How Much Does Health Cost?

This is the second and last unit in my senior STEAM course Economics. In this unit, we looked more in-depth about economics. The main part of this unit was the book “Doughnut Economics - 7 ways to think like a 21st-century economist.” by Kate Raworth. This book is about ways to think like a modern economist. We paired up and each read a chapter of the book and then make a mini-lesson. My partner and I read chapter 2. This chapter was about thinking about economics in a bigger picture. My partner and I walked the class through filling out a blank chart from the book. This chart demonstrates the different layers of the economy and how they interact with each other. For this unit, we went on a couple field experiences. The first was to the company Rheaply. We visited their offices at the co-working space We Work. We met with a few of their team members and the CEO. Their company aims to create a circular economy where what isn’t used is reduced by someone else. We talked about closed-loop systems and curricular economies, as well as how to start up a company. This was a very interesting and valuable experience. We also went to the Capital One Cafe and talked with their team about finances for young people. For this action project, we had to create another way to think like a 21st-century economist. We had to write an introduction to the chapter and create an image that represents it. This project has shown me how to think more critically and creatively about economics.

CM "World Healthcare" (2019) 

Imagine a world where every single person has access to healthcare. This seems like an ideal world. There is so much money and wealth in the world yet not everyone has access to healthcare, even in the world’s richest countries. If we were to spread wealth more evenly, we would be able to provide quality healthcare for everyone. Certain countries are already doing it. Even America put in medicare for all plans in the past. What would we actually have to do to create equal healthcare for all? How could we spread money around so healthcare is equal? 21st-century economics aims to look at economics in a new light, what if we looked at the economics of healthcare in a new light? There are many new economic models that could be applied to healthcare like circular economics. If healthcare cost less, it could be accessible to more people. If we were able to reuse old equipment and reduce waste, we could greatly cut costs for basic services providing them to more people. If we step back and look at healthcare from an economic perspective instead of a scientific perspective, we could make great progress in global healthcare and health accessibility.

In the book Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth, the idea of looking at economics from different perspectives is encouraged. Many global issues big and small can be looked at in an economic way. One of the biggest global issues is healthcare. According to Raworth “For over 70 years economics has been fixated on GDP, or national output, as its primary measure of progress. That fixation has been used to justify extreme inequalities of income and wealth coupled with unprecedented destruction of the living world. For the twenty-first century, a far bigger goal is needed: meeting the human rights of every person within the means of our life-giving planet.” Millions of people around the world have little or no access to healthcare. What would it take for everyone to have access to healthcare? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 3.5 billion people or half of the entire world does not have access to healthcare. They either have no place to get healthcare or are unable to afford the high prices for basic care. Some of the biggest discrepancies are in some of the wealthiest nations. In the United States, 44 million people either do not have access to healthcare, do not have insurance, or cannot afford healthcare. The Affordable Care Act passed by Barack Obama aimed to lessen the costs of healthcare in the United States by providing everyone basic insurance. Before the ACA, many insurance companies would turn down people with pre-existing conditions because they are more expensive. The ACA was lessened under the current administration. This has caused healthcare costs to increase greatly. A number of companies and non-profit organizations like Health Leads, a non-profit organization that works directly with hospitals to supply underserved people with basic healthcare needs. Creating these companies and organizations is hard. According to Garry Cooper, CEO of Rheaply: “A lot of people have ideas. It takes confidence to dive in and create something.” This is one of the reasons the healthcare crisis cannot be solved with just organizations. If we want to create a more equal health system in not just the United States, but in the world, we need to think about where we are putting our money. I believe we should create a system similar to the ACA and Universal Basic Income. I think we should give every person an amount of money to cover any health costs they may have. According to Andrew Yang, presidential candidate and founder of Universal Basic Income, there is enough money to give everyone some money. I think this, along with companies already working to lower the cost of healthcare, we can create a fair healthcare system for everyone.


Works Cited:

Amadeo, Kimberly. “What is Obamacare? The ACA and What You Need to Know.” The Balance.com. June 25, 2019. Web. November 14, 2019.

“Healthcare Crisis: Who’s At Risk? The Uninsured.” PBS.org. Public Broadcasting Service. Web. November 14, 2019.

Kelland, Kate. “Half of world’s people can’t get basic health services: WHO.” Reuters.com. December 13, 2017. Web. November 14, 2019.

Trahant, Grant. “15 Organizations Changing The World Through Healthcare.” Cause Artist.com. Web. November 14, 2019.

“What is the Freedom Dividend?” Yang 2020.com. Friends of Andrew Yang. Web. November 14, 2019.

