Race

Ever since the start of the we have been having problems with race. People make fun of other people because they are insecure about themselves. There is nothing different from me and an African American and an Indian person. The only thing is that are anseters came from different parts of the world and that are skin colors and different colors. I think that there should be laws against racism. People should not be allowed to get treated poorly because of where their family is from. People have been getting poorly treated for 100s of years. In class Sal was talking about the KKK and how they are still together and still in full force. There are even groups around are area for racism. So i hope through out your life you do not make fun of people just because they are different from you.

Monopoly

We played monopoly in class and we had different rules then the normal rules. 1st we had to role the dice to see which class level we were in. I was the hightest level of wealth. Each level started out with so much money, and once we plst go we all got different amonts of money. it was very easy for me to buy anythign that i wanted> But, for the other levels theey had a truff time to buy the things that they wanted to get. Some hgad the choise to go on wefair but they did not take it. My teammates kept on getting mad at me beuause i kept on buying more land. At the end of the game sal wanted to see if we moved up any class level and no one did. How do you feel if you were poor and wanting to get moved up? It is very hard to move up in class levels. Take the women in hte movie she was trying her hardest just to make a better life for her famly. she walked 10.5 miles to work and cleaned bathrooms for a living. She also was on wefair but it was not helping. how would you feel if you were in their shoes?

Social Classes

When you look at Stevenson as a high school you see many different social levels. You see people that are middle class, people that are in need of money, and people that have too much money. How do you think it feels for the poor teens to go to Stevenson and look at everyone with money? Put your shoes would you like it if everyone was walking around showing off their money and you have none? When Sal was talking to us about the different types of spoons. When he walked into one store at deer park he found one for $15.99, but then a few days later he went to target and found one for $1.99. the same spoon just paying for the name. I think if people are willing to pay so much money just for a brand name then they are crazy. I rather spend my money on better things like school, cars, a house payment, etc.

30 days

30 days is a t.v show that Morgan Spurlock spends 30 days in some new situation that he is not used to. In the episode that we watched in class was 30 days in prison. Morgan got no special treatment he got treated just like everyone else in the jail. He had to share a room with 2 other roommates because the jail was over crowed. He had to go and spend 3 days in solitary confinement. he was going crazy. All you do in solitary confinement is sit and wait till you get to leave. Jail was a lot different then what Morgan taught it was going to be.When you get there you have to find a room, then you have to wake up and go to bed at a curtain time and then the rest of the day is yours to do what you wants. He met a lot of new people that were in jail for their first time or they have been in jail a number of times. These people who have been in jail number of times i think that they should just get help with their addictions and try to make their life better. I think this shows all of us to make good choices.

AM I NORMAL?

How can u say that i am normal when i don't even know what normal is? Do you know what normal is? my parents are divorced so I'm not "normal" because i don't have a mother and a father living in my home, i only have a mother. Different cultures have different was of doing something, that if we see them we would not think is normal. What would you think if someone was talking down the street with a basket of food on their head. You would look at them and say wow never seen that before. Say if i was walking down the street with my friend and she was a girl and we were holding hands what do you think people would say about me? I was gay? Well from sitting in Sal's class this week i learned to look at people in a different way, because if I'm looking at them and saying that i am not normal then what are they saying about me?

Men in Disney movies!

Whats your favorite Disney movie? If you look at all of them men in the moves they all are in prefect shape. When you think of Disney movies they are meant for little kids right? Well then why are the men treating the women like crap? these movies should should little kids how to treat women with respect. when i used to think about Disney movies i would just be like i love that movie and be like that's the kind of guy that i want to date. But not after watching the video on Sal's page. it made me look at Disney's movies in a totally different way.

Prefect Body??

Prefect body? Is this even a true statement? NO! Nothing in this world is prefect. Girls are so worried about their bodies and what other people are thinking about them. Teen girls look at magazines and look at other teens are size 0 and that does not eat a thing. I do this to, I look at a magazine and then I start to think that I do not look like that, and that people will not like me unless I look like that. This is so not true. To tell you the truth NO one looks like that. magazines air brush them to make them look good enough for the ad. What we need to be seeing in these magazines today for teens, real teens. They should be people that look good in their own skin. No one should ever pick up one of these magazines and say i want to look like that. That is so unhealthy, girls try to look like this and start to diet and they hurt themselves or even worse they can kill themselves. No one should ever care about what people think of them based on their bodies.

