Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Thinking about how Experiences change our lives...
As we read through the short stories, we will be faced with moments that define the characters. Much like Amir in Kite Runner, Elizabeth in Marigolds is defined by her act of destroying the marigolds. Which quote from the story most related to your life? Why?
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"And these feelings combined in one great impulse toward destruction."
I believe that this quote relates to my life greater then all the other quotes. There have been many instances in my life, where i feel like every turn i take is the wrong way, and no matter how hard i try, i wont be able to succeed. I learned that hard work can only lead to success & there will be no disadvantages, or dissapointments to hardwork because it can only help.
"...we children were not consciously aware of how thick were the bars of our cage..."
I'm kind of twisting the meaning of this to say how I didn't know what happened outside of my "cage". But I used to be kind of greedy and always wanted the nicest things but I didn't realize how fortunate I was because I never really saw how it was to live in poverty. However, when I witnessed people who were just struggling to survive I have begun to change. I went to the Dominican Rebublic and saw people living in shacks with a piece of metal as their roof. I also saw Haiti and people were begging for food and collecting food in their baskets. However, there were no animals to be found in Haiti because they were all eaten. And I also witnessed this at a homeless shelter where people were so thankful just to have a meal given to them. Therefore, when I stepped out of my "cage", I changed my way of thinking about greed and thinking about only myself.
"...we children hated those marigolds. They interfered with the perfect ugliness of the place; they were too beautiful."
This quote shows how children dislike when something doesn't fit into a situation; I used to be like that when I was younger. Everything, for children, needs order and to be in a certain way. The marigolds just didn't fit into the house of Miss Lottie's house. The fact that something didn't match in that situation shows that people feel safer when everything is a certain way. This could also be related to how when someone destroys something that isn't theirs, they can feel better about themselves.
"Poverty was the cage in which we all were trapped, and our hatred of it was still the vague, undirected restlessness of the zoo-bred flamingo who knows that nature created him to fly free."
This quote means that poverty is holding us all down and we all just want esape and be free like a zoo-bred flamingo. This relates to my life because I am constantly hearing stories of how families are struggling to provide a college education for their children with the economy as low as it is. People are now paying so much money just to fill up their car with gas and everyone just wants to be relieved of these economic pressures.
"And these feelings combined in one great impulse towards destruction"
I feel that this quote relates to me because sometimes I get so obsessed and angry over something I just want to destroy it. I focus solely on this one subject, until I settle down. For example, when the Pittsburgh Penguings beat the Rangers last year in the playoffs, I literally wanted to destruct the Penguings.
Chris G/Kobe
"...perhaps because it was the beginning of the experience that in some inexplicable way marked the end of innocence."
This quote was viewed strongly to me because I think this quote means that once you go through a life changing experience(that defines a person maturing), then you're moving away from your childish acts. During your life, of course you are going to go through en experience that shows your conversion from childhood to adulthood. You will face more responsibilities and you have to go through so much more. You might have to rely less on your parents and more on yourself. Seeing this quote related to me because I had to go experience times when I had to care for myself and not depend so much on my parents. No matter what, as a person grows older, they will always experience that one moment when they realize they are becoming an adult now and they have to say "goodbye" to their childhood ways.
"...as I gazed at the immoble face with the sad, weary eyes, I gazed upon a kind of reality which is hidden to childhood."
This quote describes death as a concept that children simply cannot grasp until they come of age. It can sometimes be difficult for me to fully realize that someone I have known forever is gone. I sometimes do not want to believe it, but at the same time i know it's true. In this part of the story, Elizabeth is realizing that the marigolds were all that Miss Lottie had left to live for. Now that they were gone, she saw no reason to continue living. This reminded me of how people sometimes say that one had died due to a "broken heart." If a person someone has cared about for so long passes away, it is difficult for that person to keep living their life the same way they used to.
"We children, of course, were only vaguely aware of the extent of our poverty... we were somewhat unaware of the world outside our community."
Because Elizabeth was young and surrounded by so much poverty (poverty seemed commonplace to her and thus natural), she was not aware of the circumstances that existed outside of her community; there were people who had more oppurtunities to make a prosperous living than them, had plenty of food to eat, lived in clean towns. Elizabeth was not aware of any of these things yet because she was still a child and didn't fullyy understand the dilema that her family was going through because of the depression. However, despite the shortness of this story, the author is able to show how Elizabeth takes her first steps towards maturaion and become an adolescent as she listens to the conversation that her parents have in bed. Only then is Elizabeth able to fully understand the position of her family in society. She then becomes angry as she draws the conclusion that she can not escape ppoverty which motivates her to destroy the flowers in Miss Lottie's garden. I can relate myself to Elizabeth because only when I entered middle school (I was twelve or thirteen) was I old enough to understand that not the worl is not as safe and peaceful as it seems, especially after 9/11. But to put it simply, that's life and as we get older we learn to deal with it whether it means learning how to "plant our own marigolds" or doing something to improve the conditions of society which are often out of our own hands. So in most cases we have to wait for a change, "But God was chary with his miracles in those days, and so we waited- and waited".
