Marsha P. Johnson: Fighting for LGBTQ Rights

For our class Global Peace, we studied worldwide issues and how we might go about solving them in peaceful ways. To dive further into this, we learned about Mahatma Gandhi and his principles of nonviolent actions. The principles or pillars that we studied were: Sarvodaya, Swaraj, Swadeshi, and Satyagraha. Sarvodaya means the uplifting of all or the progress of all. Swaraj means self-governing or self-rule. Swadeshi refers to local economy and self-fulfilling resources. Satyagraha is the practice of non-violent political protest. Along with Gandhi's methods, we learned about Sharpe's Methods. This is a list of 198 ways to protest nonviolently. We also learned about different types of violence. There are structural, cultural. and direct. Structural violence is violence through a large institution or bigger power. This could be through schools or even prisons. Cultural violence is violence through cultural beliefs. This could be something like honor killings in some cultures. Direct violence is direct aggression like murder or any other one on one violent actions. We studied conflict analysis tools as well. We learned about the conflict analysis tree and iceberg. The tree refers to 3 stages of analysis with the causes as the root of the tree, the core problem as the trunk, and the effects as the branches. The iceberg tool shows the hidden problems under the waterline and the visible problems above the waterline. Both of these tools can be used to analyze most conflicts.

I studied Marsha P. Johnson who was a famous LGBTQ activist and Drag Queen. She was born as a male in 1945. Johnson moved to New York at a young age and lived on the streets. She made a living by being a drag queen and prostitute on Christopher Street. She soon joined and created various organizations such as STAR and ACT UP. She was one of the key figures in early LGBTQ rights movements. I learned a lot from Marsha P. Johnson. I realized that no matter how poor you are, or how much of an outcast you are, you can still make a big difference in this world. I also learned that you can be confident in who you are no matter what. Johnson was a social outcast and part of a very small minority in New York at the time. She was a confident progressive activist who didn't let anyone tell her how to live her life.

Pay It No Mind. "A Photo of Marsha. P Johnson." 7, Oct 2017.

Can Animals Help Us Live Sustainable Life?

For our second action project for my elective class, Biomimicry, we created designs of homes and transportation inspired by animals. In the second unit, we focused on the animal side of Biomimicry. What can we learn from animals? We discovered that we can learn from animals through Biomimicry in 3 ways: Form, Process, and Ecosystem. These are the 3 things we are inspired by. Form - the build or physical structures of the animal. Process - the behavior or processes of animals. Ecosystem - how animals interact with their environment. We also looked at how different animals move and build. We studied how wings work with Bernoulli's principle and lift, weight, drag, and thrust. We had a guest come in from Biomimicry Chicago. She showed us various animals skins, and how these skins show adaptations. She also lead us in an exercise of Biomimicry. For our action project, we had to create an architectural design and transportation design. I picked the Namibian Beetle, and the Shovel Snouted Lizard. We had to make a design, and then draw a diagram and build a model. I am proud of how my project turned out!

In the end, I really enjoyed this project. This was probably the most work intensive AP I have ever done. I was a lot of work, but it didn't feel overwhelming. I liked the challenge of this project. Unlike the last Biomimicry Ap, I really liked both of my ideas. I thought both of them were very strong and very practical. I wish my model turned out a bit better and that I could have added more detail, but we only had about 2 hours to build a full model. I am proud of this project and I thought it was very though provoking.

Baobab Cat Tree

In my Junior STEAM elective, Biomimicry, we learned about designs based on nature, specifically plants. In the first unit, Like a Plant, we studied different plants and their survival and evolution tactics and how they evolved with the certain traits they have. We also looked at evolution to see how different species evolved to survive over time. We looked at different products made that were inspired by plants. We traveled to the Lincoln Park Conservatory to study different plants and their traits. We also studied the Fibonacci sequence, which is a sequence of numbers commonly found in nature. For this action project, we were asked to either think of a human challenge and find a plant that could help solve it, or find a plant, and design a product inspired by that plant. I chose the latter. I was watching my cats play at home, and I was thinking about their cat tree, so I decided I would try to come up with a creative and more sustainable idea for a cat tree. I found the Baobab Tree, which is a tall tree that has an ecosystem of its own. I enjoyed this project, but it did challenge me to think outside of the box. I hope you enjoy my design.

In conclusion, this product was somewhat challenging for me. I learned more about design than I did plants, but it was still very useful. I really had to think outside the box for this project, as I really didn't have any solid ideas for a design until I saw my own cats playing around. I am proud of the design, although it is more of a novelty than I would have liked it to be. I have gotten positive feedback, but I maybe would have liked to think of a more useful product. In the end, I am happy with how this project turned out, and I liked that I was challenged more than I usually am. 

Get the Crud out of Your Blood

Sadly, this is my last Unit in my favorite class, Cure. In this last unit, we learned about prevention of diseases. We didn't have very much time to complete this unit, so we did some math concepts like probability, to relate to the probability of contracting diseases and medications working. We also created a family tree for ourselves to look t any diseases that are present in our family. I liked this activity because I got to learn more about my family and what they were affected by. For our field experiences, we had a certified Yoga Nidra instructor come in and guide us through a meditation session. This was to show us alternative ways of healing other than medication or surgery which we covered in our previous unit. I thought this session was relaxing, although, I couldn't really get into the meditation but I enjoyed seeing ways of healing that I am unaware of. For this action project, we combined pretty much everything we learned in Disease and Cure. We were essentially playing doctor. We had to create a patient profile for a fictional person, that could be based on someone real. For my purposes, I chose someone fake. In this profile, we had to discuss their history, their main concerns and the reason for a consultation. We had to make recommendations to the patient about their lifestyle, their diet, and other therapies we wanted them to do. I chose to create someone with a risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolisms (PE) because I am very interested in vascular surgery.

In the end, I am very sad that this class is over, as it was my favorite I have ever taken at GCE, and probably will ever take. I am so grateful I got to participate and share my knowledge. I really liked this action project because it was a very nice closure to both Disease and Cure. It incorporated most things and really had us show off what we learned in these classes. I had some trouble with making up a person for this project because the original person was based off a real person who had a rare syndrome but it didn't really affect his life so it would have been hard to do. I am very sad that this class is over, but I toughly enjoyed it, and I am very proud of all the work I have done.

Feminism Throughout Time

In our last humanities class for sophomore year, Drama, we read Henrick Ibsen's "A Dolls House." We read this in the same format as we did with Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." We would read an act or a scene and then have a quiz on the play. Once we were finished with the play, we watched the movie version of "A Dolls House." I really liked the movie and thought it stayed very true to the play. It was almost word for word. I enjoyed "A Dolls House" a lot. It was shorter than "The Taming of the Shrew," and the language was much easier to understand. I thought maybe we should have read "A Dolls House" First to get used to reading scripts, and then gone onto "The Taming of the Shrew" which was more difficult to read."A Doll's House" takes place in the late 1800s in Norway. It is about a woman who is controlled by her husband and keeps a secret from him. He then finds out the secret and is upset, but after learning it would be ok, he forgives her. This causes her to see how badly he treats her and she leaves him. For this unit, we went to the Goodman Theater in Chicago to get a tour of their stage, and then to work on our plays with some of their staff. I thought these field experiences were helpful, but not very fun. For this action project, we were randomly paired up. I was paired with IF and ZG. You can see their blogs here and here. We had to write a script discussing feminism throughout different times. This was a daunting task, but with 2 other people, it was fairly straightforward. We then filmed up acting out the play.

