Nonviolent Solutions

This is my Final Project for our Civic Term course. For this 3 week term, I was in the class called, Global Peace. During these three weeks, we learned about Gandhi and his teachings/work, his journey using nonviolence, along with Martin Luther King and other works of nonviolence. We also learned about nonviolent ideas, inspired by the teachings of Gandhi, called Sarvodaya, Swadeshi, Swaraj, and Satyagraha. We also spent two Wednesdays of the term, watching Selma and a documentary called The Interrupters. They were very educational and related to what we were learning, which helped us gain further perspective on our material, and how to apply it. For our projects, we were supposed to find a conflict in our neighborhood and find a way to nonviolently figure out a solution for it. For my project, I decided to focus on the amount of trash that is in my neighborhood and I tried to find a way to educate people, as well writing to my Alderman to try and get different trash cans. In my slideshow, you can see the outline of my plan and my journey with the conflict. You can also see my poster and my letter to the Alderman, below. Enjoy!

                                                             MEM. Letter to Alderman. 2020

MEM. Educational Poster. 2020

We Decide

This is the last Action Project for our humanities class, Rhetoric. Though this unit was short, we were still able to focus on the main point, which was to "unite". The purpose of the unit was to learn how art can bring people together, while also using rhetorical techniques in its message. We had an online FE and to prep for it, we watched a series of videos from a channel called, "A Complete Waste of Your Time & Money". Their medium of art is comedy, and in their videos, they use comedy to spread positivity, specifically around voting for Joe Biden. During the online FE, the creators of the videos, Linda and Tony, talked to us about their process for making the videos and their inspiration, along with answering our questions. After that FE, we were given the challenge to create our own art piece centered on an important current issue of our choice. We were supposed to go about this project as if we were submitting it for a high school contest. Below you will see my art piece along with my artist statement. Enjoy!

MEM. WE Decide Art piece. 2020

I am a high school Junior at GCE Lab School and the topic I chose for my art piece was Climate Change. I chose this because it is an important issue that concerns everybody that lives on Earth, and because of this, I figured it would reach a wider audience. My artwork's message is, "WE Decide," and this is basically saying that we, the human inhabitants of Earth, decide what happens to our home. The emotions I was trying to evoke from this piece were empathy, sadness, and some inspiration to do better. I made the choice of showing the environment and animals struggling, while humans try and hold the earth together, mainly because we are the main contributor to Earth's deterioration. I am hoping that seeing the animals dying, the ice melting, the deforestation, and extreme weather, among other major things happening, inspires people to care about and be conscious of their actions. Three important facts that I included in my piece were that 80% of the icebergs have melted since 1912, 17% out of the 25% of the Rainforest that is "able" to be deforested, has been destroyed, and that the current Global temperature is 1.16 degrees Celcius. These were important to include because each of them represents a significant issue that we are being faced with. The first being, the icebergs melting because this means there will be higher water levels, and ancient diseases that are trapped inside the ice, could potentially be unleashed. The second statistic is that if the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest reaches 25%, it will cause the whole forest to deteriorate (17% of the forest has already been destroyed). The last fact is that the Global temperature is 1.16 degrees, and if it rises even 1 degree more, the future of our entire earth will be essentially non-existent. 

I chose to draw this piece using colored pencils and used generic printer paper because that was the only thing I had around my house. I also thought it made it more personal to draw something with unsophisticated materials. The main rhetorical appeal I used in my artwork was pathos, expressed in the messages from the animals, from the people trying to keep the earth together, and how each environmental situation is presented. I also used logos by including the statistics in the artwork. I also feel that the artwork represents a hyperbole or an extreme exaggeration, mainly because if we don't take care of the earth, of course, it isn't going to split down the middle and we won't need to go into space to hold it together, but it is metaphorical in that way that we can either decide to keep our earth strong and healthy (essentially 'put together'), or let it slowly die. Ideally, I think my artwork would have the greatest impact if it were displayed at a city bus stop. My sense is a huge number of people take the bus every day, and while waiting for the bus, they would be able to take in the message of the piece and inspired into action. 

Citations:

Glick, Daniel. Global Climate Change, Melting Glaciers, 18 Jan. 2017, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/big-thaw/.

Irfan, Umair. “Brazil's Amazon Rainforest Destruction Is at Its Highest Rate in More than a Decade.” Vox, Vox, 18 Nov. 2019, www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/11/18/20970604/amazon-rainforest-2019-brazil-burning-deforestation-bolsonaro.

Sanchez-Lugo. “Global Climate Report - March 2020.” National Climatic Data Center, www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/202003. 

Atef's Design

This is the last AP for our STEAM class, Design & Engineering. In this unit, we focused on math concepts including speed, speed conversions, circles, volume, surface area, and energy components. In addition, we studied simple machines including wheels, axles, pulleys, and gears, eventually leading to our final subject, bicycles. I am proud of the math I did this term, despite some moments of self-doubt. We also had two field experiences, with one of them being online and the other in person, though we had the option of being online. One of the FEs was Amanda Woodall, who came to talk to us about Divvy bikes and the other was a visit to Earth Rider Cycling, an electric bike shop. The one that stood out to me the most, was the electric bike shop because we learned how electric bikes worked and I got to watch students try them (I took the online option). While prepping for this AP, we interviewed a biker of our choice to get their perspective on the experience of riding their bikes. We then kept that information in mind, when we were assigned a fictional profile on which to base our project. Once we were assigned a profile, we assessed their needs and began to use our prior information from the interviews and what we knew about the person's needs, to create a custom bike, just for them. Below you will see my process and the final product. I hope you enjoy it!

