#there are other ways to create tension without completely relying on your main character 1)deciding nothing he knows is important

[consumer-o-content]

“Dramatic Irony Should Have Limits: Why The First Arc is the Most Infuriating Piece of Media Ever Created” - an essay on why reading the first arc makes me want to rip my hair out and roll around on the floor

[tlbodine]

The Horror Genius of Five Nights At Freddy’s

I’ve been playing FNAF: Help Wanted VR on my Oculus Quest lately (a birthday present to myself -- I know I’m late to that party!) and it’s reignited in me my old love of this series. I know Scott Cawthon’s politics aren’t great, but I don’t think there’s any malice in his heart beyond usual Christian conservative nonsense -- and I think he stepped down as graciously and magnanimously as possible when confronted about it. Time will judge Scott Cawthon’s politics, and that’s not what I’m here to talk about. I want to talk about what makes these games so damn special, from a horror, design, and marketing perspective. I think there’s really SO MUCH to be learned from studying these games and the wider influence they’ve had as intellectual property. 

What Is FNAF? 

In case you’ve somehow been living under a rock for the last seven years, Five Nights At Freddy’s (hereafter, FNAF) is a horror franchise spanning 17 games (10 main games + some spinoffs and troll games, we’ll get to that), 27 books, a movie deal, and a couple live-action attractions. 

But before it exploded into that kind of tremendous IP, it started out as a single indie pont-and-click game created entirely by one dude, Scott Cawthon. Cawthon had developed other games in the past without much fame or success, including some Christian children’s entertainment. He was working as a cashier at Dollar General and making games in his spare time -- and most of those games got panned. 

So he tried making something different. 

After being criticized that the characters in one of his children’s games looked like soulless, creepy animatronics, Cawthon had his lightbulb moment and created a horror game centered on....creepy animatronics! 

The rest, as they say, is history. 

The Genius of FNAF’s Horror Elements

In the first FNAF game, you play as a night security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a sort of ersatz Chuck-E-Cheese establishment. The animatronics are on free-roaming mode at night, but you don’t want to let them find you in your security room so you have to watch them move through the building on security camera monitors. If they get too close, you can slam your security room doors closed. But be careful, because this restaurant operates on a shoestring budget, and the power will go off if you keep the doors closed too long or flicker the lights too often. And once the lights go out, you’re helpless against the animatronics in the dark. 

Guiding you through your gameplay is a fellow employee, Phone Guy, who calls you each night with some helpful advice. Phone Guy is voiced by Cawthon himself, and listening to his tapes gives you some hints of the game’s underlying story as well as telling you how to play. A few newspaper clippings and other bits of scrap material help to fill in more details of the story. 

Over the next set of games, the story would be further developed, with each new game introducing new mechanics and variations on the theme -- in one, you don a mask to slip past the notice of animatronics; in another, you have to play sound cues to lure an animatronic away from you. By the fourth game, the setup was changed completely, now featuring a child with a flashlight hiding from the monsters outside his door -- nightmarish versions of the beloved child-friendly mascots. The mechanics change just enough between variations to keep things fresh while maintaining a consistent brand. 

There are so many things these games do well from a storytelling and horror perspective: 

Jump Scares: It’s easy to shrug these games off for relying heavily on jump scares, and they absolutely do have a lot of them. But they’re used strategically. In most games, the jump scares are a punishment (a controlled shock, if you will) -- if you play the game perfectly, you’ll never be jump-scared. This is an important design choice that a lot of other horror games don’t follow. 

Atmospheric Dread: These games absolutely deliver horror and tension through every element of design -- some more than others, admittedly. But a combination of sound cues, the overall texture and aesthetic of the world, the “things move when you’re not looking at them” mechanic, all of it works together to create a feeling of unease and paranoia. 

Paranoia: As in most survival horror games, you’re at a disadvantage. You can’t move or defend yourself, really -- all you can do is watch. And so watch you do. Except it’s a false sense of security, because flicking lights and checking cameras uses up precious resources, putting you at greater risk. So you have to balance your compulsive need to check, double-check, and make sure...with methodical resource conservation. The best way to survive these games is to remain calm and focused. It’s a brilliant design choice. 

Visceral Horror: The monster design of the animatronics is absolutely delightful, and there’s a whole range of them to choose from. The sheer size and weight of the creatures, the way they move and position themselves, their grunginess, the deadness of their eyes, the quantity and prominence of their teeth. They are simultaneously adorable and horrifying. 

Implicit Horror: One of the greatest strengths to FNAF as a franchise is that it never wears its story on its sleeve. Instead of outright telling you what’s going on, the story is delivered in bits and pieces that you have to put together yourself -- creating a puzzle for an engaged player to think about and theorize over and consider long after the game is done. But more than that, the nature of the horror itself is such that it becomes increasingly upsetting the more you think on it. The implications of what’s going on in the game world -- that there are decaying bodies tucked away inside mascots that continue to perform for children, that a man dressed in a costume is luring kids away into a private room to kill them, and so forth -- are the epitome of fridge horror. 

The FNAF lore does admittedly start to become fairly ridiculous and convoluted as the franchise wears on. But even ret-conned material manages to be pretty interesting in its own right (and there is nothing in the world keeping you from playing the first four games, or even the first six, and pretending none of the rest exist). 

Another thing I really appreciate about the FNAF franchise is that it’s quite funny, in a way that complements and underscores the horror rather than detracting from it. It’s something a lot of other properties utterly fail to do. 

The Genius of Scott Cawthon’s Marketing 

OK, so FNAF utilizes a multi-prong attack for creating horror and implements it well -- big deal. Why did it explode into a massive IP sensation when other indie horror games that are just as well-made barely made a blip on the radar? 

Well! That’s where the real genius comes in. This game was built and marketed in a way to maximize its franchisability. 

First, the story utilizes instantly identifiable, simple but effective character designs, and then generates more and more instantly identifiable unique characters with each iteration. Having a wealth of characters and clever, unique designs basically paves the way for merchandise and fan-works. (That they’re anthropomorphic animal designs also probably helped -- because that taps into the furry fandom as well without completely alienating non-furries). 

Speaking of fan-work, Scott Cawthon has always been very supportive of fandom, only taking action when people would try to profit off knock-off games and that sort of thing -- basically bad-faith copies. But as far as I know he’s always been super chill with fan-created content, even going so far as to engage directly with the fandom. Which brings me to....

These games were practically designed for streaming, and he took care to deliver them into the hands of influential streamers. Because the games are heavy on jump-scares and scale in difficulty (even including extra-challenging modes after the core game is beaten) they are extremely fun to watch people play. They’re short enough to be easily finished over the duration of a long stream, and they’re episodic -- lending themselves perfectly to a YouTube Lets Play format. One Night = One Video, and now the streamer has weeks of content from your game (but viewers can jump in at any time without really missing much). 

The games are kid-friendly but also genuinely frightening. Because the most disturbing parts of the game’s lore are hinted at rather than made explicit, younger players can easily engage with the game on a more basic surface level, and others can go as deep into the lore as they feel comfortable. There is no blood and gore and violence or even any explicitly stated death in the main game; all of the murder and death is portrayed obliquely by way of 8-bit mini games and tangential references. Making this game terrifying but accessible to youngsters, and then marketing it directly to younger viewers through popular streamers (and later, merchandising deals) is genius -- because it creates a very broad potential audience, and kids tend to spend 100% of their money (birthdays, allowances, etc.) and are most likely to tell their friends about this super scary game, etc. etc.

By creating a puzzle box of lore, and then interacting directly with the fandom -- dropping hints, trolling, essentially creating an ARG of his own lore through his website, in-game easter eggs, and tie-in materials -- Cawthon created a mystery for fandom to solve. And fans LOVE endlessly speculating over convoluted theories. 

Cawthon released these games FAST. He dropped FNAF 2 within months of the first game’s release, and kept up a pace of 1-2 games a year ever since. This steady output ensured the games never dropped out of public consciousness -- and introducing new puzzle pieces for the lore-hungry fans to pore over helped keep the discussion going. 

I think MatPat and The Game Theorists owe a tremendous amount of their own huge success to this game. I think Markiplier does, too, and other big streamers and YouTubers. It’s been fascinating watching the symbiotic relationship between these games and the people who make content about these games. Obviously that’s true for a lot of fandom -- but FNAF feels so special because it really did start so small. It’s a true rags-to-riches sleeper hit and luck absolutely played a role in its growth, but skill is a big part too. 

Take-Aways For Creatives 

I want to be very clear here: I do not think that every piece of media needs to be “IP,” franchisable, an extended universe, or a multimedia sensation. I think there is plenty to be said for creating art of all types, and sometimes that means a standalone story with a small audience. 

But if you do want a chance at real break-out, run-away success and forging a media empire of your own, I think there are some take-aways to be learned from the success of FNAF: 

Persistence. Scott Cawthon studied animation and game-design in the 1990s and released his first game in 2002. He released a bunch of stuff afterward. None of it stuck. It took 12 years to hit on the winning formula, and then another several years of incredibly hard work to push out more titles and stoke the fires before it really became a sensation. Wherever you’re at on your creative journey, don’t give up. You never know when your next thing will be The Thing that breaks you out. 

If you want to sell a lot of something, you have to make it widely appealing to a bunch of people. This means keeping your concept simple to understand (”security guard wards off creepy killer animatronics at a pizza parlor”) and appealing to as wide a segment of the market as you can (ie, a horror story that appeals to both kids and adults). The more hyper-specific your audience, the harder it’s gonna be to find them and the fewer copies of your thing you’ll be selling. 

Know your shit and put your best work out there. I think there’s an impulse to feel like “well, nobody reads this anyway, so why does it matter if it’s no good” (I certainly have fallen into that on multiple occasions) but that’s the wrong way to think about it. You never know when and where your break will come. Put your best work out there and keep on polishing your craft with better and better stuff because eventually one of those things you chuck out there is going to be The Thing. 

Figure out where your target audience hangs out, and who influences them, and then get your thing in the hands of those influencers. Streaming and YouTube were the secret to FNAF’s success. Maybe yours will be BookTube, or Instagram, or a secret cabal of free librarians. I don’t know. But you should try your best to figure out who would like the thing that you’re making, and then figure out how to reach those people, and put all of your energy into that instead of shotgun-blasting your marketing all willy nilly. 

You don’t have to put the whole story on the page. Audiences love puzzles. Fans love mysteries. You can actually leave a lot more unanswered than you think. There’s some value in keeping secrets and leaving things for others to fill in. Remember -- your art is only partly yours. The sandbox belongs to others to play in, too, and you have to let them do that. 

If in doubt, appealing to furries never hurts. 

Do I take all of this advice myself? Not by a long shot. But it’s definitely a lot to think about. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go beat The Curse of Dreadbear. 

