15 Random Facts About Myself

This is something out of the blue...so here's 15 random facts about myself:

1. I was born in Thailand and came to the USA when I was about one month old

2. I am the oldest daughter in my family

3. My siblings consist of only 3 other sisters, no brothers

4. I love to do scrapbooks but never found the time to actually make one

5. One of my new hobbies since Spring Semester is to put together puzzles

6. I love eating ice-cream and sweets

7. I'll admit that I am a procrasinator when it comes to simple things

8. I've lived in California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida, and now Minnesota

9. I've never stayed in one school throughout my school years (ex. 4th grade in one school, 5th grade in other school, etc)

10. Whatever I think is cute, It's CUTE

11. I've never sang to anyone but myself

12. I love eating lemons and lime, not the skin - everytime I go to the buffet, I'll grab like 6 to 7 pieces (Yummy!)

13. I'm obessed with keeping a clean house, room, everything has to be clean and organized

14. I'm really independent (90% of the time, I think)

15. I cannot eat seafood

Yep, that's 15 things that not alot of people know about me.

Spring Break

How's everyone doing so far in the course?! I hope that everything is going swell and smooth, and everyone is still alive. The semester is almost over if you think about it. So keep up the good work!

Well, it's Spring Break for the U of M. And what am I doing?

-----> I'm totally bored today, so I thought that it'll be a good idea to just write something on here. I'm actually loving the weather that we've got for spring break now. Yesterday's weather was so perfect, I'm getting excited for summer! My boyfriend and I did a mini BBQ out in his backyard for the heck of it. Hopefully, the entire week will be only nice weather. I can't bare to see anymore snowfall. >.<;

Also, I have another blog which I'm doing for my Japanese class. We're using blogger as a journal entry and given topics each week to write about. Click on the link below if you want to check it out:
http://maigethao.blogspot.com/

....umm yeah....

I think I got the assignments confused ... I'll post the avatar up by the end of this week hopefully...

But the avatars are funny! hahahaa...LOL...I need to find a picture to fit the head >.<

<3 Mai

Play, Toys, and the Kid Culture

Whenever I help babysit my sister, niece, or nephew, it makes me remember how fun it used to be a kid back in the old days. With all the toys, running around and naptimes that you can possibly get, I miss those precious moments. I started school when I just turned five years-old, and that was a long time ago. I can remember how in Kindergarten, my teacher always allowed the students to bring in their favorite toy to sleep with for nap time. I always brought a different teddy bear every time, and my teacher would always ask me this question: “How many teddy bears do you have?” And my answer was always a quick shrugged and “A lot.”

Toys and Play
Toys are the tools of children’s play. Toys influence play. Toys of value enhance children’s own ideas. They help the child to engage in imaginative, meaningful play by allowing them to solve the problems (White and Walker, p. 144).

Back then, I loved buying new toys just for the reason that I wanted it and that I have one. Now that I think about it, I see toys as a waste of money because kids will only play with it for a while and at the end of the day, they’ll loose it or it ends up in the trash. However, it’s still an important value to kids. Toys and playtime give them a boost to interact with other people, especially if they are in day care or in preschool. “Play is very important in early childhood education because children learn so much while play is taking place” (White and Walker, p. 144). Although toys are good for kids, we can sometimes over look the image that these toys can display to them.

Some Kind of Interesting Fact: Tooning In, page 147
In 1959, the United Nations adopted the Rights of the Child, which included a “full opportunity to play” as one basic right of childhood…it means providing an environment in which children have the freedom to construct their own dramas built out of their own interpretations of reality.

Media Image
“Many of the messages in the media can undermine their sense of safety and trust” (White and Walker, p. 146). Everyday, toy industries are coming up with fresh ideas on designing new toys and yet, the toy companies and enterprises main target is to make toys that children will want to buy based. Most of the time, these are based off of interest surveys and records of what actually sells in the markets. However, exploit of bad images and ideas are still a problem in society today. It’s already bad enough in society that there’s violent television shows and R-rated commercials, but toys…isn’t that a little too much? The media is exploiting way too much – in considering that their target is also young children too. Creating the perfect image for women, advertising products, and all those other things puts pressure on them, thus making them think that that’s what they want and desire.

Kid Culture
Kid culture such as movies, television, music, media, toys, technology, sports, food, fashion, and fads can be used in a number of ways in education (White and Walker, p. 76).

Kid culture is the most important step prior to helping a young student learn. They need the interaction, the fun, and the exciting facts that would encourage the student to engage more in education. According to White and Walker, from their book Tooning In, “one area of kid culture that could easily be integrated into social education is television cartoons” (p. 77). I totally agree with them. What else can possibly influence a young mind more other than television itself? I have a 4 year-old sister and she’s always having the television turned on to PBS Kids. One of her favorite shows is Arthur, and it’s also one of my absolute favorite PBS Kids Show of all time. Arthur Just like Liberty’s Kids, Histeria, and Time Squad, PBS Kids provide effective learning tools and teachings that can allow kids to integrate into their education.

