Lee McKinnis (57)
Kristina Marynczak (37)
Killian Noonan (36)
Melissa Castillo (32)
NikoVelazquez (27)
Shannon Ratzel (23)
Michelle Reyes (22)
Kyle Barczak (21)
Maura Bilek (21)
Susan Bayaa (21)
For my journal entry this week I am going to write about my overall experience at the Act Out fair on Tuesday May 1st at 11 AM. I was a little nervous before I arrived because I didn’t know who was going to be there and I didn’t know what kind of questions were going to be asked. After I arrived everything worked out very well. Most of my group members arrived and they were also well informed on our topic so there were no questions that we were not prepared to answer. One of my group members brought In a Jewel bag full of food that was supposed to represent the food given out at the soup kitchen. Many people were confused about the food and asked about it which opened up a great conversation about the nutrients in the food and how the food given out was much more nutritious than the food actually being served. I was particularly surprised that quite a few students came up and asked us questions about volunteering and about the groups that we worked with. Overall I feel that the fair was a success. I really enjoyed the speech given at noon by the representative that Melissa’s group worked with, the Sertoma Center. She was very enthused while she was speaking and I feel like she got out a very important message. I was, however, I did not have a chance to see Mona Purdy’s speech because I had to leave for my next class. She was such an inspiration to me when I worked with her earlier this year. Regardless, I really enjoyed the fair.
Act Out Fair May 1st 11 AM
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Katie Didier
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Katie Didier
On Tuesday in class we watched the video by Mali about the man in performing slam poetry. I have read that piece before but hearing it was so much more effective. I really enjoyed the emotion and the passion that can be portrayed by the performer. I found his performance humorous without out being too rude which is the vibe that I picked up while reading this piece. I agree with topic that he was talking about completely. I find it particularly unavoidable at my work. I am a waitress and listening to different accents and ways of speaking are fairly common. However, the one thing that bothers me the most is when people say their order like it’s a question. “I’ll have the chicken Vesuvio?”. The implanted question mark leaves me standing there at the table staring at the customer wondering if they were asking my opinion on the dish, questioning what it is, or ordering it. I then have to ask what they meant and often get weird looks for not already knowing that that was their order. I do feel that a large percentage of our population speaks without the proper inflection. However I don’t always think that it is because they are not confident in what they are saying. I feel like many people just do not understand the true importance of inflection in a sentence. Maybe if this video went viral it would become of larger importance in our society. At the very least people would, hopefully, find enjoyment from the video like I did.
— Mali. Taylor. “Totally like whatever, you know?.” What Learning Leaves. Newtown, CT: Hanover Press, 2002. Web. 19 April 2012 -
Katie Didier
Ham and Cheese
Overview
For our service activity we choose something local. Our first choice was to help sick or needy children however; the application process to get involved with anything pertaining to children is a long and tedious one. This process will not hinder my activism over the summer but for the time constraint given on this project our group needed to pick a faster paced event. Our next choice was to help out people in our community and stay local. Our group decided to help the hungry through Queen of Martyr’s Parish on 10233 South Central Park Avenue in Evergreen Park. The current reverend at Queen of Martyr’s Parish is Reverend Edward Mikolajczyk. There is also a school attached to this church and the kids were very helpful in directing us to the covenant dining hall which is where we did our service. We arrived at nine in the morning on Wednesday April 11th to make sandwiches that are distributed to those less fortunate in the community via the St. Vincent DePaul Center.
First Arrival
When I first arrived I looked around the room and it did not really seem like a volunteering environment. It looked more like a group of friends making food for a picnic. Everyone here was smiling and telling stories. When I first walked in there were four or five tables lined with paper towels and paper plates where we were all supposed to make the sandwiches. There were gloves on the end of one of the tables which were already on the hands of many of the volunteers. I felt like everyone knew what they had to do and there really was no confusion. There was a smaller table off in the corner with five large cardboard boxes of loaves of Wonder bread.
There was ham and cheese in the center of each table along with individual baggies that the sandwiches were placed in. There was one lady who took the sandwiches that were in the bags and then put ten sandwiches back into the bag from the loaf of bread. All of the work seemed very efficient and thought out.
When all of the bread was made into sandwiches all everyone in the group routinely put away their plates and paper towels and cleaned up the station where they were working. After the room was cleaned they all said their very long goodbyes and hugged and wished each other well until next week. This was very inspiring to me and it made me realize that I wanted to be a part of an organization like this; an organization that was doing something good for the community in a very friendly, loving environment. After all of the volunteers said their goodbyes almost all of them personally thanked us and invited us to join them the following week.
The interview with Jim and Tom
I personally spoke with two gentlemen that were extremely kind and very lighthearted. The first man that I interviewed was named Jim. Jim offered to answer questions about the event while we waited for Tom, the main coordinator, to arrive. I asked a lot of questions about why this sandwich making charity was started and it seemed like Jim or Tom didn’t really understand the question. They only said that there were people hungry in the community and they knew that they could help. Both of the men seemed to believe in their organization very much. You could tell that they were committed and believed in what they were doing. My talk with Jim was mostly composed of general ideas. From him I learned that the sandwiches are made every other Wednesday and given to various shelters or parishes in the community. When Tom later arrived he told me that they make around 400 sandwiches every other Wednesday morning from nine to noon. There are 40 loaves of bread donated to the church which are dropped off on Monday and then they but the rest of the materials that they need such as the ham, cheese, plates, baggies and gloves. Both of the men told me that the volunteers are mostly people from the parish but a few are just members of the community looking to help out and to make a difference. I later asked Jim if he did anything similar to this regarding volunteer and service that was affiliated with Queen of Martyrs. Jim then informed me that in addition to the sandwiches that are shipped to various shelters, one of which is the Saint Vincent DePaul Center, they also work to help out the needy in other ways. Along with the sandwiches, come money that is collected by the parish is put into gift cards to Jewel to help the less fortunate buy groceries. Gas cards are also given for them to drive to work, although Jim mentioned that many of the people that they help do not own a car. Jim said that they didn’t have a set amount that they gave each person; he said that if somebody came to him and said that they could not afford their electric bill that month that they would pay for that person’s gas bill. I really appreciated the kindness that was everywhere in this group of people. You could tell from Tom and Jim especially that they truly do want to make a difference and help the people in the community. When Jim spoke about people coming to him asking for help his face always started to look saddened and pained. You could almost see the connection he has developed over the years.
I asked each of the men how long they have been a part of this event. Jim said that he has been a part of this sandwich making for the past two years. Tom however, said that he had been working to help the community for more than six years and he said that it was started by another man before him. Neither of them knew exactly how long this event has been going. This however, shows to me that they people here are not at all concerned with the prestige of their organization or trying to advertise the good they are doing. They do what they do because they want to help people.
There were about twenty to thirty people volunteering there in total. Many of them were women and many were elderly. Every single person there was extremely nice and went out of their way to thank us for our help. In my experience I have been thanked for volunteering but I was always made to feel like it was my job to help out in the past. Prior experiences tend me to be hesitant to volunteer because it can sometimes lead to me feeling like I can’t do enough. Then I become upset that I am committing my time to an organization who does not value the time and effort that I put in. This event, however, was the exact opposite. Women who were not even involved in coordinating the sandwich making came up to each of the people in our group and said how nice it was that we were helping and they would love it if we joined them next week also. There was no commitment, they didn’t ask for money, or ask me to sign something. This is the reason that I had absolutely no problem telling the ladies that I would be back to help them next week. It is not became I am particularly interested in making sandwiches; it is because I am helping the immediate community and I feel valued in the process. -
Katie Didier
My reading and research journal this week is on a short story called “The Ones That Got Away” by Tom Dow. Similarly to many stories in this book he started off with an analogy that could also be applied to writing. However, for me, the story never got there. He mentioned a few times that he could have written his story different ways but he never specifically mapped out the writing aspect of the story like the essays before it. However, his story or main point of the essay was not at all lost. This made me appreciate the subtle details he left for the reader to follow his trail. I feel like the writer still made his point but he said it the way he wanted to say it. In addition to the way he told his story I found this story interesting because this is the opposite problem I have with my writing. I never really have difficulty coming up with a topic to write about. I feel like if there isn’t a clear cut topic then I work best because with major papers I get lost in all the details. If there is a very exciting, broad topic to write about I find myself getting lost in details and my work clearly suffers for it. When I pick a topic that has seemingly less “meat” to it I find myself easily finding the material to write about and putting a creative spin on it. For me, the dull stories always end up being my best writing.
