December Extra Post

Happy 2 days After Christmas

Currently, I still need ot contact my mentor about making that phone call. I’m a bit reluctant to do so since I haven’t been in close contact for a 2 month period of time due to conflicting time schedules, but I should get a confirmation of our meetings by the deadline.

RE: Independent Component

Currently, after much advice and reflection upon the part of my teachers, I’ve revised my essental question to the version currently seen on the banner on this page. With its newly revised focus upon individuals participating in the system rather than the people in charge of political systems, I’ve also updated the survey questions which are the basis of myacademic report outlined in the earlier version of my project.

A review of my independent component:

An academic paper designed to determine if there is a correlation between political activity and extracurriculars

A works cited page detailing any and all works

A collecton of graphs detailing my data in a way that’s easily seen

The raw data from the surveys as proof of collection (Uncertain if I should compile results in a google graphs format as that may be a lot of work for little gain.)

An overall project summary

This project is intended to mirror the type of reseach I would be expected to do in a political science major and my title is, “Political Involvement of Youths in the Southern Calirornia Range: A Correlation between Political Skill and Political Involvement”. I’ll Expand on my work in a later post, but below is the expected format of my work. 

Abstract:

Hypothesis:

Procedure:

Data: 

Analysis: 

Conclusion:

Works Cited:

Monthly Extra Post: November

Geez, Cutting it close.

This month

What I did this month

•  Attended City Council Meetings
• Applied to several colleges
• Modified my Working Essential Question
• Started my independent component
• Presentation on my first Lesson

What I will do next month

•  Complete data gathering portion of independent component

EQ

1.   Review this.  Confirm by stating "I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ."

Essential Question 
Once a topic is chosen, the student will develop a working essential question.  The purpose of the working essential question is to help the student build a strong foundation of research which will allow him or her to create an essential question that encourages depth and rigor in the chosen topic.  An essential question must:

• Provide a framework for studies (It calls for breadth and depth of research, Is not a yes/no question)
• Take a stance (It allows you to argue some point, Cannot be a recitation of facts or a list)
•  Format (It is specific, The wording makes sense

 I have reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ

2.  Review the following EQs and

• Tell us if each meets the rule of three.
• Tell why they do or don't.

 a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
     This EQ meets the rule of three as it allows for specification of research in regards to the topic of weight loss, allows for argument upon both what constitutes healthy weight loss and the best way to achieve that, and is specific in its topic.
 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?
     This EQ meets the rule of three as it provides a framework for study (analyzing the process of conviction), argument of the most integral step, and meets the formatting requirement.
 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?
This EQ fals to meet the requirement by failing the formatting section as its wording is non specific as it fails to define satisfaction and what that would entail (money, aesthetics, or customer approval).
 
 d.  How can an anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
This EQ fails to meet the rule of three as it fails to take a stance. An answer to this question can just be a checklist of possible solutions and still answer the question.

3.  Based on your review of the rule of 3 and your experience with assessing four EQs, please write another draft EQ for your senior project.  The senior team will be meeting with students shortly for EQ revision and approval; you are expected to bring your research notebook to that meeting with your EQ draft written inside in pencil.

 My New Working EQ is: What is the Most Effective Way to Encourage Youth Voter Participation in both Local and State level Government Systems?

Lesson 1 Reflection

1,What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?
 In my lesson 1 presentation, the sole takeaway of pride that I can honestly state is that I managed to translate the concept of the psychological definition of Political Skill, the best way in which a person can start to get involved in their local politics (Town Meetings), and effective citation of my mentorship as it relates to my topic.

2. Questions to Consider
       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       P          AP       CR       NC

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 1 component contract.
       This grade is warranted as I met the standard requirements that the lesson 1 component contract mandates of students by accurately citing 7 minutes worth of content from my two interviews, selected information from my research,  and fulfilling of the stipulated conditions of the presentation such as the audience interaction portion.  I do not warrant an AE however, as I failed to go above and beyond by making use of a technological component and by straying slightly in regards to my lesson plan by not stressing the relation between political skill and overall success as adamantly as I should have. In place of that, I focused upon the minutiae of attending city council meetings and attempting to get into contact with civic leaders. This alienated the audience, in combination with my halting speaking style, and diminished the quality of my hook. This in turn alienated my audience and lowered the overall impact of my lesson in spite of my fulfillment of the prompt.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1?
   In regards to what worked for lesson 1, I found the audience to be paying the most attentionwhen the content of the lesson was related to relaant issues or tangible actions that they could do. Specificity, in place of generality, proved a more promising way to engage the audience. In addition, structuring the bulk of the lesson around a concept, the psychological definition of political skill, which was used to relate to the overall content seemed successful in practice. The concept still requires refinement, but the lessons learned will be applied in the next lesson. 

