Sara+Chu

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2) Think about your new knowledge: What was its source? What kind of knowledge/belief/idea is it: subjective/objective, empirically verifiable, your own opinion, someone else’s opinion, empathy, sympathy, a conclusion reached through a process of reasoning, a flash of inspiration? How reliable is this new awareness? Do you trust it? Why? ====== 3) Did this week’s CAS experience cause you to question, modify or abandon any previously held beliefs, opinions, convictions or ideas? If so, why?

1) What new information, ideas, impressions, connections or skills have you learned from your CAS activity this week?
This week, as Secretary-General, or leader of Model Un, I learned how to "grab" people and make them interested in something. I learned what things are instantly rewarding and interesting. I learned this in Model UN when we had our first meeting to recruit new members and start a new year. We had 3 new people who were interested in joining and I did my best to make the meeting fun and informative about Model UN. Something that worked well was getting their opinion right off the bat so they felt important and needed in the group. We did an exercise called "Cross the Line" where you would stand on one side of the room if your answer was yes, and the other side if your answer was no, and in the middle if your answer was maybe. We asked the question, "Do you think a world government like the UN is effective in solving global issues?" After everyone went to their side we asked for justification. There were great points for all sorts of arguments. At the end of the meeting I think we got all three students to join Model UN! It is a popular, fast growing group! You have done a great job in identifying your goals and analyzing what behaviors worked in achieving them.

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2) Think about your new knowledge: What was its source? What kind of knowledge/belief/idea is it: subjective/objective, empirically verifiable, your own opinion, someone else’s opinion, empathy, sympathy, a conclusion reached through a process of reasoning, a flash of inspiration? How reliable is this new awareness? Do you trust it? Why? ======

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The source of my knowledge was based off my own observations of people. This is verifiable information because it could be debated depending on which people you are trying to recruit to a group etc. I believe this is very reliable because I have tried to recruit a couple other people last year using some of the same ideas, and it worked. Also, we were able to recruit the 3 new students. I trust it because it has worked for me. Did you mean that this link between particular recruitment tactics and success in recruiting could // not // be empirically verified because you cannot actually point at the link and say there it is? Also, as you point out, the situation is complex and subtle; what works for one type of person may not work for another. What you can do, is infer or make reasonable arguments in support of the link - arguments which become more and more convincing statistically as the number of instances increases. ====== 3) Did this week’s CAS experience cause you to question, modify or abandon any previously held beliefs, opinions, convictions or ideas? If so, why?

No, it did not. It added to my knowledge though, and I learned valuable information for next time we need to recruit people to Model UN.


 * Reflect on your CAS activity for this week from a TOK point of view Week of 9/5**

1) What new information, ideas, impressions, connections or skills have you learned from your CAS activity this week?
This week I returned to kickboxing after having an extremely busy summer in which I couldn't be in the class. It is a very physical class and if you don't do it regularly it can be extremely challenging. I learned that today because after this "first" class all my muscles ache! From this experience I learned that to become better at something, or to even stay at a certain level, one must continually do it. Breaks are fine, but long ones deteriorate progress.

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2) Think about your new knowledge: What was its source? What kind of knowledge/belief/idea is it: subjective/objective, empirically verifiable, your own opinion, someone else’s opinion, empathy, sympathy, a conclusion reached through a process of reasoning, a flash of inspiration? How reliable is this new awareness? Do you trust it? Why? ======

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In Model UN this week I learned that about 70 percent of Afghanistan's population claims the voting has been rigged in their elections. It's source was MSN news. This information was empirically verifiable because this information was secondary information. The survey was also conducted in a foreign country where the culture is different than American culture in the US. I trust this information because throughout Afghanistan's history they have had a record of many people believing elections were rigged. However, as previously stated, this information could be bias because of the culture difference. ====== 3) Did this week’s CAS experience cause you to question, modify or abandon any previously held beliefs, opinions, convictions or ideas? If so, why?

This week's experience did not cause me to question any previous beliefs, but reafirmed what I had learned before


 * First TOK Assignment**

1. I am 16 years old. I am not very old yet, and this affects what I know because I have not had as many life experiences as someone much older than I am. Therefore my beliefs are based off what I have experienced.  2. My mother tongue is English. I also speak French. Since my first language is English, it is what I use to express myself. Therefore I can express myself best only using English words. If I had learned another language growing up I would be able to express myself using words unique to that language.  3. I am female. In each society there are different roles for females and males. Therefore the duties I am expected to perform and the way I am expected to act influence how I think. I am more likely to act as a female because it was how I was raised, than act like a male in our society. Since I was raised this way, I expect other girls to act the same way I do. Also, when in class I pay more attention to the concepts that affect me, whereas a boy would pay more attention and learn more from concepts that affect him. D o you think that even in America there are noticeably different roles for each gender? Is anything prohibited to us because of gender, other than physically impossible things? But speaking of physically determined things - how big a constraint is our biology? I mean I know that biology makes some things absolutely not a choice, but how much do these constraints knock on into the rest of our lives? I feel like I don't have much clarity on this: I can't work out how much of the life I lead was choice and how much was the consequence of a female biology and social expectations. So your answer is of particular interest to me because you seem to be clear in your own mind that all societies, despite gender parity laws, assign different roles to each gender. And you may well be right. The other point you made that interested me was that each gender is going to pay more attention to concepts that are gender -relevant to her/him. This is bound to happen, I think, and yet we must miss many opportunities to learn things we need to know about each others' experiences. Think about males tuning out from information about what it is like to be denied certain rights just because of your gender ...  4. I was raised in a rural environment at a house with a large garden and yard. Since I was raised in this environment I know a lot about gardening and the outdoors. When I was little instead of my parents taking me to a park they would take me out into the garden and we would plant vegetables or dig up onions in late summer. From an early age I learned how to garden. However, I did not live in a neighborhood with many other kids, so I never had the experience of running down the street playing ball or going over to each other’s houses. Therefore I am not as familiar with this lifestyle, as the one I was brought up in.  5. I believe there is a greater power, but I don’t know what it is. There are definitely questions that we will never know the answers to here on earth. Also, things happen that are out of our control. By not following a particular religion I am freer to come up with my own ideas of what a larger power is, rather than being told by someone else. I think this lets me be freer to believe exactly what I want to. I cannot help agreeing with you that when it comes to seeking things that can never be objectively known and are always going to be founded in a very personal and emotional experience, freedom to think for yourself is a very good starting point. It is good to learn from wise beings in the past, and to be respectful and aware of things like consistency and logic, but freedom and integrity are great companions for this quest.  6. I believe that the Chinese influence from my father’s side also plays a role in my upbringing. For as long as I remember we have celebrated Chinese New Year and eaten moon cakes on the night of the full moon. My father was an amazing cook, and he would always cook large amounts of food even if there weren’t many people over. Food is a huge part of the Chinese culture, and therefore was very important in our house. This influences me because now wherever I go or whatever I eat I give more thought and critique about the food than someone else. Thank you Sarah, these are very thoughtful responses.