Respect 

“It’s a Bird,” created by Christian Cooper

When I look at this image, I immediately realize that it is about prejudice, racism and disrespect/respect in many societies. Because of the colour of his skin, the European woman feels frightened by this African-American teenager. The European lady in the photo is making aggressive motions, indicating that she has no regard for him or what he has to give society. I can clearly see things like rudeness, and the author is demonstrating that individuals need to respect others more. In addition, in the first slide, you can see African-Americans behind the teenager who has died as a result of police violence in America. They are a dark blue colour, indicating that they have died. When I initially saw this photograph, I was outraged, but not shocked, because there are so many individuals who are illiterate and can’t see that no one is greater than themselves. And my lingering thoughts after that were still filled with anger, but more by the understanding that people lose their lives as a result of individuals like the woman in the photo, and that we live in a systematic-racist culture. And it bothers me that the African-American child had to drop his gaze because he doesn’t want to wind up in a worse scenario because of this dumb woman. Anyone should be able to respond to such nasty remarks. The author, Christian Cooper, appears to be implying that racism is still alive and well, but with much more naïve and illiterate individuals. The interpretation of gestures, chat boxes, look, and other elements, serves as a reminder that African-Americans are still dying at the hands of police, because of individuals like this European woman in this photograph. It’s plainly crazy that this is still happening, but we can’t ignore it, which is why we must fight against what’s wrong. What’s more ludicrous is that the woman prefers to victimize herself despite the fact that she has nothing to do with the victim. It makes no sense to live in a civilized nation when residents are still more privileged than others. Should I bring up the term “civilized” again? The way I see it is, if North American countries are so civilized, why do white people gain more than other races from living here? So, what I believe the author is attempting to imply is, being polite to everyone, maybe it will even save their life.

Project by: Tarek & Samantha

Video

Written Portion

Our video demonstrates how to properly employ adverbs, adjectives, pronouns (types), articles, common and proper nouns. Firstly, adverbs are words that explain the action of a verb. As an example, “consider how lightly the snow dropped on the earth.” This example works because there is one word describing another. Adjectives are words that describe a noun’s attributes or states of being. “She was beautiful,” for example, would work since beautiful describes a noun’s characteristic (the beauty of the person). Pronouns are words that allude to the person being discussed. “She ran a lap,” for example, is an example of a pronoun. This is an example since we are referring to someone using their correct pronouns. Articles are words that indicate whether a noun is specific or unspecific. An example of an article might be “she has a broken umbrella.” This example works because it specifies that the girl’s umbrella is broken. Another approach to utilize this example is to state. “She has an umbrella.” This also works because it does not mention that the umbrella is damaged. In a class or group, a common noun is the name of a person, place, or object. Common nouns, unlike proper nouns, are not capitalized. “My favourite newspaper is…” rather than “my favourite Newspaper is…” is an example of a common noun. A proper noun is the semi-opposite of a common noun. A proper noun is the capitalized name of a person, place, or thing. “I ordered the laptop from Amazon,” for example, is a proper noun. This is a common case because Amazon is a capitalized organization’s name.  

Test Questions

1)I’m leaving the house to go to the gas station.
a – Adjective
b –Proper noun
c –Common noun
d -Adverb

2) What is a pronoun?  
a – Specifies a noun 
b –Describes a verb
c –The specifics a person goes by 
d –Place or thing  

3)What is an adverb? 
a – A name of a person, place, or thing
b – A word that describes the quality or even quantity of nouns.
c – A word that describes a verb
d – A word that is used when you talk about people or yourself. 

4)Their house is so pretty
a – Proper noun
b –Articles 
c –Adjective 
d –Common noun 

5)What is a Proper noun?

a – A word that describes the quality or even quantity of nouns.
b – Terms that specify whether a noun is specific or unspecific.
c – A name of a person, place, or thing that is capitalized. 
d – The name for a Person, Place, or thing in a class or group. 

