Gwen Marcus, GBP Student
The biggest and most exciting aspect of GBP is the Community Action Project, otherwise known as the “CAP”. After proposing our own topics and voting on those that we were interested in, we finally received our CAP groups just over a week ago. In that week alone, we’ve already made many discoveries about our project. My CAP group, which is focusing on improving the graduation rates at Chelsea High School, quickly started our research, and were surprised to find demographical data that differed from our preconceived thoughts. For example, we originally thought that the cause of the low graduation rates was the quality of the schools, but our early research has already showed that, depending on race, graduation rates can range between 50 and 84.5%, which completely changes our ideas for solving our issue. Now, we have to take the research we've done and use it to change our plans in order to better achieve our CAP goal; we're focusing on finding more possible reasons for the graduation rates, rather than jumping in based on an original assumption. Based on this experience, I wouldn't be surprised if other groups find out that their problems are also caused by different things than they imagined. To me, this was a clear indication of how quickly we should dive into our CAP -- it hasn’t even been two full weeks, but we already have so much more information to research and consider than many originally considered. As the research goes on, the more exciting the CAP gets. Each person gets to put their strengths to use by doing different types of research (like math/statistics, social issues, background info, etc), and the result is a very well-compiled and in-depth set of information. In my group, I focus mostly on researching and analyzing statistics (like historic graduation rates, poverty rates, and other demographics about Chelsea), while the other members focus more on contacting people in Chelsea, finding out offerings of the school district, and compiling all the information together in an organized manner. It's also exciting in the sense that we are getting closer to solving a real world problem, rather than just researching for a typical school project. With CAPs, even though we’re not even two weeks in, the research is already interesting and feels purposeful. GBP students and teachers help out at the Greater Boston Food Bank. (Photos by Ms. Tincher) Michaella Callahan, GBP Student
A huge aspect of GBP is learning ways to help make the community better. Last week our class took a field trip to the Greater Boston Food Bank. It was a great experience to be able to see what goes on behind the scenes at the food bank and assist in the process of it. Prior to the trip, we did an in class preparation activity looking at statistics of people affected by hunger in Massachusetts. In this activity we found that last year the Food Bank collected enough food to feed approximately 54,000 people. They are able to make that possible with the help of over 25,000 volunteers. The company is working to increase the distribution of food in order to provide at least one meal a day for everyone in need in the eastern Massachusetts area. When we arrived to the food bank we walked through a huge room with food stacked to the ceiling. It was surprising how much food this company is able to collect for people in need. After a brief introduction to the GBFB, the workers took us into the room where the food is organized and assigned us different roles. The different roles were re-stocking boxes, unloading the food onto the conveyor belt, separating the food into categories, weighing the boxes, and loading the filled boxes onto a forklift. It was really hectic organizing the food because it was consistently passing by on the conveyor belt and we had to be able to separate it into the correct categories. We also had to be sure there were no opened packages and no expired food. However the hard work was worth it because of the reward of helping others. Afterwards we had a quick debrief and learned that we had packaged about 8,000 pounds of food (which, we found out, was more than the students in the Period 5&6 class!). Competition aside, it was shocking to learn that we packed that much food in a short amount of time, and goes to show how much can be accomplished when you have a group working cohesively to solve a problem. This field trip allowed us as GBP students to immerse ourselves in a situation similar to the CAP that we will be completing over the course of the next few months. The lesson of this field trip relating to our CAP is that one person can make a huge difference. The Greater Boston Food Bank started with one person handing out food from the back of their truck and expanded into a huge company with the help of donations, drives, and financial contributions. The hopes of our CAP project is that we can start something that others will be able to expand upon in the future in order to help the community. It was a rewarding feeling to be able to help those in need and knowing that we were making a change. Jill Montesano, GBP Student It is no doubt that surveys help others learn more about a specific group of people, whether marketers are trying to find the hottest trends, schools are trying to learn more about students’ drug use habits, or researchers are trying to understand if people's sleeping habits have any correlation with their late night device use. Surveys can be interesting, informational, and helpful for researchers and the people reading about the studies done.
What people often overlook about surveys is creating and analyzing one requires a thoughtful process. Surveys are created not only to be helpful and fun but also to find a trend or correlation of two factors. It is important when a survey is complete to take the time to compare answers which usually means creating graphs and drawing a conclusions from them. Surveys also have to be clear and direct with the audience, and have to be created based around who is going to be surveyed. There are many factors that go into making surveys and with our class activity we got some practice with creating successful surveys.
