This week in Civics&Economics we will be learning about Colonial America. In honor of that exciting time period, I would like you to find an current article that centers one of the major cities from the Colonial period.
Your choices include Boston, Massachusetts (representing New England), New York City or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (from the Middle Colonies), or Charleston, South Carolina (from the Southern Colonies).
Find a current event that takes place in one of those population centers and post your findings to the blog. Don't forget to stick to the format and use the rubric in your notebook to earn full credit. This topic gives you a lot of latitude, so I expect a good variety of interesting articles.
Happy Blogging.
Nate M. Pd. 4
ReplyDeleteTitle: Getting Here From There
Author: N. R. KLEINFIELD
September 8, 2011 THE NEW YORK TIMES
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/08/us/sept-11-reckoning/decade.html
A decade has already passed since the Twin Towers fell in NY, and the Pentagon was left with a gash and the diverted plane dropped into a field near Shanksville, PA. It was called the worst day in American History and also the saddest day in American History. George W. Bush understood 9/11 as a declaration of war. To others, it was an immense hate crime.
To me it also is a dark day, since I used to live in New York when the attack happened. I think President Bush made a good point, the declaration of war against global terrorism can help the US become a safer environment for future generations to come. Killing Osama Bin-Laden was just a small step into winning the war against terrorism. We still have a long way to go before this war is over.
Jill McLeod/ P. 4
ReplyDeleteTitle: Authorities Probe Death of Baby Found in Van in Dorchester
Author: John M. Guilfoil
Date: 9.12.11
Source: www.boston.com
URL: http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2011/09/authorities-probe-medical-incident-involving-toddler-boston-school-van/0ujLXVzeCJ1oSkqCoH6x4N/index.html
A thirteen-month-old baby boy was found dead in a van in the neighborhood of Dorchester, Boston today. The driver of the van reported the discovery of the baby at approximately 3:30 pm this afternoon, and the child was deemed dead on the scene. The van was parked outside of “Gloria’s Day Care”, and the van’s driver is the husband of the woman who runs that day care. It is not known if the baby was going to be dropped off at that day care center or another one. As well as reporting the child the driver called the emergency room because of chest pains, and was treated in the hospital. Boston police say that the child had been left in the vehicle since this morning, but the cause of death so far is undetermined.
When I read the title of this article I wasn’t very surprised because Boston (a major city of the New England colonies!) is a very dangerous place. I grew up an hour outside of Boston and I have visited multiple times, but this was still bizarre and heartbreaking. I hope they find out who did it because they clearly broke many laws, and they were not a good citizen because they didn’t follow them.
Max LeMoine/4th Period
ReplyDeleteSeptember 11th memorial debuts in New York/Sheila Steffen
CNN/September 13 2011
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/12/world.trade.center/index.html?iref=allsearch
My article is about the opening of the 9/11 memorials. The memorial is an 8 acre tree-lined plaza which full fills a promise made to the families on the 10 year anniversary to keep it open for them and the rest of the world forever. The memorial is a large square outlined with plaque with the names of all the people who died on 9/11.The order of the names was given a lot of thought and they were arranged by something known as “meaningful adjacency.” Finally the memorial will be opened 7 days a week forever and it is a great way to show to the people who lost loved ones in the attack that they will be remembered.
After reading the article I feel that it is a great thing that we are doing to show the families of victims in the crash that we actually care. Also this event happened in New York and that is one of the colonial states we have been studying. I also think that the memorials will also just be used as target in further attacks. In the end, I think that the memorials are a great way to show respect, and I am happy they were constructed.
Casey Mickunas Period 4
ReplyDeleteNew York Chooses Company to Run Bike-Share Program
New York Times Website
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/nyregion/new-york-picks-alta-to-run-bike-share-program.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
New York is trying to encourage biking to unclog traffic and make it easier to travel throughout the city. This is significant because it is going to help New York cut down on traffic and help it catch up to European cities that already have bike-sharing programs. The sharing program will stay next summer once they finish the rental stations and putting in the bike racks. Janeete Sadik-Khan, the city’s transportation commissioner, has put in over two hundred and fifty miles of bike lane for the upcoming bike-sharing plan. The company providing the bikes will be Alta Bicycle Share.
