Freshmen: Today our focus was on public speaking skills and your quarterly Prayer and Great Thoughts talk. Your homework is to read for 20 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday, and to train for 20 minutes on Membean this week. Additionally, go to www.ted.com and view either one Ted Talk that's over 10 minutes long, or two that are under 10. Then post a comment on the blog that answers the following prompt: What Ted Talk did you view, and what effective public speaking skills did the speaker use? Post your comment by midnight on Wednesday and sign it with your first name, last initial, and period.
Sophomores: Today reviewed how to register for Membean and turnitin.com. You need to register for these sites tonight. For the rest of class, we focused further on the notion of creation myths and their common elements by studying an interview between Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell titled "The Message of the Myth." Please respond to the following prompt on the blog: What do you feel is the most important or interesting idea discussed by Mr. Campbell and Mr. Moyers, and what's your take on that idea? Complete your prompt tonight, and sign it with your first name, last initial, and period. Bring the creation myth you researched to class on Thursday.
CNF: Today our focus was on a different type of nonfiction text and how to discuss a current events topic.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
110 comments:
In my opinion the most intreresting topic Mr. Campbell went over was the dream aspect. As a kid no one ever really tells you what dreams are. For example I was told when I was 5 that when you dream it's just your brain playing games with you and that makes no sense. Mr. Campbell states that "dreams is just a manifestation in images, going down and down in your inner self in a personalized myth." Also I really loved listening about his take on duality. As Mr. Campbell stated that "Everything in the future is dual. Past to the future, life and death. The dual represents opposites." Overall I really liked the interview we watched because it was a refreshing take on these life long questions.
Olivia R., period 1, sophmore
One topic that really grabbed my attention in the interview, was the eastern tradition representation of the serpent. Typically, and especially in the Genesis creation story, the serpent is recognized as the element that brings forth the choice of the unknown versus the known, and most often through temptation. This lead me to view the serpent as the "bad guy." However, Campbell explained how the serpent should be viewed as the "continuation of life;" the snake sheds its skin and allows new skin to be produced, as we make choices that change our life's path, allowing there to be new beginnings.
Kate K., Sophomore, Period 2
In my opinion, the most interesting thing in the interview was how Campbell said that eternity is here and now. He said that eternity has nothing to do with time. He is saying that eternity doesn't relate with a past or present, that there is only what is happening right now, and this will go on forever. I find it really difficult to comprehend what Campbell is saying, but he has an interesting point. Later on, Campbell says that the purpose of these myths are to let us experience the eternity, and the presence of the eternal world.
Sam S., Sophomore, Period 2
One topic I found most interesting in the video was when Mr. Campbell talked about dreams. I have always thought dreams are interesting, and I constantly wondered why you have the dreams you do and what causes them. However it seemed I was never able to find the answer to those questions. I really like Mr. Campbells' take on dreams because to me it made sense and it helped me to understand. Overall I thought the video was interesting, and a nice way to take in another persons' opinions on difficult questions you couldn't answer on yourself.
Mason O., Sophomore, Period 3
I thought one of the more interesting topics talked about in the interview was the concept of eternity. It was interesting how Campbell explained that eternity is not an actual time or place, but instead it is within us, just like how he explained that heaven and God are not tangible things because they solely exist within our minds. I thought this was a very interesting thing to think about, because it gives you total control of what your eternity, heaven, and God are like. You don't have to believe in eternity if you don't want to, or you can make certain moments eternal by remembering them and having them exist in your mind forever.
Chelsea H., Sophomore, Period 1
I feel the most interesting concept was the thought that the ultimate idea we think about, which transcends nearly everything, is God. I absolutely believe this, but not quite to such a specific rate. I believe the idea that transcends everything is merely the thought of a greater being, a creator, something that can't be fully known or named. No matter how hard we try to imagine this subject, the whole person or idea eludes us. There is no way to properly define where our trust and love and hope is placed. There is no way to understand where our confidence, courage, and life comes from. All we can hope for is a flickering image of where we've come from and how we should live.
Annie T., Sophomore, Period 2
I believe the most interesting part of the video is that both creation stories the men told were almost exactly the same. They come from to different areas of the world that would have no contact at the time but their creation stories are almost exactly the same. It's like every story builds off the other one
One of the more interesting topics from the interview was Zimmer's idea of "The best things can't be told" "The second best are misunderstood" and "The third best are what we talk about." We can all say and read the word God, but what God truly is can't be said or written. God transcends all human thought. Using metaphors and myths to describe what is transcendent only fits into the third best category. And is the closest we can ever get to describing what transcends the human mind.
Maria W, Sophomore, Period 2
I thought the East's view of the snakes was a very interesting concept. I thought that almost everywhere the serpent was stigmatized but in many parts of the world the snake is not an animal of evil and deception, (like in genesis) but one of holiness and the shedding off death, as the snake sheds off its skin.
I thought Campbell's most interesting topic was his perspective on duality. The example he gave of the stone carving of the three heads, which I forgot the name of. Campbell explained that the two heads on the sides of the middle head represent good, on one side, and evil, on the other. But, the middle head represents a "holy entity", because this middle head represents both good and evil; the middle head represents living with a sense of duality in themselves. Campbell explains this further saying that we too should live in duality, and not just live as one side of the duality, this way we will be in touch with our inner being.
Sophie B., Sophomore, Period 3
One topic that was popping out to me was how to make stress your friend. She said that stress isn't hurtful to your body, its only hurtful if you believe it is. Here is a example, a scientist asks people if they think stress is hurtful. The people that said stress is harmful had a 30% chance of dying. The people that said its not hurtful had a 0% chance of dying. You see stress if helpful, next time you think that stress is bad for you.Its not, its just preparing you for this challenge.
