English 1 - Dunn — Science Leadership Academy @ Center City

Food Desert: Part 3

Posted by Claudia Bonitatibus in English 1 - Dunn on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 8:53 am

Throughout the month of April I volunteered with several local organizations working on projects to address the problem of food deserts and the lack of availability of wholesome food at affordable prices in inner city neighborhoods. This is why for my final blog I will focus on local efforts to eliminate food deserts and how Philadelphia is taking a stand to help those in need. In my previous blog posts I have mentioned a couple of these solutions, but now I have a better idea of what kind of programs are available out there and the energies people are directing to solving this problem.

When I first started looking for organizations to get involved with I did not know the myriad ways a diverse group of people and small organizations were working to improve Philadelphia. For my first project I worked on setting up a community garden in the back of a small church in North Philly neighborhood where food availability is a chronic problem. This church’s garden worked in conjunction with a soup kitchen that the church also ran - as soon as the vegetables that the church group grew could be harvested, they would bring this produce to the soup kitchen to help supply the poorer citizens of neighborhood with healthy foods. This all took place in a derelict lot. Even though there was only a small amount of space, using raised planter beds and contamination-free soil, we were able to make use of all the land that we had at our disposal to grow wholesome food.

I also volunteered at Fair Food Farmstand, which is a stand where local farmers can sell their produce, dairy products, and meat. Fair Food Farmstand sells food grown within a 150-mile radius and, even though their food is not inexpensive, they find ways to make it affordable for the customers who rely on their products. I am specifically talking about their “double dollar” program, which is when people who meet certain eligibility requirements, can buy a certain amount of food, while in addition, they are able to get the same amount of food free. They also contribute to food banks, which I mentioned in my previous blog posts.

Of course, this is only scratching at the surface of the problem, but it is a good beginning. There are many other ways to get rid of food deserts. It is definitely a cause worth getting involved in.

Food Desert: Part 2

Food Desert: Part 1

Bibliography

The Heart of Lady Macbeth

Posted by Tamira Bell in English 1 - Dunn on Sunday, April 14, 2013 at 11:52 pm

My project is an art piece that depicts the heart of Lady Macbeth. Because of Lady Macbeth's evil desire for riches, ultimately she was left powerless and under the shadow of the tyrant master of her own guilt. In this piece, the heart as the center focus. Around the heart are flames, which symbolizes the range of emotions that compassed her. Also, the background is red to signify the innocent blood that she shed.
Inside the heart at the top-left hand corner, it is fully black and has the quote “Fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.” That part of the heart represents the point of the play in which she was full of evil and malice to become queen. On the top-right hand side of the heart, the color is a lightly shaded black with a pastel and has the quote “My hands are of yours, but I shame to wear a heart so white.” In this section of the heart, it signifies how Lady Macbeth is still evil but she has not been as covetous as she previously was because she knows she has to be strong for Macbeth. As you go down towards the bottom of the heart, you will start to notice splotches of red and the quote “I pray you speak not: he grows worse and worse; question enrages him.” Although this quote doesn’t concern Lady Macbeth, it represents a pivotal point for Lady Macbeth because she starts to notice that she is losing control of Macbeth, therefore she covers up for him and claims that he has had convulsions since his childhood. The red represents how she is commencing to feel remorse about the heinous crime she committed. Towards the bottom of the heart, it turns completely black and contains the quote “More need she the divine than a physician. God, God forgive us all.” This represents how Lady Macbeth has totally lost control over the circumstance and no one can help her. At the bottom of the heart, it looks as if something is pouring out of the heart, it is black, and it has the quote, “The queen is, my lord, is dead.” This point of the picture signifies the death of Lady Macbeth.
My process was short but complicated. It took me a several hours to complete this because of time constraints. It was difficult completing this project because I made several mistakes in the piece. Because of my difficulties with the project I just moved on by covering up my mistakes. I don’t really take pride in this project because it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I learned from my colleagues to get creative and to think outside of the box. If I were to do this project again, I would completely do it over again. It actually wanted to make a sour dish to represent the evil of Lady Macbeth in the beginning of the play and a sweet dish to represent Lady Macbeth at the end because she was became more of a human. I am going to do this and I will be bringing in for the class on Monday April 15, 2013. I learned not to go with the first idea that pops up into my head, but to be unique and artistic. I also learned to put effort into my work.

