Hi my name is Niya Petty and I am a freshmen at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and my topic is problematic foster homes. In today’s society, there are many children in foster homes. You would think children are put into foster homes for a better living conditions, but we really don’t know what happens behind closed doors. No child should be mistreated in a place which is suppose to change their life for the better.But how can we overcome this problem when we have no prove that this happens. This problem can get bigger and bigger and can make the ones placed in these harmful foster homes worry about their safety in a stranger's home.

    I came over the news one day and it was talking about how a foster child had ran away from her foster home. Mind you this girl was around my age. You would think why would a child want to run away from people who care for you? Then you get to the point that maybe something is happening that us outsiders don’t know about. She claimed to run away because she said she wasn’t treated right in her foster home. 13% of foster children run away at least once and go live with friends. There was a testing between foster children that run away and foster children who don’t run away. They found out that the foster children who do runaway are older children and majority of them are female.

If you think about it, there are many children in foster homes till this day.Children who are mistreated by their parents are taken away and put into foster homes by the state because of mostly abuse towards the child. When put in these foster homes, children believe they are somewhere safe and wanted but in some foster homes this abuse still goes on and there is no one around to help or stop by to see if everything is going well.

A child can suffer from lots of things being a foster kid. Bad things can happen or good. Going through what a foster kid goes through can be stressful and lots can change for them such as fitting in or behavior changes. This mainly happens in group homes.Group homes are another name for foster homes and children are placed in because they have been physically or sexual abused by their guarden. But in these group homes, this abuse is still going on just like it does in foster homes. Some children can decline the foster parent from caring for them because they don’t feel as they will we safe. It can be hard for children have  a good foster home to stay in. As more and more foster parents are declined the children don’t have a place to stay and thi can cause a big problem.

To fix this problem, I believe that people who work with foster home organizations should stop by the foster home to see if everything is going well. If the foster children were to have a one on one conversation with someone they can trust. Sometimes, problematic foster children tend to not tell the truth when it come to talking about the care that goes on in the foster homes, so if the children would corroborate in telling someone the truth about the foster home care, we wouldn’t have so many abused or harmed children and the problem can be solved much easily.

Hi, my name is Chandrea Lack and for my English project, I will be focusing on the topic of graffiti. Have you ever thought about how the writings on the walls got there? How did such a blank and empty space get crowded with so much emotion and images that people go to look at and take pictures at? Everything on the walls of Philly has a purpose, what started all of these murals you see on building walls or abandoned houses all started with graffiti. Graffiti is a common form of art (in some eyes) that is considered vandalism. This is because the government claims that these graffiti artists are drawing on private property. The amount of respect for graffiti is looked down upon specifically because it’s considered vandalism and the destroying of property homes. Graffiti is created by children and adults from the age of 12- 19. The murals you see all over Philly and if not other places out the of state too, there are murals on the walls and they are inspired by the smallest bit of graffiti as said in this video. In the first half of the video, it explains how graffiti that was drawn on poles, in cities, or anywhere available. This kind of graffiti was then claimed to be destruction and the graffiti artists were soon told that they would not be able to vandalize property but instead draw murals.

The general reason why this topic is important to me is because the thought of art always stuck with me. I always saw anything with color and a unique creation was special to me and growing up with art teachers and them teaching us how to draw simple things like lines and circles were always helpful for me. It helped me see the world as just something more than a big ball of creation, but also art. Graffiti is also meaningful to me because some people make a living off of this, there are some graffiti programs that let people write on walls so that they are displayed to the public. A site that displays some form of graffiti is the Graffiti Pier. I think it’s important if more people knew about this because it’s something you don’t see everyday since most of the graffiti that are written on either public or private walls are being erased by city workers, people who like art or enjoy the sights of it should consider looking at graffiti. Street art can also be a way for people to express their feelings and thoughts on nonliving things such as walls or poles, but can’t be expressed in front of anyone else. That could also be a problem because the more we know about the people who might want to hurt themselves is another life that’s lost.

