Shenayh Rivera-Melendez
Teaching Divers Populations
Professor A. Navarro
Schindler’s List Paper
Schindler’s List
How is it that a race of people, who did nothing wrong, underwent almost complete genocide? The ultimate crime performed in the face of true immorality by the Nazi people, and all because a certain people were different. Difficult to fathom is the fact that this ever took place and the massiveness of it all. The Nazi people excluded no one, not even children, it was pure injustice and senseless. It is my belief that the holocaust was the worst historical event to ever occur in any point in time, simply because it involved near genocidal actions towards one race of people and utter inhumane treatment of them for no particular reason. It is difficult to believe that some of the racism from this still subsists today, Nazi organizations still, however hidden, exist. The possibility that Jewish people or anyone who was different than what Hitler specified, would have been extinct was it not for people like Schindler is a frightening concept.
While I deplore the fact that, in the beginning, Schindler’s List purpose was for his own selfish monetary gains, however, I applauded the change in the end for he was truly a hidden hero of the time. His plan was an ingenious one and it just goes to show that even one person can make a difference; a lesson which can be applied in the educational field of teaching. The way one chooses to live and help people, makes a difference, even if the difference does not resonate with you, it does for someone else and that is an important concept to be learned from this movie and Schindler’ list of salvation.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Amistad Reaction
Shenayh Rivera-Melendez
Teaching Divers Populations
Professor A. Navarro
Amistad Brief Reaction Paper
Amistad
It is movies such as the Amistad which can make one feel ashamed to be an American. How our forefathers ever thought it acceptable to commit such crimes of unspeakable matters of slavery trading and denying people their most fundamental rights as human beings, I will never understand. Such a graphic historical event projected in this movie left me with feelings of anger, angered at the injustice of it all. Such injustice that we have profited from and I find beyond reproach of anyone’s reasoning for it, for there is none. A quote which comes to mind and exemplifies my personal contempt of this historical happening, is that which Abraham Lincoln once spoke, “Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally” (Abraham Lincoln 1865).
I am not one to shed tears when watching movies or procure feeling of anger easily, however, the history of these happenings depicted in the movie, broke my heart. Such graphic scenes as the woman on board the ship who had a baby, and how she chose to fall (with her baby) off the ship and escape into deaths welcoming arms or even gentler scenes such as that when Cinque’s friend (the one with the bible) is explaining to him how “this is where [their] soul goes when they kill [them]… it does not look so bad..” could make even a grown man shed a tear or two.
Contemplations of the historical significance have left me pondering our way of life. If it were not for events or points it time such as the Amistad, would we still be living in an era without civil rights? Moreover, while we have learned from such events, one cannot help but wonder if we could have done without. The lack of acceptance of diverse people has been a fire starter for many wars and revolutions. The lesson to be learned is that the fundamental acceptance of various people is necessary in order to prevent any more such happenings and move forward as humankind.
Teaching Divers Populations
Professor A. Navarro
Amistad Brief Reaction Paper
Amistad
It is movies such as the Amistad which can make one feel ashamed to be an American. How our forefathers ever thought it acceptable to commit such crimes of unspeakable matters of slavery trading and denying people their most fundamental rights as human beings, I will never understand. Such a graphic historical event projected in this movie left me with feelings of anger, angered at the injustice of it all. Such injustice that we have profited from and I find beyond reproach of anyone’s reasoning for it, for there is none. A quote which comes to mind and exemplifies my personal contempt of this historical happening, is that which Abraham Lincoln once spoke, “Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally” (Abraham Lincoln 1865).
I am not one to shed tears when watching movies or procure feeling of anger easily, however, the history of these happenings depicted in the movie, broke my heart. Such graphic scenes as the woman on board the ship who had a baby, and how she chose to fall (with her baby) off the ship and escape into deaths welcoming arms or even gentler scenes such as that when Cinque’s friend (the one with the bible) is explaining to him how “this is where [their] soul goes when they kill [them]… it does not look so bad..” could make even a grown man shed a tear or two.
Contemplations of the historical significance have left me pondering our way of life. If it were not for events or points it time such as the Amistad, would we still be living in an era without civil rights? Moreover, while we have learned from such events, one cannot help but wonder if we could have done without. The lack of acceptance of diverse people has been a fire starter for many wars and revolutions. The lesson to be learned is that the fundamental acceptance of various people is necessary in order to prevent any more such happenings and move forward as humankind.
