English 1 - Dunn - X Public Feed
Autism Matters
Hey guys, welcome back to my third and final blog on a heart touching topic, autism! Now if you have not seen blog #1 and #2, feel free to click on the link or read more for the summary. As I had talked about in my previous blogs, I’ve been researching on autism but mostly focusing on kids with autism. It is such a huge problem, not because the children are affected by autism, but how they are not given the attention and help they deserve. Autism is not just a diagnosis or disabilities, it’s someone’s lifestyle, they are overcoming their struggles every single day. Imagine how kids are doing in school, are the teachers giving the extra help they need and are they getting bullied?
As it shows, this topic is very important to me and all the families who are affected by autism. I had cover the topic autism from head to toe, on what it is, who are affected by it, how it’s important to me, and now are you ready to hear about the fun part of this? I figured I needed to do something to help make a change, a change to help spread autism awareness, and I did! As a way to give back to what I support and a way to end my project.
Before I begin to tell you about what I had done, I want to just talk a little about what I had seen others do or are currently doing to help spread autism awareness and research. There are fundraisers happening, volunteering for a walk, donations, etc. Money raised are going to help researchers research and understand more about autism. With better understanding and research, doctors will have better view on autism itself and on ways to help a child who are diagnosed.
I believe that any type of way, or even the smallest effort to help spread awareness have such huge impact for better understanding and change towards autism. Yes, fundraising, donating, and walking are very helpful and amazing, but remember being supportive of the cause, knowing it’s real, and being mindful is a way to start a change from the heart.
I had made autism awareness ribbons, but with the help of the idea from my amazing English teacher, Mrs.Dunn, and the help from my mom, sister, and boyfriend. The ribbons were sold during both lunch periods for $1 each. It was fun and had went great, because there were so many supportive peers, from 9th to 12th, buying the ribbons and wearing them to support the cause.
It was so heart touching when I saw them wear the ribbon and was just being as supportive as they all can be. $83.00 was raised from the fundraiser! I felt so happy, no other words to describe my feeling. It was a moment where I had realized I can help make a change, even if I am teenager, and not to forget the help from loved ones. I learn a lot about myself through this journey in making a change. Although this was not my first plan, which was to actually be able to help out kids with autism for a day in a real classroom, I am still very happy. It had made me put myself outside my comfort zone and be out there talking to others.
I felt like I could have done better with the fundraising part, I have to admit, there were some points when I was selling the ribbons where I did not socialize to the people buying it as much as I had wanted to. It was something new for me, and because I am not the most out there type of person. I will learn from this experience and push myself further the next time! This is not over, there are still many things others and I can do to help keep up autism awareness spread, and make it worldly known.
I would like to acknowledge Mrs.Dunn my English teacher for helping me throughout my process with this project. I never felt once that I was alone doing this. Also, my mom and my sister, they had helped me make the autism awareness ribbons, otherwise I would not have anything to sell. Last, but not least, my boyfriend, who was so supportive during my project, from blog #1 to #3 and even helping me sell the ribbons at lunch. Hold on, don't think I forgot, I acknowledge everyone who had read my blogs, who had bought my ribbons, and just supporting me along the way, thank you.
Click here for my annotated bibliography.
Blog #3: The Syrian Refugee Crisis, A Chapter That Will Not End; Written By: Gabrielle P. Kreidie
Three years ago, a civil war erupted in a nation known to the world as Syria. A pernicious difference between those who run the government under the leadership of President Bashar Al Assad, and twenty two million people who made up the population of Syria, started during the days of the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring began in Tunisia, where in December 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi burnt himself in front of law officers . The Arab Awakening, as it is often referred to, moved on to the rest of the Middle East, Northern Africa and surrounding countries, as it attracting the news of everyone in the world. As the more and more people that got involved with both nonviolent and violent protests against their government in these countries, the less and less anyone focused on the suffering, ordinary people and the new set of millions of refugees were now facing.
Throughout the past seven months I, Gabrielle P. Kreidie a ninth grader at Science Leadership Academy, have researched the ever growing conflicting of the Syrian Refugee Crisis. My first two blogs, Blog #1 and Blog #2 talked about the research I found, in addition to interviews I have conducted, to figure out even more about the refugee crisis than what the media lets on. Refugees are heading to neighboring countries, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, as well as finding asylum in countries such as Bulgaria. There are more than nine million Syrians who have fled their homes from the Syrian Civil War, with over two and a half million registered as refugees in other countries by the United Nations. As the fighting gets worse and worse, the more amount of Syrians who die increases and the amount of hope for liberty and privacy for Syrians decreases exponentially.
