Heather Fontanilla, The Digital Safari Academy

I was looking at the calendar this morning and it occurred to me that we really only have three more full weeks of school.  After that, we have finals week and then we are done.  Wow . . . It has flown by.  As I sit here, images from the last 8 months are flooding my head.  It has been a difficult year for a variety of reasons. Professionally, I have felt very dissatisfied by some of the decisions made by our school and our district regarding what is “best” for our students.  I have been forced to evaluate my involvement on our campus in areas other then the DSA and somewhat extricate myself from any other responsibilities beyond the DSA.  In that regard, I have felt that I’ve left a few people hanging.  However, for my own sanity, I had to end some of the other commitments I was involved in at MDHS.  I do not like to quit things but, as I tell Max on a regular basis, pick your battles wisely. Pick the commitments where your time and efforts will be appreciated and rewarded. So, now I can focus all of my attention on the DSA.

Within the DSA, it has been a great year.  I loved camping with the juniors last week.  It gives me an opportunity to spend time with you all outside of the classroom.  I get to know you in a different environment and you get to know me.  Hopefully you all got to know me a little better as well.  The camping experience definitely helps to build the class as we enter into your senior year. As we approach the end of the time with the seniors, I look back and see how far you have come since you first entered our program. While you will be missed, I love seeing how much you have all matured and am excited to watch you continue your education once you leave MDHS.  I will be anxiously awaiting to hear how your college classes are going. That being said, try and stay focused for the last few weeks so that you end your high school career on a positive note, giving you that little boost as you move onto college.

In the last two weeks, we finished our study of World War, focusing on the war at home, the war in Europe and the war in the Pacific.  We spent some time talking about the decision to drop the atomic bomb and how that decision impacted the world after World War II.  When we returned from the camping trip, we started our study of the Cold War.  We will continue that study this next week, learning about some of the conflicts that characterized the Cold War.

In Government, we continued our study of the 1st Amendment, spending time exploring free speech and free press.  As we have discussed on several occasions, these rights are essential to protecting our democracy.  They promote the concept of a marketplace of ideas.  This next week, we will be finishing the 1st Amendment by looking at the Freedom of Religion and the some of the rights protected in the 5th, 6th & 8th Amendments.

TESTS

U.S. History — 5/27

Government — 5/27

Homework

U.S. History

5/25 — Cold War Cartoons — Policies of the Cold War

5/26 — Create your own cartoon — Must reflect the meaning of one or more of the policies instituted by the U.S. to stop the spread of communism.  MUST BE COLORED.

5/27 — Study Guide OR Ch. 17 sect. 2 #2-3; sect. 3 #1-5; Ch. 18 sect. 1 #2-3, 5, sect. 2 #1-3; sect. 3 #1-2; Ch. 20 sect. 1 #1-3

Government

5/24 — Engle v. Vitale Questions

5/25 — Santa Fe Argument:  Read summary of facts and each side’s arguments.  Pick a side.  Write a 3 paragraph persuasive argument in favor of the side you have chosen.  Use the arguments discussed in the reading as support for your position.  If relevant, cite to any of the cases referred to in the reading and in Ch. 19, sect. 2 to support your arguments.  Remember, the more legal support you have the more likely you will win.

5/26 — Ch. 20, sect. 1&2 guided reading

5/27 — Ch. 19 sect. 1 #1-6; sect. 2 #1-4; Review (Pg. 560) #19-21; Ch. 20 sect. 1 #1-4; sect. 2 #3-5; sect. 3 #1,3-4; sect. 4 #-14

This weekend is Mother’s Day.  For most of the time I have been a mother, I was a single mother.  For single moms Mother’s Day isn’t much different from any other day.  It is only in the past few years, since getting married, that my husband has celebrated me as a mother.  For me, Mother’s Day has most often been about my own mother and reflecting on her influence over me.

