Monday, March 28, 2011

Rabbit Proof Fence

First Australians, we reluctant Australians want to officially say sorry. We want to formally express both sorrow and regret for the past treatment of Aboriginal people. We've realized that you are not savages, you are people. All of us are equal, and you should have been treated the same way as we Australians treat each other. I hope you will forgive us because we are so guilty and we know that what we did was wrong.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Is Molly a Hero?

Molly is a brave Aboriginal girl that has just been taken away from her family along with her sister and cousin. They were forced to learn the British language and culture. I believe that Molly is and is not a hero. She is because she is determined to get herself, her sister, and cousin, out of Southern Australia, back to their own home and lifestyle with their family. Molly gets her sister and cousin together and they run for their lives. Molly is not a hero because she knows that the tracker has a horse and is much faster than her. Earlier, they saw a girl that ran away to see her boyfriend and got caught when she was on her way back. The white people whipped the girl and was left alone in the solitary confinement. Molly and the others will be put in it also if they get caught running away. Molly thinks that she has a chance to reunite with her family, which is why I mainly think that she is mostly a hero.
The British ethnocentric views of the First Australians caused conflict between the two cultures. From the "First Australians" DVD and the book, "The Rabbits", I learned that the British viewed the First Australians as uncivilized savages. The British thought that the First Australians were a problem that needed to be dealt with. They will do so by killing the children so that they don't grow up and reproduce and they kill the women so they will not reproduce any more. The labeling of the First Australians as less than keeps the British superior and the First Australians inferior. The British views of the First Australians showed the ethnocentrism of the British. Some people believe that the British brought small pox, a European disease, to Australia when the British colonized Australia. There was a fight over the land in Australia. The crops were changed to British crops then the First Australians burned the British crops. This ethnocentric viewpoint also resulted as conflict between the British and the First Australians. Overall, the British ethnocentric views of the First Australians caused major conflict.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Julius Caesar: Solo Acting

BRUTUS:
Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards;
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar:
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar;
And in the spirit of men there is no blood:
O, that we then could come by Caesar's spirit,
And not dismember Caesar! But, alas,
Caesar must bleed for it! And, gentle friends,
Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully;
Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds:
And let our hearts, as subtle masters do,
Stir up their servants to an act of rage,
And after seem to chide 'em. This shall make
Our purpose necessary and not envious:
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be call'd purgers, not murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him;
For he can do no more than Caesar's arm
When Caesar's head is off.

In act two scene 1 Brutus is in the garden of his house. Storm clouds pass across the sky when he is speaking to Cassius about how Brutus wants to kill Caesar. He desperately wants the assassination to be honorable. Brutus only wants to do what is best for Rome so he describes how he wishes the way the act will be. In this scene, you can really see that he wants it to appear honorable and not murderous. But he truly, from the heart, wants this to be a noble act.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

My Learning Profile

I learn best through movement and by focusing on he whole picture, context and emotional relevance to self. When I am relaxed, I may preferentially listen for the details.

As a visual/kinesthetic learner, I must see the whole picture and physically do what is being learned.

I appreciate metaphors, examples and associations when problem solving. I will benefit from sitting close to the front on the left hand side but where I can also move without disturbing other learners. Some activities that can help me when I’m stressed is reading out loud, Thinking Caps from Brain Gym, megaphones, toning the vowels and hand-eye coordination play like Lazy 8’s for writing, double doodles, and integrating cross-lateral foot play like cross crawl, walking, soccer, dancing and martial arts like Tai Chi. Also integrative balance of art, music, movement and interpersonal/intrapersonal skills combined with cognitive endeavors in linguistics and mathematics will be highly beneficial.

I would like my teachers to know that I learn kinesthetically. I need to move (especially the hands) to process new learning. Emotionally and physically expressive.I visually grasp the main idea but I may have a great difficulty seeing and communicating the details in a linear way. My left eye scans from right to left. I may have a difficulty reading or writing languages that move from left to right like English. I may reverse or transpose letters or number. I prefer not to follow step-by-step visual instructions. I tend to start by imagining the end results and then intuitvely doing what seems appropriate. I may have a difficulty with penmanship because the eye and hand don’t work together. I benefit from fine-motor, hand-eye coordination activities. My movements tend to be spontaneous and fluid when I’m relaxed. When under stress, I may move forward with caution felling clumsy and stuck.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Leonardo Da Vinci - Characterized as a true Renaissance Man


Leonardo Da Vinci can be characterized as a true Renaissance man because he was many different occupations throughout his life. Such as a scientist, inventor, and an artist. He was also an engineer. Da Vinci's experiments with anatomy absolutely astonished his predecessors. He observed nature and asked very simple scientific questions such as "How do birds fly?" Then he analysed his theories in his sketches. And to this, he added a preternatural, even spooky determination. He paid attention to every detail and forms of small organs and hidden parts of the skeleton. He would dissect animals and humans to analyze it. Da Vinci was a great inventor. He adapted his drawing skills to the more well-paid fields of architecture, military, engineering, canal building, and weapons design. In search of a salary, he only briefly mentioned to the Duke that he could paint as well. Lucky for leonardo, he was very gifted in the engineering business. Throughout his life he had amazing ideas. Leonardo was an extremely talented renaissance man.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Brunelleschi Character Traits

I believe that creative leadership most prompted Brunelleschi to succeed in the construction of his masterpiece because Brunelleschi thought of the idea of having an inner-dome and an outer-dome. He had many more ideas besides this one and he had succeed most of them. The Actions and decisions of the people effect change because if Brunelleschi had never shown creative leadership then it most likely would have been much later on when people in Italy would discover more things in art and architecture such as linear perspective and the fact that they can build large domes.