"Education and Socialization and as Individualization"

I like fuzzy. (...I like room for interpretation. And liberty to do with suggestions as you likesort of like speed limits. guidelines. right...) or as you believe to be best. And the picture seemed appropriate (it's an avatar, so you know.)

This article comes up with an interesting approach to dealing with the issue of "What should our school teaches?" It contrasts the views of the (political) right with the (political) left. I won't paraphrase it or anything, since I know you all have read it (and that this is not an ARP) but I'll pull out the points I had something to say about and discuss them, sound good? (I like how I can't hear your answer o_o)

----"If you have truth, freedom wil follow automatically...only the truth can make us free."
Hmm... No. Unless you're accused of a crime and only the telling of the truth will absolve you, truth does not equal freedom. The ability to choose to believe in the truth would though, assuming that there's only one truth. Sometimes I wonder, when the people around me are really fundamentalist-ly Christian, about how Nietzsche pointed out that the most vehement opposers of something can be those most afraid of falling pray to it, like someone vocally completely opposed to gambling being a high roller in their guilty free time. For one it seems like they are so afraid of a life of "sin" because they want to keep themselves away from it (I'm not trying to offend anyone! So if I do...) But for two, a lot of those people were taught exactly what to believe. And to keep believing in it (without question, which isn't the way most people believe) they need the support of other people. So, even if that's the truth (spiritually) is it any kind of freedom? Not understanding the truth? It's my opinion that truth and freedom have no causational relationship.
But, I can also go a bit to the contrary. You know "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich"? by Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Russian names are so much harder to remember than German ones...) Well, in it our main character, Ivan, leads an insanely controlled life in one of the apparently many Siberian (I think, as it's been a while) concentration camps, but finds a religious freedom, a truer freedom than his physical captivity would lead us to believe possible. Anyway, the next point....

----"The right has pretty much kept control of primary and secondary education and the left has gradually got control of non-vocational higher education."
This seems kind of funny to me. Wouldn't it make sense that if primary, our earliest school (which helps us to build the premises upon which we form the rest of our world!), were where all the "right" influence is shaping us we would choose to go on to a semi-"right"ist college? Therefore screwing the entire system... I've seen generally in people, especially the dumb ones, that they don't like changing their opinions. It's too threatening. And if they don't get exposed to some variety early on they're not going to even see it later on! So why don't we have a bit of variety in primary, too? Where would be the harm? If we stick with the major "socialization" themes, too. But, you know, stick an oddball teacher in, a "loose cannon." I'm so grateful for them.

----Ah, also, in the Rights truth is achieved after society is embraced and we live in a certain way (remember the word society.) And in the Lefts truth is what's found when the shackles of society and tradition are thrown off (still, society.) Both sides seem to require society. What if we didn't have a society? What if we were almost completely alone? I mean, Rorty says "There is only the shaping of an animal into a human being by a process of socialization, followed (with luck) by the self-individualization and self-creation of that human being through his or her own later revolt against that very process." but I think it should read that "There is only the shaping of a child into an adult..." It's insulting toward the animals, you know. Human beings are animals, but we start off as whining, self-centered, selfish, babies. And some people stay babies for their entire lives (oh no, Gatto!) But some grow up. Animals grow up in the same way... o_o

----Why do we have this desire to know the "truth"? Why do we call it the truth? I've seen, lately, especially as I meet more people who want to know (or say they pretty much know) about the truth and such, that a whole bunch of people on this earth are looking for the truth. But why is is so important? To know from where we came, why we're here... For me, it doesn't change much. Maybe I'm too stuck in the here-and-now? But, then again, I think as a kid I had a unique perspective, a look into, realit(ies). I mean, so many people are walking around in this world without of clue of the reality they live in. So I always figured that reality was somewhat self-formed. And, like Charles de Lint writes (in most of his books) our's is somewhat of a consensual reality. We agree that things are this way. And that teaches us what to see, how to interpret things so that our reality remains the same. Ahh, off this vague topic!

-----"...Dewey's failure of prescience do not count against his account of truth and freedom. Nor should they prevent us from accepting his notion of the socialization American children should receive."
Before I hit the idea Dewey does have about the narrative (god :P) we should have, why do we do that? That is, read or see something beautiful, shocking, eye-opening, obviously true but threatening--why do we see things like that and write them off because of one incorrect idea? Or statement? Or detail? Oh. Wait. I have the answer... we want an excuse to get it out of our heads!
But about the main point of this essay (one interpretation, at least), that of Dewey's idea of the socialization process we should go through, and therefore the narrative we should instill in our youth. It's beautiful, I think, to recognize our mistakes, our shortcomings, and to not justify or ignore them. And, at the same time, to see and be proud of those things we've done right. To not feel overwhelmed of the size of the task, but to change the situation little by little. And to always hope that we can be better than what we are. (Like warriors of the light!)

Discussion of Gatto's "Against School"

Asides from the obvious appeal of the title, this essay has a lot to offer to someone who really reads it (which, apparently based on the quality of our schooling, could be a rare thing). It talks about the blatant ties between the Prussian and American school systems, about how our own school system was based on "an educational system deliberately designed to produce mediocre intellects, to hamstring the inner life, to deny students appreciable leadership skills, and to ensure docile and incomplete citizens in order to render the populace 'manageable.'" It makes me wonder, though, those that fight the system (of school) and become their own, intelligent, people…where do they go on to? To be writers, like Gatto? Becuase they don't fit any of the other slots that society makes for everyone that comes out of school. Maybe they "turn to the dark side," (to continue with Gatto's own Star Wars comparison…) and are recruited by the government to run everyone else in the next generation. Maybe that's why the cycle of boredom continues--some people actually rig it so that it can continue. (This sounds so conspiracy theory, it's hard to go on.)

