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Brandon Jones Public Feed

Pulp Ghibli

Posted by Brandon Jones in Reel Reading · Giknis · Y Band on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 10:56 am
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For our project, Jaiye and I decided to recreate a scene from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, in a Studio Ghibli art style. Some other examples of Quentin Tarantino films include Kill Bill, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight and Inglorious Basterds. Tarantino is famous for having similar tropes in all of his films. One trope that Tarantino uses is called “Bad ass in a nice suit” which is basically having a hitman wearing identical black suits and skinny ties. These black suits would later appear in films such as Kill Bill and Reservoir Dogs. Another trope that Tarantino is famous for is called “Speech-Centric Work.” “Speech-Centric Work” is basically large examples of dialogue that occur right before an action scene. This can be found in the scene of Pulp Fiction where Jules and Vincent interrogate the three young men in their apartment. Some examples of Studio Ghibli films include Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. One common trope that Studio Ghibli films incorporate is called “Grey and Gray Morality”. Basically “Grey and Gray Morality” is when the director of the film either sets up characters or the story in a way, that makes the viewer sympathetic to both the protagonist and the antagonist. This trope is shared with Tarantino films like Pulp Fiction in the sense that Jules and Vincent are hitmen, which are morally ambiguous, and are portrayed as the protagonists. Another trope that Studio Ghibli is famous for is called “Green Aesop”. “Green Aesop” has appeared in many films because it incorporates scenery. They use the world around them to shape the setting and environment of their films. Studio Ghibli animators have been known to go out on trips months before drawing, to find inspiration. However, Hayao Miyazaki claims to never acknowledge environmentalism.For our storyboard, we took an early scene from Pulp Fiction and incorporated Studio Ghibli’s tropes into it. We drew the characters to resemble anime-esque characters because that is what Studio Ghibli is known for. We also used many different colors to capture the scene in respect to both genres. We portrayed Jules and Vincent in a way that made them appear to be morally ambiguous since that’s how they are in the movie. We didn’t want to make them too menacing because no main character in a Studio Ghibli film looks overly menacing. We also didn’t want to make them appear to be too friendly because they strike a sense of fear into every other character in the room, especially Jules. This project has allowed us to learn more about the films we love watching. We used the lessons taught to us in the Auteur unit and applied it to create the storyboard. These techniques will have an everlasting effect on us and future movies that we watch.

Tags: Jaiye Omowamide
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Brandon Jones Capstone

Posted by Brandon Jones in Capstone · Todd · Wed on Thursday, May 18, 2017 at 9:55 pm
​For my Capstone, I was decided to apply my knowledge of our core values towards a topic that I've been interested in since childhood. I decided to conduct months of research so that I could learn the in's and out's of creating a Gameboy. However, I didn't want to just create any ordinary Gameboy, but instead one that didn't rely on cartridges to play games. Luckily I came across a Youtuber named Wermy and a website called Sudo Mod, who shared my interest. I watched and read tutorials and decided the best way for me to apply what I've learned was to create a manual that incorporates aspects of the videos I've watched and the tutorials I've read. I chose a manual because not only did it give me a sense of nostalgia, but it let me demonstrate the knowledge I gained. Prior to this project, I had very little experience with computers and programming. After completing this, I feel as though I can understand new and interesting concepts similar to the one that I worked with. Creating this manual has taught me the value of research and how it can be used to create great things.

Link to Manual with pictures:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GPMuVPqN-i_qim-5QZFDmEphnUMQ8RCejfgAKcLkxag/edit#slide=id.g1dfc0d3581_0_0 

Link to Annotated Bibliography: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dl4Ym_eo5Ui6dS4rBbRz2SbZx9ZSvnR_2q86ArZmn_M/edit
Tags: capstone, 2017, Todd
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Senior Art Q3 Portfolio

