C. JoyBell C.'s Blog, page 26
January 17, 2015
A New Kind of Feminism
I want to start a new kind of feminism. A kind of feminism which states that it is okay to open doors for me, it is okay to offer your seat to me on the subway, it is okay to pull out the chair for me when I'm about to sit down, it is okay to speak to me gently. Because I am a woman. Because being born as a woman means being born sacred. Because being born as a woman means being born cherished and prized. It is also okay to treat me as an intelligent human being who is skilled and mindful. It is also okay to be gentle with me because my skin is softer, my heart is softer and my tears are easily provoked. It is also okay to never hit me and to never slap me because, yes, just because I am a woman. Because being born a woman means being born holy, it means being born revered and respected. Just because I was born a woman. And yes, it is okay to consider how I might feel about something— physically or emotionally or mentally, simply because I am a woman. It is also okay to expect me to be of sound mind and strong heart, it is okay to expect me to be steadfast and true, because I am a woman. Because I will live up to those expectations, and even more. It is okay to see me as a person of sound thought, because I am a woman. It is also okay to expect that I might like to play football or that I might want to be a ballerina. I might want to be a soldier but I might want to be a princess. I might want to climb mountains and I might want to play the piano. I might believe in unicorns or I might want to believe in Buddha! I might want to wear pink or I might want to wear black. It is okay to wear pink. It's also okay to wear black. It's okay to speak to me softly, it's okay to consider my feelings, it's okay to love me, because yes, because I'm a woman. And if you don't hit me or slap me or push me, just because I am a woman, that is okay with me. Because women were born sacred, to be cherished, to be loved.
This is the new kind of feminism, a feminism that says I don't want to try and prove that I am as strong as a man or that I am better than a man. Why should I feel the pressure to do that? I don't see a man as a competitor; I see a man as another human being with his own strengths and his own merits. This is a kind of feminism that says that it's okay to see me as something softer, because I am softer. It's also okay to see me as something with great worth in the workplace and at home and at school. This is a feminism that gives room for men to aspire to become strong and gallant; a feminism that allows room for men to aspire to be brave and gentle and true! This is a kind of feminism that adores the woman in her exact form and function— mind, body and soul. I am a woman and I am free and I have wings and I can fly and I take joy in all of the provisions that are given to me just because I was born this way, I take joy in being seen as a soft and flying thing with wings, I take joy in being me! And this is my kind of feminism.
Copyright © 2015 C. JoyBell C.
This is the new kind of feminism, a feminism that says I don't want to try and prove that I am as strong as a man or that I am better than a man. Why should I feel the pressure to do that? I don't see a man as a competitor; I see a man as another human being with his own strengths and his own merits. This is a kind of feminism that says that it's okay to see me as something softer, because I am softer. It's also okay to see me as something with great worth in the workplace and at home and at school. This is a feminism that gives room for men to aspire to become strong and gallant; a feminism that allows room for men to aspire to be brave and gentle and true! This is a kind of feminism that adores the woman in her exact form and function— mind, body and soul. I am a woman and I am free and I have wings and I can fly and I take joy in all of the provisions that are given to me just because I was born this way, I take joy in being seen as a soft and flying thing with wings, I take joy in being me! And this is my kind of feminism.
Copyright © 2015 C. JoyBell C.
January 15, 2015
"Because I'm a man."
I have no words. It says everything.
January 8, 2015
We Are Not One
I have always, always been a spearhead of highlighting differences between people and celebrating those differences. I have always believed that the problem in the global mainstream mindset, is the propaganda to imagine that we are all the same. This "suggestion" is taught to children in schools, in clubs, organisations, and generally just as popular thought for everyone. But it is a lie. We are all so different from one another, that even twin siblings have differences between them. How much more the peoples of different races and cultures, different lands and colours! If you are black then you are black and if you are white then you are white and black and white— no, they are not the same. Jews and Christians are not the same. Christians and Muslims are not the same. Hindus and Zoroastrians are not the same. A red head and a blonde have hair of different colouring! Yet this veil is pulled over our eyes and we are all raised by society into thinking that we are good people only if we imagine away our differences. But this is a lie and this is wrong and this is why we cannot tolerate any differences— because when someone is different when we are expecting them to be the same as us— we either laugh at them or we distance ourselves from them. And in worst case scenarios— we murder them! There are all sorts of problems that arise, from all sorts of angles, due to the expectation of sameness. It is the celebration of differences that should be cultivated, because this is the way things are, this is the truth! We are all never going to be the same and we should be curious and felicitous towards these many, many differences. We should greet each other expecting each other to be different, and rejoicing even more when we find out the many small reasons that we are still the same, despite being different.
