Children Inspiring Hope!

Special Object:

For this weeks assignment, we're supposed to bring in an object that means something to us which we will later send off to Ghana. I've decided to bring in a key on a string, (to make a necklace type thing.) I chose a key because I'm a very curious person and want the key to represent opening doors and learning new things about the world and eachother. It's the key to a different world filled with new people. I've always really liked keys and i think they make really neat necklaces. I hope that by the end this project, there will be a kid on the other side of the world wearing the key I sent around her neck.

Peace Offering:

I want to take this oppurtunity that the Children Inspiring Hope organization has given us and use it not only to get to know students and teenagers like us in Ghana, but to begin practicing peace between cultures. How cool would it be for our different countries and contenents to all get along? I think the only way to find out is by taking the small steps, like this, to start. Students from Atlanta communicating with student from Ghana might not be seen as a big leap globally, but in the long run, we're setting the tone for how the world could, and should, be in the future.

8th Grade Self-Assessment

At the end of last year, the eighth graders took some time to talk to us about moving up from the seventh grade. While Greg was in the room they told us things like, "It's a lot more challenging," and, "You have to make sure your really organized." But when Greg left, warnings started to fly our way and my trepidation for the oncoming year grew. "You have to write 15 pages a week!" "When Martha says something funny you can laugh, but only if she's smiling too, and only if it's at the end of class, and don't laugh too long or you'll get in trouble." So coming into this year, it's needless to say I was scared. Fortunately, these first five weeks have been nothing like what the described. So far, the homework isn't overwhelming, the classes are engaging, and I'm enjoying the start of my eighth grade year.

This year, social life is very similar to last year. I have a group of friends, some in the class and some not, who i really enjoy being with during school and on the weekends. This includes Helen, Ellery, Mary, Hannah, Mary Emma, Sylvia, Coles, and some other girls too. No one in our class intimidates me, I actually really enjoy taking classes with the eighth graders because everyone has very different personalities and it's always interesting to be around them and you never know what's going to happen next. I already feel close to the eighth graders, this being my second year with them, but I hope we do more activities with the seventh graders and our buddies so we can get to know them better, too.

I don't think of myself as a "leader" in terms of academics, or making everyone be quiet or getting students to work together. I've never been that good at enforcing rules or always getting my work done on time, so in those ways, I've never been much of a leader. But so far this year I feel like I've been some what of a leader in engaging with our seventh graders. Last year, I, (and most of the other eighth graders,) felt like we never got to know our eighth graders as well as we wanted to. That's why, when I get the chance, I try to talk to our seventh graders during lunch or between class periods and see what they think about the seventh grade and how they like their teachers. I really like our seventh graders this year, so it's easy to talk to them and I enjoy it too!

I've always been a procrastinator, (Greg knows that...) and I've never been very organized. Those are the two main things I really want to work out this year. So far, I've gotten all my work in on time and I've been some what organized, but I know those two things are majorly taken into account in high school, so I'm determined this year to start on homework earlier and make sure to use my assignment book. Another thing is paying more attention during classes. I often find my mind wandering during classes and I begin to not pay attention. I really want to focus this year on, well, focusing.

I'm really excited for this year and hope it's as good as seventh grade!

Paths to Peace!

Last week 2 women, Amy and Mimi, came to out classroom and presented a project to us that we will be focusing on throughout the year. Basically, out seventh/eighth grade classroom will be communicating with another classroom through art, writing, and video. Doesn't seem to out of the ordinary, right? Wrong. The other classroom is actually located in Ghana! Throughout this school year we will swap ideas, thoughts, and stories with this class in the hope to increase understanding and create peace with other teens on the other side of the world.

When I think of peace I imagine everyone sharing resources, ideas, and friendship. I think of no wars, or guns or murders. I also imagine the police sitting around doing nothing, and the politicians focusing on things like healthcare and global warming; not just who to bomb next. I think the best way for the world to obtain peace is through open mindedness. yes, it sounds cheesy, but i believe its the only way. Through this project i want to work on doing just that. By keeping an open mind and learning about life half way around the world, i think it will help me be a more peaceful person all around. I want to work on listening to what others have to say and shaping my decisions not just around myself, but around other people too.

I think all of the options given to us would be great ways to get to know students in Ghana better: video, music, service - all of these would help to bridge the gap between us and teens across the globe. But the option I'm most interested in is probably art work. You can express endlessly in artwork: maybe you draw a picture of what you look like, or what your village looks like. You could draw the way you feel about war or peace or friendship. You could also simply draw for the sake of drawing! doodle to express what kind of person you are, or what your interested in. I would be so excited to receive a drawing from a student in Ghana to just give me the idea of where, how, and why they live.

I think we should try to do a mix of three different things. I think focusing on artwork, writing, and maybe even a little bit of video would give us the best opportunity to get to know the students in Ghana better. Maybe if we drew a picture of anything we wanted, something physical, or not, and then wrote a little bit about it and what it means to us, or why we find it important. Then maybe we could take a short clip of both classes and exchange them so we get to know a little more about what kind of classroom they work in, what their teachers are like, how they look, etc. (But I'm also aware video would be really difficult b/c of their lack of technology, so I understand if we can't do that..)

Another idea we were presented with that i really liked was choosing one poem and having everyone write a short amount on about how it makes them feel/how they reacted to it. I think that would teach us a lot about life outside of America.

My last idea, (we might already be doing this, I'm not sure,) is to have each person in this class paired with one other student in Ghana, so it becomes more of a really personal experience, and not so generalized. We could take time to tell out classroom about each of our "buddies" and they could do the same.

I'm very, very excited about this project and can't wait to get going on it! Thanks to Amy, Mimi, Martha, and Greg for giving us all this great opportunity!