Advance Essay #2: Code-Switching by Jason Greene

While I was writing this essay, one thing I tried to do was tell to my mom’s personal story and my personal story with code-switching in a way that engaged the reader and could allow them to relate.  We all code-switch at one point or another.  It is just if we notice when it happens or not.  There is not just one part of this essay that I can say I am the most proud of.  I am proud of all of the essay.  As I continue to grow as a writer one thing I plan on working on is my storytelling skills.  


The year was 1973.  My mother was born in a small town in Ethiopia. Because my grandmother was not able to provide for my mother and uncle, she decided to give my mother up for adoption.  She knew that if she kept her that she would end up dying of malnutrition.  She lived in the hospital for the rest of the years and the nurses took care of her.  Then two missionaries from the United States heard about her though one of the nurses and fell in love at first sight.  The next year my mom was heading to the other side of the country with a whole another family.  Because of this she learned two languages.  Slang or “black” language she would use with friends and “white” language or talking proper.  The transition from one way of talking to another is code-switching. Growing up she would get teased by her black friends at school for talking “white”.  Her friends would say things like “Sara you talk so white.” or “Why are you talking like that?”  She felt different. She once told me that, she felt like she was between two very different worlds. I also had to go through the same thing.  When I talked to my family that was white I talked a certain way.  More proper.  When I am with my friends I talk another way.


Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s in both Philadelphia and the suburbs my mother still had to deal with the side affects of racism and the civil rights movement.  When she lived in the suburbs, white families would ask why that white family had a black child.  When her family lived in the city, black families would ask why that white family had a black child.  Since she grew up in a white household she adopted parts of the white culture including the language.  When she was at a school and social events with black people, the transition from one language to another was difficult.  The kids would make fun for the way she talked.  It wasn’t her fault because of the environment she was in on a daily basis.


Growing up I didn’t see that side of my family as white.  I honestly did not see color.  I knew my mom was adopted but I just saw them as family.  They were people who loved me and people who I loved back.  It wasn’t until a couple years ago I noticed that they didn’t look like me.  I remember the moment when I realized this.  We were in church and the pastor said “If you can please stand up for our final prayer.” As we stood up I noticed that my sister, mom and I were not just the only black people in our row but the only black people in the audience.  All I saw was white faces.  None of them looked like me, but it wasn’t until two years ago I realized that I spoke differently when around them.  I was going to visit my aunt and her family in Arizona.  I was going to a baseball camp at ASU.  It was my first time going to see them by myself.  When my uncle and cousin picked me up from the airport I noticed that I would talk differently.  When I first noticed it I hated it.  I was allowing my environment to choose how I talked.  I realized that the reason I was doing this to make up for the fact I wasn’t like them.  I didn’t look like them and I thought that the way we spoke our common language could make up for that.


Today our society in this country is divided in many different ways.  Gender, race, sexual orientation are just one of the many ways people group themselves.  Language is also one of the ways we group ourselves. Gene Demby of NPR said “When you're attuned to the phenomenon of code-switching, you start to see it everywhere, and you begin to see the way race, ethnicity and culture plays out all over the place.” We tend to stay with people who speak the same language as us.  We can overcome these divisions though.  We have to learn to accept that people are different.  I am not just talking about language but all aspects of someone’s life.  When we can accept people for who they are and not for what they aren’t we will see society come together.


Sometimes we as humans allow ourselves to get caught up into trying to fit in.  My mother and I experienced this first hand.  With her it was trying to fit into people to looked like her and with me it was trying to fit in with my family that had a lighter skin tone than me.  Matt Thompson, writer for NPR wrote a piece on npr.com called Five Reasons Why People Code-Switch. He said “Very often, people code-switch — both consciously and unconsciously — to act or talk more like those around them. While this can be effective, it can also be perilous…” I agree with this.  In some situations it is a necessary and useful skill.  In others it is not.  We should not allow pressure from society and our environment dictate how we speak.  If we allow this, we change who we are and who we will become.


