The Doll’s House

We have been learning how to deconstruct reading responses in English.  This is the first reading response I have done.

Author: Katherine Mansfield

Title: The Doll’s House

Text type: Modernist short story

After reading the short story “The Doll’s House” by Katherine Mandsfield I gained a deeper understanding on how social class and exclusion resonate with the real life world. The way the Kelveys are treated is something I come to realize with the fact that we do observe similar situations in our own areas or communities such as prejudiceness, racism, unfair treatment, bullying, etc. These are all themes in “The Doll’s House” that resonate with the world we are living in.

I think a majority of today’s generation could link their own experiences to this story as they have experienced these types of problems in their own daily lives. Certain individuals are judged and looked down on based on their background or how wealthy they are just like the Kelveys. This makes me angry and sad to know that the younger generation is already being brought up with a prejudiced mindset on other people. In my opinion I think people should start having empathy for others and their feelings. Just because they are of different cultures, religion, social class, and so on, it doesn’t mean that they should be judged upon.

Exclusion is the thief of joy for the Kelveys. “Nudging, giggling together, the little girls pressed up close. And the only two who stayed outside the ring were the two who were always outside, the little Kelveys. They knew better than to come anywhere near the Burnells”. My initial reaction after reading this led to frustration. It really does showcase the type of reality we live in. Having to witness and listen to people judge individuals on a daily basis for the reason that they might “look” poor or have no history of rich backgrounds is saddening. It made me think about a time where I was with a group of new people that I had just met. We were all sitting, laughing and telling stories until two students walked past. Everyone stopped talking and glared at them with disgust. “Look how hori they look”, “imagine being broke”. Scenarios like this happen very often where people are just constantly forming assumptions and opinions on other individuals.

Just like the Burnell sisters, we all grew up with influences, good and bad, that shaped us into who we are now. Some people grew up with knowledge and values around farming as those values have been passed down through generations and generations to come. Some people may have been brought up around a family that is associated with drugs and alcohol which is why some young individuals grew up with bad behaviour due to their upbringing.

I believe that children in today’s generation that act like the Burnell sisters often gather values, beliefs and attitudes through a variety of sources. The main influence being their families. Their elders or parents could have potentially shaped their views on how they see people at a low class or how those people should be treated. If they witness their own family members making judgmental statements or treating others without kindness they might think it’s acceptable behaviour and follow in their footsteps. They were raised like that which is why they act in such a way which shows how much power the adults have over the children.

People can start to take into consideration how society is unfair for people with less yet it can be fixed without the thought of social expectations. By this I mean that people shouldn’t assume someone isn’t good because of their background information or because they are “different”. They should judge how that person acts in society.

My favourite scene in this story is when Kezia ( Mr and Mrs Burnell’s daughter ) was swinging on the white gates outside her family home where she then comes across the Kelvey siblings walking past the gate. She then invited them inside allowing them to go and see this precious doll house that everyone has been talking about and that the Kelveys weren’t allowed to see. “You can come and see our doll’s house if you want to,” Keziah said to the Kelveys. The Kelveys hesitated and shook their heads as lil continued to say “ Your ma told our ma you wasn’t to speak to us”, Keziah then replied “it doesn’t matter. You can come and see our doll’s house all the same. Come on. Nobody’s looking”. After the hesitation wore away the Kelveys followed behind. Glazing at the doll house until Kezia’s aunty Beryl orders them to leave. This part of the story is my favourite because Kezia was brave enough to invite them in as well as ignore the rules of class that her family have tried to grow her into, instead she offered her kindness and friendship towards the Kelveys which is something I want to see more of. If Keziah can break rules of class we should be able to better our attitude and behaviour towards others in the real life world.

I would recommend this story to teenagers because it would help create a picture in their minds on how unfair some people can be treated due to their lifestyle, social status, etc. It might help them consider looking out for people that are treated poorly and start including them in daily activities. I think it would also help them create a picture in their minds that will teach them that it only takes one person to stop worrying about social expectations and that person could be themselves. It would be important for teenagers to read a story like this because it would help them understand how bad prejudiceness is in today’s modern society.

Within New Zealand society I have seen prejudice activity wherever I go. Within school, home, workplaces, everywhere. Someone is always forming their own opinions on people without even getting to know them first. Especially big events held here in Aotearoa such as Matatini. People have been making prejudiced and negative comments saying Te Matatini is a “freak show”. A diverse range of people are making these comments when it’s a cultural celebration for te iwi Maori. This just proves that there is prejudice behaviour no matter the time, place and situation. It’s never going to stop unless we make it stop.

This story made me react in a way to the point where I couldn’t bear the fact that such events still happen till this day. For instance, experiencing being excluded, name calling, etc, have affected the way I felt for the two little Kelveys because I can relate to them and understand how they felt to be excluded from society. Although I wasn’t excluded for being in a lower class than other students, it still made me feel concerned for people that may be going through similar situations today. It also made me realise that we all should start being kind to one another just like how Keziah was towards the Kelveys. Doing this would make our world a much more improved place to live in.

