Period 1: Nonviolence and Gandhi, Day 8 - Class Recap

Because today is 6/4, I figured I could use a picture of me as senior in high school, posing with my #64 football jersey. I wasn't joking when I said that I could never root for Lincoln. :-)
Dear students,

Thank you for another fun and interesting class, as always! It was great to get to check in with everyone about your papers and talk about the issues of the day. It was also a class full of thinking about the future, and what we should aspire to do with our lives! I cannot believe we only have three more classes together! Let's get on with the recap!

Essential Questions: How does conflict arise and in what ways have various people responded? How did the concept of nonviolence develop and become implemented?

Soundtrack: "China Grove" by The Doobie Brothers. Lyrics here. This song has really nothing to do with China (see here), but I needed something to relate to what we were doing today (and talking about the Tienanmen Square anniversary), so here it is. A good song, too!

AGENDA 6/4/09:
News Brief
Who Was Gandhi?
First Draft Check-In
The Old Man

Homework: Finish and turn in any late work/revisions. Read the blog and ask questions!

There are many of you with assignments that need to be made up or revised. Almost everyone has the final paper to revise as well. Thank you for all the participation here on the blog, too! 80 comments is really amazing! Way to go!

News Brief: The class really did not have that much to talk about in regards to the news (or at least, I did not write anything down to come back to), but that was okay, because I definitely had a few items to go over.

I mentioned that the Nike SPARQ testing yesterday was a fun event and it was good to see C.J., Carson, and Zack T. there. After that, I had to drive over to Lewis and Clark to pick up my graduation stuff! The commencement ceremony I am in is this Sunday, at 10:00 AM. You can see all of my teaching friends and me! Woo hoo! Here is a link to watch the ceremony live online: Lewis and Clark Commencement 2009. Apparently, the webcast launches at 9:45 AM and changes to live feed at 10 AM. Let me know in the comments if there is a consensus about a signal I can do for you guys! I suppose I could do the touching the nose thing if all else fails. If you don't know when I will be coming up, it is alphabetical by degree. I will be getting my Masters of Arts in Teaching. :-)

I also wanted to point out that the NBA Finals starts tonight, and if you want Mr. Hardin to be sane tomorrow when he is teaching you guys, you had better be rooting for the Lakers. That will air at 6:00 PM on ABC.

In other news, President Obama had an enormously big speech today in Cairo, Egypt. He was talking to Muslims in the Middle East. Some of it was almost EXACTLY the same as what you guys did for your Israeli-Palestinian project! Here's how he addressed the conflict:

For decades then, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It's easy to point fingers -- for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought about by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security. (Applause.)

That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. And that is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience and dedication that the task requires. (Applause.) The obligations -- the obligations that the parties have agreed to under the road map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them -- and all of us -- to live up to our responsibilities.

Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign neither of courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That's not how moral authority is claimed; that's how it is surrendered.

AHH! Is this not EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IN CLASS? Seriously, stuff like this makes me smile. What we do in class really has a real world impact for the rest of your life, I promise.

Read how President Obama ended the speech:

It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There's one rule that lies at the heart of every religion -- that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. (Applause.) This truth transcends nations and peoples -- a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today.

We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.

The Holy Koran tells us: "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Applause.)

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth.

Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.)

Good stuff. You can watch the entire speech as well as click on a link for a transcript to read here: WhiteHouse.gov - The President's Speech in Cairo: A New Beginning.

I also pointed out that New Hampshire became state number 6 to legalize gay marriage (with a lot of protections for religious people who do not want to have anything to do with it). An article on that can be found here: NYTimes.com - New Hampshire Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage. As I pointed out in class, it is pretty unbelievable how fast this whole thing is moving. In the past 3 months, four states have legalized gay marriage. Here is a great map of which states have legalized it and which states (like Oregon, have passed laws to ban gay marriage in the state Constitution - though Oregon offers rights to gay couples through something called "civil unions"): NPR.org - State By State: The Legal Battle Over Gay Marriage. As you can see, most of the country has banned gay marriage. A very interesting topic!

Finally, I wanted to make sure to note that today was the 20th Anniversary of the Tienanmen Square protests being broken up. Read all about the event here. This is the video I showed in class (just the first part, until the credits roll):



After this played, I showed this video of the unknown "tank man" standing up to block the Chinese military. A very important date in history!

Is there anyone that would like to bring in a news brief for next class? Pretty please? Volunteer in the comments! :-)

Who Was Gandhi? For this section, I had you write for a little bit (as I passed out an article) about what you would do for a "bucket list" if you knew you only had six months to live, to somehow better society. I really liked the responses that I heard, and I want to hammer home the point - why don't we live like this more often? Why aren't we doing more to help third world countries, for instance? I think a large part of it is that almost everyone is afraid that they will die and wants to deny that they eventually will. Part of coping with this is that we do not realize how we can truly have a long lasting positive impact on the world! Leaving a good legacy!

Gandhi was someone that definitely did leave a long lasting legacy. I had you read this article on Gandhi and look for ways that he tried to have an impact. It is a really interesting (but long, I know) article, so I hope you liked it! We will be talking more about it next class. TIME.com - Person of the Century, Runner-Up - Mohandas Gandhi.

First Draft Check-In: During the time when you were reading the article, Mrs. DeFrance and I were checking papers and asking many of you to continue revising. If we asked you to do this, please bring your revised copy to class on Monday to turn in, thanks!

The Old Man: With about 20 minutes left in class, I showed the Seinfeld episode "The Old Man" because it talks about having an impact through volunteering, and about Gandhi for a little bit. It is also really funny and I thought it was a good reward for all of your hard work so far on the paper. Keep it up!
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Tomorrow is a crazy long senior assembly schedule day, so it is possible that Mr. Hardin and I might open up the doors between the classes during second period to watch a movie or something. Heads up about that! Please continue to be working hard on your papers and asking if there is anything I can do to help!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.
- Henry David Thoreau