"With Justice for All" Update
Speech Document - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lFm5FbHppi8p7PyazL9CbqSIZGFq-YYk7XlI-139KJY/edit
Reflection
At the beginning of the semester, our class started studying Dr. King’s ideas of Civil Disobedience and his definitions of what makes a just v. unjust law. We researched what the right thing to do is in the case of justice for Dr. King and applied this to our own lives, answering the question "To punch, or not to punch a nazi?". We then studied various moral and political philosophies of justice that have influenced or legal system including Deontology, Utilitarianism, John Rawls’ and Libertarianism. We listened to an amazing guest speaker from Fort Lewis, and dove a little deeper into the different philosophies, we each chose one we can relate our opinions and views to the most. After, we each researched our own philosophies and if we should apply it more into our own lives. After all that, we researched various issues of injustice in Durango and heard from community organizations about the issues they are working on from homelessness to immigration to environmental issues. After reviewing each issue we wanted to choose one that we feel like can make an impact on our town, and one that is global. Once we had researched each issue we then voted on Homelessness to tackle as a class. This one stood out for each of us and made us feel like we can take the project any direction we want. My class researched homelessness, hearing from various community organizations who work on this issue (Axis, Ed Aber, Food Not Bombs, Veteran Homestead Project). But our class wanted to take it up a notch and dig deeper into the subject. So we took a little field trip to the local homeless camp near the Test Tracks. We observed many different things there and got a real view of this topic in Durango. After seeing this topic up closer, we wanted to create a project that can make an impact on the community and bring all sorts of community members together. We then voted and defined the problem and goal of an event that can bring more awareness to the Durango community. Our class came together and planned the event that wowed the community on December 12. Each of us created projects to achieve our goal and bring more awareness to this topic.
Overall, the event Ashley's 11 grade Humanities class put on was absolutely amazing. The event was based around one of Durango's biggest topics, homelessness. The event's purpose was to bring more understanding and awareness to this topic. Community members, organizations, the homeless, and political figures were all invited to attend the event. A buffet like dinner, donations from students parents, was offered and served to everyone attending. The hope of this meal was to share a simple conversation and get rid of those pre-conceived notions people may have about this topic. Many projects were on display as well, from painting to videos they all shared the same common purpose of the event. The most interesting part of the night, was seeing how amazing it is when a group of people come together for the common good and create something awesome out of it. Seeing so many people talk and hearing so many good conversations really warms the heart. A homeless man named Matthew also appreciated my speech and gave me as huge hug saying "There needs to be more people like you", sending a rush of love through my body.
My project was something I feel like really made me work and stretch myself so I was able to do it. Giving a speech in front of a hundred plus people is no small thing. You have many things that you need to prepare for and make sure is on point. These many things included my speech, speaking voice, and presentation skills that all took lots of work to get the result I needed. I edited my speech many times and made sure it would leave my audience something to take away. I practiced to myself in the mirror and spoke to all of my family to make sure there were no mistakes or inappropriate language. All of this came together to make an awesome project of mine. I did not have a group and did this project completely solo besides the peer critique from classmates.
This exhibition left a huge impact on my life and it's something that I will remember for the rest of my life. It changed my views on this topic completely and gave me a new understanding I didn't have before. I finally knew how Durango is taking care of this subject and what the steps are to making it better for the city. I also got a view on a national level from our good friend Willie. Researching this topic gave me a new understanding on how to look at these people and understand their situation. Meeting some of these people too was really awesome. The compassion and humanity some of them have can never be matched by someone with a home. I will forever look at this event as something that altered my understanding for the better.
Reflection
At the beginning of the semester, our class started studying Dr. King’s ideas of Civil Disobedience and his definitions of what makes a just v. unjust law. We researched what the right thing to do is in the case of justice for Dr. King and applied this to our own lives, answering the question "To punch, or not to punch a nazi?". We then studied various moral and political philosophies of justice that have influenced or legal system including Deontology, Utilitarianism, John Rawls’ and Libertarianism. We listened to an amazing guest speaker from Fort Lewis, and dove a little deeper into the different philosophies, we each chose one we can relate our opinions and views to the most. After, we each researched our own philosophies and if we should apply it more into our own lives. After all that, we researched various issues of injustice in Durango and heard from community organizations about the issues they are working on from homelessness to immigration to environmental issues. After reviewing each issue we wanted to choose one that we feel like can make an impact on our town, and one that is global. Once we had researched each issue we then voted on Homelessness to tackle as a class. This one stood out for each of us and made us feel like we can take the project any direction we want. My class researched homelessness, hearing from various community organizations who work on this issue (Axis, Ed Aber, Food Not Bombs, Veteran Homestead Project). But our class wanted to take it up a notch and dig deeper into the subject. So we took a little field trip to the local homeless camp near the Test Tracks. We observed many different things there and got a real view of this topic in Durango. After seeing this topic up closer, we wanted to create a project that can make an impact on the community and bring all sorts of community members together. We then voted and defined the problem and goal of an event that can bring more awareness to the Durango community. Our class came together and planned the event that wowed the community on December 12. Each of us created projects to achieve our goal and bring more awareness to this topic.
Overall, the event Ashley's 11 grade Humanities class put on was absolutely amazing. The event was based around one of Durango's biggest topics, homelessness. The event's purpose was to bring more understanding and awareness to this topic. Community members, organizations, the homeless, and political figures were all invited to attend the event. A buffet like dinner, donations from students parents, was offered and served to everyone attending. The hope of this meal was to share a simple conversation and get rid of those pre-conceived notions people may have about this topic. Many projects were on display as well, from painting to videos they all shared the same common purpose of the event. The most interesting part of the night, was seeing how amazing it is when a group of people come together for the common good and create something awesome out of it. Seeing so many people talk and hearing so many good conversations really warms the heart. A homeless man named Matthew also appreciated my speech and gave me as huge hug saying "There needs to be more people like you", sending a rush of love through my body.
My project was something I feel like really made me work and stretch myself so I was able to do it. Giving a speech in front of a hundred plus people is no small thing. You have many things that you need to prepare for and make sure is on point. These many things included my speech, speaking voice, and presentation skills that all took lots of work to get the result I needed. I edited my speech many times and made sure it would leave my audience something to take away. I practiced to myself in the mirror and spoke to all of my family to make sure there were no mistakes or inappropriate language. All of this came together to make an awesome project of mine. I did not have a group and did this project completely solo besides the peer critique from classmates.
This exhibition left a huge impact on my life and it's something that I will remember for the rest of my life. It changed my views on this topic completely and gave me a new understanding I didn't have before. I finally knew how Durango is taking care of this subject and what the steps are to making it better for the city. I also got a view on a national level from our good friend Willie. Researching this topic gave me a new understanding on how to look at these people and understand their situation. Meeting some of these people too was really awesome. The compassion and humanity some of them have can never be matched by someone with a home. I will forever look at this event as something that altered my understanding for the better.