I think this is an important event and worthy of a current event because it shows how the country is starting to try to organize traffic flow in big cities and help the environment by cutting down on pollution. It shall cut down on traffic by reducing the amount of car, trucks, ect. On the roads and, hopefully, cut down pollution. It is a good thing that this is happening because it is the first major plan to get people to cut down on driving and do something physical by bikes and so they can get to places with more ease.
Annie Wilcosky- Period 4
ReplyDeleteDeal for Pa. mom who lost job after donating organ/ no stated author
The Sacramento Bee/ September 14, 2011
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/14/3911190/deal-for-pa-mom-who-lost-job-after.html
This article describes a Philadelphia woman who donated a kidney to her son, and lost her job as a result of the time she took off. Claudia Rendon, the donor, says that she was aware of her possible unemployment before temporarily leaving, and even signed a document stating that she was made aware of that fact. During Rendon's recovery from surgery, she was contacted and told that she had been replaced. However, she has been offered a deal in which she will be payed her normal salary until a new job position opens up. The new job will not be at her previous company, but an affiliate of that company, the Aviation Institute of Maintenance.
I'm glad that Ms. Rendon will continue to be payed, but I wish that the issue had not occurred in the first place. The fact that she was let go due to taking time off to donate a kidney to her son seems harsh, and shouldn't have happened. She was put in the difficult decision of helping her son or keeping her job; signing the document was undoubtedly hard, but she wasn't left with very much of a choice. I believe that her job position should have been more protected in her absence due to her situation.
Sean Dawson
ReplyDelete4th period
“Officials say threat on 9/11 anniversary is unresolved” by Kevin Johnson
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-09-13/Sept-11-bomb-threat-Homeland-Security-Senate/50391336/1
As we all know, ten years ago, terrorists made a terrible attack on the twin towers in New York and the pentagon on 9-11-01. They hijacked four commercial planes and flew two into the twin towers, one in each tower. They also hijacked another and flew it into the pentagon. The passengers on the fourth plane fought back and caused the plane to crash in a field in Pennsylvania. Many say there would have been more hijackings that day if we would not have discontinued all flights then. As Sunday was the 10th anniversay of the attack, we were all suspecting another one, which is what this article is about. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, FBI Director Robert Mueller and National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen were aware that there was a supposed vehicle bombing plot this year in Washington D.C or New York. They increased security greatly there and were telling people they could not promise there would not be an attack.
Luckily, our security prevented another attack from happening. 9-11 was one of the worst days in our history, and 2,900 innocent lives were taken that day. New York is one of the New England colonies, making it a major city, which was probably one of the reasons they chose it. There are rumors that the attack could have been prevented, which really makes me mad. Some say that people were warning the government that there were foreign pilots wanting to learn how to fly planes but not how to land them. The world would be another place if you take out the tragedy of 9/11. We will always remember it.
Casey Molina
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
Parents plan Bensonhurst protest after DOE cuts half PS 101 seats
Mark Morales
NY Daily News
9/ 7/2011
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2011/09/07/2011-09-07_prek_protest_time_doe_cuts_half_ps_101_seats__in_august.html
In Bensonhurst , New York parents are upset about city decisions to cut classes that were already confirmed. Parents of young children were promised spots in pre kindergarten classes in August, but were recently told that their children are being cut from the class due to “space restrictions” or “increased enrollment.” The parents now have to send their children to a different class over a mile away. This is a problem since asthma keeps one of these parents from walking long distances. Thus the children must be dropped off by a grandparent. The parents that were counting on the close location of the class say that the Department of Education should have notified them about the cancelled classes earlier instead of the day before class. William Colton, an assemblyman suggested that the DOE provide bus transportation to the farther class and give students in the closer location the option to switch to the farther class so that the students with a transportation conflict can more easily attend a class. Colton recognizes that the DOE messed up and he believes that a solution should be reached.
