Modern-Day Slavery Reflection

Blog reflection: We are living in the midst of a tragic paradox: no longer is there an underground network to guide slaves to freedom, but rather, there is an underground criminal network to entrap people and sell them into slavery.

Slavery today, modern-day slavery, is more complicated, more immense, and more large-scale than ever before. The number of slaves now are greater than any other time in history. It has become so bad, in terms of the number of people involved, that there are more slaves now than in the 1800s, a time period that is known for slavery! Slavery is something that many thought was over, but not many realize it's not. The one difference between the 1800s slavery and modern-day slavery is how urgent people are to fix this issue. Back then, slavery was a very public thing and there were countless abolitionist trying to end it; now, not so much.

To me, the real problem is not awareness, it's doing something about it. People hear about these things and think "Oh no this is terrible" and that's where it ends. They move on with their lives doing nothing to help the situation. Today, people don't think of this forced labor as slavery, which is why people don't reach that sense of urgency. Many think it's not that bad and that this issue can be fixed simply. Nothing will change if no one does anything about it.

So what is the solution? The solution is in the people. People care about money so much these days that they don't care about how their workers feel. Just like the solution to the underground criminal network, people need to be aware and report suspicious situations. People need to start becoming aware of their surroundings and realize that you could be walking next to someone who has been trafficked. If people do that, then modern-day slavery can be fixed. I believe that it is the people who can make the most change.

But for now, us as individuals can make a change. We can stop purchasing products from companies that use slave labor. We can check the ingredients in food products and make sure the clothes you buy are coming from a place where workers are treated right. Individuals can do their part by spreading awareness to others, and that is how change happens.

Ellis Island Reflection

How do you think people felt upon their arrival to Ellis Island? 
I think that people felt excited and happy as they made it to the land of USA and completed the long journey from wherever they came from. For me, completing the journey is like being halfway to where you want to go; and the other half is getting through immigration. However, I also think that they felt fear and nervous as they could get deported at any time. One wrong action can get you deported and that is life-changing for someone.

What do you think the immigration hall screening was like? 
I think the immigration hall screening was stressful for everyone which created a stressful atmosphere and made others feel even more pressured. I also think that it was a scary place to be knowing that one mistake could end your hope. If I were in a stressful, scary environment and I had to answer an official's questions knowing that if I don't act in a calm manner, I can get deported, I would be scared to death.

How did you feel when you arrived at the classroom and learned about your fate?
I felt relieved and very thankful as I ended up getting US citizenship. I felt thankful because I knew I wouldn't have to go through all the trouble other people - people who got deported - would face. I felt safe knowing I was out of danger and trouble of getting deported and denied US citizenship.

Letter to Bartolomé de las Casas

Instructions:
The year is 1501. You are a Taino servant named Juanico. You were recently taken away from Bartolomé by order of the Spanish Crown. Write a letter to him urging him to do something about the encomienda system in the Americas and the treatment of Tainos and other indigenous people.


Dear Barteolomé,
How are you? I hope things are going well over there.

The government just took me again and it's terrible. I have no idea what they are going to do to me. They might abuse me or even kill me. I'm taking a big risk by writing this letter to you and please, please, please take every word I tell you and spread it.

I need to talk with you about the encomienda system. I thought it would be a fair system that would help our society move forward. I thought my tribe would be protected. I thought peace would be brought. I thought us Tainos would have a better life. But we didn't get any of that. Instead, we were forced to convert to Christianity and become slaves.

They made us slaves! We work 24/7, 7 days a week, 365 days a year doing all the dirty work that our "owners" are too lazy to do. We work in mines to collect gold, we raise livestock, we run the plantation and plant crops, and if we don't and rebel against them, we'll get killed. I've seen plenty of my friends and members of my tribe gxet killed because they didn't want to be slaves or convert into Christians.

They don't understand that we are humans, not animals. We have the same amount rights that an animal has. We are all equal. We should be treated better. Help us, do something.

You must change this.

From your friend,
Juanico

Reliability, Bias, Inferences

This advertisement shows that a bottle of Fanta Grape Soda is made out of all grapes. From background knowledge, I am 100% certain that Fanta is NOT made out of all grapes. In fact, after checking the ingredients list in a bottle of Fanta Grape, I found that the first few ingredient in this drink is carbonated water, sucrose, citric acid, and flavoring. Continue reading the list and you will find no signs of grape! Instead, there's Red 40 and Blue 1 food colouring to use "in small quantities to give products a vibrant and attractive color", according to the Coca-Cola Product website.

