Bibliography- 

Restak, Richard M. Think Smart: A Neuroscientist's Prescription for Improving Your Brain's Performance. New York: Riverhead, 2009. Print.

Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown, 2008. Print.

Pink, Daniel H. Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. New York, NY: Riverhead, 2009. Print.

Covey, Sean. "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens." 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Sean Covey, n.d. Web. 30 May 2014.

Clason, George S. "The Richest Man in Babylon (book)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 May 2014. Web. 30 May 2014.

Shrimp Scampi:

Ingredients- 

1 1/2 pounds of medium sized, cleaned, deshelled, and deveined shrimp

2 1/2 table spoons of chopped garlic

1 and 1/2 boxes of wheat spaghetti

A couple large sprigs of parsley, chopped

half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of black pepper

One table spoon of lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

Grated parmesan 

Directions-

Start to boil water in a deep pot and add salt to the water

Heat olive oil, parsley, and garlic in a medium size sauté pan

Add wheat pasta when water is boiling and bring to a boil again while stirring occasionally 

Add shrimp when chopped garlic is almost completely browned

Flip shrimp occasionally so both sides are golden brown and deep pink

Strain the spaghetti and then mix shrimp and the spaghetti back in to the deep pot and add pepper and parmesan cheese 

Serve to your friends or eat the entire pot by yourself if you have no friends. However, I assure you you will be beating off random people when the scent of golden garlic and tangy shrimp cascades from your kitchen. 

Analysis-

1. I'd say about 90% processed. In reality, the only thing that I actually produce myself is the parsley.

2. Nutritional info (total)-

Calories-1392(pasta)+600 in oil+130(shrimp)+200 from parmesan cheese+ a negligible amount in the remaining ingredients. 

Total calories-2322

Total fat- 81 grams (72 in olive oil)

sodium-500mg

fiber-40 grams

carbs- 296

Your body would not respond to this diet well even though it has pretty simple ingredients and a good nutritional makeup. Too much fat is not good for anyone, but at least it's a good fat from olive oil.

The food that has traveled the farthest is the pasta- all the way from Foggia Italy. 

Cost- about $1.75 a person

I'll compare the parsly I grew to dried parsly flakes for the social ramifications topic.

It's easy to grow the parsly. It just takes planting and watering, and it's basically good to go. All you need to do next is cut it up. To manufacture parsly, that same process if followed. After it is grown it has to be dried and put in a bottle, labeled, packaged, shipped, stocked, resold, and then eaten. A much longer process for some parsly.

PERSONAL REFLECTION!

I'm in the beginning stages of a food strike! I am starting to question everything that I eat but I still haven't actually changed my eating habits that much. 

The biggest problem in this food system that I know of is that nobody actually knows where their food comes from. They just see it appear in front of them and consume it. It makes it easy for anything to happen to your food along the way- as long as it looks good it's edible. 

I took a lot from Food inc. It really only needed a few seconds to make you think for days. Every time you pick up a piece of meat to eat you think, even for a split second, where that meat came from and you hesitate. You still eat it though. You went through the trouble of going to the store, buying it, preparing it for your family, and lifting it to your mouth, you're not about to turn around on all that work just because of a short video you saw. 

My role in the food system has changed. Instead of a consumer, I feel more like a mini producer. I make a few of my meals out of whole ingredients instead of microwave packages, but I still microwave almost everything 

Putting together the project was a group effort and I think because there was successful collaboration and idea support our final product was clear and comprehensive. That being said, we very few problems in our attempt to convey the risks, factors, and general facts of teen pregnancy. Group participation, teacher approval, and a clear message were all things that were needed to be coalesced, and in the end we created a solid project.

I had wanted to use some form of social media to present a good portion of the project. I felt, in today's teenage mind, the use of social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram has become the fundamental means of communication between teens. My group and I chose Twitter, because of the many similar pages on teen pregnancy. Facebook would have been harder to use because a page's post is only properly represented if that person has a myriad of friends. Similarly, for a person on Twitter to be heard, that tweeter needs to have a large amount of followers, but the level of prevalence of a Twitter post was found to be much higher than that of Facebook.

Once our Twitter was customized and we had a good number of tweets, we moved on the next main part of the meat of the project. My group had the great idea of putting up posters with quick facts and catchy slogans to catch a reader's eye. We put up the posters which are only about 2 square feet, in the stairwells and hallways, because we thought we could have them be seen by the most people. On all of the posters, my group included a QR code linked directly to a teen pregnancy website. This website was full of reasons why it is best to wait until marriage to have sex. We felt it was good to choose the website because it provided factual information as well as humorous descriptions of what might happen to an unwed teen who has sex. 

