My babies are really sick, so I'm at home taking care of them today - but there's lots of work to do, let's stay focused on the prize! Email me if you have questions or concerns, I'll be back tomorrow, inchallah. :) -Ms. Lauren
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Where do we go when our dreams drop? When being sidetracked on the way to your future becomes your future? What happens to the dreams we let die? What happens to the air around us when we let a dream go? Does an old dream stay glimmering in the air, or does it fade to black? Tell me about your dreams, what they are, where they will take you, what landscapes you will discover in your life in the form of a poem. Talk about dreams being realized, or being deferred. Here's my poem to get you thinking: http://ipg.icsmich.org/poems/1724 Happy National Poetry Month, friends! Write to your heart's content on the IPG poetry website! http://ipg.icsmich.org
I've been thinking in languages that I don't speak, and trying to expand my vocabulary in new ways this spring. But, I also always think back to what has come before, to how history has connected to the present and shaped the present like a sculptor and her clay. While the idea of redlining, or segregating people to certain neighborhoods through mortgage restrictions or denials, is no longer a practice in the United States -- I also know that when I travel uptown and pass 86th street, the white people all get off the train. There are certain areas of the city where the impacts of redlining are very clear and evident -- where you can SEE the boundaries of neighborhoods based on who gets on or gets off the train. What has your train experience been with regard to redlining? In which neighborhoods is this most obvious or evident to you? In which neighborhoods is it more subtle?
As we begin reading this text, I want you to think about your ideas of family -- what defines family to you? Is blood thicker than water? Why or why not? Must we always prioritize our family over ourselves? I'm excited for you guys to get to know the Younger family, and learn about their story. Also, if you're looking for some new/old music to brighten up your spring, here you are. You can respond to these songs/videos for extra credit to boost your grade (on paper, emailing me your responses or as a comment on the blog) You're welcome, in advance.
Dreamy Spring Playlist 2015
You can respond to these songs in addition to
free-writes, for extra credit or to make up for missing work. Lyrics for most of
these songs are available on www.genius.com A ½ page
response will earn you 5 points.
Kendrick
Lamar – “Blacker the Berry” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6e_fenSrFM
2pac
– “Keep Ya Head Up” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M84wmglfso
Notorious B.I.G. – “Juicy” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfybXcVBQSI
(Subtitulado
Español)
Drake
– “Successful” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfyIZxzfTpo
Common
Sense – “I Used to Love H.E.R.” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C99iG4HoO1c
Stromae
– “Papaoutai” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiKj0Z_Xnjc (French, Eng sub)
Jaded
Incorporated – “I Ran” - https://soundcloud.com/jadedinc
Flock
of Seagulls – “I Ran” (Original) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIpfWORQWhU
The
Cure – “Love Song” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXCKLJGLENs
Depeche
Mode – “Enjoy the Silence” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0AKJMGxwpE
REM
– “Losing My Religion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwtdhWltSIg
Nirvana
– “Smells like Teen Spirit” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIsynkL_sU4
(espanol)
Squarepusher
– “Port Rhombus” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSnhXGVTdbk
Coldcut
– “Timber “- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-wl7Xk5FoY
The
Beatles – “Yesterday” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S09F5MejfBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3RdqTCv_iw
(subtitulado Espanol)
Eugene
the Dream – Spongebob Trap Mix - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzMJk8nGpoc
Proof/J
Dilla -
“Life”- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4MfApWb69g
Frank
Ocean – “Swim Good” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmN9rZW0HGo
Let the warm air and the rain wash over us as we head into spring. Good riddance, winter - it's been real, but we need the sun.
Cheers,
Ms. Lauren
37 comments:
A HUGE part of what family defines to me is loyalty and comfort because when life gets difficult your family is suppose to be by your side that's when the loyalty comes in and when things in your life start to get unfortunate they are suppose to be there to consult you in time of need and that is the comfort part.
I remember one time, i was going to Avenue P in Brooklyn an i took the train, it was express but changed to local at a certain point so upon my experience majority of the people were Jews and Asian and a few blacks on the train. But when it got closer to Church Avenue almost all the blacks were out except my brothers and i.
Family is what you make it, friends are what you claim, these two F's have little meaning to me in person because in this life i learn't that everybody lets you down at some point soon. But blood and water can both drain out so i like to stay neutral on topics like this. Because i don't believe in family nor friends, because just like they both start with an F they end up fading.
Devin Natera says.... Family is not just defined by blood but by the connections you have with the person. In my perspective blood is just something that flows through your body and keeps you alive, Family is people who were and are always there for you,remember and celebrate events for your achievements. Blood is not thicker than water in my perspective because this saying is used to so that people know that family ties are more important than the ties you make with your friends. In some cases that can be true but not to me I feel that friends came become family depending on how close they are to you.
