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.
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.
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.
1 comment:
Yay! So glad to see MHSCOW in my blog feed again. Here's to a great year!
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