Untitled (Perfect Lovers)

Between 1987 and 1990 artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres made an edition of 3 plus 1 artist’s proof of “Untitled” (Perfect Lovers)” to memorize his lover Ross Laycock, which consists of a identical pair of store-bought black-rimmed clocks.  The clocks followed each other so they remained the same position every time.  Ross Laycock died of an AIDS-related illness in 1991. In the same year Gonzalez-Torres created a white version of the work, which is owned by the MoMa, New York. The guidelines regarding how the work should be arranged and displayed are the following: “When installed, the two clocks were to touch; the clocks could be replaced with white plastic commercial clocks of similar dimensions and design; the minute and second hands were to be set in sync, with the understanding that eventually they might go out of sync during the course of the exhibition; if one of the clocks needed the batteries replaced, it was to be done, and the clocks were to be reset accordingly; the clocks were to be displayed on a wall painted light blue.”

There is a love letter as well,

Free writing (why I write)

I write to remember. When seeing those beautiful views around, I  record my admiration and how I am touched by the wonder. When reading a book or a report, I record my comments and  thought  to remind me what happened in the world. When listening to a music or even viewing a picture, I record my emotions and imagination. For me, writing is a way to record what is going on in my life and what I am thinking this period. Memory in my mind fades when the events happened longlong ago but my writing will still remains to tell me what kind of person I was.

RI Teacher Says"I Quit!"

 There is a video on Youtube about a second grade teacher who is fed up with his elementary school's 'One-Size-Fits-All' curriculum.
 Here is a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBSgchJe2Z0&feature=player_embedded

    Stephen Round, the dissatisfied teacher who has decided to stop teaching at his elementary school, is reading his resignation letter to the Human Resources Department and everyone who watching the video as well. There are two main things I felt deeply when listening to Stephen Round's speech.
    First of all, there are two quite clear and exact phrases I loved in the speech. They are "useful idiot" and "test-taker". Stephen described a very bad situation of the students' academic life (in my opinion) to us. The school is so ridiculous to think that proper relaxing and playing is a waste of time for students. Not only students would feel terrible for this decision, but also the teachers. Most teachers I've met in my life are creative and they enjoy teaching. Usually, their creativity for lesson provides new ideas for teaching, repressed by old rules and regulations. They also enjoy have the communication with their students in class. On one hand this proves their ability of teaching. On the other hand, even teachers can get improvement throughout the new style of education. But if a school focuses on getting higher grades, even the teachers cannot teach in their own style because they have to make the class "efficient" not "vivid". Therefore, both teachers and students do not get any benefit from the school's decision.
   Second,   there's no right way of teaching and not all the children are suitable for the same learning method. Specific child has his or her own personalities and interests. Like we usually finds we have our own strong subjects and weak ones, certain child is good at certain things. If we really treat every child with the same way, there may be some problems occurring.  

Reflection of viewing others' blog

   Through visiting the blogs of my classmates, reading their definitions of education, their views on the importance of teaching English literature, and their favourite books and authors, I found it so happy to see the similar idea we held. For example, both Shayda and Audrey had the childhood memory of the book "Matilda", which reminds of my feeling when I was young and how I enjoyed that book. I also found that most of us have the similar definition of education as well as the view of English literature.
   The most enjoyable part was seeing my classmates' favorite books or books they read in English class. I myself kind of feeling jealous of them because I did not have so many time to learn and read literature in class when studying in China, no matter what language it is. I am not saying we don't learn literature in China but we seldom read novels or plays together during class time. Therefore, I felt a little bit jealous and glad since what we now doing in class is so perfect for me.
  While visiting others' blogs and comments, I found it emergent for me to improve my writing skills and grammar. I was so inspired by their articles, especially some of them providing very clear point.

The value of literature

The value of learning literature in English class is variable.

First, learning English can help to understand the history and learn the culture. Like “The boy in striped pajamas” or “The reader”, those books tell the audiences about the truth of the holocaust and even more about the moral, the law and the society. By learning form the literature works, we learn from the history and learn how to prevent some bad crimes that used to happen.

