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Film Studies Midterm
Write a minimum of one page on at least one topic/theme in at least two different films. For example, for the theme of Racism you may discuss how racism is represented in any of the films listed in that category. For the theme of Women’s Rights and Empowerment, discuss how two or more films from that category depict women’s rights. You may use your notes, papers and refer to the films on our website: westernmediacenter.educatorpages.com
- Nazi Germany then and now: Au Revoir Les Enfants, BlacKkKlansman, Race, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
- Immigration: El Norte, Real Women Have Curves,
The Idol, The Kite Runner.
- Women’s rights and empowerment: Hidden Figures, El Norte, RBG - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Real Women Have Curves, Flint Water Crisis, BlacKkKlansman, Confirmation, In the Time of the Butterflies, The Kite Runner. Maria Full of Grace, Ocean's 8.
- Dictatorships and government violence: Au Revoir Les Enfants, El Norte, BlacKkKlansman, Race, In the Time of the Butterflies, The Idol, The Kite Runner, Vice, Dr. Strangelove.
- Human rights: Au Revoir Les Enfants, Hidden Figures, El Norte, Bowling for Columbine, RBG - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Real Women Have Curves, Flint Water Crisis, BlacKkKlansman, The Hate U Give, Confirmation, Race, In the Time of the Butterflies, The Idol, The Kite Runner, Cuckoo’s Nest.
- Racism: Au Revoir Les Enfants, Hidden Figures, El Norte, Real Women Have Curves, Flint Water Crisis, BlacKkKlansman, The Hate U Give, Confirmation, Race, The Idol, The Kite Runner.
- Health care, gun violence, education funding, maternity benefits, vacation time, job benefits: Where to Invade Next, Bowling for Columbine, RBG - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Flint Water Crisis, The Hate U Give.
- Politics: Confirmation, Snowden, In the Time of the Butterflies, Race, The Idol.
- Relationship struggles: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Harold and Maude, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
On a separate sheet of paper, please evaluate this class. Do not write your name on this paper. It is anonymous. Consider these questions, please: Did this class teach you anything worthwhile? Did taking this class improve your writing, listening and perception skills? Should film classes be taught in high school? What changes would you make to this class? List strengths and weaknesses of this class and include any other comments you would like to add.
Evaluation suggestons:
More group discussions and deeper discussions
Take more time during and between films
Take a 10-minute break to discuss plot, characters, setting and themes of the film
Show films in thematic units
Encourage and guide student selection of movies
Allow group discussion and group assignments
Include grammar and essay writing instruction
Film Studies Final
Write a minimum of one page on at least one topic/theme in at least two different films. For example, for the theme of Racism you may discuss how racism is represented in any of the films listed in that category. For the theme of Women’s Rights and Empowerment, discuss how two or more films from that category depict women’s rights. You may use your notes, papers and refer to the films on our website: westernmediacenter.educatorpages.com
- Nazi Germany then and now: Au Revoir Les Enfants, BlacKkKlansman, Race, The King’s Speech, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
- Immigration: El Norte, Real Women Have Curves, Amreeka,
The Idol, The Kite Runner.
- Women’s rights and empowerment: Hidden Figures, El Norte, RBG - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Real Women Have Curves, Flint Water Crisis, Girl Rising, BlacKkKlansman, Confirmation, Life, Above All, In the Time of the Butterflies, The Kite Runner. Maria Full of Grace, Ocean's 8.
- Dictatorships and government violence: Au Revoir Les Enfants, El Norte, Amreeka, BlacKkKlansman, Cautiva, Race, In the Time of the Butterflies, The Idol, The Kite Runner, The King’s Speech, Vice, Dr. Strangelove.
- Human rights: Au Revoir Les Enfants, Hidden Figures, El Norte, Bowling for Columbine, RBG - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Real Women Have Curves, Flint Water Crisis, Amreeka, Girl Rising, Climate Change, BlacKkKlansman, The Hate U Give, Confirmation, Cautiva, Race, Life, Above All, In the Time of the Butterflies, The Idol, The Kite Runner, Cuckoo’s Nest.
- Racism: Au Revoir Les Enfants, Hidden Figures, El Norte, Real Women Have Curves, Flint Water Crisis, Amreeka, Girl Rising, Afro-Brazilian Culture, BlacKkKlansman, The Hate U Give, Confirmation, Race, Life, Above All, The Idol, The Kite Runner.
- Health care, gun violence, education funding, maternity benefits, vacation time, job benefits: Where to Invade Next, Bowling for Columbine, RBG - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Flint Water Crisis, Girl Rising, Climate Change, The Hate U Give, Life, Above All.
- Voting Rights: Midterm Elections 2018.
- Politics: Confirmation, Snowden, In the Time of the Butterflies, Race, The Idol, Vice.
- Relationship struggles: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Harold and Maude, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Graduate.
On a separate sheet of paper, please evaluate this class. Do not write your name on this paper. It is anonymous. Consider these questions, please: Did this class teach you anything worthwhile? Did taking this class improve your writing, listening and perception skills? Should film classes be taught in high school? What changes would you make to this class? List strengths and weaknesses of this class and include any other comments you would like to add.
Evaluation suggestons:
More group discussions and deeper discussions
Take more time during and between films
Take a 10-minute break to discuss plot, characters, setting and themes of the film
Show films in thematic units
Encourage and guide student selection of movies
Allow group discussion and group assignments
Include grammar and essay writing instruction
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Film Assignment beginning 12 June 2019
1967
Setting: California Socioeconmic level: upper middle class (rich)
University of California, Berkeley 
Library 
Themes:
- The American Dream
- Affluence
- Love, Sex, Marriage
- Isolation and Alienation
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Film Assigment
- Is McMurphy insane? Explain.
- Are the following activities therapeutic: baseball, fishing, basketball, card playing, music, Billy dating a woman? Explain.
- McMurphy after trying to tear the sink and pedestal from the floor: “I tried, didn’t I? At least I did that.” Explain what he means.
- How does Billy respond when Nurse Ratched mentions his mother?
- Explain what is common between Billy in Cuckoo's Nest and Bertie in The King’s Speech. What is different?
- Did the medical establishment do a good job treating people with mental and emotional problems? Explain.
- Why do the uncommitted men choose to stay in the mental institution when they are free to leave at will?
Film Assignment beginning 4 June 2019
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
From the novel by Ken Kesey in 1962
Setting: Oregon mental hospital, 1963
Rocky Marciano held the world heavyweight title from 1952-1956
Electric Shock Therapy: http://theconversation.com/electroconvulsive-therapy-a-history-of-controversy-but-also-of-help-70938
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcmarVpo2xE
Lobotomy Procedure: https://www.livescience.com/42199-lobotomy-definition.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftDGcCbkeH4
Quotes and themes: rebellion vs. conformity
Frederickson to Nurse Ratched: "Do you mean to say that it's sick to want to be off by yourself?"
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Cheney's Law - Frontline (Executive Privilege)
Cheney: The Dark Side
https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-dark-side/
Revolving Door, Boehner, Cannabis pitchman
Trump's War n Worker Rights
Taliban and Women
Film Assignment beginning 29 May 2019
Vice (2018)
Dick Cheney 
Donald Rumsfeld 
George W. Bush 
Colin Powell 
Condoleezza Rice 
David Addington 
Timeline
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/u-s-presidents-since-1960
Crude, vulgar language
Deferment
Vouched for DUI’s
Fox News – Roger Ailes
Kurt
Mouth shut, do what you’re told, be loyal
Dedicated, humble servant to power
Nixon and power: “best . . . feeling in the world”
Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely
Kissinger: bomb Cambodia
750 lib bombs drooped from 20,000 feet will kill thousands of innocent people
Cheney to Rumsfeld: “What do we believe?” Chaney is laughed out of the room.
1973 Bethesda, MD
Political consultant
Nixon-Rumsfeld out
Casper, Wyoming – Lynn’s mother, Edna. No serious investigation of her death (drowned in lake).
Extraordinary Rendition
Guantanamo
Nixon out – Ford in
Rumsfeld, Cheney in
Kissinger out, Scowcroft in
Cheney chief of staff, Rumsfeld sec. of defense
Antonin Scalia
Theory of Unitary Executive: the president taking absolute authority
Koch, Coors, money to think tanks
Reagan: welfare
Absence of control
Deregulate finance, mining, water and air quality
Fairness doctrine: both sides equally in broadcast media – Fox News moves America to right
Halliburton:
Cheney: “No one has shown the true power of the American presidency”
“You and my dad agreed that my dad would have been reelected if you had taken out Saddam”
“War time presidents are very popular.”
Crude, vulgar language
Deferment
Vouched for DUI’s
Fox News – Roger Ailes
Kurt
Mouth shut, do what you’re told, be loyal
Dedicated, humble servant to power
Nixon and power: “best . . . feeling in the world”
Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely
Kissinger: bomb Cambodia
750 lib bombs drooped from 20,000 feet will kill thousands of innocent people
Cheney to Rumsfeld: “What do we believe?” Chaney is laughed out of the room.
1973 Bethesda, MD
Political consultant
Nixon-Rumsfeld out
Casper, Wyoming – Lynn’s mother, Edna. No serious investigation of her death (drowned in lake).
Extraordinary Rendition: Extraordinary rendition is the practice of kidnapping or capturing people and sending them to countries where they face a high risk of torture or abuse in interrogations.
Guantanamo
Nixon out – Ford in
Rumsfeld, Cheney in
Kissinger out, Scowcroft in
Cheney chief of staff, Rumsfeld sec. of defense
Antonin Scalia
Theory of Unitary Executive: the president taking absolute authority
Koch, Coors, money to think tanks
Reagan: welfare
Absence of control
Deregulate finance, mining, water and air quality
Fairness doctrine: both sides equally in broadcast media – Fox News moves America to right
Halliburton:
Cheney: “No one has shown the true power of the American presidency”
“You and my dad agreed that my dad would have been reelected if you had taken out Saddam”
“War time presidents are very popular.”
https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2018/12/26/vice-and-adam-mckays-shakespearean-tendencies
Think tanks
Koch brothers
Patriot Act
Extraordinary rendition (abducted taken to foreign lands that torture)
Enemy combatant
Guantanamo Bay (not U.S., no due process)
War Powers Act (power to attack counties perceived as threats)
Unitary Executive Privilege (do anything you want)
Tenet- FBI
Richard Clark – expert terrorism
“We don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.”
Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction – Nuclear weapons
Biological and chemical warfare
Britain – Tony Blair sided with U.S.
Al-Qaeda
Strong coalition
Karl Rove
Colin Powell address to UN – evidence that Iraq has nuclear weapons
“You are the president. War is yours. No not share powers.”
Shia and Sunni Muslims
Torture memo
Geneva Convention (“open to interpretation”)
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Powell speech: most painful moment f his life
Shakespeare in Vice: https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2018/12/26/vice-and-adam-mckays-shakespearean-tendencies
Nixon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo7KWzOgnf8
Building 7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0cMOr7SSKg
Z
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAKHTXj2cCk&t=3313s
Vice Quiz
- T/F: Dick Cheney got a deferment so that he did not have to serve in the military.
- Who was President in 1969 when Cheney served as a congressional intern? a. Ford b. Carter c. Nixon
- Dick Cheney worked for: a. Donald Rumsfeld b. John F. Kennedy c. Pablo Escobar.
- T/F: Cheney worked in the Ford administration.
- From 1978-89 Cheney was a U.S. Congressional Representative from: a. Nebraska b. Wyoming c. Utah
- Donald Rumsfeld “took care” of Cheney’s DUI’s. What is a DUI? a. drunk under the influence b. driving under the influence c. dead under the influence
- Cheney was said to be a “dedicated and humble servant to”: a. power b ethical behavior c peace
- In March 1969, President Richard Nixon authorized secret bombing raids in Cambodia. Vice shows Rumsfeld and Cheney chatting outside the office of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The bombing of Cambodia lasted until August 1973. While the exact number of Cambodian casualties remains unknown, most experts estimate that 100,000 Cambodians lost their lives, with an additional two million people becoming homeless. According to Vice, why was Nixon speaking with Kissinger in Kissinger’s office instead of in the Oval Office of the President? a. because the bombing of Cambodia was illegal, and Nixon wanted secrecy b. because the Oval Office was equipped with recording equipment c. both a and b
- Donald Rumsfeld told Cheney and other new congressional interns that serving as an intern was not an honor, but a. a s--- detail b. a learning opportunity c. a path to get rich
- The Fairness Doctrine of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. Under which administration did the fairness doctrine end? a. Reagan b. Nixon c. George H.W. Bush
- Which publication offers the most conservative view of the news? a. The New York Times b. MSNBC c. Fox News.
- What is a think tank and what is its role? a. to play a fundamental role in shaping policy agendas. b. to bring expertise and put forward evidence c. both a and b
- Think tanks and Fox News became more influential in shaping policy at the same time because of what common factor: a. money b. deregulation c. both a and b
- Rich companies and families fund think tanks. Which two families are mentioned in Vice: a. the Coors and the Koch’s b. the Rockefellers c. Oprah
- When Cheney asks Rumsfeld, “What do we believe?” Rumsfeld laughs uncontrollably and shuts his office door in Cheney’s face. What meaning does this scene convey? a. Rumsfeld enjoys making fun of Cheney b. Cheney’s question that service in government should by guided by principles is seen by Rumsfeld as naïve c. Rumsfeld has an overactive bladder and runs to the private toilet in his office.
- Who became president when Nixon resigned on August 1974? a. Carter b. Clinton c. Ford
- Cheney and Rumsfeld served in the Ford administration until which democrat was elected president? a. Clinton b. Powell c. Carter
- Cheney learned about the unitary executive theory from which future Supreme Court Judge: a. RBG b. Anthony Kennedy c. Antonin Scalia
- T/F: The unitary executive theory says that the president has the power to control the entire executive branch.
- In 1989 Cheney served as Secretary of Defense under which president: a. Carter b. George H.W. Bush c. George W. Bush
- Who was a four star general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (military leaders): a. Colin Powell b. Donald Rumsfeld c. Condoleezza Rice
- John Bolton holds which position in the U.S. government today? a. Secretary of State b. National Security Advisor c. Head of the CIA
- John Bolton wants the U.S. to invade which country? a. Afghanistan b. Iran c. Syria
- Who is the current U.S. Secretary of State: a. Mike Pence b. Mike Pompeo c. Hillary Clinton
- Dick Cheney was a good example of the “revolving door” in Washington, D.C. The “revolving door” describes: a. people moving from elected office to the private sector and back again. b. people taking advantage of their contacts with influential people in government so as to make money as lobbyists for private companies c. a and b
- When Dick Cheney became vice president he established offices in the: a. CIA b. Senate c. House of Representatives d. a, b and c
- Dick Cheney’s office in the House of Representatives was near the appropriations committee (allocation of money from the Federal budget). Why the appropriations committee? a. to influence spending decisions b. to channel funds into his projects c. a and b
- Which was an example of Cheney’s participation in the “revolving door?” a. His Wyoming influences b. His position as CEO of Halliburton
- Which president served honorably in the military: a. George W. Bush b. George H.W. Bush c. Dick Cheney
- Which event prompted the U.S. to go to war in Afghanistan: a. the Pentagon attack b. the World Trade Center attack c. a and b
- What paved the way for the U.S. to attack Iraq? a. 9-11 attacks b. saying that Iraq was responsible for the 9-11 attacks c a and b
- Cheney tells George W. Bush “war time presidents are popular.” George W. Bush agrees because his father, George H.W. Bush, became very popular directly after prosecuting which war: a. Persian Gulf War b. Operation Desert Storm c. a and b
- T/F: His popularity after that war was short-lived.
- The Patriot Act is a U.S. law passed in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Its goals are to strengthen domestic security and broaden the powers of law-enforcement agencies with regards to identifying and stopping terrorists. The passing and renewal of the Patriot Act has been extremely controversial. Supporters claim that it's been instrumental in a number of investigations and arrests of terrorists, while critics counter the act gives the government too much power, threatens civil liberties and undermines the very democracy it seeks to protect. Could the Patriot Act have been passed if the 9-11 attacks did not happen? a. likely b. unlikely
- In which previous movie in our class did Henry Kissinger appear? a. In the Time of the Butterflies b. Cautiva c. Hidden Figures
- Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely. An observation that a person's sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. The statement was made by Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Does it still apply today? a. yes b. no
- Extraordinary rendition is the practice of kidnapping or capturing people and sending them to countries where they face a high risk of torture or abuse in interrogations. Was Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, one of those locations? a. yes b. no
- Why did Cheney’s office relabel the estate tax to the death tax? a. to get people to save more to pay taxes upon death b. to get people to agree to the cutting of taxes on very rich people
- David Addington, Cheney’s lawyer, told Cheney he was not a member of the Senate and not a member of the executive branch. This meant that Cheney would be accountable to: a. the President b. the Senate c. nobody
- T/F: Cheney’s team reviewed a map of Iraq’s oil fields shortly after taking office.
- Cheney took office in 2001 after the Supreme Court did what? a. told Florida to conduct a recount b. stopped the recount in Florida and gave the election to George W. Bush.
- Bush was said to have had how many more votes that democrat Al Gore? a. 50,000 b. 5,000 c. 537
- The War Powers Resolution was passed in 1973 by both Houses of Congress, overriding the veto of President Nixon. It was passed to reassert Congressional authority over the decision to send American troops to war. Did George W. Bush and Dick Cheney abide by this law? a. yes b. no
- T/F: “Prisoner of war” was changed to “enemy combatant” because an enemy combatant can be tortured whereas a prisoner of war has protections outlined in the Geneva Conventions.
- T/F: The Patriot Act allowed the U.S. to practice extraordinary rendition: the taking of.suspected criminals to another country, often a country known to violate human rights and due process of law:
- T/F: The U.S. placed enemy combatants in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, because it controlled the area and operates outside of U.S. legal jurisdiction.
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Film Studies Final for Seniors
Write a minimum of one page on at least one topic/theme in at least two different films. For example, for the theme of Racism, you may discuss how racism is represented in any of the films listed in that category. For the theme of Women’s Rights and Empowerment, discuss how two or more films from that category depict women’s rights. You may use your notes, papers and refer to the films on our website: westernmediacenter.educatorpages.com
- Nazi Germany then and now: Au Revoir Les Enfants, BlacKkKlansman, Race, The King’s Speech.
- Immigration: El Norte, Real Women Have Curves, Amreeka,
The Idol, The Kite Runner.
- Women’s rights and empowerment: Hidden Figures, El Norte, RBG - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Real Women Have Curves, Flint Water Crisis, Girl Rising, BlacKkKlansman, Confirmation, Life, Above All, In the Time of the Butterflies, The Kite Runner.
- Dictatorships and government violence: Au Revoir Les Enfants, El Norte, Amreeka, BlacKkKlansman, Cautiva, Race, In the Time of the Butterflies, The Idol, The Kite Runner, The King’s Speech.
- Human rights: Au Revoir Les Enfants, Hidden Figures, El Norte, Bowling for Columbine, RBG - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Real Women Have Curves, Flint Water Crisis, Amreeka, Girl Rising, Climate Change, BlacKkKlansman, The Hate U Give, Confirmation, Cautiva, Race, Life, Above All, In the Time of the Butterflies, The Idol, The Kite Runner.
- Racism: Au Revoir Les Enfants, Hidden Figures, El Norte, Real Women Have Curves, Flint Water Crisis, Amreeka, Girl Rising, Afro-Brazilian Culture, BlacKkKlansman, The Hate U Give, Confirmation, Race, Life, Above All, The Idol, The Kite Runner.
- Health care, gun violence, education funding, maternity benefits, vacation time, job benefits: Where to Invade Next, Bowling for Columbine, RBG - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Flint Water Crisis, Girl Rising, Climate Change, The Hate U Give, Life, Above All.
- Voting Rights: Midterm Elections 2018.
- Politics: Confirmation, Snowden, In the Time of the Butterflies, Race, The Idol.
- Teen struggles: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Harold and Maude.
On a separate sheet of paper, please evaluate this class. Do not write your name on this paper. It is anonymous. Consider these questions, please: Did this class teach you anything worthwhile? Did taking this class improve your writing, listening or perception skills? Should film classes be taught in high school? What changes would you make to this class? List strengths and weaknesses of this class and include any other comments you would like to add.
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Film Assignment beginning 22 May 2019
The King's Speech (2010)
British Empire 1925
King George V
King George VI (Duke of York until 11 Dec. 1936)
Stuttering http://Demosthenes
The Greek orator Demosthenes was said to treat his speech impediment by talking with pebbles in his mouth and shouting above the roar of the ocean waves.
Wembley, London, 1925, British Empire Exhibiton
British colonies and dominions
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/former-british-colonies.html
Knock knees are angular deformities at the knee, in which the head of the deformity points inward. A standing child whose knees touch but whose ankles do not is usually said to have knock knees. During childhood, knock knees are a stage in normal growth and development (physiologic valgus).
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British royal family since 1852, when the estate and its original castle were purchased privately by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. It remains the private property of the royal family and is not part of the Crown Estate.
Sandringham Estate has long been the beloved private country home of Queen Elizabeth II.
Wallis Simpson (American) Wallis Simpson, later known as the Duchess of Windsor, was an American socialite whose intended marriage to the British king Edward VIII caused a constitutional crisis that led to Edward's abdication. Wallis grew up in Baltimore, Maryland
The Glorious Revolution (1688–89) permanently established Parliament as the ruling power of England—and, later, the United Kingdom—representing a shift from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy.
Magna Carta, which means 'The Great Charter', is one of the most important documents in history as it established the principle that everyone is subject to the law, even the king, and guarantees the rights of individuals, the right to justice and the right to a fair trial.
King John ruled England for almost two decades (1199-1216) and was well known as a heavy handed ruler. He would often wage unnecessary wars and burden his subjects with heavy taxes to pay for them. King John begrudgingly signed the Magna Carta because he needed the barons to fight his wars and collect his taxes.
Monarchies in Europe
What countries have monarchs?
Other monarchies are Bahrain, Belgium, Bhutan, Darussalam, Cambodia, Denmark, Jordan, Kuwait, Lesotho, Principality of Liechtenstein, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Malaysia, Principality of Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Thailand, Tonga, UAE, and Vatican City
Winston Churchhill and King George VI (Bertie)
Britain's class system:
The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the concept of social class, which continues to affect British society today.[1][2]
British society, like its European neighbours and most societies in world history, was traditionally (before the Industrial Revolution) divided hierarchically within a system that involved the hereditary transmission of occupation, social status and political influence.[3] Since the advent of industrialisation, this system has been in a constant state of revision, and new factors other than birth (for example, education) are now a greater part of creating identity in Britain.
Although definitions of social class in the United Kingdom vary and are highly controversial, most are influenced by factors of wealth, occupation and education. Until the Life Peerages Act 1958, the Parliament of the United Kingdom was organised on a class basis, with the House of Lords representing the hereditary upper-class and the House of Commonsrepresenting everybody else. The British monarch is usually viewed as being at the top of the social class structure.
10 Downing Street 
The Church of England is the established church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior cleric, although the monarch is the supreme governor. English national church that traces its history back to the arrival of Christianity in Britain during the 2nd century. It has been the original church of the Anglican Communion since the 16th-century Protestant Reformation.
The headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), the territorial police force responsible for policing most of London.
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG PC FRS was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars.
Adolf Hitler was the ruler of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. During his dictatorship, Hitler initiated military policies that led to World War II and the deaths of at least 11 million people, including the genocide of an estimated 6 million Jews. Hitler's death by suicide near the end of the war brought an end to his fascist regime.
Characters:
"Bertie" The Royal Highness of Duke - King George VI and the Dutchess of York.
Scottish kilt 
Lionel Logue, the speech therapist.
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Film Assignment beginning 1 May 2019
The Kite Runner (2008)
Assignment: (Minimum 3 paragraphs)
Shame is a theme in The Kite Runner. Explain how shame influences the behavior of the following characters:
Amir
Hassan
Ali (Hassan’s father)
Sohrab
Baba (Amir’s father) He fathered Hassan, which means he slept with Ali’s wife.
He was therefore the father of both Amir and Hassan and the grandfather of Sohrab, Hassan’s son.
Or
Write down your thoughts about The Kite Runner.
Kite fighting
Setting: Afghanistan at the fall of the monarchy through the Soviety Invasion and the Taliban regime.
Chararacters: Amir, a rich boy and a Pashtun. Hassan, his servant and a Hazara. Rahim Khan, Assef,
Afghanistan
http://www.bl.uk/learning/cult/inside/shahnamestories/storyeight/sohrabdeath.html
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Assignment: Write a one-paragraph response for each question.
