Breaking the Frozen Sea Within

CONNECTIONS TO HUMANITY:WE ARE NOT ISLANDS!

2011-04-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

I looked into the distance.
I saw something move.

I went closer.
I saw an animal.
I went closer still.
I saw a man.
I went closer again.
And I saw that it was my brother.
Tibetan fable

The photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand has created an amazing project: 6 Billion Others. This project reflects many of the essential questions we have thought about in our year long humanities class. As you view the project make connections to the texts and units we have studied.

In interviewing people Bertrand has created a global portrait of mankind. Bertrand thought:'It all looks simple from the sky, but down below we are often confronted by borders, antagonism, separations, misunderstanding, ignorance between one and another. So it was important to let the men and women of our planet express themselves, collect their experiences and life philosophies, their visions of the world and to share with them. In this case, 5000 men and women describe their lives and hopes, their joys and woes, laughter and tears and relationships to God, the devil, love, life,death, and so on…

He and his team asked the same questions of The Malian fisherman, the Brazilian labourer, the Armenian mother, the Afghan fighter, the Germanpriest, the American farmer, the Russian merchant, the Japanese rebel, the Australian road sweeper, the Rwandan refugee'... which culminated in a major exhibition in Paris in January February 2008.

As we listen, we find ourselves so different and yet so similar, so far and so near from all the inhabitants of our planet.In the exhibition Bertrand encourages us to listen so as to better understand. We listen to 5,000 people representative of the 6 billion that share our planet testify, talk about feelings and think about life.

Bertrand and his team aimed to 'allow each one to share his/her personal experiences, hopes, dreams, fears, life philosophy with everyone;and to offer these accounts to as many people as possible'. Between 50-300 interviews were carried out per country with a variety of people and ethnicities.

The project took:
'4 years of filming were required to gather all these precious accounts.
6 reporters, passionate about the project, embarked on this formidable human adventure.
Each with his or her approach and sensitivities made a mark on the project.
20 hours of personal narratives to discover at the exhibition in the Grand Palais
40 questions, always the same, posed to each of the interviewees.
75 countries crossed: covering the entire planet was not possible unfortunately. But our journey
was guided by a spirit of fairness, which was not an easy thing to achieve. All the continents are
represented, town and country as well as the most emblematic areas of conflict.'

The exhibition makes us consider:
• How can we make our social, professional, platonic and romantic relationships more authentic?
• How can we encourage communication between generations, communities and cultures?
• How is reconstruction possible in the wake of suffering or conflicts?
• Are we in control of our destinies, and how can we influence our world?

Below are the questions interviewers put to 5,ooo people.
Read the questions then visit the site here: 6 milliards autres and listen to the responses.
Spend time exploring the site. Think about how you would respond.
We will then take some of these questions and you will answer the questions and upload to your blog.

01 | Start the interview by asking the person to introduce him or herself, giving name, age,
profession, family situation and nationality.
02 | What is your profession? Do you enjoy it ?
03 | What does family represent to you ?
04 | What do you want to hand down to your children ?
05 | What did you learn from your parents ?
06 | What do you find difficult to say to your children ? Your family ?
07 | What is your greatest joy ?
08 | What is your greatest fear ?
09 | What angers you the most ?
01 | What did you dream of as a child ?
11 | What is your greatest dream today ?
12 | What have you renounced ?
13 | Are you happy ?
How do you define happiness ?
14 | What would you like to change about your life ?
15 | How do you define love ?
Do you think you give and receive enough love ?
16 | What was the last thing that made you burst out laughing ?
17 | When was the last time you cried ? Why ?
18 | What has been the most difficult test you have had to face in your lifetime ?
What did you learn from it?
19 | Do you have enemies ? Why ?
20 | What angers you the most ? And why ?
6 billion Others | 17
21 | What would drive you to kill someone ?
For what would you be willing to lay down your life ?
22 | Do you find it easy to forgive yourself ?
What would you not be able to forgive ?
23 | Do you feel free ?
Out of all the days in your life, which could you not do without ?
24 | Do you like your country ?
Have you ever wanted to leave your country ? Why ?
25 | What does nature mean to you ?
26 | Have you seen nature change since your childhood ? And what would you do to save it ?
27 | Do you live better than your parents ? Why ?
28 | What does money represent to you ? Why ?
29 | How do you define progress and what are your expectations ?
30 | What is man's greatest enemy ?
31 | What is man's greatest friend ?
32 | Why do men wage war ? What can we do to reduce the number of wars ?
33 | Do you confess to a God every day of your life ?
34 | What do you think there may be after death ?
35 | Do you know a prayer ? Can you say it to me ?
36 | What for you is the meaning of life ?
37 | What would you like to say or what questions would you like to ask the people who will see you ?
38 | What is your favourite song ? Sing it…
39 | What do you think of this interview, this exchange ? What do you think is its aim ?
40 | Do you want to add anything else in conclusion ?

RESISTANCE :DBQ REVIEW

2011-01-30T20:49:00.000-08:00

STAGES OF GENOCIDE: Review this by clicking here for the 8 stages

PYRAMID OF HATE: Click here to review: pyramid of hate

RESISTANCE
The word resist comes from the Latin root sistere to stop: re+sist. So the denotation is to struggle against someone or something,to try to prevent by action or argument. So resistance, the noun, 'is the refusal to accept or comply with something'(Oxford Dictionary).

CONTEXT
The Holocaust was the murder of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. Mass killings began in June 1941 with the shooting of Jewish civilians during the German invasion of the Soviet Union. At the end of 1941, the Germans began deporting Jews to killing centers in occupied Poland. By May 1945, about two out of every three Jews in Europe had been murdered.

