Preparing for the Future

Good Morning and Happy Friday!  As part of your every day life, I am sure that you are taking steps to make sure you are being successful and with that comes making some adjustments.  The same is true with the Academy program.  We want to continue to evolve to make sure that this program is as beneficial for you as possible.  With that in mind, for today's blog I am going to ask you to do the following:

1.  Please discuss all of the things that you love about the Academy.  What makes it unique, special, comfortable for you and how has it helped you be successful as a student?
2.  We will call this the constructive criticism piece which is important for anyone or anything to ever improve.  What would you like to see change about the program, how could it support you better and/or if you could make a single change in the courses, activities, structure, etc what would that be.
3.  Respond to the following set of questions, honestly, located at http://goo.gl/hVMWkc

Thank you very much!!

Following Up on Your Academy Check - In and an Explanation of the Gradebook!

Good Morning!!  I hope you woke up on the right side of the bed and have a bunch of energy today because some of you have your work cut out for you :)  While some of you may have already noticed, I left a number of assignments with no grade in the grade book before the progress reports were due - I'll explain why live in person today, however, those blank spots have now been filled in with a "0" indicating that the assignment has not been completed.  Today is your one and only day (90 minutes) to complete and submit those assignments.  Some have been on Schoology since the first day of the semester (I don't just post these assignments for fun) and they are still incomplete.

Here is the protocol -

1.  Find an assignment in Infinite Campus with a "0".  If the assignment is marked with an "M" for missing you may not make it up!
2.  Complete the assignment.  You can complete it using the link provided, type your responses into an email or even hand write your responses and turn it in - whatever is easiest for you!
3.  Any assignments submitted electronically, you must also complete a post it note with your name and each assignment completed.  You will hand that post it note to me (or the substitute) at the end of the class period so that I can then check what assignments you have successfully completed.
4.  Once you have completed all of your assignments for my class, this time can/should be used to:

• Complete you FAFSA (DUE MARCH 2nd)
• Research and Apply for Scholarships
• Contact the school you plan to attend and register for placement exams/get answers to questions you might have about enrollment
• Complete any/all work for your other classes

This time is dedicated to you and should be taken full advantage of!  Today is a study hall - you should be sitting in your assigned seats and should be working quietly and on your own.  I will not accept assignments from the first few weeks of school after today so assignments not completed in class that are marked with a "0" should be completed by midnight tonight.  You can find the corresponding assignments in Schoology.  The assignments in Infinite Campus have the same title as those in Schoology so your missing assignments should be easy to find!

If you have any questions, concerns, etc. please be sure to email me during class so that you can move forward with your assignments and be successful!

Thank you in advance for an outstanding work period.  I will have your new, updated grades by Tuesday of next week!!  I will also collect your JA Finance Park Workbook next Tuesday.  As of today, every single page up through page 25 should be complete!  No exceptions!  With that said ... lets get to work!!

How much work do you and your 2nd period classmates have to make up?  As of this morning:

9 students have F's
11 students have D's
3 students have C's
3 students have B's
1 student has an A

Again, no late work will be accepted after todays block period ... so submit the work, complete a post it note and return it to the sub before the end of class!!  No exceptions!

The Future Awaits!

Good Morning - 

Today we are going to complete our first Academy Check-in of 2014.  Please click on the following link and complete the form thoroughly and thoughtfully.  I removed some of the less pertinent questions so you could really focus on grades, attendance and planning on moving forward successfully!  The link to the questionnaire is: http://goo.gl/aU7d8d

You may want to write down some of your responses (ie. missing assignments) on a piece of paper so they are easily accessible to you.

After completing the form, please write a paragraph response on your blog that addresses the following:

• How satisfied are you with your performance this Semester?
• Are you doing your very best in school and/or where do you have room for improvement?
• What surprised you most about your grades, progress, etc as you went through Infinite Campus?
• Explain the importance of education in your opinion?  Is it very important, not important at all or somewhere in the middle?  Explain your response.
• Feel free to address anything else related to your academic progress

Thank you ... remember - your response should be a paragraph!  Not just 2 sentences.  We will discuss more upon my return!

Thanks!

Happy Friday and the Start of I.O.U.S.A!

Good Morning and Happy Friday.  Today we are going to begin viewing a documentary video entitled I.O.U.S.A which discusses the economic mess we find ourselves in.  The film does a great job of highlighting just what the nation would have to do in order to prevent a bad situation from turning into an all-out financial disaster which "no citizen could escape."  Before we begin, however, there are 4 different types of deficits discussed in the video.  Please do a quick online search and come up with your best (and easiest to understand) explanation of each of the following:

• The Federal Budget Deficit
• The Savings Deficit
• The Trade Deficit
• The Leadership Deficit

After discussing each of the above deficits, which do you feel is the most important to address and why?

Thanks ... Happy Friday and we will get started momentarily

Final Factors of Production Presentation & the Risks and Rewards of Investing!

Good Morning!!  Today will be the final Tuesday dedicated to learning about the Factors of Production.  Overall, what was your impression of this project?  What did you enjoy the most about it? Was there anything particularly challenging about the project for you?  What would you say are some of the most interesting things that you learned from completing the project and listening to some of your classmates presentations?  Finally, what would you change, if anything, about the project for future years?

After completing the post, for the final time, please open the Factors of Production Response link in Schoology so you can give each presenter feedback.  Following presentations, we will be working in our Finance Park workbook to complete pages 25-32.

Thanks!!

Middle of February!

