Did you know that this week is only the second since I took over as your full time teacher in early December that we have had a week with three A days? At least, I'm pretty sure. It definitely feels like I do not get to see you guys enough - the breaks, days off, and quirks of the schedule have had some interesting effects on class time so far!
Today was another good day, though I must say that I was a little disappointed with the quality of the presentations (I'm not sure if we actually got anything at all from that exercise, which may be partly on me) and how it seemed like some of you STILL neglected to do the easiest homework assignment of all time. I'm not even sure what to say about that.
However, as always, I loved your questions and our interactions during the PowerPoint. Things like that make me excited to be a teacher - making a (hopefully) interesting lecture and diving right into new content that we get to break down in the upcoming classes. Woo hoo!
Essential Questions: How do different structures of power impact the people over whom they govern? What is a developed nation?
Soundtrack: "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson. A great song about starting with yourself, instead of blaming others for not doing anything. "If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change." Lyrics here.
AGENDA 2/9/09 News Brief Finish Worksheets Present Chapters Developed vs. Developing Debrief Homework PowerPoint
Homework: Read article and write at LEAST two questions that arise from it. Be prepared to discuss Wednesday! Check blog!
--> The article that you are supposed to read can be downloaded here if you lost it or were not in class to pick a copy up:
Again, this is supposed to be controversial, and I want everyone to bring your thoughts, reactions, and most importantly, questions that it raises. I am anticipating an extremely interesting discussion - don't let me down! Also, I want you to really think hard about this. There is an obvious, easy reaction to much of what the author is writing, but does he make any points that need to be answered?
News Brief: I started off class by asking about everyone's weekends. I didn't really say much about mine, but on Saturday, I took a four hour long test - one of the many that we have to take in order to become licenced teachers. It was ridiculous! I also talked a little bit about Honors this year - please go see or write to Mr. Hardin ASAP if you are interested! Time is rapidly running out, and many of you are more than capable of taking on the extra load.
It is interesting to consider the types of weather we are seeing all over the world. As Keirra put it very well, it is just weird. We have a whole lot of extremes. Frankly, it's a little scary, because part of climate change is extreme weather. Something to be thinking about. I hope that we get to talk about this a little bit later in the year! McKenzie, you are up for next class. Please bring in a current article about something outside the United States.
Finish Worksheets: I'm not sure how many of you actually used this time to work on your textbook worksheets for presentation, but it probably should have been a little more than you did. Part of that was due to people missing from class who had the paper, and part of that is that many of you just plain lost the worksheet, which I don't know what to tell you.
Present Chapters: As I said above, I think we could have done a little more with these. It didn't really seem like everyone really knew things about their chapter today. Some good basic facts, but that was about it. Hopefully the groups that are going next class can pick up the slack. It was definitely good to have a little reflection on what is going on around the world though - I wanted you to be thinking of how each of the areas were developing. The notes that you took will be useful in the future as you think about the question of: what is a developed nation?
Developed vs. Developing: I cut this for time, it was an activity that we will come back to at a later date.
Debrief Homework: I was very interested to hear what your family members had to say and the general impressions given! It was great to listen to the reasons given to why we are studying Nigeria. My question to you after today's presentation: why ARE we studying Nigeria? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts!
PowerPoint: This took up the last half of class. Like I said, I love these things - especially when I can make it interesting. I stated repeatedly that I did not want you to write out everything on every slide, but rather to get the most interesting or relevant information. For those that want to see it again (or did not see it at all, due to not being in class), here it is (remember, click "Save As" instead of "Open" - it is way faster):
A few things here. Someone asked (I think it was Scout) what the lowest Infant Mortality Rate in the world is. The answer can be found here: Wikipedia: Infant Mortality Rates. It looks like either Singapore or Iceland. Look at all those countries that have better IMRs than the US! Also, can you imagine living in Angola, where your child has about an 16-18% chance of dying before their first birthday? Just crazy. The IMR is really a key statistic for looking at the overall health of a country - it says a lot about the conditions and the health care available.
For those interested, I get my statistics for these presentations from The CIA World FactBook - which are far from perfect (and sometimes blatantly incorrect), but I always find it interesting to see what the U.S. Government says its data is.