Posted by Brandon Jones in Senior Art · Hull · B Band on Friday, March 31, 2017 at 8:35 pm
This Quarter we were exposed to different techniques that were taught to us by our student assistant teacher Mr.Herrera. What made this quarter different however was that despite learning about different techniques, we were given a lot of freedom to create what we wanted.
When creating the Indian Ink Painting, I took a good amount of inspiration from artist Jake Wyatt's drawing of Marvel's superhero Black Bolt as I am a fan of both Mr.Wyatt's work and the character Black Bolt. I decided to go for a washed out and darker coloring with the ink because I've never done anything like that before and I wanted a challenge
For the printmaking, since I haven't done anything like that before, I decided to experiment with different colors and images. I decided to use pink and black for my prints as well as an original image and the sun from Adult Swim's Rick and Morty.
Finally for my sculpture, I wanted to talk about how oil companies use cotton to clean up oil spills so I decided to make a sword out of cotton, hangers and paper mache to show how oil companies are finding different ways to fight pollution. I enjoyed creating the sculpture the most.
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Brandon Jones Q2 Art Portfolio

Posted by Brandon Jones in Senior Art · Hull · B Band on Friday, February 3, 2017 at 7:27 pm

Artist’s Statement: In Q2,  the main focus was on various colored pencil techniques. In particularly, we completed various blind contour drawings, pieces of fruit and a color wheel that helped us practice and hone the skills we learned using colored pencil. The blind contour assignments showed me how not to rely on the paper for reference when drawing something but rather to focus on the actual image I am drawing. These assignments taught me how to blend colors as well as what colors mix well together. One assignment that stood out to me the most was the fruit basket because I saw myself using the techniques I learned and then applying them to create colorful and realistic pieces of fruit. I hope I will be able to use these skills that I’ve learned from this quarter and apply them into the next.


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Brandon Jones Art Portfolio Q1

Posted by Brandon Jones in Senior Art · Hull · B Band on Friday, November 4, 2016 at 11:06 pm
For Q1 I drew I created a ceiling tile, fall wall hanging and a charcoal self portrait. For the first project, we were assigned the ceiling tile. I chose to do a comic book cover from DC Rebirth, the newest reboot of comics for DC comics. I was unsure how to go about it first. I decided to use only grey and black for the characters. The second project was a fall wall hanging. I decided to do a Jason Vorhees mask, as I felt it was appropriate for the season as Halloween was approaching. For the third project we had to create a self portrait using charcoal. I felt as though this project would take a lot of time and attention to detail. I enjoyed this one the most out of all the other projects we did. Unfortunately I was unable to create the water color painting due to the SEPTA strike and my inability to come to school. Finally, I enjoyed this quarter. I learned many helpful techniques and I look forward to future projects.
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“I’m not a smart man, but I don’t know what romance is”

Posted by Brandon Jones in English 3 - Pahomov - D on Wednesday, April 27, 2016 at 1:52 am



Forrest Gump is a romantic-comedy-drama film created in 1994. The story follows the life Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), who is a dim-witted, but kind-hearted and athletic man from Alabama. Between the time of his birth in 1944 and 1982, Forrest witnesses and in some instances, influences key defining points in the latter half of the 20th century. It would be remissive however to not acknowledge the importance of Jenny Curran (Robin Wright). Jenny Curran is Forrest Gump’s childhood friend and love interest, though her role transcends these titles. Throughout the whole movie Jenny always turns to Forrest in her time of need. This is crucial because in spite of all of her failed relationships she always turned to Forrest for solace and comfort. Even though this movie is a “romantic-comedy” it is centered around an atypical romance. Similar to this, the shakespearean play, “The Taming of the Shrew” offers a plethora of atypical romances. One particular atypical romance is between the two characters Katherine and Petruchio. The reason for this relationship being atypical is that neither Katherine and Petruchio particularly care for eachother. As displayed in both The Taming of the Shrew and Forrest Gump, these unusual relationships reflect that nobody has a set definition of love or romance.



QUOTE #1


“I will be master of what is mine own.

She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house,

My household stuff, my field, my barn,

My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything.

And here she stands, touch her whoever dare.”- Petruchio (3.2.235-239)


In this scene, Petruchio’s words about Katherine exemplifies his true feelings. Petruchio sees Katherine as nothing more than property. This can be supported by the words “She is my goods.” He is comparing Katherine to a material possession and neglecting the fact that she is a human being.