The person my partner and I were assigned is a 15-year-old named Atef. Atef is currently living in Cairo, Egypt and he has to bike through sandy terrain and heavy traffic to school every day, which is 3.25 miles away. Once he gets to school, he has to carry his bike up two flights of stairs to get to class. He also can't afford to get professional maintenance for his bike. After doing an assessment of his profile, I determined that his main needs are a lightweight and low maintenance bike. My solution for Atef was to make a bike that was made out of lightweight material (Nylon powder), foldable, with fewer components (so it is easy to clean), a plastic tubing around the gears so they don't get clogged from sand, and a backpack contraption that is stored in the seat and hooks onto the wheels, which makes it easier to transport.

Two‌ ‌things‌ ‌I‌ ‌learned‌ ‌while‌ ‌researching‌ ‌bikes‌ ‌was‌ ‌that‌ ‌there‌ ‌are‌ ‌many‌ ‌different‌ ‌types‌ ‌I‌ ‌was‌ ‌not‌ ‌aware‌ ‌of,‌ ‌and‌ ‌several‌ ‌ways‌ ‌you‌ ‌can‌ ‌make‌ ‌them,‌ ‌including‌ ‌3D‌ ‌printing.‌ The 3D printing actually partly inspired my design because of a bike I saw in this article. It is made out of Nylon powder, which is 65% lighter than normal materials and it is made with Additive Layer Manufacturing, similar to 3D printing. That is the material and building process my bike is based on. A‌ ‌quote from the person I interviewed also inspired my design and it‌ ‌was,‌ ‌“I‌ ‌like‌ ‌how‌ ‌lightweight‌ ‌my‌ ‌bike‌ ‌is and it is easy to transport.”‌ ‌This‌ ‌inspired‌ ‌the backpack part of my‌ ‌design‌ ‌because‌ ‌of‌ ‌how‌ ‌Atef‌ ‌has‌ ‌to‌ ‌carry‌ ‌his ‌bike‌ ‌up stairs‌, and‌ ‌it isn't easy to do that with a big heavy bike. 

Here is a labeled sketch and a scale model of the bike I created, using cardboard. The model is photographed in a similar terrain that Atef would be riding in and I used one of my brother's action figures to make it more realistic. 

MEM. Bike Sketch. 2020

MEM. Bike Model. 2020

A ‌few‌ ‌ways‌ ‌that‌ ‌my‌ ‌bike‌ ‌is‌ ‌better‌ ‌than‌ ‌the competition‌ ‌is because of the backpack‌ ‌feature‌, it has a protective‌ ‌covering‌ ‌around‌ ‌the‌ ‌gear,‌ ‌and it is made out of lightweight material. All of these components are not ones I have seen all in one bike before. My‌ ‌user‌ ‌should‌ ‌trust‌ ‌in‌ ‌my‌ ‌design‌ ‌because‌ ‌it‌ ‌addresses‌ ‌all of his‌ ‌needs, specifically being easy to clean and maintain.‌ For the bike, I decided to go with a ‌single-speed‌ ‌bike ‌because‌ ‌they‌ ‌are ‌low‌ ‌maintenance‌ ‌and‌ ‌less‌ ‌distracting, so‌ ‌he‌ ‌can‌ ‌focus‌ ‌on‌ ‌riding‌ ‌through‌ ‌traffic.‌ The‌ ‌gear‌ ‌ratio‌ ‌of the bike is 44/16‌ ‌because‌ ‌it makes the bike ‌easier‌ ‌to‌ ‌ride and the scale I used to make the model was 1:12.‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

The calculations for the bike can be found in this slideshow:

 

In conclusion, I took Atef's needs into‌ ‌consideration‌ ‌when‌ ‌designing‌ ‌this‌ ‌bike, some of‌ ‌which‌ ‌was to make it‌ ‌easy‌ ‌to maintain,‌ ‌lightweight,‌ ‌and‌ fix the issue of ‌clogged‌ ‌gears.‌ ‌Two‌ ‌obstacles‌ ‌that‌ ‌I‌ ‌ran‌ ‌into‌ ‌during‌ ‌this‌ ‌process‌ ‌were‌ ‌when‌ ‌I wanted to make the model digitally but couldn't figure out how so I made a physical one, and the overall thought process of finding ideas for my bike that were original and don't already exist. I enjoyed this experience and I‌ ‌learned‌ ‌how‌ ‌special‌ ‌it‌ ‌feels‌ ‌to‌ ‌build‌ ‌your‌ ‌own‌ ‌model.‌ ‌ ‌

Citations:

Ridden, Paul. “EADS Airbike Made of Steel-Strength Nylon.” New Atlas, 2 May 2015, newatlas.com/eads-bristol-announces-nylon-airbike-manufactured-by-alm-technology/18094/. 

To Control or Not to Control - The issue of Guns in America

This is the second to last AP for our humanities class, Rhetoric. In this unit, we had an FE to Marquette Park Memorial, with the purpose of grasping the energy around standing where a major civil rights movement once took place and fully understanding its significance. We also had Ugo Okere come in as an FE guest to speak to us, via zoom, and share his experience from running for alderman in Chicago's 40th ward. After those FEs, we started focusing on news articles, specifically op-eds, and how they are an influential component to the article's editorial. We read a couple of sample op-eds and then were challenged with writing our own. For my op-ed, I decided to choose the topic of gun control because it is a current issue, especially in Chicago, and I feel like we need to move toward a solution. I hope you enjoy my AP!

 

Time Magazine (2011). Gun Statistics. 

In an op-ed for CNN, by Jill Filipovic, in 2019 called, “Fewer guns means fewer killings, and we all know it,” national gun control and gun violence are addressed after they reflect on recent mass shootings. Though a national issue, gun control needs to be resolved by each state individually, and right now, the state in question, is Illinois. As officials evaluate their options, it’s wise for them to study occurrences around the country, and realize the solutions should include gun control compromise and putting an end to NRA influence. 

Specifically, Chicago’s violent crime rate has declined in the past year, but this past summer, according to Newsweek, shootings were at an all-time high. The article shows that there was a 46% increase in reported shootings since July 12, 2019 - July 12,2020, and a 98% increase in those shootings, in just 6 days, compared to 2019. A question that should be asked right now is: What can we do to prevent this amount of shootings, and how can several groups of people be united in this decision? 

