Research Assignment 2

Series of Poems/ Allegories of Children with Learning Disabilities

In Their Point of View

I went to school and I couldn’t read

I thought it was temporary.

While others reached to higher levels.

I stayed struggling.

I thought,

This will pass like anything else.

My teachers gave no support.

They continued to fail me,

Like this was my fault.

But the worst part?

For the longest time I thought it was.

Turns out, I had Dyslexia.

And then they felt bad.

They gave me those looks.

Those sympathetic looks,

They felt sorry for me.

I hated them for it.

I kept thinking it would all blow over.

I waited and really still waiting.

I can read and write now

An improvement,

But I’m in Sixth Grade.

I learned in Fifth.

Sometimes my parents don’t even talk to me

It’s sad, yes, but I can’t say I don’t know why.

I do badly.

I mean I’m bad at everything.

I get in trouble with the teachers, my friends

Though sometimes my friends don’t talk to me either…

It’s probably because of the fights I get in.

I’m not so great at school.

When I should know the answer

I blank.

So I try to cover it up,

By being a wise mouth.

I’d rather be known as “bad”

Than stupid.

What’s wrong with me?

Everything should be easy

Like it is for everyone else.

It’s far from easy.

Don’t tell anyone I said any of this, though.

I wouldn’t want it getting out that I’m dim.

Math really isn’t my strong point.

I can’t grasp it.

Sometimes I get so close to understanding.

Soon enough it slips from my fingers.

I’ve got dyscalculia.

But I’m not ashamed.

Some bullies make fun of me.

They say I’ll never do anything with my life,

If I can’t learn math.

I don’t let ‘em get me,

Because I know that’s what they want.

I won’t give it to them.

I know I’m different,

And I’m kind of proud.

I guess it makes me unique.

I’ve always craved to be distinctive from others.

It’s in a not so great way,

But I got what I wanted.

Someday math won’t be hard though,

But I’ll still be an individual

Because of dyscalculia.

The Great Depression

I choose this topic because I find it so interesting and intriguing I can only imagine how much so this would be for young children. It’s funny, because I act like this time period was just something to talk about. I tend to forget that this actually happened, people lost their homes, parents lost their jobs, families lost everything. “It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world.”

I first got the idea when I was thinking about some of my favorite childhood books. I figured if I could find an interesting topic from one of those, I could turn my story into something different and new, but also interesting. I thought of the book series “Kit: The American Girl Doll”. I used to read these series over and over, I’d sit for hours. Kit lives in the time period of the Great Depression, I learned from a young age about the this time and it fascinated me. I decided that I wanted to fascinate others.

I also found this topic appropriate being in the economical state the U.S. is in right now, we are “recovering” from a year long recession. I think if I turned a story about the Depression into an allegory, children would better understand what’s really going on in the world, they won’t have it thrown on them like it was thrown on me.

Sure, through picture books I learned about the environment and how to collaborate; plenty of things I could use later in life. But I knew absolutely nothing about the government or how harsh the world can be. I really couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that my parents weren’t rich. I couldn’t believe that the economy actually does affect me, I couldn’t believe the things that did happen were that extreme. That’s why a book about the economy- the Depression- could really benefit children if not get them curious and get them wondering. They need to wonder about things. I know from experience, living in a bubble, really is not ideal. 

Research Assignment #1

Great Depression:
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/about.htm

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97468008

Kids with Disabilities

http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/learning_problem/learning_disabilities.html

http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Children+with+Learning+Disabilities&section=Facts+for+Families

Read and respond to a song and/or poem on social problems

 Song: Imagine

Artist: John Lennon

Lyrics:

“Imagine there's no Heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one”

I’ve always loved this song. When I first heard it, I was young and I liked it for it’s soft melody, the way it seems to comfort the listener. As I grew older, I began to appreciate this song for it’s lyrics. I liked the way Lennon didn’t hold back; nothing was simplified for the people; what’s there was straight up and true and I believed him, I believed his every word.

Lennon spoke about so many social issues in this song, but he spoke to one main one, the most important: what this world is coming to. How we have become so greedy and ignorant it’s hard to even imagine life without our possessions and with nothing to die for. It saddens me that only in dreams, did Lennon believe this world could live as one. And only in his dreams, does the world begin to understand the concept and idea he is trying to get across though this song.

