What Keeps Me Going.

In the Senior Humanities class called Endurance, we learned about visions and if they are worth pursuing. We learned about how people talk through their autobiographies. We learned about what we have to endure to we reach our dreams. We learned how to prepare for our journey as adults since my classmates and, I am going to be attending college this year and we will be on our own. We learned about our inner qualities and, how it helps us achieve our goals. We learned about how to plan for our future. This class helped us to grow as individuals we learned what is like to endure tough situations in school and outside of school. In the class endurance, we had a woman come in who used to run marathons. She told us about her training and her trials and tribulations. She told us about her past as runner in high school and how she continued to pursue her passion even when she left. For this Action Project, we wrote an autobiography about our life speaking as ourselves from 40 years in the future. I wrote about myself growing up in Stamford and then moving back to Chicago as the 9-year-old child till I entered college and eventually owned my restaurant chain.

AL

                                   

  The Love That Carried Me

                                                   

    Chapter 1: The Spark

                                                

                                                  AL, Food and Childhood (2018)

I was seven years old about to turn eight. My family and I had just moved from Ohio to Stamford, Connecticut. We had been living in Connecticut for a few months now. In Stamford, there is only one, the large mall with a movie theater. So EVERYONE goes to this, mall and I especially loved this mall. I especially loved the large red stairs that were in the middle of the mall. The same place where “Santa” came to visit and see the kids in Stamford. My father came to visit from Chicago and took me to go see a brand new movie called Ratatouille. My dad and I found the best seats far in the back, right in the center. This movie was the beginning to me starting my journey of interest of Culinary Arts.

 Little by little, I began to want to explore food and just making things. When I was 8 used to go to the bathroom and pretend like I was making some exquisite meal. This fantasy “meal” was just toothpaste or anything I could find in my bathroom at the moment. In real life, I would help my grandmother make small parts of dinner for Thanksgiving and Christmas meal. When I was 9 years old we moved back to Chicago because my mother’s sister died. Being a child I never understood why everyone was so sad. That was the first time I saw my brother cry, I told myself that I would make my family happy no matter what format it would be whether it was telling them jokes or making a few meals here and there. I learned to do little meals like spaghetti and chili from my grandmother and mother. The smell of chili powder and black pepper and salt mixed with onions and turkey meat would fill the house and my family and I would come together and sit and talk about our day and laugh at jokes that we told about people. My family became happier I was back in Chicago with all of my family together. 

The summer before my freshman year of high school, I went to a culinary camp, In at Kendall college. In this camp, I experienced many things from how to lead people in the kitchen to just knowing how to clean or prep my station for the meals I was going to cook. We wore a chef’s uniform from head to toe. I learned the basic knife cutting skills. I learned how to make stock from just leftover vegetable scraps. This camp taught me how to make the exact meal that was the name of the movie I saw when I was a young child--Ratatouille. We were taught how to cut vegetables this was a challenge. A lot of chefs have gotten their fingertips cut off from not paying attention to what they are doing. I had to learn to do the right technique and make sure I pay attention. 

Freshman year began and I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I was confused. I started to do things I never did. I would lie to my parents and go out with my friends instead of completing my work . I did this because I had been going through a deep depression that I was unaware of so instead of facing my problems I just went out with friends and did no work. I got to so distracted by my friends that I stopped caring about my grades and my future just so I could please my friends, in the end, I am not even friends with most of the kids I used to hang out with back then.

 I left my school 2 weeks before my 15 birthday. I was home schooled for what felt like a long time. I finally ended up going to a new school where I had to make new friends. This school brought new challenges into my life from dealing with my first love to maybe having senior prom. This school blossomed my love for culinary again after I took a culinary class my junior year of high school, we had a cooking contest we had to make tacos and salsa as well as guacamole. My best friend Ra and my friend Isaiah where in my group we called ourselves RIA. We made our tacos using turkey meat. I seasoned the turkey meat with black pepper and salt and let the spices feel the room with there spicy aroma making my classmates sneeze. and helped them season the guacamole and make the salsa. We ended up winning the contest I felt so proud. 