Image:

“Health Symbol Vector - Clipart Library.” Clipart Library.com

In conclusion, this was a nice project. I really liked how much this project related to what we were doing in class this unit. I liked presenting my mini-lesson and reading the book. I am proud of what I came up with. I think I have some good ideas and I liked writing about something I am passionate about. In the future, I wish we had more time. While I was able to get this project done in a timely fashion, but I feel like if I had more time, I could have added more and made it better. I am still very happy with how this project came out. I really liked this class and look forward to the next.

Is America Great Again?

This is the third and final unit of my Senior Humanities course Journalism. In this unit, Audio, we learn all about audio journalism. We listened to different podcasts and researched the voices of the century. This was an assignment where we had to pick a voice from each decade of the 20th century that represents what happened in that time period. We did similar assignments in units 1&2 with headlines and photos. I really liked this assignment. It was a cool way to experience audio from history. For our Field Experience this unit, we went to Roosevelt University to see a photography exhibit about immigrant detention centers. This FE would have lined up better with our photography unit, but there was audio in the exhibit. For this Action Project, we had to create a podcast profiling and iconic or influential voice. I had a hard time thinking of who to profile, but when I thought about influential voices I've been hearing lately, I thought about President Donald Trump. I thought it would be interesting to interview people in 2 different parties. I ended up interviewing 2 people with opposite viewpoints. One is generally right-leaning and the other left. As the narrator, I took a neutral viewpoint. I stated facts and did not give opinions. The impact of this podcast is in the interviews. It is interesting to see 2 different people's opinions on one person. The intended audience for this podcast is anyone with an interest in current politics. The podcast is from a neutral perspective so it is not intended for either party. I produced this podcast using my phone to record, and an online audio editor. I am happy with how it came out!

WHEN	WHO/HOW	WHAT
0:00 0:05 0:13 0:30 1:21 2:07 2:17 2:24 2:33 2:37 3:17 3:33 3:35 3:50 3:55 4:20 4:26 4:57 5:07 5:12	News Intro NBC News Anchor Donald Trump CM Donald Trump & Chief Justice John Roberts. CM CM Sharon CM Sharon DS CM Sharon CM DS CM Sharon CM Donald Trump News outro THE END	Breaking news intro plays Now to the race to the White House and after decades of publicly flirting with the idea, billionaire Donald Trump says he really is running for president this time around. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States. And we are going to make our country great again. Donald Trump was born into a wealthy family in New York. His father was a successful real-estate developer. Trump worked in his father’s company for years. Trump attended Fordham University and later the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a degree in economics. Trump continued in his father’s footsteps taking over his father’s company. Trump is known in the television world as the host of the reality TV show “The Apprentice.” He is also known for hosting the popular “Ms. Universe” beauty pageant. Americans were divided in their opinions on Trump. His now-infamous “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan angered some and inspired others. When Donald Trump announced his presidency, Americans were divided. Donald Trump was the candidate of the Republican party competing against Democrat Hillary Clinton. Against most people’s assumptions, Trump won by a narrow margin on November 8, 2016. I, Donald John Trump solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States, so help me god. I wanted to know other American’s opinions on trump. Right now, I am sitting down with DS, a fellow senior, and Sharon, a humanities teacher at GCE Lab School. So, first of all, before we get to talking about Donald Trump's presidency, what did you think about Donald Trump before his election? I didn’t really have an opinion about him one way or the other. I saw his stupid television show, “The Apprentice,” and I just thought it was dumb. When you heard that Trump was running for president, did you ever think he would actually be elected? I did not think he would be elected because he is an idiot, and it was apparent if you ever watched the show. I didn’t think the American people would actually fall for this conjaw. He proclaimed that he is a great businessman, yet the man went broke running a casino. How hard is that to do? A casino is basically a license to print money and the man could not make that successful. He went bankrupt a number of times, and for him to say “I’m a great businessman,” it just didn’t resonate with me. So I think there was surprise amongst people. I personally did not think he was going to get elected, and I was surprised when he was. And then, of course, different people reacted in different ways. Some people were happy, some people were very distraught. How did you feel when he was elected? I was really sad. I cried. I thought about my partner and I moving to Canada because we felt it would be very very hard to live in an America run by Donald Trump. And it is. Do you think the divide between Americans is a good or a bad thing? I think it’s a bad thing, because I think what happens is people put themselves on the left or right and they’re swayed by what other people think in their group, rather than basing it off of their own ideas, and the more that happens, the more divided people become and then the ideas they are supporting aren’t even their own, and they don’t even fully support them sometimes. Final question. How do you think he has impacted America throughout his time as president, and in the future? I actually think one good thing he has done in all honesty is expose the racial divide that still exists in this country. A lot of people thought that after Barack Obama was elected that racism was over, that it had been solved. And the way he ran his campaign, the people he has put in office, and that he has prompted really shows that racism is alive and well. Now with the news of the impeachment hearings, we are yet to know the fate of Donald Trump’s presidency. No matter what happens, we can all agree that his presidency has made a lasting impact on America. We will make America great again! News outro plays

What Is The Meaning Of Life?