In the end, I liked this project. It was very daunting at first, but with partners, it was fairly easy to split up the work so we were not overwhelmed. I liked the creative process of writing the play, and it was also very fun to act out the play. The most difficult part was to get good lighting and audio in the video. I am happy with how this turned out, and I really liked the action projects in Drama.

Put Pain in its Place

For our second unit in our STEAM class Cure, we learned about different treatments and medicines. We studied how different drugs affect the body and how medicines are different from medicaments. Medicaments refer to just the drug that is taken, but medicine can refer to the whole practice. We learned about the different categories of medicaments and how they work inside the body.

For one of our field experience days, we did a miracle berry lab. This is when we took miracle berry capsules and tried different foods. The miracle berry is a berry that blocks the sour taste receptors in your tongue, so sour food can taste sweet. We did this to study the lock and key mechanism. The berry's molecular structure fits right into the tongue's sour receptors. This helped us better understand how medicaments work, and to experience it in our own body. We tried different food like salt and vinegar chips, pickles, and even hot sauce with and without the miracle berry to compare the taste. They worked a lot better than I thought they would, and it was a very fun experience.

 For this action project, we had to choose a symptom to study. I chose post-surgical pain because I am very interested in surgery. We then had to research three treatments for the symptom, one prescription, one over the counter, and one remedy or behavior. I chose Oxycodone, Tylenol, and Bromelain. We then had to create a medicine box to show our research. We created drug facts for each of the treatments and made a comparison of the three. I really liked this action project because I got to learn more about surgical pain management which is something I have not studied very much. I love to study surgery, but this project opened my eyes to the recovery process.

CM "Surgical Pain." (2018)

CM "Oxycodone" (2018)

CM "Tylenol" (2018)

CM "Bromelain" (2018)

CM "Comparison" (2018)

CM "Ingredients" (2018)

The reason I chose to put the pictures of the molecular structure of the medicaments is to help explain the "lock and key" mechanism. The lock and key mechanism shows how well medicaments work based on their molecular structure. If a medicament has a molecular structure that fits into the body's molecular structure nicely, like a key fits into a lock, then usually, the medicament will work better. An example would be Advil, which is a pain reliever. Advil blocks the pain receptors by sending itself into the receptors and blocking their signals, stopping the body from receiving pain signals, and reducing pain.

In the end, I liked this project as it was more hands-on than most projects. I actually got to make something rather than make a digital slideshow or video like normal. I liked researching these medicaments, but it could be challenging to find good information. It was also a little challenging calculating the price per dose, as doses can be different than the price of the bottle. I am very proud of how the box came out, and I am very sad to be ending this class soon, as it was easily my favorite class of all time.

Works Cited:

“Bromelain.” Health Line.com. Health Line Media. N.d. https://www.healthline.com/health/bromelain

Cintron, Lynn M.D. M.S. “Persistent Postsurgical Pain.” Practical Pain Management.com. Vertical Heath. 19, June 2017. https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/persistent-postsurgical-pain?page=0,1

Erikson, Kim. “Natural Healing After Surgery.” Mother Earth Living.com. Ogden Publications Inc. January, 2003. https://www.motherearthliving.com/Health-and-Wellness/Operation-Recovery

Mayo Clinic Staff. “Pain Medication After Surgery.” Mayo Clinic.org. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. 30, June 2017. https://www.mayoclinic.org/pain-medications/art-20046452

“Oxycontin.” Good Rx.com. Good Rx Inc. 2018. https://www.goodrx.com/oxycontin

“Oxycontin.” RxList.com. Rxlist Inc. 6, January 2017. https://www.rxlist.com/oxycontin-drug.htm#clinpharm

“Regular Strength Tylenol.” Tylenol.com. Johnson & Johnson Inc. n.d. https://www.tylenol.com/products/tylenol-regular-strength-tablets#directions

“Tylenol.” Rxlist.com. Rxlist Inc. 4, December 2017. https://www.rxlist.com/tylenol-side-effects-drug-center.htm

Is Kate Really a Shrew?

In Drama, our 3rd sophomore humanities class, we read Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." I have never read this play, and it was a lot better than I thought it would be. We read an online version and all picked out parts and read each act and scene. After each scene, we took a test. I liked this format of picking the roles and reading the play. We discussed the gender roles of the play and the patriarchal society at the time, as the play takes place in Italy in the 1500's. We were asked to write down words that we do not recognize throughout the play. We then would define them and put them into our glossary. For this AP, we had to write a sonnet about a character. We looked at different sonnets that Shakespeare wrote. A sonnet is a kind of poem that follows these specific guidelines: It has to have 14 lines, 10 syllables for each line and has 3 quartets or stanzas of 4 lines, and a rhyming couplet at the end, which is 2 lines that rhyme at the end. A sonnet also follows the iambic pentameter or a rhyme scheme. This says that either every other line rhymes or the 2 in the middle and the 2 on the ends rhyme. I chose to do it the second way, mostly because that was how my first lines came out, and you have to stick with the same rhyme scheme through the whole sonnet. I decided to write to Kate, one of the main characters in the play who is being tamed by her husband. I wanted to tell her that she should not let him push her around and that she was fine the way she was behaving.I thought that it was wrong that Petruchio (Kate's husband) was manipulating Kate and telling her that she was wrong about everything. This just shows how much of a patriarchal society everyone was living in.

Here is a video of me performing my Sonnet

Here is the sonnet. The bold words are my vocabulary words. The quote is one I found in the play.

Dearest Kate, I have heard of your story.

I understand your situation well.

You were a shrewish wench straight out of hell.

Being sassy, you were in your glory.

Petruchio is not a gentleman.

There was nothing wrong with the way you talked.

You were so strong and sure, everyone gawked.

He only wants you to be feminine.

You should not have let him be a rudesby.

He only wants to manipulate you.

You should not have let him take your mind too 

"By this reck’ning, he is more shrew than she.”

Prithee, do not let him beguile you too.

For Petruchio wants to tame a shrew.

In the end, I liked this action project. I was very unsure about poetry, as I am usually not very good, but I found this kind of poetry to be fun and fairly simple. I liked having to find words that rhyme, and also having to use our own vocabulary words. I think my biggest challenge was starting to write the sonnet. This was because I doubted myself in what I could do, but once I got the first few lines, I was able to do the rest pretty easily. I am most proud of how the poem came out, and how I tied in all the words to make it sound nice. 

What is a Carotid Endarterectomy?

In the first unit of our 3rd sophomore STEAM class called "Cure," we learned about surgery, kind of. I have been looking forward to this class since the beginning of freshman year. I could not wait to flaunt my extensive surgical knowledge. To my disappointment, we did not really talk about surgery in the first unit. We still have to do this action project though. In our first unit, we learned about cells and cell reproduction and division, as well as conic sections, which I am not sure how that relates to the class, but they are very fun. We took an FE to the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago. I love this museum. It is in a beautiful old house on Lake Shore Drive. We got a tour of the museum and then got to explore it on our own. For this project, we had to pick a surgery and analyze it. I went all out and actually did the surgery which I am very proud of. We had to make a slideshow and explain all the organs, tissues, and cells affected by the surgery. I had a really hard time deciding which surgery to do. I choose a carotid endarterectomy because it is a cool procedure but it is not super complicated.

I really wanted to go all out for this AP, so I decided to use my surgical app called "Touch Surgery." I found this app about a year ago and it has greatly improved my skills and understanding of different procedures. I used the screen record on my phone and then recorded a voice memo and overlayed it onto the video. I think it came out really great. 

If you would like to view the script of the video, you can use this link.