Regarded to redlining, I have low experience in trains but what I have notice is that in the uptown part there is more light skin people, whites, Asian, ans there is low diversity. In the Downtown part there is more color people and more diversity. But the most subtle place for me to describe is Downtown because there is more variety and described as nationality is less specific.
-- what defines family to you? Is blood thicker than water? Why or why not? Must we always prioritize our family over ourselves?
To me family mean many it means loyalty, strength, honesty and love. There are many reasons why i don't think blood is thicker than water because you cant choose the people you are related to your just born with them but i believe that blood only makes you a relative it dose not consider you family. I sometimes closer to my friends who i consider family then my actually relatives who i just think of them as that relatives.
White people or Hispanics and even black people do not really impact me in a person, on the train going to 233, i see lots of black mostly Jamaicans and on my way to school in the morning, i see most white people, students or coaches and teachers heading to their morning places.
Farielly says......
I do trilatino and we go to central park for bike and sometimes run practice, Last time we went for run practice i was with a friend and the 6 train pact and she told me lets "Lets wait for the next one" my response to her was "In the next 3-4 stops mostly all the people will be getting off and we'll even have seats" I know that before 125th street all the white people get off. I think that my parents, my siblings, my cousins and aunts and uncles define family to me because although i have a big family we all stick together but also i have a lot of friends because of how social I am, that i can also consider family, some of them I trust more than my actual family. I'm still friends that i've known since elementary school and i consider then to be family. I thik that sometimes you have to be selfish because if you're giving your all to your family then you're doing anything for yourself to be better than you were yesterday or even trying to be the best at what it is that you love because your putting your family above everything.
The definition of family to me when they are there for you in tough times and giving you the memories you deserve. Blood is thicker than water because what your family can do for you not all people can but i also disagree because People outside your family can sometimes treat you better than anyone in your family and i have experienced it but it still don't change my mind about how i feel about my family.
Family to me is a tight nit bond that is almost impossible to break. A bond that keeps you going and a bond that shows love it does not have to be a blood related bond. The bond can be shared between 2 people or between a 100 people. Bonds are way more important in identifying family than blood, just because someone is your family through blood does not mean they are family neither do they have to treat you like family.You should prioritize your family over yourself, but to a certain extent. You should make sure your decisions will suit you and your family and that they will make you happy but your family proud.
My favorite song about dreams, that introduce a dream like state is the song NEVER-DEJ LOAF.
What defines family to me is loyalty and respect. I think that family should always be with you no matter what, they should always have your back and should always show respect to you and your decisions. I feel like blood is not thicker than water because there's family members that can stab you in your back even if you guys have the same blood. There can be friends that can treat you better than some family members can and theirs some friends that can be there with you throughout anything like some family members cant. Finally we cannot prioritize our family over ourselves because yes family is important but NO ONE GOT YOU LIKE YOU GOT YOU ! YOU ALWAYS COME FIRST BEFORE ANYONE OR ANYTHING !
Ever since I befriended a white kid name Richard back in middle school I've seen so much redlining on the train that i can already tell when people are going to get off and get on. My friend Richard lives in Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan so when every i go to his house i see people get off on certain stops on the train. I believe that the neighborhoods from 6th to 8th avenue show the most redlining because whenever i walk through there its only white people and not one Black person in sight.
Janee said ..
Ever since I was a kid, about 5 years old I was always told the stopping point on the train. What divides the rich from the poor, the hard workers to the "no gooders", the white to the minorities. 96ST has always been that boundary line, the modern day "redline" mark. Pass and including 125th street it is clearly sen that the division made so long ago that made an impact on modern day society. Places that are more subtle is more uptown such as Throgs neck or white plains because it is so diverse. Yet, in my opinion is "white people land" (no offense). Ever since i was a child i was told to beat this division of poor Blacks and Hispanic to rich whites, and Chinese. I was told to be part of the whites, embrace their culture and thrive in it. Beat the odds sort of say, and live out the dream to become rich and successful and I never realized the magnitude of this concept until now.
When it comes to family I have been taught that nothing should come in between or in front of family, yet I have found myself searching for distance. I feel blood is thicker than water, but blood doesn't always make you family. People for centuries have been substituting family members, mainly in times of slavery, because another being that was not blood cared for them just as much as a brother would. Family is a support system to me, people I can open up to for comfort and understanding. People that I can "vibe" with and be together day in and day out without a complaint said. I feel when it comes to prioritizing family should always be tied in your life. After work or school stop by your cousin/brother/grandmother's house for a couple of minutes, and then go about your day. I do not feel they should be put in front of yourself, but they should be shown appreciation and love. Nothing but good vibes should be shared between family members.
