Reflection Post: Week 13 & 14

Week 13:

In the thirteenth week of Environmental Health we went on a class field trip to Goodwill. We were really lucky to be able to go on a tour of the Duluth Goodwill. We were able to see the entire process of items at goodwill. It all starts when a person comes a donates items, the items are then brought to be sorted into different bins. Some of the donations go to other goodwill stores depending on if they are running low on any items. Goodwill also has a very cool mattress process that we learned about. They will be starting with a new machine that will allow them to put in three mattress and in one hour it will compact it into one heavy block. We then had an activity where each group got $20 (not really money) to create a room, find family gifts, get ready for an interview, or get ready for the prom. My groups job was to find an outfit to get ready for the prom in under $20. We were able to do it with only spending $18.50. With this much money we were able to find a yellow dress, white shoes, a clutch, a necklace, and earrings. It was a really eye opening to experience this and I felt I learned a lot. This experience really changed how I look at Goodwill as a company and as a store.

Week 14: 

In the fourteenth week of Environmental Health we continued our education on junking. Sue Whitney was supposed to be our guest speaker, she is the author and owner of JunkMarket. As a class we shared our junking projects with the class. It was really fun to see what everyone came up with. We then had a class discussion of what we learned from the class. It was really interesting to hear what everyone had to say. It looks like everyone was able to take away a lot of important topics from this class. We also had  really fun snacks, chocolate covered strawberries and puppy chow. It was a great way to end the semester! 

This is my junk project. I took two magazines that I had in my apartment and folded the pages. I did this to make it look like a Christmas tree. My goal was not to spend any money on this project. If I was going to spend money though, I would have painted it and then put glitter on it to make it look more like a Christmas tree. Although, it turned out really cool with the different colored pages. 

Overall Course Reflection:

Wow I can't believe I am doing an overall reflection of this course. It seems as though there is no way 15 weeks have already gone by. It seems as if it was just yesterday I was sitting in the classroom thinking I would never be able to understand blogging. Dr. V told us all that by the end of the class we would be pros at this. I of course didn't believe her then. Now look at all of us we are blogging like pros. Who would have thought; Dr. V.

This semester has been a lot of fun! I have learned everything from how to blog to be a junker. Over the course of the semester we have watched documentaries that are amazing, opening my eyes to things I never knew. We have also learned more about ourselves by setting lifestyle changes to complete over the semester. We have done numerous activities that have opened our eyes to the ways we affect the environment. We learned how to stand up and show our voices on a project we truly believe in. We were able to pick a book of our choice that related to the environment or society in some way and reflect on the impact it has on society. We were able to go on a field trip to Goodwill and learn more about their business and working environment. Lastly, we have shared topics with our classmates that are interesting to us.

I have truly enjoyed this class and feel that I have gained a lot from environmental health. i really think it helped having the smaller class size, with this everyone was able to share their opinions. It was the small class size that really made this class work. I feel this class is unlike any other class I have taken. I think that leaving this class has actually changed me for the better. I have learned a lot of real world knowledge that I will be able to take with me for the rest of my life. I hope that I will be able to influence others and help then to take action to protect out environment. I would recommend this class to other students as I feel you not only learn about the environment but you also learn a lot about yourself.

Thanks everyone for making this such a great class!
 

Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

Keith's Activity:

Title: Childhood Obesity Lesson!

Quiz:
1.Children as young as 8 years old are being diagnosed with diabetes?

Answer: True
2.Can some of these illnesses “actually” kill these children?

Answer: True
3.The doctors had to purchase 2 scales to weight children that were over 200 lbs?

Answer: False, for children 350 pounds
4.Dave's dad died at age 52 from a stroke?

Answer: True
5.John Marx is in shape and healthy?

Answer: False, but working his way there
6.Parents are not to blame for childhood obesity?

Answer:  False, I think in some instances parents are but there are other issues. Example: School lunches.

Childhood obesity seems to be getting out of control, this video aired in 2003 and the issue only seems to be getting worse. I hope that others will get educated on the subject and realize the issue at hand.

Kristin's Activity:

Title: Quit Smoking Quiz

I took Kristin's smoking quiz and was able to score a 90/100. The only question I got wrong was regarding which ethnic group smoked the most. I feel that I am well educated on the issue of smoking. For me, it may be because I have watched family members smoke and have noticed some of the issues associated with smoking.

Jake's Activity:

Questions
1. What % of children worldwide are either obese or overweight?
Answer: 10%
2. True or False? Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing.
Answer: True
3. What are some early effects in the psychosocial system of childhood obesity?
Answer: poor self esteem, anxiety, depression 

4. The current generation of children has consumed higher levels of ______ and _________ than ever before.
Answer: soft drinks and fast food.
5. True or False? Diet and Genetics are the two largest factors leading towards childhood obesity.

Answer:  False, TV and video games 

All of these activities were a really cool way to learn more about childhood obesity and smoking. These activities really should the current issues facing children and adults.  Hopefully there will be something done about childhood obesity and the number of people that smoke. However, until then we can only continue to educate others on the subject. By making people more knowledgeable they will better understand the importance of these issues.

Advocacy Project: Fitness Quiz

Title: Fitness Quiz

Purpose: The purpose of this quiz is to test your knowledge on fitness and fitness activities. By being more knowledgeable in different fitness areas you can improve your health and wellness. 

Reasoning: By improving your health you will be less at risk for many different diseases. Working out is a great way for a person to stay away from the doctor. By being healthier many people benefit. Costs for insurance will go down as working out increases health. Some insurance companies even offer to pay a portion of gym memberships. It is important to learn about fitness and exercise as it can improve your health.


Instructions:

Click on Fitness Quiz below and it will transfer you to the website.

Fitness Quiz

Then click on Take the Test.

After you are done with the test read what it says about your fitness knowledge.

Record your score and report back about what you learned.

Sources: 

Discovery Health
The Importance of Fitness
Health Partners