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!  Wow - another 4 day week is upon us!  Unfortunately I will not be here in class today.  I am on a college field trip with the Sophomores!  That means that for those of you who are due to present your factors of production posters today, you get one more day to make sure you are totally prepared!  Remember, this week is the last week of presentations so if you have not presented yet, this is YOUR week!!!

Today, I would like for you to find an article online that relates to economics.  This could be an article about housing prices, inflation, how the Olympics economically impact the host nation, etc, etc.  Really, your job is to report on the following:

1. Give a detailed 5-7 sentence summary of the article you have just chosen and read.
2. Explain in 5-7 sentences what economic affect this issue has on the world or the area it is directly affecting
3. Explain in 5-7 sentences how this issue either currently affect (or could affect) you, your family or community and express the importance of people knowing about this topic.

Once you have completed this current event and posted it to your blog, please go through each and every assignment posted for you to complete on Schoology so far this semester and ensure you have submitted it.  This week on the block day, in addition to our factors of production posters, we will continue our work in our JA Finance Park workbook.  Please be sure to bring that to class on the block day!!

Thank you and see you Tomorrow (or Thursday)!

Credit Cards Continued!

Good Morning!  Today we are going to spend our day discussing Credit Cards, Investments, and, well, just focusing on planning your future!!  We have discussed some of the pros and cons of credit and debit.  To start off today, try to list all of the benefits you can think of for having (and using) a credit card.

Simple as that :)  I have  a list of 9 ideas ... see how many you can come up with!

Happy Tuesday!

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday -

To kick off the morning I have found an interesting article that predicts the outcome of the Winter Olympics on the basis of Economics alone.  The article is short - please take a moment to read it (http://freakonomics.com/2014/02/11/predicting-the-winter-olympics-with-economics/) and then respond to the following questions:

1. What is the theory of the article in regards to the success of different countries at the Olympic games?
2. Do you agree or disagree with this theory and WHY?
3. Do you think that this can be applied to other aspects of society, even in ours?

Thanks for your response - we will get started with presentations (2nd to last day) very shortly.  If you want to read a quick follow-up to the article (same topic) check out this other interesting article: http://www.businessinsider.com/economics-sochi-olympics-2014-2

Cogswell College

Good Morning and Happy Monday!!! I hope you had a great weekend and are excited for 2 back to back 4 day weeks!!  Yup, that's right, you have a 4 day weekend ahead of you!!  With that said, hopefully you just had a good weekend and are ready for a strong finish to the first progress period of the second semester!  Grades will be coming out next week!  As seniors, in addition to focusing on your grades, it is also important to ensure you know all your options for next year and make a good decision for you of what's next!!  With that said, and knowing that some of you have already made choices about what or where you're headed next year, what do you know about Cogswell College?  Feel free to take a quick look at their website - at first glance, what are a few things that look interesting to you about a school like Cogswell? What would make you hesitate about going to a school like Cogswell? Try to think about 3 things for each of the above questions. In addition, feel free to highlight what your "tentative plan" is for next year and why you are feeling good about that choice at this point!!

Thanks and Happy Monday!!!!

Finishing up "Life and Debt"

Good Morning and Happy Friday!!  

Having watched 2/3's of Life and Debt, please evaluate the following mission statement provided by the IMF:

“The IMF works to foster global growth and economic stability. It provides policy advice and financing to members in economic difficulties and also works with developing nations to help them achieve macroeconomic stability and reduce poverty.”

Having watched Life and Debt, what is your evaluation of the IMF's mission statement?  What is the purpose of the IMF loans to developing nations and do the free trade conditions have a positive or negative consequence for countries like Jamaica?  

Please explain your response!

State of the Union 2014

Good Morning and Happy Wednesday!  Today we have a nice, relaxing day ahead of us.  We are going to watch the State of the Union Address that was given just over a week ago on Tuesday January 28th.  To kick off the morning, as we prepare to watch this 60 minute speech, please answer the following questions:

1. What do you know about the State of the Union Address?
2. What is the purpose of the State of the Union Address and why does the president give this speech each year??
3. When was the first State of the Union Address given?
4. What topics do you think will be addressed within the speech?

Thanks for your thoughtful responses...feel free to take a look online to find some of the answers.  We will discuss these together briefly and then begin the video!

Factors of Production and Coca Cola's Super Bowl Advertisement

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday -

Today we are going to continue with our Factors of Production Poster Presentations.  Before getting started I wanted to focus today on the Entrepreneurial decisions that are made by different companies.  In addition to company decisions about the products they produce and sell, companies even make decisions about the way they advertise and market their product.  This was evident the other day during the super bowl when many companies spent 4 million dollars of company money for a 30 second commercial.  Coca Cola ended up with what many say was the most controversial advertisement of the day.

Watch the following commercial posted by Coca-Cola.  What are two things you like about the commercial and two things you dislike about the commercial.  What do you think might have been controversial about it to some?  Do you think this represents good advertising or poor advertising?



Now, having watched the video, believe it or not the inclusion of different languages sparked comments on Coca-Cola's Facebook page calling the ad a disgrace and unpatriotic.  People commented:

"Speak Engligh or go home," "screwed up a beautiful song. No Coke for my family," "Hey, This is America, English Please."  Of course, not all feedback was negative.  One person posted "Thanks CocaCola for reminding us that we are beautiful because of and not in spite of our linguistic diversity.

After reading this, what are your final thoughts on Coca Cola's recent decision to air this ad and what were the costs/benefits of the decision?

Thanks for your thorough, thoughtful response!  We'll begin the presentations shortly :)


Discuss two recent possible decisions made by the company and fully describes the cost/benefit of this decision.