"Why was communication essential to understanding among the children of Promises?"

The movie "Promises" takes place in Jerusalem, where the director meets with 7 Jewish and Palestinian children who live only 20 minutes from each other, but in completely different worlds. Jews all live in west Jerusalem, while most Muslims live in Palestinian refugee camps. While the Jews and Palestinians are in war over the land, which each one claims its theirs, the kids are influenced to be against and hate each other. The movie shows how communication is essential to the understanding of each other's ideas and can help solve problems, such as hate. 

 

Daniel and Yarko are the first two Jewish brothers whom the director meets. They live in west Jerusalem  and start talking about how dangerous it is to take a certain bus, because there might be a terrorist attack on it and they might die. These boys are also not very religious Jews, and do not strongly despise Muslims. They are also the kids which I identify myself with the most, since I am not a very religious person and I do not despise any other different race. Shlomo is a child who is a very Orthodox Jew, shown praying various times and in his Bar mitzvah. Since Shlomo is very religious, he is not required to join the army, like all Jewish citizens are. Another Jewish child is Moishe, who lives in Belt-El in West Bank and really dislikes the Arabs. There are also the three Muslim children, Faraj, Mahmoud, and Sanabel. Faraj lives in a refugee camp, where people have poor infrastructure and resources. He also has a strong dislike for the Jews. Mahmoud is the child who most hates the Jews, he says that he would never be friends with a Jewish kid. He also does not live in the refugee camp like the other Muslims, but in the Palestinian quarter in East Jerusalem, being the son of a merchant. Sanabel lives in the same refugee camp as Faraj. Her father is being kept in prison by the Jews, and has been waiting three years to go to trial. When comparing the problems and challenges faced in the daily life of these children with my own, I realize how complicated their lives are. While they daily worry about being exploded in a bus, or being shot and killed by a soldier, I worry about school grades and other things which seem very futile compared to their problems. 

Daniel and Yarko are the most open minded ones and the only Jews who interact with the Muslim kids from the refugee camp, in a meeting arranged by the director. Faraj is the one who talks on the phone with the two brothers before they meet, and the one who interacts the most. I believe they are the ones who associate with each other the most because they are the most open minded and less religious children. They all seem to share the same interests, such as liking the same kind of sports and food, even though one is Jew and the other Muslim, proving they are not as different as they thought. Therefore, before they started communicating they thought of each other as horrible and hateful people, but when they started sharing ideas, they realized that they were not so different. On their encounter they ended up really liking each other and tried to maintain contact even though it was hard. 

Therefore, communication was essential to understanding among the children of "Promises" because they learned from one another and stopped hating each other for their race. Also learning that they are not so different as they thought. They then realized that if everyone would talk to each other and listen to their side of the story, there would not be so much hate and war as there is between Jews and Palestinians. 

 
Final Quarter Blog Post


"What does it take for someone to move from a position of hate and racism to a position of tolerance and respect like the transformation that occurred in Derek?" 


     What is the definition of racism? Racism can be defined by being the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person's social and moral traits are determined by a person's biological characteristics. Racism is mostly based on skin color, language or place of birth.

    On the movie watched in class, American History X, one of the main characters, Derek, starts the movie clearly in a position of hatred and racism. His racism is caused by his dad's influence and specially intensified when his father got killed by a black person. He was also mostly influenced by an older neo-nazi man called Cameron who was their "leader". However, throughout the movie he proceeds to a position of tolerance and respect towards different races.

     The movie starts with Derek abruptly killing some black guys when they try to steal his car, which leads him to stay in jail for three years. While Derek is in jail, his younger brother Danny is following his same path, he is an extremely racist Neo-Nazi skinhead. When Derek comes out of jail he is completely transformed and states that he is not a skinhead anymore and confronts Cameron, which causes revolt on his previous group. He also asks Danny to not be part of it anymore, his younger brother is confused and Derek talks about his experience in jail. In the beginning he befriended other Neo-Nazi convicts and had to work on the laundry with a black guy, at first he completely ignores the black guy, although he becomes his friend within time. He also learns that his racist convict friends are not as good as they seem and is later gang raped by them in the shower room. Even though he expects to get beaten by the black guys, he is not touched by them. Danny is moved by his older brother's experience and agrees to leave the skinheads. The next day Danny is shot and killed in school by a black guy.

   
     For someone to move from a position of hate and racism to a position of tolerance and respect like Derek did, the person might have to go through some life changing experiences or put themselves on the other person's shoes. Derek is a good example of that because he went through many life changing experiences.


