June 7, 2013

For my capstone project I designed and built the Science Leadership Academy mascot costume, the rocket. I decided to do this project because I felt this was something the school could use at sporting events, fund-raising events and even just use it to boost school spirit. I feel that all the SLA core values are represented within the project. From the moment it was decided that this would be my project all the way until now, the core values have been considered and returned to for guidance. 

This particular project definitely took a lot more planning then I had initially thought. The idea is simple enough, make a costume but the more planning that occurred, the more questions sprang up to delay the construction. But first things first, I had to find someone who knew what they were doing. Extremely luckily for me, a family friend owns a costume and display company, Character Translations Inc., where I was able to work under careful direction. After ensuring I would be able to work here, the fun began. 

The scale model phase took approximately 6 weeks. This included, choosing the main material, deciding on a basic structure and sketching and building models. After being sure of the desired structure and material, I began assembling the pieces. This involved making paper outlines of each type of piece so that they would all be identical. These outlines would then be traced onto sixty gauge plastic which would then be cut out. The next phase was assembly. Almost all the pieces on the rocket are riveted together, only excluding the inner harness, which was screwed in after riveting. After the rocket was in order, I began making the flames and fins. The flames are different sized materials that are all cut and sewn to an elastic band which is Velcro-ed to the inner bottom rim. The fins are made of hard foam that was cut, shaped, sanded, and painted. After drying, they were glued on to the bottom. At this point all major construction sections were done, so I moved onto to details. All of the plastic on the rocket was originally silver but using spray paint, I was able to add the some school colors. Before painting, sections of the rocket had to be very securely masked off to cover silver sections and fins. Once the paint had dried, all that was left to do was add the decals. Simple brown glue was used to place the “S L A” and American flags on each side. This entire process spanned over 5 months. 

The main problems I faced when trying to complete this capstone were time and knowledge. Finding time to come to the work shop in Norristown was difficult. I often used Wednesday afternoons and national holidays for work time on the project. Of course, things come up and I was not always able to make it to the work shop but overall, I feel I had the perfect amount of time to complete the project. My lack of knowledge proved to make this project more testing. I had no idea the amount of work I was signing on for when I chose this project. I knew very little about costume design/production and at times, it showed in my work. Without the help of employees at Character Translation Inc., this rocket would not exist. They taught me as we went along and I learned a great deal from working with them. In the end, my original obstacles became some of my favorites parts of this project. 

I am most proud of this project because it is something I can give back to the school that has given so much to me. Of course, I am happy with the way it turned out and the experience I gained but I am more pleased to be able do something that will maybe have a positive affect on the school. I learned a lot about design and construction but probably one of the more important things I learned was how to work with people in a professional atmosphere. The things I learned from the project and also the things I have learned from attending SLA for four years, are things that I will use and cherish for the rest of my life. Thank you. 

Group Members:

Chris Fichera

Chelsea Smith

Dayona Mcneil

Sophia Henninger

Group Members:

Chris Fichera

Chelsea Smith

Dayona Mcneil

Sophia Henninger

Discussion:

Today we discussed chapter nine and ten. This discussion was more about what we did and did not understand from the book. We tried to talk out the scenarios used to explain the concepts within the book. 

Chris Fichera

Chelsea Smith

Dayona Mcneil

Sophia Henninger

Discussion:

Today, we discussed chapter seven, eight. We talked about how the connections made between studies and what they're trying to prove did not make sense. We agreed on the fact that most studies do not depict an accurate picture of the people involved. 

The discussion itself was more like an actual conversation then trying to hit specific points. The only time we brought specific questions in were when we had already set up a situation from the book. 

Audio of poem is above.

Text is below.

For the digital story project, I wanted to take the opportunity to write something that I’ve been meaning to for a long time. In grade school we had an assignment to write a poem. What I ended up writing was dark and strange, much unlike what my other classmates had written. Though most of the details of the piece have been lost in the past few years, I can still remember being extremely proud of what I had written. So for this project, I’m going to try and recreate the poem from the few details I do remember. 

The One Beneath the Window

I hear you outside,

You outside my window,

Silly thing.

I hear you shuffle your feet,

Back and forth under my pane.

I hear your words,

Trying to slip between the cracks

And pry open the window.

Your are words calm

And steady.

You have much patience,

But you’ve been here before,

Every morn leaving,

Weary and hollow.

Your words grow louder

With my every denial.

Your pleading flattery falters a little more

With every nay from my mouth.

The veil of kindness

Is dissolved from your mind

By the acidic rage now overcoming it.

Once words so sweet

With only a hint of desire,

Used to trickle through

The faults of my pane.

Now they bombard the window

Giving up

On lulling the lock

Into submission

And gunning straight for me.

You thought it best to change my mind once,

But your patience has worn away, 

Your manners out of commission.

An animal hunger envelopes

Any humanity left in your bones.

The window still stands

Between you and I.

It’s once minor splits,

Now canyons, turning the world

Behind it into a reflection

In a muddled lake. 

One wisp of a breeze

And I will no longer have a choice.

Canyons will erupt and

You will devour me.

I only have one choice left,

Blow a kiss

And welcome you in.

Dayona Mcneil

Chelsea Smith

Chris Fichera

Sophia Henninger

Discussion:

Since this was our first podcast we wanted to outline statistics itself and what it means to us. We just introduced ourselves and then everyone individually explained their definition of statistics and what it meant to us. Since this podcast had very little to do with the book itself, there was not much to disagree about. 

Vegetable oil spray
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large egg whites
5 cups (5 ounces) Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereal, finely crushed
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of all visible fat, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 2/3 cups water
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup apricot jam
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons canola oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, top with wire rack, and spray rack with oil spray. Spread flour into shallow dish. Whisk egg whites until foamy in second shallow dish. Spread Corn Flakes crumbs into third shallow dish. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Working in batches, dredge chicken in flour, dip in egg whites, then coat with Corn Flakes, pressing gently to adhere; lay on prepared wire rack.

2. Spray chicken with oil spray. Bake until chicken registers 160 degrees and coating is brown and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk water, soy sauce, apricot jam, hoisin, cornstarch, and vinegar together in bowl. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in soy sauce mixture, bring to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.

4. When chicken is cooked, return sauce to simmer over medium-low heat. Add cooked chicken and toss to coat. Serve.

Recipe Analysis

•Approximately what percent of the meal is processed vs. whole food?

all-purpose flour - processed

vegetable oil spray - processed

egg whites - whole

cornflakes - processed

chicken - whole

water - whole

soy sauce - processed

apricot jam - processed

cornstarch - processed

balsamic vinegar - processed

canola oil - processed

garlic - whole

ginger - whole

red pepper flakes - processed

broccoli - whole

Processed - 9/15 ingredients 

Whole - 6/15 ingredients 

About 60% of this meal is processed.

Health/nutrition:

Approximate calories per serving: 490

" carbohydrates per serving: 62g

" fat per serving: 8g

" saturated fat per serving: 1.5g

" protein per serving: 44g

This meal is high in protein in comparison to it's commercially produced counterpart. This protein in the body will be broken down into amino acids and used in necessary chemical reactions within the body. 

The majority of the fat in this meal is good fat, which will be processed by the body and turned into acids. These acids will travel through the blood stream and be collected by cells that need to replenish their energy. 

This meal, compared to the meal available for $11.99 at your local chances food store, has fewer carbs than this homemade alternative. These carbs will be used for energy but if they're not used immediately they will be converted into glucose. That, in turn, will be stored in fat cells. 

If one were to eat this everyday, I would imagine they would have some vitamin deficiencies because every vitamin and mineral needed in day to day life is not present in this meal. 

Environmental:

I believe many of the ingredients were manufactured in the US, but there is still a considerable amount of traveling to food had to do to get from it's manufacturer to my local supermarket. Collectively, I'd estimate the total miles all the food had traveled would be about 5000 miles. With the cost of fuel today, the total money used to get it here is probably quite considerable. Not to mention the toll the fuel emissions most have had on the environment. Some of the cheapest ways to ship any cargo are also the most detrimental to the earth. 

