Reflection Task 2a

I want to tell about the news: “The Guerrilla Girls, After 3 Decades, Still Rattling Art World Cages” by New York Times. The Guerrilla Girls is a founding by some anomalist women for about thirty years. This activist, feminist art collective fights against gender inequality in the art world. Why I chose that article has three main reasons. First reason is the fact that I do agree with the Guerrilla Girls in that most of the past women artists were not valued as they deserved. Their art works were great, but; just because they were women, their works were not regarded as valuable. To illustrate, according to the news, in 1984 Museum of Modern Arts staged a major exhibition with hundreds of artists, however; only a few of them were women or artists of color. I think such things in the art world are big mistakes because everyone should know that the art has no gender or race. Another reason is that I admire the Guerrilla Girls for their founding. I think this founding is really necessary to draw attention to the inequality in the art world. There were other foundings established for this aim in the past, too. Nevertheless, this is the almost most prominent one because their protests are brave and clever. They raise awareness of people. To exemplify, Cindy Sherman, artist, says “I remember all their posters in So Ho, seeing them everywhere. It just opened my eyes more and more to being aware of how museums show fewer women. I definitely see that they’ve had influence in the art world, but it still has a way to go.” Lastly, I appreciate that the Guerrilla Girls wear gorilla masks, keep their identities a secret, and take names of dead women artists. I appreciate that as they do it in order to take attention and keep those women artists’ memories alive. Besides, in that way they can have the freedom of speaking up more easily. To conclude, because the art is a part of culture, and the culture comprises everyone, we should not let the art to be dedicated to only a one gender or race. Consequently, I think we should support Guerrilla Girls as this founding is a successful example of raising voice against such inequalities.

Reflection Task 1a

 If I wanted to join in a student group at METU, that group would be AGT (Ankara Gönüllü Takımı). There are some reasons why I would want to join AGT. First reason is that this group is formed by volunteer students who want to build a bridge among the people from different social status. I really want to be a part of it. Second, I like their projects for children. To exemplify, every weekend they go to houses of some families most of whom are from low economic status. They help these families’ children with their homework, also they deal with children’s daily life issues. A special connection is developed, therefore they become friends. This project is exciting for me as I like spending time with children; moreover, it is nice to know that I could do something useful and beneficial for them. Addition to these, members of AGT organize some special events throughout the year such as visiting some museums, visiting Anıtkabir, going to cinema, celebrating 23th of April and summer camps. As you can see they do really nice stuff, and I believe I could be helpful in this group with performing events. Lastly, by doing volunteer stuff and meeting people and children from different background may help me improving my social and educational skills. As a result, I would most probably feel happier and more peaceful. Considering all these, I suppose AGT would be the most suitable group for me. Consequently, I have already met them, and above this writing there is a picture of our meeting. Now I am waiting for a call to join one of the projects of theirs.

Mother Knows Best !

Free Reflection Task 1

        I would like to write about the article: “What is Education For” by David Orr. It simply tells six wrong beliefs about the bases of modern education, and six new keynotes to alter them. Actually there are many points that I agree with the author. First of all, according to this article, that the purpose of education is giving you the means for upward mobility and success is a wrong belief, and I think so, too. To exemplify, when we ask some primary school children what they think about the purpose of education, they generally just say “being successful and having a good job.” They think education is only related to schooling or work life. However, it should not be in this way. We all must be aware that education needs little to do with success. Secondly, the author suggests that today there is a rapid increase of data, words and paper, but this explosion should not be taken for an increase in knowledge and wisdom. I believe that is a very important point. Owing to the circumstances of this era, we all use these things heavily for a subject matter, but this situation is not a sign of good education. We need to use them because we live in an environment that requires this. Also, it should be clear that the goal of education is not mastery of subject mastery but of one’s person. Apart from all these, this article has many benefits that assist me. One of them is that it helped me about how I criticize my educational life in a right and useful way. Also, this article is beneficial for other people in terms of understanding what education is for and what education must be for. It can broaden one’s horizon. All in all, considering the relevance of the article to our daily life, I think not only academicians but also everyone who wants to get correct and useful information about education should read this article.