We are not one. Nope. We are in fact many. Seven billion many! And each one of us seven billion, we all have a right to feel like we belong somewhere and that somewhere is home and that in that home, we get to feel a certain amount of sameness as created by an underlying (or overlying) culture, language, predominant race. This is just a reality and that's why we have different races and different countries— because they are supposed to look different and be different and we are supposed to belong to one of them! We are not supposed to feel afraid to say and be who we are, when amongst our own people, our own culture, our own general mindset and way of being. People should be allowed to have that, we should all have that.
The problem with globalisation in this day and age, is that it goes hand-in-hand with a lack of clear limitation. The goal of globalisation should not be to eradicate boundaries and smudge the lines between obvious reasons why peoples are unique and different from one another; but the goal of globalisation should be to introduce and acquaint one another with the reasons why these differences can be beneficial one to the other! My people can help your people because my people have this and your people can help my people because your people have that, therefore, let us create a free trade agreement, let us create a special bridge for us to cross over, but let's please not start to make one another the same as each other, because we should each take pride in the reasons why we are different, in the reasons that do not make us the same, because if not, because without these differences, we wouldn't be able to help one another, anyway! It is because of these differences that we can help one another, that we can and should build this special bridge between our peoples.
All the problems in the world right now are a result of the above agreement being smudged into the background by the misled goals of globalisation. Look at me, I am a product of globalisation because I am the East and the West put together, I am different cultures and different races made into one person! When I lacked the acceptance of the fact that within me alone, there are contradictory traits and contradictory bloodlines— that is when I was most conflicted. But when I began to look at myself as a reason to celebrate many differences put into one— that is when I began to see myself as something most beautiful. That is when I began to feel peace. And I believe, that this is the only key to the world ever feeling peace. The key that I used for myself is the key that fits the keyhole of the world. When I wanted to look just like one side of my family and not the other side, so that I could feel sameness, so that I could accept myself thanks to sameness— that is when I could not accept myself. Because the basis that I had set in order for me to accept myself— was a lie! But it is when I realised that looking like myself and not like either side of my family is the reason why I was beautiful, and I began to celebrate myself because of that, that is when I found peace and not only peace, but a reason to have a feast, every day! A reason to eat cake when I wanted to eat cake! A reason to laugh at myself and to be cheerful and to be happy! I looked damn fine just the way I was, I realised.
So where do I belong? Where do I feel like I can come home and belong and be who I am and live in the dream that I want to live? That's easy. I feel that way in Italy. So far, I feel that way in Italy. And no, I am not half Italian, I was not born in Italy, but I feel that way in Italy because people just presume I am either Italian or French. So at least they presume I am from either there, or around the area! When I'm in Italy, tourists ask me for directions! I have to tell them, "Oh I'm sorry but I am a tourist, too." That's as opposed to being in my land of birth back in the states, where people have actually asked me if I speak English! So what do I do when I am in Italy? Well, the very cliche "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is what I in fact do when in Italy. I don't expect Italy to read into my mind and heart and change to suit me so that I can feel like she is a part of me, no, what I do is I try to soak up all the ways that I can adapt into a place that I feel like is my own (because that's why I go there, in the first place, because I feel like I want to be there, I feel like it is my own!) And my point here, is that, we all deserve a place where we feel like we belong, where we feel like we are free! The Italians in Italy don't have to change themselves in order to accommodate me and since I love it there, I change myself in order to accommodate the place that I love to be in. This is the right kind of globalisation— one that can still offer a home, even to someone who isn't born there! But the essence of home— and this is very important to remember— will be lost if it ceases to be a place where people that share a sameness collectively gather! If the essence of home ceases to become a place where people that share some kind of a sameness can feel free to do and to say as they wish, then we would end up with a homeless world! Now think about that. There are homeless people, right? What if the world was homeless? What if every single person felt like a homeless person, because we would no longer be able to identify home?
