In my elective class 162 we were asked to do a scouting report of five baseball players. We had to look at their statistics as well as their payroll and see who was the best value. We a choose a few variables to measure the five players by. I had all hitters. So I measured them by on base percentage, slug percentage, and hits among a few other things. I also looked in to their backgrounds at things such as weight, height, years played, etc. I had a great time doing this project. I’m really proud of how objectively I was able to judge the players. Below is my full scouting report for my players. Enjoy

I helped with a few events that were all connected to human rights such as employment. I talked with many people who had experienced job lost. Quite a few had degrees and others years of experience. A few of these people were ex cons. It was interesting because even though it was a diverse group of people they had a lot in common. They all had families that they had to support. They all couldn’t get a job. Most of them couldn’t get pass the job application. So they all came to them same conclusion….discrimination.

Ex Cons could never get pass the question about prison. They weren’t given a space to explain why just a yes or no check box. None of them could get qualified for their job. Even though they had paid their debt to society they felt as though they were still being shunned by peoples assumptions about them. A few said that this only made them contemplate doing more crimes to survive without job opportunities.it made them angry and desperate. It was easy to fall back into old habits and patterns.

On the other hand you have racial discrimination. The box that natural separates us and categorises us. A man in the meeting said ” you would think that a black person with the same degree as a white person would be just as equal” this had me thinking for a moment. If two people have the same education and experience and had great interviews how would you choose. I’m not sure what they answer to that is.

Lastly something that came as a surprise to me was the discrimination of gender. I guess it was naive to think that in 2013 women and men would be equal. But a few women spoke up about the types of jobs they were “suppose” to apply for and the ones they were not “allowed to have.” They spoke about the big effect being a woman has on whether or not you can get certain types of job. I was surprised at the fact that it has a lot to do with the way we perceive people. No man wants to be saved by a woman and most women feel safer with a woman than a man.

The big question is should we just reduce the application policies down to asics such as experience, education, and job related questions? Of course everything depends on the perspective of people. Our own bias  and opinions. Would we want an ex con working at a bank, a male babysitter, etc. How much should this and does this affect the job opportunities and the way people are employed in society? Is it a problem that can be fixed? Is it a problem that needs fixing?

Education Icons by Duck Files (April, 2013)

In my Policy class we are studying monopoly. We have learned the different laws about monopoly and talk to companies that deal with policies about monopoly. For our project we had too find statics and data to create a info graph that questions a companies “monopoly”. For my project I chose to focus on Education in Chicago. I looked at it from the angle of Charter schools that are controlled by Chicago Public School money as well as rules and regulations. I had fun creating the graph and inserting the numbers and quotes. I’m proud of the way I was able to display a lot of information in a concise way. Below is my info graph along with a brief summary of the information and what it means. Enjoy

 I believe that Chicago Public Schools are monopolist when it comes to Education in Chicago and Charter Schools. Chicago Public Schools have held a tight leash around the neck of Charter Schools. Charter Schools are under the laws and restrictions of the CPS schools. Just to open up a Charter School under CPS has been a hassle  in recent years as the number of Charter Schools in Chicago slowly grows it get more difficult because of CPS limits. There are a certain amount of students that have to attend in order for a charter school to open. It’s frequently hard to do that when most parents send their children to CPS schools and the rest to Private school. Now things have changed drastically. After resulting showing that students in charter schools  were 7% more likely to graduate from high school and 11% more likely to enroll in college. Test scores were also used to show some of the positive effects of Charter Schools. As CPS begins to see Charter Schools as competitors they have become more resistant towards opening them. Their hopeful and cheerful expression to them has quickly turned into resentment and hate. This year many schools have closed and will be closed leaving empty school buildings that can’t be used for anything besides schools. CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett has made it clear that she will not let Charter Schools lease these buildings because that would be abusing the trust of the parents. 68% of Chicago disagree with her. By doing this she is no longer hurting her competition but she’s leaving 40,000 students without a school next year and 11,000 more with poor education that are waiting for more Charter Schools to open to get the education they deserve. I noticed that CPS spends more money per student yet has less to show for it. While Charter Schools has better classrooms, smaller sizes, nice libraries, and more teachers CPS has more money. I realized that as Charter Schools started to grow and show more data of their positive affects people began to compare them to CPS. Then CPS turned a cold shoulder to Charter Schools holding a magnifying glass up to their system and trying to find ways to break it. Many of the claims against Charter Schools were that they were under performing more than CPS schools but no one ever took into account went those test scores were taken. Of course most of the time it was when the Charter School had just started up and most of their students were coming from schools where their education had been poor. It seems like people had attitude that once the student walks in the door of a Charter School they were just going to be smart.It might take a lot of time to undo the damage of a poor education in a under performing deterring public school in Chicago. I believe that Charters should be able to be free of CPS and compete as Education Providers without having to jump over hurdles and through hoops. I think that CPS should continue to access schools and fix them but they should do it equally accessing Public Schools the same way they do Charters.  Quality Education should not be a privilege that a few students have but a right that they all deserve no matter who provides it.