The CNN article states, “Most gun owners do not need their guns,” and, while this is agreeable, the determination of who owns a gun, should not be decided based on opinion. To uphold the freedom that this country stands for, the goal is not to take guns away, but to make sure they are obtained legally and safely. Of course, the legality of the process for obtaining a gun will need compromise between opposing groups. 

Many gun law opposers tend to use their 2nd Amendment right to back their defense that stricter gun laws infringe on those rights, saying things like: “We need to protect our rights. Guns are our rights. The second amendment is our right.” While that may be true, both sides of the gun control argument might agree that military-grade firearms should be banned from the general public. Putting firearms in the hands of a mentally ill person is putting fuel on a fire. In an attempt to create compromise, there should be laws supporting individual licensing for low-grade firearms, fingerprint-based background checks, mental health screenings, and required training before even touching a gun. Then, the right to obtain a gun would not be stripped, therefore, not obstructing the 2nd Amendment, but rather making it slightly harder, and, therefore, safer for the public. 

The point is, in many incidents, whether it be school shootings or targeted mass shootings, they prove to be highly preventable. Think about the numerous innocent school children, think about a regular civilian walking down the street, or finally, think about your own family - wouldn't you want to do everything to protect them? A recurring theme is a bullied student or a person with a mental illness, that was shockingly able to obtain a high-grade firearm with little effort. 

The final point mentioned in the CNN op-ed is how unlikely change is to come with the number of government officials so heavily financially incentivized by the NRA. Further explained in this article, the NRA has a history of swaying politicians to not act in the peoples’ best interest in terms of gun control. We need to put an end to corruption, which leads to an endless cycle of this argument, in order for the country to be unified in the issue of gun control. 

Addendum Paragraph: 

The use of rhetorical appeals and devices occur all throughout this op-ed. First, in paragraph 2, the appeal used is logos, and this is because there are statistics presented. Second, in paragraphs 1,2, and 6, the appeal used is ethos because of the cited sources, which creates trust. Lastly, in paragraph 5, the appeal that is used is pathos, because of the part asking you to think about individual people that could be affected by guns. In paragraph 5, the stylistic device present is anaphora, and in paragraph 4, there are two stylistic devices present, a metaphor and epiphora.

Tools with Empathy

In unit 1 of our Junior STEAM class, Design and Engineering, we learned about the meaning of designing and engineering, and how to fix problems using those concepts. We also learned about levers, wedges, inclined planes, force, work, and how these make up every aspect of tool making and using. In this unit, we primarily focused on gardening tools and, specifically, how we could improve their designs to fit the needs of elderly people, using empathy. Empathy is when you essentially 'put yourself into someone else's shoes,' and it relates to this project because of how we used that concept to redesign tools for the needs of elderly people. To get a better understanding of gardening tools, we interviewed gardeners and also had an FE at Home Depot (socially distanced and with masks on, of course), where we had the opportunity to talk to some employees about the importance of each tool, along with getting to try some out for ourselves. We also had FE guests from Dyson and Greater Good Studio, to talk to us about the design process.

For the gardening interview, I interviewed my mom. She does not usually garden, but she has in the past, and since we live in an apartment building, we used the garden in the park next door. The tool she used was a shovel, and three things I learned from interviewing her, were that a shovel with a longer handle is easier than a hand shovel because you have more leverage and it puts less strain on your body. The second thing I learned was her process for using the shovel, which was first, she put her foot on the triangular part to shove it into the ground, then she placed her hands accordingly on the handle, and began to dig. The third thing I learned was that a lightweight tool puts a lot less strain on the body and is more beneficial to gardening.

For this AP, we were supposed to choose a gardening tool, research different versions of it, and by using empathy, come up with a way to redesign it, focusing on the common needs of elderly people. The tool I chose was a leaf rake and it is classified as a third-class lever, which operates with the effort applied between the fulcrum and load. For the rake, the fulcrum is at the top of the handle, the input force (effort) is where your second hand is typically placed, in the middle of the handle, and the output force (load) is where the tines are moving the leaves, grass, etc. Three things I learned from existing examples of my tool are that leaf rakes, landscape rakes, and shrub rakes, are the most common rakes I found. Typically, the handles are made of wood and the tines/head are made of plastic, but they can also be made out of metal or steel, and many rakes are designed to be lightweight.

My New and Improved Leaf Rake includes two adjustable, rubber finger holders, sturdier, lightweight head/tines made of steel, non-removable caps at the end of the tines, and a moveable head, with three lock settings. The adjustable finger holders are for individuals who suffer from arthritis, and it helps to keep your hand in place if you’re having grip issues. The sturdier, yet lightweight head and tines provide the ability to gather leaves, grass, etc. in greater quantities, in as few times as possible. It reduces the annoying floppiness you get from generic leaf rakes, and the amount of time needed to bend over, using the tool. The non-removable caps at the end of the already thin and pointy tines prevent any scraping or blisters that a user may obtain while using the rake (the caps don’t prevent the rake from doing its job because the tines are still long and thin, and have an angled point, but are very slightly dulled by the caps). Lastly, the moveable head has three lock settings that are easily moved with a little bit of force from your foot, and they effortlessly lock in place without excess movement. The settings consist of ‘full upward head’, ‘regular head placement’, and ‘vacuum cleaner placement’. The 'regular placement' setting works both for long-distance raking and short-distance raking. The ‘vacuum cleaner’ setting works more for short-distance raking, and it allows you to use it in standing up position, as opposed to bending over. Both settings incorporate multiple rake designs and reduce the time needed to rake. When the gardener is all done, they can simply put the rake into the ‘full upward’ setting and place it in its holder and, from there, easily remove the excess leaves on the rake.

