U19 Touch Rugby CAS Reflection

LO4 – Commitment

  • How did I show my perseverance, resilience, and commitment in this activity?
  • How did I maintain my motivation for this activity?
  • How did I help others or how did others help me to stay committed to this activity?

Throughout the season, I was consistently committed to both training sessions and games, because I wanted my team to be successful and I wanted to learn and improve and to prove to myself and everybody that touch rugby is something that I am passionate about and something that I want to strive in. I think that this goal helped me to maintain my motivation for this activity and to keep supporting my team players. After games that we lost, we made sure that we would work on our skills during training in order to be more successful in the future. I believe that this drive is what helped us to ultimately come together as a team and play well together, knowing each of our strengths and weaknesses. I think that as a team, we all wanted to have success so this helped us to stay motivated and committed to achieving this goal and improving our general skills. For some of the team, their experience with touch rugby was minimal, so it was important that we were committed to training, in order to support each other and work as a team on the field.

LO1 – Awareness

  • What previous experience have I had with an activity like this?

I have been playing touch rugby since I was around 11 years old, so I have been playing in multiple teams during middle and high school. I also participate in an outside club, so I have been able to expose myself to similar team experiences. Although I was not the team captain, I was able to give advice to the other players, as I was the oldest on the team and had years of experience. As a result, I enjoyed playing this season as I also had chances to play in the A-team in certain tournaments, where I was more challenged and I could learn more from the older players.

  • What am I good at? What are my strengths?

In some circumstances, I find myself being a natural leader as I enjoy helping others improve their skills. Since I have been playing this sport for a while, I tend to know the game well and which moves work, so I was able to coach the others as well. I also find that some of my other strengths include learning from my past experiences. Especially in touch rugby, I acknowledge areas where I can improve and advice I have received, and I tend to implement this constantly and also inform others to help them improve.

  • Have I improved and in what areas? 

Throughout this season something that I have definitely improved in, is my communication and collaboration. I feel that I have become more patient and in general better at listening to others and cooperating consistently in order to be successful in our games.

  • What have I struggled in some areas?

Since I was hoping to make the A team, I was initially discouraged when I was playing with the B team because I felt that I had worked really hard to earn a place in the top team. Consequently, I was not as motivated to play and put effort in. However, I became more comfortable in my team as I was able to both learn and collaborate with others, especially from our coach who is a very experienced touch player. I think that something significant I learned from this experience was that it is important to put your all into every experience because I know that I have a passion for this sport, so I must use this to help myself and others grow in this area.

The Role of Reason and Emotion in Decision Making

  • Logical Fallacies vs Cognitive Biases
    • Faults of logic arise from the way we think, and therefore changing our thinking can help us to become more logical, whilst biases come from “cognitive machinery” which enable us to think a certain way, and allow us to process information.
    • Biases can become a sort of prejudice, but are referred to as a habit in our thinking. They lead us towards a certain perspective which help us to make useful conclusions. It is a product of mental processes which allow us to make sense of new information.
  • Dan Gilbert Ted Talk
    • Looking at the past as a way of reasoning our future decisions can impact us negatively. (Memory)
      • For example, a previous deal that was great can make a present good deal appear awful and therefore we miss out on good deals because we refuse to settle for anything less that the original deal that was in the past.

The Odyssey Reading Journal

Texts In Translation

Book 1: The Boy and the Goddess

  • Focuses on the relationship between the Gods and the mortals and also discloses their plan for Odysseus’s return home.
  • “This is absurd, that mortals blame the gods! They said we cause their suffering, but they themselves increase it by folly.”
  • “How could I forget Odysseus? He is more sensible than other humans, and makes more sacrifices to the gods.”
  • Athena introduces herself as another man to Telemachus, in order to let him start his journey to save his father.
  • Athena’s advice is father-like and it helps Telemachus figure out how he will become a man without his father and grow to be resourceful and intelligent like Odysseus.

Book 2: A Dangerous Journey

  • Shows how Telemachus has been deprived of his inheritance, and how he plans to set sail to Pylos. Telemachus exclaims that he will seek revenge on the suitors.
  • “I do not own a ship or have a crew- because of you!”
  • “Kill our cows and pigs, and good fat goats. They feast and drink red wine, not caring if they waste it all.”
  • “I will try to bring down doom on your heads here at home or when I go to Pylos.”
  • Although the mother is depicted by Telemachus to appear hopeless and vulnerable, her trick to keep on weaving the cloth, although deceitful, was rather intelligent and ingenious.

Book 3: An Old King Remembers

  • Follows Telemachus’s journey at his stop in Pylos where he stays as a guest in a palace belonging to Nestor, lord of horses.
  • Athena was there as a Mentor, in order to help guide Telemachus and give him the courage to find out about his father himself, and to become more known to others on different islands.
  • Irony is used as well, as Nestor explains that he wishes that Athena would come and help Telemachus the same way she helped his father, help him to get rid of the suitors and make them afraid of him.
  • The tradition carried out by Nestor and his sons play an important role in showing how one would bless another and give honour to a deity.
    • “King Nestor gave the gold; the craftsman poured it on the horns, to make a lovely offering to please the goddess.”
    • “A water bowl adorned with flowers, and in the other hand, a box of grain.”
    • The sacrifice of a cow

Book 4: What the Sea God Said

  • Telemachus visits Menelaus to find more about his father, Odysseus
  • Menelaus tells Telemachus about his journey back from Troy, and how he captured the old sea god in Egypt.
  • In Ithaca, Penelope finds out about Telemachus’s journey, whilst the suitors plan to kill him when he returns.