Anyway, he goes on to describe more about the Prussian (and therefore, American) system of education. He explains that public schooling, with all its systems of division (grading, separating the students into different years, etc.) is designed to keep “the people” (I can’t resist) from realizing they’re all being put down in different ways and coming together to end that.

I have to think out loud a bit (that is, on-line…) It seems we do a crazy good job of dividing ourselves, into cliques (I hate that word. I never knew how to say it. It still screws me up. At the least the i should be said like an e. If it’s a “click” why can’t they say it that way? Wait, is that how you say it? Shit…) based on how popular you are (which is loosely based on how you dress, or who you know), what grade your in, what you’re most interested in… And even in the general “middle class” there’s upper-middle, middle-middle, and lower-middle class. But I suppose that school can highlight those differences and make them more pronounced the longer children are kept in the systems.

The way he pulls in Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” act and relates the act to keeping children… well, children, isn’t only comical, but sort of relates to the whole conspiracy thing at the same time. School does not allow them to grow up, to become mature and intelligent adults that can participate productively in society and the governing of it. So power is kept in certain hands…

Along with this declaration about the truth of schooling, he points out that “if we wanted we could easily and inexpensively jettison the old, stupid structures and help kids take an education rather than merely receive a schooling”, something he says that he, and probably many other teachers, have recognized. So if they can, why don’t they? That must be the worst part of being an educator, being “trapped inside structures even more rigid than those imposed upon the children.” Maybe, as Gatto says, that’s the reason everyone’s so bored. Their natural brilliance isn’t allowed to shine, and they’ve been conditioned to believe it doesn’t even exist. Maybe…

Going in no particular order: "The Joy of Living Dangerously"

To begin with, I really love the TV Guide Channel. It makes the gap between 3:00 and 3:30 seem so much longer. Also, is this size good to read? I suppose I like the smaller sizes, they make me feel less visible... (That doesn't make much sense, I know.)

But, to business: "The Joy of Living Dangerously"

I believed that the anecdote of Sanderson and his famous academy was truly beautiful. Sanderson's perspective on teaching, the way it should be done, the importance that should be placed upont it--I believe he must have been an amazing man, and a brilliant teacher. Like "[disliking] competition and "posessiveness" as a motive for anything in education." Who, in our modern school system, lives by that system? There would be two types of people: those that don't "play to win," and therefore don't win at all, or those rare geniuses that don't even have to work at succeeding because it merely comes naturally. And since the latter are extremely rare I have to say that a school system where an individual is not the most highly-prized commodity is refreshing, and so idealistic it hurts. (But obviously not too idealistic, as at least one passionate man managed to make it a true system.) I know in my school, however, people were singled out as special, brilliant, worthy of our attention, if they made it big on some standardized test or won a contest. I thought it was nice, of course, seeing my classmates be praised for their own achievements. For the most part they deserved it (ja, that is to say some people could have done without it o_o.) I mean, our school was so desperate for funding our principal would "award" the kids who scored "advanced" on the MAP test fifty dollars (it was one-hundred dollars the first MAP test, but once everyone figured out they could be winning and started doing better, it was lowered to fifty...) It could be considered despearte by some, a dirty trick by others.
I just wondered, about all the people who were "normal," and who rarely or never brought up their ideas because they were bever used, or never taken seriously because one of the "bright" kids shot out theirs. I spent plenty of time being "normal" even in the technically "bright" kid group, so i have a pretty good idea of how it feels to be ignored. What if people don't grow because no one cares enough about them to grow? I always wondered that. So what if we were forced to do things as a group, to not receive noteriety--would we still do it? Would it seem worth the thinking? I think, though, if you're passionate enough about something you do it just because you can. Not because you have to...

*Ahem*, on to my next topic. Sanderson put trust in his students. That's so amazing!! Can you imagine any school but a private one placing so much faith in their students? I got in trouble if there was a sticker on my I.D. badge, or if I took it off at the end of the day and hadn't yet exited the building. It got to the point that when I was driving I'd feel for it around my neck, my own safeguard against the terrors of authority figures. But it wasn't an unfounded one. I once tried to skip out on a "Beginning of Winter Break" speach before we were allowed to leave for home early and was chased down the hall by the assistant principal. Luckily, though, he couldn't recognize me from behind. The point is, in a society where we put high school students through metal detectors (and close the library directly after school hours--what's the point of that? You don't have much opportunity to leave class for the library when you only have so many "passes" in your schedule book. Grr...) I don't see anything like Sanderson's ideas being put into place. No free reign for your (academic) passions, kids, you could scratch the floor varnish. Thanks. Love you, too.

And last on the Sanderson portion, he worked hardest for the boys without a passion. No one does that now, unless your teachers happen to be your parents, or really care about you (which, in a class of thirty students, is sometimes hard to do.) Now, at least in public schools, I can't speak for private, you have to fit into certain niches if you want to be able to pursue your true passion. And if you can't find it in school, tough luck. We're paying for standardized education....