The problem with this is that not many people agree with this, because the government says it is vandalism, we all assume that graffiti is vandalism. Public property that is not used stays untouched. While the government could be worrying about building more hospitals or offices for people to work in, they leave these abandoned homes untouched. These abandoned homes can also help homeless people. Most graffiti artists can tell which is private and public property, the most you see of these writings on the walls are under the bridges of Philly, on abandoned walls, near the Philadelphia Zoo, and under the bridges of the schuylkill river. Instead of having to look at plain brown rust, these visual artists are doing their community a favor by showing their talent and skill. The small things like that can lead into bigger things like murals. These murals are inspiration, creations made from something simple, something that uses a limited amount of colors, lines, and other shapes, but they aren’t considered vandalism. Plus they are seen on walls of homes and buildings but then graffiti can’t be drawn on abandoned bridges?

For more information on the topic “Is Graffiti Really Vandalism?” you can look into my research. If you are also interested in looking at more links to find these artists there are also some provided here.

In schools all across American children hear anti-gay slurs everyday. 85% percent of students report hearing these slurs daily, and 24% of them report hearing this from teachers.

Hi, I’m Kenzie Hopkins, I’m currently a freshman at Science Leadership Academy, and for the quarter four benchmark, I chose to focus on the bullying of lgbt students for my You and The World Project. I got interested when I was talking to fellow friends who belong in the LGBT community, and they’ve had more negative experiences than me. Some told me of how they were bullied in school, and their parents don’t support it. Children should feel safe in school and celebrated for their individuality, not bullied and shamed for being themselves. It is important for others to know about bullying towards LGBT students because children, our future, shouldn’t be put down and harassed for who they are and who they love, or what gender they identify as.

This issue is significant because bullying is already an issue across America and the world, but being a person who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, statistics prove that you are more likely to be bullied or harassed than straight people. If people know more about the issues that LGBT people face, they may be more likely to step up and defend the person, report the incident, or stop their actions. Bullying towards LGBT students often starts at a very young age,  In elementary school students being calling each other “fags” and “queer” from a young age, some even at six years old. “In 2001, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) reported that 85% of youth across the nation heard anti-gay slurs from other students on a regular basis.  In most schools there isn’t a gender neutral bathroom or people don’t agree with letting others use the bathroom with the gender they identify with. This is harmful to transgender students, because they may feel unwelcome or uncomfortable with being “forced” into a gender role. Schools are supposed to be a safe space for children to learn and grow, not be bullied and put down. “Schools can send a message that no one should be treated differently because they are, or are perceived to be, LGBT. Sexual orientation and gender identity protection can be added to school policies.”. Schools should also talk about creating GSA’s or safe spaces for children. The right to have a GSA is protected under the Equal Access Act. Protecting privacy is important too, and this passages addresses the importance of not telling a student's parent(s) if the child is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Lastly it gives information about the Federal Civil Rights Laws concerning sexual orientation. Nine out of ten children who identify as LGBT, reported being bullied or harassed in the year of 2016.

I want to help people realizing that children still get bullied in places that are supposed to make them feel special and safe. To read up on more information you can click here to find my annotated bibliography!

Hello, my name is Nasya Ie. I am currently a freshmen at Science Leadership Academy. In my English class, we have a project called You & The World and in this project we get to choose a topic that interests us. For this project, I chose Industries Harming Animals. This topic matters to me dearly because I want to be a veterinarian and to be a vet you have to have passions animals to do your job. I want the world to know how animals are suffering because of companies are taking skin, fur, leather, wool, silk and more! Even pet stores that are selling animals are treating them like nothing.

All around the world people are keeping animals in captivity, they leave the animal in horrible environment and conditions. They leave them in small cramped spaces with no food or water, they get diseases without any vets to help them. Animals are getting diseases because they are in an environment that will make them unhealthy. These industries will harm them, not care for them, and treat them like they are nothing. They harm these animals, they can feel pain like we do. I want to open people's eyes that this is happening, that this need to stop this. Not a lot of people know what the history of the fur they are wearing, how the animal were treated to get the fur. Also, you shouldn’t always trust your pet store because they are not innocent, they are doing bad thing and still doing it now.

Image- One Person, One World

Here is a map showing the percentage spending money on shelters.

All lot of industries are similar with harming animals. By doing this is making our ecosystem have more problems. I know it is going to be a great deal of effort to stop industries harming animals, but I think we can make these industries less greedy. For more information click here for my bibliography.

