Online Beats 2015-2016 Spring Semester
Let's talk about discussion expectations
Putting pressure on minority students to be spokespeople for their race or religion is unfair and unreasonable
All eyes turn to a student in the room, heads swiveling almost comically as the class waits to hear her response to the teacher’s prompt. She stares back at them in confusion, and more than a little discomfort, but attempts to provide a response befitting of the people she is now forced to represent, who’s legacy she’s now expected to carry.
Many aspects of a person’s identity, be it their personality, race, or religion, is visible at first glance; someone’s skin color, choice of clothing, and other physical characteristics often give them away before a conversation even occurs. This visibility of identity and the assumptions that come with it often carry into the classroom, especially during Harkness discussions in classes like English or History. Often, if race or religion is being discussed, the student who is known to have that particular race or religion is expected to step up and lead, or at least provide some sort of authority on the subject. More often than not, this student is not given much of a choice; it is simply expected by the class, and sometimes by the teacher. Clearly, because the individual belongs to a particular religion or race, he or she will want to state their opinion or personal experiences during the discussion.
To put pressure on and to expect a minority student to act as a spokesperson is unfair and unreasonable, especially in a classroom setting. Not every minority student wants to, or even feels capable of talking about aspects of their identity that are both very personal and sensitive. For instance, a Muslim student may not want to talk about 9/11 and how that’s affected their community since then, or what exactly sharia law is, or how choosing to wear, or not choosing to wear the hijab has affected their daily lives.
It could be argued that no one in the classroom is really forcing any individual to speak, but anyone who’s been shoved under the limelight can attest to the intense pressure they encounter there that makes not answering the question or participating in the discussion feel like a personal failure, even a failure on the behalf of their people for failing to represent.
However valuable their insights may be, minority students should reserve the right to choose not to participate, or to be pressured into participating by the class – they should be treated like every other student, so an even wider variety of voices are heard and no discomfort is experienced.
To be or not to be? The US one-acts explore the human condition, eggs, modern relationships, and more
Our Rotten Town
The first one-act on Jan. 29, directed by Upper School English and Fine Arts teacher Eric Severson, featured many modern adaptions of Shakespeare’s plays, such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet. The cast of Our Rotten Town captured the essence of their characters (Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, Romeo, etc.) beautifully, by showcasing their faults and idiosyncrasies while still capitalizing on the iconic qualities and moments that defined their respective characters. Lady Macbeth (junior Phoebe Pannier) cackled about blood on her hands and Hamlet (senior Justin Zanaska) entertained the audience when he referenced the original Shakespeare play, saying “I’ve got my answer – not to be.” Overall, this one-act inspired both nostalgia and amusement in the audience, as the many ridiculous aspects of Shakespeare’s play were re-imagined (like the fact that if Romeo (sophomore Drew Fawcett) had waited a minute after he found out Juliet (sophomore Dorienne Hoven) was “dead,” she would have woken up and they could have lived happily ever after) with fondness and no small amount of amusement.
Sure Thing
Sure Thing, the fast-paced one-act directed by seniors Miriam Tibbetts and Riley Wheaton followed the conversation of two characters, Betty and Bill as they try to form a connection. Every time the conversation went wrong, a bell would ring and they would start over, or change the comment they’d made right before (“I believe that a man is what he is…(bell)…a person is what he is…(bell)…a person is what they are,” Bill, played by freshman Ben Atmore, junior Ivan Gunther, and freshman Nora Povejsil said). Their conversation alternated between being awkward, hilarious, absurd, and sweet. The cast of Sure Thing kept the audience laughing, while still conveying the importance of timing and the nature of modern relationships. Fibber Mcbee and Molly: Fibber Mcbee and Molly, originally a 1950s radio show, was directed, transcribed, and adapted for the stage by Maren Findlay. The eye-catching staging (lighting fading in and out to reveal the narrator at the beginning, etc.) and dry humor kept the audience interested, even as the story line seemed to wander throughout the show. Although the direction the characters were going in, or the conclusion the one-act arrived at was a little unclear, the way it was set up showcased the quirky, yet very relatable characters very well (“check up, until I get the bill, then it’s a choke up,” sophomore Nolan Smith, playing Ole said after he went to the hospital, one of the many times the characters delighted the audience with unexpected humor).