Authentic Restaurant
Shenayh Rivera-Melendez
Teaching Divers Populations
Professor A. Navarro
Restaurant Experience
Amura
Having a bad first experience with sushi from Target, all thanks to my older sister, I was wary when she invited me to go to this Sushi Restaurant with her significant other. But always one to try and try again, I decided to go; it was bound to be better than my previous experience! As my first experience in a Japanese type restaurant I was impressed by the friendly service and timely execution of the delivery of the food, and the amount too! One thing is for sure, you are sure to get your money’s worth because their sushi portions are big enough to feed three persons with just one order. The prices are not too expensive, depending on what one orders. For it varies, from the sushi (which go for around six dollars) to elegantly prepared fish meal (which could go for around twenty dollars or more).
Upon entering the restaurant of Amura one gains a stronger sense of the culture’s tradition in smell, sight, presentation in what they are all about. It’s hard not to find oneself immerse in it all. The cultures is strongly prominent in theme and service, this is obviously something which they take pride in; a quality we tend to find lacking in fast food chain restaurants. A culture shock is the best description for it. The Amura is a Japanese restaurant with a unique classic restaurant setting which included a sushi bar. Mainly decorated with rich colors like burgundy and black, exuding a smell of delicious fresh food, resonating with the essence of professional and exceptional service, and having a calming, yet modern atmosphere, it was not surprising that the place was packed.
The sushi was unmatched in terms of quality for it was served fresh prepared in front of the customers in the display area of the sushi bar where we sat, and served on classic black, flat Japanese plates with green wasabi, black soy sauce, and a pair of chopsticks on the side. One could tell the food was fresh as it had no strong odor of fish to it and the food was a healthy color of pink and gold (I watch a lot of cooking shows). My favorite dish was the shrimp tempura with avocado and cream cheese. First of all, it had avocado, which is my absolute favorite fruit of all time, and who doesn’t like cream cheese? Served in a classic sushi roll with rice and wrapped in seaweed and filled with generously portioned, crunchy, golden-brown warm shrimp and a smear of cream cheese, made this dish a heavenly piece of perfection to my tastes buds. Although generously-portioned, it was perfectly portioned in terms of it being bite-sized, adding to my delight in consuming the product. The experience was completely satisfactory in terms of the food, service and overall presentation of the place, and nothing as I expected.
Teaching Divers Populations
Professor A. Navarro
Restaurant Experience
Amura
Having a bad first experience with sushi from Target, all thanks to my older sister, I was wary when she invited me to go to this Sushi Restaurant with her significant other. But always one to try and try again, I decided to go; it was bound to be better than my previous experience! As my first experience in a Japanese type restaurant I was impressed by the friendly service and timely execution of the delivery of the food, and the amount too! One thing is for sure, you are sure to get your money’s worth because their sushi portions are big enough to feed three persons with just one order. The prices are not too expensive, depending on what one orders. For it varies, from the sushi (which go for around six dollars) to elegantly prepared fish meal (which could go for around twenty dollars or more).
Upon entering the restaurant of Amura one gains a stronger sense of the culture’s tradition in smell, sight, presentation in what they are all about. It’s hard not to find oneself immerse in it all. The cultures is strongly prominent in theme and service, this is obviously something which they take pride in; a quality we tend to find lacking in fast food chain restaurants. A culture shock is the best description for it. The Amura is a Japanese restaurant with a unique classic restaurant setting which included a sushi bar. Mainly decorated with rich colors like burgundy and black, exuding a smell of delicious fresh food, resonating with the essence of professional and exceptional service, and having a calming, yet modern atmosphere, it was not surprising that the place was packed.
The sushi was unmatched in terms of quality for it was served fresh prepared in front of the customers in the display area of the sushi bar where we sat, and served on classic black, flat Japanese plates with green wasabi, black soy sauce, and a pair of chopsticks on the side. One could tell the food was fresh as it had no strong odor of fish to it and the food was a healthy color of pink and gold (I watch a lot of cooking shows). My favorite dish was the shrimp tempura with avocado and cream cheese. First of all, it had avocado, which is my absolute favorite fruit of all time, and who doesn’t like cream cheese? Served in a classic sushi roll with rice and wrapped in seaweed and filled with generously portioned, crunchy, golden-brown warm shrimp and a smear of cream cheese, made this dish a heavenly piece of perfection to my tastes buds. Although generously-portioned, it was perfectly portioned in terms of it being bite-sized, adding to my delight in consuming the product. The experience was completely satisfactory in terms of the food, service and overall presentation of the place, and nothing as I expected.
Preparing a Different Culture Food
Shenayh Rivera-Melendez
Teaching Divers Populations
Professor A. Navarro
Culture Food Comparison
Thai Lettuce Wraps
I chose to do a simple Vegetarian Thai Lettuce Wrap Dish as I wanted to experience something completely different from my own culture, but something that was going to be relatively easy to prepare as have some chance to be able to enjoy the food prepared. The dish was delicious; of course I tend to say that about everything! I am the type of person to try anything once. I admit it did not come out as neatly as the picture showed but it was pretty close!
