Free The Children By Nancy Gibbs

Discuss how your investigation of the generic conventions of poetry has influenced your understanding of at least one poem that you have studied in this unit.

Calvin and Hobbes embodied the voice of the Lonely Child is an article written by Libby Hill. In this article, Hill digs deep into the famous comic strips of the 80’s and 90’s, and uses her now adult mind to examine the deeper meanings of the comics and how they shaped her childhood. Hill’s main focus is on the theme of loneliness, and how Calvin is able to find ways to cope with the loneliness that often plagues children in the modern world. As a child, she related to Calvin, because Calvin’s character, despite being complex in nature, was portrayed in such a way so that children could relate to him. As the article progresses, she begins to draw comparisons to reading the strips as a child and then rereading them as an adult, and she explains

The nonfiction book, There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz attempts to awaken the reader’s sense of outrage that children are made to suffer needlessly. The author conveys this message through the lives of two boys, Lafeyette and Pharoah, surviving in the Henry Horner Homes which is a public housing unit with crime and neglect. In the Preface, the author explains how he met Lafeyette and Pharoah. He explains he met these two boys through writing an interview for a friend doing a photo essay. Though Kotlowitz interviewed over ten children, Lafayette's description of violence unnerved him. He spoke in terms of “if he grew up” rather than “when he grew up.” He wasn’t sure he would make it to adulthood. Also, he explains that the title comes from the boy’s mother. When asked if he could interview her children, LaJoe replies “but you know, there are no children here. They’ve seen too much to be children.”

In Danielle Allen’s essay, Our Declaration, she argues that all people should understand and recognize that the Declaration gives all people in the United States the undeniable freedom to self-govern. One person has the power to change the government; although this is not specifically stated, the freedom to self-govern implies every voice matters. She guides the reader to this idea by using simple and easy to follow examples to show the reader that they have the power to invoke a change the government. Allen also uses credible sources in order to give her reasoning credibility as well as using arguments that elicit an emotional connection.

In “Invisible Child,” a New York Times article written by Andrea Elliot, we follow a day in the life of a young African American girl, Dasani, growing up in New York City. However, instead of living in an “Empire State of Mind,” Dasani lives in the slums, growing up homeless with her two drug addicted parents and seven siblings. Dasani often finds herself taking care of her siblings, making sure they have enough to eat, tying shoelaces, changing diapers, getting them to the bus stop in time, and the list goes on. An 11 year old girl, essentially taking care of a whole family, as well as taking care of herself by going to school, receiving an education, and partaking in extra-curricular activities. Elliot captures the life and struggles of a family well under the poverty line, giving us an unprecedented look into what Dasani must do each day not just to grow up in New York City, but to survive.

In the “Invisible Child” written by Andrea Elliot, a lifestyle of a homeless girl named Dasani and her family is shown. Elliot displays Dasani’s culture, and some of the struggles that she and her family face daily because they are homeless. Dasani is very dedicated to her school work. She wants to be better than anyone in her family ever was so she doesn’t have to worry about being homeless for the rest of her life. In some ways I can relate to Dasani, I am very passionate about my school work as well. I want to excel so I can be my very best in the future. However, our reasoning’s for wanting to be the best we can be are a little different. She wants to excel so she no longer has to worry about being homeless whereas I’ve never been homeless so I cannot say the exact same. I grew up being a very privileged kid. Both of my parents worked full time good paying jobs. I’ve never had to want for much of anything. My parents have always spoiled me with nice things, they have always made sure my siblings and I had nice clothes and a decent meal to eat. They are even paying for me to attain a college education. Dasani and her family however are a lot different from mine. In the “Invisible Child” Elliot tells us how Dasani’s parents do not have legit jobs, instead they have side “hustles” that only bring in a few dollars. Elliot states (2013) that a lot of mornings Dasani was starving at school because she had no breakfast. Dasani and her siblings also had to wear clothes that were

Romance of the Republic written in the eighteenth century by Lydia Marie Child has an underlying theme of race and racism. This novel illustrates to the reader, the dedication that Child had towards raising an awareness of and challenging the widespread attitudes that individuals have towards discrimination which includes racial and sexual. The book explores the written and underlining rules African Americans had to follow. Lydia Marie Child criticizes the laws and attitudes against African American in the South. Also, Child allows the reader to have a clear interpretation and an insight look on how African Americans and Abolitionists were treated during this era. Although the novel does shine a light on the effects of slavery, it also has an underlining theme of seduction.

