Nestled away, in the back corner of G.P. Vanier, you'll find room 115 (we used to be 611). Lurking in the shadows of this room is Mr. Young...waiting to pounce on unsuspecting students and natter on about volcanoes, hail, psychopathy, criminal law defenses, cultural diffusion, media theories, crime, and urban models of city development. He loves his job in 115 and can't wait to work with you this year.
A Block Law 12 - Today I have the library booked for you to continue your work on the major civil
law project that is due in just over two weeks. Including today there are nine
classes remaining until your final exam and eleven classes left until your
project is due.
B Block Geography 12 - Today we shift our
focus to look at ecosystem components. We'll identify what an ecosystem is
(along with its abiotic and biotic components) and understand what a community
is. We'll see what Tim and Moby have to
tell us about ecosystems and then you'll need to work on questions 1, 4, 6, and
8 from page 661 of your Geosystems textbook. For help on ecosystems check
out: "The
Concept of the Ecosystem" Ecosystem
Fundamentals Ecological
Systems Living Things:
Habitats & Ecosystems
C Block Crime, Media & Society 12 - To start the class we'll take a few minutes to finish the Deadly Women episode on Eileen Wuornos that we started yesterday. After we'll look at an episode of Lie to Me from Season 1 (Moral Waiver). In the episode, Cal and Ria investigate the case of a female soldier who claims to be the victim of sexual assault by her commanding officer. At the same time, Gillian and Eli work on the case of a college basketball player who is accused of accepting a bribe from his university
D Block Social Studies 11 - Today I'd like you to watch a brilliant commercial about access to fresh
water from World Vision
FYI: World Vision is a non-profit organization
(however it is denominational - Christian) that works in three areas for the
developing world: disaster management, development assistance and advocacy
(human rights, economic justice and peace).
Today we'll take a look at
the Human Development Index which focuses on health, poverty and hunger,
education, and environmental issues in countries around the world. Don't forget
a good resource is the UNDP HDI Report.
We'll take a few notes down on HIPC's (Highly Indebted Poor Countries) and the
cycle of poverty looking at two power points about material wealth and food
(based on photography from Peter Menzel). Later we will make a connection
between the social problems (gender, health, children, etc.) in HIPC's with
economic development. We will examine traditional economies which are based in
primary industries and subsistence farming and compare those with developing and
developed economies.
From the CNN site: It
may be unthinkable that the chocolate we enjoy could come from the hands of
children working as slaves. In the Ivory Coast and other cocoa-producing
countries, there are an estimated 100,000 children working the fields, many
against their will, to create the chocolate delicacies enjoyed around the
world.
This story is a good example of the social
problems associated with development and the reliance upon monoculture for
economies in developing countries. More on this Monday.
Today's schedule is D-C-B-A D Block Social Studies 11 - Today we'll finish our quick look at demography and population. We'll watch a couple of short videos. After
each video, I'd like you to tell me what you observe and I hope to have a
discussion on the population information.
National Geographic 7 Billion
Population Explosion from ZPG (Population Connection)
C Block Crime, Media & Society 12 - Today we'll look at gender connected to moral panics and crime waves. In Gender, Youth, Crime and Justice Loraine Gelsthorpe and Gilly Sharpe claim that "recurring moral panics regarding girls’ behaviour, seem to have shifted their focus in recent years – from girls’ sexuality and ‘status’ offending, to their apparently increasing violence and alcohol use – and dwell on the resultant punitive turn towards girls and young women". This turn towards vilifying young female crime can also be seen in crime media. Today we'll look at the Madonna-Whore complex in crime media which is most clearly covered through the topic of rape (think Law & Order: SVU). This complex refers to a dualism in Western patriarchal discourse,
which seeks to explain the behavior of women and the desires of
men. On one hand, women are rewarded for being the sexual play
objects of men (i.e., whores), and on the other hand, women are given
clear messages that true grace only derives from marital chastity (i.e.,
Madonna). We'll see how women are portrayed as victims and as perpetrators in crime media and see if the Madonna-Whore complex applies.
