Jesica Shipley
Aiken
3/14/10
College English 1102
Understanding Internal Conflicts of the Characters
In this story there is description of the possessions, fears, and attitudes of the soldiers in the Alpha Company. All of the soldiers carry the things that they need, a few things that they want, and a few things that society has forced upon them. They carry “emotional baggage, shameful memories, cowardice, and their reputation” (21). Thomas Hobbes once wrote that “war is nasty, brutish, and short”. War may be nasty, and war may be brutish, but it is not short. Both during war and after war “Remembering is turned into a kind of rehapening … The bad stuff never stops happening: it lives in its own dimension replaying itself over and over” (32). The war does not end when the war with guns is over, because the painfulness of death and loss of innocence haunts these soldiers long after the war has ended, and that is when the true war starts. After the fiscal war has ended they are each faced with separate wars within themselves.
In "On The Rainy River" O'Brien begins the story by saying “I have never told this story to anyone. (39)" Society would think of him as a coward for running from the war, and even if they didn’t he felt shameful of himself for running away from the draft, and coming so close to crossing over into Canada. What he didn’t know was that there was part of a soldier inside of him, there had to be because he was given the chance, and did not hide. He tells us that he could not stand the sight of blood, which is ironic being that he works in a slaughter house, and he tells us that he knows nothing about weapons and fighting. He was head of his class and student body president, but he couldn't tell a rifle from a slingshot. He was planning to continue his education even further, and he was angry that he had been drafted to fight in a war in which he hated.
In "The Ghost Soldiers" O'Brien was no longer a coward, he had become a soldier and was no longer afraid of blood, and knew more weapons than ever. He had hardened and become jealous that he was no longer in the war with his fellow soldiers, jealous enough to harass the medic who had "mistreated" him before. But at the end he realized that the reason the medic had mistreated him was for the same reason that O’Brien had run from the war in the first place. He was scared, blinded by fear, and didn't know what to do so in a sense he ran from his duties. By this time it was too late for O'Brien to stop the prank that he had planned with Azar. Azar, along with the medic became angry with O’Brien, and Azar kicked him in the head and the medic gave him proper treatment this time.
The main difference between these two chapters is that "On The Rainy River" he was scared and confused, the war was all new to him and he had no interest in being a part of it and most defiantly not by force. But in "The Ghost Soldiers" he was bitter, angry and jealous that his friends got to continue fighting and that he was no longer allowed. He began to take his anger out on someone who had mistreated him before and then quickly realized that that person was scared just like he had been, and that the war had now hardened him and that he had become accustomed to war, just as O’Brien had.
O’Brien is the lens through which we experience most of the action in this novel. While in war, O’Brien builds up painful memories and anguish that he deals with by retelling his stories in this book. Throughout the novel we learn of many internal conflicts that he experienced including the man that he killed and feeling that he could not tell his daughter the truth; however the most prominent conflict that he has, is the struggle to release the internal pain that he experiences because of the war.
Norman Bowker is a foot soldier in the Alpha Company who believes what makes men good soldiers are the medals that they receive while in service. He is very quiet because he doesn’t really understand how to deal with his feelings, and symbolizes the isolation many soldiers feel after returning home. Bowker embodies the damage that war can cause to ones soul long after the war is over with. Once he returns home he has a difficult time adjusting from being a soldier to a civilian, while everyone that he knows has no problem continuing with their everyday lives. He feels that he can not relate to anyone, partially because of his inability to successfully communicate his feelings with others. O’Brien said that Bowker was a man who did not know what to feel, and since Bowker could not find words for his feelings, in “Notes” he turned to O’Brien to tell his story for him.
Norman Bowker’s largest conflict within himself is that he cannot forgive himself for Kiowa’s death. After the war he obtains what is called survivor guilt and becomes angry due to his intense feelings and atrocious memories of war. He directs this anger not at the world or the society that sent him to the war, but directed it toward himself. Bowker tried dealing with his feelings through writing, but when he was unsuccessful with that he helped to teach O’Brien how to articulate the true pain through story telling. His letter to O’Brien, “Notes” proves the importance of story telling in the healing process, however since Bowker had a hard time telling the stories himself he eventually commits suicide. What is ironic is that O’Brien created Bowker as a fictional character to provide a purpose for writing this story of war, but Bowker takes his own life because he feels that he lacks an objective to live.
Rat Kiley is the platoon’s medic, and is known for embellishing all of his stories. In “The Things They Carried” Kiley talks about how he writes a letter to the sister of Curt Lemon when Lemon is killed, but never gets a reply. He is haunted by Lemons death to the point where it is unbearable to him. It is not easy for him to deal with Lemons death because he was there, right in front of him when it happened. They were just being boys, playing a game with the smoke grenades that they had played a million times before, but this time they were not as careful as they should have been. In a way Kiley experiences a sort of survivor guilt much like Bowker did, because he was right beside Lemon and it could have just as easily killed Kiley. He becomes overwhelmed with this pain and tortures a baby buffalo, and later in the novel he becomes paranoid, having visions of body parts. He is a medic and is around death 24/7, of course because he is in the middle of a war, but more so because it is his job to save people from death.
When he is switched to a night mission for two weeks it becomes clear why he made the decision that he did. This night mission symbolizes death, and Kiley can only think of one way to escape the conflicts that he faces, all involveing death. So he shoots himself in the toe to escape the war, and the death that is around him.
While society may think that he is a coward for running from the hardships of war, the reader understands that Kiley was brave enough to conquer death, unlike Bowker who died physically and Mary-Anne Bell who let the little American girl inside of her die once she was exposed to Nam. Kiley helps show us the limits that a man can take and that even the best soldiers will eventually succumb to the stresses of war and their role in it.
Mitchell Sanders is a great soldier and a loyal friend. He refuses to inflict revenge on the medic that took Kiley’s place, and stands by Kiley in his decision to remove himself from the war. He has a good sense of humor, picking lice off of his body and mailing it back to his draft board in Ohio. Sanders refuses to forgive Jimmy Cross when he led them into the sewage fields because that is what killed Kiowa. With Mitch Sanders it is difficult to understand what his conflict is at first, but as we read further into the novel we get to know him more and realize that his conflict is finding a moral. He doesn’t seem to have a problem being in the war, but he has a problem with not understanding why he is there. He believes that in every story there is a moral because without it there is not point, and since it is the experiences that create the stories then every experience must own a moral as well. He teaches us the difference between listening and hearing, and helps us to understand how soldiers think.
Henry Dobbins is a big strong man who symbolizes the good intentions of America. He is very sympathetic and cruelty angers him and he treats both his friends and enemies with respect. While Dobbins himself is not a complex character, his conflict is a little more complicated that the others. It is different because his conflict is not a negative one; it is simply to not stop believing. He wears panty hose around his neck strongly believing that they are his good luck charm and he joins the clergy towards the middle of the book. What he struggles with is focusing on believing. He teaches us that it is not what you believe in that truly matters, but the simple fact that you believe in something, because if you have nothing to believe in then you have no motive to make it out alive.
