Quarantine Homework: Compare and Contrast – Pandemic Comparison

Thank you for all those who completed last week’s ‘Question’ assignment.  Well done. I was impressed by your questions, your curiosity, and empathy.    Moreover, many of you did research on the people you questioned which was reflected in the quality of your questions.   Impressive.

Today’s assignment builds upon our last assignment on “Questions“.

Over the next few weeks, I will ask you to read a few pages in the Life Skills books posted on our web site and then, join me in a Wednesday, 11am conversation on Zoom about the readings.  

The final Zoom conversation will be with my friend from Singapore, Tino Chow, for you to compare your own experience during the virus quarantine with Tino’s experiences in February when he was in Singapore and Hong Kong when the pandemic exploded in these places.  Tino left both Hong Kong and Singapore one day before each place closed their airports and borders because of the Coronavirus outbreak. If Tino was not able to leave each country on the days he did, he would still be there.

The objective of our conversations with Tino will offer you an opportunity to compare and contrast your experience now in Rhode Island during the Coronavirus quarantine with Tino’s experiences in both Singapore and Hong Kong up to the days he left both places in late February of 2020.

Tino has already told me he looks forward to your questions!  Your questions could be very specific about how both Singapore and Hong Kong were dealing with the pandemic when he was there. Your questions may also be about his native country of Singapore and some of its unique policies. For instance, before anyone can buy a car in Singapore, a person must apply to buy a “Certificate of Entitlement”; in other words, you pay a minimum of $40,000 just for the right to buy a car before buying the car.  It’s also illegal to buy and sell chewing gum in Singapore.

Asking good questions is all about preparations.  Our ability to ask questions usually affects our ‘Brand’ and how people perceive us.  Don’t forget, questions are more important than answers!  Questioning skills will be important in college, in your future jobs and careers, and for those of you who will own your own businesses.

Here’s our schedule for the next few weeks:

1. Read a short story on PANDEMICS on pages 72 through 76 in our “FUTURE” textbook posted on our web site.   Join me on a Zoom conversation on Wednesday, APRIL 29, at 11am to discuss what you read on these 5 pages.

2. Read a short story on the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic which killed 75 million people worldwide and 676,000 Americans on pages 78 through 91 in our “Quest For Success” textbook posted on our web site. The story is about city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and how this city unsuccessfully dealt with the deadliest pandemic in history, the Spanish Flu pandemic. Join me on a Zoom conversation on Wednesday, MAY 6th, at 11am to discuss what you read on these 13 pages.

3. Read the short textbook “The Story of Singapore“.  It’s a short story about the country where Tino was born, raised, and served in the Singaporean army.  Please don’t get overwhelmed.  First, just “skim” the book;  this means, simply look at the pictures on each page and the breakout print sections in large print on each page.   Then, if you see anything you’re curious about, go back and read all the information on those pages in the book.  Singapore is a fascinating country with one of the best school systems in the world, little to NO CRIME, with a population of different races with long standing difference who now live peacefully together.  90% of Singaporeans own their own home or condo.  Singaporeans have a longer life expectancy than people in the United States with universal, FREE health care.  There are also strict anti-fake news laws.  Join me on a Zoom conversation on Wednesday, MAY 13th, at 11am to discuss what you read in this short textbook.

4.  Finally, join me on Zoom on Wednesday, MAY 2oth, at 11am to speak with Tino Chow and myself to ask him your questions about his experiences in Singapore and Hong Kong and your own experiences during the corona virus outbreak and quarantine. 

Tino Chow (right) visiting the Hope Life Skills class 2017.

NB –  Please feel free to invite your parents and siblings to the conversation.  And, if you have relatives living in a foreign country, you may ask if their country is affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and how their country is protecting its citizens from the virus.

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Hiatus Homework

                                            Questions

I hope you are all doing well during this virus quarantine.

We have an opportunity to come out of this quarantine wiser and more prepared for college and lifetime success than before the quarantine.

Successfully ‘managing time‘ is a skill critical for becoming the person you hope to be. To make sure we are wiser after the quarantine, you and I must manage our time during the quarantine wisely.   Please don’t forget, you’re always competing against other students from high schools all over the United States for college acceptance, scholarships, and eventually, for jobs and careers.  Let me change this statement –  ‘you are competing against students from all over the world for college scholarships and eventually jobs and careers!!!‘     This is the reality of the time we live in.  If you wish to be successful, in any endeavor, you must manage your time wisely.

