The United Nations negotiating table between South and North Korea. We watched Hotel Rwanda in class today, which also has the United Nations involved. Photo taken in January 2014.
Dear class,
Welcome back to a short week, as we start Winter Break on Thursday, so today was our only day together this week! Today, we started watching Hotel Rwanda. Here's what happened in class today:
Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 20: I can identify the critical components of imperialism.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Soundtrack: “Tarihinda” by Cécile Kayirebwa. Selected for today because Ms. Kayirebwa is one of the most famous singers in Rwanda. The song is about mothers. Listen again to it here.
AGENDA 12/19/17:
News Brief - Clayton
Speech Debrief
Hotel Rwanda
Homework: Read the blog. Have a wonderful Winter Break! Work on any late or incomplete work - especially turning in your individual Rwanda speech online if you have not already. Next news brief: Mr. Fritz.
We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):
Speech Debrief: Before we started watching Hotel Rwanda, I asked for some thoughts about the Rwanda speeches. Thanks for the feedback given! I really enjoy that activity, and as I said in class, I'm always so proud of my classes. Never a doubt in my mind that you would impress the administration in the room!
Hotel Rwanda: The rest of class was spent watching the movie Hotel Rwanda (2004). I normally do not show entire movies in class, but this one is SO good and relevant to the Rwanda unit. Here is the worksheet of questions to answer as we watched:
We watched about 59 minutes in class, and will finish the movie after the break.
At the end of class, I asked again for any revised copies of the individual Rwanda speech (which I will be grading soon). If you are needing it to work on it, here it is again:
A look at the view from the podium for the United Nations speeches about Rwanda!
Hi everyone,
You all did such an amazing job today! I am so proud of you and your effort in these speeches! It was an inspiration to be able to see how well you communicated about the genocide and the learning targets for the unit. Here's what happened in class today:
Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 20: I can identify the critical components of imperialism.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Soundtrack: "Heroes" by David Bowie. Selected for today because you got to be heroes for the people of Rwanda. Lyrics here.
AGENDA 12/15/17:
News Brief - Ella
Setting the Stage
United Nations Speeches
Debrief
Homework: Read the blog. Turn in any late or incomplete work, and the individual copy of your United Nations speech ASAP on Google Classroom. Next news brief: Clayton.
Clayton was selected to do the next news brief. We did not watch BBC World News today, due to the time with speeches, but here it is to watch, if you want to.
Setting the Stage: Right after the news brief, I went over exactly how the speeches would work in class and gave about 10-15 minutes for groups to get ready and organized, then we started.
United Nations Speeches: I LOVED these! Again, the vast majority of students did such a good job with this! The basic set up was to have a group come up and line up behind the podium, do their speech in order, then listen as the panel at the front (for your class, it was fellow Westview Principal Dr. Jon Franco, Westview Dean of Students, Jeannie Seamone, your counselor, Dr. Megan Wright, along with myself) gave positive feedback about how your speeches went.
I really appreciated your effort and willingness to speak up about Rwanda! I know that the panel was impressed. I also wanted to make sure and publicly thank Dr. Franco, Ms. Seamone, and Dr. Wright for being willing to give their time to come see you speak. What a cool community we have at Westview! At the end of class, I had everyone (who had not already done so) turn in their individual speeches (five paragraphs) with the rubric attached. Here's the assignment sheet again, if you are needing it to find the rubrics to turn in with your revised paper:
Thank you all so much again for your hard work today and in the build up for it! You totally rock! I am very proud of everyone. See you next class! :-)
My mom, Amanda Fritz, giving a speech after she was elected to Portland City Council in 2008. Photo taken by my dad!
Hi everyone,
Today was our last day of preparation for the Rwanda speech in front of the United Nations! Lots of tips and stuff to talk about. Here's what happened in class today:
Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 20: I can identify the critical components of imperialism.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Soundtrack: "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson. Selected because you get to "make that change" with your speech, and also, practicing in front of a mirror is a good strategy to prepare for a speech. Lyrics here.
AGENDA 12/13/17:
News Brief - Max
Brainstorm Public Speaking
Rwanda Video
Speech Work Time
Homework: Read the blog. The United Nations group speech in front of an administrator is next class! Practice! Dress up (if possible)! Be ready to go with your group! Also, if you haven't turned in your revised/final individual speech, please do so ASAP. Next news brief: Ella.
We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):
Brainstorm: Public Speaking: We talked in class about some tips for giving a good speech. I used two video clips for this:
The 2014 National Champion of Original Oratory, Andrea Ambam.
