Community service: A day in blind school

On Friday’s field trip, we went to Father Ray Blind School in Pattaya. In that school set up for blind kids, we played games and do many activities with the blind children. First of all, we shared our information and thoughts with each other through asking each other’s names. Next, we built teamwork by singing songs and dancing in circles. Finally, some of our classmates blindfolded their eyes and played ball with the kids in the school. However, compare to those trained blind kids that can sense slight sounds, our classmates always threw the ball in slanted directions or miss catching the ball, because they’re not used to the situation of not seeing anything. On conclusion, we have a fun time with the blind school kids.

During the activities, we needed to talk to the blind kids. My Thai languages still needs improvements, so sometimes I could not understand the directions. I tried my best though, to catch up with the Thai phrases and translate them to some of my friends. I participated in the activities of singing and dancing, and I frequently talked to the kids in blind school. However, I think I could be more engaging and active when playing with the kid. Instead, I was a little unnatural and shy, and sometimes I have no clues what to do. On general, I placed efforts on this community service, but I think I can do even better if we go again next time.

 Our trip to the Father Ray Blind School was a new and unique experience. We communicated with children of the same ages and learnt about their life—which is totally different from ours with healthy eyes. I had thoughts that we’re very fortunate kids compare to the kids in blind school, and we should appreciate that instead of being dissatisfied and complain about our life. I was also inspired by how good the kids are at playing ball, even though they couldn’t see anything. Now I understand how efforts make differences, and anyone can become successful by trying their best. Overall, I had a great time in Father Ray Blind School, and I hope that we could do more community services in the future. I believe we can make the world a better place just by extending our hands to anyone, like a cold stranger, or a blind child with a bright, sunny smile.

American Revolution: Patriots = terrorists?

Boston Tea Party of 1774

In Social Studies class, we are now learning about the American Revolution. Today, we discussed about the Boston Tea Party that happened in December 1774. To protest against the taxation on tea, the patriots, or supporters of American independence, sneaked onto British ships and threw all the tea into the cold water of Boston Harbor. Were the patriots terrorists? From this questions asked in class, we discussed and made some connections to the modern world on the topic.

Terrorism, accord to the dictionary, refers to “the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.” In my opinions, toward the British government of the colonial times, the patriots were terrorists threatening the English rule on their colonies. This was revealed through the Boston Massacre three years before the Boston Tea Party. Accord to historical records, in 1770, the patriots armed themselves with clubs and other weapons to protest against the British army. I considered the act violence. Even in the Boston Tea Party, the patriots hurt those folks who tried to gain the tea. By reading, I can see that the patriots are angry people who can do anything for their political aim—gain independence from Great Britain, and this was an illegal act under the British rule. That is why to the British government, the patriots are terrorists.

The “terrorism” of the patriots reminded me of the Southern Thailand Insurgency. In some provinces of Southern Thailand, insurgent groups against Thai government performed many cases of violent terrorist acts, and that resulted in many deaths. The terrorism threated the Thai government and local public safety. The purpose of those insurgent groups is to change the political systems; they’re aiming for their political objectives. From connecting the term from what we learn in social studies to current events, I discovered that political protests happened all the times in history, because a government system is impossible to satisfy all people. Since some people are angry about the political situation, revolutions were launched, often through violence. In this case, the American Revolution we learnt about is a good example of insurgency, or “rising in active revolt.”