Constructing A Business Plan

This unit in Social Entrepreneurship, we learned about entrepreneurship and what it means to be a social entrepreneur. An entrepreneur comes from the French word entre and pendre, the words together mean to "put on your plate" An entrepreneur is someone who and undertakes endeavors, a social entrepreneur goes out and does things that are good for society. During this course, we spoke and went out to a variety of companies and businesses to understand the process of creating a business and what goes into that creation. One Field Experience that I really enjoyed going on, was 826Chicago. 826Chicago is a non-profit organization that offers tutoring and educational workshops for the youth, they fund these programs by having a spy-themed shop that brings in 17% of their revenue. The purpose of this Action Project is to create a business and describe the elements of your company in a business plan. This was one of my favorite Action Projects that I've done here at GCE because I plan to create my own business in the future and this helped me understand the process and logistics of creating it.

Below is my Business Plan, enjoy!

Laylah's Survival Guide

In the previous units of Endurance, we learned about mental and physical endurance, as well as people who had endured a challenge in their life. We looked at people who faced a mental/physical challenge and discussed how they endured it. We then started to focus on our own mission and dreams and explored what each of us individually wanted to accomplish in our lives. During the journey to completing my dream/mission, I will have to face many challenges that I will have to endure to achieve my ultimate goal. The purpose of this action project is to create a survival manual to help you survive the accomplishment of your mission and dreams. The survival manual will guide us along our journey and will provide a summary of our mission, quotes to inspire us, planning for our mission, etc. Creating my survival guide made me think about my future and made me put my mission into a reality. I enjoyed making the guide, and one day my future self will look back at the guide and reflect on my life. Below is my survival manual, enjoy!

You Have 12 Hours to Create A Business... GO!

This unit in Endurance, we learned about mental and physical endurance as well as people who had endured a challenge in their life. Mental endurance is having perseverance through a challenge that affects the brain, or how you think. Physical endurance is having perseverance through a challenge that affects the body. We found our personal mission and thought about how we will achieve that mission. During the journey to completing that mission, I will have to face many challenges that I will have to endure to achieve my ultimate goal. In class, we learned about multiple people who went on to complete a personal goal and had to endure a physical/and or mental challenge. Laura Dekker is a perfect example of a person who undergoes a mission and encounters troubles that she must endure. Laura Dekker was the youngest person to circumnavigate the world alone at the age of 14. During Laura's journey, she faced many battles within herself as well with the oceans. One physical challenge she faced was after a strong storm passed through and destroyed certain parts of her boat. She had to take a break and fix her sailboat to continue her mission. The purpose of this action project is to taste what your mission feels like by working on it for at least 12 hours. If you are passionate about your mission, it's time to dive in and be held accountable for achieving your dreams. For this Action Project, I decided to focus on creating a freelance business for myself so I can ultimately professionalize my art for potential clients. During the 12 hours of creating my business, I first started with creating a business card and professionalizing my Instagram and create a website on Wix. Surprisingly, my aunt had an event she wanted me to film a promotional video for her organization that weekend. I had to prepare by picking up tripods and microphones and preparing questions for interviews. The day of the event was extremely tiring in the best way. I woke up early to go to the place the event was held, I set up the cameras for b-roll and interviews and was ready. During the event, I met a lot of small business owners and exchanged business cards with them in hopes of creating connections. Throughout the challenge, I was constantly reminded of Elie from the book Night. Although Elie, had to face a much bigger challenge that was forced on him and his family, I was reminded that one must have perseverance during a challenge. After the third day of the challenge, I had lost my interest and passion for creating the business, but I knew I had to keep going.   The 12-hour challenge was a bit difficult, but I definitely achieved my goal and I have already gotten in contact with potential clients! Below is my Vlog and Vlog planner for the 12-hour challenge enjoy!

                                                 Vlog Planner, (LD), 2019, Issuu                                                        Vlog, (LD), 2018, Wevideo

Days of My Life

This unit in Endurance, we learned about mental and physical endurance. Endurance is being able to have the perseverance to an action or challenge. Mental endurance is having perseverance through a challenge that affects the brain, or how you think. Physical endurance is having perseverance through a challenge that affects the body. An example of physical endurance would be someone who has put in jail for no actual reason, like Martin Luther King Jr. An example of mental endurance is someone who was placed in Auschwitz during the Holocaust; they would have to mentally assure themselves for a better tomorrow. In class, we read Night by Elie Wiesel; we had discussions where we took quotes from each section of Night and led a discussion about mental and physical endurance. The purpose of this Action Project is to write a chapter in our autobiography in 30 years. In the chapter, we should discuss our mission in life and how our past experiences have to lead us to achieve our mission/goal. I enjoyed working on my autobiography chapter, it made me think about my future and what I will accomplish on this earth. Below is my chapter for my autobiography, enjoy!

Young Laylah Flexing, LD, 2018

                                                          Chapter 1:  Days of My Life

My mom was out picking up my sisters up from school while I was home waiting for something to do. My dad snored loudly while laying on the couch in the front room. I snuck into my parents' room, grabbed my mother’s black heels and took them to my room that I shared with my three sisters. I began to throw clothes left and right and out of the drawers, trying to coordinate the most fashionable and colorful outfit to walk the runway. Finally. I picked out the golden outfit. I strutted down the hallway as if it were my runway with my oldest sister’s skirt and jacket on, my mother’s heels and with my favorite Children’s Place tights on. I looked in the mirror down the hall, admiring myself and the outfit I assembled. Suddenly, I heard keys jangling, the doorknob twisting, and there were my mom and sisters. They caught me red-handed! I ran back to the room changed as quickly as possible and hoped they didn’t realize I had been wearing their clothing. Phew… nobody had seen me, or so I thought. 