Dow Tom, “The Ones That Got Away”, Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Kendall Pub, 2010.Print. Page 177-178. -
Katie Didier
For this week’s journal entry I read “Why I like Mike the Builder” which was written by Troy Swanson. I found this essay to be especially interesting even compared to the dozens of essays from this book that I have read. This essay seemed to be very inspiring, honest, and somewhat of an eye-opener. Troy stated that, “for the vast majority of people, the difference between one person who has a special skill and the person who does not is practice, practice, and practice”. I am sure that we have all heard something to this extent several times in our life but how often do we actually take it to heart. Troy Swanson pointed out that the only thing holding us back is our own belief and self-doubt. I agree and I think many people take this view into their writing. When a teacher assigns a ten page research assignment I have a pretty good feeling that many of the students are just going to go through the motions until they have reached their word limit and the sufficient number of quotes. However, if the students actually took the assignment to heart they would realize that they could actually accomplish something. If the writer would just write to prove a point or to explain something then the words come so much easier than if they were to just force meaningless words onto paper. I know that I have done this in the past, probably too many times. However, I think that if, like Troy Swanson stated, if we believe in ourselves and our writing then It will turn out for the better.
McGuire, Michael. Why White Rice? “Why I Like Mike the Builder.” Kendall Hunt. 134-135. Print. -
Katie Didier
For this week’s journal entry I am choosing to write my journal on chapter six in “Why White Rice”. This section of the book is about writing and how it is limitless. I am very thankful for this section of the book because of the way many of us were told to write. I was always told growing up that my papers had to be in a five paragraph form. There had to be one introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and one conclusion paragraph. This was the form that all of my ideas took place in regards to my writing. Even if I was lucky enough to get a creative “outside the box” type of teacher that encouraged us to write narrative works I still found myself trying to compile my work into five major paragraphs. Needless to say this format of writing really didn’t make my writing “limitless”. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I really learned that the format has a lot of meaning to your writing. Surprisingly I did not learn this from my English teacher. I learned it from my speech coach who was a social studies teacher. I am not really sure if I found out the myth of fie paragraph essays before or after everyone else but I know that when I found out it was a slow and unsteady process trying to ween myself into more creative and challenging writing styles. This part of the book just reminded me of how important the five paragraph style was growing up and how nothing else would be accepted. Today however, if I turn in a five paragraph paper to any of my teachers I will surly get a bad grade if they are kind enough not to hand it right back to me.
Basima, Ismail. “Writing Is Limitless.” Why White Rice?. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, 2010. Print -
Katie Didier
I think that, perhaps, one of the best lines in this piece is “We are innocents, falling into an already established system”. I feel that this sentence conveys the true meaning of what has been tried to be expressed thus far in the essay. It is true that we have absolutely no say in who we are when we are born. But I do feel that we have some control of changing these when we grow up . Yes, we are born into oppression; but that doesn’t mean that I can’t overcome stereotypes when we grow up. There are stereotypes for everything in this world. Thinking about the oppression caused by who we are seems futile to me. There is always going to be someone judging you for your hair, your style, the way you talk, where you are from and what you believe in. If you choose to blend in and avoid stereotypes there will most surely be someone there to judge you for that. If you choose to stand out you will be judged just the same. This may be getting off on a tangent however, I feel like delving into the ways in which we are oppressed is a waste of energy. We are oppressed in countless ways but do they all really matter? Looking for the ways in which we are judged or controlled by societal standards only opens up our awareness to them. We can’t change all of them. We can certainly try but I feel like becoming aware will only make a person paranoid and angry. This is a big issue that needs everyone to participate in the solution. One person “interrupting” and “taking a stand” will only result in more judgments and oppression from society. I am regretful at how negative this reading journal turned out to be but I feel like in this certain scenario, ignorance is bliss.
Harro, Bobby. “The Cycle Of Socialization.”(2012): 15-21. Splatter.writing101.net. Web. 22 Mar. 2012 -
Katie Didier
Never judge a Book by its Cover
My first impression with the Share your Soles organization was unorganized. Many volunteers showed up on time only to find that the doors were still locked. After we were let in it was dark and we all just huddled around the entrance of a very large building feeling very much in the way. There was a sign in sheet that many of us didn’t know whether or not to sign and there wasn’t really any direction. The lights were off and the room was just light enough to see where you were walking but not really light enough to see the details. When asked what we could do to help one of the staff members said that there really wasn’t much work to be done and that he didn’t know how we could help.
I suppose I was just cranky for waking up early on my only day off to help someone who didn’t seem to need any. However, we all sat down to watch the movie explaining why we were here and the difference that we could make. After the movies we met Mona. This is where all my negativity was stopped dead in its tracks.
If there is one word that could describe my whole experience with this organization, it would be dedication. You can see it in the volunteers, the staff, the location, the signs, the movies, and most importantly- you can see it in Mona.
I was a little surprised by the location at first when I walked in. Everything seemed a little scattered and unorganized. However, given more thought and time to consider this assumption this is only because of the dedication. Mona is so focused on actually helping these children over the world and making a difference that she has left no effort to be wasted with fruitless decoration and unnecessary planning. After even one minute with Mona one could see that her entire life is devoted to helping these kids. The little amount of furniture in the room was from Mona’s house that burnt down and the rest was a tent set up to show the living conditions of the children in third world countries who are off far worse than many of us care to think about. I would just like to take a moment also to note how much admiration I have for Mona considering almost everything she owns burned down and she is still continuing to help these kids. In the midst of a terrible event in her life Mona continues to plan a trip to donate shoes and plan a sale and auction to raise money for these kids. It is not just the money and shoes that Mona is thinking about. She is actually thinking about the well-being of these kids. While there, she asked a few of the volunteers to pick out a few books that she had that were easy to read with a lot of pictures. When the volunteers looked confused she explained that when she returns to visit the kids she would like to help them learn English if they wish to do so. This really moved me. She devotes so much of her life to this organization that she started by herself , Share your Soles, and still feels like she can do more by providing learning material for a few kids in another country. The way that Mona feels that she can make a difference really inspired me and I am sure it has inspired others, especially my classmates with me that day.
The movie was not as impactful as I expected it to be. In society today I think we are so used to movies and advertisements that are so subtly manipulative that we can’t help but feel bad about the orphaned puppies or the starving kids in Africa. I fully expected a movie showcasing the injuries acquired from a life without shoes or a movie about how much ten dollars could do. Instead the movies showed what the volunteers do and how they help the cause. In fact, what I remember most from the movies is the kids singing and dancing at the end. The way they all sang together and looked so happy was inspirational and made me want to help in a much deeper, guilt-free way. I truly admire the way I was moved to help. I felt good about making a difference instead of feeling bad for not.
The number of volunteers that showed up on an ordinary Saturday was also a surprise to me. I knew that there would be quite a few people from Moraine Valley going but I did not expect to see others who were just ordinary people helping out a cause. There was even one of Mona’s longtime friends there just helping because she knows Mona. There were a few kids that were so young they needed a parent with them in order to help and a few that were much older who even brought their daughter. The diversity of the volunteers and the number was shocking.
Unfortunately, I don’t really know much about what the guys were doing in the warehouse section of the building. I know they were doing moreheavy lifting while the girls were designing and setting up a shoe sale to raise money. At first, the shoe sale was set up in the warehouse part of the location. After a vote, the sale was moved to the front part of the building. There were about twenty or so long tables placed one after the other so that two long rows were created. The volunteers placed all of the shoes by size starting from the front and ending in the back. There were pink and purple fabrics laid down on top of the tables to help the appeal of the sale. I think that all of the volunteers worked hard and considering the amount of time and the materials given, the layout looked great when we had finished. If a shopper wasn’t impressed with the layout of the sale they had to at least be impressed with the sheer mass of shoes at the sales. The amount of shoes that were all donated amazed me.
I have to say I was surprised how much of an influence the volunteers had on the decisions made about the sale. Mona really put it into our hands to decide the layout of the sale and the placement, she even asked us what to include in the sale. Quite a few times the volunteers were asked to vote on what they thought would be best for the sale. I was impressed at how much say we were given and how much trust Mona had in us to make decisions. That really made me want to try hard to make the sale look nice. Her trust made me not want to let her down.
The time seemed to fly by. We were even lucky enough to get a free lunch donated by Jimmy Johns. I did not expect this day to go by as quickly as it did. I was also surprised by the friendliness of the volunteers. By the end of the day I was joking with students from my class that I previously hadn’t spoken to in over three months of classes. I feel like I truly helped make a difference my setting up the sale. I hope that it was a success. I really appreciate the fact that we got to work on a project and see it though in the same day. I feel like I have a grasp on what kind of progress I can make. I look forward to further service opportunities. While I have nothing but respect and admiration for the Share Your Soles organization I would really like to find an organization that I can really relate to and that I am really passionate about to dedicate myself to the way that Mona is dedicated to her cause.-
Corey Thiesse
Katie D.