Consequently, I am asking you to complete this assignment as a way of helping you become wiser and, as a result, more competitive and successful in a global marketplace for college scholarships and jobs/careers.  The goal of this assignment is for you to think creatively and use empathy in your questions to get important answers you are interested in.   Creative, empathetic questioning skills with the self confidence to ask them will be invaluable throughout your entire life to become the successful person you aspire to be.

Please list a unique question for each of the 25 people on the homework list.

I believe your questions should vary according to the person you are speaking to.  For instance, the question you ask the #1 person in the list, Dr Fauci who is heading President Trump’s team of doctors dealing with the Covid 19 pandemic, would probably be different from #22, an extra terrestrial you happen to meet.

The purpose of this lesson is for you to use empathy to understand the background of each person and the expertise they have from their experiences.   Secondly, this lesson is focused on developing your questioning skills because they are so important to your personal and professional development in life.
I look forward to reading your questions to each of the 25 people in our list.

If you have any questions about this assignment, please email or text them to me.

Please send your answers to my email address before Sunday, April 19.   Thank you.  I look forward to your questions.

 

“Questions Are More Important Than Answers!”

You’ve heard me say this repeatedly in our Life Skills class.  Questions are asked to get answers to issues you’re curious about or interested in.  There is no answer without a question preceding it.  Questions ARE NOT ASKED TO HURT OR EMBARRASS SOMEONE.  QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ASKED RESPECTFULLY TO GET INFORMATION THAT MATTERS TO YOU.

“Questions” book cover

Here is an activity I am asking you to complete.   Email or text me with questions which prevent you from answering any part of this homework.

FIRST – please read pages 1 through 15 in the “Questions” book that is posted on our web site. You can read more pages in the book; it’s an interesting and thought provoking book.

NEXT – I have listed the names of a number of people below.  SOME OF THESE PEOPLE ARE DECEASED.  I still would like you to ask them a question.

IMAGINE – you are very comfortable pushing out of your comfort zone to respectfully ask specific questions to the people listed below to get an answer you’re curious about or that is important to YOU.

 

FINALLY – Please send the question to ask each person listed below to my email address (stevecronin1949@gmail.com). Please write your questions so I can understand them. I am very interested in your questions.

 

1. Doctor Anthony Fauci is an American immunologist who is one of President’s Trumps key members of the country’s Coronavirus Task Force fighting the Coronavirus pandemic. The New York Times newspaper called Fauci “the nation’s leading expert on infectious disease”. Dr Fauci was a point guard on his high school basketball team in New York City. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

the reincarnated one, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso

2. Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th reincarnation of the 1st  Dalai Lama, Gendun Drup, who was born in 1391. The Dalai Lama is the title given to the religious leader of Tibet, a once independent country but taken over by China in 1951.  Tibetans believe the Dalai Lama has been reincarnated 14 times since 1391.-

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft and the world’s 2nd richest person who happened to be an just average college student, predicted in 2015 the world would be under attack by a virulent virus in the near future (2020). _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Harrison Peters

4.  Harrison Peters – new Superintendent of Providence Public Schools – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Matthew Buchanan, Principal Hope High School – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Martin Luther King Jr – celebrated American civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1964)- __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Melania Trump, wife of the President of the United States, Donald Trump – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Jorge Elorza, Mayor of Providence – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. The smartest, hardest working, most humble, honest, successful Harvard University student with a future seemingly destined for great success who graduated from an American inner city public school – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company Blue Origin. Bezos, as a young boy, was adopted by a Cuban immigrant living in America married to Bezos’ Mom. Jeff Bezos today is the “richest man in the world” (total worth approximately $150 BILLION), __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
11. DJ Khalad (American DJ, record producer, radio personality, and record executive) – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
12. Billie Eilish (Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter/designer) – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
13. Selina Gomez – American singer, songwriter, actress, and television producer – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
14. Barack Obama – former President of the United States __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
15. Ali Khamenei – The Supreme Leader of the country of Iran. Khamenei has repeatedly defended his country’s citizens threat of “Death to America”.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
16. Catalina Martinez, a scientist and oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with multiple Master’s degrees in Biological Oceanography, Marine Affairs, and Business Administration, who grew up in poverty in Providence and was forced to drop out of high school to care for her family.   With the help of a mentor, she returned to school and followed her passion to get multiple college degrees in marine studies.

