Solar Panels

The purpose of this Action Project was to research a type of renewable energy that a home owner can switch to. I picked solar panels, which are a type of radiant energy because solar panels absorb the sun’s rays. I chose to do this type of renewable energy, because I think solar panels use more recent technology, and I love how we are constantly trying to further develop our technology. I like how we can get energy from the sun. To present my findings, I created a video that encourages viewers to switch to renewable energy. What I found most challenging about this Action Project was inserting pictures that match the audio portion of my project. I overcame this challenge by doing research about solar panels to understand them better. I am most proud of my video, because I think viewers will recognize the importance of switching to renewable energy. The video will help spread the word of how to make our planet cleaner and last longer. I also really like how all the pictures came together! 

                                                                                     Created by JV & RD

JV- Man my electricity bill has been going up! I need to make a change. Any suggestions? I just realized that buying light bulbs and wasting energy on light can really effect the earth and my wallet!

RD- Funny that you brought that up, because I just recently lowered my electricity bill. It’s something that I would have never thought I would switch to, but I’m using Solar panels now.

JV- Solar panels, What are those?

RD- Solar panels are designed to absorb the sun's rays, a type of radiant energy. They serve the purpose of transferring the heat energy from the sun to electricity for your home.

JV- I'm sorry I still don’t understand, and how does that benefit my wallet? 

RD- Solar energy is produced by conducting the sun’s radiation, a process that excludes any smoke, gas, and other chemical by-products. It does not need expensive raw materials like coal and oil, and it requires a way lower operational labor than normal power productions.

JV- So your saying if I buy these Solar panels, I will save money and live a healthier and less expensive life?

RD- I sure do! How much are you paying right now, for your electricity?

JV- I am paying $105.20 every month.

RD- Wow! Exactly what I used to pay.

JV- I mean, I’m hearing some good things about these panels, but there has to be at least another downside to them, besides the price right? 

JV- For example, do I get any light in the night?

RD- No. However, if the previous day was full of sunlight, your panels will collect that energy and save it for cloudy days or at night. Other than that, the only problem is that the sun doesn't shine 24/7.

JV- Okay where would I be able to buy these solar panels?

RD- I got mine at Solar panel warehouse, for a pretty good deal! Plus they install them for you, but for a steep price.

JV- What’s the initial cost? And will I break even? If so, when?

RD- You typically use 513 kWh in any given month, which means you are paying $23.78 per kWh for electricity in a single month. This is known as your electric supply charge, and its really high! Basically, at this rate, you are paying $105.20 each month just for electricity.

RD-If you were to install Solar panels, initially, it will cost you $8,000. I know that is a high cost, but if you wait 9 years, you will break even, and your investment will pay itself back in cash. Over 14 years, your annual average utility savings will be anywhere between $1,930 to $3,682!

JV- WOW! I am totally switching, thank you for the information!

Cherishing Family

The purpose of this Action Project in the humanities class Who am I? is to become a time machine and tell a story that brings people back by using different senses. I had to come up with a memory that defines me as person and how it shapes me. I chose to write about how I cherish the people in my life. What I found most challenging was bringing in props to present my memory by using senses. How I came over this challenge was by bringing in all the right materials to make my memory feel real. What I am most proud of is letting people know who I cherish most in my life.

                                                                                        Created by JV Six Flags 2014*

On April 20, 2013 I spent a day at Six Flags Great America that I will never forget. We walked among people with big smiles on their faces, pushed through the smell of funnel cake in the air, and talked to each other over the tracks of the roller coasters and the people screaming because of them. The lively park was perfectly balance by the calm weather, feeling warm on my skin and the sun shining. I strolled through the park with my sisters, boyfriend, and hundreds of others that were there that day laughing, making fun of each other, and fighting over which ride to get on. A couple hundred miles away, hundreds of people’s laughter turned into screams when 3 people were killed in the bombing at the Boston marathon. As I go to Six flags it lets me forget about everything that is going on in the world and also in my life.