First, my sister yelled at me, then it was my mother who realized her shoes were gone. At the time, I didn’t care if they’d yelled at me, I just wanted to create cute outfits to wear. This routine would happen almost every day while being homeschooled by mom. When I was in middle school, I would take hours choosing what outfit and pieces to wear together, it made me feel like a model and a designer at the very same time. Soon enough, I began to cut up t-shirts I found weren’t as fashionable and started to cut patches and glue them onto my pants and jackets. To this day, my mom and sisters criticize me for wearing their clothes and for being so indecisive choosing what to wear. But to me, it isn’t about the clothes at all; it was about creation and design.

When I was young, my dad used to take my sisters and me to Salvation Army whenever it was back to school time. I had always felt self-conscious about going because it meant that we didn’t have enough money to go shopping at regular retail shops. A struggle that I faced during my younger years was I went thrift shopping for clothes. Whenever people at my all white private middle school would ask me where I would get a certain article of clothing, I would respond, “Thrift store” and they would give me a certain face that communicated, “Are you poor or something?” But as soon as, thrifting became a hip thing to do things began to change. Thrifting meant you were edgy, had a cool style, maybe poor, but either way cool, but I digress. In high school, I began to dress in different styles and frequently went to thrift stores with my friends and family. Thrift stores were a cheap and accessible way to try a variety of fashion trends. Through my clothing, I was expressing my creativity. 

During high school, I started to explore more artistic mediums. Junior year, my close friend Genesis and I went to a program that was provided by Chicago Public Library called Youmedia. At Youmedia, I began to learn about cameras, camera equipment, film and online design programs. The first month there, I made a short film where we asked people if they were fulfilled; this allowed me to get more comfortable with camera lenses and lighting. Shortly, I began to take pictures of high schoolers who attended Youmedia and began to shoot people for their shows. I gained a lot of experience from working with other young artists, instructors, and filmmakers. 

Photograph of Grace, LD, Camera

After high school, I attended Parsons School of Design in New York. I wasn’t expecting to attend an art school for college; I had heard so many negative comments about art schools. But once I had gotten accepted into one of the top design schools in the country, I knew I was destined to go. I had planned to go in for Strategic Design and Management but figured out that I didn’t want to focus on the strategic aspect of design. I was more passionate and interested in the process aspect of design. I switched majors sophomore and junior year to Product Design. I went in only knowing a few 3D design programs, but by the end of senior year, I had already created numerous products such as lamps, chairs, cups, etc. During my time at Parsons, I had the opportunity to intern at Google, Apple, CannonDesign and 3D World Renderings. 

After graduating, I wanted to start my own business. I wanted to create a business based in New York with my closest friends and acquaintances. Our design firm would be partnered with the top design companies and stores, creating a variety of design products. The only problem was, I had no idea where to start; I didn’t have the physical money to start my business up. I was struggling with aligning my passion with my career and how to start my business. I knew had to talk with my dad who created his IT business from the ground up with a few friends. I wanted to know where to begin and how I could start getting funding. He gave me great advice; he said to start local and start telling people who are interested in design and innovation who might be willing to be apart of the business. Later that day, I had called and texted some people whom I met at Parsons and from internships, asking if they’d like to help fund my business. I started to post and asking if people were willing to help, donate anything and people began donating money to kickstart my business. Years and years passed and finally, I had begun monetizing my business and creating partnerships with stores.

Art/Design, LD, 2018

It took my blood, sweat, and tears to get people to believe in my idea and new innovative ideas of design, but nothing good ever comes easy. That's something my dad has always told me, he had struggled with the exact same issues I encountered like getting people to pay me, trust me, and believe in my company. I remember when I was younger, my dad would come home yelling about one of his client not paying on time and having to hold his composure in a meeting because of how disrespectful people treated someone who was an African- American male. I knew that one day, I would have to endure the same struggle as he did. Once my business was flourishing, I felt that I accomplished one of my biggest dreams: becoming a designer. 

When I was younger, I was passionate about aesthetic, colors and crafting something that I could show off to others. It was until I saw the opportunities, creation and life design could create when I realized I wanted to take that love and not only implement my creativity into what I wore, but through everyday items. Items people use on a day to day basis may seem minuscule, but it’s about creating a world one product at a time that is more economical, innovative and aesthetically pleasing. I care about the world and more so for the things that live in this universe; through design we can recreate what was has been destroyed and damaged due to carelessness.

Community Service Hours: Open House

GCE Lab School, (LD), 2018

This year, I've been to 2 open house events for GCE. The first time, I helped pack folders with information about GCE and I presented one of my favorite APs to the family's that came in. I had a lot of fun talking about my AP and answering questions about the school because I got to have a more personal connection to each family. The second time I went to an open house event, I was a tour guide and I showed families around the school and asnwered any questions they had. I learned how to public speak and how to present myself in a professional way while presenting my AP. I made a difference for others by showing the families that GCE is an option for their children and that GCE is a one in a life time opportuntiy for your kids to be challenged in school. This expeirence has impacted future volunteer work because I now know how to present myself at a open house event. I plan to share my experience with others through my blog.

Community Service Hours: Youmedia

Community Service Hours: Barry's Bootcamp

Barry's Bootcamp, (LD), 2018, Google

The Health and Wellness Instructor invited the class to attend the bootcamp event for Barry's Bootcamp. I decided to go because I wanted to help Alison bring aware to CPS as well as get a good workout in. There, I passed out towels to everyone that was there and I brought a guest in to help. It was a very fun and exhausting event and I was sore for almost a week. I learned that when working out, you have to take your time and follow your own pace instead of focusing on what the next person is doing. I made a difference for others because I was there for CPS and to bring awareness that many schools don't and can't afford a gym instructor. This has impacted my future for volunteer work becuase I know I can attend an event to help others. I plan to share my experience by uploading this onto my blog so everyone can see what I did.