I really enjoyed reading your paper seeing as how it was well organized and i could tell you cared for what you were doing. You start off your essay in a strong way. I feel the exact same way about how you described the first 20 minutes of the service. I agree the staff was unorganized and i felt like saying “what am i doing here if you have nothing for me to do?”. Maybe you were right though about the waking up early thing! One thing that stands out in your paper than the other ones i have read is that you did not really make a chronological order of things that we did throughout the day, which was good. You elaborated on how you felt rather than what you did, and by doing that you were able to give me a more in depth look as to how you felt about this service learning activity. I was also there and was one of the guys in that warehouse doing the grunt work, for lack of a better word. It was just moving boxes and saran wrapping the bins that they ship out to different places to collect shoes. A lot of the time we actually spent doing nothing because they did not have much for us to do, which you stated in your essay. I also agree on the free lunch courtesy of Jimmy Johns which was super nice, because i am sure we were all getting hungry. I like how you said you were surprised that the movie we watched before we started working was not as touching as all the other videos that you see on TV. I agree with this because i had the same exact feelings going into this service learning event. I figured it was gonna be some kind of movie that you see on TV where they try to make you feel bad for these kids and try to break you down in to tears. But it was really the opposite. You were able to see how happy the kids were from all the hard work volunteers put into helping these poor, poverty stricken people. You opened my eyes to the other part of the work that the girls were doing in the front end of the building. I did not really know what you all were doing until the end when we were asked to bring some tables in for you girls to set up the shoes on. I did not know that you were actually asked how to set up the sale and that you were given so much authority for how you were going to set up shoe sale. I can see that this service learning project really touched how you feel on this topic and it seems to me like you will continue to do great things to help this cause. I could not find much wrong with your paper, so keep up the good work! Just review it one more time to see if you would like to tweak a few things and i think you will be just fine!
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Julian Operana
Katie D.
You started off the essay very well and very strong. I thought you explained it well on how you were very confused in the beginning, like many others who went to the share your soles. “Many volunteers showed up on time only to find that the doors were still locked. After we were let in it was dark and we all just huddled around the entrance of a very large building feeling very much in the way. There was a sign in sheet that many of us didn’t know whether or not to sign and there wasn’t really any direction. The lights were off and the room was just light enough to see where you were walking but not really light enough to see the details. When asked what we could do to help one of the staff members said that there really wasn’t much work to be done and that he didn’t know how we could help.” I thought you explained it well and started off strong. Then you explained how waking up early could of affected you throughout the day which I thought was very good. You put a lot of detail in the essay and I found it very well written. I felt that you could of written more about what you did at the event because I felt you focused on how you felt. “I was a little surprised by the location at first when I walked in. Everything seemed a little scattered and unorganized. However, given more thought and time to consider this assumption this is only because of the dedication.” This essay felt like a story. You told things in order of what happen throughout the day and you did very well explaining it. I like in the middle how you were surprised on how many volunteers showed up for the share your soles event. “The number of volunteers that showed up on an ordinary Saturday was also a surprise to me. I knew that there would be quite a few people from Moraine Valley going but I did not expect to see others who were just ordinary people helping out a cause. There was even one of Mona’s longtime friends there just helping because she knows Mona.” I felt you ended the essay pretty good. It was also nice to see that you bonded with other students that you did not talk to before. “The time seemed to fly by. We were even lucky enough to get a free lunch donated by Jimmy Johns. I did not expect this day to go by as quickly as it did. I was also surprised by the friendliness of the volunteers. By the end of the day I was joking with students from my class that I previously hadn’t spoken to in over three months of classes.” Overall I thought you essay was well written and I did not see any major grammatical errors. This was a very good essay.
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Katie Didier
For this week’s journal entry I would like to share my experience with the “Share your Soles” organization. I found it remarkable how resilient Mona seemed to be. She is still working and taking a trip to help others in the same month that her house burned down. She showed us a few things from the wreckage of her house and while doing so she did not get choked up or upset. She showed us what was left in a very factual manner and I was very impressed by that. If my house burned down I know that I would be an absolute mess for months following the fire. Mona, however, seemed very dedicated to her work and it did not seem like her own misfortune got in the way of her helping others in the least. In addition to the organization being resilient in that manner I also found it to be resilient and another way as well. While I was volunteering on Saturday Mona informed us that they are working out of a borrowed or donated space. The center where everything is organized and shipped from isn’t even a constant. The “Share Your Soles” organization doesn’t even have the stability to know where they will be located a year from now. Even with that lack of reassurance in regards to location the organization has still managed to deliver to over 1.5 million pairs of shoes in thirteen years. The type of dedication and kindness that Mona represented was inspiring and she is living proof that one person can make a difference.
Share Your Soles. Green Apple Sales, Inc., 2010. Web. 3 Mar. 2012 -
Katie Didier
This week I am choosing to write my Reading/Research Journal on the book Why White Rice? On Chapter 7. I found the ideas expressed in this chapter to correspond to ideas that I have struggled to understand my whole life. I could never quite grasp the concept of writing a research essay for my science classes when I hadn’t done any research. My teacher was just asking me to rewrite what somebody else wrote and make sure I give them credit for it. To me, this idea was frustrating and the paper seemed like a complete waste of time. In this chapter the subject was cleared up a bit when Troy Swanson said that we need to take ownership for our ideas but make sure we give credit. I completely agree with the statement in chapter seven, “I think it’s inaccurate to say that ‘there is nothe new under the sun.’ I think it’s more accurate to say that there is no such thing as an absolutely original idea”(Gocal). I think this is a great way to put that many of our ideas and songs and movies are just a big collaboration of things that have predated it. If you really think about it there are only a limited amount of plots that a movie can take. The hero fights the bad guy, wins, and then gets the girl. But there are so many little ideas and twists that can completely transform an idea to make it your own. However, you still have to give credit to the original idea.
Troy Swanson, “Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writting” Chapter 7 “Mash it up…gracefully using sources” PGS. 163-174. Kendall Hunt -
Katie Didier
Letter to the Editor, Child Sickness
Dear Editor,
Child sickness is something that has always been around and something that unfortunately has no end in sight. However, I have recently become aware of the benefits that the Make a Wish foundation has on children and their families. This foundation inspires kids and their families and gives them hope to keep fighting through trying times. Make a wish foundation takes it upon themselves to advocate for the children that cannot advocate for themselves. The city of Chicago should be aware of the overwhelming benefits that the Make a Wish Foundation has. This foundation has helped thousands of children and their families. The Make a wish Foundation has granted over 200,000 wishes since its creation in 1980, currently this foundation helps one sick, helpless child every 38 minutes (wish.org). The Make a Wish Foundation also has a chapter right here in Chicago. One recent child that has had a wish granted by the Chicago chapter is a twelve year old child named Alex who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. He wished to go to a Star Wars Convention. A wish as simple as this can have such a huge impact on a child suffering from a debilitating illness. If more people were aware of the volunteer opportunities this organization provides they would be able to help many more children. One wish granted makes a huge difference for a sick child to keep fighting and give them hope and motivation for the future. The city of Chicago can do so much to help child illness if only they supported this organization. If anyone would like to help out this organization all they need to do is visit the website at Wish.org and see how they can help.
Sincerely,
Katie DidierWish.org. Make a Wish Foundation. 2006. Web. 19 February, 2012.
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Corey Thiesse
After i read your writing I knew i was going to have a tough time revising it because this project is so short and there are hardly any errors to point out. Obviously you chose the topic of child sickness. I like how you immediately pointed out that there is no end to this problem. It gives some closure right away and lets the reader know you will not be able to stop it completely, but we can do some things to help combat this problem. You give many examples of what to do to help stop this worldwide problem. You rely heavily on the Make A Wish Foundation as an organization that helps this cause. They are indeed a very good foundation that does good deeds for the people in need. Although, I think you could maybe give another foundation or something along those lines that could also help. Yet again though, i see where you are coming from and may want to try to keep it short and sweet so that you meet the requirements for this project. So you can shorten it up a little more and put another foundation that will help this problem, or keep it how it is because it is still a strong piece of writing. I also like how you gave a statistic from the website. This really helps put it in perspective what this foundation is constantly doing to help these poor kids that are stricken with terrible diseases. Another aspect of your writing that i liked was how you gave a very specific example of someone who was affected by a sickness and that the foundation helped grant his wish. By you making it more personal and detailed the reader is better able to emotionally relate to what you are trying to let the world know about. In this case it would be the editor and I am sure he or she would be touched by something like this. I also enjoyed your use of vocabulary with words like debilitating and advocate. Another strong point in your writing is in the end when you are concluding your letter. You give a mild call to action for people around Chicago to help fight this problem. I liked how you did not ask for help on a national view but more in a local view for people who live in Chicago and the neighboring cities and towns. You also end the letter in a positive way by giving a website the reader can visit if they are willing to do something for this worldwide problem right away. Who knows maybe your letter will get published and it will touch someone! Overall, this is a very strong paper with few errors to fix. It is practically flawless so keep up the good work.
