At the start of the lockdown I was relieved to have a break from school for a while because I thought the start of quarantine to be a 2 week break and then we would have to eventually go back to normal. When it went a little longer than I thought it would, I was still very optimistic about going back to school and having a normal life. It was until I heard I was entering the 9th grade through zoom, when I started to feel helpless.
I chose this topic with the sole purpose of trying not to feel alone. I thought that I was the only one having trouble with depression motivation throughout the school year. I didn’t want to be a Debby downer but I genuinely thought we weren’t ever gonna get out of this pandemic. When I was researching I shared a lot of my thoughts in the teenagers that the articles talk about. I feel we need to talk about this topic because I feel like it has not been talked about as much as it should be, obviously everyone is having a hard time but teenagers need socialization to grow and thrive. I think it’s most important for adults to know about this topic because they think this is just a time were we teens have all the time in the world and it has been really stressful and adults really don’t seem to understand that.
Many teens are experiencing eating disorders, new suicidal thoughts and new waves of anxiety, with a 40% increase of teens calling The National Eating Disorder Association since may reporting that they have been binge eating during the pandemic and with online school and always being on our devices we can lose track of how much we eat. An issue like this is significant because the spike in self-harm within the teen community since the pandemic started, is serious.
According to FAIR Health there was a 334% spike in self-harm in teens and young adults amid the pandemic, teens and children feeling trapped inside. Usually when kids are feeling depressed adults try to make them engage in outside activities such as hanging with friends or going to the park, which we all can’t do now. Not having the space to fully develop teens are not ok, the proportion of mental health emergency admission was up 31% higher than it was in 2019 according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 14.3% of teens will be affected by depression and bipolar disorder and with the added trauma from the pandemic, teens are now one of the most affected groups.
Researching this topic for the You & The World project made me realize that I am not alone and there are hundreds of people who are struggling with the same things I am. One part about my research I still want to know more about is the child abuse and how children and teens are living with their abusers, and if there is any way to get them help. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be trapped with an abuser for months on end not knowing when it’s going to be over. Another thing I still want to dig deeper into is to eating disorders and if binge eating is the only eating disorder people are struggling with, I know some people have bulimia and Anorexia and I want to know if the pandemic made it worse for them and if there are coping methods they have.
With the pandemic not being over soon I am feeling apprehensive about the future for teens during this pandemic knowing a lot of them aren’t in their right state of mind.
I think that period poverty is something that as a society we do not talk about enough. Part of the reason behind that is because there is such a stigma around periods in general, people feel like they can’t talk about them, and treat them as some kind of taboo thing that just cannot be discussed. Another reason is that people don’t realize how big of a problem period poverty really is. Sanitary products are quite expensive and many people can’t afford them even though they are a necessity.
Women are pretty much half of the world’s population, and almost all women at some point in their life have their period. It is not something that you can really avoid, so why is it so hard for a lot of women and girls to get access to sanitary products? A part of that reason is because of the “Pink tax” or “Tampon tax.” This is a tax that is put on sanitary products because they are labeled as non-essential items. 35 states in the U.S. still use this tax which is ridiculous because sanitary products are absolutely an essential item, most women and girls cannot choose whether or not to have their period.
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image depicting a calendar marked with dates of menstrual cycle, sanitary products, and not enough money to pay for them
The Pink tax does not just apply to sanitary products however, many other personal care items such as razors, clothing, and accessories are affected by the pink tax. This means that if an item is “made for women” or marketed in that way, it will cost more even if it is the exact same as the “mens version.” This happens with deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, lotion, body wash, shaving cream, and so much more. This article reveals that more often than not, the only real difference between mens and womens products is that the women’s will be pink, and cost more.
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A men’s and women’s razor, exactly the same but the women’s costs more
Another thing that is a factor in Period poverty is the wage gap and opportunity gap which are basically the same thing. Women typically make only $00.79 for every dollar a man makes, that is the wage gap. The opportunity gap is that women are less likely to be able to get high position jobs, which means that they probably will have a harder time being paid more. So, if women have a harder time getting paid as much as men and getting jobs that will pay that much, and women’s products cost more, how are they supposed to pay for essential things like sanitary products? Of course this is a very broad statement, some women are paid a lot more or as much as some men but knowing this information is important when talking about period poverty. There are also other factors that come into play when it comes to period poverty, Women of color typically have an even harder time getting paid as much as men and also even white women so period poverty is much more common in some communities than others because of this. The coronavirus pandemic has also made period poverty even worse for some communities than it was before, with people getting laid off their jobs and all the other hardships that have come about because of the pandemic. I connect to this issue because I personally have the ability to be able to afford sanitary products but the fact that so many people do not just feels wrong to me. Something that is so natural and basically unavoidable as well should not be such a huge burden for so many women. While researching this issue I have found that it is very complicated and will not be solved easily, or by one person. There are so many factors that affect period poverty and make it very intricate and difficult. I think that the first step is to get people educated on the topic and make it normal to talk about periods because it is still something that for some reason a lot of people think is bad to talk about but that needs to change.
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image of a hand holding a tampon with the words “not a luxury” in the background
When the pandemic first started, witnessing the world I once knew faded away, it opened my eyes to those who were the real victims of COVID-19, the homeless. So when I was given the chance to bring awareness to the struggles that much lower class and homeless people face due to the COVID-19 virus.
Although COVID-19 is a threat to all of us it poses a unique danger to America’s homeless population due to a lack of social services as well as the economic aftermath of the pandemic more Americans are at risk of entering homelessness.
Infographics and statistics are supplied by United Way
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development noted in its 2019 annual report that in America’s 50 most populated cities, African-Americans make up the majority of the homeless population. Of the top 10 cities with the most eviction filings, numbers one through eight all qualify for that top 50 designation, meaning that the added stress these evictions are placing on resources dedicated to assisting those experiencing homelessness may be producing outsized negative impacts on homeless populations that are primarily composed of minorities.
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There was no clear region in the country where COVID-19 led to the largest jump in unemployment. Nevertheless, it is clear from the data that statewide unemployment has been closely tied to local industries and their pandemic-related losses. For instance, the top two states for unemployment as of October 2020 were Hawaii and Nevada, both of which depend on tourism to fuel their local economies. In these states, people face unique challenges in moving away from homelessness as a lack of income severely limits their housing options, cited by the National Coalition for the Homeless.
People experiencing homelessness in the United States are among the highest risks for infection, complication, and death from COVID-19. Many of the issues of white homeless Americans are amplified in black and native communities due to the systemic oppression they have faced prior to COVID-19. To halt the rapid growth of homelessness and thus the spreading of COVID-19 we must connect all people on the streets with safe accommodation and all those in temporary accommodations must be moved into permanent homes.
There are many ways to avoid COVID-19 if you are homeless. You can do this by obviously taking part in social distancing mandates, traveling on social transportation at less busy times, and avoiding other crowded public settings. If you are not homeless there are many ways you are able to help the homeless population in the United States. You can do this by partaking in helping, and working with food drives, homeless shelters, and COVID-19 screening at homeless shelters.
Hopefully my writing will open your eyes to the struggle of the homeless and lower class face during these already hard times because of COVID-19. With this information as a society we can go forth and better the lives of our fellow Americans.
At some point in our lives, we all have gone to a fast food place or have bought a coffee at Wawa. We often don’t think they have much significance in our life since it’s just food. I bet most of us don’t think of the plastic fork that gets thrown out or the coffee cup that has been used. Both of the objects are used and thrown out daily and are both made of plastic. In a way, our world runs on plastic. From grocery bags to water bottles that contain microplastic. Our world is addicted to plastic, and it’s getting worse every day. Slowly our planet is becoming overfilled with plastic. This plastic is killing marine organisms and affects our environment currently. Our society as a whole is addicted to plastic and we can’t go a day without using it. My goal is to inform people about the problem because I can’t solve the worldwide problem in society. We consume so much plastic that it’s affected innocent animals. I want to solve plastic pollution quickly but I know it will take time.
Plastic pollution is the build-up of plastic in the environment. Plastic has a bad effect on the ocean because it doesn’t break down, it breaks upinto small pieces called microplastic. Microplastic are pieces of plastic that are tinier than 5 millimeters, it can be smaller and be seen under a microscope. Microplastic is so tiny that fish accidentally eat the microplastic because they mistake it for plankton. Microplastic is so tiny because the sun heats the plastic slowly and makes plastic very small. Microplastic is very dangerous. It can cause health issues like pierced organs or fatal intestinal blockage for animals. The build of plastic in the ocean has gotten so bad that around the world there are 5 enormous patches of plastic waste.
The plastic in the ocean has gotten so bad, that by 2050 there will be fewer fish in the sea than plastic. People have found whales being beached and when they took a look inside the whale they discovered most of them are filled with plastic. Whales aren’t the only ones filled with plastic, studies have shown that AT LEAST 40% of seabirds and other mammals are affected by the ingestion of plastic. The overproduction of plastic has taken a negative toll on marine wildlife.
The production of plastic increases faster than how it’s recycled. So how long was it since the production of plastic started to increase, someone may ask. It started largely producing plastic 60 years ago. Around 1950 there had been 2 million metric tons of plastic production. In today’s day, there are about 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic that have been made. About 8 million tons of plastic each year enter the ocean. Sources say it’s like dumping garbage trucks filled with plastic into the ocean every 60 seconds or a minute. By 2050 there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic debris in the ocean. That is not the only problem.
