Voice Thread Final

https://newtrier.ed.voicethread.com/share/12654223/

Halfway Reflection

Through the first half of Song Of Solomon, keeping straight all the character’s relationships and pasts and the book’s whole timeline has been the most challenging for me. The vocabulary throughout the book challenges me, as well. How the book starts really makes it hard to fully follow the relationships between characters because we are thrown right in the middle of a storyline without any knowledge or context. This made it exceptionally confusing to follow the timeline as we find out more about all the characters. It is hard for me, as we get more context and knowledge of the characters, to put all the events in order because we jump back and forth from character to character and from different times in the past.

I’ve had to use many reading strategies to address these challenges. For example, I’ve had to re-read sections and pages of the book to fully understand what and when an event took place. And I’ve started to read some parts aloud. This makes me read slower and more thoroughly catching some important parts of chapters that I might have missed otherwise. I also write many questions and mark passages that I find confusing or important, which can be seen in my annotated page down below. I also circle difficult vocabulary words and write their definitions at the bottom of the page. For example, in the page below I wrote down the definitions of “guileless” and “vacuousness” to make sure I fully understand the meaning of the passages.

Scotland to America

          My full name is Chase MacKinnon Armstrong. My first name comes from my uncle who was always called Chase but his full name is Charles, which comes from his great grandfather. My mom, who was the one that ultimately chose my name, liked to say that she thought Charles was too long so she just cut to the Chase. My mom is predominately Irish, yet not much is known specifically from their family roots. My middle name MacKinnon comes from a clan in Scotland that many, from my grandmother on my dad’s side lived before coming to America. And my last name comes from the Armstrong clan which lived in the border area between England and Scotland. The Armstrong clan in Scotland is one that has a history of creating trouble and feuds, but is also known as a powerful and dangerous riding clan. My dad has books, passed down by my grandfather, filled with stories of Armstrong’s creating havoc. They lived in war zone like territory between England and Scotland. Some were killed and hanged from such action by men who were even related to the King of England at the time! My grandfather has passed down stories that the Armstrong clan was not the most favored of clans, but were full of men filled with spirit and fight. The clan was not wealthy or even in the middle class for much of their life span, they were horse thieves, troublemakers, and fighters. Sounds Scottish to me! One of my Grandfather's favorite stories to share is the story he was told of how our ancestors ended up in New York. When my great great grandfather and his brothers were emigrating from Scotland they were originally planning on taking a ship to Australia. However, when they reached the docks all tickets were sold out, so they decided to buy the tickets to New York and eventually docked on the shores of New York City. The reason he was told of why they emigrated was for two reasons. One for a better life economically. And two because they were told there were no jails in Australia. If they moved they could start “free” without their name making people judge them badly. My dad didn’t really know of any good family legends or stories of assimilation and fitting in.

Armstrong Clan Crest

MacKinnon Clan Crest

To Sit or Stand

During October of 2017, India Landry a black high school student in Texas was in the principal’s office when the Pledge of Allegiance came over the intercom. As her principal standed to recite the Pledge, India decided to sit. School officials took immediate action. Landry was expelled for four days before the school allowed her to come back to school again without being forced to stand. School officials are reported in court documents of telling Landry that, “This is not the NFL.” Referring to the protest led my Colin Kapernick of kneeling for the national anthem before NFL games to protest police brutality. Landy’s mother has now filed a law suit against the school for violating her daughter’s constitutional freedom of speech and right to due process and equal protection under the law. Court documents also show teacher’s kicking her out of class and sending her to the principal’s office multiple times.

The Texas attorney general, which is the head lawyer for the state, has stepped in to defend Texas law as constitutional. Which requires all students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance during school or get a guardian’s permission if they wish to opt out. The attorney general said that this law, “[fosters] respect for our flag and a patriotic love of our country.” He also points out that 26 other states have very similar laws regarding the Pledge of Allegiance. Landry disagrees with this opinion, she thinks that, “The Flag Doesn't Represent ... Liberty And Justice For All,” which is why she chose to remain seated and “silently protest” the Pledge. A Texas judge recently ruled that the lawsuit will move forward.

Do you think this law is unconstitutional? Do you agree with Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas or India Landry about what the flag represents? How would you rule if you were the judge in this case? Why?

The March North

A group of thousands of migrants from mostly Honduras and some from Guatemala have decided to leave everything behind and march north to the United States. A group of 3,000 Hondurans have grown to at least 5,600 migrants and some reports say the number could be closer to 7,000. These migrants are looking to leave behind their home country which has been infested with poverty, corruption, and gang violence to make the dangerous trek north for a better life. Most are looking to apply for an asylum when they reach America. For most this is the only way for a better life and they won’t quit. Luis Puerto from Colon, Honduras said, “We are going to get to the border of the U.S. I am not going to stop. I don’t care if I die.” (For more quotes and stories of the migrants click here). 

But this caravan poses some serious questions, especially ahead of the midterm elections. President Trump has vowed to stop them from crossing the border. President Trump tweeted that, “Full efforts are being made to stop the onslaught of illegal aliens from crossing our Southern Border.” He has proposed to cut aid for Honduras, to deploy additional border security, and even to deploy the military if required. Many in Congress have called this caravan a disgrace to the rule of law in America and a threat to every law-abiding citizen. They also call it  unfair to the millions of immigrants that patiently wait in-line to legally enter this great country. One thing is clear, our immigration laws are broken, and have been broken for decades.

As the caravan is still weeks away from reaching the southern border, the debate about the next action is not slowing down. What should be the next action that the United States takes? Should we let them in? Should we turn them back? Is it time that we change our immigration laws?

The Front Line Moves to Schools

Public schools are trying to respond as gun violence, especially gun violence in schools, unfortunately, happen more often today than any other time in American history. As school lockdown drills are becoming the new normal for schools across the country, many schools will start the 2018 school year with stricter safety rules and hiring more armed guards.

For example, in Parkland, Florida where 17 people were killed last year after a school shooting, students were given completely clear backpacks for school in order to tighten security. (Click Here for more on stricter rules this year in schools). In Florida new rules and measures are being put into places across the state to increase the safety of students during school. Broward County will hire armed security guards at schools to protect students. Some districts have requested metal detectors to be used, to tighten school security. And outside of Florida many have argued for teachers to be trained and armed with guns to protect their students. (Click Here to read more on arming teachers). Before the school year started the Miami-Dade Police Chief comforted parents by assuring that schools, “Will be safer than ever.”

As schools in Florida and across the country are tightening up school security do you think New Trier is doing enough? What else can schools do to preserve a safe learning environment without disrupting students’ learning? Do you agree with the Miami-Dade Police Chief’s statement? Are these actions creating “figurative” bridges or borders in society?