Analytical Essays

General Learning Outcomes

• G.O.2 - Comprehend a variety of texts (visual,verbal,print,multi-media) and respond critically, personally and creatively
• G.O.3 Manage ideas and information 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pcwuQNCu-Ik9tDukNxM6pBEMlG_lAcsD9bVCGV6mg6E/edit?hl=en_US&authkey=CKbjkYUE


Above is the link to my Social Inequality Essay for To Kill A Mocking Bird

April 11, 2011

Fear and Foresight

Shelby Sissons

            In life there are continuously decisions that you have to make that will have an affect on the rest of your life. Whether the affect is as simple as what post secondary institute you will attend or as serious as life and death they all have different outcomes. In the play Romeo and Juliet the author William Shakespeare seems to be implying that when you make rash decisions out of fear and do not take the time to think of the potential consequences, then the end result will have a life-altering outcome.

            Fear is an incredibly dominant emotion that can cause people to make extreme decisions without putting rational thought into them. In the play Romeo and Juliet there are multiple examples of how making decisions out of fear have tremendous consequences. For instance Friar Lawrence. He is a character that in the play made multiple quick decisions without thought. Although his greatest mistake was his plan to reunite Romeo and Juliet after the banishment. When making this decision the Friar was influenced by the fear of everyone finding out he had wed Romeo and Juliet. This caused him to make a poor plan that was not well thought out. This then lead to Romeo and Juliet’s untimely deaths. Another example of decisions made from fear is Romeo and his multiple killings. When he first slays Tybalt he is angry and not thinking clearly, this causes him to lose his head and kill him. When Romeo slays Paris he makes a quick decision based on the fear of losing his true love. Those examples further enlighten Shakespeare’s point that decisions made out of fear are poor decisions.

            Foresight is the act of thinking before doing. It is what most people use when making large decisions. In the play Shakespeare conveys that foresight is needed when making large decisions. One example of foresight displayed in Romeo and Juliet is when Juliet’s father, Capulet, arranges for Juliet to marry Paris. Capulet wanted what was best for his daughter therefore he planned for her to marry the finest. In doing this he thought he was securing his daughters future and making sure she was well taken care of. Capulet put foresight into his plan and thought he was doing what was best. Another example of foresight in the play is that of the Prince when dealing with the Capulet, Montague feud. He realizes that if he lets it continue it will end gruesomely. So the Prince uses foresight and enforces the rule of banishment. The examples above provide evidence for Shakespeare’s thoughts on why using foresight when making decisions is best.

            Shakespeare’s message of making decisions out of fear goes to a dramatic extreme in the play. Not all decisions made out of fear will lead to overwhelming death, and not all decisions made in foresight will have a positive affect. In the play Shakespeare was trying to imply by using such extremes that there can be a happy medium. You do not want to go through life never making a decision on a whim. No one puts in depth thought into every action they do. On the other side you do not want to never think and always just do. If you meet in the middle and use both fear and foresight when making a decision, you will have the best outcome of any.

            In conclusion when making life-altering decisions, follow what Shakespeare implies in Romeo and Juliet. Put thought into all large decisions; do not let yourself be overcome by fear. 

Reflection

        I chose these two essays to display in my portfolio because I am tremendously proud of both of them for different reasons. The Social Inequality essay was the first essay of high school, I did not have confidence in my writing as it was never my best feature and that lack in confidence caused me to write then delete, then write then delete every paragraph. In the end I was immensely proud of the essay I submitted and less importantly the mark I received (89%). The Fear and Foresight Essay was more challenging because of the fact we had to read Romeo and Juliet which is much harder to comprehend than To Kill a Mocking Bird. I was proud of the finished product because I felt I showed my understanding of Shakespeare's theme and displayed thoughtful examples. Also I improved greatly on clearly stating my thesis. If you read the comments Mr.K made on my Social Inequality essay he says I need to state my thesis in a clear and concise way and that is something I really worked on in the Fear and Foresight essay.