Throughout this story each character helps to demonstrate how each person deals differently with the limits of innocence and human understanding when confronted by something as powerful and terrifying as war. We are able to understand what it was that drove them to “kick corpses, cut off thumbs, joke of death, mock dead men, and speak grunt lingo” (20). Listening to and understanding each of their stories helps us as the reader recognize how they truly felt, what it was that they as individuals were truly fighting for and what they were up against.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
BLOG POST 5
I agree with the narrator when he says "..this too is true: stories can save us." When someone experiences something as dramatic as war there are some burdens that will stay with them for life. Sometimes to escape the pain, and hurt of the nightmares remembering the good stories, or the moral of the stories will save a persons mood. And we must not forget the lessons that men learn in war. They can bring those lessons home in the form of stories and share them with the people who need them the most.
When the narrator tells us that the story truth is sometimes truer than the happening truth he is talking about the experience, the moral, the lesson. Often when something happens for real it is an experience to you, but you may not realize the meaning of the experience until you tell the story for yourself. And since in war stories one must embellish it with small details that may or may not have actually happened, you can add anything to it to get your point across. So the experience in your story is sometimes more understandable that the real experience.
The last chapter "The Lives Of The Dead" is a great way to end this novel. This story is about a young girl who has a tumor and is humored by trickery's in a war movie. Her death I think gives a whole new meaning to the novel. While not everyone understands war in its most literally defined sense because they have not experienced it first hand, everyone has a war. For this young girl her war was fighting the tumor. It makes the entire book as a whole real to the reader because comparing the stories of the soldiers to the story of this ordinary girl we are able to better understand why the soldiers acted the ways that they did.
When the narrator tells us that the story truth is sometimes truer than the happening truth he is talking about the experience, the moral, the lesson. Often when something happens for real it is an experience to you, but you may not realize the meaning of the experience until you tell the story for yourself. And since in war stories one must embellish it with small details that may or may not have actually happened, you can add anything to it to get your point across. So the experience in your story is sometimes more understandable that the real experience.
The last chapter "The Lives Of The Dead" is a great way to end this novel. This story is about a young girl who has a tumor and is humored by trickery's in a war movie. Her death I think gives a whole new meaning to the novel. While not everyone understands war in its most literally defined sense because they have not experienced it first hand, everyone has a war. For this young girl her war was fighting the tumor. It makes the entire book as a whole real to the reader because comparing the stories of the soldiers to the story of this ordinary girl we are able to better understand why the soldiers acted the ways that they did.
BLOG POST *6
In "On The Rainy River" O'Brien begins the story by saying " I have never told this story to anyone." The reason being because he was embarrassed, society would think of him a a coward for running from the war. He felt shame for running away from the draft, and coming sloe to crossing over into Canada. There had to be part of a soldier inside of him, because he didn't, he was giving the chance, and did not hide. He tells us that he could not stand the sight of blood, which is ironic being that he works in a slaughter house. And he tells us that he knows nothing about weapons and fighting, he was head of his class and student body president, but he couldn't tell a rifle from a slingshot. He was planning to continue his education even further, and he was angry that he had been drafted to fight in a war in which he hated.
In "The Ghost Soldiers" O'Brien was no longer a coward, he had become a soldier and was no longer afraid of blood, and knew more weapons than ever. He had hardened and become jealous that he was no longer in the war with his fellow soldiers. He became jealous enough to harass the medic who had "mistreated" him. But at the end he realized that the reason the medic had mistreated him was for the same reason he had run from the war in the first place. He was scared, and blinded by fear. He didn't know what to do so in a sense he ran from his duties. By this time it was too late for O'Brien to stop the prank so he angered the medic and Azar. Azar kicked him in the head and the medic gave him proper treatment this time.
The main difference between these two chapters is that "On The Rainy River" he was scared and confused the war was all new to him and he had no interest in being a part of it and most defiantly not by force. but in "The Ghost Soldiers" he was bitter, angry and jealous that his friends go to continue fighting and he was not allowed. He began to take his anger out on someone who had mistreated him before and then quickly realized that that person was scared just like he was and had now become accustomed to war.
In "The Ghost Soldiers" O'Brien was no longer a coward, he had become a soldier and was no longer afraid of blood, and knew more weapons than ever. He had hardened and become jealous that he was no longer in the war with his fellow soldiers. He became jealous enough to harass the medic who had "mistreated" him. But at the end he realized that the reason the medic had mistreated him was for the same reason he had run from the war in the first place. He was scared, and blinded by fear. He didn't know what to do so in a sense he ran from his duties. By this time it was too late for O'Brien to stop the prank so he angered the medic and Azar. Azar kicked him in the head and the medic gave him proper treatment this time.
The main difference between these two chapters is that "On The Rainy River" he was scared and confused the war was all new to him and he had no interest in being a part of it and most defiantly not by force. but in "The Ghost Soldiers" he was bitter, angry and jealous that his friends go to continue fighting and he was not allowed. He began to take his anger out on someone who had mistreated him before and then quickly realized that that person was scared just like he was and had now become accustomed to war.
Monday, March 8, 2010
BLOG POST 7
After reading this novel I do come away with a few new thoughts about "truth". truth in its most literal sense is anything that is not a lie. And I think that this story is as true as any story that we as humans are capable of telling. Like Tim O'Brien said remembering is a sort of re happening. The more times we tell stories the more different they are from the original experience. The older the story the more details that become lost. When you go through something as traumatic as war, your mind tends to focus on the most meaningful moments to you, not necessarily the details that would make the story believable, so when you go to tell the story of your experience you have to ad in details that may or may not have happened so that others will believe it. All in all the experience behind the story is true, it is just that the details may be a step or two off.
Yes I would recommend this story to a friend this is the second time I have read it and each time I have come away with something new. This story teaches many valuable lessons on "truth", "life", and "war".
Yes I would recommend this story to a friend this is the second time I have read it and each time I have come away with something new. This story teaches many valuable lessons on "truth", "life", and "war".
BLOG POST 4
I love this whole book, but if I had to choose my favorite story in the book The Things They Carried was "The Sweetheart of The Song Tra Bong". I think this story alone does a wonderful job of showing how much war can change a man, even though the story is about a woman. It shows that the things that they go through and experience and the cultures that they are around every day when they are at war becomes normal to them. And as weird as the cultural practices may look to an outsider, to someone who has been around them for a while and has nothing else to run to they tend to adapt to their surroundings.
My least favorite story would have to be "The Things They Carried" it is so much slower to read than the rest of the book, and while some of the things mentioned in this chapter you need later in the book, I think the novel as a whole is a lot deeper than the first chapter alone, though it was necessary to get to know each character.
