Political Food Fights

     Generally, the first thing that pops in my head when I hear the term "food fight" is a massive chaotic outbreak of kids throwing food meaninglessly across the cafeteria. However, after reading an interesting npr article by a man named Kristofor Husted I have learned a new, more symbolic use for food. The article discusses the use of so called "food fights" in history to spread messages and protest government actions. This idea dates back to the late 1700's where a large group of American colonists dressed like Indians dumped 45 tons of the British Parliaments tea overboard three ships in the Boston Harbor. This was done to protest the taxes British Parliament was placing on colonists at the time due to debt and pre-revolutionary war tensions. This event, famously known as "The Boston Tea Party" was just one of many other "food fight" stunts to protest the government. The article references a very recent act where 500 tacos appeared in the mayor's office in East Haven, Connecticut, and no they were not for an annual banquet luncheon. According to Kristofor, "This truckload of tacos was meant to be a symbol of discontent". Kristofor accurately states the intended symbol for not only these tacos, but all dissenting actions involving food, is discontent. As it turns out, these tacos were sent by an immigration reform group in response to a racist comment by Mayor Joseph Maturo referencing Latinos and tacos. These rebellious protests involving tacos, along with tea, pie, and even eggs, are fueled by the discontent and demand for change. The freedom to protest peacefully in America gives way to very elaborate and meaningful actions that spread strong messages, If not through food, then other rebellious actions as well.


     
     Another very recent act of protest involves Wikipedia's "Blackout" in response to the SOPA(Stop Online Privacy Act) and PIPA(Protect IP Act) acts. In a nutshell if passed, theses acts would limit and monitor what is expressed on the world wide web. As a result, internet companies like Reddit will not continue to run.


What are some other types of "unique" protests?
What are some positive and negative impacts of a so called "food fight" against government?

Meta-Blog Post

   When I was first introduced to the idea of blogging back in September I was a little skeptical towards the benefits of writing posts. After reading through my blogs I now see why it is worth it to write posts and read/comment on other peoples as well. The point of blogging is to connect your interests and ideas to American themes both inside and outside of class. It is to get your ideas out and also comment on others. The point of blogging is not to blog because you have to for class to get a good grade, it is simply a way to look at your interests through different lenses. The first thing I noticed after rereading earlier posts is how much my posts have improved over time. I think a big reason why is similar to trying anything for the first time, you just don't know how to approach it. Some of my early posts like if you ain't first you're last touch on very broad American themes like speed in this case, and also provide a claim with no evidence to support it like articles, videos, and quotes. One aspect of writing pieces like blogs I have learned this year is to tie claims to evidence, and most importantly analyzing that evidence. This is something I did not fully understand till the second quarter in early November. My first quarter blog posts consisted of broad claims with a lack of evidence. After gaining a better understanding of what makes an effective blog post through reading other's posts and Mr. Bolos and Mr. O'Connor's, I started to produce more well done blogs. In my blog entitled Islamaphobia, I crafted the post around a video from a documentary I saw on American views of Islamic practice in the United States 10 years after 9/11. I started my blog with a quote from the video (a tactic I learned Mr. O'Connor's Troy Davis post) and analyzed language from another quote as well. The use of evidence to back up your claim is one "golden rule" of blogging I have learned, and helps give merit to my claims.

    A common theme I have noticed in many of my blogs in the past few months is education (college in particular). I think this is due to the fact that I am a junior and it is something that is now always on my mind. It has always fascinated me the difference between New Trier and other schools, and also the difference among colleges. I also think that because it is a topic that I am interested in, they are some of my most well done blogs. I touched on specific themes like how college rankings effect New Trier students college search, the divide between wealthy and poor school districts and the causes behind it, and more recently how musicians have made an impact on education. An aspect of my blogs I can definitely improve on would be including more than just one piece of evidence linking to my claim, and also asking more in depth questions. An example of this would from my blog U.S. News College Rankings Make Life Simple? Where I ask a closing question, "Could [the list] be of some use to the confused college bound student?". This question is a yes no question and does not give the reader much to think about. I could have rephrased it as,"In what ways could this list be of some use to college bound students? Overall I think my blogs have improved since the start of the semester, and after analyzing them I have become aware of some things I need to change and add.
  

'Amplifying Education' Through Music

    Similar to Mr. O'Connor's blog post on Pete Seger and how his music has influenced change in the world, one of my favorite bands, Dispatch, has worked on various projects outside of music to help change the world as well. Lead guitarist and vocals, Chad Stokes, has worked with both Dispatch and another band, State Radio, on various works involving poverty in Sudan, helping the cause of Troy Davis, and most recently the "Amplifying Education" campaign with Teach for America. Below is an informational video with the band members from Dispatch discussing the details of their 2011"Amplifying Education" tour.

