Food Project: Whats Wrong with Idealism?
Project description:
For this project we looking into all the different sides of our food system, comparing the pros and cons of each and using this newfound knowledge created our own food ethics. To do this we conducted research using different sources like The Omnivores Dilemma, the film Fresh, and many more. From this we created our own food ethics using what we learned prioritizing problems we find to be the most pressing like climate change, world hunger, etc.
Interdisciplinary learning:
I think the interdisciplinary aspect of this project enhanced the amount of learning gained throughout the project. Getting to see both the ethical and scientific challenges of food gives us a more well rounded opinion on food issues. In my opinion, makes us more qualified to come up with our own food ethics.
Main takeaways:
Going into this project I was skeptical. I knew there were major problems with our food system but I didn't see the purpose for us to look into it. It's not like what I do really has an effect, right? After really looking into the problem I can see why this is something that needs to be taught. Using the knowledge I gained I will now be able to make conscientious food purchases and do my part to help. Also I have learned about the importance of educating people on this topic. If everyone had the luxury of learning what I have I think we would see major changes in our food system.
For this project we looking into all the different sides of our food system, comparing the pros and cons of each and using this newfound knowledge created our own food ethics. To do this we conducted research using different sources like The Omnivores Dilemma, the film Fresh, and many more. From this we created our own food ethics using what we learned prioritizing problems we find to be the most pressing like climate change, world hunger, etc.
Interdisciplinary learning:
I think the interdisciplinary aspect of this project enhanced the amount of learning gained throughout the project. Getting to see both the ethical and scientific challenges of food gives us a more well rounded opinion on food issues. In my opinion, makes us more qualified to come up with our own food ethics.
Main takeaways:
Going into this project I was skeptical. I knew there were major problems with our food system but I didn't see the purpose for us to look into it. It's not like what I do really has an effect, right? After really looking into the problem I can see why this is something that needs to be taught. Using the knowledge I gained I will now be able to make conscientious food purchases and do my part to help. Also I have learned about the importance of educating people on this topic. If everyone had the luxury of learning what I have I think we would see major changes in our food system.
Food Ethic Essay:
Personal Philosophy Project: Do we really have time for this?
Project description:
For this project we looked into personal philosophy, we looked at what shapes them, and found are own personal philosophy. For my project, I looked at these essential questions. What is the purpose for our human existence, what does it mean to live a meaningful life, and what gives my life meaning. My project ended up taking a somewhat existentialist view. I think this comes from a lot of experiences I've had throughout my life and what I have been taught. I've never really thought there was any reason for me being here and I am completely fine with that. It has allowed me to focus on doing what I love. To show this I based my project around me as a mountain biker. I did this because this is what makes my life have meaning.
New Insights:
Our study of philosophy has really brought to life why I do things the way I do. Before this project I had never stopped to think about why I prioritized certain things above others. This project has shown me the method to my madness. I now know that I prioritize fulfilling my life with what gives me meaning. In my case, my mountain biking. I have been able to link everything I do to my riding. Through this project I have also learned to understand why others philosophy differ. Being able to look through the eyes of another person through films like Harold and Maude, and Into the Wild have really opened my eyes. It has taught me how peoples philosophy and what gives them meaning changes through their personal experiences.
Further Questions:
After this unit Im not sure if I have any further questions I have about myself or the universe that I need answered. If I had to pick a few they would mostly relate to learning about myself. This is not because I don't want to know questions like why humans came into existence, but because I think learning more about myself will have a greater affect on my actions than learning more about the universe. What I mean by this is I would not change my life depending on the reason Humans are here.
Some questions I might like to have answered about myself could be:
1. Why am I so drawn to the outdoors? What personal experiences engrained this into me?
2. How could I identify where my passions come from? What originally invoked them?
3. What would my life be like if I was never introduced to these passions?
4. Would my passions just be replaced by others if I was never introduced to things like mountain biking?
For this project we looked into personal philosophy, we looked at what shapes them, and found are own personal philosophy. For my project, I looked at these essential questions. What is the purpose for our human existence, what does it mean to live a meaningful life, and what gives my life meaning. My project ended up taking a somewhat existentialist view. I think this comes from a lot of experiences I've had throughout my life and what I have been taught. I've never really thought there was any reason for me being here and I am completely fine with that. It has allowed me to focus on doing what I love. To show this I based my project around me as a mountain biker. I did this because this is what makes my life have meaning.
New Insights:
Our study of philosophy has really brought to life why I do things the way I do. Before this project I had never stopped to think about why I prioritized certain things above others. This project has shown me the method to my madness. I now know that I prioritize fulfilling my life with what gives me meaning. In my case, my mountain biking. I have been able to link everything I do to my riding. Through this project I have also learned to understand why others philosophy differ. Being able to look through the eyes of another person through films like Harold and Maude, and Into the Wild have really opened my eyes. It has taught me how peoples philosophy and what gives them meaning changes through their personal experiences.
