As we continue our discussion on education and whether or not schools kill creativity or suffocate your ability to learn/desire to learn, I want you to think about the books and the short stories we have read in class and are currently reading (A View from the Bridge, The Crucible, "The Minister's Black Veil," The Scarlet Letter "Harrison Bergeron" and Slaughterhouse Five). Are you a better student, thinker and human being for reading these literary works that are considered classics and a part of the literary canon? Take a moment what it means to be a student, thinker and human being (in the sense of how you contribute to society) and then post a response. In other words, do you think these books have appropriately educated you? Length does not matter but I recommend you devote about 5 minutes of writing/typing.
Responses are due by 7:30 AM on February 14th, 2011.
Hey Mr. Benitez this is Yuvraj
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe that these books have appropriately educated me. Before reading all the works listed, I didn't know about the Puritan society, or sin being a man's ultimate downfall, and what a utopia would be like in the eyes of another human being. Far importantly being a student requires you to be meta-cognitive and understanding different works, styles, and themes is a requirement. The Big thing about some of these works was the theme of sin, this help me understood what consequences came with your actions, and how i can apply better choices to my life and to our society to prevent our own downfall.
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe that these few books make me a better student, thinker and human being because these books show you the actions that come after doing something wrong. I learned more about the Puritan society and how people took sin as being very evil. Also, I learned one little mistake that you make in life can cause a downfall in your life. So this taught me how to be more careful in my choices in life.
ReplyDeleteEdwin Burd's Response:
ReplyDeleteThe various pieces of Literature that we have read in class do have an overall effect to the way I think and has had a positive influence on my writing skills. I did not before grasp the concept of how corrupt our society is and what steps we can take (if any) to avoid reaching the dystopia mentioned in the short story "Harrison Bergeron." The theme of the story was to demonstrate how human beings naturally create problems in the world we live and as a society, will perform any action to continue walking among the earth, even if it means lowering standards or forcing people to avoid pursuing their goals plus dreams. Take for example how the Puritans from "The Scarlet Letter" did not believe that life was meant about enjoying the opportunities it can bring to an individual, but following the strict rule of God and avoiding to sin. These people were foolish in my opinion to believe that they were truly close to creating a perfect world, rather they were just toying with nature in that you cannot stop humanity from constantly carrying out several iniquities, for that is what we were born to do as a race; destroy ourselves through acts of pure selfishness. Overall though, these books have given me important lessons on life as through their negative views on human beings plus their actions in general, I have learned that the period we live in is fraudulent, mainly because of the way we as a race have developed a distorted understanding on how to advance our civilization. By using the knowledge gained from these works I can incorporate several of their themes into practically any essay/argument, for they portray our breed as the most defective one of them all. Jonas Salk once said "If all the insects were to disappear from the Earth, within fifty years all life on Earth would end. If all the human beings disappeared from the Earth within fifty years all forms of life would flourish". I could not agree more with this intelligent plus wise man.
(Although please know that whatever I said does not matter since we are all going to die in 2012!!! :P)
Francois Castro's response:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading these works of literature, I required new information about our society. I've discover how radically erratic society can be. Being aware of this fact, I'm able to be prepare for radical changes, and fight for what I truly think is ethical. I also learned how to approach my problems, either in a passive or charismatic matter.
No, I wouldnt say that after reading these works I am a better person, or a better student for having read them. I am know just much more aware of the radical and immoral minds that can truly exsist in society. These Literay works have expanded my view on the lenghts people can come to uphold what they view as there "perfect world" or keep holding on to a deep drk secret, ehile it is tearing you apart on the inside, To me , these books have unearthed the dark side of what a society really is, a collection of people striving to be perfect in the eyes of whoever is "higher up on the food chain". These pieces of literiture have educated me the way society sees fit by presenting an idea and letting me to see if its wrong or right, that has educated properly because it deveopls my mind and lets me formulate my own opinions and ideas on what I am reading.