[theacademics]

Creative Writing

WRITING FROM WHAT YOU KNOW

The more you know about a subject, the more you will be able to write about it and create a fictional world around it. This is likely the most comfortable place to begin.

WRITING FROM THE UNKNOWN On the other hand, you can start from the completely unknown. This way, you can imagine and invent a world as well as the rules and not be bothered by the laws of your reality.

  Marrying WHAT YOU KNOW with WHAT YOU DON’T This is probably the most effective method of writing. Memory is fragile and influenced by mood, emotion, and others. The successful way seems to be writing an experience and add a measure of exploration of the unknown. Don’t just write what is true to you and don’t be scared to exaggerate – dare to take on themes larger than yourself.

  PLOT 1. What happened to the characters in the story 2. How it happened 3. Why it happened

The answers to these questions can be simple or complex, depending on your preferences. Adding human emotion makes the plot richer.

  Josip Novakovich explains it well in the book Fiction Writer’s Workshop: “Plot clearly depends on basic values. What do your characters treasure most? Put it at stake. Let them fight for it. Let them fight for life, love, money, jobs. If your characters care about nothing, the actions around them might become random. Without passion, forget about plot.

  ELEMENTS OF A PLOT

1. Exposition – The backstory of the background that gives the reasons for the character’s driving forces.

2. Complications – they are introduced to add tension and to build the way to the climax.

3. Climax – the point of the most intense conflict, often marked by a moment of discovery, realization or change in the character (‘plot twist’).

4. Resolution – the final moments of a story, where the problems are wrapped up and normality is restored.

Not every writer follows this format, nor applies all of the elements. To deviate from the traditional structure, it’s important to understand how it works.

  CHARACTER

Characters are what often stay with the people. They add voice, purpose, and meaning to a story. The plot unfolds as a consequence of their actions.

There are two types of characters:

• Major – the figure at the center of the action, dynamic, changes throughout the course of the story.

• Minor – they support the major characters by highlighting, aggravating or accentuating the conflict. They’re almost always static and change little.

  CREATING CHARACTERS

Fictional characters should be complex, round, crossing various planes, which is very human. A character can be deepened in many ways. Some effective methods are to add elements of interest:

1. Physical Traits – Small physical characteristics can help establish personality and motivation. Helps distinguish characters from one another and turn your story more realistic.

2. World View – the writer needs to understand the character’s worldview in other to create adversity and know how they will react. The ideas that influence their decisions.

3. Internal Conflict – the culmination of passion, flaws, worldview and external influences. The struggle between need/want. They will decide in order to resolve the internal conflict.

4. Flaws – a flawless character is not believable. Flaws add a tragic element to the character, which enhances the dimension and the probability of sympathy.

5. Passions – without passion, a character becomes flat. The character must want something out of his reach and must fight to achieve it.

6. Mannerisms – a nervous twitch, repetitive fidget, knuckle crack. These recurring elements add reliability.

  POINT OF VIEW

FIRST PERSON The narrator is a character in the story (“I”, “me”, “we”). Personalizes the story and provides sympathy more easily, for all readers to have a focused viewpoint and may connect with the character in that way.

Meanwhile, in a first person POV, the writer can’t know what other characters think or do. Secondary characters must be characterized through impressions of the main character.

  THIRD PERSON In this POV, the narrator is uninvolved in the story (“she”, “he”, “they”). By nature, this type of narrator is omniscient, unlike the previous one. However, the writer can choose what to say and what to omit. They can have limited omniscience – about the past, the future, the characters.

The narrator can be more reliable. Gives a broader perspective and several stories can be told. However, it can be difficult to develop an inner monologue.

  INSPIRATION It can come from a passion and be driven by encouragement from others, small sparks, other literary works. Most writers have reading as one of their main inspirations, for it feeds the imagination.

  CHALLENGES Rejection, misfortune, discouragement – how can one overcome them? Time can also be a challenge. The idea of failure seems to inspire some authors’ projects. Being a young writer means being a bird in a tree, observing life without being noticed. Dealing with critics can be a challenge as well, but it helps a writer to harden up and keep perspective.

The realization that life isn’t always happy and quiet can be painful. The main challenge is to understand that it all belongs in the process of experience and life. Times of crisis can be defining for some and a good way to surpass the expectation of failure is to train oneself to not think what will happen in the future, and just write. Relying on your family, friends, significant other or people you trust can help one find balance and perspective.

  METHOD Setting a Routine – it can help you create habits and structure your life. Most writers’ lives have no structure, so implementing one can be decisive to develop your work.

Making Room for a New Plan – be flexible and try to find harmony between the conscious and unconscious mind; plans can evolve into something else, as well as creative processes. Accept change.

Doing the research – it doesn’t matter when you do your research (if before, during or after writing), as long as you do it. It adds validity to a story and can help it come to life.

Plotting and Structuring the Novel – it can be an arduous process. A story may take time to plan and pile up and it can be incredibly challenging to manage all of it.

  ADVICE FROM AUTHORS

1. You have to read in order to be a writer.

2. People will love or hate your story more than you expect. Accept criticism.

3. Live life – travel, meet people, talk to people, listen without interrupting, listen to your grandparents speak of their families. Be curious in a neutral way, be open and look at what’s in the world.

4. Value the comments of your loved ones.

5. Read everything you can.

6. Life changes faster than you think. Embrace change.

7. Develop your own philosophy.

[chloegrayportfolio]

Module Three: The Classroom As A Place To Be

For this progress log task, I used personal instances from a wide range of grade levels, from K-12. I did this because I thought it would be more meaningful and reflective when thinking of these classroom rules to consider perspectives and experiences from students of all age groups.

Jointly Established: On the first day of Grade 4, we were called to sit on the carpet and give introductions about ourselves. After the introductions were given, my teacher brought forward a large sheet of paper and used magnets to stick it to the whiteboard. In the middle, there was a large bubble that said “Classroom Rules”. My classmates and myself looked at each other with confusion as to why the rest of the paper was entirely blank, with one of my peers even raising their hand and jokingly asking if there were no rules. This brought our teacher to laughter, and then she explained to us that as a class together, us students would work with her to come up with set rules and expectations of the classroom to follow. For about thirty-sixty minutes, we worked as a class to discuss certain rules, write expectations down, and decorate the sheet of paper before deciding on its wall for the year. This experience was super memorable and rewarding because it is the first instance I can remember where an Educator trusted myself and my classmates as independent people, mature enough to recognize and create rules on our own, rather than relying on a teacher to do so for us. I also think this was extremely beneficial to the creation and establishment of the teacher-student relationship in the classroom, as she immediately took the time to speak with us, get to know us, and allow us a sense of freedom, rather than spending her first day lecturing us and establishing her superiority. I think this first day set a very positive, open premise in our classroom, as I hardly remember much conflict and tension (both between classmates as well as between the teacher with students) that year.

Reasonable: By my final years of elementary school, the rules seemed to become more fair and open, rather than limiting and constricting. My seventh grade teacher understood that we soon would be making the transition into secondary school, which was a much more independent environment. He understood that some of the school rules were much more applicable to the younger children and were ultimately unfair on the older students. For example, having to play on the playground at recess. He thought the constant berating of us with rules such as that downplayed the significance of much more important rules, such as handing in homework on time/academic honesty, acting appropriately in the classroom, and treating others with kindness. His ability to give us space and let us breathe regarding “smaller” rules, and in turn prioritizing rules that lead to student success was very logical and sensible.  

Clearly Defined: I remember an experience from Grade 1 in which the rules were not clearly defined and explained to us, leading to confusion in the classroom. One of the big rules we had was that we were not allowed to speak to our peers during class time—that was quiet work time. However, one day we were expected to work on a writing and colouring project with a partner she had assigned to us, and upon sitting with our partners, none of us spoke to one another. We initially did our work independently, saying very little. At first, she was confused, as to why we were silent, but slowly picked up on our confusion and explained to us what that specific rule meant. This wasn’t necessarily a negative experience, but it is an experience I can learn as a teaching experience to always be as specific as possible with my students, especially if they are that young.

Observable: In Kindergarten, I remember many of the rules being things such as: keep your hands to yourself, no talking while someone else is talking, and treat belongings gently. They were very easy for me to follow and that was probably because of the specific, descriptive, action-based words used. Having observable rules is good for many reasons, and these reasons can apply to any age group, but I believe it is especially important and beneficial for rules to be observable in a classroom filled with such young children—especially as this is most likely one of their earliest exposures to rules an authority outside of their family. Having observable rules lessens the chance of confusion, which contributes to a more effective classroom.

Positive: My eleventh grade French teacher was a very fiery, passionate, positive presence within our lives as well as within the school. She was not strict at all and everyone liked her. However, this did not mean she had no rules within the classroom. She did have many rules—just as many rules as the average teacher throughout my years of schooling had. Rather, the difference was how these rules were presented to us. Rather than framing and wording them in a negative way that emphasized the wrongdoing and its following punishments and consequences, she framed all rules without negative language, such a “no”, “stop”, and “never”. At the time, I never really realized, noticed, or appreciated it, but upon looking back and reflecting, the modification of her language to be less hostile and controlling really did have a positive impact on us students in her classroom. Students were less likely to “challenge” her, because there was not much to challenge, which led to more efficient and effective use of classroom time overall.

Succinct: My fifth-grade teacher was a very no-nonsense woman who did not spend even a minute of extra time on something she deemed unworthy of it. Sometimes this short attitude was frustrating, but when it came to her explaining the rules, it was a blessing. I have had far too many teachers spend an excessive amount of time going over rules, leaving us students restless for the rest of class time. This teacher definitely spent no more than ten minutes on the rules, and we were able to spend more time on things that she felt mattered more, like our first homework assignment. If anything, the little time spent on rules left a positive first-impression on us, as we weren’t immediately restless and annoyed due to first-day redundancy.

Few in number: By the final year of high school, you have had every rule in the book read to you in every possible way. At that point, it feels so redundant and repetitive that the constant reminder of these rules almost makes you want to break them out of annoyance. I think a lot of teachers at a Grade 12 level understand this annoyance and frustration their students can feel, especially when they have heard these same rules for the last 13 years and want nothing more than to move on to the freedoms of Post Secondary and/or life. One teacher who expressed their understanding regarding our general annoyance was my History teacher in Grade 12. On the first day of class, rather than being met with a sheet of paper explaining each classroom expectation he had, he told us “You have been hearing this since you were five years old. All I will say is do your work on time, do not be loud and disruptive, respect your classmates, and cell-phone use is permitted once work is complete. I think you all know how to act in a classroom”. His briefness regarding classroom expectations not only showed his immediate trust, belief, and faith in his students, but it also removed a barrier of superiority many Educators tend to be walled behind. We knew we could be open with him, and we did not have to spend three months trying to judge his character. Additionally, the short amount of time spent on rules on that first day allowed him to give us a more in-depth course description and a chance to read through the textbook, while most other teachers ended up keeping us in for a extra few minutes so they could rush through extremely important course information after the spending the majority of their time on basic rules.