Junior and senior year had to be the hardest years mentally for me. I realized those years that it was better to keep to myself than risk telling people things that are emotional for me. Junior year was the start of my journey for looking colleges that would best fit me. I dreamed and dreamed of going back to New York to live. I wanted to attend college the only thing stopping me was my family and friends. I am the type of person to put people ahead of me and my needs. I made the decision to stay in Chicago one so that I could be with family and to because I was in love with one of my close friends, even though at the time I never really thought I could be cliche and fall in love. After high school I went to, Robert Morris University one of the top five culinary schools, for the two years of my college life I attended this school. I went to the culinary competitions. I tried my best and I did so many of these competitions. Each time I got better and better at what I was doing until I won the competitions. I made my way up the ladder until I was competing with CIA. The Culinary Institute of America. This college CIA is the most dreamed about school in most chef’s lives everyone wants to go there. I competed with them over and over again until I won. 

My mother was a med student in residency trying to become a doctor with two kids. She is my role model and always will be. She struggled so much and inspired me to never give up she went to class and even had side jobs and still had time to take care of me and my older brother. She worked 12-hour shifts and taught me how to read and write. She struggles with the same things school and her personal life. I couldn’t choose between hanging out with my friends and doing good in school. My mom had to choose between being around all the time and going and getting her job done. She was home when she needed to be and at school when she needed to be. I learned to do the same thing and got further in life. 

Those competitions are the reasons I am where I am now. I am a successful business owner. My restaurant is in more than 40 states and, it’s in parts of the United Kingdom and more. I even make food for the famous rap groups and clothing designers as well. I am married I have two kids and, they are going through the same things as I was back then. I remember those hard times being sad or stressed or really depressed and, I had so many people around me that wanted to help me get through it but I wouldn’t trust them. I became who I am because I worked hard and climbed the later to the top. I have had my hard times with my aunt dying to me moving away from friends and family and even heartbreak. Everyone has will go through those times. In the end, I made the choice to choose the right path and most of my dreams came true. I am soon going to retire and help find new types of fish and coral reefs. I have always loved the water since I was little. One of the only places I am completely comfortable in. I am free to do whatever I want and, I can spend my time and discover new things and make more friends as I go.

Malia Obama Grandaughter Of Former President Obama

In the second unit of the senior Humanities class called Equality. We learned about race, class, and gender. We talked about current events. For example, we talked about the recent school shootings as well as the different issues that we have or don’t have with President Trump. For this action project, we had to write an article and based on a civil rights issue. We also had to make a toy or product that goes with our article. I wrote my article about former president Barack Obama’s granddaughter becoming the president of the United States and fixing the different issues that people face. The product I chose to make was a youth serum that the Malia Obama takes to stay young throughout the years. The hardest part of this project was deciding what topic I wanted to choose and decide how I wanted to write it. Another challenge was trying to make a product that I could make a poster about and feature in my article as well.

Citations:
Ivanov , Savanah. “Potion Bottle.” Dribbble, 12 Nov. 2014.
Benner, Ken. “Cartoon Illustration of an Old Lady Holding a Coffee Mug.” IStock, 18 Jan. 2016.

The Premiere Of The Black Panther Movie

In the senior Humanities class called Equality, we learned about what equality is. We learned about the history of race and gender. We learned about the different classes that people are labeled according to their income. For example, We learned Upper-upper class, Upper middle class, and Upper lower class. We learned about sexism. We learned about feminism and the different people that call themselves feminist. For our FE, we went to see Black Panther the movie. This was really fun to see the movie it connected to our class. This movie was the first Marvel movie with a cast featuring mostly minorities and it was inspiring to people who are minorities, in telling them that they can also be heroes. This project was difficult because I am a person that can't focus very well, but it made it worth focusing on because this project is about a movie that I love a lot.

Your Sentence Is Death By Lethal Injection

In the Junior Humanities class called Policy ,we learned in our last unit about specific cases, how they ended they ended and how it relates to policy. In Policy we learned mostly about the Brown v. Board case, and about desegregation of the school during that time. For an FE my class went to see a case at the Criminal Justice Courthouse. After we got the chance to talk to the Judge, about a few of the cases he had been able to see and read about. For this Action Project we were supposed to choose a case and decide whether the final ruling was justified or not. I chose to take the McGehee v. Hutchinson case and I chose to take the route that the ruling was justified.
 
