Senior Project Update

(1) For my independent component, I've started learning memorizing and learning the Basics of being a Navy Sailor. This is also necessary to learn for my mentorship, and my career in the Navy. I'm also currently trying to figure out my new EQ, which in turn, might also affect my independent component.

(2) (3) Another recent piece of research that I've found important was the AZ Specialists in Naval Air Station Lemoore. This is also goes with evidence of what I've been working on. See recent posts.

Thanksgiving Mentorship (Follow Up)

Over Thanksgiving Break, I went to the Naval Air Station in Lemoore to be with my sister and her fiancee for Thanksgiving. I was lucky enough to have my brother-in-law take me to work with him and show me around his squadron's hangar. They've recently replaced their old F/A-18 jets with new F/A-18E Super Hornet's, which are distinguishable by their rectangular air intake tucked under the front of the wings. While at work with him, he showed me the engine of on of the Hornets, and I was able to pick up on a few things while there. This was a really good experience for me, and what that I'm thankful for. I now have a better idea of what to expect as soon as I graduate BMT and pursue my career in the Navy.

Thanksgiving Mentorship

This Thanksgiving, I'll be going to the Naval Air Station in Lemoore with my older sister and brother-in-law. Since my job in the Navy is going to be an AZ Specialist as an Air Maintenance Administrationman, my brother-in-law is going to take me inside the base to show me around. I'll be getting to know the environment that I'll be working in once I graduate BMT. I'll probably be able to do some interviews while I'm there. I'll ask people who are doing the job that eventually I'll be doing for an interview.

Science Fair Proposal

1. My topic is Preparation for Navy Basic Military Training.
2. Many new recruits lack the physical and mental discipline required to successfully pass Navy BMT. "Some of the recruits had real trouble with physical fitness and passing the PT test, but the biggest problem was that many people showed up with no discipline at all."  Seaman Recruit Geoffrey Hoey Hoey, Seaman Recruit Geoffrey.

"Navy Basic Training.” Navy Basic Training. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. <http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navyjoin/l/blnavybasic.htm>.

3. If mandatory PT Tests are given once a month during the DEP process, the Navy BMT PT Test will have a higher success rate.
4. Once a month, I will do the Navy BMT Test on myself. The test will involve a mile and a half run, two minutes apiece of push ups, and curl-ups achieving a rating of "good' or better. Upon achieving a "good" score or better on each section tested, I'll be able to determine that I would pass the Navy BMT Test. To test this, I will use a stopwatch to time my mile and a half run. While doing my curl-ups, I'll use my stopwatch to count to two minutes. For pushups, I'll use a stopwatch there as well. I will need a scale to determine my weight to make sure I don't lose too much weight and stay above 130 lbs.
5. Anatomy and Physical Psychology.

Woking EQ and Possible Answers

1. What is the most important thing to learn and or do during Navy BMT?
2. I am not going to revise my EQ at this time.
3. The answer to my EQ is as follows. It turns out that I have to learn many Navy customs, rules, and ranks. This is to make my time at BMT less stressful and more productive. I should also become a proficient swimmer and have an above average physical semblance to make the Physical Training Tests easier, and I'll have more time to focus on the mental aspect of BMT.

Rough Draft of Presentation 1

10 Minute Presentation

Prepared By: Jaime Plascencia

House: West

Working EQ: What is the most important thing to learn and or do in preparation for Navy Basic Military Training?

Objectives (Specify skills/information that will be learned.): The class will learn what is expected of a U.S. Navy Sailor such as the Sailors Creed, the 11 General Orders of a Sentry, Uniform Code of Military Justice, and various exercises that are done to obtain a proper physical semblance before BMT.


Introduction

Guide:

Good morning (or good afternoon), my name is Jaime Plascencia and today we'll be learning about what is needed to excel in Navy BMT. To help gain an understanding of what must be done to do well in BMT, we'll be going over what a recruit is expected to know as far as Navy customs and physical requirements go.

Time;
2 Minutes

Important Source: My recruiter and the Navy DEP Handbook

Verification
(Steps to check for student
understanding)


Guide
● After hearing my objectives for this presentation, how many of you know anything of what is expected of a Navy Recruit, or anybody who is interested in joining the Navy?
● I will make sure everybody understands by making sure that any stereotype that anybody has about the Military is removed, or at the very least, make sure everybody's mind is open to what joining the military is really like.

Time:
3 minutes

Important Source: Recruit Training encyclopedia entry and Surviving Military Training research article.



Body
(Give and/or demonstrate necessary
information)


Guide:
Literal: I've learned that there are many jobs in the Navy, other than combat related roles that can be obtained if you research well before visiting your  recruiter. There are many customs and ranks that need to be recognized that will help you from having your Division Instructors give you a hard time. Being physically fit will also make PT in BMT fun, and not tedious and stressful.
Interpretive: My brother-in-law was my most important source. Having been in the Navy for 4 years, coming out of SWCC training, being a pilot, and now in Intelligence, he has provided me with a trove of "insider" information. I know exactly on what to prepare for and how to do it thanks to him.
Applied: Everything I'm presenting on is a solid foundation for my EQ. It involves everything that on must know from the second you step in to your recruiters office, and up to the point of when you get out of the bus to arrive at the Great Lakes, Illinois to being BMT. All the educational and physical requirements will have been met. 



Time

● Literal: 2 minutes
● Interpretive: 3 minutes
● Applied: 2 minutes


Visuals
Pictures of my brother-in-law's Navy BMT Yearbook to show what happens in BMT, and how everything I've talked about is relevant.



Activity
(Describe the independent activity to
reinforce this lesson)

Guide:
No Activity for this Presentation

Time:
0 Minutes

Materials (for activity)
No Activity

Conclusion

Guide:
To conclude, I will restate my essential question, and go over highlights in my presentation, specifically everything that helps answer my essential question. I will ask if anybody has any questions to check for understanding, and then thank the class for their time.

