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New Teacher Profile: Mercedes Broughton-Garcia

October 18, 2022 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Maya Smelser

Staff Writer

SLA recently welcomed Spanish teacher Mercedes Broughton-Garcia, or Ms. Garcia to her students. After spending 7 years as a science teacher next door at Ben Franklin High School, she is transitioning to life at SLA.

Background & Family Life

“That’s a loaded question,” Ms. Garcia replied when asked where she was from.

When she moved to the US, she was in an English learning class, where “little by little it gradually added more English, until 4th grade when it was completely immersed in English.”

Being that she was born in Ecuador, Spanish was her first language. She explained that her parents, “don’t speak much English, so it is definitely the dominant language in our house.”

In her free time, Ms. Garcia enjoys playing board games, cooking and baking, and being with her family.

She was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador and lived there until the age of 6. Her family then decided to move to the United States, settling in West Chester County, New York, located outside the Bronx. In her senior year of high school, they moved again, this time to Greenwich, Connecticut. She moved to Philadelphia with her husband, who is an aerospace engineer, 8 years ago.

“Most of my time goes to my toddler,” she admitted. “Over the summer, I took her out almost every single day, to the Please Touch Museum and different places. I would call that a hobby right now, just parenting my child.”

Teaching Career

Ms. Garcia said she “always wanted to be a teacher growing up.” She recalled making her basement into a classroom when she was around 7 and playing teacher with her younger cousins, who she lived in a two family home with growing up.

She attended Syracuse University for her bachelor’s degree, where her original plan was to be a language major and dual in education.

She went on to explain, “when I got to Syracuse they told me I could only do one or the other, so I ended up just being a language major. After that I didn’t want to be a teacher, but at some point I moved back to teaching.”

She then started her teaching career in the Bronx, at Montefiore Community School, and was there for a year. When she moved to Philly, she started at Ben Franklin, and earned her Masters in education from the University of Pennsylvania along the way.

Transition to SLA

Ms. Garcia called the transition to SLA “exciting.” She admires the supportive community of the school. “Everyones constantly coming and checking in. Good to bounce ideas with, which is something I didn’t really see in the past.” The hardest part for her has been the transition from teaching science to language, but she feels she is getting into her groove.

When asked what she hoped to bring to the SLA community, Ms. Garcia explained, “as a Latina and Spanish teacher, I would love to bring more awareness to Latin culture, especially now that today’s the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, I’m planning on leaning heavy on the culture on the different dialects, accents, all of that.”

She also has big plans for future programming.

“At some point, I would love to take students abroad. I did that at Ben Franklin, I took them on a trip to Costa Rica right before COVID hit and it was such an amazing experience.”

SLA Principal Chris Lehmann spoke highly of Ms. Gracia, saying, “[she] really gave an amazing interview, and the committee was very excited by the idea that she wanted to come to SLA. She brings a great deal of experience and intelligence to the school, and we are thrilled to have her. I think she will be someone who will be an amazing collaborator with both her colleagues on staff and the kids of SLA.”

Column: How is the economy doing?

May 29, 2022 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Biran Mahmoud

Staff Writer

Americans are dealing with inflation and increased prices. What does that mean for us?

According to CNBC Inflation kept increasing in March, the prices for consumer goods jumped by 8.5%, according to the Labor Department — states that this has been “the largest year-on-year increase since February 1981.”

Because of the Covid lockdown, the Russian war, and many other factors gas prices started jumping, and since then they only went down a little on 2/19/22 from 4.35$ per gallon across the USA down to 4.09$ on 3/30/22, After that, it started climbing again to 4.60$ per gallon on 5/34/22.

The gas price is becoming an issue because many people are dependent on using their cars to get to work and live their lives. According to CBS, there are places in the USA the gas prices are higher than the minimum wage stated by the federal government which is $7.25

Per hour

The USA has become too independent of other countries’ Oil and resources when in fact there is enough oil on the US land that The USA could become energy independent. According to Worldometer, The USA has 35 billion barrels in reserve, so we have our own instead of depending on other countries’ oil.

I don’t own a car myself, but I see gas prices affecting Philadelphia when I walk around the city I see gas prices over 4 dollars close to 5 in some places. Going on car rides is one of my family and favorite things to do and gas prices being this high is saddening.

