Let's just write your comments for all 3 shows and your vocabulary sentences on this post... One stop shopping...
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First, remember to watch "The Pacific" this Sunday. It's easy because it's on right after "The Amazing Race." You also need to watch "60 Minutes" this week. I will put up a posting to cover all three. Obviously, if you don't have HBO, you won't be held responsible for commenting on "The Pacific" but if you do, you will. I'd suggest keeping a notebook with you and writing down things that you find interesting (or questions that you have) and then writing them on the blog. If you just try to remember everything and write nothing down, you're likely to forget. Also for this week, as I mentioned today, I'd like you all to investigate the presidents that you chose during today's meeting. You should all have two, except for the person who chose Clinton/Bush/Obama. You will need to answer, on the blog, whatever questions I asked for your particular president. Some presidents have many questions under their names, some do not -- it was the luck of the draw. I'd like you to post your answers by Tuesday night (and obviously read what one another write), so that when we talk about the rest of the presidents on Wednesday, you'll all have a better idea about them. You answers should be concise but answer the question. I understand that you could write a book on some of the answers, but do your best to be brief (while fully answering the question). Please also write the questions before your answers, so we won't have to keep flipping back to this blog post to see the question you were answering. Here are your questions: Franklin Delano Roosevelt ("FDR"): 1. How many terms did he serve? 2. What was the Great Depression? 3. What is social security? 4. What happened during WWII? Who was fighting against whom? What were a few highlights? Harry S Truman: 1. What 2 cities did he drop atomic bombs on? What was the rationale for dropping them? 2. What was the Berlin Airlift? 3. What happened in the Korean War? 4. What was the Cold War? 5. What does "The Buck Stops Here" mean? Dwight D. Eisenhower ("Ike"): 1. What was his career before he was President? 2. Who were the members of the Allied Forces during WWII? 3. What was the result of Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas? 4. Who were the "Little Rock 9?" Why are they famous? 5. What was Levittown? John F. Kennedy ("JFK"): 1. What religion was he? Why was this a big deal when he ran for President? 2. What was the Bay of Pigs? 3. What was the Cuban Missile Crisis? 4. What does "Ich bin ein Berliner" mean and why did JFK say it? 5. In what city was JFK assassinated? What was the date? Lyndon Baines Johnson ("LBJ"): 1. What is the "War on Poverty?" 2. Explain Johnson's role in Vietnam - did he support it? Richard M. Nixon: 1. What is the "silent majority?" 2. Tell us what happened at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. 3. What was Watergate? 4. How did Nixon's presidency end? Gerald Ford: 1. How long was he president? 2. How did he become president without ever being elected either Vice President or President? Jimmy Carter: 1. Explain the Egyptian/Israeli Peace Accords. 2. Explain the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Ronald Reagan: 1. What did Reagan do for a living during most of his life before running for President? 2. Where was he and what was the significance of his saying, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" What wall? Who is Gorbachev? George H.W. Bush (the elder): 1. What was the Persian Gulf War? Why was it fought? 2. Who is Ross Perot and why was he important to the 1992 election? Bill Clinton: 1. What happened during the first bombing of the World Trade Center? Who bombed it? 2. Who was Monica Lewinsky? Why did she become famous? George W. Bush (junior): 1. Who is Al Qaeda? 2. What happened on September 11, 2001? Who was responsible? 3. Briefly explain the war in Iraq. Who was Saddam Hussein? What were our rationale for going to war? Barack Obama: 1. Who did he defeat in the Democratic Primary? 