Blog # 30- Selina Zheng - Period 1- 5/5/2020

Blog #30 Selina Zheng Period 1 May 05, 2020

Selina Zheng

5/5/2020

Period 1

Freshman 2020

Blogger #30

Aim: How can we evaluate Odysseus' leadership through his decision-making in his encounter with "Scylla and Charybdis" in Homer's Odyssey?to

As of today’s class session, we reviewed a situation that questions moral and decision making. The scenario of the Trolly Problem was brought up as a constant theme that correlates to the section we are currently reading over. The Trolley Question has no right answer nor wrong answer. It goes like this: there is a train that can not be stopped. On the path it is currently on, the train would kill 5 men who were unaware of their potential death. But there is one way to change the fates of these men, you have the ability to change the direction the train is moving towards and with the turn of the lever, the train would go onto an alternative path- but there is an innocent man who would die from this decision. Would you still pull the lever? 

Mrs. Peterson presented a video that twists the variables, each one consistent to the basis of the story but nonetheless can influence the decision of the person in the situation. These variables may include pushing a fat man to stop the train (killing him in the process), changing the identities of the 5 men, etc. After finishing the video we proceeded onto a class Kahoot. The leader board resulted in 3rd place: Venuka, 2nd place Thomas, and 1st Selina. 

But like said earlier, there are no correct choices or incorrect ones, and the deciding factor comes with perspective and mindset. And in the case of the Odyssey, Odysseus followed Circe’s advice and chose Scylla. Between the options of Scylla, the 6 headed sea monster, or Charybdis, the gluttonous whirlpool, Circe insisted that Odysseus to not be greedy and settle for the less risky option of Scylla. Scylla would only kill 6 of his men meanwhile Carybdis could kill them all or by pure luck, they may survive but the cost is uncertain. Once again like the Trolley Problem, someone could die, and there is no right answer even if there are more responsible choices. As a class and in our groups, we discussed Odysseus’s decisions, how we would feel about it, and delved deep into the morals and logistics to consider.

Before we broke off to our groups, Mrs. Peterson went over the topic of allusions. Unlike illusions, allusions start with the letter “A” and are references made to relate to the Bible, Literature, Classical, and History. There is a separate slide that focuses on allusions and examples of them. In order to recognize allusions, the reader would have to have seen the other works. Allusions are meaningless to a reader who never seen the piece that the author was trying to reference. Mrs. Peterson provided us with different types of allusions such as the video of the Family Guy’s allusion in the scene of their take in “So Long, Farewell”. Allison are used to conveying a certain tone or message as well as the mood of the scene. The interpretation of the allusion relies on how the author used it as well as the reader’s opinion. As for homework, we were assigned a task to find 4 examples of allusions in the things we were watching/reading. 

After the lesson on allusions, everyone went their own ways and began to work on the classwork with their groups. The 3 questions we had to do for classwork were related to the Odyssey scene that we read over after discussing the Trolley Problem. The section that the class spirit read is posted on Google Classroom above the lesson document. These 3 questions probed us for our thoughts and the emotions we would feel if we were any of the specified characters.

Reflection: During today’s lesson, I was introduced to the Trolley Problem. I had seen a problem similar but there were more variables to consider. The philosophical scenario I saw before was regarding 5 strangers and 1 person as well. There was an innocent, healthy person who had fallen asleep inside this surgeon’s office. There were 5 people who had been rushed into the surgeon’s hospital. All five were in need of 5 different organs, 1 per person. This surgeon is an expert, and if he were to choose to kill the innocent man, he would be able to save all 5 strangers. Should he kill the innocent man and save the 5 or should he leave the 5 to die? I personally feel that the situation shouldn’t be as rigid as the creators made it. I understand that there is a purpose behind each of the problems but if variables could be added in, shouldn’t there also be alternative choices? Back to the Trolley Problem, what if the person pulled the lever and screamed at the 1 man to getaway? There would be more of a chance for the 1 man to escape alone rather than to expect all 5, but the warning is important. Or in the 5 strangers case, should the innocent man die? What about using the organs of the person who was at the most risk of dying? Let’s say there is 1 man in the five who had loss the most blood, he was only missing one organ and had the organs the other 4 needed. Same with the Odysseus’ case. What if they prepared 6 sacks of rock or materials that were less important than a person’s life and use it as a sacrifice before escaping? Perhaps these alternatives won’t work, after all these problems were without a right answer. And that is why we learned about these types of problems. I think that Mrs. Peterson gave us these problems to consider because she wants us to keep in mind that a situation has more to it than it seems. She wants us to take in perspective and point of view of the things we see in books and in real life. From this lesson, my view of the world was enlightened as I saw how certain parts that were changed could have a big influence on the decision even if the result was the same. The second part of the lesson- allusions- were also brought in to teach us how there are more to the stories we read. It was so that we are aware of the smaller details creators put into their works. By understanding these hints, the story changes slightly. Therefore, the lesson from today is important because of how it widens the horizons and ideas of the students. For me, I learn to see more about the things we read.

Working from home has been a new experience. I don’t go out that much if it isn’t to hang out with my friends or to play badminton/ track. So being home isn’t bad if not, it is a bit preferable. But the actual school at home has been smooth and occasionally frustrating. When my network is spotty, it would affect my school work. I had to hand in one of the major projects late for STEM because of internet failure. Despite this, I think I am learning better at home. This might be because there are less stress (I don’t have to ask questions and can just replay the video or email the teacher) and more time for me to take my time. My grades are rising as well.

I heard from my sister- so the information is not absolute- but from what was said, apparently, schools might not have snow days anymore. After this experience in learning remotely, when snow days happen, the school could aways do online schooling. My other sister was very disappointed about this, she goes to college in a colder region. And so the snow days help in allowing her to stay balanced but now that they might potentially be gone was upsetting. My school life isn’t altered that much from this announcement since New York rarely has snow days anyway. I am still a bit upset since that meant even after all this is over, we would still have times where we learn online. Online learning isn’t bad but it is harder to concentrate.

I found out how, for lack of better words, idiotic Americans can be. There are gatherings despite the clear instructions to not gather. People are protesting because the government told them to stay at home for their own good and for the good of the world. Yet, these people would march (some without facemasks) because their salons aren’t open or they can’t fish. Also, there are more Trump supporters because the government sent money out to everyone. But what they don’t understand is that this money would create inflation and that borrowing from the future is not a solution if not will become a bigger problem. I am very worried about the tension between countries and the cost of the actions these Americans are taking.