Although this won't be counted for credit, below is what I actually wanted to do. I made a sour cream and onion snack to represent how Lady Macbeth was evil in the beginning. I made Kiss Pies, which are sweet, to represent how Lady Macbeth became more humane and had feelings of regret towards what she had done, in the end.

*Kiss Pies

*Sour Cream and Onion Snacks

Macbeth and His Lady Macbeth

Posted by Brittany Cooper in English 1 - Dunn on Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 1:58 pm

1. This project is about the emotionally roller coster of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth ‘s emotions. This is a creative extension of the quotes for the book Macbeth.

2. I decided to do something simple. Something that would be easily understandable. I used a all white poster board & free hand drew all the pictures such as the crown, the snake and sword, and the bloody hands.

3. Just making sure everything matched up was difficult because certain quotes were hard to describe through drawling. I had to take my time and not rush.

4. One thing I am most proud of is the fact that I was able to actually complete this project. I was not confident in this at all nor did I have a solid paln.

5. One thing I would have done differently is I would have done a board game. I think it would have been a more hands on with the auditions.

6. I learned that almost everybody had very similar quotes. Also ideas on the structure of there projects.

7. I learned that I actual enjoy doing hands on creative projects. Yes it’s a lot but, for me it was very relaxing. It was something other than typing on a computer.

Lady Macbeth poem

Posted by Angelica Owens in English 1 - Dunn on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at 11:05 am

For my creative piece of Macbeth I did a poem about Lady Macbeth's character journey through out the whole story. It shows how before the death of Duncan she was the man in the relationship but after Duncan died she became very cautious and she wanted it to go away. To craft it, I thought it would be a little bit easier to write it since I am a poet but it was not as easy as I thought. Even though I am a poet to create a poem is not always easy to do but I already had an idea of what to put in it. The difficulties during making this poem was that I had to figure out to word it. I am most proud of the whole poem because it was hard but I still did a good job creating this. If I did this project over I would have definitely created something else more creative like an art piece or a sculpture out of clay. What I learned from looking at my peers projects were that they are really creative and are good at something. What I learned about myself during this project were that to try something different even if my specialty is poetry because I may be good at something else.

Food Deserts: Part 2

Posted by Claudia Bonitatibus in English 1 - Dunn on Monday, January 21, 2013 at 8:11 am

In my previous blog I talked about the concept and impact of food deserts, but now I feel the need to affirm that there is hope that this problem can be solved. And even better, I can report that several sustainable and innovative solutions are now being explored. Communities all over America that can be classified as food deserts are taking a proactive attitude toward this problem and are currently experimenting with possible solutions to ensure that everyone gets the needed nutrients. This can take many forms, from community gardens to grocery stands outside of McDonald’s. Let me describe a few of these efforts before I discuss the survey that I conducted about food deserts.

New Orleans had the problem of getting good, nutritious food to its poorer citizens for such a long time that some were ready to give up on solving it. Hurricane Katrina wrecked the fabric of the city so badly that New Orleans was considered a hopeless case, but they haven’t given up and are coming up with their own unique response to the problem. Their solution is pretty simple and sustainable for their community. They are growing vegetables in urban gardens, or as they call them, “urban farms”. In many ways this is even more convenient than the common grocery store, because everything that is being grown in these urban farms is there because of a real need. Another positive thing about this system is that it is not just about growing food, but it is also about educating others about horticulture so that people could grow their own food. It is not easy for the people to adjust to cooking from scratch. It is much simpler sticking to the fast food even though it may be unhealthful, because it fills them up quickly and is cheap. What this misses is the whole purpose of eating food - to retrieve nutrients. This truly is an essential skill that is in danger of being lost in our society and yet is one of the simplest solutions to a tiresome problem.

