The Homeless In AMERICA

For the third unit of this course "Rhetoric" the assigned project was to choose a important social issue to you and design a art piece, poem or audio/video to present your social issue. The purpose of this action project was to show your artwork and change people's minds of how important the issue you chose is to you. The topic I chose was the homeless in America, because homeless are the most stereotyped human beings in the America's. I want to be able to change the way people think about the homeless, because if I was in their shoes I would want some support or someone to help me, notice me. I am proud of the topic I chose and being able to express the way I feel and helping out the homeless to get the real meaning of what homeless people are and what they go through every single day, where we tend to ignore because our minds are too caught in the fact that each homeless person in America is a drug addict, has domestic violence records, financial issues and are too lazy to get a job. Here is my art piece that I hope will change the way you think about the homeless here in America.

JR (2015). "The Homeless In America Board"

 I am JR and the topic I chose was "The Homeless In America" The reason for choosing this topic is for the way the homeless were stereotyped on websites like Huffington Post and the main stream media. As I read on a website, a statement came up and triggered me to think about the homeless differently. The statement was " Admit it: when you think of a homeless person, a certain stereotype comes to mind. A middle-aged to older man who's addicted to drugs and too lazy to get a job. You think it's their own fault that they're living on the streets." I totally agree with this statement because I have thought like that about homeless people whenever i'm outside. This is the reason why I chose this topic. Homeless people go through so much and I just want to put their mindsets out there so people know that they are not homeless because of what we immediately think when the word homeless comes to our mind. I want to be able to present my artwork and make a change in America.

 The art piece that I created was a cardboard poster with a quote, question, a mirror and facts and take one cards and a suggestion box for the homeless people. The reason why I chose to present my art piece on a cardboard poster was because the majority of homeless people write on card board to speak to people around them instead of going to each person asking for help or money. Some people are not always interested in speaking with homeless people. Some people find it very awkward and weird. The quote is to inspire people who read the quote and to give them a inspiration to change and think of homeless people differently. The mirror is to look at yourself and picture yourself in their shoes. Looking at yourself is to imagine yourself in their same situation and not judge no matter how bad their situation can be at the moment. The about me cards are to take with you and know more about the person and the homeless.

 The question is to make you think deeply, change your mind about the homeless being stereotyped and helping them how they should be helped no matter their situation. The colors that I used are Black, Red and Green. Each one of these colors represent a topic Black is the most written color on a cardboard poster when I see homeless people with their posters. The quote is written in black to make it stand out. The Red is the question of how deep it can be to a person and painful, showing a little bit of pathos. The green is support/ help / important. I have done research on just homeless and the rate of how many people become and actually move on with their lives. It just frightens me to know that young teenagers are also becoming homeless. Like, I definitely don’t want to end up in a situation like that at all. This makes me want to help out more.

Young people often become homeless due to family conflict, including divorce, neglect, or abuse. A large majority of young people experience short-term homelessness, returning back home or to family/friends. The medium that I chose to grab the audience's attention for the social issue. I picked a cardboard poster which resembles everything about what homeless feels like and what we should do to help change that. What inspired me the most was Marvin Gaye and his song “Inner City Blues” which he depict on the ghettos, economic, about the America.

 “The United States government acknowledges four categories of people who qualify as legally homeless:
(1) those who are currently homeless
(2) those who will become homeless in the future
(3) certain youths and families with children who suffer from home instability caused by a hardship.
(4) those who suffer from home instability caused by domestic violence.”

 These are facts that I would like you to know about the homeless in America.

•  "On a single night in January 2014, 578,424 people were experiencing homelessness — meaning they were sleeping outside or in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program.
•  "Of that number, 216,197 are people in families, and 362,163 are individuals." 
•  “About 15 percent of the homeless population – 84,291 - are considered "chronically homeless” individuals, and about 9 percent of homeless people- 49,933 - are veterans.”