Welcome to the second unit of the senior humanities class "Journalism." In this unit, called "photography." we explored the photographic side of journalism. We spent a lot of time looking at influential photographs. We discussed how these photos influenced the public and how we take photos today. One of my favorite assignments was when we picked one photograph from each decade of the 20th century. I really enjoyed looking through photographs of the past century. It was interesting to see the historical events captured in influential photographs. For this unit's field experience, we went to Columbia College to sit in on an introductory journalism class. We were able to learn more about journalism while getting to see what a college class looks and feels like. We also participated in Chicago Ideas Week. For this action project, we had to interview someone about what they thought the meaning of life is. I had some trouble trying to figure out who I should interview, but I thought my sister would be a good candidate. I wanted to ask her about what the meaning of life is for a young teenage girl growing up in the era of social media. I interviewed her and then took a picture of her. I think she had some very interesting answers for such a young person.

“What is the meaning of life?” This question has been asked forever. Since the beginning of time, people have questioned their existence on this earth. Some cultures put it up to higher powers. We were put on this earth by something bigger than us. This is how religions and cultures are formed. We are constantly questioning why we are here. In this day and age, social media has become that god. Teenagers today are constantly being shown expectations online. This can be detrimental to a young person’s image of themselves. So to a young girl in today’s society, what is the meaning of life to them? How can they figure it out through all the expectations and pressure from society?

Meredith is a 14-year-old girl from Oak Park. She has mostly grown up in this area with her mother, father, and 18-year-old sister. This fall, Meredith started her freshman year at Oak Park-River Forest High School. She is an active teenager with lots of friends. Like most teenagers, Meredith spends most of her free time on her phone. Whether it be Instagram, where she posts selfies, Tick tock, where she dances, or Snapchat where she spends countless time snapping her friends. Of course, she spends time off of her phone. Meredith likes to do makeup and hair, and she figure skates at the local rink. In general, she is a very normal teenage girl.

One night, I sat down with Meredith at the kitchen table. She was excited to be interviewed. “I’m going to have some good answers,” she told me. I started with the big question. “What is the meaning of life? She sighed. Then she started to tell me. “Huh. This is kind of strange. I honestly think the meaning of life is just to try your hardest to be happy in whatever situation you’re in.” I asked her to elaborate. “The meaning of life isn’t to be rich or to be poor, or to be sad or happy. You can be rich and successful and still be sad. That is just as bad of a situation as being poor.” I liked the direction our conversation was going. She seemed to really be speaking from the heart.

I then changed the tone of the conversation. I asked her how she thinks social media influences teens in either a good or a bad way. I could see her really think about her answer. “In the way of happiness?” she asked. “Sure,” I said. “How do you think it influences people like you?” She took a deep breath. “I think it’s both negative and positive. I think it’s a spectrum. I personally am not influenced negatively, but I know that it can damage self-confidence. For me, social media is a way to connect with my friends who do make me happy.” I was intrigued by this comment. Today, there are so many articles and news stories on how social media is ruining our lives. I had never seen this perspective from a young girl. Social media keeps her connected with her friends. It’s not always a bad thing.

At this point, I wanted to ask her about herself. I wanted to know how her meaning of life affects her. She was now up and started cooking for herself. I continued to ask her questions. “How do you practice the values according to your definition of the meaning of life? I asked. She opened the fridge and paused. “It’s hard.” She said still facing away from me. “I’m not going to lie and say I’m happy 24/7. Some things that you don’t feel like doing are beneficial, but I try to take care of myself. Self-care matters. I try to remember that even if it’s just the tiniest thing. Even if it means being greedy, so be it! Buy yourself that thing you want, even just taking a bath or lighting a candle. Do it.”

