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).