While reading The Great River, which is 71-86 pages long, I saw a difference from reading literary text last week. First is the way it’s written. One was a poem with many symbols and meanings related to the author’s lived experiences with loss and grief. This week’s reading is more about the natural history of the Mississippi River that shaped the country. The titles of some of the pages were named “ Half Horse, Half Alligator,” which is what they call the Kentucky frontiersmen who fought together with Jackson in the battle of New Orleans.
As the text says, Thomas Jefferson saw a future within the Mississippi Valley that would help with land hunger. “Jefferson turned the land hunger that drove the first western settlers into a political imperative: democracy could truly flourish, he claimed, only if the new nation expanded across a substantial territory, ensuring that as many citizens as possible could own a portion of the land.”
Overall, the text tells how the Mississippi Valley influenced Jefferson to travel, opening new territory or land to the people as he said, “empire for liberty,” giving the people of his country an opportunity to have their land to live out of. “ He hoped the watershed would be converted to a garden-or a collection of gardens, spreading across the landscape like a quilt. Private property everywhere. The only shared resource he spoke of was the river itself, the highway into his promised land”. Lastly, the story exposes the American frontman’s hard work that shaped the country’s future.
In my reading of Sherman Alexie’s poems, he shows many symbols, all different with each poem. My favorite one was (Eulogy 38) where the author shows grief, cultural identity understanding, and memories shown with various symbols throughout the poem, giving a better understanding of how he viewed the experiences.
In the poem’s first sentence, he starts by talking about his mother. My mother was a dictionary (116) from Eulogy, which gives a solid foundation for the poem and illustrates the title of Eulogy, which means to praise the dead. The dictionary refers to his mother as a brilliant woman full of wisdom. Still, her knowledge was not passed down to his generation or family; she was the only one who knew the tribal language.
Secondarily, the elderly woman is a mother and loved by many. She carries in her blood and minds a whole culture and history that will fade with her. As the poem says, she was one of the last fluent speakers of our tribal language. She knew dozens of words that nobody else knew. We buried all those words with her (116). Her life was a whole generation of history and cultural life that died and had no going back because she took it all with her. She saw that her knowledge was unnecessary for the new generation, as they now have the modern world. New knowledge is the key to success with references to the English language, she said to her son.
At thirty, the author feels an attachment to the memories of his passing mother, specifically the tapes of their native language. He said, “And I don’t want to risk letting anybody else transfer the tape to digital.” they hold an extraordinary place in his heart.
Finally, to sum it all up, the author could show how the tape, language, and dictionary worked as symbols to represent different things the author went through during his mother’s passing. The poem is about grief, but it shows cultural identity from how his mother took an essential part of his culture away from him because, for him, he grew to what his mother referred to as modern words. The tapes hold the little culture he has left from his elders, but they also tell his family history very private, which is why he doesn’t want it to be accessible to the public. Sherman Alexis’ poem shows many different symbols used to express his experiences with processing a loved one’s death.
Some of the background information I learned about symbols was from Thomas Foaster ‘s “How to Read Like an English Professor.” Pay attention to what you feel about the text. It probably means something (page 114). Sometimes, we need to look more at the text to understand it, not overthink it, but use our creativity to imagine. With that, we can apply it to CODES to be more creative in our writing and analysis of the text and all possible meanings and symbols.
Climate change has affected my life throughout the year. One of the biggest problems has been drought. I’m from Alabama, where we do a lot of farming. It is one of the most significant ways the state makes money because we provide peaches to the whole country, along with Georgia. The most extensive drought was about five years ago when we didn’t receive a drop of water for months, and it was during the peach harvest. The heat was killing the peaches as they grew.
The whole state was affected economically and physically. People were not going out as much or had to be careful with the constant heat waves and alerts on our phones and TVs. We need to find a way to not cause more alarm to the temper, or it doesn’t get warmer, but there is not one solution. We have to speak up on the topic and communicate with the world and people to help understand the changes we can make together or even just your city to help reduce our carbon footprint.