                      

Sex Is A Forbidden Word

NA,(2017) Pixabay: Sex Offenders 

In the Junior Humanities class, Policy we learned about the Legislative branch and how it works. We studied cases in history and how the legislative branch used there power in the matter. We went to a city council meeting and we saw the mayor Rahm Emmanuel. Even though the meeting didn't talk about the topics we wanted, we got to see how issues are brought up and the system they go through. For this Action Project we had to make a persuasive essay about an issue and a legislator that can address the issue. I choose house representative of the distract I live In which is Barbara Currie. My issue was sex offenders. The most challenge thing that happened was finding an issue that I was passionate about, as well as finding a person that could address the issue. I got through these challengers by looking for bills that weren't passed yet. Finding a person that could actuallyadress the issue my teacher suggested using someone that was in my distract so I chose her.

AL

GCE Lab school

1535 N Dayton

Chicago, IL, 60642

April, 27, 2017

Barbara Currie

Representative office of the 25th district

1303 E 53rd St

Chicago, Illinois 60615

 "Sex offenders" those words can ruin someones life. Remember how you parents always said not to talk to strangers , Yeah sex offenders are the reason why. I would like to talk about having a Sex Offender Registry Task- Force. Ms.Currie this task force would help the people that live in Illinois keep watch for the Sex Offenders. It allows them to get involved, ask questions and give advice to the task force. Children and adults get assaulted everyday but  "approximately 30% of sexual assault cases are reported to authorities.” according to the National U.S Department Of Justice. This force would make it easier for those who have been assaulted to speak up and talk to the task force.
 
  Children are scared they don't know what to do, some don't even know they are being assaulted. Others are told that it is okay and they don't tell the adult. this is why only“62,939 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in 2012” According to the U.S National Department Of Justice. I can’t even imagine how this number has changed now in 2017. Recently, a teenage girl was by taken by her teacher.  He will be charged with aggravated kidnapping and sexual misconduct with a minor. To put your child in a place where you think they are safe and they get abducted is shocking to anyone. Even where I live there are there 3 sex offenders within a mile of me.

I am a student at GCE Lab School in Chicago. I am writing to you about the sex offender task force. This task force would help the community as a minor growing up in Chicago, I feel like it is so easy for a child to get abducted especially in my neighborhood where everyone knows each other and trusts each other. I think it would benefit the community to have a task force for the residents so they can keep in contact. This task force would help girls and boy all over Illinois and maybe it can spread to other states.This is the bill maybe be passed would help a lot of people. It is called the HB 5572, It is  in the process of being passed it will discussed January 1, 2018 and the materials will be discussed the same day the next year.  But I think there should be more that the Force does, for example like deciding whether or not the case should be passed on to the police. Having a Sex Offender Task- Force can be a bad thing as well people can use the task force as a way to make false reports. Having a false report is bad because people can be put a person into the registry and they didn't even do anything. People can also use this information as a way to ruin the lives of those that are on this registry as well. To stop these problems, I feel like the registry should only be allowed to see the people on the registry.  As far as false reports the task force should be able to look into the case first before it is brought to the police. Far too often the lives of children and adults are ruined by th , sex offenders. This task force would help with these problems and keep the community involved. I do think that this force should be able to investigate the reports.




Thank You I would appreciate your help so much.

Sincerely ,



AL

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

For this Elective term I took the class Stage Chemistry. In this class, we learned about the different types of stages. One type of stage is a thrust stage which, is a stage were the audience is seated on three sides of the stage. We also learned about arena stage,which is a stage that is surrounded by the audience. We talked about how to make scale drawings for different rooms in our school. We even went to see the play Uncle Vanya at the Goodman theater in Chicago. For this Action Project, we had to design a stage that benefits a play that we chose. I chose to do the play Another Word For Beauty. This play is about the different stories of the Women in jail and how they came to be in the jail. As well as the preparations for the beauty pageant they do every year. For this Action Project,  I chose to use my backyard as my stage for the play since it is good for outdoor scenes. I am proud of my sketches they took the longest to do since I did them last.