1. What is a strengh of Skyfall?
2. What is a weakness?
3. What did you learn?
Film Assignment beginning 10 May 2019
Skyfall (2012)
Spy film
Locations: Istanbul, Turkey
Shanghai, China
Shanghai, on China’s central coast, is the country's biggest city and a global financial hub. Its heart is the Bund, a famed waterfront promenade lined with colonial-era buildings. Across the Huangpu River rises the Pudong district’s futuristic skyline, including 632m Shanghai Tower and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, with distinctive pink spheres. Sprawling Yu Garden has traditional pavilions, towers and ponds.
Macau, China
Macau is an autonomous region on the south coast of China, across the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong. A Portuguese territory until 1999, it reflects a mix of cultural influences. Its giant casinos and malls on the Cotai Strip, which joins the islands of Taipa and Coloane, have earned it the nickname, "Las Vegas of Asia." One of its more striking landmarks is the tall Macau Tower, with sweeping city views.
London, England
MI6
The Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6, is the foreign intelligence service of the government of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence in support of the UK's national security
Turner - English Romantic painter
British Museum
Modigliani
Characters:
James Bond, Agent 007
M: Head of Secret Intelligence Service
Eve Moneypenny
Mallory "M"
Raoul Silva
Q
NATO (North Atlantic Treat Organization)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO /ˈneɪtoʊ/; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord; OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 29 North American and European countries. The organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.[3][4] NATO constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's Headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons, Belgium.
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Film Assignment beginning 6 May 2019
Paper Moon (1973)
Assignment: Write one-page on Paper Moon.
It's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Radio Shows
Fibber McGee and Molly
http://www.fibbermcgeeandmolly.com/
Jack Benny
https://www.otrcat.com/p/jack-benny
Nehi soda
Cremo
Keep Your Sunny Side Up
FDR: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Fireside Chat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iipnhLTdh-0
Paper Moon
1936
Model A
Con man
Confidence trick
Bootlegger
Prohibition
The increase of the illegal production and sale of liquor (known as “bootlegging”), the proliferation of speakeasies (illegal drinking spots) and the accompanying rise in gang violence and other crimes led to waning support for Prohibition by the end of the 1920s. In early 1933, Congress adopted a resolution proposing a 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would repeal the 18th. It was ratified by the end of that year, bringing the Prohibition era to a close.
Radio shows and songs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQpmVVK6ce8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bw5h-WPYBQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeisCvjwBMo
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Film Assignment beginning 30April 2019
The Idol (Palestine, 2015)
Mohammed Assaf
1 Describe Gaza "under siege." Why does it look this way?
2. Why did Mohammed audition via Skype and not in person?
3. “We may be surrounded by ugliness, but your voice is beautiful.” Who said that?
4. Why does Omar oppose Mohammed’s quest to sing?
5. Explain: Mohammed to Amal: "No one knows that we are refugess and are not allowed to return."
6. Why does Ismael give Mohammed his ticket?
7. Why do the Palestinian people take pride in Mohammed Assaf’s achievement?
8. Why does Mohammed get sick during the competition?
What is a visa?
Yassar Arafat
Dome of the Rock - Al Asque Mosque, Jerusalem
Cairo 2012
Beirut, Lebanon 2012
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza–Israel_conflict
Gaza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnPzCWXQhMY
Gaza wars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_War_(2008%E2%80%9309)
Tunnels between Gaza and Egypt
Gaza War 2012
Palestinian Lands
https://visualizingpalestine.org/visuals/shrinking-palestine
Short history of Palestine and Israel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dISYTwDS6eQ
Separation Wall and Bethlehem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PecEVGStsNw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nufBpHmWhtQ
German Video - West Bank - Check points
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z1v0v7S8hA
Concepts: Music as a "tool of the devil."
Merge your voice with your passion and your soul.
Dreams are sometimes "all we have left."
The practice of smuggling.
https://www.npr.org/2016/05/26/476492097/in-the-idol-a-singer-faces-more-than-just-harsh-judges
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- Minerva compares the entire nation to a cage; what does she mean by this?
- What are some of the ways that Trujillo consolidates his power? How does he manage to control everyone so completely?
- “Long live the butterflies.” Explain.
- Describe the role of the Catholic Church in supporting and opposing Trujillo’s dictatorship.
- Describe the roll of violence in the dictatorship.
- How is the repression of women depicted in the film?
- Name three countries ruled by dictators today and name the dictators.
In the Time of the Butterflies – assignment #1
- In which country does our film take place?
- In which decade?
- What is the profession of Minerva’s father?
- What type work does Minerva want to do?
- Who was the dictator of the Dominican Republic?
In one paragraph, describe similarities between In the Time of the Butterflies and Cautiva.
You may want to consider: opposition, dictatorship, fear, prison, execution, Catholic Church, absence of human rights . . .
The Organizaton of American States
Mirabal sisters assassination (en espanol)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ-wfWsBJis
Dictators and the cult of personality
Putin:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/world/europe/russia-putin-criticism-law.html
Swearing in Russian Prisions
https://llbahtyrantsdictatorspsychopaths.wordpress.com/dictator/modern-era/cult-of-personality/
List of Dictators
https://www.ranker.com/list/list-of-famous-dictators/reference
"Bread and Fear"
Film Assignment beginning 22 April 2019
Traditional African Religions and Culture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2py6GfLukZI
1. What did you learn about traditional African religions?
Name and explain three items.
In the Time of the Butterflies (2004)
Dominican politician, soldier and dictator, who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961.
His 31 years in power, to Dominicans known as the Trujillo Era (Spanish: El Trujillato), are considered one of the bloodiest eras ever in the Americas, as well as a time of a personality cult, when monuments to Trujillo were in abundance. Trujillo and his regime were responsible for many deaths, including between 20,000 and 30,000 Haitians in the infamous Parsley massacre
The film begins with pictures and video of the actual victims of Trujillo. During the montage, a title card appears that says:
- From 1930 to 1961, General Rafael Leónidas Trujillo held absolute control of the Dominican Republic.
- His secret alliance with the church, aristocrats, intellectuals and the press were the foundation of his dictatorship.
- His formula to remain in power was simple: murder anyone who opposed him.
- More than 30,000 people were executed during his regime of terror...
The scene shifts to a prison cell, where one of his victims, Minerva Mirabal (Salma Hayek), recounts the events of the story.
Minerva and her three sisters, Patria (Lumi Cavazos), Dedé (Pilar Padilla), and María Teresa "Mate" (Mía Maestro), live on a farm in rural Ojo De Agua. Minerva, the outspoken sister, convinces her father, Enrique Mirabal (Fernando Becerril), to send her, Patria, and Mate to a boarding school. The sisters spend five years away at school, during which time Minerva captures the attention of Trujillo (Edward James Olmos), who notices her at a school play.
When school is over, Minerva wishes to study to become a lawyer, but women are not allowed in law school. The sisters return to the farm, and Minerva soon meets and falls in love with Virgilio "Lio" (Marc Anthony), a member of the Dominican resistance, who gives her the nickname "Butterfly", or Mariposa in Spanish. Lio's activities during a college protest are noticed, and he is forced to leave the country out of fear for his life, though he continues to write to Minerva.
Minerva, along with her family, is invited to a formal ball at Trujillo's palace, where she dances with him. During their dance, Minerva asks for permission to attend law school, but Trujillo declines. He grabs Minerva inappropriately, and she responds by recoiling and slapping him in the face. Her family quickly rushes to her side, and Trujillo allows them to leave. The next day, the chief of police, Captain Peña (Pedro Armendáriz, Jr.), arrives at the family farm and takes Minerva's father away. The sisters spend several weeks dealing with the police bureaucracy, trying to locate their father, before it's suggested that there is a way Minerva can get her father out of prison. Minerva goes to the palace, and Trujillo suggests that her father can leave if she stays. Minerva points out that her mother is waiting outside and would "appreciate his hospitality" too. Trujillo decides that they should leave it to chance (a dice roll) to determine if Minerva and her family go free, or if Minerva stays at the palace while her family is released. Minerva accepts, but asks to "up the stakes"—if she wins, she goes free and also gets to attend law school, and if she loses, Trujillo can "have his wish". She rolls the dice and wins, and Trujillo lets her leave.
Minerva's victory is hollow. Her father is released from prison, but has been tortured and soon dies. While attending his funeral, the police chief delivers to Minerva a letter permitting her to attend law school. Minerva's hatred of Trujillo is intense, but she decides to accept his "gift" because she views it as her only way to effectively oppose him.
While in law school, Minerva discovers that Lio has been killed by Trujillo supporters even though he was out of the country. She meets other members of the resistance, who, through Lio, know of her as "Butterfly". She becomes a member of the resistance, and over time Patria and Mate learn of her activities and become involved too. She falls in love with Manolo Tavárez (Demian Bichir), a fellow law student and member of the resistance, and they are married.
When Minerva graduates from law school, Trujillo is present to pass out the diplomas. All the other students receive diplomas, but he refuses to give Minerva hers, saying he agreed to allow her to attend law school, not to practice law.
After law school, Minerva has children but continues her resistance activities. After a series of increasingly dangerous events, she, Mate, and many resistance members are arrested and sent to jail. Minerva becomes a symbol, and many prisoners, guards, and outsiders secretly voice their support for "the Butterflies".
Eventually, Minerva and Mate are released from jail, but their husbands and Patria's are still held captive. The women continue their efforts to locate their husbands. Trujillo stops by to visit Minerva at her home, and she asks for his help to get their husbands released. Trujillo vows to help Minerva "end her troubles".
While returning from a trip to visit their husbands, Minerva, Patria, and Mate are stopped on the road by a large group of Trujillo's men. They are taken some distance off the main road, and the men surround them and beat them to death.
Another title card appears at the end that says:
- The Death of the Mirabal Sisters was the final blow to the regime of Leónidas Trujillo, who was assassinated six months later.
- Several of the children of the Mirabal sisters held important posts in the later democratic governments of the Dominican Republic.
- The day of the sisters' death, November 25th, is observed in many Latin American countries as the International Day Against Violence Towards Women.
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Film Assignment beginning 15 April 2019
Life, Above All (South Africa, 2010)
Describe the obstacles Chanda overcame. What qualities of character did she possess to overcome these obstacles. Who changes her outlook and behavior as a result of Chanda's brave actions? (Minimum two paragraphs).
Issues in the film:
- Tradition vs. modernity (illiteracy vs. literacy)
- The force and influence of gossip
- Whose funeral is attended at the start of the film?
- Who is Esther?
- Where is her family?
- How does she survive?
- How is she treated by people in her neighborhood?
- What happened to Chanda’s father?
- Why does the community ostracize (“hate”) Lillian (Chanda’s mother)?
- Who is Jonah and what is his relationship to Chanda, Lillian and the children?
- What happened to Ms. Tafa’s son?
- What is wrong with Dr. Chilume, and how does Chanda expose him?
South African township near Johannesburg (Elansdoorn)
Chararacters: Chanda, Lillain (her mother), Mrs. Tafa (neighbor), Esther (school friend), Jonah, Iris, Soly, Sara, Aunt Lizbet
Lannguage: Xhosa
Estimated HIV prevalence among adults aged 15-49 by country in 2007
Aids
Traditonal medicine
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Film Assignment beginning 11 April 2019
Run Lola Run (1999, Germany)
Disjunctive narrative (nonlinear time and space). Time is compressed. Space is broken up.
Comparison to cubism
Pablo Picasso
The film tells the same story three times. Which elements are exactly the same each time? Which elements change? Are there any elements which occur only in one or two of the three scenarios?
Lola starts in the apartment each time, with the same scene of her mom on the phone. She always encounters a man with a dog, a woman pushing her child in a stroller, a group of nuns, a man on a stolen bicycle, the homeless man, her father’s associate, an ambulance, the security guard, her father with his mistress, and Manni. Her specific actions and behaviors change between the runs and so do the capacitive charging sound cued flash scenes. Run three specifically has additional scenes like the casino and Manni’s encounter with the homeless man.
Describe the scenes that occur between Run One and Run Two, and Run Two and Run Three. What function do they play in the structure of the film, and in the story itself?
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Film Assignment beginning 26 March 2019
Life of PI (2012)
1. In one or two paragraphs, describe Pi’s life in India before he and his family left for Canada. What was important to Pi as a child and then as a teenager?
2. In one or two paragraphs, describe how Pi survived at sea. What were Pi’s sources of strength for surviving this ordeal?
3. Describe Pi's relationship with Richard Parker.
India in mid-1970s was a tumultuous place. Following corruption charges and criticism from opposition parties, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency. Curfews, censorship, the whole nine yards. The protests against Gandhi were disrupting everyday life in India. In the novel, Gandhi's measures invade Pi's home state of Tamil Nadu (where Pondicherry is located). Gandhi severely disappoints Pi's father, who had hoped for a tolerant, new India: "
Pondicherry, India
Cassawary
Karma: The definition of karma is the destiny that you earn through your actions and behavior.
Ashram: a secluded place for a community of Hindus leading a life of simplicity and religious meditation
Chipati: A flat, unleavened, disk-shaped bread of northern India, made of wheat flour, water, and salt. Also called roti.
Krishna
He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of the god Vishnu and also by some as the supreme God in his own right.
Hanuman Devine monkey companion of Rama.
Lakshmana Younger brother and close companion of the Hindu god Rama
Ganesh The Hindu festival celebrated in honour of the elephant-headed god, Ganesha. This is a very auspicious day celebrated to pray the god so that every new...
Parvati Parvati or Gauri is the Hindu goddess of fertility, love, beauty, marriage, children, and devotion; as well as of divine strength and power.
Vishnu Vishnu is one of the principal deities of Hinduism.
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Salah: prayer
Allahu Akbar: God is most great
Kaballah: a school of thought of Judaism
Quotes from Life of Pi:
Adult Pi Patel: "Faith is a house with many rooms."
Writer: "But no room for doubt?"
Adult Pi Patel: "Oh plenty, on every floor. Doubt is useful, it keeps faith a living thing. After all, you cannot know the strength of your faith until it is tested."
Pi: "Hunger changes everything you thought you knew about yourself."
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Film Assignment beginning 20 March 2019
Race (2016) (Jessie Owens) - double entendre
- What agreement did Avry Brundage make with Joseph Goebbels in Berlin?
- According to coach Snyder, what “counts most of all” in running a good time in the 100-meter dash?
- What disturbing events did Avry Brundage witness on the streets of Berlin?
- Why did Jesse Owens select to attend Ohio State University when he could have gone anywhere else?
- T/F: Meters are shorter than yards.
- What world-wide economic condition existed during the 1930s?
- Describe at least two incidents of racism Jesse Owens faced.
- What type of work did Jesse Owens do when he was 6-years-old?
- What role was played by Leni Riefenstahl?
- How did Goebbels try to bribe Brundage?
- What did the NAACP ask Jesse to do? Did Jesse make the correct decision? Explain.
12.Was the United States right to participate in the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany? Explain
Jessie Ownes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0ouprKFnl4 Stephan James
1. 1936 Olympics, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, Ann Arbor, Berlin
2. Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda, Nazi Germany 1933-1945
3. Leni Riefenstahl, filmmaker, Berlin.
4. Joe Louis and Max Schmeling
5. Avery Brundage, born in Detroit, 1887, president International Olympic Committee.
https://staceytuttle.wordpress.com/2016/03/12/race-movie-discussion/
http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/race/
Adolph Hitler Heinrich Himmler Leni Riefenstahl Avry Brundage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuiJHJz4f5Q
Joe Louis Joseph Goebbels Usain Bolt
Louis Schmeling Fight 2 Louis Schmeling PBS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LNzWHuygpw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoeJfNgHqlc
PB Fight 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KMU876nyTU
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Film Assignment beginning 14 March 2019
Cautiva - "Captive" (2005)
Cautiva
www.westernmediacenter.educatorpages.com
- What major event happened in Argentina in 1978?
- Why is Cristina taken from class?
- What happened to Cristina’s birth parents?
- What is Cristina’s legal first name?
- What does Cristina share with Angelica (the girl who was thrown out of class)?
- Cristina says “Malvinas War” twice as she is smoking a cigarette with her friend. What does Cristina not understand about the recent history of her country? (You may look up Malvinas War).
- In the film, where do we read “The disappeared will never forget you?”
- Where in the film do we see women wearing head scarves? Where do they assemble and what pictures do we see?
- What words and images in the film indicate that the United States offered strong support for the military dictatorship of Argentina?
- Where were Cristina’s parents taken and held, and what type of torture was administered?
The following two questions are optional and for extra credit:
- When Cristina inspects her birth mother’s bedroom, she notices an image of Che Guevara and an "Ode to Pablo Neruda." What is their significance?
- Name at least two other Latin American countries that had military governments at the same period as Argentina.
- What? 15-yr-old Argentinian girl learns that she has been adopted and that her real parents were killed by the military government at the time of her birth.
- That her adoptive father worked for the military/police. His colleague, "Glow Worm, was Cristina's godfather and helped "disappear" (kill) her birth father.
- Where: Buenas Aires, Argentina, South America.
- When: 1978-1994
Film Review: https://www.popmatters.com/cautiva-2496205262.html
Film Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gffrHzRVSck
Falkland Islands War, also called Falklands War, Malvinas War, or South Atlantic War, a brief undeclared war fought between Argentina and Great Britain in 1982 over control of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and associated island dependencies.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Falkland-Islands-War
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Film Assignment beginning 11 March 2019
Confirmation (2016)
Assignment: Respond completely and clearly to 1-5.
- Was Anita Hill right to speak out? Explain.
- Anita Hill: "The victim tends to become the villain." Explain.
- Ricki Seidman, Assistant Director to Senator Ted Kennedy: “Judge Thomas will make decisions that will affect women’s lives for the next two decades.” Explain.
- Did the Senate Judiciary Committee give Anita Hill a fair hearing? Explain.
- Did the democrats on the committee do their best to defend Anita Hill? Explain
Issues:
- Supreme Court and its influence on the lives of everyone
- Sexual harassment
- Senate confirmation process
- Racism
- The power and influence of the media, especially television
- Methods of influencing public opinion
- Affidavit a sworn statement in writing made especially under oath or on affirmation before an authorized magistrate or officer. The witness's affidavit was presented to the court as evidence.
Anita Hill Clarence Thomas
Thurgood Marshall Joe Biden https://www.democracynow.org/2019/3/13/as_joe_biden_hints_at_presidential (55.30)
President George H.W. Bush (1989-1993) Willie Horton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io9KMSSEZ0Y
U.S. Department of Education
EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (federal agency that enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination.
University of Oaklahoma
Quotations from the film:
Thurgood Marshall: "There's no difference between a black snake and white snake: they'll both bite."
Anita Hill: "The victim tends to become the villain."
Ricki Seidman, Assistant Director to Senator Ted Kennedy: "Half of these guys have shaky dynamics with women."
Thomas: " . . . high-tech lynching . . . "
Charles Ogletree to Anita Hill: "He's trying to dismiss you because you're a black woman."
Female congresswomen to senate leaders: "So much power, so little leadership."
TV news report: "The entire senate stands of being accused of being indifferent to women's rights."
Charles Ogletree to Anita Hill: "He's trying to dismiss you because you're a black woman."
Vocabulary: depose, leaks, uncategorically, over the transome=unsolicited, character assassination
Elements in the film: FBI, leaks (to the press)
Question: What happned to Anglea Wright?
False accusations: erotomania, lesbianism, Anita told the judicial committe to "hold" her testimony; pubic hairs in her students' graded papers, over-the-transom (unsolicited), character assassination
Brett Kavanaugh Hearings - Sept. 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAx2gdc7_RQ
Christine Blasey Ford
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnczBf3DSnk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6EF0nuFjCw
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Film Assignment beginning 5 March 2019
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
- Describe the meaning of one or more of these quotations in The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
- And/or, describe how any of the following issues affects the characters in the film (Minimum: one page).
- Charlie to Mr. Anderson: "Why do nice people choose the wrong people to date?"
- Sam to Charlie: “Why do I and everyone we love pick people who treat us as if we were nothing?”
- “I want people who like the real me.”
- Charlie to Sam: “We accept the love we think we deserve.”
- Patrick to Charlie: “You see things and you understand. You’re a wallflower.”
- Sam to Charlie: “Welcome to the island of misfit toys.”
- Charlie: “I Just wish I could have found another way to breakup.”
- Patrick to Charlie: "Why can't you save anybody?"
- Dr. Burton to Charlie: "We can't choose where we come from, but we can choose where we go from there."
- Sexuality and/or hiding one’s sexuality
- drugs, alcohol
- suicide, mental/emotional breakdown
- child/teen sexual abuse
- death by accident
- shame
- Characters: Charlie, Sam, Patrick, Mary Elizabeth, Candace, mother, father, Aunt Helen, Mr. Anderson, Dr. Burton
LGBT in America article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/opinion/lgbt-trump-red-states.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
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Film Assignment beginning 25 February 2019
Snowden (2016)
Snowden – Day 3
Name _____________________________ Hour ______________
Film Studies website: westernmediacenter.educatorpages.com
- What is the real name of No Such Agency?
- You are a U.S. spy working to keep the U.S. safe from foreign influences. At which agency do you most likely work?
- You work at the Pentagon. For whom to you work?
- The U.S. Special Forces: de oppresso liber. Define. Which Latin phrase is printed on the one-dollar bill and what does it mean?
- You work in covert operations for the CIA. What does that mean?
- Which city mentioned in Snowden is located on two continents?
- You are a considered a very conservative U.S. senator. Are you in favor of Snowden’s acquittal or conviction?
- After the 9/11 attacks the U.S. Congress passed the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act provided more money for the NSA and CIA to conduct what type of activity?
- As a CIA analyst you have been assigned to work with the Mossad. Which language will be most helpful for you to learn?
- Describe at least two “tracks” in your digital footprint from yesterday.
Snowden Questions Day 2
Respond thoughtfully to at least five (5) of the following questions and quotations on a separate sheet of paper.
- When Snowden first arrives at “The Hill,” the CIA training headquarters in Virginia, he meets Hank. Hank tells Snowden that he had developed a much-improved cyber program for $3million that, despite its “efficiency” and excellence was dismissed in favor of a much less effective system (whose design was based on Hank’s system) for $4 billion. Snowden then says to Hank that there must have been a good reason for the CIA to choose the more expensive, but less efficient system. “They’re not stupid,” Snowden says of the CIA. Hank then responds to Snowden by using the following language: that “What really sets the agenda” is “military industrial happiness management.” Congress gives “money to the contractors” and “efficiency” and “results go out the window.”
1.Think about this. Is one objective of the CIA, the DIA and the NSA to get “results” or to funnel tax-payer money to well-connected companies that do business with the U.S. government?
- “You don’t have to agree with your politicians to be a patriot.” (Corbin O’Brian)
- “This is not about Terrorism. Terrorism is the excuse. This is about economic and social control.” (Snowden)
- “Do not tell truth to power. We’ll hammer you.”
- “Most Americans don’t want freedom. They want security.” (O'Brian)
- “Does the NSA collect data on millions of Americans?” – Sen. Ron Wyden (Senate Intelligence Committee)
“Not wittingly.” - James Clapper – head of NSA
- Define “whistle blowers.”
- Is Edward Snowden a hero or a criminal? Explain.
- Snowden explains the CIA’s hacking of Japan’s infrastructure (electricity, water, etc.) and that of other countries. If Japan and other countries friendly to the U.S. become enemies, how could the U.S. retaliate?
- Sowden says the NSA is “tracking every cell phone in the world.” What is your opinion?
Define:
- NSA (no such agency)
- CIA
- DIA
- Pentagon
- 9/11
- De Oppresso Liber
- Enigma
- Sigaba
- Cray 1
- Iraq and Afghanistan
- London, Berlin, Istanbul
- Where is the “modern battlefield?”
- MRE
- Covert
- When was President George W. Bush in office?
- When did the Iraq War begin?
- Liberal and conservative
- “Bush lets U.S. spy on callers without courts (a court order).
- FISA: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
- FISA court (issue warrants based on suspicion)
- Forth amendment
- Soviet Union: when did it dissolve?
- Desert Storm: what and when?
- Terabyte: what is it?
- “What really sets the agenda: a) “$3 million vs. $4 billion, b) “military industrial happiness management.”
- Coffer (“open the coffers”): define.
- Congress: money to the contractors.
- “Revolving door”
- “Efficiency – results out the window”
- SIGNT: signals intelligence
- Malware
- “You don’t have to agree with your politicians to be a patriot.”
- Digital footprint
- The Guardian: British liberal newspaper
- Geneva
- Diplomatic cover
- United Nations – UN Mission
- U.S. diplomatic mission to the UN
- GSS
- Derog: derogatory
- “Culture of fear wins again.”
