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Kadija Koita Public Feed

Neuroscience and Crime, written By Kadija Koita

Posted by Kadija Koita in Science And Society - Best - E on Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at 9:01 pm

Rudy Giuliani ran for mayor of New York City back in 1993, where he implicated a method to help crime decrease. Throughout his campaign, he wanted voters to ultimately be in safer area, because rape had risen and so did murder and robbery. Giuliani made a theory which was called the “broken windows”. This was an analogy in which if a window was broken and went unfixed, then sooner or later the rest of the windows would be broken. Which connects to the fact about if small criminal acts slip through, then more and more crimes will take place. Therefore we should snip the problem in the bud. After winning the election and continuing to use this method, in 1996, the New York Times had plunged for the third straight year. By 2010, violent crimes in New York had plunged seventy-five percent.

There was many more reasoning behind the decrease of violence, besides a change in political tactics. One of the tomes on criminology, were that when the economy is on a rise, then the crime is low, but when the economy is suffering then the crime rates rise again. Another time was based on demographics, which pertained to young men, that read, “As the number of young men increases, so does crime.” This was not the case for New York, because even though the number of men increased, crime rates still continued to decline. Karl Smith, a professor of public economics and government at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said, “If it spreads along lines of communication, he says, the cause is information. Think Bieber Fever. If it travels along major transportation routes, the cause is microbial. Think influenza. If it spreads out like a fan, the cause is an insect. Think malaria. But if it's everywhere, all at once—as both the rise of crime in the '60s and '70s and the fall of crime in the '90s seemed to be—the cause is a molecule.”  Smith continued to make advances on the real problem and the real solution. He had a good way of categorizing epidemics in a way that each crime could fit into each. It was a very interesting way in the way that it made seem that the way things were spread was because of a certain type of thing.

In another article, “Causes of Crime - Social and Economic factors” there were epidemics about how economy problems were involved with crime, and it was. The University of Chicago's Department of Sociology, which was formed in 1892, did a focus on city problems and how they could lead to criminal behavior.
There was an overwhelming decrease in popular cities such as New York City when the economy was doing good. This shows that when people are doing good in their pockets, they won`t want to still from other people`s pocket.

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Kadija`s Artist Blog Post

Posted by Kadija Koita in Advanced Art - Hull - a2 on Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 10:02 am
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Kadija Koita Capstone

Posted by Kadija Koita in Capstone - Kamal - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 9:44 pm
Abstract:

I know first hand what it was like to be in crucial need for blood, because when I was thirteen, I got malaria and was in Children`s Hospital of Philadelphia`s intensive care unit for two weeks on dialysis. My blood was also O negative, which is the universal blood type, but unfortunately only makes up 7% of the world's population, which made the process even more extensive for me.

Every two seconds someone is in need of blood. The average blood donation is three pints, which takes about 15 minutes for a volunteer to donate. A single car accident victim could need up to 100 pints of blood. I know some people had no idea of these facts, which is partly why I chose my capstone. I wanted to not only educate those who were not aware of this blood crisis, but also help, even if it only made a small difference, to alleviate the problem.

I decided to partner with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive. Building up to the drive, I publicized the event by teaming with Timothy Morgan, an American Red Cross blood drive manager to help spread the word, not only in our school, but in our community.

Below is the link to some of the blood drive photos. As well as descriptions.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oa8glhnXVagAB4lg31bF1-ZMjZwGqk2cX22g3DcynKQ/edit?usp=sharing



ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY:


  1. "Hosting a Blood Drive." American Red Cross. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.

This is about how you can sign up to be host for a blood drive. I didn`t know if you were supposed to go to the American Red Cross or if they came to your school. I now know how you can host a blood drive and be in partnership with American Red Cross. Prior to starting this capstone, I didn't know what steps I should have taken to start actually being a host for the blood drive, now I can move forward knowing. Before starting my capstone, I need to know the fundamentals of actually what my job is, this is why I looked up how to navigate a blood drive.


2. "American Red Cross Founded." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.

This website is basically about how the American Red Cross was founded. Before doing this project I didn't know when the American Red Cross came about, so that is why I looked it up. This will help me access how long ago it Red Cross went back. Also who were all the people that were involved from the beginning. This is intended to signify the importance of how the American red cross was made. I also think that intended audience is for mainly seniors or adult students. The website is clean and gives lots of information.


3. "Donate Blood." Donating Blood. 01 Jan. 1948. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

This website gives insight on what actually the blood facts are. They give you an understanding on how many people are eligible to give blood and how many people actually give blood. Prior to doing this research, I did not know the statistics and quick facts of giving blood. Also this would help me because I need to know the estimate of how many people will be attending in contrast with the statistics on how many people actually give blood. There are not any found authors, which is not good, but the website looks legitimate and the facts look exact as well.     


4. "Carter BloodCare." Carter BloodCare. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.carterbloodcare.info/>. This website illustrates the importance of O negative blood. It helps people insure that people with this type of blood can know why they really should donate. There are no authors which I think can be detrimental to the authenticity of the website, but people should still be able to trust it. Moving along my capstone, I want to be able to have an understanding of what a “universal donor” is so it will make people be more aggressive to donate. I need to make sure that I know every type of blood type, so that I know the kinds of people are more common to have each type of blood.



5. "Donor Preparation - LifeSource." LifeSource. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

This is an overview of what to drink and what to eat before donating blood. This site had lists about what you actually eat and what you shouldn`t. It had reasons on why it was important to not eat certain types of food. This website looks like it was made easier and simpler for people to follow and come up with. It also does not have a certain type of publisher, which is ok because they have explanations of why the put each thing in there. With other websites, they really don`t have explanations that go in depth like how this website deos.


6. "What Happens When You Give Blood." What Happens When You Give Blood. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

This source includes every procedure of giving blood. It goes into depth about what the interviewer will ask you and what they do prior to taking blood. This website is mostly geared to people that are first time blood donors and want to take precaution as to what is actually going to happen. Other websites just glimpsed over it and made it sound like you actually knew most  of the information prior to getting on the website.


7. After your donation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 05, 2016,

This gives you steps that you do to make sure you don't die when you give blood. It gives you ideas and facts about what to do when you have given your portion of blood. Some of them change when you have O Negative, because then you are able to give a double platelet blood which means you will have certain type of blood cells taken out and then it gives taken out. This will help me inform people that don`t know what type of blood they have and what their blood type means. This website was really helpful in making sure I know appropriate protocols for donors.


8. How Often Can You Donate Blood? (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2016, from https://www.mskcc.org/about/get-involved/donating-blood/how-often-can-you-donate-blood

When many people try and donate blood, they often don`t know the number of times you can give blood in a specific time. Often many people think if they feel ok then they can just give blood.When looking at this site, the intended audience was for people that were older in age because it had more medical terms and words that were harder in reading level. This website looked very sleek and had a medical feel to it, like many college students go on this site. Many other sites dealt with other things and not really specifically what I had searched. So now I have knowledge on this and it will help me further my project progression.


