Author's note

      Christina and her mother are homeless and have to live in one house with five other families. They don't have money to buy anything. The only thing that they eat is bread and water.
      It's not easy being homeless, especially when your a kid. According to Nearly Half of New York City's Homeless are Children,Whyte, Alan. January 7, 2004;New York has the largest number of men, women, and children crowded into little shelter homes. Also according to the city's Department of Homeless Services, the night of January 2 saw 38,222 homeless people forced to turn to city's shelter system.
       When you're a kid you still go to school,sometimes. It's not easy going to school with other kids that are not homeless and do have money. According to Homeless Families with Children, National Coalition for the Homeless. August 2002, there are many families that are homeless, about 41%.
        I feel like many families should have more opportunities to do what they want and to achieve higher goals in life so they don't stay homeless and could do something with their life. Most people don't really appreciate the things they have. Even if it's the little things you should always be thankful because there are people out there that don't even have those little things, they have nothing.

Research

http://www.research.uky.edu/odyssey/spring98/adolescents.html

        The link above me pretty much rounds up how teens especially are being treated. I mean these stories aren't really proving anything. I think that in order for you to agree with us "kids" as most people would call us you would have to actually be in the same position as us. Like we really don't get any respect am we're really tired of it. All of the teens, i can tell look pretty fed up. Teens now at theses days wanna be treated with repsect and treated like adults. Not all teens act like their two years old. Hello? We're people too. Also maybe it's not always the way the kids act are their fault.
        Maybe sometimes teens act like that because since grown-ups treat them with little respect and think that teens are nothing but trouble the kids just act the way the grown-ups think that they really act when the teens are actually more mature then what grown-ups take them for. I sometimes do that too because sometimes in school or at home either the teachers or parents talk to us like were in pre-school i do the complete opposite just to get them annoyed and sometimes its really funny because then the grown-ups get what they always think what we do. But they know that we don't always act like that.

Read and Response to songs/or poems on social problem

        When i listened to this song i thought it was good for this i thought it was perfect for this kind of response because not only is it something that everyone can understand and can like, it's also a song that is kind of catchy. I heard this song before and even though i reall don't like most of the people that sing that they sing for a good cause. And trust me i don't like most of them. But all of there voices and the way they sing this song is really good. The lyrics aren't that bad. They show that we should all give and pass it on. Also we should make a change and be hand in hand with eachother and help eachother. 
         Also when they say a word is just a word until you mean what you say is really powerful. Thats like one of the best lines in the whole song because everyone can relate and agree on that. We may all say things one minute but yet not mean it until we actually do something about it. When you also talk about the world i don't think that you should not mean something. You and i all live in the world. But that's really just one thing that you really should mean.
         As i was re-reading what i wrote and re-read the lyrics and listened to the song again i realized that this song doesn't really have to be just about saving the world or any of the enviormental. It can also be about anything that you would want it to be. It can be about something that is special to you or something that your pasionate about, or maybe even something that doesn't have anything to do with you but you just have a heart about it and you want it to get better or maybe feel better.                                                                                                  




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liFrTKg9BUY-------VIDEO

http://www.metrolyrics.com/send-it-on-lyrics-demi-lovato.html-----LYRICS

Observed surroundings (school,home,neighborhood,media)

           I have realized around mostly everywhere that kids haven't been treated the same respect as adults get. Whenever i go to to lunch i always notice that the person behind the counter always takes the gwown-ups order first. They think that grown-ups were there real customers but we always ended up being the ones comming in everyday and spending our money which was probably more than double the amount of money but then again i forgot us kids are nothing. We mean and seem like nothing to the other grown-ups.
         I have also realized that even the little things. Like when kids are crossing the street and grown-ups just stare at you, especially when kids cross with a red light. Like seriously? Grown-ups do the same exact thing. There not special. Do they honestly think that there any better then kids? Pshh notat all. They were a kid as well. Us kids are the future of today! Haha so true though. But it's really  no difference. Kids deserve the same amount of respect that the grown-ups get as well.
 