Book 5: From the Goddess to the Storm

  • Zeus sends Hermes to free Odysseus from Calypso, and sends Athena to protect Telemachus.
  • Odysseus begins his journey home on a raft, but then gets ambushed by a storm which wrecks his raft forcing him to swim Phaeacia.
  • The white Goddess, Ino, helps him and gives him guidance to reach to the island.
  • Odysseus manages to reach and find rest with the help of Athena.

Book 6: A Princess and Her Laundry

  • Odysseus introduces himself to the Phaeacian princess, Nausicaa, and flatters her in order to convince her to help him find clothes and shelter until he continues his journey back to Ithaca.
  • Odysseus walks behind her in order to avoid criticism and questioning from the people.
  • He waits in Athena’s sanctuary outside of the town

Book 7: A Magical Kingdom

  • Odysseus walks through town with the help of Athena, disguised as a little girl. He meets with the king and queen, Alcinous and Arete.
  • Odysseus is offered food and wine, and a place to stay the night but still does not disclose who he is or where he wants to go.

Book 8: The Songs of a Poet

  • The kings provides Odysseus with food, a ship and a crew  to help him on his way.
  • Demodocus, a blind poet, sings about a conflict between Odysseus and Achilles, in which results with Odysseus crying and covering his face to prevent others from seeing his reaction to the song.
  • The King’s youngest son invites Odysseus to watch and participate in the sports activities.
  • Odysseus throws a discus further than any other and is congratulated by Athena in disguise.
  • The poet sings another song about the affair of Aphrodite and Ares.
  • The King questions Odysseus about who he really is.

Book 23: The Olive Tree Bed

  • This book tells the story of the Olive Tree bed and how the story of it is only known between Odysseus, Penelope, and one slave.
  • Odysseus tells this story to Penelope in order to convince her that he truly is Odysseus.
  • Although I understand Penelope’s initial scepticism, I find it frustrating that it takes a while for her to properly reunite with Odysseus even after being near him.
  • Homer’s idea of using the story of the Olive Tree bed as the reason why Penelope believes Odysseus can also be questioned.
    • The bed and the room it is in was built around the trunk of the tree, and therefore cannot be moved as it is rooted in its location.
    • The trunk is the very foundation of the bed and the house it is in.
    • This can be symbolic of the relationship between Penelope and Odysseus, and the idea that their original love was founded where this bed was built, and that it acts as a constant in their marriage.

 

Culturama 2019 CAS Reflection

LO 2 – Challenge

What did I find challenging?

Since I had never participated in a dance show in a very long time, I initially found the choreography challenging as although the leaders taught it step by step, there was a lot to learn and perfect. Although since most members of our group were not people who dance regularly, the environment was very comfortable as it was easy to help each other out and not feel intimidated. I also made sure to practice regularly in order to keep up with everyone else.

What risks have I taken?

Although I am not a dancer, I was very eager to get out of my comfort zone by placing myself at the front row for example or helping others. I was able to do this by practicing the choreography consistently and making sure that I was completely comfortable with the entire dance, as I knew that it would make the performance easier for myself and for others as well. I think that by taking such risks I have been able to discover a newfound interest for large school shows and performances which I haven’t had since primary school. I have enjoyed being apart of a process where I can get to know new people and develop my individual skills.

What new skills have I developed?

Culturama has taught me a lot of different skills of not only the actual dancing we did but also through the challenged we faced and how we overcame them. Apart from the dance skills I gained, I also improved the skill of perfecting movements and routines in a set period of time. I am more used to developing my skills in sports or academics so learning skills in the arts was very interesting and is something that I plan on continuing in the future. However, although I learnt skills in the arts, I feel that I would still be able to apply them in different areas of knowledge. For example, from now on I think that I would be more committed to learning our moves in Touch Rugby or even developing a certain skill in maths. Since Culturama had a set time period I was able to become more organised and set clear goals for when I wanted to achieve a certain move or step, which made the entire process a lot easier for myself.

How did I measure my improvement?

Our rehearsals were recorded regularly, so by watching those I could see how my movements were and where I needed to improve. Since one of the dances was with a partner, I was able to tell if we improved by our coordination and ability to move around the stage smoothly.

LO 5 – Collaboration

Who did I collaborate with?

For Culturama 2019, I was apart of the Spain dance group, which included mixed gender Grade 10, 11 and 12 students. This was my first time participating in this event, and although dance skills were not required, I was still relatively nervous at the beginning of the rehearsal process.

What made it easy or difficult to work together?

In our group there were definitely people who knew each and had friends with them, but I still think that we all collaborated with each other. Since the dances are student-run, it was initially difficult for everyone to pay attention and learn the choreography as some might have felt more ‘relaxed’ as teachers were not present. Despite that, as a few weeks past, we managed to work more effectively. Although I did not know many people in my dance, I found that I was still able to ask questions to others to clarify choreography and also to help them. I think what made it eventually easy to work together was the fact that we all shared the same goal of having a successful outcome and performance for the show. I believe that this is why leading up to the show we were more determined and motivated to make the weeks rehearsing worthwhile, by cleaning up the dance and turning it into a real performance.

What challenges did we face when working together and how did we overcome them?

Throughout the weeks leading up to the show, some of the challenged we faced were that there were a lot of absences during the practices as a lot of people were committed to other activities and hence could not make it to every rehearsal. This made it more challenging towards the end as it was hard to organise formations without the presence of every group member.

How important was collaboration to achieving the outcome?

Collaboration was key in achieving the outcome as the show required team work in order to make sure that the dance was successful. Although the group consisted of people who might not have known everyone closely, it was vital that we interacted with everyone to ensure that our movements on the stage were coordinated.

Rehearsal Video 1

Rehearsal Video 2