Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 16 - Class Recap

Peter's really amazing wallpaper that was his creative product! Formatted for screen resolution 1280x800, I believe. Seriously incredible! Click to view full size, then right click on the image and select "set as desktop background" and presto! :-)
Good afternoon class,

This was another really productive day of presentations and talking a little bit about the final paper for the entire year! Thank you for the good focus and attention, for the most part. You guys are sort of a bouncy group, but all in all, really fun to work with. I hope you enjoyed class as much as I did! On to the recap:

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? How can the Middle East be stabilized?

Soundtrack: "Let Love In" by Goo Goo Dolls. Lyrics here. Really an excellent song. It can also definitely be related to the conflicts that we are studying!

AGENDA 5/14/09:
News Brief
Student Presentations
Final Paper Folders

Homework: Decide on what topic you want to do, bring a source to take notes on next class. Read blog recap!

This will be talked about a little more in "The Final" section. Basically, I want you to decide on what you want to investigate for your final paper, and bring one source in (like a news article, book, magazine, etc) that relates to your topic and that you can take notes on. We will help you do this in class! All I need for you to do is to pick a topic, and choose something to take notes on about.

For anyone that was not in class today, or that has lost (already) the assignment sheet, here it is to download:

Historical Investigation Research Project - Overview
Again, we will be talking about this much more. In fact, for the rest of the year, this is what we will be doing. As I noted in class, I am thinking that we will have about half the time devoted to a new unit, and the other half to developing this paper.

News Brief: We have really been struggling to find things to talk about recently! The two things that I took note of were:

The recent plane crash in Buffalo, which Amy mentioned, is something to really be interested in. A lot of things had to go wrong for that to happen. Source: ABCnews.com - Buffalo Crash: 'A Recipe for an Accident'. Basically, the pilots were sleep deprived, inadequately experienced, paid very little, and the icy conditions outside made it all come to a head. Really a sad story. Pilots do not get nearly enough credit for what they do.

Also, someone mentioned this story, about a police officer kicking a suspect in the head, while they were on the ground, then high-fiving his partner: LATimes.com - Experts say El Monte police officer's kick was unjustified. Bad times.

Yesenia brought finished this section of the class up with this article: CNN.com - Former Mexican president calls for legalizing marijuana. This is a pretty interesting take on the whole "war on drugs" issue. Someone else in class noted that some people are proposing to legalize marijuana in California and tax it, in order to help with the state's finances. A really interesting report on that was recently done by TIME Magazine, here: TIME.com - Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy?

Breanna, please remember to bring a current news story about anything currently happening outside the United States, for next class on Monday. Thanks!

Student Presentations: These were pretty fun, again! Thank you to those who really put a lot of time and effort into creating something. I really respect your hard work! After everyone was finished, we turned in the following items, which I need from everyone ASAP if you did not turn it in today:

- Completed Skills Packet (which contained the Blazers recap and debates).
- Presentation Notes (for other students).
- Explanation Paper for your creative product AND
- Creative product, if it is something that can be handed in (like lines for a skit, or a PowerPoint, or a poster, etc). Again, I cannot grade your creative products without the explanation paper, so please get both in to me!

I hope that everyone enjoyed these presentations, and possibly learned a thing or two about interconnectedness as well. It was fantastic for me to be able to see you demonstrate your knowledge about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict!

Final Paper Folders: As I think I said in class, this "historical investigation" project is one that every freshman at Westview is working on, as part of the common assessment for Social Studies. If you remember, the first semester version of this was the visual metaphor. Thus, this is a really big deal!

I talked about Mrs. DeFrance's really amazing folder system for helping you write papers. Seriously, if I had this in high school, I think I would have written 10 page long papers with ease. It is really a pretty incredible way to keep track of everything. Please keep everything in that folder - including all the sheets of paper tucked inside!

I linked to the final paper assignment sheet above. We read that together in class, as I tried as best as I could to introduce this as something that you do not have to stress out about. Make it interesting to you! After reading everything together, we started brainstorming ideas for "issues of global significance" on the board. Here is a picture of what we came up with, to help you out if you need it:


Pick one of these, or any other issue for your homework, and bring in something to start you off on the project on Monday! I want you to be excited at finding out information about the world, that you may not have really had the chance to learn about in class this year!

Put it this way, there are entire college courses devoted to just these topics. In fact, I was in one last year at Western Oregon University! It was called History 492: World Problems. I ended up writing a 10 page paper on the search for Osama bin Laden. It was a really interesting class!

If you are still totally unsure about what to do, try a Google search for "world problems" or "globalization" or something along those lines. If none of that sounds interesting at all, come talk to me and I am sure we can get you started. :-)
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Other news of interest: Brandon Roy was selected to the All-NBA Second Team! This is a really huge honor! The first time a Blazer has made All-NBA since Clyde Drexler in 1992. Source: BlazersEdge.com. Brandon Roy is simply incredible. What a guy.

The Office Season Five finale is tonight (Thursday)! It is totally worth checking out, even if you have never seen it. The fun starts at 9:00 PM, on NBC (Channel 8 for most of you). The Office is my favorite television show of all time. I am really quite sad that the season will be over and we will have to wait until the fall for a new episode! Every year this happens, and there is a huge cliffhanger, and it just kills me.

There is a TON of sporting action going on. I am sure that Westview's spring sports are all worth checking out. Add to that two Game Sevens in the NHL, the Lakers-Rockets and Celtics-Magic series in the NBA (both Game Sixes), and Major League Baseball, all tonight. Wow. It is a great time to be a sports fan!

Tomorrow, I will be playing hoops during second lunch in the gym. Come sign up on the sheet in N116 if you want to play! I am excited about it!

With that, I think I will sign off! I hope everyone is doing well! Have a wonderful weekend! Keep in touch and keep working hard on everything we are doing!

Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 15 - Class Recap

Faraj Adnan, one of the people in the movie Promises that we finished today. The picture can be found here. Also, here is a site that tells you a little bit about what happened right after the movie. Faraj is now 24. Should you feel so inclined, here is Faraj's MySpace, and here is his FaceBook. Also, while you are at it, here is Yarko Solan's FaceBook. I wonder if they are friends? Certainly something that connects cultures and countries - social networking sites! :-)
Good afternoon students,

I must say, I REALLY liked your presentations and creative products today. I now know that I made the right decision in putting them off until today. That extra time, as well as making it really explicit how I wanted you to relate your product to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, paid great dividends. Thank you for your hard work, those of you that went today! We will finish these up next class and then move on to the next unit.

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? How can the Middle East be stabilized?

Soundtrack: "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith. Chosen because today had a lot to do with the emotional pull on people, and because it is a great rock song.

AGENDA 5/12/09:
News Brief
Finish Promises
Student Presentations

Homework: Finish any late work – be prepared for next class! Read blog recap!

Also, because I understand that the internet was down at school this morning and nobody that wanted to print out their explanation papers before class, please either e-mail me it or bring in a hard copy for me on Thursday - regardless of whether or not you presented today. I was going to make everyone turn in the paper today (thank you to those who did after their presentations), but I think this way makes more sense now.

News Brief: After going over the essential questions (and pointing out Allie's excellent find that relates in the comments on the last blog post), soundtrack, agenda, and homework, I asked a little bit about what everyone did for the weekend. I hope you were good to your mom's!

Mary started out the news from around the world section with the really interesting topic of the search for Earth-like planets in the universe. Here is an awesome article detailing the current quest: WashingtonPost.com - Science Digest, April 27, 2009. As I pointed out in class, there are so many stars and galaxies in the universe that it is probable that there are other places out there that are capable of having the right conditions for life.

For the news brief today, Luke talked about the recent diversion of a plane because of swine flu fears. Here is an article about this: Boston.com - Flight diverted to Boston after passenger complains of flu-like symptoms. Really, people get spooked by this sort of stuff. A great article recapping why the idea that airplanes just recirculate air and infects everyone on the plane is completely untrue can be found here: Salon.com - Ask the Pilot, May 8, 2009.

Furthermore, as I was trying to point out using the map, and subsequently made it crash and fall to the ground, the shortest distance between two points on the globe is very rarely a straight line because of the curve of the globe. The website Great Circle Mapper is an excellent representation of this. Check out what the flight path between Portland and Beijing, China if such a flight actually existed (it does not, currently): Great Circle Mapper, PDX-PEK.

Interesting stuff, right? Thanks Luke! Yesenia, you are up for next class please! One news article about anything currently going on outside the United States!

Finish Promises: I'm glad everyone participated in this! Even more so, I was really excited to hear your thoughts about all of it, especially about the innocence of children and the circumstances that they were born into. This was so related to the rest of the movie and the overall point!

By the way, now that the film is done, here is the trailer for the movie, and you can also watch the entire film on YouTube in 10 parts. That playlist can be found here.

I am very interested to see what you did with these conversations! I think it was a good way to approach watching the film. It is possible that we will do something next class with these as well. Again, thank you for your participation!

Student Presentations: After wrapping the movie went, we went on to your presentations! I asked the class about elements to a good presentation, which I wrote on the board. I also wanted everyone in the audience to write about what was interesting/good about each presentation, as well as how it made you feel. With that, I turned it over to you guys! We had Amy, Corri and Brian, Aaron and Dylan and Logan, Nasser and Jaye, Suzie and Ariel, Diana and Breanna, Sante and Haze, Iris, Sam and Stephen, Sarah, and Juliet go today. Thank you! To everyone not on that list, please be ready to go tomorrow!

I am attempting to upload Dylan, Logan, and Aaron's video creation on YouTube - I will post if it is successful.

Overall, as I said above, I think that these were fantastic. A lot of thought and effort went in to most of your presentations! Thank you! We will continue with the presentations next class, then move on to the next unit.
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Have a fantastic afternoon! Thanks for being such great students! See you on Thursday! :-)

Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 14 - Class Recap

One of the promotional images for the film Promises that we are watching in class. Found on the official website, here.
Dear Period 2,

Thank you for the class today! I think that it went well, though I did notice a little lack of focus at times on the film - which is made all the worse because there is no way that you will be able to understand what the people are saying unless you can have your head up to see the subtitles! Anyway, I liked how it all went.

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state?

Soundtrack: "Dear Mama" by 2Pac. Lyrics here. Chosen because it is Mother's Day on Sunday! This is an excellent song - it is the ringtone for when my mom calls me! :-)

AGENDA 5/8/09:
Mother's Day
News Brief
Promises, Part II

Homework: Bring presentations and papers for Tuesday (for real)! Read blog recap!

As I said in class, next week we will be doing the presentations. As you could hopefully see, showing the film Promises was a great way to lead in to getting people to work together. There was a lot of it in the movie! Now I want to see your takes on it! Remember, both your final paper and presentation should be ready to go by Tuesday. Also, I want you to bring back your completed film notes (I am guessing there are about 2 more minutes to watch, so we will probably do that and then get on to the presentations). Thanks!

Mother's Day: At the start of class, I went over the essential questions, soundtrack, and agenda, which led into talking a little bit about what people were doing for Mother's Day. Please be good to your mom! She helped shape you into the person you are today! :-)

News Brief: After talking for a minute or so about the importance of mothers, we got to hear a little bit about what is going on in the world! Someone noted that the Statue of Liberty is finally reopening. They have that planned for July 4th! I would highly encourage you to check it out if you are ever in New York City. Very cool place. Source: CNN.com - Statue of Liberty's crown to re-open July 4.

Stephen asked about why the United States gives Israel 3 billion dollars a year. Here's at least one perspective: Israeli-United States Relations. A quote:

U.S.-Israeli relations have evolved from an initial American policy of sympathy and support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in 1948 to an unusual partnership that links a small but militarily powerful Israel, dependent on the United States for its economic and military strength, with the U. S. superpower trying to balance competing interests in the region. Some in the United States question the levels of aid and general commitment to Israel, and argue that a U. S. bias toward Israel operates at the expense of improved U. S. relations with various Arab states. Others maintain that democratic Israel is a strategic ally, and that U. S. relations with Israel strengthens the U. S. presence in the Middle East.