I can sympathize with many of the men in this novel, and women. Because while each of their stories is different they all are related to the one theme of the book, and that is war. Even though maybe not every character in the book struggles with war as we define it, they all struggle with a war against something, and it is easy for me to understand each of their stories.
Azar was my least favorite character, even though his story was necessary for the novel. He shows us that war even gets to the toughest men, and that everyone has a breaking point. But I dislike him as a person(if he was real).
My least favorite story would have to be "The Things They Carried" it is so much slower to read than the rest of the book, and while some of the things mentioned in this chapter you need later in the book, I think the novel as a whole is a lot deeper than the first chapter alone, though it was necessary to get to know each character.
I can sympathize with many of the men in this novel, and women. Because while each of their stories is different they all are related to the one theme of the book, and that is war. Even though maybe not every character in the book struggles with war as we define it, they all struggle with a war against something, and it is easy for me to understand each of their stories.
Azar was my least favorite character, even though his story was necessary for the novel. He shows us that war even gets to the toughest men, and that everyone has a breaking point. But I dislike him as a person(if he was real).
BLOG POST *1
The movie Radio, released in 2003, was based on a true story of a South Carolina High School Football coach, Harold Jones, and his mentally challenged assistant James Robert "Radio". The inspiration for the movie came from a 1996 Sports illustrated article by Gary Smith entitled "Someone To Lean On". Radio had always been teased and mocked by the community that he lived in, but then the coach began to mentor him. Their friendship raised some eyebrows at first but once Radio began helping coach the football team, the community came to love him. He continued to work with the team for 38+ years.
When you watch this movie in theatres you feel like it is really happening like you were there when the kids pick on him. The movie pulls on your heart and makes you cry because you can feel what he, Radio, must be feeling. The Things They Carried does the same thing. Like in the story of the baby buffalo you feel as if you were there with Rat Kiley watching him torture the animal.
Another example would be when movies are made about murders, more than likely the people who are writing the books and making the films were not there to watch the murder. So the only thing that they can do is base their story off of someone Else's. At that point no one would know what was real and what wasn't because all of the true memories would become tangled with the details that were made up to fill the places of the ones that were lost because no one could remember.
In both movies and books, directors and writers have to add a details to the true story to make the story more real to their audience, just like Tim O'Brien tells us. "The normal details are necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness".
I believe that this enhances your viewing experience more than anything, anything that all owes you to truly feel what is going on with the characters does not detract from an experience at all. Whether it is truth or based on truth is not the point, the point is the experience.
When you watch this movie in theatres you feel like it is really happening like you were there when the kids pick on him. The movie pulls on your heart and makes you cry because you can feel what he, Radio, must be feeling. The Things They Carried does the same thing. Like in the story of the baby buffalo you feel as if you were there with Rat Kiley watching him torture the animal.
Another example would be when movies are made about murders, more than likely the people who are writing the books and making the films were not there to watch the murder. So the only thing that they can do is base their story off of someone Else's. At that point no one would know what was real and what wasn't because all of the true memories would become tangled with the details that were made up to fill the places of the ones that were lost because no one could remember.
In both movies and books, directors and writers have to add a details to the true story to make the story more real to their audience, just like Tim O'Brien tells us. "The normal details are necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness".
I believe that this enhances your viewing experience more than anything, anything that all owes you to truly feel what is going on with the characters does not detract from an experience at all. Whether it is truth or based on truth is not the point, the point is the experience.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
STORY VS. ESSAY
Just like in the things they carried in twilight they delivered a truth about love in life. Not love like we love our parents or brothers but love like everyone should love their spouse. In the story Bella swan falls in love with Edward Cullen. This is similar to lieutenant Jimmy Cross in the things they carried, the characters in twilight show us how captivating love can be. In the things they carried Jimmy Crosses mind is so encompassed by his love for Martha that he felt responsible for Ted Lavender's death. In twilight Bella becomes so attached to Edward and was so focused on her love for him and his love for her that she withdrew herself from school social activities with her friends. When Edward breaks up with her Bella spent months in depression doing nothing but crying, and sleeping when she could handle the pain for a moment. Then she became an adrenaline junkie because when she did dangerous things she could hear Edward talking to her telling her to be careful.
IRONY:
I love to read Nicholas Sparks. In his book the wedding, a sequel to "The Notebook", there is extended irony throughout the story. The notebook was writing about the love story between Ali and Noah. The wedding was written as a love story of Ali and Noah's Daughter. The title to the book foreshadows what the story is about. The majority of the story revolves around the planning of a wedding. Throughout the first few hundred pages of The Wedding i was convinced, as well as everyone else that i know who has read the book, that the wedding that was being planned was their daughters wedding; however when the bride comes out, it is Ali!. Noah and his daughter had planned Ali's dream wedding that she never had, to renew their vows. It was a shocker, no doubt, but a wonderful one.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Things Carried:
The Things I Carry On A Daily Basis:
Purse really more like a bag
Pencils
Pens
Highlighters
Notepad write down things i need to remember
Book i read in my spare time
Planner/Calendar write down all of my appointments
Check Register
Wallet With Credit Cards and Cash
Make-up
Cell Phone never leaves my sight
Ipod for when i go to the gym
Gloves (in the winter)
Advil (back pain)
Female necessities, just in case
Hand Lotion i hate dry skin
Hand Sanitizer i dislike germs
Drink of some kind
Snacks despite my size i eat all day.
Calculator
Keys with a varity of key chains one from church camp, one from my mom, one from all of the community service i do, and one from my boyfriend.
Jacket
Chapstick
Hair Ties
Bobby Pins
Safety Pins
Post-its
Guardian Angle in my car that my mom gave me when i first started driving.
Purse really more like a bag
Pencils
Pens
Highlighters
Notepad write down things i need to remember
Book i read in my spare time
Planner/Calendar write down all of my appointments
Check Register
Wallet With Credit Cards and Cash
Make-up
Cell Phone never leaves my sight
Ipod for when i go to the gym
Gloves (in the winter)
Advil (back pain)
Female necessities, just in case
Hand Lotion i hate dry skin
Hand Sanitizer i dislike germs
Drink of some kind
Snacks despite my size i eat all day.
Calculator
Keys with a varity of key chains one from church camp, one from my mom, one from all of the community service i do, and one from my boyfriend.
Jacket
Chapstick
Hair Ties
Bobby Pins
Safety Pins
Post-its
Guardian Angle in my car that my mom gave me when i first started driving.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Style of Kite Runner
Parallelism: The author uses the beginning and the ending scenes in the novel ending where he started.
Character Foils: Exist between the Myths and heroic stories that are told and different characters in the novel, as well as in brotherhoods such as Amir and Hassan.
Foreshadowing:
Flashback: A few good examples would be Amir's flashbacks that arise from guilt after his friends death.