I agree with Colton in the sense that the DOE should try and make classes available to the students who were promised spots. It is often disastrous when a problem arises and there is lack of communication between the people involved. The DOE messed up and they should have admitted this sooner. Instead they sprung the cancelations on the parents the day before and made a larger mess. Similarly, last year the high school had too many students and not enough English teachers. Many students did not have an English class and some of the ones who did were left without a desk due to overcrowding. The school, instead of immediately recognizing that classes were overbooked, let the problem go for almost two months. Then once teachers complained, students were randomly chosen to receive a new English teacher, who had a totally different style. Students had to adapt to a new agenda on short notice without a chance to stay in their original class. Just like the class cuts in New York, it is the students who suffer the most. It is ironic that school systems, which are in place to expand the minds of young adults and to teach responsibility, ended up hindering the very people they were trying to help and did not display responsibility of their mistakes. I think that schools and many other organizations can learn from these examples and realize that sometimes admitting a mistake and immediately making a conscious effort to quell the problems is always a better alternative than scrambling at the last hour. New York remains an important center for social interactions and growth. I wonder how social mishaps like this were dealt with in the colonial era. Would someone be fired or killed or would members of a community get together to solve this?
Maddie Mesaros
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
Title: Hold tuition over strike, Catholic parents urge
Author: Martha Woodall
Article: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Date: Wednesday September 14, 2011
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20110914_Hold_tuition_over_strike__Catholic_parents_urge.html
This article is about a Catholic school by the name of Lansdale Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The teachers and staff went on strike September 6, 2011 because they rejected the archdiocese’s contract proposal. It contained changes regarding working conditions and job security. Public schools usually have a certain amount of days that teachers are able to go on strike but private schools do not, however. People stress the idea that this strike can remain for a long period of time. Today was the first day of school all students didn’t show up to school which is worrying the parents. The Office of Catholic Education announced the school would be closed until the strike was settled. The concern here is that teachers will continue to go on strike until they get what they want, even if it puts students out of school and learning.
I personally think this is very childish of the teachers. They should know by now that not everyone gets what they want and they can’t be selfish and take away from the students learning time. Also, the archdiocese should negotiate with the teachers and the dilemma might actually be solved a lot faster than the strike. This relates to what we’ve been talking about in class because Philadelphia is one of the main cities from the Colonial Period. Also, some colonies didn’t have an education until at a later date so it’s interesting to see the education changing and going through difficulties still today. I don’t understand why the teachers have to go on strike about this. Maybe it’s a huge deal to them but it’s their job to be teaching these teenagers and they’re not doing a very good job of it.
Nakeisha Revels / 4th period
ReplyDeleteBill Would Provide Federal Funds for 9/11 Memorial/Patrick McGeehan
The New York Times / September 13, 2011
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/bill-would-provide-federal-funds-for-911-memorial/?scp=1&sq=bill%20would%20provide%20rederal%20funds%20for%209/11&st=cse
On Friday, the bill was introduced to clear the way for the federal funds by Daniel K. Inouye, a Democrat from Hawaii and New York Senators Charles E. Schemer and Kirsten E Gillibrand as co-sponsors. This plan was proposed to congress last week; the bill would make ownership of the memorial to the federal government and provide $20 million a year in financing. Daniel Inouye had an incredible ideal of partnership between the federal government and charitable foundation. The foundation cost about $60 million to maintain the memorial and run the museum. It’s important to the funds because they are only asking for one-third of the budget and if they don't the accepted amount then they would have to charge. The site belongs to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Port Authority has already agreed to give the title to the foundation when it receive title to the neighboring site of the former Deutsch Bank building from the Lower Manhattan Development Council
This is good because people need to know about all of those who died in 9/11. They are trying to keep the memorial and museums maintain, and that's why they asked for the congress to propose it. The board would be responsible for the rest of the amount through different options. I can relate because I have family and friends who died in 9/11 and it’s a great way to remember then and learn about the other people who died allow with them. This makes me what to help and start a charity and give the money to the families that lost someone.
