Monday, April 30. 2012

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

A Block Social Studies 11 - Today we'll start with a bit of the Atomic Cafe movie in class. The Atomic Cafe contains civil defense movies from the 1940's through the 1960's and will help you understand the culture of fear that developed throughout the Cold War. Today we'll watch the first few sections that deal with the Manhattan Project, the Trinity Test and the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After this, you will be working on a "Cold War Flashpoints" activity where you'll analyze the following four conflicts through a W5H approach: Korean War, Vietnam War, Suez Crisis, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. You'll have the next two classes to work on this and you'll have a few handouts to help. NOTE: W5H = Who (countries & people) was involved; What happened during the conflict; When did the conflict take place; Where did the conflict break out and spread to; Why did the conflict occur; and How was Canada involved and affected by the conflict.

We'll examine the Canadian involvement in the Korean War (from Vetrans Affairs Canada...The year is 1950. The Second World War is over. The United Nations has been in place for just five years, and is working to promote global peace and security. Canada is brimming with optimism as Canadians look forward to a prosperous and peaceful second half of the 20^th century. Suddenly, an international crisis is brewing in the Korean peninsula and people, the world over, are holding their collective breath. What happens next is history).

We'll then look at Lester B. Pearson the Suez Crisis and the creation of the UNEF (from the Dominion Institute Project...Although Canada had no direct economic, military or political stake in the crisis, Canadian Foreign Minister Lester Pearson became a front line player at the United Nations. Working intensely from the end of October into early November 1956, Pearson proposed the world’s first ever peacekeeping force at the UN General Assembly. Using his vast web of connections and decades of experience, he persuaded the world assembly to make the UN force a reality).

Next we'll look at the Cuban Missile Crisis (from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum For thirteen days, the world waited, hoping for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. No one was sure how the Soviet leader would respond to the naval blockade and U.S. demands. Recognizing the devestating possibility of a nuclear war, Khrushchev turned his ships back. The Soviets agreed to dismantle the weapon sites and, in exchange, the United States agreed not to invade Cuba).

Last we'll look at the Vietnam War (from American Experience...in 1964 president Lyndon B. Johnson has the Gulf of Tonkin resolution passed that allows the US to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression." The Resolution allows Johnson to wage all out war against North Vietnam without ever securing a formal Declaration of War from Congress). CBC has a good site dedicated to Canadian involvement in the war and you can find it HERE.

B Block Law 12 - Today we continue our look at trials here in BC by starting with juries and jury selection and then focussing on the presentation of evidence (Crown first then Defence), the rules of evidence (including voire dire), and types of evidence (circumstantial, hearsay, privileged, and character). I'll have you work on questions 1, 2 and 4 from page 200 as well as questions 1, 2 and 3 from page 207 of the All About Law text.

C Block Geography 12 - Today we'll begin looking at Albedo, energy distribution, the greenhouse effect and temperature (if there's time we'll watch the BBC DVD “The Weather” episode on heat... Grrrr, Donal MacIntyre is doing my job!). NASA has a good website (Earth Observatroy Global Warming) that tries to explain the concept of climate change and global warming without a biased political viewpoint for or against the subject. Check it out. You could also look at the Hyper Physics website from the department of Physics and Astronomy at Georgia State University.

D Block Criminology 12 - Today we will be in the library working on our second journal / blog entry. Remember the statistics I showed you about crime trends here in BC? So today I would like you to tell me what you think about crime trends here in Canada / B.C. I want you to tell me if you think crime is increasing, decreasing, or staying the same. I would like you to be specific in your thoughts (ex: if you think crime is increasing what kind of crime? what age group? where? why?) Outline the current trends in crime (age, economy, social problems, firearms availability, gangs, drug use and justice policy - p.37-8 in Criminology: The Core) and crime patterns (ecology, social class, age, gender, and race p.42-9 in Criminology: The Core). You may want to throw in a reason or two why you think that violence is over reported in the media and maybe consider explaining why that hurts rather than helps deal with crime. Next find a news story that helps to explain your ideas about crime trends, make a link to the news article on your blogsite and then tell me all about how that story exemplifies your thoughts on crime trends.Stats Can Crime Trends