Further Questions:
After this unit Im not sure if I have any further questions I have about myself or the universe that I need answered. If I had to pick a few they would mostly relate to learning about myself. This is not because I don't want to know questions like why humans came into existence, but because I think learning more about myself will have a greater affect on my actions than learning more about the universe. What I mean by this is I would not change my life depending on the reason Humans are here.
Some questions I might like to have answered about myself could be:
1. Why am I so drawn to the outdoors? What personal experiences engrained this into me?
2. How could I identify where my passions come from? What originally invoked them?
3. What would my life be like if I was never introduced to these passions?
4. Would my passions just be replaced by others if I was never introduced to things like mountain biking?
Personal Philosophy Writing:
Personal Philosophy Art piece:
The Labor Question
Project description:
For this project we looked into the past, present, and future of labor issues. First we looked into the industrial revolution, studying the state of labor by looking into both first and second hand accounts. Using these documents we were able to see how unjust working conditions were before any real labor laws had been created as well as why certain labor laws were created. After learning about the past of labor we began to look into todays economy. Through discussion we separated into groups to look at the labor problems of today and created presentations on our topic. Then we were asked to use structured academic controversy to discuss if globalization has undermined the American working class. We had these discussions in small groups either saying it has undermined the working class or it hasn't using facts supporting our side. From here we began on our main project. Using the skills we have gained throughout this unit we got into small groups and created podcasts on a labor issue we were interested in.
For this project we looked into the past, present, and future of labor issues. First we looked into the industrial revolution, studying the state of labor by looking into both first and second hand accounts. Using these documents we were able to see how unjust working conditions were before any real labor laws had been created as well as why certain labor laws were created. After learning about the past of labor we began to look into todays economy. Through discussion we separated into groups to look at the labor problems of today and created presentations on our topic. Then we were asked to use structured academic controversy to discuss if globalization has undermined the American working class. We had these discussions in small groups either saying it has undermined the working class or it hasn't using facts supporting our side. From here we began on our main project. Using the skills we have gained throughout this unit we got into small groups and created podcasts on a labor issue we were interested in.
Timed Writing
Presentation:
Project Reflection:
1. What was the greatest challenge you faced in the project and what did you do to overcome that challenge?
The greatest challenge our group had to overcome was editing our podcast. We kept running into different issues depending on the day. For example the first problem we ran across was my soundtrap account wouldn’t let me into the shared project. Both Jem and Sean's accounts worked flawlessly but mine kept giving me an error code. Another problem we had with editing was occasionally our work wouldn’t save or our audio clips would get broken up into lots of little unnecessary sections and delete words. To overcome these challenges we decided that my time could be better spent working on other aspects of the project rather than keep trying to access the editing. This is where I began looking over the rubric to make sure we hit all the points and transmitted ideas to Jem about what could take the podcast to the next level. To deal with the edits deleting and breaking up we decided to make several different saves. In case the podcast wasn't right the next day we always had the last save backed up so we could return to where it was right. Then we just needed to remake those edits we made the day before. Overall this system worked well. It would have been nice if we could have found a way to stop these problems from occurring, but I don't think we really lost too much time due to re editing because of the saving method we used.
2. If you could go back and do the project again what would you do differently and why?
If I could have done anything differently I would have spent less time at the beginning of the podcast working on the script and more time recording. Our group spent the majority of our time writing out a script and only left a few days for editing and recording. During the project we would record a scripted section and then spend a fair amount of time changing it because it didn't sound quite right. This led to our editing to be rushed since we spent so much of the time we planned to be recording rewriting the script. If we would have given more time to recording and less time on the script I think we would have ended up with a more natural sounding podcast that would be a bit easier to follow and better edited.
3. What is the greatest insight you gained about the state of labor issues today? Think back through the entire project, historical context, the presentations, globalization, and your podcast production.
The greatest insight I gained was just how close feasible automation is becoming. I have been hearing about automation for a long time now but never thought it was close to reality. I alway assumed it would start becoming apparent when I am around 50-60 years old but in reality it will happen much sooner than that. It has made me start to think about jobs and what could be automated. This is something we are going to need to start thinking about and taking into consideration as students to make sure we end up in a position safe from automation. After diving into the automation of certain workforces I can now see just how much of an impact this will have on the workforce. If handled incorrectly we could end up with millions jobless and have no plan.
4. What are you most proud of in your project? This could be something very small and not visible to me or the audience. Help me understand why you are so proud of this piece.
