THE ABORIGINES – STOLEN GENERATION

School tasks

Checkpoints page 317.

1.   The Aborigines came from the Asian mainland and the islands north of the Australian continent.

2.   The reason why the Aboriginal population was halved quite soon after the European settlers arrived, was because the settlers brought unknown diseases with them, such as smallpox.

3.   It is estimated that more than 100,000 children were taken away from their parents during these years and not one single Aboriginal family was spared.

Research and discover page 317.

1.   The Maoris are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. The Māori originated with settlers from eastern Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages at some time between 1250 and 1300 CE.

2.   Maoris are believed to have arrived in New Zealand in 1300 AD from Polynesia while aboriginals are much more ancient, dating back to more than 60000 years and coming from Indian subcontinent.

Maori influence on composite culture of NZ is evident to even outsiders while aborigines have remained aloof and maintained their cultural identity. One can see a Maori dance being performed before rugby games in NZ and a Maori monarch in NZ, which is a proof of the acceptance of the indigenous people with the rest of the population. This is perhaps because there was no monolithic aboriginal culture in Australia.

3.   The Maoris weren’t invaded in the way that the Aborigines were. The whole conflict were significantly more peaceful and non-violent. It also occurred in a more present day, when the British didn’t have the same opportunities as they had when they invaded Australia. 

THEO JAMES

Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis (Born 16 December 1984), better known as Theo James, is an English actor. He is known for portraying Jed Harper in Bedlam, Walter William Clark, Jr. in the crime drama Golden Boy and Tobias "Four" Eaton in the film adaptation of Veronica Roth's dystopian sci-fi novel, Divergent.

His paternal grandfather was Greek (he moved from the Peloponnese to New Zealand). His other ancestry is English and Scottish. He attended Aylesbury Grammar School and went on to earn his undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of Nottingham. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Commonly confused words

SCHOOL TASK

Today in our English class, we got an assignment. We were supposed to do this task called ‘Creative Stunts’. The task was to answer questions surrounding a photograph in our English book. Under this text, you can see the photo.

Questions about this picture:

Who is the person in this picture?

What is her profession?

Who is she speaking to?

Where is she going?

What is she thinking of right now?

The girl in this picture is called Sabeena Krishnamurthy. Sabeena means beautiful. She is a hotel front desk clerk, which means that she works in the front desk/reception of the hotel, helping people checking in and out. She is speaking to her father, telling him that she got a raise at work that day. That’s the reason why she’s smiling. She is going home to her apartment to celebrate her raise with her boyfriend, Tariq. They are going to drink champagne and eat her favourite meal, Baingan Bharta. Right now, she is thinking about how wonderful her life is. At the moment everything in her life is talking a turn for the better. 

The Imitation Game

Task 1.

Alan Turing

Alan Turing is often called the father of modern computing. He was a brilliant mathematician and logician. He developed the idea of the modern computer and artificial intelligence. During the Second World War, he worked for the government breaking the enemies’ codes and Churchill said he shortened the war by two years.

Turing was a brilliant with his own methods. He had difficulties with communicating with other people because of his lack of social skills. People would often judge him because of his kind of weird personality and manners. Alan was not capable of thinking that other methods than his, could work out. He preferred to be alone with his work and hated it when other messed with his business, which is highly understandable. In the movie, Alan had problems with telling jokes and understanding the concept of humor. However, he tried to tell a joke once or twice. It was sort of sweet and you felt somewhat sorry for him because he struggled quite a lot. 

 
I think his strength was that he believed in his own work. He believed that the machine would work (and it did), and therefor he went through hell to make sure that it was built and used. He did not care that no one believed in his machine, because he did and what a thrill it was when he proved everyone wrong.

Understanding

There are certain things us people cannot possibly understand. However, we keep trying. We want to understand, we crave it as we crave food. The human mind is significant in that way. Some aspects of life we just cannot seem to leave untouched and unspoken for. People express themselves in different ways. Some like to use words, others use noticeable facial expressions, some like to use body language. From time to time, it also occurs that some people cannot or perhaps will not allow their expressions to show. That is when you have to dig deeper. To understand a person without them showing or telling can be a complicated matter. We have so many useful resources available; why not use them?

A huge resource as well as a helping tool in today’s society is the widespread technology, social media and internet. The social media for instance. There are plenty of disgraceful things to say about it, but it in some odd way it has somehow become a part of an everyday circle of life. I think there is truly something extraordinary to be able to chat with a person on Facebook, while this person is located in a completely different continent, country and time zone. Then there’s Instagram, where you can follow your celebrity idol, or your friends, and even share your own taken photographs. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and so on are communities. These are worldwide communities, and you can be a part of them.

