PSA Assignment

Engels, Fredrich. The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844, London: Swan Sonneschien & Co., 1892

Fredrich Engels is an English man who feels the living conditions of the working class people of Manchester are unsuitable to live in. Engels goes on the describe the houses and neighborhoods of the citizens of Manchester. Engels, having seen the horrors first-hand, shares the horrid image that is the working-men's quarter of Manchester.

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Museum Exhibit

The title of the exhibit tells me that the topic of this poster will be about child labor. This will aid my understanding by allowing me to look for examples and think back to the topic of the poster while I read. The problem presented by the exhibit is the hardship of child labor. One thing I found sad was that children had to pull mine carts full of coal through dark and small tunnels. Another fact I found hard to believe was that small kids like the one in the picture in the right worked in factories. The most important lesson I learned was that I am lucky to live now, in  the 21st century, rather than during the Industrial Revolution, where I could have been working in a factory since I was 5. It really put things into perspective when you think about how people your age back then, working for 12 hours a day in a dark factory to survive.

I saw and learned many things from the other exhibits. I learned that the revolution caused pollution, more slave labor, faster transportation,  and faster manufacturing.

Socratic Seminar: Syria

The situation here in Syria is still very tense at the moment, but the good news is the members of the meeting seem to be well informed of the facts. One of the issues mentioned was the concern for loved ones. This is obviously very important to everyone and should be a high priority. One issue that was not touched much upon was staying put and protecting yourself. That seemed to be an unlikely solution to the problem in Syria according to the group. The main option discussed was fleeing the country. Some others included joining the fight, protest, and staying in Syria for the duration of the conflict. Obviously fleeing puts you out of harm’s way of the conflict but you risk being caught by the government troops and possibly being killed. Joining in arms may be a noble cause but you put yourself directly in the line of fire. Protest is usually a good way of getting your point across but in Syria lately, that has not gone over smoothly, usually ending in troops shooting at the protesters. And lastly, staying put eliminates the risk of being caught while fleeing, but keeps you in danger of being in Syria while the fight is going on. The group seemed to decide that fleeing is the best solution for you and your loved ones as it allows you to escape the chaos inside the country. In my opinion, the meeting was very productive and detailed. The discussion seemed to be most productive while on the topic of fleeing the country. The least productive part was on the topic of staying put. I agree with the members of the meeting that the most viable solution is to flee Syria. I also think that protest is the least viable option as it is dangerous and very unlikely to affect the situation. Protest has almost never worked in Syria and usually ends in the protesters being hurt and or killed. Fleeing is the only option whose upside is freedom from the crisis. After this meeting we hope to see change for the better in Syria. For now we can only hope that this terror will come to an end.