The image shown above is the set up for the Syrian Refugee Panel. Mr. Khorchid, a Syrian businessman (far left), Gabrielle P. Kreidie, moderator (left) , Mr. Reaume, a member of the Qatar Foundation (on computer, skyped into the conference), Mr. Kreidie, a professor at Villanova University for Middle Eastern Studies and founder and executive director of the Philadelphia Arab-American Community Development Corporation (right), and Mr. Przbylek (a member of the Nationalities Service Center).
More than two and a half million Syrians refugees, not including the Palestinian refugees who fled to Syria in the 1970’s until the conflict upheld and they lost their homes again, need our help. Not one person would dare place their self in Syria, as of right now, it is certainly dangerous for any man, women and child. Yet, we do not need to put ourselves in complete danger in the case that we want to help our fellow humans who are suffering in the hands of their treacherous leader. You can help them from thousands of miles away, just as I did.
For the final component of this project which I have started promoting since the beginning of the school year, I organized a Syrian Refugee Panel. This panel allowed students from all over my school to understand the issue facing straight in front of us and allow all sorts of educated people on the crises to speak their views. The panel included a professor for Middle Eastern Studies, a Syrian businessman, an employer of the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia, and an employer of the Qatar Foundation. The panel was incredibly successful and I was told by my fellow peers that they learnt a lot, which was my goal all along.
Mr. Khorchid talking about the problems his family and other families are facing in Syria. Mr. Reaume focused on the troubles refugee camps were facing.
The easiest way to help the Syrian refugees is, what I did at my school, spread the word on the crisis to all sorts of people. Very few all over the world know exactly what is happening to the Syrian refugees, having the ability to be educated on this topic and then present your knowledge to others is one of the greatest ways to keep this very serious issue in the minds of all. There are many other ways to get involved, you can go to the World Food Program for additional ways that you can help the Syrian refugees, as well as Save the Children and UNICEF. There you can donate money and find fundraising ideas to campaign for the Syrian refugees.
The Syrian refugee crisis is becoming more and more aware in the news force lately, from a very powerful superhero, celebrities. Celebrities, as famous as they are, are able to highlight important issues with millions, if not billions, of people paying attention to all that they do. Harvey Weinstein missed the 2014 Cannes Film Festival release of a movie he distributed, Grace of Monaco, to stay in Jordan and talk to children refugees from Syria about films. Angelina Jolie, an ambassador to the United Nations, has made multiple trips to hosting countries for Syrian refugees, and continued to highlight the issue in the news. Even the popular Pope Francis, on his recent trip to Jordan and the Holy Land thanked the Jordan government for holding half a million Syrian refugees in their country and earlier this year has called for an “urgent end” to the civil war.
Mr. Kreidie focused on the history of the conflict and the international response for the crisis. Mr. Przbylek focused on what we did in our region to help Syrian refugees.
This project has allowed me for the past year to focus on a honestly, important issue. Being Arab- American, I know the struggles my family is facing thousands of miles away, while I live in the United States of America living a pretty relaxed life compared to all of them. I am one of the lucky ones, in terms of not having to deal with civil wars right outside my door. My dream is to work for the United Nations and to give people around the world the greatest amount of help while they are suffering. I hope to open schools in refugee camps and campaign for money for vaccinations for every person in the camps. I have seen, through this project, that I have a tool to change the world in my hand: the internet. Sure, this blog may not be breaking news on CNN, yet as long as one person sees it, the message will be received. Thank you for taking the time on checking this blog and researching the Syrian refugee crisis. The end of the crisis will come, only if we step up and speak aloud.
Thank you to Miss Dunn for everything! You are one of the greatest teachers I have ever had and one of the kindest people I know, and one with great amount of shrewd!
My Third Bullying Blog
Hi, my name is Ali. I am doing a project for English called you and the world. It is a project where we find a topic we are passionate about, and I chose to do bullying. The reason I did is because it is causing suicide. So I made two blogs (Blog 1 and Blog 2). The first on was about the statistics of bullying and suicude, and how it will grow if we don’t stop it. On the second blog, I explained the effects of bullying and suicide, and talked about why some of these bullies are killers. i just did something called the agent of change. For my agent of change project, I did a presentation to my advisory about bullying. I talked about how it was the cause of some of the U.S suicides.
