The Lady With The Lamp.

     

     One woman alone has saved many lives, even with the whole of society against her. Her ability to stand for her moral beliefs is a rare, but valuable gift.  This magnificent woman was none other than Florence Nightingale. She was a visionary, with determination and strong ambition. She was not afraid to fight for what she believed in. Commonly referred to as ‘the lady with the lamp’, Florence Nightingale was born into a wealthy family in Florence, Italy, in 1820. In that era, most woman were merely seen as house wives, with little say and/ or opinion. But Florence thought differently, and was going to change this demanding stereotype.


Florence always aspired to be in charge of her own future. Her inspiration came from a direct message from God which resulted in her ambition to become a nurse. However, both her parents were outraged by this, claiming that “Nursing was associated with working class woman” [1]. During this era, the social norm would be for women to marry at a young age. To decline multiple offers from eligible men was a truly rebellious act. She did this, convinced that “marriage would only interfere with her ability to follow her calling to nursing” [2]. Despite all the opposition from her family, Florence embarked in her career as a nurse.

Florence faced many struggles, and one of them was gender discrimination. Most men were under the common misconception that only men were capable enough for the medical field. They also were against the fact that she was a woman, and that she wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. At that point in time, being a nurse implied that you would only serve as a janitor for the hospitals. Nurses were not involved in any medical help. Most doctors claimed that being involved in medical work was “not a woman's business”. Upon hearing this, Florence persevered and sought the aid of a befriended journalist from the Times newspaper, and publicly appealed for the condoning of female doctors and nurses. She did this by showing them pictures showing the lack of staff at the hospitals during the Crimean War. Florence was a dedicated doctor, who wished the best for her patients. The allowing of female nurses and doctors would enable British patients to receive the substantial medical attention that they required, as most hospitals were under-staffed. After Florence had publicly appealed to her cause, the hospitals were almost forced due to public outcry, to enable women to serve in the medical field. Her proposition also resulted in a promotion for all nurses. Nurses would now serve as active assistants for doctors, rather than mere janitors to clean up after, and as a result they played a more significant role in society. Her demand for gender equality was a success. This proved Florence to be a force to be reckoned with, as well as a resolute, and committed doctor.


Another significant act that Florence did was the modernization of hospitals. Back in the 1800's, men would come back from war and their wounds were attended to in the most ghastly of conditions. Adequate food was not given, and their wounds were unwashed, and still encrusted with remains of dried blood and dirt. Hygiene standards were abysmal, if not non-existent. Aghast by these poor conditions, Florence fought for the lives of the injured patients who were easily exposed to life-threatening diseases such as as typhus, cholera, and dysentery. This caused an epidemic to spread among many of the hospitals, and accounted for many of the deaths. After many months of extra hours of labour, Florence earned enough to finally be able to finance the medical treatment her patients required. Her funds provided for adequate nutrition, as well as basic hygienic conditions. As an immediate effect of this, death rates were drastically reduced by 40%. Following from this, hospitals conditions have improved across Europe ever since.


Florence Nightingale’s ability to fight for what she believed in is something that we should all admire. Whether it be gender discrimination, or personal ambition, Florence had fought time and time again, and is a true role model whom we should all be inspired by. Many lives were saved in her name, and her changes in the hospital directly influenced the lives of many patients. Her passion for progress and improvement should be something that we should try to incorporate into our own lives to help change the world like Florence did.

I will eat what I like.

     I Will Eat What I Like.

~ “The struggle against intolerance is a duty of the individual as well as an obligation of the society.” ~Dr. Erhard Busek, M.P., Austria.

The prohibition of pork in International schools in Malaysia, specifically ISKL included, is unfair, unreasonable and unjustifiable. With a broad variety of religion, race, and ethnicity of pupils, why does the school cater to a small minority of students, and prohibit the selling of pork? Although much of the distribution of pork is restricted due to government actions, the school itself regulates the rules that are enforced. It is senseless that such a rule is enforced, especially in an environment that promotes tolerance between students.

