"3rd Project"

After researching and doing the last project I realized that nobody knows enough positive things about Englewood. I admit it kinda made me upset because although Im not an orginal native of the englewood neighborhood, I've lived there for some time now, and I have yet to hear nething in the media worth talking about! Everyone i have asked in the neighborhood about "Growing Home" they look at me as if Im speaking a foreign language. Although Growing Home has an offical website and a Facebook fan page, Istill believe its more I can do to publicize evrything they do and bring awareness tot eh organization and more recognition to Englewood!

Past Experiences ion working with Groups..... :/

Previously, in other classes when I worked with groups, I almost always took the initiative to be the groups leader. Honestly, I've never had a real good experience with working with groups. The work was never equally split amongest however many people when in the group. The work load always seem a little heavy for one or two of us while the others took credit! But, with this class, hopefully my experiences will have changed.

Screw Wikipedia assignment "Rough Draft"

Hello world,
                     So we were told to do I guess like a "mock" wikipedia entry on  paper. As some may know Im doing the Englewood community/Growinng Home (a farm in the englewood community). So Im going to attempt to do a rough Draft, keep in my mind I do mean Ruff lol. Please dont slay me, i know exactly what I need to do!

Growing Home/Englewood Farm

       Growing Home works in communities where we can make a positive economic difference. In Englewood, Growing Home holds a weekly farm stand for our neighbors, and in 2011 staff have piloted a mini CSA program which offers a low-cost purchasing option for residents of Englewood. Growing Home Provides transitional employment and training to chicagoans who have multiple barriers to employment such as having been previously homless or incarcerated. Through a social enterprise business based on agriculture the job training program assists individuals in securing permanent and unsubsidized employment. The unique job readiness curriculm helps reintroduce participants back into the workforce.

Contents
summary
history
Mission

History
          Growing Home was founded in 1996 by Les brown, in order to provide job training for the needy Chicagoans. Les Brown was the policy director at the Chicago Coalition for the homless, he recognized that the critical lack of living -wage jobs was one of the major factors in the leading cause of homlessness, but that a sense of purpose was also a component to breaking the cycle of homelessness.

        Unfortunately Les Brown passed away in 2005. But before he died, he wrote, "Our organic farming program is a way for them (the homless) to connect with nature-to plant and nature roots over a period of time. When you get involved in taking responsibilty for caring for something creating emotion and a connection."


Mission
               "Growing Homes mission is to operate, promote, and demonstrate the use of organix agriculture as a vehicle for jobtraining, employment and cimmunity development."



  

Annotated Bibliography Rough Draft.... :(

Harry Rhodes,"Another view of Englewood," 21 Oct. 2008. < http://growinghomeinc.org/>

                                                This particular site is an organizational site about a particular group that provides not only jobs, but also therapy and safe haven in a neighnorhood stereotyped as having "No Hope." This site enlightens ones mind and may close some ignorant frames that some may percieve about Englewood (chicago). This site highlights abnd glorifies the one of many positive things the neighborhood gardens does for the englewood community. This site aimes toward the may who really dont know too much about the "small" things or events taking place in their neighborhoods. If I were to do a research paper this would be one of the main sources of many.

      "Together Each Achieves More," Teamwork Englewood. 2011. <http://teamworkenglewood.org/>

                          This website is also an organizational site about the Englewood community. What satnds out about this particular site is , it wa created by the actual residents and community leaders of the Engleiwood community. It gives information about different  leadership programs, for the men, women, and children in the community. It's primary goal is to unite the different organizations working to serve the Englewood community as a whole! The intended readers would be most from srrounding newihgborhoods of the Englewoodd commuinity, people in the neighborhood, and/or people that are intrested in creating a brighter tomorrow for the community! Although I have learned some things from this source, I wouldnt typically use this site for a research paper because it dosent generally give enough useful information.






                    

The Question Game!

                        A couple of questions were asked by Ballenger on pg 33, and I choose to extensively asnswer a couple of them and a ask a few questions of my own!
1.whi has been most influential in the neihboorhood?community Im intrested in?
      -At the beginning of the the Englewood community, there is a Roman Catholic Church called St Sabina, located on 78th Racine. The Pries there goes by the name of Father Pfleger, but "we" all know him as plain ole "Father Mike." Fahter mike is not just a social activists, he's the heart and angel of our community! Bing a caucasian priest in one of what is said to be "one of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago," and an activist in a predominately black community, you'd think he'd be a little more modest and reluctant to do half the stuff he's done for the community. He has marched for violence on friday nights with some of his supporters, he has had events throughout the year in the community, and he fights for what is right!

