A Time to Remember

We continue to juggle schedule changes, field trips, Junior breakfast, and testing this week.  Your latest and last individual project was your oral history interview.  In order to give you flexibility, you had four weeks to complete the assignment and you had the choice of using video, recording or transcript for your final project.  I have already viewed some of the final projects and they are impressive.  You selected interesting people, asked well thought out questions, and learned more about historical events and time periods through the eyes of an everyday observer.  Congratulations to all who met the deadlines and completed the task at hand.

If you are one of those students who did not complete the project, this is the time to reflect on what happened, why, and what you can do next time you are asked to do this type of project.  For those of you going on to college or the world of work, you will find that teachers and employers will assign you a task by a certain deadline but allow you to design your own schedule.  This takes time, patience and focus but it also gives you the opportunity to be a master of your own destiny.

You also had your announced quiz on the Women’s Movement.  If you read last week’s blog you noticed that I had included things you should know for the quiz.  As I have said all year, the blog is here to help and guide you.  If you missed the quiz, you have five days to make it up and looking ahead I see that advisories are going to be closed starting June 4. Don’t wait till the last minute.

You also presented your presidential power point projects this week.  This was a fun project as you got to work with a group and in addition to policy issues we looked at the popular culture of the time.  It is always fun looking back on fashions, movies and songs to help us better understand the time period. Working in a group allows you to focus on using the strengths of each individual member.  You are masters at communicating so sharing information and slides should come naturally to you.  After presenting to the class, you filled out a reflection sheet that asked you to think about the group process, your contribution and what you could do next time to improve the product.  This is good practice for Capstone which requires you to do many of the same activities but by yourself.

You will have a quiz on the presentations so let’s quickly review some of the key points:

Nixon is our only president to resign, because of the Watergate scandal. Ford is our only president to serve who was never elected, and his popularity plummeted due to his pardon of Nixon and a poor economy. He was followed by Carter, a former governor of Georgia, whose administration was hampered by high gas prices, inflation and unemployment, and by the taking of American hostages in Iran. 

After serving one term, Carter was defeated by Reagan, who served two.  Reagan, our first divorced president, made every day feel like the Fourth of July. Many supported his claim that government had become too large and his efforts to reduce spending and taxes, but he left a sizeable debt for the next president, George H. W. Bush.  Bush Senior (yes, we all know that is not his official name but it is easy to get the middle initials mixed up so let’s keep this simple) ran on a platform of no new taxes, but after seeing the size of the debt he felt raising taxes was the only responsible move to make.  His popularity soared after the very short and successful Desert Storm operation in Kuwait, but he only served one term as many voters turned against him for breaking his tax pledge. 

Bush Senior was followed by Clinton, a former governor of Arkansas.  Clinton was able to develop an economic plan that produced a robust economy.  People’s wages went up, unemployment went down and he was able to leave a sizeable surplus when he left office eight years later.  But even though he received high marks for the economy he was involved in a personal scandal that led to his impeachment.  Remember, the House impeaches (indicts) and the Senate then holds the trial to weigh the evidence.  The Senate heard the charges and decided Clinton’s misdeeds did not meet the “high crimes and misdemeanors” standard the Constitution requires to complete the removal process.  So Clinton goes down in history as the second president to be impeached but he is not removed from office.

Clinton is followed by George W. Bush.  This is a president you remember, as he served during the tragedy of 9/11.  That terrorist attack eventually led us into wars with Iraq and Afghanistan.  While our leaders at the time predicted Iraq would be a brief conflict, it is only this past year that our troops have been withdrawn. Bush Junior will also be remembered for controversial tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that many believe have contributed to our massive deficit, while others argue they help promote growth.  As future voters and taxpayers you will need to decide what course of action you want your country to take.  Even though most voters want a balanced approach, mixing spending cuts with modest tax increases, members of Congress have been pressured by lobbyists to take a no tax increase pledge.  If a member votes for a tax increase, enormous amounts of money are poured into their opponent’s campaign in the next election.  What would you do if you were an elected official?