I chose to do, do my backyard because it is a good sized space it would be free of cost to me and I can do different things to it since the space is flexible and has room for adaptation while the, sides of the space which is an entry can be used for storage and or changing room for the actors as well. For the Lobby I used my living room since it is big enough to have the people that would be attending the play as well as it is very close to the stage and there will snacks and drink being served in the space they snacks will be $7 as well as the drinks too. There will also be a place to buy tickets which will be 10$ for adults (age: 18 and up) and 5$ for kids as well. I chose to use the Open Concept (OC) for the rehearsal space since it is big and can be made into a setup similar to the actual stage. The parking is set in three locations either the parking the stage or the street parking in front of my house. The seating would be around the stage on the front and sides of the which makes it a thrust stage but the audience doesn't have the stage as close to them.

Reflection:
For this project, I had trouble trying to figure out the scale that I wanted to make my stage and then I eventually learned to do it by asking for help from my teacher. I loved doing this project because it let me be creative as far what I wanted my stage to be and where it was located. I got to be the designer making sure certain parts made sense, I at first thought that my stage was an  arena stage since the audience can see from all sides but eventually decided to change it since it didn't work like I wanted it to, I had to think about the scenes that were dark, like during there flashbacks of themselves before they go to jail, and my stage not having a cover wasn't an option. I needed the cover for the scene I could put a cover over the gate and stuff to make it dark and the lighting can be. I had such a hard time drawing out all of these drawings especially to scale, plus I suck at drawing but I eventually got it together and learned to like what I did know that tried my best.

AL, Lyons Theatre,(2017)

	Goodman Theatre	My Adaptation
Concessions area	160 square feet	20sqft / 12.5%
Stage	4,000 square feet	512 sqft/ 12.8%
Box Office	144 square feet	20 sqft/ 13.8%
Seating Area	5,400 square feet	100 sqft/ 12  %
Parking	0ft	1,277sqft / 100%

AL, Lyons Theatre,(2017)

Who's The New Guy In The Cabinet

The Third unit in the Junior Humanities class Argument, we learned about synthesis and how to make them. A synthesis is a conclusion that resolves an argument between to people and finding an agreement. For this Action Project , I had to chose a role in the Presidential Cabinet and see whether or not that person fit and find someone that better fit that role. This Action Project was fun. I did have a hard time finding a candidate that I thought fit the bill. Me and my partner GM both had do at least one or two slides, she did the antithesis slide and Job description, while I made the other two slides. We split the work up pretty easily.

AL ,GM, Who's The New Guy In The Cabinet, (2017)

Welcome To The School And "Tyrone" And "Kevin"

In the second unit of Argument, we learned about the Scott vs Sanford case and about the five main fallacies. We talked about the constitutional amendments that were challenged by case, we made an argument based on the case. In the class Argument we visited, one the Chicago court houses. We saw a case involving Mal practice, this has to be my favorite FE I have been on so far. It was so fun to see the to sides come up with there evidence during the trial. For this Action Project, we read and chose a rule to amend in GCE Code of Conduct. We had to come up with and argument to amend this rule.

I choose to do Trespassing. In the Code of Conduct Trespassing is said to be "Students, patrons and school personnel are expected to have appropriate authorization to be on school property. It is considered a disciplinary violation to be in an unauthorized area and appropriate consequences will be determined." This rule isn't specified enough, because I have personally seen this rule being broken.
                                   

RRZEicons "Alumin-group.svg "(2009)

What does it mean by "Appropriate Authorization"and this rule isn't pushed towards all people that enter the school other than students, patrons and school personnel. This rule needs to be amended because it is specified enough and has been broken by people inside the school in power. Like I mentioned before it isn't specified enough it says " Appropriate Authorization" what does that mean especially when there is final presentations and the building is opened up to everyone. Does students mean students at GCE or any student in a school. I do understand the mindset of the framers of the Code of conduct. So to show you there point of view I made the argument of the Framers which would be.

P1: Students and patrons have to have approval to enter school.
P2:Those without approval are not allowed inside
P3: This rule is to be enforced by all associated with GCE
C: A person who enter the school who isn't a patron student or staff member will not be allowed and will be disciplined.

I have seen situations where "students" haven't been allowed in to the school after hours to play basketball, I have also seen situations were a students were let inside. why was that student not allowed to enter while this other students was.. There was another example were the same student "Tyrone" that was allowed in wasn't allowed because he was with the other student who was allowed in "Kevin". This rule needs to be amended because there shouldn't be cases where there are exceptions for one student to enter while another cannot.

