Problemas y Soluciónes en Nuestra Communidad de Baltimore - Problems and Solutions in Our Baltimore Community

In tying social justice issues in Latin America and Spain to social justice issues in Baltimore, we turn our attention to social justice issues in our own city, the ramifications of these issues and their potential solutions. In IB Spanish 2, as the final project for Unit 4: Problemas y Soluciónes en Nuestra Communidad de Baltimore (Problems and Solutions in Our Baltimore Community), students were assigned the task of writing a five-paragraph essay/editorial in Spanish with an introduction, three main body paragraphs and a conclusion. The editorial must identify a systemic issue in Baltimore City and three student-created solutions to this issue. The original unit was created by Franca Muller and collaborated on and modified by Katherine Tomscha.

First, students surveyed five people who lived in their community and asked them to identify the most difficult issue facing Baltimore City today. Students then translated these issues into Spanish, and I compiled a class list so that we could learn the vocabulary associated with systemic issues in our community.

Next, students were assigned to a group of three, in which they were to write their editorial as a group project. Each student contributed to the introduction, conclusion and final editing, and each student in the group wrote a paragraph describing a solution to the systemic issue in Baltimore.

Students were required to format their final essay in an editorial or newspaper article format, on a large piece of poster paper. The final products were then presented in class, and you can see an example of a group presentation proposing solutions to the problem of “mala salud” or “bad health” by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i9tIaTnQVY .

Below I have attached photos of final student posters, and I will translate excerpts from these essays below.

Title: Poverty In Baltimore

“25% of people in Baltimore live in poverty. If we work together, we can end poverty in Baltimore. To do this, we need the help of various institutions. To begin to help the problem of people who live in poverty, my community needs the participation of recreation centers, homeless shelters, and the government.”

- Anthony, Charlotte, Tom (Period 1)

Title: “How to stop sexual abuse?”

“Every two minutes, someone is sexually assaulted in the United States. Between 2006 and 2012, sexual abuse has increased by 44%, almost double. Also 48% of women that have been assaulted will be victims of sexual abuse again. To start to solve the problem of sexual abuse, our community needs better schools, police and women’s centers.” “Don’t violate, appreciate!”

- Trenae, Taaj, Leah (Period 1)

Title: “Problems in our community: How to stop the growth of crime?”

“In the United States, the city of Baltimore is number five for the number of homicides. Every day, many people suffer because there are many crimes. There are property crimes, robbery, assaults and drug related crimes in our community. To begin to solve the problem of crime, my community needs more hospitals, police and better education.”

- Jessica, Carly, Deairra (Period 11)

“Health In Baltimore City”

“How Health Affects Our Lives”

“If there is one thing that everyone in the world should have, it is good health. Unfortunately, 44% of Americans have a chronic condition, like heart disease and cancer. This percentage is increasing by 2.2% every five years. To start to solve the problem of bad health, our community needs more health departments, supermarkets, and more repaired houses (less vacant houses).

- Jaylen, Dennis, Yoav  (Period 11)