The 101 About Law 101

Our Argument class is all about the logic skills needed to analyze, develop, and sustain an argument. In our first unit we learned about the fundamental elements of an argument and the types of reasoning. I am proud of my understanding of the Venn Diagrams we did for homework and in class. We learned all the key concepts that make an argument and for our first action project we had to put these concepts to use by writing a course or independent study proposal.

At GCE, we are supposed to learn things that will benefit us in the real world. The school teaches what they consider to be the four principal values of global citizenship that form a durable foundation for achievement: accountability, purpose, autonomy, and gratitude. The school’s website claims that the education they provide, “Equips students to thrive in today’s complex world.” To achieve this goal, GCE offers a curriculum that is based around a hands-on educational experience where students take the concepts they learn in school and apply them to the real world as opposed to the more ordinary approach to education that most high schools provide. They already manage to do this quite well, but I believe with the course I have in mind, they could accomplish it even better. It is our right as students to be taught subject matter that will prepare us for when we are outside of school. I believe this requires a knowledge of our rights, not just as students, but as American citizens.

The course that I would like to propose is a Law class with the guiding question: what rights do we all have? It would take place during the fall term of senior year. The reason I chose this term is because the other course seniors take during that time is Economics, which involves topics such as taxes, which I think would tie into a law class. Taxes are a part of the law and there are many tax laws that must be followed. If students learn the laws about taxes along with the math concepts, they will understand their tax responsibilities better.

What are GCE’s goals? To prepare students for the real world. Adding this law class will increase the success of that goal, greatly. It is important to have a class about law because every citizen, no matter what age, should know his/her rights. This information is really practical, and could be helpful at any point in one's life. Also, senior year is when most students turn 18, which means they are legally adults and can now vote. This makes learning the laws even more crucial, especially if they will be leaving for college and going to be on their own for the first time. This class would prepare you for going into the “real world” and would benefit you your whole life.

Law 101 would take place on-site at GCE’s campus, and would be partnered with the law firm Baker & McKenzie, which has hundreds of lawyers practicing in every field of law. It is an international law firm headquartered in Chicago, and it would be the perfect firm to partner with because they don’t just have one specialty in law, they have lawyers in all the fields, so they could give us a wider range of education about the law. The class would also need a copy of the Constitution of the United States, the Illinois Constitution, and the law textbook, Introduction to Law and the Legal System by Frank August Schubert, to get some key points. They would also watch the films A Few Good Men and My Cousin Vinny to see the skills they learn put in action and to see that any type of person can be put in both the position of an attorney or the person on trial.

The content of the class includes some education in US History, the law, as well as debate skills. These are all important because GCE does not yet have a class that teaches us, strictly, American History and it is important to be educated about it, because it is famously said that those who don’t learn their history are destined to repeat past mistakes. The history part would focus mostly on the judicial branch of government which is based on precedent going back to the origins of the country. The laws would obviously be crucial to learning in this course since it is a law class, and debate skills are important because even outside of law, these skills help you make your voice heard and present your position, no matter what you're arguing for or against, in a logical manner.

Some of the FEs for students of Law 101 would be to different law firms such as the one we are partnered with, as well as court houses. This will allow them to see how these skills are applied in the real world and what happens to people who broke laws because they were uneducated about them. One of the Action Projects the students would have, would be a mock trial or debate. This would be done in pairs and the roles would be the defense and the other would be the prosecution, or if they chose to do a debate simply the two opposing sides. Another Action Project would be writing a persuasive paper about why they disagree with or how they would change an existing law, or what  law would they like to add. The third project would be a video project teaching what to do in certain situations involving law/police.

P1: GCE's four values are: accountability, purpose, autonomy, and gratitude.
P2: Cultivating these four values prepares you for the real world.
P3: All citizens should know their rights and the laws.
P4: Knowing your rights and the laws prepares you for the real world.
C: GCE should offer a law class.

The goal for this course is for every student to understand the law, learn what their rights are, and how to exercise them. If this course is added, it will make a vast difference in students’ lives and their preparation for being on their own. GCE will be accomplishing their goals better than ever, and will truly be helping their students. I hope Law 101 will be taken into consideration.


Works Cited

• Home. (2013, June 20). Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://gcelabschool.com/ 
• Introduction to Law and the Legal System Hardcover. (2014, January 1). Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Legal-System-August-Schubert/dp/1285438256/ref=dp_ob_image_bk
• Baker & McKenzie. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://www.bakermckenzie.com/

Pin the Hole on the Camera

Our Light and Sound course is about, as stated, light and sound but also time, and how they all relate. It has to do with our perspective on the world and how it would be different if those three elements were different. Our first unit is Light where we discussed how light affects us and how we are able to see it. We learned about how we see light with our eyes, and how cameras make photos with a similar process. We also learned about lenses and the visible spectrum and many other things having to do with vision. I’m most proud of the science parts I learned in this class since it isn’t my strong suit.

For our action project we made pinhole cameras. A pinhole camera is pretty simple: you choose an object, such as a shoe box, that is completely black on the inside, and cut a hole in it. You then place a sanded down piece of tin with a tiny hole poked in it that acts as a lens. The light will shine through that lens when you uncover it, and when there is photo-sensitive paper inside, it will a picture will appear based on the light that comes through the lens.

AG Inside Pinhole Camera (2015)

AG Pinhole Camera (2015)

The math concept we used for this project was similar triangles.

x^2+y^2=z^2                             a^2+b^2=c^2                             

1 15/16^2+11 1/2^2 = 136^2     4 3/4^2+16 43/62^2 = 302.24^2

   z = 11.66                                   c =17.36                                     

The height of my pinhole is x which equals 1 15/16 inches

The distance from the lens to my paper is y which equals 11 ½ inches
The height of my subject is a which equals 4 ¾ inches
The distance from the back of my camera to my object is b+y which equals 28 6/31 inches
The distance from the lens to my object is b which equals 16 43/62 inches

The shutter speed that I tried the first time was 2 minutes and the second time was 4 minutes. Unfortunately the pictures didn’t show up because the pinhole wasn’t the right size, it was a little too small so the light didn’t come through enough. If I were to get a chance to redo the project I would make sure to fix that mistake.

JS Pinhole (2015)

This project shows the relationship between light and energy because when the light makes touches the paper it causes it to change color, which shows that is transferred its energy to it. I didn’t however think that the camera illustrated the idea of refraction because there wasn’t anything like water that would slow down the light, there was only air. Refraction involves light slowing down and bending so if that didn’t happen, refraction wasn’t shown.

As an addition we got to make photograms.This also involves using light sensitive paper, however you don’t use the camera and the pictures show up differently.

AG Photogram (2015)