9. Dowshen, S. (2015). What's Blood? Retrieved February 08, 2016, from http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/blood.html

This website grasped the attention of many people of a lower age. The website was very child-like and had a lot of pictures to illustrate what was being said. It also has a foundation as its contributors which I think will grasp the attention of many parents because it has a positive connotation. Also because the foundation may be a non-profit which means they are teaching this because of the goodness of their hearts. I did not find the people who produced or made this website which I could say is one of its flaws, but I think that this website was better than a lot of the websites that I looked up.


10. Frequently Asked Questions. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2016, from http://www.donateblood.org/donate-blood/faq

This website is great! All the research that I had previously researched was all on this doc. It looked very good and sleek. It gave background on what is in your blood, how are you going to be treated if you feel sick after giving blood and things like that. This website was very helpful and made me have more knowledge about the things that I previously researched. Also the contributors were not applicable which can cause damage to the recognition, but not that much.





Tags: 2016, Kamal, capstone
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Kadija`s 5-minutes of Science

Posted by Kadija Koita in Science And Society - Best - E on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 10:33 am


Science

An orgasm is an intense height in pleasure during sexual activities, often called climaxing. During an orgasm, the brain receives a lot of nerves that flow through to the pleasure part of the brain, the same part that lights up when we eat something that we really like. This part also lights up during drug use, so when people say they are ‘addicted’ to love, they are telling the truth.  During an orgasm, muscle contractions in the pelvic and genital region take place. They are controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which also causes involuntary muscle spasms, and frequent body movements. After an orgasm, the body usually experiences the refractory period, which is the recovery for both parties. Men experience an increase of hormone oxytocin, which can be the determining factor that they can not orgasm right after the first one.


Society

A study at Rutgers University observed six fully ejaculatory orgasms were experienced in one male, although very rare. 18-year old man's refractory period is about 15 minutes, and 70-year old men are about 20 hours, but the average man is about 36 minutes. There are a lot of physiological changes as well, such as a relaxed mind caused by prolactin. Also it helps with breast cancer cells., because the oxytocin can help prevent the development of breast cancer cells


Self

I had no idea that an orgasm was connecting to all these things. I think that society makes it look a certain way that makes it not have all these beneficial attributes that can actually help your body. I mean, I don't have anything to say about it, but that abstinence is always key.

Work Cited:
  • "What Is an Orgasm?" - Health Questions. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.

"Anatomy of a Climax." EverydayHealth.com. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.


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KADIJA`S ART BLOG POST

Posted by Kadija Koita in Advanced Art - Hull - a2 on Friday, April 15, 2016 at 10:58 pm
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Q2 2-Day Art

Posted by Kadija Koita in Advanced Art - Hull - a2 on Friday, January 29, 2016 at 10:30 pm
​This quarter I decided to choose a different reach on my art. There was a couple pieces that were motivated by black history month, which is next month. I decided to add some aspects and influence it for my work. I have always went with freely inspiring my work, but this time I actually used something to motivate and guide me. 
For my fabric drawing, I actually designed it myself, by using a chair that I had at home. I actually got better at the fabric since last year. I learned the balance between the shaded and the lines. I decided to go a little smaller in the paper size so that I would be able to add more detail int the fabric. 
The next was my photo editing,which I used from when I was at graduation. I think I wanted the editing to look as if it had texture on it. I then wanted it to be recognized, but then easy enough for someone to tell a difference. Also with the collage, I didn`t want it to be clutttered so that people would not see it, but have enough, so you don`t see any background paper. This was also inspired by black history month. 
The last was a drawing inspired by the speech by Martin Luther King which you can find below.

http://http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

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McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, page 60

Posted by Kadija Koita in Being Human - Giknis - B on Friday, January 29, 2016 at 1:21 am

​CREATIVE PIECE

The scene below is what was deleted before the book was published


He traveled through the skies. He had moved forth the dark leaves that scattered on the ground. There was a dog. It came gallop trotting towards with its nostrils fully He had on a mask that covered his identity. The man was in sight, but could not hear his screams. He went through a cave where it was dark and filled with groans from those that were not strong enough to see what God had planned for them.

The boy heard gunshots that skimmed past his ear. He had ended up in a yard, that had crumbled excreta on the grounds. The boy called for his papa and only to see his ashen, thick breathe passed through the air.  

The boy woke up in a daze. The man was laying next to him with the quits pulled around his head. The sky had moved along the with only the pink shades showing.

Papa?

He didn't answer at first.

The man looked up at the boy`s waxen face.

What is it? What` s wrong.

I dreamt something bad about us.

What did you dream. It is not real

The boy faced the road. You were using your pistol, I heard the gun go off. I was scared, the boy said.

It was just a dream, we will be okay, okay?

Okay

He cupped the boy`s forehead in his hand. There was a light silence that echoed off the stiffened trees in the cold. The man looked intensely for any sign of danger on the road, no one was there but the awaken dust that relocated every second.




Rationale

This is an analysis of why I made the decisions for my project


I chose to analyze the motif on dreams, because this was a way to introduce or get the reader prepared for the upcoming scenes. McCarthy shows the reader how dreams could be the gateway to what is going to happen. It takes place where the reader is in the man`s or boy`s dream and has a front seat of what they are about to see or what they already saw.

I wanted to draw attention to this scene because I feel that the dream was a good way to build up to the scene.. I also think that dreams shows how the boy captures lots of  the images and in returns them has dreams that show that. Dreams is a non-direct way to send the reader pointers about what will happen next in the book. You can see inside the character's head, which also build character development. It gives you in this case, how the boy takes what is happening around him and dreams about it.

The scene where the man from the truck comes and finds them, I think needed to be more developed. It wasn't foreshadowed at all. There was no indication that the boy would have been in that type of danger. When adding the scene prior to that happening, I feel the reader is now inclined because they want to read more because of the dream. The dream was basically a startup to what was going to happen in “reality”.

There was a lot of questions to be asked, should as Why are dreams so important? This is what I wanted to make clear and analyze on. Dreams were constantly brought up in the book because it showed how the man and the boy differed in accepting what was happening. When the man dreamt, it usually was involved with people in his past or people that he once loved. This was because the man knew a world before this. When it came to the boy, his dreams were based upon fears that he had or foreshadows that would happen later in the book.

The word that I used that was McCarthy-like was “water-logged” which just meant moist or wet surroundings. This was not used in the book and I think adds a feel to where the character was and basically the whole mood of the dream.


