Previously in my first Action Project for Rhetoric, I studied Chuy Garcia and created a speech based on his rhetoric, style, and views. I focused the issue of immigration policies, on one of the topics he is very passionate about challenging in his run for the 4th Congressional District. Chuy García wants to change current immigration policies to make sure they treat all people equal and pay funds to domestic programs, not programs that already have enough money. I made a brochure based around the research I gathered about him and this topic.
JMP, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia On Immigration Policies", (2018)
Getting the material together was easy, since I have researched him before. Finding a medium to place all of this information was difficult. I talked to my teacher about how to best show off my work, and we decided on a brochure.
Citations
"Jesus Chuy Garcia Speech at NALEO." Youtube, uploaded by NALEO Education Fund, 2013 June 29. Video.
Sun Times Editorial Board. “4th Congressional District Democratic nominee: Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.”
In my class called Art of Rhetoric, we studied how speech, presentation, and body language affects how people interpret a speaker. In order to make a rhetorical analysis, you must study the context, speaker, genre, occasion, and especially the audience. There are different rhetorical appeals too, that take great part in bringing the audience in. If it make you trust the speaker, it is called ethos. If it pulls your heart strings, it is called pathos. Lastly, if it is reasonable and has a logical approach, it is called logos. I had fun being able to analyze a speaker's rhetorical success or failure. For our Action Project, we had to create a speech for a mayoral candidate wanting to be part of the Chicago government. I chose Chuy Garcia, because I follow his actions as a politician in newspapers often. He hasn't said he is running for the spot, but I strongly believe he should because I look up to him. I agree with a lot of his views. I studied his hand gestures, body-language, tone, and words very closely so I could represent him. There was a lot of research on his interview with news, so I wouldn't say any opinions he doesn't believe in. The class and I were able to do a face-to-face rhetorical analysis on Troy LaRaviere, a mayoral candidate who was a CPS principal. I was able to ask him questions, and see how he responded. This helped me know how to present myself during my speech.
JMP, Mustache, (2018)
JMP, This Shouldn't Be Our Reality in Little Village, (2018)
CITATIONS
Konkol, Mark. “Chuy Garcia Says His Little Village Block Helps Him ‘Keep It Real’.” DNAInfo.com. My
In this unit of Design and Engineering, we learned about how tools are designed, volume, surface area, and vectors, which are important concepts for creating a product. Throughout the class, I was surprised to see that math and drawing had a connection in the real world for designers. We mainly focused on gardening products and how designers must complete many steps before manufacturing a product. For one of our Field Experiences, we had the opportunity to speak with the owner of Beyond Design Inc about the process of inventing an original tool. It made me realize the team effort required to create something that could improve thousands of lives. Mostly elderly people like to garden, though many tools aren’t made for their needs. I learned that it is important to take people’s differences into consideration when designing. For the Action Project, my task was to improve a gardening tool so it makes the task easier for an elderly person. My class and I took a trip to Home Depot to pick a gardening tool and inspect its different components, in order to be inspired for our invention. The tool is meant for someone who has low hand strength, and needs assistance in cultivating the soil for aerated soil. Many tools need a lot of hand strength in order for them to work, but this lightweight hand tool will just need to be lifted and placed on top of the soil so it can do its job. This project is teaching me how to have empathy in designing this tool, because it needs to be made for the hands of someone else, not myself. Empathy is being able to understand how another person feels. I got out of my mindset and was able to interview an avid gardener about how they feel about gardening, so I could think of a solution to their hobby troubles.
JMP, Interview with a Gardener, (2018)
From my interview, I learned that if a designer keeps a tool simple, it will perform amazingly at its intended task. Tools that camouflage with their environment become dangerous, as a gardener might accidentally step on them. Owning brightly colored tools makes them easier to locate. Small tools are popular because they are portable and light. Also, gardeners grow into their hobby because of their parents' or grandparents' love for it. It is a shared passion to enjoy the slow but rewarding growth of plants throughout time.
I had to conduct a lot of research on existing examples of my tool. To cultivate deeper into the soil, a more curved pronged cultivator is best. Keeping it light with minimal prongs will make it more portable. A stronger, three pronged cultivator will aerate the soil best. Cushioned grips make working more comfortable and keeps sweat away. Wood is often used in tools because it is lightweight and is cheap. Not properly using a wood tool can cause breakage.
After gaining a sense of what can be improved in the cultivator, my partner and I created the "Culti-Grab". This new tool acts as an automatic cultivator. The prongs work together to get rid of big clumps of soil so a plant can grow its roots out. It aerates the soil by acting as a claw machine. You hover it over a selected area of clumped soil, and press the GRAB button to dig to break down the lumps. Press the OPEN button to release the claw, to let go of the now aerated soil. The three prongs are made of carbon steel, which is lightweight and strong for the thickest of dirt. A handy timer reminds the gardener to take a break every 30 minutes, to not wear their muscles out. It is recommended to take breaks while gardening, or else strain will cause deep pain in your body. The button makes it simple to adjust the prong’s curl, for different dirt thicknesses. For a comfortable experience, the grip is made of gel that molds to the hand, making the planting feel natural.
This tool gives the gardener a break from intense manual labor, and does the digging for you. Elders can find comfort in the grip, so it doesn’t bruise their hands. Being able to adjust the tool’s parts is handy because it is worth investing in interchangeable tools, rather than tools with different sizes.
