Resilience Cafe Project Reflection

Now that the Resilience Cafe Project is over it is time for me to reflect on my performance throughout the project. I think i have done well on this project but that i can improve.

While going through the process of creating our projects we had to gain skills and learn information: to identify two resilient people (one from the past and one from the present),to research and share information on our resilient people (and establish a connection between them), and to learn and understand the issues surrounding the Civil War (understanding the views of both the North and the South). When we first began our project and we where choosing our resilient people I came down with a cold which left me having to stay home for a few days which left my partner having to do the initial researching and brainstorming which is when she came up with the idea of honoring Helen Keller and Melanie Benn. After this we did research and interviewing with our people so that we could know as much as we could about them. Also for this project we had to read a packet on the Civil War so that we could understand all of the issues surrounding the war. I think on this part of the project I could have read and taken my notes more thoroughly so I could have done better in the Civil War Showdown. I think in the area of content and skill I deserve a meet expectations or a B.

In the time leading up to the Resilience Café we were asked to: help plan and prepare for the Resilience Café Night (at which we would have to dress in a professional manner), to present our artwork in a professional way, and to have created a polished 100 word piece of writing or plaque describing our art piece. On the night of Resilience Café I made sure that I came to school dressed in a professional attire while wearing the requested black and white so that I could look professional. I think that I could have helped with more of the planning involved with the Resilience Café Night, but I was busy helping burn CD’s and making sure my book page was in the right format and such. When I presented my art piece I tried to do it a professionally as possible and I think that I did a good job. I talked about how the quilt related to Helen Keller and I didn’t talk for a long time and I tried to keep it interesting. As for my plaque it was kind of a rush to get it done type of thing so it wasn’t done as well as it could have been. For the category of PRESENTATION/ PROFESSIONALISM I think that I deserve a meets expectations or B.

For the writings portions of the project we were asked to revise our work to correct all grammacal, spelling, and punctuation errors, and to establish a connection between our resilient people. I didn’t do any of the writing from the Resilience Café Night, but when we did the poetry slam competition earlier in the project I held my self to the standard of correcting all of the criteria above. I don’t really know how to grade myself in this category.

When creating my art piece I knew I wanted it to be different and meaningful. I liked the idea of making a quilt because it was different than what everyone else was doing. I think that our quilt turned out very well and I would be proud to have it displayed in the classroom or out in a hallway. For my art piece i think that i would give myself a ecceeds expectations or A.

At the beginning of this project “resilience” was a vocab word followed by a deffinition that I could recite without much though. Now that this project is over this word means so much more to me. It has been so meaningful to meet and hear the stories of these inspiring people.

Project Reflection-- Cherish

Looking over the whole project, I think I did well on this project and that I learned a lot. I feel that we did a good job presenting on the Resilience Cafe night and that both our artwork and song turned out well.
I learned a lot about Helen Keller and Melanie Benn, and a whole lot about other resilient community members and resilient historical figures. In addition, I learned a lot about the rhythms, rhymes, and structure of poetry/spoken word. I also learned a lot about Garageband, like creating music with Garageband, recording your voices onto Garageband, adjusting volume, etc. Also, I learned about African-American history, and more about the civil war.
Overall, I feel that I worked very hard on this project. I think that I accomplished a lot and was working hard the whole time, and that our projects turned out well. I feel that I worked to my full potential during this project and that I deserve an A.

On Resilience Cafe Night, I think we presented well and did everything we were supposed to, but that we didn't go above and beyond. We could have performed the music live instead with the music from our piece. Instead, we just played the song. We did everything we needed to but nothing extra so I think that I deserve a B on presentation.

I think that I worked very hard on the song. I tried out many different lyrics before deciding on the one I did. It took many tries to think of the poem. The recording of the poem took a lot of work because we had to keep re-recording different lyrics and fixing the music to fit with the lyrics, etc. I think that in the end the song turned out very well and that I deserve an A.

Lastly, I am proud of accomplishing everything I accomplished. I am proud of the quilt because we thought of something different than everybody else and that it turned out well, looked good, but also had a lot of meaning behind it. I am also proud of the song, for it's lyrics and the information that it shares about Melanie Benn. I am also proud of the bust of Helen Keller that I made at home on my own time. I wasn't able to fire it in time for Resilience Cafe night, but I did try.

