Morgan Lee, Period 1, 09/29/2023

Socio-political Consciousness

• CHOOSE a topic below and discuss your thoughts and feelings:
• Current topics around inequity, oppression, and/or power.
• Current events that incite strong feelings in you.

How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

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Morgan Lee, Period 1, 9/29/2023, Modern Mythology 2024



Socio-political Consciousness



Rights.


It seems like such a simple word doesn’t it? Such an easy concept to understand.


It’s fundamental to this country’s origin, its birth. Our Founding Fathers declared independence because they felt that their rights were infringed upon. They then took it upon themselves to make the Constitution, a document that would ensure equal rights for all residing in this country (except for black people, women, and poor people, aren’t we already off to a great start?).


Growing up in a middle-class family in New York City, I never really felt my rights being violated. I was fortunate enough to not have to face the hardships and inequalities of this country. But as I grew older, my worldview expanded, and I started to notice the faults in our system. I saw how some people have to work tirelessly just to keep themselves afloat, I noticed how women are treated by men just for wearing a dress, I noticed how black people are treated differently compared to white people. While I had never felt these inequalities firsthand, I began to wonder how our government could be letting all of this happen, while they prided themselves on providing equal rights for all.


This brings me back to my original point about rights. As we’ve all learned in any basic social studies course, rights include being able to vote, being able to practice one’s faith, being able to speak freely, and being able to express ourselves however we please. Thankfully, the scope of these rights have also been expanded since the 1700s to include people of color and women. In theory, everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, religion, and class should be treated equally. Essentially, everyone should have the freedom to live as themselves without fear of being seen as “less than” or even harmed, but that's clearly not what I observed in reality.


As I witnessed the inequality all around me, I sympathized with those being treated unfairly and would even find myself trying to educate myself better on their issues. The #MeToo movement and the BLM movement allowed me to become more knowledgeable about the injustices of this world, and yet, I have yet to truly understand them myself. Until I saw people like me have their rights restricted.


Something about me, I am a Queer person, a very hotly discussed group in today’s socio-political climate. Unfortunately, most of the press I see about my community doesn’t have the most positive content. While the community on the whole does face prejudice, I will be focusing specifically on the attacks on the rights of queer youth and will be speaking from my own point of view.


I figured out I was queer when I was in 7th grade, and ever since then, it has been a journey of trying to figure out my identity and trying to live as my most authentic self. It has not, and still isn’t an easy part of my life to navigate. Even though I am not out to my parents, school has provided a sort of sanctuary for me, where I could use the pronouns and names that I am the most comfortable with, where teachers would respect and validate how I feel, where my friends can be there to support me every step of the way. So imagine how I felt when I saw that kids like me were having their rights stripped away.


When I first saw the news that book bans were being instated in certain states, specifically targeting books that have queer themes, I was shocked. This act directly infringes on the right of freedom of speech, and it can also directly harm a kid's well-being. The reason that these books were banned was because they were seen as “sexual” and “provocative” and “inappropriate” to young kids. This reasoning is fundamentally flawed, these books only push a theme of acceptance and respecting other people’s identity, which ties into the First Amendment, which allows free expression. The people banning these books don’t seem to understand this fact. Instead, they are only focused on keeping things the way they are, instead of trying to expand their worldview. Furthermore, these books can have a very significant impact to a young queer person. Seeing themselves represented in characters, making LGBTQ+ people more normalized in society, can make them more confident and sure in themselves. These books help to reduce self-doubt and anxiety, and these lawmakers are ignoring the well-being of the queer youth in their states.


It didn’t stop there, I remember waking up one morning and reading the news on my phone when an article popped up about the state of Florida. It stated that if a student requested to use different pronouns or a different name than the ones they were assigned at birth, teachers would be mandated to inform the child’s parents. This was infuriating, to say the least. I imagined how I would react if I was put in that situation, as both a teacher and a student. As a teacher, I wouldn’t be able to have a clear conscience. A student trusted me enough to tell me a piece of information that was very important to them, one that they may not have even told their parents, whether that be because they are still too scared, or that they know that their parents wouldn’t be accepting, or other reasons. I would then be expected to, by law, immediately betray that trust and turn around and tell their parents, who, as mentioned previously, may not be accepting and mistreat their child because of that. As a student, I would immediately feel betrayed. I may have felt safe enough to express myself at school, but maybe not at home. Having a trusted adult out me to my parents who I didn’t want knowing would cause a whole slew of issues. My parents may treat me differently, they could be disappointed, lash out at me, or generally react negatively towards that information. As a child, I would feel less inclined to trust adults in my life, which can lead to problems down the line with authority figures. You can see that this law would have negative effects on all parties involved.


So why are politicians enacting these policies? They want everyone to conform to their ideals and what they see as “normal” and “right.” In doing so, they infringe on individual rights of self-expression, self-determination, and privacy. It doesn’t matter that the people being harmed by these acts are minors, they have as much as a right to these principles as long as they aren’t harming anyone or themselves, which they aren’t. These kids are just trying to live as themselves and these politicians are taking away this freedom. The politicians claim that they are trying to “protect the kids,” while in fact, they are doing the exact opposite. These politicians are afraid of viewpoints other than their own, they don’t really care about the kids, they care about keeping control, and they are using the children as the foundation of their flawed arguments. As long as the politicians still control the narrative and stay in positions of power, the children are just a means to an end.


Once again, I feel fortunate to live in New York City, one of the most progressive cities in the world. As certain parts of the country become more and more dangerous for people like me, I can sleep knowing that I will be relatively safe expressing myself in the way that makes me feel the most comfortable and validated. But everyday, I wonder what my life would be like if I was born in another state. Would I be able to live true to myself? Would I be persecuted just because I like to dress a certain way? Will I be harassed for presenting in a way that isn’t seen as “traditional”? Growing up in an environment like that, would I even be able to accept myself and my identity? Or would I grapple and struggle internally with myself, without even being able to ask people I trust about such a taboo topic?


