Blog 23 : Final Lesson Reflection

Presentation

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or you senior project?

• I believe that I took on a topic that was pretty dense. It was a subject that I believe is a real/applicable issue that does matter. I have an EQ that can have answers which can be interpreted in many different ways, but my answers do not look at one side of my problem but rather many faces of the issue. What helped is that I did become passionate about my problem, I became extremely invested, especially from the months of February to May, every day 24/7, though it was extremely difficult. I found the answer to an actual social issue. My question and answers cater to 30 - 45 % of the American population. My topic is relevant, its eye-opening, and dense for those in my age group.

(2) Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation

• AP-

b.What assessment would you give yourself on your overall Senior Project?

• P-

(3) What Worked For You 

The things that worked for me the most was when I:

• 
  

(4) What Didn't Work

If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project?

I wish that I had:

• done summer mentorship
• found more credible sources
• been more discipline with my work and due dates
• been consistent with my Mentorship
• chosen a different topic ; a topic that was less dense and complicated
• learned how to positively handle the stress from the project rather than destructively 
• been more responsible
• turned in all of the assignments
• dedicated more time to Mentorship/Independent Component 
• logged my Mentorship hours more efficiently
• been more prepared for my presentation
• been more confident in the senior presentation
• used my time more wisely
• gotten my drivers license (which I still don't have) to drive to the many locations I visited
• used pictures and videos for my final presentation & brought an extension cord for the projector that would have shown the media
• not read off the slides as much as I did during my presentation 
• done my iSearch Paper

(5) Finding Value 

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?

Because of my senior project, I was able to find a possible career route I would like to pursue. I know that what I have found in my senior project, I will use for the rest of my life. I will not undermine how in depth my topic was. I have researched and discovered a information that I would  have never known otherwise.

Blog 22 : Mentorship

Content:

Literal

• Updated Mentorship Blog
• Mentors:
• Debra Martin - Pomona City Council Member; City Hall
• Alejandra Jimenez- La Casita Teen Center; Pomona

Interpretive

• What us the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
• The most important think that I gained from this experience is that I now know what I want to pursue as a career.

Applied

• How has what you've done helped you to answer your EQ?
• My senior project and its answers are pretty broad, yet my mentorships helped answer two of my answers. Mentoring at the teen center helped and connected me to city council member, Debra Martin. She assisted me a lot with finding and connecting with the right people to get involved with to help me find my answer..

Blog 21 : Exit Interview

Exit Interview on May 18, 2015
Content:  1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers? What is your best answer and why?

• My essential question is, "What is the most effective support system for an underprivileged youth to break the poverty cycle?".

• My first answer: The best way a child can break the poverty cycle is if he or she follows the Social Development Strategy that is in the Pomona Youth and Family Master Plan.

• My second answer: A child can have either 1)intrinsic motivation or 2)extrinsic motivation through : 1)wanting to achieve for something greater than what their current circumstance offers them or 2) with the support of a good adult influence, a child will recognize that support and be motivated by an outside force to do well in school and in life.

• My third answer: Schools must prepare students with the proper skills of college preparedness and have embedded the goal of college to all underprivileged students so that - with college- they can have the best opportunity to break the poverty cycle.

• My best answer is, "Schools must prepare students with the proper skills of college preparedness and have embedded the goal of college to all underprivileged students so that - with college- they can have the best opportunity to break the poverty cycle." 

• This is my best answer because:

• Children that usually come from humble backgrounds are usually the first one's in their family to go to college. Because of this, most of these kids do not think that college is a realistic goal usually because of the cost. Schools need to expose to these kids that college is affordable through scholarships and grants. That they need to have the best grades possible for the best chance at receiving those resources. Schools need to talk about college from the very beginning (Elementary) so that the families are on board. The moment that families are involved and informed there is a much higher chance of all-around support and success for the child (Elmer Rodriguez, High School Outreach Specialist/Genethia Hudley-Haynes, Former LAUSD School Board President/currently the Los Angeles County District Three Deputy of Education)

2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

• The first time I actually had an idea about what a possible answer could be was when I interviewed High School Outreach Specialist, Elmer Rodriguez, who felt very strongly about how schools, especially in impoverished communities, do not talk about how it can be a possibility for kids to go to college as long as they are supported and told how to receive scholarship money and find ways to go to college. College should be a priority not an option or a maybe especially for kids that come from humble backgrounds.
• The main process was asking professionals who have been in the workforce, who have seen first hand, poverty, and the trial and error and those who have succeeded and those who haven't. 

3) What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

• The main problem I faced was finding credible sources for my answers. I couldn't find things specific to my project. There were many sources about how poverty is a problem, but never sources on how to combat or solve gentrification and the poverty cycle. There were many first hand experiences of how people escaped the cycle, but non about how to combat it as a whole. The main way I found sources was through my mentorship and interviews. 
• I had problems with mentorship and adjusting to not having a car. So I often took the bus  and started going to city meetings. As a result, I discovered Pomona's Promise, an entire city committee dedicated to a healthier and safer Pomona. 

4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

• The fact that I was able to interview an L.A.U.S.D. Board Member, and asking her professional opinion and first-hand experiences
• The second is my independent component because I was able to ask people from different backgrounds and circumstances on what they did right and wrong and noticed a pattern between those who come from humble backgrounds on the problems the face and how they tackled those problems.

Must be prepared with evidence and specific examples to support any response. It is also significant to cite sources as you explain.