Enforceable: In grade ten, I had a Social Studies teacher who absolutely despised cellphones. Her hatred was justified, however, it caused her to act in impulsive, negative ways that ultimately led to the creation of rules she did not know how to handle or enforce. Once specific instance was her idea of having a “Cellphone Jail”, which was a basket you placed your cellphone in upon entry to the classroom. The idea itself wasn’t bad, and I know it has been correctly implemented in many classroom settings, but she soon realized was unable to enforce this Cellphone Jail for two main reasons:

Due to very little available Computer Lab/IPad time, she often had us use our cellphones for research purposes, such as for the research and discussion of current events. How could she have expected us to research with no resources? The situation that actually led to her stopping the use of a Cellphone Jail altogether was a situation that reflected her inability to effectively monitor it. A student in the classroom had their cellphone stolen out of the basket and we were stuck in class fifteen minutes into the lunch break until whoever had it came forward. The situation was resolved in less than an hour, but it reflected the disastrous events that could come out of it. This also led to a breaking of trust between the student who had their phone taken and the teacher, as the teacher was consistently dismissive of theft-related points.This was a negative experience because this teacher should not have expected us to adhere to rules she had not fully planned the enforcing, executing, and monitoring of. Rather, she made an impulsive decision using her anger that led to consequences both for her students and herself.

Enforced: I remember my first year of high school as extremely hectic. My grade 8 year had an abundance of students who were rowdy, classroom clowns who did not follow the rules. However, even the rowdiest of students seemed to follow rules in the classroom of just one teacher: the eighth-grade Science teacher. She was very strict with high expectations—she made to drill the rules into us more than any other Educator I met. However, along with her strictness and high expectations, she was an amazing teacher who was passionate about what she did and never lost her temper with us. Although, she did not give second chances and did not hesitate to make a point out of your wrongdoings when discussing them afterwards. She never once let something happen without consequences, but in doing so she never went overboard. This created probably one of the healthiest, most productive classroom environments I have ever been in.

Constantly Evaluated: In Grade 6, I had a teacher who was quite strict with high expectations and little tolerance. This description may make her sound cold and harsh, but she was probably one of my most eye-opening, trustworthy, and memorable Educators. Yes, she spent a lot of time enforcing rules and laying laws down throughout the year, but she was also constantly working with us and let it be known that these rules were more for our benefit than her own. Whenever an incident happened where a rule was broken, whether that rule was related to respecting ourselves, each other, or our environment/classroom, she would stand in front of us and revisit the rule that was broken. She would explain the rule and discuss her intentions and reasons behind implementing it, then open the floor to us to have an open discussion about it. In that open discussion, we would talk about what was working/not working, ideas for change, and suggested minor improvements. She always took our suggestions, concerns, and ideas seriously—we knew we were heard. She would make appropriate changes and often revisit the class as a whole for a reevaluation, as so to prevent whatever incident from happening again. I think what she did was extremely positive because it showed that she cared about each student individually as well as her class as a whole—she wanted happiness, success, and support for each one of her students, and took extra steps to ensure that conflicts were avoided through the reevaluation of rules upon incidents.

Week 11 Peer Interaction Task

Take a minute to reflect on the relationship between the environment and your behaviour. Identify some settings where you feel comfortable. What is there about the setting that makes you feel comfortable? What things about a setting attract you to it? How do you feel when you are in settings that are cluttered or ugly? What type of setting do you think is most appropriate for learning? What do you think can be done to improve classroom environments to prevent problems and enhance learning? Have any of you put energy into creating positive environments for some one else? A baby? A loved one? A grandparent? Students? What did you do? What made you choose those things? Share these experiences. The idea here is to become aware of the importance of putting energy into physical space beyond merely putting up a poster. Answer this question. Would you permit students to sit where they want in your classroom? Why? When?

The settings where I feel most comfortable are my bedroom, the forest, and near-empty grocery stores with poor lighting. What makes me feel comfortable in these settings is how familiar they are to me. If I spend enough time in one place, it ends up feeling like part of a routine, which really comforts me.  I am attracted to quiet, dimly-lit settings. Settings that I can be alone in and settings that are familiar to me. I don’t like being in brightly-lit, loud, unfamiliar settings. They make me uncomfortable, unable to relax. However, quiet settings allow me to focus on my thoughts, dimly-lit settings don’t irritate and distract my eyes, and familiar settings ease feelings of anxiety.  I like clutter if it’s familiar clutter. I like the clutter of my bedroom and my friends bedrooms, but I have always hated being in cluttered classrooms, vehicles, or workplaces. It makes me feel distracted and uncomfortable. Ugly settings also make me feel distracted and uncomfortable. unable to focus or relax.  The setting I consider to be most appropriate for learning is quiet but not completely silent, open (non-cramped), and finds a balance between boring and overpowering. The reasons for this are: Quiet settings allow students to listen to themselves think and focus, but I have found (from my own experience and the experiences of my peers) that completely silent settings can feel stressful and uncomfortable. Additionally, I know many students were less likely to ask for help in a completely silent classroom, as it felt much more “obvious” and embarrassing. I believe in an open classroom layout because it’s beneficial for the teacher and student to see each other. Also, this layout would encourage classroom interaction and discussion. The balance between boring and overpowering is in referral to how I have seen classrooms decorated throughout the year. I believe it’s important to have posters reminding students of grammar rules and their potential, but I have seen classrooms with far too many of these posters—leading the classroom to appear as cluttered or busy, distracting the students.  A strong opinion I have is that I believe the setup of a “typical” classroom does more negative than positive for the classroom. When I say “typical classroom”, I am envisioning a brightly lit classroom with single-file desks. The reason why I believe this setup does more negative to a class/student is because it makes the classroom feel more cramped/pack and less open, and it can also feel very lonely that way. I have always preferred looking at the faces of my classmates and teachers, as well as the open space of the classroom—when students are staring at the back of another child’s head for over an hour, it can get pretty boring. Additionally, as a teacher I would not like single-file desks as I would not be able to see all my students clearly throughout the lesson/day. Yes, I would allow my students to sit where they want in my classroom. Of course, this privilege would be taken away with the presence of bad or off-task behavior, or issues such as exclusion or alienation, but at the beginning of the year, I would place trust in all my students to make the right decision and be able to self-regulate. I want them to have freedom and fun in the classroom—not feel controlled and constricted. No, I wasn’t surprised by any of my answers as I have given a lot of thought to this before and am firm on my beliefs about healthy, effective learning environments.

Assignment 3: Gender Equity in the Classroom

Part 1: Summary of Observations

I chose to observe a classroom lesson off YouTube for this assignment. The video is titled “Jean Cole 4th Grade Frontier Elementary Classroom Discussion”. The instrument I used to assist me in my findings consisted of paper and a pen. On my sheet of paper, I wrote down each of the discussion questions given to assist us in our observations and findings. Underneath each question, I created two columns—one titled “Female Students”, and one titled “Male Students”. Throughout the video, I tracked the answers to each question. The first time I watched the video, I wrote under each column for each question. I then watched the video a second time to double check my findings and create any interesting notations I thought would contribute to my completion of the assignments. One of the reasons why I believe this tool aided me in my findings is its simplicity and accuracy. Its simplicity was helpful to me because I tend to get distracted and overwhelmed during assignments that require you to watch videos, leading me to lose focus on the task at hand. Using a simple tally system let me keep all my attention and focus on the lesson, preventing me from getting caught up writing anything while there was more going on in the video. Double-checking this system by watching the video twice and then creating notes on what I saw also helped me be as accurate in my observations as possible. In my group’s discussion on our shared findings, I noticed that at least 3 of us used a very similar, if not the same system, in tracking our results: using tallies based on the assigned questions of the course. It seemed we all went for something that was simple, ensured accuracy, and non-distracting, allowing us to focus more on what was occurring in the classroom real time, rather than what was on our paper. Something really interesting I learned from the group discussion on the shared findings was that despite male students, on average, seeming to be more “involved” in classrooms and the displayal of knowledge (answering and asking more questions, called upon more often, blurting out answers), the female students were more attentive and on-task. I find this extremely interesting as I believe it speaks to the difference in socialization of male and female children, primarily in their contrasting confidence and voice—boys are constantly seeing their achievements and power and being told how powerful they are in society, while girls are encouraged to be modest and humble regarding their achievements, with a society that silences them. Another thing I learned is the importance of noting how many boys and girls there were in each class—I hadn’t even thought about that until a discussion group member included it in their post. This is an important thing to consider and remember as it can really impact the results—for example, my observations found the girls to be more involved in the class, contrasting what we read prior, but the classroom I observed had many more female students—contributing to the results. My findings did not shock me, despite them being a stark contrast to what we are told in Mary Pipher’s Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls”, written in 1994. However, I understand that there are many factors that come into play with these things. The teacher I observed may have turned her classroom into a space where female students feel comfortable to openly participate in classroom discussions without fear of ridicule or judgement—but I recognize that there are many female students throughout the world that do not receive this same treatment.  In the classroom I observed, the female students were more active, contributing members of the classroom. They simultaneously answered more questions, were called upon more often, talked with the teacher more often, raised their hands more, called out answers frequently, and seemed to be more on-task (and engaged with the lesson) than their male classmates. The boys of the classroom, however, required more individual assistance and guidance from the teacher, asked more questions, and seemed to be more off-task.