Kate Silcox, Freshman, Period 7
I liked the idea of religions helping us in the search of a better way of "experiencing life". I feel this is very universal to many religions, for Christianity, it's welcoming Christ into Christian's hearts. I think it's important to use religion in a way that is good for ourselves and won't do anything bad for anyone, because if one wants to have a good experience of their lives, they should do it around people who are also trying to experience life in a healthy and positive way.
Long P., Sophomore, period 2
I thought that Campbell's most interesting topic was his perspective on, nature and God, and how it truly depends on your myth. This interested me because it changes with almost every religion, in eastern religion God and nature are intertwined while in Catholicism God and nature is two different things. Campbell said that this causes many conflicts involving land due to the fact that all many religions have many different views on nature. Another interesting topic that was discussed was the serpent. In the interview Campbell explained how a serpent in some cultures is looked at as a positive animal. Usually the serpent is looked as the negative animal and is looked down on. Campbell mentions that the serpent should be looked at as the 'continuation of life' because he sheds his skin to allow new skin to grow and be used.
Zachary Jerome, Sophomore, per. 3
I think that the most interesting idea in the interview video we watched in class was Campbell's concept of how we should live. Campbell expresses that we should not say their is so much evil in the world because everyone contributes to the evil. Every action that you do has a dual effect on something else. For example, every time you run tap water its good for you because you can drink it or clean up but it also has a dual effect that decreases the supply of fresh water in the world. No one can say they don't do evil because anything you do has an evil accent. Another comment Campbell added to this concept is we should not strive to change the world because the world is created the way it is for a reason. Every aspect of humans, animals, and the environment is created for a reason. Again he referred to the duality concept explaining that woman was created for man, plants grown to provide food for people and animals, and our concepts and ideas all appear for a reason whether we understand them or not. Our ideas, he explained, are split into three categories. One being the ideas we haven't conceived of yet, two being the thoughts we have in our head but aren't able to say or write. And lastly the conservation we have daily. The main focus of Campbell's research and interview was to express the concept of duality and how we should live.
Chloe L., Sophomore, Period 1
I found it interesting how each of the different creation stories were actually very similar, yet they are considered false by the differing religions. Really, the whole creation story, at least from Campbell's point of view, all depends on your interpretation. If the whole thing was taken literally, most of us would scoff at such bizarre ideas today. Moyers also touched on the idea that typically, man tried to blame his "sins" on the different creatures present in each scenario. In both scenarios, the blame was eventually put onto the snake, and the snake was then made into a feared creature. Campbell mentioned how in both situations, the respective deity knew all along that man would eventually eat the forbidden fruit, and that he would try to blame it on his wife, and eventually the snake. Interestingly enough, in many of the eastern religions, the serpent is placed highly in the line of animals. He is considered the giver of life.
Hunter C., Sophomore, Period 1
The most interesting fact in the interview video with Campbell was his explanation of the comparison between the eastern religion's symbolism of a snake, compared to western symbolism. In western religion, for example Christianity, a snake symbolizes sin or immoral actions. This symbolism was discovered through the Bible story of Adam and Eve and the Forbidden Fruit. However in eastern religions, for example, Taoism, Buddhism, and more, a snake symbolizes rebirth or transformation as they shed their skin. So in the west, snakes are negatively symbolized, but in the east snakes are positively symbolized. This is an important fact because it teaches us a lesson, that some bad things can be a good thing. For example, a snake may symbolize sin, but when the snake sheds it skin it symbolizes its transformation. This rebirth or transformation could symbolize a transformation to be better.
Bella Efstratis, Sophomore, Period 2
The concept I found most interesting in the interview was how Cambell described the how cultures in the East saw the serpent. In my mind snakes always seemed to be interpreted as a cunning, manipulative creature wandering the earth. In Eastern cultures, I never would have guess that they believed the Serpent to represent the Power of Life. Cambell also explained how the East believed that the serpent would shed the events of the past and continue forward with life, similar to how they shed their skin to grow.
Raymond Y., Sophomore, Period 1
I viewed Daphne Bavelier: Your brain on video games because I am interested about video games. Her presentation was creative on a couple of different levels. I enjoyed her presentation because she engaged the audience. She used humor that I could identify with, and she was extremely passionate about the subject she spoke on. The information she utilized in her speech was informative and made me want to learn a little more. For example, she stated that people that play action games have better eye sight rather than people who do not. A great point to bring up with my parents!
Ethan F. Freshmen, Period 4
I felt as though the "eternal" aspect that Mr. Campbell discussed was the most important part of this entire interview. Ever since I learned about the idea of heaven, I have always felt that it meant forever or everlasting, but he perceived it in a different way. Mr Campbell explained how eternity is just a dimension between now and then, a relatively short experience to say the least. Eternity isn't described as just a straight line, but as a rather cyclical event.
Billy R, Sophomore, Period 1
The most intreresting topic Mr. Campbell explained was the one about myths being that it "catches you". You develop sorta a longing "for one or another one of these myths" A myth that caught my eye was the one with cultures in the East in how they saw the serpent. Another how he explained dreams.
Anthony Trujillo Period 1
Today I looked at the most amazing video named Meet the woman fighting on the front lines of an American war .I say it was amazing not just because of the story but also because of the way the woman that presented on this topic told the story. in other words her speaking skills where phenomenal that literally made you feel like you knew the whole thought of going to war as a woman , and what the definition of a hero was. This speaker made me feel more confident about myself not that I wasn't ,but I just feel stronger in a way that has made me think things a little bit deeper. This speaker made a clear strong point also that woman are capable of doing anything they set there minds too whether its making a meal for your family ,or wearing a set of heavy armor on your back and running for miles. Also woman are still woman even if you have joined the war they still have feelings and yes they still like doing there hair ,and putting makeup on because there still the girls that they where yesterday only they have a mark of hero on them.