Jayson Williams
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
New York Times 9/15/2011
Metro-North's Port Jervis Line Slowly Returns
By: Christine Haughney
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/metro-norths-port-jervis-line-slowly-returns/?ref=nyregion
Hurricane Irene did quite a bit of damage to New York's metro trains, in particular the Metro-North Railroad. There was about 14 miles of train tracks were wiped out by the tropical storm. Starting Monday the newly restored tracks will be used, and the starting point will be Port Jervis then to Harriman, which is the equivalent of five stations down. On August 28th, the storm knocked out commuters way of transportation. On last Thursday, they just started rebuilding the new tracks.
After the damage from hurricane Irene, the trains were on hold. Now New Yorkers can transport from New Jersey to New York City. This new transportation system will help millions of people.
Gabrielle Pura period 4
ReplyDeleteTitle: NYC Smoking Rate Drops 8%
Author: Christopher Mathias
September 15, 2011
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com
URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/15/new-york-city-smoking-rat_n_964713.html
In recent studies, from NYC Department of health, NYC residents have decreased their percent rate of smoking from 22% to 14%. That’s an 8% drop in nine years! This 8% drop is also equal to around 450,000 residents who quit. According to the statistics, teenagers have decreased their percentage of smoking from 18% to 7 %. This is a great accomplishment for New York City because smoking is their leading cause of premature death. Mayor Bloomberg stated that because of the thousands of people who quit smoking, they are helping decrease and prevent an estimate of 50,000 premature deaths by 2052.
Having read this article made me happy. I think that smoking is one of the most disgusting habits for a human to be accustomed to. One of the worst disadvantages from a person smoking is that whoever is around them will end up being an unintentional secondhand smoker. I strong believe that other cities or states should use this accomplishment from NYC and apply it to their own. If that would happen, then numerous premature deaths would be saved along with the smokers themselves and the people around them. In addition, an advantage they can take from this is that they can make their community cleaner and look better.
Alex Adams
ReplyDelete4th period
Title: Thousands visit after 9/11 memorial opens in NY
Author: Verena Dobnik and Samantha Gross
Date of Article: 9/13/11
URL: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/09/13/1484299/thousands-visit-after-911-memorial.html
Summary:
Thousands of people came to the 9/11 memorial after it opened over the weekend. The memorial stands in the footprint left by the two towers after they collapsed. The names of the victims have been written around the memorial and the families of the victims have left flowers and notes on the names. Visitors described the memorial as giving a sense of eternity and found it profoundly moving. The memorial features a large pool that flows into a smaller hole in the middle of each footprint.
Reflection:
I found this article very touching, especially the part when Jim Drzeweiki said that it could’ve easily been him who had died that day. The monument is located in New York, and New York is one of the original colonies. The one thing that concerned me in this article was that it seemed like several of the people, who were invited to the memorial didn’t have any ties to the victims.
Anna Baynes Period 4
ReplyDeleteGOP Savors N.Y. Win
David Espo
Herald Tribune
Thursday, September 15, 2011
http://www.mynewsonthego.com/sun/EPaper/?pageid=c234f570-04a8-41e9-bb82-7fd1ea41baef (pA3)
On Wednesday, September 14, 2011, in New York City, the Republican Party gained a representative in Congress when Bob Turner defeated David Weprin in a special election. This election took place because Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner admitted to sending inappropriate text messages. Representative Weiner resigned his position. This is the first time this New York City district has been represented by Republicans since the 1920s. In this New York City district there is three times the amount of Democrats than Republicans. Some people say that they voted for the Republican Party because they do not approve of what President Obama has done in office. 40 percent of this district is Jewish. Some people think that Jewish people may not have voted for Weprin because President Obama advised Israel not to build houses in the West Bank. This election may affect the balance of Congress and may also be a sign of what is to come in 2012.
I do not think they should blame Obama for the problems the country is having because it is hard to fix all of the problems in three years. It would be very difficult to get out of a bad economy which resulted from policies developed by George Bush over eight years. I think the Republican controlled Congress is stopping Obama from trying to help the United States. I think Weprin should have won because that district has three times the amount of Democrats than Republicans and people in New York City are being too harsh on President Obama. This current event relates to what we are doing in class because New York is one of the colonial colonies of the United States. New York was important in national politics during colonial times and still is.
