Feedback Strategies

The first article I read was "How to Give Students Specific Feedback that Actually Helps Them Learn." As a student, this article was very relatable, in that feedback must be structured in a certain way to be helpful. It's always great to get an A on a paper, but it's even better when the grader takes the time to say what parts really worked for them and why, as well as which parts could be stronger. The same goes with a lower grade on an assignment. If the grader doesn't tell me why I was graded this way, there is no way to improve. I agree with this article in that feedback should be transparent, actionable, specific, and ongoing. Feedback that tells me how to improve and grow is much more helpful than that which just says that I met the assignment guidelines.

Next, I looked at "What Kind of Messages Help Kids Grow?" I don't fully agree that giving generic praise is going to be super detrimental to a child's growth, but I do agree that certain kinds of praises are better than others. I've noticed that with my little sister, she gets more out of if I point out exactly what I like that she did rather than just saying "good job."

(Feedback should help grow your brain, rather than limiting 

it to "talent;" Image Source)

Topic Research: Sita

In thinking about topics for my semester project this week, I think I'm leaning more towards focusing on Sita. I really like the idea I came up with of Sita writing to her sons via a journal or letters retelling the adventures of her life, from the exciting to the heartbreaking. I think it'd be cool to have these be from her perspective because I could really dive into her emotions and what she learned from different periods in her life, as well as have her passing on advice to her sons. Considering Sita stayed with Valmiki during her time of exile, he would likely have encouraged her to write her story down, as he is the inventor of poetry.

One of the stories I could tell through this project would be of when Rama and Sita first meet. Sita prays that evening that the goddess grants her wish of being with Rama, which then ends up being the case when Rama wins her hand. This would be a good account for Sita's sons so that they know how their parents fell in love despite never having seen them be together. 

Another story I would like for Sita to tell is her capture by Ravana. She was so strong in resisting Ravana because of her love for Rama. This has messages of bravery and loyalty that would be worthwhile to pass on to her sons. 

A third story that Sita could tell would be the heartbreak of being banished by her husband Rama, who she had waited for and been faithful to. I watched a bit of "Sita Sings the Blues" dedicated to this part of Sita's story, and I think this film would be worthwhile to watch in its entirety. For this specific story, I can't imagine the feeling of desperation Sita felt while being exiled by her love because he can't trust her. Sita is such a strong woman and this story really shows her strength even amidst her hopelessness. Even after this hurt, Sita still allows Valmiki to teach her sons to sing the songs of Rama, rather than being bitter toward him.

(Valmiki teaching Lava and Kusha of Rama; Image Source)

Week 3 Story: Ravana, New York's Top Boss

Ravana sat in the back booth of a smoke-filled restaurant in New York City, closing his eyes as he puffed his cigar. Beefy men in dark suits were scattered around the booth and throughout the restaurant, restricting access to their boss, as he only had time for the most important of people.

A bloody and disheveled woman tore through the restaurant and just as one of the guards grabbed her, Ravana spoke with an angry force "Stop!" The guard immediately dropped his hands and the woman, Ravana's sister Shurpanakha, approached the booth.

Ravana grimaced at his sister's dirty appearance and spoke. "You disturb my peace sister, what has come over you? Who dares attack the sister of the mighty Ravana? Tell me now!"

Shurpanakha laughed ruthlessly. "Ravana you sit around in your mansion all day and count your money, when was the last time you looked to see how we were doing on the street? We're falling apart out there Ravana! Our brothers and sisters are being slaughtered on the streets and our family is mocked by all of New England, yet you puff on your cigar as our enemies roam free. Our brothers are dead! They were defending my honor and they were ruthlessly killed along with 14,000 of our best men, yet you ask "who dares?" Not the feds, the cops, or even one of the other mobs, it was the homeless Rama who wanders the streets like he owns them with his fearless brother and beautiful wife."

"Ah Rama, he will rue the day I learned his name. You say he has destroyed our men, but he has never seen the likes of Ravana and he will tremble at my voice. I will seek his one true weakness and I will use it to break him, his weapons and prowess are no match for me. "

"Brother!" Shurpanakha exclaimed, "I already know his weakness - it is his wife Sita. She is the reason that he scorned me and Rama released his fury on our men when Sita was endangered. She is the way to truly damage him."

