Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
                         I am most proud of my ability to connect with the classroom, I actually enjoyed presenting and felt that I kept the audience amused but also focused on everything I was saying.

 (2) Questions to Consider a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)? AE P AP CR NC
                          I would give myself a P.
 b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)? AE P AP CR NC 
                          I would also give myself a P
(3) What worked for you in your senior project?
                          I enjoyed the presentation part of the presentation because it because the presentation required us to be extremely knowledgeable on our topics, and was satisfying in the end to see all of our yearlong work pay off.

 (4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?
                           I would be a little more organized with my activity and make sure that everything would run a bit more smoothly.

 (5) Finding Value How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.

                            It has helped me acquire much greater knowledge on cars. It has given me much more experience with working on the cars aswell. Overall it has helped me to be a better student and to have no fear when speaking in front of crowds.

Blog 21: Exit Interview

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?
           What is the most important factor in maintaining an automobile?
           My best answer is my answer one which is preventative maintenance because out of all my answers its the only one that guarantees your car will always be running at it's best 24/7. I also can be applied to many more parts on the car than the other two answers can.      

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?
             It was through my mentors at the Bavarian Garage that I arrived at this answer. They were the ones who showed me the great importance of preventative maintenance.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?
             The only problem I aced was towards the end of my research, I began to run out of subjects to research about. I began to search with a different approach to overcome this problem. I began to simply think of jobs hat I had to have down on my own cars at home and researched on those specific subjects instead of just randomly looking up something I wanted to know of the top of my head. This helped me out a lot because it gave me fresh new subjects for my RC's and it also gave me the knowledge I needed for the jobs on my own cars at home. 

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?
               The two most significant was probably my two mentors, Nick the Mechanic, and PJ the mechanic. They both helped me to come up with my best answer through simply talking with me and by answering all my questions in my interviews with them. 

Ready to Roll!

Hello everyone! I'm so excited for this last full month of school! Today I was amazed when I realized it was time to sign up for our final presentations! It seems like it was only yesterday we were all signing up for the final presentations as juniors! I am very excited to end this part of my life and start a new phase of my life! I have truly enjoyed high school but now come the time to say goodbye! I can't thank my parents enough for supporting me throughout these years! I must say thanks to iPoly as well for teaching me so many great lessons and for equipping me with many skills that not any other school could offer. I will truly miss iPoly and all of the wonderful memories I have made there. I am not done yet though, there is still work t be done. I still have to finish my senior project, which I plan on doing my best on! So good luck to all of you seniors! Let's kill it this year! #2015 #sick #loveyouguys #aaronramosisagrumpylumpy lol :)



"Hammer it!"

Independant Component 2

LITERAL

a. “I, Vincent Valadez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”

(b) The knowledge I acquired in my first component while working at the Bavarian Garage.

(c) Update your Independent Component 2 Log (which should be under your Senior Project Hours link)

(d)  I took on the job of maintaining the cars at my house, which includes my 2000 Toyota Echo, 1987 Ford Mustang, 1997 Ford Expedition, and a 1971 Volkswagen Bug. I changed the oil on my little Echo, and I also changed the air filter, and cleaned up my engine very nice along with a good wash of the inside and out, I also had my grandpa help me fix the horn too. I washed my mom’s Ford Expedition, the truck was not due for an oil change so I was not able to do that. I also detailed our Ford Mustang inside and out. I also rotated the tires on it as well. Unfortunately the Mustang was not due for an oil change either so I could not do that either. We just got our Volkswagen so I couldn’t do very much to it, but I did help my step dad change the back engine lid and paint the rims white.    

INTERPRETIVE

This Independent Component helped me to get a real on my own experience with the cars. It helped me build my confidence when working on them because I performed all of the jobs perfectly. I got to work all by myself and it felt nice to take my time and not stress over people watching my every move. I just turned on my little radio and went to work in my garage. It almost felt therapeutic! It’s actually very relaxing and enjoyable for me. I have pictures of most of the jobs I had completed for my thirty hours of work. I feel that my Independent Component demonstrated 30 hours of work because it took well over 30 hours to detail each car and perform all of the little jobs for each one.  

APPLIED

This Independent Component has helped me to get in greater detail on my first answer to my essential question because it truly brought my answer 1 to life. I got to actually practice Preventative Maintenance on my own and it felt good to perform the jobs needed to be done because it made me feel responsible and proud to say that I can take great care of my cars by myself. It made me realize how rewarding it is to put so much love and care into a car and see its great effects on the overall appearance and performance of your car. Starting my Toyota Echo up after the hours I spent changing the oil and replacing the air filter, and cleaning the entire engine out, felt awesome! Feeling and hearing the difference in how the car ran was very exciting and made also made me very happy. Overall, it has taught me that Preventative Maintenance is very rewarding and can also be very enjoyable to practice on a car of your own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fire On All Cylinders!

