engine of souls | forum 2

4. If I were to be a new student attending New Bedford High the first thing i would notice would be the cultural diversity among both the students and the staff. Also the cultural tolerance and peace exercised among the student body and collegues benefits the students in the way that it eliminates stereotypes that are commonly formed. Seeing people of all cultures and from all different backgrounds at all social standing gives every student the hope of becoming something great.

6. There seems to be a complication pertaining to allowing rival gangs play in the Youth Basketball League. I understand your concern for those gang members as well as the other teammates, but I believe that gang members will be able to look past there problems and unite together on one team. Giving these kids a safe haven to play at, and step out of there street habits is exactly what they need to keep them out of trouble.

-- Edited by devoncarter at 17:22, 2008-09-10

Question #1

  As class president of New Bedford High School, it is my responsiblity to plan the events for our Diversity Day. The events are very educational but fun as well. Participants in Diversity Day can bring in food dishes that represent their ethnicity. Also, participants can be a speaker and talk to the groups about their tradtions and/or hardships they faced based on their race. There will also be a culture show that students can explore different cultures through art forms, poetry readings, music playing, dance,and fashion shows. There will be an art section where students can create crafts that represent different cultures. Those are some activities that would be done on Diversity Day.

6. You are a youth basketball organizer. In a speech to your supervisor, justify your reasons for including rival gangs in games.
                In todays culture, athletics play a major role in the lives of many young people. It is an aspect in their lives that they can use to express themselves, meet new people, and learn important life values.  Through the competitive nature of sports, these kids are able to discover the meaning of responsibility, sportsmanship, respect, leadership and humility among other things. Without first-hand experiences it is hard to learn any of these important aspects of good character. It has also been supported by research that when youth are involved in team sports and activities that they are far less likely to be involved in negative and possibly violent behaviors as well as being involved in the use of drugs and alcohol.               
                For these kids basketball can be seen as neutral ground regardless of whether or not they are involved in rival gangs. If these teens are all involved in the same Youth Basketball League it gives them an outlet to be competitive with each other and have it resolved in a constructive way, and not out on the street. With the skills that they have learned being involved in team sports, they can become more compassionate and empathetic to each others situations. If we do not give them a constructive outlet to resolve the issues in their lives, than who will?

-- Edited by edalton76 at 17:29, 2008-09-10

6. You are a youth basketball organizer. In a speech to your supervisor, justify your reasons for including rival gangs in games

the reason i would put rival gang member in the game is so they can work together. if they can learn to play basketball together its a start to them not hateing each other and they might even become friends. and if this happen they can talk to their friends who are also in a gang to stop fighting. it will also give them responsability to the team n themselves with the practices.

IndiaRussell09 wrote:

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4. If I were to be a new student attending New Bedford High the first thing i would notice would be the cultural diversity among both the students and the staff. Also the cultural tolerance and peace exercised among the student body and collegues benefits the students in the way that it eliminates stereotypes that are commonly formed. Seeing people of all cultures and from all different backgrounds at all social standing gives every student the hope of becoming something great.

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India, can you be more descriptive and specific?  Can you give examples of the type of diversity or forms of tolerance and peace demonstrated?  Thanks!

abrun wrote:

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 You are the school class president. Write out an outline of events  for Diversity Day at your school. Deliver to principal.

1)students will first discuss what country or part of the world they would like to live and why
2)students will then discuss with another student of different ethnicity the alikes and differences in thier cultures
3)students will try different ethnic foods from multiple countries(chineese,thai,mexican,ect.) and state and discuss what foods were thier favorite.
4)students will then listen and explore new music from countries from around the world,compare and contyrasts it to american music and explain why or why not the liked the music.

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Adam, what issues would you address on this diversity day?  Thanks.

mitchelltetreault wrote:

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6. You are a youth basketball organizer. In a speech to your supervisor, justify your reasons for including rival gangs in games.

Rival gang members should be allowed to play in this youth basketball league. Being involved in sports helps introduce young adults to a variety of different people. Not only will they begin to respect their teammates and opponents, but they will also have older people such as coaches and referees to look up to as positive role models. Instead of running the streets, the children will be participating in activities. Allowing these gang members to play in this league will benefit them greatly, and teach them a valuable life lesson.

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Mitchell, can you give examples or specifics on how you would organize the event?  what would the ground rules be?  How could you work to gain their trust?

6. Sports are a great way to get students involved with positive things. Kids in rival gangs could use some sort team leadership rather than be against one another. Being a part of team is a great feeling. A gang is indeed a type of team or family but in a negative way. They can still be a part of a so called "gang" but  just consider it a team, especially a basketball team. Basketball shows unity and allows people to work together to win. Kids in rival gangs may not be used to the feeling of victory in a positive way. From experience of being a part of a team, it kept me out of trouble and I wanted to always be around my team. Im positive that rival gangs would benefit from being a part of a basketball team.

helena

8. You are Nelson Mandela. After being elected president, give a speech to the National Party concerning future race relations........

 

 If I was nelson Mandela this would be my words: white or black does it matter? when god created us he didn't wanted to see his childrens fighting over power, we are who we are not more not less.  in know everyone has a heart here o us we (black), and that heart feels when we are being treated like a garbage. "God died so we can be free" and this is how we repay him by insulting each other, making each suffer, cry and feel that they arent nothing. Look upon your childrens eyes and look at a black kids eyes what do you see? you see an angel that is confused and sad. Do you feel good when you make others cry imagine if was you or somebody you loved. Dont judge people because their races one day you'll need them and do you think they would raise one finger to help you? Off course they wont you have to give to get it back. Open your mind and see beyond your nose and see life is much more than trying to be tuff and angry at others.

