Final Post

The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis

I thought the book gave a really powerful message, and was really realistic. It gave us a good idea of what people in L.E.D.C.s. live like.

The Paper Bag game

I feel like it was a good strategy that we came up with, which is an assembly line. I feel like the game is going to be more challenging than we think.

To the next G.I. class

I feel like global issues is about making a difference, and helping ISKL be more aware about what is going on in the world. I think that the course makes us realize how fortunate we are to be getting a good education.

Shock Factors Haiti

I'm sure many of us have heard of Haiti, and mostly it is because we heard about the devastating earthquake that occurred not too long ago. There is more that has happened to Haiti than just the earthquake. Haiti's past has been violent and bloody, and living there is very hard. I find it very hard to understand their predicament. The game 'Ayiti the cost of life' helps you realize how they live. It was a very shocking experience, because I found out that it is very hard to live like that. The game shows you how people in LE.D.C.s live, and trust me, it's a very frustrating experience. In the game, there is a family you must be helping to get out of the cycle of poverty. You have to choose a factor to focus on and you will be judged by how well you score in that category; there is Health, Happiness, Education, and Money. I chose education, so I would be scored on how much education the children got. I had to choose what jobs to give to my family members, and I decided to send my mother to work as a market woman because it earned good money and was a safe environment, send my father to work as a rum distiller because it earned the most money, and to send all three children to the best (and most expensive) school there was. I felt like if I focused on education and got the children a good education, they would be able to work for more money and then eventually that would lead to them getting out of the circle of poverty. I kept on spending money for their education, so I did not have enough money left for other things, and so the father of the family caught a cold and had to rest for the season. I chose not to take the chance of him getting sick because I thought that after a while he would get better.Since I was tight on money, I decided to take my youngest child and my daughter out of school and make them work on the farm, so that it would earn us a bit of money. After that, we ran out of money and I even had to take my son out of school and help out on the farm instead of getting an education. I tried to get them books and tutors, but I ended up not being able to afford it. In the end, they all caught cold or bloody diarrhea and died. It was a lot harder than I thought. I played the game again after a while, and though I did much better, it still wasn't good. This time I decided that education was less important than staying alive and being happy, so I chose health as my most important objective. This time, I tried to keep my children healthier by not having them work outside the whole time. I alternated the studying and the working. While my son was studying, I made sure that my other two children were working, and then I made my son work while the other two were in school. That way, they all get an education, but they all work too. I also tried to vary the jobs for the father. Rum distiller was not a safe job, but it earned the most money, so when we were in desperate need of money he worked as a rum distiller, but otherwise I made him work as a farm hand. I preferred that the mother worked as a market woman because it was both safe and it earned money. I was much better off that way, but I did not prepare my house for the hurricane and that's what got me in the end.

I think that it was very important to educate the mother, because there were many good jobs that she could have gotten, such as secretary, but she could not because she did not have enough education. The women are the ones that can work as teachers or jobs like that, because they are the ones that have to walk alot each day to get water, and if they worked they wouldn't have to do that. They are not as strong as men either, so they would get less done on the farm anyway. It is a lot tougher to get an education in an L.E.D.C because there are not that many good schools, and many people can't afford the good ones. Many people probably prefer to have their children stay at home and work so that they can get money, which I totally understand now because of the game. I think it is extremely important that people get an education in L.E.D.C.s, because then the people can make smarter decisions, which will help them get out of poverty. What struck me the most about this game though, is the fact that I could just press quit, and it would be over. I could play the game again if I wanted to, and if I lost I could keep on trying. It isn't like that with people in poverty. That is their life. They can't quit whenever they want to. They don't get second chances.

Global Issues, Avni, 3rd World Farmer Reflection

Global Issues Portfolio Reflection

3rd World Farmer Reflection

The purpose of the game was to show how farmers in the LEDC’s live. Their lives are very different from ours, and the game raises awareness to those who can afford the luxury of Internet. Many of us don’t know those in poverty are living, and this game helps us realize it so we can take action.
Throughout the game, my strategy was to think ahead and see the consequences of my decision. I did not want to do something that I knew would cause something unwanted to happen, such as a government officials coming to my house. For example, I was offered the chance of growing opium, but I refused because I knew that the end result would not be pleasing.
A short-term decision is a decision when you can’t afford to wait for a while to make. Life becomes a day-to-day battle, and you don’t have the option of planning your child’s future, because you are too busy making sure that he or she has one.
They are bad because it is a cycle, and once you get sucked in, it’s hard to get out. You can’t give your children an education because you don’t have any spare money, and if you do, it goes into medication.
They are always fighting for survival, and they need to make sure that they nourished and healthy, so they can try to get an education for their children. You always have to plan for tomorrow, so your mentality is “I don’t want to worry about next year just yet. Right now, I’m trying to make sure you have enough for tomorrow.”
I think that they only thing that could get them out of the cycle is possibly luck and a helping hand from an outsider. Even the smallest donation, like a cow, can improve their lives. It will help them because they can use the cow for milk, so they will spend less on food and water, so they can spend on education. The cow will also help plow the fields.
A long-term decision is decision that will affect them later in life. For example, educating your child is a long-term decision, as well as vaccinating them. They are dreams when you are hungry and sick, and you can’t really try to achieve them when there are more pressing matters of survival.
You can make these decisions when you are well off money wise. You can’t make the decisions when there are matters of survival at hand.
They are good because they are the ones that will help you get out of the cycle of poverty, like education, because then your child can do jobs that pay more. Not many people have education, and so the few that do get paid more.
If you get your child vaccinated, then they will be healthier and will live longer. If they are healthy, even if they aren’t educated, they will be strong, and be able to work on the farm. That will help you earn money, so that you can continue keeping everyone in your family healthy. If they get an education, there will be better chance of developing because people know the right decisions to make, and how to be smart with what they have.
I learned that the people in L.E.D.C.s have it alot harder than we do. They have so much that they can be complaining about, but they learn to be happy with what they have. I think that we should all be like them and have a positive attitude.
This experience was sort of a combination of Reason Critically and Live Ethically. You had to reason critically to flourish in the game, and it was also about living ethically, like not growing drugs, and making the right choices, even if you know it is harder.
This simulation relates to Ending Poverty and Hunger, because the farmers in L.E.D.C.s are living in poverty, and we have to fix that.
I chose the image shown because it shows a child hungry, and a vulture watching, waiting for it to die.There was a food camp very near by, and the child is trying to crawl to it. This photo is a Pulitzer Prize winning picture, and it was taken during the Sudan Famine in 1994. It is an extremely sad picture, and the photographer that took it committed suicide out of depression 3 months later, because he was so upset that he hadn’t done anything to help the child.

