Period 1: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 15 - Class Recap

Jasper, one of my cats. We learned today from Scout, Morgan, and McKenzie that animals help bring people together! :-)
Hello and welcome to another class recap!

Today was fun! I was super impressed with most of your presentations, though I must confess the real thing that I am looking for it how you are going to connect what you did with the conflict in Israel, which you wrote about in your explanation paper. On Friday, we will continue the presentations, so come prepared please - even if your name got called and you did not have anything today.

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? How can the Middle East be stabilized? - Today was all about answering both of these questions!

Soundtrack: "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith. Chosen because today had a lot to do with the emotional pull on people, and because it is a great rock song.

AGENDA 4/29/09:
News Brief
Student Presentations

Homework: Watch President Obama's address to the nation tonight (5 PM). Dress to go outside on Friday. Read blog recap!

Today marks 100 days since President Obama took office. While it is a completely symbolic day, mostly generated by the media, the President is addressing the nation at a primetime news conference tonight at 5:00 PM. This will be on just about every network imaginable, including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, CSPAN, Telemundo (actually not sure about that, but I wouldn't be surprised)... you name it. Except for the regular FOX network, which controversially decided to show "Lie to Me" instead. I will be in class at Lewis and Clark (for the last time this year, until summer!) from 4:30 to 7:30, so I will not be able to watch it live, just like most of you, I am guessing. Thus, I will post a link to the video when I get back. Please remember to be noting what the President has to say about our relations with the rest of the world!

UPDATE: Here's the video and here's the transcript to read, if you can't watch it.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I am sort of guessing that we may have most, if not all of the class next time devoted to presentations, but should we be finishing in good time, and it is nice out, we are going to go explore the world a little bit. By "explore the world" I mean probably take a walk out to the football field or baseball diamond, sit down, and do a little creative writing. So please be prepared for that, if it should happen.

News Brief: I really love how this class seems like it is tuned in to the news! We had some good topics brought up, like the swine flu and the "Placebo Effect." I'm sure there were other ones in there too, like the fun event that happened last night and will happen again tomorrow night, but I can't remember at this point. The flu symptoms are starting to kick in... ;-)

Oh! I remember one of those topics, related to the panic over the swine flu. I mentioned that there has been a huge increase in the amount of guns and ammunition bought in America since Barack Obama's election. Because I like to be able to give you sources when I say stuff like that, here it is: ABCNews.com - Demand for Ammo Depletes Stores' Stock.

Thuy brought in this news article to talk about: CNN.com - Sri Lankan army claims key rebel strongholds. Remember that Sri Lanka is an island country just to the south of India. The conflict it was describing was between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government. The quote from the end of the article really struck me:

UNICEF, which called the situation in the north a "catastrophe for children," said the displaced lack food, water and basic medical supplies.
advertisement

The rebels estimate the number of civilians still in the territory at more than 160,000.

The Tigers have been fighting for an independent state in Sri Lanka's northeast since 1983. As many as 70,000 people have been killed since the civil war began, and the group has been declared a terrorist organization by 32 countries, including the United States and the European Union.

Just crazy. More than ever, we need to be able to come together and stop conflicts. Luckily, we had the next part of class to start!

Student Presentations: As I said above, generally, I was pretty pleased with these, despite the technical difficulties with some. I am not going to go through and recap them all, but I definitely appreciated everyone's attempts to get people to come together. I am very interested in those connections that you made to the conflict in your explanation paper as well.

For those that were interested in the song that Jazmyne had us dance to, it can be found in the amazing video here.

Remember, at the end of class I asked you to turn in a skills packet (come see me if you need another copy) and the explanation papers. If you need the papers back to help you if you didn't go today, just ask. Also, if you had something tangible (meaning a physical creative product), I want that too. If you did a PowerPoint or something else with the computer, please e-mail me it. Thanks!
---

There may or may not be an event that I will be watching tomorrow night at 6:30 on KGW and TNT. Mrs. DeFrance has convinced me to go all out tomorrow as far as our apparel choices at school, and since I have not done that at all for any game this series, I figure it can't hurt. So come see us tomorrow and smile!

Also, The Office will be guaranteed to make you laugh and smile not matter what else happens on Thursday night. It is on at 9:00 PM on NBC.

I think that should about do it! Is this the shortest class recap of all time? I'm sure some of you would not mind if is was! Keep up the enthusiasm and questions in the comments! We are on streaks of 40+ comments for the last three posts!

Have a great day! You are amazing! :-)

Period 1: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 14 - Class Recap

Outside the World Trade Center in downtown Portland, near the waterfront. All sorts of countries and cultures coming together there! Picture taken by Mr. Fritz on April 17th.
Dear class,

I must say, I am getting extremely excited for your presentations and creative products! I think I touched based with all of you today about what you were thinking about and where you were. Thanks for the perfect attendance, too! Great to see. Still a little worried about some of you who insisted that everything was done or at home and did not have anything to do in class, but overall, I think that we have given this enough time. Let's see what we can come up with!

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state? - As I said in class, I really love that first question, because it makes everything that we are doing relevant and interesting. Like music? That works. How about sports? That works too. Dance, language, art, drama? Yes. It is such a broad question, but you can make a million different things relate. A great essential question!

Soundtrack: "You Can't Hurry Love" by Phil Collins. Lyrics here, including some great lines that relate to why I chose it for today, after our Blazers lost, and for our work looking at the long standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict:

You can't hurry love
No, you'll just have to wait
She said love don't come easy
But it's a game of give and take

So good.

AGENDA 4/27/09:
News Brief
Ping Pong Diplomacy
Music in Pyongyang
Project Work

Homework: Final project (paper and creative product), due next class! Read blog recap!

Just so that there are no issues with this assignment that can be immediately be solved by looking at the assignment sheet, please look it over before asking any questions about what I am asking you to do. After that, by all means, fire away! Here's the assignment to download, if needed:

Israel and Palestine Final Project
Remember that you need to type at least one page explaining your creative product. In that explanation, please write about how you addressed the issues at stake in the conflict, the essential questions of the unit, and how your creation is going to help foster collaboration between both sides.

Again, make this fun and interesting for you! This assignment gives you an enormous amount of free choice! Find ways to relate something that you love to this!

Also, if you need anything in particular for me to bring in, or set up for your presentation, please let me know. I will have my laptop (capable of playing DVDs) and a projector with an ELMO ready for use.

