I'm not fond of the Gifted and Talented Education program and you shouldn't be either - Persuasive Writing Essay

In the USA, during the mid-17th century,  the concept of school was first created. It was meant to help children mature into “good puritans”, however, as time passed, school became more and more focused on passing tests and achieving top grades. Although this may already be difficult for some, others find this easy and wish for more challenging work. Hence the GATE program was created. Standing for Gifted and Talented Education, the GATE program allowed students deemed to be gifted or talented a place to flourish and harbor their talents. Yet, this program is flawed as it often disregards student’s well-being, isolates students from their peers, creates an expectation to carry on being gifted, and is inconsistent in deciding who is gifted or talented.  

School creates a stressful environment by itself. Adding onto the high standards already expected of GATE students doesn’t lessen this stress. By forcing students into the GATE program, teachers are ignoring how the program will affect their student’s mental health. In 2015, a study was conducted on the mental health of 100 high-achieving students. The students were categorized as talented in either maths, physics, natural sciences, visual arts, sports, music, languages, drama, and history. Out of the 100, 46% of students described having a mild problem with issues relating to emotions (i.e. anxiety, anger, sadness, or impulsiveness) while 43% described having significant problems. This shows how the GATE program affects a student’s wellbeing and mental health. However, the GATE program doesn’t just affect mental health, but also how the students view themselves along with their peers.

Competition will arise between students deemed gifted and talented, and with the strive to be the top, it’s inevitable. Although this push for perfectionism may be positive at first, this will later affect the student’s social life. As gifted students strive for perfection no matter what, they risk missing out on a social life by volunteering to isolate themselves from their peers.  This hinders their social skills for later in life and their chance to create friendships with peers. Gifted students will also view other gifted students as competition, believing they need to outperform their peers. When they don’t, it leads to negative talk such as “you’re not good enough” or “you’ll never be as good as them”. This inevitable competition and need for perfection can lead to a student missing out on learning social skills and how to interact with peers in the future.

“We think that education is, above all, a preparation for the future.” This is how Professor Bill Lucas of the University of Winchester describes the purpose of school. But, does the GATE program help students in preparing for the future? Or does it make it harder to adjust to the new environment? For gifted students, it’s the latter. Gifted students go from being told they’re a special few among a few hundred to the opposite. They go from being a big fish in a small pond to a small fish within a big pond containing a few thousand other fishes. They become like everyone else. Alongside losing their “special” label, gifted students also have those expectations to live up to their so-called “potential”.  They’re expected to fulfill the role of being a gifted student by entering a career suitable to their giftedness. This pressure to excel and carry on their giftedness in a world where no-one cares about their “special” label causes conflict on what they want and who they are outside of their gifted label. 

But how is this label forced upon them, exactly? Well, it’s been found that GATE programs have a tendency to be selective and, occasionally, racist.  Focusing on the former, there is no solid way to tell if a student is gifted as it’s a selective thing. Different cultures and people have different opinions about what makes a child gifted or talented. The New Zealand Ministry of Education agrees with this, stating, “... Māori ideas of giftedness include personal qualities as well as abilities ....” Some schools will include personal qualities and abilities, however, there is nothing guaranteeing this. Nothing ensures that one school selects gifted children the same way as another school. In the end, every child has a gift or talent, don’t they? Why are the talents that benefit the school’s statistics the most important? 

Since the beginning of time, racism has existed. As time has progressed, this segregation occurred and, although it may have happened anywhere between 10 - 50 years ago, that separation still affects marginalized groups today. Why do you think so many African-Americans live in low-income areas? It’s because of racism. Unfortunately, this segregation affects who is considered gifted and talented. Someone who’s family can afford the opportunities of learning an instrument or afford books upon books for their child to read means that child will, inevitably, develop talents in those fields. In 2009, a study found that although black students made up 16.7% of the student population, only 9.8% appeared in GATE programs. Another study - conducted in 2016 - found that although a black student may score the same as a white student, they are less likely to get into a GATE program compared to their white counterpart. This hints to the subtle racism that lies within modern society and the GATE program.