Plastic can take up to 400 years to decompose and in most cases more than the given amount of years. The production of plastic increases faster than how it’s recycled. 80% of the waste products are made of plastic. About 50% out of 300 million tons of plastic is single-use plastic. Around 40% of single-use plastic isn’t recycled. This is because single-use plastic is small objects that tend to fall within the recycling machinery, it’s often not accepted with recycling centers.
In this day plastic is in everything, literally. We can’t get rid of plastic altogether but we can reduce it. We can stop buying bottled water or at least limit it. Limiting the amount of plastic being used is another good way. Instead of using single used plastic use replacements for it, it will help the plant and can also save someone money. Another way that is incredible and true is having the living organism that consumes plastic eat the plastic. There called Mealworms, learn more about clicking the link
Throughout this research and reading about plastic, I realize how people including myself rely on plastic so much. Eliminating plastic will be almost impossible but reducing the consumption of plastic will not only help the planet and animals but for us as well. We can all help reduce plastic pollution by doing simple things but it takes effort to solve it as a world.
My annotated [Bibliography] (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CiGswvgvqOQc_nAUocJADXyx1YEy9r04N4LCMvMO-NA/edit?usp=sharing) about plastic pollution).
In this project I went to answer a very simple question ‘what makes a video game good,’ you might be saying that it is impossible to quantify that it is all about preference but I disagree on that sentiment. I say that there is an objective way to quantify the quality of video games, if that is not the case then critics would not exist. That point aside I think the traits of a good video game are pretty simple. That being that they should bring something new to the table, they should also have an interesting story and characters, lastly and most importantly they should have good gameplay. Now a game can be good without these things (except for gameplay you really need that) but they can add to the experience and immersion of the game. Aside from those three big ones there are some others that are some ‘minor’ traits such as; good music and sound design, good game and level design, good visuals, unique graphics, and a good mixture of learnability and complexity. There are obviously many more aspects and traits you need to make a good video game, but why is all of this even important? Why should we know what the specific aspects of good video games are? Well, in short you really don’t need to know. There are many topics far more pressing than video games. Yes, all of that is true but what is also true is that video games have engraved themselves into our modern society. A recent estimate put that a little more than 2.5 billion people play video games, that is nearly half of the entire population of the planet. That is why this topic is important because there are so many people playing video games more now than ever, and I can say from experience that no one wants to play a bad video game or a lazy video game or even a greedy video game (cough cough EA). And yet every year triple A games seem to get lazier and more boring, we should know the basic attributes to good games so we can steer clear from these games and to tell big game companies that we just want good games to play. In this post I may not have fancy graphs or pictures but what I do have is a passion for video games and a hope that one day we will get more good games than average ones and especially bad ones.
Everyone’s mental health has declined in this pandemic. Even if you feel like it hasn’t it most likely has. Quarantine was a very tough time for the world. We were all trapped inside with nothing to do and we couldn’t socialize. People are still afraid to go out just to get groceries because they are scared of Covid.
Quarantine started on March 13th, 2020. Basically everyone knows this since we all went through it. Mental stress and anxiety percentages have essentially skyrocketed among people in the US and the UK. The US depression rates went from 11% to 42% by December of 2020. By June of 2020 UK depression rates went from 11 to 19%. Psychologists think that we may still have these problems even after covid. OCD and multiple other problems have been caused because of quarantine. There has also been lack of sleep and massive changes in eating habits. Such as people eating more or eating less and changes in diets.
The reason I have chosen this topic is because I was curious about how mental health changed during quarantine. Personally, I was not really affected by quarantine. I had already been very stressed from 8th grade so it felt like a massive break and was very relieving. I had a lot more time to myself but most importantly I got closer to my family. Though my experience was actually mentally helping me, I know others did not go the same. Many people got very depressed and went through multiple changes. People went through different sleeping habits, diets, medicine changes, weight gain or loss, and multiple other things. This was all very interesting to me so I decided this to be my topic. I think that the biggest change personally has been school.
I am very dependent on having school physically. I get distracted very easily and have a hard time learning virtually. I have been very stressed out and due to this my mental health has been changing. I am not depressed but I am often stressed out. I am a lot more anxious about many things now as well. I know that I am not the only person going through this. People all around the world are dealing with these same exact problems. Even people close to me are experiencing the exact same thing. It somewhat makes me feel a little better to know that I am not alone. My friends and family are great motivators. The sad truth is that not everyone has supporting family and friends. Lots of families were affected by covid so people have lost supporting members.
In conclusion, mental health has changed in multiple ways. Some for the better and some for the worst. People now have more anxiety and are scared of the outside world. I hope everyone that is suffering can be healed and get better. Hopefully, these effects are not permanent and recoveries start to happen to people all around the world soon.
This is a chart of mental health changes in places around the world.
I wanted to focus on obesity because I can help not only educate people about how to stay healthy to avoid obesity and its negative effects, but also about how much obesity prevalence varies based on race, income, and even education. In addition, this issue is important to me because obesity cases are going up every day and they will continue to do so unless we make a change. Although it may seem easy to prevent obesity, it really depends on the person and their unique situation. There’s way more things to factor in than you might think, but I’ll explain more about that later.
To start off, what is obesity? How is it different from just being overweight? How do you know if you’re obese? Obesity is diagnosed based on someone’s weight in comparison to their height and age. This is called BMI, or body mass index. It’s used to find out how much body fat a person has. Because this system doesn’t directly measure your body fat, it can sometimes be inaccurate with muscular people, such as athletes. Generally though, obesity is diagnosed when a person has a BMI over 30. To put that into perspective, a 5’5 woman would have to weigh a minimum of 180 lbs to be considered obese. She’d have to weigh 150 lbs to be considered overweight. If she weighed between 115 and 145 lbs, she’d be at a healthy weight. As you can probably tell, being obese and being overweight are not the same thing. You’re at a healthy weight if your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, you’re overweight if it’s between 25 and 29.9, and you’re obese if it’s 30 or more. Simply put, obesity is just a more severe version of being overweight. If you want to find out your BMI, the quickest way to do so is by using a BMI calculator. It multiplies your weight in pounds by 704.5, divides that by your height in inches, and then divides that number by your height again.
A combination of weight and height makes up your BMI
Now, I said before that obesity cases are going up and it’s becoming a bigger problem every day, but just how many cases are there? According to State of Childhood, “[In America,] adult obesity rates now [September 2020] exceed 35% in 12 states, 30% in 35 states and 25% in 48 states.” 23 out of 50 states had an adult obesity rate between 30% and 34.9%. That’s a lot of obesity cases! But why is this bad? What’s the worst that can happen to someone with obesity? NIDDK says that “Overweight and obesity are risk factors for many health problems such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, joint problems, and gallstones, among other conditions.”
So what causes obesity? How can it be prevented? Very Well Health has some tips. In addition to the more well-known strategies such as staying active and following a healthy diet, getting adequate sleep every night is vital to having a healthy lifestyle. Some basic principles of healthy eating are limiting processed foods, artificial sweeteners, and saturated fats; drinking more water; and eating five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables a day. It’s recommended that the average adult gets at least 150 minutes of exercise per week, or 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. This seems like a lot, right? What about things to avoid in order to prevent obesity? Well, chronic stress has been proven to cause weight gain, so it’s important to take time to relax by doing yoga, listening to music, or meditating. Also, a late bedtime is known to have bad effects on the body, one of which is weight gain. The recommended nightly amount of sleep for adults is 7 or more hours. Lastly, Mayo Clinic says that “the number of hours you spend in front of a screen is highly associated with weight gain.” This is part of why some people have started using standing desks or biking desks during the pandemic. This is a great way to stay active if you have to be in front of a computer for many hours a day.
A biking or standing desk is a convenient way to avoid sitting at a desk all day while still getting work done.
According to the CDC, the problem with obesity isn’t just the effects and the overall number of cases, but also the disproportionality in cases based on socioeconomic status. As a reminder, “obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer that are some of the leading causes of preventable, premature death.” Obesity isn’t bad only because it comes with some major health risks, but it also contributes to inequality in the US. There are, unfortunately, certain factors that can unfairly influence whether or not one ends up with obesity. Take race for example. As of 2017-18, non-hispanic black adults had the highest obesity prevalence (49.6%), followed by hispanic adults (44.8%), non-hispanic white adults (42.2%), and non-hispanic asian adults (17.4%). In terms of education, the CDC reported that “overall, men and women with college degrees had lower obesity prevalence compared with those with less education.” In addition, the CDC found that income directly affects obesity rates. A pattern was observed: people in the highest income group had a lower obesity prevalence compared to that of those in the middle and lowest income groups. All of this shows that obesity is dangerous not only to the health of the American population, but to the people who are at a disadvantage solely because of race, education, or income.
To sum things up, I’ve learned a great deal about obesity in the short time I’ve been studying it. I find it fascinating how differently each individual is affected by it because of how different their situation is from the next person. In the future, I want to learn more about how genetics affect your chances of being obese. I didn’t focus as much on that as I could’ve because it was more important to learn about how dangerous obesity is, but I’m happy with the amount of research I’ve done overall. It’s helped me understand obesity in depth and I’m glad I chose it as my topic.
My topic focuses on Generalized Anxiety Disorder in students or GAD. I felt very inclined to research this topic because I felt like it needed more attention and that mental health is looked over a lot in school settings. I want to make more resources available to students that are struggling with anxiety because of all the benefits that come with making a change. 90% of teens can be stopped from possibly developing long term effects when they learn the necessary skills they need to cope. When students struggling with GAD don’t get these resources their anxiety can manifest into physical forms, like panic attacks or anxiety attacks, it also takes a significant toll on students’ ability to learn. While i’m still only reaching the surface with my research, the topics I am researching are very interesting to me and I want to continue to fully grasp the full effect of GAD.