My syllogism
P1: Not all people are allowed into GCE
P2: There shouldn't be exceptions for some and not others
P3: Not all people associated are following this rule
C: Students and more aren't really specified and need to be, because this rule has tell exactly who can and can't enter GCE without there being and issue. There should be no exceptions for certain people.

If this rule were changed people who come to support the students and school like the alumni wouldn't have trouble coming into the school along with the students who attended GCE in the past and people wouldn’t be afraid to come to visit their friends and teachers to show them what they have accomplished after leaving GCE and even can help the students. My argument connects to the first amendment which is “ Prohibits Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.” To be specific the part in red, connects to the rule of Trespassing because, it doesn't allow alumni to come and visit the student of GCE, when alumni come they make everyone more comfortable and we can talk more freely about the issues we as students notice. This amendment demonstrates true citizenship because, it talks about being able to meet with other and be part of a community and to change and make the world we live in better.

Evidence:
P1:Experiences with rule being broken
P2:It isn't specific as to what it means by "Student" or "Appropriate Authorization"
P3:Relates to the first amendment

Paving A Way To Nippon

In the Junior Humanities class, A Nation's Argument. We learned what was required to make and effective argument. We learned about the different parts of argument like the premises which is evidence that will lead up to the final conclusion that an argument is based on. We went over the Declaration of independence, and how the people living under the rule King George, assembled arguments against him to gain independence. For this Action project we had to write our own

independent study. I choose to write about Japanese culture because just like the people living under the rule of King George, I will declare Independence by becoming independent .

I believe that the everyone should be prepared for their future, which is the purpose of school. I believe that learning about the history of different cultures is a necessity for growth in many of people's minds. People are afraid of what they don't know. Learning about the different ways people are raised or taught to believe in different things or religions. Learning about the history of what the people of the past have seen and been through is like opening a diary where people that have lived in the past have all sat down and told you there life story.

Mariamichelle. (2016) Fushimi inari - Taisha Shrine. Web: pixabay

I am doing a independent study called "The Rebirth Of Cultures". In this study I will be learning about Japanese culture starting with the language. Another, thing I will be learning about is history. thirdly, I will learn about the cuisine of Japanese people. In addition, I learn about the government and the different religions of the Japanese, Lastly,will Learn how to apply this to the real world. I know this study will better prepare me for the social world we live in by learning about cultures.

Guiding question: How will learning about Japanese Culture help to better understand people of different cultures? This can help by learning about one culture. Culture is a large topic and to learn about all of the cultures in the world would take a long time.There is a such a vast pool of things to learn about culture.

As a result of this study I will be able to travel to Japan and be prepared to live with a host family. I will know how to act when entering the houses of others

Course Details:
-This course will be a full term (Elective) any age can do this independent study

- Deliverables would be a moderate meaning one or two chapters of reading kanji and learning how to write the Japanese language and learning the history of Japan. I can also learn by watching anime about the history of Japan. I will also have activities were I would visit neighborhoods that were in the past a very large community of Japanese people and eat some of the food there and learn about the cuisine.

-I would go on a field trip every other week. Regarding the topic of what is being learned

-For this class I would need Japanese language books and history books, writing materials, TV, classroom, myself ,Contacts for FE’s and Patience.

P1: There are so many cultures people don’t know about

P2: People will be able to connect to others, by learning about culture. Starting with Japanese culture.

P3: Japanese culture is a vast topic and learning it will help you understand or have an idea of the differences of others.

C: Japanese culture is a valuable thing to learn for people to understand difference between people and can be used to teach children a valuable lesson that everyone is different and shouldn't be judged for it

I have always been interested in Japan in general, I have always wanted to visit and see what it was like. My goal is to live there during college. There so many people that have used culture to make there life better. For example, Sakamoto Ryoma wouldn't have been able to remove Tokugawa Shogunate from power without learning to speak japanese he wouldn’t have been able to make peace. Another example is the artist Kanō Sanraku, he uses native Japanese techniques, which are painting animals, landscape and figures. Lastly there is Chef is Fumiko Kono. She is uses a mixture of traditional Japanese cuisine and french cuisine. This class uses the five pillars accountability, autonomy, purpose, gratitude and achievement of GCE .To Learn new things about people connects with autonomy, having freedom and or independence. In the end the syllogism is explaining that learning about Japanese culture is a valuable thing for people to learn and can be applied to many things.