- Scrubbing pile – data scrubbing
- Bucharest (capital of Romania)
- PRISM
- WHO: World Trade Organization
- Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank
- “Dirty Saudi money funding Bin Laden
- ISI: Inter-Services Intelligence
- G8 (Group of Eight): France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Russia, Canada, United States and Japan
- “Leverage over Brazil. Leverage over oil companies.”
- “This is not about Terrorism. Terrorism is the excuse.
- “This is about economic and social control.”
- “Protecting the supremacy of your government.”
- Metadata
- “Do not tell truth to power. We’ll hammer you.”
- Chinese cyber divisions
- “Sixty years and no WWIII. Our power for the good of the world.”
- “Most Americans don’t want freedom. They want security.”
- Mossad
- Counter cyber
- Drone warfare
- Senate Intelligence Committee
- “Does the NSA collect data on millions of Americans?” – Sen. Ron Wyden
- James Clapper – head of NSA “Not wittingly.”
- Nuremberg Trials
- Whistle blowers
- Espionage Act
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Film Assignment beginning 13 February 2019
Searching (2018)
1. Describe how Margot used social media.
2. Describe how Margot's use of social media helped her deal with the loss of her mother.
3. Explain why Margot hid her life from her father and people her own age.
4. Describe the dangers of using social media.
5. Describe how adults and teens lied in Searching.
6. Consider this: In Searching, do people control social media or do social media control people?
7. How did Margot's father fail her?
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Film Assignment beginning 11 February 2019
Against All Odds: The Fight for a Black Middle Class (Bob Herbert)
The Black Middle Class
Link to Video: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/chasing-the-dream/stories/odds-full-film/
Rep. Elijah Cummings Bob Herbert
I
Isabel Wilkerston, author of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
1. Is there a name for rioting by whites?
2. "Hateful set of rules." Define.
3. Percentage of black American children who are poor?
4. What is the black unemployment rate?
5. Compare wealth between blacks and whites.
6. How many years after slavery?
7. How many years after Civil Rights Movement?
8. $113,000 vs. $5,700. What does this refer to?
9. What percent of African-Americans have no net worth.
10. What percentage of African-Americans lived in the South at the beginning of the 20th Century?
11. Elijah Cummings, congressman from Maryland, son and grandson of sharecroppers. What is a sharecropper?
12. Sharecroppers were in debt. What is debt?
13. Sharecroppers had no legal recourse. Explain.
14. Educating African-Americans was promoted or discouraged by whites?
15. How did Harry T. Moore die?
16. What happened when a white person and a black person passed on the sidewalk?
17. Where was "The Negro Wall Street?"
18. What event precipitated the May 1921 riots?
19. The Great Migration. How many African-Americans migrated from the South?
20. What was their main objective?
21. How many migration "streams" (by railroad) were there?
22. Did discrimination exist in the North?
23. T/F: Most African-Americans were limited to working in menial jobs.
24. Most African-American women did what type of work?
25. Which area of employment provided African-Americans a path to the middle class?
26. Bob Herbert says, "It didn't matter how hard you worked, or how smart you are - blacks were seen as a ____ class, and that's the way they were treated."
27. What did Congressman Elijah Cummings's 6th grade counselor ask him?
28. Were black doctors allowed to practice anywhere?
29. Lawyer, Ms. Scott, was not hired in a private law firm. Why not?
30. The difficulty of the establishment of a black middle class was due to a lack of decent employment and the often-violent refusal of whites to allow blacks into decent ______.
31. How did Chicago land lords charge black renters more money for less space in undesirable building and neighborhoods?
32. What was Chicago's "black belt?" What was the equivalent called in Detroit?
33. What was "The Chicago Wall?"
34. Redlining: Insurance companies and banks had maps where they literally drew red lines around neighborhoods in which they would not lend money. Question: what options remained for black residents to purchase a house or building?
35. Bankers said it was "too risky" to make housing loans in redlined neighborhoods. What did they mean by "too risky?"
36. Local banks operated by an "unwritten code that said we won't rent to, sell to or finance a home that an African-American wants." ". . . A system of outright exclusion and denial."
37. "An American system of Apartheid." Define apartheid.
38. "The federal government would not insure FHA loans for black people. What is an FHA loan? What is mortgage insurance?
39. Without mortgage insurance, banks would not risk lending. Why not?
40. Buying a house "on contract." Black home buyers paid double or triple the value of the home.
41. Buyer makes monthly payments at a high interest rate and builds no equity. If he or she defaults (fails to pay) even one installment, he loses the property and everything he's paid into it.
42. $25,000 contract and FHA appraisal is for $15,000, you're paying interest on $10,000 more than you should be paying. Explain.
43. At least $500,000,000 was legally stolen from the black community in Chicago between 1940 and 1970.
44. What is the difference between income and wealth?
45. Housing projects. "Sanctioned warehouses." "Law and custom kept blacks warehoused in inner cities."
46. Tax payer funded interstate highways (I-75, I-94) opened suburbs and created good jobs and good housing. African-Americans were left out.
47. Compare this racist history with Starr's experience in The Hate U Give.
48. What do suburban white residents fear?
49. What are the two pillars of a middle-class family?
50. How do most families build wealth?
51. When blacks are kept out of decent jobs and decent housing, what is the result?
__________________________________________________________________________
Film Assignment beginning 4 February 2019
The Hate U Give (2018)
Film Assignment for Thursday, February 7, 2019 (20 points)
The Hate U Give (Due Monday, February 11, 2019)
Film Studies Website: westernmedia.educatorpages.com
- "It is impossible to be unarmed when it is our blackness that they fear." -Shamell Bell, Black Lives Matter activist. Describe the meaning of this quote.
- Starr quote #1: "When I'm home, I can't be too Williamson, and when I'm here (Williamson), I can't be too Garden Heights."
- Starr quote #2: "You all want to act black, but you want to keep your white privilege."
- Starr quote #3: "If you don't see my blackness, you don't see me."
- What is a grand jury?
- Define "indict."
- What happened to Starr's childhood friend, Natasha?
- Starr and others at the restaurant recorded the police officers when they confronted Maverick. What does Starr say when the police officer told her to stop recording?
Tear Gas
https://www.vox.com/2014/8/18/6030413/tear-gas-treatment-pain-symptoms
Black Panthers' Ten Point Program:
https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-panthers-ten-point-program/
By Any Means Necessary
It entered the popular culture through a speech given by Malcolm X in the last year of his life.
We declare our right on this earth to be a man, to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.
— Malcolm X, 1965[
Starr Carter
Starr Carter is the novel's protagonist, a sixteen-year-old African-American living in the mostly poor and black neighborhood of Garden Heights while attending the upscale, largely-white private school Williamson Prep. When she was ten, Starr saw her friend Natasha killed in a drive-by shooting; the trauma of this experience is repeated at the beginning of the novel when Starr witnesses the death of her friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. The novel follows Starr as she attempts to navigate the two worlds of Garden Heights and Williamson Prep while simultaneously dealing with grief over Khalil's death and her forays into activism in response to the unjust shooting.
Maverick "Big Mav" Carter
Maverick, Starr's father, owns and operates a grocery store in Garden Heights and is a firm believer in the tenets of Black Power espoused by Huey Newton. A former gangbanger, Maverick spent three years in prison before fatherhood inspired him to get out of the gang system. He supports Starr throughout the novel, inspiring her to not be silent in the face of injustice. Although he feuds with his brother-in-law and struggles to accept Starr's white boyfriend, by the end of the book Maverick makes peace with those who care about Starr.
Lisa Carter
Lisa, Starr's mother, is an invaluable source of support and care for her daughter throughout the novel. She encourages Starr to do as much as she is comfortable with in terms of activism and speaking out. Lisa worries for the safety of her family and convinces Maverick that their family should move out of the Garden Heights neighborhood. At the beginning of the book, she works as a nurse in a Garden Heights clinic, but she later secures a higher-paying job in a different hospital which makes the family's move financially feasible.
Seven
Seven is Starr's half-brother; Maverick is Seven's father, and Iesha, the gangbanger King's girlfriend, is his mother. Seven has a close relationship with Starr—they play basketball together every month, he drives her home from school every day—and he supports his sister during the difficult grieving period following Khalil's death. He's eighteen, and is accepted to many colleges, but doesn't want to leave Garden Heights because he feels the need to protect Iesha and his sisters from King's physical abuse. Ultimately, Maverick convinces Seven to pursue the opportunities open to him and attend a college outside of the city.
Sekani
Sekani is Starr's younger brother, who also attends Williamson Prep. At first, Starr's parents don't tell Sekani that Starr witnessed Khalil's death, but eventually tell him as Starr gets more involved with efforts to protest the shooting. Starr and Sekani frequently have good-natured fights and bicker with each other.
Chris
Chris is Starr's boyfriend. He shares Starr's love for Jordan sneakers and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. However, he's also rich and white; Starr feels that this creates distance between them, while Chris insists that Starr let him into the side of her life she usually tries to hide from her Williamson friends. Although Maverick doesn't accept Chris at first, the two grow closer throughout the novel.
Hailey Grant
Hailey is one of Starr's friends at Williamson Prep. At the beginning of the novel, their friendship is strained because Hailey unfollowed Starr's Tumblr account after Starr posted a picture of Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old black boy murdered for whistling at a white woman. Hailey doesn't redeem herself throughout the novel, either; she insinuates that Khalil is better off dead because he sold drugs, and she repeatedly makes racist comments to Starr while denying that she herself is a racist. The tension between the two friends builds until they get into a physical altercation at school. At the end of the book, Starr decides to cut Hailey out of her life, since the negative aspects of the friendship outweigh the positive.
Maya Yang
Maya is one of Starr's closest friends at Williamson. Like Starr, Maya plays for the school's basketball team. She also lives on Carlos's street. Maya is Asian-American, and when Hailey makes racist comments about Maya's ethnicity, Maya and Starr agree to make a "minority alliance" and refuse to allow Hailey to make prejudiced remarks towards them.
Kenya
Kenya is one of Starr's friends who lives in Garden Heights. She and Starr share a brother, since Maverick is Seven's father and Iesha is the mother of both Kenya and Seven. Kenya has an outsized personality and isn't afraid to fight people, but she also calls Starr out for not speaking up for Khalil as she believes Khalil would have if their roles were reversed. In addition, Kenya has to deal with physical abuse from King.
King
King is the most notorious gangbanger in the neighborhood, a King Lord deeply involved in drug dealing and violent acts. When Maverick took a prison charge and saved King from getting locked up, King allowed Maverick to leave the King Lords. King is also abusive towards his girlfriend, Iesha, and to his kids, Kenya, Seven, and Lyric. The neighborhood ultimately turns on King, turning him in to the police after he sets fire to Maverick's store.
Iesha
Iesha is King's girlfriend and the mother of Seven, Kenya, and Lyric. Although Seven and Iesha have a strained relationship because Seven believes that she doesn't reciprocate his love—she didn't even show up to his high school graduation—Iesha makes sacrifices for Seven as well. She is a point of contention in Maverick and Lisa's relationship, because Maverick conceived Seven with her after having a fight with Lisa.
DeVante
DeVante is a teenager who lives in Garden Heights and ends up getting involved with the King Lords. He joins the gang and sells drugs in an attempt to find a kind of family and to make money to provide for his mother and brother. Fearing that he will end up dead or in prison, DeVante turns to Maverick for help in getting out of the King Lords. Maverick sends him to live at Carlos's house. At the end of the novel, DeVante agrees to turn witness against King to protect Iesha, Seven, Kenya, Lyric, and the Garden Heights community.
Khalil
Khalil, Starr's best friend from childhood, is shot while unarmed by a police officer who had pulled him over for having a broken taillight. Although Khalil's death occurs in the first few pages of the novel, his presence reverberates throughout the novel. Khalil sold drugs because his mother, Brenda—who struggles with addiction—was in debt to King. King tried to persuade Khalil to join the King Lords, but Khalil refused.
Carlos
Carlos, who is Lisa's brother, serves as a police officer in the same force with the officer who shot Khalil. When Maverick was in prison—from when Starr was three years old until she was six—Carlos served as a father figure to Starr. This creates tension between him and Maverick; they both have Starr's best interests at heart. Carlos is put on leave from the police force after he punches the officer who shot Khalil. He lives in a suburb that is wealthier than Garden Heights.
Film Assignment for Monday and Tuesday, February 4-5, 2019
The Hate U Give
- What is “The Talk?”
- Characterize the relationship between Starr’s parents.
- What does Khalil teach Starr about Tupac?
- Why was Khalil stopped by the police officer?
- Why does King tell Starr to “keep it in the rearview”?
1. "The Talk"
https://www.vox.com/2016/8/8/12401792/police-black-parents-the-talk
2. The Black Panthers' 10 Point Program and T.H.U.G.L.I.F.E.
http://blackpower.web.unc.edu/2017/04/the-black-panthers-10-point-program/
The Book by Angie Thomas
https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062498533/the-hate-u-give/
a.
b. Inspired by Oscar Grant killing in 2010
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/09/oscar-grant-oakland-police-shooting
Tamir Rice - 2014
Sandra Bland - 2015
Eric Garner - 2014
Emmitt Till - 1955
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Film Assignment beginning 15 January 2019
BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee 2018)
Unite the Right Rally
Rally participants are preparing to enter Emancipation Parkin Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017. They carry Confederate battle flags, Gadsden flags, and a Nazi flag.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unite_the_Right_rally
- Describe how Ron Stallworth works to overcome racism in:
- The police department
- In the Colorado Springs community
- Why did director Spike Lee choose to make a movie about white supremacy and hate speech now? Cite specific events that have occurred in the U.S. in the last two years to our political climate. Is it harmonious or divided? Explain.
- Politics: David Duke: “Another way to sell hate.”
- Ron: “No one would ever elect someone like David Duke.”
- Sergeant Trapp: “Why don’t you wake up?”
- Look up David Duke’s political history and describe it.
- Donald Trump and David Duke
List of Characters:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/BlacKkKlansman
Spike Lee
Angela Davis
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/1/11/exclusive_angela_davis_speaks_out_on
David Duke
Confederate Flag
Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael)
FBI (J. Edgar Hoover)
Was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director for over 37 years until his death in 1972 at the age of 77.
Black Panthers (The Black Panthers, also known as the Black Panther Party, was a political organization founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale to challenge police brutality against the African American community. Dressed in black berets and black leather jackets, the Black Panthers organized armed citizen patrols of Oakland and other U.S. cities. At its peak in 1968, the Black Panther Party had roughly 2,000 members. The organization later declined as a result of internal tensions, deadly shootouts and FBI counterintelligence activities aimed at weakening the organization).
KKK Sun Wheel
Hattie McDaniel "Mammy" in Gone with the Wind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpuUzQygt8s
Lynching of Jesse Washington, 1916
Jesse Washington was a black teenage farmhand who was lynched in the county seat of Waco, Texas, on May 15, 1916, in what became a well-known example of racially motivated lynching. Washington was convicted of raping and murdering Lucy Fryer, the wife of his white employer in rural Robinson, Texas. He was dragged out of the county court by observers and lynched in front of Waco's city hall. Over 10,000 spectators, including city officials and police, gathered to watch the attack. There was a celebratory atmosphere among whites at the spectacle murder, and many children attended during their lunch hour. Members of the mob castrated Washington, cut off his fingers, and hung him over a bonfire. He was repeatedly lowered and raised over the fire for about two hours. After the fire was extinguished, his charred torso was dragged through the town and parts of his body were sold as souvenirs. A professional photographer took pictures as the event unfolded, providing rare imagery of a lynching in progress. The pictures were printed and sold as postcards in Waco.
Eugenics
The science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. Developed largely by Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race, it fell into disfavor only after the perversion of its doctrines by the Nazis.
Dr. William Shockley
My research leads me inescapably to the opinion that the major cause of the American Negro's intellectual and social deficits is hereditary and racially genetic in origin and, thus, not remediable to a major degree by practical improvements in the environment.
Lost Cause
https://historynewsnetwork.org/blog/154173
Donald Trump and David Duke
http://David Duke and Donald Trump and the long ties of history
White Women Who Voted for Trump
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/us/politics/white-women-helped-elect-donald-trump.html
Pinky ("passing")
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinky_(film)
Aryan - Neo-Nazism
Since the military defeat of Nazi Germany by the Allies in 1945, some neo-Nazis have developed a more inclusive definition of "Aryan", claiming that the peoples of Western Europe are the closest descendants of the ancient Aryans, with Nordic and Germanic peoples being the most "racially pure."[81]
Hate Map
https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map
Westernmediacenter.educatorpages.com
BlacKkKlansman
- Scene one: “Gone with the Wind.” Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era. The film has been criticized as historical revisionism glorifying slavery.
- “Integration and miscegenation” (The interbreeding of people considered to be of different racial types).
- Central High School. Little Rock Nine. 1957. The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
- Brown vs. Board of Education: The U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 347 U.S. 483, on May 17, 195 Tied to the 14th Amendment, the decision declared all laws establishing segregated schools to be unconstitutional, and it called for the desegregation of all schools throughout the nation.[1] After the decision, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) attempted to register black students in previously all-white schools in cities throughout the South. In Little Rock, the capital city of Arkansas, the school board agreed to comply with the high court's ruling.
- “Jewish-controlled puppets on the U.S. Supreme Court.” Eight out of 113 justices have been Jewish.
- Mongrel Nation. Mongrel: “An individual resulting from the interbreeding of diverse breeds.”
- Commies: communists
- Scenes from “Birth of a Nation.”
- 1972 – Vietnam War
- Jackie Robinson: First black baseball player (1947) for Brooklyn Dodgers. Branch Rickey: white baseball executive who signed Jackie Robinson.
- Ungawa: It seems to originate in Tarzan movies but it was co-opted by Black teens in Oakland during the 70s as a slang power-grunt.
- NORAD: North American Aerospace Defense Command. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a United States and Canada bi-national organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning for North America.
- C-4 Explosive: high power “plastic” explosive.
- “House negros.” The house negro, as defined by Malcolm X, is the slave who imagines himself to be thought of as kin by his master because they live in the same house.
- David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is a prominent American racist, white supremacist, white nationalist politician, white separatist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, Holocaust denier, convicted felon, and former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
A former Republican Louisiana State Representative, Duke was a candidate in the Democratic presidential primaries in 1988 and the Republican presidential primaries in 1992. Duke also ran unsuccessfully for the Louisiana State Senate, United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, and for Governor of Louisiana.
- White supremacists demonstrate on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 11, 2017. The “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a year ago this month served as a wake-up call for many Americans—a reminder that white supremacist groups remain a fixture in the country’s political landscape.
- Blood and Soil: Before the attack, the right-wing marchers were filmed chanting “Blood and Soil,” a Nazi slogan which held that ethnicity is based solely on blood descent and the territory one maintains.
- Angela Davis, activist, composite character.
- Stokely Carmichael – Kwame Ture
- Boom-shaka-laka!
- War in Vietnam: illegal and immoral. Hell no, we won’t go.”
- What does Kwame tell Ron after the speech?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Film Assignment beginning 11 January 2019
Lynching
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-S3D33_-q8
Ku Klux Klan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL-DFSKV8uU
Birth of a Nation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRtB6Ur76bw
- Give one example of hate speech within the last year.
- Name three governments in the world where hate speech is tolerated
- Name one organization that promotes free speech and equality and explain what they do.
- Define the film “Birth of a Nation.” It was shown in the White House of which U.S. President?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Film Assignment beginning 7 January 2019
Slumdog Millionaire
1. How does Jamal get the autograph of Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan?
He jumps down a latrine
He steals it from Salim
He stows away on his helicopter
He becomes a contestant on the real-life Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire—Bachchan is the host
2. How does Jamal and Salim's mother die?
Malaria
Car crash
The Hindu/Muslim Riots
A freak accident
3. When asked which statesman appears on the American $100 bill, Jamal is able to provide the correct answer: "Benjamin Franklin." Where does Jamal get his own $100 bill, which allows him to answer the question?
Begging in the slums
Tourists at the Taj Mahal
Salim stole the money
The ATM
4. Prem unwittingly feeds Jamal the answer to the second-to-last question about which sport?
Rugby
Soccer
Cricket
WWE
5. Who says, "If it wasn't for Rama and Allah, I'd still have a mother"?
Jamal
Salim
Latika
Maman
6. Who says, "Money and women – the reasons to make the most mistakes in life. It looks like you are mixed up in both."
Prem
Police Inspector
Maman
Jay-Z
7. Who says, "I thought we'd be together only in death"?
Jamal
Latika
Jamal's mother
Prem
8. Who says, "Do the right thing in approximately three minutes, and you will be as famous as me. And as rich as me. Almost."
Javed Khan
Salim
Prem
Spike Lee
9. Who, in the climactic moment of the film, says, "God is great"?
Jamal
Salim
Javed
Constable Srinivas
10. At the time Jamal appears on the game show, what is his profession?
Assistant in a telemarketing office
Beggar
Accountant
Mime
11. What color do we come to associate with Latika throughout the film?
Yellow
Blue
Red
Periwinkle
12. Where does Salim make his last stand against Javed and his goons?
A courtyard
A bathtub
A mosque
A small town in Bolivia
13. Who is the most significant Juhu slumlord?
Javed Khan
Maman
Salim
Don Corleone
14. At the end of the story, what does Jamal have in common with Who Wants to be a Millionaire host Prem Kumar?
They are both guys from the slums who became millionaires overnight
They both have brothers who are gangsters
They both used to be chai wallahs
They are both Geminis
15. And the final question for 20 million rupees… in Alexandre Dumas' book, The Three Musketeers, two of the musketeers are called Athos and Porthos. What was the name of the third Musketeer?
Aramis
Cardinal Richelieu
D'Artagnan
"It is written"
16. Who answers the phone when Jamal uses his phone-a-friend lifeline?
Salim
Latika
Javed Khan
Ghostbusters
17. Where does Jamal tell Latika he will be waiting for her every day?
The train station
The airport
The Gateway of India
Outside her house, holding a boombox playing Peter Gabriel songs.
18. Where are Jamal, Salim, and Latika living when Maman first finds them?
In an empty boxcar
On an airport tarmac
A garbage dump
A high-rise penthouse
19. At which famous Indian landmark do Jamal and Salim pose as tour guides to hustle foreigners?
The Red Fort
The Golden Temple
The Taj Mahal
The Statue of Liberty
20. Where is Jamal from?
Mumbai
Calcutta
Delhi
Lucknow
Questions
- Does Slumdog Millionaire make you think about poverty in a different way? What are you grateful for after watching the movie? Is Jamal a compelling hero? Is he easy to root for? Why or why not?
- Is Salim a sympathetic character? Why or why not?
- Is Latika a strong and empowered character? Why or why not?
- How might Slumdog Millionaire be considered a "fairy tale" of sorts?
- What sparks Salim's decision at the end of the movie to sacrifice himself?
- What do you think of the ending, and the "Jai Ho" credits sequence? Was it a fitting finale? Or did it leave something to be desired?
- Jamal emphasizes and re-emphasizes that it is his destiny to reunite with Latika, but is his success in this pursuit really an act of fate? Or are there other factors in play?
- If Slumdog Millionaire had a sequel, what story might it tell?
- Is it at all problematic that this movie about India was written, directed, and produced by Westerners from Great Britain? Why or why not?
- Does the story give us faith in humanity? Why or why not?
Rama: Hindu deity
Diwali: Hindu festival of lights
Amitabh Bachan: Indian actor and celebrity
Cricket: ball game
Amnesty International: strives to protect unfairly jailed people
Taj Mahal - Agra, India
Crore: A crore is a unit in the South Asian numbering system equal to ten million
What is the Meaning of the Indian Head Shake?
In essence, the head wobble is the non-verbal equivalent of that multipurpose and omnipresent Hindi word achha. It can mean anything from "good" to "I understand".
The most common use of the head wobble is to respond in the affirmative. For example, if you ask someone if the train is going to your destination and they wobble their head in reply, it means "yes".
The head wobble is also often used as a sign that what's being said is understood.
For example, if you tell someone you'll meet them at a certain place at 5 o'clock and they wobble their head at you, it means that it's fine and they'll be there.
Other situations where you're likely to encounter a head wobble include:
- As an alternative to "thank you", which is not commonly said in India.
- To acknowledge someone's presence. This can be particularly useful if you see someone you know across the street but can't shout out to them.
- As a gesture of kindness or benevolence, for example, if someone sits down next to you on the train.
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Film Assignment beginning 18 Dec. 2018
Climate Change
“We are not prepared to die.” Those are the words that Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the low-lying island country of Maldives, delivered at the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, this week. In an impassioned plea for nations to overcome their differences, he urged world leaders to take decisive action to tackle climate change.
Cabinet Meeting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKoch_iEos8
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/12/14/we_are_not_prepared_to_die
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EyaTqezSzs
Greta Thunberg, 15, Addressing UN, Calls for Global School Strike
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/12/13/you_are_stealing_our_future_greta
Delegates from nearly 200 countries have agreed to a United Nations deal on climate change that seeks to keep global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius—or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.
