Mother Earth Unit: Self Assessment and Reflection

So far, working on the green team has been an enjoyable experience, and I've learned much during this unit.  Our goal as a class is to change our school's recycling program and expand.  We've observed the student body completely disregarding recycling bins which are placed throughout every hallway in the school.  Even worse, we've witnessed our hard work go to waste when janitors toss trash and recyclables into the same bin after school.  It seemed like there was no way we could possibly have an impact on our school, minds already set throughout the hallways.

I used to think that recycling was such a waste, and I would recycle maybe half the time.  I didn't care what happened to my trash after I was done with it.  I figured that somewhere along the way my empty Snapple cans and water bottles would find their way to some incinerator and their journey would end there. Wrong.  Extensive research and time spent watching documentaries about recycling changed my mindset.  I have learned how harmful it can be to burn our recyclables.  Nearby families are in danger of disease and health hazards because of harmful chemicals.  Seeing individuals that were actually affected in the movie "Tapped" hit me hard.  I never thought twice about those who could be in danger.  I learned that one person can make a difference.  Spreading the word and setting examples keeps people informed, as knowledge is power.  Once I learned the facts about recycle, I never thought twice; I had to make a change.  I always recycled at home, but school was a different story.  I finally began to place my Snapple cans in the correct bins at lunch, even if the tiny entry hole was commonly covered by lunch trays.  I was too lazy to even lift up the tray and toss the can in.  How pathetic, I wasn't even doing something as easy as recycling my cans.  Next was water bottles, even though I wish I didn't buy any.  Who knew that the caps aren't recyclable?  Not many!  There's so much to learn and it can really make a difference when acted upon.  My next step is to buy a reusable water bottle, BPA free and safe.  I will be able to bring my water from home, and stop wasting so many plastic bottles!

As a team member, I've spread the word to classmates.  During lunch, my classmates and I keep and eye on what goes into the trash bins, since we sit right next to them!  We're sure to let people know when they've thrown something recyclable into the wrong bin!  They get so sick of hearing it that they make the change.  Furthermore, Andrew Major and I have recently taken the initiative to send an email to Don Czehut, informing him of the mistake that janitors continue to make.  Hopefully once they make the change of separating trash from recyclables, the school will begin to notice our hard work.

I see this becoming a life lesson, recycling is more important than i thought.  I feel empowered to make the change, and setting an example for others to follow.  It's almost exhilarating knowing that our class has made a difference, even if it's only impacted a few people, it's well worth it.  I often find myself looking through trash bins to see hidden cans or bottles that others have carelessly tossed.  Thanks to our GT seminar, I feel like I'm making a difference in the world.

Zipcar

In class today, we watched a TED talk by Rachel  Botsman, which can be watched here.  Botsman was educated n the University of Oxford as well as Harvard University.  She is the co-author of the influential book What's Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, published in 2010.  She is an inspiring speaker who talks about topics related to technology and innovation.  


After watching her TED talk today, the class had to pick, at random, a company/website/organization based around the idea of collaborative consumption.  I got Zipcar, "a membership-based car sharing company providing automobile reservations to its members, billable by the hour or day."  This means that if an individual has a membership, they are eligible to reserve an automobile, and pay by the hour or the day.   Zipcar was founded in 2000 by Cambridge, Massachusetts residents Robin Chase and Antje Danielson, and is now led by Scott Griffith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day.  The company offers over 8,000 vehicles in urban areas throughout 28 North American states and provinces.  The company also thrives in the United Kingdom, and has over 500,000 members referred to as "Zipsters."  Zipster also has presence on over 225 college campuses.


Members can reserve Zipcars online or by phone 24/7, and reservations can be made from minutes up to a year in advance.  Zipcar members have automated access to Zipcars using an access card called a “Zipcard,” which works with the car's technology to unlock the door, where the keys are already located inside.  Zipcar charges a one-time application fee of $25, and an annual fee of $50, and reservation rates start from $8 per hour and $66 per day. Gas, parking, insurance, and maintenance are included in the price.

Holocaust Museum

It's a little late, but I'm finally reflecting on my class visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  I had previously visited the museum when I was in sixth grade, four years, but I did not remember much.  I wasn't sure what to expect, so it was difficult for me to be mentally prepared.  Of course as a sophomore in high school I have done much research and learned about the Holocaust in the past.  I have even met a Holocaust survivor, but how was I supposed to brace myself for this experience?  I had figured that some things in the museum would shake me up a little but I underestimated the power of the things I saw that day.  I was expecting to see pictures of all different races of people who experienced the Holocaust, a few short films, and maybe written documents left behind by victims.  I had high standards but I honestly was not sure what to expect from the museum, and I was really surprised by the content of the many rooms.

Here are two pictures that impacted me the most.

The first picture is shoes.  Hundreds of shoes piled on top of each other, bathed in dust.  To see these shoes from only a few inches away really hit me hard, as well as the human hair.  Sure, I read about the countless people killed and tortured, but to see the shoes that were on their feet, and the hair that was on their heads, gave me a feeling that is difficult to explain.  It made the situation much more real than it already was.  There were baby shoes in the ocean of torn leather and canvas.  I felt hurt and angry for the people that once filled those shoes.