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Kadija Koita Artist Blog

Posted by Kadija Koita in Advanced Art - Hull - a2 on Friday, November 13, 2015 at 11:21 pm
​This time last year, I would not be able to do the things that I can do now in art. When I first received our assignment, I knew that I would be able to really show my true colors. I remembered last year being that I had to do tasks, but this year, I feel that I can do what I feel speaks to me the most. 
With the ceiling tile, I thought that this would be hard, going off that this was a large piece of board and I would have too much space to work with, but I came to an epiphany that as long as you knew that you tried your best and put your creative minds on, then space was not an issue. This happened with a lot of my artwork. About how I thought that a lot of space symbolized not enough work or energy. This was incorrect. 
I loved the pieces that Hull chose for us, because it showed dynamic in the amount of creativeness we had. We could do something that involved cutting or we could do something that involved painting. All together, you would be able to show how much you grew as an artist. I know with me, I was able to see how I could do different areas of art, as where last year, I wasn`t to good in certain sections. 
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Q4 Advanced Art Presentation

Posted by Kadija Koita in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on Friday, June 5, 2015 at 10:32 pm
My Artist Statement:
During the 4th marking period, I decided to take a different approach. Some of my pieces were made from me, that I kind if had to feel in order to convey it in drawing. I also feel that I was trying to show that I could be versatile with a lot my work, because what others may think is art some may not. 
A lot of my methods and materials consisted of using lots of colors and paint. I also did a lot with stripes or lines, being as that I really never took that approach. Going off of this, I feel that it was something that I could say I`ve done before. 
I know that there are a lot of angels to being an artist, and I wanted to make sure I could show all of them. I knew that me just trying to do the same art projects, would show that I wasn`t diverse or trying to be creative, so I made sure to do a lot of different things. 
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Pleasure May Not Always Be The Right Pleasure

Posted by Kadija Koita in English 3 - Pahomov - C on Monday, April 20, 2015 at 1:01 am

Pleasure May Not Always Be The Right Pleasure

Comparing “Taming of the Shrew” to “Deliver Us From Eva”

By Kadija Koita



In the book “Taming of the Shrew” Katherine is one of the main characters is somewhat unfriendly and is completely shut off with the idea that someone could be in love with her. She is a  in the book and seems very closed off to love and anything that has to do with it.  Many people believe she is evil and a “shrew”, thus the name of the book. A very confident Petruchio tries to woo Katherine into marrying him, which may seem impossible, but works out at the end.

 In the 2003 movie “Deliver us from Eva”, the main character Eva, played by Gabrielle Union, has a lot of similarities to the main character in the book, Katherine. The plot of the movie is mainly about a woman named Evangeline Dandridge who is uptight and mean to her sister`s spouses. In order to get them out Eva out their hairs, the husbands get the town`s player Raymond played by LL Cool J, to go out on a date with her for $5,000. All goes well, but the plan is skewed when Raymond actually falls in love with Eva.  One similarity is that many people believed that Katherine was evil and that many people believed that someone needed to “tame” her. Although there are lots of differences, such being that Katherine was never in love with someone prior to falling in love with Petruchio, but Eva was once in love before falling for the movie character, Raymond. Petruchio is being compared to Raymond  who is payed to go out with Eva in the movie but seemingly falls for her in the end. This is the same that goes on in the book, although Petruchio knows he must marry her in order to get the dowry, and Raymond must try and go out with Eva in order to get the $5,000. In these two love stories, it shows that even though many other parties try to interfere themselves in the relationship, the two parties have to be the ones that are truly involved with each other in order for the relationship to succeed.



    

In this scene the three husbands, Mike, Darrell, and Tim have just been kicked out of Tim`s house for watching football. In a prior scene, Eva made them get out after saying this whole speech, just to basically say get out. They think that Eva is so mean and they dislike her so much. She controls their lives and make them feel like they are being controlled. The reason for them being kicked out is because Eva and her sisters needed the room to do a book club meeting. The three husbands had to go to the bar instead. While they are there, Mike  sees an old friend (Raymond) who they think can woo Eva to get her out their marriages. They have a little discussion in the bar and come to an epiphany that Raymond may be the one to get Eva out of all of their marriages. Mike even continues and says “This can work with Ray, the boy is a specialist, he is a master player.”  In comparison to Petruchio, Raymond is in it for the money at first. They both want to woo a lady who obviously has a hard time letting people in. On the contrary, Petruchio has to marry her for her father`s dowry and all raymond needs to do is go out with her a few times to get a couple thousands dollars. Which connects to my next quote from the book.




Tranio says “Ay, mistress, and Petruchio is the master, That teacheth tricks eleven and twenty long. To tame a shrew and charm her chattering tongue.” (Act iii./SC 2/ Line 213-20)


Tranio, Gremio and lucentio can all be compared to Mike, Darell, and Tim, the husbands who need Eva to date someone in order to get her out their hairs. In this scene Tranio, Lucentio and Bianca are all having a conversation about how they have someone for Katherine. At first Bianca is hesitant, but Tranio assures her that he is good and will marry Katherine in a day. In comparison, Gremio and Mike are the characters being compared because they try and find someone that will woo Katherine. They make sure the person has experience in basically charming women. In contrast, in the book, they involve Katherine`s sister in the conversation to let her know, but in the movie Eva`s sisters never know about what is going on with their husbands are doing. They know about Raymond, but never know his true motives. In the book, Bianca doesn't know Petruchio`s true motives either, but knows that Gremio and lucentio are trying to find Katherine someone that can woo her, so that she can get married, and eventually Bianca can then get married. This flows into my next scene to connect more with my thesis.




In this scene Ray is outside of Eva`s job, because he is trying to convince her that he is the one for her and to let him in again. The reason that it is the second time that Ray is trying to be closer to Eva is because Eva found out that he was doing a bet on her the whole entire time and that he wasn't truly in love with her. Although Ray claims that he was by saying “I am never, ever going to find another woman like you.” As you can see Eva is fed up and is now closed off to anything that Ray has to say. This compares to the book because Petruchio, also tries and say something like this to Katherine and makes her feel that he really and truly wants her. Both Petruchio and Ray, seem to use their words wisely into charming these women, Katherine and Eva, so they can ultimately be together in the end. On the contrary, Petruchio never ever reveals to Katherine that the only reason for him wanting her is because he wants her father`s dowry. Petruchio only commits to Katherine because of the money and Katherine never knows that. Ray tells Eva, thus making him pushed more away and for Eva`s wall to be back up. This leads up to the next quote from the book.



