by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Oct 25, 2020 | CAS, Service (CAS)
In Voices for Refugees this half term, we’ve all been working in groups to create an informative visual presentation (video, poster, infographic, etc.) of different human rights crises around the world. My group and I delegated tasks to achieve the most output quickly, which has proven an effective collaboration strategy in the past. I discovered that by volunteering to take on the entirety of editing, I had put a lot of work upon myself. I know that I have always been an independent worker, but in the future perhaps it would be better to allow my teammates to help as well as obtain their feedback on the video.
I also have had experience researching in this issue before, having written a report on it last year, but I found that turning to a more visual form of presentation was refreshing and new, allowing me to present my already existing knowledge in a more engaging manner. My report was also more specifically focused on the Climate Refugee situation in Bangladesh, but this broader, more globally focused project allowed me to expand my knowledge further of the issue, as well as update myself on recent developments and action taken within the issue.
Here is the video! Thank you for watching!
by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Oct 25, 2020 | CAS, Service (CAS)
Link to the video reflection.
Link to the Ladakh Portfolio! The team and I work hard to keep it updated, looking good and informative!
Link to the chair presentation, as a continuation of my leadership role in this service.
by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Oct 25, 2020 | CAS, Creativity (CAS)
The Lego activity (building a structure in silence while each person had an assigned individual agenda to complete) complicated collaboration attempts because of how each individual was focused on their own task, rather than paying attention to other people’s tasks and how they might interfere with others. My own assigned role (the leader, to help ensure everyone completed their tasks, which felt like a daunting task for me) helped me figure out halfway into the game that we needed to pay attention to others’ tasks to succeed. If one person was consistently changing the bottom four layers of the structure, everyone else needed to leave that part of the structure alone and adapt. We needed to note this without talking, showing the importance of awareness of others and consistently thinking about the greater good, especially within collaboration. It was because we didn’t do this that the goal wasn’t achieved in the end.
The discussion we had after the activity when we all revealed our roles helped us figure out these truths, and we started to see how each of our individual roles would influence other tasks. When reflecting, we each took turns to share our roles and our feelings about them, and I actually feel like the discussion helped to strengthen relationships between us as we listened to each other and saw the activity from their perspective.
This activity revealed a lot about the nature of collaboration, and that everyone always has their own individual agenda, however, the key to collaboration is awareness of others’ agenda and then adapting your own to fit theirs in order to achieve a greater good. Compromise, assuming positive intentions (the other people usually only interfere with your activities to achieve their own agenda, never out of malicious intent for you) and awareness of self and others proved the key to succeeding, so in the future, these are the things that I would like to focus on in order to become a more effective team player.
by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Oct 25, 2020 | CAS, CAS Highlights, Creativity (CAS), Music Journal, Music Journal Highlights, TOK
You can visit this link to watch the performance and hear a little bit about the piece, it’s context, and how the author’s circumstances might influence the way we perceive art.
Video Transcript:
This piece is called ‘Sicilian Blues’ and was composed by Hiromi Uehara, who is a Japanese jazz composer and pianist.
Why did you choose this piece?
I chose to play this piece because I think it really exemplifies how understanding the cultural and social context behind a composer can really enrich a piece. Uehara, as a woman and in the world of jazz outside of America represents how the jazz movement has spread. The genre of jazz was born in the black community in New Orleans in the early 20th century, with roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and it rose up as a cultural force against oppression and racism. As a counterculture movement, it’s really powerful and beautiful, despite the complexity of jazz music theory.
More on the Jazz movement
Ironically, though, the music theory world and the jazz world are pretty elitist. It’s hard to get in there, it can be quite cold and unforgiving. I think, though, that it’s a testament to the universality of music that a piece such as Sicilian Blues can be considered beautiful despite all this. And, of course, there are still people that discriminate and look down upon the Jazz movement for its history, no matter how wonderful the music is. I think that really goes to show how culture and social values really impact the way a piece is viewed.
Music Theory, and the Universality of Music
I think it’s obvious to all of us that music is much more than notes on a page. People who understand music theory might see the artistic value, they’re able to do almost like an autopsy on a piece to figure out why it’s so beautiful, but you don’t need a deep understanding of music theory to appreciate a piece. That also relates to how you don’t need a social context to appreciate a piece either. This is why music is universal. However, music theory and social context can really enrich a piece in terms of experience, despite the fact that it’s not necessary to know. I think that this complex universality is a key part of all art and all life, and is what makes Music such a fulfilling art.
