Author: srira11440@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg
Culturama (Grade 12) First Post!
LO4-Show commitment and perseverance in CAS experiences. Students can articulate the stages from conceiving an idea to executing a plan for a CAS experience or series of CAS experiences. LO7-Recognise and consider the ethics implications of choices and actions.
This year my friend and I got accepted as dance leaders into the annual dance showcase that our school hosts which is called Culturama. It features several dances from all around the world to celebrate the diversity that we have in our school. My friend an I are leading a dance for South Africa and we have drawn inspiration for our piece from the Hip Hop styles that became popular after apartheid such as Kwaito and Pantsula. Although last year Culturama was a creative experience for me, this year due to the hiphop dance styles we have chosen, I believe it is more of a physical exertion learning process than a creative one. We have struggled a little bit so far to get a hang of the moves and keep up our stamina bit we are hoping with more training to become more comfortable and physically able to carry out the dance.
The learning outcomes I believe that I will see throughout the process is looking at commitment and perseverance because these are very hard dance styles to learn and it is quite exhausting but we want to commit ourselves to learning them and executing them. Also I looked at the ethical responsibility we have to represent this cultures in an accurate manner and to but in sufficient effort into making sure we do the moves correctly so as to not offend anyone.
Culturama G12 First Reflection
Learning Outcome: LO4-Show commitment and perseverance in CAS experiences. Students can articulate the stages from conceiving an idea to executing a plan for a CAS experience or series of CAS experiences.
This year my friend and I are leading a Culturama dance for the country of South Africa meaning we are the ones in charge of creating the entire dance from start to end. The reason I put this as an activity is because of the physical exertion that is required of us because South African dancing uses so much footwork. I believe this relates to the leaning outcome above because throughout the dance we are going to face challenges but we need to be able to overcome then and pull through to the end of the dance.
Final Service Reflection
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
I think Haruki Murakami is very fascinated by all that we share in common with animals. A lot of his stories feature relationships between humans and animals that do not occur naturally but highlight fundamental aspects of survival. In this book, a character can talk to cats and usually does so because he is lonely. This highlights on both ends how animals are social creatures, even cats, some of the most isolate animals need interaction every now and then.
My issue wit Murakami however, this I even saw in 1Q84, is the end of his book. By 3/4 of the book, the reader knows what is about to happen at the end, however Murakami drags this on for WAY TOO LONG. It becomes so hard to finish the book because I already know what is going to happen yet it takes 50 pages to get there.
1Q84
As a reflection of the book 1Q84, I tried creative writing mimicking Haruki Murakami’s style
CAS Teacher Reflection 2
HL Essay
For The Higher Level Essay, I am quite keen to look at a cartoonist called Angel Boligan. He was born in 1965 in Havana, Cuba. He started off his artistic career working as an editor, illustrator and cartoonist for El Universal. He does cartoons in a very humorous style and is known for the unique way in which he draws humans in his illustrations. He has had over 120 mentions and awards at various cartoon competitions and contests. Although he is most known for his artwork regarding our relationship with the environment, I am actually most curious to explore how he portrays the way in which technology has changed aspects of society. Whether that be how we show love and appreciation or even how our thoughts and opinions are formed by social media sites, Angel through his work asks us to consider the many ways in which we are impacted by technology and perhaps not always for the better. Below are some pieces I am considering to look at:
Dongri to Dubai
Prelude to a Riot
Recently I read this book as a recommendation from a friend. Seeing as my extended essay topic revolved a lot about the role of conflict in someone’s life, I thought this would be a perfect supplementary read. To be honest, I was extremely disappointed with the book. There were so many components of it, which I will elaborate on, causing me to dislike it greatly.
Firstly, I have always been one to HATE books that jump perspectives. I don’t see how authors expect us to grow alongside characters if we are constantly torn apart from the character before we get a chance to develop a sound understanding of them. I understand it is a relatively short read so it is hard to witness huge change, but then I think another mistake of the author was just the sheer number of characters. So many of them did not play a vital role and I cannot imagine the magnitude of change would be very much if they were removed. Each chapter was basically from a different characters perspective, and that too not even on the same issues! It felt much like a stream of consciousness recording than a narrative.
Alright, I though perhaps the first issue is something more to do with my taste rather than an issue with the book itself. But the issue of just how the story was written is something that stayed with me. It was this weird mix of a third person narrator, but looking at issues from a first person point of view. A narrator in essence should be an ominous bystander. I felt so torn between trying to see things from a birds eye view and finding myself caught in the action, it felt like this limbo state between being in and out of the story.
That all being said, I must say that the snapshots of the teacher Garuda, actually resonated with me. Over the course of the book, I actually saw progress and development. At the end, I was given closure and an understanding of the role that his character played in trying to highlight the flaws in the education system.