News Brief: After talking for a bit about the Blazers game, we also had an interesting discussion about the swine flu outbreak. Go to almost any news website and you will find information about it. Here's one: CNN.com - 73 cases of swine flu confirmed, hundreds more feared.

As we talked about in class, I have no doubts that this is an immediate and pressing concern. However, how come we all too frequently lose sight of much bigger problems that would absolutely benefit from a lot more publicity? For instance, how about the estimated FOUR THOUSAND plus people that have died so far just in 2009, in the United States, as a result of drunk drivers? Source: AlcoholAlert.com - Drunk Driving Statistics. That is an INSANE statistic!

Some of you may have Mr. Hardy for Biology, and as I was getting super worked up about this in the teacher cluster, he completely agreed and said if people would only start paying attention to the fact that the number one cancer by far and away in both men and women is lung cancer, mostly as a result of tobacco use. And that heart disease is the number one killer of adults in the United States. What is really more dangerous? Swine flu that may or may not take over the world, or you smoking cigarettes?

I am hoping to find that article that I mentioned in class about having a steak knife pointed at you while driving, instead of a seat belt strapping you in. I sure would drive much more carefully!

EDIT: Here it is, in the form of the first chapter of an e-book, available online. The Armchair Economist by Stephen E. Landsburg. The quote that I just love:

If you find it hard to believe that people drive less carefully when their cars are safer, consider the proposition that people drive more carefully when their cars are more dangerous. This is, of course, just another way of saying the same thing, but somehow people find it easier to believe. If the seat belts were removed from your car, wouldn't you be more cautious in driving? Carrying this observation to the extreme, Armen Alchian of the University of California at Los Angeles has suggested a way to bring about a major reduction in the accident rate: Require every car to have a spear mounted on the steering wheel, pointing directly at the driver's heart. Alchian confidently predicts that we would see a lot less tailgating.

Landsburg has all sorts of great insights like this one. I would suggest giving that chapter a read if you are at all interested in the seat belt/spear thing.

Anyway, after this fascinating discussion, Zack T. brought in the following article about something going on in the Middle East: AlJazeera.net - Three Killed in Turkey police raids. Very interesting! That is a conflict that I do not know too much about. I do know a little bit about the "May Day" protests and riots that have happened on May 1st in years past, though. Thuy, you are up for Wednesday. Any news current news article having to do with anything around the world outside of the United States.

Ping Pong Diplomacy: Before letting you loose for project work the rest of class, I wanted to show you a couple of really famous instances of creative ways to get countries talking. One of the most interesting that I can remember (and as highlighted by the fantastic movie Forrest Gump) was the "Ping Pong Diplomacy" that happened between the United States and China in the 1970s. This was an HUGE deal. Here's the video we watched in class:



Music in Pyongyang: Aaron helpfully pointed out that the Ping Pong Diplomacy wouldn't really work for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because neither side wants to make amends. This thought led directly in to a more current situation, with North Korea and the United States, where music was used to bridge long held divides (partially). Here's the video we watched in class about the New York Philharmonic playing in Pyongyang:



I also mentioned an excellent report that Christiane Amanpour did for CNN as a result of the trip, where you get to see some really interesting footage of what life is like in one of the most secretive countries in the entire world. I will post a link to that later, when I can get on YouTube. I am SO excited that teachers will finally be able to access it at school on Wednesday! Update: Here is the link to the first YouTube video in the series - Notes from North Korea (1 of 6).

Project Work: Using the two videos as a sort of a final "pump up" for the final project, we read the key parts of the assignment sheet together. I also told the class to have the skills packet to turn in and be graded on Wednesday.

As I said at the beginning of this post, I liked the work we did in class, and I think I touched base with everyone about their project. Please do not leave the rest of this until the night before! There is way too much to do. I do not want a million comments asking for directions on Tuesday night (though again, I will always be glad to respond to anything you bring up).

Be excited for class on Wednesday! I think this should be interesting and a lot of fun! Let your optimism shine through!
---

The Blazers play tomorrow night (Tuesday) in Portland at 7:00 PM on KGW and NBATV. Needless to say, I would rather that we win this game. I think we will, and I actually don't mind our chances to win the next three, but that was just a brutal loss last night. Have hope! 24 is tonight as well, at 9:00, meaning that I will be up until 10:00 to answer any comments or questions. Have a great rest of the day! See you on Wednesday!

Game Day Open Thread: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets, Game 4

The immediate aftermath of Game 2, in Portland.
You know what? I feel really good about tonight. That statement could totally backfire on me in a few hours, but I do not care. Love that the Blazers know they need to win this game. Love that Brandon is going to be heated after Game 3. Love that the game is on TNT (and KGW) because we have played VERY well on TNT this year (including Brandon's 30 footer to win it in OT against Houston). Love the general vibe I have been getting all day, including finally getting everything I need to get done turned in for Lewis and Clark. I have no doubts that the epic battle will continue, but I am excited and ready to see what our team can bring to the table. Let's go get this thing! Follow along in the comments, if you choose. Game time is 6:00 PM.

Also, remember that I would like most of your final project done by tomorrow, so you can finish it up in class! This means the paper and what you are doing for your creative product! :-)

Game Day Open Thread: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets, Game 3

Wow, it felt pretty amazing to have the playoffs logo at the Rose Garden!
Okay class, here we go. The best of seven series is tied at 1-1. Game Three, in Houston, is starting at 6:30 PM, on KGW (Channel 8) and ESPN. I have the feeling that we are about to get absolutely crushed, but I am holding out hope that our team can continue the great momentum started by my cheering on Tuesday! I will be live-blogging it in the comments, though I am not exactly sure what sort of superstitions to follow, considering the last time I did my walk to Subway resulted in the catastrophe that was Game One. Follow along and comment away! Let's do this thing! :-)

GO BLAZERS!

Period 1: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 13 - Class Recap

At Game 2, with my friends Scott and Clarke. Standing on the court! So amazing! :-)
Hello Period 1,

As Abe noted in class today, I don't see you guys nearly enough. I swear that we have had about 5 more B day classes since I started teaching you guys. Next week, we will start to recoup these losses. A good day today, though I must confess that I am a little worried about your projects. It seemed liked the time I gave everyone in class was not put to much good use by all. Remember that there are two parts to this assignment - the paper explaining your product and going over the basics of the conflict, as well as the creative product. Please let me know if you are at all confused about what to do or needing help!

Today's agenda recap is brought to you in blue, courtesy of the classroom running out of black markers to use on the white board.

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state?