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1?
Overall, I found that my biggest failing was a combination of a failure to adhere to my lesson plan and an overall lack of "pizzazz". In this regard, I would increase the role of my visuals as a supplement to my lesson rather than a crutch and maintain a more rigorous adherence to my topic by allotting a certain amount of time to each section such that I won't spend to much time on any one section.  

Monthly October Extra Post

What I've Done

•  Prepared for my 1st lesson
• Completed Research Articles up to 24th Entry
• Turned in 1st draft of Working Bibliography
• Went to City Hall Meetings as part of Mentorship
• Conducted Second Interview with Upland 
• Worked on Independent Component

What I Will Do

•  Continue Work on Mentorship
• Continue Independent Component
• Continue attending City hall Meetings
• Refine Independent Component

Summary of this Month: 
Although this month has been exceedingly stressful, the combination of writing college applications and balancing three college classes with regular school work contributing, I feel that this month has been generally good in regards to the senior project. This Month I completed more work related to the senior project, was assigned the impending tasks of the first component, and continued my mentorship. I've been considering revising my first component project by updating it into a more comprehensive academic essay, but I am unsure as to how to do so. This is a question I will be attending to in the future.

Blog 8 - Research and Working EQ

1.  What is your working EQ?

Working EQ: What is the best way to get involved in Local California Politics i.e. City Councils, Mayors, etc?

2.  What is a possible answer to your working EQ? Please write the answer in thesis format. 

• Attend local meetings to get more involved in the political process and establish rapport with politically motivated individuals
• Create a network of contacts to both support and inform you on topics

3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ?

      My most important source of info in regards to this topic without a doubt been The Dynamics of Political Participation as it is one of the most in depth research articles that I have found, utilizes the psychological definition of political skill which is one of the best definitions of the term which I have found in my research (A definition which has influenced my answer as networking is one of the skills included by that definition), and a solidly researched article with multiple citations and academic backing.

4.  Who is your mentor, or where are you doing mentorship, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ? 

 

     Current mentor is El Monte City Councilwoman Victoria Martinez and my mentorship largely consists of attending local city council meetings and talking with people in regards to the issues raised, the political process, and the essentials of politics.  This relates to my topic as the one on one conversations with my mentor are excellent sources of info on local politics given that it is the direct level that I am experiencing and also provides new insight on how to focus my project further.

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

Component Idea: Graphic Organizer of My Multiple Mentor's Musings on Politics

Description: A visual representation of the individual responses my mentors will have to a standard survey (Included Below), this series of flow chart will allow a viewer to easily see the diversity of responses which they have to the survey, and allow a reader to see the actual results of this data. These responses will be further analyzed and interpreted in the context of the psychological definition of political skill, and scrutinized to see if there are further links between responses. If a substantial link is to be found, then a second survey will be published and sent that will expand upon those similarities to further derive commonalities which can have application to normal life e.g. if there are resonant attributes which recur among those who are politically successful. These results will then be further scrutinized and compiled into chart format before being summarized in an academic paper of undetermined length.

For Details on possible flowchart ideas, please refer to September extra post

Survey Questions
1. Why did you decide to enter politics?
2. What are your future ambitions in this field?
3. Which of the following skills would you say are applied most in your profession? Check all that apply?
Networking-
Personal Influence-
Social Astuteness-
Genuine Sincerity-
4. Of these skills, list the one which you make the most use of in your profession. If favored skill is absent, then write it in and list basis for decision.
5. Check any activity which you were involved in during  educational years. If any absent, check other and write in what you participated in.
Debate
AP Classes
Student Government
College Classes
Volunteer Groups
Social Activities
Employment
Other

Justification:

Expected Results: It is my hope that the result of my data collection will reveal multiple commonalities which will make it possible to predict future political potential or be applied to general life.

Content:
(1) 3-5 Page Academic Paper, MLA Format, w/Sources Cited on outcome of surveys I administered
(1) Collection of Survey Results Collected in easily readable flowchart form
(1) Copy of Survey Forms
(1) Collection of Charts of Data Collected

1. Describe in Detail what you plan to do for your 30 Hours
   For the bulk of my 30 hours of work, I intend to spend that time interviewing my mentors in person and online depending upon their availability. The vast majority of my other work will be actually creating graphs of the data, revising charts, revising surveys, emailing my correspondents for updates, and writing the academic paper.