Prewar European Jewish population: 9.5 million.

Before World War II, more than half of the world's Jewish population lived in Europe. Most Jews lived in eastern Europe, primarily in the Soviet Union and Poland. The Nazi party came to power in Germany in 1933. The Germans moved to extend their power in central Europe, annexing Austria and destroying Czechoslovakia. Germany invaded Poland in 1939, beginning World War II. Over the next two years, German forces conquered most of Europe. The Germans established ghettos in occupied eastern territories, isolating and persecuting the Jewish population. Nazi anti-Jewish policy expanded with the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Mobile killing units murdered Jews, Roma (also called Gypsies), Soviet political commissars, and others. The Germans and their collaborators deported Jews to killing centers in occupied Poland. At the largest killing center, Auschwitz-Birkenau, transports arrived almost daily from across Europe. By war's end, almost six million Jews and millions of others had perished in the Holocaust.

Postwar Jewish Population, ca. 1950: 3.5 million

— United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Look carefully at the maps below to draw conclusions about changes in the Jewish population.

What is propoganda?

Propaganda is biased information designed to shape public opinion and behavior.
Propaganda simplifies complicated issues or ideology for popular consumption, is always biased, and is geared to achieving a particular end. Propaganda generally employs symbols, whether in written, musical, or visual forms, and plays upon and channels complex human emotions towards a desired goal. It is often employed by governmental and private organizations to promote their causes and institutions and denigrate their opponents. Propaganda functions as just one weapon in the arsenal of mass persuasion.(The Holocaust Museum: Propaganda)

Examine the following propaganda posters of Hitler and Jews.
Think about the impression created and the ways this impression is built in the minds of the viewer.

Examine the 1928 painting the Agitator by George Grosz

Read and interpret: Pastor Niemoller's poem: click here:

PART B: OBSTACLES TO RESISTANCE

Consider what Father says to Bruno in Boyne's The Boy in Striped Pyjamas: 'Accept the situation in which you find yourself and everything will be so much easier' (53)

Using the sources write a paragraph that examines why people remained silent, 'accepted the situation in which (they) found themselves'.

IN THE PRESENCE OF GOOD

2011-01-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

"But there is a difference between passive goodness and active goodness, which is, in my opinion, the giving of one's time and energy in the alleviation of pain and suffering. It entails going out, finding and helping those in suffering and danger, and not merely in leading an exemplary life, in a purely passive way of doing no wrong." Nicholas Winton

Go here to read about the heroic actions of the humble Nicholas Winton and here

Watch here: BBC Programme 'That's Life"

Discussion:
In his study of rescuers, Ervin Staub states, "Goodness, like evil, often begins in small steps. Heroes evolve; they aren't born. Very often the rescuers make only a small commitment at the start-to hide someone for a day or two. But once they had taken that step, they begin to see themselves differently, as someone who helps. What starts as mere willingness becomes intense involvement."
What does Staub's insight suggest about rescuers?
Write a working definition of a hero?
Why do you think Winton is reluctant to have himself called a hero? What point is he trying to make?
Why do you think that in times of crisis, some people stand by, or actively help the perpetrators, while others get involved and try to make a positive difference? ( From Facing History, Facing Ourselves)

JAPANESE HOLOCAUST RESCUER

2011-01-27T04:40:00.000-08:00

Watch the video clip below to discover the heroism of Sugihara.

RESCUERS:'Save One Life, Save the World"

2011-01-27T03:55:00.000-08:00

'Save one life, save the world' is a line from the Talmud, the Jewish book of law. This applies to many of the upstanders who rescued Jews just before and during World War 2. Some of you may be inspired to research the rescuers mentioned in the trailer below. Again consider what traits do they posses that make them heroic?

Image shows Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat responsible for the rescue of thousands of Hungarian Jews. His fate remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of World war 2.He was 32 when he disappeared after being arrested in 1945 by Soviet occuying troops. Read more about him here at United States Holocaust Museum

RESCUERS: PORTRAITS OF COURAGE

2011-01-26T18:37:00.000-08:00

Hero status is often achieved by making personal sacrifices, showing extreme selflessness, and great courage. Allison and Goethals (2011, 49) state, 'These individuals typically don't set out with the intention of being heroes. In fact the situations they find themselves in are usually unpleasant, requiring a difficult choice that has painful consequences. The choice however, is the correct one from a moral perspective'. In a survey of 75 college students Allison and Goethals noted eight heroic traits,'The Great Eight':

1.Smart: intelligent, smart, wise
2.Strong: strong, leader,dominating,courageous,gallant
3.Selfless:moral,honest,selfless,humble,altruistic
4.Caring:compassionate,empathetic,caring, kind
5.Charismatic: eloquent,charismatic,dedicated,passionate
6.Resilient: determined,persevering, resilient,accomplished,
7.Reliable:loyal,true,reliable
8.Inspiring: admirable,inspirational

Below are some of the rescuers people who helped Jews during the war. Would you consider these people heroic? Read about these individuals and think about the traits that these people display-all of the above?

Oskar Schindler:
Read about Oskar Schindler here:
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/schindler/
http://www.oskarschindler.com/thesitemap.htm
http://www.oskarschindler.dk/legacy/content1.html

Go to Flickers of Light at Yad Vashem to read about these people.
Dr. Adelaide Hautval
Jerzy Bielecki
Ludwig Worl
Dr. Ella Lingens
Jerzy Pozimiski

Go to this link at Yad Vashem to read about Muslims who helped to rescue Jews.

