Health is Wealth

During Social Entrepreneurship this year, we've learned a lot. We explored many different types of businesses and discussed what actually makes a business stay afloat. Recently we had a guest, Matt Nicklin from First Analysis, who shared some informative knowledge about his company. We dove deep into the mind of a capital investor’s job and we tried to ask tons of questions. I enjoyed learning how his corporation runs. In Social Entrepreneurship, we’ve worked diligently to learn how to make a business plan. We gazed over things like target audience, mission statements, and roles of a business. I found that all great businesses have three keys to success: loyal customers, consistently great customer service, and great strong relationships built within the organization. For this AP we had to come up with our own business and create a plan that had a social impact.

Equal Education = Prosperity For All

During this second unit of Equality, we have dived deep into the true meaning of equality. We also searched for ways to make equality achievable and in a timely manner. We looked at many different categories that this can be separated into. These included class, gender, and race. From analyzing data of women being underpaid to common biases and stereotypes, we’ve just about covered it all. I learned so much during our time in this class and the time flew by. From my studies in this course, I’ve learned that there are many ways to look at the same subject. But it takes action and people coming together to make a difference for the greater good of humanity. 

Breaking News- The Education Gap Has Gone Extinct!!

Through the turn of the century, as a nation, we have faced many challenges and have overcome few critical issues that make a broader impact on society. We have seen progress and we have learned to adapt to new ideas brought from minorities. As of 2020, there has been an awakening for the injustices done to African- Americans by systematic oppressors. After the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others killed in the past, people from all walks of life have come together to protest and strive for the basic human rights of black people. See, history tends to repeat itself but this time around there will be a change in circumstances. (*Amen*) 

Along with this lingering history of disenfranchisement to black’s education, this stems the root of the problem in America’s financial disparities. Knowledge is key to knock down these walls that have been set in place for black’s. 79% of blacks have a high school diploma, 26% have a bachelor's degree. And about 60% drop out of school altogether. Compare this to white counterparts who have a high school graduation rate of 89% and a 62% graduation rate out of college. Higher education allows access to greater opportunities for good-paying jobs. These jobs accumulate triple the net income of a minimum wage family. Leading to more generational wealth for whites and most likely debt for blacks. The proof of educational inequalities are there. The question is how do we combat it? For starters, implementation of a similar curriculum for all students in all districts could work. By allowing underprivileged students access to state of the art technology and classroom resources where education can be expanded outside of a textbook, students will be able to use these opportunities to excel in their studies. This would motivate students to stay engaged, participate, and ultimately lead to grades improving.

 Secondly, eliminating district separation and school segregation can expand the limitations set on what type of education a student wants to pursue. A school in a neighboring district may not be suitable for all students in that area. If a choice is given to decide where someone would like to receive their education, why would this choice be shut down or dismissed? Once a student is able to make this choice they can receive a similar or even better education from the school district they came from. 

Finally, free education for private schools and free aid/tuition is a must! Without the foundation of reliable income in the household, managing other responsibilities can be discouraging to attend or even apply to certain schools. If school were free including colleges and universities it would destroy the gap between races finishing college. It would set a pathway of advancements to an abundance of different careers. Altogether this could round out the wealth gap, create equality for all races, and demonstrate true equality.

Company: Head Over Shoulders. Inc 

Specializes in Graduation Attire

Sale Starting at $65.95 

 

Cap/Gown: Crosses out black people in prison. Showing an end to the school-to-prison pipeline. 

Higher education leads to fewer people in prison. 

Policy: As of 2120, I hereby declare all private sector institutions to teach at a national standard. This implementation of an equal curriculum will increase the chances for people of color in succeeding in their near future. - President, Squarepants

“Over the course of my life, I have seen a difference in school systems in Chicago and in other major cities. It is currently the year 2120 and I’m now an 18-year-old Senior preparing to graduate this spring. During my time in high school, I felt like my teachers were there, but their passion to teach wasn’t. I’d go to class everyday thinking: is it even worth coming here if I’m not going to learn anything beneficial to my education or my future aspirations? I really did want to go to college this year, but it’s frustrating to want to seek the opportunity and not be able to reach it because of what district I’m in. If I go to college and graduate, I’d be a first generation college student in my family. That would be a big accomplishment for me and I really want to make my mom and my sisters proud. I’m the firstborn, so by example if I can do it, any one of them can dream and achieve! I’ve always been interested in the art of barbering and where I could go with it. I could always watch some more videos on YouTube to give me a leg up, but that isn’t exactly gonna get my name on the top of the “we should hire them” list for a professional job. One day, I’m going to open up my own shop. Recently, President Squarepants passed a policy I know would definitely help me a lot. I feel like I have a chance to succeed if I do choose to go off to college. This new policy is said to be incorporated into all schools, this includes elementary, high school, and college. Its impact would help me gain better access to schools that can accommodate to my needs. I can now openly apply to colleges without the feeling of despair. I can now keep my head up knowing that my education will be the same as other races. This will benefit not only me, but future generations to come and will help black people like me to achieve success. I approve of this policy and I will definitely be backing this new legislation.” 