When we are teenagers, we often spend time thinking I don’t want to be anything like my parents.  However, fortunately and unfortunately, there is a lot of our parents in us.  We cannot deny their influence in our lives.  Sometimes, we only feel their influence when we strive to be completely opposite of them.  Other times we find ourselves saying the same things our parents said that we swore we never would . . . “Because I said so” is just one example.  So, I think about what influence my mom had over me. For a variety of reasons, I never felt particularly close to my mother.  I am from a family of 5 girls and I am right in the middle.  I was kind of sandwiched between two sisters that needed more of my mother’s attention (not always positive) and I kind of did my own thing. However, after I left home, I began to get closer to my mom. We shared many of the same ideals and values, although my mom’s voice was often silenced due to her generation’s expectations of women.  I do think that she pushed me to go to law school because she never wanted me to feel financially dependent upon a husband as she so often felt.  Growing up, she was active in our activities but also very active in the community.  In fact, the community swimming pool where we all spent so much time swimming and working was named after her — The Marsha Skinner Sierra Pool. I know that part of the reason I enjoy teaching so much is because I enjoy being part of this community.

My mother passed away almost 10 years ago from Leukemia.  Before her death, I spent quite a bit of time with her, helping her as she battled her illness.  This gave me an opportunity to get to know my mother on a different level. I loved watching her with Max and she loved spending time with him. My mother loved being a grandmother, despite the fact she only had a few years to experience it. It saddens me a little that Max really doesn’t remember her, as he was only 5 when she died. It greatly saddens me that she never got to know my husband, whom she would have loved, or, more tragically, my daughter. But I try to keep her memory alive by talking about her, but more importantly I try and follow some of the examples she set for me.  I try to follow many of the same traditions that I experienced when I was a child.  I am hopeful that Max & Sofi will follow those traditions when they get older.  It is by following these traditions that my mom continues to live on and influence me.

There is not a day that goes by that I do not miss my mom.  So, on this Mother’s Day, I will be honoring my mother by spending the weekend at the beach with my sisters and their children.  We will share stories of mom and we will pass on just a few more of our family traditions to our children.

This last week in U.S. History, we finished Schindler’s List.  Reflecting on the movie, keep in mind the Jewish inscription on the ring given to Oscar Schindler “To save one life is to save the world entire”. We will be examining World War II and the allied strategies in fighting the Axis powers.

In Government we finished our review of the Bill of Rights and other amendments. We then examined the role and structure of our federal court system and are now beginning our intensive review of the 1st Amendment.

TESTS

U.S. History — 5/13

Government — 5/13

Homework

U.S. History

5/10 — Four Freedoms Posters

5/11 — Ch. 17 sect. 1 guided reading

5/12 — Stakes of D-Day

5/13 — Ch. 11 sect. 4 #2-4; Ch. 16 sect. 1 #2-4; sect. 3 #1-4; sect. 4 #1-2, 4; Ch. 17 sect. 1 #1-4; sect. 4 #4 OR Study Guide

5/14 — Paper (2nd Draft)

Government

5/11 — Ch. 20 sect. 3 guided reading

5/12 — Hazlewood Background

5/13 — Ch. 3 sect. 2 #2-6; sect. 3 #1 & 5; Ch. 18 sect. 1 #2, 4-6; sect. 3 #2, 4-5; Ch. 19 sect. 3 #1-6 OR Study Guide

Utopia Paper (1st Draft)

So lately I’ve felt a little inundated by the negative.  It seems that our media only focuses on the negative — it sells newspapers!  Between the increasing violence on the streets, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is reaching our fragile shoreline, to the endless wars the U.S. is currently embroiled in, to the increasing intolerance in our society as evidenced by the law passed last week in Arizona, it seems we cannot avoid the negative.  For a time, Mt. Diablo High, while it certainly had its share of problems, seemed to provide a bit of a break for me.  I enjoy teaching and I love my students.  In my mind, I consider myself quite lucky to be doing a job for which I have a passion and working with people I love.

Lately, however, the negativity of our society seems to be encroaching on my happiness here at Mt. Diablo.  We are dealing with a ridiculous budget situation. Teachers are being laid off. Our school is working on a restructuring plan that may or may not boost student achievement.  Whatever is going on, it has definitely impacted my energy level.  I truly believe that so much negativity saps us of our energy.

So, I have decided to try and reclaim my positive energy.  One way to do that is to spend time with young children.  They cannot hide their emotions.  They feel what they feel and they express that feeling.  My daughter turns 2 this weekend. When I am with her I am reminded of the simplicity that brings joy.  The smallest things make her happy. One of her favorite things to do with me is dancing. She is so happy when we are dancing. Every night when I get home, she wants to dance to the “princess song” — from Sleeping Beauty.  We dance around the back yard, we dance around the front deck, we dance around the kitchen.  She is so joyful while we are dancing. So, my suggestion to all of you who are feeling bogged down by the negativity of school and our society — try dancing. It doesn’t have to be to the “princess song”.  But try putting on any song and just dancing.  Don’t worry about what you look like and don’t worry about what others are doing.  Perhaps if there was a little more dancing in our school or in our world we would have more positivity, which would restore our energy to bring about real change.