Community Service Hours: Helping Around School

Dishwasher,(LD), 2018, Google

Throughout this year, I've been helping around the school by loading the dish washer after lunch and sometimes before school when needed. I learned throughout this experience that people don't like to clean up after themselves, I had to step up and clean up after them. I think that GCE needs to set a precedent that encourages the students to load their dishes after eating. I learned that loading dishes take time and that you have to correctly place dishes so that they can be clean properly. I made a difference for others by making clean dishes an option, if I didn't load the dishwasher, then there wouldn't be clean dishes for people to eat on. This has impacted future service work, because I now know that community service hours can be any type of work that cna help the community. I plan to share my experience with others by uploading this to my blog, so that people understand that I helped the GCE community.

Service Hours Fencing Instructor

Kids Fencing, (LD), 2018

During this year, I have helping teaching fencing to young children at schools for an Afterschool Program. I taught the kids how to fence, footwork, bladework and how to get properly equipped. I learned that it takes patience when dealing with young kids, and I can now understand the meaning of leadership. I made a difference by teaching kids the ages 5-13 how to fence, I taught them that fencing is not only about winning; it's about strategy and setting up your attack on your opponent.  This has impacted my future volunteer work because I can always come back in the future to help teach fencing.  I plan to share this experience with others by telling them about how I gained leadership in my volunteer work. Overall, this experience was very fun and I'd love to keep teaching fencing.

BEGINNING OF THE END

This unit in Equality, we learned about equality regarding class and status. In class, we read an article that focused on how America views poor people. It stated that we view poor people in 2 different ways, one way being that we want to help them because of their unlucky circumstances. The other being we shun them because of their bad decisions. An FE that we went on for this unit was at the Goodman Theatre, the entire school went to see a play named, Enemy of the People. The purpose of this AP is to imagine what society will look like in the future by creating a time capsule filled with a series of elements that foretell what the struggle for equality might look like in 100 years hence. For my AP, I deiced to focus on the argument that equality doesn't exist because some people will always have more access to opportunities and resources than other people. I hope you enjoy this AP!

                         The Chicago Tribune

The Beginning of The End                                 2/11/2118                                                                                                                        

The year 2118 has been a year of struggle and strife for every individual around the world except for those who can be protected from this impending national war that could possibly end of life as we know it. We are at the end of times. World War 3 has been talked about in the past, but once Kim Jong-Un died, his sister Kim Jung Ae became the leader of North Korea, the worst of humankind has been seen. The fight over money, power, and glory started the war in Mesopotamia in 2700 BCE between Sumer and Elam. Kim Jun Ae announced that on February 10, 2118, that North Korea is planning to drop nuclear bombs on the following countries: America, China, Japan, and Russia if those countries don’t transport their country's oil, coal, iron ore, and most powerful resources to North Korea. Although there are only 4 countries stated, everyone in the world will be greatly affected by these weapons of mass destruction. 

President Aya Dinkins has already prepared for this nuclear bomb by making it public that America has had nuclear weapons since the year 2000; the government has kept quiet until the appropriate time to announce it to the American people. The American people and millions around the world are scared, helpless and preparing for the worst.

A famous Kenyan scientist, Asha Okeke along with her group of scientists have created something quite inexplicable. In the New African Magazine in 2117, Asha Okeke and her team mentioned that they were working on something that would change the future of humankind. Okeke stated that her team has been working on creating a device that could freeze organisms and cells allowing human beings to be frozen in time. The device allows people to unfreeze after a certain period of time, depending on the period chosen. 

Something that seemed so unrealistic and even comical has been made from the hands of Africans. Hundreds of years ago, Africans were once enslaved by American people and dehumanized to the point of not being considered a human being. Today, racism still hasn’t been brought to an end and is still evident based on who gets to use a certain technology. Race, economic status, religion, gender and social status affects how accessible technology is to them to advance them in society.

The Time Travel Device, LD, Google Drawing, 2018

The device created by Okeke and her team was announced on 2/9/2118. The Time Travel Device has been broadcasted all over the world to save the future of humankind. The invention is a device that can not only save humankind but also ensure that in the far future your assets will also be frozen with you. Every billboard, talking device and notification wants you to invest in your life by investing your money into the Time Travel Device. The only issue that people have with this device is that it cost $40,000 per individual over the age of 18 and $20,000 for anyone under the age of 18 and not every person can afford that.

This means that people who cannot afford technological resources such as the Time Travel Device are left to accept a fate that is likely to overcome them. Some people believe that this is a hoax. A conspiracy theorist explains that the governments around the world are trying to collect funds from the common people so they can continue to keep ‘the people” in fear. On the other hand, people who have already purchased the device. These people are the elite, they are from the top of the social and economic status are allowed to ensure their assets and wealth as well as their families.

Social Program, LD, 2018, Google Drawing

Op-ed

My name is Vivienne East, I am a 32-year-old mother of 4 and live with my husband in New Chicago. I’m writing this letter to my future generation family to know what life was like back in 2118. If you are reading this message, I hope times have changed for the better. I have been living in this town for a long time, and for the past few years, we’ve been living happily. We aren’t rich for sure, but we sure aren’t poor either; we make ends meet like everyone else does. But this year has been one of the worse for us, although there are still major discriminations between people. Based on your status, race, gender, and religion you are able to afford technology that advances you in your status. Our family has been discriminated because we can’t keep up with the new technology that allows other families to get paid more. America is still a capitalist society, so the hope to work for more assets and opportunities is always the goal for us. But once we found out that North Korea is planning to drop nuclear bombs and destroy almost everything, working wasn’t something we were thinking about. We wanted to save ourselves, to avoid this awful circumstance that this world is in. A team in Africa has created a very expensive device that will be able to freeze the cells and organisms in our body. This means that ultimately whoever can afford this $40,000 miracle device, will be able to save their lives and their wealth in the future. This for our family is a tough decision, we are afraid to die and to be blown to pieces, yet we don’t want to spend that much money on saving our lives. We can either accept our fate or pay to stay alive.The good news is that the government created the Social Program so that we can afford the Time Travel Device, but since we have one more than 4 people in our family, we have to choose who wants to be frozen. My husband keeps telling us that the kids should be saved, they have a future and that we have already seen enough in our days. If we can afford the program, I will sacrifice my money for the safety of my children’s future.