Sources

Demby, Gene. "How Code-Switching Explains The World." NPR. NPR, 8 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2015. <http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/04/08/176064688/how-code-switching-explains-the-world>.


Thompson, Matt. "Five Reasons Why People Code-Switch." NPR. NPR, 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. <http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/04/13/177126294/five-reasons-why-people-code-switch>.



¿Soy Emilia, y tú?

soy
          Me gusta andar en patientea
                          Sin embargo yo no soy muy buena
                     Soy valiente para aprender 
 Me gusta también escuchar música y bailar
    No me gusta escribir y cantar
  Aun que soy divertida soy también perezosa
    Me gusta pasar tiempo con amigos 
                 Odio ir de compras 
      ¿Qué te interesa?
Screenshot 2015-11-24 at 10.15.04 PM
Screenshot 2015-11-24 at 10.15.04 PM

Media Fluency- Lily Rivera

Media Fluency-Me Mag. Slide
I originally got the idea for my slide when I kept seeing the words simple, big, to the point, and short repeated often in the articles I found when researching for this assignment. The samples of the Ikea billboards on Presentation Zen were a big inspiration for my slide. Basically what I got from the articles that I read was to not have any unimportant details, just give the main idea and be straight to the point. I chose to display the title of my Me Magazine because it really does the job of summing up my slide in one short sentence..while also not giving enough information for the viewer to really know what my magazine is about. This will most likely make them want to know more about it and therefore pay more attention to me when I’m talking about it (the magazine). For my slide, I decided to use 4-5 of the 8 lessons from Presentation Zen. The first one I decided to incorporate was, “(1) Make it visual,” which states, “Slides are visual aids, not ‘text aids’...” Using this lesson, along with numbers 2, “One slide, one point,” and 3, “Make text big,” I decided to make the two main focuses of my slide a picture of myself (visual) and the title/main idea of my magazine (big text). Together, they give my slide that ‘one point’ aspect. Lastly, I chose the background color and the text color with the contrast lesson in mind to really make the bright colors in my picture and the color of the text stand out.

Spanish Poem by Sean DeSilva

Soy Sean.

   (Casi) Siempre, soy

       cómico y amable.

         de vez en cuando, me encanta jugar videojuegos,

                     dibujar y juegos de computadora.

No si ni serio

                                    ni aburrido

Yo soy…

   ¡ YO!


Media Fluency Long

ROLLING THUNDER! (1)
Originally I didn't know what to put in my slide. But then I decided to compose the slide of things I enjoy. I wrote in Hangul(Korean) since I'm currently learning it and thought it would be an interesting touch to my slide. I put pictures of some of my favorites in life. My favorite drama, movie and anime to be exact! I also put in the cover of a song I like from two singers from Nico Nico Douga that I really enjoy, which is Clear and Nero. In my slide there is a picture of candy because I have a big sweet tooth and I normally have candy on me. As for the sleeping panda I placed that picture on my slide since I few people I know like to call me little panda and because I like pandas. Also sleeping... I got influenced to most of the things I enjoy due to my childhood friend, she would always have me watch anime or Asian movies. My cousin also influenced me to watch foreign movies which created a love for that. Growing up he would also be watching French movies and have me join him. This slide is composed of parts that I want people to know about me in a few pictures. 

Diamond Poema - Myah McCoy

                                                                       Soy Myah.
                                                                   casi siempre soy,
                                             pasar tiempo con amigos y ir de comprars 
                                              los fines de semana, me encanta comer,
                                                                    domir y baliar
                                                               No soy ni antipatica
                                                                      ni aburrida
                                                                         Yo soy
                                                                           YO!
IMG_8212
IMG_8212

Political Literacy by Gabrielle P. Kreidie (Advanced Essay #2)

This unit we discussed the difference definitions worldwide on the topic of literacy. We discussed in groups the power literacy has to satisfy one's thoughts through writing, comprehending and reading. The essay below, had to incorporate a thesis on the topic of literacy due to what we took away from this unit. We had to incorporate outside sources and a scene of memory to help us justify our thoughts. I am very much proud of my essay and am effectively able to communicate my ideas on political literacy and the importance that it has on our lives.


