No design Is A Bad Design

In the Junior STEAM class called Urban Planning, we learned about urban planning and it's history. I learned that urban planning is the process of an area developing. For the last unit of the class we  went on a Field Experience to look at the urban planning around Wrigley Field. This FE was a good example of good and bad urban planning it helped me to see what I wanted to keep away from doing during my action project. For our action project, we had to choose a place anywhere in the world and redesign it they we want to while also benefiting others. I chose to redesign my old elementary school, Northeast Elementary in Stamford CT. I wanted to make some changes to the playground area since the equipment only takes up a small portion of the space I chose.

               

The Struggle of Vietnam

In the Junior Hummanites class called Policy. We learned about the excutive branch how it works. We also learned about  polices and, who can carry them out. As well as how policy can he judged right or wrong. We learned about Vietnam war and many other wars in history , we even visited the
National Veterans Mueseum, to learn more about the stories behind the soldiers that fought in the war as well as what they went through. For this Action Project, we had to choose a war and choose wether or not the war was justified or not. I chose to do the Vietnam War and I chose to say that the war was unjustified. It all started in 1954 the Vietnam war. It lasted for roughy 20 year. 20 years of young men and women who helped to fight the war and heal the wounds of those that were in need.  The Vietnam war was  unjustified fought in South and North Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.The United States had been making plans to prepare for the war before hand, but didn’t enter the war until 1965 in early March.  This “war” was between(Anti-Communist),North Vietnam supported by South Korea,and the United States.The other side being in support of Communism was South Vietnam supported by Soviet Union and China.

Vietnam war protestors,(2005) W.Wolny :Wikimedia

The United states,leader Dwight Eisenhower was a very strong believer in Anti-Communism, He even said that “We have got to fight it [Communism] with something better, not try to conceal the thinking of our own people. They are part of America. And even if they think ideas that are contrary to ours, their right to say them, their right to record them,and their right to have them at places where they are accessible to others is unquestioned, or it isn't America” (Dwight AZ Quotes.com). Later on in 1961 when Eisenhower's presidency ended and John F Kennedy’S Presidency began JFK continued those beliefs. As he stated by saying “There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Let them come to Berlin.”(JFK AZQuotes.com) Before,JFK was assassinated in 1963 he made sure that the soldiers prepare for war by going to the Vietnam to train in combat. Lyndon B Johnson became the president in 1963 in November. In 1968 the United States had 548,000 soldiers in Vietnam, and lost 30,000.

In 1965 The United States started to gain more soldiers when they realized that the South Vietnam government was losing the war.The Viet Cong members used guerrilla tactics like digging tunnels and surprising the soldiers from the U.S and attacking them, as well as dressing as farmers. Which is how they eventually ended on the “Winning” side of the war this war that killed so many, was unjustified since the people in charge were afraid of “Domino Theory”. “In the land of the free home of the brave” (Smithsonian "Star Spangled Banner").Domino theory is the theory That communism will spread from one country to the next without being able to be put under control. The government decided to join a war and to lose the lives of the men and women of the United states. Instead of actually following the constitution that our first president George Washington signed and let the people believe in what they want as stated in the constitution in the first amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances”.

In 1973 the congress, started the “War Powers Act” or the War Powers Resolution of 1973. The congress proposed this act, because they wanted to have control over the president. The War Powers act is an act that is intended to keep the president's power to enforce the United States to an armed conflict without asking permission of the U.S. Congress. This act was justified because they wanted to keep the president in control without making him give up all his power. Due to this act as well as the war we lost over 58,220 lives.as well as spent 168 billion dollars included in that 111 billion dollars in weapons.

The Vietnam war was unjust because the United states was afraid of Communism, which would make them lose money. We lost the lives of those that were beloved by their families as well as money the they wanted to keep so bad by funding the weapons needed for the war. The United states is supposed to be the “land of the free home of the brave” (Smithsonian "Star Spangled Banner") yet we are afraid of communism. By participating in this war we are not following the constitution we are not allowing people to believe in what they want as well as having freedom of speech. Vietnam war is a war full of lose and greed, so when you think of this war think of those that died.

Citations:
"First Amendment". LII / Legal Information Institute. N.p., 2017. Web. 23 May 2017.

"John F. Kennedy Quotes About Communism | A-Z Quotes". A-Z Quotes. N.p., 2017. Web. 23 May 2017.

"NMAH | The Lyrics". Amhistory.si.edu. N.p., 2017. Web. 23 May 2017.

The Causes Of The Vietnam War". English.illinois.edu. N.p., 2017. Web. 23 May 2017.

"Your Right To Free Expression". American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., 2017. Web. 23 May 2017.