It brings back so many memories when I was a child. This memory defines me because as a little girl I would be brave and sneak on all the crazy big roller coasters. That was when I started to show that I was really brave, even though I was terrified of heights. My family always took me to Six Flags and I cherished the moments with my family. When I experienced it with my boyfriend, it made it even more interesting. I wanted to go on the big rides while he was scared, he thought I was crazy. He made me realize I’m even braver than I thought. Because of that I cherish him in my life even more. If I didn't have my boyfriend in my life I wouldn't be the person I am now, he teaches me things about myself that I didn't even realize. This memory will relate to Jung’s collective unconscious because everybody at some point in their life has gone to six flags, a carnival, or festival. They have gone on roller coasters and maybe faced their fear. They also shared memories with people that they cherish in their life. My Grandmas has always told me to cherish what I have in me life. This experience taught me to cherish the tradition of going to Six Flags every year. To have great memories and learning how to be brave. This experience shapes me to cherish all the people I have in my life to shape me and show me how brave I am.

Natural Gas- Methane

The purpose of this Action Project was to create a presentation that explains a specific energy producing nonrenewable source. I chose to study natural gas, and found that it is mainly made up of methane. I chose to research methane because this natural gas heats homes and is a big source of energy that we use in our everyday lives. In my presentation I had to find two points for natural gas. One point measures the original amount of this source, and the other point measures how much of the source existed today. After finding these two points I had to make a graph and predict when the resource will run out. I predicted that the resource will be gone in 545.45 years from now. We are using so much natural gas, what will happen when we run out?

What I found most challenging about this Action Project was doing all the research and finding my two points. How I overcame this challenge was finding good web sites and getting reputable information. I also got detailed information from a person that I interviewed about natural gas. What I enjoyed most about this project was finding out so much information about natural gas and how we get it and use it. I never thought I would be so interested in researching about different types of fuel. It is so interesting to me to ask questions, what will we do if we run out of this essential resource? I am most proud of how my presentation turned out I worked hard and did a lot of research!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

The purpose of this Action Project was to find my own voice, and to express what I believe in. We made a podcast that talks about what we believe in and I chose to write about courage. What I learned during this action project was making a podcast. What I found most challenging was telling my story about how I found courage. This was challenging because I never talked about my story. What I am most proud of is how my podcast turned out.

L. Frank Baum. The Cowardly Lion. 1900. Internet: Wikicommons. 17 Jan 2014 . 

Why did the Cowardly lion from the Wizard Of Oz want courage? He wanted courage so he could become the king of the forest, so he went to Emerald City. Followed the Yellow Brick Road in search of the OZ to get his courage. When the Cowardly lion discovered that the OZ did not have the power to give him courage, he realized he had it all along. Just like the Cowardly Lion, I believed that I needed to find a place to get courage. But I had an experience that made me realize, just like the Cowardly Lion that I had courage all along.

I try my best to face my fears and I believe that that makes me stronger. I believe in courage because courage helped me when I needed it most. I believe that we are all to afraid to show that we have courage. I believe that courage can shape me. I believe that courage opens my eyes. I also believe that courage is my biggest fear and that being courageous is scary. But, I believe being courageous allows me to conquer my biggest fears.

I was hiding from my classmates throughout my 3rd and 8th grade. I discovered my courage by facing my fear. I was afraid of going to school because I had an IEP and being put in a room with only 5-10 kids that made me feel like I was a prisoner. Being in special education intimidated me into not showing how much I actually knew. Kids would stare at me like I was a animal, they would ask me “why are you in special ed, you don’t look retarded”? They were right I wasn't, special ed kids aren't retarded. I didn't need to be in special ed, but, I was afraid to tell the teachers I didn't need it. By being courageous and speaking up, I was able to get out of the special ed class and show people how smart I am. I felt liberated . My classmates started looking at me differently.