The power of political literacy is that the smartest and most determined have the most courage to use it. One of the most genius political creatures in our world today is Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. He’s powerful, commanding, strong and forceful. Here in the US, we all have this necessity to say we hate him. Too many don’t understand the capabilities of this guy and what he hopes to accomplish. To fully accomplish a excellence in understanding political literacy, one must understand and follow the news, create their own educated opinions, and utilize information and evidence in a beneficial way.  


At the 70th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, as one would expect hundreds of world leaders (both democratically elected and forcefully elected) took part of the occasion. In addition to leaders of the EU, poor countries and countries with small populations, the President of the Russian Federation, a political icon, and tiger hunting shirtless beast, arrived at the event, as well. This was a very important diplomatic mission for Putin. With his increasingly voice in the Syrian conflict and strained relationships with multiple world leaders, he had something to prove. What greater way than by having a one on one interview with Charlie Rose!


“A lot can be done, but not everyone immediately succeeds in everything. How long has it taken the democratic process to develop in the United States? Since it was founded. So, do you think that as regards democracy everything is settled now in America? If this were so, there would be no Ferguson issue, right? There would be no other issues of similar kind, there would be no police abuse. Our goal is to see all these issues and respond to them timely and properly. The same applies to Russia. We also have a lot of problems.” The quote is a answer Putin gave to Rose on the topic of political instability in Russia. Putin connected the US to Russia and talked about the ways where the two were so similar. He later went on to not fully criticize Obama and rather have it as a right of the American people to create their very own opinions on their leader. Through soft and hard questions, Putin responded with a exquisite sentence. He gave tremendous answers that had the ability for the world to see him as a equal and as a intelligent guy, which he wanted. He is truly a master of literacy.


The Chief of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, talks about the importance of reading with the approval of the Sustainable Development Goals, “Promoting literacy must stand at the heart of this new agenda,” she said. “By empowering individual women and men, literacy helps to advance sustainable development across the board – from better healthcare and food security to eradicating poverty and promoting decent work.” A campaign for all students of the world to have basic education has evolved across the world. Most notably, people that advocate for equality in education want all people to be literate.


It has been proven in multiple studies throughout the years, that when people are literate they have on average a greater intelligence level than that of one who can’t read, comprehend or write. Across our world are able to use their literate powers to undercover the truths and realities that hold our nations and beliefs.


To Gloria Steinem, a feminist idol and writer herself, states that in order to be a member of our world today, through being informed of the conflicts facing the world, “you have to be literate, which a lot of women in the world are not; and you still have to make change happen in real life, because empathy—the ability not just to know but to feel—only happens when we are together with all five senses”. According to Gloria Steinem, literacy in today’s way of life is not reading fiction, the false stories, rather it’s reading the truth. That’s how you change the world.


As it’s known, nearly a billion people have basic or below basic literacy of their native languages, worldwide. Most of them women or young girls. We can change that number. Nelson Mandela, a hero to the people that want to change the world, founded a foundation named after himself in 1999. This foundation fights for his morals for the world’s citizens. For a 12-month period, the foundation developed a campaign to increase literacy in areas where it was most needed. Through the influence of the book Long Walk to Freedom by Madiba, the people of South Africa had the motivation to create encouragement nationwide to learn how to read and encourage the understanding of others literacy levels through following current events and creating informative opinions. This has the potential to become a worldwide campaign, so that all could create their own opinions on Vladimir Putin.


We may all be different from one another. Different genders, ethnicities, jobs, families and nations. But all in all, we are humans. We are the creators of creativity and warriors of humanity. Literacy improves us as human beings, as educators, as ourselves. Giving the chance of all (which everyone deserves) to take advantage of this superpower completes our charity to the greater good.

Work Cited:


"Interview To American TV Channel CBS And PBS." President Of Russia. Kremlin, 29 Sept. 2015. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/50380>.