Although I believe that it is important to allow students the ability to nurture their skills, the GATE program as it currently stands is deeply flawed. Through its disregard for student’s well-being, isolation from peers, the expectation to carry on the gifted label, and inconsistency with selecting who is considered gifted and talented, the GATE program has managed to fail at its original goal; to allow students a place to flourish.

 

Art Update

 This week in art I'm preparing to turn in our 1.2 work and - hopefully - to have more paintings complete. I am getting there on my paintings though. I've finished the second foot painting/ink drawing and sort of have an idea of what to paint as part of places that contribute to my theme. 

So, I'm still thinking about incorporating sewing into my paintings cause I like that idea a lot and also I was thinking of doing it before. However, I'm still not sure if I wanna do it on the skeleton paintings or not. The big thing also is that if I do it to the paintings then there's no going back so what I might do is print off another copy of it and do a whole bit to see how it would work. Other than that my skeleton drawings are coming along well and I plan on doing an arm next. 

As for my bigger paintings I still only have the room however I think I know what I'm gonna be focusing on as my subject matter(?). I'm not sure if I wanna include something with the shul but if I do then that means I have to go in and take photos which means I might have to talk to the people there. There aren't a lot of people I like at the shul except for like, 6 people and one of them is the wife of one of the guys that I strongly hate with a passion because I feel bad that she's married to him when she, herself, is really nice to me. Everyone else I'm not particularly fond of. I'm not sure how I'm going to distort the photos or make them seem off but I might mess around and try some things while at home. 

I think I've figured out a theme as well. I'm liking the idea of doing it about death and destruction of oneself if that makes sense? I don't know but I am vibing with it and did, like, a mini brainstorm about it and have some ideas. 

           

For 1.2 I don't even know if I've done it. We were given this slide to fill out to see where we're at. I haven't got many pieces of work to put on it.  

Art Weekly Update

 Mrs. Clemence was told me today that my word count on my blog this month isn't anywhere near the word count I had this month last year and she wants me to post more so here I am. Posting more. 

This week in art I ditched the painting I was working because I didn't like it. I'm not vibing with the colors of the walls so I can either paint over them or trace the drawing onto another piece of card and completely restart. But for now, I've put the painting on the back burner and start a different painting 

                                

So last week I completed a different painting of a skull and have started a second painting with a similar concept/subject matter just it's a skull foot. Miss Keene brought up the idea of having threads hanging out sorta? If that makes sense? Anyway, I like the idea quite a bit but I'm not sure if I'll do it for the skeleton paintings or for my main building/room paintings or both. I don't know but I was thinking about including stuff like sewing in my paintings but I haven't figured out how to do it yet and she definitely gave me some ideas. It just depends whether I'm actually gonna confront the fact that I need to think about this or if I'm just going to continue running from my responsibilities like me ignoring it is a metaphor for me running away from real-world problems. None of that made sense but it did in my head. 

                                                 

                               

ALSO, I'm locking down on what my theme is. I don't wanna tell anyone cause I'm scared that people will think it's dumb cause I need validation from others and if you think something I write or paint is dumb I will probably completely change my idea. And yes, I can take criticism. Anyway, I'm thinking of building on my idea of having a meltdown with linking it to the theme of loss of identity/death of self/death of identity or something like that. That's what I'm thinking of doing anyway. 

I have mixed feelings about certain Christians but then again, who doesn't?

 Preface: I have nothing against most Christians by the way. The Christians I, personally, have met are wonderful people. They’re extremely nice so when you’re reading this, you should know what type of Christians I’m talking about (hopefully). This post/essay is more focused on certain parts of the religion and those reading this should hopefully know what parts/people I’m talking about. So, this is not a personal attack - or an attack at all - on Christians as a whole community. This is more about my thoughts on certain parts/people who are involved with this religion. 

