Tuesday, May 8. 2012

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

C Block Geography 12 - Today we start looking at storms and "CYCLOGENESIS"...sweet! We will look at mid-latitude cyclones and the source regions of air masses that cause these storms to develop. We'll analyze the difference between the three dimensional structure of a warm front and a cold front and we'll finish watching our BBC friend Mr. Donal McIntyre and his efforts to combat wet extremes on the planet. Your work to accomplish for the day is questions 1, 2, and 5 from page 147 and question 10 from page 248 in your Geosystems textbook. The following sites will help with cyclogenesis:
Michael Ritter's The Physical Environment: An Introduction to Physical Geography on line text
National Weather Service Jet Stream on line weather school
University of Illinois WW2010 Weather Wold Project
Rapid Cyclogenesis Web lesson
Environment Canada Understanding Cyclogenesis

D Block Criminology 12 - Today we will start with our Victimology quiz and then look at violent crime. We will focus on the roots of violent crime today. Where does violence come from (personal traits, ineffective families, evolutionary factors, exposure to violence, cultural values, substance abuse, and firearm availability)?
For homework tonight 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, Megadeath, Anthrax, Slayer), sports (MMA, WWE), and other forms of entertainment. Take some time and scan through the TV channels tonight (yep watch TV for homework).

Can the roots of violence be traced back to youth? If so should we ban Warner Brothers cartoons? Is Bugs Bunny bad for kids? Comedy and violence are intermingled into a typical or formulaic narrative story.....Wile E. Coyote chases the Road Runner, Elmer Fudd chases Bugs Bunny, Sylvester chases Tweety Bird andthey inflict carnage on each other. The end is always the same....someone wins, someone loses, the loser is humiliated and we laugh at them (good clean wholesome fun). So tomorrow we'll watch some Warner Brothers cartoons with all the glorious violence in them and we'll have a discussion about the acceptance of violence in our modern culture. Think about the implicit and implied messages that each cartoon sends to kids.

An excellent source of information on violence in media and its link to aggression is the Media Awareness Network.
Check out Time Magazine for a good article on "Seeking the Roots of Violence".

A Block Social Studies 11 - Today we'll finish the Mulroney era for Canada's involvement in the Cold War. Yesterday we discussed the debt slashing policy of the Conservatives in the 1980's and touched on supply side economics and trickle down theory. Today we'll look at NAFTA and the Foreign Investment Review Agency. We'll also examine Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms in the Soviet Union and the eventual "collapse" of the Berlin Wall and the sphere of Soviet influence. After, we'll examine the dramatic changes to Canada's culture and identity as a result of the "baby boom" generation. We'll look at how the government tried to protect Canadian culture and the economy along with the development of both the environmental and woman's rights movements. The overarching question we'll try to answer is:

To what extent have Local, National, and Global forces shaped Canadian identity?

B Block Law 12 - Since we got through the Thornton et al. case yesterday and not much else...today I'll go through civil trial procedures with you and give you some notes on summons or statements of claim and the options available when a lawsuit is claimed against you (statement of defence, counterclaims, third party claims, or default judgements). Next I'll explain the benefits of an out of court settlement and identify why negotiating an agreement is better than going to court. For the remainder of the class you'll have an opportunity to work together on your major case study project that is due on Tuesday June 19. 2012.