2.Are there any aspects of your community, neighboorhood, or groupthat people argue about/ what about your community seems to generate the most heat? What are the stereotypes, and why?
      -The media has everyone believing that if you even ride through the neighborhood you'll be attacked! True, the community is full of gangs, abandoned buildings, and rift raft, but thats not at all the community has to offer.

Through all this i generated some questions of my own! 1. Granted there is violence in the community, why do they not glorify our neighborhoods accomplishments!
2.Why dont more people know what Father Pfleger has done for the community and how much progress he has made.
3.What do "we" have to do to get our alderman more involved!

"Another World"

LAst week I blogged about oneof the communities I was a part of! I really didnt have to research much about it because I have lived there for some time! But the last time we were in class some of my classmates and proff open my mind to other communities in chicago that I have been interested in!

         This summer, my friends and I named ourselves outgoing and adventrous chicks of the night! Were usually really boring and conservative for the most part lol. We were tired of being "lame" because we were stomped with school work and being tired from our jobs, So one weekend in July we alll went somewhere we knew would be fun..."BOYSTOWN!" We always heard about the community and heard how fun the nightlife was/ Boystown is a district within the LAkeview and Wrigleyviller neighborhoods. It was the first gayncomunities regonized in the United States. It's also one of the largest (LGBT) Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender communities in the nation! Boystown is known for its colorful, party moghtlife. Most bars close at 3a.m. on weekdays and 5a.m. on weekends. Lying on the North Halsted st, its much like the strip of Vegas on weekends. "You never know what your gonna get." Every business has  a pride flag hanging blissfully, and proudly in the eenter of the window or outside the business. These pillars often represent the many respectable gay-owned and operated venues on the neighnorhood. This community is intresting on so many different levels. Every where in June, "The Pride Parade" brings together thousands to encounter and experience whath the LGBT community experiences ina day to day basis. This summer was awesome! An experience I'll never forget!

A diamond in thr "Ruff" (neighborhoods)

The last time we were in class, we discussed communities and what it meant to be in a community! Although I wasnt born in chicago, I have lived in Englewood for the past few years. As a single parent, and a struggling cps teacher, my mom almost had no choice but to move us there. Everything Ive eve heard about Englewood was negative, and it is still that way today! The Numbers say that crime is the highest in my Englewood community! All of this maybe true but the good things that go on in my community almost always go unnoticed! Every summer there are a few stop the violence block partys, donation giveaways for the homless and less fortunate, back to school picnics and block parties, and back to school neighborhood parades. A community is defined as a group of people with common intrest! Although I hated my neighborhood in the beginning, I wouldnt change moving there because they have taught me some things about unity! People percieve and judge "us" without fully knowing anything about us! Although i dont live in that neighboorhood any more, I remain active! We are a partnership who stands together for our neighborhood, we are a community!

Immigrants

          When people hear the word immigrant they automatically think about illegals! Being an immigrant does not neccessairly mean ur illegal. Immigration is when a person leaves one country to settle in another. Personally I dont feel like immigration affects me one way or the other rather legal or illegal!  I had a brief conversation with a couple of my friends and relatives after reading a few aricles. Each of them were upset and arguing about how we "Americans" have it so much harder and how much benefits the immigrants have. They went on outraged that we have to pay taxes and pay for theyre healthcare. True, I do pay tazes and yes they are expensive A few artickes even blame certain crimes on the immigrants. Lets be honest, our "Great" judicial system which has failed us all from time to time has nothing to do with immigrants. Think about it, if there were no immigrants ever in the U.S.,would our problems completly go away? Would crime change? Would taxes go down? After asking these questions I think that i've changed a few of theyre perspectives on the whole topic!

BLOG Comments-mine didnt go sooo well by the way :(

I attempted to comment on Meredith Haas' blog but my acct kept saying it couldnt acess any of the other accounts using mine! So I'll jst post it here til we get things straight! http://wecanbeheroestoo.blogspot.com/2011/09/news-anchor-uses-negative-stereotype-as.html-I couldnt agree with u more! Its crazy what people will do just to make the headlines! A good writer is more than just being able to create a rumor or dress up a lie! Writing is "powerful" and should be treated as such!

I also attemted to comment on Guy Levantes "Response to the Hidden Curriculm"
I luv this! Most people that are fortunate enough to just barely meet the "high Class" or high "middel class" automatically assume that those beneath them (social class) automatically will have a bad future. Ones circum stances does not neccesairly have to determine theyre outcome in life, regardless of race, color, or creed!

"If the Shoe Fits Wear it"

1) What were all the articles in your group's packet attempting to frame? That is, what was "common" among these documents?

2) How were 2 or more of the articles attempting to frame the "truth" differently? In what ways

3) How do these different frames "make sense"? That is, how is it possible for these very different perspectives to work? What narratives do they fit?

4) How do these different articles/frames/narratives reflect differences in power.