This whole situation makes me reflect internally, no one is perfect, we all have biases and preconceived notions of groups of people that we see as different to ourselves. Learning about them is the best way to prevent the situations that I have mentioned from happening. If these politicians had properly educated themselves, they would realize the harm that they are inducing on queer youth within their states. If everyone took time to learn about others, instead of making and acting on unfounded assumptions, we could all get along better. At the end of the day, everyone is just trying to live their lives without other people judging them and punishing them for being themselves. Essentially, everyone deserves to have equal rights, yet inherent biases prevent this.

Selina Chen, Period 7, 9/29/2023

Selina Chen, Period 7, 9/29/2023

Socio-political Consciousness

     Although we have progressed far as a nation, the issues of inequality and oppression are so deeply rooted into our society that it is impossible to fully get rid of. Through the last centuries, figures of history have stood up against the normalities of society at the time and stand up for change. All of these instances should have led us to a better world than before it, but sometimes it feels as if we are moving backwards and depreciating instead. Over the last few years, the number of hate crimes have soared like never before, especially after the worldwide pandemic. As the whole world was suffering from the same disease, we should have been united as one but instead, the prejudices buried within were displayed in the most violent and vile acts. During this time, I would look at the news everyday and more often and was disheartened by the hate that was happening more often than not. In some instances, it was named “The epidemic of hate” because of how widespread this was. I recalled a lesson about “Nature vs. Nurture” in my English class in middle school and puzzling events like these reminded me of it. Race really only has meaning because we give it and it's not anything close to the physical construct we often make it out to be. No child is born racist but they are incredibly malleable by their surrounding environment especially at a young age. A study conducted by professors in 2015 showed that at three years old, a white child would be equally likely to befriend a child of any race, but by the ages of 4-5, they were more likely to befriend a white child. They may not notice what they are doing at such a young age but as the bias could deepen and eventually lead to more severe acts. 

      As a kid growing up, I did not understand the severity of the racism so instilled in American society because I was mostly surrounded by Asian peers. For the most part, it would be the other students making fun of our eye shape, skin color, language, etc. I would like to say none of this affected me but in reality it made me hide such an important part of my identity, or at least want to. As I grew up, I’ve grown to love this crucial part of me as I started to see the hate crimes against Asians. Many people blamed the worldwide pandemic on the Chinese, calling it the “China Virus'' or “Kung Flu”, started by our president at the time Donald Trump. As people began to see a person of power and status targeting a group, they followed suit because after all, he is the one who is supposed to lead the nation and unite us all. This was incredibly testy because of the geopolitical tensions between China-US already happening and this just threw China as the scapegoat. These prejudices are rooted in a long history of xenophobia and exclusionary acts such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, and even the Japanese Internment during the second World War. Another phrase I have heard continuously throughout my childhood is the term “model minority”. This stereotype displays Asians as highly successful, well-behaved, and overachieving minority groups in areas like education, employment, and socioeconomic status. I could recall the number of times I would get a good grade on a math test and it would be dismissed by my peers because “Asians are good at math”. Some may not think this is necessarily a bad thing (I thought it was a good thing) but this phrase was used to downplay the struggles and systemic racism that Asian Americans still face on a daily basis. It also dismisses the diversity of  socioeconomic status and experiences that this group faces and even pits minority groups against one another. Addressing all of these aspects of society that needs change requires a greater spread of awareness, education and commitment to dismantle the race biases instilled so deep in society.

Tempestt Deschamps, Period 6, 09/27/23

 Today I found myself working on my website project, among other works with the Stained Glass Project. I’ve been working on my About Me page and the aesthetic setup of my website for the past week or so. When it comes to the stained glass project, I have most of my critical theory work done, just need 4 more petals and the general aesthetic to be done.

The website is looking good now. I’ve added several tabs to the home page and am currently working on making internal links go to the same place. I’m also working on my logo and deciding where it should go on the site. I’m currently attempting to think of some funny insertions to make, in order to make the site more entertaining and put a fresh take on the idea of a website to place schoolwork. I really just want the website to properly express myself, while still being able to elegantly display information. The duality of this challenge is quite an entertaining puzzle, in all honesty.

When it comes to the stained glass project, most of it is being completed at home. The main idea and story have been decided and the counterargument is in the making. The Cinderella story I’m viewing in a feminist criticism is The Princess in the Suit of Leather. I feel like many of these Cinderella stories are easy to view in this light, and I find it too difficult for myself to analyze any of these stories in any truly advanced light. Due to my incredibly abhorrent handwriting, the ideas are taking longer to transfer from my brain to the page, but I’ll get there in time. The feminist view and prospective counter argument are very interesting to contrast, especially while still attempting to stay emotionally neutral. The largest difficulty in this project is idea consistency and maintaining an observant lens. The story attempts to evoke powerful emotions, which make it harder to filter through the noise.

In short, the workload I’ve given to myself is likely more than I can handle, however, the vision I have for both projects has a very powerful final image in my mind. We’ll see if this vision comes to fruition.

Kevin Chen, Period 7, 09/28/23

Kevin Chen

Period 7

Blog 1 

Modern Mythology 2024

Social-Political Consciousness

Inequity can be defined as the presence of a lack of fairness or justice. For the over 2 million people who rely on the subway daily, the lack of priority given to them and the system they rely on could be considered unfair. New York City's subway faces numerous issues, and in many areas falls behind its European, South American, and Asian counterparts.

Coverage tends to be one of the subway's biggest problems. Many areas of the city lack easy access to the subway, such as residents along 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. When the 2nd Avenue Elevated was closed in the 1940s, the plan was to replace it with an underground line, but that has yet to be fully constructed. The city is still working on it today, with only the first out of four sections completed. This pushes everyone around 2nd Avenue onto the Lexington Avenue line, creating issues of overcrowding. Other areas missing subway coverage include Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, College Point, Marine Park, and all of Eastern Queens. Residents in these places have to take transfer to the subway via bus, increasing commute time.