2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
 For my academic paper, I intend to include with my regular updates on my blog the status of my essay including published drafts in order to demonstrate a logical progression and series of edits of it to ensure that it is known that is not a sudden job. As for my interviews, I intend to include snapshots of my e-mails, charts, and survey results to ensure that nothing was fabricated. I will also include photos of me interacting with my mentors in person to show how we met.

3. And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
    As referred to in my justification, this process should help me to better understand the type of work and ideals which it takes to enter into California Politics, and should provide valid data on what experts in the field believe that entails. Furthermore, the actual process of conducting this survey mirrors actual work in the field of Political Science, a subject I intend to major in and conduct similar research when I go to college, and this should provide actual experience on what data gathering should consist of. Finally, the actual results of seeing what drives these individuals towards their goals should allow me to fulfill a subgoal of this project by allowing me to see if there are any common links these individuals share. By finding these links, potential application can be found by encouraging the development of those attributes in others given the strong correlation between an individual's political skill and their corresponding success in life. This final issue is important to me as it allows me to find a potential way of relating this subject which I care very much about to my audience in the senior presentation as the application may have direct resonance with their lives.

4. Update Your Senior Hours Blog
--Done--

Monthly September Extra Post

September, a real month of work within our project, and one that has already seen the impending absence of two senior teachers. To summarize my efforts for this month, I've been involved in attempting to acquire more contacts than just  just my primary mentor. The reason for this renewed interest rests in my proposal for my independent component which is an online graphic organizer of the mentors I've been talking to linked to several similar questions which I have asked them. (See possible designs below evidence) The impetus for this proposal rests in a particular subset of my research unrelated to my main topic, the applicability of political skill to every day life, . For my research, I'm using the psychological definition of political skill (i.e. networking, genuine sincerity, communication skills ,etc...). It is a vested interest of mine to have my research be useful beyond an academic capacity, and it is for this reason that I particularly want to place an emphasis upon what prompted my mentors into pursuing their careers. By understanding what prompted their ambition, the results may be used to engineer programs designed to push others into this career path or help those already on this path. Looking at the body of research, I would like to utilize this year as a sort of prototype for the type of research I would like to further pursue in my college career in Political Science. Although the specific design of this proposal are relatively simplistic for a research opportunity, they should suffice as a graphic representation of the data collected.

What I've accomplished

•  Attended my first meeting/interview with primary mentor Victoria Martinez
• Observed the firsthand local political process and observed multiple proposals be submitted
• Collected a body of research to support my senior question
• Collected more contacts than before (see business cards below).
• Completed blog entries 5-6
• Modified Mentorship Hours
• Currently in the middle of contacting several other sources

Things I'm looking into

• Contacting former associates and other connections for this topic
• Attempting to get a variety of political types in order to have better diversity of sources (Concerned citizens active in political process, business leaders involved with politics, active politicians, aides to politicians, other government workers, etc...)  
• Continue to refine research and begin to selectively select for subjects closer to my independent component
• Independent component proposal needs to be refined. Visual design for graphic organizer, array of questions to be questioned on, and number of sources to be surveyed all need to be solidified before proposal can  be approved.

 

 

Business Cards of Contacts/ Potential designs of Graphic Organizers

Blog 6 - Second Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?

My main mentor is currently Victoria Martinez who currently serves as a city council member for the city of El Monte

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

1.  Were there any obstacles you found to entering your current position? 
2. What was it like running an election campaign?
3. How do you feel your college years prepare you for your current job?
4. What causes have you advocated for or actions pushed recently?
5. In your own words, how would you describe your current position?

Blog 5-Mentorship and Research Reflection

First Blog Post after my meeting with my mentor, and I am excited for my future prospects . This Tuesday on September 9th, 2014 I  attended the El Monte City Council Open Meeting and met with my mentor, Victoria Martinez, while there. I also got the privilege of meeting with several potential mentors as well including city clerk Jonathan Hawes and Municipal Specialist Jerry Moreno who I'm looking into contacting currently. Overall, I had some questions answered and enjoyed seeing how the meeting actually functioned which is a major gain for me in regards to firsthand experience. 

1. Mentorship question: Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship?  If you haven't found one yet, describe your experience so far in the search of a mentor.
       Actually finding my mentor was surprisingly stress given that she was actually a family member who I could easily get into contact with. I had been referred to her by my mother when I offhandedly mentioned that I needed to locate a mentor, and I then proceeded to send her an email to see if she would be willing to become my mentor due to her current employment on the city council of El Monte. We arranged phone meeting wherein I explained the nature of the senior project, what interested me in regards to the subject, and what would be required of her before she agreed to be my mentor.