Citations:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/uloop/what-homelessness-is-real_b_8094190.html

http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/the-state-of-homelessness-in-america-2015

http://kylyssa.hubpages.com/hub/homelessness-myths-misconceptions

The Simple Bike

In the second unit of Design & Engineering I learned about different types of bikes and how they are used differently by everyone. I also learned about the different ways they work and how they are designed. What I am most proud of is learning how bikes are properly used and how they should be used to be as safe as possible. I learned that bikes are also good for our health, that it’s good to ride your bike at least 20 minutes a day to prevent you from getting diseases and all these types of health issues. The purpose of this assignment is to redesign a bike for someone specifically chosen for my partner and I to create a better bike for her lifestyle. The most challenging thing was building the bike the way we sketched it and thought it should be.

The bike that my partner and I created for our given person was simple. We got a young 15 year old girl named Malia that lives in the Logan Square area. She rides her bike to school and back on the 606 trail. Her commute there is 5 miles and on her way home from school she stops at the grocery store. My partner and I decided to build her bike simple and not so heavy. Since she will be carrying groceries on her handles, we thought we could add a basket that is attachable and removable. The handles are removable and can be used as a lock so that way she doesn’t have to worry about digging in her bag for her lock and locking her bike. We created a comfortable heating seat that will support her back and also in the winter keep her warm.

What I learned from existing bikes is that they all have their ways of functioning whether it’s a more comfortable seat, better grippable handles, nice smooth wheels, low or high frames and how fast or slow the bike rides. The person whom I interviewed, Pedro Illas said “Bikes are better for the environment, and are easier to commute around the city.” This made me want to create a more simpler bike to keep Malia from struggling when she has lots of weight on her bike while riding and also when locking her bike while she shops. The reason to believe is that, the bike is perfectly made just for Malia and her commute to school and back. We added some small things to her bike which were the basket for the groceries, comfortable seat and supporter in the back, the chain guard and fender above the wheel, and the handle lock so she can lock the bike at school and won’t have to carry anything extra. We tried to keep the bike simple and with not so much stuff that will take up her time to ride her bike.

These are the added parts to Malia’s Bike:

-The seat is comfortable and also supports your back, you can also insert heat pads during the winter time while she rides to school. This will make her back less cold and will support her as well.

-The fender will block everything from coming up and ruining her clothes. The fender also has pockets that you can add a bottle or books for school. I added a chain guard also by the pedals just in case grease gets on her pants.

-The basket in the front of the bike which is removable, foldable and stretchy.

-The handle bars are removable also and can be used to lock your bike.


JR & VG (2015). "The Convenience Bike"

The kinetic energy is when Malia is riding her bike to school on the 606 trail. The potential energy is when Malia will be going down the ramp of the 606 trail she will have lots of force. The diameter of the bikes wheel is 28 inches, The circumference is 87.92 inches, how I found this was that I plugged in 3.14 which is pi and times it by the diameter which is 28 inches, my answer is 87.92 inches. The average speed to school is 5 miles = 26,400. On her way to school her bike wheel rotate 3,603.27. The scale that was used for the bike is in inches and the wheel is 2 inches diameter wheels. The driver gears 12, 16 teeth. Driver gears 24,36, 48 teeth. All ratios 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 3:2, 9:4.


JR & VG (2015). "Malia riding her bike"

Knives In Self Defense

For my third period class "Self Defense" I learned different martial arts techniques of fighting which were boxing, muythai, knife, sticks and hammer grip. I chose to do knives, because it was the most one I think I was good at and made me feel cool. The knife technique is very easy is block, attack and run. If that doesn't work you disarm and twist the arm in and do an x with your arms and eject the knife with your wrist bone. The most challenging thing was learning each one of these types of ways of fighting. It was always a struggle for me because I am very short and couldn't reach my partner as much but I always did it. The most thing I am proud of is knowing all these different ways of fighting and that now I can walk outside my neighborhood confident that I can defend myself and not get harm in any type of way. This helped me learned a lot and helped me realize a lot of things.

