Natasha's Lesson Helps Save Ohio Girl By Elizabeth Cohen

The death of actress Natasha Richardson has helped many not take the "blunt" head bumps so lightly. After Richardson's tragic death, Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent, wrote that a young girl from Ohio, Morgan McCracken, was hit in the head-right above her left temple- by a line drive baseball hit by her father, Donald McCracken. He and Connie McCracken quickly iced the swelling and it went down within an hour. Morgan went on the next two days acting perfectly normal. But when the McCrackens heard news of Natasha Richardson dying after an assumed to be minor head injury and not handling the situation immediately, they wondered if Morgan was really okay. When they went up to say goodnight, Morgan complained about having a headache so they called the pediatrician. Afterward Morgan was in tears due to the amount of pain she was in. They took her to the emergency room at LakeWest Hospital where docors monitored a CT Scan and then put her on a helicopter to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland. Dr. Alan Cohen of Rainbow Hospital immediately took Morgan to the operating room after telling her parents that she was suffering from the same injury as Richardson: an epidural hematoma. The surgery was successful and Morgan made it through. However, Dr.Alan Cohen says that had the McCrackens not brought Morgan in that night, she may not have woken up. This scenario is called "talk and die" because blood flows into the area between the lining of the brain and the skull. Because fluid is building up, it creates pressure and the brain is ultimately the "something" that has to give. If surgery is not performed quickly enough to drain the fluid, deterrioration can happen very quickly. Greg Ayette, spokesperson for the Brain Association of America and a cognitive rehabilitation therapist, and other experts have created a list of actions that must be taken after someone has suffered a head injury: be vigilant-keeping an eye on that person; look for dizziness, vomiting, headache and confusion; look for changes in behavior and symptoms; be especially wary if someone has been drinking alcohol, is on blood thinners, is elderly, or is a young athlete; and if possible, go to a certified trauma center. Such injuries can no longer be taken lightly as we see that "small bumps" can actually mean "deadly bumps". Of course we don't want to panick about everything, but we do need to take the necessary precautions when playing by paying attention to our surroundings; and when riding a bike, skiing, or skating, we must wear a helmet.


Application: My cousin Dominique, a young soccer player, once hit her head on my grandmother's sharp head-board and bagan to bleed. She was fine after she was rushed to the hospital, but in the past year she has suffered from a couple of seizures. Could this new medical issue be related to that bump of the head, but just took a while for severe symptoms to appear?

Application: Do you believe all head injuries require medical attention??

Is Salt Nature's Antidepressant? Helen Fields for National Geographic

Helen Fields's article, "Is Salt Nature's Antidepressant?" March 17, 2009, suggests that salt can be a form of antidepressant, as salt can make people "happier". She first poses the question, "Could salt be the solution to a sad, empty life?" so she can further examine this question's answer through expert opinions and experiments. Alan Johnson, physiologistof the University of Iowa, has tested and found that sodium-deprived rats do not take pleasure in daily ctivities; whereas when they do have sodium they are considered to be "happy" again. Fields relates this lack of sodium in rats, humans and other land animals, to depression that seems to be fixed once eating more salt- resulting in a happier mood. She then provides another study done by Johnson, which was a study of people with chronic fatigue syndrome. This study found that many of these patients had reduced their sodium intake for health purposes and by inceasing the sodium in their diets, these symptoms were mitigated. Field's describes that "our kidneys adjust the concentration of urine based on how salty the blood is", however, most people eat much more salt than they need to. To conclude, she expresses that "sodim-filled dinners" should not be eaten to cheer one's self up as this study is a fresh connection between salt and depression, yet scientists are certain about the connection between salt and heart disease. Her purpose is to inform readers on the latest findings of salt in a positve sense, but yet express how we should not induldge in sodium-filled foods due to health related illnesses.

Clarification: What did Johnson mean when he said "the brain may continue being happy about salt even when it doesn't strictly need it, in the same way the brain may 'reward' us when we eat too much or take dangerous drugs"? I didn't understand the "reward".

Application: How do studies performed on rats relate to how those experiments will affect humans?