The Parallel Between Connections

In the Junior STEAM class Urban Planning, we learned about Tesla and Edison and the War of Currents.We also stuided the difference between Direct Current or DC and Alternating Current or AC , and what they are used for in the real world. Then we looked into.how to calculate voltage and current in a circuit. For a Field Experience we visited a robotics shop to make circuits using wires and power a toy car's motor. To overcome this we just took pieces from each others boxes that we didn't need.

Sex Is A Forbidden Word

NA,(2017) Pixabay: Sex Offenders 

In the Junior Humanities class, Policy we learned about the Legislative branch and how it works. We studied cases in history and how the legislative branch used there power in the matter. We went to a city council meeting and we saw the mayor Rahm Emmanuel. Even though the meeting didn't talk about the topics we wanted, we got to see how issues are brought up and the system they go through. For this Action Project we had to make a persuasive essay about an issue and a legislator that can address the issue. I choose house representative of the distract I live In which is Barbara Currie. My issue was sex offenders. The most challenge thing that happened was finding an issue that I was passionate about, as well as finding a person that could address the issue. I got through these challengers by looking for bills that weren't passed yet. Finding a person that could actuallyadress the issue my teacher suggested using someone that was in my distract so I chose her.

AL

GCE Lab school

1535 N Dayton

Chicago, IL, 60642

April, 27, 2017

Barbara Currie

Representative office of the 25th district

1303 E 53rd St

Chicago, Illinois 60615

 "Sex offenders" those words can ruin someones life. Remember how you parents always said not to talk to strangers , Yeah sex offenders are the reason why. I would like to talk about having a Sex Offender Registry Task- Force. Ms.Currie this task force would help the people that live in Illinois keep watch for the Sex Offenders. It allows them to get involved, ask questions and give advice to the task force. Children and adults get assaulted everyday but  "approximately 30% of sexual assault cases are reported to authorities.” according to the National U.S Department Of Justice. This force would make it easier for those who have been assaulted to speak up and talk to the task force.
 
  Children are scared they don't know what to do, some don't even know they are being assaulted. Others are told that it is okay and they don't tell the adult. this is why only“62,939 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in 2012” According to the U.S National Department Of Justice. I can’t even imagine how this number has changed now in 2017. Recently, a teenage girl was by taken by her teacher.  He will be charged with aggravated kidnapping and sexual misconduct with a minor. To put your child in a place where you think they are safe and they get abducted is shocking to anyone. Even where I live there are there 3 sex offenders within a mile of me.

I am a student at GCE Lab School in Chicago. I am writing to you about the sex offender task force. This task force would help the community as a minor growing up in Chicago, I feel like it is so easy for a child to get abducted especially in my neighborhood where everyone knows each other and trusts each other. I think it would benefit the community to have a task force for the residents so they can keep in contact. This task force would help girls and boy all over Illinois and maybe it can spread to other states.This is the bill maybe be passed would help a lot of people. It is called the HB 5572, It is  in the process of being passed it will discussed January 1, 2018 and the materials will be discussed the same day the next year.  But I think there should be more that the Force does, for example like deciding whether or not the case should be passed on to the police. Having a Sex Offender Task- Force can be a bad thing as well people can use the task force as a way to make false reports. Having a false report is bad because people can be put a person into the registry and they didn't even do anything. People can also use this information as a way to ruin the lives of those that are on this registry as well. To stop these problems, I feel like the registry should only be allowed to see the people on the registry.  As far as false reports the task force should be able to look into the case first before it is brought to the police. Far too often the lives of children and adults are ruined by th , sex offenders. This task force would help with these problems and keep the community involved. I do think that this force should be able to investigate the reports.




Thank You I would appreciate your help so much.

Sincerely ,



AL

The Truss 3000

For our first unit of the Junior STEAM class Urban Planning, We learned about different types of bridges like truss bridges, suspension bridges and more. We also learned about the law of sine and cosine and Newton's Law's. We even went downtown to see the different types of bridges. We went to Maggie Daley park and went on the bridge it was my favorite Field Experience. My favorite was learning about triangles and how they are the best thing to build on, because it helped me, my partner LS and I with making our bridge as far as design. I am very proud of how the bridge turned out, it did take a long time to get it to dry. Our bridge was 61.4 grams and handled 41 pounds.

The Motion Behind The Lyons Theatre

For the second unit in the STEAM, elective course Stage Chemistry, we learned about the different motions that stages use. We went to Steppenwolf Theater and we taught more about the different types of ways people. For my second Action Project, I had to use the location from my first Action Project and build a model of my stage to scale. We also had to create two pieces of motion for the play. We had to make safety signs and protocols for both of the points of motion. I made my stage roughly shoebox sized, but I didn't want to make my model too big so I scaled it down. It was hard for me focus on doing this project because, I felt like it was hard to find what objects of motion that I wanted to choose. I am very proud of my model; I put it together with my own hands.