2. What are his accomplishments thus far as president? I could lie and tell you that I'm going to talk about the history of magic as pertains to the world, but I'm not. I really just found a really awesome video and wanted to share. I am generally amazed by magic and haven't seen anyone this good in a while... Enjoy, and extra credit to anyone who can figure out how he does any of it (especially the first part - try it along with him)... http://biggeekdaddy.com/humorpages/Humor/BestCardTrick.html Who are the 5 men in this picture? Can you name them? I will leave it to you, by Wednesday, to know who is whom. For the next while, we will be discussing American stories. I would say "American History" but I think some of you have the mistaken impression that American history was boring -- I assure you, it is FAR from boring. It is stories of people, like you and me, who did some incredible things, both good and bad. America is a great experiment -- in government, in the way people mixed together, in how they attempted to solve problems -- in a great many things. To that end, we will spend some time discussing U.S. Presidents, since they have had such a great influence on the country. Small change in plans here -- you do not have to start reading "To America" yet -- I will let you know when we'll start discussing that -- we need to do a bit of background work first.) I do want you all, however, in addition to you're weekly assignments, to know the order of the post-WWII presidents. I don't need you to memorize the presidents before this time (yet), but in order to have a really good grasp of recent American history and how it affects our world today, you really need to have committed to memory the post-WWII Presidents... You don't need to memorize the dates (yet), but you should have a good idea of the general time period... In addition, you should know what I mean by the basic things I've written next to their names - a quick summary of their "greatest hits" if you will (and if you don't know something, look it up! I'm going to ask on Wednesday!) They are, in order: FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT (1933-1945) - nephew of President Theodore ("Teddy") Roosevelt (FDR's wife Eleanor was Teddy's niece!). Last and only president to serve more than 2 terms, president during the Great Depression (great social programs -- social security) and most of WWII - died at the beginning of his 4th term HARRY S. TRUMAN (1945-1953) - dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Berlin Airlift, Korean War - beginning of the Cold War - coined the term "The Buck Stops Here" DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER ("Ike")(1953-1961) - ex-commander of Allied Forces during WWII, Little Rock 9, Brown v. Board of Education, beginning of suburbs (Levittown, LI) - creates "Camp David," named after his son David, which still serves as the presidential retreat JOHN F. KENNEDY (1961-1963) - first (and only) Catholic ever elected President - Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, "Ich Bin Ein Berliner" - 4th president to be assassinated (who were the other three? Hint - Lincoln was the first) LYNDON JOHNSON (1963-1969) - passed massive legislation on Civil Rights and the "War on Poverty," which is almost completely ignored because legacy became his escalation of the Vietnam War RICHARD NIXON (1969-1974) - was Eisenhower's VP - wins by talking about the "Silent Majority" and taking advantage of the chaos during the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago - presidency ends in shame with the Watergate Scandal GERALD FORD (1974-1977) - only man to serve as president that was never elected to either the presidency or the vice-presidency (how the heck did that happen?)... Pardons Nixon... Honestly, not much happens, major events-wise -- Ford is probably best known for being a klutz, constantly tripping down stairs, and for having women try to assassinate him - no joke -- there were 2 separate assassination attempts, both by women. However, his wife Betty Ford did something that still affects our world today... She has a mastectomy weeks after becoming First Lady and instead of hiding it, she talked openly about her breast cancer - a condition that was not previously spoken about in public... After her tenure as First Lady is over, she becomes famous for talking about her alcoholism and drug addiction, which had also previously been taboo to discuss in public, and opens the Betty Ford Clinic (predecessor of all of the rehab facilities in which Brittany Spears and Lindsey Lohan have spent so much of their time) JIMMY CARTER (1977-1981) - Positive: brokers peace between Egypt and Israel, the first major success in mideast peace talks - Negative: massive economic problems, Americans held hostage in Tehran, Iran, for 444 days RONALD REAGAN (1981-1989) - driving force behind the end of the Cold War, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!", Reaganomics GEORGE H.W. BUSH (1989-1993) - Persian Gulf War - Ross Perot joining in the 1992 election splits the Republican vote and gives the presidency to... BILL CLINTON (1993-2001) - Beginning of the growth of the internet, first attack on the World Trade Center... And sorry, but I can't think of any major accomplishments - I'm sure there are a few, but all I can really think of is Monica Lewinsky... Maybe someone can help me out with that... GEORGE W. BUSH (2001-2009) - Son of President George H.W. Bush. 9/11/01 -- second attack on