The true face of globalisation, is a face where we can find a home even in a place where we were not born. But in order to uphold this face, we cannot smudge out the lines of this face, we cannot smudge out and delete or erase the reasons why we can and should be able to feel like we are at home! We cannot force away clear limitations! We cannot allow people to come into other people's homes and start changing those homes in order to suit themselves. A home is a place most profound, most warm and most free and we all need to cherish the meaning of that! We all need to respect and to uphold the meaning of that.
When I was little, I memorised a poem and I thought that all other kids had memorised it, too. It's only as an adult that I found out that, no, not all kids had this poem memorised! Not everybody had even read it! It went like this... "I am me and you are you, I don't walk or talk like you, I don't even brush my teeth like you, because I am me and you are you..." and that poem went on, with illustrations, highlighting the reasons why we are different and why that's okay and why that should be celebrated. And now I'm going to go and write a new poem that is to that same effect, because there are no new poems for children that are like that anymore. Adults should read it, too!
I really believe that I have found the key. And it is up to all of you to use it. Thank you.
We are not one. Nope. We are in fact many. Seven billion many! And each one of us seven billion, we all have a right to feel like we belong somewhere and that somewhere is home and that in that home, we get to feel a certain amount of sameness as created by an underlying (or overlying) culture, language, predominant race. This is just a reality and that's why we have different races and different countries— because they are supposed to look different and be different and we are supposed to belong to one of them! We are not supposed to feel afraid to say and be who we are, when amongst our own people, our own culture, our own general mindset and way of being. People should be allowed to have that, we should all have that.
The problem with globalisation in this day and age, is that it goes hand-in-hand with a lack of clear limitation. The goal of globalisation should not be to eradicate boundaries and smudge the lines between obvious reasons why peoples are unique and different from one another; but the goal of globalisation should be to introduce and acquaint one another with the reasons why these differences can be beneficial one to the other! My people can help your people because my people have this and your people can help my people because your people have that, therefore, let us create a free trade agreement, let us create a special bridge for us to cross over, but let's please not start to make one another the same as each other, because we should each take pride in the reasons why we are different, in the reasons that do not make us the same, because if not, because without these differences, we wouldn't be able to help one another, anyway! It is because of these differences that we can help one another, that we can and should build this special bridge between our peoples.
All the problems in the world right now are a result of the above agreement being smudged into the background by the misled goals of globalisation. Look at me, I am a product of globalisation because I am the East and the West put together, I am different cultures and different races made into one person! When I lacked the acceptance of the fact that within me alone, there are contradictory traits and contradictory bloodlines— that is when I was most conflicted. But when I began to look at myself as a reason to celebrate many differences put into one— that is when I began to see myself as something most beautiful. That is when I began to feel peace. And I believe, that this is the only key to the world ever feeling peace. The key that I used for myself is the key that fits the keyhole of the world. When I wanted to look just like one side of my family and not the other side, so that I could feel sameness, so that I could accept myself thanks to sameness— that is when I could not accept myself. Because the basis that I had set in order for me to accept myself— was a lie! But it is when I realised that looking like myself and not like either side of my family is the reason why I was beautiful, and I began to celebrate myself because of that, that is when I found peace and not only peace, but a reason to have a feast, every day! A reason to eat cake when I wanted to eat cake! A reason to laugh at myself and to be cheerful and to be happy! I looked damn fine just the way I was, I realised.
So where do I belong? Where do I feel like I can come home and belong and be who I am and live in the dream that I want to live? That's easy. I feel that way in Italy. So far, I feel that way in Italy. And no, I am not half Italian, I was not born in Italy, but I feel that way in Italy because people just presume I am either Italian or French. So at least they presume I am from either there, or around the area! When I'm in Italy, tourists ask me for directions! I have to tell them, "Oh I'm sorry but I am a tourist, too." That's as opposed to being in my land of birth back in the states, where people have actually asked me if I speak English! So what do I do when I am in Italy? Well, the very cliche "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is what I in fact do when in Italy. I don't expect Italy to read into my mind and heart and change to suit me so that I can feel like she is a part of me, no, what I do is I try to soak up all the ways that I can adapt into a place that I feel like is my own (because that's why I go there, in the first place, because I feel like I want to be there, I feel like it is my own!) And my point here, is that, we all deserve a place where we feel like we belong, where we feel like we are free! The Italians in Italy don't have to change themselves in order to accommodate me and since I love it there, I change myself in order to accommodate the place that I love to be in. This is the right kind of globalisation— one that can still offer a home, even to someone who isn't born there! But the essence of home— and this is very important to remember— will be lost if it ceases to be a place where people that share a sameness collectively gather! If the essence of home ceases to become a place where people that share some kind of a sameness can feel free to do and to say as they wish, then we would end up with a homeless world! Now think about that. There are homeless people, right? What if the world was homeless? What if every single person felt like a homeless person, because we would no longer be able to identify home?
