Growing Up.

A Nation's Argument is a course all about logic skills needed to develop and sustain an argument. The purpose to our first Action Project was to create our own version of the Declaration of Independence. We had to propose an idea for a class that we will like to add to GCE’s courses. What I enjoyed most about this unit was learning information about my country, learning how to make an argument more strong and clear. What I struggled with was coming up with an idea for a course, and submitting my work on time. How I overcame these challenges was by scheduling my time more wisely, and relating my course to my own life. I hope you guys enjoy my idea for a new class at GCE!

I declare that there be an independent study where students are able to learn how to apply for a job, learn about time management, and money management. I think this course will be very helpful because it relates to the real world and also GCEs Philosophy, which is teaching their students how to be financially stable.

GCE is reinventing education by letting students have more freedom to find what they like, and possibly later make what they like into a career. GCE teaches us how to be financially, digitally, and interpersonally literate in order to keep up with the growing world. The five pillars of GCE is Accountability, Purpose, Autonomy, Gratitude, and Achievement. I have learned so much within 3 years at GCE, and I think the way I’m learning now is really important for my future because I'm so open minded and can view thing from all different angles. I think the traditional way of learning isn’t making change for our world. Another thing GCE teaches is dependence, the school teaches how to step out into the world, meet people, and make connections.

American teenaged students have the right to learn about how to apply for a job. This course will teach students on how to manage money, how to form a job resume, how to fill out a job application, and learning about job interviews and learn about time management. This will help students learn about the real world, learn how to handle money, and can prepare them for college. I think this independent study will really benefit students. It will give them the chance to learn about jobs, and the importance around money because it does control our world and our lives. We need money to survive in this world, it might be sad be its true. Since I was a Sophomore in high school I’ve had a steady part-time job at a nursing home. Having as job as a student is really beneficial because it teaches you at a young age the value of money. My desired outcome for this independent study is for students to walk out with a idea of how they can be independent, responsible, and able find what they want to do with their lives.

My course will be called “Growing Up” the reasoning for the title is because in high school students should begin to start taking care of themselves and start learning about responsibility. The three main key concepts students will learn are:

Responsibility- Being a good student takes a lot of responsibility but if students learn how to balance school, activities, and a part time job, students will learn what being responsible is like. As students grow the amount of responsibility will increase even more, so it's better to start learning earlier on so it can help them prepare for the future.

Money Management- When students start to earn their own money, they will gain a better understanding on how to handle it. Working hard for their money will help them appreciate budgeting and saving.

Time Management- Students will learn how to use their time more effectively, like completing reading assignments on the train/bus rides home. Students will also learn how to become more organized, such as creating their own schedule for work days, school, and activities.

Youth Job Center has been working for 32 years to start getting teenagers working when they’re in high school. Youth Job Center believes that education and employment have been identified as steps to break the cycle of poverty. I think their mission to help teenagers is really helpful. I think they will be good partners for this course. I agree with Youth Job Center about education and employment ending poverty because if a teenager gets their first job while in high school they will see that many jobs out there will not be able to fully support them, and to get a good paying job you have to work hard in school in order to achieve the goals that you want. High School is filled with opportunities and I think this course especially should be in GCE’s learning system. We are always meeting new people, and learning about different organizes that we might want to explore more about. School and employment will also inspire students to create their own businesses. Working as a teenager will give you the chance to explore career options before choosing a college major. I think the course should be a third period elective class because it will teach students how to find and apply to jobs, and also teach them how to manage money. As a final project students will be asked to to write a resume, record a good example of a job interview, and create an example of their own schedule. I think Jessica our school counselor, should teach the class because she is currently helping me with my savings, and she gives really good advice and information.

These website links are potential partners/resources for this class.

youthjobcenter.org
cityofchicago.org
chicagoparkdistrict.com
onesummerchicago.org
news.uchicago.edu
thechicagourbanleague.org

My hopes are that students walk away with more independence, learn how to manage their time better and start working.  

Created by JV, 2016*

I Know Where The Light Goes.

Light, Sound & Time is a STEAM course where we dive deep in our surroundings. We want to know more about the world around us, how we see the world, how we hear, and how we capture time. In this unit we focused on light. We studied how fast light travels, where light comes from, and how we capture it. We learned about light, the visual spectrum, and the speed of light. We talked about the human eye and how it relates to a camera, and how both can receive light in the same way. The purpose of this Action Project is to build a camera, use it, and capture pictures with it. What I enjoyed most about this project was building the camera and having the chance to work in a dark room.

Created by JV Photo From Pinhole Camera, 2016*

Created by JV Camera, 2016*

In pinhole cameras the light travels in straight lines which is called the rectilinear theory of light. This makes the image appear upside down in the camera. My camera is made out of a cardboard box, duct tape, and a piece of an aluminum can to create the lens. My camera does not demonstrate refraction because refraction is the bending of light waves when they travel from one medium to another. My camera just has air, it doesn’t have two mediums to make refraction. The inside of my camera is black because black absorbs light, whereas white reflects it. If the inside of my box were white the image wouldn't develop because there would be too much light bouncing around inside. To develop our images we had to place photosensitive paper inside of my camera across from the lens. I had to make sure no light was getting through. I placed my camera in front of objects that I wanted to take a picture of. Pinhole cameras have a shutter speed, which is the length of time a camera shutter is open to expose light into the camera lens. My shutter speed was 4 minutes. After the shutter speed I had to go back into the dark room, and place my image in chemicals in order to develop them. My device demonstrates wave vs particle because when the light goes through the pinhole lens, it acts like a wave being filtered. When light is being recorded onto the photosensitive paper it acts like a particle. Light is a type of energy formed by a combination of electrical and magnetic rays, this is also known as the electromagnetic spectrum which also relates to my pinhole camera. The electromagnetic spectrum is the entire range of light that exists, this spectrum chart is the reason we can see color, and are able to have pictures.

Our first Field Experience for Light, Sound, & Time was going to a dark room that we were able to use thanks to the Latin School Of Chicago. We had the chance to set up what we wanted to take photos of using our pinhole cameras. Unfortunately my pinhole camera failed. I think it’s because my camera wasn't light-proof enough. Light was coming through from the sides of my box. If my camera had an actual lid that I was able to take off and on I think my photos would have came out a lot better. I did four trials. Down below are all the measurements of my camera. My sketch is similar triangles to represent my camera, measurements to an object and the light ray connecting them. I had to calculate the sides and all angles. I learned so much in this unit and can't wait to see what the rest of the course is going to be like. Below is my photo that I took with my pinhole camera. The photo didn't develop because there was too much light.

The measurements to my camera are:

Lens to photo paper: 3.5 inches
Height to pinhole: 5.5 inches
Height to object: 7 inches

Created by JV, 2016*