RE-WRITTEN FORM OF MY THIRD JOURNAL: PICTURE OF AN IDEAL UNIVERSITY

It is important to study at a valuable university. We should find a university at which we can improve ourselves. Of course improvement is mostly an individual process but the environment we are surrounded by affects us more or less. I mean a successful student can prosper even if he or she is studying in bad conditions. However, it is always a privilege to be a student at a university which really deserves its name and fame.

An ideal university should be as dynamic as its students. It understands the needs of the youth and society. Before demanding something from you, it gives you what is required, but it does not have to be in a direct way. I think this would be totally wrong. An ideal university should not be like high schools. We must focus on learning as much as possible with our own instincts. Reading, writing, researching, and so on must not be just because we are told to do by our instructors or we will have exams. A real university makes its members realize this because I do not think that we can be good at our jobs in the future if we perceive our assignments as boring duties. There is a deep meaning of all these studies and if we try to see it, I am sure everything will turn out to be pleasant. METU meets my expectations in this respect. When I do something, I know why I am doing it. Every lesson is a kind of brainstorming.

Another characteristic of an ideal university comes from its modernity. It is open to new ideas and technologies. It can predict what future is going to be like. In addition, it has the power of changing the world just like METU’s slogan: We can change the world.

The last but the most significant quality of an ideal university is freedom. It is full of people who know what freedom and democracy are. It has facilities so that students feel comfortable. At a free university, each student has a place to shine. They find the truth and follow their own roads. They can explain what they believe in fearlessly. METU has a praiseworthy atmosphere of liberty. There are different student clubs and they work freely and successfully. This is just one of the demonstrations. METU is an exciting university to explore.

COMMENTING ON JOURNAL ENTRIES

I commented on 2 multi-media entries:

1.      On Tuba’s blog, the entry “Video Reflection 1’’

http://tbcan.blogspot.com/2012/12/video-reflection-1.html#comment-form

 

2.      On Buse’s blog, the entry “JOURNAL ENTRY 6: DOCTOR WHO”

http://buse-caliskan.blogspot.com/2012/12/journal-entry-6_30.html?showComment=1358368920594#c3730710730814028947

 

I commented on 2 reflection journals:

1.      On Gülalek’s blog, the entry “INTERPRETATION ON ‘I BRAIN ODTÜ’ “

http://gulalek5515.blogspot.com/2012/10/interpratation-on-i-brain-odtu-new.html#comment-form

 

2.      On Fatoş’ blog, the entry “About the book I appreciate…:FREEDOM AND AFFECTION”

http://fatosakbaba.blogspot.com/2012/11/about-book-i-appreciate.html#comment-form

HESSE FOR A GOOD START TO GERMAN LITERATURE

Hermann Hesse is the number one for me in German literature with his authentic writing style and his philosophy behind his great works. It is very clear in his books that he is the seeker of wisdom and love. He always questions the education system and other institutions. He is interested in spirituality and Eastern philosophy. These are pretty satisfying for me to have fun while reading his books. Hermann Hesse is a very prolific and successful writer. “Siddhartha” and “Demian” are two of his best novels. In Siddhartha, one of the important points is that knowledge is nothing without wisdom. Actually, it means that knowledge is not as valuable as wisdom. More importantly, wisdom is not a thing that can be gained easily. It requires a long way or path to go through. Then, it finds you after realizing your genuine existence. I think Siddhartha is not a book that can be understood just by reading once. I have read it three times. Each reading was like a new experience for me, and I found some themes which I had not been able to catch previously. I also felt relaxed and enlightened whenever I read it. In Demian, the characters are really different from one another and enchanting. Max Demian is one of these characters but I think he is the most mysterious one. Hesse is so strong in his descriptions which tell Max Demian that I have frequently imagined Max Demian as a supernatural hero. I do not want to write anything about plots of these books. I think you should read them and taste the pleasure of thinking about Hesse like me. To sum up, German literature means Hermann Hesse to me, and I really like being lost in thoughts while reading his books.   

VIDEO REFLECTION: In the Fog

Hermann Hesse is not only a writer but also a poet. “In the Fog”(in German “Im Nebel”) is one of his poems. The video that I share with you is a creative work, and the man who reads the poem prefers the English translated version. I think it is a really good idea to choose a station to shoot this video because the poem is about loneliness. I also like the way the poem is read. People hear the poem from the speakers at the train station. The irony in this video is interesting. Here is the best and striking part of the poem for me:

“…

Truly, no one is wise,

Who does not know the dark

…”

This proves us that the real wisdom is to know what the darkness is and to face with it. Hesse says that “Life is loneliness.” and “No one knows the other one.”. When you think about the people in the station, it is true. They do not know each other. For this reason, I like the thought behind this video. It represents the theme of the poem successfully.

