Bonnie Thornton Dill

By: Nyla

Bonnie Thornton Dill is the dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, professor of Women’s Studies, and a scholar who studied and continues to study race, class, and gender intersectionality in the U.S with a focus on African American women, families, and work. Along with her other amazing qualities, she is also an author who has written numerous articles and books.

As a young girl, Bonnie was raised by her mother, an English teacher, father, a pharmacist in Englewood, Chicago. She attended University of Chicago Laboratory School where she called the experience,  “I lived in two worlds—a white intellectual world and a black social world.” For college, she attended the University of Rochester where she was among the first African Americans to live in one of their residence halls. Her stay at the university was in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement. She put her leadership skills in action and organized a chapter called Friends of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee which helped to expand voting rights in the south. She ultimately switched her major from pre-med to English where she traveled to England to further her studies.

After she graduated from college, she moved to New York and worked for the Office of Economic Opportunity, an agency that is in charge of programs that work with President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. She said the experience helped her start thinking about the role of social class in America. Her research on domestic workers was completed in 1979 and was published in 1994. The groundbreaking book was entitled”Across the Boundaries of Race and Class: An Exploration of Work and Family Among Black Female Domestic Servants”.  It was one of the first books that studied black female household labor that was based on interviews of workers themselves.

Since her book, she has made many other life accomplishments and is now the dean of the University of Maryland’s department College of Arts and Humanities.

Bonnie Thornton Hill Timeline:

1965 - B.A. from New York University

1970 - M.A.

1979 - Ph.D and wrote first book

1994 - “Across the Boundaries of Race and Class: An Exploration of Work and Family Among Black Female Domestic Servants” was published

2009 - Appointed Stanley Kelley, Jr. Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching in the Department of Sociology at Princeton University Award

2010-2012 - President of National Women’s Studies Association

Present - dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and professor of Women’s Studies.

These other events do not have a specific date but they are very important points in her life

1. Chairwoman for Women Studies Department at University of Maryland for 8 years

2. Created two intersectionality research centers

3. Founding Director for Center of Research on Women at University of Memphis and Founding Director of the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity at the University of Maryland.

4. Vice President of the American Sociological Association

5. Chair of the Advisory Board of Scholars for Ms. Magazine

Creative Piece: http://prezi.com/smhdxltirhdr/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

1. The movie I watched was Love and Basketball. It’s a love story about a girl named Monica and a guy named Quincy who are trying to follow their dreams of playing pro basketball while also trying to keep their relationship together. When I tested the movie with the Bechdel test, it passed. The main character, Monica talked with her basketball rival and later friend, Syd. Both women had many conversations that did not include any mention of a man. Next, I tested the movie with the Mako Mori test and it passed. The main character, Monica, has her own story that runs throughout the whole movie with the other main character, Quincy. Both Monica and Quincy realize that they want to be with each other at the end of the movie, but her story is kind of independent and doesn’t always have him in it.

2. For my anti-gender biased review, I would require it to

• have at least have 2 women and men in it

• the women should have a job

• if possible, be a woman who isn’t white

• the woman and man should be somewhat independent

I used to live in Chestnut Hill in a pretty big apartment with my parents and sister. I loved where I lived but when I got older, I started complaining about not having stairs like my other friends did and I did not want people to come over because I didn’t like how my house looked. I probably complained too soon because one day, when we came home, my dad went through the mail like usual. As he looked through, he stopped and stared at a envelope for a long time. My mom noticed and walked over to see what it was about. They read the paper inside the envelope very quietly. Arielle, my sister, and I kept asking them, “What’s wrong? What does the letter say?” I hadn’t really gone through anything bad in my life up to that point so I didn’t really know what to expect them to say. Then, my dad turned around and told us as simply as he could what the problem was. Unfortunately, we were being kicked out. It had nothing to do with money, but it had everything to do with the fact that our building was sold to a realtor company and our apartment building was turning into office spaces. The letter said we had 60 days to find a new place to live.

