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The Culture of Tonga

Tongan archipelago has been inhabited for more than 3,000 years

Europeans arrived in the late 1600's

Indigenous Tongan culture changed significantly with the arrival of more Europeans (traders and missionaries) in the 1800's

• Today, Tongans have spread to many parts of the world, usually to find work: United States, Australia and New Zealand = Tongan diaspora
• diaspora = a spreading out of a people from their original homeland
  
• Many Tongans operate in two different contexts: 1) the traditional Tongan way = anga fakatonga and 2) the western/modern Tongan way = anga fakapalangi


• Tongans learn both sets of rules and when it is appropriate to switch between them

NO on Proposition 4

Prop 4 requires that a teenage girl obtain parental consent before obtaining an abortion

I strongly disagree with Prop 4 because I believe that a woman, no matter what her age, has the right to make decisions about her body and her health. Of course, is pro-abortion, but the government should not have the right to control a woman's body and what she does with her body. If we increased the education of birth control in our schools and educated our young women about their bodies and their options, we wouldn't have so many of them faced with this decision in the first place. Also, making it illegal for young women to have abortions will only push them into unsafe and unsanitary situations where they will be putting themselves in grave danger for botched procedures.

Life as an Egyptian - Lost Lives

• Most of what the Egyptians made is lost forever because it was made of wodd, wax, clay, cloth, bone or leather - it has broken, burned or rotted away


• Things that did survive were made of stone or metal - like tools, weapons or jewelry


• Egypt's dry & hot climate preserved things better than if it had been a damp area


• Mummification also preserved things well as people were buried with their possessions


• Unfortunately, we know much more about the rich than the poor because the rich owned more possessions and could afford elaborate burials

Life as an Egyptian - 5000 BC to 31 BC

* Minimum five points of interest from your reading - remember, you're the expert

* Minimum one picture illustrating your specific topic

* How does the life of the Egyptians compare to your own? How does it compare to the lives of ancient Mexicas?

* Present as la profesora to the class

My life as a Taino . . .

Dear Journal,

What, to the slave, is the fourth of july?

FREDERICK DOUGLASS was born a slave in Maryland in 1818. As a child, Douglass secretly learned to read and write. After escaping to freedom in 1838, he devoted himself to the cause of abolition. In 1845, he published his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. He founded the abolitionist newspaper, the North Star.

In a speech delivered before the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society on July 5, 1852, Douglass powerfully exposes the hypocrisy of asking a slave to celebrate the Fourth of July. As an antidote to flag-waving patriotism of July 4, I've provided a portion of Douglass' speech here.

This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today?

WHAT TO the American slave is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy--a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.

Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.

Fellow citizens! The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humanity as a base pretence, and your Christianity as a lie. It destroys your moral power abroad; it corrupts your politicians at home. It saps the foundation of religion; it makes your name a hissing, and a byword to a mocking earth. It is the antagonistic force in your government, the only thing that seriously disturbs and endangers your Union. It fetters your progress; it is the enemy of improvement, the deadly foe of education; it fosters pride; it breeds insolence; it promotes vice; it shelters crime; it is a curse to the earth that supports it; and yet, you cling to it, as if it were the sheet anchor of all your hopes.

Oh be warned! Be warned! A horrible reptile is coiled up in your nation's bosom; the venomous creature is nursing at the tender breast of your youthful republic; for the love of God, tear away, and fling from you the hideous monster, and let the weight of twenty millions crush and destroy it forever!

congrats

Seedfolks

Seedfolks is our latest and last novel for the Words Alive season this year! It was a huge success and the girls loved it, especially because the girls authored their own additions to the book by writing their own chapters. Copies of each of the girls stories can be found posted on their individual blogs. Happy reading! Leer es poder!

38th Annual Chicanco Park Day this Saturday!!!

38th Annual Chicano Park Day Celebration
Saturday, April 19, 2008 - 10am-5pm
Organized by the Chicano Park Steering Co"Our Lives, Culture and History Are Seen Through Our Murals" will be the theme of this year’s 38th annual Chicano Park Day, which will be held on Saturday, April 19, 2007, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, in historic Chicano Park. Chicano Park is located in the Barrio Logan community of San Diego, south of downtown San Diego. This family celebration is free and open to the public.
Established by Chicano activists on April 22, 1970, Chicano Park has received national and international acclaim as a major outdoor public art site known for its powerful mural paintings depicting the past and present struggle of Mexican and Chicano history.
This year’s Chicano Park Day will feature events for the whole family, including traditional music and dance, and an extraordinary performance of indigenous Aztec danza.
Contemporary music, ballet folklorico and danza Azteca will be performed by several local and regional groups. Also featured will be poetry readings and guest speakers In addition, there will be a classic low rider car display, food, arts and craft vendors, and children’s arts and craft workshops led by noted Chicano artist/muralist Victor Ochoa.
This family celebration is free and open to the public. Established by Chicano activists on April 22, 1970, Chicano Park has received international acclaim as a major outdoor public art site for its commanding mural paintings of the past and present struggle of Mexican and Chicano history.
Chicano Park is located off Interstate 5 --Cesar Chavez Parkway exit-- under the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge.

celebrate radical anti-racists!

