5/14

    When Mr. Chase just told us to "blog about our work and learning," I immediately responded with, "Oh, I like this blogging." I have grown fond of writing for the audience of the Internet ever since last quarter and our "Save the World" project. Writing those blogs on research and on reflection helped me grow as a writer more than I understood at the time. Although it was probably the hardest project of my high school career so far, I look back on it now and still feel really proud of my work.

    Currently in this class, we are reading the play Othello and outlining what we have read so far by using the program Inspiration to remember the places, characters and important events. We are using color coordination, shape coordination and linking webs to help add creativity and visualization to the complexity of Shakespeare’s writing.

3/25/08

    Today has been very exciting in the world of this project. In class today we did a little questionnaire about our change agents. Up until now, this has been one of my setbacks. The questions basically asked us if we had a change agent and when we were meeting with them. No one had contacted me back at that point in time, so I was left writing “N/A” on my paper. I felt defeated.
    When I got home tonight, I checked my e-mail. Alas! I saw a new e-mail from a name I didn’t recognize. It was from a woman named Melissa Levy, the Director of Development at PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society). She had been replying to my original contact for a meeting time so I could present my elevator pitch. The e-mail read, “Thanks so much for your interest in saving Philadelphia's animals! I'd be happy to set up a time to meet with you in early-April.” These were the best words I could read at that moment.
    Now, with a meeting time and the beginnings of an Action Plan outline, I’m back on track. I felt overwhelmed for a little, but this seemed to be what I needed to fix that. Sometimes, things take a while. Sometimes, things go well. This was a sign.

3/21/08

    It’s really impossible to not hear about how many problems there are with sheltering animals lately. Another article came my way, this one talking about a specific case of people who took in more cats then they could handle. There were tons of cats in this “sanctuary” with diseases, some starving and some dying of neglect. As the article put it, “…failed to provide adequate care for the cats on the 29-acre property, in part because there were more than she could handle.” These people tried to help these cats, which eventually led only to harm. Why is it so hard to succeed in helping animals sometimes?
    The redeeming thing about this whole story is what is happening to the animals now that they have been rescued. “Veterinarians and dozens of volunteers have been working round-the-clock since Thursday trying to nurse to health hundreds of sick cats removed in a raid from a suburban Pittsburgh animal sanctuary.” This is a true story of people in a community coming together to help these animals. There are volunteers. These people are making a difference. “The cats are being treated in northwestern Pennsylvania in a vacant building, once housing Clarion County Humane Society, that has been turned into a makeshift animal hospital.”
    This story really shows how it’s not that hard to help and not that hard to make a difference. Sadly, this took a tragedy such as this harsh situation to get all these people together to do this. But that doesn’t have to be the case. There are animal shelters that need volunteers. Animals in towns and in cities that need help. Animals that need homes. Sometimes, all it takes is people caring and coming together.

3/11/08

    Starting the draft of the Elevator Pitch this week was harder than planned. Deciding first on what media I wanted to work with was where the challenge began. First, I automatically thought iMovie. That’s a good was of using visuals, audio and content. After I had the “X” marked on my paper for that to be my decision, I had second thoughts. I looked at the other options. Written report jumped out at me. But I wanted visuals. Also, giving a group of change agents a written report isn’t the most interesting thing for them. So I created my own media for this project. I will be doing a written report, with photos embedded in and I will be giving it as a speech when presenting to my change agents. Problem solved.
    Starting the writing for the pitch has proved an obstacle. A bit of a stopping point. I thought turning all the knowledge I gained and all the writing for the blogs I have into an Elevator Pitch would be flowing a little more then it is. Besides that struggle, I think things are going really well. I feel like I’m actually doing something with what I’m learning, which is sadly not something that all students can say. Moving on from this point, I see more research, more contacting and lots of writing. Sadly, no change agents have gotten back to my e-mails. I will be making some phone calls this week as well.
    As this project goes on, I see myself showing off my blog more and more, getting excited about what I’m doing. Like I said, sadly, this isn’t something that all students are experiencing. But it definitely should be.

3/9/08

    “Every year, more than a half-million purebred puppies, destined for pet shops across the United States and Canada, are born in crowded and usually squalid conditions at Midwest, New York and Pennsylvania puppy mills. Unfortunately, these puppies become part of a society that routinely destroys millions of unwanted dogs and cats a year. The parents of these puppies spend their lives in wretched confinement, exposed to the elements, only to often encounter a cruel death at the end of their reproductive years.”
    This quote was taken from an article I found on my feed this week. The article got my attention with the title “Saving the Puppy in the Window”. It goes on to talk a little about how some people reacted to different statistics they found out about puppies dying and being harmed in puppy mills. This interested me. These people were feeling compassion for these animals, thus doing something about the problem. This is what I needed, a catch.
    “Many unknowing consumers cannot resist the cute puppy in the pet shop window of the local mall or shopping center.” Now, this isn’t necessarily a good thing. These people are buying puppies and then are not capable of taking care of them. What this is doing well is getting people excited and wanting to help animals. This article really gave me an indirect secret for my Elevator Pitch. People love cute. People love cute animals. If I use photos of cute animals, possibly cute animals in danger and in need of help, then people will pay attention to what I have to say. They will want to help.
    All I have to say is thank you to this article. Now all I have to do is find adorable pictures of dogs and cats. I have found my attention getter.

