Monday, September 28, 2015

Tuesday, September 29. 2015

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

C Block Criminology 12 - Today we start with our first quiz in the course...RELAX I'm sure you'll do fine. There is a bonus question for you should you choose to complete it will be on the last page of the quiz for you. After the quiz, we will focus on the roots of violent crime. Where does violence come from (personal traits, ineffective families, evolutionary factors, exposure to violence, cultural values, substance abuse, and firearm availability)?

I would like you brainstorm a list of all the entertainment you can think of that is based in violence. Think of video games (HALO), television programs (CSI), books (30 Days of Night comics), movies (Saw), music (ONYX, Biggie, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer), sports (MMA, WWE), and other forms of entertainment. You'll get into two large groups and on chart paper I'll have you list out your top 10 most violent forms of entertainment (be specific). We'll share our lists and ask, "Why is violence entertaining"? To end the class I'll have you work on the following:

  1. What is the attraction of violent films and video games?
  2. Is there more violent imagery in media now as opposed to the past (think graphic, realistic visceral)? Why / Why not?
  3. What kinds of people are drawn to violent imagery and what kind of violent images draw them to that form of entertainment?
  4. What is “morbid curiosity”?
  5. Are there any equally satisfying substitutions for violent entertainment?
  6. What draws our attention to violent media events (news) that are not intended to entertain?
Check out the BBC Podcast "The Why Factor" that asks the question "Why are we so drawn to violent entertainment?" From the BBC...

Why are we so drawn to violent entertainment? Violent films, video games and stories are very popular, as were brutal gladiatorial Roman contests and gory 14th Century jousts. What explains this enduring attraction to violence? Helena Merriman talks to the Mexican director of Heli, a professor of fairy tales and joins one of London’s most gruesome serial killer tours to answer this week’s question.


 D Block Geography 12 - Today we shift our focus (HA!...pun intended) to earthquakes. We'll look at some video of the aftermath of the Izmit Turkey 1999 Mw7.4 earthquake along the North Anatolian fault. We'll also look at the Loma Prieta (San Fracisco) 1989 Mw6.9 earthquake along the San Andreas fault. We'll try to compare the two and then take some notes down about the three types of faults. After, you'll have a series of questions to complete from the Geosystems text (14, 15, 16, & 19 from p. 412). Check out the cool interactive activity at National Geographic Forces of Nature or the Today in Earthquake History at the USGS. For more information check out the Digital Geology webpage on earthquakes.

A Block Social Studies 10 - Today we'll finish our overview/look at the cultural landscape of Canada along with the First Nations peoples that existed on the land before the European settlers arrived. We'll focus on how the land shaped Aboriginal society in Canada and see the influences of the land on the way people lived. There are six major cultural regions of First Nations in Canada. From east to west, these are the Woodland First Nations, the Iroquois First Nations of southeastern Ontario, the Plains First Nations, the Plateau First Nations, the First Nations of the Pacific Coast and the First Nations of the Mackenzie and Yukon River basins. We'll finish our chart and then I'd like you to use all of the geographic work we've looked at, as well as the text, and try to answer the following:

"How has Geography shaped the culture of Canada?"

 This is a big question and I really want you to try hard to think like a geographer here. Thinking like a geographer is thinking spatially in a systems manner. This involves looking for patterns, relationships and connections in order to comprehend large, complex self regulating systems. So what patterns, relationships and connections exist between people and places that help to shape Canada today?

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