The true face of globalisation, is a face where we can find a home even in a place where we were not born. But in order to uphold this face, we cannot smudge out the lines of this face, we cannot smudge out and delete or erase the reasons why we can and should be able to feel like we are at home! We cannot force away clear limitations! We cannot allow people to come into other people's homes and start changing those homes in order to suit themselves. A home is a place most profound, most warm and most free and we all need to cherish the meaning of that! We all need to respect and to uphold the meaning of that.
When I was little, I memorised a poem and I thought that all other kids had memorised it, too. It's only as an adult that I found out that, no, not all kids had this poem memorised! Not everybody had even read it! It went like this... "I am me and you are you, I don't walk or talk like you, I don't even brush my teeth like you, because I am me and you are you..." and that poem went on, with illustrations, highlighting the reasons why we are different and why that's okay and why that should be celebrated. And now I'm going to go and write a new poem that is to that same effect, because there are no new poems for children that are like that anymore. Adults should read it, too!
I really believe that I have found the key. And it is up to all of you to use it. Thank you.
January 7, 2015
#IAmCharlie #JeSuisCharlie #WeAreCharlie
What happened in Paris is different. What happened in Paris is not an ancient war between cultures, races and brothers. What happened in Paris was stupidity. And it's stupidity because anyone who wants to launch an attack upon the freedom of thought and the freedom of art and the freedom of expression, is launching an attack on all of humanity. If not for these three freedoms, then the human race would not exist today. We would have not evolved! Apparently, some people have not yet evolved, made evident by the lilliputian actions made by sociopaths in Paris, against people who like to draw!
Without the three freedoms— the freedom of thought, the freedom of art and the freedom of expression— I wouldn't be here, either. It is freedom that has catapulted me, and any one of any of us who has become anything— to become anything, at all!
In Paris yesterday, there are people who attempted to cut the wings of the three freedoms that we hold so dear to our hearts as a human race. They attempted to sever the wings of the three freedoms that we rely on to thrive as a species! I say this is too much. I say down with terror. I say stop this now. I say #IAmCharlie, #WeAreCharlie, #JeSuisCharlie
December 27, 2014
Fourteen
Fourteen
I do not love my sonI am in love with my sonThe way they write about soul matesIs the way that I think about himHis mind moves in my heartAnd my heart moves in his soulHis soul moves above the watersThe waters that is meAnd I sing to him a song likeI am the goddess of the seasSo I do not love my sonBut I am in love with my sonIn the ways that they waitFor someone to save their soulsMy soul has been savedThe day after Christmas The day he was bornFourteen years ago
Today
Copyright © 2014 C. JoyBell C. All rights reserved.
I do not love my sonI am in love with my sonThe way they write about soul matesIs the way that I think about himHis mind moves in my heartAnd my heart moves in his soulHis soul moves above the watersThe waters that is meAnd I sing to him a song likeI am the goddess of the seasSo I do not love my sonBut I am in love with my sonIn the ways that they waitFor someone to save their soulsMy soul has been savedThe day after Christmas The day he was bornFourteen years ago
Today
Copyright © 2014 C. JoyBell C. All rights reserved.
December 25, 2014
A Viaxe Continua!
Hello, wonderfuls! How are the holidays going for you? I hope just as wonderful as you are! So lately, I have been thinking about how I differentiate myself from other public figures, been thinking about the big difference that I feel exists between what it is that I do and what it is that other people are doing. In doing so, I've reflected back to when I first started becoming a serious writer, because that's when I asked myself what I was doing. What am I doing? I asked myself, and I wasn't sure yet but one thing that I was sure of, was the fact that I knew what I wasn't! And what was it that I wasn't? Well, I wasn't an entertainer, that's what I was sure of. I knew that I didn't see myself as an entertainer, I knew that I wasn't writing to make people happy, or to entertain people. And beyond that, I didn't have any answers yet, but that's the one thing that I did know.
