Comments by Tavian Smith Most recent public comments by Tavian Smith https://nowcomment.com/users/94367 Imagery https://nowcomment.com/documents/158358?scroll_to=2509737 https://nowcomment.com/documents/158358?scroll_to=2509737 I would agree that the imagery in this really comes out with the very in detail description of the setting that the author is describing Fri, 13 Aug 2021 11:10:19 -0400 Comparing a young student to a slave. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376752 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376752 I think that the comparison that this text makes is very inappropriate. Comparing a hard young working student to a hard working slave. First off, why ridicule the fact that she was hard working, use that to encourage he to enjoy school again. Secondly, why compare this girl to a slave... a slave. Something that occurred over 150 years ago. Slavery was obviously a terrible thing, and for years after that there was still systemic racism. Looking in today's society though, there is not that systemic racism and there is NOT slavery. This comparison just blows my mind really. This is why I believe culture is to blame. Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:56 -0400 This should not be something that is hammered into young children minds. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376683 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376683 I do not understand why this is something that would ever be said to or about any child. "discovering the shape of his oppression" I think that this is nonsense, if this boy is raised and never taught about what the word oppression even means, he will never face it. I do not think any kid should be raised being taught that they are oppressed because they are not born oppressed. Lets assume he is taught this, then he will live his life believing this when it is not necessarily true. If this kid is never taught that he is oppressed he will never think in that point of view, he will never feel the need to feel less than anybody and will accomplish all of his hopes and dreams. If he is raised being told he is oppressed, then he may not, he may just grow up and think about how much less he is, when he is not. This is where culture plays a big role in how kids are raised, if you want your kid to be successful, raise them that way. Or you can feed them ideas like this and TEACH them that they are "looked down upon" and "oppressed" when in reality everyone can have the same opportunities in life if they just work for it. Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:57 -0400 In the poster in the cobweb it says "you can do anything if you put your mind to it" and the father told his son "that wont move us out of the hood" https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376667 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376667 This is just something that I disagree with. I think that the father saying this to his son is the reason for them being in the "hood". If that young boy wanted a full ride scholarship to harvard making 6 figures out of college he could. But when his dad, who did not do this, molds in his sons head that he will not be any better, it creates this culture of not wanting to be better. If this kid is brainwashed into thinking he will never be better and that he should not try to accomplish his dreams, then he will just end up in the same situation as his father. Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:44 -0400 this line makes me think about a younger group of kids due to the fact that they have their shoes off and playing in the class, and because of how they are all over the floor. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376654 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376654 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:46 -0400 I think that having a 7 year old wanting to quit school is never a good thing, you would think this would say something about these tests. But for a kid to want to break their crayons, that is something that I think would be like a man punching a wall. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376650 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376650 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:44 -0400 When reading, as a whole, about the 2nd grade student, and seeing that part where it said she "crawled" back into the computer, it made me think about the dreadfulness that I too used to feel when state standardized testing. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376646 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376646 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:43 -0400 I think that the idea of children getting to school and not stopping daydreaming is very important because just in my little brother and sister, they are 2 years old, I can see the levels of imagination they have and just hope that it continues like that. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376639 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376639 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:43 -0400 When I read the windows poem and saw where someone asked what their plans are this summer it made me think to myself what my plans are and how they might play out in accordance to covid restrictions. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376631 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376631 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:43 -0400 this simile sounds like trying to be sneaky not quiet, if it is curfew you are trying to be sneaky if you are late and thats what it makes me think of. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376624 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376624 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:43 -0400 here, the poet makes the simile quiet as a curfew which to me sounds like being more sneaky almost as if you may have missed curfew and trying to sneak in your house passed your parents https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376620 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376620 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:43 -0400 I think that this title really fits this poem because it talks about birth and it also almost seems like she talks about how she is sort of stuck in her situation how a baby is stuck in the womb https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376603 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376603 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:43 -0400 i think that for a 2nd grader, who is maybe 7 years old, should not be having to even test over 40 questions for state testing, let alone more. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376576 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376576 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:43 -0400 I can sort of relate to how the 7 year old girl feels, when i was in elementary and had to take the state standardized tests they always exhausted me https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376565 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376565 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:43 -0400 I think that this is a very true point that this poem makes. I believe test anxiety is a real thing and that it can drastically affect a students perceived ability. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376561 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376561 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:43 -0400 Here you may be able to infer that the boy is in a lower class school or even family due to his father dropping out, although this is not always the case. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376537 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376537 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:42 -0400 The word alive in the picture of the book stands out more than the rest of the title, maybe this emphasizes the action being brought about. https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376531 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376531 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:42 -0400 I think this is something that any student may fear at one point or another https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376527 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263250?scroll_to=2376527 Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:59:59 -0400 "Understanding doesn't meant that you can suddenly speak the language." https://nowcomment.com/documents/263224?scroll_to=2373752 https://nowcomment.com/documents/263224?scroll_to=2373752 When looking through this piece of writing, and reading about what David Sedaris has to teach us about, you can see that in his past experiences he has been judged and has been ridiculed based off of the way he spoke. I think that this quote is an important thing that should be worked into and understood in society, and that can especially be used outside of just language. It is saying that just because you have an understanding of something does not mean that you can do it. For example a young kid may have some understanding about cars, how they work, how their parents drive them. However, if a 10 year old boy gets in the driver seat of his moms Suburban, its not going to end well. This, in Sedaris's case, refers to how he knows some English and understands it and how it works, but just because he can do that does not mean he can speak perfect English. Wed, 10 Mar 2021 11:46:28 -0500 "A building dedicated to building,yet it only breaks me down." https://nowcomment.com/documents/262700?scroll_to=2370099 https://nowcomment.com/documents/262700?scroll_to=2370099 When London says, "I open the doors to a building dedicated to building, yet it only breaks me down." This quote stuck out to me the most in the TED talk. I think this can sort of relate to how school has been since COVID started , at least for me. Ever since Covid it has been difficult to find the motivation to get school work done or projects done. I have had the tendency to just put them off and procrastinate doing them. I walk into a building, being the school or even receiving homework. Dedicated to building, the school is meant to teach and the homework to teach. Yet it only breaks me down, I put off the assignments and get distracted in class sometimes so those opportunities of learning get subdued by other things. I think this is a quite relevant TED talk to be discussing on. Tue, 09 Mar 2021 13:45:37 -0500 agree https://nowcomment.com/documents/260283?scroll_to=2355480 https://nowcomment.com/documents/260283?scroll_to=2355480 It does feel like whenever your birthday comes around, its just the same old day. I think that later in the year that you have a birthday, it starts to feel like you are older because of the new responsibilities, but not until you get presented with those. Fri, 26 Feb 2021 08:07:00 -0500 lessons https://nowcomment.com/documents/260279?scroll_to=2355474 https://nowcomment.com/documents/260279?scroll_to=2355474 I think that with the woman taking the boy to eat, especially after trying to steal her purse. I think that with the kindness she is presenting it can help teach the boy rather than the woman just scolding him. Tue, 20 Apr 2021 22:01:29 -0400 Hiking https://nowcomment.com/documents/258458?scroll_to=2334764 https://nowcomment.com/documents/258458?scroll_to=2334764 On your thought on the author having a deep love for hiking. I wonder if this is due to past events. For example, maybe she used to hike with someone in her life that has passed away and it brought her appreciation for hiking even greater than is was before. Fri, 12 Feb 2021 12:11:45 -0500 Interpretation Response https://nowcomment.com/documents/258111?scroll_to=2334756 https://nowcomment.com/documents/258111?scroll_to=2334756 So, I though this response was interesting. Obviously with all of the mishap with the handful of police officers who have not abided by their oath, there has been some rather excessive up rise. I though your response to "Your money your guns your say" to be interesting. Are you saying that anyone who carries a gun would be considered racist. I would also like to make the point that, I cannot find a specific date of publication, but she lived in earlier and mid 1900s when racism, especially systemically, was still a common issue in the US. I would like to point out that now today there is not that same issue and making the assumption relating people who own guns to the few bad apples that we still have in America, is a very strong statement. I would also like to point out where you