Boogie's Ladder

For this course "Rhetoric" we were assigned to choose a celebrity and annotate a song or speech they have done or said. I chose "Boogie" because he's still in the process of being famous, I thought I might just shout him out in my Prezi. The most thing that I am proud of is learning about Boogie and his background and how he grew up to be a great rapper. The most challenging thing about this action project was trying to annotate the lyrics to his song further, it's a really sad and deep song I like it. I recommend you listen to the song! and look at my Prezi.

The C.O.O.L Lopper

For this course, Design & Engineering. My partner and I were to choose a tool at home depot that most stood out to us. We brainstormed ideas to redesign our tool in a less stressful, painful and simpler way for the elderly. We chose to research the Lopper, a cutting tool. The most challenging thing was thinking of a way to upgrade your chosen tool and making it better. What I learned from this action project was the different ways designers think and how they have to make prototypes to see if the consumer like what they created. What I am most proud of is our redesigned tool, I actually thought the lopper was already simpler. Making it simpler was the hardest but you learn so much and get very creative.

My partner and I decided to give The C.o.o.l Lopper wheels, there's actually three because we thought that having two wheels was just going to be unbalanced and not still. So it's actually easier to move around. The wheels also are water resistance so it can be in water and it won't slip and has lots of rubber. We added a height adjustable stick to change the height of the lopper any way you want it to be, it's also rotatable. The stepper attached to the bottom is to open the blade when is pushed down and when you let it go it will cut and will also close the blade. On the side of the lopper we have firm jelly handles for the elderly's hands. We made it that way so that it wouldn't put so much stress on the hands when trying to push down the stepper. Inside the legs and stepper we have a pulley system which is connected to the lopper whenever it's opening and closing.  On the bottom of the blade, when the stepper is pushed and release to cut there's a bumper that stops the blade from going too far.  We made it so that it's light and the elderly won't have to make so much effort and strength to drag the tool around the garden. The legs and handles are foldable for storage too. The other Loppers that have been upgraded were very different. Some had bent handles for better comfort and leverage. Some were smaller to carry around and easier to cut.

Everything has been redesigned is for the elderly, so they can feel comfortable and not left out, because they're older. Even though they have made plenty upgrades we thought this lopper will be more effect-able and more usable since it has more gear and it's not that heavy and it can be moved around easily. The existing examples of the original lopper is

• The handles are designed to give the person more leverage, a better grip.
• The lopper has a bumper that is used when doing force in, when cutting which prevents you from crushing your fingers together.
• The maximum cutting capacity is 1.5 & the blade is curved to make the cutting more efficient and smooth.

The C.o.o.l Lopper demonstrates empathy by making people feel an emotion of the experience and putting themselves in someone else's shoes. Knowing that the tool is made for the elderly, they get a better understanding of why the tool is designed the way it's designed. This quote “I love to cut branches, weeds and grass” is relevant to this tool because the lopper is used to cut branches and small things.

J.R, NVA (2015). The C.o.o.l Lopper

J.R, NVA (2015). The C.o.o.l Lopper

J.R, NVA (2015). The C.o.o.l Lopper

Summer Day Camp With ICI

On my summer break, I attended Inner City Impact known as ICI which provided me the place to do my community service hours for school. Inner City Impact is a Christian organization/program located in the Logan Square area, where I have been going since the third grade. Inner City Impact is a place of bringing hope to inner city kids and impacting lives to impact generations. I can say ICI is my second home, I go there probably 4-5 times a week. Every summer, ICI does a day camp event for kids in grades K-5th. What they do is group the kids by grade and they rotate after every 30 minutes. Each group is either in a bible lesson, having snacks, crafting or playing a game.

