Heather Fontanilla, The Digital Safari Academy

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

Due next Tuesday (March 9) is your first Government assignment using the quote journal.  For this assignment, you need to read the Howard Zinn Chapter, “Coming Revolt of the Guards” and create a quote journal.  For each page of the chapter, you need to pick a quote that stands out for you.  Copy the quote down.  Then respond to the quote focusing on three things.

•  Why did you pick the quote?

•  What does the quote mean to you?

•  Respond to the quote.  Do you agree or disagree?  Why?

At the end you should have 10 quotes.  Then, reflect on the chapter as a whole. Use some of the quotes for a starting point of your reflection.  The reflection should be at least 2 paragraphs.

All of you will be getting progress reports this week.  It seemed to sneak up on us didn’t it? At the beginning of this first semester many of you talked about changing your habits and getting more work completed.  After you get your progress reports, examine whether you were able to meet your goals.  Ask yourself whether you did your best to get the work done. Generally, if you do the homework, you should see an improvement in your test scores.  However, it takes time for the changes to be evident.  Think about when you start to work out or you go on a diet.  You generally don’t see immediate results.  Instead, the change is so slow you may not even notice it.  However, others will notice it.  The same applies to your efforts in school.  You may not see the impact of your change in habits immediately, but if you stick with it, it will eventually pay off.

This last week in History, we continued our exploration of the impact of the Industrial Revolution.  We also started a project using our Junior class reader, the details of which are in the previous post.  We will continue to work on that project this week so make sure you bring your reader to class.  This week we will also look at the societal problems caused by the industrialization of our country and the efforts made to address some of those problems. We will also examine the rise of the labor movement.

In Government we finished our review of basic ideas about government, including looking at the ideas of the philosophers and how those ideas have impacted the formation of our government.  This next week we will start to look at the history of our country and how and why we broke free of England.  We will then begin to look at the writing of our Constitution.

Homework

U.S. History

There isn’t much homework this week with the idea that you would be working on your quote journals and reflections for the Immigration One-Pager and Written Reflection.

3/3 — The Jungle Reading & Questions

3/5 — Ch. 9 sect. 1 guided reading

Government

3/2 — Revolution Article

3/3 — Declaration of Independence Handout

3/4 — Ch. 2 sect. 3 guided reading

3/5 — Ch. 2 sect. 4 (copy) & sect. 5 guided reading

3/8 — Rd. to Independence Timeline

Revisions were made to the homework schedule this week.

In Government, we delayed the Revolution Article because we are a little behind. Instead for tonight (2/23) you will be reading an article — “Nation Building in Iraq” and answering the questions.

In U.S. History, the homework for tonight (2/23) was also changed.  Instead of reading “Two Poems” in the reader, I want you to read two other articles and answer the questions that follow each.  The first article is “Successful Integration of Immigrants”.  The second article is “Recasting the Melting Pot”.  Both articles can  be found in the reader.

In U.S. History, I also distributed the next Visual and Written Reflection — this one’s on immigration.  As I told you in class, this assignment is designed to help you access some of the documents you may want to use on the paper.  It will also help to get you started thinking about the paper topic as the guiding question for this assignment is basically the same question you will be answering in your paper. Thus, the more effort you put into this assignment, the more prepared you will be for the paper.  Additionally, this assignment will go into the test category.  It is worth 60 points (two tests).  20 points for quote journal; 20 points for visual reflection; 20 points for written reflection.  This assignment is tentatively due March 9.

There are several parts to this assignment.

Reading & quote journals:

You will choose one of two sets of readings.  For each reading you will create a quote journal, where you will choose quotes that stand out to you and then you will respond to each quote.  In your responses to the quotes, you should reflect on the following:

• Why did you pick the quote?

• What does the quote mean to you?

• What is your opinion about what the quote means?

Reading option A:

Jimmy Baca Poems (respond to each poem – with one quote per poem)

Latino America (one quote per one reader page)

The Dream Deferred Again . . . in San Antonio (one quote per two reader pages)

Reading option B:

Growing up Asian in America (one quote per one reader page)

California Palms (one quote per one reader page)

Where are you really from? Asian Americans and the perpetual foreigner syndrome (One quote per two reader pages)

Reflection:

Using the quotes, and more importantly your response to the quotes, you will design a visual reflection of your thoughts on the immigration experience.  You will also write a written reflection. Specifically, consider this question:

How do we balance our unique cultural tapestries with our desire to unify as Americans?  Consider the ideas of assimilation and multiculturalism.  Is one idea better then the other?  Why?

Use quotes from the reading as a launching point to your visual and written reflections.  The visual reflection should include images that reflect your views on immigration.  The written reflection should be at least a page.

