Three good things that happened to me today;

1) I went for a 30km bike ride and made it the whole way without getting tired.

2) I took my German exchange partner to laser-tag, because you have to be 16 to do it in Germany.

3) I successfully organized for Eric to wait at school with his and my exchange partners because the bike tour was running late. The cool bit is that I did all the organizing while on my bike!

Three good things that happened to me today;

1) I went to Sovereign Hill with my exchange partner for the day, and although I had been there six times already, it was still nice to see he enjoyed it.

2) I managed to hand in the form for the bike excursion before school, so I could still go, even though I missed out on the days classes.

3) Finished my positivity journal for Monday, Only a day late!

Is Melbourne more livable now than in the past?

Melbourne has seen many drastic changes in the last 300 years since Aboriginal-Australia. The styles of what is considered standard living have also changed, from it being normal to live amongst nature and off the land to being almost the exact opposite. The area that is now the city of Melbourne was more livable pre-white settlement than now. Because it is difficult to describe one definition for livability that includes the whole history of Melbourne, so, for the purpose of this focus question, livability will be defined as how safe it is for any individual to live in a location, due to dangers that are both within and out of their control. Now will be defined as present-day Melbourne, and the past as pre-white settlement, in the time of the Aboriginals.

The city of Melbourne is a dangerous place, and crime is occurring uncontrollably throughout the city. According to Victorian Police Statistics there were 2888 recorded assaults per in 2010 alone (Using the statistics showing there were 2921 assaults per 100,000 people, and the total population being 9,860), and 2720 of those (94%) in the city CBD. the pre-Melbourne area (Wurundjeri) wasn’t so dangerous. When I asked about the dangers faced by Aboriginal people before Captain Cook and the first fleet on the Koorie Heritage Trust walk I was told that there were occasional wars between tribes and punishments if you broke the law, but apart from that the only dangers were cliffs and sacred land that one is not meant to step on. Of course there are going to be crimes committed like assault, but the numbers would have been much lower than what they are today. Therefore, because it’s so much more dangerous in Melbourne now, Melbourne was more livable in the past than now.

Even though we live in a dangerous city today, it’s quite possible that the Aboriginal people had it worse. in our modern-day lives, we can control our lives (To an extent), and make them less dangerous. For example, one would be less likely to be assaulted if they traveled around the city in the daytime, or avoided confrontation with a dangerous person. But imagine if you were an Aboriginal person, you have a routine for every day, the men hunt, the women and children gather fruit and yams. Then, all of a sudden, your land is invaded by a neighbouring community, who have exhausted their supply of kangaroo, and want to hunt on your land. The point is, We may have more dangers in our society today, but we have more control over those dangers, whereas the citizens of past Melbourne weren’t able to control the dangers in their lives, because it was down to uncontrollable variables like war and whether the animals are hungry that day.

Melbourne itself has had different levels of livability throughout the last 300 years, but throughout its entire history, no time has been less livable than the current living standards of Afghanistan. For the last 11 years the country has been enveloped by war against America. Innocent civilians are under danger of terrorist attacks, bombing, and solders searching their house for housed enemies. The livability of any city in Afghanistan is in danger, and, even though Melbourne has become less livable over time, it was always more livable than Afghanistan is now.

Because there are so many dangers in our modern-day society, and the fact that there were much less than in the time of pre-white settlement it’s obvious that Melbourne has become less livable over the years, and ut was more livable in the past. Even though the majority of dangers faced by native Australians were out of an individuals control, they were so uncommon that it’s still perfectly clear that Melbourne now is less livable in the past, although both the past and present are more livable than present-day Afghanistan, which is gripped by war and the fear of terrorism and bombing.

Three good things that happened to me today

1) A new person joined my SENSE sleep study group, and I knew her really well. That means that four from five people go to my school in my year level, and the other I’ve already made friends with.

2) Finding out I was up to date on my homework after having to catch up on a week’s worth. I felt accomplished and proud in my efforts.

3) I got selected for the trail that I wanted to do on Wednesday, bike riding. I always ride my bike to school, so that won’t be an issue at all.

The second week’s topic was Questioning Melbourne, and was all about finding out more about the city we live in.