Second, learning English literacy can help to know how to enjoy the the beauty of words. I think everyone should have the experience of being inspired or moved by a poem or an essay. When reading this kind of works, we cannot stop appreciating how amazing and perfect nature and the human nature are. From my own experience, I enjoy reading and English literature because I feel the emotion and passion in the authors' words. 

Moreover, literature teaches the method of thinking while showing the audiences the authors' thinking paths. By seeing others' view, we actually open our mind to develop our weltanschauung.

Books I've read in English class

Macbeth

Macbeth is written by William Shakespeare known for its violence. The story begins as one of a loyal and honorable hero of Scotland. However, a powerful ambition for power caused Macbeth to make sinister decisions that created for him only despair, guilt, and madness. It is the story of murder and unsuper.

Lord of the Flies
The novel is written by William Golding, which is to draw attention to the chaos in society during the WW2. Throughout the book, there's a large amount of symbolism such as "lord of the flies" and "Piggy's glasses" that  gives readers a better understanding of its concepts.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a 2006 novel from the point of view of a young boy, written by Irish novelist John Boyne. Kathryn Hughes, whilst agreeing that about the implausibility of the plot, argues that "Bruno's innocence comes to stand for the willful refusal of all adult Germans to see what was going on under their noses".

Persepolis

The French-language autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi depicting her childhood up to her early adult years in Iran during and after the Islamic revolution. Kristin Anderson of The Oxonian Review of Books of Balliol College, University of Oxford said "While Persepolis’ feistiness and creativity pay tribute as much to Satrapi herself as to contemporary Iran, if her aim is to humanise her homeland, this amiable, sardonic and very candid memoir couldn’t do a better job."

Hamlet

Hamlet, the first in Shakespeare's series of great tragedies, was initially classified as a problem play when the term became fashionable in the nineteenth century. Hamlet focuses on the complications arising from love, death, and betrayal, without offering the audience a decisive and positive resolution to these complications. Everyone read this book remember the line "To be or not to be, that's a question."

Death of a Salesman

The 1949 play is written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play is mostly told from the point of view of the protagonist, Willy, and the previous parts of Willy's life are revealed in the analepsis, sometimes during a present day scene. it is a tragedy about the differences between a New York family's dreams and the reality of their lives. The play is a scathing critique of the American Dream and of the competitive, materialistic American society of the late 1940s.

 The Reader
Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of postwar Germany. (Written by Bernhard Schlink)

A Streetcar named Desire

It is written by Tennessee Williams, which  ensured that his name would never leave the ranks of the playwright elite. The play, which tells the story of an aging Southern belle’s difficult relationship with her aggressive brother-in-law, was successful both commercially and critically.

My Definition of Education

  We began to educated since we were born. We learned how to stand, walk and speak when we were several months. Then, we went to schools and learned the academic knowledge and science skills. Throughout the whole path of growth, we were taught what is right and wrong and how we shall look at the world.   The truth is that education is always on our sides from the birth to the death.
  From my point of view, education is the method of building up self-development. Not only the academic knowledge is included, but also the moral, the responsibility, the lifestyle and so on. People were educated and then set up their own view of the world and their emotions. Education also teaches how to control ourselves and treat others.

Review of "The boy in striped pajamas"

The boy in striped pajamas, written by John Boyne, told how holocaust looked like from the point of view of a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. Bruno was the son of a Nazi officer but knew nothing about what his father was doing.  He made friends with a Jewish boy Shumel when his family moved to somewhere really close to the concentration camp. As a little boy, he misunderstood lots of the truth and let some of the evilness seem not serious in the book. The book used a boy’s naïve view to mock the evilness and show the truth to the audience. The book finally ended with the two young boys’ death and the SS officer’s crying. 

   When I read the book, my very first thinking is the book is ridiculous because the author seemed to make all the crimes unserious. Even though at the end of the novel, the SS officer seemed to realize his guilt, it was not enough at all. Rabbi Benjamin Blech described the book as "not just a lie and not just a fairytale, but a profanation". Despite the book's intentions, he argues, the plot is highly improbable and gives credence to the defence that people did not, and could not, know what was happening within the death camps.

