Topic Research: Heroines

ʜᴇʀᴏɪɴᴇꜱ

ʙʏ: ᴍᴀʀɪᴀ ᴅᴀᴡꜱᴏɴ

I choose this picture for my topic because she is the lead "face" of feminism in Canada. This picture is by Pixabay

To narrow down what I want my final project to be after poking around on some site I think I am going to decide to focus on heroines. To be more specific I would like to try and find some stories that talk over feminism and the female heroes within these stories that have helped progress us throughout society. However, I would also like to write about sacrifice seen within these epics. I would love some more ideas on types of epics that would fit within this category or examples. 

The first story I found during my research is the story of Ruru and his wife Priyamvada. In this story, his wife is bitten by a snake and dies without being with his wife Ruru gives half his life to her. What draws me to this story is the most is the love behind it and being able to create my own swing on this love story would be fun to complete. 

The second story that caught my eye is called Shauntala: TheWoman Wronged which is about a woman who is seduced by a king and ultimately becomes pregnant where she raises the baby by herself. I am inspired by this story because she is able to stay strong within all the miss happening in her life and I would like to tell her story in my own translation. 

The third story I am considering doing the project over is Savitri: The Perfect Wife. I am interested in writing my own version of this story because it starts out with a birth that was considered a miracle and its what she does with this miracle that impresses me. Savitri goes on to try and find her perfect husband instead of the husband being picked for her. I believe with this story I can show how she went through her life through the feminist view I see,

Feedback Strategies

Feedback Strategies: Learning as I Go

By Maria Dawson

I loved this picture because it gives ways one can learn. I believe learning throughout our entire life is very important. Picture by: Giulia Forsythe

I am a person that thrives on positive feedback the most and feel like I am not doing a good job when I get any constructive criticism. This is something I am trying to grow through and learn how to do better in the future. I have noticed that I will not even look at the comment to a discussion post just in case someone will not like my work. This is where I want to start on this journey and learn how to effectively take criticism.  

To start this journey of growth I was curious on what was the best way for preschoolers to learn and then maybe I can adapt this into my learning. I read an article by Deborah Farmer Kris titled,  "Preschoolers and Praise: What Kinds of Messages Help Kids Grow?" In this article, she states to stay away from praises that are easy to give such as a good job or nice work and instead give more constructive and specific feedback. Such as commenting on the way the child was able to do something, for example, saying "You did such a good job helping out with the laundry" or "I am so proud of you for sharing with your brother".  Deborah also talks about how stories and the way we talk to kids will help shape their future. I believe we can use these tactics to anyone at any age to help their growth mindset. 

The other post that caught my eye is by, Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman in an article named,

"Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise?". I am curious about this post because my current boss gives us comments at the end of each week during our team meetings and I am wondering if this is helping or hurting us. In this post the authors say "be specific, rather than a general remark of “good job,” and ideally occurs soon after the praise-worthy incident". In my situation, with my boss, she gives us very specific feedback however she waits until the end of the week to give it to us instead of immediately telling us what we did well. Using the tactics described in the article the boss is more likely to come across as if they have their back and truly understand what their workers are going through.

Week 3 Story: The Inverted Lotus

The Inverted Lotus:

By: Maria Dawson

An outlining of the beautiful lotus. Picture by: OpenClipArt 

A long long time ago there was a spell cast over the lake pond that stated, “every 100 years the women shall be rendered infertile and it will you’re your jobs to figure out the secrets”. This secret, of course, being how to allow the women to conceive there must be a way thought the pond.

Pond of Lavender is where the yearly joyous occasion of the fusion of gametes took place. This year had been especially hard on all the lotus and no new flower buds were in the making. This year was the hundredth year since the spell. From the back a faint voice can be heard, “I Nelumbo will give myself as the fertilizer for the future creating four of the most gorgeous flowers this pond has ever seen”.

Nelumbo yelled over the crowded water, “though shall not fear I give myself in peace and harmony. To create an even stronger youth to carry us through the hard times that lie ahead. I shall deliver this gift of life to the three most lovely flowers to perceive this gift of our future”.

Later that night a wind carried the fertilizer over the four females in the crystal blue waters.

Nelumbo of nucifera

Nelumbo of lutea

Nymphaea of  caerulea and  nouchali

The tarn delighted greatly with the birth of the four new plants. They celebrated with color shows and pollen parades and the prettiest garlands you could ever see.

However, among of the four plants, Nucifera, was the most beautiful: waking away in a flower bed he was like to a beautiful baby boy amongst a sea of white blankets away in a cradle.

King lotus, the great flower, admired that this small lotus carried all the symbols of his kind, and leaving his understanding to the pond, and was well admired in return.

Authors Note: This story was inspired by the Rama Avitar of Vishnu because in the original story Rama is compared to a beautiful blue lotus. This comparison shot an idea through my head of rewriting the story but from a flower point of view. As you can see the names of the flowers I used are the real names of types of lotus flowers by clicking the hyperlink within them. I had a lot of fun writing this story and trying different ways to create the effect of it being a flower but also keeping the storyline the same. 

Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend written by Donald A. Mackenzie chapter titled Rama: Avatar of Vishnu