I only showed the first two minutes or so of this in class, but the point was hopefully made clear. She does a great job of knowing her material, standing straight, using hand gestures to be engaging, making eye contact, and varying her tone of voice.
As a class, we thought of good public speaking tips. Here's what we came up with:
•Effective use of hand gestures
•Be clear in what you are saying – be loud enough
•Don’t speak too fast
•Good posture
•Looking around the room – right above the judges
•Be passionate about your subject
•“um” “like” etc – know your speech really well
Next, I showed this five minute video from Toastmasters (an organization devoted to helping people with public speaking):
I hope that all of this made everyone feel better, or at least, provide some tips on how to feel better about the speech!
Rwanda Video: Finally, before work time the rest of class, I showed half of this video that an American media company made for Rwanda's tourism department. I wanted to show this to highlight some of the beautiful aspects of Rwanda, as another counter story to what people may typically think.
Group Speech Work Time: The rest of the class was devoted to working on the speech in groups - getting the order down, practicing, and refining. The groups are (some may have six, which means that the group will have four middle speakers on speech day):
Group 1:
Clayton
Rachel
Haddie
Omar
Kiran
McKenzie
Group 2:
Logan
Jessica
Peter
Justin
Bella
Group 3:
Emina
Kylie
Bob
Ree
Emma
Group 4:
Ryan
Max
Richard
Sofia
Megan
Group 5:
Olivia
Desi
Linh
Bailey
Josiah
Vicky
Group 6:
Tristan
Naomi
Varsha
Krista
Ella
Kanta
Here's the assignment sheet again, if you are needing it to find the rubrics to turn in with your revised paper:
Please make sure to bring turn in revised final copy of your speech (if you have not turned it in already), for me to grade, by next class! Be prepared and confident in your speech - I know you will all be great! Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!
The headquarters of the United Nations is in New York City, but another main campus is in Geneva, Switzerland (above). Photo taken in 2017.
Dear class,
I hope that today was productive for you and your group! I certainly enjoyed reading over your speeches and trying to help everyone revise them. Here's what happened in class today:
Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 20: I can identify the critical components of imperialism.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Soundtrack: "Somali Udiida Ceb (Somalia, Don't Shame Yourself)" by Maryam Mursal. Selected because Somalia has a direct impact on why the United States was reluctant to do anything to stop the genocide in Rwanda. Listen to the song here.
AGENDA 12/11/17:
News Brief - Olivia
Hutu Ten Commandments
Peer Review
Group Speech Work
Homework: Read the blog. Revised/edited Rwanda speech due. Submit your revisions on Google Classroom, and continue to refine your paragraph that your group decided to use for the speech. The Rwanda resources will help. Next news brief: Max.
News Brief: Olivia had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: BBC.com - Trump Jerusalem move: Tear gas at Lebanon US embassy protest. We found Israel in the world map packet and talked about this important story and why there is such controversy about Jerusalem (which we will be studying in more depth next semester).
Max was selected to do the next news brief.
We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):
Finally, we checked in about the weekend and what everyone was up to.
If you missed class or wanted to see Wildcat News again, here it is:
Hutu Ten Commandments: I talked about this right after the news, as yet another aspect in the lead up to the Rwandan genocide that students could write about for the speech:
Again, it was not a surprise at all that a genocide occurred, with words like that being used, years in advance. This would count as part of the Polarization stage of genocide.
Peer Review: I passed out a review sheet and went over exactly what everyone should be looking at, as far as their papers being revised. Here it is - if you missed class, please complete it!
Basically, you need to be sure to talk about the United Nations definition of genocide and the role that imperialism (especially Belgium's classification of Hutus and Tutsis) had in starting the ongoing genocide. Here's the Imperialism PowerPoint again, if you wanted to look in more depth. Hint: you cannot say that Hutus are promoting imperialism against the Tutsis. That's not imperialism at all.
I tried to give feedback on as many papers during class as I possibly could - I apologize for not being able to get through everyone! Fortunately, the groups should have helped a lot in revisions, too.
Group Speech Work Time: The rest of the class was devoted to working on the speech in groups. Next class, you will be refining and practicing your speeches. The groups are (some may have six, which means that the group will have four middle speakers on speech day):
Group 1:
Clayton
Rachel
Haddie
Omar
Kiran
McKenzie
While everyone worked in groups, I tried as hard as I could to look at the papers that were turned in and immediately get them back with feedback. Here were the elements I most commonly saw as being needed for addition in the speeches:
1)Need to mention United Nations definition of genocide, made in 1948, after the Holocaust.