I struggle with diagnosed anxiety and I used to have anxiety attacks in school, it wasn’t fun. I used to just start crying or shaking and it would get very hard to breathe. It was caused by built up fear or tension from the past couple days of intense anxiety, in my case it was to the point where my lips were constantly bleeding. The gums in my cheeks were also swollen because I would chew on them. These symptoms all went undiagnosed until a year after. I want to help other people that struggled with what I went through because it stopped me from enjoying playing my favorite sport, and made school exhausting every day. If I had been given the right resources then I know it would have helped me out a lot.
I also know that there was and still are other people like me that suffer in silence because of how invisible the symptoms are. They might not even understand the intense emotions they are feeling, or they might think it’s normal and that everyone feels that way. Experts believe that anxiety can be inherited, but it’s usually an imbalance of 2 chemicals in the brain (norepinephrine and serotonin). Having anxiety go untreated can lead to long term effects such as heart problems, anxiety has also been known to cause people to go into a depressive state. I want to stop this ignorance and bring light to the subject so mental health can be talked about without people getting “uncomfortable”.
Anxiety also affects a large part of learning, and can make being in a public setting like school very difficult. It makes it hard for students to keep up with their peers or process information. Some of the signs are inattention, restlessness, trouble answering questions, problems in certain subjects, not turning in homework, and even avoiding socializing. Anxiety also goes hand in hand with learning disabilities and can cause students to fall behind, making them even more anxious in class. It tends to “lock up the brain” making school very challenging. It is even harder for children and teens to realize what they are experiencing is severe anxiety. Usually their symptoms are just brushed off or mistaken as a complaint or a headache. Teachers and parents need to be there for their kids and help them get diagnosed.
My research has helped me understand how much of school is truly affected by GAD, it takes a huge toll on your mental wellbeing and your education. It comprises so much of your life. While I’m still only learning about the long term effects I am eager to learn more. As anxiety is on the rise while mental wellbeing is on the decline in recent years bringing awareness to mental health is even more important. If all it takes is an open mind then I think if we work together we can make mental health normal and help accessible.
Have you ever wondered what has been going on with climate change?
It feels like once a year on earth day a teacher will bring up climate change and helping the earth, then that’s it.
Climate change is an issue that will only continue to increase as time goes on. Yet no one is doing anything about it. According to multiple sources scientists can already see the effect the mid-20th century has had on our world and environment. Scientists also believe that most of the warming to our globe has only occurred within the last 40 years. We have seen some of the warmest years ever throughout the last decade. According to Nasa “Carbon Dioxide up 415 parts
Along with the rise of Carbon and Temperature, Climate change is having a big impact on our oceans. According to Nasa’s evidence website “The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 100 meters (about 328 feet) of ocean showing warming of more than 0.6 degrees Fahrenheit (0.33 degrees Celsius) since 1969.6 Earth stores 90% of the extra energy in the ocean.” Ocean warming affects our food supply of fish and other animals. On the topic of food supply, According to Global Change “Climate disruptions to agriculture have been increasing and are projected to become more severe over this century, a trend that would diminish the security of America’s food supply.”. With changing weather some areas are seeing new and invasive species of pests which affect crops.
In school, you might have heard of the greenhouse effect that’s a big contributor to global warming, the BBC’s “What is climate change?” The article explains this perfectly.
As you can see in the graph, there have been spicks of cold and spicks of hot temperatures in the past but what we are currently seeing isn’t that, it’s an upward trend of hot temperatures that won’t be stopping anytime soon.
At this point, we have seen the evidence and proof that climate change is a real thing and the effects it’s having on our economy but you might be wondering what are people doing about this?
Unfortunately, Climate change prevention/research is something that is funded on “Extra Money” as it’s not a big enough issue. There are a few things you as an individual can do to help, The biggest being donate to organizations that are working to help prevent further damage to our planet.
If we do not prevent/slow the current rate of warming, we could see detrimental effects as soon as within this century.
During doing research for this topic I learned a lot and sadly found out that climate change isn’t a top priority for our government. I also learned about the effects on our economy and food chain. I hope to learn more about the plans for future global warming prevention.
Parking, it’s one thing that you have definitely encountered in your lifetime many times. Whether it be you looking for a spot, or your parents cursing at the wheel when they come up empty. For many people in the world, this problem differs, whether it be in rural towns, or a city like Philadelphia. As you may know, the art of parking in Philadelphia has its ups and downs, but I think we can all agree that it is one of a kind. This article says it best when it says, “Philly has a nationally renowned public transit system.” This fully encapsulates the essence of the experience of parking in Philadelphia. So what’s all of this about putting Philly parking down so much, well let’s see.
In this first article it shows many ways in which Philadelphia is very different from other cities. This article shows the parking in a different light. While we usually think of our situation as a bad one, this article portrays parking in a whole different way. There are many bad things that come with being one of a kind, but there are also good things. For instance, you can just park right on the sidewalk here in Philly, and you will most likely get away with it. That’s not something a lot of people can say they can do. Also, one of the most famous spots is the one right in the middle of the street on the median. This is just something that people are used to here.
Another way of looking at it is statistics. Looking at a satellite view, you can see that there are approximately 2,172,896 parking spots in Philly alone. So what’s the problem? Well, it turns out that %60 of these are private, let alone all of the other issues, and comparisons, like housing density to parking, as seen below.
Density of housing, and density of parking in Philly
Things like this wouldn’t be possible without the certain rules and regulations that the Philly Parking Authority have set up, or more importantly, haven’t set up.
Regardless of rules, another huge problem is just from the people. One thing that is a major problem is that people just don’t care enough to follow the laws put in place. That just brings up another issue, which is the fact that these laws aren’t enforced enough. If the city would enforce these laws more, people would obey them more. That’s just common sense, right? Well, it isn’t to some people,who still insist on parking illegally. Now this isn’t some huge issue, but it is interesting, and it may contribute to the problem here.
One of the main causes of this problem is actually tradition. You may not have thought that, but it’s very true in some parts of Philly. In South Philly, the median parking is one of the weirdest sights for tourists. People that come here to visit see these cars in the middle of the street (as seen above) and probably think they’re crazy, but in reality that’s just what the tradition is. Another huge “tradition” here is parking right on the sidewalk. When asked about this, people usually just say something along the lines of “that’s how it’s been done for years, why would we change?”
Could you be lucky by not having a phone these days? Having a smartphone is pretty common today except many are addicted or fear being addicted to it. I think many would agree that they fear having smartphone addiction. We are connected to smartphones, computers, and more almost every day. A lot of the time it is for work but for teens today we are constantly looking for digital rewards and micro-feedback. This issue is important to me because as a teen living in the U.S. today, I realize how much I am on my phone and with virtual school being a thing, I spend practically my whole day looking at a screen. It might not affect us now because we are young but in the future, the tendency is only to get worse.
Smartphone Addiction is also known as nomophobia, which is the fear of being without a mobile phone. This usually results from the overuse of the internet. This overuse can lead to many negative effects. According to this article, it can lead to depression, suicide, interference with how productive we are, and even with our sleep. I know many of my friends who always complain about having a messed up sleep schedule. They will usually sleep at 3:00 in the morning and have to wake up at 6-7pm for school with no motivation to do anything. There is even a new term called “tech neck”. According to the same article, “The position of hunching over a smartphone for 8 – 10 hours a day takes a toll on physical health. Sitting with the head down puts stress and pressure on the back and spine, which is bad for posture and increases the risk of neck and back issues.” This is something that many teens have, myself included.
We still are young, we still have time to correct or prevent ourselves from the negative consequences. Some things we can do are: remove apps that are time-consuming from our phones and start accessing them through a different device that we don’t carry around like our phones. Iphones have a new update that allows us to know how much time we spent on our phones. It even allows us to set limits to certain apps. It is called Screen Time.
This research has opened my eyes to many things such as dopamine, micro-feedback, and having a tech neck. It has also shown me that part of the reason for teens’ depression or anxiety is because of our excessive use of our phones. Now that you know some ways to prevent or stop yourself from having Smartphone addiction, will you apply these methods?
This graph shows yearly homicides that date back to 1960
Sources say the main cause of increase in gun violence is the pandemic. Numbers of homicides and shootings in Philly have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic, causing one of the most violent years in history. Experts say the pandemic likely drove much of last year’s spike in shootings and murders. They suspect that trend will continue for much of 2021, even as cities slowly inoculate residents against COVID-19, as they only see gun violence rising as the city goes into lockdowns. “The Philadelphia Police Department recorded 50 homicides in January, a 32% increase over last year, the deadliest in three decades.”, just goes to show how much the pandemic is effecting gun violence.
Researchers found that after Philadelphia closed non-essential businesses, there has been an increase in gun violence. Unemployment and distress in poor neighborhoods is what’s causing more violence throughout the city. Researchers say, “The pandemic, and its economic and social fallout, have highlighted many longstanding systemic issues, including inequities in employment, health care and housing”. Governor Tom Wolf and senators have proposed a new idea to make communities safer. For example, one of these idea were a senate bill that would report lost or stolen guns to authorities, but if there is not a change soon gun violence due to this pandemic will put a serious dent in our communities in Philadelphia.
