Music Clock!

In the third unit of the course Light, Sound and Time, we studied sundials, arc length, longitude, latitude, complementary and supplementary angles, sextant, pendulum, time zones, circumference, Pythagorean theorem, distance formula, cocks and different ways to tell time. We also did a mini lesson on a chapter that we read of our choice out of the books Einstein's Dreams, E=mc^2 and A Brief History of Time. I read the book Einstein's Dreams and I did a mini lesson on how time affects youth. For people who live in tall buildings or far away from Earth's core they age slowly because time passes slowly whereas if you live closer to the core time passes faster. For our action project, we designed a unique device to tell time. I mixed a 70’s boombox and a 2015 Apple watch. My clock is called a Music Clock and it tells time by playing your favorite album as an hour passes. As I was doing this project I had difficulty finding a quote and showing the cool features my clock had. I learned different ways to tell time and how creativity has a big influence. To learn more about my Music Clock please look at my video below.

Quote:

"Music is a Moral Law. It gives Soul to the Universe. " 

-Plato

Citations:

• Williams, Rhiannon. “How the Apple Watch was created.” The Telegraph. Mar 10, 2015. Web. March 16, 2016.
• TOMO. “Who invented boombox?” Who Invented? DECEMBER 20, 2010. Web. March 16, 2016.

 

Standardized Testing

In the third unit of the course Argument 1954, we studied contradictions by looking at the relationship between: thesis, antithesis and synthesis. We also went to a cool FE to the Newberry Library where we learned about the struggles that black in Chicago went through to get basic civil rights.How they weren’t served at certain restaurants, couldn't buy a house in a white neighborhood, and had to have their own separate things. If they crossed the real or imaginary lines of racial segregation there would be consequences. For example, when a black boy accidentally swam across the non-existent dividing line while swimming at the beach , the whites got mad and started beating the boy up. That is when a riot in the city started, with the fighting and violence starting at the beach and moving into neighborhoods leading to many injuries and deaths. For our action project, we had to choose a topic that is going on in our world and that had a thesis (someone's point of view) and antithesis (a point of view of someone who opposes). I chose the topic of standardized testing because it’s something I disagree with strongly. As I worked on this project I had difficulty structuring everything so it makes sense and I also learned that standardized testing is a very controversy in our country right now.


Thesis:

Everything in life is based on a test, but why? Isn’t there more to a person and more to their knowledge than what is shown on a piece of paper? I argue that standardized testing should be abolished from American schools.

Support for my position:

There is a Selective Enrollment test that you have to take before graduating 8th grade to know what elite high school you can apply to and which of the remaining schools you have a better chance of attending. From a young age American students are tested every year which supposebly tracks their skill levels. By the time they’re in high school you have to take an ACT or SAT test junior year and based on that score, you have a good sense of which colleges will accept you. The topic of standardized testing matters to me a whole lot right now because I am a currently a junior in high school, this year I am taking the ACT. I am a bad test taker; I take several ACT classes to help me ready, but when I take a practice exam, I always get nervous, panic and end up forgetting everything I know. I don’t like how a piece of paper determines your knowledge and I think that colleges should give students an opportunity to show them who they are and the many things they have to offer beyond what a piece of paper says. Also, testing for hours stresses students out, which adds to the stress that we already have at school and exhausts our minds. For the first test, we are lively, but once we get half-way done, we are mentally exhausted from trying to get the correct answer so our scores won’t be low.

Quotes that support my thesis:

“A 2012 study by the Brookings Institution determined that states spend $1.7 billion per year on testing, an enormous increase over the $423 million states spent in 2001 before NCLB, according to the Pew Center on the States. All of this money has fueled a booming testing industry, with companies like Pearson racking up billions in sales.” -Quinn Mulholland from Harvard Political Review.