Soundtrack: "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey. Lyrics here. Chosen because we are continuing to look at aspects of the world that connect countries and cultures together.

AGENDA 4/23/09:
News Brief
Earth Day
Child Marriage in Yemen
Project Work

Homework: Continue to work on the final project (have most of it done by next class). Watch the Blazers game! Read recap on blog!

This weekend, I really want you to be hammering out those projects! The due date is Wednesday because I do not want to stress you out over the weekend, but please be focused on getting this done! Again, if you lost the handout, here is a copy to download:

Israel and Palestine Final Project
The Blazers play tomorrow night (Friday) at 6:30 on KGW (Ch. 8) and ESPN, in Houston for Game 3. No, this isn't actual homework for you to do. Just watch it if you have the free time and come back to the blog for fun comments with your more than slightly obsessed teacher. The Blazers also play Sunday at 6:00, on TNT and KGW.

News Brief: We had a good long conversation about the testing and career fair day yesterday. I am really glad that you guys had the opportunity to do this! I certainly would have found it interesting when I was in high school. Sorry about the super long tests. I definitely know how that goes. Testing is a part of life, though. Hopefully everyone got something out of it!

I also wanted to bring up the really interesting current news topic of torture in America. Someone mentioned in class that former Secretary of State Condolezza Rice gave approval for waterboarding, the tactic we mentioned in class. Here's a good rundown of the basics: Guardian.co.uk - Rice gave early approval for CIA waterboarding, Senate report reveals.

An opinion piece on the whole matter that I think is worth reading can be found here: RealClearPolitics.com - Even If It Works, US Shouldn't Torture.

From the article:

But no matter how hard one tries, one cannot credibly argue that, while waterboarding was a crime when committed by the Japanese in World War II, it is not a crime when committed by the United States in the 21st Century.

One of the opposing views can be found here: WashingtonPost.com - Congress Debates Fresh Investigation Of Interrogations. A quote:

Bush administration veterans, led by Cheney, are poised to renew a high-volume debate over the efficacy of the interrogation methods and, more broadly, the approach to terrorism that Obama's predecessor took after Sept. 11, 2001. Cheney called this week for the release of more memos that he said would demonstrate how effective the tactics were. And in an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity, he made it clear that he is ready to wage a battle over who is right.

"The threat is there. It's very real, and it's continuing," Cheney said. "And what the Obama people are doing, in effect, is saying, 'Well, we don't need those tough policies that we had.'"

Very, very interesting stuff.

Archana brought in a news story about Pakistan, which can be found here: CNN.com - Pakistan sends troops to area grabbed by Taliban. As I said in class, this was the headline story at CNN.com when I woke up this morning. A really big deal! Lots of conflict in this region of the world! Thanks Arch! Zack T. is up for next Monday. Any current article having to do with anything outside the United States.

Earth Day: Because Earth Day was yesterday, and I think we would be seriously remiss to not at least mention it in a Global Studies class, I brought in some interesting information about the history of the event, as well as what it is trying to accomplish. That can be found here: EarthDay.net. Specifically, the information I read to the class can be found here: History of Earth Day and here (again, note my skepticism about it not citing any sources): Climate Change Fact Sheet.

Child Marriage in Yemen: Next, I passed out an article that I found in last Sunday's Oregonian: Islamists Fight Yemen Law Banning Child Marriage. The link doesn't have the cool "who, what, why" box that was in the article I handed out, but you can see what the point of us reading this was. Having the ability to assess current issues, events, or problems is a really critical skill! I was also careful to mention again that while this may be a problem in some Middle Eastern countries, by no means are women this oppressed across the region.

Project Work: For the rest of class (about 30 minutes), you were supposed to be working on either your paper or your creative product. Please see me for anything you may need, whether it be advice or getting materials. Be sure to e-mail me or comment this weekend if you need help too! :-)
---

The Office is on tonight at 9:00 on NBC (yay! except that means that I can't go to bed early). Remember the Blazers games Friday and Sunday. Also, I will be playing basketball tomorrow during second lunch in the gym, should anyone wish to come join. Have a wonderful weekend!

Game Day Open Thread: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets, Game 2

Click on the picture. See the player on the far side of the court, with the ball in the air? A few rows in front and seats to the right of that ball is exactly where I will be tomorrow night!
Breathing in, breathing out... class, I JUST GOT TICKETS TO THE GAME! The Blazers website was selling them this evening, so they were relatively cheap too! I guess they had some left over or something? I will be sitting right on top of the players tunnel, Section 108, six rows from the front of the section. AHH! I AM SO EXCITED!

Thus, I will not be able to do a good job (or any job) writing the live blog. I trust that you guys will be up to the challenge of keeping tabs. Let me know if you see me on the TV too! I will be rocking the trusty red Roy #7 jersey. Please see below for the class recap, if you have not done so already.

GO BLAZERS! :-)

Period 1: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 12 - Class Recap

The Rose Garden. If you are the Rockets tomorrow night, you do not want to enter it. Right? Please? Picture taken by Mr. Fritz over Spring Break.
Hello class!

A very lively day today, I thought. Lots of conversation and debate, as I expected. Hopefully everyone is getting a really clear picture of the skills we are developing through studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is definitely a lot to it! Let's get the recap started!

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state?

Soundtrack: "The Warmth of the Sun" by The Beach Boys. Lyrics here. Picked because this song is secretly extremely depressing (because of the Blazers loss) and because it is forecasted to be 83 degrees today.

AGENDA 4/20/09:
Pass Back Quizzes
News Brief
Comprehending the Debate
Project Work

Homework: Continue to work on final project (bring in materials next class). Watch the Blazers game! Read recap on blog!

Everyone should have signed up on the "letter of intent" sheet. Basically, I wanted to see what you were thinking. Next class (on Thursday), bring anything that you need to help create the final project. If you are doing a skit, bring ideas for dialogue. If you are doing a collage, bring pictures, etc. Be working on this outside of class! How are you going to incorporate all of these different aspects of the conflict that we have been talking about?

The Blazers play tomorrow night (Tuesday) at 7:00 PM, on KGW (Ch. 8). We must win this game, or the series is essentially over. I will probably be live blogging again in the comments, so come back and follow along, if you like!

Pass Back Quizzes: As I stated in class, the average grade of these was 74.6%, but that is somewhat misleading because there were a few zeros. If you studied for it, I suspect that you did just fine. If you would like to retake it, I will allow you one opportunity. Please come see me if you want to.

