To This Day

Andrew sent me a link to this video and I am very grateful that he did.

To This Day Project is a project based on a spoken word poem written by Shane Koyczan called “To This Day”, to further explore the profound and lasting impact that bullying can have on an individual.

Please watch.

http://www.tothisdayproject.com

 

Kindness Boomerang

After we discussed Citizenship in class, Andrew sent me the link to this clip. In the video, a camera tracks an act of kindness as its passed from one individual to the next and manages to boomerang back to the person who set it into motion. It is well worth watching and reinforces the message that kindness is contagious. Thank you Andrew.

Think before you print

A huge ecological concern in the world is deforestation. Deforestation brings with it climate changes that have serious global consequences. According to some estimates, if we don’t try harder to protect the forests, only 10 percent will remain by 2030.

The South African ad above is called ‘Printer’ and it really brings the message home about the impact that careless printing has on African forests.

How does the ad remind us of our individual responsibilities?

 

Responsibility

The advertisement is for an insurance company but it is useful to use for PB4L as it looks at responsibility. Responsibility is a key value at Katikati College.

The ad stresses that we all have the responsibility to do the right thing and if we ‘pay it forward’ we will have a kinder and better society. In the ad a man picks up a child’s doll after it has fallen on to the footpath. The child’s mother is then seen being kind to a man in a cafe. The ad stresses that kindness is contagious.

We have a responsibility to take of others in society if we are to be good citizens.

Think of five ways in which you can provide support for the people immediately around you. You could give your time, ideas, kind words, or even a smile.

Simple actions can have big effects!

No Excuses

We all know that it is easy to find an excuse not to do something. It can be hard to motivate yourself to dig in, push harder and get where you want to go when it takes real effort and commitment.

People who achieve their goals, their aspirations, focus on their dreams, their vision. They remember why their goals are important and why they want to achieve them. When you can connect to your dreams you can keep going when the going gets tough.

No excuses.

 

You’re better than that

Aspiration at Katikati College means to dream big, to take action and be better than before. In the clip from Rocky VI, Sylvester Stallone (Rocky) is talking to his son. His message? Success is about persevering through challenges. To be better than before isn’t just about how smart or talented or skilled you are, but it is about working hard and taking responsibility for your actions.

Lost Generation?

As a school we are part of a programme called Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L). We want to further develop our school culture of everyone feeling safe and valued.

The College vision is that, “Katikati College will provide meaningful learning opportunities to inspire all students to reach their full potential as valuable members of society” and we have we have identified what values are needed to live this vision. These values are Aspiration, Responsibility and Citizenship (ARC). Today we are going to look at Aspiration.

‘Lost Generation’ is an inspirational video that talks about the need for change in the world. The video was created by Jonathan Reed when he was twenty as an entry for a competition. It comments on the so-called lost generation. The lost generation refers to young people who feel demoralised and on downward spiral because they feel that their future is not going to be positive. They may believe that they are not going to get a job or have economic security. This generation worries that the world can’t be fixed.

The words to the video could be described as a palindrome.  It is very depressing when you read it as it is first written, but the messages become very uplifting when read in reverse.

What messages about aspiration does this video convey?

The Lost Generation

I am part of a lost generation.

And I refuse to believe that

I can change the world.

I realize this may be a shock, but

“Happiness comes from within”

Is a lie, and

“Money will make me happy”

So in thirty years, I will tell my children

They are not the most important thing in my life.

My employer will know that

I have my priorities straight because

Work

Is more important than

Family

I tell you this:

Once upon a time

Families stayed together

But this will not be true in my era.

This is a quick fix society

Experts tell me

Thirty years from now, I will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of my divorce.

I do not concede that

I will live in a country of my own making.

In the future,

Environmental destruction will be the norm.

No longer can it be said that

My peers and I care about this Earth.

It will be evident that

My generation is apathetic and lethargic.

It is foolish to presume that

There is hope.

And all of this will come true unless we reverse it.

Spark Notes – The Search for Redemption

Another popular site that has a study guide to The Kite Runner is Spark Notes. Here’s an extract from the guide on redemption:

The Search For Redemption

Amir’s quest to redeem himself makes up the heart of the novel. Early on, Amir strives to redeem himself in Baba’s eyes, primarily because his mother died giving birth to him, and he feels responsible. To redeem himself to Baba, Amir thinks he must win the kite-tournament and bring Baba the losing kite, both of which are inciting incidents that set the rest of the novel in motion. The more substantial part of Amir’s search for redemption, however, stems from his guilt regarding Hassan. That guilt drives the climactic events of the story, including Amir’s journey to Kabul to find Sohrab and his confrontation with Assef. The moral standard Amir must meet to earn his redemption is set early in the book, when Baba says that a boy who doesn’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything. As a boy, Amir fails to stand up for himself. As an adult, he can only redeem himself by proving he has the courage to stand up for what is right.

 

Cliffs Notes – The Hunger Games

Looking for some extra notes on The Hunger Games? Try CliffsNotes – they have pages of chapter summaries and character notes. Here’s what they say about Cinna:

Cinna, Katniss’ stylist, is a young man, and this is his first Hunger Games. Katniss believes he was assigned to District 12 because of his lack of experience; Cinna, however, informs Katniss that he requested District 12. Unlike most of the other stylists, he dresses simply and chooses to highlight his looks with only a bit of makeup. He connects with Katniss almost immediately, understanding that the wasteful and luxurious ways in which the people of the Capitol live must sicken her. He has a sharp eye and knows how to style Katniss to help her win the crowd over. His first dress, the one that he sets afire with fake flames, earns Katniss her title of “girl on fire.” In stressful times, Cinna maintains a calm and level head. Before Katniss’s pre-Games interview, he tells her to pretend that she’s talking directly to him, to a friend. He is also the one who returns Katniss’ mockingjay pin to her before entering the Games. He is a true friend to Katniss and is highly skilled at presenting Katniss in just the right look, whether it’s to win an audience over, or, later, to convince the Capitol that she is a naïve and innocent young girl who acted out of the blindness of love.

Study Guide #1 – Sin and Redemption

Hopefully, some of you are revising on this wet and windy day. If you want a revision site that has a study guide to The Kite Runner try Gradesaver. Lots of notes on characters, chapters and themes. Here’s a little from the notes on theme – sin and redemption:

In The Kite Runner, redemption is so important because sin is so enduring. Amir opens the story by telling us not about how exactly he sinned, but about sin’s endurance: “… It’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out.” Hosseini uses structure to emphasize the themes of sin and redemption. Because Amir tells the story in retrospect, every memory, even the blissful ones of his childhood before the rape, are tainted with it. If the timeline of the novel was strictly chronological, we would not have the power of hindsight. Hosseini uses the first chapter almost like a thesis for the novel. As Amir retells the story of his life, he weighs each event against his sin, his betrayal of Hassan. As we learn towards the novel’s end, Amir is not the only character who needs redemption, Assef notwithstanding. Until Rahim Khan reveals Baba’s secret, Amir thinks he is the only sinner among his family and friends. Even before Amir betrays him, Hassan makes him feel guilty simply by being such a righteous person. Amir is constantly trying to measure up to Baba, because he does not realize that Baba is so hard on him because of his guilt over his own sin.