This year is blazing by like the world record breaking, 200mph, Hennessy Venom! I cannot believe that we are all going to graduate in a couple of months, It is as if we just started high school yesterday! Looking back on my earlier years at iPoly, I could remember looking at all of the seniors graduate every year, failing to realize that I would be in there shoes in such a short amount of time. I cannot wait to get my final presentation done so I could move on to better things! To start my life as an adult and aspire to great things for my family and most importantly to honor God! God has blessed me with a healthy body and a smart brain that is capable of many great things, so the last thing I want to do is waste my gifts away by being lazy or getting into drugs or alcohol. I want to continue to do my best in everything I do, to honor God and my family! I will continue to love on everyone and be used according to God's purpose in order that I bring all the Glory to Him! That's all for this post! Love ya'll!

Blog 18: Fourth Interview Preparation

1. How many years did it take you to be confident that you knew exactly what you were doing in the shop working by yourself?
2. What do you think is the most important part of being a good mechanic?
3. Where is the best place for a should a beginner mechanic to start his career?
4. Is there any major lessons that you have learned about auto care through your years of experience?
5. What in your opinion, is the most important factor in maintaining an automobile?
6. What do you think is the most important tool that every mechanic should have?
7. Do you think that fuel additives to your car will have a real effect on the long term performance of your car?
8. What do you do to your cars to make them last longer?
9. Do you think that just "going for it", as in just taking things apart and hoping that you can put them back together in the end, is a good approach to learning more about cars?
10. What is a good practice that a mechanic should do when working on cars?
11. When faced with any mechanical or electrical issue that is unidentifiable, what is the best approach at attempting to fix the problem?
12. How does it take for you to just hear a problem and know exactly what the problem is without even lifting the hood?
13. Do you think that changing the transmission fluid is a necessary procedure?
14. Do you think that maintaining an old car or a new car is easier?
15. What would you look for when buying a used car?
16. Where would you start when working on a car that won't start?
17. How do you keep organized when working on a car with lots of parts that could easily get lost?
18. What would you look for when finding a new mechanic?
19. How do you know when its time to change you fan belt?
20. What would you consider a bad mechanic?

Blog 17: Answer 3

What is the most important factor in maintaining an automobile?

Answer 3: The most important factor in maintaining an automobile is self educating yourself on the basics of auto mechanics.

• Self educating yourself about the mechanics of your car will allow you to have a better understanding of what is going on under your hood and will allow you to practice preventative maintenance on the car more effectively because you will know what the car needs and take the appropriate steps in providing those needs.
• Self educating yourself about the mechanics of your car will also help out when diagnosing problems with your car without having to start disassembling anything or taking it in to the shop, which can save you money on labor by the mechanic at the shop.
• Self educating your about the mechanics of your car will help out because you will figure out how to do the small jobs on the car yourself like brake jobs, oil changes, and light changes(ex.headlight, taillight), thus saving you money on the labor of the mechanic in the shop.

Resource: My grandpa Jesus Vazquez, he is a very experienced "car guy" and is one of the wisest people I know. Year after year we see his wisdom being put into play, sometimes even proving us wrong about some choice we thought would have been smart to do. I listen to my grandpa very carefully and enjoy having someone with so much experience in life. He is the one who helped me develop my third answer.

I think that this answer is definitely refutable but I am not to sure if it will be such a detailed answer to my question. I might have a hard time trying to explain such a concise and practical answer. In all, I might make a few adjustments or changes to this answer but for right now this is my third answer!

All These Answers!

We have been turning in our second and third answers for our senior projects and it has been a bit daunting. For me my first answer is so broad that it can literally take up at least two "lesson two", twenty minute presentations. It took me awhile but I finally came up with another answer that is worthy of a twenty minute presentation and am now having a hard time coming up with my third answer. I don't know whether to change my first answer to a more specific one, which will allow me to change my answer three to the other half of my answer one, or to come up with a not as interesting answer for my third and last answer. I will figure it out eventually but for now I am still up in the air about what to do. That is all for this blog post this month, so until next month, so long!

Blog 16: Answer 2

1. My essential question is " What is the biggest factor in maintaining an automobile?"
2. The biggest factor in  maintaining an automobile is preventative maintenance.
3. The biggest factor in maintaining an automobile is adjusting your driving style to help you save money.
4. One reason that adjusting your driving style will have an effect in real world situations is that it will save you money, for example by not accelerating so hard it will put a lot less stress on your engine and will result in less maintenance in the long run compared to the "lead foot" drivers.
Adjusting your driving style will also result less money on gas because you aren't "hammering it!!" at every light and will also save you money on buying new brakes because the faster you go the harder you must brake to slow down. The last reason adjusting your driving style will have an effect in real world situations is that it can keep you and others around you safer. By using the same "lead foot" example, we can conclude that you will have a much lower chance of getting into an accident because by driving slower you will have more control over your car and also have more time to make decisions based on the driving situations around you. Accidents can cost you lots of money but more importantly it could coast you you're life and even others around you.
5. Cars.com provides a website with many practical tips on how to make your car last longer.
6. I think that another source could be my mentors own knowledge on driving styles and how they can effect the maintenance of you're car.
7. Overall, I think that adjusting your driving style has two main effects on your lives as a car owner. It will save you money on maintenance and repair and will also keep you and the drivers around you safer.