News Brief: Aaron brought up the situation with the captain coming home from Somalia, after being held hostage. We also talked a little about President Obama shaking hands with Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela. That meeting, as well as the resulting reactions are nicely summed up here: CNN.com - Shake hands with Chavez but hold smiles, analyst says. All sorts of interesting things happen when you start paying attention to the rest of the world! I really liked how a few of you said you had heard about some of this through NPR (91.5 FM). Sweet! As long as you are interested in what is going on around the world, I am happy.

Comprehending the Debate: At this point in class, I asked everyone to think of something to debate (since I had arranged the room with two desks facing each other). After a few suggestions, we settled on the death penalty to start out with, which was helpful, because I had already prepared a Pro/Con sheet for it, which I handed out. The sheet was made using the amazingly interesting and helpful ProCon.org website. The page on the death penalty can be found here, while the "1 Minute Overview" that we used in class can be found here.

To begin, I told everyone facing the windows to argue the "Pro" position, while everyone facing the hall was "Con." We debated for about three minutes. Though this was a little loud and heated (sorry Mr. Hardin!) I think it was a great start. I then turned the tables and had everyone had to debate the side that they were just arguing against.

After this, I asked why we would do something like this. I really liked the responses! Empathy, perspective, comprehending what the issue is - all of it. Then, we argued another issue, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict! The ProCon.org page for this debate can be found here (that would definitely be a good website to look over for your project, if you have time), and the "1 Minute Overview" that we used in class can be found here.

We debated both sides of the table for three minutes each, and then came back together to write down some of the aspects of both sides. Those can be viewed here:


Some really good questions and thoughts here. Zack asked if the United States recognized (which means that we say that they are a country we will have relations with) Palestine before Israel became a country in 1948. I am still not sure about this, because I do not think that Palestine was (at least since the United States has been around) its own independent country. Once the British Mandate of control (since 1920) expired and Israel became a nation, the U.S. recognized it as independent. Source (with cool photo of President Truman's signature on the document that said we recognized Israel): Press Release - U.S. Recognition of Israel (1948).

Another question was asked about the language of Palestinians. It appears that Palestinians speak almost exclusively their own dialect of Arabic, with some infusions from Israeli Hebrew. Wikipedia - Palestinian Arabic.

Project Work: So again, how the heck are you going to get these two groups of people that have historically completely disagreed with each other, to sit down and realize that they do, in fact, have things in common and should work towards peace? I am hearing some really excellent ideas out there. Basically, I want you to utilize your talents! Are you a good artist? How about an athlete? We have talked a lot about the different things that connect countries and cultures. What do you think connects you to well to other people? I really want you to get in to this assignment!

We set the due date of next Wednesday, 4/29 for the project. After talking it over with Mrs. DeFrance (and thinking about how loud it got today with our multiple conversations), I am thinking that we may, in fact, do the class wide presentations. As you know, my main worry with this is that the presentations are boring. However, with this assignment in particular, there should be no way that you do not feel at least somewhat passionate about what you are doing. Hopefully that will translate.

Please be excited about this, and bring material to work on to class on Thursday! We will devote almost the entire time to working on this!
---

Enjoy the beautiful sunny weather! 24 is tonight at 9:00 on FOX, the Blazers play Houston tomorrow night at 7:00 on KGW/NBC. Also, if you feel so inclined, I will be at the after school football meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) at 2:45 in N140. There will be pizza and about 30 minutes of a movie, so anyone that is interested in football next year (and is not in a spring sport) come stop by!

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments! See you on Thursday!

Game Day Open Thread: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets, Game 1

EDIT Sunday, 3:00PM: Via Bust a Bucket, here is the best possible way to recap Game 1. You have to love the soundtrack too.


---

If anyone wants to, let's live blog this game in the comments! I've been on pins and needles all day! 7:30 PM tip off here in Portland, on both KGW (NBC, Channel 8) and ESPN, as well as on the radio at 95.5 FM. Can our recently on fire young team overcome the experience and defensive presence of the Rockets? Let's find out! GO BLAZERS!

Period 1: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 11 - Class Recap

A picture from my cell phone of the game last night. What a team! I will give away all the food coupons to anyone who comments and wants one! Up for grabs: 1 Chalupa, 2 Whoppers, 2 Apple Fries, and 1 Egg McMuffin. Post a comment telling me something that was interesting, or that you learned, from the class today and the item you want, and it's yours! First come, first serve!
Good morning class! It's a great day to be a Blazer and a Wildcat! :-)

To begin, thank you for the hard work today, when we got down to it. I know that I could have done a better job explaining exactly what we were doing with the developing skills, but I really loved that the class sort of carried me through and bought in to what we were doing. It would have been very easy to say, "Hey Mr. Fritz, this makes absolutely no sense," but you bought in and together (like the new poster on the wall), we made it make sense. Thank you for understanding my hoarse voice and any lack of the usual energy I have too, if that was apparent. As I said in class, the introduction to full time teaching is a huge strain on my ability to get decent amounts of sleep. That, and staying up late to be at a Blazers game...

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state?

Soundtrack: "Get Ready for This" by 2 Unlimited. There are no lyrics for this song, but it is a fantastic pump up "Jock Jam." I wanted everyone to be excited to be coming to the last class before the weekend, and working on your projects. That, and I was still excited from the Blazers game when I was writing the lesson plan at 12:30 AM last night.

AGENDA 4/16/09:
News Brief
Middle East Map Quiz
The Blazers are Proficient
Project Work
Playoff Pump-Up

Homework: Continue to work on the final project. Watch the Blazers game! Read recap on blog!

Again, be thinking about how, exactly, you are going to get your creative product to work! I need you to clear the idea by me before you can begin to work on your masterpieces! Remember that we are working on fostering relationships here. Your product needs to demonstrate this in some way! Please continue to ask me questions, if you have them!

The Blazers will be playing their first playoff game on Saturday at 7:30, on KGW and ESPN. If you want to follow along during the game by posting comments, I will be online at Casa de Fritz and will be posting responses and thoughts during the game in the comments. It might be a fun way to watch it together as a class - so if you get the chance, come back and check in!

Finally, as you should well know by now, please be reading the blog. It should be fairly obvious that I devote a lot of time and effort to it, so please use it to your advantage inside and outside of class.

News Brief: What an exciting start to the class! Not only did we have a light being repaired right in the middle of the room, but we got to talk about the Blazers! I showed you the "TOGETHER" poster that they were giving out before the game, which I posted on the wall. John Canzano of the Oregonian mentioned them in this article, near the end.