Political/economic:

Purchasing all the ingredients for this meal coasted about $35, but to get the price per serving, it has to be divided by by 12. Which means that the cost per plate of food was approximately $3. This is significantly cheaper than going to a chinese restaurant where General Tso's chicken would cost about $12. 

There were profits made at every step of the preparation of this meal. Money was made by the people selling ingredients, shipping ingredients, making the products, shipping the products, and then down to the consumer, who buys the final product. The people made the most money out of this process were the people who own portions of the monopolizing corporations. In my meal this would be companies like Perdue, General Mills, and Nabisco. 

Social:

The chicken in my meal came from the Perdue Corporation. This means that it started at their farms, went to their processing plant, was shipped to my local super market, Super Fresh, and then I bought it. Since it's illegal to have chickens within city limits, I would never be able to personally raise a chicken to cook. 

Broccoli was another major part of my meal. Most broccoli production happens in China. Assuming that is where mine originated, that means that my broccoli was produced on a farm in china, it is then harvested, and shipped to the US. Where is was once and again shipped to my local market. To grow, broccoli needs a cool weather climate, which would make it possible to grow during certain seasons in Philadelphia. It takes about 100 days to grow and 200 seeds costs about $4. This packet would produce more than one head of broccoli and considering the price of broccoli at the market, I would save a lot of money in the long run. 

This unit has taught me a lot about food and how we, both as individuals and as a species, interact with it. I've learned that obesity and type 2 diabetes have only become epidemics in the past few decades. This is because of the widespread availability of processed food as opposed to whole food products. This is the probably the biggest issue with food in western society. Food that has been highly processed and contains many refines carbohydrates are the ones that are heavily advertised and are the cheapest and most available. 

Personally, before this unit I believed I ate mostly healthy and even after learning from this unit, I've retained this stance. One thing I could definitely improve upon is the attention I pay to the actual ingredients in my food. It was mentioned that foods with more than 5 ingredient are to be avoided and I've definitely disregarded this rule on a daily basis. In the future, I hope to be more aware of it and improve my health. Making these changes would hopefully resolve some little issues I tend to have like lethargy and the urge to constantly shovel doritos into my mouth. If I take care to learn about what I'm eating before I actually do it, it will most likely impact my health in a positive way. 

Sophia Henninger

Sexuality & Society

For the second quarter project, we had to demonstrate a theme of the Scarlet Letter creatively. I chose to do this by using color symbolism. My project consists of five drawings, each is an eye that the irises of are colored to represent certain aspects of the person’s personality and condition. Each eye is meant to be a different person; each being viewed differently in society. I wanted to show how people are not only what the majority labels them as. All people have a side that is not known by the public and aspects of themselves that not everyone can see.

Actually creating the project was a good experience because it was very independent. I enjoyed being able to do almost anything I wanted. My process involved more brainstorming then I had initially anticipated. So much so, that I went through about 4 different mostly formed ideas before deciding on the eye series. I chose to do this because I have always loved drawing eyes and when I realized how well it would fit into the project, it was simply settled. When beginning to sketch each eye, I tried to build a character in my head that may not be completely understood by others. After I had drawn out the basic shape of each eye, I tried to imagine their personalities so I could color their eyes appropriately. Every color has a certain meaning behind it and I attempted to use that, along with other physical characteristics of the eyes, to form a complete story for each person. 

Overall, I am very proud of the ending result even though I do think it could be improved upon in a few ways. I think that the drawings alone are too simple. Without the explanations, they are only cute little doodles. If I were to do this project again, I would change a few things. I would have made the eyes themselves larger. It was difficult to fit all the colors I wanted in some of the irises. If I had made them larger it would have been much easier to get a point across. I also would have stuck to one medium. For most of the project I used pencil, graphite and colored, but in a few pieces marker was used and it only makes the drawings look sloppy, in my opinion. But I am truly proud of the detail I was able to achieve on these pieces despite the size. I think with the explanations it is very easy to picture these people. At the end of the project, I am happy with my result and look forward to more opportunities to use creativity in class. 

This eye is meant to show a man who is visibly agitated, shown by the exaggerated blood vessels.

  Red - intensity/passion

  Pink - love

  Beige - shame/sadness

Men are sometimes depicted as emotionless beings, but this eye is meant to show that this man is actually suffering from his struggle to express love.

“Living Child”

This eye is meant to belong to a child who is in every way, a free spirit. The large eye and freckles show youth.

  Green - life

  Light Green - liveliness

  Yellow - energy

  Purple - independence

Sometimes children can viewed as naive and simple-minded but there is a certain understanding that comes with their youth.

This eye depicts a woman crying, shown by the tear and irritated blood vessels. 

  Brown - stability/endurance

  Bright Red - anger/power

  Navy Blue - strength

In society women are often shown as vulnerable and emotional. While this woman is externally expressing feelings, it is hidden that within her she feels powerful. 

“Old Secrets”

This eye is meant to belong to an older person. The heavy wrinkles both above and below the eye show this.

  Lavender - nostalgia

  Beige - shame/sadness

  Burgundy - maturity

  Gray - timeless

Older people are often shown as wise and all-knowing. But as with all people, they have regrets and their perception of the world has changed because of them. 

“Her Own World”

This eye is meant to be the eye of someone who is on drugs. The dilated pupil and exaggerated veins are meant to show their intoxication.

  Fuchsia - excitement

  Orange - vibrance

  Light Green - liveliness

  Red - intensity

Though many people look down on others that use drugs, users often say they feel enlightened when under the influence. 

A sugar skull is a classic decoration for the Mexican holiday, la dia de la muerta, which is basically halloween. Traditionally, it is made out of sugar that has been formed into a skull shape and is decorated in a colorful and intricate pattern. 

While sketching on my own, my style tends to lean towards creepy. So when designing what to make my skull look like, I wanted to make it disturbing while realistic. 

The process of making the mask was not too complicated but it was certainly a new experience for me, starting with the casting of the mask. We had to make mold of our own faces using plaster sheets. After making the molds, we had to shape them by rounding off or cutting edges. In my own design, i decided it was not odd enough to begin with, so I attempted to cut out eyes, to give it another level. But then I continued with painting the mask, starting with a what base coat and then adding any and all details. Finishing touches of the mask included removing the strings hanging off of the edges and fixing any smudged paint. In the end, I feel I reached my goal and am very proud of the product. 

Dream Presentation Notes

Slide 1:

Title

Slide 2:

Ask Class Questions,

Has anyone in this room ever dreamed?

What do you think is happening when you are dreaming?

Have you ever woken up and not remembered your dream?

Slide 3:

Define dreams and basic science

As I'm sure you know, people dream while they're sleeping. But the kind of dream you have depends on what stage of sleep you are in. There are 4 sleep stages, divided into two categories, Rapid Eye Movement and Non-rapid Eye Movement. 

NREM has three sub divisions, Stage N1, Stage N2, and Stage N3. Stage N1 is the lightest stage and occurs when you are just barely unconscious. This is when you may twitch and have dream-like hallucinations. In Stage N2 all conscious of the external world vanishes. In many adults this stage takes up a majority of sleeping time. Stage N3 is when sleep becomes deep and harder to interrupt. Though dreams sometimes occur in these stages, dreams from the REM stage are most likely to be remembered. 

REM sleep accounts for approximately 25% of sleeping time. In this stage, sleep paralysis occurs. Sleep paralysis is needed in this stage because this is when the vivid and memorable dreams occur. 

In one study it was shown that different types of dreams were shown in different sleep stages. People were monitored while sleeping and woken up in different  stages of sleep. When people were woken up from Stage N2 or 3 and given a paper that required them to fill in blanks in sentences, people tended to write words with a positive connotation. When people were awoken in the middle of REM, the words they wrote had a negative connotation. 

Slide 4:

Sleep Paralysis

In REM sleep, you have the most vivd dreams, and to protect your body, your brain causes you to go into a state of paralysis. This natural occurrence only becomes a problem when you wake up while your body is still paralyzed. Sleep paralysis can also be to blame for "alien abductions" due to an acute sense of danger and hallucinations that occur in sleep paralysis. 

