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.