In the end, this is definitely my favorite action project I have ever done. I am disappointed in the lack of surgery talk in class, but we still got to do this project. I struggled with choosing a surgery, and I did doubt myself several times throughout the process, but I am happy with the procedure. I had a lot of trouble with recording the video. I didn't realize that the screen capture on the iPhone does not record audio, so I was talking to my phone for an hour like an idiot. I also had trouble with the screen capture working, as it would keep shutting off in the middle of the procedure. In the end, I am very proud of this project, but I still wonder if I could have done more.


Works Cited:

Alberts, Bruce. “Blood Vessels and Endothelial Cells.” NCIB.gov. U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26848/

“Cell Anatomy.” Home Science Tools.com. Home Science Tools. n.d. https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/anatomy-of-a-cell-science-lesson/

Dr. Pounds, C, Lori. “Carotid Endarterectomy.” Vascular.org. Society for Vascular Surgery. n.d. https://vascular.org/patient-resources/vascular-treatments/carotid-endarterectomy#description

Mayo Clinic Staff. “Carotid Endarterectomy.” Mayo Clinic.org. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. 3, April 2018. ttps://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/carotid-endarterectomy/about/pac-20393379

“What is a carotid endarterectomy?” My Cleveland Clinic.org. Cleveland Clinic. n.d. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/16849-carotid-endarterectomy

All Books are Not Created Equal

In the final unit of our class Forbidden Books, we learned about censorship. We did not do an action project for Unit 2 because our teacher thought this project was more important. In the 3rd unit, we learned about the censorship of books. We read Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian." We had weekly book clubs to discuss the book. We visited our local public radio station, WBEZ, to meet with their south-side correspondent Natalie Moore. Ms. Moore wrote a book about the South-Side that was banned in Illinois prisons. We talked with her about what it was like to be an author of a banned book. At the beginning of this class, we chose one of five banned books. The options were: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Animal Farm by George Orwell. Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I chose The Outsiders because it is one of my favorite books of all time. We then had to read the book and write an essay about why it was banned. I liked this project because it was challenging. We don't write essays that often, and I like writing them. I am proud of how it came out and happy that I got to write about my favorite book.

TheeErin. "“When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.” (1972) Flickr. Web. 23, March 2018.

CM

Forbidden Books

16 March 2018

The Censorship of The Outsiders

Imagine a writer working hard for years on a book that she is so proud of. She can’t wait to get it out into the world for everyone to read it. Just as she thinks she has made it, her book is banned all across the country for its explicit nature. This is actually very common all across the world and has happened for a very long time. S.E. Hinton was only 16 years old when she started writing her famous novel The Outsiders in 1967. This book follows the lives of teenagers in a gang in Tulsa, OK in the 1960s. Their gang is called the Greasers. They are rivals of the gang the Socs. The main character is Ponyboy Curtis, who is the youngest member of the gang. Ponyboy’s brothers are Sodapop and Darry. Their parents were killed in a car accident leaving Darry, the oldest, to look after the brothers. One day, the Socs beat up Johnny (who is another member of the Greasers) and Ponyboy which ends up with Johnny killing one of the Socs in self-defense. The Greasers then have to go into hiding to try to run away from their crimes. Some of the Greasers try to deal with the consequences, some of the Greasers become heroes, and some end up having a tragic end. This book’s main theme is the importance of family and sticking together. Ponyboy and his brothers have to figure out their lives as they try to cope with their parents' deaths and the actions of the other gang members. This book was censored because it depicted underaged drinking, smoking, and drug use. It is also very violent with many graphic fight scenes depicted. Many churches also banned this book because it went against the Christian path. Even though there is violence and illegal activities, The Outsiders should not be banned in schools or churches.

The Outsiders was banned in schools and churches because of its depiction of underage drinking, smoking and drug use. It is also violent and describes gory fight scenes. The book was first challenged in 1986 in a school district in Milwaukee Wisconsin when the book was put on an 8th-grade reading list. It was banned because according to the University of Tulsa, “Drug and alcohol abuse was common and virtually all the characters were from broken homes”(Rosenthal). It was later challenged in a Boone, Iowa school district because of the “Glamorizing drug and alcohol use and uses obsessive violence and obscenity” (Rosenthal). It was then challenged in a West Virginia middle school because of its depictions of gang violence. The Outsiders was also banned in many churches around the country because of all the depictions described above, which could lead the readers to fall out of the “Christian path” (Rosenthal). This book was banned mostly for political and religious reasons.

The Outsiders was banned for many reasons that were stated before. These reasons can be explained with quotes directly from the book. In this first quote, Johnny and Ponyboy are hanging out at the park late at night smoking. They then see some of the Socs come into the park. One of the Socs, Bob, shoves Ponyboy’s head into the fountain, almost drowning him. Johnny feels that Bob will kill Ponyboy, so he pulls his switchblade and stabs Bob. Johnny said, “‘I killed him," he said slowly. "I killed that boy" (Hinton 48) Ponyboy describes, “Bob, the handsome Soc, was lying there in the moonlight, doubled up and still. A dark pool was growing from him, spreading slowly over the blue white cement. I looked at Johnny's hand. He was clutching his switchblade, and it was dark to the hilt. My stomach gave a violent jump and my blood turned icy”’(Hinton 48). This quote is controversial because it shows gang violence and describes emotional trauma and gory details.The next quote is from when Johnny and Ponyboy run away to Windrixville and hide out in an abandoned church. They are trying to hide from their crimes. In this quote, Ponyboy describes the fifth day of hiding out. They have had barely anything to eat and have smoked many cigarettes. Ponyboy said, “On the fifth day I had read up to Sherman's siege of Atlanta in Gone with the Wind, owed Johnny a hundred and fifty bucks from poker games, smoked two packs of Camels, and as Johnny had predicted, got sick. I hadn't eaten anything all day; and smoking on an empty stomach doesn't make you feel real great. I curled up in a corner to sleep off the smoke” (Hinton 68). This quote is controversial because it depicts underaged minors smoking and starving themselves. Ponyboy describes the effects of not eating much for days and smoking two packs of cigarettes, and how that makes the body feel. This is another reason why some people find The Outsiders controversial.

Even though many schools, churches, and people have banned or challenged The Outsiders, and they do have a good reason, this book should not be banned. The first reason is that this book teaches a valuable life lesson. The main overarching theme of the book is being loyal to family and trusting loved ones. This is a valuable life lesson that can be taken away. Secondly, all of the topics that are seen as “controversial” are all real-world topics and issues that come up in a teen’s life. Sheltering teens away from these “bad” behaviors won’t make them not want to do it, it will just make them uneducated about the subject and more likely to endanger themselves. Lastly, banning books is a bad way to keep ideas out of people’s minds. Deciding whether something is worthy or not for people to see is ridiculous. People should be able to decide for themselves if they want to read things. S.E. Hinton, the author of The Outsiders spoke to Willamette Weekly. When asked about the controversial topics in her book Hinton said, “In the beginning sometimes it was banned—just from parents seeing the book's cover and not reading the book. Teachers said to students, "Take the book home and read it." Nowadays grandparents share it with their grandchildren.” (Korfhage) Authors of banned books also have an opinion on their books being banned.

Even if The Outsiders is banned in different places, it doesn't change that fact that it is a good classic young adult novel, and many people enjoy it. Books have been banned and censored for a long time. banning books has existed throughout history because even people thousands of years ago had an agenda about what people could and could not read. Things might be banned historically in different places for different reasons just like today. This agenda has carried onto today. Not everyone is going to agree on what people can and cannot see. Nowadays, with the internet and television, we have many different kinds of censorship. Whether it is bleeping out curse words in TV, or putting age restrictions on movies, people are letting other people decide for themselves what they can and cannot see. The Outsiders still should not be banned because it does have a wholesome message, and is not nearly as violent and gory as some other books and media in the world today.

Works Cited

Baldassarro, Wolf R. “Banned Books Awareness: The Outsiders.” World.edu. Global Education Network. May 8, 2011. http://world.edu/banned-books-awareness-outsiders/

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York City: Viking Press, 1967. Print.

Korfhage, M. “Outsiders Author S.E. Hinton Talks Matt Dillon, and Why Everybody Keeps Showing Her Their Tattoos.” Willamette Weekly. May 16, 2017. http://www.wweek.com/uncategorized/2017/05/16/outsiders-author-s-e-hinton-talks-matt-dillon-and-why-everybody-keeps-showing-her-their-tattos/

Rosenthal, K. “Banned Books: Young Adult Novels.” University of Tulsa. March 13, 2014. http://orgs.utulsa.edu/spcol/?p=3254


In conclusion, I really liked this project. I enjoy writing essays, and it is alwaus very rewarding when they are finished. I really liked being able to read and write about by favorite book. I have never really thought about my positions on banned books before. After this project, I now think censoring books is ridicuous. People should decide for themselves what they do and don't want to read.

How Does it Feel to Have PTSD?

In our second Unit of our STEAM course, Disease, we learned about mental disorders. This Unit was about the mind. We learned about different kinds of mental disorders, learning disabilities, and mental illness. We also learned about different brain waves and when they manifest. We used this information to learn how to plot these waves on a graph and solve a piecewise function. Another thing we learned about was the DSM-5 This is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. This is a manual of many mental disorders that have criteria used to diagnose people. We had a 2nd-year medical student come in and talk to us about diagnosing and talking to patients. I really liked this experience and got to show off my medical knowledge. For this project, we had to pick a mental disorder. I chose Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. We then had to create a lesson and simulation to try to get our peers to feel the effects of the disorder. We also had to graph the brain waves that we thought our lesson would provoke. We then graphed these as a piecewise function. We filmed the lesson so we could document the experience. I thought this action project was fun. I thought it was different than the usual slideshow or essay. We also got to see everyone else do their simulation.

CM. Flyer. (2018)

My definition of PTSD would be: PTSD is a disorder in which a person has triggering flashbacks, memories, dreams, or hallucinations about a traumatic event in their past. According to the Veterans Association: "PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault."

PTSD can be very difficult to live with. I wanted to find out what it was like to take care of someone with PTSD. I found an interview with a woman named Rebecca McCoy. Her husband Craig was diagnosed with PTSD. She states, “I basically guide him through each day, do things that he cannot do for himself or help him complete the tasks he cannot finish on his own. I am his primary emotional support, the person who he can talk to openly. I also help him realize and remember that he is worth the fight PTSD brings." This quote shows how hard it is for people who take care of someone with PTSD is. Rebecca and Craig's relationship is much different now that he has been diagnosed with PTSD.

According to the DSM-5 here are 3 criteria for diagnosing PTSD:

Criterion A: stressor

The person was exposed to: death, threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence, as follows: (one required)

1. Direct exposure.
2. Witnessing the trauma, in person.
3. Indirectly, by learning that a close relative or close friend was exposed to trauma.

Indirect exposure to aversive details of the event(s), usually in the course of professional duties (e.g., first responders, collecting body parts; professionals repeatedly exposed to details of child abuse).

Criterion B: intrusion symptoms

The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in the following way(s): (one required)

1. Intrusive thoughts: Recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive memories. Note: Children older than six may express this symptom in repetitive play.
2. Nightmares. Note: Children may have frightening dreams without content related to the trauma(s).
3. Dissociative reactions (e.g., flashbacks) which may occur on a continuum from brief episodes to complete loss of consciousness. Note: Children may reenact the event in play
4. Intense or prolonged distress after exposure to traumatic reminders.
5. Marked physiologic reactivity after exposure to trauma-related stimuli.

Criterion C: avoidance

Avoidance of trauma-related stimuli after the trauma, in the following way(s): (one required)

1. Trauma-related thoughts or feelings.
2. Trauma-related external reminders (e.g., people, places, conversations, activities, objects, or situations).

Different parts of the brain are affected by PTSD. The parts of the brain that are most affected are the stress response centers like the Amygdala, Hippocampus, and Prefrontal Cortex. These are the areas of the brain that have Norepinephrine and Cortisol systems. These systems are known to have a dysregulated function after years of stress, according to US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.

Below is my lesson plan for my simulation. You can follow this so you can also host your own simulation.

For my simulation, I decided to turn PTSD into something good. I didn't want to actually scare anyone or do something that might be traumatic. I decided to ask them about the happiest day of their lives. I asked them to think about all the sensory details they could think of from that day like, what was the weather like, what were the smells, what food did you eat, etc. I had people relax and think about this for a couple minutes. I then told them this is what PTSD could feel like. I then told them about PTSD and why this simulation relates to the disorder. I told them: "What if this day that you were thinking about was the worst day of your life?" I told them that PTSD is like repeating the worst day of your life over and over again. I then had them reflect on the experience and what it would be like to actually have PTSD.

Here is the graph of the expected brain waves of my peers throughout the activity.

CM 'Piecewise Function" (2018)

For the graph, I put the 5 brain waves on the graph. These are Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, Gamma. These are the 5 brain waves that manifest at different times. Delta usually happens in deep sleep. Theta happens in light sleep or hypnosis. Alpha happens in meditation and relaxation. Beta happens in regular consciousness, thinking, and observing. Gamma happens in conversation, learning and problem-solving. I plotted each brainwave at each minute of the presentation. I then separated each piece into sections. I ended up having 7 sections. I then wrote their range. For each of pieces, I calculated the slope from their 2 points using y2-y1 over x2-x1. I then calculated the equation of that line and solved until I got what y equaled. I then put that into the f(x).

I think that if I had PTSD, daily life could be very hard. I think how difficult would depend on what kind of trauma I had gone through and what kind of triggers I would see in my day-to-day life. I could have a very severe case of PTSD or a rather mild one. I think my life would be different because I would be more anxious than I usually am. I would probably be looking for triggers and seeing how I could get out of situations that might trigger me. I would probably think about the trauma, definitely more than I would like to. I would have to make sure I had time to work my schedule so I could go to therapy to help deal with my symptoms. I might also have to pick up medication like anti-depressants to also help manage my symptoms. I might have night terrors or nightmares about the event that would make me emotional. I would have flashbacks and remember the incident. I would even sometimes be depressed and lose interest in activities and struggle with day-to-day life. I even might be struggling with survivors guilt depending on what kind of trauma I went through in the past. I think my life would be very different if I were having to deal with PTSD. I hope that I will never have to go through it, and if I do, I know the support I need to help get me through this difficult time.

In conclusion, I really liked this project. It was different than the usual projects we do and that was fun. There were a lot of different pieces to the project which did make it hard to keep track of. The part I struggled the most on with this project was coming up with how I was going to simulate PTSD. I talked with my teacher and he helped me with the idea. In the end, I enjoyed this project and have really enjoyed this class. I look forward to the next action project.

Works Cited:

"An Interview About Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Rebecca McCoy." (2014) Women's Health.gov. U.S. Department of Human Services. Web. 14, March 2018. https://www.womenshealth.gov/blog/spotlight-rebecca-mccoy

Bremner J. Douglas M.D. "Traumatic stress: effects on the brain." National Center for Biotechnology Information. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. Web. 14, March 2018. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181836/

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association. Washington D.C. (2013) 14, March 2018. 

"DSM-5 Criteria for PTSD" (2018) Brainline.org. Bob Woodruff Foundation. Web. 14, March 2018 https://www.brainline.org/article/dsm-5-criteria-ptsd

"PTSD Statistics." (2013) PTSD United.org. Web. 14, March 2018. http://www.ptsdunited.org/ptsd-statistics-2/

"Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder."(2018) PTSD Alliance.org. PTSD Alliance. Web. 14, March 2018. http://www.ptsdalliance.org/treatment/

"What is PTSD?"(2018)PTSD Alliance.org. PTSD Alliance. Web. 14, March 2018 http://www.ptsdalliance.org/about-ptsd/

What Makes a True Friend? A Socratic Dialogue

In our second Humanities class for my Sophomore year, we are learning about Socrates. This class is called Forbidden Books. We started off Unit 1 by learning about censorship. We then transitioned into learning about Socrates. I am not sure why or how this has to do with our learning about censorship of books, but I did enjoy learning about Socrates some more. We took an FE to Women and Children First which is a feminist bookstore in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. We talked with the co-founder about the history and the censorship of books. We then had an opportunity to look around the bookstore to see what kinds of books they carried. For this Action Project, we had the opportunity to pair up with someone from the class. If we chose to pair up with someone from the class, we had to choose the same topic. I paired up with KRM, and we chose to discuss the theme "What makes a true friend?" We had to write a script with a Socratic Dialogue about out topic. We wrote the script together and rehearsed the dialogue a few times. We then filmed it. We actually got the whole video in one take. I liked this project. I enjoyed working with one of my best friends on a project together. I enjoyed collaborating because it is different from my usual work. Check out KRM's blog here!
A Socratic Dialogue CM & KM from CM on Vimeo.

In class, we read The Apology. This was the transcript of Socrates when he was in court in Athens. Socrates questions Meletus. In our Socratic dialogue, We will take the roles of Socrates and Meletus.


What do You Think a True Friend Does?

What makes a true friend?

Character #1 Socrates - CM

Character #2 Meletus - KRM

CM: Hello Khaliya, how are you today?

KM: Hey, Claire! I’m good, how are you? OMG, let me tell you how much of a good person my best friend is!! He did this amazing thing for me today!

CM: What did he do? Why do you believe that you are true friends?

KRM: He gave me a $500 gift card to Akira because he knows how much I love to shop for clothes. And he knows that Akira is my favorite clothing store.

CM: Is that why you love him so much? Because he gave you something? Something that he knows that you like? That just seems like he is trying to please you with material things.

KRM: Because that's what friends do for other friends. Since he knew that I love Akira and love Akira clothing he decided to get me a gift card with money on it so that I don’t have to spend all of my money. I can't believe you don’t think we are true friends.

CM: I don’t doubt that you are true friends. You seem to really enjoy each other's company, I just wonder if this Is this really what you think friends do for each other? Just give each other things so they can think they are true friends?

KRM: Of course this is what I think friends do for each other. Friends make each other happy. It doesn't matter how they do it, as long as you are happy with each other, you are true friends. What do you know about friends anyway?

CM: I know little about being a true friend. This is just what I think. A true friend doesn't just give. What does he do besides give you gifts and money? Do you and your friend spend a lot of time together?

KRM: Well, you know my best friend and I do spend time together, but not that much. I would like it if we were able to spend more time together. We are together whenever we can be, so, therefore, we are there for each other.

CM: So, you think that if you spend time together, you are there for each other? Why do you think that spending lots of time together means you are there for each other? I would like to think that being there for each means more than a physical presence. Being there for each other is being there when the other is in need.

KRM: Well, we never talk about that kind of stuff. We always hang out when we are happy, we never want to talk about our true feelings. In fact, I can think of a few times when I needed to talk to somebody and he seemed uncomfortable. Maybe because we never talk about our true feelings.

CM: This is what I mean. You may really enjoy each other’s company, and you might give each other material things, but if you don't talk about your feelings, he will never be there for you. It’s not his fault. You both don’t talk to each other about real issues, so neither of you know when each other are in need. Does that sound like true friendship to you?

KRM: Man, I guess you’re right. I have never thought of our relationship in this way before. We never talk about the things that matter. I now think a true friend is someone who cares and someone you can talk to when you need someone. Maybe we are true friends!

In the end, I really enjoyed this project. I liked collaborating with my friend. I don't usually work with other people, but I enjoy it because it gives a different feel from my usual work. I think the most challenging part of this project was writing up the script. We had to fit enough questions in and make sure everything flowed and made sense. I am proud of how the video came out because we got it in one take. I think the script turned out well and our dialogue answered the question. I am looking forward to the next projects for this class.

Multiple Sclerosis: A Personal Perspective

In the second STEAM class of my sophomore year, we are learning about the body. This class is called Disease, the first unit is called Body. In this unit, we learned mostly science. We learned about cancer and how that affects the body. We also learned about each organ system and the organs included in them and what they do. I am a total surgical junkie, so I already knew all of the material in this unit, I did break off a little bit and did some extra research for myself. We also learned a math concept called completing the square. This is another way to solve quadratic equations. I have done a lot of work in quadratics in the past, but I have never learned this technique. It was actually really easy to learn and same a lot of sense. We did not take any FEs this unit, but I hope for some cool ones in the following units. For this action project, we were asked to conduct an interview. It had to be anonymous but we had to find someone with a disease and interview them about it. We then had to write up their profile and classify their disease in accordance with what we learned in class. We also had to draw a picture of each of the body systems that the disease affects. I made the outline of a human body and then used transparencies to draw the affected organ systems. I interviewed a woman in her late 40s with Multiple Sclerosis. I really liked this project, I was able to talk about the things I love to learn about. I really didn't have any issues with this project and I look forward to the rest of this class and the next class.

For this action project, I thought about who I could interview. I have some family members and some friends who have or have had diseases. I decided to interview someone with Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis or MS is an autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system or CNS. The CNS is the body’s control system. An autoimmune disease is when the body’s immune system attacks a healthy system or organ in the body. In the case of MS, the body’s immune system is attacking the myelin, which is the protective sheath on the nerve fibers, brain, and spinal cord. The myelin is damaged and interrupts the signals from the brain and the nerves, eventually leaving the nerves damaged. MS patients may have a wide variety of signs and symptoms depending on which nerves and how many nerves are affected. It could be a very small localized area or large areas. MS can have drastic effects on life. The loss of motor function or blindness are some extreme symptoms of MS. Some less severe cases can be managed with medication with little or no symptoms in day-to-day life. The most common type of MS disease course is a relapsing-remitting course. This means that symptoms of the disease come and go. Symptoms will appear over time and then get better. These periods of quiet time can last weeks to years. According to the Mayo Clinic, 60-70% or relapsing-remitting MS have steady progression and no relief time: this is called secondary progressive MS. There is also a course where people have a gradual onset and steady symptoms, this is called primary-progressive MS.

Symptoms

Symptoms of MS can vary from person to person. The most common type of symptoms a patient will experience are:

• Numbness and weakness in limbs
• Partial or total vision loss and pain when moving eyes
• Double vision
• Headaches
• Tingling in extremities
• Tremors
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Slurred speech.
• Problems with bladder and bowel function.