On Friday we started saying good bye to our seniors.  Seniors…you have your study guide (turn it in on the day of the exam and earn extra points), you have your file of work for the past two quarters and of course you have the blog. Please come by any time if you have any last minute questions.

Memorial Day

On Monday we celebrate MemorialDay.  This holiday originally commemorated those who lost their lives in the Civil War, but over time it has become a day to remember all who have died in service to our country, and our own loved ones.  Many families take this opportunity to visit cemeteries to honor those who have gone before.  You can learn a great deal about history at cemeteries as you read the markers and note the dates.  One of my favorite cemeteries is the grave yard next to Saint Columba’s Chapel on Indian Avenue.  The markers tell of astounding accomplishments, tragic losses, and simple lives filled with love and care for all. 

The Power of Working Together

LBJ and Sen. Greene (D-RI)

As we approach the end of the year, we have focused on group activities that help us better understand the tides of change in America since 1960.  Working in groups allows everyone to have better access to the information as long as everyone pulls their weight. Psychologists and people who study how we learn best keep encouraging teachers to use more group activities.  To get the most out of working together you need to have a plan and focus on understanding and discussing the material together, as opposed to copying someone else’s notes.

We used this approach as we looked at LBJ by reading a bookreview written by President Bill Clinton of Robert Caro’s book, “The Passage of Power”.  You had an anticipation guide that you needed to respond to as an individual and then you read your section of the review.  By each member of the group reading one section, the assignment became much more manageable.  Each person then reported the link they found in the reading to the anticipation statement.  You should have discovered that LBJ was the most powerful Majority Leader of the Senate before becoming Vice President to JFK…a job he came to hate.  But as Caro stated, “with the crack of a gun, everything changed” and LBJ became President.  LBJ used his knowledge of the legislative process and his ability “to get to people” to get major Civil Rights legislation passed at a time most observers said it would be impossible.  We also watched an interview of Caro so you could see and hear from the author of this critically acclaimed fourth volume on LBJ.   

We worked in groups for two days in the library on the presidential power points.  Your work plan gave you the opportunity to decide who would be responsible for a particular slide.  Keep in mind that as a group you are the resident experts on the assigned president so you need to be knowledgeable about the entire presentation.  Projects should be shared or emailed to me by Wednesday 7:30 am.  I will put the projects into one folder which will help expedite our presentations on Wednesday.  Keep in mind that we are emphasizing visual information…keep your information on note cards.  This is a great activity for us to end the year.

Your oral history interview project, which you have been working on for the past 3 weeks, is due May 21-25.  Make sure to read over the rubric and hand in the rubric with your final project.  Your thank you note should be written on plain, unlined paper or a note card…not loose leaf paper…enclosed in the envelope with a stamp…after I read the note (remember heart felt notes get extra credit) I will mail it.  Your interviewee will be so pleased to have a real thank you note and you can take pride in taking the extra step to say thank you.

We also had our announced JFK quiz on Monday…if you did not take the quiz, make sure to come by no later than Monday after school to make up the assignment.

We also spent one day on the Women’s Movement.  We read an excerpt from Gail Collins’s book, “When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present.”  We did a compare and contrast chart showing what life was like for women prior to 1960 and how quickly it has changed for many.  But while equal opportunity has dramatically improved, a significant wage gap still exists.  In today’s economy, for similar jobs a woman makes 77 cents for every $1 a man makes. I gave you an example of how this wage gap hit me while working in Washington DC, but it was rectified once my complaint was investigated. We also used music to better understand the times by comparing “Wives and Lovers” and “I Am Woman” written and sung by Helen Reddy.

You have a worksheet on the Women’s Movement and you will have a quiz on this material on Tuesday.  Make sure you know key people and terms (ERA, feminism, Phyllis Schlafly, and Gloria Steinem) as well as why the movement occurred, goals of the movement and why not every woman agreed with the movement.

Seniors

On Friday you received the study guide for the final exam.  You may turn in the guide the day of the exam and earn extra credit on your exam grade.  If you received a textbook, please make sure to return it the day of the exam.  As you may know, we are short of books and we are anxious to collect every book - and I know you don’t want to receive a bill!