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Response to Seattle Boycott Article

I think that students should be able to show what they learn in class by using diverse methods, which  does not include standardized tests. When being assessed by a standardized test, such as the MAP test, students are not able to show their full capability and knowledge. This occurs due to the fact that these tests are not completely proportional and accurate with what was taught in school. As a student who has taken the MAP test various times, I can testify that some questions ask students things they have never seen been taught in their classrooms before. Also, while students are not able to answer various questions due to their lack of knowledge in the specific question, they are not able to show what they actually learned and know. The Garfield boycott shows that besides students, teachers and parents as well as other educators are protesting, which should be an indicator of how these are not the best option. Students also have a lot of pressure on them while answering the questions that will determine their future, meaning which college they go to, a factor which might cause the student to not reach its entire potential. It also takes away a person's creativity and the right to express themselves, forcing people to think only "in the box". Therefore I completely agree with the Garfield movement. Letting students show their true potential by creating a new effective system of learning and testing, by abolishing standardized tests would be the solution.

President Obama

The re-election of President Obama meant a lot to me and the world. For me, the most relevant fact is that he is not against foreigners as Mitt Romney was. This is something which especially affects me and my family, since we are constantly going to the U.S as well as thinking of living there. It affects the world since he is not republican and not in favor of wars. He is also the first African-American president of the United States, which might reduce prejudice as well as conflicts. I also like the idea that he is in favor of gay marriage since I believe everyone has the right to be happy. He is also in favor of abortion, which I believe is a good thing since women should be able to choose if they want a child or not. He is also approved throughout the entire world, which indicates he is doing a good job.

                                                           
                                                           Time Management
   

      To manage your time, you should be conscious of what you spend your time on and try to find a balance among what you do. Also, a good way for a student to manage time is having a weekly planned schedule. Be aware of little things which take up time and try to avoid doing them. You schedule also has to be flexible, so you can fit in unexpected events as well as follow it. Break your tasks into smaller ones, therefore you will be able to do it more easily, without pressure as well as do it better. Writing down the things you need to do, such as keeping an agenda can also help. By starting early, putting the harder things to be accomplished first, and divide your time wisely, can make work less stressful and easier. Making a list and adding priority, can make things harder to forget or ignore.
    After watching the presentation, I set a few goals for myself. My goals were to write down what I need to do, start things early and try to be finished before the due date. Since I have a problem with getting things done early and I always do work or study one day before the due date or test. There are also many unexpected events in my schedule, such as family dinners, friend's events, etc, therefore, if I had my work done ahead of time, I could go to these events without guilt or leaving homework undone. Due to the fact that I usually do things one day before the due date, I am not able to divide my work and time, and I am often stressed and feeling pressured.
    In the last couple of weeks I have been writing down and making lists of what I need to do, which has helped me, since I don't forget it. I am dividing my time more wisely as well as starting my work early. These strategies have helped me, although I still have a lot to accomplish and improve. My biggest goal, as well as the area I have difficulty with, is starting and finishing my work earlier. I plan on keep working on this problem until I can overcome it and feel accomplished.

Isabela Buffara

380 words

      I am already sure about what I want to do, and that's being a lawyer. Although I am not sure if I will remain in Brazil or go outside the country. My dream is to go to Yale, even though you have to have really good grades to get accepted. One major factor which makes me think twice wether I want to study in the United States, is that the course and laws are different, therefore I would have to remain in the US and wouldn't be able to work in Brazil. My whole family is here, so I definitely don't want to live without them outside the country. Although there is a chance we move to Miami, therefore everything concerning college would change. My goal is getting into a good university, preferably an Ivy League. My greatest concern is if my grades won't be good enough or not doing well on the SAT. I am also not sure if I should do the IB course if I remain in the school. By being an aware academic leader, you will know what the recruited want to hear and want qualities they want their students to have. Therefore, if you know that, since your early high school years, you will work towards that, making it a goal to meet their expectations when applying.

Academic Leadership

"In our first two weeks, you have read two articles, seen several videos and been engaged in several discussions related to the concept of academic leadership. At this point, and in your own words, what does the concept mean to you? What subjects or interests do you have a sophisticated, intellectual understanding of that you may want to turn into a major academic project in this class? How do people sometimes abuse academic knowledge to manipulate others? How would you feel if someone used your work to manipulate others (as Jared Diamond claims Mitt Romney has)? How can creating academically sophisticated, intellectual leaders help prevent such people from taking advantage of others the way they do? How can this create a stronger democratic society?" 

              The course of academic leadership helps students to be a better student. It shows how we can be more organized; think in a better way and also how people can drastically change for the better when they want to. I think all this helps students do better in their other academic work in other subjects. It teaches students how important it is to behave and think in a productive way. I have a great interest and understanding in reading as well as writing. I have always read a lot, therefore I like to write, if I were to choose a subject to do a major project on, it would be certainly English. Another interest I have is in law school, I think being a lawyer would be the perfect profession for me. I believe I am inclined to that profession due to how much I like to argue and discuss ideas; also my reading skill is a relevant factor. Usually smarter people manipulate others using their knowledge, convincing skills and strategies to make others do what they want. I would dislike if someone used my work to manipulate others. By creating academically sophisticated intellectual leaders, these people will be more aware of others bad intentions. It will make these students smarter and prevent them from falling into "traps". This can create a stronger democratic society by making people think well and accept others. These are all the benefits the course of academic leadership can bring, making people smarter and more aware of the world.