1066 - Who had the Best Claim to the Throne?

   In my opinion, Harold Godwinson definitely had the best claim to the throne, and here are my reasons to think this. First off, Harold Godwinson was British, so he was a local, and usually people want someone who is a local to rule their country, not some weird foreigner like Hadrada or William. Next, Harold was the person who was originally chosen to be the king's successor, so he had the rights to the throne, and would have become king had Hadrada and William not decided to invade England. Thirdly, Harold was the king's brother in law, because the king had married his sister, so in a way Harold was part of the royal family. This made Harold the only member of the royal family old enough to rule England, because the king's nephew was too young. Also, Harold was known as a strong leader who wouldn't just run the country into the ground, and this reputation was a big part of why he was chosen as the next king. The nobles also agreed with Harold becoming king, because it would benefit him. Due to the fact that Harold was such a good leader, he would be able to make sure that the nobles remained powerful and wouldn't be overthrown.
   The other two competitors for the throne didn't have as good claims as Harold.
 Hadrada's claim to the throne was that a distant relative of his (Cnut) had ruled England a long time ago, so he thought that this made him the rightful king of England, which it didn't. He would only have the rights to becoming king if Cnut's son had become king, and then the family had managed to retain they're power over England. However, the British took back control over England, and the Norwegians had to go back to their country.
  William's claim to the throne was much better. He said that Edward (the king of England), had made a promise stating that he would make William the next king of England. William also captured Harold, and made Harold make an oath saying that he would help William become king. Niether of these things happened. Instead of William, Edward chose Harold to be his successor, and when William found out about this, he was outraged. He called Harold an oath-breaker for not helping him become king. Now, you may think being called an oath-breaker isn't a very bad thing, but it was back then. When William accused Harold of this, he gained support to forcibly take over England from the Pope, who said that the invasion of England would be a "Holy Crusade".
 Overall, I think that Harold definitely had the best claim to the throne, because he had the most reasons to become king, and he was in a way related to the king.

Values and Decisions

Values and Choices:

belonging
bullying
bystander
conformity
exclusion
inclusion
membership
ostracism
peer pressure
victim


Write:
Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What stopped you from responding that way?
I have not just witnessed bullying/ostracism, I have actually been the victim of those things. There have been a few occasions where I have been excluded from a group purely because of my hair colour, and the way I responded was by choosing the right persuasive words to get into the group. I also let them know that they were being jerks, and that I wasn't happy with how they were acting.
Respond to the questions below
1.Where have we seen examples of bullying/ostracism/exclusion occurring in texts studied so far this year- factual as well as fictional?

The main example that comes to mind would be the whole Holocaust unit, where the Germans, Nazi or not, ostracized the Jews, purely because the government told them to, not because they actually held grudges on the Jews. The German people were brainwashed into believing everything the Nazi government said, because their propaganda was so believable and well made. The Germans purposefully made the Jews outcasts, which is definitely ostracism, and later killed them off.
The In-Group
Watch the video clip below
Eve S: The In Group

1.Select one line/phrase/group of sentences that are significant to you. Explain why.
"In most cases where students get picked on, it is because they aren't good at sports, read too much, they wear the wrong clothes, or are of a different race." This quote is definitely true, because I've seen people get bullied for at least the first two jokes, and have made some jokes about races which could be considered mildly racist due do the fact that they are based off of racial stereotypes. All these reasons that she stated are real, because people are bullied for those reasons, which are quite frankly, retarded.
To think about:
How is ostracism different from other forms of bullying? When does ostracizing or excluding someone from a group become part of bullying?
1. What is familiar about the incident Eve describes? I found the part where she was laughing at the other girl's diary part somewhat familiar, 

because I have made jokes at other people's expense and laughed at quips made by someone 

about someone else before.

2.What surprised you? The fact that she still laughed at that other person's diary even though she had been through the same stuff herself. She should have tried to stand up for the girl, because she had experienced first hand what it was like to be bullied.

3. How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). make sure you justify( back up your answer.
Eve was a victim of bullying who just sat there and took it, and made no effort to stand up for herself. However, later on, she was also a bystander, because as I said before, she laughed at the other girl's diary and did not even attempt to stand up for her, even though she knew what it felt like to be bullied.
Psychologists Michael Thompson and Lawrence Cohen point to the powerful influence of peer groups in guiding our behavior: ‘We all know that groups can go terribly astray in terms of their moral reasoning. Everyone not in the group can be considered an outsider, a legitimate target…It affects every group because we are all prone to that feeling of us versus them and the idea that if you’re not with us you’re against us. Speaking out against a risky, immoral or illegal decision is hard to do because that makes you an outsider yourself’.

4.How did Eve’s need to belong affect the way she responded when another girl was being mocked? Why does her response still trouble her? How do you like to think you would have responded to the incident? Eve felt like the only way to get the other people to stop bullying her was to conform and act like them. This is the easy way out, by just acting like everyone else and not having your own personality. I think the main reason that she is still troubled by what she did is because she laughed and made fun of that girl, even though she had been through the same stuff herself, and knew what it felt like. Then, she was siding with the bullies, and making someone feel bad about themselves, just like how she felt when she was bullied.
5. Eve concludes “Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last.’ What does she mean?

  What she means is that it feels better to be accepted by everyone else and make friends with more people than to have no friends and keep your conscience clear of bad memories and feelings. Anyone would prefer to have a bunch of friends and maybe one or two unpleasant memories than have no friends and be a total loner, but with no bad memories about bullying or treating someone unfairly.