Wesley Midgett Public Feed
Advanced Essay #4 (Teen Violence VS. Media)
Try and think of the last time you watched a movie with violence, or maybe it was a book you read, or a post you saw on social media. It could have been between two people, or maybe it was more political like a protest against racism. Violence shows itself in many forms, but the youth of our society is impacted and influenced most by it.
When most people think of violence, they think of a rugged and irresponsible teenager. This stereotype forms this stigma for teenagers that they can’t escape from. Teenagers have always been expected to be responsible and stand out from the crowd by not doing drugs, drinking alcohol, or being violent. Most of the time as soon as teenagers step away from this pressure they are considered “hoodlums” and “gangsters”. Most people believe that kids from violent households will become violent teens. However, in one case similar to many others, Daily, a man in Texas adopted two kids from prison after they served time for killing their father after beating them all their lives. In the article about them it says “When the justice system gets its hands on these kids, Dailey believes it deprives them of their freedom—and their childhoods—a second time. ‘I mean, they've lived their whole life in prison. That's like living on a worse desert than I live in. That's worse than death.’”. Now these kids have grown to be peaceful teenagers who don’t believe in that sort of violence anymore. This shows that a simple step back from all of society's standards for teens can change a life completely.
From movies like Twilight to Red Dawn and books like The Hunger Games to Lord Of The Flies, teens are always exposed to professionally published violence. Even in school media like this is examined and analyzed and there are stories about kids committing an act of violence and quoting movies or TV shows that they’ve seen to try and be similar to those characters. Teenagers often see this media and sometimes don’t have anything positive or nonviolent to counteract all of the hatred and negativity. Like if their parents are abusive, they live in bad neighborhoods, or their schools are filled with crime they have no choice but to fit in. However, a lot of teens instead of acting out against this violence physically, they do so online. In one recent article a teenage girl was having a birthday get-together and someone showed up and stabbed a guest at the party. The next day, she tweeted “‘Dude it was my party ... there is blood all over my backyard’. ‘I didn’t do anything some guy got stabbed.’”. As anyone can see, her reaction to this was not to praise or salute the perpetrator, but was shocked and surprised at the horror that had occurred. Teenagers get such a bad reputation because even in the article the violent teen was talked about more than the victim of the crime. As long as this is the trend, teenagers will continue to be seen as violent.
Although adults recognize this issue, they normally don’t take any steps to try and help the teens. However, one group in Northeast Philadelphia takes in young people who have either gone to jail or have been victims to the system and tries to make their lives better and further benefit their attitude towards life and the people around them. This organization is called Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Program (YASP) and they have been helping young people for about 13 years and their statement is “We believe that it is very important to talk to youth both in the adult jails and in public schools to help them stay out of the system period.” By saying this, YASP is making a promise to young people in the city of Philly that there is life after prison and it doesn’t have to be a violent one. This should be the norm for our society. The norm being that instead of just giving up on teens who show a spark of violence, give them a chance to improve their attitude and lifestyle.
Society still has a long way to go before there is no violence. But we can start by helping stressed and “violent” teenagers channel the negative energy into something more positive and giving them a leg up when they need it. There are so many misunderstood kids out there that need a helping hand to not end up in prison or expelled for doing something they think is normal.
Collins, Emma. "Inside the West Texas Sanctuary for Kids Who Killed Their Parents." Vice. Vice, 28 Apr. 2016. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/the-west-texas-sanctuary-for-kids-who-killed-their-parents
"Host of Teenage ‘pizza Party’ at Five Dock Describes Events Which Saw 17-year-old Critically Stabbed." Herald Sun. The Daily Telegraph, 1 June 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.
"Who We Are." Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project. Weebly, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.
Advanced Essay #3 Wes Midgett
In the beginning, my goals were for this paper to explore a side of me that I never really have before. Although this writing process was sort of non-existent I discovered things about feminism both within myself and out in society through research. The one thing about my essay is that I wished it was more personal.
