Tolerance inclusion and respect – PSE Unit Reflection

This unit has been very interesting. Some topics were harder and made me more uncomfortable than others. I think it is such an important topic because it’s such a recurring issue in the world and it’s gotten to the point where women do not feel safe walking alone. They have to take precautionary actions before they go anywhere or do something. It saddens me that a woman has to be careful because if she isn’t, she is blamed for not having done anything to protect herself.

Hearing about these issues makes me sad and angry, and I wish that all the awareness that is spread about them would have prompted more of a change, and unfortunately, it still happens and way too often.

AMK MINDS Service – Mid-Year Reflection – LO4, LO5, LO6

LO4-Show commitment and perseverance in CAS experiences.

Because of COVID-19, we can’t see our partners. Therefore, we need all of the members of the service present during each session, as we send them videos. In order for the videos to be of good quality, there needs to be commitment. I personally think I’ve shown good commitment by showing up to each lesson, and with a positive attitude, ready to get things done. Additionally, the COVID-19 situation means that our service demanded perseverance, as we need to make sure that the activities we conduct for them are easy enough for their abilities. This is quite a challenge since we cannot see the range of their abilities for ourselves, which would have helped us in adjusting the activities accordingly.

LO5- Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

In order for the videos to be of good quality for our partners, working collaboratively with my group members in an effective way is very important. Settling arguments and making group decisions in a calm manner were imperative for the service to run smoothly. When editing a video, I am able to use my skills in video editing that I have from previous experiences as well as some of the leadership skills I have developed throughout my years in school, participating in services. I enjoy working with my peers in my service as it’s interesting to see how we can improve our videos based on the feedback that we get from our partners

LO6 – Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.

We work with people who have down syndrome. Having to take care of these people is often seen as a burden to their families, and there isn’t much recognition or awareness of them or other mental disabilities, especially in Singapore. I wanted to take part in this service to be able to organize a day in the week for them to have fun. I often advocate for the service to my peers and explain to them how bringing light into someone’s day can be really rewarding. It’s very important to make sure that our clients are treated well and allow them to have fun and do some exercise.

Service Evidence – Service Video

DJ Club – Mid-Year Reflection – LO1, LO4

LO1: Identify their own strengths and develop areas for growth

LO4: Show commitment and perseverance in CAS experiences

After having completed DJ club, I really feel like I have learned something new, even if I didn’t master it yet. During each session, I was eager to get on the DJ table to apply what I had learned in the last session, as well as try some new things that I think would work.

This activity could be frustrating at times because sounds may not have gone together or I forgot a certain sequence needed in order to complete a mix, this was truly an experience that I will remember fondly. Whilst I am a creative person when it comes to the arts, music isn’t something I’ve really enjoyed creating, I am more of a hands-on, physical artist. This was a great way to try something new and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

When it came to COVID-19, the only major restriction was that we couldn’t perform our sets in front of a wider audience. This would have been a great way to share our hard work and new skills with others. However, since this didn’t happen we ended up performing our sets in front of each other within our group. Whilst it wasn’t the ideal outcome, it was still an enjoyable session.

In terms of learning objectives, I was definitely able to identify my own strengths during each session, as well as identified and developed areas for growth by making mistakes. The frustration that came with getting things wrong enabled me to identify what I needed to work on, as well as showed perseverance on my part by pushing through the frustration and trying again until I got it right. Commitment was also required in this creative activity, as I needed to make sure I didn’t miss a session (unless absolutely necessary). In most sessions, we would learn a new feature of the DJ board, therefore I showed my commitment to the activity by going and intently paying attention.

It was such a fun and creative way to start the week off every Monday Lunchtime.

