four months ago, I always took care of two children, did all of the housework, and still went to school, so I felt tired and frustrated. I wanted to sleep for a few days. On those days, I was angry with myself. I wanted to take care of my family and study all good, but I couldn’t control (something happen.) If I was depressed for a long time, it would be bad for my family, my health and my study. I realized that I was wrong, so I would build myself up. I gave some housework to my husband, and it improved my homework. I let my five year old boy play with my two- year- old boy, so I had time to study. I tried to manage my time well. After I adjusted myself, I could take care of family well, and I have improved my English. I feel happy.
According to the article “Burnout Or Compassion Fatigue” by Frandsen Betty. This article is about how to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue among nurse leaders. It mentions the explanation of a physician with regards to negative outcomes of burnout which include job performance decline, health-related bad outcomes brought by the increase in stress hormones, and depression.
To sum up, from the examples above, we can see burnout is a common problem. We should try to prevent it first, and balance work, school and family relationships. After you prevent burnout, if burnout still happens to you, you should find the problems without delay, and make adjustments correspondingly.
Individuals In Groups
In the article “Individuals in Groups” by Tavris, he describes that many people want to depend on others when they are in large a group. They think and react differently when surrounded by others. When people are alone, their reaction is different when something happens. The author explains “diffusion of responsibility” or “social loafing.” They both describe that people in groups care about situations or feel that someone has already taken care of it. So, I strongly agree with the author when she claims that most people in a group think and react differently than individuals on their own.
Most importantly, I believe that when most people are in large groups, each individual will become lazier. Psychologists call this “diffusion of responsibility” or “social loafing.” Psychologist conducted one experiment when individuals sat in a fire emergency room, student left the room as soon as possible to notify officials. On the other hand, when groups of students sat in the room with fires, it took them 6 minutes to react when the room filed with white smoke. This indicated that individuals rely on themselves in an emergency situation. Moreover, large groups of people think that everything is fine, and they depend on someone to act. I have siblings and they often expect me to do things for them. I am the oldest in my family. They always think I am the oldest one in the family, and I should do the work for them. They avoid responsibility, just as author’s “social loafing” they become lazier person. As a result, individual on their own are more positive than individual in groups.
Another reason why I agree with the author on that idea is observers in a group think nothing needs to be done since they assume another member of the group has already done so. As mentioned in the article, “70% of people hearing the sounds of an accident while alone went to help. While only 40% of those hearing the accident while with someone else did so.” That means that most individuals who face an emergency will solve it quickly. Also, most of individuals rely on someone else will to do that .For instance ,In my Clip class, the professor let three students work in a group, but one student avoid responsibility, and he just played with his cellphone, he thinks other students will respond in the group, and he is waiting for the answer. In short, group work often depends on others, so people should be energetic when they face problems.
After I read the article “Individual in Groups,” I remembered news from the internet three years ago: one Chinese girl who was an international student and just came to New York three months ago was sexually assaulted and killed by a drunken man in Flushing. This event happened around nine o’clock in the evening, and a lot of people pass by the place of accident, but nobody called 911 or prevented this bad thing happening. No one called 911 until she died. This accident is related to the article “diffusion of responsibility” or “social loafing”. Passerby thought that someone else would help or call police, so they all waited for someone to react first. If a passerby prevented or called 911 on time, maybe that girl would be alive.
In conclusion, Tavris describes differences between individuals on their own and individuals in groups and how they act in the face of a problem. In the future, people should learn about this and it will change their thoughts next time whether people are alone or in groups.