2)Need to connect classification of the Hutus and Tutsis to the legacy of Belgium’s imperialism.
3)Asking the United Nations for something SPECIFIC. Not just “do something.” Say “more troops” “more funding” “more awareness – declare this as what it is: genocide.”
Here are the directions, from earlier in the unit:
The final assignment for the unit and before break is a speech before a mock United Nations, in class. You will be pretending that it is April 24, 1994 - the actual date that arguments were ongoing at the United Nations Security Council about how to respond to the conflict in Rwanda.
There are a few steps in the process to prepare for the speech, which will be given on Thursday, December 14 for A Day and Friday, December 15 for B Day. The first is to write a persuasive essay (in the form of a speech you could give). Here's the assignment:
As a reminder, this will eventually be a formal speech before break that you give as a part of a group, in front of the class, with myself and another teacher and/or administrator (like Dr. Franco) listening. You are going to need to persuade us to act and do something!
To prepare for this, I passed out a class set of copies of three things:
1) The United Nations definition of genocide, as agreed to by the world in 1949. This is helpful, because if you can persuade the United Nations that genocide is occurring in Rwanda, they HAVE to act (because that's what they agreed to).
2) The Eight Stages of Genocide. I read over the stages, but not all of the content describing them. There is a lot of information that might help you craft your speech! You can certainly talk about every stage of genocide, occurring in Rwanda, up to April 24, 1994. Here are some hints on how to do this.
3) A reading that goes over more of the history in Rwanda, what happened during the genocide, and the end. Remember, you can't talk about anything after April 24, 1994, but you can make predictions as to what will happen if the United Nations refuses to act! The reading is pages 5-10 here:
My wife and I sponsor a child in Rwanda through a charity organization. These are what the stamps on letters out of the capital city of Kigali look like.
Hi everyone,
Two more weeks of work until a nice break! Lots to do - today, we looked more into Imperialism and Privilege, as I asked students to think about how they may have impacted Rwanda. Here's what happened in class today:
Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 20: I can identify the critical components of imperialism.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Soundtrack: "Africa for Norway" by SAIH - The Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund. I was projecting this video as students walked in - it is a humorous look at stereotyping, and how Norwegians should not stereotype Africans, because what if the opposite happened. I read the reasoning behind the video in class.
AGENDA 12/7/17:
News Brief - Richard
Imperialism
Privilege
Speech Work Time
Homework: Read the blog. Rwanda five paragraph written speech due next class - bring it on your Chromebook. The Rwanda resources will help. Next news brief: Olivia.
Justin also mentioned this article: NYTimes.com - Russia Banned From Winter Olympics by I.O.C.. We found Russia in the world map packet and noted we did a news brief there as we talked about what has happened there with regard to steroid use in the past and how it might impact the World Cup there next year, as well.
Olivia was selected to do the next news brief.
We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):
Imperialism: Next, I went over the concepts of imperialism and colonialism, in the form of a PowerPoint. Students took notes (if you took Cornell Notes, all the better) on the presentation.
One of the learning targets associated with this unit is Knowledge LT 20: I can identify the critical components of imperialism. This presentation was to help students understand how to do that, especially in regards to how Belgium had an impact in Rwanda, long after the independence in 1962.
Privilege: Another component of how we look at people in the world is the concept of privilege. Specifically, white privilege - a system of advantages some people get over others, that are often not even recognized. Here is the reading we went through, by Peggy McIntosh:
Basically, I am asking everyone to think about how our privilege here in America (of being a world superpower) relates to our study of Rwanda. Specifically, I think that race has a lot to do with it. We did a quiet activity with this document, which I think was pretty powerful (the Westview teachers recently did this, too). Thank you for your participation here.
As part of this section, I also provided some counter stories to the negativity surrounding Africa. In particular, I highlighted these:
Since some people believe that Africa is very far behind in technology (and to be certain, some places are), I pointed out this story, which is about how Kenya has a system that is the best in the world for sending payments on the go.
I also showed RisingAfrica.org, which has lots of stories about the positive sides of Africa.
Finally, as a challenge assignment for the students in the class that wanted one, I read the first part of this long article on Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda. If you want to learn more about why the balance in assessing Kagame is so tricky, and enjoy a reading challenge, here's the entire article:
The first part has to do with how clean and safe Kigali is now, which is related to the counter stories I was trying to present.