Thank you to all the juniors for the incredible night this last week.  It was great watching you perform on stage.  I love the opportunity to see all of you out of the class.  In my class you are students, but during the I.D.entity performances you were something much more special — yourselves.  I.D.entity is definitely a highlight of the school year for me.

I hope you all enjoyed your last two short weeks.  Now its time for the long haul — although not too long.  We don’t have another break until spring break.  We are lucky this year it is early. I always find March to be the hardest month of they year. It is still cold and wet, but you have some warm days thrown in to make us want spring.  There’s no holidays and it’s too far from my birthday or Christmas or any other time of year when I should be getting presents.  However, I suppose we could look at the fact we won’t be distracted and we can focus on school.  We can use the month of March to do all of our homework, study for our tests and have a great start of this semester.

This last week in History we started our study of the economics unit — Boom to Bust to Boom — with the Industrial Revolution.  We will continue exploring the impact the Industrial Revolution had on our society. This next week we will also be exploring the importance of immigration on our nation’s growth and spend some time exploring some of the documents in the reader.  We will also have our first test of second semester.

In Government, we finished our Philosopher projects and continued our discussions of the origins of our government.  This next week we will continue those discussions, in particular learning about the societal conditions necessary for a democracy to succeed and then spending more time discussing the impact of the philosophers on the forming of our government.

Tests

U.S. History: 2/25

Government: 2/25

Homework

U.S. History

2/22 — Finish review of documents for the philosophy of industrialists

2/23 — Finish questions about the documents regarding the philosophy of industrialists.

2/24 — Two Poems (Reader)

2/25 — Study Guide or Book Questions

Ch. 6 sect. 1 #1, 3, 5

sect. 2 #2 & 4

sect. 3 #1-3

Ch. 7 sect. 1 #1-5

Government

2/24 — Revolution Article

2/25 – Ch. 1 sect. 1 #1-5

sect. 2 #1-5

sect. 3 #1, 6, 7

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

sect. 2 #1-5

February 9-February 19 (Yes — 2 weeks worth!!)

First, let me apologize for not having my blog updated last week.  I have no real valid excuse, other then to say that in the priorities of my life right now, it is toward the bottom.  I can promise that I will try harder not to let that happen again.  That being said, you are going to get two weeks of homework on this entry. One, because we have two shorter weeks in a row (Thank you Presidents Lincoln & Washington).  Two, because I will be gone for most of next week, I wanted to give you the following week’s homework early so I won’t skip another week.

Now on to this week’s ramblings.  As we start this second semester I always take some time to examine my role as your teacher and what I am doing to help you be more successful.  Sometimes this process is a painful one as it has been this last week or so. It is often hard for us to examine what we did wrong.  However, as I told you when you entered my history class, if we don’t examine our wrongdoings then how are we to prevent them from happening again.  One of the best ways to learn is to figure out what we did wrong.  So, I am currently trying to figure out what I am doing wrong.  Any input I can get helps in this process so please don’t be afraid to tell me what isn’t working.

What I am committed to is finding a way to support more of my students.  Please know that I am always available to assist you when you are confused or don’t understand an assignment.  My goal is to get more work out of more of my students.  The equation is relatively simple:  Work = A passing grade.  So, the more work you do, the better your chances of passing.  The more work you do, the better your test scores will be.  The more work you do, the more you will understand my content.

Homework

U.S. History

2/9 — White Privilege: Unpacking the Knapsack

2/11 — Reflection on President Obama’s speech on race (reader)

2/16 — Assembly Line Reading and Chart

2/17 — Ch. 6 section 1 guided reading

Tolerance One Pager

U.S. Government

2/10 — Ch. 1 sect. 2 guided reading (Copy)

2/11 — Ch. 1 sect. 3 guided reading

2/16 — Philosopher U.S. Postage Stamp Presentations

2/17 — Philosopher paper

2/18 — Ch. 2 sect. 1 & 2 guided reading (sect. 1 copy)

As I sit here racking my brain for something clever to write, it occurs to me why “dead week” is called “dead week”.  For those of you who have not heard the phrase, dead week traditionally refers to the week of final exams.  I believe it is called “dead week” because there should not any extra-curricular activities happening . . . the campus is dead.  However, as I sit here in a half comatose state, I believe it is also called dead week because by the time we get to it we feel a little bit dead — metaphorically of course. That being said, we need to keep our energy and stamina a little bit longer as we enter into finals.  We can be “dead” the following week — oh — wait a minute, we can’t then either because we start a new semester.  Oh well . . . .

