Second Term-First Article Reflection

PAPA, THE PHILOSOPHER

        This article ,'Papa, The Philosopher' ,is really an effective one to show how important our parents are in both our social and psychological lives. I guessed that this article would make me bored when I read its name and saw 'the philosopher' at the first view.However, when I glanced its content I realized that it was about a meaningful story.

        It tells about a boy who lives in California with his family, but his origin is Italian.When he is a little child he is not aware of the things that they face with.As the time passes, he starts to understand the discrimination turning around him and his family.One day, he is attached by some American boys.He fells really sorry and humiliated being an Italian boy.The main message shows up when his father talks with him about this circumstance.He tries to say that he should not be ashamed of being an Italian.In addition to this, instead of reacting their nasty behaviors, he recommends his son to invite these boys to home in order to show that there is no difference between them.

        I cannot say that I can totally understand these types of people who must cope with these challenges only because of their national properties.The only thing that I can do is to put myself into their position.It is really a difficult problem because you must be strong to show that you have or lack nothing different from others.You can do this  with the support of your family even if your age is not enough for this like the example in the article.

       Finally, I want to mention the structure and content of the article.The writer uses a fluent language.The article is divided into many paragraphs and the reader do not get bored while reading it.The story is absorbing and I read it with a great pleasure:)

SECOND TERM 3-TANGO-

        Tango is my favorite dance and I want to share some things about it.Actually I do not know how to tango because there has been no opportunity to learn it so far.Maybe in the future I could be a good tangoist:) and you can come to see me..

     Tango is a Latin dance that was originated in Buenos-Aires, Argentine. Although it seems like an upper-class dance,actually it emerged in lower-class of Argentine. In the beginning it was played in the streets of the city among the African immigrants.However, it attracted the attention of upper-class people shortly after and then started to spread all over the Europe by some travelers.

        There are some basic characteristics of tango such as.lead and follow, body contact,feelings,its story..etc.These are the indispensable parts of Tango. Every tango dance has its own story and while watching the dance you can hear or live this story in the same time. Music is also one of the most important things in tango. It must be suitable for the story which will be expressed during the dance.

         There are so many types of tango, but I would like the three of them. First style is Argentine tango.It is the original form of tango which belongs to Buenos-Aires. It is more improvisional in comparison to other styles. The feelings and romanticism can be seen clearly while watching the dance.The second one is American tango that emerged in America. It is less romantic but, there are also feelings in the American tango.It is a semi-closed positional dance.The third type is International tango. There is no feeling in it and it is a choreographed dance that means studied before the show.Thus,if one of the dancer forgets her/her routine it is really difficult to compensate. It is usually used in International Tango Competitions.

          Many thing can be said about it,but I want to share with you a quotation by Miguel Zotto ;

           Tango is improvised. It is improvised all the way. There are no combinations. In tango you can’t be preoccupied with steps. You need to express your feelings while listening to the music.

                                     

SECOND TERM 2-DESIRE TO BE SELF-GOVERNING-

I want to talk about parent-adolescent collision which is a controversial issue .How many adolescents do not want to make his/her decisions on his/her own?  I am sure most of you tell me that none of them because you know it is a wish for our adolescents to be able to make things freely. Actually, it is our nature to want this, but the process in which we move from the adolescence to adulthood has some challenges that require being dealt with .

On the basis of my experiences, in this process so many conflicts come into existence automatically between the adolescents and their parents. Most of the parents, who have their children’s responsibility up to this process, want them to keep their advice and live however they like. For example, an adolescent has to arrive at home in the hours acceptable for his/her parents. These words probably must be said by a parent, but in the adolescents’ aspect these hours can be inconvenient.

To be honest, I am sure my mother and my father sometimes feel like an ordinary parent. I can understand them and they can understand me. However, not all of the adolescents and the parents have an ability to understand each other .I think, to overcome these challenging times there is just one thing to be done : EMPATHY..An adolescent must think what if he/she had a child? How would he/she act? Similarly, the parents must think their youth age. They cannot tell their children that I had never such problems like you. Another important thing during this process is attachment to parents. The more adolescents feel their parents on their sides, the more powerful they are against difficulties faced with in their future times.

As a result, if anyone knows their duties and responsibilities, this is not an insoluble problem.

                                                                                              MERVE BAYRAM