Current Events Reflection

From "researching" current events, doing summaries, etc. I do feel i learned a lot, not just specifically about my topic (economics) and each region assigned but about how and where to find reliable information and how different regions and events connect and work together. What helped me learn this was the questions Mr. Scott asked us about the information we had found, the periodic changing of regions (which led to learning about a variety of areas in the world), and the constant week-to-week requirements of finding current events. I could have learned more, yes. I think maybe searching for specific things going on within a region's area of policy might cause us to look more closely at the events and understand them a little better, or just doing something to get us a little more involved in the research would have helped us (or at least me) to learn and understand more.
If I were to do this again, I think I would try to spend more time (in the beginning) looking for MORE reliable and easy-to-understand sources to use, so that I could have information from more (different) viewpoints and perspectives, etc. I think I would also try to "follow up" more stories and try to investigate more effects of the events that happen in the economic (etc.) realm.
I think it would be helpful if next time Mr. Scott started more in-class discussions about the current events students had been researching, how they connect, etc. Maybe the students could also share some of the sources they had found useful so that others could benefit from that and get a variety of sources and perspectives to work from.
I don't think that I will necessarily continue to read news about my specific topic/regions, but doing "current events" has definitely sparked interest and awareness about world events, and now that I know and am familiar with news sources on the internet, I am more likely to see what is going on more frequently.

Essential Questions:
Most of my news sources are from the viewpoint of BBC or journalists from the specific region that have put articles on websites like Reuters or Economist.com. There is not much EVIDENCE of the events persay, but the fact that multiple stories/sources give simlilar accounts and the sources are usually relatively trustworthy, we can assume that most of the information is pretty close to accurate.
Natural disasters, elections of people who make certain decisions about economic policy, the failings/successes of certain big businesses or companies, etc. all connect to and affect "the big picture" of economic policy.
Most of the patterns of events are old and most of what I have seen just seems kind of everyday, but occasinally there are events or new ideas taht pop up that are new and haven't been seen much before, for example odd natural disasters and such that make an imapct on regions' economies and many facets of life...
What is going on in the world matters because of the effect it has on people and society and the decisions it makes about our world's future. What everything MEANS is a very difficult question that I cannot answer, beyond that these events show how people and systems work and how our world is changing...

ch. 34 HW 6/4/08 ws.34f (Bill Gates)

1. One way computers have changed American life is by making communication much more easy. Instead of using the telephone, you can now email or communicate with people in other ways all across the world. Computers provide quicker, cheaper communication with many more people in many more places than any other tool or way of communication has.

2. Gates took risks in life because he decided just to "jump in" into the world of computers when he was in college, without prior planning or anything, and he was constantly trying new ideas and changing them.

3. Many companies fell because they could not keep up with the rapidly changing industry, but Gates intends to keep Microsoft from falling by constantly meeting new trends.

ch. 34 HW 6/4/08 ws.34c (A Bridge to the Future)

1. Clinton proposes to expand opportunities through education (improving it and making it available to everyone). He wants to make 2 years of college as common or "universal" as a high school education and have "highly trained teachers demand peak performance from their students."

2. He thinks we must break the cycle of poverty and dependence; educate (all) Americans and help them "succeed at home and at work"; protect the environment and society/"our streets"; and maintain values, good leadership, and the budget.

3. He says he vetoed the budget because it "violated those values and principles" (the principle to "preserve Medicare, Medicaid, education, the environment, the integrity of our pensions, the strength of our people."

4. The value America places on knowledge will make us want to keep learning more and "build a bridge to the future", as will the tradition to try your best and work to gain something better in life (i.e. The American Dream).

ch. 29 HW due 5/12/08... ws F

1. The goal of the freedom riders was to test the Supreme Court Descisions banning segregation on public buses and to provoke a violent reaction that would convince the Kennedy administration to enforce the law.
2. The Kennedy administration reacted by sending in 400 US marshalls to protect the freedom riders.
3. The goal of the march on Washington was to persuade Congress to pass the civil rights bill that would guarantee equal access to all public accomodations and give the US attorney general the power to file school desegregation suits.
4. More than 250,000 people (civilians), including about 75,000 whites, attended the march.
5. The goal of the Freedom Summer project was to receive national publicity and influence Congress to pass a voting rights act.
6. Many college students volunteered for the project.
7. It showed America (and the governement) how bad and unfair things were, and Johnson's Voting Rights Act of 1965 was finally passed.
8. President Johnson quickly presented Congress with a new voting rights act and asked for its swift passage.
9. The Voting Rights Act outlawed the so-called literacy tests that had disqualified many voters.
10. It stated that federal examiners could enroll voters who had been denied suffrage by local officials, and the percentage of registered African-American voters rose after that.

ch. 25 HW due 5/5/08 sct.4 #5

WW11 had a negative effect on the "morality" or functioning of American famliles becuase it tore the parents from the home, but the war had a slightly good effect on the finances of some families (more jobs, etc.).
Women gained lots of employment opportunities from the war (with many men off fighting in the war) in defense plants and other places of work. This affected family life as well, which suffered (at least a little), because if women were working, they had less time to spend with their kids, or doing housework, etc. and the father of the household was most likely off to war, so the children often lacked a sense of parenthood and direction.
...I don't see how "the relationship between the races" relates to how WW11 affected family life so...
In 1944, the federal government passed the GI Bill of Rights to help veterans with education, training, and loans, which would have aided them and their families.

ch. 25 HW due 5/5/08

25.C (WS)
1. Why do you think the war ration book requires information on a person’s age, sex, weight, height, and occupation?
This was for identity purposes (so they could make sure it was REALLY YOUR book/stamps), and so that the government could decide how much food/goods you should be allowed; if you were a bigger person, you would need more food, etc.
2. What was the penalty for violating rationing regulations?
You could go to jail for 6 months, get your stamps taken away or be refused more, etc.
3. Most Americans during World War II accepted rationing. Why do you think this was so?
They considered it their personal contribution to the war effort; this was their way of supporting their country and troops, so they were ok with it.

--> growth/impact of centralized state power: This showed growth of centralized state power because the government was now deciding how much food which person could buy, and what to do about it if the people didn't comply.

Intro: Evolution of concepts...

Throughout the late(r) 1990s and World War 11, the civil rights movement, and the women's rights movements (1960s-70s), many events occurred to demonstrate the evolution of the concepts of personal freedom, individual responsibility, and respect for human dignity. The evolution of these concepts included times of both progression (gains of freedom, responsibility and respect) and regression (the loss or at least non-prosperous times for personal freedoms etc.).