The amount of suicide bullying caused is beyond ridiculous, and I wanted to let people know about it. I do have ways this can be changed. I feel good about doing this presentation because I did show my advisory the effects of bullying. One way I did that was that I showed my advisory a CNN story about a girl that commited suicide because people not only spread innappropriate photos of her, but they called her nasty names and cyberbullied her. People got emotional after seeing that. We, as an advisory, discussed the effects of bullying and suicide. When I presented, I did stutter a lot. I also chose a video before completing. The result was excellent, but it could have been bad. Also, I wish I practiced before I presented. Those are things I would change. But I did cause some change because I opened people to the facts about bullying, and discussed that with my advsiory. That put the topic back in everyone’s head. Not only that, I shared a young victim’s story. That hit the advisory hars, as they were sad too see that. So, that is how I made change
These pictures are of me doing my presentation about bullying and it’s effects. During this presentation, I asked the students for their answers for the questions. I liked all of the answers that I got from the students. In these photos, I am either speaking or taking answers to the questions I am presenting. I wanted to get the group’s answers to questions such as “Why is suicide important?”, and then give my reason.
The thing left for us, as a nation, is ending bullying for good. It still exists, and I need to do all I can to make bullying extinct. No kid should go through this, and no person should feel suicide is needed in order to escape the pain caused by bullying. It is ridiculous that such a thing is even happening. So far, Cartoon Network has a special called “Stop Bullying”, which encourages anti-bullying to the youth. Also, WWE has a partnership with Be A Star, which is an organization that encourages and promotes anti bullying. And because of it’s partnership with WWE, this message is presented to millions of people, many whom are children. Even better, the wrestlers themselves are speaking against it constantly. I love the things being done. Sending anti-bullying messages to millions of kids is very important. Kids need to know that verbal and physical harm is unacceptable, especially since it is literally murdering today’s youth. Not only that, there are thousands of websites going against bullying.
I do want to thank Ms. Dunn for giving the class the oppurtunity to make these projects. If it weren’t for that, this project would not even exist. I also want to thank my advisory and the other students that joined that day. They were very polite as I left them a reminder that bullying is awful and sending kids to the graveyard. I also must thank my mom. She was a huge help during the process of this project’s creation. There is still bullying. But luckily, this nation is doing it’s best to stop it. And that is an amazing thing.
YATW Blog Post#3
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.
* Student looking at the poster
* One of the posters on the wall in the hallways
YATW Blog Post 3: The End To My Trilogy
Hi. I am Aaron Watson-Sharer and I attend Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia,PA. I am writing about what I have learned and done to support the fight against head injuries. You can see my first blog post and my second blog post now! In my first blog post I wrote about my research. I found facts and statistics on head injuries and good tips on how to stay safe. I warned people of the real life damage head injuries can cause. I expressed my feelings for the victims who still live with side effects of head injuries. For my second blog post, I wrote about my findings from research; for example, today NFL helmets are roughly 20% effective towards injuries rather than 100%. I also conducted original research that I used for my second blog post. I wrote about today’s efforts to prevent head injuries.
During my research, I have found many things that had been done and more importantly what is being done in order to prevent head injuries. Today there have been improvements in awareness and equipment. Recently a fundraiser at the White House raised $86 million dollars to treat and prevent concussions. There is also new equipment. There are kevlar in helmets to prevent head injuries. Kevlar is commonly used in bulletproof vests. For example, they used kevlar in the helmet of James Harrison in 2012. He said it helped him feel better during and after games.
Previously, the problem was people never batted an eye at a problem. This is probably human nature; we are not aware of a problem until something happens. This is the issue with concussions. We don’t care until another victim comes along and then we become more cautious. Before people are aware of injuries, they have the mindset “I won’t get hurt”. Nevertheless, people must act earlier rather than later to prevent serious injury. All that has been done to prevent concussions will be for nothing if we just wait for the next victim then bring out the heavy artillery to prevent these injuries. Today’s research must be applied to everyone so another person is not injured or possibly killed.
- In this Image, you see James Harrison, showing off his new helmet, with more lining to protect himself.
Based on my research, I agree with what is being done to prevent head injuries. I’m actually proud of our progress. I have faith that new technology will make a difference. Fundraisers are also important as well as holding organizations responsible. The fund raising can support research on superior helmets and decrease the cost. Fundraising should also be used for education to make children and young people aware of the dangers of head injuries. Together, prevention, education and research can save lives.
For my agent of change duty, I made a prezi to present for my advisory. I presented causes and effect and much more. I spoke about today’s efforts to prevent head injuries. Then, students made comments and asked questions and I responded. It was a fun process. I’m working on my teaching skills and research skills. I really enjoyed what I did even though it was my back up plan. Original I wanted to do a documentary but I need more experience with the software. Either way, I hope I helped other students in being more cautious and careful before something bad happens.
I think I’ve made change perhaps for others but mainly myself. This change is huge. I am an athlete. Now I focus on how to stay safe. It’s a factor in my playing attitude. In the long run, I not only helped myself but hope I informed and helped others. While I learned important information, I hated worrying about it all school year long. It was not very difficult if you kept organized and cared about your topic. I was reminded that one hour of hard work pays off rather than five hours of mediocre work. I also believe this is one of my best projects for my freshman year.
I could have done plenty things better like teaching better than I did. I could have spent more time preparing for my agent of change. I would like to continue pursuing head injuries as a topic of interest. I want to follow up on current changes in both improving equipment and educating kids about head injuries. Hopefully, more companies will conduct research and the government will require the public to be informed about develop of treatment for head injuries and technology that prevents injuries. As an athlete and teen, I am ready to learn more and help prevent head injuries.
Also “We can’t change the world unless we change ourselves” - The Notorious B.I.G.
Acknowledgements:
- Ms. Dunn for aiding me throughout this project.
- Ms. Siswick for making time for me to present my agent of change work.
- Others
YATW 3: Change
¡Hola! Are you at least partially ready to embark on the psychedelic journey that is my You and the World Blog Post #3? I know that I am at least partially ready to embark on the psychedelic journey that is my You and the World Blog Post #3! You’ve heard me here, researching online and discussing green energy and the necessity for it; you’ve heard me here, introducing original data revealing portion of the population’s view regarding green energy. This blog post will regard my “Agent of Change/Action Piece,” and will involve me jumping on a solar-roadway powered bandwagon. Welcome to the final blog. Welcome to the Post of Change!
The Action Piece was a simple assignment: do something to support your issue. In my case, the Piece found itself being a presentation to my advisory. If you wouldn’t like to click that link because you’re lazy and because you have very little motivation, that’s ok, as I can easily describe it: it references this infographic with information relating to the economic aspect of installing solar panels from 2011 and it mentions that panels have gone down in price by 60% since then. I had a great time in advisory, and I’m hopeful that I successfully brainwashed them into supporting my agenda!
A picture of me presenting to my advisory. They are clearly enthralled.
In researching for that presentation, solar roadways were easily the most important thing I found. They are hexagonal plates with photovoltaic cells, pressure sensors, heating systems, and light emitting diodes in them to replace roadways. They take the pressure off of the individual for installation of panels, and instead relate to the community as a whole. They not only capture light energy, they also remove and filter snow and ice, warn about when vehicles/pedestrians/animals are are coming.
Electric cars could be charged with them, therefore eliminating the need for gas-burning cars. Houses could be charged with them, therefore eliminating the need for natural gas/coal burning energy plants. The future is now, and only you can prevent wildfires.
In this instance, of course, “wildfires” means global warming and the running out of fossil fuels. And it is very preventable. Invest in solar energy! If you don’t have money, pester someone who does into solar energy! Support solar roadways! If you can’t afford that, pester others until they do! The world can be saved, if only we were to actually put in the energy to do so.YATW Blog #3: What Lies Ahead
Well, hello again. It’s me, Quinn Grzywinski, back for my English project YATW: a journey that began over 5 months ago, when we chose a subject of importance to us, and were to write three blog posts about it to raise awareness. For those not in the know and who haven’t read my previous blog posts, I recommend for you to check those now. My first blog: “Arbitrary Future” detailed the current situation of overpopulation and what it could mean for the possible future, along with statistics and predictions of the coming decades. My second blog: “Why I’m Wrong” focused around survey I sent to get data on how aware people were of overpopulation, and how much they considered it a problem. In spirit of the name, that blog mostly told of how unexpected my results from that blog were, and that people do know of overpopulation, so I consider that survey a failure seeing that it really didn’t pick up how much people knew about it. But it’s time to put those two behind us now, as I turn my weary opinion on overpopulation to here: my third and final blog. I’ll be talking about my Agent of Change project, a little about how the world seems to be taking notice, and making a final statement about, for humanity, what lies ahead.
Let’s begin talking about how overpopulation is being taken from various people and places around the world. And with any study of various options, it depends on who you talk to and who you listen to. If you listen to to Alexandra Paul: an environmental activist, the solution is simple.
According to her TED talk, she’s been interested in overpopulation since a young age, and for her, all you need is to educate woman, something that appears to be running trend for when I try to answer for myself how this issue can be dealt with. Something so simple, so simple perhaps it’s overlooked; that’s a mindset that needs to change.
You needn't even listen to Reuters: a global photography website, for they show you 14 haunting pictures of the overcrowded world, perhaps hoping that the seeing the issue face to face will have a greater effect. Personally, I urge to check out these pictures, they’re truly eye-opening and may really make you realize what overpopulation looks like. I don’t pretend to be an expert on overpopulation, it’s just something I became interested in, but I’d like to make a presumption on how overpopulation is taken by the public. If I may draw a slight parallel to global warming(though I think overpopulation is less widely considered); the problem isn’t that some people aren’t talking about it, it’s that we the media don’t listen to it. Why? Maybe because it’s scary. Scary to think that less than a century from now we could be caught up in a resource war, run out of wheat and bread, and have a planet of shouldering over 10 billion people. I don’t mean to be prophet of doom, but as I said in my first blog, it won’t be a gradual thing, it’ll be more like falling off a cliff. We need to just turn and face this issue, even though it might be frightening to talk or even think about, because no matter how much we deny it, it’s not going away. It’s getting nearer, and alarmingly fast too.
For my Agent of Change project, I wanted something a little more personal something that would get people actually interested in the issue. I couldn't have fundraised even if I wanted to, since I wasn't exactly sure which organization I would benefit, and even if the money I raised would actually be spent helping stop overpopulation. I didn't have anywhere in particular I could volunteer either, so the answer was to grab people’s attention and leave it to them how much they wanted to find out about this issue. I just needed to make sure the message was compelling enough.
The images you see above and below that I've posted onto this blog are snapshots of the posters I made for my Agent of Change project. The posters are hand-drawn, using images taken from the internet, with my own tagline to go with each of them, along with a list of links to check out. I made sure that the images I chose were either uncomforting or surreal enough to grab passer by's attention, and it took a lot more work than you would first think. Why posters? I just like the idea of instead of someone donating to a nameless charity and forgetting about it the next day, they would see these attention-grabbing posters, day after day, until they finally considered the message they were trying to convey.
I like to think that through both my survey that was done for blog #2 and these posters that I have created, a small faction of people are more aware of overpopulation. I explained thoroughly in blog #2 how my survey was a failure; which also leads back to the presumption I stated above. I may have made people be reminded that overpopulation was, you know, a “thing”, but that was it, and it would soon leave their minds without the grim facts to keep them focused on it. So all in all, even as I made these posters, I felt like whatever I did, it simply wouldn't make an impact, and be in the end, purposeless. Maybe I shouldn't be over-thinking this, but even these blogs I doubt will make an impact on anything. I guess I really can’t get out of this somewhat depressing mindset, fortifying my final opinion on this project.
So what would have kept people wary of overpopulation for my Agent of Change? I don’t know. I wanted posters, something personal and attentive, but if I were to do this project over, I would want something with a bit more impact. Yes, seeing the posters day after day may have attracted a few curious peers, but seeing the short amount of time they were actually up on the wall, I doubt it. A redo would put the “Rueter theory” into effect, remember those photo guys which I mentioned? They showed without telling, letting the reality of overpopulation sink in through just a few photos. Surrealism is good, but I feel like using real life photos of the problem may have been better, and also, a longer duration of how long the posters were on the wall would have helped too.
Now I feel kind of bad. I’ve let this final blog post turn into some sort of grim rant on how nobody takes this issue seriously, the reality that the world will be extremely different in the next 60-80 years, and my own uncertainty on the impact of this YATW as a whole. Sort of a downer of a finale.