“Standardized tests measure only a small portion of what makes education meaningful. According to late education researcher Gerald W. Bracey, PhD, qualities that standardized tests cannot measure include "creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation, persistence, curiosity, endurance, reliability, enthusiasm, empathy, self-awareness, self-discipline, leadership, civic-mindedness, courage, compassion, resourcefulness, sense of beauty, sense of wonder, honesty, integrity."
-Valerie Strauss, "The Myths of Standardized Testing,” Washington Post, Apr. 15, 2011.

“Standardized tests are unnecessary because they rarely show what we don't already know. Ask any teacher and she can tell you which students can read and write. That telling usually comes in the form of letter grades or evaluations that break down progress on skills.”
—Jori Bolton for Education Week.

Antithesis:

The opposing side is for standardized testing because many believe that giving these tests to students will show what they know, and that tests have a positive impact on the students. Standardized test show their basic skills, making sure they master them and that the student has met the academic requirements. My opponent on this issue believe that teachers and administrators might otherwise cheat and alter students’ grades. They also believe that teachers’ own class/homework grade are not an alternative to the standardized tests because they are unreliable and too subjective.

From the opposing quote:

“Standardized tests are not narrowing the curriculum, rather they are focusing it on important basic skills all students need to master. According to a study in the Oct. 28, 2005, issue of the peer-reviewed Education Policy Analysis Archives, teachers in four Minnesota school districts said standardized testing had a positive impact, improving the quality of the curriculum while raising student achievement.”
-Stuart S. Yeh, "Limiting the Unintended Consequences of High-Stakes Testing" (204 KB), Education Policy Analysis Archives, Oct. 28, 2005. 

Synthesis:

Both side of the standardized testing debate can agree that students should know basic skills. Another point both sides can agree on is that there are valid studies that support our sides, so we each have data to prove our points about the negative and positive effects of testing.

A way to move beyond this argument is to imagine another way to asses students. One idea for alternative testing is having students create a project that includes a sample of basic skills, including English, Reading, Math and Science. A student can choose the topic they want to research and take materials that they will need to bring this project to life. Another solution is to have a small oral test along with paper testing. Adding the oral test, however, means the written test will have to be shorter. In order to share my synthesis I would get a group of supporters of this argument and talk with the test-makers, organizers, school council, or alderman to propose my idea. My goal would be to show them that if we approach testing in a different way, the students will benefit and school officials and government will still have an assessment of what they’re learning. It will be a win, situation for both sides. Thinking about this synthesis has transformed my point-of-view from instead of wanting to get rid of testing altogether, I realized there can be an alternative that won’t make students stressed out and satisfy education leaders.

Questions I have for the Opposition:

1. What happens to the students who can’t meet the standardized test requirements?
2. How does sitting in a chair for hours have a positive outcome, especially with elementary kids?
3. You say peer-review is very helpful, but how does peer-review help a student in an individual test?
4. Why does our world have to be based on tests?

Questions the opposition might have for me:

1. People say that the government doesn't spend as much money on education as it should, so what can you say about buying and making these new tests for students? 
2. Why do we need empathy, courage and compassion, when this world is based on academics and how smart you are? Clearly, tests are important.
3. Can grades that aren’t from standardized test even be trusted? Can we trust that the student got that grade without extra credit?

Bolton, Jori. “Here's Why We Don't Need Standardized Tests.” Education Week. July 8, 2014. Web. March 16, 2016. “Is the Use of Standardized Tests Improving Education in America?” ProCon.org. Web. March 16, 2016.

Schools Amendment

In our second unit of the course Argument, we studied the checks and balances in the U.S. Constitution and the Dred Scott supreme court case. We also had many discussions on how the Constitution affects us now and what issues are going on in our world. We also studied inductive and deductive reasoning, valid and invalid arguments, sound argument and unsound argument. We learned about logical fallacies, including Black & White, No True Scotsman, Ad Hominem, Straw Man, Authority. For our action project, we had to read the school’s Code of Conduct and address a flaw, injustice or rule that could be improved or added. Once we chose one, we made our own amendment to it. I chose a part in the Code of Conduct about after-school activities where it doesn’t say that students must leave campus by 5:00 p.m. In the Code of Conduct it just says that students are allowed to stay after school. During this project I had difficulties recreating my argument in the way that gets my point across, but I learned how to craft a formal argument.

