For this essential question response, I couldn't think of anything to address my original essential question, which was "What is the responsibility of a human being?" So for this response, I'm picking a new essential question to respond to (at least for now). My new essential question is:
Can determination allow you to accomplish anything?
50 years ago, the idea of space travel was classified as a demented scientist's fantasy. No one at the time ever believed it even possible to travel outside of this world. However, on May 25, 1961, President Kennedy said "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth." This challenge was unimaginably difficult; travel to the moon and back, something that had never been accomplished, and in less than a decade? But despite the obvious difficulties his challenge held, the nation joined together and on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong was sent to the moon. At the time, Kennedy's challenge seemed impossible. But because of his drive and determination, we accomplished his astronomical goal, proving that determination can allow some of the wildest dreams to come true.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Lit Circle #1 Reflection
We split up into small groups and discussed book 2 in The Poisonwood Bible in class today.
The first thing we discussed was the connection between Ruth May and Green Mamba snakes, which are the deadliest snakes in Africa. We talked about how Ruth May is similar to these snakes because Green Mambas are very quiet and are hard to notice, and Ruth May is very quiet and unnoticeable as well, which allows her to see and hear things that people try to keep secret. She also mentions her desire to see one, which could foretell an encounter with one later on in the story. And since the snake is constantly being connected to poison and death, it is almost certain that if Ruth May ever encounters one, it will result in a vicious attack. The next thing we discussed was Leah. We believed that she had changed from book one to book two; she is becoming her own self and less like her father. For example, she is starting to adapt to Congo by making friends and learning about the culture, whereas Nathan refuses to assimilate anything from Congo. Also, she was punished by her father for being prideful, which shows that she is slowly gaining her own confidence instead of emulating Nathan. We also discussed Nathan's personality. We found him to be extremely prideful, which is ironic since he had punished Leah for this very sin. He constantly demonstrates his pride by his unfaltering stance on his teachings, believing that his way is the only right way and that it doesn't need to be changed or altered. Also, he provides a lot of evidence that shows that he believes he is better than his family, such as his disregard for their opinions about leaving Congo when the government was changed from the Belgiums to the Congolese. His lack of respect for his family led us to discuss his relationship with his wife, Orleanna. We figured out that Nathan doesn't treat Orleanna like an adult, since he doesn't hold her word in high regard. Also, he uses Orleanna as an outlet for his anger and frustration from his lack of success in Congo. Then we questioned his motive for trying to convert Congo to Christianity and we doubted that he wanted to help the Congolese through his religion and rather wanted to force his own opinions on people, allowing him to act like a god. At the end of the discussion, we talked about how Methuselah could be a metaphor for many things in the story. For example, Methuselah related to the Price family because he was handicapped by having a safe home and many conveniences, much like the Price family in America. And by Methuselah being killed when he was released, it foretells the trouble that the Price family will encounter in Congo.
For this being our first lit circle and having very little time, I believe we covered a lot of subjects and went in depth with most of them to the point that we were able to formulate connections that run deep within the story. I believe that it is helpful to have a fresh perspective on things so that new ideas can be formulated instead of just coming up with generic ideas. An example of this was when Methuselah was connected to many points in the story, most of which I hadn't noticed. Overall, I found this lit circle to be extremely helpful, since I can now move on to the next book in the story with fresh ideas I gathered from my classmates.
