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!
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Alex's Plan, LD, Google Drawing, 2018
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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.
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Dianne's Plan, LD, Google Drawing, 2018
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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.
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Genesis's Plan, LD, Google Drawing, 2018
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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
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.
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Kim's Plan, LD, Google Drawing, 2018
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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.
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My Lunch Plan, LD, Google Drawing, 2018
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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.
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Key, LD, 2018, Google Drawing
Sources
GM, Interview,(LD), 2018
Kim, Interview,(LD), 2018
Dianne, Interview, (LD), 2018
AL, Interview, (LD), 2018
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