Preparing the dish had many components to it, but I found it to be worth it in the end. The aroma from the Lettuce wraps attracted many of my family members and left me feeling glad that I made extra. The only way I could begin to describe the aroma is simply: different. It was a sweet and spicy fragrance with a hint of sourness to it, from the fish sauce, soy sauce and lime juice I suspected.
The preparation was relatively easy; the hard part was summoning the courage to actually eat it. The only reason I say this is because I am not particularly fond of fish, even though I am a vegetarian, and this had fish sauce in it. I found it to be surprisingly light and tasty (for a stir fry dish), and also spicy from the chili pepper which were added to the dish, but I did not mind the heat. In fact, I love spicy food!
Some similarity in comparison to my Puerto Rican culture food is the components of the dish. In my culture it is not uncommon to see the cook prepare even simple foods like rice and beans with almost everything in one’s cupboard! Our dishes tend to have at least ten different components to it and tend to be savory in taste rather than tangy or spicy as was the Thai wraps. The difference in taste was a refreshing one as I am always looking for new dishes to incorporate into my lifestyle; after all, eating rice and beans tends to get a bit bland after a while!
Recipe Source: http://thaifood.about.com/od/quickeasythairecipes/r/lettucewraps.htm
My Blind Experience
Shenayh Rivera-Melendez
Teaching Divers Populations
Professor A. Navarro
Blind Experience Paper
Waking up as a Blind Person.
Waking up as a blind person was a humbling experience for me. I have always considered myself lucky to be profoundly Hard-of-Hearing rather than blind, which is not to imply any negativity for blind culture, however, this experience has taught me the reason for this. Never having been one to think of diversity much, as for me it came natural that the world we live in is diverse and I had already accepted that fact long ago, this experience has put that into perspective for me. While all of us have characteristics which are unique to each of us, we must also remember that we are not the only ones with such indentifying characteristics. Upon accepting that, perhaps the human race can evolve from that which holds us back; things like discriminations, stereotypes, accusations, conflicts and contradictions, there are many. For me, this simply broadens my perspective on diversity.
I have always been a strong minded individual growing up as I was taught no differently than that of my sister who has no disability [as defined by the states]. Growing up I was taught to never give up or think myself to be weak because of a lack of hearing, that everything is obtainable should I pursue them with fierce determination, so with such focused and prepared teachings [and among many other lessons] I began [as I suppose I always have] to view myself “normal” and of the same as everyone else. In everything I did, sports, school activities, competitions, I had to be the best. To shorten this story and reveal my point, I never complained because of my “disability” and when I look around I sometimes see others who take advantage of their disability, actions such as this I have negative connotations of. Completing this activity has made me realize that, many times this is not the case [taking advantage], it is simply that people tend to deal with or do things differently; diversity is a fundamental aspect in people which cannot be helped as it is as natural as breathing.
I confess I felt a little more at a disadvantage than I think most people would feel for completing this experience would mean waking up without two of my senses, but nevertheless, I looked forward to it. When I got up out of bed in the morning, I didn’t know whether it was night or day, the only thing I knew was the familiar annoying vibration from my phone, screaming at me to wake up. I had blindfolded myself the night before, and I admit it became a little loose upon my waking, but maintaining my focus on its purpose, I fastened it and proceeded to get out of my bed.
How I ended up on the floor on my face I didn’t know, and I spent approximately five minutes searching for the object which had tripped me so, articles of clothing. I’m not a particularly kept person at times, and I supposed I should I have prepared my room the night beforehand, but that would have defeated the activities’ purpose. Being careful not to trip on anything else, I made my way out of my bedroom and into the restroom, a task I found easy to do by feeling and maneuvering myself carefully around. Suddenly, daily tasks were no longer easy ones. Not having the faintest idea which toothbrush was mine, I took my chances, feeling around the edges of it helped a little in my determination of this.
My daily morning shower ritual was surprisingly easy to start with, as I had no problem gauging the water temperature or locating the basics, but the more challenging tasks were even more simple things like which was the shampoo and conditioner and not the body wash. Imagining the horrors of previous bad hair days, I felt around the different bottles and felt the contents to feel the differences, identifying the correct ones left me feeling relieved.
