SCR PROJECT - A.C. Rescue Mission

Name of Resource :  Atlantic City Rescue Mission
Location of Resource : 2009 Bacharach Blvd., PO Box 5358 Atlantic City, New Jersey 08404
Detailed description of services provided : 

WHO DO THEY HELP?

• Poor and homeless men, women, and families in southern New Jersey
• Deinstitutionalized mentally ill with no support
• Individuals addicted to alcohol, drugs, and gambling
• Elderly or disabled with no family and little income

HOW DO WE HELP?

• Meals in our dining hall
• Safe shelter for men, women, and single mothers with children
• 18-month residential homeless recovery (Overcomers Program)
• 120-day Work Readiness Program
• Individual and group counseling
• Two chapel services each day
• Daily Bible studies
• Job placement program, in partnership with local businesses
• Assistance in finding permanent housing
• Classes for our residents in life skills, parenting, GED/Literacy
• Transitional housing

HOW MANY PEOPLE DO WE HELP?

• Serving 700 meals per day
• Housing 192 men, 60 women, and 9 families each night
• Provide an average of 280 emergency food baskets each month to local families in crisis

The Atlantic City Rescue Mission is a wonderful community-based resource that provides people with an avenue to re-establish their foothold in society.  The individuals in the mission are from all walks of life and have fallen on hard times.  The mission provides people with a second chance and helps then along every step of the way.  They provide many resources that a school-based community would provide along with a number of community-based resources.  As a future social studies teacher, I feel that it is imperative that we teach our students the life skills necessary to survive in the world.  Volunteering in the community should be a part of all school curriculum.  We have a great resource in our community and everyone should experience the Atlantic City Rescue mission. 

TED TALK TOPIC 3 - PELLE ATTACKS

HOW SPAGHETTI SAUCE RUINED THE WORLD

In the world of Malcolm Gladwell, the world became inherently better when we were given variety.  We were given 40 spaghetti sauces because 2 didn't meet the needs of consumers.  We now have 40 mediocre spaghetti sauces and as a result, no one can cook, we're all obese, and guess what?  We now have 40 spaghetti sauces that suck instead of just 2.  Imagine the best spaghetti sauce that you've ever eaten.  Did it come in a can? Did you buy it in the supermarket?  If you answered yes to either of these questions, please come to dinner with me.  The best spaghetti sauce that I ever had was my Grandmother's sauce.  Luckily, she passed the recipe on to me.  I can't give you the recipe but, I'll give you a clue.  It didn't come from the sauce aisle in the supermarket. 

At what point did we sacrifice substance for variety?  When did we choose convenience over content and culture.  In Florida, there is a fast food Italian restaurant called Fazoli with a drive-thru because we can't wait 8 minutes for that spaghetti to cook!  How hungry do you have to be to eat drive-thru lasagna?  It used to be a matter of pride that you cooked your own food and it equated to a family connection.  I want to bring the old school back. 

We spend so much time trying to think outside of the box that we have failed to realize that the box may be broken.  We lost alot of ourselves in the pursuit of so-called progress.  I want to add to the quality of life. I don't want things that water down our society.  I want you to spend time in the supermarket and observe the choices.  Check out the ice cream aisle.  Baskin and Robbins would have stopped at three flavors if they knew it would lead to this mess!  The supermarket used to be 8 aisles now it's 25.  I want you to imagine the best meal that you've ever eaten.  I want you to leave class starving for it.  I bet for a large number of you that your meal was something your Mother, Father, Grandmother, or Grandfather made at one time or another. Variety killed that meal!  You spend your life eating food that pales in comparison to that meal.  I hate it and this is why you should hate this too! 

This has been the ramblings of a hungry person and now I'm going to eat something out of a box or bag that's horrible for me but, I've been conditioned to think that somehow this behavior is normal.  In an insane world, a sane man must appear insane. 