IMAGE #1


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Jenny goes from being angry at Forrest for killing the mood with her momentary lover, to talking to Forrest about her hopes and dreams. While she is doing this she is undressing in front of him. Jenny then goes on to ask him if he “had ever been with a girl” and guides his hand to feel her naked breast. This symbolizes that Jenny views Forrest as a “second option” or a “back up plan”



Comparison:


These two scenes are similar because because both Forrest and Katherine are used to suit the needs of both Petruchio and Jenny. However the difference between the two scenes is that Jenny uses Forrest as something to fall back on when any relationship she has fails, in order to ease the pain of her loneliness and Petruchio objectifies Katherine not for emotional purposes, but for the pursuit of domination and power.



QUOTE #2


“Be patient, gentlemen. I choose her for myself.

If she and I be pleased, what's that to you?

'Tis bargained 'twixt us twain, being alone,

That she shall still be curst in company.

I tell you, 'tis incredible to believe

How much she loves me. O, the kindest Kate!”- Petruchio (2.1.321-326)


In this scene, Petruchio is lying about both Katherine’s love towards him and Kate agreeing to marry him. The fact that Petruchio says “Tis bargained ‘twixt us twain, being alone,” shows two things. The word “bargained” shows that Petruchio treats this “marriage” as a deal, rather than a mutual love. Another thing that can be seen is that Petruchio’s lie shows that he doesn’t value Katherine’s opinion or her love. He doesn’t even value her hand in marriage, but rather the title that comes with it.







IMAGE #2


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In this scene, Forrest says to Jenny, “Will you marry me?...I’d make a good husband Jenny.” Jenny then responds with “You would Forrest….You don’t want to marry me.” This prompts Forrest to ask “Why don’t you love me Jenny?” Even though Jenny later tells Forrest that she does love him, this doesn’t dismiss the fact that Forrest feels unloved. Even though Forrest gives 100% into his pursuit of Jenny, he feels as though he is not getting what he truly seeks, and that is Jenny’s love. Jenny realizes this as well, as shown in her statement “you don’t want to marry me.” Jenny feels as though Forrest doesn’t know what he would be getting into if they were to get married and the statement “you don’t want to marry me” serves as a warning to Forrest. However, this should not be taken as Jenny not being interested in marrying Forrest, but rather her wanting what is best for him.




Comparison:


These two scenes show that Katherine doesn’t want to marry Petruchio for the fact that he doesn’t value her as a person or what’s best for her. Jenny on the other hand, doesn’t want Forrest to marry her for the fact that she thinks Forrest deserves better. Both the film and the book show that traditional means of romance don’t necessarily need to be involved in these relationships in order for them to work.



Conclusion:


As shown in both The Taming of the Shrew and Forrest Gump, no one has a set definition of romance. Through both of the atypical relationships between Forrest and Jenny and Katherine and Petruchio, it is shown that for some reason these relationships work out in the end, where both Forrest and Jenny and Katherine and Petruchio end up getting married (respectively in the the book and movie). Despite what society believes as an ideal romance or relationship, there aren’t any. Just as people are unique and different, so are romances and relationships.



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Swim

Posted by Brandon Jones in English 3 - Pahomov - D on Monday, January 11, 2016 at 11:35 am
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“Water is the Driving force of all nature”- Leonardo da Vinci


Water and I have always had an interesting relationship. Some days we were inseparable, and others she was a cruel mistress who sought to entice and smother me to death. Either way I’ve always had a fondness for water. In 2011 my aunt and uncle were hosting a pool party at their house in New Jersey. Like every other time I was eager to visit them and take a dip in their pool, but this year was special. I was even more excited to bring my cousin along so that he too could experience the same joy that I felt every summer. My cousin is two years older than me and every summer he would spend the week at our house. So me, my mom, my dad, my brother and cousin hop in the car and begin our journey to New Jersey, where fate will have me experience something I will never forget. In the car we planned what we would games we would play in the pool, what food we eat and how we would teach each other different types of dives that we have learned over the years. As we progress, it is tradition that we stop by the Wawa located a mile from my uncle’s house. From Wawa I get a tub of ice cream and a big bottle of Fiji water, knowing that if I didn’t, I might pass out due to heat exhaustion. After leaving Wawa, we continue the rest of our journey and shortly arrive at our destination.


