Final Portfolio: Brandon Yam

Throughout my year, I’ve learned many things and have increased my knowledge on various topics. One class especially would be World History. I’ve learned things about the past as well as the present. We focused quite a lot on change as well as equality. When I say change I’m talking about revolutions today and years ago. When I say equality I’m talking about how women aren’t paid as much as men, human rights, and sweatshops. There is so much that I’ve taken into consideration after stepping into the classroom. I looked at my daily life through a new lens. I looked at the clothes I wear today and wonder why I’m wearing it. I wonder why I’m wearing the clothes that someone in another country made that is underpaid and living in harsh conditions. I wondered about how technology has changed the way other changes take place, such as the Arab Spring. There is so much to touch on yet, so little time.

The first thing I want to talk about is the Arab Spring. This topic was introduced near the beginning of the year and was one of the first to introduce the topic of change in the classroom. I learned how technology helped spread the awareness and support for the revolution. The people in Egypt did not accept the way they were treated, therefore, they fought for independence and are still fighting at this very moment. There is violence and many have died. In one of my journal entries, I address the idea of nonviolence and violence.  A specific quote that stood out to me and summarizes the whole idea is “Nonviolence shouldn’t have to be trained, but just present all the time.”

Click here to view the full version of this journal.

The second thing I want to talk about is just revolutions in general. Later on in the year, we were assigned a digital story benchmark. For this benchmark we had to focus on multiple revolutions and revolve them around a certain point. I studied the French Revolution, Arab Spring, and much more. The certain point that I decided to focus on was “What is the importance of spreading awareness with the use of social media in a revolution?” I constructed an iMovie with my partner Javier on the subject. A quote that stood out to me in the video was “Outside help can and will be the difference between a gallant victory or a dreadful defeat.”

Click here to watch the full video.

Now, I would like to touch on the subject of equality. Equality plays a major role in our lives today. Just being a woman is a major factor of equality. Women are paid less than men and aren’t treated as equally in the justice system as well. The same can be said for particular charges against men and women, but that’s another topic. When I was writing a journal entry one day I had to think of a woman scientist off the top of my head. The sad thing was I couldn’t. A quote from that journal is “I could imagine a woman’s idea in science being rejected based on their gender.”

Click here to view the full journal entry.

During the year, we’ve had many trials where we can debate with our other peers on matters that are important in the world today. Towards the middle of the year, we began a trial about sweatshops and the class was divided into about 5 sections. Each section being a different part of the chain to the making of sweatshops such as U.S. consumers, Corporations, etc. After the trial was over we had to post a reflection on how we can change the global economic system. One part of the reflection that I’d like to highlight is “Companies began to be questioned and pressured to make a change in the factories they produce their products in. Some have made a change, but not enough. There is still a fair amount of factories and companies out there that are under the radar and continue to abuse their workers. Suicidal nets are set up outside of some factories to prevent people from jumping out the building to their eventual death.”

Click here to view the full reflection.

The final piece I’m going to talk about that will wrap this up nicely is the Human Rights Benchmark. For this benchmark, we got the chance to work exclusively with Kate McGrath who works for the Philly Young Playwrights. She came down to help us make our plays and give us tips as amateur playwrights. I focused on the unfair conditions in china’s factories and took readers on a journey through the eyes of a man named Minho who escapes the factory and seeks help in America. There are many twists and turns in this play, but a quote that sticks out to me is

Click here to view the full play.

I enjoyed my year in world history due to the fact that I've learned so much in such little time. I've taken many things from this class such as morales, values, and life lessons. I've learned through the perspectives of those thousands of miles away from me. Those who got to experience this class is to be envied for.