Now, to be honest, I was kind of happy to be kicked out because I didn’t know the whole process of buying a house. For one, I used to think that buying a house meant switching homes with someone else and buying their home, and I also thought that this was a way to force my parents to move because in my eyes they were taking too long. I was excited to move into a home with stairs and my own room. I imagined my house looking like Kimora Lee Simmons’ house (I used to love her show). But, I started to realize how stressed and scared my parents were and my fantasy went away. There was fear that if we didn’t find a house in time, we would have to live with someone else or buy another apartment until we found a home. I became worried that we wouldn’t find a home in time. In the book “The Yellow Birds”, Bartle was going through a hard transition into the war. When he was in the war he said, “I understood. Being from a place where a few facts are enough to define you, where a few habits can fill a life, causes a unique kind of shame. We'd had small lives, populated by a longing from something more substantial than dirt roads and small dreams. So we'd come here, where life needed no elaboration and others would tell us who to be.” He expresses his desire to travel and experience new places just like I was excited to be in a new home. Bartle also expresses his nervousness and uncertainty about the war. He says, “We were not destined to survive. The fact is, we were not destined at all. The war would take what it could get.” Bartle’s fear of what will happen in the future is similar to how I felt. He was unsure of what his fate would be during the war and I was unsure of what my fate would be after the 60 days.

The sky became incredibly dark but still kept enough light to let you know it was only the afternoon. The howling winds bent the trees as it whipped around my neighborhood. The rain sounded like a drum as it pounded on my house loudly, scaring my dog. In an instant, I thought the lights would stay on but in another instant, they were gone. I felt myself getting scared but as I looked around and saw my family was safe, the worry went away. My dad kept looking out the screen door to see the storm and my sister, mom, and I turned on our phone flashlights. Our living room was immediately lit up with tiny lights sitting on the table and everyone’s faces were revealed. We felt a bit safer. Before the power went out, we heard on the news that the storm wouldn’t last long. As we all tried to wait out the storm, my sister and I came up with an idea to play some games. We sang, made shadow puppets, and all other crazy things. We had a lot of fun and grew closer as we played during the storm. The storm ended quickly and we all looked out the door to see the sunny sky. We still did not have power so we went to our family’s house and hung out with them until it was night time. Overall, we surprisingly had a really fun time. Even though we did not have any power and it was a super hot day, we found some fun in all of it. This situation reminds me of Bartle when he went to jail. Many people would think that jail isn’t a place where you could be happy but in the story, Bartle showed that you could be. In the book he says, “My life had become as ordinary as I could have hoped for. I was happy”. I can compare Bartle’s experiences to mine because we both created fun or pleasant situations out of situations that aren’t usually considered fun.

A reason I believe that the situation was fun for me and Bartle is because it was a time to get away from what goes on on a daily basis and reflect. When the power went out, my family and I had time to put down our phones and were kind of forced to bond on a closer level than we usually do. In the end, this made us happy. For Bartle, being in jail gave him time to clear his head and get away from the problems he was having at home and reflect on what happened during the war. This helped him be happy while he was in jail and also become a happier person in the end. Even though Bartle’s war situation and my situation aren’t similar when you first look at it, there are still connections that can be found throughout the book.,.

For years, professional researchers as well as parents and teachers have been tackling the topic of what television does to children’s development. Many people have been under the impression that TV is not harmful to young brains and provides distractions and entertainment when needed, but studies completed  in the last couple years have challenged that belief. Researchers have conducted hundreds of experiments trying to prove what’s right for kids. One common outcome is that children under the age of two should not be exposed to TV because there is a higher chance they will have developmental issues. Television can damage the brain development of young children because it doesn’t provide them with the necessary skills they learn by interacting in face to face communication.

In the earliest stages of life, proper brain development is very crucial, and the biggest influence on this development is the actions of the parent(s) or guardian(s) of the newborn child. What a child is and isn’t exposed to in the first years of life can negatively or positively affect a child’s future development. In an article published by The National Center for Infants, Toddlers, Families, the author explained that  “Infants prefer human stimuli-your face, voice, touch, and even smell--over everything else. They innately orient to people's faces and would rather listen to a speech or singing than any other kind of sound.” Videos and TV aren’t prefered by babies and doesn’t help with their initial brain development. Face to face interaction helps children learn different skills like identifying sounds, facial expressions, and different senses while TV doesn’t provide any of these skills. Without these vital initial skills, proper brain development could be jeopardized. 