Classification

This disease is a genetic disease. MS is a non-transmittable disease. The cause of this disease is still unknown. The only way the disease is linked to other people is genetically. If you have a sibling or parent who had had MS, you are at higher risk of contracting the disease. MS is not transmitted through the air or bodily fluids. Some risk factors for contracting MS include:

• Family history - people with an immediate family member that has or had MS you are more at risk.
• Viruses - certain kinds of viruses have been connected with MS like the Epstein Barr virus that causes infectious mononucleosis. 
• Autoimmune diseases - diseases such as Type 1 diabetes, Thyroid disease, or Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Smoking also causes a higher risk of contracting MS. 
• Age - people between the ages of 15 and 60 are the most at risk for MS
• Gender - women are twice as likely of getting MS than men.

MS is most common in areas with temperate climates such as the northern US, Canada, south-eastern Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. The most common racial group to contract MS is people of Northern European descent. People who are of African, Asian, or Native-American descent have the lowest risk of contracting MS. There is no geo-economical link to MS at this point.

Nobody really knows why people contract MS but there are some risk factors like I stated before. The person I decided to interview is a 48-year-old female named Lynn. She has 2 teenage daughters and a husband. Lynn was diagnosed with MS 8 years ago in 2010. Lynn is a woman which means she was already at a higher risk. She also is of Northern European descent which it the most at risk racial group. She also lives and is from the northern United States which is one of the most at risk geographical locations. Lynn’s grandmother always had an undiagnosed neurological condition that could have been MS. Lynn also had Mononucleosis when she was in high school. This disease is caused by a bacteria that might be related to MS.

Lynn

It was the summer of 2010 and Lynn was living her life normally. She one day started to notice something funny with her vision. “It was weird,” she said. “Because for a couple days, I had been like feeling like something was weird with my vision. It was just, I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was going on, but it was like when I would turn my head quickly, my eyes weren't tracking right. We went to a dance recital and I really realized I was seeing double.” These are both very common symptoms of MS. Lynn also had a strange tingling feeling on her thigh. “It was like I had had a Novocaine shot.” she described. “ I did mention it to my doctor, and she said (“Well, I’m sure you don’t have MS.”)” It turns out the doctor was wrong. Lynn also experienced numbness and tingling on her extremities, another very common symptom. She was finally diagnosed later in the summer.

Lynn was diagnosed by the results of a series of tests. She underwent several MRIs which stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. These scanned her brain to look for lesions. She also underwent a Lumbar Puncture or Spinal Tap. This is a minor surgical procedure in which a large spinal needle is inserted between 2 lumbar vertebrae into the spinal canal to collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid, this is the fluid that is on the outside of the spinal cord. The fluid is tested to rule out other neurological diseases such as meningitis.

Lynn’s treatment consisted mostly of medication and follow up imaging. MS is an incurable disease. Symptoms can be managed and pain can be relieved, but the disease is always going to be in the body. She was prescribed Copaxone which is a medication that blocks the immune system from attacking the brain or an Immunosuppressant. This medication must be taken daily and is administered by an injection beneath the skin. Lynn could give herself these injections at home. She would take this injection every night, she would rotate between her thigh, buttock, stomach, and arm.She recalled, “It was scary the first time I had to do it because I didn't know how it was going to feel. I was relieved that it was not as bad as I thought. I found that I had injection site reactions. Early on I had pancake sized welts that were red and itchy.” The side effects of this medication are bruising and skin irritation at the injection site.

When she was first diagnosed, Lynn was admitted to the hospital for a little over a week in the summer of 2010. This was because the intravenous steroids they were giving her called Solu Medrol needs constant blood testing and can damage the liver. “It was mostly annoying because I actually felt fine and didn’t feel like there was a reason I needed to be in the hospital. I was mostly worried about my kids because they were only 8 and 5.”

Today, Lynn lives life much like anyone else would. She has to take her Gilenya pill every night. She now takes this pill instead of the injection. Lynn’s symptoms are managed by the medication and she has no side effects in her day-to-day life. Lynn still has to go to frequent doctor’s appointments for MRI’s neuro exams and blood testing. These are all precautions to make sure she is prepared and aware if she has a relapse.

CM "Nervous System" (2018)

MS affects a few systems of the body. The main one is the Nervous system. The nervous system is bodies control system. The brain makes all of our decisions and our nerves make us move and feel pain. Our sensory organs pick up on external senses and turn that into information to our brain. The lymphatic system attacks the coating on the nerves and causes damage and can eventually destroy them. The coating on the nerves Myelin also coats the brain and spinal cord. This is the coating that deteriorates and leaves the nerves damaged.

CM. "Lymphatic System." (2018)

The Lymphatic System is the body’s defense system. It protects us from diseases. The Lymph nodes produce the chemical lymph that fight diseases. Sometimes the immune system attacks healthy parts of our bodies. This is called an Autoimmune disease. In a person with MS, the immune system attacks the healthy coating on the nerve fibers causing them to become damaged.

CM. "Digestive System." (2018)

The Digestive System is the body’s processing system. Food goes in and is processed and the waste comes out. The intestines absorb nutrients from the food and add water. They then empty the waste out the anus. In patients with MS, one symptom might be problems with bowel control. This means patents might have a hard time controlling when they defecate..

CM. "Renal System." (2018)

The Renal or Urinary System is the body’s liquid waste system. The kidneys filter the blood and absorb the nutrients. The waste from the filtered blood then goes down the Ureters into the Bladder, which is a holding place for the liquid waste. When the body has to urinate, the liquid is released into the urethra where it exits the body. Some patients with MS might have trouble with bladder function. This means patients may have a hard time controlling when they can urinate.

In conclusion, I really liked this project and didn't really have any trouble with it. The only problem was that I included too much information. I was over 400 words over the limit. I had to take out a lot of information that I thought was valuable, so I didn't like that much. Other than that, everything went smoothly and I am proud of how it came out.

Works Cited:

“Diagnosis.” (2017) Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Web. 15, Feb, 2018.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-sclerosis/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350274

Moody, C. (2018, February 11) Personal Interview.

“Multiple Sclerosis.” (2017) Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Web. 9, Feb, 2018.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-sclerosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350269

“What Causes MS?” (2018) National MS Society.org. National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Web. 9, Feb, 2018.
https://www.nationalmssociety.org/What-is-MS/What-Causes-MS

A Map For The Children

For this winter elective term, I took a humanities class called Thin Red Lines. In this class, we dove really deep into issues in the community. I kind of thought this class would be a class where we learned about maps and the history of maps as well as geography. We really didn't do any of this in the class. I was somewhat disappointed, but this course really opened my eyes to issues in the communities that surround us. We talked a lot about Tax Increment Financing districts or TIF districts. Many people may have heard of these TIFs but not know what they are about. I had heard of them but I didn't really know anything about them. We also learned about mapping the community. We had a lot of field experiences in this course. We had some visits to our school including Tom Tressor who is the author of the book "Chicago Is Not Broke." He is a community activist and talked to us about TIFs. We also Skyped with Yale professor Bill Rankin who created a dot map of race in Chicago that we studied. We also went out to talk with Chicago Metropolitan Planning Council about how they map their programs and to Google where we learned about the app Waze. We only had one action project for this term. We completed tests in which we made maps of our neighborhood for different people and where we made out own TIF district. For this AP we were asked to make three transformational maps. We had to identify a problem and interview people. I thought this project was really challenging, and I actually had a really difficult time doing it.

Austin is a neighborhood sitting on the city’s far west side. It is the largest geographic neighborhood in Chicago. The neighborhood is known for its historical buildings and parks. The poverty rates in Austin are higher than many neighborhoods in Chicago with more than 30% of people in Austin living below the poverty line.

