Celebrating the Women in Our Lives
Post your reflections on the women you honor here. I will post the photos later this weekend. Much appreciation to the students who brought refreshments for our party in the later class: Mesha, Nely, Andre, Rebecca for the music...and if I left out a name please let me know.
The tribute was as diverse and comprehensive as our academic community this semester English 1A 8-9 and 9-10. Cesi spoke about the Third Wave Feminist Theory, while Jenifer shared a moving tribute to her grandmother. Rebecca spoke about the author of the classic Silent Spring, while Andre read a lovely poem by his sister whom he admires. Other students, like Reina, Maktaur and Bridgett, spoke about their mothers. I shared poetical poetry by Marilyn Buck, who has been incarcerated for over 25 years here in California.
Post your reflections on the women you honor here. I will post the photos later this weekend. Much appreciation to the students who brought refreshments for our party in the later class: Mesha, Nely, Andre, Rebecca for the music...and if I left out a name please let me know.
The tribute was as diverse and comprehensive as our academic community this semester English 1A 8-9 and 9-10. Cesi spoke about the Third Wave Feminist Theory, while Jenifer shared a moving tribute to her grandmother. Rebecca spoke about the author of the classic Silent Spring, while Andre read a lovely poem by his sister whom he admires. Other students, like Reina, Maktaur and Bridgett, spoke about their mothers. I shared poetical poetry by Marilyn Buck, who has been incarcerated for over 25 years here in California.
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 3:58 PM
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Rebecca evans eng 1a 9-10 3/22/09 rachel carson
Before green was cool Rachel Carson lead a green revolution. Rachel Louise Carson was born in 1907 and passed in 1964. She was an American marine biologist and nature writer whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement.
In the late 1950’s, Carson turned her attention to conservation and the environmental problems caused by synthetic pesticides. Her written work, “Silent Spring” catered to the average American and brought forth the detriments of synthetic pesticide use. Rachel Carson and “Silent Spring” lead to a nationwide ban on DDT. Rachel Carson’s grassroots tactics also lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency or the EPA.
Rachel Carson was one of very few woman of the era who attended college. She earned her Bachelor of Science at the Pennsylvania College for Women (today known as Chatham University). Carson worked diligently and gained acceptance to John Hopkins University for her masters in biology. .
Amidst all her studies Carson was plagued with family responsibilities. Not only did she have to provide her tuition for college but also became the family care taker. In 1935, her father died suddenly, leaving Carson to care for her aging mother and making the financial situation even more difficult.
She began her career with a small job working writing a radio series for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries generating public awareness of aquatic life and advertisement of the bureau.
Working diligently and acquiring connections proved valuable for Carson, as she moved up in the bureau analyzing fish lifestyles, habitats and their growing and declining population. She then delivered the information to the public. Her writing was devoured by interested fisherman and Americans which lead her to delivering her knowledge to more and more uniformed Americans.
In 1936 she was faced with yet again another hardship as her sister died leaving her to care for her two nieces as well as her mother.
Carson’s writing and respect of the oceans lead her to discover the overall degration of earth’s waters and its marine inhabitants. She looked to further her research by expanding into the roots of the environmental degration.
In mid-1945, Carson first encountered the subject of DDT, a revolutionary new pesticide launched after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. DDT was considered a miracle pesticide. In the U.S. and other countries nurses were known to spray chidden down with the pesticide in hope to rid them of insets that might carry disease.
Carson was one of few who had any reservations on the new pesticide, until she meet Marie Rodell,. The two began a comprehensive writing and research career together.
Oxford University Press expressed interest in Carson's book proposal for a life history of the ocean, spurring her to complete the manuscript of what would become The Sea Around Us by early 1950. Her book remained on the New York Times best sellers list as well as earring multiple awards. Carson’s name was becoming recognizable and hence her work began to come into context.
In 1953 Carson moved to Maine to care for her mother as she grew ill, there she met a dear friend, Dorothy Freeman. The relationship has been portrayed as a romantic relationship and even though Dorothy was married she felt closer to woman on an attraction basis. The two women had a number of common interests, nature chief among them, and began exchanging letters regularly while apart. They would continue to share every summer for the remainder of Carson's life, and meet whenever else their schedules permitted.