"The Third World is not a reality but an ideology."-Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-born American political philosopher

Peace Day Reflection

Today is September 21, 2010, aka Peace Day! There was so much going on, that it was really hard to keep up. There were kids and teachers making commitments, selling peace cookies, making peace posters, and talking about why peace was important. We really learned the importance of being peaceful at school. After Peace Day, we learned the skills of helping everyone who needs help, stopping fighting, and not fighting with other people. It's really important that we keep practicing all these skills. We also spread knowledge about peace, and made everyone aware of why we should have peace day. This knowledge is important that we share. The problem was that some people were not active in these activities, and it was also rather short. I don't feel like we had enough time to spread the word about peace day. But it was an overall success, and I feel like we really raised awareness about why peace is so important. All the money we have raised will go to making t-shirts for the teachers that are running in the Anchor War Marathon. The money raised from there will go to help making prosthetic limbs for children whose legs have been blown off in mining. I could sense enthusiasm with all my five senses. I could hear everyone talking about peace, I could see everybody being active, I could smell and taste the cookies, and I could draw peace face painting. I really had a great time, and I felt satisfied with myself that I was a part of something that has changed our school.

Peace Video

When I watched the video about Peace Day, I was very moved. In the video, a man who was just a documentary maker did such a big thing and changed the world, by creating a day when all gunfire was ceased. A day where all the world can be friends again. A day where everyone forgets differences and unites as a big family. This video made me realize that it is possible to change the world, and it all starts out with an idea.I now know that no matter who you are, or what age you are, anybody can make a difference. It's really important to have peace, because there are so many families being torn apart, people are dying, kids' futures being ruined, and sicknessess being spread out there by wars. With peace in the world, all of that can be stopped. You have to realize how fortunate we are that none of this is happening to us. It doesn't hit us that hard because we've never been in a situation where anything like this has happened to us. If wars are stopped, it would be so much easier for countries to spend their money on other things that actually matter, like stopping hunger and poverty, and making sure every child has an educations. The government can also put more attention on the people of the country and attend to their needs instead of having to worry about fighting other people.
There are many hidden costs of war, and its really hard to find them. War costs alot of people their families,homes,future, and their lives,. I think that a life is too big a price to pay for settling a dispute. There are other ways to settle an argument than to just go around killing the other side because they don't agree with you. If you argue with somebody at school, you don't physicially hurt them, so why is it that just because some people have money and power they can take lives? Also, if in a war your father and mother die, and you are just a child with no money, your future is in question, because without money, you can't really pay for an education, unless you live in a place where education is free.

I have included a picture to symbolise peace. I included this picture, because it shows a hand holding out a flower, which shows giving. What it means to me is that peace is not just about you, but about other people. You have to give a helping hand to everyone, especially if you don't like the person, because then, they realize that you aren't so bad after all. They don't automatically stop hating you, you have to do something to make them realize there is no reason to hate you. Peace doesn't just happen, you have to make it.
So in conclusion, Peace is a really important idea that would make our world be a better place. Everybody should do their part in helping the world be more peaceful. I'm taking pictures of all peaceful acts I see happening. What about you?

What are Global Issues and why should I care?

There are many problems in the world that we need to solve. There are many people in the world that are hungry, or poor, or they are dying if HIV/AIDS. The most disturbing thing is that people out there don't care, or are not willing to do anything.People in Africa are dying everyday because they don't get enough food, and in America, people are getting overweight. In places like Asia, there are too many people and not enough food for everybody. Everybody should do their part to hep make the world a more livable place. Just because you are well off and living a happy healthy life, doesn't mean that you shouldn't do anything to help people out. A shocking fact is that many people live on less than a dollar a day. None of us could ever imagine having to live like that. We really need to help.
A simple way we can help is to play the Free Rice game. Every time you answer a question correctly, you donate a spoonful of rice to hungry people. Another way we can help, is by donating food to hungry people on the streets. It's also very important to never ever waste food, because then there is a whole bunch of food that somebody else would do anything to eat. Next time you take some food, and can't finish it and are about to throw it out, think of all the people in Asia and Africa who need that food.