Week 16

1. Throughout this humanities course I have learned that people have a diverse view of different things like human thought, creativity, and aesthetics. These differences in views comes along with different lifestyles, cultures, etc. Another thing that I have learned throughout this course is to look at all the diverse views that everyone has and try to relate to every view as best as you can. "Walk in someone else's shoes"

2. Just like learning about different views on human thought, creativity and aesthetics learning about different cultures of art, literature, film, architecture, music, dance and theatre all tie into the way you view the world. Humanities has taught me to see every side to everything I look at whether it is someone who is different than me to a piece of art or a type of music. One assignment I thought of was when we were asked to watch a song on youtube interpreted by a deaf person. Watching this I saw how differently they interpret music than I do, but then going back and thinking of how they are different from me helped me realize how the difference is not weird but cool because of the fact that we hear/feel the same song but might interpret it in totally different ways.

3. The study of humanities can greatly enhance our creativity and our appreciation of other cultures. Learning more and more about humanities throughout the semester it has gotten me to see where other people are coming from and the fact that different cultures have different views and values. Learning about these different view and values is a great way to appreciate other cultures and if you do not know about every culture it is always good to be aware of the fact that people do have differences and relating the best you can to these differences can make you appreciate any culture that you come across. Humanities enhances our creativity by making us ask questions that are not really answered. The questions that are not answered can be thought of in different aspects and is using creativity to think of different outcomes or solutions.

Week 15

1. Reading Amanda's essay about the book "Train Go Sorry" I thought her favorite scene was interesting. Instead of it being just one part in the book it was throughout the book and the way she said things would have been so much different for Sofia in Russia really made me realize how much opportunities there are for different kinds of people in the U.S.

2. One thing that I learned from Angie's paper was that a majority of deaf people do not look at being deaf as a disability, but just a difference. The other thing that I thought was interesting was the fact that a lot of deaf people like being deaf because of the diverse culture that the deaf community has.

3. In Michele's paper I liked the part where she explains when in the book Leah figured out that she would never be apart of the deaf culture even though she is so deeply immersed in it. Leah realized that she could never really know how it would be to be deaf unless she lived that life and when she was translating for her ex-boyfriend is when she figured this out.

4. After reading the fact when Lori said "The National Association of the Deaf believes that children should be allowed to grow up with exposure to other deaf children and adults to acquire and use ASL. This incorporates positive attitudes toward their own deafness and all of deaf culture" I thought that it would be a great way to integrate the deaf people in the community and have them not have so many stereotypes like they do now. If the deaf and the hearing grow up together and interact more often I do not think that there would be as many misconceptions about the deaf.

5. In Robert's essay you see the other side to what Lori said. Although it would be nice to have everyone grow up together and get along it would also take away from the deaf's culture. If the deaf and the hearing went to school together there would be not as strong of a deaf culture. Now this makes me think..is it a good thing or a bad thing to have the deaf and the hearing grow up together in the same culture?

Week 14

I am a hearing student assigned the book Train Go Sorry in my Introduction to Humanities Class. Other readings assigned in this class include several essays from the book My California. In both books and film, we examined the cultures of California that form a microcosm of the U.S.; and the U.S. forms a microcosm of the world. In this essay, I will incorporate 4 required questions.

In the book “Train Go Sorry” by Leah Hager Cohen, Cohen explains that she grew up in a school for the deaf even though she is not deaf herself. Her father is the superintendant at Lexington School for the Deaf, which her grandfather also attended. Growing up at this school taught Cohen a lot about the deaf and the struggles that they have to deal with everyday, it also taught her about he culture that comes from within the deaf community. Throughout the book Cohen tells the stories of herself going up at the Lexington School for the Deaf and her experiences she go tout of it. She also feels the stories of two other students at the school. In this essay I will talk about the meaning of “Train Go Sorry” and what character this connects to and what it means to walk in someone else’s shoes. I will also tell you my perspective on the book and some facts about ASL and Deaf culture.

The title of the book “Train Go Sorry” means, “missing the boat”, this translation is also known as a metaphor meaning a missed connection between the deaf world and the hearing world. This is why there are so many misconceptions about the deaf; one example is the misconception that deaf people are not as intelligent as hearing people. If there was not this missed connection between the deaf and hearing cultures there would not be these misconceptions. In the novel “Train Go Sorry” this focuses on a boy named James Taylor who does to Lexington School for the Deaf. James grew up with a large family and he was the only deaf one out of them all. Before he attended Lexington School for the Deaf James had a hard life, he did not perform well in school because of bad living conditions at home. James rarely attended school because of the fact that he needed to catch two busses and two trains just to get there. For two weeks James went missing at school and he was found at his house and found living in conditions that were very poor so he was offered free housing at Lexington and he accepted. Once at Lexington James decided to visit his brother who ended up in prison after committing several crimes. After many attempts to visit his brother James went one day to visit him and traveled three hours to get to the prison and was searched to find out his brother had court that day and would not be having any visitors. After this experience James decided he needed to buckle down and finish school because he did not want to be in prison along with his brother. James ended up earning his high school diploma and graduated with his class at Lexington.

To “walk in someone’s shoes” means to experience life from someone else’s point of view. In this book the author, Leah Cohen stepped into the shoes of people in the deaf community. Cohen found herself immersed in the culture of the deaf. She grew up around Lexington School for the Deaf and experienced the life of the deaf, she began to learn sign language at a very early age. Cohen also took physical matters into seeing into this culture, where she stuck little stones into her ears to have the look of a hearing aid. Later on in life Leah Cohen also found herself dating a deaf man. During that time she learned many lessons on what deaf people have to deal with everyday. Along with another large lesson which is what couples that consists of a hearing person and a non hearing person have to deal with everyday. Communication was obviously a very large portion of these lessons, and that lead to Cohen's understanding of the deaf community, in other words, a "walk in someone's shoes". Although Cohen got to experience what it was like to walk in the shoes of a deaf person, she realized that she would never be able to actually see and experience what it was like to really be deaf.

