Learning to Live With Differences

World leaders were focused on two key issues this week: the continuing debt crisis in Europe that could force the world into a double-dip recession, and the Palestinians’ efforts to seek full state status for their yet undefined country. While American trade with Europe represents only a modest share of our economy, some economist believe that even a slight slowdown could force the delicate American economy into a recession. The Dow dropped over 700 points this week. Investors lack confidence that the world economy is going to improve and thus money is being pulled out of the market.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, addressed the United Nations on Friday and formally requested membership for the Palestinian people. While his request has worldwide support, the United States has come out against this move. President Obama has stated that only the Israelis and the Palestinians can negotiate a settlement. This is a complicated and decades long dispute. In the Letter to America from Osama bin Laden, we read about the Arab complaint that Americans always side with the Israelis and have done little to help the Palestinian Arabs.

Values

This week we finished our discussion of values. You had the opportunity to rank the value that was most important in your life. Many of you selected freedom, democracy or human rights as your top values. When this same question is asked of people around the world, the value most often selected as number one is stability. In the US we are used to having peace and stability. We don’t worry about being shot on our streets and we know where we can find food and shelter. While these are difficult times for many, we have the support of family, friends and social institutions. Life in other countries is less secure, so their citizens have different priorities. The different emphasis countries place on values can lead to conflict or misunderstandings.

Five Themes of Geography

Working in groups we looked at the five themes of geography: location (where is it?), place (what is it like?), region (how does it compare to other places?), movement and human-environment interaction. We read the section in our text, took notes, and then heard the presentations. The syllabus clearly states that you will have a quiz after this section so hopefully you are well prepared. The most important homework is the work you decide you need to do to be ready for the next class. It is easy to think that if you read, do a worksheet, or whatever homework is assigned that you will be ready, but all of us learn differently and you need to decide what additional steps might best prepare you for the next day – rereading, outlining, discussing content with someone else, etc. This is a great habit to develop as you get ready to go on to the next level of education or career.

Folders

This week we set up our folder system. You are responsible for putting all of your graded work into the folder and maintaining your status of assignment sheet. The sheet will allow you to monitor your work and grades. You are welcome to take the folder home from time to time to share with your family but please return it to the class bin when you are done. We are staying organized. This folder will be especially important when you prepare for midterms.

Elements of Culture

This week we started reading about the “knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors shared by and passed on by members of specific groups.” Anthropologists study how people live and act as a way to better understand the differences among different groups of people. Learning to think this way will be a highly valuable tool throughout your life as you interact with others in work, recreational and family settings. You will be reading your text and taking notes on the elements of culture. Using your notes you will be answering questions from a worksheet. This will be a good opportunity to evaluate your note taking strategies.

Current Events

We ended the week with our current events (G period due on Monday). This is a great opportunity to read about an international issue that you find of special interest. Your summary gives you the opportunity to practice selecting key information and your second paragraph allows you to make connections and predictions.

9/11 Memorial

I am writing this blog from New York City and as part of my weekend visit I had the opportunity to visit the 9/11 Memorial. The size, beauty and power of the two four-sided waterfalls where the towers once stood are awe inspiring. The names of colleagues and friends are grouped along the rampart around the falls. I was struck by the variety of names and recalled from our 9/11 lesson that people from 155 nations lost their lives that day. If a trip to NYC is in your future, make plans to visit the site. Keep in mind that you need to request a ticket (free and available on line) and they are timed so no more than 1500 people are allowed in at one time to keep a sense of reverence.

Open House

Thank you to all of the parents, guardians, and students who stopped by on Tuesday evening. It is always a wonderful event as we celebrate the start of a new school year.

Email

This is your friendly reminder that your MHS email account needs to be set up by October 1.

And finally...

Happy Birthday MLM! A faithful blog reader and source of technical support.

Off to a Fast Start

The world was focused on European debt this week. In an effort to curtail a possible repeat recession, major banks in the US and other countries agreed to pump dollars into the fragile European banking system. This vote of confidence reassured investors and lifted the prices of stocks around the world. Our economies have become so interconnected that problems in Greece or Italy or Spain or Ireland or any other developed country influence our own economy.

Meanwhile, the countries of South West Asia (Middle East) continue to “boil.” Demonstrations continue in Syria despite violent responses by the government that have resulted in over 2600 deaths. Bahrain’s people have been protesting for the past five months in an effort to bring reforms like those in other countries during the “Arab Spring” but the leadership has been relentless in trying to suppress the uprising. Torture, arrests, and job dismissals have dampened opposition activity but failed to suppress it altogether.

Are You Organized?
This week you were issued a text and given a Unit 1 syllabus. Please cover your text and plan on bringing it every day to class. Your Unit syllabus should be in your 3 ring binder alongside your signed room management plan, the current events assignment and your hints on doing a summary. I will check your notebook from time to time to make sure you are staying organized. Next week we will set up student folders. You are responsible for keeping your status of assignment sheet updated and all of your graded work in the folder. Keeping track of your grades will allow you to monitor your progress in the class. It will also be a great resource for you when it comes time to study for the mid-term exam.

Basics of World Geography

This week we worked with partners and our text to answer a series of questions about world geography. This activity gave you the opportunity to review basic world geography and to better understand what resources your text has so that you can better understand the world around you. We corrected the worksheet in class. If you did not finish, please take the time to complete it and put it in your binder.

