Assignment 1 description

Hi everyone,
I'm including the assignment in the blog, to make sure you're clear what your job is. Feel free to include any relevant photos or links with your posts. Have fun blogging!

Assignment (from Alison):

Pick one of these to do for your journal assignment. Remember, this is equal to one day of attendance!!

Option 1: Reflecting on Assata Shakur's poem we read in class, write a poem beginning with the words "I believe..." Write a 6 stanza poem about what you believe in. Think about issues that are effecting you, your family, and your community. The poem must be 6 stanzas.

Affirmation by Assata Shakur

i believe in living.

i believe in the spectrum
 of Beta days and Gamma people.

i believe in sunshine.

In windmills and waterfalls,

tricycles and rocking chairs;

And i believe that seeds grow into sprouts.

And sprouts grow into trees.

i believe in the magic of the hands.

And in the wisdom of the eyes.

i believe in rain and tears.

And in the blood of infinity.
i believe in life.

And i have seen the death parade

march through the torso of the earth,

sculpting mud bodies in its path

i have seen the destruction of the daylight
and
seen bloodthirsty maggots

prayed to and saluted
i have seen the kind become the blind

and the blind become the bind
in one easy lesson.

i have walked on cut grass.

i have eaten crow and blunder bread

and breathed the stench of indifference
i have been locked by the lawless.

Handcuffed by the haters.

Gagged by the greedy.

And, if i know anything at all,

it’s that a wall is just a wall

and nothing more at all.

It can be broken down.
i believe in living
i believe in birth.

i believe in the sweat of love
and in the fire of truth.
And i believe that a lost ship,

steered by tired, seasick sailors,

can still be guided home to port.




Option 2: Chicago is a vast city with many different neighborhoods and full of many people of many different cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities, gender identities, etc. Many of you at Schurz come from different neighborhoods. Write a paragraph about where you come from. What neighborhood do you live in? Has your family lived there since you were born, or have you moved? Did your parents live in Chicago, or did they come from a different city or country? If your parents are immigrants, what traditions do you keep from your country of origin (certain meals, going to church, etc.)? If you are a Chicago native, ask your parent or guardian how Chicago has changed over the years. This assignment must be two paragraphs long, and thorough. A paragraph is AT LEAST 5 sentences and has a clear beginning and end.