Lobbying Blog Post #4

Steps:

Dominate Something: talk to district leader via email or phone or even in person

Do a few things well: give a few good reasons why he should support this issue and help to lower drinking ages. Provide sources and information that can help to persuade him.

Make the strategy personal: talk about why the issue would be personal and useful to yourself/your community. 

Force multiply: find more people my age and older to support this issue and 

Since I’m lobbying The Curfew Act in Philly, I thought it would be good to start a petition for big names in the city to sign that are against the Curfew Act. I felt as though if I could find enough city initials to agree with me, one of the teens that are affected by it. The way I’m getting my petition out is thru social networking such as Twitter, and Facebook. That is one of the easiest ways for more people to get involved.

http://www.change.org/petitions/the-city-of-philadelphia-stop-the-curfew-act-in-center-city

Introduction:

The purpose of the essay was to explain my idea of what language is. I say in my essay that I think that language shows someone’s state of being. It has no representation of your IQ or of your mental capacity. One thing that was very difficult, was writing about my language. It is hard to explain to people who cannot understand it, so everybody.

Paper:

My family is a regular pot-luck of languages, everyone brings something new to the table. Everybody, knows something different. For instance, my Mom knows french, my Dad knows Spanish and Gaelic. My brothers know German, and my one brother knows french too. It’s really confusing when people speak all of their languages at the same time. I am the only one who can understand all of the languages. I can’t speak them back, but I act as an interpreter. I translate the other languages into English, for the other family members that can’t speak the language. 

My parents rely on me to translate what the other parts of the family are saying. Even my brothers’ English is slurred and I am one of the only people who can understand him. I have had a lot of experience with people who cannot speak English correctly. This is because my brother suffers from a disease which causes you to have less control over your muscles. Actions like speaking are usually very slurred and most people can’t understand him. My brother and I are the only ones who can understand him all the time. It is very often that my mother with ask me to translate what he said.

Another way that I have had experience with people who can’t fully speak English, is with my cello teacher. I met him when I was 5 years old. When you are 5, you don't talk much anyway. Language is not your first priority. I was scared. I was starting a new instrument, which for me meant a new language and it meant a new teacher. 

I walked into the room awkwardly with my new cello. It was a little bit bigger than my 3 foot tall body. I see my new teacher for the first time and we talked very quickly.

He said, "Hello, I named Dr. Yu. Your named?

I was confused by the question. Was he asking what I wanted to be called?

I replied hesitantly,"Teige?"

He replied “Are you sure? Confused you sound like.”

I didn’t know what to do. I then looked up at my dad. He laughed and said “I don’t think Teige can understand you”

Dr. Yu replied to this by saying “I sorry, I no help it, just way I speak.”

I have always remembered this moment, specifically when he said that he couldn’t help it, and that is just the way he speaks. That it wasn’t his fault that he spoke like that. For some reason, before he had said this, I just thought that everybody talked the same way and that some people would put on a different voice in order to make a joke, or to seem funny. It had never occurred to me that his voice was a product of his surroundings.

When I was younger, I didn’t understand English as a language. I never could understand the tones of a normal everyday voice. I always had this problem, because I have a disease. This disease is called synesthesia. Its where I see colors and taste different things depending on what I hear. This caused me to create my own language. Basically it just consisted of my favorite sounds that I could make, I also used tastes as words. Colors or tastes didn’t mean words like we use in English, but rather thoughts or ideas. Many people who have this disease, wind up like this too. An example of this, is like the taste of metal, this to me means that something is out of place or is going wrong. What this meant for a kid like me was a way of expressing myself that English couldn’t do for me. I am told that a normal person thinks in words or phrases, I however retained the language that I had when I was younger and still use that to think. It is kind of like a short hand that no one else in the world can understand.

 I used to take pride in it, that I was one in 200,000 that could think like this or even see the colors that I see. The only big problem in this language is that no one else can understand it. Try as I might I could never seem to teach the language to anyone else. Around the age of 5, I gave up trying to teach it to anyone. I figured that they just weren’t going to get it, and that it must be as difficult for them as English is to me. This has always affect the way I think and the way I do math. 

That is why I have always had the belief that language is more than just a way of communicating, but rather a way of thinking. Some times your language is a representative of your education, but the way I see it most of the time, language is more a representative of your state of being.

Reflection:

I enjoyed talking about current issues that I face, and to tune people into my thoughts on the subject. The issues that I talked about are important to my family and I. Most of my family believes the same thing as me on this issue. 

