Who is smart?

To me, everyone is smart in their own personal way. A lot of the time, school glamorizes being "book smart". Not being "book smart" doesn't make you not smart, or dumb. Someone who isn't great at school might be great in a sport or at performing plays. Being sports literate or play literate is being smart. In school, those types of literacies and many others aren't touched on very much or even seen as important. Even for good athletes they say school is first, hence student athlete. School is not a place where everyone can learn to their best ability. Not everyone is a factory model and can learn in setting as such. Lots of people think being able to read a book is being literate or smart, which it is, but its not the only form of literacy. Since schools are set in these ways, to glamorize reading and writing, it alienates certain people. Just because a kid isn't superb at reading or writing, doesn't mean they aren't smart, but a lot of times kids get that kind of vibe. This type of factory learning teaches kids to conform to society and not transform it. In school, learning should be more relaxed and not so much like a factory. In doing so, it would make more kids realize that they aren't dumb, but yet they are smart. Being reading or writing literate or not doesn't decide if your smart or not. Reading and writing literacy can make someone smart, but it cant make someone dumb. Just because you aren't very good at something doesn't make you dumb, after all we are ALL smart in our own ways!:)

Catholic Charities Not Giving Up

For my personal blog post this week, I went looking for a current news story that I could passionately talk about. I went on illinoishomepage.net to look for a news story, and came across this one: Catholic Charities Not Giving Up.Catholic Charities provides professional, compassionate services to all persons touched by adoption, including birth parents, adoptive parents, adopted persons, as well as other extended members of these families. In 2008, Catholic Charities helped build families by bringing 23 children together with loving families through their adoption programs. (Source: http://www.cc.dio.org/programs.htm) Catholic Charities' contracts have said to be cancelled by the state. They have recently appealed the states decision but were unsuccessful. They said they plan to appeal again. The agency as a whole, works with more than 2,200 children, all of which would have to be moved to other adoption agencies. Many foster parents, disagree with this move and think it would be nothing but bad news. Loss of the contracts not only affects the children, but foster parents, family of those foster children, and the people that work with those foster children. The state of Illinois is not looking out for the children's best interest, but yet the best interest of the state politicians and officials. The politicians and state officials will cut the budget anywhere and everywhere, and at the cost of anybody except themselves. It's sad that they are cutting the budget in places like education, children services, public health, domestic violence prevention, etc. The states budget could be cut in more appropriate places, in order to help save programs such as Catholic Charities.

What meaning do sports have in my life?

Sports are pure entertainment to me. Playing sports and watching sports can be not only entertainment but fun. People enjoy watching and playing sports. A big part of sports would be to choose a favorite team. Choosing a favorite team gives someone something to look forward to. When your favorite team is on, you might take time to tune into the game. Choosing a favorite team isn't just about following them, but it gives you a social out-lit. Talking with your friends and peers about sports can go on for hours and hours. Sports are very easy to follow if you have a favorite team. For me however, I do have favorite teams, but I see sports more as entertainment.

10 Things Kyle Said...

1. Relationships between sports and literacy in adolescent black males in Detroit
2. Trash Talkin
3. Ebonics is legit, Geneva Smitherman (A.K.A. Dr.G) even wrote a book about it.
4. Hip-Hop and Sports are closely related
5. Self-expression
6. Stereo-typing
7. Lyrics (w/sports)
8. Expanding Literacy
9.Sports are not simply for social and upward mobility
10. Oppressed people assert their artistic, creative expression in the world

H.O.P.E.

Just the term simply put, HOPE, has a lot of different meanings. When you search hope even two or three different definitions come up. Hope to every individual person can be different. Every person goes through individual struggles and situations that can define who they are and how they see things. I decided to search hope and I found two definitions that I see fit for the word. Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope can also be defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Hope is associated with many different situations and things as well. It is seen all over the place. A lot of times people will associate hope with breast cancer. Some colleges and churches have the word hope in their names as well. Obama's slogan for his 2008 presidential campaign was even hope. Hope is a part of everyday life and lots of stuff around us. It's not a term that should be taken lightly. Whether its un-consciously or even consciously happening, every person has hope in some form or another. We, as individuals, hope to achieve something, gain something, do something, accomplish something, etc. Hope can be as simple as hoping to get the iPhone 5 when it come out, or as complex as hoping to live. Many people wouldn't get through a family tragedy, a test, a day at school or work, a disease or illness, and even life without hope. I personally would associate hope with breast cancer, because my Mom and Grandma were both diagnosed with breast cancer within 6 months of each other. Fortunately they are both survivors and can live to tell their stories, but not without hope. I believe they survived cancer because of the simple yet complex word called HOPE. Once i turn 18, i want to get a tattoo that involves a breast cancer ribbon and hope. After all, without hope a lot of us would not be where we are today.