The NYC Subway is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), a state organization. While they have made multiple favorable decisions, many decisions made by the MTA continue to be a point of contention. The IBX project is one instance of this. Brooklyn and Queens have lacked an interborough connection for a long time, and although that is issue is being attempted to be resolved with the IBX, progress has been very slow, and the proposal is far from optimal. In a recent study put out by the MTA, light rail was determined as the method of transit for the project, much to the dismay of many people in the transit community. Light rail requires separate rolling stock from the rest of the subway system, which means a new yard and new maintenance facilities must be built. Light rail also lacks the same capacity as heavy rail. Returning to the Second Avenue Subway, it's major point of contention is the cost. Large amounts of money were spent on consultation, which many people disagree with. Time and money was also spent on constructing full length mezzanines, when two smaller mezzanines at each end of the station would have been sufficient.

Speed and frequency are more areas NYC's subway struggles with. While efforts have been made through the installation of computer based train control (CBTC), it has yet to be implemented throughout the whole system. On the Flushing Line, where CBTC is present, end to end rides can be as short as 20 minutes. Other routes such as the F and N, where CBTC is yet to be installed, can take an hour just to travel into Manhattan from Brooklyn. While train headways in NYC are acceptable during rush hour, off-peak frequency is pretty bad. Not everyone using the system is traveling during rush hour and in the peak direction. Having shorter headways overall during peak and off-peak hours would make travel easier, and encourage less people to drive. Some of the worst headways in the system can be found on west end, on the D line. Riders here often find themselves waiting 20 or more minutes for the train.

Safety and Accessibility are another pair of areas where NYC falls behind. While other metro systems like the Hong Kong MTR are fully accessible, NYC is not, and so far there are only plans to reach 95% accessibility. The rate at which stations have elevators installed is also very slow. In addition to this, the lack of platform screen doors is a safety risk. There are multiple recorded incidents of people falling or climbing onto the tracks. NYC's subway uses an electrified third rail for power, making anyone on the tracks at risk of electrocuting themselves. Cities like Bangkok, Copenhagen, Shanghai, Tokyo, Jakarta, Seoul, Singapore, and even parts of São Paulo have had platform screen doors for many years.

Although there is optimism about the New York City subway's future, people are still frustrated with the its current state. Personally, more priority should be placed on improving and modernizing the subway. More funding and better planning could bring the system up to par with other cities' metros.

Of course, there is the possibility that I am biased. As someone who is part of the millions that use public transit in NYC, finding myself frustrated by the subway is easy. However, taking a step back and looking more critically at the situation reveals that it is more complex than just pouring more money into improvements. There are many conflicting interests, bureaucratic barriers, and of course, NIMBYs, in the way. Although I consider my opinion on the subject reasonable, there are others that may see them as more radical. The best way for me to continue to reassess my views is through communication with others. Hearing other's opinions on the subject is always important to avoid heavily skewed views. I consistently discuss with my friends and other people impacted by New York's public transit to exchange ideas and views.

Works Cited

“Hong Kong Public Transportation.” Wheelchair Travel, 4 Jan. 2020, wheelchairtravel.org/hong-

        kong/public-transportation/.
“MTA Accessibility.” MTA, new.mta.info/accessibility.
“Subway and Bus Ridership for 2021.” MTA, new.mta.info/agency/new-york-city-transit/subway-bus-

        ridership-2021.
Vanshnookenraggen, www.vanshnookenraggen.com/_index/. 

Jimmy Chen, Period 1, 9/18/23

Jimmy Chen

Period 1

9/27/23

Modern Mythology 2024

Learn and Literacy

My opinion on the reading covered in class was learning something new about fairy tales. I used to think that fairy tales were most nursery stories made long ago to help teach kids about a  lesson from the story. Now after learning more about fairy tales, I learn how fairy tales used to also have a darker or a more adult twist. Even though it has not been a month in class, I have learned quite a bit about fairy tales in general and its history.

So far, I have learned about the origins of fairy tales and how they became more popular over the years. This so far has widened my knowledge about fairy tales as now I know some fairy tales originally took root in a European country. Other stuff that I learned was the variety of ways a fairy tale was told. For example, in a certain perspective of The Red Riding Hood, there was a lot more blood and some dark humor added to the story. These different views encourage me to look at things differently, as many things could have different meanings if looked at a certain perspective. There is no correct way to interpret a fairy tale, as every perspective can be technically the correct way to interpret the fairy tale.

I have been able to apply different perspectives on a topic and look at a topic from multiple POV. One example could be a debate of some sorts and I would be able to agree with both sides, or even come up with my own side due to looking at things from different perspectives and including my own perspective too. This would help me come up with more solutions and probably make a better decision. Everyone’s opinion is different, but there is always some sort of reasoning behind why they could have that view, even if their view isn’t viewed the same by everyone or is frowned upon. Putting different perspectives into reading also allows you to understand what each character in the story thinks and how it could affect the plot of the book. This allows for better understanding of the book and makes reading a more enjoyable hobby.

Selina Jiang, Period 1, 09/28/2023

Selina Jiang

Period 1

Blog#1


Socio-political Consciousness


Some might say Artificial Intelligence(AI) is great and will make our daily lives a lot easier, while others say that AI should not be used because it’s taking jobs from humans. A lot of the manufacturing processes can be done by machines and greatly decreases the amount of manual labor which has it’s benefits and drawbacks. Things such as making sure products can be used and match the standards because machinery isn’t always accurate, and still need workers to do the task. AI being used in art has been getting increasingly more popular.