Angelica Rodriguez
Freshman English 9
Period7 8/25/15
The title of the TED Talk that I watched today was "How I Learned to Communicate My Inner Life with Asperger's". The speaker, ALix Generous, showed courage, grace and poise, and humor. Alix is a college student who is living with Asperger's and during her talk, having those social "disadvantages" people with Asperger's live with, did not phase her. During her talk she showed control by not passing and making awkward movements with her body, she also used hand gestures to help convey what she was telling people, to give them a better idea, and she used pauses and jokes! She interacted with the audience and never lost eye contact and spoke at a good pace.
I felt like the most important idea discussed by Mr.Campbell and Mr.Moyers is their understanding of what a serpent represents and the two creation myths they read which were almost identical.In the eastern tradition the serpent represents the giving of life which amazes me because I thought the serpent represents bad luck. The two creation myth both talked about a God, a Man, and a temptation which in this case was the serpent/snake but the readings were different because one was from the bible and the other was a song sung by the Pima Indians. In conclusion, I learned that most creation myths are similar and learned to not judge something until I know what it is first.
Chris J, Sophomore, Period 1
The most interesting topic to me was when Mr. Campbell said that Myths are what it means to live an authentic human life. A myth that really stood out to me was the one that Mr. Campbell read, i cannot remember from what culture that myth was from.I also found it interesting that the stories had a couple things in common, but one thing stood out to me. In both stories, the first humans did some sort of bad deed, and in both, the serpent was blamed.
Carson Butterfield, period 3
The video on TED I watched today was "how I learned to communicate with my inner self with Asburgers." Alix Generous, the speaker, used a way of speaking where she added humor to her speech. She seemed a little nervous at first but when she brought the humor in and git the audience to laugh she became comfortable and had a great speech. She also gave examples of how she dealt with Asburgers throughout her life and how she persevered through her tough times and is now about to graduate college and is the co-founder of a company.
Ethan Mitchell, period 7
In the interview, I found that the insight on mythology between Mr. Campbell and Mr. Moyers, is very significant with how we live in our society today. For example, Campbell describes the perception of duality, which is when two ideas are present simultaneously. This concept interested me most because it entails that life is about being unattached from ideas too far left or right. To be more specific, Campbell's description manifested duality as a three-headed statue in a cave. The statue had a head facing forward, left, and right. I found that idea to be important because often in today's civilization, one can get used solely to one-side of thinking. For example, in politics, one often sides with one party, typically democrat or republican, but campbell's idea teaches us that detachment from just one idea is crucial. I believe it is essential for our population today to take Campbell's advice, presented to us in the interview, and challenge ourselves to demonstrate a stronger encompassment of duality.
Hailey M, Sophomore, Period 2
The TED talk I watched was about the five things all parents should let their parents do. The presentation was quite humorous but also serious. He was very loud and engaged the audience. He backed up all five dangerous things with facts that are very important in a childs developing stages.
Gage Harris
Period 4
One of the first things mentioned in How to Read Literature Like a Professor is the repeating theme of bargaining with the devil. This theme has been repeated over and over in western culture. Later when read One Story on page 186 it states that " There is only one story. Everywhere. Anytime." Based in the previous statements it's not surprising I began drawing similarities between our summer reading book. I discovered that all the boons follow a classic quest formate and find self knowledge. In The Old Man Who Read Love Stories he goes out to fight a beast. In Edgar Sawtelle he goes out to solve his problems and The Once and Future King is the original quest story. Though I hate to use the word original since on page 187 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor they say " pure originality is impossible.
Melissa F. Sophomore p.3
Joseph Campbell, a mythological expert, taught me what eternity really is. At first I assumed eternity was just a super long period of time; I thought eternity was longer than infinite. Later I thought I had realized that eternity was the absence of time. After watching Joseph Campbell's interview, I hope I've realized that actual meaning of eternity. I don't mean the dictionary definition. I think I've realized the definition that's been independently invented In multiple cultures and transcends time. Though it's been often associated with the divine, eternity does not have to come after death or after you Achieve enlightenment. Eternity, is constantly happening and is concept, not a period. Eternity can happen at anytime and is happening anytime.
Melissa fang sophomore p.3
The most interesting topic of Cambells interview was how the serpent plays an important rule in myths including many creation stories. How it is described is to be the one that shows temptation but also the continuation of life. By thinking this shows that the serpent is making you do the wrong thing or trying to , but also continuing on the new life of other things.
Jessica M. Sophomore Period 3
In my mind, the most interesting idea that was discussed by Mr. Campbell was one of the major differences between Eastern and Western religions, which was how they both interact with nature. The Western religions tame nature and put man before everything else, whereas the Eastern religions accept it and encompass it into their lives. Campbell recalled on his trip to Japan that, in some cases, he couldn't necessarily pinpoint where nature began and art ended in some of their beautiful gardens.
Anthony (Tony) R Period 2
I think that the most interesting thing that was discussed was the concept of eternity. Campbell says eternity is "the dimension of here and now." Eternity is not dealing with something that lasts for a long amount of time. He says that eternity is being fully engaged in the present that you don't think about the past or the future. I think that there is definitely a difference between eternity and everlasting.
The most interesting topic of Campbell's interview was his comparison with the serpent in eastern and western cultures. For western religions the snake represents temptation, evil, or the unknown. In eastern cultures the serpent stands for rebirth, or starting anew. The snake is used a symbol because of the shedding of the skin, when a snake sheds all of its skin, it leaves it behind. This is an important lesson because it shows that sometimes what we view as negative in our lives can be completely acceptable in others. So the idea that in some cultures one thing could be evil, while in another it is a symbol of rebirth is very remarkable.
