Pandora
Everyone has a purpose in life, some acknowledge their purpose in life but others have no clue as to what that purpose is for many reasons like not knowing their true self. High School is when many start questioning themselves, their beliefs, and the way they were made to think about certain things or people since childhood. But can the environment and people we surround ourselves with since childhood effect our view in the world or way of thinking simultaneously? Our community for example, some might have a dominant race or financial status than the other, or perhaps the people within the community is not the best role model you'll want your kid to associate with. A lot of factors come into play, and it is whether we accept or deny different ideas that is outside our comfort zone. I separate my neighborhood into different sections that generalize the type of people or the environment. I can tell you that from where i live the atmosphere is calm. The block on my left is, as i like to call it "the ghetto area" and the one of the right is the "i-got-no-life" area. A persons neighborhood is like their home, what represents them in a certain way because we grew up and came to accept our surroundings good or bad. I personally do not connect with my neighborhood because of the different mind sets the people within the neighborhood have compared to me and i feel like i don't belong on an urban city but a peaceful town. This ties back to my surroundings as i grew up, i moved a lot but it was in Puerto Rico that i fell in love on the home that i was living. The house was in a secluded area surrounded with trees, palm trees that towered over you, plants,flowers, animals such as ducks, chickens, roasters, birds, tons of puppies and 2 dogs who were the guard dogs is what made the atmosphere more alive and calm, at least for me. The house had access to huge fields, you had to walk through this small forest to be able to reach it. When i would be on any balcony in the house i would be rewarded with a beautiful sight which consisted of trees and palm trees over looking my home, it was an endless blanket of a rich green that made me wonder if it ever stopped. In the day, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, there was hardly any bad weather, in the night the sky was full of endless stars with fireflies all over the place. That was my paradise and i felt at home and connected with everything, i was actually happy. Nature can influence our emotions and way of doing things, such things as recycling and conserving the environment in a more positive way come into play and it can impact society as a whole. I personally would love to move into a more nature filled environment because i feel like it is calm and the air is more fresh than industry filled cities full of people. But the matter of the fact is that our neighborhood, community, environment, and nature effect our view to ideas and the world which translates into our beliefs and our decision making which makes us who we are as a person. In the picture (above) the huge field, represents the city, the grass are the millions of people in the city who are doing their business and daily routine, the tree represents me, isolated and feeling out of place with my surroundings like the say "sticking out like a sore thumb", and finally the sky represents my haven, dreams, and hopes that i plan to reach one day.
Mental Mapping
The mental mapping process and procedure made me actually see and know what i truly feel about my neighborhood and the people living within it. It made me have a more broader look into my neighborhood as a whole. Questions such as do i purposely disconnect from my neighborhood because i simply don't want to affiliate myself with them? Did my neighborhood shape me some sort of way? In the beginning, i wouldn't have been able to answer these questions but through out the mapping experience i find myself to answer these knowing where i stand. For instance, i came to the conclusion that the reason as to why i simply do not want to affiliate myself with my neighborhood besides the fact that when i was little i loved the environment i lived in to the point that i actually connected to it and felt comfortable but was later ripped away from me in the most unexpected way. When moving to my neighborhood the environment was totally different and the opposite of what i was already used to, i say to myself that maybe i didn't want to be attached just so it could be ripped out of me again. As to regarding the second question i would say that my neighborhood is my environment which along with the experiences and situations i faced did shape me into who i am today. If sharing this research i wouldn't mind sharing it with the whole class telling them the key ideas that i discovered along my mental mapping. Key ideas that go around the changing demographics that ties back to gentrification and diversity.
The overall thoughts on my mental mapping made me realize that i don't want to affiliate myself with my neighborhood and it made me more aware of the gentrification happening in my neighborhood. For instance, i see more Caucasian people moving in which can potentially raise the rent prices once the landlords take notice of this resulting into the people that could originally afford it move along with their businesses. The beneficial aspect of this collective data made me more aware on my classmates perception of their neighborhood and the reasons as to why they think the way they do concerning their respective neighborhoods which includes the type of people that live in it and the environment they grew up, or live in. What i considered effective was the thought we put into something physical that turned out to be our map which gave me more access to actually see the distribution of where my opinions and thoughts in certain spots in my neighborhood lay. The lack of communication was what i considered not effective. Although we had plenty of time with our respective groups in class the amount of time that certain group members took effected the next group member who was supposed to present their mental mapping. Involving ourselves into what is happening around our neighborhood is the first step to take if we really want change to happen. Perhaps talking to the people in our neighborhood and finding out if there is a monthly or weekly meeting the neighborhood has or where is takes place is what i consider to be vital information you need if you want to get more involved to your neighborhood.
