Essential & Updated Foundation Questions

Essential Question: What is the best way to prevent and prepare for a recession?

1. Who declares a recession?

2. What causes a recession?

3. What is a recession?

4. Where did the recession begin?

5. What is a GDP and what is it in relation to a recession?

6. How has the current recession affected people?

7. Why can’t the U.S. print more money for our debts?

8. In what ways has the recession changed credit and banking?

9. What predictions can be made regarding the lending process of banks?

10. What are some ways that credit cards have changed people’s ways of spending during the recession?

11. Why did the U.S. bail out the automakers instead of some other companies or part of the U.S.?

12. What do people think about using a food bank for food?

13. How has the stimulus affected the U.S.?

14. What has the government done or could do to help the country recover?

15. What has the country faced that has slowed or stopped the recovery?

Progress

So, I admit that unfortunately I've neglected my graduation project some. It's not that I haven't been working on it, but the fact that I haven't been working on it as much as I could have. This December break I've spend time to use TIME Magazines (print source) to do even more research since they are talking about the economy recovering and the issues that come with it. They have actually given me a lot of new and helpful information in order to help me complete my notes.

Also, as I've been doing my notes, I've noticed that some of my questions weren't the best, but that there are better ones to ask and use. I've changed and added some with my research.

I should have them done. soon if not today once I put in all my notes into the document and cite everything.

My action plan has been done and I have the pre and post surveys from my action plan with testimony of what students learned and what I provided to them.

Action Plan Coming Soon

So, I've been working on my action plan and slowly but surely it is coming all together. I first wanted ot do the food drive, which I am still working on, but decided to branch out and attempt to inform students of how to manage and save their money.

I'm currently working with my marketing teacher to set up a day to teach, I'm completing a PowerPoint to show them, and a survey to see what they learned and if it helped them. That and pictures will be documentation or the tangible product of my project.

Hopefully, I'll have hte PowerPoint and survey done this week, and presenting sometime this third trimester. Then, I'll be comeplete with that.

TimeLine:
Action Plan - done 3rd trimester
Notes -Done by end of August
PowerPoint & Paper - done by the end of my 2nd Graduation Project Class

First Interview- Updating Progress

So, my first interview has been set up with the help of Ms. Kretschman our internship coordinator. I have created questions that have been directed towards the finance and business issues of the recession. The person I'm going to be interviewing first is going to be a senior analyst from First Niagra Banking Corporation.

this entirely heps me and takes the weight off of my shoulders a bit. I know exactly who I'm going to interview, how I'm interviewing them, and when/where.

Also, I have a few other places with people that I'd like to interview as well. Since I live in the Allentown area there is a new financial organization that is going to be opening up and I hope that maybe they'll be able to help me gain more information and become a second contact.

I've also written my proposal for my graduation project, self edited, peer edited, and now all I need is a parent or teacher edit before polishing it up and turning in the final proposal.

Goals for rest of week and Next Week:

• Finish taking notes from 1st book source
• Fine-tune the questions for my interview
• Interview March 18th at 10:30a.m. (next week)
  
• Continue with more notes based on the interview (next week)
  

Finally "Quiet"

So, it's finally "quiet" now due to the new seating arrangements in the classroom. I've actually done some progress which I'm happy with for this week.

I've entirely completed my proposal questionnaire, but also have started my proposal. I've looked through the documents on edline and have written paragraphs and details and such for my proposal covering about every angle of the proposed graduation project.

Now, I'm working on the final part of the proposal which is going to be the attached and detailed steps of how I'm going to complete this project. I'm basically making an excel document about my steps and see what I've completed and what I still need to do in order to complete this project. It's also going to be the details of the essential parts such as the interview and maybe possible ideas on who to interview.

That then leads me to my new question and ideas that I must think about. WHO WILL I INTERVIEW???
It's a good question, and I have a feeling I have someone that would be able to use for a interview or at least as another mentor that would be able to help me to gain understanding of my topic. I'll need to think this through and that will be my next step.

GOALS:
Completed Tables/charts for Proposal
Think of possible people to interview

Progress & Print Source Information

So, I finished typing up my webliography and turned it in yesterday. I had 13 sources, but i added my first print source which is $700 billion bailout By Paul Muolo. I've spent the time to read the first 15 pages so far of it, and I've already found out a lot of connections between the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and the banks (Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac) as well as what Credit Default Swaps are and how the United States is selling their debt for money and attempting to keep afloat.

This book has really helped me, but at the same time has angered me because of how self-interested the United States is. Really, if they weren't worried about making a profit even when we as an entire nation are in debt then maybe we'd be able to figure out a plan or bailout that would support and improve the economy.

It also has to do wtih politcs. There's politics in everything and it always seems to screw things up! I mean Paulson who was the Treasury Secretary during the Bush Administration. The reason he didn't worry much about the fact of getting and using $700 billions dollars of TAX money is because it was just before Obama was elected so Paulson was out of a job so he didn't care much. The only reason why they had such a hard time, the first time, passing this bill was because Republicans didn't want the money to go to the banks and such, but more the homeowners that were losing their hosues due to the inability to pay their mortgages.

Annotations Work Day 1

So, today out of 13 sources that I have cited on my Webliography I currently have 5 sources completed with annotations. The first draft of the Webliography with annotations is due in one week Monday March 1st. I'll be able to finish these annotations and citations by Wednesday most likely. Then, I'll finally be able to go back to gathering information on my topic as well as a possible "expert to interview" in mind.

I'm starting to hate annotations, but they have to be done and that I'm not going to argue with.