Time Capsule Video

Time Capsule Opening, (LD), Youtube, 2018

Whats for Lunch?

During this unit in Systems and Models, we learned about Systems Thinking and the Tragedy of the Commons. System Thinking is ignoring working as an individual and instead focusing on working as a collective; it's the idea that pieces come together to create a system. The Tragedy of the Commons is when people exploit an open access area or thing. The idea is that when there is an open space and when there are no regulations to stop people from using or taking a certain amount of something, then it will slowly deteriorate and the cost will be shared by everyone. The purpose of this AP is to take a system in GCE Lab School and explain in any medium what has been done, what is being done and how it could be better. I decided to focus on the Lunch Program because as a Senior, I had to take part in helping selling lunch to the students. This project was fun to create because I got to create a fun little diagram explaining what I wanted to the Lunch Program. Below is my AP, enjoy!

Alex's Plan, LD, Google Drawing, 2018

Key

Apple: There should only be a Lunch Program(Senior’s don’t control it)

Granola Bar: Variety of packaged foods

Water Bottle: Drinks

Doritos: Clean as a community:

Taco: Hot lunch served every day

Orange: Senior lunch program

Oreos: Vending machine snacks

Coca-cola: limited food options

Lays: Different student cleaning every day

Macaroni: Microwavable food

Alex is a senior at GCE Lab School, she had attended GCE for 3 years. Alex's plan shows which system would be best for the Lunch Program in GCE. On the left-hand side, this is the "this" side, meaning the ideal system. There is an apple that represents that there should be a Lunch Program excluding the Seniors from being apart of it. The granola bar represents that there should a variety of food options so that students can choose a healthy option vs. a non-healthy option. The water bottle represents that there should be drinks, in the past drinks weren't provided. The Doritos bag represents that everyone should clean as a community because it reinforces the idea of cleaning up after yourself. The taco represents that there should be lunch provided every day for students who don't bring in lunches and/or cannot afford to go out for lunch.

On the right-hand side says"not this" because it shows what she thinks hasn't worked in the past and present. The orange represents Senior Lunch Program, Alex thinks that seniors shouldn't control the program because it's chaotic and the system is never perfected. The Oreo pack represents vending machine snacks, she thinks there shouldn't be vending machine snacks because it forces kids to pay for food who may not have the money to buy snacks. The Coca-Cola can represent limited food option, she thinks there shouldn't be limited food option because some people may not be able to eat certain foods because of allergies, diet or religion. The Lay’s chip bag represent different students cleaning every day, she thinks there shouldn't be different student cleaning every day because other people shouldn't be cleaning up someone else's mess. The Kraft bowl represents microwavable, there shouldn't be microwavable food because it doesn't full or satisfies anyone's hunger if everyone is only supposed to eat 1 a day.

Dianne's Plan, LD, Google Drawing, 2018

Key

Orange: Senior lunch program

Oreos: Vending machine snacks

Water Bottle: Drinks

Doritos: Clean as community

Hot dog: Hot lunch served 2 times a week

Apple: There should only be a Lunch Program(Senior’s don’t control it)

Ramen: Unhealthy food

Lays: Different student cleaning every day

Taco: Hot lunch served every day

Dianne is a mother of a student as well as coordinator and a staff member and has been here for 3 years. Dianne's plan shows which system does and doesn't work for the Lunch Program. On the "This" side, there is an orange, oreo pack, water bottle, Doritos chip bag and a hot dog. The orange represents the Senior Lunch Program, Dianne thinks that seniors should be included because it helps them become leaders, understand what it's like to lead a program and fundraise. The oreo pack represents vending machine snacks, she thinks that the Lunch program should include the vending machine because Seniors need to raise a certain amount of money if they want to go on a certain trip and the vending machine will allow them to make a profit. The water bottle represents drinks, drinks should be available to students to keep hydrated throughout the day. Doritos represent cleaning as a community, she thinks that this would help build a community and keep the space cleaner in general. The hot dog represents having hot lunch only 2 times a week, she thinks that because it takes time to cook meals and it would cost extra money to buy specific ingredients for meals.

On the "not this" side, there is an apple that represents a lunch program without the Seniors, as stated before she wants the seniors to become leaders in the community. The Ramen pack represents unhealthy food, she doesn't want unhealthy food because it isn't morally right to feed students food that is ruining their health. There is a Lays chip bag that represents different students cleaning up every day, as stated before when everybody cleans up together it builds community. The taco represents hot lunch every day, she thinks there shouldn't be hot lunch because it gets expensive to cook full meals for everyone every day.

