Once again this week, we have witnessed a first: the nomination of a Hispanic candidate to sit on the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. As we saw when we reviewed the Constitution’s provisions for replacing a Supreme Court Justice, her nomination now goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee where she will be asked (some would say grilled) about her past judicial decisions and how she might look at future cases. Once the Committee makes its recommendation, the full Senate will vote on her confirmation, which is expected to take place in July. If she is confirmed, she will be sworn in during the opening of the new court session in October. While the Supreme Court may seem like a very distant group of judges that have little impact on your life, it is quite the opposite. The court is active in many areas that affect our daily lives: freedom of speech, minority rights, search and seizure issues, and privacy rights. There are so many cases that arise from high school situations that a book has been compiled on those cases entitled “We the Students.”
CWI/Comparative Government
While we finished our study of JFK last week, our announced quiz was delayed due to field trips, concerts and proms. You had over a week to prepare for the book quiz, but many will have to do a retake. It is hard to stay focused on the work at hand when the sun is shinning and there are so many end of year activities, but stay focused we must! The book quizzes follow the same format so when you know one is coming you should know how to prepare: read the section summary, review the key terms, go over the section review. If you take 15 minutes to do this, you should earn a good grade on the quiz.
We also looked at a series of photos from 1968, the only single year to which your text devotes an entire section. A series of tragic events had a searing impact on any who lived during that time: the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, urban rioting after each killing, and the violence at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. All of these events led up to the election of Richard Nixon, the man who had lost to John F. Kennedy in 1960 by only 120,000 votes.
You worked with a partner this week on the Nixon timeline. After selecting the key events, you needed to write two sentences on why you chose those events and why they are significant. While no two timelines will be the same, some events should appear on everyone’s list: the election in 1968, the first Presidential visit to China and the first to the Soviet Union in peacetime, and finally the first time a President was forced to resign.
By doing the timeline and watching the short video on Nixon, I hope you appreciate that he was a complicated man and while he had many weaknesses he also had great strengths, especially in the field of foreign policy. We will also be comparing Nixon’s resignation and Clinton’s impeachment. People often think Nixon was impeached. He was not, but he still had to leave office. Clinton WAS impeached, but he stayed in office...how can this be? To better understand the Watergate era, I would like to show “All the President’s Men,” an award winning movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. It is an R rated movie so permission slips will go out next week that must be signed by a parent/guardian so you may watch the movie.
Some of you have received the Nixon cartoon assignment. You will be looking for an editorial cartoon from the Nixon presidency. You may do it on Watergate or some other event during his administration. You will be using the cartoon analysis sheet that you used for the Cold War era cartoon and then writing your two paragraphs. This assignment is in lieu of our current events this week.
Congratulations to CF for answering last week’s extra credit question. Meeting a president, shaking his hand and getting a photo is an experience never to be forgotten. I hope you have that opportunity.
AP European History
Just a reminder that your movie reviews are due June 1.
It is essential that you spend the time researching the event your movie is based on so you can brief us on the accuracy of the depiction. As we saw in the movie “Elizabeth,” which is great drama, much of the plot was fabricated to make the film more appealing to the public and sell more tickets.
Your take home final will be given out this week. You will have a choice of two questions based on trends we have followed in European history and how they may shape the future. You will not have to be in school the day of the final if you have turned in your essay. You must also return your books (I know it will be traumatic to give up this tome of wisdom and knowledge).
World History
Many of you did a great job on your map quiz. Geography and location of countries has a great impact on our understanding of historical events. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel, and what I have seen has deepened my understanding of both history and current events. The prevalence of conflict in the Balkans over the centuries is easily understood when you see how the peninsula is divided into countless small communities by its mountainous terrain. The military disasters Napoleon and Hitler suffered when they invaded Russia seem almost inevitable when you witness the vast expanses of forests that still separate western Europe from Moscow. If you have the chance to travel, grab it...it is so enlighetening to see and meet other people in their home territories. The world is getting smaller and we must know and understand other people and cultures if we are going to learn to live in peace.
