Conflict Takes Many Forms

This week we became enthralled with the athletic accomplishments of young people from around the world as we watched the Olympics. The daring of the aerial skiers, the strength of the downhill racers, the tenacity of the hockey teams and the beauty and grace of the skaters were all captured for the world to see!

At the same time, we witnessed a Rhode Island event draw national attention as all the teachers at Central Falls High School were fired. The school’s test scores have not met the standard set by the state so drastic measures were taken to initiate change aimed at providing each student a quality education. The debate has been about what needs to be done to improve the school. Supervisors, teachers, parents and students have not come to an agreed upon action plan so the firings took place in an effort to start September 2010 anew.

Modern America/CWI

We had a busy week as we completed our charts on the New Deal, interacted with a power point that reviewed the major programs and took a quiz on the programs.

Eleanor Roosevelt played a major role in helping her husband’s administration stay in touch with the people. She travelled over 50,000 miles per year in an effort to gain the first hand knowledge the President needed to make decisions that were good for the common man. She became his eyes and ears, as travelling was difficult and tiring for him due to his paralysis from polio. Our First Ladies Project gave you the opportunity to read further about Mrs. Roosevelt and about our current First Lady, Michelle Obama. I hope you enjoyed seeing history from their perspective.

While FDR was very popular, he also had his critics. Your graphic organizer allowed you to gather information on his critics. Some people thought he did too little for the common man while others criticized him for making government too large and intrusive. This debate continues as people such as Sarah Palin criticize President Obama for creating a large government bureaucracy, while some of his fellow Democrats complain about his slow, deliberate manner. In order to prepare for a future task, we practiced reading primary sources and developing a thesis statement.

On Friday we collected current events. For homework you have your MHS email account paperwork which must be turned in on Monday. Your next two assignments will require you to have your MHS email account set up and active. You also have the final worksheet on the New Deal. This is a fun section in our text as you learn about the importance of the radio and movies during this time period. Walt Disney brought a great deal of laughter to people who needed a reprieve from the difficulties of the day.

Our final assessment on the New Deal will be a take home activity.

World History

This week we finished writing our task on Imperialism. Teachers in the department will be meeting to calibrate the tasks. You will earn class credit for the essay, and if you meet standard it may go into your portfolio.

We started our study of World War I and judging from our first day’s discussion it appears you have a good foundation. We spent one day in the computer lab working on propaganda posters. They played a role in recruitment of men and mobilizing the entire population to help fight the “Hun.” You handed in your map which showed the Allies and the Central powers. We will do a map at the end of the unit so you can see how boundaries changed over time. Who were the winners and losers and how did this contribute to World War II? For homework you have a worksheet on section 3, “A New Kind of Conflict.”

Perhaps it is appropriate that we study the two great wars of the last century while the Olympics play out before us, contrasting the value of peaceful competition with the massive destruction wrought by armed conflict.