BLOG 3 - LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME

As a History major, I may be a bit defensive in this argument but, I don’t agree with author on many of his points. The author wants to dazzle us with statistics and first hand accounts from students about how people aren’t interested in History. Statistics don’t lie but, statisticians do. I’m here to tell you that everyone in interested in History whether they know it or not.
First, no matter what line of work you pursue in the future, you will serve an apprenticeship where you will study the history of the career that you wish to attain. If you’re reading this blog, your probably studying to eventually become a teacher. Your reading about teaching techniques and putting them into place to become a master teacher. You may not realize this but, you are reading a history book. Every line of work uses history as a frame of reference.

Second, the argument about books is dated. History is all around us. We have a television channel dedicated to it. The internet has put everything at your finger tips. The author use a statistic that 5/6 of all people never take a history course after high school. Oh my God, that is horrible! The horrible part is that the author would use a completely false statistic to make his point. How is this statistic even arrived at? I’m calling shenanigans!

Third, We are all living history. We all have a distinct history from our family to our culture to our religion. We sit around and talk to our family about our own history all the time. We sit around the dinner table and eat foods that are distinct to our culture. The luxury of living in the United States is that we have the opportunity to enjoy a multitude of restaurants and festivals from other culture as well. We practice our religion as well as being able to learn about religious alternatives. According to the author, 5/6 of us don’t go to church after high school. Aren’t the Bible, the Koran, and the Torah considered history books? The shenanigans continue.

Finally, We need to stop apologizing for the textbooks and find ways to overcome this mindset. Teachers need to challenge themselves. Malcolm Gladwell writes about stars and systems. Most organizations that rely on stars fail while those that have a solid system in place tend to produce at a much higher level. I propose that you need both because no system works at 100 percent efficiency and neither do stars but, with a combination of both we can maximize our fullest potential. Teachers need to take on the star roles while being part of a system in search of the ultimate solution which is their students’ success. Textbooks don’t hold students back, bad teachers do.

TED TALK 2 THE SAGA CONTINUES

My mind is a raging torrent flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives. I’ve given this a lot of thought but, I still can’t decide on a singular topic. I’m currently reading a book by Malcolm Gladwell that is composed of various stories from his time with the New Yorker magazine. These stories have seemingly sent me into another direction with my TED talk.
As in my original TED talk proposal, I want to encompass what we seen from the TED talk in class and other that I’ve personally viewed to come up with a truly original idea. I’ve looked over the other TED talk blogs and I see some great ideas but, few that seem unique. I want to challenge myself to talk about something that not only interests me but, will be thought provoking to the class. I think about the life of Johnny Cash and the scene from the movie “Walk the Line” where he is asked by the music producer, if you were hit by a truck and laying dying in the gutter and you could only play one song to let people know what you felt. What song would you play? Would you play that song or would you play something different? I don’t want to play the same tune that everybody else is playing. I want to play something truly original because that is what inspires people.
My original proposal was missing one factor that bonds all the TED talks and that is relevance. Relevance to the speaker and to the audience. So let tie these four factors all together now. Passion, Humor, Absolute Conviction, and Relevance are the four binding factors in all our TED talks. The manner in which the speaker arrives at these factors is different but, these four factors are the constants in a river of variables. Is that deep enough or are you hungry for more?
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”The above quote is often credited to Nelson Mandela from his 1994 inauguration speech but, it is actually the work of Marianne Williamson. I find inspiration in things every single day and I want to pass this feeling on to the world. I’m still working on my moment. Please stay tuned!