The People We Always Forget

For the Junior Humanities class called Rhetoric .We learned about the different techniques and appeals of Rhetoric. For example, the appeals for Rhetoric are Logos which is an appeal to reason, Ethos which is showing credibility and Pathos which is an appeal to emotion. Techniques are devices like, anaphora which is when you make a certain word or phrase repeat in one or more sentences. Simile is making a comparison using the words like or as. For this action project we had to make an artistic piece that represents something that we feel strongly about. Me and my partner decided to make a voice over of the train to make people realize who rides the train, for example homeless people. It’s called ‘The Voices Of The Lost.This piece makes people realize that not everyone around them has what they have. To be blunt it is a piece about the homeless that go unnoticed in Chicago. This piece breaks the barrier of the status quo by putting people through the experiences they live through every day and make them realize what they have so blindly forgotten or ignored. When hearing this recording we want the listener to think about all the different people that struggle through life. We wanted to unite all of the people in Chicago to help those who can’t help themselves. This artwork is original except for the sounds my partner found on the internet to make it sound like the listener was actually on the train. He made a script that would get the attention of people.

            

                                      (LS,The Voices Of The Lost Ones"(2016)






Our rhetorical appeal in this piece is pathos. Throughout the recording , we were trying to get people to feel like they were on a train and then make them think about questions asked by my partner LS. Ethos was also a part in the piece as well. If people were to come up to each other on the train an repeat what the recording is saying, it would not have the same response. This message coming from the intercom, which is always spitting out stops about the train plays a huge part of the response to people. If you look at any map of the racial boundaries of the city, it is obvious that there is a strong divide ,where the groups of color live in Chicago. Many people may even feel that they live in a completely different city. In most cases, people that live up north aren't even aware that problems happen as far as racism as frequent as it does. This is why instead of attacking the people that are unaware, we want to make aware of there mistakes.



Often, we don’t care to think that there are homeless people that live on these trains. When we do see them, we complain behind the safety of our computer screens about them sleeping on the seats of the train. One well known homeless person is Freddie the homeless man ("Forgotten"). He sleeps on the Redline all day until the beds at a shelter open up at night. There are 2,055 people that live on the street or public transportation and parks in 2015 (Rianne). We want people to want to get involved on their own accord, not because they got ideas shoved into their head.




Citation:

Coale, Rianne. "As Homeless Numbers Rise in Chicago, CTA Is a Place of Refuge | Transit Diaries." Redeyechicago.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

"The Forgotten Passengers." A Red Line Project Special Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

Kendrick Takes Over Rhetoric With The Blacker The Berry

In the Junior humanities class called Rhetoric .We learned about the different techniques and appeals of rhetoric.For example, the appeals for rhetoric are Logos which is an appeal to reason, Ethos which is showing credibility and Pathos which is and appeal to emotion. Techniques are devices like, anaphora  which is when you make a certain word or phrase repeat in one or more sentences. Simile is making a comparison using the words like or as. We visited father Pfleger to talk to him about what he has done for his community and ask questions. The last reason that we talked to him is to have an idea of who us a rhetorical challenger for our action project. For this action project we had to chose a rhetorical challenger and use Prezi or slide to make a presentation to prove it that the person we chose is a rhetorical challenger by analyzing speeches or lyrics in my case.

   

 Citations:
"Childhood Maltreatment Experiences among US Army Reserve ..." N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
"Five Points Gang - Wikipedia." N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016
"Free Image on Pixabay - Kermit, Frog, Drink, Alcohol, Drunk." N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016
"Kendrick Lamar @ 2016 Grammy Awards on Vimeo." N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

Rising Above

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest soul, the massive characters are seared with scars"Khalil Gibran (Criminal Minds)

In the Junior, class called Rhetoric we learned about what makes up rhetoric ( audience speaker and message).We visited the history museum seeing the exhibits The lives of objects. We learned about the effect of Rhetoric on others , another thing that we learned was the techniques that make rhetoric more effective. Lastly, we learned how does rhetoric influence.For this action project, we had to make a speech for a candidate, they have to answer my question which is Why is the murder rate rising in Chicago

                    
                                            AL Rhetoric Speech from AL on Vimeo.

