A Conclusion for Delusion

This is my second action project for my Disease class. In the unit called “Mind”, we learned about the brain and how it is affected by mental disorders, as well as how it affects the body. For this action project I made a lesson where I had to convey how it feels to have the mental disorder I chose. Then I put it into action and video taped the lesson to post on my blog. My favorite part of making this action project was seeing all the different lesson plans because they were all really good. The biggest problem I had while making this project that I would’ve changed was figuring out how to get my classmates to feel the emotions I wanted them to. The problem I had was that it was hard for me to know how people who didn’t know anything about my mental disorder to understand what I wanted them to feel. I eventually was able to work with other people who weren’t in the class to try it out before I did my presentation and figured out what to do.

In this unit I learned from Dr. Royanne that, "mind and body are always connected and affect one another." The disease I chose is called Delusional Disorder. Patients diagnosed with his disorder believe that things that aren't happening are happening. The scientific definition says it is a condition associated with one or more nonbizarre delusions of thinking—such as expressing beliefs that occur in real life such as being poisoned, being stalked, being loved or deceived, or having an illness, provided no other symptoms of schizophrenia are exhibited.

Below is a video of my presentation on this disorder.

Works Cited

"Psychology Today." Delusional Disorder | Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.

Kiran, Chandra, and Suprakash Chaudhury. "Understanding delusions." Industrial Psychiatry Journal. Medknow Publications, 2009. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.

Wpadmin. "23 Fascinating Delusional Disorder Statistics." HRFnd. HRE, 13 Jan. 2015. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.

Trump versus Socrates

This is my first action project for my Forbidden Books class. The unit called  “Politics” was about why books have been forbidden for political reasons, through the study of "The Apology" by Socrates. For this action project I made a video where a reporter was using the socratic method to bring Donald Trump to a stump and make him rethink his values. Then I edited it together in order to make it presentable and added some bloopers to make it fun. My favorite part of making this action project was taping the bloopers because the actors mad really silly mistakes and funny accidents. Even though I had fun, the biggest problem I had while making this project was working with the actors.The problem I had was that it was hard for me to keep a schedule with the people in my video and they wouldn’t be available when I needed them. I eventually was able to work with them between classes and made the most of the time we had by preparing everything early.

How to I.D. HIV

This is my first action project for my Disease class. The unit called “Body” was about the different kinds of body systems in the human body and diseases that affect us. For this action project I found a person that I know who has a disease and made a patient profile for them. Then I created a body outline and highlighted the specific parts of the body that are affected by the disease. My favorite part of making this action project was doing the research because disease is an interesting topic to me. For example I don’t normally enjoy researching information in my STEAM classes because it’s hard to remember information in that way, but since this action project was interesting the research came easily. Even though I had fun, the biggest problem I had while making this project was doing the body outline.The problem I had was that it was hard for me to stay still while I was being traced which made me end up having to do multiple outlines, but then I realized that it might be that my partner might be the problem. I switched out my partner with someone who had done this project before and the rest went smoothly from there.

My friend Timothy is a teenager who is well known in school and has a loving family. About a year ago he was infected with HIV. He was used to having a lot of friends and being lucky so he couldn’t imagine anything happening to his life. Before he knew he had HIV, he had already started to experience some of the symptoms of having it. He started coughing a lot and he had multiple high fevers. He already had an idea of what he had so he went to get tested and to see if he had HIV. When he found out he was infected he got really scared because he had gotten it through doing drugs with dirty needles. He didn’t want to tell his parents because he knew that he would get in trouble. When I asked how his parents reacted when they found out he had it he told me,"My parents were extremely mad because I actually told them that I got it from having sex."

After taking doses of a drug called Zidovudine to help lessen the symptoms of HIV, he is able to move on from being infected to his old routine of hanging out with friends and family. The dose he was supposed to take was 300 mg orally every 12 hours or 200 mg orally every 8 hours. Zidovudine is not the only way you can fight HIV/AIDS though. There are numerous other drugs and methods that can help reverse the infection. The best way to prevent it though is through protection during intercourse like condoms. Of course another way to help prevent it is by making sure when taking drugs the needle is always a clean new needle. Those are the best ways to prevent any risk factors.

HIV/AIDS

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is a disease that can ruin your immune system by causing multiple symptoms at the same time. AIDS is a symptom from another disease called HIV human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is a disease that also weakens your immune system, but the difference between AIDS and HIV, is that HIV is normally a cause for people infected with it to become infected with numerous other diseases like AIDS. Both of these diseases can be caused in three different ways. The first and most well known way is through sexual intercourse. The second way is through blood to blood contact The final and least known way is through being born with it after the parents had it. Both HIV and AIDS are infectious diseases but they could also be genetic diseases as well.

