For my capstone project, I really wanted to create something that would have a lasting impact on the SLA@Beeber community, even after I have left it. So after a lot of intense trial and error, I decided that my final capstone project would be a mentorship program between the SLA@Beeber High School and SLA Middle School. This entailed several high school students ranging from freshmen all the way to seniors going every wednesday to the middle school which like our school is very new and currently only has one class of fifth graders. I not only created and organized this program throughout the year, but I also mentored one of the middle school students. This program started up in February and took place every wednesday. The mentors and mentees were able to create and sustain a supportive and trusting relationship with one another This helped the mentors later in the program when working on improving the mentees social and academic skills, which were in need of repair given their lack of experience with the SLA Model and its core values. The mentors were also asked to fill out a journal entry and questionnaire about what they did each session.The end product was a video compilation that includes interviews from the mentees and mentors, as well as pictures taken throughout the program. I have also created a guide book for anyone who would like to take this program over next year.

(This program also acted as mini course and internship.)

-Does peer mediation cut back on student on student confrontation?

-How do students respond to student mentors rather than adult ones?

-Do students feel uncomfortable relaying their problems with authority figures?

-How much does student voice matter school authorities?

Research:

-Mediation and mentorship skills

-Ways to create a successful team and legacy program

Collaboration:

-Work with JT to see if our programs can cross paths at any point

-Work with Ms. Lawson to solve problems

-Teachers at SLA Middle School (Ms. Ironside)

-Get outside leaders of college or after school mentorship programs to teach our student mentors

Presentation:

-A physical and electronic instruction manual/guide book for how to successfully run the student mentorship/peer mediation program to represent my reflection for what worked and what didn’t work throughout the project.

-A reflective essay on my experiences throughout the year as well as a collection of organized notes taken every mentorship session to chart my progress throughout the year.

UPDATE

-Over the course of this capstone, I had come to realize that the best way to depict my project’s  successes as well as its defeats, was to create a video with testimonials from both mentors and mentees. This will replace the reflective essay and subsequent notes.

Reflection:

During the course of this capstone I realized that when you are starting a project like this with the intention of making it last after you are gone, there is going to be a lot of mistakes made. I for one can say that I probably did more things wrong than right in the very beginning. In the end though I think that both the mentees and mentors felt as though they got something significant out of the program and will treasure the experience for a very long time.

Reflection

Our video was about bringing awareness of the rampant air pollution in one of Philadelphia’s poorest districts, the River Wards. We discovered that the River Wards has a shocking amount of people who have had to go to the hospital due to asthma related symptoms. We believe that the problem really stems from the fact that the River Wards was a very industrialized district back in the day and that the pollution caused from large factories has lingered and has caused many of its' residents ongoing health issues. The video really calls people to action, especially since it features a preview into the River Wards future, which is ultimately not a pretty sight. The fact of the matter is, air pollution has been a pepple in America’s shoe for quite sometime, not only that, but countries all over the world are starting to see the effects of reckless industrialization and air pollution.

I chose this particular topic because while we may not see the signs of the ways in which we currently pollute the earth, air pollution is relatively easy to see the effects of. As I said before, people are having to be hospitalized just for stepping outside. That is just not right in my opinion. If things don’t start to change, than the dystopian future we demonstrated in our PSA will become our very grim reality. The thing about air pollution is that due to the fact that much industrialism in America happened before I or any of my classmates were born. A whole generation would never have experienced a world without air pollution. Imagine how much longer our life spans might be if we severely regulated factories, automobiles, or anything else that produced larges amounts air pollution. I just wanted to show the world that we as a society need to step up and start thinking of solutions and do our part for our neighbors and the world as a whole.

I think I contributed to this project by helping create the script, helping edit the video once we shot it, as well as having a speaking role within the video. I think I did my fair share of work and I feel as though my team members would support that statement. I think that we as group in general worked really hard to create a top quality PSA and I am very proud of the work and effort that and  my team members put in it. I believe that I tend to try to be more of a leader, however I feel like I had a really amazing team and I always had someone to help me so I didn’t have the take all the responsibility of getting everything together which was really nice and I really appreciated my team members.