The main concern for people is the fact that artificial intelligence will take over jobs and make it hard for people to benefit from their crafts and hobbies such as art. The concern has been increasing the past couple of years as a lot of people have recently started to claim that whenever art is too beautiful, it is made by artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, there was this AI art trend where a filter automatically changes the picture you put in, into art. The AI art app Lensa uses “ Stable Diffusion, a model ‘trained’ to learn patterns through an online database of images called LAION-5B…it then ‘learns’ your facial features from the photos you upload and applies them to that art.” The concern people have is that LAION-5B takes images from the internet, including art made by artists that got used without credit or consent. The app price increased from $3.99 to $7.99 for 50 pictures, clearly benefiting from the trend. As the details of how the AI art apps and filters work spread, people started to try and inform anyone that they saw participate in the trend about it. They talked about how AI art was made from stolen art that artists spent time and effort on, some about how the artists could’ve gotten commissioned and paid their bills for the art.


Another problem AI art brought was that even though the art generated looks nice, it’s not as capable as humans in terms of details. One sign that shows an art piece was AI generated is if the art has extra fingers or toes. AI generalizes features as well and it often exaggerates and sexualizes pictures. An activist, Brandee Barker claimed that the AI apps were “perpetuating misogyny as her generated pictures had sexualized poses and exaggerated features. One twitter user stated “the fact that it depicts femme bodies completely nakes with zero prompt is creepy and can absolutely be detrimental to you one day when someone claims the art is based on '' an intimate picture of you. The skin color of the generated pictures aren’t accurate either as women of color had their skin turn paler as well as inaccurate facial features and body types.


Many art related crafts have been made easier with AI but that has caused people to talk down on people who do it manually. Things such as photo editing has been getting easier thanks to AI, however there are still people who are making a living from their art that they do manually even with all the different kinds of tools easily accessible. Especially recently, in the comment section of any art related videos that I’ve encountered, there are always a few people stating that the process can be done easier and faster on a certain app. Most people have been informed of how to tell whether something is AI generated or not, but some of them end up processing the information as if something looks unreal enough, they don’t believe it is drawn by a person. AI has caused people to question actual art made by artists because they simplify parts of the process too much.


AI generated art is only a small portion of what artificial intelligence is capable of. Artificial intelligence is capable of a lot of things, such as helping solve crimes, making healthcare facilities more efficient and less costly, and many other possibilities. New technology is constantly being created and used, artificial intelligence will continue to help aid humans with tasks more than impacting us negatively as a society.








Works Cited



“Human + Machine: A New Era of Automation in Manufacturing.” McKinsey & Company, 7 Sept. 2017, www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/human-plus-machine-a-new-era-of-automation-in-manufacturing.

Weekman, Kelsey. “Here’s Why People Are Speaking Out Against AI Art Apps Like Lensa.” BuzzFeed News, 8 Dec. 2022, www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kelseyweekman/ai-art-app-lensa-instagram-photo-trend-problems.


Marr, Bernard. “What Is the Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Society?” Bernard Marr, July 2021, www.bernardmarr.com/what-is-the-impact-of-artificial-intelligence-ai-on-society/

Jake Huang, Period 1, 09/27/2023

Jake Huang

Period 1

Blog #1

Socio-political Consciousness

Amazon has over three hundred and ten million users worldwide and remains the most popular online shopping site and app. They’re known for their high-quality products and excellent customer service. Today, Tuesday in the afternoon, it was reported that Amazon is being sued by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) led by Lina Khan and 17 states over multiple allegations. This is a major lawsuit followed by previous lawsuits such as Amazon enrolling consumers in Amazon Prime without consent and sabotaging their attempts to cancel. Unironically, I’ve been struggling to cancel my membership today and was not able to get a refund.

This lawsuit is one of the few that has been happening recently. Google is being sued for illegally arranging its business dealings so it’s the first search engine people see when they go on their phones and web browsers. Amazon having a similar problem has been accused of monopoly power, unfair competition, pricing practices, and seller restrictions. Amazon’s response to this lawsuit is claiming that the government is changing the interpretation of the laws and how it will hurt Americans, the economy, and small businesses. They claim that businesses that sell on their site can set their own prices independently to offer more competitive prices but it is clearly shown that there is a forced markup of almost fifteen percent of the total price of a product. This gives Amazon a commission making money off of independent businesses. In their defense from Amazon General Counsel David Zapolsky, “If the FTC gets its way, the result would be fewer products to choose from, higher prices, slower deliveries for consumers, and reduced options for small businesses– the opposite of what antitrust law is designed to do”. The antitrust law in basic terms is to make sure businesses are competing fairly and Amazon is being accused of violating that. The business claims, “The FTC’s complaint alleges that our pricing practices, our Fulfillment by Amazon offering, and Amazon Prime are anticompetitive. In so doing, the lawsuit reveals the Commission’s fundamental misunderstanding of retail”.

Personally, FTC makes a lot of fair accusations as I have faced a lot of struggles with the same thing. To start, Amazon takes a cut of every item sold which ranges from 6% to as high as 45% which results in independent businesses being forced to markup their prices to be able to earn money including more fees and advertisement charges. It’s clearly shown of favoring their own products and the top picks and sponsored items in search results regardless of competing prices have a higher rating or review counts. If anyone were to search for anything they wanted to buy from Amazon there would be a sponsored product that pays the e-commerce to advertise their products on the top of the list when searching disregarding the reviews, ratings, and prices. Hopefully, losing the lawsuit will result in Amazon making forceable changes to be in greater favor of users than the company itself.










David Zapolsky, Senior Vice President. “The FTC’s Lawsuit against Amazon Would Lead to Higher Prices and Slower Deliveries for Consumers-and Hurt Businesses.” US About Amazon, US About Amazon, 26 Sept. 2023, www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-ftc-antitrust-lawsuit-full-response.