                             

http://www.odemagazine.com/blogs/readers_blog/6912/i_want_to_start_a_children_s_civil_rights_movement

Media/News Immersion

      I've been watching a little bit of the news at night. What I have been noticing is that there have been people surprised in their own houses, people missing and robberies. As I have been watching the news it got me thinking of how much goes on in life and how many families and friends are affected by things that happen. Speaking on a note in the past i still remember there was this family and how someone broke into their apartment and slept in a girl's bed and when that girl woke up her brother came in from hearing all the screaming and the intruder escaped. But he left his shirt there outside the window. Now there is a rap called The Bed Intruder song and it's actually really catchy.
        Also, I have been noticing that there have been many missing people and most of the time it's during the day, during like school time and not the early morning or late at night alothough somethimes there are situations like that.
       Going back to what i said how families and friends are affected by things that happen, there are also stiuations where it doesn't only affect them but it could also make their economy life with their money problems. There are also people out there that steal stores and steal valuables in houses. Most of the time the things that are being stolen have destroyed other peoples lives.

       This is a little kid that is getting robbed and at a point where a knife had to come out.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/bed-intruder-rant-buys-family-a-new-home/

Entry #8 Mother to Son

      The poem that i read was called Mother to Son by Langston Hughes. When i read the poem i realized how much the mother has gone through and what she has done to keep her son alive. It was pretty clear how the mother's life was. She says "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, And splinters And boards torn up And places with no carpet on the floor Bare." By thhis amount of writing it shows how her life has been and how there were always problems.
       By the word splinters and tacks i was thinking how she probably could've been hurt and abused or maybe emotionally hurt. Also with the words boards torn up probably meant that her house living probably has never been the best. She probably had to live in a tiny house with one room and how maybe even that one room wasn't even pleasant. With the words Life for me ain't been no crystal chair it made me think that her life must've been really tough. She describes what she has gone through and her life really sad.
      When I read the title of the book i thought that this poem was gonna be a mother finding her son or a mother talking about her getting a divorce or something else, but i never expected her to speak about her own life. She also talks about how he shouldn't give up on anything and to never back down to something that he wants to to do or he believes in. In a way i think that the Mother is saying to the Son don't screw up like me and don't go through a life like me because my life hasn't been a walk in the park. And I've been through so much just to get you a better life.
      

Appreciation for Stuart Little

      What I love about Stuart Little by E.B. White is how even thought the character Stuart is really small, he overcomes obstacles and is not limited by his size.
       Stuart makes use of his small size. He doesn't let his size interfere with anything that he wants to do. Sometimes he takes his size to his advantage. For example, in the beginning of the book, Mrs. Little (his mother) dropped her wedding ring down the drain in the kitchen. She tried to get it on her own but she couldn't do it because it was too dark to see anything and she's too big to put her hands in. So Stuart offered to help and went down the drain and got the ring!
        Stuart also helps others and does difficult things. He helps family and  friends. He even helps strangers, like seriously, people he doesn't even know. Whenever he sees someone upset or all alone he goes up to that person and asks if he/she is ok. For example, when he was driving in his car he saw this guy that was a principal sitting on the side of the street looking at the floor. Stuart went up to him and asked him if he was ok and he said how he needs a substitue teacher and Stuart offered to help and be the substitue. That was kind of a challenge for him since the desk was so gigantic to him. But he still managed to go through with it until the end and accomplished being the substitute.
          There are many other animals that also kind of go through the same thing like Stuart with their size and what they do and what they have to go through. A book that I read before is called Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. When i read that book I noticed that there was some sort of connection. Both books both kind of have the same concept, both books have talking animals and are both trying to save someone. In the book Charlotte's Web there is this small spider named Charlotte that has to go through obstacles to help out a friend that's a pig that's named Wilbur. That is exactly what Stuart has to do for the bird named Margalo. Charlotte has to go out of her way and go around town to help save Wilbur. That is exactly what what Stuart is doing but only he needs to find her while Charlotte needs to save Wilbur. But they both still are tiny and go out of their way and go around town or city to help their friend.
       These books should not only be for kids. They could also be for grown-ups. Alot of things happen in these books. It's not just for little kids just to ammuse them but there is also some point in the books. Some of the points that i think the books make are how strong a friendship can be and see how far a friend will go for you. Another reason is how you can see how your life can relate to the books, there are some mean animals in the books and there are also mean people in real life. Life isn't always how you expect it. So meet people and treat them nice because you never know who you might lose or meet.