I think that I really used the class time efficiently and I got something done on the project each class. I think that I also made sure that we were getting things done in a timely manner and keeping everyone aware of the deadline. I think maybe I could have started working on the project a little earlier than we did, I think that maybe I should have worked on the script sooner. I also feel like I could have maybe worked a little harder to make sure everyone felt like they we being allowed to contribute. Sometimes i'm so focused on what I am doing I forgot to include other people.

I think the most meaningful part of the PSA was watching it slowly all come together. There was this great moment when we were editing and I saw all the content that we had and I just remembered how in the previous week we barely had anything. It is a pretty great feeling to see all your hard work on a platform. Sometimes with projects, it is just one and done, however this project might actually be shown to a larger audience if it gets picked for the film festival which is pretty amazing. When you're doing these types of projects, a lot of the time it just feels like it is just work for work's-sake, however air pollution is something that affects all of us and it is a very serious ongoing problem that most people just shrug off as another issue with no solution. However we wanted to open minds and allow people to come to the conclusion that silence in this case is deadly. It is time to speak up and take action

Election Volunteering Experience By Eliza Meketon

My time canvassing for Hillary Clinton was definitely an eventful time. When I first came to the canvassing coordinator’s house I was bombarded with Clinton propaganda and the enthusiastic face of a woman who was a little to high on Hillary. She was a very genious host and she got me prepared for the next three grueling hours. She gave me the script to read to Hillary supporters. She then proceeded to give me a list of the supporters names and addresses, as well as a map of the area. I then began to hyperventilate due to my utter lack of directional sense. Unfortunately this fact was made worse by me not having a car to take me from house to house and the weather being a humid 80 degrees. The locations of the houses ranged from Abbington, Stenton, Chestnut hill, Evergreen, Meade St, Bethlehem, and more. By the end I had knocked on 27 houses, however I only got to talk to 4 supporters. The first actual supporter I had met was incredibly nice. I stumbled on my speech I was supposed to give her, and asked if she was going to vote today, if she was supporting Hillary, and if she knew her polling system (essentially my job was to promote and remind Hillary supporters to vote.) She gave me advice on how to address people which was very helpful, and I then thanked her for her time. One very memorable moment was when a car of teenage boys pulled up next to me and asked who I was campaigning for. I then blabbed “Hillary Clinton” with a smile and a stutter. They nodded their heads and said “ok.” I had never really been someone to state out loud their political ideas for fear that if I said it to the wrong person I would be judged, harassed, or worse. With the hostile political atmosphere of our country, in which people are getting taunted, injured, or killed for showing off their political beliefs. Luckily for me Philadelphia is a pretty democratic city so the likelihood of being excessively hounded by opposite parties was not likely. However I still felt uncomfortable putting my beliefs on my body through buttons, or any sort of propaganda. I felt the need to tell people this is for a school project, due to the fact that I most likely would never have done this if it weren’t necessary. I respect other people’s opinions and ideas and by publicly advertising a politician, it feels like I’m telling those who disagree, are wrong for having their own opinion, even if I do happen disagree with it, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Overall it was an ok experience, but the heat mixed with the apathetic answers I received from the people may have tarnished my time canvassing. I think I can cross this off my list as possible job careers, but I am glad I did it. I think that everyone should try something that is a little out of their comfort zone every once in awhile. Some quick questions I have about elections are why do we have elections every four years instead of some other denomination? Also who  decided that the electoral college was the deciding factor for who becomes president? Why can’t the popular vote be the deciding factor for choosing the president?

My three pictures

Picture #1

Picture description: This is a list of the names of documented Hillary supporters and their addresses. There were four different sections. One was why the person couldn’t talk with me, then if they did take a moment to talk to me, I then proceed to the next category. This category consisted of me asking about voting for Hillary Clinton, like if they were definitely voting for her or if they were unsure, and so on. The next two categories were if I wanted to try again and knock on the door of someone who wasn’t able to talk to me the first time, and then basically filling out the same info as I mentioned before.

Picture #2

Photo Description: This is a photo of me with my Hillary support button that I was given by my coordinator. It was really interesting walking around with a button that out right stated my political standing. Some people nodded their head when the saw the button and others showed suspicion or discomfort, but then again that could have been because I was wearing a wool sweater in 80 degree weather.