TED TALK TOPIC

TEK TALK TOPIC
As I watched various TED presentations, three universal themes of passion, humor, and absolute conviction were the common themes of many of the TED presentations. We've all watched the Mr. Zander's TED talk on classical music and Mr. Robinson's TED talk on creativity in schools, and the common theme of these two talks were the passion, humor, and absolute conviction with which the speakers spoke about their subject. Over the course of the last few weeks, I've watched numerous TED talks and the universal themes of passion, humor, and absolute conviction are proven time and time again. I would like to speak to you about teaching the passion, humor, and absolute conviction to your students because I know these themes will connect you to your students.
Passion is a powerful tool that educators can use to connect with their students. We've all had teachers that were our favorites, and we've all had teachers that seemed to mail it in from home. We won't be talking about the latter group. It is by looking at our favorite teachers that we see how they were able to connect with us. Most of my favorite teachers displayed a real passion for their subject even though their subjects did not share a common theme. My favorite teachers' subjects were various subjects from math to art to french but, the passion was the common theme in their teaching, and that is what they used to connect with their students.
Humor is universal. I believe this could be the most powerful tool that is also the most under-utilized by teachers. A great sense of humor can bond a teacher with their students faster than any other tool. As we watched the various TED talks, the subject matter took time to understand but, the humor was able to draw you in and bond you with the speaker. The humor seemed to buy the speaker more time to explain their subject because they instantly became someone that we could relate to on a personal level. In our first TED talk, Mr. Zander could have easily lost us with the subject of classical music but, the humorous manner in which he delivered his message bought him some time and actually had me interested in classical music for the first time in my life.
Absolute conviction is the last of the common themes that I took from our TED talks. The speakers spoke about their subject with so much conviction that they had you believing everything that they said was absolute, and they left no question in your mind that you loved classical music in Mr. Zander's TED talk or in cultivating creativity in your students from Mr. Robinson. As a future Social Studies teacher, I think about the explorer Pizzaro that upon landing in the New World burned his ships to display his absolute conviction about his quest. He left no doubt in the minds of his followers about retreating back home to Spain. His message may have been a bit extreme but, his absolute conviction could never be questioned by his followers.
My talk will focus on these three tools and how teachers can utilize them in their classrooms on a daily basis. I come from a sports background and I relate alot of my teaching to coach-player relationships. This is where I've found my passion at an early age. I want to display this passion in my talk along with my sense of humor and absolute conviction to relate to my classmates as well as my future students.

TEK TALK TOPIC

TEK TALK TOPIC
As I watched various TED presentations, three universal themes of passion, humor, and absolute conviction were the common themes of many of the TED presentations. We've all watched the Mr. Zander's TED talk on classical music and Mr. Robinson's TED talk on creativity in schools, and the common theme of these two talks were the passion, humor, and absolute conviction with which the speakers spoke about their subject. Over the course of the last few weeks, I've watched numerous TED talks and the universal themes of passion, humor, and absolute conviction are proven time and time again. I would like to speak to you about teaching the passion, humor, and absolute conviction to your students because I know these themes will connect you to your students.
Passion is a powerful tool that educators can use to connect with their students. We've all had teachers that were our favorites, and we've all had teachers that seemed to mail it in from home. We won't be talking about the latter group. It is by looking at our favorite teachers that we see how they were able to connect with us. Most of my favorite teachers displayed a real passion for their subject even though their subjects did not share a common theme. My favorite teachers' subjects were various subjects from math to art to french but, the passion was the common theme in their teaching, and that is what they used to connect with their students.
Humor is universal. I believe this could be the most powerful tool that is also the most under-utilized by teachers. A great sense of humor can bond a teacher with their students faster than any other tool. As we watched the various TED talks, the subject matter took time to understand but, the humor was able to draw you in and bond you with the speaker. The humor seemed to buy the speaker more time to explain their subject because they instantly became someone that we could relate to on a personal level. In our first TED talk, Mr. Zander could have easily lost us with the subject of classical music but, the humorous manner in which he delivered his message bought him some time and actually had me interested in classical music for the first time in my life.
Absolute conviction is the last of the common themes that I took from our TED talks. The speakers spoke about their subject with so much conviction that they had you believing everything that they said was absolute, and they left no question in your mind that you loved classical music in Mr. Zander's TED talk or in cultivating creativity in your students from Mr. Robinson. As a future Social Studies teacher, I think about the explorer Cortez that upon landing in the New World burned his ships to display his absolute conviction about his quest. He left no doubt in the minds of his followers about retreating back home to Spain. His message may have been a bit extreme but, his absolute conviction could never be questioned by his followers.
My talk will focus on these three tools and how teachers can utilize them in their classrooms on a daily basis. I come from a sports background and I relate alot of my teaching to coach-player relationships. This is where I've found my passion at an early age. I want to display this passion in my talk along with my sense of humor and absolute conviction to relate to my classmates as well as my future students.

TEK TALK TOPIC

I'm currently working hard on coming up with a topic for my tek talk.  Tune in soon!