Thursday, November 28, 2019

Review of M.I.A. song ;Borders; by M.I.A free essay sample

Artist M.I.A recently released politically charged song called â€Å"Borders†, which challenges the norms of todays society and the way we identify as people. Through the powerful lyrics and visually stunning music video for the song â€Å"Borders† hip-hop artist M.I.A questions what’s up with todays corrupted society as well as why we as people put up walls against each other socially and nationally. The entirety of the song is a political cry for major change in our culture in hopes for more unified and equal future for all of humanity. The songs introduction starts with questioning the true meaning of freedom and M.I.A is saying that instead of freedom we as people have adopted â€Å"I’dom† or† Me’dom†. Many people tend to fight for the individual rights of only a certain group of people or are only concerned with one’s own freedom. We will write a custom essay sample on Review of M.I.A. song ;Borders; by M.I.A or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This separation of identities defies our togetherness as human beings. The diverse world we live in is fueled by many forms of prejudices and racism which is the result of the misunderstanding, lack of education, or plain ignorance of a culture or certain identity. We as people need to be focused on the rights and freedom of all people despite race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, hence: â€Å"We’dom is the key.† The first verse states a multiple of controversial political issues in a purposefully simplistic manner, each followed with the same question, â€Å"what’s up with that?† For example, M.I.A sings the line â€Å"borders† and then asks after â€Å"what’s up with that?† Other points the first verse includes are the following: â€Å"borders, politics, police shots, identities, youre privilege, broke people, boat people, the realness and the new world†. All of which are followed with the same burni ng question â€Å"what’s up with that?†. M.I.A argues that this is the world that we have been brought into and there is really no answer to our unjust reality. One would think â€Å"what’s up with that?† is a fair question when considering police brutality, the immigration crisis, poverty, and the white privilege. The question itself is so powerful because many people do not know â€Å"what’s up† with these injustices in our society. The second verse takes a deeper insight on corruption of todays society by looking at matters beyond the politics and focusing on pop culture. M.I.A makes an interesting point by questioning something as simple as the slang our generation has developed on social media. The examples M.I.A chose to put in her song are following:â€Å"queen† â€Å"killing it† â€Å"slaying it† â€Å"you’re goals† â€Å"being bae†. Once again all followed withâ€Å"what’s up with th at?† These sayings seem pretty silly when said aloud but somehow through the internet these have become societal norms of social media communication and are even used to describe someone our society considers to be great like Beyonce. These expressions used on a regular basis show the shallowness of our generation and unimportant characteristics and mannerisms that are so commonly glorified. M.I.A questions a few more aspects of pop culture including â€Å"breaking the internet, what’s up with that?† This refers to Kim Kardashians nude cover for Paper Magazine that was captioned â€Å"break the internet†. This picture made its way to almost everyone on the internet because of the provocative nature and superficial qualities that once again are glorified. People tend to focus so much on irrelevant social media obsessions, such as a picture of Kim Kardashians butt, rather than focusing on genuine current affairs such as 46.7 million people currently living i n poverty. People separate themselves from the world of suffering when it does not directly identify with them. The lack of concern for people in suffering has had a catastrophic impact on our world. In the music video to the song â€Å"Borders† M.I.A choses to bring light to the current European immigration crisis by showing hundreds of people trying to climb large barbed wired fence. There were also scenes where people were looking like they are in suffering while traveling across sea on overcrowded boats. This is just one example of a major issue being ignored by our society. Many of these immigrants are Muslim, therefore, Americans chose to not identify with them. We disassociate with them by labeling the entire culture as extremists and terrorists. This is the result of Americans being uneducated and ignorant to the religion of Islam and other Middle Eastern culture. Because we assume they are all dangerous, we deny these people safety and haven in our country while they continue to live in conditions where they are fearful of their lives on an everyday basis. It is easier for us to separate ourselves from them so we can block them out and ignore the horrific circumstances that hundreds of thousands of people are currently facing. The song â€Å"Borders† by M.I.A argues that identities are still used to put people against each other. We separate ourselves from them because of our differences and put up walls or â€Å"borders† to ignore the harsh reality of our corrupt world. Whether it’s one’s race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, etc. the difference of identities are used to separate people from each other.In the final verse M.I.A gets to the root of discrimination. She questions â€Å"egos, your values, your beliefs, your families, history† and asks again â€Å"what’s up with that.†Our identities are being question on a personal level. What’s up with our beliefs and values that tell us it’s okay to discriminate? What’s up with our families? What’s up with our history? Why do we as humans continuously allow for an unequal society that only privileges white people.M.I.A argues that this is the â€Å"North, South, East, and Western.† We are one. We as one need to stop separating ourselves by identities and ignoring those who are different. Together as simply humans we can end the reign of dominant cultures and finally stop discrimination and injustice against minorities. â€Å"We dem smartphones dont be dumb.† -M.I.A