Now, onto the evolution bit, and how angry it makes me. I see no reason to not teach a completely valid theory of the development of every living being! I wouldn't even say theory, but I don't think it's been proved as a complete fact (not that anything is :/ ) so I don't want to jump the gun. I can't stand the rigidness our school systems have been placed into if they want to continue educating children. At least, those who truly reap the benifits of that education, not those who "the system fails." This seems like such a sad blog entry. But the next will be worse...

Mids 101 "Final"

An issue that grabbed my attention (and kept it) that I encountered in Mids 101 was that of standardized testing in schools, and the nationwide standards we now have in place, affecting every public school in the United States. Since I attended a public school (and know its great value, especially for children who wouldn’t be able to receive an education otherwise), complete with horribly condescending standardized “MAP” tests, I think I can speak on this and not be completely off the mark.

Standardized testing (brining with it standardized curriculum) has obvious advantages, but carries with it disadvantages that have to be recognized. Of course, parents know their children are receiving a satisfactorily rounded education—not too much time spent on one subject, nothing neglected completely. We also can be assured that students are indeed being taught, not sat down in a room for seven hours a day without something to show for it, and that they are generally well-informed adults. But the problem comes when a subject, or facet of a subject, must be ignored completely in favor of those standardized teachings.

In the International Baccalaureate program at my own high school, for example, rigorous methods of standardized testing are employed—each subject has an exam to be taken at its end, an exam that’s rewritten every year, yes, but one that still demands certain standards of knowledge. In psychology, for example lower level classes teach the development of psychology over the years, and leave mental disorders and treatments to those who chose to advance to the next level. For the exams knowledge of studies was paramount—when and by whom it was conducted—in receiving a good score.

Teachers in these situations must teach for an exam if they want their students to be “successful” and in many cases if they want any funding for their own school. They must ask themselves, “Should I teach this? Can I teach this? Is it in the best interest of my students?” Many times in their career a teacher may find subjects completely itnored, or barbarously maimed; subjects with real academic value and validity. Richard Dawkin’s essay, “The Joy of Living Dangerously”, presents an example of teachers forced to teach to someone else’s standards. This is not to say that teachers do not teach to standards other than their own—they must, there is too much in the world to be contained in the beliefs of one person. But some standards can be disappointing. In this case, the teachers lament that they barely cover the subject of evolution in their higher level biology classes because of its exclusion from the exams and syllabus. They simply can’t risk covering it, or they would risk the future of their own charges.

In these situations I believe that the true goal of education is forgotten. Passion is forgotten. Students who want to follow a path not included in the courses offered by their school are denied the chance, teachers not allowed to teach what they love lose interest in the subjects they do have to teach and lose faith in the system that moves them. Maybe that's how we stifle creativity, by not allowing deviation from what a "higher power" has mandated. It's definitely a problem public schools now have to deal with.

First, our presentation, then this blog shall be moving backwards...

Our group, who's topic was "Large v. Small schools; Which does the better job?" consisted of Sarah, Alexis, Boby, and me. My role in the project was first, to do a portion of the surveys--I did 12 surveys in the international population of our school, and Boby did the rest of the 25 (Alexis and Sarah split the national students.) We chose Panera for our meeting place, where, in our fist session, we decided on the large versus small school debate, and wrote up a draft of the questions we wanted to ask. Then we wondered if school systems in other countries were the same as ours, and how international students thought of the large v. small school debate, and also how they thought of their high school years (or equivalent) and whether or not they learned during said years.
So we distributed the survey, catching the interntionals as they sat down to eat, and got them all back to Boby, who put the information together into an excel spreadsheet. Sarah and Alexis did found the articles for the research, while Boby and I did took care of the technological aspects of the project. We all met in my dorm room to put our information together, and made the collaborated on the powerpoint. We all discussed our information and decided what we would put in and what we would leave out, and I took care of the actual making of the powerpoint.
The most enjoyable aspect of the research was the actual work with the surveys, and getting everyone's opinion on their schooling, though many of the internationals said that the questions were not well geared toward their educational experience, and that they didn't feel that some of the questions applied to them. One of the things we found most surprising was the drug usage in other countries, how it really didn't exist. One theory was that all the drugs get sold overseas so that the U.S. can buy them, but that was said in jest... It would make sense, though, that drug usage would be higher in countries that could readily afford them, such as the United States, than in smaller or less prosperous contries. Also, maybe, the students that can afford to come here from their home countries have different backgrounds than those who couldn't? It may be worth investigating, but probably for someone more passionate about the subject of education than I... -_-
I personally hypothesized that large schools would generally be preferred to smaller schools, but only becuase I had such a good high school myself! Central was "diversified," I guess you could say, and we had very good relationships between students (of the same grades and between grades) and teachers. There were so many classes, and most of the teachers were very passionate about their individual subjects.

Two gods that may work? (That we covered, I think...)

So, last time--our great debate (ha, it rhymes...)--we discussed a bit the "law of diversity" and then "Spaceship Earth"? Yes, I remember...