Brainstorming about all these tragedies got me thinking about how many tragedies could be happening all over the world that no one knows about or pays attention to. There is now so much more news coverage on media that we have more exposure to news stories, but we don’t always pay attention because it might not be concerning to us. All of these news stories could even be considered desensitizing to us because there is always something drastic on the news, it just depends what we pay attention to, or care to watch or read. It made me realize that we also can’t always trust what we read. Some textbooks may have mentioned some events as minor details, but that doesn't mean that all the facts were present or that there isn’t a whole other side to the story. Many textbooks seem to brush off real events like they were nothing, just a couple million people dead or a few thousand went missing, like the Armenian Genocide or the Haitian Revolution. While we were finishing up the activity, Mr. Brooke brought up a good point about what we think will be forgotten years from now. With all the technology present today it is difficult to have anything go unnoticed. But, as I explained, news can be desensitizing because every extreme that has happened is reported out. Throughout the journey of reading Ten Hills Farm, we are forced to question whether or not we really see every event in history for what it is. This lesson helped us think about how that happens now with our own media. A modern day photo from Ten Hills Farm in Medford, MA. (Photo from the Tufts University Magazine.)
Peter Hood, GBP Student As soon as I walked into room 728 on the 21st of October, I knew it was going to be a monumental day in my high school career. I finally got to combine my two loves for math and the Earth into one class activity. In preparation for this once in a lifetime activity, I went right home from school the night before and studied up on the whole operation behind Solarize Needham on solarizeneedham.org. I also dug through my AP Statistics notebook in order to be absolutely prepared to conquer any given math thrown my way by the math legend himself: Mr. O. The main idea behind the big push for Solarize Needham is, “In addition to significantly saving money on your utility bill you will be helping your community’s local economy, promoting the use of sustainable energy and helping the planet reduce it’s overall carbon footprint!” (solarizeneedham.org). Our main goal in class was to explore the cultural change and subsequent paradigm shift that has influenced the Solarize Needham initiative. After we were fatefully directed into our working teams based on the shapes on our grouping cards, all of us students were immediately engaged in the classwork, starting to converse about the perks of “Solarizing Needham.” Our conversations started to lead to overall ideas about cultural change regarding going solar. It seems that the big push for going solar is happening with everyone trying to “save the planet” and “be green;” it’s kind of become a sin nowadays to not be environmentally friendly. I think Needham, in particular, wants other towns around us to see that we are taking the effort to saving a lot of energy. Being energy proficient has started to become a fashionable thing, and Needham is no exception! Once we finished discussing our initial ideas in class, I finally had the opportunity to put my math skills to the test. Comparing percentages of single family homes who solarized and average family incomes for all of the towns, we were able to compare data and analyze data (two of my favorite things). We ended up finding things like the z-score (observation-mean/standard deviation), and regression of the different towns that are trying to solarize. We had to find these factors in order to analyze and interpret the data correctly. We chose to examine the percentage of single family homes with solar power with average family income because we expected that the higher the average income of families, the higher percentage of single family homes with solar power would be likely. After calculations, we concluded that there was no correlation between income and percentage of single family homes with solar power. This was surprising to me: if people had the money to pay for solar power, why were they participating just as much as families with a lower income? I think Solarize Needham is a great way of saving energy and money, benefiting our community here as a whole. It really pains me to see a lack of people participating in it. Families with a higher income see solar power as a necessary process to take on if they could just pay their regular electrical bills with no problem. On the other hand, families with lower income aren’t able to pay for this adaption to society. This interesting day in GBP really strengthened my belief in going solar overall. I believe that saving energy and money would be two things I would take pride in once I become a homeowner myself. In about ten years you will find me lounging on the balcony of my mansion, overlooking my gorgeous solar panels lighting up my roof.
Sarah McEvoy, GBP Student For over four hundred years, Needham (and most other towns in Massachusetts) has held Town Meetings to address issues of the town to be discussed and resolved. According to the article we read in class on Tuesday of last week, “the town meetings that took place in Colonial times differed only slightly from the town meetings we hold today.” It is so cool that after all these years, some things stay the same. In a typical town meeting, representatives from the town stand up one at a time and recite an issue that faces the town. Then, there is time for debate where people can agree with your argument or refute it. Once the debates simmer down, there is eventually time to make a compromise and establish a new law or ordeal within the town. One of the main goals of The Greater Boston Project is to help us improve our oral communication skills, so what better practice than to have a mock town meeting for the entire class? This is how it went: Mr. Odierna took on the role of “Mr. Moderator,” who controlled the meeting; he posed two different issues that Massachusetts faces. The first was the tax on tobacco and the other was being the legalization of fireworks, both of which are major topics up for review right now. The class was split in half to do research on each topic. An exciting part of this meeting was that you could choose whether you were for or against the issue. Then, there was time to debate. The topic of the tax on tobacco started and students began to make their way to the podium, devices in hand, to present their case. It was so interesting to see the specific research and statistics that each student had to back themselves up. Great arguments were made and the debates were heated at times. After the two topics were debated and addressed, the “Town of GBP” made final decisions on what to do. The class was to say “yay” if they were for the change and to say “nay” if they weren’t. Of course, opinions varied, as they always do, so it was tough to make a unanimous decision. This activity was effective in showing us what it is like to be a part of a town meeting whether it be from the 1600s or 2015. It was a great way for us to do research and, at the same time, strengthen our presentation skills. Everyone seemed to really enjoy this activity. From my time in GBP, I have noticed that when we have activities that require this kind of interactive participation, everyone has a lot of fun while learning something important. Learning about town meetings is relevant to our lives today because it is actually how many town governments are still run!
