My Global Soul

     I was born in São Paulo, but when I when I had just completed a year, my journey began. In just a span of one year, my father got transferred to Virginia and then Chicago. I returned briefly to my home town, only to be sent to San José, Costa Rica, where I had to study at an international school. The first time I lived in Curitiba was in 2004, in a Brazilian elementary, but I quickly returned to the ex-pat life going to Caracas, Venezuela for a year. In the end, I have stayed in Curitiba from 2007 to now.

 
  As a person that has lived in four different countries with distinct cultures, I knew exactly what was being said in the readings Cosmopolitanism and The Global Soul. This was especially true when Pico Iyer was chatting with the man living in a trailer to support his family living in Mexico. Although he said he to be American, he was proud of his original country, missed his family and did not lose his identity.
The pictures above are a perfect example of this. In them, I am in Costa Rica, on Nation Day. Although I am Brazilian, I arrived to the school event in Costa Rican traditional clothing, but changed my clothes later. It symbolizes globalism, the fact that I appreciate the culture yet I still know where I come from. While I did miss my family and my roots, I felt at home and comfortable - I am a global soul. This did not mean that I completely agreed with the people I met there, for example, I got teased for liking a sport as "ridiculous as soccer", but we all managed to still be friends and talk to each other, especially in a diverse international background. As Cosmopolitanism said, "Conversations across boundaries of identity- whether national, religious, or something else- begin with the sort of imaginative engagement you get when you read a novel or watch a movie or attend to a work of art that speaks from some place other than your own (...) Conversation does not have to lead to consensus about anything, especially not values; it's enough that it helps people get used to one another."
Sometime when I'm older, I am definitely going back to revisit each of these places from where I grew up. I'd also like to note that when I'm in my home town, which is São Paulo, I feel unsatisfied. Having been born there affects me, as the team that I cheer for in soccer is São Paulo Futebol Clube (SPFC) and my family lives there, but clearly what truly completes me are these different places and environments I had my childhood in. Because of this, I completely understand the man Iyer met in rural Japan, as he said in The Global Soul: "When I'm in England, there's a part of me that's not fulfilled; that's why I come here - to find the other part." These different places definitely shaped me to become the person who I am today, who understands others cultures and is not drawn back at something different.
We like to think that being outside your country affects you, but it also affects those around you while you are there. It is a symbiotic relationship to those who come and go, as shown in my brother's kindergarten class:

The picture looks as if Brazilians are taking over Costa Rica, but there is only one true Brazilian, which is my brother himself. Often times we forget that we are not just one in billions, but rather force that can change what is around and beyond. This is usually seen in younger people, with powerful tools such as the Internet, more prone to open up and discover and admire other cultures, but knowing where their heart lies. 
This also brings me to a point: my "Tokyo" is in Japan itself. Even though I have never been there, the Internet made me love the place. I've seen documentaries, people talking about it on YouTube (positive and negative), and know about the traditions, everyday life and manners. I am glad the Internet introduced me to so many things, showing me many that wouldn't be possible without a connection between peoples. But this can also be a danger, especially since society is now being modeled after the Americanized way. In this video, Naoki, a previously wealthy man, suffers in poverty everyday after an economic crash. He rambles to the British interviewer from 8:30 to 9:17, "You gave me this capitalist system" and that it was the West's fault for having Japan forcefully opened up. Another example, in Brazil, because of capitalist greed, many are chopping the forests illegally, not caring for the future of the planet but rather for green paper in their pockets. So, in order for us to truly be open communities that respect one another, without having a system to go after while destroying the place's unique cultural heritage, as Planetary Culture explains: "It means affirming the widest possible spectrum of non-harmful individual behavior- defending the right of individuals to smoke hemp, eat peyote, be polygamous, polyandrous, or homosexual. Worlds of behavior and custom long banned by the Judaeo-Capitalist-Christian-Marxist West."

Genocide: What Would I Do?

     "Virtually the entire world turned away, and did almost nothing to stop the genocide." This documentary on YouTube talks about the Rwandan genocide, one that we have extensively discussed in History class, together with other mass murders. While we were watching Hotel Rwanda, the scene that shocked me to tears was the neglect of the international armed forces, leaving behind a preventable massacre while only taking foreigners away. It seems that even though it was clearly going to happen and it was clearly a genocide, they were careful enough to never classify it as that so they would not have to intervene, a clear bystanding cowardice.