Dressing me was by far the more challenging part of it all. A decision I regretted was that of quickly opening the closet door, the pain of it colliding with my right knee haunted me for the next few days and stubbing my toe on the corner railing of the closet added to my distress. I became fearful of the results of dressing myself blindly; the phrase, “did you get dress in the dark?” came to mind. Mainly using my sense of touch to measure the density and fabrics of each article of clothing, I finally determined my outfit for the day; what felt like a jean I put on, and what felt like a shirt I normally wear, I put on. Upon my completion of getting ready as a blind person, I feared to take the blindfold off for the very sight of me dressing myself so left me feeling uncertain of the outcome.
As I stood looking at myself in the mirror, I immediately saw the pathetic hilarity of myself… my orange shirt was inside-out, backwards and did not match my dark blue jeans with yellow seams. Not surprisingly, my socks did not match as the “laundry monster” ate the significant other of all my socks. In short, I was a mess. I never presumed to think being blind was an easy task, nor did I underestimate the daily effort it can take out of a person; such a limitation [depending on one’s opinion] would take years to master and adapt to. But it did increase my gratitude for the little things in my life, as well as my respect for those who have had to adapt because of this.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Museum Visit by Shenayh Rivera
Shenayh Rivera-Melendez
Teaching Diverse Populations
Professor A. Navarro
Museum Visit Paper
Holocaust Museum
So much depends upon one’s humanity. The purpose and reason of life often is derived from the logic of our humanity, without it how can one feel complete? When something so precious as this is taken away from a person, then that person is left with nothing but the need to survive. Survival is the most basic innate principle one can have; being reduced to such a state is something which was presented in this Holocaust museum. The stories alone from those who have survived can break anyone’s spirit. Knowledge is something which we humans should utilize from the history of this; a history which was not too long ago. What is there to learn from such a catastrophic event? Humans are evil? No, I believe the lesson here is to learn compassion; acceptance of diverse background is a good habit everyone should practice (should being the operative word), and that whenever a person is broken down to their very essence of being, they can be broken down no further because the need to survive will always... survive.
Walking into the Holocaust museum, it was not as I expected a museum to be. It was quite small, but I soon learned that small things do not detract from the plethora of information gathered for such a small space. The place was quite informative, (although empty, the people were still kind enough to show us some welcome), as it included a televised area of survival witnesses on the wall, every part of the enclosed space was covered with stories of people and how they survive or what got them through their days, pictures of the people detrimental health and living conditions.
A memorable yet sad thing I took away with me was a small glass plated area with artifacts in it, one of which was a spoon and next to it, an explanation for the spoon. This touch my heart, the spoon was someone’s in the holocaust and it was of significance for this very reason: it was the last thing they had which made them feel human. The spoon symbolized humanity to them and it was the one thing which kept them from feeling like animals (because animals eat with their faces) and gave them a feeling of still being human. Despite the treatment and everything else lost, they could not bear to lose the spoon, their last strand of humanity. This just goes to show the importance of one’s humanity. If something as simple as a spoon could help someone get through a day.
Teaching Diverse Populations
Professor A. Navarro
Museum Visit Paper
Holocaust Museum
So much depends upon one’s humanity. The purpose and reason of life often is derived from the logic of our humanity, without it how can one feel complete? When something so precious as this is taken away from a person, then that person is left with nothing but the need to survive. Survival is the most basic innate principle one can have; being reduced to such a state is something which was presented in this Holocaust museum. The stories alone from those who have survived can break anyone’s spirit. Knowledge is something which we humans should utilize from the history of this; a history which was not too long ago. What is there to learn from such a catastrophic event? Humans are evil? No, I believe the lesson here is to learn compassion; acceptance of diverse background is a good habit everyone should practice (should being the operative word), and that whenever a person is broken down to their very essence of being, they can be broken down no further because the need to survive will always... survive.
Walking into the Holocaust museum, it was not as I expected a museum to be. It was quite small, but I soon learned that small things do not detract from the plethora of information gathered for such a small space. The place was quite informative, (although empty, the people were still kind enough to show us some welcome), as it included a televised area of survival witnesses on the wall, every part of the enclosed space was covered with stories of people and how they survive or what got them through their days, pictures of the people detrimental health and living conditions.
A memorable yet sad thing I took away with me was a small glass plated area with artifacts in it, one of which was a spoon and next to it, an explanation for the spoon. This touch my heart, the spoon was someone’s in the holocaust and it was of significance for this very reason: it was the last thing they had which made them feel human. The spoon symbolized humanity to them and it was the one thing which kept them from feeling like animals (because animals eat with their faces) and gave them a feeling of still being human. Despite the treatment and everything else lost, they could not bear to lose the spoon, their last strand of humanity. This just goes to show the importance of one’s humanity. If something as simple as a spoon could help someone get through a day.
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