Gas is not the only precious resource Americans are struggling with. “In February, Abbott Laboratories, maker of popular baby formulas, closed a manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan, after it recalled infant formula products when a federal investigation started after four babies taking the formula developed bacterial infections, two of whom died. Abbott has said there is no link between its formula and the illnesses.” However, their pause in production has meant that many retailers have been out of stock of formula — 43% at the start of May, according to The Guardian.

A lot of families mothers are struggling with feeding their children the government hasn’t provided any solution that would last.

So what can be done?

The federal government should find a solution to the increase in food prices because many people will have little to eat. There are temporary solutions according to UW medicine families could feed the baby cow milk but because cow milk has low amounts of iron so there is the option to talk to a pediatrician for getting vitamin supplements for the baby.

Should Kim Kardashian Have Worn the Dress?

May 27, 2022 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Lia Dunakin

Staff Writer

Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe dress on Met Gala red carpet. Photo courtesy of Artnet news.

The Met Gala is an annual event held as a fundraiser for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s various costume exhibits. It has a reputation for being both extremely exclusive and glamorous, but from its beginnings in 1948, the Gala has not always been like this.

The gala supports the annual costume exhibit, which is the only one in the museum that has to attain its own funding. As a result, this benefit is held every year for the purpose of raising money. In its early years, New York’s rich elites and socialites received the invites — the locals who had a direct connection to the museum — instead of the celebrities that attend now.

The new focus on who the gala invites instead of what the invitees are wearing defeats the purpose of The Met Gala. Fashion lovers from all around the world can go the Metropolitan Museum of Art and admire the preserved historical clothing in each exhibit.

Along with the higher profile in guests came the tradition of dressing in honor of the exhibit’s annual theme. This year, the exhibit’s focus is “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” with clothing from the famous time in the United States, ‘The Gilded Age.’ Usually, designers stick to the ever changing theme picked every year by the committee — but with liberal interpretation.

When I first heard that Kim Kardashian was going to be wearing Marilyn Monroe’s famous dress, the one that she wore in 1962 to sing happy birthday to President Kennedy, the only problem I could think of was not sticking to the theme. After further investigation, I realized the bigger issues involved.

Many fashion historians have always been frustrated with their line of work not being taken seriously, and this is one of those times. These professionals believe that this dress is an important piece from American history, and should therefore be carefully preserved in a museum just like any other historic garment.

As Bob Mackie, the designer for the original dress said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “I thought it was a big mistake, [Marily] was a goddess… And it was done for her. It was designed for her. Nobody else should be seen in that dress.”

This dress is actually owned by Ripley’s Believe it or Not, which is not a real museum, and by allowing Kim Kardashian to wear the dress, has broken rules from the museum code of conduct. I believe this was a strategic advertisement to let the public know where this dress is being shown.

Lots of things could and did go wrong. Just Kim Kardashian walking around in it, even for a few minutes, ruined the integrity of the material. Other ways that the dress could have been partially ruined was by it being touched with improper gloves or even bare handed. Mackey also stated in his interview with Entertainment Weekly, that wearing the gown “ was undoubtedly damaging to its preservation and structural integrity.”

I agree with fashion historians that recognize the unethical side of this situation. I don’t think that anyone else other than Marilyn Monroe should have worn this dress. I also don’t agree with an illegitimate museum like Ripley’s Believe it or not owning an extremely expensive and valued part of history like this dress. It should be in a proper museum handled by experts that know what they’re doing.

Am I a Phone Addict?

May 27, 2022 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Anouk Ghosh-Poulshock

Student Writer

Am I addicted to the games on my phone?

With almost every teen, you can take a glance at their phone and see that they have social media. One major thing when people talk about teens and their phones is their addiction to social media. But what about their addiction to phone games? What games are they even playing? Which is worse: playing games or scrolling through Instagram? There are many assumptions when it comes to phone games.

In my personal experience, I have never stuck with a game for too long. Every month or so, I would switch games. First it was Subway Surfers, then Sudoku, then the Smurfs, then My Mini Mart, then Wordle.

With most games, I would obsess over them for a while and then eventually get bored of them. One of those games was Candy Crush. In September, I was obsessed with the game for a few weeks, then I eventually burned out of it. In all of my free time, all I wanted to do was play Candy Crush. I would close my eyes and envision swiping candy.

