Thursday, January 17, 2013

Friday, January 18. 2013

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

C Block Crime, Media & Society 12 - So yesterday we watched the remainder of the "To Catch a Predator" show and looked at one way that property crime is portrayed in Media. Today we'll look at the Robin Hood/folk outlaw metaphor in criminal activity on TV (although it has shifted somewhat to vigilantism). We'll watch "The 12-Step Job" from Season 1 of Leverage. From the TNT Leverage site: The team goes after an unscrupulous financial director who stole from charity. After forcing him into rehab for his many addictions, the mission changes when Nate learns their mark is in fact robbing the rich (and criminal) and giving to the poor.

D Block Social Studies 11 - Today in class you'll work to compile your infographic poster on the commodity / resource / monoculture crop that you researched on Wednesday and Thursday. Don't forget that you're trying to tie this topic to a country that depends upon your commodity.This assignment is due today in class so please work hard to compile your information and make your infographic poster interesting and attractive.

A Block Law 12 - Today is one of the last few days you have left to work on your project for the semester. Including today, you have three classes remaining to work on the project. Tuesday we'll finish the War of the Roses and that leaves next Monday and Wednesday for project work. Do not forget that this project is worth 40% of your term grade and that you've had almost two months to work on it. Keep up the good work.


 B Block Geography 12 - To start the class, we will discuss Jared Diamond's book Collapse, trying to make sense of how civilizations in the past collapsed (Maya & Rapa Nui) and extrapolating his findings to our modern society today. We'll look at the twelve major modern environmental problems that Diamond identifies and examine his conclusions about our potential future. Remember to ask me about bunnies and Australia, specifically the 24 bunnies that the British brought with them in 1859 and how much the Australian government spends annually to control them. See Diamond talk at TED here. After, if there's time, we'll watch the National Geographic special Collapse.

From Nat Geo...
Imagine if hundreds of years from now, scientists excavated the abandoned ruins of some of our largest cities, what conclusions would they come to? It happened to the Romans, the Anasazi, and the Mayans and, inevitably, one day our own modern civilisation will also fall. In this two hour special discover how a future civilisation might be baffled as to why the population of these once-great cities would suddenly abandon their technology and architecture, and turn their homes into ghost towns. Some experts believe that there is a very real risk this could happen, and the collapse of the world as we know it is closer than we think. Examining the parallels between cultures separated by hundreds of years, explore whether the key to preventing such a global collapse today could lie in finding renewable alternatives to our dwindling energy supplies and sustainable resources. Can we learn from the mistakes of the past before it's too late?

Remember it's too late to be a pessimist. 

No comments: