Overload on Babies?

In the last unit in the Population class, which is called If/Then. In this unit we talked about the population and tried to predict what the human population would be in 2050. We did this by using a method in math called the geometric and arithmetic sequence. For the last action project we were ask to come up with a topic and write a script about the human population going up so quickly. The discussion had to have 2 viewpoints that had strong evidence. For the math part to fit in we used the geometric method to figure out what the human population would in in 2050. What I found most challenging about this action project was the math part, but when we went over it as a class I understood it much better. What I enjoyed the most about this project was doing the research and how my project came together. 

Right now the human population is at 7,125,000,000, by 2050 my class predicted that it could reach up to 10,715,465,520. We got this answer by using geometric method our work is show below. 

Created by JV Geometric Sequence 2014*

Human population is too over crowded in certain areas in the world. All around the world many babies are born to young teen parents, this is causing our population to go up. 

Below is a discussion between too young teens that have noticed how much teen pregnancy has gone up over the years. They are talking about ways that this can be prevented so that way our population doesn't go over 7 billion. 

Dustin: Hey Haley, is it just me or have you seen like 10 girls pass by that have a baby bump?

Haley: I was thinking the same thing! But just didn't want to mention it. 

Dustin: Do you think they are in some kind of competition or something because there are so many girls at this school that are pregnant?! 

Haley: I have no idea, but I hope that is not the case! You know I was watching the news and I heard that there are 72% births per 1,000 adolescent females. The U.S teen birth rate is higher than any other developing countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom. (1)

Dustin: That is insane! Knowing that our population rate worldwide is growing so quickly, too many teen girls are having babies! 

Haley: Right now our world population is at seven billion, but if we stay at our current rate of growth we can reach up to 10 billion by 2050! 

Dustin: So the 72% of birth rates are in the United States alone?

Haley: Yes, I know its a high percent. The United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the world. 

Dustin: But do you honestly think that these young teens that are having babies and increasing our population affecting our planet? I mean I don’t think having too many humans well harm us. The more people we have on our planet the better because we would have more resources!

Haley: That is true, but have you thought about our planet and how its handling all of us? We should run out of food, and water. Plus women and young teen girls in developing countries that have high fertility rate will suffer the most. (2)

Dustin: So teens having babies at a high rate the will cause commensalism because its benefiting our population, but hurting the planet’s population. But since that population is growing, it will than turn into competition because than we will be fighting for food, and other resources in order to survive.

Haley: Exactly! And this can hurt the U.S because we have such a large population rate for teen pregnancy compared to Canada, which has 27.9% per 1,000 adolescent females. (3)

Dustin: So what can help this rate go down?

Haley: Schools can have more well educated classes, to inform teens on how to prevent pregnancy!

Dustin: Oh yeah this school definitely needs that class!

Citations:

(3) "Seven Ways Seven Billion People Affect The Planet."newsecuritybeat.org. Geoff Dabelko. Web. 2011. Oct 27, 2014. 

(1) "Trend in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing." hhs.gov/ash/oah. Evenlyn Mkappeler. Web. 2010. Oct 22, 2014. 

(2) "Why Teen Pregnancy Is One The Rise." theglobeandmail.com. Zosia Bielski. Web 2013. Oct 27, 2014. 

My Batman.

For this last action project for my humanities class called Stories, we talked about heroes and how we can analyze them in stories and in movies. In order to do that we learned about Joseph Campbell's the theory of Monomyth. What I found most challenging about this project was understanding Campbell’s theory, because I don’t really think that way when I watch a movie, or read a book. But now that I know Campbell’s theory, it makes movies and stories easier to understand. What I enjoyed the most about this action project was creating it. This action project is so different from any I have done during this course and I like how it challenged me. 

For my project I picked Batman as one of my heroes. I grew up watching the movie Batman Returns, so it really reminds me of my childhood, plus Batman is the only superhero that I actually like. For my real-life hero I picked my mom, and the reasoning for that is because she did so much for my sibling and I; as a young mom she got to graduate high school and continue with college. My mom is a very brave and strong woman. I look up to her everyday. She is also very caring, and just like Batman, she always wants to help other people and puts those she loves first before herself. Below is my 8 stages of my hero's journey, its a slideshow on paper that explains what Batman went through. Also below is my interview with my mom, learning about her 8 stages of a hero's journey. 

Created by JV, "Batman" 2014*

Created by JV, "Batman" 2014*

Me: What made you want to become a nurse, and working at a nursing home?
Mom: I always wanted to be a nurse since I was a little girl, it was just something that I always wanted to do. I wanted to work at a nursing home because I knew that I would be helping seniors who needed extra care and I wanted to give them that. 

Me: what motivates you to keep doing what you do?
Mom: What motivates me is you and your sibling, you guys mean so much to me and I know what I am doing is so good for your guys future. What also motivates me is all the people that I am helping.

Me: Do you have a mentor?
Mom: Yes! your father is my mentor he helped me grow as a person and pushed me when I was falling. He also helped me raise you guys, and helped me go to school.

Me: Have you ever mentored anyone?
Mom: Yes, I have trained many people at my job! I trained them very well so they can learn and pass down good working habits!

Me: What were you doing before you became a nurse?
Mom: I was in school and raising you, when I left high school you were a baby. Than when I entered college I was pregnant with your sister. Nursing was my first job ever, so it was a big transition and hard to get use to.

Me: What was the biggest challenge that you went through when you first became a nurse?
Mom: The biggest challenge was raising two little babies when I first became a nurse, and learning all about nursing because it wasn't easy at all!

Me: What was the biggest challenge that you face throughout your life?
Mom: The biggest challenge that I faced was finding out that I have a heart condition. I was so scared because I was always in the hospital and I didn't even know that I had a heart disease. That changed my life so much.

Me: How did you finding out you had a heart disease change you for the better?
Mom: Finding out that I had a heart disease changed me for the better because I wanted to get better for me and for you guys. I started exercising more and eating healthy, also started to appreciate life more as well.

Me: What skills have you learned/held on to your whole life?
Mom: Good question! Um, I would say one helping other people because you're giving them your time and when you help other people, in return you will receive good things in your life. Other would be to be patient and never take nothing for granted.

Citations: Movie and Pictures. 

Batman Returns. DR. Tim Burton. Prod. Tim Burton. Warner bros, 1992

Curtis Lopez. Curtis & Movies. January 2, 2013. Internet: curtisandmovies.blogspot.com. 23 Oct 2014.

German Shepherd on Mars One?

During this Unit in my population course called From/To, which means where did we come from and where are we going. In this unit, I learned about Darwin and his theories of Natural Selection. For this action project, I had to pick a organism that would be best suited to live in a new environment which would be Mars One. The animal that I picked came from a dog rescue. What I enjoyed most about this action project was learning about the history of different organisms and how they died off, and our future to life. What found most challenging about this unit was the math, I always struggle with math, but I am practicing and feel like I’m getting much better. What I am most proud of is my research for my project and how it all come together.


While looking at the animals online at the rescue shelter, I chose to record my information about the weight of dogs and cats, in lbs. The box -and-whisker plot is representing my data. 

Created by JV "Box-and-whisker plot" 2014*

This is my standard deviation chart. My chosen animal is 21.82 standard deviation which is below the mean. I did have a outlier, the animal is 80 pounds. 

 Created by JV "Standard Deviation chart" 2014*

Citations: 

"Alive Rescue". aliverescue.org. Kristen Gerali. Greg Raymond. Web. 2008. October 13, 2014. 

"German Shepherd Hope Rescue". gsdhope.org. N.A. Web 2014. October 13, 2014. 

The Diamond Shell.

During this Unit called lessons in my Humanities Stories, I learned about fables and how they work. For this action project, I had to create and share my own fable to teach a lesson based on my values and life goals. My fable is to teach how to be comfortable in your own body, and not to care what people think about you. I feel like a lot of people deal with this all around the world, and especially teenagers because we are going through so many changes as we are getting older. What I learned during this unit is to really understand what a story is trying to say, and what meaning the author is trying to tell the reader. What I found most challenging about this project was writing my story; I love writing stories, but writing fables is so much harder because you have to show the meaning, and use animals as humans. What I enjoyed most about this project was coming out of my shell like Ina did, to write about how I feel in real life.

 Created by JV "Ina the Turtle" 2014*

It was a cold autumn morning in Camon France, where the leaves are dark fall colors and the wind is chilly. Ina was laying in her shell looking up wondering, why she looked so different from the other turtles in her village. All the other girls, had dull colors on their shell, like gray and brown with no patterns. Ina’s skin is gray but her shell looks like colorful diamonds were placed on her back. Ina has a great personality. She is very outgoing, open-minded, and gets attached to people very fast. Even though she is amazing, she is very quiet and shy because other animals judge the way she looks. Some say she is weird looking, some say she is boring and mean because she never talks. Some don’t like her because they are too jealous.

When Ina stopped thinking about how she looked, she popped out of her shell and started getting ready for school. When she arrived she saw her best friend Mora, who is a rabbit and is very open and flirts with everyone she loves every inch of her body and never care’s about what anybody thinks. She is very slim has beautiful rosy red cheeks and eye lashes that are as long as weeds in a field. 

Mora went up to Ina and said, “Hey what are you doing after school?”

Ina spoke very softly, “I don’t have any plans why whats up?”

More smiled, “Lets hang out with Cindy, and Jay?”

Ina Chuckled, “Um oh I’m not sure.”

Ina didn't want to join them because everybody always treated her so weirdly, because of the way she looked. She always felt very uncomfortable around other girls her age because their bodies looked so different from her’s. But deep down, Ina didn't want to care what people thought about her, as Mora was walking away, Ina shouted, “Mora I’ll go!” She wanted to show everybody who she really was, not just who she is because of her body.

After school all four of them met up by the French coffee house, as they talked they got to know in better. Cindy told Jay, “Ina is a really cool turt!” Jay replied back “I really loved getting to know her, she is amazing!” As Ina got to know more people at her school, she realized that she can be herself completely. She can be comfortable in her own colorful shell!

 Created by JV "French Cafe" 2014*