My new tool is an example of innovation and efficiency because it is taking potential problems that elderly people may face, and incorporating them into my design. Five ways that my tool is better than the competition is the ability to keep your grip due to finger holders, the improved sturdiness of the tool, the reduced amount of blisters and scrapes one might typically obtain, the variety of different settings and capabilities, and the reduced time it would take to use the rake.

Below, is a photo differentiating the components of the rake and the forces done onto the tool, a storyboard portraying the process of using the tool, and calculations I made of the handle. 

MM (2020) Leaf Rake Components.

MM (2020) Leaf Rake Comic.

For my tool, I chose to calculate the volume and surface area of the rake's handle, which is a cylinder:

MM (2020) Handle Calculations.

Overall, I think this project was fun and insightful to do because I got to experience designing my own tool, even if it was just a simple gardening rake. I also liked that we had the option to draw our tools because it felt more real and personal. I hope you enjoyed my project!

Dick Durbin - Climate Change Brief

This Action Project is for unit 1 of our 11th-grade humanities class, Rhetoric. So far, we have been learning about recognizing and analyzing the rhetorical situation in everyday life, recognizing and applying stylistic devices in text, and understanding the succession of rhetoric, through the use of appeals. We started by learning about the origin of rhetoric and the three appeals: logos (logic), pathos (emotions), and ethos (trust). These three appeals are the building blocks for rhetoric in our everyday life and are apparent in every aspect of speech, text, etc. We also had a series of videos and texts to analyze, which helped deepen our understanding of the rhetorical situation, further recognize these components in everyday life, and then apply them. For this project, we were given a guiding question, "how do you use rhetoric to convince others," along with the task of creating a video for a current political candidate of some sort. For this video, we were supposed to choose a candidate of our choice and "brief" them to respond to a potential question, in a way that is not completely scripted, and will support their cause, by making them appear more trustworthy and eligible to run. I chose Senator Dick Durbin and the topic of Climate Change because I think that it is a very important issue right now. For this video, I set it up in a way where I was presenting talking points, regarding the question, so he could use those as a response. I thought it worked better to provide talking points rather than presenting a speech, because they are easier to remember and it felt more personal addressing him directly. I hope you enjoy my video below. 

 

Script: 

MM: Purpose of the video - to provide talking points to prepare Dick Durbin for a future question 

MM: Audience - this question appeals to a younger audience, like Millenials or GenZ, because they have been the primary activists in recent years 

MM: Show logo adaption 

MM: State the question - "What is your stance on Climate Change, what are you planning to do about it, and how can voters trust your plan?" 

MM: First, establish credibility (ethos) - you have been in the senate since 1982, you are passionate about climate change, and on multiple occasions, you have presented plans to congress, regarding Climate Change, and how it also affects Chicago. 

MM: Second, appeal to audiences' emotions (pathos) - you can do this by talking about ways to reduce Climate Change, like taking shorter showers, less food waste, and more recycling. Also, you can inspire the audience to think about the effects Climate Change has on animals, for example, sea turtles being strangled by plastic, or seals and polar bears losing their homes and dying because the icebergs are melting, and the forests that are being destroyed by wildfires. 

MM: Third, appeal to the audiences' logic (logos) - you can do this by sourcing statistics on Climate Change, like one from, https://climate.nasa.gov/, where it states that the global temperature has risen 2 degrees farenheit since 1980, and if it rises more than 1 degree more, then our effects will be permanent. Another one is from, https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-climate-change-what-you-need-know , says that the primary cause of Climate Change is our carbon emissions and if they don't get reduced by half, by 2030, and 100% carbon-free by 2050, then we are in grave danger. 

MM: Rhetorical Devices - two devices you could use are a simile and a metaphor because they are more direct in terms of relating to the topic. A metaphor you could use is, "the earth is a ticking time bomb," and I know it is kind of cliche but it accurately represents the Earth's current situation. A simile you could use is, "think of the poor animals running from the fires, their cries are like sirens, warning us of the destruction, that is yet to come." This just further emphasizes the warning signs that are being ignored and the animals that have to suffer through it. 

MM: Hopefully these talking points help!

Snapshot of The First Month

Welcome to the second online Final Presentation and the last of my Sophomore year! Back in December, our school participated in something called Snapshots of Joy. This was where we were given a disposable film camera and were tasked with taking about 24 pictures of things that brought us joy. We were given the cameras on December 6th, and the deadline to turn them in was the following week, on Friday the 13th. Those pictures were going to be used in this term's Final Presentations but unfortunately, the store where they were being stored, burned down in a fire, taking the pictures and the negatives, down with it. Not wanting to abandon this idea of reflecting on pictures that bring us joy, instead, we gathered pictures or anything from the past few months of quarantine and online school, that has brought us joy. For my project, I gathered some of the pictures that I had from the last week of school (before quarantine) and from the first month into quarantine. I chose to do only the first month because I feel that it was the most important time because it was when all of us at GCE and around the world, were getting used to these times that are, hopefully only periodically, affecting our lives. Below you will see my slide show of moments that brought me joy during this past term.


Due to the Coronavirus causing us to be in quarantine, these last few months have definitely been a struggle for many, but an equally important journey. Though it was very long and we didn't know when it would end, I feel that it gave us a chance to grow even further and work on ourselves both academically, and personally. I also feel that it brought us closer together and we became more connected. My slide show only depicts moments I caught on camera, however, there were many more moments and people that brought me joy, during this time. Each category I chose resembled points in the first month that were most important and eventful. Now that we are on our last day and project of the year, I am proud of everyone for pushing through, what seemed like an eternity, and are ready to start a new chapter in the Fall of next year. I hope you enjoyed my project and we made it!