 Genesis's Plan, LD, Google Drawing, 2018

Key

Apple: There should only be a Lunch Program(Senior’s don’t control it)

Granola Bar: Variety of packaged foods

Water Bottle: Drinks

Taco: Hot lunch served every day

Orange: Senior lunch program

Coca-cola: Limited food option

Caviar: Expensive food

Ramen: Unhealthy food

Genesis is a senior at GCE Lab School and has attended for 3 and a half years. Genesis's plan does and doesn't work for the Lunch Program. On the "this" side, there is an apple, granola bar, water bottle and a taco. Genesis thinks there should be a Lunch Program that excludes the Seniors because it is repetitive and makes the school lose money. There is a granola bar that represents a variety of food, she thinks there should be a variety of food, this year there has been a restriction as to what the Senior could and couldn't serve to students. The water bottle represents drinks because there haven't been any drinks in the past available or as an option to buy. The taco represents hot lunch every day because a hot lunch would mean students being able to eat real meals instead of microwaved food every day.

On the "not this" side, there is an orange, coca-cola can, caviar and a ramen pack. The orange represents having a senior lunch program, Genesis thinks that there shouldn't be a Senior Lunch program because it makes GCE loose money and is a repetitive system. The Coca-Cola can represent unhealthy food because it doesn't make students feel fed, but instead, the unhealthy food only acts as a snack. The caviar represents expensive food, the school shouldn't buy expensive food because it makes the school spend money on food student's buy or food that the seniors won't profit from. 

Kim's Plan, LD, Google Drawing, 2018

Key

Orange: Senior lunch program

Oreos: Vending machine snacks

Doritos: Clean as community

Hot dog: Hot lunch served 2 times a week

Apple: There should only be a Lunch Program(Senior’s don’t control it)

Ramen: Unhealthy food

Lays: Different student cleaning every day

Taco:  Hot lunch served every day

Kim is the secretary of GCE Lab School and has been here for 8 years, Kim's plan is very similar to Diane's lunch program plan. On the "this" side . they both have an orange representing senior lunch program, Oreos representing vending machine snacks, Doritos representing cleaning as a community and a hot dog represent hot lunch for 2 times a week. Kim didn't mention any drinks in her interview as Dianne did. On the "not this" side they both have an apple representing a lunch program without the seniors, ramen noodles representing unhealthy foods lays representing different student cleaning every day and a taco representing hot lunch every day.

My Lunch Plan, LD, Google Drawing, 2018

Key

Apple: There should only be a Lunch Program(Senior’s don’t control it)

Granola Bar: Variety of packaged foods

Water Bottle: Drinks

Doritos: Clean as a community:

Taco: Hot lunch served every day

Orange: Senior lunch program

Oreos: Vending machine snacks

Coca-cola: Limited food options

Lays: Different student cleaning every day

Kraft Macaroni: Microwavable food

My lunch program plan shows which system I think would work best and which system I think would be worst. On the "this" side I have an apple that represents having a lunch program without the seniors. This year, I am a senior and we had to create a system that we could profit from. As a class, we couldn't keep up with a system and we were constantly losing money instead of profiting. I think the seniors shouldn't be apart of the program because it makes the lunch program more complicated. I have a granola bar representing a variety of food, there should be a variety of food because some students as myself-have food restrictions; having a variety will make sure all students will be fed. There is a water bottle representing drinks because students should be able to have access to drinks to stay nourished and hydrated. The Doritos bag represents cleaning as a community, GCE students should clean after themselves; it's easier to clean as a community than to put that responsibility on one or two students. Lastly on the "this" side, there is a taco representing hot lunch every day, although this may be difficult for whoever is cooking the meal, it's important students have a meal that is nutritious instead of having to go out and eat. 

The lunch program relates to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs that we learned about in class. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a theory that states humans have a certain number of needs and they are arranged in a hierarchy, some needs are more primitive than others.On the lowest level, there are physiological needs, meaning food, water, sleep and depending on the person, sex. The lunch program will satisfy that physiological need by supplying food for not only myself but every student. The second level is safety needs, meaning security of the body, employment, family, property, and health. If there is hot lunch provided every day, the student won't have to go outside of GCE's campus to eat; going outside may put students in harm. Security of one's health is important if GCE doesn't serve unhealthy food we can guarantee the students will be in good/or better health. The third level is love/belonging, which is friendship, community, and family. Having hot lunch will force students to stay on campus, and force them to build community. Cleaning as a community will also bond people together. The fourth level is esteem, meaning self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others and yourself. Being able to eat hot lunch and stay hydrated with drinks will allow students to be ready to learn by being engaged in their classrooms. The more engaged they are in the classrooms, the more they are likely to learn new material and achieve their ideal grade. The final and top level is self-actualization, which is person's motivation to reach their potential; this includes morality, creativity, and problem-solving. Once students have eaten a full meal, they are ready to learn and engage with the teacher and other students. This will allow them to be alert and solve problems and become more creative in the classroom.

On the "not this" side on my lunch program explains the things I think shouldn't be apart of the lunch program. There is an orange representing a Senior Lunch Program, I don't think there should be a Senior Program because it's an unperfected system and we shouldn't waste the school's money. The Senior Program didn't work out because we couldn't work together, we all had different ideas as to what system would be best. We should've taken the System Thinking approach, meaning that we should've looked at ourselves as a collection instead of thinking of our own individual ideas. If we did this, we could've talked out the problem and came up with a better system. I also put Oreos pack that represent vending machine snacks on the "not this" side because I don't want to charge students more money for snacks. Even though that money could help the Seniors, I think the main priority is to feed students first. There is a coca-cola can representing limited food option, limited food options are restricting. There is a Lays bag that represents different student cleaning every day, this is a system that is even more chaotic because people don't know if it's their day to clean until the last minutes of lunch; space doesn't and can't be cleaned up in a matter of a few minutes. There should be a community clean-up because people will continue to dirty the space up until it cannot be usable anymore, this is an example of the Tragedy of the Commons. Since the OC and Cafe are accessible to every student, no one will clean up and the filth will continue to happen; this affects every student because we will eventually have to find somewhere else to clean because the other spaces are too dirty to use. The Kraft bowl represents microwavable food, I don't think there should be microwavable food because microwaved food has been linked to many illnesses. GCE shouldn't be encouraging students to ruin their health, instead, we should supply food that is moderately healthy.