Hello, my name is Micah Isaiah Carrera. I am a Freshmen at Science Leadership Academy We have been assigned a You and the World Project(YATW) The project allows us to choose a problem in the world that we think should get more

Image Source

attention and be acknowledged. The issue that I was interested in is Better Treatment of the Elderly. There are many problems that are invisible to us. Many problems that we need to acknowledge and solve. We have lost the courtesy and respect that the Elders deserve. A blog about this statement can be found Here. These problems occur in the streets and in nursing homes. I chose this because I have many Elders in my family who I love to death. I believe that the respect that I have for my elders is the respect we all should have.

The first issue that needs to be acknowledged is nursing home abuse. This is a subject that truly breaks my heart because one day I know that my Grandparents that I love so much, might have to be taken to a nursing home.  Many Elderly have suffered from these different types of abuses. Poor hygiene is something that can really affect an elder in a negative way.  Something simple as giving them unclean clothes and not giving enough baths can lead to terrible diseases, or even death. Elderly are also physically

(This image can be found Here)

abused. Physical abuse is an occurring problem that has been seen across many nursing homes. I couldn’t believe that people would actually physically abuse Elderly in some nursing homes. There are some organizations that specialize in shutting down nursing homes that do abuse their Elderly. The link to one of these organizations is Here. Elderly cannot do anything about these issues because they are usually blackmailed to not tell anyone. Since they are so vulnerable, it is very tough.

(This image can be found on Here)

Another issue that we needs to be acknowledged is Elderly drug abuse rehabilitation. This is an issue that is a little odd because most of us would think of younger people when you say drug rehab. You may see many homeless Elders on the streets when you go into the city. These Elders are mostly in that position because of drugs. There are some organizations that specialize in bringing these elderly into rehabilitation. They specialize in turning these Elderly people's lives around and giving them the attention they deserve. The link to one of these organizations is Here.

Lastly, an issue that I have witnessed is that American elders are treated worse that 3rd world countries elders. In my 15 years of life, I have been on many trips around the world. For example, in my missions trip to Honduras, we arrived at their airport. The airport had an entire separate way for elders to be escorted in wheelchairs. They had their own line and own way to get to the plane. I asked my Father why they did this. He simply answered that these foreign countries have way more respect for their Elders than America does and that the elders in America don’t receive the respect they deserve. This is one of the main reasons I chose this topic. The link to this issue is Here.

In conclusion, we have lost the courtesy and respect that our elders deserve. The three main issues that stand out to me is nursing home abuse, elderly drug rehabilitation, and respecting our Elders like we should be.

Annotated Bibliography  

Hello, My name is Amira Gouri. I am a freshmen at Science leadership Academy. My topic is about Autism. Autism also known as ASD (autistic spectrum disorder) is a disorder that can be noticed on children on early age, generally between two and three years old. It’s when the child has trouble of communicating with others and/or difficulty of learning. Most of the time, autistic people don’t have friends because they have difficulties building friendships. Autistic children need special treatment.

This is an image of the autism awareness symbol. It’s a symbol of a puzzle piece with different colors which represents the mystery and the complexity of autism. The different colors represent the diversity symptoms of the autistic individuals.

Over the last decade, scientists have identified a number of rare gene changes associated with autism in around 15 percent of cases. However, in most cases autism can be caused by a combination of genetic risk and environmental factors such as advanced both parents age at time of the conception, illness during pregnancy, difficulties during delivery, prematurity and low birth weight, all these can cause difficulties in the oxygen deprivation to the baby’s brain which can lead to damaging the brain cells. All the nongenetic factors, by themselves are not enough to cause autism unless they are combined with genetic risk factors. There is a crucial debate about vaccines that many believe that it is the cause of autism because many kids suffer from high fever and severe diarrhea after taking it, then their mood and behavior started changing. On the other hand, others argue that vaccines can’t be a cause of autism because every child takes it but just few who have those reactions. It is important to keep in mind that these studies were done on some cases, and the exact cause for autism is still a mystery.

The statistics showed that boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls.There are some autistic people that have a strength in some things and a weakness in others. For example, my brother really excels in math and has a strength in memorizing and learning quickly, but he has a weakness in social communication.

No two people with autism have the same symptoms, some of them have few symptoms which means their autism is mild, but others may have all the symptoms and suffer from severe autism.

