Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Metacognition
Throughout my sophmore year in Miami Country Day School I fully developed an understanding of the Advanced Placement World History course. Not only did I learn the basics of this course, but I also learned to think above and beyond the basics and challenge my mind to the skills of critical thinking. Through this process I developed many habits of mind. The main habit that I focused on throughout this course was to understand how things happen and how things change, how human intentions matter, but also how their consequences are shaped by the means of carrying them out, in a tangle of purpose and process.This habit of mind truly defines my experience in the World History Course. At the beggining of the year, all I really focused on was knowing the context that this course requires. However, as the year progressed, I learned that more important than knowing the context is knowing how to analyze the information. By analyzing the context of this course I was able to better understand why and how things happen, why they change, and how human intentions matter. I realized that its crucial to know how to define, describe, and analyze everything in order to develop the patterns that form our history. Overall, this course not only taught me all about our world's history, it also taught me various crucial skills that will be beneficial to me in the future.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Waiting for Snow in Havana Quiz
Waiting for Snow in Havana - Quiz
1.List the three conflicts and describe them.
a.Fidel Castro and his men overthrow Batista There is a lot of chaos in Cuba and living conditions are very dangerous. Carlos and his family as well as everyone in Cuba are very scared and concerned with this situation.
b.Disagreements between Carlos’ Parents. Carlos’ parents are both very scared with this situation but they disagree in terms of what they want to do with their children. His mom wants to take them to the United States and his father wants them to stay in Cuba
c.In the United States Carlos and his broth are in an orphanage. They constantly remember their happy childhood in Cuba and are having a difficult time adapting in the U.S.
2.List and describe 3 Motifs.
a.The Lizards – Lizards have followed Carlos throughout his childhood, and they become very symbolic. As a child Carlos hates these lizards but later on learns that beneath their ugly skin there is nothing bad about them, and they remind him of his happy childhood in Cuba.
b.Jesus – Jesus constantly appears in Carlos’ dreams. He relates many incidents and people to Jesus, and believes that Jesus is trying to deliver a message.
c.Sunset – Carlos talks about the sunset many times. He says that the sunset in Cuba is more beautiful than the sunset in the U.S because it has a brighter and more orange/tangerine color.
3.Describe one major and one minor theme
a.Major Theme: Struggle for survival. Carlos and his family constantly have to struggle with the bad situation in Cuba. This struggle follows Carlos and his family throughout the whole book.
b.Minor Theme: Sexual Harassment – Carlos has a couple of experiences where he is sexually harassed or molested (the guy in the train, Ernesto,…)
4.Describe his childhood memories:
a.He remembers his uncle’s backyard, they way it was so colorful, full of animals and plants, and the experience he had with the monkey.
b.He remembers going to a classmate’s birthday party. The classmate’s house was the biggest house he had ever seen, and he was impressed with this house and with the party favors.
c.He remembers playing with his friends, puling fruits off trees and throwing them at each other until they were covered all over with fruit juice.
5.Describe the theme of forgiveness and or humor:
Humor is a reoccurring theme in this book. As Carlos describes many of his experiences as a child, he expresses them with a humorous tone. For example, Carlos describes the first time he ever drank. He drank too much and got drunk, and has no idea what is going on.
Forgiveness is also a very important theme in this book. Even with all the chaos that has happened in his life, Carlos must learn to forgive Fidel. This theme is also very important between Carlos and his father, Louis. Carlos does not want to be angry with his father whom he never saw after he left Cuba. He has many good memories with him. This theme includes forgiving his father, as well as being forgiven by him. Towards the end of the book, in his dreams, his father visits him and tells him that he forgives him for all the bad thoughts Carlos has, had, or will have of him.
1.List the three conflicts and describe them.
a.Fidel Castro and his men overthrow Batista There is a lot of chaos in Cuba and living conditions are very dangerous. Carlos and his family as well as everyone in Cuba are very scared and concerned with this situation.
b.Disagreements between Carlos’ Parents. Carlos’ parents are both very scared with this situation but they disagree in terms of what they want to do with their children. His mom wants to take them to the United States and his father wants them to stay in Cuba
c.In the United States Carlos and his broth are in an orphanage. They constantly remember their happy childhood in Cuba and are having a difficult time adapting in the U.S.