Justine Lockhart
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
Behind-the-scenes look at the 9/11 memorial
Thomas Kelley
Yahoo News
August 13, 2011
http://news.yahoo.com/behind-the-scenes-look-at-9-11-memorial.html
Architect, Michael Arad moved from Atlanta to New York city recently before September 11, 2001, he was still new to the town when the horrible episode took place. He witnessed the burning and collapsing of the North and South Towers. What surprised him the most was how considerate and compassionate people were towards each other that day: paramedics, doctors, firefighters, and other generous people risked their lives for others. This is why Michael Arad decided to plan a memorial to remember and honor those who died on September 11, 2001. He named the memorial "Reflecting Absence". This memorial took a lot of work to build, finally after six long years of creating the waterfall sculpture memorial, it was finally finished and opened to public on 9/11 this year. He hoped to make families of those who passed away on September 11, 2011 feel honored and less empty.
This article was bittersweet for me, it was very touching that Michael Arad designed such a thoughtful memorial for those who died on September 11, 2011. It must make families of the 9/11 victims happier to know how honored those brave, generous people were. It seems to bring people together and help keep that day in everyone's memory. It was sad to read though, 9/11 was a really upsetting thing to hear about. I'll always honor and remember people who died that day and helped others that day. Something so tragic should not always be forgotten, it's important to remember 9/11.
Garrett Young-Wright
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
Title: Get Ready for Peace Day Philly
Author: Daniel Rubin
Article: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Date: Thursday September 15, 2011
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20110915_Daniel_Rubin__Get_ready_for_Peace_Day_Philly.html?cmpid=124488834
On Wednesday, September 21st, there will be an international Day of Peace. Set up in 2001 by Jeremy Gilley with the help of the U.N., international Peace Day is supposed to be each September 21st across the world. Although the whole world will not be celebrating the day of peace, Philadelphia will be. Lisa Parker, the coordinator for Peace Day Philly 2011, has over 40 organizations signed up to pitch in for Peace Day Philly, as well as local police, and the mayor. Musical acts have also signed on with Udi Bar-David and her orchestra heading the peformances. Peace Day Philly 2011 hopes to be more successful than Peace Day Philly 2010, when 53 violent crimes were commited in and around the city.
I think something like this would be a great idea for any town to adopt. A day of peace would help everyone relax for a day, and refrain from quarrels. Something like this could work in Chapel Hill, because people here are nice and I am sure would be interested and participate in an event like this. I hope that on peace day this year in Philly the number of violent crimes drops to zero, because on a day of peace, 53 is a lot.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMass. lawmakers vote to bring casino gambling
ReplyDeleteBy Johanna Kaiser
Forbes.com
9/15/11
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/09/15/business-us-massachusetts-gambling-massachusetts_8681186.html
On Wednesday, a bill was passed in Massachusetts to allowing gambling in the state. This caused much debate, some of the representatives opposed it are unhappy that this was passed. The argument for it was that three resort style casinos would be built supplying jobs. These resorts will create an estimated 15,000 jobs for residents of Massachusetts doing various things like construction. The local business' taking a hit from these large casinos that will lose customers to them. The opposing side says they don't know how much revenue and jobs they will actually generate.
This story is important to our civics class because it is related to the government and passing laws. They are passing a new law in Massachusetts. I think they should let them build the casinos because the unemployment rate is higher than ever and this will generate jobs.
Shelby Casabura
ReplyDelete4th period
Memorial in Pennsylvania Still Short on Funds
By James R. Hagerty
Wall Street Journal 9/10/11
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904103404576556681160078302.html
Still after 10 year they are struggling to raise money for the memorial to the 9/11 victims of flight 93. Where 40 passengers and crew members died when their plane was hijacked and crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. So far the memorial has a marble wall engraved with the names of those killed, which was dedicated over the 9/11 weekend. Also a massive 17-ton sandstone bolder was placed where the plane crashed. They still need to raise another 10 million dollars aside from the original 62 million dollars cost. Throughout the years thousands of donations have been donated from .92 cents all the way up to 2 million dollars.