The most common symptoms among people with autism are: poor social skills, which includes showing very little or no eye contact, lack of relationships, having difficulty with back and forth conversations, they also have difficulty with controlling their emotions, and understanding others emotions such as pain, and sadness. They also could be very obsessed with certain topics or objects such as numbers, places, toys and facts such as science topics. Hyperlexia (knows how to read but doesn’t understand it) is also common in individuals with autism. Secondary symptoms may include using unusual gestures (and some could also be repetitive) such as clapping, walking on their tippy toes, hand flapping, and closing their ears, some require having repetitive behavior such as rocking, twirling, rearranging objects, and repeating words or phrases that they hear which is called echolalia.

Hi! My name is Ruby and I’m a 9th grader from Philadelphia. This is the beginning of a project I am doing about palm oil. Palm oil is found in many common products including Nutella, Oreos, lipstick, detergent, and more. It has useful benefits, as well as highly destructive down-sides. The issue with palm oil is in the way it is produced. It is typically produced by cutting down palm trees located primarily in Indonesia. These trees provide habitats for many animals, and because the trees are being cut down, these animals are becoming endangered.

My intention for this project is to raise awareness about the issue. I believe it is important that people learn about palm oil because in some ways, the wellbeing of the world is at stake. I also think people need to know about this issue so that they can help to repair what damage has been done. My goal is not to discourage the use of palm oil altogether. Instead, I want to promote the use of sustainably produced palm oil, which I will elaborate on later.

My personal connection to this issue has to do with Girl Scouts. I was a Girl Scout for six years. I sold hundreds of boxes of Girl Scout cookies, all of which contain palm oil. Looking back, I regret my decision to sell the cookies and to support the effort because of how negatively it affects the world. Girl Scouts of the USA defends their use of palm oil by stating, “It is necessary to use palm oil in our cookies because palm oil is unique in its ability to provide volume and texture in baked goods, usually without adding trans fats.” This is a good point, however, it does not exactly justify the way palm oil is produced.

Like I said, I want to promote the use of sustainable palm oil because it is an adequate solution to this issue. It is produced in a way that does not have a negative impact on the environment. In 2008, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil created a set of criteria for producing sustainable palm oil. One of the most important of these criteria states, “No primary forests or areas which contain significant concentrations of biodiversity (e.g. endangered species) or fragile ecosystems, or areas which are fundamental to meeting basic or traditional cultural needs of local communities (high conservation value areas), can be cleared.” This is key because (if followed) these criteria could potentially eradicate the issue of palm oil-related deforestation. Keep in mind though, this does not erase the damage that has already been done.

Hello my name is Kishara Erwin. I am currently in the 9th grade at Science Leadership academy. My english teacher has assigned us to our 4th quarter benchmark titled You & The world project. My project is based on suicide between teens through adults. This topic is important because people need to be aware of how many people take their own life because they could not receive any help from the struggles they were going through. My topic is important because I almost lost my friend when she tried to take her own life. Luckily, I was able to convince her that her life was worth living and not to throw it away over a bunch of lies and people that have no power.

Furthermore, in the U.S. suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. Every year 44,193 americans die because they committed suicide. There are 25 attempts for every suicide committed. The U.S gains 44 billion dollars annually because of suicide. Overall, there is an average of 121 suicides per day. In the year of 2015 the highest suicide rate was 19.6. Here is a link to the graph showing all of the data about the number of suicides committed.

People come to the decision of suicide due to various reasons in life.  Some reasons are because they have a mental disorder. Also, the broad reason which is bullying. Lots of times for kids bullying is the main reason they decide to throw their life away.  In life things can pile on top of another and a person cannot handle it so they kill themselves. Sometimes, people hold everything inside and it causes them to end their life as well.  Not telling your family what you are going through, causes you to end you life too. Keeping quiet may make you feel alone so you don't receive any help and you kill yourself.  

Unfortunately, there are various ways to end your life. People decide to end their life faster by stepping in front of a moving vehicle. People step in front of subways, trains, buses, and cars. When people commit suicide by stepping in front of a suicide that is called straphanger deaths. From the year 2010-2012 there were a total of 153 deaths by subway trains. For over three years 118 people tried to kill themselves but they did not succeed.  It is very rare to commit suicide by jumping in front of a train.

Lastly, there are ways to prevent people from committing suicide. For instance, here's a link to the national prevention lifeline: . People can receive help from using this website.  Another way to prevent suicide is to stop the bullying going on in all the schools. People should stop judging one another and then less people would stop throwing their lives away. We should compliment each other more. Supporting people through their troubles, helps them inside. They know they have someone to count on to look out for them. More importantly, they feel safe. For more information you can check out my annotated bibliography