March 30, 1870- Fifteenth Amendment ratified !

On this day in 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, declaring that the right to vote cannot be denied because of the race or previous condition of servitude, granting African-American men the right to vote.

Tomorrow, Barack Obama will speak at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.

Thaddeus Stevens, for whom the school was named, was the most ardent leader of the abolition movement in Congress. In fact, he was so outspoken in his opposition to slavery that the Confederate Northern Army of Virginia went out its way to target his property and burned it to the ground during the Gettysburg campaign.

Stevens is widely credited as the father of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. His original version of the Fourteenth Amendment granted all citizens, including women, full civil rights. After the Civil War, he proposed giving African-Americans the right to vote immediately and offered reparations of 40 acres and a mule to all former slaves.

Stevens, a Radical Republican, also led the battle against bankers over control of the issuance of money. Stevens believed that government, not the banks, should control the currency.

Stevens was born in Vermont to a poor father who died when he was 12. He was raised by his mother Sarah (Morrill) Stevens who worked hard to provide him an education, which she believed was the only way to escape poverty.

Stevens believed that a more egalitarian world was not just a utopian dream. His own life showed that hard work and a good education could bring people out of poverty. But he also believed that diversity was something to be celebrated.

radical feminista!!

Feminist Matilda Gage born
March 24, 2008 - March 24, 1826
Matilda Joslyn Gage, feminist and abolitionist was born on this date in 1826. Gage was a major force in the liberation of women and in the abolition of slavery, arguing that all people deserved freedom as natural rights. Gage was one of the founders of the National Woman Suffrage Association.
"Although our country makes great professions in regard to general liberty, yet the right to particular liberty, natural equality, and personal independence, of two great portions of this country, is treated, from custom, with the greatest contempt; and color in the one instance, and sex in the other, are brought as reasons why they should be so derided; and the mere mention of such, natural rights is frowned upon, as tending to promote sedition and anarchy…
We need not expect the concessions demanded by women will be peaceably granted; there will be a long moral warfare, before the citadel yields; in the meantime, let us take possession of the outposts. The public must be aroused to a full sense of the justice of our claims. Beside the duty of educating our children, so as to make the path of right, easy to their feet, is that of discussion, newspaper articles, petitions: all great reforms are gradual. Fear not any attempt to frown down the revolution already commenced; nothing is a more fertile aid of reform, than an attempt to check it; work on."

“Work sows the seed:
Even the rock may yield its flower:
No lot so hard, but human power,
Exerted to one end and aim,
May conquer fate, and capture fame!
Press on!
Pause not in fear:
Preach no desponding, servile view-
What ever thou will’st thy WILL may do.
Work on, and win!
Shall light from nature’s depth arise,
And thou, who mind can grasp the skies,
Sit down with fate, and idly rail!
No--ONWARD!
Let the Truth prevail!”

the genius revolution . . .

good morning mujeres!!

as i will be out today, please complete the assignments as discussed with deanna, and as posted here. please complete all your work and post it on your blog for me to review this evening (please respond to this blog to let me know you finished your assignment)!! also, make sure that you guys are EXTRA perfect for queen deanna!!

also, if you finish your DOL sentences early, visit the new york times website and search for the following headline - Castro has resigned as president of Cuba . . . very interesting what will happen next . . . “I am not saying goodbye to you,” he wrote. “I only wish to fight as a soldier of ideas.” . . . we'll discuss tomorrow!

i hope you all had a wonderful weekend, i miss you and will see you manana!
d.

masterminds on mango street !

buenos dias masterminds . . . here are today's assignments:

1) using the following words (which we have been reviewing), write a paragraph using each of them at least once. For the less adventurous, you can write each sentence separately, but you must have one sentence for each word. They don't have to be in order, but you must use ALL the words.

- there, they're, their
- we're, were, where
- to, too
- accept, except
- affect, effect
- its, it's
- lead, led
- passed, past
- than, then
- threw, through
- loose, lose
- waist, waste

Feel free to look at all of the work we've done for help, but your writing must be original! Don't forget to practice using the spell check on the publishing toolbar. Also, please bold the word you are using in each sentence. (see example below) Post your paragraph/sentences on your blog! Worth serious bonus points!

EX: How well you do your sentences will affect your bonus points in dawn's class!

* If you finish your work before it's time to read, please complete PLATO assignments.

2) Continue reading House on Mango Street with DeAnna. Choose your favorite journal that you've written so far, and expand it into a journal post on your blog. You can include the journal question if you want, but your paragraph must be at least five to ten sentences long. Don't be afraid to practice the use of detail and description so that the reader will feel as if she were there!

See you soon! Con paz mi companeras!

recent births !!!