Despite the debate about the affect of children and technology, many parents, daycares, and child care facilities use television to keep young children occupied. Most of these people don’t want to bring harm to the children, but they might be tricked into believing that TV produced for children will help. Dr. Cris Rowan, a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, wrote an article giving information into the use of technology on young children. He says, “This situation has prompted France to ban its broadcasters from airing TV shows aimed at children under three years of age (CBC News, 2008), and Disney to offer refunds for their “Baby Einstein” DVD‟s (NY Times, 2009).”  “Baby TV” is popular among parents with small children who think that these programs will improve their child’s intelligence, but many of these shows do not show improvement at all. In fact, they affect a child’s brain development negatively. Even France saw the harm in TV for infants and banned the “Baby TV” shows and offers refunds to the famous baby program “Baby Einstein”.

Doctors and scientists haven’t found health effects from technology in children younger than two, but they have found them in older children. Infants watching TV can lead to long term effects that might not be detected until they are almost ready for school. An article published  by the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics stated,” Media use has been associated with obesity, sleep issues, aggressive behaviors, and attention issues in preschool- and school-aged children . . . Although parents perceive a televised program to be a calming sleep aid, some programs actually increase bedtime resistance, delay the onset of sleep, cause anxiety about falling asleep, and shorten sleep duration.” Obesity, sleep issues, aggressive behavior, and many other issues are very serious. These problems bring stress to parents and kids and frustrate them because they know that something could have been done earlier in the child’s life to prevent it. When technology is used in such young children, important pieces they need for growth are missing and are expressed at an older age. Early proper interaction with infants can make their development stronger and improve their skills later in life.

If parents stopped to think about it, they would realize that the effects of TV on children under the age of two is not just about their developmental issues down the road, but about their interaction with other people as well. Even though Baby TV claims to be doing good for children to become smarter, it does not help children interact with each other. As a result, when children eventually go to school, and have been exposed to Baby TV earlier in their lives, they have a harder time interacting face to face with other children.  Television and technology are amazing things, but when used improperly, can be harmful. Infants under the age of two should not be exposed to any type of technology because their is a risk of harmful brain development that may appear later in life. Babies at that age need hands-on interaction to develop good skills later on in life but things like “Baby TV”, that claim to make babies smarter, do the exact opposite.

Citations

1. "The Effects of Video and Television on Young Children: Research and Reflection for Christian Educators | Lutheran Education Journal."Lutheran Education Journal RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015. <http://lej.cuchicago.edu/early-childhood-education/the-effects-of-video-and-television-on-young-children-research-and-reflection-for-christian-educators/>.

2. "SUPPORT US." ZERO TO THREE. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015. <http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_key_brainFAQ>.

3. A Research Review regarding the Impact of Technology on Child Development, Behavior, and Academic Performance. (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

4. "Media Use by Children Younger Than 2 Years." Media Use by Children Younger Than 2 Years. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015. <http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/5/1040.full>.

Alice Sebold’s novel, The Lovely Bones, is a story about a young girl named Susie Salmon. Susie was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Mr.Harvey at the age of 14. Her family and friends were made surprised and distraught by the event. Susie narrates the story from heaven, looking down on the little town she used to live in. Sebold uses flashbacks throughout the story to add details and information about the past that really shape the story into what it is. Flashbacks give the story more depth and dimension.