Catalina Martinez (seated) showing Hope High Life Skills students video from one of her explorations of the ocean’s floor during one of her month long voyages at sea.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

17. The smartest, hardest working, most honest, humble, respectful, and successful Hope High Student with a future seemingly destined for great success – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
18. Sergey Brin, an immigrant to America who eventually graduated from Stanford University to become one of the Founders of Google (Google is an American technology company that sells Internet-related services and products all over the world like online advertising and search engine technology. Google is considered one of the world’s Big Four technology companies with Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft) – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
19. Marta Aparicio – Guatemalan immigrant who left her parents’ Providence home to live on her own during her senior year at Hope High School (2010), a 2014 Georgetown University graduate, and Columbia University International Studies Graduate school graduate in 2020 and soon-to-be United States diplomat serving at a US Embassy some place in the world – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
20. The most interesting and impressive person you have met this year at a Life Skills activity – Please name the person and your question to this person
PERSON’S NAME _________________________________________
YOUR QUESTION TO THIS PERSON
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
21. The smartest, kindest, most successful, respectful, hardest working, African American or Hispanic student with a future seemingly destined for great success at LaSalle Academy  – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
22. An extraterrestrial visitor who happens to come to earth from another planet beyond our Galaxy and appears to you when you are alone in your home. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
23. The most disruptive Hope High student you are aware of whose behavior creates trouble/distractions in the school and, as a result, makes it difficult for Hope High to establish a ‘culture of learning’ for all the conscientious students to learn important skills and behaviors to become the best, smartest, and most successful people they can be. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
24. Jesus Christ  –  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
25. Name a person, alive or dead, you would like to meet AND, then, tell me a question you would like to ask this person –
Name of the PERSON __________________________________________________
YOUR QUESTION – __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

,
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Coronavirus Homework

I hope you are all doing well during these challenging times. I know you miss our class and the interesting guests and lessons which take place like I do. I will soon follow this blog with a homework assignment relevant to the goals and mission of the Hope Life Skills class. In the meantime, stay safe.

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Today’s Homework: March 6, 2020

1      Please tell me ONE thing you took from our conversation with Jeshua Zapata today.  It could be something you learned;  something that inspired you;  something that made you think about the future you aspire to.   Send your answer to my email address before 11:59pm, Wednesday, March 11, 2020.

2.   Meg Stowe, the Director of Innovation at Rocky Hill Country Day, has invited YOU and ME to a special event, i.e.Venture Cafe’s Hack Education Connect on March 19 from 5pm to 8pm, at the VENTURE CAFE on 225 Dyer St in Providence.  Students from a number of area schools will be part of in-depth conversations within small groups about their successes and challenges in and out of school.  Students will lead the discussion groups.  The format will be similar to our FUTURE FORUM. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN GOING??  yes or no.  IF YES, WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEAD A GROUP DISCUSSION OF SEVERAL STUDENTS?   More details will be coming next week.  YOU MUST HAVE TRANSPORTATION FOR GETTING TO THE CAFE AND GETTING HOME.   PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO BY WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020.   SHOULD BE A GREAT EVENT;  YOUR DECISION WILL BE SOMETHING SIMILAR TO WHAT JESHUA DID BY PUSHING OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE WHEN HE ENROLLED AT BRYANT UNIVERSITY.  A LEARNING EXPERIENCE.

 

 

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Today’s Class: March 6, 2020

Today’s guest was Jeshua Zapata,

the President of Xzito, a full service marketing agency focusing on delivering measurable results for his customers through expert, creative marketing using new technology and, as a result, increasing the ROI (return on investments or business success) of his clients.

Today’s host was Josiah Diaz,

who welcomed Jeshua to Hope High School and the Hope Life Skills class.

Josiah (right) introduces Jeshua to his classmates to start today’s class.

Josiah‘s classmates introduce themselves to Jeshua and welcome him to the Life Skills class.

Jeshua begins his story of success from his humble beginnings part of an immigrant family in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to pushing out of his comfort zone enrolling among more privileged students at Bryant University majoring in business, developing a network of successful people, and then fulfilling his entrepreneurial dream by starting his company, Xzito.

