Playing Doctor: Preventing Prostate Cancer

In this final unit of our Cure class, we discussed prevention of diseases. This unit was also very interesting, it made everything we had learned in the two classes (Cure and Disease) feel connected. We cannot talk about curing diseases if we don't talk about how to avoid them first. I found it amazing that there are also so many ways of preventing diseases from a healthy lifestyle to going into surgery. In this case, we have a worrying patient named Joseph who is worried about his risk of getting prostate cancer. This is a fake scenario with fake facts with a fake person, this is necessary to ensure nobody's personal information is exposed. This action project is particularly interesting because we discuss how we can help the patient feel safer from diseases by recommending specific habits to a specific character. First, we analyzed the patient and their demographics, then I go on to explain why the best prevention methods are going to help Joseph. This action project was a delight to create, and I hope you enjoy!


Overall, I thought this unit was very special, it seemed different from the other action projects. I was able to complete a lot of the work in a short amount of time. This action project was definitely a success for me; I'm proud of the work that I'm putting out there. This was a positive working experience for me, I was also able to get tons of feedback from classmates, so I hope this goes well in terms of grades. The class was interesting and relevant, and I'm not sure I can say that about a lot of classes. Thankyou.

Petruchio's Revelation, A Time Travel Event for Feminism

In this second action project in our Drama class, we read the play, A Doll's House. This play brought up some interesting themes of power, sexism, and the truth in between. We wanted to portray those themes as best we could, so I and my two partners wrote a script that could bring together characters from A Doll's House and The Taming of the Shrew into our time period to solve the sexism issue. If you would like to see what my Partner's take on this play is please take a look here. ZG CM  I thought this unit was very interesting, both plays had something very important to say but this one told a much more personal story and I love to know about characters. This play was important for feminism in Norway when it was first written. We wanted to recreate the importance of the first stages of  A Doll's House, so we recorded a video that goes along with our script. I hope you enjoy the time-traveling event for feminism.

Treating Joint Pain: The Options

In this absolutely amazing unit for our STEAM class, Cure, we focused on drugs that can help cure or treat illnesses. From looking at medicament boxes and deciphering the intricacies of common drugs, to researching drugs through history. One of my favorite parts if this unit were the many discussions we had about the controversy around drugs; which brought up many ideas and individual perspectives on how drugs should be used. This later brought us to the investigation of certain drugs, which applied to this action project: researching the treatments of a symptom/ailment. For this action project, I wanted to pinpoint some treatments for joint pain. So, I hope you enjoy and end up feeling informed by the end of viewing this project.


To begin, the front cover of the box needs to be attractive to the eye and and get it's point across easily. The orange, blue, and white and font are synonymous with other pain killers.

"Joint Pain"  IF 2018

The first treatment for helping/numbing joint pain is consuming turmeric. Turmeric can help relax muscles which should help put less stress on the joint, causing less pain. This is a home remedy that isn't scientifically proven to help in all cases, but it is definitely worth a try.

Celecoxib is a chemical that needs to be prescribed by a medical professional, and is used to help people with intense pain. This drug helps with numbing pain and is typically used for patients with arthritis.

"Celecoxib" IF 2018

The next medication on the list is Ibuprofen, a drug that helps with pain relief. This can help with headaches and other pains, but in this scenario it's good for joint pain also.

"Ibuprofen" IF 2018

On this side of the medicine box I created a table that would compare all three methods of medicine from costs, accessibility, effectiveness, and the side effects of use. In order to help people with joint pain, I thought it would be important to include other information that would help with obtaining and use of the medicament.

"Compare" IF 2018

This is a citations list of sources that helped me put this action project together.

"Citations list" IF 2018

A Sonnet for Petruchio

In this first unit of the new sophomore class, Drama,  we read an absolutely fascinating play written by Shakespeare himself: The Taming of the Shrew. We started this unit with little understanding of what exactly this class was going to deliver, an I believe we were all pleasantly surprised. The Taming of the Shrew is a play about a woman who likes to speak her mind getting pushed into a marriage that will "tame" her. We wanted to peer into the past, in order to observe a woman's place in this play and in Shakespeare's time period. I thought this play was pretty magnificent in all its intricacies. For the action project, we created a sonnet about the characters of the play, I chose Petruchio, a rich man who only wants money. If you haven't, I definitely recommend reading the play. I hope you enjoy.

