Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Everyone:

So, yesterday was Veteran's Day. I hope, if you know any Veteran's, you made sure to thank them for what they've done for our country. If you didn't, it's not too late. Thanking them at any time is a good idea. Some of them, and their families, have given everything to protect the freedoms you and I currently enjoy. There's no way I could teach my history class, embrace freedom of speech and religion, or simply walk down the street with my wife and kids the way I do without the brave men and women who protect our country.

Well, in case you were wondering, I'm not a veteran. I've shot a gun exactly one time in my life (not that that's all people in the armed forces do, because it's not). However, we still enjoyed the day off yesterday. We set out to San Luis Obispo to have us some family time. We took our kids to our favorite coffee shop, sat outside, did some shopping for Christmas and birthday gifts, and then went to the beach for a picnic (Sounds like a real sappy family day, huh?). Well, one of the awesome things about yesterday was the fact that there were people in SLO. Lots of people. Boy-o'-boy did we have fun with those people. We happened to park directly in front of the coffee shop. There were so many people inside that we decided to sit outside on the porch. The weather was awesome, by the way, so it was a grand idea. Anyway, there were people with dogs, and people on phones, and people dressed in weird clothes and people were just everywhere. Well, since I like making my family laugh, and I like making people freak out, we decided that my wife would give me a signal every time someone got near our car and I would set the alarm off. We did it to a guy on a cell phone call, we did it to a group of college kids trying to cross the street, we did it to a guy with a dog (which almost caused a dog fight, and did cause about 3 minutes of pandemonium). Watching people's reactions when they are startled is hilarious. Especially when you can see that some people are sorry, and realize they got too close to the car and the entire thing is their fault. Then, though, there are people who feel it is nothing more than a nuisance to have an alarm go off. It's sad, though, when you realize that those same people probably come running if their alarm goes off, and would disapprove of anyone sitting on their car. The one thing I need to work on, though, is teaching my kids to be stealthy. They are too obvious. They, and my wife as well, were going to get us caught!!! Luckily, I'm the master of secrecy (which comes in hand sometimes).

Here's this weeks "What's Going On In This Picture." Be sure to address all three questions.

• What's going on in this picture?

  

  Click image to enlarge.

• How can you tell?
• What else can you find out?

Modern World History

Quick-write:

• Address this week's "What's Going On In This Picture" from the New York Times Learning Network (Answer to follow tomorrow).

Objectives:

• Use evidence to substantiate an argument. 
• Track your Grade, Missing Assignments, Geography Quiz Scores, and attendance for weeks 3 and 4.
• Identify the feeling associated with Imperialism.
• Address your prior knowledge of Imperialism.

AP World History

Quick-write:

• Address this week's "What's Going On In This Picture" from the New York Times Learning Network (Answer to follow tomorrow).

Objectives:

• Consider how and why the source of a document might influence Point of View (POV)
• Analyze the Spread of Buddhism into China.