Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Today's schedule is B-A-Lunch-D-C

B- Social Studies 10 - Today we'll begin a lab exercise on latitude, longitude, and time zones. We will work through this activity together as a class and it is very important to finish the activity together so that we understand some very important basic geography skills. These skills will be needed in the unit on Canada's Physiographic Regions and the history unit on territorial development of Canada and settlement on the Prairies.

A - Social Studies 11 - Today we will finish the five themes of geography with the concept of a region. We'll see what geographic (think the themes of place and region) information we know of other regions and we'll look at stereotypes of Canadian regions and examine why we have them. We'll try to figure out what the concept "regionalism" means and how it causes challenges to Canada as a country. You have a critical challenge question to answer for Tuesday, based on our discussion of regionalism.

"In BC we have more in common with someone from Seattle or San Francisco than we do with someone from Saskatoon or St. John's. What is good for BC is not necessarily what is good for Saskatchewan or Newfoundland and Labrador. We are more concerned with hospital beds in Kelowna, stumpage fees for trees pulled out of Clayoquot, schools closing in Vancouver, ferry costs from the Island and wether the Canucks will make the playoffs. We're more concerned about BC than what's east of the Rockies. The same could be said for southern Ontarians, Quebecois, Albertans, Maritimers, Newfoundlanders, and people of other regional areas. Canada isn't a country, it's a patchwork of self concerned regions so much so that Canada doesn't make sense as a country. Now tell me I'm wrong and tell me why."

C - Criminology 12 - Today I want you to continue with your brainstormed list of all the reasons you can think why someone would commit a crime. Yesterday we collected all of your ideas on the board and tried to categorize them into crime theory clusters. After we'll begin our look at the nature vs. nurture debate by focusing on the history of psychological and sociological criminology (Power Point). For Monday, you need to create your own theory of why crime happens. Remember you need to use the brainstormed list we did in class along with the notes you take today on the history of Criminology. Use the Crime Theory Web Site found on this link. Tomorrow we'll look at the difference between deviance and criminal behaviour (acts that are criminal but not deviant and deviant but not criminal) and the three views on crime (interactionist, consensus, conflict).