I mentioned that the U.S. also provides a lot of aid to Pakistan (in order to help it fight the Taliban and other Islamic extremists in the country), and that last summer a report came out about some of the wasteful spending. Specifically, I mentioned a fleet of cars that Pakistan bought with U.S. money. Here is a great article talking all about that: WashingtonPost.com - U.S. Funding to Pakistan Plagued With Problems, GAO Report Says. A relevant quote:

In one example, the report cited monthly payments averaging $19,000 per vehicle for 20 passenger vehicles used by the Pakistani navy that appeared to contain "duplicative charges," the GAO said. The Pentagon often did not document its basis for evaluating claims and did not check Pakistan's currency conversions, which could have led to overbilling, the report said.

Look, this is not to say that all the aid the United States gives to Pakistan is being spent terribly. I tend to disagree when people make the argument that all the money being put forth to a particular purpose must be not worthy because of individual specific cases of inefficiencies, where money is spent badly. That is the same sort of argument that some people use to say that schools should get less funding, because they waste a lot of money on bureaucrats, or other individual aspects. It just makes no sense in the grand scheme of things.

In fact, check out this current article from just this last Monday: CNN.com - Legislation would triple U.S. non-military aid to Pakistan. Currently, we provide 500 million dollars a year to Pakistan. This bill would up that to $1.5 million. Again, a HUGE reason why paying attention to the Middle East is important. These are our tax dollars! We need to know what is going on, in order to be well informed about why our money goes where it does!

Suzie brought in this article to talk about: NYTimes.com - Swine Flu Cases Worldwide Exceed 2,300. I noted that this is something to be still really careful about, especially because really deadly flu viruses tend to start slow and then evolve into something really dangerous. The 1918 flu epidemic killed millions and millions of people and started just this way.

Thanks for the article Suzie! Luke, you are up for next class. Any current article about anything going on outside the United States.

Promises, Part II: I did not get to stop this as much as I wanted (and there are still a couple of minutes left) but generally, I liked this. Again, hopefully you can see now why it is so important to find common ground between people! This is what your presentations should be all about. I am super excited to see what you bring in on Tuesday! :-)
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Thanks go out to Haze, Krishna, and Stephen for playing hoops at lunch, and Iris for coming and watching. That was fun! Also, thanks go out to the rest of you as well, for being such amazing students!

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy Mother's Day! I will be unavailable to post and respond to comments from 4-10 tonight (Friday), but other than that, I should be able to get back to you fairly quickly. Have fun in the sun! :-)

Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 13 - Class Recap

Another one of the pictures that I took in downtown Portland over Spring Break. I'm going to make this relate by saying that rivers, railroads, bridges, and even planes (look at the top of the picture for the light) all connect cultures and countries.
Hello class!

I'm wondering if I will have any extra people on here reading this, due to the events of the class today! Let's hope. Generally, I really liked what we did today, and I am glad that I changed up what we were going to do. Yes, I think most of you guys were ready to do these presentations and would do a fantastic job. However, as I said in the last blog, I think that by switching it up, I can give you an even better idea of exactly what I am looking for with this. Anyway, I'm glad that I am able to do things like that and have everyone buy in to it! Thanks!

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state?

Soundtrack: "You Can't Hurry Love" by Phil Collins. Lyrics here. Really an excellent song about having patience, which I was asking you to do with these presentations. Also, a great song for looking at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well.

AGENDA 5/6/09:
News Brief
Calling an Audible
Promises

Homework: Continue to work on final project (paper and creative product)! Read blog recap!

This should hopefully be made much more clear by the recap about everything, so read on!

News Brief: I know that we had a good conversation, as always. I remember that Iris and Diana have a lacrosse game at 6:30 on Thursday, here at Westview. Other than that, I'm not entirely sure that I can remember what we talked about, besides:

The swine flu! What a surprise! :-) Stephen noted (which was the story that James was going to use for his news brief) that the first American died of the swine flu (or at least, had the swine flu and later died). The story about that can be found here: CBSNews.com - First U.S. Resident Dies Of H1N1 In Texas.

We had some more good discussion about this, but quite honestly, it really isn't that interesting at this point. There are plenty of other things going on in the world - let's try to focus on those please! :-)

James, thanks for having that topic of discussion ready. Suzie, you are up (I know, I'm sorry) for next class on Friday! I'm excited! Any current news article about anything going on outside the United States.

Calling an Audible: I asked the class if you knew what an "audible" meant - I loved hearing the very deep "yes" from the guys. Here's a great definition for everyone. About.com - Football Glossary - Audible. Basically, I wanted to switch things up, because I believe it makes a whole lot more sense logically to end the unit by first watching the movie Promises, and then going on to the presentations that will aim to bring people together. So, I did that.

Before this, however, I asked everyone to get out their explanation papers, so I could check them off to make sure everyone that actually did them on time got credit for it. Please e-mail me the paper ASAP if you were not able to show me in class.

Another reason why I wanted to flip things up was because I got the feeling that your papers weren't going to really touch on the ideas that I was asking you to. To help you out in revising, I read four samples from my Period 1 class that I thought were particularly well done. The common thread between all of them were:

- Facts about the conflict: Who, what, when, where, why.

- Sides to the debate.

- How your presentation is going to address this and bring people together. What is your decision about a possible way for this to happen - a solution?

Please revise and update your papers accordingly. Like I said in class, I am not expecting this to be a major production. However, I want to make EXTRA sure that you can really explain what your presentation is going to do. I may even have you read it before your presentation, so that we can see what your thinking was.

Promises: We watched about 35 minutes of this movie, pausing from time to time to write down thoughts and questions to the children in the film. From what I could tell, everyone knew what was going on, was actively involved in watching the film, and had some incredibly interesting thoughts to share. I am really excited to finish this up next class! Please bring those conversation pieces to class to continue!