Hemophilia

The Letter

This Action Project was for unit 3 of our Humanities class, Drama. It is also one of the last projects of sophomore year! For this unit, we read A Raisin in The Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, which follows the life and struggles of a low-income, African-American family, living in the South Side of Chicago. It takes place in a two-bedroom apartment, around the 1950s, and you get to see the dreams of the four main characters, Mama, Ruth, Beneatha, and Walter. During this unit, we also had two guests come to talk to us about what they do for a living, specifically what they do for the African-American communities, in Chicago. For this AP, we were supposed to embody one of the characters and write a letter to Walter. In this letter, we had to try and convince him of either, going forward with moving into a primarily, all-white neighborhood, or accept a bribe from the “representative from the Clybourne Park Improvement Association,” Mr. Lindner, who is trying to get Walter and his family, not to move into the neighborhood. Below, you will see who I wrote as and what I tried to convince Walter to do. Enjoy my project!

A Raisin in The Sun. 2019. 

Dear Walter,
        This is your Mama. I know regarding this situation, you have your own opinions, but I want to try and change your mind. I think you should refuse Mr. Linder’s offer and have us move into the house. Consider these three things: Is the liquor store worth sacrificing everybody else’s dreams? Is the liquor store more important than trying to give Travis a good childhood? Do you really want to be stuck in a tiny apartment for the remainder of your life and let Mr. Lindner win? And like you said to Travis, “...your daddy’s gonna make a transaction...a business transaction that’s going to change our lives…” (Hansberry; 566, Act 2). Is this a transaction that changes our lives for the better, or worse?

First, I understand you have dreams like everyone else, and your dream definitely matters. However, do you value your dream so much over everyone else's dreams, that you’re willing to sacrifice everything and put it into the liquor store? Think about Ruth’s and my dream to move into a better neighborhood and be happy together, and Beneatha’s dream to go out in the world and have a career, as a doctor. Using all your money for the liquor store would defer everybody else’s dreams and I just don’t think that’s right. Asagai said, “...it means One for Whom Bread—Food—Is Not Enough” (549, Act 1). Don’t be greedy, use that money to buy the house.

Second, think about Travis! What kind of childhood do you expect the poor child to have, living in a cramped apartment with no yard to play in? Even if that is enough for him, as a parent you should want to do anything you can to do better for him. Like I said before, “[God] did give us children to make them dreams seem worthwhile” (540, Act 1). What I am basically trying to say is, if you don’t forfeit your liquor store for us, do it for your son.

Third, how much longer can you handle living in a cramped apartment, where you don’t even have a bathroom? Remember when you said, “I didn’t make the world! It was given to me this way! Hell yes, I want me some yachts someday! Yes, I want to hang some real pearls 'round my wife’s neck. Ain’t she supposed to wear no pearls?” (583, Act 3). How are you supposed to want a better life, when you hold yourself back to living in a two-bedroom apartment? On the other hand, are you also going to let a man like Mr. Lindner win? No son of mine would.

Alright, that’s it, I’ve said what I have to say. One, don’t put your dreams above everyone else's. Two, think about the life you want for Travis. Three, don’t settle and let Mr. Lindner win. Like I said, “Son — I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers – but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor. We ain’t never been that — dead inside” (582, Act 3). Don’t disgrace our family by giving in and taking all the money for the liquor store, you know there is a risk with that. Be wise, and decline Mr. Lindner’s offer, so we can all begin a new, better chapter of our lives.

Love,
     Mama

Insight to Arthroscopic Surgery

In unit 1 of our STEAM course, Cure, we were able to learn a lot of different materials and categories. First, we focused on the difference between a medical doctor and a healer, as well as, additional areas included in the medical field: The Hippocratic oath, the different jobs in medicine, and we even got to write our own Hippocratic oaths. Second, we learned about cell theory and dove deep into cell history, the anatomy of a cell, and cell cycles. We learned that the cell was first discovered in 1665, by a man named Robert Hooke. Apparently, they are called cell walls because when he looked in a microscope, at the cell wall of a plant cell, he said it looked like little prison cells or rooms that monks inhabited. Cells relate and are important to the body, because they are what make up all of our tissues, muscles, bones, and organs. Alongside learning about cells, we also learned about DNA information and how discoveries about DNA have changed the world. For our math portion of the unit, we learned conic sections. At the end of this unit, correlating with this AP, we focused on the different types of surgeries and their purposes.

For this Action Project, using our knowledge about surgeries, we interviewed someone about a specific surgery that they have had. We used what we collected from the interview to make a presentation and to learn more about that surgery, from a first-hand account. The person I interviewed was a close friend who had Arthroscopic Surgery. In my project, I refer to him as my "patient", for privacy reasons. My patient played hockey from elementary school-college, and he had Arthroscopic Surgery on his knee during his senior year in college. He had this surgery because hockey had caused a lot of pain in his knees and he also tore his meniscus, so he had to get part of it removed. It is not common for this surgery to be an emergency surgery or to have high risks. My patient considered the surgery to be successful, even though he still experienced pain afterward. He wasn't expecting all of his pain to be 'cured', because, "if there's no pain, there's no gain," according to him. The surgery changed my patient's life because it helped him move his knee easier and it improved his performance greatly. After his physical therapy, it took him around 3 months to get back into hockey. There is more information about Arthroscopic Surgery, specifically, below:

Enjoy my project!



In conclusion, I enjoyed working on this project because, even though I had previously known the story of my patient's surgery, I got the opportunity to learn about it in-depth. This unit really helped me to understand more about our bodies, both cells and DNA, and areas in the medical field, including surgeries and their unique histories. I also liked having guest speakers come to our class to give more insight into being a first responder, whether that be someone who is working as an anesthesiologist, or researching and studying viruses. This was especially relevant for us during this time, living through a pandemic. I am proud of the work that I did, and of the work I did in the unit, that helped me prepare for this project.