But maybe that’s for the best. I don’t want to act like this whole thing is no big deal. I don’t want to sugarcoat the facts, to leave readers with a “yeah, everything’s fine” attitude. Because it isn’t fine. These are the facts. I’m not going to hold back as I say this. Overpopulation is currently one of the greatest threats to mankind, and needs to be dealt with immediately. Not leave it to the next generation. Not wait 50 years. Now. This isn't going away. This isn't some distant horizon to look upon. The future, our future, is in our hands, and if we all act like it doesn't exist, it will tear our society and our planet apart.
So please, tell your friends. Tell your friend’s friends. Tell your grandparents. Tell your crazy uncle, your 7-yr old niece, your gym instructor. I can’t promise anything. I can’t say everything will be OK. I can’t decide for you what you will do about it. All I can do is leave you with some words of warning and a choice about how you’ll take them.
This next decision is yours.
You And The World Blog post #3: Agent Of Change.
Hello, everyone! It is Fodie Camara. I’m in the 9th grade and a student of Science Leadership Academy. In English class we were asked to write three blogs about something that we care about. I picked the issue of hunger. To me this a very important topic. If you don’t remember, my first blog post, talked about hunger-related facts and how it affects kids and the local community. My second blog post talked about my interview with my Advisor and the Food Can Drive that I’m organizing.
So for my third and final blog post, I’d like to talk about what people are actually doing to stop hunger. There are a lot of things that are currently happening to stop hunger. People and organizations are trying to raise awareness so more people can know about my topic of hunger in our society. This is definitely taking advantage of social media like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. They’re also setting up Food Can Drives in more and more schools to then donate and distribute to the needy. And more and more groups like Stop Hunger Now, Coalition Against Hunger and Philabundance, continue to form.
Food Can Drives are helpful because it immediately provides support for the hungry people in our city. The previous school I went to- Penn Alexander- maintained a Food Can Drive throughout the eight years I was there, and it was a success every single year. We had about 1,500 cans collected last year alone, and that was in only a couple of months. It’s common for us to see campaigns that raise awareness on Facebook and even Twitter account, and this motivated me to do the same.
There about 650,000 hungry people in the central part of Philadelphia alone! Image how many more people are hungry in our country? I pursue being an Agent of Change by actually staying to my word and organizing a Food Can Drive at my current school- Science Leadership Academy- because I wanted to continue what I worked on previously. While I know this won’t make a huge difference with hunger in Philadelphia, maybe other people will start their own because they see how successful mine was.
At the start of this Agent of Change project I didn’t really know how I was going to do this Can Drive. I had a sense of what I was going to do, but I started out with nothing and then went step by step like getting a box and putting it in the Advisory Memo to inform people that they could donate cans. I felt that I did a pretty good job on this project, especially starting the Can Drive as I was getting more and more cans everyday. I learned about myself as well in this project. I now know that I can really get something done by putting in effort and focus. I learned that other people felt the same way that I did because they brought in cans too and did their part in trying to make a difference.
I think I could have done better by presenting my project because I didn’t get a huge amount of cans at first, and I should have presented my topic in every Advisory in advance of the Drive so I could get more cans and more people to know about my topic. I could have also done better by putting two boxes on each floor and putting signs in the hallways. I’m still proud of what I accomplished, but it could have been better.
I’d like to thank everyone who donated and helped me to make this Food Can Drive a success. Shoutout to Ms.Dunn for helping me with every step throughout this long process, and also a shoutout to Mr.Herman for being the best Advisor for helping me get the box and everything!
You and the World Blog post #3: A Post for Change
This blog post is the third part in a 3 part series on our English class' You And The World project, where we each tackle a problem in our society that we want to spread awareness about. Blog #1 is about our initial research on our topic. Blog #2 is about our field research, where we gathered data ourselves based on survey results or observation. I took a survey of everyone in our class on their opinion of littering.
A signed SOSNA trash bag
In my research between now and my Blog #2, I looked into organizations like the South of South Neighborhood Association who hold neighborhood cleanups periodically, where they supply grabbers and garbage bags (pictures below) to small groups of people who help clean up the street. For my Agent of Change assignment, I participated in the first SOSNA spring cleanup of 2014. I put an ad in the school memo for it, but nobody could make it there. Neighborhood clean ups are a great way to get involved in improving the environment and beautifying your city, and other than that, it's great exercise for your back and arms. A few more interesting things were that we filled up around 10-20 trash bags over about 9 blocks and a couple parks, there was a 4 block stretch where there were no trash cans (except for one belonging to a business), and that the quality of the sidewalks and surrounding buildings appeared to be a big factor in the amount of trash in those places.