WTC and Pentagon, War in Afghanistan, War in Iraq BARACK OBAMA (2009- ) - First African-American man ever elected to the Presidency. Elected on the mantra of "Change We Can Believe In." Enters his presidency with 2 ongoing wars and a severely faltering economy. A bit too early to tell what his legacy will be... This is where you can post this week's assignments -- "60 Minutes", "The Amazing Race!", and your vocabulary sentences. Note: I was looking at the "60 Minutes" preview and it might be a bit different than previous weeks -- I believe the entire hour is going to be devoted to only one topic. If it is, just answer the questions about the one topic. One of my favorite quotes is the one I put up on the left, "Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end." I always thought it was a rather fun, optimistic way of looking at life. I'm rather obsessed with quotes, as you can see if you take one look at the magnets on my locker. I inscribed a quote in each of your books today (Angie, I'll inscribe yours as soon as your book arrives). Each of your quotes is related to either "history" or "success". I want you to know that I did not choose your quotes randomly -- I put them in your particular books for a reason. What I'd like you to do here is to type out what your quote is, and after typing it, answer two questions: (1) What you think the quote means? (2) Why do you think I wrote this quote in your particular book? I would then like everyone else to then comment on why they believe I put that quote in the other people's book. In other words, do you agree with the person's assessment of their answer to question #2? This assignment is due by Sunday night. You will also need to do the "60 Minutes" assignment and "The Amazing Race" assignments this week, due Monday. I will put up the postings for them on Sunday. I will also be putting up another couple of postings, so keep an eye out. I will send out an email every time I post. By the way, I appreciate you reminding me about the vocabulary quiz, but I completely forgot to give you the next list! Geez, I really dropped the vocabulary ball today! I will read you all the words on Monday for pronunciation (no, we won't have HF class at lunch, but I'll see you all anyway). The sentences will be due on Thursday (with the quiz on Friday), as usual. If you'd like to get a head start, here are the words: 1. Abduct -- to kidnap 2. Bide -- to wait 3. Derelict -- run down 4. Fecund -- fertile 5. Wax -- increase in size or degree 6. Wane -- decrease in size or degree 7. Unique -- the only one of its kind 8. Travesty -- inferior imitation 9. Sycophant -- self-serving flatterer 10. Surmise -- to guess 11. Steadfast -- unchanging 12. Refrain -- to hold back 13. Quaint -- old-fashioned 14. Odious -- hateful, repugnant, offensive 15. Oration -- dignified and formal speech Oh, did I forget to mention? You've all done such a good job with the vocab words lately that we're now going to 15 words per week. Have a nice weekend. :) I know that you've been dying to know what book we will be reading next. Since we've finished "1984" and I have you sufficiently paranoid about Big Brother and the world in which you live, it's time to switch gears to something I love -- American History. For those of you who are groaning -- stop. Give it a chance. The book pictured here is what you will be reading next. It is called "To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian" and was written by the famous historian Stephen Ambrose. I first discovered Stephen Ambrose when I randomly picked up his book "Undaunted Courage," a book written about the travels of Lewis & Clark across the present-day United States. Originally, I was a bit apprehensive about reading a huge book about their travels, but it turned out to be one of the most fascinating stories I've ever read. I immediately picked up another book of his, "Nothing Like It in the World," about the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, and it was just as fascinating. Ambrose is more than an historian -- he is a gifted storyteller. What I love about his writing is that he doesn't write at you -- he tells you a story that just happens to be about American history. A little grammatical side note here -- yes, it is "an" historian, not "a" historian. When you are writing an "a" and the next letter starts with an "h," it changes to "an," don't ask me why. You can ask Ms. Cybulski -- that's why she gets paid the big bucks. Around the year 2002, Ambrose was about to embark on a follow-up book to "Band of Brothers" (which you might have seen on the History Channel -- fabulous book and miniseries about the men who fought in Europe during WWII). His new book was supposed to be about the men who fought in the Pacific theater during World War II, but during the