Positive & Negative aspects of Writing:
Character Foils: Exist between the Myths and heroic stories that are told and different characters in the novel, as well as in brotherhoods such as Amir and Hassan.
Foreshadowing:
Flashback: A few good examples would be Amir's flashbacks that arise from guilt after his friends death.
Positive & Negative aspects of Writing:
Topics of Kite Runner
Role of women:
Betrayal: is viewed as being enduring and cyclical
Brothers: brotherhood is a strong bond that can not be broken even after death.
Guilt: will never be concord by ignoring the problem.
Redemption: can only be achieved when doing something truly with an intent to provide more happiness for another, even if it takes sacrificing on your part.
Exodus:
Fathers & Sons: It is very difficult to create a child-parent relationship especially if there is strain of not living up to expectations.
Class Distinctions: The majority (Sunni Muslims) and the Minority (Shi's Muslims) are very divided and discriminated against by each other on a basis of physical features and religious beliefs.
Betrayal: is viewed as being enduring and cyclical
Brothers: brotherhood is a strong bond that can not be broken even after death.
Guilt: will never be concord by ignoring the problem.
Redemption: can only be achieved when doing something truly with an intent to provide more happiness for another, even if it takes sacrificing on your part.
Exodus:
Fathers & Sons: It is very difficult to create a child-parent relationship especially if there is strain of not living up to expectations.
Class Distinctions: The majority (Sunni Muslims) and the Minority (Shi's Muslims) are very divided and discriminated against by each other on a basis of physical features and religious beliefs.
Settings in Kite Runner
The Kite Runner was written around the pre-Russian invasion and the pre-Taliban rule in Afghanistan. The book also goes into detail of life in Afghanistan while it was under the Taliban rule and after. The story of the kite runner is factious but with the given information of political, social, and cultural systems in the Middle East it contrasts with modern day media headlines of it being a home filled with terrorist cells. It also shows how strained adult child-parent relationships were. The book focuses on themes including betrayal, redemption, love, forgiveness, social class, ethnic tensions, and immigrant experiences to provide a better overall understanding of both the time period and the cultural aspects of life in Afghanistan.
5 Characters in Kite Runner
Zaman The director of the orphanage in Kabul.
Raymond Andrews The official at the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan who makes Amir realize the difficulties he will encounter if he attempts to adopt Sohrab.
Dr. Armand Faruqi The surgeon with the Clark Gable mustache who tends to Amir's injuries after being beaten by Assef
Kaka Sharif Soraya's uncle, who has connections in the INS and helps Amir get Sohrab a visa into the United States.
Wali A childhood follower of Assef.
Raymond Andrews The official at the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan who makes Amir realize the difficulties he will encounter if he attempts to adopt Sohrab.
Dr. Armand Faruqi The surgeon with the Clark Gable mustache who tends to Amir's injuries after being beaten by Assef
Kaka Sharif Soraya's uncle, who has connections in the INS and helps Amir get Sohrab a visa into the United States.
Wali A childhood follower of Assef.
5 Symbols in Kite Runner
Kites, everyone, and everything associated with them (kite flying & kite fighting) are the most important symbols in the novel. The Afghan kites and their glass strings symbolize the dichotomy between violence and beauty, which also represents Afghanistan and the half brothers.
The myths and stories of legendary hero's in the novel show the differences between the different Muslim cultures. Rostam who was dishonorable towards the king and slept with his daughter represents amir, while sohrab who did not know his father and has an untimely death represents Hassan.
The pomegranate tree merely symbolizes hassan and amirs relationship. They carved their names into the tree and it produced fruit. Once hassan died amir was weighed down with guilt and the tree still existed but no longer produced fruit.
Amir's scar that was received after being beaten by assef symbolizes his brotherhood with hassan, he too now has his own "harelip".
The slingshot represents both childhood and the need to stand up for what is right.
The myths and stories of legendary hero's in the novel show the differences between the different Muslim cultures. Rostam who was dishonorable towards the king and slept with his daughter represents amir, while sohrab who did not know his father and has an untimely death represents Hassan.
The pomegranate tree merely symbolizes hassan and amirs relationship. They carved their names into the tree and it produced fruit. Once hassan died amir was weighed down with guilt and the tree still existed but no longer produced fruit.
Amir's scar that was received after being beaten by assef symbolizes his brotherhood with hassan, he too now has his own "harelip".
The slingshot represents both childhood and the need to stand up for what is right.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Role of Women: Islamic Cultural Norms vs. Islamic Religious Practices
Jesica Shipley
Akien
College English 1101
11/20/2009
Role of Women:
Islamic Cultural Norms vs. Islamic Religious Practices
To America Islam may seem nothing more than a single religion, among hundreds practiced in our country, however to the Malay Muslims Islam is a culture. As the religion of Islam originated in 6th century Arabia, the early forms of Islamic culture were predominately Arab. With the rapid expansion of Islamic empires Muslims contacted and assimilated much from the Persian, Turkic, Mongol, Indian, Malay, Berber, and Indonesian cultures. Muslims can be found in many different countries and communities and it can be difficult to isolate much that unifies them other than their religion of Islam; however since religion seems to be viewed as an aspect of cultural anthropology, and history, secular academia does not acknowledge that distinction. The Koran states that “Man and women were created as a single soul, and they are moral equals in the sight of God” (Maqsood), however there are very few scholars who have described Islam, predominantly the role of women in Islam, without prejudice or some inclination towards Islamic culture.
So that we may achieve an objective fair evaluation of what Islamic culture and religion actually contributed toward the restoration of women’s dignity and rights, we must review how women were treated, generally, in the religions preceding Islam. Hindu scriptures described the good of the wife as equal to that of her husband. “a woman whose mind, speech and body are kept in subjection, acquires high renown in this world, and in the next, the same abide with her husband” (Badawi). Athenian women always remained subject to a male, may it be her father, her brother, or her husband. It was not mandatory that marriage was advocated with her consent, and “she was obliged to submit to the wishes of her parents, and receive from them her husband and her lord, even though he was a stranger to her” (Badawi). A roman wife may have been described as someone to be submissive to her husband, someone who lacked the capacity to do anything according to her own taste. Today many people believe that it is the Islamic religion that forces women into polygamous marriages, forbids them to drive cars, and mutilates their genitals, however these practices are merely part of culture, and they vary between the different regions that practice Islamic religions.
For someone to truly understand a religion and the practices that come with it, they must separate completely cultural norms and styles of society from religion. Female genital mutilation is still practiced in a handful of countries but is viewed as inconceivable by the vast majority of Muslims (Maqsood). While some women are forbidden to drive cars, they will gladly take the wheel once they are abroad, knowing that this is just one of their countries uncanny laws, and not considered to be a sin in their religion.
