Jay Z

I love music, one of my favorite types of music is hip hop. Jay Z is my favorite rapper because I like his lyrics, I like his mentality, his style, and his flow.

Shawn Corey Carter also known as "Jay Z", was born August 4,1969 in Brooklyn New York. He was raised by his mother because his father abandoned his family when he was a baby. He says he was caught up in selling crack cocaine as a young boy. People nick-named him Jazzy in his neighborhood, he later shortened that name to Jay Z while in pursuit of a career in music. He attended High school in Trenton, NJ. He dropped out, but was is remembered for his lyrics and rhymes. It's said that his involvement in dealing drugs ended when he was shot at six times by another drug dealer ( he didn't get hit). After that he got more serious about getting into the music business. Jay Z co-founded Roc-a-Fella Records with partners Damon Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke. His debut album "Reasonable Doubt" was released in 1996 to considerable acclaim within the hip hop community, and included four charting singles: "Ain't No Nigga" (with Foxy Brown), "Can't Knock the Hustle" (with Mary J. Blige), "Dead Presidents" and "Feeling It." 

Now, a few years later, he blew up. He's considered to obe one of the best rappers alive. He's dating one of the most well known singers of r&b , Beyonce Knowles. Has his own sneaker company & has enough money to retire now ans never work a day in his life again and STILL manage to afford luxurious things. 

NYC Schools

In the article from the NYTimes about our NY Schools, they mentioned how so many students and parents were satisfied with their schools. Like last year, the city gave everyone a survey again this year, to let them know what people thought of their schools and whether they felt safe or not there. 

In the article, Jennifer Medina mentions how more than a third of middle and high school students said getting good grades did not earn the respect of other students, and nearly a quarter of parents named smaller classes as the improvement they most wanted. I agree with this because at my old high school, students who got good grades were considered "goody goody kids" or "nerds", they were limited to the "groups/crews" that they could hang out with. When I transfered to the school I'm in now, which by the way is way smaller, everything changed. I'm now surrounded with a new environment, a better one. Students in this school are focused on getting good grades, and those who don't, are considered to be "wasting their time". My mom loves the fact that i transfered to this new school, She said she knew it'd be better for me, and i must say that i agree.

While completing the survey, they asked questions that I never took the time to pay close attention to. A couple of the questions were whether I felt safe or not in my current school, whether or not I was satisfied with my education, and if my teachers were successful on teaching me. I do feel safe in my high school, we have security guards who are alert and on point at all times. There are very few fights a year, if any at all. I am satisfied with my education, I feel that now I have a greater chance of graduating, I understand my classes better, and the lessons that students here are given are challenging. The teachers that i have now, are the best I've had in all my 11 years of my attendance in school. They're helpful, understanding, determined and have an amazing amount of patience for their students. They're always willing to stay after school on any given day, call home when they get worried about kids grades or attendance, and are sometimes more excited about regents then the actual students taking them.

Habits of MInd

Taking Responsible Risks

Habit of Mind is how you react & your way of thinking when your confronted with a situation.

People who take responsible risks usually go beyond the limit of things. They seem to like taking tasks in which they're not sure of what the outcome will be. They accept failure and confusion easier than others. The risks that they take aren't dumb or uneducated. People who take responsible risks follow on past experiences and knowledge . They're aware that not all risks are worth taking, These people are usually risk takers because they feel that by holding back from doing certain things, they're increasing the chance on missing out on opportunities.

I've been confronted with this habit many times in my life. One particular situation was when i was given the chance to come to my new school. I was doing so bad at my old school, that i was getting ready to drop out. My aunt kept insisting that i transfer schools and come to West Side after freshmen year. I debated against it and decided to stay at Washington Irving. I completed my sophomore year there and i was doing worse then i had been doing my first year there. As i was just about ready to drop out of high school, my aunt reminded me of this alternative school. She told me I had nothing to lose, and how this was my last chance I'd be getting in order to graduate. I figured she was right and 2 months later i transfered here for summer school. I'm doing ten times better in this school then I would've been doing at any other school. I'm expected to graduate in april of '08, thats 2 months earlier then when I was originally supposed to graduate. If i would've never taken this chance i would've never had another chance on getting my High School diploma.