Friday, February 13. 2015

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

B Block Social Studies 11 - Today we'll continue with our look at the federal and provincial government stucture in Canada. Since we didn't get to it yesterday, we'll begin looking at the "Division of Powers". I have a chart for you to fill in for this and then I'll have you work on another activity connected to this...

You've been hired to be a member of Premier Christy Clark's British Columbia negotiating team and are going to Ottawa in order to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his cabinet. Your job is to convince the Federal government to transfer two areas of control to the Provincial government of British Columbia (and maybe the other provinces too). Don't forget the Federal Government looks after things like national defense, foreign policy, criminal law, aboriginal affairs, most natural resources and taxation. So choose two that you think should be transferred to the provinces and then come up with an argument for each. You should have two to three main points for each and then write a speech outlining your request and the reasons why the Federal government should give those powers to the provinces (Dear Mr. Prime Minister...)
Our Country, Our Parliament The Division of Powers

C Block Geography 12 - Today we'll continue our work on the foundations of Geography starting with the Five Themes. In order to understand the increasingly complex and interconnected world we live in we need to find a way to make sense of information in a way that doesn't overwhelm us. The Five Themes (Location, Place, Human-Environment Interactions, Movement, and Regions) are a framework for making sense of geographic data. Yesterday saw us look at the first two themes and hopefully today we'll cover the remaining themes and our Geography I.D. assignment. After I'll give you time to work on your observing as a geographer assignment (since we had a lock down drill yesterday and couldn't work on it).

D Block Criminology 12 - Today we'll start with a brief history of criminology (from B.C.E up to and including the current theories). For Tuesday, 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. To start next week, 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). To end the class we'll watch a really cool video on the roots of violence from NOVA called Inside the Mind of a Rampage Killer...

What makes a person walk into a theater or a church or a classroom full of students and open fire? What combination of circumstances compels a human being to commit the most inhuman of crimes? Can science in any way help us understand these horrific events and provide any clues as to how to prevent them in the future? As the nation tries to understand the tragic events at Newtown, NOVA correspondent Miles O’Brien separates fact from fiction, investigating new theories that the most destructive rampage killers are driven most of all, not by the urge to kill, but the wish to die. Could suicide–and the desire to go out in a media-fueled blaze of glory–be the main motivation? How much can science tell us about the violent brain?  Most importantly, can we recognize dangerous minds in time—and stop the next Newtown?