In 1957, family tragedy struck a third time when one of the nieces she had cared for died at the age of 31, leaving a five-year-old orphan son, Roger. Carson took on the responsibility, adopting the boy, alongside continuing to care for her aging mother; this took a considerable toll on Carson. She moved to Silver Spring, Maryland to care for Roger, and much of 1957 was spent putting their new living situation in order and focusing on specific environmental threats thought to have killed her niece
By fall 1957, Carson was closely following federal proposals for widespread pesticide spraying; the “USDA planned to eradicate fire ants, and other spraying programs involving chlorinated hydrocarbons and organophosphates were on the rise” (wikapedia).
Carson became concerned about the use of synthetic pesticides, many of which had been developed through the” military funding of science” (wikapedia) for World War II.
As her research progressed, Carson found multiple scientists who were following the threats of synthetic pesticides. The 1950’s was a time of industrialization. Food was refrigerated and now being mass produced. Cheep pesticides enabled farmers to mass produce foods to travel long distances while still remaining in pristine conditions. The look of health was changing.
By 1959, the USDA's Agricultural Research Service responded to Carson and others with a public service film, Fire Ants on Trial. They however sugar coated the real truths and ignored the dangers of synthetic pesticides. That spring, Carson wrote a letter, to the USDA concerning the rapid bird population decline which was due to the pesticide over use.
Research at the Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health brought Carson into contact with medical researchers investigating the gamut of cancer-causing chemicals. Evidence supported by rat population studies showed a direct link to cancer causing cells and pesticides in family and an in turn food.
Ironically just as she was completing her final draft of silent spring in January 1960 Carson developed breast caner. She underwent intensive chemotherapy and radiation therapy her prognosis eventually resulted in a mastectomy.
With the help of supporters such as of the Audubon Society, and essayist including E. B. White, and Edwin Diamond, Silent Spring was published. The overriding theme of “Silent Spring” is the powerful—and often negative—effect humans have on the natural world.
Carson's main argument is that pesticides have detrimental effects on the environment; their effects are rarely limited to the target pests. DDT is a prime example, but other synthetic pesticides come under scrutiny as well, many of which are subject to bioaccumulation in which the pesticides travel through the food chain. Carson also accuses the chemical industry of intentionally spreading misinformation.
In the weeks leading up to the September 27 publication there was strong opposition to “Silent Spring.” Manufactures of DDT and other synthetic pesticides were furious as their revenue would undoubtedly suffer. Chemical companies and associated organizations produced a number of their own brochures and articles promoting and defending pesticide use. However, Carson's and the publisher were confident and her book lead the path for the ultimate truth for American citizens.
Weakened from breast cancer and her treatment regimen, Carson became ill with a respiratory virus in January 1964. Her condition worsened from there: in February, doctors found that she had severe anemia from her radiation treatments, and in March they discovered that the cancer had reached her liver. She died of a heart attack on April 14, 1964, at the age of 56.
Today there are numerous tributes to Carson and her unyielding efforts in environmental salvation. Yale has devoted libraries and labs to her research and continued interpretation of her knowledge.
Carson's work also had a powerful impact on the environmental movement. After the publication of “silent spring”, no one would be able to sell pesticides with integrity or without questions.
Carson's most direct legacy in the environmental movement was the campaign to ban the use of DDT in the United States but she also did extensive research in marine biology and marine bioaccumulation. Thanks to her dedicated work ethic the EPA and Environmental Defense Fund have been created for people to take a stand against government beauracracy over the environment.
Carson found a passion and a need. She did not back down even when her own health was compromised from the same demons she was fighting. She dedicated her life to bettering others and the future of America. She was a selfless woman who I deeply admire. She followed her intuition and dreams without influence from others perceptions. She was an amazing woman and I thank her for opening the environmental science movement to women.
Wikapedia: "Rachel Carson." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 8 Mar 2009, 18:41 UTC. 8 Mar 2009 en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rachel_Carson&oldid=275855616.