Read here for information about the people of Le Chambon

Read about Varian Fry the American journalist

The Americans Marthe and Waitstill

PROPAGANDA and ACTS OF HATRED

2011-01-22T21:54:00.000-08:00

As a review to our readings about Kristallnacht- watch the following clips. Take notes so that you know when this occurred who was targeted by whom and why. Note the damage and explain how this became part of the racist state that Hitler was creating in Germany.What choices were people forced to make? What was the impact and effect of Kristallnacht for Jews and for the non-Jewish German population?

Part 5: Again note the choices families were forced to make.

What messages had been given to the public to allow events such as Kristalnacht to occur without huge objections? Watch the following clips to understand the role of propaganda.

Propaganda, according to the dictionary (Oxford) is 'chiefly derogatory information, esp. of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view : he was charged with distributing enemy propaganda.'

Watch the following clips that show accounts of Kristalnacht:

WHAT KIND OF LEARNER AM I ?

2011-01-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

Ms. Narsiman and Mr. Whiting worked with you today to help you establish your learning profile. Consider what they have written below and then write a reflection on your blog post of you as a learner.

Have you ever struggled in class, feeling the need to move, or simply change seats that so that you could listen better with your left ear or view the whiteboard from a different angle?

The amazing characteristic about understanding your Learner Profile is that it will help you and your teachers know more about the best learning situations for each student; that is your strengths, your preferences and areas that we all can work on and improve.

Reflect on your Learning Profiles, and now that you have a better understanding of your profile, write and share the information on your blog.

In a well structured response, (using the information you gained in class ) please reflect upon and answer the following ....

1. I learn best when......

2. I need to .....

3. The strategies that would help me in my learning....

4. I would like my teachers to know this about me.....

Enjoy

Mrs. N and Mr. Whiting.

PREVENTING GENOCIDE

2011-01-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

This Sunday, January 9, 2011, southern Sudan will vote on a referendum for its independence from northern Sudan.This is a historic moment but there are fears that the vote to divide (partition)Sudan could lead to violence, and the danger to civilians will be high following the referendum.

The photo by Cedric Gerbehaye from Time magazine shows a young Dinka boy stands in a camp in Southern Sudan.

The determination to do more than be a bystander to warfare and genocide underlies George Clooney's concern over issues in Sudan. Think about how he uses his fame to speak out and take action. George Clooney is working with UN and Harvard university to prevent genocide in Sudan. Read the Guardian article about this initiative here.

Think about the difference between a celebrity and a hero. What is heroic action?

Background:
Sudan has endured many years of conflict and suffering. Dafur gained independence from Britain and Egypt in 1956. However, the people of Sudan have suffered years of civil war and conflict. These conflicts are to do with unequal distribution of power and wealth amongst the Sudanese population.

The first civil war in Sudan between the government and southern insurgents (rebels) occurred in 1955 and lasted until 1972. The insurgents wanted greater independence from the North.

In 1983 a second North-South civil war occurred over long held grievances and President Jaafa Nimeiri's decision to bring in Sharia law. Nimeiri lost the presidency in 1989 when General Omar al-Bashir led a military coup (seizure of power). Fighting continued for two decades over resources, southern self determination and the role of religion in the state between the SPLMA (Sudanese People's Liberation Movement). This war led to two and half million deaths and four million people displaced. International mediators helped to achieve peace in 2005. However, in 2003 more conflict in the western area of Darfur occured.

Two rebel groups, the SLA (Sudanese Liberation Movement) and the Justice and Equality Movement began a rebellion against the Sudanese government over insecurity and being economic unequal.

The government responded by getting help from the nomadic tribes from Darfur to stop the rebellion. The government promised these tribes land for their co-operation. With support from the government (National Congress Party) these groups formed militias known as the Janjaweed
which wreaked havoc throughout Dafur causing the deaths of 300,000 and the displacement of 4 million.

The situation in Dafur is complex- rebel groups have splintered and divided which means a variety of needs and a complicated road to peace. Only one group (SLA MM) signed the Darfur Peace Agreement. Many rebel groups are not involved in the peace process which again make this situation so difficult.

Right now many people who had fled the south to Khartoum have returned to the south to vote. They fear for their safety if they remain in other areas. The satellite surveillance seems to be a way of making sure the world is watching this area so that any attempts to intimidate or harm people will not be hidden and covered up. The hope is that the satellite can perhaps prevent genocide and war.

How does this event and ideas in this article connect to issues we are examining in class about tolerance, heroic behaviour, choices, and genocide? Make links to other entries and the books we are reading.

For further information go to:
1. the BBC Sudan Country Profile
2. Holocaust Museum: Preventing Genocide:Sudan
3. BBC News: Southern Sudan Votes on Independence

Reference:
Cedric Gerbehaye / Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund / Agence VU

ALL THE WORLD NOTICES AN EMPTY CHAIR

2010-12-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

Liu Xiabo , Chinese poet and dissident, was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for 'his for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China' Jagland went on to state, 'The Norwegian Nobel Committee has long believed that there is a close connection between human rights and peace. Such rights are a prerequisite for the "fraternity between nations" of which Alfred Nobel wrote in his will.' Thorbjørn Jagland also noted in the presentation speech, ' The human rights activists in China are defenders of the international order '.

Xiabo was one of the 350 signatories of Charter 08 which outlines the freedoms and rights they would like to see in China(see link below) Xiabo's chair remained empty as Xiabo is currently imprisoned in China serving at least 11years. No relatives were allowed to leave China to attend and collect the prize on his behalf. Instead the prize was placed on his empty chair drawing much attention by his absence. Ironically the attempts by China to silence Xiabo have only drawn far greater world attention to him and the human rights abuses in China.

Read the following articles and consider if Liu Xiabo is an upstander, or foolish. Should he have spoken up, drawn attention to oppressive actions in China or remained silent?

