YOU WANT THE WORLD TO MELT? didn't think so...

Hey, everyone! For my Rhetoric Action Project we were assigned to design a piece of artwork that "breaks the barrier" on an important social/political issue. I chose climate change as it impacts everyone and everything. Climate change is unlike any other social/political issue because if we do not address it now, our world will be forever changed.  Addressing climate change now could save our tomorrow and it should not continue to be ignored. Ignoring the issue of climate change will not benefit anyone or anything because everyday things are getting worse.

Art type- I chose to make stickers as my art piece because stickers are trendy, popular and they easily express a person views. On any given day I pass people on the streets, buses and trains with stickers on water bottles, phone cases and/or laptops. Additionally, many activist organizations pass out stickers as a visual expression of support. I even have several stickers of support for various organizations on my own belongings. I believe that stickers are small tokens of appreciation to advance the message of big issues. 

In part, climate change is defined as a change in global or regional climate patterns and it has greatly increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Human expansion and increased human activity are the leading causes of climate change phenomena, global warming. When people talk about climate change terms like greenhouse effect are mentioned but few people really understand what it is. Truthfully, I still struggle to fully understand the ‘whats and whys’ of climate change but the greenhouse effect occurs when heat from the Earth gets trapped in the atmosphere. Despite all of the scientific terms this climate phenomena is very real and is  causing devastatingly irreparable harm. 

The most important thing we could do now is to address the issue of climate change in every way possible. The unintended consequences of climate change are still unknown but traditionally predictable climate patterns have become difficult to predict. Thus far, the effects of climate change have contributed to overly warmed oceans, melting and disappearing glaciers and increased sea levels. Increased heat and extreme weather patterns have led to more evaporation and precipitation which has caused unseasonably heavy rains and floods. Climate change impacts all weather patterns and disrupts seasonal weather patterns all over the world. If we do not act now, by the year 2075, 18% of the Earth’s surface will suffer from annual extreme heatwaves.  In order to combat this present climate crisis, humans need to do whatever they can to decrease their individual carbon footprint. I am working hard to do my part to combat climate change by making small changes like forgoing plastic water bottles for a reusable metal water bottle, recycling at home and giving up straws. It may not seem like a lot but, I needed to start somewhere. I will continue to do my part to combat climate change and with every sticker I will advance the message to a larger audience. Humans the leading abusers of the planet so, we have a moral obligation to try to reverse the damage to combat climate change.

BENEFICIAL BIKE SUCCESS

Hello everyone! For this unit in Design & Engineering, we focused on wheels and motion. Specifically, how wheels, motion, and weight distribution of the rider all work together to operate a bicycle. For this Action Project, we were asked to assist a cyclist named Ko a Taiwanese native who loves to cycle. Taiwan is an extremely bike-friendly city but, the city's high rates of theft can make cycling a dangerous pastime. In designing Ko's bike, we considered the region, available resources, and terrain. Therefore our objective was to make a practical bicycle that allowed Ko to remain safe and secure while cycling. Ko's daily cycling routine consists of commuting to and from school and picking up groceries at night for her family. To help Ko, complete her daily tasks my partner and I decided to add a few cool features like a basket, several lights, and reflectors to her bicycle but, we primarily focused on her safety. Although Ko loved to cycle, her bike design was not built to simply look cool. We designed Ko's bicycle to withstand the elements, maintain speed, and meet her specific needs. Understanding the terrain and the rider's skill level were key factors in our design. We made a 3D model of our sketch which is both shown in our slideshow below.

Our field experiences at Earth Rider and Working Bikes gave me better insight into understanding the needs of cyclists. It is vital that all cyclists feel comfortable while riding and that the bicycle meets the needs of the rider. Like the bicycles at Earth Rider, our bike design for Ko met her needs while allowing her to enjoy her riding experience. During our field experience at Earth Rider, I could see that most of the bicycles were well equipped to handle the flat terrain of Chicago and support various weights of riders. Although, gadgets like baskets and reflectors do enhance the rider's functionality they are not as important as safety and comfort level. At Working Bikes, I was inspired by their deep understanding of bicycle transportation in developing countries. I also learned that bicycling is the only form of transportation in certain villages in Panama and townships in Ghana. This just reinforced the importance of meeting the needs of specific cyclists according to their region. The insight I gained from visiting Working Bikes and Earth Rider inspired me to create a uniquely practical yet thoughtful bike for Ko because I have a better understanding of her needs.

 

CPS' CRISIS

Our Action Project for this unit in Rhetoric was to write an op-ed about a timely topic happening in the world. If you're wondering what an op-ed is, it's a printed page opposite the editorial page in a newspaper or article of some sort. In this instance, we were instructed to write an op-ed on a timely topic and I chose to write about the Chicago Teachers' Strike. I decided to write about this specific topic because I just transferred from a Chicago Public School to a private school. I completely understand the struggle of being in an overcrowded classroom, in a school with no nurse or counselor. Also I was directly affected by the Chicago Teachers’ strike of 2012 and I remember how my Mom scrambled to make adjustments to her schedule. It was a hectic seven days! Today, when I walk past striking teachers, I think less about the reasons why they are striking and think more about students and their parents. Thoughts like, “how do they feel about this sudden strike?” or “what are they doing right now?” Thus far CPS students have missed nine days of school. I cannot help to think about the classroom learning opportunities and extracurricular experiences that students are missing out on. Time cannot be recovered, I hope that students are making the most of their time off and that an agreement is reached soon. So, in this op-ed you will read more of my thoughts regarding the Chicago Teachers’ Strike of 2019.

