The end of the american dream?

"The United States is where great things are possible"

The American Dream is a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility achieved through hard work. The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Do you think this is true?

People come from other countries to United states with the hope of change their life but there is just a few people that can reach their goals, what as gone wrong?

Everyone knows that the United States has become more unequal in recent decades

There is a growing evidence that social mobility is also declining in America, Surveys have revealed a fundamental difference between Americans and Europeans. Americans have a much higher toleration for inequality. 

There is a huge discrimination with people who come from another country, specially latin and african people.

African people, latin people and other people are discriminated in united states, there are a lot of stereotypes about these people and there is really dificult for they to get a job and reach the social mobility.

The American dream is over, the discrimination and segregation are still a big hurdle to people who want to come out of the poorness, People MUST stop with the discrimination, if We don't stop, the things will never change...

Why the people are still discriminating the minorities?

As we studied in classes, the minorities had an important role in our society, because they tried to change something what was wrong in their days and tried to make a more equal world.

The case of Martin Luther King and all the black people who fight for better conditions in the US is a good example of it. His pacific protest against the discrimination of the black people, make a change in history.
Because it was a rupture of the segregation. 

The segregation was a terrible thing that consisted in the separation of the people into their own racial group. like black people only had to share with black people, because white people are different are they regard better.

In our days the segregation is over, but we also can find the discrimination against different groups, as the case of the immigrants. In different parts of the world exist discrimination against the foreign. If a person come to our country for vacations or business is ok, but in the moment when that person want to set up on our country and is finding a better way to live, is like a enemy or a unwelcome. Because is stealing our jobs, our opportunities, women, men and so on. ( Such a stupid idea, isn't it?)

I have to clarify that being against a immigrant is not my position, I have family in others countries , also I believe in the opportunities and I think that all of us is a foreign, even in our own country.

Also we can find the LGBT(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual). They are used to be discriminated because their sexual orientation. The church is against them, a lot of politics, communities and so on.

They just chose to love their same genre that they are, and I think that is not a sin or something illegal. Love is love, and that is the important thing. 

I don't know in the case of you, but I can't recognize a LGBT if I'm in the street, so, why or how the people discriminate them? Why they do it?

Why the people think that their are better than others? That really make me mad(or sad, I'm not even sure) 

Tolerance is such an amazing word and virtue, and in the future we have to teach to our students and children the importance of the diversity and the tolerance.

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"What we are now is a consequence of the past"

We are now the result of multiple events that took place long time ago.

The way you think, speak and even relate to other people might be involved too.
Why? Because you know how you don't want to be, and how you wish people thought about you, looking up to you.

Once we are inside (or we hypothetically are) a different community, country etc, and only a few are different from the rest;  What would you do if you were that few?
Mingle under the social pressure and forget who you are, where you come from? or decide to show your culture, your beliefs or your way of seeing life to everybody else?

In my opinion the most rational thought would be to show my lifestyle, different from their own so they could understand me where I come from.
But things aren't' that easy, some people just don't accept those who have "different" beliefs and collide with their own. They set them apart and sometimes even discriminate them for it.

This way, people from around the world often do not show to the world how rich is their culture and start to create communities to keep their traditions and because we in the first place made the difference.

And how is this useful? It is not. We loose the chance of knowing a different way of seeing life, things and all what it includes which can be pretty self-rewarding.

This way we let cultures to die, without learning about them or getting to know them.. we are letting part of our possible history to die denying it or even worst ignoring it. Because we can keep traditions and also be a "part" of this modern world, one thing does not exclude the other.


So here's a question:  considering that Chile is a country who has a rich ethnic history,
Do you believe we have forgotten our past, where we come form?

They are only clothes...

Hi classmates! 

Today I'd like to share something associated with my group's peer teaching activity. This is a novel called "A pair of jeans" by Qaisra Shahraz. But, first of all: Who is she?

Qaisra Shahraz is an English-Pakistani writer. She was born in Pakistan, but at the age of 8 she moved to England. She studied English literature and classical civilization at the University of Manchester and gained degrees. Her debut novel "The Holy Woman" (2001) won numerous awards, such as the Golden Jubilee award in 2002. Her second novel "Typhoon" was critically acclaimed too. Currently she lives in Manchester with her husband and her three sons. 

"A pair of jeans"  focuses in Miriam, a University student that very soon will get married with Farook. The same day she returned from Peak District, England their future parents-in-law, Ayub and Begum went to her house to talk about the wedding arrangements. What a surprise found that day: Miriam was dressed with a tight pair of jeans, a short jacket and a shrunk vest showing a little part of her midriff. Their prospective fathers-in-law was shocking by her way of dressing. Miriam wasn't  being the modest woman with a moral character and composure... or yes?