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This map shows the neighborhoods being affected by gun violence
These shootings are proven to have long term effects on people including paralysis. Dozens of people are affected from paralysis each year, and the number doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Experts say, “For each gun homicide, there were four survivors who sustained gun injuries. These injuries can cause significant long-term health effects, including paralysis”. Not only does this affect neighborhoods and the city of Philadelphia, it leaves people with disabilities making it harder to provide for their families.
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This graph shows percentages of shooting victims with a gun related hospital visit
Community activists want to see change happening soon due to the increase of gun violence in Philadelphia. Activist feel like there is no sense of urgency, and hey thing some of the main causes of this crisis are narcotics, no food, and sexual abuse.
My research has given me evidence and important information that I can use when fighting against gun violence in Philadelphia. I wonder what city leaders will do in the future to compact gun violence and how soon will it be until it happens. I question the origin of gun violence and I look forward to learning more about it
Police brutality is an ongoing problem in America. Recently, we’ve witnessed more and more tragic examples of this with people such as Nicolas Chavez, Patrick Warren Sr., and here in Philadelphia, Walter Wallace Jr. This is such an important issue because of how much harm it has caused. It feels like almost every day we hear about another person who was killed by police. My focus on the subject is police reacting to mental health crises, and how we can prevent harmful situations.
The question is, how can we stop this problem? A shocking demographic shows that “People who have untreated mental illnesses are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter, and those who have an untreated severe mental illness are involved in up to half of all fatal police shootings.” An incredible amount of people are hurt and even killed in police encounters that are meant to save them. A possible way to help fix this problem is through health care workers working with police. Many areas have begun using this method. One example is a program called CAHOOTS in Eugene, Oregon. This program has been around the longest, for 30 years. This program has been the inspiration for many others.
But what do these programs do? These programs implement a very nonviolent approach that has been saving countless lives. For 911 calls about mental health crises, officials will send a trained professional to defuse the situation and get them the help they need. These health care workers will be unarmed, and in cases of possible violence, will be sent with a police officer. They will also respond to calls on smaller things, such as a homeless person in need of help, clothes, etc. In New York City, they will also be implementing this method in the two neighborhoods with the most calls related to mental health crises. “Making healthcare-only teams the default response will reduce the number of times police respond and ensure that people get the physical and mental health care they need quickly.” This can be beneficial for everyone, including police, who can focus on real crime.
Why are police not handling these situations properly? “A 2006 report from the Justice Department found that police officers typically receive about 111 hours on firearms skill and self-defense — but just 11 on cultural diversity and human relations, eight on community policing strategies, and eight on mediation and conflict management.” This is a problem. Police spend their time training for fighting, but not nearly enough in other subjects like racial sensitivity and handling mental health crises. When a police officer is in a potentially dangerous confrontation, their racial biases emerge and this often causes harm to innocent people. “This doesn’t speak just to how little police are trained to handle racial bias, but also all sorts of other situations they take part in — mental health crises, interactions with the LGBTQ community, and domestic and sexual abuse cases, as a few examples. Police just aren’t well-trained to handle a wide variety of sensitive, difficult areas.” In addition to this, why should police be the only resort for any problem? Police should be meant for real crime and violent situations. “We should be asking ourselves why it is that law enforcement has become the default system to handle situations related to mental health, addiction, poverty and homelessness, and what public safety should really mean for our most vulnerable neighbors.”
Researching this topic has taught me how much of a problem police brutality is in America, and how much mental health crisis situations are mishandled. The reality is that police aren’t trained for defusing situations that are non-violent or have to do with a psychological episode. Nor is this the intended function of the police. This is why we need programs such as CAHOOTS, to handle these situations so that they can stay peaceful, successful, and beneficial for everyone.
African Americans are lazy. At least that’s what everyone says. But what is really going on within the African American community? Why are white people and other POC doing better than African Americans and what is the African American achievement gap? There are 4 factors that play into the lack of achievement in the African American community: Home life, school, mental health, and the history of African Americans. This topic is often ignored by not only white people/other POC but also by African Americans themselves. I think this ignorance comes from a lack of understanding and that’s what I hope to provide.
Growing up, I was fully surrounded by African Americans. In my predominantly African American public school, it was basically falling apart. Not only were grades on a decline but also the behavior of the students. It felt like I was the only one focused on success. I even grew apart from some of my peers. Why did it feel like everyone in my predominantly black public school was failing and didn’t care? I didn’t know anything about the achievement gap and I even thought sometimes that they were throwing their lives away. But their failure wasn’t entirely their fault. I mean, how were they supposed to thrive in an environment where books were falling apart, physical violence was an everyday thing, and parents just sort of… gave up?
History matters. When speaking of African American hardships, it feels like it’s almost impossible to not mention our history. The NAEYC says “African Americans have been exposed to generations of legal and illegal measures to deny them basic rights.” Schools are still highly segregated and not to mention that segregation ended in 1964, meaning my grandparents went to legally segregated schools. Thinking that the effects of segregation are not still very apparent is silly. Predominantly black districts are more likely to be underfunded than predominantly white districts. How can our environment affect our level of success? Well, our environment can create toxic stress. The Economic Policy Institute says “characteristics such as excessive litter, vandalism, deteriorated and overcrowded housing, graffiti, noise, public drug and alcohol use, and conflict with neighbors in close quarters—can exacerbate children’s toxic stress response to frightening or threatening events and impede parents’ ability to protect children from that response.” Kids may have to already deal with this at home but also imagine these things occurring in school. I know that I’ve witnessed all of this by middle school and many other African American children. So how are we supposed to succeed in a school with that environment? Almost impossible to not to give in to that stress.
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How many frightening experiences 1,007 kindergarten kids have had are displayed. The results are split by race and family income.
Many may be asking, what about the African American kids in a better situation? The Atlantic says “Even black children in the middle class are more likely to backslide into a lower class or stay middle class.” They also go on to say that parents in the top 50% regarding income, also backslide in their adulthood. This just goes to show that even when success is reached, it is not guaranteed to stay. Based on my experience with middle class African American kids my age, we do a lot of backsliding due to wanting to be “hood” or at least what they perceive as hood. That has to do with how people think an African American should act. Black people have expressed time and time again about how their community calls them “whitewashed” when they don’t exhibit stereotypical traits like: listening to rap, talking “proper”, or having straight hair.
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Comparison of the income quantiles of white and black people in America.
The toxic stress put onto African American is already a lot to handle. Now think about the mentally ill Black Americans. One reason being black and mentally ill is stigmatized because of how expensive it can be. NCBI says “Differences in access to insurance and other mechanisms to defray costs, in levels of illness or patterns of symptom expression, in health-risk behaviors, and in beliefs, preferences, and help-seeking traditions can also explain disparities.” when referring to the lack of mentally ill representation of the black community. Black kids on TikTok even share their experiences with telling their parents that they are mentally ill. A lot are met with “no you are not”. How can ignoring mental health affect our achievements? Things like depression can leave a child with no motivation to do school work. Why not just seek mental help? “One study of clients discharged from State mental hospitals found that African Americans were substantially more likely than others to be hospitalized again during the ensuing year” and “In another study of treatment for depression, African Americans proved similar to whites in response to psychotherapy and medication, except that African Americans had less improvement in their ability to function in the community”. So is treatment even working for African Americans? Not to mention that a large number of black students are being suspended over and over instead of mentally evaluated or given real help. They tend to be punished more than helped.
Now the main question is how do we close this gap? I found that black representation could help this gap (something that African Americans have been fighting for for years!). Chalkbeat Philadelphia says “Black teachers, in particular, are necessary to help black students develop a positive racial identity and ensure they have the tools to combat all of the negative images and messages they receive about them, their people, and their community,”. Representation benefits African American students and White students as well. Chalkbeat Philadelphia also states that White kids need to have diversity in order to see the different viewpoints and culture of POC.
I was only able to touch on a small portion of this topic. There is a lot more to it that I won’t be able to to put into words. But I want to bring awareness to this gap so that we have more solutions to fix it. It takes a lot of digging to even find articles on the achievement gap. I’ve come to understand my old peers a lot more. I now understand that I was lucky enough to thrive through the madness and some may never make it out. I’m not even sure how long until we are able to make progress on closing this gap. But I do know it won’t be quick and a majority of African Americans will continue to fail before we can succeed.
This picture right here gives some of the names of people who have died because of police brutality.
“Police Brutality”, is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement. In the United States “qualified immunity”, is used to protect officers from litigation after incidents of police violence. Crazy right? I know you are getting tired of hearing about how another black person has been killed by the police. Well I am and if you didn’t know I am a black African American. In the first 8 months of 2020, 164 black people were killed, stated by LI Cohen . IN THE FIRST 8 MONTHS, are you serious.
My connection to this topic is myself being a black woman. I’m tired of hearing how white police officers brutality cleaning Black Afrain American. I’m going to be totally honest. I’m scared because I feel like it’s getting worse and I fear for me and my family’s safety. I think this is important for others to know because it happens all the time and it’s not like the police get the consequences that they really deserve.
This issue is significant because we are fearing people that are supposed to protect us. This was stated in another article, “For young men of color, police use of force is among the leading causes of death.” This here picture represents an estimated lifetime risk of being killed by police by force as while as sex. This data is from 2013 to 2018. You can’t make these things up.