Ritchie, John Newman & Amy, and Staff in the Bureau of Competition & Office of Technology. “FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power.” Federal Trade Commission, 26 Sept. 2023, www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/09/ftc-sues-amazon-illegally-maintaining-monopoly-power.

Selyukh, Alina. “U.S. Sues Amazon in a Monopoly Case That Could Be Existential for the Retail Giant.” NPR, NPR, 26 Sept. 2023, www.npr.org/2023/09/26/1191099421/amazon-ftc-lawsuit-antitrust-monopoly?ft=nprml&f=1006.

“What Just Happened to Amazon? The FTC’s Antitrust Lawsuit, Explained.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 Sept. 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/09/26/ftc-amazon-antitrust-lawsuit-explained/.

Elizabeth Fleyshmakher, Period 6, 09/26/23

     When we were first tasked with reading an excerpt from "Recurrent Ideas in Critical Theory"                it felt like my brain turned to mush. It took me a couple of read throughs to make some sense of the mumbo jumbo in front of me. The "Types of Literary Theory (Criticism)" simplified the concepts discussed and gave me a more comprehensive view of the topic. For me English has always been structured, broken down into key elements to be identified and analyzed to get the big picture. Since elementary school the "correct" way to read and write a text has been drilled into our heads. In second grade I was forced to transfer from private to public school midway through the year. I remember it was a rough adjustment transitioning to the Common Core State Standards English curriculum. I was punished with bad marks for failing to apply the strategies outlined in these benchmarks. Even though the idea of creating one set of challenging academic expectations for everyone sounds great in theory, I believe  it isn't realistic. First of all, who gets to decide which way is the right way to think? Why is New Criticism superior to all these other perspectives?  The goal of Common Core is stated to "help students graduate with the skills they need to succeed in college and in the workforce". In my opinion, although this approach is initially effective, yielding the highest results on State Assessments, it ultimately falls through once a student progresses past a certain point. You need more than the basic ability to lay out the plot structure, conflict, symbols etc to examine a piece of work thoroughly. Encouraging the fragmentation of the learning process limits a student's full potential. So much emphasis is placed on acing exams that we are blind to the complexity of literature. Studying text through one critical theory makes it boring and repetitive. 

All in all, the fact that there are a multitude of schools of theory is a foreign and exciting                  concept for people like me. These past couple of lessons have painted the childhood stories I've heard thousands of times over in a new light. I've realized how fluid and unstable literature is. How the way literature is perceived is dependent on the context in which it was created. How in some cases circumstances may make a book "one of the greats" while in others it'll be lost to time. How the relationship between a book and each reader is entirely unique. The study of the psych goes hand in hand with the study of literature. Our experiences, relationships, genetics, environment, behaviors etc all play a role in the type of literature we may enjoy versus dislike. What genres are fitted to our tastes. What characters we identify with. Additionally, a parallel between critical theory and psychology exists in the room for interpretation in both. There is no one definite way to define the brain rather, a whole slew of theories constructed to best understand it. Ultimately, I'm excited to delve further into critical theory and implement it in the future. 

Works Cited:

-Armstrong, Thomas. “12 Reasons Common Core Falls Short | Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.” Institute4learning.com, 22 July 2018, www.institute4learning.com/2018/04/26/12-reasons-the-common-core-is-bad-for-americas-schools/.

‌-Lee, Andrew. “Common Core State Standards.” Www.understood.org, www.understood.org/en/articles/common-core-state-standards-what-you-need-to-know.

-“Types of Literary Theory (Criticism).” Google Docs, docs.google.com/document/d/1rCcdJtiuQV2pJnVdaUTOa29Ntox3ibd4FTeR3Q0KCkY/edit#heading=h.9h6d9iwik21i. Accessed 26 Sept. 2023.

- Lesson 5 - Aim: How Can We Learn How to Read Different Texts through the Perspectives of Various Critical Theories? docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WBHmT4Nd0WEUzqWS5-_kdqoYRUpEyScaWQGoYa7kxFk/edit#slide=id.g983f194107_0_0. Accessed 26 Sept. 2023.

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Charles Gian, Period 1, 09/26/2023

Charles Gian

Period 1

9/26/2023

Modern Mythology 2024

Literacy & Learning




Write about your thoughts/feelings regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction

covered in class.

    In class on 9/22, we watched a Bluey episode called “Fairytale”, where the

main character Bandit gets “jinxed” and is unable to speak unless his name gets

called. It only finally ends when he does a good gesture for his friend and

someone says his name, breaking him from the curse. I thought that I really

enjoyed this episode, partially because we actually watched a Bluey episode in

class, but the rest because of how this episode exemplified all of the topics that we

were learning in class that day, and also some of the topics of the fairytale unit in

all. Here we follow the hero’s journey, where Bandit encounters an obstacle,

overcomes it, and transforms as a person due to the hardships that he had to face.

This also exemplifies the ideas of modern fairy tales, and also fairy tales in the

past, being used to demonstrate to children the importance of being a good

citizen in society. Fairy tales like these implement good qualities and personality

traits to children when growing up so they can learn from the fairy tale and apply

it to their lives when growing up. Later in life, instead of having those lessons be

implemented from having a talk with their parents, it came from a happy and

funny story which they watched when they were younger.




Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering

how that learning influences your critical perception.

    Rewatching the episode of Bluey really reminded me of the shows I

watched growing up. Growing up, those shows have also shaped me as a person,

whether I like it or not, as my young sponge brain absorbed most of the

information that I was presented with. Because I watched various kid shows at

such a young age, the overall principles of each show were instilled in me.

Although I might have forgotten the exact wording or what specific episode I

learned some information from, the overall message and values from those shows

are still working and fueling my actions. It’s evident that the environment you

grow up in shape you for life, and these kinds of fairy tales are a simple and easy

way to instill good morales and great values in children. This also reminded me

about the set pattern that most fairy tales and stories with a moral follow. Using

the information now at the front of my mind, I can definitely analyze films and

media that I consume now and be able to keep an eye out for any of the

stereotypical tropes or events that happen throughout. No matter what kind of

media it is, it can always be related back to the core elements of storytelling that

are evident in every other piece of media alike it.