That being said, this last week in U.S. History we finished World War I and discussed the rise of isolationism that shaped U.S. foreign policy in the 1930s.  We started Schindler’s List. This next week, we will finish Schindler’s List (we may need to do a class dance at that point) and will begin our study of U.S. entry into World War II.  We will end the week focusing on Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms.

In Government we finished the Timeline of Discontent assignment.  While I haven’t had a chance to grade the visual part of the assignment, I will say I was quite impressed by the ones I looked at.  I appreciate the effort you put into the visuals. I hope you enjoyed the readings. I enjoyed some of the conversations I overheard about the readings.  After the we finished the assignment, we started our study of the amendments.  We learned about the ways in which to amend the Constitution and began our overview of the Bill of Rights. This next week, we will finish our overview of the Bill of Rights and begin our indepth study of the 1st Amendment, starting with Freedom of Speech.

TESTS

U.S. History — 5/13

Government — 5/13

Homework

U.S. History

5/4 — Ch. 16, sect. 3 guided reading

5/5 — Schindler’s List questions

5/10 — Four Freedoms Posters

5/14 — 2nd Draft of Paper

Government

5/5 — Bill of Rights Worksheet & Cartoons (Don’t forget the other amendments)

5/6 — Ch. 18 sect. 1 & 3

5/7 — 1st Amendment article & questions

5/10 — 1st Draft of Paper

I’ve been reflecting on the idea of flexibility.  I am not a flexible person, either physically (I could never do a back bend  during the few very painful years I was forced to take gymnastics) or emotionally.  I like routine.  When I run, I like to jog on the same path. When I go out to dinner I like to order the same thing. As a parent, I think routine is very important, not just for the child but also for me. Most of you probably notice that there is a very set routine in my classroom. I will admit that I get a little anxious when my routine gets disrupted.

That being said, the need for flexibility is essential in teaching and, in general, life. As teachers, flexibility is important as we continue this week with the strange schedule required to administer the STAR test.  It is also important to constantly evaluate our practices for success.  We shouldn’t keep doing something just because it’s what we’ve always done.  As you students get older and embark on your life away from Mt. Diablo High, I would encourage all of you to allow for some flexibility.

Some of you juniors and most of you seniors read the chapter, The Coming Revolt of the Guard, from Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.  While you may not have agreed with some of what Zinn argues, I think one of the valuable points he makes is the idea of flexibility.  He discusses that part of what keeps the “Establishment” in power is our constant quest to achieve the American Dream.  Our desire to be successful, in the American context, keeps us on a path. A path to make money so that we can own our own home and by all the material things that demonstrate our success.

While I certainly do not advocate that you should not try and achieve the American Dream, whatever that may mean to you, I do ask that you all be open to deviating from the path you think you should be on.  Be open to the possibility of something different. Allow yourself to have experiences.  Allow yourself to fail because without failure we do not learn to be better.  I say this because I have a little wisdom on this subject.  When I was getting ready to graduate from college, everyone encouraged me to go to law school.  Since I was earning a BA in History, I didn’t know what else to do so . . . I went to law school.  I can honestly say I hated law school pretty much from day one.  However, I was discouraged by those around me from stopping.  So, I continued.  I did well, but never liked it.  Then, as was expected, I went out and got a job as a lawyer.  Again, pretty much from day one, I hated it.  The only thing that kept me sane were the people I worked with, whom I loved.  However, when I moved back up to the Bay Area, I was with a new firm. The people were not enough to save me from my extreme dislike for my chosen profession.

So, while in this abyss, the opportunity to teach here at Mt. Diablo High appeared before me.  It was a huge deviation from the path I was on.  However, I knew I could not stay on that path.  I jumped off the path and took the chance.  I guess I figured I could always go back to being a lawyer if I didn’t like being a teacher.  That was almost 12 years ago.  I cannot imagine what my life would have been like had I stayed a lawyer.  While I would have the money and all the stuff that goes with it, I do believe my soul would have withered a little.  I can’t tell you how much I enjoy teaching, even with the little annoyances like shortened class time due to the STAR test and earthquake drills.  I’m not sure where my path is taking me now, but I do know that I need to allow for flexibility so I don’t miss out on something amazing!!

