As you know, for my campaign project I envisioned this small tutoring program in Chalreston run by EIU students. Although this program doesnt exist, I created a lot of media for it.
Here is some of the information I included on my website.
Home Page: Children of Charleston is a new foundation originated to help educate children in Charleston, Illinois. What started off as small after school tutoring program for the local junior high, has now evolved to a rather large charity aimed at helping students of all ages with their school endeavors as well as a scholarship program for 5 graduating high school seniors looking to attend Eastern Illinois University. What makes us so special is that we were founded by EIU students who were just hoping to help out their community and now can say they really did change the lives of many students in Charleston. We hope to continue our tradition for years to come, and hope you can help us, help educate.
Services:
Our tutoring program has reached dozens of childrens lives in the short period we have been operating. We tutor in Math, Science, and English in open regular sessions, and can help with other subjects upon request.
We currently are servicing:
Charleston Bridges School- Grades 7 to 12
Charleston Middle School- Grades 7 & 8
Charleston High School- Grades 9 to 12
Mattoon Middle School- Grades 7 & 8
Mattonn High School- Grades 9 to 12
We are hoping to expand our services to other local school in Charleston and Mattoon, as well as the Ashmore and Learna Communities. Maybe you can help us reach this goal!
Events: Come join us at our fun events!
March 5th, 2011- Annual Food Drive located at the Bank of America on Lincoln.
March 30th, 2011- Spring break Pizza and Homework Party located at EIU's Campus.
May 30th, 2011- End of the Year BBQ Located in the South Quad on EIU's Campus.
August 21st, 2011- Back to School Party located on EIU's Campus
October 1st, 2011- 5k Run/Walk starting at MLK Union on EIU's Campus
Donate: In order to keep our service free and operating, we really rely on donations. It is important to donate to help our community, but more personally to help educate and benefit these hard working students. If you are a local business, educator, veteran, parent or other family member you can really make a difference!
To Donate Please Send Checks to:
Children of Charleston
C/O Kelly Tompkins
1532 2nd Street
Charleston, Il. 61920
Rememebr, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
HELP US, HELP EDUCATE
Contact us: To Volunteer with our tutoring program please contact Kim Looney at
kalooney@childrenofcharleston.org
To help with our fundraising events please contact Emily Verrilli at
eaverrilli@childrenofchalreson.org
Or to make a donation please contact Kelly Tompkins at
katompkins@childrenofcharleston.org
Rememebr, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
HELP US, HELP EDUCATE
I cant figure out how to upload my PDFs to here, but hopefully Ill figure it out soon!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Should No Child be left behind?
The No Child Left Behind Act has been a debated program ever since it passed January 8, 2002. The bill was pushed by Senator Ted Kennedy, but then finally passed by President George Bush. The bill was instated to require states to standardize test all students in certain grades. The tests are designed to assess the education level at the schools in order to ensure that students are receiving equal schooling and to improve their overall education. It is said to be setting high standards and establishing memorable goals to improve individual outcomes in education. The test scores are required in order for the school to receive federal funding. The test scores also assess the quality of teaching in the schools. The media has covered this program in many different ways. To give an idea, there were 975 refined search results on Lexis Nexis, 1,170 videos on You tube, as well as many other articles on other media outlet websites. Majority of the coverage is done in newspaper articles and live television broadcasts. The Washington Post has published over 100 articles, and there are a variety in The New York Times and USA Today. The republican party and the Bush administration are focuses in the coverage. In addition, various educational boards, as well as known educators are mentioned and discussed. Obviously, educators, teachers and principals, would have an opinion on this matter, and a strong one. During the presidential election campaigns in 2004, John Kerry and George Bush were mentioned in the media because they debated this issue and it’s relevance to education. In addition, Obama has been featured in news stories and television broadcasts on the subject and his plans to reform the program. The media strategically framed this story to appeal to their audiences. The informal name for the bill was designed to evoke your emotions. The name No Child Left Behind gives you this idea of a poor lonely uneducated child. Giving it that name made people want to support it, because who would want to leave a child behind. It was a way to call attention to their campaign. Furthermore, the media feeds you this story. They gather all the information they can on this subject, and then take parts of it and assign an attitude to have towards the idea, usually agreeing with its market, and then feed the information to its audience. Obama recently has been promising reform of the bill to form to the needs of education today. A newspaper article will explain what Obama’s idea are thus far, decide whether or not they think this new plan will work, and then target it as newsworthy information to the public. No child left behind was established 8 years ago, and has been discussed even before that. When reading articles on the on the program, there have been many mixed reviews. Before the bill was passed, the media did shed a positive light on the subject. Saying that this is a start in education reform, and that will be great for teachers as well as students. There were on the other hand plenty of articles that did not see this program as being successful. The program requires a portion of our budget, and many educators do not see it as being successful. It was that it will take years to reform schools, and that teachers should be focused more on improvement, rather than position. The media seemed to be torn with this program. It is a highly discussed topic, but it apparent that there is more than one side to this program. Recently, the media has been in favor of the program, especially because Obama plans to improve it. USA Today describes it as a problem that Obama will fix. No child left behind is being framed, as it is outdated and needs alterations. Overall, the media has set high expectations for the new revised program, there are still some outlets, or people, who are uncertain the outcome of the program. These ideas are not usually highlighted in the media, but still visible.Overall, there is more than one perception one could have on the No child left behind act. The media has framed the program in many different ways over the years. Obama’s new plan to revolutionize the program is gaining a positive audience, although many educators still disagree with the plans effectiveness and do not think it will work out in the end.