In the beginning of the story, you don’t know much about the characters in the story, not even the main character. Each chapter, a new emotion, action, or previous experience is unlocked and you start to know a little more about the characters. In the story, Susie talks about her younger brother, Buckley. Buckley is four when Susie dies. Buckley originally didn’t understand what his parents meant when they said Susie was dead but eventually he starts saying that Susie’s ghost is communicating with him and he is able to see her. This is important to the story but without background information on Buckley, these events aren't as impactful. A year before Susie’s death, Buckley and his friend Nate were playing in the backyard. Buckley saw a tiny stick so he put it in his mouth and acted like it was a cigarette. Buckley accidentally swallowed the stick. “Buckley was choking, his body bucking, and I carried him with Nate trailing into the garage, where my father’s precious Mustang sat. I had watched my parents drive, and my mother had shown me how a car went from park to reverse. I put Buckley in the back and grabbed the keys from the unused terra-cotta pots where my father hid them. I sped all the way to the hospital.” This quote is giving more detail to why him seeing Susie is so important. His near death experience makes him seeing Susie more realistic. Susie also validates him seeing her by asking, “Had my brother really seen me somehow?”

As stated before, the characters are revealed slowly in each chapter. Susie’s mother, Abigail, doesn’t take Susie’s death well. She has an affair with the main detective on Susie’s case, leaves her family, and makes you question if she really was ever ready to be a mother or is she loved the life she was living. Her eventually leaving her family would not make sense without flashbacks detailing her past life. A loving mother wouldn’t just leave her family after her daughter is murdered. Thankfully, the story gives some information on Abigail. From what we are told, Abigail and her mother, Grandma Lynn, don’t have the best relationship. The book refers to their relationship as “awkward.” Grandma Lynn came to the Salmon household for Susie’s funeral and while she was there, she sensed something wrong with her daughter, Abigail. Grandma Lynn decided to take a walk with her daughter around the block. While they were walking, Sebold explains their “awkward” experience from Susie’s point of view. “Now, never having tried before, having always let her daughter run as fast as she could in whatever direction she wished, . . . My mother could count on her fingertips how many times her tall father had leaned down and kissed her as a child. . . There had been no one else in the house with her but her mother and father, and then her father had gone.” All of these quotes kind of explain what Abigail did what she did. From the beginning, she hadn’t experienced much love at home. Her mother letting her “run as fast as she could in whatever direction she wished,” shows that leadership and guidance was absent. Her father not kissing her and the eventually leaving her shows that there was a lack of love and care for her and her mother. Abigail’s childhood validates her actions as an adult. That is why she left her family to be with Len. Len was showing her love and affection for the moment and her husband wasn’t at the time, even though the book tells us that Jack, her husband, loves her very much. Jack was depressed and sad that his daughter was murdered and because he wasn’t giving Abigail attention or saying “I love you”, she had an affair. All of this information from flashbacks helps us understand her actions.

The biggest person that everyone wanted to know information about was Mr. Harvey. The story starts off by telling you he killed Susie, but past information on him isn’t there. As you go further into the story, you start to learn about Mr. Harvey’s past. Jack has a strong feeling that Mr. Harvey killed Susie, but no one else believes him, except Lindsey. Lindsey wants to help her father and prove Mr. Harvey guilty so she sneaks into his house when he isn’t there. Lindsey breaks through the window. “Jackie Meyer. Delaware, 1967. Thirteen. . . Flora Hernandez. Delaware, 1963. Eight. . . Leah Fox. Delaware 1969. Tweleve. . . Sophie Cichetti, Pennsylvania, 1960. Forty-nine. . . Leidia Johnson. 1960. Six. . . Wendy Richter. Connecticut, 1971. Thirteen.” All of these names reveal a lot. This quote shows that Mr. Harvey has killed many more people than just Susie. This also shows that he is good at what he does and it will be hard to find him guilty. This also helps you understand that the women he tells people were his wives were his victims names. This quote changes your perspective on Mr. Harvey.

As stated before, the story uses flashback. A review from teenink.com says,”The Lovely Bones is written in chronological order with flashbacks in between. Yet the flashbacks do not give the reader headaches like most novels do. These trips back in time are insightful, necessary, and valuable to the reader. They help to keep Sebold’s organization in check. Ray Singh did not wake up one day and fall in love with the then alive Susie; a flashback explains it took months for his feelings to strengthen and for him to work up the courage to kiss her. Abigail did not have an affair with Detective Len Fenerman because she felt like it. A flashback shows that Jack and Abigail had once been in a thriving marriage. Flashbacks give information that would otherwise be lost and enable the reader to understand plot elements in the present.” The author of this review explains that flashbacks give information and “insight” that is necessary to the story. Flashbacks help validate why the characters do what they do.