Part 2: Personal Reflection

I went to school in East Vancouver in a generally accepting, progressive, leftist community—at least in comparison to other communities and neighborhoods I’ve heard of in Metro Vancouver. Throughout my years of schooling, both in Elementary school as well as Secondary school, I believed I was extremely lucky to have teachers who cared enough to educate us on many sensitive topics, including topics of sexism, feminism, and misogyny. I was also lucky enough to go to schools with strong female leads and presence in clubs and sports teams, and I grew up with many female members of school administration. I still do believe I am lucky in a sense, as I know things could be much worse, but it seems as though the older I grow, the more I realize how prevalent gender inequality and inequity within the school really was. Although I learned of this oppression from a young age and knew gender inequality and inequity existed, I didn’t quite understand that it could manifest in ways that weren’t so overt. I didn’t start understanding microaggressions and subconscious behaviors of men and boys in the classroom until I grew older, and if I am being completely honest, I am unsure if I am even able to completely recognize and pick up on these harmful behaviours today, due to factors such as socialization. However, looking back on my experiences throughout school, especially Secondary School, I realize how gender inequity has impacted me and my education in ways I have not given much thought to in the past.An experience that has really stuck in my memory and resonated with me as time has passed by is the experience of being one of six female students in my Biology 12 block—a class that was also taught by a male teacher. This experience is almost hard for me to discuss, because I now realize it’s an experience where I was complacent, accepting even, of misogyny unknowingly. It’s an instance that I allowed to happen and laughed along as if I weren’t the target. This is the instance of the “offended” reaction I got from the boys, and potentially even the teacher, of my Biology 12 class when I received a higher grade.  Some background information (that does not justify their behavior whatsoever) is that I was an extremely stereotypical “girly girl”, and I was quite close to a group of male students in the class. Sometimes I wonder if these are reasons that contributed to this treatment, however I recognize that women are belittled for simply existing. In class, I sat at their table, I studied with them, and we worked on our assignments and labs together. I was generally weaker in the Sciences and Math in secondary school, which led me to somewhat lean on others for support as well as ask many questions. Despite my understanding of Biology being on a “lower” level in comparison, I worked extremely hard throughout the course, putting what felt like more effort into that one course than all my other courses combined. This effort really paid off, especially in the third term, as we got results for a test back and had found I had done better than the rest of them. However, it was like this threatened them. Immediately, they started making jokes about how it was because of the help they gave me and about how I “needed” them in Biology. Even the teacher made a comment ,jokingly asking me which one of the boys helped me study for the test. This especially offended me, as this spoke to how he gauged my intelligence as a student. I laughed along and even made a couple jokes of my own, but I knew it felt wrong. I felt hurt and offended. The initial excitement of the high grade faded to anxiety and feelings of unworthiness. I questioned my own intelligence—Was I smart? Did I really need those boys? Did I come off as unintelligent in class? I was dwelling on these classes for the entire period and for quite some time following. It did not help that throughout the class, they volunteered me to answer questions I did not know and participate in classroom demonstrations I did not fully understand. After that class, I felt very anxious and on-edge sitting there. I tried to avoid the spotlight at all costs. I never let these boys know how this behaviour and treatment made me feel, because I considered them my friends and I’m unsure if there was any actual malicious intent behind their treatment of me. However, this is a situation that really highlights how normalized the belittling and minimizing of women is in society—it is so normalized that men, including the newer generation of men, can hardly recognize when they are the ones perpetuating this.

Reflection:

I included the Week 10 Progress Log because it really helped me understand what makes a classroom run smoothly and successfully while allowing me to reflect back on how the classrooms I grew up in were run. I was able to point out positives and negatives, what worked and what didn’t. This is an effective skill to have, because as a teacher, the sooner you find out something will not work or is not working, the better. If classroom rules are effective, more time can be spent on real teaching, learning, and educational conversations. I think about the time wasted in my classrooms growing up for scolding's and lectures, and I think about how time invested into the creation of effective classroom rules could have saved us time. I included this in my portfolio because I think this Progress Log activity was extremely educational and useful, as I was able to apply real-life experiences to the effective classroom rules discussed. I included the Week 11 Peer Interaction task because I think ensuring the comfort of my students in the class is something I have learned a lot about throughout this Module. I am a strong believer that the classroom belongs to the students just as much as it belongs to the teacher, therefore the teacher should put effort into making sure it is an environment that each student feels comfortable, both physically and emotionally, in. However, I was unsure how I would be able to effectively ensure comfort for students. Luckily, doing this Peer Interaction Task as well as reading the responses from my group members really helped me in understanding how to make the classroom a place of comfort for my students. Lastly, I included Assignment 3: Observation on Gender Equity in The Classroom. I included this assignment because I think it was interesting to read about and explore modes of observation that I could potentially use in the future to observe gender equity in my classroom. I also found this assignment extremely useful and necessary, as I have seen and experienced instances of gender inequity in the classroom and how these instances affect how students learn.

I think the Week 10 Progress Log task was one of the most helpful, eye-opening activities I did in this course. I believe that using past classroom experiences to reflect on the Effective Classroom Rules allowed me to create a deeper understanding of why certain rules work out more than others. I really enjoyed reflecting back on my past classroom experiences with a bit of a more critical lens as it allowed me to also reflect on things such as classroom dynamics, student behaviour, and student-teacher relationships. It is very interesting to be able to look back on past Educators, both ones I found amazing and ones I found average, and have my view of my experience in their classroom changes. Because I have developed an understanding as to why and how certain classroom environments were either positive or negative, I now know better ways to approach rule-making in the classroom. This Peer Interaction Task of Week 11 was very useful to me, as it opened my eyes to how I approach work. I tend to look at things on a “big picture” scale, when I know I should be focusing on more important, fine details. This was evident in that I struggled a bit with envisioning the fine details of my future classroom. I have always had much more general, vague ideas regarding the layout, look, and design of my classroom. Though my response to the Peer Interaction task does not reflect this, after having some time to look back on my response, it has really opened my eyes and made me realize that I need to be much more specific when thinking of things such as comfort in the classroom. As the comfort of my students will be of utmost importance, I must put sufficient time into the cultivation of this space. For example, a deeper, more reflective answer could talk about my classroom ideas such as the inclusion of quiet, separate work spaces, an art (self expression through drawing, writing, painting) corner, and the option of stools as well as a carpet. After reflecting on this response, I recognize the need for a change in how specific I am when addressing topics that require creative and critical thinking and am working on that.

Assignment 3: Observation on Gender Equity in the classroom was extremely useful, educating, and interesting. I feel as though it also made me experience growth and development. I have experienced growth in how I notice inequity. Prior to answering the questions given to me for this assignment, I always thought of instances of inequity in the classroom as very obvious—if there is inequity in the classroom, the teacher will notice it quickly (ex: a male student calling a female student stupid). However, I now realize this is not the case. As a teacher, I need to go beyond and ask the questions and make the observations that will lead me to noticing gender disparities regarding participation and performance. As a teacher, I need to make sure the oppressed group (female students) feel comfortable and as though their experience in my classroom has been fair. Something I am in the processing of developing is other modes of observation I could use. Yes, the tallying system I used did give me accurate results, but as gender equity is something I plan to definitely measure multiple times throughout the school year with my classes, I need to have other ways of observation. Additionally, all students are different, so one mode that provides me with accurate findings for one class one year may not work with another in a different year. I think another interesting tool that could be used to observe gender equity is the pairing/grouping of male and female students to observe their dynamics in how they work with one another (how they approach work, how they speak to each other, etc).

Overall, this Module provided me a lot of insight into the hard work and effort it takes to truly make your classroom a comfortable, safe space. It taught me the importance of these spaces and the impact one’s environment has on their learning experiences and I like that we used some of our own thoughts, feelings, and experiences to come to an understanding of this importance.

[1601187sm-blog]

Film Language in Animation : Mhairi Introductory Lecture - Monday 25th September 2017

→Film Language →Speaking through visuals →Using storytelling →Visual storytelling

Language? → Read and recognise →→TROPE

Old cinema used to look a lot like theater. Visual storytelling was what people were used to. 90% of the time theory of cinematography came from theaters. 

Proscenium arch : gap between the audience and the stage. Like ‘the forth wall’

Why are shots taken? → How do they affect you? → colours, length, focus etc.

Words and descriptors are important, but understanding them is more important

The Red Balloon

The Fall

Casshern

Avalon

Guardians of the Galaxy

Dialogue differentiates from other marvel films

Cloverfield

Audio

Found footage

like The Blair Witch Project

Didn’t rely on safety shots

Breaks all the rules

Zeitgeist

★write about that thing at the top before all of the stars

Wallace and Gromit- The Wrong Trousers

★ Has used stop motion, incorporating classic film techniques successfully in order to make it good

★ Foreshadowing of penguin

★Title sequence

★Trousers are shown in a horror film-esc way

★Brass band hold a English-y vibe

★Opening sequence plays like Frankenstein

★Learn about characters before we’ve even seen them

★Sepia theme

★Over the top, but it balances out e.g: big text

★Silhouette of the wrong trousers

★Clockwise and anti clockwise

★Fade to black is a good way to get from A to B. Typically used however.

★Title sequence is meant to be emulated as scary, and sets the tone. The rest of the film will continue on as normal until this plot point is picked up again.

★Mid shot of character #1

★Pastel shots vs Sepia and greyscale shades

★Exposition

★Was able to use devices to show that it was Gromits Birthday without having to explicitly say

★Eye movements allows for characters to be tracked upstairs

★Good storytelling without having to tell the viewer anything.

★Looked to where he was seeking to travel

★All things add up so things make logic

★ Added the train in early to establish it. Would later appear in the climax of the film

★Something off screen allows time to progress

★Sound and movement connects shots together

★Stretches time by showing character falling twice through the ceiling

★Same piece of action repeated

★Cutting on action

★Actual time is completely replaced

★Squash and stretch used to make it visually interesting

★Sounds make the movements harder to miss

★Building the character

★Gromit is the smart one within the scene, as he is reading the paper

★Borrowed time is used for comedic timing

★Sound added to the motion

★Spoken word and reaction

★Reaction falls on the center of conversation

★Relationships between it are important

★Empty chair gives us a vibe of the room

★Think about the end and beginning of story

★A two shot allows us to see how the characters interact with one another

★In different context its not inherently important however 

★If Gromit didn’t act like a child, the audience wouldn’t care

★Time has squished completely to keep the pace correct for storytelling, similar to Barry Purves talk

★Cutaway shot to train

★bridge-way shot

★Breaking the forth wall

★ Shares joke by looking directly at viewer

★Left shot

★Can hear footsteps to connect them together

★Sequence for building tension

★Gromit is scared

★Colour change

★Music change

★Camera tilts

★Floorboard bounces along with trousers to present weight

★Once the sequence is broken, so is the tension

★ “Whoops”  → Tells us a lot about character

★Looks to the side again to show where the action is happening

★ Gromit is the main protagonist

★ Has been ‘talking’ more than Wallace has

★ Parker leaves a lot of stuff up to the audience to interpret 

Experimentation and Application Research Project. Film Language for Animators. Project 2 of 6.

Oral presentation during the unit

Your progress for this research project will for m part of the mid unit review

Film language in the context of animation Culminated in a 1000 word essay

Essay should be about things that interest you

Choosing a sequence of 15 seconds

Need a high level of detail

Mise en Scene-y stuff

Screencaps

Work in a straightforward and detailed manner. Needs to be constructed well

Describe the process not the pictures

Bibliography 

Proof and evidence of research

Research is visual storytelling

Essay needs to be animation based

Web Media

Size/length 

Intimate

Up to 10 minutes

Controversial

Cinema

Encompassing

Size+ Aspect ratio

Epic

Landscape

Higher expectations

Up to 2 hours

Typically too elongated

If a shot is cropped, its meaning could be lost to the audience

Use Comparison

2D/3D world? How are you going to create the world?