As far as marriage goes while it has been different in the past, currently a majority of Islamic followers agree that a marriage may not be forced upon the women, making it nearly impossible to marry without the woman’s consent. Once they become legally bound to each other the women is not inclined to trade her prior possessions, or last name for that of the groom. To a Christian, marriage is “made in heaven” and is a promise to last “until death do us part”, however an Islamic marriage merely stands as contract. Once either spouse breaches the contract, divorce is not only allowed but expected.
The practice of polygamy began in the age of the prophet when warfare resulted in a large number of widows. The act of marrying multiple women was not meant to be interpreted as a provocative act but as a charity to help support widowed mothers of many children. The practice is no longer common because the Koran states that wives should be treated fairly, meaning that a man may not take up a second marriage if it is to deteriorate the first. The Koran also states that “and they (women) have rights similar to those over them (of men), and men are a degree above them,” that degree being Quiwama (maintenance and protection) (Koran 2:228 qtd :Badawi). The above quotation is where many scholars get confused, the degree of Quiwama does not mean that a man is a dictator over his wife, but it emphasizes the importance of a man providing for his family.
Women are not forbidden from the workforce, but encouraged to make their home duties, a mother and a wife, their priority. No one can properly educate children as carefully reared as their mother. If a women feels that her most sacred job (a mother) is sturdy and well developed she is defiantly not discouraged from positions that need her the most such as: nursing, teaching, and medicine. Actually women in Islam are included in the right of election; they may participate in nomination and public affairs. Both in the Koran and Islamic history rest examples of women who not only participated in but who argued their points, even with the prophet himself (Badawi).
Islamic women hold the full right to their Mahr, the gift of marriage. We discussed earlier that no marriage is arranged in Islam, but we mustn’t forget to recognize their right to seek an end to marriage that may seem unsuccessful. Majority of the time when two divorce it is the women who gains custody of the children, this is true with Islamic women. It also remains true that the men are required by Islamic law to continue to support their divorced wives, and children, by paying child support.
Worship is a main part of Muslims relationship with their God and the Koran clearly states in multiple scriptures that the status of a woman should be equated to that of a man. In the beginning of creation it was neither the man nor the women’s fault solely but their faults jointly. Islam requires a good bit of prayer and fasting, however a women is exempt from this during her menstrual period, forty days after child birth, and while she is breast feeding. This is so that she does not pose a threat to the health of herself or that of her baby (Badawi).
Premarital sex is an issue, not only in Christianity, but in Islam as well as other religions. Sexual intimacy is forbidden when it included sex before marriage, adultery, and homosexual relations. According to Ruqaiyyah Maqsood, even within a marriage intercourse should be raised from a form of self gratification to “sadaqah” to a form of worship and consideration of the happiness and satisfaction each spouse brings to the other. To decrease the temptation, both women and men are believed to guard their modesty and not to display their beauty and ornaments (Koran, XXIV:30,31). Over time the interpretation of this was that women be required to wear veils, and cover any exposed skin from head to toe, the expectations of modesty became a dress code that only applied to women. This is where many people find reason to believe that the women in Islam are being controlled, but that is misleading. It is not required that women wear the complete veil coverings but encouraged that the dress in modesty rather than provocatively. It is clear that a women has significantly more that should not be exposed than a man, and much more baggage can be gained for a women if she were to give herself away. The veils and cloth coverings are for protection of the men and women, for it is a sin for a man to look at a women in lust, these dress codes make it slightly more difficult for either to fail their God.
Islam is as much a world faith as Roman Catholicism, and while no one nationally claims the Islamic religion as its own, Islam is spreading fast even on the continent of North America despite the negative press it receives (Berrington). Men in Islam are simply support for the women, not complication. Even in the time of the prophet men and women fought against the enemies in combat, together, side by side. Islamic women have obtained the right to own and sell property, hold political and workforce positions, and chose their own marriage partners. We can take the Koran alone, and nothing and no one has worked so hard to free the rights of women from the manacles of prejudice, and social injustice. Whether we blame the culture, system, media, society, religion, the men, or the women themselves, if we remain in the state of being mislead no ones perceptions will ever change. Islam is a religion even stronger than Christianity, where religion is not a practice but a life and the very core of the heart. Depending on the society women may seem as having the wrong weight, wrong height, the wrong level of intelligence, or the wrong religion (Badawi), but dualism is the primordial design for all creation: ‘from all (created) things are pairs’ (Koran 51:49 qtd: Wadud).
Akien
College English 1101
11/20/2009
Role of Women:
Islamic Cultural Norms vs. Islamic Religious Practices
To America Islam may seem nothing more than a single religion, among hundreds practiced in our country, however to the Malay Muslims Islam is a culture. As the religion of Islam originated in 6th century Arabia, the early forms of Islamic culture were predominately Arab. With the rapid expansion of Islamic empires Muslims contacted and assimilated much from the Persian, Turkic, Mongol, Indian, Malay, Berber, and Indonesian cultures. Muslims can be found in many different countries and communities and it can be difficult to isolate much that unifies them other than their religion of Islam; however since religion seems to be viewed as an aspect of cultural anthropology, and history, secular academia does not acknowledge that distinction. The Koran states that “Man and women were created as a single soul, and they are moral equals in the sight of God” (Maqsood), however there are very few scholars who have described Islam, predominantly the role of women in Islam, without prejudice or some inclination towards Islamic culture.
So that we may achieve an objective fair evaluation of what Islamic culture and religion actually contributed toward the restoration of women’s dignity and rights, we must review how women were treated, generally, in the religions preceding Islam. Hindu scriptures described the good of the wife as equal to that of her husband. “a woman whose mind, speech and body are kept in subjection, acquires high renown in this world, and in the next, the same abide with her husband” (Badawi). Athenian women always remained subject to a male, may it be her father, her brother, or her husband. It was not mandatory that marriage was advocated with her consent, and “she was obliged to submit to the wishes of her parents, and receive from them her husband and her lord, even though he was a stranger to her” (Badawi). A roman wife may have been described as someone to be submissive to her husband, someone who lacked the capacity to do anything according to her own taste. Today many people believe that it is the Islamic religion that forces women into polygamous marriages, forbids them to drive cars, and mutilates their genitals, however these practices are merely part of culture, and they vary between the different regions that practice Islamic religions.
For someone to truly understand a religion and the practices that come with it, they must separate completely cultural norms and styles of society from religion. Female genital mutilation is still practiced in a handful of countries but is viewed as inconceivable by the vast majority of Muslims (Maqsood). While some women are forbidden to drive cars, they will gladly take the wheel once they are abroad, knowing that this is just one of their countries uncanny laws, and not considered to be a sin in their religion.
As far as marriage goes while it has been different in the past, currently a majority of Islamic followers agree that a marriage may not be forced upon the women, making it nearly impossible to marry without the woman’s consent. Once they become legally bound to each other the women is not inclined to trade her prior possessions, or last name for that of the groom. To a Christian, marriage is “made in heaven” and is a promise to last “until death do us part”, however an Islamic marriage merely stands as contract. Once either spouse breaches the contract, divorce is not only allowed but expected.
