Young People Making a Difference

Malala, the fourteen year old girl from Pakistan who was shot by the Taliban because she was a voice for educating girls in her country, is recovering this week in a British hospital.  Her father, speaking on her behalf, stated that her health is improving and soon she will return to Pakistan and continue her crusade on behalf of all young people there.  The outpouring of the international community has been impressive as individuals make donations to help pay her expenses.  International support must continue so that all young people, no matter what country they live in, will have access to an education.

 

This week we also met another young person who has made a difference in his country, William Kamkwamba, “the boy who harnessed the wind.” William tells his own story as the young son of a poor farmer.  His family was hard hit by a drought, and because of the lack of money he was forced to drop out of school.  But he would not be defeated.  By reading a book on electricity from his local library (which had just two shelves of books), he was able to put together a wind mill out of scrap pieces of PVC pipe and old bicycle parts. He soon was generating enough electricity for his home, his family’s farm, and recharging people’s cell phones.  William uses proceeds from an award he received to conduct workshops in his home village in Malawi to teach other young people the skills he has learned.  His is an inspiring story.  For more on William, you can find his book at the Middletown Public Library or go to his blog, http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/.

 

Economics / Health Care Worksheet

 

The chapter on economics will help you think through the history of economic problems experienced by many countries in Africa and what steps countries are taking to improve their economic opportunities.  Think infrastructure…no business wants to locate in a place without a strong infrastructure.  We have linked the need for good infrastructure to our own state as efforts are underway to link rail service with the airport, improve Quonset Point port, upgrade our roads and bridges, and implement education reform that will result in a competitive work force.  When all these conditions are met, companies will locate and invest in a state or country. 

 

Since textbooks become out of date very quickly, we also read an article from The Economist magazine that gave us a more upbeat economic picture of Africa.  While numerous challenges remain, many economies are growing at 6-8% per year.  This is a significant change. The article concludes with a recommendation that the best way to help African economies is to encourage trade and education.

 

Our Health worksheet guided you through a section that was heavy on disease descriptions.  People who are ill are not good workers so more companies are investing in health care.  We spoke about the Bill and MelindaGates Foundation which has contributed millions of dollars with the goal of having all children under the age of 5 vaccinated. The diseases we read about, malaria, cholera, typhoid, and polio, are almost unheard of in the United States because vaccinations are part of routine child health care.  

 

Famine

After reading in our text about famine, we watched Nicolas Kristof’s video on “HiddenHunger” and the “60 Minutes” piece on Plumpy’Nut, a high calorie nutrition packed supplement for children.  Plumpy’Nut has a factory in Providence.  We will continue to look at Kristof’s ideas for fighting poverty as we start our study of South West Asia.  This award winning journalist thinks differently about how to solve big problems.  Instead of spending millions of dollars on grand projects, Kristof is a supporter of micro-financing.  He believes small loans directly to individuals will have a bigger impact on the quality of life.  If you want to read more about micro-financing I have given you a link to the Kiva website.  We will also watch a slide show based on “Half the Sky,” a book Kristof and his wife co-authored.  Three years ago one of our own MHS students did an independent study on micro-financing and helped a Mongolian woman buy a goat, a significant purchase for a poor family living at subsistence level.

 

Power Point Projects

 

One class has presented and the remaining class will do so on Monday.  Make sure you practice with your group, bring your notecards and email it to me no later than Sunday evening.  Please use your MHS email account so we don’t lose any projects, and put the name of the country and class period on the subject line.  On Monday we will have one folder to open and we should get through all the presentations.

 

Working in groups is one of the skills employers look for in an employee.  Spending the time to have a work plan and playing to people’s strengths gives everyone an opportunity to contribute.  After the presentation you will do a self-evaluation so you can think about the challenges of the project and to clearly state what your contribution was to the final product.

 

This is great practice for Capstone, when you will need to do a formal presentation before a group of judges. You will be expected to use note cards and not read off the slides.  You will also be judged on your appearance and ability to handle questions.

 

World History

 

This week we completed our study of the Age of Exploration and how the Columbian Exchange affected the world.  The exchange brought new foods, animals, people, ideas, and diseases to North America, Europe and Africa.  Many of these exchanges brought positive results, such as better nutrition, but they also brought devastating diseases to people who had no immunity.

 

This exchange also brought a commercial revolution.  We spoke about capitalism, entrepreneurs and joint stock companies. People wanted to make money and they came up with innovative ideas and arrangements to spread the risks and rewards.  We compared the entrepreneurs of this age with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. This week you also had two book quizzes.  High grades should be earned by all if you are doing your homework and taking notes in class. 

 

We then started our unit on the Age of Absolutism by reading about King Philip II of Spain.  The powerpoint helped you focus on the key ideas in this section.  While we are not having a quiz on this reading, this section will give you valuable background knowledge to help you understand absolutism in France.  Our studies and readings give you numerous opportunities to acquire knowledge that can be used to make connections.  This makes your understanding of the world more meaningful.

 

The golden age of Spain lasted about 100 years.  Gold and silver came pouring in from the colonies in the new world. But after years of war, the loss of the Armada in 1588 and a decline in agriculture, Spain found itself overextended and was eclipsed by France.  By the late 1600s France was the most powerful nation in Europe.

 

This week we started reading about Louis XIV, the Sun King.  We read a play that portrayed two counts exchanging information about Louis and life at Versailles. We also watched a video clip about Louis and you got to see Versailles, the biggest palace in the world.  It is located about 15 miles outside of Paris and is an easy day trip.  Be prepared to be awed at the size, ornate details, and the 250 acres of gardens and forests.  When planning your trip, check for the times of the fountain displays as they are not to be missed.

 

For homework, you have a spoke diagram assignment on Louis XIV.  You have a rubric which clearly outlines the requirements: a picture, three of his policies, two character traits and one physical trait.  On the back of the diagram you need to write at least two sentences describing each of the policies and traits you selected.  Altogether you will have at least twelve sentences.  I drew a model on the board so you should have a clear idea of how to do this assignment.  You can use information from your text, the play and the video.

 

We also had our current events this week.  This assignment gives you the opportunity to keep up with the news (building background knowledge), practice your summarizing skills, and make connections and predictions.  It is my favorite day of the week as we get to discuss what is happening in the outside world.