Covered in greed and sate from head to toe.

A knack for pulling thorns, much negligence
You couldn’t see that thorns mask elegance
When greed spoiled your heart a long time ago.

Only corrupt men have no consequence
Long ago, You found the world favored the bold
The plan worked, benefiting plus twofold
Badly treating women, this consonance.

The king of all cruel, The king of hurting

Kate’s thoughts and ideas now on blacklist
“It shall be moon, or star, or what I list,”
We fie your shrewdness, it's disconcerting.

You will humor alone six feet below;
Bones covered in jewels, liquor, and knavish know.

Cystectomy: A Bladder Surgery

The First unit of our new Sophomore class, Cure, we explored the ups and downs of surgery throughout history. This unit was very detailed and exciting for me, the diversity of subjects learned in this unit was something magnificent enough to catch anybody's eye. From the Hippocratic dialogue to cell division, this unit was jam-packed with info that would further our knowledge in surgery and the cure of people. My peers and I also had a unique visit to the International Museum of Surgical Science to study the history of surgeries and the sometimes strange evolution behind it. Along with the trip, we started our journies into researching some specific types surgeries. This would become the final product, my research action project, bladder cystectomy. I hope you find this surgery just as interesting I did, and I would be delighted if you enjoyed this action project as well. Thank you.

The Importance of "The Catcher In The Rye"

The interesting and short-term of our Forbidden books class, we focused the banning of books for reasons of Diversity. Books get banned all the time because they interfere with one or more opinions. Though this unit was about diversity in books, this action project was about the reason of banning the books we've been reading throughout the class. I decided to read The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger, and I think this book is an amazing piece of literature. Throughout this AP you will get to see what The Catcher In The Rye is about, why it's been banned, and exactly why it shouldn't be a banned book. I really enjoyed reading this novel and this class; it's important to know why books are banned in the first place, and what the effects are of banning any book. I hope you enjoy a fruitful argument against the unjust banning of The Catcher In The Rye.

The Importance of The Catcher In The Rye
A book about the pitfalls of a sixteen-year-old, a tour of the world through the eyes of a teenager who struggles with maturity and responsibility has been banned: why? The Catcher In The Rye has been critically acclaimed as one of the best books ever written, and yet it has been banned on several occasions for many reasons. J. D. Salinger’s famous novel revolves around a 16-year-old boy named Holden who is kicked out of his school for failing his classes, so he decides to hit the road and head to New York City, where he gets a cab goes to a hotel to stay at for a couple days while he waits to be back at home with his parents on Wednesday. He travels through New York, meeting up with new and old friends, and finally meets up with his younger sister by sneaking into his house. He tells his sister about getting kicked out of school and later tells her that he needs to leave and never come back. This makes his sister want to go with him, as she meets him with packed bags, but Holden refuses and instead takes her to the zoo to go on a merry-go-round. This novel really explores the inner mind of somebody who is lost in the world and demonstrates the subject of responsibility to the readers. J. D. Salinger wrote a book that is viewed as controversial because it speaks of a minor participating in drinking, drugs, foul language, and sexual activities. This book is themed around the idea of the title of the book, keeping children’s innocence and don’t expose them to things that can ruin their motivation. The theme also speaks a lot on how responsibility hits young adults, and how it’s important to recognize that early on. Despite all the hatred towards this fantastic piece of literature, The Catcher In The Rye shouldn’t be censored or banned in any way.

Interestingly enough, The Catcher In The Rye was identified as a banned book because of the suggestive themes that tell a story about a minor participating in things that minors should not be participating in. Many people weren't happy with how this sixteen-year-old was acting, going as far to ban it from most high schools in the U.S. from 1966-1975. Ten years later more controversy arose about the book when it was assigned by a teacher in a local literature class. Parents objected to the book, and the school board banned the book, swaying parents in New Jersey to complain about to their school board about the book. They labeled the book as "explicitly pornographic" and "immoral".(Sova 2) This caused this New Jersey school board to ban the book for everyone but Advanced Placement students.(Ross) This book was banned in schools all across the U.S. because of its use of vulgar language and sensitive themes, and this hurt people on a religious level. Many people didn't agree with the homosexuality in the book, the harsh language both weren't part of many people's religions and the "godlessness" of the main character, Holden Caulfield. This book was definitely banned for religious reasons. 