Presentation for Resilience Cafe Night

Hello everybody! I am Cherish Burtson and today I will be showing you a song that Sally Robertson and I created about a very resilient woman, Melanie Benn. Melanie Benn is a woman who was diagnosed with a rare disease at the age of 18 that left her without any arms or legs. She learned how to overcome this, and is now a normal woman who can do almost everything normal people can do. Our resilient historical figure is Helen Keller. The connection between Helen Keller and Melanie Benn is that they are both disabled. Helen Keller can't see or hear, and Melanie Benn has no legs or arms. And yet both of them live through it and overcome their weaknesses.

New and Improved 100 word description of Art Piece

When thinking of ideas for my project, I knew that I wanted to create something different than a painting or a sculpture and so I had the idea of creating a quilt. Not a big quilt, just something meaningful that represented my resilient people. The quilt has textured fabrics and scents to represent how Helen Keller used her senses of smell and feeling to make up for the fact she couldn’t see and hear. Our quilt ended up focusing on the resilience of Helen Keller whilst the music/spoken word piece focuses on the resilience of Melanie Benn, a woman who has risen from disadvantage when at a 18 months she lost her arms and legs.

Our 3-D Art Piece

100 Word Description of Art Piece

For my art piece I wanted to create something different than a painting or sculpting so my partner and I choose to make a quilt. The quilt focuses on the resilience of Helen Keller whilst the song focuses on Melanie Ben. The quilt has textured fabrics in reference to how Helen Keller would feel things to discover what things were. The quilt has scents inside the quilt to show how Helen Keller used her sense of smell to help make up for the fact she did not have the ability to see or hear.

100 Word Description of Lyrics

Since our art piece is focused on Helen Keller, we decided that the song would focus solely on Melanie Benn.
Melanie Benn is a woman who at the age of 18 months was diagnosed with an illness that left her without any arms or legs. My song focuses on how she overcame this, and how she is resilient. As it explains in the song, today she can do many things that she, nor anybody else ever thought she would be able to do. She has overcome her disabilities and is a truly resilient woman.

New lyrics

It’s not always been this way
She might say
“I used to be normal”
Until that day…
She lost her legs and arms
She was no longer the same
And yet, she knew she had plans for life
To go to college, drive, have a job
So she kept fighting

(Chorus)
She fought to overcome
She fought will all of her might
She fought to be resilient
And it was well worth the fight

Now, she’s like any other person
She can do things nobody ever guessed she would be able to do
She aimed for a goal
That she achieved

(Chorus)
She fought to overcome
She fought will all of her might
She fought to be resilient
And it was well worth the fight

But not everything is still perfect
Sometimes things are still hard
Sometimes she still has to fight
Sometimes she still has to ask for help
But even though, things are still alright

(Chorus)
She fought to overcome
She fought will all of her might
She fought to be resilient
And it was well worth the fight


She struggled
She fought
She aimed
She tried
She overcame
She is
Resilient.

How Do I Connect With My Project?

I wanted to choose Helen Keller as my resilient historical figure because not only did I feel she was a very resilient historical figure, but I was also because she is one of my distant cousins. This wasn't the only reason why I wanted to choose her as our resilient historical figure, but it did provide an interest in her.
I chose Melanie Benn as our current community member because she has fought so hard to overcome some very difficult obstacles and I feel that she is a very resilient person. I relate to her because she seems like a person who wants to lead a productive, fulfilling life no matter what it takes, as do I.
When people see our project, I want them to be inspired. I want them to think "If Helen Keller and Melanie Been can overcome such hard times, then so can I." I want them to feel that they can do anything they want if they want it enough.

Connection

I am personally connected to my project because quilting is something that has been around me since i was a very young child. My mom has always been a quilter and i have always wanted to create a quilt like her. I also wanted to do Helen Keller because it has always been inspiring to me to see how she could be so successful in life and be able to live with being blind and deaf and able to do such great things.
When people see our quilt and hear our song to think about what they have that they take for granted (sight, being able to walk) and to realize how amazing Helen Keller and Melanie Ben are.

