Influential People

Welcome back to my blog once again!

 Today I will be talking about some people that are really important to not only me, but to a lot of other people as well in the world. I will be talking about someone who has personally impacted me, someone who has not only influenced me but a lot of others as well, and someone who as had a large influence in the field of education! So now, without further adieu, enjoy reading about some of the "greats" who have been influential to my life!

1. My Mom

               I know it may sound a bit cheesy, however my mom has been a huge influence on my life. She has taught me almost everything I know, from how to walk, talk and eat, to how I should hold myself and treat others every day. In middle school and high school I had joined band because of how fun my mom had told me it was and all of her amazing experiences she had through band. She had taught me from a pretty early age to play the flute, so I too followed in her footsteps for that. It was really helpful having her around with the musical experience, because she could support me when it came to auditions or tryouts of any kind, and because she knew what she was doing, she could help me whenever I needed it. She has also influenced me in what career path I am choosing, my mom was a teacher, and now I am following right behind her for the next generation. I think seeing how she treated me as a kid and how much joy she has around other children really has inspired me to do the same and help give kids the foundation for their education with a warm smile and caring support. Growing up with my mom being able to teach me and support me the way she has, has really bettered me as a person as well.  She has also shown me the type of parent I would like to be someday in the future. She really does uplift my brother and I and does anything she can to help us out and encourage us to go above and beyond what we think we can achieve. She does hold standards, but with the respect that we have built for one another, I feel as though I want to impress my mom to not let her down, but not having to do things just because the rules are that way. My mom has influenced my life in many amazing ways, I am very lucky that I am her daughter and am able to have her as not only a mother, but as a best friend too.

2. Ellen DeGeneres 

               Ellen DeGeneres is a daily talk show host and an avid supporter for the LGBT community. Although I do not identify with any of these labels, I am a very avid supporter as both of my uncles are gay. Since Ellen herself is a lesbian, it is very easy for her to relate to the struggles of those who do identify with those labels, and their constant struggle for equality in society. When Ellen first came out to her fans, she had a massive amount of declining views, and it wasn’t until the 2000's when her talk show began that she began to regain popularity and be openly accepted. Being so out in the open with her love life on television has really brought a change to society. People have become more accepting because she is so welcoming and caring to everyone and people start to break the barriers down, reserve judgement, and watch Ellen for her hilarious comedy sketches and Haunted House clips with her producer Andy, not avoid her show just because she is a Lesbian. Not only is she an avid supporter of the LGBT group, but she also donates so much money to people in need including groups such as UNICEF, the ALS Association and supporters for Breast Cancer Awareness. Often times Ellen will receive mail or letters from people who know someone in need and Ellen will bring them on her show and reach out to other companies and help to support them by giving them a new car to get to work or drive their kids to school, or even money for groceries to help them out. Ellen brings joy to many people across the nation through her funny games and monologues, as well as her touching stories and showing how she helps those in need. Ellen is a figure that I would call my role model because she does uplift so many people and truly takes her fame to a new level because she does not use it for purely fame, but uses it for good and to help those less fortunate in society have a little more joy and take a break to dance once in a while. 

3. Bill Gates

               Bill Gates is an extremely influential person in the education system, however it may not be the best sorts of influence that we need. Gates does claim that we need to amp up the education system and become more competitive with the rest of the world; he also says that we need to individualize our teaching more than it currently is to get more one on one time with the students and engage them more fully in the process. However, Bill Gates has been a supporter and key implementer of the Common Core system, which does nothing of the sort. If anything, the Common Core system is dumbing down education as a whole making the material easier for students and less about them challenging themselves and pushing to solve problems and make difficult connections. He has also stated that students should be learning at their own pace based on the mastery of the subject, rather than “hours spent in a classroom,” so he is supporting a more online based system of learning instead of simply face to face. He claims that since teens are on the internet already, he believes that they should just learn on the internet while they’re at it. However I do believe this could be a great concept to explore, I do not think we are ready for that switch just yet, students would get extremely distracted from social media and everything else on the internet, and not be able to focus as well as they would when sitting in a classroom. Although if we are truly headed more towards total inclusion in general education classrooms, this common core and online learning system may be very beneficial to the schools system. It may even out the playing field for those with disabilities, as well as giving able bodied students the space to expand at their own pace as Gates claims it would work. Although Bill Gates has influenced a large portion of the sort of education material we see today, it may not be exactly what we need in order to gain our stance back in the world, and with a huge figure pushing for these things it is a little terrifying.

Those are three of the most influential people in my life with a little more than you probably asked for. I hope you found this interesting and I will see you back here next time! Goodbye!