Thank you seniors for a wonderful night Thursday at the Innovation Fair.  I am always so impressed by your energy and presence. You ALL did a great job. Sometimes I feel like such a mother hen because I feel so proud of how much all of you have grown. You took this project seriously and, despite the moaning and groaning you gave me, I felt you were enthusiastic and spirited. You truly are the best of Mt. Diablo High School.

This week is finals week.  So, we don’t really have homework except to get ready for final exams.  Outlines were handed out to both juniors and seniors so you can get a jump start on the studying this weekend.  Don’t forget, on Tuesday in both U.S. History and Economics I will hand out note cards that you will be allowed to use on the final exam.  IF you are not here on Tuesday, you will not be allowed to use anything on the final.  You must use the note card I provide and you must do the note card in your own handwriting.  NO typed or computer generated cards.  If you try and bring in a note card other then one I gave you or if it is not in your own handwriting, you will not be allowed to use it for the test.

Homework

U.S. History

1/27 — IDentity History Scrapbook — Final Draft

**** See project Wiki for details on the assignment

Economics

1/25 — Ch. 16 sect 3 & 4 guided reading

Ok . . . so maybe it is not the day you’ve all been waiting for, but, nevertheless, GreenBizz is finally here.  Yes, this week will be GreenBizz intensive.  You seniors have been working hard all semester for this moment.  So, take a deep breath and embrace the stress and excitement of this week.  Everything culminates on Thursday where we will be completely immersed in this project. We will get on a bus early Thursday and head over the DVC for the morning competition.  After the morning competition, we will have a few hours before we head over to the Centre Concord to prepare for the evening.  I’m excited to see all of you shine.

Some of you juniors may be thinking this does not apply and who cares.  However, this does apply to you.  GreenBizz is the culmination of all the presentation skills that we started working on when you are sophomores with the History of Our Families Project and Legacy of Imperialism.  We are continuing that work this year with the IDentity project and the spring semester project (yet to be titled).  Next year you too will be in the cyclone of stress, work, and excitement.  So, I encourage you juniors to come out on Thursday and see what all of the fuss is about!!

This last week in History we finished the Women’s Rights Movement. Unfortunately, we are a little behind.  So, that means we need to pick up the pace. This next week we need to examine the Hispanic American Movement, the Native American experience, and the Asian American Movement. This week will be heavy lecture during class time so you really want to be present, both mentally and physically. I will be handing out the outline of the material for the final exam on Friday so you can begin to study next weekend. Don’t forget — your History Scrapbook, which is part of the IDentity Project, is due on the day of the final exam — January 27.

In Economics we will obviously be preparing for GreenBizz.  The lab will be open on Monday from 9:00 – 3:00 for those of you that want to come in to continue your work. We have our last mentor meeting on Tuesday.  The focus of that meeting will be your presentation and the Innovation Fair.  On Friday we will be finishing our discussion of Monetary Policy and you will be given time to work on a guided reading reviewing the concepts discussed.  I will also be giving you an outline for the final exam so you can begin to study next weekend.

Tests:

U.S. History — Final Exam 1/27

Economics — Final Exam 1/28

Homework

U.S. History

1/20 — Cesar Chavez Article and Guided Reading

1/21 — Ch. 5 section 1 guided reading

1/22 — Ch. 23 section 1 guided reading

1/25 — Asian Americans Then & Now

Economics

1/19 — Mentor Meeting

1/21 — GreenBizz

We’re Back!!

Isn’t it amazing how quickly a vacation becomes a distant memory.  We came back last week, hopefully well rested and relaxed. It now seems like that was ages ago. By Tuesday of last week, I no longer felt well rested or relaxed.  I, once again, felt fully immersed in work.  I’m not complaining . . . I like my job. I’m just wondering why the affects of a vacation seem to be so fleeting.

I read about a study last week that revealed that 72% of women today characterize themselves as unhappy. The study discussed the advances in the opportunities for women and explored the reasons that, despite these advancements, women describe themselves as less happy. It then went onto discuss the increased pressure women feel to take advantage of those advancements as well as balance the more traditional role women play as wife and mother. I reflect on my own feelings of satisfaction.  

Despite what may appear to be a crankiness about me, I consider myself a happy person. I have a job that provides me with a tremendous amount of professional satisfaction. I have friends that keep me grounded. Most importantly, I have a family whom I adore. No doubt, there are days where I am frustrated, on the verge of tears. It is usually when I begin to feel the pressure to do all that I feel that way. I think what we have lost is the focus on community. There seems to be an overwhelming sense for most of us that we should be able to do all of this on our own and that if, for whatever reason we can’t, we have failed. So, on top of the stress of what we have to do, there is the growing sense of failure.  