References:

Chicago Tribune ”The Thirst for Charter Schools” (April, 2013). http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-04/news/ct-edit-charter-20130404_1_charter-school-andrew-broy-58-charters

Chicago Tribune “A Promise Worth Breaking” (March, 2013).http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-12/news/ct-edit-charter-20130312_1_charter-schools-schools-ceo-barbara-byrd-bennett-school-buildings

Hood, Joel  Chicago Tribune “Chicago school board delays budget vote” (July 2012). http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-24/news/ct-met-cps-budget-delay-0724-20120724_1_andrew-broy-charter-school-illinois-network

CPS Press Release “12 new Charter Campuses Proposed” (December 2011) http://www.cps.edu/News/Press_releases/Pages/12_12_2011_PR1.aspx

CPS at a glance “Stats and Facts” (February 2013). http://www.cps.edu/About_CPS/At-a-glance/Pages/Stats_and_facts.aspx

]]> http://gcevoices.com/dc/2013/04/29/legal-monopoly/feed/ 0 http://gcevoices.com/dc/2013/04/19/mi-casa-es-mi-casa/ http://gcevoices.com/dc/2013/04/19/mi-casa-es-mi-casa/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 08:55:34 +0000 DC http://gcevoices.com/dc/?p=782 In my Spanish class Casa I am learning about my house and the furniture of a house.  I learned about my neighborhood and the history of it. I also learned a lot of the language to describe it. I am proud of the many words I can say now as well as my hard work. I loved doing interviews about the history of my house and talking to older people who have lived in my neighborhood for decades. Below is my slideshow with images I put together. Enjoy

In Unit of our Math & Baseball course, 162 we learned a lot about segregation in sports. Before I took this class I knew a lot about the baseball because of learning about Jackie Robinson in history classes. I never knew how much he impacted baseball as a sport. I  also never realized that he didn’t just improve sports for African-Americans but other races as well. I was surprised that his actions had such a negative impact on the negro leads. It was great to hear about the other Negros that had an impact similar to Robinson but way before because they often get looked over. I loved listening to other presentations and learning new things about sports and how people have fought back and stood up to discrimination. I am really proud of my partner ZP I couldn’t of done this project without her(Check out her intro ZP). Below is our slideshow presentation. Enjoy

In my policy course this unit we are studying policy on a local level. For this project we were asked to address a policy issue in our community. We had to find the responses made to the issue and either amend it or create a entirely new one. We created proposals using any medium we wanted to. I did a powerpoint presentation and a short email that I would send to after school matters and community organizers in my neighborhood. My favorite part of this project was creating the community garden that I thought should replace a vacant lot near my house. I learned that even if the response to an issue isn’t what you want it still has reason and value behind it. Below is my powerpoint as well as my email. Enjoy

Dear ASM,

I know that you guys do a lot with place making and fixing up the Chicago communities. I have created a proposal to fix up a vacant lot in my neighborhood. Below is my proposal.

Community Renewal Proposal

Chicago has around 50,000 vacant lots throughout the city. Most of which have been gated, fenced, or just abandoned. In my neighborhood there are about 7 within a 5 mile radius. I want to focus on one specifically that is directly across the street from my house. It has been an empty lot since I’ve lived in my community which is over 16 years. It is filled with broken glass, trash, bricks, and debris. In the 16 years nothing has been done by the city to improve this vacant lot or amend it but they have put up many signs and small fences.

     In other vacant lots and areas like these community organizations have worked on this project called placemaking. Place making is when a community gets together to improve their community by creating an amenity for the community. Some examples are community gardens, playgrounds and parks, basketball courts, or meeting area. Placemaking is a low cost way to fix something up and bring the community together.

        My suggestion is to turn this vacant lot into a community garden. It educates children about healthy foods and gives them a safe space to be in. It also can be used to send fresh locally grown vegetables to stores nearby. It will bring people together and give people a sense of ownership of their community. Overall it’s great for the space and the community.

Thanks for your consideration,

                                                              DC

In my light and sound class, we are studying time telling devices in the past, present, and future. We studied the sun dial among other time telling devices.Then my class had to come up with ideas for our own time telling device. We went on a mental journey to the past/future and come back with a time telling device. I chose to go to the future in the year 3013. Through this project, I have learned a lot about things that tell or keep time. Many of those things I had never considered as time telling devices. I’m proud of my invention. Below is my research project that contains my invention and the details about it. Enjoy!