Category Archives: Humanities

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March 30, 2021

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Was the Cuban Revolution Worth It?

This is a video made by Eloise, Emily, and Hannah. It talks about the Cuban Revolution and the aftermath of the revolution and it also talks about whether the Cuban Revolution was worth the sacrifices made. The Cuban Revolution was an armed uprising in Cuba that overthrew Fulgencio Batista’s government on January 1st, 1959. This revolution was led by Fidel Castro, who later went on to rule Cuba from 1959 to 2008. I believe that this revolution was not worth it because the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution was not all that great. Although the citizens of Cuba were freed from Batista and his corrupted government, conflicts between the US and Cuba and made severe impacts and influences on Cuba. During the Cuban missile crisis that was part of the aftermath of the revolution, leaders of the US and the Soviet Union had engaged in a tense negotiation that lasted for a week. This crisis brought the US and the Soviet Union close to war over the presence of nuclear missiles in Cuba and it almost ended the world. In addition, the revolution had also caused Kennedy to ban US citizens from traveling or making financial transactions with Cuba. The embargo on Cuba had also devasted the nation’s economy for more than 50 years. In conclusion, I believe that the Cuban revolution was not worth all the sacrifices made as the aftermath of Cuba was not pleasant.

From this unit, we can tell that most revolutions start out with a nation that has a corrupted government or monarch and that the nation’s society is divided into two classes, the poor and the rich. Most of the time, it’s the poor that leads the revolution against the rich and the corrupted. In short, revolutions are an uprising of violence that occurs when the population revolts against the government, most of the time due to political oppression.

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January 21, 2021

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Humanities

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“I Am Malala” The girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban

“I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban” is written by Malala Yousafzai herself, and is a story about her campaign for women’s rights for education. The central idea/ theme in “I Am Malala” is the theme of Women’s Rights, and that women should have the same rights as men. Malala, a young Pakistani girl who narrates the book, is very passionate about the equality of both genders and often quotes the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who regards this issue: “No struggle can succeed without women participating side by side with men.” To support my theme, these are the following pieces of evidence. “We have a custom called ‘Swara’ by which a girl can be given to another tribe to resolve a feud.” (Yousafzai 54-55). Malala had questioned why should a girl’s life be ruined to settle a dispute that she had nothing to do with? Malala had stated that she cannot force herself to respect a culture that treats women as currency. Another piece of evidence is “It was school that kept me going in those dark days(…) When I was in the streets it felt as though many men was a Talib.” (Yousafzai 112) This was a dark time during Malala’s life, her country was in chaos and she felt unsafe in her own town. On page 32 it was noted that Malala’s mom began and finished school at the age of six. At first, her mom was proud of being the only girl in school, but ultimately, she couldn’t force herself to continue. To explain this, when education is discouraged for women, it is easy for young girls to give in to what’s easier and more fun- not going to school- as they do not yet have the mature perspective on the power and importance of education! This book is by far the most inspirational book that I have ever read. Malala has been such an inspiration to many girls and women and myself included. I am not a big fan of Non-fiction books but after reading only the introduction, this book got me really hooked in. It was also really interesting to read about what happened to Malala and her village. After reading this book, it made me really think about the things around me and how lucky I am that I am able to go to ISB that has such a great facility and great teachers. This book made me feel grateful for what I had. I feel like Malala didn’t deserve to get shot in the head. But still, even after getting shot, she did not give up and kept fighting for what she had believed. She didn’t back down, she kept fighting for girls to get an education, to be as equal as boys. If I had to rate this book, it would definitely by 5 stars out of 5! I really recommend this book as it is really inspirational and knowledgeable.

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December 4, 2020

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Did The Boxers Deserve a Bad Reputation?

The Boxers do not deserve a bad reputation. The Boxers was an organization that wanted to protect Chinese culture and tradition and prevented foreign countries’ influence on China. They were furious about the idea that foreign countries were interfering with their nation, and their goal was to end all foreign influences in China. According to Walter Lefeber, a Cornell University Professor, American and foreign missionaries not only preached their religion but also sold their goods and products in an attempt to westernize the local Chinese. “American Missionaries were able to get into interior provinces of China [and] opened these provinces up to American business people.” (Lefeber) It is evident that the missionaries were slowly bringing more foreigners into the nation itself. The Boxers drove the missionaries away because they saw that the foreigners were threatening to alter and affect Chinese traditions and were taking control over Chinese lifestyles. In addition, “The Boxers also viewed Christianity as a threat to their traditional Buddhist and Confucian beliefs.” (Supporting Question 2.5) This piece of evidence shows why the boxers turned violent towards the foreigners and Chinese converts. Moreover, “Those villagers who had converted to Christianity, however, refused to participate in the rituals. Their neighbors suspected that this was the reason the gods disregarded their pleas for rain.” (Supporting Question 2.5) Although it was pure superstition, but the Boxers believed that the drought that lasted two years in Shandong was caused by the gods who were displeased by the Christians. The Christians refused to follow the rituals, for example, praying for rain. They believed that the Christians angered the gods which the entire province of Shandong have been punished with drought. When the foreign countries continued to force themselves onto China by invading and spreading their own culture, it was reasonable that the Boxers would fight back. In conclusion, the Boxers did not deserve a bad reputation because they wanted to protect and preserve the Chinese tradition and culture.