Ken Brooke, GBP Instructor Strolling around town looking for clues and exploring local businesses instead of being stuck in the classroom analyzing texts or doing math problems: what could be better? Well, the weather could have been a bit cooler today: the third straight 90 degree day in September did make our 3rd annual GBP Scavenger Hunt a bit sweatier than usual, but the students dressed for the occasion, especially the girls on the volleyball team who were head-to-toe in red, white, and blue for a big game tonight! But the weather was no match for our determined students, who geared up and grabbed some water (and iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts) and went on their way. The teachers, on the other hand, posted up in front of Fresco’s with lemonade in hand; it was a tough job, but someone had to do it. Mr. O had his phone, aka the “Clue Hotline” ready to go, Ms. Tincher s cell was snapping pictures as students raced past, and I set to document our adventure for our second GBP blog post of the year. The GBP Needham Scavenger Hunt asks groups of students to locate different businesses throughout town by deciphering clues about various places. Using an iPad, the groups have to take a group photo or a selfie at each stop to prove they went there and; to avoid working with other groups, students have to go to each stop in a specific order. The fastest and most accurate group win both the pride and bragging rights for the year, as well as some candy. Our stops included a wide range of local landmarks, from institutions like the First Church of Christ Scientist to government buildings like the Needham Public Library and from nationwide chains like CVS to locally owned stores like Polliwogs. On the way our student learn interesting facts about their local economy and get some background information on places they often walk or drive by without a second thought. The activity serves two major goals for our practice: First, we want students to get to know and think about their own town today before embarking on how we got here in history. It seems appropriate to begin the year with this kind of active exploration of the students’ community as we get ready to visit the Needham Historical Society on several occasions to see what Needham society was like in the past. After all, it’s important to know where you are before you know where you’re going. Second, we wanted to see how the groups, randomly chosen, would work together. Our debrief session at the beginning of our next class will reflect on how groups assigned roles, worked out problems and generally functioned. In GBP, as in life, we must work together and find ways to collaborate effectively, no matter the circumstance. Similar to our collaborative Tinker Toy activity using K’Nex pieces, activities like this continue to help us introduce an important part of our course. Having problems with the Scavenger Hunt is a low stakes way of delving into issues with group dynamics which will become more and more of a factor as the year goes on; collaborative skills will first be put to the test in an academic setting as we begin our Colonial Context project in the next weeks. Meanwhile, the other section of our class will head out to do their scavenger hunt tomorrow, though perhaps in a more rainy climate, if the forecast holds true. Either way, we’re confident they’ll have just as much fun running around Needham. So, if you see groups of lost students around town, no need to tell them where the high school is, but you can help them with clues! Interested in trying out your own Needham knowledge? Try these clues for size! (Answers at bottom): a) This locally owned business opened when 5 women bought it from the previous owners. The current owners met from their involvement with the charity Graceful Stitches. The name of the story is what you might call the outcast of a family. b) Many may not realize that this business is actually a chain that provides a “fast and direct” route to “understanding.” In 1987 the Needham store was the second one to open but now there are over 130 nationwide. You might find Melissa and Doug here, or even some creative children. c) This business started in 2000 and was originally an electronic guidebook. There is arguably no business in Needham that has done better in the last 15 years as it now employs nearly 3000 people across the world. They just built a brand new headquarters to move back into Needham from Newton. Their original location is hard to find, although many students eat "Pizza and Seafood" in at the cash only establishment that is in the same building. d) This company has 24 locations, 16 of which are in Massachusetts. It originated in 1994 in Dartmouth when the owner of a clothing store in New Bedford decided to dabble in the food business. Three years later he closed the 97 year old clothing business and facilitated the boom of this new business that he still owns today. Answers:
a) Black Sheep b) Learning Express c) Trip Advisor d) Not Your Average Joe’s |
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