Essay -
It all began in the year of 2013 when Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines was released and was a major hit on all of the radio stations. I heard it going to and from school all the time and I always thought it was super catchy but I didn’t really know what the song was about. However, that all changed one day when I was in the car with my step-mother, the feminist, and she was ranting about how the song was normalizing rape and in a way that everyone can enjoy. A few weeks later I was at a family and friends party and Blurred Lines came on. I started to get really angry when everyone was dancing and singing along and asked them if they knew what it was about. They said they did, but it was ok for us to listen because they were feminists. But how could they listen to such a degrading and oppressive song and still consider themselves feminists?
In an article from Vice magazine, Monica Potts talks about what it was like to grow up being one of the only feminists in redneck country. Potts talks about how people in her town would make sexist jokes and remarks and many people would just laugh but she would feel uneasy about it. Similar to my Blurred Lines story, Potts deals with being surrounded by normalized sexism and misogyny in her community, although mine is a little lower scale. I believe that this kind of upbringing can affect anyone’s identity, it just depends on where they go with it. Potts says in her article that “The subtle messages women pick up starting from an early age are part of the reason women become nurses instead of doctors, and teachers instead of engineers.” This quote tells us a lot about how being a feminist can get you further than you would have if you had not been. Engineers and doctors are normally roles taken by men. However, any woman can become head of a male dominated career with feminism by proving that her abilities are just as valid as any man.
Even though feminism in the end is how you see yourself, in this day and age it is hard not to be influenced by what we see in media and through social interaction. Being a feminist can put you at the top of some social pyramids and on the very bottom of others. According to a recent Harvard study “While young Americans have strong opinions on gender advantages, however, they appear to reject labels. Only 27 percent of young Americans consider themselves feminists (16 percent of men and 37 percent of women). However, 49 percent of those polled "support" feminism.” The entire meaning behind “supporting feminism” has never been fully clear to me. However, this is what I get from it; If you support feminism you can see the reasoning behind it, but can’t fully commit to it yourself, and if you are a full-fledged feminist you support the ideas and reasoning behind feminism. Anyways, So being a feminist and learning that only 27 percent of the young U.S. citizens are feminists made me feel as though I was some sort of minority, especially that the other 73 percent either support feminism or are not feminists. In another article the author states “She is focused on getting women into boardrooms and into high-level jobs, doing away with the idea that there's something wrong with women being bosses or ‘bossy.’” This idea that women are “bossy” when really they’re just doing their jobs is another reason for women to let feminism affect their identity. “Bossy” is such a negative word that as soon as most women hear it being used to describe them they back down and let men take the stand. Though, there are the few who simply reply with “insert clever feminist remark here” and continue with doing the jobs they were hired to do.
To finish off this essay, In the end feminism impacts my identity by giving myself and other women a choice. A choice to stand up for myself and the women around me or to let men rule our society. Being a feminist has helped me get so many places in my life and to quote Alayna Welker, “Because of feminism we can strive to be who we wish to be regardless of our gender.” Who doesn’t want to be what they wished to be?http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/ a57459/harvard-iop-poll-gender/
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/fe minism-isnt-bad-word
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ho w-trumps-america-will-hurt-womenNew Language New Lifestyle
New Language New Lifestyle
I sat in room 207, more uncomfortable than ever. It was the first day of second grade and I was surrounded by people who spoke a different language from me. I said hi and smiled, they did the same but it never went further than that. All of my friends were in my class. Thalia, Jennifer, Aminda, Zoe and I were the only fluent english speakers in the class. Ms. Zondek had told us to try our hardest to communicate with the other kids who only spoke Mandarin. In the middle of classes ESOL kids would ask us for help on pronouncing words or what the homework was. It was harder than I ever would have thought to keep your patience when speaking to a person who can’t understand a word of what you’re saying. Luckily, Ms. Zondek had us covered most of the time. I had a hard time keeping my cool when one of the ESOL kids would say something completely wrong and it was just straight up hilarious.