One part of the book that really stood out to me was in chapter five. When Cohen was walking with her grandfather on a hot night. She explains that she stayed back with her grandfather instead of walking with the rest of her family home from a coffee shop. What made me love this section of the book is the detail that is in the paragraph explaining how it was a hot night all the way until Cohen explained how she was breathing in the same pattern as her grandfather. I think it is very important to cherish loved ones while you have them and not regret that you did not spend enough time with them while they were here.

There are five facts that I think everyone should know about ASL or Deaf culture. The first fact that I think everyone should know comes from the title of the book "Train Go Sorry" or the missed connection between the Deaf and hearing cultures. I believe everyone should know that there is a distinct culture that the deaf belong just like the American culture. The second fact that I think everyone should know is that trying to put deaf students in a mainstream school will take away this culture that was in the first fact that I mentioned. The third fact that I want everyone to know is that although it is thought that every deaf person wants to hear this is not true, some deaf people have no desire to hear at all. The fourth fact that I have is that to be involved in the Deaf culture you do not need to be deaf, you just need to be immersed in the deaf culture enough for you to understand it and be surrounded by deaf who are in touch with their Deaf culture. The final fact that I have is about ASL, there is not one single form of sign language there are many different languages of sign just like there are different languages of talking for the hearing people.

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1. Ben..referring to lucky ASL said This was just absolutely amazing to watch the two signing their parts so enthusiastically and in unison

2. Jeffery..referring to VSAI day of the Arts at the Indian Deaf School said What a great organization. I thought it was great that such a large group of school aged and high school students are brought together for a common cause and to help each other.

3. Jacob..referring to 1 year old baby signing said I have no concern with a child being taught multiple languages nor do I feel it oppresses them in any way for further language learning.

4. Lori..referring to Deaf West said the performers in this clip do not appear “deaf”, they are performing just as they would as a non-deaf person

5. Jerad..referring to Waiting for the World to Change said I feel that deaf people can contribute to our society in so many ways. After taking an ASL class at the JC, I have learned that they can do so much and the word disability really isn’t the right word.

6. Diana..referring to The Forest said I thought it was awesome how the animation is so realistic and clear when signing; I enjoyed the story also.

7. Eric..referring to Waiting for the World to Change said I'm surprised that such a fundamental lack of understanding between two people living in the same country can still exist today.

8. Lena..referring to Deaf West said If you watch instead of listen you pay attention to all the detail in emotion rather than just listening and watching the production as whole instead of paying attention to each individual person.

9. Mary..referring to Schools for the Deaf said I think it's better to send deaf kids to schools where they can learn sign language and make lasting friendships with other deaf kids.

10. Gabby..referring to The Forest I found it a little hard to pay attention to the signing and read the captions at the same time so I had to watch it a couple of times with the captions and without the captions.

Week 14

I am a hearing student assigned the book Train Go Sorry in my Introduction to Humanities Class. Other readings assigned in this class include several essays from the book My California. In both books and film, we examined the cultures of California that form a microcosm of the U.S.; and the U.S. forms a microcosm of the world. In this essay, I will incorporate 4 required questions.

In the book “Train Go Sorry” by Leah Hager Cohen, Cohen explains that she grew up in a school for the deaf even though she is not deaf herself. Her father is the superintendant at Lexington School for the Deaf, which her grandfather also attended. Growing up at this school taught Cohen a lot about the deaf and the struggles that they have to deal with everyday, it also taught her about he culture that comes from within the deaf community. Throughout the book Cohen tells the stories of herself going up at the Lexington School for the Deaf and her experiences she go tout of it. She also feels the stories of two other students at the school. In this essay I will talk about the meaning of “Train Go Sorry” and what character this connects to and what it means to walk in someone else’s shoes. I will also tell you my perspective on the book and some facts about ASL and Deaf culture.

The title of the book “Train Go Sorry” means, “missing the boat”, this translation is also known as a metaphor meaning a missed connection between the deaf world and the hearing world. This is why there are so many misconceptions about the deaf; one example is the misconception that deaf people are not as intelligent as hearing people. If there was not this missed connection between the deaf and hearing cultures there would not be these misconceptions. In the novel “Train Go Sorry” this focuses on a boy named James Taylor who does to Lexington School for the Deaf. James grew up with a large family and he was the only deaf one out of them all. Before he attended Lexington School for the Deaf James had a hard life, he did not perform well in school because of bad living conditions at home. James rarely attended school because of the fact that he needed to catch two busses and two trains just to get there. For two weeks James went missing at school and he was found at his house and found living in conditions that were very poor so he was offered free housing at Lexington and he accepted. Once at Lexington James decided to visit his brother who ended up in prison after committing several crimes. After many attempts to visit his brother James went one day to visit him and traveled three hours to get to the prison and was searched to find out his brother had court that day and would not be having any visitors. After this experience James decided he needed to buckle down and finish school because he did not want to be in prison along with his brother. James ended up earning his high school diploma and graduated with his class at Lexington.