Although pork being sold in schools is only but a small division of social inequality that is circulated in schools, I believe that it is something that is worth fighting for. If this small obstacle is overcome, more will follow, creating a snowball effect. There are almost an equal, if not larger, amount of Hindu students in ISKL that do not consume beef. Yet, there are still stalls distributing beef as an option for daily meals. There are other options to chose from, even vegetarian alternatives. Then why can't the school sell 'non-halal' meat? By condoning a 'pork-free' environment the school is assuming that our fellow Muslim students are intolerant of non-halal food. More often than not, in my personal experience, this has not been the case. A solution to this would be to allow the distribution of pork, but also have other meats as an alternative for Muslim students. May you be Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Vegan or Vegetarian, to each their own belief. It should not affect the choice of others.

         Why should I, or any other student, be deprived of having a tasty pork bacon sandwich every once and a while? The restriction of pork in school is worth fighting against because it prevents us, as students, from obtaining our wants. After all we are in a school that strives for tolerance and equality, are we not? ISKL should be a place where social tolerance should be taught, so that better habits can be developed. School is one of the only places that can be controlled in a way that everyone is involved, unlike the political situation in Israel where tolerance is not preached; we can influence and preach tolerance across campus- starting with the serving of pork.

The school needs to find a balance between the issues at hand, and make a compromise. Sacrifice the needs and wants of students, whom are otherwise unaffected by Governmental actions; or go against governmental wishes and promote equality and tolerance between religions?

In conclusion to this controversial debate, I still believe that cultural tolerances should be encouraged in ISKL, starting with the distribution of pork in school. Everyone should be able to enjoy their own personal favourites; no culinary boundaries should be enforced. Religious beliefs of others should not be the driving force that prevents the choices that you yourself make.

~ “The consumption of pork meat is beneficial to both one’s well-being and happiness, but also the economy of the meat market. Pork may or may not contain chemical properties that immediately uplift one’s mood and lead then through life with the guarantee of success and wealth”.  ~Ms. Cui-Lyn Huang, noted photographer, and owner of bacon strips shirt.

-Citation: Quote 2 from 1st hand source.

~Speak Your Mind~

Society disguises the fact that our generation believes strongly to speak with determination,

I challenge you to say what you believe,

but not with tragic uncertainty,

I declare that we should question authority to oppose the ‘so-called’ wisdom of others.

You are not invisible.

The Barrier That Stood.

Hundreds of thousands of eager eyes awaited the very moment that could change their lives together. Some not even realizing how different life would be without the barrier, as they have been born into the imprisonment that is East Germany. The districts East and West Berlin will be united once more. Communists will not dictate the people's freedom anymore.

        

The borders were built over night, on October 15, 1961. The Berlin wall separated many families and friends. Its purpose was to divide the city permanently into East and West Germany. The point of this was to isolate the communist section, East Germany, from ever entering West Germany, the Capitalist side. This decision affected families and friends throughout the country, trapping them like hamsters in a cage, unable to escape without being killed. I believe that it is the people’s right to have the freedom to leave, and that obtaining freedom, and going against the opinion of their superiors is worth fighting for. “ I was reminded of an old military saying that was instilled and repeated so many times that it is etched on my mind. It states "Freedom is worth fighting and dying for." (Rick B.) This quote is taken from a soldier that witnessed the horrors of the slaughter of any man trying to escape East Germany. Though he himself was not German, he observed so many struggle to climb over the wall in an attempt at freedom. Even with over 30 armed guards, ready at the posts, ready to shoot, the man tried to escape because he wanted to have a chance for his freedom.

        Another man that lived hopeless and discouraged in East Berlin was Victor Broman. ‘Germany stands divided into two sides, neither is good but in the interest of my personal freedom I must side with the West.’ His desperation for freedom was apparent in this quote. Victor must betray, and leave his homeland in hope for a better life. One without barriers in the way of loved ones. One without all hope lost. One without the rationing of food. This kind of choice is brutal, but necessary. However, with the destruction of the wall, Victor, and many others, rushed in a flurry to reunite with lost ones, and escape the poverty surrounding them. The only thing keeping them from trying to escape, which always ended up as a suicide mission, was the little hope they had of the barrier being torn down for once and for all.

        Freedom is what so many died for, and what so many struggled for. The Berlin wall operated as a border that no one could pass. Forever trapped were the people of East Berlin. That is, until 1961. The freedom gained is unimaginable, and it brought East and West Germany, to unite as a country once more. No longer setting neighbors against each other, and just spreading peace across the land.

