We Made It!

This week we said good-bye and good luck to our Seniors. It is always great fun having a mix of students in the classroom as different ages bring different perspectives. Your point of view will change over time as you gain more experience. The classroom is a safe place to practice developing your views and sharing them with fellow students. Don’t ever be afraid to speak your mind but always take the time to gather information and think about your position. Argue and debate out of knowledge.

We have had an exciting year as we travelled the globe via our current events and study of Contemporary World Issues. You will soon find out that the world is really very small...we can see and be in contact with people from all over the globe in a matter of seconds....we can fly to, buy from and sell to any part of the world...and our actions as individuals and a country affect all. You are truly COTW: Citizens of the World!

In addition to our international studies we have spent much time thinking and talking about the major domestic changes our country is experiencing. By doing current events, we monitored the progress of the health care debate, analyzed the tough economic recession that has affected all of us, and saw how each of us has the responsibility to stand up for what we believe. A special congratulations go out to all of you who attended the Middletown Town Council budget hearings. The Newport Daily News recognized your efforts in their lead editorial urging the Council to hear all participants during the hearings. Job well done!

CWI/Modern America: Presidential Power Points

The presentation of the Presidential power points is a great way to conclude our year. Please note that some groups have not yet emailed me the final project...please do so ASAP. Also, if you were absent the day of the presentation, you must make arrangements to present after school. Grades for the project will be distributed once you have completed your reflection sheet.

This has been a great end of year project where you get to work with a group, locate key information and build an attractive and informative power point. I was impressed with your ability to organize information along with photos to make attractive slides. You also have a great talent for sharing emails or using Acrobat to make this project more manageable.

With the completion of this project, you have a good sense of the key events during the last 30 years of our country’s history. So often history classes end at World War II and students are frustrated that modern events and issues are never discussed. We should take great pride that we did it...studied all of the presidents while keeping up with current events! Great job!

Study Guide

You have a study guide to help you review for the exam. I would also urge you to use your portfolio and of course to read over each blog entry. By reading the weekly entry, you will have a review of all the classes since our midterm. When doing the study guide, don’t use just the glossary for definitions as that does not put the event, person or term into context. By using the text to read about the events, you will get a better understanding of why the term is on the study guide. Make sure to include the significance....why we need to know...for each term, person or event.

World History

This week we wrapped up our study of current world events by looking at Eastern Europe and its development of free and independent states after the breakup of the Soviet Union, as well as the ongoing conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Some conflicts seem to go on and on. When will we learn how to live with diversity?

You have your study guide and you will have class time to work on it. You also have a description of the exam so you should be well prepared. Many of you handed in your status of assignment sheet on Friday. Please make sure you have completed the sheet and turn it in next week. You are then encouraged to take the portfolio home as it is a great way to review for the final.

I was very pleased to see so much interest in doing a current event for the final, but instead I will ask you an open ended question about current events which will give you the opportunity to tell me how much you like doing this assignment!

Last Entry

So it is now time to say good-by and wish all of you a happy and safe summer. I want to thank my blog editor for keeping my thinking and writing clear, crisp and accurate. I want to thank my many readers for their comments which always led to a better entry. But most of all, I want to thank all of my students for a great year. Your interest, enthusiasm, and questioning have led us all to a better understanding of our world and how we can contribute to a better tomorrow.