To “walk in someone’s shoes” means to experience life from someone else’s point of view. In this book the author, Leah Cohen

Week 14

I am a hearing student assigned the book Train Go Sorry in my Introduction to Humanities Class. Other readings assigned in this class include several essays from the book My California. In both books and film, we examined the cultures of California that form a microcosm of the U.S.; and the U.S. forms a microcosm of the world. In this essay, I will incorporate 4 required questions.

In the book “Train Go Sorry” by Leah Hager Cohen, Cohen explains that she grew up in a school for the deaf even though she is not deaf herself. Her father is the superintendant at Lexington School for the Deaf, which her grandfather also attended. Growing up at this school taught Cohen a lot about the deaf and the struggles that they have to deal with everyday, it also taught her about he culture that comes from within the deaf community. Throughout the book Cohen tells the stories of herself going up at the Lexington School for the Deaf and her experiences she go tout of it. She also feels the stories of two other students at the school. In this essay I will talk about the meaning of “Train Go Sorry” and what character this connects to and what it means to walk in someone else’s shoes. I will also tell you my perspective on the book and some facts about ASL and Deaf culture.

The title of the book “Train Go Sorry” means, “missing the boat”, this translation is also known as a metaphor meaning a missed connection between the deaf world and the hearing world. This is why there are so many misconceptions about the deaf; one example is the misconception that deaf people are not as intelligent as hearing people. If there was not this missed connection between the deaf and hearing cultures there would not be these misconceptions. In the novel “Train Go Sorry” this focuses on a boy named James Taylor who does to Lexington School for the Deaf. James grew up with a large family and he was the only deaf one out of them all. Before he attended Lexington School for the Deaf James had a hard life, he did not perform well in school because of bad living conditions at home. James rarely attended school because of the fact that he needed to catch two busses and two trains just to get there. For two weeks James went missing at school and he was found at his house and found living in conditions that were very poor so he was offered free housing at Lexington and he accepted. Once at Lexington James decided to visit his brother who ended up in prison after committing several crimes. After many attempts to visit his brother James went one day to visit him and traveled three hours to get to the prison and was searched to find out his brother had court that day and would not be having any visitors. After this experience James decided he needed to buckle down and finish school because he did not want to be in prison along with his brother. James ended up earning his high school diploma and graduated with his class at Lexington.

To “walk in someone’s shoes” means to experience life from someone else’s point of view. In this book the author, Leah Cohen

Week 13

Part 1

A)

1. Deaf West Theatre Clip 1

I liked this clip, I thought it was interesting how the actors in the play were signing and at the same time it looked as if they were dancing. In a way I think that a visual theatre performance has more in it because they look like they thought about combining the language with dancing to entertain.

2. Dancing with the Stars: Marlee Matlin

I thought watching Marlee Matlin dance was amazing. I would say that there is a huge difference between hearing and feeling music, someone feeling music would go through and entirely different process than someone who is hearing music. I would think it would be difficult to pick up the beat of a song and dance to it like Marlee Matlin does, however she and other people who feel music have found their own way to feel the music.

3. Indiana Visual Arts Day

I would have to say that choosing what kinds of curriculum is used for deaf students would sometimes be approached differently than someone who is hearing. I think that the deaf would have to communicate to teachers if a method of teaching was not working for them.

4. Waiting on the World to Change

The very first thing I noticed this time around watching the video is the first words that came up, "it's everybodys music" conveying that the deaf can feel music just as well as people who hear the music.

5. Deafnews.com

I would say that for the deaf news it would be pretty much the same ways of choosing who delivers the news as any other news station. As long as the person delivering can sign clearly and effectively is what is needed to get a certain point across.

6. Lucky

I think this is a cool and different way to listen or see music. Although it is hard for me to understand the song in this way I believe that people who cannot hear have learned to see and feel music while people who can hear have learned to listen. Since the deaf learned to see and feel music this way is as effective to them as listening to music is for me.

7. A 1 year old Hearing Baby Singing

I do not think that signing would make a child's vocabulary smaller in the long run. I would say silence is when there is nothing going on in your head, when your brain is silent. Although the deaf cannot hear they are still interacting with the world around them just like everyone else.

8. MSSD

I think visual learning is just effective as verbal learning is. The deaf community has learned to communicate without using words but signs, and just as teachers teach verbally teachers can just as easily teach visually. I think that the idea of a school using all ASL is a great idea so that the teaching is targeted at this different form of understanding information.

9. Tour of Gallaudet

I think this video shows how a university geared towards the deaf is just the same as any other university. It has all the same activities that other universities has like sports, etc.

10. The Forest -- A Story in ASL

I would say that along with ASL the motion of the hands of the person signing along with the expressions on their faces helps express the feeling and the mood of a story. I noticed in this story that when the man was signing about the quiet scenery he closed his eyes and moved his hands in a slower more flowing way which gave a sense of calmness. When this same man was signing about the "muscular man" his face looked meaner and his hands were moving in a more choppy way which made the mood feel scary and intense. The way people sign can say a lot about the emotions just like when someone says something a certain way.

11. www.aslpro.com

This is a webiste designed for teachers to use in the classroom for a way for the teacher to personalize a quiz for the students in their classes. It is used to let students see other people other than their teacher sign and see the differences in the different people signing.

The five words that I searched were; Change, Love, Friend, Shy and World. Most of these word were words that I picked out from the various videos that we watched.

B) 1. ASL borrows many elements from the English language.

2. The French had a natural sign language called Old French Sign Language (OFSL) which might be the oldest form of sign language.

C) 1. It is physically exhausting to get by as a deaf person in a world where people expect you to live the "hearing" lifestyle.