A New World, free from pollution.

“The world must learn to work together, or finally it will not work at all.” 

This quote was said by General Eisenhower whom believed that we must conserve and start sustainable practices or else our world will become as described in the book 'The Knife of Never Letting Go', “Old World was polluted and crowded and dying from its own poisons”.  Sustainable living means to live a life that balances an individual’s, or community’s  use of natural resources, such that these resources are still available in the future for an infinite amount of generations to come. Although the idealism of having a utopia is impossible, I believe a key characteristic that would lead to being one step closer in the hope of eventually having a 'perfect world' would be having a sustainable way of living and to value the natural resources around us. This is key to our survival as our current world is filled with pollution and the constant abuse of our habitat. Because of this many problems have risen that we need to fix.

If I were given the opportunity to start a ‘New World’ one characteristic that I would most value is sustainable practices. Sustainable practices are crucial for a lasting way of life. At the moment, our planet earth is dying. Our human race is constantly destroying the natural habitat around us to create new and modern developments that will probably be replaced again in another few decades. Because of this new trend of construction, many animals have faced extinction due to the fact that their niche environment has been destroyed. Over one and one-half acres of rainforest are lost every second with tragic consequences for both developing and industrial countries. Because of this, the land is more likely to flood as the trees that were once there can no longer absorb the heavy falls of water, the rain water has to go somewhere.  Many problems like this can be resolved just due to sustainable living.

Furthermore, sustainable practices are key to healthy people. In Australia, due to the thick waves of pollution from Asia, the ozone layer has become so thin from the high CO₂ count that a hole has opened up. This exposes people to a higher concentration to UV rays, which in turns gives a higher risk of skin cancer.  Scientists have been seeking for a cure and the closest they have come to a cure is home remedies from the jungle. But because of commercial logging, these sources are becoming rarer, and have now become unavailable as a source to treat patients. This is all due to the lack of respect to our natural resources.

Without sustainable practices, and valuing our natural resources, the New world will be similar to ours in the sense that in a few hundred years wild animals and frozen glaciers will only be seen in books, impossible to ever see in real life. When I said before: “The world must learn to work together, or finally it will not work at all.” It means, we must all come together to make a difference, and to stop the harm that we are doing to our Earth. Finally I have one more solution, we can add one more law to the constitution; that law should be, that we will stay free, from the dirty, dusty, air pollution.

Hunger Games Assesment

For the hunger games assesment my partner, Cindy, and I had chosen to do 5 contributions to put for display. We both did two each, and helped each other on the last. Even though we are both strong writers, Cindy wrote a diary entry in Gale's point of view, and also a newspaper article about the Hunger Games. She also helped with the reasearch on the symbol- A mockingjay. I on the other hand, created two portraits, one on Rue, and the other on Gale. We have reviewed each others work, and have corrected it to the liking of us both.
I have really enjoyed this project, and I hope we can do some more similar ones in the future.

The Luttrell Psalter

The Luttrell Psalter portrays contemporary rural  life in that era. It shows scenes as part of everyday life. This includes short glimpses of saints and religious people, as well as the king. Since this is one of the few pieces of information that we have of the Middle Ages, and this is the closest you could get to finding a 'next-to-real' view of life. The Luttrel Psalter is considered a 1st source. Because of the original idea of creating a manuscript based on an average day, the Luttrell Psalter is very unique. The fine detail that was put into the manuscript, at the time, was unheard of. No one person had ever created something so fine and detailed, this is also another was that the Luttrell Psalter is unique.

Domiknow Profile C

~Domiknow Profile C~


When I'm at school I tend to learn best when it's a quiet atmosphere, that way I can concentrate to the best of my abilities. For me that is the ideal working/studying environment. However, when the classroom isn't like that, I tend to get distracted and switch off. Even though it doesn't effect my learning that much, it would definitely help me to get better studying habits. To help me focus better a few things that could help me with my learning profile C is: Lazy eight's, sitting in the middle on the left side for optimal hearing from my right ear, and interactive learning, instead of the usual 'sit down and listen'. For teachers, it's hard adjusting to a bunch of kids and their working needs, but one thing that would benefit my teachers by knowing is that I generally work at a higher standard, when the rest of my group/table is approximately at the same ability as I am. Rather than, having students at a lesser ability as I am, constantly lagging behind during projects.