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Julian Operana
Katie Didier
Your first sentence showed what the paper was all about right from the beginning. “Child sickness is something that has always been around and something that unfortunately has no end in sight.” It is sad to see the kinds of illness that is going around the world to these children. Another thing that I noticed is that your use of words were good and you used some good vocabulary in your letter. You wrote about one thing that most people know about so it is easier for me to understand your paper more than others. Make a Wish foundation in my opinion is one of the best organizations out there and one of the most well known organizations. ESPN does these make a wish foundation dreams come true segments. When sick kids get to meet their favorite athletes and their idols and spend a day with them. “One recent child that has had a wish granted by the Chicago chapter is a twelve year old child named Alex who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. He wished to go to a Star Wars Convention. A wish as simple as this can have such a huge impact on a child suffering from a debilitating illness. If more people were aware of the volunteer opportunities this organization provides they would be able to help many more children.” This was nice to show and I like that you put examples of the foundation on your essay. “The city of Chicago can do so much to help child illness if only they supported this organization. If anyone would like to help out this organization all they need to do is visit the website at Wish.org and see how they can help.” I liked how you specifically said that the City of Chicago needs to do more to help the organization.
I felt that you explained the organization well. I would like if you showed something personal in how you first found out of the organization and how you want to help them. Overall I thought this was a good letter. There were no major grammatical errors. You wrote about a good foundation that everyone can understand and people might actually help the foundation. I also liked that you had a lot of citation and you cited them correctly. The way that you first talked about the statistics of the organization it really told me how many children are suffering around the world. I wish more people would try to help people around the world but we don’t really know if all the money people are donating are actually going to the right cause. That is sometimes what make people reconsider on whether or not it goes to the right people because people do get greedy. I thought if you explained where all the money were going to or just explain what other ways we can help. I thought the letter was really good so their wasn’t much that I can correct on.
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Katie Didier
For this week’s Reading Journal Entry I am going to write about Chapter two of “Why White Rice”. I have only just started reading this chapter however I feel like I can really connect to what it is saying. One issue brought up is about how the student doesn’t really learn to comprehend. This is something that really bothered me at my last school and I am very thankful it is not so prominent here, at least not in my experience. As a student, I try to read the my textbooks and really understand what the teacher is trying to say instead of learning the grading system to get an “A”. Of course, knowing the material and the system isn’t too bad either. However, It was very bothersome to me when I would take a test and found that my study method was memorizing the highlighted notes from the teacher instead of rereading the text. I am definitely a part of the problem however, old habits die hard. These habits are outlined on the first page of 2.1 and I feel like they cover the first 13 years of school excellently. I also feel like the methods in class are very clearly not the typical class room situation from the arrangement of the desks to the peer review days in class. It is very easy to understand that there is a different type of learning environment going on and with this book it becomes even clearer. I do think it would have been funny to see the “carrot and stick” routine on the first day. However, the ball of yarn, connectedness activity was also interesting. : )
DeVillez, Eric, Michael McGuire, Thomas Dow, and Troy Swanson. Why White Rice. Moraine Valley Community College: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, 2001. Print. -
Katie Didier
One thing that really caught my attention this week in class was the projects in Chicago that we talked about on Tuesday. I do not agree with the controversy behind them that caused them to be torn down. However, I really enjoyed the lesson on the barriers. I especially enjoyed talking about the barriers that we do not immediately notice such as the park benches having dividers in them and the subway seats having indents. I didn’t realize there was actually a meaning behind the dividers. However, I do think that the controversy behind the projects in Chicago that were made by mayor Daley and torn down a few years ago is a little ridiculous. From what I understand is that the controversy lies in the Dan Ryan acting as a division between Mayor Daley’s town and the projects. First of all, there are so many geographic isolators and freeways and expressways in the city that to claim that Dan Ryan is serving a purpose as anything more than a road is absurd. Secondly, I do not think that the mayor could have chosen a location that specific even if he wanted to. The city of Chicago has almost no unclaimed land so for the city to be able to buy a chunk of land that large for a reasonable price must not have been a small feat. Now to claim that the mayor found a piece of land that large to purchase for the city in his desired location seems like a stretch to me. I do understand that the projects inevitably turned into a bad neighborhood which could have cause controversy after the buildings were in service but I do not think that the mayor should be held accountable for using the Dan Ryan as a divider.
Citation-
Katie Didier
CITATION! :
“Robert Taylor Homes”. Rap Dictionary. Media Wiki, May 2008. Web. 22, Feb. 2012.
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Katie Didier
Barriers
One thing that really caught my attention this week in class was the projects in Chicago that we talked about on Tuesday. I do not agree with the controversy behind them that caused them to be torn down. However, I really enjoyed the lesson on the barriers. I especially enjoyed talking about the barriers that we do not immediately notice such as the park benches having dividers in them and the subway seats having indents. I didn’t realize there was actually a meaning behind the dividers. However, I do think that the controversy behind the projects in Chicago that were made by mayor Daley and torn down a few years ago is a little ridiculous. From what I understand is that the controversy lies in the Dan Ryan acting as a division between Mayor Daley’s town and the projects. First of all, there are so many geographic isolators and freeways and expressways in the city that to claim that Dan Ryan is serving a purpose as anything more than a road is absurd. Secondly, I do not think that the mayor could have chosen a location that specific even if he wanted to. The city of Chicago has almost no unclaimed land so for the city to be able to buy a chunk of land that large for a reasonable price must not have been a small feat. Now to claim that the mayor found a piece of land that large to purchase for the city in his desired location seems like a stretch to me. I do understand that the projects inevitably turned into a bad neighborhood which could have cause controversy after the buildings were in service but I do not think that the mayor should be held accountable for using the Dan Ryan as a divider.
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Katie Didier
Sorry!
didn’t mean to post this under this category…
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Katie Didier
Child Sickness: Elevator Speech
Issue: Child Sickness
History
• First wish
Why you should help:
• How much of a difference even one volunteer makes
• Affects the families as much as the kids
• Volunteering is especially fun in this type of environment
• Don’t need to have a specific skill set
How to get involved:
• Donate to Make a Wish Foundation
• Donate to Chicago Children’s Hospital
• Send flowers or cards via the hospital website
• Hospital volunteer
• Send in your information to Make a Wish Chicago chapter
o Take online volunteer quiz
Conclusion
• Child sickness deprives kids of the almost given right to an innocent, care-free start to life.
• It really will make a difference to that child and their families
• Can’t solve child sickness but you can give the kids and families hope to keep fighting -
Katie Didier
Wish
Overview of serious childhood illness
One issue that unfortunately nearly everyone sees at one point or another is serious childhood illness. Whether it is illness due to brain trauma or leukemia that we see, it is a devastating and ubiquitous issue. Childhood is a path that many of us take for granted. It is that sacred time in all of our lives when we do not have to worry about anyone other than ourselves. A time when the only worries that are had are about whether or not our mom will let us have another Popsicle. However to thousands of suffering children they will never get the traditional worry free start to their lives. As a child I hated waiting until Christmas, all the thoughts of my presents under the tree seemed almost impossible to wait for. There are thousands of critically sick children that do not even know if they will live to see Christmas day.
There are many children even in our own towns and neighborhoods that are seriously sick and many of them have no hope of a cure. All of these children have things that they will miss out on in life due to their illness. Many have dreams to go to Disney World or to see their favorite baseball player or even to grow up and become a star. Unfortunately, many of their dreams will go unclaimed as their illness unfairly ties them to the hospital boundaries away from the childhood passage that almost all of us took for granted.
Your devotion and support of this issue of childhood sickness can help show all of the sick children that there is hope. There are organizations that work to give children motivation to keep fighting and organizations to help fight their sickness. These organizations such as the Make a Wish Foundation and Children’s Memorial Hospital need volunteers to help these children feel better and to feel loved. This is an issue that affects many of us and it is our job as humans to help the sick children and show them that there is hope.Background Research
Make a Wish Foundation is an organization that is devoted to helping kids with serious, life-threatening illness to find hope and help them make it through their disease. This organization finds sick children with illnesses that have a wish. Many of these wishes are to be a superhero or to meet a football player. This organization helps these kids achieve their dreams and gives them something to hope for and to motivate them to get them through the tough times (Wish.org)
Many of the Children that have survived their illness and have experienced a wish know how much it truly helps and have grown up to devote their lives to helping other children achieve their wish. (wish.org) that is why so many of the staff is so devoted to what they do. They really understand the meaning of the work they are doing and to them the children always come first.