This last week in U.S. History, we finished our study of Imperialism and began our study of World War I.  This week, in the little time we have due to the STAR test, we will finish World War I, looking at the peace process and move on to our study of U.S. foreign policy in the 1930s.  On Tuesday, I will be providing you with an outline of some of the material that may be on the STAR test that we have not yet covered in class.

In Government, we continued working on the Timeline of Discontent.  I’m hoping you are all enjoying the reader selections and are gathering a lot of quotes for your paper.  We will be finishing the Timeline of Discontent this week and moving on to examine the Constitutional amendment process and our Bill of Rights.

TESTS

Due to the multiple inferences last week both history and government tests were moved to this Monday (4/26)  – so study this weekend — That’s me being flexible!

Homework

U.S. History

4/29 — Ch. 11 sect. 4 guided reading

4/30 — Ch. 16 sect. 1 guided reading

* Schindler’s List Permission Slip

Government

4/28 — Timeline of Discontent Assignment

4/29 — Constitution — A living document

4/30 — Ch. 3 sect. 2 (copy) & sect. 3

Sometimes weekends fly by and it hardly seems that I had any time to relax.  I’m not sure why that is.  I had a great weekend.  I spent it hanging out with my husband and Sofi. (Max was with his father.)  Both Geoff & I like to go out and do things.  While this is, for the most part, great, it sometimes leaves me quite exhausted at the end of the weekend.  I definitely do not feel refreshed for the week, but I know once I see your eager faces, we will get right back into the swing of things.

This week we start the very important STAR test.  Remember, regardless of your personal feelings about the test, it has become the way in which our school and our program are judged.  So, do your best and show everyone how great Mt. Diablo High School is!

Last week in U.S. History we started our study of Imperialism from a U.S. perspective.  We will finish that this week and begin to examine World War I and its impact on the United States.  You have your next test this week . . . but on Friday due to the STAR test on Thursday.  The test will encompass the Great Depression, the economic boom of the 19502, Imperialism and World War I.  You will get a study guide on Thursday.

Last week in Government, we finished our study of the electoral process by watching “Recount” and we started the Timeline of Discontent assignment. Remember, this assignment is a way to get you into the reader so you have read the majority of the reader when it comes time to write your paper. The outline for that paper is due at the end of this week.  You will be working with Ms. Stirton on that outline. We will continue to work on the Timeline of Discontent assignment this week.  You too will be having a test on Friday. It will include the legislative branch, the executive branch and the the electoral process, including the role of political parties and the electoral college.

TESTS

U.S. History — 4/23

Government — 4/23

Homework

U.S. History

4/20 — Ch. 11 sect. 1 guided reading

4/21 — Ch. 11 sect. 3 guided reading

4/22 — Ch. 11 sect. 4 guided reading

4/23 — Ch. 19 sect. 2 #1-4 OR Study Guide

Ch. 15 sect. 1 #1,2,4,5; sect. 2 #3 & 4; sect. 5 #1-3

Ch. 10 sect. 1 #2, sect. 2 #1, 2, 4; sect. 3 #2, 4; sect. 4 #3

Ch. 11 sect. 1 #1-4; sect. 2 #2; sect. 3 #1-3

Government

4/23 — Ch. 13 sect. 1 #1-4, 6; sect. 2 #1-4; sect. 3 #1-3, 5; sect. 4 #1-3; sect. 5 #1-6

Ch. 14 sect. 1 #1-4;

Ch. 5 sect. 1 #1-4, 6; sect. 2 #1-4; sect. 4 #1-4

OR study guide

– Paper outline (English)

4/28 — Timeline of Discontent quote assignments & visual reflections

Welcome back from spring break. I know the week before break was a difficult and sad time. I also know that we will be feeling this loss for a long period of time. Please know that your teachers care about you and are here if you want to talk.