Laughing at their mistakes made me feel terrible. I knew exactly what it was like to not fit into a group, a community even. Like the quote from I Just Wanna Be Average “you’re placed into a system that isn’t designed to liberate you but occupy you, or, if you’re lucky, train you”(166). In that quote I realized how hard it must have been for all of those non-english speaking kids who had no idea what me and my friends would be laughing at or what in the world our teacher was talking about. Instead they had to sit in their seats at lunch, doing extra work to improve their english skills. I only knew they stayed up at lunch because one time I had to stay up and help one of them. All lunch period all I could think about was how I wished I could be outside playing with my friends. While I was helping Pu Chen with his writing assignment on frogs I discovered the fact that these kids stayed up here on purpose. I had so many other thoughts in my tiny second grade mind. Like how upsetting it must be for these kids to stay up and watch us go out every single day while they stay in so they can get better at what I’ve known almost my whole life.
Lucky for me, that day was a day we got to go to the cybrary to pick out books for the weekend. I made a bee-line to the culture section and picked out a book about Mandarin while the rest of my friends were in the fiction section picking which Junie B. Jones book they’d each get. I checked out my book with Ms. Phillips and sat down at an empty table. My head filled up with new words and characters so fast that I finally got the full effect of how hard it is to learn a whole new language from scratch. Like in How To Tame A Wild Tongue the narrator says “for a people who are neither spanish nor live in a country in which spanish is the first language; for a people who live in a country in which english is the reigning tongue but who are not anglo; for a people who cannot entirely identify with either standard spanish nor standard english, what recourse is left to them but to create their own language?”(55). Now, if you switch Spanish with Mandarin, it’s a perfect example of how secluded you can feel when everyone else knows what’s going on but you. Speaking a different language can put your mind in a whole different place, a place where you’re your own anchor. However, at some point that anchor needs to be brought up so you can continue to explore the world you never thought you’d know.
At the end of that day I talked to my mom about how I helped Pu Chen in school with his work at lunch. I told her about what I had discovered and what I knew now. She told me that she was proud of me for being so brave, but the only thing I could think was how much braver those ESOL kids were and far they still have to go to learn a language all over again.Advanced Essay #1 Wes Midgett
This paper has been a great opportunity for me to explore my parents divorce and what affect it had on me as a child and now as a teenager. I didn’t realize until now the depth that this went in to and I’m glad I did. Having divorced parents has made my life so much different from if they had stayed together.
The bell rang like angels in my ear telling me I could come home after a long day at school. However, the angels were quickly shot down by the demon known as Ms. Kolansky who told us to stay in our seats so we could tell her what we learned that day. We were all so ready to leave that we could hardly remember the day we just had. I looked at the numbered circle on the wall like it was a ticking time bomb, like my dad was going to leave me if I didn’t come out into the schoolyard on time. I hadn’t seen him in a week and it was my first one-on-one day with him since my parents split.
Ms. Kolansky dismissed us after my friend Zoe told her that we learned about what palindromes were. I ran out of the room like it was on fire. My bag was only on one shoulder and my hair was like a horse’s mane behind me. I pushed through the heavy blue doors at 3:12 and scanned the schoolyard which was filled to the brim with small children running after each other and parents talking about how they should get together some time. My dad stood out in the corner being the tallest guy around with his aviator sunglasses and balding head. He raised his hand to confirm that it was him and he waved me over. I sprinted in my rainbow knee high socks and black converse to him and hugged him. He smelled like cigarettes and his work uniform felt like a cat’s tongue but I never felt cozier. He hugged me and asked about my day, I told him it was good. He handed me a canvas bag, I looked inside and there was an empty notebook. He told me it was for my art. He knew me well.