2. The Deaf community does not include all deaf people and it does not exclude all hearing people either.

D) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zyGbbgbBO0

-I liked this video because it shows a regular teenager that listens to popular music making her own video for a song. She shows emotions through her facial expressions and makes it her own by signing with different hand movements to make it more interesting.

Part 2.

1. Amanda says that moving to San Francisco has made her appreciate what it has to offer.

2. Elizabeth did not notice how much she loved her hometown of Petaluma until after she moved away.

3. Gabby's favorite thing about living in California is Christmas time in Union Square.

4. Jacob's first time taking his son skiing he hoped his son saw the beauty of California that kept him coming back for 28 years.

5. Jerad's California is the wine country in Petaluma.

6. When Karl was 3 years old is when he began to live on a farm

7. Rachelle has not been to Crescent City in almost ten years but it still holds some of her fondest memories.

8. Robert grew up in San Francisco and it is an experience that he would not trade for the world.

9. Wesley was not impressed about California's beauty until he stumbled across Poore Lake

10. Veronika moved to California from Russia.

Week 12

a) As my favorite story I chose Michael Chabon's "Berkeley". I thought one interesting thing about Berkeley's history was that it is where the refugees from San Francisco's 1906 earthquake went. After I researched about Berkeley I came to find out that it was a small town until after the 1906 earthquake, when many people from San Francisco came to Berkeley because it was not hit nearly as strong. After the earthquake is when the town of Berkeley quickly grew to a city and only lost by 35,000 votes to become the state capital in 1908. The growth of Berkeley continued until the great depression in 1929. Although Berkeley has grown over the years it has still kept its old down to earth residence, just like Michael Chabon mentioned in "Berkeley".

b)My California is about the city that I have lived in my whole life, Santa Rosa. I love Santa Rosa, it has many different elements to it, old and new. In the 21^st century everything around us seems like the hot new thing and I like to also look back and look at the simpler times. For example, there is railroad square downtown that is a very old part of Santa Rosa and has a lot of history, even the same stone buildings that were built in the late 1800’s. Railroad square has been around 1870 when the first train came to Santa Rosa. The area around the square was called “Little Italy” because the newly immigrated Italians of the time were attracted to its beautiful weather similar to their weather back in Italy. Many of these old stone buildings around the square were built by these Italians who migrated to “Little Italy”. To me what is amazing is that when I walk into the coffee house called Aromas I am stepping into the old Railway Express Agency building, and its not only that building, its all the buildings in railroad square, they were all once used for the transportation of another time. Walking through railroad square when I was a little kid I did not realize how much history was behind those buildings and that that train stop is most likely what took my ancestors into Santa Rosa for the first time. I still live in “Little Italy” now and I love it.

c)1. Amanda--She learned to use others as her eyes because she hardly ever uses a mirror

2. Angie--Chabon talks about how much he loves the city from everything to its layout, the people and the architecture.

3. Benjamin--He makes lost of comments that only a child would make about how fancy cars are always hidden in garages but ugly cars are left out for everyone to see.

4. Brooke-- Learned that Berkeley was a refugee location for people who left San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.

5. Catherine--Major took an important lesson away from her time with the mirrors, understanding that what you see in the mirror may not be what is truly there

6. John--I learned that the many victims of the 1906 San Francsico earthquake moved to Berkeley.

7. Nicholas--Favorite line was "Those adolescent summers seem like such luxury now"

8. Rodrigo-- This reading made me think of how scared I would be to move in a “planned community” where an Association had to vote on your idea before you can carry it out.

9. Gabby-- During high school I was in Model United Nations, and the conferences were held on the Berkeley campus. So when we weren't in classrooms debating we got to explore the city and it was one of the most interesting places I have ever been to.

10. Robert-- This is the story that brought back more memories than any other, because my sister Kathy used to bring me to Playland as a child

Dumas, Major, Chabon, Kamen Goldmark

1. Bienvenidos a Newport Beach by Firoozeh Dumas

2. Dumas told a story about moving to New Port Beach when she was a child. In this story she tells what it was like moving from Whittier to New Port and the difference in economic levels at his two homes. This story shows the difference Dumas saw in the neighborhoods and that sometimes to understand how good you have it you had to be less fortunate earlier in you life.

3. "We didn't look like anybody in our neighborhood.. We looked like the gardeners knew that too because they always looked at me kinda funny. It was like they wanted to know how I got in the house." (p. 93)

4. This story made me think about the "rich" area in Santa Rosa, Fountain Grove. One of my close friends lives there and we talk about how you only see certain races living there. The area that Dumas moved to in New Port Beach reminded me a lot of this area of Santa Rosa.

5. Before reading this story I did not know that "vista" means "view of" in spanish.

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1. Cotton Candy Mirrors by Devorah Major

2. In this story Devorah Major tells how her and her friends use to look for money so that they could go to "Playland" at the beach. Major tells us the different attractions and which she liked the best. Her favorite was the fun house, from the mirror maze to the distortion mirrors at the end where she would try to unveil what she really looked like in these crazy mirrors. She then goes on to explain how big of a part those mirrors are still in her life today.

3. "In these mirrors we became monsters, we became clowns, we were lengthened, flattened, rounded." (p. 101)

4. This story reminded me of going to the Sonoma County Fair when I was younger and going in the funhouse. It sounded like the same things were in each funhouse.

5. I did not know that there was a Playland near the beach in San Francisco.

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1. Berkeley by Michael Chabon

2. This short story that Michael Chabon wrote about Berkeley talks about the different kinds of people that live there and how Berkeley is its own unique place in California. Chabon mentions that there is a ton of intelligence in the town from the University and he explains to us how Berkeley came to be. It was built during the 1880's and rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake. Chabon mentions that Berkeley will always be its own unique, old style, town and will never be "hidden" by larger cities like San Francisco.