Tess M. Sophomore, Period 1
I think that the most interesting idea in the interview video we watched in class was Campbell's viewpoint on how we should live. Campbell brought duality to my attention. He stated that good and evil are temporal; that we should always live in the middle. This refers back to the "mask of God" in the cave where there were three heads facing different ways, but the one in the middle was living in good and bad. We can not only live in good and be good because everything we do has some sort of negative effect. For example, buying many school/ luxury books is good because they help increase our knowledge, but these books are made out of paper which comes from trees meaning the more books the more trees are cut down. We cant escape the evil in life but we are to live in the middle.
Sakina M, Sophomore, Period 3
One belief Joseph Campbell shared was the idea that as humans we are all ultimately seeking an experience of being alive. This concept in particular stood out to me as I believe there are countless equally likely theories as to the purpose, or what we perceive to be the purpose, of humanity. The idea of what we are ultimately seeking ties largely into what our potential purpose on earth is, something that I find endlessly fascinating. I find Campbell's belief that our deepest, inner desire is an experience of being alive to be more or less logical. I think as a whole, humans are more inclined to do greater things that are likely to evoke emotion or any result that will make our hearts race. Seeking an experience of being alive makes a good amount of sense because the vast majority of our memories consists of significant moments rather than inconsequential ones.
Emma J., Sophomore, Period 2
The most interesting topic in the discussion would be when Mr. Campbell made a remark about how humans will go out of their way to find and experience the truth in life. This is interesting to me because I've never really realized how far we would go to find something unknown or mysterious. For example, a myth I think a lot of kids could relate to, Bloody Mary. A game most kids would know for the right and wrong reasons. You could know of this game by your own curiosity or you're a real adrenaline junkie or by peer pressure. You know, go in your bathroom with your friend, cut off the lights, say Bloody Mary how many times into the mirror and wait until her image appeared. If she appeared and you saw her she'd kill you, that's how the game goes. But this goes to show how far humans would go to find out the truth. If this myth was real so many people would have lost their lives to Bloody Mary. And it doesn't stop there. Haunted houses all over the world and people spend nights in them. Forests and jungles guarded by the monstrous Sasquatch, and people walk throughout them. The ocean, overrun with sea monsters, and people swim in them. This is how far humans will go to find out if the myths of the world are real or just myths.
Myles B, sophomore, period 1
One thing that I found extremely interesting was the fact that western religion feels the need to correct nature, where western religions believe that they need to accept and even encourage the nature of one's behavior or mind. It's basically saying "nature vs. nurture." Personally, I agree that we must accept nature and we must not keep trying to correct ourselves because we have an infinite amount of desires. We as a human race must let nature play itself out and do what we feel is right because in the end everything happens for a reason. Nature is too large of an idea for us to correct, so we must not keep trying to correct and perfect ourselves because in the end you will never reach perfection.
Sofia Clark, sophomore, period 3
In my opinion, the most important topic in “The Message of the Myth” interview was the definition of eternity. At the beginning, Campbell’s idea about eternity really puzzled me. He said eternity isn’t a certain time; in fact, it exists outside the field of time. Eternity is a dimension of here and now, which thinking and time eliminate. Before hearing this, I believed eternity was only defined as “infinite and unending time”, which is also what Google’s first definition of eternity states. Although, when I looked at the second definition of eternity, I found it agrees with what Joseph Campbell said in his interview. It is defined as “a state to which time has no application; timelessness.” I never knew there was another way to know the concept of “eternity”, but Campbell’s interview helped me to understand this idea.
Beth L., Sophomore, Period 2
I think the most interesting idea is the interview with Joseph Campbell was that when we believe in a myth or creation story, we are not looking for the meaning of life, we are actually looking for an experience of being alive. He also says that myths are clues to the spiritual potential of humans. These ideas are hard to understand and even harder to put into words, so I was really impressed with how well he knew his stuff and how simple he made some of it sound.
Andrew Cotter, Sophomore, Period 1
The Ted speech I watched was "What is success." The speaker Sarah Lewis said that success can be defined many different ways. Some of those definitions are any achievement where you are proud of what you did, accomplishing goals, or sometimes just trying your best. Sarah Lewis talked with excitement and a smile on her face the entire time. She gave examples of how some famous people thought of success differently such as a painter who didn't feel successful because he thought that some of his paintings were incomplete.
Matt Cotter, Freshmen, Period 4
During the interview, one thing that I found very fascinating was the standard motif that Campbell mentions in reference to the story about the forbidden fruit. He explains how God gives one thing that is forbidden, which he knows will tempt man. Eventually man will be tempted to take what they can not have. By doing this God is showing them the way of life. This was very interesting because God is purposely tempting man to do this, but he knows what his intentions and results will be. Campbell also says, "...man is against nature, and nature is against man", subsequently the Adam and Eve story. I agree with God doing this because it is teaching men and women the way of life. They are having the opportunity to learn and expand from these lessons being taught. The video that was shown opened my ideas to the meaning of life and helped me understand more about humanity.
Isabella D., Sophomore, Period 1
My favorite idea of Cambell's is that almost all the creation stories are relatively the same. Even though they come from hundreds of cultures from across the globe, they all have similar traits. For instance, there is the idea of good and evil. Also, the woman in the stories was often the downfall.i thought it was fascinating how so many different cultures ended up with near-identical creation stories.
Logan s, sophomore, period 2
I think that the most interesting thing I learned from the interview with Joseph Campbell is his take on eternity. He says that eternity is not forever (which is what I previously thought) but actually a dimension of here and now. I remember him saying that eternity means "this is it." I have never thought of it like that before, but upon further thought I have found that it is beginning to make a lot of sense. After thinking about it over the course of the day, I have come to the conclusion that eternity shares many of the same qualities as God, and that the two of them could be thought of as going hand-in-hand. Campbell said that eternity is the absence of time, what God experiences.