What we need to learn to work on is leaning on people. It does not make me less of a teacher to rely on my teaching partners to help carry the load. It does not make me less of a mother to rely on my family and friends to help with the kids. It does not make me less of a wife to rely on my husband to help with household chores. That’s what a community should do — help each other, support one another.  

As part of the Digital Safari Academy, we are lucky to have a community.  One of the reasons we do the projects we do is to help you, the students, learn to work with people. You will not be an island when you go into the work environment. You will not be an island as you get older and begin to build your own community.  

Being part of a community carries with it two obligations. One, ask for help when you need it.  No one can, nor should they, go it alone. So don’t be afraid to ask for help. It does not make you less. Second, do your part.  This is probably the most important part to learn. For people to ask for help, they have to trust that people will be there. Obviously it goes way beyond being there physically. You have to be there mentally and intellectually as well.  

We can’t lean if we fear those we are leaning against won’t hold us up.

This last week in History, we continued our exploration of women’s history, focusing on the modern women’s rights movement. We finished the week looking at reproductive rights. We will be finishing the women’s movement and begin our study of the Hispanic American movement. Please note:  I will not be collecting the final pages of the History Scrapbook.  Instead, you will turn those in with your final draft on January 27.  Remember, this is a component of the IDentity project.  

In Economics, we continued our study of the interaction between supply and demand. We began our review to help prepare us for this week’s test. We will finish that review this week and begin to study the actions of our government in the stabilization of our economy.

Tests:

U.S. History — January 14

Economics — January 14

Homework

U.S. History

1/11 — Finish Roe v. Wade/Planned Parenthood v. Casey FIRAC

1/13 — Hispanic American readings — Thinking about the following questions:

• Identify significant historical events and explain.
• Describe working conditions.
• Explain people’s reactions to the working conditions.
• Discuss power — Who has it and how is it reflected?

Also due — Real Women collage and written reflection

1/14 — Study questions or 

             Pg. 316 #2-4

             Pg. 443 #1-3 (Ch. 13 section 2)

             Pg. 780 #1-3 (Ch. 23 section 2)

             Pg. 773 #1 & 4

1/15 — Cesar Chavez article & guided reading

Economics

1/11 — Supply & Demand Review

1/13 — Ch. 15 sect. 1 guided reading

1/14 — Ch. 6 sect. 1 #1-4, 6, 7

                        sect. 2 #1-5

                        sect. 3 #1-4

              Ch. 15 sect. 1 #1, 3, 4, 6

Happy Holidays!!!

So, despite my best efforts, I was unable to simplify my Christmas.  As I sit here the Friday before break planning for our return to school, I can already say I did not achieve my goal of simplicity.  My holidays have been, thus far, and will continue to be for the next few days, very busy. But in my defense, it is spending time with family and friends — which was underlying my original goal of simplicity.  So, maybe I did meet my goal . . . .

Anyway, I wish all of you happy holidays and peace for the next two weeks.  I look forward to seeing all your beaming faces on January 4 as we begin the last push of the Semester.

This last week in history, we finished the African American Civil Rights Movement.  We started the writing process for the Martin Luther King, Jr & Malcolm X paper.  We gave you an outline to complete.  The outline, when completed, will give you the basic structure of your paper.  We also showed you examples of strong body paragraphs and discussed the incorporation of quotes into your essay.  Hopefully you were able to meet the goal of having at least one paragraph done before break.  Remember your paper is due on January 8!  

We also started the Women’s Rights Movement.  We began by discussing women in the mid to late 1800s and the ideas of “True Womanhood”.  When we return from break we continue examining women’s struggle for equality, focusing on women in the 1950s to today.  

In Economics, we began this last week with a presentation on Financial Aid from our College and Career Counselor.  Don’t forget to keep gathering your financial aid information and bring it to the Financial Aid workshop on January 14.  We then started exploring the interaction of supply and demand in our economy.  We played the Market in Wheat game — always a favorite — and began to examine the role prices play in our economy.  We will continue these discussions the week we get back and begin to learn about fiscal and monetary policies as a tool to stabilize our economy.

We are coming to the end of GreenBizz so keep up the hard work.  We have one last mentor meeting the week we come back.  This will be your last opportunity to really get feedback from real business people about your business plan and your company.

Homework

U.S. History

1/6 — Why I want a Wife

1/7 — Ch. 23 sect. 2 guided reading

1/8 — Martin Luther King, Jr. & Malcolm X paper

Economics

1/5 — Ch. 6 section 1 & 2 guided reading

1/6 — Supply & Demand review

1/7 — Mentor Meeting