Just by comparing the advertisement to the actual product, you can already tell that this ad was created to be a biased advertisement. This ad is reliable but at the same time not reliable. The reason this ad is reliable is that it's from Fanta, a real company. However, this ad is giving a false impression to viewers as it shows how Fanta is 100% grape when it's really not, which makes it untrustworthy.

Reflecting on my findings, I infer that this Fanta advertisement is trying to attract people to buy Fanta's beverages by showing viewers how Fanta doesn't have all this sugar and junk in it and is all grape, when it's truly not.





Sources: http://www.coca-colaproductfacts.com/en/coca-cola-products/fanta-grape/
Image found on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/272608583671892833/

Globalization Blogpost

1. What aspect of globalization your cartoon is criticising? (Highlight one)

cultural/social             technological/environmental            political/economic

2. Which visual techniques or literary devices (from the list above) did you use in your cartoon? Explain why you used it and why you think it is effective.

Symbolism: We used symbolism in our cartoon. An example of this is how Monopoly represents the real world. The money, houses, and properties represented the real world’s money, factories, branches (stores), and countries. Apple owns most of the properties and Nokia owns only one. By doing this, we show how Apple has so many stores and factories that they are just taking over the world, leaving little space for Nokia to grow.

Personification: We also used personification in our cartoon. An example of this is when we made the Apple and Nokia logos players of the game Monopoly.  They had money, houses, and property. They could also buy things such as houses and properties. The two companies, Apple and Nokia, are playing this game in the real world. They both have different amounts of money and different amounts of properties and are both competing in the economic world, just like how two people would compete in a game of Monopoly.

Exaggeration: We used exaggeration in our cartoon. Example of this is when we gave Apple everything, like all the properties and lots of money, and gave Nokia basically nothing. In the real world, Nokia is not doing that bad, but in the cartoon we wanted to exaggerate the point that Apple is taking over the world and became such a big company, it’s basically eating all the smaller companies/local businesses because Apple is grabbing customers before they can reach the smaller companies/local businesses. Basically, in the cartoon, we wanted the readers to notice that Apple has everything, giving them a big advantage and power.

3. Explain the message regarding globalization.  
1. Use evidence from the cartoon.
2. Make connections to the globalization unit, current events, or your life to back up your assertions.

The message of our cartoon is big companies such as Apple have an unfair advantage over smaller companies or local businesses, and with the help of globalization, taking over the world with their products and demeaning smaller companies such as Nokia, as they leave less space for them to grow as they grab the customers before they can reach the smaller businesses. This is shown in our cartoon when Apple has everything and it basically gives Nokia basically no chance of growing because people are interested in bigger companies and not the smaller, unstable ones. Apple has lots of money, factories, and properties and Nokia has no money, and only one property. It’s related to globalization because it shows that international companies such as Apple, are invading countries with their products and lowering the status of local brands such as the local’s small companies, preventing them from growing. People now are so interested in the big companies, such as Apple, that they don’t bother to even check the smaller companies or local brands.

How has cultural/social, technological/environmental, and political/economic globalization transformed our world? (Give some specific examples from our unit, ITN’s etc.)

This unit has helped me understand globalization and how important it was in the modernization of our world today. Before this unit, I had no idea what globalization was. I thought it was just some small thing that didn’t really affect anything. But after learning about globalization, I now know how it changed our world in so many different ways from the technology we use to politics and economics to our culture. You can find globalization practically anywhere, after all, it made our world what it is today. Without globalization, there wouldn’t be McDonald's in Japan or Apple in China, which is a good thing and a bad thing.

Firstly, globalization has impacted our cultures. Globalization allows different cultures to learn about other cultures instead of their own. This is a good thing as cultures can improve based on other cultures or new ideas they have learned or heard. However, there are some negative aspects to the globalization of cultures. Some cultures are being wiped out as dominant, powerful nations, such as America, take over the world and basically “Americanize” it. Instead of the world learning about different, unique cultures, and growing with many different cultures, you can find McDonald's in Japan and poor kids living in third world countries drinking Coke. Whenever I visit the Philippines, there is always a time I will choose McDonald’s over the local dishes. They have McDonald’s there, so why not? America has gone into many countries and introduced its culture by building McDonald’s, KFC, Nike, and other American brands there. But although globalization has allowed America to practically take over the world with its culture, it improved international relationships. Nations are helping each other out now and are working with each other to solve global issues such as global warming and terrorism.