The overall thoughts on my mental mapping made me realize that i don't want to affiliate myself with my neighborhood and it made me more aware of the gentrification happening in my neighborhood. For instance, i see more Caucasian people moving in which can potentially raise the rent prices once the landlords take notice of this resulting into the people that could originally afford it move along with their businesses. The beneficial aspect of this collective data made me more aware on my classmates perception of their neighborhood and the reasons as to why they think the way they do concerning their respective neighborhoods which includes the type of people that live in it and the environment they grew up, or live in. What i considered effective was the thought we put into something physical that turned out to be our map which gave me more access to actually see the distribution of where my opinions and thoughts in certain spots in my neighborhood lay. The lack of communication was what i considered not effective. Although we had plenty of time with our respective groups in class the amount of time that certain group members took effected the next group member who was supposed to present their mental mapping. Involving ourselves into what is happening around our neighborhood is the first step to take if we really want change to happen. Perhaps talking to the people in our neighborhood and finding out if there is a monthly or weekly meeting the neighborhood has or where is takes place is what i consider to be vital information you need if you want to get more involved to your neighborhood.
Content analysis
After coming across the many advertisement that i was once naive of when walking the streets of New York City i was a bit perplexed at the many advertisements that seemed to have a double meaning that in most cases led to a negative aspect that would give the kids a wrong message. The difference is that before ads were much more open and blunt with the message they wanted to send across. Calvin Klein never seizes to have a picture banned because of the strong message it portrays. Today there are restrictions of what one can advertise to the public but a new tactic that many advertisements have is that they have a double meaning so it could be considered 'good' enough to be advertised to the public. Themes i came across varied between the use of electronics being innovated into children and its importance in education, what was once a family entertainment became into something that has a sexual purpose incorporated in it, influencing the general public to buy lotteries on the Christmas holiday, the use of a famous celebrity that would advertise the product in hopes to get their fans to buy the product which leads to the influence of others to buy the product, the message sent to men that if shaving you fit in to what is considered the "brotherhood". The idea of using attractive women to sell a beauty product as to say " if you want to look as attractive as me buy this and i guarantee that you'll be an eye catcher" Young girls are exposed to this hence the fact why some start buying lip-gloss which later turns into concealer, eyeliner etc, thinking that the make-up would make them look prettier and make them feel better about themselves. Kids getting exposed to violent games which influence at a young age an entertainment to violence which they later start to act upon it. The idea that if you have clothes from a well known expensive brand then that immediately ties you with a higher status that could afford these clothes, fit in with people that become your "friends" and just to feel good about one's self.The many advertisements in New York City send the wrong message to kids. It influences them into what society wants them to do, which is to buy products that are later discarded just to be replaced to the newest model. In this case, unfortunately, adults fall for that trap too therefore their kids seeing this learn from it and fall into what is the norm in today's society. Although i passed and saw countless of advertisements displayed in the streets of NYC there were most that i took picture of because of their double meaning.
After coming across the many advertisement that i was once naive of when walking the streets of New York City i was a bit perplexed at the many advertisements that seemed to have a double meaning that in most cases led to a negative aspect that would give the kids a wrong message. The difference is that before ads were much more open and blunt with the message they wanted to send across. Calvin Klein never seizes to have a picture banned because of the strong message it portrays. Today there are restrictions of what one can advertise to the public but a new tactic that many advertisements have is that they have a double meaning so it could be considered 'good' enough to be advertised to the public. Themes i came across varied between the use of electronics being innovated into children and its importance in education, what was once a family entertainment became into something that has a sexual purpose incorporated in it, influencing the general public to buy lotteries on the Christmas holiday, the use of a famous celebrity that would advertise the product in hopes to get their fans to buy the product which leads to the influence of others to buy the product, the message sent to men that if shaving you fit in to what is considered the "brotherhood". The idea of using attractive women to sell a beauty product as to say " if you want to look as attractive as me buy this and i guarantee that you'll be an eye catcher" Young girls are exposed to this hence the fact why some start buying lip-gloss which later turns into concealer, eyeliner etc, thinking that the make-up would make them look prettier and make them feel better about themselves. Kids getting exposed to violent games which influence at a young age an entertainment to violence which they later start to act upon it. The idea that if you have clothes from a well known expensive brand then that immediately ties you with a higher status that could afford these clothes, fit in with people that become your "friends" and just to feel good about one's self.The many advertisements in New York City send the wrong message to kids. It influences them into what society wants them to do, which is to buy products that are later discarded just to be replaced to the newest model. In this case, unfortunately, adults fall for that trap too therefore their kids seeing this learn from it and fall into what is the norm in today's society. Although i passed and saw countless of advertisements displayed in the streets of NYC there were most that i took picture of because of their double meaning.
Critical Discourse Analysis
While doing this ad busters project, I came across this specific RADIOSHACK ad on TV. It astounded me to see that RADIOSHACK would go this far to use kids tin advertisements to sell phones in the latest models in a classroom.
