Nonviolence has been said to be the better option. It is also said to be the harder and longer option. Throughout history people try to say that with the power of nonviolence you can and will get more respect, power over others, and people will not go against you. All year I have made it easy see that I’ am without a doubt all for violence when it comes to needing or wanting something. I personally feel that one; it is a faster method than nonviolence, two; people will give you more power, three; people know that the died for immediate change and not  just so the next step of the plan can be put in action.

Within the debate between violence and nonviolence a lot of people side with nonviolence because of the well known nonviolent protest leaders. People like Martin Luther King and Gandhi always are brought up into conversation based on their horrendous and outstanding nonviolent revolutions. When I join into these type of debate and I ‘am asked about my opinion I always side for violence when something needs to be done. One thing I always throw into the conversation is the fact that those two men were the  leaders of some of the greatest revolutions ever but not only our most known but are most important revolutions were fought with the help of violence. Before nonviolent revolutions the only type of revolutions were revolutionary wars. Revolutionary wars not only freed the blacks but it also freed our country so we could be our own nation.

Most people argue that nonviolence is more powerful because they think it can get your point across better. Well there is an old saying that “if you aren’t willing to die for it than there is no point in fighting for it. Now there are quotes to go against violence one of which is “nonviolence is a weapon of the strong.” -Gandhi. In one of my journals I talked about my stance on violence vs nonviolence. I also talk about how much faith I have in nonviolence. When completing that journal I was reading a piece from Gandhi and that is also where I got the famous quote. I feel like Gandhi thinks that only those who can wield the power to use nonviolence as an answer has a powerful mind. I believe that it also takes a lot of strength to decide that you actually want to use violence.

Another thing people like to argue is that the process of nonviolent revolution is easier than the process of a violent revolution. In another one of my journals I talk about how process does not matter. In the journal I go on to make the argument that if someone has a 100 man army and they succeed while I have a 10 man army and I also succeed what makes us different. Well one thing is that I will get more respect because I made a bigger impact since I did exactly what they did with less people. It is also the same thing as 100 being nonviolence while 10 is like violence.

This is just a small example of the type of work I was able to complete throughout the year. Because of my work and some time I was able to give my classmates another view on violent protest and revolutions. I believe that my work has deeply impacted the minds of my peers.

SLA takes a different approach to teaching History than most other schools in the city. At most schools the students are taught and forced to memorize meaningless facts and dates, then tested on their memorization capabilities and how well they know the facts. In my History class at SLA, however, we explored and discussed various topics, both historical and present day, through readings, videos, discussions, and other forms of media and communication, then applied those topics to modern day politics and events. We were then assessed, on application and knowledge, not on meaningless facts and dates, through engaging projects instead of tests. I leave the year thinking this: learning about historical and contemporary topics and ideas then applying them to present day, and learning through projects, is a much more engaging, enriching, and meaningful way to teach history than through irrelevant facts, dates, and tests. The best way to understand and learn history is through applicable ideas, not facts.

I feel that from this learning approach that SLA poses as a whole, I have taken away more from and learned more from this World History class than if I had been in a traditional World History class. So what I take away doesn’t have to do with the material and the topics, but rather with the way the material was presented and the learning style of the class and SLA as a whole.

Over the course of the year, we completed several projects on areas or topics where most classes or teachers would have given us a test. One such example is at the very beginning of the school year, our first unit was on the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline. We learned all about it, facts, stats, opinions, everything essentially. But at the end of the unit, instead of being tested on the material, we were assigned a project: to write three unique monologues that showed different sides to the story and how it would affect different characters and people. In one of my three monologues, which can be found here, I wrote from the perspective of a rural fisherman whose river was threatened by the pipeline. My character says, “Not only are they [Trans-Canada] not allowed to get away with this stupid and careless idea [Keystone XL Pipeline], but we most certainly will not relocate from generations of tradition so they can build their goddamn pipeline!”. However, in another monologue of a conservative senator about to address senate on the issue, my character says, “We are basically being given a freebie: no financial drawbacks with many benefits that stack up and up. Tax revenue, job creation, the list goes on and on”. This type of learning teaches its students how to think, not what to think, like how this project taught us how to think about controversial and contemporary issues by challenging us to think about different perspectives and aspects of it. With more traditional ways of teaching, we would be taught a one-sided, historically warped opinion or stance on the issue, but with this way of teaching and learning, I feel the students learn more and attain a stronger understanding of the material and its historical and modern day relevance.

Another example project and idea based learning is a play that I wrote over the course of a couple months in collaboration with a professional playwright, found here. While studying struggle and revolution around the world, we explored general ideas about the issue, but also were exposed to a variety of different materials that allowed us to form our own opinion on the topic. We then were assigned to write a play based on this broad topic that showed or addressed our opinion or stance. This form of assessment, rather than a test, resulted in more creative students and learning, and is shown in the variety of each student’s respective play and the issue they related to. My play is about the importance of ambitions and dreams in a person’s life, and the main character, Gordon, says to his son, Matthew, “You just take your dreams, and your grades for granted? Well I have news for you: you are a junior in highschool now! You’re not just some little kid with his whole bright future in front of him.” I think that learning through projects allows for more abstract and complex thinking, like how in a unit on struggle in hope I wrote a play about future and ambitions.