Once we arrived at our destination, I was ecstatic to hop in that glorious pool, but before that I had to pretend like I wanted to see the rest of my family in an awkward display of misplaced affection. The only ones I was excited to see where my uncle, aunt, her mother, three cousins and my godmother. Shortly after I rushed to the bathroom to change into my swimming trunks but as soon as I left out, my mom forces me to put on sunscreen to which I reluctantly comply. After the 5 minutes of rushed sunscreen application was over, I hurry out to the pool without a care in the world. I waited 15 minutes for my cousin to get to the pool and every second that he took I grew more and more agitated.


After what felt like an eternity he got there and the gloves were off. I tackled him into the pool and and our battle began. We assumed the roles of our favorite aquatic superheroes and villains. He was the infamous Black Manta and I was Aquaman. It was a classic battle between good vs. evil, and I had every intention to win. The goal of this game was to come out victorious and to bask in glory.


Elbows, punches, kicks and knees were all muffled and slowed down due to the water pressure. Back flips off the diving board, cannonballs and dives were all apart of the act. Many dynamic hits were traded off underwater. I had the majority of the hits but I knew that my cousin had a trump card up his sleeve. I should have seen it coming. I can remember his smug and arrogant smile but due to my ignorance I took it as just a facade in an attempt to stay true to his character.


In a matter of seconds I felt a major amount of pressure that land in my stomach. I felt like time had stopped as his foot hit my rib cage. Next thing I knew I was dunked underwater and kicked in my head. I was stunned and caught completely off guard. All of a sudden I saw two feet over my face and felt both impacting my face. Both shock and fear struck me. I was unsure of whether we were just playing or if he was serious. Many thoughts entered my mind during my time underwater. I thought maybe I hit him too hard or if he thought we were seriously fighting.


Pain didn’t affect me. Adrenaline fueled me as I was struggling to come up for air but my efforts proved useless as my cousin was holding me down with his feet. I tried to grab his leg in an attempt to stop him but I was kicked in my head again. At that moment I felt as though it would be my dip in my uncle’s pool. Things became blurred and nebulous. I felt a combination of sadness and betrayal. Then, as I thought all hope was lost, I saw a pole which was my beacon of light and I grabbed it. When I awoke, I was surrounded by my dad, cousin and uncle. I hear muffled arguing on who was to blame and why nobody came to help sooner. Once I was able to stand, my mind was blank. I lost the feeling of fear I had in the pool and instead I felt nothing but anger. I was silent. I heard both my dad and uncle trying to talk to me. Questions like, “ Are you okay?”, “ What happened?” went unanswered. I look up at my cousin who was standing directly across from me and I lunged forward and punched him in the face. I watched him go down as my dad grabbed me.


I was infuriated with him and my anger was similar to Jimmy Cross’s in the book The Things They Carried when Ted Lavender died. However, the only thing that died that day was my trust in my cousin. I asked myself, “Why would he do that to me? Why did he try to kill me? What did I do to deserve this?” Like Jimmy Cross I longed for answers and retribution. I wanted nothing more than to see my cousin suffer. He apologized to me but I was certain it wasn’t sincere. To this day, I still don’t know why all that happened but oddly enough I thank him. I am grateful that I now know you should never let your guard down in any situation. Anything can happen and it is important to be aware of your surroundings. Since then, I have forgiven my cousin and I respect him immensely as he enters a new chapter in his life with going into the Navy.


Brandon's video
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The Loss of Childhood Innocence

Posted by Brandon Jones in English 3 - Pahomov - D on Monday, November 9, 2015 at 12:50 pm

The Loss of Childhood Innocence 9/28/15

Brandon Jones

Air Stream


Knowledge is a powerful tool in the hands of man. Knowledge can both help and hurt people, build and destroy relationships and help determine right from wrong. Because of its power, children are taught to seek knowledge at a rapid pace, which could lead to both a revolutionary and destructive future if it continues. At the wrong time, this knowledge could potentially teach children inappropriate behaviors. Parents believe that exposing their children to vasts amount of knowledge at a young age will aid them in adulthood, however, what they don’t know is that this knowledge could at the same time ruin their innocence.