ReplyDeleteRyan Mojum's response:
ReplyDeleteThe works of literature that we read in class have had a tremendous impact on the way I write. They make me think about aspects of life in a different retrospect. Society isn’t perfect and there are things that need a shining light to expose corruption. The literary works we read caution us from achieving a dystopia. In “The Scarlet Letter” the puritans want to force people to believe that being puritans makes them sinless. They don’t want to accept that as people they are bound to have flaws. Ignoring those flaws doesn’t change the fact they are still there. Not embracing these flaws is just lying to themselves. If one was to try to take away those flaws like in “Harrison Bergeron” this would also be a problem. Sometimes people don’t want to accept others being different. Making everyone the same would take away their individualism, and leaves our society at a standstill. In "The Minister's Black Veil" Hooper gets chastised for being different. He wears a veil so everyone decides to seclude him. People don’t like when something changes even though life is ever changing. The literary works we have read have taught me lessons on the way how people are. Now I am a better thinker because now I can base my ideals on through experiences in the books. Whenever someone talks about everyone being equal now the first thought that will pop into my mind is “Harrison Bergeron.” The literary works we have read has appropriately educated me by making me think in a different way.
Angel Serrano's Response:
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say i am a better person or a better student for reading the three books. These Books made me a better thinker because of the fact that the books possessed a meaning that people work hard on trying to build a perfect society. By them doing that they hid away secrets from others. The Puritans try to maintain a strong, ruled strict society which wasn't comfortable with many others. These Books made me look more further into how society is today than from the past. It makes me think of opportunities that i might have in hand.
Yes, I think that the literary works we read in class have made me both a better student and a sophisticated thinker. That's because each literary work such as "Harrison Bergeron", although it has satire, it has a valid purpose. The purpose of "Harrison Bergeron" is to teach us that complete equality may deprive us our rights.It makes the audience picture themselves in that situation, and it evokes an emotional response from the readers. Therefore, the literary works we've read in class have definitely made be a better student because it made me think at a more immense level of thinking, and to be metacognitive.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteyes, i think that reading these literary works made me develop a higher level thinking skill and made me a better student than i was before i read these books. These book appropriately educated me because i learned about the puritan society and how they tried to sustain a perfect life. one who committed was considered very evil, but it showed that not everyone is perfect. these books that we read in class, made me critically think about society then and society now. So reading these book has made me become a more metacognitive, higher level thinking student.
ReplyDeleteafter reading these literary pieces, yes, i can say that reading these literary works have allowed me to develop a higher level of thinking. Naturally, i did know about puritan society and what they did, but i never received a full description of what they did until i read the literary pieces. it open my eyes showing how noble a man's motives can be, but then again, how flawed it can be. these books opened my eyes, revealing that how our society can be just the same.
ReplyDeleteafter reading these works, i can say that i have been positively educated and have developed a higher level of thinking, in terms of the topics introduced to the class in these works. as for being a human being, i do not think that it has made a difference because, for example, i know that in modern society, we do not have the rights to tell other people how to act in the public and certain actions that would publicitize that person because of an action. as jason has said, these books are about people trying to perfect life, but we all know that life isnt and cannot be perfect. hence, my education in this topic has been furthered by me realizing that life is not perfect.
ReplyDeleteAdrian Chamorro says :
ReplyDeleteFrom reading these literary works I have become a better student thinker and human being. I can say this due to the fact that the Scarlet Letter allowed me to room the human psyche as will as see how a society can cast someone aside. These literary works are also filled with “flowery language” which made me learn new words and think critically. The classics aren’t just classics for a reason they do allow for an exploration of the mind and develop the readers comprehension of text as well. Also the essay you gave us to read branched out more then any of these books. They didn’t just let me explore a given setting, but allowed me to question my own life. It made me question who I was and what was my role in society. Questioning if my education is good enough? And who decides what a good education is. So I feel these Literary works your mentioning in class are positively affecting my education. Appropriately educating me to think for my self and to question what’s around me.