Period 1: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 19 - Class Recap

Faraj Adnan, one of the people in the movie Promises that we finished today. The picture can be found here. Also, here is a site that tells you a little bit about what happened right after the movie. Faraj is now 24. Should you feel so inclined, here is Faraj's MySpace, and here is his FaceBook. Also, while you are at it, here is Yarko Solan's FaceBook. I wonder if they are friends? Certainly something that connects cultures and countries - social networking sites! :-)
Good morning class!

Wow, there was definitely a lot to talk about today. Thank you so much for the focus and attention! I really liked what we did with everything. This was really an excellent way to end the unit, as well as reflect upon all the good stuff that we have done throughout. Obviously, we did not get even close to being done with all the things that I was planning for, but that is okay. Next class (there are only EIGHT left - can you believe it?) we will get to all of that. For now, let's go on to the recap together!

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? How can the Middle East be stabilized?

Soundtrack: "Let Love In" by Goo Goo Dolls. Lyrics here. Really an excellent song. It can also definitely be related to the conflicts that we are studying!

AGENDA 5/11/09:
News Brief
Finish Promises
Reflections on Goals/Unit/Class
Civil Rights

Homework: Finish any late work – work on your goals! Read blog recap!

Specifically, I would like you to write a little reflection about how you are doing in accomplishing the goals that you set out for yourself at the beginning of the quarter. Also, about the late work/progress report grades: what ended up happening was that I did not feel comfortable speeding through all your wonderful papers and presentations to grade for the Progress Report. Thus, I graded the skill packet (almost everyone got a 10/10), meaning that your grades were virtually unchanged from the quarter grades. Please come see me if you would like an update on where you stand - I am hopeful that I can get everything back to you on Wednesday! Sorry about the wait!

News Brief: After going over the essential questions, soundtrack, agenda, and bowing down to Mr. Chamberlain, I introduced Mr. Paul Copley, the teaching legend at Lewis and Clark who came to watch for the day, and we sung Happy Birthday to Mrs. DeFrance. Then, after settling down a bit, we talked a little bit about the current news of the day. Someone mentioned a story about someone being pushed off a building in the Middle East. Mr. Copley was able to tell me after class that this was probably about the recent 60 Minutes feature on Ashraf Marwan, a secret agent that both Egypt and Israel praises as their own. I do not know anything about the story, but it certainly looks interesting. Here's the link: CBSnews.com - 60 Minutes: Was The Perfect Spy A Double Agent?

We had another update about the swine flu, and how it was related to a man dying in Washington State. Source: OregonLive.com - Washington man's death related to swine flu, state says.

Abe asked about Yasser Arafat, and whether or not he was a terrorist. That question sort of took me aback, because I was (and am) really uncertain about how to answer it. Put it this way, it is exactly like this forced choice prompt that I asked you to think about: "People that fight for their countries freedom are to be commended and encouraged."

I'm simply not sure how to answer it. How do you define "terrorist"? Definitely interesting to think about.

Before Lauren went, I read this article aloud to the class: CNN.com - Saudi judge: It's OK to slap spendthrift wives. Honestly, this was one of those cases where I read this last night as I was making the lesson plan and knew that it would be perfect to bring in to talk about. I liked the responses here! We certainly could have done more with it, but I wanted to make sure that we had enough time for the film.

Lauren brought in this article to talk about: Yahoo! News - Ex-soldier could get death in Iraq rape, slayings. Really interesting and very sad. Certainly another factor to think about in the conflict that the United States is in with Iraq: how do that country's citizens see us?

Abe volunteered to bring in an article for next class on Wednesday. I think I will continue to ask for volunteers, or just pull cards.

Finish Promises: I really loved the thoughts throughout watching this movie. Your class is the easiest to tell that you are into stuff like this, because of all the laughter, exclamations, gasps, tears, etc. I liked how when I stopped the tape right before the kids were about to meet, a lot of people got mad. Good! I'm glad you were in to this! Even more so, I was really excited to hear your thoughts about all of it, especially about the innocence of children and the circumstances that they were born into. This was so related to the rest of the movie and the overall point!

By the way, now that the film is done, here is the trailer for the movie, and you can also watch the entire film on YouTube in 10 parts. That playlist can be found here.

I am very interested to see what you did with these conversations! I think it was a good way to approach watching the film. It is possible that we will do something next class with these as well. Again, thank you for your participation!

Reflections on Goals/Unit/Class: Obviously, we did not get to most of this. I handed back your goals from the beginning of the semester as you were writing about Promises. We will do this activity next class, which I am excited about. Always good to have feedback!

Civil Rights: Yes, did we did not get to any of this. That is okay! A nice clean break with the next unit!
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I cannot believe how much stuff I have to do. This is ridiculous. Because of this, I should be working hard all throughout the rest of the day near the computer and will be able to respond to comments and e-mails in a timely fashion. Other than that, I will be watching the third to last episode of 24 tonight at 9:00, on FOX. Possibly some playoff basketball too. Have a great evening! Continue to work hard! The end of the school year is coming right up!