Katherine says “Nay, then, Do what thou canst, I will not go today, No, nor tomorrow, not till I please myself. The door is open, sir. There lies your way. You may be jogging whilst your boots are green. For me, I`ll not be gone till I please myself. `Tis like you`ll prove a jolly surly groom, That take it on you at the first roundly.” (Act iii./SC 2/ Line 213-20)


     In this quote Katherine is basically yelling at Petrucio telling him that if he doesn't love her, he can leave. She feels that she needs someone that is really going to be there for her, as to anyone who wants to be in love. In comparison to the movie character Eva, Katherine also explains to her lover that if he is not here to lover her  then they can stop wasting their time and get out their life. Both Ray and Petruchio have had to make their mark to woo these two women. In contrast though, Petruchio walked out right before this scene, which is the reason for this quote. Ray never stopped trying to charm Eva, but was always persistent. Petruchio was not very persistent, often putting his confidence on a 10.




Screen Shot 2015-04-19 at 5.43.34 PM.png

In this end scene, Ray just confessed his true love to Eva in front of everyone at her job. Eva had been lied to and put Ray in the doghouse. In order to woo her finally, Ray had to really show Eva that he loved her, and that was by buying her a horse that she always wanted as shown on the left in the picture. In comparison to the book, both couples ended up being together and either one of the parties confessing their love to their partners. Although in contrast, in the movie Ray confessed his love to Eva in front of all her co-workers, on the other hand in the book, Katherine actually confesses her love to Petruchio in front of all their family and friends. This may be kind of shocking, go off that in the book, Petruchio was the one that was supposed to be charming Katherine and saying that he loved her, but Katherine confessed her love to Petruchio, which was the moral of the title, “Taming of the Shrew”.








Petruchio says: Why, there`s a wrench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate. (Act 5./ SC.2/ Line 197)



This is a later scene,when Katherine has just confessed her true love for Petruchio in front of all her friends and has in a way been “tamed”. She says how she will be by his side and will do as a wife is supposed to. Comparing this to the movie, Katherine and Ray are very similar, in that being that they both tell their lovers that they surrender themselves into loving them completely. Also both Petruchio and Ray are the ones to finally grab their women and say “kiss me”. In contrast Petruchio's tactics are still to get Katherine`s dowry, but Ray has completely dismissed that notion and only want Eva.




Ray and Eva and Petruchio and Katherine obviously all have something in common, they all want something. Weather it be love or money. In the beginning the road is rocky and it seems that the men in both texts are trying to charm the woman, but in the “Taming of the Shrew” Katherine is the one to confess her love to Petruchio. Interference from outside parties may not always be the right thing to do when it comes to relationships, because it`s up to the 2 original parties to truly feel something, even if it`s not there at first.














Work Cited:

Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew. New York: Penguin, 1977. Print.

Deliver Us from Eva. Universal, 2003. DVD.


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Kadija`s Q3 Art Portfolio

Posted by Kadija Koita in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on Friday, April 3, 2015 at 4:37 pm
​Kadija`s Artist Statement:
Looking at my artwork and the way I work, I always want to make sure that I tell a story. I make sure that everything that I do, I stay true to myself. Throughout the 3rd marking period, I have had some trials and tribulations. One of which was with my self portrait using ink. I accidentally let the portrait sit around in the room without making sure it was secure, and then someone ripped it unfortunately.
 At first I thought that I had to start over, but then I thought about how this could tell a story, and so I taped it up, and created artwork. I knew that without that rip it would`t be the same. That is how I wanted my artwokr to be, different and something that I knew could tell a story.
I liked this quarter a lot, because I think that I really showed how I could be creative and also go out my comfort zone. Last trimester, I think that I had not gone out my comfort zone and stayed very safe. I think this quarter I could really show off my art skills.

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Q2 By Kadija Koita

Posted by Kadija Koita in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 2:57 pm
​My Artist Statement:
During this quarter, I have learned a lot about my artwork. I know that a lot of the times, I stay in my own lane and never try to switch it up and make myself go through challenges. Well that is what I did this quarter. Espeacialy with the fabric drawing. When I first saw the tutorial, I thought, ok, this could be possible, but then I started to do the work and found myself in a lot of puddles. I thought that I could not do it, but with the help of my classmates and Ms. Hull, it was possible. I tried my best and made sure that I did not give up. Doing the collage was probably the most fun piece I did because it was not structured at all. It made me think of myself and once I did that it came all so freely.
If I could describe this quarter with one word, it would have to be challenging, but that is something you have to deal with as a striving student and artist. You must make sure that you are constantly breaking new boundaries. That is what I think can make someone grow. I think that is what made me grow, because my craft is way more sharper that even last quarter. 
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Kadija`s Q2 Benchmark: Self and the Changing World

Posted by Kadija Koita in English 3 - Pahomov - C on Monday, January 12, 2015 at 8:17 pm

Analytical Essay:

Imagination is a source that the brain strays from reality. In the book, The Things They Carried by Tim O'brien , dreaming and imaging are constant survival tips that help people from thinking about emotions that soldiers deal with everyday, such as death and pain. In society, people use imagination for everything, especially children. Whether it may be imagining your mom`s vegetables were candy or imaging that someone that died was still here. Imagining can put a perfect world in perspective. It can eliminate the negative things that one may not want to deal with. A perfect world can easily be dreamt and created through the mind and elude any change that may not be wanted. Fantasies and dreaming is a commonly used escape mechanism that individuals use to stray away from the harsh reality of the changing world.

Imagining  someone is still alive is something so many people use to deal with hurt and pain. In the book, O'brien does this a lot. With the character Linda in the book, it brings back unwanted and wanted memories for O`brien. Linda is imagined to be alive and living, because in a perfect world for O'brien, tumors and the disease that killed her would not exist. “ And yet right here, in the spell of memory and imagination, I can still see her as if through ice, as if I'm gazing into some other world, a place where there are no brain tumors and no funeral homes, where there are no bodies at all..” (pg. 245) Tim O'brien sees a place inside his head where disease and dying are a mere faded memory. He plants a seed inside his brain that stimulates a world where unhappiness is impossible. Imagination is used to dismiss the bad things that cause pain or hurt. In war pain and hurt are always emotions that run through the mind and if one can seemingly turn it off by imaging that will be the case. O'brien does this throughout the book where he shows a different world where he is comfortable, because in war , comfort are only found in those that are dead, or those who dodged the bullet, but only for a brief moment.

Again the power that one has over their dreams and what could be reality are astonishing. O`brien clearly has the ability to make his own reality and make the things he want to come true, to be true, by dreaming. “Lying in bed at night, I made up elaborate stories to bring Linda alive in my sleep. I invented my own dreams. It sounds impossible, I know , but I did it.” (pg. 243)

O'brien has a powerful way to dream up what he imagines a perfect scenario that depicts happy people and a happy time. Linda was a escape. She was the dream that made the mind stray away from the unhappy events of war. O'brien uses his imagination with his classmate in from middle school to tell a story about how one can just simply dream that those horrible events never happened and that death is no longer involved. O`brien places himself in a comfortable place where he can control everything, because in war everything is out of your control. When someone can place something in their control and make things easy for them to cope with, that would be the best idea to do.