2.List and describe 3 Motifs.
a.The Lizards – Lizards have followed Carlos throughout his childhood, and they become very symbolic. As a child Carlos hates these lizards but later on learns that beneath their ugly skin there is nothing bad about them, and they remind him of his happy childhood in Cuba.
b.Jesus – Jesus constantly appears in Carlos’ dreams. He relates many incidents and people to Jesus, and believes that Jesus is trying to deliver a message.
c.Sunset – Carlos talks about the sunset many times. He says that the sunset in Cuba is more beautiful than the sunset in the U.S because it has a brighter and more orange/tangerine color.
3.Describe one major and one minor theme
a.Major Theme: Struggle for survival. Carlos and his family constantly have to struggle with the bad situation in Cuba. This struggle follows Carlos and his family throughout the whole book.
b.Minor Theme: Sexual Harassment – Carlos has a couple of experiences where he is sexually harassed or molested (the guy in the train, Ernesto,…)
4.Describe his childhood memories:
a.He remembers his uncle’s backyard, they way it was so colorful, full of animals and plants, and the experience he had with the monkey.
b.He remembers going to a classmate’s birthday party. The classmate’s house was the biggest house he had ever seen, and he was impressed with this house and with the party favors.
c.He remembers playing with his friends, puling fruits off trees and throwing them at each other until they were covered all over with fruit juice.
5.Describe the theme of forgiveness and or humor:
Humor is a reoccurring theme in this book. As Carlos describes many of his experiences as a child, he expresses them with a humorous tone. For example, Carlos describes the first time he ever drank. He drank too much and got drunk, and has no idea what is going on.
Forgiveness is also a very important theme in this book. Even with all the chaos that has happened in his life, Carlos must learn to forgive Fidel. This theme is also very important between Carlos and his father, Louis. Carlos does not want to be angry with his father whom he never saw after he left Cuba. He has many good memories with him. This theme includes forgiving his father, as well as being forgiven by him. Towards the end of the book, in his dreams, his father visits him and tells him that he forgives him for all the bad thoughts Carlos has, had, or will have of him.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Waiting For Snow in Havana
Introduction:
In Waiting For Snow in Havana by in Carlos Eire, he discusses his memories and experiences of his life in Havana. He begins his story by remembering the day he learned of the truth, when he was barel y eight years old.
"The world changed while I slept, and much to my surprise, no one had consulted me. Thats how it would always be from that day forward. Of course, thats the way it had been all along. I just didnt know it until that momorning. Surprise upon surprise: some good, some evil, most somewhere in between. And always without my consent."
This is when Carlos is told that Batista has fled, and Fidel Castro is now in power.
This quote reveals a lot not only about Carlos Eire, but also of the innocence of a child as theme.
With this news, Carlos' incocence is shattered, and he learns of the arduos fate that awaits him.
The Lizards:
Throughout the book Carlos encounters various lizards. The lizards are symbolic of the things that scare Carlos. Just like the lizards that Carlos killed, he tries to forget about his parents and about all of the happy moments throughout his childhood because he is afraid to remember his love for them. Carlos has always hated lizards as a child, but as a mature adult he learns that underneath the disgusting exterior of the lizards, there is nothing truly disgusting about them. He learns that just like many other things in life, he must learn to deal with all the things that are frightening to him.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
"This is Cuba"
"This is Cuba" is a documentary about the living conditions in Cuba. Communism has struck Cuba for a long time now, and the people living there are forced to face many harpships every day of their lives. Although I was already aware of the current situation in Cuba, this film gave me a much more personal insight on the diffiuclt life of the Cubans. This film shows the behind-the-scenes look at everyday Cubans dealing with life and survival. Cubans live in a restricted society where they are restrained from many things that I take for granted everyday of my life. Every day Cubans struggle against Castro's cruel restrictions; they recieve an exact amount of food each month and they get paid a ridiculously low amount of money, both of which are not enough to fulfill their necesseties. Cubans cannot speak about their poor living conditions, they are restrcited to watch one channel on television, and they must obey and endure the everyday rules positioned by Castro. This film has truly opened my eyes to Cuba, and has made me realize how fortunate I am to live in a country where I have complete freedom.
Link to Yosi's blog: http://www.desdecuba.com/generationy/
Link to Yosi's blog: http://www.desdecuba.com/generationy/
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