Photo #3

Photo Description: This is a very blurry photo of my canvassing organizer. She was incredibly nice and she even had cookies inscribed with Hillary’s name. She had signs, folders, everything Hillary you could think of was in this woman's house.

Artifacts Photos

Artifact #1

Artifact description: This is an information leaflet telling people some more info about Hillary Clinton. It also tells people about Hillary. Also it tells people the time in which they can vote.

Artifact #2:

Artifact Description: This is the speech that we were told to give to the supporters. It basically just tells people thanks for  being a supporter and when and where to vote. I was very bad at giving this speech because I stuttered every time and I didn’t know the appropriate amount of information to summarize.

Artifact #3:

​1) Describe your project.

I made a duct tape purse of one of my favorite cartoon characters named Nibbler from the show futurama. It is made just based on his face and everything is made out of duct tape.The purse strap is the only thing not entirely out of duct tape and is in fact an old jump rope covered in duct tape.

2) What did you learn while completing this project?                                                                      

 I learned that duct tape can be hard to predict how it will react and how flexible and adaptable it really is.              

3) What was the hardest part about completing this project? 

The hardest part of this project was figuring out how I was going to cut the pieces and make them into the shape that I wanted.

4) What was the most fun/exciting part?                                                          

  The most exciting part was when I finished the bag and got to see all the hard work that I did finally paid off. I really liked my final product.                          

Art Elective Project Reflection

Please answer the questions below. Do not delete the prompts!

1. Describe your project
   My project is a cloth purse painted water colors with an outline of a mustache and sunglasses.
   
   

2. What knowledge did you already have about the project before you started?
   
   I knew how to paint a bag, I have done that with just cheap acrylic paint. I know how to use water color and the care that it takes to blend colors together.
   
   

3. What new skill did you want to learn coming into the project?
   
   I learned what it is like to paint cloth with watercolor paint. I have never done that before because I never found a reason to.
   
   

4. Did you accomplish this goal?
   I think that I did accomplish my goal and I am excited to give this as a gift to my sister. I think sje will really like. I am very excited and proud of the way that it looks and I hope she will like it as well.
   
   
   

5. How do you know you accomplished the goal? If you didn’t accomplish the goal, why do you think that is?
   
   I know that I accomplished my goal because I feel proud of the result of the project. I like how it looks and I like that I feel proud of the result and can give it to someone to use out in the world.
   
   

6. What other skill(s) did you learn along the way?
   
   I learned that you don’t always have to know where you are going with something when you are creating something new. I did not know that there would be an outline in the bag or a picture.
   
   

7. What are you most proud of in this project?
   
   I am most proud of the pretty colors that were used and how colorful it looks. It has a rainbow feel which is cool.
   
   

8. What would you do differently if you had to do the project over again?

Artist statement

Abstract

In this interview, I talked to my father, Richard J. Meketon. Born in the early stages of the Civil Rights movement, he was able to discuss what it was like not only for him, a white Jewish male living in the relatively diverse Mount Airy section of Philadelphia. As well as being able to watch the community around him evolve into a multitude of culture and racial activism. However most importantly, the opportunity to have a front view into the world around him becoming an ever lasting footprint in racial equality. In our interview, Mr. Meketon remarked several instances in childhood and adolescence in which on a daily basis he was unknowingly watching racial activism and development and race equality. One instance in particular that really demonstrated the developing condition for struggling ethnicities was when he talked about when he was in elementary school. As young as he was, Mr. Meketon was still able to recognize the fact that society, education, politics, and many more institutions such as those were becoming more and more integrated. He talked about his experiences and observations with discrimination and other racial stereotypes. As well as growing up around Civil Rights culture such as white and black gangs and a understanding of who was at the top of the food chain and who just barely making it  on the bottom of the economic, political, and social scale. Mr. Meketon also talked about what it was like watching historical moments in history such as riots that included children of color getting savagely beaten and sprayed with a hose. He showed his empathy and childlike astonishment at the fact that, that could happen to children even younger than himself. One of the major key points of the interview was when Mr. Meketon referred back to his liberal household and his siblings who acted and promoted the Civil Rights movement through many of the movements ups such as Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the downs such as the devastating race riots. Richard Meketon still holds the things he saw and remembers to treat others with respect and dignity just as his parents did.