I learned so much from this experience, and I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to visit this museum again.  I was able to take away the lesson of never taking life for granted, and to be thankful for the life that I have.  It takes a lot to really learn these life lessons, and for me, they came easily due to the proof in this museum.  My favorite part of the museum was the last memorable room I had entered.

There was a round room where anyone was able to light a candle.  It gave me a moment to reflect in silence what I had just seen and heard.  Days after the trip, I was still recovering from the painful sights that I am so thankful to have seen.

Conclusion

The purpose of our project was to find a universal definition for hope and what it means to be human.  With this definition, we were hoping to better understand our peers.  We’ve come to understand that humans have varying views & lack of understanding of each other when it comes to hope, causing issues when humans decide to come together.  We as a group thought it would be interesting to compare the answers of our peers.  My group made a video consisting of five questions which were:

1. What does hope mean to you?
2. What does it mean to be human?
3. Is there an experience you can share with us when you gained or lost hope?
4. Can you experience hope without going through a hardship?
5. Do you have hope for humanity?

Our video can be watched here.

We walked around school for a few days, interviewing select teachers and random students.  As you can see from watching the video, some answers vary and some were similar.  Our interpretations of the results are that hope really comes from personal experiences.  Knowing what hope is, and what it means to be human, are molded as a lifetime passes.  We also found that everyone had hope for humanity, if if they had recently lost it to factors such as the shootings in Arizona.  Everyone said that they had not lost all hope, and that they were slowly gaining it back.  We hope to make one video for the class, with all of our works combined.  The different groups in my class all had complex and thorough philosphies, and we learned a lot from our findings.

What I learned from this project was that people can in fact come together when necessary.  When asked about a serious topic, all answers that we recieved were well thought out and genuine.  This goes to show that humans can sacrafice and unify with each other.  I believe in this because when it comes down to it, humans will ive up selfish values to helpvthemselves as a whole.  If ever the world was in need of saving, I believe humans would come through in the end. 

Ubuntu-African Philosophy

The Ubuntu African Philosophy defines what it means to be "truly human."  Ubuntu offers us an undertanding of us and our relationship with the world.  This African philosophy states that there is a common bond between all of us, and through that bond, we will learn more about ourselves.  There is a commonly said saying, "Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu," which means that a person is a person through other persons.  Basically, Ubuntu says that we will grow through each other. 

I like Ubuntu, and the way it makes me think.  It gets me to really stop and think about humanity.  What would happen if the whole world followed this philospohy?  Would there be more peace, less wars?  If we understood each other, would our society change for the better, or worse?

There is an interesting video by Jeremy Rifkin that we watched as a class, it can be found here.  His concepts of an empathetic civilization is similar to the Ubuntu philosophy, which can be found here.  They both explain the results of understanding each other as a society, and accepting different rules and opinions.  Rifkin's video is extremely detailed, and it was difficult for me to fully understand his concepts.  There were just so many different points that have been discussed for centuries, and issues that are still happening today.  Ubuntu and Rifkin's topics go hand in hand.  They both talk about different ways to better humanity as a whole.

This African philosophy fits well into our hope and the human spirit unit.  The unit is all about different people, and the various ways we react to personal scenarios.  Even though we are all unique, if we learn to accept each other, and feel for each other, maybe our society can grow together.  It makes me think, can Ubuntu really make the world a better place? 

A Meeting of Solitudes Response

Roger Ebert's journal entry, A Meeting of Solitudes, can be read here.  It seems to be very clear that these two posts by Ebert that I have read are very similar.  They keep me questioning the same thing, and that is what the online world has become.  It's a safe and friendly place for those shy people to voice their opinions.  It's a place for them to say what they want, and be heard my hundreds, thousands, millions.  Maybe they're too nervous to say it out loud, afraid of rejection or even humiliation.  Does knowing that their thoughts can be deleted online give them a feeling of reassurance?  I've been wondering if the internet is the cause for not much social interaction.  If maybe, they had at one point been different, had more friends, not been afraid to speak up.  Or is it just a cycle?  These people become isolated because of the internet, then have nowhere to turn to but the online world.  We all think the same thing, these people must have so much time on their hands, don't they have something better to do?  I guess the answer is no, and that this is what they do with their time.  They have adapted to their lonely lifestyles, but found a way to still be listened to.

Ezra Klein Response

Ezar Klein's "Being 'fully human' online," can be read here if desired.  His short article is about people and their online experiences, and how their real life dreams can be fulfilled on the internet.  It also explains how people can "escape" from their lives when they log onto their computer.  Now, technology is more advanced than ever before.  Being born into this technological era, I have no idea what I would do without my cell phone, computer, television, radio, or most of my everyday tools.  Klein brings up many important points, one being that people can be whoever they want online.  No one knows your true identity on the internet, even when asked to give personal information, we all bend the truth a little bit.  We can create our own perfect world that we can go to whenever we need an "escape."  Then there are those people that use this to their advantage in a rather disturbing way.  I'm talking about those online pedophiles, and predators that are always out there.  Has the internet created dream like haven, or an unsafe online world?