Humanities
Happiness, Meaning, and Personal Ethics
For this project, each student was tasked with exploring what happiness really is as well as the meaning of life. We did this by studying different cultures, time periods, and ideologies as well as simply looking inside ourselves. After deciding what our personal philosophies on these two subjects were, we created both a written piece and an art piece to demonstrate them, while using inter-textuality to connect our ideas to other works. I used a quote by author Douglas Coupland, “My mind then wandered. I thought of this: I thought of how each day each of us experiences little moments that have just a bit more resonance that other moments. And if we were to collect these small moments in a notebook and save them over time, we would realize we were living an entirely different life altogether. One we didn’t even know was going on inside of us. And maybe this other life is even more important to us than those we think of as real.” Along with this quote, I wrote about how what happiness is for me, is the little moments in life that put a smile on your face. I then created the art piece below that also demonstrated me new found philosophy. I took pictures of my doing little things that make me happy and put them on a bike wheel to represent Durango, what I consider to be the heart of my happy life.
During this project, I was riding a wave of existential crises and severe exuberance and motivation to go live a pura vida. Exploring why we are here and why we should be so glad that we are really makes you think about your life, and if you are living it well with every breath. The biggest thing that I learned in doing this was that a good life isn't living every moment perfectly, it just means that you should be able to look back on your life in 10 years and be proud of what you have done overall. Ultimately, this project made me not take everything so seriously, and gave me some reassurance that I don't have to be perfect to have a happy and meaningful life, I just have to be proud of the big choices that I have made.
How do we know that we aren't wasting our lives in the present? I would like to further develop an idea of what happiness is. I have determined what my happiness is, but I don't think that it's the same thing. I have discovered that everyone's happiness is different, but do we create them for ourselves or are they predetermined. Do they change as we do, or do we change so that they don't have to?
During this project, I was riding a wave of existential crises and severe exuberance and motivation to go live a pura vida. Exploring why we are here and why we should be so glad that we are really makes you think about your life, and if you are living it well with every breath. The biggest thing that I learned in doing this was that a good life isn't living every moment perfectly, it just means that you should be able to look back on your life in 10 years and be proud of what you have done overall. Ultimately, this project made me not take everything so seriously, and gave me some reassurance that I don't have to be perfect to have a happy and meaningful life, I just have to be proud of the big choices that I have made.
How do we know that we aren't wasting our lives in the present? I would like to further develop an idea of what happiness is. I have determined what my happiness is, but I don't think that it's the same thing. I have discovered that everyone's happiness is different, but do we create them for ourselves or are they predetermined. Do they change as we do, or do we change so that they don't have to?
Rhetorical Discourse Project
Below is my final project, an open letter to the Colorado State Board of Education titled "Learning to Learn"
This project was about rhetoric, how prevalent it is in our society, and how to use it effectively. Above I have the open letter I wrote to the State Board of Education about the problems with the modern schooling and education system. I used many different rhetorical strategies to try and convince my audience to have the same perspective as me, the main point of rhetoric as a whole.
There are many forms of rhetoric, and I used only a few i my project. The main things I did where over simplifying when our schooling system was created and using other horrible things that were created around that time to compare it to. I also used my position as a student at a less traditional school like Animas to establish credibility with my audience and powerful imagery to set a clear picture in their mind of the problems with the system. The main thing that I was trying to do with my piece was provide a way to advocate for students and people in the schooling system to work towards a better way of doing things.
The thing I liked most about this project was being able to choose what we studied. At first, I had a hard time choosing what to study, until I found something that I was passionate about, my education. I really enjoyed the power that rhetoric can have if used correctly. It was interesting to learn about how many people use it as a useful tool whether it be good like the Arab Spring, or worse like Hitler's powerful rhetoric in his speeches or more modern with ISIS's recruiting tactics.
The most difficult thing about this project was finding a topic in the first place. Once I finally chose one, I changes it 3 more times and when I finally started the actual project, I was behind everyone else because of this, If I could go back and start over, I would try to find a topic more quickly which would allow more time to go further in depth with the concepts I was studying, and critique my project to make it more powerful and better in general.
I have learned that rhetoric is an extremely powerful weapon that if used properly can persuade entire nations to your ideologies. This project gave me a deep look into the roots of our past present and future, a weapon that I believe has been just as vital in wars and disputes as guns and swords. Things like the power our media has to change how we view the world and even our own communities. These days every single person uses rhetoric on a daily basis whether they are aware of it or not.
There are many forms of rhetoric, and I used only a few i my project. The main things I did where over simplifying when our schooling system was created and using other horrible things that were created around that time to compare it to. I also used my position as a student at a less traditional school like Animas to establish credibility with my audience and powerful imagery to set a clear picture in their mind of the problems with the system. The main thing that I was trying to do with my piece was provide a way to advocate for students and people in the schooling system to work towards a better way of doing things.
The thing I liked most about this project was being able to choose what we studied. At first, I had a hard time choosing what to study, until I found something that I was passionate about, my education. I really enjoyed the power that rhetoric can have if used correctly. It was interesting to learn about how many people use it as a useful tool whether it be good like the Arab Spring, or worse like Hitler's powerful rhetoric in his speeches or more modern with ISIS's recruiting tactics.