In addition to the children who have grown up to become members of the Make a Wish Foundation there are thousands more that have received a wish. In fact, on every page of the Make a Wish Foundation’s website there is a tally at the top counting the number of wishes that has been granted. Currently that tally shows 218, 165. That is one wish every thirty eight minutes. (Wish.org) In addition to the organization that serves just America there is a part of the Make a Wish Foundation that “serves 47 countries through 36 of its affiliated offices” (worldwish.org).
Christopher James Greicius is the child who inspired the beginnings of the “Make a Wish Foundation”. In 1980, seven year old Chris was being treated for Leukemia. As a child with Leukemia he knew that his dreams of becoming a police officer would never be realized. However, thanks to some inspiring police officers in Arizona this seven year old child diagnosed with a terrible life threatening disease would, if only for a day, be recognized as a honorary member of the police force and not just another patient in a hospital (The First Wish).
Tom Austin, a United States Customs Officer, knowing about Chris’s dream promised him a ride in the department police helicopter. When Chris returned from his ride in the helicopter he was warmly welcomed by three police cruisers and a motorcycle. Chris’s trip did not end there. Ron Cox, an Arizona Department of Public safety officer contacted the company that produced the officer’s uniforms and had a custom uniform made for this now gleaming seven year old boy. After his adventure so far Chris was also “sworn in as the first honorary DPS patrolman in state history” (The First Wish: Chris Greicous).
Shortly after his amazing experience with the police, Chris died on May 3rd 1980 but not before he got to live out his dream as a police officer if only for one day. Chris’s story was so moving that it is now “the inspiration for the largest wish-granting organization in the world” (The First Wish:Chris Greicous).Current situation and challenges
One of the most recent wishes granted by the Make a Wish Foundation was a wish made by a ten year old named Gale in the Oregon Chapter. His wish was to spend the night at the San Diego Zoo. Gale’s wish was granted and he slept in a tent next to a herd of elephants and later got to feed the giraffes. (Wish.org)
Some current challenges being faced by the global Make a Wish Foundation are specifically related to the economy. While this organization struggles with the financial end of its organization that has not hindered the amount of wishes they are granting (worldwish.org)What’s being done
The Make a Wish Foundation has a specific chapter in Illinois. If you would like to contact the local chapter their telephone number is (312) 602-9774 and their fax number is (312) 943-9813.
One recent wish that was performed by the Illinois Make a Wish Chapter was for a little girl with stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma named Emily Beazely. Her wish was to become a star. This nine year old girl was then given a walk on role at the Goodman Theatre in downtown Chicago for “A Christmas Carol”. She was also cast alongside White Sox manager Robin Ventura. These two were in a few scenes of the show, one of the most memorable was when “Bob Cratchitt wished them a merry Christmas by name” (Metsch) .
In addition to the inspirational work that is being done in Chicago there is also a global aspect of The Make a Wish Foundation. This organization has the same mission statement as the organization set in America. However, this organization does not only help sick children in America, but sick children all over the world.
One of the more recent wishes granted by the global Make a Wish Foundation was for a four year old girl in Denmark suffering from leukemia named Sarah. Her wish was to be a princess. What more could a little four year old girl ask for? To grant her wish the organization gave her a royal dress and a carriage with two waiters inside. This little girl was able to forget about all of the hospitals and treatments for a day and just focus on herself and her dream. That is why the Make a Wish Foundation is such an incredible organization (Worldwish.org).
Another organization that is local that is doing a lot of work to help seriously ill children is the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. They have a specially trained staff to work to save the lives of ill children and to help make the process of constant hospital stays less overwhelming and stressful by keeping a kid and family oriented approach to their jobs. Their phrase says it all, “Children’s Memorial Hospital, where kids come first”(childrensmemorial.org)
The two major organizations that I found to be the most helpful were The Make a Wish Foundation and Children’s Memorial Hospital. I would not classify wither of these groups as an extreme group. Both would fall under the moderate category however, this does not mean they are any less devoted to their cause.
The mission statement of The Make a Wish Foundation is “We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy(wish.org) And the mission of Children’s Memorial Hospital is We are dedicated to the health and well-being of all children” (childrensmemorial.org)
How can you get involved?
So many people were affected by Chris’s story and so many people reached out to help. Chris experienced something that allowed him to forget about his sickness and was able to focus on such a happy experience that I’m sure made all the difference to those who devoted their time to making his wish come true. Not only did Chris get his wish but his parents and family got to see him happy in his last few days of life. And not only was the family affected by the family affected by this amazing event but also the volunteers. The countless officers and even the seamstresses that made Chris’s uniform will forever be reminded of what they did for that little seven year old boy. There is something about helping someone and seeing the happiness that you help cause that can be so addicting and powerful and can be matched by nothing else(wish.org).
Chris’s story is a great example of how even the smallest thing can help someone in need, especially a child. For example:
“The Foundation’s first donation was $15 from a grocery store manager. He pulled the money from his wallet after Shankwitz, who was working off-duty as an undercover security officer at the store, told him about the plan. In November 1980, the Foundation received its tax-exempt status as a nonprofit organization and began fundraising in earnest. Media reports inspired people throughout Arizona to generously donate to the Foundation’s first wish. By March 1981, the Foundation had raised more than $2,000, enough to grant another child’s wish.” (wish.org)
This just goes to show how one little act such as a fifteen dollar donation can jump start a whole new wave of action.
Children’s Memorial Hospital has a great track record of helping sick children find a cure to their illness. This organization, unlike Make a Wish Foundation works to fight the illness to give the kids a longer, healthy life while working to make them comfortable. If you are interested in helping children with serious illnesses in addition to working with The Make a Wish Foundation you can also volunteer with the Childrens Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Volunteering for this hospital would involve helping out and being a volunteer at the hospital or at events that help with donations. (Childrensmemorial.org)
At the hospital there are many options for volunteers.
“Bedside Play”: this is where volunteers get to interact with the kids and help them eat and keep their minds off of their illness.
“Family Life Center”: Volunteers can provide assistance to Child Life Specialists and help give the patients and families emotional support
“Teen Lounge” Volunteers will help facilitate activities with the patients 12 and up.
These are just some of over a dozen listed ways to volunteer at Children’s memorial hospital. If you are interested in volunteering you can contact the hospital through their website and they will ask you to take an online quiz to find out what type of volunteer you are. (Volunteer)
In eighth grade my best friend was seriously sick and she was lucky enough to have gotten a wish granted to her by The Make a Wish Foundation. Seeing how grateful she was and how happy her wish made her is something that I will never forget. While it made her so happy it didn’t take much to make her wish come true. She wanted a birthday party. Like the ones you would see on “my super sweet sixteen”. However, instead of a bratty, spoiled teenager receiving the party it was a deserving sick little girl. A hotel donated the location and two local women, who were not party planners, devoted their time and effort to make the party happen. Also, a nearby store donated a dress for her to wear to the party. So many people helped out to make this special day for my friend. She is now recovered and in remission and still remembers the great time she had at her party.
This story serves as a reminder that every little bit helps, that you don’t need qualifications to make a difference. Those two women who planned my friend’s party had no party planning experience and no more qualification to plan a party than you and I. They simply wanted to help a child’s wish come true, and it meant the world to my friend and her family.
On the Make a Wish Foundation’s site there are a number of ways you can get involved. If you do not have the time you can donate money to help a child’s wish come true. If you want to devote your time to truly make a difference however, if you want to take part in making a wish come true then you can go on the website and choose your availability and how often you would like to help and in what manner. They will then message you ways you can help a child in need near your community.To learn more
CharityNavigator .org
This source provides an in depth analysis on the spending of many organizations. The Make a Wish Foundation is listed and useful information is located on this site such as how much money the CEO’s make to the amount of money that actually goes to the people you are trying to help versus paying the paychecks of the organizers. This site also provides a mission statement of the organization that it is analyzing. There is no specific author for each organization that is analyzed but the organization itself provides sources on where they found their data and other reliable information. This source allows you to monitor where your money is sent and allows you to see how it is spent which is a vital aspect of any donation.
Wish.org
This source is the web site for the Make a Wish Foundation. On this site are hundreds of stories of the kids that have been helped because of this organization. This site also provides a list of its staff members and key organizers. While this site provides useful information about the organizers itself it also is very friendly to new donors and volunteers with a very accessible site that allows you to navigate through it with ease. On this site a different ways that you can get involved in a location closest to you. The organization seems creditable because of the many listed ways of contacting them and their mission statement that they reprint on every page: “We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.”