I hope you all had a chance to relax, and maybe fit in some fun as well.  I also hope you are all returning rested and energized for the last quarter of the year.  I know I promised to post some pictures from the Easter Parade, but due to the rather unusual spring weather, we did not go.  We did, however, take our vacation to Mexico.  We were lucky enough to spend a few days in the town of San Pancho — a little bit north of Puerto Vallarta.  It was a perfect relaxing vacation.  Since Sofi is still too young to do much, I spent most of the time playing with her in the pool.  I think she will be a mermaid in the future.  I think that is the best part of a vacation.  It gives me a chance to leave behind the obligations of home and work and just focus on family.  I will try and post some pictures from our trip next week.

This week in U.S. History, we will be starting the U.S. as a World Power unit.  We start with a quick review of imperialism, but looking at it from a U.S. perspective. Then we will begin studying World War I, the first war after the Industrial Revolution. . . amazing how technology helps us kill much more effectively.  We will also be spending time this week and next preparing for the STAR test.  Regardless of your feelings about the test, it has developed into an important factor that is considered in whether a school is successful or not.  It is extremely important that you all take this test seriously and do your best.  We are proud of you all and we want to show everyone else how great you all are and this is one tool we use.

In U.S. Government, we will be finishing our study of the electoral college system by watching “Recount”, a docudrama about the controversial 2000 election.  We will then be getting into the Senior reader with a week long project, “Timeline of Discontent”. Now that we have studied the goals of our government and the basic structure of our government, we will begin to examine periods of time where the government may not have supported the type of “Utopia” intended.  You will read several of the documents from the reader, creating a quote journal.  This project will be culminating in three visual depictions of these periods of discontent, using quotes from the readers to support your visual reflections — think “One Pagers”. See the written assignment for the details.

Tests

U.S. History — April 23

Government — April 23

Homework

U.S. History

4/13 — Ch. 10 sect. 1 gd. rdg

4/14 — Ch. 10 sect. 3 gd. rdg

4/16 — Political Cartoon representing arguments for or against Imperialism

Government

4/14 — Recount questions

4/16 — Brainstorm for timeline of discontent — Identify and summarize time periods in history where people were expressing discontent with government

4/16 — Communist Manifesto quote journal

Every year for Easter, my husband & I go to the Union Street Easter Parade in San Francisco.  It is a lot of fun.  They have arts and crafts for the kids, pony rides and it culminates in a parade with the Easter Bunny.  These pictures are from last year. As I look at these pictures from Easter last year, it occurs to me how much things change in just a year.  Sofi still looks like a baby in these pictures.  She had just started walking when these pictures were taken.  When I look at Sofi now, she is completely different.  She looks like a little girl now!   I have a similar picture of Max sitting on the Easter Bunny’s lap.  (It was taken before the age of digital cameras so I don’t have it on my computer to share with you.)  He too has gone through enormous changes and, I imagine, in the next few years he will go from looking like a little boy to a young man.  He will, however, always be my little boy just as Sofi will always be my baby girl!  I’ll try and share some updated pictures from next weekend’s Easter Parade.

So, just as babies grow up quickly, the school year moves quickly. We are finally at the end of third quarter — can you believe we are 3/4 of the way through the school year?  For half of you that means that you are a mere nine weeks away from graduation and the other half one step closer to being seniors.  More immediate however this week is also the week before Spring Break.  Get through this week and you will have a week off for fun and relaxation.  However, try and stay focused so you can finish third quarter strong.

In U.S. History this last week we finished our study of the Great Depression.  We compared Herbert Hoover’s response to the Great Depression to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s response.  We also spent some time looking at FDR’s New Deal and some of the programs created to try and bring an end to the Depression.  This next week, we will be looking at the post World War II economic boom, the last part of our Boom to Bust to Boom unit.  We will be looking primarily at the growth of suburbia and the effect it had on our society.

In U.S. Government, we finished studying the Legislative Branch — very timely given the passage of the Health Care Reform Bill this last week. Now we are moving on to our study of the Executive Branch.