     Bystanding, or rather, the bystander effect is a psychological phenomenon in which a person, a group, an institution or even a nation does not aid one in need. One of the most startling events that brought awareness to this social occurance was Kitty Genovese's murder in front of her own apartment street while her neighbors watched. No, human beings do not even care for someone that is right in front of them, needing help as shown by the following footage in New York, a cosmopolitan city:

An injured person is not helped at all, and the only time it is is when it has respectable clothes on. So, it is not a problem of distance, it is a mental block in our heads that we can not get involved, especially relating to social status. These are not recent cases. Throughout history, there has been many: the most famous and well-known being the Holocaust. Yes, while the Jews were being worked and gassed to death many people watched, even nations, probably because they thought that it would be resolved by someone else or they simply did not care for the abuse. Few German citizens stood up even if a lot of them thought it was wrong, because "one person can not do anything".

    What I will start doing is noticing my surroundings regarding to genocide. I will raise awareness, and in vacations from Junior to Senior year I might travel to somewhere in Africa with a humanitarian program. We need power in people, because if only one in millions step up, of course it will be ineffective. We need governmental help, to organize troops and services. Although, in my case specifically, my government is corrupt and can not even figure it out in Brazilian territory alone. Greed and pride control people, and here they only care about soccer. Instead of using the money to help the population, like favelas, they spend millions, if not billions, in the World Cup. It makes me sick to the stomach how people do not care for one another.
     I found Genocide Watch, a good website that informs us of genocides now-a-days. It is up to date and very detailed, a site that I will certainly will be accessing weekly. I want to help, but it is not an easy step to take, especially when so many problems surround my own country. Should countries with more industrial power step up, specifically those permanently positioned to keep the world in peace? Should we, a developing country, take place? Although, Brazil has stepped up to the spotlight in Haiti, volunteering help and services to the people, which makes me proud. Another good website is End Genocide, which enables me to be informed, take action, and donate. Genocide has not ended, and is even taking place right now, but certainly I will take action with the resources that I have.

The Future Starts Now: Hobby or Career?

What have you learned from the process? Especially anything that has surprised you. What worries you about what you have learned? What excites you?What is your plan of attack? How are you going to use what you have learned?

When we did Ms. Vanessa's career and affinity tests, I already knew what the results would be. I am a quiet and imaginative girl, if I do say so myself. Ever since I was little I draw, sing and write, and always have been a bit shut towards others - an introvert to the core. I like having my own alone time, disconnect myself from everything and just do what I love. As such, in the Myers-Briggs test, I got ISFP. The only letter I disagree with S, which is sensing. I am not a sensing person; I like to be creative, not factual. I must admit that I have a strong distaste for facts, formulas, logical reasoning and planning, making me worried: Junior year is coming, and with it choices. Although our class is very competitive and committed -which makes me happy because we need these skills when we grow up-, it is still discouraging to see Internet memes and our own Juniors and Seniors talk about IB as the end of your social life, sleep and free time. One day before my 16th birthday, on April 6th, I discovered my first white hair, and I'm not even in IB yet! Time to choose is running out, and IB Visual Arts is the only subject that definitely calls to me. I am definitely going to try to find inspiration with other students and be more active in the community, in websites such as this one. I'll use what I learned about personal branding and try to make myself go out there. However, will I use this course for my career?

 

This career planning came at the right time. I admit I was and still am a bit unsure about my future, because even though I have so many options, I'm planning on going for such an open yet competitive area. It is very "easy" to be creative and be involved in art, but it is extremely hard to be successful. As a ISC student, I can choose whatever job I want, aim to be a CEO of a company and I will get there with the opportunities given to me. The logical subjects are the ones that our school is aiming to teach, since they are hard and need a high-quality education like ours to achieve. It is discouraging to know that there are millions of artistic people that are clearly better than me, and my feelings right now can be described with this. Even though the ending is humorous, what I like the most about the comic is that it asks exactly what I'm thinking, "What is my place in the world of art?" Being an artist is too risky, because that's when you're connections play a big part, and also your personal branding. Maybe I'll go for a more specific area, like marketing, in which I can have creativity while also having a stable job. However, what I struggle with the most is that possibility that I will fail at it, as every other person does. I want to make my parents proud, and earn a high salary to pay back for this expensive education I am receiving. Art is one of those "easy" subjects that don't earn you money ( we can't deny that), which makes me wonder if I should only keep my love for art as a hobby, and work on a more reassuring and higher-education area were I can put what I learned at ISC to use. But then again, class discussions with Mr. T talking about creativity put me excitedly back on track, because our world is changing and that now, people are not working in offices; they are working more openly and innovatively, striving to think outside the box.