I think it is important for me to know these things because I am a black woman and I have brothers and a father that at any time could be a risk. I can start to educate myself now because anything can happen. Let me tell you about a man named Walter Wallace Jr., he was a 27 year old man. He was mentally ill and his mother tried to let the police know that but they didn’t listen. He was armed with a knife but was 20 feet away from the cops and yeah should have put it down when and if they even asked him to. But as you should know cops carry teasers, they didn’t need to shoot SEVERAL TIMES, if they had TEASERS. Now read this article and tell me what you think. Crazy right? Same situation but you know the difference? He was a “vicious” black man if they were “fearing” for their lives.
In conclusion, I wonder if this is ever going to stop. When are white police officers going to start using their none racist brains when it comes to handling a situation with black people? When I continue my research, I hope to learn more about defunding the police because this will solve most of the problems in the world. Like there is no reason ANYONE should be afraid of someone/system that is supposed to protect us from any harm but is causing the most harm . When it is going to happen?, is it still even something that people are stealing trying to enforce?
This here picture represents an estimated lifetime risk of being killed by police by force as while as sex. This data is from 2013 to 2018.
When you were younger, have you ever gone to a petting zoo? Do you remember your young innocent self being fascinated by cupping your hand and letting those adorable baby goats and piglets eat pellets out of your hand? You would laugh as it’s tongue tickled your hand and you were so content and happy. If that was you, flash forward to now. Do you still have that love and contentment for animals? Cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and all the other animals you pet at those petting zoos are [highly intelligent creatures] (https://www.lcanimal.org/index.php/campaigns/other-issues/veganism) that live [short, fearful lives] (https://navs-online.org/articles/veganism-animal-rights/) in extremely tight crates in modern factory farms. You can start to answer this question by looking down at your plate during dinner.
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The [image] (https://sentientmedia.org/slaughterhouses/) above displays terrified, dirty, and cramped pigs waiting to be killed at a horrifying slaughter house.
For this project, I was drawn to vegetarianism and animal cruelty because I was very passionate about compassion for animals, and I myself ate plant based. I would watch videos about animal cruelty and think back to those summers when I would go to a petting zoo and cry because my parents wouldn’t let me keep this one baby pig that I loved so deeply. These videos shattered my heart and that’s all it took for me to not eat meat. But I know that not all people are like this. Not all people care about animals like I do, and that’s okay. It doesn’t make you a bad person. My goal for this project was to bring awareness to the extremely negative outcomes of eating meat. Going into this research, I encouraged vegetarianism because it’s ethically wrong, but the more I got deeper into this topic, I realized that it’s not just about killing animals.
Animal agriculture doesn’t just affect animals, it’s what animal agriculture is doing to us humans and the earth all wrapped up in one. Some people might take it as gratitude and compassion towards animals, but eating meat from animals is also largely contributing to global warming and terrible for our human health. We can attack the topic of eating meat from so many different areas: Compassion, climate crisis, and human health. There are so many red flags that point humans away from consuming animal meat but they choose to ignore it for a short euphoric state of enjoying a medium rare steak. People don’t want to lower their meat consumption because they think they have to be fully vegan and master commitment, but the truth is [lowering your daily meat consumption] (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/19/why-you-should-go-animal-free-arguments-in-favour-of-meat-eating-debunked-plant-based) will help the environment tremendously. There are many more layers to vegetarianism than you might think.
The first point I wanted to hit was compassion. Animals are just like us, they are living breathing creatures with the same pain tolerance as humans and consciousness. The only difference between humans and animals is that animals are incomplete. Animals can’t use words like, “Hey, human! That really hurts and I am extremely in pain and uncomfortable.” Us humans take advantage of this incompleteness because animals can’t speak for their rights in this human dominant world. Animals are injected with hormones and live in horrifying conditions in factory farms. This is why us humans have to speak up for animal rights because they can’t for themselves. Meat eaters never see the horrors of slaughterhouses in the average animal product industry. The documentary [“Earthlings”,] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gqwpfEcBjI&t=1652s) directed and written by Shaun Monson, really put eating animal meat in a different perspective. The film stated, “Killing an animal is in itself a troubling act. It has been said that if we had to kill our own meat, we would all be vegetarians.” What if as humans, we ate our own kind, and we had to go through all the suffering in animal slaughterhouses? We would have a choice right? To eat our own meat or switch to a vegetarian diet. Of course we would choose to go vegetarian because it is the most humane thing to do and we would do this to save our own skin. Why can’t we do the same for animals? Humanizing the animals and seeing it through their perspective makes you human, the good kind.
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The image above showcases the horrific and unhealthy conditions animals have to face in factory farms. Image credit: [Tia Schwab]
(https://www.nationofchange.org/2019/12/04/if-factory-farm-conditions-are-unhealthy-for-animals-theyre-bad-for-people-too/)
It was really interesting seeing this topic intersect and merge with another problem I’m passionate about; the climate crisis. Cutting down rainforests, greenhouse gasses, burning fossil fuels, plastic pollution, and now I can add farming livestock to the list. Livestock production contributes to [15%] (https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/blogs/not-convinced-you-could-become-vegetarian-eating-less-meat-still-better-farm-animals-planet) of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is further than cars, planes, buses, and other forms of transportation put together. Rainforests are also essential to life on earth because they regulate the water cycle on this planet and absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but rainforests are getting cut down to raise more cattle and livestock. This means, [for every 257 hamburgers produced every second, one football field of rainforest is destroyed.] (https://www.happycow.net/vegtopics/why-vegetarian)
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The picture above shows many examples of how animal agriculture affects our planet and it’s big impact on climate change. Credit: [Cowspiracy] (https://www.cowspiracy.com/infographic)
If you’re still not convinced to switch to a more plant based diet, just know that there are benefits for you too. According to the American Diabetic Association, “Vegetarians have a reduced risk of heart disease, obesity, colon cancer, adult-onset diabetes, osteoporosis, gout, gallstones, kidney stones, lung cancer, and breast cancer.” You can avoid future health problems and stress about medical bills by simply avoiding animal meat. It’s better for the body and the spirit as well. Some people think that we need to eat meat in order to get protein, but the truth is there is no lack of protein. All the protein our body needs can be found in plant based sources like beans, nuts, and whole grains. You don’t have the weight and guilt of eating a living creature on your shoulders to be healthy, and that feels great.
The research I’ve done has really taught me to be open minded. To not expect and have a full picture of a problem in your mind. I went into this research knowing that eating animal meat was ethically wrong, and my goal was to convince others to have compassion for animals and eat plant based. Coming out of this research, my gears shifted and I noted that eating meat is a much bigger problem than I thought, and my interest for this topic expanded. It did not just kill highly intelligent and conscious animals, but it’s also slowly killing our earth and our bodies. After doing this research, it made me realize how important our role is in this situation. How important our actions are, but I know how extremely hard it is to switch to this lifestyle. I remember not being able to resist bacon on a Saturday morning when I first decided to become vegetarian. I knew all the negative impacts it had on animals, the earth, and our bodies, but I still couldn’t hold back. This made me further question if this has something to do with the reward system in our brains. What if some people just can’t stop eating meat because it increases their dopamine level which is the brain’s reward system, even if they know all the damage animals meat can do? I think learning about the brain’s reward system can get me one step closer to help convince others to eat plant based.
Hi, welcome to my project on anti-Semitism in America. My goals for this project is to inform the reader on this topic and shed light on its deep crack in US history. So let’s begin.
If you don’t know what anti-Semitism is it is the act of hating the Jewish race. It was originality made mainstream in the crusades and with Martin Luther’s reforms to Christianity. This issue is a very pressing matter in the USA. It has run deep into our core and shadows many real-world events that are happing right now. For example, black people of this country for a long time could not attend certain colleges and get loans on homes. That same thing was happing to the jews at the exact same time. In fact, if you look around the country you can find some Jewish colleges such as Brandeis University.
For me, this topic hits closer to home because I am in fact Jewish and wish to fight this injustice. Also, I love to research history, this can include euro-centric things like ww2 or how gran Columbia was formed. And thought my research of America it shocked me of how much anti-Semitism there was. I feel like for this reason that if we look into past parts of anti-Semitism we can see how the future can pan out.
My research so far has shown a new light on this situation. For example, when I was doing my teacher I found that in 2018 it had the highest anti-Semitic activity that was reported since 1970. This along with the recent start of the black lives protests show that white supremacists movements are on the rise again.
Even with my research on this project I still wonder many things such as why is it still around today even though there are more facts on how bad this is or how is social media effect the spread? Is it decreasing it or increasing it? One of the things that I wonder the most about is how can we plug this poison that is sleeping out of America’s deepest cracks?
As with many things I still hope to learn more about this situation. As I all ready stated I wish to learn more about the social media aspect of it and I still want to learn more about where It came from. Finally, I would like to know more about how in wartime how did the Americans treat their jews. In the holocaust did the general public not know about it and did nothing accordingly or did they know and threw them to the curbside? Finally, the last question I want to learn about is the immigrating process of the easternmost jews in Russia into America.
Thank you for reading this, I hope you have learned a lot about my topic and have encouraged you to seek better research and education on the topic of Anti Semitism in America, mabby my questions inspired you to do your own research and questing of your own. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you soon.
Amjed Washaha
Mrs. Giknis
English 1
22/3/2021
Social Media Impact On Sexually Based Crimes
Hello, did you know that in 2013 researchers have concluded that the number of child pornography images had increased 1500% since 1988?! Also, there was a 375% increase in the amount of child pornography websites between February of 2001 and July 2001, just five months apart! Now imagine how high that number has increased with the new modernization of computers and cybersecurity. Now if you don’t see the problem here you aren’t blind you choose not to see.