3. "A business that would never thrive anywhere else, patronized by people who would never thrive anywhere else, in a city that lives and dies on the passion and intelligence, the madness and rapture, of its citizens.

4. This story reminds me of going to Berkeley to visit my sister who attended Berkeley University and after reading this it made me look back and see that Berkeley is an old fashioned town that is very unique.

5. I did not know that Berkeley was the place where the refugees from San Francisco stayed after the 1906 earthquake.

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1. California Honky-Tonk by Kathi Kamen Goldmark

2. Goldmark tells a story about when she was younger and was in a band and about their first gig. Their first gig was at a biker bar and Goldmark explained how the bar was not as they expected and they had all the wrong songs for the croud. Even though the songs were not what the audience wanted the band still kept playing and Goldmark goes onto tell about her many other "gig" experiences, good ones and bad ones and one where she made a great friend.

3. "I have a feeling that if Lil DeMarco heard this one, she'd have loved it." (p. 120)

4. This story made me think of when I was a place playing pool and a song came on that was not the type of music my friends and I listened to. It was fun to listen to different kinds of music because we were in a different setting than normal.

5. I did not know that there were "honky-tonk" bars in LA.

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1. Amanda--This story made me come to think about how valuable California is to a lot of people, and what it means to them

2. Angie-- Tobar talks about how his life can be compared to that of a highway with both it's advantages and disadvantages

3. Brooke--Many citizens are fearful of the measures that may eventually be taken because then Seal Beach becomes just like every other beach town.

4. Catherine--But he soon saw that nothing is immune to change, especially not when there is money to be made

5. Diana--California,aka the Big Sur seems like the perfect place for everyone, and how it is one of the only places that myths of unexplained humanoids can be found

6. Eric--Although he spends most of the essay portraying Seal Beach in an idealistic light compared to its neighbors, he concludes with a description of the various woes the town is facing in exchange for forgoing the development others have wholeheartedly embraced.

7. Jacob--He explains how he feels that if he shares now only a few will seek out his utopia and hopefully will be respectful enough to treat it like their paradise

8. Karl--I learned just how troubled our state would be without freeways allowing people to commute to work everyday.

9. Lori-- He writes about the California being all things to all peoples and then instantly it changes from pastures to mega-shopping centers

10. Wendy--The freeways are a source of order

Tobar, Steinbeck, Humes, Warshaw

1. Ode to CalTrans by Hector Tobar

2. In this short story by Hector Tobar he explains how dangerous driving fast can be dangerous and how in other countries their roadways are not set up as well or have any safety laws like in California. Tobar, growing up in Los Angeles explains the importance of driving and the evolution of the freeways and how well kept they are by CalTrans.

3. "My mother and father were car-less for the first year or so after their arrival from Guatemala in 1962." (p. 58)

4. This story reminded me of my friends house in LA. When I went to visit her I remembered being amazed by all the driving she does everyday and how she knows what time to commute so she does not hit traffic. It also reminded me of her because of the mention of the Rose Hills because you can see that sign on the hill from her house.

5. I did not know that CalTrans would put up a picture of a white CalTrans helmet everywhere someone died on the highways.

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1. Montalvo, myths and dreams of home by Thomas Steinbeck

2. In Thomas Steinbecks story about his love for California he talks about Spain in the 1500's and the lack of publishing there. In 1510 a man named Garcia Rodriguez de Montalvo who was a French translator for romantic novels wrote a book called "Las Serges de Esplandeion". This book became a bestseller and has myths hidden in the text. Steinbeck continues to talk about California and how wonderful it is and how so many people wanted to come here and no on cared about the other states.

3. "In a lifetime of travel I have become acquainted with hundreds of people who dreamed of coming to California. Most of them couldn't have cared less about the other forty-nine states..." (p.65)

4. This story reminds me of the state that I live in and how other people in my country look at California as a great place.

5. I did not know about Garcia Rodriguez de Montalvo

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1. The Last Little Beach Town by Edward Humes

2. Edward Humes starts off by explaining the small town of Seal Beach in Southern California and how in larger cities people do not trust one another like in Seal Beach. Humes explains in this story that Seal Beach use to be full of people staying in the track homes of the 1950's and was a normal city and it has begun to move backwards in time becoming an old fashioned city where people walk to "non-starbucks" and "even talk to each other along the way".

3. "Imagine walking into City Hall in LA or Santa Monica or Santa Ana or anywhere else this side of Mayberry and having a clerk tell you, take it go ahead, I trust you." (p.70)

4. This story made me think of going to Fort Bragg when I was younger. I remember going there and it felt like such a small town by the ocean where you could say hi to anyone and people were more old fashioned. I think of the way our state is divided and that there are different cultures within the same state and even a few miles away from each other.

5. I did not know that there was a town named Seal Beach in Southern California.

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1. Surfacing by Matt Warshaw

2. Matt Warshaw tells us about a kid who was a surfer and went to half moon bay to catch a huge wave and travels on a ferry to get there and once he gets this huge wave he wipes out and breaks his board. He traveled back to his house to get a new board to go back and try again. He ends up catching many more waves that day. Warshaw also mentions hot surfing spots in California in San Francisco and Santa Cruz.

3. "Forty-five minutes later he caught another wave, nearly as big as the first one, and made it." (p. 88)

4. This story reminds me of going to Santa Cruz with my family and watching all the people surfing at the boardwalk and how it was a whole different lifestyle than I am use to.