So why didn't I consider myself to be an entertainer? Well, because I knew that I wasn't going to write anything in order to make people happy; that just wasn't my goal. I didn't have this goal of pleasing people. But I felt in my heart that I had a mission— that I needed to go into a certain direction, because if not, I wouldn't be able to fulfil that mission! And so I went into that direction, I just kept on following the path that kept on filling the void that was in me. You see, the void within you is like a hungry animal. Pick your favourite animal! Okay, now imagine that animal inside of you, living inside of your ribcage, and it's hungry! You find the direction that you're supposed to go into, by feeling where that animal's food is coming from! And so you keep on feeding it, you keep on heading into that direction, you keep on going that way... because you don't want it to go hungry! And that's what I've been doing!
As I look back at the year which is now coming to a close, I can see how many times I got angry at people and I can see the root of that being their expectation of me to fulfil their desires for themselves. Whenever I got a word of, "You disappoint me by saying this" my reaction would immediately be, "The hell I care if you're disappointed!" But right now I can see that what it really was, was me saying, "I'm trying to feed my tiger here, stop trying to take his food away!" It was this inner hunger that I was feeding and it annoyed me beyond belief to feel even for just a minute, that anyone would think that I was there hoping that they're happy with me. That's what it was really about!
And as I look back at the year which is nearing its end in a few days, I can see how many times I've felt comforted by all of my wonderfuls, by all of you! Time and time again, you guys would pop out of nowhere to remind me that I was going in the right direction, that the tiger was being fed, that I would eventually really see the destination and know that I had found my way! Time and time again, you brought tears to my eyes, letting me know just how much my existence has moved in your beings!
When I post photos, that is a form of expression for me— self-expression— not an offering of entertainment. When I share things that I write or that I just think, that is an activity of creation that I perform with my hands and my mind! I am building inner cities that are invisible to the eye but that are felt in the hearts of thousands of people, everywhere! I am a builder of invisible cities.
I want to say thank you, to each and every wonderful out there, and especially to those ones who have loved me the most. Thank you because you saw me walking on my path and you chose to walk with me. And look! We have a whole new year ahead! A viaxe continua!
C. Bells
So why didn't I consider myself to be an entertainer? Well, because I knew that I wasn't going to write anything in order to make people happy; that just wasn't my goal. I didn't have this goal of pleasing people. But I felt in my heart that I had a mission— that I needed to go into a certain direction, because if not, I wouldn't be able to fulfil that mission! And so I went into that direction, I just kept on following the path that kept on filling the void that was in me. You see, the void within you is like a hungry animal. Pick your favourite animal! Okay, now imagine that animal inside of you, living inside of your ribcage, and it's hungry! You find the direction that you're supposed to go into, by feeling where that animal's food is coming from! And so you keep on feeding it, you keep on heading into that direction, you keep on going that way... because you don't want it to go hungry! And that's what I've been doing!
As I look back at the year which is now coming to a close, I can see how many times I got angry at people and I can see the root of that being their expectation of me to fulfil their desires for themselves. Whenever I got a word of, "You disappoint me by saying this" my reaction would immediately be, "The hell I care if you're disappointed!" But right now I can see that what it really was, was me saying, "I'm trying to feed my tiger here, stop trying to take his food away!" It was this inner hunger that I was feeding and it annoyed me beyond belief to feel even for just a minute, that anyone would think that I was there hoping that they're happy with me. That's what it was really about!
And as I look back at the year which is nearing its end in a few days, I can see how many times I've felt comforted by all of my wonderfuls, by all of you! Time and time again, you guys would pop out of nowhere to remind me that I was going in the right direction, that the tiger was being fed, that I would eventually really see the destination and know that I had found my way! Time and time again, you brought tears to my eyes, letting me know just how much my existence has moved in your beings!
When I post photos, that is a form of expression for me— self-expression— not an offering of entertainment. When I share things that I write or that I just think, that is an activity of creation that I perform with my hands and my mind! I am building inner cities that are invisible to the eye but that are felt in the hearts of thousands of people, everywhere! I am a builder of invisible cities.
