Monday, 16 December 2013

FINAL LIST FOR MOCK IOC ROOM 19

Well done to Gaurika, Samica and Shiv today! Good job!

Here is a list of English and TOK classes up to our last day on Friday.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 17TH 2013.


  1. VEDANT 10am TO 1040am
  2. SANAYA 1055am 1135
  3. 1150 am ENGLISH CLASS GRADE 12
  4. SANJANA 12.40 to 1.20pm
  5. 3PM GRADE 12 TOK PRESENTATIONS
  6. SNEHILL  350pm

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18TH 2013.


1150AM ENGLISH CLASS GRADE 12

THURSDAY 19TH DECEMBER 1240PM GRADE 12 ENGLISH

FRIDAY NO ENGLISH CLASS BUT GRADE 12 TOK 1150am



Wilfred Owen in Voices in Wartime (+playlist)

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

America: different perspectives and different narratives in history and literature and 'self-image'



"Gatsby believed in the Green Light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther... And one fine morning - So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

 ************

Is there more than one kind of colonialism? 

Is history simply another form of fiction? Is it just a story we tell ourselves to make sense of the past in a way that makes us feel good about ourselves and our ancestors?
Why do the two famous cities of Los Angelus and San Francisco have Spanish names? Does Texas have a special history and what was its relationship with Mexico in the past?
Are our stories, our dominant narratives 'self-serving'? Is there a hidden history of women, people of colour and other minorities which is not represented in the dominant narrative of histories which make up history?
Is this where TOK meet Literature and History?

The word colonisation has a negative ring in the modern era. In the aftermath of World War 2, Britain, Holland and France withdrew from many colonies. Sometimes peacefully and sometimes not.The intellectuals of the time Sartre and Chomsky and others all applauded.
We all understand that European countries invaded and colonised other countries and peoples during the Age of Empires.
But is there another kind of colonisation? The imposition of a power structure by one group on another. Not based on merit or fair competition but based on colour, religion or denial of equal rights. Think South African White Power and Apartheid before Mandela.

But America was always a beacon of freedom, right? Was America born in liberty in 1776 or was it in fact just another type of colonial power?
Imagine an alternative narrative - white immigrants many originally British or Irish, others from European countries (now calling themselves Americans) rebelling against the British King so they could be free OR so they could oppress the Native American Tribes and the black people they kept as slaves? Which version of history is more popular in America? Which version is true? Which version is more pleasant?
The American Dream includes the dominant narrative of the white pilgrims and settlers breaking the bonds of British rule in American in 1776. Then the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave became the NEW WORLD. In "The Great Gatsby" this idea of  America as a new beginning, a new paradise, a new Garden of Eden where each man can reach out for his own 'green light', his own dream is very strong. But what about the original NATIVE AMERICANS? What about the black people kidnapped as slaves and brought to America? What about the Native American tribes who were already living on the lands of American for thousands of years before the White Man first arrived there to 'discover' America?
           Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee cover.jpg       



Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee was first published in 1970 to generally strong reviews. Published at a time of increasing American Indian activism, the bestseller has never gone out of print and has been translated into 17 languages
 Wounded Knee was the location of the last major confrontation between the U.S. Army and American Indians more correctly called THE FIRST AMERICANS or NATIVE AMERICANS.

                                                                              
                                         
Has there been progress? Yes!   

WILFRED OWEN The Dead Beat

Monday, 2 December 2013

GRADE 12 MOCK IOC LIST OF STUDENTS SCHEDULE



MR C MOCK IOC NOV 2013 - ORDER OF SPEAKERS


DAY 1Monday 25th of November
Student 1 10:50 – 11:40 Varun B  1055 prep/ 1115 recording/1135 finished
Student 2 after school  Kayanush 



MONDAY DEC 9TH  BLOCK 2 SANAYA

NEW MONDAY 16TH
Student 3.  1240 Vedant/complete by 130pm


THURSDAY DECEMBER 5TH
USHMA  - 11AM /Rhea 210 /Gaurika  3PM/340 / AKSHAY 4PM 
440 SNEHIL AFER SCHOOL TBC
THURSDAY 12TH
11AM SAMICA / NIRIKSHA 210/AYESHA 3PM/  355pm -VIR



 Friday December 6th 3pm -350 Sanjana Shah/ TBC Shiv Kaul