Saturday, February 25, 2012

Kristallnacht response-Olivia

Kristallnacht, "The night of Broken Glass" terrorized, manipulated, tortured and destroyed the Jews.
On November 7th of 1938 a German diplomat was assassinated in Paris by a 17 year old Jewish boy named Grynszpan. On Novemeber 10th the consequences arrived, at 3pm a Jewish synagogue and youth center were put on fire. Soon the Nazis started to destroy Jewish business's and homes. House and shop window were smashed. (Therefore getting the name "The Night of Broken Glass".) Stormtroopers demanded entry to many peoples houses allegedly looking for weapons but later on left after the house had been turned upside down and no weapons were to be found.
later a new regulation was stated saying: "Jews in Germany had to pay one billion reichmark for restitution., for the damage the Nazis caused them.
November 16th 1938, now Jews were allowed to attend public schools and universities.
December 3rd, 1938 Jews were made to stay inside from noon until eight at night and were made to carry pooh identity cards they were also not allowed drivers licenses. By January 1st. 1939 all jewish buisness's were sold at a fraction of the price to 'pure Germans'. Also Jews were required to have a Jewish first name, next the Nazis marked all Jewish passports with the letter J.
Many Jews were seeking emigration but this also became an obstacle. To leave Jews had to first register everything ha they owned the secondly they have to obtain appropriate identification and also have proof of a sponsorship county door immigration. Finally hay had to give up most of their wealth to collect a visa from the state. This was a long rigorous obstacle that many Jews could not afford.
During Kristallnacht 191 synagogues were set on fire, over 100 Jews were killed and over 30,000 others were sent to concentration camps. This was a terrible and terrorizing time in history that should be remembered for how terrible it really was.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas

After reading The Boy inThe Striped Pyjamas in class as well as watching the movie I have a lot to reflect on. After finishing this book I felt astonished and hot my self how has this ever happened? Is this honestly true? After watching the movie, being able not just reward about it but see it made it skink into me. This did happen, terrible things are always happening.

Something that came to my mind was the meaning of peace. have we ever come close to it? Do we even understand the meaning of peace? No. So far nobody has explained the meaning of piece who knows if peace exists.

This is one of many stories of World War 2. This book shows and different prospective of the War, a prospective of a German boy. Innocent and kind Bruno doesn't understand what is going on around him. Most books are written fromthe prospective of Jews not so many people look into the Germans side of the story.

The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne was a great and heart touching book. That help me understand the War a lot. I would definitely recommend this book for all ages. World War 2 is such an interesting topic although can get complicated. This book sums it up simply and quickly. 5 Stars!!!



Sunday, January 29, 2012

No Man is an Island

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
- John Donne


How do these texts explore similar themes?
All of these text show that we all live as one and are connected, we are here to help each other and not to harm each other. We wouldn't be around if we didn't rely on other people it is the only way we have managed to survive and live such a wonderful life.For example in Mankind Is No Island the video shows people on the street and how others don't stop to help how we need them as much as they need us. What goes around comes around. The Island by Greder also shows something similar when a man is washed onto an island. He relied on the people of this village to help him survive but the villagers had other thoughts. All but one fishermen who had seen more then the others had traveled the sea's and knew their was good in the world. Although his voice wasn't as loud as the others and the Strange man was killed. This book metaphorically is expelling the world in one island, Just because people are d different doesn't mean they should be treated differently. In John Donne's No Man is an Island, he believes that all men are the same and should all be treated equally no matter how rich or poor you are. The pictures in the book written by Greder reflect on the poem show many men treating one man differently because of what he looks like.


How do the texts provide insights into prejudice and "otherness"?
Greder shows prejudice in his book by showing a man who is being ignored and ill-treated just because he is different to the other people on the island. They also think he is an animal and lock him up in a goat pen just like the pictures format he video of people sitting on the road not given a chance in life.

Why do people make distinctions between "us" and "them"?
A lot of the time people make distinctions between us and them as they are scared of our differences or maybe even similarities. People are judged on what they look like sometimes because other people our anxious about what they look like so put other people down or sometimes people are just biased. Sometimes people are afraid that somebody is dangerous or maybe even more powerful then themselves. For some people they make excuses about what people look like or seem like so that they don't need to spend anytime helping them. Never judge a book by it cover is one phrase I always keep in mind.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Olivia HH


This is the second time I have taken the dominance factor test, the first time I took it was in 5th grade I was MM and Gestalt. Now I have moved to grade 7 and become HH Logic! This to me is a big difference and also a good one. When I took the dominance factor the first time I was sure I was going to be logic although I turned out gestalt. I like my daily plan listed ands straight forward, I find step by step easy to follow. Although my profile MM said that I find it hard to follow step by step instructions as you can read on my online portfolio. I think my new logic appearance suits me better and I agree with what it says. I love humanities and global issues but am very stressed when ti comes to tests. The night before I get worked up and sometimes when I take the test my brain goes all cloudy and I cant think properly. This is what my profile says.

Too calm myself down I tell myself it is not the end of the world and there are other tests to make up for it. I always find keeping up my grades is a constant effort and sometimes I wish I could take a break. I need to realize that grades aren't the only important things in life. My profile says that I need time alone to relax and enjoy the world around me and I find this very true.

It also says that movements are planned before being made and that is very true. Both physically and physiological moments are always planned out i my hear and if they are not it can sometimes end in a bit of a mess. I always try to keep my work nice and orderly as I enjoy being proud of it that is why I plan ahead.


I am also ambidextrous and found out last year when we took the test. We had to get someone to drop a pen and we had to catch it the hand that you caught it with would help decide what dominance factor you are. It turns out my hands work to gather and I cant just catch it with one hand. So I tried writing with both hands and I could do it and then I tried writing with both hands at the same time and I could do it! I was amazed at myself and never realized this until last year.

One thing that I tend to struggle at is keeping my balance quite often I will miss a step on a staircase and find it hard to coordinate my hands and feet for certain sports. I find this a pain but keep working on it and try my best anyway. You never know maybe I will change next year!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

A Found Poem

Ignorance is innocence.
Darkness, is the shadow.
Look below Zeus!
Man eats his meat raw.
Frightened
By the gift of fire.
Framed fates, old age.

I take pity on you.
Who helped me to give them fire?
Wisdom of warfare?
Happy as beasts are to suffer.
To enjoy humility.

Who rescued me from DEATH?
You envy me Zeus..................

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Happiness Depends on Ourselves

I chose this quote for a couple of reasons one of the reasons is that I am not always positive and when I see the quote at the top of my blog I feel happier and more positive. it is a very true statement if we want to be happy we have to depend on ourselves and not just others. There is always a glimmer of hope that can lead us to happiness. Another reason that I chose this quote was because it is one of the only quotes that I actually felt meant something very important. It is also a quote that i feel like I can relate to. i love this quote and definitely think it is true.