Blog 24- Last Presentation Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
 What I was the most proud of in my presentation was that I made time, that was a huge relief when I heard I was good. What am I proud about in my senior project is that I got through it, I'm also happy about my independent components since they had a huge impact in my senior project.


(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation?  Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

AE       P          AP       CR       NC
 


 I think I did everything I was told to do, I don't think I did extra. I talked fast too so made it was hard for people to understand what I am saying.

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project? Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

AE       P          AP       CR       NC
Again, I did everything I was told. I was never late for assignments I was always on time. 

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?My topic in general worked for my project since it was something easy, and it was something easy for me to do. My eq was also great since it was really open ended that there are a lot of different answers. 

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project?
I wish I did a topic that I was actually really into, something I would have enjoyed more working on. 

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.
 It has helped me become more responsible, I learned a lot from my topic.

Blog 21- Exit Interview

Content:

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

• How can a senior citizen increase the chances of a happy and healthy end of life?
• A senior citizen can increase the chances of  a happy and healthy end of life by: joining social groups, being around family, and having a bucket-list to achieve. 
• My best answer is joining a social group since its the one that is more of both healthy and happy, and because its the easiest one for a senior to do.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

• I got my first answer from my mentorship, going to a senior center I was able to see the outcome of a senior join a social group. My research and my independent components really helped me finding the last two answers since they both focus on different things.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

• My main problem was getting to mentorship, it was difficult to find time to go and get there. I resolved it by going whenever I had free time and a ride. 

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

• My mentorship, because it was a in person experience since I was able to meet different seniors. Different articles also help, I read a book called the Third Chapter by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, this book was very cute and had different stories about seniors and they were tied into a bigger picture. 

Be prepared with evidence and specific examples to support any response.  It is also significant to cite sources as you explain.

Blog 22: Independent Component 2

Content:  
LITERAL(a) Include this statement: “I, Gennesis Romero, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 33 hours of work.”

(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.

• All the seniors at the nursing home.

(c) Update your Independent Component 2 Log (which should be under your Senior Project Hours link)(d) Explain what you completed.   

• I volunteered at Forever Young Adult Day Health in Baldwin Park, where I played Bingo and got to talk to different elders and spend time with them. 

(e) Defend your work and explain the component's significance and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.  

•  Log
• The number of is you can call anytime at 212- 464-7765 or I can ask them if they can call you.

(f)How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 

• By going to the nursing home I was allowed to see how different the seniors are compared to the seniors at the senior center. Most of the seniors at the nursing home are sad or very sick. My favorite seniors were the ones who where happy even though they were sick, when I would talk to them most of them had families who came to visit them often or they had a happy life before they were at the nursing home. This made me really think more about my answers and how family does have a huge impact to the other seniors. I also got the idea of the bucket-list from this experience. 

LINK

Interview 4 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  

• The most important thing I learned from this interview was mainly on how to work with the seniors who are more grumpy or have a hard time understanding they are being old. Sarah really just said to be patient and to not let it affect your work, which I found very helpful because at the center the seniors who are a bit harsh to me I tend to treat them differently. than the seniors who are nice to me. 

2.  How will what I learned affect my final lesson?

• It won't really affect my final lesson since the answers I got a sort of already knew. However it did get me a sort of back up and reassurance that what I'm reading online is what someone who works with seniors actually does or says about seniors. 

( I interviewed a nurse at a nursing home, it was hard to get a doctor again)

Link

Blog 20- Fourth Interview Questions

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?

• I want to interview a Geriatrician, their area of expertise is being a doctor who has a very high degree. They also take care of older adults so they have a lot experience with them.

2.  Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. Your focus should be finding answers to your EQ.

1. Why did you chose to be a Geriatrician? 
2. Do you like your job?
3. Do you like working with older adults?
4. What are some difficulties working with older adults?
5. What are advantages?
6. Do a lot of senior citizen actually come for checkups?
7. How important are checkups? 
8. How often should a senior citizen come for a checkup?
9. What are things an elder could do to help them remain healthy? 
10. Do you have a personal experience with some of the seniors?
11. How do you think you can help a senior be happy?
12. Should seniors exercise daily?
13. What kind of exercising so you recommend?
14. What are common health problems that you see with your patients?
15. How do you explain to senior when they have a critical health problem?
16. How do you deal with the mental health of a senior?
17. What are ways you talk to a senior?
18. How do you deal with a senior with an attitude?
19. How can a senior citizen increase the chance of a happy and healthy end of life?
20. Based on your experience with older adults, what are things that you think could help an elder?