Liam Sullivan
"And these feelings combined in one great impulse towards destruction"
I think that this quote means that all of your anger gets bottled up inside you and you take it out on one thing. this has definitely happened to me in my life as i have gotten in a lot of trouble in my life for multiple reasons (rather not say) and all the anger came out one day and it was terrible.
Chris Cacciola
"And I remember, that year, a strange restlessness of body and of spirit, a feeling that something old and familiar was ending, and something unknown and therefore terrifying was beginning."
This quote relates to my life in the way that anything new is frightening to me, because I like to feel secure and be in my comfort zone. When there is something new, I do not know how to approach it or deal with it. I also see this quote as happiness not lasting forever because there is always a price to be paid at the end, which I think everybody understands.
"Suddenly I was shamed and I did not like being ashamed. The child in me sulked and said it was all in fun, but the woman in me flinched at the thought of the malicious attack that I had led."
I think that in this quote, a girl is finally taking responsibility for her actions, and viewing them as a woman, as an adult, rather than a child. She is looking at her past, examining her experiences, and realizing what she did wrong and right, so that next time, she will not make the same mistakes. Being an adult is knowing when you did something wrong or mean, and taking action, and taking a step forward to create a better future for yourself, where you don't make the mistakes of a child. At this point, the girl is now thinking like a woman, and her inner child is sad and reacting like a normal child, but her new set of mind is ashamed and disappointed for the events that she led. I really lime this quote, because it is descriptive, and makes me feel like I am in her mind.
-Liana
"...we children hated those marigolds. They interfered with the perfect ugliness of the place; they were too beautiful."
In the story of "Marigolds," I felt as if the children's hatred towards the marigolds was a symbol of their hatred towards their poverty and caged society. The marigolds were a part of the beauty of the outside world, therefore it did not belong in their impoverished community. This reminded me of the jealousy we all sometimes feel towards someone we wish we could be like or something we wish we could have. The children saw the marigolds as the society they could never live; in a way we all have our marigolds, things we want but that we can never actually have.
Ah, greg took my quote...
"...we children were not consciously aware of how thick were the bars of our cage..."
I think children of this day and age never realize how imprisoned they are in society, mainly by family values and belief systems. They are ready to believe anything relatives believe, which encases them in a cocoon of predecided judgements and morals. I think people need to break through this cage, as I did a few years ago, and discover their own opinions and their own beliefs. By following others you are in turn setting yourself up for failure when their ideas cease to be relevant. By creating your own opinions, you can defend them and keep them strong.
"And i remember, that year, a strange restlessness of body and of spirit, a feeling that something old and familiar was ending, and something unknown and therefore terrifying was beginning."
Everyone has their own comfort zones. When we are told to break out of this comfort zone, we tend to get very anxious and nervous. This quote touched me because it made me realize we only have two more years of high school left. After these two years, most of us will be leaving our homes and starting a whole new life in college. In the new colleges, we will be meeting totally new people, starting work that is much harder than what we were used to in high school. Soon enough, we will be going to job interviews on our own and looking for our own homes to live in. This realization made me think of how much farther I must go and how overwhelming the entire process will be.
The quote "perhaps becasue it was the beginning of the experience that in some inexplicable way marked the end of innocence" means the end of childhood has come and its the time where you start to be treated as adults. You do not always get away with inappropriate things anymore. THe first time you get treated in an adult manner, marks the end of innocence. This can relate to my life because my neighbor and I would always be causing trouble but I don't remeber the last innocnet act was before we began to experience adulthood.
Vincent Debitetto
"The world had lost its boundary lines...Where did I fit into this crazy picture? I do not remember my thoughts, only a feeling of great bewilderment and fear".
In the short story, the author was definately making a reference towards poverty, but I can almost connect this quote to me from when I moved to Eastchester. I used to live in the city, and moving into Eastchester in 5th grade made me see a completely different society. Coming into school I really did not know where I could fit in, and since it was five years ago, like the quote I forget my exact thoughts, but I remember that I was intimidated by the fact that I had to make new friends.
"That violent, crazy act was the last act of childhood. For as I gazed at the immobile face with sad, weary eyes, I gazed upon a kind of reality which is hidden to childhood."
This quote certianly is reatable. Just over the past years, one of my closest cousins (Brendan) was diagnosed with a serious cancer. My family has just recently had to fight cancer away from my baby cousin, Kayla, who luckily survived and who is newly considered cured. But when this curve ball of Brendan having a serious case of sarcoma, no one knew how to handle it. My family was destroyed, we really didn't think we could handle this once again. but desperate times call for desperate measures, and we all stepped foward and helped Brendan in his fight against cancer.