Entry #7 Using Research to Expand my Understanding of Stuart Little

   The creator of Stuart Little is E.B. White. He was born in on July 11, 1899. He was also born in Mount Vernon, NY. He was the youngest child of a larrge family. His parents loved kids so that's where he probably got his passion for writing children's books. He graduated from  Cronell University in 1921 and worked as a reporter at various publications including the New Yorker where he fell in love with his editor, Katherine Sergeant Angell, who he later married.
    A couple of years ago when i read this book i knew what it was about but i never actually looked deep into the true meaning of the book. Before i read the book i saw the movie and i liked it. When i read the book the second time i realized something, in the book they combine both Stuart Little 1 the move and Stuart Little 2 the movie. Everything that the book was mentioning in the beginning up until the Margalo section was what happeneed in the 1st movie. From the point on to where Stuart meets Margalo that all happened in the 2nd movie.

                                        This is Stuart the mouse and the car he drives!

                                      This is Margalo the bird Stuart meets!   

Entry #6 Expanding on an interesting note

No matter what size you are you can always do anything you put your mind to.                                             

   Stuart Little is a little mouse barley 2 inches high. He is a mouse that is caring and is always offering to help. Whenever someone that he cares about needs help he always is around and helps or has fun with that person. He doesn't really care who or what you are, and also he doesn't care what size you are either.
    For example, when his mother Mrs. Little lost her ring and it went down the sink drain in the kitchen Mr. and Mrs. Little tried to get it on their own but they couldn't see anything because of how dark it was. So Stuart offered to go down the drain and get the ring. His mother didn't approve of the idea but his father did approve of the idea. Mrs. Little was extremley worried. So Stuart was tied to a piece of string that Mr. Little was holding him to and he went down the drain. A couple of minutes later Stuart came up and gave Mrs. Little her ring.
    Stuart Little is a one of a kind mouse. Another thing that happened is when Stuart went to the park there was this guy who had  boat that he was gonna steer. He was kind of getting harassed by a man beause when he was on the boat ready to steer it there wasa man that was saying to Stuart how he's so tiny and how you gonna lose and good luck because your gonna lose. When i read that i thought to myself how can someone say that to another person. I mean like i know Stuart is really small and when i say small i mean SMALL, but he's done so much for people and has been brave. I'm pretty sure that all of the other people that were human sized would probably be scared to do any of the things that Sturat has done.
     The book Stuart Little is an interesting book. It is also kind of like a book based on life. There are some small people out there that help more then other people and are probably even nicer. So next time if u see someone smaller then you don't judge them, just treat them the same.

Appreciation towards Charlotte's Web

       In the book Charlotte's Web there is a very strong friendship between Charlotte, a spider, and Wilbur, a pig. Wilbur hears that he will be killed during the winter and or fall time. So Charlotte tries to save him and it works! Wilbur is still alive! But Charlotte doesn't live.                                                                              
      I apprecite that Charlotte works really hard to keep Wilbur safe and not dead. Charlotte writes these words to make Wilbur seem like a really special pig and from that first word he's been becoming famous. Most of the time when a friend gets famous the friend forgets about his other friends and the other people around him and pretends that there not even alive. But not Wilbur, he is real and not fake and is appreciative to everyone and everything. He still treats Charlotte the same way, just like the way they first met.
      Charlotte and Wilbur never let anything come inbetween them. It's hard to find someone out there in the world like that. Most people pretend to be all nice and fake and use people but not Charlotte and Wilbur. They're both really good friends and always help eachother out whenever thet are need of help.      
      I also appreciate that the animals in the book a real and not fake. Some animals in the book that are real and not fake are Charlotte and Wilbur. Fern is alo a real and genuine person. They all share that they care about eachother and they're able to to do anything that they want to do. Charlotte wanted to save Wilbur's life and she did. She tried her best and it paid off. Also Fern wanted to save Wilbur's life as well. She fought her father and broke dlwn in tears. She worked hard and took care of Wilbur and he is now alive and healthy.
     I can say that Templton is real and not fake as well. Even though he didn't like to help anyone but himself he showed that he didn't want to. He didn't fake it. So that's what really counts. Sometimes in life when you don't want to admit something but you do anyway shows that your real and not fake.
     Charlotte's Web has deffinitly shown different sides of life itself. It has shown life, death, problems, happy moments, sacrafises and so much more. They turned real life things and they've put it into a book that both kids and grown-ups can both understand. It's a really good book and I would reccomend this book. Parents should read this book to their kids or kids that can read should read this book.