 - Nathanial Butchers

Policing in Amerikkka

 In my second Humanities course called Equality, we spent the last few weeks discussing issues of race, gender, and class. We learned about redlining in Chicago in the early 60s. We learned about the struggles and the strengths of the powerful woman suffrage movement. Then we looked at what makes class and what classes are there in our society. Also how class, gender, and race can affect the quality of your day-to-day life. For this action project, we were tasked to come up with our own interpretation of a page in a school book and make it our own. We did this by providing the historical context of a marginalized group of people whose voices aren't heard. My page focuses on African Americans' perspectives on policing in their communities and neighborhoods. How it impacts people's lives today and in the past. Here I dug deep to find the root into the historical events of policing and to obtain the perspective of African Americans who have been inflicted with wounds from countless years of cruelty. Here's my slide below.

Accommodating to Musical Interest?

In Unit 1 of my class System and Models, we dove deeper into ourselves for the first 2 weeks of class. Looking into various personality tests and research studies. I found out that I am a logistician, meaning I’m someone who is introverted, intuitive, and often rely on facts before making decisions. As the entire class established ourselves we started to gain a perspective of one another by choosing a picture that represented our lives in one photo. Down the road, we shifted towards focusing on groups’ perspectives when it came to engaging wants and needs to be met. A huge role in this was provided with Maslow's hierarchy of needs. This ultimately provided us with the resource to look upon when we needed to adjust to our chosen aspects we’d like to innovate.

We then made our way to the best working groups for business management. This included Baldridge. Six Sigma. And Total Quality Management. And finally, we learned about Commons and SWOTs. For my aspect of GCE to work on, I decided to challenge myself for the courses for those with Musical interests and concerns. I found that we could go above and beyond, and test out new ways to implement music through the school. Here’s my slide show below enjoy!

IS MUSIC THE KEY?

Hi, welcome to my AP for “Music that Matters''. During the course, we talked about music and asked ourselves, is it important? We also learned how to break down a song and listen without objectively. We listened to many examples of various kinds of music from different artists. For our field experience, we had guests with musical backgrounds join us on Zoom. They all shared their experiences of music in different ways. They also shared either how music has helped them or benefited others around them. For our AP, we are creating proposals for My Block, My Hood, My City. The question that will guide us is, "How can music contribute to our neighborhood?"

For my musical installation, I decided to have my event take place virtually. It consists of various artists on a playlist broadcasted to the residents of my community's devices. The assorted songs all have the genre of Hip-Hop. I understand that in my neighborhood rap is mostly played and it could be beneficial if it was giving off positive messages. My installation will alert residents on their devices of the list of songs that are about to be played. They get the opportunity to opt-out after the first song, but it forces the listener to hear the powerful messages in the song. For optimizing the listener’s experience a pair of headphones would be crucial. The headphones would allow you to capture all the sounds happening and you can even feel the vibration of the rhythm. My installation resemblance is close to an Amber Alert. I did this intentionally to internally shock my black people in the hood. This route forces our self-consciousness to change our perception of certain topics that seem too difficult for us to talk about. It also seemed the best option due to COVID-19. What’s the location? Well, it’s going to vary depending on where the people are, hopefully, they are in their homes. The broadcaster transmission for the installation would only go to the people in my neighborhood and not all of Chicago residents.

Here I understand that in my area black people face many disadvantages and unequal opportunities. Often we are dismantled by drugs in our community and traumatized by violence from our own. One thing that I always hear playing around is rap music. Raps that are being soaked into the brains of the youth, which impacts the future generation and the world. My idea is to reverse toxic material into a positive and uplifting array of immersive affirmations for black listeners. It’s something they can go to when they need motivation. This would alter people's thinking and with luck their actions also. The installation itself will ignite people by exposing the truths that we deny. It will teach listeners by proving details of historical events they might not have known. Last it will inspire the adults in the community to change their ways and so the youth would follow.

Playlist- Positive Vibes

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLle6RRumSzVhft4pxNrDfP6kU9N_XPCE9

When analyzing the music from a Ratliff’s perspective I view the music as loud in the sense that it gets its point across and there are also changes in direction of the songs. Theres repetition in the choruses and also in some verses. As they repeat a rhyme the flow seems to stay the same for that moment, but it alters later in the song. For example, “just to get by” repeats multiple times.