5. I did not know that Half Moon Bay was not a "hardcore surf town"

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In these four stories about California the authors had different stories to tell. They are all based on the experiences each individual has had in California. The differences are from turning the sport surfing into a message to not give up, another to explain how a town can go form big to small town feel in a matter of 50 years, another author shows how much he loves California in his story and how he believes everyone else does as well and last the structure of California and the need for transportation in the big city of LA.

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1. Gabby--This story makes me think of every piece of fruit or vegetable that I have ever eaten and how much hard work goes into farming and producing crop

2. Jeff--Beverly Hills may be high society and wealthy, but they are still people

3. Justin--I never knew that the American River had such extreme cultural significance

4. Jerad--I feel that it is very important to see the world, after all it may be in your own backyard

5. Karen--Aimee Liu, a resident of Beverly Hills, sees through the glitz and glamour of the town and actually looks at the people and their relationship between fear and desire

6. Lori--I learned Hollywood is not excluded from problems of homelessness or any other issues we have to face in our daily life

7. Amanda--This story definately made me think about how today's society is slowing filling up all our agricultural land with coperations and buildings

8. Brooke--It seems that Beverly Hills and cities like it portray a certain image and it attracts more people to it for that reason.

9. Nicole--All Mackey wants to gain from her bird watching is to be able to live among the birds and be one with them

10. Eric--Like anything human, it has two sides to it

Week 8

Short Story #1

1. "The Big Valley" by Mark Arax

2. This short story called "The Big Valley" is about Mark Arax growing up in Fresno. Arax discusses how Fresno in 1968, when his father claimed his first piece of land was full of fig orchards. He tells stories he remembers from his childhood. He use to ride his mini-bike around the orchards that were big enough to get lost in until one day his mini-bike overheated and him and his cousin had to push the bike back home. Mark's grandfather told him about when he had first come to Fresno when J.C. Forkner was still planting his fig trees and that Henry Ford had come to watch his tractors work the ground of the fig orchards, it was the most ford tractors that ever worked on one piece of ground. Mark's grandfather had bought a vineyard in the San Joaquin Valley and his father had grown up on that vineyard. He discussed how now the fig orchards of Northwest Fresno are gone and replaced by homes and chain stores. Although Mark lives in the city he still plants his garden of vegetables and a small vineyard. Throughout the transformation of Fresno it has gained the dirtiest air in the nation. Mark went to the Ag Expo in 2004 and looked at the tractors and the different types, remembering when there was only one brand. Marks father was caught up in the city life and turned his small bar into a nightclub and brought in actors from the city. Although they lived in the suburbs of Fresno his father could not stay away from his farming either, he had a garden in his backyard.

3. "One afternoon I ventured too far and got lost. It couldn't have been more than three or four miles, but it seemed as if I had found another world." (p. 17)

4. This reading made me think of how many different cities use to be small towns with farmers until it turned into a huge city. It also made me remember the time i traveled out to the Fresno area, and where I was all there was was orchards and farms.

5. I did not know that Fresno was "the dirtiest air basin in the nation" (p. 21)

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Short Story #2

1. "Transients in Paradise" by Aimee Liu

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Short Story #3

1. "Showing off the Owens" by T. Jefferson Parker

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Short Story #4

1. "The Distant Cataract about which we do not Speak" by Mary Mackey

2. This story is about the Sacramento area in California. Mary Mackey talks about going out to the American River Parkway in Sacramento and watching the different animals that surround the river. She explains how the river is commonly used to commute to work, for religious rituals and many more things. The cool thing about this river is that it is in the middle of a huge city, the state capital. When at this river you cannot see any remnants of the city that is right around the corner.

3. " We hear the sounds of The Distant Cataract About Which We Do Not Speak. Of course, it is not really the sound of a cataract. It is the roar of rush-hour traffic, half of it crossing the Howe Avenue Bridge, half of it crossing the bridge at Watt." (p. 48)

4. This story made me think of an area next to my house. It the Santa Rosa creek that the city fixed up into a walking area and instead of making the walkways all perfect looking they tried to make it blend into the scenery and some of the pathways are covered by water in the very rainy season.

5. This taught me about what rivers are in Sacramento and where they all meet.

Week 7

Group 3-California's Independence from Mexico

California's independence from Mexico began with Mexico, including California, gaining independence from Spain which occurred in 1821. In the 1820's many American and Canadian settlers began to come to Northern California which would later change the Northern California section of California. In 1846 the settlers rebelled and no longer wanted Mexican rule, this was called the Bear Flag Revolt. Northern California was then named the California Republic for a short amount of time, in the same year the Mexican-American War was declared, 1846. Military occupation of California by the United States began when John D. Sloat of the U.S. Navy sailed into Monterey Bay. After many battles in Southern California the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the mexicans in California in 1867 which secured American control in California. When the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed it ended the war and Northern California was its own territory and Southern California was territory of Mexico. In 1850 California was admitted to the U.S. as a free state.

On June 14, 1846 in Sonoma the historical Bear Flag of California was raised by the settlers which started the Bear Flag Revolt. I thought this flag would be a fun thing to find historical background on because it was raised in Sonoma so close to Santa Rosa and it was a big symbol in the beginning of the fights between Mexico and California. The Bear Flag was William Todd on a piece of cotton that he drew on. The star on the flag comes from Texas, the lone star state, and the bear represents the high amount of bears seen in California. The Bear Flag was raised at the Sonoma site until the 1906 earthquake, when it was in possession of the Society of California Pioneers. During the earthquake the flag was burnt in all the fires, and our flag that we now have comes from the ideas of this same flag.