"Catcher-in-the-rye-red-cover" Bantam 1/14/06

The Catcher In The Rye is a very vulgar book that can be very offensive to many religions, and a good example is when Holden says, "You take somebody that cries their goddam eyes out over phony stuff in the movies, and nine times of ten they're mean bastards at heart. I'm not kidding" (Salinger 181). This quote clearly demonstrates the book's non-humorous ways of harsh language; The Catcher In The Rye is absolutely littered with quote even more or just as vulgar as this very quote. For many religions, language like this isn't ever accepted and is typically frowned upon. Bad language is not welcomed by most religions such as Jehovah witnesses, Some Christians, Catholics, and Islam. Another quote that many religions find profane is "In the first place, I'm sort of an atheist. I like Jesus and all, but I don't care too much for most of the other stuff in the Bible. Take the Disciples, for instance. They annoy the hell out of me, if you want to know the truth. They were all right after Jesus was dead and all, but while He was alive, they were about as much use to Him as a hole in the head. All they did was keep letting Him down" (Salinger 130). This clearly shows Holden's negative outlook on the Bible. Of course, when something negative is being said about a religious book, many religions wouldn't want to be very accepting of the book. Many were upset that Holden was speaking badly about the Disciples, who are pretty big people for a lot of religions and the Bible in general.

Though many religions would have plenty reasons for motivating the banning of this novel, The Catcher In The Rye should never be banned. The most important reason for this book to never be banned anywhere is, many religions and people who aren't big fans of vulgar language don't ever need to read the book. If a book is banned or determined to be unsuitable for a religion or group, then the book is fine to be banned in that religion. Other outside people shouldn't be restricted access to the novel because of that religion or group. People who are offended by The Catcher In The Rye cannot inflict their opinions upon the vast majority of people. The author, J.D. Salinger has settled multiple lawsuits on account of his own books, including one filmmaker who directed a film loosely based on another popular book of Salinger's, Franny and Zooey (Salingerincontext). Salinger censored things that were clearly unfair for other people to use but hasn't spoken about the banning of his books. Salinger has good reason not to speak on the censorship of his books because books are our freedom of expression, speech, and ideas. A world that has limited restrictions is a free world where people can do what they want, but banning that book is silencing a voice. Banning a book is making someone quieter, then the balance is thrown off. Finally, books should never be banned because reading is subjective, not every person will take a line in a book offensively. The lines written in a book don't apply to everyone, so why enforce the banned on everyone, or even a majority? Overall, banning books isn't fair to everyone, and banning a book isn't freedom.

Throughout history, books have been banned for various reasons, whether they were banned because of harsh language, suggestive themes, themes against religion, or just plain hate against a certain group of people they were banned. The world is pretty cut and dry; if something can be considered offensive in anyway, then it will be considered offensive. When an author writes a book, there will be some people who don’t agree with what the book is saying, it will become hurtful if it is taken to heart. Books are stories and opinions, and if one person doesn’t like what a book is about, they are certainly not being forced to read it. The Catcher In The Rye is a banned book


Works Cited
Angelica. “J.D. Salinger's Lawsuits and Censorship.” Salingerincontextorg, salingerincontext.org/j-d-salinger’s-lawsuits-and-censorship/.

GradeSaver, 30 September 2009 Web. 20 March 2018.

Ross, J.J.. Soman Chainani and Adam Kissel, October 10, 2008 and ed. "The Catcher in the Rye Catcher in the Rye: A History of Censorship". 

Salinger, J. D. The CATCHER in the RYE. Little, Brown And Company, 1951.

Bantam. “Catcher-in-the-Rye-Red-Cover.” Wikimedia.commons, 14 Aug. 2014, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Catcher-in-the-rye-red-cover.jpg.

