If you’re in the mood for some music, whether it be rock, jazz, classical, or the Mummers, Philadelphia has plenty to offer. Until I checked the schedule, I didn’t realize that this was going to be the last passion blog post for the year. While I’ve had fun writing these, I’m not going to lie…
Hollywood Comes to Philly
Although it’s nothing compared to New York City or LA, Hollywood has still showcased a variety of landmarks across the greater Philadelphia region. From recognizable places in center city, to suburban neighborhoods (some not far from my own hometown!), Philly has had its share of the silver screen. This week, I am going to explore…
Reading Terminal Market
One place that must absolutely go on your bucket list if you are visiting Philadelphia is Reading Terminal Market (RTM). It’s located next to the Pennsylvania Convention Center and near City Hall. Reading Terminal is a huge, indoor market that is home to over 80 different merchants that sell a wide variety of foods and…
Issue Brief Introduction Draft
Closing the Excellence Gaps to Diversify Gifted Education Programs Gifted programs in the United States have been around for over a century, and the controversies surrounding them have been around for almost as long. The programs rose to prominence in the mid-1900s during the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. When…
Pretzels: A Philly Classic
Pretzels, both hard and soft, are a staple snack for many and a tradition of Philadelphia. Who hasn’t been to a party or watched a sports game without a tray of pretzels and mustard on the table? But have you ever wondered how this salty treat became so popular? Well, whether you’ve been curious or…
Civic Issue #3: Is There a Solution?
Welcome to my final civic issue blog post! So far, I have only presented some of the glaring issues with gifted programs, but I have yet to discuss any possible solutions. In this post, I will discuss the different ways schools across the country are addressing gifted education problems. One solution to improving the identification…
Historical Facts About the City of Brotherly Love
Since my last passion blog post, the Eagles did end up losing the Super Bowl, which was disappointing, but in my unprofessional opinion, it was at least an exciting game to watch. Moving on from the Birds, I thought for this week’s post I’d take a deeper look into the rich history of Philadelphia that…
Civic Issue #2: Gifted Kid Burnout
In my previous civic issue post, I discussed the problems regarding the identification process of gifted students, specifically the racial inequalities and biases present in these programs across the country. There is a multitude of other inequalities besides race, such as socioeconomic status and disabilities that I could discuss. Truthfully, there is a lot more…
Fly, Eagles, Fly!
In case you are unaware and don’t follow professional sports (like me usually), the Eagles are going to the Super Bowl! Originally, I was going to make this passion blog post about Philadelphia’s history, but I thought I’d save that and discuss the Eagles instead due to the upcoming game. Philadelphia is one of the…
Civic Issue #1: What are Gifted Programs and the Issues with Identifying Gifted Students that have Led to Inequality in the Programs
Gifted programs are seen in schools across the nation. More recently, they have come under scrutiny for a variety of issues, including inequality and creating divisions amongst students, but for now, most of them are not going anywhere anytime soon. Seeing as we are currently in an honors course, with some of us being in…
Welcome to Philadelphia!
Hi everyone! Welcome to my spring semester passion blog about all things Philly … and the surrounding area because that’s where I’m from 🙂 . For this week’s post, I’d thought I’d start out with a basic introduction to/overview of Philadelphia. It’s not the most exciting information, but I feel it’s necessary to have this…
“This I Believe” Rough Draft
“You were born in China.” It’s a phrase; the start of a story I often heard my parents tell me while growing up. I’ve always known that I’m adopted. It’s a fact I fully embraced when I was little because it made me feel unique. That was, until my uniqueness became the source of my…
Passion & Civic Issue Blog Topics
For my passion blog, I’ve decided to go with my idea about all things Philly. I thought I could also incorporate my other idea about origins and do some blog posts on the origins/history of Philly-related things such as cheesesteaks and the Mummers. For my civic issues blog, I’m going to explore the gifted kids…
Civic Issues Test
Test post
“This I Believe” and Blog Ideas
Passion Blog Ideas For the new spring semester, I’ve decided to move away from my baking topic and pick a new one. The origins of things Last semester I did one post about the origins of different desserts, and I really enjoyed learning and writing about that topic. So, I thought I could do my…
Extra Credit Event: “Climate Change is Everyone’s Fight-Including Yours”
Earlier in the semester, I attended the “Climate Change Is Everyone’s Fight—Including Yours” hosted by Rhiana Gunn-Wright. I assumed the event would be a long, tedious lecture on climate change, but I was pleasantly surprised by Wright. She presented herself and her story on climate change in an interesting and engaging manner that felt relatable…
Desserts from Around the World
Before we leave to enjoy fall break, before we all decide to sleep in past noon, before we start hearing Christmas songs nonstop until Dec. 25, I’d thought we move away from the typical American desserts this week. It’s about time to look at some delicious desserts from around the world (aka 6 countries because…
History of a Public Controversy Ideas
One possible topic for the history of a public controversy project is immigration reform. There’s a long history of immigration to the United States, along with many different laws and regulations that have changed throughout the nation’s history. Generations of people have debated over how many people should be allowed to enter the country? Should…
Ted Talk Slides (Draft)
Here is the link to my Ted Talk slides: Ted Talk Slides Please note that this is a very VERY rough draft of my slides because I am still figuring out how I want to structure my ideas and what exactly I will include in my Ted Talk compared to my essay.
The Benefits of Baking Therapy
As we head towards the final few weeks of the fall semester, I think it’s important for us to take a step back and reflect on our mental (and physical) wellbeing. This is a stressful time of year, and for me, I’ve always found that baking calms me down and simply lets me enjoy life.…