“I didn’t let my humble beginnings in Central Falls and attending a school with a terrible brand like Central Falls High School prevent me from being the person I wanted to be.  

Continue Reading →
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Today’s Homework: February 21, 2020

Faith Souza networks with Johnny Montanez during today’s class.

  1.   Complete the following NETWORKING SURVEY and EITHER send your answers to my email address as soon as you can but no later than Saturday, February 29th, 2020 OR return the survey form I gave you in class today at our next class.

This survey simply serves as a status report for you to measure your own progress developing a network of successful people you can call upon for advice and support throughout your life.

Fact – most career opportunities in life will come from someone in a person’s network.

  • Name one of the most important people in your present network. _____________
  • Name or describe a new person you’ve recently added to your personal network and explain how this person has enriched your network; explain how this person has improved your network.
  • Has there been a member of your network you decided could no longer be part of your present network?   yes or no     If yes, please explain why you decided to no longer have this person part of your present network
  • Give an example of recently extending yourself out of your comfort zone.
  • Describe a lesson learned from a recent mistake or failure which has made you a wiser or stronger person.
  • Describe a recent decision you made because it was the ‘right thing to do’.
  • Give an example of something creative you recently did.
  • Give an example of a kind act you did for a person who needed some kindness.
  • Name the book you are PRESENTLY reading.
  • Have you created a LinkedIn site?    yes or no
  • Who is the most recent person you sent a request to CONNECT with on LinkedIn?
  • Name most recent person you sent a ‘congratulations’ message on LinkedIn acknowledging a promotion, new job, or birthday.
  • Name the person in your network you sent an email, text, or written note to saying ‘thank you’ for doing something nice they did for you
  • What is your latest personal accomplishment you added to your LinkedIn profile?

 

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Today’s Class: February 21, 2020

Johnny Montanez sharing his success story with today’s Hope High Life Skills students.

Today’s guest was Johnny Montanez,

former Hope Life Skills student, 2010 Hope High graduate, and presently the CEO of Coin Theory Media Group, a United States based multimedia production company, specializes in producing Cinematic Commercial Content for business owners across the North American region including Canada and Mexico.

Today’s host was Elliott Burrell,

aspiring music and film producer.

Elliott Burrell (red sweatshirt) welcomes Johnny Montanez back to Hope High School and the Life Skills class prior to the beginning of today’s class.

Elliott introduces Johnny to his classmates to begin today’s class.

Following Elliott’s introduction, Innocent Byiringiro leads the procession of students introducing themselves and welcoming Johnny back to Hope Life Skills.

Johnny begins his story from his Providence Washington Park neighborhood to his personal brand building journey and networking of hip hop stars, film producers, fashion designers, entrepreneurs, millionaire business people, and DOCTORS.

“We cannot let where we come from define who we can be! 

Continue Reading →
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Today’s Homework: February 14, 2020

  1.  Create your job resume and send it to my email address by Wednesday, February 19, 2020, using the format below:

 

Stephen Cronin

15 Andrew Court

Swansea, Ma   02777

401-374-7603                                                                                                                              stevecronin1949@gmail.com

Summary

I am a highly motivated, organized, dependable, creative high school student with team building and communication skills.

 

Skills

  • Responsibility; Dependability
  • Attention to detail
  • Computer: Word, Excel, Python
  • Multi-Lingual: English, Mandarin, French

Experience

  • Hope Life Skills Program: an elective, credited course introducing and developing life skills like networking, time management, data collection and analysis, collaboration, written, verbal observation, and listening as well as behaviors like pushing out of one’s comfort zone, empathy, and respect for life time success. The program foundation rests upon the importance of personal brand and the development of specific life skills for building a network of successful, reputable professionals to create career opportunities and mentors for lifetime success.  2019 -2020
  • Future Forum: an annual event with corporate futurists from companies like Data Robot, Bank of America, Accenture, Brown University, and Citizens Bank together with a diverse group of students from private and public schools for a collaboration using design thinking to solve problems or create entrepreneurial opportunities.   December 2019
  • CVS Jobs and Career Day: annual visit to the corporate offices of this $200 billion dollar company to learn about the culture and career opportunities within the company as well as meeting with staff members in individual departments to learn about specific jobs (pharmacy, logistics graphic design, merchandising, digital services, analytics, finance, store management, etc ) each student has an interest in.
  • Babysitting: family babysitting and meal preparation responsibilities
  • Subway: Shift Manager at the Broadway, Providence store.