 

(going to add evidence)

Political cartoon analysis

Political cartoon

Commentary

The women in this picture are of two different religious beliefs. Being a Muslim, and especially wearing a headscarf or hijab, often attracts stereotypes as being dangerous people, and they are associated with the terrorist attacks that are mentioned in the media. The two main objects in this cartoon are the hijab that the woman is wearing and the large picture frame of the nun. These two objects contrast each other as well as have a similar which is that both the woman wearing the hijab and the woman in the picture frame is wearing something to cover their heads. However, only the woman wearing the hijab is getting criticized and almost even harassed for wearing the headscarf because of its association to the religion of the Muslim woman

Home Fire and Yumna Al-Arashi Comparison

In what ways does the author offer insights and challenges into contemporary religious and cultural practices?

To what extent does the impact of the text shape our implicit perception of a troubling world?

 

Both of these bodies of works surround stereotypes and the way that people view Muslims, mostly Muslim women. The hijab is used as a motif in both bodies, however, they are shown in different ways, seen as a positive and a negative thing in a woman’s life. Factors for this difference are setting and upbringing. In Homefire, the setting is urban, more of a modern and city approach towards the hijab. Isma and Aneeka were brought up in London, around a community that probably didn’t have many other Muslim people and girls wearing hijabs around them. The lack of traditional Islamic upbringing prompted Isma to have doubts about her hijab, and whether her wearing it drives a wedge between her and other people. Whilst Aneeka doesn’t doubt her beliefs and the carrying of her hijab, she still has her own ways of practicing her religion. She sees her hijab as an assurance of her identity, but she doesn’t abide by everything as a traditional Islamic person would. This leads to the misconception that she isn’t fully loyal to her religion and that she only does what suits her.

Yumna Al-Arashi’s photographs are in a more rural setting. The burkha covering the women’s entire bodies, which is more than just a hijab, which only covers the hair. The pictures are a more traditional adaptation of Muslim women. The woman depicted in these images is shown in a range of poses and camera angles. The main aim of the arrangement of these images is to show empowerment and pride.

In what ways is ‘Napoleon Leading His Army Over The Alps’ a challenge of traditional canonical representations of power?

Kehinde Wiley, an American artist based in New York, uses his art to celebrate his culture, as well as other aspects of his identity, such as his race, gender, and sexuality. His artwork replicates famous, old paintings of portraits, by taking the subjects of these paintings and replacing them with models that share parts of his identity.

        

An example is his painting “Napoleon Leading His Army Over The Alps” (above, 1). In this painting, we see a replica of the horse portrayed in Jacques-Louis David’s “Napoleon Crossing the Alps” from 1803 (above, 2). Both the ground and the horse are the same in each painting. The models’ postures in both are the same as well as the cape flying around them.

The most striking difference in these images are the models. David’s painting portrays Napoleon, on a horse, in what seems to be a battle/war outfit from his time period. Wiley’s model also wears an army, camouflage outfit. All of his works have the element of modern clothing as opposed to the traditional clothing in the original, reference piece. While it may seem like an inappropriate outfit to wear on a horse, it shows to contrast between the two paintings’ time periods. The model’s race plays a huge part in the message of this piece. As a black man, Kehinde Wiley wanted to give the black community an opportunity to see themselves in traditional paintings.

In the past, most traditional famous paintings that were showcased in galleries were of white males, as symbols for wealth and honour. Wiley challenged that trend and chose models that relate to him and gave his community a chance to be portrayed as well. It is his way to show his audience that black people, too, can be the same, and do the same things as previous powerful and wealthy white people could.

Procter and Gamble – The talk

In the poem, Mother to Son, and the advert The Talk, Hughes and P&G both celebrate the strength of black women whilst… giving watchers the point of view of black people when it comes to prejudice, throughout the last few decades. This is shown through dark skinned mothers, giving a talk to their children. “The talk” is usually known as a talk that parents have with their children when they are growing up, about safe sex. However, in this case, “the talk” is a darker, sadder one. The mothers are trying to help their children stay safe, as they themselves have faced prejudice because of their race, possibly even violence as a consequence of that prejudice. This “talk” may be just as uncomfortable as the one I mentioned previously, as it’s about the child having to exercise more caution than other children, purely based on their race. This could potentially lead to the child developing a shame regarding their self-image, and bringing themselves down whenever they don’t think they can measure up to someone with more privilege than them.