1957 v. Now
My manager from the job I have back home has a habit of constantly sending me chain emails. Althought I usually end up deleting majority of them, I feel like this one was very interesting. It gave different scenarios and the outcomes of what would happen now.
"You know by today's standards none of us were suppose to ever make it.
HIGH SCHOOL -- 1957 vs. 2010
Scenario 1:
Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.
1957 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2010 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.
Scenario 2:
Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
1957 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2010 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it
Scenario 3:
Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students.
1957 - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2010 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. He becomes a zombie. He is then tested for ADD. The family gets extra money (SSI) from the government because Jeffrey has a disability.
Scenario 4:
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1957 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.
2010 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. The state psychologist is told by Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.
Scenario 5:
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school..
1957 - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock
2010 - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is then searched for drugs and weapons.
Scenario 6:
Pedro fails high school English.
1957 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.
2010 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against the state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is then banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.
Scenario 7:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.
1957 - Ants die.
2010 - ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates his parents -- and all siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
Scenario 8:
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1957 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2010 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.
This should hit every email inbox to show how stupid we have become"
I would have to say I agree with alot of what this email says. Although I think a lot of it is really dramatic, the point its trying to make is something I agree with. Now adays eveyone needs counseling, and theres always some big underlying issue behind everything, when it may really just not be the case. I really found this email interesting, and I hope you all it as well.
"You know by today's standards none of us were suppose to ever make it.
HIGH SCHOOL -- 1957 vs. 2010
Scenario 1:
Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.
1957 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2010 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.
Scenario 2:
Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
1957 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2010 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it
Scenario 3:
Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students.
1957 - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2010 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. He becomes a zombie. He is then tested for ADD. The family gets extra money (SSI) from the government because Jeffrey has a disability.
Scenario 4:
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1957 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.
2010 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. The state psychologist is told by Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.
Scenario 5:
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school..
1957 - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock
2010 - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is then searched for drugs and weapons.
Scenario 6:
Pedro fails high school English.
1957 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.
2010 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against the state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is then banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.
Scenario 7:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.
1957 - Ants die.
2010 - ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates his parents -- and all siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
Scenario 8:
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1957 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2010 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.
This should hit every email inbox to show how stupid we have become"
I would have to say I agree with alot of what this email says. Although I think a lot of it is really dramatic, the point its trying to make is something I agree with. Now adays eveyone needs counseling, and theres always some big underlying issue behind everything, when it may really just not be the case. I really found this email interesting, and I hope you all it as well.
Women in the Media
For a journalism class that I am currently taking, we had to do a little mini research assignment where we look at 20 different newspaper articles and examined how women we involved in them (we they featured in the story, wrote the story, quoted, etc.). I thought that my findings were incredibley interesting so I thought I would share them with you. This research report was actually an intriguing enjoyable exercise. In order to make it not bias, all the articles were chosen from The New York Times print publication. Since five stories needed to be examined each day, the first story from each on the following sections were selected; Front Page, National, Business, Sports and the Arts. I chose these sections because they varied. Also, I figured New York Times readers would notice the first story in each section first, and thought they would be the best to analyze.