About: Rachel Carson quotes.”About, A New York time company. Jane Johanson Lewis .8 March 2009. 2009. womenshistory.about.com/od/quotes/a/rachel_carson.htm
Andre Stephens
English 1A – 9:00 – 9:50
March 18, 2009
One of the women I admire is my sister. She is 15 years older than me so she’s more like a second mom than a sister. I admire her because she raises her two daughters, goes to school and works. She will go without in order to make sure her daughters have the things they need. Over the years, my sister has written many poems. I’ll be reading one she wrote in September 2007. The title is "I am a Woman Who…"
I am a woman who looks beyond the shadows of my past.
I am a woman who is capable of letting go of the weighty burdens, at last.
I am a woman who has endured some forceful storms and rain.
I am a woman who has learned to bury that deep rooted pain.
I am a woman who is overflowing with self-confidence, not shame.
I am a woman who is not sitting idle waiting for someone else to blame.
I am a woman who once felt as if she had fallen into a bottomless pit.
I am that same woman who never gave up and quit.
I am that woman who has looked beyond the shadows of her past.
I am that same courageous woman who is free, at last.
Hong Tang
English 1A 9-10am
One of the woman I admire and really look up to as a role model is my mother. I see her as a very strong woman. She gave birth to seven children including me. As a migrants, it is very difficult for her to live a wealthy live while raising seven kids at a time. She put all her effort in us for us to know what is right to do and what is not. I learned a lot from her. We would share our stories to each other as well as giving each other oppinions. With all her hard work, I figured I shouldn't just stand behind her all the time and just ask for help. I should by now know what to do with my life and as the future, maybe one day I can be the one she can count on, the one she will look up to, and the one that will never let her down ever again.
Rebecca Evans eng 1a 9-10 response to andre 3/23/09
Your share on your sister was beautiful. her poem illustrates how much she has been through. It is facinating and humbling to look arouund our communities and homes to find women of great strength and courage.
Carla Poindexter
English 1A 9-10
17 March 2009
Angela Davis is yet another woman that I admire. I admire Davis most for her involvment with the Black Panther Party (BPP). She was very instramental in the organization of the BPP. As a woman, I know how difficult it is to be outspoken in a male dominated organization and for that I cannot thank her enough. Davis paved the way and set the standards for female powerhouses to follow.
Although Davis is not actually from the Bay Area I still think of her as a local herorine. Her leadership skills as well as her fashion sence have had a profound effect on the Bay Area and international culture. As women the way we lead and dress are very Angela Davis or BPP era and we may not even be aware of this. That just goes to show just how influencial Davis and the BPP are.
Davis did not get involved in civil rights activism by chance both of her parents were involved in civil rights causes in their hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. What I have learned from Davis is to stand up, be proud and fight for the rights of yourself and your fellow community members.
Nely Ruiz
English 1A
April 2, 2009
Women Presentation
Today we shared cookies that I brought to class. The recipe has been passed down to me by my abuelita and my mother. The women in our family are not allowed to know this closely guarded secret until they are married. I myself had to have my mother add the secret ingredients. These cookies have won many awards at the fairs.
Conceit plays no part in this, it is a fact. I can walk down Park Street and get stooped by almost every establishment and be bum rushed to share cookies. My abuelita was a woman that I inspire to be, I hope that I can be a quarter of the woman that she was. She went to an English speaking college and taught herself how to speak English fluently in four months. My abuelita raised four children of her own and two that were children from a previous marriage of my abuelito. All my life until I was under the impression that they were my full blood uncles, it was not until later on when I became an adult, that I learned the truth.
I admire her courage, strength and nurturing love that helped to become what I am today. She taught me all the commandments of the bible, not to steal, cheat or lie. Life lessons that I still to this day hold dear. She had the balls to stand up to anyone if her point was important to get across. She knew when to fight and when to let the battle pass. My abeulita’s approach to situations depended on the person, she had a knack for using the right attitude and tone for even the most touchy situations.
RIP Blanca Ruiz
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