Meredith is now at the stove, making rice for her dinner. I started to wrap up the conversation. I asked her a couple of final questions. “Has the meaning of life changed for you?” I asked. “Hmmm.” She pondered. “Well, when I was little I just wanted to be rich and famous, or a princess,” she said laughing. “But when you get older - I’m not even very old,” she added, “It becomes slightly different but more realistic. I still want to be successful, but not in the princess type of way” she laughed. I decided to wrap up the interview with one final question. “What version of yourself lies in your head?” She thought for a moment. “Not the best!” she exclaimed. I was surprised. She had seemed very confident in herself this whole time. “I guess it depends. Some days I wake up and am having a good day, and other days you're just not feeling it. There’s envy. That can strive from social media.” “What are you envious of?” I asked. “You see a lot of things. I can’t even think of an example. Everything from looks, to material items. It’s hard to see something you really want but can’t have.”

Our conversation was still going, and I decided to ask one more quick question. I asked her to describe a happy memory that correlated with her meaning of life. She immediately had an answer. “This summer in Bayfield. Just being able to go down to the dock on a sunny day and do whatever I want is so nice. It is really a place I feel happy and free.”

CM "Happiness" (2019)

We then went into her room to take some pictures. She sat down on her bed and I used my phone to take pictures. I wanted to capture the essence of her happiness, but it felt staged, so I took a picture of her smiling. We tried a few different angles. I decided on the angle from the bottom. It looked the best of all the pictures. For lighting, I used artificial lighting. Meredith has a ring light for her makeup, so I set it up behind the camera. We used the neutral light setting so she didn’t look too warm or cool in the moderately dark room. I crouched down under the ring light to take the photo. I used my iPhone. Aperture is the amount of light let through the lens. This affects how much exposure and depth are in the photograph. The lower the aperture, the higher the exposure and vice versa. This photograph has a lower aperture. This exposure is fairly high, and Meredith is in focus, while the background is out of focus. The shutter speed measures the length of time the sensor on the lens is exposed to light. For this picture, I used my iPhone. I have no way of telling what the shutter speed is. In general, the faster the shutter speed on a moving object, the blurrier it will be. Since Meredith was not moving, the shutter speed was probably in the middle. The rule of thirds is a rule of photography where the photo is divided into thirds both ways. The subject of the photo should be at the intersection of one of these lines. In this photo, the center of Meredith’s face is along one of the lines. To me, this photo is subjective. A subjective photo refers to a photo that captures how the photographer/subject sees the world. The photo of Meredith shows how happy she is both from my perspective, and her perspective.

I have another picture of Meredith that I think captures her meaning of life more than the picture I took of her. This picture was taken in Bayfield, on the dock that she described in the interview. This picture was taken by her friend one morning on the dock. She truly is happy in this picture, and according to Meredith, happiness is the meaning of life.

RG "Dock" (2019)

In conclusion, this was a challenging project. It's always more challenging when you are relying on another person. I really like the end product. I was worried that I wouldn't have enough content, but she had a lot to say! In the future, I would interview her before I started the project. I started writing before I actually interviewed her. It maybe would have made things go a little smoother. In the end, i am happy and proud of this project.

The Path To My Dreams

This is the first unit of our first senior STEAM class called Econ: Risking Value. This class is all about economics. We spread this unit out over nearly 2 months! Our class explored many different concepts of economics. We study supply and demand, opportunity cost, incentives, interest, loans, and many others. We looked at how these economic concepts apply to real-world scenarios. We also looked at some math concepts that can be applied to economics like matrices, functions, and how to calculate interest, and continually compounding interest. Another interesting topic we discussed was the humanities in economics. We had several deep discussions about bias and how economics affects people unequally. As a part of our real-world learning, we went on a field experience to the headquarters of Lyft. At Lyft, we talked to the corporate team about how they use the concepts we had studied in their everyday work at Lyft. This was a very cool FE. The people at Lyft were very well informed, and not afraid to talk to high school students. There was also a dog! We also participated in Chicago Ideas Week. This was a series of lectures on different topics. We attended a lecture about big data, and how it is controlling our lives. It was an interesting take on the things we have been learning in the classroom. For this action project, we had to analyze the real cost of college. The guiding question was: "what will you do after high school?" a question I am all too used to hearing. It was our job to come up with an answer. We looked at different paths to careers, different schools, and ways of dealing with loans. I have always wanted to be a surgeon, so I chose to compare the paths between Ivy League schools, and smaller state schools. Now I really know how much education really costs!

In conclusion, this was a very helpful project. I think it is one of the best action projects in the GCE curriculum. This really shows the finances of my future and helps me decide where I should go to school. I had a hard time formatting this project. I had a lot to say, and it was hard to figure out where it should go. I am happy with the end result. I love doing projects that have something personal. I really enjoyed researching my future. Hopefully, I will one day become a successful surgeon!