The first thing we discussed was the connection between Ruth May and Green Mamba snakes, which are the deadliest snakes in Africa. We talked about how Ruth May is similar to these snakes because Green Mambas are very quiet and are hard to notice, and Ruth May is very quiet and unnoticeable as well, which allows her to see and hear things that people try to keep secret. She also mentions her desire to see one, which could foretell an encounter with one later on in the story. And since the snake is constantly being connected to poison and death, it is almost certain that if Ruth May ever encounters one, it will result in a vicious attack. The next thing we discussed was Leah. We believed that she had changed from book one to book two; she is becoming her own self and less like her father. For example, she is starting to adapt to Congo by making friends and learning about the culture, whereas Nathan refuses to assimilate anything from Congo. Also, she was punished by her father for being prideful, which shows that she is slowly gaining her own confidence instead of emulating Nathan. We also discussed Nathan's personality. We found him to be extremely prideful, which is ironic since he had punished Leah for this very sin. He constantly demonstrates his pride by his unfaltering stance on his teachings, believing that his way is the only right way and that it doesn't need to be changed or altered. Also, he provides a lot of evidence that shows that he believes he is better than his family, such as his disregard for their opinions about leaving Congo when the government was changed from the Belgiums to the Congolese. His lack of respect for his family led us to discuss his relationship with his wife, Orleanna. We figured out that Nathan doesn't treat Orleanna like an adult, since he doesn't hold her word in high regard. Also, he uses Orleanna as an outlet for his anger and frustration from his lack of success in Congo. Then we questioned his motive for trying to convert Congo to Christianity and we doubted that he wanted to help the Congolese through his religion and rather wanted to force his own opinions on people, allowing him to act like a god. At the end of the discussion, we talked about how Methuselah could be a metaphor for many things in the story. For example, Methuselah related to the Price family because he was handicapped by having a safe home and many conveniences, much like the Price family in America. And by Methuselah being killed when he was released, it foretells the trouble that the Price family will encounter in Congo.
For this being our first lit circle and having very little time, I believe we covered a lot of subjects and went in depth with most of them to the point that we were able to formulate connections that run deep within the story. I believe that it is helpful to have a fresh perspective on things so that new ideas can be formulated instead of just coming up with generic ideas. An example of this was when Methuselah was connected to many points in the story, most of which I hadn't noticed. Overall, I found this lit circle to be extremely helpful, since I can now move on to the next book in the story with fresh ideas I gathered from my classmates.
Monday, February 26, 2007
PWB: Lit Circle #1, Moderator
In class, we are periodically going to assume different roles to aid in discussions regarding The Poisonwood Bible. For the first lit circle, I am the moderator, which means that I have to come up with questions for our discussion.
1) Ruth May seems to be fascinated by Green Mamba snakes. Is their any significance behind that?
2) After becoming flustered by Anatole's argument about the problems with his teachings, Nathan breaks Orleanna's favorite serving plate out of rage. Is Nathan's anger going to play a significant role later on in the story?
3) When Leah is allowed to keep a baby owl, Nathan punishes her for the sin of pride. Why does Nathan punish Leah for the sin of pride when he is the one who has the most pride?
4) Does the owl Leah found have any significance to the relations of villagers and the price family or future events?
5) Nathan demonstrates a complete disregard for his family's safety by refusing to leave Congo even though there will be civil unrest from the changing government. Will Nathan's attitude hurt his family and will he ever change his ways?
6) WIll the change in government affect Nathan's plans?
1) Ruth May seems to be fascinated by Green Mamba snakes. Is their any significance behind that?
2) After becoming flustered by Anatole's argument about the problems with his teachings, Nathan breaks Orleanna's favorite serving plate out of rage. Is Nathan's anger going to play a significant role later on in the story?
3) When Leah is allowed to keep a baby owl, Nathan punishes her for the sin of pride. Why does Nathan punish Leah for the sin of pride when he is the one who has the most pride?
4) Does the owl Leah found have any significance to the relations of villagers and the price family or future events?
5) Nathan demonstrates a complete disregard for his family's safety by refusing to leave Congo even though there will be civil unrest from the changing government. Will Nathan's attitude hurt his family and will he ever change his ways?
6) WIll the change in government affect Nathan's plans?
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Freepost #2
This is the trailer for the movie Saw. I love the Saw movies since I find the "traps" in them extremely interesting and the thought process of the serial killer, Jigsaw, very different from the average hollywood serial killer. Basically, Jigsaw's thinking is that some people are very ungrateful to be alive, so he takes people who don't appreciate their lives and puts them through traps that test their will to live. Now even though the movies are exremely gory and not suitable for all audiences, I find that the message, although distorted, is very important. We are living our lives not appreciating the opportunities that we have, and the only way that we actually see how lucky we are is when we come face to face with death. The thought of dying shouldn't force us to appreciate our lives and instead we should go through everyday enjoying every single breath.