Coal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-aW538oOik
Clean Energy: hydro, wind, geothermal, solar
Leonardo DiCaprio - UN Ambassador of Peace
- What did Mohamed Nasheed, as president of the Maldives, do to call attention to climate change? Why did he do this?
- Describe the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
- What can you do to prevent plastic from entering our ecosystem?
- In which country did the UN Climate Summit recently take place?
- Name three fossil fuels.
- Which is used for transportation?
- Which is used for generating electricity?
- Name one type of coal mining.
- Name one method of extracting natural gas.
- Name one type of oil drilling.
- Name the most expensive and destructive method of producing oil.
- Name one site in the US where we find rising sea levels.
- T/F: Some big businesses and their media outlets deny the existence of climate change.
- Name two large Asian countries that have a significant carbon footprint.
- How many people rely on fishing to survive?
- What gas do rain forests absorb that helps stabilize the earth’s atmosphere?
- Name one dietary change you can make today to help reduce the carbon in our atmosphere.
- Name three types of “clean” energy.
- Name one form of “clean” transportation.
- What will you do with your empty plastic bottle?
________________________________________________________________________________________
Film Assignment beginning 14 Dec. 2018
Afro-Brazilian Culture
Pelourinho (pillory, whipping post), Salvador, Bahia (bay), Brazil
Plate techtonics
Slave Trade
Capoeria
Candomblé
Brazil – Part I
- When did Brazil separate from Africa? Explain plate tectonics.
- Portion of slaves to Brazil compared to North America. Average life span of a slave to Brazil.
- When did slavery end in Brazil? Compare with other countries.
- Percentage of Brazil’s population that has African heritage?
- Population of Brazil?
- Which Brazilian state is most heavily influenced by African culture?
- What is a quilombo? (Define "Palmares")
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNknxK6UFOU
- Capoeira
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM85wJ-obtE
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H0D8VaIli0
- Candomblé
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr3zQRXzuvY
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo1C4A8OISk
- Samba
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMZ7DwjFYtU
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKvUp9tDDD4
Film: Quilombo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_cSBjNP72o
_________________________________________________________________________________
Film Assignment beginning 12 Dec. 2018
Cell Phones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awAMTQZmvPE
Effects of Screen Time on the Brains of Children
Cell Phones
- Phones, apps, social media and Silicon Valley. What is Silicon Valley?
- What is “brain hacking?”
- Tristan Harris compares a cell phone to a __________
- Explain the relationship between rewards and creating a habit of checking your phone frequently.
- Snapchat and streaks. What are streaks?
- T/F: Harris says that technology is neutral, and it is up to us to learn how to use it.
- How do the makers of apps make their money?
- What does Harris say about phone use and human relationships?
- What does Harris mean by the “race to the bottom of the brain stem?”
- What does Harris say is the difference between phones in the 1970s and today?
- T/F: Tech companies freely explain what they do to “keep people glued to their screens.”
- Ramsey Brown is a “brain hacker.” What is his goal?
- What is the significance of Brown calling his business Dopamine Labs?
- They write apps to “trigger your brain” to ____________.
- Why does a “rush” of “likes” come suddenly in Instagram?
- What is the relationship between the length of time you look at your screen and the money social media companies make?
- Why does Facebook use a “continuous scroll?”
- T/F: Social media is not designed to be addictive.
- Our report says “the typical person checks his/her phone every ______ or less.”
- The brain chemical cortisol is related to anxiety. For a frequent user of social media, when is it produced?
Cell Phone Health
- In addition to changes in the physical structure of the brain, what other areas of adolescent developments is the National Institute of Health studying?
- 11,000 children and teens will be studied for over a decade at what cost?
- A premature thinning of the cortex and a wrinkling of the outer most layer of the brain is possibly linked to _______________
- Young people who spent more than two hours a day on screens tested lower on which tests?
- Can researchers say with certainty if screen time is addictive?
- T/F: Babies transfer what they learn on a screen to the real world.
- T/F: Babies and young children are more vulnerable to screen addiction.
- Which experiment with babies showed babies’ reluctance to give back a device?
- Researchers found that screen time stimulates the release of the brain chemical ________.
- T/F: Dopamine plays a critical role in cravings and desire.
- How many hours a day do teens spend on their phones, according to this report?
- T/F: A report conducted by Penn State found that college students who limited their screen time to 30 minutes a day reported a decrease in depression and lonelines.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Film Assignment beginning 10 Dec. 2018
Girl Rising (cont.)
Malala Yousafzai
Kafala System
Film Assignment beginning 6 Dec. 2018
Girl Rising
1. Sokha, Cambodia
2. Wadley, Haiti
2010 Earthquake
https://www.cnn.com/2013/12/12/world/haiti-earthquake-fast-facts/index.html
3. Suma, Nepal
4. Yasmin, Egypt
5. Azmera, Eithiopia
6. Senna, Peru
7. Mariama, Sierra Leone
Girl Rising Discussion Questions
- How does obtaining or not obtaining a quality education impact one’s personal future but also a community’s/country’s future?
- How did you see cultural beliefs and traditions influence the rights and opportunities of the girls in the film?
- Which story did you find most compelling and why?
- What admirable characteristics did you see in all of the stories in Girl Rising?
- Throughout all of the film’s segments, family members play a key role in whether the girls were able to attend and stay in school. How does a family’s social and economic well-being influence this decision?
- What statistic shown in the movie resonated with you the most? Why?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Film Assignment beginning 28 Nov. 2018
Big History
1. What is Big History? Eight Thresholds
2. Scale of the universe: small to big
3. The Big Bang. The four fundamental forces.
4. Hubble's expanding Universe
5. Ways of Knowing: dark matter and dark energy
6. Jackline Howard: speed of light, Hubble telescope, Hubble deep field:
- What is Big History?
- How many humans on our planet?
- How many stars in our galaxy?
- How many galaxies in the universe?
- Define: geology, biology, astronomy, physics, history, anthropology, archeology
- Is the smallest thing we know unimaginably small?
- Is the universe unimaginably big?
- How old is the universe?
- Within a very small fraction of a second after the start of the big bang the four forces of the universe were created. Name them.
- What would have happened if gravity had been a little stronger?
- A litter weaker?
- Fact: “Goldilocks conditions” means that conditions were just right.
- Do we know what made the Big Bang possible?
- Do we know why the Big Bang happened?
- Did space and time exist before the big bang?
- T/F: Immediately after the Big Bang the universe was inconceivably hot.
- What happened to matter and energy after the first billionth of a second after the Big Bang?
- What two forms did energy take?
- Matter appeared the form electrons and ____________.
- Quarks linked up to form protons and __________.
- T/F: Right after the start of the Big Bang the universe was too hot for atoms to form.
- In the 1920s Edwin Hubble calculated the distance of stars. T/F: Before this time, it was thought that the stars in the Milky Way galaxy comprised the entire universe.
- Hubble studied the wavelengths of stars’ light. A red wavelength indicates what?
- If a light is blue in color the star is moving toward or away?
- The distance of a galaxy is proportional to its velocity. T/F: if a galaxy is twice as far away then it is moving away twice as fast.
- T/F: Hubble discovered that the universe is not expanding.
- T/F: Albert Einstein believed that the universe was not expanding and had always existed.
- In 1990 the Hubble Telescope was launched into space. It sent back clear images of distant galaxies and space phenomena that had never been seen. How could it see so far into space?
- Jacqueline Howard: what is the speed of light?
- How many times could you travel around the earth’s equator in one second?
- Jacqueline says the universe is expanding. Think of her balloon example. Is space also expanding?
- A famous image taken by the Hubble Telescope is called the “eXtreme Deep Field” image. What is it?
- The next space telescope to be launched is called the James Webb Telescope. Its mirror will be ___ times as large than the Hubble’s.
- Its goal is to see the _______ of the universe.
- CBR: Cosmic Background Radiation was released how many years after the Big Bang?
Big History - Day 2: The Stars Light Up and the Creation of Chemical Elements
- Dark Energy, Dark matter
- CBR
- Hydrogen and helium and atoms – size
- Nuclear fusion
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1ZQ4JBv3-Y
Electromagnetic Spectrum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4t7gTmBK3g
Atom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-3I1JGW-Ck
Dark Matter and Dark Energy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAa2O_8wBUQ
- Dark Ages were the first -------- years.
- Atoms in space. 75 percent were ______.
- 83 percent was dark _______.
- When atoms collide with each other they ________.
- At 3,000 degrees atoms can’t ______.
- What happens at 10,000,000 degrees?
- How long will the star shine?
- What happened to the universe after the first 200,000 years?
- Why did the birth of stars lead to more complexity in the universe?
- Which fundamental force was most important in star creation?
- Describe how elements heavier than hydrogen and helium were created.
- How old are some atoms in your body?
Big History Day 3
Large Hadron Collider
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=328pw5Taeg0
Black Holes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOEDG3j1bjs
Dark Matter and Dark Energy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfYZqBG1IDg
Eagle Nebula (Pillars of Creation)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ7zGUFDOsg
Journey to the Edge of the Universe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68tpCpDOsyA
__________________________________________________________________________
Film Assignment for Thur.-Tue. 15-20 Nov. 2018
Amreeka
Map of Middle East
Map of Palestine/Israel
Native American Lands
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZCvUroBpaE
Palestinian Lands
https://visualizingpalestine.org/visuals/shrinking-palestine
Short history of Palestine and Israel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dISYTwDS6eQ
Separation Wall and Bethlehem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PecEVGStsNw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nufBpHmWhtQ
German Video - West Bank - Check points
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z1v0v7S8hA
Arab World Map
Bethlehem
Separation Wall in West Bank is 700 kilometers and not yet complete.
Amreeka
Vocabulary:
- tabbouleh/tabouli
- notre utopie fera tomber beaucoup de mur (Our utopia will topple the wall)
- ich bin ein Berliner (I am a Berliner). A reference to the speech by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Berlin, West Germany in June, 1963. Significance here is to express unity in the face of adversity.
Characters:
Muna, Fadi, Uncle Samer, grandma, Aunt Raghda, Uncle Nabeel
- Setting of film (places, time)
- Where does Muna (“hope”) work?
- What was in the envelope?
- What does Fadi (“savior” used by Arabic Christians) think about his college opportunities in Palestine?
- Muna: “visitors” in the U.S. vs. Fadi: “prisoners” in our own country. Explain. Use examples from our films, including border crossings and check points.
- This is the flag of what country?
- This is the flag of the state of _____
_____?
- Where does Muna put her money?
- U.S. invasion of Iraq: March 20, 2003. Does Uncle Nabeel think the war will end quickly?
- In which state does the family live?
Amreeka Part 2
- Describe the challenges Fadi faced in Palestine.
- Describe the challenges Fadi faced in Illinois.
- Describe the challenges Muna faced in Illinois.
- There are advantages and disadvantages living in the U.S. Advantages:
- Disadvantages:
- How was Uncle Nabeel’s medical practice affected after the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center?
- How was Fadi treated by American students?
- Explain how it is possible that Fadi’s classmates could overcome their prejudices after getting to know him.
- What aspects of Palestinian culture offered comfort to Muna, Fadi, Uncle Nabeel, Aunt Raghda and their children?
- Why is it ironic that Muna befriends Mr. Novatski, the high school principal?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Film Assignment for Fri.-Wed. 9-14 Nov. 2018
Flint Water Crisis
How it happened
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snwT77H8N78
http://time.com/4191864/flint-water-crisis-lead-contaminated-michigan/
Timeline of Events
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/21/us/flint-lead-water-timeline.html
Moore
https://michaelmoore.com/10FactsOnFlint/
Flint Water Crisis
1. Why did Flint switch its water source from Detroit/Lake Huron to the Flint River?
- What happened to Flint’s water after the switch in water sources?
- How did Flint residents become aware of the water crisis?
- What negative consequences did some residents experience from drinking Flint water?
- How did many Flint residents respond to the water crisis?
- How did the governments of Flint and Michigan initially respond to the crisis?
- Flint officials told residents to boil their water. What happened to the quality of the water after it was boiled?
- Flint had a mayor, city council and an emergency financial manager. Did the emergency financial manager overrule Flint’s mayor and city counsil?
- How did the emergency financial manager respond to the water crisis?
- EPA – Environmental Protection Agency. What did EPA official Miguel del Toral say about Flint's water?
- MDEQ – Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. How did the MDEQ respond to the water crisis initially?
- Is clean water a basic human right? Explain.
- Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. What role did she play in the Flint water crisis?
- Dr. Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech University. What role did he play in the Flint water crisis?
___________________________________________________________________________________
Film Assignment for Wed.-Thur. 7-8 Nov. 2018
Midterm Elections 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTYQ6_OaCDY
Which party now controls the U.S. House of Representatives?
Teens Pre-Registered to Vote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j2gB_XG2JE
Teens and voting (short history)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar7r5aG_B0Y
Oprah in Selma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YRUUFYeOPI
____________________________________________________________________________
1. Who won the governship in Michigan?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/06/us/elections/results-governor-elections.html
2. Who will be the U.S. representative in Michigan's 13th district?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/06/us/elections/results-governor-elections.html
3. This person is a "first of a kind." Explain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae7RFrlm-fA
4. Who will be the U.S. representative in Michigan's 14th district?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/06/us/elections/results-house-elections.html
5. Who is the youngest woman elected to congress?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EG_-QHz5xU
6. If you live close to Western, which congressional district do you live in and who is your representative?
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MI#map
7. If you live near Michigan and Livernois, which district do you live in and who is your representative?
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MI#map
8. Michigan's proposals: 1. Marajuana: legal. 2. Gerrymandering: banned. 3. Easy voter registration: passed.
______________________________________________________________________________
Gerrymandering
Politicians choosing voters
Eldridge Gerry
Vice President and Governor of Massachusetts
Early 1800s
Same group of voters. Arrange into a different configuration that gives one party an advantage in every election.
Carved Massachusetts Into legislative districts that worked out to the advantage of their party.
The shape of the district map resembled a salamander. Gerry + mander = gerrymander.
Two identical diagrams. Each show 30 voters divided into 17 red (R) and 13 blue (D).
If you divide them into 4 districts they would be roughly equal.
Democrats have majorities in two, and republicans have majorities in two.
Evenly divided.
Same four districts drawn to ensure that republicans win all four districts all the time.
One district in which republicans outnumber democrats 4-3.
And 5-2.
And 4-3.
And 4-3 again.
Same group of people. Slice the pie in a slightly different way
This is partisan gerrymandering.
Why is this done.
Every 10 years there is a census.
Each state divided into congressional districts that are roughly equal in population
710,000 people = average congressional district.
1 representative out of 435 represents about 710,000 people.
Federal government and the Constitution leave it to the states to decide how to divide up their districts.
Some states (about 12) is done by nonpartisan panels.
In most states, which ever party controls the legislature gets to draw the lines.
They draw these lines to their own party’s advantage.
How does this play out in Michigan?
In Michigan, republicans control the governor’s office, the house of representatives, the senate and the judiciary.
Sometimes these maps are challenged in the courts, so it helps to have judges who are friendly to your party.
In 2010 (a census year) republicans in charge of the districting process that year got to draw maps that are very advantageous to their party.
As a result, they have been able to maintain majorities in the legislature even when democrats get more votes overall than republican candidates.
Democrats do the same thing when they are in charge. Example: Maryland.
Districts are drawn by computers.
How can anybody know how you vote? Elections are secret, aren’t they?
What do “they” know about you?
Where you live. How many children you have. What kind of car you drive. Where you shop. What you spend your money on. Whether you go to church.
An algorithm predicts how you will vote in the next election. The current term of choice for a problem-solving procedure, algorithm, is commonly used nowadays for the set of rules a machine (and especially a computer) follows to achieve a particular goal.
Districts must be contiguous ("touch" each other).
If you are republicans, you pack as many democratic votes into as few districts as possible.
The 14th was designed to be overwhelmingly democratic.
It is designed so that democrats will win over 60 percent of the vote.
By doing this republicans can create more districts for themselves.
Do the voters pick the politicians or do the politicians pick the voters?
This creates politicians who have more extreme views. Hyper-partisanship.
Write a two-paragraph essay and explain how proposals #2 and #3 will improve voting and make Michigan more democratic.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Hacking Democracy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YldIdkjrqM
Electoral College
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9H3gvnN468
___________________________________________________________________________________
Film Assignment for Fri.-Mon. 2-5 Nov. 2018
Real Women Have Curves (2002)
Write two pages on this film. The questions below are suggestions.
- In which ways does Ana differ from her mother? Explain.
- Describe the different life paths taken by Ana and Estela.
- How does Ana’s education influence her opinion of the women who work in the garment shop, including her mother, Carmen, and her sister, Estela?
- Ana is shocked to learn that Estela earns only $18 for each dress, but dresses retail for $600. Are there any similarities in this employment arrangement and that of Rosa and Nacha in El Norte? Explain.
- When Ana removes her shirt in the shop she helps the women change their perception of female beauty. How?
- Ana is independent of her family with respect to education, sexuality and work. Describe how she is different in each of these areas.
- Does Ana’s mother value her for her intelligence? What does Ana’s mother value in a woman?
- What similarity can you draw between Ana and RBG with respect to their struggle to be valued for their intelligence?
- Ana does not give up after her parents refuse to allow her to accept the college scholarship. Explain her strategy for getting acceptance.
Film Assignment for Mon.-Tue., 29-30 2018
Freakonomics
Sumo Wrestling
- How many years has sumo wrestling been practiced?
- What type of rituals do the wrestlers perform?
- “The essence of pure competition” What does this describe?
- Referee dressed as a Shinto priest. Sumo and Shinto are intertwined. What is Shinto?
- Celebrates the purity and harmony of man and _______.
- Clapping hands to awake the ______.
- Show hands to reveal that there are no concealed ________.
- Stomping of feet to stamp out evil _________.
- Throwing of salt. Why?
- The purpose of the rituals is to make the _____ happy.
“Purity is a good mask for corruption. Discourages inquiry.” Inquiry of what? - When stakes are high a small percentage of people will ______________.
- How do you tell if a sumo wrestler is cheating?
- People who are being corrupt are always trying to cover their ________.
- Levitt says that he can detect cheating in sumo wrestling without even watching a wrestling match. How?
- Yaocho is a Japanese word that means what?
- When a sumo wrestler “takes a fall” (deliberately loses to his opponent) it is because he has _______.
- The one who needs the win succeeds _______ percent of the time. That is a huge deviation (statistically).
- How is “pay back” achieved among the cheating wrestlers?
- Watch the Japanese journalist type Japanese characters on his computer. What is different?
- Describe the role of money in cheating among sumo wrestlers?
- Rikishi. Define.
- Honne (real truth) Tatemae (the surface of things – the façade)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEaW7jHFcIw
- Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. Define Ponzi scheme.
- What happened to the “whistle blowers” who exposed the lies and cheating in sumo wrestling?
- What role does gambling play in sumo wrestling?
- “ . . . Shattering a taboo in Japan’s shadow society.” Explain.
- How do the Japanese police achieve a 96 percent arrest rate and therefore project a very high tatemae?
- Magazine articles on the death of the young sumo wrestler influenced public opinion about sumo wrestling. Explain.
- How did the sumo world respond to the magazine articles?
- “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” Louis Brandies. Justice on U.S. Supreme Court from 1916-1939. Explain this quote.
- What keeps us from seeing corruption are our illusions that our economy is a rational system, a free market, open to all. Rigging markets in matches is good business if the rigging is hidden from view. Explain.
Film Assignment for Tue.-Fri. 23-26 2018
RBG - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Supreme Court of the United States: how many justices?
- Which president nominated RBG to the Supreme Court?
- Define: “first generation” and “second generation.”
- “What has become of me could happen only in America.” What did RBG mean?
- T/F: Her parents were college graduates.
- Her father was from Odessa. Where is Odessa?
- What was RBG’s nick name?
- Her mother died when she was what age?
- What happened on the night of RBG’s high school graduation?
- Her mother told her to “Be a lady and be ________.”
- What is the name of the most recent Supreme Court nominee?
- What controversy arose at the hearings for his nomination?
- T/F: Her husband was not supportive of her legal career.
- T/F: Her future husband, Marty, valued RBG for her brain.
- T/F: The girls at Cornell displayed how smart they were.
- Define “Red Scare.”
- The best way to win an argument, RBG taught her granddaughter, is not to ______.
- Women comprised what percentage of Harvard Law School in the late 1950s?
- T/F: RGB was comfortable at Harvard Law School.
- Why couldn’t RBG get into the college library?
- What does RBG say helped her to excel in law school the first year?
- T/F: When RBG graduated from Columbia Law School in 1959 she found it easy to get a job. Explain.
- T/F: Just a few laws discriminated against women in the mid-20th century.
- Name two laws that discriminated against women in 1970.
- T/F: RBG marched and demonstrated for women’s rights.
- RBG began arguing sex discrimination cases before or after she began teaching a course on women and the law at Rutgers University.
- Frontiero v Richardson: who won this case? What was it about?
- What is “gender-based discrimination” (in your own words – one sentence)?
- “I saw myself as a kind of a kindergarten teacher in those days” What was Ginsburg referring to?
- “Think of how you would like the world to be for your daughters and granddaughters.”
- “The gender line helps to keep women not on a pedestal, but in a ______.”
- “She (RBG) was creating a legal landscape.” - with respect to what specific issue/s?
- The Supreme Court was composed of all men until what year?
- How does RBG’s husband Marty help RBG to get nominated to the Supreme Court?
- “It is essential to a woman’s equality with man . . . that she be the decision maker. This is something central to a woman’s life, to her dignity, and when government controls that decision for her she’s being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.” What was Ginsburg talking about?
- Ninety-six to three. What does this refer to?
- What was the vote count in the Cavanaugh nomination?
- “This constitution is the highest law of the land.” Who said that?
- RBG was the first or second woman justice to the Supreme Court?
- How many woman justices are on the Supreme Court today?
- Name them.
- “And nor shall any state deny to any person the equal protection of the laws.” Which amendment is that?
- Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Describe how this advanced equality for women.
- In the case Bush vs Gore (2000) RBG dissented. What was the outcome of the case?
- What happened on the Supreme Court to cause RBG to write more dissents?
- Ledbetter v Goodyear (2006). For what was Ms. Ledbetter fighting?
- Did RBG’s dissent prompt congress to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Pay Restoration Act?
- Shelby County v Holder (2013) “The Voting Rights Act” “Race-based voting discrimination still exists. "This Court’s decision is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.” What happened in this case.
- Name one thing in common between RBG and B.I.G.
- “Speaking truth to power.” Explain the meaning of this phrase.
- The “Hobby Lobby” case: “Majority decision allows employers to deny insurance coverage of birth control for religious reasons.”
- RGB wrote many dissenting opinions. What is a dissenting opinion?
Film Assignment for Fri.-Mon. 19, 22 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvQR93C6n2E
Click on the link above. Watch video and respond to questions below.
1. These college students are experiencing the same problem. What is it?
2. Which do you have to pay back: a grant or a loan?
3. You must pay back loans with interest. What is interest?
a. Define "forbearance."
b. Define "compounding interest."
c. Define "default" (on a loan).
d. Lenders, Congress and the private colleges are said to be three parts the student loan debt problem. Give one example of how each contributes to the problem.
Lenders:
Congress:
Private colleges:
Film Assignment for Wed.-Thur., 17-18 Oct. 2018
Write about guns and fear.
Canada
NRA and KKK - 1871
Second Amendment
Sarnia
Windsor
Toronto
Violent movies
No poverty
Mostly white people
Few guns
Unlocked doors
Afraid of your neighbor
I’m not afraid
News: not being pumped full fear
Politicians: proper day care, assistance for their parents, proper health care . . . that’s how you build a good society. No one wins unless everyone wins. You don’t win by beating up on people who can’t defend themselves.
Healthcare: everyone has the right to live.
Segregation. Any differences between the U.S. and Canada?
If more guns made people safer, then American would be one of the safest counties in the world. It’s the opposite.
Flint Buell School shooting
Youngest school shooting – age 6.
NRA/Charlton Heston (Moses)
Try the six-year-old boy as an adult.
Tamarla Owens, mother of boy – Welfare-to-work program. Food stamps and health care. Poor people removed from welfare.
Film Assignment for Mon.-Tue., 15-16 Oct. 2018
Michigan militia
NRA (National Rifle Association)
Columbine High School shooting
Oklahoma Federal Building bombing
Guns: M16
Glock
Select one of the above and write a "5 W's" definition.