     

"It's channeled towards reading, mentoring, and tutoring"- Chad Stokes

"Spending time is way more valuable then spending money"- Brad Corrigan

      The two quotes above are what I found most important regarding their involvement with "Amplifying Education". It is one thing to donate money to an organization, but to contribute your time and energy is truly significant. One thing that sets Dispatch apart from other groups contributing to efforts like this, is that these groups are more fed up with the cash flow then they are sacrificing their time and labor. This sets a strong example for fans to get involved physically too by mentoring, tutoring, and reading to kids. 

      Music has served as a strong hub for raising money, awareness, and time for various organizations and efforts. Musicians like Pete Seger, Bono, and Chad Stokes have gained significant followers because of their ability to produce good music, and show humility through supporting important causes.  What other ways besides music are effective in getting people involved not only financially but physically as well?

What other musicians have helped change the world?

Racist Math

      While flipping through the interesting and unique Yahoo news articles I stumbled across one that both shocked and disturbed me. It was about a third graders homework from a small town in Georgia that not only taught students math, but "social studies" as well. An idea that sounds harmless initially, but how corrupt it turned out to be. One question asked, "If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?". This homework assignment tried to incorporate the idea of Slavery into math. After recently completing Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass I have become familiar with the brutal hardships many slaves endure in their lives. Therefore, a simple math problem like this that is designed to "educate" students on slavery really disturbs me. Not only are the students too young to really understand the perils of slavery, but to casually bring it up in this way is absurd. According to an ABC article I read on the issue another question regarded how much cotton Frederick picked. An angry Parent commented on the issue saying, "Something like that shouldn't be imbedded into a kid of the third, fourth, fifth, or any grade". While I agree that these students are too young at this age I believe that at some point, during either middle school or junior high, students should be introduced to the history of slavery. Clearly this homework assignment was unacceptable, but it made me think about the cross-curricular activities we are susceptible to at New Trier High School.

      Cross-curricular simply refers to a combination of academic subjects through either a class or activity. At our school we have many examples of this such as American Studies, Literature and Film, Sports medicine, and many more. Part of what makes these cross-curricular combinations so effective is that it forces students to  think of subjects in different ways, and also gives students the opportunity to express their ideas in different ways. For instance in our American Studies class we were able to take the idea of storytelling, and then think about how history is told through textbooks, the changes and recreations of a story to stress certain points, and even created an oral history essay through conducted interviews. This being said, the idea behind this homework assignment was not necessarily a bad idea, but the way they executed it turned out to be a nightmare.

Is there any way to really incorporate Social Studies and Math?
What other positives and negatives are there to cross-curricular activities?

The Great Divide

    Viewed by many New Trier High School students as the test that determines the future. The ACT is Stressed over, analyzed, and even trained for. When it comes down to it, New Trier's 2011 class averaged a composite score of 27.5, compared to the national average of 21.1, and the Illinois average of 20.9. Why is it that New Trier High School students exceed the national and Illinois averages by over an incredible 6 points? We recently discussed in class the trends in education between the rich and poor, but what exactly is the reason students from New Trier do substantially better than students from say, East St. Louis? (These statistics can be found on the ACT website by clicking on the following link) http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2011/states.html

"Competition is the lifeblood of New Trier"- Jonathan Kozol

     I believe that a major reason for the divide in education between affluent school districts such as New Trier and Lake Forest, and impoverished East St. Louis comes down to the spending per pupil. Walk into any New Trier classroom and you will find a clean room with nice desks/tables, chalkboards, and more recently fantastic projectors. Walk into any East St. Louis classroom and you will find otherwise. In Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities he goes deeply into the issue regarding divisions between the rich and poor focusing on East St. Louis and even our very own New Trier High School. Written in the early 90's Kozol walks into an East St. Louis science classroom where he notices that pipes are missing in the lab stations. When asked, Physics teacher John McMillen exclaims that, "It would be great if we had water"(27). This passage shocked me as I realized that in some schools having something as simple as running water in a science classroom would be a pleasing entity. This then led me to realize all of the supplies and materials we have available to us at New Trier. In a society where most are destined to be college bound, it is hard to imagine a place just the opposite. According the book during the 90's New Trier's district provided $340,000 worth of taxable property per child. A figure that incomparably exceeds the property per East St. Louis child. These savage inequalities have aided in the great divide still prevalent in education today.

How might we close this gap between the rich and poor, specifically in Education?
What other reasons can explain these savage inequalities?