Someone mentioned that there were people camping outside the Rose Garden for the tickets that go on sale at noon today. This was something I was going to touch on at the end of class anyway, so I had Blazers Edge loaded and showed the class some pictures of people camping out at 3 AM. That link is here. Simply incredible. Blazermania is back! I also wanted to again point out the "Behind the Blazers Locker Room Door" series that Jason Quick is doing for the Oregonian. Here's the latest installment: Behind the Blazers Locker Room Door: At home with Denver.

It really was a fun game to be at. We were shown on the big screen a couple of times, and my mom is speaking at the rally later today! Lots of fun, exciting happenings going on. Like I said with the "together" thing, I am a big believer in knowing about what is going on in your community and being there for each other. The Blazers are a great example of that, and a team that I really feel proud to root for. Thanks for indulging me, everyone! :-)

Brooke brought in an absolutely FANTASTIC article about women in Afghanistan bonding together and speaking out: NYTimes.com - Afghan Women Protest Law on Home Life. Guys, again, isn't this exactly what we were talking about in class? Take a look at the following quote:

"We want our rights!" one of the women shouted, turning to face them. “We want equality!”

The women ran to the bus and dived inside as it rumbled away, with the men smashing the taillights and banging on the sides.

"Whores!"

But the march continued anyway. About 300 Afghan women, facing an angry throng three times larger than their own, walked the streets of the capital on Wednesday to demand that Parliament repeal a new law that introduces a range of Taliban-like restrictions on women, and permits, among other things, marital rape.

It was an extraordinary scene. Women are mostly illiterate in this impoverished country, and they do not, generally speaking, enjoy anything near the freedom accorded to men. But there they were, most of them young, many in jeans, defying a threatening crowd and calling out slogans heavy with meaning.

Seriously, how many of you wrote about women speaking out as being important? Or uniting together for the cause? Or overcoming a lack of education? I know it may sound silly, but this article put chills down my spine as I read it. I love it so much that I am going to bring it in to talk about in my other classes. Just an excellent look at the struggles of women in Afghanistan and what they are doing to overcome them, and completely relates to what we have been talking about. Brooke, phenomenal job on selecting it. Aaron, you are up for next class, on Monday. Any current event outside the United States.

Middle East Map Quiz: Thank you for being quiet and focused on this. I took a gander (great word) at these, and most of them look okay, at the least! Except there was only one person who remembered the statistic from reading the blog, which is entirely depressing. Hopefully the food incentive will up the readership too. I will have these graded and back to you next class.

The Blazers are Proficient: I loved the question "Mr. Fritz, is there supposed to be a Blazers game recap in this packet?" Why yes, yes there was. I introduced the packet as a way to look at proficiency in Social Studies. This is a lot like Math, except we are looking at things like, "Can you identify and explain the critical components of an event, issue or problem?"

We will be using the rest of the packet (and some additions) to go through and construct your explanation paper and final creative product for the unit. So, to begin explaining the who, what, when, where, and why on an event, issue, or problem, I provided the Associated Press game recap ESPN.com - Outlaw scores 21 as Blazers claim home-court advantage. We read this as a class together and then I asked you to write identify and explain the critical components of the event! A fun transition here.

After that, I asked you to use that same skill to identify and explain the main parts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, using the PowerPoint notes and any other information you know. After some hesitation about exactly what I was asking you to do with each question, I think this went pretty well! Remember, the more that you can explain or put down, the better. If I ask who is involved, it is not enough to say Israelis and Palestinians. What are the characteristics of those two groups?

Hopefully the recap on the board helped you out as well. This is something we are going to continue to explore! We really want to know, do you have this certain skill?

Project Work: I gave the class about ten minutes to get in groups and talk to each other about the project, or work on it. I really liked most of the ideas that were brought up! Next class, I am going to need a definitive statement (we will write it in class) of what you are going to do. Let me know if you have any questions!

Playoff Pump-Up: Finishing the obscenely Blazer-centric day (my serious apologies to those of you that could not care less), I showed the following video to get everyone excited about playing the Rockets, and then sent the class on its way:


---

Have a fantastic weekend! Enjoy The Office tonight (9 PM, NBC) and come back here for the Blazers playoff game (7:30 PM, KGW/NBC and ESPN), if you want to have a running conversation! :-)

Period 1: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 10 - Class Recap

The United States provides Israel with an average of 3 billion dollars a year in military aid. I would remember that fact if I were you. Source: NYTimes.com - U.S. and Israel Sign Military Aid Deal.
Hello Period 1 students, where ever you may be!

Lots of interesting information and content to go over today. Generally, I liked how class went! We are in a very nice groove of knowing exactly how things work and what is going on at each moment, I do believe. It is wonderful to have someone in the class be able to speak and actually have everyone listen to and consider what they are saying. Let's keep it going!

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state? - The second question is a new one, built off of our final project (which just so happens to be based off the first essential question).

Soundtrack: "Paris, Tokyo" by Lupe Fiasco. Lyrics here. This is a fantastic song for thinking about traveling around the world, and seeing all sorts of different cultures and countries. For one reason or another, the Lizzie McGuire Movie soundtrack came up, and we were trying to remember the main song. It was "Why Not?" Why not, take a crazy chance? Why not, do a crazy dance... My sister definitely would have remembered that for us.

AGENDA 4/14/09:
News Brief (Extra! Extra!)
The Israeli-Palestinian Problem
Final Project
Work/Study

Homework: Study for Middle East map quiz, on Thursday. Idea for the final project. Read recap on blog!

Yes, the Middle East map quiz is on Thursday. You should have had ample time to study and remember the countries in this incredibly important region of the world. I will provide you with the names of the countries on the quiz, but it will most likely be a slightly different map than the one I handed you to study on.

Also, I would like you to bring in one concrete idea for what you are going to do for your final project. This will be recapped in great detail below in the "Final Project" section.

News Brief (Extra! Extra!): I wrote Extra! Extra! because I knew that I wanted Abe and Zack T. to talk about their experiences at the basketball games over the weekend. I also wanted to highlight some of the recent happenings in Somalia - as you could see, I was incredibly excited to be able to instantly say "See? This is why we learned all about this!" Social Studies is all about the world around us, and it is always great to make connections to current events.

