9-13-13 humanities sustainability curriculum

How did exploring the issue of food security affect you (surprise? anger? interest?)? What impact do you think our year-long project could have on the community? How did the lo’i field trip teach you sustainability?

When we researched the food security in humanities, it surprised me very much. I didn't know that hawaii was in such bad shape. For example, if hawaii was cut off from the mainland, we would only survive for about 5 day with the amount of food that is on the island right now. This scared me a lot, because hawaii being cut off from the mainland is a very realistic possibility. This research led us into another discussion: sustainability on the islands. For hundreds of years the hawaiians thrived on just what they had on the island. they had no contact with the mainland, and had no ships ever find them. They were one of the most sustainable civilization in history. But look at us now! An estimated 90% of all of the food we eat is imported. This means that there is not much local farming on any of the islands.

When we first started the year off, I didn't think that sustainability would help us as students learn anything. But, I was very wrong. The topic drew me in immediately. when i learned how dependent the state was on the mainland, and how much food was imported, it made me really angry. It also made me change the way I looked at everything. My family has also been involved in the topic. we now take advantage of the farmers markets and open market. Even if the items are a little more expensive than the other larger companies, it help the island keep its money. I think that as a state we need to promote local produce more than imported products. Its not really the peoples fault though. As for everything that is screwed up in this state, it is politics that killed our independence from the mainland. Instead of staying our own great original selves, politics forces us to follow the mainlanders ways. I think this is why Hawaii is going downhill faster and faster as the years go on.

When we went to the lo'i, it really lightened my heart. Seeing that people still really care about staying independent and sustainable was great. Helping out was fun, and i learned so much while i was there. I liked it so much that me and some of my friends have been going there during the weekends to help out. It also made me start expanding and taking better care of my family garden.

10-12-13 humanities heroes project reflection

After the “gallery opening”, you will need to complete a written reflection, posted to your
blog, regarding this entire project.
First, look through the bulleted concepts carefully and pick THREE that you sharpened
orgained throughout this project, including:
● Develop and present more sophisticated writing
● Practice planning, drafting, and revising
● Use clear and concise language
● Speak eloquently and knowledgeably
● Accessing and analyzing information
● Curiosity and imagination
● Effective oral and written communication
Second, write a minimum 350 word reflection essay explaining: a. which 3 concepts you
improved significantly on, or gained b. specifically how you improved/gained c.
what you enjoyed or are proud of, and what you wish you could have done differently.
3. Post this essay in your blog with the title: Date. Humanities. Heroes Project Reflection.
You will be graded based on: your ability to accurately identify 3 concepts you acquired,
your
inclusion of DETAILS as evidence of your concept gains, meeting the length
requirement, timely
completion, effort, and your honest and critical thoughts.

After finishing the Hero's project, I noticed that I had a better understanding of many concept and themes that the project taught us students. The first concept that I understood and gained experience from is the planning, drafting, and revising that we had to repeat throughout the whole project. If I just tried to write out the project in one draft and then turn it in, it would be all over the place. I also learned that you should get multiple peers to critique your work, because everyone has a different view than yourself. Getting more people to look at your work will mean it will make more sense to a larger amount of people. Also, it will give you more of an understanding of how peoples points of view are different from others.

I also refined my speech. Its been very hard for me to pronounce my words because I recently got braces, so I've been really having to strain to speak clearly. I hadn't had a chance to really practice my speaking until the second half of the heroes project. Using correct speech skills and grammar is an essential skill to have. Being able to speak clearly and correctly can really engulf listeners, and also help to convey your emotions or theme.

Finally, I learned how to use my imagination and find out different questions to ask my hero. While thinking of questions to answer, I became curious about what a hero was. Hero's are not at all like the people in the Odyssey. They do not go around killing people they don't like, or stealing things just because they want to. Heroes are people who do the exact opposite. If they don't like someone or something, they will help them change. If they want something, they will give it away to people who need it more then they do. A hero is someone who always puts other before themselves, and always thinks about their actions beforehand. When I was thinking up my questions, I had these traits in mind. If I could do my questions over, I would make them more specific.    

The odyssey book project 10-9-13 humanities

http://prezi.com/vgzzrm_g0e1l/copy-of-the-odyssey/?kw=view-vgzzrm_g0e1l&rc=ref-55280955&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Why do plants need water? MPX STEM

After working on the infographic with my teammates, it really gave me a different perspective on why plants need water. Before I thought that plants only needed water because it was essential to keep it alive. I generalized it like how I think of humans needing water. But it is actually much more complicated than that.
    First off all, water is needed to keep the plants shape. Plants bodies are much more dependent on water than human bodies. If they lose water, the plant will lose its shape. Water is also needed for making food for the plant. Photosynthesis cannot be preformed if the plant does not have water.
   The way water goes through plants is almost exactly like the water cycle. It rains, which then soaks the ground an gets absorbed by the plant, which passes through it body and goes back up into the sky. This cycle, if consistently working, will make the plant flourish. But, the cycle will not always work, because it is not consistently raining, and there are too many variables involved. Plants must be resilient, which leads to plants evolving to fits its needs. For example, if the cactus wasn't able to hold water, there would be no way it would be able to survive in desserts.
   My understanding of plants, because of this project, has flourished. I will never look at plants the same as I did before. They need water as their first necessity in a sense, because it gives them shape, and lets them create food for themselves.  

Maris garden follow up blog MPX STEM

3 things you learned that stood out the most to you
2 question you still have, or 2 things you would like to learn more about

When we went to Mari's garden, I learned a lot of things that stood out to me. Not only were they excelling at aquaponics, but also their hydroponics too. They were raising the vegetables in little troughs that were at a slight angle so the water constantly flowed.Raising fish in long, skinny underground pools really stood out too me. They were mass producing fast growing fish to even out the nutrients needed in the aquaponics systems. The way they experimented with growing plants using no light from the sun and only used artificial light was cool because  it would solve a lot of food problems and is portable.

     I still have some questions to be answered though. For example, what would be the next step in cutting the costs of operating down? They told us that the operating costs were very high, but I wasn't sure if it was because they weren't prioritizing on cutting the costs down or it was just because they did not think the cost could be cut down much more than it is now. What is your reason for trying to use hydroponics or aquaponics to grow food, but without the use of sun? Is it because you want to make a place they you can grow food in that will not be affected by any variables? I would also like to know more about want types off fish you plan to grow in the future, and also about your progress on your research on growing plants with only artificial light.
 

Food security infographic humanities

http://eatlocalgrown.com/locally-grown-food-articles/menu/page:2/

Mpx stem Maris garden pre questions

a. With your  'big project' in mind, what are some things do you think you have to pay attention to?
b. What are 3 things you need to learn tomorrow?  explain each one. DUE FRIDAY

When we go to Mari's garden, I need to look at how they make efficient hydroponic systems in very simple ways. By doing this, we can figure out a better guide line and also see how they reuse the water and what nutrients they put in it. Looking at the hydroponic systems might give us a better understanding of how hydroponics works. If I had to choose three things to learn tomorrow, they would be what natural way can we restore the nutrients in the water, what types of plants are the best for hydroponics, and how long they take to grow.
         I think that we will need to know how to naturally restore the nutrients into the water because first off, we have to be able to sustainably grow our plants without the use of non organic materials, and secondly, if we can't then our plants will die.
We need to know what types of plants will work when we use hydroponics because when we do the project, if plants that we use don't grow, were in a bad situation. We will also need to know how long every plant takes to grow. We want fast growing plants so that we will have room for error