Climate change affects all of us, whether we like it or not. Change determines our future. Because we all have different lifestyles, our priorities are different. Sometimes, if we try to change the way we recycle or use specific materials, we may be affecting someone’s only source of money to provide for their families. Climate change is a multifaceted issue that we can solve with one solution.
In our society there is no solution to climate change with the evolution of technology and life. All we can do is find a better way to reuse or avoid certain things that have a higher effect on your climate. Lower our carbon footprint, not fall victim to fashion changes and clothes, and take care of things we own to last longer and can later be given to others to extend the life of it. But realistically, we can’t make people change their lifestyles. We are all different and can’t come together to find one that fits all type of solution.
Climate changes, and so do the types of solutions we try to find. With everything moving and changing, we cannot really find a solution or where to begin. All we know is that there is no solution; it’s a dead end.
The changes that have already happened because of climate change can’t be undone. Because of our action we have caused a change to animal habitats. If their ecosystem is affected so is ours it’s like Jenga we take pieces of and just put them on top like nothing but at one point you’ll take out the wrong one that unbalance it and make it all fall down. You can re-built it but it’ll never be the same as when you bought it. Some of the changes that we have already caused are that the Amazon rainforest becomes the savanna in a matter of time and our coral reefs are dying. The ice sheets are melting, and they can’t be refrozen.
“The stakes are clear. Complacency will be met by irreversible and unthinkable impact from climate change” John Kerry, U.S special presidential envoy of climate change on “PHYS ORG” article about the impacts and irreversible changes of climate change.
It is unique that only certain areas get the most impact during a significant climate change. It’s primarily because of their location in the region that they are constantly being hit. Climate change affects many aspects of our lives, not just the weather, which is really the one thing that people pay attention to.
Urgent This is why fighting climate change is so urgent | Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org)
Finally Climate change is significant and we are all affected by it. We need to act now. It is urgent that we act. During my research about climate change, I read a very important article about acting called “This is why fighting climate change is so urgent” by the Environmental Defense Fund. During my reading I learned new things about climate change that I didn’t really take into consideration or realized because I don’t see. Over the years they have seen changes on our planet, specifically temperature, that the earth has gotten warmer by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since the 19th century. But at the rate that today’s climate changes we are expected to change to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit in early 2030, also double the warmth. That half degree is so much more than what we normal people think isn’t a big deal because we think on a large scale that 1 or 2 number difference is not going to do much. The reality is much bigger. It affects our agriculture because there is an increase in evaporation and moisture causing more rain to fall in certain areas that don’t usually have that quantity of water, so they overflow in other areas. It’s the opposite for others; they don’t get a drop of rain for months, completely drying the land. In the end it’s not just that but the Antarctic ice breaking into parts and wildfires spreading faster and lasting longer, insects overproducing and spreading disease. We see the change and why can’t we make a change.
Our ultimate goal is to implement more water infrastructure education for the youth, influencing a new generation to become further aware of issues regarding all-around water infrastructure in the future—complex Systems are composed of many interconnected parts. Simple Systems are Systems in which components interact with each other to serve a purpose but aren’t connected in a way like complex systems. “Although we can certainly do our part to conserve this valuable resource, today’s youth will ultimately be responsible for sustaining Earth’s future water supply” (KEYE).
When it comes to water infrastructure, constructing awareness about the importance of conserving water is vital especially for the youth. Eventually, we will put the importance of water infrastructure in the new generation’s hands. Therefore, we must teach them the reasoning behind why this needs to be trained and to encourage water conservation and practical usage. Water infrastructure is complex; if one factor changes even the slightest bit, the rest of the system can easily be thrown off. This is why we need to ease the introduction of water infrastructure to the youth, and this must be done in interactive ways. Interactive activities, keep people engaged and active in the topic conversation.