Kramer, Jane. "Gloria Steinem's Life on the Feminist Frontier." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2015. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/19/road-warrior-profiles-jane-kramer)>.


"Literacy for All 'must Stand at the Heart' of New Sustainable Development Agenda – UNESCO Chief." UN News Center. UN, 8 Sept. 2015. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51818#.Vkk3X1UViko>.


"Nelson Mandela Leadership for Literacy Project." – Activities – Nelson Mandela Foundation. Nelson Mandela Foundation, 2015. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <https://www.nelsonmandela.org/activities/entry/nelson-mandela-leadership-for-literacy-project>.


BE YOURSELF

BE YOURSELF. (1)
My slide represents how unique I am. During middle school I had a really hard time finding out my own style and what were my interest. I was always try to follow the crowd. I choose this quote because I believe a lot of people are afraid to be themselves because they are afraid of being judge or being certain a certain way. Honestly people shouldn't care what other people think of them. People should do what makes them happy. I learned that middle school and I learned how to do my own thing.

I choose these certain colors for my slide because I wanted to make my slide bright. I wanted colors with a lot of contrast and can be noticed far away. I really wanted people to get the message I was trying to send. I choose have pictures of myself around the quote because the pictures shows my personality. As you notice each picture shows me making a different face showing different sides of my personality. Each picture shows me being myself.

Freestyle Poema- Alan Li

Lunes.

Buenos diás...

Me llamo Alan.

Hace viento y calor pero sin embargo está lloviendo.

Bastante aburrido.

¡Bastante aburrido!

Buenas tardes...

Hace frío

No me gusta nada correr pero sin embargo está lloviendo.

¡Está lloviendo!

¿Por qué?

Odio correr tampoco comer.

No me gusta nada dormir.

Es la una de la mañana.

No...

Es por eso que odio practicar deportes.

Soy siempre timidio...

¡Buenas noches...!



1924375_694463130632387_9078720463882796796_n
1924375_694463130632387_9078720463882796796_n

Como de Mikasa Ackerman

Su nombre es Mikasa Ackerman

Ella es súper fuerte

Ella es de costumbre tranquilo

Tiene quince años

Ella es nunca perezosa

Es el diez de febrero

Ella es súper talentosa

Le encanta tú pasar tiempo con mi familia

Ella es honesta a su hermano, Eren

Ella es súper inteligente

Ella es bastante delgada

Ella es bastante seria

Ella es una mezcla de razas


Mikasa_during_the_military_training
Mikasa_during_the_military_training

Media Fluency Taylor

For my slide, I decided not to use a normal template as my background. I feel as though the default templates are really boring and don't show any originality. I chose to stick with only a few pictures because I didn't want to over power the focus of my slide, but I still wanted it to be interesting. I used different colors for the words to make them stand out more. Color is always the first thing people notice.


When asked the question who am I, I usually think about the things that are more broad. I'm a girl, I'm 15, I'm a daughter, and a sister. I never really think about my traits or interests though. So for this project, I decided to focus on the things that make me who I am and my interests.


All the words are words that I would use to describe myself and how people have described me.I would say I'm caring because I’m always there for my family and friends. I support them whenever they need it. I'm a poet because I've been writing poetry for years, and it's one of my favorite hobbies. I'm smart because I tend to have bright ideas. I may not be the best in math, but when it comes to English and AfAm History, I tend to excel. For the picture of lush and forever 21, they are my favorite stores.


For the picture of my friends, I added it because they are really important people in my life and they help me when . For the picture of Lana Del Rey, I added her because she is a very influential artist to me. She's the reason I write poetry and her music always puts me in a better mood whenever I'm going through something difficult.