Sleep Walking

Sleep walking often occurs during slow wave sleep (stage N3 or N4). Though while sleep walking your eyes are open, you are completely unconscious. Usually sleep walking does not cause any major problems but it can be quite dangerous. People sleepwalking have been known to cook, drive, violent behavior, and in the more extreme cases, homicide. 

Nightmares

Nightmares, in a very basic sense are just dreams with a negative tone. They are dreams that cause fear and sometimes cause people to wake violently. Nightmares sometimes occur due to physical problem, such as an uncomfortable sleeping position, having a fever, or even stress and anxiety.

Lucid Dreaming

Lucid dreams are dream in which the person known they're dreaming but does not wake up. Though sometime people just find themselves in lucid dreams with no preparation, there are many techniques to force a lucid dream. People try to have lucid dreams because it allows the dreamer to do anything they want. It is not quite understood why all dreams are not lucid. 

Slide 5:

Cultural Significance

Common Dreams

There are many dreams that thousands of people have claimed to have, such as teeth falling out, being naked, being chased, fling dreams, falling dreams, and dreams where you are taking a test. 

Dream Interpretation

Though these are not hard facts but for centuries many cultures have used to dreams to forecast the future or give insight about something going on in the person's life currently. Teeth dreams are often associated with anxiety about one's physical appearance. Being spontaneously naked in public while dreaming has been known to mean that you feel vulnerable, shameful, or that you are hiding something that you fear being revealed. There are millions of experiences and objects that can be present in a dream and they can all be interpretted differently. 

. "Sleep Science." Sleep Science. N.p., n.d. Web. Jun 2012. <http://sleep.science.mma.edu.ph/>.

. "Stages of Sleep." WebMD. N.p., n.d. Web. Jun 2012. <http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/sleep-101>.

. "Content Analysis Explained." Dreamsearch. N.p., n.d. Web. Jun 2012. <http://www2.ucsc.edu/dreams/Info/content_analysis.html>.

For the fourth quarter benchmark for American History we had to choose a Point of Divergence(POD) in America and envision how the US would be different today due to this change. For my POD I chose to make Ulysses S. Grant die in the Mexican American War. This would eventually cause the Union to lose the Civil War because he could not be a leader in the war. Many changes occurred from this loss by the US; the Confederate states seceded, the United States completely cut itself from the outside world, offered no help in WWII, the axis powers won WWII, Germany gained control of all of Europe and North America, The US and CSA rebelled against the German power, and only became the US again in 2007. The United States in 2012 is a country rebuilding itself, reestablishing it's government and global reputation. It consists of 18 states and is not known for luxury. It is only similar to the real 2012 in that the citizens are free people. 

This project showed how important one event can be in history. The smallest change can affect so much. One man's death, in my scenario, changed an entire world's history. There were also small decisions that I envisioned for the project that I could have changed, and then a completely new America could have been created. Every decision made by someone could effect everyone else on the planet and no one has any idea what will happen. This project taught me a lot about why it's important to make the right decisions because it could affect everyone, everywhere. 

The project, in it's entirety, I am very happy with. The project guidelines allowed us to be very created and do almost anything we wanted with American history. I love the timeline I created in my project. I created a very different and dramatic story for America. There are only a few things I would change if given the chance. I would make it look more professional by keeping the design consistent through all on the pages and documents. I also would have added for detail to my historical events. Overall, though, I am very proud of my end product. 

__________________________________________________________________

Pre-Conversation:

•  What will be your topic of conversation be? 

Sports, deportees, in other countries.

•  What are 5 questions related to your conversation goal that you can think of ahead of time to ask your partner?

 - ¿Te gusta deportes?

 - ¿Qué deportes juegas?

 - ¿Qué deportes se puede ver en la televisión?

 - ¿Cuál es tu deporte favorito?

 - ¿Tiene usted un atleta profesional favorito?

•  What are you looking forward to about this conversation? 

It will be interesting to see what sports are popular there versus the US.

•  What are you nervous about? 

Not everyone likes/plays sports so it may be difficult to have a good conversation about it. 

Post-Conversation

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person? 

I spoke to Luiz, 16, from Brazil. I chose to speak to him because he was around my age and I thought the conversation would be easier and simple. 

• What did you learn about them? 

I learned that he likes soccer and basketball. He also told me that people knowing about American football is rare in Brazil. He's only seen one American football game. 

• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal? 

It helped me get a better idea of what life is like for a south American teenager. In many ways it's very similar to my own but there are definitely some differences. 

• What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations? 

I learned about sports in Brazil.

• What specifically do you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again) 

I wish I could have continued the conversation for longer and get more information. 

•  What will be your topic of conversation be? 

La tomitina y San fermines.

•  What are 5 questions related to your conversation goal that you can think of ahead of time to ask your partner?

 - Do you know what La tomitina is?

 - Do you know what San fermines is?

 - Have you ever been to either of them?

 - What kind of people go?

 - What is the atmosphere of the event?

•  What are you looking forward to about this conversation? 

I'm looking forward to learning about these events from a local. It will be interesting because from what I know these are mostly tourists events. 

•  What are you nervous about? 

I'm nervous about finding someone who has attended these events or even knows what they are. 

After:

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person? 

I spoke to Antonio, 19, from Spain. I didn't choose to talk to him. He started a conversation and it worked out. 

• What did you learn about them? 

I learned that he is a student and he knows of these events but has never attended. He wants to go but he can't afford it. 

• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal? 

It helped me because I learned about these events and Antonio also helped me with my grammar a little bit. It helped become a better spanish speaker in general. 

• What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations? 

I learned about la tomitina and san fermines. 

• What specifically do you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again) 

I should make sure I check my grammar before I send a message. I continue to make simple and silly  mistakes. 

•  What will be your topic of conversation be? 

This conversation is about movies.

•  What are 5 questions related to your conversation goal that you can think of ahead of time to ask your partner?

 - Do you like movies?

 - Do you have a favorite actor?

 - What kind of movies do you like?

 - What is playing in theaters right now?

 - Do you have a favorite movie?

•  What are you looking forward to about this conversation? 

I'm excited because everyone has a favorite movie and it will be interesting to hear what these people like. 

•  What are you nervous about? 

I hope I know what movies the person is talking about so I can't think of something normal to say about them. 

Reflection:

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person? 

I spoke to Jacobo from Mexico. He was 26. I didn't choose him but he started talking to me and it worked out. 

• What did you learn about them? 

I learned he likes Harry Potter movies, but he likes the books more. Jacobo's five favorite movies are Amelie, Love Actually, Bridget Jones Diary, Las Listas de Schindler(Schindler's List), Inglorious Bastards. 

• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal? 

I learned that almost every movie we have here is also all over the world. I always thought we had our movies and other countries had theirs and only rarely was a movie shown in more than one country. It just surprised me. 

• What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations? 

He told me about his favorite movies and what was playing in theaters in Mexico. 

• What specifically do you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again) 

At one point I got confused and tried to correct myself but I said "wait" in english by accident. That was a mistake of mine. I just have to be more careful and not immediately reply every time. 

•  What will be your topic of conversation be? 

I wanted to try to have a natural conversation and get to know my conversation partner. 

•  What are 5 questions related to your conversation goal that you can think of ahead of time to ask your partner?

- What do you like to do?

- What do you like to learn about?

- Where are you from?

- What do you want to do when you're older?

- What brought you to sharedtalk?

•  What are you looking forward to about this conversation? 

I think it will be great to get to know someone in a completely different place than me. I want to know exactly how different or similar we are. 

•  What are you nervous about? 

I hope I can keep the conversation moving without using a translator. 

I learned a lot about my partner in this conversation. We had a very good conversation that progressed as one would between two native speakers of any language. I discovered that my partner Rafael(19, Brazil), very much enjoys learning other languages and has a great love for China. He's also part polish and likes learning about astrology. 