For my friend his symptoms started in the Respiratory System. At first it was just coughing, but next was hard breathing. His main problem was the coughing because at first he was trying to hide the fact that he was sick, and it was really tough for him to do.

Next was the integumentary system where he got Molluscum contagiosum. Molluscum contagiosum is a symptom that appears on the skin as bumps. For my friend they appeared on his arm, but they could appear anywhere on the body.

It is even possible for AIDS to affect the nervous system. It can cause HIV-associated dementia or AIDS dementia complex which seriously hurt your cognitive skills. They could also impair the memory.

MJF(2017)"HIV"

MJF(2017)"HIV"

MJF(2017)"HIV"

Works Cited

"24 Effects of HIV on the Body." Healthline. Healthline, 22 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.

idovudine Dosage Guide with Precautions." Guide with Precautions - Drugs.com. Drugs.com, 6 Aug. 16. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.

"The Effects of HIV/AIDS on Different Systems of the Body." LIVESTRONG.COM. Leaf Group, 24 June 2015. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.

Parkour Teach-In

This is my first and final action project for my Global Peace class. This unit was about the different kinds of violence we see in the world and how we as a community can stop it. For this action project I first I chose a topic about violence that I could fight. Then I created a Parkour presentation and made a slideshow of me presenting Parkour in order to help involve kids in a new hobby. My favorite part of making this project was editing the slideshow because it’s always fun for me to see myself doing Parkour. For example I don’t normally get to see what I’m doing from a 3rd person perspective. Even though I had fun, the biggest problem I had while making this project was the weather on the day I had to present my Parkour class. I ended up having to do it without anyone being there because the weather was too cold for anyone to want to come.

One of the worst things anyone can do is be unproductive. Being unproductive can lead to growing up and not graduating high school or college. One of the worst things it can lead to is juveniles joining gangs. Around 40% of the gang members in the United States are Juveniles (under 18), while the other 60% are over 18. In other words this means that around over 400,000 teenagers are in gangs and 600,000 are adults. This is the product of not being productive. If we could get every child and teen to find a hobby that gives them something to do then this could substantially lower the amount of juveniles in gangs.

The issue that I am addressing is children who don’t have any hobbies. While it may seem like it is a small issue, I believe that is at the root of many other issues in the world and leads to to constant violence that can hurt their lives as well as those around them. The type of violence I’m trying to address is both cultural and structural. This violence is cultural because once teenagers see that they aren’t being productive then they see that a large amount of people in American culture are in gangs. It is also structural violence because the way the US has been built prevents certain people from being productive.

I used the Tree Model of Conflict Analysis to diagram the causes and effects of not having a hobby. Not having a hobby is terrible because the effects can lead you into a terrible life. The causes are not good either since a lot of them revolve around lack of self worth. For example, some of the causes include not thinking you’re good at anything, being lazy, and a lack of confidence.This conflict is happening because some children are being manipulated into not having a hobby.

The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is fighting the same problem as me while also helping clean up the earth. What they do is gather kids in both middle school and high school, and take them to a place in Chicago and work on removing invasive plant species, pick up trash, etc. After that, they do something fun like Ice Skating, Rock Climbing, etc.

One of the nonviolent actions I chose to use as a tool to intervene with my conflict was a teach in. I decided to teach people how to do Parkour as a hobby. Parkour is a sport where you use different movement styles to get from one point to another. Normally, Parkour includes gymnastics, but it can also include martial arts and dancing. The reason I wanted to use Parkour as an intervention was because I think I’m pretty good at making Parkour something that people want to do. It also gets people in shape while given them something to brag about.

There are four principles that Gandhi used to promote world peace. The principle I used for my action project was Swadeshi. The meaning of Swadeshi is “local economy”.My intervention relates to Swadeshi because I was able to use the local economy in order to promote a peaceful way to get kids to find a hobby. I was also able to use Sarvodoya (meaning “rising of all”) because I was able to get a group of people who didn’t have a hobby to start looking.

Works Cited 

Ojotriste, Jimmy. "Gang Statistics Last Update 2012 - New Update in Progress." Helpinggangyouth.com. Arturo Hernandez, 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

"Shedd Stewards." Shedd Stewards | Shedd Aquarium. Shedd Aquarium, 2016. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

Bruce Lee

This is my final action project for my “Stories” class. This unit was titled “Heroes” and it was about how heroes all follow the same path to become a hero. For this action project I worked with RZD and KM created a slideshow to show the path Bruce Lee took. My favorite part of this project was having a reason to research Bruce Lee at school.I think the biggest challenge we had to face was working on the project after school without being able to interact with each other. All we could really do was text each other, but I think we were able to do an exceptional job overall.

Making A Womback!