TESTS

U.S. History — 4/23

U.S. Government — 4/23

Homework

U.S. History

3/30 — Ch. 19 sect. 2 guided reading

3/31 — Ch. 19 sect. 3 guided reading

4/1 — Levittown — Remodeling America

4/2 — 1st Draft of Project Paper

U.S. Government

3/29 — Executive Branch Scavenger Hunt

3/30 — Ch. 13 sect. 1 & 2 Guided Reading

3/31 — Ch. 14 sect. 1 & 2 Guided Reading

4/2 — Ch. 13 sect. 4 & 5 Guided Reading

March 22-March 26

Isn’t this weather spectacular?? Of course, now that I’ve said it, we’ll probably have a cold front moving through next week!! Regardless, this last week was beautiful and this weekend is going to be fantastic.  I’m not much of a gardner . . . nothing I plant seems to last long.  However, when the weather turns like this, my instincts are to go out and do yard work, to get my hands dirty in the warm soil.  I want my yard to reflect the beauty of the season and not the dreariness of the end of winter.  So, this weekend, I plan on trimming some plants and shrubs, raking leaves, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll plant some flowers.

Last week in history, we finished our study of the economic boom of the 1920s and began our study of the Great Depression.  We discussed the attitude of the consumers in the 1920s and began to explore the causes of the Great Depression. This week, we will continue to study the Great Depression, focusing on how Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt responded to the Depression. As we continue this study, try and compare what we are currently going through with what people living during the Great Depression.  You will likely find some similarities in their difficulties and in the strength of the human spirit.

In Government last week, we finished our study of the writing of the Constitution by examining the different principles of the Constitution.  We then started to examine the legislative branch, looking at the structure and powers of Congress. We will continue that study by discussing the law making process. This is particularly relevant today given the current healthcare reform bill that is being debated in the house as I sit here writing this.  You can see what we have discussed in class actually playing out in our government. So watch the news!

TESTS

U.S. History — 3/25

U.S. Government — 3/25

Homework

U.S. History

3/22 — Ch. 14 sect. 1 guided reading

3/23 — Ch. 14 sect. 3 guided reading

3/24 — Alphabet Soup — For this assignment you will be examining some of the New Deal programs proposed under FDR’s administration.  For extra credit:  Create a propaganda poster “selling” one of the New Deal programs.  (This part of the assignment is due on Friday)

3/25 — Ch. 12 sect. 1 #3 & 5   . . . or Study Guide

sect. 2 #2 & 4

sect. 3 #1 &2

Ch. 13 sect. 1 #1-3

sect. 3 #1-3

Ch. 14 sect. 1 #2-3

sect. 3 #2-3

U.S. Government

3/23 — Ch. 12 sect. 3 & 4 guided reading

3/25 — Ch. 4 sect. 1 #1-3     . . . . or Study Guide

Ch. 10 sect. 2 #1,4,5 & 6

sect. 3 #1-5

Ch. 11 sect. 4 #2 & 3

sect. 5 #2

Ch. 12 sect. 1 #1-4

sect. 3 #1 & 5

sect. 4 #1-3

3/26 — Mr. Smith Goes To Washington Assignment

Once again, Mt. Diablo High School was featured in the news . . . not because of all the great things we are doing on this campus but because of our poor testing results.  At the same time they are talking about how we are not serving our students, the Mt. Diablo Unified School District approves a budget that cuts millions of dollars from the district schools.  While the budget cuts are unconscionable, I don’t believe the money is the biggest problem on this campus.  We have a culture of failure.  I’m not sure what causes that culture.  It is clearly much more complex then anything I could write about on this little blog of mine.  I do know that there is a solution to this culture — Digital Safari demonstrates part of that solution. Putting students into smaller learning communities will enable students to feel safe and part of something positive on this large campus of ours.  In the Digital Safari, we have a community — a home for many of our students.

In addition to that community, we place high expectations on our students.  Our expectations include behavior as well as academic expectations.  We find that most of you meet those expectations.  You may fight them at the beginning, but most of you, by the time you enter my class, begin to live up to those expectations and then begin to exceed those expectations.  We are so very proud of you and all that you accomplish in our program.  So  . . . . if we know that this type of program works, why aren’t we building more of these types of programs on this campus?

All this being said, the STAR tests are fast approaching.  They will be happening at the end of April.  I will be honest.  I am not a fan of these types of tests.  I do not think that they are an accurate reflection of a student’s knowledge or intelligence. I also believe that they are unfair for some groups.  That being said, they are, unfortunately, the means through which our school is measured. They can dictate the classes you will be placed in.  They can influence the funds that our school receives. Finally, they are a way to measure the success of the Digital Safari.  We like to tell people that we do improve test scores.  So, the test scores need to support that claim.  As we get closer to the tests themselves, we will continue these conversations.  While you may not see the value in these tests, the reality is that they are extremely important in proving to others just how good our students are.

