Kelly Womack's Portfolio
I am currently a 4th grade teacher at Wiley Elementary. I consider myself a travel-loving math nerd who is up for trying new things! Even though I live in the same city I was born in, I enjoy visiting new places and learning about different cultures. I love to participate in different sports because I have found sports and athletics to be very unifying activities throughout my travels. I look forward to seeing what Prague has in store for us as we learn about a new culture! |
Cultural Connections Project 1: Global Collaborative Project (Video Synopsis)
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Cultural Connections Project 2: Scripted Duologue Based on Prague Food Tour Experience (GoAnimate)
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Cultural Connections Project 3: Experience-Based Travel Writing Based on Meetup Group or AirBnb City Experience (Post on Travel Blog)
http://czechccr.weebly.com/travel-blog/paddleboarding-on-the-vltava
http://czechccr.weebly.com/travel-blog/paddleboarding-on-the-vltava
Cultural Collections Project 1: Mapping Culture (Google Maps)
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Cultural Collections Project 2: Timelining Culture (MyHistro)
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Cultural Collections Project 3: Curating Cultural Objects (Voicethread)
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Cultural Reflections Project 1: The Last Word, Czech education articles
We were provided with several texts providing information on the Czech education system. Our task was to read the articles and come prepared with quotes from a few of the selections that we felt stuck with us. Some possible reasons for picking the quotes could be we found the statement interesting, had questions about what was being discussed, or were curious of differing opinions. In the last word structure, a small group of about 4 people would discuss the different quotes brought by the members of the group. A person would state one of the quotes they identified and everyone else in the group would discuss the quote, their thoughts, and why the person may have selected that quote. Then, after the other members discussed the quote, the person who selected it would share why they chose the quote from the text. I felt like this was a great way to focus our discussions after reading multiple complex texts. We were assigned to read six different texts which provided a lot of information but the last word format allowed us to focus in on the aspects that were most interesting or intriguing to our group. The last word format was also helpful in getting to know each other because it allowed us to see what each other found most interesting about the different articles.
My group, by coincidence, mostly selected quotes to discuss from the European Commission article Czech Education and Training Monitor. The day we met to discuss the articles was less than a month before the NC teacher march in downtown Raleigh so it seemed to shape some of the quotes we discussed. My group tended to focus on section 5 "Modernizing School Education." We discussed how the Czech ministry is trying to improve the school system and how some of the initiatives seem eerily similar to initiatives in our school systems including a big push towards digital skills and use of technology in education. With Wake County Public School System, there has been a push in those areas but there is not always the consistent availability of various technologies for students and teachers to use. It would be nice if each student had , for example, a laptop to conduct in-depth research but that was not always the reality for our classrooms. We wondered about the "EU-funded projects" and how they were enforced in the different schools of the various countries of the EU. We also found it interesting that even in the Czech Republic, teaching is perceived as a "lower" profession, similar to some sentiments of people in our state of NC. We discussed how this was contrary to a prior belief we held that teachers in Europe were treated and perceived better by the public and themselves.
We were provided with several texts providing information on the Czech education system. Our task was to read the articles and come prepared with quotes from a few of the selections that we felt stuck with us. Some possible reasons for picking the quotes could be we found the statement interesting, had questions about what was being discussed, or were curious of differing opinions. In the last word structure, a small group of about 4 people would discuss the different quotes brought by the members of the group. A person would state one of the quotes they identified and everyone else in the group would discuss the quote, their thoughts, and why the person may have selected that quote. Then, after the other members discussed the quote, the person who selected it would share why they chose the quote from the text. I felt like this was a great way to focus our discussions after reading multiple complex texts. We were assigned to read six different texts which provided a lot of information but the last word format allowed us to focus in on the aspects that were most interesting or intriguing to our group. The last word format was also helpful in getting to know each other because it allowed us to see what each other found most interesting about the different articles.