On Tuesday I had community service for the first two sessions of the day, and I was stationed at a St Vinnie’s Op Shop, which was very close to my house.The work we did was two or three very small jobs, and then Matt (my partner) mopped the floors and I tagged clothes for an hour and a half, which was fairly boring and repetitive, but  was also a new experience.

Wednesday was a trail day, and I went to the Melbourne Museum and researched how Melbourne has changed in different ways, like using electricity or how Bourke St has changed by looking at a sequence of photographs taken at different times. Then we went into the city grid and searched for a building photographed in Melbourne’s later history, and interviewed a shop owner about how the area had changed since they had worked there. I found the trail really interesting because it made me look at Melbourne through different eyes, and now I wonder what used to be where big buildings used to be.

On Thursday the other half of the class who didn’t have community service on Tuesday went for the last two periods of school. The rest of us who had already gone stayed back at the loft and had two sessions working on team skills. We played a game where we had a group and an observer, the group had to support a Hula-Hoop using two fingers, and get it over a chair. If your finger came of the hoop you had to start again. I was an observer, and I noticed that my group figured out what was going wrong and fixed the problem quickly and effectively. Then we all got a strip of paper which had one sentence of information on it, and had to put our strips together to figure out the question and the answer. I didn’t participate much in this exercise because there were too many people talking over each other and if I tried to help it would just take longer. Also I was tired and groggy because I slept at lunchtime.

On Friday we all went on a Koorie Heritage Trust walk to learn about the history of Melbourne pre/mid-white settlement. We split up into two groups and my half went to Flagstaff Gardens. We met our guide and walked up the hill, while talking about what was there and how the land was used. Afterwards we went to the K.H.T Head-Quarters and had a look at some Aboriginal tools and animal furs. I really liked the experience because I find aboriginal history really interesting, and I liked the guide’s openness about how difficult it is to learn about the history and how she’s still researching and trying to find information.

What was new?

I think that this week a lot more of the term-long things have been put in place, like community service and team skills.

What was interesting?

The Koorie Heritage Trust walk was really good and I also enjoyed community service. Team skills was also really good but I think it would have been better if I had participated in the second activity as well. So, next week, I’ll try and do that as well.

What worked?

I think my team worked better together (me and India especially) than last week, and that we’re on track with everything we need to be doing.

What didn’t?

I think my community service partner (Matt) didn’t have as good a time as I did, because when he was mopping the floor he must’ve used too much water, and a customer came in and yelled at him that someone was going to slip and hurt themselves and that he’d be in court.

Apart from that, I’ve had a really good week and I’m looking forward to next week. First Aid was one of my term goals, so this week is the time that I really need to focus.

So, as I mentioned in the reflective journal, we get assigned a team project group to work with over the course of the term, with a theme of our selection, so we’re bound by interests and not peer groups.

I was away on Thursday because I was on an all-day excursion with my German exchange student, but what I’ve gathered is that we found out what team project topic we got and our group members. I was put into the Theater group with Andre, Vikram and India, all people who I know well and get along with.

What are your initial thoughts about your team project topic and group?

I love theater. I’m passionate about acting, and I chose that topic because I enjoy it and I could easy work on almost any aspect of theater. Every one of my group members brings something unique to the table, I act, and I’m all about being on stage and performing. Andre is an amazingly talented singer, and has the devotion to match. India is also into musical theater, but she does cheer-leading and dance as well. Vikram finishes the team by bringing a completely unbiased view at performances. Because Vikram has never been heavily involved in theater, he can look at a performance and see it for what it is the finished product, and judge/analyse it as such, while India, Andre and I will only be able to see the weaknesses/strengths of the show.

Has your sense of the group changed as a result of completing the trail together?

I had a pretty good idea of how the trail was going to go down, and it was fairly accurate, so no, I don’t think my view of the group has changed at all.

What did you notice in terms of: leadership, cooperation, time management and humor?

From the moment I found out India and I were in a group together, I knew we were going to clash at some point on the trail, and it did. Whenever India and I had been in a group together, we’d had some disagreement which slowed the progress of the group. But hopefully Andre/Vikram can offer a third party decision and I think me and India will get over whatever it is that makes us clash. I think my group is managing fine in all the other areas, and if we can just work on our time management a little I think we’ll be fine.

What have you already learned about yourself [working in a new group]?