Like I said in class and before on here, I am sorry about unexpectedly flipping everything up. I think by the end of the film that you will agree that it makes way more sense to do it this way though. Thanks for being willing to work with me!
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I think that should just about do it! Please get in touch with me if you need any help at all, or have questions about anything. Or, just post comments about whatever. That works too. :-)

The Office is on tomorrow night (Thursday, 9:00 PM, NBC), and it is always funny. Other than that, please continue working on your papers and projects, and come ready for class on Friday!

Have a wonderful afternoon!

Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 12 - Class Recap

EDIT (2:00 PM, Tuesday): After thinking it over and seeing the results of the lesson I did for my class today (5/5), we are going to hold off on doing the presentations tomorrow. Instead, I am going to go over a little more of what I am looking for, as well as do something that I really think you guys will find interesting and informative. How does that sound as a tease? Definitely bring your papers and anything else that I can check off to see that you have done, but again, I think I am going to push it back a bit. If anyone is surprised tomorrow, it will be because they didn't read the blog tonight! :-)

On to the original class recap...


Outside the World Trade Center in downtown Portland, near the waterfront. All sorts of countries and cultures coming together there! Picture taken by Mr. Fritz on April 17th.
Hello class!

Thanks for the (hopefully) productive work day today! I will have no sympathy if you do not have anything for your final products, because we have certainly used enough class time to work on them. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. Remember, make your paper really tell me how your creative product relates to the conflict in Israel and Palestine!

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state?

Soundtrack: "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey. Lyrics here. Chosen because we are continuing to think about what brings people together.

AGENDA 5/4/09:
News Brief
Ping Pong Diplomacy
Music in Pyongyang
Project Work

Homework: Final project (paper and creative product), due on Wednesday (next class)! Read blog recap!

Just so that there are no issues with this assignment that can be immediately be solved by looking at the assignment sheet, please look it over before asking any questions about what I am asking you to do. After that, by all means, fire away! Here's the assignment to download, if needed:

Israel and Palestine Final Project
Remember that you need to type at least one page explaining your creative product. In that explanation, please write about how you addressed the issues at stake in the conflict, the essential questions of the unit, and how your creation is going to help foster collaboration between both sides.

Again, make this fun and interesting for you! This assignment gives you an enormous amount of free choice! Find ways to relate something that you love to this!

Also, if you need anything in particular for me to bring in, or set up for your presentation, please let me know. I will have my laptop (capable of playing DVDs) and a projector with an ELMO ready for use.

News Brief: To begin class, we did a little stretching! However, that quickly died down because of a lack of participation. After that, we talked for a bit about the swine flu (for some reason, this is the story all of my classes want to talk about), and then Diana brought in this article to share with the class: CNN.com - Farmer may have given swine flu to pigs, Canada says. As always, interesting stuff! James, you are up for next class on Wednesday. Any news article about anything currently going on outside the United States.

Ping Pong Diplomacy: Before letting you loose for project work the rest of class, I wanted to show you a couple of really famous instances of creative ways to get countries talking. One of the most interesting that I can remember (and as highlighted by the fantastic movie Forrest Gump) was the "Ping Pong Diplomacy" that happened between the United States and China in the 1970s. This was an HUGE deal. Here's the video we watched in class:



Music in Pyongyang: Someone in the class (I can't remember who) helpfully pointed out that the Ping Pong Diplomacy wouldn't really work for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because neither side wants to make amends. This thought led directly in to a more current situation, with North Korea and the United States, where music was used to bridge long held divides (partially). Here's the video we watched in class about the New York Philharmonic playing in Pyongyang:



I also mentioned an excellent report that Christiane Amanpour did for CNN as a result of the trip, where you get to see some really interesting footage of what life is like in one of the most secretive countries in the entire world. Here is the link to the first YouTube video in the series - Notes from North Korea (1 of 6).

Project Work: Using the two videos as a sort of a final "pump up" for the final project, we read the key parts of the assignment sheet together. I also told the class to have the skills packet to turn in and be graded on Wednesday.

As I said at the beginning of this post, I liked the work we did in class, and I think I touched base with everyone about their project. Please do not leave the rest of this until the night before! There is way too much to do. I do not want a million comments asking for directions on Tuesday night (though again, I will always be glad to respond to anything you bring up).

Be excited for class on Wednesday! I think this should be interesting and a lot of fun! Let your optimism shine through!
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I do not really have much else to say! Please let me know if you need any help with any of this. Have a great afternoon! :-)

Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 11 - Class Recap

Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The founders of our country debated here to create the Constitution! Picture by Mr. Fritz, May 23, 2008.
Dear Period 2,

A very lively day today, I thought. Lots of conversation and debate, as I expected. Hopefully everyone is getting a really clear picture of the skills we are developing through studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is definitely a lot to it! Let's get the recap started!

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state?

Soundtrack: "Talk" by Coldplay. Lyrics here. Picked because it is a great song for talking and debating, as we did in class today.

AGENDA 4/30/09:
News Brief
Comprehending the Debate
Project Work

Homework: Continue to work on final project (bring in materials next class). Watch the Blazers game! Read recap on blog!

Everyone should have signed up on the "letter of intent" sheet. Basically, I wanted to see what you were thinking. Next class (on Monday), bring anything that you need to help create the final project. If you are doing a skit, bring ideas for dialogue. If you are doing a collage, bring pictures, etc. Be working on this outside of class! How are you going to incorporate all of these different aspects of the conflict that we have been talking about?

The Blazers play tonight in Houston at 6:30, on KGW (ch. 8) and TNT. Win or lose, we will be coming home. The only difference is if we lose, we are coming home and not playing again until next season. Hopefully that does not happen!

News Brief: Ariel brought in this news article to talk about: CNN.com - North Korea demands apology, threatens nuke test. Ahh, North Korea. I asked the class if North Korea scares you, and a few of you said yes. I pointed out that the people of North Korea recently (in 2000) have had such food shortages that some of the people have turned to eating tree bark. That article can be found here: BBC.co.uk - UN warns of North Korea food crisis.

I think it was Iris that asked about the United Nations, and how the Security Council works. We talked about this a little bit when you were doing the Rwanda speeches, but here is a good overview of how it works: Wikipedia - U.N. Security Council.