This inspired me to do my own investigation into this topic. As I discussed in my earlier post, Twitter the infamous social media platform know primarily for political nonsense and cancel culture has some serious issues with the exchanging and sale of unsolicited pornography of not only minors but adults as well. Adults that are ignorant to the fact that their private photos and videos are being sold and exchanged on sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. With the amount of users apps such as Twitter have you would expect that moderation for things such as this would be good and looked after well no Twitter does nothing to fix this issue only if you report the user directly will Twitter do something. Well then report all of the accounts right? There are so many accounts that it would be impossible for me to do so and even if I do these accounts are what we call “throwaways” which are accounts that have to link to the user and can be “thrown away” at any time. After they are removed or throw away their account they just make a new one and start their operations up again.
Source: Twitter Names and hashtags covered to prevent the advertising of illegal activities
It doesn’t take much to fully understand what is going on here. But there are some things to explain like what does “S2R” mean, well it means “send to receive” this is a tactic these criminals use to obtain a greater stock but also make sure you are an actual buyer and not a cop or someone that is just trying to toy with them. Amongst other things we see one user state that they have 100 gigabytes of material on deck which for comparison is around 20,000 songs or in our circumstances around 200 hours in standard definition video or even 100,000 photos according to “Kenstechtips.com”. When you think about it this is one person amongst thousands in this world and he already has enough material to last him a lifetime. Now, do you see the problem?
If you have keen eyes you will see that all of these posts are very recent with the oldest being only made a day before this article was written (24/3/2021) and one even been made only nine hours ago.
Source: Twitter
In this snapshot, I have made the decision to not cover the search bar. The hashtag “Megalinks’ ’ refers to an anonymous file-sharing application known as “Mega.nz”. I do not hold Mega.nz accountable for the actions we see displayed here as their services help small businesses and developers share data without the fear of the data being compromised. The reason I have decided to share this information with you is that I have come to the realization that anyone looking to purchase this crude material will go above and beyond to obtain it and it is quite easy to obtain information on this topic. From what we have concluded these accounts are “throwaways” and they share material using anonymous methods, the combination of these two tactics offers these criminals total anonymity.
So what is being done about this issue? Nothing on Twitters’ part at least, Twitter hasn’t even issued out a statement on the matter. As of March 25th, 2021 the only action taken against these criminals has been mass reportings and floodings of the threads. Users will “flood” the hashtag “megalinks” with gifs and memes shaming the child pornography market as shown in the image below. Reporting doesn’t do much but this flooding tactic has a lot of potentials to help hide the users selling the nefarious photos and videos.
Here we see a user flooding the #megalink thread with something a little more friendly. Link from the Zelda series! Source: Twitter
What can you do? Even though users can make new accounts at anytime mass reporting can get the seller off the platform and make them move to more discrete and harder to reach parts of the internet. Although this might not solve the problem it will make it harder for first-timers to purchase and get addicted, it will also shield children from stumbling upon such vulgar media. Email Twitter, emailing twitter’s support center can help inform twitter of these criminals’ existence. If all else fails hit them where it hurts their wallet! Contact investors let them know what is going on in the company they have money invested into. And finally, be safe whilst doing research for this project I had to cut out many things for as it was too vulgar for a school setting I also stumbled unwarranted photos whilst looking through threads while the photo is down now I cannot say for sure if it was re-uploaded again. Thank you for reading let us make a difference!
Twitter support→ support@twitter.com
List of top 5 investors and emails:
.The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Email): institutional@vanguard.com
.Morgan Stanley. (Email): prospectus@morganstanley.com
.BlackRock Fund Advisors Inc. (Email): complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
.SSgA Funds Management, Inc. (Email): geam_web@ssga.com.
.ClearBridge Investments LLC. (Email): info@clearbridge.com
Suicide eliminates the potential to open a new chapter of life.
Suicide is definitely a problem in our society today and also the second leading causes of death between ages 15 to 24 according to US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Many people today are or know of someone who has suicidal thoughts and organizations like the Suicide Prevention Hotline would like to help prevent these people from taking their own life. There are many ways to prevent the person from committing therefore we should make a huge effort as a society to make sure these people have the support they need. This is where regular people like me and you come in to support and prevent this cause.
Personally, I have never experienced such thoughts but I think everyone might know someone who does. I would like to bring this issue into light as something very important and allow us to observe our surroundings more. I believe that there’s always someone willing to listen to you and just because your closest ones don’t seem to care, even strangers are willing to listen. This is was a reason why the Suicide Hotline is available for everyone.
The second leading causes of death for some age groups was suicide in 2018 and sadly the ages start from as low as 10 to around 34 years old. In the US, one in five teengaers think about attempting suicide every year and this can be affected by many factors which may include certain life experiences, mental disorders, alcohol and much more.
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A chart of the top leading causes of deaths by age groups in the US in 2018.
One of which is ninety percent of people who die by suicide have a mental health condition that may be treatable. In 2016, more than 90 percent of people that took their own life had depression or other mental disorders. Understandably many teenagers feel the pressure and stress to succeed in the future or worrying about things out of their control. As time passes and changes happen in our lives, the more stressful it might seem to make discoveries like what you’re passionate about, high school or college applications, career choices and many more.
TW: THE VIDEO TALKS ABOUT SEXUAL HARASSMENT, SUICIDE AND MORE SENSITIVE TOPICS
A touching story and the journey of Travis, a suicide survivor and how his experience feeling these tough emotions.
Being able to observe your surroundings and communicate with people around you can be difficult but this should not stop you from saving a life. There are many ways you can look out for yourself and your friends by finding warning signs of when someone may be feeling off. One common warning sign is having a mental disorder. This topic isn’t something everyone can openly speak about but always remember to check up on your friends and family to make sure they are okay. There are many ways to prevent someone else from taking their life like therapy.
There’s many kinds of therapy but two types of therapy that I would like to mention recommends others to look into if they are or know of someone who is struggling. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to help people who are depressed. CBT can help people acknowledge their negative thoughts and find a positive way to cope with these thoughts so they don’t lead to unhealthy behaviors. Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is also helpful to those who are depressed but the therapy makes you more aware of the negative feelings and cope with them kind of on the spot. This can include breathing exercises or meditation.
Therapy is not the only way to prevent suicide. If you notice odd behavior or situations that may cause an individual to feel a negative way, you can always be a support friend and be there for them if they need someone. There are so many ways to prevent such events from happening and everyone should acknowledge the events that may lead up to a bad ending.
Studying more on this topic continues to add onto my mindset of we don’t really know what everyone is going through. The feelings and thoughts suicidal people might experience are indescribable and I don’t wish anyone to feel this way so I think as a society we should make a greater effort to prevent it. I am very interested in seeing the newer ways doctors and researchers find helpful in supporting suicidal behavior and how to notice before things get serious. I genuinely think the suicide should not be so high and wondering if we continue to move on in a society that doesn’t prioritize all lives, how many generations will live on?
What do you imagine would be an ideal body type? You probably think skinny, thin and tall. Now did you achieve that body type or are working towards that body type? Our society is making it seem like there is only one beautiful, healthy body type. It can be very difficult to feel comfortable in your own skin when you are constantly fed this narrative that fat people are ugly or people who are too skinny are unhealthy. It’s like you are only allowed to look a certain way to be deserving of self love. That’s why The Body Positivity Movement was created “…to help people with marginalized bodies (read: fat, queer, trans, bodies of color, and more) feel entitled to self-love, something that had previously been reserved for people in privileged (read: thin, white, fit) bodies,” stated by Julia Malacoff in “Where the Body-Positivity Movement Stands and Where it Needs to Go”. I want to impact the Body Positivity Movement positivity by trying to clear misconceptions that body positivity can’t be for fat or too skinny people. Everyone deserves to love and be comfortable in their own body.
I’ve always been a person to not care about expectations on my appearance but sometimes it can be hard. People constantly compare themselves to each other whether it’s consciously or subconsciously. It’s hard to see my friends cry themselves to sleep knowing they don’t have society’s ideal body type. “That is an enormous (and nonsensical) leap from trying not to hate yourself or making the effort to stop forcing yourself to fit into an impossible cultural standard.” says Kaila Prins, a body positivity wellness coach and burlesque teacher in ‘What Does Body Positivity Actually Mean?’ by Psychology Today. The standards society makes doesn’t mean you are healthy being a certain size but it doesn’t mean you aren’t healthy either. It is unrealistic. I don’t want to see people in my life starve and degrade themselves because they think they look ugly. Diversity is a good thing and we should accept our unique looks.
There’s been a lot of misconceptions about body positivity. Especially nowadays, there’s been a lot of backlash to plus-size people promoting body positivity and the audience saying it’s promoting obesity and unhealthy lifestyle. Why can’t plus-sized people love themselves? Are only skinny people allowed to promote body positivity? Plus-sized people aren’t any less human than anyone on the streets. They have hobbies, interests, and goals. Some people have to live “overweight” in society to maintain a healthy body. It is disrespectful to assume someone is unhealthy because they aren’t the skinniest. In some cases, people don’t take care of their body and overeat but it’s unrealistic to let that group of people represent the whole plus-sized community.
body positivity
There is no perfect body. We are all unique and beautiful.