First, it is important to define what knowledge truly means and everything it entails. According to Dictionary.com, the definition of knowledge is, “the fact or state of knowing; the perception of fact or truth; clear and certain mental apprehension.” When a child first learns the concept of right from wrong, they learn the truth of what is morally acceptable to do and what not to do. Usually, parents and teachers don’t go into detail of what truly constitutes as right and wrong, but instead, a basic black and white explanation, not going into the greys in between. This was to protect the innocence of a child, but times have changed from then. Parents now are so focused on building their children up for “success” that they forget to realize they are opening up a dangerous Pandora’s Box.

A poll was taken in February 2015 on parents and childhood stimulation, where over 87 per cent of parents said they believed that the more stimulation a child received, the more successful they would be.  From seeing that so many parents agree that more stimulation equals more success, it’s safe to say that they are right to an extent. Yes things like stimulation, knowledge and wisdom are key to a successful life as an adult but everything should be done in moderation. This concept that 87% of parents agree on, looks over very important stages of development. Stages that are necessary for further social development

In an article published by the New York Times about the loss of childhood innocence, information came from a Fourth grade teacher in Denver, Colorado talking about a student in her class. the article states, “ As the teacher reported, ''Kids are a lot freer now. Even in the 10 years I've been at this school, there's been a change. The other day, a very innocent-looking little boy came up to me and casually asked me whether a certain sexual act was 'for real.' He used a crude word for it. I asked him to whisper in my ear what he thought the word meant. Well, he knew more details than I myself knew until about five years ago.” This information supports my thesis because it talks about a child who learned about a certain sexual act that clearly shocked and upset the teacher. It’s likely that prior to learning about the sexual act, the boy knew very little to nothing about sex. By gaining the knowledge of this, the boy’s innocence was lost and born from that loss was the curiosity to find out  if what he had learned was true. His thirst for knowledge drove him to want to seek answers to this concept that he knew nothing about but craved to learn.

Even if parents attempt to bring up a child in the best way possible, they must be aware of the influence the outside world has. Parents must be careful of what their children get exposed, to such as the sexualization of young children. Things like this, specifically the sexualization of young girls, can be a huge factor in the loss of innocence. In 2012, researchers did a study to identify self sexualization in young girls and identify factors that protect girls from objectifying themselves. Also psychologists at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois assessed self sexualization in girls, ages 6-9 through the use of paper dolls. The assessment goes on to say that, “Across-the-board, girls chose the "sexy" doll most often. The results were significant in two categories: 68 percent of the girls said the doll looked how she wanted to look, and 72 percent said she was more popular than the non-sexy doll.” Other studies have shown that “sexiness” boosts popularity in girls but not boys. Needless to say, young girls and boys should not have to feel the pressures popularity through sexualization. These pressures cause children to explore their sexuality at too young of an age and it needs to be stopped.

If parents ever want to combat the loss of childhood innocence, they need to be mindful of what their children are exposed to. They need to focus on nurturing their children instead of being too concerned with success that loose sight of what is important. Parents are responsible for teaching their children what they will need later in life but everything must be done in moderation. If this is not done their might be irreparable damage done to children because of the actions of their parents.


Work Cited:

  1. Winn, Marie. "THE LOSS OF CHILDHOOD." The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 May 1983. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.

<http://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/08/magazine/the-loss-of-childhood.html>



     2. "Knowledge." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.

<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/knowledge>


     3. Abbasi, Jennifer. "Why 6-Year-Old Girls Want To Be Sexy (STUDY)."Huffington Post. LiveScience, 16 July 2012. Web.


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Q4 Brandon Jones Art Project

Posted by Brandon Jones in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on Sunday, June 7, 2015 at 10:37 am
For the 4th quarter, I have decided to go with mostly hand drawn pictures, the exception being a 3D shape created using geometric equations on the website TinkerCad. The inspiration for my drawings came from things that I enjoy watching. I chose Disney's Hercules as my first picture because not only was it the first Disney movie I watched, but I still watch it to this day. I chose Pocahontas as my 2nd drawing because she is my favorite Disney Princess. For my fourth drawing I chose Ken Kanaki from the Anime Series: Tokyo Ghoul because it is one of my favorite anime that I am currently watching. A technique that I was going for in all of my drawings was shading as it has challenged me in the past.
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Brandon Jones Q3 Portfolio