What did you learn from them?

Honestly, I didn't gain much from this conversation except morale. Before this I'd had many dud conversations but this was uplifting. I didn't learn much because he chose to write in english, while I wrote in spanish. In the end, it worked out because I could tell if he understood what I was writing by his responses and it was much easier to do in english. 

What did you learn about yourself?

I learned that in trying to be quick and consistent in my responses, I let some spelling and grammar mistakes get through. I was worried about responding quickly, because with other people when I'd take too long trying to make sure everything was correct, they would disconnect. 

What were you surprised about?

I was surprised he knew so many languages. Rafael knew english, spanish, portuguese, and chinese. 

What are you proud of?

I was proud that he seemed to have no trouble understanding what I was writing. He never mentioned any mistakes which made me happy. 

What follow-up questions do you have?

I just would have liked to know specifically where my spelling, grammar, or usage could have improved in our conversation. 

What will you improve on for next time?  How?

I will think about the context of things before I write them so I use the correct tense of words and such. I'll carefully read and take a moment to fully comprehend what I'm reading so I can answer accurately. 

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person?
  I spoke with a man named Sergio and he was a native spanish speaker. This man invited me to private chat and I asked him if I could ask him questions for a class of mine. He was very polite and accepted. 

• What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?
  I learned he was from spain. I asked about what kind of music was popular and what was on the radio. He told me what kind of music he listened to. He said he liked jazz and classical music.  

• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal?
  It helped me understand that is spain, they listen to the same types of music we do, only the artists are speaking spanish.

• What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations?
  I found very good answers to what types of music are popular in spain. I think it was good because he helped me understand that they don't only listen to flamenco or chahca or any other stereotypical spanish music. 

• What specifically do you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again)rc
  I wish I had asked more questions about the culture and not specifically to Sergio. 
  
  
  

a. What went well? 

We found a lot of good information and sources. There were many official reports of what happened at three mile island. We found sources that discussed both the technical aspects like how it happened and reports that we based more on how the accident affected the residents. Overall, finding all the information that would be put into the infographics was the simplest part. 

b. What did not? 

I didn't realize how difficult it would be to create entertaining graphics on the page that would still be informative. When looking at examples you don't think how difficult it would be to recreate that. There are many aspects of creating a good looking infographic that aren't realized until trying to put one together. I think that if we had looked at our image as a whole, we could have created a better end product. 

c. What would you do differently next time? 

I would make sure we had enough infographics. I would try to display information from many different sources showing different people's opinions of the accident. I would have liked to show some of the more technical aspects, like how the accident actually happened and how it affected the surrounding area. Overall though, I am happy with the final product. 

d. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for effective infographics

Describe the Q3BM: 

What was the assignment?  What did your group decide to do and why?

What did you learn from doing this project?  

I learned how often we used ser and estar in everyday conversation. I also learned how to use them properly. 

If you could do your project all over again, what would you do differently/the same?

I would just make sure that the audio quality was better before publishing it, but then again it was mostly just due to technical difficulties. 

• Mi grupo y yo hicimos un PSA sobre...My group and I did a PSA about... cómo los árboles son importantes
• Por crear el PSA, la cosa más importante que aprendí fue...By creating this PSA, the most important thing I learned was... cómo subjuntivos útiles
• Me gusta el PSA de mi group porque... el niños es muy comica
• Si pudiera hacer el proyecto otra vez, yo cambiaría...If I could do the project again, I would change... cómo utilizamos nuestro tiempo para trabajar.

Science Fiction Story

January 13, 2012

English - Earth

Have you ever stood on the edge of a tall building, looked down, and known exactly what you wanted? All the doubt I had in my mind was washed away with one glance at the sidewalk. Of course, I was afraid, my hands trembled within each other but I knew what I had to do. I looked over my shoulder, saw the suited men stumble out of stairway and run towards me. The last time I looked down at the sidewalk it was nothing special. Ants of cars were driving by and specs of people hurried past each other. It was a normal day for them, it started like any other and would end like any other, but I thought that too when I woke up. 

The alarm ripped me from my dreams of golden, hot sand under my feet, a perfectly burning sun over my head, and blue, crashing, waves on my horizon. Without even opening my eyes, my hand swung over to smack the clock until it was quiet and with a groan, I got out of bed. It wasn’t until I sat up that I realized how much I drank the night before. The night hadn’t yet materialized in my mind but I decided not to worry about it. I crept past my roommate’s door, hoping not to wake her up. I didn’t want to disturb her slumber after her night of vicious drinking. After nights like those, it usually became my responsibility to regale her with the events of the evening in excruciating detail but since the details weren’t even forming for me, I did my best to be silent as I made coffee and went out for the day. 

I walked around the city streets, peering into restaurant and boutique windows, searching for any signs of employment opportunities. This had become a daily ritual since I was ‘let go’ from my previous job. The manager of the store was convinced that some of the odd occurrences around the shop had been my fault. A particular incident involving the unexplainable movement of merchandise was the main reason I was fired. Of course, this episode was preceded by other minor incidents of floating trinkets or shaking shelves. I never meant to scare anyone; I was only having a little fun. 

I slowed my stroll after no success for about 10 blocks. I stopped on the corner and just took in my surroundings. Everything was normal for this section of New York on a Tuesday morning. Men and women, all dressed in suits for work brushed past me mumbling their hurried, “Excuse me”’s and “Oh, sorry..”’s along the way. They all looked the same to me, which is why it’s odd that a few men caught my eye. They were dressed like everyone else, looking sleek and polished, but they were all staring at me. One on each of the other corners of the intersection. The men would be looking at me, look at each other, then back to me. Without thinking, I turned and quickly made my way back to my apartment. 

My roommate was sitting on the couch, facing away from me when I walked in. She must not have heard me come in because when I asked how she was feeling, she jumped. She let out a little yelp and sprung up from the couch, turning to face me. She was shaking as she took tentative steps back. “Da-don’t come na-near me!” 

I was very confused. When I took a few steps towards her, she shrieked and pressed herself against the wall. As I slowly walked towards her, I had my hands stretched towards her, trying to clam her down. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Stay away from me!” She was trembling violently. Tears covered her entire face. I had never seen anyone so afraid. 

I stopped about five feet away from her. She shrunk down and curled into a fetal position. I still didn’t understand why she was acting this way. “Did I do something?”

She looked up at me, obviously still terrified, but confused at the same time. I casually lifted my arm to head and she flinched again. She was staring at my hand; whenever it moved her shaking intensified. Her eyes were still stuck to my hand when she muttered, “You.. Yu-you went crazy lah-last night.” She glanced at my face and realized that I had no idea what she was talking about. “Weh-We were ah-out and you were loaded. I don’t know what happened bu-but you just got s-so angry. Shit started f-flying around. I-I tried to calm y-you down but then e-even more stuff started flying around. Drinks exploded. The windows started cracking. I went to grab you, but shit was like circling around you. Half the people were screaming and running away the other half just kinda watched you and then you just passed out cold. I was freaking out but I kind of just dragged you home...” She was much calmer by the time she finished telling me the story but she was still crouched in a ball against the wall. 

I didn’t remember any of this happening. All I remembered was going out ad then waking up. But then I looked at my hands. It all clicked for me. 

I’d known I was different for a long time but never understood how different. I’d alway been able to move little things with out touching them. Just things like pushing a pen off the table or pulling a cup from across the counter into my hands. As I got older, I discovered I could do different things. I could move heavy things with just a twitch of my hand. I could crush things with thoughts that I couldn’t put a dent in if I used my hand. It had always just a fun thing to do. Push things off a teacher’s desk, or flick the lights on and off. No one ever knew it was me; they always figured to was a fluke. For a moment I was reminiscing about the pranks I used to pull when there was a pounding on the door. 