All of the artists also are well known for their unique flavors of rhyme scheme and poetic touches. This is what we called having virtuosity. Basically meaning standing out in the ability of performance. While listening I hear lots of authority in the artist's voices. They displayed confidence and passion in the lyrics. So well that you can feel it. Here I also find exclusivity and I find that rap music isnt alot of peoples go to. Also, the messages in the music might not relate to what everyones accustomed to. I want to say that hiphop is what most blacks listen to and also black people invented it. Then last I can describe there way of freeforming words at random to make any track as special. Many of these artisit have been known to freestlye and use improvisation in their music. Improvasation meaning something done without a particular order.

Below are terms form Ratliffs Vocabulry

Loudness

Repetition
Virtuosity

Exclusivity

Improvisation

The songs I picked are from the early 1990's to 2000's. During this time I feel Hip-Hop was more powerful with its messages and impacted lots of people. During the 90's era and early 2000's there was of course gansta rap and trap music, which still plays a role in culture today. The meter of the playlist I belive is 4/4 and the tempo is around 90 to 115 bpm. I feel that at this pace of speed it allow people to take in whats being said. They also can enjoy the beat of the songs while learning and becoming enlightend of something new.

Overall my installation is meant to wake up black folk in my neighborhood and help promote some type of influence or change. The idea might go to far out of boundaries but I liked it so I stuck with it. From this course I have learned that music does matter. Music can be a tool and a weapon it has no right or wrong. Music can bring people together and it can help a cause. 

Podcast -Malcolm X

For my Journalism course, we had to pick an influential voice that has made an impact on our own lives, and the people around us. We were tasked to produce a podcast about them. The voice I chose was Malcolm X, a “Black Nationalist Freedom Fighter”. He and others played a very important role in the Civil Rights Movement knocking down doors for the future youth. Malcolm X was known for his furious speeches that sparked the hearts of millions. Not only here in the United States but globally. As a Minister for The Nation of Islam, he provided knowledge for Muslims and blacks in general on how to defeat the oppressors. In his words the “blue-eyed devils”. During his short life, he worked towards fighting racist injustices and decent human rights. Although he took a different approach on violence he never encouraged it. But he never backed down from a fight. Whether that be political or somebody trying to burn his house down in the middle of the night. Anyway, my podcast is below enjoy!

0:00 0:01 0:43 1:36 3:50 3:52 4:20 5:00

Jahsia NWA “Fuck Tha Police” plays in the background Song fades out (1964) Malcolm X’s Speech  “The Founding  Rally of The Organization of Afro-American Unity”                 Jahsia                      Erin Geto Boys “My Mind Is Playing Tricks On Me” plays in the background                        Jahsia           Mobb Deep         “Shook Ones”     plays in background                      Nakiya’h              Jahsia

Hello and welcome to my podcast. Today I want to talk about someone who is vital to our history both then and now. Malcolm X has been an essential part of the Civil Rights movement and achieving fairness for people of color. He used his words as an encouraging outlet for others to hear and feel motivated by. For others to take action and stand up for what they believe in. And for others to love their black beauty and speak straightforwardly about what change should look like.  So we have formed an organization known as the Organization of Afro American Unity which has the same aim and objective – to fight whoever gets in our way, to bring about the complete independence of people of African descent here in the Western Hemisphere, and first here in the United States, and bring about the freedom of these people by any means necessary. That’s our motto.    What do you think about Malcolm’s approach to achieving freedom? I think that [Malcom’s] approach I don’t think it was a bad thing people may have thought that it could’ve been maybe something under a negative light because it wasn't as soft or wasn't an approach like MLK’s. His approach was a good approach too, it was peaceful and it was bringing togetherness among everybody. Malcolm too I feel like that was the entire goal. The entire goal is to have equality, to have freedom for all, for there to not have that tension because someone is a different color skin than you. But I think that the way he went about things was good; like sometimes for people everyone has a different mindset, everyone's raised in a different way and come from different homes. So sometimes things have to be said differently to really soak into people’s minds so really having those words of wisdom to be a leader and really have that ambition and passion that you really want to change something is influential in itself. All you would have to do is say the word and everything else will spread like fire if people are able to be open-minded to going about things in different ways or saying things to each other differently. That want for change is the beginning of how change can even commence so I feel like he was one of the people that were really able to set in place to start that ignition for that fire to spread Do you find Malcolm to be inspiring to you? Why? Yes, I do find Malcolm X to be very inspiring. He and his work and organizing as a black activist is commonly referenced in English and USA history studies. I feel that most black activists today in America most likely have been provoked to act in their work through his examples he had set. Malcolm X was an important figure, without him we wouldn’t have the black panther party, and probably wouldn’t be as many voices speaking up for about Black Lives Matter. He continues to influence lives in the 21st century more than ever. And I believe that black people are now waking up. Instead of pleading for rights we need to take them. Especially with all, that’s going on. “By any means necessary”! Thanks for listening peace!