Hoarding Disorder: A Simulation

The second unit of Disease was a pretty filled one, focusing on mental disorders this time around. Disease is a class where we learn about diseases that affect people in some way; usually a negative one.  I searched for a mental disease that I had interest in researching, and I came across a few that I liked, such as Kleptomania, and Narcolepsy. I ended up deciding on Hoarding disorder; a disorder that is estimated to affect 5% of the U.S population. This unit was very interesting, it brought up a lot of concepts that I didn't think could be a disorder. I created multiple sources to help recognize and understand what Hoarding disorder is and how it feels. The lesson plan is what is being demonstrated in the video, so feel free to replicate my simulation at home. I hope you enjoy.

The International OCD Foundation defines Hoarding Disorder (HD) as a mental health disorder where people have difficulty getting rid of possessions that are no longer useful to them.
Signs of hoarding disorder include:

• The persistent difficulty of parting with an item 
• Discarding the hoarded items causes significant distress 
• The hoarding has accumulated and clutters living areas
• The hoarding causes significant distress

Ceci Garrett
Ceci was only a child when she had to endure living with her clutter-filled home because of her mother's endless hoarding. She is now the founder and Executive director of Lightening the Load, a ministry that helps people unclutter their homes, and helps keep relationships attached. In 2015 she held a TED talk, where she spoke about her experience with hoarding, the issues of hoarding, and her mission to improve hoarding situations. " My mom's need to save had a bigger meaning. It wasn't about stuff, it was about challenges, fear, grief, problems processing information. Decades passed before I learned that hoarding is not a house problem, it's not a stuff problem; hoarding is a mental health issue." This quote from the TED talk shows impactful hoarding can be on the person with the mental disorder and the people around them. Hoarding disorder can hurt more than one person.

The Affected Brain
The brain is a very complex system that is made up of separate parts that all perform separate functions. The prefrontal cortex is a large part of the human brain that controls executive functions like personality, complex planning, coordinating, and impulse control. When people with Hoarding Disorder go out to collect more items this is their impulse thing to do, much like OCD. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for all of that impulse control, and it tends to be a little less controlled in people with OCD or Hoarding Disorder.

Flier
I created a flier about Hoarding Disorder to help readers and others understand what hoarding disorder is and how to help lessen the symptoms of the disorder in a safe way, all references are cited at the bottom of this blog post. The flier also includes a very common myth about people with Hoarding Disorder, why the myth isn't true, and a few statistics about the disorder.

"Hoarding Disorder flier" IF 2018

Demonstration Simulation
This video of me putting two of my classmates through a simulation of Hoarding Disorder that I created, is intended to show the difficulties of having Hoarding Disorder. Over time people with Hoarding Disorder collect more and more items that build up while continuing their normal lives. I pass my classmates items as they complete a worksheet to demonstrate the collecting of those items as a hoarder. This is pretty interesting to watch, so enjoy.


Lesson Plan
View this lesson plan in order to endure the same simulation that I performed in class. The lesson plan should produce the same results as shown in the video.



Graph and A Piecewise function
In this unit, we also explored math concepts that related to the presentation/simulation of out mental disease. The first photo shows a graph of brain waves that a student would go through while participating in the simulation. The brain waves only range in the Beta and Gamma range. This is good because of Gamma and Beta waves mean they are attentive to the simulation and not near to or asleep. The second photo shows a piecewise function of this graph.

"Lesson graph" IF 2018

"Piecewise work" IF 2018

Conclusion
This was a very enjoyable unit as well as an informative one. The action project was also very enjoyable and included a lot of pieces that seemed to fit well together. Though I struggled with the completion of this action project, it did help me get a good grasp of the content learned in this class. We did have one field experience in this class, where we able to speak with a medical student who helped us understand what diagnosing and helping a person is like in the medical field. I found this to be a very neat and productive conversation, that was, once again, useful and relevant to the class. I'm glad that I had this class, and the amazing experience it brings with it.

Citations 

“How to Help a Loved One with HD.” Hoarding, 21 Apr. 2017, hoarding.iocdf.org/for-families/how-to-help-a-loved-one-with-hd/.

Parekh, Ranna. “What Is Hoarding Disorder?” What Is Hoarding Disorder?, July 2017, www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/hoarding-disorder/what-is-hoarding-disorder.

“Prefrontal Cortex.” GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog, 18 Aug. 2015, www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/prefrontal-cortex.
TEDxTalks. YouTube, YouTube, 24 Nov. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0c33pemjLw.