Peer Groups

College is a big word in my family. I will be one of the fist ones to go to college in my family. My family reinforces my dream to go to college even though no one has gone before.My friends also have a great impact on my college future. All the time at lunch we talk about what were are looking forward to and how excited we are to go. I have a dream of being a special needs teacher. If i did not go to a great high school like Stevenson I do not think that i will be thinking about college. In Stevenson all of your high school career is getting you ready for college. I think if i went to a different school maybe in the city college would not even of come to my mind because of the money. But with using my resources and asking questions, anyone with a dream to go to college will can achieve that dream. My Freshmen year at Stevenson was very hard on me. I knew that I had a learning problem and freshmen year was very difficult on me. I got tested with a learning disability and for the rest of my high school education I was in the classes that what would be fitted for me. College is a very scary thing, but I think I am ready to make my dream a realtiy

Livin with out money

I don't know how anyone could live with out money. I understand that money can just lead to bad things like debt and bills and what not but who can ever live with out money. Think bout going through your day with out using a cent! Its every hard. Dan Suelo had been living with out money since 2000. He lives in a cave in Utah, and is very happy. He he goes to the library and blogs about how it was with money and now how it is with no money at all. A person was climbing on the mountain right by his cave and saw a sign that said nothing is mine you can take anything. I hate not having any money to go out with but can u believe that someone lived with out money for now 10 years. That is just unbelievable.

death :(

Death is a very scary thing for me. I watched my two grandparents die just a year apart from each other. In the movie Tuesdays with Morrie, he is not scared to die, he is ready for death. One reason why people can be scared for death is that they do not want to leave their family, friends, and like behind. No one wants to leave their love ones and miss out on their families life. Also, we worked so hard to get where we are in are life we do not want it to end. I do not want to die. I understand i can not control that but i wish that i could just live my life with my friends and family and be happy. I hope that when i do get sick or old i am ready for death just like Morrie was.

Americans

In class we talked about teenagers with different chances at life to succeed. From teenagers that goes to a small school in a small town in the south, to Stevenson and its huge campus. We will both have a good education. People think that just because we go to Stevenson we are rich, and i always say that is not true. I am not rich at all. Just becuase a lot of the people at Stevenson gets the newst thing doesnt mean that everyone at Stevenson is that way. I dont like to be judged by what school i go to, i want people to know who i am.

NORM!

Did you know that different cultures have different ways of saying things? Like in the U.S the okay symbol means okay but in Japan it means money, and in Italy it mean a**hole. Say were at a family dinner and you brought your boyfriend to dinner, it would be very disrespectful to use you hands as a spoon. But in the Indian culture they only use their right hand to eat, and their left hand are only used for dirty things. I know if i brought my boyfriend to my family dinner and he used his hands as a spoon they would just give him a dirty look and maybe say something.

Bronx Tale

Collogero has a few different groups that he should be in. He has his family that is status should be a son. Then he would be Sonnys groups and he would be a member, friend, and son. Then he is also apart of his groups of friends. I would have to say that C's master status would be son, because he had 2 families. One was his own family since birth but the other one was gangster family. He got to be apart of Sonny's group after he told the police that Sonny did not kill the man. I think that i am like C because i come from an italian family and my family and C's family treated us the same. they both have are best interest at heart and they care so much about us.

Shoes VS Sandals

Why do you wear sandals or shoes? Is it because you like how they look? How they feel? Well have have you ever taught bout the true facts or do you just start saying judgements. I am myself a sandal person. I love them! i can wear them all year around! Today in Sociology Sal divided the class up into 2 groups one who was wearing sandals and the other one for people who were wearing gym shoes. We had to come up with a list full of reasons why someone would wear gym shoes or sandals. Some of the reasons why people wear sandals were very funny. But most of them were facts. And for the gym shoes list were some facts and judgements. Do you ever categorize something or someone. For somethings it is fine to categorize like things but not people. Fr example a cat or a tiger, there from the same cat family but one would go up and pet and the other one you would run in the other direction. This was someones example from class. Categorizing can hurt!

SPIT!

Did you ever know how gross spit or saliva is. Its very healthy for you, but it can also get you sick. If you share drinks or anything else you can become very sick. i was sitting in class on Tuesday and Sal asks a student to come up and help with him something. He needed some one to put their saliva into a spoon. After he filled the spoon up Sal started talking about saliva. You share you spit when you make out, and drink out of someone else's cup, and many more. After Sal was done talking he asked the student if he wanted to take back his spit. He said no! If you were the student would you take you spit back? I know that i would not either.

I am in this club called Best Buddies. It is a great club to get involved with. In the club you get matched up with teenagers with special needs. You hangout with them and take them places that they would not normally go/do. You also have monthly meetings that gives you information bout what is going to be the next up coming event. There are 2 events every month. Some of the different events that we did was, tie dye, pizza party, went to the zoo, Navy Pier, game night, and the block party. The block party is my favorite because all of the Best Buddies groups from different schools get together on one Saturday, and there are games and a dance floor so you could see everyone bust a move. So i hope everyone will join Best Buddies it is one of the best clubs Stevenson has to offer.

Who am I?

Hey, my name is Courtney and am a teenage girl, high school student and someone who wants to live her dreams. My parents are divorced and I live with my mom. My mom is my hero. she has been a single parent for over 15 years. She always taught me to live my dreams, because you only live once. I like to hangout with my friends and loved to have fun. When I am done with high school i want to go to college to become a special needs teacher. I love working with preschool children and children with special needs. When i am done with college and have been teaching for a few years I would like to open up a preschool for just special needs children. I am so lucky to have a loving and caring friends and family I love just to relax with my friends and hangout. I love being Italian, I get so excited walkin in to my granparents house and spelling all of the different smells.