This last week in U.S. History, we finished up the Industrial Revolution and began our study of the 1920s.  We start our study of the 1920s by looking at the evolution of advertising and how it helped build the consumerism that defined the 1920s.  As part of that study, you were given the 1920s assignment.  For this assignment, you must analyze two ads from the 1920s that you find on the Internet.  A website to get you started is provided below. Then you need to create your own 1920s ad, using one of the “new” products from that era.  Remember that your ad must be designed so that it looks like an ad from the 1920s. This assignment is due on Tuesday, end of the day. This next week, we will continue examining the impact of consumerism on society in the 1920s, focusing on the continued growth of big business and finishing with an examination of the culture clash of the 1920s. At the end of next week, we will begin to examine the causes of the Great Depression.

In U.S. Government, we finished studying the history behind the writing of the U.S. Constitution.  We finished the week by starting our study of the Constitution itself. Monday students will be performing their own version of the Preamble.  Next week we will look at the guiding principles of the Constitution and begin to study the legislative branch.

Tests

U.S. History — March 25

Government — March 25

Homework

U.S. History

3/15 – Wrath of Ford

3/16 — 1920s Advertising Assignment

** Website: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/coolhtml/coolhome.html

3/17 — Ch. 13 sect. 3 guided reading (copy)

3/18 — 1920s analysis

3/19 — Ch. 14 sect. 1 guided reading

****  Research paper outline due

U.S. Government

3/15 — Preamble assignment

3/16 — Separation of Powers handout

3/17 — Federalism handout

3/18 — Ch. 10 sect. 2 & guided reading

3/19 — Congress worksheet

I hope you all had a great weekend.  I spent the weekend with friends I have known almost 25 years. We all got to know each other when we attended U.C. Davis. Now we are all married and have children so it is always a noisy, crazy weekend. One family I only really see twice a year, once for this ski trip and then once in the summer when we have an even larger group get together. Despite only seeing them twice a year, it is always great to see them, almost like seeing family. The kids are all getting older and I enjoy watching them grow up. When we get together, it always occurs to me that it takes a community to raise a family. I know that sounds corny, but it is true. We rely on one another to keep an eye on the kids. When I was skiing, I wasn’t just watching Max, I was watching all of the kids. When we were all at the cabin, I didn’t have to worry too much about Sofi as I knew that the other kids were watching her as well. Raising children is difficult enough but on your own it’s nearly impossible.

As I’ve said before, my idea of family has expanded beyond my immediate family and encompasses my family here at school, which necessarily includes all of you. So, as we continue moving forward throughout this year, keep in mind that we are a family. It is one of the things the DSA is most successful at — creating a community at school. We provide a home away from home for many of you. You know that you can come here and be safe. You know that you are surrounded by supportive and caring teachers and students. You know that we are here to help. It is not just the teachers — it is the other students as well. So, keep an eye on each other. Rely on one another. Be there for each other.

Last week in History, we finished our study of the Industrial Revolution. We looked at the Progressive movement and the role of muckrakers in our society. We finished the week by looking at political cartoons from the Progressive era. This week we will be moving on to the economic boom of the 1920s, focusing on the impact of consumerism on our society.

In Government, we examined the events leading to the desire to be independent. We studied our first attempt to create a government, the Articles of Confederation, and some of the weaknesses of that government. We will continue the study of the Constitutional Convention and the ratification of our current Constitution.

Tests

U.S. History — 3/11

U.S. Government — 3/11

Homework

U.S. History

3/9 — Immigration Quote Journal & One Pager (see previous blog post for details)

3/10 — Ch. 9 sect. 3 guided reading

3/11 — Ch. 7 sect. 2 #1-4 or study guide

Ch. 9 sect. 1 #1-4

sect. 3 #1-3

3/15 — What Ford Hath Wrought

3/16 — 1920s Ad Analysis & Advertisement

U.S. Government

3/9 — Coming Revolt of the Guard Quote Journal and Written Reflection (for details see previous post)

3/10 — Ch. 3 sect 1 guided reading

3/11 — Ch. 2 sect. 2 #1,3,5,6 or Study guide

sect. 3 #3-5, 7

sect. 5 #1-2, 5

Ch. 3 sect. 1 #1-6

3/15 — Separation of Powers