My fear of not getting into a high school I wanted to go to gave me the courage to speak up. This brought me to where I am now, at GCE. GCE taught me to have courage. I also was afraid to attend GCE because of how small the classrooms are. I knew I had to talk but I was afraid to open up and speak in front of the class everyday. I knew that by going to GCE I would learn to face my fears of speaking to the public. I would also learn how to travel around the city by myself. At the same time, I was afraid that I would be placed in special ed again, but the staff here understands the students and are good at communicating. The staff is pretty awesome. Because I knew that I could not hide at GCE, I found the courage.

Courage is so important to me because it help me face my biggest fear and gave me my greatest gift to attend my high school. I didn't always believe in courage. I didn't even know I had it. I got so much courage from GCE. I have already learned so much and changed as well. Courage will help you with your biggest fear. You don’t have to hide from it, be like the Cowardly Lion and face what you fear so you can get what you want.

Red Line Project

The purpose of this action project was to experience organizing and realizing a nonviolent intervention in my own city, practicing Satyagraha with the real world implications. In Global Peace we learned about Satyagraha which is Gandhi's principle for nonviolence. Satya means truth, graha means insistence in favor with the truth. Satyagraha means insistence of the truth. We used Satyagraha to understand how to make a nonviolent action happen.What I learned during this action project was to not be afraid of what you believe in. If you think something should be a different way protest or use any nonviolent way to solve the problem. I used a sheet of 198 methods of nonviolence actions to help me find a action that I want to take, which was number 179- Alternative Social institutions. What was most challenging about this action project was going out in the public to complete my action. What I enjoyed most was taking action in my own city!

  My action project was to document segregation and violence. I pick this action because there is still segregation in Chicago that many people don't know about. I want to change that, I did my action project with one of my class mate RD. We both feel really strong about this topic and wanted to find away to stop it. There should not be any segregation in Chicago all people should be equal no race should be treated any lower. Segregation should have stopped a long time ago but is still going on. People should care because segregation causes violence. I think nobody should treat any one lower because of what skin color, race, or religion. Segregation causes violence by people being separated and thinking they own a certain neighborhood. People thinking one side of the neighborhood is bad because of what race lives there when its just how the public marks the neighborhood as, and people not knowing segregation causes the violence.


We planned to schedule a date to take our action which was Wednesday Dec 11, 2013 on a FE day. We came up with a plan that we got inspired by a organization that is called "The Red Line Project" their form of nonviolence is to show that there is problems and violence on the red line. "Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, and The Red Line Project helps readers better understand and connect with them. The site covers news and urban issues in neighborhoods located near Chicago's Red Line El stops". Our plan was to show that there is still segregation in our city. We went on the red line our first stop was Chicago and the train was so packed. As we started going on down less white people were getting on. By Sox-35th the train was empty. On 47th there was mostly African Americans, we documented the train ride. We wanted to show that people do not go by 47th because of the people and history, which causes segregation.

                                                                                                Created by JV 

I think our action went really smooth the success was getting to actually do our action during school rather than going after. Another success was getting all the footage that we needed I really like how our video came out. When people were looking at us on the train felt so great because we really stood out. When we got to tell them about our action felt good because a lot of people were surprised to hear what we were taking action on. The only thing that I would change would be communicating more to the public. Overall my action went really good and I will definitely do it again!

"The Red Line Project". redlineproject.org. 2013. Web. December 9, 2013.

Beautiful Art

The purpose of this action project was to document our art pieces, which was my sticker that I had to screen print and hand them out to the public. The art piece was the class installation that we made to see how people will interact with them, but also how the artworks change. We made a video that will show how our artworks changed over time and to see how our YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL installation was created and put in the public. What I learned was documenting our artwork is really important because I got to see how two of my stickers changed. We will see how our class installation will change especially since we placed it in a park. I got to see how our massive art piece went from boring to BEAUTIFUL. What was most challenging in this project was letting go of all my art pieces. I spent so much time working on them and really got attached, it was hard putting them out in the public knowing that they won’t last. What I enjoyed most about this project was making this video, it was really fun watching all my art pieces change.