Key, LD, 2018, Google Drawing


Sources

GM, Interview,(LD), 2018

Kim, Interview,(LD), 2018

Dianne, Interview, (LD), 2018

AL, Interview, (LD), 2018

Fashion and Indentity

This unit in Systems and Models, we learned about experiments, quasi-experiments and case studies. We went more in depth about what made a good experiment/case based on the scientific methods. During this course, we read a couple of articles and deciphered which article was the most effective. We didn't get the chance to go on any FE's this unit because we were busy researching for our AP. The purpose of this Action Project is to conduct a research study based on group observation (must include observation of selected group interacting among itself and at least once with another group). Demonstrate scientific method. This AP was time-consuming because it required gathering observations, interviews, gathering research and analyzing data. I worked with a partner, so the work was divided up equally. Overall, I think our research paper came out decent.
Hope you enjoy!

The Cause and Effect of 9/11

This unit in Equality, we learned about the privileges and disadvantages that certain groups can have based on their class, gender, and race. During this course, I learned about intersectionality. Intersectionality is belonging to multiple groups. Being a part of different groups allows each individual to form a unique perspective on issues. There could be a black middle-class male and a black middle-class woman, the fact that they are different gender changes their viewpoints on certain issues. One of my favorite Fe's during this course was going to see Black Panther. The purpose of this AP is to recount an event or moment in history and to tell the story in a marginalized voice. I enjoyed researching and creating this AP because I got to explore a topic that relates to my identity as well as something that I feel is important to discuss.
Below is my project, enjoy!

 

A Person With and From Within

During this unit, we learned about psychology and took a variety of personality tests. One test that stood out to me was the Myers-Briggs test because I got results that aligned with how I view myself.This test gave numerous scenarios that you would have to disagree, agree with or choose somewhere in the middle. For this Action Project, we had to create a self-portrait using all the psychology knowledge that we’ve learned over the past few weeks and create an artist statement explaining your piece. Below are my art piece and artist statement. I hope you enjoy!

A Person With and From Within, LD, 2017, Collage

My art piece, A Person With and From Within is a character that portrays LD, this character shows the traits that I have within myself as well as traits I don’t identify with. To create this piece, I used a 14 by 14 piece of fabric that is layered upon more fabric to create the character. Before creating my piece, I sketched out what I wanted my art piece to look like after I gathered a variety of different materials and followed my sketch as to what I wanted the character to look like. In the outside world, I am viewed as extroverted, a natural leader, spontaneous and adaptable. I have taken a few personality tests during the past month; one test whose results surprised me was the DiSC test. The results stated that I am Dominant and Cautious meaning I am decisive, driven, logical and analytical. While some of this might be true, I don’t view myself decisive at all. To highlight my indecisiveness in this piece, I decide to use different materials to create the character to symbolize that I find it hard to stick to one thing. Another test that shocked me was the True Color Test. I found out that I was best described as the orange color because I am good at making decisions, a natural leader and can dominate a situation. What is strange about these results is that I disagree with all of them; I view myself as a follower and have always hated the fact that I couldn’t make my own decisions. To incorporate this into my piece, I decided to I use fabric instead of paint or markers to symbolize that I feel as if I have to display different personalities.

When people view my piece, I want them to understand that we humans possess a variety of personalities but it doesn’t mean we are not being authentic or true to ourselves just because we acknowledge one and ignore the other in situations. There are also test that dictate how you will do in an outside environment such as the TKI test and the Myers-Briggs test. The TKI Conflict Mode Instrument test measures the different degrees of assertiveness and cooperativeness. This test is often used to see how one might solve issues in the job field. My results came in as Competing, meaning that I express above average assertiveness and below average cooperation and that people I work with tend to think that I like to have things my way. I think I am Avoiding because I don’t involve myself in conflicts at all, but when I do I do tend to like to have my things a certain way, I can see both sides of an argument and reflect on my own opinion. I view myself as being the exact opposite of assertive; I am passive and will not involve myself in any conflictions. I found a trend when taking these test that I am a dominant or assertive.I decided to incorporate that trait in my piece because although I might not view myself as this, there might be a part of me that are these traits. The dramatic features such as the lips, nose, eyes, and eyebrows symbolize my dominant personality traits like being assertive.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a test that measures psychological preferences in how individuals perceive, interact and make decisions. There are 16 different types of personalities that the Myers-Briggs test presents. I got ENTP meaning I am more extroverted and get more energy from being with others, I am more intuitive meaning I act on things instead of observing. I think more about my decision than act on my feelings. I feel like this is the most accurate depiction of how I view myself. To incorporate these results into my piece, I decided to make the pupils tiny to represent that I don’t observe as much as I act.

The Senior class went to the Museum of Contemporary Art to look at the art as well as the artist’s statements. During my time there, I found a few artist’s statements that had lots of detail and a deep understanding of the purpose of their piece. I also saw a few that left me a bit confused; they lacked context or purpose. I took inspiration from an artist named Siobhan Hapaska by giving lots of detail and explanation about my piece in my artist statement.This process was a bit long because I had to make each piece look like a facial feature. Overall, creating the piece was extremely fun for me because I like to make art. I really enjoyed this Action Project, I enjoyed creating my art piece by cutting different fabrics up and gluing it onto the page because I don’t have time to create art as much as I used to. If I were to do this project again, I would incorporate more elements to my art piece. I felt as if I didn’t have enough time to make it exactly how I wanted it to look, but it looks similar to what I had in mind.