Zach S., Sophomore, Period 1
While watching the "Message of the Myth" Joseph Campbell really caught my attention when he said we are looking at the experience of life. He said we will all have our own experiences to find our meaning of life. i completely agree with this and find this very fascinating. We do not have to believe in an certain definition of the meaning of life. We must find it ourselves while experiencing life. I was very impressed and interested in what Joseph Campbell because he had his own beliefs but the way he spoke made me think about my meaning of life.
Colin H period 1
The topic I read about on TED was ''How Autism Freed Me To Be My Self''. Even though her speach slurred a little bit, which she said was caused by her autisum. She still gave good eye contact and really projected her voice. She also had great pauses in her speech that really made you understand her and what the speech was about
Jalen T. , Freshman, Period 4
What I found most interesting watching Mr. Cambell's interview was the role of women in myths. Today, men are treated superior and more important than women. In myths as Cambell explained, women are just as if not more superior and important as men. This reason being that women create and bring new life into the world. Without women, you cant grow in population or reproduce which would cause a problem sometime. I enjoyed watching the interesting and found it fascinating how much I learned about myths in that short time.
Hailey P., Sophomore, Period 3
In my opinion, the most interesting point Joseph Campbell mentioned in this interview was what the serpent means in creation stories for eastern tradition. Normally the serpent is registered with evil or temptation, this is represented very clearly in the creation story found in Genesis. However in eastern tradition it is seen as the power of life, it sheds its skin to create new. I had never really thought of the serpent as something that is positive; I always thought it was something harmful. This made me think about how people interpret things in such different ways and the way you view something can be absolutely different from how someone else views it.
Ceceli R.D., Sophomore, Period 2
I think the most interesting thing that Joseph Campbell discussed was what we are looking for in our lives. He said that we are not looking for the meaning of life, but for the experience of life. I completely agree with him. The experience of life is much more personal than the meaning of life. Many people will look all of their lives for meaning, but no matter what, we will all find the experience of life by just existing. The experience of life is a long journey that cannot be put into one single meaning, but many memories and events. If we live for experience, we will find all of the many meanings, that when put together create ourselves.
Lindsay H. Sophomore, period 1
The vide o I watched on TED was how leaders inspire others. The example he used in the video was Apple. Apple is just another computer company why do they get success than others. It's because of what he call the "golden circle." Apple was saying what someone believes in rather than just telling about their product. He also used Martin Luther King Jr. he had people show up to his speech not because of him, but because of he believed in and everyone else believed in. It's why you do something not what you want to get by doing this.
Carter C., Freshman, Period 7
The most fascinating thing Joseph Campbell talked about, in my opinion, was the idea that all myths and religions are true. They are metaphorically true. I have recently been wondering about other religions and what is true or not. Campbell takes a different approach on the whole ordeal. I think that is facinating. I also thought the fact that women represent life was intruiguing. I thought they represent sin. From the few myths I have read, I have found that in several instances women are the downfall of life because of their mistakes.
Cicely F Sophmore Period 2
The most interesting thing that Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers talked about was about how in different ways other religions are connected. Like how the snake in both the mythology creation stories they presented, was the creature that caused Man and Woman to sin. It was also interesting how in both the mythologies, God punished the Woman and serpent, causing the serpent and woman to have enmity towards each other's offsprings.
Davit Harutyunyan Sophomore Period 1
The most interesting thing that Campbell says "man is against nature, and nature is against man". He referenced the forbidden fruit. God gave one thing that he knows will tempt man. Sooner or later man will decide to take what they can not have. God is purposely tempting man to do this, and know what mans intentions are. I think God made this fruit available because he wanted to teach man a lesson. When God give Adam and Eve the fruit it made man against in regards to taking a fruit of the tree, but as soon as they took a bite God knew and turned nature against them. This interview was very interesting and changed my thoughts and lots of different topics.
Caleigh Knight Sophmore Period 3
The most interesting thing I believe was when Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers talked about the serpent and how that one creature has two religions focusing on it but with completely different views. For example in western religions the serpent represents evil and temptation, because it has been left with the blame of eating the forbidden fruit. On the other hand eastern religions actually value the snake and think of it as a new start. This has taught me about perspective and how we can have very different views on the exact same object, and how we should be respectful of those views.
Kira L., Sophmore, Period 1
What I found most interesting about Campbell's interview is this sense of "eternity". For Campbell "eternity" does not hold the usual meaning of time, instead it is neither a place nor time or place, but here and now. I feel that for many (including myself) this concept is hard to understand. But trying to comprehend it could lead to a greater sense of this 'eternity" that Campbell describes to us in the interview. Therefore I look forward to watching more of this interview and being exposed to more of his concepts.
Koji Nagata-Brown, Sophomore, Period 1
The most interesting thing I think that Campbell and Moyers talked about was the meaning of the serpent in Eastern tradition. I had always thought that the serpent was supposed to be the devil or represent evil or bad luck. But in Eastern tradition, it represents the giving of life. I just find it so interesting how two different cultures or even two different people can infer two opposite things from something like a serpent in a myth.
Emma F. Sophomore, Period 3
The theology video we watched today in class was endlessly interesting to me. I found that I could relate very strongly with Campbell's ideals and beliefs. The most fascinating concept, to me personally, was the idea of God in the words of Mr. Campbell. According to him, God is a word, a thought. Our human brains are incapable of processing the complexity of the idea (though we do try to fill the gap with the multitude of worldwide religions) because God transcends thought. The force, "not a bearded old man with a bad temperament" is so great that our human, physical-plane minds are not built to comprehend it. I enjoyed the idea of finding a reason for my confusion on deciding what God means to me: it's innate! I don't know because I am not "intended" to know.
Megan A., Sophomore, Period 1
I think the most important thing Campbell said was how we should live without fear because eternity does not matter if you "don't get it now." Instead of worrying about the afterlife, focus on the moment and live it to the greatest potential. He said, "Live in the horror because it's hidden wonder." This means that a positive outcome will come out of being in a tough situation.