Well, about diversity in schools... I agree with Postman's comment about there being good and bad reasons to engage in this sort of policy--a good reason is to promote cultural awareness and respect people of differning cultures, while a bad one is to convince a culture that the wrongs levied upon them in the past must be made up for by the future generations... Which I don't understand. I mean, if one group of people is mad at another what will hurting them back do for their well being? It will only incite more vengance. But the idea of respecting other's cultures and letting them have their cultural identity I am all for. I didn't like what Brennan said in his post about not teaching about other cultures in school--it's so boring if we just stick to facts!! Why don't we explore things not previously touched on in school? Black culture in the U.S. and it's development, Native American culture, Japanese, Vietmanese, Colombian, Mexican culture. Why not? It's not to make people better than another, just to help them understand from where one another comes (not physically, I mean.) And I don't believe that these classes should be restricted to people coming from the said culture, that would be promoting a system of... distinctions between one another, but a bad one.
Now, it was a different thing with the Hispanics at my school. Most of those kids didn't understand much English, they were those still way into ESL, who also didn't have knowledge about the culture they came from. I can't imagine what it must feel like, to be denied the culture from which one comes from (and since the person now lives in, say, the United States they do not have the same culture as the people now living in the country from which they came) AND the culture in which they now live. It must make them feel like... like they don't belong anywhere. I always thought that not belonging made it easier for you to do things that hurt yourself, since you don't have anyone or thing to think about besides your own confusion and search.
So those kids got a class entirely in Spanish, which was so cool! It meant they had a place, even if it was only 3 times a week, in a large population of caucasions who didn't really know them.

Okay, about the Spaceship Earth idea. I have to disagree with the idea that humans are ultimately selfish--humans are too varied and strange (people are just weird...) to have any general idea pushed upon their behavior, I think. But I will accede that it usually seems that their underlying motivation is selfish, but I can't with any certainty say it really is. I just see what's on the outside, understand? It could be argued, I suppose, that what's ultimately better for everyone usually ties in with what's better for the individuals. Becuase "everyone" is made up of a lot of "individuals"...
Eh, off of that. Remember how Andy said he'd take the neg. position? Brave man! So I don't agree with he and Jake's (and other Andrew's?) ideas that to teach a small portion of the world is ultimately worse than not teaching anyone how we share this planet and how all of our actions don't only affect ourselves. Yeah, kids may be hurt and surprised to find out that the rest of the world doesn't think the way they do, but it's not like they won't be anyway. I think it's better to shoot for the moon, and not just ignore what we can't forsee because it's unforseeable...

Heh, again it happens!

So I was looking over Postman (since I so conveniently forgot it until now, which will be adressed at the end of the post!) and scanned the portion about how our Little Eva will be in a

...culture which has 260,000 billboards, 17,000 newspapers, 12,000 periodicals, 27,000 video outlets for renting tapes, 400 million televiosion sets, and well over 500 million radios... Everything from telegraphy and photography in the nineteenth century to the silicon chip in the twentieth has amplified the din of information intruding on Little Eva's consciouness...

Has anyone ever read the book "Feed"? Anyway, it's about the future when everyone has little microchips in their brains that constantly "feed" them commercials that market to them what the master computers have logged as their general preferences. It's about one boy (who has a feed)'s experience with a girl who has never had a permanent feed, only a removeable one becuase of her father's preference. He finds her to be the most original person he has ever met (becuase she has ideas beyond those that are "fed" to him) but she winds up dying in the end, because I think she has to have a feed implanted for some reason but her brain can't take it? Anyway, she starts to forget everything, so she records her memories in video form with her defunctive feed and sends them to the boy through a sort of telepathic e-mail (possible, in Science Fiction, if your head is a part of a very large computer.) Anyway, I thought that last sentence was a bit remeniscent of the book... Kind of like the affects of marketing on young minds, the way it makes everyone the same.

Anyway, about the argument we had going on consumerism, which everyone seems to have already addressed, but just so you know I was listening, it is the people's responsibility to decide when they have enough. Pretty soon those who just keep buying the new things will have a whole lot of plastic and computer chips with no life to put them in, (especially if we continue like the Feed book says! Which we won't, I'm sure.....)

Ah, about the forgetting everything comment. Well, I was cruising around Miranda's website (the band, not a person) and found a link to another band, Árbol. I youtubed it and found a video, which enamored me so, even while I could have been doing my homework. I realized that their main verse of the song (Enes) is me to a T... (that link is the video! so you know...)

"No me acuerdo bien que estaba cantando
Nunca recorde ninguna cancion
No recuerdo los días ni las cosas (¡¡¡yo!!!)
Nunca se por que, ya se me olvido"

And in English, for people who don't care for translating...

"I don't remember well what I was singing
I never remember any songs
I don't remember days or appointments (me!!!)
I never know why, I already forgot"

Which, of course, makes more sense in Spanish... -_-

Free Hugs Campaign!!!

Check out the Free Hugs Campaign. How cool! Can we go do that? Maybe I could try in Springfield... at least the people laughing would be people who already know I'm weird!! Jeje :D

I would...

feel much better about putting my opinions here if I knew no one was going to read them. But I'm going to put up this one, anyway.
When I read "La Línea", that I mentioned in a couple of posts back, so I won't link, I decided that a life lived solely for one's self was pointless. It seems so selfish to me. We're all on the same planet, living more or less in the same reality, we affect each other all the time without knowing it. So what I thought was that if you see something that's wrong, or something in society that needs to be fixed, saying that fixing it would be ultimately detrimental to your life and happiness is... wrong. Avoiding doing it because it seems impossible is wrong. At least it is for me. I don't think that I matter more than any other person, so if I am in a position to help another person I should do it. Because wouldn't I want someone to help me? One of my heroes is Simón Bolívar, and I don't know if anyone has read "The General in his Labyrinth", by Gabriel García Márquez? He had this crazy big goal, of uniting the present-day countries of Panamá, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Perú and Bolivia after throwing off Spanish rule. And he got rid of the Spaniards, but he wasn't able to unite the countries. In the end he wasn't treated very well, and he was in a miserable physical condition. But he had a dream, a big one, and a good one. And he kept going at it even when it seemed impossible. He didn't make it all come true, I know, but that's the sort of person I find truly amazing... It's the sort of person I would want to emulate.