Speech Work Time: The rest of the class was devoted to working on your five paragraph written speech, which is due at the start of next class. Here are the directions, from last class:
The final assignment for the unit and before break is a speech before a mock United Nations, in class. You will be pretending that it is April 24, 1994 - the actual date that arguments were ongoing at the United Nations Security Council about how to respond to the conflict in Rwanda.
There are a few steps in the process to prepare for the speech, which will be given next week. The first is to write a persuasive essay (in the form of a speech you could give). This is due in class (typed, on your Chromebook) next class. Here's the assignment:
As a reminder, this will eventually be a formal speech before break that you give as a part of a group, in front of the class, with myself and another teacher and/or administrator (like Dr. Franco) listening. You are going to need to persuade us to act and do something!
To prepare for this, I passed out a class set of copies of three things:
1) The United Nations definition of genocide, as agreed to by the world in 1949. This is helpful, because if you can persuade the United Nations that genocide is occurring in Rwanda, they HAVE to act (because that's what they agreed to).
2) The Eight Stages of Genocide. I read over the stages, but not all of the content describing them. There is a lot of information that might help you craft your speech! You can certainly talk about every stage of genocide, occurring in Rwanda, up to April 24, 1994. Here are some hints on how to do this.
3) A reading that goes over more of the history in Rwanda, what happened during the genocide, and the end. Remember, you can't talk about anything after April 24, 1994, but you can make predictions as to what will happen if the United Nations refuses to act! The reading is pages 5-10 here:
The results for our class when I asked students to think about five things that come to mind when we think about Africa. I mean, the comparison with Europe makes the differences pretty startling, right?
Dear class,
Today is always one of my favorite days to teach. Not because it is particularly fun to talk about genocide, but because it is SO important that we stop ignoring it, and especially the continent of Africa. If I ignored it, when would you hear about it? What associations would you continue to make? Here's what happened in class today:
Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 20: I can identify the critical components of imperialism.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1:I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Soundtrack: "Papaoutai" by Stromae. Selected for today because Stromae is a Belgian-Rwandan musician who lost his father, a Tutsi, in the Rwandan genocide. "Papaoutai" in French translates to "Dad, where are you?" Lyrics here.
AGENDA 12/5/17:
News Brief – Logan
Debrief Pop Quiz
Scream Bloody Murder
United Nations Speech
News Brief: Logan had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: CNN.com - 13 killed in South Korea boat collision; crews search for survivors. A very important story as we continue to learn about what is going on around the world! We found South Korea on the world map packet and noted we did a news brief there.
Richard was selected to do the next news brief.
We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):
Finally, we checked in about the weekend and what everyone was up to.
Debrief Pop Quiz: I always enjoy looking at what we know when it comes to Europe and Africa. Here is the PowerPoint with the combined results for your class answers:
It was only fair that I showed my own results, from when I was given this quiz when I was in graduate school, and I said much the same thing. Here's my actual paper from 2008:
As I tried to forcefully point out in class: isn't this stunning? We know that Africa is a place of enormous need. Why don't we know much more about it, then? Why don't we help our fellow human beings, instead of ignoring them and not learning anything about the continent? Taking this quiz inspired me to make sure to talk about the Rwandan genocide (which was only 23 years ago) in my Global Studies classes. It's why it is my favorite unit of the year and one that I have a lot of emotional investment in. I care, and I think it's important that students care about people in the world.
Scream Bloody Murder: This was a section of a documentary from CNN, that aired in 2008 (not so coincidentally, right as I was about to teach this unit for the first time). Here are the three videos I showed in class (caution: some of the material is graphic and difficult to watch and/or listen to):
United Nations Speech: I hope that you watched those videos and felt frustrated, angry, and upset. The fact that the United Nations (the global community of countries) and the United States (as the most powerful country in the world) did little, if anything, to prevent or stop the worst genocide in modern world history, is awful.
So, the final assignment for the unit and before break is a speech before a mock United Nations, in class. You will be pretending that it is April 24, 1994 - the actual date that arguments were ongoing at the United Nations Security Council about how to respond to the conflict in Rwanda.
There are a few steps in the process to prepare for the speech, which will be given on Friday, December 15th. The first is to write a persuasive essay (in the form of a speech you could give). This is due in class (just use your Chromebook or, if you don't want to, bring TWO COPIES, typed) next Monday, December 11th. Here's the assignment:
As a reminder, this will eventually be a formal speech before break that you give as a part of a group, in front of the class, with myself and another teacher and/or administrator listening. You are going to need to persuade us to act and do something!