                   Nyan Lin Cho. Singapore Parkour Free Running | JC Boy Late for School. 2013.

The GCE Code of Conduct states, “Students are subject to conditions of the Code of Conduct while attending and participating in after-school student activities and events. Regulations outlined in the Code of Conduct apply at all after-school activities and events. Students waiting for a ride should meet their ride at the school's designated student drop-off/pick-up location. If the Director or school personnel determines that the student's presence at any after-school activity creates a continuing danger to persons or property or creates an ongoing threat of disruption, the student may be removed from the activity immediately.” This rule is unjust because it doesn’t provide a time where students have to leave campus and when the activities are over, yet every day students are told that they have to leave campus by 5:00 p.m. Some students are able to leave right away because they take public transportation, but others wait for rides. Sometime parents run late or there are delays in travel. I disagree with students having to leave at 5:00 p.m because what if the student doesn’t feel comfortable going out wandering the street until they get picked up, especially when it’s winter and it’s very cold. This rule doesn't specify what time students have to leave campus, so staff should not tell students to leave when there is not a policy saying these students must leave school.

As it is currently written in the Code of Conduct, the rule is:

    P1: Students are expected to follow the GCE Code of Conduct during school hours.

    P2: GCE offers after-school activities to students each school day.

    P3: Some students participate in after-school activities and events.

    C: Students can remain on campus after school for activities and events, if they follow the GCE       Code of Conduct.

This rule should not apply when students don’t have an option and need a familiar, safe place to stay, when waiting for a ride, which is not an after-school event or activity. Students should be able to stay on campus for a reasonable time if they need to, especially if they are waiting for transportation, studying, doing homework, participating in after-school clubs or have meetings. If students are on campus and following the CoC, they should not be told to leave just because it’s 5:00 p.m. This is not in the current CoC and should be extended (and made clear) for students who require extra time after school.

I have proposed an amendment to the current rule, which is written as a formal argument below:

    P1:Some GCE students don’t have internet access once they leave school.

    P2: Some students need a safe and familiar location to be picked up by parents/guardians, who cannot always arrive before 5:00 p.m.

    P3: Some students have meetings, sports and clubs after-school.

    C: When following all of the rules, students should be allowed to remain on campus daily past 5:00 p.m.

Something similar to my amendment is like a situation where someone is singing for a long time in a recording studio. The conditions are warm temperature, no wind and proper treatment for singing. Then the owner of the recording studio asks that person to leave right when they finish instead of giving the performer the chance to cool down their vocal chords and physically prepare their warm body to face the outside temperature. If the singer doesn’t take that precaution they can be negative consequences.

In result of my amendment life will change at GCE Lab School by allowing students to stay at school for a reasonable time like 7:00 p.m. Students would not be told they have to leave and they can stay to do whatever they need to do that will help them in school. Also they can wait until their parents/guardians pick them up so they won’t have to go somewhere alone and unfamiliar.

My amendment relates to the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution the most because the first amendment allows the public to protest peacefully about something they don’t agree with and prohibits the government to interfere. In terms of the CoC we students are protesting to improve this rule, so many of us can benefit from it. Also so the Code of COnduct will be more clear, there won’t be any contradictions to it and if a student stays past 5pm, they are not breaking the CoC. My amendment demonstrates true citizenship by following the obligations and duties that the Code of Conduct requires.

As I propose this change to the Code of Conduct, I have students agreeing with me. For example a classmate said"

“I agree highly with this idea/revision, because I have been, many times, kicked out and had to tell my parents last minute to pick me somewhere else. Also, I can see how maybe the fact that their is no one watching us from the staff, but I believe we are old enough to take responsibility for our actions.” - NVA

I believe that the the administration should revise this rule. Implementing this rule will show students that they have a voice in creating school rules. Also it will create a better environment for students. It can also improve students’ grades because they will have time to do work and get feedback. Another thing is that not all staff leaves at 5:00 p.m, so when the last staff leaves then students can leave too. I am asking that if the staff also follow what is in the Code of Conduct and not add anything or do anything that is not mentioned.

