Extra credit- gender and racial Bias

I had never seen any tests like that before in my life. I found the racial bias test to be a little more difficult than gender bias. It said I had a slight bias towards white people, and the gender bias test said i made no association between the 2. I really don't know the science behind how they come up with how racist someone is by taking that test. I don't think values and culture bias can be measured by a test like that. Isn't the real test in how people treat others in cultures besides their own?
The reason I say the cultural test is harder is that it uses associations beyond just black and white people. An average person growing up is going to associate good words with light and bad words with darkness. It doesn't have anything to do with people. It's a religious and philosophical understanding making that association. But then again, maybe these do measure something, and they can predict cultural and gender bias. I'd have to see a wide array of results and see if they have any correlation with whether or not the person taking the test is Black, White, Hispanic, Chinese, etc. Anyway, in the words of Forrest Gump, "that's all i gotta say about that."

RAD TEACHING

What? RAD is an acronym for a concept involving Reticular Activating System(RAS), Amygdala, and Dopamine. The RAS is located at the brainstem and serves as our attention activating system. Teachers must have the concept of grasping student's attention by providing a variety of activities. The Amygdala is what triggers positive emotion in the brain, and dopamine is a neurotransmitter that increases pleasure, attention, and memory.

So what? I find it true that the best learning memories come from having a positive emotion at that particular time. This is why I find Ken Burns' history documentaries so thrilling is that he combines photos and music to illicit a certain emotional response. I find myself back in Civil War times like a soldier in the war because the way he combines visual and auditory images. That's the most beneficial thing out of this RAD concept. An effective history teacher takes students out of their personal norms and lifetyles and transplants them back tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years ago.

Now What? Teachers should take the latest education courses to learn how to come away from everyday lecturing and incorporate multi-sensory application. The only way to learn from the past is helping students become a part of history then they'll know better how the past effects the future.

Extra credit-brain guys

1. John Ratey has written books on how exercise influences students for the better in the classroom. He explains that although exercise does not make one smarter, it does put peoples’ brains in an optimal condition to learn. He also calls exercise “ADHD medication without side effects.
2. There has been a debate in the last 10 years on whether or not exercise has a positive effect on learning. The latest research indicates that there is a positive correlation between the two. It makes sense to me that there is a correlation. Exercise seems to wake up my brain, and it gets my blood flowing so I can focus better on material presented in the classroom. It relieves stress in the body that allows students to concentrate better and not be jittery.
3. Now what? Well, I’m sure research will continue. I’m actually surprised that researchers haven’t come to this conclusion sooner. Hasn’t the positive correlation between exercise and learning been demonstrated for decades? I think that’s the reason elementary students are allowed an hour and a half of recess every day. Isn’t that why teachers will have students stand up and stretch in the middle of long lectures? Come on, people. Exercise is good for any learner!