Semester Finals, Class Recap

Sunset over Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was a great semester, everyone! Thank you for your hard work! Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Today was our last day of class for the year. We had our final Israel-Palestine Peace Conference, reflection on the year, and then talked about life and what is coming up for a while. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 2: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 10:  I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 20:  I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 22:  I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.

Soundtrack: "Thankful" by Kelly Clarkson. Selected for today because I always choose this song for the last day of class, since I am so thankful to get to teach you all. Especially this year, which was a pretty challenging one, with my dad being killed - it was so helpful to be able to come to class and work with you. Thank you! Lyrics (some of which I read aloud in class) are here.

AGENDA 6/10/15:

News Brief – Nate
Peace Conference/Final
Pictures/Stories
Happy Summer!

Homework: Read the blog (if you want)! Have a great summer! Let me know if I can help you at any point in the future! :-)

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News Brief: Nate had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - South Korea MERS outbreak: 6 dead; 2,500 quarantined; 1,800 schools closed. We talked about what Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus is and why is is causing such concern. Thanks, Nate.

We also watched VICE News for the last time today. If you want to stay up to date with these, look at the VICE News Playlist on YouTube - they are updated every weekday!

I talked in class about the importance of following the news and trying to stay up to date with what is happening in your city, state, country, and world. Knowledge is power! Try to stay plugged in to what is going on, if you can!

Peace Conference/Final: As promised, this was the Israel and Palestine Peace Conference. First, we had speeches (students that needed to demonstrate a Communication grade) that explained various aspects of the conflict and proposed possible solutions. Then, I led a discussion based on the different issues. I tried to ask everyone for their thoughts at least once. Generally, I thought this was quite good, and students seemed to know their stuff. Thank you for your effort on this! I look forward to reading your papers, as well.

The last part to the final was a reflection short answer about how the year went in Global Studies - what you learned, what you will put into practice in your life, and what you will remember five years from now. I look forward to reading these!

There is a fair amount of work involved in grading the finals, as well as late work that I need to grade. So, I anticipate having the grades submitted on Monday, but it could possibly be earlier.

Pictures/Stories: The end of class was set aside for some time to talk about summer (and collect pictures from the back wall, if students remembered), as well as students to ask me anything they wanted to (obviously, within reason) about anything at all. I enjoyed this time!

Happy Summer! Thank you all so much for being so wonderful to work with. I truly loved teaching each and every one of you, and I hope you know that I care about you and want you to be successful in the future. Take care of yourselves and I hope to see you around! Have a great summer! :-)

Commissioner Fritz Visits - Class Recap

My mom, Amanda Fritz, came to talk with our class today!

Dear class,

Today was our last day before finals, so we decided to have my mom, Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, come talk about her job, which counted as a Career Related Learning Experience towards graduation requirements! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 2: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 10: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 20: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 22: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.

Soundtrack: "City of Blinding Lights" by U2. Selected for today because my mom asked for a U2 song as her soundtrack, and she works for the City of Portland, serving all you beautiful people. :-) Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/5/15:

News Brief – Jocelyn
Commissioner Fritz
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog (for the last time)! Your final project for the year is due at the start of next class (specific guide for what to do here). Next news brief: Nate.

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News Brief: Jocelyn had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: BBC.com - Australian man arrested after bulldozer flattens house. Woah! The video with the story has some pictures of the house - incredible! Thanks, Jocelyn.

We did not watch VICE News (linked to if you want to watch it) today, because my mom was limited on time.

The next news brief was assigned to Nate, who kindly volunteered.

Commissioner Fritz: The first part of class was taken by my mom coming to talk about her experience as a Portland City Commissioner. I wanted students to hear from her as she was in the building, talking with my Government class before we met today. Thank you for your interest, focus, and questions! I'm glad that you got to meet my mom! I'm also glad you completed one of the four CRLE forms you need to graduate! :-)

Work Time: The rest of class was set aside for the final project. I was checking in with every student as to which learning targets they wanted to be graded on for the final. Speaking of the final project, this form clarifies what the expectation is going to be on the day of the final, as well as what students should be writing/talking about:

Google Drive - Israel and Palestine Final Roles, Issues, Targets, and Format

I'm going to keep it simple and have students just focus on this. You should already know what learning targets you need to work on. Use the chart at the top of the second page to focus your writing/speech notes on the specific issues in the conflict. I know there were a lot of questions on this - please let me know if I can continue clearing this up

Thanks, everyone! See you during finals period!

Israel and Palestine, Day 7 - Class Recap

Mt. Hood. We are almost to the end of the school year, everyone! Selected for today because I will be enjoying part of the weekend up at the mountain with my girlfriend and her family!

Hi everyone,

We made it to the last weekend of the school year! Hooray! There is plenty to prepare for next week with finals, so keep working hard, please. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 2: I can use language and style that is appropriate to the content area.
Critical Thinking LT 2: I can explain connections between events, issues, problems and concepts.
Knowledge LT 10: I can explain demographic changes in the world and their effects.
Knowledge LT 20: I can explain the impacts of nationalism and revolutionary movements. Knowledge LT 22: I can explain how religious ideas impact the shaping of societies.

Soundtrack: "Open Your Heart" by Madonna. Selected for today because opening hearts and minds to peace is really important to helping solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/5/15:

News Brief – Jurnee
Finish TMEE
Work Time
Questions for Commissioner Fritz

Homework: Read the blog! Keep working on your final project for the year (specific guide for what to do here). Next news brief: Jocelyn.

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News Brief: Jurnee had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Air Force intel uses ISIS 'moron' post to track fighters. We talked about how location data can be used by people to determine where people are, almost all the time. Kind of scary! Thanks, Jurnee.

We also watched VICE News for the day and talked about our weekends, before moving on.

The next news brief was assigned to Jocelyn, who kindly volunteered.

Finish Through Middle Eastern Eyes: This was an excerpt from a book, which I made a class set of. The two characters are representing the perspectives of Israel and Palestine. Here's the online version if you want to keep working on this at home:

Google Drive - Through Middle Eastern Eyes Excerpt

There is a few pages of timeline and introduction in that, and then the characters start talking on page 229. The two characters in the reading were David (representing Israel) and Daud (representing Palestine). I wanted students to partner up and go through the reading together. Here is the assignment that goes with the reading, to note each perspective and help you prepare for your final assignment:

Google Drive - David and Daud TMEE Assignment

Work Time: The rest of class was set aside for the final project. I was checking in with every student as to which learning targets they wanted to be graded on for the final. Speaking of the final project, this form clarifies what the expectation is going to be on the day of the final, as well as what students should be writing/talking about:

Google Drive - Israel and Palestine Final Roles, Issues, Targets, and Format

I'm going to keep it simple and have students just focus on this. You should already know what learning targets you need to work on. Use the chart at the top of the second page to focus your writing/speech notes on the specific issues in the conflict. I know there were a lot of questions on this - please let me know if I can continue clearing this up

Questions for Commissioner Fritz: My mom and the Mayor of Beaverton will be coming to visit our class on Tuesday! They are mostly coming for the Government class before, but I figured they should stick around and meet you guys, too! If you are in Period 3 for Mr. Lathrop, we are going to open the walls so they can talk to both classes at once. If you want to learn a little bit more about who they are, here is my mom's bio on her website, and here is the Mayor Denny Doyle's bio. I'm excited for you to meet them!

Thanks, everyone! Keep working hard! We are almost there! :-)