Current Events

Good Morning and Happy Friday!  Today should feel especially sweet because you get to look forward to the 3 day weekend that is ahead!  Hopefully you have something fun planned.  Today, our lesson is going to be centered around the Current Event assignment you will be completing throughout the semester.  I would like each of you to take a few minutes, go online and choose a news article (let's agree that it should be within the last week) and write a brief reflection on it.  Your reflection should include:

1.  A summary of the article

2.  A description of how this current event has an impact of the nation, state or even our local area

3.  An explanation of why this article was interesting to you and why everyone in the class (and your community) needs to be aware of this.

For today, you can write just a quick sentence or two about each of these points.  In addition, please highlight how and where you found the article!  Please also indicate which of the 11 categories your article would best fit.

Remember - topics include: Economic, International, Environment, Technology, State, Education, Local, Personal Interest, Domestic, Politics and Science.

Thanks!!!  I look forward to learning about what is going on in our local area, our country and the world.

The 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech

Good Morning and welcome to our first block day of the 2013-2014 school year.  Incredibly, today happens to be the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech.  Given our discussion of social justice, this couldn't have come at a better time.  

Before we begin discussing the impact of his speech, I wanted to show you a quick video that quickly highlights some interesting facts that you may not know about his speech and how it became famous.  You can view the video here.  After watching the video please do your best to respond to the following questions (please number your responses in your post):

1. What was the purpose of the March on Washington? 
2. What was the purpose of the keynote address delivered by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
3. Why have the speech and the March on Washington become two of the most celebrated symbols of the Civil Rights era? 
4. Why did so many everyday citizens get involved in civil protest during the Civil Rights era? 
5. What, if anything, can encourage everyday citizens to get involved in the struggle for civil and human rights today? 
6. What connections can be made between the March on Washington, the “I Have a Dream” speech and current civil/human rights protests?

After you have finished responding to the questions, please don't post the blog yet. We are going to watch a few more video clips and I would like to ask for you to expand on your responses as we move through the class period today.

Thanks!

Project Review

Good Morning.

For today's post I would like you to take a moment and reflect on the project we just completed.  After all, it was our first project.  How do you feel you did - what did you do well and what do you feel you could improve?  How was your groups overall performance?  On an individual level, try to take a moment and really think of an issue in your community that could be addressed.  It does not need to be a huge social issue but one, perhaps, that you feel needs some level of attention. Think of one of the individuals you heard about during the presentations or who you researched.  What could be done to address the issue and what would one of the individuals discussed have done?

Thanks for doing a little critical thinking :)

Happy Tuesday!

Made it through Week #1!

Good Morning and Happy Friday!  When you leave school today you will have officially made it through the first week of the 2013-2014 school year!  For today's post, please briefly highlight what you have planned for this weekend.  Then, I would like you to individually take a moment to research 2 individuals who have fought for social justice.  The goal is for you to research and tell a story (2-3 sentences) of an individual who is an unsung hero in this movement!  Remember that when we discuss social justice, we are discussing any individual who has fought for you and everyone around you to have equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities!

Thanks for taking your time to brainstorm and research these individuals.  We will break into groups momentarily!

The Worst thing a Man Can Do!

Having just watched the video clip featuring James Armstrong, in the clip, Armstrong says: “I’ve always thought that the worst thing a man can do is nothing. I’ve got a lot of pictures of everybody that was doing something.”  In the video were you able to pick out any of the people “doing something” whom Armstrong featured on the wall of his barbershop? What were some of their achievements? What characteristics did they have in common? Why would Armstrong want to display their pictures on the wall of his barbershop? 

Please respond to this question in your blog giving a little background on the class activity for any reader who might not be familiar with what we are doing!

Thank you!

All About Me - Post 2

For our second blog post, it seemed appropriate to design something that would allow both myself and the rest of the class to learn something about you. Give a brief introduction of yourself including your name and then answer the following questions thoroughly.

Please write about your:

• strongest personality traits (outgoing, caring, social)
• things you spend the most time doing outside of school
• One thing you really enjoy doing
• Goals you have set for the year
• How are you going to achieve those goals.
• How do you learn best? i.e. how can I help you achieve those goals.

As part of this assignment we will include a picture of yourself.

Preparing for the First Day of School

Good Morning and Welcome back to M-A!  Today we are going to begin our year long blog.  This blog will not only provide a good opportunity to use technology, but is a great way to track our course throughout the year, your thoughts on a variety of issues and general information, well, just a fun opportunity to learn about eachother.  Each day we will begin with a new topic.  Your blog will consist of your opinions, information and more and will be updated (typically) 4 times each week.  For today the question is simple.  How did you prepare for the first day of school?  Did your preparations begin just today?  This morning? Perhaps it began a week ago.  In addition, how do you feel today as school begins.  What are some things you are hoping to achieve this school year?  With each blog post, you are required to include one picture that represents your post.  Obviously, given that today is our first post, if you need help with this, don't hesitate to ask!

Welcome Back Again!! Let's have a great 2013-2014 School Year!