My opinion on this memorial is that its a great way to remember those who died on that horrible day. But also I think this job should of been done for free out of respect for those who died. So that on the 10th anniversary they wouldn’t have to scramble around for the needed money and the memorial could of been fully finished for the families. The brave passengers and crew of flight 93 should be memorialized as heros forever.
Charles Wang / 4th Period
ReplyDeleteA City of Glass Towers, and a Hazard for Migratory Birds / LISA W. FODERARO
New York Times / September 14, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/nyregion/making-new-yorks-glass-buildings-safer-for-birds.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
Many birds that fly in New York City and many other cities are in danger. New York is a major spot where many migratory birds fly on the Atlantic flyway. It is estimated that 90,000 birds are killed each year from the birds flying into the glass. The ornithologists say that this is the second-leading cause of death for migrating birds after habitat loss which is all caused by humans. Many glass towers have proliferated to make them less deadly to birds and there is even a new planning commission which has adopted bird-safety standards for new buildings. Many building managers have agreed to place opaque covers over their windows which can reduce the amount of casualties.
I feel that this is very bad for the birds because the reflection on the glass makes the birds think they can go through the building. These birds are just migrating to different climates for the winter and it is a very deadly path when they go through a city when it should just be a danger less path. They should make the glass opaque for most of the high buildings where birds migrate to and from because it is so costly to the birds. According to the scientists, the two leading causes of death for migrating birds are by humans, habitat loss and flying into glass. I don’t really think this can relate to the colonies of America; but according to a study, 6,000 birds died in 1997 and it has risen to 90,000. This means before in colonial America, almost none of the birds were threatened by large glass buildings and windows because they did not have the technology to make it.
Hannah Hodge, Period 4
ReplyDeleteConservative Professor Comissions Portraits of Thatcher, Hayek, Thomas Sowell- On Liberal UWS by Trevor Kapp and Corky Siemaszko
NY Daily News, published September 13, 2011
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/09/13/2011-09-13_conservative_professor_commissions_portraits_of_thatcher_hayek_thomas_sowell__on.html
Recently sidewalk portraits of political leaders have been popping up all over the Upper West Side of New York City. The leaders depicted are all conservative figures and are placed in an extremely liberal neighborhood. These pictures have been commissioned by Michael Schrage, a professor from the Institute of Technology. His intention was to spark discussion and political debate, he himself being a conservative surrounded by liberals. However the pictures have sparked a degree of outrage in the residents of these neighborhoods. They are painted by Hani Shihada, whose political views are not necessarily represented by the paintings. He is getting paid 1000$ for every portrait of people such as Margaret Thatcher, a conservative former Prime Minister of England. Many residents are insulted and angry with these pictures, painting over them, stepping on them and letting the Mr. Schrage know how these controversial pieces of street art make them feel.
I think that Michael Schrage may have had good intentions with these paintings. He wanted to spark political conversations between different sorts of people using art as a tool. I would be in favor of that, however, he chose extreme figures that made many people pretty furious. Residents of the neighborhood were insulted by the leaders and I think that when people are being made to feel uncomfortable or threatened in their own neighborhood, the intentions lose importance and the project moves into a grey area, morally speaking. I hope that these do get people talking about where they stand politically and help people try and understand others' opinions. This won't be beneficial though if people feel threatened. These talks need to happen in an environment where everyone feels safe to express their views and opinions.
David Hicks
ReplyDelete6th Period
Daniel Rubin: Get ready for Peace Day Philly
Source: Philly.com Local News September 15th, 2011 http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20110915_Daniel_Rubin__Get_ready_for_Peace_Day_Philly.html?cmpid=124488834
This article analysis Philadelphia’s annual peace day, which is set to take place on
September 21st. This idea was first proposed by the U.N. in 1981 and was ignored until it was brought up by a man named Jeremy Gilley. Gilley was a British filmmaker at the time and decided to bring up the concept of Philly Peace day. Unfortunately, the day Gilley was going to announce the day fell on September 11th, 2001, and his proposal received little to no attention. Gilley was determined to make a difference though, and he documented his struggle to achieve an international peace day in his movie entitled “The Day After Peace”. This year, 40 academic organizations have signed on to Philly Peace day and hopefully it will be bigger than any year before. This day is significant because it is a day that promotes purely peace, and in a world that experiences many wars, it is an excellent sign of hope.