Finally, I mentioned the gigantic floating plastic garbage island in the Pacific Ocean. Here's what I was talking about: Wikipedia - Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Please check out the links to sources in that article (and in any other Wikipedia entry). An area twice the size of Texas, of our junk! More than ever, it is important to recycle!

Thanks for bringing in that article Ariel! Diana, you are up for next class, on Monday. One article, about anything currently going on outside the United States.

Comprehending the Debate: At this point in class, I asked everyone to think of something to debate (since I had arranged the room with two desks facing each other). We decided on debating dogs vs. cats first, as a warm up, as we brainstormed all of the reasons for each side. I had you debate one side, then go to the other. After that, we debated the death penalty, using a handy sheet in your packet. The sheet was made using the amazingly interesting and helpful ProCon.org website. The page on the death penalty can be found here, while the "1 Minute Overview" that we used in class can be found here.

To begin, I told everyone facing the windows to argue the "Pro" position, while everyone facing the hall was "Con." We debated for about three minutes. I think it was a great start. I then turned the tables and had everyone had to debate the side that they were just arguing against.

Then, we argued another issue, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict! The ProCon.org page for this debate can be found here (that would definitely be a good website to look over for your project, if you have time), and the "1 Minute Overview" that we used in class can be found here.

After this, I asked why we would do the debate in class. I really liked the responses! Empathy, perspective, comprehending what the issue is - all of it. We debated both sides of the table for three minutes each, and then came back together to write down some of the aspects of both sides. Using this list, I had you do a five minute response to the questions in your skills packet. Remember to keep this handy! It will definitely help you in writing your paper, and you do need to turn it in as well!

Project Work: So again, how the heck are you going to get these two groups of people that have historically completely disagreed with each other, to sit down and realize that they do, in fact, have things in common and should work towards peace? I am hearing some really excellent ideas out there. Basically, I want you to utilize your talents! Are you a good artist? How about an athlete? We have talked a lot about the different things that connect countries and cultures. What do you think connects you to well to other people? I really want you to get in to this assignment!

We set the due date of next Wednesday, 5/6 for the project. We will be doing presentations in front of the class. As you know, my main worry with this is that the presentations are boring. However, with this assignment in particular, there should be no way that you do not feel at least somewhat passionate about what you are doing. Hopefully that will translate.

Please be excited about this, and bring material to work on to class on Thursday! We will devote almost the entire time to working on this!

After moving the desks and setting the due date, I showed you the JDCL (the first letters of my group of friends) "Wanna be a G" video. No, I am not going to put it online for you to see. Can I interest you in my highlight video from football in high school? ;-)
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Thanks for the fun day! Please keep working on your projects and papers over the weekend and come ready to finish them up on Monday! Have a great afternoon! Go Blazers! Also, regardless of the outcome, The Office will make you laugh and smile, on NBC at 9:00 PM. See you next week! :-)

Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 10 - Class Recap

The immediate aftermath of Game 2 of the Blazers-Rockets playoff series, in Portland. Picture taken by Mr. Fritz.
Hello Period 2!

Interesting day today! It actually took us much longer to work through the things I had planned, now that I think about it, but it ended up okay in the end. Thank you for the participation with everything! Hopefully I was able to make class interesting and relevant to you, as always. Let's get on with the recap!

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state? - We definitely tried to work hard on both of these questions today!

Soundtrack: "Look into My Eyes" by Outlandish. The lyrics, which we read together in class because I thought they were just excellent for expressing the Palestinian perspective, can be found here. Thank you Nasser for suggesting the song! I played it about 15 times in a row last night after I downloaded it from iTunes. A great song!

AGENDA 4/28/09:
News Brief
Proficiency Packet
Child Marriage in Yemen
Project Work

Homework: Continue to work on the final project. Watch the Blazers game! Read recap on blog!

I liked most of the ideas that I heard today in class, but some of them I were not able to approve due to it not being able to address the matter at hand. Remember, this is not about solving the conflict, or giving a huge history of it. It is about bringing people together somehow. What are you going to do to get both sides talking instead of fighting? That is the ultimate goal here.

The Blazers play tonight at 7:00 on KGW (channel 8) and on NBATV. No, you don't actually have to watch it for homework. Especially not if they give up and lose by 50+, like New Orleans just did at home against Denver.

News Brief: As I passed back the Middle East map quizzes, most of which were excellent (but if they weren't, you get one opportunity to retake it - just let me know), we had a conversation about what is going on in the world. Apparently, Ariel's softball team cannot be stopped. Iris helpfully brought up the topic of the swine flu, using this article: Associated Press - World health officials race to stem deadly flu. Really interesting!

As we talked about in class, I have no doubts that this is an immediate and pressing concern. However, how come we all too frequently lose sight of much bigger problems that would absolutely benefit from a lot more publicity? For instance, how about the estimated FOUR THOUSAND plus people that have died so far just in 2009, in the United States, as a result of drunk drivers? Source: AlcoholAlert.com - Drunk Driving Statistics. That is an INSANE statistic!

Some of you may have Mr. Hardy for Biology, and as I was getting super worked up about this in the teacher cluster, he completely agreed and said if people would only start paying attention to the fact that the number one cancer by far and away in both men and women is lung cancer, mostly as a result of tobacco use. And that heart disease is the number one killer of adults in the United States. What is really more dangerous? Swine flu that may or may not take over the world, or you smoking cigarettes?

Thanks for bringing in the article! Ariel, you are up for next class. One current news article about anything outside the United States.

Proficiency Packet: I introduced this packet as a way to look at proficiency in Social Studies. This is a lot like Math, except we are looking at things like, "Can you identify and explain the critical components of an event, issue or problem?"

We will be using the rest of the packet (and some additions) to go through and construct your explanation paper and final creative product for the unit. So, to begin explaining the who, what, when, where, and why on an event, issue, or problem, I provided the Associated Press game recap ESPN.com - Outlaw scores 21 as Blazers claim home-court advantage. We read this as a class together and then I asked you to write identify and explain the critical components of the event! A fun transition here.