In Chicago, the murder rate has been rising a lot lately due to the rate of gun violence, because a large percent of gangs in the Chicago area.This topic has been on the news more frequently in these past three years involving gangs killing little kids with parent having gang ties.Tyshawn lee a nine-year-old boy was led into an alley and murdered by two gangs members that his father was assumed to have gang ties with,a child playing ball with his friends shot for something he knew nothing about. A woman who was 49 years old an innocent bystander was and killed in a gang crossfire trying to buy coffee from Starbucks. We can't even get a latte without being killed in the crossfire.

In May of last year, it was 46 murders and 318 shootings to 66 murders in may this year and 397 shootings. This is just some of the statistics of the rate rising. in the article 10 shootings a day: Complex causes of Chicago's spiking violence in the Chicago tribune stating that,” through June Chicago has had more homicides than the two largest cities combined” mostly being in the Englewood and Harrison neighborhoods are one-fourth of the homicides in Chicago related to gang disputes. I think that this should not be something that as 16-year-old girl that i should be worrying about, I should be worried about turning in my homework and dating instead every day I see new murder victims due to gangs. I am ashamed of where I was born , this is my home I have lived her since I was in the fourth grade, to become a youthful young women worried about my brother being killed by the police or shot in the crossfire of gangs getting home from work.

We as citizens of Chicago, should better try to have our kids have activities after school to keep them from joining gangs or being victimized by one. We as citizens should help out community to get out city back to way it used to be. We as citizens should not be ashamed to say where we are from to other in different cities , we should not be afraid to say if we live in Englewood or Harrison it shouldn't matter where we are from inside we are all the same. We As citizen need to love each other and be supportive not kill little boys that barely have even lived. Loving where we from to should be like loving our parents that house and clothes us. Kids being able to go play ball with no worries is like , minorities not having to deal with discrimination for wanting a good job to support their families.

Sources:
Https://www.facebook.com/wgnnews. "Chicago Murder Rate Jumps in May 2016 Compared to May 2015." WGNTV. N.p., 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Sweeney, Annie, and Jeremy Gorner. "10 Shootings a Day: Complex Causes of Chicago's Spiking Violence." Chicagotribune.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

Nathan-francis. "Tyshawn Lee: 9-Year-Old Chicago Boy Executed By Gang Members Because Of His Father's Gang Ties." The Inquisitr News. N.p., 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Fessenden, Ford, and Haeyoun Park. "Chicago’s Murder Problem." The New York Times. The New York Times, 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016

Walter's mistake

In the course called Drama, we read the book called raisin in the sun.In this class we learned about gentrification that was going on.We learned about the gender roles in house holds. We also learned about the issues with race.In class we watched the movie and play of raisin in the sun to better understand the emotions of the characters. For this action project since raisin in the sun doesn't have a chorus, we were supposed to pick scene in the book a raisin in the sun were two characters have a conflict and make commentary on the scene.The hardest thing for me was trying to write the chorus,but I was helped by my teacher so it was a lot easier afterward.

 

THE MEETING OF THE PAST

In the course called Drama we read the book called a Doll's House by Ibsen Henrik,We talked about whether, we should refer to the books as doll's house or dolls house and the difference between the two. We talked about the gender roles that may made a problem with Nora's life. This unit we had to make a script with 3 characters that have change Nora's thoughts who is the main character in the book Doll's house using a important women in history, and one the play the sign in Sidney Brusteins window. I chose Hypatia as my women for history because she was a mathmatican in egpyt in the 300's and my character  from the play is the Gloria even though she doesnt appear as much the other charcters she is the most talked about throughout the play.