Students are among our most significant stakeholders in this project. Allowing the younger generation to be involved not only helps our water but also helps the environment overall.In addition, better water quality leads to improvement in the overall health of the community. Abbas Hassan states, “The youth demographic represents a dynamic force characterized by enthusiasm, energy, and a deep desire to make a difference. Engaging young people in WASH initiatives taps into their passion for social change and their ability to challenge conventional thinking”(Hassan). WASH stands for water, sanitation, and hygiene. These initiatives are essential for human health, well-being, and development. Another stakeholder could be taxpayers; their money funds the school and plays a massive part in its budget. Asma Bachikh states, “Stakeholder participation is at the core of effective water and sanitation management. Many countries—83 percent of 94 countries surveyed in 2013-2014—now have stakeholder participation in policies and/or laws” (Bachikh). This quote shows how much of a role stakeholders, like students and taxpayers, can play in water infrastructure.
Youth education influences water infrastructure, and we need to identify the drivers. According to our book Sustainable World by Sonya Remington-Doucette, human actions have become central drivers of changing a system (page 124). There are two types of drivers: direct and indirect. “Direct drivers, drivers that clearly and unequivocally influence the behavior of a system. Indirect drivers are drivers that influence the behavior of a system more diffusely by altering one or more direct drivers” (page 123). Some drivers in our system of how youth education is influential are the community, government, JJK Fan School, and the education system. For example, in the article “Impact of Youth Education in ASCE Library,” the authors want to let the public know that the youth is underrepresented in discussions regarding the community’s future, even though they are the community’s future (McKoy and Vincent 2007). The communities are an indirect driver as they affect how children interact with the people around them, like their city and counties. Still, it doesn’t directly affect their education on water infrastructure. Other factors related to the same article are cost, benefits, site conditions, and local community factors.
In the article “Water Accessibility, use and Conservation among Youth: A Comparative Study,” by George Morrara Ogendi and Isaac Ongn’oa, the authors inform readers that education on sustainable water should be taught locally and globally (Ogendi and Ongn’oa). This allows students to become pragmatic leaders and stars and learn to appreciate the environment with a deeper understanding. In our case, the JJKFan school education system is a direct driver as they interact with the youth and can influence their knowledge of the environment and water infrastructure. Also, going back to cost and site conditions, if JJKFan can’t get the funds, it could affect youth education. If they can’t be taught about the environment and water infrastructure, they do not have a chance to expand their language to others.
Teachers, students, parents, and the community can come together to improve water infrastructure for the youth. There are various ways to take action since water equity is a complicated issue with many layers. A few examples include extracurricular activities, technology integration, and engaging curriculum. The diagram above shows the connections between the drivers. Each driver plays into the other. For example, JJK and Heartlands can work with the government to produce a curriculum. The teachers teach the curriculum to the students, and eventually, the parents will pick up on what their child is learning.
The big idea is to incorporate these things into one water infrastructure course for the youth. On the website Thought Exchange, there is a piece that references community involvement’s impact on youth education. “Community is all about creating a sense of belonging. Having a sense of belonging means that students feel accepted, valued, and included by their teachers and peers and consider themselves an important part of their academic community. They are motivated to learn and engage with their course, leading to greater attainment, progression, and improved academic achievement” (Daly). Regarding JJK, getting students involved with the community (and vice versa) benefits their learning potential and many other skills.
JJK, for example, could start small by creating a gardening club, a science club where they volunteer in the community and test water quality or a research-oriented club where they all come together to combat this wicked problem. Another idea regards technology integration. In this day and age, new technology is all the rave. Using virtual reality technology, for example, can allow students to see water treatment plants or play games regarding water quality. This will excite kids about using technology while educating them about water technology in their community. JJK has excellent potential to create a great education system focused on water quality. Their new campus will be catered to learning about water and horticulture and will raise a new generation to take pride in our environment. Putting all these together, teachers, parents, and the community can unite to educate everyone about water infrastructure.
Information and facts in the reading first half 63-81
Me
Introduction
Daniel Velez – company “circle blue’’ – goal- achieve zero waste
Goals for the entire Phoenix metropolitan area to achieve zero waste
Bureaucratic
“ there is no one size fits all solution.”