The pounding wasn’t of someone with a heavy hand knocking on the door but of someone trying to take it down. Without warning the hinges snapped and the door flew to the floor. The three men in suits walked in and surveyed the room. When their eyes fell on me I panicked, completely forgetting my roommate, still fearfully tucked away, I ran around the couch but two men blocked me while the other hopped over the couch and blocked the other exit. On instinct, I thrusted my hands forward, into the chests of the men. I could feel the force rolling down my arms and into their bodies, even though it happened in less than an instant. They didn’t fly across the room like I had expected but they all fell back. Before they could get back on their feet I jumped over and rushed out the door. 

All the way down the stairs and outside, the men were almost caught up. I had no idea why they were after me but I didn’t want to find out. I wasn’t running fast enough to evade them for long, even though I could hear the wind buzz past my ears. I had never used my ability other than to move other things. It had never occurred to me to use it on myself. As one of the men reached out to grab me, I pushed down on the sidewalk with everything I could and bolted forward. This speed was super human, I could feel it the pressure pulling on my skin, my cheeks felt as though were seconds from flying off. I couldn’t run like this forever. Thats when I saw the building. 

I pushed through the doors and continued running towards the elevator. Just as the doors were closing, I saw the men bursting through the door. They saw me and figured where I was heading. I was going to the top floor. The elevator opened again, I ran down the hallway, trying to find the roof access. I forced the door open without touching it and ran straight to the edge. While looking forward, I still had a plan, I still knew what I was going to do. But once I looked down, not a sliver of the plan I was so sure of stuck to my mind. This is where I am now. 

I’m looking down at the ant cars, and the specs of people. The men are coming towards me. I wish I had more time to think about this or practice what I was about to do. This is all instinct. The last thing that went through my mind was how these people days were about to change, as quickly as mine did. So, the men reached out to pull me back, but I had already taken my last step. I pulled myself away from the building and to my greatest relief, I still haven’t hit the ground. 

• How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?
  It was not very difficult because we just chose what we collectively felt the strongest about which was the effectiveness of the Electoral College. There was also some discussion about concentrating on how voting is always on Tuesday, but in the end we decided the Electoral College is a more pressing issue. 
  
  
• 11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change? 
  An individual must be committed to a change to sustain it. Say one person decided not to support a change, they could influence others do the same, then no one would be trying to change anything. An individual can quickly expand into a majority, thats how changes begin. People must stay committed to an idea to make it a reality. 
  
  
• How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?
  Before this unit I had almost no idea of how elections worked in the US. All I knew was that people went to polling places, stood in a booth, pressed some buttons and then they were done. I did not know about any of the regulations or processes of voting. Since then though, my knowledge on the subject has grown exponentially. Learning about the processes, like the Electoral College, and other things, has truly sparked an interest in me. All the laws surrounding voting in the US are interesting and some of them are still useful, but certainly not all of them. It makes me wonder why people havent tried to change them yet but then I remember that many people are as clueless about these things as I was before this unit. If everyone is to have a fair say, they must first be educated on the subject and this isn't happening. Things like that make this nation seem less free then it did before I knew these things. 
  
  
• How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?
  In our marketing campaign we tried to emphasize that not many people even know what the Electoral College is. Showing that the people it is apparently trying to serve don't even know about it. By doing this we not only educated people on it but showed how dated it is. If more people knew about it, it may not as much of a problem because when voting, people would know what they're getting into and where their vote is going. I believe this was a very effective way to relay our group's message. 

La gente y las tiendas más

No siempre es seguro

Pero es mi casa sólo.

Al principio

Yo estaba en el fondo

de la colina y la cadena

en la mente y el cuerpo

último de la fila

de la escuela a su casa

Yo era el paria

Yo estaba en el fondo

​Donde las calles están gastadas,

La gente y las tiendas más

No siempre es seguro

Pero es mi casa sólo.

Pero no todo malo

Algunos es muy bonito

Cuando era pequeña

Recuerdo estar contento

Jugar a mis amigos

Y subo a los árboles

Amo y odio que mi barrio

Pero es mi hogar sólo

La gente y las tiendas más

No siempre es seguro

Pero es mi casa sólo.

• What did you learn?
  I learned more about conjugation, but I felt as though it was mostly review of spanish 2.
• What are you especially proud of?
  Though they don't sound great, I think the lyrics are interesting and cohesive. 
• What would you change if you could do it over again?
  I would probably edit my voice to make it sound less like dying cats. Other then that, I'm pretty pleased with my song.

Before the project started, I knew a lot of people immigrated to the US but when I actually saw the numbers, I was very surprised. I never realized exactly how many people came to the US and all the different places they came from. Another thing I was unaware of is how Congress used to restrict the number of immigrants from certain places and how they forced different  laws upon them once they arrived, depending on their origin. Other bits of information didn't strike me quite as much like what had caused some of the low points in immigration. It makes a lot of sense that no one would want to come to the US during the Great Depression. 

Looking at the overall trend and incorporating what you know about the US presently, predict and defend the immigration trend for the next two decades.

There are many different ways to predict the rise or fall of immigration through the next twenty years. If history were to repeat itself then one could assume that the rates would continue to rise, but some things are going on in our country that may negatively affect the amount of immigration. Right now, the United States is in a recession and if it were to worsen then I would predict a significant drop in immigration rates. On the same spectrum, many countries in Europe are in a similar situation and if we held our ground, that might encourage immigration. There are many different ways that immigration could go and it is certainly difficult to predict how it will go. 

Describe how you made a decision on how to visually represent the information.

We chose to do a color coded timeline because we felt it was a good balance between information and vibrance. It is very organized and easily understood. 

What parts of group work were challenging?

Overall, the group worked well together though one thing that could have been improved was the division of work. Though we all provided and filled in our own information, when it came to color coding it was difficult to separate it equally. We tried to divide it but it just became complicated. 

What would you do differently if you had this project to do over?

Honestly, I am very pleased with the outcome of the project. The only reason I would change anything is if we had more and more technical skill. Even though I am very pleased with our current project. 

La gente y las tiendas más

No siempre es seguro

Pero es mi casa sólo.

I'm from the warm spring breezes and the biting autumn gusts through it

I'm from the sag of my couches, the foreigners of my speakers, and the songs of my radiators

I'm from Christine and Edward, and Louis, Elizabeth, and Gabriel, and even Cody and Zane

I'm from Sunday dinners

I'm from the promises not to tell mom

I'm from the ink soaked seats and the filth laden floors of a school bus

I'm from tying my hair back and licking mom's spoon

I'm from swimming in the knitted blankets of my father's back seat

I'm from the scraped knees, bruised elbows, and bumped heads that I donned

I'm from the gentle and all powerful hands of God

I'm from the denial and resistance of these things as well as the eventual acceptance of them

​

Sophia Henninger

English - History

Copper

June 10, 2011

Over the course of the year in english and history we’ve analyzed, discussed, and read about many themes. We learned many truths about the government, economy,   and even people in general. One theme that repeated itself in many of our units is revolutions are never painless. This was shown in many units but also within many assignments. Personally, it was shown in my monologue project, poetry wiki, both trials (Cortes and sweatshop trials), and the revolution written response. All of these assignments demonstrate this concept whether is it very concretely or more abstract. 

The monologue project was one of the longest, yet most interesting projects we completed this year. We could truly turn it into anything we wanted. In my monologue project, a college student goes to Pakistan to research Nike’s labor conditions for his final project. In the end he locates a factory and convinces the workers the revolt against management, resulting in his death. This is a very concrete example of the concept that revolutions are never painless. In the end of the project, the boy causes an uprising in an attempt to restore basic human rights in the situation. Even though he and several others lost their lives, they brought light to the issue, allowing it to be address in court. He lost his life so the revolution could be successful. 

The following example is much less concrete but still illustrates the main concept.   The poetry unit allowed us to be creative and truly express ourselves in anyway we wanted. Some of my poems had some subtle themes of revolution though they were more centered on personal revolutions within one’s self. The poems centered on how I, or the reader, would like to change themselves. The one particular poem, When Did I Become a Ghost? speaks of how drugs trap people’s minds. Though it does not actually speak of overcoming the trap, it speaks of the difficulty that would involve and how that would actually make it impossible to overcome it. Even though no concrete revolution takes place within the poems, the difficulty it would take to change the situations in them would be a personal revolution. 