Falling For a Trickster

In unit one called Shrew of the sophomore class Drama. We read the book The taming of the shrew,and how they thought that women should be seen not heard.How they should not be shrew like .Which is a loud and bossy women having masculine role in the house.We talked about sonnets. Our action project was to make a sonnet addressing one of the characters in The taming of the shrew.
                                                                   

Falling for fool
To love for Better or worse we vow
“Why did you let him tell you lies
You say Fie, fie! unknit that threatening unkind brow,
And dart not scornful glances from those eyes…”

But you have done so to him, surely a shrew should know thee
Will you be deceived, does he love you?
Is all to be tamed by man, Why let that be
She cannot be strong, why is this true

Nevertheless, your love for him I foresee
I can’t let my feelings go, I envy you
I long for a swain to care for me, as he
But I don't posses such thoughts as shrew
will he still be your mastermind When he starves ye

Trials and Tribulations To Reach Diversity

Diversity is not a characteristic of life; It is a condition necessary of life…. Like air and water - Barry Lopez

Creative Commons,2016, Flag Cartoon, 

“If you let you people into your life a little bit ,they can be pretty damn amazing (Alexie 129) This is a quote from the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian published in 2007 .This book highlights racism, the struggles of going through puberty and death in the family .This book takes place in Reardan, Washington. The main Character, Arnold is 14 year old “Indian” boy who lives on a reservation with his parents ,grandmother, sister and his friend Rowdy. Arnold decides he wants to go to a all white school off the Rez which is “forbidden’ so he is shunned by his best friend and his community. Throughout this book the author has many examples of what Vandana Shiva suggests is “Making peace with diversity” for a sustainable future.

For example, Arnold befriends Roger a racist classmate of his by standing up to him. ”Hey,Chief,” Roger said.”You want to hear a joke?” ““Sure,” I said. “Did you know that indians are living proof that niggers fuck buffalo?” “And I knew I had to do something big. I couldn’t let them get away with that shit. I wasn’t just defending myself. I was defending Indians, black people, and buffalo. So I punched Roger in the face. ( Alexie 64 -65). Arnold proved his worth to Roger by standing up to him in front of Roger’s friends which earns his respect.

In addition, to Roger befriending him. Roger helps Arnold out when he lies to his girlfriend about being rich by giving him money. Which shows that Roger has grew as a person. He is accepting Arnold even asking him to join the basketball team. “Yeah, You’re right, dude. It’s none of my business. Hey man are you trying out for basketball?” “ But the things is, my stomach is all messed up because I,er, forgot my wallet. I left my money at home,man.” “He opened his wallet and handed me forty bucks.” “Roger was the one who guessed you were poor” she said. (Alexie 126-127)

Thirdly, Roger and his teammates defended him when he got concussion from his old friend Rowdy at a basketball game on the “Rez” . This means that Roger not only respect him but values him as a friend enough to defend him.” I jumped into the air,heard the curses of two hundred Spokanes, and then saw only a bright light as rowdy smashed his elbow into my head and knocked me unconscious.” After rowdy knocked me out, both of our teams got into a shoving matches and push- fights.” (Alexie 146).

Lastly, Roger stands up for him after his grandmother dies, he has been gone for a few weeks trying to cope with his lose and he finally returns and his teacher greets him with rude remarks . “Oh class,” she said.” We have a special guest today. It’s Arnold Spirit. I didn’t realize you still went to this school, Mr. Spirit.” “What did you just say?” I asked her “ You really shouldn’t be missing class this much,” she said. “Penelope stood and dropped her textbook.And then Roger stood and dropped his textbook.Whomp! And then the other basketball players did the same” (Alexie 175).

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part- Time Indian was banned . Parents think that the book is inappropriate because it talks about sexual content, it is anti- Christian and the bad language Drugs and alcohol as long as saying it wasn’t meant for kids to read in 2014. 

In conclusion, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part- Time Indian shouldn’t have been banned because this book teaches what it is like to deal with life situations like bullying ,death in the family, and sex. The parents that got the booked banned might not have wanted them to read about but, they would have to learn about anyway in middle and high school. I do not believe that this book is anti - christian because everybody has doubts even in their own religion the main character didn’t say he didn’t believe god. I believe that Alexie is a good writer and I really enjoyed this book, the very first time I read I was going through a rough patch where I didn’t care about school or my work and my family were very worried this book made it better for me because of the humor.

Citations: 

Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

Schaub, Michael. "The Most Banned and Challenged Books of 2014." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 14. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

Burkhalter, Aaron. "The Absolutely True Story of Banned Books." The Absolutely True Story of Banned Books. 23 Sept. 15. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown, 2007. Print.