Right, almost forgot! My thoughts on the discussion we had on the 20th...

First off, I know I forget everything, I'm just like that. This is the reason I always do everything at the last minute. I am, however, trying the list thing, which worked remarkably well LYIB (I have a trick! I tape it to the back of the book I'm reading! That way I never lose it -_-) Okay, so, what did we talk about... right! First he describes the "gods" (/narratives) that we dedicate our lives to and why we need them. I like the way he does this, he describes how humans give their lives meaning--by having a reason. And I guess the opposite of this is being completely nihilistic... Anyway, it makes sense. People generally find a reason for living--their kids, family, dreams, religion, just something they believe they should be doing--and then follow up on it until the end. And it was Barzun who talked a bit about when people kind of get to the end of where that dream can take them--what's left? Some of the gods are convenient, y'know, coz they go on forever. Sometimes I think people who keep following one thing are... what would the word be? Avoiding their responsibility? Or not responsibility, more like they're avoiding thinking for themselves. At least sometimes! I'm sure some people think really hard and decide to follow a certain way, but I think it's important to keep questioning yourself. I think that people who stay a certain way become stagnant, and in order to survive and do your best you have to keep changing and wanting to know more.
And I brought this up in class but maybe it wasn't that interesting, about Shinto and the kami? Ah, I don't know if you remember, but I'll tell you what it's about, all right? Shinto is the ancient faith/way of life of Japan, that's been there since the people had any sort of religious beliefs. It wasn't formalized in any way until the influence of Buddhism on the people. (Which I think is kind of interesting--before that Shinto was just Shinto "The way of the Kami" sort of thing. People didn't need a written history, or a definition of the tenents--of which there aren't really any-- because it was theirs, and it was just the way things were. Does that make sense? That they didn't need a way of identifying their beliefs until others held beliefs that didn't match up. But I know that Buddhism and Shintoism coexist wonderfully in Japan, partly because strict Buddhists see the kami as incarnations of Buddha, and the Shintoists see the many Buddhas as kami... At least it works.) But in Shinto everything is believed to have a spirit, or a kami, and you guys have heard of... let's say "Bushido", right? That's "the way of the sword", and there are a lot of those things in Japan. There's the "way of tea", sadou/chadou, like tea ceremony and such. You can devote your life to any of these things, but you never deny the existence of everything else, which is what seems people do in the book--you're devoted to technology, so spiritual doesn't make sense, you're devoted to the big God (and I know not all people are like this) and evolution goes out the window.
I don't know what you could say my "god" is. I know things that I want to do, though I won't list them here, I don't know who's reading this! And I know things I don't want to do. Maybe I want to be happy without comprimising myself. But I don't want to stay within myself for my whole life! I don't want to be an isolated phenomenon, if you know what I mean. O__O Hopefully...

el choque de las generaciones...

Lei un poco de la pagina principal de blogger--dice que hay algun error que no nos deja publicar las entradas automaticamente, por lo menos ahora no, pero que pronto se lo van a arreglar. Ah, no fue lo que quise decir!

Primero, llegue a springfield hace unas horas (3), y mis abuelos y yo fuimos a comer, como siempre hacemos. Bueno, la conversación se hizo una de la inmigracion ilegal. olvide lo que dijimos al principio--algo acerca del libro que estuve leyendo "La Línea", por Ann Jaramillo. Bueno, lo que paso es que abuelo me dijo que no (yo) pude cambiar nada--que fue mejor "comer, beber, y estar felices" Oye, ¿de que estuvo hablando? ¿como puede pensar que por seguir con nuestras vidad el mundo va a solucionarse? Me dijo que despues de unas generaciones el mundo cambiaria. Bueno, ¡gracias abulo mio!

Me dijo que venir aca ilegalmente es lo que enoja los ciudadanos. Le pregunte como pudieran venir, entonces. me dijo que 'es esa la manera que piensan ellos que pelean contra la inmigracion' Así le dije que quizas tengamos que cambiar las leyes. Entonces me conto algun cuento de Henry el VIII, cuando mato a Thomas More por no denunciar el papa, diciendo que su hija estaba molesa por sus leyes, y el rey le dijo algo como "preferia vivir en un erial congelado que en un mundo sin leyes" MAL EJEMPLO. En primer lugar obviamente fue una ley HORRIBLE. En segundo, ¿por que queria relacionar nuestro gobierno con el hombre que se casó con... 6 mujeres, y que mato a 4 de ellas. Asi le dije que si ellos que no quieren que los inmigrantes vienen aca pudieran saber la razon que salen, lo que quieren, y lo que sobreviven (y en muchos casos no sobreviven) para llegar aca quizas no estarian tan tercos, quizas querian hacer que algo cambie. No le gusto nada....

