Tuesday, March 8. 2016

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

C Block Law 12 - Today we'll review the elements of a crime (with special attention focused on the Mens Rea - intent, knowledge, and recklessness). Actus Reus and Mens Rea come from Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea which is Latin for “the act will not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty.” I'll have you look at the R. v. Parks (1992) case and I'll have you and a partner work on the case questions (1-4) together. After I'll get you to look at the R. v. Williams (2003) case. In terms of the Williams case, another example of an HIV related aggravated sexual assault case involved former CFL athlete Trevis Smith. A review of the decision (sentenced to five and a half years in 2007 and was paroled in 2010) can be found here at CBC News. In terms of Wilful Blindness, because of the Sansregret case, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the concepts of recklessness and wilful blindness are not the same and that it is wise to keep the two concepts separate. The court then defined each concept as follows (Stuart: 211):

• Recklessness involves knowledge of a danger or risk and persistence in a course of conduct which creates a risk that the prohibited result will occur,
• Wilful blindness arises where a person who has become aware of the need for some inquiry declines to make the inquiry because he does not wish to know the truth.

You'll need to work on the Review Your Understanding questions 1-5 on page 130 in the law textbook.

D Block Social Studies 10 - Today we'll continue looking at the ethnic "diversity" of Canada in the 1800's. Today, we'll look at the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman and Mary Ann Shadd. questions 4 and 5 on page 64 of the Horizons text and you'll need to add the following question as well:

Using pages 60 – 64 of the Horizons textbook explain the significance (importance) of Mary Ann Shadd in early Canadian history (why is she important to know about)? Think about the role of women in society and the attitudes towards minorities (non-white) in Canada at the time.

For more on the Underground Railroad see:

The Underground Railroad (Scholastic)
The Underground Railroad (National Geographic)
The Underground Railroad: Freedom Trail
PBS Africans in America: The Underground Railroad
Mary Ann Shadd Biography
Black History Canada: The Underground Railroad
If there's time, I'll talk with you a bit about the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum at the Burkle Estate that I visited in Memphis Tennessee. The map above will help you visualize the routes to Canada.

A Block Introduction to Law 9/10 - Today we will continue our look at criminal forensics by looking at how fingerprints are "lifted" at a crime scene (including what AFIS is), what the "Four T's" are for marks at a scene, how fibres are used, and what ballistics is. We'll practice a bit by getting fingerprinted. We will all get one set of fingers (and thumb) on one hand fingerprinted (our non dominant hand) by using graphite pencils and scotch tape. You will need to identify whether or not your prints are loops, arches, or whorls and then place them up on the blackboard. You will need to identify the total number of loops, arches, and whorls for each finger (and thumb) for the class (for everyone's sets of prints) and then graph the data. The graph is a comparative bar graph. For each finger (thumb, index, middle, ring & pinky) count up the total number of loops, arches, and whorls and graph that out next to each other

B Block Social Studies 10 - Today with Mr. Elliott, we will look at the way media was used during the rebellions in the form of newspaper broadsides and then create our own. We will focus on persuasive techniques and the way facts and emotions can be manipulated to support a certain agenda. Following this we will continue viewing Canada, A People's History and take some notes on the similarities and difference between the Upper and Lower Canada rebellions.