How We Learn to Be "Girls"

Remember lining up in separate girl and boy lines in grade school, Or hearing the teacher say "Good morning, boys and girls"? These simple habits, which call attention to gender, are responsible for passing on narrow gender roles to children.

A study compared two types of classrooms: one in which the teacher never mentioned gender, using terms like "children" or "friends," and one in which the teacher called attention to gender. In the classrooms where teachers used gendered language, children were less likely to play with kids of the other gender and more likely to subscribe to stereotypes (such as only girls should play with dolls, and only boys can become firefighters), even though the teachers never mentioned such "rules" or had children compare themselves

The developmental psychologist behind the study points out that we would never say "good morning black children and white children" and claims that segregating children by gender is as damaging as separating them based on race — so, no all-girls schools? The stereotypes can impact how kids judge what they're good at and what they want to do when they grow up.

While I think it's important for teachers to make sure that boys and girls interact with each other and know that their life choices won't be limited by their genders, do you think teachers should stop mentioning gender altogether.

Our greatest strengths are our greatest weaknesses.

Our strengths are our greatest weaknesses, this goes without elaborating. I mean we grow up stumbling, chopping and changing how we do things so that our future could be what we want it to be. It is mostly said that our steps today leads or determines our destiny.

I have been contemplating a lot about this topic and it took me not too far from the notion that this could be true. Actually it is true. Though I tried to look at different views so as to oppose this but I guess that would be unfair of me.
 
So this means that you should step very carefully. Think when a child is swarming for example, its’ main weakness is that it can not walk. But when time progresses, with a lot of practice, it walks eventually. In this regard, whatever you are good at today was once your weakness, because as a human being with conscious and/or subconscious mind you work strong and smart to renovate these shortfalls into your strengths. Today you can walk out proud on the street because you posses a great passion in something, but know that it is not that you knew it from the word go, it might happen that it was once of your most weakness but you worked on it, now its your strength. Our strengths grows out of our weaknesses.

Does he like me or hate me?

I knew this guy in high school and we always had this weird thing. He was the class president and thought he was everybody’s boss. He would take any chance to point something negative out about me. At one point he told me that he hated me in the middle of the class. In front of everyone. In many peoples opinion he was a racist. For the most part i avoided him and did not speak to him at all during senior year after graduation he sent me a friend request and I ended up accepting. And guess what? we met again at tertiary, ok so I had told him I liked him last year and then he was acting all weird  and ignoring me and my friends but after a couple of days he started talking to us again. Sometimes he’s really nice and starts conversations and other times he doesn’t even talk to me at all. Then at school when we were doing an activity about something we pick he asks me about whom am i doing and talks about who he’s doing. Other times when he passes out papers he just literally throws it at me and he is really mean to my friends at times. I’ am really not sure whether this is love or hate...

Try a cliche

Clichés are clichés, of course, because they are repeated with such frequency so as to become trite or hackneyed. Since life is full of surprises, you never know what will happen in a second, life is not a matter of milestones, but of moments.

Life is like an hourglass.. Eventually everything hits the bottom. And all you have to do is wait it out until someone comes along and turns it around. These unexpected surprises needs to be confronted in life, which means you need to try again and not run away from them until you succeed.

So, I suppose the answer is that using clichés is a judgment call, and one that can be very effective as long as you acknowledge in some way that you're aware of the cliché or that it was deliberate and not merely laziness. And it's just as easy to avoid clichés entirely if you'd rather.

Instead of getting frustrated when things don’t go as planned, expect change, ambiguity, and frustration at least part of the time. This is normal. Develop your sense of humor; learn not to take yourself too seriously.

 Think positively. Instead of telling yourself a task is impossible, tell yourself that you have reached a momentary impasse and that a solution does exist and will eventually come to you.

Don't try too hard to avoid them. Often it's better to subvert them, or even just play them straight but do it well.

CPUT student’s strikes for intuition fees increases every year

 CPUT students are almost striking every year for the increase of school fees, as everybody is entitled to safety and security. Though students are always out of control in their dealings, now the whole campus is closed because of the strike that is taking place in Cape Town and Bellville campus.