You have a current event and the obituary for the Soviet Union due this week. If you have trouble with the obituary assignment, take a few minutes to look one up on the New York Times web site. They are especially good at summarizing the lives of prominent people and will help guide you in writing about the demise of the USSR. Who were the founders of the Soviet Union? What were its major accomplishments, and what fatal weaknesses caused its downfall? We will continue to work on our packets this week. You have a list of most of the assignments covering the remainder of the school year.
CWI/Comparative Government
While we finished our study of JFK last week, our announced quiz was delayed due to field trips, concerts and proms. You had over a week to prepare for the book quiz, but many will have to do a retake. It is hard to stay focused on the work at hand when the sun is shinning and there are so many end of year activities, but stay focused we must! The book quizzes follow the same format so when you know one is coming you should know how to prepare: read the section summary, review the key terms, go over the section review. If you take 15 minutes to do this, you should earn a good grade on the quiz.
We also looked at a series of photos from 1968, the only single year to which your text devotes an entire section. A series of tragic events had a searing impact on any who lived during that time: the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, urban rioting after each killing, and the violence at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. All of these events led up to the election of Richard Nixon, the man who had lost to John F. Kennedy in 1960 by only 120,000 votes.
You worked with a partner this week on the Nixon timeline. After selecting the key events, you needed to write two sentences on why you chose those events and why they are significant. While no two timelines will be the same, some events should appear on everyone’s list: the election in 1968, the first Presidential visit to China and the first to the Soviet Union in peacetime, and finally the first time a President was forced to resign.
By doing the timeline and watching the short video on Nixon, I hope you appreciate that he was a complicated man and while he had many weaknesses he also had great strengths, especially in the field of foreign policy. We will also be comparing Nixon’s resignation and Clinton’s impeachment. People often think Nixon was impeached. He was not, but he still had to leave office. Clinton WAS impeached, but he stayed in office...how can this be? To better understand the Watergate era, I would like to show “All the President’s Men,” an award winning movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. It is an R rated movie so permission slips will go out next week that must be signed by a parent/guardian so you may watch the movie.
Some of you have received the Nixon cartoon assignment. You will be looking for an editorial cartoon from the Nixon presidency. You may do it on Watergate or some other event during his administration. You will be using the cartoon analysis sheet that you used for the Cold War era cartoon and then writing your two paragraphs. This assignment is in lieu of our current events this week.
Congratulations to CF for answering last week’s extra credit question. Meeting a president, shaking his hand and getting a photo is an experience never to be forgotten. I hope you have that opportunity.
AP European History
Just a reminder that your movie reviews are due June 1.
It is essential that you spend the time researching the event your movie is based on so you can brief us on the accuracy of the depiction. As we saw in the movie “Elizabeth,” which is great drama, much of the plot was fabricated to make the film more appealing to the public and sell more tickets.
Your take home final will be given out this week. You will have a choice of two questions based on trends we have followed in European history and how they may shape the future. You will not have to be in school the day of the final if you have turned in your essay. You must also return your books (I know it will be traumatic to give up this tome of wisdom and knowledge).
World History
Many of you did a great job on your map quiz. Geography and location of countries has a great impact on our understanding of historical events. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel, and what I have seen has deepened my understanding of both history and current events. The prevalence of conflict in the Balkans over the centuries is easily understood when you see how the peninsula is divided into countless small communities by its mountainous terrain. The military disasters Napoleon and Hitler suffered when they invaded Russia seem almost inevitable when you witness the vast expanses of forests that still separate western Europe from Moscow. If you have the chance to travel, grab it...it is so enlighetening to see and meet other people in their home territories. The world is getting smaller and we must know and understand other people and cultures if we are going to learn to live in peace.
You have a current event and the obituary for the Soviet Union due this week. If you have trouble with the obituary assignment, take a few minutes to look one up on the New York Times web site. They are especially good at summarizing the lives of prominent people and will help guide you in writing about the demise of the USSR. Who were the founders of the Soviet Union? What were its major accomplishments, and what fatal weaknesses caused its downfall? We will continue to work on our packets this week. You have a list of most of the assignments covering the remainder of the school year.
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