Maori

Tena ra koutou katoa.

In Maori, my class and I watched Te Pu O Te Wheke perform on stage for kapa haka nationals in Nelson.  There are 42 groups performing. 3 groups representing Te Tai Tokerau and Te Pu O Te Wheke being one of them.  In my honest opinion I think they did very well, they performed with confidence and overall the whole group amazed me.

Their actions, their facials and stances were impressive throughout their whole bracket which is why I think they stood out.  The thing that stood out for me the most out of their whole bracket was their haka because it was well put together and they performed it at their best.

 

 

 

Finding the radius of a ball

In today’s maths lesson my group and I were given a task to find the radius of a ping pong ball.

Firstly we started by finding the circumference of the ball.  In doing so we grabbed a string and wrapped it around the ball.  We then drew a line where both ends of the string met.  After that I grabbed the ruler and measured from the end of the string to the line marked to find the circumference in which it ended up coming out as 13cm.

When we found the circumference I was able to use the formula C=2πr. 

All we had to do was divide the circumference of our ball ( 13cm ) by 2π where I was able to find that the radius of the ball was 2.07. 

HCG – Pumpkin soup, pizza dough bread

In my hospitality and catering class my group and I put together a nice warm pumpkin soup with a side of pizza dough bread.   It was a very easy recipe to assemble with the help of many hands working together to create a nice dish of pumpkin soup.  We had already made the pizza dough bread multiple times so we already had the knowledge on how to make it off by heart.

The recipe we used to make the pumpkin soup is:

1 C peeled,diced pumpkin, ½ C peeled, diced carrot, ¼ onion, finely diced, Peeled, grated ginger – to taste (1tsp), Crushed garlic – to taste (1tsp), Curry powder – to taste (1tsp), 3 C water

Roast pumpkin, carrot and onion until tender and golden.

Put in a pan with ginger, garlic and curry powder and saute until it becomes fragrant.

Add water and simmer until vegetables are beginning to break down.

Taste and correct flavour to your liking.

Blend soup and pass through a sieve, squeeze as much through as possible or your soup will be thin.

Serve in a bowl garnished with a drizzle of coconut cream, and a sprinkle of fried shallots.

 

For the pizza dough bread its basically the same as making your normal fry bread or takakau recipe.

By combining yeast, warm water, sugar letting that sit in a bowl in a warm place till it starts to foam up.  We then would add about 2 cups of flour and need it in with the foamy like yeast mixture and let that rise in a warm place for an hour till doubled in size.

One the dough has risen in size we would then place our dough into an oven tray and spread it out, poking holes into the dough and covering it in oil and a bit of sea salt,  we were also being extra and added some garlic and herbs to add a bit more flavour to our pizza dough bread.

I normally don’t like pumpkin soup but the recipe we used I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I’ve had pizza dough bread multiple times and I think it gets better and better every time my group and I make it.

HCG – Vegetable gratin

In today’s hospitality and catering class my group and I prepared a delicious vegetable gratin to share and eat.   Our ingredients for class hadn’t arrived beforehand so we worked with what we did have.

A vegetable gratin is a casserole type food filled with veges like potatoes and pumpkin. etc and topped off with cheese and a nice cream filling.   What my group and I did to make our vegetable gratin was to prepare our vegetables by washing. peeling, cutting and rewashing them to make sure they were nice and clean to put in our dish.

Firstly we preheated our oven on 180 before starting our recipe.  In our dish we used sliced potatoes as a bottom layer, then continued to layer pumpkins, onions, silver beet, spring onions, and then more potatoes and oregano to cover our greens so that they wouldn’t burn.  We then filled it with a cream soup we made with cream, milk and onion soup powder then covered it with tin foil and put it in the oven for about 30 minutes till we pulled them out to then layer with cheese and put them back in the oven until the cheese was melted and nice and golden on top.

I really enjoyed making this recipe.  The most fascinating thing about today is that my class fed around 50 individuals for just $52.   This recipe would have to be my favourite by far.   When I heard the word ‘vegetable’ I thought it would be some yuck recipe overloaded with vegetables I dislike, but rather than that it ended up being a mixture of vegetables I do like.  I give this recipe a 10/10.

HCG – Banoffee tarts and muffins

In today’s hospitality and catering class my group and I worked together to create some sweet blueberry and apple muffins, as well as some banoffee tarts on the side.

In order to make the muffins my group split into two separate groups.  One half on peeling and cutting the apples and blueberries into perfect sizes to go as a filling in our muffins, and the other half making the base of the muffins.

The ingredients we use to make the muffins were:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup white sugar

1 egg

1 cup milk

¼ cup vegetable oil

In my honest opinion I really enjoyed baking this recipe and it ended up turning out very delicious in the end.

We then mixed in our blueberries and apples after we peeled, washed, cut, and precooked them in boiling water.  and put them in the oven at 200 degrees C until nice and golden.

To make the banoffee tarts we were given a miniature tart to fill with a caramel custard we prepared earlier on and topped them off with some finely diced bananas, caramel/chocolate, ice cream and more.