Independent Component 2 Approval

1. I plan on taking on the job of maintaining the cars around my house all by myself. We have a total of four cars that live at my house and they can all use some love. I plan on cleaning the air filters, changing the oil, cleaning the engine, rotating the tires, and brake cleaning all of the cars at my house and also, not to mention the little jobs that each car needs specifically. For example, our 1987 Ford Mustang needs new door seals and I plan on installing the new ones by myself. I would also like to fix the horn on our 2000 Toyota Echo because I accidentally broke it by obnoxiously honking at my friends all the time! My grandmas car, a Toyota Corolla, has a few windows that don't work so I would love to fix those for her. My mom's truck, a Ford Expedition, also needs new window seals and some of the lights inside the car need to be changed as well.

2. I will take many pictures in order to prove my thirty hours of work.

3. This component will help me to explore deeper into automotive repair by requiring me to use problem solving skills combined with hands on coordination needed to properly maintain and repair the cars included in my component. I will put in well over thirty hours of work just on the basic jobs on the cars, not including the specific jobs for each car that are specified above.

Independent Component 1

A) “I, Vincent Valadez Jr., affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
B) I used my mentorship at the Bavarian Garage in Glendora as my source for this independent component.
D) I completed thirty hours of work at the Bavarian Garage, which includes many oil jobs and brake jobs that I assisted in performing. I did for the most part, all hands on work with Nick the mechanic, one of my mentors. I also helped clean up the shop which includes sweeping and wiping up all of the numerous fluids that fall on the floor when working on the many cars that come in everyday. Work generally involved me assisting in jobs with Nick the mechanic.

The work included in my independent component has showed me automotive repair at it's finest. My mentorship is at an actual repair shop and is not just any repair shop. The Bavarian Garage is a top dollar BMW maintenance and repair shop dedicated to their customers cars. I have discovered through the many hours at the shop that every one of the mechanics working at Bavarian are all immensely passionate about the work that they do. It has allowed me to have a better understanding of the numerous mechanical components to an automobile and the constant love and care that those parts require for them to last longer.

This independent component has helped me to develop a better understanding for automotive repair by allowing me to get hands on with the cars and allowed me to put all of my research into real use and it gave me priceless hands on experiences doing the small jobs which are mostly brake jobs and oil changes. It gave me a more trained hand and has help me develop fine motor skills needed when working on any automobile.

Lesson 2 Reflection

1. I am most proud of the pictures of my slideshow because of the many beautiful pieces of machinery (cars) featured in it. 2. I would give myself a P+ on my presentation. 2b. I feel that I deserve a P+ on my presentation because of the flow and pace of my presentation. I am almost positive I met all the P requirements and think that a P+ would be a conservative assessment considering all of my many props presented during the presentation. 3. I think that my activity worked out well for me even though I thought that it might have been repetitive, but it turned out to work well because it engaged the entire classroom as a group and reassured me of their understanding. 4. The only part that didn't work right was when Yuritzi told me that I only had a minute and nineteen seconds left, so I started cramming my activity together and then was relieved about a couple of minutes into my "forward mode" when they told me I still had nine minutes left for my activity. If I could go back in time I would have definitely looked at the clock for myself or had it more visible so that I wouldn't have to rush through the activity on accident. 5. I think that my second answer might go into more depth on the engine components and the mechanics of everything in order to help the audience better understand the reasons for certain procedures when maintaining an automobile.

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 Hours

I am doing my mentorship at the Bavarian Garage in Glendora, California. If what you mean by contact is who I usually contact to go in for mentorship, then that would be my mentor Pedro Miranda, the owner of the shop. I have done a total of 32 hours. Most of my mentorship consists of working around the shop which includes: Washing cars, assisting on taking off tires, helping do oil changes, brake flushes, and the everyday maintenance and repair of the daily customers' cars that roll in. I usually am working with Nick the mechanic who is Pedro's main mechanic in the shop. I am very lucky and blessed to have such a great opportunity to work with mechanics with so much experience. They also let me drive some of the nice BMW's from the parking lot into the garage which is awesome because some of them are straight up beasts (fast).

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

1. Unfortunately I was unable to do any mentorship over the break due to both mine and my mentor’s busy schedules. However, I was able to watch many videos on cars and the mechanics of them which helps me to further understand the many moving parts and functions of an automobile. 2. What I learned the most about my senior topic is the functions of exhaust headers and how they can be used to increase horsepower. I also learned the differences and correlations between torque and horsepower. This is a very important concept to understand because of the tuning of vehicles, in order to tune a vehicle to reach its best possible performance, torque and horsepower are as important to know as it is for a baby to know what a good old fashioned whipping is. The source I used for this research was all found on YouTube. 3. I would probably talk to Nick the mechanic at the Bavarian Garage because he has been in the business for many years and is definitely a viable source of car information.