Kindergarten is the best time to affiliate a young student into learning. They understand best when visual things are used to be demonstrate the lesson of the day or an activity. Young minds need that extra explanation to help plant critical skills and help them build a more sufficient understanding. In our last blog about shopping, using play money and play toys such as vegetables and a fake register can enable a young student to incorporate math lessons. For example, they can learn to add and subtract money. Toys and kids play are every essential factors that plays into education. Most learners are visual learners and needs that extra step for a better education.

Integrating kid culture for social education can enhance a critical and active citizenry able to think for itself and engage in problem solving (White and Walker, p. 76).

Shop 'til you Drop!

*** Note: My laptop totally let me down for two weeks, and I lost everything! I'm really mad >.<; I think that it's about time I get a new one...so sorry for the late!!!! blogging. I'm trying to write as much as I can remember, so please bare with me on this***


So, this topic is on "the Mall".




I am a person who you can consider a shopper but not really. I love shopping, but not to the extreme point where I go to the mall every weekend. I starting a shopping hobby when I got into college, yeah, I know right?! During my school years, the mall was not as important as my school work but now that I think about it, I should have started earlier. I remember when my friends would always invite me to go shopping with them, and I would say something like "Oh, I can't today because I have to go study" or "I have to help babysit my niece today, sorry" --- I regret saying that because I was always preoccupied with thoughts on achieving a good education, and yet at the same time, I'm putting more stress on my shoulders. I never considered about giving myself a little treat for all the work I did, and now, I'm trying to catch up with it...living with life.

Malls are a place of conversation and interaction. Especially for teens who wants to go have fun with their friends, or just to be away from home and school. The mall provides the space for them to relieve any stressful moments behind for an hour or two. It provides the environment for teens and adults to get along together and meet new people everyday. ( Imagine the workers who has to deal with customers! ) But really, its about interaction.

In relation to the article that we had to read from The Washington Post, "He Told Us to Go Shopping. Now the Bill is Due", I found it quite ironic. First of all, I was in middle school when 9/11 happened, and knew nothing about our economy. I'm quite sickened at the fact that George W. Bush put American citizens into a gamble. Clearly, I'm not a fan of politics either --- so please don't think wrong of me! Then again, if you put everything aside and say to yourself that he wants us to not worry and just continue on with life without knowing what he had planned.

He said: But he simultaneously urged Americans to carry on as if there were no war. "Get down to Disney World in Florida," he urged just over two weeks after 9/11. "Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed." The Truth: Bush certainly wanted citizens to support his war -- he just wasn't going to require them actually to do anything.
- From the article

But I really don't have any opinion on this because economy is always going to have its up and downs, no doubt about that.

In addition to that, the article "Transforming Social Spaces: Female Identity and the Mall" --- I couldn't find myself relating to it. In my entire life, even though I live in Twin Cities, I've been to the Mall of America twice --- and yep, I haven't seen everything in there yet. Surprisingly, I don't find MOA such an attraction. But, according to the article, I believe that its true about "Your out-of-town friends are visiting and want to see the cities' most obvious landmark."
Many people that I know come to visit Minnesota just because of this highly-popularized mega-mall. Plus, I can't imagine myself trying to live there for a whole week. It's jsut not me. However, I truly admire the author of this article.

So, how does the mall revolve around education?

Math wise, spending and the mall is a good to start teaching the young children to save save save! They may think that anything can be affordable but they are wrong! By introducing shopping to young children in school, it allows for them to get a picture of how economy works. Students can aquire this through using money in math. They can be given a certain amount to spend on items. And from there, learn how to subtract or add to that amount given to them. ( We're going to make them math geeks ^o* --- hehehe )

To Game or Not to Game?!

*** Note: I was only able to open 2 of the 3 articles that the professor sent to us. That excludes the one with the e-mail. ***

After reading the articles, I thought to myself for a couple of minutes on what intrigue me the most. Then I wondered, why video games? What has video game done to support education and how does this fall together? I've always seen games as a distraction from anything. My boyfriend is one of them. When there's nothing to do, he turns on his PS2 and starts playing whatever's in there. It bigs me because it's hard for me to get him off the console just to do something for me. Video game is an addiction that may be good for the brain, depending on its purpose.

What I found most intriguing was from the article From Serious Games to Serious Gaming (Part Four): Labyrinth, by Scot Osterweil. Just the thought of creating a game that involves schooling curriculum surprised me. How on earth did they come up with such a brlliant idea? Creating a game that integrates math and literature and enabling students to play it in school --- the gaming industry must be thinking about the future of education I guess.

In the article, Scot noted: "needing to prepare their students for high-stakes tests, teachers were leery of committing precious class time to new technology, but they identified ideas that weren't getting through to their students and hoped we could somehow take care of them." This in fact is true --- in my opinion. There are students who are willing to take on challenges and there are those students who sits there in class and intakes the teachers words in one ear but somehow the words goes out the other ear. It's already hard enough for teachers to have the whole class pay attention to the curriculum.