He took me to a restaurant that I’ve always loved and I ordered the mac and cheese and he stole a few pieces of my edamame. This was good, it felt normal. Like it used to be. I had been handling the divorce pretty well but that’s because I didn’t really understand what was going on. All I knew at that point was that dad wasn’t living with us anymore, and it sucked. I missed the feeling of him belonging in that house. So we finished eating lunch/dinner at around five o’clock and we started heading back home. A few minutes later I was walking through the brown door that mom thought was green. Dad followed me in and we sat on the rough red couch but we still had an hour left before it was time for our one-on-one to be over. He asked what I wanted to do and I told him I didn’t know, we decided to play a board game. I pulled out Othello from the plywood cabinets that my mom had fixed up when we first moved in. They scraped the back of my hand and fingers as I pulled out the cardboard box. I walked barefoot on the hardwood floor around mom’s dining room table onto the brown carpet with different sized red and orange dots. We sat there for an hour, going from playing board games to drawing to talking. It felt awkward, like we weren’t supposed to be there. Even though it was my home and my dad had lived there my whole life he seemed on edge and things were quiet.
My mom came home at 6:00 as planned, and the look on her face was confusing to me. She looked like she couldn’t decide whether she was confused or startled. She said hi to me and told me to go up to my room. I hugged dad and ran up the open steps, clinging to the railing mom had made out of iron pipes from work. I ran once I got half way up right into my room which was right at the top of the stairs. I grabbed for the lock on my sliding door and pulled it so that I could still hear the conversation my parents were having. They were yelling at each other again about how dad can’t be here anymore. I ran to the back of my room and grabbed my notebook. I picked up my pen and started to draw what I was feeling, salty water shared the page with the ink. That night I cried until there were no tears left and there were no more pages in my notebook. That night drawing was my security and comfort. It has been ever since.
Wes Midgett ILP Update
ILP Update
- What went well?
- What are you looking forward to?
- What stands out that has happened so far?
Carmen Midgett, Mario Nebreid, Diego Manns, Ana Byrnes
Elena Luis y Carmen
Wes Midgett Project
Carlos es un estudiante de secundaria te gusta las aventuras y sorpresas. Él creció Arkansas, pero ahora vive en Filadelfia. Un día pasó un garaje para obtener una buena vista de la ciudad. Una mujer se acercó y le dijo que dejar porque no enía un coche. Carlos esta muy enojado porque el cielo muy guapa. Él fue a casa.
Al llegar a casa puso sus fotos en el ordenador. Elimina los malos y envió los buenos a sus amigos y el profesors. Gustaron mucho las fotos. Carlos imprimir la fotos y colgado en la pared. Él mami y papi esta muy orgulloso.
Sara es una artista en Filadelfia. Una dia ella fue Sued Filadelfia porque inspiracion. Ella caminaba por el río porque el cielo es muy hermoso. Cuando ella caminar ella vio mucho el arte. Ella vio graffiti, el mural, y el mosaico.
Otro dia ella fue Nord Filadelfia porque tomar fotos de el arte. Ella tomar fotos de el edificio, el escultura, y el patin parque. Cuando ella se hizo, ella fue a la casa imprimpir la fotos. Ella colgado en la pared. Ella es muy orgulloso ella misma.
Cuando Leví joven tomó clases de patinaje. Ahora Levi competir todos los meses con otras personas. Él quire ser profecional. Levi competir alrededor America del Norte. Él favorita lugar para patinar es Filadelfia.
Una dia Levi pelado su la pierna porque el talar. Levi es muy triste porque el no patín. Levi no puede jugar pero le encanta ver. Una dia Levi la voluntad jugar de nuevo.
Sara es el registro para sciencia proyecto. Ella te gusta fotografia y video, en une proyecto Sara tomó fotos de las plantas. Ella tambien gusta sciencia. Sara ir el experimento mucho con su amigos. Vosotros tener divertido.
Sara y su amigos fue a la muchas adventuras juntos. En la escuela vosotros trabajar juntos. Sara quiere ser a la científica o la fotógrafa.
Mario le gusta música. Anoche Mario fue a el concierto con su amigo Juan. En el concierto Mario y Juan escucharon Slipknot y Linkin Park. Slipknot es la banda favorita de Mario. Mario tiene todos Slipknot álbumes. Juan no le gusta Slipknot pero le gusta Linkin Park.