Works Cited
“Career Assessments, Myers-Briggs® & More | Career Assessment Site.” A Clear Path for the Future, careerassessmentsite.com/tests/thomas-kilmann-tki-tests/about-the-thomas-kilmann-conflict-mode-instrument-tki/.

“Free DISC Test.” DISC Personality Testing, 15 Jan. 2018, discpersonalitytesting.com/free-disc-test/.

“Free Personality Test.” 16Personalities, www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test.

“Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument.” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Sept. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFIydyH2H8Y.

Mapping a Better Tommorow

This unit in Thin Red Lines, my class learned about the importance of maps. Before this class, I had always thought of maps as just being a tool to get around the city. But after taking this class, my idea about maps have broadened. Maps can be used as a tool to get around, more importantly, they tell a story.  Maps can tell an interesting story, meaning having one perspective; it's important how you map an area because it can skew your idea about a place. Thin Red Lines has been an exciting class, one FE I really enjoyed was going to Google. We went to Google to talk and ask questions to people who worked with Waze and partnered with Google. I learned that although they'd like to map history and important information regarding each community, it is hard to make a functioning map that helps people get around as well as tell information. For this AP,  I had to create 3 separate maps about a specific community by representing and revolving conflicts amongst the people who live there. This AP took lots of researching for data and choosing which data best improved my argument. In the end, I think my final AP came out decent. Below are my maps, enjoy!


Map 1:


The first map of Bronzeville displays what type of assets are in the neighborhood. As a cartographer. I wanted to accurately portray Bronzeville as what it is; to get exact locations I explored Google Maps and searched for locations where there are vacant lots, stores, high schools, etc. Vacant lands are black on the map, hospitals are in navy, TIF in brown,  Liquor stores in red, fast food restaurants in yellow, and high schools in white. In Bronzeville, there a lot of vacant spaces, this shows that developers aren’t investing in the area. These mass amounts of vacant lots also make the area look blighted; it makes others and the people who live in that area think negatively about Bronzeville. The Bronzeville TIF only covers a small part of the neighborhood, where the entire area is in desperate need of help. I decided to map the green and red line to show that there are train stations near. Transportation is important for every neighborhood, it allows people to travel around the city for opportunities. I mapped high schools in the area to show there are a few high schools in the area. After looking at each schools’ stats on Niche, I found but they aren’t performing as well as schools in the city. I asked my family members if they could fix something about Bronzeville what it would be, my mom said that she wished there were more grocery stores with better food options like Trader Joes or Whole Foods. She said that she ends up buying a lot of snacks instead of food when she shops at Walgreens or Marianos. I decided to include grocery stores on my map to show that there aren’t enough grocery stores to supply food for the number of people or families living in Bronzeville. As you can see, there is more fast food restaurant than there are grocery stores, where people can buy real and healthy food. To continue to map this idea of food, I mapped fast food restaurants. If there are more fast food restaurants than grocery stores, it is more likely that someone will spend less money for more amounts of food at Mcdonalds. This affects the people living in the neighborhood mentally and physically. In order to keep the body and mind functioning properly, you must eat food that nourishes the body instead of destroying it. To juxtapose that idea of having more fast food restaurants than grocery stores, I mapped hospitals in the area. As shown on the map, there are 4 hospitals in Bronzeville. I don’t think a community would need that many if the people were eating well and taking care of their bodies. If there are more fast food restaurants that led to illnesses, there is going to be a higher demand for hospitals in the area. In addition, I mapped liquor stores to again highlight the proportion of things that can negatively affect the community than there are places that could benefit the people. Based on data from CMAP, people living in the Bronzeville have the highest rate of deadly diseases. This could be from the mass amounts of liquor stores and fast food restaurants or lack of grocery stores. This map notes that across from a high school you can find a fast food restaurant, a liquor store and a hospital: a recipe for disaster.


Map 2:


The second map of Bronzeville displays changes in the area based on community demands. I took the assets that were on the first map and changed the property and added something beneficial to the community. To help the entire community, I expanded the TIF through the whole Bronzeville area. This would help redevelopment of the community by getting rid of those vacant spaces and instead of adding residency or businesses that would improve the area. I brought in more residencies(displayed in maroon) to make the neighborhood have a better sense of community, as well as bring in more families into Bronzeville. According to CMAP, Bronzeville has a plan to develop the area into a mixed-use area that provides commercial and residential spaces. 53% of the current land is residency, while the next highest percentage is 14% being vacant land.  Businesses displayed on the map as the color orange is included to bring in more jobs for the community, as well bring in black-owned business to restore the African-American culture Bronzeville is slowly losing. I decided to keep the high schools where they are now, putting another one in the neighborhood would be pointless. Merging the schools could lead to more issues in the neighborhood, so therefore I kept the schools the same as they were before. Taking what my mother said about the area not having enough grocery stores, I decided to add 3 more grocery stores. If it were up to me to decide which grocery stores, I would bring in a Trader Joe's, a Whole Foods Market and a Stanley’s. These stores would allow people around the neighborhood to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables and overall better food options than what’s currently there. I didn’t change the hospitals since it is convenient for people to not have to travel a long way in case of emergencies. One of the biggest differences of this map is the liquor stores, I took away 3 and left 1 for the neighborhood. According to Dr. Marie Crandall from Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, who found out from a study that neighborhoods with a higher number of liquor stores risk more violence in the area. By taking away most of the liquors stores, I could potentially lower death rates; by keeping one, people still have the option to go the liquor store. Another major change in this map compared to the first are the fast food restaurants. I removed the 5 of the fast food restaurants from the area and kept 2. Since I put more grocery stores in the area that would allow people to go there meaning that there shouldn’t be a high demand for fast food. Although I removed 7 of the fast food chains, there are 2 places to eat fast food in case there are people who cannot afford to go to grocery stores. It’s important that those people eat something even if it’s unhealthy, it's in the vicinity of the high schools displayed on the map. This second map that displays community demands is one that will ensure a healthier and more efficient community.