Time:
2 Minutes

Independent Component 1 Plan Approval

1. For my independent component, I plan on continuing my mentorship my Navy Recruiter every Monday. We review topics that I need to know that will make my time easier in Navy Basic Military Training such as rank recognition, the Sailors Creed, and so forth. While at home, I will continue my physical training as soon as I can. It will consist of 2 mile runs every day, upper body, and abdominal workouts.
2. My plan will meet the 30 hour requirement because on top of the 1 hour meetings I'll have with my recruiter every Monday, my workouts will also be more than an hour long. This should already be sufficient. My DEP meetings which I have once a month that last 3 hours should also help.
3. My independent study component will help me answer my EQ. My EQ asks what it is that I need to learn and or do to help me succeed in BMT. Everything I am doing for my independent component is what every Navy recruit should do for BMT. I am doing everything I should be doing to prepare for BMT and to answer my EQ.

Second Interview Questions

1. What is your job and rank in the Navy?
2. How long did you have to prepare for Navy BMT?
3. Based on your performance in BMT, how effective do you think was your preparation techniques?
4. As a recruiter, how many applicants have you successfully recruited in to the Navy?
5. How does your Recruiting Station compare to those in Southern California in terms of most people successfully recruited?
6. Out of all of your successful recruits, how many have gone on to pursue a successful career in the Navy?

Working EQ

1. I changed my senior project from soccer refereeing to Navy Basic Training. I've already started training in preparation for that. A good thing that has come out of that is that I have learned to follow orders and push myself as far as my recruiter tells me to. I am better prepared for Navy BMT.
2. Research 7 has showed me that preparing for the Navy is a 90% mental and 10% physical game. I really have to be mentally prepared if I want to accomplish my goals. 
3. So far, I haven't really had a chance to see if what I've learned has helped me so far in my senior project. 
4. The only thing that hasn't worked for me so far is the physical aspect  of my training. I haven't been able to train because of my broken arm. Once that heals, I would be able to continue my training.
5. This year I'd like to know at what mathematical level I should be at in order to effectively to do my job that I was assigned in the Navy an Aviation Maintenance Administrationman. By the end of this year, I want to be as physically fit as possible. I want to be able to go to BMT, and not struggle. Next, I'd like to talk to someone who has recently completed BMT and ask them how it went for them, and what I should expect. 

Problem Statement

1) Soccer Referee

2) Coaches in the La Puente Youth Soccer League do not know the rules as well as the referees. This causes conflict when a referee makes a call coaches do not agree with. Once I have solved the problem, I will make a short video giving a crash course in refereeing with an explanation as to why some calls may seem unfair.

3) Parents do not understand the stress a referee is put under when they are being yelled and cursed at. Added pressure may cause even worse calls. Once I have solved the problem, I will petition to ask the League to organize a meeting to discuss the conduct of parents during a game.

Interview Preparation

Content

1. I plan to interview my boss, Rigo. He himself is a referee and one of the co-founders of the La Puente Youth Soccer League. He has helped me become a better referee and he is also the one who assigns me games to referee based on my skill as a referee. At the moment, he is the only person that I know that could be my mentor as a professional referee. 
2. Aside from the original 5 questions I have to ask Rigo, I want to ask him a few more. I want to know what made him want to become a referee, and why he founded a Youth Soccer League. I'll also ask him if there is anybody else he knows that referee's professionally that can help me become a better referee. 

Topic Choice

Content

a. My topic is soccer refereeing. I chose this topic because it is something that I am very familiar with, and also something that I can claim "professional" experience from.

b. This year, I hope to accomplish a successful senior project with my topic. I feel that as a soccer referee I am allowed to be able to work myself to assume responsibility for my own decisions. For example, I don't normally find out that I'm refereeing a game until two days prior. This means I have to cancel plans that I may have had in order to be able referee. Part of being a referee is being able to listen to criticism from parents and coaches. Sometimes, this may come as insults, but sometimes there are people who genuinely try to help. Other times, it's the players themselves who let me know as a referee that another player may be playing dirty. My job at that point is to keep a closer eye on said player to make sure that no infraction is committed. As it is said in this article, one of the most important responsibilities as a referee is ensuring the safety of the players. My commitment as a referee helps the La Puente Soccer function and allows younger players to enjoy a game of soccer that will be properly refereed.

Summer Mentorship Component

Literal (Know)

Mentorship Log

Contact: Rigo (626) 523-6985

Literal (Need to Know)

How should I appropriately assert my authority while respecting elders at the same time?
When confronted by an upset parent, at what point should you decide to eject the parent from the game?
When is it appropriate to stop a game?
What do I do when a team does not pay their referee fee?
A player has fouled another player. The victim immediately retaliates in self defense albeit, aggressively. Should the victim be penalized as well?

Interpretive

The most important thing I gained from my experience in my mentorship as a soccer referee was leadership. As a referee, you have 22 players on the field who expect you to properly referee the game. While focusing on the game, I also have to deal with parents who will throw a few choice words at me with nearly every call I make. When I started refereeing, I thought that as long as I called everything fair, everyone would be happy. I quickly learned that this was not the case. No matter how well I refereed, 50% of the crowd always hated me at the end. I've learned to be a leader on the field, and how to accept the fact that not everybody is going to agree with my decisions.

Applied

I feel that my experience has helped me choose soccer refereeing as my topic because I find it so much more interesting to mediate the sport I love instead of playing it. As a player, I never really cared for the referee and frequently challenged calls I didn't agree with. Now that I stand in their shoes, I've grown to respect the people who do this for a living, and this really motivates me to continue being a referee.