My group, by coincidence, mostly selected quotes to discuss from the European Commission article Czech Education and Training Monitor. The day we met to discuss the articles was less than a month before the NC teacher march in downtown Raleigh so it seemed to shape some of the quotes we discussed. My group tended to focus on section 5 "Modernizing School Education." We discussed how the Czech ministry is trying to improve the school system and how some of the initiatives seem eerily similar to initiatives in our school systems including a big push towards digital skills and use of technology in education. With Wake County Public School System, there has been a push in those areas but there is not always the consistent availability of various technologies for students and teachers to use. It would be nice if each student had , for example, a laptop to conduct in-depth research but that was not always the reality for our classrooms. We wondered about the "EU-funded projects" and how they were enforced in the different schools of the various countries of the EU. We also found it interesting that even in the Czech Republic, teaching is perceived as a "lower" profession, similar to some sentiments of people in our state of NC. We discussed how this was contrary to a prior belief we held that teachers in Europe were treated and perceived better by the public and themselves.
Cultural Reflections Project 2: Czech Book Club
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
This book was definitely different from any book I had read previously. The characters were interesting and I was continuously curious as to why they did the actions they did throughout the book. Overall though, I did not like the characters. They often thought they should discontinue certain destructive behaviors, yet, they would make no moves to improve, just continue to follow their misdirected path. I also was often confused as to the time line of events within the book. Kundera would jump around, for example, mentioning the death of two characters but then in the next chapter, you were back to reading about their lives. He did not transition between the descriptions and it was often difficult to know when every event fell into place. The author also chose to periodically talk directly to the reader, discussing philosophical concepts and mentioning how the characters are not real people but are entirely made up by his own imagination. This just added to the confusing nature of the book.
View all my reviews
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
This book was definitely different from any book I had read previously. The characters were interesting and I was continuously curious as to why they did the actions they did throughout the book. Overall though, I did not like the characters. They often thought they should discontinue certain destructive behaviors, yet, they would make no moves to improve, just continue to follow their misdirected path. I also was often confused as to the time line of events within the book. Kundera would jump around, for example, mentioning the death of two characters but then in the next chapter, you were back to reading about their lives. He did not transition between the descriptions and it was often difficult to know when every event fell into place. The author also chose to periodically talk directly to the reader, discussing philosophical concepts and mentioning how the characters are not real people but are entirely made up by his own imagination. This just added to the confusing nature of the book.
View all my reviews
Cultural Reflections Project 3: Czech Film Club
I watched the movie Marketa Lazarova. The movie had good ratings and reviews, with a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. While watching the movie though, I was a bit confused at first as to who each character was and how they all fit together. About 30 minutes into the movie, I began to understand more of what was happening. The main basis was a story about two families that were caught in conflicts over robbing of travelers and each other. The overall movie was filled with smaller stories that fit together but not always the most consistently. The story itself I struggled to appreciate but I was able to commend the director in the some of the artistic elements of the movie. An obvious aspect was the use of light and dark to portray almost a good/evil or pagan/Christian conflict throughout the movie. Some scenes that were interesting to watch were the pack of wolves sitting and waiting, how well trained and prepared they were, as well as the many aerial view of the paths. You could either watch the caravan of people and horses travel towards you from a distance or out into the distance, being able to see the trail they traveled. I would not recommend watching this movie but I do appreciate the artistry of the piece.
I watched the movie Marketa Lazarova. The movie had good ratings and reviews, with a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. While watching the movie though, I was a bit confused at first as to who each character was and how they all fit together. About 30 minutes into the movie, I began to understand more of what was happening. The main basis was a story about two families that were caught in conflicts over robbing of travelers and each other. The overall movie was filled with smaller stories that fit together but not always the most consistently. The story itself I struggled to appreciate but I was able to commend the director in the some of the artistic elements of the movie. An obvious aspect was the use of light and dark to portray almost a good/evil or pagan/Christian conflict throughout the movie. Some scenes that were interesting to watch were the pack of wolves sitting and waiting, how well trained and prepared they were, as well as the many aerial view of the paths. You could either watch the caravan of people and horses travel towards you from a distance or out into the distance, being able to see the trail they traveled. I would not recommend watching this movie but I do appreciate the artistry of the piece.
Cultural Reflections Project 5: Urban Neighborhood Analysis (from Field Research)
For my urban neighborhood analysis, I took the metro to the Krizlikova station and walked around the Karlin district which in the eastern portion of Prague 8. I observed this neighborhood on a Sunday afternoon and revisited again on Monday afternoon.
