Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 6 - 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.
Good afternoon class!

Thanks for another interesting day! I hope that really delving into learning some content on the Middle East was an enjoyable experience! I know that there are times when PowerPoints and lectures are really boring and that you do not see the point. However, I can assure you that it is all very much related to what we are doing in class and you personally. There is really SO MUCH there to think about and consider, especially when you think about our essential questions for the day.

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What is the impact of religion on policy in the Middle East? - Question for those that are diligent in actually reading this: what is one thing that we talked about today that connects countries?

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 4/15/09:
News Brief
The (Two) Dollar Menu
Middle East PowerPoint
Women in Afghanistan
Brandon Roy/The Blazers

Homework: Review PowerPoint notes. Finish late work. Check blog!

First, look over the PowerPoint below and your notes, because it is very much related

I will talk about this a little more in the "Brandon Roy" section, but again, with the late work: please, please do not lose hope or give up on getting things revised and turned in. I am absolutely here to help and work with you on everything. Come in and see me during your lunch period, after school, before school, or even easier, e-mail me at luke_fritz@beavton.k12.or.us and I will get back to you ASAP.

News Brief: Aldo brought in an article about the Somali pirates: AP - Somali pirates hijack 4 ships, take 60 hostages. Yes! Again, this is why we talk about this stuff in class - it has a direct impact on the world around us! Thanks for bringing it in Aldo. Brian is up next for Friday - any current article having to do with anything outside 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 with a partner. Then, I asked for volunteers to share what they wrote with the class. We made a list of things that we would be difficult to do. Hygiene was huge, along with finding ways to get the essentials of life: food, water, and shelter. Many people had examples of homeless people getting help from others around them. 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.

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.

Middle East PowerPoint: Thank you for paying attention (for the most part) to this! I was a little wary about giving the class the entire PowerPoint in a handout (if you were not in class, please see me for a copy), but I think (and hope) that doing so helped you out, rather than distracted your attention. The PowerPoint can be viewed here:

Turmoil in the Middle East PowerPoint
The main point of this was to look at the role of religion and oil (a non-renewable resource) in the Middle East. Not so coincidentally, this was exactly what the essential questions are based on. Hopefully, you have a little better understanding of the region. Some topics that came up during this part of class, that I said I would try to find out for the blog:

Women in 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?

Nasser asked how many gallons are in a barrel of oil, and I said I would look it up. The answer (for those that have read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, not surprising) is 42 gallons in a barrel of oil.

Brandon Roy: I read a selection from this article: OregonLive.com - Roy takes notes at facility's opening. The point of pointing out Mr. Roy's learning disability and path to stardom was to ask everyone in the class to not give up on themselves. The start of a new quarter is here, and there is a lot of work to be done until the end of the year, and I know that life is stressful just being in high school. I am here to help, along with everyone else at Westview! I am a big believer in a two way street of hard work in school. Teachers work incredibly hard (this blog should be a good piece of evidence) to help you succeed in school and in life. Work hard for us too, please! I asked everyone to write down an academic goal and how you will accomplish it, after playing this video:



Thanks for the participation in that! I am excited to read your goals and help you accomplish them!
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The Blazers play their final game of the regular season tonight against Denver at 7:30 on ESPN, and I will be there! Woo hoo! I will also be in class at Lewis and Clark tonight from 4:30 to about 7:00 tonight (Wednesday), so do not worry if your comment does not post right away tonight. Sorry that I am so busy! The life of the teacher! What did I get myself in to? ;-)

Have a wonderful evening!