How we made it was with 2 Tbsp Edmonds custard powder,  2 Tbsp Chelsea sugar and milk.  We were given the caramel by our teacher to mix into our custard to create a very golden caramel custard.

I enjoyed making this recipe because it was quick and easy.  I didn’t really enjoy the tart though, it didn’t fit my likings but overall I would give it a 7/10.

 

 

 

Identify career pathways in the hospitality industry

Identify employment opportunities within the hospitality industry

The hospitality industry offers a wide range of employment opportunities.  You could consider positions within each of the three sectors of hospitality.  The first being hotels and accommodation.  This sector could have a range of employment opportunities, such as: management roles ( front desk manager, general manager ), food service staff ( chef, waitress ), event coordinators, etc.   In sector 2,  food service and entertainment, you could find yourself applying for a role in a fine dining restaurant as a chef, server, bartender, host, etc.  Theme parks & entertainment venues will also offer employment opportunities in the food service and entertainment sector as ride operations, security officers, guest services associates, ticketing agents, food and beverage attendants, and more.  Lastly, sector 3, travel and tourism.  This sector can offer employment opportunities on cruise line companies, online travel agencies, etc. examples include head chef, entertainers, deckhands, stewards, customer support and more.  The hospitality industry has multiple choices of employment for your skills and interests.

Identify career pathways for the hospitality industry

In the hospitality industry, there are a various amount of career pathways you can explore based on your skills and interest.  Most common paths include hotel management, event planning, food and beverage services, travel and tourism, and guest services.  The hospitality industry allows individuals to have a career in a space they enjoy showcasing their expertise and knowledge.

Training options for the hospitality industry

There are various training options in the hospitality industry catering to different roles and skill levels. including certificate programs, online courses, on the job training, professional development workshops, internships, etc.  These popular training options help individuals understand their aspired career pathway to a higher level in the hospitality industry.  Some hospitality companies provide more practical training for the employee to gain experience and practice to develop their skills whereas some hospitality companies offer online courses to gain a better understanding in the three different hospitality sectors.

HCG

In today’s lesson my group and I managed to follow a set of instructions in order to create a tasty cheesecake as well as an apple strudel.

To be completely honest, I have never made a cheesecake like the one my group and I made today, or an apple strudel in my life, but would I do it again?  After this lesson yes.

Firstly,  when Chef Mark pronounced to the class that we would be using rice krispies as a base for our cheesecake I started to wonder.  The idea of adding a rice krispie layer for the base is pretty unique because  I have never seen nor heard of anyone that used rice krispies as a base.  Second of all.  I’ve made many cheesecakes alongside my Aunties growing up, but something I found different about today’s lesson is that the recipe we were given had us use gelatin in our cream cheese mixture.  I have never used gelatin in a cheesecake before, but it’s a change and overall, very delicious.

The apple strudel my group and I made today was absolutely amazing.  It’s a fancy type of rolled puff pastry food that is stuffed with apples rolled in cinnamon, brown sugar, etc.  By far the best thing my group and I have made throughout the past couple of lessons in our Hospitality and Catering class.

My group and I found the apple strudel quite challenging at the start.  We messed up the first couple of pastries but ended up fixing our mistakes and all our problems that we caused with the pastry were solved after a bit of thinking of what we could do to revitalise it.   We learnt from our mistakes so the second one we made ended up turning out way better than the first.  They both tasted the same once they were finished and topped up with a spoon of ice cream.

Today’s lesson may have had a tiny bit of mistakes here and there but in the end our food ended up coming out just the way we hoped it would.

 

 

Hospitality and catering – Minestrone soup

In today’s class with Chef Mark my group and I learnt how to cooperate and communicate with each other to make a type of soup called a Minestrone soup.

One thing I learnt about chef Mark is that he has been cooking for around 35 years under the hospitality and catering services and has owned and worked in different restaurants in different countries and areas of New Zealand.

One of the sectors of hospitality and catering are all things having to do with cooking and serving food to other people. Things like being a bartender, waitress, chef, etc.

Some of the 2 main aspects that I can remember about knife safety is that you must always hold your knife to the side of your leg with the point facing down for safety reasons.  You must also pass the knife with the handle facing the person you are handing it to.

Two types of knives I can remember are the boning knife and the chefs knife.  The boning knife is a really small and sharp knife that is used to precisely remove meat from bones, separate meat from fat or joints, etc.  The chefs knife is a very big sharp knife that is used to cut fine slices of meat, dice us vegetables, slice herbs, and cut up food with ease.

I thought today’s lesson was a challenge because of how it is my first time being in a hospitality and catering class.  The soup my group was challenged to make was pretty good but I think we could get even better overtime.

Rates and ratios

In maths we have been learning how to simplify ratios.  Ratios is where one amount is compared with another amount.  For example when there is a number like 18 : 26 the thing we learnt first was to divide them both by 2 then again and again until you can’t anymore.  When you find that you can no longer divide it by 2 you will end up with your final ratio.