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September 30, 2020

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Theme of A Sound of Thunder

The “Butterfly Effect”.  is when a small event can have large unintended consequences, and, sometimes, a little thing can make a big difference. A small choice may seem minor, but it can affect not only your future but the people around you as well. A Sound of Thunder is a sci-fi story that talks about a man named Eckels who pays a time travel company to take him on a hunting expedition back to the age of the dinosaurs, hoping to kill a Tyrannosaurus Rex. When they finally encounter the tyrannosaurus rex,  Eckels freaks out, steps off the path; a path that will change the future. In the story, Ray Bradbury shows how little things can make a big difference and how regret often makes people rethink their decisions

Throughout the story, Travis, the Safari Guide keeps on reminding Eckels to stay on the path: “‘Stay on the Path. Don’t go off it. I repeat. Don’t go off. For any reason!’” (Bradbury 225) The use of repetition “Don’t go off” highlights the conflict of the story. Later, Eckels asked why he shouldn’t step off the path and Travis replied saying “‘We don’t want to change the future. We don’t belong here in the past… step on a mouse and you leave your print, like a grand canyon.’” (Bradbury 227) “‘Time can make a big roar or a little rustle in history, we’re being careful.’” (Bradbury 227) As the little thing of stepping on a mouse, the author describes it big, making a huge change to the world. As the story continues, Eckels made a mistake of accidentally stepping on a butterfly which caused a conflict in the timeline of history: “‘Not a little thing like that! Not a butterfly… no, it can’t be. Not a little thing like that. No!’” (Bradbury 236) By stepping on the butterfly, Eckels changes the path of history such as the spellings on the sign and how a new man was elected president. As the author made sure to repeat “not a little thing like that”, pointing out how important it impacted history. A small choice may seem minor, but it can affect not only your future but the people around you as well.

 

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May 31, 2020

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Comparing The Black Death with Smallpox

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August 30, 2019

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DON’T LABEL ME

Eloise Kang

 

Hi, I’m Eloise Kang. I’m a daughter, student, and athlete who is very playful and energetic. My mom is from Malaysia, and my dad is from Singapore. My sister and I take after our father, both of us are also Singaporean. One of my favorite Singapore/Malaysian snacks is Roti Plata, It’s very crispy.

 

I’m a person who gets carsick often when going on a long trip to a city or a road trip. I would start to get dizzy and want to throw up. I always hate it when I get carsick. Like I said before, I’m very athletic. I’m a runner, a swimmer, and a baller. My favorite subjects at school are P.E ( physical education), visual arts, drama, and concert orchestra. I’m s REALLY REALLY big fan of K-pop. My two favorite boy groups are BTS and Stray Kids. My favorite in BTS is Jungkook. He is good at anything. I like two people from Stray kids. Those two are Jeongin and Hyunjin. My bestie that I will love forever is food. Food is my bestie. I LOVE food. I eat a lot of meat. However, people don’t believe it. They think I eat very little food, but it’s the opposite way around. I really like dogs and cats but, I prefer dogs more. During the weekends, when I don’t have class, I would usually help my Aiyi or my mother cook breakfast, lunch or dinner. I also love to shop for clothes and skincare products. One of my favorite drinks is Yakult. I’m a person who gets a bit aggressive towards other people if they start to annoy me. I also think wolves and lions are pretty cute. Four of my favorite TV series are 13 reasons why,  To all the boys I loved before, Riverdale, and Love alarm. I like going on YouTube and Netflix. I’m more of a night owl than a morning bird. But I can also wake up early IF I don’t sleep after eleven pm. I really like Cheetos, Jolly Ranchers, starburst and a lot of other snacks.

 

DON’T LABEL ME

 

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February 12, 2019

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Humanities

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Day One Mesopotamia Simulation Reflection

Day One Mesopotamia Simulation Reflection

 

Today during humanities, we did a simulation about Ancient Mesopotamia. The simulation was split into 5 teams. Each team had to finish 4 tasks before making the secret invention. My team decided that Sophia and I would start working on the written languages while Steven and Sayi were working on writing laws. Sophia and I finished early so Sophia starting working on “building” a temple while I was working on trading in the trading circle. I kept trading until our group didn’t have extra resources. We had most of the supplies, but we were still missing two resources: tape and a rubber band. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to the secret invention, but the secret invention was the catapult. Ms.Shannon said that the catapult was important in the ancient days because that’s how you can conquer other countries and steal their resources. My job in my group was mostly trading resources and also drawing the written language.

I think our biggest accomplishment was being able to find most of the resources even though we didn’t have a lot of resources. I also think that the weakest point of our civilization was not being able to have a lot of natural resources to trade with but this is the reality.

If I could change this simulation, I would change my basket of resources with another team basket with a lot of resources to use and trade.