Creo que la cosa peor hacer con la vida es esperar por cambio. Cuando ves a algo horrible, algo vil, algo injusto mirar y pensar "Que mal" es lo peor que puedes hacer. Hace que nuestras vidas no valen nada. Nos hace como... bestias. Monstruos. Pequeños.

About Jaques Barzun & the Bread Guy

Okay, fist we hit Jaques:

I liked this speech! It sort of ties back into to Caleb Gallenmore's about the whole doing-what-society-expects of you, and then that concept of freedom in one's self. He says that once we reach that ceiling of expectations that society has given to us we are forced to re-examine our purpose in life, and the true composition of ourselves (not what we believe it to be, I suppose.) College does specialize us for a certain type of lifestyle in some ways--the whole training concept. It teaches us the basics of how to do the job we wish to take up in later days. But I think that people who go through college, get into the field they wish to pursue and then find themselves at the end of the figurative road must be... erks, ignorant? I mean, when people started talking about college as a way to find a job later I was thrown a bit off balance. I had never thought of it as such. I always thought it was a condensed way to learn things that were hard to learn on your own. Of course the majority of my lifetime has been spent in facilities devoted to education, not working, so I definitely have a different perspective. I always thought, though, when I would contemplate my life, that a job was just a convenience. It would give me something to do throughout the day, direct me a bit, but most importantly give me the money I needed to have a home to go back to where I can learn what I want, and do those things that I want to do...

I agree with his advice about reading. When you live your life wearing blinders, just seeing what you're expected to see, you start growing in just one direction, too. The up-your-butt direction. Somtimes it's hard to untangle yourself from your personal problems and see the bigger problems that we, as a people, share. But it's an important thing to do. It does give you perspective, and insight, to all sorts of things!! It makes problems easier to understand, and thus easier to find a solution for. That's something we need in this world--people who want to fix problems. And not just fixing them as they are now (like the church in Honduras...grr...), but finding the root problem that fouls up the rest of the system.

On the Bread Dude (Bill Moyer, Bill Moyer! :D)

First off Mr. Moyer says to us that their generation is sorry for the mess it's leaving to the next one. He says that our world is in peril and we don't know which way it'll turn: success or failure. I like the thing he says on page 2 of the print out, more that half way down that page, about how he "vacilate[s] betweeb the determination to act, to change things, and the desire to retreat into the snuggeries of self, family and friends." That's how I feel all the time! It's great to know that it's not a lonely feeling, even if it doesn't reflect anything good about our future. Especially in going off to college I feel very insecure. I see many bad things happen in the world--close to me and on a macro-scale--and I wonder what I can do to change those things. But it's scary, stepping out of yourself. Especially when you don't have a strong support system, cause then it could be you're just crazy. It's so much easier to stick your head in the sand and enjoy the quiet, and the warmth. It's so much easier to not be the one to change things. But I hope in our lives we can have the courage to stand up and be insanely uncomfortable. To put ourselves on the spot and challenge something we don't believe is right, or to try and change something for what we believe is the better. I think the worst thing ever would be to become a stagnant people.

Ah! And after he says that his generation has brought the next so many problems he goes on to say that his and the generations before his made the college the students attended, the systems of economics and education that allow said generation to live without many fears those of past generations had to endure (and still endure). I think there is an equal amount of good with the bad. Maybe if someday people were to stop growing they would just fix what is already there, but I don't think it's in their natures.

About the way we're all interdependent, one on the other, and the example with the bread... In Japan there's a religion (that's what it's called, but it's more of a way of life) called Shinto, or "The way of the Kami", sort of. It basically focuses on the harmony and balance between all living things that is vital to our shared existence. Everytime before we eat we say "Itadakimasu!" or, "I greatfully receive!" It also means "Thanks for the food!" It's sort of an acknowledgement of where the food comes from, all the hands and beings that were part of the process of it's growth and journey to the table, etc... That's what people who pray do, too, right? Thank you for this food kind of thing? Ah, and at the end you thank them again "gochisou sama deshita" , lit. "It was a feast"

Y empezamos con FORUM! Caleb Gallenmore + Neil Postman

As for Caleb Gallenmore...

He talks about the nature of human freedom in his graduation speech, or at least that's what I thought his main point was. How freedom is cultivated, or taught to be denied, and what the nature of true freedom is, outside of society's limitations on ourselves.

I know it's only an example (albeit a powerful one) of freedom and how it isn't just a personal concept, but his comment on illegal immigrants and their children living here today made me think about their current situations in our society. To begin with, they go through such hardships in their native country that they decide to uproot their lives to see if they can have a future in an alien one, but are then denied the right to freedom anyway. Once they get here they're classifed as "not us," and so don't receive the same rights we call basic. Why can't all kids have the opportunity to go to good schools? Or eat everyday? Why can't we share at least with the people who work so hard for the chance at a piece of what we have? Instead we impinge upon their freedom because they impinged upon ours. We're pretty vindictive...

(I had two friends deported just last year from my highschool! Why can't they learn, why do they have to go to their homes to work and perpetuate the system! Something has to change. We just have to figure out what...)