2/27/08

    At this point in the project, I feel like I have been educating. Educating myself. Educating my classmates. Educating anyone who will read my blog. The bulk of things so far has been research, research, research. Locate articles. Read articles. Understand articles. Share articles. Only now am I understanding that research is easy compared to outcome.
    Considering we are halfway through this project and this quarter, I think I have a pretty good grip on things. I understand my topic and I’m one of the luckier people who can find articles on my topic pretty easily. I have even been lucky to find a decent number of change agents to contact. The obstacle I am currently facing is what I want to do. My change. My solution. After everything I have learned, all of the little problems and things that need to be fixed, I can’t quite decide what I need to do or how I’m going to do it. I think I need to narrow things down and really understand what I am trying to fix. I’m not going to come to my solution until I completely identify my problem.
    For now, I’m going to continue research. I’m going to contact people, possibly do some interviews and figure out all of the different sub-issues. I’m going to begin sorting out my thoughts on what I want to do and how I can present that change. It’s a lot. It’s exciting. It’s halfway through.

2/22/08

    An interesting article came my way this week while I was looking through my feeds. It was debating the effectiveness of the No Kill shelters at different locations in the country. To start, they pose the very interesting question of, “Have shelters failed these 'NoKill' plans or have the 'NoKill' plans failed the shelters?” That does seem to be the debate. Yes, the killing in these animal shelters needs to stop. But has this No Kill project been too much for the shelters to handle? Is there a better way that people haven’t thought of yet to stop the violence in these shelters?
    The author of the article goes on to say how successful the No Kill shelter program has been working in Philadelphia. As for the rest of the country, not so much. Then states, “Should we just give up trying to become 'NoKill?' Absolutely not! The ten basic 'NoKill' programs are a start but they're just a start…” I think this sums up everyone’s feelings. This is only a start. There needs to be more work done. With that statement though, another question is raised. What else can we do? How can we, as people, come together and have a bigger impact for the animals? What is wrong with the No Kill project right now? Things are getting better from the No Kill Advocacy Center. It is helping.
    My question for you, people of the world, is what is wrong here? What else? What next? I think that there is more. More that can be done. More ways to branch out the No Kill shelters in the country. I’m posing a challenge: What is the next step to take the No Kill shelters to an even more successful level?

2/21/08

    So this week, while doing research and reading some articles, I came across the same name a few times. The name was Nathan Winograd. After seeing his name more than a few times, I decided to look him up. I came across his website and discovered that he not only is very active with animal rights, but he is the Director of the No Kill Advocacy Center. He even wrote a book! The book, titled Redemption, is about animal shelters all around the U.S. The summary describes it as “…about heroes and villains, betrayal and redemption. And it is about a social movement as noble and just as those that have come before. But most of all, it is a story about believing in the community and trusting in the power of compassion.” That’s just the story I was looking for.
    Winograd’s website also gives basic information, informing me that he went to Stanford Law School and has taken part in the creation of No Kill shelters in rural and urban communities. His blog can be found here . I’m hoping to send a few e-mails his way and maybe arrange an interview via Skype or even just exchange some e-mails. Until next time, I’m going to get a copy of that book!

I have been reading on the sites from my google reader and I was reading on this site http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/75201/?page=entire and they were talking about a different way for women to get abortions.  They were saying that a woman can use mifepristone and get away from a mob af people who are against abortions, who tape pictures of bloody fetuses to their body and they yell "murder".

This is also something that I have copied from the website that may come in handy further in my project:

It's about time. Because, judging from the religious right's30-year campaign of violence against U.S. and Canadian medical clinics, I'd say murder in the name of God hasn't been too difficult. Here's a look at domestic terrorism by the numbers:

• 7 murders, including 3 doctors, 2 clinic employees, a security guard, and an escort
• 17 attempted murders
• 383 death threats
• 153 incidents of assault and battery
• 3 kidnappings
• 41 bombings
• 173 arsons
• 91 attempted bombings or arsons
• 619 bomb threats
• 655 bioterror attacks (all hoaxes), 554 of which were committed by one man
• 1,630 incidents of trespassing
• 1,264 incidents of vandalism
• 100 attacks with butyric acid stink bombs

One-third of all abortion clinics in 1981 were gone by 2005.

This seems to be the different crime rates.  I guess this was put in this site because they consider abortions murder.  These are one of the times I want to use my own opinion, but I'm going to stick to what I have found out.   This is also a religious problem.  Some religions don't believe in abortions and don't want theor followers to condone in these things, like muslims.

2/12/08

    From the explanation of this project as a whole, it seems unbearable. Completely impossible. My expectations were that there was no way I could do it. When I first looked it over, I didn’t even know how or where to begin. At this point in time though, I’m pleased with the progress I’m making on this project.
    Don’t get me wrong, this project is HARD. It’s REALLY hard, but I feel like I am getting somewhere. The pluses are that I feel like I am learning about my topic, I am finding some really good examples and I’m learning about a lot of different sub-issues that are covered under my topic. The things I’m struggling with so far are definitely narrowing down my topic. I think as of now, my topic is pretty large. It covers a lot. I think to move on, I really need to refine and decide exactly what I want to focus on.
    I’m generally happy with how this is going so far. I think there are things I need to work on and things I need to fix, but I don’t think I’m nearly as lost as I was when I first found out about this challenge. I think the progress is going up at a steady pace. I think the obstacles are there, but not impossible. Mostly, I think that as a 10th grade English class, we are doing something different and amazing. That’s the most satisfying progress so far.