Considering I only conducted the research for a week, many of the stories in each section were similar. The Front Page covered issues in Libyan five out of the seven days, with the remaining two days discussing job growth in the U.S. and a similarly the nation’s budget. Surprisingly, female journalists were featured three of the days, but Hillary Clinton, expert economists, and another leader were the only women mentioned in the main story during this week. The National section varied the most. On four of the days, female writers reported, and of these four stories, three of them were written by the same woman. Throughout the week, six women were featured in these stories. The Business section was covered predominately by men. Although the sexes of some of the names are unclear, I believe only one woman reported for the week, and only three women were mentioned in the seven stories. The Sports section seemed to be even more sexist. Only one story was written by a woman, that covered issue’s with Barry Bonds. The Associated Press wrote an article about the Skiing U.S. titles and I was happy to see the women champions mentioned before the men. The Arts section of the paper had to have been the most women-friendly. Three of the journalists were women, and over five women were mentioned throughout the week.
I honestly thought there would be a more even spilt between men and women featured in these stories. I was not expecting to see men completely dominate the printed publication. I feel like when women were writing the story, a woman was more likely to be featured in the story. Even so though, the women featured had to be experts or highly recognized in their field, such as the Secretary of State, Supreme Court Justice, Former Governor of Alaska, CEO of a company, Mayor of the city, or an expert. Otherwise they were shown as weak individuals affected by the issue or in the Arts section because they were in the show being discussed. I hope that this changes in my lifetime, so that future generations can recognize women as creditable and important individuals.
http://www.nytimes.com/
Considering I only conducted the research for a week, many of the stories in each section were similar. The Front Page covered issues in Libyan five out of the seven days, with the remaining two days discussing job growth in the U.S. and a similarly the nation’s budget. Surprisingly, female journalists were featured three of the days, but Hillary Clinton, expert economists, and another leader were the only women mentioned in the main story during this week. The National section varied the most. On four of the days, female writers reported, and of these four stories, three of them were written by the same woman. Throughout the week, six women were featured in these stories. The Business section was covered predominately by men. Although the sexes of some of the names are unclear, I believe only one woman reported for the week, and only three women were mentioned in the seven stories. The Sports section seemed to be even more sexist. Only one story was written by a woman, that covered issue’s with Barry Bonds. The Associated Press wrote an article about the Skiing U.S. titles and I was happy to see the women champions mentioned before the men. The Arts section of the paper had to have been the most women-friendly. Three of the journalists were women, and over five women were mentioned throughout the week.
I honestly thought there would be a more even spilt between men and women featured in these stories. I was not expecting to see men completely dominate the printed publication. I feel like when women were writing the story, a woman was more likely to be featured in the story. Even so though, the women featured had to be experts or highly recognized in their field, such as the Secretary of State, Supreme Court Justice, Former Governor of Alaska, CEO of a company, Mayor of the city, or an expert. Otherwise they were shown as weak individuals affected by the issue or in the Arts section because they were in the show being discussed. I hope that this changes in my lifetime, so that future generations can recognize women as creditable and important individuals.
http://www.nytimes.com/
Apple apps taking over the world!