Lastly, we wanted to figure out a way of calculating how well our project was received to the public. We thought about ways to count the number of visitors on the QR code linked website, or just record the number of followers we have on twitter. I feel the best way we examined how well our project was received was our in-class presentation. The class had questions, which to me, is a result of curiosity of the topic, which was our goal. 

As a whole my group members Helen, Mike, Kieara, and Shannon, all created a project that presented what teen pregnancy can do. When we took initiative to give each other jobs and make sure everyone stays on task, our objective was always in sight and we finished in a timely fashion. I would definitely do this project again with the same group. 

            Throughout the year our studies have reached far beyond my prior general understandings of human life. Not in a sense of survival requirements but how a person lives. What stood out to me this year was an acute awareness of how humans are separated. There is a general division between people. It is not a set of social classes but almost an understood segregation among human beings. This separation, to me, is symbolized as the Somebodies and the Nobodies.

            I didn’t know how society worked, much less how society works in other countries at the beginning of this year. It was different watching these movies and reading these books, but I saw that they all played around the topic of the Somebodies and the Nobodies, the oppressors and the oppressed. What could this mean? My class read the poem “The Nobodies,” by Edwardo Galeano. Our history teacher, Mr. Block, told us to analyze the poem in groups. I understood what this poem was about; there are poor people and rich people. I thought how rich people would be happier, they would be able to do more with their money, while the poor people could not, naturally. The nobodies “don’t have culture but folklore, who don’t create cart buy folklore, who don’t have religions but superstitions,” is what I learned from Galeano’s poem. The idea that there is a type of person that is understood by the world as lesser is both appalling and interesting, although, maybe there was another side.

            In the same history class everyone made a poem opposing Edwardo Galeano’s “The Nobodies,” we created “The Somebodies.” In my poem I tried to present the same idea as the original poem but with a different view. “Nobodies hope for resolve and justice, when Somebodies steal their happiness for a quick charge, Nobodies see a chance for happiness but can’t win the race to it on foot when the Somebodies hold them both in their palms. The Somebodies don’t work but overseer.” The point is we have two sides in this world, people with power, money, and lives. Than there are the lessers, actually the majority of this world, that are push aside everyday. This law affiliates with two other general understandings having to do with collaboration and leadership. I will explain how both played an important role in this year of Mr. Block’s class.

           I said before how the lesser people are pushed aside and abide to the rules forced upon them by the rich. This isn’t always true. Collaborating means working together and creating a highly skilled body of not as skilled souls. It’s easier to accomplish what you want when you work together. I learned that when we studied the French Revolution. At this time the royal family had oppressed thousands of poverty stricken peasants for generations. They began to group together after a hefty bread tax was added to the legion of unfair laws and penalties of the land. I understood that these people needed a little bit more help to achieve equality. The peasant protests grew larger, there was more violence and they started to accomplish a little more with each person added.

           Collaboration works the same in the classroom on a small scale too. There are the students (peasants) and the awful tyrant ruler (teacher.) Not to say any teacher is an awful tyrant ruler, but the ruler of the classroom designs the assignments, and gives out homework to be completed under penalty, like the taxes of the peasants. It seems students can slave over their homework or split the work between other students to make the job easier.

           This is exactly what the peasants did. To make the job at hand easier they combined their skills, slowly took control of the king’s resources including a large prison/gun deposit, and stormed the castle. If the teacher really was a crazy evil titan this action might have to be carried out, but most of the time they provide and teach. Through the course of this year if there was anything I’ve learned it would be: Collaboration does not change the quality of the learning but creates an easier way to solve problems.

           I really enjoyed Mr. Block’s class. The year has been filled with a plethora of ideas that my class and I have absorbed and can now use. One thing for sure is nothing we learn is one sided in Mr. Block’s class. There is always a larger of second meaning. By realizing these new meanings, we understand better and can pass the knowledge down.

            One idea in particular stood out to me. I understood that there are followers. They are people who understand, listen, and learn. Than there are the leaders. These are the people who create dangerously and live by the rules of one of my class’s most familiar writers, Edwidge Danticat.

            One way that leaders inspire is to “Create dangerously, for people who read dangerously. ... Writing, knowing in part that no matter how trivial your words may seem, someday, somewhere, someone may risk his or her life to read them.” (Danticat, Create Dangerously page #10) That is a leader’s role. They inspire, and intern people follow. In English class this year I learned how to lead.