Research topic part 1 Birmingham Riots

In the interview, Mr. Meketon was very cantor about his experiences and opinions during many Civil Rights movements .  One of which was not only a significant part of the the movement, but was able to finally gain some attention to equality and justice for all such as the infamous Birmingham riots in which thousands of  were arrested and  were oppressed by police brutality.  During this time non violent demonstrators all over Birmingham, particularly children , were protesting the lack of equality. Martin Luther King was the head of this protest against desegregation and was able to inspired hundreds of thousand of African American men, women, and children. thousands of protesters were thrown in jail and were sprayed with forceful high pressured hoses that led many critically injured. A little more than a month after the beginning of the movement, the campaign got International and presidential attention. The campaign was a success and segregation was a thing of the pass in Birmingham, at least in a legal sense. However not that long after the campaign ended a bombing occurred at a famous African American church and took lives of four young and innocent African American children.  This description compares to my fathers experience because as a young child he found it horrifying that the “heros” that he looked up to because of their genuine and admirable fiscode were hurting and beating innocent people who were just trying to fight for their rights as human beings. I think that Mr. Meketon really felt as though there was injustice being done in Birmingham and that there was something that just wasn’t right and something had to be done.

Sources:

http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/civil-rights-movement-birmingham-campaign/#.U3_SZBVX-uY

http://crdl.usg.edu/events/birmingham_demonstrations/

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/randall/birmingham.htm

Research topic part 2 Martin Luther King

Another fascinating topic that came up in the interview was Civil Rights activist Such as Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King was a prominent and powerful Civil Rights activist who lead the path against segregation and achieving racial equality.  Martin Luther King was the head of many Civil Rights Movements such as The “Childrens Crusade”, “The Montgomery Bus Boycott”, and “MArch on Washington” As well as being well known for his non violent approach to protesting and activism.  MArtin Luther King is most well known for his famous speech “I have a dream” in which he spoke of equality, desegregation, and hope. As a famous activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner, as well as SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). Sadly Martin Luther King was assassinated, however his legacy will forever be imprinted in the minds and hearts of millions.  As young child father saw the man on tv as someone of hope, vision, and cause. Like my father, the world embraced and saw Martin Luther King as a visionary and knew he was going to change the world. Even though not everyone saw his point of view, everyone was able see that he had left the country and the world in better shape than before. He will forever be remembered.

http://www.thekingcenter.org/about-dr-king

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

http://www.kinginstitute.info/

Transcription

EM=Eliza Meketon

RM=Richard Meketon

EM:State your name and date of birth please

RM: Richard J. Meketon, 1959

Em: Ok so I am going to ask you a few standard questions and then we are going to go into some deeper topics.

Ok so question number 1, what was like growing up in your neighborhood when you were younger?

RM: It was very nice, it was tree line street there were a lot of kids in the neighborhood.

EM:Was there a lot of diversity in your neighborhood and in your school?

Rm: Yes absolutely, I lived in the mount airy section of Philadelphia which was one of the most diverse parts of the country and it always been an integrated neighborhood and continued to be so.

EM: Now in your school did you ever notice segregation or discrimination going on?

RM: In elementary school, over the course of eight years, I did notice the nature of the school change.

EM: Can you talk about a certain situation in which you noticed something that hadn't been there before?

RM: Well when I was in second grade, the school was mostly white almost 70% white and 30% African American, by the time I was in 8th grade it was 30% white and 70% African American.

EM:As a little kid, did you notice a difference between you and other kids of diversity, or did you not care?

RM: Well in my family and my parents, almost taught me to ignore differences in color, but ah, we always had black people in and out of our house, ah to me, there was no black, Asian, white, there was no difference.You were a friend, or you weren’t a friend.

Em: Do ever recall an instance when someone you knew, or even yourself was not allowed to do something because of their race?

RM: Well as I got older in school, and we were playing more athletics, the school was changing from a predominately white school to a predominantly black school and as someone who was not the most athletically inclined, that I was being chosen for less and less sports, now whether, I was chosen for less and less sports because I wasn't athletically inclined ,or wasn't I chosen because I want African American , its hard to say. There were a lot of white boys who were athletically inclined, and not picked.