I like the fact that Labyrinth address two components: math and literacy. "primarily a math game, it is also designed to promote literacy." Many kids don't like to write ( and I can think of a couple ) and Labyrinth uses that weakness from them to create these writing messages that they must write to their team players. With this, it can enable kids to think about what they are going to write. Besides writing, reading benefits are also enhanced as well as communication. On the other hand, there are the downfall of those who have the disadvantage to access the required hardware outside of the school and classroom. Not to mention, there are students that can not even stay after-school as well.

Another intriguing thought was from the article From inside the games industry: game + girl = advance; the Sims. I know it's a fact that the game industry itself is dominated by the world of mens. I work at Wal-Mart and everytime I pass by the Electronics area, I see young boys stand in front of the game case glaring at their most wanted game. It's an everyday case. However, I am not a gamer ---- but that doesn't mean that I don't play any games at all. Anyways, the industry seems to apply to it's male customers and designers. In this case, women does not really have a place in the gaming industry. Yet, that does not mean that women are not as skilled like the men. Not many women goes into the field of computer science or enigneering.

I was introduced to the Sims recently by my boyfriend's sister. I would have to say that I actually became fond of playing the Sims game because it's as close to reality as it can possibly be. I was playing the Sims 2 Deluxe, where I live by myself and I have to keep on living. Unfortunately, I got really bored and tired of it because I could not keep up with my character's needs anymore. It's hard --- and compared to reality, it's about the same thing. Which I think what made me became interested in it.

Overall, all the articles related to education. Involving technology with class lessons may be a key component in which it can intrigue the student to become interested in. Nevertheless, gaming in school isn't that bad after all, I mean, if students benefit from it though.

Fandom

I'm sitting on the couch trying to do all my assignments...and avoid many other distractions that's in my way.

So, here's a topic that drove me insane for an hour or so. What am I a fan of?! hhmmm...it's been quite a while since I've been a fan of anything. Life now doesn't include me being a "fan" of anything (I think) =P However, to answer the question: What am I a FAN of ? I don't think that I was really a big fan of any musical groups or books, but I can recall back to my middle school years when I was first introduced to the word: ANIME.


Definition: anime (n) a style of Japanese comic book and video cartoon animation in which the main characters have large doe-like eyes. ( Definition thanks to whatis.techtarget.com )


If I flashback to my middle school years, let's say the 6th grade, right when I starting noticing more and more television shows, Sailor Moon was the first anime show that caught my eyes. Yes ---- I am a fan of Sailor Moon the Anime. And also a fan of the manga world =) Anywho, at the age of 12, I guess it is a common thing for a girl...right?!


Sailor Moon is a Japanese comic book story created by Naoko Takeuchi. The story revolves around an ordinary girl school girl named Serena, who happens to find out that she's the champion of love and justice, Sailor Moon. Along with her other helpful friends, who also happens to be just like her, they help defend the planet and entire solar system from being taken over by evil forces. Isn't this a classical magical girl genre?! To find out more about Sailor Moon, just simply google her.


I loved Sailor Moon. Every morning, I would wake up around 5 or so and just scadoodle ( I think that's how you spell it ) down to the couch and silently turn on the television. The show came on around 6 or so and I would always make sure that I had a pillow and blanket with my to cuddle in. At that rate, I've seen all the episodes. I knew every character and their characteristics, what they like, don't like, and whatnots. I was a major fan those days and I am still one, just not like use to but, I'm still a fan of her. In addition, I got my best friend to be a fan of Sailor Moon too. Everyday afterschool, my best friend and I would go home and watch the our favorite episodes on the internet. I can remember how much I would waste my printer ink on printing out pictures and lyrics of their songs. Whenever I got a chance to go onto the internet, I'd always end up printing out pictures and adding them to my "Sailor Moon Mini-Book". It was basically my collection of the anime.

Now that I think about it, anime has come a long way integrating into the American culture. It wasn't popular back then but now, how many people do you know that attends Anime conventions in the USA? Or in other countries? I know plenty. This also includes the manga world. To me, Sailor Moon is the simple example of a classical group of best friends who shares the same past, present, and future. They are a bunch of friends who wants to follow their dreams and yet, protect everything they cherish so dearly. In fact, I look up to Sailor Moon because she demonstrate the strength to believe in your heart / dreams and especially yourself. Many young girls are fascinated by the positive influence that she's brought to them.



Fandom is social - you've got to remember that! It's the interaction in which many people around you become involved in with one another. Hence, sharing the same common interest. Again, how does all this tie with popular culture and education?! I feel that when it comes to a subject matter like comparison and constrast, you can discuss among the students about what did they think was popular back in the old days and compare it to society today. I think that teachers would find this helpful to them especially when a teacher would like to engage a certain hobby that their students would like to have within the classroom atmosphere. If an educator's goal is to pursue a positive classroom environment, why not involve the students? They are the key ingredient to making a meaningful engagement in which students can come together and interact.

Well, this is all for now....