American Journal of Public Health (Newacheck)
One source that may inspire you to reach out to these children in need is the American Journal of Public Health. This is a scholarly journal that was written by P. W. Newacheck and W.R. Taylor. Newacheck is a Professor in Residence at the UCFS School of Medicine for the department Institute for Health Policy Studies. These two men conducted a study on children and illnesses. They talk about the severity of each illness and the frequency in which it occurs. This source is helpful because it provides a more in depth analysis of the kids that could be helped by the Make a Wish Foundation and it allows us to really see what these children are going through.
Citations
Apha.org. American Public Health Association. Web. 19 February, 2010.
Charitynavigator.org. Charity Navigator. Web. 19 February, 2012.
Childrensmemorial.org. Childrens Memorial Hospital. 1999. Web. 19 February, 2012.
“The First Wish: Chris Greicius.” Youtube, May 19 2011. Web. 19 February, 2012.
Metsch, Steve. “Mount Greenwood girl gets wish, shares stage with Sox manager Ventura.” Southtown Star
December 21st 2011, News. Southtown Star. Web. 19 February 2011.Newacheck, P, W Taylor. “Childhood chronic illness: prevalence, severity, and impact.” 82. 3 (1992): 364-371. American Journal of Public Health. Web. 19 February, 2012.
“Volunteer.” Childrensmemorial.org. Childrens Memorial Hospital. 1999. Web. 19 February, 2012.
Wish.org. Make a Wish Foundation. 2006. Web. 19 February, 2012.
Worldwish.org. Make a Wish Foundation. Web. 19, February 2012.
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Corey Thiesse
Katie D.
One of the first things that stood out to me in your paper was your vocabulary skills when you utilized the word “ubiquitous”. That is quite an advanced word and was very nice to see in the beginning of your paper. As i continued reading the paper I like how you gave a good, detailed description of how the first wish was granted by the Make A Wish Foundation. It gave a good insight as to what this organization does. It was also very emotionally touching which I think allows readers to better connect with the message you are trying to get across. The fact that you used the first wish that was granted by this foundation is good because it goes back in time about 30 years and really gives a nice sense of what this foundation is all about. I think you could have elaborated more on the current situations and challenges. This section was only a few sentences long and it left me feeling like i wanted to know more about the challenges they are facing. I find it hard to believe that the only hardships this company is facing is the money problems. I think that you could have given some statistics and numbers to give the reader a better grasp on what is going on, money wise, in the foundation. Another thing you could have said for the challenges is how hard it is for the Make A Wish Foundation to fulfill these children’s dreams. Im sure that it is not as easy as it seems to just grant these kid’s wishes. I feel that there are lots and lots of things that the people need to do to fulfill the wishes. You do not necessarily have to give detailed descriptions about what they do, but rather a quick overview to let the reader become aware of how hard it is to complete these wishes. When you started the section of how you can reach the Make A Wish Foundation, I think that you were very clear and direct in sating how to contact them and other global groups and organizations that help children with severe health conditions. I specifically enjoyed the line where you said ” There is something about helping someone and seeing the happiness that you help cause that can be so addicting and powerful and can be matched by nothing else”. It gives a good in depth look at why you care so much for this cause and flows very nicely as an ending sentence to the paragraph. Another thing that I liked about your paper is how you gave the reader a specific way of helping and aiding these foundations by clearly stating what they could do. “If you are interested in helping children with serious illnesses in addition to working with The Make a Wish Foundation you can also volunteer with the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago”. Overall, this is a well flowing paper with good examples and stories that really touch the heart of the reader.
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Julian Operana
Katie Didier
Wish
My first thoughts was that this was a very well written paper and you thought a lot about the subject. It is sad to see the kinds of illness that is going around the world to these children. Another thing that I noticed is that your use of words were good and you used some good vocabulary in your essay. You wrote about one thing that most people know about so it is easier for me to understand your paper more than others. Make a Wish foundation in my opinion is one of the best organizations out there and I am interested to learn more about it through the websites you provided. I thought your overview was really good in general because it showed how you felt about the subject. It also shows that you do know how to care for these kids that have horrible illnesses. I myself agree with you when you said that “As a child I hated waiting until Christmas, all the thoughts of my presents under the tree seemed almost impossible to wait for.” You always followed up the statement by saying that most kids do not know if they will see their next Christmas. This showed that you added great detail by explaining your childhood and how kids with illnesses feel near Christmas time. I thought the overview was a good paragraph to start of the paper. Another sentence that you wrote that I found really good was “Many have dreams to go to Disney World or to see their favorite baseball player or even to grow up and become a star. Unfortunately, many of their dreams will go unclaimed as their illness unfairly ties them to the hospital boundaries away from the childhood passage that almost all of us took for granted.” You explain that most of us have dreams and kids with illnesses don’t get to live their dream. I thought that was a well thought out sentence. Your background information also gave good statistics that I personally didn’t know and it taught me more stuff about the program. I actually see on ESPN when kids from the Make a Wish foundation get to meet their favorite athletes. One of the examples you put was that “One of the most recent wishes granted by the Make a Wish Foundation was a wish made by a ten year old named Gale in the Oregon Chapter. His wish was to spend the night at the San Diego Zoo. Gale’s wish was granted and he slept in a tent next to a herd of elephants and later got to feed the giraffes.” This was nice to show and I like that you put examples of the foundation on your essay. Overall I thought this was a good essay. There were no major grammatical errors. You wrote about a good foundation that everyone can understand and people might actually help the foundation. I also liked that you had a lot of citation and you cited them correctly.
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Katie Didier
The thing that I found the most interesting this week was the story about Rajeev Goyal. This story was so completely inspiring to me because it showed the way in which he got things done. All too often we hear stories about inspiring people doing something in their lives to drastically help the lives of someone else. But to really see how all of this was done and the lengths that one man went to to achieve his goal was astonishing. I really appreciated that we also saw a supplemental video in class and that Goyal was shown always on his phone. It showed how much red tape and cooperation that goes into getting things done. When we normally hear these inspiring stories of people making a difference the stories seemed sugar coated and the volunteers seem to make their work look effortless. However in this case we really see his work and the way in which he gets things done. One aspect in particular that stuck out to me was how Rajeev Goyal flew to Hawaii and got a letter from the owner of the shop that sold the presidents favorite ice cream, The creativity and skill that someone needs to have to go to such means to gets his voice heard is inspiring. Another aspect of this story that really had an effect on me was that the entire project for water depended on the one man’s design. This one man made the design off of his ninth grade education. This goes to show that nothing should hold you back. This story was completely enlightening and inspiring.
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Katie Didier
Before our discussion in class I was under the impression that activism was more closely related to politics than service. For instance you often hear the phrase “political activist” or “to be active in the community”. While when the term “service” came to mind I often thought of volunteer work such as donation or helping those less fortinuate. After our class discussion, however, I feel like activism is more of a volunteer work on a macro level. By macro I mean that it is more volunteer on an organizational level. Service is more of volunteer work on a micro level. The type of volunteering such as boxing food for for the children that many of the students in our class volunteered for. I feel like as activism is more of a volunteer act toward fixing a organizational problem with the way that volunteer work is done. This can be associated with starting an organization. Activism can also be associated with finding a solution to a problem that isn’t starting an organization. In class we were given the example of cleaning up a beach by adding more garbage cans in order to create a sustainable solution. Service on the other hand reminds me of a quick fix. In regards to the beach it would be picking up the trash one time. This is very beneficial however, it is not a lasting solution.
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Katie Didier
I really enjoyed the experience of peer review. I have experienced peer review in my other classes but nothing to this extent. I really appreciate the focus that is put on it compared to my past experiences. In the past many teachers just asked us to read the other student’s work then verbally advise or critique them. With the word limit I feel like even if the students were trying to “fluff” up their review they had to keep it up to a certain length which made it nearly impossible for at least one good critique not to be said. With this length it is sometimes just easier to do the work than to disregard the assignment and put a few non-committal, unrelated comments about writing in general. It also made the other students, well at least in my opinion, wrack their brains to really come up with every detail they thought about the work. Surprisingly the reviews I received were very kind and extremely helpful. In many cases I could see exactly where their critiques were coming from and was surprised that I didn’t alter my writing previously with my own review.