Brendan was very close to dying, when I mean very close, the doctors even thought he was a gonner. So my family including all my cousins were all going to meet up with Brendan, not knowing what the future brings. I remember in the car ride, my cousin Greg told me bluntly, that this visit would most likely be the last time i will ever see Brendan alive. When I saw him, at first I felt like crying, but I knew that if this was my last encounter with Brendan I wouldn't want it to be a sorrowful memory.
When Kayla had cancer I was very young, and didn't understand how serious cancer is, but seeing my lacrosse star, muscular cousin a bald, feeble pale person ripped my heart out. I will never forget that day. This was my turning point from child to young adlut. Brendan showed me that you should enjoy life while you can, and never take things for granted. This was also the day I entered the brutal honest world, rather then the sugar coated environment my parents gave me.
-Katie Michels
p.s sorry that was an extremely long blog, and if you were wondering Brendan's cancer is gone, but he is still not considered cured.
"And these feelings combined in one great impulse toward destruction."
I can think of countless times in my life when i just became overwhelmed with emotions, and automatically wanted to break things, throw stuff, become violent, and just cause destruction for no specific reason. It seems that it is just a natural tendency for humans to get angry when things happen that they may not be able to understand. They get confused, and like a scared animal backed up in a corner they want to attack. With their world, thoughts and mindset destroyed, its only fair that they even the playing field with the world around them, and cause devastation and destruction to objects objects or to other people whether it be physically or mentally.
-Tom
"A brisk wind might have blown it down, and the fact that it was still standing implied a kind of enchantment that was stronger than the elements...--a monument to decay."
The best relation I can make with this quote has to do with an incident at a mountain last year. I had forgotten my snowboard at the lift/lodge area on a rack overnight. My board, being left out alone for the taking is similar to the marigolds. Someone could have easily taken it, or "blown it down". The next morning I found it unscathed. To continue the analogy, an "enchantment that was stronger than the elements", can be seen as the honesty and goodness that still exists in people. This only seems unusual because of the stereotypical selfishness of people in the world today.
-Nick Nieminen
"perhaps it was the beginning of the experience that in some inexplicable way marked the end of innocence."
this quote reflects all that is happening in my life so far. i moved up a belt rank in jiujitsu, not able to take the children's class anymore because i have too much experience and i'm too old. i played JV soccer and got to experience the responsibility of that. i have also become much more active in the international community, supporting many movement expecially "Going Green," "Saving Tibet" and "Love Not War." this is the first presidential election in which i am aware of the candidate's views.
so many things are going on in my life, i feel like i've moved past my childhood. i'll always be a child at heart, and i hate to grow up, but i can see that i've gained a higher sense of maturity, awareness, and responsibility.
-Livia
...we children were not consciously aware of how thick were the bars of our cage..."
I found this quote to have a very literal meaning. The children are too young to understand what is going on in their world. They are also trapped in their own "bubble" within the "cage" and therefore only understand the contents of their own "bubble".
In today's world i believe it happens very often. You may see young children with there parents in the toy store and the children always want something really expense and the parent doesn't have the money to pay for it. What does the child know of money, what does he or she know of working. they don't they are only children.
But slowly as they get older they begin to understand some of the concepts of money.
Alexa
''I did not join the merriment when the kids gathered again under the oak in our bare yard. Suddenly I was ashamed, and I did not like being ashamed.''
I could say that this applies to things I've done in my life, as time and time again I've done things in the spur of the moment (Or over a period of time) and then regretted them later. And it's really followed me - I always feel like I have a few skeletons in my closet. I was difficult back in Elementary School (Particularly in the 5th grade), and there have been some things online that I've said or done, believing they were alright or just, and then said ''Wait, why did I do that?'' later. Some things I have come clean about; others I haven't. I just feel as if I've done some regrettable things that seemed okay at the time.
"Suddenly i was ashamed and i did not like being ashamed. The child in me sulked and said it was all in fun, but the woman in me flinched at the thought of the mallicious attack that i had led."
I feel this quote represents the coming of age. When she performed the act of deliberatley destroying the marigolds, Elizabeth was caught up in the moment. Though after, when she reflected on her actions, and the consequences which they had on Miss Lottie, she realized how immature they were. The guilt she harbored for the responsabilty of destroying any hope Miss Lottie had left, and ultimatley her life, changed who she was as a person. It shaped her personality and allowed her to grow up as she did.
"And I remember, that year, a strange restlessness of body and of spirit, a feeling that something old and familiar was ending, and something unknown and therefore terrifying was beginning."
This relates to my life, because as I get older and move closer to adulthood, life in getting more unfamiliar. As a child, I always knew how things would happen... my birthday, holidays, vacations, they were always the same as the year before. But that's because, when you're younger, a party's a party, and a beach is a beach. Now that I'm older, I won't say that I'm more disappointed with how things turn out, but it's never how I expect it. This isn't always bad. Just different. The feeling that things will change in a big way are getting stronger. It seems like a while, but college is really a short time away. And it is a little scary. But not completely. I'm looking forward to what life throws at me.