In regards to colonialism, I said I would link to the Daily Show clip of John Oliver interviewing Kenya's ambassador to the UN. Really quite funny, but you can really see how seriously the ambassador takes the questions about colonialism. Generalizing, I think that most Africans would agree with him - an absolutely terrible era in world history that should never be revisited:
I also pointed out that the news coverage of Nigeria is overwhelmingly negative right now. Why? Is that a legitimate thing? Search "United States" on Google News - what do you get?
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That should do it for now. Please be reading that article (multiple times) and bring in your thoughts and questions for next class! Remember that it is linked above should you need to download it. As always, please comment below or e-mail me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Have a wonderful evening!
Late addition: It is SNOWING at my house right now! Not sticking, but still, nice! :-)
The "Whose Line is it Anyway?" Newsflash we watched in class.
Good afternoon, amazing students!
Thank you for a very productive morning. I realized after the fact that I was supposed to let you go a few minutes early to watch the PRIDE video in your next class, so I apologize for not getting the memo on that (it seemed like most the teachers did not, so I feel better). Overall, I liked what everyone had to say during all aspects of the period, but especially our talk at the beginning on what we can be doing and thinking about as far as homework in on time and language used in the classroom. It was nice to have a sense of renewed focus.
Essential Questions: How do different structures of power impact the people over whom they govern? What is a developed nation?
Soundtrack: "No Such Thing" by John Mayer. Picked because of "no such thing as the real world" and the connections to high school (it's basically all about the student experience). Video can be viewed here.
AGENDA 2/5/09 Pressing the "Reset" Button News Brief Newsflash Developing Countries Worksheet Going Home
Homework: Family member quiz. Check blog!
Pressing the "Reset" Button: This was perhaps long overdue, but yes, I made a seating chart. I am hopeful that it will cut down on the noise. I also, if you noticed, repositioned the desks so that everyone should be able to easily see the board and projection (if you've noticed, I like to show and write things up there a lot).
We also talked about late work and what we can do to get better about it. As I wrote last class blog, a 63% is totally unacceptable. I liked hearing your thoughts about this - either to provide incentives for 100% turn in rate, or more disincentives. I will seriously consider this input and get back to you. Being a more upbeat guy, the 100% turn in rate little reward is something that intrigues me, but it would have to be something in-class related. I am not going to bribe you every time I want something done in time. It should be an expectation. That being said, I will see what I can think up of.
After the late work talk, I related to you the feedback I got from Mrs. DeFrance from the last class about some of the language that was being used, without me hearing. Wow. This one is totally on you guys. Important to know why calling something "gay" as a form of putting it down is a really terrible thing to do. I'm fine with criticism, just put it in ways that do not put down things. Instead of "this is stupid," how about: "this is really difficult and I don't understand why we are doing this." See how easy that was? Just put some effort into being aware of what you say. It's a good habit to be in.
News Brief: Brandon shared an article (that he had previously sent me, so it was semi-okay that he didn't bring it out) he found online about North Korea developing a missile that can hit the West Coast of the United States. That article can be found here: BBC.news: N Korea 'preparing missile test'
I asked "Does North Korea scare you?" It seemed like the general consensus was no, but why? I said I am not particularly scared of North Korea either, but aren't they part of the "Axis of Evil"? Interesting to think about. Also interesting: why is North Korea spending billions of dollars on these missiles and developing nuclear power when many of the people in North Korea are so poor and hungry they have to eat twigs? (last section).
I also showed the class this article from the Oregonian on Western Oregon University accepting Portland seniors: Oregonian: 14 Portland high schoolers get on-the-spot WOU admissions. Going to college is definitely a goal that I have for all of you - and it is attainable if you work hard and overcome adversity (because everyone will face adversity during the next few years). Let me know if you ever need any support!
Scout will be presenting an article on Monday (I was able to catch her in the hall on Friday).
Newsflash: This is where we watched the "Whose Line is it Anyway?" clip (at the top of the post) and I asked you to fill out a "pre-assessment" for the Nigeria unit, so I can see what you know going in to the new Nigeria unit. I looked over a few of these and I LOVE them! "So and so, reporting for Action 4 News in hot Nigeria in Africa..." Good times. I have to thank Mrs. DeFrance for this idea - I think it worked very well. Thanks again for getting into it and writing down what you know.