BBC:

Guardian: A Chair and a Photo Stand in for Liu Xiabo at Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony

"I have no enemies and no hatred... ...for hatred is corrosive of a person's wisdom and conscience; the mentality of enmity can poison a nation's spirit, instigate brutal life and death struggles, destroy a society's tolerance and humanity, and block a nation's progress to freedom and democracy. I hope therefore to be able to transcend my personal vicissitudes in understanding the development of the state and changes in society, to counter the hostility of the regime with the best of intentions, and defuse hate with love." Liu Xiabo

Nobel Peace Prize Presentation Speech

New York Review of Books: China's Charter 08

Read Liu Xiabo's poetry translated by Jeffrey Yang for PEN:

A Small Rat in Prison

for Little Xia

a small rat passes through the iron bars
paces back and forth on the window ledge
the peeling walls are watching him
the blood-filled mosquitoes are watching him
he even draws the moon from the sky, silver
shadow casts down
beauty, as if in flight

a very gentryman the rat tonight
doesn't eat nor drink nor grind his teeth
as he stares with his sly bright eyes
strolling in the moonlight

5. 26. 1999

Daybreak

for Xia

over the tall ashen wall, between
the sound of vegetables being chopped
daybreak's bound, severed,
dissipated by a paralysis of spirit

what is the difference
between the light and the darkness
that seems to surface through my eyes'
apertures, from my seat of rust
I can't tell if it's the glint of chains
in the cell, or the god of nature
behind the wall
daily dissidence
makes the arrogant
sun stunned to no end

daybreak a vast emptiness
you in a far place
with nights of love stored away

6. 30. 1997
References:
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/liu-xiaobo-one-letter-is-enough-longing-to-escape-a-small-rat-in-prison-and-daybreak
Copyright © 2009 by Liu Xiaobo. English translation copyright © 2009 by Jeffery Yang. All rights reserved.

ENVELOPES ON A JOURNEY:MAIL ME ART

2010-12-13T21:12:00.000-08:00

Inspiration for all you potential artists and doodlers out there: Mail Me Art! Darren Di Lieto established Mail Me Art several years ago opening it to both professional and amateur artists both adults and children. The idea is to send artistic work as mail. The address is incorporated into the art-piece as are stamps and the artist's address. A wide variety of materials and styles are used from postcards to envelopes, to padded post bags and boxes.

Take a look at the gallery and site and be inspired.

The journey of ideas and maintaining connections via mail is at the basis of this project. We would like to explore as does Mail Me Art the journey of the envelope. Over your journeys either:

decorate an envelope and mail it to us with symbols, images of the place where you are. Post from there! OR
using a magazine/tickets/brochures/newspaper from your travels create an envelope and mail it to us from the country where you visit.

Send to :
Ann Whiting
P.O.Box 12645,
50784 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia

We will display everything on your return. Look through the gallery and Mail Me Art site for inspiration. Take a photo of what you create.

CELEBRATING RELIGIOUS PLURALITY

2010-12-12T23:17:00.000-08:00

Look through the photos we took on our recent field trip to explore some of the places of worship in Kuala Lumpur.
Click here:

POWER OF MUSIC

2010-12-02T20:25:00.000-08:00

Thankyou Safa for sharing the group Native Dean on your blog!This is so relevant as we work through the unit on religion right now. Read the lyrics below and watch the clip or go to Safa's blog to read what she said about them under her theme page.

What is the theme of their song ? How does this connect to other texts - poems, stories, books or people that we have been examining this year?

Go to This I Believe and read/listen to Yasir Billo's essay: The Right to Be Fully American

Me, my community we work hard,
Every opportunity to break walls,
Fighting all the lunacy that they cause,
Respect here, to you and me, the same God.

Giving you the right facts,
We keep repeating that Islam has been hijacked,
We ain't like that,
Then some lunatic goes on a rampage,
Using violence and I'm outraged

These is senseless, and its gruesome,
Please don't let this, be a Muslim.
Awww maaan... We're all vilified,
They're saying we're savages, uncivilized

Islam means peace? na thats a front!
Its all a deceit, till they get what want
Dont trust them, even the nice ones
Wait till the bite comes - Mike Tyson

Not fair. The KKKs, Timothy McVeighs,
Militia Brigades, the old crusades,
They're all renegades, from the faith that you claim,
Its them we should blame
I dont blame you, You should refrain too
Believe when we say that it ain't true.

I know what they call us, uh huh
They try to blame all us,
But I know the prophet lived and I know what he taught us

[Chorus]
its... my faith, my voice,
its... my faith, my voice,
Don't care what they say, this is my voice....
my faith, my voice

Come you're invited to see the real picture
Nothing hiding, here's a free scripture
We ain't gonna hurt you, try to convert you
Just so you know how easily they tricked ya

That all us Muslims are those 19 men
Don't build that mosque cause it might be them
Its the same kinda talk of a Bin Laden
Get'em - guilt by association

Mosques being vandalized, cats being stabbed at night
The bigots and racist like zombies they come to life
But instead of all the hate, lets join the same team
I love this land, my people, our dream

Go use the same steam, for youth to stay clean
Our earth to stay green, we want the same thing
'Stead of burning books, extinguish disease
Help spark the flame to help children in need

You will be your faith, I will be mine
Lets live in peace, ma'asalaam
Peace all the time, for all of mankind,
thats on my mind. my masterplan.. check it, yeah
that's my master plan, that's my master plan

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

2010-11-21T21:57:00.000-08:00

Read John Donne's writing:

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

These words by John Donne from the 1624 Meditation 17,
from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions

Watch the video clip below:

Reflect on the poem in your blog entry and 'the visual poem' to make connections to the people we have considered, the texts we have studied so far and the themes we are exploring this year.