Juniors

Prom pictures on Monday? Hope everyone had a wonderful time!

Testing, Testing, Testing

  

This week we had to duck and weave to accommodate NECAP, NWEA, and AP testing as well as field trips.  This is a busy and exciting time of the year as we count down to the last few classes so please take extra care in making sure you make up missed work.  You have 5 days from an excused absence to come before or after school to make up quizzes or other assessments.  Don’t count on advisory time as rehearsals, special events, and even closed periods seem to be dominating these last few weeks.

We started the week with your accountable talk activity.  We used an UpFront article on race and its role in college admissions and a Newsweek article on Obama’s impact on race relations.  The purpose of these readings was to get you to think about the Civil Rights Movement and its impact on race today.  History is not a series of isolated events but rather a complex mosaic of people, events and trends that impact us today.  Students who took the time to do the reading and fill out the 3-2-1 (3 big ideas, 2 connections, 1 question) found this activity beneficial. 

You also handed in your final assessment for the Civil Rights unit.  You had four options to select from and a rubric. Giving you choice and an extended period of time should have set you up to earn lots of points.

We then moved on to look at the election of 1960.  John F. Kennedy, a Senator from Massachusetts was running against the incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon.  JFK encountered many obstacles in his race for the presidency.  He was young, inexperienced and a Catholic. Religious affiliation is important to many voters and in 1960 many were concerned that a Catholic president could feel pressure from his church to make certain decisions.  JFK spoke against this idea forcibly and assured all Americans that he would abide by the Constitution.  Religion today has come into the debate as Governor Romney; the assumed Republican candidate for President is a Mormon.  Many voters have concerns over his beliefs and how his religion might influence his decision making.  Nixon, had his obstacles as well, and they were highlighted during the first televised debates.  Nixon appeared tired, nervous, and did not project a polished image.  On the other hand, JFK was tanned, rested, and knew how to use TV to his advantage.  The election was won by only 120,000 votes.

Your text reading “The New Frontier” spoke about JFK’s interest in space exploration and reviving the economy.  He also wanted to have Congress pass Civil Rights legislation.  Some classes got to look further into these issues as we did our carousel activity…working in groups and travelling around the room to post your responses to questions.

We watched a video on the career of JFK and a short clip from the History Channel on his assassination.  Some of you have selected this event for your oral history.  This event captured the entire world…in the US schools and businesses closed and everyone gathered around the television for the next 4 days to watch round the clock coverage of the events in Dallas through to the funeral at Arlington National Cemetery.

You had an announced quiz on JFK.  If you missed the quiz, please come by ASAP.

LBJ

With the assassination of JFK, his Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson is sworn into office in Dallas on Air Force One.  A master legislator, LBJ quickly moves to get Congress to act on the Civil Rights legislation as a way to honor Kennedy’s legacy. Robert Caro, a historian that has written extensively on LBJ, has just come out with volume four “The Passage of Power” that chronicles LBJ from 1960-64. We will use a review of this book written by President Clinton.  Working in groups and using guiding questions we will try to discover the strengths and weaknesses of LBJ.

Oral History Project

You should be making progress on your oral history project.  By now the research and development of questions should be done.  While the project is not due until the week of May 21, you have lots of activities over the new few weeks…do not wait till the last minute.  This is your major project for fourth quarter.

Interterms

This coming week we will be updating our status of assignments sheets.  Interterms are due this week.  We want to keep all of our papers organized as they will be very useful when we prepare for our final exam.

Honor Roll

Congratulations to all who made the Honor Roll.  This morning as I was drinking my coffee, I read the long list of student names listed in the Newport Daily News.  You will never regret working hard to earn not only good grades but to master the skills you will need out in the world.  The habits of hard work never go out of style.