If you’re an avid reader of my blog, you may have noticed that last year I posted my mixed feelings about the Christian religion. I deleted that post roughly 5 days after posting it due to school starting 2 weeks later and being worried I would get in trouble. The reason for this is because I talked about why I had a weird distaste for the Christian religion which includes things such as the “Christian” holidays, the commercialization of the religion, bible thumpers, and megachurches. Since then I’ve still wanted to write something about the religion as I think about it quite often so here I am. That and Mrs. Clemence want me to post more on my blog because she reads it?? Personally, an awful decision on her part as my blog is an absolute mess but ok. 

The most obvious part is the de-Christianization of the Christian holidays. From the only religious holidays that are enforced on us being Christian or the fact that people celebrate Christian holidays after claiming they themselves are atheists. In December 2013, Pew Forum interviewed 2,001 Adults across the U.S asking whether they believed Christmas was a religious holiday. 51% believed it was a religious holiday while 32% didn’t and thought it was more of a cultural holiday. 68% of those believing it was cultural were unaffiliated with Evangelism, Protestants, or Catholicism. This shows how normalized Christian holidays have become, to the point where many consider the holiday cultural rather than religious. Then there is also the time off that these holidays allow. Out of the 10 public holidays that allow time off, 3 of them are Christian (Good Friday, Easter Monday, and Christmas). We get these days off whether you’re Christian which isn’t too bad after all, who doesn’t love a day off. However, speaking from a Jewish perspective, this is unfair to anyone who celebrates any other religion that isn’t Christianity or Catholicism. How come I am able to take off days for holidays I don’t celebrate but have to risk missing school work to celebrate the Jewish High Holidays - Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanna, and the first two days of Pesach. This goes to show how normalized it’s become to celebrate Christian holidays as secular rather than religious holidays. However, some of those that do view it as religious are most likely from the bible belt. 

If you read my connections essay which, if you haven’t, I’m deeply disappointed in you. In that essay, I “briefly” (well, depending on what you consider briefly) mention the “bible belt” states. The “bible belt” is a series of states located mostly in the south of the U.S and are notoriously known for being conservative, right-wing, bible thumpers. If you don’t know, a bible thumper is someone who aggressively shoves their beliefs onto others. These are the people that you typically see picketing outside abortion clinics or pride events while screaming about how you’re going to hell. It’s also important to note that they aren’t only found within the bible belt, it’s just that they tend to be raised or gravitate to these states. Bible thumpers are known for picking and choosing what parts of the bible they preach i.e Yes, God loves all, but only to a certain extent. Rather than believing in God’s message of “Above all, love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins” from Peter 4:8. However, according to bible thumpers, this doesn’t apply if you’re LGBT+, had an abortion, pre-marital sex, etc. Alongside ignoring God’s original message of loving others regardless of sin, bible thumpers also use the bible as an excuse for hating on others. In the end, bible thumpers don’t care for what the meaning of Christianity is, all they care for is an excuse for preaching their harmful beliefs. 

Most televangelists have also lost sight of what Christianity is. Televangelists are those people on the Christian channels that can miraculously cure cancer through the tv screen. Really, it’s incredible. However, oftentimes in order for them to cure your illnesses, they need some of your money or - as they like to call it -  “sowing a seed”. “Plant your seed and change will come,” they say to you from their lounge chair. Unfortunately, this money doesn’t actually contribute to anything. No change, illnesses cured. Instead, the money goes straight into their bank account and is used to buy a variety of things such as Lamborghinis, private jets, and personal yachts. Televangelists preach via scamming their audience. An audience that will usually be in desperate times whether it's financial or not. Televangelists prey on this weakness by exploiting it in order to find the money they need to buy their next house. John Oliver did an amazing episode about it and in the end, he starts his own church which is crack up(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y1xJAVZxXg).

Yea, I don’t know. The Christian religion has always had some parts of it that no other religion really has. Like, you don’t see a rabbi on the Sky TV channel 201 or anything and like, the way Christianity has evolved is just really interesting to think about. Obviously, not all Christians are like this cause the Christians I’ve met are really wonderful people. This is just stuff I think about sometimes. Anyway, I’m gonna go back into hibernation while I wait for my stickers from redbubble.   