                                                          Created by JV

Original don't die as a copy!

The purpose of this action project was to plan and build a series of artworks that will spark interactions within a community. I chose to do a quote which was “ You are born Original Don’t die as a copy”. The meaning behind the quote is, don’t fake who you are just to impress somebody, just be yourself. Having to change the quote to fit on the sticker was the most challenging part in the project. I really like my design and I didn't want to change it at all because it means so much to me. What I enjoyed most about this project was making my sticker came to life. I want to post my sticker up and see how people react to them. What I learned during this project was I need to be open and free to get inspired  because that is what makes the best art pieces.

Photography JV ORIGINAL 2013*

Name: [JV]

Title: [Original Don’t die as a copy]

Size: [3 x 4 and 1 ⅓ x 4] 

Materials: [Silk Screen, Screen-printing ink, and Labels]

Date: [November 2013]

The written message in public art is for artist to express themselves. I want the public to see my artwork and be inspired by my sticker. I watched a movie called Style Wars, it is a 1980's documentary about graffiti artists in New York City. Their art work made people talk about the art piece. People talked about their graffiti even if they didn't understand the art work. Even people who hated it would still see the art and see the person’s name. The graffiti artists would tag their name and art piece on the train. The artists would graffiti trains because the trains go all over the city, so many people will see the artist name. 

I want that feeling of being seen that the New York artists had. The intended purpose for my art piece was to tell people to be themselves, and not trying to fake being something they're not. I want to provoke honesty in my message. I want the public to be inspired. I hope that my message actually mean something to at least one person. I came up with this idea because I do not need to fake my personality to be friends with somebody. I like to be completely myself with everybody. The design of my art piece is two puzzle pieces, one with a design that says Original. The other puzzle piece says Don’t die as a copy with no design.  I picked this quote and design because it speaks to me. The original quote was “You are born original don’t die as a copy”. I cut out the first part of the quote because it was too long. My message is to just be your self. The process to build my sticker was to screen print.

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL ACTION PROJECT:

The purpose of this action project was to plan and build a massive art piece and put it out in the public. We built a bus stand and will document it to see how it changes over time. The most challenging part about this action project was trying to decide how I will decorate my letter. The most enjoyable part about this action project was getting ideas and decided to decorate my letter with candy. 

                                             

                                                                                                  Photography JV CANDY Letter 2013*

Name: [JV]

Title: [You are Beautiful]

Size: [12 x 15]

Materials: [Cabinet wood door, white pencil, black and pink paint, paint brush, varieties of candy, hot glue gun, acrylic gel] 

Date: [November 2013]

The idea and intended purpose for the You Are Beautiful installation was for the class to pick one idea that each classmates came up with. We all agreed on the bus stand idea because we thought it would be really fun making one big installation and see how the public will react. The You Are Beautiful project is by Matthew Hoffman who is a Chicago-based artist he created the You Are Beautiful idea. Matthew’s sticker went worldwide because people love his idea. He did multiple of public art in Chicago that brought lots of communities together. 

The aesthetic enhances the art piece because we all got a different letter and decorated it differently. All of the letters are different shapes and sizes with different colors and textures.  All of our ideas for the letters will make the bus stand look really cool. We are also making the bus stand out of doors, which will also make the bus stand look really unique. The idea come from the Chicago art museum which was originally a homeless house. Then one of my classmates recreated the idea and turned it into a bus stand. Each student was assigned to pick a letter and got to design it to put on the art piece.

I picked the letter U and there are 7 pieces to my letter. I decorated my letter with all different kinds of candy using a hot glue gun. I did this because it will make my letter look very eye catching with all the varieties of candy that I used. I cut my letter in 7 pieces going from smallest to biggest, I did this to give it a cool effect.