In the book, a lot of  stories are based again on imagination. Memory has to do with the start of it, but when the brain starts to flow, there is a lot of dreaming and creative power. O'brien definitely isolates that tool. “ The memory-traffic feeds into a rotary up on your head, where it goes in circles for a while, then pretty soon imagination flows in and the traffic merges and shoots off down a thousand different streets. As a writer, all one can do is pick a street and go for the ride, putting things down as they come at you. That`s the real obsession. All those stories.”(pg.35) A lot if the stories are based off of imagination. O'brien says that memory only plays so much into the story before involving imagination.  As a writer O'brien is using his imagination to make the story telling even more true. It makes the reader go on a journey and believe, rather than read a story with chronological events and facts. O`brien grasped the idea of the story and then dreaming and imagination took hold and creates something more deeper and truer to the self.

Creating a world designed specifically for your wants and needs is something incredible. In the book, O'brien makes it seem that all he ever dreams and imagines comes alive through his storytelling. It shifts and makes the mind believe what is wants to believe, conveyed in imagination. Pretending also doesn't have to be bad, people do it all the time. Acting is a way that people imagine also. It allows people to experience lives that they wish the had or pretend to have through imagination. This may even be the reason people love watching movies and going to see them at the movie theaters. If someone could spend 3 hours watching a movie that had a setting that was not the norm of their world, they would go see it. For instance action movies are so exciting because not every day people jump from skyscrapers and save presidents from assassination. If people could even be able to see that on a screen, it would be cool.

“Imagination is important in a couple of ways. One way is as a psychological means of escape. If you can lose yourself in a fantasy, then you're no longer trapped in the horror of, say, Vietnam. You're back home with your girlfriend, eating a nice dinner at the Ritz instead of C-rations. Whenever people testify about their life in the concentration camps, they say much the same thing. The one way to3 psychologically endure it all is to escape in your head, in your imagination.” (interview 2)

Imagination is a powerful tool that people use to escape things that they may not want to come in turn with. Especially war soldiers that are not trying to imagine something that they come in contact with and witness everyday, death. Dreaming and imagining is a paradise where anything that someone wants to be real is real, where one can make what is true and what is not. A world where war is non existent. War obviously is something that was so unpredictable. Some days people would be like sitting on the sidewalk talking and others soldiers could lose their best friend right in front of you. While imaging and dreaming people would be able to imagine that  their dead best friend was still alive and both of them would be back home sitting on the sidewalk talking. Someone could imagine their loved ones all here with them, watching over them. One could imagine that the war was all but a bad nightmare and they could wake up in your cozy bed, instead of a dust cot with 45 other men.

Imagination again is a very powerfully designed tool that people use to blur the harsh realities that they don't want to deal with. For kids imagination is at its all time high, because reality is something that is not always fun, for anybody as far as that goes. For O'brien he uses women as a comfort for the harsh reality of war, such as Kathleen and Linda. In other scenarios, a lot of the men in the stories use objects to help stimulate a happy event that once was associated with that object. In a case like mine, imagination was simply beautiful. As a young child, eating your vegetables and such wasn't exactly fun. A child would imagine that that vegetables were tablets that made them big and tall and have super powers, so they could save the world from evil villains. The same thing with cleaning. Lots of children absolutely dreaded chores, so if they could place themselves in a different world, like O'brien did, then they would. Some children would sometimes even go as far as to  put on a different outfit to better grasp their imagination. People loved doing this, it could make them feel like nothing could go wrong. One could also go deeper and still imagine that their deceased loved one, like a grandfather was still alive.



Works Cited for Analytical Essay:

Klay, Phil. "After War, a Failure of the Imagination." The New York Times. The New York Times, 8 Feb. 2014. Web. 9 Jan. 2015.

Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction. New York: Broadway, 1998. Print.

"Leadership University." Leadership University. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.












Narrative Essay:

“Remember Kadija, I will always be with you. Just remember these words, Always believe in yourself and when you don`t think you can do it, just imagine me there with you.” said my grandfather, laying in the hospital bed.

I hated seeing my hero like this. My grandfather had been diagnosed with lung cancer and was very ill. He had been in the hospital now for about 2 months in and out. I loved him so much. I didn`t know why God did this to such a great man.

The walls were this yucky white color, not the clean holy white color, but the nasty kind that made you feel even worse. The nurses had to make sure to be very careful, because the medicine had made him very frail and weak.

As he told me that, I could see that he really meant it, that he wanted me to succeed and not to let myself go because he was no longer physically here. He will still always be in my heart, because I love him.

“I love you grandpa, you will always be in my heart.”

Those were the last words that I said to him before he died. He died 2 years ago, and I am now in high school. I miss him everyday, but I still can see him sitting on that same chair on the patio every morning. This is when I really started to use my imagination. It made me feel more at ease, to know that my grandfather would always be with me.  

“Girl, go get the shoes that I just put down over there.” my mom said as she put her purse down at the cashier.

My grandfather`s death really hurt my mom the most, going off of the fact that he is her father. I could tell she wanted to be strong for my brother and I, but sometimes at night I could hear her crying softly. She had told us that he would always be here and that he would never be lost.

“ These or the blue ones.”

“The blue ones, I don't wear that kind of stuff, you know that.” mom said angrily.

I'd imagined she'd  say that, but I just wanted to make a joke. I quickly grabbed the blue ones and ran back to the cashier. My mom took out her coupons as she always had. Which reminded me so much of my grandfather, because he was cheap also.

When we got home there was so much stuff on the floor from our yorkie, Fendi. She was so playful and energetic, sometimes even too much sometimes. She had ripped all the paper towels up and messed her food basket all over the floor. I know it was my responsibility to clean after her, so I didn't even fuss. My imagination had come into play when I cleaned. I hated cleaning, but if I'd imagined doing something else, cleaning wouldn't be so bad. When I would sweep, I'd imagine that it was a big tornado and I had to get the little dust ghosts off the floor or they would try and attack me, and I didn't want that. Sooner or later, I would be finished cleaning, so imagining things like that made it easier for me.

When it really helped to use my imagination is when I was getting ready to perform in my ballet group. I was now in 10th grade and I had been in this dance group called Eye Candy Chicks. It was super fun and I got to do what I loved, dance. We had our first real dance show in November of 2013. I had never performed for more than 300 people before. I was panicking and didn`t know if I could do it.

“Ok, your group is next.” said the stage coordinator.

Everything was happening so fast. I looked out on stage from the back and saw how big the crowd was. Everybody was cheering for the people who were performing. They were doing great, I was just wondering if I would be able to be as great. I looked up and closed my eyes. Someone who I loved so much came into my mind, it was my grandfather.

“Hey baby girl, you scared, aren't you?”

It was like he was standing right here with me. He knew exactly how I was feeling.