This year in our history class we had several trials, both demonstrating, quite blatantly, how painful and destructive revolutions can be but even though they’re not bloodless, they can still be successful. We had two trials, one was debating who had the most guilt in the slaughter of the Aztec people and this was called the Cortes trial. We had another trial called the sweatshop trial. This trial debated who held the most blame for the mistreatment of workers in the third world. Evidence of both of these wrong-doings involved blood. In both cases many people were murdered needlessly. This is a good example of how just because a revolution does have pain, does not mean it will be successful and this is shown by the Aztecs. The sweatshop workers are still in the midst of the this revolution. This shows that though revolutions are never painless, sadly, they are not always effective. 

In the revolution written response, we had to answer the question, “What separates revolutions from social change?” I argued that they’re not separate but social change is only the effect of revolution. Within it I used the examples of the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the recent Egyptian conflict. All of these examples were bloody but all of them were successful. Millions of people died in these wars and, though this is sad, without those deaths they may not have achieved what each of them wanted. All of these revolutions whether concrete or abstract, personal or social, ineffective or triumphant, all had pain and for some of them, that fact is what allowed them to be victorious. 

Monologues

Characters:

Joshua Bartlett - 24 years old, American college student.

Gabriel Johnson - Late forties, white. A legal advisor for Nike Incorporated. 

Teenage Boy - Boy, around 16 years old. Wears Nike shoes.

Pakistani Boy - Boy, around 10 years old, worker in Nike factory.

Pakistani Woman - Pregnant woman, maybe 6 or 7 months. Husband works in factory.

News Reporter - Female news reporter. (Only audio)

Scene 1

Male, probably around 23 years old. Standing with a camera pointed at him, obviously directing his attention toward the camera. Somewhat nervous but also excited.

Joshua

.. Uhm.. Hi, My name is Joh... Wait, Is it recording? .. Oh okay.. I just didn’t see the light, ya know... Let me start over then.. Uhmm… Are you sure? I still don’t see the light... Okay, Sorry, Dude, I’m just nervous.. Hooo. Okay… 

(say this very quickly) 

Hello, My name is Joshua Bartlett ah-and this is my documentary project for.. Damn! That was too fast… Okay. Seriously, I’m going to do it this time.. Hoo.. Okay.. Yo, I’m Joshua Bartlett and this is my fin... Did I really just say “yo”? Shit. Hold on.. Give me a sec, I got this 

(Stands up straight, straightens shoulders, smiles) 

... Hello, I’m Joshua Bartlett and this is my final project for world economics. For this video I’m going to attempt to discover the truth behind Nike’s labor conditions. And under my circumstances I’ve actually been able to travel to various places and countries to try to find answer from people who’ve dealt with this firsthand....

(Waits a few seconds then stands normally again)

 Whooo. That was good right? Woo!

(Jumps up, smiles. Quickly simmers down again though.) 

Oh, I mean .. Yeah. That was cool. Are we good? .. Thanks. So, we can use that?.. Great... Are you ready for this? Like we’re about to go to all these places. This is gonna be amazing. Seriously, amazing…

Scene 2

Nike Executive. Older, white, male in suit. Seems rather uninterested and is speaking frankly. He is alone behind a desk but apparently speaking to someone and answering questions. The name card on his desk says Gabriel Johnson. 

Gabriel Johnson

…Our code of conduct is accessible by anyone with Internet access and it states that Nike Incorporated will employ no one under the age of 16 or one who is unwilling to work. We do however employ contractors over seas to manage our factories. If you read our code of conduct, it says, word for word, that we expect the contractors to follow this code and it’s common knowledge that expectations are not always met. Nowhere in the code of conduct are the contractors required to truthfully report that the factory is following the code or to report that their employees are satisfied with their working conditions; though it is, once again, expected to be reported to Nike Incorporated openly. All businesses operated by Nike personally follow this code and that’s what it controls. Nike cannot completely control the foreign factories due to an issue that has already risen; the factories are not required to give employee reports and even if they did, there is no way for the reports to be proven legitimate.

(Pauses. Face changes to serious and interested. He moves to a position that seems less robotic and more like a person would naturally sit.)

Can I say something? Man to man?.. Okay. Personally, I mean just my opinion.. This is no way reflects the company but, I know what those contractors do and I’m not a fan. Kids shouldn’t work, trust me, I have 3 kids and I’d never want them to have to do anything like that. But.. This is my job. This company pays me to represent them when people like you wanna know why we employ these contractors. We do it because it cheap, but I’m not lying when I say we have difficulty monitoring them. Plus, you and I know that making sure they didn’t mistreat their employees would take money. And you really think the big execs wanna give up any of their money? No. They’ll do anything for that extra penny. I don’t agree with that, I know there’s more to life than money.. But I also know that I need the money they pay me to put my kids through school so they don’t have to work. So, no, I don’t agree with Nike’s decisions .. But I’m just doing what I need to do to get by…

Scene 3

Teenage boy in city setting. Happy, excited. Speaking to someone and answering a question. Standing.

Teenage Boy

…Oh, dese kicks? Oh yeah, dey nice right? I just got dese fo’ like 80 bucks, nice righ? ‘N’ since dey white I gotta, yuh know, keep ‘em poppin’. Yuh can’t step in puddlez erh nothin’. ‘N’ deff don’t be playin’ no ball wid ‘em. Cuz’ den dey’d get maaaddd dirty. Ya just gotta shine ‘em up when ya take ‘em off and these Nike’s … Dey’ll be poppin’ fo’ months… Huh? Why I got tah know who made dese? I don’t know but dese ahr nice shoez, man… Kids made dese?.. Well, why dat matter? It wadn’t in Americur, righ? Cuz’, now datd be drawin’. Buh, don’t dat only happen in dose pohr countrees? And dats jus dem kids tryin’ tah make a dime. Like, maybe dey shouldn’t have tah work like dat but.. If dey don’t work… Who gunna make mah shoes? 

Scene 4

Young boy in Pakistan. Speaks broken English with an accent. Works at a Nike factory. Was walking down a busy street but is stopped to talk to someone. Not very emotional but some distress can be noticed.

Young Pakistani Boy

Yes, I work at Nike factory. I make footballs. I need job becus Mama es dead. Papa es drinking. I leave home for safety. I need to leave. I be worse now if not... I work for dollhar for food and water. For evry day I werk I ghet 2 dollhars a day for work. 2 dollhars es not much bhut.. bhut it es better then nothing. Before I leave home, Papa send me to work. He say, “You man. Man work. If live here, you need pay for you. You pay for your food, I pay for my food.” I not want work then. I want play with friends at school... That why I leave. My 2 dollhars buy me no food. My 2 dollhars buy Papa drink... Work is difficult. Very tire. I sleep after, always...Hmm? Yers?... Yers... Ah! Yers, age. I 10 yers.  

Scene 5

Joshua sitting casually at a table. Josh is speaking casually to camera man(not seen).

Joshua

Dude, some if this stuff is .. it’s crazy. Like that uhm.. What was that guy’s name? ..The Nike guy... G something... Gabe! Right, Gabriel Johnson. Yeah, that was so weird, like, he was telling us all this bullshit and then he just.. Told us.. everything, kinda... That’ll be great for the project... haha, that kid was so hype about his shoes. That was funny, dude..

(Glances at watch)

Shit! We gotta go. I asked this one woman if we could talk to her.. Apparently her husband works at one of the big factories..

Scene 6

Pregnant woman in Pakistan who speaks broken English. She sits in front of fireplace. She’s tending the fireplace but her attention is divided between it and someone who she’s talking to. She’s talking casually. 

Pregnant Woman

...No, I do not work. Most work is difficult because of this.. 

(lightly pats belly and smiles.)

I like work.. It’s not fair. I sit and my husband works.. I want work too.. We need it, he does not get paid many at factory. Only 3 dollhars American for his work a day... And his work very long.. Dinner es cold when he home... 