"And I remember, that year, a strange restlessness of body and of spirit, a feeling that something old and familiar was ending, and something unknown and therefore terrifying was beginning."
I believe that anyone can relate to this quote. Whether talking about going into high school, college, or an experience that made you realize that what you knew was over and you had to prepare for the craziness that's coming. This quote is pretty much a summed up version of life. When you start something new, you are terrified.
"I don't know what it was that we were waiting for..."
I'm like that all the time. The other night I met up with a few of my associates and we were standing on the street corner, which was the point of our rendezvous, for quite some time before I finally inquired " What are we waiting for?" No one offered an adequate response to my query, and thusly we commenced the revelry of that evening. On certain levels it relates to the story, but of course not all the time.
"Suddenly I was ashamed and I did not like being ashamed. The child in me sulked and said it was all fun, but the woman in me flinched at the thought of the malicious attack that I had led."
I feel this quote is very relatable to an experience in my life. A couple of years ago, me and my little brother got into an arguement. I got so angry that I wound up pushing him, a little harder then I meant to, and he hit a corner and started bleeding. I felt ashamed and embarrassed that I had hurt someone younger then me, but part of me felt like he deserved it, while the more grown up part felt like I shouldn't have pushed him and felt really bad about the whole thing.
-jennnnnnnnnn!!
"And I remember, that year, a strange restlessness of body and spirit, a feeling that something old and familiar was ending, and something unknown and therefore terrifying was beginning."
When I read this quote, I felt like it related to my life. This quote is saying that when routine things start to change or end, the future gets scary. I realize that I'm only fifteen and I still have a whole entire lifetime ahead of me but I already feel as if I've made blind steps into the unknown that the author is talking about. It's discomforting for something you've always had to never be there again. And it's definitely hard to try new things for the first time. You're out of your element and your comfort zone for the first time. Sometimes it even hurts to know that the things you are used to will no longer occur. It can be sad and terrifying to discover that you have to move on and try new things, things you've never done before. So far, I cant complain. Life's hit me with new challenges and they were definitely scary at first, but soon these new challenges become the ones we are so familiar with. Everything just takes a short time getting the hang of.
-hannah k
"...perhaps bacause it was the beginning of the experience that in some inexpilicable way marked the end of innocence."
In the qoute the authour of the stroy is trying to say that this moment in her life she was no longer a child but looked at things from an adults position. I can relate to this qoute because there was a time in my life where i messed up and i had to take responsibilty for my actions.
-Katie P
"...we children were not consciously aware of how thich were the bars of our cage..."
In life, I think that most children are not treated fairly. Children are sometimes not taken seriously. They are lumped together in one caregory as children who are incompetent and cant do anything for themselves. Many times I feel like I dont know how much I'm missing because I am a child, which ties into not knowing the "thickness of the bars".
"Suddenly I was shamed and I did not like being ashamed. The child in me sulked and said it was all in fun, but the woman in me flinched at the thought of the malicious attack that I had led."
I know it's the same quote that Liana used, but I love it. It shows the inner turmoil Lizabeth must deal with as an adolescent girl. She is still on the border of childhood and adulthood, and is feeling tugged in each direction. The little girl inside her loves creating mischief with her friends, yet the young woman inside her recognizes the implications of her cruel actions towards Ms. Lottie.
"And these feelings combined in one great impulse towards destruction"
I think this quote relates to my life very well for there have been several instances wheni have been overwhelmed with several situations/problems and have taken it out in anger or negative actions. It happens to a lot of people, sometimes it is really easy to just give out one's emotions in a negative manner rahter than positively
Hey Everyone,
Sorry for my absence today...I'm sure you were all sad that I wasn't there! = )
I'm enjoying reading your responses to the story. I, too, had moments like Elizabeth when I realized that what I had done had brought me to a whole other level in my life (you know...the subway turnstile and the cement "carving"), but I do believe that it isn't only in adolescence that people face these experiences. In fact, they can revisit time and time again throughout your adulthood!
Mrs. L
P.S. Don't worry...I'll be in tomorrow....
"The world had lost its boundary lines... Where did I fit into this crazy picture? I do not now remember my thoughts, only a feeling of great bewilderment and fear."
Well... sometimes I feel like an oddball in this world of ours. A little lost in all of the greed, selfishness and lack of love. I have gotten scared about what will happen to me if I love but am not loved back? Afraid to get hurt when I'm doing what's right.
Emily
"...we children were not consciously aware of how thick were the bars of our cage..."
Kids are very restricted. Many responsibilities and privliges are determined by age. Also, children do not have the power to do or change many things, at least not as much of an oppurtunity as an adult. Adults also try to shelter kids from things with this "cage" but also can be preventing them from reaching full potential.
hello.