Body positivity isn’t about being skinner or losing weight. It’s about feeling comfortable in your body and responding to your body’s needs such as hunger. There is no image of what a “healthy body” should look like. Everyone’s body is different therefore there shouldn’t be a standard. Everyone’s version of healthy is different. When plus-sized body positivity influencers decide to lose weight, they are portrayed as “traitors” for not showing body positivity by changing; this misconception has led their supporters to turn on them. These misconceptions make it extremely hard for anyone to promote body positivity. If plus-sized influencers have to live plus-sized forever and can no longer change their body how they want because they would be “betraying” the movement, then what’s the point of promoting to be happy with your body? Dieting and changing your body has nothing to do with body positivity as long as you feel comfortable and happy, there should be no problem. There’s research that states if you hate yourself, you won’t take care of yourself. Therefore, if plus-sized influencers can’t diet or lose weight for their personal reasons then I see no reason why they’ve been supported so long.
Deep insight of plus-size models and judgements as a body positivity influencer
I don’t blame supporters or daily people for not understanding the body positivity movement. There is no official definition for body positivity. Our society has fed us too well with lies and unrealistic expectations. I always thought body positivity was very straightforward but after diving in, I realized how big the spectrum is. Not only plus-sized people getting backlash but skinny people are getting backlash also. I’m glad certain magazines decide to ban photoshop on their pictures and clothing brands expanding their sizes. There is progress to be made but at least we are going somewhere. I wonder when people will feel like being fat isn’t gross or only skinny people are pretty. I hope I can learn more on the pressures of not only being an influencer but a body positivity influencer. How does it feel that your image is based on your body? Is it scary to change your body and constantly be examined by your supporters? Being a promoter of body positivity, is it more beneficial to you or your supporters? Why?
Picture from [National Geographic] (https://www.nationalgeographic/) of a starving polar bear.
What is something that you care about? Do you have any pets at home or care for any? Have you seen something that you felt was wrong and wanted to do something about it? Well, that is what this all is about. I wanted to bring attention to climate change and the effect it’s having on polar bears.
I saw this kind of influence on tv of polar bears starving and even in some cartoons. I didn’t pay it much mind. It was until I actually looked into the topic that I started to care about it. I am a person who loves animals and I care for a cat of my own. I hate seeing animals being mistreated and hate to see animals in poor conditions. Another reason why I care about this subject is that we can do something but a lot of people don’t care. The earth is getting warmer due to climate change and is affecting the animals in the arctic mainly polar bears.
polarbearpopulationmap-updates2019
Graph showing the 19 polar bear subpopulation from the [WWF] (https://arcticwwf.org/newsroom/stories/polar-bear-assessment-brings-good-and-troubling-news/) article.
From the research I have done about polar bears there are 19 subpopulations of polar bears. About 2 of the 19 subpopulations have a stable population going for the past 8 years. For about 7 of the other subpopulations, we don’t know how they are being The decline in sea ice due to climate change has affected how polar bears reproduce and hunt. There is a time in the year where sea ice is supposed to freeze and make more, but in recent, this process has been shortened and less sea ice has been made due to climate change.
PolarBears_iceloss
Graphs from the [Carbon Brief website] ( https://www.carbonbrief.org/polar-bears-and-climate-change-what-does-the-science-say) showing the trend of sea-ice from 18 of the 19 polar bear populations in the past 3 decades.
Since the ice caps are melting polar bears are having to move closer to land when their main food source seals are at sea. This causes polar bears to starve for days, have no stamina, and die from starvation. Polar bears also need a lot of food to survive so they wouldn’t even be fine if they found a new source of food on land. Polar bears have been seen to up to a total of 200 pounds of food in one sitting. I also found out from the national geographic study on polar bears that they use about 12,000 calories per day even though they mostly stay still. There was a study on a polar bear for 9 days. By the end of the journey, she had lost the cub she was traveling with and 22 pounds of her body weight.
polarbear_cubsinden_575x377
Picture of polar bear cubs in their den while their mother hunts from [Carbon Brief] (.https://www.carbon brief.org/polar-bears-and-climate-change-what-does-the-science-say)
Greenhouse gases are a major threat to polar bears causing global warming and sea ice to melt. Even though there have been some measures to stop greenhouse gases it is not enough and they are still rising and won’t stop until 2040. But by the time 2040 does come the population of polar bears will be about 40% of what it is now.
There is still time to help. There are ways I can help and so can you. There are sites online where you can [donate] (https://polarbearsinternational.org/donate/us/) to save polar bears. Or even adopt one which I don’t recommend if you don’t have any animal experience or can deal with a 1-ton bear living with you. I have many ideas I can do to help this post. Let’s all work together to save polar bears and stop global warming, all we need to do is try.
Education is the backbone of our society. Sometimes, it’s more of an invisible one. If you aren’t in school, it’s especially easy to brush the whole idea out of your way, because it no longer concerns you. Doesn’t it? Except education is the biggest tool we give to the next generation. What we teach, what we don’t teach, who we teach, who we don’t teach. How we teach the next generation to follow in our footsteps, or how we teach them to create their own path. As important as education is, there are still so many issues with it. Are teachers really being appreciated? Are students actually learning? Do they want to go to school? Why are we giving one set of opportunities to one group of kids, while another group’s opportunities are being taken away? Throughout my research, I wanted to learn about these questions and more, and see what I could do about it.
My mom has been a teacher for 20 years. Now she is getting her PHD in music education. I’ve seen her many schools, seen how she teaches, and even how she learns from her students. I’ve been to teacher strikes, seen the arts as more than an add on, and been there to watch from the other side. Something that struck me about all the schools I’d ever seen was funding. I remember going to a school when I was younger that had classes for engineering for toddlers. There were smart boards in every room, bathrooms on every floor and a clean feel to the entire school. Other schools I went to were great, but I remember things like having the only bathroom be in the basement, having 30 kids or more in classes while other schools only had 15. It was one of the first things that came to my mind about schools, and I was curious about the federal budget, so that’s where I started.
SOURCE 1:
The first source I looked at was called “Federal Spending: Where does the money go?”. This source goes in depth about the way federal spending is used in the United States. This article shares that federal spending is divided into three sections: Discretionary spending, Mandatory spending, and interest on debt. This article also goes into depth about the way federal spending was used in 2015. In that year, the budget was 3.8 trillion dollars, which was 21% of the US economy. The Discretionary spending made up 29.34% of the budget (1.11 trillion), the mandatory spending made up 64.63% (2.45 trillion), and interest on debt was 6.03% (229.15 billion). It gives pie charts as well that describe the way this money was used for each section.
The ‘National Priorities Project’, which is the site where the article is found, seems to be a well respected and trusted force. There isn’t a direct author of the article, but there is a team for the organization which includes Lindsey Koshgarian, Ashik Siddique, Lorah Steichen, and their consultant Jason Leveille. Their mission is to inspire “individuals and movements to take action so our federal resources prioritize peace, shared prosperity, and economic security for all”. The bias of this source would probably be to only show the flaws of the system. Some of the information is also a little outdated, from 2015. It is helpful in understanding the past, but in order to get the best possible information it must be corroborated with a more recent source.
{You and the World} (www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/)
These pie charts are really attention-getting because they aren’t balanced. There are times when some things are prioritized over others, but it poses the questions: ‘who decides what is prioritized? And for what purpose? Is profit valued, or people?’. The discretionary chart is the most shocking, because the Military gets 53.71% allotted to it, whereas other categories like food and agriculture (1.18%), science (3.51%), housing and community (5.68%), and education (6.28%) get the far lower end of the deal. And why was the military given so much in the first place? The other chart is also imbalanced, but it seems more reasonable that ‘medicare and health’ and ‘social security, unemployment, and labor’ were given more money.
Screenshot 2021-03-26 at 6.24.55 PM
{You and the World} (www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/)
The specifics:
Science: 0.78%- 29.81 billion
Energy and Environment: 1.17%-44.85 billion
International Affairs: 1.31%-50.22 billion
Housing and Community: 1.60%-61.48 billion
Transportation: 2.22%-84.99 billion
Education: 2.67%-102.26 billion
Food and Agriculture: 3.54%-135.7 billion
Veteran’s Benefits: 4.19%-160.63 billion
Interest on Debt: 5.97%-229.15 billion
Military: 15.88%-609.3 billion
Medicare and Health: 27.42%-1.05 trillion
Social Security, Unemployment, and labor: 33.26%-1.28 trillion
The final graph had the best representation of the federal budget as a whole. The website showed the different percentages and values for each slice of the pie, as seen above. Again, the military in the whole amount was surprising compared to all others that were scrunched up near the top. There was also a solid percentage for education, 2.67%, which would be corroborated to make sure the information was still accurate.
After looking at this source, I had a better understanding of the way the federal budget was divided. But I also wondered: “Is the federal budget the main source of funding for many of these programs? To what degree does the money given to each change the outcomes?”. I needed to not only corroborate my information, but I needed to see how it related to my issue of Education Funding.
SOURCE 2:
This site was an infographic. There is a series of graphs that show how the federal budget was used in 2019. It gave information on the revenues, where the money came from, and how the money was spent. Just like in source 2, the site described specifics in Mandatory, Discretionary, and Interest on Debt. It even provided additional information on deficits and surpluses, and each category of the federal budget provided more facts and graphs to hopefully display the information. This infographic came from the website “Congressional Budget Office”, which was a site founded in 1975. Each year, the economists and budget analysts produce dozens of reports stating objective, impartial analysis on the economy. It was important to keep an eye out for any biases, but the site was true to its word and provided only the facts. It seemed to be a reliable source.