I want to say thank you, to each and every wonderful out there, and especially to those ones who have loved me the most. Thank you because you saw me walking on my path and you chose to walk with me. And look! We have a whole new year ahead! A viaxe continua!
C. Bells
December 16, 2014
Of Roses
Of Roses
If all of the Words from my penWere imprinted ontoMy skinI would beA hurricaneA hurricaneA hurricaneA hurricaneA hurricaneOf Roses
Sweet roses
Copyright © 2014 C. JoyBell C. All rights reserved.
If all of the Words from my penWere imprinted ontoMy skinI would beA hurricaneA hurricaneA hurricaneA hurricaneA hurricaneOf Roses
Sweet roses
Copyright © 2014 C. JoyBell C. All rights reserved.
December 14, 2014
Discount Code for December!
Hey, wonderfuls! Just wanted to let you know that for the rest of the month of December, you'll be able to get The Sun Is Snowing: The Scrapbook, at 20% off, with this discount code: WEEYDN69 which can be applied at checkout from the book's CreateSpace direct store. Knock yourselves out, beautifuls! This particular book would make a great Christmas/ holiday present!
With love and holiday cheer,
C. Bells
With love and holiday cheer,
C. Bells
December 10, 2014
Here's a lot for you to think about.
As you wonderfuls all know, I am one to see the stories that unfold in all the pockets of air around us. Invisible, unseen stories unfold in front of my eyes, they come from the thoughts and feelings of people, trees, stones, the water, the air... the cats... bottom line is, I pick up stories, or rather, I soak up stories.
Now, many of you also know that I take a lot of university open online courses, so naturally, I have been able to pick up the stories from those classroom forums. And I have a few things to say, so brace yourselves.
I previously thought that all the talk about educational systems being detrimental to the growth of the individual rather than beneficial, was just that, all a bunch of talk. But now I can see that those people are coming from somewhere and they know what they're talking about. You'd think that a non-traditional learning environment like a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) would cultivate non-traditional, beneficial reactions and behaviours from the students enrolled. Sure, it is the case in some seldom circumstances— but then those circumstances are very seldom. Most of the time, I am saying to myself, If this is how adults act in life, then how can any adult anywhere, expect more from the younger generation? If we are to expect nobility or at least just decency, from the younger generation, shouldn't we be the ones to first exude these traits? To cultivate these traits within us?
Just like any high school from your everyday, average high school nightmare session— people in MOOCs try to be teachers' pets, try to go off in little "groups", try to huddle together whilst making others feel bad... it's high school minds in adult bodies. It's terrible. Really, it is. But more than just the shallow high school nightmarish stuff, it does go much deeper than that. I have encountered classmates who are so afraid of the grading systems, that they would rather follow the prescribed grading system (because we grade one another for our written essays) than grade a fellow student according to how they see fit. Now what I'm saying here, is that many times, the grading rubric puts a limit on the student. Many times, a student will perform so much better than the ceiling reach of the rubric provided. In such cases, I will give the fellow classmate a perfect score. I don't allow the rubric to limit the performance of a peer. Of course, there is the big question, But what if the other students don't do the same for me? But the way I see it, is that it really doesn't matter. If I give everyone I grade a perfect score, that won't make my own score go down and if I fail everyone I grade, that wouldn't make my own score go up, either! So why not give to someone what that someone really deserves? And when an essay I am grading is absolutely terrible, what I do is try to use the rubric to find "rubric goodies" within it. I'm like, "Okay, really bad essay, let's see if this lacklustre rubric can squeeze some good stuff out of you."
I'm afraid I am witness to people turning into "sheeple", in the educational system called the MOOC. And if I can see this in a very progressive system of teaching, then how much more of this is going on in the traditional educational setting? Or perhaps it's just because these adults all went to school traditionally many years ago, and are already presently sheeple and really just don't know any other better way of being? What do you think? I think that lots of people come in as sheeple and want everybody else to be sheeple, too. It's almost like their worlds are shaken to hear a different way of doing things (because I always share my own ways of doing things, in the forums). It makes them feel uneasy, it makes them feel disoriented. Why is that woman grading the essays like that! What if it's not my essay she's grading? Then that will mean someone will get a really big score just because she grades that way, which means my score won't be so big in comparison, which means I need to stop this woman and tell her that she's doing things wrongly! I'm pretty sure that's how some people think, because that's sure how some of them react.