After that, I asked you to use that same skill to identify and explain the main parts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, using the PowerPoint notes and any other information you know. After some hesitation about exactly what I was asking you to do with each question, I think this went pretty well! Remember, the more that you can explain or put down, the better. If I ask who is involved, it is not enough to say Israelis and Palestinians. What are the characteristics of those two groups?

Hopefully the recap on the board helped you out as well. This is something we are going to continue to explore! We really want to know, do you have this certain skill? Thanks for participating in this!

Child Marriage in Yemen: Next, I passed out an article that I found in the Sunday Oregonian section that I saw the death penalty debate about: Islamists Fight Yemen Law Banning Child Marriage. The link doesn't have the cool "who, what, why" box that was in the article I handed out, but you can see what the point of us reading this was. Having the ability to assess current issues, events, or problems is a really critical skill! I was also careful to mention again that while this may be a problem in some Middle Eastern countries, by no means are women this oppressed across the region.

Project Work: For the rest of class (about 10 minutes), you were supposed to be working on either your paper or your creative product. Please see me for anything you may need, whether it be advice or getting materials. Be sure to e-mail me or comment if you need help too! :-)
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The Blazers play tonight vs. Houston at 7:00 PM, on KGW and NBATV. Win or we are out of the playoffs. Big game! It is also my mom's birthday tonight, so we are going to be celebrating while watching it.

Thanks again for the hard work in class! Let's keep it up! Have a great afternoon!

Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 9 - Class Recap

The United States provides Israel with an average of 3 billion dollars a year in military aid. Source: NYTimes.com - U.S. and Israel Sign Military Aid Deal.
Good afternoon and welcome to the weekend!

Lots of interesting information and content to go over today. Generally, I liked how class went! We still have to work on listening to each other when someone is talking, as well as some focus issues. However, I especially loved all the ideas you were coming up with at the end of class! Let's keep it going!

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What are the factors to consider in the development of a Palestinian state? - The second question is a new one, built off of our final project (which just so happens to be based off the first essential question).

Soundtrack: "Paris, Tokyo" by Lupe Fiasco. Lyrics here. This is a fantastic song for thinking about traveling around the world, and seeing all sorts of different cultures and countries.

AGENDA 4/24/09:
News Brief
Middle East Map Quiz
The Israeli-Palestinian Problem
Final Project

Homework: Come to class with an idea ready to work on for final project. Read blog recap!

I would like you to bring in one concrete idea for what you are going to do for your final project. This will be recapped in great detail below in the Final Project section.

News Brief: Iris is going to bring something in next Tuesday, but we were able to (after a ridiculously long wait) identify some events that are going on in the world.

Haze talked a little bit about guys with clown hair throwing clown noses at the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at the recent United Nations conference on racism. A good recap of that can be found here: LATimes.com - Iran president's remarks prompt walkout at U.N. conference.

I also mentioned this really big debate about torture that is going on right now. Specifically, I talked a little bit about waterboarding, the tactic that many people say is torture.

An opinion piece on the whole matter that I think is worth reading can be found here: RealClearPolitics.com - Even If It Works, US Shouldn't Torture.

From the article:

But no matter how hard one tries, one cannot credibly argue that, while waterboarding was a crime when committed by the Japanese in World War II, it is not a crime when committed by the United States in the 21st Century.

One of the opposing views can be found here: WashingtonPost.com - Congress Debates Fresh Investigation Of Interrogations. A quote:

Bush administration veterans, led by Cheney, are poised to renew a high-volume debate over the efficacy of the interrogation methods and, more broadly, the approach to terrorism that Obama's predecessor took after Sept. 11, 2001. Cheney called this week for the release of more memos that he said would demonstrate how effective the tactics were. And in an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity, he made it clear that he is ready to wage a battle over who is right.

"The threat is there. It's very real, and it's continuing," Cheney said. "And what the Obama people are doing, in effect, is saying, 'Well, we don't need those tough policies that we had.'"

Very, very interesting stuff. After talking for a bit, we went straight into...

Middle East Map Quiz: Thank you for being quiet and focused on this. I took a gander (great word) at these, and most of them look okay, at the least! Remember that it is so important to know where these places are, especially when the United States is fighting wars in two countries in the Middle East! I will have these graded and back to you on Tuesday.

The Israeli-Palestinian Problem: This section of class was devoted to learning a little more about the conflicts in Israel. I handed out the notes from the PowerPoint (please come see me if you were not in class for this) and went through this presentation, asking you to take notes about things that were interesting (or in some cases, what I had just told you to write down):

The Israeli-Palestinian Problem PowerPoint
I am not sure if I like how my handing out the PowerPoint notes relates to a seeming lack of attention to the presentation. Today we were much better than the last time, but still, I would really appreciate your attention and focus when I give you a break and do not make you take enormous amounts of written notes for each slide to stay focused. I realize that some of you doodle to stay focused, but please know that I might be calling on you to see if you understand what I am saying if I don't see that I have your attention.

Something that came up during the PowerPoint was my love for the Olympics, and how the recent Opening Ceremony in Beijing was one of the most incredible performances I have ever seen. Here is a video of it, or at least, the first few minutes.

Final Project: Transitioning from the presentation and using all of the information we have learned about different cultures across the Middle East, I handed out the final project for this unit, which can be downloaded here:

Israel and Palestine Final Project Handout
We read this together as a class, and as promised we will go through many different aspects of what I am asking you to do over the next few class days. Again, your homework is to think of an idea that you can bring in to start working on (and get my approval) for next class. I want you to have fun with this! Do something that you really enjoy doing and will look forward to sharing with the class!

As I said in class, the main point of this assignment is not to try and determine a Middle East peace plan between Israel and Palestine. There are some classes that do that exercise, and while I think it can be incredibly valuable, I want our class to create something that can help get us to that point. I heard many good thoughts in class today, and I also listed out a few options in the assignment. Please come see me or ask away in the comments or e-mail me if you have any questions about this project!