'IT IS NOT POWER THAT CORRUPTS, BUT FEAR': AUNG SAN SUU KYI:

2010-11-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro- democracy leader of Burma, was finally released on Friday, 13th November after serving 15 out of 21 years under house arrest. 'Her release comes six days after the political party supported by the military won the country's first election in 20 years. The ballot was widely condemned as a sham.'

While many see that Aung San Suu Kyi's perseverence in fighting for democracy has been a 'positive force for Burma', some have been critical saying 'her rigidity has held the pro-democracy movement back'.

Some suggest she should have left Burma when she was able to do so in the late 1990's as she then could have addressed the UN General Assembly and worked for rights for her people from outside.

In Aung San Suu Kyi’s 1990 famous speech, “Freedom From Fear“, she noted, “It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”

Why could Aung San Suu Kyi be considered a hero?
What does she value? What choices has she had to make? Create an identity chart for Aung San Suu Kyi and consider what personal choices she has made in order to overcome the injustices in her country and help her her people?

Connections:

Have you ever been in a situation where you are aware of an injustice but did not take action? What stopped you getting involved?

Click on the link to watch an interview made in 1995 with Fergal Keane when she was last released in 1995 before being re-arrested.

Listen to Freedom From Fear a BBC world service audio documentary.

Read Guardian article: Aung San Suu Kyi: I was both prisoner and maintenance woman

sanctions

'In foreign affairs, sanction means 'penalty, deterrent': eg. international sanctions against the republic go into effect in January.

• ( sanctions) measures taken by a nation to coerce another to conform to an international agreement or norms of conduct, typically in the form of restrictions on trade or on participation in official sporting events.

root: L. sancire: to ‘ratify'.

Listen to the BBC interview of Aung San Suu Kyi

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/15/aung-san-suu-kyi-release

HOW DOES THE PAST IMPACT IDENTITY?

2010-11-09T21:03:00.000-08:00

Listen to Fatmire Feka's story. I am so inspired by her ability to forgive, to move beyond understandable rage against the horrors she has seen. Consider how her identity has been shaped by the events of her past but how she transformed these events into becoming an 'upstander', an activist for peace and human rights.

Fatmire's 2009 Speech from The Eagle Down Foundation on Vimeo.

WHAT SHAPES OUR IDENTITY?

2010-11-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

How do we view ourselves? What shapes our identity?

How does how we define ourselves affect how others see us?
How do others perceptions affect they way we see/define ourselves?
How do these perceptions affect the relationships we have in society?
How does our identity change over time, within certain conditions?
Watch the video of Jesus Colon. How does Colon see himself? How might others describe him?
Create an identity chart for him and compare it to your own identity chart to consider the influences on our sense of self, our identity.

Image: Pulcinella from Commedia Del Arte, illustrated by Luigi Serafini

Jesús Colón describes labels that others have placed on him. Use the following questions to write a response on your blog.

What labels does he place on the groups to which he belongs? on other groups?
How did those labels shape the way he perceived his choices? the decision he made?
Why does he have regrets? Did he make the right choice?
Would your answer be different if he were a white American?
Who is the victim in this story–Colón, the woman, or the larger society?

from Facing History,Facing Ourselves:Choosing to Participate

What Do We Do with a Variation?

What do we do with a difference?
Do we stand and discuss its oddity
or do we ignore it?
Do we shut our eyes to it
or poke it with a stick?
Do we clobber it to death?
Do we move around it in rage
and enlist the rage of others?
Do we will it to go away?
Do we look at it in awe
or purely in wonderment?
Do we work for it to disappear?
Do we pass it stealthily
Or change route away from it?
Do we will it to become like ourselves?
What do we do with a difference?
Do we communicate to it,
let application acknowledge it
for barriers to fall down?
James Berry

What connections do you make with this poem, Jesus Colon's story and 'The Island' by Armin Greder?

DBQ PREPARATION

2010-10-25T16:49:00.001-07:00

After reading, viewing and discussing the myth of Daedalus and Icarus, the time has come to test your interpretative skills. In order to prepare for the 'dreaded test', you should:
Re-read the myth (do this here)

Read an older version of this myth below:

But Daedalus constructed wings for himself and his son, and enjoined his son, when he took to flight, neither to fly high, lest the glue should melt in the sun and the wings should drop off, nor to fly near the sea, lest the pinions should be detached by the damp.

[E.1.13] But the infatuated Icarus, disregarding his father's injunctions, soared ever higher, till, the glue melting, he fell into the sea called after him Icarian, and perished.15 But Daedalus made his way safely to Camicus in Sicily.

[E.1.14] And Minos pursued Daedalus, and in every country that he searched he carried a spiral shell and promised to give a great reward to him who should pass a thread through the shell, believing that by that means he should discover Daedalus. And having come to Camicus in Sicily, to the court of Cocalus, with whom Daedalus was concealed, he showed the spiral shell. Cocalus took it, and promised to thread it, and gave it to Daedalus;

[E.1.15] and Daedalus fastened a thread to an ant, and, having bored a hole in the spiral shell, allowed the ant to pass through it. But when Minos found the thread passed through the shell, he perceived that Daedalus was with Cocalus, and at once demanded his surrender.16 Cocalus promised to surrender him, and made an entertainment for Minos; but after his bath Minos was undone by the daughters of Cocalus; some say, however, that he died through being drenched with boiling water.

from Apollodorus Epitome: translated by .JG. Fraser

The Painting The Fall of Icarus is by Pieter Bruegel (about 1525-69), usually known as Pieter Bruegel the Elder to distinguish him from his son, was the first in a family of Flemish painters. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, generally considered the greatest Flemish painter of the 16th century, is by far the most important member of the family. He was probably born in Breda in the Duchy of Brabant, now in The Netherlands. His paintings, including his landscapes and scenes of peasant life, stress the absurd and vulgar, yet are full of zest and fine detail. They also expose human weaknesses and follies.
Source: www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bruegel/

LITERARY TEXT - Poem Icarus, by Christine Hemp

Icarus

It was his idea, this flying thing.
We collected feathers at night, stuffing
our pockets with mourning dove down. By day,
we'd weave and glue them with the wax
I stole after we'd shooed the bees away.