That's my slide! I hope you enjoyed.
Photo album (1)

Life Hack

(Grabs controller) This game, that game, almost every game deals with hackers, lag switchers. Don’t get me started with these consoles (Looks at gaming consoles). These petty gaming consoles get hacked or shut down for a day due to their poor security system. Last year, Playstation and Xbox or known as Microsoft got shut down on christmas day. A hacking organization known as Lizard squad hack into the security system and shut the connection to play online for the day and they claimed to that this was their doing. If these companies gain so much money for their production why do they have such a poor security system? Furthermore these companies gain a portion of games created for their console.

(Faces the direction of the computer) Hacking organizations, I’m not sure if I should be fed up with them or not. Not every hacking organizations are bad. They have created code names such as Black, Gray, and White hats. Which stands for what they do, Black and White hats are the opposite of each other. Black hats are groups of hackers who hack for their personal gain, to get attention, for their personal amusement. While white hats are groups of hackers who hack for other gains, such as they may steal money but they donate it to a charity for people who need it more they're more like vigilantes. Gray hats are neutral.

Why the hacking? Aren’t games meant to be FUN!? (Exhales) Even though I may get mad because of the hackers but I can see why they hack in videogames. It’s like a hateful comment on a youtube video, and people arguing with the comment. They simply hack/cheat to get something they want. an awesome piece of gear in a game, most people do it because they lack skill the game others tend to hack because they just want to see what it’s like. Others just simply do it to piss people around the world off just like that hateful comment on youtube. But why hack? There’s other options, get carried, improve in the game, get friends to help, etc. Most people who play videogames normally get skilled at the game and enjoy the game, until they meet a group of hackers. They rage, hate the game and eventually rage quit.

(Grabs the keyboard) It’s not that difficult to hack is it? Just a number amount of codes to get into the system, and patience. Playstation and Microsoft make billions of dollars with their production, and yet they have this weak ass security system. To most hackers it’s like stealing candy from a baby. (Turns on monitor) Maybe I should try hacking, or see how it is for myself. I can’t I just can’t do it, as a rightful player as a player who gets things done the way it should I shall not fall into that path. (Turns off monitor, and pushes keyboard away) If I do this then I can’t complain so much about hackers because they’re in almost every game whether it’s console, pc, or portable console. The virtual world and reality are so different. Security system should be improved, I didn’t decide to pay this amount of money to buy this console, or game, just to experience hackers ruining the fun.
Voice 002

Media Fluency Kersten

Screenshot 2015-12-08 at 10.38.21 AM
Screenshot 2015-12-08 at 10.38.21 AM

My slide was designed on things that I enjoy doing and how I see myself. I put on my slide what I enjoy doing and the sports that I play. I also put two quotes that I like. I made some of my pictures bleed of the page for more space. I made the words big so they would be easier to see. I wanted to display the fact that I am athletic and enjoy sports. I included my horoscope sign in my slide as well. I want people to get to know me for who I really and and not just who I am perceived to be. I enjoy many other things but these are the ones I wanted to share.


Media Fluency - Boubou Magassa

Boubou’s Presentation (1)
This One Slide has almost all the characteristics that make up me I love anime and video games. Those are basically my life but I have other things. But, these are the things that stick out the most. I love where I come from and take pride in that. I like to say that I reside in the gaming and anime culture I enjoy watching a Japanese superhero show for kids called "Kamen Rider" they curse in it but, Japanese people don't really care. They also curse in the Japanese "Power Rangers" series that america takes and edits. I love the anime culture so much that some times I dream of going to the birthplace of anime and even live there. I love the Japanese culture. They feel nature in everything they make meals from the foods the come out in the different seasons and the people eating can some how sense the season as if they are in the snowy season  or the heat season too. The Japanese are very spiritual and I would try to make manga if I were able to draw. I was introduced to gaming when I was about 6 or 7 but, I played it a lot and gaming became part of my identity.   

Media Fluency- Naima DeBrest

Pitch
When I was about to make my slide I knew that I had to pick a theme. I liked the idea of the two colors on top of each other. I chose my favorite color purple and the color white because I thought that would compliment the purple Next I had to pick a font. I decided to pick cursive so it would flow. I also like the kerning of this font. I pick a quote about joy because I love to be happy.