Election Project
The election project was a multi-grade wide project. The 10th graders looked at the state propositions, the 11th graders debated the presidential election, and 12th graders (that's me) educated themselves on the local measures. Before we jumped right into figuring out what the measures were we took a step back and thought about the role art plays in politics/democracy. When I refer to art I don't only mean visual art I also mean literature, music, etc. Two of my favorite quotes about art in politics/democracy were:
After we discussed this meaning of art we dove into the measures/races. Every pair got a measure/race. Kat and I got assigned measure F which is changing the probationary period of Deputy City Attorneys from two years to one year so they can get more employment protection. Continue reading to find out more about Measure F.
- "Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact." ~William S. Burroughs
- "The function of the artist in a disturbed society is to give awareness of the universe, to ask the right questions, and to elevate the mind." ~Marina Abramovic
After we discussed this meaning of art we dove into the measures/races. Every pair got a measure/race. Kat and I got assigned measure F which is changing the probationary period of Deputy City Attorneys from two years to one year so they can get more employment protection. Continue reading to find out more about Measure F.
Measure F
Ballot Language:
Shall the City Charter be amended to change the term of service required of the Deputy City Attorneys, for protection from termination or suspension without good cause, from two years or more of continuous service to one year or more of continuous service, which protection would continue not to apply to layoffs due to lack of work or insufficient appropriations?
***Note: purple words/terms are defined below.
Shall the City Charter be amended to change the term of service required of the Deputy City Attorneys, for protection from termination or suspension without good cause, from two years or more of continuous service to one year or more of continuous service, which protection would continue not to apply to layoffs due to lack of work or insufficient appropriations?
***Note: purple words/terms are defined below.
Questions about Ballot Language:
- What is the City Charter? What are their jobs?
- A City's constitution
- A piece of paper
- What does amended mean?
- Changed or rewritten
- What is the term of service currently for Deputy City Attorneys?
- Two years
- What are the Deputy City Attorneys job?
- "The Deputy City Attorney represents the City as legal counsel in civil and criminal matters, including administrative and court proceedings. The Deputy City Attorney is responsible for management and administration as directed by the City Attorney."
- What does appropriations mean?
- "The action of taking something for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission."
One-Page Write-Up of Measure F:
Election Boxes
Outside of Election Boxes:
As a class we played off this idea of collaborative art and Basquiat and Warhol's style and created election boxes, which are representative of the card board blockades people vote in. On the outside of these boxes we were allowed to paint anything that we though represented America, the elections, politics, or the voting process, with our partner. Below are the results.
As a class we played off this idea of collaborative art and Basquiat and Warhol's style and created election boxes, which are representative of the card board blockades people vote in. On the outside of these boxes we were allowed to paint anything that we though represented America, the elections, politics, or the voting process, with our partner. Below are the results.
Inside of Election Boxes:
On the inside of our election boxes we had to explain our measure in a painting (center panel) and explain what a yes vote (right panel) and a no vote (left panel) would do. Although the outside of our box is very abstract the inside had to be clear enough so that people could understand. Below is the inside of the election box for Measure F.
On the inside of our election boxes we had to explain our measure in a painting (center panel) and explain what a yes vote (right panel) and a no vote (left panel) would do. Although the outside of our box is very abstract the inside had to be clear enough so that people could understand. Below is the inside of the election box for Measure F.
Analysis of Political Poem
A Litany for Survival
By Audre Lorde For those of us who live at the shoreline standing upon the constant edges of decision crucial and alone for those of us who cannot indulge the passing dreams of choice who love in doorways coming and going in the hours between dawns looking inward and outward at once before and after seeking a now that can breed futures like bread in our children's mouths so their dreams will not reflect the death of ours: For those of us who were imprinted with fear like a faint line in the center of our foreheads learning to be afraid with our mother's milk for by this weapon this illusion of some safety to be found the heavy-footed hoped to silence us For all of us this instant and this triumph We were never meant to survive. |
And when the sun rises we are afraid it might not remain when the sun sets we are afraid it might not rise in the morning when our stomachs are full we are afraid of indigestion when our stomachs are empty we are afraid we may never eat again when we are loved we are afraid love will vanish when we are alone we are afraid love will never return and when we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard nor welcomed but when we are silent we are still afraid So it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive |
Analysis:
The message Audre Lorde is conveying in her poem “A Litany For Survival” is even if you never feel accepted or like you belong, speak your piece because it won’t hurt since you have nothing to lose. She starts off her poem with the contradictory statement, “looking inward and outward at once before and after” in order to show the reader the contradictory world she grew up in. She was a black women in the 60s that always felt aware of her loneliness. When she said she was “looking inward and outward” she was depicting she was in between two worlds: one of love and one of hate. She never quite felt accepted, so she had to learn to love herself. She might be hinting at a term called “double consciousness,” which at the time was an awareness of how you see yourself and how you think others see you. Lorde hopes that the “present” will improve and be like “bread in our children’s mouths,” so that “there dreams will not reflect the death of ours.” She wants her children, literally and metaphorically, to be able to hope without fear as demonstrated in the lines “when the sun rises we are afraid / it might not remain / when the sun sets we are afraid / it might not rise in the morning.” She has many contradicting sentences like this, which all depict her feelings on hope: when you are given it, you are afraid it might be crushed. When you are crushed, you are afraid you won’t be able to pick yourself back up and give yourself hope. She ends her poem by saying, “So it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive.” The point of her poem is even though you might feel neglected you must speak up because it’s the best hope for future generations. |
***Start video at 1:00 minute to here Audre Lorde read the first stanza of her poem below:
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Election Book
The purpose of the election book was to document everything that we were working and learning about. We showed our election books at the voters night to educate the public in a more artistic way. Our books included pictures of our election boxes, politics in art, our measure/race language, our one pager, the pro and con on measure, and the analysis of the political poem.
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Voters Info Night
Coming Soon