In Andrea's latest blog entry, "BEAUTIFUL WORK needs time", she exemplifies the value of creating "beautiful work".
In my DP classes I feel like we focus so much on producing quantity work that we forget about the quality of the work we produce. The opposite is true in the IA; we believe that learning for the sake of creating multiple products is not what learning should be about. Learning should focus on creating "beautiful" work, work that we're proud of, work that we're eager to share with others, and work that we've crafted.
In my DP classes I feel like we focus so much on producing quantity work that we forget about the quality of the work we produce. The opposite is true in the IA; we believe that learning for the sake of creating multiple products is not what learning should be about. Learning should focus on creating "beautiful" work, work that we're proud of, work that we're eager to share with others, and work that we've crafted.
But what happens when you don't have the
time to create "beautiful" work?
time to create "beautiful" work?
These past two weeks have been crazy busy for me. I had a math test, an econ test, a bio test, TECHO, my birthday; the list was pretty much endless. On top of all of this, I had a documentary and a POL due. I was frustrated because I knew that I wasn't going to be able to finish it all. But I was even more frustrated because I knew that given my time constraints, I was going to rush through the editing of my documentary. It bothered me that for the past two months I had been working so hard to produce a film that I was truly proud of, and that I was going have to throw it all away in the final step, the editing. So Andrea and I did what most of us are afraid to do.
We admitted that we couldn't do it all, and asked Mr. Topf for more time.
I think it's fair to argue that most students, including myself, are afraid of asking for extensions. But when you're working all day, everyday, and giving up your sleep, the time you spend with your friends and family, and the activities your involved in just to meet DEADLINES, something has to change.
Don't get me wrong, it's extremely important to meet deadlines, because that's something we're going to have to do for the rest of our lives. But it's also important to realize that once these deadlines become unrealistic and unhealthy we need to 1). speak up and 2) plan out our time.
Teachers are humans, remember? They too have busy schedules, and they know what it's like to be a busy teenager. Therefore, when they know you've been working really hard on something, many times they won't mind to give you more time for it. This was the case with Mr. Topf. He knew that we had gone through iteration after iteration and that we had planned out our time, thus, he was understanding of the extension we needed.
Don't get me wrong, it's extremely important to meet deadlines, because that's something we're going to have to do for the rest of our lives. But it's also important to realize that once these deadlines become unrealistic and unhealthy we need to 1). speak up and 2) plan out our time.
Teachers are humans, remember? They too have busy schedules, and they know what it's like to be a busy teenager. Therefore, when they know you've been working really hard on something, many times they won't mind to give you more time for it. This was the case with Mr. Topf. He knew that we had gone through iteration after iteration and that we had planned out our time, thus, he was understanding of the extension we needed.
One thing is to
work hard , and to push yourself, another thing is to go past your limits. That's where I struggle. I don't draw a fine line between work and balance. I try so hard to finish everything, and I want to finish it all on time, that I work at the expense of my sleep. Nonetheless, as I wrote in my article this week, sleep is extremely important, especially for a teenager. Thus, as ridiculous as it may sounds, making sure we fit it into our schedules is vital.
Ok. I think I may have digressed a bit from the main idea of this blog,
but I promise that I'm about to connect the dots for you.
but I promise that I'm about to connect the dots for you.
If you want to create "beautiful" work, you need time, time to iterate, time to receive feedback, and time to "sleep over ideas". Being a teenager in high school, however, doesn't always give you the time to create "beautiful" work, so it's extremely important to prioritize what it is you want to make beautiful.
I know that many times we have this urge, this driving force telling us that we can do it all, but there's a difference between doing it all and doing it all well. This year, I've gone from wanting to do everything, to wanting to do a few things and really dedicating myself to doing them well.
I know that many times we have this urge, this driving force telling us that we can do it all, but there's a difference between doing it all and doing it all well. This year, I've gone from wanting to do everything, to wanting to do a few things and really dedicating myself to doing them well.
WHY?
Because I've come to realize that you can't perfect everything in life, so choose the things you truly value, the ones you truly wish to perfect. And then, ones you've chosen, do whatever it takes to make those things truly B E A U T I F U L.