When I become a teacher 

I'll put a map of the world on every wall in my classroom 

My students will always know to have a universal mindset 

When they hear freedom, they'll think of more than spirituals and Emancipation

They'll remember the stinking pits at Babi Yar

The curled steel at Auchwitz

Sarajevo’s rifle butts

Cambodia’s grit and sweat and death

These classroom walls will not fence their minds.

Eyes will be opened. Again.

Instead of asking my students to adjust to my teaching style 

Fawn in silent awe over my genius

I'll ask them how they learn

Then tend to the visual 

Auditory 

and tactile learners  

the best way I can 

They’ll never doubt their place in my plan,

Confuse our classroom for a cookie-cutter

Stage where they must sit on their hands.

I’ll take criticism.

Gather it like gold dust between my fingers.

Never satisfied, I’ll Practice my practice forever.

My classroom will be painted bright blues and yellows

Along with students drawings, murals and poetry

Displays of Me Magazines 

And word walls

Scenes from books acted out 

Role playing 

and Mock trials 

I will appreciate their creativity 

I will teach my students inquiry 

Ask them questions about the world around them 

Their opinions on issues from health care to the Palestine Wall

I won't talk at them, but with them 

We'll have discussions and debates 

I will challenge them 

Ask them how they would tackle issues like budgets cuts 

Low reading levels 

And school safety 

I'll ask them how they feel about Pennsylvania finding money to build 3 more prisons but cutting funding from schools 

Or how they feel about districts paying millions for standardized test and curriculum but not having enough for extra curricular activities 

They will be informed 

My students will be poets

storytellers

actors 

artists 

analyst 

activists

All while being beautiful 

 We worked in groups of three to collect prices of different grocery store items. My group investigated Shop Rite, Acme, and Fresh Grocer. We collected prices on items like bottled water, cereal, ice cream, bread, and chips. We used statistics by calculating the mean prices for each item in each store. After we got the mean we calculated the five number summary and IQR’s for the items. We displayed our information on box plots and histograms. We calculated this information for all three grocery stores.

This benchmark helped me better understand grocery store prices. It helped me choose which store was more beneficial to shop at when it comes to saving. I learned that all stores are not the same. Sometimes prices differ because of the brands of food or just because of where it is sold. I noticed that the same items that were sold at Acme and Shop rite were considerably lower than the items sold at the Fresh Grocer. We connected this to the neighborhood the Fresh Grocer was in. Stores in wealthy neighborhood tend to have higher prices.

How it connected to the core values:

·      Inquiry: Are question was to find the consumer price index of different grocery stores.

·      Research: We each went out to different stores to collect prices of different items.

·      Collaboration: We worked in a group of three.

·      Presentation: We presented our findings to the class in a keynote

·      Reflection: We included reflection questions in our presentation to show what we learned from the project. 

That fell like spring silent rain 

He be my grandpa

That fell like spring silent rain 

He be my grandpa

Butterscotch tulips in bloom

She be my grandma 

The ocean drowned in her tongue 

She be my grandma 

I’ve got the blood caked beneath my fingernails to prove it

Do you? :(

We got laughter

Strewn across July linen

On a hot afternoon

In an empty room

With sweat and the beat of a raggedy window fan :)

of course!

and dance? (not that kinda dance. Like diddy dance.)

naw I wont diddy dance for nothing 

lol no? 

like mo money mo problems. harmless stuff!

nope. I just sit in a chair and rap

a queen chair? a throne?

nope just a regular old chair. maybe I'll even sit on the step.

oh you cant be in my video no more. you too cool...

 I did my project on applying for welfare benefits. The benefits included food stamps, health care coverage, child care, etc. The process was sort of hard because to apply for benefits online you have to create an account and fill out a lot of personal information but I couldn't do that because that was not apart of the project. So I had to stop at a certain point. If  I could change this process I would make it so that people could find out more about the process online before actually applying and having to give out personal information. I think this process in particular is complicated because the government is giving you aid. If they are going to give it to you they want to know that you absolutely need it. The only way the can find that out is by getting all your personal information like income, bank reports, pay stubs, etc. 

So far the process of Lobbying for non standardized education has been okay. It is still a little difficult to find supporters and people in office who are strongly against it. I will now start looking closer to home for people instead of researching people in congress. 

http://sinnea.glogster.com/american-gov-benchmark/

I researched how the Civil Rights Act of 1964 became a law. I used an online collage maker called Glogster and used pictures and video to make a collage of everything the bill went through to become law. 

"Civil Rights Act of 1964." Wapedia . Web.                                   <http://wapedia.mobi/en/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964>.

"Civil Rights Act of 1964." Spartacus Educational . N.p., n.d.

Web. 9 Nov 2010.       <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAcivil64.htm>

"HISTORIC SPEECHES JOHN F. KENNEDY Civil Rights Message June 11, 1963."Presidential Rhetoric . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov 2010.       <http://www.presidentialrhetoric.com/historicspeeches/kennedy/civilrightsmessage.html>

"Civil Rights Act (1964)." Our Documents . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov 2010.       <http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=old&doc=97>.

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-64. Volume I, entry 11, pp. 8-10. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1965.

I interviewed a young man from my neighborhood. 

1.   What motivated you to come out and vote? 

“It just seems like the right thing to do. If I’m able to why not?”

2. What would you like to see changed in our political system?

“I’m not fully aware of all the issues but I just want to see someone who is real you know, someone who will keep their promises.”

3. Do you vote in every election? (How regularly do you vote?)

“I’m sort of a new voter, the first time I voted was in the Obama election. This is only my second time.”

4. Do you know why we vote on Tuesday? 

“No, I’m sure I learned it in school before, but I can’t remember.”

5. Where have you encountered the highest amount of ad campaigning? Radio, TV, print, internet, other. 

“Probably the stuff they leave on the doorstep. They call my house too.”

6. What was the most memorable campaign ad that you have encountered?

“I don’t even remember. I didn't pay attention to them that much.”

7. Are you always sure of who you are going to vote for when you walk into the booth or are you still deliberating? 

“Well since this only my second time I’m not really sure how to answer that. I was sure I was voting for Obama my first time but this time I wasn’t really sure. I kinda just chose who my dad was always talking about. He knows more about this stuff than me, so I just use him.”