Entry #7- Capitalism: A Love Story

The corrupt actions of main-stream America have never been a secret, but the extreme measures corporate goes to to make a quick buck will make your skin crawl. During 2008, when most of us were shaken up and worried about loosing our jobs, homes, and the little savings we had, CEO's, millionaires and billionaires were reaping in the benefits of the countless bailout deals awarded to their companies.

According to Michael Moore, a well known film maker, corporate America and the top 1% benefit so much from the labor of the common folk and think so little of us that we are referred to as peasants. "Peasants!" Wow, what a smack in the face. Us, Americans who are living the "dream" that all other countries hope to live are considered "peasants". I thought we ditched this slur when we crossed the Atlantic and fought for our Independence. 

However, name calling is the least of our worries. Who knew that your friendly employer such as Wal-mart and many other big names could and will take life insurance policies out in your name? But..wait..does the company benefit from those policies or the family left behind? According to USA Today, a recent article posted that 11 million households do not have life insurance because these families have other financial responsibilities. Does it seem fair that a family who can not afford life insurance has to suffer when their loved one passes away while the company  rakes in thousands of dollars?

It's disgusting to see that GREED has overtaken our basic human compassion and has slaughtered the "American Dream". The promises of our Independence and democratic philosophies are merely a dream that we no longer grasp. We allow just 1% of America to tell us, we will forever be poor and beneath their shoes because we are just "peasants".

Entry# 6- What do teacher's make?

As a future educator, I often find myself being asked, "why would I choose to be a teacher if they do not make that much money?" And of course, I always respond, "life is not about money!"

But, really what do teachers make? Well I have a friend who would like to share with you exactly what a teachers make.

 Being an educator is not a simple job and can easily become a 12+ hour work day and it is true that we are all under paid for what we do. And for the congressmen and women who do not believe that schools need more money (and we are talking about money going to the school and not the superintendent's pocket), they will never understand the amount of work we put into making sure we have law abiding citizens for the future.

It is not about money in my pocket! It is about the spark of joy when a child finally "gets it" and the smiles on their face when they achieve. It is the support I will provide for the children with troubled homes, the hungry tummies I will feed and make sure they have food to take home. It is the fact that I know that I will have 30+ young minds to mold and create a classroom that is culturally empathetic and runs on collaboration. It will be my job to inspire the future presidents, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, and TEACHERS!

Entry #5- Wall-E

The animated film Wall-E was never a big interest of mine and I never understood why people loved it so much. After watching this short clip, it is extremely sad to see that all human interaction is lost due to the immense use of technology. I believe there is a huge connection between this film and today's society. As we rely more and more on technology we have definitely lost the art of communication.

It was easy to see that the people in this clip had lost all personal interaction with each other and talked through a "web cam" even though they were sitting right next to each other.This is similar to the way people in our own society text each other who are in the same room instead of just speaking. The film also showed that the people relied so much on technology that they use robots to teach their children about Buy N Large, told them when to eat, what to wear and even picked them up if they fell out of their chairs. It took Wall-E to break Mary's chair to get her to realize he was speaking to her and at that very moment she realized how immense technology was in her world through advertisement. It was very interesting to see how useless people became the more they relied on technology. Einstein once said, "I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction." This film definitely shines a light on the destruction technology could have in our society.

Entry# 4 The Migrant Farm Worker of Today

Imagine you are 8 or 9 years old waking up on an early Saturday morning, what are you going to do? Will you lounge in your pajamas, with a bowl of Lucky Charms in your lap watching the Road Runner out smart Wiley for the thousandth time? Or are you climbing in the back of a pick-up truck rubbing the sleep from your eyes and thinking, my feet still hurt from yesterday?

Many people today do not realize that crops are still picked by migrant farm workers that follow the harvest from state to state. These workers are not just individuals, these are families who are economically forced to follow the harvest down the coast from Washington state through the south and up to Wisconsin picking whatever crop is in season.

The most shocking realization is that a large population of migrant workers are children who are not protected by child labor laws. There are 400,000 migrant child farm workers in America. These children toil in the fields up to 14 hours a day, 7 days a week for an average pay of $64 a week. Unfortunately, many families can not afford for these children to go to school because they need them to work. In result, the generational cycle continues and more children continue to suffer.

As a granddaughter of migrant farm workers, this issue pulls at my heart because what my grandparents fought for alongside Cesar Chavez is still continuing and not just affecting adults, but the babies of America.

Please help bring awareness to this issue and join M.E.Ch.A. de GCC on March 26th at 6pm for a special viewing of this film and learn more about the work Cesar Chavez did for migrant farm workers and what we can do to help these children. 

Entry #3 Media Quest

In today's world it is easy to see the major improvements in technology. When I was a young child a cell phone was the size of my shoe which required an exterior antenna and a computer required a floppy disk that was actually floppy. The children of today live in a world where technology advances every day and their whole lives revolve around the internet.These children are so far advanced in technology that they are operating an iPad at two years old. However, with all these improvements we are not seeing an improvement in educating our youth.

Unfortunately, many school systems in America are behind times and still operating in a factory style setting from the industrial era. We pass students along in groups based on age and not capabilities. We limit their ability to learn by limiting our teaching styles one way instead of finding multiple ways to teach children with different needs. This video is important because it targets why education in this country is outdated and how it needs to evolve from the one way direction. We must be open to creating a curriculum the revolves around technology and collaboration if we want our students to grow and be successful in this technology driven world.