2. Research question: What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

 

       To date, the most important article I have read has been the article "Career Success Implications of Political Skill" as it directly relates to application. It's conclusion, that networking ranks as the highest indicator of individual success in a company structure ranks true given my own observations and logical conclusions. Acting in a genuinely appealing way to others and making connections to draw upon is a trait that has success in any field warranting interpersonal interaction. This is the kind of evidence that I feel is helpful to my overall project as this is the type of information that can be applied by people who listen to my presentation in a capacity beyond my subject alone. Genuinely useful info such as this illustrates the importance of my subject and hopefully allows it to remain in the minds of those I intend to teach moreso than other information would have.

Monthly August Extra Post

As the month of August comes to a close, the first step towards the completion of senior project has ended, and events have proceeded swimmingly. Thanks to the guidance of my teachers and mentors, I feel that my senior project has a stable foundation to build upon as we proceed into the future. A brief summary of what has been accomplished this month.

• Established Blog 
• Created Working Bibliography
•  Began Research on Sources
• Got into Contact with Former I-poly Alumni Angel Diaz
• Arranged Meeting With Mentor and Councilwoman Victoria Martinez on September 9th
• Arranged Volunteer Work After School assisting Mrs. Martinez
• New Research Source at Cal Poly Library
• Completed Blog Entries 1-4 (Established Topic, Established Interview Questions, and Detailed Summer Mentorship)

Objectives going into the future

• Continue Research and Compiling Sources
• Edit Blog for Maximum Visual Appeal
•  Meet with Mentor Victoria Martinez on September 9th.
• Continue Correspondence with Mentor and Former Alumni Angel Diaz
• Continue Looking for Mentors to ensure a variety of Sources and Perspectives on Topic

Blog 4

Blog 4

For my mentorship interview, I intend to query former I-Poly Alumni Angel Diaz on his experience during the senior project and if he has any particular insights to grant related to the field of politics. My reasoning for this decision lies in his experience aiding in the campaign of a city council member for Covina and the similarities between his senior project subject and my own. In addition to the standard 5 question set up we are required to use, I intend to inquire about his suggestions as to the best way to conduct a project like this, how best to be an asset to a political campaign, and the most effective way to make political connections.

As Insurance in the event that he is unable to attend a meeting on Monday, I can also arrange a meeting with El Puente City Council Member Victoria Martinez in order to conduct an interview. Were I to interview her instead, my questions would be more oriented towards her inspiration for entering politics and her origins in regards to moving up the political ladder.

List of Questions
1. I'm interested in studying how to enter politics,. What can you tell me about it?
2. From your perspective, what could I study that would be sigificant?
3. Who else would you recommend I talk to?
4. What kinds of places or activiites do you recommend I do for the mentorship component?
5. What books should I read in this field?

Additional Questions
(For Angel)
1. What made you choose this subject as your senior project?
2. What were the greatest difficulties in the course of your senior project?
3. What would be the greatest recommendation you have for pursuing this subject?
4. What do you think helped you the most when networking (a term for the deliberate fostering of connections)?

(For Mrs.Martinez)
1. What was your biggest inspiration for starting your career?
2. What would you recommend for people entering this profession?
3. What were your greatest assets in entering this field?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1. Topic: Entering Politics

2. Write a Question that will focus your research this month.

   What is the optimal way to begin a career in politics in the State of California?

Blog Post #2: Summer Mentorship

     This summer, I mentored with Mrs. Janis Rice, head of the local Parks and Rec department, by working at several fundraising events with the Upland Volunteens who are a volunteer group based in my city sponsored by the Parks and Rec department. Unfortunately, my college courses meant that I was only able to hit just above the bare minimum of hours for my volunteering which left me with several lingering questions. It is for this reason that I intend to diversify my contacts in the coming year by writing to several different public officials to acquire a more varied range of contacts to base my upcoming senior project around. This summer also allowed me to better envision what my senior project will be structured around and the actual layout of it.

1. (K1. (Know) Using google doc (drive) link a log of specific hours and a description of your dutie.

    Included below is  my list of volunteer hours over the course of the summer. Link:
     Mentorship 

2. What is the contact name & number of where you volunteered?    

I have volunteered since prior to Freshman year with the Upland Volunteens, headed by Upland Parks and Rec Director Janis Rice, who can be reached by contacting the number below.

Mentor Name: Janis Rice

Local Office Number: (909) 931-4281

3. (Need to know) What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience?  List them.     

    As an unfortunate result of the limited amount of time that I put towards volunteering this summer, I was left with several questions regarding the larger process of beginning a career in politics.