community garden in New Orleans

New York and Philadelphia have also come up with creative ideas about how to get inexpensive, nutritious food to its poorer citizens. In New York they have something called “green carts,” which are just a large food stands that sells the food that the neighborhood is lacking. This works well because the food is cheaper, the lines are shorter, and they have more variety than many of grocery stores in these areas. Many people prefer these green carts to the average inner city grocery store because they are more convenient in addition to being less expensive. It is a good system because it brings attention to the low-income local farmers who benefit from reaching more nearby costumers. And the system also provides a health benefit to the community as it motivates everyone to eat fresh. In Philadelphia we have a lot of small grocery stores in these neighborhoods that provide the community of what they are lacking and adapt to their needs.

fruits from a green cart in New York

Earlier this month I conducted a survey on my topic of research to get data I could use for my blogs. I asked five questions: would you consider food deserts to be a pressing issue in America, do you know anyone with low access to nutritious food, how do you obtain your food on a daily basis, do you live in an urban or rural setting, and what can we do to help our community with this issue. It was instructive to learn that, while over 3 out of 4 people surveyed thought of food deserts to be a prominent issue, most didn’t know anyone who had low access to nutritious food and that most in this survey group could get their food at grocery stores. Clearly, my survey group is not the group most affected by an ability get good food whether because of where they live or income status, and they, like most Americans, view this problems second hand. Now that I know that our first step must be to educate the American public as a whole and that we cannot take action before we do so.

survey results

For more information on food deserts click here for my annotated bibliography.

If you would like to see my previous post click here

To access a food dessert locator click here

Pay It Forward Blog #2

Posted by Javier Peraza in English 1 - Dunn on Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 1:22 pm

Advancing from my last blog, (The link to the blog is posted here https://sla-cc-live.sla01.archive.jarv.us/blog/You_And_The_World-YATW-Pay-It-Forward) I have been exigent to get more involved in the Pay it Forward movement while still keeping you guys versed on what is milestoning. I surmise that if I indubitably strive to make a difference then there is nothing out there desisting me from my goal. I wish to achieve global cognizance on how philanthropy and magnanimity can really shape our world for the better. I hope to be some spark that ignites the flame of truly good moral amongst the human race. To invigorate the honorableness in peoples’ hearts which will set in motion a path towards peace. Before I can even work to becoming this spark I must investigate whether or not humanity is capable of such a change. Also if I am to be confident in myself I must dive into creative research. This inquisition can help give me an idea on where I stand in my plan. Maybe if I find out where everyone else poses in this predicament I will be apt to come out stronger in my campaign. Like everything big, I must start out small. I should inaugurate in my community first. The only problem that arises is what can I possibly do?
Humility, generosity, chastity, meekness, temperance, kindness, and diligence are the seven main virtues that are instituted to students in Catholic schools everywhere. They are responsible for building teens’ personalities into righteous and forthright good samaritans. If you live your life by these seven virtues I am confident that you could really make a difference in your hometown or city. As a result I felt that my journey to making this world a better place should start around here. I attended Catholic elementary school for eleven years and each day was being educated that everything Pay it Forward stood for was the way to live, in an indirect sense. In this environment we had to constantly be kind, generous and forgiving. My friends that I knew in elementary school were the exact image of eleemosynary samaritans. They treated everyone, including strangers, like a friend. Always being willing to pay for another kid’s lunch, these people are the perfect model of exactly who you're suppose you be if you join Pay it Forward. To find out more on what it means to truly be a good person I interviewed my brother Vincent. Vince is in his freshman year at Roman Catholic High School and always has a story to tell on how teens at his school enact deeds of kindness. Roman Catholic High School is filled with courteous and debonair children who are always ready to learn. Here is the link to Roman Catholic’s website if you want to learn more about them http://www.romancatholichs.com.Thus when I conducted my interview with my brother I had the utmost confidence that he would for sure tell me tales of how students in his school love to act like christians. The interview between him and I is written down below.

Me: Vincent, Pay It Forward is the organization who performs acts of kindness that is sweeping the nation. So far Pay it Forward is responsible for influencing thousands of people to perform good deeds in the world. Soup kitchens have been donated generous amounts of money and stolen items everywhere are being returned all because of Pay It Forward. Nice isn’t it, to have people out there who actually care? Especially today where there is so much evil out in the world. Tell me, how does what the people of Pay It Forward are doing make you feel?