Now, in order to get this message across, in order to break through the thick skulls of some, Lennon touched on other social issues like greed and hunger. Although he doesn’t go into detail, with a bit of knowledge on the subject it’s easy to grasp what he’s trying to say. If we all did our part and let go of the anger and selfishness we keep trapped inside, the world could be a better place.

Then, John Lennon did a very brave thing, something I’m sure people don’t agree with. He spoke about religion and how we don’t need it. It’s such a delicate topic; I know I couldn’t have done something like that. He speaks of a world where there are no thoughts about heaven or hell so there’s nothing to stress or worry about. He knows, and I know, everyone knows that so many conflicts and wars are started because of the claim that “there is only one correct religion”. Fights go one and we still refuse to believe ours is “wrong”.  John Lennon looked above this and he wrote this song. He wrote it about peace. It’s harsh but we needed to hear it, we all needed to hear it. And maybe one day we’ll stop wondering and start doing; because if we don’t well, I just don’t know what will happen; I can only imagine- disaster.

Write a poem or song responding to a specific problem/issue

Social Issue- Gangs

A 3 part poem from 3 different points of view.

My Daddy brought me up right

So I’ve got no excuse

Not like the other guys

I was always a good kid though

Good judgment

Handsome

My teachers liked me.

‘Till something set me off

Doesn’t seem so important now,

But I left

Not even a sappy good-bye letter

I’ve disappointed him, I know

We wear all red

It’s his favorite color

We do some bad stuff

We’re all messed up

Sometimes I wish I were home

They jumped me

And I felt alone

Fighting hard doesn’t get you anywhere

That’s a myth.

You won’t regret

Giving them what they want

Because nothing is worth the hurt

They slammed me against the wall,

when I said no

One guy, the leader,

He looked right into my eyes

I looked to his

And I saw a child

His face was sneered.

Then my faced changed

For a second I felt compassion for him.

He saw that

He kicked me.

Took my stuff and left.

That’s it.

It’s wrong

And we sit there and we watch

And we know it’s going on

And we sit there

And we don’t help them

How can we not help them.

They’re young

It doesn’t have to end like this for them

They’ve got a future but we’re the key

What they need is motivation

Something to work towards

Sounds easy

So what are we doing?

nothing

We must be selfish no longer

It’s us they need.

Now more then ever

Help

And soon they will be reasonable.

Extra Credit on "It's Kind of a Funny Story"

That couldn't be me
Right?
Impossible
I won't crumble
Am I strong?
I should be able to answer
but I can't
Will I let it get to me?
Like it got to Craig.
More and more I find similarities
He's just like me
and I wish it weren't so
Because look where it got him.
Look where he is.
I can't be like him.
I can't go there.
But am I strong enough?
Well, I just don't know

Media/News Immersion With 5 Day Summaries

Injustices and Social Problems

1)    Inequality between Males and Females.

2)    Poverty increasing greatly

3)    Human Rights

4)    The Unfairness of Death Penalties/Racism

5)    Persecution/Human Rights

Day 1

Why Do Women Still Earn Less Than Men?

Summary:

This article is about how women earn significantly less money than men do. Part of it has to do with the positions women and men receive. Some women aren’t welcome in a usually “male position” which most likely pays higher. Though in general, women earn 77 cents to the male dollar according to census statistics. This eliminates what we take pride in in the US: equality. We make signs of progress though. We have marked April 20 as Equal Pay Day and Obama is working on getting the bill targeting the pay gap into action. The Senate is working on a bill that addresses discrimination. But, this pay gap, as a whole, truly based on gender because even those men who go through surgery to transform to women earn about 32% less than they did before the surgery. Women who transform to men earn 1.5% more. This is plain proof of the discriminatory wages between men and women merely because of their sex.

Day 2

Why Are a Record Number of Americans Living in Poverty?