            My favorite example of leading is within the Leah Stein Dance Company project. A group of highly skilled modern dancers attempted to teach my class these eccentric movements that nobody wanted to be a part of. We were assigned 4 group mates to practice our very own piece. This piece would incorporate some basic knowledge of these dance moves like leaning, bouncing, natural sounds, and fast/slow movement. This was the most ridiculous project I’ve ever done. I still wanted a good grade however, so I convinced my group mates to give it a try, much to their chagrin.

            We found a fantastic spot to practice and perform. I urged them to keep trying even if they wanted to stop. I wanted my group to realize that it’s not about how strange this project was or how important the grade is but to create something that goes against the norms that makes you proud to have been a part of. That is exactly what my group and I did. We created dangerously. I felt as if I had lead many of the smaller actions of my group members, but in actuality they had led themselves. With the help of the Leah Stein Dance Company we created something powerful that hopefully inspires others to do the same. If there anything I have learned from this class it would be: Leaders inspire, create, and set an example. After this year I felt I have been bred to lead and will use this knowledge over and over again.

 Somebodies Poem

 Poetry Wiki Space

Leah Stein Dance Company

French Revolution Reflection

english history 10^th grade block

Yo amo los animals y niños, y jugeos divertidos.

Yo soy un maestro, yo tengo cinco años de experiencia, y yo hablo español.

Los niños duermen a ocho.

Los niños salvan conmigo.

Yo trabajo bien con niños intelligentes.

No, yo trabajaré solo.

En cinco años yo trabajaré en Microsoft.

Yo trabajaré duro y largo cada dia.

Si, yo amaré a.

Yo conservaré la reglas de compania.

https://sites.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/filadelfiasla/hom

I liked the project a lot and I was able to express how I feel about this topic well.  For this project I needed to bring up an issue relating to language identity. Many people had different ideas, because this subject could be divided into many groups. I had an easy time describing myself and making descriptive scenes. I had a tough time picking what language identity topic I would describe. I learned a lot obviously that language effects us but language really does effect us in ways we don't know sometimes.

            “Strike Three, yourrrrrrrr out!” “GOOOALLLLL!” “AI-YAH!” If you’re a sports aficionado you should now what these are. The sting of a third strike in an important game, the glory of the game-winning goal, the smash of a perfectly executed round house kick. To do any of these means hard work, dedication, discipline and heart. When I started sports I’ve tried to carve these principals into my day-to-day life.   

When I was about six I started baseball, for Mt. Airy in Philadelphia. Obviously it didn’t matter if you were skilled or not it was solely to have fun and make new friends. It was easy too. No one cared if you could throw the ball from second to first. Or stop a slow grounder. If you had peanut butter and jelly for lunch you had friends.

I remember my first game; it was my birthday and didn’t really feel like being there. Armed with a stiff plastic glove, and narrow a blue Warrior metal bat I started to feel a little more at home. 9^th to bat, after the all the kids who could make a pop fly catch, I grasped the thin electric taped handle of my bat, and walked into the batters box. We had gone over what side you go to at practice a few times, I didn’t remember the first time. I tapped the bat to the plate, aimed at the ball sitting atop the tee and swung. I was never sure if I actually made contact with the ball or the hard plastic tee. But I saw the ball on the ground and I ran. I was going to make it to first base. I tripped and my arms fell forward. I wrapped my arms around the bag. “SAFE,” yelled the umpire. I was hooked. I knew, from then on baseball was a part of me, an idea that has the ability to make anyone feel safe and befriended. I was now part of the gigantic body of baseball fans that are now my semi-distant family.

“Ai-yah.” Most people would think is just a random yelp or something you’d hear down in the subway howled by the local crazy person. But I will explain how it is more then that.

The word “Ai-yah,” or Kia comes from all types of karate, martial arts, and self-defense. It is used in attempt to scare the opponent when yelled in part with an attack. Some teachers enforce this tradition ritualistically, occasionally punishing the student for failing to yell louder. These simple words can easily affect the outcome of ones life.

I still remember getting my black belt and always try to cherish that moment. I was 13 and had been studying karate for 5 years. My teacher Sensei Mike had been gruelingly training me for a while and it was finally the black belt extravaganza. This event is where, after the initial test where you perform techniques and katas is preformed, you receive your black belt.