Map 3:


The last map is a transformational map of Bronzeville. When creating this map I wanted to change Bronzeville in the most beneficial way for the people living there and for the people who travel through. In order to do so, I looked at the first two maps, took what is already there and what the community demands were to create my final transformational map. First, I kept the transportation train lines the same as before. There are already 2 lines in Bronzeville that allow you to travel north and south in the city; buses are also accessible in the area, yet not as efficient as trains are. I decided to add a park underneath the green line station near 45th St where there was once vacant land. This park will bring revenue to the neighborhood while also bringing in more families with children that can play in the park. I decided to keep businesses condensed in the same area to get a mixed-use area with residency near. As stated in the second map, businesses will bring in jobs for people and create a better economy for the area. I didn’t change much involving the high schools, but instead, I changed what is around the schools. Although the high schools’ performance levels are poor, there isn’t anything I can do inside the school to help; I can help by providing better food options to help stimulate their brains. I dispersed the grocery stores around Bronzeville hoping to make them closer to each school. By making food accessible to students I can indirectly help them do better in school. There are still 4 hospitals in the area that are accessible to anyone in the area and in Chicago. As people start to eat less fast food there won’t be as much as a need for many hospitals in one area. One of the big transformations of this last map is the fact that there are no liquor stores in the Bronzeville neighborhood. This will change the community in a positive way. I took away the liquor store because more families are coming in. If there are liquor stores every street, it creates a violent environment to live in. I called my local community organization and asked what the biggest issue is in Bronzeville. One of the organizers said that the violence and shootings that happen almost every week are dangerous for everyone. The most important thing was the fact that there aren’t liquor store near any schools where they can be put in danger. Lastly, there are 3 fast food restaurants dispersed around the area. At first, I wasn’t going to put any on this transformational map, but after thinking about how some people rely on fast food to keep food in their system. This map isn’t interested in one party, but all different types of people that are living in different situations. The goal of this map is to show a transformation of Bronzeville by looking at its current situation and changing it for the better.

Works Cited:

1. “Affordable Rental Housing Developments | City of Chicago | Data Portal.” Chicago Data Portal, data.cityofchicago.org/Community-Economic-Development/Affordable-Rental-Housing-Developments/dkgm-i9fi.

2. “Bronzeville Neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois (IL), 60653 Detailed Profile.” Bronzeville
Neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois (IL), 60653 Subdivision Profile - Real Estate, Apartments, Condos, Homes, Community, Population, Jobs, Income, Streets,
www.citydata.com/neighborhood/Bronzeville-Chicago-IL.html.

3. Chicago Health Atlas, www.chicagohealthatlas.org/indicators/life-expectancy
Demography, www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/962.html.

4. “History and Demographics.” Bronzeville, bronzevilleviolence.weebly.com/history-and-demographics.html.

5. “Public Health Statistics- Selected Underlying Causes of Death in Chicago, 2006 – 2010 | City of Chicago | Data Portal.” Chicago Data Portal, data.cityofchicago.org/Health-Human-Services/Public-Health-Statistics-Selected-underlying-cause/j6cj-r444.

6. Senior, and Niche User. “Explore Phillips Academy High School.” Niche, 26 May 2017, www.niche.com/k12/phillips-academy-high-school-chicago-il/.

7. “Study Links Liquor Stores and Bars to Shooting Risk.” Tribunedigital-Chicagotribune, 19 Sept. 2013, articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-19/news/chi-study-links-liquor-stores-and-bars-to-shooting-risk-20130918_1_liquor-store-gun-violence-crandall.

Helping Our School One Prototype At A Time

This unit in Rapid Prototyping, we learned about Riemann Sums, Delta and Cartesians 3D printers and the advancement of 3d printers. A Delta 3D printer is a printer that has a pyramid-like shape with three arms and Cartesian 3D printers are cubes that have 3 dimensions (x,y, and z).  My favorite FE during this unit was going to the Museum of Science and Industry, I hadn't been to that museum in a while and it brought back a lot of memories. Not only did the museum make me feel nostalgic, it related to what we were learning about 3D printers, technology, and design in Rapid Prototyping.  The purpose of this AP was to prototype something that would help our school. We worked with a partner and created 3 different prototypes: we created a clay version, 3D printed and cardboard prototype. I am very happy with the results of my final AP for this unit. Below is my slideshow, enjoy!

                 

Image Transfer

This unit in Woodshop, I got to learn how to use automatic saw machine and how to drill holes with a drill. It was an interesting class, I was a bit intimated at first with all the equipment, but after a few classes, I became comfortable with using these machines. The purpose of this class was to get comfortable using the machines and to create at least one design of our choice. The first classes were for us to get a hands-on experience with the drill, hammers, saw, and sander. The next few classes we started to create out image transfer. We chose images online for what we wanted to use for the image transfers.I decided to use a picture of sonic because it's funny and I like funny stuff.

To transfer the image onto the wood block, I first searched online for a picture. I chose Sonic because it was a funny meme. I think had to measure the size of the image so that it would fit on the block, this was pretty easy because it just took resizing the image. After that, I sent the picture to Aaron (our teacher) and he printed it out. Once it was printed we flipped the back of the image and put some sort of chemical that would make the image stick to the block. Once the image is on the block, we had to use a wet sponge to slowly remove the white paper from the block. Slowly but surely, the image was clear on the block. The only issue with this part was that I accidentally wiped too hard and some of the images disappeared. After that, we used some oil type chemical so that the picture would show up more clearly. Once we did that, we were done with the project!

LD, Image Transfer, 2018, Wood