Angelica Trujillo had her baby boy
8 lbs. 11 oz.
18 1/2 inches
Joseph Robert

Lisa Gonzales had her baby girl
Jan 19th
7 lbs. 8 oz.
20 1/2 inches
Marylynn Patricia

Kassandra Muro had her baby girl
Jan 31st
5 lbs. 6 oz.
17 inches
Gezabell Aracely

Ziomara Gutierrez had her baby girl
8 lbs. 1 oz.
19 inches
Courtney Snow

political party assignment . . .

i will be registering green for the following reasons:

- we must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression

- we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems

-we support independently owned and operated companies which are socially responsible, as well as co-operatives and public enterprises that distribute resources and control to more people through democratic participation

-we believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationships across these lines

-join with people and organizations around the world to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the planet

article about lindsay school

mujeres . .

go to the website below and see the article written about our escuela . . once you get the voiceofsandiego home page, you have to type lindsay school into the search box to access the article . . what do you think?

http://voiceofsandiego.org

Senior project highlights !!

don't forget to include the following elements in your senior project:

1) post your project overview on your blog

2) make sure your project has an element of community connection and/or social justice

3) include a bibliography/works cited of all the resources you used for your research

4) is there a children's book on your topic? try to locate some for your presentation.

DOL sentences para jueves . . .

1. Gary Soto's experiences as a wrestler led him to ask big questions about life.

2. He wondered who he was, why he was here, and what life was all about.

Trabajo para miercoles . . . .

#1) Please type a 10 sentence paragraph about what you did this past weekend. Each sentence must contain an IRREGULAR verb in the SIMPLE PAST TENSE. Please BOLD each verb that you use, and feel free to use your notes and verb guide. Post the paragraph on your blog.

#2) Complete at least 2-4 PLATO assignments. Print out the results, put your name on them and i will give you time tomorrow.

#3) If you finish these assignments, begin your research on Ernesto "Che" Guevara . . . why is he considered a hero by so many people around the world?? take notes and post them in bulleted form on your blog.

HAVE FUN and feel free to email me with any questions as i will be checking my blog and email (dawnmiller21@hotmail.com)
peace out . . .

Heroine of the day!!!

Pirate Mary Read 1690 - 1721
Read, an Englishwoman who was born in the late 17th century, spent much of her life disguised as a man and working in industries generally reserved for men. She was on a ship bound for the West Indies when it was captured by pirate captain Calico Jack Rackham. Read joined his crew and became one of the most notorious female pirates of the time. When Rackham's ship was captured and the crew sentenced to death, Read received a stay of execution after she “pled her belly,” a reference to what? Read more and find out at . . .
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Mary+Read

First Part Last - flashback

FLASHBACK = a literary technique in which a scene of a movie, play, short story, novel, or narrative poem that interrupts the present action of the plot to show events that happened at an earlier time.

QUESTION: Why do you think the author, Angela Johnson, uses flashbacks to tell the story? Why doesn't she just tell the story in chronological order versus the use of flashbacks? Do you like this technique, or would you prefer the story were told in a different way?

pinata fun at the lindsay posada!!

lindsay posada!!

HISTORY AND MEANING


Las Posadas (Spanish for "The Inns") is a nine-day celebration beginning December 16 and ending December 24. It is a tradition celebrated by many Latino and symbolizes the trials which they believe Mary and Joseph endured before finding a place to stay where Jesus could be born. Groups of children and adults (representing Mary and Joseph, or the pilgrims/peregrinos) go from house to house singing a traditional song, Santos Peregrinos, requesting lodging(posada). In each house, the owner responds with refusal (also in song) until they reach the designated site for the party, where the owner recognizes them and allows them to come in. Once the "innkeepers" let them in, the group of guests come into the home and kneel around the Nativity scene to pray. This is followed by the singing of traditional Christmas songs and a party for the children, including a pinata. For the adults there is always "ponche" which is a hot beverage or punch made out of seasonal fruis and cinnamon sticks, with a shot of alcoholic spirit.

POSADA AT LINDSAY

We began the day with small groups of girls presenting their posada projects to the class. The projects included extensive histories of the tradition and personal accounts. Some examples include:

* Ingrith, Sonia and Diana explained that the pinata should have 7 points which represent the 7 deadly sins, which will vanish as one breaks off the points and are showered with dulce goodness!

* Kiara, Maritza and Andrea's research said the tradition dates back to the sixteenth century when Spanish priests used the festival to teach Aztecs about the birth of Christ.

* Ingrith sang the traditional posada song!

* Joana F. shared the way in which her family uses this holiday as a time for the whole family to get together once a year, in her front yard, and enjoy each others company.

After the presentations, the kids broke a pinata in the quad!

After the pinata, many of the girls brought food for our posada potluck!!
Some of the many dishes included:
* tamales - dawn y pam
* ponche - judith
* abondigas - kiara
* arroz - andrea
* fried chicken - bea
* jello y frutas - maria
* flan -
* cheesecake - alexis & deanna
* chips y soda - ruthie
* cupcakes - ana t
* pinata y dulce - marlene

the best part of the potluck was the SALSA CONTEST!!!!
winning homemade salsas included:
* Celia - salsa verde con roasted jalepenos
* Maria - roja caliente
* Alexis - salsa verde
* Catalina - salsa roja
* Ingrith - salsa roja