A Sonnet for Kate

This is our first Action Project of Spring Term, and it is for our Humanities class, Drama. For this class, we read The Taming of The Shrew, a famous Shakespearean play. This unit, we explored what life was like for women, in the late 16th century and all of the injustices and suppression they had to endure. Shakespeare made it a point to show that throughout this play. We also learned a lot about how this play was different from his other ones, as well as, types of poetry he wrote, specifically sonnets. The play focuses mainly on Katherine, the shrew, Biana, her sister, and the desire of the two to be wed, coming from their father. It follows the journey of the young, fiercely outspoken, Katherine, who is rejected by many suitors but needs to be married first. Many of the men preferred Bianca because she appeared to be the sweet and quiet one but their father, Baptista, insisted on Katherine being married first. The play carries on with Katherine not finding anyone and suddenly, a man named Petruchio swoops in. They marry, mostly because he seeks money above love, and the reader follows along as he slowly tries to ‘tame’ Katherine. He entraps her mind in games until, in the end, he breaks her. Her quote “thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper…” is her moment of submission. She is at a party and Petruchio tells her to talk to the other wives. She listened and explained to them how it was the least they could do to obey their husbands, out of everything their husbands do for them. This shocked everyone because it appeared that the once quick-witted and opinionated Katherine, was now simply, a submissive wife.

 For this AP, we wrote a sonnet of our own where we addressed one of the characters in the play, along with taking our own stance on the gender roles portrayed in the Elizabethan era. I chose to speak to Katherine, because I wanted to tell her not to give up her voice and character, just for a man such as Petruchio, and others in society.

 Enjoy my sonnet!

Morgan · A Sonnet for Kate

Katherine, a woman put to the test,
Expected to give in with every glare.
You must not appear afraid like the rest,
Or their same volatile fate, you shall share.

The wicked knaves may claim you as their prize,
So let them be sliced by your piercing voice;
Then you will be the truest who is wise,
Because they cannot take away your choice.

Too long to revel for the union be,
With thy craven husband, Petruchio.
His taming of you, the shrew, who must see,
He might triumph, in your scenario.

“...husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper…”
But keep your voice, for those who are eager.

Works Cited:

Renaissance Music: Coronation Banquet - David Hirschfelder (8:38)
SoundCloud Image - https://shakespeareillustration.org/2015/01/28/katharina-baptista-and-bianca/

Real or Not Real? part 2.

What do the disorders from the DSM-5 teach us about our minds?

That is my guiding question for this Final Project. I have decided to base this project after our most recent project in Disease, where we focused on mental disorders and the DSM-5. For that project, we chose our own disorders to learn about, presented information about them to the class, and finally, created a simulation of that disorder. I chose Delusional Disorder, which is related to Schizophrenia and it is where someone can't differentiate reality from their own imagination. I simulated it by showing the class a video called, The Tucher Zone. You can see more information on what I did with that presentation, farther back on my blog.

For this Final Project, I used the guiding question to look a little bit deeper into the DSM-5 and the significance it has to mental disorders. I put together a slide show where I explain the DSM-5 more in-depth and briefly mention some more information about Delusional Disorder. I made a poster that I used in my previous project but amped it up a bit and added more information about DD. Below you will see my slide show and in that, my exploration of the guiding question. Enjoy!

Don't Ban the Flies

This is the last Action Project for our humanities class, Forbidden Books. For this project, we continued to focus on the banning of books and based this on what we did with our last project, focusing on Dogma. We used the independent reading books that we chose at the beginning of this unit to write a research paper. The criteria for this paper were to choose a side on whether or not our books should be banned and gain a little more context on this concept. I took the side of the book not being banned and you can read my paper below to learn more about the book and why I took that side. The paper was about 3 pages long (not including works cited page), so I put it into a slide show so that it is easier to read. You will see the slide show and an original image I created below. Enjoy!

MEM. Lord of The Flies Watercolor. 2020

Real or Not Real?

This Action Project is for unit 2 of our STEAM class, Disease, which focuses a lot on physical and mental diseases. For this unit, we learned a lot about mental disorders, specifically OCD, Schizophrenia, and Autism. We took a look at the DSM-V (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), which holds information collected by hundreds of mental health experts, to learn more about the main three disorders that we studied as a class. Along with that, we read a book called The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida which focused on a young boy with Autism. This unit taught us a lot about the connection between the mind and the body and how that affects the brainwaves in our minds. We also did an experiment with ourselves where we wrote down what we did for two days, matched brainwaves with those activities, and then graphed them. Below, you'll see a graph of brainwaves for our class pertaining to this project.

For this AP, everybody in our class was supposed to look through the DSM-V and find a disorder they wanted to focus on for their project. For mine, I chose Delusional Disorder, which is related to Schizophrenia. I chose this because it was what most caught my eye and I've always been interested in learning about Schizophrenia. The medical definition as stated by the Cleveland Clinic is, "Delusional disorder, previously called paranoid disorder, is a type of serious mental illness -- called a 'psychosis' -- in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. This is unlike people with other psychotic disorders, who also might have delusions as a symptom of their disorder."

If I were to define it in my own words, I would define it as a state in which someone can't differentiate reality from their own imagination; It includes delusions but is different from other disorders because it doesn't contain any other symptoms of psychosis. Three DSM-V criteria for this disorder are, "The presence of one or more delusions for at least a month", "If mood episodes occur concurrently with the delusions, the total duration of these mood episodes is brief relative to the total duration of the delusional periods", and, "The delusions re not attributable to the physiological effects of a medical condition (eg. Alzheimer's disease) and are not better explained by another mental disorder, such as body dysmorphic disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder" (90). Delusional disorder also affects the right hemisphere of the brain. This is because the right side of the brain dominates self-recognition, emotional familiarity, and ego. An explanation by https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/nlmc-daw011309.php  states that it, “...may cause delusions by disrupting the relation between the monitoring of psychic, emotional and physical self to people, places, and even body parts.”

For this presentation, I explained a little bit about Delusional disorder and then went straight into showing the class a video (credit to my friend, ES for giving me the idea). The video was called The Tucker Zone and it worked as a simulation for delusions because it plays with your imagination and makes you think that what you see is real or happening right there in the room. When I asked the students how they felt, they mainly talked about how the experience seemed very real and how certain parts were triggering for them. I then created a graph using my lesson plan for the brainwaves of the students during my presentation, along with a piecewise function for that graph. The last thing I did was to create a flyer that gives a summarization of the disorder and provides more context, recommendations of support, etc.