(tone starts to shift into a more annoyed/uneasy tone.) 

..It bothers me much. I worry for him. He work many hours at factory. When he get home he pass out. Not even get in bed... 

(aggravation/distress is clearly noticeable now)

..Why do they treat  people bad? These are people. They are trying to make dollhar for families.. How we gohin’ live wif 3 dollhars?!

Scene 7

Joshua is walking on a crowded street in Pakistan. He is making his way through the people while talking to who’s holding the camera. Mostly in a venting type way.

Joshua

This is ridiculous! Actually ridiculous! How could people act like that? Just treating people like shit? Just because they want another 10 dollars to go with their 10 million?! Like what the fuck is that? … You know what.... We’re going to the factory. We’re going right now. 

(starts walking vigorously. He sounds determined.)

... No, but we’ll find it. Ask people or something. I don’t know! But we’re going there! Someone needs to stop these assholes! They can’t just do this. Who do they think they are? Don’t they realize these people have families? These people are children. These are people. People... What the hell does all this civil rights shit mean if these Nike can treat these people like slaves?!.. I don’t know, dude. But we gotta do something. We can’t just sit here. There are hundreds of people who might die because they can’t afford a bowl of rice because some greedy CEO’s want all the money they can get their grimy hands on. I’m not about to just sit back and watch it happen! I’m not!... 

Scene 8

Joshua is yelling at someone through a door. He is furious and bangs on the door in frustration.

Joshua

Let me in! Open the fucking door! I just want to fucking talk to someone!

(Hits door)

Let me in!.. I have the right to talk to you! Open the god damn door! … 

(Walks a few feet away from the door, hands on hips looking down, extremely frustrated. Then suddenly turns back around and runs at the door. Hits it again.) 

You’re breaking the law! Let me in! These are fucking people, not useless pieces of shit. Why?! Why are you treating them like shit?! They’ve been in there for fucking hours, no breaks, no water, and for what? Three fucking dollars?! You want money for yourself?! 

(Takes out wallet, pulls out a few bills, and throws them at the door)

Here! Take the fucking money. Don’t you feel anything? These people are dying in there.... You know what? Just fuck it.. 

(Begins to walk away, looking defeated, walks off stage, lights slowly dim but suddenly flash back on fully when Joshua runs back and rams the door with his shoulder, door opens and Josh runs through. Stage black.) 

Scene 9

Newscaster reporting story is heard. Three chairs, one small stool, on the stage. (One is a big comfy chair, good condition, next is a small stool, next is an old folding chair, last is a lazy-boy type and worn condition) One TV in the center/front of stage, facing the chairs. Light is only on the TV.

News Castor

Breaking news from Pakistan today with reports of a riot in a factory, allegedly owned by Nike, that lead to 5 deaths and several other injuries. 

(Light on the small stool, now occupied by the pregnant woman, intently watching) 

One of the 5 people who died in the rally gone wrong belongs to an American citizen,

(Light shows on big, worn chair with the boy sitting in it. He’s not paying attention and it wiping off white shoes with a napkin.)

 Joshua Bartlett, 24, who happened to be filming a project on the labor conditions of Nike factories

(Light on first chair, where Gabriel Johnson is now sitting, leaning forward in his chair, intently listening). 

He went to the factory in search of answers, only to find the working conditions worse than expected. Enraged, Bartlett began yelling and eventually coerced the workers to rebel against their supervisors in an attempt to secure their rights as human beings. The rebellion turned violent as the upper management had weapons and turned them on the workers. 

(Light on the folding chair, empty at first but then an obviously inebriated Pakistani man plops into it, holding a bottle on liquor. He stares at the screen with a glazed look)

Also among the deaths were two adult men, one woman, and a young boy, all workers at the factory. Most of the battle was caught on camera by a young man traveling with Bartlett, who was only injured. This footage only confirms previous rumors of Nike’s mistreatment of workers in the third world and a law suit is expected in the upcoming months...

In other news, a fi...........

(Trails off, still heard at a low volume.)

Once there is silence, the American boy finishes wiping off his shoes, put them on and walks out. Lights out on his chair. The pregnant woman just blankly stares at the television as tear silently fall from her face and she rubs her pregnant belly. Lights out on her. The drunken man is obviously sleeping, snoring loudly. Lights out on him, he’s silent. Gabriel Johnson stares at the television. Fists and jaw clenched. He stands up goes to the TV and turns it off. Walks off stage. Lights out.

The End

Op Ed

Big Business and Inventions

When you were growing up, didn’t you think by 2011 we’d live like the Jetsons? Didn’t you think we’d be beyond worrying about trivial things like what fuels our cars and homes? Of course not! But in 2011, we still worry deeply about what fuels our cars. Why? Even though we don’t have basic things like flying cars; we have things like microscopic computer processors. We have the technology to solve this problem, so where are the 1000mpg cars? Oh, they’re here but they’re not welcome. 

Though we have the technology for 1000+ mpg cars, they have yet to be seen on the public market. Maybe it’s just because no major car companies have produced them. That makes sense, I guess. But now Ford Motors has created a 300mpg electric/hydrogen hybrid and I don’t know about you but I haven’t seen any on the roads. The car is standard size and can go up to 85mph. It runs on a lithium battery until it depletes to 40%, once it hits this point it switches to a hydrogen powered fuel cell and with this change goes from 25mpg to 280mpg. Pretty neat, huh? But I still don’t see any. That’s probably because oil companies have made it just about impossible for any car that runs over 60mpg to be commercially produced. 

In the past, people have claimed to have invented cars that run 1000mpg, cars that run on water, and just about everything else. Most of these claims can obviously be seen as propaganda but a few claims do seem plausible. There is one claim of a water-powered car(it’s more like a dune-buggy but for the sake of the argument) by Stan Meyer. It achieved an amazing 100mpg but never became popular due to Meyer’s somewhat suspicious brain aneurysm at 57 years old. There are many theories that say oil companies ordered him assassinated, though that is unlikely, the fact is he created a water-powered vehicle that worked. That means we have the technology and it isn’t being used. 

The list goes on and on about other people who have invented things like 2000mpg cars and simple, emission-less, energy that have supposedly been killed by big time energy companies. These claims are probably propaganda but that doesn’t change the fact that even if the inventors death wasn’t the fault of the companies, they certainly benefitted from it. If these people hadn’t died or been put into jail, the companies would be in jeopardy of losing billions upon billions of dollars and in the past, companies like this have shown that they will do anything for another dollar and will go very far to do it. 

So whether these inventions are publicly available is due the the inventors misfortunes or companies preventing them from getting there or not, the truth is the technology to make them exists. This technology is available and we’re going to need it if we actually want to affect global warming and keep this planet able to sustain life.

This project helped me learn and remember the vocabulary better then I usually do. Also it reminded me that not all words are conjugated the same and it reminded me which ones change and which don't. 

 
How do you feel about your final product?

I like my project. I think it's well done. 

If you could do your project all over again, what would you do differently/the same?

I just would have used my time better and handed it in on time. 

Did you enjoy this project? Why or why not?

I did enjoy it because it allowed us to be creative like we could do a boring video with everything it needed or we could have made it funny or silly. It didn't matter. 

Sophia Henninger

Language Autobiography – Rough Draft

English – Copper

Languages don’t change everything. The language itself isn’t the most important thing, but the way it is used is. The dialects don’t matter either. The tones those dialects are spoken in is what matters. Yes, a dialect can tell people where you’re from but it’s the tone of your voice that says what you are trying to communicate. It tells more about who you are in this instant than your background. Tones mean much more for a quick conversation and are far more important in communication. People shouldn’t concentrate so much on dialects because they reflect people’s past. That does not matter for a 30 second conversation but a tone changes everything.

A tone can dictate the entire mood of a conversation. It indicates what mood a person is in, what their intentions for the conversation are, and possibly how recent events have affected them. Tone can completely change the meaning of a phrase from serious to sarcastic or from insulting to soothing. Tone influences conversations more than dialects do because if a dialect is different that just changes the person but if a tone is different it can effect and change the entire conversation.