EM: Would you say that there were more stereotypes being progressed, or less stereotypes.

Rm: I really didn't believe any of the stereotypes I heard.

Em: so when you were younger, did you hear anything regarding Civil Rights?

RM: Well yes, in the city of Philadelphia, we knew of the Black panthers, we knew about gangs, and in the mount airy section where I lived, there were a couple of gangs. There were white gangs and black gangs,so you were aware of these things. You were aware of what jobs people had and that white people had more authority jobs and servant oriented jobs were more minority jobs.

Em: Now when you were growing up, did anyone ever tell what was right or wrong when it came to race?

RM: My parents.

Em: can you open up about that

Rm: There were some words you just weren't aloud to say, and we were an incredibly liberal household, some words you just weren't aloud to say such as the “N Word” you would get in trouble if you said it.

Em: So when you were growing up, were you ever able to hear and like listen to any of the Civil Rights Leaders?

RM: In Philadelphia…. yeah, that there were rallies in Philadelphia

many rallies. I do remember seeing the Reverend Martin Luther King on TV. I also remember seeing the horrible riots on in other cities, the police riots in the south where they shot water cannons in crowds of African Americans and stuck dogs on kids no older than me.

Em. Now when you saw that as a young child, did you think of it as another child getting attacked, or did you see as something else? going

Rm: I saw myself in that situation and the question I always asked was what did those people did wrong? NO one could tell me what those people did wrong to have fire hoses and dogs. I was disturbed in that I always admired firemen, firemen were heros to me, and I saw firemen shooting high powered hoses into crowds of children and adults that were doing nothing to hurt anybody.

Em: So, since this was worldwide, and it affected a lot of people, at school and home, was it ever major discussion, or was it just tucked away?

RM:As I said before, I came from an incredibly liberal household and all matters of discussion were at the dinner table. I had an older brother and a sister who were active in the civil Rights movement and anti war movement. My parents were very active in the neighborhood so conversations were abundant. I was a small child at the time, but I over heard and comprehended  what was happening in Philadelphia and in the country in general.

Em:When you were growing up, did you recognize that the time you ere in would be a famous part of history, or did you just see it as what it was?

RM: As I was growing up, later as I was growing up, when I was five or six, no, but when I was nine or ten absoultley.

Em: So you were able to recognize what you were apart of.

RM: When I was four years old, John F. Kennedy was murdered, when I was nine Bobby Kennedy was murdered, Martin Luther King was murdered. These were impressions that never left me, so yes I understood. I liked sports and I knew about Muhammad Ali, who basically refused to be drafted. I was aware of most of the items, but O was aware of the events.

Em: Thank you, this has been a very successful interview.

Rm: Thank you Mrs Meketon

Em: Thank you Mr. Meketon

RM: Thank you Ms: Meketon

Eliza’s artist statement

My partner and I decided to make our sculpture a happy meal because I think right now it represents American culture. I think that Fast food is so normal and typical for our culture that it has become the new norm. We also designed it to show how much fast food has had an effect on the typical American diet. Essentially what I’m saying is that a Mcdonalds happy meal is just as or even a little more American than our flag because it not only represents our our economic, social, and domestic institution but has managed to change the way America thinks and eats food. We thought that we should shed some light(pun intended) on the ordinary yet extraordinary effects of medium fries and a large cheese burger has had on not only American culture but the entire world. This project says about how we are creative and how we put thought into our work instead of just thinking of the first thing that comes to our mind and that we are willing to go the extra mile to prove that we care about the work that we produce and that others see.

Eva’s artist statement

I personally have choose to do a hamburger and French Fries because I thought it was a unique idea and unusual. I wanted to do something that wasn't a clique or something that would have been expected of me to do. What this project says about me is that I am always trying to do something unusual and unique that will make people look twice. It shows me and partners ( Eliza ) creativity and mind set that allows us to create something that pushes us out of our comfort zone. Doing a project like this pushes me out of my boundaries and makes me really engage in the physics world and really get an understanding of what i'm doing and connect it to real life. It is very enriching to know that you are able to apply what you are learning into a creative and genuine idea that turns out to be a success.