Semester Blog Reflection/Final Review

There were many things this First Semester that I learned about in Mr. Fielder’s class. Last year when I was thinking of high school, I talked with some former Global Ed students that are in the program or have graduated and have taken the program. While I was talking with them about Stevenson and the Global Ed program, I was told that Global Ed may have its ups and downs but it is completely worth it. I have been learning and understanding that more and more. Every day I come to my Global Ed classes I become more and more interested with this entire program.
One thing that I enjoyed to learn was watching and reading Rabbit Proof Fence. The reasoning of why I liked to view this story and have open discussions was because it really had a very interesting story about three young girls and their journey to survive. Molly, Grace, and Daisy are three little Aborigine girls who were taken away by the Australian government in Jigalong. The government and leaders tried to take away all of the Aborigine children, little girls mostly, and use them as their own slaves in order to completely erase the entire Aborigine race. After living under their headquarters, Molly had come up with a brilliant plan to sneak away with her sister and cousin, Daisy and Grace. They ran away to be together again with her mother and her tribe in the desert. This generation of children was also known as the “stolen generation”. This story interested me because I really was astonished with the leadership role played by Molly Craig. I was also very interested because of the harm and unfairness the Australian government was doing to these poor Aborigine children.
Another thing that I loved in Mr. Fielder’s class was to play a game called “Boggle”. This game was really fun and I would always be really excited to play. First off, Mr. Fielder would make a chart containing how many letters he wanted. Then once he was done making his list in a scramble order he would put it on the overhead. What we had to do what to make words out of those letters. This game was fun and it was a good reward at the end of the day.

One other thing that I learned in Mr. Fielder’s class was about the Rwandan genocide. The Rwandan genocide was a massive killing in Rwanda killing thousand upon thousand Hutu and Tutsi people, invaded Rwanda from Uruguay. In 1990, the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) was mostly made up of the Tutsi people. In 1994 the killing of Juvenal Habyarimana was a drastic change and it sadly created the massive killing in Rwanda. The Hutu was said to believe that the Tutsi were the ones who killed their beloved leader. So, the Hutu had a plan that since the Tutsi killed their leader, we should kill them. This was a war that went on for a very long time, it shouldn’t have even happened in the first place. This genocide was very drastic and unmanageable. It caused a great war and an unbelievable amount of pain and sorrow.

Something else that I learned in this class was about margin noting. Even though I thought of this as a pain, it helped me understand the meaning of the context I was reading. I really didn’t think that it would help that much, but it did. While we were reading the story called, “The Man in the Well”, margin noting helped tremendously. For example, for words I didn’t quite understand and so I would look them up in the dictionary and make a side note for what it meant. Now, I really like to margin note all my papers to help me and understand more. It helps me more than just reading a paper without really defining the context.

Lastly, one more thing that I liked to read about was Squirrel Cop. This story was hilarious and made me laugh throughout the entire time listening to the story. The reasoning for reading this story was to hear the descriptions the author made and try to imagine this actually happening right in front of you. For example, when the author was talking about when the police officer went into the attic and the squirrel jumped down and ran into the fireplace, then under the brand new couch. The author gave great descriptive words and really put a picture in my head and made me think that this was actually happening.
In conclusion, Global Ed is worth working for and at. I like to learn and I keep on learning every day in Mr. Fielder’s class.

Christmas Time

Christmas time is always a big and crazy time for my family. We are always busy either with decorating the house or making food for our family parties. My favorite time of the year is Christmas because it is such a giving holiday, my whole entire family comes together and it gives us time to just talk and enjoy eachothers company. Also I really enjoy Christmas because it reminds me of when I was a child and how much I believed in Santa Claus and how happy it made me feel. Decorating the house is something big that my family and I really like to do together. Decorating the tree is most deffiently my favorite because I like to put the ornaments, candy canes, lights, and tonsile all over the Christmas Tree which ever way I want too. Making cookies for the family is also fun too. My mom's sugar cookies are always the best! After my mom makes the cookies, my sister and I decorate them. We decorate them with candy, sprinkles, frosting, and sometimes m&ms. I like to make mine look like Santa Claus or a snowman. When we go to our family party on Christmas Eve we all have to make homemade food and we also bring presents for one another. We all go to my Grandma Tini's, my mom's mom house. We have a pretty big family so things can get a little hectic at my grandma's house. The adults stay up stairs and talk in the living room. The children all go in the basement. We play games, watch Christmas movies, and just have a good time together. It is never boring with my family. When we have dinner it's my favorite part because my family are all really good cooks. My grandma makes the turkey, which is absolutely delicious. Everyone else just makes their own dishes. My mom and my Aunt Wendy are in charge of making the deserts. My mom makes her Jello Speciality and my Aunt Wendy makes her Christmas Cake. Right when you walk into the dining room everything smells so fantastic. Once we're all done eating, we wash dishes and then go back to our games. After an hour or so, we all go into my grandma's big living room and exchange presents. That's always super fun. Then after we play with our toys and talk. The kids stay up stairs and play cards with the adults. This year I learned how to play euchere, and it's pretty interesting. I'm doing fairly well at the game. After we'd have our fun we all say our goodbyes and go back home. Once I got home, I went straight to bed. My sister is still young and believes in Santa. She was so excitied she woke up my family at five in the morning this year. She's crazy, but she always knows how to make me laugh. Right when I walked downstairs I was amazed at all of the presents we got this year. I loved all of my gifts. My absolute favorite was my XBOX. I got Modern Warfare 2, and right when I opened it I got playing. This Christmas was very intersting and I always enjoy my Christmas and I know my family did too. I can't wait until next year! I'm counting down the days.