Oh, how it felt, finally, to blow off Crete
leaving a labyrinth of dead-ends:
my clumsiness with figures, father's calm
impatience, cool logic, interminable devising.
The sea wind touched my face like balm.

He thought I'd tag along as usual,
in the wake of his careful scheme
bound by the string connecting father and son,
invisible thread I tried for years to untie.
I ached to be a good-for-something on my own.

I didn't know I'd get drunk with the heat,
flying high, too much a son to return.
Poor Daedalus, his mouth an O below,
his hands outstretched to catch the rain
of wax. He still doesn't know.

My wings fell, yes - I saw him hover
over the tiny splash - but by then I'd been
swallowed into love's eye, the light I've come to see
as home, drowning in the yes, this swirling
white-hot where night will never find me.

And now when my father wakes
each morning, his bones still sore
from his one-time flight, his confidence undone
because the master plan fell through,
he rises to a light he never knew, his son.

ABOUT CHRISTINE HEMP: Hemp's poetry and essays are heard on NPR's Morning Edition and her work is published widely. She has worked with such groups as Los Alamos Laboratory scientists, Harvard and University of Washington students, National Park Rangers, corporate lawyers, and Native American tribes, as well as the U.S. Navy. She has also has broken new ground in England and the U.S. by uniting youth offenders and police officers, using writing as a tool for crime prevention. Read more on her website: http://www.christinehemp.com/index.html

YOUR WRITTEN RESPONSE
In part B you will be asked to write a paragraph about the following:

It has been said that this myth deals with the following themes: "captivity and escape, ingenuity and creativity, flight and fall, success and failure" (J.E.Nyenhuis 2003). Select one pair of themes and discuss how well they fit the idea of a journey for either Daedalus or Icarus.

You can also view the videos below as more sources of the myth:

Source: Jim Henson's The Storyteller - Greek Myths, Sony Pictures (2006)

Also look at these interesting interpretations:

SOCRATES

2010-09-24T05:05:00.000-07:00

In David's painting, Socrates continues to speak while at the same time stretching his hand out to accept the cup of poisonous hemlock. This emphasizes his commitment to his principles.Around him others faint, collapse or cry in distress contrasting the calmness and dignity Socrates shows in the face of death. His wife is seen only in the distance leaving the prison. Plato, his student and later a great philosopher, stands the end of the bed while Crito, grasps his master's leg. It is Socrates alone who is in quiet composed control willing to die for what he believes is right.

· "Know thyself."

· "The only thing I know is that I know nothing."

· "Ignorance is the only evil."

We know about Socrates from others, in particular Plato. Plato's writing describes Socrates's most famous philosophical ideas: 'the necessity of doing what one thinks is right even in the face of universal opposition, and the need to pursue knowledge even when opposed'(Nails, D).

Socrates has been admired and may try to be emulate(imitate) him which according to Nails (2010) is 'strange for someone who tried so hard to make others do their own thinking, and for someone convicted and executed on the charge of irreverence toward the gods'. Yet many found him strange.

What was odd was that he did not work for money, nor take part in state affairs. He accepted poverty and, even though many of the young men followed him and imitated him, Socrates steadfastly insisted he was not a teacher and refused all his life to take money for what he did. 'The strangeness of this behavior is mitigated by the image then current of teachers and students: teachers were viewed as pitchers pouring their contents into the empty cups that were the students'. Because Socrates did not just give out information and expect others to passively, unquestioningly receive it , he claimed that he absolutely was no teacher. He expected people to think and reason. He saw his role as helping others recognize for themselves what is real, true, and good.

Socrates also had a higher opinion of women than many others of the time.He talked of “men and women,” “priests and priestesses,” and spoke of foreign women as his teachers: Aspasia of Miletus, Pericles's partner.

Read more about Socrates at:

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/socrates.htmHistory for Kids

Philosophy Slam

MARBLE BATTLES

2010-09-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

The British Museum and the Greek government have been in a battle for many years over the Elgin marbles- the sections of marble frieze and statues taken from Greece in the 19th century by Lord Elgin to London and housed in the British museum. Today however, a new museum has been built in Athens, Greece near the Acropolis. The museum has asked for the return of the marbles to their homeland claiming that Greece now is adequately able to store and care for these antiquities. The trustees of the British museum still refuse to return the marbles.

What do you think?
View the following videos and follow the links to determine your position.
Where do these marbles belong? ' Is it better or worse to have them scattered through the world? Are they the possession of those who live in the place where they were first made? Or are they the possession of everyone? The likelihood is that we will be debating these issues for many years to come.'(Mary Beard, 2002)

British Museum position

Video on Elgin marbles

Press statement concerning Museum position

Lord Elgin : Saviour or Vandal?

BATTLE OF SALAMIS

2010-09-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

As we continue watching the DVD The Greeks, its helpful to look at a map to understand the Battle of Salamis and the strategy the wily Themistocles used. Read Mike Anderson's blog entry concerning the battle and examine the map.

What's in A Name?

