last ELA class

Last day of ARW… it just flew by really fast! In fact, today did not feel like the last day at all. Anyways, I admire the people who did the presentations today since they had high expectations from Rab and the rest of the classmates. The presentations were great! Maki put in a lot of special effects on her slide such as the sounds, which I really liked. Also, explaining her topic using Robin Hood helped pull the audience into her presentation or research topic in general. She also really KNEW her topic; not once did her eyes go up on the right. Once though, I noticed how she was speaking when the screen was blank so maybe fill that whiteness with some pictures?

I thought that Izumi’s topic was really interesting. Obviously it is too late but I was thinking that maybe we could have formed a group and worked together since I was talking about the ethics of zoos. I liked how she really knew her research material just like Maki. She also walked back and forth from the computer and the slide, pointing out some details on the screen which I thought was great. I am sure that she was nervous, but I felt from her way of presenting that she liked talking about her topic. As for her topic, I agree with her that people need to see pictures such as “the vulture and the child”. It confuses me why so many people criticized the photographer who took this picture because he didn’t neglect the child. Taking one photo also only takes 2 seconds, so it is not as if the vulture attacked the child during those 2 seconds. As I was watching her presentation, I became curious about what the photographers think about their actions. For example, did the photographer who took the falling man of the World Trade Centre become emotionally affected by taking this photo or feel guilty? If I was the photographer, I might feel guilty for witnessing a dying man and being unable to save him.

I loved Yusuke’s presentation. I was intrigued both by the content of his presentation and his style of presentation. He really has a way with the audience and reminds of the time he saved my friends and me in International Relations class in High School! I felt that it is impossible to label these leaders with the adjectives “good” and “bad” since we have to consider from whose perspective are the leaders “good” or “bad”. Wealthy German businessmen would have loved Hitler since he removed all the Jewish people who had a talent in marketing. People like Gerald MacGuire considered Hitler a role model. On the other hand, he is considered a ruthless dictator by the majority of the ordinary people (meaning non-corporate people).

I liked Kristi’s topic. I actually tried the koto in music class last year and epically failed. The instrument itself was heavier than I thought, the strings were thicker, and the adjustment of the pegs were really complicated. The textbooks that I was using were quite boring, and as she mentioned in her presentation they included pieces like “sakura”, which I found a little boring. However, I listened to her video clip in her presentation and was surprised! You don’t have to limit your music choices to old Japanese pieces; you can play modern ones as well! One of the reason I think Koto is becoming less popular is because of the invasion of western music instruments. Compared to Koto, piano is much easier to play as you only have to press down on the keys. One method to preserve these valuable Japanese music traditions may be to make the teaching of Japanese instruments compulsory in music class. In elementary school, students play the recorder, the piano, the accordion (a parade of western musical instruments) but close to no Japanese instruments. Implementing this into schools’ music class may prompt some students to take up private lessons in Koto!

Finally, thank you so much for teaching us this semester, Rab! Just as Megumi said in her blog, I too did find some of your classes challenging. However, it was really stimulating as you always presented to us valuable information that are often concealed from the public. There was a lot to think about in what you mentioned in the ARW classes, and it really expanded my areas of interest. Also the lessons presentation skills and technology were really useful, and for sure they will help me in my studies in the future. So thank you again!