Posted by Brandon Jones in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on Friday, April 10, 2015 at 11:23 pm
​For me, the projects in Quarter 3 were not only enjoyable to do but different and unique. The hardest project in my opinion was the value drawing but with practice I was able to master it. Much like last Quarter, I didn't sacrifice creativity or practicality. My favorite project was the Basic Shapes. I liked it because I was able to turn mere shapes into something more. I gave full effort into this quarter and I hope it is reflected in my work.
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Brandon Jones Art portfolio

Posted by Brandon Jones in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on Friday, January 30, 2015 at 9:32 pm
​This quarter opened many opportunities to create many interesting pieces of art. Freedom of Art played a big role in every piece in this Portfolio. The first piece in the portfolio was to create a collage of whatever the artist wanted. When making this, I chose the video games that have impacted my life and inspired me to make art and to be more creative. The next piece I created was an edit of a photo of my choice. The piece after that was a fabric drawing. With that we had to show the shadowing and creases of the object we drew. The last piece we had to create was an illustration of a piece of writing such as a poem or a novel. The poem I chose was Shel Silversteins The Diving Board and then I illustrated it. The poem reads: "You’ve been up on that diving board
Making sure that it’s nice and straight.
You’ve made sure that it’s not too slick.
You’ve made sure it can stand the weight.
You’ve made sure that the spring is tight.
You’ve made sure that the cloth won’t slip.
You’ve made sure that it bounces right,
And that your toes can get a grip– –
And you’ve been up there since half past five
Doin’ everything … but DIVE.
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Brandon's Art Work

Posted by Brandon Jones in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on Friday, November 14, 2014 at 9:43 pm


Artist Statement 

I draw my pictures to express myself. I want people to know when they see what I draw, they see more than just a picture, but a story. I draw because it gives me something enjoyable to do. I make art because I can and I like it. Art is way for me to express my outlook on life, my mind and my ambitions. Art helps me also my likes.
Art project
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Brandon's Monologue Project

Posted by Brandon Jones in World History - Block - C on Sunday, October 5, 2014 at 3:08 pm
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In this unit of World History, we learned about climate change. We read and talked about countries all over the world who are affected by climate change. My goals throughout the project were to portray different peoples opinions and thoughts on climate change, whatever they may be. I wanted to portray the thoughts of a timid business man, a successful company owner and an environmental activist.

Ichabod Cheeks

(To peers)Umm, yes.. my name is Ichabod Cheeks. I am a succesfu.. no an average business man. I...I think that with...with the help of our government we can put an end to global warming! I mean if that is okay with everyone. Not to step on anyones toes or anything. Well, maybe they need to be stepped on!.....Or maybe not! Heh Heh. Actually, no this is an important issue! I am tired of our government constantly lying to our faces. It doesn’t take a man from Fresno to see that! Even stevie wonder could see that. It is appalling that our so called leaders are not doing what they need to to correct this impending issue. They are carelessly wasting money on irrelevant things for no reason at all.(Pause)They even spent 750 thousand dollars on a soccer field for inmates at guantanamo bay! Yet the US complains about not having funding for schools. But what do I know? I am just a lowly man who has an opinion. Even though my opinion won’t be heard. But I won’t be ignored! I will do whatever it takes to make my voice heard! Never again will my opinion be neglected. I’m sick of people constantly taking me for granite. Well, will they not listen to me when their whole words are turned upside down?(Pause)Not again will we not help a country who will suffer at the hands of a hurricane! They will hear my voice and the will feel our wrath. The people's wrath!

Florida Stevens(Video)

Your Honor, Jury, climate change is more fuss than harm! Sure there have been natural disasters and thats sad and all, but I don’t believe it’s reason enough that I’m in court before all of you now.(Pause) Yes I know my company is a big fossil fuel burner. I don’t see why that has to do with anything. (Pause) So what if a few people get hurt in a natural disaster. That’s not our problem! They need to toughen up and strive instead of babying about a small amount of property damage.(Pause) What do you mean I am out of order? We aren’t the ones suffering because of a little rain.(Court banter, Judge calms everyone down) Pfff...order in the court, you wouldn’t know order if it hit you like a tsunami. At this rate, your honor, I do not have time for this. For some reason, you can’t get it through your thick skulls, that climate change isn’t that deep of an issue! You’re a pack of fools! Every last one of you!(Pause) I’m being sued for how much?
But...but why? You are blowing this way out of proportion! Please, I’m begging you! Don’t do this!
I was just trying to own a business and now I’m being sued for it?