Blog Entry #3 pp. 300-410

As in the previous chunks, Miles Corwin continued to use imagery, anecdotes and statistics to retell the events of the lives of the students, faculty, and parents he interviewed to write this book. In this last chunk we were able to see how the students had progressed and what the result of that progress would be when they received their college acceptance letters. Through the statistics provided on pages 402-403, we are able to see how the removal of affirmative action affected acceptances of minorities and allows us to see that no one is going to just give us our education to move on to have a career. We have to want and strive for an education and fight academically to compete at the top schools. The students Mr.Corwin followed overcame many obstacles and kept their education as a number 1 priority. Some had issues with parents being addicted to drugs, gangs interfering with their education, finances causing them to work long hours, having a baby, the problems Ms.Little had affected their learning and preparation for the exam, or in Olivia's case, being locked up. Knowing their stories is an inspiration for me to always reassure myself of why I need an education and what I need to stay away from.

Upon completion of the many stories within And Still We Rise, I was able to look into my own life and situations with school and see what it is I need to do to excell and go on to do great things. I was able to see that our teachers have a tough job and not just anyone can do it. We should appreciate our teachers because they only want to help us achieve. I was also able to see that the way teachers communicate with their students and how they behave has a major affect on students. Students are in school with their teachers for most of the week, and attitudes that are present in the classroom affect the learning process as it did with Ms.Little's class. The issues that were going on with her and the administraters carried over into the classroom and ultimately caused he AP students to not get the proper preparation for the AP Exam. This situation made me realize that I'm not going to get all the information from my teachers. I have to do some things on my own as well. Since things don't always go according to plan, I must make it a priority to study and revisit things I have already learned to stay ahead and pass my AP Tests. Teachers are there to give us the information, but it is up to us to do something with it. I realized that receiving straight A's won't mean anything if I don't have the passion to learn the information and retain it and do something with it. I have to continue to motivate myself even if others don't because in college I will have to do things on my own.

I was touched by the lives of these students who went to Crenshaw and made the best out of what they were given. Miesha went to USC and majored in management consulting; Sadi went to Clark College in Atlanta and majored in speech communication; Danielle went to Pitzier and majored in sociology and black studies; Willie went to Morehouse and majored in business; Claudia went to Cal State Long Beach and majored in psychology and anthropology; Venola wen to Colby College and majored in Spanish; Princess went to the University ofCalifornia, Santa Barbara and majored in communications; Curt went to UCLA and majored in physiology; Naila went to Stanford and majored in medical administrations; Robert went to UCLA and majored in African American studies and history; and Olivia was released in August, went to Northridge, reapplied to Babson, and transferred her junior year. While going to school, each student worked or had other activities going on because of the different groups they were a part of. But they continued to excell. I know that I need to take advantage of everything I am offered in order to do the same thing.

Application: If you were in one of MsLittle's students' situations, and had to deal with parents being on drugs or being completley broke having to work many hours or constantly being in the line of fire from gangs, how do you think you would have handled the situation? Do you think you would have handled it the same as some of these students or what would you have done things differently?

Application: Who from this story can you most relate to and why?

Style: Why do you think Miles Corwin chose to follow Ms.Little's AP English class instead of the students' other AP teachers' classes?