Freepost #1
So for our class, we have to post writings that could be about anything. So I came up with this:
In the past decade, numerous school shootings have taken place. In each case, estranged kids come to school, wielding anything from pistols to assault rifles, and have killed their fellow classmates. Now of course the parents of these kids don't want to take the blame for allowing their kids to be so emotionally isolated and distraught that they would just break down and go on a killing spree, so they immediately try to pass on the blame. And when they do that, the easiest target is video games. Now I find this really annoying. How do these parents, who didn't notice that their kids were emotionally isolated, get the nerve to blame the actions of their children on a form of entertainment? I have been playing video games practically my entire life, and as a result, I know a lot about them. Video games come with ESRB ratings, which are similar to the rating for movies. A group of people goes through each game and will rate the game based on its content. And if a game is excessively violent, it will be rated M, which stands for mature. This means that the only way a high school kid can get their hands on a game like that is if they have almost graduated, or if their parents buy it for them. Now this system basically is designed to prevent impressionable youngsters from being influenced by this violence, so if a kid gets his hands on the game, it is because the parent bought the game for the kid, which completely defeats the purpose of the rating system. So I do admit, that video games probably desensitized the kids to violence, so that they didn't think that killing their classmates was that bad, but if a parent exercises just a little responsibility, there should be no way that video games should influence these kids. Games such as Grand Theft Auto are rated M, and because of the content of these games, it is really easy to say that the videos games had caused these kids to shoot their classmates. But there should be no way that a kid will ever play Grand Theft Auto, unless their parents buy the game for their kid. So you cannot blame video games without first blaming the person who bought it. It’s like buying a gun; you shouldn’t let your kids ever touch it because they might not now how to handle it, but having a gun can help you, since it has the ability to guard yourself from potential attackers.
Video games are entertainment, and most people view it as a way to relieve stress, allowing them to play outside the limits of the real world. I constantly enjoy playing video games to work out the stress I accumulated over the day in a safe manner. So in my opinion, if video games are used correctly, they can be therapeutic. From now on, instead of parents pointing the finger away from them, how about they just admit that they didn't exercise the proper amount of responsibility they should have.
In the past decade, numerous school shootings have taken place. In each case, estranged kids come to school, wielding anything from pistols to assault rifles, and have killed their fellow classmates. Now of course the parents of these kids don't want to take the blame for allowing their kids to be so emotionally isolated and distraught that they would just break down and go on a killing spree, so they immediately try to pass on the blame. And when they do that, the easiest target is video games. Now I find this really annoying. How do these parents, who didn't notice that their kids were emotionally isolated, get the nerve to blame the actions of their children on a form of entertainment? I have been playing video games practically my entire life, and as a result, I know a lot about them. Video games come with ESRB ratings, which are similar to the rating for movies. A group of people goes through each game and will rate the game based on its content. And if a game is excessively violent, it will be rated M, which stands for mature. This means that the only way a high school kid can get their hands on a game like that is if they have almost graduated, or if their parents buy it for them. Now this system basically is designed to prevent impressionable youngsters from being influenced by this violence, so if a kid gets his hands on the game, it is because the parent bought the game for the kid, which completely defeats the purpose of the rating system. So I do admit, that video games probably desensitized the kids to violence, so that they didn't think that killing their classmates was that bad, but if a parent exercises just a little responsibility, there should be no way that video games should influence these kids. Games such as Grand Theft Auto are rated M, and because of the content of these games, it is really easy to say that the videos games had caused these kids to shoot their classmates. But there should be no way that a kid will ever play Grand Theft Auto, unless their parents buy the game for their kid. So you cannot blame video games without first blaming the person who bought it. It’s like buying a gun; you shouldn’t let your kids ever touch it because they might not now how to handle it, but having a gun can help you, since it has the ability to guard yourself from potential attackers.