B Block Geography 12 - Today we are going to look at soil: specifically structure, properties,
and formation. We'll understand what a soil profile looks like and
discover how colour, texture, and acidity differentiate soils. You'll
need to complete questions 1 & 4 from page 620 and 8 & 11 from
page 621 in your Geosystems textbook.
A Block Law 12 - I want to remind you that there are only 10 classes left until the
final exam and 12 classes left before the project is due. Today we'll
look at the "Essential" requirements for marriage (age, not
currently married, affinity/consanguinity, mental capacity, willingness)
and the
"Formal" requirements for marriage (age, license, ceremony). We'll then talk
about annulment, separation (living separate and apart) and separation
agreements. Tomorrow we'll deal with divorce, property division and
support
obligations. We'll look at: the equal division rule and the matrimonial
home;
spousal support and self sufficiency; and the types of child
guardianship,
access, and child support.
B Block Geography 12 - Today we will begin looking at biomes and biogeographic realms. Biomes are the
major regional groupings of plants and animals discernible at a global scale.
The distribution of these biomes is connected to climate, soil, and the physical
topography of the earth. Biogeography is the study of the distribution and
patterns of plants and animals throughout the biosphere.
Using chapter 20 of your Geosystems
textbook, I would like you to describe the adaptations and structure for
flora and fauna (plant and animal) in each of the following terrestrial biomes
(land based not aquatic): Equatorial & Tropical Rain forest (ETR); Tropical
Seasonal Forest and Scrub (TrSF); Tropical Savanna (TrS); Mid latitude Broad
leaf & Mixed Forest (MBME); Needle leaf & Montane Forest (NF/MF);
Temperate Rain forest (TeR); Mediterranean Shrub land (MSh); Mid latitude
Grasslands (MGr); Deserts (DBW & DBC); and Arctic & Alpine Tundra (AAT).
At the end of this there are questions 8, 12, 13, & 15 from page 693 to
complete as well.
While you work on this I will have the Planet
Earth Pole to Pole episode on for you to watch. For more on the biomes covered in the Planet Earth series check out Planet
Earth: Guide to the Planet
A Block Law 12 - Awesome questions on family law yesterday! Yesterday we focused on trespass to person and property and today we'll start with defences to those intentional
torts (consent, self-defence, defence of a third party, defence of property, legal
authority, and necessity). Finally, we'll look at defamation of character and
strict liability in civil law and then we begin looking at Family Law (our focus is on marriage and divorce).
We will understand the differences between the formal and essential requirements
of marriage. Here's an example: In BC sections 28 & 29 of the Marriage
Act [RSBC 1996] Chapter 282 indicates consent is required to marry someone
under the age of 19 and forbids marriage to someone under the age of 16.
Specifically the act states:
28 (1) Except as provided in subsections (2)
to (4), a marriage of a person, not being a widower or widow, who is a minor
must not be solemnized, and a licence must not be issued, unless consent in
writing to the marriage is first given
(a) by both parents of that person
if both are living and are joint guardians, or by the parent having sole
guardianship if they are not joint guardians or by the surviving parent if one
of them is dead,
(b) if both parents are dead, or if neither parent is a
guardian, by a lawfully appointed guardian of that person, or
(c) if both
parents are dead, and there is no lawfully appointed guardian, by the Public
Guardian and Trustee or the Supreme Court.
29 (1) Except as provided in
subsections (2) and (3), a marriage of any person under 16 years of age must not
be solemnized, and a licence must not be issued.
(2) If, on application
to the Supreme Court, a marriage is shown to be expedient and in the interests
of the parties, the court may, in its discretion, make an order authorizing the
solemnization of and the issuing of a licence for the marriage of any person
under 16 years of age.
You should be aware that
there are 11 classes remaining until our final exam days and 15 classes
remaining until our major project is due....no pressure.
D Block Social Studies 11 - Today we're in the library to work on an on-line population activity. You'll need to use
the 2012 World Population Data Sheet (you should use both the PRB Interactive Map and the pdf data sheet). Copy and paste the following questions into a word document and then type the answers into your document.
What is the population of the world?
Rank the ten countries with the largest population (from largest to smallest).