Various supplies provided by SOSNA
This was a fun project, and I’m looking forward to participating in litter cleanups in the future. The project has also taught me alot. Mainly that people don’t litter just because they don’t care. It’s also because they just don’t want to touch those gross garbage can handles when it’s so easy to just toss your stuff on the ground, but I digress.
Even though our city is bad in terms of cleanliness, it's only considered the sixth dirtiest city in America. Others include Atlanta at #5, Los Angeles at #4, Baltimore at #3, New Orleans at #2, and the Big Apple itself, New York, at #1. The cleanest was Cheyenne, Washington. Cheyenne even received the EPA’s Clean Drinking Water award in 2009. According to the website, they use special precautions and techniques to prevent large plants from leaking toxic fluids into the water supply. This may help with problems involving larger structures, but it wouldn’t be as effective here. If we as a whole really want to do better, we can encourage more cleanups and stricter laws in those places.
To conclude this post, thanks to Andy from SOSNA for agreeing to let a group of SLA students join their neighborhood cleanup of this spring. Also, big thanks to the 22 people who took my survey on littering (except for that one guy, you know who you are). And thanks to Ms. Dunn and Ms. Lucy for their continuing influence and support.
Annotated bibliography (Sources for #2 and #1. See hyperlinks for #3.)
YATW Blog#2 Music
In middle school, I took part in an extracurricular program called Play On Philly. (POP) The program started in 2011 and I’ve been in the program since the first day up until I graduated. I enjoyed everyday of it and I liked their teachings but what really made going worthwhile, were the friends I’ve made. The program became popular really fast and we’ve had concerts at some pretty cool places like the Mann Center, the Kimmel Center, and nursing homes. We’ve even had a concert in New Jersey. To show my gratitude to POP I’m going to assist the viola players with their studies.
As a form of research I interviewed my former viola teacher. These are her answers to my questions:
1. Do you believe that music can change the lives of children for the better? If so, how?
“Yes, I have been a teacher for over 13 years. I have witnessed time and time again when focusing on a musical goal and achieving it has elevated self esteem and self worth.”
2.Have you witnessed a change in behavior or mental traits with the children you’ve worked with? Were these changes beneficial?
Yes, I have
“Yes, I have seen how playing in a group with a common goal can give a sense of belonging and purpose.”
3.Do you believe music is a powerful thing? Why?
“Yes I do. I feel that music can reach a person on such a deep level. It can give an outlet to express your feelings.”
4.Does it affect your life in a major or minor way? (Other than being a teacher.)
“Music does affect my life. I am a violist and I have traveled to many places and performed with amazing people. I can express myself through my playing.”
5. Is there a downside to learning the ways of music? If so, have you witnessed it in the children you work with?
“No, I honestly feel like there are “literally” no downsides to learning music. It is not only intellectually stimulating, it is therapeutic.”
6.How do you as a teacher make it a better learning experience for your students?
“I am very dedicated to my students succeeding in both music preparation and in real life. I push my kids to always exceed their limits.”
Her answers add to my understanding because I’m learning from the teacher’s perspective rather than a student’s.
There’s been no new information on the effects music has on the brain, so I’ll just do a recap on why music is beneficial to the mind. Studying music and playing an instrument can increases one’s intelligence, problem solving skills, enhances their hand-eye coordination, increases memory capacity, improves discipline, builds self-esteem, etc. Music is also therapeutic and can even change your whole view on the world. There’s even been a study that confirms that when musicians play a duet, their brainwaves synchronize. Music truly is something special.
Paragraph#4 What Im going to do
As an agent of change I’m going to go to my old school where the program is held, and I’m going to assist the new violists with their musical studies. I’m going to help them with their reading, give them tips and advice, help them tune their instruments, etc. Throughout my time as an agent of change I’ll document what I’ve been doing and use some of what I will write for blog#3.
For the next blog I’ll be talking what I did as an agent of change. I’ll have some pictures and maybe even a short video. I’ll also have a description of the experience and have a review from the teacher I was assisting (maybe from the students as well).
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