Film Assignment for Wed. - Fri., 10-12 Oct. 2018
Harold and Maude (1971)
Director: Hal Ashby
Themes
Death
Life
The outsider
Not fitting in
Individualism
Finding understanding in another
Loss
Acceptance
Humor
Sarcasm
Spontaneity
Freedom
Emotional blindness
Who said this? “Everybody should be able to make some music. That’s the cosmic dance.”
Lunch in a scrap yard.
Describe Maude’s house.
“Here today, gone tomorrow.” Don’t get attached to things.
Sitting in a mud flat.
Maude has numbers on her right arm
“Go and love some more.”
Mocking and questioning institutions
Church, military, marriage, academia, work world, life and death
Music
Characters: not literal
Romance and sexuality
Medicine
Sanity and insanity
Picture of Nixon, Pope Pius VI Sigmund Freud, Nathan Hale
“But, tell me, where do the children play?”
“While the sinners sin, the children play.”
“Consistency is not really a human trait.”
“It (umbrella) was my defense at political rallies and on the picket line.”
“How the world loves a cave.”
Flowers: All alike
Cut to Cemetery
Place in Vienna
Came to America: liberty, rights, justice
“The earth is my body, my head is in the stars.”
Tree. Harold: “It’s public property.” Maude: “Exactly.”
Still fighting for the big issues, but now in my small, individual way.
Monastery, Tibet
Birds.
Memorabilia: it’s incidental to me.
Bird.
Me free as a bird.
Driver’s license “I don’ believe in them.”
Picnic in the scrap yard
Garden
Green house
Flowers
Birds
“Harold, I have only a few minutes, and I want to inform you of my decision.”
“A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they’re not dead, really.
They’re just backing away from life.”
“I don’t have one. I don’t believe in them.”
How did Maud respond to the Harold tells her that she is upsetting people by taking their cars?
What kind of flower did Harold say he was?
Maud says that “much of the world’s sorrow” is because people allow themselves to be treated as all the same (the flowers), instead of the unique individuals they are.
Characterize Harold’s relationship with his mother.
“What sense is borders and nations and patriotism?”
Maude and Harold each have tears.
“Crisis and conflict policy.” “World War II gave us the ball point pen.”
Describe the significance of the scene where Harold “kills” Maude.
“Everyone has the right to make an ass of themselves. You can’t let the world judge you too much.”
Harold: They’ll put me in jail.
Maude: Historically, you’ll be in good company.
Harold: You sure have a way with people.
Maude: Well, they’re my species.
Maude: This is the nicest present that I’ve received in years. Then throws the present into the water.
Maude determines her own death on her own terms.
Harold tells Maude that he has a surprise for Maude after dinner that “will make you very happy.”
Maude says, “Oh, Harold, I am happy.”
Film Assignment for Mon. - Tue., 8-9 Oct. 2018
Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude employs satire to question these institutions:
1. The Church
2. The Military
3. Marriage, dating and romance
4. The Government/police
Give an example from the film to illustrate satire in each of these institutions.
Assignment for 8th hour only on Wednesday, 10 October
1. Review items on this list.
2. Watch video
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/trumps-takeover/
3. Write one or two paragraphs about the importance of the press to our democracy.
Trump’s Showdown
- IC: Intelligence Community: FBI, CIA, NSA, Director of National Intelligence, Department of Justice
- James Comey (FBI director) fired by Trump
- Robert Mueller – special investigator. Trump – Russia election. Russian election meddling in 2016 election.
- Dossier: a collection of documents about a particular person, event, or subject:
- Roy Cohen was Trump’s mentor.
- Roy Cohen was Joseph McCarthy’s lawyer. McCarthy was a U.S. senator who conducted a “witch hunt” for U.S. citizens suspected of being communists.
- Donald Trump and his father, Fred, were found to practice racism in the buildings they owned.
- Trump: “Litigation (filing law suits) as a sport” Court battles.
- Visceral (dealing with crude or elemental emotions dislike.
- Trump to Comey: loyalty to me.
- Jeff Sessions, head of Justice Department recused (of a judge) excuse oneself from a case because of a possible conflict of interest or lack of impartiality. (himself from the Russia investigation).
- What is the importance of the press, included in the first amendment to the Constitution?
- The text of the First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances
Film Assignment for Thur. - Friday, 4-5 Oct. 2018
Food, Inc.
- 10,000 years of agriculture.
- How many products in the modern American supermarket?
- Tomatoes are ripened on _________ gas.
- Does the food industry want you to know what you’re eating? Why or why not?
- “From seed to supermarket.” What does this statement refer to?
- T/F: A few multinational companies control most of our food.
- T/F: The food companies teach us about our food products. Explain.
- In which decade did the drive-in restaurant appear?
- Name two advantages to training a fast food restaurant worker to do only one thing (modeled on factory-style of production).
- Which company is the largest purchaser of ground beef in the U.S.?
- How many companies control the meat production and sale in the U.S.?
- What is the name of the “biggest meat packing company in the history of the world?”
- Why was the chicken redesigned?
- “49 days vs. 3 months.” What does this refer to?
- “in the dark all the time.” Who or what?
- “This isn’t farming. This is mass production like an assembly line in a factory.” Who said that and what was she talking about?
- What problems do chickens experience as a result of gaining so much body weight so rapidly?
- T/F: antibiotics are placed into the chicken feed.
- How do you describe the workers?
- Undocumented Latino workers collect the chickens at night. Why at night?
- Why does Perdue use undocumented Latino workers?
- How does the company “keep the farmers under their thumb?”
- What is the cost of a new chicken house?
- What demands does the company place on chicken growers?
- What happened to Carole’s contract when she refused to upgrade to “dark, tunnel-ventilated houses?”
- Why does the company want to keep chicken farmers in debt, according to Carole?
- Look at these two figures: $500,000 (in debt) and $18,000 (in annual income). What is the problem here?
A Cornucopia of Choices
- 30 percent of U.S. land is devoted to which crop?
- An agricultural company like Cargill grows corn below the cost of production. Who subsides their profit?
- High fructose corn syrup. Ninety percent of supermarket products contain a corn or soy product.
- Which animals eat corn?
- 200 pounds of meat per person per year. How has corn production lowered the cost of meat?
- CAFO: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
- By evolution, cows are designed to eat _______________.
- Give two reasons cows are fed corn instead of grass.
- E. coli is a product of ________
- Describe how E. coli gets into the meat.
- Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria normally live in the intestines of healthy people and animals. Most varieties of E. coli are harmless or cause relatively brief diarrhea. But a few particularly nasty strains, such as E. coli O157:H7, can cause severe abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting.
- Chief of staff of USDA (Department of agriculture) was former chief lobbyist of the beef industry in Washington, D.C. The head of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). What is the problem with this?
- Has the number of inspections conducted by the FDA risen or decreased in recent decades?
Film Assignment for Wednesday, 3 Oct. 2018
Michaela DePrince (from war orphan to star ballerina)
A. Watch the 12-minute video on the amazing story of Michaela DePrince and respond to the following questions.
1. What country does Michaela come from?
2. What skin condition does she suffer from?
3. What explanation did the adults at her original home offer for her skin condition?
4. Describe her relationship with her sister.
5. Describe her living situation when the film begins.
6. What number ranking did Michaela have at the orphanage.
7. What is the name of the European city where Michaela is based.
8. What was Michaela's lowest point?
9. Name two character traits that helped Michaela succeed.
10. Describe two character traits of Michaela's mother (Elaine).
11. Mia did not study dance. What did she study?
12. What event helped Michaela overcome her skin condition?
13. Describe what Michaela faced as a ballerina of color.
14. Name two characteristics that make Michaela a successful dancer, according to her instructor.
15. Write one or two paragraphs of your impressions of this amazing story.
Immigration News
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/10/3/headlines
DemocracyNow Headlines for today
https://www.democracynow.org/shows/2018/10/3?autostart=121.0
Film Assignment for Friday-Tuesday, 28 Sept.-2 Oct., 2018
Write a one-page paper on one of these topics.
List of topics for research on El Norte
- Immigration to the U.S. from Central America and Mexico (green card). How does Monte persuade Enrique to accept the job in Chicago.
- Monte: “We are talking about survival.” Describe ways immigrants survive in the U.S. Do they have the same rights a privileges as U.S. Citizens?
- Symbols and dreams in El Norte (and music)
- Magic realism
- Gregory Nava (director of El Norte)
- Mayan languages
- Mayan art
- Mayan history
- Mayan architecture
- Inequality (consider the scene of Rosa watching the rich teen girl pick up her boyfriend in her fancy car).
- Mexican-American identity and Central American identity
- Medicine. Rosa goes to a “natural healer.” Did it work? Why was she afraid to go to a doctor or a hospital?
- Day laborers
- Sweat shop (garment factory)
- Cheap labor in the United States
- Immigration raids
- "Dog eat dog" means of surviving as an immigrant
- Guatemalan Civil War
- Rigoberta Menchú
- Murine typhus
- Border Patrol (U.S. Department of Justice)
- The economics of immigrant labor in the U.S.
- Compare daily life in San Pedro, Guatemala to that in Tijuana and Los Angeles
- Describe how this film could be a useful tool to teaching immigration.
- Describe some of the challenges faced by Rosa and Enrique and how they faced them.
- What does factory work do to a person?
- Is life better in Los Angeles than in San Pedro, Guatemala?
- Has Nacha undergone an immigration raid before? How do we know? Give some background on immigration raids in the U.S.
- Rosa changes her clothes twice in the film. Describe why she changes her clothes and what other aspects of herself she changes.
- Describe Enrique’s conflict between going to Chicago and staying with Rosa.
Other topics of your choice (check with Mr. Bowles first)
Sources:
Mel.org
You can check this assignment on your phone at: www.westernmediacenter.educatorpages.com
Film Assignment for Mon. & Tue., 25-26 Sept. 2018
1. Where is Guatemala?
2. Read short history
3. View part one of El Norte.
4. Discuss symbolism in the film.
5. Describe how two symbols in the film are used in a paragraph or two.
6. View "trip to Tiajuana."
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Film Assignment for Tue. and Wed, 18 & 19 Sept. 2018
Hidden Figures
- Civil Rights (African Americans oppressed, treated unequally and with savage discrimination
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URxwe6LPvkM
- Female Discrimination (women's rights)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmRw1Yd2zeQ
- Cold War (U.S. vs. USSR)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9HjvHZfCUI
- Space Race (U.S. vs. USSR)
- Mathematics (Euler's Method)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGtCw5E7gBc
The Space Race was a competition between the USA and the USSR to explore space using artificial satellites and manned spacecraft. It can be seen as a part of the larger arms race, as developments in space research could easily be transferred to military research. Both countries started work on developing reconnaissance satellites well before the height of the Space Race. The Vostok spacecraft used by the USSR to put Yuri Gagarin into space, for example, was developed from the Zenit spy satellites used by the Soviet military.
However, the military benefits of the Space Race were not the only driving force behind the American and Soviet attempts to explore space. The populations of both countries took a great interest in their respective space programs and it was a useful way for both superpowers to demonstrate their superiority. Nikita Khruschev, the Premier of the Soviet Union, used the country's early success in the Space Race to claim that the "economy, science, culture and the creative genius of people in all areas of life develop better and faster under communism." The American President John F. Kennedy, on the other hand, is quoted as saying "Everything we do ought to... be tied in to getting on to the Moon ahead of the Russians... we hope to beat the USSR to demonstrate that instead of being behind by a couple of years, by God, we passed them. "
In America the space program was headed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, who were given control of all non military activity in Space. The team at NASA included Dr. Wernher von Braun, the German scientist responsible for the development of the V2 rocket during the Second World War. He was later moved to the United States by the U.S. Army to study the future potential of rockets and masterminded the development of the Saturn V Moon Rocket.
NASA's Mercury space program ran from 1959 to 1963 and cost a total of $1.5 billion. Its aims were to determine if man could survive in space and to put a man into orbit around the Earth. However, as early as 1961 the Russians had pulled ahead of America's space program, having launched two men into orbit, Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov.
The first American to go into space was Alan Shepherd who successfully made a sub-orbital flight in May 1961. During this flight Shepherd took manual control of the spacecraft to test its controls and also made observations of conditions outside. Unlike in Russian missions, where cosmonauts parachuted from their spacecraft during landing, the Mercury spacecraft had their own parachutes to slow them down during descent. This made Shepherd the first man to return to Earth with his ship, Freedom 7, which landed in the North Atlantic Ocean, on May 5th.
John Glenn in his spacesuit (NASA)
Despite this success the pressure was still on to send an American into orbit, but before risking the life of an astronaut NASA wanted to ensure the safety of its spacecraft for an orbital flight. Therefore, in November 1961, Enos the Chimpanzee orbited the Earth twice before splashing-down, alive and well, off the Puerto Rican coast. Just three months later, in February 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in Friendship 7. During his flight Glenn experienced various difficulties, including a problem with Friendship 7's controls. He also reported seeing 'fireflies', although these were probably small ice crystals being vented from onboard the spacecraft.
Determination
Obstacles
- Three characters in the film exhibit racist tendencies. Identify one of them, describe how their racism is shown, and what happens to their attitudes by the end of the film.
- Coffee serves as a symbol in this movie. What does it symbolize?
- Descibe the importance of mathematics in the flim.
- What is the IBM mainframe machine? Describe the positive and negative consequences of this new technology.
- Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson each plays a part in advancing racial equality, women's rights and the space race for the United States. Describe the actions taken by one or more of these characters to make these advancements.
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Film Assignment for Fri. and Mon., 14 &-17 Sept. 2018
Au Revoir Les Enfants
1 Review and discuss these terms from Au Revoir Les Enfants.
- WWII: 1939-1945.
- Germans occupy France July 1940.
- Movie setting: winter 1943-1944, Fontainebleau, south of Paris.
- French set up a government to collaborate with the Nazis called the Vichy regime.
- Some French people collaborate with the Germans, others resist ("underground").
- Germans searched for and captured Jews, including children, whom they sent to death camps in Europe (Auschwitz in southern Poland, and Mauthausen in Austria, among many others).
- Private Catholic school for boys of wealthy families.
- Black Market (shortages during the war).
- Discrimination
- French militia
- Jews were required to wear a yellow Star of David.
- How is music used in the film?
2. View and discuss this short video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmhnyZ3XZQI
A. Finish viewing film
B Discuss
C. Answer the questions on a sheet of paper and turn in. You do not have to write the questions but answer in complete sentences. You may use a computer or your device.
1. Define "Holocaust."
2. Explain a "collaborator" in France during the German occupation.
3. Those who did not cooperate with the Germans called themselves "the _________."
4. What is Auschwitz?
5. What countries did Germany conquer during WWII?
6. About how many Jews and others did the Germans exterminate during WWII?
7. Define the "Final Solution."
8. What is the purpose of Holocaust museums?
9. https://www.ushmm.org/learn
Click on the above link.
10. Explain "Genocide" and name one other location where it has taken place.
11. You are Jean Bonnet (Jean Kippelstein), Julien Quentin, Joseph or Father Jean.
Write a letter (minimum, 1-page) to a loved one and explain your thoughts and feelings.
Mention specific scenes from the film in your letter.
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Where to Invade Next (2016) Michael Moore
1. Discuss the connection between human dignity and the death penalty and/or lifelong sentences. Do you believe the two can coexist? If someone is a convicted murderer, are they worthy of the same rights as other members of society?
2. What do you classify as “basic human rights,” those things that should be granted to all members of a society? Why are healthcare and education not considered basic human rights in the U.S.?
3. How many vacation days are you paid for in a single year? Is this the average in your country? Do you feel this is enough for you to live a happy, healthy life?
4. Why do you think the issue of sexuality is such a taboo subject in the U.S., where in France, for example, people openly discuss it as a natural part of the human existence? Do you think you have a healthy attitude towards your own individual sexuality? How did your education affect your outlook?
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Film Assignment for Monday and Tuesday, 10-11 Sept. 2018
1. View criminal justice in Europe (final section for viewing)
2. Review discussion questions as a class.
3. Choose one question to analyze and discuss with a partner or independently. Take notes.
4. Present to class.
Film Assignment for Thursday, 6 Sept. 2018
https://qz.com/879092/the-us-doesnt-look-like-a-developed-country/
1. Review above link.
2. Skim the 12 different life indicators
3. Choose the three most important to you.
4. Write a paragraph and explain why your choices are important.
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Financial Literacy Class
Winter 2018
a. Review questions 1-7.
b. Read interview as we listen.
c. Respond to questions 1-7 in complete sentences. Do not write the questions.
1 According to this article, what programs does President Trump intend to cut?
2. The $1.5 trillion tax cut will benefit which sector of the U.S. population?
3. What do you think Robert Reich means by the "common good?"
4. Why does Robert Reich say he is hopeful about young people and their potentical to effect positive change?
5. What does Reich say about propaganda?
6. What does Reich say about Trump's technique of "divide and conquer." What is Trump's objective in setting this tone?
7. What does Reich say about the "win at any cost mentality?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump made a promise to the American people: There would be no cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
DONALD TRUMP: Save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, without cuts. Have to do it. Get rid of the fraud. Get rid of the waste and abuse. But save it.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, that promise has not been kept. Under his new budget, President Trump proposes a massive increase in Pentagon spending while cutting funding for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Trump’s budget would also slash or completely eliminate core anti-poverty programs that form the heart of the U.S. social safety net, from childhood nutrition to care for the elderly and job training. This comes after President Trump and Republican lawmakers pushed through a $1.5 trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly favors the richest Americans, including President Trump and his own family.
AMY GOODMAN: Our next guest has been one of the vocal critics of President Trump’s economic policies. Robert Reich served as labor secretary under President Bill Clinton. He’s now a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. Most recent book is out today, it’s called The Common Good.
Welcome to Democracy Now! It’s great to have you back, Robert Reich.
ROBERT REICH: Thank you, Amy.
AMY GOODMAN: So, respond to what we see today. You have this fall in Wall Street, which doesn’t necessarily reflect what happens on Main Street, and you have this budget that’s been introduced, that we just heard, and the broken campaign promises of President Trump. Who’s winning and who’s losing at this point?
ROBERT REICH: Well, I think we’re all losing. That is actually the theme of my book. The rich in America cannot continue to do well when most others are not. If the social contract, that is the basis of this country, is coming apart, if we are basically saying to everyone, “You’re on your own,” we’re all going to be worse off. There is a common good. At least there was a common good. I think the purpose of the book is to ignite a discussion about whether we can re-establish a sense of common good in America.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, when you say there has been a common good, talk about that historically in terms of the how the concept developed.
ROBERT REICH: Well, in the Constitution, Juan, it says, “We the people.” We, the people, are establishing a government, and one of the purposes is for our own domestic well-being. And the Declaration of Independence and our founding documents and the Gettysburg Address—I mean, go through everything over the last 200 years that has talked about who “we,” what the pronoun “we” means, and it means equal political rights. And that has been a goal. It hasn’t been effectuated. We’ve sought it. We certainly—I don’t want to romanticize a past in which we certainly have not had equal political rights. But there was—for much of our history, we’ve at least been seeking it. The same with equal opportunity. The same with the rule of law, that no person is above the law. And you go—you go down the list. Again, I want to emphasize these are aspirations, these are ideals, that kept us together, again and again.
And I fear we’re losing them. I mean, Donald Trump is sort of the essence of the problem, but he is not the cause of the problem. I mean, his election was, I believe, a result, at least in part, of a great deal of disillusionment and anger and cynicism that many people have toward a system, toward a ruling class, that did not deliver, that has not delivered. And Trump’s conflicts of interest, his narcissism, his sort of inability to understand that there is something called America that is greater and more important than flag salutes and standing for a national anthem or securing the borders, is symptomatic of something that is much deeper that’s gone wrong in America.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking to Robert Reich, who was the labor secretary under President Clinton. And you had a lot of problems with Clinton. I mean, you talked about walking the streets the day he signed off on welfare reform, what some called “welfare deform,” walking the streets of Washington, wondering where all the people were. Well, today, actually, there are a number of people in the streets. They are young people. They are high school kids, who could turn the entire system on its head, not only around gun control. These are the survivors of the massacre in Florida. They’re on a bus to Tallahassee. They’re doing lie-ins and die-ins in Washington, D.C. And they’re saying what even the media—though the media has come out, except for Fox, pretty anti—pretty much for gun control. They always start off by saying, “Well, you can’t get an automatic weapons ban. We will start there. But what is it you think you can do?” They are questioning everything right now. They’re talking about corruption. They’re talking about money in politics. These are kids in 10th, 11th and 12th grade, and younger.
ROBERT REICH: Well, they give me a great deal of encouragement, Amy, you know, that young lady, Emma González, for example, that very powerful speech she gave Saturday about gun control. What I see around the country is that there’s a silver lining to Trump and to everything that’s going on right now in our nation’s capital and elsewhere. That silver lining is that you have young people, you also have many activists, who are becoming more active than ever before. A lot of people who had given up on politics, had become cynical, are saying to themselves, “I can’t afford to be cynical, because this country is too important to me and my children and my grandchildren.” They are becoming engaged in politics in a way I haven’t seen since the Vietnam War or the anti-Vietnam War movement. I teach young people. And I can say that every day I count my blessings, because I’m surrounded by kids who care about this country, care about the future, and are not going to allow us to continue to ignore the common good.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And yet, the supporters of Trump have doubled down even more in their backing of him, as we’ve seen, repeatedly been seeing, most recently the Oprah interview with a group of a cross-section of Americans, half of whom had voted for Trump, and then Trump started blasting, on Twitter, attacking Oprah for the interviews. There is a sense among his supporters that he’s doing exactly what they expected him to do.
ROBERT REICH: Well, I think, to a large extent, Juan, those supporters have been watching, you know, the propaganda arm of the White House, which is Fox News. And if you get into that propaganda arm, you know, you begin to accept the lies that Trump has been propagating and Fox News has been propagating. I mean, he—in his whole life, he has been a con man. And I think there are a lot of Americans, sadly, who have been conned by him.
I mean, look at the tax bill. I mean, the idea that the working class is going to do better under that tax bill is absurd. That tax bill, that went through Congress, tax plan, is overwhelmingly favoring the very wealthy, and it’s being paid for—they’re already talking about paying for it. I’m talking about Paul Ryan and Trump, are already talking about paying for it by cutting programs like Medicare and Social Security and Medicaid, that so many Americans depend on, many Trump voters depend on. I mean, the Trump voters are the ones who are being shafted almost worse than anybody else.
And yet, because of the lies, the big lies, they don’t know it—or at least don’t know it yet. I think they will. They can’t help but understand it. In fact, I have spent a lot of time over the last year and a half in so-called red states talking to people who voted for Trump, and many of them are becoming deeply disillusioned. I mean, look at the—look at even the escapades that are coming out about paying off Playboy bunnies and prostitutes. And, I mean, you’ve got evangelicals in America who are saying, “Wait a minute, this can’t—we trusted that this man was somebody who he said he was, but he’s somebody entirely different.” The truth is going to catch up with them.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, you wrote recently, though, that in the 2016 election, that “he sucked all the oxygen out of the race by making himself its biggest story. Now, he’s sucking all the oxygen out of America by making himself our national obsession.” And you go on to say, “Schooled in reality television and New York tabloids, Trump knows how to keep both sides stirred up: Vilify, disparage, denounce, defame, and accuse the other side of conspiring against America. Do it continuously. Dominate every news cycle.”
ROBERT REICH: And that’s his—if you want to call it a gift. It’s certainly his technique. And that is what he knows how to do: divide and conquer, make us all feel as if we are against one another, that the most important kind of conflict in America is between them—the “they” being either Trump voters or the people who are against Trump—and disguise the fact that most Americans are now battling over a smaller and smaller share of an economic pie. I mean, you’ve got, for example, white working-class people who are on a downward escalator—they still are on a downward escalator—and they are now being taught to believe that African Americans and Latinos and foreigners and DACA children are somehow responsible for their plight. I mean, it’s taking their eyes off the system, what has happened as a system. This is why I wrote the book. Again, if we don’t start focusing on the common good and what we mean by that, and taking our eyes, at least occasionally, off of this egomaniac in the White House, who knows how to aggravate us and obsess us, then we are going to, in a kind of ironic way, allow him to succeed.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking to Robert Reich, chancellor’s professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, former labor secretary under President Clinton. He has a new book out. It’s out today. It’s called The Common Good. We’ll be back with him in a minute.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Silver Dagger” by Joan Baez. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González, as we turn to President Trump talking about the infrastructure plan that he’s just presented.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This morning I submitted legislative principles to Congress that will spur the biggest and boldest infrastructure investment in American history. The framework will generate an unprecedented $1.5 to $1.7 trillion investment in American infrastructure. We’re going to have a lot of public-private. That way it gets done on time, on budget.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s President Trump introducing his infrastructure plan. From infrastructure, if you can respond to that, to the budget, to the tax plan, talk about what he’s proposed and what would be a plan for the common good.