In “The Victims” by Sharon Olds it describes a divorce through the eyes of the parents’ children. The first section is shown through past tense as the speaker is a child and the last section is shown in present tense with the speaker already being an adult trying to make sense of past events. The word “it” in the first two lines carries a tremendous weight, hinting at the ever so present abuse and mistreatment, but remaining non-specific. The first part generates a negative tone toward the father who is referred to as malicious by the mother who “took it” from him “in silence” until she eventually “kicked him out.” Through the entirety of the poem the children are taught to hate their father. Who taught them? Their mother showed them that their father was a villain and were taught to have no sympathy for him but “to hate you and take it” and so they did so. Although the poem never directly states what the father did to receive the family’s hated, the speaker gives examples as to why he is hated.

In Meredith Small’s article Our Babies, Ourselves she focuses on people’s social and psychological development through examining the different cultural aspects of raising a child. During this process she compares the American perspective of treating babies, to those of the Gusii and the Dutch. Throughout her examination many points are made that I believe can give the reader’s a valuable understanding of the impact of different means of parenthood on a child’s future development.

Margaret Walker once said, “Handicapped as we have been by a racist system of dehumanizing slavery and segregation, our American history of nearly five hundred years reveals that our cultural and spiritual gifts brought from our African past are still intact” (On Being Female, Black, and Free; Essays by Margaret Walker, 1997). Basically this quote

As an educator, I have never experienced the unfortunate level of parental pressure endured by Leticia Granados. In my role as a Disability Advocate, I did experience a grandmother who refused services because of my skin color. I was assigned to attend an IEP meeting in Paris, Tennessee. My client was male high school student diagnosed with Autism. A “neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact with others. The grandparent requested services beuase she felt her grandson’s IEP was not be implemented. I contacted the school to get the ball rolling to address the grandparent’s concerns. After numberous phone calls and countless emails an agreement was reached. The school agreed

In the book The Boy Who Dared by Susan Bartoletti, Helmuth Hubener is in prison and flashes back to when he was a young boy in Germany. Helmuth remembers being stopped by an officer and being asked if he would fight for his motherland (Germany) when he is older. He says yes and loves the idea of fighting for his country. In his next flash back, he remembers being in grade school and finding out that Hitler was elected. He is very excited and when he leaves his school, he sees a leaflet and picks it up.

On of the works of art that I have come across this term is an oil on canvas titled “Young Mother and Two Children” by Mary Cassatt, an American Impressionist painter, measures 92.08 x 73.66 cm. The subject matter of a mother and her two children done in the Impressionist style depicts a lifelike representation with an almost ethereal viewpoint There is also a sense of unity as it is a closed composition, which directs the eye to the piece and although there are three subjects within the painting, it seems as one unified and self contained image.

The poem “Mothers and Daughters” is written by Pat Mora. Pat Mora is a contemporary award winning writer, who writes for children, youngsters and adults. She was born in El Paso, TX in the year 1942. She attains a title of a Hispanic writer; however, the most of her poems are in English. In her literary work, one can observe the different aspects of the immigrants’ lives such as language issues, family relationships, immigrants’ experiences and cultural differences (1187).

There are many people who believe that letting children fail benefits them later in life. TV news reporter turned stay-at-home mom, Janie Porter, would like to persuade others to not protect children from any consequences in life. Porter writes the article, “Dear Parents, Stop Rescuing Your Kids From Failure”, to share how she raises her family and how it is working for her. Porter firmly believes that children need to fall down and get hurt so they can get back up. Her parents let her learn from her mistakes and she believed it worked so well it is the way she raises her