But recently, however, I have gotten back into the game again. One reason that this game really works is how social it can be. When you have friends on the app, you can share lives, compete on levels, and work together to win rewards. Sometimes, I’ll get a text from a friend needing a life, and once I send it, I’m wound up in the app again.

I feel like a lot of teens are addicted to their phones, but I think that being addicted to a game like Candy Crush is better than being addicted to social media. For example, when I’m deeply in a Candy Crush wormhole, I’m not sucked into social media. With social media, you never leave an app feeling satisfied. Social media feels much more negative for me. But with phone games, the worst you could do is waste money. If there are two options for wasting time, I would go with the games. While they aren’t quite productive, they are entertaining and have less negative effects.

Though Candy Crush is my favorite game, the options vary. Looking at the App Store charts, the #1 most grossing app game of all time is Candy Crush. The list follows with Roblox, Royal Match, Clash of Clans, and Coin Master. Other games such as Pokemon Go and Homescapes are also on the list. I think that most of these games are not super popular among me and my friends.

So am I an addict? I think so. But is it that bad? I don’t believe so. I think that there are many worse things that could be consuming my time. While games aren’t the most productive thing, they entertain me and are better than many other things, and I think that’s enough.

Column: Do Clothes Affect How Someone Is Treated?

May 27, 2022 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Leticia Desouza

Staff Writer

SLA is one of many Philadelphia high schools who doesn’t have a uniform for their students. Though having the ability to wear any type of outfits can be a good opportunity for students to fully express themselves, how others react to our clothes can be quite uncomfortable and even traumatic.

During this current academic year of 2021-2022, students have been back in person where they share the building with Ben Franklin High School. A staircase is shared by both schools, and Throughout the year, many students from the SLA side have been harassed while using the staircase. Some students have reported they’ve been catcalled, others reported that they were verbally assaulted, and others have reported being touched inappropriately or even followed out of the stairwell and into the halls — cornered, blocked, and even grabbed.

I don’t have comprehensive evidence about what the girls were wearing when they were harassed — but based on my conversations, there does seem to be a pattern of girls getting harassed when they are wearing more revealing clothes. However, I do personally have experience with how your clothes can impact how you are treated. There were a couple of times where the weather was warm so I chose to wear something more revealing to keep my cool during the school day, but when I went to use the shared stairwells, I got unwanted attention that felt uncomfortable. Weird looks and stares make up most of my experience. There weren’t any verbal harassing comments, just weird stares that often felt uncomfortable. I noticed that this only happens when I wear something more revealing than usual. When I dress more down and casual, I don’t get the unwanted attention.

Many girls at SLA also speculate that the reason why these events happen is due to what people are wearing, but in my eyes, I find this claim places the blame on the wrong party. As a very diverse society, people have different views and likes when it comes to how they like to express themselves with clothes. Some people enjoy dressing more formally, while others enjoy dressing more casually. Some like showing more skin while others don’t. This preference is up to the person who is going to wear it. In my eyes, this shows that the current harassment can happen to anyone no matter what they wear.

There is no problem with a specific style of dress. Someone’s preference of clothing shouldn’t affect how they are treated by individuals around them. If one is comfortable in their skin with what they are wearing, it shouldn’t be a problem as they are dressing the way they want for themselves.

The problem isn’t the clothes, but the people who judge others because of what they are wearing. In today’s time, we often see people who think it is necessary to make comments about what others are wearing. This is often present in social media like tiktok, instagram, snapchat, and many other big platforms that allow users to comment. It is clear that people are often treated differently or judged by what they are wearing which can often cause dangerous and uncomfortable situations.

Many have reported these instances to school staff but most cases go unheard of. Throughout this academic year, students have been constantly experiencing the harassment that comes with the outfit they chose to wear. To make students more comfortable, school staff should become more aware of these situations and take steps to reach a goal that will decrease the numbers of harassment. As of recently, nothing has been done to stop these harassments. If they continue throughout the next academic year and are more heavy, parents might have to step in to make sure their children are safe. Staff should also educate those who are the ones who are harassing as no one should be mistreated just because of what they are wearing.

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