2010-09-17T23:53:00.000-07:00

Think about the name Phoenix in Alan Gibbon's 'Shadow of the Minotaur'. Authors can be very deliberate in their naming of characters. Note the allusion to the myth which many of you have picked up from The Harry Potter book 'Order of the Phoenix'. Follow the links and read the myths of the phoenix and consider the number of cultures this bird occurs in. Why might this idea recur throughout time and culture? How do the associations and symbolism of the phoenix link with the character Phoenix? what are the qualities of the phoenix? What is being suggested here in Shadow of the Minotaur with this name?
Phoenix myths:
The Legend of the Phoenix
Rise of the Phoenix

MORE CONNECTIONS

2010-08-11T20:37:00.001-07:00

And in the same spirit of Matt Harding look at the following clips. I think these are further evidence that most people want connections and to share laughter. What do you think? This would certainly brighten up my day. Watch the reactions of the crowd.

I BELIEVE IN COMPLIMENTS

2010-08-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

Compliment: noun:a polite expression of praise or admiration : she paid me an enormous compliment.
Verb:politely congratulate or praise (someone) for something : he complimented Erica on her appearance.
com+pli+ment fromL. complere "to complete," via notion of "complete the obligations of politeness from the Latin root:plere:to fill (Harper,D 2003)

When was the last time you received a compliment? How did it make you feel? When was the last time you complimented someone? How did it make that person feel?

I found this article The Compliment Guy over the weekend and thought many of you would enjoy reading it. I really like the way these students are making a difference to people's days. I like the idea of small steps that we can all take to make the world a better place and I do believe this can have a ripple effect.We all have the power to connect and effect each other so it might as well be for the good! With so much in the news of disasters and wars it's refreshing to read of positive actions, of goodness and kindness. I believe that a smile towards a stranger, a compliment to someone can create connections and warm the world. I believe we can all connect positively to everyone and in doing so make the world a little better.

After reading the article and watching the you-tube clip, write a reaction-your thoughts about this, any connections you might have.

I chose the image above as the illustrated quote seems to complement(!) the you-tube clip and article.'The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.' Frank Lloyd Wright US architect (1869 - 1959) I also wanted to introduce you to the work of Teesha Moore an inspiring collage artist. Visit her site, look at how she combines text and images together. I love her quirky painting/images, the colours and textures she uses. For those of you who may be interested in keeping a graphic journal read about how she creates her pages and the materials she uses here in How I Journal.

References:
Moore,T.My Journal Pages,retrieved from
http://www.teeshamoore.com/teeshasjournalpgs.html
Harper,D. 2003, On Line Etymology Dictionary

CONNECTIONS

2010-08-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

Are we more similar than different?

Read Matt Harding's Connecting to a Global Tribe after watching the video clip below. Read and be inspired by Matt's essay and at the same time note how he starts, the personal experiences he describes, his conclusion that connects to a deeper idea. Identify what he values.
Respond in your blog to his writing and the video.

The painting is by Marc Chagall, The Juggler. I chose it partly because of the whimsical figure who to me appears to be dancing on a swirling world. The colours seems soft and muted but the feeling joyous.

Both Matt Harding and the Compliment Guys make me smile and restore a belief in the basic goodness of people. Read the article outlining the medical benefits of smiling.

And for a little more inspiration... read the poem below:

Stream of Life

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day

runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.
It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth
in numberless blades of grass
and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth
and of death, in ebb and in flow.
I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.
And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali poet and in fact won Asia's first Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. He first started writing poetry at the age of eight!! It is this poem that becomes the inspiration and lyrics for the music in Matt Harding's video!

What Do You Believe?

2010-08-06T09:02:00.001-07:00

“Brie” by Henri Cartier-Bresson, June 1968, Brie, France
Woman and Dog on Beach, Far Rockaway, New York, ca. 1920
Unknown Artist, American School
Gelatin silver print

What do you believe in? This is as Allison ( 2006) notes, is a simple if difficult invitation: Write a few hundred words expressing the core principles that guide your life- your personal credo.'

When you visit the NPRsite you can read hundreds of essays from people expressing what the believe in. Look at the links to the previous essays and note how many of the writers have made their essays personal. They have taken us into the experience that underlies the belief: they show us the moment and then tell us what they learned. Read :

twelve year old Macklin Levine's : The Power of the Beatles
Jake Hovenden's: Inner strength From Desperate Times
Muhammed Ali's: I Am Still the Greatest
Lisa Sandin: I Am Not My Body
Terry Awal: Finding the Strength To Fight On
Elvia Bautista: Remembering All the Boys
Tarick McClain (kindergarten student): Thirty Things I Believe

You can use the This I Believe database to search by theme or by age of writer. Read as many as you can to become immersed in the style. How do they start their essay? How do they conclude? What example do they use to give life to their belief?

Look in your pack to find Tips for Writing
Use this as guide. Also check the page Lesson 6: How Do I Support My Personal Essay?This gives some suggestions. Then read more essays noting these devices when they occur.

I chose Henri Cartier-Bresson's image 'Brie' for this particular post to indicate the journey involved in reaching personal beliefs. As we have discussed these writings focus on small pieces of your life that have shaped a belief, 'moments that teach us who we are'(This I Believe). Cartier-Bresson's photo for me symbolizes the road, the experiences or the journey we make in life.

I also included another photo I found while browsing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art( great gallery to visit on-line and if you are ever in New York!). When you read Macklin Levine's essay above the connection will be obvious. I loved this photo however with the woman trying to restrain the dog and the lunging curiosity of the dog as he makes for the anonymous photographer. It appears almost as if the dog is reaching out through time to us, the viewer!