Current Events

We had our first round of current events this week. Most of you did a good job and followed the rubric. Keep in mind that we are focusing on major international issues. Make sure to use your own words for the summary and write 5 to 7 complete sentences for each paragraph. We do current events about once a week and it is a great way to earn lots of points.

Values

This week we also discussed values, that is, what is important to you, to our country and to the world community. National Public Radio had an interesting interview with a woman who was running for a seat in the Afghan parliament and her platform was focused on bringing stability and security to her country. She has already lost two of her five children to violence. We are fortunate to live in a safe and secure community. Keep these values and the ranking of values in mind as we look at world issues and try to develop empathy for those living in very different circumstances. Can we take it for granted that our own country will always be stable and secure?

Goal Sheet

Using the “Business Week” article on “hanging tough” you have some guiding questions to respond to and turn in next week. This sheet prompts you to think about your goals for the year and how you plan on accomplishing them. Just as we need a map when we are going to a new place, we need a goal sheet for the start of a new school year so we can monitor our progress. Take the time to answer the questions in a thoughtful manner...use complete sentences...check your spelling...and take pride in your work.

Welcome Ms. MacRoberts

Ms. MacRoberts from Salve Regina University will be working with us this year. She will be in the classroom every Monday during the first and second quarter and will be teaching lessons and assisting you with your work. During the second half of the year Ms. MacRoberts will take over many of the duties of the classroom. It is always exciting to welcome a new person to our learning community.

Open House

The MHS Open House is scheduled for Tuesday, September 20, from 6:00 to 8:00. This is a great opportunity to walk your parents/guardians through your schedule. I look forward to greeting you on Monday evening.

“An American Who Placed Himself in the Thick of the Fight”

This week the President awarded the Medal of Honor to Dakota Meyer, a former Marine who fought in Afghanistan. He is the first living recipient from the Marine Corps to receive the award for actions taken in Afghanistan. I would urge you to read the story behind the actions taken by Sergeant Meyer that earned him the award. It is an inspirational story.

Mrs. Kennedy in Her Own Voice

For all of us history fans, the ABC News Special was a real treat as we heard for the first time tapes Mrs. Kennedy made over 47 years ago. She was asked questions by historian and friend Arthur Schlesinger and her responses, coming only four months after the assassination of her husband, give us a unique insight into her thinking and the times. I was especially taken with her comments about the Cuban Missile crisis. This event is often described as the closest we have come to nuclear war but it seems so much more believable when we hear Mrs. Kennedy say she wanted to stay with the President so they could die together as a family.

Happy Birthday Constitution!

Welcome Back

Welcome back to a new school year and to our blog for 2011. I know your first question may be why I named the blog MHSCOTW. I believe all of us should start viewing ourselves as “Citizens of the World.” If we thought of ourselves as parts of a bigger community than Middletown, or Rhode Island, or even America itself, our world would benefit. I think this global thinking would lead to less strife and more cooperation. This idea truly hit home when my son graduated from an American university and was hired by a German bank that immediately sent him to London, then to New York City, India and Tokyo. His story is not unusual for recent college graduates as more businesses have an international presence. History also shows that in this age of globalization problems in one part of the world have a way of spreading far beyond their original boundaries, affecting other nations and people in unpredictable ways. The events of September 11, 2001, whose victims we commemorate this weekend, are a tragic reminder of that fact.

The blog is a way to review what we worked on during the week and to provide additional information on a variety of topics through links. You will notice that the entries include highlighted words which are active links to other sites where you can read further about a particular topic.

For reasons of time and space, the blog is not an all-inclusive wrap-up of the week, and because different classes will be using the blog it cannot provide detailed information about homework.

I hope you enjoy reading the blog. Please feel free to offer recommendations.

Contemporary World Issues (CWI)

This week we spoke about how all of our lives are affected by events in other countries. As advances in technology make our world grow smaller, our economies are more and more linked together and it is important for all of us to understand global issues.

You will find that your understanding of the issues we discuss in class will be greatly enhanced by watching the news or reading a daily paper. Next week we are scheduled to start receiving UpFront, a magazine produced by The New York Times for high school students. This is a major investment on the part of the District and I know you will appreciate having this opportunity to read a world class publication. As good thinkers and policy makers we will also be consulting other sources, such as The Wall Street Journal, the international press, and news web sites. If you have a favorite, please bring it in and we will add it to our list of resources.

Supplies

Each student needs to have a 3-ring binder, a pocket folder, a small box of colored pencils and pens/pencils for daily use. Please be ready with your supplies next week as we all want to work on staying organized.




A Time to Pause

Please take a few minutes on September 11 to remember the people who lost their lives on that day in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. Think about what each of us can do in our day to day lives and interactions with others to make this a more peaceful, compassionate world and get beyond the forces of hate and intolerance that divide us. Learning all you can about other nations, peoples and cultures and why they think and act as they do is an excellent way to start.

Our in-class 9/11 assignment allowed you to gather information from your memory, from the 9/11 Memorial web site, a power point presentation and reading a primary source, Osama bin Laden’s letter to America. Your writing assignment gives you the opportunity to decide if America’s invasion of Iraq, the fighting in Afghanistan and the passage of the Patriot Act were the proper response to the 9/11 attacks. You will be evaluated on your ability to think critically about these issues, not on which position you argue.

In Closing

We are fortunate to be members of the Middletown school community. We have a great school with wonderful students and a supportive faculty and administration. I know we are going to have a great year. Please do not hesitate to see me if there is anything I can do to help you make it as much fun, as safe and as productive as possible.