Aside from the points already discussed here, I also see gender oppression in MOOCs. I have a very feminine, sweet name and I'm pretty sure that's why some students follow me around in the forums relentlessly, down-voting my comments and discussions, for no reason whatsoever. I could say "Thank you" in a comment and somebody will down-vote it. Meanwhile, a woman named "Barbara" or "Susan" (strong sounding names), can say whatever they want without taking any heat. There is a list of top people in the forums and I have looked at these lists, and curiously, all females with feminine names (Maria, Anna, Marie, Emma, etc.) have a significantly higher rate of down-votes as compared to the men and the other women with more robust-sounding names. So why is it that you can be smart, say smart things, but then be bullied because you have a feminine sounding name? And do keep in mind that this is all online, people don't even know what other people look like, aside from the tiny, little itty bitty profile photo that we are allowed to have for the forums. So this is all activity that I have noticed amongst people who don't even have physical interaction with one another.
Another remarkable thing I've observed, is how, at the beginning of a course, everybody treats everybody else a bit roughly. Well, not everybody. But very many. Then at the end of a course, everybody will be wishing everyone else well. This makes me conclude that students come into a course with a very high sense of competition, of a need to compete, as if being in school is being in a reality t.v. show where there is only one winner and that winner is going to take home a hundred thousand dollars!
Why are adults acting like this? Why are all these issues still rampant in today's world? Aren't we all getting any better, at all? Aren't we all becoming more and more "enlightened"? Or is that all just a bunch of shit that we say when we're on Facebook? Is that all just a bunch of talk that people say on Facebook and make into memes? Seriously, where are all the enlightened, free-thought, full-of-positivity people? They're certainly not in the classrooms! So what does it mean when we realise that educational systems are in fact not fostering what we know should be fostered in everyone, everywhere? In our kids and in our selves!
I will leave you with a lot to ponder upon, today. And I want you to ponder upon all of these points, because it's serious stuff and we need to change it. You can change it. One person at a time. If we want our kids to be better people, then we need to be better people, first. Frankly, I am truly tired of being a catalyst for change wherever I go, because it's not like I try to be it, it's just that I'm divergent and I can't conform to anything that I know is not the best for anyone to conform to. So I end up shattering walls and building new structures and it gets tiring. It gets tiring because more often than not, you're all alone! Not everyone is divergent. In fact, most people are not divergent, that's why you're divergent, in the first place, because you're different, because most people aren't like you. But I can't stop being divergent, because this is me. What I can do, is encourage you to join me. Trust me, it's hard, but we sure do have some fun over here!
C. Bells.
Now, many of you also know that I take a lot of university open online courses, so naturally, I have been able to pick up the stories from those classroom forums. And I have a few things to say, so brace yourselves.
I previously thought that all the talk about educational systems being detrimental to the growth of the individual rather than beneficial, was just that, all a bunch of talk. But now I can see that those people are coming from somewhere and they know what they're talking about. You'd think that a non-traditional learning environment like a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) would cultivate non-traditional, beneficial reactions and behaviours from the students enrolled. Sure, it is the case in some seldom circumstances— but then those circumstances are very seldom. Most of the time, I am saying to myself, If this is how adults act in life, then how can any adult anywhere, expect more from the younger generation? If we are to expect nobility or at least just decency, from the younger generation, shouldn't we be the ones to first exude these traits? To cultivate these traits within us?
Just like any high school from your everyday, average high school nightmare session— people in MOOCs try to be teachers' pets, try to go off in little "groups", try to huddle together whilst making others feel bad... it's high school minds in adult bodies. It's terrible. Really, it is. But more than just the shallow high school nightmarish stuff, it does go much deeper than that. I have encountered classmates who are so afraid of the grading systems, that they would rather follow the prescribed grading system (because we grade one another for our written essays) than grade a fellow student according to how they see fit. Now what I'm saying here, is that many times, the grading rubric puts a limit on the student. Many times, a student will perform so much better than the ceiling reach of the rubric provided. In such cases, I will give the fellow classmate a perfect score. I don't allow the rubric to limit the performance of a peer. Of course, there is the big question, But what if the other students don't do the same for me? But the way I see it, is that it really doesn't matter. If I give everyone I grade a perfect score, that won't make my own score go down and if I fail everyone I grade, that wouldn't make my own score go up, either! So why not give to someone what that someone really deserves? And when an essay I am grading is absolutely terrible, what I do is try to use the rubric to find "rubric goodies" within it. I'm like, "Okay, really bad essay, let's see if this lacklustre rubric can squeeze some good stuff out of you."