The train experience that has been regrading to redlining is that when you go on a train you see different people getting on or off the train. For example the C train. The C train operates between 168 St in Washington Heights, Manhattan to Euclid Av in Brooklyn. In Upper Manhattan and Harlem you see black people getting on the train. By the time the train pass Cathedral Parkway-110 Street, a lot of white people get on the train. After it passes Jay St-Metrotech more black people get on the train. When you are on the train you go through different cultures. The neighborhood that is most relevant to me is when you are in Harlem its black people. In Washington Heights it Latino people and in Flushing, Queens its Chinese people. The neighborhood that is most subtle is when you travel along the D line in Brooklyn it is fulled with Jewish people and in Crown Heights it is fulled with black people.
Ever since I befriended a white kid name Richard back in middle school I've seen so much redlining on the train that i can already tell when people are going to get off and get on. My friend Richard lives in Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan so when every i go to his house i see people get off on certain stops on the train. I believe that the neighborhoods from 6th to 8th avenue show the most redlining because whenever i walk through there its only white people and not one Black person in sight.
My dreams are big, I want to reach the sky and go beyond, and never stop. I feel like if I don't achieve ALL of my goals I'll be like a bird chained to the ground, with the punishment of looking up to the blue sky unable to fly...
The experience on train has been quite a boomer, and it's true that here in Bronx we don't see white people--it even feels wrong to say that--, or that in Manhattan you don't see black people. It's as if Manhattan or Downtown was 'no blacks men land'. And you kind of think in your mind, ask yourself if this redlining where stores and places deny and charged more of a service to someone that is a different race is true, or of it still happening. And it kinds of messes up your mind, just thinking of it...
And as of family meaning, I want to make it personal. I think family it's not something that's blood-related, I think it's something more complex, kind of, like it all depends on who you consider family. For example, we all have that friend who we call sister, or 'bro', because it feels like home with them. And I think that that's what's all about, home. Whoever we feel like home with it's our family.
What defines family to me is a person who’s always been there for you through everything, people who know about, and who know what you've been through. Not only that but who knows the story that really defines you as a person. To me being realistic blood is not thicker than water, for example people can really be blood related to you but can be the first ones to betray you, what they know about you for example you’re past can be used against you. Most of the time people tend to put family first and there’s nothing wrong with that. I myself put my family before me and sometimes it can get out of control. Depending on how a person is with their family there can be some advantages and disadvantages.
I see it all the time. People of fairer skin do not come out of Manhattan and into the Bronx unless they are teachers. That is sad that if someone who lives in a different place will come to New York City in hopes of only seeing Manhattan. The Bronx has some wonderful accomplishments as well as the other Boroughs but people do not recognize that. This is the boggie down Bronx where Rap and Hip Hop started. I know about gentrification and I see that the city is trying to make the city look nice so it can cost more. Eventually the lower class will no longer be living in New York City. This is a very disgusting situation because I've lived in New York my whole life and it is a beautiful place to live but unfortunately me and my family will need to relocate to where we can live financially. It is really obvious in about 90% of Manhattan and soon to be the Bronx. I have a friend who told me that there's a Starbucks on Fordham.
I think blood is thicker than water but some people may not think that. I've never had a serious problem with my family and I love them to death. I've never had them lose my trust and I hope that stays.
I see it all the time. People of fairer skin do not come out of Manhattan and into the Bronx unless they are teachers. That is sad that if someone who lives in a different place will come to New York City in hopes of only seeing Manhattan. The Bronx has some wonderful accomplishments as well as the other Boroughs but people do not recognize that. This is the boggie down Bronx where Rap and Hip Hop started. I know about gentrification and I see that the city is trying to make the city look nice so it can cost more. Eventually the lower class will no longer be living in New York City. This is a very disgusting situation because I've lived in New York my whole life and it is a beautiful place to live but unfortunately me and my family will need to relocate to where we can live financially. It is really obvious in about 90% of Manhattan and soon to be the Bronx. I have a friend who told me that there's a Starbucks on Fordham.
I think blood is thicker than water but some people may not think that. I've never had a serious problem with my family and I love them to death. I've never had them lose my trust and I hope that stays.
_ Xavian
KRYSELLIE SAID....
What defines family to me?