Tanya brought this current events article (or one similar) to share with the class: UPI.com - Afghan women's rights activist killed. This was absolutely excellent to bring in, thanks Tanya! It ties right in with my point about women not simply being able to "stand up and speak out" as many of the students in the class said should happen in the Middle East. Generally (there are some exceptions) it is such a difficult place in the world for women to really have an impact on making policy decisions! So much so that an extremist group is offering huge rewards for killing members of a council. Continue to be thinking about this, everyone! Brooke, you are up next for Thursday's class. One current event article, about anything outside the United States.

The Israeli-Palestinian Problem: This section of class was devoted to learning a little more about the conflicts in Israel. I handed out the notes from the PowerPoint (please come see me if you were not in class for this) and went through this presentation, asking you to take notes about things that were interesting (or in some cases, what I had just told you to write down):

The Israeli-Palestinian Problem PowerPoint
I am not sure if I like how my handing out the PowerPoint notes relates to a seeming lack of attention to the presentation. Today we were much better than the last time, but still, I would really appreciate your attention and focus when I give you a break and do not make you take enormous amounts of written notes for each slide to stay focused.

Something that came up during the PowerPoint was my love for the Olympics, and how the recent Opening Ceremony in Beijing was one of the most incredible performances I have ever seen. Ben wanted me to post a video of it. Done and done.

Final Project: Transitioning from the presentation and using all of the information we have learned about different cultures across the Middle East, I handed out the final project for this unit, which can be downloaded here:

Israel and Palestine Final Project Handout
We read this together as a class, and as promised we will go through many different aspects of what I am asking you to do over the next few class days. Again, your homework is to think of an idea that you can bring in to start working on (and get my approval) for next class.

As I said in class, the main point of this assignment is not to try and determine a Middle East peace plan between Israel and Palestine. There are some classes that do that exercise, and while I think it can be incredibly valuable, I want our class to create something that can help get us to that point. I heard many good thoughts in class today, and I also listed out a few options in the assignment. Please come see me or ask away in the comments or e-mail me if you have any questions about this project!

Work/Study: I was glad to see that we ended up with a good 15 minutes or so to study for the Middle East map quiz and think of ideas for the project. Most of this was good work, but please remember to be considerate of our neighbors next door when you are discussing your amazing ideas. :-)
---

The Blazers play their final game of the season tomorrow night at 7:30 (televised nationally on ESPN), against Denver. I will be there, in Rip City Row! If the Blazers win, they are assured home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, so it is a pretty big deal. I have class at Lewis and Clark right before it from 4:30 to 7:30 (I'm hoping to get out a little early), so if I am not able to post your comment, that is why. Other than that, please be studying up, and stay active and involved in the world around you! Have a fantastic rest of the day!

Period 1: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 9 - Class Recap

After a Blazers game against New Orleans earlier this year. From left to right: my brother Maxwell, my great friend Clarke, and Mr. Fritz, in my Brandon Roy jersey. Go Blazers! :-)
Hello amazing and delightful students,

Thank you for the (as always) interesting class today! What I particularly love about you guys is that, for the most part, you really feel comfortable sharing your opinions and bringing in things that are going on around the world to talk about. Naturally, your enthusiasm for material makes me even more excited to learn about things, if that makes sense. For instance, how could I have possibly known that we would have a 15 minute conversation about gay marriage today? You keep me on my toes and excited to come to class for some engaging thinking. At its core (in my opinion), Global Studies is about fostering interest in other countries and cultures. Today was definitely one of those days where that happened, in all likelihood. A great way to head into a new quarter and get ready to finish out the year.

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What is the impact of religion on policy in the Middle East? - We also went back a little to an essential question from earlier in the unit: What impact can women in the Middle East have on policy?

Soundtrack: "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin. Lyrics here. As Archana helpfully pointed out, Kashmir is a region in between Pakistan and India. Learn more about it here. As I said in class, this is another one of those regions in the Middle East where there is a LOT of conflict about who should control it. Also, I cannot believe that it has taken me this long to use a Led Zeppelin song for the soundtrack - they are one of my all time favorite bands. "Kashmir" is also used in some of the Portland Trail Blazers introduction videos at the Rose Garden, and P. Diddy made a remix of it for the movie Godzilla. Now THAT is a versatile song selection!

AGENDA 4/9/09:
News Brief
Afghanistan
Michelle Obama
Mapping the ME
Late Work/Revisions

Homework: Study for Middle East map quiz. Read recap on blog!

Hopefully, you got to study up during class. Please remember to keep looking at it this weekend! More instructions on that below.

News Brief: As I handed back work at the beginning of class, I asked Archana to recap the Blazers game (undeniably the biggest road win this season) at San Antonio last night. By the way, if you are a Blazers fan (or even if you are not) and you are not reading the Behind the Blazers Locker Room Door articles by Jason Quick of the Oregonian, you are SERIOUSLY missing out. Those are some of the best, most insightful, interesting reports that you will ever read.

I asked the class to talk a little bit about Tuesday with Mrs. DeFrance. There seemed to be an outpouring of statements about homework. To clear this up: Mrs. DeFrance asked you to take notes on the reading for homework. She told me that she got some resistance from the class about assigning it, which gives me pause for concern. Though I try not to assign you homework that I think is meaningless or excessively time consuming, you definitely need to do any homework that IS assigned, on time. That is our deal. Now, this time is an exception, because I was not aware that homework was assigned, but in the future, I do not want any sort of backlash against assignments.

Finally, before we got to the news brief, as part of my standard "what's going on in the world, everybody?" question that I like to try and ask at the beginning of class, someone brought up the news story of Reuters - Vermont becomes 4th state to allow gay marriage, which was hot on the heels of: Washington Post - Iowa Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage.

This was an incredibly interesting discussion! A few notes that I wanted to point out. We had it right in class: the four states that have legal gay marriage are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and now Vermont. I pointed out one of the key debates: who should even determine if gay marriage should be allowed in a state? Should it be up to the people, in the form of elections, so that the majority truly rules? Or, should it be in the form of the judicial branch, where judges interpret the Constitution and other state laws, to make sure that there is equality and fairness? It is an interesting question. In the first three states, MA, CT, and IA, it was all judges that decided that banning gay marriage violated the Constitution. Vermont is unique in that the state's legislators (the people that were elected democratically) decided to legalize gay marriage - and even overrode the governor's veto to do so.