To prepare for this, I passed out a class set of copies of three things:
1) The United Nations definition of genocide, as agreed to by the world in 1949. This is helpful, because if you can persuade the United Nations that genocide is occurring in Rwanda, they HAVE to act (because that's what they agreed to).
2) The Eight Stages of Genocide. I read over the stages, but not all of the content describing them. There is a lot of information that might help you craft your speech! You can certainly talk about every stage of genocide, occurring in Rwanda, up to April 24, 1994. Here are some hints on how to do this.
3) A reading that goes over more of the history in Rwanda, what happened during the genocide, and the end. Remember, you can't talk about anything after April 24, 1994, but you can make predictions as to what will happen if the United Nations refuses to act! The reading is pages 5-10 here:
There is definitely a LOT to think about here. I am confident that you can write a five paragraph essay in a week! Next class, I will go over the concept of imperialism and colonialism more, and then give the rest of the class as prep time. The typed copy of your individual speech will be due the following class.
Please be sure to ask me if you have any questions or need help in any way! I'm really excited to see what you can come up with! :-)
A look at previous class responses for "Name five things that come to your mind when you think about Europe" question on the pre-assessment quiz today. Next class, I'll show you the Africa responses, as well. What do you think it will look like?
Hi everyone,
Now we have a fast paced dash to Winter Break for the next few weeks. We have a lot to pack in, for sure! Here's what happened in class today:
Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 20: I can identify the critical components of imperialism.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Soundtrack: "Storms in Africa, Pt. 2" by Enya. Selected for today because we started talking about Rwanda, which is a country in Africa. Lyrics here.
Homework: Read the blog. Turn in any missing work ASAP. Review your notes from the PowerPoint on Rwanda. Next news brief: Logan.
News Brief: Sofia had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: BBC.com - IS conflict: US to withdraw 400 Marines from Syria. We found Libya on our world map packets and talked about this story, which is obviously super important to know about, as it involves our own troops and what is happening in Syria.
Logan was selected to do the next news brief.
We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):
Finally, we checked in about the upcoming weekend and what everyone was up to.
Review Tests/Grades: I am now completed with all grading and late work, so your class grades should be updated! I passed out the government tests and any other missing work. If you are concerned about anything related to grades, please come see me at lunch, before school, or after school. Or, send me an email! Hook/Textbook Hunt: I will sit down tomorrow and type up a list of what everyone said in response to the questions (we just did 1-16). I know there were a lot, so thanks for hanging in there with me. Like I said in class, I took this exact same quiz at Lewis and Clark (as part of the class where I learned how to be a teacher) and was absolutely amazed about what I did and did not know. I'll share your responses next class.
The textbook hunt: I'm not sure if all of you understood what I was saying, so here it is again. In our Modern World History textbook, which was published in 2005 (11 years after the genocide in Rwanda) there are TWO in text mentions (a one sentence recap for each) of the genocide, each citing ethnic violence between the Hutu's and the Tutsi's and 500,000 people dying, while there is ONE other picture, with two small paragraphs beneath it, citing a number of 1,000,000 dead. So again, the textbook barely had anything at all to say about the genocide, and when it did, it couldn't even be consistent with the number of people killed. Why do you think this might be?
A few things about this. One: most of the statistics I used in the first few slides are found here: CIA World Factbook - Rwanda. Now by NO MEANS are those statistics solid hard facts. I know of plenty of other sites that will give different numbers. However, since these are the official US government statistics, I think that it will be useful for your upcoming assignment (which I will reveal next class).
Two: I found the picture of the propaganda, "beat the cockroaches" on Wikipedia, here: Rwandan Genocide. Now as most of you know, NEVER use Wikipedia as a source in a paper or for anything else. However, it can be used as a good start to researching something for yourself - just find the sources the article links to at the bottom and go from there. As Michael Scott from The Office once said: "Wikipedia... is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information."
No, it is not. But it is a funny quote nonetheless!
Much less humorous information: The horrific picture of the Hutu man (who did not support the genocide) that lived after being hacked multiple times by machetes can be found here: Salon.com: Inferno.
Please review the PowerPoint and your notes for next class, as we will be going more in depth! Thank you for your focus and questions today. I know this may not be the most fun subject to learn about, and it is so important to not ignore. See you next class.