For my urban neighborhood analysis, I took the metro to the Krizlikova station and walked around the Karlin district which in the eastern portion of Prague 8. I observed this neighborhood on a Sunday afternoon and revisited again on Monday afternoon.
Cultural Reflections Project 6: Czech Education Analysis (from Field Research)
While reading the information presented at the National Pedagogical Museum and Library of J.A. Comenius, one word in particular began to stand out to me. Due to both my experience as a teacher and understanding of the political climate that the Czech Republic has been through, I felt that this was an important word to focus on and that word is demonstration. According to Merriam-Webster, a simplified definition of the word demonstration is “the act of showing or proving something.” This can be interpreted in a variety of ways. No matter which way it is interpreted, the word and idea of “demonstration” is fundamental in the world of education.
In a direct interpretation of the word “demonstration” and its relation to education and teaching, a teacher will often demonstrate a concept to a class. For example, I would demonstrate to my fourth grade class how to connect a lightbulb and a battery in order to allow for the flow of electricity. In this sense of the word, I was showing my class how to accomplish a particular task (lighting a light bulb). Teachers every day demonstrate concepts to their students in order for them to learn new skills. Other examples might be, demonstrating how to read a word, demonstrating how to use the quadratic formula, demonstrating how to read a map, and many other useful skills. But, this is not the only way in which the word demonstrate/demonstration can be used.
Part of the museum was dedicated to the change and transitions taking place in Czech education and how students at several institutions became a part of encouraging some of the shifts. Demonstration can also refer to a political demonstration or protest, which became a part of Czech culture as they began to fight back against a government they did not believe in. It was stated that many teachers did not always take part in initial demonstrations against the more oppressive shifts in their government due to the belief that there wasn’t much they could do to change the way of being or that it wouldn’t last and would get better. Due to students beginning to demonstrate their political thoughts against their government, there began to be a shift away from the communist regime, leading up to the Velvet Revolution which essentially was a large political demonstration. With the change from communist education thanks to demonstrations, students began to be able to learn more about the world around them and be able to see more teacher demonstrations of concepts worth studying.
Overall, demonstration is a word that has huge importance in education and the realm in which is affects. If teachers had not demonstrated to their students particular concepts to guide their thinking and perception of the world, students would not have been able to think about their situations and realize the need for political demonstrations.
While reading the information presented at the National Pedagogical Museum and Library of J.A. Comenius, one word in particular began to stand out to me. Due to both my experience as a teacher and understanding of the political climate that the Czech Republic has been through, I felt that this was an important word to focus on and that word is demonstration. According to Merriam-Webster, a simplified definition of the word demonstration is “the act of showing or proving something.” This can be interpreted in a variety of ways. No matter which way it is interpreted, the word and idea of “demonstration” is fundamental in the world of education.
In a direct interpretation of the word “demonstration” and its relation to education and teaching, a teacher will often demonstrate a concept to a class. For example, I would demonstrate to my fourth grade class how to connect a lightbulb and a battery in order to allow for the flow of electricity. In this sense of the word, I was showing my class how to accomplish a particular task (lighting a light bulb). Teachers every day demonstrate concepts to their students in order for them to learn new skills. Other examples might be, demonstrating how to read a word, demonstrating how to use the quadratic formula, demonstrating how to read a map, and many other useful skills. But, this is not the only way in which the word demonstrate/demonstration can be used.
Part of the museum was dedicated to the change and transitions taking place in Czech education and how students at several institutions became a part of encouraging some of the shifts. Demonstration can also refer to a political demonstration or protest, which became a part of Czech culture as they began to fight back against a government they did not believe in. It was stated that many teachers did not always take part in initial demonstrations against the more oppressive shifts in their government due to the belief that there wasn’t much they could do to change the way of being or that it wouldn’t last and would get better. Due to students beginning to demonstrate their political thoughts against their government, there began to be a shift away from the communist regime, leading up to the Velvet Revolution which essentially was a large political demonstration. With the change from communist education thanks to demonstrations, students began to be able to learn more about the world around them and be able to see more teacher demonstrations of concepts worth studying.
Overall, demonstration is a word that has huge importance in education and the realm in which is affects. If teachers had not demonstrated to their students particular concepts to guide their thinking and perception of the world, students would not have been able to think about their situations and realize the need for political demonstrations.