A few weeks ago, we watched a movie in our class called Disconnect. The movie really touched me with its different stories. The individuals in this movie had to face facts about how the internet affects people in various ways and that sometimes it gets out of hand. The internet is a powerful source and if you mess with it in the wrong way, it could end badly. And for some of these people, unfortunately it did.  

This was mostly because they didn’t understand each other, and therefor reached out to others online struggling with the same issues as they were. They felt compatible to that person because that person understood. But the internet is a dangerous place for naïve people. They are fooled and played as easy as a mouse is lured into a mice trap.  One has to be careful as for who one choose to trust.

When it comes to the understanding-part, I am torn. Everyone wants to be understood and accepted, but at the same time understand other human beings. It’s natural, it’s the way of life. However, why use the internet in the process. Can’t we just talk and communicate in real life. We wouldn’t have to be misled and hurt on the internet. People are the nicest when you can see their eyes and faces, and their not hiding behind a computer screen like a coward. If they saw the damages they impose on others, they would understand too.  

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” 

― Albert Einstein

DISCONNECT - film reveiw

The film is about how soscial media and the internet affects people on a daily basis, and a group of people searching for connections in todays technological world. Both cyberbullying and identity theft are central themes in this film. 

The issues that are presented in this film are very relevant in todays society. Most of us are online 24/7 with different technological devices, and bad things happen to innocent and perhaps naive people. The film is eye-opening regarding that subject. The film shows pretty clearly that you have to take precaution and be on the alert at all times. There are familiar elements in this film, but luckily, none has affected me.

Quite frankly, I loved the film! It presents relevant topics sorrounding the use of the internet in our modern day society's. I think that we need to understand the dangers and consequences concerning the internet, and this film shows us different aspectes of life when things have gotten out of control online. 


The movie was thrilling and exciting, but at the same time quite sad. Some of the stories were touching and emotional because of their content. At the end, when the entire plot of the film was coming to an end, the whole thing got a bit overwhelming to me. Fortunately most of the people involved got closure and managed to find peace although the circumstances were unrighteous. However, the part that made the biggest impression on me, was the part when the insecure and cyberbullied boy (Ben Boyd) attempts to commit suicide after beeing tormented by two boys on the internet (Facebook). I had to swallow my tears because the boy was so innocent and he got taken advantage of by the boys who prented to be this understanding girl. She/they sent him a picture of her body and asked him to send one back. He lost his mind for a couple of minutes and sent a personal picture that started circulating. Everyone thought he was weird and when he started talking to this girl, he felt like somebody understood him. It was so horrible that the boys took advantage of his weakness and turned it against him. All he ever wanted was to be understood by someone. Just the idea of this breaks my heart.

"Everything you do, someone out there can see"

TASKS IN CLASS

      
 1.    Do you think the colonies had good reason to declare Independence?            Why?
Yes, I do think that the colonies had a good reason to declare Independence. I think the people in these colonies were very tired of ruled around. They weren`t free. However, the final drop was when King George III taxed the colonies heavily. No wonder the riots began. The colonies was supposed to fill up the kings empty treasure chest with their money just because he had lost an expensive war. 

2. Should one country be able to colonize another? When should a colony be granted Independence?
I don`t think one country should be allowed to colonize another. Why should one country have power over another? Shouldn’t every country on this planet have equal rights and privileges? I certainly think so!  Every country should have their own laws, culture, identity, heritage without being influenced by another country. In addition, I believe that a country should be granted Independence whenever they want so. A country should have the jurisdiction to choose

3. The Bill of Rights guarantees Americans "the right to bear arms". Many Americans still feel this is important for personal safety and in case they need to revolt  against their own government, They argue that the Minutemen and the local militias only won the fight for Independence because they had firearms.

What do you think?

Should everyone have the right to bear arms? All kinds of arms?

 I have mixed feelings considering this matter, actually. I can somehow          understand that people, maybe vulnerable people, might think that a firearm would make them feel “safer” in a weird way. On the other hand, I think that getting more guns will not solve anything. Because it isn’t the gun that kills, it’s the person pulling the trigger. And if that person didn’t have that gun, the person couldn’t possible shoot and (might) injure anyone what so ever.

Just take a look at all the high school massacres that has happened in the U.S. over the years. All because of the right to bear arms for everyone. The government should really come up with a spectacular solution on this matter! That is what I think. They need to step up and make some changes.

4. If you were to present your nation's history in the same way as above, which events would you choose? Why?

I would have chosen to write about this:

The Viking Age

Lasted from around 800 to 1030 AD. The Vikings built fast, ocean-going ships and travelled across the world raiding countries for their treasures and resources.

Union with Denmark and later with Sweden

From 1380 until 1814. When the union ended, it wrote its own national constitution. Later that year, Norway entered into a new union with Sweden, which lasted until 1905.

World War II

Started in September 1939 and lasted until 1945. Norway was under German occupation.