Tatyana 1066

Now, we know who became King of England after the Battles of Stamford Bridge and Hastings in 1066, but
who do you think had the strongest claim?Harald Hardrada, Harold Godwinson or William of Normandy?

 In 1066 there were 3 kings that wanted to take over England but only one king could do that. All of the kings were battling to see who could be the the ruler of England. The king I thought that had the strongest was William of Normandy because he had the Pope on his side and that was very good because the Pope can guide William in the right direction he needs to be. The only reason William was king of Normandy because he was noble, strong about what he needed to do, of course he was strong. William only got to be king of Normandy of lying but in the inside he is a good man. Sooner or latter he got to be William the conqueror of England. William knew what he had good ideas about how to be king of Normandy and made his way up to be the conqueror of England. Also the other kings were trying to be the conqueror of England but William had a better and stronger ideas of being king. Well I am not sure why William had better and stronger ideas but he won the battle and that's good to me. Alos he got to be the king of Normandy and the conqueror of England. That is who I think had the strongest claim and of course I told you why. That's my opinion what is yours? 

My little story by Tatyana

Write:
Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond?

When I was in Houston, TX. in my old school, my friend and I were playing during lunch. There was this girl named Wanda and she just wanted to play with me and only me and not my friend Arianne. Wanda did not like her so much. Every time I was hanging out with Arianne or my other friends Wanda would come near us and pull me away from Arianne. I knew that was going to upset her a little but at first Arianne was a little confused so she just hung out with her other friends. One day I left class and heard Wanda telling Arianne, " You better stay away form Tatyana because she is my friend and no one can be her friend especially you" Arianne said " Why can't we be both be friends together?" Wanda says, " I just want to be Tatyana's friend only hers!" When I heard that going on I first thought that Wanda was telling Arianne that Wanda want's to be my friend only and Arianne said " Why can't we both be her friend". Right away I knew that Wanda wanted to ostracize my best friend Arianne so I knew that I had to do something and so I did. I was going to tell my other friends what was happening and when that did not work at all I when straight to the teacher and told her what was going on. The teacher went outside to the playground to where Wanda and Arianne were and the first thing that came out of Wanda's mouth was " you got the teacher and your told on me I thought you are suppose to be my friend". When I looked at Wanda I felt very bad and I thought I was a tattle tale. My teacher told me to not say that to my self. She said that I did the right thing to tell her what was going on. So me and Arianne went on playing for the day and finish school for the day too. If Wanda got to know Arianne more maybe Wanda would like Arianne and then we can all be the best's of friends and all of this fighting and the ostracism would not happen and we would be friends and have an awesome day at school.
How do you wish you had responded?

I wish I would have done things differently by telling the teacher and not trying to handle it myself. Also, I would of course stand up for Arianne and tell Wanda to not say mean things to my friend. Wanda is making me choose between Arianne or Wanda but I can't do that so I would love to choose both. That is what I should have said to Wanda and maybe Wanda would like Arianne and get to know her. It all worked at the end and Wanda and Arianne and I became the best of friends. All you have to do if that happens to you and your friend you just need to do is to invite them into your little group and they will warm up to your friend and then all of you guys will be friends forever hopefully. That worked for Arianne and Wanda and I. We had our little fights but it all worked out all right and we all became the best of friends your have ever seen. That is a couple of things that I would like to change.

What stopped you from responding that way?
I wish I would have got the teacher first because they have more control and often others will not listen to me because I am just a kid. I also didn't want to be considered a tattletale and then others would bug me and I didn't want that.


Respond to the questions below
1.Where have we seen examples of bullying/ostracism/exclusion occurring in texts studied so far this year- factual as well as fictional?

The In-Group
Watch the video clip below
Eve S: The In Group


1.Select one line/phrase/group of sentences that are significant to you. Explain why.

" I sat down and laughing till my sides hurt heard my voice finally blend with the others". I chose this because she was also making fun of another person even though she knew what it was like to be made fun of. She wanted to fit in.

To think about:
How is ostracism different from other forms of bullying? When does ostracizing or excluding someone from a group become part of bullying?

1.What’s familiar about the incident Eve describes?
I have also lived that moment when I have laughed at someone when I tried to fit in with others.

2.What surprised you?
I was kind of shocked to see that she also laughed along with them. I thought because of how she felt that she would have not gone along with the group.

3. How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). make sure you justify( back up your answer.

Yes, it does relate to bullying. She made fun of the other girl just like the others did. I feel she did this to fit in. She was afraid that maybe they would turn again on her. She was a bystander even though she did get involved.

Psychologists Michael Thompson and Lawrence Cohen point to the powerful influence of peer groups in guiding our behavior: ‘We all know that groups can go terribly astray in terms of their moral reasoning. Everyone not in the group can be considered an outsider, a legitimate target…It affects every group because we are all prone to that feeling of us versus them and the idea that if you’re not with us you’re against us. Speaking out against a risky, immoral or illegal decision is hard to do because that makes you an outsider yourself’.

4.How did Eve’s need to belong affect the way she responded when another girl was being mocked? Why does her response still trouble her? How do you like to think you would have responded to the incident?

She wanted to fit in and went along with the group. She was more concerned about fitting in than whether it was right or wrong. On reflection she new it was wrong but her need to fit in had overpowered her. I hope I would have not laughed and been strong enough to not get involved.

5. Eve concludes “Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last.’ What does she mean?
Initially it feels good and at the time seems right but when you stop and think clearly about it you realize it was wrong.