What are you making it for?

What universe?

Apparent edge of object

2D or 3D?

Contour around an object where planes cross

Need to keep the rules of your universe constant

Quality of line

★ Clinical

★ Dynamic

★ Weight

★ Motion

★ Fairy tales

★ Depth

★ Colour

★ Heavy lined

★ Speed and motion

★ Sketchy/softness

★ Non dynamic

Horizontal lines to make a character look small

Middle intense

Diagonal

Most intense

Most elaborate

Suggest perspective

Suggest movement

Lines in Film

Tracks can generate composition

Lines in movement

Eye line

Colour

Red → Dramatic

Psychedelic sixties

Blues, dark greys = a storm

Softer shades that darken around the eyes

Without good lighting, the character has no control over the story

Life of Pi

The establishing shot is of the men in the kitchen

Eye line

Contrast between light and dark

Frightening

Trailer isnt telling us anything

Shrink Pi down for the whale scene

Check for composition

Colours, lighting etc.

Bring a good/ bad film to watch and make notes against what you thought and realised

What I though of it

What they thought

(Turing the volume down to access the language behind the imagery)

1st of December

[solomonexblog-blog]

What Is An Exchange Server

If we were to place the entire issues that we would encounter in a business, a friendship or a marriage into a pot and boil them down, what do you suppose might stay? The most important factor in most failed businesses or friendships or marriages is 'unresolved conflicts.' Marriages have been ruined and family relationships ripped aside, brother in opposition to brother, due to unresolved conflicts.

This is one issue that may devastate a enterprise. When there may be an unresolved situation between companions or employer and worker, typically the whole business suffers. Knowing this, you would possibly suppose that people wouldn't go away points unresolved. Theoretically that is sound however this can be very troublesome when neither party is supplied to handle drawback decision.

In Proverbs 18:19 (NKJV) tells us that "A brother offended is harder to win than a powerful city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle."

Conflicts, disagreements or arguments, contentions, adversities, trials and tribulations are all part of each day life. Jesus informed us that males would hate us because of Him. The fact is that the confusion that conflicts and adversities trigger is a take a look at of our Christian fortitude. How we handle them is set by how properly we are in a position to use the ideas that we learn from God's Holy Guide of Wisdom.

That is a daring assertion but it is true. Utilizing the principles given us by Solomon in his Proverbs can determine the success or failure of handling conflicts in enterprise and in our homes. If you use Solomon's rules every battle can be handled. With out the benefit of the data and wisdom given us in Solomon's ideas, we are headed for extra issue than we would like. Conflicts and adversities could be deal with without Solomon's rules but it's a troublesome and sometimes frustrating option to take, more than not, ending in failure.

Going it by yourself with out the good thing about Solomon's ideas will often finish in quite a lot of stress and tension, each at work and at home. Often issues at house will bleed into our skilled life and vice versa.

A great question for each of us to ask is 'who wins?' when there is a battle. Take a look at the conflicts that you have had in your life. Who walked away from that conflict feeling good? I'm confident is saying that nobody received the battle, but there were in all probability many victims left injured.

This may occasionally sound unusual to many however, relying on how we react, conflicts can convey opportunities. The fast result may not appear as though it is a blessing however typically, later, the decision to that conflict may reveal an excellent better resolution than first imagined.

Never forget that God's Phrase tells us that God can take a foul state of affairs and might create one thing great from it. He can take a state of affairs where there appears to be no means out and present us a greater manner.

1 Corinthians 10:12-thirteen (New King James Version)

"12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you besides such as is frequent to man; but God is faithful, who won't help you be tempted past what you're able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you simply might be able to bear it."

There are two basic kinds of conflict that we have to take a look at. We provoke or contribute to one type of battle and somebody or one thing that's not in our control initiates the second. There is seldom a conflict, both below our control or not, that doesn't lead to wounded egos and often bodily wounds.

It is human nature to defend our point of view and ourselves. Usually, nevertheless, our protection goes uncontrolled and becomes offensive. One particular person attacks and the other counterattacks making an attempt to inflict as many wounds as possible. This normally spins out of the management of both party. Solomon tells us that at this point the argument becomes foolishness, which advantages nobody.

It is necessary in any argument, whether or not started by us or not, to realize the point of the argument. Often we can avoid the severe change of hurtful accusations and epithets by simply softening our tone. Proverbs 15:1 (NKJV) "A gentle reply turns away wrath, however a harsh word stirs up anger." is the perfect clarification for this. Generally a easy smooth or light reply can abate an argument.

Alternatively, sometimes a heated trade of points of view might be wholesome if it is controlled and not allowed to degenerate into insult slinging. In Proverbs 27:17 (NLT) "As iron sharpens iron, so a pal sharpens a good friend." Solomon is educating us such a trade. Have you ever seen a chef sharpen his knife with sharpening metal? The friction of the 'metal in opposition to metal' or 'iron towards iron' cause the honing of the knife to make it sharp. Once we management the change of conflicting points of view, we will discover a better resolution.

Solomon was undoubtedly one of many richest males of all occasions in keeping with the account of the bible. Solomon received six hundred and sixty-six talents in a yr. This was his annual earnings as disclosed by the monetary assertion at II Chronicles 9:13. 600 and sixty-six talents translate to 22,777 kilograms. At the current gold value of $1,682 per ounce this is able to translate to $ 1,351,389,589. This may imply Solomon's income was US$1.three billion per yr.

The bible tells us that he reigned for forty years. Assuming that he received this tribute of gold yearly of his reign, it means as we speak's worth of the gold he acquired was about $52 billion (the estimated internet price of Warren Buffet). We've not accounted for the silver, horses, chariots, spices, mules, and raiment. We are additionally told that he made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones (II Chronicles 1:15).

When anyone has an aim to achieve success in a specific area in life, it's extremely really helpful to study from the most effective. Nobody may give you what they don't have. I might sit down and hearken to Warren Buffet speak about investing and cash as a result of he has made it in that area. Solomon is worth listening to even if you're not a Jew or Christian. Solomon had words of wisdom tied to the proverbs he shared. A wealth of counsel is hidden typically in verses that seem quite simple and apparent. Studying carefully and analytically will often instances unearth the inspiration behind the scripture.

PROVERBS 14:four

The place no oxen are, the crib is clear: however a lot increase is by the power of the ox.

This verse tells us that if we now have property that sweat we can have a lot wealth and advancement in worth. Somebody who tills with bare palms will not produce as much as the one who ploughs with oxen.

This reveals that assets might be a catalyst in the journey to wealth. Assets normally require money to amass them. By doing this you might be letting your money give you the results you want. If money is stored underneath the mattress there are numerous risks that one is uncovered to. Firstly it has foregone interest, secondly it might be gobbled by inflation, and thirdly it might be discovered and stolen. But an asset will sweat and work for its owner. The ox will plough and convey increase in the barn of its owner.

PROVERBS 14:23

In all labor there may be profit: but the speak of the lips tendeth only to penury.

Solomon in this passage emphasizes the necessity of onerous work to gain revenue. The word profit means lots, abundance, superiority and pre-eminence. Some folks solely discuss. However we know that discuss is cheap! Not solely motion but repeated motion will bring outcomes. Poverty comes to the person who dreams and talks about his desires with out taking action.

PROVERBS 14:34

Righteousness exalteth a nation: however sin is a reproach to any folks.

Every time Israel left God it was impoverished by its enemies. An interesting passage is the place in JUDGES 6:1 "the kids of Israel did evil within the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered smnx them into the hand of Midian seven years". JUDGES 6:6 then goes on to say "..and Israel was vastly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the youngsters of Israel cried unto the LORD".

This will also be applied on a person level. God cannot bless on high of sin. This is the error being made by many people in the present day. They frequently "sow a seed" but don't see the corresponding blessings. It's because God can't contradict scripture. A clear, sin-free life will align all of God's abundance laws to work for a person.

In this day and age civilization has followed Christianity. Most countries that have had a trail of revivals additionally had main technological breakthroughs. The United States is an excellent power at the moment because it was founded on God and it stands with Israel. Wealth follows nations which can be God-fearing. This is the explanation why the Jews are very rich.

PROVERBS 15:6

In the home of the righteous is far treasure: but within the revenues of the depraved is trouble.

God has a tendency to favor those who are aligned to him. He is therefore not a service provider. For those who come to Him since you want something from Him, you most likely will not get it. When you do get it you would possibly lose it and not get it once more. By giving the righteous more wealth God has a tie publish from which he can additional his kingdom.

Righteousness has to do with conduct. Conduct involves action and response. Repeated action and reaction defines character. There is a passage within the Lord's prayer that says "... let your will likely be completed on earth as it is in heaven". God need a kingdom here on earth that may mirror the dominion in heaven. Which means that people who make up God's kingdom right here on earth should be all the time striving to transform sinners and positively influence folks for this prayer to be answered. Imagine what would occur if everybody would commit their finances to changing souls and positively influencing the society! We'd have a pre-millennial reign or theocracy on earth.

This does not imply the poor are like that as a result of they're unrighteous. There are various the reason why somebody will be righteous and still stay poor. One of the causes, amongst others, is that in God's kingdom, there is a foreign money called faith. God still needs to see the "money" before he provides you what you want. That is why you must imagine that "He's, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him".

PROVERBS 15:sixteen

Better is little with the worry of the LORD than great treasure and hassle therewith.

Real treasure is the concern of the Lord. Peace of mind lacks amongst people who find themselves all the time trying behind their backs, whose lives are affected by fraud sagas and scandals. A full life comes with peace, pleasure, and happiness. The true pursuit of happiness is fearing the Lord.

A wealthy man with trouble in his residence shall be pestered with worry. It has been propounded from analysis that fear causes many of the diseases. A man can provide all he has to save lots of his life. Life is essentially the most precious asset God can provide anybody. One time when the satan wanted to show Job would curse God he mentioned to God" Pores and skin for pores and skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life".

PROVERBS 15:17

Higher is a dinner of herbs the place love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.

Here the preacher emphases a very important aspect that causes many individuals to fail to get answers from God. The Bible clearly says if we don't forgive the daddy can even not forgive us of our sins. For those who hate someone, it's probably for a cause. Chances are high that, that purpose is a foul one. They sinned against you. Rarely does one hate somebody as a result of they did good to them or they'd be completely insane.

The bible says in Matthew 5:23 Due to this fact if thou bring thy present to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Go away there thy present earlier than the altar, and go thy method; first be reconciled to thy brother, after which come and provide thy present. Which means that God is just not going to simply accept a present from anyone that has "ought" towards anybody. This is also the regulation that's intricately interwoven into giving.