Reduce, Reuse, and Redistribute

In this term in Economics, we jumped into our course by looking at Kate Raworths, Doughnut Economics. In the book, Raworth talks about the seven ways you can think like a 21st-century economist. During group work, we read chapter 4, Getting Savvy with Systems, which described the difference between simple systems that are bound to change, and the new adaptive-complex system that in turn should be used. Kate goes on saying the markets should be evolving over time at a constant. For this Ap, we had to basically make up the next chapter of Doughnut Economics using our economic principle. The principle should connect to the book or an SDG to impact the world’s economic outlook and make it better than it is.

Economic principle: Reduce, Reuse & Redistribution
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

SDG goal 12 is about how we as a community can reduce the number of waste and still be able to produce to the world using items again. I think that the world is heading towards bad times. Up to ⅓ of the world’s food produce ends up being trash because of poor transitional processes and harvesting practices. We can avoid that by consuming seasonal and local products when they are available in stores. This way we are able to dispose of food in a manner that is safe and healthier for the environment, rather than having many different types of food go bad in stores or have already gone bad when trying to purchase an item. Another way we could contribute to SDG goal 12 is by using LED or low-consuming light bulbs to cut down our electrical consumption rate in this matter by 50%-80%. We could save $120 billion by using energy-efficient bulbs yearly. Purchasing second-hand products can also be a good way to prevent or slow down good items from being thrown away that still have a good use. Thrift shopping, garage sales, shopping on online businesses that sell used goods like Poshmark, or food pantries can be examples of second-hand buying. 

Wasting essential products is really harming our environment. The amount of waste that we are producing, it would take up to three earth’s to maintain it all. It would be better for us and for the earth if we could be thoughtful to learn more about it and what one person could do themselves. I believe that it only takes one person to make a huge change. 

Richard Adams is an example of how to transport goods while still looking out for the earth. He created a movement of fair trade and set up a business towards food imports in India. This way, people would not be overcharged from intermediate agents attempting to charge more than what a reasonable price should be. As oil prices increased, which made transporting foods close to impossible, Adams used wood and euka as alternatives to this. Here in the U.S. we too can find other ways to benefit our surroundings. We don’t want to repeat living in a “Take, Make, Use, Lose” society, but rather “Reducing, Reusing, and Redistributing” in an effective way. 

“...‘doing our fair share’ can too easily slip into ‘taking our fair share’. When many businesses look at the Doughnut they seem to look at its outer ring of planetary boundaries as if it were a cake to be sliced up and handed out.  Every business wants a fair share. Still being stuck in an old fashion mindset, linear industry, the first question that many ask is: how big a slice of that ecological cake is ours? How many tons of carbon dioxide can we emit? How much groundwater can we withdraw?. But ‘taking your fair share’ reinforces the view that the ‘right to pollute’ is a resource worth competing for. And when competing over limited resources, we humans too easily start to jostle for space, lobbying policymakers..ers and gaming the system, significantly raising the risk of transgressing the boundaries in the process…”(Raworth 179-180). We have to be careful about how we are choosing to consume and how much of it we are consuming; this varies from food, to clothes, to other necessities as well. If we could invest our money towards cutting down non-efficient sources of electricity, we could cut down finances on spending to produce such that could be harmful vs other environment-friendly ways.

A Sustainable Circular Economy Approach

A quote from the text that I found from Get Savvy says, "It is out of these interactions of stocks, flows, feedbacks and delays,” writes Raworth, “that complex adaptive systems arise: complex due to their unpredictable emergent behavior, and adaptive because they keep evolving over time.” So with these continuing ideas, we make use of then throw away we are drifting far from our SDG goals. Not only are we endangering other life here, but our own life is on the line. These short and odd systems that don't define true character and integrity are driving the sustainable economy to a plummet.

Works Cited

Globalvia, director. Sustainable Development Goal 12 - Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns. Youtube, 2 July 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgNet-a8TFs.

“Noun Project Search.” Noun Project, thenounproject.com/search/?q=+earth.

“Sustainable Consumption and Production – United Nations Sustainable Development.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/. 

“Chapter 6.” Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think like a 21st-Century Economist, by Kate Raworth, Random House Business Books, 2017.