I was glad to see that we ended up with a good 15 minutes or so to think of ideas for the project. Most of this was good work, but please remember to be considerate of our neighbors next door when you are discussing your amazing ideas. :-)
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Consider Krishna and Haze members of the Redeem Team at 2nd lunch basketball. I worked up quite a sweat! It is difficult to go from no practice all week to playing in a full court game. My shot started falling better near the end. Haze had a few threes and Krishna was great at cutting to the hoop. Thanks for playing fellas!

The Blazers play tonight at 6:30, on KGW (Channel 8), and ESPN. The series is tied 1-1, so it is a very big game! I am not too confident about our team tonight, but I am hoping that they will come out and prove the doubters wrong! They play again on Sunday at 6:00 PM, on KGW and TNT. Also, I should be working hard all weekend on Lewis and Clark stuff, so please fire away in the comments or on e-mail, and I will probably get back to you quite quickly! Enjoy your weekend! Thanks for being great students! :-)

Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 8 - Class Recap

The ball of string from our class unity activity today! This was a lot of fun, thank you for participating!
Dear class,

A lot of fun today, with some good content and substance mixed in. Hopefully we are feeling much more together than last class, when we had a lot of intense debate on some very powerful issues. Thank you for the participation - though my goodness, it is difficult to get some of you to listen up and pay attention to others. Always things to work on and improve!

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What is the impact of religion on policy in the Middle East?

Soundtrack: "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin. Lyrics here. As Krishna helpfully pointed out, Kashmir is a region in between Pakistan and India. Learn more about it here. As I said in class, this is another one of those regions in the Middle East where there is a LOT of conflict about who should control it. "Kashmir" is also used in some of the Portland Trail Blazers introduction videos at the Rose Garden, and P. Diddy made a remix of it for the movie Godzilla. Now THAT is a versatile song selection!

AGENDA 4/21/09:
News Brief
Forced Choice Debrief
Class Unity Activity
Mapping the Middle East

Homework: Study for Middle Easy map quiz (Friday). Watch the Blazers game! Read blog recap!

There will be a Middle East map quiz on Friday, so please be studying for that. The countries you are required to know are: Iran, Iraq, Israel, Sudan, Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Any other countries that you can identify could also help your grade. Remember that the map I will use is a little bit different from the map I handed you to study off of! See the "Mapping the Middle East" section below for more information.

News Brief: Aaron brought in this article to share with the class: U.S. generals gauge where fight in Afghanistan is headed. I talked a little bit in class about Newsweek calling Afghanistan "Obama's Vietnam?" in a cover story earlier this year. That article can be found here. This is a region of the world with a LOT of conflict, like I said! The United States is pouring more troops into the situation, as President Obama says that he wants to turn the focus from Iraq to Afghanistan. Will it work? Only time will tell.

Also, I showed the class the cover story from the Sunday Oregonian, which happened to be talking about something we had just talked about in class: the cost of the death penalty vs. life in prison. That article can be found here: OregonLive.com - Can Oregon afford the death penalty? It certainly is an interesting thing to think about!

Iris, you are up for a news article on Friday! One current article about anything around the world happening outside the United States.

Forced Choice Debrief: I am glad we had a little more time to go over this. I asked about what the really big debates last class were about. Not surprisingly many of you said the debate about religion was especially contentious. It happens all over the world, and especially in the Middle East! Religion is really one of the sparks that lights people's fires.

Nasser wanted to hear about people's reactions to the prompt: Islam is a peaceful religion. I thought this was especially well done in class - there were some very good viewpoints on each side. Again, sometimes it is all a matter of interpretation! What do YOU believe?

I mentioned that I would post on the blog about the video we watched a little bit of in Mrs. DeFrance's class, "Obsession," and how it was mailed out to "swing state" voters last fall. Here is a great article about it: CNN.com - Muslim DVD rattles voters in key battleground states. A quote I thought was especially interesting:

But Larry Sabato, a political observer and director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said it's naïve to think such a video won't influence undecided voters.

"It's pretty obvious that the group sponsoring it wants people to think more about terrorism, about national security, about Middle East politics and maybe less about the economy," said Sabato. "Well, that obviously favors one side -- the Republicans."

Because a number of Americans still believe, incorrectly, that Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama is a Muslim, political observers said they believe the DVD plays directly into that misperception.

A lot of interesting parts to that quote. Why would making Barack Obama seem like a Muslim be a good strategy? Why are Republicans seen as better at national security than Democrats?

Anyway, thanks for the participation here! Always good to see other thoughts!

Class Unity Activity: This was really interesting, fun, and hopefully a good way to remind each other that we are all in this class together, despite any differences of opinion. We threw a ball of string around, while holding on to a bit of it. Each person had to explain a little bit about what they knew about their heritage. We all had really interesting and different backgrounds! I have to give credit for the idea and the yarn to my friend Alexis, who is currently in the same program as I am at Lewis and Clark. Good times. Thanks for your participation, and remember that we are all interconnected! When someone stumbles, it is up to the rest of us to help them back up! A HUGE thank you to Iris and the other ladies that helped me roll the ball of yarn up again - no joke, that took me 3 hours to do by myself last time. :-)

Mapping the Middle East: Again, so everyone is clear on exactly why I am having you do this, we read this article in class from the projector: CNN.com - Study: Geography Greek to young Americans. Simply incredible statistics, especially because the United States is currently in the midst of two wars in the Middle East. In 2006, only 12 percent of 18-24 year olds could place Afghanistan on a map, and only 37% could place Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Simply unacceptable. Let's improve those numbers a bit, shall we?

I then gave you the rest of class (about 15 minutes) to complete the blank maps that I handed out, as well as study up for the quiz next class. Hopefully I was able to touch base with everyone that has missing work, as well. If you are concerned about your grade and what you have missing, please see either me or Mrs. DeFrance at lunch or after school, and we would be more than happy to let you know what to get in. Thanks for working on this!
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I will be at the Blazers game tonight (YES!) so I will not be able to post or respond to comments from around 5:00 to 10:30 PM tonight. Remember that tomorrow it is a testing day, along with the career fair, so I will not see you again until Friday. Thus, watch The Office if you get the chance on Thursday night at 9:00 PM on NBC. Always good times. Enjoy the sunny weather! :-)

Period 2: Turmoil in the Middle East, Day 7 - Class Recap

After a Blazers game against New Orleans earlier this year. From left to right: my brother Maxwell, my great friend Clarke, and Mr. Fritz, in my Brandon Roy jersey. Go Blazers! :-)
Good afternoon amazing students!