Instead of absolute numbers, rates are often used to tell how frequently a population or demographic event is occurring — rates show how common an event is. List the type of information on the data sheet reported by a rate.
The crude death rate (CDR) is the annual number of deaths per 1,000 population. Which country has the highest CDR? Which country has the lowest?
The infant mortality rate measures the number of deaths each year to infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births. Which country has the highest infant mortality rate and what is that rate? Which country has the lowest and what is that rate?
The total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of children women would have if they maintained the current level of childbearing throughout their reproductive years. Which countries share the highest TFR and what is it? Several countries share the lowest TFR. What is it?
Which country has the "youngest" population, that is, the highest proportion of population under age 15? Which country has the "oldest" population, that is, the highest proportion of population over age 64?
In which country are people expected to live the longest? Which country has the lowest life expectancy?
In which African country does the highest proportion of people live in urban areas? In Asia? In Latin America? In Europe? In Oceania?
Gross national income in purchasing power parity per capita (GNI PPP) converts income into "international dollars" and indicates the amount of goods and services one could buy in the United States with a given amount of money. Which country is the wealthiest in terms of GNI PPP? Which is the second wealthiest?
A population grows because there are more births than deaths or more people are moving in than moving out. The difference between births and deaths is expressed as a percentage called the rate of natural increase. Which region is growing the fastest through natural increase? Which region is growing at the slowest rate?
Which country is growing the fastest through natural increase? Which country is growing at the slowest rate?
I'll then hand out the Country Profile Worksheet and I'd like you to fill in the data for Canada on one side and then you may choose a country from Africa, Asia or South America to compare us with.
C Block Crime, Media & Society 12 - Today we'll look at race and ethnicity connected to moral panics and crime waves. American and Canadian social histories are littered with the rise and fall of drug panics. From marijuana, heroin, alcohol and crack, varying levels of moral outrage and repression have been thrown at those blamed for "the sweet pill that makes life better". If you look historically, media depictions of crack are most often associated with African Americans (blacks) and violent crime, while methamphetamine is most commonly associated with Caucasians(whites) and is framed as a "public health problem". As you can see, the "depravity" of a "ghetto drug" like crack, and the creeping of meth into the ‘‘mainstream’’ belie racial stereotypes of black and white in North America. Meth brings the depravity of urban drug panics to new spaces. The next Racial Moral Panic and Crime Wave? Mexican Drug Cartels flooding Meth into White Suburban USA. So how is this portrayed in Crime Media?
48 Hours Mystery aired an episode titled "The Curse of Small Town U.S.A". The description from their website reads like this:
Methamphetamine is a powerful, cheap drug and it is a growing problem in some surprising parts of America. Unlike crack cocaine, which primarily targeted the inner-city during its reign of terror in the 1980's, crank is making it's mark in Small Town, U.S.A. The drug's users range from middle class and well-educated people to teens -- even mothers who have passed on their addictions to their babies. One of the reasons crank is growing so quickly is that methamphetamine is easily produced in makeshift labs from inexpensive raw materials. In addition, users experience a "high" lasting up to 30 hours -- much longer than many other drugs. "Methamphetamine may be the worst drug ever to hit America," says retired General Barry McAffrey, the nation's Drug Czar. "It's expanding in a very bizarre manner. It's all over the Midwest. It's in Idaho, Arizona, Hawaii, San Francisco, Southern California. It's now showing up in Georgia." Crank's explosive growth is being fueled by mass production labs run by Mexican nationals. Authorities say they produce up to 95% of the crank on America's streets. CBS News 48 Hours took a close look at methamphetamine on Thursday, and found a drug that threatens to tear apart the lives of countless Americans. Could your community be at risk?
So we'll watch parts of the 1990's 48 Hours episode "On Crack Street"
and then we'll watch the Discovery Channel documentary :American Underworld: Homemade Illegal Drugs"
So after watching today's videos I'll ask you to answer the following:
What messages about race and drug use do the videos show? (think about who uses meth, who makes meth, and who sells it).