How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

    As stated in the last question, knowing the information allows me to use it

to analyze everyday media that I consume with the same tropes and values that

were present in the Bluey episode we watched in class. Not only that, but seeing

the reason those kinds of shows exist also help shed a light on how we’re affected

by media when we’re growing up. Like I said before, children in their young ages

are extremely impressionable, and many parents are reaching out to kids’ shows

to instill lessons and values in their children without the risk of having the

children learn the lessons for themselves in real life. Although it was always like

this, the accessibility of the content and the fact that we’re all surrounded by such

digital devices makes it much easier for parents to leave their children with an

I-Pad or with the TV running than manually tell them fairy tales from a book or

bring them out to play in a park to learn those values themselves. We always

must have to keep in mind if the values that are being instilled in children are

actually good for them, otherwise if they watch dangerous content when they’re

young and stilll impressionable, it could lead to a much more turbulent future for

the child, and maybe even society in general. Remember, children are our future,

and they will act as they are raised.

Hao Chen, Period 7, 9/26/2023

Hao Chen

Period 7 

9/26/2023

Modern Mythology 2024

Literacy & Learning

In class on 9/14/23 we are told to read of the three articles and discuss them with our group and to pick out on line from the text that stand out to you. The article that I chose to read is "Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming" by Neil Gaiman. Before reading the text I didn't take reading fictional and fantasy books seriously and think of it only as a way to pass time. Of course I have read fictional and fantasy books like every person around me and have a fun time reading it. But what does it have to do with how I think or how can it be important to the point of affecting my will to reading. After reading the articles my opinion on the topic have changed. 

Reading the article I have learned many benefits of reading fictional and fantasy books that I never known before like how it will improve our willingness to reading, how it will increase our creativity through imagination, and how it will destroy a children's willingness to read if there isn't a place for them to read any books that they want. But what stands out to me from the article is this line "Empathy is a tool for building people into groups, for allowing us to function as more than self-obsessed individuals." Earlier in the class we discuss about the fairy tale Cinderella and I think that fairy tales is what will make this line true. It is common knowledge that fairy tales express the goods quality of people like hardworking, kindness, honesty, and empathy. As a child reads fairy tales such as Cinderella you would normally feel empathy for Cinderella being treated badly by her stepmother and stepsisters, wearing ragged clothing, and having to work excessively. But we can see the good qualities of Cinderella like the kindness and the hard working nature and these good qualities will later lead Cinderella to a good ending . This empathy children feel for Cinderella is what promote children to help out others forming a group of people are not self-obsessed individuals by following these good qualities that fairy tales display. This line have changed my perception on the effect empathy have on society.  

I can apply this learning to the world around me because I have a brother who is around the age of when children will really get into reading (5th grade) and i think that learning from the article I can apply it to spark the interest my brother have to reading. I can bring him to the public library that is around our house more often and let him pick out books that interest him more so that he will be interested in reading. Another way that I can apply this learning is that in the future when I have children I can read them some fairy tales to help them develop empathy and other good qualities that the characters in fairy tales show. 

Sources 

Gaiman, N. (2013) Neil Gaiman: Why Our Future Depends on Libraries, Reading and Daydreaming. The Guardian.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming 

Chloe Chen, Period 6, 9/22/2023

 Chloe Chen

Period 6

09/22/2023

Modern Mythology 2024

As an introduction to fairytales and an attempt to perceive ourselves as folklorists, we read an article titled “Why Grown-Ups still need Fairy-tales”. I always thought fairytales were for children because they were light-hearted and always managed to keep them quiet for a long period of time. Having three younger siblings, listening to fairy tales was a night routine for our family. Despite growing up in an Asian family, I have not failed to miss any Disney Classic fairytale in the form of Chinese picture books. But as I grew up, the amount of fairytales I continued to read has drastically declined because they were unrealistic. Even if they were different stories or different characters, the plots were always similar to the Disney stories. To think these stories had such gory and complex origins, I believe that my childhood dreams have been crushed after this class. It’s weird to think that fairytales were made for adults that detailed brutality, violence, and other taboos because it has been engraved into our brain as “children’s stories”. 

This article doesn’t just describe the distinctive traits of classic fairytales but also how people manipulate reality into stories. The article describes the life of Princess of Wales which was characterized as a “real life fairy-tale story,” with well-known characters like an evil stepmother, witches, and princes. While reading this, I thought of how delusional people had to be to bend the lives of real people to the stories they liked. However, upon continuation into the article, a new perspective was introduced to me. Perhaps people were just trying to find an escape from reality and find hope in the real world. Elements from real-life like abuse, lack of access to money, and struggles of the social class are depicted in these fairytales for adults. I reflected on my judgments and realized that I fantasize about the possibilities of life all the time. Like most people I’d wish that I had magic powers that would let me escape reality for a while. 

Learning about the disneyfication of these fairytales, I also learned how artists interpret and critiqued them. Through feminist lenses, female artists have created works that depicted injustice and societal problems revolving traditional gender roles. I never would have thought to observe fairytales and how they could have different meanings because they seemed to be simple concepts. When reading the annotations I made on the Cinderella stories, I realized that all my comments criticized male authors on the way they described female characters. Without realizing it, I was reading them through the feminist perspective. 

I thought that reading Fairy Tales would be light work for me because who doesn’t know the stories of Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. I didn’t think I could possibly learn anything else about these stories but the first few days of Mythology class has proven me wrong. I learned about critical perspectives, archetypes, and the different axes of transformations. But the biggest takeaway was that no matter the language, culture, or time period, fairytales are always told by the people and that interpretations of them are fluid.