Developing Countries Worksheet: This was geared so that we could start answering the question: What is a developed nation? The worksheet asked you to go through the textbook and research a little bit about what it says for the particular area that you chose to write about. I will give you a little more time to get this done at the beginning of class on Monday, then I will ask each group to come up and explain a little about it. Sound good? The class seemed to be doing great with this - thanks for working hard in your new areas. I trust that the seating arrangements aren't too bad - let me know if it is please.
Going Home: At the end of class, I went over exactly what you need to do for your homework, but here it is again: Ask a family member to fill out the little Nigeria quiz - without any sort of help! If you happen to lose the question sheet, here are the questions again to write out:
Where is Nigeria? What impact has colonialism had on Nigeria? What kind of government does Nigeria have? What do you know about Nigerian culture? What is a developing country? Why do you think we are studying Nigeria in the class your family member is in?
This had got to be one of the easiest homework assignments of all time (besides checking the blog). Please come with the completed sheet on Monday, thanks!
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Finally, I found a really interesting article on the new President of Somalia and the renewed sense of purpose for the country that I think everyone would be interested in: CNN.com: Hopes high for Somalia's new Islamist president. This was on the front page of CNN.com - it made me smile because again, what we are studying is relevant! Good times.
Have a wonderful evening, and if the Blazers do not beat the ex-Sonics in Oklahoma on Friday, something seriously wrong happened. Remember to watch The Office tonight at 9 if you want to - my favorite TV show ever! I will be in class from 3:30 to 7:30, so that would explain if your comment or e-mail is not answered immediately. See you Monday!
The Arch of Umberto in downtown Mogadishu - built in the mid-1930s to celebrate a visit to the city by the King of Italy. Fascinating website - based on Google Earth, I think. Check out the aerial view of Mogadishu by zooming out!
Dear class,
Tons and tons of energy today. Maybe a little too much. You are definitely a hard group to try and guide when we get off track. I'll have to try and think of ways to remedy this - it's obvious that the status quo isn't really working. All in all, a good day, but next class, expect a seating chart. I'm sorry, but it's time, and you know it. I will try to make it bearable for everyone - please let me know by e-mail if you have any requests for one person you really think you would work well sitting next to and/or people that you probably would not work well with. Other than that, I was interested to hear your thoughts on repairing Somalia once again, and to develop that final class list of recommendations (more on that below). Recap time!
Essential Questions: How does conflict arise and in what ways have various people responded? Is Somalia repairable?
Soundtrack: "We Can Work it Out" by The Beatles. Lyrics here. Picked because of the optimism that we so desperately need in order to have hope that things in the world can be fixed. You are in school because your generation will rule the world someday! We HAVE to work it out! Relevant to our ideas on repairing Somalia as well.
AGENDA 2/3/09 News Brief Mustafe's Pictures Debrief Last Class Five Points Compilation Game Time (Whoop!)
Homework: Finish and turn in any late work. Read class recap blog!
As for your homework, I am not kidding around. If you do not have one of the two items that I have asked you to do so far turned in, please e-mail them to me ASAP. This is getting pretty ridiculous. Just counting up the number of five point plans today after class got me frustrated. We had 21 students out of 33 turn in the plan - which you had almost all the main points of done after you left the class on Friday.
Folks, that is a 63% turn in rate, which is BARELY a D. Granted, we had three students absent today and four students absent last Friday when the paper was assigned - still no excuse for not e-mailing me and checking the blog at the very least. We will definitely be talking about ways to go about solving this problem on Thursday. Even for those that DID get the assignments in (thank you), you still need to be talking to your classmates about it. This is a team effort.
News Brief: I asked the class about the weekend and (as always) got some interesting stories. I mentioned my weekend that consisted of Pack the Pit, the Blazer game on Saturday night, the Australian Open until 5 AM on Sunday morning, sleep until the Super Bowl, watching The Office, and finally, the HUGE come from behind win against New Orleans last night and the 24 episode on right after. No "exaggerating," it was a crazy weekend!
Robert then presented this article: British soldier was killed in Afghanistan by 'friendly fire'. As I mentioned in class, "friendly" fire has happened in Afghanistan many times before - most memorably in the case of Pat Tillman. I don't toss around the word "hero" a lot, but to me, Pat Tillman was pretty much everything you could possibly want from someone. He followed his convictions, even at the cost of enormous sums of money if he had continued to play professional football.