Avatar The Last Airbender Scene Analysis - Close Viewing Assessment

Preface:  The scene I'm analyzing is this one. It’s the full cut of two scenes together (first half aired in episode 20 while the later half in episode 21) and the scene I’m doing finishes after Zuko gets hit by lightning. However, I would recommend watching the whole scene right to the end. Another note I couldn’t fit in was the ages of Azula and Zuko which I believe adds to the scene. It’s speculated that Zuko is between 16 - 15 while Azula is 14.

Few shows over the past decades have managed to touch the hearts of millions in the way that Avatar: The Last Airbender has. Created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and running for a short 3 seasons between 2005 and 2008, Avatar: The Last Airbender managed to impact not only the lives and morals of thousands but also how television shows tell stories. Throughout the series, various directors have used different techniques in an effort to tell the story in creative ways and no other director has used these skills so well in a single shot like Joaquim Dos Santos did with The Last Agni Kai scene in Book 3, Episode 20 - Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into The Inferno. In this scene we see the two sibling characters, Zuko and Azula, engaging in a fight known as an Agni Kai, a battle between two firebenders. Using techniques such as color theory, non-diegetic sound, set design, and blocking, Dos Santos could create one of the most bone-chilling and memorable scenes in the series (other than the Leaves From The Vine scene).

The first most noticeable technique used is the use of color theory. In the scene, Azula and Zuko are fighting with two distinctly different colors of flames; Azula fights with blue flames while Zuko fights with red. For the audience, this allows them to differentiate the two characters within the fight and be able to see each side moves clearly, similar to how sports teams have different colored uniforms. The contrast between the two colors also lets us feel the epicness of the fight. The bold colors against the dim background stand out and adds to the amazement the audience feels while watching the scene. However, that is not the only reason director Dos Santos chose the two colors. In film, blue is typically used to represent emotions such as isolation and sadness and by giving Azula blue flames represents how she has pushed everyone away and is now isolated. In the previous scene, we see how she caused this isolated environment by herself, how her madness and paranoia have overtaken her causing her to push away the only friends and family she has. Her startling blue flames contrast with Zuko's bright red. Zuko's red flames represent the warmth and love he has garnered over the series. The love of family from his Uncle Iroh, and the love he has gained from the Gaang - Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Suki. The two colors represent their journey over the series and the two paths the siblings chose - one of love vs one of isolation. This is further emphasized when we take into account the blocking of the scene. At the start of the scene, we see that those who were surrounding Azula leave and we don't see them again, not even when Azula is seen chained to a vent at the end of the next scene. Compare this with the blocking on Zuko's side: during certain points of the scene, we can see that katara is still there with Zuko. She doesn't leave him alone unlike the way the courtiers left Azula alone. We can juxtapose this scene with where the two characters are at the beginning of the series. We first meet Zuko when he is alone; he's been essentially exiled from the fire kingdom until he returns with the avatar, and he only has his Uncle Iroh with him - the only family member that loves him other than his deceased mother. This contrasts with Azula's situation, she has two friends - Ty Lee and Mai - and her father, along with the rest of the palace courtiers who all adore her. As the series goes forward we slowly see this situation flip, Zuko gains friends and trusted comrades while Azula loses them. 

A notably odd part of this scene is the use of non-diegetic sound. Typically in a fight scene, a high-powered song is used to emphasize the intensity of the scene. However, the music accompanying this scene is slower and more somber, rather the music resembles one that we would more commonly hear accompanying a funeral scene. The track has a steady tempo and only uses two types of instruments - strings and drums - for most, if not the entirety of the track. This creates a sudden feeling of pain and sadness among the audience throughout the series we hear fast-paced music to accompany the fight scenes. Using the somber music allows the audience to feel the emotional weight symbolized by the music.  Director Joaquim Dos Santos intended for this to happen as the purpose of this music choice is to emphasize the death and loss we see throughout the series, hence the funeral vibes. Whether it's the loss of childhood, the end of a once-great kingdom, or the death of a sibling bond. Contrast this with the interjecting fight scenes of the Aang vs Ozai fight. Their music is much more suitable, it's fast, high pace, and aids in feeling like the fight is intense. Although we do see similar themes occur - such as Aang deciding not to kill Fire Lord Ozai and refusing to give up his morals (spoilers) - it's got that grandeur aura about it that's been hyped since the beginning of the series. This contrast between scenes can also be seen in the choice of color palette and tone. While Aang's fight uses lighter colors, most being Earthy colors such as yellow, greens, blues, and oranges, Zuko's fight is far darker with a focus on deep reds, oranges, and blacks. This combination of palette and music work well together in providing the funeral tone Dir. Dos Santos desired.