This article gave me a lot of inspiration. The fact that one man could establish a day purely dedicated to peace is amazing. At the same time it also scared me. We, as people, have to schedule peace. It seems barbaric that we would have to plan for something that should be natural. This article doesn’t really apply much to what we are studying in class despite the fact that we are studying Pennsylvania. I want to know whether or not we as a people can schedule more frequent peace days. Having a month or even a week of peace really shouldn’t be that hard, but do to the nature of people, it is made to be.
Connor Smith 4th period
ReplyDeleteTitle: Nourishing New York’s Low Income Communities
Author: Danielle Berger
September 15, 2011
Source: cnn.com
URL: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/09/15/cnnheroes.keatley.nutrition/index.html?iref=storysearch
In poverty-stricken areas of New York City, people have slowly eating more and more unhealthily. The easy access and affordability of fast food has created generations of obese and poor New Yorkers. Gina Keatley has started a movement to create healthy eating habits in the neighborhoods that have been deprived of nutritious diets, and frankly, the knowledge about them. Keatley began a foundation that works to increase general knowledge about healthy diets, and eradicate the misconception that people with a certain income can’t purchase healthy food. Keatley’s organization not only hands out healthy products, but teaches people where they can get healthy food for low prices, and why it is important to do so.
I think that what Keatley’s organization is doing is great for the community, and could really help out people in need of nutritional guidelines. I found this article ironic, because it seems that the dire nourishment conditions that were apparent in early colonial times have been virtually reversed. Now, instead of the scarcity of food, it is the very abundance of it that is killing people.
This is from Laura:
ReplyDeleteGround Zero opened to the public this 12th of September in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. This is where the twin towers used to stand. It is now a memorial with pools that have names of those who died that day chiseled into bronze. The memorial includes not only the names of those who died in New York on 9/11 but also those who died in Pennsylvania and the Pentagon on that day, also those who died in the bombing of the trade center in 1993. People that were interviewed said the memorial is really beautiful and almost surreal. Admission is free and visitors have to be checked closely due to the high security at the memorial. Visitors claim this is a changing experience and very healthy for recovery. This is significant because it honors our country and helps us remember what happened that day.
This event happened in New York which is centered in one of the major cities of the colonial period. I found this article very interesting because it referred to the 10th anniversary of 9/11 which was this Sunday. I think the memorial is a really good idea and the fact that it was built makes the people of our country come together. I found it interesting but not very surprising that over 7,000 tickets were bought the opening day. This shows just how willing people are to remember what happened on 9/11 and pay respect to families of those that died that day.
http://news.yahoo.com/9-11-memorial-plaza-nyc-opens-public-140421764.html
This is from Marc:
ReplyDeleteSupermarket Dumps Self-Serve Checkouts
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/money/29195332/detail.html
September 25th, 2011
A Massachusetts supermarket chain called Big Y has decided to stop using self-serve checkouts. Big Y
started using self-serve lanes in 2003 to speed up checkouts, but it ended up just slowing things down.
The customers had trouble with bar codes, payment methods, and coupons. Big Y thinks that the self-
serve lanes don’t provide the friendliness of a human being. Another store called Albertsons is also
doing the same. Kroger says they are going to keep the self-serve lanes because customers like it.
It think that it is ridiculous that they are taking away self-serve lanes! Whenever I go to the supermarket
with my friends we always use the self-serve lanes. First of all, they are not complicated what-so-ever
and they move very quickly. And second of all, if you took away the self-serve lanes, there would be a lot
more people in the regular lanes, and some might have small purchases. And in that case, it would be
great to have self-serve lanes.
