Outside reading

Sudhir meets JTs mother. His mother is very sweet and even though Sudhir knows that she has trouble even buying food she always has a nice meal for him and refuses any pay. Sudhir also convinces JT that he is ready to walk to his house by himself and no longer needs an escort. Sudhir also learns that the gang and the Robert Taylor homes are a community and they look out for each other. There are children that don't have parents and they will take them into their homes and take care of them to avoid them going to an orphanage. Sudhir also walks with JT through his apartments that he is in charge of. JT does this once a week or so to make sure that everyone is in line and that there are not people acting out of hand. If they had people out of hand then the police would come and that would not be good. 

Outside reading

JT moves back to Robert Taylor housing. It is his goal to make enough money to buy his mother and girlfriends houses. Sudhur's walk to go hang out with JT was replaced with a bus ride. JT offered him to get him a driver, but Sudhir refuses. Instead JT has one of his teen gang members meet Sudhir at the bus stop because he said it was unsafe for him to walk there by himself. Sudhir learns that JT had gone to college, but didn't like it. He also learns that a gang is not a bunch of guns and shooting, but is set up much like a business. The only people that really fight are the teens. There is poeple like JT behind everything and there is bosses and bosses of bosses. Sudhir also learns that often times they "fight" with out even fighting often they may play a basketball game or something like that. After a victory they have a party and often times other gang leaders stop by to say good job. 

Outside reading

After Sudhir's long night in the projects he cant stop wondering about JT so he goes back. He feels a special bond with JT and they start hanging out more and more. JT said in order to get to know the people and know what its like to be young black and poor he must hang out with them. After JT begins to trust him more and more he takes him on a trip to the Robert Taylor projects, where JT used to live. Sudhir learns that this is where JT used to live and where his mother and girlfriends live aswell. JT is moving back to Robert Taylor due to where he lives now being taken down as well as the fact that JT was only sent there to try to get the gang over there back on track. JT has a meeting to try to get back where he left off. 

Outside reading

In my book that i am reading Gang leader for a day, the main character Sudhir Venkatesh, is a college sociology student. He is asked by one of his professors to help out in a study about poor black young adults living in the projects. He gets many surveys and sets off to the projects after entering a building that is gross he finds a group of young black men he tells them why he is there and they don't believe him they think he is from another gang there to spy on them. After spending the night there in a stair well being watched with no sleep he makes a new friend. His new friends name is JT and he happens to be on the higher end of the black nights a gang around there. After he gets home he cant even think about sleeping after all that has just happened. Sudhir is in for allot. 

Gang leader for a day

The book i am reading is Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh. I found this book from a family friend who said i really should read it. I am reading it because i am going to Chicago with my church this summer in the projects. This is where my book takes place. I also chose to read it because its a true story about a real student and how he had an unexpected schooling experience. These are a few reasons why i chose to read the book Gang leader for a day. 

hope

Reading Brett Hansensbeggs latest caring bridge i saw so much hope. Greta is hopeful brett will go far in life. She hopes that one day he will be able to play football again, date girls, and hang out with his friends on his own! After Bretts accident doctors doubted he would ever be able to think for him self. He has already proved them wrong. His mind is fully functioning he can type and text and he is starting to be able to talk even though alot of it is hard to understand. If you walk into this families home you see much hope and all smiles. They never give off negative comments and they are always looking on the bright side! This family is truly filled with hope! 

gender roles

Woman are becoming more important in earning income for their families. In dual-income families the amount of money the women bring in rose to 44% in 2008 apposed to what it used to be at 26%. With this though mothers and fathers are now saying that their family to work conflicts have increased as well. On the other hand this is giving fathers more time to spend with their children and wives so the mothers arnt the main care givers. Also 10% of woman are making more then their husbands. Now both 60% of men and woman are agreeing that they think both should contribute to their income. Surveys are saying that now woman that are of the age of 29 or younger will support their family and contribute equaling to their family. This is all a much bigger change compared to what it used to be. 

Over coming a struggle

On September second 2008 brett hansen begg was in a very bad car crash and he was was given horrible brain injures and was at HSMS and gellet children's hospital and now has returned home, but still cant walk with out help, he can say a few words, and struggles with things we take for granted. In the car crash his best friend luke was killed and this was the second death they have had in their small town of watertown in a month. The car crash happened at around 12:08 at night and was a one car crash. The first 72 hours was the worst for the family because Brett was up and down and no one knew if he would make it and if he did make it doctors said it would be likely he would remember nothing from before and may even be a vegetable for the rest of his life. Well brett proved doctors wrong and is now at home. He can text, walk with help of his mother, chat on facebook, talk even though it is hard for people to understand, and he is going to school for half day. It is truly hard for people to overcome struggles.

natural disasters

There are all sorts of natural disasters one of which being when a Tsunami hit beaches around the Indian ocean. People compared it to WWII and to 9/11. The man in this article was saying how nothing and no one can explain what happened not even the servers him being a survivor of two. When people watch a TV broadcast of it they are given a fraction of the pain that really happened. And not only did it affect the ones who were in it, but it touched everyone and it took weeks or months to figures out the death counts. People say that it will take a life time to recover from what all happened though and nothing will ever be back to "normal". He said that the horror made his body go numb and when he heard the first news all he could think is please lord not again. He was pondered by the question of why? why is God so mad? They would say that humans know and understand very little of why things happen. Disasters truly affect everyone. 

Outside Reading

Text: Caringbridge 

Author: Greta Hansen-begg 

Brett got a new wheelchair that is alot easier to function for greta. Brett has a camera in his room so Greta can see his everymove well he is sleeping. Brett walked a few times sense he has been home from the help of greta to look out the window and see people walking by. Brett went out to lunch with some family friends and also tried very hard to talk and he said his sisters name for the first time in 4 months. Brett is also trying to help with his cares aswell and he can now change the radio station on his own and has improved so much since 4 months ago when it was a big deal for brett to move his thumb or blink an eye. 

Outside Reading

Text: caringbridge 

Author:Greta Hansen-Begg

Brett has had a hard last few months. On Freida he finished up his last day at the hospital. He did all his therapies like it was a normal day. But at the end of the day, instead of going back to his hospital room he get in the car and his greta drove him back to his home in watertown to stay, for good! In his last few days at the hospital someone brought all the children in bretts wing a new ipod! Brett has been home a few times since the crash just so Greta and alen had a taste for what they were in for but he is home safe and sound now. 

Outside Reading

Text: Caring bridge

Author: Greta hansen-begg 

Brett had improved so much. He is typing full conversations on his link(a key board that he types on) and he is starting to move his right arm more and more! Brett is so much more independent and had his feeding tube removed recently. All though they have not used the tube in a very long time they needed to wait to take it out to make sure that he didnt get an infection. Brett has a very good long term memory and remembers most everything from before the crash(when we went to visit him a few days ago he knew who we were right away), But he is still having a hard time remembering what he had done that day so his short term memory is not very good.