Ravana slowly put his cigar out on the ash tray at his table, and then a wide grin came over his face and he let out a slow and vicious laugh. The restaurant silenced as the dreadful noise filled the space, with people averting their eyes before Ravana caught their stares. The restaurant quickly emptied, for his laugh captured his murderous determination and none of them wanted to be the first target.

(Christopher Walken, who I imagined playing Ravana in this

mobster adaptation; Image Source)

Author's Note:

This story is based off of "Shurpanakha and Ravana," the first part of The Ramayana where we meet Ravana and prepare for the story to shift. Before this story, Shurpanakha, Ravana's rakshasa sister, approached Rama in the form of a beautiful woman, trying to seduce him. Rama turned her down quickly and joked that she go and see Lakshmana to find a fitting husband. Lakshmana poked fun at her, which made her grow outraged, and when she tried to attack Sita, Lakshmana cut off her ears and nose. She then ran to her brothers who gathered an army of 14,000 rakshasas to go and attack Rama, but Rama subsequently killed the entire army to protect Sita. Then we reach the present story, in which Shurpanakha goes to her brother Ravana, king of the demons, and tells him her woes. Shurpanakha says that Ravana must take Sita as his own to torture Rama, rather than letting him off with death. 

I pictured this story from the beginning happening with Ravana being a mob boss who is pretty oblivious to what is going on in his domain while he enjoys his own pleasures. However, once his sister has been offended and someone dared to kill off so many of his men, I pictured Ravana ready to take matters into his own hands. I think that I related Ravana to a mob boss for the fear they inflict on the people around them, the power they wield, and the lengths they will go to to defend themselves and their family. I pictured Christopher Walken as Ravana and this all unfolding in 1930's New York. 

Bibliography:

"Shurpanakha and Ravana" from The Iliad of the East: The Ramayana by Frederika Richardson Macdonald.

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Section B

Bharata Returns
By: Donald A. Mackenzie
Earlier this week, I had wondered about how Rama's three brothers would handle the fact that Rama was continually praised and rewarded. While previous stories have shown Lakshmana's dedication to Rama, this is the first time we really see Bharata and Shatrughna displaying their loyalty to him as well. Bharata is murderously angry with his mother, and Shatrughna is ready to slay Manthara (the woman who deceived Kaikeyi) for causing the exile of their brother, but both stop so as to not lose Rama's respect. The three brothers obviously hold Rama in high regard and as of yet, have not displayed any disloyalty or jealousy towards him, with Bharata going so far as to refuse the throne to make sure Rama is king.

(Bharata heading out to find Rama and give him the throne; Image Source)

Shurpanakha and Rama
By: Donald A. Mackenzie
This is the first time we're seeing some humor from Rama. Up to this point, he's been super noble and straight faced in every story, but here he pokes some fun at Shurpanakha and Lakshmana. After she willingly tells him that she's a rakshasa, Ravana's sister, and is ready to devour Sita and Lakshmana, Rama has to hide his laughing face to suggest that she pursue his brother, which I think gives a more playful side to Rama that we hadn't yet seen.

(Rama refusing Shurpanakha; Image Source)

Shurpanakha and Ravana
By: Frederika Richardson
This is the first time we get a glimpse of Ravana and it certainly didn't disappoint. He is quite terrifying and you can tell in the way he talks that he is blood thirsty and ready to avenge his sister and his brothers. I could see him being portrayed by someone like Christopher Walken playing an angry mob boss. He's initially oblivious to what's going on in the world, just simply enjoying his power, but once he hears of his sister's shame, he is ready to unleash hell on those who caused it. This story is definitely the turning point, as now we have met our main antagonist.

(Ravana with his ten heads and 20 arms; Image Source)

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Section A

In beginning the reading of the Ramayana, I want to start by simply laying out some of these important notes since this is a story, culture, and language I'm entirely unfamiliar with.

King Dasharatha
By: Donald A. Mackenzie
Here I focused mostly on the geography and characters so I can begin getting a feel for the story.

