Middle school library

8th Grade Students Create Middle School Library

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th graders

What became the multi-week Middle School Library project was set in motion when a group of 8th grade students got together one afternoon. First, they cleared off dusty shelves and sorted through what they considered to be very interesting items – a large starfish, lots of seashells, and a collection of glass beakers that jingled to the tune of foot traffic. Then, they got to work scanning and cataloging the collection of books, one at a time.

Library Books

A handy app, Libib, provided by 8th grade Humanities Teacher, Jennifer Lettieri, made the process of cataloging books a lot more streamlined, but scanning hundreds of books with a smart phone was no easy task. Some books collected over the years had barcodes so outdated that they had to enter the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) codes manually. 

 

“You realize how hard it is for librarians to organize books in alphabetical order!”

-Sterling

What’s more, the students found that some books fell under multiple genres, making the sorting process more complex than expected. Organizing and cataloging was an area of priority, and at the same time, the students were intentional about designing a library that was both inviting and welcoming. To help readers navigate the different sections of the library with ease, students created hand-drawn cards to break up sections for each genre. The aesthetically pleasing visuals not only serve the purpose of directing the reader to the resources they seek, but also attracts attention with clever, meme-worthy illustrations.

 

Once the books were organized into genres, they were able to identify some of the gaps in the library. The teachers then provided support by helping to compile a list of the books they felt they should have in an inclusive middle school library. A few days before the interview, a fresh batch of books procured from local treasure Marcus Books, the oldest Black-owned bookstore in the U.S., were still being cataloged.

Eigth grade library teamAfter devoting countless hours to giving life to the library, the students have a newfound reverence for spaces where books are loved: “You realize how hard it is for librarians to organize books in alphabetical order,” said Sterling, who has been involved in the library project since its earliest organizational stages. “[I’m] more attentive to how books are treated. I hope people will be conscious about how they treat and take care of books,” added Greta, another invaluable member of the library project team.

“I just wanted people to read. Having a wider selection of books, a nicer area to relax and read- I want those changes to inspire people to read again”
-Fern

After devoting countless hours to giving life to the library, the students have a newfound reverence for spaces where books are loved: “You realize how hard it is for librarians to organize books in alphabetical order,” said Sterling, who has been involved in the library project since its earliest organizational stages. “[I’m] more attentive to how books are treated. I hope people will be conscious about how they treat and take care of books,” added Greta, another invaluable member of the library project team.

Now in their final weeks at TBS, the class of 2022 is hopeful that the library will continue to grow. “The more books, the better!” added team member Embley, who also named comic books as the genre they would like to see expand. The team’s vision for the TBS Middle School library is that fellow Bobcats will care for it and continue to contribute to it in their own unique ways and one day, that we will have a central library for the entire school body.

 

Foreign Interference

Foreign Interference in the 2020 Election

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By Beatrice B.

Foreign interference is a complicated subject to fully understand. It includes misinformation, disinformation and targeted ads. Foreign countries are messing with the voting system in the United States.

What are Disinformation and Misinformation?

First, what is the difference between misinformation and disinformation? Misinformation is rumors, false news, and lies, while disinformation is a category of misinformation. Disinformation includes conspiracy theories and purposely deceiving and lying to someone.

How do misinformation and disinformation spread so quickly? 

Misinformation and disinformation are spread through apps such as Facebook and Twitter. One way misinformation spreads is how anybody can buy bots to share and repost tweets and Facebook posts. The bots are created by hacker programmers and then are sold to anybody who wants them. The bots are more efficient because they can share and repost much faster than a human. Lots of people use these social media platforms, so once you manage to get people’s attention about what you’re sharing, the bots step away. Why the bots step away is because they are meant to spread disinformation, and make a candidate look more popular on their social media platforms. Once people start to get interested in the candidate, or people start spreading the misinformation, the bots are no longer needed. This is how Russia has managed to interfere with the presidential elections. An example of this is how in the 2016 election, Russia used bots to create targeted advertisements on Facebook to spread false information about the upcoming election.

Why is Russia so interested in our elections? 

Russia and the United States are foes. They disagree on multiple levels about what is currently happening in Ukraine, Syria, ISIS, and in other parts of the world. Some people in Russia feel like the United States is using its system of government and politics to target them, especially the Russian government. Some politicians and others in Russia feel like the politicians of the USA are trying to minimize the influence of the Russian government around the world.

Arm Wrestle

Why should voters be concerned about foreign interference in the 2020 election?

Voters in the United States and all other people should be concerned about foreign interference in the election because if other countries start interfering with the U.S. election, then it could mess up the votes and have a president get elected who was not the most-liked candidate. 

What are people doing to help prevent foreign interference?

To help prevent foreign interference in our elections, people are pressuring their local elected officials to make sure their ballots are secure and that no one can hack the voting machines. Organizations like the Center for Internet Security are helping the United States protect its voting technology from foreign interference. The Brennan Center for Justice has some recommendations for things that local and state governments, as well as the federal government, can do to protect our elections and our democracy from foreign interference.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2020_United_States_elections
https://www.cisecurity.org/elections-resources/election-security-self-assessments/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-31/how-russia-meddling-became-social-media-s-problem-quicktake-q-a
https://vimeo.com/178424782
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/whats-being-done-to-stop-russias-election-interference

Find Your Greens tote bags

Find Your Greens

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During the 3rd Trimester, 7th graders have been engaged in a collaborative interdisciplinary Project Based Learning unit between Health and Humanities. The guiding question for the project is, “How can we make healthy and nutritious foods more accessible in our community?” In order to take action to this end, students researched what makes food healthy and nutritious (in Health with Jared), what the modern day barriers are to access, the historical legacies of these barriers, and for whom these barriers exist. They covered the foundational elements of this project by first examining a recent study undertaken by PolicyLink and The Food Trust titled The Grocery Gap: Who Has Access to Healthy Food and Why it Matters. Students also learned from a guest teacher named Asia Hampton from Phat Beets Produce, an Oakland-based grassroots organization that aims to create a healthier, more equitable food system in Oakland and beyond by providing affordable access to fresh produce.

One thing that students learned through these explorations is that there is a link for some demographic groups between access to healthy foods and centuries of restrictive institutional practices along racial lines. We then explored how communities can respond when social justice is necessary by examining The Black Panther Party’s response to barriers to access, with a keen focus on the Panther’s Free Food Program that later inspired federally funded free and reduced school lunches.

Additionally, students travelled to the Alameda County Community Food Bank to volunteer and to learn about why making healthy food more accessible in our community is so vital to the health and success of Alameda County residents.

As a culmination of this unit, students designed a digital map of our neighborhood’s food sources to share with the larger community, called FindYourGreens.org. In order to do this, students created an evaluation tool to assess the variety and cost of healthy foods at neighborhood food sources, as well as proximity from public transportation to indicate accessibility.In the art studio, they designed and produced tote bags to promote the FindYourGreens.org site within the community.