My Response to Social Awareness - Global Warming and Ideas for My Picture Book

Alright, so my second topic is Global Warming. I picked this topic because it’s a pretty important social issue, and because I have a pretty good idea for a picture book. Global Warming is a very big problem, and that’s because it affects everyone, not just one group of people. It’s killing the ozone, and eventually it will kill us. That is, unless people do something about it. Here’s a short excerpt from an article in The New York Times:

Global warming has become perhaps the most complicated issue facing world leaders. On the one hand, warnings from the scientific community are becoming louder, as an increasing body of science points to rising dangers from the ongoing buildup of human-related greenhouse gases — produced mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and forests. On the other, the technological, economic and political issues that have to be resolved before a concerted worldwide effort to reduce emissions can begin have gotten no simpler, particularly in the face of a global economic slowdown.

           
            This article basically outlines what Global Warming is. It’s bad, and people need to put a stop to it, and they can. Now, time for my story idea. The main character is Earth. But he’s sad. He doesn’t like it when people litter and put bad stuff on him. But one little boy, named David, doesn’t do that. Earth likes David, and David likes Earth. So David tries to get people to make Earth feel better. And then he does it, and everyone is happy.

            Yet another great story idea by Gabriel Sturdivant.

My Response to Social Awareness - Racial Bullying and Ideas for My Picture Book

My Social Awareness topic is Racial Bullying. I was going to do something else, but I have a really good story idea for this.

            I knew going into this that it was going to be a pretty hardcore, serious topic. But a lot of this stuff was really shocking. Like the statistics and facts in this article. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Racist bullying in schools can include ill-considered remarks that weren’t intended to be hurtful, but represent a pervasive negative attitude, as well as deliberate acts of bullying that specifically target a student because of his skin color or ethnicity. Children who experience racist bullying are at the same risks of other victims of bullying, including

·         Loss of self-esteem

·         Difficulty concentrating in school

·         Higher risk of depression

·         Disruption of schooling

·         Fear of going to school

·         Feeling unsafe in school

·         Dropping out of school to escape the bullying

·         Not continuing to higher learning

·         Higher risk of suicide

Racist bullying can include any or all of the following characteristics:

·         Physical assault

·         Derogatory name calling, insults and racist jokes

·         Racist graffiti

·         Wearing racist badges

·         Carrying or distributing racist materials

·         Verbal and non-verbal abuse and threats

·         Incitement of others to behave in a racist manner

·         Racist comments in the course of discussion in lessons

·         Attempts to recruit for racial organizations and groups

·         Ridicule of an individual for cultural differences

·         Refusal to co-operate with other people because of their color, ethnicity or language

·         Written derogatory remarks

·         Accessing racist material on the Internet.¹

            Crazy, right?

            The idea that kids would even do this cannot even resonate in my mind. It’s just so stupid. What would possess you to even do that- to even think of doing that?! What kind of sick, twisted thoughts go through your mind? What else do you do, kick babies for enjoyment? Idiots.

            Alright, topic change. My picture book is going to be awesome. My idea is this:

            There is a town of green blobs. They all like each other. Everyone is friends. Then a new family moves in. They’re red blobs. None of the other blobs like them. People start telling them to go away. The young red blob goes to the local school. He is teased and picked on. But one green blob doesn’t have a problem with him. He befriends the red blob, and they become best friends. But everybody else still doesn’t like the red blobs. The red blob gets tired of it. He wants to be accepted like his best friend. He demands that they try to do the things that he does, together.

            And then I don’t know what I want to do after that. But I think it’s pretty good. :)

Social Awareness Project

1.
10/23 - Legalizing Marijauna- California wants to do it, but the multiple pros and cons are leaving it to the world's opinion.

10/24 -

10/25 - Cholera in Africa- It's making water unsafe to drink. However, they have nothing else, so they have to drink it.

10/26 - Four Loko- A legal drink for kids. It has the same amount of alcohol as 6 light beers and caffeine the equivalent of 2 cups of coffee.

10/27 -

                This was a really eye-opening project. I don't relly watch the news very often. Everything I saw on the news that week had a lot to do with health. Smoking, disease, alcohol, etc. It really makes you think about the well-being of others, and not just yourself.


4.
                  I'm reading "Cathing Fire" by Suzanne Collins, the second book in the Hunger Games series. There are a lot of social issues in this book, surprisingly. The main one is corruption in the government. In the book, the government is extremely superficial and turns a blind eye to what actually goes on in the districts. They could care less about what happens to the people living there, and only think about themselves. They're the leaders of the "country", and they should really be more aware of what's going on in it. I'd really hate to be there, and have to deal with the crap that the citizens put up with.

5.
                 I'm responding to the song "World on Fire" by Sarah McLachlan. Honestly, I don't like the song. I understand the message, and what she's trying to say. But the song is just so depressing. First off, her music video is all about how "x" amount of money can do "x" amount of things. It makes me not want to spend any money. Second, she says absolutely nothing happy or pleasant in the entire song. It sounds like she's some suicidal who wants to make everyone else be the same as her and never experience the feeling of joy. She seriously could have gone about this a completely different way, and not make everyone sad whenever they hear the song. But hey, that's just me.