Defends a Position that will Reflect my Improvement

Link to Non-Fiction Book 2 page Assignment



      General Learner Outcomes

• G.O.2 - Comprehend a variety of texts
• G.O.3- Manage ideas and information 
• Demonstrate appreciation for the impacts of globalization on people, the economy and the environment   

Reflection


I chose first the Keynes vs. Hayek position paragraph on Alberta's Education System, because I am defending that Alberta's education system is more like a Keynes society and it shows how I have improved my writing skills. I admit this was a poorly written assignment and that I needed more examples to defend my position. That is why I chose the 2 page Non-Fiction book assignment for my second assignment. I felt it did a good job of defending my thesis and that I gave examples to back it up.

Growth in Knowledge and Understanding of Multiple Perspectives

Interview Conclusions

For the interview we had to question someone who has lived in this country for over 40 years and someone who has lived in it for under 8. The two people I chose were my grandpa Stan Sissons and Frank Kim a student who is my age. I choose my Grandpa Stan because he has travelled to most parts of the world and lived in Canada his whole life. I chose Frank because he is really the only person i know who has lived here for less than 8 years.
Based on the the results from both my interviews I come to a main conclusion of Canada is a great country overall but we have some downsides to. The reason I chose this sentence is because in both interviews there was pros and cons to our country. Some of the pros being our great job opportunities, education, multiculturalism, healthcare, government security, safety, space, great place to raise a family, along with many others. And some of the cons were being so far away from your family in another country, my grandpa said our government although better than most still not perfect, and a popular answer between Frank and my grandpa, it gets so flipping cold here. Overall the pros highly outweighed the cons and neither of them wished they could live some where else. Those facts about Canada say a lot about our identity as a country, we are looked at as the country that accepts all cultures and tries to keep the peace all over the world.

Reflection

The I chose these two assignments because each of them taught me to understand multiple perspectives and helped my knowledge grow. The interview assignment taught me how different people view our country, and opened my eyes even more to how multicultural Canada really is. The Fiddler on the Roof  venn diagram assignment taught me how take in and understand multiple perspectives while still having my own point of view.

General Learner Outcomes 

• G.O.1- Explore thoughts feelings and experiences
• Recognize that there are many viewpoints on issues in a globalizing world
• Understand the efforts put in place to by governments, to protect and promote languages and cultures
• Appreciate opportunities and challenges presented by globalization to the people of various cultures 

Knowledge and Understanding of the effect of Geography on Global Events

Chapter 6 & 7 Notes

Chapter 6: Cultural Contact

                  -To what extent does cultural contact affect people?

                  In the beginning (15^th Century)...                                                                                                                                                - Cultural contact between European explorers and Americans changed both cultures.                                                      -Indigenous people had different languages and governance, but all lived in harmony with nature.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            - Europeans competed for economic and military control.                                                                                                            - Set out to spread Christian faith and European values.                                                                                                            - European explores claimed un-known lands (monarch.)

                  Fur Trade…                                                                                                                                                                                                                        -Beothuk were not interested in fur trade.                                                                                                                                                -English fur traders competed with Beothuk for fur and food.                                                                                                            -Conflict began and English attacked. Beothuk numbers declined, and eventually became extinct.

Chapter 7: Historical Globalization & Imperialism

                  -To what extent should contemporary society respond to the legacies of historical globalization?

                  Early Globalization…                                                                                                                                                                                                      -People wanted natural resources not found in their land, and developed  international trade.                                    - European government developed a system called “mechanism” (government sponsored international business ventures to make European monarchs rich. Sponsored countries with good natural resources.

                  Early Capitalism…                                                                                                                                                                                                      -Economic system for increasing individuals wealth (free market/ competition)                                                                        -Adam Smith- believed hardest working people would succeed, and society would better benefit as a whole, or more profit = richer (capitalism.)                                                                                                                                                                                                      - Karl Marx- opposes “capitalism.”

