The King makes an agreement with a vassal (who makes an oath on the holy Scriptures/Bible) to give away land for his vassal to use in return for military service. The vassal can use the land for living and earning money by using peasants. Once he is rich, he can also become a lord by doing the same thing with other nobles. However the land still belongs to the King.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Feudal System
The King makes an agreement with a vassal (who makes an oath on the holy Scriptures/Bible) to give away land for his vassal to use in return for military service. The vassal can use the land for living and earning money by using peasants. Once he is rich, he can also become a lord by doing the same thing with other nobles. However the land still belongs to the King.
Monday, April 23, 2012
The Events of 1066
1066: Who had the best claim?
Harold Godwinson Duke William of Normandy Harald Hardrada of Norway
In my opinion, Harold Godwinson had the best claim among all three. It might seem like his only argument was that he had been chosen as successor, but that is the key point of why he is most fit to be King of England. Duke William of Normandy's argument was based on oaths and promises; that Edward had once mentioned William to be his successor, that Harold had once took an oath to help William be crowned King of England. Many believed the Duke. However Harold had been forced to make the oath, upon his capture at Normandy many years ago. As for William, he was king, and he had the right to choose. If William's claim was true, Edward must have changed his mind because of some important reason. Edward's decision was surely made according to England's future, and he must have been the one who could have best foreseen this. Harold Godwinson must have proved himself through the many years while Edward was king, therefore Edward came upon the conclusion that Harold was best suited for the thrown of England. Now f might have had the support of Harold Godwinson's brother, Tostig, but it was disfavor that Tostig felt for his brother, probably because of some personal issue between the two. Harald Hardrada's argument was that his ancestor, King Cnut, was once an English king. However that does not define his eligibility for the crown. This brings us to the conclusion that Harold Godwinson is most righteous to the throne of England.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Values and Choices
Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What stopped you from responding that way?
Where have we seen examples of bullying/ostracism/exclusion occurring in texts studied so far this year- factual as well as fictional?
Earlier on in this school year, upon studying Greek myths, we read a book called The Shadow of The Minotaur. This story demonstrates a lot of bullying between Steve Adams and Phoenix and his friend, Laura. In real life, Phoenix and Laura are often bullied by the big bully, Adams. In the game his dad created, The Legendeer, Phoenix and Laura again encounters with Adams, but here I'd say it's rather between the game itself and the real world, because of how The Legendeer is tricking people into their world through computer games.
The Hunger Games is another novel that we read, and this shows ostracism. In this book, District Twelve is the farthest from the Capitol, and therefore the poorest district in Panem. It is largely ignored by the Capitol and its government.
For exclusion, this is where the Holocaust comes in. The Jews are excluded from the Germans and shipped to concentration and death camps. Why? Simply because they or even their grandparents were Jewish.
"Differences between did not cause hatred. Hatred caused the differences between us." This statement caught my attention pretty well. Normally, people are often classified as outcasts in the popular group because of their differences. But here, in Eve's class, there were no large differences, at least not enough to make certain people become the topic of gossips. Hence, there weren't really anything to gossip about, which, for teenage kids, is just somehow not right. I was a little surprised of the feeling felt among the kids, which was the need for something or someone to talk about. I thought, well, if it were me, that would be the perfect class, with everyone having something in common, things would be fun. There wouldn't be any cases of bullying or anything. Instead, Eve's class felt the need for these issues to occur and actually found a way to make it happen.
What’s familiar about the incident Eve describes?
What surprised you?
How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). Make sure you justify( back up your answer.
Eve's story is actually about bullying, although not directly. Gossiping would fall under verbal bullying, only it's done behind someone's back. Although she did not know why, Eve was once a subject of the girls' gossips. She was a victim, because she was the outcast, the one being mocked about by the popular ones. This, unfortunately, caused her to feel left out, wanting to find a way of her situation. She therefore felt the need to belong to this group of popular people, so she ended up mocking others herself. I guess she was bystander when she hear some other people telling jokes on someone's expense and didn't stand up for the person, but when she actually joined in the conversation, she turned herself into the perpetrator by actually telling those jokes.