We also talked a little bit about Afghanistan itself - an extremely volatile place that nobody has tamed completely in recent history. Here's the Newsweek article I referenced in class: Newsweek.com: Could Afghanistan Be Obama's Vietnam?. A place that will continue to be directly relevant to the United States. I know people I graduated with from High School that are currently involved in the fighting over there. It is entirely possible that you will too. Something to think about - thanks for bringing it in Robert! Brandon, you are up next for Thursday.
Mustafe's Pictures: I thought these were really interesting, but there was so many of them that I had to go pretty fast through them all. Please ask Mustafe or me if you'd like to see them again. Many of them can be found just be searching around the pages of Wikipedia. Always interesting to see the real home perspective, thank you so much for bringing them in Mustafe!
Debrief Last Class: I was hoping to have a little discussion on how the seminar went last Friday (which I have received great feedback so far about). However, as Mrs. DeFrance point out to me later, this lasted about 3 people before we moved on. I need to be better about calling on people that don't usually talk, especially with feedback on that particular class, because that's who I need to hear from. The deck of cards will be coming out again very soon, I assure you. Please let me know if you have any additional thoughts about how last class went - I would love to hear them.
Five Points Compilation: This is where I asked you to turn to a partner and discuss your homework, while listening for the best points you heard. We then came together and organized a class list:
First off, I'm glad that everyone gets to enjoy my handwriting again. That's always good times. Secondly, it should be pretty clear that the most votes were obtained by: 1) Organize Government (27) 2) Remove Warlords (24) 3) Take Ownership of Law Enforcement (21) 4) Develop a Legitimate Education System (19) 5) Get a Military (17)
Initial thoughts on this? To me, it looks like the authoritarians, the "Somalia needs drastic outside intervention" people in the class won out. Especially #2 - even when I mentioned the Black Hawk Down incident, many students were still insistent that the warlords be removed. I'm definitely glad to see the Education system make it in. I must say that I wholeheartedly agree with that one. Now, who's in to go teach in Somalia?
Game Time (Whoop!): As you probably guessed, this is what we didn't have time to do last class (although I'm glad, because I would have simply just written the numbers and categories down on the board instead of the amazing little PowerPoint. I found the template to use on this website (should you ever want to use it for a class presentation or if/when you become a teacher - in Somalia): http://teach.fcps.net/trt10/PowerPoint.htm
I just downloaded and used the "30 Question Jeopardy Template." Here is the one I created to use in class - this might be helpful in the future for quizzes and tests:
Here are the answers: Geography – 1: The "Horn of Africa." 2: Mogadishu. 3: Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti. 4: Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. 5: Jubba and Shabele.
Culture – 1: Sunni Muslim. 2: Somali, Arabic, English, Italian. 3: Somali, Bantu and other non-Somali Arabs. 4: 6300. 5: Islam and poetry.
Colonialism – 1: 2,500 years. 2: 1880s. 3: England, France, Italy. 4: British, French, Italian Somaliland. 5: England and Italy grant independence in 1960 – France from Djibouti in 1977.
Black Hawk Down – 1: 1993. 2: Civil War and famine. 3: Running the Mogadishu Mile. 4: 1995. 5: Mohamed Farrah Adid.
Somalia Today – 1: A Failed State. 2: A base for al Qaeda. 3: 1,000. 4: 700,000. 5: Sharif Ahmed.
Congratulations to everyone, because you're all winners in my book. This was a lot of fun, but got really chaotic very quickly. If I use this next time, I am going to have to think of a new system to run it. Hopefully it was a lot of fun for everyone though. :-)
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Okay, that should just about do it! I will not be in the building tomorrow, because Lewis and Clark was getting a little upset at how much time I spend on site each week (in theory, it is supposed to be 15 hours - I've been putting in about 20 for the whole year), so I am now not coming in for the second B day of each week - that is, until the schedule changes again and I am a full-time teacher! Woo hoo!
Other than that, get any late work in, let me know about seating preferences, and as always, post comments or e-mail me if you have any questions, concerns, or comments. Go Blazers tomorrow night at Dallas (5:30 - CSN and NBATV)! Have a wonderful afternoon!