Todays experience in class was not something i would have suspected to have done in an english class. Alot of people became competative in the aspect of wanting to be the first ones done, or the ones with the best list. Something that surprised me was what many people valued. Many people valued their ipods & cell phones the most when you would think that first aid, something very important and vital for living you would think would be the most important. Nothing seemed to dissapoint me. Our group worked well together & we agreed on what to bring and the rules of the house. Frustration was also not an aspect in this experience. My leadership was not extremely effetive overall. Everyone in our group showed to have leadership qualities, so we all worked together equally & no one indivual was a leader. I feel that your abscence from the assignment was rather clever because you made us get the feel of how it would be like if someone was not always their telling us exactly what to do, what was right, and knowing that someone had the answers to the questions & what came next in the sequence of envelopes. I think we did this assignment because it relates to the book we are currently reading in class. In the novel, youngins had to work together to find, create and maintain a home that was safe & sanitary to live in.
-Janine L.
Today's activity in class was an interesting experience. Generally everybody's behavior was more excited and erratic. I was surprised at how the amount of time spent on each task differed so much between groups. Our group was very quick to finish our list of items while the other groups established their rules and leadership faster. It would seem that the girls put more thought into the items and placed less importance on some of the other stuff. I was slightly disappointed at how miserably I think our group would have failed if we were actually on an island. None of it was really frustrating. I would say our leadership was effective for the majority, yet unfair to some of our islanders. Your absence from the class made the activity completely different because we are so used to having a teacher or adviser to answer questions or clear up confusion. Without someone to go to for the answers, it was anyone's guess what was going to happen next. I think think we did this assignment because it relates to Lord of the Flizies, because all of the kids on the island have no real answers for anything that's happening.
-NickNiemiNeN-
One thing is certain, I would not want to be stuck on an island with the people I worked with to complete this activity. I would rather be stranded on the island alone than have to deal with those knuckleheads. For one thing, it was hard to get the group in order and converse with eachother easily. Everyone was screaming and trying to get their own point across. We probably would have cooperated with eachother more if we were stuck in the middle of a more dire situation but I was surprised anyone would act so childish in such a straightforward activity. Why would anyone want to bring peanut butter, weapons, a TV, or a helicopter on a trip? But besides the fact that most of the members of my group were acting like idiots (although I wouldn't mind being stranded on an island with Nick and Andrew because they're easy to work with)there was obviously some conflict between a couple of the members of my group. Because of this conflict, it was difficult to work together and it interfered with the groups progress. Had we actually been stranded on a real island there is a chance that the members of our group would not have been able to work as efficiently wich would have limited the chances of our survival. But this question remains: will humans put their differences aside in order to survive? What would motivate a person to do so? I assume that we will learn this in Lord of the Flies.
Today's experience when we go to the third envelope, reminded me of the book we have started to read. But in class, we did not handle the situation as well. People were not very organized or toghther throughout most of the activity. I was suprised by how some people were offended by decisions made for the imaginary situation, and was disappointed by this as well. The lack of listening and order within the group got a little bit frustrating. The leadership, was effective although not very fair, as far as punishments for rule breaking went. I think your abscence showed us how we would react without an authority figure to tell us what to do. I think we did this assignment, because it relates to Lord of the Flies, and also showed in comparison how we would react, having pretended to be in a similar situation.
Today's activity was very interesting. If I were really stranded on an island with my group i think we would have survived. We all had some good ideas and were able to organize ourselves pretty well. We all knew that if we were going to survive we would need certain things. I was surprised at how difficult it was to come up with 20 things that we would take on the trip. I think i was most disappointed with the limit on our supplies, most of what we had would have not help us to much. The Lord of the Flies seems bleak but iI am looking forward to i.
-Alexa
lol liam. anyway, uhh i think our group did a good job of working together. we set up rules that allowed for a democracy rather than having the leader decide the rules. unfortunately, i was tied to a board and burned to death and then eaten because of my wackadooeish behavior. what suprised me was that we had to do this assignment completely on our own. what frustrated me was that we werent asked to plan an escape because we had good enough supplies to escape the island. i liked the assignment and the fact that we were on our own. i think we did this assignment because it somehow ties to the book that we are about to read.
I guess Ill do tonights homework here because I don't see any post for it.
Well today i thought the class was different but fun because we got to interact with one another. I noticed that the most muscular kid would try to command not saying any names tom. I see tha the most powerfull will ussually be in power and call the shots. What i was suprised about was that when someone had to be the crazy kid or the rule breaker it wasn;t a problem to pick someone because everyone volunteered. Nothing dissapointed me except the fact there was alot of rain because i ahte rain. My leadership wasn't extremely effective but i added magnificent ideas to our rules and brainstorms. I found it funny that you weren't talking but it made us more independent. I think we did this assignment becasue we are going to be reading a book, where kids are trapped on an island and need to deal with all these problems. Also, to prove that no society can be perfect becuase everyone is different.