I also got a few good ideas from the other students writing. While I was reading their papers I could more clearly see the ways in which they understood the assignment. After reading the three papers that I was assigned I was a little worried because my work was a little different. My peers also noticed that but they however said that they enjoyed the different perspective. All in all, the peer review experience was very helpful to me and I hope that my peers enjoyed my feedback as much as I enjoyed theirs. -
Katie Didier
For the “Who should survive?” activity I found that it was putting to much power in my hands to pick and choose who would survive based off random characteristics given off of the sheet. I feel that it is more fair to judge someone based off of their age than off of one characteristic such as their clothes or that they have a child with them. In all reality, they all had family; they would all be missed. I chose the seven youngest people to survive because they have had the least amount of life to live. I chose to judge them based off of age because that was a “order” or ” “judgement” already present. I didn’t have to think or use my personal judgement on who should survive. The age was simply a factor of keeping the power out of my hands. However, I do understand why so many other people picked the people the way that they did. It was tempting to save the doctor in order to ensure the health and safety of the others as well as his own life. But again, I don’t think that anyone should be able to judge a person’s worth over another. Especially based off of two meek sentences.
I did think it was also very enlightening to see the reasoning and rational of the class during the class discussion. There was a lot of thought behind their answers that didn’t occur to me like that any of the people would be “adequate” to deliver a baby and that the people didn’t necessarily need a doctor’s expertise. However, one argument made in class that I felt was very offensive was that the atheist shouldn’t survive only because of his beliefs. I do not think that a person’s religious affiliation has anything to do with the worth of their life.
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Katie Didier
In Chapter One of Why White Rice I really appreciated the format and the narration style that was used. Throughout my schooling I have always been taught to never use the word “I” or “you”. It is such a shock to see these two words used so flowingly and prominently in a published book. However this statement probably holds less weight knowing that until recently I thought that a five paragraph essay was the best way to go. However, I realize that this book is a teaching book and those words actually need to be used to get the information across, it still comes as a shock.
The way that everything is broken down in this book allows me to clearly understand why writers do the things they do instead of having my teacher tell me what to do without question. One aspect of this chapter that helped me particularly was section 1.2. This section was devoted to the outlining and the process of writing. I have always had trouble with staying on task with my writing and for some reason never thought that an outline would do much to help. I only wrote outlines when they were required and even then I didn’t take them seriously. I merely wrote down things I might use in my essay even though the thoughts were almost always a dead end. For some reason this section helped me to understand that I really do need some sort of organization for my thoughts. Whether my thoughts be outlined on post-its, my notebook, my laptop, or in a chart. As long as I understand it and actually use it- there is no other guidelines. -
Katie Didier
Cinderella
Walt Disney really had something going for him. This man made his living off of the one thing that almost everyone in this world can relate to. The fairy tale story of a prince and a princess. While I realize that this is a grand, sweeping assumption that everyone can relate to a fairy tale-I don’t mean the perfect happily ever after ending. I only mean that the characters in Disney stories always have a support system, someone to turn to whether it is prince charming or the seven dwarfs. This is the fundamental basis of happiness in the human world, at least to me: other people, perhaps one other person in particular. When it all boils down to what I live for I would say that I live to be happy with my friends and family. When I picture true happiness it isn’t enough to just picture myself happy alone. When I picture myself really, truly happy I am with the ones that I love. My answer, I’m sure, does not sound original in the least however; anything else would be a fallacy.
This isn’t to say that I can’t be happy as an individual. Picturing myself happy, doing something that I could live for would be to snowboard the entire length a mountain without feeling the disappointing chill of the snow freezing my skin as I fell. Being fairly new to snowboarding I always get a great sense of accomplishment and joy when I can make it all the way down the run without falling. My happiness, unfortunately, is short lived unless I have someone to share that news with. I could, perhaps, tell the first stranger I saw about my accomplishment but I would gain little from that encounter besides the insecurity that would come with the awkward, forced congratulations from my impromptu friend. However, if I were to tell my boyfriend that I made it without fail he would understand my happiness and my joy would only grow from his genuine congratulations. The understanding and support from someone that means so much to me is indescribable, yet this is a staple that I commonly overlook in my life.
There are a lot of tiny things that occur on a day to day basis that I could argue that I live for as a collaborative force. The little things that make me smile like seeing a mother give her son a gift or a little kid eating an ice cream cone or even the warmth of the sun on my face. But all of those little things could never amount to the pure happiness that I live for I simply by being next to the people that mean the most to me.
With the overall cliché answer I have provided I do have one prominent question that stands. Would you do anything in your life that won’t at some point or another make you happy? I’m sure there are a few kids that would argue that they get absolutely zero happiness from eating the green vitamin rich “food” that moms force onto our plates. But is that really true? Some odd balls out there may eat it to get their mothers approval while others just eat it to be allowed to leave the dinner table and find something worthwhile to do instead of sitting there staring at your plate praying for the dog to come sniffing around the corner. Regardless, the happiness is still the overall objective.
At this point you may be arguing that my answer is not that I live for people but rather, that I live for happiness. This may be true but there is no greater happiness that that I acquire from the people I love. I live to be with my friends and family but I also get a great deal of happiness from helping the ones I love to find their happiness. The reward I get from that is perhaps greater than the happiness acquired by my own accord. As a little kid I used to get so excited to open up my presents from Santa on Christmas morning. Now I get excited to see the faces of my friends as they open up their presents that I put so much thought into. This I feel is more than enough proof, especially considering that as a kid my Christmas countdowns started mid-summer.
Some may argue that volunteering is only an effort to make someone else happy and improve someone else’s life. But on some level doesn’t that make us happy? To know that we are a more rounded person because of it? To know that we helped someone else in need? If there was nothing gained at all from volunteering would people still do it? I do not mean to take credit from people that do volunteer. I am in no way insinuating that they are any less because they get a personal gain out of helping others. In fact, I am saying the opposite. Volunteers are something to be admired. The kind of person to devote their time and effort to helping others deserves nothing less than my complete respect. The fact that it makes them happy as well, is just the cherry on top. This is probably the only flaw that I can see with my theory of what I live for. I do not need to share my volunteering with the people that I love to still get the feeling of accomplishment. I feel like a better person and that is more than enough for me. This is also an extension of living for other people; to help those who need it. While it may not be living for my friends and family, it is still very much living for other people.
In terms of keeping my happiness and keeping the ones that I love, I suppose you could say that I would do anything to keep what I have. However, until the situation presents itself I would find it very hard to answer hypothetical situations. I do on the other hand, know that I would not kill for what I have. That would go against my answer itself and I would have nothing left to stand on. To kill would be to take away someone else’s support system, friend, loved one, husband, wife, mother, daughter, or son. How could I claim to live for the people in my life yet blindly take away the life of someone else?
Life would be a terrible experience if there was no one to share it with, no one to comfort you, and no one to comfort. It is the people in our lives that make it worth living. Not because we can’t stand to be alone but because being surrounded by the ones you love is so much better. Many might answer this question with the simple answer of happiness. In some light this is my answer. But in all reality my answer is infallibly tied to those that I love. Really, why do anything in life if it won’t at some point make you happy? People work their whole lives to go to school, to get a job, to earn money to set up their lives to make themselves happy. But why do any of this if you are still alone. You do all that work and get the job of your dreams and you still live a life alone? Now, I’m not suggesting going home to a husband is what I live for, that will come or it won’t. But what would my life be without my friends and family? Sharing my life with someone, and with my friends and family is what I live for and what I would die for. Walt Disney had it right. Mickey and Minnie, Timone and Pumba: such famous characters portraying what I live my life for.
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Corey Thiesse
Katie D.
Well, that was quite a paper if I may say so myself! To start things off I was quite confused at first as to what you were writing about. I’m not saying that is entirely a bad thing, but I think that you should make it a little more clear in your writing. When I first read the title “Cinderella”, I started to think what you were possible writing about. The title did not make it clear to me that you were writing about what you would live for and die for. In fact, i actually doubted myself a few times thinking if I was reading the right piece. As I started to read I noticed that you were indeed discussing the live, kill, die topic. You are quite an interesting writer and a very talented one at that. Your vocabulary was phenomenal, and your sentence structure was unmatched to any that I have read thus far. Though I became lost a few times in your very detailed writing I was able to get the just of what you were discussing. I feel that your ideas were a tad clouded and could be a little more deliberate. If I was an inexperienced reader I may have gotten lost in all of the ideas you were throwing at me,but i guess that is just your way of writing. I feel you get a little off topic, but you bring it back just when it seems you are about to get too carried away. In my opinion, I think that the Cinderella thing was a little over the top, but I noticed how you tied it in at the end. This may be because I have read many other pieces of work that were more “to the point” with the live, die, kill topic. In your defense, I could see you using the Cinderella and Walt Disney theme as an example to let the reader know more about how you feel and even as an attention grabber. I mean the title definitely grabbed my attention because it was out of the ordinary, so maybe it was a good idea?