“Grandpa, is that you?” I asked

“Yes, it`s me, granddad. Something told me that you needed a little advice before your big day.”

“Oh, grandpa, I miss you everyday. I know I could count on you, when I needed you.”

“Yes, baby. What did I say to you when we were at the hospital. Tha-”

“That you would always be in my heart. How could I forget that, and you are always in my heart.”

“Yes, I am, but what else did I say?”

“You said, you said to always believe in myself and never to give up on myself.”

“That`s right pumpkin. Never, never stop believing in yourself. Now go out there and make us proud!”

“Alright, you guys are on in 1 minute.” said the stage coordinator.

I opened my eyes and felt more determined than ever. I looked around at my team and said a little prayer. We held hands and told each other that we believed in one another. My imagination was something that I knew I would always be thankful for. It helped me in so many ways.

“I love you grandpa.” I whispered to myself as we walked on stage.

That night we went out to celebrate. I had finally overcome that fear that I had. Thanks to my grandad, we made first place in our division. Everyone was so proud, just like how my grandad wanted. I could imagine a world where nothing could go wrong, and for the first time, I felt like I was living in it.

“I`m so proud of you sweetheart,” my mom said, as she hugged and kissed on me.

“I talked to grandpa before I went on stage. I was scared, but grandpa talked to me before I went on stage.” I said holding her hand

“Oh, honey. I'm so glad. I`m very happy. You know we all miss and love your grandad.” she said.

She had a little tear in her eye and I know how much she missed grandad. She never really talked to me about him, I guess that was just her way of grieving and coping.

“I know mom, but he`s always going to be right here.” I said as I pointed to her heart and smiled.

I am now enrolled in college at Oklahoma City University of American Dance and Arts Management. I absolutely loved it there. I majored in ballet. The story of my first time performing has followed me this far. I know perform in concerts and I am planning on having my own studio to teach girls that may not be as privileged. I always think of my grandfather and still does all my family. He will be missed, but never forgotten and never gone.


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Quarter 1 Art

Posted by Kadija Koita in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at 10:25 am
​Artist Statement : 

Since middle school I have always involved my art work compared to other historical and famous artist. When I came high school I started to look at myself as an artist and see how I could improve my artistry. I am starting to look at my work and making sure that I have attention from people that have expertise on art work. I also feel that many times I seem to compare my artwork to people that are very advanced and I need to make sure I start on my level.

What influences me the most is the things around me. I look at the cultures and the fads nowadays, and look at what I can continue my artistry on. I also think that the things that I have done in this class is juxtaposition to what I want I think are recent and popular nowadays.

I want other people to understand that my artwork is very free. It has no constrictions or follows any rules. I like how I can make my art very open to my audience and make them interpret it anyway they want. I also think that I kind of put my twist into my artwork and make it so people know that it is my art work.

Thus making me grow from my artwork. I like that I can change my artist depending on what is popular or how I adapted. I like how I adapted throughout middle school and through high school. I think that my art has been interpreted through the projects I have done this quarter.


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Kadija`s 2fer

Posted by Kadija Koita in English 3 - Pahomov - C on Friday, November 7, 2014 at 1:56 pm

The transgression that the offender has done is viewed, but the other aspects have been associated with what the punishment will be. In court, unfortunately a lot of cases have been judged by different variables rather than just what the offender has done. Race, occupation, income and religion play a huge role into a lot cases, especially when determining the death penalty. The death penalty is sentenced unfairly, causing people to be put on death row due to who they are rather than what they've done. The death penalty is unfair due to the fact that one may be on death row due to income level, race and the retribution in the hearts of victim`s family.

The death penalty is given out to certain people, not necessarily being solely based on their crime. Income level is a major factor when it comes to the death penalty. The income level of one offender is looked at based upon if they are able to afford a good attorney. If they are unable to present a good attorney the state will adjourn one making it even harder to beat the case.  Anti- death penalty activist Helen Prejean said, “After all the rhetoric that goes on in legislative assemblies, in the end, when the net is cast out, it is the poor who are selected to die in this country. And why do poor people get the death penalty? It has everything to do with the kind of defense they get. Money gets the offender good defense. Getting a defense team that will win a death penalty case will have to be anywhere from $8,000 to $50,000. People who are sentenced to death tend to be lower than the poverty line or close to it. Many of what goes into consideration is if the offender has a good attorney. A good attorney needs to be appointed due to the fact that one can not afford to have a less worthy defense team on a death penalty case. If it was a drunk driving scenario, then it would be much different.

Race can determine whether a criminal is sentenced to the death penalty or not.This next verification shows how the death sentence is unfair is because of the race of the criminal.Studies have shown jurors in Washington state are three times more likely to recommend a death sentence for a black defendant than for a white defendant in a similar case where the sentence should be the same. (Prof. K. Beckett, Univ. of Washington, 2014). This shows just how the color of a person`s skin can persuade the jurors. One may say the evidence and crime should be the only thing weighed in for a  fair trial, but there are people saying otherwise".Another quote, from NAACP said, “The U.S. Department of Justice’s own figures reveal that between 2001 and 2006, 48 percent of defendants in federal cases in which the death penalty was sought were African Americans… the biggest argument against the death penalty is that it is handed out in a biased, racially disparate manner.13 percent of our population is African American, but 50 percent of African -American make prison`s population. The death penalty is biased and is evident through the statistics. African-Americans are at a way higher risk at receiving the death penalty than a white person. The statistics are very overwhelming going off the fact that an African-American is 3 times more likely to go to death row. The jurors are chosen because they are not biased to the case, but when given all the information, like the color of the victim and or suspect, things shift a lot. Thus proving the  thesis that  race is a key component to giving one the death penalty.

The last  piece of information that may shift the decision of the death penalty is the retribution in the heart of the victim`s family. The anger in the family`s heart makes the decision of the death penalty be pushed even further.  When the loved one of a family gets killed, it is one`s instinct to want to kill the offender. People may say that sending the offender to death row is giving closure or desistance to the family, but indeed that is a lie and is only being done to get revenge back.  A professor for Humanities at St. Peter's College, Raymond A. Schroth, SJ  once said  To kill the person who has killed the loved one of a family is simply to continue the cycle of violence which ultimately destroys the avenger as well as the offender. That this execution somehow give 'closure' to a tragedy is a myth. Expressing one’s violence simply reinforces the desire to express it. Just as expressing anger simply makes us more angry. It does not drain away. It contaminates the otherwise good will which any human being needs to progress in love and understanding." ( Raymond A. Schroth, SJ) This is a cycle that must be stopped. Killing the offender is not the answer and definitely does not put heal the scar because the loved one will never come back. The anger of one, will then set off the next and will be a repeating cycle that will continue unless someone can see that is is palpable that the death sentence is just another way of violence that is justified by the court systems and by society. Also including that the testimony of the family can sway the jurors, due to the fact they may want them to feel as if they lost the loved one and to make the case sound very personal.