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Last Situation of Cyprus-2002 essays

Last Situation of Cyprus-2002 essays Cyprus, after so many years, is again in the news. International interest is alive again and hardly a week passes by without some personalities from one or another country visiting it. The interest is fully justified. After such a long interruption at long last the inter-communal talks have started again and since the 16th of January they are going on without interruption. President Clerides and President Denktash meet regularly, two or three times a week, and will continue doing so until some time in June. At the same time the E.U. accession process is reaching its final stages and it is expected that by December this year, Cyprus will be one of the countries to be invited to join the Union at the Copenhagen Summit. The truth is that accession to the EU offers a unique opportunity: it will make the solution of the Cyprus problem much easier to implement and will be of clear benefit to everybody involved. By far the most important contribution of the EU would be provided by its various institutions and Cypruss participation in them. Furthermore, Cypriots in the Union will come to understand, as for example the Germans or the Belgians have, that they can be loyal at the same time to their community, federated state, nation and EU as a whole. Another very important advantage of a solution, prior to accession, is that any agreement between the two communities will be enshrined in the Accession Treaty and will thus provide the best guarantee possible to both communities that what has been agreed is final and has to be implemented. With a solution the Turkish Cypriot community will be harmonized with the Greek Cypriot Community within a short period of time, probably not more than few years, there will be no noticeable difference in the standards of living between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. This will be made possible partly by the large special assistance that the EU is ready to provide. Already, it has announced 206 m...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Portrait of a Teacher Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Portrait of a Teacher - Personal Statement Example One particular past educator of mine singlehandedly embodied the teaching philosophy found within each â€Å"portrait of a teacher.† During my time spent in this classroom, I was able to feel a sense of belonging and purpose. Incorporating a student-centered instructional approach, as well as diverse assessment approaches, this particular educator fostered a learning environment where each and every student felt the driving purpose and moral of each lesson. Throughout the course of the year, the instructor cultivated learning through student interaction, as well as life-relevant lessons, which afforded each pupil a meaningful and unique learning experience. Although the educator incorporated the use of direct-instruction into the classroom setting, the majority of learning activities centered around student interaction and engagement, which allowed each student the opportunity to learn on their own, while the teacher played the role of the facilitator, rather than the dictator . Students in the classroom felt encouraged to think critically about a topic or lesson because they felt a connection to the instructor’s material, and no longer felt like an inanimate object in the classroom. The democratic feel to each classroom activity permitted students to express themselves through their artistic and personal strengths, and also led to peer interaction that was absent from most classroom settings. In contrary to this particular teacher, another instructor from my past lacked the fundamental qualities of an influential educator. Rather than promoting a democratic principal in the classroom setting, this particular teacher followed a more totalitarian approach to education. Thinking back to this classroom, I struggle to recall meaningful lessons or memorable moments. Instead, I can recall a sense of fear and anxiety, which ultimately restricted my ability to learn and develop as a student. The lack of peer interaction in the classroom, as well as the tea cher-centered instructional approaches, cultivated an inability to focus on the task at hand, and inevitably led to poor student retention and understanding. One specific instance I can recall from this learning environment, which illuminates this exact point, was during a test review lesson. During review, the teacher would simply instruct students, through direct instruction, of the material that would be covered on the future exam. Instead of utilizing a student-centered approach, which would have ultimately encouraged student interaction and promoted discussion on the topic of review, the teacher simply lectured on the main points of the test. I can still recall the feeling of being unattached to the curriculum, simply worrying about the results of the exam, rather than the process of learning or the enjoyment of being a student. Inevitably, this led to poor test results, as well as a lack of enthusiasm for education. As a future educator, my goal is to incorporate a sense of be longing and purpose within each and every student. From my experiences as a student, I can still recall the detrimental impact of feeling neglected or ostracized from the process of learning. Author, Robert Slavin, discusses the impact on learning when students are neglected within the learning process. Slavin writes, â€Å"