I'm afraid I am witness to people turning into "sheeple", in the educational system called the MOOC. And if I can see this in a very progressive system of teaching, then how much more of this is going on in the traditional educational setting? Or perhaps it's just because these adults all went to school traditionally many years ago, and are already presently sheeple and really just don't know any other better way of being? What do you think? I think that lots of people come in as sheeple and want everybody else to be sheeple, too. It's almost like their worlds are shaken to hear a different way of doing things (because I always share my own ways of doing things, in the forums). It makes them feel uneasy, it makes them feel disoriented. Why is that woman grading the essays like that! What if it's not my essay she's grading? Then that will mean someone will get a really big score just because she grades that way, which means my score won't be so big in comparison, which means I need to stop this woman and tell her that she's doing things wrongly! I'm pretty sure that's how some people think, because that's sure how some of them react.
Aside from the points already discussed here, I also see gender oppression in MOOCs. I have a very feminine, sweet name and I'm pretty sure that's why some students follow me around in the forums relentlessly, down-voting my comments and discussions, for no reason whatsoever. I could say "Thank you" in a comment and somebody will down-vote it. Meanwhile, a woman named "Barbara" or "Susan" (strong sounding names), can say whatever they want without taking any heat. There is a list of top people in the forums and I have looked at these lists, and curiously, all females with feminine names (Maria, Anna, Marie, Emma, etc.) have a significantly higher rate of down-votes as compared to the men and the other women with more robust-sounding names. So why is it that you can be smart, say smart things, but then be bullied because you have a feminine sounding name? And do keep in mind that this is all online, people don't even know what other people look like, aside from the tiny, little itty bitty profile photo that we are allowed to have for the forums. So this is all activity that I have noticed amongst people who don't even have physical interaction with one another.
Another remarkable thing I've observed, is how, at the beginning of a course, everybody treats everybody else a bit roughly. Well, not everybody. But very many. Then at the end of a course, everybody will be wishing everyone else well. This makes me conclude that students come into a course with a very high sense of competition, of a need to compete, as if being in school is being in a reality t.v. show where there is only one winner and that winner is going to take home a hundred thousand dollars!
Why are adults acting like this? Why are all these issues still rampant in today's world? Aren't we all getting any better, at all? Aren't we all becoming more and more "enlightened"? Or is that all just a bunch of shit that we say when we're on Facebook? Is that all just a bunch of talk that people say on Facebook and make into memes? Seriously, where are all the enlightened, free-thought, full-of-positivity people? They're certainly not in the classrooms! So what does it mean when we realise that educational systems are in fact not fostering what we know should be fostered in everyone, everywhere? In our kids and in our selves!
I will leave you with a lot to ponder upon, today. And I want you to ponder upon all of these points, because it's serious stuff and we need to change it. You can change it. One person at a time. If we want our kids to be better people, then we need to be better people, first. Frankly, I am truly tired of being a catalyst for change wherever I go, because it's not like I try to be it, it's just that I'm divergent and I can't conform to anything that I know is not the best for anyone to conform to. So I end up shattering walls and building new structures and it gets tiring. It gets tiring because more often than not, you're all alone! Not everyone is divergent. In fact, most people are not divergent, that's why you're divergent, in the first place, because you're different, because most people aren't like you. But I can't stop being divergent, because this is me. What I can do, is encourage you to join me. Trust me, it's hard, but we sure do have some fun over here!
C. Bells.
December 7, 2014
Some great TEDs for you, today!
I've got two TED Talks I'd like to share with you today, the first one is by Alessandro Acquisti, wherein he discusses the astounding issues of privacy that we all face in today's digitally connected world, and the second one is a talk from Sally Kohn, wherein she discusses "emotional correctness" as the best approach for bridging political gaps between people. I think both of these topics are highly applicable on various levels of our daily lives, so I wanted to share these with you all, today. Do learn something and do enjoy as you learn! :)