My project concerns the lack of early childhood development in the neighborhood of Austin. I am looking at the daycares in Austin and their quality. I show the existing daycares and map where there might need to be more.

The existing conditions in Austin include:

Demographics and Housing

Austin is a large neighborhood sitting on the Chicago's far west side. The following data is from 2015. The population is 97,643 people. There are about 32,037 households in the neighborhood. The racial makeup is mostly African American, with 81,066 people, which is 83%. The second biggest demographic is Latino, which has a population of 11,132, which is 11.4%. The third is white, with a population of 4,353, which is 4.5%. The largest age cohort is under 19. The most common household income in a year is less than $25,000, with about 40% of the population earning this much every year. The most common type of housing in Austin is a 2-unit building with 11,234 homes of this type in the area, about 30%.

Land Use and Development
Austin consists of 7.16 square miles of land. Out of all of this, the most common land use is for transportation and other. This uses 1,470.4 acres out of the total 4,574.2 acres or 32.1% of Austin’s land. The second most frequent use of land in Austin is single-family residential with 958.1 acres or 20.9% of land devoted to single-family residential. The third most common use of land is multi-family residential with 17.4% of the land used for this purpose. The majority of home types in Austin are 2 unit apartments with 30.2% of houses being 2 units. The most common house size contains 2 bedrooms with 37% of houses having 2 bedrooms.

Economic Development & Market Analysis
More than 30% of Austin’s residents live below the poverty line. The most common income in the area is under $25,000 annually. 40.5% of Austin’s residents make less than $25,000 annually. 85.9% of houses are occupied in Austin leaving 14.9% of homes vacant. A majority of people rent their homes. 60.5% of homes are renter-occupied and 39.5% of homes are owner-occupied. Most of the homes in Austin were built before 1940 with 24,880 or 66.7% of homes built before then. The next most populous time period is from 1940 to 1969 with 8,659 or 23.2% of homes being built in this time.

Mobility

Mobility in Austin includes two L lines and many bus lines. The two L lines that come in from the loop in Chicago are the Blue Line and the Green line. The Green Line runs on above Lake Street coming in from downtown. The Blue Line follows Interstate 290 or the Eisenhower in from the loop as well. Both the Green and Blue lines make some of their last stops in Austin. The Green Line's last stop is Harlem and goes through the loop and to 63rd and Cottage Grove on the South Side. The Blue line’s last stop is Forest Park and goes into the city and to O’Hare Airport on the city’s northwest side. Bus routes include the #66 Chicago Ave, #72 North Ave, #20 Madison Ave, #54 Cicero Ave, #57 Laramie Ave, #70 Division, #85 Central Ave, #91 Austin Ave, and  #126 Jackson Ave.

The Issue

In Austin, the largest age cohort is people under the age of 19 with 29.1% of people belonging to this age group. This means there are many children in the community. Many people in Austin also live in poverty and have to work long hours and cannot provide care for their children all the time. Lots of people leave their children in daycare. I wanted to see how many daycares in Austin are up to code and recognized by the city.

According to the City of Chicago’s daycare requirements and licensing pdf, daycares are licensed by the City of Chicago. The Department of Child and Family services also has to license any daycare that is in Chicago. Before the DCFS licenses a daycare, the city of Chicago must license it first. Home daycares only have to have a DCFS license and do not have to have a city license to operate.

The following is required to have a licensed daycare. This list is taken from the city’s pdf:

• "Corporate documents such as Articles of Incorporation and Corporate Minutes 
• Lease or proof of ownership of the business property
• Name, resident address, social security number, date of birth, and official photo ID for every owner, officer, member, or any person having 25% or more interest in the business, and the manager of the establishment
• Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). Apply at www.irs.gov
• State of Illinois Business Tax Number (IBT). Apply at www.revenue.state.il.us. 
• A criminal background check for every owner, corporate officer or any person having 25% or more interest in the business

The business activity must be reviewed and approved by the Department of Zoning. Your application will automatically be sent to zoning for a review.

Any City debt must be resolved prior to the issuance or renewal of any business license.

Once an application is filed, businesses must pass an onsite inspection from The Department of Public Health, Department of Buildings, and the Fire Prevention Bureau."

There are some daycares that are not required to have a license issued by the City of Chicago. These include: This list comes from the City of Chicago's pdf

• "Home Day Care Centers - Child care provided in a private residential home receiving more than 3 and up to a maximum of 16 children for less than 24 hours per day do not require a City of Chicago Day Care License. However, a State of Illinois License is required to operate a home daycare for 3 or more children receiving care in a family home. 
• Regularly constituted authorities of the United States, the State, the County, or the City conducting or operating a daycare center do not require a City of Chicago Day Care License. The State of Illinois may have different requirements. 
• Programs serving children 3 years or older, established in connection with grade schools supervised or operated by a private or public board of education, or approved by the State Board of Education and after-school programs serving children over the age of 6 do not require a City of Chicago Day Care License."

The following map is my existing conditions map. It shows current daycares in the neighborhood of Austin.

CM "Map 1" (2018)

In this map, I chose to use the Google “Create Maps” feature. I traced the outline of Austin myself. There is some question as to whether the northwest side of Austin, normally referred to as Galewood, is technically part of Austin. According to the Community Data Snapshots made by CMAP, the data from Austin comes from the Galewood area as well, making it technically part of Austin. I chose to draw my lines around Galewood too because all of my datasets include Galewood. I started off by Googling the outline of Austin. I paid attention to the fine details of each line and drew the outline myself. I decided to compare the four options when I searched daycare in the create a maps set. I then searched daycare in the regular Google Maps setting. I then sorted those into store-front daycares and in-home daycares. I used red to mark the original four locations. I used green to mark the storefront locations, and I used purple to mark the in-home daycares. I did all of this to see if I could see the difference in licensed daycares. I thought that maybe the four daycares had a higher form of license than the others did. From what I found on doing research and going on their websites, they don’t seem to have a higher accreditation than the other daycares I mapped. I chose to separate the home daycares from the storefront daycares because I thought home daycares might have a less rigorous screening system than storefront daycares. Most of the home daycares do not have their own websites. They seem to only have Facebook pages or Yelp pages with little or no activity or reviews. A lot of the storefront daycares have their own website with most of them looking professional. This makes me wonder if each daycare gets an equal amount of inspections and are up to code by the city. I know that home daycares do not have the be licensed by the city if they fit under certain criteria. According to the city of Chicago’s website: “Home Day Care Centers - Child care provided in a private residential home receiving more than 3 and up to a maximum of 16 children for less than 24 hours per day do not require a City of Chicago Day Care License. However, a State of Illinois License is required to operate a home daycare for 3 or more children receiving care in a family home”. Home daycares still have to be inspected and licensed by the state of Illinois.