Jermaine Flowers

(To the crowd) Hello! My name is Jermanie Flowers and welcome to the 3rd annual San Diego Envo-Con.(Crowd cheers, Jermaine guides the crowds attention back to him) Yes, I know all of you are as excited as me but we should all give thanks and pause to our dear mother nature(Pauses for moment of silence) Alrighty then! Our first order of business is to go to congress! We need them to pass a bill to incriminate everyone negligent on climate change. And if they refuse, we will unleash our master plan!(Crowd gasps in anticipation) We will block all traffic in San Diego, New York and Washington DC!(Crowd cheers) Then congress will have to pay attention to us. We’ll see then how they like it when they can’t get to their jobs. Then they won’t be able to burn anymore of those horrible gasses into our precious air! All hail mother Nature!(Crowd cheers)


Monologue 2 video


Untitled from Brandon Jones on Vimeo.

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YATW Blog Post#3

Posted by Brandon Jones in English 1 - Dunn - X on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at 9:36 pm
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Hello again, My name is Brandon Jones and I am writing for a third time on African American students and standardized test scores. Since my last 2 blog posts, here and here, I have relentlessly be following this impending issue. I have been looking for what can or is being done about the Black and White Test Score Gap and I feel as though my efforts have been prosperous. According to this website, closing the test score gap would do more to promote racial equality more than any other tactic the United States has ever used. Also by eliminating the gap, there would be an increase in black college graduation rates, thus making them equal to white rates. Absence of the gap would also discourage colleges from using racial preference as a means of admittance along with racial disparities in both men’s and women’s earnings.

Closing the gap would require the endeavors of both blacks and whites. Sadly however, it is estimated that this would take more than one generation to accomplish. I agree wholeheartedly that we as Americans can achieve this goal. Though I disagree with the problem taking a whole generation to fix. If we actually try and work hard, I am optimistic that the elimination of the gap can be seen in the near future.

For the Agent of Change aspect of my project, I wanted to raise awareness around my school. Me and another student created a series of posters that had information such as graphs and positive messages to grab the attention of all of the school and faculty passing by. I thought this was a great way to inform people of my issue. Though being subtle, they can have a very powerful impact. Creating these posters informed me that in 2004, it has been proven that black males have been the least likely to earn a regular diploma.

Although I created the posters, I feel I could have done more. I believe that I could have taken action myself and helped out children who were struggling in any subject by tutoring and giving advice in any subject. Even though I didn’t get to it, I planned on reading to a group of younger kids at my local library. I wanted to do this so I could get kids reading at a young age so that it would be easier for them to succeed on standardized tests and in life. What we as Americans can do, is to get all of our children to develop a craving for knowledge so that doing well in school is a desire instead of a struggle.

Closing the test score gap goes much deeper than a competition between races. Closing the gap will unite all of us as a whole and destroy any boundaries between skin colors that our ancestors have so desperately put up. What we are doing now is doing nothing but setting a bad example for future generations. We need to change and we need to act.

In conclusion, I’d like to thank my parents and Ms.Dunn for giving me guidance on writing this blog post. I’d also like to thank my friend and classmate Damir Hunley for helping me designing and putting up our posters. As the late Mahatma Gandhi said, “ You must be the change You wish to see in the world.



*Pictures

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* Student looking at the poster

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* One of the posters on the wall in the hallways
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African American students and Standardized Test Scores

Posted by Brandon Jones in English 1 - Dunn - X on Sunday, March 2, 2014 at 3:47 pm

My name is Brandon Jones and I am writing again on my topic of African American students and standardized tests scores. Since my last post, I have really dug deep into investigating why the test scores of African American students are so low. In this article, it gives a possible reason for why African American do so poorly on standardized tests. For example, in the article it talks about how stereotypes can be a factor in success. Unfortunately this happens to be very true in black community. One common stereotype is that African Americans do not aspire to higher education.