Another point I got from this speech was that freedom is a public concept. It doesn't just belong to us, it's given to us, which seems to go against the definition, since by being given it can logically be taken away. He talks about Descartes feelings on what is real--our thoughts--and comes to the conclusion that it is our minds that truly make us free. It's the possiblity of reaching something more than we're taught to reach for that gives us true freedom. He says that if we're not bound by the constraints of our society we achieve a freedom that can't be given or taken away, more or less.... Kind of like "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich"? I dunno if the rest of you guys had to read that, but we did. In it the main character is in a gulag, and every facet of his day to day life is controlled by powers he can't affect. In our analysis of the book most of my class agreed that a moment of trancendence of the system for Ivan (though he's rarely refered to as such. Russian names. Confusing...) was when he didn't do what was expected of him, didn't just try to survive in the camp, but gave some of his precious food away to a religious man (whom Ivan couldn't understand) who wasn't expecting anything for his good deeds.

In short, Caleb seems to say that freedom is a tricky thing, and not just an individual one. It's all based on how you see it, though.

Ah, has anyone ever found the phrase "I'm giving you all my worldly goods." to be a very strange one? It always refers to money... Is this because of our capitalistic system...?

As for Neil Postman...

His speech says that there are two types of people in the world--those that create and those that destroy. He also says that those that create are interested more in knowledge and learning that anyone else, and that those who destroy only want for their own happiness, not for the good of man kind. (Is that bad grammar? Or is it just one of those oddities of speech?) I think that just for the situation of a young person leaving their place of "higher learning" and going out into the "real world" this is a good metaphor--will you use your knowledge for good or evil? Straighforward, all that good concise stuff. Okay, okay, but what if they're are more than two types of people in the world? What about the ones who try to help other people? They may not be furthering their learning, or furthering their own happiness, just trying to make the lives of others a bit easier, a bit more pleasant, especially if said lives are horrible to begin with! And then there are the more normal, dime-a-dozen kinds of people that are Athenians and Visigoths at the same time. I mean, they want to further their society and learn so as to make the world a better place, but, dude, they want to feed themselves and live comfortably and not have to walk to whatever money-making field they choose to go into. It's hard to be one or the other only.

Oh! Remember, everybody, when we were on the Machiavellia section of forms of government and he talked about being generous? I don't know if you guys are familiar with manga, or more specifically Fruits Basket. And first off it's not a comic like many tend to think of them, only for children and such. Actually in Japan most adults read manga, as well, just with differne themes, and plenty still read the adolescent-geared manga because of the issues it brings up... Darn, off subject again. So in Fruits Basket there's this story called "The most foolish traveler", or something, where this guy winds up giving everything he owns away, always asking those he bequeathes his posessions to to "be happy". Well, he winds up giving his body parts away to hungry oni in the forest, until he is only a head. Then an oni comes and asks him for his eyes, and the traveler says it's allright. After the oni has finished eating he says to the man "Thank you very much. For your kindness I leave you this gift." and he drops a slip of paper that says "fool" on it. But the man can't see it, and so he cries tears of joy (even without his eyes--it's a story) and says "Thank you, thank you! No one has ever given me a present before, I'm so happy!" And then he dies. And the question is: is the traveler really so foolish? Momiji, the teller of the tale, says that he thinks the traveler knew what he was doing, and that he had the right idea. He says that we can't focus on hardhips and sadness in our life, but continue with it and try to be happy. Uhm... you can find this on the internet, or at the link I posted above. It's a good story... the link has some screen shots from the anime, so it makes more sense than just the words. -_-

Agh!

I need lessons in HUMAN INTERACTION!!! WHERE IS THAT CLASS??

"podría ser que al final
rompiste el cristal en mi
abriste mi piel que estaba tan mal
quebraste el silencio que me hizo alejar
quizás seas tu quien me haga regresar
intuyo que sabes la forma mejor
y tienes el don que requiere curar este mal"

Es un gran mal, no tener el capaz de HABLAR CON OTRA GENTE. Ni hacer amigos... ni HABLAR, ya lo mencioné? Quizás mi problema es que encuentro mis propias palabras en las de otros...piensas? uy... -_- Ah, quien tiene el don? Je, mejor que no pregunte!

------
Olvidé!! las letras son de "Don", por "Miranda", si quieras saber!
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And the lyrics are as follows in my rough translation from Spanish...

"It could be that in the end
You broke the crystal in me
you opened my skin, which was so far gone
you shattered the silence that made me hold back
maybe it's you that'll make me return
i sense you know the best way
and that you have the gift that this illness requires to heal"... Urgs, it doesn't sound nearly as nice in English...

And, in English again, the song is by the Argentinian group "Miranda" and the title, "Don", means "Gift"

What do I expect from college?/en la tele...