I am able to relate to your sentences when you say “My happiness, unfortunately, is short lived unless I have someone to share that news with. I could, perhaps, tell the first stranger I saw about my accomplishment but I would gain little from that encounter besides the insecurity that would come with the awkward, forced congratulations from my impromptu friend.” I feel the same way about this and find it quite amusing when i think of it to myself because I am the type of person that would run up to a random stranger and tell them what I had accomplished. I would only do this of course, if I did not have anyone of significant importance to discuss it with. I would not get the same sense of satisfaction if i had told someone of little importance because they probably would not care as much as someone like my good friend.
Overall, excellent writing style and technique. I love your vocabulary! Keep it up! :)
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Julian Operana
Writer’s Workshop Guide
Katie D.
It was very interesting that you started with writing about Walt Disney and his story. I really liked that you compared real life to a fairy tale story. The first paragraph had some great detail to it. A couple of phrases stood out to me. “Picturing myself happy, doing something that I could live for would be to snowboard the entire length a mountain without feeling the disappointing chill of the snow freezing my skin as I fell. Being fairly new to snowboarding I always get a great sense of accomplishment and joy when I can make it all the way down the run without falling.” It shows that you live for the moment and that is what I came up with from those couple of sentences. Your writing really went in depth when you started writing about how you live for the little things. One example is “The little things that make me smile like seeing a mother give her son a gift or a little kid eating an ice cream cone or even the warmth of the sun on my face.” You went into such great detail and most people would never write about the little things you just described. I liked that you asked a question that will make you think. Would you do anything in your life that won’t at some point or another make you happy? Based on this question, I also see that you live for pure happiness. I do agree with you on when we were kids Christmas was the best day of the year but now the joy comes from watching other people open presents. Another part of your essay that stood out to me was when you said that you enjoyed volunteering and volunteers should be admired. “I would not kill for what I have. That would go against my answer itself and I would have nothing left to stand on. To kill would be to take away someone else’s support system, friend, loved one, husband, wife, mother, daughter, or son. How could I claim to live for the people in my life yet blindly take away the life of someone else?” I honestly think this is the best part of your essay. I read three essays today and your question was the best sentence I have heard. How could I claim to live for the people in my life yet blindly take away the life of someone else? For some reason I think that has a deep meaning to it. This essay was well structured and well designed. I thought this was one of the best essays I have read today. I liked that you had a sort of down-to-earth tone in your essay. I like that you went into full detail on each situation. I really wouldn’t change anything in this essay. I found no grammatical errors in your paper. Also, your last sentence was very interesting. Walt Disney did have it right and you portray your life towards his characters.
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Katie Didier
I have to admit that I do not know much about ecological literacy. I would have to assume that it is being cognizant of one’s surroundings and knowing the effect that certain things have on the world around us-not only us as a society but as individuals. It is a widespread myth in the world today that we cannot make a difference in our environment. While it may be difficult to make a positive change we can, and should, at least do our part to keep from accumulating negative effects. In addition, I believe that ecological literacy must have some relationship with being aware of the ecosystems and how they are all interdependent with each other. This interdependency then creates a tie to all organisms in some way or another in that all organisms rely on the survival or death of another. After reading this excerpt I would not classify myself as an overwhelming ecologically literate person. While I am aware of the food chain and producers and decomposers my knowledge is very limited. I have a general knowledge of things like recycling and ecosystems but I do not know the first thing about areas such as my carbon footprint. Also, I am sure there is much more to know than I could even begin to question. While I don’t know much about this subject I do try to recycle, turn off the faucet when I am brushing my teeth, and turn the lights off when they are not in use. Hopefully, little things like that will make a tiny impact, especially if everyone joins in.
Capra, Fritjof. The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems. New York: Anchor, 1996. Print. -
Katie Didier
I feel very repetitive by saying that the grading contract seems very fair and straightforward. Also, I do really appreciate that we will have such a prominent position for peer review. In my past classes this area was largely overlooked and I find it extremely helpful. :)
Julian Operana, 
Corey Thiesse, and 
Dawn Murry are discussing. 
Katie Didier is discussing. 
Dawn Murry 9:48 pm on April 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Katie this essay you wrote is awesome. Just by reading your essay you for one encourage me to want and go there to volunteer. But, the way you laid out this information you truely made me feel as if I was there. The process of elimination of how the description you gave. The bread table, ham and cheese were placed in the center of the table and gloves. I mean everything was well organized and seem as if the environment in the room was very cheerful. You even went on describing the smiles on peoples face, the hugs and simply entertainment that everyone offered each our. It is really nice to hear how the parish fixes the sandwiches for the less fortunate. I thought is extremely nice for them to donate the remaining sandwiches to other parishes as well. I really feel this parish is truly given from the heart. You hear of such made things that happen in the world so, hear this I feel it should be just that important to announce on the news or even make breaking news. We need to hear more great things like this and maybe the world can have more motivation to stop the crimes and love one another. Katie by reading your essay along you made my day brighter. You are an excellent writer and I know that you have gain a lot from your volunteer projects. I think you have done a great job. This should be one of those essay submitted to the newspaper. Keep up the good work!
Corey Thiesse 11:56 pm on April 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Katie D.
To start off i like how when you were faced with an obstacle in the beginning trying to find a place to volunteer you did not give up and kept looking. Many people just call it quits and tell the teacher that it was too hard, but you persevered and did well. I like how you decided to stay local and help your immediate community around you. I am also very pleased with how you write. You are a good writer and your words flow very well together. Not to mention you have a fairly extended vocabulary which adds the extra “umph” to your writing. It most definitely helps your sound smarter and like you know what you are talking about. I enjoy how you have set up sections within your piece of writing so that the reader knows where to find things if they want to come back to something. It also makes your paper look very informative and professional. I like how you incorporated the interview because i am sure many people just left that part out or simply did not interview anyone. You gave good detail in your writing and you were able to put an image in my head of all the people there when you arrived and how the tables were set up with people making the sandwiches. This gave me a more in depth look at what goes on behind the scenes for people helping others that are less fortunate. I also like the fact that you incorporated a statistical number of 400 sandwiches made every time the group gets together. That helps bring some legitimacy to the story and makes it sounds believable. The way you word things in your paper makes you sound very intelligent and like you know what you are talking about. You also have very great, descriptive details throughout your paper. This really helps me understand what your time there at the service learning place was like. One of the things i think you could work on is maybe a better introduction. I feel like you kind of just leap into what the service you did was like. I think a little background info on where you went would help and make it more clear to the reader what they are about to read. You could also include a picture or two at the bottom of your paper to help give a better idea of what your experience was like so you can show the reader rather than tell them. I feel like the strongest part of your paper is when you are interviewing the two men from the church. You ask them good questions and you are able to describe their responses in a good way so that the reader understand them. You have really developed that part of your paper well, but like i said earlier i think your introduction could use a little more work. You could also talk a little more about why you wanted to stay local for helping the community after the first choice you had did not work out. Overall, i think you have a firm grasp on what this paper is about and you are heading in the right direction. Keep up the good work!
Julian Operana 9:52 am on April 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Katie Didier
I really liked how you started the paper and show what you wanted to do first before feeding the hungry. My group also went to the St. Vincent De Paul Organization but we did a clothing drive. “We arrived at nine in the morning on Wednesday April 11th to make sandwiches that are distributed to those less fortunate in the community via the St. Vincent De Paul Center.” I also noticed that you described the first thing you saw at the organization and tell us how the place looked like. “When I first arrived I looked around the room and it did not really seem like a volunteering environment. It looked more like a group of friends making food for a picnic. Everyone here was smiling and telling stories.” It looked like you were just making sandwiches but I saw online that St. Vincent De Paul Center had soup kitchens. “There was ham and cheese in the center of each table along with individual baggies that the sandwiches were placed in. There was one lady who took the sandwiches that were in the bags and then put ten sandwiches back into the bag from the loaf of bread. All of the work seemed very efficient and thought out. When all of the bread was made into sandwiches all everyone in the group routinely put away their plates and paper towels and cleaned up the station where they were working.” It looks like your biggest section was the interviews you had with the employees or volunteers at the St. Vincent De Paul Organization. The two people were Jim and Tom which you put in the section header for everyone to know very well. It looks like you asked a lot of questions for them to answer. “I asked a lot of questions about why this sandwich making charity was started and it seemed like Jim or Tom didn’t really understand the question. They only said that there were people hungry in the community and they knew that they could help. Both of the men seemed to believe in their organization very much. You could tell that they were committed and believed in what they were doing. My talk with Jim was mostly composed of general ideas.” Then you talked about Tom who seemed like the main person in the organization and you asked him a lot of questions as well. I thought you could of added a little more on what his main purpose of working there was. “Tom however, said that he had been working to help the community for more than six years and he said that it was started by another man before him. Neither of them knew exactly how long this event has been going. This however, shows to me that they people here are not at all concerned with the prestige of their organization or trying to advertise the good they are doing.” All in all I thought this was a good paper.