ROBERT REICH: Trump is proposing what he says is $200 billion of federal money, that somehow, magically, creates $1.5 trillion of infrastructure spending. Well, first of all, there’s no money left in the federal budget. All of the money that was there has been basically taken with the big tax cut. So, he—on closer inspection, he and the White House are saying, “Well, that $200 billion is going to have to come out of other programs.” Now, when they say “other programs,” we know what they mean. That means programs for the working class and the poor. They’ve been the first on the chopping block for the entire administration so far.
But beyond that, where does the rest of the money come from? It comes from private developers, private investors. How can we attract private investors for that much infrastructure? By giving them the receipts of tolls and fees and user fees—basically, turning the future infrastructure of America, and much of the present, over to the private sector. So we pay twice. We pay not only through our taxes, but we also pay through all of the tolls. And money—
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: But they also expect large contributions from local, city and state governments—
ROBERT REICH: Exactly.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: —that would also be us paying, as well.
ROBERT REICH: Exactly. And the state governments are not going to just be able to come up with the money. They are going to have to raise taxes, as well. And so, you’ve got a system that is Trumpian in all its dimensions, again, without any understanding of the common good. It is going to cost more people more money, and it’s not even going to be infrastructure where we most need it. I mean, where we most need it is repairing old bridges and old highways and water treatment facilities. But where do private investors want to see infrastructure? Where can they get the biggest return? On brand-new highways and brand-new bridges, that will basically skirt the poor areas of this country, not only the poor rural areas, but many of our minority communities.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to ask you about the—in terms of the tax cut, because I remember, before the election, both Democrats and some Republicans, like John Kasich, were talking about using an amnesty for corporate profits that were being held offshore, when they would repatriate it, to use that for infrastructure, because that was a one-time shot in the arm to the U.S. economy. And that didn’t happen, actually. Most of that money seems to have gone into the overall plugging the gap of this plan. But you’ve also focused on stock buybacks and how companies are using stock buybacks now with this tax plan, while all the attention is going into the pittances that they’re giving in bonuses to their workers.
ROBERT REICH: Exactly. And those bonuses have proven to be very, very tiny relative to the amount of profits that companies are now sinking into buying back their shares of stock, which is a technique used by companies to artificially raise stock prices. Why are they doing this? Largely because CEO pay is so intimately related to share prices, that CEOs, even in an era like this, when there’s almost no reason for share prices to go up—in fact, they’re going down—but artificially keep them up, or keep them from falling as much as they would, by buying back the shares of stock. Now, this has nothing whatever to do with the promise that the Trump—
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And how has the buybacks increased now, in the past year, compared to previously?
ROBERT REICH: Buybacks were already at a record level in 2017. And so far this year, they are even at a higher level. So, all of that corporate tax in the new tax plan that’s gone into effect, that was supposed to inspire and encourage a lot of new investment—you know, the trickle-down economics theory—well, it’s already proved to be bankrupt.
AMY GOODMAN: Earlier this month, Senator Sanders questioned Budget Director Mick Mulvaney about President Trump’s budget plan.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Explain to me the morality of a process by which we give the third-wealthiest family in America—major contributor, I might add, to the Republican Party—over a billion dollars a year in tax breaks, and yet we cut a program which keeps children and the elderly warm in the winter.
MICK MULVANEY: Here’s the morality of the LIHEAP proposal, Senator: 11,000 dead people got that benefit the last time the GAO looked at it. That’s not moral, to take your money, to take my money, to take the money from the people that you were just mentioning—
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Eleven thousand people got it who shouldn’t have. Correct that. But 7 million people get the program. To say that 11,000 out of 7 million—deal with that.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s Bernie Sanders questioning Budget Director Mick Mulvaney. Robert Reich?
ROBERT REICH: Well, morality is very much at the center of all of this. I mean, this is the discussion we ought to be having. I mean, say what you want about Donald Trump. He has at least brought us back to first principles. Why are we together in this nation? What—who are we? Are we just a bunch of individuals who happen to be born here and who should be making as much money and accumulating as much power as possible? Is that the meaning of America? Or is it that we are a bunch of white Christians who were all born here and speak English as a first language? Is that the meaning of America? Well, I’m sorry, that is not the meaning of America as we’ve understood it for much of the 200 years—more than 200 years of our existence. There are ideals that undergird our understanding of why we are a nation. As a great political philosopher Carl Friedrich once said, you know, “To be a Frenchman is a fact. To be an American is an ideal.” You know, we are not a creed. We are not a religion. We are a conviction, a conviction about the importance of certain ideals.
Donald Trump obviously doesn’t understand the common good. He’s never uttered the words “the common good,” I’m sure. But they were understood. You know, I’m old enough to remember people like Robert F. Kennedy, who talked in terms of the common good. I even worked—my first job in government was working for Robert F. Kennedy in his Senate office in 1967. And I, like many of my generation, went out and campaigned for Eugene McCarthy 50 years ago, because we believed so deeply that there was a common good that was being violated by the Vietnam War. Many of us sacrificed our time. And some of my—a friend of mine, very good friend, sacrificed his life in the civil rights movement. Most of us, many of us, were weaned on the notion that this country had moral principles. When Bernie Sanders asks Mick Mulvaney about morality, he is asking a question about what this country once represented and should represent.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, in your book, when you’re talking about what are some of the shifts that have begun to tear away at the concept of the common good, you talk about the notion of whatever it takes to win. Can you talk about that?
ROBERT REICH: Well, that has become—and again, Donald Trump is sort of the emblematic of that idea, but it’s been growing for the last three or four decades, whatever it takes to win. In politics, it doesn’t matter what you do, doesn’t matter the effect on the institutions of our democracy, if you can still just win. The same thing with business. If you just show a profit and show a bigger and bigger profit, it doesn’t matter what effect you’re having on communities or on employees or the consequences for the nation. You just win.
All of this win-at-any-cost mentality is actually rather new. You know, we, as Americans, we went through a Depression, we went through World War II. We understood, at some point, that we’re all in the same boat together. It’s not—and again, I want to emphasize this, I don’t want to romanticize the past. It’s not that we were an equal society that adhered in every respect to an understanding of the common good, but we at least strove for it—you know, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, Medicare, Medicaid, the Environmental Protection Act. We at least were on the road to trying. And then there was a big U-turn, Juan, and you know as well as I. It starts with Ronald Reagan. And we no longer talk about the common good.
AMY GOODMAN: Talking about the common good, let’s talk about immigrants for a moment. You are a professor at University of California, Berkeley. There are many students who have DACA at University of California, all over the country. We’re talking about nearly a million young people, who are threatened now with not knowing what’s happening, because President Trump says he was ending the program, a judge has now stopped it. But what’s happening at universities, for example, in dealing with kids? How do you talk to young people who are dealing with this uncertainty, with this crisis, the ripping apart of their families, and if not them, the possibility that their parents will be deported, immigrant leaders around the country being targeted, being detained, being threatened with deportation right now, as President Trump talks about the national security of the country, explaining that’s why he’s ripping families apart? And yet you have this seven—this 19-year-old shooter, self-confessed shooter, who has easy access to guns, and President Trump hardly talks about this.
ROBERT REICH: Well, I think this is again a good exemplar of the problem we’re in and the ironies we find ourselves. These DACA kids were promised—there was a promise made to them—that if they registered, if they basically provided information about themselves—they came here as children, it’s not their fault that they came here as children—that they would, if they registered, have an opportunity to stay, an opportunity to apply for permanent citizenship, an opportunity to work. And then, suddenly, arbitrarily, we have a president come along, a new president, who says, “Well, all of that is off. You are actually going to be targeted. You should not be here. Yes, well, it’s too bad you came here as a child.”
This kind of insensitive, amoral—in fact, it’s immoral—approach to these kids, at the same time you’ve got guns in schools and guns all over the place, you know, a kind of an insensitivity to the reality of what this nation is experiencing, it seems to me, is, again, the essence of the problem we now face. Why is it so hard to understand that no nation, except the United States, suffers the gun violence we do, and no nation, except the United States, has as easy access to guns? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to connect up the dots. But you do have to at least have a concern for the common good.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to ask, briefly—we have about a minute left. You talk in the book about bumping into the CEO of Wells Fargo one day at a light on a street corner at Berkeley and the conversations you had with him. Wells Fargo, probably a racketeering conspiracy all of its own, in terms of how it’s dealt with its clients.
ROBERT REICH: CEOs today—and the CEO of Wells Fargo at the time was just another example—I think, don’t understand that they have public obligations that go beyond public relations. You know, John Stumpf, who was the CEO, he said to me, over coffee—and we did bump into each other—that he wanted to just distinguish Wells Fargo from all the other banks that had been caught up in the 2008 banking crisis, and he wanted to make sure that the public understood that Wells Fargo really was a responsible bank. And he said this with a complete seriousness. I mean, he fooled me.
AMY GOODMAN: We have three seconds.
ROBERT REICH: Well, in three seconds, let me just say, it’s not just Trump. It’s all of us.
AMY GOODMAN: The Common Good is Robert Reich’s new book. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. Thanks for joining us.
Film Assignment for Tuesday, 4 Sept. 2018
1. Watch the video above. Keep the follwing quesitons in mind when watching:
- Who determines the value of something?
- How does demand for an item effect its value?
- Is the value of an item determined by strict logical rules?
- After watching this video, explain how the value of an item or a service is determined by
personal taste. Give an example in your life of when you assigned value to an item or a service based on your personal preferences.
Final Exam for Financial Literacy May 29-30, 2018
Please copy and paste these questions, respond, print and turn in.
- Describe the working conditions for laborers in at least two Asian counties we have studied
- What is the median annual income in a career of your choice?
- Identify two negative results students of for-profit colleges endure.
- If you save $10.00 a week for 10 years and earn 5% interest, how much would you save?
- After 20 years?
- Which type of student loan is most economical, government or private?
- Which allows you to borrow the most money?
- Name two negative consequences of not paying back your student loan?
- Describe an example of inequality on our society.
- Describe the phrase “Gilded Age.”
- T/F: College tuition is very expensive in Europe. Explain your response.
- Explain why health care is an important topic in financial literacy. Can you name some countries where citizens enjoy “free” health care? “Free” means that health care is paid from taxes.
- Name a billionaire. How do you think he/she should spend his/her money?
- Estimate how much owning, driving, licensing, insuring, maintaining and operating a car would cost you per year.
- Name three alternatives to owning a car.
- T/F: Banks will soon be able to make risky bets with money you have deposited.
Financial Literacy Assignment for Thursday-Friday, 24-25 May 2018
1. Complete any missing assignments.
2. Review "Final Exam Guide"
Financial Literacy Assignment for Wednesday, 23 May 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQvig0KvUaE
1. Watch the short video and respond to the following questions.
Please write your responses on a sheet of paper, answers only.
Followng these questions, please review the study guide for your final next week.
Please take note of some of the statements Professor Noam Chomsky makes in this short interview:
The Republican party is “Systematically dismantling every aspect of government that works for the benefit of the population.” (1:49) It is dismantling “workers’ rights” increasing “pollution of the environment” and reducing the protection of “consumers.”
Please respond to these statements made by Chomsky:
- Why did the stock market go up?
- Does the stock market have much to do with the larger economy?
- What does Chomsky say are the two biggest threats to human existence?
- The federal budget has been cut in what important area?
- Subsidies (financial support) have gone to what “clean” (not clean) industry?
- Which political party is responsible for these “anti-people” policies?
- Why has Trump built walls around his golf courses?
- “Destroying the prospects for organized human life” – what was he talking about?
- T/F: The republicans are uneducated. Explain.
- Chomsky mentions the Doomsday Clock. Research the meaning and define.
Final Exam Guide
- Review working conditions for workers in developing countries.
- Review the median income for your career choice (Occupational Outlook Handbook)
- Review the problems at for-profit colleges
- Review the interest calculator and calculate savings over time with an interest rate.
- Review the two main types of student loans and the benefits and drawbacks of each.
- Define inequality in our society and identify two forms that it takes.
- Define the “Gilded Age.” Explain why many observers say we are living in “The Second Gilded Age.”
- Compare college tuition in Europe and the U.S.
- Compare heath care here and in many countries abroad.
- Evaluate the cost of car ownership.
Financial Literacy Assignment for Tuesday, 22 May 2018
1. Look over the above article. Name 3 companies which a high Marx ratio and 3 with a low ratio.
Which companies distribute more of their profits to their workers?
2. Read the article below and explain the following passages:
- (The Volker rule is intended to prevent) banks from making their own risky bets with their customers’ deposits
- (The banks want to) soften the Volcker Rule, making it easier for giant banks to engage in a wider range of trading that can be highly profitable, but also very risky.
- Mr. Trump on Monday signed a law nullifying a consumer rule intended to prevent discrimination in auto lending
- The question is how exactly to distinguish between trading connected to clients, which is permitted, and trading that amounts to speculation, which is banned.
Financial Literacy Assignment for Monday, 21 May 2018
1. Watch the video above. Keep the follwing quesitons in mind when watching:
- Who determines the value of something?
- How does demand for an item effect its value?
- Is the value of an item determined by strict logical rules?
- After watching this video, explain how the value of an item or a service is determined by
personal taste. Give an example in your life of when you assigned value to an item or a service based on your personal preferences.
Financial Literacy Assignment for Friday, 18 May 2018
https://www.timeforpayback.com/
1. Please link to the site above and play. Record your responses with pen and paper. We will discuss your responses.
2. Link to the site below and take the Money Quiz. Record your responses with pen and paper. We will discuss your responses.
https://www.channelone.com/interact_post/the-money-master-quiz/
Financial Literacy Assignment for Wednesday and Thursday, 16-17 May 2018
1. Review "How to Buy a Car."
https://www.incharge.org/financial-literacy/budgeting-saving/how-to-buy-a-car/
a. You need a car. Will you buy or lease? Explain the financial reasons for your choice.
2. What is the total cost of owning a car? Use the Car Cost Calculator to determine your answer.
Fill in the fields and calculate.
https://financialmentor.com/calculator/car-cost-calculator
3. You wanted to purchase a new car, but now that you know how expensive it is to own and operate a car, you have changed your mind. You will buy a used car instead. Read "The Best Used Cars for Teens," and select a used car to buy. Explain your choice based on price, safety and reliability.
https://www.consumerreports.org/used-cars/best-used-cars-for-teens/
4. After reviewing and calculating the cost of purchasing or leasing, licensing, registering, insuring, repairing and maintaining and operating a car, examine these alternatives to car ownership.
a. List and explain at least two that might work for you. Explain
Financial Literacy Assignment for Tuesday, 15 May 2018
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180508-young-chinese-are-sick-of-working-overtime
Please read the story above and write a 2-3 paragraph opinion of this situation in China.
Please write with a pen and paper, as the printer is out of toner.
Financial Literacy Assignment for Monday, 14 May 2018
1. Who is Betsy DeVos? Look her up. Where is she from?
2. Describe the “revolving door” aspect of this situation. (We studied “revolving door” in an earlier assignment).
3. Name three accusations against for-profit colleges.
4. What has happened to investigations of for-profit colleges since Betsy DeVos has been U.S. Secretary of Education?
5. Describe Senator Elizabeth Warren’s complaints against the new direction taken in the Department of Education under DeVos.
6. Why did the for-profit college, DeVry, pay a $100 million fine in 2016?
7. Describe the claims DeVry could not substantiate?
8. Explain the meaning of this quote: “I believe educational innovation and disruption are a fight worth having and it matches the President’s agenda of rolling back the excess of the Obama regulatory stranglehold.”
Financial Literacy Assignment for Friday, 11 May 2018
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/opinion/jeff-bezos-spend-131-billion.html
- Who is Jeff Bezos?
- How much is he worth?
- What does Bezos want to do with his money?
- Does Pollack think Bezos is spending his money wisely? Explain.
- How much can Bezos earn on his money annually at 5 percent interest?
- What is the first suggestion Pollack offers for Bezos’ money?
- According to Politico (click on link “math”), what are some benefits of math tutoring?
- What could Bezos endow? What does it mean to endow a university?
- How do you imagine that endowing a university would benefit people and society?
- Describe the importance of providing eyeglasses to needy people. (Click on the link to read more).
- Name three more ways Bezos could spend his money to benefit others.
- Name another way. This is one of your own choosing.
- What is an individual development account
- Watch and comment on the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuqU5XSo-1U
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Thursday, 10 May 2018
Please see me for an article on the economy of Costa Rica.
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Wednesday, 9 May 2018
1. What is a "kraken?"
2. What prevented republicans from repealing Obamacare (The Affordable Care Act)?
3. What is Obamacare or The Affordable Care Act?
4. Why do we study this in financial literacy class?
5. What was the uninsured rate among the nonelderly population in 2017?
6. How much did the government pay for healthcare offered by Obamacare in 2016?
7. What was the uninsured rate among nonelderly adults in 2010? In 2016?
8. Name one challenge for Americans with healthcare coverage?
9. Name one reason republicans want to destroy Obamacare?
10. Describe the ideological reason conservatives hate Obamacare?
11. Krugman says republicans are trying to "sabotage" Obamacare in two ways. Define "sabotage."
12. Describe the first way republicans are trying to sabotage Obamacare.
13. Decribe the second way.
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Tuesday, 8 May 2018
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/06/opinion/workers-benefits-inequality-rent-the-runway.html
Please read the story above and repsond to the following questions.
First, skim the company's website to find out what they are all about.
https://www.renttherunway.com/
1. What is this story about?
2. How did Hyman contribute to America's inequity problem?
3. Describe the differences between the two tiers of workers.
4. What did Hyman do to improve the problem at Rent the Runway? What benefits do warehouse and customer service employees have now that they previously lacked?
5. Describe the pay of the CEOs of big companies.
6. Based on this figure alone, do you think companies have the choice to offer more pay and benefits to their lower paid employees? Why?
7. Describe what Hyman means by "safety net."
8. In which ways are the new policies in the interest the business?
9. What is Hyman's vision of what a modern workplace should be?
10. Describe a different business that has unequal pay and benefits for its employes.
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Monday, 7 May 2018
1. Watch the video above and respond to the following quesitons:
a. Decribe what Klein means by "shock"
b. According to Klein, what can businesses and governments take from people by using "shock?"
c. Where in the world has "the shock doctrine" been used?
d. What types of disasters qualify as "shocks?"
e. What is the goal of right wing governments when using "shock?"
f. Is Trump keeping his campaign promises? Yes or No. Give an example.
g. List and describe Klein's 5-step plan.
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Friday, 4 May 2018
In a one or two paragraphs, describe how the prison systems in Portugal and Norway benefit society.
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Thursday, 3 May 2018
1. Using the link below, figure how much you would save over a period of time of your choice.
https://web.extension.illinois.edu/money/saving_twentyperweek.cfm
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Wednesday, 2 May 2018
1. Please link to the article above and read. Copy and past the questions with your responses. We will have a class discussion on this article and this assigment tomorrow.
2. Define and describe "Gilded Age" and explain why the author uses that term to describe the economic climate in America today.
3. Who is the "Real Villain" behind our "New Gilded Age?" Explain.
4. Give an example of "impersonal market forces."
5. What is the difference between an "institutional investor" and an individual investor? Which one has more influence on the companies they invest in?
6. Which is best for middle class people in Ameirca: a few large monopolies or many smaller companies in competition with each other? Explain.
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Tuesday, 1 May 2018
Please cut and past questions and your respnses to a word document, print, and turn in.
Note: check out the bold text for assistance assistance in your responses.
1 According to this article, what programs does President Trump intend to cut?
2. The $1.5 trillion tax cut will benefit which sector of the U.S. population?
3. What do you think Robert Reich means by the "common good?"
4. Why does Robert Reich say he is hopeful about young people and their potentical to effect positive change?
5. What does Reich say about propaganda?
6. What does Reich say about Trump's technique of "divide and conquer." What is Trump's objective in setting this tone?
7. What does Reich say about the "win at any cost mentality?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump made a promise to the American people: There would be no cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
DONALD TRUMP: Save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, without cuts. Have to do it. Get rid of the fraud. Get rid of the waste and abuse. But save it.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, that promise has not been kept. Under his new budget, President Trump proposes a massive increase in Pentagon spending while cutting funding for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Trump’s budget would also slash or completely eliminate core anti-poverty programs that form the heart of the U.S. social safety net, from childhood nutrition to care for the elderly and job training. This comes after President Trump and Republican lawmakers pushed through a $1.5 trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly favors the richest Americans, including President Trump and his own family.
AMY GOODMAN: Our next guest has been one of the vocal critics of President Trump’s economic policies. Robert Reich served as labor secretary under President Bill Clinton. He’s now a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. Most recent book is out today, it’s called The Common Good.
Welcome to Democracy Now! It’s great to have you back, Robert Reich.
ROBERT REICH: Thank you, Amy.
AMY GOODMAN: So, respond to what we see today. You have this fall in Wall Street, which doesn’t necessarily reflect what happens on Main Street, and you have this budget that’s been introduced, that we just heard, and the broken campaign promises of President Trump. Who’s winning and who’s losing at this point?
ROBERT REICH: Well, I think we’re all losing. That is actually the theme of my book. The rich in America cannot continue to do well when most others are not. If the social contract, that is the basis of this country, is coming apart, if we are basically saying to everyone, “You’re on your own,” we’re all going to be worse off. There is a common good. At least there was a common good. I think the purpose of the book is to ignite a discussion about whether we can re-establish a sense of common good in America.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, when you say there has been a common good, talk about that historically in terms of the how the concept developed.
ROBERT REICH: Well, in the Constitution, Juan, it says, “We the people.” We, the people, are establishing a government, and one of the purposes is for our own domestic well-being. And the Declaration of Independence and our founding documents and the Gettysburg Address—I mean, go through everything over the last 200 years that has talked about who “we,” what the pronoun “we” means, and it means equal political rights. And that has been a goal. It hasn’t been effectuated. We’ve sought it. We certainly—I don’t want to romanticize a past in which we certainly have not had equal political rights. But there was—for much of our history, we’ve at least been seeking it. The same with equal opportunity. The same with the rule of law, that no person is above the law. And you go—you go down the list. Again, I want to emphasize these are aspirations, these are ideals, that kept us together, again and again.
And I fear we’re losing them. I mean, Donald Trump is sort of the essence of the problem, but he is not the cause of the problem. I mean, his election was, I believe, a result, at least in part, of a great deal of disillusionment and anger and cynicism that many people have toward a system, toward a ruling class, that did not deliver, that has not delivered. And Trump’s conflicts of interest, his narcissism, his sort of inability to understand that there is something called America that is greater and more important than flag salutes and standing for a national anthem or securing the borders, is symptomatic of something that is much deeper that’s gone wrong in America.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking to Robert Reich, who was the labor secretary under President Clinton. And you had a lot of problems with Clinton. I mean, you talked about walking the streets the day he signed off on welfare reform, what some called “welfare deform,” walking the streets of Washington, wondering where all the people were. Well, today, actually, there are a number of people in the streets. They are young people. They are high school kids, who could turn the entire system on its head, not only around gun control. These are the survivors of the massacre in Florida. They’re on a bus to Tallahassee. They’re doing lie-ins and die-ins in Washington, D.C. And they’re saying what even the media—though the media has come out, except for Fox, pretty anti—pretty much for gun control. They always start off by saying, “Well, you can’t get an automatic weapons ban. We will start there. But what is it you think you can do?” They are questioning everything right now. They’re talking about corruption. They’re talking about money in politics. These are kids in 10th, 11th and 12th grade, and younger.
ROBERT REICH: Well, they give me a great deal of encouragement, Amy, you know, that young lady, Emma González, for example, that very powerful speech she gave Saturday about gun control. What I see around the country is that there’s a silver lining to Trump and to everything that’s going on right now in our nation’s capital and elsewhere. That silver lining is that you have young people, you also have many activists, who are becoming more active than ever before. A lot of people who had given up on politics, had become cynical, are saying to themselves, “I can’t afford to be cynical, because this country is too important to me and my children and my grandchildren.” They are becoming engaged in politics in a way I haven’t seen since the Vietnam War or the anti-Vietnam War movement. I teach young people. And I can say that every day I count my blessings, because I’m surrounded by kids who care about this country, care about the future, and are not going to allow us to continue to ignore the common good.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And yet, the supporters of Trump have doubled down even more in their backing of him, as we’ve seen, repeatedly been seeing, most recently the Oprah interview with a group of a cross-section of Americans, half of whom had voted for Trump, and then Trump started blasting, on Twitter, attacking Oprah for the interviews. There is a sense among his supporters that he’s doing exactly what they expected him to do.