The Future is in the Eggs
From beginning to end, The Future is in the Eggs, directed by seniors Caswell Burr and Ingrid Topp-Johnson, charmed and amused the audience, painting a lovable but decidedly weird (in a good way) picture. The one-act showcased the harmful and absurd effects of societal expectations, by presenting the audience with a family that saw the “production” of children (or eggs in this case) as the most important task for their son, Jaques (junior Coleman Thompson), as they tried to control his life by telling him the proper way to grieve, flirt, and get married. Along with futuristic feels and ridiculous humor, this one-act shined and conveyed an important message.
The Glory of the World
The last one-act of the evening, The Glory of the World was directed by seniors Jack Romans and Maggie Vliestra. The one act began as a disembodied voice emerged from the darkness, saying “listen, it’s raining.” Before the audience had a change to react, the voice had started speaking again, only ending when the stage started to brighten, revealing a group of people who were singing “Happy Birthday.” As the story went on, it became clear that every person there had very different backgrounds, values, and faiths, and they all disagreed as to who their hero (Thomas Merton) really was. Was he a mystic? A Catholic? Their conversation was fast-paced, riddled with witty and thoughtful remarks. One impromptu dance routine (to Gangnam Style) later, the tension in the room had significantly increased, and their arguments became more intense – suddenly, one of them had a saw, another grabbed a knife – and soon enough, everyone in the room was dead, including the butler, who had joined the company later on. This captivating one-act was a perfect mix of insightful, darkly amusing, and thought-provoking. It was impossible to look away from the stage while the cast performed, and the ending left most of the audience confused, but enchanted, as the stage lights dimmed and the disembodied voice began asking questions (“What do you mean by contemplation anyway? Does the silence scare you?”), ending with “Yes, but don’t you think -.”
Common Ground embraces diversity and inclusivity with monologues
An event with a whirlwind of theater-like performances coupled with well-written, witty dialogue was last hosted by Common Ground nearly two years ago. This year, students at St. Paul Academy and Summit School will be treated to another round of monologues exploring diversity in race, religion, culture and more at school.
Junior Kathryn Schmechel, co-president of Common Ground, has fond memories of the last round of monologues. Their success among the student body played a major part in the group’s decision to continue the tradition onto this year.
“Common Ground decided to do monologues this year because we all remembered the impact the performance had on us two years ago. I personally loved the monologues, and still remember them as an impactful and powerful part of my ninth grade year,” she said.
Any student that wants to participate, even if they aren’t in Common Ground is more than welcome.
Common Ground wants to “encourage a spirit of inclusivity and diversity of experience [this year]… anyone in the school who is interested in honoring these themes [is invited] to participate,” Schmechel said.
The monologues will focus on experiences with race.
“We are focusing on the idea behind students having more to their background than might meet the eye,” Schmechel said.
Schmechel is also doing a monologue this year, and she hopes to “send a message about my personal experience with my own race and identity.”
The date for the presentation of these monologues is yet to be determined, but Common Ground hopes that the monologues will help initiate important discussions within the school.
“[We hope that] the student body reacts positively and thoughtfully, and that we can all come together to encourage having a better understanding of one another,” Schmechel said.
Junior Kathryn Schmechel, co-president of Common Ground, has fond memories of the last round of monologues. Their success among the student body played a major part in the group’s decision to continue the tradition onto this year.
“Common Ground decided to do monologues this year because we all remembered the impact the performance had on us two years ago. I personally loved the monologues, and still remember them as an impactful and powerful part of my ninth grade year,” she said.
Any student that wants to participate, even if they aren’t in Common Ground is more than welcome.
Common Ground wants to “encourage a spirit of inclusivity and diversity of experience [this year]… anyone in the school who is interested in honoring these themes [is invited] to participate,” Schmechel said.
The monologues will focus on experiences with race.
“We are focusing on the idea behind students having more to their background than might meet the eye,” Schmechel said.
Schmechel is also doing a monologue this year, and she hopes to “send a message about my personal experience with my own race and identity.”
The date for the presentation of these monologues is yet to be determined, but Common Ground hopes that the monologues will help initiate important discussions within the school.
“[We hope that] the student body reacts positively and thoughtfully, and that we can all come together to encourage having a better understanding of one another,” Schmechel said.
The power of listening
Speaking, the art of verbal communication is central for nearly every aspect of one’s public and private life. The other half of communication, listening—arguably the more important one, according to TED talk speaker William Ury—is often trivialized or ignored. After all, the degree to which one listened during discussion cannot really be assigned a letter grade, and the depth to which one listens to a friend’s problem isn’t really valued if the advice given doesn’t help them in some visible way. However, as students focus more and more on fine tuning their speaking skills it becomes even more important to learn how to listen in an intelligent way to avoid acting ignorantly.