Books. Grants. Skilled professors who will show me the "right way," so that I can chose which way I want to do it. Interaction. ((Meal plans? jeje :D)) I expect the cultivation of individual independence. So...? ¿qué puedo decir? That's what I think. Ah, decidí usar los tildes por un rato, para probar que puedo :P College is a tool to get what I want from it. It's the first time in my life I've been able to chose what I want to learn and be given time to study it and draw my own conclusions----((Have you ever wondered, if there are so many very different people reading the same essays, books, pieces of history, that are all leaving with very different ideas of why things are as they are and what really happened (bla bla bla) if all those realities exist somewhere? Obviously in the person themselves, since reality is a relative concept (jaja! Can't get over that sentence...) it does. So... if each of those people has their own reality and everyone's realities are running parallel to one another in some strange way do they all exist? Does every possibility exist? Whoa, wait... What was my question? Ah! Has anyone ever read "A Crack in the Line"? by Micheal Lawrence?))----Ha, I totally just used a hyperlink (vínculo, me gusta más esta palabra :P)
Anyway, back to my point, which was... Right, what I expect from college. The point to that stuff at the beginning is that I don't expect college to give me anything. I don't necessarily expect for it to give me knowledge, that's something I take. It's just that simple. I thought it was so strange today, during forum, when everyone was talking about getting an education v. getting training, why do they keep talking about education as schools and colleges and universities and etc.? Well, obviously we're in one, but it's not like being in college is going to give us either an education or training. We get that by doing things on our own. Our professor doesn't put the information into our minds, we do... am I making sense? Erghs, it's late, but I figured if I waited 'till tomorrow I'd have forgotten what I wanted to say.
Oh! There was something I wanted to say: My grandpa grew up in a very small town, population in the upper 40s or so, called Gravois Mills (as of 2005 it 225, in case you were wondering) and after WWII he remembers the town gathering to listen to the one radio they had, where they heard of the mass extermination of millions of Jews. Well, this man grandpa had barely every seen, an honest-to-english-muffins hermit, remarked, "That must have set their calendar back." I know I'm not quoting it like Grandpa did, but... Anyway, later when he figured out what he meant he told me about how amazed he was at what that man knew, living in the country (more country than Gravois Mills, even.) The point of that is we give schools money so that people who want to show others things they haven't seen before can. We pay for everything they need, and more than a bit extra, and it's our "job" to get all out of it we can... At least it's mine.

Ay, ¡me encanta la salsa! ¡Pero Florencia Villagra! ¡Patricia Sosa! ¡Miranda! Nunca vivíamos sin música... y esa es la verdad!! :D Oye, olvidé! Vi a dos pelis maravillosas por el fin de la semana, "En la puta vida" (que es retriste) y "La última noche", que no puedo describir con más que "sorpresante." Y más cerca de la tele, soy adicta de "La fea más bella" y no puedo parar de mirarla... Y no puedo creer lo que está sucediendo!!! De verdad Don Fernando un desgraciado si no puede ver el amor que tiene Leti para él y la belleza de su alma!! ((y conoces la actriza que hace el papel de ella?? bonita!!!)) Bueno, sea que otros sepan mas que yo sobre lo que ha pasado ultimamente, no hay univision acá...-_- Pero mi querida preciosa mamá me las está grabando! Qué amor debe tener por mí, jaja!

Can anyone here write 1337? Just wondering...

Being a hostage/primera impresion...

y empezamos... First off it must be said that I did not understand my character's personality. It was hard to resign myself to be someone so radically different who I am, but we managed to get into it a bit, with the help of a few serious players. I think if we had been more prepared for the whole situation (truly, it was a strange way to start the day, it was hard to quit laughing and get scared!) Not like our guard helped in the process :P! We got into it after the shock of the whole situation had worn off, and were pretty indignant for a while there. Unfortunately, the lack of abuse, physical or otherwise made it difficult for us to ever feel the fear o.o If, for any reason, I ever fell into a situation like that I'm not sure what I would do. Probably shut up fast! I thought I would have really been able to get into a "terrorist" role, but as a hostage the only thing we could do was sit tight and freeze (AC...) I didn't really see them as terrorists, though, even though that's what they were supposed to be in the simulation. I think of terrorists as being unpredictable--you don't know where they'll come next, what they'll do, and that's how they get their power. Which is surprisingly effective since the terrorists are usually small groups of people. This just seemed more like a kidnapping, which doesn't seem like a terrorist action to me, unless they were threatening the people with torture or something. Though they would become a threat to the government from which they took the people because of the public's opinion (it could just as easily be anyone else, right?) and general fear/outrage.
I was actually thinking, if a group just looking for recognition, acknowledgment so that they receive support from people who didn't know of their problems before, managed to take a large group of hostages and make their demands reasonable, probably playing up the compassion that should be shown to every person, not just those under the protection of a certain nation, would get it their way. If they declared that no one would be killed or mistreated, simply held from their people. If they made it clear through a public broadcast (possibly to another country in mass, so that their message could not be witheld from the people by a government trying to spin the situation) that their only goal was to call attention to their plight and help their people I don't see how it would be too bad a thing. I wouldn't mind being a hostage, at least. It would be a good chance to see a different perspective of things...
Wait, was that what I was supposed to write? Ughh...

Y tengo que hablar como yo, no como quiere la escuela, porque siente tan raro, tan extraño, tener que escribir lo que me piden sin decir lo que son mis pensamientos verdaderos! La gente en esta u. aun me dan miedo, hombre! No, de verdad, no siento comoda ni segura de mi lugar aqui, siento como... je, que puedo decir? un cocodrilo en fabrica de carteras? si me conozcan que diran, que haran? sere una extraterrestre? Nunca ha sido facil pa mi hablar con otros, y ahora me asusta decirles lo que creo y siento de verdad. Ya nadie me conoce aqui, siempre miro mis palabras por el temor de decir algo completamente... extraño? bueno, algo que no le gusta lo demas. pero se que va a pasar alguna vez... -_- Pero voy a aguantar, puedo vivir... Voy a encontrar a alguien que le gusta a mi por quien soy, no por lo que quieren ver! ojala... espero... :´p