ROBERT REICH: Well, I think, to a large extent, Juan, those supporters have been watching, you know, the propaganda arm of the White House, which is Fox News. And if you get into that propaganda arm, you know, you begin to accept the lies that Trump has been propagating and Fox News has been propagating. I mean, he—in his whole life, he has been a con man. And I think there are a lot of Americans, sadly, who have been conned by him.
I mean, look at the tax bill. I mean, the idea that the working class is going to do better under that tax bill is absurd. That tax bill, that went through Congress, tax plan, is overwhelmingly favoring the very wealthy, and it’s being paid for—they’re already talking about paying for it. I’m talking about Paul Ryan and Trump, are already talking about paying for it by cutting programs like Medicare and Social Security and Medicaid, that so many Americans depend on, many Trump voters depend on. I mean, the Trump voters are the ones who are being shafted almost worse than anybody else.
And yet, because of the lies, the big lies, they don’t know it—or at least don’t know it yet. I think they will. They can’t help but understand it. In fact, I have spent a lot of time over the last year and a half in so-called red states talking to people who voted for Trump, and many of them are becoming deeply disillusioned. I mean, look at the—look at even the escapades that are coming out about paying off Playboy bunnies and prostitutes. And, I mean, you’ve got evangelicals in America who are saying, “Wait a minute, this can’t—we trusted that this man was somebody who he said he was, but he’s somebody entirely different.” The truth is going to catch up with them.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, you wrote recently, though, that in the 2016 election, that “he sucked all the oxygen out of the race by making himself its biggest story. Now, he’s sucking all the oxygen out of America by making himself our national obsession.” And you go on to say, “Schooled in reality television and New York tabloids, Trump knows how to keep both sides stirred up: Vilify, disparage, denounce, defame, and accuse the other side of conspiring against America. Do it continuously. Dominate every news cycle.”
ROBERT REICH: And that’s his—if you want to call it a gift. It’s certainly his technique. And that is what he knows how to do: divide and conquer, make us all feel as if we are against one another, that the most important kind of conflict in America is between them—the “they” being either Trump voters or the people who are against Trump—and disguise the fact that most Americans are now battling over a smaller and smaller share of an economic pie. I mean, you’ve got, for example, white working-class people who are on a downward escalator—they still are on a downward escalator—and they are now being taught to believe that African Americans and Latinos and foreigners and DACA children are somehow responsible for their plight. I mean, it’s taking their eyes off the system, what has happened as a system. This is why I wrote the book. Again, if we don’t start focusing on the common good and what we mean by that, and taking our eyes, at least occasionally, off of this egomaniac in the White House, who knows how to aggravate us and obsess us, then we are going to, in a kind of ironic way, allow him to succeed.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking to Robert Reich, chancellor’s professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, former labor secretary under President Clinton. He has a new book out. It’s out today. It’s called The Common Good. We’ll be back with him in a minute.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Silver Dagger” by Joan Baez. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González, as we turn to President Trump talking about the infrastructure plan that he’s just presented.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This morning I submitted legislative principles to Congress that will spur the biggest and boldest infrastructure investment in American history. The framework will generate an unprecedented $1.5 to $1.7 trillion investment in American infrastructure. We’re going to have a lot of public-private. That way it gets done on time, on budget.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s President Trump introducing his infrastructure plan. From infrastructure, if you can respond to that, to the budget, to the tax plan, talk about what he’s proposed and what would be a plan for the common good.
ROBERT REICH: Trump is proposing what he says is $200 billion of federal money, that somehow, magically, creates $1.5 trillion of infrastructure spending. Well, first of all, there’s no money left in the federal budget. All of the money that was there has been basically taken with the big tax cut. So, he—on closer inspection, he and the White House are saying, “Well, that $200 billion is going to have to come out of other programs.” Now, when they say “other programs,” we know what they mean. That means programs for the working class and the poor. They’ve been the first on the chopping block for the entire administration so far.
But beyond that, where does the rest of the money come from? It comes from private developers, private investors. How can we attract private investors for that much infrastructure? By giving them the receipts of tolls and fees and user fees—basically, turning the future infrastructure of America, and much of the present, over to the private sector. So we pay twice. We pay not only through our taxes, but we also pay through all of the tolls. And money—
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: But they also expect large contributions from local, city and state governments—
ROBERT REICH: Exactly.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: —that would also be us paying, as well.
ROBERT REICH: Exactly. And the state governments are not going to just be able to come up with the money. They are going to have to raise taxes, as well. And so, you’ve got a system that is Trumpian in all its dimensions, again, without any understanding of the common good. It is going to cost more people more money, and it’s not even going to be infrastructure where we most need it. I mean, where we most need it is repairing old bridges and old highways and water treatment facilities. But where do private investors want to see infrastructure? Where can they get the biggest return? On brand-new highways and brand-new bridges, that will basically skirt the poor areas of this country, not only the poor rural areas, but many of our minority communities.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to ask you about the—in terms of the tax cut, because I remember, before the election, both Democrats and some Republicans, like John Kasich, were talking about using an amnesty for corporate profits that were being held offshore, when they would repatriate it, to use that for infrastructure, because that was a one-time shot in the arm to the U.S. economy. And that didn’t happen, actually. Most of that money seems to have gone into the overall plugging the gap of this plan. But you’ve also focused on stock buybacks and how companies are using stock buybacks now with this tax plan, while all the attention is going into the pittances that they’re giving in bonuses to their workers.
ROBERT REICH: Exactly. And those bonuses have proven to be very, very tiny relative to the amount of profits that companies are now sinking into buying back their shares of stock, which is a technique used by companies to artificially raise stock prices. Why are they doing this? Largely because CEO pay is so intimately related to share prices, that CEOs, even in an era like this, when there’s almost no reason for share prices to go up—in fact, they’re going down—but artificially keep them up, or keep them from falling as much as they would, by buying back the shares of stock. Now, this has nothing whatever to do with the promise that the Trump—
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And how has the buybacks increased now, in the past year, compared to previously?
ROBERT REICH: Buybacks were already at a record level in 2017. And so far this year, they are even at a higher level. So, all of that corporate tax in the new tax plan that’s gone into effect, that was supposed to inspire and encourage a lot of new investment—you know, the trickle-down economics theory—well, it’s already proved to be bankrupt.
AMY GOODMAN: Earlier this month, Senator Sanders questioned Budget Director Mick Mulvaney about President Trump’s budget plan.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Explain to me the morality of a process by which we give the third-wealthiest family in America—major contributor, I might add, to the Republican Party—over a billion dollars a year in tax breaks, and yet we cut a program which keeps children and the elderly warm in the winter.
MICK MULVANEY: Here’s the morality of the LIHEAP proposal, Senator: 11,000 dead people got that benefit the last time the GAO looked at it. That’s not moral, to take your money, to take my money, to take the money from the people that you were just mentioning—
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Eleven thousand people got it who shouldn’t have. Correct that. But 7 million people get the program. To say that 11,000 out of 7 million—deal with that.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s Bernie Sanders questioning Budget Director Mick Mulvaney. Robert Reich?
ROBERT REICH: Well, morality is very much at the center of all of this. I mean, this is the discussion we ought to be having. I mean, say what you want about Donald Trump. He has at least brought us back to first principles. Why are we together in this nation? What—who are we? Are we just a bunch of individuals who happen to be born here and who should be making as much money and accumulating as much power as possible? Is that the meaning of America? Or is it that we are a bunch of white Christians who were all born here and speak English as a first language? Is that the meaning of America? Well, I’m sorry, that is not the meaning of America as we’ve understood it for much of the 200 years—more than 200 years of our existence. There are ideals that undergird our understanding of why we are a nation. As a great political philosopher Carl Friedrich once said, you know, “To be a Frenchman is a fact. To be an American is an ideal.” You know, we are not a creed. We are not a religion. We are a conviction, a conviction about the importance of certain ideals.
Donald Trump obviously doesn’t understand the common good. He’s never uttered the words “the common good,” I’m sure. But they were understood. You know, I’m old enough to remember people like Robert F. Kennedy, who talked in terms of the common good. I even worked—my first job in government was working for Robert F. Kennedy in his Senate office in 1967. And I, like many of my generation, went out and campaigned for Eugene McCarthy 50 years ago, because we believed so deeply that there was a common good that was being violated by the Vietnam War. Many of us sacrificed our time. And some of my—a friend of mine, very good friend, sacrificed his life in the civil rights movement. Most of us, many of us, were weaned on the notion that this country had moral principles. When Bernie Sanders asks Mick Mulvaney about morality, he is asking a question about what this country once represented and should represent.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, in your book, when you’re talking about what are some of the shifts that have begun to tear away at the concept of the common good, you talk about the notion of whatever it takes to win. Can you talk about that?
ROBERT REICH: Well, that has become—and again, Donald Trump is sort of the emblematic of that idea, but it’s been growing for the last three or four decades, whatever it takes to win. In politics, it doesn’t matter what you do, doesn’t matter the effect on the institutions of our democracy, if you can still just win. The same thing with business. If you just show a profit and show a bigger and bigger profit, it doesn’t matter what effect you’re having on communities or on employees or the consequences for the nation. You just win.
All of this win-at-any-cost mentality is actually rather new. You know, we, as Americans, we went through a Depression, we went through World War II. We understood, at some point, that we’re all in the same boat together. It’s not—and again, I want to emphasize this, I don’t want to romanticize the past. It’s not that we were an equal society that adhered in every respect to an understanding of the common good, but we at least strove for it—you know, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, Medicare, Medicaid, the Environmental Protection Act. We at least were on the road to trying. And then there was a big U-turn, Juan, and you know as well as I. It starts with Ronald Reagan. And we no longer talk about the common good.
AMY GOODMAN: Talking about the common good, let’s talk about immigrants for a moment. You are a professor at University of California, Berkeley. There are many students who have DACA at University of California, all over the country. We’re talking about nearly a million young people, who are threatened now with not knowing what’s happening, because President Trump says he was ending the program, a judge has now stopped it. But what’s happening at universities, for example, in dealing with kids? How do you talk to young people who are dealing with this uncertainty, with this crisis, the ripping apart of their families, and if not them, the possibility that their parents will be deported, immigrant leaders around the country being targeted, being detained, being threatened with deportation right now, as President Trump talks about the national security of the country, explaining that’s why he’s ripping families apart? And yet you have this seven—this 19-year-old shooter, self-confessed shooter, who has easy access to guns, and President Trump hardly talks about this.
ROBERT REICH: Well, I think this is again a good exemplar of the problem we’re in and the ironies we find ourselves. These DACA kids were promised—there was a promise made to them—that if they registered, if they basically provided information about themselves—they came here as children, it’s not their fault that they came here as children—that they would, if they registered, have an opportunity to stay, an opportunity to apply for permanent citizenship, an opportunity to work. And then, suddenly, arbitrarily, we have a president come along, a new president, who says, “Well, all of that is off. You are actually going to be targeted. You should not be here. Yes, well, it’s too bad you came here as a child.”
This kind of insensitive, amoral—in fact, it’s immoral—approach to these kids, at the same time you’ve got guns in schools and guns all over the place, you know, a kind of an insensitivity to the reality of what this nation is experiencing, it seems to me, is, again, the essence of the problem we now face. Why is it so hard to understand that no nation, except the United States, suffers the gun violence we do, and no nation, except the United States, has as easy access to guns? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to connect up the dots. But you do have to at least have a concern for the common good.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to ask, briefly—we have about a minute left. You talk in the book about bumping into the CEO of Wells Fargo one day at a light on a street corner at Berkeley and the conversations you had with him. Wells Fargo, probably a racketeering conspiracy all of its own, in terms of how it’s dealt with its clients.
ROBERT REICH: CEOs today—and the CEO of Wells Fargo at the time was just another example—I think, don’t understand that they have public obligations that go beyond public relations. You know, John Stumpf, who was the CEO, he said to me, over coffee—and we did bump into each other—that he wanted to just distinguish Wells Fargo from all the other banks that had been caught up in the 2008 banking crisis, and he wanted to make sure that the public understood that Wells Fargo really was a responsible bank. And he said this with a complete seriousness. I mean, he fooled me.
AMY GOODMAN: We have three seconds.
ROBERT REICH: Well, in three seconds, let me just say, it’s not just Trump. It’s all of us.
AMY GOODMAN: The Common Good is Robert Reich’s new book. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. Thanks for joining us.
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Monday, 30 April 2018
Please copy and paste the following questions to a word document, and answer in your own words.
1. Describe the difference between a student loan and a grant or scholarship.
2. Describe the difference between a federal (government) loan and a private loan (bank).
3. What are the benefits a federal loan?
4. What are the drawbacks?
5. What are the benefits of a private loan?
6. What are the drawbacks?
7. What is the name of the form to complete in order to obtain federal student loans?
8. Describe what happens if you cannot pay back your student loan?
What Are Student Loans?
Student loans are used to help those who need help paying for the expenses associated with their college or university education, including tuition, textbooks, and room and board. Some student loans are funded by the federal or state governments, but others are administrated by private banks. Student financing usually offers more favorable terms than traditional loans, such as lower interest rates and flexible payment plans that may defer, or postpone, repayment until schooling is completed. Another major difference between most student loans and other loans is they cannot be removed by declaring bankruptcy ; in most cases school loans remain on the borrower's record until they are paid.
Sidebar: Hide
Bankruptcy: A process by which a debtor who is deemed unable to pay off all his or her debts seeks legal protection from his or her creditors.
The rising cost of higher education has resulted in increasing numbers of people who rely on student loans. In 2014 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported almost $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt in the United States, with the average loan being around $25,000. Although student loans are accessible and helpful to students with limited financial means, repayment after graduation can be difficult if the student cannot find a job or takes an entry-level position at a low salary. Unpaid student loans can affect a borrower's financial stability for years to come.
What Is the Difference between a Student Loan and Financial Aid?
Financial aid is a blanket term that includes a number of different options designed to support students seeking higher education. Student loans are one form of financial aid. Other forms of financial aid for education include grants , work-study programs, and scholarships. An important difference between student loans and other forms of financial aid is that loans must be repaid, whereas grants and scholarships are monetary awards that are given outright.
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Grant: Sum of money given for a specific purpose with no requirement that it be repaid.
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Students have choices in the type of student loan they can borrow. ILLUSTRATION BY LUMINA DATAMATICS LTD. © 2015 CENGAGE LEARNING®. “Student Loans: Choosing a Loan That's Right for You.” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/paying-for-college/choose-astudent-loan/#o1.
Most forms of financial aid that do not have to be repaid are based on economic need or academic achievement and have a variety of other requirements, which may include at least half-time enrollment as a student. High school graduates with no previous college degree may be eligible for a Pell grant. Pell grants are funded by the U.S. government, and in the 2012–2013 school year they provided assistance to 36 percent of undergraduate students in the United States. Government, corporate, and educational organizations also offer scholarships to students who qualify through high grades, athletic achievement, or service. Most colleges and universities offer work-study programs, which provide minimum-wage on-campus jobs to students who can prove financial need.
Some for-profit learning institutions have been accused of encouraging students to apply for large amounts of financial aid without making it clear that such aid is a loan instead of a grant. It is important to read the conditions of any financial-aid agreement that you sign in order to determine your responsibilities in repaying the loan.
What Types of Loans Are Available to Me as a Student?
There are two basic categories of student financing, government-supported loans and private loans. Your individual circumstances will determine
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Responsible Borrowing
The federal student loan program has been successful in part because there are few barriers to receiving aid. Students do not need to prove creditworthiness, and, although aid is intended to cover tuition, educational supplies, and living expenses, there are few restrictions on how the aid is used. Because of the high volume of students relying on student loans, schools are not always able to provide in-depth guidance on responsible borrowing up front. As a result, many students are tempted to take out the maximum amount of loans available each year, even in excess of their actual expenses. Excessive borrowing, particularly when used to purchase inessential items, has contributed to staggering levels of student debt nationwide.
Responsible borrowing begins with research. Even before you find out how much you are eligible to borrow, you should educate yourself about the actual costs of attending your chosen program. Many programs offer online tools to help you estimate these expenses. Make a budget that includes education essentials such as tuition, room and board, books, and other supplies, and include a small cushion in your estimate to cover any unexpected expenses. Next, consider all available options for financing your education, including part-time employment, and calculate how much you actually need to borrow. Having a plan will help you avoid the temptation to borrow more than is necessary. If you have questions about how much you need to borrow, or the potential pitfalls of overborrowing, you can schedule an appointment with a financial aid adviser at your school.
which type of financing will work best for you. The most common type of U.S. federal loan is the Stafford loan, which is available to both undergraduate and graduate students who attend college at least half time. Although all Stafford loans feature low interest rates and deferred payment plans, some are subsidized by the government. This means that the government pays the interest on the loan while the student is in school and therefore lowers the overall amount due upon graduation. Unsubsidized Stafford loans add accumulating interest to the loan amount, and students are responsible for paying all interest once their schooling is over. Subsidized Stafford loans are reserved for students who can prove financial need, whereas unsubsidized Stafford loans are available to all students.
Another popular U.S. federal loan program for students with economic hardship is the Perkins loan. Perkins loans have the most favorable terms of all U.S. government loans, with very low interest rates and subsidized interest payments while the student remains in school. They have strict application requirements, however, and are given only to students with great financial need. Perkins loans are distributed throughPage 96 | Top of Articlecolleges and universities and are based in part on a student's academic performance. In some cases students can avoid repaying a Perkins loan by working in specific service jobs, such as teaching school in an impoverished area.
Repayment periods for federal student loans varies depending on the size of the loan. ILLUSTRATION BY LUMINA DATAMATICS LTD. © 2015 CENGAGE LEARNING®. Federal Student Aid/An Office of the U.S. Department of Education. https://studentaid.ed.gov/repayloans/understand/plans/standard.
If you do not qualify for federal loan programs or if you need more money than government loans provide, you may seek private student loans from banks or other financial institutions. Parents may be able obtain education loans for their children through private banks or through a U.S. federal program called Direct PLUS. PLUS loans are also available for many graduate students. Students entering certain health-related fields may be eligible for financial support through the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Some states also have government-funded student loan programs.
Is It Better to Get a Government Loan or a Private Loan?
In almost every case, U.S. government student loans offer more favorable terms than private bank loans. Private loans are generally only a good choice when federal financing does not provide enough money to cover all your expenses. Interest rates on federal loans are low and fixed, meaning that the rate will not change for the life of the loan. Private loans generally have variable interest rates, which can rise rapidly as the economy changes, resulting in much higher repayment amounts. Unlike federal loans, which allow students to defer payments until after graduation, many private loans require that repayment begin immediately. In addition, private loans are never subsidized, but some federal loans pay loan interest while students attend school.
Most federal loans do not require that you undergo a credit check (a detailed examination of your financial history). Private financial institutions always require a credit check and may require the student applicant to have someone cosign the loan. The cosigner of the loan agrees to take responsibility for repayment if the student is unable to. One of thePage 97 | Top of Articlebenefits of federal loans is that they can be easily consolidated, or combined, for more convenient repayment. Private banks generally do not permit consolidation and have fewer options for adjusting or postponing payments if you have trouble making them.
How Do I Apply for a Student Loan?
Your application process will depend on what kind of loan you are seeking. For federal loans, students and their parents must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is available online (https://fafsa.ed.gov/ ). The FAFSA is a long and complex form, requiring detailed personal and financial information about you and your parents that will help in determining which type of loan you qualify for. Information submitted on this form is sent to the schools you have applied to, and the schools will inform you of the type and amount of loan you may receive. Your college or university financial aid office can help you complete your FAFSA, and there are a number of books and websites that offer support.
The application process for private loans is often simpler than for a U.S. federal loan, although you will likely need to undergo a credit check. If you are a parent or graduate student applying for a federal Direct PLUS loan, a credit check will also be required. If your credit score is not high enough to have the loan approved, try to find a responsible person with a good credit score to cosign your loan. Potential cosigners include a parent, relative, or close family friend.
What Happens When My Federal Student Loan Is Approved?
After you complete the application process, the federal government will issue a student aid report (SAR). Your school will use this report to determine your loan options. Most federal student loans are distributed directly to students through the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP) and employ loan servicers, private financial companies that administrate the loans. One common loan servicer is the SLM Corporation, formerly the Student Loan Marketing Association (commonly known as Sallie Mae), but many other companies also service federal education loans. If you obtain a federal student loan, you will probably work with a loan servicing company.
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If this is your first student loan, the federal government requires you to complete a brief entrance counseling session that will explain your obligations as a borrower, including advice on managing money and developing a repayment plan. You may receive this counseling from your school's financial aid office, your loan servicing company, or, in some cases, online. Before receiving any funds, you will be required to sign a legal document called the master promissory note, which explains the terms of your loan and affirms your promise to repay the loan, along with all included interest and fees. There are several plans available for repaying your loan. The U.S. government website https://studentloans.gov/ offers a repayment estimator tool that can help you determine which plan is best for you before you discuss a repayment schedule with your loan servicing company.
What Happens if I Can't Pay Back My Student Loan?
Even though student loans offer favorable terms and are accessible to a wide range of students, they have strict rules about repayment. It is very difficult to cancel debt that has been acquired through student loans. Unlike other types of debt, student loans cannot be removed from your financial record by declaring bankruptcy or through any other legal means. Unpaid student loans will remain on your credit report , damaging your ability to borrow in the future. If no payment is received for a long period of time, the federal government may take harsh measures to collect, such as withholding your income tax refund or ordering your employer to withhold a portion of your wages in a process called garnishment.
Sidebar: Hide
Credit report: A detailed outline of a person's credit history (produced by a credit bureau) that lenders review to assess how financially responsible he or she is.
If you find that you are unable to maintain the payments on your student loans, your first step should be to communicate with your loan servicing company or other lender. You may be able to arrange a different type of payment plan or even suspend payments for a specific period of time until your finances improve. Some plans keep monthly payments affordable by basing them on the borrower's income. You may also look into a process called loan forgiveness, in which the government agrees to cancel all or part of your student-loan debt if you work in certain service jobs. Joining the military, working in volunteer organizations such as the U.S. Peace Corps, or teaching in low-income areas may qualify you for loan forgiveness.
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Thursday, 26 April 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvQR93C6n2E
1. Finish responding to questions from yesterday's assignment.
2. Click on the link above. Watch video and respond to quesitons below.
Copy and paste these questions and your responses to a word document. Print when fnished and turn in on Friday.
a. Define "forbearance."
b. Define "compounding interest."
c. Define "default" (on a loan).
d. Lenders, Congress and the private colleges are said to be three parts the student loan debt problem. Give one example of how each contributes to the problem.
Lenders:
Congress:
Private colleges:
http://www.beacon.org/The-Student-Loan-Scam-P783.aspx
e. Link to the article above and explain three problems with student loans.
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Wednesday, 25 April 2018
1. Link to and watch the video below on for-profit colleges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERf2wvXgEdk
2. Take notes on key points.
3. Respond to the questions below.
Copy and paste these questions and your responses to a word document. Print when finished and turn in.
a. What is the difference between a for-profit college and a college that is not for-profit such as Henry Ford Community College?
b. What amount did one student pay in tuition?
c. Name three for-profit colleges.
d. T/F: More than 1.2 million students were enrolled at for-profit colleges at the time of this video.
e. Where do most of the for-profit students get tuiton?
f. How do the for-profit colleges assist students in getting tuiton?
g. How are many students of for-profit colleges recruited?
h. What is a marginal student?
I. Are marginal students recruited to attend for-profit colleges? Why or why not?
J. One for-profit college recruiter said, "Dig deep. Get to their pain." What did she mean?
k. Many for-profit colleges are funded in what manner? In other words, where does the money come from to build, staff, advertise and recruit students to for-profit colleges?
l. Tuition at for-profit colleges is higher than that of a community college. How much higher?
m. Ninety percent of for-profit students' tuition comes from what source?
n. If a student defaults (cannot pay back the loan), who ultimately pays the cost?
o. When the U.S. Congress held hearings on problems in for-profit colleges, they discovered that 15 out of 15 schools were found engage in what type of practices?
p. Are graduates of for-profit colleges generally prepared for the careers they studied for?
q. Explain what happened to Marta (Martha).
r. What did Marta study?
s. How much money did Marta owe?
t. Which college did she attend after attending the for-profit college, and what was the amont of her tuition?
u. Describe differences in her instruction experience at the two colleges.
v. Define "caveat emptor." Why does that phrase apply to for-profit colleages?
Financial Literacy/Assignment for Tuesday, 24 April 2018
1. Link to the site below.
2. Explore two possible career options for yourself.
3. Compare the careers with respect to pay, education needed, job outlook and work environment and
write down the differences in each category.
4. Describe what you would do on the job of your first career choice.
5. Type and print your responses.
Financial Literacy/Mr. Sorrell/Assignment for Mon. 23 April 2018
Link to the article and answer the questions below. Please copy and paste the questions to a word document, type your answers and print out.