The comprehension fashioned by this style of learning, and my overall understanding and ability to think and connect can also be shown by looking at some of my journal entries from the year. I think the journals are a prime example of the types of students, learning, and learning environment project-based learning creates. When looking back on some of my journals I wrote over the year, I saw improvement in my complex thinking, and also complex and unique ideas. One of my first journal entries of the year, Journal 3, found here, posed the question, “When is it okay to criticize other cultures?”. I responded, “It is only acceptable to criticize another culture after we have walked in their shoes.” I feel that this response shows abstract and complex thinking. That is the goal of education, is it not? As the year progressed, my journal entries became more knowledgeable and more applicable. Much later in the year, Journal 47, found here, which related to the book Things Fall Apart, posed the question, “Can traumatic experiences ever be an excuse for negative behavior?”. In an excerpt from that entry, I responded, “Traumatic experiences can never be an excuse for negative behavior, it only makes it more understandable as to why someone behaves a certain way.” The journals showed how my ideas were changing and developing as the year progressed, and how the project based learning was shaping how I thought.

Looking back on the year, and how far I have come since September, I leave the year firmly believing that there really is no other way to teach World History other than through projects, discussion, media, and everything I already mentioned. At school you are supposed to learn how to think, not what to think, and I look back on the year knowing and understanding World History topics and ideas, and will carry them with me in their essence and application to modern day life as I progress on through high school.

Learn, change, lead. That is the motto of the World History class. This year was very tough for me as a student. However, coming into the World History class has really changed my perspective on global views and societal problems. It was also very relieving for me to be in such of a prestigious course. My general understandings of the course are that creativity is built with experience and imagination, and in order for one to understand oneself, they must step outside their comfort zone to build a better self-sense of everything around them. Those two general understandings has changed me forever.

When you have seen all kinds of things and had many experiences, it has really made my work shine. In my play, The Rolling Spray Paint Cans, It tells the tale of four young teenagers trying to survive in the 1980’s graffiti-clogged New York City. This was my idea for the playwriting project where I worked with Ms. Kate for several months. “Oh. I didnt realize you were going through decline. Im sorry. Lets just finish this tag.” That is a line from my play while the two was working on a piece of art in Harlem. While I was working on this play, I had done further research on graffiti art, specifically on the New York subway trains in the late 70’s to the mid 80’s. I also took an opportunity to work with spray paint in The Philadelphia Mural Arts Summer camp program. It was awesome. I combined the history with graffiti and street art and the experience of spray painting into account when writing this play.

During the first quarter, we wrote monologues about the Keystone XL pipeline. This time around, we had to perform our monologues as well. I was usually not the person to get up in front of a crowd of people and perform. But, for the fact that I felt comfortable to do it made all the difference. In my monologue, I play a father on his way home to see his daughter in her senior year of high school. He is on the phone while riding the train. “I'll be.., Dinner? Might have to order pizza again. I know it’s the 3rd time this week, but Its all we can afford at the moment.” He is also struggling to pay bills while working at a low-pay job as he noticed the opportunity to get the job if the Keystone XL pipeline project is passed. But then he noticed that the real jobs are far out and he would have to move. But he knew that there was a chance the pipeline would not get approved, so he backed out of another business scheme.

Through out history, revolutions have proven to be a useful source to change how systems and governments work and run. But behind every revolution, there is a major setback that can determine the future of every man, woman, and child involved in a revolution. You may have heard of a revolution that is taking place in Ukraine as we speak, but lets take a trip to 1968 all the way in Mexico City where many students were speaking out against the governments officials. The Mexico City Massacre began as a revolution between the students of the National Preparatory School. In this situation the revolution was expected to show the government their demands and as well make them give in, but things were soon to take a turn for the worse. The revolution turned into a massacre against the students that were part of it, and many of the citizens that had no part of the revolution as well. This resulted into the death of five hundred students, one thousand students wounded, and twenty citizens wounded as well. This example proves that revolutions can sometimes turn into something that no one expects and that it can not happen they way people want.

Over the years the world has experienced revolutions that have gone from peaceful to violent. Today revolutions that are successful in meeting demands are called “new revolutions”. The serbian revolution represents an interesting story for students of revolution, meaning that it happened it such a peaceful way which also made it popular. The serbian revolution used music, symbols, and other actions so that they could protray the dictator of the country opposed to the people’s interest. This allowed students to become more active into the revolution and inspired them to make student protests. This example proves that revolutions that are non violent are more likely to be more successful. It also shows how the people used other people’s interest like music to inspire them to protest.