This scene is a good example of how tone changes things because in it my tone is telling my mother, who I’m having the conversation with, that I’m irritated and distressed. I woke up late and I'm trying to leave my house so I can get the early bus. I’m irritated because as I’m practically running out the door, my mother has another idea. “Mom! I had to go like five minutes ago.” I sound urgent and my hand is on the doorknob. My mother has no intention of letting me leave in only my wool jacket, “Get a hat and gloves … a scarf too.” I don’t even turn around but I’m nearly growling, “I have to go..” I turn to look at her and I can tell she will not budge on the matter so I sigh and say, “Do you know where they are?” I’m standing in that stereotypical position women stand in when they’re annoyed: leg out, hip locked, hand on hip, head tilted. Any other mother in America would have said I was giving my mother attitude. She replies with a bored tone in her voice, “I don’t know. Go look.” My jaw drops for a second and a new wave of annoyance washes over me. Not only has she made me miss the bus, but I now must miss the second bus because she wants me to look for extra clothing. At this point though I sluggishly move to where we keep hats and such as a way to protest her suggestion. I find them and slowly ease them on my head and hands, making sure they look good. “Sophie… aren’t you going to miss the bus?” My mother was trying to speed me up. Too late. “Yes, but I need a hat and gloves, don’t I?” I’m looking at myself in the mirror as I say this, hoping to sort of stick it to her a little bit. “Just go.” She calmly replies. I spring to life then, hoping I might still catch the bus. “Thank you, Mom! I love you!” I sounded so happy and excited; the exact opposite of my feelings just a moment before. I practically skipped out the door, eager to leave my unpleasant attitude behind me.

If my tone had been calmer and more collected then it would have not only changed the way the scene was read, but it probably would have changed the actually words used. That’s why emotions and tones mean so much more than dialects; they have the power to alter conversations, meanings, and interpretation of words.

I use tones everyday to change the meanings of words and phrases. Sarcasm in particular is a technique of speaking I use. Many people use sarcasm and it actually is meant to change the meaning of words and phrases but it’s often looked upon as a snarky way to give someone attitude. It’s more than that though; it’s a way to change language just by changing your inflection. I’ve noticed that since I am sarcastic I’m looked at as disrespectful. Sarcasm is my language and it’s just how I was taught to speak.

An example of this is when I was asked, “Is your shirt green?” I just looked at the person. My shirt was blatantly green. I cannot describe how green my shirt was. It was like a pine forest, only with more green. I replied in the only way I saw fit, “No, my shirt is purple.” Maybe this wasn’t the nicest way to go about answering they’re question but my shirt was green and obviously so. The person began to get irritated; she was obviously not happy with how I had answered her question but she replied with, “You know, you don’t have to be mean about it.” She then promptly stood up and walked away. My intent had not been to offend her but that’s what did end up happening. By using a sarcastic tone and my natural way of speaking I was “being mean”.

Since I use sarcasm regularly, that’s why society sees me as just another snarky teenager. There isn’t much for me to do that would allow my reputation to be changed because this is my native tongue and I will always revert back to it. It’s different from my dialect because the only thing my dialect will tell you is that I’m from Philadelphia, PA. Because I used sarcasm everyday in many conversations it labels me as a smart-alecky child to people who only hear my own sarcasm and not the words I’m saying. When people hear me speak without fully listening to words I say and how I mean them, they assume and conclude before getting to know me that all I am is a snide teenage girl from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Not everybody speaks with sarcasm everyday but people should be able to understand it and refrain from judging others for using it.  It would be same as not judging someone because they had a southern or Brooklyn accent because it’s just a way of speaking and communicating. Sarcasm is how I communicate and I’m judged prematurely everyday for it. If I wasn’t judged and written off for the language I was trained to speak, the language I can’t control, I would feel as though I belonged much more than I currently do.

Sophia Henninger

Copper – English

September 23, 2010

Growing up in Roxborough wasn’t always the easiest thing for me. Constantly ridiculed at school, home, and in between. More than once I got off the bus to go home with tears on my face only to be greeted by more words and events that would replace the old tears on my cheeks. I remember so many instances of this.

“Eskimo! Eskimo!”  The eighth graders chanted on the disgusting, sticky, school bus. I just sat on the floor and bawled as if a beloved pet had died. They were calling me this because of the hat I donned on my head. It was tan and furry with gold thread periodically mixed in. The earflaps were my favorite part because they were fuzzy on both sides. “That hat is so ugly, but I guess it matches your face.” I heard a boy say. With tears still flowing from my eyes I looked to meet his face just as he ripped the hat off my head and got off the bus with it. He proceeded to throw it into a gutter on his street. He looked back at me in the foggy window of the dirty bus and smiled, his perfectly clear eyes met my red-rimmed, bloodshot ones and not an ounce of guilt or regret showed on his face.

Another instance was when I had to sit in the seat less section on the school bus. The floor was black, sticky, and covered in hundreds of unidentifiable substances. I don’t even know what I did to provoke them this time but I do remember hearing one boy say to a classmate, “Dude, watch this..”

I turned to see what he was talking about and he was looking at me. He wanted to talk to me. He asked basic questions like how was I and what class I was in. I thought this was the end of being teased.  I was filled with so much hope; I was excited for the future. I thought of how I might be able to get on the bus and smile and giggle like the other girls my age did with their friends. Just then, my dreams of peace were shattered; he grabbed my legs and started to lift them up. I panicked and grabbed the back of the seat in front of me. I screamed and cried and kicked. I clung to seat in front of me as though if let go I’d fall to my demise. The boy just lifted my legs higher and higher until I was horizontal. I felt like it lasted forever. Finally he yelled, “Stop screaming, you baby.” And dropped me. My knees clashed with the sticky floor. Little splashes of red now accenting my already dirty knees. The eighth graders just laughed at me as I ran to front of the bus. I’d never felt so much shame or humiliation in my life.

But after everyday of torment I still woke up the next day hopeful. Still looking forward to making friends and laughing with them. I still tried to be nice and make friends with people even when the day before they were the ones that made me cry. I was relentlessly hopeful and optimistic, always cheery and excited.

Even when the problem followed me right off the school bus and into my home.

“Sophie! We have a surprise for you. Close your eyes.” My brother, Gabe, and my sister, Betsy, cooed as they directed me down the hallway. I was so excited. I loved surprises! I was thinking of all the cool things it might be. A new toy, or game, a warm set of mittens and a hat, maybe even a puppy might be waiting for me! Whatever it was, it was bound to be great. I was tingling with anticipation while I tiptoed the creaking wooden floorboards while guided arm in arm by my two closest siblings. A mere seconds later I heard, “Hey, Lou! Is it ready?”

“Yeah, bring her closer.” Lou, the eldest, whispered to Gabe. OH! It was so close, the surprise! The possibilities ran through my head again and my excitement grew exponentially. “You ready, Soph?”, his question was answered by a hurried head nod, “Okay, open your eyes…. Now!”

“…AAAAHHHHHHHHH!” I ran, screaming bloody murder and sobbing to stairs. What had greeted me wasn’t spectacular or marvelous in any way. It wasn’t a new toy or accessory or pet. No, it was a crab shell with its face only centimeters from mine. From the staircase I could hear rolling laughter coming from all three of my siblings.

 It lasted only a few moments but that scene of memory still burns in my mind when I think of my childhood. Of course, now that story is one told at family parties and everyone laughs, including me. That along with all the other scenes of my childhood, clear or hazy, funny or horrifying, good or bad, make up who I am today. Without these experiences I wouldn’t have learned some of life’s biggest lessons, such as: not to be naive, to stand up for myself, to deal with bullies, to forgive, and to forget.

In an odd way I have to thank the people that made me cry on a daily basis in grade school, the people that didn’t acknowledge my existence until 8^th grade, and the siblings that made sure I knew I was omega. Because without them I wouldn’t be the confident, outspoken, silly, rough-around-the-edges girl that we’ve all come to know and love.

Sophia Henninger