[parvaatidynasty-blog]

Top 10 Games I played in 2017 [so far]

May was a busy month for me, and I didn’t realize until recently that I neglected this blog and forgot to write something. As a way to make up for it, I wrote 2 blog posts. Both entries this time are a list-like format, but since I’m playing Breath of the Wild right now, I’d really like to write something more detailed about open worlds for July.

The first half of the year is almost over, and boy, has it been great. There have been so many great games released during the first half of this year alone that making a Game of the Year list at the end of 2017 will be remarkably difficult, more so than most other years. At the end of the year, 2 things will be certain: 1) a fair amount of games I enjoyed will be left out of the top 10, and 2) games I played in this year that were released early than 2017 will be left out. As a result, I wanted to create a list of the top 10 games I played this year regardless of their actual release date. This year I played a fair amount of games from previous years, and some of them are so good it’d be a shame to not give them their 60 seconds of fame here. Even though the list is mostly of 2017 games anyway, the order may not necessarily be the same come December.

10. Snipperclips: Cut it out, together!

Snipperclips is one of the best games you could include in a potential “Nintendo Switch starter pack.” Although playable by a single player, the game shines in cooperative play, and through this method of play, you can experience the vision of the Switch hardware. The game is a blast regardless of whether you are playing it in TV or tabletop mode. Everything from the quick load time of the game software and OS to the snappy gameflow of Snipperclips perfectly exemplifies the mission statement of the Nintendo Switch hardware. The puzzles are well-crafted with a good amount of variety and rely on both players to work together. As you and your partner discover the solutions to the puzzles, you will undoubtedly find yourselves come across moments of laughter, which makes the game all the more memorable. The additional modes are welcomed, whether they be the competitive sports and battle mode or the 4 player puzzles. Overall, it’s a game with more content than you would expect, making it a fantastic launch game and a perfect introduction to the Switch hardware.

 9. ARMS

ARMS is a unique game, and even though the product on release is a little skimpy on the content, I’m really enjoying it. The motion controls are very intuitive, to the point where I haven’t even tried the Pro Controller. And although the mechanics appear simple on paper, there’s a lot of depth, and the skill ceiling is quite high; even the AI can be brutally difficult. I’m still barely above the skill floor, or at least the AI makes it seem that way at times, but I’m looking forward to playing more of ARMS as time goes on and seeing where my abilities peak. The great art direction, character design especially, makes the game very welcoming to all players. It’s really something to see the Mario Kart 8 team branch out of their comfort zone and create their own take on a fighting game.

8. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

How I perceive the Fire Emblem series has changed a lot over time. My first experience with the series was playing the Sacred Stones on the Gameboy Advance. I wasn’t particularly good at it, Advance Wars with its disposable units was more my style, but I did make it to the credits at the expense of many casualties during the endgame. I hadn’t played another game in the series since Awakening, and Awakening’s accessibility and the lack of Advance Wars games made me see the series in a new light. I’m proud to declare that I beat Fire Emblem: Fates on Hard, redeeming my poor play in the Sacred Stones, and although I haven’t beaten Echoes yet, I’m really enjoying it. The game is different in just the right amount of ways so that things feel fresh, and the writing is so well-done that I don’t feel like I’m missing the self-insert characters from the original 3DS entries. When it comes to sound, the amount of voicework in the game is nothing short of impressive and the soundtrack is as incredible as one should expect from the Fire Emblem series. Overall, Intelligent Systems did an excellent job taking an entry that not many people responded well to in the past and turning it into an excellent one.

 7. Steins;Gate

Are visual novels games? Let’s not go down that rabbit hole. For now, I just want to say that Steins;Gate is great and should be experienced by anyone who likes visual novels or science fiction. I haven’t seen the anime, so beyond the elevator pitch of “kids create a microwave that sends emails to the past,” I had no idea what to expect. But when the game was available for $2.99 on PSN during the Golden Week sale, I bit, and I’m glad I did. Although the True Ending is a little contrived, the journey there is one that shouldn’t be missed. The characters are very well-written and mechanics behind time travel are well-thought out; Naotaka Hayashi did his best to make the underlying pseudoscience as believable as possible. Anyone familiar with anonymous message boards, otaku culture, and chuuni will find the script hilarious. Also, Miyano Mamoru, my personal favorite VA ever since his great job as Takuto Tsunashi in Star Driver, does an amazing job voicing Okabe.

 6. NieR: Automata

NieR: Automata is a really unique game when it comes to aesthetic; the art direction and music are a combination that is so unique it’s worth playing for that alone. The story is really interesting as well, and it’s probably of the best game localizations of all time, with its amazing English dub. The actual game design has a more tried-and-true approach, but that’s not solely detractive. The Bayonetta-like combat is solid and responsive, and the genre shifts whether it be 9S’s hacking minigames or twinstick shooter segments are fun ways to shake up the monotony. However, the open world of the game is somewhat empty and boring, even if it is that way for narrative purposes. And although the ending of the game disappointed me (it felt like getting off a rollercoaster right when it reached the summit), it was still one of the best games released in 2017, and a PS4 classic without a doubt. I was completely engaged from beginning to end, and I would love to see Yoko Taro and Platinum Games collaborate on another project in the future.

 5. Xenoblade Chronicles X

Xenoblade Chronicles X may be the closest thing we’ll ever get to an open world Gundam game. Although the first third of the game is somewhat dull, and the amount of systems they throw at you can be overwhelming, once you stick with it and get your Skell license the game becomes magnitudes better. The Skell’s vehicle mode and flight mode offer you so much freedom in how to tackle obstacles and where to explore. Upon obtaining the Skell, I couldn’t put the game down, and was addicted to exploring every nook and cranny, ignoring most of the main storyline until I felt my collection of mecha were fully decked-out. Xenoblade Chronicles X isn’t a perfect game by any means, most of the character models are kind of ugly, the story has more low points than high points, and the battle system isn’t exactly my cup of tea, but the exploration component of the game brought me so much satisfaction I was more than willing to look over the flaws.

 4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

This latest entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise is a large departure from the norm. Breath of the Wild is the kind of game that gives back the more you invest into it. If you just go from point A to B completing only the tasks and shrines associated with the main quest, you probably won’t enjoy the game. But if you’re the type of person who is willing to put off the main quest and head in a random direction, unlocking as many shrines and watchtowers along the way as possible, you’ll have a tremendous amount of fun. The game’s world as well as its physics and chemistry engines gives you a variety of ways to accomplish your goals, and the focus on shorter dungeons with well thought-out puzzles makes the game perfect for the Switch. The need to craft elixirs or food for adventuring in areas of extreme cold and heat are the only negatives I’ve encountered thus far. It just seems contradictory to place those kinds of limits on a player in a game about exploring. But Breath of the Wild is still one of Link’s best outings, and I can’t wait to see what the next Zelda game will look like.

3. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Last year I had the chance to play Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, and really enjoyed it. Ever since I finished VII, I was heavily anticipating VIII, eager to return to the old-school RPG worlds of Dragon Quest, and this game did not disappoint, but instead, exceeded by expectations. Similar to Final Fantasy IV, my favorite in that franchise, the game gives you party members whose roles are initially static, but the ability to denote skill points into several categories allows you to experiment with and specialize them. The story is a well-written mix of vignettes tied to an overall plotline, and the cast of the game, especially your party members, is just incredible. The battle system remains the classic turn-based system you want out of a Dragon Quest game, but benefits from the speed-up feature included in this 3DS port and the addition of the Tension system. Upon beating the final boss, the game isn’t quite over, and the segments that follow make one of the most memorable ending sequences of all time. When you play Dragon Quest VIII it doesn’t feel like just an old game, it feels like an eternal classic.

 2. Persona 5

Although Persona 3 is still my favorite game of the post-Persona 2 trilogy, I really enjoyed this entry. The new additions to the battle system work incredibly well alongside its stylish UI, which makes full use of the controller’s buttons to minimize the inputs needed for every action you may want to perform. And the addition of new elements such as Nuclear and Psychic ensure that all of your party members are viable in different areas of the game, something I felt the series struggled with in the past. The cast is appealing, revamped social link system is fantastic, and although the first third of the story is the strongest part, it remains enjoyable for the entire duration of the game. Fusing Personas remains as engaging as ever, although the filtering systems in place aren’t as robust as those in the Shin Megami Tensei 4 duology. The game has one of the strongest and most focused aesthetics I’ve ever seen. Everything from the soundtrack to the UI elements just screams “Phantom Thieves.” Upon beating it, I was already planning my second playthrough, which I’ll be sure to do before summer is over.

 1. Monster Strike

Monster Strike has no right being as good as it is. It takes the gameplay of the successful mobile game, removes the microtransactions, and turns it into a full-blown RPG with a challenging post-game, resulting in something that’s really amazing. The process of creating your team of monsters has a tremendous amount of depth. Not only do you need to consider the elemental strengths of weaknesses of your crew versus your enemies, but you need to take into account the passives of each monster, such as erasing mines or immunity to walls that inflict damage, as well the type of combo attacks they expel, such as X-shaped laser beams or explosions. Once the billiards-like battles begin, you need to carefully aim your monsters, adjusting the angle so that you can maximize damage to the enemy by bumping into them and setting off Friend Combos by bumping into your allies. The graphics are impressive for a 3DS title, and the story is predictable, but enjoyable. The end result is a game with the level of decision-making typically reserved for series like Shin Megami Tensei or Bravely Default. It’s an incredibly unique and well-made RPG, and is without a doubt one of my favorite titles on the 3DS.

[chloegrayportfolio]

Module Three - The Classroom As A Place To Be

Week 10 Progress Log

For this progress log task, I used personal instances from a wide range of grade levels, from K-12. I did this because I thought it would be more meaningful and reflective when thinking of these classroom rules to consider perspectives and experiences from students of all age groups.

Jointly Established: On the first day of Grade 4, we were called to sit on the carpet and give introductions about ourselves. After the introductions were given, my teacher brought forward a large sheet of paper and used magnets to stick it to the whiteboard. In the middle, there was a large bubble that said “Classroom Rules”. My classmates and myself looked at each other with confusion as to why the rest of the paper was entirely blank, with one of my peers even raising their hand and jokingly asking if there were no rules. This brought our teacher to laughter, and then she explained to us that as a class together, us students would work with her to come up with set rules and expectations of the classroom to follow. For about thirty-sixty minutes, we worked as a class to discuss certain rules, write expectations down, and decorate the sheet of paper before deciding on its wall for the year. This experience was super memorable and rewarding because it is the first instance I can remember where an Educator trusted myself and my classmates as independent people, mature enough to recognize and create rules on our own, rather than relying on a teacher to do so for us. I also think this was extremely beneficial to the creation and establishment of the teacher-student relationship in the classroom, as she immediately took the time to speak with us, get to know us, and allow us a sense of freedom, rather than spending her first day lecturing us and establishing her superiority. I think this first day set a very positive, open premise in our classroom, as I hardly remember much conflict and tension (both between classmates as well as between the teacher with students) that year.

