"We Didn't Start the Fire"

CWI/Comparative

The highlight for me this week was reading your thank you notes to our veterans. You wrote with great sincerity and I was most impressed. I gave Mr. Ruscito several letters to read as I wanted him to know how well you had listened and how much thought you had given to the words of our guests. Your letters are now on their way. Job well done!

This week we started our study of the Cold War. We read about the steps leading to this undeclared conflict and learned some of the new vocabulary that will dominate this time period: “Red Scare,” “domino theory,” “containment,” NATO, and “Iron Curtain.” Your announced “quiz” gave you the opportunity to check your learning. If you did not meet standard, make sure to review that section of the text.

In “We didn’t start the fire,” we heard Billy Joel’s rendition of how events of that dramatic period affected the lives of all who experienced it. We also watched “The Wall,” a video about how the Communist rulers of East Germany tried to contain their people. What must it have been like to know you lived behind a wall and to attempt escape meant risking death?

Next week we will talk about the Korean Conflict and the start of Viet Nam. I am sure many of you have relatives or friends who took part in these two major conflicts. Take the time to ask them about those experiences...you will find in many ways they are very different from the experiences of our World War II vets.

Many of you are juniors and by now you should have developed your own strategies for learning. When you go off to college, career training or the military the days of worksheets and quizzes are over. You will be expected to learn and master large chunks of information on your own. This is the time to practice what works best for you: outlining, 3-2-1 notes, rereading, or teaching someone else about the material. All of these methods for understanding can work if you use them. You have to decide what is best for you.

Your current event is due Monday, March 30. Some of you who have not handed in the events tell me that you don’t have a computer or a printer but keep in mind you don’t need technology to complete this assignment. You can cut out an article and write your summary and reflection. You have a week’s notice to do these assignments, so if you have limited access to technology you need to make time to visit our library or the public library.

AP European History

Your test for World War II will be a DBQ with 14 documents. You will only have the class time to write and you will be evaluated using the AP DBQ rubric. You have a copy of the rubric so you may want to review prior to Tuesday. Your bold to bold notes and study guide are due on Tuesday.

World History

This week we finished watching “All Quiet on the Western Front” and you wrote about the changes that Paul and his friends experienced as the war dragged on. You had a time limit of 30 minutes to think and compose. While it is nice to have lots of time to think, reflect, write and rewrite, working under a time limit gives you practice for taking standardized tests and helps you understand the requirements you will face in an AP course.

On Friday you handed in your current event. By now you should be earning perfect scores on this assignment. Not handing in the assignment lowers your grade and is usually an indication of poor planning. Did you write in your plan book? Did you hear and see the reminder on the board for the past week? Did you check the blog? Good planning skills are not only essential for this course, but for everything you will do in the future – now is the time to master them!

A Power Week

CWI/Comparative Government/20th Century America

This was a powerful and memorable week for us as you presented your World War II projects, watched an episode from “Band of Brothers” and heard about the war from three of our local veterans and their spouses.

As many of you said in your reflections, doing the project with a partner gave you the opportunity to work on a topic of your choice and to act as a team. In addition to learning new content and presentation skills it was also an opportunity to practice working in a group. Often out in the real world of work you will be asked to be part of a team and having the skills to organize, delegate, and follow through for your group will make you a strong team player. It was great fun to watch each of the presentations and to hear your enthusiasm for your topic. Congratulations!

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg must be applauded for their production, “Band of Brothers,” a series of 8 episodes based on Stephen Ambrose’s book. The quality of the production is directly related to their intent to portray D-Day and beyond as it happened, not to romanticize or glorify it with Hollywood pizzazz. The interviews with the actual men of Easy Company reflected the enormity of what they accomplished.

Our unit concluded with our three World War II speakers. They gave us an insider’s look at some of the crucial events in the South Pacific Theater and spoke from the heart about the destruction they witnessed and their insistence that this type of war never happen again. Your thank you notes clearly reflect the impact these men had on your understanding of the events and more importantly your appreciation for their service. I was most impressed with your notes. Once all of the classes complete the notes, I will be sending them on to our speakers. Job well done!

We resumed our current events this week and your next one is due March 30. This gives you plenty of time to select a quality article and to write your summary and reflection. You do not need a computer for this assignment but if you want to use one, this lead time gives you the opportunity. Keep in mind that Middletown Public Library has a large bank of computers and printers and there is no charge for their use.

