Monday, February 15, 2010
Creative Strategies of Resistance: Bilin weekly demonstration reenacts the Avatar film
"The village of Bilin reenacted James Cameron's new film Avatar during todays weekly demonstration. Five Palestinian, Israeli and international activists were painted blue, with pointy ears and tales, resembling the Avatar characters. Like Palestinians, the Avatars fight imperialism, although the colonizers have different origins. The Avatars presence in Bilin today symbolizes the united resistance to imperialism of all kinds."
If you consider the audience that is intended here and the message and framework that this video can convey, I think it is a positive effort overall and does not necessarily trivialize the Palestinian resistance.
On creative strategies, see a previous post: "Culture Jamming for the Right Cause"
On the history of Palestinian plight and possible solutions, see Gaza Awareness.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Storytelling: A fun way to learn effectively
Teaching Storytelling in Classroom
What I find most attractive in storytelling as a technique of teaching is that more than just learning pre-determined knowledge they allow creative and imaginative construction of knowledge itself in the process. Moreover, compared to the traditional techniques in which the teacher is more or less at the center, in the storytelling technique the child is at the center of learning process. Storytelling fosters reasoning and communication skills. It encourages the development of reading habit, social interaction skills, and even problem solving skills (using both rational and emotional reasoning methods). All these are in addition to moral values and knowledge that can be conveyed in the play-out at a very deeper level.
Would also recommend checking out "A Child's Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play" by Vivian Gussin Paley.
Why Storytelling - Part I
Why Storytelling - Part II
Also see, Rakugo - The Japanese Art of StoryTelling
What I find most attractive in storytelling as a technique of teaching is that more than just learning pre-determined knowledge they allow creative and imaginative construction of knowledge itself in the process. Moreover, compared to the traditional techniques in which the teacher is more or less at the center, in the storytelling technique the child is at the center of learning process. Storytelling fosters reasoning and communication skills. It encourages the development of reading habit, social interaction skills, and even problem solving skills (using both rational and emotional reasoning methods). All these are in addition to moral values and knowledge that can be conveyed in the play-out at a very deeper level.
Would also recommend checking out "A Child's Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play" by Vivian Gussin Paley.
Why Storytelling - Part I
Why Storytelling - Part II
Also see, Rakugo - The Japanese Art of StoryTelling
Rakugo - The Japanese Art of Storytelling
From Wiki: "Rakugo (literally "fallen words") is a Japanese verbal entertainment. The lone storyteller (Rakugoka) sits on the stage, called the Kōza. Using only a paper fan ("sensu") and a small cloth ("tenugui") as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a long and complicated comical story. The story always involves the dialogue of two or more characters, the difference between the characters depicted only through change in pitch, tone, and a slight turn of the head."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakugo
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