Studio Time/ Blueprint

Studio Time:
On Friday I spent my studio time working on using Photoshop to design the quilt blocks while Cherish was drawing the picture of Helen Keller that we will scan into Photoshop for the center quilt block. Next week i will work on laying out the remaining 3 blocks on Photoshop and working on stitching the braille

Blueprint:
For our blueprint we got some good constuctive feedback. Several people said that we needed to add more information about Helen Keller's life, and that we should use less words. Some people said that we should incorperaite things about our other resilent person into our quilt, but we are actually going to be focusing on Helen Keller in our quilt, and Melanie Ben in the writing

Ms. Staff,

I commented on Sam & DJ's blog and Danika & Katie's blog. :)

--Cherish

Melanie Been Quotes

Quotes from Melanie Benn:

"I have to say that I would consider myself resilient, as I think most people are but may not know it. It can be difficult living with a disability and some things take a lot more time and planning."

"Resilience to me is simply when you just keep trying. I was pretty young (18) when I had my illness that caused my disability and I knew there were so many things I wanted to do with my life, go to college, drive, have a job, etc."

"For my specific disability, doing my hair the way I want it, opening large jars, and putting on a coat and buttons are hard. I really don't mind asking for help and like to make a joke out of asking my friends if I can "borrow their fingers", to help me do something."

I think that these quotes are significant because they show what a resilient person she is. They show how sometimes she has trouble, but she learned to overcome that and focus on how to make her life easier and better instead of complaining and not trying to do anything. These quotes inspire me greatly, because after I see what hard obstacles she has had to overcome, it makes me feel like a I can do anything if I fight hard enough. I hope that I can talk to her more so that I can learn more about her and understand her better.

Studio Time Reflection

Today during studio time I worked on drawing a picture of Helen Keller that is going to be scanned into the computer and printed onto our quilt.
I feel that my partner and I shared the work evenly because while I was drawing she was working on the layout for the quilt.
Sally: Today I worked on the drawing of Helen Keller. I am almost finished, so it can be scanned into the computer soon.
Next week I will try to work on straight away and only end once we need to, so that I will be able to get more done.

Comments

Ms. Staff
I commented on Emily Fang's and Daniel's blogs.

Lyrics

Life is hard
When you’re disabled
When the only hands you have are hooks
And the only legs you have are wheels
Life is hard
When you can’t write, or draw
When you can’t run, or kick a ball
Life is hardWhen you’re confined to a wheelchair
When you can’t even stand up
Life is hard
When you have to fight
For everything that other people already have
Life is hard
And yet, she found a way
To live through it

A Quote

"Literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my book friends. They talk to me without embarrassment or awkwardness."
- Helen Keller

This quote means that though she cannot see, nor here that she still reads, and that reading is something that she cherishes,and that she is finds it good to have something that is not timid or having it found awkward to talk to her due to her lack of sight and hearing.


"Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye."
- Helen Keller

In this quote she is saying that no matter what happens to you, no matter what the world throws at you, to always hold your head high and to never back away. Like wise, when she became blind and deaf at a young age, when she became older she was still able to live in the real world, to read, and go to collage, and make something of her life even though she was at a disadvantage.

Our Connection

The connection between Helen Keller and Melanie Benn is that they are both disabled. Helen Keller can't see or hear, and Melanie Benn has no legs or arms. And yet both of them live through it and overcome their weaknesses.

Melanie Ben

Who: Melanie Benn
What: Melanie Benn is a woman who got an illness when she was 18 that made her lose her arms and legs, and yet she overcame that and lives a normal life.
Where: She was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan but has lived in San Diego since she was seven.
Why: She is resilient for having no arms or legs and yet she tries to do everything that normal people would do.

Helen Keller

My person was Helen Keller

She was born on June-27 1880. She died on June 1, 1968 sometime in February 1882 when she was 19 months old, she got what doctors called a brain fever that caused her to become blind and deaf. The actual name of what disease she had is unknown.
Helen Keller lived in many places. She was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, a small town found in Northwest Alabama and she died in Arcan Ridge, Westport, Connecticut.
Helen Keller is resilient because she was able to over come the challenge of not being able to see or hear anything and she was still able to go to collage and travel the world and give lectures and raise money for American Foundation for the Blind