When day camp started, I was very nervous and scared. I was not prepared to handle with parents and so many kids. They had me in charge of signing up kids to attend day camp. The most challenging thing was signing kids up, I was not being prepared to deal with so many children and speak with parents all at the same time. Day camp lasted for a whole month. Every day 100-120 came to have fun and learn about the word of god. I learned to be very patient and understanding with these kids. They got very attached to me very quick and so did I. I got to talk to so many kids and know them pretty well. It made me sad that I had to go because it was done. If I ever have to do more hours I'll definitely do it with Inner City Impact.

D.W (2015). Inner City Impact

D.W (2015). Inner City Impact 

Flamin' Hot Cheetos En La Isla

In this course, Rhetoric, I was to choose a topic of what will be to write a speech about what I considered important. I chose to speak about my favorite chips, Flamin' Hot Cheetos being and the need for these tasty snacks to be sold in Puerto Rico. The purpose of this project is to know about your topic, apply rhetorical techniques to your speech, and convince the audience. The most challenging thing about this action project was conducting my research in order to boost my logos, but mainly finding the bad things Flamin' Hot Cheetos do to young kids. On the good side, my research makes me want to change the way I eat sometimes (they're so addictive!). What I am most proud of is producing an action project about my favorite chips and a place I love to be sold in Puerto Rico, which is where my blood comes from. I chose to speak about Flamin' Hot Cheetos because they’re one of the most purchased snacks in Chicago. These (not-so-healthy) chips are very addictive and have a unique taste- different. This is why I would like to have Flamin' Hot Cheetos sold in Puerto Rico, since all the stores sell currently are cheese Cheetos.

                       

Flamin' Hot Cheetos En La Isla by JR from GCE Lab School on Vimeo.

Flamin' Hot Cheetos were introduced to the U.S in 1992 being some of the most tastiest, most addictive and mouth-watering chips. Right now, they are the top selling chips in the U.S. These chips are everywhere in the states, which with virtually every teen consuming them multiple times a week. Flamin' Hot Cheetos are my favorite because they're spicy enough without burning up your whole mouth and throat, salty and enjoyable. I had just assumed these chips were sold everywhere in the world, until I went to Puerto Rico.

The first time I went to this beautiful island, Puerto Rico was in 2014 with the mindset of it being pretty similar to parts of Chicago. Puerto Rico is extremely different from the states however, it’s very hot, humid and overly GREEN--nothing like the city. Nobody had told me about hot chips not being sold in Puerto Rico before my first trip there. I naturally, brought a bag on with me to snack on during my flight there, which I ate immediately on that first day being there. I went to the store on the island to restock my chips. Little did I know at the time, but I was looking in vain for Flamin' Hot Cheetos, browsing the snack aisle confident that I was going to be eating some hot chips in Puerto Rico. As, I looked around the snack section all I saw were Lay's, Doritos and other typical Puerto Rican chips. The only flavors they had for Cheetos was cheese. I'm not a big fan. I even asked one of the workers, but she just looked highly confused by my request for the spicy chips. The one thing that I had in my mind all that day was those chips, and them not to exist in Puerto Rico literally broke my heart into tiny little pieces. I desired those chips so much, it made me want to go back home. I stayed in Puerto Rico for a whole month without them, making myself eat other, different chips to kick off the need from my body.

I feel like Flamin' Hot Cheetos should be sold in Puerto Rico because they're the most awesome snacks ever. They're sensationally good and spicy with a hint of salt and very crunchy. They're not so expensive either; they'll be bought quickly and could spread fast around Puerto Rico, depending on the types of taste that people favor. Some might not buy them at first because they’re already used to eating cheese-flavored chips. Flamin' Hot Cheetos might be very spicy but hey, once you eat and taste Hot Cheetos there's no going back. I'm confident, though, because of their delicious taste, these chips will win over the people of Puerto Rico over time. And for those who argue that this snack isn't healthy, my advice is to eat them in moderation. But at least have the chance to enjoy them sometimes!