Education

Emerson did not know it at the time, of course, but what he has described in paragraph 12 of his essay is the infamous "No Child Left Behind" policy that has been inflicted upon teachers as a form of educational torture.  When teachers are expected to pump child after child through the school system with excellent success rates there will be a countless number of children that will fall behind and force the rest of the class to slow down and ultimately learn less.  Nothing has changed since the early 1800's when Emerson wrote his essay about education.  We still attempt to "do for the masses what cannot be done for the masses".  Each child is born with and developes different talents and skills.  Each of which is necassary for society to succeed.  Each of which requires a different type of learning.  And yet the powers that be insist that every man woman and child must learn the same things, even though some will go on to be welders and some will go on to be philosophers.   

Advertisment

     Tiffany and Co. has a long history of bringing out the high class in women.  This particular advertisment is no different.  As the woman leans over the wall of the roof, gazing longingly at the skyline that surrounds her, she is ensnared by her loving significant other.  He holds onto her in order to show his deep, radiating affection for her, but also to protect her from toppling over the edge.  The little Tiffany blue box that the woman caresses in her hand represents a romantic gesture from the man that is holding her.
     As you look at the image it is easy to determine the appeals of pathos.  Every girl that looks at this advertisement longs to be the woman in this picture.  To be on the recieving end of a love so caring, protective, and gentle.This image is not just worth a thousand words but a thousand emotions. 
     The credibility of Tiffany and Co. is undeniable.  Tiffanys is one of the largest, wealthiest, and well known jewelry companys in the world.  Women from all over dream about getting a gift from Tiffany's.  Everybody knows that Tiffanys' jewelry is idolized by every little girl far and wide.
     Most of this ad relies on pathos but logos can be found in the clothes that the man and woman are wearing.  The clothes are clearly expensive and more than likely a brand name of some sort.  This observation implies that Tiffany's is high class and worthy of the chic and stylish womans' interest. 
    

Don't Lock Yourself In a Closet (summer assignment #1)

On page 94 of Daniel Pink's book, "A Whole New Mind", he encourages us the participate in the "Third Industrial Revolution" by designing something of our own.  So I decided to go to the converse website and design a pair of shoes that reflect my personality and to jump into the creative world.  Here is a link to the shoe that I put together, http://www.converse.com/#/products/shoes/converseone/builder/chuTayOxCanNeo1002,,,253024249.  This activity that the author suggested to help us to practice our creativity and to exercise the right side of our brains a little made me realize that design is a huge part of our individuality as humans.  And therefore, the right hemisphere of our brain plays a large role in our uniqueness and ultimately our humanity.  Designing is often considered an unneccassary and sometimes frivolus activity.  But is it really?  I'm beggining to realize that expressing ourselves through design comes naturally to us and that if we shut our creativity in a closet that we are denying our selves the chance to become the unique individuals that we have the ability to become as long as we don't stand in our own way.

What happens to a child unloved
Does it fade away
Like a rainbow
Or sing like a bird
And then soar like one too
Does shine like the sun
Or get exstingiushed
Like a simple flame

Maybe it just cries
Like the angels in April

Or does it simply fade away, lost forever

Character Analysis of Antigone.

     Strength; it's a character trait that you and I consider to be admirable and sometimes we are even envious of the people that we consider to be strong.  But not all strength is good.  And sometimes the people that we percieve to be the stongest are often, in truth, the weakest.  In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, the main character, Antigone is depicted as strong and even powerful, but her strength ultimately becomes her greatest weakness.
     At first it seems as though Antigones' bravery will be her best asset.  In lines 462 to 465 Antigone shows just how brave she really is as she challenges Creons laws' by saying that "I never would [have thought that] your pronouncements had such strength that, [you] being mortal, they could override the unwritten, ever-lasting [commands] of the gods."  The fact that Antigone talked to Creon in such a disobedient way is so courageous that it borders on the edge of foolish.  It takes an unbelievable amount of courage andbravery for Antigone to bury her brother Polynices, even though she is fully aware of the consequences that she will be facing. 
     The decision to bury her brother is an act of foolishness for the very same reason; Antigone knew that if she buried her brother her own burial would be quick to follow.  In line 223 Creon makes the statement that "no man is [foolish enough] to lust for death."  But when Antigone goes rushing off into the face of danger and death by burying Polynices she must have wanted to die.  If she had not then she surely would have found a more descreet way to honour her brother.  And as Creon says any man who lusts for death is surely a fool.
    Strength itself has many faces.  Physical strength, bravery, determination, dinity, and standing up for what you believe in are just a few examples.  Perhaps one of Atigones greatest downfalls was her pride.  When the guard dragged her in front of Creon and accused her of burying her brother it would have been east to contradict the guards story because it was all heresay.  But in line 452 Antigone makes it clear that she is the one who buried polynices as she says "I assert that I did it; I [will not] deny it."  Antigone was proud of the fact that she loved her brother enough to face Creons' wrath.  She was proud of her bravery.  And she was proud that she had disobeyed Creon.  but maybe she was a little too proud.  Maybe Antigones' pride wasn't pride at all, but arrogance.
    There is no question about whether or not Antigone is strong, that is a given.  She bravely burys her brother and faces the consequences of her actions, but Antigone's fatal flaw is that underneath all that brawn she left little room for the brain.  Yes Antigone may have been brave and courageous and deermined but she also died unneccassarily.  Antigones' strength,in the end, became her greatest weakness.
 

The Home of You Don't Have High Enough Levels of Testosterone. (third 9 weeks think)

     The age old debate of women's rights is, unfortunately still going on.  When most people think of women's rights they think in past tense.  So many people don't realize that even in todays society women are being underestimated and underapprieciated.  And the U.S. military is a prime example of this unjust.  Because in our military system the poltical leaders of today don't think that having women in the military is a good idea.  Granted some progress has been made, however it is not enough and the female citizens should not be expected to settle for just some changes.
     In today's military there are many roles that are still being with held from women, simply because of gender. Marcia Kaye gives some surprisisng informtion in her article "A Woman's Right to Fight" as she explains that the Infantry and the Special Forces are currently off limits to women.  Quiet frankly I was baffled when I read this article because I was under the impression that women and men were finally being excepted as equals.  But I was wrong.  They aren't and yet they should be.  Because women can fight and they can shoot guns contrary to popular belief.
    Many people will read this and think that I don't understand and aknowledge just how far women have come, but I do.  Those first women who paved the way for the rest of us are my heroes and I will be forever grateful for the sacrificies that they made.  But I just can't get over the fact that even after all of those amazing women spent their whole lives dedicated to the cause, that women are still being held back just because they're women. 
  Time and time again women have proven themselves to the "superior" sex.  Whether it was getting out of the kitchen and into the factories, or trading their skirts for buisness suits, and  even exchanging their silk gloves and dainty hats for sports gear women have had to fight for their own freedom and now the government is telling the women of today that they can't fight for their countrys freedom?  What kind of world do we live in?  This is supposed to be the home of the free and the brave, but instead it's the home of "you're not allowed" and "you don't have high enough levels of testosterone".      





Kaye, Marcia. "A Woman's Right To Fight." Toronto Star 1/30/2011: n. pag. Web. 20 Feb 2011.