Kyra Trebon Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 For my English class we have to write a paper outlining one of our beliefs using specific examples from out lives. In addition, we have to share this information with the rest of our class by reading it aloud. As a naturally private person, I obviously feel uncomfortable sharing personal information with a class of people who have never respected me, but I was wondering what anyone else though. What do you think about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antjie Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 first of all, i am a very private person too and there are many things i wount share with the world. 2 things i wont ever talk about is my religeous beliefs and political view/beliefs, for the rest it is open for discussion. there are many things you can talk about, for example, your beliefs around the right to have a job, the right to have a house, the right to education, the right to a safe enviroment, the right to have an abortion, the right to safe sex, etc, etc. Just pick one you feel safe discussing or go more global, the right to choose... If you look at it that way, it should not be too difficult to write something you believe in and your private life is still your own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midtime Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 'Believe' does not necessarily refer to religious or political beliefs. You could believe, for example, that there are, somewhere, sentient extraterrestrial organisms, or that (in extreme cases) your cat can talk. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unstream Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 AA3's right :yes:, it probably doesn't have to be one of the big issues such as abortion or whatever. If it were me, I'd say I believe that I should have a later bedtime :P Or you can say whether you think books have been getting better or getting worse approaching modern times. I dunno, something small and easy. That way, you don't have to share anything you're not comfortable with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antjie Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 something real easy is talking about your pet for instance. If it was me i would ahve talked about my dogs. I really beleive that my dogs were intellegent, compasionate, understanding and were trying to communicate. My dogs thought they were human anyway and were treated as such. I beleive they understood when i spoke to them, knew what i was telling them... When i got back from woek and were exhausted, my dogs would jsut lay beside my bed looking at me as if they want4ed to say, we know you are tired, rest a bit and we can play later. Or when i would feel sad, my one dog would jsut put his pas on my knee as to say its allright, it would be better, or he would lay his head on my leg saying all the hurt would go away, jsut give it some time. Other times i would get home and be smiling, they would run around, jump up on me, gimme a nice lick as to say, welcome back home, we missed you! or one would go get the ball, jump arond me and ask lets play ball a bit, or in the evenings one would go get the leeches so we can go for a walk in the park. now i beleive that is intellegence, compassion and understanding, they dont say for nothing a dog is your best friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyra Trebon Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 Thanks for all the ideas. I was just wondering if I was overly-sensitive for not wanting to share stories, etc about my life and events. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one out there who thinks like this. The first draft of my paper was due today, and after talking with some very prominent people in my life, I decided to discuss my belief in privacy; the right to not be forced to share things you are uncomfortable sharing. From what I heard from my classmates, it went over decently. All I need now is my teacher's approval so I can pass this year. (This assignment is worth 35% of our final grade and is also needed to pass the entire year.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strategos Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I also had to do this assignment, but it wasn't too bad. Ask your teacher if instead of publicly presenting, you can make up the credit some other way by doing some other assignment. Teachers are usually accommodating if you explain why you don't want to share. Or, as others have suggested, you can use a less sensitive subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masaryk Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I am also generally a private person, or, rather, a very introverted person. Most of the time, I'm not afraid to share who I am, but I would rather not have to talk to people, at all, in the first place. And, back when I was in high school, I had a very hard time finding and keeping friends. I had some very strange and eclectic ideas, beliefs, and life experiences. I always felt like an outsider (that hasn't changed as I got older). I knew that most of the people in my classes didn't really care to give me the time of day (and I didn't exactly care about them either). I know that it can be hard to share things about yourself, especially when the people you're sharing with don't respect you. I never looked forward to having to do that either. I would always think to myself "Oh, great. Now I have to give them another reason to think I'm a freak..." But, now, when I run into some of these people that openly made fun of me in high school, they bring up different things I had said, or did, back in high school, and I find out that now they actually respect me for my beliefs. The point I'm trying to make is that eventually the people in your class will grow up, and when that happens, some of them will learn from what you have to share and respect you for who you are. While it's uncomfortable and embarassing to talk about yourself, especially in front of other judgemental people, you may end up changing someone's life. Besides, it's the end of the school year, and most people will completely forget anything you say over the summer, if they were even listening in the first place. Also, the main point of this assignment is to get people used to talking about themselves in front of others. This is a necessary skill for succeeding in life. If you want to be successful at university interviews and job interviews, you need to be somewhat comfortable talking about what you believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyra Trebon Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 Yeah. I used to be scared of speaking in front of people, but then I had an influential teacher who actually got me into acting. That led me to get over my aversion to speaking in front of people, and now I somewhat thrive on it (especially after doing a Shakespeare monologue and getting the best mark in the class). I have to admit, I never really thought about the summer aspect. My school lets out in a week, so I doubt people will be paying too much attention anyway. Thanks for pointing that out. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alida Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 aw, i know exactly how you feel. i've somehow been stuck with all of the touchy-feely teachers and they want papers based on personal opinions, life, etc. i always have an easier time with reasearch papers, not involving difficult thought processes. i guess it's good that i'm majoring mostly in ancient history and nothing too political... i might have to explode! i wish i had any soothing words for you, but sadly nothing seemed to work for me. i really couldn't get into any of the topics and it has nothing to do with disrespect from my peers - it's a completely uncomfortable position! good luck though, going the humanist route may be best for you. are you in secondary education or higher education school? This topic has been edited by a member of staff (Stephanie*) because of a violation of the forum rules. Please do not bump an old topic that has been inactive for over 21 days. Please check your user inbox to see if you have been contacted regarding this incident, then review our rules. Per the reason above, this topic has been LOCKED. Please contact Stephanie* if you have any questions regarding this action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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