Vincent: It’s heartwarming to see so much compassion and generosity in our society. This is proof that there are still genuine people in the world today who actually care for others.

Me: It’s good to know that this affects you so. I’m glad to have someone like you in our community who takes the time to think about this. Now I believe that you attend a Catholic school and from past experiences I understand that Catholic schools pressure their students to be good samaritans. Some say that Christians are more felicitous to exhibit acts of goodwill in the world because of their teachings of being kind to everyone. Do you see a lot of this displayed in your school?

Vincent: I have often noticed acts of kindness shown in my school. It would seem that there is some connection between students and teachers alike because they all care for each other as if they were family. Whether it is something little like holding the door for someone in the morning or helping someone with a huge task, it is the thought that always counts.

Me: That is very inspiring, I am even more happy to see that kids our age are really trying to get out in the world and spread honorable deeds like that. I think for the most part that growing up in an environment as such can have a huge impact on one’s personality. For example, you have shown that teens being taught good samaritanism not only try to make a difference for the better, but also enjoy it. Do you agree, that if you are born surrounded by other humanitarians that you are prone to lead a life of good doing?

Vincent: If you grow up in a healthy and supportive Christian environment, there is no doubt that you will grow up to be a helpful and successful person. I myself find it satisfying to give to others in need. It is such a great feeling when you know you are truly helping someone.

Me: After thinking about this more do you think you’ll try to get out in the world, maybe? The whole point of Pay It Forward is to make a chain reaction of kindness among the world. Later in the year when I start to pursue making an actual change will you join me and move on to spread beneficence in your own school?

Vincent: I’ll do anything it takes to secure a brighter and better future.

Me: Thank you Vince for allowing me to take some of your time. I hope that talking to you has inspired you to really start thinking about making a difference. I hope you have a nice day my friend.

The interview between Vincent and I gave me hope that this world is ready for a change. Although thinking through the situation made me have an altered view on things. Here was a kid who lived his whole life being educated that you should be a prime person. Was there any doubts that his response would be nothing less than “A savior of humanity’s moral good”? I became concerned that what if normal people living normal lives could be the same. I needed to conduct an experiment to see how willing everyone is to put away their selfishness and actually care about someone else. After much thought I decided to transact a survey. Walking around my neighborhood seeking friends and family I depicted a situation where they supposedly found a clip of one hundred dollars lying in the street. I then asked them if they would try to bring the money to its rightful owner. The amount of persons I asked totaled to thirty. Using a pie chart to record results, I saw that the denouement was quite disturbing.
Unlike Vincent’s inspirational account on what it means to be a good samaritan, this pie chart shows that not everyone can have a truly generous heart. Out of all thirty people I used in this survey only 7% said they would try to return the clip. That is only two people! I was upset, discouraged, driven to the point of nihilism. Surely this couldn't be real. It was inconceivable for this to be real. I went over the results over and over again but to no avail. It seemed that greed persisted in people’s souls no matter what. It was time for me to change offense. Pay it Forward is routinely educating people around the world about the seven virtues and how to live by them. Did they ever think to mention the seven vices and talk about how not to live by them? Greed, lust, sloth, wrath, pride, envy, and gluttony. The tools of the devil; the 7 notorious archenemies of Pay It Forward. The ones that prevent us to fulfil our lives as right and just people. To raise knowledge on how to avoid these deadly offenders I created a chart on what to do when evil is on your doorstep.