Education

  • Hope High School: Class of 2020
  • Soccer Team 2018, 2019, 2020
  • St Michael’s Church Choir

Special Awards/Recognition

  • Soccer Team captain: 2019, 2020
  • Hope High School Honor Roll: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
  • Rhode Island Honor Society: 2019, 2020
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Today’s Class: February 14, 2020

Today was a SHOUT OUT class!!!

This simply means the class mission today was identifying RECENT exceptional student behavior.  First recognition was directed to Lydia Watkins for the exceptional development of her personal brand and networking skills to create an opportunity for a meeting at the corporate headquarters of CVS Health in Woonsocket, RI during the Hope High Life Skills class visit on March 27th.   Lydia will be meeting with the digital beauty team about a 6-8 week paid summer internship!!    Second was Innocent Byiringiro for collaborating with Mr. Cronin to create a meeting with professional photographer, Aaron Usher, an architectural and Fine-Art photographer who shares Innocent’s passion for photography.   Mr Usher will be visiting the Hope Life Skills class on May 29th.  Next, Jarlene Carona for great networking with Camberly Mariconi, a Brown University volleyball player and pre-med student.  Jarlene followed her initial meeting with Camberly during February 7th Life Skills class with an appreciative text message.  Camberly is majoring in a field of study that Jarlene has an interest in.  Next step, Jarlene is planning her ‘ask’ to Camberly;  maybe a visit to the Brown University campus to accompany Camberly to a couple of pre-med Brown University classes.  Stay tuned!    Mariely Brito and Omayra Corporan have been selected to represent the Hope Life Skills class at this summer’s 5 day National Youth Leadership Forum on CSI and Law in Washington, D.C.  While the cost of going to the Forum in more than $3,000 per participant, Mariely and Omayra, if they choose to go, will go FREE OF CHARGE thanks to the donations of several Rhode Island companies who support the Hope Life Skills program.   Mr Cronin also announced he will be looking to select 1 or 2 or 3 more students with great personal brands to accompany Mariely and Omayra to the Forum.  Juan Severino was mentioned today for collaborating with Mr Cronin to get a meeting with Ed Ithier, the Director of Development at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire, when the Life Skills class visits the University campus on April 9th.   Ed Ithier was a star high school basketball player at one of New York City’s premier high school basketball programs, St Raymond’s High School in the Bronx.  Mr Ithier was awarded a scholarship to play basketball at South New Hampshire University.  Ed Ithier is in Southern New Hampshire University’s Athletic Hall of Fame.   And, finally, Josiah Diaz is collaborating with Mr Cronin to create a meeting with Sally Lapides, the owner of Residential Properties, one of the largest and most successful Real Estate companies in Rhode Island.  Josiah has an interest in Real Estate and asked Mr Cronin to connect him with a successful realtor in his network.   Sally will be a guest at the Hope Life Skills class on May 15.  Josiah wants to connect with Sally prior to her visit to Hope High.

Jarlene Carona (standing) extends her business card to Brown University’s Camberly Mariconi during the networking section of last week’s class when members of the Brown University’s Women Volleyball team visited the Hope Life Skills class.

David Narvaez (red fleece) speaks with Ed Ithier (left of David in the photo above) during Mr Ithier’s visit to the Hope Life Skills class in the spring of 2019.

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Today’s Homework: February 7, 2020

  1.  Please tell me if there was anything spoken by the Brown University student athletes or coaches that made you think about your life NOW or your plans for the FUTURE.   If there was nothing any of the athletes or coaches said that made you think about what you’re doing now or plan to do in the future, it’s ok;  simply write “nothing, Mr Cronin”.   If there was something, however, the athletes or coaches said that made your reflect on what you’re doing or thinking about NOW or what you’re thinking about doing in your FUTURE, please share those thoughts with me.   This information will help me as I plan for other guests and the way I run our class.   Always trying improve the class to make it more helpful to you and your future.  Please send your well written response with perfect spelling, short sentences, and good grammar, punctuation, and capitalization to my email address before midnight on Tuesday, February 11, 2020.   As always, I look forward to your response.
  2. I was proud of you all today. You represented your brand and the brand of Hope High extremely well.

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