CM "Map 2" (2018)

For this map, I chose to edit my last map. I took the image of my map and put it into Google drawings. I studied the map and found the areas of so-called “blight”. These were areas that were in my opinion in need of a daycare. I understand that it may be very easy for parents to drive or take their kids to another part of the neighborhood for daycare but I think that for the maps sake, there are definitely areas that could need more daycares. I do also realize that parents can take their kids to a different neighborhood for daycare as well, but for the purposes of the map, I will still consider these areas in need of more daycare. I used rectangles that I drew myself. These were the areas that had the least daycares near them. I noticed that the south side of Austin had no daycares that I can find south of Madison St. There is a large population of families that live on the south side of Austin that could take their kids to different neighborhoods nearby like North Lawndale or Cicero or even Garfield Park area. I still think that it could benefit the people of South Austin to have more daycares in the south side of Austin. I also added a key to make my map more distinguishable. I showed each color of the pins and what they mean. I also showed what the yellow highlights. I also decided to put in a line that shows the mileage. For this map, I chose to do more of a stark boundary map. these maps were used by Ernest Burgess who was a cartographer at the University of Chicago in the early 20th century. He is known for drawing the lines of Chicago's neighborhoods. These lines that we know so well came from him. I am taking this outline of Austin and using it to map my issue. I had thought about doing a dot map to show the daycares around Austin. I decided not to use this approach because the purpose of a dot map is to not show any boundaries. I wanted to show the distinct boundary of Austin to show how they daycares orient themselves inside of the boundary of Austin. Bill Rankin is a professor at Yale University. He created a dot map of Chicago. I really liked this map and thought about making something like this map, but I thought that showing the exact locations of the daycares and the stark borders of Austin were important for my map's agenda. I think it is important for these areas to receive daycares because of the statistics that we see in Austin today. More than 30% of Austin’s residents live below the poverty line. The most common income in the area is under $25,000 annually. 40.5% of Austin’s residents make less than $25,000 annually. Also, in Austin, the largest age cohort is people under the age of 19 with 29.1% of people belonging to this age group. This means there are many children in the community. Many people in Austin also live in poverty and have to work long hours and cannot provide care for their children all the time. Lots of people leave their children in daycare.

CM "Map 3" (2018)

For this map I chose, like the last map, to edit my previous maps. I once again used Google Draw to edit the previous maps. I wanted to create a daycare that could house more kids than a regular storefront daycare. I did some research on Google maps and found a large industrial building with space for lease. The building is on Roosevelt road and is on the south side of Austin. This space has a warehouse component and retail. I think I could use some of both to create a large daycare. The space is right on the edge of Cicero and is by other neighborhoods that could also bring their kids there. This site is not very close to the kids on the east side of Austin, but there are daycares nearer to them there than there are for the kids in south Austin. This retail space is clean but the building is shared by other retailers including a furniture showroom and a digital imaging company. As long as the other companies in this space are not doing anything that is heavy manufacturing or things that could produce harmful chemicals, but I do not see any other companies that are doing that. I decided to put this area on the border of Austin because it is a less industrial area than some other places in South Austin. Roosevelt road has some office buildings and industrial buildings on the Austin Side, and residential on the Cicero side. I think this would be better for the kids so they are not in the middle of the industrial area and have residential streets and parks nearby for them to enjoy. The creation of this new large daycare will also produce a lot of jobs in the area. This is an area that had problems with unemployment and poverty. According to CMAP’s community data snapshots, 44.7 percent of people in Austin are not in the Labor Force. Out of the 55.3% of the people who are in the labor force, 19.5% of people are unemployed. I also took a look at 2nd City Zoning. This is a website that shows the land usage in Chicago. When I look at the neighborhood of Austin, I see a lot of different patterns. The green represents residential. The yellow represents industrial areas. The blue represents commercial use. Red is for planned development and institutional. I looked at this to see where my daycare would fall into. The yellow highlighted box is the general area where the daycare would be. This would be in an industrial area. I am not surprised by this. if you have ever driven through this area, you would know that it is very industrial. I am ok with this being a location for a daycare as long as there is not too much heavy manufacturing nearby. I scouted it out on Google Maps and did some research and didn't see anything that I would consider a threat to kids in the area.

CM "2nd City Zoning" (2018)

In conclusion, the area of Austin is a well-developed community.  Emily White Hodge is the director of operations at New Moms, which is a group that helps new moms with their babies. They help them find jobs and provide classes and care for their families. When I asked Emily what strengths she saw in the community, she said: “The strengths we find in our community include: community organizing & strong neighborhood involvement, strong connections - residents talk to each other & help one another, child development centers - there are many and they are connected services: financial, job-readiness, government etc.both neighborhood & magnet schools.” Austin is a large area and has some issues with poverty but they do have childcare. I think there is a possibility to make it more accessible. These plans and maps I have made show what areas are in need. I hope Austin continues to grow and keep developing.


Works Cited:

“Community Data Snapshots.” Www.CMAP.illinois.gov, www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/126764/Austin.pdf.

“CtaSystemMapBrouchure.pdf.” Www.transitchicago.com, www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/brochures/ctaSystemMapBrochure.pdf.

“Daycare Licensing in Chicago.” Www.cityofchicago.org, City of Chicago, https://www.cityofchicago.org/dam/city/depts/bacp/general/daycarefactsheetbacp102610.pdf.

Eltagouri, Marwa. “Austin Population Drops to No. 2 in City for 1st Time in 45 Years.”Chicagotribune.com, 15 July 2017, www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-austin-population-decline-met-20170714-story.html.

Resident, Current, and Niche User. “Living in Austin.” Niche, 26 Jan. 2017, www.niche.com/places-to-live/n/austin-chicago-il/

Zoning, 2nd City. “2nd City Zoning.” 2nd City Zoning, DataMade, secondcityzoning.org/.

Carpentry 101

I have always had an interest in woodworking. I think it is a cool art form and is very practical. That doesn't mean I'm good at it. I have taken this course with the same teacher in my Freshman year and I really enjoyed it. We made a cornhole set, a bench, and many other things. I wasn't able to take woodshop for fall term but I was able to for the elective term. I really enjoyed the course this term. I struggled a little bit with things, just because I am not very good at carpentry, but I got the hang of it.

We started out by planning what we wanted to do. I honestly don't remember why I chose to make a box. I was not the only one who made a box in the class so I would assume the idea was suggested by our teacher. We then learned how to use all the tools. We practiced with the table saw, the chop saw and the nail gun.

CM. "Box Sketch." (2018)

Once we were certified to use the machines we started making out designs. I started off by marking the pieces of wood with the correct measurements. I chose to do a square box that would by 5in x 5in. We cut the pieces out of wood with the table saw. Once all the sides of the box were cut we had to add grooves to the top of the sides of the box so the top could slide in and out. We did this by setting the blade of the saw down really low so it doesn't;t cut all the way through the piece of wood. Our teacher warned us that the saw could kick back and could send the wood flying, but he said that rarely happens. But as luck might have it, while my teacher an I were cutting my piece of wood, the saw kicked back grazed my arm, and flew with such force back into the window shattering it. That was a fun experience.

After that, we were not allowed to use the saw anymore. Our teacher cut the rest of the pieces out without incident. Once we had all the pieces it was time to nail them together. I used a clamp the put the 2 pieces together. I then had to use the nail gun to stick them together. I was not very fond of the nail gun as I thought I would accidentally shoot myself. Once we had it all nailed together, I took some small nails and a hammer and secured the base on. Some of my nails didn't go into the wood so I had to start over.

I then made a mixture of sawdust and glue and rubbed it in al the seams of the box. This was to seal it and smooth it out. This mixture was very gross feeling and dried way to fast. After that had dried I had to spend a long time sanding all the glue mixture down so the surface was smooth. That was very time-consuming. I then stained the piece and it was finished!

CM (2018) "Box."

CM (2018) "Box."

CM (2018) "Box."

In the end, I am glad I took this workshop. I learned a lot about woodworking and a good lesson on safety. I had some struggles with nails and the pieces not fitting correctly, but I worked through all of these problems and now have a little wooden box I have no idea what to do with. Now I definitely know orthopedic surgery isn't for me.