Video games are entertainment, and most people view it as a way to relieve stress, allowing them to play outside the limits of the real world. I constantly enjoy playing video games to work out the stress I accumulated over the day in a safe manner. So in my opinion, if video games are used correctly, they can be therapeutic. From now on, instead of parents pointing the finger away from them, how about they just admit that they didn't exercise the proper amount of responsibility they should have.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
PWB: POV Shift (Rachel)
We had to pick one of the characters in The Poisonwood Bible and describe our campus using the point of view of our selected character based off a quote we selected. This is what I wrote:
"Already I was heavy-hearted in my sould for the flush commodes and machine-washed clothes and other simple things in life I have took for granite" (23).
The clean, green grass was trimmed on either side of the winding path that took me through this place. The sun was high in the sky. I could feel my fantasmic, fair skin slowly burning under its unforgiving rays. I took shelter under a giant tree, only to have it shower me with its awful, filthy leaves. The leaves entangeld in my beautiful blonde hair and I desperately tried to weed out each invading speck. There were a few kids talking and laughing a few feet away. They seemed to not even care that one of the girls was wearing a purple blouse with a weird pair of shorts. I was shocked to smithereens. A fire was beating inside of me as I desperately tried to control my urge to yell at her for being so incredible dumb. Despite the dirtyness and untidyness of the surroundings, the building surrounding this place were amazing. They were built from brick and stone and were two-stories high. I rushed towards a magnificient, white building to my right. I couldn't wait to leaf that campus.
"Already I was heavy-hearted in my sould for the flush commodes and machine-washed clothes and other simple things in life I have took for granite" (23).
The clean, green grass was trimmed on either side of the winding path that took me through this place. The sun was high in the sky. I could feel my fantasmic, fair skin slowly burning under its unforgiving rays. I took shelter under a giant tree, only to have it shower me with its awful, filthy leaves. The leaves entangeld in my beautiful blonde hair and I desperately tried to weed out each invading speck. There were a few kids talking and laughing a few feet away. They seemed to not even care that one of the girls was wearing a purple blouse with a weird pair of shorts. I was shocked to smithereens. A fire was beating inside of me as I desperately tried to control my urge to yell at her for being so incredible dumb. Despite the dirtyness and untidyness of the surroundings, the building surrounding this place were amazing. They were built from brick and stone and were two-stories high. I rushed towards a magnificient, white building to my right. I couldn't wait to leaf that campus.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Essential Question Response #5
Is maintaining hygiene a responsibility of human beings?
At one point, everyone has had their parents tell them to brush their teeth and take a bath. The reason behind doing these things is to maintain our overall hygiene. The question arises whether maintaining hygiene is a responsibility of human beings. The first reason behind maintaining hygiene is to maintain our health. If we don't maintain our hygiene, we become dirty, opening us up to infections and diseases. These afflictions would prevent us from performing at our best, so we wouldn't be able to contribute to our community. Also, it makes it harder for diseases to spread amongst people, minimizing the devastating effects they could have on the population. This reason makes it appear that maintaining hygiene is a responsibility of human beings. The second reason behind maintaining hygiene is to improve our appearance. Now this has many perks, such as being more attractive, which allows for more reproduction. It also improves our relations with one another, since we are all extremely superficial. Appearance does have a purpose, but it is not that important. Even though it only has one reason why it should be a responsibility of human beings, the reason is important enough that I believe that maintaining hygiene is a responsibility of human beings.
At one point, everyone has had their parents tell them to brush their teeth and take a bath. The reason behind doing these things is to maintain our overall hygiene. The question arises whether maintaining hygiene is a responsibility of human beings. The first reason behind maintaining hygiene is to maintain our health. If we don't maintain our hygiene, we become dirty, opening us up to infections and diseases. These afflictions would prevent us from performing at our best, so we wouldn't be able to contribute to our community. Also, it makes it harder for diseases to spread amongst people, minimizing the devastating effects they could have on the population. This reason makes it appear that maintaining hygiene is a responsibility of human beings. The second reason behind maintaining hygiene is to improve our appearance. Now this has many perks, such as being more attractive, which allows for more reproduction. It also improves our relations with one another, since we are all extremely superficial. Appearance does have a purpose, but it is not that important. Even though it only has one reason why it should be a responsibility of human beings, the reason is important enough that I believe that maintaining hygiene is a responsibility of human beings.
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