We had to pick a topic about the 19th century and write a poem about it for a “Poetry Slam”. I chose Urban Problems and Urbanization in the 19th century! Here is my poem!

Poetry- Urban Problems

 

Change led to crime

Change led to health problems

Change meant unsafe cities

Disease plagued many

And tenements were the shelter

Where disease was the worst

Police force- there was none

Crime- there was

Did the government care?

Streets crammed with houses

No privacy, and disease worsening

Conditions which no one deserves-

They lived in

Urban Areas- Cities-

Population growing,

Conditions worsen,

Did the government do anything to stop it?

Lives lost, falling apart

Ones looking for a better life

Never found

Noise traffic pollution

And separation

Disease still spread

Through cities

Proving tragic for many

Cities changing

Changing…

Rural farming towns no more,

Change happened fast,

The country forever changed.

Urbanization.

 

Soldiers are rightfully claiming their land

I refuse to believe

The Cherokee own this territory

That is a lie

This is what’s best

They say

This is wrong

I say

It’s our land

We declare

What’s rightfully ours

We need

The Tribe to give up their land east of the Mississippi

They want

To stay, but

We want

For the white people to be able to use that land 

The Cherokee are forced to leave

The US needs the land

I don’t care that

Tears are falling on the ground

Our

Troops guide the way

The suffering continues for the Cherokee

The tribe is forced to travel with the agony of hunger, thirst, and the loss of a home

But still

The Cherokee are uncivilized 

I do not believe

The tribe is worthy of keeping the land

The tribe should be forced to leave, because I know

Christian farmers need that land

I don’t believe that just because

They want the land for their selfish reasons

They should get it

It’s wrong to think

We 

Don’t

Need that land more than they do

We

Are doing the right thing

I refuse to think they

Should have the land that we need

The Cherokee Tribe

Just doesn’t realize what this land means to us

The US

When you read this poem down it is in the perspective of the White Soldiers on the Trail of Tears.

When you read it backwards it is in the perspective of the Cherokee Indians…

     Well, it is hard to say because people might complain about certain restrictions if they were excluded from that election.

     But I do believe that a qualification should be, they should first know who the candidates are. This is because anyone could walk into a voting booth and push a button or check off a ballot; that takes no skill at all. Additionally they should know some of the issues that the candidates stand for. An Mr. Bogush, this would require a test, but most people in the country could pass… You need to have the facts to make your vote count!

     I think the balance of Democracy and Republic we have in the US is perfect- well not really perfect because there are still problems with the government… but I think this is the best we have had so far.

     Being more democratic would lead to too much power to the people. Not that I am not for power to the people, but a lot of people do not care about government issues or simply would take advantage of their power.

But being less democratic would be bad too. Then the people would not be involved hardly at all and would feel unimportant and be upset with the conditions. Also the government official would have too much power in making all of the decisions by themselves. Neither of these more or less options would work…

I believe it is a very specific balance of Republic and Democracy that keeps our country running.

 

 

     I do not think any question is dangerous to ask. Any serious question should be accepted as something somebody really wants to know and no one should take it as a joke or think it is a stupid question. But I would hope that the question being asked is not a life or death situation…then that might be dangerous… Other than that no question should be dangerous to ask.

1. Zawan– A girl who lives in New York and has a media review blog. She reviews everything from books, to music, and movies. Mostly she reviews books… So if you find yourself wondering “What is the next book Ishould read?” make sure you check out Zawan’s Blog!

2. Nadine– She writes wonderful inspiring posts on any topic you can think of! I have gotten inspiration for a few of my posts from hers!

3. Priscila and Stephie– Sisters living in Argentina. Thier posts sometimes show me how different or the same it is in the country that they live in. They have many interesting and though-provoking posts.

4. Madalena– A blog of a girl living in Portugal. Translate the whole blog into English from Portuguese and you will discover many great posts!!

5. Mallorie and Megan– Two of my friends blogs in my class. They will have a lot of the same posts as me, but check them out to see their ideas vs. mine!

This was a very interesting question to answer! I can’t really choose… I have thought about this and though but I think it is almost impossible to describe a person with only one verb. Maybe if I had to choose I would pick perform. I love to perform and be on stage. Especially in musicals and plays.

What difference has blogging made to your life at school and home e.g. how has it changed how you learn, the challenges of blogging and how teachers might make the process easier.