True North Aid

The project my group and I created was really well flowed and did not take out any of our free time. We used our school time efficiently and we got the written part of the project done faster than we thought. That way we all learned about Indigenous living conditions together. So, in general, creating this project was really easy. I’m glad we got to finish it as a group together. 

As I said above my group and I researched about this topic when we were together at school. We all learned new information about Indigenous living conditions together. Some things we knew about and the newly researched items were completely unknown to us. It was really interesting to research for this project since we all got to learn about how Indigenous people are living unfairly on their own reserves. 

One obstacle that my group faced while recording was not being able to get the recording right the first time. It took us a couple of tries to get the recording right since we all felt nervous around the mic. We eventually were able to get the recording correctly and we were able to do the final touches together.  

To be able to communicate the things that I have learned is really easy and the ways we did it as a group was really well flowed. While learning about the living conditions we made sure to stay respectful and on task, that way we would learn more. That’s how my whole group participated in their knowledge. When it came to myself, I would be able to communicate my knowledge by using Word and sharing the information I found on websites such as curio.ca and stat.gov.ca. These are both great resources, so when any of us were confused we would ask each other about what we were trying to display or what we are trying to do in that specific part of the document. So, you can say that we all shared our communication of learning together and that helped me do my part better. 

A Mountain Journey 

1. What was Dave Conroy doing out in the wilderness? (motivation) 

His motivation for going out into the forest was to support his family by trapping to support his family. 

2. At what point does the reader know the protagonist is in serious trouble and not likely to make it to MacMoran’s cabin? (plot) 

The reader knows that the protagonist is in trouble when he fell into the frozen river.  

3. What three critical mistakes did Conroy make? What are some of the things he could have done to prevent himself from freezing? (plot) 

The three critical mistakes that Conroy made were when he didn’t stop at the tree in the beginning, he continued going on instead. Also not waiting till March was not a coincidence for him, if he were to wait until March there would’ve been better temperatures. And the last one was he didn’t stop and dry himself off immediately. Some things he could’ve done were that first of all go In March for better weather, and he could’ve made smarter decisions when stopping and when he got into conflict with nature.  

4. Determine the elements of plot in this story: exposition, complicating incident, 3 crises, climax, and the denouement. 

The story’s exposition is that Dave Conroy who is exhausted and alone in the wilderness, attempting to find refuge to avoid death. The complicated incident is that he did not stop at the tree to build his camp. Three crises are occurring: he is falling on the ice, he is not drying himself off, and he is unable to open the matches. The story’s climax occurs when he lies down to rest, and its denouement occurs when Dave begins hallucinating and dies. 

5. Describe the setting – how does the setting affect the plot and the theme of the story? What is the theme – write a theme statement for this story. 

The setting of this story is in the snowy alpine mountains, it is in February since it is 2 weeks before March, and the setting is also in a span of a week time. The setting affects the plot and theme of the story since it gives Conroy extra difficulties to face during the story. The basic theme of the story is that we should be patient in life since if you’re not there could be many consequences, so why face them when you could just wait? 

6. Find one example of symbolic setting (concrete place that represents something abstract) and explain its meaning. Quote four images from the story that make effective comparisons (figurative language: simile, metaphor, and personification) 

The cabin is a representation of a failing conclusion since Conroy really was going to look for the cabin but at the end, he sees that there is no Cabin laying around and that it has been burnt down.  

7. Quote four images from the story that make effective comparisons (figurative language: simile, metaphor, and personification) 

Metaphor – the cold was an old man’s finger feeling fatly through his clothes  

Simile – …had sunk a foot in the new snow, white and soft as flour.  