VICE WHAT IT IS WHAT YOU CAN DO TO AVOID IT
Pride Pride is an inflated look on yourself and your achievements. If you are very prideful you might have a big ego. It’s always good to be happy for yourself and to keep your head high;sometimes too much of that is a bad thing. To avoid pride you might not just want to be enthusiastic about your pros, but about other people’s too.
Wrath Most definitely the most violent of the seven vices, wrath is an over amount of explosive anger towards a person or thing. Wrath can be really dangerous to the people around you and that is why it is important to try and sidestep it. A good way to make sure you never are responsible for horrible deeds caused by anger is to think things out. If you try to put things in a different perspective, then you might see there is no real reason to be that mad. Try to see the outcome of a situation before you do anything you’ll regret.
Gluttony Gluttony is the overindulgence of food or drink just for spite. If you and your friends ordered pizza and you eat the last piece not because you're hungry but because you did not want your friend to have it then that is gluttony. Never look at food as a luxury but as nourishment. Once you feel that you eat just for pleasure then that is the first step towards gluttony. Try to only consume in an amount of food necessary to keep you alive. Remember there is people out there that don’t have the money to buy food.
Greed Greed, I personally feel, is one of the worst of the seven vices. Greed is accountable for hundreds of atrocious deeds committed in history. It has started many wars and domination in the world. Greed is the need for wealth. If you realize that you do not need money to enjoy life then you will be walking farther away from greed than you know it. See money not as a necessity but as an asset. You might not believe me but the goal to happiness does not involve wealth what-so-ever.
Envy Assassinations and broken friendship can all be found in history caused by the evil of being envious. Envy is jealousy of another person’s possessions or status in life. Envy is tremendously evil and you should always approach cautiously if you ever feel jealous of another person. If you are unable to avoid jealousy then here is a simple tip to make sure it doesn’t brew into envy. No matter who a person is and what they own you can always fulfill your dreams if you set your mind to it.
Sloth Sloth is emotional, physical, and spiritual apathy. Sloth can be something as facile as not getting up to get the TV remote because you're lazy or even neglecting to socialize with people because you don't want to waste a breath. A good way to maneuver sloth is to try to get active in the world. Make it a habit so it sticks. If you join a sports team or repeatedly do simple tasks such as holding the door for someone then you will be less tempted not to do something in the future.
Lust Lust is a strong emotion of intense desire in your body. Lust takes many forms such as lust for knowledge , lust for power, and or lust for sex. Lust is always knocking on everyone’s door. The temptation to do, say, or have whatever you want is not something you take lightly. To counteract lust you can try to think about other things when your desire for something comes up. Starting a hobby or hanging with your friends can help distract you from any desires.

I hope you guys can take the time to look over these deadly vices and see if you are under danger of being corrupted by anyone of them. Going back Pay It Forward I wanted to see how much the organization influenced people around the world. Reading articles and consulting people I finally found out that this global phenomenon actually inspired a director to make a movie called “Pay It Forward”. The movie involves a young boy who is given the chance to do good in the world. I watched the movie and introspected it as tremendously heartening. I'm not going to say anymore ( You can learn more here http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0223897/)but the point is that if this movement that is sweeping the world can be strong enough to have a movie made about it then why can’t it do better? After watching the movie I felt better despite the horrible events of my money clip survey. It looks like some people seriously want some vicissitude for the greater good of the human race.

Pay It Forward movie cover.

It is hard to sleep at night knowing that humanity might be growing mature from some its old and ridiculous ways of life. The ways of life where people have to filch and murder to get by. You wonder why it is hard? It is hard to sit back and not join the cause. I have such a strong opinion about helping everyone around the planet that I have been boiling with enthusiasm ever since day one. The pullulating eagerness I feel to get my hands on some project that could inevitably make another person smile is inconceivable in amount. I am willing to put gargantuan volumes of devotion in my crusade to embodiment true values of justice in our country. Unfortunately reviewing the steps leading up to this second blog I realize that my research was pointless. I'm still left wondering whether or not even Philadelphia is ready for something like this. I am timorous that support might be problematic to acquire. It unsettles me not to be confident that I’ll receive reinforcement in what seems to me an epic battle of good and evil. Although I know that history repeats itself and I'm aware that throughout history it was always the will of one person that breaks and bends the turn of events. Anyone can make a difference own their own and I am determined to have my voice heard. I can’t help still being candidly moronic on what Im doing to do for my agent of change. Everytime I think of an idea it feels like it isn’t enough to create a spark herculean enough to wake people up. I will strive forward in my research until I find the ‘treasure’ of real enlightenment. If you have any ideas or are interested in service to the world then you can email me at jperaza@scienceleadership.org

This is the link to my annotated bibliography: https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/1WHe41_DlnlJDnn1ULc7fNqNr9Tp8edR8O7Unbr8mIsU/edit

English 1 - Dunn Public Feed for tag `"English Dunn`