A more subtle film technique used is the set design. The Last Agni Kai takes place at Fire Lord Ozai's palace in his courtyard, the surrounding fire kingdom is, ironically, on fire. The rooftops are aflame with the fire emitting from the fight causing houses and parts of the palace to burn. For the audience, they are able to fully understand how the surrounding buildings have been affected by the Agni kai. By having the audience understand the amount of destruction being caused, we feel afflicted. Throughout the series, we see how the Fire Nation has destroyed various towns and cities, in particular the Air Temples. Seeing the Fire Nation burn in a sense, is karma. They are getting a taste of the destruction and pain they have caused to the other nations. Dos Santos is also showing the Fire Nation burning to show the downfall and end of their brutal reign. Alongside those two meanings, Zuko and Azula cause most, if not all, of the damage to their own kingdom. By having members of the Fire Nation setting fire to their own kingdom - whether intentionally or accidentally - shows how the Nation has self-destructed with the amount of power they control. Because of this, the audience is glad the Fire Nation is getting a taste of their own medicine. However, because we know the destruction the nation has caused and how it has affected the people of the world, we feel some sort of sympathy for the Fire Nation citizens who have gotten caught in this cross-fire. This combined with the somber music emphasizes the symbolization that a kingdom has fallen and an era has ended. 

In all visual media, a common technique used is blocking. Although blocking is sometimes just where the actors stand, some directors use this technique to convey a subtle message. Dos Santos does exactly that with the placement and movement between Azula and Zuko in the Last Agni Kai. Throughout the scene, Azula is moving all around, attacking Zuko at all angles while Zuko stands his ground in the same spot. This conveys to the audience not only the two types of fighting styles within fire bending but also how the two characters have grown as people. We feel as if we have seen the two characters grow as the story progresses, as if we too have grown with them. The audience is also able to see the two paths the young teenagers have chosen; one of isolation and one of friendship. By having Azula constantly moving and using more tricks and forceful power, Dos Santos can show the audience what Azula values. Azula is what some would call "a gifted child", she showed immense talent as a child, therefore, her whole life centers on her talent. She seeks validation from others (in particular her father Lord Ozai) which she achieves by using tricks and flaunting her skills. Juxtapose this to the way Zuko fights. Zuko too wanted validation from his Father, however, unlike Azula, Zuko had love from both his Mother and Uncle Iroh to balance out the need for validation from his Father. In short, Zuko has received love from both his achievements and for simply existing, Azula has only received love based on achievements. This balance in Zuko's life allows him to be sure of himself and to maintain a confident, balanced stance throughout the fight. Similar to how yin and yan work together to create a balance in life, or how you need to balance the four walls of Hauora to stay stable. This causes her to feel the need to constantly be flaunting her skills and forgetting the basics of good firebending. This works well with not only the close-ups we see of Azula's face but also the brilliant voice acting done by Grey DeLisle. I believe that without the voice acting, this scene wouldn't be as powerful. 

The Last Agni Kai stands out among the dozens of well-written fights we see fought throughout the series. Using techniques such as blocking, color theory, non-diegetic music, and set design, Dos Santos successfully wrapped up one of the most iconic character redemption arcs in the history of storytelling. Dos Santos also managed to make us feel sympathy for Azula, one of the main antagonists, by reminding us of her unfortunate life. As time progresses new shows will come and go, however, Avatar: The Last Airbender will always remain as one of the best shows ever.