Ted Talk Reflection

What I Knew (And didn’t know about my topic when I started out). 

Like I stated in the presentation, I really witnessed the disease through my grandmother when I was very young. Even being young, I knew something was very off about her and looking back on it, I have always wished that I could talk to her, but her condition progressed too far for me to do that. I didn’t know that Alzheimer’s afflicted so many people, especially the elderly. Seeing the figure that ten percent of people over 65 have it really opened my eyes to how widespread the disease really was. I also didn’t know that there were seven stages of Alzheimer’s and that the identification of this was crucial for the treatment of patients suffering from the disease. Honestly, I never thought there would be research that was so close to permanently ending the disease altogether.

Why I Selected This Topic 

I feel like I’ve said this too much, but the inspiration for the topic stemmed from my interactions with my grandmother. I don’t think I would know really anything about the disease without this and it gave me more motivation throughout the research and presentation process. It gave me a genuine interest in digging more for any new research and advancements that could potentially end Alzheimer’s for good. I also thought that if I was able to provide concrete evidence of a cure, then it would turn people’s interest.

What I Learned-Research 

Even though trying to dig through scholarly articles and trying to understand the diction of a person who has years of experience on the topic was frustrating, but finding the evidence that Alzheimer’s can eventually be cured made the experience worth it. I found most of my information from these scholarly articles, and they would usually refer to other articles at the bottom of their work, which was very helpful. My favorite source was the National Institute on Aging, and they gave a very great definition of Alzheimer’s- “Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks”. I learned that the disease was very widespread and killed around 262,000 people in 2017. I also learned that it was the sixth leading cause of death in America, and if something isn’t done, there could be countless more. I was diligent, but like many things my work ethic could have been a bit better by starting earlier.

What I Learned-Presentations

From watching the video, the first thing I notice immediately is that one side of my collar is sticking up, which seems minor but it is very visually unappealing. Also, I noticed that I was shifting a lot at the beginning, but I corrected this as the presentation progressed. I stumbled over a few phrases, but generally I thought that I was coherent and concise with my speech. I rehearsed my speech in front of my parents a few times over the week leading up to the talk and then just rambled on in the car or any other space possible to get more comfortable with my topic. I thought my presentation went well, but there are a few aspects that I would go back and change to make it even better. The main thing I need to work on in future presentations is my posture, because I cannot be shifting around all the time while trying to deliver a speech.

What the Audience Learned

I presented a fresh new idea by informing the audience of potential treatment for Alzheimer’s, as well as a call to action to look out for other people and potential symptoms of the disease. I felt like I was fairly successful in doing this. My last slide really hit these points hard, and I think that it struck a cord with the audience and made them more aware of the importance of an early diagnosis. I could have done better with selling the fact that the cure for a disease was close, but overall I felt that I did a good job.

Advice for Future Students

The most important thing future students can do is to get ahead on the process and use the time Mr. Davidson gives in class wisely. Be rigorous in the research process, the more information a person has on anything, the better. Also, I felt that it was crucial to me to practice my speech a couple times before, which also means that the speech has to be done on the date it should be done. Pick a topic that you are interested in, because the audience can tell your enthusiasm over the topic through your delivery, which will probably be monotone and bland. Make it grip the audience and start with a hook to get them interested. Do not underestimate the importance of visuals and the timing of it through the PowerPoint clicker, as well as transitions and other effects. In general, just be invested in the topic and don’t completely blow off this Ted Talk, because it is still a final project.

Vera Dietz Analysis

Griffin Neary

Mr. Davidson 

Period 5

12-12-19

AMDG

Vera Dietz Analysis

          The novel Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King tells the story of a high school senior struggling to get over the recent death of her best friend, Charlie Kahn. Vera works at Pagoda Pizza and has a new boyfriend James, but her problems do not go away. Throughout the novel she battles with alcohol addiction and the guilt of speaking up about what she knows concerning Charlie’s death. Through her memories, readers get a closer look into her friendship with Charlie since they were both four years old, as these memories slowly piece together what happened between the two that caused their falling out. The plot unravels Vera’s insecurities and rough family history, as she tries to become invisible to the rest of the school with her family secrets. King’s work captures the struggles of a teenage girl and her fight to overcome the death of both her best friend and a boy she deeply loved.

          The novel crafts a very relatable tale to teenagers who struggle with many of the same things that Vera struggles with. This can be seen with the relationship with her dad, where they argue through much of the book. Her dad, Ken, is very worried about her family history of alcoholism and how it could be passed down to Vera, who evidently has a problem with drinking. “I’ve warned Vera about the drinking genes, but she acts like it’s funny. She jokes about stripper genes too, but she’s too young to understand the situation Cindy Sindy was in when she was born and I was drunk” (King 127). This aside from Ken shows that Vera is also a high school student trying to show her dad her side of thinking, but like many in the same position the kids struggle to understand their parents’ reasoning and the fact that they have been through the same experiences as their kids. By looking at Ken’s thoughts, we see that despite the fights, he is trying to do what is best for Vera, which is a phenomenon that many parents experience with their kids. Also, the book describes a loss of friendship as people change over high school, which is highlighted by Charlie and Vera’s dramatic falling out. The constant secrets that each one held for each other got out to the rest of the school, and Vera experienced constant verbal abuse from classmates. This kind of behavior is seen in all schools and it illustrates how people act toward someone else in order to boost themselves up. I believe that this novel was so successful because much of the stuff Vera experiences happens to teenagers everywhere.

         Vera also brings up the issue that adults often ignore things and let them fly under the radar instead of helping. The main example King uses is through Bill Corso, the star quarterback who barely knows how to read. Vera explains that it is sad that teachers and adults allowed all of this to slide just because he was athletic, and that he would be heading off to college not knowing how to read properly. Another example is Ken Dietz ignoring the fact that Charlie’s dad constantly beats Charlie’s mom. This is exemplified as Ken remarks, “It’s just not as easy as reporting it. There’s just so little we can do. The guy’s a jerk, and if we get involved, it’ll only make him worse” (King 109). Ken believes that doing nothing is the best course of action, which enrages Vera because she knows that there is something that they can do to intervene and stop it. Vera is not the type of person to let things happen and begs her dad to take action. The novel is trying to explain that adults have a false sense of maturity and tend to stay out of issues that need to be brought to the light. The plot challenges adults and their system of keeping out of other people’s business, but that they do it to a detriment.

          A.S. King’s novel Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a work that I would definitely recommend, especially to teenagers who are fans of reading. The story is not only relatable, but it combines elements of friendship, internal struggles, and love. It also is able to expand on real life issues that young adults and people in general face, and many times these issues are kept on the inside. The novel brings these to light, and like Vera learns towards the end of the novel, her issues and herself cannot be ignored. This book has countless lessons that can be learned from it and holds a clash against morals that is examined closely. Overall, the book is extremely well written and possesses the qualities of being a must read in the eyes of many.