                  Industrial Revolution ( 18^th Century)…                                                                                                                                                                  -European Countries were shifting production.                                                                                                                                                - Industrial Revolution – Increasing manufacturing.                                                                                                                              - Cottage Industries- company supplies resources; workers make products in homes, finished products are then taken away to sell.

                  Imperialism & Globalization…                                                                                                                                                                                    -Imperialism- an association between people that intentionally benefit one person over another.                                    - Eurocentric- strong belief Europe is the best

KEY                                                                                              Shelby Sissons

 Economic Globalization:

Market Economy, Freer Trade and Trade Blocs

Section 1: Multiple Choice                                 /5

1)         Who is the world leader for providing outsourcing services for Western companies?

a.         India

b.         China

c.         United States

d.         Japan

2)         Which of the following is NOT a term of the GATT?

a.         No country may be denied the right of free trade when said country applies.

b.         Trade must be conducted in a non- discriminatory manner

c.         Imported goods must be treated in the same manner as similar domestic goods

3)         At the end of what war did Poland, East Germany and Russia embrace the Free Market Economy?

a.         World War 2

b.         Cold War

c.         Korean War

4) In what year did Canada take a giant step towards Freer trade? And with whom?

a.         1995, with the Mexico

b.         1980, with China

c.         1989, With the United States

5)         South American countries believe that by joining South American trading blocs they will …?

a.         Grow and expand in population

b.         Be bigger players on the global stage

c.         Improve economic stability and increase investments

Section 2: Fill in the Blank                                 /5

6)          New technology decentralized international money markets and made the world seem smaller.

7)         End of World War Two, 50 countries around the world created United Nations.

8)         In South American trading blocs the richest 20% of the population owns over 60% of the wealth.

9)         The main objective of MERCOSUR is to improve economies by opening                      , promoting            development and                    the environment.

10)         GATT stands for                                .

Section 3: True or False                                             /6

Put “T” for true and “F” for false. If the statement is incorrect please provide the correct answer.

11)         CAN is short for Canadian aspect of Nations.

12)         Canada’s largest citizens organization is the COC.

13)         During the Cold War there were three major Trading Blocs North America, Western Europe, and Japan.

14)          In 2000 GATT had 100% of the world trade.

15)         The combined population of the CAN trade bloc is 90 million.

16)         The end of the Cold war was a driving force behind economic globalization.

Section 4: Matching                                           /4

Match either 17, 18, 19 or 20 with the their correct definitions

17)          Mutual Fund

18)          Tariff

19)          Common Market

20)          International Money Markets

A.           Markets in which funds that are loaned for a short time to businesses or governments are bought and sold.

B.           Combines clients money and invests it in a collection of stocks, bonds, and other securities.

C.           A tax imposed on imports to increase their price.

D.          An agreement between or among countries that includes the free trade of goods and services.

Reflection 

For this expectation I chose my chapter six and seven notes, which was a team assignment in the second mission, and my personal note taking assignment where you had to make a test from the third mission. i chose these to assignment because the textbook was the most effective way that I learned the effect of geography on globalization. I feel both these assignments display my knowledge and understanding because we had to go through and take the notes ourselves not just copy them from the board. Also the test making assignment further displays my understanding because after we took the notes we had to read over them and make questions for the test.

General Learner Outcomes

• Understand the effect of policies and practices of post-colonial governments in Canada and the world
• Exhibit a global awareness with respect to the human condition

Creative Writing Projects

General Learner Outcomes

• G.O.2- Comprehend a variety of texts and respond creatively 
• G.O.3 - Manage ideas and information
• G.O.5 - REspect and Collaborate with others

Reflection 

This was really the only project that I was involved in this year that involved some sort of script.  It was a scene out of Fiddler on the Roof  so we did not write a scrip but we had to adjust it to our needs. We had to cut certain parts so it was not so long and also gather costumes and film the video. This is a project that the end result was very satisfying.