Taking a stand

Most German's responded to the Kristillnacht passively. Many people of the public turned the other way and put the thought of the anti-Semitism out of their mind and focused on the good that Hitler was doing to the country and the "progress". However, since Andre and his family were against this they fled from Germany.

If I were living in Germany at the time I most likely wouldn't stand up against the Nazi's blatantly, as I'd just get killed myself without any progress. However, instead I'd do something to Andre and his family and flee Germany. If I retaliated against Germany, most of the public alone would put shame on me, let alone the Government. Instead of watching the prosecution of Jews I would leave the country. My decision would probably result in me missing all me friends, and many would disagree with my actions as they would think that I'd miss all the "progress".

'You need to sacrifice things to get results.' That quote isn't always true...

Nazi Propaganda and analyzing visual images

*Propaganda- (Noun) Information, ideas, or rumours deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation etc.

The Nazi's and their leader, Hitler, used propaganda after the hyper-inflation, to gather a group of supporters to win the election. He used simple, yet bold statements in the form of posters that appealed to most people. He, unlike the other political parties, used propaganda extensively, to draw attention to the party from sources. This is similar to advertising. However, they convey a message.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

1. The picture with the caption "healthy parents have healthy children", looks very cliche in my opinion. The whole family is smiling, and everyone appears some what fit. They are all well dressed, so this maybe also mean that they are 'financially healthy' as well as 'physically healthy'.

2. I think the purpose of this poster is to create hope that families will soon look as healthy (physically and financially) as this one. giving the public false realization. The point of this is to vote for the Nazi's in the hope that the country will be restored. Before parents have kids, they should be healthy, meaning wait until the Nazi's have restored them to full health. Then all families will be healthy! The poster has definitely filled it's purpose in attraction public audience, it's attention grabbing and hope bringing.

Otto Hauptmann's Political Party Views

Based on the reading material that I was just given, Otto Hauptmann seems like a man who respects the union, and just thinks that for the economy to recover from the hyperinflation, the country must have a strong union. Based on Otto's views, I believe that the Political Party that he would vote for is the 'Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter Partei'. I think this because since Otto believes in a strong, powerful, Union, the Nazi's would be a perfect solution. Since he is a German citizen, what would he mind if they denied a few foreigners access into the country? If it meant that the Nazi's would make progress, then expel problem makers away! The leader of the party was a very strong, will-minded man, and only wanted to promote patriotic behavior, so the obvious solution to this would be to enforce German blood into the society, so that it is mandatory.

This kind of thinking is why I think Otto Hauptmann would vote for the Nazi party, as they are far from passive (unlike the social democratic party), and want to make a very risky change. But what do the people have to lose?

"Anger and Humiliation" & "Voices in the Dark"

The first point of the Nazi program that I find incredibly unfair is: "9. A thorough reconstruction of our national system of education. The science of citizenship shall be taught from the beginning." This point in the program states that the Nazi's have every right to reconstruct the education program, obviously they will abuse this right, and therefore twist what is taught in their favour, so future generations will know of their "conquer"and be taught of their "supremacy". The Next point of the Nazi program that I find disgustingly unfair is: "10. All newspapers must be published in the German language by German citizens and owners." This point shows that the Nazi's have the ability to use public messages to spread Nazi propaganda, without letting "non-supporters"have a fair, public say. This is completely unjust, because the public, will only be told of the greatness that will happen, but will never know of the horror and truth about what the Nazi's really plan to do.

Knowing the fact that the train had been inhabited by all men, the fact that I would protest against them would immediately get me thrown out, wheres men have more of a fight and the group would stop and think more. However, if I had been a bystander my conscious would probably get the better of me and eventually I would speak out and rescue the poor Jew from verbal insult. But the outcome would be me, dead, under the tracks.

In real life something some what similar has happened to me, with myself as the bystander. The group of people simply insulting a great friend of mine, just assuming that I agree with them. Well they were sure wrong. My quiet mumbles of protest left them thinking I was joking, and set them of laughing even more. The awkwardness knowing that you failed gets you the most.