Secondly, globalization has impacted our technology and the environment. From the medical technologies to the advanced communication systems to the devices we use in our everyday lives, technology is all around us. The development of technologies have allowed the world to do advanced research and find medicines for diseases. Communication is now easier, you can communicate with people halfway around the globe, miles and miles away from you. Back then, communicating was very difficult, especially overseas, and would take such a long time to send mail and communicate. But now, new technologies have allowed us to communicate as fast as ever. We can now share ideas and new concepts with the whole world and be engaged in what’s happening on the other side of the planet. I facetime my grandparents who live in the Philippines. Also, globalization has introduced the web, which unifies our globe. And you can’t forget transportation! Airplanes, boats, bullet trains. They were only introduced recently and have spread across the globe. Being a kid who travels a lot, airplanes and boats are really important, what would I take instead of them? They are the only option. But with these ups, there are some downs. Globalization has affected our environment. Big companies such as Apple have built factories in China and other Asian countries which caused pollution there. We have experienced the haze from companies burning down trees and there is a possibility that China’s polluted air might travel to other nearby territories.

Lastly, the economy and politics. Globalization has promoted global economic growth. Big companies are building factories in other third world countries which is creating jobs and even lifting some people out of poverty. This can help out the developing nations’ economies as their people are working and earning more money than what the average local can make doing his average job. Nation’s economies are doing better than before. However globalization in the economy have some drawbacks. Big companies are taking over small, local businesses or even other companies. They are selling their products all over the world. People now are interested in their new products that they stop paying attention to all the local brands, who will shut down because they’re not doing well. I buy shirts from Nike and other big brands and I don’t even look at the smaller companies, who probably sell their shirts at an even better price. Globalization has allowed big companies to grow and small companies to shut down. It has given big companies such an advantage in the economic world that the smaller companies are basically hopeless, therefore shutting their doors and closing down.

Overall, globalization has shaped our world and has made it what it is today. Without it, the world would be a different place.

How has and will aspects of globalization impact your life? (Give specific examples.)

Globalization will definitely impact my life and it already has! Take for example medicine. The development of technologies and machines has allowed new medicines to be created. Medicine has cured me from so many diseases Without it, I don’t know anything else that could cure me. A hundred years ago, there wasn’t such medicine to cure diseases back then, so people would end up dying.

Another aspect of globalization that has impacted my life is technology. I use a MacBook for school work and communication. My computer was made from an American country and put together in probably China. If globalization didn’t bring the world together, I don’t know if I would be typing on this computer. Also, a majority of my education is on a computer, so without it. I’m disconnected from the world and wouldn’t be able to find out what’s going on in the world.

A third aspect of globalization that has impacted my life is the economy. Whenever I travel to different countries, I can always find a McDonald’s or a KFC there. There have been many times when I choose the American fast food restaurants instead of trying the local foods.

In conclusion, globalization has impacted my life in positive and negative ways. Without globalization, my life would be really different. My understanding on the globe would be very different, I probably wouldn’t have a MacBook or a phone, and I wouldn’t be able to find a McDonald’s or KFC wherever I go. I’m not saying globalization is a bad thing or good thing, but I’m sure it really impacted my life.

Photo Credits:

http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/shelle/www.globosapiens.net--japan--tokyo--tokyo--id=6554.jpg

http://www.sott.net/image/s7/144163/full/Americanization.jpg

http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/apple_facetime_ios_7_logo.png

http://www.treeline-inc.com/images/blog/big_vs_small.jpg

Poverty Unit Reflection

This unit has helped me open my eyes further and understand poverty in our world. Having visited the Philippines a countless number of times, I’ve seen poverty a lot through beggars, homeless people, and much more. Before this unit, I knew about poverty and being poor, but I had no understanding of how to escape and the difficulty of escaping poverty. But now, after learning more about poverty, I understand the difficulty of living in poverty and the difficulty of trying to escape it and I now know how we can make a difference in the world we live in.

One of the activities we did early on in the unit was interviewing people in absolute poverty through a website called the Places We Live. By interviewing people who live in slums, I got a better sense of the situation many people are in now. Many of them don’t have enough money to buy food since they either don’t have a job or have a very low paying job, like trash picking. Their homes don’t have toilets which results in poor hygiene for many. Also, their homes aren’t very safe and they have to be prepared due to the fact that they can easily get kicked out by the police at anytime. This is relevant to me because it gives me a perspective of what it feels like to be in their shoes and the large number of people experiences the difficulties of living life in poverty. It also shows me how fortunate I am to be living my life comfortably and it motivates me to do my part in improving other’s lives. After completing the activity, I had a greater understanding of absolute poverty but I still had some questions. I thought about donations and us doing our part in helping them but I realized and asked myself: Is donating money going to impact them as much as if you were to buy them a home? And if you buy them a home, will they be able to use that to get closer to escaping the poverty cycle or will they just go back to where they were at the start?