Vincent Debitetto
Well, I guess we're posting here for the homework? Well, I got the vibe that Mrs. Lindell didn't help us since Ralph and Piggy work on the society without the help of adults. Our group tended to solve most problems with 'group therapy', which I'm not sure we picked because it was effective or because we're obviously not very good at island survival. Of course someone [haha, wink wink] had to decide to bring books on the trip, but we were able to 'use' them for the fire. I mean, all in all the activity was thought-provoking, since we all had to work together for 'survival'. Our group definitely would've lived to tell about it.
Today's activity in class was a frustrating experience. Everybody in our group was just joking around. Our group was relatively quick with everything except the decision on our leader. It was a tie in votes so we did rock, paper, scissors which i felt was no way to handle our election. I was upset at how bad our group would have failed if we were actually on an island. It was really frustrating to see silly items on the list and everybody joking around. I would say our leadership was not effective at all and the way that we handled items was terrible including the punishment of the person who broke the rules. The absence of an authority figure made the whole activity different because we are so used to having a teacher answer questions. i feel that it made the activity more interesting because it is a true representation of what would happen on an island. I think think we did this assignment because it relates to Lord of the Flies on which the kids on the island don't have answers for anything that's happening.
This is Emily. Today was fun, and I very much enjoyed and appreciated the "break" from classwork- even though we were working- because today was very busy for me.
Anyways... our group was good... scratch that... our group was productive (better word, Mrs. Lindell!) We too established a democratic-like system even though Patty was our leader. We had a lot of "group therapy sessions" in place of punishment. I have a hunch that this activivty relates to the book we're reading. In fact, I'm pretty confident about that theory. I wasn't really frustrated or disappointed about anything: we all gave ourselves respective roles on the island and worked well with each other. Cae was lookout, i was in charge of food, livia safety, patty leader, jane shelter, and becky amenities... lucky us i remembered toilettries for our list.
No offense, but because i had a big test the next period and because i had a lot of homework already, i enjoyed not having a formal class. it was a relief and enjoyable at the same time.
Ciao! :)
^
Chris Cacciola
Sorry
Today's class was so much fun. My group (Maggie, Simone, Katie, Katie, Jen, and I) was the best. We worked very well together and would have deffinatley survived with our hot, strong men and vaseline covered shelters. Not to mention I was the leader/hunter so we would have always been well fed. I was VERY dissapointed when I found out that one of our supplies (red velvet cake) was lost during the plane crash. I was also dissapointed when I was informed that noone in my group had ever tried red velvet cake. Honestly, what is up with that! I liked how Mrs.Lindell removed herself from today's activity. I enjoyed the freedom we had and the independance. For some reason I seem to think that this excersize might have to do with Lord of the Flies. So yeahhh peace(:
P.S. Happy birthday to Maggie and to Mrs.Lindell! Woohooo(:
hey. today's activities were cool. we were a little more out of control than usual, but i thought we behaved pretty well, considering we were taking directions from yellow envelopes. it was really fun. i think my group did a good job getting the tasks done. finding out how we'd all react in different situations was interesting. and all of us combined made pretty good decisions. it wasn't surprising to me that we all thought to pack ipods and stuff. but it was also a good thing that we brought first-aid and some adivl :]. it was so annoying when we found out that we lost most of our luggage. i was the "leader" but that really didn't mean too much except that i wrote down the rules. we all worked together and gave our input. you not being a part of it was cool, because it really put us into a position were we had to delegate and not rely on someone to give us all the right answers every step of the way. this assignment must be somehow related to Lord of the Flies.
todays class was kinda fun, it was interesting to see what other people would deem important, with everyone having different ideas of what situation we were goin to be put in. i enjoyed workin as a team to figure out how we were going to make it through the ordeal. We also had approriate laws which limited fighting. it was fun to set greg on fire and then eat him. im also glad we didnt have any girls in our group, because no one was captured or killed fighting to protect one another.
-TOM
Today's calss was really interesting. I thought that (although evident people were not being completly realistic about the choices they would make) it really shows how unfair, unbalanced and out of control things can get when trying to form a way of self government. It is hard to keep a balance between control and power-hunger. Not to get too much into Global, but i thought that the way people dealt with gender roles was very...lets say...."peculiar". My group was basically chaos tho hahaha
The whole period, I pretended to be one of the characters in the TV show "Lost". I thought of what the characters would do if they were in the situation that was given to us. When we first got into our groups, I thought we would become wild animals and fight with each other. My group, however, was actually productive and cooperative. We made sure that each member had a specific role and made sure we listened to one another. We actually behaved like civilized people. I'm pretty sure we did this activity to experience what the kids in Lord of the Flies went through. Mrs. Lindell probably did not talk the whole period because there weren't any adults on the island in Lord of the Flies. Overall, I really enjoyed this little experiment :D
My group wasnt that organized but we had play-and-game saturdays + shadow puppet tuesdays :]
I enjoyed today's class since it was a nice change from what we usually do. I noticed that people are very disagreeable and somewhat dictorial, but it was funny because of the group I was in (Camila, Jeff, Dan, Marco, Warren, Pat M). Although in a real life situation, I'm guessing that wouldn't be so comical. I was surprised that towards the end of the 20 items list, people were starting to struggle with what items should be brought since there were still a couple spots left to be filled. Pat served as our leader in this experience and since he wanted to become a dictator/tyrant or something like that, I would say that the leadership wasn't very effective. Like I said before though, in the classroom it was comical but if the hypothetical situation was to become true, it would not be as funny. I think we did this assignment because it pertains to the storyline in Lord of the Flies. I took this classroom experience as an introduction to the new book we are reading.