Another example of Campbell wanting us to live in the moment, is searching for the experience of life, not the meaning, just like Lindsay Hafer said. Searching for the experience is purely wanting to live, opposed to searching for the meaning, which causes one to miss how wonderful life is.
I watched the ted talks called, Cameron Russell: Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model. This was an interesting talk about how looks can be deceiving and how many people are insecure about themselves. Although Cameron Russell is a very experienced model she is also a very great speaker. She takes time for the audience to connect to what she is saying and stays at a very consistent pace that is easy to follow. Cameron added lots of points that are very comical and make the topic seem a bight lighter even though it is a very serious topic. She adds lots if personal details that help draw the audience in and make for a better talk. This talk had all the things that make it a good talk such as eye contact, projection of voice, subtle body language, clear speaking topic and many others that result in a very good talk about body image.
Ruby P. , 4th period, 8/25/15
I watched the Ted talk, "How body language affects who you are." by Amy Cuddy. Mrs. Cuddy spoke about when she was teacher, she noticed that the students that came in with a high and confident posture did better in the class than the students who walked into class and slumped in their seats. This sparked an idea in Cuddy's mind. If you made someone stand tall and confident physically, would it make them confident mentally? Mrs. Cuddy figured out that even when someone is feeling unpowerful, if make make them stand powerful testosterone and cortisol level rise in the brain, making the person mentally powerful. Amy Cuddy projected her voice loudly and kept very good eye contact with the audience. She even interacted with the audience a little which was interesting. Her body language was very confident she had great posture throughout the whole speech.
Anthony R., Freshman, Period 4
The interview with Campbell was very interesting, the part that I found most interesting was his knowledge of the snakes in different cultures. Campbell said that in both of the creation stories that they read in the interview all of the problems reverted back to the snake. It was also interesting when Campbell said that without the snake man wouldn't have been able to start his own life. Lastly the snake was interesting because in some cultures the snake is treated holy, whereas in the Bible the snake has a negative connotation.
Jack D., Sophomore, 4th period
Cheryl Winters. Sophomore. Period 3.
I think the most important idea discussed in the interview was the idea that myths connect people from all cultures. It's weird how all the stories we have heard in our lives are passed on through generations and spread to many other countries. My take on this idea was that each culture represents the myths in their own way. These myths continue through a cycle of changes and begin to develop new meanings. I find it very interesting that people from around the world are all telling the same story but in their own version.
The most interesting part of the interview today was how Joseph Campbell talked about the idea of us not knowing what the higher power is and all of our interpretations or explanations being wrong. He said our minds are not able to comprehend something this high and it seem to me that he had the same idea as the Tao Te Ching did when it talked about knowing the Tao. The Toa we know isn't the eternal Tao and the God we know isn't the eternal god which is what I think Campbell was getting at.
Simon C sophomore period 2
I found the idea that the traditional Judeo-Christian religions viewed man, God, and nature as pitted against each other, whereas the eastern religions saw divinity in everything very interesting. I feel like the idea of man, God, and nature all being against each other created a huge schism in the spiritual world. Christians tend to focus solely on what comes after this life. They see nothing on this earth as divine, merely mortal. Nothing is divine except God. By their thinking, life itself is evil; a sin. Eastern religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.) see divinity in everything around them. They see it in animals, in other people, in themselves, nature, and even in evil. They embrace everything. I believe they understand that balance is needed between these. They accept it whereas Christians fight it.
I don't think Christians have accepted balance yet. They do not see how good and evil coexist. We cannot have one without the other.
To have your own God, the one you believe in, against you from the start doesn't make much sense to me. I know this isn't the viewpoint every Christian takes, but it is how the religion began. I believe that to enjoy life, you must find the divinity around you and accept the world how it is, evil and all. This gives you more time to live, to actually find the good in life instead of focusing on the bad.
Zoe G. Sophomore Period 3
On Ted talk i watched, "A girl who demanded school" by Kakenya Ntaiya. She talked about how when she was little she was forced to do things she didn't want to but had no say in it. Where she grew up, Kenya, women had no voice only they men did meaning they could go to school, owned all property, and told the women what to do. Kakenya had gotten a opportunity to go to college in Virginia but she couldn't so she made a deal with her dad, if she gets to go to school she will go do the Female genital mutilation tradition. After going to America she learned the arranged marriage, women not voicing their opinions, and Female genital mutilation was all wrong. So when she finished school, she came back to her village and built a school for girls which was successful in educating them. Kakenya speaks loud and sometimes clear although you can't understand some things because of her accent. She looks directly at the audience, and has a good body language.
Rebecca A. Period 4
In the video I watched, this girl was explaining how our rights matter to us, and we should defend them. This really inspired me to fight for these rights in the letter to the editor assignment
To the one above
Alex Carrillo Period 4 8/26
The coolest explained idea to me was the mask/ face of eternal life. How there had opposed heads on each side. One was male, one was female, one light, one dark. It had all of these differences and yet we need both to live an equally balanced life. It really made me think about if I can bring some of these differences into my life. I found it really hard to do. There were almost to many traits to think about. I thought it was fun to watch because they are way back in an ancient cave. It really left me in awe. I had never thought about something that deep in knowledge before.
Ryan McCoy, Sophmore, Period 2
I watched "road trip through the whitest towns in America" at first he told stories about going to the towns and described what he did their. At Utah, St George he learned how to golf. At Cocur D'Alene Idaho he rented a gun and went to a shooting club. At Forsyth County, Georgia he found God. He uses humor to get people's attention using stereotypes such as golf. He talks at the end about how even though their are less racism their is still segregation and hopes that it will change in future years.
Anthony Redding.
Anthony Redding
Period 8
The most interesting thing that Mr. Campbell and Mr. Moyers talked about was the parallels with creation myths. They talk about how in both myths, there had been a choice, where in one they disobeyed God and in the other they trusted him. There were also parallels in blaming, ending up at the unfortunate snake.