The practice of polygamy began in the age of the prophet when warfare resulted in a large number of widows. The act of marrying multiple women was not meant to be interpreted as a provocative act but as a charity to help support widowed mothers of many children. The practice is no longer common because the Koran states that wives should be treated fairly, meaning that a man may not take up a second marriage if it is to deteriorate the first. The Koran also states that “and they (women) have rights similar to those over them (of men), and men are a degree above them,” that degree being Quiwama (maintenance and protection) (Koran 2:228 qtd :Badawi). The above quotation is where many scholars get confused, the degree of Quiwama does not mean that a man is a dictator over his wife, but it emphasizes the importance of a man providing for his family.
Women are not forbidden from the workforce, but encouraged to make their home duties, a mother and a wife, their priority. No one can properly educate children as carefully reared as their mother. If a women feels that her most sacred job (a mother) is sturdy and well developed she is defiantly not discouraged from positions that need her the most such as: nursing, teaching, and medicine. Actually women in Islam are included in the right of election; they may participate in nomination and public affairs. Both in the Koran and Islamic history rest examples of women who not only participated in but who argued their points, even with the prophet himself (Badawi).
Islamic women hold the full right to their Mahr, the gift of marriage. We discussed earlier that no marriage is arranged in Islam, but we mustn’t forget to recognize their right to seek an end to marriage that may seem unsuccessful. Majority of the time when two divorce it is the women who gains custody of the children, this is true with Islamic women. It also remains true that the men are required by Islamic law to continue to support their divorced wives, and children, by paying child support.
Worship is a main part of Muslims relationship with their God and the Koran clearly states in multiple scriptures that the status of a woman should be equated to that of a man. In the beginning of creation it was neither the man nor the women’s fault solely but their faults jointly. Islam requires a good bit of prayer and fasting, however a women is exempt from this during her menstrual period, forty days after child birth, and while she is breast feeding. This is so that she does not pose a threat to the health of herself or that of her baby (Badawi).
Premarital sex is an issue, not only in Christianity, but in Islam as well as other religions. Sexual intimacy is forbidden when it included sex before marriage, adultery, and homosexual relations. According to Ruqaiyyah Maqsood, even within a marriage intercourse should be raised from a form of self gratification to “sadaqah” to a form of worship and consideration of the happiness and satisfaction each spouse brings to the other. To decrease the temptation, both women and men are believed to guard their modesty and not to display their beauty and ornaments (Koran, XXIV:30,31). Over time the interpretation of this was that women be required to wear veils, and cover any exposed skin from head to toe, the expectations of modesty became a dress code that only applied to women. This is where many people find reason to believe that the women in Islam are being controlled, but that is misleading. It is not required that women wear the complete veil coverings but encouraged that the dress in modesty rather than provocatively. It is clear that a women has significantly more that should not be exposed than a man, and much more baggage can be gained for a women if she were to give herself away. The veils and cloth coverings are for protection of the men and women, for it is a sin for a man to look at a women in lust, these dress codes make it slightly more difficult for either to fail their God.
Islam is as much a world faith as Roman Catholicism, and while no one nationally claims the Islamic religion as its own, Islam is spreading fast even on the continent of North America despite the negative press it receives (Berrington). Men in Islam are simply support for the women, not complication. Even in the time of the prophet men and women fought against the enemies in combat, together, side by side. Islamic women have obtained the right to own and sell property, hold political and workforce positions, and chose their own marriage partners. We can take the Koran alone, and nothing and no one has worked so hard to free the rights of women from the manacles of prejudice, and social injustice. Whether we blame the culture, system, media, society, religion, the men, or the women themselves, if we remain in the state of being mislead no ones perceptions will ever change. Islam is a religion even stronger than Christianity, where religion is not a practice but a life and the very core of the heart. Depending on the society women may seem as having the wrong weight, wrong height, the wrong level of intelligence, or the wrong religion (Badawi), but dualism is the primordial design for all creation: ‘from all (created) things are pairs’ (Koran 51:49 qtd: Wadud).
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Birthday Gift...
I turn 18 in exactly 2 hours and 40 min, and I believe I may have recieved the best birthday gift ever. I have been confused for a while but I finally figured out what I really wanted. While it is not going to be easy I am confident that it will work, and when it works it will be more than worth the trouble. Very emotional at the moment, but mosly good feelings. Happiness, hopefulness, thankfulness. I needed this just as much as I wanted it, and I know that what God has given me is better than anything else. I was an idiot for giving it away the first time, and I will not let it go again. I have seen it walk out before, but that is a sight that I will never see again. He is perfect, I have a gut feeling that he is the one, and I know for a fact my life will be the best it can be as long as he is there. I am happy, and I smile for no reason. I cry tears of joy, and it is because I love him. God has blessed me, not only by giving me enternal life, but by giving me this second chance. I have never felt this way before, so there is nothing and no one that will stop me from making this more worth it than we could have every dreamed. :*
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Education Between Generations
Jesica Shipley
Akien English 1101
Compare and Contrast
Education Between Generations
11/6/09
My education and that of my parents have been very different. Both my mother and my father graduated high school in 1987, over 20 years ago, now that I am about to graduate high school and move onto college, I have really come to recognize the differences on the education system between generations: the way research is done and the pace of the subjects being taught.
My education seems to revolve, almost completely, around new and improved technologies. Teachers now have an abundant amount of resources available to them, significantly more than they did during my parent’s time. Computers are daily tools used for teaching and can be found in just about every classroom. Teachers now have lap top computers available to them so that students are able to use a computer to write or research most of their assignments. As the years roll by, the amount of work we do on computers, and the number of other electronic gadgets that reside in the classroom increases. Even in math almost every student owns a graphing calculator rather than a standard basic calculator; in fact many teenagers haven’t seen a basic calculator in years.
My parents never could have imagined such things. There wasn't much too their high school education, a lot of lecturing, bookwork, tests and research papers. Most of what they learned came from teacher lectures, their issued school books and hours at the library doing research. They actually had to pull books from the shelves, read from numerous articles and encyclopedias just to gather the information they needed to do a research paper. Then rather than having the ability to type their papers on the computer, it invariably always had to be written in pen and double spaced on notebook paper. We also have an advantage in research with other technological advances, such as scanners and the Internet. Scanners allow us to photo copy pages of a book we are reading and cannot take home, and the internet provides a fast and efficient way to gain any kind of information one can imagine. They didn’t even know what e-mail was; instead of emailing their papers when they thought they may be absent, the paper had to be brought in that day, otherwise it would be a zero.
Another main difference is the class structure or pace. Today teenagers enjoy class structures based on competency levels. For example, we have basic studies, advanced studies, accelerated studies and advanced placement studies. My brother and I have always been in the advanced placement studies program. This means that if we maintain our GPA and stay on the course outlined for our college preparatory diploma, we could be dual enrolled, earning high school and college credits at the same time; by doing this we could potentially receive an Associated Degree quicker than other students. The pace of these classes may seem intimidating to some, but it becomes habit after a few months in the program. These classes will often cover twice as much material as a basic level class in the same amount of time. My parents attended classes, such as basic math, English, reading, and science. They were not introduced to high level math classes such as, Algebra, until high school. Now Algebra concepts are introduced in middle school, both my brother and I took Algebra in seventh grade. There are many different classes available to students today. In fact, if the school doesn't offer the desired classes, students can often take them online.
When my parents were in school, they had all competency levels in one class. Although teachers did try to make classes stimulating for those more advanced students, they still worked with those that tended to lag behind in class. Unfortunately, this was a disadvantage for my mom, as well as many other students. She made great grades, but she easily got bored with her classes. As a result, once she graduated high school, she did not foresee herself going to college, feeling that it would be a waste of time and a bore.
I think that the education difference between my parents and me will also be just as different from that of me and my future children, but in other ways. Who knows, maybe children won’t even be required to leave home to attend class, it could all be done on the Internet. And I am sure that the computers we know today won’t exist; they will probably all look like a laptop, or smaller and lighter and their connections will be faster. Maybe their teachers will be robots. (; I can not quite imagine an education system that would be anymore technologically advanced than the ones in our country today, however I am sure it remains the dream of a select few. They say that as the years go by the generations get “dumber” because they don’t have to work as hard to obtain information, but I disagree. The more technological knowledge one has the better prepared they will be for the future, I only wish I would still be around to see a class room 100 years from now.
Akien English 1101
Compare and Contrast
Education Between Generations
11/6/09
My education and that of my parents have been very different. Both my mother and my father graduated high school in 1987, over 20 years ago, now that I am about to graduate high school and move onto college, I have really come to recognize the differences on the education system between generations: the way research is done and the pace of the subjects being taught.
My education seems to revolve, almost completely, around new and improved technologies. Teachers now have an abundant amount of resources available to them, significantly more than they did during my parent’s time. Computers are daily tools used for teaching and can be found in just about every classroom. Teachers now have lap top computers available to them so that students are able to use a computer to write or research most of their assignments. As the years roll by, the amount of work we do on computers, and the number of other electronic gadgets that reside in the classroom increases. Even in math almost every student owns a graphing calculator rather than a standard basic calculator; in fact many teenagers haven’t seen a basic calculator in years.
My parents never could have imagined such things. There wasn't much too their high school education, a lot of lecturing, bookwork, tests and research papers. Most of what they learned came from teacher lectures, their issued school books and hours at the library doing research. They actually had to pull books from the shelves, read from numerous articles and encyclopedias just to gather the information they needed to do a research paper. Then rather than having the ability to type their papers on the computer, it invariably always had to be written in pen and double spaced on notebook paper. We also have an advantage in research with other technological advances, such as scanners and the Internet. Scanners allow us to photo copy pages of a book we are reading and cannot take home, and the internet provides a fast and efficient way to gain any kind of information one can imagine. They didn’t even know what e-mail was; instead of emailing their papers when they thought they may be absent, the paper had to be brought in that day, otherwise it would be a zero.
Another main difference is the class structure or pace. Today teenagers enjoy class structures based on competency levels. For example, we have basic studies, advanced studies, accelerated studies and advanced placement studies. My brother and I have always been in the advanced placement studies program. This means that if we maintain our GPA and stay on the course outlined for our college preparatory diploma, we could be dual enrolled, earning high school and college credits at the same time; by doing this we could potentially receive an Associated Degree quicker than other students. The pace of these classes may seem intimidating to some, but it becomes habit after a few months in the program. These classes will often cover twice as much material as a basic level class in the same amount of time. My parents attended classes, such as basic math, English, reading, and science. They were not introduced to high level math classes such as, Algebra, until high school. Now Algebra concepts are introduced in middle school, both my brother and I took Algebra in seventh grade. There are many different classes available to students today. In fact, if the school doesn't offer the desired classes, students can often take them online.
When my parents were in school, they had all competency levels in one class. Although teachers did try to make classes stimulating for those more advanced students, they still worked with those that tended to lag behind in class. Unfortunately, this was a disadvantage for my mom, as well as many other students. She made great grades, but she easily got bored with her classes. As a result, once she graduated high school, she did not foresee herself going to college, feeling that it would be a waste of time and a bore.
I think that the education difference between my parents and me will also be just as different from that of me and my future children, but in other ways. Who knows, maybe children won’t even be required to leave home to attend class, it could all be done on the Internet. And I am sure that the computers we know today won’t exist; they will probably all look like a laptop, or smaller and lighter and their connections will be faster. Maybe their teachers will be robots. (; I can not quite imagine an education system that would be anymore technologically advanced than the ones in our country today, however I am sure it remains the dream of a select few. They say that as the years go by the generations get “dumber” because they don’t have to work as hard to obtain information, but I disagree. The more technological knowledge one has the better prepared they will be for the future, I only wish I would still be around to see a class room 100 years from now.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Kind of Stressing...
So these last few weeks have been extremely busy. Between Exams, work, college application deadlines, and family events I have barely had time to stop and breath. I have not been getting home until after ten every night, which can be a little exhausting after a while to someone who is used to being in bed by nine thirty. Exams are over, and I finally got all of my college applications and their included documents mailed out, but we all know nothing ends quite that easy. Just when I think I have everything finished, and sit down to relax a little, a new problem always arises. So I am currently contacting admissions offices to fix information on applications, while keeping up with all of my school work. One more thing, my brother is back from his "vacation to Illinois" which means his showfer's "holidays" are now over. Catching up on sleep, not going to happen this week, which leads to more stress. Stress + lack of sleep = crazy dreams. All of the above, just life in America. In my oppinion they ought to change the saying "the city never sleeps" to "America never sleeps," because nothing in life ever shows up at the perfect time, but we take our cards as they are dealt and just keep smiling, because it is already tomorrow in Australia. (:
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Compare & Contrast Rough Draft 1
Education between Generations
Needless to say, my education and that of my parents have been very different. Both my mother and my father graduated high school in 1987, over 20 years ago, and now that I am about to graduate high school and move onto college, I have really come to recognize the differences on the education system between generations: the way research is done as well and the pace of the subjects being taught.
My education seems to revolve around everything electronic. Teachers now have many more resources available to them than they did during my parent’s time, specifically computers. Computers are everyday tools used for teaching and are in every classroom. Teachers now have lap top computers available to them so that students are able to use a computer to write or research most of their assignments. Every year, the amount of work we do on computers, and the amount of other electronic gadgets that are in the classroom increases. Even in math almost every student owns a graphing calculator rather than a standard basic calculator; in fact many teenagers haven’t seen a basic calculator in years. We also have an advantage in research with other technological advances, such as scanners and the Internet. Scanners allow us to photo copy pages of a book we are reading and cannot take home, and the internet provides a fast and efficient way to gain any kind of information one can imagine.