Reasonable: By my final years of elementary school, the rules seemed to become more fair and open, rather than limiting and constricting. My seventh grade teacher understood that we soon would be making the transition into secondary school, which was a much more independent environment. He understood that some of the school rules were much more applicable to the younger children and were ultimately unfair on the older students. For example, having to play on the playground at recess. He thought the constant berating of us with rules such as that downplayed the significance of much more important rules, such as handing in homework on time/academic honesty, acting appropriately in the classroom, and treating others with kindness. His ability to give us space and let us breathe regarding “smaller” rules, and in turn prioritizing rules that lead to student success was very logical and sensible.  

Clearly Defined: I remember an experience from Grade 1 in which the rules were not clearly defined and explained to us, leading to confusion in the classroom. One of the big rules we had was that we were not allowed to speak to our peers during class time—that was quiet work time. However, one day we were expected to work on a writing and colouring project with a partner she had assigned to us, and upon sitting with our partners, none of us spoke to one another. We initially did our work independently, saying very little. At first, she was confused, as to why we were silent, but slowly picked up on our confusion and explained to us what that specific rule meant. This wasn’t necessarily a negative experience, but it is an experience I can learn as a teaching experience to always be as specific as possible with my students, especially if they are that young.

Observable:  In Kindergarten, I remember many of the rules being things such as: keep your hands to yourself, no talking while someone else is talking, and treat belongings gently. They were very easy for me to follow and that was probably because of the specific, descriptive, action-based words used. Having observable rules is good for many reasons, and these reasons can apply to any age group, but I believe it is especially important and beneficial for rules to be observable in a classroom filled with such young children—especially as this is most likely one of their earliest exposures to rules an authority outside of their family. Having observable rules lessens the chance of confusion, which contributes to a more effective classroom.

Positive:  My eleventh grade French teacher was a very fiery, passionate, positive presence within our lives as well as within the school. She was not strict at all and everyone liked her. However, this did not mean she had no rules within the classroom. She did have many rules—just as many rules as the average teacher throughout my years of schooling had. Rather, the difference was how these rules were presented to us. Rather than framing and wording them in a negative way that emphasized the wrongdoing and its following punishments and consequences, she framed all rules without negative language, such a “no”, “stop”, and “never”. At the time, I never really realized, noticed, or appreciated it, but upon looking back and reflecting, the modification of her language to be less hostile and controlling really did have a positive impact on us students in her classroom. Students were less likely to “challenge” her, because there was not much to challenge, which led to more efficient and effective use of classroom time overall.

Succinct: My fifth-grade teacher was a very no-nonsense woman who did not spend even a minute of extra time on something she deemed unworthy of it. Sometimes this short attitude was frustrating, but when it came to her explaining the rules, it was a blessing. I have had far too many teachers spend an excessive amount of time going over rules, leaving us students restless for the rest of class time. This teacher definitely spent no more than ten minutes on the rules, and we were able to spend more time on things that she felt mattered more, like our first homework assignment. If anything, the little time spent on rules left a positive first-impression on us, as we weren’t immediately restless and annoyed due to first-day redundancy.

Few in number:  By the final year of high school, you have had every rule in the book read to you in every possible way. At that point, it feels so redundant and repetitive that the constant reminder of these rules almost makes you want to break them out of annoyance. I think a lot of teachers at a Grade 12 level understand this annoyance and frustration their students can feel, especially when they have heard these same rules for the last 13 years and want nothing more than to move on to the freedoms of Post Secondary and/or life. One teacher who expressed their understanding regarding our general annoyance was my History teacher in Grade 12. On the first day of class, rather than being met with a sheet of paper explaining each classroom expectation he had, he told us “You have been hearing this since you were five years old. All I will say is do your work on time, do not be loud and disruptive, respect your classmates, and cell-phone use is permitted once work is complete. I think you all know how to act in a classroom”. His briefness regarding classroom expectations not only showed his immediate trust, belief, and faith in his students, but it also removed a barrier of superiority many Educators tend to be walled behind. We knew we could be open with him, and we did not have to spend three months trying to judge his character. Additionally, the short amount of time spent on rules on that first day allowed him to give us a more in-depth course description and a chance to read through the textbook, while most other teachers ended up keeping us in for a extra few minutes so they could rush through extremely important course information after the spending the majority of their time on basic rules.

Enforceable: In grade ten, I had a Social Studies teacher who absolutely despised cellphones. Her hatred was justified, however, it caused her to act in impulsive, negative ways that ultimately led to the creation of rules she did not know how to handle or enforce. Once specific instance was her idea of having a “Cellphone Jail”, which was a basket you placed your cellphone in upon entry to the classroom. The idea itself wasn’t bad, and I know it has been correctly implemented in many classroom settings, but she soon realized was unable to enforce this Cellphone Jail for two main reasons:

Due to very little available Computer Lab/IPad time, she often had us use our cellphones for research purposes, such as for the research and discussion of current events. How could she have expected us to research with no resources? The situation that actually led to her stopping the use of a Cellphone Jail altogether was a situation that reflected her inability to effectively monitor it. A student in the classroom had their cellphone stolen out of the basket and we were stuck in class fifteen minutes into the lunch break until whoever had it came forward. The situation was resolved in less than an hour, but it reflected the disastrous events that could come out of it. This also led to a breaking of trust between the student who had their phone taken and the teacher, as the teacher was consistently dismissive of theft-related points.This was a negative experience because this teacher should not have expected us to adhere to rules she had not fully planned the enforcing, executing, and monitoring of. Rather, she made an impulsive decision using her anger that led to consequences both for her students and herself. 

Enforced: I remember my first year of high school as extremely hectic. My grade 8 year had an abundance of students who were rowdy, classroom clowns who did not follow the rules. However, even the rowdiest of students seemed to follow rules in the classroom of just one teacher: the eighth-grade Science teacher. She was very strict with high expectations—she made to drill the rules into us more than any other Educator I met. However, along with her strictness and high expectations, she was an amazing teacher who was passionate about what she did and never lost her temper with us. Although, she did not give second chances and did not hesitate to make a point out of your wrongdoings when discussing them afterwards. She never once let something happen without consequences, but in doing so she never went overboard. This created probably one of the healthiest, most productive classroom environments I have ever been in. 

Constantly Evaluated: In Grade 6, I had a teacher who was quite strict with high expectations and little tolerance. This description may make her sound cold and harsh, but she was probably one of my most eye-opening, trustworthy, and memorable Educators. Yes, she spent a lot of time enforcing rules and laying laws down throughout the year, but she was also constantly working with us and let it be known that these rules were more for our benefit than her own. Whenever an incident happened where a rule was broken, whether that rule was related to respecting ourselves, each other, or our environment/classroom, she would stand in front of us and revisit the rule that was broken. She would explain the rule and discuss her intentions and reasons behind implementing it, then open the floor to us to have an open discussion about it. In that open discussion, we would talk about what was working/not working, ideas for change, and suggested minor improvements. She always took our suggestions, concerns, and ideas seriously—we knew we were heard. She would make appropriate changes and often revisit the class as a whole for a reevaluation, as so to prevent whatever incident from happening again. I think what she did was extremely positive because it showed that she cared about each student individually as well as her class as a whole—she wanted happiness, success, and support for each one of her students, and took extra steps to ensure that conflicts were avoided through the reevaluation of rules upon incidents.

Week 11 Peer Interaction Task

Take a minute to reflect on the relationship between the environment and your behaviour. Identify some settings where you feel comfortable. What is there about the setting that makes you feel comfortable? What things about a setting attract you to it? How do you feel when you are in settings that are cluttered or ugly? What type of setting do you think is most appropriate for learning? What do you think can be done to improve classroom environments to prevent problems and enhance learning? Have any of you put energy into creating positive environments for some one else? A baby? A loved one? A grandparent? Students? What did you do? What made you choose those things? Share these experiences. The idea here is to become aware of the importance of putting energy into physical space beyond merely putting up a poster. Answer this question. Would you permit students to sit where they want in your classroom? Why? When? 

The settings where I feel most comfortable are my bedroom, the forest, and near-empty grocery stores with poor lighting. What makes me feel comfortable in these settings is how familiar they are to me. If I spend enough time in one place, it ends up feeling like part of a routine, which really comforts me.  I am attracted to quiet, dimly-lit settings. Settings that I can be alone in and settings that are familiar to me. I don't like being in brightly-lit, loud, unfamiliar settings. They make me uncomfortable, unable to relax. However, quiet settings allow me to focus on my thoughts, dimly-lit settings don't irritate and distract my eyes, and familiar settings ease feelings of anxiety.  I like clutter if it's familiar clutter. I like the clutter of my bedroom and my friends bedrooms, but I have always hated being in cluttered classrooms, vehicles, or workplaces. It makes me feel distracted and uncomfortable. Ugly settings also make me feel distracted and uncomfortable. unable to focus or relax.  The setting I consider to be most appropriate for learning is quiet but not completely silent, open (non-cramped), and finds a balance between boring and overpowering. The reasons for this are: Quiet settings allow students to listen to themselves think and focus, but I have found (from my own experience and the experiences of my peers) that completely silent settings can feel stressful and uncomfortable. Additionally, I know many students were less likely to ask for help in a completely silent classroom, as it felt much more "obvious" and embarrassing. I believe in an open classroom layout because it's beneficial for the teacher and student to see each other. Also, this layout would encourage classroom interaction and discussion. The balance between boring and overpowering is in referral to how I have seen classrooms decorated throughout the year. I believe it's important to have posters reminding students of grammar rules and their potential, but I have seen classrooms with far too many of these posters—leading the classroom to appear as cluttered or busy, distracting the students.  A strong opinion I have is that I believe the setup of a "typical" classroom does more negative than positive for the classroom. When I say "typical classroom", I am envisioning a brightly lit classroom with single-file desks. The reason why I believe this setup does more negative to a class/student is because it makes the classroom feel more cramped/pack and less open, and it can also feel very lonely that way. I have always preferred looking at the faces of my classmates and teachers, as well as the open space of the classroom—when students are staring at the back of another child's head for over an hour, it can get pretty boring. Additionally, as a teacher I would not like single-file desks as I would not be able to see all my students clearly throughout the lesson/day. Yes, I would allow my students to sit where they want in my classroom. Of course, this privilege would be taken away with the presence of bad or off-task behavior, or issues such as exclusion or alienation, but at the beginning of the year, I would place trust in all my students to make the right decision and be able to self-regulate. I want them to have freedom and fun in the classroom—not feel controlled and constricted. No, I wasn't surprised by any of my answers as I have given a lot of thought to this before and am firm on my beliefs about healthy, effective learning environments.