Kyle Williams, Period 1
I watched John Green: a Nerd's Guide to Learning Everything Online. John Green's speech is about how you can learn just about anything on the internet. He is an author, and has his own educational YouTube channel about a variety of subjects. John Green used humor to get his point across during his speeches, which I thought was very successful. He used visual and video examples to help the audience understand exactly what was going on. He spoke very clearly and modulated his voice well. He could bring a story into his speech and use it to explain to the audience what he was talking about.
Stephen K. Period 4
The Ted talk I viewed was "How to spot a liar" by Pamela Meyer. Some effective public speaking skills she used was getting her audience involved at the very beginning of her speech, for example; Pamela stated "I don't mean to alarm anybody in this room but it's just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar, also the person to your left is a liar...". She used that to dig in deeper to her point, which is how you can be become a lie spotter and maybe go from lie spotter to truth seeker. She also used a little comedy here and there to keep the audience from getting bored.
Kimberly V. Period 7
I watched "How a driverless car sees the road". Chris Urmson started out by talking about statistics of drivers and the amount of accidents that happen every year to set up his talk. He then uses a slide show to demonstrate what he is talking about. HE talked at a good pace so he could go through a lot of content and would repeat important thing later in his presentation. He had some hand movement and pacing but he would indicate were to look at the slides and was very descriptive about how to cars work.
Tommaso Pascucci period 4
The Ted talk I watched was called "How a driverless car sees the road". In the begging he talked about how many car accidents happen each year and how much time we spend on the road. He talked about possible solutions for these problems that we face. With these statistics in the begging he set up the stage for the rest of his talk, kinda like the quote that we have to write in the begging of our pray assignment. Then he showed videos of how this new technology was going to deal with driving day to day. He talked clearly, he paced himself very well he was not speaking to fast or to slow. He made eye contact with the audience and made one or two jokes. He was not boring he kept the audience engaged.
Miguel A. 4th period
I watched a video about new technology that allows you smart devices to read your emotions and tell you how you are feeling. This was a very interesting talk that drawed your attention because she was very descriptive about the technology. She was also funny and was always smiling which made you feel like she is a friendly person. She didn't look nervous or Scared in front of the crowd, she looked confident and smart. Also she was a very good speaker, she spoke at a very steady pace and made the topic sound very interesting to the audience. Another thing that she did was give eye contact to the crowd which is very important for a speaker. One more thing that she did was talk about her self and relate her backstory to her topic.
Isaac Eaton
period 7
11/26/15
I watched a video about the geography of the United States. This video tells the story of the US landscape, neighborhood relations and the environment on human activities. Speaker a humorous tone begins to attract people's attention. During the speech, occasionally interspersed with some humorous words, make the audience's attention focused on him here from start to finish. Therefore, humor is a very important presentation skills.
Xuan Han
period7
08/26/2015
One of the most interesting things about what Mr. Cambell And Mr. Moyer all tied something to religious beliefs. Like Mr. Cambell said everything created is from the power of God. They seemed to believe there was a starting point and we are building off of it to make new ideas. Another interesting topic on how we should live are lives. "It is seekin a experience of being alive, experience the world which way we are living." I like how he says live life the way we are right now. That's a very important part of the movie because I think kids and some adults take some things for granted and don't live life to its fullest. Cambell also said the power are life are some tradition today. Just to be alive and living is a great opportunity. Back with the religious, God created us to live are fullest life and Cambell states that in how we should live and in our traditions.
Kayden M, period 1
The TedTalk I watches was called "A journey through the eyes of an artist" and the person who talked about it explained his work and what he thinks about while making his art. I think he was a pretty good public speaker because he was able to keep in interesting and fun by telling you jokes or teaching you something fascinating you probably didn't know. As I watched this he speaking made me really connect to what he was talking about and made me feel like a part of his talk. Over all he kept calm, kept a smooth understandable pace, didn't walk everywhere but did use hand motions to symbolize things, and was enjoyable to listen to and to watch.
Joseph Thomas 9th
Period 4
The most interesting idea I learned from Joseph Campbell's interview was that most myths deal with deep inner problem and inner mysteries even though the story may seem simple. Joseph Campbell explains that you have to work out what the problem is and once it catches you, you'll understand the true meaning. What was so interesting to me is that we can use myths to find the deeper meaning to problems or find what the true meaning to life is just from a simple myth. Myths connect with people in all different ways no matter the gender, culture, or views the person may have.
Avery Y.,Sophomore, Period 2
I watched "When to stand up --and when to let it go", it was about wether to stand up for yourself or let it go. She started out by showing a situation of which someone made a false accusation about her gender. Then she leads up to talking about the big topic and talking about it she uses humor and speaks clearly to audience with no hesitation. She also gets deep into her topic by talking about real-life events that happened to her. I think the best part of her talking is making the audience think more about the subject than just what she is telling you.
Chavo S. Period 7
The TedTalk i watched was called '' A journey through the eyes of an artist''. The guy that was talking was explaining his art work and what it meant to him and how he started out doing this certain type of art. When he was talking he used lots of hand movments and asked questions and related it to you. And connected with the audience over all this speach was interresting. It made me think of diffrent ways I could become better at public speaking.
valenia A.,Freshman, period 7
The TedTalk that I watched was called: "How a driverless car sees the road. This was a huge topic with so much science, time, and effort to cover 9 years of testing into 15 minuets of summarizing. The public speaking skills he used to do this, or at least some of them included, he used humor. His jokes made a serious topic seem more human. The speaker paced himself, so he could explain such a complex topic in 15 minuets. He gave a funny intro so that he gave the audience an idea of where this whole idea in a way that the audience could understand. lastly, he summarized it all, in again, a funny way. It gave me many ideas for when I have to present for our project.
