Is College Seriously Worth It???

Thank you so much for watching!

So, the mission for this Action Project was to share our thoughts and research on whether college is really worth our time and money investments using the principles we picked up from class. 

Please take a look at the slideshow below to see the details and calculations.

 

Overall, this project was difficult but cool. I am not always too keen on talking about my future, especially since college is involved at this point. But this project gave me the opportunity to dig a bit deeper into my interests and the colleges that have them. Oh! And I've also found a few college choices that I may apply for!

The Coding/Python Affect

Hi there! Welcome to Unit 2 of Computer Science! You may be wondering what happened in our first unit, right? Well, I'm explaining it anyway! So, in the first unit, we were introduced to the concept of Computer Science which is where we learned the basics of how computers worked and where they came from. After that was discussed, we had a mini-project where we created something called pseudocode! And if you're wondering what that is, pseudocode is a specific, detailed way of explaining something. For example, how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or how to play checkers. That's basically all of Unit 1, now moving on to Unit 2!

In this new unit, we moved on to something more complicated: coding. But once we've established the basics of coding, we moved on to a more difficult, advanced version of coding which is called Python. So, for this project, we were instructed to create something called an Advanced Calculator where you use some sort of STEAM equation and ask a user for a number, plug them in, and print their final answer.

Here is an example of that :)

a.

b.

This second part of the project instructed us to make a form letter to a politician/representative but in the form of Python.

Overall, this project was pretty cool, but also difficult since I am not too familiar with coding, I only knew a bit about before this. But I overcame that difficulty by looking at my resources. At the same time, this experience helped me understand what computers really are, and that's probably the coolest part.

Our America: "Homeless - In Their Shoes"

NDTV, Salvation Army Director hugs homeless Alvin Henry, 2019.

Welcome to the first unit of Journalism! During this first unit of this course, we read a book called Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago. It's a story that takes place in the 90s, and it's about two young teenagers, LeAlan Jones, and Lloyd Newman, living in the ghetto. Last week, we even had an FE with Mr. Jones! It was really cool since each of us had the chance to ask any questions regarding his journey and how his life has changed after publishing this award-winning book. That Fe helped with the AP since it gave us an insight into what we were actually doing.

For our first AP, we were asked to interview three people who live or lived in our neighborhood about what they like about it and what they are concerned about. And when we are done interviewing those people, we were instructed to compare their responses with one another and see what each interviewee talked about the most and write an article about that topic. 

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I live in Downtown Chicago. And as of right now, the population is 37,647, but if you live in Chicago or even visited, you probably know that there is a big problem with the number of homeless people living there as well.

I interviewed all three of my people, and they all seemed to be concerned about that same topic. The homeless population has increased in the area and it is alarming to see so many people out there on the streets, especially when COVID-19 is far from being over and the weather is gradually getting worse.

The three people that I interviewed were my mother, friend, and cousin. Not only because they are close to me and I enjoy talking to me, but these are some of the most opinionated people I know and I just knew they would have valid responses.

I was right! Please read what my interviewees had to say and my response to it, thanks :)

Interviewee 1

Tommorrow Snyder, Stand For Children, 2019.

Name: Tommorrow Snyder

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Relation: Mother

"There are a lot of homeless folks on the street and sidewalks which brings to life the wealth disparities in our country." 

I agree with this statement, without a doubt. Not only did she bring the country into her response but it is the truth! Like every other place, Downtown Chicago has a problem with disparities, not just racial disparities, but in terms of those who are homeless. People in Downtown Chicago are living in condos, paying $2,000-$5,000 a month, with their new iPhones, and Gucci shoes, but can't even give a homeless person a dollar. Instead, they walk right past. I have to admit, I use to be scared to give them money since you never know what they would do with it, but if you look at the joy on their faces when you give them a little something can lift a giant weight off of your shoulders that you probably didn't even know was there.

Interviewee 2

Jazmin Monroy, Instagram, 2019.

Name: Jazmin Monroy

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Relation: Friend

"It can very alarming to see homeless people trying to find shelter as the weather gets colder."

I agree with Jazmin's response. I actually used what she said in the intro since it is true. The weather is slowly getting worse and it can be really scary since we don't want to be in the cold, but imagine homeless people have to go through to get through the winter. Last year, it was so cold that a homeless man named Marshall passed away while wrapped in a blanket, he lived right outside of a pizza place called Rosati's which happens to be right around the corner from my home, and we found out from another homeless man that also lives around the area.

Last, but not least: Interviewee 3

Samar Carmack, Instagram, 2020.

Name: Samar Carmack

Pronouns: he/him/his

Relation: Cousin

"The population is getting bigger ever since the pandemic started and I worry seeing them out there since some of them have children."

I agree with Samar's response as well. I said this in my intro as well. The pandemic is getting much worse. Major cities such as Chicago, Las Angeles, and Chicago have especially been hit the hardest in the beginning. But anyway, many people have lost their jobs and homes due to COVID-19. You can see many people and their children holding up the cardboard with it saying lost my job, no house, please help us, or I am just hungry. It is truly heartbreaking and when you see a child on the street along with the parent, it is even more heart-wrenching because the children need a proper meal, a proper education, a stable house to sleep in.

I got the information from the following two paragraphs from here.

"I would have to go the bathroom at maybe 3 o'clock in the morning to do my homework because I still wanted to be that student I knew I could be," Kaleyah says. Kaleyah's mother lost her house, it was devastating, but she gained support from others in the shelter they were living in. She says that "they became like a second family because we embraced each other's struggles."