Assignment 3: Gender Equity in the Classroom

Part 1: Summary of Observations

I chose to observe a classroom lesson off YouTube for this assignment. The video is titled “Jean Cole 4th Grade Frontier Elementary Classroom Discussion”. The instrument I used to assist me in my findings consisted of paper and a pen. On my sheet of paper, I wrote down each of the discussion questions given to assist us in our observations and findings. Underneath each question, I created two columns—one titled “Female Students”, and one titled “Male Students”. Throughout the video, I tracked the answers to each question. The first time I watched the video, I wrote under each column for each question. I then watched the video a second time to double check my findings and create any interesting notations I thought would contribute to my completion of the assignments. One of the reasons why I believe this tool aided me in my findings is its simplicity and accuracy. Its simplicity was helpful to me because I tend to get distracted and overwhelmed during assignments that require you to watch videos, leading me to lose focus on the task at hand. Using a simple tally system let me keep all my attention and focus on the lesson, preventing me from getting caught up writing anything while there was more going on in the video. Double-checking this system by watching the video twice and then creating notes on what I saw also helped me be as accurate in my observations as possible. In my group’s discussion on our shared findings, I noticed that at least 3 of us used a very similar, if not the same system, in tracking our results: using tallies based on the assigned questions of the course. It seemed we all went for something that was simple, ensured accuracy, and non-distracting, allowing us to focus more on what was occurring in the classroom real time, rather than what was on our paper. Something really interesting I learned from the group discussion on the shared findings was that despite male students, on average, seeming to be more “involved” in classrooms and the displayal of knowledge (answering and asking more questions, called upon more often, blurting out answers), the female students were more attentive and on-task. I find this extremely interesting as I believe it speaks to the difference in socialization of male and female children, primarily in their contrasting confidence and voice—boys are constantly seeing their achievements and power and being told how powerful they are in society, while girls are encouraged to be modest and humble regarding their achievements, with a society that silences them. Another thing I learned is the importance of noting how many boys and girls there were in each class—I hadn’t even thought about that until a discussion group member included it in their post. This is an important thing to consider and remember as it can really impact the results—for example, my observations found the girls to be more involved in the class, contrasting what we read prior, but the classroom I observed had many more female students—contributing to the results. My findings did not shock me, despite them being a stark contrast to what we are told in Mary Pipher’s Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls”, written in 1994. However, I understand that there are many factors that come into play with these things. The teacher I observed may have turned her classroom into a space where female students feel comfortable to openly participate in classroom discussions without fear of ridicule or judgement—but I recognize that there are many female students throughout the world that do not receive this same treatment.  In the classroom I observed, the female students were more active, contributing members of the classroom. They simultaneously answered more questions, were called upon more often, talked with the teacher more often, raised their hands more, called out answers frequently, and seemed to be more on-task (and engaged with the lesson) than their male classmates. The boys of the classroom, however, required more individual assistance and guidance from the teacher, asked more questions, and seemed to be more off-task.

Part 2: Personal Reflection

I went to school in East Vancouver in a generally accepting, progressive, leftist community—at least in comparison to other communities and neighborhoods I’ve heard of in Metro Vancouver. Throughout my years of schooling, both in Elementary school as well as Secondary school, I believed I was extremely lucky to have teachers who cared enough to educate us on many sensitive topics, including topics of sexism, feminism, and misogyny. I was also lucky enough to go to schools with strong female leads and presence in clubs and sports teams, and I grew up with many female members of school administration. I still do believe I am lucky in a sense, as I know things could be much worse, but it seems as though the older I grow, the more I realize how prevalent gender inequality and inequity within the school really was. Although I learned of this oppression from a young age and knew gender inequality and inequity existed, I didn’t quite understand that it could manifest in ways that weren’t so overt. I didn’t start understanding microaggressions and subconscious behaviors of men and boys in the classroom until I grew older, and if I am being completely honest, I am unsure if I am even able to completely recognize and pick up on these harmful behaviours today, due to factors such as socialization. However, looking back on my experiences throughout school, especially Secondary School, I realize how gender inequity has impacted me and my education in ways I have not given much thought to in the past.An experience that has really stuck in my memory and resonated with me as time has passed by is the experience of being one of six female students in my Biology 12 block—a class that was also taught by a male teacher. This experience is almost hard for me to discuss, because I now realize it’s an experience where I was complacent, accepting even, of misogyny unknowingly. It’s an instance that I allowed to happen and laughed along as if I weren’t the target. This is the instance of the “offended” reaction I got from the boys, and potentially even the teacher, of my Biology 12 class when I received a higher grade.  Some background information (that does not justify their behavior whatsoever) is that I was an extremely stereotypical “girly girl”, and I was quite close to a group of male students in the class. Sometimes I wonder if these are reasons that contributed to this treatment, however I recognize that women are belittled for simply existing. In class, I sat at their table, I studied with them, and we worked on our assignments and labs together. I was generally weaker in the Sciences and Math in secondary school, which led me to somewhat lean on others for support as well as ask many questions. Despite my understanding of Biology being on a “lower” level in comparison, I worked extremely hard throughout the course, putting what felt like more effort into that one course than all my other courses combined. This effort really paid off, especially in the third term, as we got results for a test back and had found I had done better than the rest of them. However, it was like this threatened them. Immediately, they started making jokes about how it was because of the help they gave me and about how I “needed” them in Biology. Even the teacher made a comment ,jokingly asking me which one of the boys helped me study for the test. This especially offended me, as this spoke to how he gauged my intelligence as a student. I laughed along and even made a couple jokes of my own, but I knew it felt wrong. I felt hurt and offended. The initial excitement of the high grade faded to anxiety and feelings of unworthiness. I questioned my own intelligence—Was I smart? Did I really need those boys? Did I come off as unintelligent in class? I was dwelling on these classes for the entire period and for quite some time following. It did not help that throughout the class, they volunteered me to answer questions I did not know and participate in classroom demonstrations I did not fully understand. After that class, I felt very anxious and on-edge sitting there. I tried to avoid the spotlight at all costs. I never let these boys know how this behaviour and treatment made me feel, because I considered them my friends and I’m unsure if there was any actual malicious intent behind their treatment of me. However, this is a situation that really highlights how normalized the belittling and minimizing of women is in society—it is so normalized that men, including the newer generation of men, can hardly recognize when they are the ones perpetuating this. 

Reflection:

I included the Week 10 Progress Log because it really helped me understand what makes a classroom run smoothly and successfully while allowing me to reflect back on how the classrooms I grew up in were run. I was able to point out positives and negatives, what worked and what didn’t. This is an effective skill to have, because as a teacher, the sooner you find out something will not work or is not working, the better. If classroom rules are effective, more time can be spent on real teaching, learning, and educational conversations. I think about the time wasted in my classrooms growing up for scolding's and lectures, and I think about how time invested into the creation of effective classroom rules could have saved us time. I included this in my portfolio because I think this Progress Log activity was extremely educational and useful, as I was able to apply real-life experiences to the effective classroom rules discussed. I included the Week 11 Peer Interaction task because I think ensuring the comfort of my students in the class is something I have learned a lot about throughout this Module. I am a strong believer that the classroom belongs to the students just as much as it belongs to the teacher, therefore the teacher should put effort into making sure it is an environment that each student feels comfortable, both physically and emotionally, in. However, I was unsure how I would be able to effectively ensure comfort for students. Luckily, doing this Peer Interaction Task as well as reading the responses from my group members really helped me in understanding how to make the classroom a place of comfort for my students. Lastly, I included Assignment 3: Observation on Gender Equity in The Classroom. I included this assignment because I think it was interesting to read about and explore modes of observation that I could potentially use in the future to observe gender equity in my classroom. I also found this assignment extremely useful and necessary, as I have seen and experienced instances of gender inequity in the classroom and how these instances affect how students learn. 

I think the Week 10 Progress Log task was one of the most helpful, eye-opening activities I did in this course. I believe that using past classroom experiences to reflect on the Effective Classroom Rules allowed me to create a deeper understanding of why certain rules work out more than others. I really enjoyed reflecting back on my past classroom experiences with a bit of a more critical lens as it allowed me to also reflect on things such as classroom dynamics, student behaviour, and student-teacher relationships. It is very interesting to be able to look back on past Educators, both ones I found amazing and ones I found average, and have my view of my experience in their classroom changes. Because I have developed an understanding as to why and how certain classroom environments were either positive or negative, I now know better ways to approach rule-making in the classroom. This Peer Interaction Task of Week 11 was very useful to me, as it opened my eyes to how I approach work. I tend to look at things on a “big picture” scale, when I know I should be focusing on more important, fine details. This was evident in that I struggled a bit with envisioning the fine details of my future classroom. I have always had much more general, vague ideas regarding the layout, look, and design of my classroom. Though my response to the Peer Interaction task does not reflect this, after having some time to look back on my response, it has really opened my eyes and made me realize that I need to be much more specific when thinking of things such as comfort in the classroom. As the comfort of my students will be of utmost importance, I must put sufficient time into the cultivation of this space. For example, a deeper, more reflective answer could talk about my classroom ideas such as the inclusion of quiet, separate work spaces, an art (self expression through drawing, writing, painting) corner, and the option of stools as well as a carpet. After reflecting on this response, I recognize the need for a change in how specific I am when addressing topics that require creative and critical thinking and am working on that. 

Assignment 3: Observation on Gender Equity in the classroom was extremely useful, educating, and interesting. I feel as though it also made me experience growth and development. I have experienced growth in how I notice inequity. Prior to answering the questions given to me for this assignment, I always thought of instances of inequity in the classroom as very obvious—if there is inequity in the classroom, the teacher will notice it quickly (ex: a male student calling a female student stupid). However, I now realize this is not the case. As a teacher, I need to go beyond and ask the questions and make the observations that will lead me to noticing gender disparities regarding participation and performance. As a teacher, I need to make sure the oppressed group (female students) feel comfortable and as though their experience in my classroom has been fair. Something I am in the processing of developing is other modes of observation I could use. Yes, the tallying system I used did give me accurate results, but as gender equity is something I plan to definitely measure multiple times throughout the school year with my classes, I need to have other ways of observation. Additionally, all students are different, so one mode that provides me with accurate findings for one class one year may not work with another in a different year. I think another interesting tool that could be used to observe gender equity is the pairing/grouping of male and female students to observe their dynamics in how they work with one another (how they approach work, how they speak to each other, etc).

Overall, this Module provided me a lot of insight into the hard work and effort it takes to truly make your classroom a comfortable, safe space. It taught me the importance of these spaces and the impact one’s environment has on their learning experiences and I like that we used some of our own thoughts, feelings, and experiences to come to an understanding of this importance.