Mother’ Day

In 1915, President Wilson designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.  Julia Ward Howe, author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and a former summer resident of Portsmouth, introduced the idea of honoring mothers in 1872.  Howe believed that by honoring mothers we would also be honoring peace.  Mothers play many different roles in our lives and over time our perceptions of these roles can change.  Last year CNN did a piece on the questions everyone should ask their mother.  They are well worth thinking about, so I have given you the link to the article. 

Civil Rights Today

This was a busy week for us as we prepared for our accountable talk session, worked on a DBQ (document based question) updated our status of assignment sheet and spent one day researching our topic for the oral history project. Thank you to Ms. MacRoberts who wrote the weekly schedule on the board. Planning is essential when you have many tasks to complete so take the time to put the assignments into your planner. Flexibility and choice can help you by giving you options but it can also hurt you if you don’t plan and make decisions.

We started the week with an announced quiz on the Civil Rights Movement. You were able to use your notes for this quiz so high grades should be earned by all. If you do need to revise please return your revisions to Ms. MacRoberts ASAP as she will be posting her grades on Wednesday.

We also spent time with our partners on our DBQ assignment. Doing a DBQ requires you to use your background knowledge AND the documents to support your thesis. Your in class time was used analyzing one document and then reporting out to your fellow classmates. By the end of the period you should have had a solid understanding of the documents and the prompt. You could then take this information and prepare your first paragraph and an outline for the prompt. Keep in mind you did not have to do the essay but you did have to write the first paragraph and the outline. Referencing at least 3 documents in your paragraph and outline would show the reader that you know how to do a DBQ.

You also had time in class to prepare for your accountable talk activity for next week. We are focusing on two current day articles that link the Civil Rights Movement with our understanding of race today. Half of the class is reading “Does Race matter?” in the UpFront Magazine and the other students are reading an article from Newsweek “Is Obama Making it Worse?” Everyone should fill out the 3-2-1 (3 big ideas, 2 connections, 1 question) sheet and you will be able to use this during your accountable talk activity. Be prepared so you can participate and earn your points.

You were also given your final assessment for the Civil Rights Movement. This is a take home assessment and you were given time in class to work on your choice of questions. You need to select one of the four activities provided: analyzing a song, writing a song, preparing a timeline or writing an opinion/editorial newspaper piece. Again, choice can work to your advantage if you take the time to think over and carefully select the activity that will give you the opportunity to showcase what you know about this time period. You have a rubric and the assignment is due either Tuesday or Wednesday (depending on your class period).

  Status of Assignment Sheets We updated our sheets this week and we will do this again next week as our time with Ms. MacRoberts draws to a close. We also have interterms coming up so by next Friday you should be able to add your points and see where you are at the half way point to fourth quarter. Many students have been out due to field trips or other school events so please make sure you come by before or after school or during advisory to makeup work…you have 5 days to complete the work. It is your responsibility to make the time…we are available every day except Wednesday (faculty meetings)

Oral History Project Your major project for fourth quarter is your Oral History. This can be an exciting opportunity for you as you get to select the event or time period as well as the person to interview. You had a preliminary interview sheet that needed to be handed in for approval. You also had one day in the library to do research on your topic. A good interviewer needs to ask thought provoking questions based on knowledge. The person you are interviewing will be able to access their memory more effectively if you are able to prompt them with specific questions. Tell me about life in the 1960”s? OR How did you react to the assassinations of four key leaders, JFK, MLK, RFK and Malcolm X during this short period of time? Which question do you think will elicit the most complete answer? The Oral History Project is due the week of May 21-25. You may word process the interview or you may record it using a video camera or recorder. Some students have also asked about power point which is also acceptable keeping in mind you will need content as well as illustrations.

Congratulations Great play…hope everyone got to see our fabulous cast in their modern rendition of “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” And make sure you read the front page story in the Friday Newport Daily News about our principal…it is an especially interesting story to read as we prepare for our study of the Women’s Revolution.

Ms. MacRoberts
As you know, this coming week Ms. MacRoberts will be finishing her time with us. Her last day is Thursday so any assignments she has given you must be turned in time so she can grade them and return them before she leaves. Let’s help her out by being prompt.