We can all agree that being a successful artistic person, whether on performing or visual, is extremely hard. Why? It can depend on two things: talent and/or luck. You may meet an influential art person on a café on a Sunday evening, talk about your own art, and then congratulations, you have a connection in the disputed world of art! Regarding to talent, Keifer, in 2007, was the first artist after 1953 to get his work permanently on the Louvre, which you can read more about here. What impacted me the most in this article the most about this article is the title: "The Louvre Now Accepts the Living". There is resentment in my heart - I dislike how many artists only becomes famous after they die, such as Van Gogh. You want to see people enjoy what you produce. Just like I did love watching our play "Alice in Wonderland" and seeing what a completed and visually-appealing production it had become, hearing the compliments, and how it made people happy. These are reasons why the play was my pride experience. However, I must also think about IB and career planning, which I was and still am struggling with... The future starts now.

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Response to Seattle's Boycott

"There is a test next week."

Cue the instant moaning and uneasiness inside the classroom. When hearing about a test boycott, the first thought must be that lazy students are trying to take the easy way out. But when the article is read further, and it is discovered that teachers are the main instigators of the movement, people are automatically confused. Why would teachers oppose testing, one of the very ideas interconnected with teaching?



The Seattle Boycott is not opposed to tests in general, but a specific one: the Measure of Academic Progress, better known as MAP. The teachers from Garfield High stood up, proclaiming that this test was not helping the students, but rather harming them. The tests are not worth a grade, making students rush to the finish. Let’s face it- when a student sees a question that they know they might struggle on, they guess an answer and the test takes an easier approach.

This standardized test has been a target of attention and support nationwide, especially in the educational community: teachers claim this test does not measure the student's knowledge; it measures the teacher's teaching. Also, they argue the content on the MAP is not according to the grade level of the student, which is true - I myself remember seeing questions that made me scratch my head. In addition to this, the test is being paid for with public money, money that could be applied for a more efficient way of testing students.

Then I think, is standardized testing in general a good idea afterall? Students are only required to bubble in answers in many of these tests. There is not a chance to be unique and different, even giving the possibility of maybe guessing everything and getting a good grade. For example, I dislike the Brazilian way of entering University, because basically it is who payed more for a “cursinho” that teaches how the test works. “Students study to pass tests rather than to acquire knowledge”, says Jim Taylor, professor at the University of San Francisco. Personally, I love learning with projects the most. In a test, especially one studied for, the stress accumulates, making me make silly mistakes. On the other hand, projects are more of a long-period test, not only about memorization. I can easily recall from memory projects I have done in the past and what they are about. Tests… Not really. Of course, maybe I am being way too radical, throwing the baby with the bath water. Maybe this will be a slow process of replacement from traditional to innovational ideas, such as the one about not having desks in classrooms anymore, but creative spaces. One less aggressive alternative given by the Garfield High teachers is a portfolio. Representing the Garfield High teachers, Jesse Hagopian affirms “Many others, myself included, believe that portfolios, which collect student work and demonstrate yearlong student growth, would be a good replacement for the MAP. Such assessments would be directly tied to our curriculum and would demonstrate improvement over time rather than a random snapshot of a student on one particular day.”



In the end, the Seattle Boycott, with all this support it’s garnering, will hopefully open up the minds of school boards and cause a paradigm shift in education today. Together with many teachers, parents and students worried for efficiency for learning, this movement will be the spark for a new age and method of knowledge gain.

Note: I personally like the following video because I was recently in a public school in Florida, did the FCAT and remember talking about it in class. The passing standard had changed, becoming 4 out of 6, when last year it was 3 out of 6. I was shocked to learn that, because they were changing the standards back and forth. How fair is that? Where is the standard?