AP European History

This week we got to delve into the world of art by critiquing paintings from 1870 through 1920. In addition to looking at the paintings from an art perspective we also looked at how these works mirrored what was happening in the world. During this period great upheavals were occurring in the world of science, technology and philosophy. These seismic changes are reflected in art that moved from a classical, almost photographic depiction of the human body to cubism, where the human form becomes a series of sharp shapes and angles. In every field of endeavor, there was a move to reexamine traditional ways of viewing and understanding.

Our Age of Anxiety test is on Monday. The title seems appropriate at a time when many of us are awaiting the results of applications for college admission and financial awards. It is an exciting but difficult time that will soon pass.

World History

We continue with our study of World War I this week. Please keep working on your packets and bring them to class so we can review some of the key concepts. This week we had the opportunity to look at propaganda posters and ask questions about the purpose of these posters. Understanding how others may want to manipulate your view and thinking is an important skill to acquire so that you can stay true to your core beliefs.

Next week we will start watching “All Quiet on the Western Front,” a classic based on the book by Eric Marie Remarque.

Our next current event will be due March 27.

Projects

I will be away this weekend so the traditional posting will be delayed. I want to remind all students doing World War II projects that they must be emailed to me by 7:30 am on Monday. You must turn in a hard copy of the slides along with your note cards on Monday.

I am looking forward to seeing your projects and hearing how you thought and acted like a historian!

My email is asullivan@mpsri.net.

Moving Ahead

We are halfway through our third quarter of the year...hard to believe. Interterms went out this week and there should be no surprises as you monitor your own work with your status of assignment sheet. Please keep in mind that if you have an excused absence, you have 5 days to make up the work. It is to your advantage to take a few minutes and stay after school to go over the missed work or to take a quiz.

And speaking of moving ahead, remember to set your clocks ahead this weekend as daylights savings begins. While we lose an hour of sleep tonight, we gain sunlight in the afternoon so we have extra time to enjoy the outdoors.

Comparative Government/20th Century America

This week you watched a video about FDR, worked on primary source materials on the internment of Americans of Japanese descent, read about contributions from all of society toward the war effort and received your final assessment power point project. A busy week for sure!

The FDR video gave you a great overview of all of the contributions this four term President made from instilling confidence during the Depression to waging a successful war. He changed the role of the federal government forever and set a high standard for future Presidents for his ability to communicate and to inspire during very difficult times. Presidential rating polls always put FDR among the top five presidents.

We used the text and primary source readings to better understand the thinking behind the decision to intern American citizens of Japanese ancestry in camps. War and fear can bring out the best and the worst in people and our country made a decision that many have come to regret. Fearing that Japanese Americans would aid their home country, the federal government decided to place these families in detention camps. They lost their homes, property, businesses and most of all their civil liberties. In the 1980’s Congress convened a special Commission to study the internment and came to the conclusion that the internment was unjust. Over time over $1 billion in reparations were paid to the families that were detained. While the money could never restore what these people lost, it was recognition by the government that taking away these people’s civil liberties was wrong. Let us hope that we learn from history and this does not happen again. Many of you struggled with these readings so we will revisit the assignment next week.

Our text did a very nice job discussing the many contributions made by all during the war effort. You read about women, African Americans, and Native Americans who all contributed to the success of our country in fighting the Germans and Japanese.

We are fortunate that three World War II veterans will be speaking to us on March 19. This is a mandatory in-school field trip and it will be held in room 212 during advisory. We will talk more about this event next week but please put it on your calendar.

Finally, your final assessment for World War II was given to you. You will be working with a partner on a power point presentation based on an open ended critical thinking question that you develop. We will have some time in the computer lab but the bulk of the work will be done for homework. Your projects must be emailed to me to at school (asullivan@mpsri.net) and a hard copy of the slides must be handed in. We will speak more about the project next week. This is a great opportunity for you to decide what you want to study and to use all of your creative know how to present an informative and attractive project.

AP European History

As A.M. mentioned on Friday, we are on track to complete our curriculum. After completing our text study, we will have two weeks to review material before the May 8 exam. Keep your study guides and bold to bold notes organized as they will be especially useful for the review period.

A special thanks to Dr. Maurer for inviting us to the Naval War College for a lecture. We will make final plans for the trip once all the approvals are in place.

Next week we will watch “All Quiet on the Western Front.” This story is a classic and the movie will give you a better sense of what life was like during World War I for so many young men in Germany.

World History

This week we completed our study of Imperialism and began the task. You should be congratulated for being the first class to do a task on the computer with our TieNet program. Eventually, all tasks will be done on the computer so your graduation portfolio will be organized on line. You will have time on Tuesday to complete your essay and to upload it to the portfolio. You will also have to print out one hard copy. You will earn in class credit for the essay and it will be evaluated for your graduation portfolio.