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12879973/Rflite.flv

Introduction:

Language Autobiography:

            During our language unit in Mr. Block’s class, we were asked to write a language autobiography about ourselves. I really enjoyed this assignment because it was personal, and I knew that everyone’s would be different. My process was very simple, edit, revise, and edit again. I might have written 3-4 rough drafts before my final product. I wanted my paper to incorporate outside sources, but still connect to myself.  I am very happy with my final product, and I enjoyed writing this autobiography and this unit.

Strengths: I think that I did really well with editing and revising my paper. I worked really hard to get it to where it is. I was also good at managing my time, and knowing that to work to my full potential, I needed that extra day to work.

Weaknesses: I had a hard time starting with my paper, and having it make sense. I had many ideas that I wanted to write about, but I had a hard time making them all connect.

 This assignment didn’t necessarily teach me, but made me realize how important language is, and having your own unique language/voice. It made me realize that individualism and identity are extremely important, especially in growing up. Learning who you are, and making a difference with your language is key to changing the world. If you get people to listen, it’s all yours. 

I am, many unique languages. Do I speak more than one? No. Do I speak with a different dialect? Yes. I speak, think, and execute my language differently than anyone else. My language is who I am, and I am my language. I speak differently all the time, depending on whom I’m talking to. It’s called code switching. I speak differently to an adult, than I do to my little cousin. But I also have my own dialect that no one else has, and my own accent. Everyone has their own language, which makes them have a unique identity.

Language is such a key tool in life. Society has a certain speech called “standard language” that is the only “proper” and “acceptable” way to speak and write. That’s what society thinks anyways. My idea of language is whatever you speak. If you’re from Arkansas Philadelphia, New York, anywhere! Be who you are. There was a video Mr. Block let us watch. It was all about different tongues and how people speak. I thought it was so interesting seeing how people talk around the country. But it made me sad that some people were made fun of, or discriminated against because of their accent. We all have accents. Some of us speak slower, some faster. But were all humans and we’re all irreplaceable. I strongly believe that language makes the person you are.

We read 4 essays in Mr. Block’s class and they were all about peoples’ stories about their language background. There was one that really stood out to me. It was about a girl who spoke Standard English in front of others, but at home spoke a different kind of English with her mother. Her mother didn’t quite speak English in full sentences, but spoke broken English. Her mother was very rich though, and was involved with big companies, and big business men. Her mother had to talk on the phone with them a lot, but she made adjustments because of her broken English. Her mother would say what she wanted to say, and then she would rearrange the words in a more proper dialect to the businessman on the phone. This goes back to code switching that I mentioned previously. She was a speaker, and a daughter in her home. She had two different dialects worth comprehending, and she was still herself when speaking two different ways.

If you would ask someone about me, you would get completely different answers with different people. My parents find me with an “attitude”, like all parents do. People who don’t know me well think I am quiet and don’t talk much, and my friends think I’m loud and crazy. This is because I have different dialect with everyone, and sometimes I don’t even notice it.

I have few distinct words that I say all the time, like “yeah buddy” and “kudos”. These are just random words I say to mean “good job”, and it puts a smile on everyone’s face. For example, last week I went to a play. The curtains closed, and the lights slowly got brighter. The crowd was all standing, clapping, and cheering. The play was once in a lifetime, spectacular. I saw “RENT” with my friends Maura and Caitlin in New York on Sunday. After the play was over, we rushed out of the theatre, pushing each other up the steps, while having our markers and papers out. The doors barge open, it was bitter and cold outside, but our warm hearts and bright energy lit up the night skies. We waited in line for about 10 minutes, until the stars from the play came outside. There was a burst of happiness when they walked outside, and you could see it with the massive smiles on all of our faces. “AHHHH” said Maura. We were all screaming and jumping around. “What’s up” said Matt Shingledecker from the play. I stuttered to ask him for his autograph, but he understood. We also took a picture with him. In that blissful moment, we all looked at each other, huddled around, and screamed “YEAHBUDDY”. On the car ride home, it was dead silent. Every one just looked out there window, replaying the breathtaking moments in our heads.

Something I have struggled with overtime though is speaking my mind and standing up for myself/others. Like I stated before, your specific language expresses your identity. If someone says something that I don’t agree with I don’t say anything, because I don’t have the confidence. In previous years like middle school, it was extremely small. It was easier to be yourself because there weren’t many people and everyone knew each other. I loved the younger children, and every recess I spent time with them. I remember coming into school and saying hey to my friends, but then a little girl Lily would run up to me every morning. “SARA! Will you play house with me?”  “Sure Lily, I’d love to.” I would reply laughing. Every morning I would play with her and the other kindergarteners. It was something different everyday like hopscotch, house, garden, and monkey in the middle. I loved brightening up their days just because a “big kid” cared about them. On the playground, I would also see some bullying occurring. That’s when I would stand up for whomever was getting picked on. I found out who I was through that, and quickly was rewarded for it when I received the William Penn award at my graduation.