There is an estimate of 40,000 homeless people living in the city including thousands of public school students in shelters, tents, parks, etc. In 2014, there were over 22,000 students who were homeless, 2,500 students growing up in a house with no adults and raising their siblings, but still went to school. Since 2003, Chicago donated $5 million towards homeless shelters, but Chicago's Department of Family, Support services, or Rahm Emmanuel would speak about it.

Next time you see a homeless person, my task for you is to at least give them a dollar, get them food, or something simple like starting a conversation with them. They are human beings just like us and that is all they want you to treat them as. Think of how you would feel if you were in their shoes.

Thank you for reading this blog, I hope you enjoyed it, if you would like to learn more about Downtown Chicago and my interviews, please click this slideshow :)

Snapshots of Quarantine

Welcome back to my blog! It's the end of the year, you know what that means? Final Presentations!

Earlier this school year, GCE partnered with an organization that goes by the name of Finding One's Voice for a program of theirs called Snapshots of Joy. We were given disposable cameras and we were asked to take photos of anything that brings us "joy."

But a few months later, George Floyd was murdered. Riots and protests began and quickly made its way to Chicago, where the Central Camera is located, and burned it down. And unfortunately, GCE's photos along with many years of history were lost in that fire.

But even after everything that is going on today, we were still to do our Final Presentations. So, the mission for our Final Presentations was to finish what we started and take our own "snapshots" and reflect on what we've been doing during the quarantine whether that school-related or not.

Without further adieu, enjoy...

I believe everyone's quarantine experience was different whether that's a good or bad thing. I know there has been lots of anxiety, sadness, anger, and millions of other things. However, I am going to be talking about the downs-sides and highlights of mine.

In conclusion, this wasn't the best journey, but it escalated gradually and got better over time. I'd like to think of this as a growing experience, not only for me but for my family as well.

HOME SWEET HOME!

Welcome back to the final project of Urban Planning! This unit of Urban Planning was all about sustainable living. We learned how to make a more sustainable living for ourselves and for others around the world. So, the mission for our Action Project was to redesign a block, intersection, or park of our choice. We could choose to redesign familiar spaces or unknown places. I chose to redesign a residential block in the borough of Braddock Hills, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The terrain in Braddock Hills is full of hills, green spaces, and not pedestrian-friendly. Take a look at the slide show below to see what I'm talking about!

 

gO grEEn!

Welcome back! Unfortunately, this is the end of the second term for Urban Planning :( I definitely learned many things about topics that I haven't even thought about. But just to recap on what focused on the history of electricity and studied iconic electrical engineers like Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. Later, we looked into types of circuits, more specifically, series vs. parallel circuits. Moving forward into the unit, we started thinking about how we could take all of this information and turn it into something bigger. So, the mission for this Action Project was to use the parallel circuits we created and make something sustainable for our environment. 

That leads us into the SLIDESHOW! Take a look at it to see what I did!

   

In conclusion, this project was difficult because I broke a few of my materials by accident :( Nevertheless, I still made it work regardless of how many things I broke. Be careful, everybody :)

$1,200 for 9 weeks? I think not...

Hello, again and welcome to Policy! In this class, we use Rhetoric and Argument to agree on a common good. In Rhetoric, we learned how to persuade with ethos, pathos, and logos, and in Argument, we learned how arguments are sustained to find and shape the nation. But in Policy, to agree on a common good, you have to know what it takes to make a policy good. So, the mission of this Action project was to propose legislation and write a persuasive letter to a legislator and mail it. And since we had to write it about a bill that is not passed yet, I decided to write it on the Emergency Money For The People Act and mail it to Congressman Danny K. Davis.

Who can live off of $1,200 for 9 weeks?

COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis that impacts all our lives and for some their way of life. Whether it is the boredom from sheltering in place or fear of the unknown, we are all deeply affected by this pandemic. The total impact of COVID-19 is still unknown and in March, Congress attempted to address Americans' financial woes by passing a stimulus bill. This stimulus bill made it possible to provide Americans direct economic relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stimulus checks were one-time payments of $1,200 per adult - or $2,400 for married couples filing jointly - and an additional $500 per child. But my question is, what household can live off of $1,200 for 9 weeks?

A one-time $1,200 check barely covers the basic needs of a single adult and a $2400 check fails to meet the needs of married couples. It’s not fair to only get a single $1,200 stimulus check when prices have gone up drastically. For example, in the United States, health-related items and household necessities have doubled or tripled in price. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical mask prices have gone up 319%, whereas hand sanitizer increased by 73% and disinfectants have gone up more than 32%. This increase in demand has forced many people to overshop or hoard and make their own products. At this time health-related and household products are necessities and it saddens me to know that people are being overcharged and under assisted by their government. It is so important that the government sign the Emergency Money for the People Act bill which would extend stimulus payment for six months.

To date, over 20 million people have not received their stimulus checks and unemployment checks are delayed and not stretching from month to month. The Emergency Money for the People Act would eliminate a lot of financial issues for those affected by COVID-19. With this bill, individuals who make less than $130,000 a year, would receive $2,000 a month. If this bill passes, people would be able to get health-related items such as medical masks, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and groceries. 

I am sure that my opponents will make excuses or argue that the one-time stimulus check was a generous gesture. but one-time payments do not last long enough to meet basic needs. COVID-19 is more than just a global health crisis, it is also a financial crisis that impacts individuals, families, and corporations and I'd argue that the Emergency Money for People Act would help ease the financial strain felt by this pandemic.

Thank you so much for reading.

- Savannah