AKEELAH AND THE BEE

I attended a university instructor’s English course last year when I was studying for the university entrance exams. He met us at the weekends and gave us some important learning strategies. One day, he came to the class and said that we were not going to talk about anything. He wanted us to sit in a semi-circle. Then, he put his laptop on a table in front of us. He said that we were going to watch a movie. He left us alone in the class. Before leaving, he added that the movie was chosen for the lesson of that day and that we had a message in it. My friends and I all thought that he was really cryptic. Sometimes we did not understand his methods but we realized what he meant later. His mysterious movie is called “Akeelah and the Bee”. When we saw that its main character was just an 11-year-old girl, we could not be sure whether that movie was suitable for us or not. We expected a different movie because we were not children anymore. There was no need to watch a little girl’s childish world. However, we realized that we acted just like children by thinking that there was nothing to learn from a little girl as we went on watching further. Akeelah is a smart girl who really likes spelling. Because of her talent, she finds herself in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is a very famous spelling competition. During her preparation for this contest, she studies with a great teacher named Dr. Joshua Larabee. He is actually her couch. She gets the support of everyone around her. She feels her family’s, friends’ and even her neighbour’s sincerity. They help her study and want her to win. The noteworthy point is that she wins because she tries everything possible as long as she can. Moreover, her biggest love of spelling comes from her dad. Her dad is not alive but she keeps him alive inside her by spelling. At least, she thinks that he will be happy if she wins the spelling bee. This makes her more determined and hopeful. After watching the movie, the question came to our minds was “Why not?”. If Akeelah could do it, we could also do it. We could find ways to be successful. We could find our own inspiration. We could pass all the exams. In the end, our instructor came in the class and said “do whatever you need to do”. He did not give us any homework but asked us to think about the movie. We admired his teaching style once more because the movie was amazing and full of advice. All in all, I think Akeelah and the Bee was his best lesson in terms of the deep meaning of it.

 

VIDEO REFLECTION: Our Deepest Fear

 

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves:  Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." - Marianne Williamson.

The quotation that Akeelah reads in the movie is above. I think this part of the movie is perfect. I do not remember watching such a good movie and facing such a gorgeous quotation ever. We can do a lot of things if we believe in our inner power. This is what Akeelah’s coach is trying to show us. The way of encouraging Akeelah to gain self-confidence is really effective. I strongly suggest watching this movie and I hope one day when you become teachers, you can watch it again with your students. I think not only the students but also the teachers should watch this movie and get the point.

PAGANISM FROM MY POINT OF VIEW

Paganism is a different kind of religion which has its roots in the ancient ages. It was there before Christianity and other religions. For this reason, Paganism is out of the religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It is deeply concerned with the Earth and nature, which I really appreciate. Pagans believe that there is nothing more powerful than the energy which exists in the nature.  Nature is very significant for them. So, their biggest aims are to protect it and maintain the cycle of events that occur in the nature. Paganism does not have only a holy book. It is an independent and individualistic religion because there are many different beliefs in Paganism. Paganism can be put into three kinds of categories about religion. These are polytheism, pantheism and atheism. Some Pagans have faith in many gods and goddesses. Some claim that nature itself is the religion itself because it is fantastic. Lastly, some Pagans do not think that there are gods or goddesses. However, they all respect for the nature and know that there is something miraculous in our green and blue environment. According to those who believe in gods and goddesses, the sky and sea gives us power and courage. The colour blue is so important that most of their clothes and other things are all blue. Green symbolizes trees and plants, so Pagans love the colour green. Trees have glorious spirits as their beliefs point out. Other preferable colours among Pagans are red, white and golden. I agree that colours may affect people in terms of their moods to some extent. Most people think that Paganism is a dark and evil sort of religion which is practiced by witches or wizards. I think it is wrong to have such a general idea about it because Paganism is actually a pure religion based on nature. On the other hand, I cannot deny the fact that there are some bad believers who confuse people’s minds by their behaviours and strange rituals. Briefly, Paganism and Pagans should be considered without any judgment or prejudice because it is worth seeing their sensitive approach to our nature.

VIDEO REFLECTION: Christmas is a Pagan celebration

 

Watching documentaries is one of the things that I do with pleasure in my free time. I like learning new and interesting facts about history and science. Hence, I have put this short video taken from a part of a great documentary. It tells the origins of celebrating Christmas. However, it is not very surprising for me to learn that Christmas comes from the Pagan traditions because Paganism is an old religion. Pagans celebrate the changing seasons for ages. They have lots of rituals, customs and spiritual days. The winter solstice is one of them. It is also known as the Yule and Christians celebrate it as Christmas. Oaks and mistletoe was precious for Pagans and they are still indispensible even today for both Pagans and Christians. You will find more about similarities in the video. The visual quality of the video is not prefect but I like the way it is presented. It is informative and very clear. Lastly, I recommend that you do some research on Samhain, which is another important celebration of Pagans and the Halloween if this video awakens your enthusiasm. You will face with many common things between the two and understand that Paganism has a great influence on Christian traditions.