The Lovely Bones is a mysterious and heart-warming story about fourteen year old Susie Salmon. The story is placed in chronological order but flashbacks are added to give depth to the characters and to the story. Without flashbacks, characters past lives wouldn’t be expressed and there would be a major disconnect with the entire story. Flashbacks give the story more depth and dimension.

"The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold." The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.

http://www.teenink.com/reviews/book_reviews/article/137221/The-Lovely-Bones-by-Alice-Sebold/

Miller, Laura. "“The Lovely Bones,” by Alice Sebold." Saloncom RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.

http://www.salon.com/2002/08/01/sebold_2/

I can hear the preschool teachers call their class up to the stage. I’m next. All of the little babies run onto the stage and take their positions. Parents clap and wave to their kids. They  waved back, smiling. The teachers quietly got their attention. Then, the music started.

I’ve heard this beautiful song in rehearsal a couple times but that night I couldn’t stand it. Every little note drove me insane. “Calm,” I whispered to myself. My heart was beating so loud I could hear it. I began to go over my dance in my head. My solo. My first ever solo to be exact. that night, I was dancing all alone. It startled me when my dance teacher insisted on it. All throughout rehearsal I was nervous but never as nervous as I was then. This was like torture.

“One, two three, one two three,” I kept repeating in my head, “One, two, three, turn.” “One . . .,two . . ., turn?” Oh no! I forgot! I forgot my dance! I can’t go out there! My heart was beating faster than ever. I couldn't stop sweating and my breathing became faster. “Calm! Be calm! You can’t go out there like this!” I felt like I was having a panic attack. My body wasn't listening to my brain. I snapped out of my head and tune in to what’s happening around me.

The music stopped. “It’s over? I thought it just started! It can’t be done!” My heart was going to explode. I wasnt ready. I started preparing to go onstage when I heard the preschool teacher say, ¨Technical difficulties!” Technical difficulties”, I said to myself. A tiny weight was lifted off my shoulders and I breathed easily for the first time in minutes. But then I remembered the next time the song stopped it would be the end. And then it would be my turn.

“Say it again!”

“ Wanzie”, my mom said.

“I thought it was onesie.” I said laughing.

“That’s what I said, wanzie.”

Another round of laughter came from my sister and I. My mom was thinking of gifts for her friends baby shower and the idea of a “wanzie” came up. We had never heard my mom say that word before. We thought my mom talked without an accent. All my life I thought my mom sounded like any other American, but friends and strangers would ask where my mom was from.  The rest of her family had strong accents that even made it hard for me to understand sometimes. I could never understand how she sounded different. Until that day.

My mom is Guyanese. She was born and raised in Guyana with all of her family. At the age of sixteen, she and my grandmother came to America. In high school, people couldn’t understand what she said. They made mean jokes and stereotypes about where she was from. In college, my mom wanted to go  into Communications. She wanted to be “the next Oprah”, but she knew she had to lose the accent. She didn’t end up being the next Oprah but she did get a job at our church being the Events Coordinator. This job meant she would always be on the phone and communicating with people. Her new voice was beautiful. So beautiful that she became the voice on the answering machine. But why was it good enough there but not good enough in college?

When I was younger, I never noticed my mom had an accent. People say I have lived with her so long that I wouldn’t notice. I thought my mom was like every other American mom, except for the fact that she made curry and other Guyanese foods. Whenever people asked where she was from I thought it was her appearance. Maybe Guyanese people looked differently that other Americans? But then they would say to her “Oh your accent gave it away.” “What accent,” I would think, “ she didn’t have an accent.” Sometimes, after I would hear my grandma or someone with a strong Guyanese accent speak, I would ask my mom to talk with her accent. I would say she’s “americanized” and tell her she’s lost her Guyanese roots, all jokingly of course. All along not knowing she never lost it.