I am very proud of the amount of information we were able to squeeze into our podcast and the research put in. Our podcast went over the past, present, and future of automation in detail. Showing what automation has done in the past and what this could mean for the future. All the information we gathered comes from credible sources so listeners know that what they heard is the truth. I think our group took a relatively complex and large upcoming labor problem and put it in a way that listeners could understand and get the full idea of automation, both the good and the bad allowing them to create their own informed opinions about automation in the workplace.
5. Explain 1 way you grew as a student during this project. It is not when we are comfortable and know how to do a task that we grow, it is often when we are the most challenged or have struggled through something that we grow. So what will you be better at now?
This project has helped me grow as a leader. Typically I don’t ever step into a leadership role, but I was forced into one during this project. When I was unable to edit the podcast I became the person who overlooked the entire project, not just focusing on my individual part. This was hard for me because in past projects I typically do my part of the project then step back and put no more effort in. I wasn't able to do that during this project. I had to work with my groupmates to make sure our sections of the podcast meshed well with each other. This involved me stepping up and directing how each section should begin or end to transition smoothly. I needed to tell my group members if something was not meeting a requirement on the rubric and suggest ways to fix it which is something I don’t typically do.
The greatest challenge our group had to overcome was editing our podcast. We kept running into different issues depending on the day. For example the first problem we ran across was my soundtrap account wouldn’t let me into the shared project. Both Jem and Sean's accounts worked flawlessly but mine kept giving me an error code. Another problem we had with editing was occasionally our work wouldn’t save or our audio clips would get broken up into lots of little unnecessary sections and delete words. To overcome these challenges we decided that my time could be better spent working on other aspects of the project rather than keep trying to access the editing. This is where I began looking over the rubric to make sure we hit all the points and transmitted ideas to Jem about what could take the podcast to the next level. To deal with the edits deleting and breaking up we decided to make several different saves. In case the podcast wasn't right the next day we always had the last save backed up so we could return to where it was right. Then we just needed to remake those edits we made the day before. Overall this system worked well. It would have been nice if we could have found a way to stop these problems from occurring, but I don't think we really lost too much time due to re editing because of the saving method we used.
2. If you could go back and do the project again what would you do differently and why?
If I could have done anything differently I would have spent less time at the beginning of the podcast working on the script and more time recording. Our group spent the majority of our time writing out a script and only left a few days for editing and recording. During the project we would record a scripted section and then spend a fair amount of time changing it because it didn't sound quite right. This led to our editing to be rushed since we spent so much of the time we planned to be recording rewriting the script. If we would have given more time to recording and less time on the script I think we would have ended up with a more natural sounding podcast that would be a bit easier to follow and better edited.
3. What is the greatest insight you gained about the state of labor issues today? Think back through the entire project, historical context, the presentations, globalization, and your podcast production.
The greatest insight I gained was just how close feasible automation is becoming. I have been hearing about automation for a long time now but never thought it was close to reality. I alway assumed it would start becoming apparent when I am around 50-60 years old but in reality it will happen much sooner than that. It has made me start to think about jobs and what could be automated. This is something we are going to need to start thinking about and taking into consideration as students to make sure we end up in a position safe from automation. After diving into the automation of certain workforces I can now see just how much of an impact this will have on the workforce. If handled incorrectly we could end up with millions jobless and have no plan.
4. What are you most proud of in your project? This could be something very small and not visible to me or the audience. Help me understand why you are so proud of this piece.
I am very proud of the amount of information we were able to squeeze into our podcast and the research put in. Our podcast went over the past, present, and future of automation in detail. Showing what automation has done in the past and what this could mean for the future. All the information we gathered comes from credible sources so listeners know that what they heard is the truth. I think our group took a relatively complex and large upcoming labor problem and put it in a way that listeners could understand and get the full idea of automation, both the good and the bad allowing them to create their own informed opinions about automation in the workplace.
5. Explain 1 way you grew as a student during this project. It is not when we are comfortable and know how to do a task that we grow, it is often when we are the most challenged or have struggled through something that we grow. So what will you be better at now?
This project has helped me grow as a leader. Typically I don’t ever step into a leadership role, but I was forced into one during this project. When I was unable to edit the podcast I became the person who overlooked the entire project, not just focusing on my individual part. This was hard for me because in past projects I typically do my part of the project then step back and put no more effort in. I wasn't able to do that during this project. I had to work with my groupmates to make sure our sections of the podcast meshed well with each other. This involved me stepping up and directing how each section should begin or end to transition smoothly. I needed to tell my group members if something was not meeting a requirement on the rubric and suggest ways to fix it which is something I don’t typically do.