Monday, Feb 13 2012

What we did today:

On Monday, the class spent most of the block watching "The Cathedral- Church Architecture in the Middle Ages". We received a handout based on the movie. There were three questions on the sheet.

1. Why would the people of Chutreaux begin a project that none of them would live to see finished? Can you understand and explain their motivation?

2. Consider the tools that were used in building the cathedral. What machines were used, and how did these increase the power that the workers could exert? How would the same tasks be done today?

3. Can you think of any modern building projects that require the widespread cooperation and dedication in a community that a cathedral did in the past?

The movie was mostly about the history of the cathedrals, particularly the Gothic Cathedrals in France. It showed pictures of different cathedrals, and the people who study or learn about the cathedrals explained how it manages to be in good condition despite it being made a long time ago. Not only were the cathedrals made a long time ago, they also took a really long time to build. It took about sixty to a hundred years to build. Afterwards it showed an animated version about how one of the villages, Chutreaux, began a project for a new cathedral to replace the one that recently burned down.

After watching part of the movie, we discussed the questions in our seating groups. We were given around ten to fifteen minutes when we shared our conclusion to the question.


Why we did it:

We watched the movie "The Cathedral- Church Architecture in the Middle Ages", because we are currently studying about the Crusades, which is highly influenced by religion. Both the crusades, and the cathedrals are made because of religion. The movie, especially the animated part of the movie was supposed to show us how religion influences the people in the Middle Ages.

One example would be when the men at the table were discussing the construction of the cathedral, they all agreed that it would be the biggest, and most splendid cathedral in all of France. One of the men added that it would all be for god, and not the pride that the city would have from the cathedral.
Later on when they planned the layout of the cathedral they planned to make it of stone and glass. Pierre was skeptical of the plan, but when everyone agreed he considered that the plan was sent by god. Then the wealthy merchant gave up his entire fortune for the construction of the cathedral, after he claims he saw and angel of god when he was walking in the forest.

The first example shows how the men planning the construction was afraid to be prideful of this project because it was a sin to be prideful. Despite the fact that they really do want a splendid cathedral. The second example shows how Pierre thought that the building layout plans came from god, and not the man who made the plans. Anything good or fortunate would be like a blessing from god. The third example was when the wealthy merchant thought he saw and angel in the forest. Clearly the man didn't think that the angel could of been a hallucination, or a illusion because afterwards he gave up his entire fortune for the construction of the cathedral. This shows that the people in the Middle Ages would go through drastic measures for religion.

Afterwards we discussed the questions on the handout. All of these questions are connected to our working skills, and other projects done in modern times. The first question was connected to the motivated of a project. The next question was about the advancement of technology. The last question was about was about cooperation and dedication in a group. These questions were supposed to reflect on how the our situation and circumstances compared to the people in the Middle Ages.


Connections and Reflections:

The movie seemed to reflect more on the process and the condition of the people while the cathedral was built. It occurs to me that you have to do a lot of planning before the actual constuction because even in the Middle Ages the men who planned the project had to deal with the cost, transportation of materials, and the cost of labour. Today in construction sites, buisnesses, or any kind of project we still have to plan ahead about the cost, transportation of materials and the cost of labour. In a project like building a Cathedral, anything could of gone wrong, some of the members decide to leave, or the time to deliver the materials took too long, or the benefactors stopped funding. Despite all of these problems the Cathedral eventually was completed.

It took many years to build, but the dedication, cooperation, and the motivation of the project kept the people going. I could relate to this because if I choose something I don't like then obiviously I wouldn't want do it. I wouldn't have the motivation to put in the dedication, and cooperation required for sucess. You don't need these skills just to build a cathedral. You can also plan something small like a party. An example of these skill was the Leo club bake sale. For the bake sale our motivation was to raise funds for the SPCA, as well as getting volunteer hours. We put in our dedication by attending meetings on Tuesdays at flex. We used cooperation when we had to deal with some problems like too many people want to sell, and none want to set up. So some people solved the problem by volunteering to set up.

Homework

You should already be finished There Will Be Wolves Chapter six questions.
There Will Be Wolves Chapter seven questions will be due on Tuesday.

Tips
If you lose your questions post on Ms. Lees' blog.
If you have difficulty with the questions go to flex or the homework club.
Ask your parents or siblings to read over the work.