I hope you enjoy my project!

Lesson Plan:

MEM. Lesson Plan. 2020

Graph:

MEM. Brainwaves Graph. 2020 

Piecewise Function: 

        1 (x-2) +4   if   1≤ x ≤ 2
y {   0 (x-8) +4   if   2< x ≤ 8
       -1 (x-9) +3   if   8< x ≤ 9

Flyer: 

MEM. DD Flyer. 2020

Video:

Works Cited:

“Delusional Disorder.” Cleveland Clinic, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9599-delusional-disorder

DSM-V
https://cdn.website-editor.net/30f11123991548a0af708722d458e476/files/uploaded/DSM%2520V.pdf

Nyulmc. “Delusions Associated with Consistent Pattern of Brain Injury.” EurekAlert!, 13 Jan. 2009, https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/nlmc-daw011309.php

The Tucker Zone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3txhT2ncNOU&feature=youtu.be

“Chicago Psychiatrists - Psychiatrist Chicago, Cook County, Illinois - Psychiatric Nurses Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/psychiatrists/il/chicago

Dogma of The Flies

This action project is for unit 2 of our Forbidden Books class. For this unit, we continued our learning of banned/censored books in America. To further gain understanding about censorship, we went on a Field Experience to WBEZ and spoke with Natalie Moore, a journalist who has had a book banned in the Illinois prison system. We also talked about censorship pertaining to religion and its teachings. Along the way of exploring censorship in religion, we took a look at the origins of Christianity and Islam and compared the similarities between them and their standards. We even went on a Field Experience to a mosque so we could have the opportunity to learn more about Islam. As we looked at the origins of those two religions, we also learned about Dogma and how it not only shows up in religious teachings but, everyday life.

For unit 2, our class read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. We read this book because it has been banned in American schools for religion, sexual content, and the use of racial slurs. Our class also chose independent reading books that have been banned/censored, to support the theme of this project. I chose Lord of The Flies and it has been banned from schools all over the nation.

For this action project, we were instructed to make a podcast with one of the leading characters and interviewing them about their dogmas. I chose Ralph because he showed really strong leadership qualities and the need for maturity and guidance. His dogmas were trying to get the group of boys to act civilized and follow his rules. Along with believing in following the rules, he also knew that when people are left to their own devices they revert to savagery, and that the leader doesn’t necessarily need to be the strongest person but, the smartest. Below you will see the podcast and the script for the interview, enjoy!

It was 1942 and the world was in the midst of a World War. A group of young boys (ages 6-12) were being evacuated from their homes in England, via airplane. A devastating crash killed all of the adult pilots, leaving the children alone and stranded on an island, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

 When the boys first gathered together on the island, they had to figure out how to take care of themselves without any adults around (which didn’t go so well). As they tested their freedom, their choices most often reflected their age levels and them satisfying their desires of the moment, without thinking through consequences.

 As their imaginations grew larger, so did their “imaginary” fear of a beast on the island. This threw everybody into a larger survival mode and episodes of irrational thinking. As they fought for survival, their choices began to show the lengths they would go to protect themselves, even from each other.

 The focus of today’s interview is on the boy’s leader, Ralph. We’re following his story and his experiences he had to endure. This journey begins with us back on the island that Ralph was rescued from so many years ago. We came back to this specific spot so that we were able to get the full experience of Ralph’s triggered memories; Times that were especially difficult to think about.

 Opening sounds
(Plane flying and crashing sound effect)
(Fades into seagulls and ocean)

MM: What are you thinking about Ralph?

Ralph: I don’t know … just being back here, it’s bringing up a lot of memories.

MM: Do you think about it often? (pause) (Ralph sighs)

Ralph: I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that it’s not on my mind.

MM: Have you seen any of those boys since you were rescued?

Ralph (laughs a little - sad laugh): No … It was best for us to be apart.

MM: Why is that?

Ralph: It was hard because what we all did, what we turned into - or what others turned into - really caused a lot of trauma for all of us so we decided it was best for us to not see each other to prevent any negative rehashing. I remember saying to my self, “They were savages, it was true, but they were human” ().

MM: Yea, that makes sense.

MM: How did you react when you realized you were stranded and there were no adults on the island? 

Ralph: I reacted in the way I think most 12-year-old boys would act at that moment, I was excited. I was with Piggy at the time and I was just ecstatic, running around doing handstands, swimming in the water, and playing in the sand. Normal things a kid would do when they have no one to be scolded by. 

MM: What was the process of being chosen as the leader of the group and was there anything going through your mind?

Ralph: The boys chose me because I was the one that most resembled an authority figure. My belief was that we should remain civilized and maintain a decent amount of rules. One day we were all discussing how it was important to keep our fire going to be able to get rescued. I was also trying to set some ground rules and I said, “We’ve got to have special people for looking after the fire. Any day there may be a ship out there … and if we have a signal going they’ll come and take us off. And another thing. We ought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that’s a meeting. The same up here as down there” (52).

MM: Who was your ally from the beginning?

Ralph: Probably looking back on it, my main ally was Piggy. I often get sad when I think about how I used to treat him.

MM: When did you first realize things weren’t going the way you planned?

Ralph: One thing that was the turning point was when the younger children imagined that there was a beast on the island, so everyone started being afraid for their survival. It made them want to pick on the weaker ones even more because they didn’t want to be reminded of their own weakness and vulnerability. That’s when things turned lethal.

MM: When did the group of boys start to turn against you?

Ralph: Unfortunately that was my fault. It was one day where I said that even Jack would be afraid of the beast which made him very upset. He tried to have me removed as leader and steal some of the boys that were on my side (which he succeeded at). I remember saying, “The thing is - fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream” (111). I was trying to convince the boys that the beast wasn’t real or a threat, because it had them so dependent on Jack, which brought out the savagery in them.

