Academic Leadership: Four More Years

What does the re-election of President Barack Obama mean for me and the world?

I personally think that the re-election of Barack Obama means mainly two things to me and perhaps to the world as well. The first of which is that the United States of America will continue to seek the democratic goals made ever since early 2009 instead of replacing them with other goals that republicans such as Mitt Romney made to perhaps weaken the country more than Obama would. Obama could have been considered lucky for any reason for being elected instead of McCain, but the next victory could not have been luck. In my opinion, the iconic phrase “Yes we can” opens many doors for the betterment of the country, unlike Romney´s campaign, which opposed such things as gay marriage. I may not know much about politics, but if Obama really did have bad goals, the population would vote for Romney instead.

Obama Campaign Poster and Winning Speech:

The other aspect that stands out more than the political one is the fact that blacks have the same advantages as whites, perhaps affecting thoughts of racism. The black population has the same potential as the white population, so the 2012 election really shouldn´t and didn´t have any such advantages, except for intellectual ones. Blacks and whites are both the same species, but why criticize one little difference in order to choose who to vote? This obviously leaves the United States of America open to corruption. If we don´t change our mental ways, these stereotypes may lead to the downfall of this very country.

Academic Leadership: Time Management

Before the due date, write a blog post in which you reflect on the time management goals you set on 19/20 Sept. In your paragraph, include whether or not you met your goals, any problems you had, any successes you had, and anything you learned. Also include an updated version of your goals based on your experience.

My original goal was to focus in my work for a longer time span, as I tend to daze off into deep space out of boredom. Sometimes, I want to pay attention, but my focus fails on me and I turn my attention to the slightest change of thought instead. This is the only problem that may keep me from becoming a better learner. I set a goal based on the tip given to me:

"If you drift off, try visualizing a red stop light. Hold that image for a few seconds, then switch to a green light and go back to work." 

I used this tip, since I am confident that I have already followed the other ones on a regular basis. With this technique, I formed a simple goal: I will focus on my work by avoiding drifting off, at least 8 out of 10 times.” 

This help was hard to follow, as I forget new routine easily. I applied this to the incorrect subjects, such as Geometry and Band, two classes I am most interested in. I learned to not apply rules to where they are not needed, giving improvement to other classes that I lose focus in more easily, such as History, Brazilian Culture, Portuguese, and ironically, Academic Leadership. It isn´t mainly my fault that I do not focus in these classes, but sometimes these subjects are hard to understand, hard to pay attention to, or just simply uninteresting (no offense to the teachers of these classes).

I have only tweaked my goal to focus seven out of ten times, instead of eight. I also apply this goal to History, Brazilian Culture, Academic Leadership and Portuguese, since I can give a push-start to the classes I need to pay attention the most in, based on my experience. I sincerely hope that this updated goal helps me in my education, allowing me to be a more focused learner.

Academic Leadership Journal: Guns, Germs and Steel

"In our first two weeks, you have read two articles, seen several videos and been engaged in several discussions related to the concept of academic leadership. At this point, and in your own words, what does the concept mean to you? What subjects or interests do you have a sophisticated, intellectual understanding of that you may want to turn into a major academic project in this class? How do people sometimes abuse academic knowledge to manipulate others? How would you feel if someone used your work to manipulate others (as Jared Diamond claims Mitt Romney has)? How can creating academically sophisticated, intellectual leaders help prevent such people from taking advantage of others the way they do? How can this create a stronger democratic society?" 

The concept of the class, Academic Leadership, possibly teaches students how to make good conversations and make good projects, such as Jared Diamond's book Guns Germs and Steel, based on nearly thirty years of research on why certain communities are poor when they have such innovation, like in New Guinea. The subjects I have an understanding in that could construct excellent major projects are computer sciences and logic, studies that are recommended for university students and gifted high-school students by the Institute for Mathematics And Computer Sciences (IMACS), courses I have done ever since 7th grade, second semester. 

The author of Guns Germs and Steel: Jared Diamond

The abuse of projects to manipulate others can be made by summarizing years of research into simpler terms and use in favor of the manipulator, similar to what Mitt Romney had done to Guns Germs and Steel to boost his political career. If someone used my work to manipulate others, I would feel that I wasted my research on the wrong reason. I would also feel less famous than the manipulator, who would possibly win admiration from more people than I could. 

Academically sophisticated leaders can prevent others from taking advantage of writers by proving that the writing is more than what they say it is, for whatever subject they wrote about earlier. This allows people to have an equal say on subjects and create a more democratic society. This society can have more equality in terms of speech, so why take advantage of someone else´s research to benefit your own if you can simply research the subject yourself?

Guns Germs and Steel Official Documentary:

Academic Leadership: College

Question: You briefly met with a college recruiter last week, and you reviewed a number of questions to ask about colleges. This must have gotten you thinking about your future, so tell us about it: Without any strict requirements, write about your expectations, goals, fears, concerns, questions that you have concerning your future in college. Additionally, now that you know that recruiters want to hear about you and your intellectual interests and pursuits, how do you think being an aware Academic Leader will give you an advantage when applying to the college of your choice? 

I expect my future in college to be about as fun as high school, with the addition of a more difficult set of subjects. I want to have fun with friends, while studying for a good job to sustain my future family. I also expect a high level of education and support for the subjects I struggle with, such as World History. Some of the goals I would set for my years in college are to make good relationships with friends over the time I stay, to advance as much as possible in my major and acquire a reasonable degree, as well as study another language, in my free time. I only really need to worry about my education, language fluency and my relationships with others, the three things my father taught me to focus on to become a prosperous person in life.

I only fear the overwhelming of my schedule during my years in college. While I was young, I studied English, Portuguese and German at the same time. I spoke a seperate language that combined all three languages, which could confuse any billingual or monolingual person. I was going nowhere, so I had to focus on English until I was 9 years old, when I moved to Brazil. When I was 13, I took piano and trumpet lessons, played tennis and studied logic, all in addition to the homework I crammed into my backpack. I was also going nowhere. I dropped tennis and piano class, leaving room for music, logic and my homework, which is enough work for me. What does this have to do with college? I am afraid that this exact thing will happen and harm my career.

This is basically how I felt in both the language issue and the cramming of after school activities:


In a tight schedule? Need things done? This Howcast video might help.

In a conversation with the college recruiter, being an Academic Leader will probably give me the skills to speak to the recruiter and present my intellect with skill, hopefully allowing them to see me as a special, exceptional student, making me a step closer to a prosperous life.