We were all lined up, my brother and I. At the front line of the karate mat, we were waiting for our belts. The instructor announces our name and we freeze. This moment would change our lives forever. A heavy man, Sensei Mike dented the mat with every step towards me. Carrying our black belts sewed with golden lettering, inside a thin plastic bag. He told us to take off our old belts, and lay them on the floor. I was reluctant to do so, after being told the years before to never let my belt touch the ground. He gently smacked the belt into my hand. I undressed the belt from the plastic covering and began to tie it. It took me a little long to finish the knot but I defiantly didn’t care. I had gotten my black belt. For me it meant authority, the power to tell people right from wrong, and lead them in the right direction towards success and responsibility. It meant more then just a differently colored belt. It shows who I am and what I had to work for to achieve this title.

Soccer has been around for a long time and through the ages, the people who play it are almost always attached for life. Maybe it’s the fun or the friendship but for me it will always be the glory.

I love that feeling of a great kick. Perfectly connecting with the bounciest part of the soccer ball. The crowd, or the few parents, hushes as the ball sails across the field into the net. The goalie gets up dusts themselves off and, in defeat, walks back to the sidelines. I strive for this feeling, an injection of pure glory.

I started playing soccer when I was about seven, my mom asked me if I wanted to be on my best friends team, the Revolution. Of course I said yes, this was going to be so fun. My friend’s dad was the coach, and he started me at defense. Trying hard to not let the other team get past usually went in vain. At practice we would constantly go over how to pass the ball, kick it far, or juke it by someone. Although, we never went over how to defend against someone else skillfully dribbling the ball around us. I really needed to learn how to play better. I bet a few years would help.

Now I was ten and joined my school team. Again I started for defense but this time I knew what I was doing. Almost every time an offender came down the field I stole the ball and passed it back up the sideline. I love to make new friends, achieve the glory of a goal and express my self through sports.

When you absorb these principles into your life you accept a new way of thinking. It’s hard to stray away from these binding rules. Also now I know that almost everyone who learns a sport to learn and have a new outlook on how they live their life, are changed forever for the better.

Now I am 15 I bat fourth in my baseball lineup, start forward for soccer, and am going for my 1^st degree black belt in October. I have gone a long way since I began doing sports. After all the years I have been changed physically and my outlook on the world. Now I feel everything is achievable with only a solid good effort, an effort that shows what I am capable of and what really makes me, me.

MONOLOUGE 1

( I am writing on a small piece of paper speaking what I am writing.) (Left arm is holding paper does not move throughout monologue.) Jack! Watch out!” The last words I heard before the ground crumbled from under me. It gave way with no resistance at all. I plunged weightless into a dark hole. My hands scraped against the wall of the cave as I fell. I could feel myself tumbling down and incline fast. The light above me became smaller and smaller. I could here the yells of my friends become fainter. Rocks continued to drive themselves into the back of my head.(switch to other side of business card) I tried to extend my arm to slow down my fall, up to my shoulder was quickly caught in a deep rock formation. I heard a loud crack as my arm bent against my elbow.(Cringe slightly) It became limp.( Arm is still at side not moving) The excruciating pain pumped me with adrenaline, and I pulled on my arm. I could barely remove it from the hole. How would I get out?

(take out new business card)

Journal entry #2

I tried to make a makeshift splint out of an old Forbes magazine I had in my back pocket. I had to tie my belt to it, hard. My bones moved around as the cast slipped and belt broke. A red-hot spike wedged itself into my arm with every clench of my hand.  And every time I did that my grip tightened. So far I have been able to drink from a slow refilling puddle. It has been pretty bad. (Look to right as if staring at mud puddle) I have no idea if this pipeline will be worth it. 900,000 barrels of oil a day sounds pretty nice, but if there’s a leak all hell would break loose. Maybe that would happen I don’t know. But just before I fell into this hole I worked with the steel to build the pipe. It’s weak stuff, brittle and bendy. They say it would be like the BP oil spill but on land, if it did leak. Also I hear it’s going over this real important fresh water source for like two million people. Even so, I guess I need this to be built. I need money and a job hasn’t been the easiest thing to get recently. I watched the news and they said that around 4000 jobs would be created just to build the pipeline. I need that now. I don’t know if anyone would find these last notes but I just wish they know how I’m going to end.