You
Page 64- Daniel struggles with tenants because they don’t want to put any effort into recycling and composting
Me
“Wicked” sustainability problems are embedded in systems that exhibit complexity
Your
Three definition
Of wicked problems
Section 2.1 Understanding Sustainability Problems
A wicked problem ( can’t be solved because of continuous change. It can never be entirely resolved.
= ( traditional approaches refer to the scientific and technological advances that have solved many of society’s problems
Tame problem – problems
Wicked problems – complex systems
Me
Section 2.1.1 introduction to wicked problems
First mentioned in 1970 urban planning literature in a famous article by the University of California Berkeley, Professor Horst Rittel, and Melvin Webber. They describe ten characteristics of a wicked problem, but general characteristics are given here for simplicity.
Your question and definition of simple system/question
Me Bike –
“ This is an important point because not all collections of random things are systems, such as rocks lying on sidewalks, because they are not interacting in a way that achieves some purpose that none can accomplish alone.”
You boundary, open / closed systems , thinking
Me
“This is analogous to the need to view a bike as a whole system, rather than its individual components, when figuring out why the system as a whole will not move forward.”
YOU- REDUCTIONIST THINKING
You
Vague problems definition
Undefined solution
No endpoint
Irreversible
Unique
Urgent
Title: Wicked Problems and their Resolution
Author: Sonya Remington Doucettle
Source Date:2017-2013
Source type: textbook
Context ( what is important to note about the creator, when it was created, its audience, or its formats?)
The creator sees the wicked problems from many different perspectives, and there’s only sometimes a solution. What the government or people view as a solution is more challenging. The book was created a short time ago, begging for the information given to be relatively new compared to older books. The author’s format in chapter 2 breaks into different wicked problems that sociality and the world are struggling with and that there is no direct way to fix, but there is to better the situation.
Summary (What important Facts about the source’s content should we note for our discussion):
Human natural systems / human system (page 77)
Human Systems Natural System
-technology – Human- constructed
-social institution – water
– knowledge – soil
– Norms – air
-Populations – microorganisms
– vegetation
(page 76) socio ecological systems
Complexity (page 75)
(page 73) one problem many different ways to solve but not all of it. One solution can lead to another problem related to the bigger problem.
Page 75) complexity what is it – well there is not exact way of defining it
– (the major reason that wicked problems are difficult to resolve is that they are embedded in socio ecological systems (SESs) exhibits complexity)
One of the most important facts is systems learning how everything has a process
What is the goal of sustainability ? is to simultaneously promote healthy ecosystems, human well being and viable economies.
Page ( 80) / Bike IMPORTANT POINT BECAUSE NOT ALL COLLECTIONS OF RANDOM THINGS ARE SYSTEMS
81 (closed systems and open systems
Analysis ( what should we take away to better understand our problems and its stakeholders?
It’s okay only sometimes to have a correct one-way answer to solving the problem. One problem in our world and society takes many parts and lots of support for people to take action and listen to understand. We, as people who are trying to solve problems, like holistic thinking, are essential tools for resolving sustainability.
For reflection four, my audience is the young American men generation, which includes high school and college students. I chose this audience since they relate to my topic about immigrant children rising to the top compared to American children.
My audience is involved in social media and climate change, which has become essential for new voters. Young American people don’t know a lot about immigrants’ reality. Some do know a few things that they watch on the news or social media as they are getting ready to vote, and immigration is always something that the candidates speak about. They probably heard that immigrants are becoming a problem for the country but not that they are helping the economy or working harder than the American youth. They need to know that people their age who are children of immigrants are working harder than them, which is why they have a high rate of economic stability. They must also know and acknowledge what is true about immigrants and their reality. The best method to appeal to my audience is relating my topic to current events like the election and the information that they already know from the news and social media that is being thrown at their faces about immigration as they make up their mind about who they are going to vote for. My goal is to inform young Americans about the hard-working children of immigrants and the reality of their hard work paying off, raising them to the top and making them more successful financially compared to the American people, and how the United States makes them seem like the enemies that are invading their country instead of viewing them as people who want to live the American dream.