1. Where is Bangladesh and what is Dhaka?
2. Describe a work day.
3. Describe the conditions in the factories and the lives of the factory workers.
4. What did you learn about children in Dhaka?
5. Name at least three big clothing retailers who benefit from the low wages paid to workers.
6. In your own words, explain this sentence: "A complex set of laws and regulations, often flouted, allows different types of factories to operate according to different standards."
7. Describe the environmental effects of the factories and how this affects the heath of residents.
8. Describe something else from the article that you have not yet mentioned.
9. Describe the role of the government.
10. What is the purpose of publishing this article?
Ms. Thweatt
1. www.mel.org
2. Click on Databases
3. Go to Britanica High School
4. Type in your search term
Internet Assignment: Illegal Drugs
Directions: answer ONE of the following questions. Answers should be written in your own words in one detailed paragraph and emailed to michael.polonski@detroitk12.org by the end of the period. Two websites minimum must be used as sources to help you answer this question. Copy and paste the links to both websites at the end of your essay. Start your search at mel.org and then click on the Health tab, under Portals at the bottom of the page. After that, click on the Health and Wellness Resource Center link and conduct a search (the fewer words the better) to locate articles to help you answer the question. Once you have found two articles that support you, read/skim them and start to construct your essay. Send your essay as a regular email. Do not send attachments. Do not forget to copy and paste two links to the two sources that helped you answer this question.
- What are the dangers of using marijuana? How does it affect your physical, mental/emotional, and social health? Is marijuana a gateway drug? What is the correct medical term for marijuana?
- What is “vaping” and/or “e-cigarettes?” Is it more, less, or equally as harmful as smoking cigarettes? What does “vaping” have in common with cigarette smoking? What are the legal rules surrounding this activity? How does it affect the body and mind?
- What is the OPIOID crisis in America? List an OPIOID drug and describe how it addicts people. Who is to blame for the OPIOID crisis? Patients, doctors, politicians? What can be done to resolve this crisis? Explain.
Mr. Polo
https://sites.google.com/site/polosworldhistoryclass/
https://thecolumbianexchange.weebly.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQPA5oNpfM4
westernmediacenter.educatorpages.com
Ms. Haas: Research Project
Health Topics
https://medlineplus.gov/healthtopics.html
Bioethics, Informed Consent, other topics:
https://www.practicalbioethics.org/what-is-bioethics
mel.org
databases
opposing Viewpoints
Bioethics
MLA Resources:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
CiteFast
https://www.citefast.com/?s=MLA
Mr. Thorington: Governments
Country studies
mel.org
datbases
Britannica School - High
World governments: Map
Types of governments: definition:
https://www.livescience.com/33027-what-are-the-different-types-of-governments.html
Counties by type of government:
http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Government/Government-type
Types of government by country
http://cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/l/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government.htm
Types of government: rankings
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-best-governments-in-the-world.html
Trust in government: rankings
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-best-governments-in-the-world.html
Governments and inequality
Ms. Turner
"The Crucible" assignment
Topcis to consider:
MLA Resources:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Possible Topics
Red Scare
9-11
Edward Snowden (NSA) the National Security Agency
Wikileaks (Julian Assange)
Natural disasters
North Korea
Terrorism
Pandemic
Economic crisis
Presidental assassinaiton
School shootings
Guns and gun control
Search these topics and more at:
a. mel.org
b. Databases
c. Opposing Viewpoints in Context (8th up from bottom)
d. Type in search term
Ms. Brown
Scholarships
westernmediacenter.educatorpages.com
http://www.scholarshipsonline.org/
https://www.clickondetroit.com/station/women-of-tomorrow-raises-300m-in-scholarships
http://unusualscholarships.com/
https://mydocumentedlife.org/2016/09/12/scholarships-open-to-undocumented-students/
Ms. Lewis - World History Resources
westernmediacenter.educatorpages.com
Annotated Bibliography Samples
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/03/
General World History Resources
Click on Databases
Select among these databases:
Britannica HS
Gale Virtual Reference Library
General OneFile
General Reference Center Gold
Opposing Viewpoints in Context
General
Ducksters
Extra History
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhyKYa0YJ_5Aq7g4bil7bnGi0A8gTsawu
Database search
Social Sciences and History
World History Collection
Holocaust Sites
- https://www.ushmm.org/learn/students/the-holocaust-a-learning-site-for-students
- http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust
- https://www.ushmm.org
India Under British Rule
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-british-raj-in-india-195275
India Nationalism
http://www.historydiscussion.net/history-of-india/rise-of-nationalism-in-india-indian-history/648
Great Migration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TfgJnXlaxo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak1Uk8-3EE8
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/great-migration
https://priceonomics.com/the-great-migration-the-african-american-exodus/
Nazis - Origin/Nazism
https://www.britannica.com/event/National-Socialism
Transatlantic Slave Trade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnV_MTFEGIY
http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php-option=com_content&view=article&id=369&Itemid=145.html
Brown vs. Board of Education
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTGHLdr-iak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2XHob_nVbw
Union Army
http://www.historynet.com/union-army
Concentration Camps
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005144
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/concentration-camps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYV4t3sDhR0
WWII
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii
http://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/
Great War
http://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_i/
Mexican Revolution - Women
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mexican-revolution-and-the-united-states/viewpoints-on-women.html
https://iscmexicanrevolution.weebly.com/las-soldaderas--women-role.html
Iran Hostage Crisis
http://www.ducksters.com/history/us_1900s/iran_hostage_crisis.php
Spanish-American War
http://www.history.com/topics/spanish-american-war
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/spanishamerican/summary.html
https://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/printable/section.asp?id=7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmamZOAAJ0M
Africa - Democracy
http://www.newsweek.com/why-democracy-not-dead-africa-615368
Egypt
http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_egypt.php
Hitler's Lighteng War
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005437
Cold War
http://www.ducksters.com/history/cold_war/summary.php
French Revolution/Marie Antoinette
http://www.ducksters.com/history/french_revolution/
American Revolution
http://www.ducksters.com/history/american_revolution.php
Salem Witch Trials
http://www.ducksters.com/history/colonial_america/salem_witch_trials.php
Terrorism
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism
https://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/terrorism-links.html
Civil Rights Movement
http://www.ducksters.com/history/civil_rights/
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement
Hannibal of Carthage
https://www.biography.com/people/hannibal-9327767
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hannibal-Carthaginian-general-247-183-BC
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/hannibal
Mr. Redfield - Africa
Mr. Polonski
Mental Disorder Internet Assignment
Directions: answer one of the following questions in two or three detailed paragraphs. At the end of your essay, list two links to internet sites that provided you with this information. Responses should be emailed to michael.polonski@detroitk12.org before the end of class today.
1. What are modern-day treatments for schizophrenia? How is treatment better today than 50-60 years ago when John Nash had the illness? What are some of the obstacles that a person with schizophrenia faces? Are there any natural treatments?
Basics
History of schizophrenia
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201209/brief-history-schizophrenia
2. What are modern-day treatments for bipolar disorder? How is treatment better today than 50-60 years ago? What are some of the obstacles that a person with bipolar disorder faces? Are there any natural treatments?
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bipolar-disorder/basics/definition/con-20027544
http://caregiver.com/channels/bipolar/articles/brief_history.htm
3. ADHD
Mr. Polonski - Health Education Research Paper
Option #1:
a. www.mel.org
b. click on Health (brown tab)
c. click on Health and Wellness Resource Center (first option)
d. type in your topic
Option #2:
a. www.mel.org
b. click on Health (brown tab)
c. click on MedlinePlus (3rd option) or Nursing Resource Center (6th option)
Option #3:
a. mel.org
b. Databases
c. Opposing Viewpoints in Context (8th up from bottom)
d. Type in search term
Citations
Mr. Polonski
1. Cell Phones
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201312/stress-texting-and-being-social
2. Exercise
http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-anxiety/exercise-stress-and-anxiety
3. Nutrition and Stress
https://campushealth.unc.edu/health-topics/nutrition/nutrition-and-stress
Resources:
Questons #1 & #2
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/sexual-health/in-depth/teens-and-sex/art-20045927
Queston #2
http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/UnintendedPregnancy/Contraception.htm
Question #3:
1. mel.org
2. Databases
3. Opposing Viewpoints in Context (8th up from bottom)
4. Type "AIDS" in search field
Question #4:
https://sapac.umich.edu/article/95
Question #1
1. mel.org
2. Databases
3. Opposing Viewpoints in Context (10th up from bottom)
4. Type "sex education" in search field
5. View sites, including "Featured Viewpoints"
Bristol Palin: google "Bristol Palin abstinence"
Question #2:
http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/
https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/preconceptioncare/conditioninfo/Pages/healthy-pregnancy.aspx
Question #3:
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/419-adolescent-sexual-health-in-europe-and-the-us
Genetic Disorder Brochure Project
https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/BrowseConditions
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
Mr. Polonski
Nutrition Assignment
Write two paragraphs on one of the following topics:
When finished email your responses to: michael.polonski@detroitk12.org
You must copy and paste your Internet links at the bottom of your paper.
1. Describe the nutritional needs for a teenager. You must include information on:
a. calories b. three types of nutrients c. three types of fat d. vitamins and minerals
2. (Choose among the following topics) a. the benefits of packing your lunch b. 5 ways to get your 5 a day c. fiber d. choose another topic from the list.
http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/#cat20132
Take a Quiz or Test
Star Reading and Accelerated Reader
https://hosted259.renlearn.com/128522/
African Myths
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orisha
http://www.orishanet.org/ocha.html
http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/29afr_uk.htm
http://www.britannica.com/topic/orisha
http://www.nairaland.com/781645/yoruba-mythology
http://www.mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/myths/english/2_yoruba_full.htm
https://sites.google.com/a/asu.edu/mythology-of-africa/the-creation-of-the-universe-and-ife
1. Vegetarianism
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/tp/TypesofVeg.htm
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/afroambios.html
http://www.biography.com/people/groups/african-american-biopics
Ms. Thweatt - Muckraker Assignment
A. Research
1. mel.org
2. click on "databases" top center
3. Click on "Opposing Viewpoints in Context" (8th database from bottom - orange)
4. Type search term in blank field at top
5. Begin your research.
Note: you can email these articles to yourself using the tool at right
B. Creating Flier
1. Open Microsoft Word
2. Under "templates" at left, click on "newsletters"
3. Select a template and begin
Ms. Thweatt
http://www.factmonster.com/states.html
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/
MLA Format
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Citations
https://www.aclu.org/fact-sheet/what-school-prison-pipeline
http://www.justicepolicy.org/news/8775
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/tsr/education-under-arrest/school-to-prison-pipeline-fact-sheet/
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-43-spring-2013/school-to-prison
Citations
Mr. Polonski
1. mel.org
2. Databases
Health and Wellness Resource Center
MedlinePlus
. Nursing Resource Center
Depression
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/teenagers-guide-to-depression.htm
Mr. Polo
https://sites.google.com/site/polosworldhistoryclass/
Medieval: 1200-1400
Crusades
http://www.history.com/topics/crusades
http://history-world.org/crusades.htm
King Richard the Lion Hearted
http://www.themiddleages.net/people/richard_lionheart.html
King Philip II of France
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-II-king-of-France
Chivalry and Knighthood
http://www.heraldica.org/topics/orders/knights.htm
http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-knights/code-of-chivalry.htm
The Plague
http://www.historytoday.com/ole-j-benedictow/black-death-greatest-catastrophe-ever
http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/plague.htm
Gothic Architecture
http://www.exploring-castles.com/characteristics_of_gothic_architecture.html
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/gothic-architecture.htm
100 Years War
http://www.history.com/topics/hundred-years-war
http://www.britannica.com/event/Hundred-Years-War
http://www.historytoday.com/ian-mortimer/what-hundred-years-war
Joan of Arc
http://www.history.com/topics/saint-joan-of-arc
http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/joanofarc_short_biography.html
Africa 1000-1500s
Ghana, Mali, Songhai
http://www.timemaps.com/civilization/African-kingdoms
http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2013/10/ghana-mali-and-songhai.html
Berbers: Almoravids
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Almoravids
http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2013/10/almoravid-empire.html
Yoruba and Benin Art
http://www.forafricanart.com/Yoruba_ep_35-1.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_art
https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/topic-essays/show/13
Mutapa People (Southern Africa)
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mutapa_Empire
http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp264-ss13/2013/04/24/kingdom-of-mutapa/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Mutapa
Citations
MLA Format
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
http://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Middle_Ages.aspx
Ms. Balcacean
Chemists's Art Gallery
http://csc.fi/lul/chem/graphics.html
Visualizing Molecules
http://science.widener.edu/svb/molecule/colecule.html
Top Ten Chemistry Websites
6. http://periodictable.inbox.com
9. http://pubchem.neti.nlm.nih.gov
phet.colorado.edu/en/contributions/view3751
Chemistry Hypermedia Project
http://che.vt.edu/chem-ed/vt-chem-ed.html
CHEMysters: an Interactive Guide to Chemistry
http://library.thinkquest.org/3659
AUFBAU1: A Teaching Resource for 14-16 year-old Chemistry Students
http://wissensdrang.com/au1con.htm
http://sascurriculumpathways.com
http://gpb.org/chemistry-physics
http://science360.gov/topic/chemistry/
http://windows2universe.org/physicalscience/chemistry/chemistry.html
http://www.sciencegeek.net/Chemistry/Powerpoints2.shtml
PBS States of Matter
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/states-of-matter.html
Scientific American
http://www.scientificamerican.com/
Simulations
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/chemistry
States of Matter
http://science.k12flash.com/statesofmatter.html
Atomic Structure
http://www.homework-help-secrets.com/atomic-structure.html
Atomic Structure 2
http://library.thinkquest.org/10429/high/atomic/atomic.htm
Atomic Structure: Images
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=atomic+structure&qpvt=atomic+structure&FORM=IGRE
Atomic Structure: Chemguide
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/atoms/properties/gcse.html
Progressive Era
http://www.besthistorysites.net/index.php/american-history/1900/progressive-era
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/progressive/
http://www.snowcrest.net/jmike/progressive.html
The Renaissance (Machiavelli/The Prince)
Palazzo Strozzi Renaissance Award
Updated November 24, 2014
- Course reading and topics will be posted on the website by tomorrow,
- November 25, 2014.
- All students participating in the 2015 Palazzo Strozzi High School
- Renaissance
- Award must register online at: http://palazzostrozzi.us/award
- Students will select one of three essay topics to write a 1000 word
- typed essay.
- The work of Prince Machiavelli
- The discourse of Prince Machiavelli
- More Critical view of Prince Machiavelli
- Readings are assigned, which include general background, for
- all three essays as well as specific
- reading for each of the three essays.
- The final six essays (per school) are due to the Office of Literacy
- by February 2, 2015
- The twelve essays will be forwarded to Palazzo Strozzi Foundation
- between February 6 -9, 2015.
Project Gutenberg (entire book)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1232/1232-h/1232-h.htm
Spark Notes
http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/prince/
Quotes
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1335445-il-principe
DIA Paintings
http://www.dia.org/search.aspx?search=Artemisia+Gentileschi
http://www.dia.org/search.aspx?search=wedding+dance]
http://www.learner.org/interactives/renaissance/
http://michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html?http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-early.html
http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/mona_nav/mnav_level_1/3technique_monafrm.html
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats-on/ou-on-the-bbc-renaissance-secrets
http://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/index.html
http://www.mrdowling.com/704renaissance.html
Mr. Polonski
Medline Plus
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
Health and Wellness Resource Center
Ms. Richardson
https://www98.achievedata.com/detroitk12/?OnlineTestStudentLogin
Mr. McMillan
https://www98.achievedata.com/detroitk12/?OnlineTestStudentLogin
Ms. Brown
1. mel.org
2. Databases (at top)
3. CultureGrams (listed alphabetically)
4. World Edition
5. Select continent and then country
Ms. Rodriguez - Careers
Hispanic Mathematicians
http://bio.sacnas.org/biography/listssubject.asp
Noted Latino Mathematicians (Conduct Google Search of a Latino Mathematician on List)
http://www.fortsmithschools.org/Portals/20/Content/Noted%20Latino%20Mathematicians.pdf
More Hispanic Mathematicians
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061009010154AAgyyzE
Spanish Mathematicians
Ms. Turner: Edmodo
Mr. Martinez - Hispanic/Latino Biography
(In the search box type in "Hispanic" or "Latino")
Greek Mythology
http://www.greekmythology.com/
Heroes and Monsters
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0777436.html
Many Greek Gods and Goddhesses
https://sites.google.com/site/greekmythologypathfinder/home/websites
Many more Great Greek figures
http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Mythology/
Ancient Greece
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/Greece.html
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/
http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Main_Page/
http://www.ancient-greece.org/
SURVEY
https://survey.5-essentials.org/detroit
French
http://dictionnaire.tv5.org/dictionnaire
Spanish
http://elmundo.es/diccionarios/
Michigan Engineering (Ms. Luna)
http://cedo.engin.umich.edu/2013-summer-engineering-academy/
Accelerated Reader
JROTC
http://westerninternational.wix.com/western-jrotc-
French
Spanish
http://www.lapasserelle.com/index.php
Civil War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Civil_War
http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/classroom/annotated_list.html
Mr. Martinez (Video Games Project)
mel.org
teens
Opposing Viewpoints
Browse Issues
Video Games
Mr. Butler
Holacaust Memorial Center - Michigan
http://www.holocaustcenter.org/
Holcaust Museum - Washington D.C.
Ms. Ciaciuch
Tianamen Square % 911
1. www.mel.org
2. Click on "Teens" (green tab, bottom, left)
3. Click on "Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center" (4th link from bottom)
4. In search field (top, right) type in "Tianamen Square." Links to relevant resources will appear.
5. Do the same with "911"
Mr. McMillan
http://www.myhaikuclass.com/do/account/login
Real Media Survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T9NYV9Z/
BuildOn End-of-Year Survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/buildonpostsurvey
Starting a Business (Mr. Sorrell)
Template
http://app1.sba.gov/training/sbabp/bptemplate.pdf
Small Business Association
http://www.sba.gov/content/follow-these-10-steps-starting-business
Business Plan Outline
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/legacy/opadhome/mtdpweb/busplano.htm
Starting a Businees Guides
http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/index.html
Ms. Rodriguez (Biography)
http://www.detroitpubliclibrary.org
1. Databases
2. Biography and Geneology (click "Go")
3. Gale Biography in Context
4. Enter your lib. card # or: 256 748 0015 7011 (no spaces)
5. Search in blank field at top, right.
Mr. Martinez (Vocabulary)
Ms. Ciaciuch
teens (bottom green tab on left)
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (3rd database from bottom)
type search terms in search field)
__________________________________________________________________
http://detroitpubliclibrary.org
Database Search
General
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Enter library card number
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Type in search term
__________________________________________________________________
More Databases:
Student Resources in Context
Biography in Context
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
New York Times
__________________________________________________________________
Websites:
http://hrw.org (Human Rights Watch)
__________________________________________________________________
JROTC PAGE
http://westerninternational.wix.com/western-high-school
Ms. Rodriguez/Careers
Mr. Cruz
Famous People of Ancient Rome
http://www.chickjunk.com/famous-people-of-ancient-rome/
Ms. Brown
Ms. Rodriguez
Careers #1
Careers #2
Film Studies (Mr. P. Butler)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Internet Research
- What is meant by the term “concentration camp”?
- Who was sent to camps?
- What was the initial (first) reason for the camps?
- What did the camps become later on?
- Who ran the concentration camps?
- How many camps were there?
- During what years were the concentration camps in operation?
- In which countries were the camps located?
- How many people were killed in the camps?
- Why was nothing done to stop the operation of these camps?
Find an AR Book
Classjump
Center for Disease Control (CDC)
Ms. Baker
Research Tip: Type key words and phrases into your search field. For example, if the topic is sleep and teens, type: "sleep teens." Do not type: "List the differences in sleep patterns in teens and adults."
Opposing Viewpoints in Context
1. mel.org
2. "Teens" (bottom green tab at left)
3. "Opposing Viewpoints in Context" (3rd from bottom under Key Resources)
4. (you may have to enter a Michigan driver's liscense number, student ID or a library card number)
5. Search from "Issues" tab at top or type search term into search field at top
How Stuff Works
Biography
1. detroitpubliclibrary.org
2. Select "Biography and Geneology" from Database drop down-menu
3. Select "Biography and Geneology" again, then "Gale Biography in Context"
4. Type name in search field at top
eLibrary
1. mel.org
2. Click on "Teens" (bottom green tab, left)
3. Click on "eLibrary" (3rd from top under Key Resources)
4. Type search term into field at top
ESL Lab
Egypt
1. www.mel.org
2. Click on "Teens" (green tab on left, bottom)
3. Click on "Culture Grams" (2nd tab under Key Resources)
4. Click on "World Edition" and find Egypt
More Egypt
Select Egypt from alphabetical list
Egyptian-Americans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Egyptian_Americans
Egyptians
1. www.detroitpubliclibrary.org
2. Databases
3. Biography
4. Biography and Geneology
5. Gale Biography in Context
6. See Mr. Bowles for library card no.
7. Select nationality (Egyptian)
Arab Spring
1. www.mel.org
2. Click on Teens (green tab, bottom left)
3. Click on Opposing Viewpoints in Context (3rd from bottom)
4. Type in "Arab Spring" in serach filed (top right)
Foreign Policy U.S. and Egypt
http://www.cfr.org/region/egypt/ri150
(10-page research paper in Spanish)
Opposing Viewpoints
2. click on "Teens" (bottom green tab, left)
3. Key Resources: page down to click on "Opposing Viewpoints in Context" (3rd from bottom)
4. Click on "Issues" on top tab, or type in your search term in the search field.
eLibrary
1. mel.org
2. Click on "Teens" (bottom green tab, left)
3. Click on "eLibrary" (3rd from top under Key Resources)
Countires and States
1. mel.org
2. Click on "Teens" (bottom green tab, left)
3. Click on "Culture Grams" (2nd from top)
4. Choose area of the world and country
Citation Center
http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?start=&reqstyleid=1#
1. Statistics
2. General Data
(clik on MeL Databases)
3. eLibrary
1. mel.org
2. Click on "Teens" (bottom green tab, left)
3. Click on "eLibrary" (3rd from top under Key Resources)
Democracy
Human Rights
Detroit Data
Biography
1. www.detroitpubliclibrary.org
2. select "Biography and Geneology" from databases drop down menu
3. select "Biography and Geneology" again, then "Gale Biography in Context"
4. Enter library card number (or see Mr. Bowles).
5. Type in name of subject (person)
Newspapers
Detroit Race Riots (1967)
http://www.67riots.rutgers.edu/d_index.htm
Detroit Race Riots (1943)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/eleanor-riots/
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=185
Harvard Education Review
http://www.hepg.org/main/her/Index.html
NCTE
AERA
Art and Museums
Biography
Biography Resource Center (MEL)
Ms. Rodriguez
Cultures
Etiquette
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/country-profiles.html
Culture Grams
http://online.culturegrams.com/index.php
Flags and More
http://www.infoplease.com/countries.html
States
http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/Newspapers/By_Region/U_S__States/
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Cold War
Resources
Cold War Overview
http://www.authentichistory.com/
Potsdam
http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/potsdamagreement.html
Truman Doctrine
http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/trumandoctrinetext.html
Korea and the Cold War
http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/trumandoctrinetext.html
Marshall Plan
http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/marshallplanspeech.html
Iron Curtain/Winston Churchill
http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/ironcurtainspeech.html
Mao Zedong
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1226.html
Cuban Missil Crisis
http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/briefingpaper.html
U2 Incident
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0501.html#article
Mr. Polonski
Question #1: Self-esteem
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/self_esteem.html
http://www.pamf.org/teen/life/depression/selfesteem.html
Question #3: Stress
http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-teens.aspx
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/emotions/stress.html#cat20123
Question #1
1. mel.org
2. Databases
3. Opposing Viewpoints in Context (10th up from bottom)
4. Type "sex education" in search field
5. View sites, including "Featured Viewpoints"
Bristol Palin: google "Bristol Palin abstinence"
Question #2:
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/419-adolescent-sexual-health-in-europe-and-the-us
http://onlineathens.com/health/2013-08-10/rise-and-fall-teen-pregnancy
Question #3:
http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/
https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/preconceptioncare/conditioninfo/Pages/healthy-pregnancy.aspx
Genghis Khan
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/1996/12/genghis-khan/edwards-text
http://www.history.com/topics/genghis-khan
Japan (Samurai)
http://www.history.com/topics/samurai-and-bushido
http://www.samurai-archives.com
All topics:
1. www.mel.org
2. Databases (top middle tab)
3. Britannica High School (aqua tab)
4. Type search terms in upper tab