Period 1: Finals Prep, Day 2 - Class Recap

A visual metaphor for the United Nations not doing enough to stop Iran and North Korea from getting nuclear weapons - Charlie Brown dropping a baseball.
Good afternoon class,

What a fun day that was! I was particularly excited for today because of the cool activities I had planned. You know me, when I can find some way to get something interesting and relevant to the class, I am going to try to. By the way, if anyone ever has any suggestions for videos, songs, websites, etc, that relate to what we are studying - please let me know! I already have one soundtrack request (which I think we will be listening to on finals day, unless another song completely blows me away with relevance before next Friday).

Essential Questions: How does conflict arise and in what ways have various people responded? Is genocide inevitable?

Soundtrack: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2.



This is the video we watched in class - please remember to be contemplating why it is that we get Monday off from school. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of my personal heroes, so I am definitely thankful for not only him but all the people he inspired and continues to inspire.

AGENDA 1/16/09
Can We Do Something About This?
Scream Bloody Murder - Darfur
Colonialism Revisited
Visual Metaphor Work

Homework: Visual metaphor, study for Rwanda quiz, check blog.

Remember, you will be presenting your visual metaphor next Friday during finals period, and I need the completed poster with a list of connections on it (be CREATIVE with this - they will be going up around the room!) as well as a TYPED, two to three paragraph explanation of what those connections mean and why you chose your metaphor. Also, remember to review your Rwanda notes. Not too bad, right?

Can We Do Something About This? I really wanted to tell the class about some of the MANY ways that you can have some active participation in doing something about the conflicts we are studying. I gave the example of my friend Ryan Bowen, who is biking across the country from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. to the inauguration, sending anything (above the bare essentials) he is given to Play For Hope, an organization that wants to foster sports and team building in Rwanda. Some links of interest from this segment of class are:

BikingForObama.com - Ryan's website/blog for the trip, complete with interesting updates of where he is, pictures, news items, and other cool things.
PlayForHope.org - A recently created organization that is attempting to bring sport and team building into the lives of Rwandans.
LaTimes.com - The Los Angeles Times story done about Ryan as he was going through New Mexico last month.



This is a video blog of his first week (so you actually get to see what it is like).

Finally, here's a link to FOX News interviewing him live (just like we did in class!) a few days ago: FOX News - Homestretch.

Keep watching out for him! By the way, Ryan had never ridden more than 20 miles in one ride before starting out on this journey - it's not like he's a trained cyclist or anything. This is just one way that someone is doing something to create a positive change in the world. Ultimately, this is one of my biggest goals for the class - I want you to be active participants in society. That is basically what Social Studies is: knowing about what is going on around in the world and participating. It was fun to get to call Ryan in class and have everyone be interested, thanks! :-)

Scream Bloody Murder: After talking to Ryan, we transitioned to watching another segment from the CNN documentary (which, by the way, if you'd like to be able to watch and write up a page long extra credit assignment, can be found on YouTube in a series of 14 videos, starting here) "Scream Bloody Murder" - this time about the Darfur region in Sudan, where violence continues today. The inspiring thing is that people have really started to step up and rally to put political pressure on leaders to act and do something - another thing that you can do to help. Join FaceBook groups. Inform others. Write letters. Demand action.

Colonialism Revisited: I tried to get the class going on answering a few questions about what exactly colonialism is, in order to start thinking about the visual metaphor in a different way. Remember, for the visual metaphor, I am going to look for at least one connection to colonization (if you choose to make yours about the genocide in Rwanda). We had some good answers on how different countries have changed Rwanda, and I also noticed a huge increase in fantastic ideas for metaphors in the next part of class, so I think I got the point across. If you are still confused, please comment or contact me.

Visual Metaphor Work: Again, I think we got on track here. I used an example (admittedly, very poorly drawn) of a sleeping bag as a metaphor for religion. Remember, a metaphor is NOT a symbol - it is a completely unrelated object that you can find some connections to something else in. Most of you were definitely on the right track.

Again, for Friday, I would like a nice colorful poster with your metaphor and at least 5 labeled connections (they ARE there, just keep thinking about it!). I also need a typed copy of your reasons behind your connections and picking the metaphor. Sound good?

Have a wonderful long weekend! Please, please, PLEASE cheer for my Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday (noon, FOX), unless you want a depressed Mr. Fritz for the next week. :-) Also, follow along with the Blazers at Charlotte (Saturday, 4PM CSN). On Tuesday, watch as much of the inauguration as you can/want - as well as the 20/20 documentary on Ryan on ABC (I will post when I get info about the time). What a history making week we have ahead of us!

Good luck with everything! E-mail me at luke_fritz@beavton.k12.or.us if you have any questions or concerns, or comment below. See you in a week!

ADDITION: For those wondering, I just talked to Ryan again, and he says he will be getting a ticket to the inauguration after all! Congressman Earl Blumenauer (from right here in Oregon - he represents East Portland) is going to hook him up and ride with him into DC! :-)