Not long ago, about a week ago, I was back in Thailand. I went out with my aunt to buy some fruits. The market was just round the corner of our street, so we walked there. On the way back, we saw two kids, probably siblings, a boy and a girl. The girl was about four years old, the boy was about 2 or 3 years older. They were fighting over a bag of sweets or something, so, as kids always do, they start getting louder and louder until they were nearly shouting at each other. What happens next is so cruel, I was completely shocked by it. A man, probably in his 50s, came out with a stick and beat the 4 year old girl, on the head, until the stick broke. 4 year old girl. On the head. Until the stick broke!!! Of course, the stick wasn't that thick and strong, and the girl didn't collapse or get hurt badly or anything, but still. And you would think it at least didn't inflict any severe damage to the girl, but no, it did. Maybe not physically, but mentally. What do you think would happen to the girl, her mindset? Do you think she would be able to go around and still have the self confidence that she deserves? I'd say no. I think that any human being that could even think of doing that is just....I don't know....insane? Or what? Inhumane? Yes. Inhumane. Absolutely. I bet there were many others that witnessed it, but the whole incident couldn't have took more than a minute. Other than just standing there with our mouths gaped open in shock, none of us really had the time to react properly, and throw in the fact that I was about 20 metres away on the other side of the street. I guess we could have shouted for the man to stop, that way we could've gotten some help from people close enough to actually do something, if only our brains could've just worked. Looking back, I don't know how I could stand there so impassive, so muted. How I could stand and watch that innocent little frail girl get abused so badly. How no one stepped in to the aid of such an impeccable 4 year old. I wish I did something, just anything, really, to protect the two kids. Even if I were closer, it wouldn't be wise for me to go right in and say 'back off' to a fifty year old man with a stick, flushed with anger. And if someone had the nerves to do it, go in and simply lead the kids out, even though it meant receiving a few smacks of the man's rage from the stick. Which I can promise that I'd never have the guts to do it. If I were close enough, though, there was one thing I could do for the boy. That is, cover his eyes and ears, so that if some damage was to be inflicted, better it be on only one than two. So that he wouldn't have to bear with the horrible world from his early childhood. Because by simply not doing that, it might result in another child discouraged and being unreasonably vulnerable and daunted to the world.
Earlier on in this school year, upon studying Greek myths, we read a book called The Shadow of The Minotaur. This story demonstrates a lot of bullying between Steve Adams and Phoenix and his friend, Laura. In real life, Phoenix and Laura are often bullied by the big bully, Adams. In the game his dad created, The Legendeer, Phoenix and Laura again encounters with Adams, but here I'd say it's rather between the game itself and the real world, because of how The Legendeer is tricking people into their world through computer games.
The Hunger Games is another novel that we read, and this shows ostracism. In this book, District Twelve is the farthest from the Capitol, and therefore the poorest district in Panem. It is largely ignored by the Capitol and its government.
For exclusion, this is where the Holocaust comes in. The Jews are excluded from the Germans and shipped to concentration and death camps. Why? Simply because they or even their grandparents were Jewish.
Select one line/phrase/group of sentences that are significant to you. Explain why.
"Differences between did not cause hatred. Hatred caused the differences between us." This statement caught my attention pretty well. Normally, people are often classified as outcasts in the popular group because of their differences. But here, in Eve's class, there were no large differences, at least not enough to make certain people become the topic of gossips. Hence, there weren't really anything to gossip about, which, for teenage kids, is just somehow not right. I was a little surprised of the feeling felt among the kids, which was the need for something or someone to talk about. I thought, well, if it were me, that would be the perfect class, with everyone having something in common, things would be fun. There wouldn't be any cases of bullying or anything. Instead, Eve's class felt the need for these issues to occur and actually found a way to make it happen.
What’s familiar about the incident Eve describes?
I think this happens in every school, in one way or the other. Here in my school there are plenty of issues to gossip about. Embarrassing rumors are spread. It happens everywhere, so it's not much of a new thing. We each want to be accepted by others, and because people are desperate, it has caused us to take the shortcut, or the wrong way to achieve our goals.
What surprised you?
Something that surprised me was how Eve reacted when she was invited over to 'something that she wouldn't want to miss'. At first, as she was telling the story, I thought she would make some kind of argument and stnad up for the girl. When she said she found her voice blending in with the others, it took a long moment for me to relize what she means. I had never expected that to come. Not from her, who was once a victim herself. But yes, I can see why she did it now.
How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). Make sure you justify( back up your answer.
Eve's story is actually about bullying, although not directly. Gossiping would fall under verbal bullying, only it's done behind someone's back. Although she did not know why, Eve was once a subject of the girls' gossips. She was a victim, because she was the outcast, the one being mocked about by the popular ones. This, unfortunately, caused her to feel left out, wanting to find a way of her situation. She therefore felt the need to belong to this group of popular people, so she ended up mocking others herself. I guess she was bystander when she hear some other people telling jokes on someone's expense and didn't stand up for the person, but when she actually joined in the conversation, she turned herself into the perpetrator by actually telling those jokes.
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