 I believe that your language comes from the confidence you have in yourself. For example, if you have a strong bold personality, you don’t care what anyone thinks, and you say what you believe at all times you have confidence in yourself. That’s something I have worked on over the years, and I hope when I get older, I’ll have the confidence to express my true identity. Language is through finding your voice. Throughout high school, and the rest of my life I will continue to express myself and find my voice. I will be Sara Nesbitt. Who is that? It’s a girl with a Philly accent, code switches all the time, and believes in herself. Language is me, and I am my language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou2QUnKsBGs  

Design: 15

Knowledge: 20

Application:15

Presentation:15

Process: 15

Over all: 80

My strengths were having baby pictures because that was me before and I know what I liked back then (plus I thought they were cute pictures!). Since I know myself back then I can explain my pink princess style better than ever.

My weakness is definitely not having pictures from now and day and my vocabulary I had trouble with pearls and ruffles and sleek N shiny. If I actually had pictures that were recent I would of used them. Also I’m not too familiar with ALL of the fashion terms to use. Also it’s difficult to expand the Spanish style vocabulary but I’m going to try harder next time.

If I could do this project all over again I would probably try to take good pictures of myself to have a more recent feel to it. Also I would talk more about if I liked the outfits I was wearing and why or why not. I would probably have some quiet calm song in the back round but when I change to modern day I would put rock music on.

Introduction/Reflection:

I enjoyed this project because I was able to use personal experiences to write it as apposed to having to research to find evidence of my point of view. This essay was much easier to write then those I've done in the past. I think I was able to put together a very solid idea in my language autobiography. I talked about how each person has a specific view of the world, and this view is influenced by the language(s) that they speak. The area's that I struggled in this essay were the descriptive scenes. Both were memories from a long time ago, so it was hard to remember the specific details. Despite this, I was able to remember the details well enough to get the point across. I enjoyed this project because it is a more personal essay, I feel directly connected to the subject so this essay has a lot of meaning for me.

Language Autobiography

The human race is a way for the universe to examine and understand itself. We are all made from small things put together in the center of stars, so the previous statement is a fact. Through this perspective, language becomes much more important and exciting than the trivial everyday occurrence that we usually perceive it to be. Language is a way for us to describe our existence and reality; it is our way of expressing our analysis of the universe and ourselves. However, the human race – like the rest of the universe – is a very complicated and diverse thing. From this we get many languages and dialects within each language, the way we speak is as unique as each individual’s view of the world.

The profound nature of different dialects and points of view is most easily seen when examining two ways of speaking that sound the same to a foreigner, but totally different on the ears of two native speakers. For example, Southern American English (Florida) as opposed Northern American English (Philadelphia).

A few years ago, my sister, my mom, my grandfather and I all went to Florida to visit and learn about my grandfather’s past. While there we went through the daily life of the average person from Florida, we ate their food and drank their sweet tea, we visited their neighborhoods, and we learned about their lives. Their speech was slow and intentional. In the beginning when we left the airport, conversation would have my sister and I exchanging silent looks of amusement. But towards the end, when we had been dipped fully into the culture, we understood everyone perfectly. When we finally left, we practiced our “cowboy” accent saying “Let’s git sum sweet tea” and “Hurrey up, the plane’s ‘bout to leave”. We’d adapted to a viewpoint and lifestyle that we mocked before finally accepting.

By being immersed in the culture, we understood the local dialect. We understood the concerns and lives of the people, so we could speak English from their perspective. We saw the universe from their perspective.

There are more obvious ways to see the diversity of language. For examples,  just look around the world. There are roughly 6,500 individually named languages in the world. Many of these have subgroups, such as the Northern and Southern American English examples above. Each of these languages describes a viewpoint and a need of a particular group of people, learning these languages exposes you to the culture of the region. Being multilingual turns people into bridges that cultures can cross and mix together.

Two years ago I went on a trip to Kenya with my Family. We went to expose ourselves to the culture, and while we were there our bridge into their culture was my mother’s cousin and her family. Stepping off of the plane into Kenya was our first of many unforgettable experiences; tired and aching we got off the plane to see an angry looking guard in a green beret waving around a large shinny gun and telling us to “Kindly proceed towards the doorway”.

Many of the Native Kenyans spoke English like they were sucking on a lemon. Their lips pursed and eyes squinting. As if the sound in their mouth tasted funny to them.