I decided to talk about the Bear Flag because I think it is a cool symbol of the time period, how it was drawn on cotton, and also cool because of the fact that it was in Sonoma which is so close to Santa Rosa.

1. William L. Todd, the creator of the bear flag, was the cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln who was the wife of the president Abraham Lincoln.

2. A replica of the flag was created in 1896 and is on display in Sonoma.

3. The flag was about a yard and a half long and the star displayed on it was red.

I think that these sources are credible because they are all well known. The wikipedia is an online encyclopedia and the other on is the official website of the SF Museum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/toddflag.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Republic

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1. Angie-Chose to research the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

2. Brooke--Stated that the Academy of Natural Sciences is the oldest natural sciences institution in the western hemisphere

3. Eric--Learned that the exhibits on display are designed to tell the story of the war with as little bias on either side as possible.

4. Jacob--Learned that Ansel Adams has several pictures at the Museum of Contemporary Photography.

5. Jerad--Is interested in the CSI workshops that the National Museum of Crime and Punishment has.

6. Tuo--The piece of work that attracted her most was "Among the Sierra Nevada, California" by Albert Bierstadt.

7. Wes--Chose the National Civil War Museum located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

8. Veronika--The wax figure that attracted her the most was the Marilyn Monroe figure.

9. Michelle--Stated that Thomas Jefferson did a lot of experimenting with plants in his garden and did selective breeding of different vegetables.

10. Mary--Visited the Smithsonian Museum of American History online in Washington D.C.

Week 5

Part 1

1. The name of the museum I chose is the Miami Art Museum in Florida. It contains art with influences from North and Latin America which is also why I chose it.

2. I used the museums website, youtube and wikipedia.

http://www.miamiartmuseum.org/home.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Art_Museum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvwoDE8w-zs

3. 1)In the background info from the museums website I learned that Miami is full of artists, designers and collectors and is in demand for a world class museum.

2)Miami is the only metropolitan area that does not have a major art museum that serves its community, and the Miami Art museum is adding on to fulfill that need.

3)The museum has a program called "MAM & Schools" for children K-12 .

4. One piece of work that attracted me from the Miami Art Museum is the piece called Regard the Class Struggle as a Main Link in the Chain by Kehinde Wiley. Wiley is know for using Harlem residence and painting them posed like paintings in art history books. In Regard the Class Struggle as a Main Link in the Chain Wiley takes this man from Harlem and positions him like the "Iron Women" who was used to promote gender equality in China's cultural revolution.

Part 2

1. Jennifer was drawn to the Getty Villa located in the Pacific Palisades because of its beautiful gardens.

2. Karen chose the museum of art and history at the McPherson center in Santa Cruz holds many different kings of exhibitions ranging from music to art to history.

3. Lori chose the exploratorium which offers hundreds of interactive science, art and human perception exhibits that are both fun for children and adults.

4. Kelpy--The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles opened in 1913.

5. Nicole--The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art was the first museum on the West Coast to be completely devoted to 20th century art.

6. Veronika--The Legion of Honor Museum contains mostly European art with the largest collection of French art.

7. Wes--The Exploratorium was founded in 1969 by a physicist and an educator by the name of Frank Oppenheimer.

8. Jacob--The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana was originally 7000 sq. ft. and is now 93,000 sq. ft.

9. Gabby--San Francisco Museum of Modern Art displays works of art by; Andy Warhol, Henry Matisse, Ansel Adams and many others.

10. Elizabeth--Loves the photographer Ansel Adams she said he is "one of the greatest print craftsmen on Earth"

Week 4

Part 1

1. The name of the museum that I decided to visit online is the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

2. I used a youtube video, wikipedia and the official website for the Asian Art Museum for my three background sites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7zEwCtA_T0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Art_Museum_of_San_Francisco

http://www.asianart.org/

3. Three facts that I learned from the background information from my museum are:

1) The Asian Art Museum started by Avery Brundage agreeing to give his collection of Asian Art to San Francisco if they built a museum for it.

2) A matcha is a Japanese tattoo.

3) A tokonoma is an alcove in a Japanese tea room used for displaying hanging scrolls, flowers or other objects.

4. A specific piece of work in the Asian Art Museum that attracted me was Landscape with Waterfall by Huang Junbi. I liked this piece because of all the detail and I also thought it was cool how with such little color there was so much depth in the painting. This piece is categorized as a literati. A literati is a Chinese artist, like Huang Junbi that studies Art, Poetry and Calligraphy. In literati art all three of these components are incorporated into their pieces to show their talent of all three aspects.

Part 2

1. Amanda--Stated that Freier's childhood shaped his educational viewpoints.

2. Angie--Freier has had a huge influence on both new philosophical perspectives on life.

3. Ben--Stated that Freier often skipped school to play soccer with his friends and this is where he developed an understanding and connection for the less fortunate.

4. Brooke--Freier developed a teaching plan for all levels of education

5. Elizabeth--Stated that Freier's book Pedagogy of the Oppressed is one of the most quoted educational texts.

6. Eric--Said that Freier became involved in an educational movement to combat illiteracy between 1962 and 1964.

7. Gabby--Stated that in 1964 Freier was put in jail for 70 days because the government thought that his methods of literacy were causing people to want change.

8. Garin--Freire attended the University of Recife and studied philosophy and the psychology of language.

9. Jacob--What Jacob found most interesting about Freire was his experiment known as "Bare feet can also learn to read" .

10. Tuo--Stated that Freire's book Pedagogy of the Oppressed is about seeking equality and justice in the educational system.