Cultural Reflections Project 7: Czech Literature Analysis (from Field Research)
Franz Kafka is an infamous author from the city of Prague. His writing did not reach its full infamy until after his death. One aspect of his writing that has captured the attention of readers is his extensive use of metaphors. In his book, Metamorphosis, a man named Gregor wakes up one morning and has been transformed into a giant insect. He struggles to communicate with others, is essentially cast off by his family, and eventually is killed at the hands of his father. In this story, Kafka uses multiple metaphors. One is the comparison between human beings and insects. They are both living creatures with similar thinking capabilities, it just comes down to a matter of whether or not they are able to express them. Humans and insects are also similar in that at the end, their lives are meaningless, at least according to Kafka. He wrote it in a way that you wanted Gregor to be put out of his misery and squashed like the insect he appeared to be even though you as the reader know that he is in fact a human being. Kafka also draws comparison to the relationship between Gregor and his father. The father “shoos” Gregor back to his room when he tries to leave while being an insect. And then in the end, the father is the one who kills Gregor. Kafka created this metaphor to compare how vital a father’s role is to the existence of a son. Kafka and his father, Herman, had an awful relationship and Franz Kafka felt Herman was not the father he should have been to his son. Franz Kafka’s life experience led him to create such a strong metaphor in his writing to better represent his emotions and beliefs about the world around him.
Franz Kafka is an infamous author from the city of Prague. His writing did not reach its full infamy until after his death. One aspect of his writing that has captured the attention of readers is his extensive use of metaphors. In his book, Metamorphosis, a man named Gregor wakes up one morning and has been transformed into a giant insect. He struggles to communicate with others, is essentially cast off by his family, and eventually is killed at the hands of his father. In this story, Kafka uses multiple metaphors. One is the comparison between human beings and insects. They are both living creatures with similar thinking capabilities, it just comes down to a matter of whether or not they are able to express them. Humans and insects are also similar in that at the end, their lives are meaningless, at least according to Kafka. He wrote it in a way that you wanted Gregor to be put out of his misery and squashed like the insect he appeared to be even though you as the reader know that he is in fact a human being. Kafka also draws comparison to the relationship between Gregor and his father. The father “shoos” Gregor back to his room when he tries to leave while being an insect. And then in the end, the father is the one who kills Gregor. Kafka created this metaphor to compare how vital a father’s role is to the existence of a son. Kafka and his father, Herman, had an awful relationship and Franz Kafka felt Herman was not the father he should have been to his son. Franz Kafka’s life experience led him to create such a strong metaphor in his writing to better represent his emotions and beliefs about the world around him.
Cultural Reflections Project 8: Czech Art/Visual Analysis (from Field Research)
At the Museum Kampa, I utilized the Visual Thinking Strategies to help engage in meaningful discussions with my colleagues about the art work we observed in the museum. The first piece I observed was the bust of a man, but it was distorted. The edges were not smooth and seemed a bit bulbous to me. The man with a beard was looking to the side with what appeared to be squinted eyes. It reminded me of the Country Doctor from Kafka’s short story. He looks to be analyzing something as seen from his squinted eyes and almost pursed lips. It also reminded me of a Kafkaesque style due to the warped nature of the piece. Upon further look, I also began to see how elongated the face appears and how sharp the nose is. From Czech culture, at least to me, it seemed to emphasize that Czechs often have a different perspective on the world than a classic outlook. It is more warped than the classical style of art. When talking with others in my group, we seemed to have very similar ideas, multiple people being reminded of a Kafka-like distortion towards a less positive look. Another person mentioned the movement they began to see and I agreed after they explained that they could almost see the figure turning toward something to get a closer look. Another person pointed out that the bust also looked similar to the Portrait of Artist’s Father, which we had just looked at within the same exhibition room so they believed it may have been the same man. The piece we were looking at was Don Quixote by Otto Gutfreund dated 1911-1912.