The commercial consists of the teacher, as you can see, telling them to use their phones to perform the Tinker Bell song. There is obviously a double meaning to this ad which basically messages the audience "buy your kids the latest phone because it would benefit them even in a classroom!" This ad showed me how over time, the ways of advertising has changed. The technology being used today are being introduced to kids, which is alright at an extent. That extent being that the kids shouldn't get influenced like teenagers and adults to get the latest product because its the latest model. A kid watching this commercial would see that these children standing up with the latest phone in their hands fit in because their friends, who are sitting in the desks, are recording them in their own phone. The teacher teaches them the right stuff so maybe having a phone is the right thing to do..it is after all almost Christmas, they could just ask mom to give them as a gift. I noticed how the kid in the furthest right has two phones that look like iPhone's in his hands while the other kids have one Android in their hands. His was the only one looking at the other kids with the different phone (Android) with a smile on their face. A message that could be like you can have Androids but iPhone's are the best at the end of the day. Profiling is also part of this commercial, notice how that the only dark skinned boy has two phones in his hands, iPhone's in this case,while the other kids have Androids and are looking at the teacher but the boy is looking at the other kids. The whole ideology being presented here would be that kids need to have a phone, the latest one at that, to be able to impress others and simply because is the right thing to do. The teacher would come into that last idea because of the whole stereotype that teachers teach the right ideas that are later going to be incorporated into our lives.
The largest percentage would be food and drink, it makes sense why there would be tons of drinks/ food being advertised because they want people to crave their product if they happened to be hungry or not sure of what to eat. These ads were in downtown, where business people work, tourists walk the streets around the streets of New York City as opposed to Uptown where the stereotype is that people that live there are from the lower classes.The second to top the list would be entertainment because advertisers wants to involve the people into the entertainment they want to publish to the people out there. Movies and theatrical theater was one of the main source of entertainment that i came across. As for the the woman in the advertisement, they tended to be very attractive and skinny as if they were to say that if you want to look like them, then buy this product and you'll fit in with societies expectations. This is obviously a lie.. but that is what advertisement is: An uncovered lie to the eyes of the public.
Educational Experience
My school experience was different at times because I experienced it in different countries. When I was younger i enjoyed going to school because of the motivation my teachers would give me. But this was in Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. It was different because while the motivation was there and I felt at ease with my environmental surroundings, we were given a bit of freedom during our break to run around. For instance, my school in Puerto Rico was located in a huge piece of land reserved for the school. During our break we were given the choice to stay inside and eat lunch, that was cooked in the schools kitchen, or eat outside and run around the beautiful view that surrounded the school. I think the environmental surrounding that the school is located in influences the everyday motivation that a child needs to keep coming back and wanting to learn something new everyday. When I came to America my motivation died slowly. It started when I was moved down a grade because i didn't know English. Then my environmental surrounding which consisted of buildings and bars that were in the schools window made me feel trapped. The teachers hostile and frustration attitude got to me to the point that I would panic internally every time I was put on the spot by a teacher to answer a simple mathematical question. A reason why my displeasure for math is strong today. The everyday routine of the completion of work sheets that it's importance was not on how well you did the work but if it was completed. When I realized that, I started cheating myself through the homework and just wrote useless crap that in the end only lessened my motivation for school. The constant restriction I felt when we had to form lines and walk to our next class as if we were little soldiers waiting for our next command. Along the way I learned that the importance of a grade, that in the end is just a number, represents your person and your ability to learn. Nothing is taken into consideration as to why the student is performing the way he/she is. I for once am a horrible test taker but great in class work but the importance this country has for test taking is reducing our learning experience and lowering our grades which in the end says who we are as learners. Recently I no longer care for a test grade anymore. If I knew I did my very best to pass this test and my attempts doesn't work I just can't find it in me to care anymore. Because I know that I know the material that I'm being tested on but I can't display it in a test because of the pressure and constant importance it is given. But yearly the overall percentage of tests is being raised up simply because other countries are catching up and then it becomes a matter if competition and who is the best. It's about the quantity you could bring to the table not the quality which should be what we should be going for. The idea of competition is being tried by students who compete with each other to determine their success in the real world. These everyday routine has not only squashed any type of motivation to learn but our own cultural values that we don't have enough time of day to perform because of the amount of work and responsibilities that it's expected of us from school. Kids that don't perform as well even when they give it their all to meet the standards are being divided among each other and given less challenging work in front of students who are given the more challenging work. And seeing this i see their lack of enthusiasm to even complete the work given to them because of the expectation that is being put on them. When this progressively continues some drop out of school because they realize that they can create something for themselves without the need of the everyday expectation that is being presented to them and the constant judging eyes of teachers and students.But we were given the opportunity of clubs that we could join based on our own personal interest. These clubs are being cut down based on the lack of money that schools don't have. Race comes into the matter because it is believed that the white race will make it to the top honor classes and graduate with honors diploma. And this set of motivation is what drives them to do their best and succeed in doing so. While the set expectation for other races is to either quit and become the janitor that we "need" or barely pass the course. But many today are proving those ideas wrong and are succeeding but it takes believe in oneself to prove others wrong and make something out of oneself. The reality is that for us to function in society we have to give back to it by working among it. The American educational system needs adjustment because it's system is what is causing the dropping rates and the lack of motivation to heighten in the country.