AL,"Lyons Theater over head"(2017)

AL, "Lights GIF"(2017)

My lights would work by flipping in and out. They would be made with steel and are silver, the reason the lights have steel outer plate that is silver is because it would go with the pageant scene in the play. The purpose of these lights is to set the mood for the scene. It can be used for special effects as well. When the lights are not in use they are flipped up so that they are not to be seen. The Lights weigh 5 pound each and there are four of them that is 20 pounds together which is 88.9644N. I need to find out how much weight it would be if the lights were 40 lbs. Too find out how much weight the bar would Work * Force = Distance W=20  *F=40  D = 800J 

AL "Curtain GIF", (2017)

AL,"Physics"(2017)

For this Action project, I had trouble trying to find and make pieces for my objects of motions because I didn’t know what I wanted to do for them. I couldn’t make a trap door outside so I decided to use the curtains and lights as my objects of motion. As far as making my actual model, it wasn’t hard. I just needed to focus and sit down and do it. I had a hard time cutting kind of, because I don’t realize when the line isn’t straight. I had to make sure to double check the line a couple times before to make sure I got it the way I wanted it to be. We also only had a few box cutters in use for a whole class as well as glue guns to glue the pieces down. Making the measurements for my model was simple as well I just took the, blueprint from my first Action Project, and adjusted it to what fit best for my model. In the end everything turned out fine, I just wish I had more time to work on my model.

The purpose of the curtain is set the mood for the dark scenes of the play, it will be a black curtain to make it seem like the night time. The curtain will be able to go up and down the sides of the stage. The curtain is made of cotton since it’s a thicker material. My lights would work by flipping in and out to light the stage when needed, they would be made by steel and would be silver so they can add color to the stage during the scene of the pageant.




Reflection:

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

For this Elective term I took the class Stage Chemistry. In this class, we learned about the different types of stages. One type of stage is a thrust stage which, is a stage were the audience is seated on three sides of the stage. We also learned about arena stage,which is a stage that is surrounded by the audience. We talked about how to make scale drawings for different rooms in our school. We even went to see the play Uncle Vanya at the Goodman theater in Chicago. For this Action Project, we had to design a stage that benefits a play that we chose. I chose to do the play Another Word For Beauty. This play is about the different stories of the Women in jail and how they came to be in the jail. As well as the preparations for the beauty pageant they do every year. For this Action Project,  I chose to use my backyard as my stage for the play since it is good for outdoor scenes. I am proud of my sketches they took the longest to do since I did them last.

I chose to do, do my backyard because it is a good sized space it would be free of cost to me and I can do different things to it since the space is flexible and has room for adaptation while the, sides of the space which is an entry can be used for storage and or changing room for the actors as well. For the Lobby I used my living room since it is big enough to have the people that would be attending the play as well as it is very close to the stage and there will snacks and drink being served in the space they snacks will be $7 as well as the drinks too. There will also be a place to buy tickets which will be 10$ for adults (age: 18 and up) and 5$ for kids as well. I chose to use the Open Concept (OC) for the rehearsal space since it is big and can be made into a setup similar to the actual stage. The parking is set in three locations either the parking the stage or the street parking in front of my house. The seating would be around the stage on the front and sides of the which makes it a thrust stage but the audience doesn't have the stage as close to them.

Reflection:
For this project, I had trouble trying to figure out the scale that I wanted to make my stage and then I eventually learned to do it by asking for help from my teacher. I loved doing this project because it let me be creative as far what I wanted my stage to be and where it was located. I got to be the designer making sure certain parts made sense, I at first thought that my stage was an  arena stage since the audience can see from all sides but eventually decided to change it since it didn't work like I wanted it to, I had to think about the scenes that were dark, like during there flashbacks of themselves before they go to jail, and my stage not having a cover wasn't an option. I needed the cover for the scene I could put a cover over the gate and stuff to make it dark and the lighting can be. I had such a hard time drawing out all of these drawings especially to scale, plus I suck at drawing but I eventually got it together and learned to like what I did know that tried my best.

AL, Lyons Theatre,(2017)

	Goodman Theatre	My Adaptation
Concessions area	160 square feet	20sqft / 12.5%
Stage	4,000 square feet	512 sqft/ 12.8%
Box Office	144 square feet	20 sqft/ 13.8%
Seating Area	5,400 square feet	100 sqft/ 12  %
Parking	0ft	1,277sqft / 100%

AL, Lyons Theatre,(2017)