Blog 19- Third Answer

EQ

• How can a senior citizen increase the chances of a happy and healthy end of life? 

Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)*

• A senior citizen can increase the chance of a happy and healthy end of life by having a bucket list or doing things they've always wanted to do. 

3 details to support the answer

• They can are happy while doing it the things they've always wanted to do.
• It can push a senior to keep living.
• The movie bucket list is a great example!

The research source(s) to support your details and answer

• Graham, Judith. "What Makes Older People Happy." The New York Times. New York Times, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.
• talks about what makes a senior happy
• Cochrane, Kira. "Bucket Lists: Are They a Good Idea?" The Guardian. The Guardian, 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.
• talks about whether or not bucket list are a good idea.

Concluding Sentence

• A bucket list is a great because it can help a senior citizen remain happy and its can also push them to keep living and to keep fighting. Bucket list can be from going to a new place to seeing all their children getting married. The point of a bucket list is to have goals that they want to one day see them come true. 

Blog 18- Answer 2

1.  What is your EQ?

• How can a senior citizens increase the chances of a happy and healthy end of life? 

2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

• A senior citizen can increase their chance of a happy and healthy end of life by actively going to a social group.

3.  What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

• A senior citizen can increase the chances of a happy and healthy end of life by having family/friend support.

4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

• Everyone needs their family or friends around. 
• At my center they have grandparents day, where the family members come to the center to spend the day. 
• In my interview my mentor always mentions how important family is to a senior. 

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?

• "Graham, Judith. ""What Makes Older People Happy."" The New York Times. New York Times, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/what-makes-older-people-happy/?_r=0> 

6.  What other source supports your answer?

• Mentor 
• Senior Center
• Senior citizens 

7.  Tie this together with a  concluding thought.

• Family is very important to a senior, it can make them happy and makes them feel less lonely.
  
  

Blog 17- Interview 3 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  

• I learned how important it is for a senior to understand that their life is coming to an end, and how knowing that can help them live the rest of their lives happy, and hopefully, not afraid. I also learned that it is okay for a senior to be alone at times but not all the time.

2.  How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?

• Compared to my first interview, I think I talk more clearly, I am less nervous talking to a stranger, and I feel like its easier for me to flow into the next question. 

* I changed the person I interviewed because it was harder than I thought it would be to get a doctor, so I need more time to actually find a doctor. Instead I interviewed a volunteer at a nursing home since I want to do my independent component there,* 

Audio: link
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Blog 16: Independent Component 2 Approval

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1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

• As of right now, I am planning to volunteer at a nursing home. I'm not sure what I would do there, I would do whatever they need help in. 

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

• I would log my hours that I do at the nursing home, take pictures, and have a blog post explaining the difference between the seniors who go to a senior center (where I do my mentorship) and the seniors who to go nursing home.

3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

• By volunteering at a nursing home it will allow me to see the difference between the seniors. I would also be dealing with older seniors, and seniors who have more health problems. Its more sad compared to a senior center.

4.  Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

• Done. And here's a picture of it too.

Blog 15: Independent Component 1

• LITERAL
  (a) Write: “I,Gennesis Romero, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 33 hours and 15 minutes hours of work.”
  (b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.
• I had more than one source used to help me complete the independent component, please click on the link to view my source: link
• (c) Update your hours in your Senior Project Hours link. Make sure it is clearly labeled with hours for individual sessions as well as total hours. 
• Link
• (d) Explain what you completed.  
• For my independent component I teamed up with Jocelyn Sanchez and made a blog that gives information on mental health and how this mental health affects a senior citizen as well.We also did two different social media, I worked on Pinterest. 
• INTERPRETIVE 
  Defend your work and explain its significance to your project and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.  
  




• Link to blog: https://mentalelderhealth.wordpress.com/
• Link to Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mentalelderheal/ 
• Link to rough drafts: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zlCf_2CnTzo2n3l0jc9xDFXxE0wWTdnyPkoPIsjAkps/edit?usp=sharing

        

• APPLIED
  How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better?  Please include specific examples to illustrate this. 
• The independent component helped me learn a lot more about mental health. I learned about different types of important mental disorder and how these disorders can affect anyone, mainly the elderly. This pushed me into thinking into the psychological side of the elderly, I became interested in it. If it wasn't for my independent component I  would probably just be focusing on just the physical side of senior citizens.