My mother’s side of the family has always been strict on speaking properly. My grandmother doesn’t accept slang or incorrect pronunciation of words. “Mac and cheese” is changed to “macaroni and cheese” and “You went over her house? Like flew over it?” is asked if  “went over her house” isn’t  changed to “went to her house”. Proper speaking is a must. New slang words are the types of things she gets mad at us for saying. Because I am black, people will automatically think I speak improperly. My mom installs in my sister and I that our language is everything. People will judge you by how you speak and she doesn’t want that to happen. “Open your mouth and pronunciate,” is a line I hear a lot,”you want people to understand you.” She learned that the hard way.

In class, we read a passage by James Baldwin. In the passage, a quote stuck out to me and I felt that it would fit perfectly into my essay. The quote says “It goes without saying, then, that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power.” This quote relates to me because I think if my mom didn’t have an accent then she would have had a better chance at achieving her goal. I’m not saying that that is the only reason because their are many other factors, but I believe that it would have helped dramatically. If my mom didn’t have her accent, she would have had a better shot at having a job in the area she went to school for. A better job would result to a higher salary. Her accent determines what types of jobs she will get. Just like in the passage, “means” are a result of her language. She could be the smartest person in the world, but her language will counteract that. Society wants us to speak a certain way and if we don’t we are looked down upon and not given the same opportunities as everybody else.

I have had experiences where I have been told I talk “white”. This means that I speak like a “white person” would talk. I don’t think I talk like I’m “white”. I believe I talk properly when I’m around certain people. I speak differently when I’m around professionals because I know that the way I speak will determine how they view me. The way they view me determines if I get the job or the opportunity I want. My skin color already creates stereotypes so my language has to change that.  My mom tells me to always speak properly because she knows how important it is. She doesn’t want me to have limited opportunities because of the way I speak.

Está es una foto de mi hermana y amigas. Mi hermana menor se llama Arielle. Ella está muy de moda. Es por eso que todos los días las compras en línea. Mis amigas se llaman Destiny and Yasmeen. Dormen mucho y a veces bailan. Arielle va a la Cook Wissahickon Elementary. Destiny y Yasmeen van a la Science Leadership Academy. Arielle juega sofbol. Destiny cae duerme a veces en las clases. Ella usado a ser un animador. Yasmeen tiene el pelo largo. Ella también baila. Yo penso lo miradas bonita. Nosotros encanta salimos ir de compras. Yo encanta hablar en la teléfono con amigas.

!Hola! Me llamo Nyla Moore. Tengo quince años. Soy estudiantes de Science Leadership Academy. Está en Filadelfia. Está cerca de The Franklin Institute y Arch Gourmet. Es muy divertida y super chévere. Hay quinientos estudiantes, muy profesores, y cinco pisos. Tenemos las computadoras y divertida profesores. Tenemos baloncesto, fútbol, porristas, y debate.Participó en porristas porque soy amour a danza y porristas tiene que. 

Tenemos historia, bioquímica, español, matematicas, ingles, technologia, y drama . Mi favorito clase es inglés porque el Sr. Kay es bastante divertida y creativo. No me gusta mucho bioquímica porque difícil y estresante. En ingles, necesito libro,lápiz, papel, y computadora. Leemos The Odyssey y tenemos pláticas. En Bioquímica, tenemos hacer experimentos. En Bioquímica, necesito lápiz, papel, carpeta, y bata de laboratorio. Para tener éxito en esta clase, es importante prestar atención y trabajar duro.

El Snr. Kay ensena ingles. La Srta. Manuel ensena español.  El Sr. Kay es bastante cómico y simpático. Le gusta comer y poetry club. Saco buenas notas en esta clase. La Srta. Manuel es muy divertida y chevere. Le gusta musica y C.I.C. Es bastante enérgico. El Sr. Kay’s madre era a profesora. El Sr. Kay es gran profesor y la Sra. Manuel es magnifica profesora. Su clases es bien divertida y super interesante.

Me encanta SLA. Es muy divertida y bastante interesante. Lo que más me gusta de SLA es estudiantes y profesores actitud. No me gusta escuela almuerzo y vestíbulo tráfico. SLA es mucho creativo, bastante diferente, y muy loco. Me gusta creativo proyectos y crítico pensamieñto.

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