In conclusion, the death penalty plays a lot into the biased sides of things. Crime should be judged purely off of the evidence and how it played out, instead of the logistics of race,income and so forth. The statics are very overwhelming going off the fact that an African-American is 3 times more likely to go to death row. The atonement of losing a loved one is not by killing the offender, because it is just contradicting the entire situation and also continuing the cycle. Although the death penalty may only seem important to people on death row, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about families of the victims. People may think that the people on death row are chosen due to die due to their crime, but it also involves, race, income and the retribution in the family of the victim`s hearts.   



Works Cited:

"Death Penalty - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.

"BalancedPolitics.org - Death Penalty (Pros & Cons, Arguments For and Against, Advantages & Disadvantages)." BalancedPolitics.org - Death Penalty (Pros & Cons, Arguments For and Against, Advantages & Disadvantages). N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.

"The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty: Two Parallel Discussions." St. Louis Public Radio. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.

Penalty, Death, and States (32). U.S. Military NUMBER OF EXECUTIONS SINCE 1976: 1,389 (n.d.): n. pag. Death Penalty Information Center. Web.

"How Much Will It Cost? Criminal Charges 905-273-3322 ." How Much Will It Cost to Defend My Criminal Charge? Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
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Kadija_Koita_Final_Portfolio

Posted by Kadija Koita in World History - Block - B on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 12:43 pm
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World history has been an amazing experience. I have learned and acknowledge things that I don't think I wouldn't have normally thought about. This class has shined light on lots of changes, both positive and negative. I think Mr. Block has done an outstanding job on bringing the past back to life with his awesome units and lessons. Some of those lessons will be talked about today as I look back on things that developed me as a world history student. I remember me sitting in class in the beginning of the year thinking I would probably hate this class, going off past experiences with other history classes. This class was different. Mr. Block totally changed my perspective on how I viewed this course


Many of the units that were taught and focused on has came to a complete understanding about the way this class is summed up. One of the biggest things that popped up a lot throughout all the lessons we learned was that self identity was a very important credential here in this society and especially all around the world. We looked at units about social justice and and religion/culture. We saw how countries were being colonized and oppressed. We saw how many cultures were being europeanized and taken away their rights and cultural beliefs, just to “fit in”. The “American Dream” did not have any room for people of any skin tone that flawed their ideas at all. Even if that meant not being able to do basic human rights. African countries had the worst of many. Apartheid was a big part of history that we are still scared from to this day. Leaders like Nelson Mandela and Gandhi fought so that someday we could possibly become one and have all equality, but it`s not over yet.


One of the things that stood out to me this year that also reminded me of my understanding,was when we did a discussion on the girl that went back to Africa for a funeral and later went on to move permanently to the country. Here is a part that I truly liked:”She was a strong woman and I think she could have been just as strong living in Africa. She was on a mission and she had something she wanted to accomplish.” I thought that reminded me of when I was thinking about the time I was in Africa and I had to be strong. When I returned back from Africa I thought a lot about how things were so different from back home. I made pledge to myself that I wouldn`t allow people to live like that. That I would try my very hardest when I got older to help those who can't help themselves. I saw that their self identity mattered, because I would see if you were of lebanese descent they would treat you better. It was something about Americans that made life so much easier over their. They would literally ask you if they could kiss your feet, they would stare only because they are not used to such things that you might have. Social identity played a major role in that.

  • Return to Nigeria


Another unit we did was from the 3rd quarter when we did the plays. It was my second time doing plays. I did one when I was in middle school and had it performed by fellow classmates. I thought that the topic I wrote about for my play could explain just how much world history has tied into having a self identity. The topic I wrote about was about a woman who cheated with married man because she had a problems with herself. Her boyfriend would beat her and would have drinking problems.I have a part of a scene that explains a lot of my general understanding, Mama Jones: “Yeah, you think so honey. You know why they also come to you, because you easy, ya little hoe. Aint nothing to you, but skin and bones. You aint no real women, You a little girl. They know you just a easy fix to get some with. You hardly know anything baby. And you need to keep more than just ya mouth closed before something come crawling out of there’s saying mama.. This is another crisis of identity when a troubled young girl sleeps around because she is unable to get into contact with herself. She looks for love in the wrong place and maybe ends up getting hurt. I think that many of people struggle to find themselves so they search in others to do so.

  • My Play


The unit on revolution was one of my favorites because we did a project on country that we were assigned and had to show how they struggled for their rights and how they overthrew the higher authority. I did mine on Egypt. I learned lots of things that I would never had knew if it were not for this project. Identity was an issue with Egypt because if you were poor and did not have a lot of money it was equivalent to not having a voice or rights. Many of what I was reading when I first started was they were trying to shut up the people that were complaining that they had no rights, which was very unfair. Here is a quote from the story that I Thought stood out, “He was an unfair dictator. He was living a wonderful life while others were living in poverty and dying from simple resources like bread. He was overpowered by the people of egypt. This is an example that long endurance and hard work for justice will happen eventually.” This was the dictator of Egypt and the only reason he was there for that long was because he had a self identity that was higher than most of the people that were against him.

  • Revolution Digital Story


I remember I was sitting in class one day and I was looked up the board and saw that the warm up was asking me a question about whether other cultures were allowed to judge other cultures. At first I thought that it was a question that was actually very smart, because  even though we do it, we never really acknowledge the fact that we do it. Even if we do acknowledge it, nobody says that it is wrong. The other resources that I have is the journal we wrote in everyday. I have wrote some meaningful things in there, but one of which I believe I truly should discuss. It was on journal number 3 where I talked about when would it be ok to ever criticize other cultures. I said it would never be ok due to the fact that as a cultural there will never ever be a right way to believe in what you believe in. I think that just ties into the self identity and make yourself fit into a theme that makes other cultures feel lower than some cultures that may be a little more popular such as christianity.

  • My journal entries


Here is another journal entry that I recognized as a very important entry that I thought would be very good. In the journal entry it gave me 2 quotes and I said that i disagreed with the second one. The second was basically implying that religion was a drug and blinded people of what actually was going on. I thought that was wrong or disagreed because I thought that religion should be an escape for any bad drugs that try to come into your life on a daily basis. I said I think people should turn to religion if nothing else.

  • My journal entries


All these resources made my time in world history thoughtful, fun and meaningful. I think that Mr. Block has altogether changed the way I look at history. Before coming to this class, history used to be a frag. I used to hate it. It made no sense as to why I had to learn about something that happened 200+ years ago, but this class made it so fun to learn about stuff like that. Now looking back at everything in my journal, I agree with some and disagree with some. I think that overtime as you learn more things and see different things you evolve and change. Change is not always bad, but then again change could be bad as we saw in history. Overall this year has been successful, because whenever you can take the knowledge you have received and place it on other things in your life, that class truly has changed your perspective and identity.