  … “tea red strong as rum”  

Personification – swayed as the wing sighed through them 

Vocabulary 

1. Eternal

• Lasting or existing forever 

2. Immobility 

• The state of not moving 

3. Opaque

• Not able to be seen through 

4. Reverberation 

• Prolongation of a sound  

5. Momentum 

• The quality of motion moving the body  

6. Cadaverous 

• Very pale, thin, body 

7. Congregated 

• Gather into a crowd or a mess  

8. Inundation 

• An overwhelming abundance of people things 

9. Beggared

•  A person, most likely a homeless one who lives of asking for money or food  

10. Filched

• Pilfer or steal  

Tarek Diabmarzouk

October 6th, 2021

1. Why are the boys so upset at the idea of the girls carrying the water bucket?

The boys are upset since Miss Ralston has been giving them permission to carry the water bucket for the longest time, not the girls.

2. What strategies do the boys use to pressure the girls to give in? How do the girls react?

The boys use strategies such as bullying Alma, the girls fought back and didn’t allow this to happen.

3. Who is telling the story? What does she think of Ms. Ralston and the conflict over the water? From what point of view is the story told?

The point of view comes from a first-person perspective, most likely the girls are the narrators. They think of the conflict that the girls should have a chance to carry the water bucket too.

4. What is the setting (provide evidence). How does the setting intensify the conflict? What kind of conflict is it? (Person vs. person – person vs. self – person vs. society) Provide evidence for each conflict.

The setting is in a rural town basing that the school they would attend was a one schoolroom house which was popular back in the 1950s. The setting intensifies the conflict since it was so long ago many women weren’t allowed to do the things they wanted to. The type of conflict that is introduced into the story is Person vs. Society. An example of this is Alma asking Miss Ralston something society wouldn’t accept.

5. Who is the protagonist? How do you know?

The protagonist is Alma and I know this since she’s the one who started the conflict (which is positive) between Miss Ralston and the boys for allowing the girls to carry the water.

6. In what way has everything changed on that Friday? What is the significance of Ms. Ralston’s action in the last paragraph? What is the message (theme) the author is exploring?

Things changed on that Friday since it’s a representation of women’s rights and allowing women to do the same things that men can do. It’s all about equality, and Ms. Ralston made the right choice.

Tarek Diabmarzouk

September 30th, 2021

Australia, U.K. Rank Last on Global Gender Pay Gap Reporting

What is this article about?

My chosen article is on the gender pay gap in Australia. In Australia, the pay gap between men and women is 14.9 percent. Australia was one of the first governments to approve gender equality legislation, yet there was no dramatic change. In fact, in Australia, women must labour an additional 61 days to earn what males do. To summarise, this short paragraph is not only about the gender pay gap in Australia, but also a cry for society to wake up and understand that just because it’s 2021 doesn’t imply nothing has changed in the previous 30 years.

Who does it involve?

This article involves Australia and its ridiculous gender pay gap. Not only does it involve that, but it also involves the inequality that women face in Australia. It involves both men and women, and that that the fact males are still considered superior to women. How would you feel if you worked the same job as a guy but were paid 14.9 percent less? It includes human rights, women’s rights, fundamental human rights, international law, and far more than I can say. It involves a large number of individuals, but what counts is equality for women who are not treated the same as males around the world.

Why did you choose this article?

I picked this article since it grabbed my interest. I was reading about gender inequality in education, and in the Middle East, but this article reminded me of something I’d hear about my entire life. I’ve always heard that women make less money than men and that males make more money, therefore men should go to work and women should stay at home, which is really stereotypical and sexist. Since that isn’t always the case, but I’m sure I heard it a lot growing up in a Middle Eastern family. So, in general, I chose this article since it was always a hot issue about which I want to understand more.

How does this news article relate to the story we are reading- The Friday Everything Changed?

The comparison of both having a sexist history in this news article relates to the novel The Friday Everything Changed. The teacher in the novel wouldn’t let the girls carry the water bucket because they were girls, and the same thing happens in real life. Because they are women, women are not paid equally to men. It’s crazy that people still believe that just because she’s a woman, she’s incapable of performing tasks that a male can.

Tarek Diabmarzouk

October 3rd, 2021