Was Miriam better in England? at the University with her friends?. At her own home this woman experimented discrimination by her future fathers-in-law even by her parents just by her way of clothing. This has become very important nowadays in muslim communities. It's part of their culture. But I think that this conflict has always been present around the world, sometimes people judge you by your clothes, by your appearance. I think that all of us have done that. We need to look beyond a simple trousers, a skirt or a t-shirt, we need to explore inside. Miriam was never a indecent girl, she was still the same. She just change her semblance, but never her personality. I'm sure that all of us have felt like Miriam sometime. Just remember who you are. You are in this world for something and the life is beautiful!

I invite you to read this story about cultural clashes, and reflection about tolerance. I recommend you to have a dictionary because the vocabulary is very very complex!

"They are only clothes, I'm still the same young woman they visited regularly, the person that they happily chosen as a bride for their son in their household" - Miriam.

The story in playdough style...  See you soon !

A pair of jeans Playdough style

A Little Bit Closer To The "Rabbit Proof Fence"

  For years  Australian Aborigines have wanted a public apology from the country's government for the stolen generation. They had it on 2008 by Kevin Rudd, the prime minister of Australia but this movie gives people both inside and outside of Australia an understanding of the plight of the stolen generation as well as showing a dark part of the country's past.

 

The First thought in my mind

 about this movie is the kids shouldn’t 

be separated of their mothers.

 And as opinion and information about some real conditions in Australia i want to say that the kids walked close to 805 Km. in nine weeks, that's about 39 Km. per day.                                                                                                                                

The movie doesn't even come close to portraying the harshness of the terrain and weather conditions the girls would have encountered. The pain and hunger these girls must have endured goes beyond belief and is a testament to the courage one can summon to attain a goal held firmly in belief. I was not aware of the history of the Aborigines Control Act or of the suffering imposed on a race deemed inferior by the colonials. In some small measure, this film helps both educate and inspire, and is one of those pictures that's not easy to let go. I encourage anyone to view "Rabbit Proof Fence" to witness just how far the human spirit can go to attain freedom and dignity.

If we take this to another side of the world we can find that in America at some point maybe they had a sense of superiority about the Australian people and their policy to that, in my opinion Americans shouldn't feel superior to the Australian policy wonks. They did exactly the same thing to Native Americans over a century ago, taking children away to mission schools to be "civilized."

 

Also as extra information I find that  Doris Pilkington, author of the book "Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence", is the daughter of Molly Craig (played by Everlyn Sampi in the film).

Saying sorry is not enough

A real apology goes beyond the words

On February 13, 2008, Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia, made a speech about the "stolen generation" and the rest of the Aborigines; saying sorry to them, to the native people and the real first settlers of that land, who were terribly separated of their own family, their own ground, but much more, from their own world. 

Kevin Rudd giving the sorry speech

The Prime Minister moved: "That today we honour the indiginous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history. We reflect on their past mistreatment. We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were stolen generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history". But right after, he said: "The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future".

Some kids taken away from their families
(the stolen generation)

Is it so easy like just moving forward? Is it just about saying sorry? Is just about apologizing and telling: we regret of the past, we're not going to do it again? 

I strongly believe that it's not enough. Maybe we think that is a good way to show how they don't approve what happend time ago, and that since now the Australian government will recognize and honor the Aborigines. 

This reality could be extrapolated to all the countries' history where indigenous were deracinated from their places, families and culture.

Yes, an apology is always the first step and it's very laudable when it's truly done. It must be the first thing to do but it's not sufficient. 

There's a good dialogue of an analogy that explains how forgiveness works:

The European settlement in Australia

- Take this dish and throw it away.

- Ready.

- Is it broke?

- Yes.

- Say you're sorry.

- I'm sorry.

- Did it return to be as it was?

- No.

- Do you understand now?

Aborigine

Words are not enough. Show them your regret, show them how history's going to change, show to the world you really care about them and show us you know that you hurt them. But show it with actions, no words anymore. Show that they were right and they're right. Let's admit that our culture isn't better or higher than theirs.

As the poet Oodgero Noonuccal said in one of her poems, full of inony: 

"No more boomerang, 

  No more spear; 

  Now all civilized, 

  Colour bar and beer...

  No more sharing, 

  What the hunter brings; 

  Now we work for money, 

  Then pay it back for things".

But this is not only a government's task, this is everyone's task. Both in Australia and the United States, as well as in Canada and Latin America, as in every place where some human rights were ignored, and there is no time to continue disregarding.

I make a proposal to everyone who read this post: let's honor the aborigines, let's honor the different indigenous peoples over the world, let's appreciate the first truly settlers of the land. Let's learn about them and let's practise what they taught us. That's the best way to honor someone.

Let's understand aborigines' knowledge and what the "dreamtime" is. Let's cherish to the simple things, let's connect with the ground and trees, let's take a walk to the countryside, let's see how the water goes down through the river, let's enjoy the colours of the sky, let's relax watching the birds fly, let's play with our brothers and sisters, let's hug our parents, let's listen to the elders, let's smile to the world, let's admire nature, let's respect nature and let's connect with nature. At least... for a while.