Tristan B. Freshman, 7th Period
The ted talk I watched is called "Two nerdy obsessions meet" by David Kwong. The talk was about how we all are programmed to solve making great examples using the audience .What I noticed is that he talked loud and clear so everybody could understand him. He also used a lot of had gestures when he was talking. He modulated his voice very well raising it when something interesting happened. He made good eye contact with the audience and was interactive with them too which kept the talk more interesting. He was calm during the whole talk which made it easier to understand.
Caleb D. Period 7
One of the most interesting parts of Joseph Cambell's theory was the idea that all myths are simply a way of expressing what we are truly seeking. Cambell states that what humans are truly seeking is experiencing the thrill of life, or the meaning of life. That is the true purpose of myths. I find it fascinating that no matter where the myths were written, they all express the same desire of life. What really astounds me, though, is the fact that some of the myths were created by separate cultures, who had no contact with each other yet they share the same desires. This is important because ever nation identifies themselves as separate and unique. We have fought wars over that idea, yet, fundamentally we are not that different.
Abigail R. Sophomore, Period 2
Djivan Black
freshman
Period 7
8-26-15
I watched the TED Talk Alix Generous: How I learned to communicate my inner life with Asperger's. It was about a woman with aspergers who had to suffer through many psychologists an many misdiagnosis. In the end she is striving to create a program that will help people with aspergers be more social and successful in life. In her speech she made jokes and related to her personal life to keep the talk interesting. Even though Alix had aspergers and had trouble conveying emotion through words she still did an amazing job on her speech.
I watched Jimmy Carter's, Why I believe the mistreatment of women is the number one human rights violation. During his presentation, he used a lot of references to his presidency and how he did so much on the topic. He also used a lot of hand gestures and other movements while speaking. Many of his statements were a bit over dramatic to provoke interest. He would also use a lot of his opinions as if they were fact.
I also watched Alaa Murabit's, What my religion really says about women. She used references to her life growing up with ten siblings as comparisons to real world gender conflicts. She also used a lot of hand gestures.
Hector Lanchbury, Freshman, Period 7
The ted talk video I watched was called "What happned when I open sourced my brain cancer" by Salvatore Laconesi. The speaker used many effective communication skills. One skill that caught my eye was his eye contact. he always had contact with the audience. Another thing I noticed was his body langugae he had great body language. His body language helped make the speech better. He never had long pauses or stumbles. You could hear him very clearly. He had great enthusiasium in his talk. His enthusiasiam made his speech. My favorite thing though was how the speaker told a story to go along with his talk.
Nick Williams, 9th grade Period 7
On Ted.com I watched “How To Make Stress Your Friend.” Effective speaking skills Kelly McGonigal used were questions, expression, pauses, statistics, and opinion. Kelly began the video by asking the audience whether they have experienced stress. Then, she goes on to tell about how she has felt about stress. She also speaks fluently and uses pauses. Kelly also uses statistics to prove her point. She stated that there have been studies that stress makes you sick. She explained that she had made stress the enemy but has changed her mind. She is going to change ours. Kelly stated that people who experience a lot of stress have a 43% chance of dying, but that is only true for the people who believed stress is harmful. Within eight years 182,000 Americans died from simple the belief that stress is harmful. That would make believing stress is harmful the Fifteenth largest cause of death in the United States last year. “When you change your mind about stress you can change your bodies’ response to stress.” Kelly also interacts with the audience, uses body movement, and humor to get people’s attention. She explained what a social stress test was and how your body reacts to stress. She also says how we could use those body reactions in a positive way.
Sophia P. Period 7
For some strange reason, this website chooses to not save my responses. I viewed a ted talk about skydiving and wing suit flying. The speaker's best quality was probably his knowledgeability. He knew what he was talking about and was very confident about his topic.I felt very involved even though i was watching this video on the internet. It was also a very interesting topic in which i had no prior knowledge and i learned quite a bit from that short video.
Rene V. Period 4 freshman
The Ted Ed Video "eL Seed: Street art with a message of hope and peace" had a speaker who had a hard time speaking english, had amazing speaking skills. Not actually talking in the perfect english accent but his eye content his gestures his body language and his attitude changed the game. He was determined in his speech and his work which makes his session enjoyable to watch.
Charlotte Brown
Period 7
Freshman
I watched the TED Video "Chimps have feelings and thoughts. They should also have rights". I am an animal-lover and I feel so sad when I heard Steven Wise said "Most of the chimps are born with no parents: they are orphans." I couldn't imagine they didn't have parents when they were that small! They are legal things as we, humans do. Everything, every non-human animals are legal, they have their rights. I saw the chimps stayed in such a small cage in the picture, I felt so painful and sorry. Their eyes look hopeless and I can't imagine people using those small living creatures to do medical experiment! Like Steven said:"It's not even the beginning of the end, but they are perhaps, the end of the beginning." If we keep on being like this, we may have caused our own tragedy. So, chimps, as well as other on-human animals should have their rights, as we do.
Mandy Z. Period 7 Freshman
I watched the TED Video "Chimps have feelings and thoughts. They should also have rights". I am an animal-lover and I feel so sad when I heard Steven Wise said "Most of the chimps are born with no parents: they are orphans." I couldn't imagine they didn't have parents when they were that small! They are legal things as we, humans do. Everything, every non-human animals are legal, they have their rights. I saw the chimps stayed in such a small cage in the picture, I felt so painful and sorry. Their eyes look hopeless and I can't imagine people using those small living creatures to do medical experiment! Like Steven said:"It's not even the beginning of the end, but they are perhaps, the end of the beginning." If we keep on being like this, we may have caused our own tragedy. So, chimps, as well as other on-human animals should have their rights, as we do.
Mandy Z. Period 7 Freshman
Post a Comment