Blood honestly doesn't mean anything to me. I have a strong opinion about "blood" because I am adopted. I was not raised by my "blood mother", but that doesn't make my mom any less of a mother to me. Some people think of adoption as a sad thing, but honestly I tell my story with so much pride because I was lucky to have been raised the way I was raised. I still spend time with my "blood" family and it is no different than the love I have for the family I am adopted with. Those who have been there for me and never left my side are my family. Blood and not blood.
My train experience regarding with redlining is that is obvious when I'm on the 6 train that most white people are likely to get off at stop where its "hood" like Hunts Point which is my stop. White people are more likely to get off at 42nd street. Anyways, family is all about honesty and loyalty and who has never left my side regarding the situation. In certain situations blood can be thicker than water because I have a "cousin" who isn't blood related but has been around since we were babies so she is part of the family. If its a conflict between a family member and someone who has always been around I will most likely be choosing family. We must not always prioritize family over ourselves because even family members can betray us.
Kimberly A.
Jean Carlos Ortiz said...
Is blood thicker than water? Why?
Honestly, blood just means were related but it doesn't mean much to me. I love my family and not just because we have the same blood but of all the experiences we had and i know that at the end of the day, my family will always have my back and be on my side. I also have friends who are like brothers to me and we don't have the same blood. But family to me is people who are loyal since the first day they met and have been through so many experiences and are still my family till this day.
i define family as someone whose related to you and somebody you'll see every day i never had a train experince because i barely take the train.
Blood is thicker than water but i think there is a certain ex tense. The reason I say this because sometimes friends are more loyal than family.
Alisha D says ... my favorite song that pertains to dreams or dreaming is from hinda hicks called our destiny and its from my moms favorite movie love and basketball
but also when i notice seperation of race because i see mostly upstairs from in the 21st floor all Africans live thier
Does an old dream stay glimmering in the air, or does it fade to black?
I think that when we dream and wake up our dreams fade away.But when we go back to sleep we don't have the same dream as we did before. So i do think old dream just fades. But at the same time i do think that there are dreams still there in our minds sometimes dreams do come true and im not talking about the dreams people have verbally,but the dreams that we literally have like Sometimes it feels like you been there before and when u think of it ,its also been in your dreams.
~Bars
Family is a living bond. In my opinion you can be family with someone who is not related to you. Family should have better intentions for you then you have for yourself. In addition, blood doesn't make you family experiences and character traits make you family. I was ounce one the L train coming from my uncles house & a white man sat next to me and moved my legs because i guess i was taking up too much space instead of asking. I then raised my voice and we was arguing and he said he didn't need my approval for moving my legs.
one time when i was on the train going to 14st and i saw the majority of the people that came out in 42St grand central was white people.
I have noticed when i take the 2 train to Manhattan that at Central Park is where most Caucasian people actually get on, after 96 street only a small group of the people entering are actually Hispanic, or colored so yeah i'd say Manhattan, and onward is like a borderline for most people.
Onajah J
Love and understanding is what defines family to me. Sometimes blood isn't thicker than water. In certain situations, whereas family doesn't have your back, friends can. Or it can even be the other way around. I say that you should always prioritize yourself over family. Sometimes when times get tough, you wont be able to rely on no one else but yourself. A safety net (family) wont always be there.
DANIEL B SAID...
BLOOD IS THICKER THEN WATER WHY I SAY THIS IS BECAUSE WHAT DIFINE FAMILY IS THE LOVE THAT GOES AROUND YOU AND WHAT PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO GIVE UP FOR YOU LOVE ONES
Is denying the right or practice of the people. The areas most frequently discriminated against were black inner city neighborhoods and the assumptions in redlining resulted in a large increase in residential racial segregation and urban decay in the United States.
Keep Ya Head up by Tupac Shakur is an amazing song because he talks about how young boys and girls who don't have a major figure in their lives that they can look up to that these experiences will make them a better and stronger person in the end and they can still be successful.
Drake's song successful is a song for people who have real deep ambitions in life and is a song that I listen to so that i can stay focused on the things that I want to achieve in the future.
Biggie Smalls song Juicy is a song that I listened to growing up and I really like this song because Biggie talks about the things that he overcame,how it made him a better man,and how he used all of these people and tragic things that happened to him as his motivation to be successful.
Jamal said…
Notorious B.I.G.'s SONG "JUICY " It was all a dream” is both a reference to Martin Luther King’s famous speech, as well as Biggie recalling when he thought that him being a famous rapper was only a dream and wouldn't happen but it came true It probably had a little bit more to do with than tight rhymes, but Biggie took rap to the next level with his forward thinking rap skills and also when he said "born sinner opposite of a winner" meant you’re born to sin, because some people from those areas (the hood)need to do crime in order to survive or make amends meet for them and their families
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