Week 3

Part 1:
1: Paulo Freire was born in Brazil in 1921, by 1929 he was effected by the great depression. His family had a hard time in the life of poverty trying to find food. As a result of the depression Freire's family moved to a poorer town called Jaboato dos Guararapes, and two years, in 1933 his father died. Throughout his childhood he was surrounded by poverty, this is what shaped his educational viewpoints. In 1943 Freire enrolled at the University of Recife law school, while studying law Freire also studied philosophy, and the psychology of language. Although Freire had his law background he chose to be a Portuguese teacher at a secondary school, where he met his wife. In 1946 Freire was made the director of the department of education and culture in Pernambuco. He mainly worked with the illiterate poor people at this time, and during this time people who were illiterate could not vote in Brazil. In 1961 he was named the director of the Department of Cultural Extension of Recife University. In later years he began to write his book and in 1968 he published his first book; Pedagogy of the Oppressed. In Brazil, his home country the book was not published until 1974 because of the different freedom of speech rights in this country.

2: Paulo Freire's concepts of teacher-student dichotomy is a new way of looking at teaching and how to make a learning experience teach more to the student and also to the teacher. Freire believes that there should be a teacher-student as well as a student-teacher role in the classroom. What Freire means by these two roles is one, teacher-student; a teacher that learns , and second, student-teacher; a student who teaches. Although teachers seem to have all the smarts in a classroom the teacher needs to be open to the fact that the student might teach the teacher something that was not apparent to them before.

3: Paulo Freire's book Pedagogy of the Oppressed was a book that was aimed at his new view of learning and the relationship between the teacher and the student in the learning environment. There were four chapters in Freire's book, these four chapters consisted of the different/new teaching methods or views that he came up with. The first chapter deals with how oppression has been validated, the second chapter deals with his new banking view of education, the third chapter deals with the term "limit-situation" and finally the fourth chapter is about freeing the colonized through his ways of teaching. With his many different view of education his book was not able to be published in his home country Brazil until six years after it was published in other countries, this is because of the freedom of speech issues in Brazil at this time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy_of_the_Oppressed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Freire

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-freir.htm

Part 2

1: Amanda--Does not think that the women of Islam will ever be put on the same level as the men of Islam.

2: Eric--Believes the point of Obama's speech is to foster peace and stability

3: Nick--The part that strikes him the most about Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech is the passion he uses when he delivers his speech.

4: Robert--From Obama's speech Robert realized how intertwined the Islamic culture is with American's history.

5: Tuo--Realized the amazing things the muslims have contributed to the world like; poetry, the order of algebra, music, navigation system and the study of disease.

6: Jacob--Watching the speeches made him think more globally.

7: Veronika--Believes Martin Luther King Jr. has helped form our reality as it is now.

8: Wes--Learned that Islam inspired many key educational endeavors such as the renaissance and enlightenment in Europe.

9: Wendy--Feels that Obama's speech is a promising new start that will hopefully be followed up with actionable direction.

10: Lena--Learned about more things that Obama is trying to achieve, like women's rights in other countries.

Week 2

President Obama Speech

Summary

President Obama speaks about the rivaling ideas between the Islamic nation along with the Muslim faith and the United States. Obama discusses the stereotypes that many Americans have towards Muslims, that they are extremists/terrorists. This idea has been around for many years and was made even worse after September 11, Obama adds that it is inexcusable for anyone to commit such crime against humanity. His goal is to unify these two feuding nations during his time in the white house by teaching to accept other countries points of view.

Something new that I learned

One thing that Obama mentioned that I did not know about was that we would be giving Pakistan such a great amount of money to help with their schools and hospitals. To add to that we will be giving billions of dollars to Afghanistan to rebuild their economy.

Dialogue

The point that Obama conveyed in his speech about dialogue is that people with different religions need to talk about their differences and communicating this will help the different groups get along.

Culture

A way that Obama made it apparent that our two nations do not coincide together is through our religion which strongly shapes our culture and what we we believe in.

Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream" speech

Who is in the video

Martin Luther King Jr.

Summary

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I have a Dream" speech in 1963, he was trying to make people realize that since the Emancipation Proclamation was signed 100 years ago things have not improved for the African-American community. He gives examples of how African-Americans civil rights have been abused and although they had the chance for freedom and equality it was not given to them. King explains his dreams for a better future for the African-Americans in America.

MLK influences today

Throughout many parts of our culture today we see the influences of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For one part in particular we see King in the music industry today. One song is by Will I Am called I have a dream, based on the words from Kings speech talks about the same dreams that King once dreamt of. The hip hop industry mainly consisting of African-American artists have great respect for King and try their hardest to keep his dreams alive.

Humanities

Yes, I do believe that Martin Luther King Jr. affects our studies for humanities because I believe he affects every part of modern day life from the people that we interact with everyday and the music that we are able to listen to. King has shown people that everyone has the same abilities and are essentially the same with small differences.

Classmates

1.Amanda-Santa Rosa - I think of how bored I was growing up here as a child, and that now I think that this is a great place to raise a family. It's amazing how things change!!

2.Angie-lives 19.4 miles away from the JC

3.Ben-has not created a blog or a webpage in the past.

4.Brooke-Thinks the world is crazy.

5.Tuo-Prefers to be called Janny

6.Katie-has a facebook page and an idle myspace, but nothing like this.

7.Karen-Would like to visit Europe and Egypt

8.Lori- Has a PC.

9.Nicole-Taking this class to fulfill GE

10.Rachelle-Lives 2.87 miles from the JC