Rwanda Genocide

The Rwanda Genocide.

There were many to blame for the Rwanda genocide. In my opionon I honestly do not think that there was one perticular group in general who should of taken responsibility for the genocide. Everyone except the Red Cross had a part in the making of the genocide.

Many people said that Belium was to blame but in my opinion that is not true. Belgium was influenced by the United Nations to favor one particular group. Sure they shouldn't have made those identification cards, but Belgium didn't have any history on Rwanda, their culture, and basic understandings of the country. Maybe they should have had more information and a better understanding of the country.

Many also believe that someone who was not completely responsible , but had a lot to do with the Rwanda genocide was the President Habyarimana who was killed in the plane explosion whom many people agree was the Tutsi rebel group attack. The main leader of the Tutsi rebel group named Paul Kagame was blamed for the explosion of the plane and the death of President Habyarimana.

Even though the Habyaimana plane explosion death was a major event that had a lot to deal with the Rwanda genocide, it was still never prooved who killed the Preident Habyaimana and the situation leaves many unanswered questions.

The Rwandan Patroitic Front (RPF), led by Mr. Kagame were formed and their aim was to overthrow Habyarimana and secure their right to return to their homeland. Many people did blame the Rwandan Patrioitioc Front because of all the killings they had. People said that the Rwandan Patrioitioc Front would "defend" the country by killing random people on the streets. In defense, the Rwandan Patioitic Front did help out the government and the whole country by providing a security system and defending the country.

Even though many different groups had their own complications, there wasn't one paticular group who should take the blame for the entire Rwandan genocide. Many different groups and people had their each and own different parts in creating the Rwanda genocide.

The American Scholar

"The American Scholar. "

Emerson's argument in "The American Scholar" about American society still holds true today.

It is obviously true that what Emerson said then still exisits today, but to a certain extent. The learning edcuation that we hold today in America is one example of how we're trying to change this and make sure that we all have the oppurtinuty to become whatever we want to be and have a better edcuation of different fields called the liberal arts of learning program.

Secondly, another reason why this statement still holds true today is because many times I have heard people introduce themselves as "Hello, I'm Adam and I am a cook." Americans sometimes use their job occupation as a label or an indicator of lifestyle. Instead of being a thinker or human, he is a teacher or farmer. When this statemean held true in the eighteen hundreds, it still holds true today. We should change this however, so that man is all.

Halloween Is Full Of Scares and Stories.

Halloween Scares.

One night on a scary Halloween, Peter and Steve were going trick-or-treating and they noticed something in the horizon. It was a ghostly figure, someone or more like something that was standing there, just almost trying to act invisible. The streets were empty and so Peter and Josh went up to the ghost-like figure trying to act all tough and cool. Then when they got a little closer, the figure turned out to be someone dressed up in a gray blanket with a clown mask. Peter and Steve called it "the blanket man".

The blanket man chased the two young fellows. The two boys frantically ran down the next street into an abandoned house that was shut down a few years back because the owners’ mystery died. Peter and Steve were in such a hurry that they forgot the fact of this haunted mansion, so they rushed through a side window and ran through the kitchen hiding in the fireplace. Then in a sudden second, they heard a creek in the floors from the main room and then dramatically after felt a burning sensation. The fireplace was remarkable turned on from out of nowhere. They started to burn quickly, so they ran out from the fireplace and up the stairs when they spotted the blanket man.