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 Chicago Public School’s system is in a crisis. Currently Chicago Public School(CPS) district 299 is on strike, its third strike since 2012. In 2012 over 500,000 CPS students were impacted by the strike; today 360,000 CPS students and families are impacted by the strike. After the 2012 strike many parents including my own made the decision to take their children out of CPS. I understand that teachers need more resources but I empathize with the students. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago city officials, and the Chicago Teachers Union(CTU) have been locked in negotiations for over a week and have yet to come to an agreement. The plethora of reasons teachers decided to strike are far too many to list, but classroom size, resources for diverse learners and teacher pay are just a few. While the CTU, Mayor Lightfoot and other City officials meet to hash things out privately and publicly, hundreds of thousands of children are missing school. What about the 300,000 CPS students? What about the 16,000 homeless CPS students? Where is their union and why don’t their voices matter?

 Frustrations are mounting. CPS students are missing out on so many things. Some students are missing meals while others are missing out on their future meal ticket. On October 24, 2019 parents and cross-country student athletes from Jones College Prep filed a lawsuit on behalf of all CPS student athletes against the Illinois High School Association and the Chicago Board of education. These cross country athletes could not participate in the state playoffs, many of these students are Seniors and will miss out on recruitment opportunities. In addition to the Jones College Prep’s cross-country team, CPS athletes that play tennis, football and soccer will miss their play-offs due to the strike. CPS football players at Simeon Career Academy have had to forfeit games and will also miss their play-offs. Some of the top recruiters from the best colleges attend games at Simeon sadly, these players will never get the opportunity to meet with them. These stories about the impact of the strike on CPS athletes are just some of the unintended consequences that will be overlooked once school resumes.

 As of right now, CPS classes have been canceled for over a week. Students have missed eight consecutive days of instructional time. Daily, students and families patiently wait for announcements regarding school. Family routines have been broken, parents are missing work, athletes are missing play-off, and students are falling even further behind in their studies. Moreover, thousands of students are missing their teachers, their favorite lunch person, their favorite custodian and more importantly they are missing their friends. For children and teenagers, the center of their universe is school. School is where students make plans, form clubs, listen to each others problems and for some it is the only place they get a hug. Mayor Lighfoot, City officials and the CTU are focused on getting a deal for more access to better resources and better facilities, but they are not acknowledging that school is so much more than a physical infrastructure. School houses support systems for the most neediest, the most awkward, the most popular and most introverted of students. This strike needs to be resolved now because CPS students need to be back in school with their friends where they create memories that last a lifetime.

 It is true that CPS students need more resources, deserve smaller class sizes and access to new books and technology. However, it is never right to walk out or quit on students especially when they are preparing for pay-offs, homecomings, standardized tests and other assessments. By Friday, October 25th CPS students will have missed 38.5 hours of instruction and teachers have lost out on 38.5 hours of pay. Teachers are striking for higher pay, but I would argue that they’re losing pay while out on strike. Negotiations may be ongoing but, it is clear that there are no winners. In the end, I’m sure that parties from each side of the negotiation table will get a small piece of what they wanted. It doesn’t matter how this strike will end, it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

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Citations:

The Editorial Board (2019), Monica Davey (2012) and Mike Puccinelli (2019) wrote blog posts about the teachers’ strike.

The Editorial Board (2019, October 24)

https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-chicago-teacher-strike-lori-lightfoot-sharkey-20191024-wup5srdwmbcqfl6khlvrahn4om-story.html

Monica D. (2012, September 10)

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/education/teacher-strike-begins-in-chicago-amid-signs-that-deal-isnt-close.html

Mike P. (2019, October 27)

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/10/27/chicago-teachers-union-offers-3-year-counter-proposal/

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

While doing this action project, we were assigned a democratic candidate for the Presidential Election 2020. Our mission was to create a 2 minute speech with a question following the real world. My question was: do you acknowledge that climate change is real and is a threat to the environment, our health and safety? As we know, climate change is an important topic that needs to be established and is changing faster than any point in history and has already resulted in a wide range of impacts across every region of the world, but this assignment allowed me to look at climate change in Bernie Sanders point of view.

IMPROVING FISKAR SHEARS

Design & Engineering is a class that allows us to get a glimpse of everything around us and see the progress and growth of our creations, we discuss simple machines, forces, motion and acceleration to begin to looking at the world in a new light. This unit, we are brainstorming and developing ideas of empathy while putting ourselves in other peoples shoes. And throughout the rest of the course, we are going to be learning about Geometry, Trigonometry and Pre-Calculus, to find a purpose and visualize the world around us.

There will be 2 Action Projects in this unit, they will be finalized on our Digital Portfolio. This slideshow below, is one of our Action Projects where we had a mission to compile data and physics concepts to sketch an easier gardening tool for senior citizens. We were to use a storyboard of how it is used, explain its development process and present our final results to a panel or representatives and experts.

SUMMER REFLECTION

9/4/19

In our Summer Reflection, we were asked to find two quotes from the graphic novel Feynman and the film Apollo 13 with explanations of why we could relate to them in our own personal ways.

WHERE I AM FROM

8/30/19

The purpose of this "Where I Am From" project is to share a reflection of ourselves and the place we are from.

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