For my original research, I did some field work. On Thursday, February 27, I visited Ad Prima Charter School, a school with a majority of African American kids in attendance and they let me observe one of their after school classes. By just sitting in on this class, showed me that those kids are living proof that stereotypes are truly oversimplified images. Both teachers and students were passionate about learning and they showed it. I saw students that were hard at work and focusing on the task at hand. One thing that I had noticed was that almost every student had a snack with them. It made me realize that hunger plays an important role in learning. If a child is hungry, their bodies try to save that small amount of energy for basic body functions like keeping the heart and lungs going, so the rest of the body won’t have energy to think about math problems or to figure out the main idea of the story. Also the teachers were able to help any student in need, no matter the subject or what type of work it was. The sight of this just put me in awe. The fact that the teachers were able to find time in that hour and 30 minutes to accommodate every student and still be able to keep a watchful eye over the class and still get their work done, shocked me in a good way and I respect that. There was one thing that really stood out to me the most during the entire observation. One of teachers called over a 4th grader named Irving and told him to tell me about his idea. Irving asked me would I try a Macaroni and Cheese pretzel. I said I would but this really spoke to me. It shows that the teachers want kids to think creatively and to have ideas and to be the opposite of what stereotypes and society depicts them to be.

* Ad Prima Charter School


These kids are shining examples of what African American students can be. If African American students would just sit down and take the time and put in the effort to do well, then my issue would be resolved. We also need more teachers that are supportive of students. Teachers who take the time to get to know the students and to care about what the student has to think or say.

* A teacher who is helping a young black student


This picture gives me hope, of one day when we as a black community, will strive for excellence in everything we do and negative comments or biased opinions will not bring us down, but build us up and to make us stronger.


As for my Agent of Change part, I will most likely lean toward something like reading to younger kids or tutoring students who need help but until then I end this blog post with a quote by Aristotle Onassis.

“ It is during our darkest moment, that we must focus to see the light.


The link to my Annotated Bibliography is here
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YATW Blog Post: African American student test scores

Posted by Brandon Jones in English 1 - Dunn - X on Monday, December 16, 2013 at 8:09 pm

Blog Post #1


My name is Brandon Jones and I am a freshman at Science Leadership Academy. In my English class we were given an assignment to tackle an issue we found and blog about it. The issue I picked was the  test scores of children from different ethnicities and how the scores of African American children were alarmingly low.


For my blog post I researched and found many interesting and informative articles. This particular article reported that African American children scored lower than European Americans in Vocabulary, Reading and Mathematics test. This true, but aggravating statement made me realize how serious this issue is. It is disheartening to read that the gap between the two ethnicities starts before children enter kindergarten and sadly leads into adulthood. The article states that even though this problem cut down since 1970, the average African American child still scores 75% below the average Caucasian child and on some tests, African American children score 85% below Caucasian children.


*above are the percentages of white, black and hispanic students who scored at or above proficient on standardized test*

The article here and the graph above, concerns me and makes me wonder what could be done about this issue. To solve an issue, you must first address the problem, however for his particular issue, there are many possible problems. One being improper funding for students. In Lower Merion, the School District spends $21,399 per student and the School District of Philadelphia only provides $11,078 per student. Another problem is racism and making children feel lesser than what they can be.



As for the solutions, I could go on for days about the possible theories and solutions on solve the issue at hand. Sadly, most of the solutions might not work. For my YATW(You and the World) project me and my partner are going out in the world and going to try to find a solution to this impending issue.

The link to my bibliography is here
Tags: You and the World, English 9, Dunn
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Brandon's Media Fluency

Posted by Brandon Jones in Technology- Freshmen - Hull - b2 on Friday, December 13, 2013 at 6:59 am
Media Fluency
For my media fluency project, I choose a quote that i think really spoke to me. To me, I think it means to only be you because that is all you can be.
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Brandon's Quarter

Posted by Brandon Jones in Technology- Freshmen - Hull - b2 on Friday, November 22, 2013 at 8:11 am
During the first quarter we talked about acceptable use policy for our school and the School District of Philadelphia. We also read a book involving internet security. I feel as though this unit was very productive.
I really enjoyed this quarter.
mind mapping software
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