I also talked a little about the whole idea of liberals and conservatives (which I suspect you will learn much more about next year). Basically, conservatives want a return to the traditions of the country, like small government and "family values." Liberals are more concerned with the pursuit of "progress" and reforming things. Naturally, liberals tend to be on the forefront of pushing for gay rights, where conservatives form most of the opposition. If you remember the website fivethirtyeight.com from election season (when I showed you all the polls that said Obama was in the lead), the head writer, Nate Silver, wrote a terrific piece on the politics of gay marriage recently, which can be read here: Nate Silver - Will Iowans Uphold Gay Marriage?

After this great discussion, Mustafe gave us an incredible news story out of Somalia: BBC.co.uk - Hijacked US crew 'retake vessel' From the last I heard, the U.S. captain is still being held hostage on the small boat. See, now you can tell anyone else all about Somalia and the reasons behind why pirates exist there! Everything that we learn should be useful knowledge in this way!

Tanya, you are up for next Tuesday. Any news article, having anything to do with the world outside the United States.

Afghanistan: I talked a little about how the Russian Revolution and communism has impacted the country of Afghanistan. This is a country that is extremely difficult to control. Russia invaded Afghanistan and got bogged down in a never ending war, when the United States supplied the fighters in Afghanistan. Today, the United States is involved in a long war there, with no real prospects of "victory" any time soon. However, we do support the new government we have installed, with President Hamid Karzai at the helm. Which makes the following video (if you can't watch the video, read this article: CNN.com - Afghanistan 'rape' law puts women's rights front and center) all the more incredible, especially when we assess the state of women's rights in the Middle East:



As I made sure to note in class, it is not as if all countries in the Middle East (or all Islamic countries) have such restrictive measures on women. Turkey would be a good example of a country that has a relatively great record on women's rights: Wikipedia - Gender Equality in Turkey.

We noted that this new law is for Shia women, but there is a new one for Sunni women in the works. Someone in the class asks what the difference between Sunni and Shia was. I was right on my educated guess that Shia believe that the direct descendants of the prophet Muhammad should be the leaders of Islam, while the Sunni believe that new leaders should be elected amongst the people best suited for the job. A good recap on that can be found here: About.com - What's the Difference Between Shia and Sunni Muslims?

Michelle Obama: We then watched a clip of Michelle Obama talking about the importance of education, as well as making some London girls go hysterical. Here is that clip:



As I noted after the video, it really touched me when I first saw it, to the point of me tearing up. Such a powerful image - the First Lady shrugging off Secret Service agents to hug ecstatic girls in London. I used this to transition to talking about our goals for next quarter, because education is so important to overall success in life. Everyone in the class wrote something down that they could improve on in the classroom, and what they could do to achieve it. I took a quick look at these and I am really excited about helping you guys get to where you want to be! Thanks for participating in this!

Mapping the Middle East: I handed out blank maps of the Middle East, and asked the class to identify the following countries for an upcoming map quiz (I am thinking Thursday): Iran, Iraq, Israel, Sudan, Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Again, so everyone is clear on exactly why I am having you do this, we read this article in class from the projector: Reuters - Most Young Americans Can't Find Iraq on Map: Study. Simply incredible statistics, especially because the United States is currently in the midst of two wars in the Middle East. In 2006, only 12 percent of 18-24 year olds could place Pakistan on a map – 40% could find Iraq, 25% could place Israel and Iran. Let's improve those numbers a bit, shall we?

It really is important to know exactly where world events are located. Thank you for getting right down to work on this!

Late Work/Revisions: I tried to leave as much time as possible (though the assembly shortened schedule made it difficult) to work on making these maps, as well as getting any late work in and checking in with you about your grades. I did not get to everyone, but I trust if you are at all worried about your grade, you have already come and talked to me about what you can do. Again, I am more than happy to help you out - all I need is the effort from you! If you have something you can get to me via e-mail, please do so by tonight.
---

The Period 1 Dream Team of Jazmyne, Jordon, Abe, Russel, Mustafe, and I absolutely dominated at lunch basketball today. Like, it wasn't even close. Abe must have hit 3 to 4 threes, Jazmyne, as is typical, cleaned up for about 6 lay-ups, and Mustafe simply could not be guarded, so he started showing off. No baskets for me, but really, why would I even need to shoot? Good times all around. Thanks for letting me play guys! You are truly incredible, on and off the court.

There are TWO new episodes of The Office tonight on NBC! I am incredibly excited. It starts at 8:00; at 8:30 is the new show "Parks and Recreation" by the creators of The Office, and at 9:00 is another new Office. Oh wow, life rocks. Except that after that, this weekend gets unbelievably busy with grading, writing my own papers, and creating lessons for next week. The Blazers play the L*kers tomorrow night at home, on KGW (Ch. 8). Wow, could I love this Blazers team any more? Doubtful, but we will see! They also go down to L.A. to play the Clippers on Saturday at 7:30 on CSN, as well as Monday back in Portland vs. Oklahoma City at 7:30 on CSN.

Other than that, enjoy the long weekend, study up, and come back refreshed and excited for our last nine weeks together! I can't wait! :-)

Period 1: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 8 - Class Recap

The Beaverton School District booth at the job fair today.
Good afternoon class,

I really hope you had a great class with Mrs. DeFrance this morning! I have some basics about what she planned to do, but since she (as you already know) is a fantastic teacher and already knows exactly what to do, I left most of the lesson planning up to her. I will recap what I know below in a second, but first, I'm sure that a few of you might be interested in what happened at the job fair.

Basically, as expected, it was almost an entirely depressing experience, with lots of standing in line (think Disneyland, except with no fun ride at the end), a little bit of face time with a few districts, a lot of "we're not hiring now, apply online and check back later in the year," and a decent amount of handing out resumes. The Convention Center floor is enormous! My feet got tired quickly of walking everywhere and standing in line. I was there for about 4 hours and had a few really good interactions (and mini interviews), but other than that, no leads. I walked out a little frustrated, but not entirely surprised. Actually, more than anything, it made me appreciate your class and interning at Westview that much more, because having the job of teaching you is something that is beyond awesome. It truly has been one of the best experiences of my life. I couldn't possibly want to do anything else! The future may be entirely up in the air, but the present is pretty dang amazing. :-)

On to the class recap!

