Author's Note

 Foreword

There is a problem going on in some parts of this country. Latino kids are being bullied across America. Kids telling other kids to "Go home" and called people immigrants. Technically, we are all immigrants but that's not the point. Now with Obama's new laws protected undocumented immigrants the hate gets worse.

For example, In June 2012 a 11 year old boy sand the nation anthem for the NBA finals. People on twitter responded with hate. One person said,  "There's a little Mexican kid singing the national anthem ... What has the world come to?"

It makes me sad that some people are so ignorant in this country. We are all humans and we need to respect on another.

Flight Synthesis Page

Book: Flight 
By Sherman Alexie

Critical Thinking Question:What really hard things are happening in the text? Are these things happening in the world now? Where?

Child Abuse: Child abuse happens around the world everyday.

Text Evidence: "Then my new father took me into another dark room in the basement ,one without any trains, and did evil things to me. Things that hurt. Things that made me bleed"(page 75)
_________________________________________________________________________________

Racism: Racism is also a really big issue that happens around the world

Text Evidence: "But no, he told me to wait a minute while he grabbed some paperwork.Then he went in the back room and came out with a shotgun. He called me a sand ni***r and he was going to blow off my head if I didn't get the f**k out of his place of business"(page 111)
_______________________________________________________________________________
War Violence: War happens everyday across the world. It  kills hundreds of people.

Text Evidence: "No, those Indians down there killed a little girl. shot three arrows into her belly and left her to die. And two feet away from that little girl's lay the naked body of a woman. Three arrows in her belly too. A blond and blue-eyed woman, bloody and violated, her right hand forever reaching out toward the little girl" (page 87)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Alcoholism: Lots of people get addicted to alcohol and in the long run, end up hurting them self or 
others.

"Well, I'm certainly a street drunk, a loser whose belly is torn apart by booze. That's why they call it rotgut"(page 132)

Connections: 
The thing about these topics is that they all really happen in real life. Many families get torn up destroyed because of these things. These are major issues in the world and it would be best for all If they stopped. Alexie did a great job incorporating these hard themes in to his book.

Banned Book argument essay

Do you know that 84% of teens get bullied because of their sexual orientation.  Well, that is the reality for Vincent, the main character in "Am I Blue?". Vincent is a 16 year old boy who gets verbally and physically, By a kid named Butch, because he is gay. Then Vincent meets a man named Melvin who claims to be his fairy god father. After talking with Melvin for a bit, Melvin grants Vincent with gaydar. Gaydar is the ability to turn everybody who is even a little bit homosexual to a certain shade of blue. Vincent gets the chance to see how many people are really gay. It makes him feel more confident and helps him deal with being bullied. All in all, the text “Am I Blue” should not be banned because it can help normalize homosexuality and make young homosexual teens feel better about themself and look at the world in a different lens.

One reason “Am I Blue” should not be banned because it can help normalize homosexuality. Lots of teens who get bullied for being gay feel like they are alone and that is not right to be gay. The text could explain to teens how many gay really are out there. The story states that “About one person in ten solid blue, and one out of every three or four with some degree of shading”  This part can provide the comfort that some teens need. Also this book can shape opinions on homosexuallity. It could make someone who is against homosexualty see how it is really not bad.

Another reason “Am I Blue” should not be banned because of the first amendment . The first amendment states the freedom of speech, and freedom of what people can or can not read. A teen should not be limited access to a piece of literature they want to read. This would be against the nations first amendment  and would be unlawful and unconstitutional to ban this book.

But some people may see the other way. The story contains questionable themes and strong language. In one part of the story Melvin says “My friends call each other “faggot” and “queer” for the same reasons black people call each other “nigger”  Some people may take offence to these words. This book also contains strong themes. You have to be mature to read this book. Some parents may not want their kid to read this book because they don’t think they can handle it.

In conclusion, The text “Am I Blue should not be banned. It is a great story and everyone should be able to read it.

Social Awareness

Interview

with my step mom Jen

1. What do you do for a living?

I’m a social worker at the Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science. It is an all girls school in downtown Brooklyn

2.What kind of training did you receive for your job.

After high school I went to a 4 year college, The University of Massachusetts at Amherst. After I graduated from college I worked at various jobs until I decided that I wanted to become a social worker. In order to be a Licensed Social Worker you need to get a graduate degree in social work and also pass a state licensing test. I decided to get my Masters at Hunter College School of Social Work. I attended the full-time two year program.  A large part of the program also revolved around having various internships, as well as taking academic classes.  After I graduated I took my exam and shortly after that I got a job with the school that still work in.

3.How do students at your school look at you?