With the new invention of the ipad, Apps are getting crazier and cooler by the minute. I decided to blog a little bit about some of the most common apps used on the ipad. One of the main reasons iPads and other Apple products are so successful is because of their applications. There are over twenty-one applications already installed in the iPad. They were “designed from the ground up” according to www.apple.com, in order to be utilized by the large multi-touch screen. They claim to be better then ever. All the apps are organized on the Homescreen, which can be designed anyway desired. The more apps added, the Homescreens become available. Multitasking is also activated through the Homescreen.. It allows iPad users to juggle more, sitch between apps faster, in order to listen while you work, read or play. Of all the built-in apps, Find my iPad very convenient. It needs to be enabled, but when it is iPad users can log into www.me.com and find their iPad located on a map. On top of the built-in apps, there are many that can be download off of the apple store, a built-in application. Of these applications the more popular ones are iWorks, which includes Keynote, Pages and Numbers. Keynote is the most powerful presentation app ever designed for a mobile device. It is capable of presenting photos, charts, tables, amazing animations and effects to really connect with the crowd. Pages is a word processor with an easy to use keyboard and layout tools, as well as beautiful design templates. Multiple file formatting is available, making it easy to file share. Many applications are also available for a small fee. A small article written for Inc. Magazine mentions the top four rated business applications; OMNIGraffle, Flighttrack Pro, Logmein ignition and Apple’s Keynote (previously mentioned). OMNIGraffle allows you to create freehand drawings and build diagrams by dragging and dropping elements. FlighttrackPro shows zoom able route maps, real-time flight updates, and shows multiple flights on one screen. And conveniently, Logmein ignition is enables one to log into their computer from their iPad. WinAdmin and iTeleport allows iPad users to connect with remote Windows operating systems, for “non-mac” users in the business world, according to Tony Bradley, a journalist for PCWORLD.com. Among the many applications, some that I found particularly useful are the e-Banking and music producing applications. E-Banking is a secure way to back, because apple products are not acceptable of malware. In an article written for USBanker entitled “An e-Banking Touch-Up?”, Karen Epper Hoffman explains how banks, should develop applications. Users can click on a button and launch their personal online bank in seconds. Thus far, J. P. Morgan Chase is the only bank with it’s own application. Some music producing apps mentioned on PCWORLD.com include Synth, Korg’s iElectribe, and Groovemaker. Synth features over forty instruments, a keyboard, and assorted effects controls. Korg’s iElectribe is a full-on virtual analog synthesizer with tons of effects, sound banks, and a step sequencer. And Lastly, Groovemaker is a popular “beatmaking” loop sequenizer. iPad applications are endless. From music, to business, to baby-trackers, applications have capability to uncover continuous information., and can only get cooler from here!
www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/
www.bestipadappslist.com/
www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/
www.bestipadappslist.com/
Sylvan Learning Center
For put recent campaign reports, I chose to create a make believe tutoring program out of Chalreston run by EIU students. Although many of my ideas I came up with myself, I did do some back ground research on Sylvan Learning Center.
http://www.sylvanlearning.com/
Sylvan Learning is a well-known tutoring institution that can help students of all ages and levels. There are over 900 centers in theUnited States and Canada
http://www.sylvanlearning.com/
Sylvan Learning is a well-known tutoring institution that can help students of all ages and levels. There are over 900 centers in the
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
PR Scare Tactics
For my first blog, I decided to write about one of the most influential campaigns I ever heard of, "The Meth Project". The Meth Project is a campaign aimed at preventing the spread and stopping the use of methamphetamine. Although many who have seen the graphic and disturbing ads are often frightened, they have proven to be extremely effective.
The campaign started in Montana in 2005 when the state was ranked #5 in the nation for meth abuse. The campaign used TV, radio, print, and billboards all to get the word out about the dangers of the drug. Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Colorado, Georgia, Wyoming, and good old Illinois have since then adopted the campaign.
Since then, Montana is now ranked #39 in the nation for meth abuse. Teen meth use has decreased by 63% and adult meth use has a declined 72%. Those are pretty astonishing numbers, but I believe the reason they are so high are because of the PR tactics throughout the campaign.
Since the effects of methamphetamine to the body are so extreme, it was easy to come up with horrifying ads to scare the bejeezus out of kids.
The campaign started in Montana in 2005 when the state was ranked #5 in the nation for meth abuse. The campaign used TV, radio, print, and billboards all to get the word out about the dangers of the drug. Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Colorado, Georgia, Wyoming, and good old Illinois have since then adopted the campaign.
Since then, Montana is now ranked #39 in the nation for meth abuse. Teen meth use has decreased by 63% and adult meth use has a declined 72%. Those are pretty astonishing numbers, but I believe the reason they are so high are because of the PR tactics throughout the campaign.
Since the effects of methamphetamine to the body are so extreme, it was easy to come up with horrifying ads to scare the bejeezus out of kids.
This is the first ad that I ever saw a couple years ago. Girls are so concerned about their image, this ad probably had a major effect on them.
"Our first campaign focused on the impact Meth has on the individual—the user. Our latest ads show the collateral damage that occurs to users' family and friends. This new concept is based directly on input from teens."
Thomas M. Siebel
The Meth Project
Founder and Chairman
The Meth Project
Founder and Chairman
The way the campaign is constantly changing their ads is a great way to reach their audience. Here's a link to all the videos, just to give everyone the creeps. =)
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