C Block Crime, Media & Society 12 - This week we'll take a look at crime waves, moral panics and the media with a special focus today on age (specifically youth). We’ll look at the way the media turns “ordinary” criminal events into extraordinary criminal “panics”. This happens when the Mass Media (usually led by the press) defines a group or an act as deviant and focuses on it to the exclusion of almost anything else. This then focuses the public’s negative attention on the group or act and demonizes people associated with it.
When it comes to crime, young people are often lumped into one of two contradictory categories: 1. Tragic Victims or 2. Evil Monsters.
We'll look at the media's portrayal of young tragic victims and evil monsters using the 1993 U.K. murder of James Bulger. The media's coverage of this case radically altered the view of childhood in the United Kingdom in an overwhelmingly negative fashion and is a "watershed" in terms of youth justice and the attitude towards children.
D Block Social Studies 11 - Today the focus for the class is on demography and population. Yesterday I
handed out a photocopied package of information and we talked about fertility (crude birth
rates) and mortality (crude death rates). Today we'll examine the RNI (rate of natural increase), the demographic transition model and population pyramids. I'll have you work on Thinking Critically questions 1-5 on page 326 along with Reading a Graph questions 1-3 on page 327 of the Counterpoints textbook today.
B Block Geography 12 - Today we will continue our work on climatology. You will need to finish up the
climate description activity from yesterday and questions 9, 14, and 19 from
page 326 in your Geosystems text. After we'll look at how climate graphs are
created and interpreted and then begin work on drawing and interpreting two
climate graphs (Bahia, Brazil and Yuma, Arizona). For help on how to draw
climate graphs see: Climate
Graphs Interpreting
Climate Graphs
A Block Law 12 - Since we were in the library yesterday...we'll look at intentional torts focusing on trespass to property and trespass to
person (assault and battery & false imprisonment) along with defences to
these intentional torts (consent, self-defence, defence of a third party,
defence of property, legal authority, and necessity). We'll also look at
defamation of character and strict liability in civil law. This gets us to the
end of the torts unit in Law 12. Duhaime
Tort and Personal Law Dictionary Saskatchewan
Schools Law 30 Intentional Tort on line unit Spark Notes on
Intentional Torts Personal Injury
Intentional Tort website
Tomorrow we'll begin our look at family law. The following are library dates for you to work on your project: Friday, January 11; Tuesday, January 15; Friday, January 18; Monday, January 21 and Wednesday, January 23.
Welcome Back. There are just three weeks remaining until the end of the semester so let's get going. Today's schedule is A-B-C-D
A Block Law 12 - Today I think I have the library booked for you to work on your project. If not, then we'll look at intentional torts focusing on
trespass to property and trespass to person (assault and battery &
false imprisonment)
along with defences to these intentional torts (consent, self-defence,
defence of a
third party, defence of property, legal authority, and necessity). We'll also look at defamation of character and strict
liability in civil law. This gets us to the end of the torts unit in Law
12 and then we'll begin our look at family law. Duhaime Tort and Personal Law Dictionary Saskatchewan Schools Law 30 Intentional Tort on line unit Spark Notes on Intentional Torts Personal Injury Intentional Tort website B Block Geography 12 - Today and tomorrow we are going to
take a look at climatology and climate types on the planet. We will
make sense of the Koppen climate classification system and today you'll
need to explain in your own words the follwing climates: Af, Am, Aw, Cfb, Csa, Csb, Dfb, Dwb, Dfc, Dwc, ET (don't say it!), Bw, and Bs (Many thanks to Michael Ritter for his on line Physical Environment textbook!). You'll also need to complete questions 9, 14, and 19 from page 326 in your Geosystems text.
C Block Crime, Media & Society 12 - Today we're back in the library working on the collaborize classroom site. Now for today I'd
like you to do two things:
Read through the thread on the individual media monitoring project/assignment and
Work on the age / gender / race-ethnicity and crime thread question.
D Block Social Studies 11 - Today we'll begin our look at
human-social geography. We will start with population issues and today
you'll get a handout on the history of human population. We'll talk
about fertility (crude birth rates) and mortality (crude death rates)
and the RNI (rate of natural increase). We'll examine population
pyramids and the demographic transition model. Estimates are that in October 2011 the population of the world hit the 7 Billion mark. What
does that mean for you?