I enjoyed what went on in class today. It was a break from our normal routine, and opened everyone's minds to think differently. Also, I felt the power of being in control and how it was to be a leader. Some of the materials my group used were essential, while others reflected fantasies and impulses. It was surprising to me when we were told to only include certain items of our list, some which proved to be futile and others not so much. In addition, this activity represents what teamwork is about and is reminiscent to how civilizations and cultures sprang up. Leaders were chosen and their actions became the basis for years to come.
first off i would like to say today's class activity was really a lot of fun!
This activity really showed me how superficial people are. some people talked about having their ipods and cell phones the most important thing in their lives. don't get me wrong they are very important in life but not everything.
Things were frustrating on deciding what should be on our list, because originally we were like makeup, hot men, red velvet cake (haha sorry shaun). we were putting down things we want, but not nessarily needed. but overall my group was able to come together and come up with useful objects that the normal teenager wouldn't think of. like medicine, toilettrees, chargers, matches, etc. we thought more responibly, rather then what we wish we could have.
talking about our rules, and roles, everything was pretty much fair.
shaun- leader/hunter
simone- toolmaker
katie- maintaning the hut/house
jen- food gather
maggie- healer- helps with administering first aid, as well as other random tasks
me- communication leader-help everyone avoid problems, and talk to natives if they were any on the island. i was pretty much the "mommy"
even though we sound like we would be successful, in real life we would fail miserably. we would turn on eachother so fast if someone broke a rule. hopefully we will never be stranded.
-katie michels
I was a great leader. Sometimes I have to just step back and try to control the shock and awe that I inspire. When there is a power vacuum I step in so quickly and occupy the position so completely that anarchy has no time to sew its dangerous little seeds. Basically, from today's activity I learned that in situations where it is survival of the fittest, you would really want to be in my group. And that's what that's all about.
HEYYYYYY(:
Todays activity in class was really fun and I enjoyed it. I felt like my group worked very well together and for the most part communitcated well. At first we only worried about the things we wanted, and not really needed. After some time we realized that we would defintly need things like medicine for example and started thinking on a more responsible level. My groups leader, Shaun, was very effective and helped us sort out all of our jobs and made final decisions. Although my group worked very well together, I think if we were really put in that situation we all might have gone a little crazy and we definetly wouldn't have been as peaceful. Its easy to say how unchallenging something is until you've actually gone through it. At first it was frustrating to not be able to ask you questions and a little confusing but I think the reason for that was so we would know what it felt like to not always have an adult tell us what to do.
-Jennnnn T.
i loved class today!! it was a really fun way to introduce The Lord of the Flies. my group was very organized and cooperative. we picked a leader out of a hat, agreeing that every member would make an equally great leader. roles were assigned based on each individuals strengths that would make a great contribution towards the well being of our little society. we made sure we had alot of discussion and "group therapy" whenever a problem erupted on the island. this way, everyone is involved, and we can all work collectivty to survive. overall my group made a great team, and the class itself was really fun. we should do a activity based introduction to all of the books we read.
-livia
Today was fun. My group lucked out too, because all the items we were allowed to keep were ones that we could really use- like our chickens, flint/steel, and machetes. We were prepared! Plus, we had some pretty sweet Island Gods that we did rain dances to- and when the rain got to be too much they were taken down to a minimum. It was only four of us, and we were all friends, so the rules worked out very well, and we didn't have any cannibalism.
ALWAYS a good thing!
hkgfdghlaksdfhgaldkhga
People became very selfish when we were talking about the sacrifics we would have to make on the island. For example, we told Josh we would have to skin him and use his hide as a rood cover, and then eat his remaining body. He objected, even though it would be better for the team. Also, we would vote one person a week to be eaten. I felt that the absence was fun because it let us be independant and run our own show.