Anoche Mario no dormir. Él fue hasta todos la noche escuchar musica. Mario ir la escuala muy cansado. Él no aprende nada.
Wes Midgett ILP Update
WES MIDGETT ILP
WES AND SEYNI HOUSE PROJECT
La casa que hemos diseñado para el bosque, hay muchas ventanas y estar al aire libre. La casa fue construida hace poco por lo que la construcción es segura. Todos las habitaciones son grandes y limpiar. El precio no importa con un lugar como este
Nuestra casa se hizo para una o dos personas. Tiene dos baños, dos dormitorios, un salón, una cocina, una oficina y un pequeño comedor. Nuestra casa está hecha principalmente de madera y ladrillo. Tiene muchas ventanas grandes para que los residentes pueden ver la vista. De espacio al aire libre, la casa está rodeada de bosques y hay dos porches para que los propietarios pueden disfrutar del aire fresco en la casa. En el sótano hay un dormitorio completamente amueblado y baño para invitados.
Cuando entras en el hogar hay una zona de estar muy acogedora y el comedor. Cuando usted puede ver el piso la oficina a la derecha y un cuarto de baño a la izquierda. En el piso superior está el dormitorio principal y cuando usted camina por allí, hay un porche con una vista magnífica. Gracias por su atención.Wes & Seyni Menu
Reconstruction Era Visuals Project (Wes Midgett)
For my concept map I kept a consistent color scheme throughout the entire Piktochart. I used multiple colors that served as different labels. For instance, on each of my maps there are two-three different colors that mark the states where interracial marriage was legal or illegal in that time period. Below all of my concept maps I put a paragraph explaining what was going on during that time. As you can see, all of my fonts and text sizes are the same throughout the project and so are the placings of every map and paragraph or title. In my project there is a lot of information on how people felt at that time and who suffered the most.
On every page of my concept map there is a different map that shows which states legalized interracial marriage. In all of my many sources I found the same evidence showing the progression of anti-miscegenation in the U.S. I found all of this information so interesting, I mean why did they prohibit people from getting married? In this information I found that all of the southern states have always been against interracial couples. I really want to know why the South has always been so discriminatory and prejudice. Also, where did all of these ideas of anti-miscegenation come from? I know that the U.S. has always been extremely racist, but I don’t understand how love has anything to do with race. Anyway, I still have a lot of question about the Reconstruction era, but I hope that my project is very informative.
ENSAYO PROMO WES, XAVIER, KATE, LOTUS
Science Leadership Academy es muy divertido, súper bobo, y bastante extraño. Nos encanta los profesores, los divertidos proyectos, y las únicas clases. Lo que más nos gusta de SLA es la comunidad. SLA está asociado con El Instituto Franklin. Cada miércoles los estudiantes del grado noveno visitan al instituto para aprender las ciencias. Los estudiantes de SLA obtienen una experiencia especial que no se puede tener en otras escuelas. Y como si fuera poco, tenemos computadoras y compañeros impresionantes. ¡Es por eso que SLA es perfecto para todo el mundo! ¡Nos encanta Science Leadership Academy!
La Escuela Del Futuro
Bienvenidos a Science Leadership Academy (SLA), la escuela del futuro. Nosotros cuatro somos Kate, Lotus, Xavier, y Wes. Vivimos en Filadelfia, y asistimos a la mejor escuela en el mundo: SLA. Nuestra escuela es tremendamente increíble. SLA está cerca de muchas tiendas, incluyendo Trader Joe's, Arch Gourmet, y 7-Eleven. También, la escuela es bastante chévere, y el edificio es hermoso. Hay casi 450 estudiantes en la escuela y 20 profesores. Además, SLA es súper chévere y tenemos muchas cosas buenas. Tenemos computadoras, impresoras, lápices, proyectores, y mucho más. También, ofrecemos robótica, debate, la música, y muchos deportes. Todos los extraescolares, clases, estudiantes, y profesores son bastante fabulosos.