I learned that in our group everyone has a job their good at. Andre is the leader, because everyone listens to him, India is the devils advocate, who looks at things critically and makes sure that we’re doing the right thing. Vikram is everything that’s a necessity, he’s the photographer, the time keeper, the map man, the planner etc. I think I fit into the role of Tech, and doing the stuff in the loft and online. It’s funny because I never thought of myself in that way, and it’s even weirder because I kind of assigned myself that role sub-consciously.

So, all-in-all, I think I have a great group, and that we’re all really good friends anyway, but we’ll be even better ones after Galileo.

This week was the first classes of Galileo, which I was really looking forward to. I had been told by information nights and stories of past experience that Galileo is a term-long class where you do nothing but electives and Galileo. I was also told that you do a different topic each term, and that you investigate that topic by going out into the city.

All of this is true, but what I didn’t know is that there is also a team project which you work on in a group, with the groups based on common interests, not social hierarchies. I think this is a great idea, and that it will really reveal what people can do when they’re not bound by peer pressure but attracted by common interests.

So on Wednesday we went on a trail in groups of four to explore the city grid and photograph certain areas given to us. My group (Ed, Deylan, Dushan and I) were on the tram when a group of seniors got on with us and started protesting for more rights. We had a conversation with them and figured out they were going to fed square to have a big protest about getting more rights and a bigger pension. We decided to tag along and have a look, and we ended up getting some contacts and recording some interviews. After that we went around the grid and photoed all of our locations, and even though we had to let Home Base know we were going to be late, we still managed to complete the set work with time to spare.

How do you feel about the first few days of Galileo?

I feel really confident that I’ll have a great term, and that I’ll be able to adjust to the different style of learning that is practiced in Galileo. I also think that after maybe a week or two I’ll be able to get into a routine of doing a little homework each night so it’s not such a big load.
What are your hopes and fears for this term?

I hope that I’ll learn some valuable skills that will help me throughout the rest of Galileo, my schooling and also my future job.  I also hope I get a chance to have conversations with everyone and get to know everyone really well. I guess I’m afraid that I won’t be able to swap back to the traditional school curriculum and I’ll forget everything in the time spent at Galileo, and that I’ll fall behind in class and then everything will snowball and I’ll just sit through school avoiding teachers in the hallways and not enjoy it.

Overall, I think Galileo has been amazing so far, and I can’t wait to get stuck into next week.

So, everybody had to choose goals for the term, three concerning skills, three involving knowledge, and three personal qualities.

We also had to label them as one of the four choices, New To Me, Some Experience, Good At But Could Improve and Parents Want Me To Work On.

For my skills I chose Time Management, Cold Calling and Negotiation and Compromise. Time Management was an obvious choice for me, because in the past I’ve struggled to get my homework in on time because of lack of time reserved for homework, and it really annoys my parents. I chose Cold Calling, which is talking to people you don’t know, because I’m OK at it, but it would be a really valuable skill to be really good at. Finally, I chose Negotiation and Compromise, because if I’m working in a group and my ideas clash, I won’t yield, and we don’t get anywhere in our work.

For my Knowledge goals, I selected Philosophy and Values, Futurism and First Aid.  Philosophy and Values caught my eye because the topic really interests me, and I’m always getting into Philosophical arguments with my parents. Futurism I know nothing about, but I decided I’d have to try one thing completely new and random, and futurism sounded interesting, so I chose it. First Aid was an easy choice to, because when I looked at it I realized that it’s such a useful skill, but that I don’t know it at all.

My Personal Quality selections were Collaboration, Focus and Drive and Enthusiasm. Collaboration ties in with Negotiation and Compromise as something that I recognize I need to work on, and both Focus and Drive and Enthusiasm tie in with my homework/schoolwork issues that my parents are trying to help me with. So, all of the Personal Quality choices were easier, because they all tied in with the other selections I’d already made.

Time Management:

What are some smaller sub-goals that you can aim to achieve along the way to reaching your goal?

I think if I can get myself into a pattern of work, like writing down what I did every day on a draft so my weekly reflection is easier for me to write.
What obstacles might stop you from achieving your goal?

My lack of commitment/laziness. I tend to lose enthusiasm for keeping a work pattern, but that’s why I chose drive and enthusiasm.
How will you know when you have achieved your goal?

When I don’t have to come up with plans of how I’ll do my homework when I get home/have enough time to get done what I need to get done.