I think blogging has mostly changed the quality of my writing. When you are writing for a global audience you make sure you put your best foot forward. The blogging experience is a great challenge, but I wouldn’t change anything about it. It was a little bit challenging, but that is why it is called a “challenge”! 🙂

 

This has been a great experience and I have learned a lot. I think more schools should get into blogging. It makes kids want to write more and gives them motivations. It is not like writing a paper you are writing what you feel for the world to see! It is much more exciting!

 

     What inspires you? This can be a tough question to answer. So many things can fall under that category. Well… are we talking about a person, or an object, or and idea? But one thing that does inspire me is nature. It is wonderful how it all seems so peaceful. From snow covered mountains, to meadows filled with flowers. Nature can be all so different, yet still beautiful in its own way. 🙂

 

     RECYCLING-SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT- those are big topics on many people’s minds today. Well, to help the environment from becoming polluted I do recycle cans, bottles etc.

     The only thing is— so many people are so busy these days… They “don’t have time” which gives them an excuse to not recycle their recyclables. This simple matter can keep millions of bottles not recycled and sitting in a landfill for hundreds of years. We need to make a turn around and help the environment!

****I wrote a similar post about this in the last challenge!! Check it out at: http://laurena09.edublogs.org/2008/11/12/recyclingrecycling/

    

     Do you define a person by their actions or intentions? At first, it may seem as though you have got your answer. But when you think about it, you realize there is enough support from each side. That makes your answer “on the fence” or “waffley” which is not acceptable! This has been a very hard decision… but I do believe you can judge a person mainly on their actions.

     The only true judge of how a person feels is action. You can say whatever you want, it doesn’t have to be true. Most likely, when you act on something it is something important to you and you probably, did intend to do it. That is where intentions come in. The only time intentions are credible, I believe, is when they are acted upon. You may believe someone and their intentions, but the truth is the only one who really knows the truth is the person with the intentions. That person, if the intentions are legitimate, will try their hardest to make whatever it is happen. Which turns into the actions. When people follow up with their intentions, that is action. You can find a person credible and responsible if they follow through with those intentions… making them ACTIONS. So, I believe we tend to follow people who have done great things rather than plan to do great things. Who is more credible? The person who does great things or someone who promises great things but may never follow through?

     Also, think about America’s way of picking the President. How do we pick those people? Their intentions! Why should we pick someone on what they say they are going to do? How do we know they will actually go along with it. And to tell you the truth most presidents did not follow some of their intentions. Just like others, the presidents intended to do things but then never got around to it. Good intentions, well, people would get excited about them. Then when someone doesn’t pursue that goal everyone is let down. People who act, are responsible for their intentions. What good are your intentions if you are not responsible for them? Then they are just words that were promised but never pursued. I understand that things happen, but when you make a committment to an intention, a very important one, you should be able to see it through. Everyone says “Be responsible for your actions.” But you also need to be responsible for your intentions.  

How do you attract visitors to your blog?

1. Put up posts often! When people come to your blog they will come back if you have new things up often.

2. Comment, Comment, Comment! When you comment on other people’s blogs they will (hopefully) return the favor.

3. Write about interesting topics  that a lot of other readers would enjoy.

4. Leave the link to your blog when you comment so others can find your blog easily!

 

Those are some of the things I find help make your blog more popular! 🙂

Megan, Mallorie, and I made a map of Indian Encounter along the Orgon Trail recently for a school project… Feel free to check it out.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=109589209289604830453.0004639af65145888db3b&ll=37.300275,-96.152344&spn=8.817767,28.782243&source=embed

     This week we had to write a post from the future! So here is a post from the date March 8, 3000.

     I’ve heard that in the “past” children had to actually go to a building where they were taught material by an adult. Now, we just have our “learning helmet”. We put it on and in 5 minutes whatever you wanted to learn for the whole day is instantly transfused into your memory! It is very quick and efficient. None of us from the future would ever imagine going to school for 6 hours a day! Another new invention from the future are the talking animals. Scientists have figured out how to manipulate the DNA and genetic material of animals, like a dog or cat, to be able to speak any language you can imagine. Animals soon will be as smart or smarter than humans! That might be dangerous in the future though. So, it seems like life in our time is much more advanced than in yours… We have lots more than just the “learning helmets” and talking animals! You’d be amazed at how much has changed in merely 100 years!

I was looking at my blog when I realized- I need to put up posts more frequently! I have gotten so busy with school work and Drama and everything else. I also realized the message on my blog is “Happy New Year”. I really need to change that… I also decided to change the theme from flowers to a “plainer” theme, I guess. I couldn’t  on what theme I should use! 🙂 Soooo… that is that! Remember to check back every few days I will most likely have a new post!!