Screenshot 2021-03-26 at 6.28.20 PM
{You and the World} (www.cbo.gov/publication/56324)
This showed very similar percentages to the year 2015. Since source 1 had been out of date, this source was very helpful in figuring out what was accurate and what was not. They were actually very similar, and there weren’t huge changes. Mandatory was still about 61% (2015 65%), Discretionary was 30% (2015 29%), Interest on Debt 9% (2015 6%). However, 2020 was also a huge year for the economy, with Covid 19 and lots of unemployment. It was much easier to understand the struggles of the past with this graph, but there was still more to understand. After learning the federal budget only accounted for about 8% of education, it was easy to wonder if this section of research was all that helpful. But things had changed a lot in 2020 and 2021, so it still felt like there was information missing.
Screenshot 2021-03-26 at 6.29.53 PM
{You and the World} (www.cbo.gov/publication/56324)
As for this graph, I wanted to compare it to the one found in source one:
2015:
Social security, Unemployment, and labor: 33.26%
Medicare & Health: 27.42%
Science: 0.78%-
Energy and Environment: 1.17%
International Affairs: 1.31%
Housing and Community: 1.60%
Transportation: 2.22%
Education: 2.67%
Food and Agriculture: 3.54%
Veteran’s Benefits: 4.19%
^^^^^^^17.48
Military: 15.88%
Interest on Debt: 5.97%
2019:
Social security: 23%
Medicare & Medicaid: 24%
Other & Nondefense: 30%
Defense: 15%
Net interest: 9%
As you can see above, the two years were actually very similar. Percentages were used to have a more equivalent comparison. Everything was close together, which was helpful to know because in a regular year, it seemed that this was what the percentages would be. The categories were a little hard, because they used some different sections throughout the sources. However, most of the gist was still there. This information was corroborated across sites and years, so it was pretty clear what a regular year would be like. However, Covid 19 had changed the economy, and it felt important to gather that information in the future.
This source helped me corroborate the information in source 1. I knew what I had was an accurate representation of a regular year in the United States. But I also realized that a regular year wasn’t the only thing I needed, because in order for my information to have an impact, it needed to relate to our situation now, in 2021. I also needed to be able to see how much the information I found impacted my issue in the first place. If the federal budget doesn’t have a huge impact on education funding, it would be more beneficial to focus my efforts elsewhere.
SOURCE 3:
This article, “Fixing Chronic Disinvestment in K-12 schools” by Lisette Partelow, explores the question and problem of Chronic Disinvestment in K-12 schools. They explore deep cuts in education, and how schools have responded to that. Specifically, the article talks a lot about the aftereffects of the 2008 Great Recession, where many states systematically disinvested in K-12 funding. They describe the effect that money, salaries, and lack of funding affects schools and describe ways to address and solve these problems. They came to the conclusion that “If education is truly to be an engine of opportunity and economic mobility, states and the federal government must invest far more in the communities that need resources most.”. This website, “Center for American Progress” has more than a hundred people working on it, all different types of researchers and positions. It is clearly a well established organization. It has a real author, a full bibliography at the bottom, and is very thorough. It is very likely a reliable source. The source’s bias would most likely be giving information that states their cause only. They are less likely to show things that contradict what they are saying, so it would be helpful to again corroborate other sources.
“On Average, 47 percent of K-12 education funding comes from state revenue, while local government provides 45 percent, and the federal government provides the remaining 8 percent.”
“In addition, the federal government can play a role in investing in teacher pay, first, by rejecting administration efforts to cut funding and, then, by expanding existing funding streams. It can also bring forward any of a number of proposals to improve teacher compensation that have recently been introduced in Congress.”
This bit of information was really helpful, because it helped clear up some questions that were brought to attention in source 2. The first quote specifically was able to show how much schools were really impacted by the federal budget, which was only 8%. This was able to put things into perspective, showing that state revenue and local government were far more influential.
But, like the second quote shows, the federal government can still play a substantial role. They do have the power to reject efforts while expanding others, and can create new proposals that can cause far more change. So, they are still an important factor for the success of school funding.
Screenshot 2021-03-26 at 6.51.29 PM
{You and the World} (www.cbo.gov/publication/56324)
This particular graph shows the progress from 2008 (The Great Recession) to 2015. But progress has been all over the place. While some states were able to make a comeback, many of them only caused a range of 0-10% increase. Even more of the states had from -1%—30% and greater. After 7 years, the majority of states have barely made a comeback and even decreased education funding for particular states. This graph clearly shows the problem the nation faces. Education is how the nation teaches students, how they empower students, how everyone learns. If education is not prioritized for students what kind of nation will the United States become? What nation will be lead as the next generation follows in the same path? It’s a very powerful image.
This source had a lot of helpful information and was able to put into perspective the effort that has been given to this problem in the past. I was also able to see that the federal budget only made up 8% of education budget, which led me to realize that the federal budget wasn’t even that influential in this issue. Of course, the federal budget still has an impact, especially with either speeding the process along or slowing it considerably. but it did make me rethink my topic.
SOURCE 4:
This article, ‘Special Report/ The Funding Gap’ by Amy M. Azzam, was about the funding gap in schools. They say that a big concern in schools is the achievement gap, but behind that is the concerning problem of the funding gap between high poverty and low poverty districts, and low minority and high minority districts. The article discusses a study that looked at annual financial data for the 2001-2002 school year. Then, they suggest courses of action and goals that need to be achieved in order to help solve the problem. This source is reliable because it’s data comes from U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of education, there is a reliable author who researches and writes articles for student education. The site is a little outdated, so the bias had to be kept in mind because not all the statistics would necessarily be the same.
“ The Education Trust recommends that states adopt the following proven policies to close the school funding gaps:
Reduce reliance on local property taxes to fund education.
Target extra funds to help low-income children.
Fix funding gaps for individual schools within districts
Improve state education funding in terms of increased spending on public education.
Closing the achievement gap starts with closing the funding gap. Only by providing the necessary resources can states help ensure quality education for all students”
This quote was very helpful, because it provided a clear statement for what needed to be done in order to help close the funding gap. It talks about starting small by fixing funding gaps within districts, and using money to the best ability. Instead of sharing the money evenly, share the money equitably. It addresses the issue that some kids need help financially before they can focus on their schoolwork, and to work to add more opportunities and increase spending over time. It’s not a quick process, it’s one that takes time and dedication. But it will pay off, because as the second to last sentence says “Closing the achievement gap starts with closing the funding gap.”. It’s like that saying, where you give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime. But it would also be super helpful to give a man a fishing rod, a tool to help them learn. That’s what the funding is for these students, because once they have tools to help them, they can focus on school for real and have many more opportunities to succeed. Maybe this isn’t the only way to help, as the last sentence suggests, but those resources may be the difference needed for many students who struggle in their families in high poverty districts. Once the funding levels out, it can surely only help the achievement gap shrink as well.
This source helped to give me an idea of what direction I could take this project in order to have the best impact.
SOURCE 5:
This article, “Impact of the President’s FY 2020 budget on K-12 Information” was about the president’s proposed plan for many cuts and eliminations that would impact the budget for education in 2020. It gave detail about which programs the plan would affect and why they mattered. This source was a little tricky to test reliability, because it was a PDF. It came from the organization “First step” and the only person I could find listed was the Assistant Director, Drew Aherne. It’s bias was also the fact that this entire article was a proposed plan, and didn’t show exactly what had happened. But it did show the kind of power the Government and President had, and what the impact could be.
“One major request that would have a negative impact on K-12 education is the elimination of 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which are a critical source of funding for many local afterschool programs and serve about 1.4 million students at over 9,500 locations. Another harmful request is eliminating the Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants program that provides grants to state and local education agencies to increase student achievement through teacher development and class-size reduction. These grants are important because teacher quality is one of the most significant factors in promoting student learning.”
Teacher quality is clearly an important factor in student learning. A lot of teachers would probably be way more enthusiastic if they had higher pay. But this also brings into question a lot of these actions. Education was already struggling, causing students to suffer and strikes to be held because teachers were fed up. Plus, now there is online school where students are losing motivation and struggling with mental health. Now more than ever schools need support and the government need to give back to the teachers that have been driving the whole process. There cannot be continual budget cuts and eliminations of programs that benefit so many schools. There was already so much cause to add more funding to schools, but now, in a crisis, a pandemic, these problems need to be addressed and solutions need to be found.
This helped to show the effect of the people in power on education.
Overall, I learned a lot, but I think I need to redirect myself and go into more detail about the questions I have asked throughout my research. There are many problems to address in order to create an impact and educate people on this issue. My research has been all over the place, but it has helped to narrow down where I should go and what I should do. I will continue to do research to answer the following questions:
-What can we as citizens do to help?
-How has 2020 impacted Education Funding?
-Where can I find information to prove the point that Education Funding is an issue we need to address?
I will work to create a more polished presentation of my work and find a way to spread my work even online.
SOURCE 1:
“Federal Spending: Where Does the Money Go.” National Priorities Project, www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/.
SOURCE 2:
“The Federal Budget in 2019: An Infographic.” Congressional Budget Office, 15 Apr. 2020, www.cbo.gov/publication/56324
SOURCE 3:
Lisette Partelow, Sarah Shapiro. “Fixing Chronic Disinvestment in K-12 Schools.” Center for American Progress, www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2018/09/20/457750/fixing-chronic-disinvestment-k-12-schools/.
SOURCE 4:
Lisette Partelow, Sarah Shapiro. “Fixing Chronic Disinvestment in K-12 Schools.” Center for American Progress, www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2018/09/20/457750/fixing-chronic-disinvestment-k-12-schools/.