Blog #2 pp. 201-300

In this third chunk Miles Corwin continues to use imagery to describe the city, similes to help readers understand Ms.Little's attitude, definitions to to convey the meaning of the slang used in class, and anecdotes to tell the stories of these students' past and present situations they have to face while going to school. Ms.Little continues to be unstable in the classroom especially after a derrogatory statement was made about her and she felt no one was on her defense. Now as this chunk ended she is looking for a new school to transfer to, and the AP exam is in less than two months. What will happen if she leaves these students? Olivia is now being sent to Dorothy Kirby Center for nonviolent offenders, for the check scam she was a part of because her foster mother, who only wanted her for the money, said so many negative things about Olivia at the end when she was close to getting off. The things Fairconnetue said were false accusations. I feel she just didn't like that Olivia was not dependent upon her and did things on her own. Hopefully everything will go well at the center so she can go to college because then all her hard work would seem like a waste. While this was going on, others were beginning to receive their acceptance letters to the different colleges they applied to. Danielle and Curt are waiting for their letter from Stanford, and Naila has been rewarded a full scholarship to Stanford on athletis in basketball. As we are told about the different acceptances, we are introduced to the stories of Princess, who did at one time have a nice home with her mom and grandparents but after the death of her grandparents, she and her mother moved from one infested apartment to another. But just as she was about to give up on school and work, her mom was blessed with a full-time, well paying job that would allow her to graduate, take her senior pictures, get her class ring, and go to the prom. She was also accepted into UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside. Her struggle with finances and her mom trying to still provide for the two of them, reminds me of my family situation. Finances may not always be the best but God will make a way and we can't give up. That's what my mom tells me and it's the same thing Princess's mom told her. It's important that we students understand education is a priviledge, and we have to make the most of it. That is what Danielle's father, Tommie Smith, said while speaking to Ms.Little's AP English class. I enjoyed learning more about him and knowing about him before reading because it was breathtaking to read his story in this book and how he has guided his duaghter. She wanted to run track, and was good, but he wanted her to stay on her academics because she couldn't be as competitive in both. This helped her be number one in her class and that is great because she has that support. Willie is another student who had a rough childhood as his mother became addicted to crack cocaine, but his dad was there to encourage him. I'm glad that some of these students do have support of at least one parent if not both.
Determination is a constant in each of these students' lives as they strive for best academically. They are determined to succeed and excell and make a better life for themselves. They have a passion for learning. So no matter what obstacles they are faced with, whether it's needing a job, losing a friend or family memeber, being sent from foster home to foster home, or having a baby, they continue to work hard to get the education they know is necessary for them to compete and succeed.

Application: Who else other than Tommie Smith and those mentioned in the book, do you feel have showed "moral courage" for challenging prejudices and preconceived notions of their time?

Application: Do you think that what happened to Ms.Little when she was with the older guy caused her to have an unstable attitude towards her classes and administration? Why or why not?

Application: Tommie Smith makes a statement about black athletes depending upon their skills and talent to make their money, but having an eduction is still really important. If you are of another race, are there any specific recreational activities, viewed as a meal ticket to success, that are held higher than education by your family members?

Blog Entry #1 pp. 101-200

Through facts, statistics, imagery and anecdotes, Miles Corwin vividly describes the vast differences between the teaching methods of Ms.Little and Ms.Moultrie; explains the outcome of the vote on Proposition 209- affirmative action and how it will affect minority students; and introduces four new students and their background stories. He begins the chapters with a school setting in either Ms. Little's classroom, the counselor's office, or the weather. This is because the students who are being focused on are in Ms.Little's class and are usually communicaing with Mr.Braxton. Ms.Little- who teaches the gifted English class in tenth and twelfth grade- is a white woman with strong views about literature and how it should be taught, and her teaching style differs from that of Ms.Moultrie- a black woman from south-central who teaches the gifted English class ninth and eleventh grade. Ms.Little feels that Ms.Moultrie does not continue to apply what was taught to the students in tenth grade in eleventh grade, causing unnecessary writing mistakes in the twelfth grade when their writing is crucial for their scholarship and college applications. Ms.Little has mood swings quite often and she doesn't mind expressing her feelings on how she feels about anything, especially Ms.Moultrie, even to her sudents. The gifted students are very open and they communicate with Ms.Little about her attitude and what has happened to them when it is brought up from connections in their reading. Ms.Little knows her students have had rough childhoods and are busy trying to survive outside of school, but she wants them to succeed and be able to compete with other students applying to college. This is why she was against affirmative action. She wanted her students to actually earn their way into college and not just let it be given to them because they ae minorities. I can see where she is coming from because she doesn't want race to be the factor in determining if they go to college. She wants it to be their intelligence. Then when they compete, others will see a black woman or a black man is able to work right alongside a white woman or man. I can tell she genuinely cares for these students and that is why she is strict.
Sabreen, Latisha, and Curt are introduced in this section and each of them is facing different problems as they are trying to continue to excell in school. Sabreen wants to become emancipated and ultimately drops out because she is tired and can't take it anymore; Latisha is able to confront her past of molestation as she connects with Portrait of the Artist; and Curt wants to attend Stanford(like me) and had to deal with people telling him he was "acting white" because he was smart and dressed nice.


Discusion Questions:
Application: After reading about affirmative action and the statistics of acceptances of minorities into college, what do you feel should have been the outcome of the proposition and why?

Application: How does the way teachers act affect the way students learn? Ms.Little constantly talked about Ms.Moultrie and how she taught. Do you think teachers talking about other teachers affects the students' performance in any way?