Mrs. DeFrance knows a lot about the Russian Revolution, and even has a lesson called "the Russian Revolution in a nutshell," so I am sure that everyone got to learn some pretty interesting things! We really wanted to relate how the Soviet Union got caught up in Afghanistan (as the United States is now) and why all of that happened. Here is the breakdown of activities for the day:

Map of Russia
Quick Briefing of WWII
Nicholas Tsar – Reading
Video – What's a Revolution – OAR Revolution Song
Russian Revolution in a Nutshell
- Knowledge
- Comprehension
- Application
- Analysis
- Evaluation
Going from a Monarchy to Communism
Communism Quiz
Talk about how it "theoretically" has to go through 5 stages
10 bad things that happened during the USSR

It certainly looks like a lot! Talking with Mrs. DeFrance beforehand, she told me that the quiz would be graded "communist style," where everyone would be graded equally. A fantastic idea! I wonder how that one went over? :-)

We also wanted to point out the reasons why communism is inherently unstable and that there has never really been a true communist country in the world. Basically, people are greedy. Also, people generally love power and do not like giving it up.

Zach N. should have given a news brief, with Mustafe up for this Thursday.

You should have no homework from today's class, other than to get in all late work (by the next time we meet on Thursday - we do not have school on Friday).

Other than that, I'm not really sure what to say! I really missed you all and I think one time a year missing teaching a class is more than enough for me. Let me know your thoughts on how it went and what you did in class in the comments! Have a great day! Go Blazers (tonight at 5:00 on CSN)!

Period 1: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 7 - Class Recap

A 2006 version of the McDonald's Dollar Menu. How many of you could live on a bottled water and a double cheeseburger, for the ENTIRE day? Especially day after day? Great article on the effects of the dollar menu in today's economy: CBS.com - Cheap Food Trumps Healthy Dining During Recession.
Hello amazing students!

A productive week back from Spring Break is in the books! Hopefully, everyone is actually reading this. It was hard to see my hopes and dreams of 100% participation in reading the blog dashed in class, but I am extremely thankful for those that do follow along diligently after every day! You guys are rock stars. :-)

On to the recap:

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What is the impact of religion on policy in the Middle East?

Soundtrack: "It Takes Two" by Zac Efron. Chosen, like I said in class, because I went into my iTunes folder and searched for "two" - and also because I wanted to appeal to some of the fans of musicals in the class. This song is from the Hairspray soundtrack.

AGENDA 4/3/09:
News Brief
The (Two) Dollar Menu
Forced Choice
Revisions/Late Work

Homework: Finish late work. Be good to Mrs. DeFrance on Tuesday. Check blog!

Again, it is so important for everyone to be on top of getting all of their work in. Let me work with you on revising things! Help me, help you! Especially if you got a low grade or are missing either the Africa travel guide or the Nigeria essay. Those two assignments are worth a really big percentage of your grade this quarter.

As I said in class, after not missing a day of teaching for 4 months, next Tuesday I will be gone at the Oregon Professional Educator Fair, which is in downtown Portland. Of course, my first stop will be the Beaverton School District. :-) Please be great for Mrs. DeFrance, as I know you will be! We are in the process of planning that day, but we think it will be about the Russian Revolution, and how it impacted Afghanistan (and in turn, the rest of the Middle East). Get ready to be communists!

If you are reading this, you are doing one of your homework assignments already. Way to go!

News Brief: As I handed back the visual metaphors from last semester, I asked about what was going on in the world, if anyone had some good April Fool's Day stories, and other generally interesting things. We talked a little bit about the G-20 meetings in London, which are absolutely fascinating to hear about. Apparently, Michelle Obama wore J. Crew. We will probably talk about her a little more in the coming days, especially as we continue to think about how women can have an impact.

Morgan brought in an article about the Prime Minister of Israel saying that he wants peace with the Palestinians. Her article might have been: BBC.co.uk - Netanyahu 'will be peace partner'. Very interesting stuff! We talked later in class about making an effort for peace, and if that is going to be good enough. Hopefully, it is!

Zach N. is up for next Tuesday (Mrs. DeFrance said it would be great, so go ahead and bring it in). A current news article about anything outside of the United States.

The (Two) Dollar Menu: I asked the class to get out the homework on living on a dollar a day and share them. Then, I asked for volunteers to share what they wrote with the class. A lot of it relied on other people to help out. What does that say? What amount of people living on $2 a day or less have to depend on more wealthy people for assistance? Further, what can the United States do about it? All good questions that come up after this.

Also, I mentioned a currently airing Taco Bell commercial, where I simply do not understand the posture of the guy that says "but we can get nachos at the game, man!" That commercial can be watched here: Taco Bell - Nacho Drag Commercial. Watch the part between 8 and 9 seconds. What the heck kind of posture is that? It completely does not go with the last shot of the guy. The shorter, 15 second version of this commercial is even worse. Good times.

EDIT: Here's a capture from the video, illustrating what I was talking about. That is an hilarious picture, you have to admit!


Hopefully by putting some serious thought into this, you saw that it would be ridiculously difficult to live on two dollars a day, somewhere in the world.

Forced Choice: Now, THIS was a lot of fun. Thank you for being willing take a stand for what you believe in! I created these statements purposely to be divisive, so that we could see multiple perspectives on an issue. Specifically, I wanted all of the questions to somehow relate to the Middle East and what we are studying. I know this was somewhat difficult! That was the point!

I was also really excited to see all the optimism on the last statement: The conflicts in the Middle East can be solved, with enough effort. It really is a very difficult question to consider. On one hand, there has really never been a sustained period of peace. On the other, is it productive to try and solve the conflicts? I was also really glad to see a few "realists" take the side of "no." That to me shows that there was a lack of being naive, at the very least.

This took a lot of time, but I think it was really fun. I am going to try similar activities in the future. Definitely leave any thought about how that process went, or defend your opinion, below in the comments!

Revisions/Late Work: We didn't have as much time for this as I would have liked, but it was good to be able to go over some grades and give everyone some good time to do things. Also, it was Friday, and nice to be able to unwind a little. Hopefully, this was productive. I cannot emphasize this enough: come see me or e-mail me if you want to know what your grade is or what you can do to improve it. I am fairly sure that I have talked to most everyone that I need things from, but really, every single assignment is crucial. I had a student go from an overall B to a high A today, just through revising the Nigeria essay. It is worth the effort! Also, you can take a look at the extra credit opportunities below as well.
---

I am excited for some basketball today during 2nd Lunch, and tonight for with the Blazers at the Team That Shall Not Be Named, at 5:00 on CSN. The Blazers also play Sunday at 4:00 at Houston on KGW. The Final Four is Saturday and the championship is on Monday, on CBS. I should be available all of the weekend for e-mails and comments. I have lots of grading and homework of my own to do, so don't be afraid to post and provide me with good distractions! Have an absolutely amazing weekend! You guys are incredible!