MM: I know this part is hard to talk about, but can you explain how the deaths happened?

Ralph: There were three very impactful deaths, the little boy with the mulberry birthmark, Simon, and Piggy. The little boy was killed in the big fire that was out-of-control, Simon was killed when all of us let our excitement and fear get the best of us, and Piggy was flat out murdered.

MM: Finally, talk about the day of the rescue, how did you get discovered on the island?

Ralph: That day was definitely very chaotic. There was a lot of fighting that day and sadly, towards the end, my dear friend Piggy was killed. Luckily, however, there was a fire that broke out that caught the attention of a nearby ship and they came to save us.

MM: Thank you, Ralph, for coming out and letting me interview you!

Ralph: No problem, thank you for having me!

Citations:

Bloom, Harold, and William Golding. William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Faber and Faber, 1954.

Plane sound effect:

https://youtu.be/d3NxEGSrDeE

Ocean sound effect:

https://youtu.be/zqY1ZE8pr1w

The Mystery of the Headaches

This is the first AP for our STEAM course, Disease. For unit 1, we learned about the anatomy of the body, diseases that affect us, and the components that make up blood. We went on a Field Experience to the Museum of Science and Industry to the You! The Experience exhibit to see visually all of the things we had been learning about. For this AP, we were asked to pick and research a disease and interview a person that had or has it. We gathered all of this information and put it into a patient profile, which then explained how the disease worked, affected their lives, and so on. The reason why this project is important to me and why I chose Glioblastoma is because my grandpa had it when I was two died and from it. Along with creating a profile, we also made a life-size tracing of a person to a drawing to display where the disease occurs and what body system it affects. I also made a slide show covering the basic facts of GBM, which you will also see below. Overall I enjoyed researching diseases and the impact that they have, and I hope you enjoy my project!

Robert 

Robert is a 68-year-old man. He is married and had four children but his oldest son died a couple of years ago. About six months ago, Robert had a bad seizure and was taken to the hospital, where they ordered a cat scan. They ended up finding three tumors and he was then diagnosed with Grade 4 Glioblastoma. He had been suffering from symptoms such as drowsiness and severe headaches for probably about two years prior to his diagnosis. He was also on blood pressure medication so every time he would have a chain of bad headaches, his doctors would just adjust his medication. They thought the headaches were because of stress from work and High-blood pressure issues so they never thought to look at his brain, because his symptoms didn't appear to be out of the ordinary. He also never mentioned to the doctors how severe his headaches were.

Unfortunately, there is no known cure for Glioblastoma so Robert is still living with it every day. He keeps his spirits high but knows that one day soon, he might not be here. Every recorded patient with Grade 4 Glioblastoma hasn't lived past three years. His family tries to visit him in the hospital every day while he continues his treatment. Though his condition worsens every day, his friends and family always brighten his day and help him forget about the pain he's going through.

When Robert was diagnosed six months ago, he only had three tumors. Now, Robert currently has 5 tumors in his brain and the doctors are not sure about what exactly caused them. Most of them are in the frontal lobe and one of them is in the occipital lobe. The form of Glioblastoma he has is not the rarest type of cancer but it is not widely known, so as I said, there is no current cure. The way his tumors are makes it impossible to operate and remove them. This is because they are interlocked and webbed, like two hands being held together, to parts of the brain and itself. If they tried to remove them, it would take out the entirety of the frontal lobe and a big chunk of the occipital lobe. He is currently bedridden and suffers from multiple seizures a week, because of all the pressure in his brain.

Though there is no cure, Robert is currently following a course of treatment. The doctors didn't believe in not helping him so instead of surgery, they sought out radiation therapy. When they first began therapy on his three tumors, at the time, he was confused a lot and had trouble communicating and remembering who people were. He underwent radiation every day for an entire month and started to show some progress. The largest tumor in his brain shrunk so he was able to communicate better and he was starting to feel good. Unfortunately, not long after this, his body produced two more tumors and his health went downhill from there.

Grade 4 Glioblastoma 

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor. Sixty-one percent of all primary gliomas occur in the four lobes of the brain: frontal (25%), temporal (20%), parietal (13%), and occipital (3%). GBMs present at a median age of 64 years but can occur at any age. Men have a slightly higher chance than women and the same for Caucasians relative to other ethnicities. GBMs can be classified as primary, de novo, or secondary, where a low-grade tumor transforms over time into GBM. A majority of GBMs are primary, and these patients tend to be older-aged and have a poorer prognosis than patients with secondary GBMs. So far, four GBM subtypes have been identified (classical, pro-neural, neural, and mesenchymal), each with distinctly different patterns of disease progression and survival outcomes. Below you will see my drawing of the disease and a slide-show with some extra facts about GBM.

MEM. Disease Drawing. 2020.

Life skills vs. Book smarts

This is the first Action Project of the new year and for our humanities class, Forbidden Books. For unit 1 of this class, we focused on censorship in the media and schools, along with Socrates and the Socratic Method. First, we focused on the censorship of books and anything else that tends to be censored in our day and age. Then, we transitioned into learning about Socrates and his influence on philosophy and how, even back then, there were issues of censorship in society. We read Plato's full text of "The Apology" and really started to understand the Socratic Method and the threats it has posed throughout history. We talked about how the Socratic Method can be dangerous because of how it leads people to question their beliefs or those in a position of authority. For this project, we were put into groups of two to create our own Socratic Dialogue which focused on a controversial topic that we were both interested in. My partner for this project was CJH and we decided to focus on the importance of Lifeskills vs. Book smarts and which one actually prepares you to do well in life. This topic was interesting to me because of how traditional schools focus more on testing and memorization than having the ability to think for yourself. Our project demonstrates the Socratic Method in a conversation that explores the different opinions of Book Smarts and Life Skills. Over the course of two days, we created many bloopers but we were finally able to accomplish our final video which you will see below.
Life skills or Book smarts? from MEM on Vimeo.