This past Monday, we had a group assignment and the discussion got soooooo good that it turned into an assignment. and the questions above are asked to give us a general idea about what our blog should be about. Unfortunately I'm not sure that most journalist or reporters would like me very much after this! Anyway, my groups articles were attempting to frame "Violence." In all of the documents they attempted to show violence amongst the youth within the lower class! Somehow It always seems as though Journalist will do and say anything to make a story a headline including "dress" or "fabricate" the truth! Ironically in every document, the minorities were the "offenders." Or were they? I say this because in one article a Hispanic male in his mid thirties with a family and a career as a paralegal, got arrested for a havng an unregistered gun in his home. His neighbors called th e police on hime saying theyre where weapons in his home. They approached him saying"wear are the guns" without hesitation he immediately showed the police where it was, they then proceeded to areest him. This was in the pile of "ViOLENCE."  Reading it repulsed me among the other articles Ive read. The media  has been gulitiy of this for many years. I have yet to read a source that didnt fabricate or tweek the truth just a "little bit" to fit the situation. That is where power comes in. As long as you have a pen, a mouth to speak, and ur "socially relevant" Your Socially Pwerful!!! I could talk all day about this a turn one frame into another and make millions more but I'll stop here and leave you with an assignment! Close your eyes and think about the word violence..."dont think about minorities" Whats the first thing you think aboutt? Go!!!!!!!

"all work and no play"

What is work? Realistically. there are more than 10 actal definitions to the term "work." But, there was one that stuck out to me the most. Work; the labor, task, or duty that is one's accustomed means of livelihood. Not to say any of the others are wrong, but this is twhat I think of when i hear the term work. it apllies to mein so many forms and fashion. At an early age i heard "work' all day. Growing up my father wasnt around so I my mother was the primary care taker of my home. She went to school and worked two jobs. So i understood what it meant to be worked. I was taught that nothing would ever be handed to you. Nothing is free in this world not even education. So one must work for it all! work was an assignment given to me when i was old enough to comprehend it. Not a an actual job.  It all started with school! I was told that I was gonna have to work my whole life. Rather it be in school, a career, houshold work, etc. But without proper education I could never have a career or be able to actually be happy while working. So it all started with school. Then when I got old enough to grasp the concept of working a job, and understanding what it means to actually get something out of it at the end. I got one immediately!!! This term "work" began having broader meanings shortly after this. I started hearing it every where from everyone. From family. to counselors, from preachers, to teachers. Work started to become defined; an activity with an objective or goal to obtain a prize. For me, that meant working towards a bright future, a career, a family, buying my own house, a business, etc. Im constantly reminded of "work." when hearing the word, I dont just think about hard laborerr. I think about life...I think that life is just one big work place waiting for us to clock in and out. Everyone must figure out how to work in it!

Students and the Status Quo

            Growing up I was never completly poor but I wasnt nearly rich either! So I guess you could say I was in between the middle class and working class..basically known as the lower or the poorer class. In my opinion, I believe that if your parents/guarduans arent from a higher class, your basically svrewed as far as social,and education goes. I for one am a product of this. Not to say that Im not intelliegent, nor coutgoing, I just realize what CPS has done to me as a student. Growing up and going to school at a predominately minority school was even more of a disadvantage. We didnt always have all the materials needed. And lets face it, some of the teachers really didnt care seeing that they were "gonna get paid anyway!'' When given an assignment or being taugh somehting new, it was never explained why! It was always "because I said so!" But shortly after seeing that my education was cut to a minimum my mom tried to change that. So she sent me to a middle class/high class all girl school, which by the way was predomainately white/asian school. There I struggled through it all. Everything was explained very well and emcouraged to ask questions. But of course I didnt want to be considered  the "dumb black girl" in the class. So I never really caught the habit of asking questions and looking "all confused" and what not. There we had all the resoursces to help in assisting you in graduating and becoming a successful citizen or college student. But I realized push that I couldnt conform becaue I never knew the basics in any of the subjects. shortly after I asked to transfer to another public, School. I was allowed and I regret every minute of it. Along the way I had some pretty awesome teachers who pushed me to be all that I am today and told me that as long as i had a brain and a heart beat I could learn and be anything in the world. But, unlike the Catholic school we didnt have unlimited resources. we had to take wnat we could get. We used old books which meant outdated information. We didnt get the funding for more books, better trips, and better software, These schools didnt prepare me for the best nor the worst. In fact wen studying for the ACTs I prepared myself. At that point I decided I wouldnt become a product of CPS. I graduated at the top of my class. Oh, but it didnt stop there! When I got into college it took me a long time to adjust educarion wise! if you ask me, at times i still feel a bit lost. Though some of this may be troubling o read, but its true. None of this was an accident by a long shot. Money and power overule everything, and if you have neither, you wont have anything.