said they are against her right to own pepper spray. Again looking back at when there were not as many rights for black people compared to those who are white, she was more than likely not allowed to own pepper spray. In todays standard mace, pepper spray, all of it is legal in all 50 states, no matter you race. So I would agree with your comment if it were currently the mid 1900s when systemic racism was an issue, but today, where this is A. outlawed, and B. Not existent outside of a handful of people, I just cannot find myself to agree with you on this. Fri, 12 Feb 2021 12:06:08 -0500 Morrie and Mitch https://nowcomment.com/documents/246973?scroll_to=2301568 https://nowcomment.com/documents/246973?scroll_to=2301568 I think this paragraph is important because it shows that even with all that is happening with Morrie and the events in his life, he is still happy to sit down with Mitch and spend their time together while also enjoying it. I think this is something that maybe some people today need to learn. Selflessness and consideration Fri, 29 Jan 2021 11:43:20 -0500 Importance of Family https://nowcomment.com/documents/246973?scroll_to=2301536 https://nowcomment.com/documents/246973?scroll_to=2301536 I think it is interesting how Morrie says," I think, in light of what we've been talking about all these weeks, family becomes even more important," I thought this was interesting because I just wonder what he had on his priority list above family that he would say they became EVEN MORE important Fri, 29 Jan 2021 11:21:41 -0500 YES https://nowcomment.com/documents/248259?scroll_to=2268221 https://nowcomment.com/documents/248259?scroll_to=2268221 I fully agree, I believe that each side has their radicals, and to add to that I believe those radicals set the stereotypes that make each other look bad. In Laymen terms they are the ones causing such division, although enough of that does come from the two party system. Mon, 11 Jan 2021 07:41:53 -0500 Americans, both democratic and republican, need to work on acceptance of the other side and focusing on uniting and not division. https://nowcomment.com/documents/248259?scroll_to=2266067 https://nowcomment.com/documents/248259?scroll_to=2266067 When viewing this picture I do not really know what to think. I feel that what may be going through this mans mind could be something about trying to provoke and remember the fact that the government works for the people the people do not work for the government. To add to this, I believe that all of the people that broke into the Capitol Building are radical right, as I believe the rioters that would burn and loot businesses during the BLM protests would be radical left. I think that these people edge on the monstrosity of the two party system. They make the descriptions of the republicans or democrats. When the radical left rioters burn businesses and loot them, it makes the democrat/liberals have a bad rep. I believe the same for republicans/conservatives. All of the people that were just marching and attending I do not have any issue with as it is their right, once the people started breaking into the Capitol it just kind of gave me that feeling of this could be big. That event made me realize that being a liberal or conservative is not completely where the division is at, but more when getting into the radical left or right that DO the burning and looting and murdering of others and businesses. Having different opinions about certain topics should not cause the division that they have and just having these awful people on both sides just edge on everyone and gives them the state of mind that the other side did this and that makes them all bad people. All in all, I believe if people did not generalized a whole group of people based on a handful of the bad people in that group, it would help reunite America and help restore some of the division caused by the idea of judging a group based off of a few from that group. Fri, 08 Jan 2021 12:00:40 -0500 How Jack treats his "Clients" https://nowcomment.com/documents/240008?scroll_to=2189522 https://nowcomment.com/documents/240008?scroll_to=2189522 When compiling my previous statement about how Jack treats his "clients" I am referent more of the idea that Jack does not WANT to treat them as if they were different. Obviously, there are restraints to this, as he may need to be sure to comfort them more than if they were not mentally disabled. I just wanted to reassure that Jack does not think of them in such a way that they are his clients anymore than they are his friends or even family. Mon, 09 Nov 2020 12:21:54 -0500 Diversity in Chicago https://nowcomment.com/documents/240008?scroll_to=2186824 https://nowcomment.com/documents/240008?scroll_to=2186824 I agree with Ethan in this matter, I believe that yes, Chicago is diverse, but the dance is set up specifically for the disability center in the movie not for everyone in Chicago. Fri, 06 Nov 2020 13:57:12 -0500 Jack treats the four of his "clients" like nothing was different https://nowcomment.com/documents/240008?scroll_to=2186814 https://nowcomment.com/documents/240008?scroll_to=2186814 In this scene of the movie you can see Jack reproaching the group of guys to tell them to stay out of trouble, basically saying not to do anything stupid. I think this is really important because he treats the group of guys that have mental disabilities as if they did not and if they were 100 percent able people. This can keep them with a sense of mind that they ARE normal and should be accepted by everybody else. Mon, 09 Nov 2020 12:21:54 -0500 I agree with you, Ethan https://nowcomment.com/documents/238756?scroll_to=2169402 https://nowcomment.com/documents/238756?scroll_to=2169402 I believe that there is a societal standard that is almost unspoken that just expects men to just bottle up there emotions instead of expressing them. I have seen people first hand do this and it is very obvious, the biggest problem I think comes from this is the fact that after bottling all of these emotions up for so long, they will eventually burst. Whether that be in anger or sadness or anything else. I think that it could be dangerous is some peoples case as well because their state of mind is already altered from their emotions, leading to the potential to regrettable decisions. Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:11:27 -0400