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Revolution Guidebook Project

Posted by Kadija Koita on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 at 10:04 pm
​For this unit in world history, we learned about revolutions around the world such as the french revolution and also one in Haiti. We did role play in which we chose roles and classes to represent and be the advocate for. For example, I was Marie Antoinette, The Queen, and I had the right to say how I felt about each role and class and if they helped me or not during the revolution.
The other things that were involved in this unit is we did activities looking at the Arab spring and the countries involved. We looked at the videos and documentaries on riots and protests that were going on. We all were given a country and were responsible for looking up information on what recent or some not so recent activities that were contributing to the revolution.

Digital Revolution Project Kadija from Kadija Koita on Vimeo.

Tags: revolution, digital story, politics, Power, pollution
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Pipeline Monologue Project (Kadija K.)

Posted by Kadija Koita in World History - Block - B on Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at 8:42 pm
STEP ONE: Basically our project was about the research on the Keystone XL pipeline and how many people had controversy about it. Also it was a series of types of information either stating the opposing side of the pipeline or the people that proposed it. I feel that I learned a lot, because before we started, I did not know anything regarding to the pipeline, and now I am greatly informed and involved.
 
STEP TWO: 1.The pipeline will cost about $7 billion, and run about 1700 miles long. (keystone-xl.com)
2. The oil refineries are in Texas.(keystone-xl.com)
3An estimated 20,000 jobs will be created.(keystone-xl.com)
4.Increase use of Canadian oil will limit our dependence on foreign oil. (keystone-xl.com)
5.Could potentially hurt 1.5 million people and pollute drinking water. (350.org)

STEP THREE: monologue 1

“I`m Losing My Dad”

By Kadija Koita



“turtle sitting down in his cage, thinking in his head.”


Why can't anyone understand that it is so fun being home alone. No kids, no dad, and no mom because that would mean my owner would have to not be single, and he is. He's A lonely man, hope he finds someone. But besides that he works on something called the pipeline for keystone XXL or XL, whatever it is, i dont know because I`m just a turtle. Did I mention a pretty good looking one too. Anyway he says he needs the money because he wants to move, so i guess its for the better. He leaves the TV on during the day and I see the protests and stuff they do for it. Guess it`s a big deal, if you ask me. Tyrell, that`s my owner or dad, yeah dad. He works as a worker from 6 am until 8 pm and comes home so exhausted ,I  think he forgets if he has a little turtle that needs loving. But child let me tell you about them days where its nobody home, its nice and quiet, I can lounge around with no clothes on and do whatever I want, that`s all the love I need. Alright, enough about me, more about this big pipe that they want to build. Tyrell said they're going to have about 20,000 jobs created, and his sister said o give her deadbeat husband one of those jobs. I think that`s good thing I think. These humans is crazy. Some people want the pipeline and then you got the people over here saying it could kill our world and release carbon into the world. I don't know what to think. Tyrell is saying the only reason he`s doing this is because of the money, but I feel like he`s getting blindsided. I want my old Tyrell back, the one that used to actually let me come out of my cage once and  while, the one that actually told me he loved me, God only knows when the last time i heard that. You know I actually didn't care about this big pipe thing, but now i do because they are taking away my only friend in the whole world, the man I trusted. Someone that gave me a chance when i was being sold for $10 and he picked me up and took me home. They are saying the pipeline will cause people to lose clean drinking water, oh no. You crazy if you think i'm going to be sitting here with bugs and bacteria floating in my tank, because ya'll want to send some tazan or tar sands, whatever you call it, down the middle of our country. I live in Alberta, Canada, and let me tell you something they are not too happy about it. I may not know a lot, but I do know I want my dad back, I miss him, so if that meant not supporting this pipeline thing, then fine, I don't support it.



monologue 2: Title, "You wouldn`t understand"

Look you guys, I really have to do this job, it`s for the sake of my life and my kids lives. I have to pay his child support or i'm going to jail, and then my kids are not going to be able to see me. Seriously, I'd rather work for something that is disagreed upon, then to be not with my kids. It`s not like i'm prostituting or something.Thats what they are treating me like. I really don`t think its all that bad. They said it would create like 20,00 new jobs, and they should be thanking me, because i could actually find them a job if they needed one, its good pay. They're also saying something about 7,000 jobs are being supported for the people that actually make the steel in the factories. I really don't understand the big deal, I mean you gotta agree with me on this. I could see if i was killing baby pandas for their fur, but i'm not. I don't even wear fur. But besides the point, they have to at least support me, because i'm trying to support my kids right? Regardless i'm doing it ]m weather they like it or not. They definitely won't be complaining when those paychecks come in and I buy them whatever they need. I mean i understand of the world and all that nature stuff, i get it. I did my part though, i saw a chip bag on the floor and you know what i did, yup you guessed it .picked it right up and put it in the trash. I don't get why my sister is calling me killer, she says that they are going to hurt communities near the pipe and potentially pollute their drinking water, and I said look man i understand your hurt, but i gotta do what i gotta do. I love my family, but they gotta love me too regardless. So now i guess they're not talking to me, so was is really worth it. See now i gotta make a decision, what to do? Thats the question right.



Monologue 3: Title, " We hate this!"


(in front of the white house, people yelling with signs opposing the pipeline)


“DON'T KILL OUR FUTURE, BECAUSE OF A PIPE!”  protesters chanting.

 I can't stand them, they never listen to anything we say. I come here everyday in my work clothes after a long day, just to stand up for what i believe in, is it wrong to not want die,because you might have polluted water, is it not wrong to go against it because it could potentially hinder 2,000 lakes, rivers, and streams, and have the leakage that we so didn't want to happen. Its horrible, the way people could be so blinded to what's in front of them. its destroying all the forest and God knows we need to save every bit of nature we have left.  Today when i was out there i was chanting with all my friends and it made me happy that we could make change in a way that actually was not violent, but you know what, its only so long i can take this. you're going to listen to me regardless of what those bimbo cops have to say. A change is going to come, forced or not.

(1 month later)


“GET THAT PIPE, DESTROY THE HYPE” Protesters chanting.

Today was crazy. I stood my ground and didn't move. We were yelling, not speaking, we were telling not asking. Because I learned a valuable thing, you gotta take what you want, because in this world, nothing is offered. I stomped my feet, pumped my fist and held my ground fiercely. The police all blurred and i wasn't even paying attention to them, they just looked like a blue blanket on the street. I really couldn't tell you guys how crazy it was. People were yelling louder and then it was like 300 people on the street. it was a wednesday, it was 75 degrees, and sunny. It


STEP FOUR:

Movie on 10-1-13 at 7.20 PM from Kadija Koita on Vimeo.

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