    However, when I read it again last year, I found it irony, especially the ending. Like Kathryn Hughes said, "Bruno's innocence comes to stand for the willful refusal of all adult Germans to see what was going on under their noses". From a little boy’s sight, the world should be peaceful, colorful and beautiful. He may also be quite proud of his father since his father is his hero. Unfortunately, those crimes happened in front of Bruno's eyes. He cannot understand the truth as well as some really bad treatments his friend got. What happened in the world seemed like a game for the little boy but not for those who involved. The boy’s death told us who was killed in the holocaust --- the innocent people. Just like Bruno, those Jewish people who were killed were innocent. They did nothing wrong but got the terrible treatment and most of them even did not know they ere going to be killed when Thanatos coming.  In my opinion, the author was trying to blame all the people who saw the crime happened not only the Nazi party. Even a 9-year-old boy can see the crime and was involved in the crime, how can those adults and the whole society ignore the evilness? Boyne tried to blame everyone and the end of the book showed the regret of the Bruno’s father. But as we all know, the regret won’t help to solve anything.

Response To Classic Literature Being Replaced By 'Informational Texts' On The US Curriculum In The Future

      Here is a link to this report

   As a student, I have to say I feel so sad for those US students when reading the short report. As my point of view, firstly, I cannot really believe that those schools do drop those fantastic literature classics. Secondly, if the US schools do replace the classical fictions into “informational texts" approved by the Common Core State Standards, plenty of students must feel upset a lot.

    In addition, students learn more about the history, love, nature and how to enjoy those beautiful literature texts in the English class. Most of the students love English class for an obvious reason, they enjoy reading those classical fictions in the class. As a high school student, I am very fortunate to have teachers and a curriculum, which introduced us to English and American, classical, and world literatures.

     Moreover, as Jamie Highfill said, education has to be about more than simply ensuring that kids can get a job.  Some of the greatest introductions to the problems addressed during history were through works of fiction, which were part of the curriculum. Whether reading works of Dickens or Austen or more modern writers like Hemingway, these authors help us look into the mindset of eras in a way that straight history texts cannot and that a technical book never will. Great works of literature tap into our humanity and its progression as well.

     Lastly, I imagine that the report is not true because there is no reading list accompanying the reading standards.  Maybe there is a trend to have more information texts in English class but not means dropping most of the literature.

Where I am from (Books)

I am from a Nazi family.

My father was a SS officer and we moved our home to somewhere I hated because of his job.

I had an older sister who laughs at me since I don’t know what is “Out-with”.

I made friends with a boy who wore the stripped pyjamas and has a star on his cloth.

I went to help him to look for his missing father and went into a room.

Then, I lost all my sense and held hands with my friend on the ground.

I am from a West German city and got sick when I was 15.

I met an attractive woman and fell in love with her.

But one day she left me without farewell and cannot see her until I went to the college.

I saw her in the trail, being blamed as SS guard.

I sent her tapes to read to her as my youth time with her when she was in the prison.

But our connection still broke since she hung herself the day I took her leave.

I am from Iran but studied in Austria.

I told my friends I was French and helped them to cut their hair in order to get along with them.

My heart broke by those tough sisters so I went back home.

But I found the government was so strict here and even did not allow me to make-up.

I married my boyfriend but then found we were not matching.

Then I divorced with him and wrote the book in France.

I am from a little planet where has a beautiful rose.

Then I went a planet travel and met a drunker, a king and a businessman.

I cannot understand what they were doing so I went to the earth.

I met a bunch of roses and felt sad because my rose was not unique any more.

But the little fox comforted me and wanted to be tame.

I didn’t want to break his heart because I would go back.

The snake helped me leave and finished its promise.

I am from a wizard family.

I use to be a poor orphan but everything changed when I crossed the wall in the station.

I became a student at the Hogwarts School.

Then I found my enemy who killed my parents and fought with him.

I had two best friends, the boy was from a wizard family and the smart girl’s family was Muggle.