Process: Week of February 28th

The following week I hope to accomplish:

• An interview with Rick Manning
• Pick a new book to read concerning politics in someway (possibly Sarah Palin's or Barak Obama's book)
• Find new contacts that I could interview with that are either involved in the Waterfront Trails or are somehow involved in Local Politics  (conduct 3 interviews by the end of the week of March 28th)

Research: Week of February 28th

During the week of February 28th, I finished the book I was reading by Tip O'Neill.  The book continued to be mostly personal anecdotes that he experienced himself (or people he knew experienced) and he would illustrate a point he was trying to make or a theme through these personal anecdotes.  I believe all the advice Tip O'Neill gave was good, and it would be hard to pick a favorite from all the stories he provided.

One that particularly stood out to me, however, was: In Politics, Your Word Is Everything- Keep It and Good Things Will Happen to You. (Pg. 125)  This story is about the first time Tip O'Neill met Jack Kennedy in 1946, and this was advice Mr. Kennedy passed on to Mr. O'Neill.  A very admirable trait I believe, one that may be very hard to follow in politics.

During this week, I had been in contact with Rick Manning (Program Coordinator of the Waterfront Trails).  We corresponded through e-mail and it was said that we could possibly meeting during the next week sometime (the week of March 8th, 2011)

Mentor Meeting: Friday March 11, 2011

I missed my mentor meeting with Ms. Shenk this week.
It is my responsibility to contact Ms. Shenk and apologize and reschedule.
If Ms. Shenk is able, I would like to meet with her twice next week.

Mentor Meeting: Friday March 4, 2011

Though we usually meet on Tuesdays, during the week of March 1, 2011, Ms. Shenk and I met on Friday, due to the fact that I was sick and did not come to school on Tuesday March 1st.
During this mentor meeting, I informed Ms. Shenk that I had completed All Politics is Local by Tip O'Neill.  I also informed Ms. Shenk of my plans to interview with Rick Manning.  Ms. Shenk provided with the idea of contacting the Ithaca Planning Department (which I have a number for) as well as a name of someone I might try getting in contact with that might be able to help me with my project.

In Class: March 10, 2011 (THURSDAY CLASS)

Review your last week of work:

I have continued reading small sections of Issues in American Political Life.  I am still working on setting up an interview with Rick Manning, it was supposed to be this week, but plans did not work out well.  My goal is too interview him this following week.

How much time did you spend on your project?:

This week, I would say I spent about 3-4 hours on my project.

What did you do that was hands on?:
The only hands on I did this week was reading more from Issues in American Political Life.

What research did you do?:

The research I did was involved in the American Health Care System.  This is an aspect of our political life that I honestly had no clue about.  After reading about the Health Care System, I am more aware of what goes into running it.  I know a lot more about cost factors of Health Care, and what responsibility the government has in Health Care as well as what responsibilities an individual has when it comes to Health Care.
 (See Research: Week of March 8, 2011 for more)

Did you meet with your mentor?

This week, I did NOT meet with my mentor.  A mistake on my part.  Usually I have mentor meetings every Tuesday.  However, last week Ms. Shenk and I agreed to meet on Friday.  On Friday, I forgot.

Do you have at least three journal entries?:
I do not have journal entries for this week at this time, I plan on doing them today.

Were you in class on this week?:

Yes I was in class, however, Thursday class was canceled this week.

Do you think your fulfillment of WISE requirements was?:

Inadequate.  Though I am making personal progress, I am absolutely doing a horrible job with my journal.  I plan to explain this more in an entry to come.

What are your plans for next week?:

For the following week, I plan to conduct an interview with Rick Manning, if his schedule permits.  I do also plan on contacting other members of the community that are involved with the Waterfront Trails.  I also plan on continuing to read excerpts from Issues in American Political Life.

In Class: March 8, 2011

On Tuesday March 8, 2011, we held our weekly WISE class.  The previous class, we had received a journal of a student who had previously taken the WISE class.  The journal I received was by a student who decided to do their project on business, and in particular becoming an entrepreneur in business.

I noticed GREAT research in this students journal, as well as updated entries every 2-4 days.  In our WISE class, we got together in groups of 3-4, and discussed aspects of each journal we got from prompts that were given to us by Ms. Lord.  The next coming WISE class, we are going to finish step three of this process, in which we will "make a manual or recipe of sorts for how to create the best journal".

Within our class personally, Jordan had a good idea of possibly each of us reading another students blog/journal once a week.  I think this is a good idea, though it may be a little tough with the students who chose to do a physical journal.  

ALSO, we received a list for COMMUNITY CONTACTS, personalized to each students project.  This should be very helpful!

In-Class: March 1, 2011

I was unable to make it to the Tuesday March 1, 2011 WISE class, due to illness.

After talking to Ms. Lord, I was informed that we received a journal by a student
who had taken the class in a previous year.  We are to read this journal, and evaluate it.
The next class, held Tuesday March 8, 2011, we will talk about the journals we read as a class.