Policing in Chicago: Engagement with Opposition

In A Nation's Argument, we've been discussing policies, laws, and how that falls under the U.S Constitution. My class held a policing assembly to discuss the policing in Chicago. We met 4 people who work with COPA (Civilian Office of Police Accountability). At the assembly they discussed why they do what they do for the city of Chicago and why policing is important. They all discussed how they want to see the Chicago grow as a city, mostly communities in the South side of Chicago. We held this assembly to speak up about issues that we feel are important as students. The voices of students are not always heard and we wanted to meet with them to get our messages across. Through this assembly we discussed police suicide, immigration policies, gang violence, gun violence, policing and security in Chicago Public Schools, mental health in the black and brown community, and more. In this Action Project, I speak of the limited mental health services that are in Chicago and the traumas that POC deal with in the city. Their traumas are not recognized and there needs to be services that people can go to so they can communicate these problems that they go through. For this project I stated a thesis (The issue), antithesis (Contradicts / opposes the thesis), and a Synthesis which is the solution for the issue, bringing both the thesis and antithesis together as one. I also stated a number of different premises and resources that support my argument.

   

I believe the voices of students, especially in Chicago are important and to ALWAYS be heard. We are the future and deserve to understand how our city is ran. As far as CPS go, I think their voices matter the most. It would make a huge difference in our city if young people could speak up about the traumas they face and how it effects their everyday life as well as their education. We have the right to have a say in things and we have the right to feel safe, secure, and acknowledged no matter what.

The Perfect Projecting Clock

In unit 3 for Light, Sound, and Time we focused on time and its effect in our daily lives. We learned a lot about space time as well. One topic we learned about was the twin paradox. The twin paradox is when one twin goes to space and the other stays on earth. Time moves slower for the one who goes to space due to time dilation. Once the twin goes back to earth, they both will be different ages. A Field Experience that we went on that related to this unit is The Planetarium. When I was there, I learned about different time telling devices like the sundial and how other cultures and religions told time or measured the Earth's rotation. The time telling devices that we learned about was the sundial, Foucault Pendulum, and the Chronometer. We also learned about time's relation to light. My favorite part of this unit was getting to know how people told and used time back then. Candles, Incense, Water, and more was used to tell time. For this Action Project, I invented my very own clock. The clock is called The Projecting Clock and it's inspired by a film projector, except it will play your favorite songs, movies, or videos to wake you up in the morning just like an alarm.

In conclusion, this is my favorite unit because I really enjoy space time and theories that relate to space time. I wanted to base my invention off of the film projector because I love cinema and learning about the people who made it what it is today. I really invented something that I know I would use and love as well as my favorite filmmakers. I had such a fun time filming this video and making an original clock that has never been made before. I wish I could really make this clock because it would be easier to wake up. Also, I wouldn't have to open my computer or turn on the TV to find something to watch. Not to mention, the fact that all movies aren't free. I wanted to bring something old fashioned back while making alarm clocks easy and fun to use everyday. I learned that there are so many ways to tell time. We didn't just start off with the traditional clock. There's so much more in the history of time telling.

Cited Sources:

Christos, Papandreou. “Cinema Projector.” YouTube, YouTube, 6 Dec. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gznn9k4X0SE&t=62s.

Siyanure. “The Lumiere Brothers' - First Films (1895).” YouTube, YouTube, 22 Dec. 2006, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nj0vEO4Q6s&t=108s.

The Argument

I wrote a short screenplay for my Action Project about a man who dreams of proposing new questions for the Naturalization Test. For this Action Project we had to propose new questions for the test while creating a syllogism for it and the original questions. We also needed signatures for our proposal. Here, the Judge in the screenplay lists his reasons as to why the questions shouldn't be changed. The boy proposing new questions, Raymond stands up for himself and his rights, as well as the rights for other immigrants stating his own reasons.  When he wakes from his dream, he's asked a question about democracy and it ends there. I wanted to demonstrate how nerve-wracking the process is to become an America Citizen. This connects to the Field Experience that we went on to the Chicago field office of US Citizenship and Immigration Services. We witnessed the process that people had to go through to become a citizen. When we were in court, a lot of people were in a holding place until they were confirmed to get Asylum. I wanted to write a screenplay rather that writing a paper because I thought it would be really interesting to show that dialogue between someone in power and someone who feels out of control. For another Field Experience, we went to a City Council meeting on Public Charge for immigrants in Chicago. When we were there we heard a number of people from the community speak and give their opinions on the situation for 3 minutes. One man there, George Blakemore stated, "Illegal is Illegal", which a lot of people disagreed with. He also stated that people that are currently living in Chicago "illegally" are taking resources from people who are American Citizens that already live there. We got to hear Blakemore's argument on Immigration and his reasoning. Others disagreed and supported Public Charge for immigrants in Chicago.

Signatures for my amendment (AS 2019)