Walking Survey Report

In the article “Fremont high school”, Jonathan Kozol describes how the inability to provide the needed funding and address the necessities of minority children is preventing students from functioning properly at school. He talks to Meriya, a student who expresses her disgust on the unequal consideration given to urban and suburban schools. She and her classmates undergo physical and personal embarrassments. Kozol states that the average ninth grade student reads at fourth or fifth grade level while a third read at third grade level or below. Although academic problems are the main factor for low grades, students deal with other factors every day. For example, School bathrooms are unsanitary, air condition does not work, classrooms have limited

While shadowing at Ridge Elementary School, I noticed that some of the students seemed to be on different social-emotional scale levels. Some were natural born leaders and some were not which is okay. The natural born leaders would take charge of group assignments and the other children had no problem being a follower. Either way, the assignments that they had got done every time. I perceived almost immediately that an excess amount of the school’s students fell under three complexions. The three were mostly Hispanic, moderate Black/African descent, and few Caucasian. Since the school was mostly Hispanic this lead to the school has a lot of concentration on reading improvement clubs, in other words, bilingual education program which could be a great benefit for students who need the extra assistance. Taking a glance at the religious diversity in the classroom there were hard if any no visible religious diversities. Due to the majority of the school is the same ethnicity I am making an assumption the culture practiced the same religion which is why there is a lack of diversity in that area. More diversity should be added to this school district I believe the most impactful, and teachable moments are derived from a fellow diverse

It is important to research environmental risk factors that influence asthma in low income neighborhoods to find possible ways to prevent asthma. The study “Urban Asthma and the Neighborhood Environment in New York City” proves that there is a positive correlation between neighborhoods and asthma hospitalizations.2 Children in lower income neighborhoods are more likely to be hospitalized due to asthma. Those living in lower income neighborhoods also tend to be minorities, which implies that African Americans and Latinos are more susceptible to asthma.2 Moreover, minorities are more likely to be living in public housing. The study explains that 11% of all housing units in Harlem is broken down and not suitable for living which proves that there is a positive correlation between the population of minorities and living in run-down housing and asthma related hospitalization.2

My ethical dilemma was a little different from yours. My main concern was the air pollution alone, although the children’s health is very important. Addressing the source of the cause, would then alleviate the disparity of children going to schools by freeways, or busy streets that emit high amount of carbon monoxide, and toxic particulates in the air. Not only would this help the children in that area, but all the other people being affected in that community. Your approach on the situation was also a little different from mine. Moving schools would help the children, but the air pollution where the students were at initial would continue to worsen and compromise the air. Ultimately, I believe the goal would be to discover alternative ways

In his essay, Kozol identified Fremont high school as a public school that has over a thousand students enrolled but does not have a convenient environment suitable for learning. Some classes are taught in portables or storage rooms and they do not even have windows and this is where the students are being taught. Students are given inadequate time to eat and rest for breaks before continuing with their classes and some students do not bother to eat. Rodents run freely in Fremont high. Hamburger buns have rat bite marks and rat droppings have been found around the school. At Fremont only one or two bathrooms are operational and there are fifteen bathrooms short that are required by the

When it came to choosing my classes I had to get a class that was only one credit, however, out of all the choices given to me I decided to take PES100 because I believed that by joining a fitness walking class I will be somewhat active and in hopes also influence my eating habits to healthier choices as I begin college. By choosing this class I also had in mind goals that I planned to achieve once I began. My short term goals were to stop taking the “easy” ways to places, such as driving to places when I can walk to them. This type of activity maybe be small exercise but while also taking this class I know that my habits of choosing the lazy way will soon disappear. For my long term goals, I hope to turn my fitness walking into fitness

Our current school, Crestview Elementary, is located in Gainesville, Florida. Gainesville is a mid-size suburban community situated in Alachua County, which found in the northern part of Florida. Crestview Elementary has been a part of the Gainesville community for 60 years and served approximately 340 students in grades one through five. The school in located near serval low-income housing apartments, as well as an established housing subdivision. Ninety-seven percent of the student population is served by our free and reduce lunch program. The ethnic makeup of our school includes 90 percent African-Americans, 6 percent Hispanics, and 4 percent whites. Historically our school’s grade has fluctuated between a ‘C’ and ‘D’, with

The energy system for muscle contraction during the first few seconds of exercise is the:

Due to urban sprawl, the neighborhood of Walnut Park has been victim to marginalization. Similar to Pruitt Igeo, urban sprawl caused residents to leave walnut park and take businesses and jobs with them. Hammell (2016) states that, “Occupational deprivation arises when populations have limited choice in occupations because of their isolated location, their ability, or other circumstances”. The residents of Walnut Park cannot force business to stay in their neighborhood, so the lack of occupations is outside of their immediate control. The deprivation of healthy occupations causes a surplus in dark occupations, due to the fact people must find alternative ways to fill their time and provide for their families. Also, the link between marginalization and occupation impacts culture. Downes (1997) defines culture as, “the learned part of human lifestyles”. If a child grows up in a community where there is illegal activity, lack of opportunity and decreased importance on education, this is what they incorporate into their own life. The culture of Walnut Park is directly linked to its occupational deprivation and feelings of inferiority. However, Walbridge elementary school is working endlessly to shift this culture and bring opportunity back into their neighborhood.

Now days walking down the streets of Atlanta, we see the new neighborhoods consisting of condos, Starbucks, yoga classes and Chipotle. Gentrification is a growing problem in urban areas as the influx of the riches have caused the displacement of lower class families due to higher economic demands and local politics. According to Diane K. Levy, Jennifer Comey and Sandra Padilla (2005), “We define gentrification as the process whereby higher-income households move into low income neighborhoods, escalating the area’s property values to the point that displacement occurs. In addition to changes in economic class, gentrification often involves a change in a neighborhood’s racial and ethnic composition…” (p.1). Though gentrification has lasting affects on the economic status of cities, there are also repercussions that not only effect working individuals but also the students that attend school in these gentrified areas. When areas are gentrified, schools are rezoned thus leading to long lasting consequences that students must face. Some believe that gentrification is beneficial to a growing economy in a growing city, but the realities of the its lasting effects on education are often left under the radar. The issues that lie within the education system as it pertains to gentrification include day segregation and unequal opportunities between affluent and low-income areas.

Kozol doesn’t focus too much on the lifestyle or issues that take place in New York City because he claims that people have a general idea of what New York City consists of. Instead, he immediately discusses issues with the public school system in this city. Kozol visits a Public School 261, which is located next to a funeral home. This school is overpopulated, with the capacity being 900 students and their actual population of students being 1,300. The building itself has no windows, which Kozol claims makes the atmosphere uncomfortable and isolated. There are many issues with the building itself, such as the heating and cooling system. However, there are also issues with faculty being understaffed and students being over-populated. Kozol states that each student only gets 10 minutes a year with the one guidance counselor at this school. This limits student’s opportunities when it comes to furthering their education, finding a career, or even caring about their school. Students aren’t going to care about going to school if they know their school won’t notice if they are

If we want our children to become more active then we need to find ways to provide areas where they can safely plan and interact with other children. We need to encourage community members to actively participate in opportunities to create a healthier community. A partnership with community members is needed to make the changes necessary to promote and provide access to safe recreational areas for children. In the short term while we are trying to find ways to clean up existing playgrounds and build new ones, we need schools to open gyms and sports fields during non-school hours so children can play safely after school, on the weekend and over summer vacation. Creating affordable after school programs, summer programs and free or low cost summer camps for low-income families is a place to start while working on building more and safer playgrounds. There are challenges regarding cleaning existing playgrounds or creating new ones. Neighborhoods or schools lack the resources to provide playgrounds, parks and after school programs and some neighborhoods are unsafe for children. Parents can become advocates for their children by writing letters to school administrators and board members. Encourage local officials to install park equipment, bike paths and safer

Slide 1: Cars and bus lines at schools in Arizona are critical for children’s health.

Walking around, the area feels residential and I feel very safe. In many ways, the neighborhood is very similar to where I grew up. In the middle of the day the blocks are quiet and not highly trafficked. At 3 pm in the afternoon, they are occupied with kids carrying backpacks; roughly one quarter of the neighborhood is young people under the age of 18 and 5% is under the age of 5 . Until I saw the faces of these adolescents and teens walking home, the best indication that I had available to speculate on the racial composition of the neighborhood were the pictures and products in the window of a hair salon a few blocks away; I assumed that members of the community are predominantly African America, Caribbean, and Latino. In addition, from passing a few individuals on the streets, I also assumed that there are some Caucasians

“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” This quote is from Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher who mused on the Apollonian and Dionysian literary concept. These concepts deliberate the influence logic and emotion have on thought, particularly the conflict between the two, as well as individuation versus connection to the world. Walking is like a physical manifestation of the Dionysian concept, as not only does it physically connect one to the natural world, but also lends itself to creative thinking. While some assume walking is only beneficial to the physical well-being of a person, others claim it also stimulates creative thoughts and ideas.