Gabrielle Pura period 4
ReplyDeleteTitle: NYC Smoking Rate Drops 8%
Author: Christopher Mathias
September 15, 2011
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com
URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/15/new-york-city-smoking-rat_n_964713.html
In recent studies, from NYC Department of health, NYC residents have decreased their percent rate of smoking from 22% to 14%. That’s an 8% drop in nine years! This 8% drop is also equal to around 450,000 residents who quit. According to the statistics, teenagers have decreased their percentage of smoking from 18% to 7 %. This is a great accomplishment for New York City because smoking is their leading cause of premature death. Mayor Bloomberg stated that because of the thousands of people who quit smoking, they are helping decrease and prevent an estimate of 50,000 premature deaths by 2052.
Having read this article made me happy. I think that smoking is one of the most disgusting habits for a human to be accustomed to. One of the worst disadvantages from a person smoking is that whoever is around them will end up being an unintentional secondhand smoker. I strong believe that other cities or states should use this accomplishment from NYC and apply it to their own. If that would happen, then numerous premature deaths would be saved along with the smokers themselves and the people around them. In addition, an advantage they can take from this is that they can make their community cleaner and look better.
Sam Williams Period 4
ReplyDeleteSeptember 11 Memorial Dubuts in New York
Sheila Steffen
CNN September 13 2011
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/12/world.trade.center/index.html?iref=allsearch
This article is about the construction of the 9/11 memorials finally finishing. The memorials are in an eight acre open area with trees around the edge. The memorials were in the design stages for many years before they were completed. Each footprint of the towers is now a deep granite pool that will contain fountain. The memorials are lined with plaques around the edge with the names of all the people who died. The memorial will be open all the time. This is significant because it brings closure to some of the family of victims as well as to the country as a whole.
This article was meaningful to me because I watched many videos of people walking around these memorials. They were very emotional for the lost lives. The tragedy of 9/11 was a huge event and the memorials are a way to ensure that it will not be forgotten. These memorials are in New York City which was one of the four major cities of colonial America.
Diego Lewis, pd. 4
ReplyDeleteApproval of Congress Matches Record Low
Allison Kopicki
NYT Sept 16 2011
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/approval-of-congress-matches-record-low/?partner=rss&emc=rss
As the title says, our congress is seen as one of the worst performing congresses we have ever had. The approval ratings will show you the people's view on their performance. The current republican approval rating is %19, with democrats at %28. Only %6 of people think that their congressmen have earned their re-election, while %84 think it's time for new people in Congress to save our economic situation, particularly jobs. These are record low statistics, and the American people think that the congress needs to pull its act together before anything disastrous happens.
I think it's high time we got some new people in our congress. We are in desperate need of new jobs, and I'm not just talking about new jobs now, but growth of job opportunities for the future. I need to be able to get a job once I finish college. If we don't get our situation in America fixed now, when WILL we fix it? We need decisions made, and we need responsible politicians.
Samantha Joy Straughan 4th period
ReplyDeleteNewark is Betting on a Wave of New Principals by Winnie Hu
The New York Times September 15, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/education/16newark.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion
As the new 2011-2012 school year begins, 17 new principals (11 under the age of 40) began their new jobs in Newark, New York. All of the new recruits were hired by the schools new superintendent, Cami Anderson, who was appointed in May at age 40. Ms.Anderson hopes were to redefine the public education system in an attempt to cripple the low achievement of the distracts schools from elementary to high school. There is definitely controversy that such young, inexperienced principals will not achieve the desired outcome of the schools. Although, Ms.Anderson and her team of highly developed principals and teachers brought in about 90 candidates for interviews that laster roughly 4 1/2 hours each. In the interviews, potential employees had to critique videotaped lessons, discuss case studies, and write essays on the spot. Ms.Anderson and other are confident in their decision and can't wait for their plan to begin to unfold.
Personally, I agree with Ms.Anderson. She is obviously a confident and educated women who made the selection process hard and vigorous. She takes her job and the future of America's education seriously and if that meant breaking the mold she was going to do it. I'll have to check back of course and find out weather or not her plan of action actually succeeded, but for the most part I am fully behind Ms.Anderson and her team.