Let's forget a little  about tecnology, let's forget a little bit about money, let's forget a little bit about electricity, let's forget a little bit about things, let's forget a little bit about internet.

 

Let's turn off the computer after read this........

What should we do with 
our rubbish?

“In places like Africa there is less rubbish, because people have less to throw away”. 

What about us? What about our country, Chile?

 Nowadays, industrialization, technology, individualism and thoughtlessness, are bringing us consequences. Beyond the facts that today is easier and faster to get something, to buy something and to communicate with people from anywhere, we  need to face  that Chile is the first rubbish producer in Latin America: 6, 5 million tons per year and we recycle only the 10% of it. Every year, each of us produces 384 kilograms of household rubbish. Shocking! Isn’t it?

Here we have types of rubbish we produce more:

Plastic bottles: As many of you may know, each plastic bottle takes 100 years to degrade. Lately, thanks to disposable bottles, this type of rubbish has duplicated. Here’s some ideas to use them instead of throw them away..

Technological junk: In 10 years app. this type of rubbish will give us a real headache! If your computers or chips don’t work anymore better use them in something creative!

Batteries: These have toxic material inside, so you better remember to throw them in the right place..

Organic rubbish: A big quantity of household rubbish is organic. You should use it! Make your own humus and composting!

Cardboard and paper: To produce paper, many trees must be cut and big quantities of water and electricity must be used…

So, be aware of what you throw away! Think about the environment,  your health and the next generation! You probably want to leave a legacy, so be smart and reduce your quantity of rubbish! What do you think? Are you ready?

Do maps have more than just geographical influence?

Let's see the world upside down!

If we think about what nature gave us to locate where we are standing, we may remember just one thing: where the sun rises and where the sun sets. That's maybe the only and most important direction given by nature.

The result of what I've mentioned before is what people called : North, South, East and West. And here is when the question appears: Where is the South? The North? The East and West? Why North is up and South is down?

We know that Earth is in the space, and here there's no up nor down. The space and the Earth are just there, with no Southern Hemisphere or Northern Hemisphere, these are humans creations. So, why the most known map is which has Europe (including The United States and Canada) on the top?

The convention came a few centuries ago when in the Northern hemisphere, European navigators started using the North star and the magnetic compass. Before that, the top of the map was to the East which is where the word "orientation" comes from. In 1569, a new map projection was created by the geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator.  The Mercator projection distorts the size and shape of large objects, as the scale increases from the Equator to the poles, where it becomes infinite. 

 

The Mercator World Map

The surprising thing here is that we are still using this kind of map, where mainly Europe is on top and Britain in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere. For me, the reason is clearly about political power and how they want to be seen. For instance, in Australia you can find upside down maps, in which Australia is on top and even in the middle. Why? Because they know the influence that maps have in the conception of the world.

In 1943, an Uruguayan painter, made a different map, saying: "Our North is the South, to go to the North, our ships go down, not up".It's hard to believe that we've been educated into one stereotype about maps, but even something more incredible is to realize that we were quite shocked looking "upside down maps", because they looked completly weird for us.
I invite you to look for other type of maps, knowing now the real influence that maps have in people. How we learnt in the past unit, we must be critical and curious students.

I hope you to enjoy my post! 

SHOULD WE BE PROUD OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE??

Hello guys, Today I would like to share with you some positive and negative aspects about the British empire for your own reflection but before that I would like to show you a short introduction.

The British Empire was the largest colonial empire in the history, it covered more than 13.000.000.000 square miles, that is aproximatelly  a quarter of the earth's total land area!!! Also it controlled  more than 500 million people.

Victoria's Memorial

Well, the empire had worldwide impact. Some positive things about that were,  for example, the Spread of the english as a language, it is the first language in more than 53 countries! such Australia, New Zealand, India, etc.  the empire was also resposible for the revolution of the judicial systems, for example: in India, the british rule affected the religious, cultural, social, political, technological and economic state, in terms of economy it failed as a result of des-industrialization and destruction of rural economy. Britain was the head of the Industrial revolution too.

Britain spread trade, we can think in India again with the tobacco and tea, architecture (just think about Victoria's Memorial) and technology, for good or for bad, the empire introduced guns and other devices to Africa.


ALTHOUGH the empire had negative aspects too, such as the racism. Britain gave alcohol and other sustances to aborigines causing many problems, in Australia a lot of children were taken away of their parents by the British to start a new life with the "white people" and they never saw their parents again.  

One other negative aspect was the slave trade, britain chased  africans, was involved in many bloody wars, and  took a lot of bad desicions.

The lack of identity was another problem, for example with the religion. the "white people" had to teach  christianity to the "incivilized" colonies, the consequence was that the original beliefs and religions were bypassed and ignored, such as the Eskimos, the Cree indians and muslims in India.

So, what would be the world if the British Empire never existed????? worse or better? let me know your points of view.

You have to see it. See you soon! :)