Sources:

Johnson Professor of Classics, Marguerite. “Friday Essay: Why Grown-Ups Still Need Fairy Tales.” Edited by Beth Daley, The Conversation, 29 Aug. 2023, theconversation.com/friday-essay-why-grown-ups-still-need-fairy-tales-87078#:~:text=They%20convey%20messages%20of%20overcoming,and%20the%20benefits%20of%20courage.&text=Fairy%20tales%20are%20also%20extremely,punishments%20are%20ruthless%20and%20complete. 

Ethan Cadotte, Period 7, 9/22/2023

Ethan Cadotte, PD7, 9/22/2023

Modern Mythology 2024

Literacy and Learning

• Write about your thoughts/feelings regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.

The topic of little red riding hood was a bit of a surprise, most of the stories were about rape, and the one that surprised me the most was one of the earlier version whereas the wolf would cut up the grandma and put her blood in a bottle so the girl would eat her grandmother unknowingly. It was very startling when compared to the versions I grew up with that were very tame in comparison.

• Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

Something I learned from mythology is that every fairy tale really represents something that is very applicable to real life, no matter how out of the ordinary it may seem. It has influenced my critical perception by teaching me to find deeper meanings in everything that I do. Especially with other fairy tales, I try to find the meaning behind the story. For example, in the case of snow white we can see some meaning behind the difference between Snow White and the evil queen that is portrayed with how the queen is obsessed with her figure which drives her to near insanity while snow white is kind and is able to have many strong relationships with characters in the story because she chooses to be kind. While some may just see seven dwarves, I have learned to analyze characters and conflicts. Learning how to find meaning in fairy tales, especially throughout different versions, shows you how to look deeper into every part of life. 

• How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

Usually in school I would just do assignments blindly simply because I was told to do, but now doing things in school has changed for me a bit. In my economics class, I can really visualize the meaning behind a seemingly annoying assignment that just feels like extra work. In my physics class, instead of seeing numbers as just something I would have to maybe add or subtract, I can see how the numbers fit in the real world and what they really mean. In my mythology class I hope to use this realization to help me break down things like vampires or zombies that may seem insignificant but have much more to offer than what we see at first glance.

Ayad Alghaithi, Period 7, 9/15/2023

 Ayad Alghaithi, Period 7, Blog#1

Systemic Racism and Environmental Justice

Systemic Racism and Environmental justice are two issues that relate and intersect in society. These issues are mainly faced by people of color and other ethnicities. Systemic racism places a disadvantage on education, employment, housing, criminal justice, and healthcare and puts people of color into a system that they are not able to get out of because they are being fed into a poor quality education system that just feeds them into the criminal justice system. Likewise poor quality housing, healthcare, and jobs trap colored men and women in a system that gives them poor quality resources with no opportunities to grow. Environmental Justice plays a part in systemic racism because of the unequal distribution of benefits. Many of these people that are victims of systemic racism are residents of low income and poorly funded neighborhoods. These neighborhoods can have several issues with them ranging from poor placement near polluted areas to unsafe housing. Unhealthy neighborhoods face more disparities in health. 

Many efforts have been made to address and bring change to the issue of systemic racism and environmental justice. For example the murder of George Floyd acted as a spark for global protests and for the Black Lives Matter movement. Hundreds of protests happened, demanding an end to police brutality and states putting in police reforms as a result and starting to solve systemic racism. Environmental justice has also been addressed in many ways by activists advocating for safe houses, stricter regulations, and government investments in neglected communities. 

I personally see this happening everyday in communities that I live in, children in the communities are given a poor level education by the school systems and what happens is children end up on the streets. Even many adults don’t receive opportunities for employment and are often unemployed and end up turning to illegal substances or cope or to even make money, this is also due to the lack of education in the communities. I believe with better education systems and increased care to communities like these, there could be great change in the economy and in the people. 

Amy Chen, Period 6, 9/18/24

 Amy Chen, Period 6, 9/8/24, Modern Mythology 2024

Literacy & Learning

Write about your thoughts/feelings regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.

It was interesting to read through all the different variations of Cinderella and see the little differences between them. Every story, depending on the culture of origin had their own unique elements that separated it from the rest of the stories, such as in “The Princess in the Suit of Leather”, the traditional shoe we know of from Disney’s adaptation is replaced with an anklet, an item with much greater significant meaning in Egyptian culture, as traditionally Ancient Egyptians did have much emphasis on footwear and anklets were used by upper-class women to show off their status. Despite the various differences between each version, there were still some archetypes that remained constant throughout every retelling. There would be a damsel in distress, almost always portrayed as a kind and beautiful heroine (with the exception “The Story of the Black Cow” which featured a male version of Cinderella), saved from their abusers by a Prince Charming, followed by a wedding and a happily ever after. 

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

Today we learned about the many different types of critical perception and how ultimately every narrative is subjective. Every work is up to the individual and every interpretation will be different as a reader can interpret works differently from the author and other readers. Every work can even contradict itself as there is no definitive or absolute meaning, as the meaning is only derived from what the reader sees. Different perspectives can transform a single story into vastly different viewpoints. I learned to not look for a specific “correct” viewpoint as what constitutes as correct will change depending on the angle that is taken when reading the story. If a story can be interpreted from a specific perspective, then it is correct, as a perspective cannot be forced, and there are only different interpretations. 

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

Perspective is not only applicable to literature, but also to situations in real life. Everyone has a different standpoint, each with their own opinions, depending on the stance they take. In class, it was discussed how across all the Cinderella stories, with feminist criticism, we can see how when a female character is a villain, they are an absolute villain with no chance of redemption, and there is almost always a harsh punishment they are dealt. Conversely, when it came to the kings that had wanted to marry their own daughters, causing them to run away in fear, they suffered little repercussions, with one realizing the wrongness of his actions, and being happily reunited with his daughter in the end. We can look with feminist criticism at many things in our world today, with the unequal treatment of men and women across many different aspects of society. Like in Cinderella, women often take absolute responsibility for situations, such as a dirty house or unhappy children being the fault of women as it is often within their expected duties to complete those tasks. This is an onlook of the world from one perspective, and a different view would probably yield different opinions, as ultimately everything in the world is subjective as well, just like how literature is. 