They hid in a bedroom that was filled with gory pictures of dead people. The kids were disgusted and ran out of the room screaming at the top of their lungs. The blanket man heard them and rushed near them. The blanket man ran so fast that you would think he was teleported to where they were.

Peter and Steve ran into the master bathroom and Steve hid in the bath tub while Peter started to make a rope from the towels in the cupboard. Peter and Steve managed to escape through the bathroom window. While doing so, the blanket man waited in the bushes for Peter and Steve to jump off the towel rope from the bathroom window.

The boys ran and ran as fast as they could, then out of the blue, about a dozen more “blanket men” started to run after Peter and Steve. No one was to be seen except for the blanket men, Peter, and Steve. It almost seemed like the town was completely abandoned.

Peter and Steve then ran and ran. Then took a quick stop at the corner. They paused and listened, nothing was to be heard. They looked around, nothing was to be seen. A sudden feel of wind came around from behind them. The "blanket man" was found and he was ready to haunt. The man captured the two boys and took them away. Maybe to live back at the house, maybe not. We will never know because those boys were never seen again.

A tragic story you can say, of how Halloween night would be filled with darkness.

If I was granted three wishes, how would I spend them...?

If I was granted three wishes, I would try to find a way to help others and still make it a good wish. Honestly, being granted three wishes would be a very exciting and I would most defiantly be thankful. First off, for the first wish I would wish for more money to give to helpless children and children who are suffering. I possibly wouldn't just want to focus on children, but adults too who are suffering and need help. Mabye I could give them help if I knew how and I gave them the attention they need and deserve because nobody, even people we don't know or dislike, needs a comfortable place to put their heads at night.

For my second wish, however, I would most defiantly wish for a cure for every time of cancer. My great grandmother is sick in the hospital dying from cancer and I really want her to get better. The thing that upsets my stomach most is when I know their are people, women and men, who are suffering every single say and no one can do anything about it. I know that my grandmothers from the past who have had cancer and have overcome it said it was an experience they will remember for ever. Having cancer makes you a stronger person, but the fight is the worst possible thing to overcome.

For my third and last wish, I would wish for a new invention to help people with disabilities. Maybe something that would help them get around better and actually blend in with the crowd instead of being an outcast. Everyone is all different in their own ways though, you could say but these children and adults who have disabilities are looked at from a different view then how we judge others. We judge a book by its cover instead of actually trying to understand and get to know the person underneath the skin. The new invention I would like is help people with disabilities is to look and feel more normal. Like a pill they could take to change their looks and make them feel like how they want too. Everyone deserves a chance of beauty and everybody is beautiful in their own ways, we just have to find those ways and make them stand out and make them our best feature.

Hopefully all these wishes I would intend to make would be the right choices and would help others instead of just caring about myself.

Invisible Children. Can You Hear Me Now?

We pride ourselves on knowing and understanding just about everything that is going on in the world, but actually the world has a very small understanding, knowledge, and we have not discussed the issue at hand with "The Invisible Children". What is surprising is that this problem has been going on for many, many years. Honestly, this whole situation is very scary and unbelievable to think about. Once, you have seen what these young children go through day by day you will have a completely different perspective of life itself.

Joseph Koney is the main leader of the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). This group was formed in 1987, and is engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government. Joseph Koney takes his troops out at night and kidnaps young children. It is kind of strange how Koney's army is mostly made up of children from the ages of five to fourteen, but he also has children and teenagers older and much younger. These young children and teenagers are put through the worst circumstances you could ever dream of. Our nightmare is their reality and what they go through every single day in order to survive.

To raise awareness three men by the names of Laren Poole, JasonRussell, and Bobby Bailey, got their family and themselves to raise enough money to take a plan and go to Uganda. There they made a video and became interested with this issue. By doing so, they sat down and talked with a young boy by the name of Jacob. Laren, Jason, and Bobby followed around Jacob asked him his story. Jacob was in the LRA, but one day escaped. He now is living as a regular boy in Uganda. Still, Jacob and others who live in Uganda still are frightened and horrified when they sleep at night. Knowing about this personally makes me disgusted and I want to do more. Sometimes I ask myself how I can and what I can do to make a difference.

Even though this very subject that I’m touching on is frightening and disgusting to me I still really want to learn more about the cause and encourage others to get involved with this program. It can be a really enjoyable and moving experience and that is why I love to try and help with anything I can with this program.

Learning more about this has really opened my eyes to a new world. I have a new perspective on life itself and now I really do appreciate what I have, and I now understand how lucky I truly am.