The Culti-Grab is similar to a wedge, because it drives into dirt to separate the dirt chunks. The prongs work together to wedge into the soil in order to get the task done. The grab button make the angle of the prongs more drastic so they insert into the soil, and the open button makes the angles of prongs less so the soil can be released.
This project gave me a more positive view of gardening. I recognized that there are many factors in taking part of this hobby. Being able to be hands-on with tools was helpful, because it put me in the shoes of a gardener and the hardships it has. I believe that this hobby is rewarding because you end up with a beautiful piece of life that you helped raise. It was easy for me to depict how to use the new tool. I was able to work well with my partner, by splitting up the work evenly. Coming up with an original idea was difficult at first, but we let our creativity show and thought of the wackiest inventions with no hesitation. If I have the materials one day, I would love to bring this idea to life and use it myself and share it with others!
In my last Unit for my STEAM class Cure, we wrapped up what we learned from all units in the Disease and Cure classes. We delved into what it means to prevent a disease or illness. We only had two weeks to get into the unit, so we studied probability of getting a disease and how medicine can change the outcome. We also made a family tree about diseases that run along the generations. I loved learning more about my family and how to prepare myself if I get one of the diseases they had. Our field experience consisted of a Yoga Nindra instructor to help guide the class through a very relaxing meditation. It was my first time meditating, but I had an amazing time. It gave me more energy and made me want to try again. The instructor lead us to the point where you are on the brink of falling asleep, so it’s a very calming state. Meditation can help heal your mind from stress and other worries in the world. I never thought of mind exercises to be helpful, but this field experience changed my mind. Literally.
For this Action Project, we had to create a fictional patient profile. In the profile, we had to write about their lifestyle, behavior, diet, habits, concerns, and family medical history. This resulted in a consultation, in which we had to advise positive changes to their lifestyle, and therapies to help their concerns. I wrote a consultation on someone dealing with alcoholism for ten years. I picked this because I wanted to do an illness, not a disease.
In conclusion, I loved this entire class. I didn’t think I’d be interested in genetic and medical history,
but it really stood out to me. I think that I will take what I learnt in class to the real world, and incorporate it to become more knowledgeable on medical science. I worked really hard on this Action Project to look professional and clean. Hopefully, someone with alcoholism will take my research and advise and take it to their daily life and make better change.
In my Humanities course called “Drama”, we studied gender roles in two different societies in plays we read. We read “The Taming of the Shrew” by Shakespeare and “The Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen. In Shakespeare’s play, a man takes control over his wife without her realizing it. In Ibsen’s play, a women is stuck in an abusive relationship and a fake happy mindset, but she leaves her family to find her true self. I liked reading these plays because it gave me insight in society hundreds of years ago. I’m glad our society isn’t that controlling nowadays. The class got to visit the Goodman Theater and learn about acting and writing a script. This made me become more interested in theater and what life skills I can learn from it!
In this Action Project, I wrote a play about women being put down often a couple centuries ago, with DS and OL about gender equality. Here it is!
In conclusion, I loved writing a play and performing it. I wish I would've taken the time to memorize the lines. I enjoyed working with my partners.
In my STEAM class named Cure, we learned different ways on how to treat illnessin everyday life. There are three basic ways on how to treat yourself- over the counter drugs, prescriptions, and remedies. I loved learning about the scientific way that drugs work in our body, and how effective it is to our bodies. I only go to the doctor when I am extremely sick, so it was interesting to learn about new home remedies that I can try on myself. Our class performed a lab in which we had a pill that closed off our sour tasting taste buds, so that sour foods tasted sweet. It was a mind blowing experience because I ate hot sauce with ease after I took the pill! And I can’t stand any spicy foods. This lab was to demonstrate how drugs work on our bodies. When you take in a drug, it's molecule fits into it's matching shaped receptor site, just like how a key matches it's lock. Biological events occur within the body, such as chemical reactions or nerve impulses. This mechanism is called "Lock and Key".
For our Action Project, we had to find an illness or symptom that appealed to us and research 3 treatments to make it better. Then, we had to create a medicine box that sold the symptom and its remedies. Each treatment option had its drug facts and instruction on how to do it.
JMP, German Measles, (2018)
JMP, Codeine Phosphate, (2018)
JMP, Acetaminophen, (2018)
JMP, MMR Vaccine, (2018)
JMP, Chart, (2018)
JMP, Ingredients, (2018)
I loved this AP because I am very interested in graphic design and gathering ideas onto an organized platter. I tried very hard to make my box eye catching. Im very proud with the end product and my collected research. I learned useful information that’ll I use in my future!
In my Humanities class called Drama, we read Taming of the Shrew- a famous Shakespeare play about the effect of social roles on individual happiness. In the play, a man named Petruchio ventures out to win the heart of Katherine, one of the two daughters that a rich man named Baptista has. Her sister Bianca is often wanted by the men in the land. Bianca acts like how a woman “should” behave back then: quiet, obedient, and happy. Katherine was viewed as a shrew because she is rowdy, rebellious, and out-spoken. Being called a shrew was a big insult. Petruchio just wanted to marry Katherine because she was born into a wealthy family. He challenges himself to tame her to be a calm and collected woman by their wedding day, and he succeeds. The whole fiasco drives him crazier than Kate herself.
For the first Action Project of Drama, my class was asked to write a sonnet concerning one of the play’s characters. I chose Katherine because I wanted to write about her experience being wed to a crazy guy like Petruchio.