 

4. You are having your first day at a new school. Visually describe every form of cultural unity and diversity you see.

I went to two differnt  schools freshmen year the first one i went to was in more of a rich area and the kids were 98  percent white and there were 5 coloured kids.and then i went to neptune high wich was prodomenitly colored kids. i remember the first time i went to lunch and the nurse brought me to the whit table wich had like 7 kids on it. i thought it was alil racist of her cause i wouldnt of had a problem sittin with the others cause im from such a diverse place (newbedford)it kinda of reminded me how much it didnt matter what nationality or colour u were and i respect that now.

KaylaG10 wrote:

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4. You are having your first day at a new school. Visually describe every form of cultural unity and diversity you see.

If coming to New Bedford High was my new school, you see all types of nationalities and ethnicities. Between what we believe in and what they do maybe completely different. There are a difference in black and whites and a bunch of others. I think being a combined school is a good thing we can be taught so many things about others that we may not know. It could have an impact on people not being in a school with diversity because they will go on not knowing about that race, ethnicity, or nationality is like, they may judge one another.

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Kayla, can you be more descriptive?  Try to think about what you see, what you hear, what you read, what you sense, etc.  Be as complete as possible.

D.crosson wrote:

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4. You are having your first day at a new school. Visually describe every form of cultural unity and diversity you see.

I went to two differnt  schools freshmen year the first one i went to was in more of a rich area and the kids were 98  percent white and there were 5 coloured kids.and then i went to neptune high wich was prodomenitly colored kids. i remember the first time i went to lunch and the nurse brought me to the whit table wich had like 7 kids on it. i thought it was alil racist of her cause i wouldnt of had a problem sittin with the others cause im from such a diverse place (newbedford)it kinda of reminded me how much it didnt matter what nationality or colour u were and i respect that now.

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Dylan, what specifically did you see, hear, read, sense, etc.  As you can all probably tell, I am trying to encourage you all to think a bit deeper here.

6. You are a youth basketball organizer. In a speech to your supervisor, justify your reasons for including rival gangs in games.

If Iwas a youth basketball organizer and I  had to make a speech to justify reasons to have rival gangs included in games I would say in my speech is that there could me less gang violence because theyll be off the streets  also they might find some common ground by playing  basketball and maybe have the rival gangs and mix them up on to different teams so they could work together  and maybe be united and form friendships.

Grades Updated 9-12-08

It was the morning of September 3rd, 2008. I awoke to my alarm ringing at 5:45, then rolled over in bed and attempted to fall back asleep. A clear video of me sitting in homeroom, first day of school, running through my head kept me from actually falling back asleep. I opened my eyes wide and stared at my ceiling. It was time to go to my first day of school.
My mom dropped me of in front of a few sets of doors. As she was driving away, I stood in that one place and looked around. The environment was simple, a cement grounded area with shrubs aligning the walkways. The people were more of what had caught my attention. The students were all dressed different. From their jeans to their backpacks, no one looked remotely alike. I thought of their cultures, the way they lived their life. I tried imagining what the kids standing across the street, baggy clothes and spiked hair, smoking ciggarettes were thinking. Everyone, like those kids, had their cultures.
When I walked into school, the walls seemed to be spreading apart more and more. Every minute that past I saw different faces, different cultures. There were people that were White, African American, Puerto Rican, and more, walking together in one school. Studying together, learning together, and eating together daily. Lunch was an even more diverse part of school than the hallways. While I was standing in line I heard three students talking in what I thought was spanish. They spoke it so fluently, it was their own culture. Different from mine, diverse. I continued through the line and walked to pick a table. I passed multiple tables that were all very diverse. You could tell in their styles, and in their choice of vocabulary as to which people were in which "culture." I remember just being truely amazed hearing different languages in my own school.
My first day of school, I learned that there are many different types of cultures and culture unity just in my school. Even though all these cultures were so different, they all came together in one learning place.

-- Edited by sarahsnw at 19:50, 2008-09-12

6. You are a youth basketball organizer. In a speech to your supervisor, justify your reasons for including rival gangs in games.

If I was a youth basketball organizer then I would put some rival gang members on the same team. I would do this because it will teach them to put their differences aside and work together. If they are successful in doing that then they should be able to do the same thing on the streets and spread the word to stop violence and for everyone to get along. I would make separate teams with rival gang members teaming together and some of them will most likely face their own friends. The most important thing i would do is make it fun for them to encourage and be friends whit everyone.

-- Edited by acevedo123 at 21:03, 2008-10-01

4. You are having your first day at a new school. Visually describe every form of cultural unity and diversity you see.


I think that during my first day at a new, unfamiliar school i'll most likely feel nervous and uneasy. I expect there to be some cultural unity but also some diversity through out the school, but that essentially depends on the students themselves. For example, if there is a great population of spanish students in the school, and a great population of whites, most likely there will be an extensive chance of diversity. People like to be around people of "there own kind". They tend to feel more comfortable and accepted. But if the students are willing to go outside of there comfort zone and befriend others outside of there race, diversity won't be a problem.
Walking into the school i saw that the cliques and groups that surrounded me were primarily diverse. It didn't seem like there was any type of racial profiling at all. Groups of friends consisted of African Americans, Whites, and also Puerto Ricans. Of coarse there were the few groups that were primarily white, or primarily african american, but the majority of the groups of friends were mixed. It seemed as if everyone got along and the variation of races wasn't a problem. The school seemed as if it wouldn't be so bad after all, and making new friends hopefully won't be a problem.