Kyra's Contemporary Literacies Blog

The Other Wes Moore - Part II What music played a special role in the other Wes Moore’s life? In chapter three, we discover that all the other Wes Moore "really wanted to do was either play football professionally or become a rapper" (58). It was one of his dreams to become a rapper and rock a "sold-out crowd in Madison Square" (58). However, in the meantime, he takes up selling drugs to make quick money before achieving one of his goals. So, because of this, we know that rap music played a special role in the other Wes Moore's life. But in the end, did it really end up playing a special role in his life? For Wes Moore (the author) music played a more important role... A little bit into chapter four, we learn that music began to play a special role in Wes' life, specifically, hip-hop. Growing up during the 1980s and 1990s, especially in New York City, culture was extremely vibrant. And hip-hop, a genre of music born in the Bronx, began to take its place on

The Other Wes Moore - Part I At the end of chapter 2, we discover that Moore (the author) has a love for basketball. After recently moving, he felt homesick and rather antsy, missing his old neighborhood and friends. He quickly realized that his grandparents' house, had more rules than his mother's. This meant that when the street lights turned on, he had to head home and all the chores had to be done before he was able to go outside and play.  Moore said his "restlessness was cured only by heading out into these new streets" (42 - 43). After finishing all of his chores for the day he was permitted to go play basketball a couple streets over.  He played basketball with some of the guys in the area and says that he "played hard, lost pretty bad, but enjoyed every minute of it" (44). He was playing with guys older, and bigger, and they all knew each other but he managed to still enjoy his time playing ball with them.  Then Moore (the author) acknowledges somet

Are we products of our environment or products of our expectations?  I believe we are the products of both our environment and expectations because these two ideas are so complexly intertwined.  Environment I think that our environment can impact and shape us.  Surroundings that can shape us include: family, culture, religion, and socioeconomic status  All of these environmental aspects can influence our choices, behaviors, interactions, attitudes, and even our expectations.  Expectations However... I think our expectations also impact and shape us. Expectations that can shape us include: personal beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes All of these expectations are shaped by our upbringing, past experiences, personal aspirations, and exposure to diverse ways of thinking Interconnectedness  Notice the overlap between some of the words between environment and expectation... This is the interconnectedness I was talking about in the beginning. We see that our environmental surroundings can in

The Major Issue with Higher Education Today In the documentary, The Ivory Tower some of the development of higher education is revealed. As time went on the focus of college began to diminish. And then college was looked at as this commodity to be sold versus a journey of intellectual growth. A quote from the documentary displays this process perfectly: “you begin to see a tension developing between the mission to educate young people, and the competition for prestige, to out-build your rivals. American colleges are driven by the pursuit of prestige. And the way you get prestige is that you get the highest ranking which expands your market, and allows you to charge more. So, in order to go up the ladder, everybody has to keep adding more programs and more facilities at a faster rate than the competitors" (The Ivory Tower). The documentary states that  " College tuition has increased more than any other good or service in the entire US economy since 1978" proving that col

( Partstown )  Is Fast Food the New Tobacco?  I think fast food is a "new tobacco". There are many similarities between each which leads me to believe this. Both tobacco and fast food impact your health. Without moderation, using/consuming too much of either of these things will lead to negative health effects. One may argue that tobacco causes worse effects which you can't recover from, whereas after consuming too much fast food one can still turn their life around. Both fast food and tobacco are addictive, but to different degrees, tobacco has a larger neurological addiction making it extremely hard to get away from. Someone can be addicted to fast food, but it doesn't have the same neurological addiction.  The difference is when it comes to regulation... Currently, tobacco is extensively regulated and many warnings are provided, so consumers are aware of the direct link to serious health concerns. Fast food, on the other hand, is currently not regulated. This quote

( Vox ) What is Pop Culture? "Popular culture is the set of practices, beliefs, and objects that embody the most broadly shared meanings of a social system. It includes media objects, entertainment and leisure, fashion and trends, and linguistic conventions, among other things." (Oxford Bibliographies) "Popular culture is essentially a set of beliefs, values, actions, objects, or goods and practices that are popular at any given time and space in society." (Central Community College) Pros & Cons of Pop Culture Pros Entertainment - Pop culture can provide entertainment and enjoyment, offering an escape from daily stresses and routines. For numerous individuals, immersing themselves in pop culture serves as a means of relaxation and pleasure. For example, entertainment from social media or a television show.  (Apple) Communal Connection - Frequently, pop culture mirrors the values, beliefs, and trends prevalent within a society or specific social circles. Involv