Durante el día, tenemos cinco clases, las clases son organizadas por las bandas. Las clases principales son Inglés, Matemáticas, Historia, y Bioquímica. Los electivos que tenemos son tecnología, teatro, arte, y la ingeniería. Unas favoritas son tecnología e inglés. En estas clases necesitamos un libro, una computadora, un lápiz o el bolígrafo. Las clases son una hora y cinco minutos de duración. En este momento leemos, escribimos, estudiamos, y trabajamos, pero nos divertimos. Para tener éxito tenemos que trabajar duro, hacer la tarea, y estar preparado.
Los profesores en SLA son tremendamente asombrosos. Unos de nuestros favoritos profesores son el señor Kay y la señorita Giorgio. El señor Kay enseña inglés y la señorita Giorgio enseña matemáticas. Ellos son bastante cómicos, inteligentes, y simpáticos. Sus clases son dificiles, sin embargo super divertidos. En la clase de inglés escribimos ensayos y leemos libros. En la clase de matemáticas resolvemos problemas y escribimos ecuaciones.
Science Leadership Academy es muy divertido, súper bobo, y bastante extraño. Nos encanta los profesores, los divertidos proyectos, y las únicas clases. Lo que más nos gusta de SLA es la comunidad. SLA está asociado con El Instituto Franklin. Cada miércoles los estudiantes del grado noveno visitan al instituto para aprender las ciencias. Los estudiantes de SLA obtienen una experiencia especial que no se puede tener en otras escuelas. Y como si fuera poco, tenemos computadoras y compañeros impresionantes. ¡Es por eso que SLA es perfecto para todo el mundo! ¡Nos encanta Science Leadership Academy!
WES MIDGETT PROYECTO
Wes Midgett
Script:
Yo
Me llamo Wes. Tengo el pelo marrón y los ojos avellana. Soy alta y delga. Tengo catorce años. Soy de Filadelfia. Me fascina practicar deportes y pasar un ratos con amigos. No me gusta nada estudiar y escribir. Soy Italiana y Almenia.
Ella
Se nombre es Anastasia. Ellas tiene el pelo café claro y los ojos café. Tiene dieciseis años. Es de fishtown. Le gusta pasar con amiga. No le gusta nada estudiar.Ella es amable y cómica. Es mi mejor amiga. La quiero mucho.
Él
Su nombre es Seb. Tiene quince años. Es de center city Filadelfia. Le gusta tocar la guitarra. No le gusta nada practicar deportes. Él es cómica y interesante. Él es una mezlca de razas. Sin embargo, charlar un poco.
Ellas
Ella nombre es Jhazzelle, Aminda, Thalia, Jennifer, y Zoe. Ellas son mis mejor mejor amigos. Solíamos ir a la misma escuela. Ellas son tremendamente
Nosotras
Esta es Jo, Isabella, Lucia, Emily, y yo. Hemos jugado volleyball juntos. Qué chevere. Vamos a jugar los fines de semana.
WES (revised slide)
WES MIDGETT
Hi, I’m Wes. This is my slide and I feel like it really has a lot to do with my personality and my characteristics
I chose the color of the slide because light blue is my favorite color
As you can see the color scheme of my slide is pastel
I learned from the article that I should use colors that go well together and fonts that, in a way, relate to the color scheme.
The picture in the middle really goes with my persona because, unlike a lot of teenage girls, I don’t want a boyfriend. I want to pet and cuddle cats
As you can see, there is a burger, I think that burgers might be my fav food ever. Also, this particular burger is a drawing from the TV series “Bob’s Burgers”. Which is my favorite show
I put the brofist with the words “real friends” in this slide because real friends are really important to me. I really value a friend who is loyal and trustworthy
Like most of you know, I’m really sassy, that’s why I put the heart there. I think that being sassy is a really big part of my personality