Listening is defined as “making meaning from sound,” according to Julian Treasure, the chair of the Sound Agency. Ordinarily, the sound around us is filtered down to the few pieces of information that each individual actually pays attention to. These filters shape one’s personal reality; culture, language, values, beliefs, attitudes, expectations, and intentions all narrow down the overwhelming waves of sound that bombard students’ ears every day.
Consider the somewhat horrific implications of this information. Since one’s own filters are often dependent on the way they were raised (culture, values, and beliefs especially will vary depending on characteristics like race and faith), certain stereotypes students have grown up with will routinely affect the way they see the world.
Students at SPA, who go to a school that is predominantly white and made up of students with mostly high-income backgrounds are especially susceptible to these stereotypes. Although SPA educates its students on the dangers of stereotypes in classes like History and English, the negative stereotypes around race, gender, or even certain ethnic groups or religions that nearly everyone has grown up hearing will naturally affect their actions. Students need to consciously think about the way that they listen to the information that’s presented to them every day. Only by paying attention to the ways one’s personal filters affect the way they listen can students actively keep stereotypes from affecting their lifestyle, however unconsciously.
Global Rights for Women strives to remove violence against women through legislation and training
Founded only a year and a half ago, the nonprofit Global Rights for Women has already made progress in their goal to protect women’s rights to be free from violence – be it sexual assault, domestic violence, sex trafficking, genital mutilation, or any other crime against women. Recently, they brought teams from four countries to Minnesota for a nine day training experience to study the the Coordinate Community Response model in Duluth. The CCR model was created in Duluth and is highly effective in combating domestic violence. HerSpace invited founding director Cheryl Thomas to come to speak to students at Saint Paul Academy and Summit School about the work Global Rights for Women does during advisory on April 6.
“We work with advocates that understand…[that] to be free from violence, they need a law,” Thomas said.
Many of the members of Global Rights for Women are lawyers who work to help advocates pass laws in their own countries that protect women from violence. Currently, over 600 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not treated as a crime. To change the reality those women live in, Thomas is attempting to push governments to recognize that violence against women isn’t a private matter that shouldn’t be publicly addressed; it’s a crime, and a human rights violation.
Thomas has been accused in the past of pushing the nonprofit’s Western, feminist agenda onto countries that don’t agree with it.
“Sometimes we get accused of…bringing our feminist agenda to places that don’t agree with us, when in fact women from all over the world and men were involved in creating this Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. People everywhere feel this deep in their heart and soul, that they have these rights,” she said.
Thomas emphasizes the need for Global Rights for Women to continue helping women escape violence and that the Global Rights for Women’s agenda is not Western or imperialistic, rather it’s an “agenda that people all over the world feel very strongly about.”
She recommends that students help Global Rights for Women reach their goal by building their own understanding of the abuses that are occurring against women, and learning about what movements there are in the world to combat these abuses. Since there are a lot of organizations in Minnesota that work to protect women, such as battered women’s shelters, the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, Minnesota Coalition for Sexual Assault, and advocates who are raising awareness about campus sexual assault, students could potentially help out there.
In addition, Thomas mentioned a bill pending in Congress called the International Violence Against Women Act that would help the U.S. support efforts for groups at home and abroad to partner together to combat these issues. Calling one’s legislators to support the Federal Violence Against Women Law, which comes up for re-appropriation every year would also help the organization. Global Rights for Women’s website also lists ways students can be involved.
“Violence is the most effective tool that’s being used to keep women and girls subjugated, demoralized, and just unable to live lives of equality and integrity. We believe that it’s not only damaging them, and their sisters, and their mothers, and their families but it’s really one of the factors…that’s keeping our world from developing in a peaceful and healthy way,” she said.
“We work with advocates that understand…[that] to be free from violence, they need a law,” Thomas said.
Many of the members of Global Rights for Women are lawyers who work to help advocates pass laws in their own countries that protect women from violence. Currently, over 600 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not treated as a crime. To change the reality those women live in, Thomas is attempting to push governments to recognize that violence against women isn’t a private matter that shouldn’t be publicly addressed; it’s a crime, and a human rights violation.
Thomas has been accused in the past of pushing the nonprofit’s Western, feminist agenda onto countries that don’t agree with it.
“Sometimes we get accused of…bringing our feminist agenda to places that don’t agree with us, when in fact women from all over the world and men were involved in creating this Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. People everywhere feel this deep in their heart and soul, that they have these rights,” she said.