Raymond Chen, Period 1, 09/15/2023

 

Raymond Chen PD 1 Blog #1

Socio-political Consciousness

With so much happening all around the world at the moment, it's easy to get confused in the midst of it all. One that particularly stands among the rest and has been a controversial topic for many times now would be racism. With daily news of how certain races are targeted or racially profiled. This topic has been an ongoing serious topic for centuries.

Racism is a very sensitive topic for many individuals. Many themselves have often been faced with racism themselves or seen, heard, and watched about it happening. For me personally, racism played a big role during my time growing up. From living in New York city to living in Irvington New Jersey, racism can be heard frequently. I would constantly be bombarded with hand gestures, remarks, and comments. Many would often pick on what I eat, look, and the way I speaked. Before going to school in America, I was in my home country.

I feel as though racism can shape one's personality. It can turn them into a different person sometimes. For me, I wasn’t faced with harsh racism where I would get attacked for my race but sometimes others do which is a problem everywhere around the world. Many nowadays have protests, non-profits, walks, and others. Although racism is spreading awareness around America, other places around the world may not be the same. They may not be educated the way we are but rather something completely different.

Welcome to Blogging 2024!

 Staten Island Technical HS Ms. Fusaro, Instructor
Mr. Erlenwein, Principal A Guide for Blogging 2024

Dear Class of 2024!

Welcome to Blogging with Ms. Fusaro!

I am very excited to have you here as I was the first teacher to start student blogging at Staten Island Tech (take a look at our published history).  You will become a part of a time-honored tradition in the "Gods, Monsters, and the Apocalypse" classroom.

Below, is everything you need to know about blogging for this school year.  (Which you can also find on our school syllabus.)

GOOGLE SHEETS VIDEO: https://youtu.be/ZRq1iE21tR8 

LINK: https://msfusarostudent.blogspot.com/ 

Technical Requirements of the Blog

• One student per class, per day, will be responsible for blogging.  Blogs are expected to be posted by 7:00 a.m. on their respective due date.  (For example: John Doe is in Period 7.  If his blog date is November 8th, he must have the completed blog PUBLISHED by 7:00 a.m. on November 8th.  This means that John will need to get his blog to the Blog Wizard in enough time for the Blog Wizard to post the blog on November 8th, 7:00 a.m.]
• The title of the blog should include:
• Student's full name, class period, and DUE DATE.  (For example: John Doe, Period 7, 11/8/23).
• Students MUST LABEL their blog with “Modern Mythology 2024.”
• Students are responsible for keeping track of when it is their time to blog by completing the Blogger Sheet.
• Blogs will be published on the World Wide Web, so we must practice digital citizenship and remember that our audience is GLOBAL, so our tone is FORMAL.
• If using any sources other than your own mind, use MLA-style citations. 
• How to make sure your blog is formatted correctly.

What should the blog content include?

• Pick ONE category and respond to all of the questions related to that category. Blog categories cannot be repeated except for Literature Circle.
• Please note that these choices are all linked to our POWER STANDARDS. If you have a different idea, be sure it applies to the Learning Targets of our Power Standards.
• Literacy & Learning
• Write about your thoughts/feelings regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.
• Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.
• How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?
• Literature Circle - Modern Myths
• Choose one of the selected texts to read.
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 
• The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec 
• A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
• Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
• Write max of two blogs about the book (halfway and upon completion).
• Do NOT summarize the text.  You may:
• Reflect on how this book applies to what you have learned in class, such as how it influences/changes/enhances your understanding of the topic.
• Give a reactionary playbook, either chapter by chapter, scene by scene, or event by event (whatever is appropriate for that particular text), describing YOUR reactions and feelings to what is happening and why YOU’RE feeling the way you are.
• Critique the text through a critical theory analysis.
• Research Paper
• Consider any topic we have covered in class to write an informational research paper related to some modern discoveries around it.
• How does our study of folklore contribute and/or connect to this new discovery?
• Socio-political Consciousness
• CHOOSE a topic below and discuss your thoughts and feelings:
• Current topics around inequity, oppression, and/or power.
• Current events that incite strong feelings in you.
• How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

When Do I Blog?

• Please refer to the Google Sheets Blog Date List to know your precise due date.
• Please see the course contract for the policy around lateness.

Sample of Excellent Blogs (They had different requirements)

• https://msfusarostudent.blogspot.com/2023/05/mars-reynoso-period-2-51123.html 
• https://msfusarostudent.blogspot.com/2022/04/selina-zheng-period-1-04-01-22.html 
• https://msfusarostudent.blogspot.com/2022/03/stella-vayner-period-7-32922.html 
• https://msfusarostudent.blogspot.com/2022/03/talha-gondal-period-1-02282022.html 
• https://msfusarostudent.blogspot.com/2022/02/nicole-duran-period-1-02162022.html 

What does your blog grade mean?
To achieve MASTERY, you must have written an in-depth piece that was beautiful, moving, meaningful, and on time.

Blog Revisions & Reflections
Blogs will receive a mastery grade within 7 days of publication based on the rubric above.
Blogs may be revised, edited, and updated if the student would like an opportunity to improve his/her grade. IF the student does opt for a revision, he/she/they MUST EMAIL ME with a direct link to the published blog to inform and notify me to check the blog again.

Academic Honesty
Absolutely any sort of plagiarism, use of artificial intelligence (Chat GPT, Bard, etc.), colluding, copying, or any other form of academic dishonesty will result in the highest possible consequences as well as banning from being publicly published.