Reference:
http://kentbeatty.com/2008/10/12/great-photographers-henri-cartier-bresson/

PROCRASTINATION

2010-08-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

Procrastination from the Latin root crastinus: belonging to tomorrow, from L. cras : tomorrow, therefore putting off an action until tomorrow or delaying an action. Sadly, this involves many of you when it involves humanities deadlines!! Nevertheless although this may in fact be aiding your procrastination skills, watch this stop motion animation-consider how you could use this technique sometime:

Blast into Blogging!

2010-08-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

As you know Middle School students are “rewired” , that is have the ability to multitask. You are the ‘digital natives’ while many of your teachers ( and yes even the witty Mrs Whiting !) are ‘digital immigrants’. Many of you do your homework with music blasting, videos playing and msn chat popping up on your computer screens. A large amount of your time is spent on the computer. It’s taken us a while but finally the light is dawning-we’re beginning/trying to understand the attraction of the screen, internet and the ability to communicate with all the new forms. Today in class, each one of you will be revamping your 6th grade blog or if new to the world of blogging , you will start one. To learn more about the purpose of blogs, Lee Lefevere from a company called Common Craft has created a video. For those of you who are new to the concept of blogging watch the video below.

Finish writing your “About Me” profile and include your image there. Next, complete your first blog about your quote and don’t forget to add details about why you chose the words that you did. This means:explain your connection to the quote. Don’t forget that you need to include the author.

Start thinking about an image or photo that you could take that represents who you are. Have this picture on your thumb drive or through the BBS. Write about your object. What memories does it trigger? Explain your connections.

RESISTANCE DURING THE HOLOCAUST

2010-03-16T01:06:00.000-07:00

RESISTANCE
The word resist comes from the Latin root sistere to stop: re+sist. So the denotation is to struggle against someone or something,to try to prevent by action or argument. So resistance, the noun, 'is the refusal to accept or comply with something'(Oxford Dictionary).

CONTEXT
The Holocaust was the murder of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. Mass killings began in June 1941 with the shooting of Jewish civilians during the German invasion of the Soviet Union. At the end of 1941, the Germans began deporting Jews to killing centers in occupied Poland. By May 1945, about two out of every three Jews in Europe had been murdered.

Prewar European Jewish population: 9.5 million.

Before World War II, more than half of the world's Jewish population lived in Europe. Most Jews lived in eastern Europe, primarily in the Soviet Union and Poland. The Nazi party came to power in Germany in 1933. The Germans moved to extend their power in central Europe, annexing Austria and destroying Czechoslovakia. Germany invaded Poland in 1939, beginning World War II. Over the next two years, German forces conquered most of Europe. The Germans established ghettos in occupied eastern territories, isolating and persecuting the Jewish population. Nazi anti-Jewish policy expanded with the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Mobile killing units murdered Jews, Roma (also called Gypsies), Soviet political commissars, and others. The Germans and their collaborators deported Jews to killing centers in occupied Poland. At the largest killing center, Auschwitz-Birkenau, transports arrived almost daily from across Europe. By war's end, almost six million Jews and millions of others had perished in the Holocaust.

Postwar Jewish Population, ca. 1950: 3.5 million

— United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Look carefully at the maps below to draw conclusions about changes in the Jewish population.

What is propoganda?

Propaganda is biased information designed to shape public opinion and behavior.
Propaganda simplifies complicated issues or ideology for popular consumption, is always biased, and is geared to achieving a particular end. Propaganda generally employs symbols, whether in written, musical, or visual forms, and plays upon and channels complex human emotions towards a desired goal. It is often employed by governmental and private organizations to promote their causes and institutions and denigrate their opponents. Propaganda functions as just one weapon in the arsenal of mass persuasion.(The Holocaust Museum: Propaganda)

Examine the following propaganda posters of Hitler and Jews. Think about the impression created and the ways this impression is built in the minds of the viewer.

http://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/resources/

PYRAMID OF HATE

First They Came
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialist
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.

Pastor Martin Niemoller

The Agitator by George Grosz painted 1928 during the years of the Weimar Republic

PART B: OBSTACLES TO RESISTANCE

Consider what Father says to Bruno in Boyne's The Boy in Striped Pyjamas: 'Accept the situation in which you find yourself and everything will be so much easier' (53)

Using the sources write a paragraph that examines why people remained silent, 'accepted the situation in which (they) found themselves'.

Go to the Holocaust Museum for more information about resistance:

FLYING CLOSE TO THE SUN - DBQ preparation

2009-10-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

from Apollodorus Epitome: translated by .JG. Fraser

Of Breaking Frozen Seas

2008-11-02T01:26:00.000-07:00

‘A book should be an ice-axe to break the frozen sea within us’ Franz Kafka, a writer, wrote this in 1904 in a letter to a friend. I am intrigued with Kafka's metaphor: linking a book to an ice-axe that smashes frozen seas that lie within us. I see books, as does Kafka, as powerful- they take us on many journeys and through these journeys we change or our view of the world changes.

What books have been a powerful influence on you?

What books are you currently reading that incorporate the idea of a journey- either a journey within (the journey of the protagonist-the changes they undergo in the course of the novel) or a physical journey?

The woodcut below is by a Japanese artist Hokusai who created this in 1831. Click on the link above to read about the artist and the painting. When I was thinking about Kafka’s quote, it was this image that sprang to mind. Find the boat and think about the journey involved here! Is this representative of the journey the protagonist in your novel experiences? I certainly think it's symbolic of many of the journeys of heroes: small vulnerable boat (the protagonist) and terrifying, almost insurmountable dangers ( the wave) that almost overwhelm the hero. Faced with these dangers the hero continues with his quest, battling doubts within as well as the physical opposition from nature, monsters or other opponents.