The next piece I looked at was a huge collage. Initially, I noticed the many distorted faces, people, and actions. There were several points where the artist placed two unmatched halves of faces together to create the new, distorted one. There were also many pictures placed together to create new actions. For example, there was one with a tiger placed next to a girl that was posing for a painting, creating the impression that she was posing with the animal. Overall, there was so much going on in this piece of work, I could spend days analyzing each individual part but to me, it seemed as if to connect humans and the nature and animals around them. I say that because of the many connections between humans and animals in the images similar to the one I previously stated. I also notice an instance where a gerbil like head was placed on the body of a man or another where the torso of a man was placed on the legs of a donkey. I also found an part where the image of a soldier was placed next to an image of a little girl offering flowers, appearing as if the girl is offering the soldier flowers. My impression of Czech culture is that the artist is trying to emphasize that it is complex and difficult to narrow down to one individual statement with all of the complex connections happening within the piece. After discussion with colleagues, others agreed in that it was trying to portray a complex statement. One peer pointed out that she noticed it was all in sepia tones so it had a more historical look to it along with the attire of the people in the images, so she believed it also showed how strongly the Czech culture likes to refer back to and recognize with the history of their area. I agreed upon hearing the explanation. We did disagree however on the relationship between animals and humans. I thought it was a more cohabitation image while she believed it was more of a competition type relationship. She noticed some images where the animals and humans were not placed in a connected image but in an almost scary situation. The collage piece we were looking at is called Garden Party by Jiří Kolář, completed in 1964. I could not find an image of this exact piece but here is a link to other works of his to give you an idea of some of his less complex collages.
At the Museum Kampa, I utilized the Visual Thinking Strategies to help engage in meaningful discussions with my colleagues about the art work we observed in the museum. The first piece I observed was the bust of a man, but it was distorted. The edges were not smooth and seemed a bit bulbous to me. The man with a beard was looking to the side with what appeared to be squinted eyes. It reminded me of the Country Doctor from Kafka’s short story. He looks to be analyzing something as seen from his squinted eyes and almost pursed lips. It also reminded me of a Kafkaesque style due to the warped nature of the piece. Upon further look, I also began to see how elongated the face appears and how sharp the nose is. From Czech culture, at least to me, it seemed to emphasize that Czechs often have a different perspective on the world than a classic outlook. It is more warped than the classical style of art. When talking with others in my group, we seemed to have very similar ideas, multiple people being reminded of a Kafka-like distortion towards a less positive look. Another person mentioned the movement they began to see and I agreed after they explained that they could almost see the figure turning toward something to get a closer look. Another person pointed out that the bust also looked similar to the Portrait of Artist’s Father, which we had just looked at within the same exhibition room so they believed it may have been the same man. The piece we were looking at was Don Quixote by Otto Gutfreund dated 1911-1912.
The next piece I looked at was a huge collage. Initially, I noticed the many distorted faces, people, and actions. There were several points where the artist placed two unmatched halves of faces together to create the new, distorted one. There were also many pictures placed together to create new actions. For example, there was one with a tiger placed next to a girl that was posing for a painting, creating the impression that she was posing with the animal. Overall, there was so much going on in this piece of work, I could spend days analyzing each individual part but to me, it seemed as if to connect humans and the nature and animals around them. I say that because of the many connections between humans and animals in the images similar to the one I previously stated. I also notice an instance where a gerbil like head was placed on the body of a man or another where the torso of a man was placed on the legs of a donkey. I also found an part where the image of a soldier was placed next to an image of a little girl offering flowers, appearing as if the girl is offering the soldier flowers. My impression of Czech culture is that the artist is trying to emphasize that it is complex and difficult to narrow down to one individual statement with all of the complex connections happening within the piece. After discussion with colleagues, others agreed in that it was trying to portray a complex statement. One peer pointed out that she noticed it was all in sepia tones so it had a more historical look to it along with the attire of the people in the images, so she believed it also showed how strongly the Czech culture likes to refer back to and recognize with the history of their area. I agreed upon hearing the explanation. We did disagree however on the relationship between animals and humans. I thought it was a more cohabitation image while she believed it was more of a competition type relationship. She noticed some images where the animals and humans were not placed in a connected image but in an almost scary situation. The collage piece we were looking at is called Garden Party by Jiří Kolář, completed in 1964. I could not find an image of this exact piece but here is a link to other works of his to give you an idea of some of his less complex collages.
Cultural Reflections Project 9: Czech Site Analysis, Site-Based Travel Writing (Post on Travel Blog)
czechccr.weebly.com/travel-blog/pravcicka-brana
czechccr.weebly.com/travel-blog/pravcicka-brana