I think overall, students at my school respect me and will listen to what I have to say. It’s not always easy and it takes time to develop trust and positive relationships, but with hard work and mutual respect, it’s possible.

4.What was the most serious issue you have ever faced?

I don’t know if I can name just one issue. There have been many situations that have been challenging. Sometimes, unfortunately, I have to deal with issues related to abuse or suicide or the negative impacts of poverty.

5.Do you like your job and why or why not?

I actually love my job. I  really enjoy working with kids. It’s never boring and I like that fact that I get to work with people everyday and build relationships that hopefully make positive changes. I also learn a lot about myself through working with kids - they keep me young and always keep it real!

6.How do you change the world with your work?

I’m not sure If I am changing the world, but I would like to think that I have some small part in helping kids make great strides towards being successful and learning how to follow their dreams.  A lot of the work that I do revolves around helping kids learn how to make positive changes, think for themselves,  develop independence and successful social skills and help them connect all of this to the larger world - college and the workforce. I would like to think that some of my work helps support kids having great futures and hopefully, one day, allowing them to give back to the community.

Original literary piece

Poem about Michael Brown

You didn’t deserve to die,

It made the whole country cry,

slain at only 18,

You had the whole world ahead of you,

But Darren Wilson took it away from you,

Just cause you stole some cigars,

You could have gone so far

8 bullets hit him,

For no good reason,

Not act of treason,

And Wilson was found Innocent

You never got to go to collage,

You never got to have a Wife,

You never got to see your child being born,

It was all stolen away from you,

You never knew that surrendering to a cop would be the last thing you’ll do,

Ferguson has riots,

Just for You

Response to a film

The film I am going to respond on is call “Slumdog Millionaire”. It is a story about a boy named Jamal who grew up in the slums of Dubai, India. He got to be on the show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and he is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. The people who run the show think he is cheating. So, they bring him in for questioning(AKA torturing) and ask how he knows all the the answers. He explains how he knows them in flashbacks of his life. It tells the story how his family grew up in the slums, Until, Both his parents get killed and he is alone besides his mean brother Malik and a little girl named Latika and their journey.

Even though the story is fictional, It still has a lot of social issues in it. For example, Everyone looks down at Jamal because he is from the slums and think he is worthless. Also, the reason why both his parents were killed because he was Muslim and a group of Hindu men set a violent attack on his slum.

Nonfiction Blog Post

Imagine being strapped to a chair, knowing you will die in any second, you will never have a chance to see your family or friends ever again. Your crying and shaking ,yelling "please give me another chance" but no one listens. Suddenly, your body is shocked with around 1,500 volts of electricity burning your body from the inside out. your life flashes before your eyes and comes to a dramatic ending.

That was the reality for 4,439 people who were executed by the electric chair in the U.S,  only a third of the 15,700 people who were executed in the U.S by all methods. A handful of these men/women ending up being innocent after they already paid the ultimate price. There was 1,300 executions since 1976. Still, 34 states still carry out executions. Which in my opinion is 34 too many. New York did a good thing outlawed executions.

In conclusion, this article opened my eyes to the horror of the death penalty,and shaped by opinion on it. In most instances executions are the wrong thing to do, especially if you can't proof that they committed the crime.

Reading Response

This field trip was very interesting, the museum taught me be about activism in NYC. I did not know about most of these events because wasn't born yet or just never learned about them yet. It really opened up my eyes to the struggles and victories of the past in our great city. I also really liked the photos in the beginning were very cool and I would love to own on of them,

The biking activists really surprised me. I never thought that bikers were disrespected in this community and how they had to fight to get bike lanes on city streets. The bikers convinced that bikes were good for the environment and great exercise. The reason these protests were happening were about the rising amount of deaths by cars hitting bikes

All in all, this trip really taught me a lot of amazing things about this city and made me happen to live in it,

The Giver Reading Response

        The Giver by Lois Lowry   Kieran Hogstrom


      The giver is a really great book. But, some people want this book banned and removed from school libraries. The giver is about a society where everybody get roles in the community and you have to follow them strictly. The main character, Jonas, is assigned with the most important job in the community, a receiver of memory. Which means that he needs to live the memory of very strange times

      One reason, teachers/parents want to ban this book is because scenes of graphic violence.For example, when Jonas receives the memory of war he sees a lot of gory ."[my] arm looked like ragged flesh and splintery bone. He also describes seeing a soldier covered in blood and watches him die right in front of his eyes.
 
     There is also a scene of mild . On page 36, Jonas is recalling his dreams and states "I wanted to her to take her clothes off and get into the tub". Some young readers may not understand this part of the book and take it as something else.

   All in all, the giver should be read we caution. I think this book should be read by mature middle schoolers and up.