Another activity that helped me better understand poverty was Spent. By being put into the shoes of someone in relative poverty, I got to experience life in relative poverty. Living life in relative poverty was surprisingly hard for me as I barely had any money at the end of the month, even when I said no to almost every decision I could make. All my decisions weren’t based on the right thing to do, it was based on if I had any money. For example, my mom was in the hospital and she had no more money to pay for it, I wanted to say yes because it's my mom, but then I didn’t have enough money so I couldn’t do anything about it. This is relevant to me because people who are born into the situation I’m in now don’t have to worry about basic needs and food but people in relative poverty have to. We can live life comfortably, thinking about what I should wear tomorrow instead of do I have food for tomorrow while people in relative poverty can’t. This has helped me understand how fortunate I am to be in the situation I am in now and how I can make a difference in our world. A question I still have about this is: Having almost no money at the end of the month, would I still be able to live in relative poverty, or would I go down to moderate poverty?

In conclusion, I learned a lot more about poverty and I expanded my knowledge on it. I learned that escaping the poverty cycle is very difficult because of the rare chances and opportunities to get a job or education to be able to break out of it. I realized some people get lucky and get scholarships, and some people have better job opportunities. And I now see how  these factors can help you break out of the cycle. This unit has helped me to understand more about poverty aside from just being in it and has helped me open my eyes to the world many people live in: poverty.

Demography: So What?

In this Demography Unit, we learned...

• How to accurately graph numerical data
• Types of population pyramids (slow, rapid, negative, no)
• How to read/interpret graphs such as population pyramids
• How to use statistics to explain the past (disease, war)
• How to use statistics to predict the future (become a slow growth pyramid from a rapid growth pyramid)
• What makes up the population (males or females, young or elderly)

What is the relevance of demographics to your life? 
Demography is relevant to my life because it affects the way I live and my lifestyle. I live in a developed country, Singapore, because of my dad's job. Due to the fact that Singapore's population is declining, the Singapore government is welcoming foreigners, like me, to stay here. If Singapore was a slow growth country, they government probably would not welcomed foreigners to live here.

Demographics also affect other people who live here too. For example, the locals. Due to the fact that Singapore allowed many foreigners to live here, many people who earn millionares could come here which would raise the average salary by a lot. So, the locals have to stay in dense HDBs where 5-7 people lived per flat. That's a big thing that will change their life and lifestyle. But Singapore hides it and covers it with things such as trees.


How will demography affect me in the future?
Demography will effect me in the future because our generation is facing a big issue, the consumption of Earth's resources. With the planet's huge population of 7 billion that will become 8 billion in 2025, the amount of resources we need to survive has to increase and the food production will need to double. The planet's population is rising quick but according to Hans, when the population reaches 11 billion by the end of the century, it'll slow down.

The more fortunate and wealthy people like us are consuming a lot of the Earth's resources which makes a domino effect on us. When we purchase things such as plastic water bottles, and we don't throw it away properly and it goes into the ocean, we get effected because of the fish that ate our plastic waste. Another example of the domino effect is when we buy things that need palm oil to be created. Sumatra is burning down trees to make space for palm oil production, which is creating a haze in Singapore that we were breathing for the past three weeks.

Due to the fact that the population is rising really fast, we have to consume more of Earth's resources and make more space for the rising population which is affecting the people of Earth a lot. This is why I believe that demographics have affected my life and this planet in a huge way.

Historical Thinking: Blog Relection

1.What did you learn about thinking like a historian? 

I learned how to look carefully at the source your looking at before you use it. Two great filters are SCAN and FILT-R. I also learned what we look at to make sure the source is reliable. Finally, I learned how to spot discrepancies.

2.What do you like about historical thinking? 

It is a cool way to check if a source is reliable.

3.What do you find challenging about historical thinking? 

If you don't have any background about the place, it is hard to find discrepancies. For example, if a painting of Greece was painted during 500 BCE, you wouldn't be able to tell if that would be a good source to use or not, looking at time.

4.How have you grown as a historical thinker? 

I know so much more after we learned about historical thinking. Before, I would've just used a source that looks reliable. I wouldn't look at the date or author. Now, I look closely at the date and author to see if the source I'm looking at is reliable.

5.What’s next?
Before examining a source, I should have a background about the place/civilization.

Google Map: Blog Reflection

1. How did making a google map about Ancient Greece help you understand the geography more effectively than a “paper and pencil” map?

It helped me understand more effectively because I could see the mountains and the land elevation. I also could see the sea, this shows if it was hard or easy for a civilization to collect water. Water is used for cleaning, washing, showering, drinking, and planting. Water can really affect a civilization. This is why I think the google map is the better map.