    P1: Students will be able to finish their hw before they go home.

    P2: Students will be able to stay in a safe place until their parents pick them up.P3: Students will be able to enjoy their after-school activities without worrying that they have to leave early.

Guitar or Diddley Bow?

In the second unit of the course Light, Sound and Time, we studied the speed of sound, echoes, the Doppler effect, Mach, rates, decibels, parts of the ear and how we receive sound. We also learned about harmonics, infrasound, audible hearing, ultrasound, sonar, how fast sound travels through materials, and how a guitar’s frequencies change through the strings. For our action project, we made a Diddley Bow. A Diddley Bow is a one string instrument made of a piece of wood, four screws, a battery and a tin can. During this action project I had difficulty getting tension on the string because my original idea was making a long Diddley Bow, but since I couldn’t get the tension needed, I made it shorter to get the right sound. From this project I learned that screwing a screw on a thick piece of wood with a screwdriver is hard and that to make a good sound for an instrument you need to be accurate with string tension and the type of string. I am proud of my Diddley Bow because it was difficult to build and to sound how I wanted it to sound and at the end I got it how I wanted it.

KIS. Diddley Bow. 2016.

The way my Diddley Bow produces sound using one string is that when I play it, it vibrates through the tin can which amplifies the sound. When it is played with a slide on the string it changes sound as it moves. For example, when it moves down towards the tin can the sound becomes higher because the strings vibration gets shorter and when moving the opposite way it sounds deeper and the string vibration gets longer. Depending on the thickness of the string it will most likely decide what type of sound will come out. For example on a thin string, the sound will be high pitch like a violin and on a thick string the sound will be low like a bass guitar. My instrument demonstrates pitch/frequency by the type of string. I chose a thick, short, tight wire string. Another thing that really helps with the sound is the size of the tin can because it changes how loud and clear your sound is. My Diddley Bow demonstrates sound waves because when I play the string, depending on how soft or loud I pluck the string it will determine the amplitude of the sound wave.

KIS. Sketch of Diddley Bow. 2016.

The Doppler Effect is when a frequency changes as it moves towards or away from the observer. The frequency get higher when it gets closer to the observer and the wavelength get shorter. The wavelength get longer and the frequency get lower when it moves away from the observer. My Diddley Bow can demonstrate this if I walk and play my instrument as I move towards someone who is standing still. As I move closer to the person the frequency is higher and as I move away from the person the frequency is lower.

The length of the string from the tin hole to the screw is 13 ½ inches, the diameter of the tincan is 4 inches and the radius is 2 inches. The height of the tin can is 5 ½ inches, the thickness of the string is 0.046 inches and the volume of the body is 69.11 inches. The way I got that is by using the equation “pi x r^2 x height.” The note of my string is F2, the frequency of that note is 87.31Hz and the wavelength is 395.16cm. The way I got the frequency and wavelength for my harmonics is by multiplying the 1st harmonic by 2 and dividing the wavelength by 2 and as I go on I just multiply and divide by the next number. The 1st harmonic is 87.31Hz (F) & 395.16cm (W), the 2nd harmonic is 174.62Hz (F) & 197.58cm (W), the 3rd harmonic is 261.93Hz (F) & 131.72cm (W) , and the 4th harmonic is 349.24Hz (F) & 98.79cm (W).

KIS. Harmonics. 2016.

If I could do this project again I would choose a different string, maybe a thinner one because it was very difficult to get the right tension for a thick string so it might be easier for a thinner string. Also the pitch of my Diddley Bow would be much higher than it is and I would like that. Also I would use nails instead of screws because the nails would be more easier to get through the wood and I would have finished my project sooner.

KIS. Diddley Bow. 2016.