• My mentor was primarily focused upon maintaining her own subdepartment, and I wonder if local political skills are transmissible towards my federal hopes.
• The influence of money and Uplands lack of it were significant factors which I noticed during my brief time working, are these limiting factors prominent elsewhere?
• As a small institution, the parks and rec department holds little sway, and but is that shared
• Although political networking skills are invaluable, how does one develop those skills? 
  My mentor's decision to apply for their job was rooted in viewing it as a job, but I wonder if that is a shared notion among higher echelons of government.  

Interpretive

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The single most valuable piece of information that I gathered from the experience was the influence of networking in establishing working relationships and the importance of presentation and favor towards garnering support.. Expanding on that, a major recurring lesson I learned was the importance of maintaining positive ties in the hopes that such endeavors will garner positive attention in the future.This seems a positive trait, and the selective process of choosing who to favor in hopes of winning their mutual support is an aspect of politics with which I am personally unfamiliar.  Seeing the efforts taken to placate sponsors was a learning experience for me as to the day to day procession of local politics.

Applied

5. What is your senior project topic going to be?  How did what you did help you choose a topic?  Please explain.

    I have decided that my senior project will focus on the question, “What is the best way to enter state politics?” (Working question) as it seems a balanced intermediary between low level local politics  and the Federal Government. This topic seems a decent choice for crafting a senior project around as it has the potential to involve a variety of excellent sources which can help me beyond just the school system. In addition, I can easily envision a hypothetical presentation that can be crafted around this topic that would include an activity. One reason that I selected an emphasis upon a state level position (Governor or District Representative) is that it works as an intermediate step between the low level bureaucracy which I am familiar with and the Federal government system which I want to join. In particular, from my dialogues with my mentor, I learned of the importance which money held on a local level, and I think it would make a fascinating subject of study to learn of the experience that higher levels of government have on this subject. Ultimately, my projected project will attempt to be a comprehensive analysis of the various methods and starts which people have used to enter the political realm, the feasibility of paths with which a concerned citizen may plausibly undertake to accomplish that, and a projected analysis of current political trends which may influence a candidates viability or an applicants hope to get a job in government.

Senior Blog Assignment #1

My Foremost apologies for the lateness of this response, but I've been swamped this week. The following is the  
1.

21-05-14 - Block 1	Espinoza, Alejandro	Teaching Biology	Sci-12
21-05-14 - Block 2	Lam, Krystal	Editorial Publishing	Sci-12
21-05-14 - Block 3	Mendoza, Gabriel	Creating a Franchise	SS-11
22-05-14 - Block 1	Rodriguez, Paola	Suicidal Youth	SS-11
22-05-14 - Block 2	Moreno, Symphony	Photography	Eng-12
22-05-14 - Block 3	Nunez, Alfredo	Boxing	Sci-11
23-05-14 - Block 1	Legaspino, Nisa	Public Defender	Eng-11
23-05-14 - Block 3	Holmes, Garrett	Computer Programming	Sci-12
27-05-14 - Block 1	Casey, Alyssa	Piano	Eng-12
27-05-14 - Block 2	Rizo, Juan	Landscaping	Sci-12
28-05-14 - Block 1	Jackson, Jamison	Magic the Gathering	Math-11
28-05-14 - Block 2	McConnaughey, Lara	Linguistics	Sci-12
28-05-14 - Block 3	Beghtol, Brandon	Information Technology	SS-12
29-05-14 - Block 1	Olivares, Adrian	Strength Training	Math-12
29-05-14 - Block 2	Capener, Cheyenne	Organic Architecture	Sci-11
29-05-14 - Block 3	Samonte, Miguel	Product Marketing and Advertising	SS-11

 2. What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said. 
 Seeing the presentations in person addressed several concerns I held over the precise nature of the ambiguously worded "presentations" as I saw that they were primarily composed of a structured lesson plan with some decent variation. I still have questions related to the specifications of the presentations, but I assume that they will be explained in good time.
3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?
 The most important part of the senior project from the perspective of the teachers seems to be related to the quality of the information and the quality of the citations which should be numerous. Emphasizing the mentor's influence and incorporating that into the presentation lesson seems to be key to getting an acceptable grade. From the perspective of a student watching the presentation,
4. What topic are you considering doing and why?
 Currently, I am considering basing my project around "What is the best way to enter politics?" for the purpose of hopefully preparing me for a future career in our government. The Sole basis for this is my own interest in doing so.
5.What are you doing for your summer mentorship?
 For the summer internship, I intend to intern with a cousin of mine who is a mayor's aide. To this end, I am to sit in on town meetings, analyzing the structure and tempo of the debate, and go over the notes for the city council meetings.