Blog #3: Primary Artifact #1

William Wells Brown Elementary School is just like every other elementary school you've seen. It has brightly colored walls and superior technology. However, there is one aspect of William Well Brown that does not align with the typical elementary school. William Wells Brown has the lowest test scores of all elementary schools in Kentucky. When I first heard of William Wells Brown and its reputation, I will admit that I envisioned a crumbling school near an economically underdeveloped area. This is not the case with William Wells Brown. While William Wells Brown is the primary elementary school for families in the "East End" of Lexington, a notoriously poor area in Lexington, the school is held to the same standards (financially, at least) as other elementary schools in Lexington. I was also shocked to find that, while the vast majority of the community still needed work, the community surrounding the school was actually improving financially and architecturally. This photo was from my first visit to William Wells Brown and I liked how it shows that the school looks like every other school. There are plenty of nice looking cars in the parking lot, the announcement sign is up to date, even the trees look taken care of. These are all things that I did not expect to find at William Wells Brown because of the preconceived notion I had that, because their test schools were bad, they must not have a very nice school. I plan on using this picture to break the stereotype that I believed and that I know other believe as well.

Blog #2: Topic Proposal: William Wells Brown Elementary School

The organization that I have chosen to make my documentary about is William Wells Brown Elementary School. This school is located in the center of the east end of Lexington and doubles as a community center. This is a very poor area in Lexington, but the elementary school was built in order to raise the value of the area, along with new housing. Since the school is the in the center of the neighborhood, the people have a common bond and look out for each other.  This is a predominately black community as well as many other races. However, they are less than 10% white. This school was the lowest scoring elementary school in Kentucky in 2014 and the area has a very high crime rate. What I would like to know is: what is going wrong in this community? Why are the academics and crime rates not improving, despite the amount of government funding that was given to this community only a few years ago? I learned of this community through my Living Learning Program here at The University of Kentucky. Throughout my time here in Lexington, I hope to be spending a lot of time at William Wells Brown Elementary school volunteering and helping the children with homework and other needs. Since the school is also the community center for the surrounding neighborhood, I hope to be able to meet some of the families living there, in order to get a better sense of family life in the community. I’m very interested in the community because, up until now, I would not have though that race was still directly correlated with academics and crime rates. I’m curious to hear what the members of this community think in regards to their part in society and the status of their neighborhood. I also think that more light needs to be shed on this area of Lexington in a more positive way.

Me,Myself, and I

Hi! And welcome to my blog! If you're reading this, you're probably my professor or in WRD 110 at UK. If not, you're a cool cat and thanks!
I am very excited that my WRD professor at the University of Kentucky is having us keep up with a blog, as I've always thought blogging would be a fun stress reliever. I'm interested to see how this class with help me in my future law career and how I will become a more eloquent public speaker.

My name is Rachel Lynn Hampton and I love my middle name more than my first name, but I still go by Rachel. I am a French and International Economics major and I plan to go on to law school!

After college, I plan on leaving Kentucky and traveling the world! I've always loved exploring new cultures and seeing all of the beauty the has been created in this world.

I very much identify as an introvert, but I don't think I'm the type of introvert most people think of. In my opinion, an introvert is someone who gets their energy by being alone, whereas most people believe introverts to be "shy." I'm not afraid to volunteer to answer questions or put myself out there, however, that kind of attention drains my energy, rather than boosting it. 

I love theater and would actually love to pursue that dream. However, I am too much of a "planner" to worry about getting a job in this profession without a back up plan.....hence, law.

I am definitely a cat person and you can always count of that! I have a cat named Harold and I am always ready to share pictures of him :) (Let me know if you ever want to see a picture)

I love keeping up with fashion trends and finding fun crafts to do on the weekends! I am pretty sure Pinterest is the devil in disguise because it has kept my from doing work that needs to be done from time to time... oops! 

So, that's a little about me!