Memorable Teachers Through The Years

Over the years, I've had many teachers and a few of them have been memorable to me. The first memorable teacher I ever had was my kindergarten teacher, Mrs.Stoner. She was the most loving, caring woman I have ever met. She was very hands-on with her students and always made class fun, even when we were learning. We didn't have desks in our classrooms we had tables, and we always had new name tags every week. They were always colorful and bright. I loved going to school everyday when i was in kindergarten, just for the simple fact that she made it so much fun. The second teacher I had that was very memorable, was my second grade teacher Mrs.Episcopo. Just like my kindergarten teacher, she made learning fun. Her classroom was probably the most interesting classroom I have ever been in. I can't really describe it, but the way it was set up was just interesting and made learning that much better. Mrs.Episcopo also was the teacher that figured out i needed glasses. She could tell I was squinting at the board, and contacted my Mom about it. Unfortunately, she has since passed but she will forever be in my heart. The last and final teacher that has really touched me so far in my school career, was my co-english teacher freshman year, Ms.Gerling. She was only my teacher freshman year, but we have stayed in contact since. She is the definition of what a teacher should be. She has helped me through so much even after I wasn't in her class anymore. Shes one of the few UHS teachers that have really helped me grow not only academically but in life in general. The world needs more people like her!

I am.....

One day during literature and composition class all of the students were instructed to choose between two writing prompts, and complete it on a piece of notebook paper. We could choose to either write our own I Am poem or describe with excruciating sensory detail your favorite room in your place of residence. I choose to write my own I Am poem. My poem is as follows:

I am lovable and caring.
I wonder why life is the way it is.
I hear every persons thoughts.
I see love all around me.
I want to be all that I can be.
I am lovable and caring.
I pretend life is perfect.
I feel the world is at peace.
I touch love.
I worry about my family.
I cry about my grandma's death.
I am lovable and caring.
I understand the world will never be at peace.
I say live life to the fullest.
I dream about achieving all my goals.
I try to be the best i can be everyday.
I hope to be successful in life.
I am lovable and caring.

It is usually hard for me to write poetry when it is assigned, especially on a certain topic. This poem however was super easy for me to write. As soon as i got the assignment, i started writing and the words just flowed. This was a great assignment that really got my creativity flowing, because it was my choice on what i wanted to write but yet still had structure to it. All classes need more assignments like this!

My personal reflection on the extent to which my family gets involved or feels welcome at school.

Family involvement in school is something that is seen a lot more with younger children. When I was in grade school and even middle school my family was way more involved then what they are now. I can remember my Mom coming to school for all of the parties on holidays in grade school. We always made crafts, played games, dressed up, and just had fun. My Mom was even a junior achievement instructor back  when i was in 5th grade. Life was just so much different back then. I don't see my family not being as involved so much as a lack in my families interest, but more as my dis-interest. Once children get into high school they feel a sense of independence and don't really want their parents to be as involved. Parents like to give their children more responsibilities, and in doing so they give them more independence in school. After high school, when children become adults thy go on to college or their desired career and take on responsibilities. High school is just a steeping stone towards college or a career and children should gain responsibility during high school in order to prepare them. Once children get into high school and sometimes middle school, not as much goes on in school that parents can get involved with. Some parents may still come to school events such as open house and parent-teacher conferences but not as often as in the younger years. If a child plays a sport or is involved in an extra curricular activity, a parent might be more involved in school because of this. I can remember back in middle school and freshman year, when i played volleyball, my parents were very involved in school and came to every game i ever had, no matter what. Playing a sport or being in drama club, for instance, always gives parents another way to get more involved in school. Once i got into high school, my Mom and i joined PTSA, but i have dropped out since then. Being in PTSA was more or less a joke to me. My Mom is still involved in it, but I don't see it as useful for me to be in it. If more organizations were more involved in school and more successful, it might drive more parents to get involved. In the end, family involvement in school depends on a lot of factors and varies drastically from family to family. It can depend on the children, parents, other family members, and how much they are all willing to get involved!