My parents never could have imagined such things. There wasn't much too their high school education, a lot of lecturing, bookwork, tests and research papers. Most of what they learned came from teacher lectures, our issued school books and hours at the library doing research. They actually had to pull books from the shelves, read from numerous books and articles just to gather the information we needed to do a research paper. Then it invariably always had to be written in pen and double spaced on notebook paper, rather than on a computer. They didn’t even know what e-mail was; instead we passed notes during class and in the halls, hoping not to get caught! My parents still refuse to get texting on their phones, “why text when I could just pick up the phone and call the person.”
Another main difference is the class structure or pace. Teenagers today enjoy class structures based on competency levels. For example, we have basic studies, advanced studies, accelerated studies and advanced placement studies. My brother and I have always been in the advanced placement studies program. This means that if we maintain their GPA and stay on the course outlined for them, we could be dual enrolled, earning high school and college credits at the same time; by doing this they could potentially receive an Associated Degree quicker than other students. The pace of these classes is intimidating to me. They will often cover twice as much material as a basic level class in the same amount of time. My parents attended classes, such as basic math, English, reading, and science. They were not introduced to high level math classes, such as, Algebra until high school. Now Algebra concepts are introduced even in elementary school. Both me and my brother took Algebra in seventh grade. There are so many different classes available to students today. In fact, if the school doesn't offer the classes desired, students can often take them on line.
When my parents were in school, they had all competency levels in one class, but teachers did try to make class stimulating for those more advanced students, while still working with those that tended to lag behind in class. Unfortunately, this was a disadvantage for my mom, as well as many other students. Although she made great grades, she easily got bored with classes. As a result, once she graduated high school, she did not foresee my self going to college, feeling that it would be such a waste of time and a bore.
I think that the education difference between my parents and me will also be just as different from that of me and my future children, but in other ways. Who knows, maybe children won’t even be required to leave home to attend class, it could all be done on the Internet. And I am sure that the computers we know today won’t exist; they will probably all look like a laptop, or smaller and lighter and their connections will be faster. Who knows, maybe their teachers will be robots. (;
Needless to say, my education and that of my parents have been very different. Both my mother and my father graduated high school in 1987, over 20 years ago, and now that I am about to graduate high school and move onto college, I have really come to recognize the differences on the education system between generations: the way research is done as well and the pace of the subjects being taught.
My education seems to revolve around everything electronic. Teachers now have many more resources available to them than they did during my parent’s time, specifically computers. Computers are everyday tools used for teaching and are in every classroom. Teachers now have lap top computers available to them so that students are able to use a computer to write or research most of their assignments. Every year, the amount of work we do on computers, and the amount of other electronic gadgets that are in the classroom increases. Even in math almost every student owns a graphing calculator rather than a standard basic calculator; in fact many teenagers haven’t seen a basic calculator in years. We also have an advantage in research with other technological advances, such as scanners and the Internet. Scanners allow us to photo copy pages of a book we are reading and cannot take home, and the internet provides a fast and efficient way to gain any kind of information one can imagine.
My parents never could have imagined such things. There wasn't much too their high school education, a lot of lecturing, bookwork, tests and research papers. Most of what they learned came from teacher lectures, our issued school books and hours at the library doing research. They actually had to pull books from the shelves, read from numerous books and articles just to gather the information we needed to do a research paper. Then it invariably always had to be written in pen and double spaced on notebook paper, rather than on a computer. They didn’t even know what e-mail was; instead we passed notes during class and in the halls, hoping not to get caught! My parents still refuse to get texting on their phones, “why text when I could just pick up the phone and call the person.”
Another main difference is the class structure or pace. Teenagers today enjoy class structures based on competency levels. For example, we have basic studies, advanced studies, accelerated studies and advanced placement studies. My brother and I have always been in the advanced placement studies program. This means that if we maintain their GPA and stay on the course outlined for them, we could be dual enrolled, earning high school and college credits at the same time; by doing this they could potentially receive an Associated Degree quicker than other students. The pace of these classes is intimidating to me. They will often cover twice as much material as a basic level class in the same amount of time. My parents attended classes, such as basic math, English, reading, and science. They were not introduced to high level math classes, such as, Algebra until high school. Now Algebra concepts are introduced even in elementary school. Both me and my brother took Algebra in seventh grade. There are so many different classes available to students today. In fact, if the school doesn't offer the classes desired, students can often take them on line.
When my parents were in school, they had all competency levels in one class, but teachers did try to make class stimulating for those more advanced students, while still working with those that tended to lag behind in class. Unfortunately, this was a disadvantage for my mom, as well as many other students. Although she made great grades, she easily got bored with classes. As a result, once she graduated high school, she did not foresee my self going to college, feeling that it would be such a waste of time and a bore.
I think that the education difference between my parents and me will also be just as different from that of me and my future children, but in other ways. Who knows, maybe children won’t even be required to leave home to attend class, it could all be done on the Internet. And I am sure that the computers we know today won’t exist; they will probably all look like a laptop, or smaller and lighter and their connections will be faster. Who knows, maybe their teachers will be robots. (;
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Man sometimes people really push my buttons...
How about some jerk called me today at work and yelling at me because a bus driver was going "90 miles an hour" on this road. I kinda laughed a little and was like alright let me give you the number to transportation and you can call them and they will take care of it,because I know nothing about the buses, that's not my job its a whole different department. He told me, "no this is something you need to handle personally." I replied, "I'm sorry sir but that's not possible all I can do is call transportation and ask them to communicate to their bus drivers to slow down." He didn't know the street name or the bus number so the only other thing I could do for him was to give him the number to transportation. Well he didn't like that idea, and preceded to yell saying that I needed to transfer him to transportation. I explained to him that this was not possible, being that they are not on our phone network its a separate number. He continued complaining about how I was making him waste all of his minutes because I wouldn't handle the situation, and how he has no more minutes to call transportation to complain. Then he made a comment like "that's what you get for letting a damn women drive the buses". That's when I realized there was nothing that I could do to satisfy this man. So I simply said, "alright, I'll see what I can do," and hung up. Later I got another call from another gentleman; the same thing except the second guy asked me for my name and told me he was going to write down that he called me and that he was going to sue me if i don't handle the situation. Grinning, I said "alright here is the number for the bus lot you do what you feel you need to do," and hung up the phone once again. It is the situations like these that make me honestly believe that some people in this world sit around scoping out unsatisfactory things, to complain about. I feel sorry for the people today who have such little gratification in their life's that they result to this, carrying so much pessimism that they feel the need to harass the first person that crosses their path.
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