Summary:

This article is about how in 2009 the US broke it’s all time record for poverty with numbers reaching 43.6 million people. This article also states one main reason as to why it has suddenly jumped so much: the recession. The recession started in December 2007 and in total the poverty rate has jumped 1.5% in just 2 years. This may not seem like a large number but when you compare it to the number it jumped the last recession, which was a mere .2% it becomes clear how much poverty has increased. Because so many people have become unemployed as a result of the recession, and because it is such a tough job market right now, many people don’t have enough money to live a comfortable life.

Day 3

Afghan Women and the Return of the Taliban

Summary:

This article retells the story of an 18-year-old girl named Aisha living in southern Afghan. Aisha ran away from her abusive in-laws living at her husband’s house and was later found by the Taliban.  She was taken against her will and dragged to a mountain clearing as punishment for what she had done. Although she had given her side of the story and basically begged at their feet, her judge (who was a local Taliban commander) did not change his mind. Her brother-in-law held her down while her husband pulled out a knife and sliced of her ears and parts of her nose. Aisha passed out but soon awoke. She lived to tell the story but the memories of the unfairness and horrible pain still haunts her. The Afghan government now plans to establish a peace council to help negotiate feuds to prevent something like this from ever happening again.

Day 4

USA Increasingly Isolated as the World Turns Against Death Penalty

Summary:

This article is about people of the US finally beginning to realize and come to the conclusion that an execution of a prisoner or someone found guilty is a “cruel and inhumane punishment”. Many people, including Widney Brown, the Senior Director of International Law and Policy, are questioning how the US can still claim leadership when we “still commit judicial killings”. Also, this article mentions how white suspects of murder are less likely to be put to death than black suspects, which brings out an issue of racism. Towards the end of this article, it talks about how we are beginning to act on the issue of death penalties. New Mexico and New Jersey have already gotten rid of death penalties and since then the annual rate of death sentences have dropped dramatically.

Day 5

Human Rights Activists Face Persecution in China

Summary:

This article explains many different situations of men living in China though all are faced with the same problem or difficulty: they are forbidden to express their feelings and opinions about how the government is run without being severely punished by Chinese police officers. However, these human rights activists’ actions are so harmless, though they are taken very seriously in China. One man, Gao Zhisheng was named “China’s top 10 lawyers” but since diving in to human rights, he has “angered the authorities”. Gao wrote a series of “Open letters for Justice” to show his strong emotions and ideas and soon after his lawyers license was taken away and his family faced constant harassment by the police.

Qinghai Xining , a filmmaker, created a film called “Leaving Fear Behind” which featured many interviews with Tibetans about the problems with human rights. Soon after he finished it, the police discovered the film and Qinghai was tortured for over a year and then sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Final Reflection:

I also learned so much from these articles. I tend to loose track of recent news and I haven’t nearly caught up yet but reading these articles made me feel more informed. I know something others might not. Though after reading all of these articles, I’ve realized the brutal and unjust conditions of the world we live in, especially the conditions outside of the United States. I don’t why I haven’t realized this before. I suppose it was because I just didn’t want to. I didn’t want to think about the bad things in life, I blocked them out, but with reading these articles, they’ve all come back, everything I’ve wanted to forget. But, I guess you can’t say it’s a bad thing, like I said, I’m more informed, I’m smarter, but remember how I worked so hard to push it out, well I can’t anymore. I’m older and I can’t pretend this stuff doesn’t exist because it does. It’s painful to think about. It was bound to happen sometime. I’d have to come out of my bubble eventually, I just didn’t want to believe it. It’s happened, though. Now turning back is no option. 

Mother to Son Response: Inspired Poem

I know I’m not one to be talkin’ ‘bout this,

I’ve got it pretty good

Really good

But we all have cracks in our heads

And our hearts

And we can’t hide

It’s nothin’

Really though.

‘Cause all we can do is keep on living

We have to keep livin’ right?

Aw, of course

I want to, I do

No exceptions

But when others don’t I,

well, I can’t bare it.

Sit with their heads down

It’s hard to realize who they are

But I always know

Doing them good wouldn’t hurt nobody

‘Cause they have to realize what they have is a gift.

That’s right,

I’m saying

Life is a

gift

To go on and go on

Now, it’s one of the hardest

Terribly hard

When I’m down I—

Well, like I said, I’m not one to talk