            Journal entry #3

(Pretending to right on a business card) I’m down to my last business card to right on. And my pen dots each letter with its remaining ink.(Shake pen as if you need more ink.) I was lying there using a boulder on my lower back to boost my posture; maybe it would make me more comfortable. They told us that this would help America. Raising the economy, and all that. Only a simple pipe, traveling from Canada to Texas to make this dream come true. “yea right,” I thought, “Only!” Only doesn’t fix my arm or help me out of this cave. Only won’t make the lives of countless Americans livable and fulfilling, just because they got more oil. I never thought like this. But now I think I see how important it really is.

MONOLOUGE 2

( Reading his thoughts aloud)

“What do you think I’m doing? Where’s my suit, is it ironed? Wait in the car!” I looked in the mirror. My suit, not ironed, was wrinkled and blue. (Gingerly touching the suit trying to manually straighten the bends.) My suave slick hair became streamlined with every comb stroke. (slowly combing hair) My black and striped suit matched it.

I needed this win. How couldn’t I get it? I’m sure everyone is “ok” with a few more billion dollars floating around. (Chuckle)  One would put me ahead. I know how much I need this, how much America needed this. Common all it takes is a narrow pipeline from Canada to Texas, quick and easy. No harm done. I laughed (chuckle some) at my sure to work plan, while knotting my tie. (Knot tie) I picked up my jacket slung it over my shoulder and made my way out the door. (My smile drooped) with the sight of my wife. An early fight scarred this evening. I tried to forget about it.

(I poured a sip of celebratory wine, loosened my tie and kicked off my shoes.) I took control from my legs and they placed me on the bed. Blood gushed to my feet, hurting them more. (Squeeze and hold feet, as if in pain) I had won. They accepted the pipeline; with a 64% approval I was all-powerful.

Being the general manager of soon to be the biggest and most important company in the world made me think. Was it all worth it? Did America need more oil, supplies, and money? 900,000 barrels a day would be great! What am I thinking of course we needed it? All it is, is just a practical incision here or over a unused lake there. Now were talking! I was on my way. On my way to becoming the most powerful man in the world!

MONLOUGE 3

(Bent over somewhat crazy looking, very angry) (Man is talking to himself)

“Practical I’ll show them practical.” (Rubbing hand together as if plotting) “I’ll just go there now and tie myself to a tree. That’ll show ‘em. Of course it is dangerous, but what choice did I have?” (Has a sadder look now, not hunched over anymore) “If the only thing in my way was that dreadful Politian with his greased hair and posture, then I was gonna do it. (Angered face returns) I was going to stop the Tar sands pipeline by myself. I don’t need any help I never have.” (starts to smile) “Honey, where are those chains I bought last week?”

(Wife answers back, that she has no idea.) (Man becomes furious wheezing and yelling.) (Speaking to himself again.) “After all I’ve done for her, after all we’ve been through, she can’t keep an eye on my chains! It’s ok ill go alone, she doesn’t deserve me!”

(In Canada where the pipeline will begin.)

(Construction worker is trying to get crazy man down from the tree. Crazy man is responding to construction worker.) “ Don’t you think I know it will create jobs? Yes, thousands! But protecting the environment is vastly more important. They built a pipeline just like this and said it would only leak one time in the next seven, already it has leaked over 12 times! I know that your just a construction worker but you have to understand how important this really is. I don’t care if your doing your job I’m not leaving this spot!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eiB56Hrjio

This project was to draw the entire art room from a one-point perspective. We started by drawing an X. The X covers the entire paper traveling from the top left corner to the bottom right, and the top right to the bottom left. Drawing this X helped us find the center of the paper which would later become the vanishing point.The vanishing point is the appearance of a point on the horizon at which parallel lines converge. The X's "legs" are orthogonal as they form right angles with each other. We then drew a horizontal line traveling from the left side of the paper to the right in a straight line passing through the vanishing point. This forms the "worms view" on the bottom side of the horizontal, and the "bird's view" on the top of the horizontal. This was hard to learn at first because each line had to be perfect and parallel to others. It was easy to learn how to make the ceiling. All we had to do was to make rows of boxes that get smaller and smaller. 

I think that Alisha's project followed the rules and requirements very well.
She was able to color and complete the project. This shows that she was extremely diligent with her work, and was one of the best. She was also able to draw just about everything in the room well. She showed the relationship of the room with the vanishing point. The horizontal line defiantly showed the two different views very well. This is why I think she followed this project, and completed it well.  Green perspective Hull Schwartz

In my old slide I was more focused on the details of myself. But in my new slide I learned how to use different slide methods to make my slide more interesting. For example I used color contrast and dominance. The purple "YEA" Contrast the red and green. And the soccer ball contrast the black background. These rules also made my slide more simple and readable.