2. How did making a google map about Ancient Greece help you understand more about the culture of Ancient Greece?

It was a great way of storing information about civilizations. When we learn something, we can simply add it to our google map. It is also really easy to see the information.

3. What were the features of google maps that you enjoyed working with to make your map effective?

I liked the photo/video feature. It was a great way of sharing images and videos. When you upload multiple images/videos the area where they show the images becomes a slideshows.

4. What challenges did you face when working with google maps?

A challenge I face when working with google maps is getting the layout right. When you copy paste into the pin description, it will group all the paragraphs up. It sometimes also glitches and put letters into the links and split the word in half. This was an annoying challenge I faced when working on the map.

5. What challenges/successes did you encounter when working with a partner on this assignment?

At the beginning of the project, we took a long time placing the pins down. This made us behind. When people were adding content, we were still working on pins. I think this was because of me and Jay's poor relationship and teamwork. But at the end, we still finished the map.

6. What advice would you give another student about working with google maps?
Always write your content into a google doc before putting it into your map. Some times google maps glitches and your content is gone. For example, Rohan wrote a long paragraph about Crete. Suddenly google map glitches and his content was gone forever.

7. What will you always remember about Ancient Greece from having made a google map?

I will always remember the myths about Odysseus like The Cyclops because I wrote summaries about them. I will also remember the time when google maps crashed and I lost all my writing.

Egypt Museum Project Reflection

1. How well did you feel that you as an individual and as a group-member were at solving this challenge? (Problem: How might you create an interactive exhibit that will encourage young visitors to care about the civilization of ancient Egypt)

I felt that I did an ok job with my interactive exhibit. I thought of an idea that was ok, trading with my boat. It's interactive because I'm using the boat to do something, not just looking at me. As a group-member, I felt that I did an ok job too. I had given feedback to the people in my group about their interactive exhibit idea. Overall, I think I did an ok job.

2. Describe your learning process from start to end...as an individual, and as a group-member.

As an individual, I first looked at different books to find artifacts related to my characteristic which was technology. I found many artifacts. After getting a little background of the artifacts, I choose one that I found most interesting. From there I researched about that artifact and used the information to make my artifact caption and my artifact.


3. What aspect(s) of the project challenged you the most?

The researching challenged me the most since I choose the cargo boat. It would be easier to research if I choose someone's cargo boat so it would be more specific. So I looked on the internet to find an owner. It was hard but I found an owner. Now there was another problem that challenged me, researching on that specific boat. It was difficult researching information about the artifact since there was not much information about that artifact. So that is why the researching phase of this project challenged me the most.


4. What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of myself and my group. I think that we did a great job making our artifact and putting everything together. I think that my group showed the visitors how important our characteristic was.

5. What part(s) of the overall experience do you think you will remember the most?

I think that I will remember sharing information to the visitors the most. Teaching them about my artifact will be the experience I will remember the most.

My Archaeology Google Site 2014

This is a link to my Archaeology Google Site that I made in grade 6 Social Studies. I hope you learn something about that great moais of Easter Island.

https://sites.google.com/a/sas.edu.sg/johan-s-archaeology-site/

My New Macbook Air!

Macbook Air

How would you feel if you woke up and remembered that you had to go to boot camp? Excited or sad? Well when I woke up on the day I had to go to boot camp, I was really excited. Why? Because it was computer boot camp! This year every student was given their own macbook air from the school to use for the year. It’s a big responsibility because the school won’t fix the computer if it gets damaged, you have to fix it yourself. We went to all our classes like it was a normal day but instead of learning RLA or science, you would learn about blogging and laptop care. My favorite class was math, because we learned how to use google chrome and google calendar.

In 5th grade, I thought that the macbook wasn’t something you would use everyday and you wouldn’t have such a big responsibility. Last year, the teacher would remind us to charge out macbook pros and we’d leave them charging till the next day. This year, we have to remind ourselves to charge the laptop and put it in our bag before we leave for school. In these two days I learned about how much of a responsibility we have to have this $1000 machine. I also learned about how cool it is to use google calendar. My math teacher taught us this app. She would have us drive the projector to show everyone how to fix problems people came across with the app. That was fun.

Now I learned that having a macbook air is really cool and is a huge responsibility. This learning will impact us in the future. It will help us be more responsible and discover what’s in this new technology and more. I think that the macbook airs will help us a lot with our learning like helping us be more organized and answering our questions.

Photo From Wikipedia

For Information About TheMacbook Air, Click Here

Using Your Laptop

DCA Plege

As a responsible Digital Citizen at SAS, I, Johan , promise to respect and protect myself, others, and intellectual property while learning, sharing, and collaborating online.