writing of the book, he was diagnosed with cancer. He then stopped writing that book and proceeded to write the book we're about to read, which are his personal reflections on approximately 20 different periods in U.S. history. I'll be giving you the books tomorrow, but feel free to read a bit more online about Stephen Ambrose, the book, or any other book that he wrote, so that you can get a feel for the man to whose voice you're about to be listening. Here is my transcript of today's socratic seminar... I think I got most of it, although there might be a missing word or thought here and there... On Wednesday, we're going to talk a lot more about some of the points brought up... Whether or not you realize it, there were some really good comments/questions thrown in today's seminar... :) · Justin – what do you think about Winston renting the room? Why do you think he didn’t get caught? o Andrew – probably wanted them to say something incriminating – let them say stuff before they are caught o Katherine – telescreen behind picture – let them enjoy that moment because they’re going to get tortured at the end o Regina – disagree – gov. knows that they’re doing stuff o Andreina – it was part of O’Brien’s plan all along to catch them – to her, it was a plan · Justin – going back to Regina – from Winston’s point of view, why do it? o Katherine – they were going to go against Big Brother and fulfill his own pleasures o Andrew – rebels take risks · Andreina – can your torturer be your friend? Winston actually admired O’Brien o Katherine – said he loved O’Brien because he was the one who could stop the torture · Randy – p. 253 – “Torture is a method to fix people.” – does this happen in our society? o Andreina – Holocaust – “fixed” the problem of the Jews § North Korea – torture to “fix” them o Katherine – police use it to interrogate – two-way glass – police beat you? · Randy – p. 248 – “Who controls the past, controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” o Andreina – if we decided to take away certain things and not teach it, it’s not part of history – no one will know about it · Justin – “60 Minutes” – war is a drug – are war and torture the same because they satisfy the adrenaline rush? o Angie – yes – soldiers who come out want to go back in o Randy – connection to the “Hurt Locker” – main character wanted to go back because he wanted to feel the action – doesn’t feel the same when home · Andrew – p. 297 – “but it was alright… He had one victory over himself – he loved Big Brother” o Randy – they did accomplish something o WHAT IF YOU DON’T ‘ACCOMPLISH’ ANYTHING? o They went against the party o Regina – someone’s always watching what you’re doing o Angie – didn’t die, so nothing happened – so what they did didn’t do anything o Katherine – maybe not enough to overthrow Big Brother, but enough because they know that they tried · Justin – is Winston a lunatic? o Angie – no – it was his instinct with natural rights o Justin – “just following orders” o Katherine – if you know you’re going to get killed, you can just follow orders · Andreina – “being free is slavery, being alone you’re always defeated”… Can a person really master it alone o Katherine – you can’t make a whole movement on your own § They couldn’t bring down Big Brother o Justin – don’t think being alone means you’re defeated – you can make o Regina – need someone to achieve something great – to be a doctor, you need teachers to teach you · Randy – how are prisons similar/different to prisons we have today o Regina – have more choice in our prisons – more free § In her country, they beat prisoners o Katherine – disagree because o Andrew – people have more rights now · Randy – “You can only change a person by force” o Justin – don’t think so – teachers can’t force you to learn o Angie – when people are forcing you to learn, they will keep going until they break you down o Katherine – people can say something, but they might not mean it o Randy – that’s what O’Brien said This is your new blog post. 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I might have mentioned to a few of you that I have a friend from college, Chris Coleman, who is a two-time Olympian (in 4-man bobsled - he was in the 1992 & 1994 Olympics) and now works for the U.S. Olympic Committee out in Colorado... He also happens to be a photographer and took some great pictures/videos of the Olympics... He's in Vancouver and pretty much gets to go and see all of the great events (yes, he knows I'm jealous)... To see them, go to google and look up iceman9294... You might see a person or two that you recognize... |
Assignments:1. Answer any and all blog posts to the left by their due dates (which can be found on SnapGrades) * Ms. Cohen's Contact Information *
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