-Chris G (KOBE)
During the activity in class, I found that most people were worrying for their own well-being rather than the well-being of the group as a whole. This was surprising because I thought that people would realize that if the group doesn’t survive, no one does. I was disappointed by the fact that we kept resorting to violence to reprimand people. The thing that frustrated me most was that everyone was trying to talk over each other rather than build on each other’s ideas. The fact that I had the piece of paper allowed me to have a large say in what we decided to do. Although I wasn't the leader, I had the final decision for what we wrote down. Without Mrs. Lindell's guidance, it was difficult to keep order and know exactly what we were supposed to be doing. This shows how important adult supervision is. I found that it was the execution of the activity, not the hypothetical situation that posed the biggest challenge. We had to organize ourselves and work as a group. We occasionally became angry because one group was moving too slowly, and sometimes felt tempted to move on without them. I think that we did this assignment because it shows us what will happen in lord of the flies and gives a better explanation for why it happens.
people's mbehavior during this exercise was kind of annoying. everyone was talking over each other. i was suprised by my groups choice of items, because i would of thought of some different items to bring, but it doesnt matter. I was disappointed and frustrated when our group got off topic sometimes and we couldnt answer the questions from the envelope. My leadership was not very effective. i felt your absence from the conversation allowed groups to get off topic and silly. i think this assignment has something to do with the book we are going to be reading.
people's mbehavior during this exercise was kind of annoying. everyone was talking over each other. i was suprised by my groups choice of items, because i would of thought of some different items to bring, but it doesnt matter. I was disappointed and frustrated when our group got off topic sometimes and we couldnt answer the questions from the envelope. My leadership was not very effective. i felt your absence from the conversation allowed groups to get off topic and silly. i think this assignment has something to do with the book we are going to be reading.
hannah k
Today's activity in class was pretty fun, but it wasn't really taken seriously. It was a good experience with my friends, but it did not simulate anything that would have happened in that scenario. For instance, one of our items that we kept was MY FAMILY, and in the end i was eaten. For the most part it was fun, just not realistic. We did actually take it a little too seriuosly for something that we knew we were just messing around with, yet it does show something that would have been realistic. Rule without a higher authority could have been hectic and uncontrollable at times. Without proper order or at least some general control, we might encounter some problems, if this was real. But definitely i know we'd be much better if this was a real situation. we're not the smartest group, but we can get along fine. hopefully...
joshbrooooo
I thought what we did today was a very fun experience. Our group was very organized and everyone contributed to what items to bring and what rules our group should live by. I was surprised when i walked into class because i didnt know what was going on at first. THe leadership in our group was very evenly distibuted. I think we did this assignment to learn how to work well in groups and how to communicate with each other without someone telling us what to do each step of the way.
sorry Mrs. Lindell i was having trouble uploading my blog last night, i wrote a whole paragraph and it was deleted.
Yesterday's class was pretty fun. I thought that yesterday's activity was done to show how well we worked in groups and how well we worked independently. My group would have survived on the island because we had important belongings that were saved such as matches,a radio and the hot men :) I was a little fustrated cause we werent allowed to ask any questions and some people didnt take the assignment seriously. I think the activity was done to show what it was like for the characters in The Lord of the Flies.
Today's activity in class was fun an interesting experience. Our group came up with a good list of items that came in handy when our plane crashed and we were stuck on teh islnd. When it was time to come up with roles and different rules the group worked together and we all came up with different rules that would keep us united and organized. The individual roles we were given helped us stay together and get daily taks done. When one of the members of our group broke one of the rules we handled the situation fairly. We didnt want to make it a big issue so we just prohibited her from seeing the hot men for 2 days =)...overall this experience was fun!
-Katie P
magpie1106 is Maggie H.
I thought the Island Activity was fun since we had basically no guidance with it. Like THE bek said, having "chickens, flint/steel, and machetes." chosen was good cause that's all we really needed to survive. And the rain dancing was fun, too. hahahaha
The Island Activity was so fun! I liked how Mrs. Lindell didn't answer any questions from us-it really made us feel like we were on our own, just like the kids from Lord of the Flies probably felt.
My group was surprisingly cooperative. We all agreed right away that the number one rule of the island was we stick together, no matter what. No betrayal, no hording food, and most importantly NO CANNIBALISM.
Once we got that settled, it was easy to look at different members of the group and see who would be best suited for each job-hunter, healer, gatherer, negotiator, builder, etc. So that was fun.
The BEST part was that our list item of "hot men" was included in the goods that survived the crash...we really lucked out!
I think that the activity we did in class was good, because we were all able to communicate well, and we were able to put ourselves in the shoes of someone who would be stranded on an island. I really thought of the activity, while I was doing it, and wondering how I would survive on a stranded island, and doing it in a group was good, because we were all able to compromise on what to and what not to bring. Overall, I thought it was a good activity, and a good break from working.
=) Liana
The activity that we did in class was fun and I was Sacrificial God! No singing was allowed and rain dances were always welcome. No adults was also nice. Our group was awesome and we agreed that if you break one rule you would be sacrificed to the rain gods..... that's how cool our island is!
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