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.

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!