This is my final action project for my Population class. This unit was about the survivorship curve of organisms. For this action project I found ten different data points that I researched and gathered data on for an organism that I chose which was Wombats. Then I did some research on how we as humans affect them. I made a video to show all the work I did. My favorite part of this project was coming with the name for this action project. For example I chose between “Mortal Wombat”, “Making a Womback”, and “No Wombat No Cry”.Even though I had fun, the biggest problem I had while making this project was choosing between all the awesome names for my project. I ended up choosing “Making a Womback” because it made the most sense for my data.

Works Cited

"Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat." , Lasorhinus Krefftii (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection). Queensland Government, 23 Oct. 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

UN, Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs. "Population of the Entire World, Yearly, 1950 - 2100." GeoHive. GeoHive, 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

Scyther the Boomslang Snake

This is my second action project for my “Stories” class. This unit was about different fables and character types. For this action project I created my own fable to teach a lesson. The way I made my story was just by writing it down. My favorite part of this project was making the drawing of the main character of the story which was a Boomslang Snake. I struggled with making the drawing the most even though I had fun. It was annoying to have to draw all the scales on the snake. All I had to do was come up with a strategy to make the scales quickly and, I eventually finished it.

MJF (2016) Boomslang

I am Scyther the Boomslang Snake. Ever since I was born I had to be both prey and a predator. There has always been one predator that has been in my life for as long as I can remember though. His name is Vincent the Verreaux's eagle-owl. He is an apex predator meaning that he is bigger, stronger, and faster than anyone in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, but I have always been able to evade him with my cunning strategic manipulative mind. Even though I am able to trick him often, this just makes him want to eat me even more. Recently he has been getting closer to catching me, even with me trying my hardest to outsmart him. He is growing wiser and I have to come up with a plan to stop him from eating me soon. As long as I’m in my tree home I’ll be safe.

I have to look at my advantages so I could know how to keep myself safe. I have green scales that can help me blend into trees, I am poisonous, and I am smart. Now all I have to do is come up with a plan for my next encounter with Vincent. Maybe I should hide in the trees for the rest of my life. That wouldn’t work because eventually I would have to come out to get water. What if I tried to use my poison to kill him first? That probably wouldn’t work either because he still has a strength, speed, and flight advantage. I think the best way to get hi from trying to eat me is to keep him to full to be hungry. All I have to do is find animals that I could manipulate or kill and give them to Vincent.

I decided to go looking for other small animals that I could easily kill and bring to Vincent. So I made my way to the ground to look for some hedgehogs. Eventually I found one named Harry. “Hello”, I said in the smoothest way possible, “I need someone who can help me move some branches out of the way of my home.” “If I help you, you’ll kill me” said the hedgehog. “If you don’t help me I’ll kill you. Besides, if I wanted to kill you I would’ve done it by now.” “Ok…, but if I help you, you have to promise not to eat me.”, Harry said. “I promise”. So we made my way to my tree where Iive in. Even though I wasn’t the one who was going to die, I was still nervous that I wouldn’t be able to pull off my plan.

As we arrived at the tree I heard a screech. It was Vincent, and  think he saw me on the way to my home. Luckily this is what I had planned for. As Vincent came to a landing in front of me I wrapped around the hedgehog. “ What’s this?” said Vincent. “I brought you a gift.”, I said calmly. “Oh?” said the giant owl. I slowly let go of the hedgehog and he started to run, but he was immediately grabbed by Vincent. “Thankyou”, he said “ I expect to see more of this in the future.” “Of course Vincent, as long as you promise not to eat me”. “ I promise”, he said slowly. Then he threw up the hedgehog into the sky and caught it in his mouth, and with that he flw away.

That last encounter was a close one, but I don’t know how I can keep doing this. If I keep this up then I’ll starve. I don’t care though, as long as I don’t die then I should keep going. While I was climbing up my tree, I was already thinking about the next meal I should give Vincent. Should I kill the next hedgehog before giving it to him or would he want him alive to eat. I heard he likes to play with his prey before eating it, so maybe I should bring him alive. The next day I decided to set out with the same goal as yesterday, which meant that I had to catch another living hedgehog. I was able to use the same strategy as the day before and bring him to my home.

I heard the same screech as yesterday but when the owl came, he seemed much happier than usual. I let the hedgehog loose, but this time Vincent didn’t try to catch the hedgehog. He looked at me like he knew something that I didn’t. Suddenly he grabbed me and I couldn’t move. “ Did you really think I would let you live after you have tricked me so many times?” he said as he laughed maniacally. I didn’t know what to do so I tried to bite him, but he clamped my mouth with his enormous talons. I should’ve known that this was going to happen. He was finally able to outsmart me in the end. Then  he slowly put me into his mouth while laughing and ate me.

Don’t sink to the level of your enemies.