Lesson 2 Reflection

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

• What I was most proud of in my lesson 2 presentation was that I finished it and I think I made time. The reason why is because I was worried that I wouldn't make time. 

2. a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       P          AP       CR       NC

     b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

• I did everything that was under P consideration, I didn't do less or more.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

• The powerpoint helped me a lot, it made me feel less nervous because I knew that if I forgot something I could of just look at the board and I would remember.

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

• I would have a better activity, I went the easy route and did a quiz, I would want to do something that would relate to my answer. Another thing is have more content, not just enough, that way I wouldn't be nervous about making time.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

• My answer 2 will be on the importance of family members or friends in a senior citizens life.

Blog 14: Interview 3 Preparation

For this interview, you will prepare 10 open-ended questions that focus on your newly approved EQ (in fact, your first question can be your EQ).  Remember, all interviews must be done in person unless they are specifically approved by your house teacher.  Additionally, one person may be interviewed a maximum of two times.

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?

• For my third interview I plan on interviewing a Geriatric Doctor. I have been looking for doctors around my area I just need to call them to ask. If I don't get to interview a geriatrician I would try a nurse at a nursing home. 

2.  Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview? 

• I can't verify that I have called anyone because I haven't, I'm still trying to find someone who will let me interview them.

3.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.

• Well if I wanted to look for a research for my EQ I would first ask them my EQ, and then I would ask them if they have any resources that would help me. However, my EQ really isn't a resources questions its more of talking to people who work or have a sort of connection to senior citizens.

4.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to, etc).

• "Who else can I talk too that will help me answer my EQ?"

5.  Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ.

• "Based on your experience with older adults, what are things that you think could help an elder?"
• "What are recommendations that you give your patients that isn't medications?"
   

Blog 13: 10 Hour Mentorship Check-In

1. Where are you doing your mentorship?

• I do my mentorship at James L. Brulte Senior Center in the city of Rancho Cucamonga.

2.   Who is your contact?  What makes this person an expert?

• My contact is my mentor Laurie Portillo. Laurie is in charge of the volunteers and also helps with events that the center has. She spends a lot of time with different senior citizens. And my favorite thing about her is that she loves her job, every time I see her, she always has a smile on her face. This shows me that she actually cares for the senior citizens and wants them to be happy at the center.

3.   How many  hours have you done during the school year? (Summer Mentorship Hours and Mentorship Hours should be reflected separately in your Senior Project Hours log located on the right hand side of your blog).

• So far, from what I have recorded I have 10.5 hours that I did during school and 20.16 hour that I did during summer, so in total I have 30.5 hours, 30 more to go!

4.   Succinctly summarize what you did, how well you and your mentor worked together, and how you plan to complete the remaining hours.

• What I do at the center is help in the gym, here I check that the seniors who come in have a card that tells me if they can be use the gym and the equipment. While doing this I get to talk to the seniors who come in and I notice the different kinds of seniors.
•  My mentor and I get along well, I can ask her anything with no problem. She's been very helpful with my senior project. 
• I plan on completing the rest of my hours by going to the center every Friday for three hours. This semester, the only time I went was when I didn't have school (expect the days I did this week), so I only did what I was required. I think if I try to go every Friday I will be able to complete more than 60 hours, which is what I want to do. 

Blog 12: Holiday Project Update

1.It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

• During the break I worked on research notebook and a bit on independent component. While researching I start to think about what I will be doing for independent component #2 and who I will be interviewing for interview #3. I wanted to go to my mentorship, however the center was closed during the break.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

• The most important thing I learned during the break was that there are not many geriatricians, doctors who care for the elderly, they are only a few. I learned this from an article I was reading called "The Way We Age Now" written by Atul Gawande. At first I found it hard to believe, so, I looked up online how many geriatricians there were in my city, and according to vitals.com , there are only 59 geriatricians in my city compared to 526 pediatricians. 

3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?

• After I learned that there aren't many geriatricians I want to try and interview one. If that is not possible I want to interview a senior who goes to the senior center to ask them about the impact the center has had on their lives.