• Valmiki - The author of the Ramayana, revered as "the first poet."
• Two major kingdoms:
• Koshala, ruled by Dasharatha (Rama's father)
• Capital=Ayodhya
• Dasharatha has three queens: Kaushalya (the chief queen), Kaikeyi, and Sumitra
• At this point, none of them have given him a son
• Mithila, ruled by Janaka (Sita's father)

(Dasharatha and his wives; Image Source)

Dasharatha's Sons

By: Donald A. Mackenzie

Again, I just wanted to start by laying out some characters so I can come back to this if I get confused.

• Dasharatha has not been given a son, so he resolves to perform the Ashvamedha which is a sacrifice involving the king's warriors protecting a horse in the wilderness for one year
• If nobody is able to take the horse, then it is returned to the king to sacrifice, proving that he is sovereign
• Four gods attended the ceremony and they promised Dasharatha four sons
• Brahma - god of creation, one part of the trinity
• Vishnu - god of protection, preservation of good, dharma restoration, one part of the trinity
• Shiva - destroyer of evil, one part of the trinity
• Indra - king of the gods and heaven

(The birth of Dasharatha's four sons; Image Source)

Rama: Avatar of Vishnu

By: Donald A. Mackenzie

Ravana, the king of the demons basically, cannot be hurt by gods or other demons, so he's just running rampant enslaving and oppressing other gods. Vishnu decides that he's had enough, so he tells the gods to go to the earth as apes and he himself splits into four parts to become the four sons promised to Dasharatha. 

1. Rama - mothered by Kaushalya 
2. Bharata - mothered by Kaikeyi
3. Lakshmana - mothered by Sumitra
4. Shatrughna - mothered by Sumitra

I feel like for Vishnu to split himself and become human shows that he is noble and just, ready to give up parts of himself to fulfill his role as the god of protection. It'd be interesting to look into whether there are other instances of Vishnu fulfilling his role outside of this epic. 

(Painting of Rama and Lakshmana; British Museum)

Thataka

By: Donald A. Mackenzie

The celestial weapons Rama was rewarded with for slaying Thataka are pretty intriguing in that they appear whenever Rama most needs them. It reminded me of Mjolnir, Thor's hammer, or the sword of Godric Gryffindor, from Harry Potter. These are all celestial/enchanted weapons that are specific to their wielder and come in times of need which I think is a pretty cool theme seen throughout different stories. The idea that a hero's weapon knows his desires and needs speaks to the power of the weapon's creator, which may be interesting to explore. It'd be cool to know more about Rama's weapons - who forged them, were there special circumstances in their creation, can others wield them, etc. 

I also noticed that Rama is the one who was recognized as Vishnu, and here he is praised for slaying the demon, he gets the weapons, so on and so forth. I'm curious to see how his other brothers (who are also parts of Vishnu) react to the praise Rama so freely receives - will they take on human characteristics like sibling jealousy/comparison, or do they all recognize that they are a piece of Vishnu and don't care what happens as long as Ravana gets defeated? This is something to watch for.

(Rama with his mighty bow; Image Source)

Sita

By: F.J. Gould

Like Rama is Vishnu personified, Sita is Lakshmi personified. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperity, and she is Vishnu's wife. Upon the avatar's first glance at one another, they fell into a deep and unbreakable love. A classic love at first sight tale surrounded by the beauty of King Janaka's gardens. 

(Sita, the avatar of Lakshmi; Image Source)

Manthara and Kaikeyi

By: Donald A. Mackenzie

This story is one of deception. First, Manthara convinces Kaikeyi that she is being wronged by the crowning of Rama as king, even though Kaikeyi admits that Rama treats her well and she is not unhappy with him being the crown prince. Through manipulation and lies, Manthara weaves a tale of Rama enslaving his brothers and doing wrong to Kaikeyi and her son. This then turns into Kaikeyi being deceptive towards Dasharatha and forcing him to exile Rama, making Bharata king. Honestly, this seems like it's something straight out of a soap opera - I can just see Kaiyeki throwing her hand to her forehead and dropping onto a couch as she decides that Rama is out to get her and Bharata. It all just seems so melodramatic. 

(Manthara misleading Kaikeyi; Image Source)