The most difficult thing about this project was finding a topic in the first place. Once I finally chose one, I changes it 3 more times and when I finally started the actual project, I was behind everyone else because of this, If I could go back and start over, I would try to find a topic more quickly which would allow more time to go further in depth with the concepts I was studying, and critique my project to make it more powerful and better in general.
I have learned that rhetoric is an extremely powerful weapon that if used properly can persuade entire nations to your ideologies. This project gave me a deep look into the roots of our past present and future, a weapon that I believe has been just as vital in wars and disputes as guns and swords. Things like the power our media has to change how we view the world and even our own communities. These days every single person uses rhetoric on a daily basis whether they are aware of it or not.
Voices of the Animas Project
For this project we researched the Animas River Gold King Mine Spill and how it effected the communities that rely on the Animas. This project was about ordinary voices sharing their stories about a large tragedy and being heard. Inspired by the Story Corps initiative and website. Each student went out into the community and found someone passionate to share their story about the river and recorded their story. We wanted to share ordinary peoples stories with real audiences.We then turned the recordings into amazing pieces of work that highlighted the many voices of the environmental disaster by adding in music and editing. Using the storycorps.me webstewe uploaded our interviews adding the hashtags #voicesfromtheanimas and #animasriver spill so that people interested in the topic could find it and hear our stories.
I took away a lot from this project. The largest academic factor that I took away from this project was the history of the Animas, Silverton and mining, as well as all about Superfund and the controversy behind it. I learned that superfund is used to fund long term cleanup efforts and works with the US federal government. This is a controversial subject because locals believe it will hurt tourism and the vast history in their town. It is also very expensive On the other hand there are many superfund sites where tourism is not affected at all, and after the site is cleaned up, they save money in the long run. My opinion on the subject is that we should go with a superfund site and start the clean up efforts immediately. We have seen what happens when mines spill, and how many people it effects. I learned that mining in Silverton has affected the river and contributed for hundreds of years, and this is far from the first incident. This told me that if we don't do something, it will continue to be a problem in the future, and we need to find a solution.
I think that what made this project such a success is that we got to go up to SIlverton and see the sight of the spill and see the community that it started in, and that the problem exists in. I was grateful to meet the man I interviewed, Nick Parker, a rail road employee in Silverton and ask him my questions. I took away so much from the process and from the interview itself. I think it was a great experience and it helped start the year in a good direction. I learned how to contact and contact people and show myself in a professional manor, as well as professional speaking These are basic life skills that are important to be good at, and will hep me in most everything that I will do. These skills will also benefit me outside of the work field. This project gave me new perspectives and showed me how connected the river makes the communities it is part of.what matters. In my interview itself I learned about what the spill was like firsthand as it was happening and was shared some interesting perspectives on how the river spill meant more then just an environmental disaster.
The exhibition for this project went very well. I felt that the interviews were really enjoyed by the community members and it was a good way of sharing lots of perspectives on the spill. This was great for the community because it was something that previously was not available to them. The exhibition really made me feel like the project was about more then just the requirements and getting it done, but about sharing the idea of Storycorps and all the insides of the spill and what it meant. I talked to a lot of people who really enjoyed the exhibition and the project's outcome, and I am glad that I got to be a part of it.
I think I grew most as a person in the skill of advocacy and perseverance. The hardest part of the project for me was simply finding a person to interview. I had to reach out to lots of different community members and be persistent in contacting people and asking them for help on this project.
I took away a lot from this project. The largest academic factor that I took away from this project was the history of the Animas, Silverton and mining, as well as all about Superfund and the controversy behind it. I learned that superfund is used to fund long term cleanup efforts and works with the US federal government. This is a controversial subject because locals believe it will hurt tourism and the vast history in their town. It is also very expensive On the other hand there are many superfund sites where tourism is not affected at all, and after the site is cleaned up, they save money in the long run. My opinion on the subject is that we should go with a superfund site and start the clean up efforts immediately. We have seen what happens when mines spill, and how many people it effects. I learned that mining in Silverton has affected the river and contributed for hundreds of years, and this is far from the first incident. This told me that if we don't do something, it will continue to be a problem in the future, and we need to find a solution.
I think that what made this project such a success is that we got to go up to SIlverton and see the sight of the spill and see the community that it started in, and that the problem exists in. I was grateful to meet the man I interviewed, Nick Parker, a rail road employee in Silverton and ask him my questions. I took away so much from the process and from the interview itself. I think it was a great experience and it helped start the year in a good direction. I learned how to contact and contact people and show myself in a professional manor, as well as professional speaking These are basic life skills that are important to be good at, and will hep me in most everything that I will do. These skills will also benefit me outside of the work field. This project gave me new perspectives and showed me how connected the river makes the communities it is part of.what matters. In my interview itself I learned about what the spill was like firsthand as it was happening and was shared some interesting perspectives on how the river spill meant more then just an environmental disaster.
The exhibition for this project went very well. I felt that the interviews were really enjoyed by the community members and it was a good way of sharing lots of perspectives on the spill. This was great for the community because it was something that previously was not available to them. The exhibition really made me feel like the project was about more then just the requirements and getting it done, but about sharing the idea of Storycorps and all the insides of the spill and what it meant. I talked to a lot of people who really enjoyed the exhibition and the project's outcome, and I am glad that I got to be a part of it.
I think I grew most as a person in the skill of advocacy and perseverance. The hardest part of the project for me was simply finding a person to interview. I had to reach out to lots of different community members and be persistent in contacting people and asking them for help on this project.