What an interesting day that was, right? The assembly sort of threw us off at the beginning, but I REALLY liked the forced choice activity. Whenever I can get people fired up about considering different viewpoints and relating it all to what we are learning, I love it. That's what we in the teaching business like to call critical thinking. Thank you for the participation in the day! Please excuse the later posting than usual. I'm afraid it is going to have to become all too common if I want to do a good job on these! On to the class recap:

Essential Questions: In what ways are cultures and countries interconnected? What is the impact of religion on policy in the Middle East?

Soundtrack: "We Like to Party" by Vengaboys. Lyrics here. Basically, I picked this song because it is a catchy tune and it is Friday. Also, you hear it all the time at basketball games (including when I went to the Blazers game on Wednesday).

AGENDA 4/17/09:
News Brief
Women Speaking Up
Forced Choice
Class Unity Activity

Homework: Do something that you have been putting off (like late work, chores, apologizing to someone, etc). Watch the Blazers game! Read blog recap!

I am not sure the homework needs any sort of explaining, other than to say that I am not going to check to make sure you did it (as should be obvious). Nonetheless, please attempt to, unless you could not care less about the Blazers.

News Brief: After settling down from the assembly, I went over the essential questions, soundtrack, agenda, and homework. I always like to ask "So, is there anything interesting going on in the world?" Some good responses there! Pay attention to what is going on around you, everyone!

Brian brought in a news article from Afghanistan, about the reaction to the new law restricting women's rights there. Here's the latest: CNN.com - Afghanistan to change controversial 'rape' law. Because this was exactly what I was going to talk about in the next part of class, it was a great lead in! Thanks Brian! Aaron, you are up for next Tuesday. Any article about anything currently going on outside of the United States.

Women Speaking Up: One of the comments I made on a lot of the women in the Middle East paper that you turned in (or should have) was "what if women are killed for speaking up?" All too often, I think we put the blame on women for not doing anything, or needing to do this or that. Well, how? I handed out an article that a student in my Period 1 class brought in yesterday that was absolutely amazing for talking about all of these same issues. The article can be found here: NYTimes.com - Afghan Women Protest Law on Home Life. Check out the following quote from near the beginning:

"We want our rights!" one of the women shouted, turning to face them. “We want equality!”

The women ran to the bus and dived inside as it rumbled away, with the men smashing the taillights and banging on the sides.

"Whores!"

But the march continued anyway. About 300 Afghan women, facing an angry throng three times larger than their own, walked the streets of the capital on Wednesday to demand that Parliament repeal a new law that introduces a range of Taliban-like restrictions on women, and permits, among other things, marital rape.

It was an extraordinary scene. Women are mostly illiterate in this impoverished country, and they do not, generally speaking, enjoy anything near the freedom accorded to men. But there they were, most of them young, many in jeans, defying a threatening crowd and calling out slogans heavy with meaning.

As I pointed out in class, how much in that article was stuff that we had JUST talked about? Speaking out. Unity and building a coalition. Education. Persistence. Religion. All of these and more came into play in that situation. Pretty amazing, right?

After reading the article to the class and getting some great thoughts on it and the relation to women making a difference from a few students (thank you for speaking up, by the way), we moved on to...

Forced Choice: Now, THIS was a lot of fun. Thank you for being willing take a stand for what you believe in! I created these statements purposely to be divisive, so that we could see multiple perspectives on an issue. Specifically, I wanted all of the questions to somehow relate to the Middle East and what we are studying. I know this was somewhat difficult! That was the point! I really liked all the thoughts and raised hands and dialogue, even though I heard from a few students in Mr. Hardin's class that they could hear me yelling for quiet through the wall!

One of the facts that I brought up in class was that the death penalty costs much more than life in prison, due to all the costs of lawyers and prosecution and such. Because I like to try to back up claims like that as much as possible so that you do not think I just made it up, an interesting little article was recently done on this by National Public Radio (which is AMAZING by the way - I would highly recommend listening to "The World" on OPB's station, 91.5 FM, from 3:00-4:00 some day after you get out of school): Opponents Focus On Cost In Death Penalty Debate. So, is it worth it? The choice was up to you!

I was also really excited to see all different thoughts. There were many reasons for each side, even though some people wanted to creep toward the middle. I thought that some of the most interesting debates were over the question of using religion to fight, and for the "eye for an eye" philosophy of killing someone for killing someone else. I was glad to see some questions that had only a few people on one side stand up (literally) for what they believed in. That to me shows that there was a lack of being naive, at the very least.

This took a lot of time (in fact, the entire rest of the class), but I think it was really fun and incredibly interesting. I am going to try similar activities in the future. Definitely leave any thought about how that process went, or defend your opinion, below in the comments! Think about all the conflict we had just in that class - translate that to the Middle East, and you begin to see why it is such a region of turmoil.

Class Unity Activity: We did not have the time to get to this, which is actually pretty funny, because I always seem to be running out of time for this particular activity. Hopefully we will devote a good portion of time next class to it. I wanted to do it right after the forced choice, so that we could try to repair any rifts in the room, but it will have to wait. Plus, I am sure that you guys are fine.
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Before I sign off, I have to thank Stephen for being the lone representative from Period 2 to come play hoops in the gym during second lunch. He's a baller. Next week, I am going to have to come prepared or something, because not only did I get swatted once, but I think he drained about 5 threes to my 2. Bad times.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Enjoy the great weather (Monday is forecasted to be 80 degrees)! Remember to watch the Blazers playoff game tomorrow night, at 7:30 on KGW (Ch. 8) and ESPN. I will be online during the game, so if you have any observations or thoughts, post them here, and let's get a little running dialogue going!

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!