Thomas emphasizes the need for Global Rights for Women to continue helping women escape violence and that the Global Rights for Women’s agenda is not Western or imperialistic, rather it’s an “agenda that people all over the world feel very strongly about.”
She recommends that students help Global Rights for Women reach their goal by building their own understanding of the abuses that are occurring against women, and learning about what movements there are in the world to combat these abuses. Since there are a lot of organizations in Minnesota that work to protect women, such as battered women’s shelters, the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, Minnesota Coalition for Sexual Assault, and advocates who are raising awareness about campus sexual assault, students could potentially help out there.
In addition, Thomas mentioned a bill pending in Congress called the International Violence Against Women Act that would help the U.S. support efforts for groups at home and abroad to partner together to combat these issues. Calling one’s legislators to support the Federal Violence Against Women Law, which comes up for re-appropriation every year would also help the organization. Global Rights for Women’s website also lists ways students can be involved.
“Violence is the most effective tool that’s being used to keep women and girls subjugated, demoralized, and just unable to live lives of equality and integrity. We believe that it’s not only damaging them, and their sisters, and their mothers, and their families but it’s really one of the factors…that’s keeping our world from developing in a peaceful and healthy way,” she said.
High-efficiency breaks power the brain and increase focus
Around finals, midterms, or even weeks when multiple projects and tests somehow end up being due all at once, students often find themselves staring down the barrel of hours and hours of work. Realistically, no student can power through everything they have to do without becoming less efficient over the course of the day, even if they’re careful to take a few breaks. However, when times are tight and it feels like only a five to ten minute break will fit among the piles and piles of work, students can choose to take high-efficiency breaks, that both relax and re-energize the body in a shorter amount of time.
Low-efficiency breaks, where the brain is offered a respite from work but isn’t really re-energized often involve scrolling through social media feeds, or engaging in an activity where one is parked in front of a screen. Watching Netflix or checking one’s emails are both examples of low-efficiency breaks.
High efficiency breaks include moving around, especially outside, even if its just a ten-minute walk to relieve stress and improve mood. If students walk outside, close to green spaces, their brains could even enter a state of meditation, according to a study by the British Journal of Sports Medicine. At school, green spaces that could help students relax include the Lily Courtyard and soccer fields.
Students have most likely heard of how sleeping in 90 minute bursts can help one feel more rested, but moving through these cycles while awake also increases productivity, according to physiologist and sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman. When creating a study schedule for the week, it would benefit students to plan in terms of 90 minute sections, with breaks in between.
Napping has both physical and mental benefits; it improves focus, learning, memory, and more. Taking a short, 25-30 minute nap will quickly re-energize students, according to sleep expert Dr. Michael Breus. Taking a longer nap, from a hour to an hour and a half has even more benefits; it improves test results for memory as much as an eight-hour night of sleep would, according to UC Riverside research.
Some students meditate in their free time, or have done it in Wellness class but for those who haven’t: meditation, along with yoga or deep breathing provide the most effective breaks because of their success in lowering stress levels. Students can use a wide variety of apps that will provide guided meditation, or they can speak with Ms. Short, the Upper School counselor about meditation techniques that would work for them.
Low-efficiency breaks, where the brain is offered a respite from work but isn’t really re-energized often involve scrolling through social media feeds, or engaging in an activity where one is parked in front of a screen. Watching Netflix or checking one’s emails are both examples of low-efficiency breaks.
High efficiency breaks include moving around, especially outside, even if its just a ten-minute walk to relieve stress and improve mood. If students walk outside, close to green spaces, their brains could even enter a state of meditation, according to a study by the British Journal of Sports Medicine. At school, green spaces that could help students relax include the Lily Courtyard and soccer fields.
Students have most likely heard of how sleeping in 90 minute bursts can help one feel more rested, but moving through these cycles while awake also increases productivity, according to physiologist and sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman. When creating a study schedule for the week, it would benefit students to plan in terms of 90 minute sections, with breaks in between.
Napping has both physical and mental benefits; it improves focus, learning, memory, and more. Taking a short, 25-30 minute nap will quickly re-energize students, according to sleep expert Dr. Michael Breus. Taking a longer nap, from a hour to an hour and a half has even more benefits; it improves test results for memory as much as an eight-hour night of sleep would, according to UC Riverside research.
Some students meditate in their free time, or have done it in Wellness class but for those who haven’t: meditation, along with yoga or deep breathing provide the most effective breaks because of their success in lowering stress levels. Students can use a wide variety of apps that will provide guided meditation, or they can speak with Ms. Short, the Upper School counselor about meditation techniques that would work for them.