This is heart touching because some of us are being negatively affected by the strikes taking place at CPUT. Just imagine when you fight for your own rights but instead of negotiating the matter concerned you get jailed. I mean we are here for one reason and that is to pursue our careers but how one is expected to do that when intuition fees increases every year. Well, I know the global economic recession play part on this but that does not mean that the increment should be 100%.

Strikes at CPUT are becoming a new culture which certainly gets students’ voice heard. If you have noticed every time students strikes they get what they have been striking for. And ever since I entered to this academic institution strikes have been happening and this doesn’t look like stopping any time soon.

However, Student Representative Council should monitor their fellow students and ensure that they do not vandalize any property but how is this possible if management locks themselves in their offices when needed to come and negotiate with the SRC. Students have seen that they only take action once something is destroyed.

My statement on this is that strikes at CPUT need to be announced well in advance so that all students can be aware and they come prepared.

Feelings follow behaviour.

I wholeheartedly agree that feelings follow behaviour. I am of the mind that our day-to-day performance is based on our feelings. As a cognitive, we feel angry or happy; we like or dislike, etc all these feelings will direct you to behave in a certain way. In most cases we know what we want, what makes us feel better and what to do and the things we do are regarded as behaviour. And behaviour is more related with attitude and both these cues are exasperated by our feelings.

 This is very true; most of us have a tendency to listen to our feelings or to what we think before making any decision, this also observed with behaviour. I mean what you think will decide how you behave….. to make clear of this; as a human being there are things we are caring of and we hold them dear to heart and those that we are not caring of we just neglect their existence. What make this occur are the feelings that you have towards that certain precious thing.

 Just notice when you wake up in the morning with a fresh mind and a vision to accomplish something, for sure that day you will have a positive behaviour and good attitude. Same applies with me, when I wake-up everyday my day is beset with conflicting demands but I always thrive to complete my to-do list so in this way my feelings to accomplish my daily activities creates a positive behaviour. How I feel determines how I behave. So when you like something you will do it and if not you will not. You first feel it then do it or not.

Words are not enough!

 You can utter powerfull words to attract somebody for your own good. But still don’t get it right, over and over again. Action speaks louder than words, so they say. without a doubt, that’s so true. Words are not enough but when coupled with action they are.

Sometimes words are not enough.Words are transformation of our thoughts. With these words we are able to intertwine these thoughts with feelings and convey them. That’s how we express love, hate, and peace and praise our cognates. Words are aptly powerful to touch or stab one’s heart, or deceive someone.

Say you have wronged someone, for instance. What does it take to get forgiven for what you did? Words, only?…..of course not. You can not say you are ‘sorry’ than that’s that. You gotta demonstrate your contrition. Show some actions that you are really sorry.

Words and action are ‘sometimes’ a perfect match. But words alone are sometimes not enough.

Same goes with “relationships”. Your words wont be taken serious when you approach someone. But your demonstration or actions showing your love for that special person will do a trick. Late night phone call means a lot than just promulgated words but that you thought of her/him, is it not so?

It is better to practice a little than talk a lot

Talk is cheap. Well, that’s what they say. If you look very close at this statement, it means that talking will hardly make you a fortune but practising will get you somewhere, yah!! People make mistakes and mistakes can be rectified, but if you don’t implement how are you going to know where you go wrong? So my suggestion would be talk a little rather and practice a lot because practice makes perfect.
I fully agree with this. It is better to practise a little than talk a lot. I mean if you think of it, talking might help but there is always something to talk about, and if you want things done you better start acting. Talking a lot doesn’t get things done. It, however, prolongs the process of practising things.

Something just crossed my mind; I know someone who has a business vision, he is a business-minded. Everyday she comes up with new business idea(s), magnificent plans and she goes on and on telling potential people about her plans, virtually everyday. She invites some to collaborate with but the thing is she never gets any of her ideas into practice. We’re are now on the sixth month of the year, and running her own company was on top of her New Year’s resolutions, she has not registered any to date. Not that I make fun of her but I mean if she can get her acts together and start practicing, I’m sure things will page up.

No matter how little you practices but it is a step towards something, I believe that baby steps can get you somewhere, no matter how small they are but you’ll reach your dreams. It takes time anyway to achieve your dreams. Yet talking a lot will just consume your time immensely. After all, it is better to practice a little than talk a lot.