If it's the autumn of an election year, it's time for POLITICS! Which, in this day and age of course, means that it's time to argue with each other over the internets....hence this blog. For you RLA kids, this is the place to go as we countdown to Election Day 2012 (Which, BTW, is Tuesday, November 6th)

Anyway, here's the plan. As we wade our way through the various issues and races, we'll be posting our thoughts on this blog. And yes, I will be reading them. And yes, I will be grading you based on your posts (passion, clarity of thought, knowledge of the issues, validity of your argument, etc.)

Got it?

Up first is the case study of the Keystone XL Pipeline from your "refresher" reading on the Federal Government.

Here's the question: Regarding the Obama administration's handling of the Keystone XL Pipeline, give them a letter grade and explain why you gave it to them?

Got it? Give Obama a grade on his handling of Keystone XL and explain your rationale in the comment section below this post.

-Ned-

p.s. If you're so inclined, please feel free to respectfully comment on the posts of your classmates.

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=8818+e+grace+Spokane+WA+99212&daddr=Hopkins+Ridge,+WA+to:Rooks+Park,+Walla+Walla,+WA+to:Whitman+Mission+Natl+Historic,+Whitman+Mission+Road,+Walla+Walla,+WA+to:Marcus+Whitman+Hotel,+West+Rose+Street,+Walla+Walla,+WA+to:Middle+Waitsburg+Road,+Walla+Walla,+WA+to:46.16523,-118.2513+to:Waitsburg,+WA+to:kellog+hollow+rd,+wa+to:Cemetery+Hill+Road,+Dayton,+WA+to:Powers+Rd+to:Palouse+Falls,+Whitman,+WA+to:Ritzville,+WA+to:Spokane,+WA&hl=en&ll=46.50879,-118.071442&spn=0.420596,1.060867&sll=46.175551,-118.260269&sspn=0.423167,1.060867&geocode=FZ6V1wId-lgC-SlLoXhfhR-eVDEg96bLWjkM9Q%3BFSO0wgIdCaT3-CFPQciqiUnmKg%3BFXEkvwId-o7z-CHcKTUXPEEMSQ%3BFWKHvgIdYVLw-CEb6hkSUUCIjCmVtkOfQGiiVDGFGyTMoHQ_5g%3BFX3vvgIdjUTy-CFk_Zm6Tx7l0g%3BFdPKvwIdiyrz-CkJa51qVhGiVDGsOr6Eeh-pWA%3BFe5swAId3KDz-Cl3AIsy9hOiVDG1Y7o_90Lffw%3BFdIHwgIduh_1-Cl9kkjyYhCiVDHy-weEl3JHiA%3BFb7BxAIdpjP2-Cm1dke93f-hVDHzXQJyYT8wUQ%3BFRFGxQIdaAD1-CkD6ZK71lSfVDG8f8DkRHAEOQ%3BFb7AxQIdCc_0-A%3BFTcHyAIdJw30-CkDzQofqk6fVDE7IKKIp0tVFw%3BFUwbzwIdOarx-Cmb_TdgfN6eVDGKuOf1VucGOQ%3BFRw31wIdgTgA-Snl57swXBieVDGx2YQL1sn83Q&oq=spo&mra=dpe&mrsp=6&sz=11&via=6&t=m&z=11

A Nation Among Nations

"A Nation Among Nations," by Thomas Bender

pp. 79 - 102: A Continuous War, 1754 - 1783; 1783; and The Age of Atlantic Revolutions

PPT Project: Due Tuesday, February 28th @ 11:00am - NO EXCEPTIONS; Presentations on Wednesday, February 29th.

Here's the plan...

Read pages 79 - 102 and take copious, detailed, and insightful notes. Either alone or with a partner (no trios!), compile a PPT demonstrating a clear understanding of the text in the context of teaching and learning American History in an international context.

Cool?

9th and 10th Graders:
15 - 20 Slides
One photo or map per slide
Your theis must start and finish your PPT
Two out of the three primary source documents (North & South Columbia, Simon Bolivar, and Jose Marti) must be incorporated. Don't panic, I'll pass these out later.
Your PPT must also include a definition of "The Bolton Thesis" and whether or not you think it's even worth considering. Don't sweat this either, I'll teach you all about it on Thursday.

11th and 12th Graders
20 - 25 Slides
All three primary source documents must be included
All other requirements are the same, but I'm expecting work that represents your (alleged) intellectual maturity.

Questions? Come see me ASAP.

Get started, now.

-Ned-

RLA goes to Olympia: 2012

First of all, relax. Despite what you might have heard about their reptilian nature, politicians are made of flesh and bone like the rest of us. Their hair and offices can be a little intimidating, but just remember that they work for you and LOVE talking to their constituents.

Here's the plan:

Tuesday Afternoon: Go over the two lessons provided by the WCAN organization and the Washington State Legislature (district, house, senate, committees, minority/majority, etc.)

Wednesday - Thursday: Background research on WCAN and issues related to educational funding in Washington State:

- Levy Equalization
- Charter Schools
- State Constitutional Crisis
- Spokane Medical School
- Cost of Higher Ed MORE INFO:
- Etc.

Friday: Compose letters and practice for meetings with Legislators, final preparation, etc.

Research Links!

This is like DIGITAL GOLD. Learn 'em. Use 'em. Love 'em.

http://search.proquest.com/index?username=SR746H7RGQ&password=welcome

http://search.ebscohost.com/Community.aspx?user=s4500719&password=P0018891&lp=login.asp&ref=&authtype=uid&id=-95908996&ugt=723731463C5635073706357632153E9223E368D36413689368E325E337133503&return=y&IsMobile=N

http://online.culturegrams.com/secure/index.php

http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/elibweb/elib/do/search

http://www.britannica.com/?cameFromBol=true

http://www.powermediaplus.com/

http://star.wvsd.org/renaissanceserver/

http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/products?ed=all&gr=Welcome+West+Valley+School+Dist+363%21

THE LOTTERY

THE LOTTERY

Packing for Mars, Interviews

Interviews

Packing for Mars

By Mary Roach

Chapter Selections

Due: 17 Oct, 10 a.m.

One of two project pieces for (earning credit for) Packing for Mars will be a pair of team interviews. In one interview you will be the interviewee team and in the other interview you will be the interviewer team.

A team approach models how NASA has trained astronauts for missions and how they have sent them on these missions. Even for the solo Mercury launches, the astronauts were chosen from a pool or team of astronauts who trained together and who helped design the space vehicles that took them there.

You will be interviewed on a chapter of Packing for Mars by another team of students. For this interview you will need to be experts on the chapter. You will be asked to respond to questions from the interviewing team and you will not know the questions ahead of time.

You will also conduct an interview of another, different team of students. For this interview you will need, as a team, to develop set of probing questions that you will use to assess the understanding of the team you interview on a chapter for which they should be the experts.

You will have some choice in the chapters you will be responsible for. You may select two chapters for which to be responsible. Choice #1 will be the chapter for which you will be the interviewee; choice #2 will be the chapter for which you will be the interviewer. However, each chapter will be used only twice, once for each side of an interview.

Choose a team, yourself and two others, and at your earliest opportunity choose two unique chapters from the grid below. First come, first served. Email your choice to me, ChrisM.Flanagan@gmail.com. First come, first served. If your chapter has already been taken I’ll let you know that you will have to make an alternate choice. You have until Monday, 17 October to make your choices. At 10 a.m. on Monday, 17 October, I will choose for you.

Chapter	Team Choice #1	Team Choice #2
He’s Smart but his Birds are Sloppy: Japan Picks an Astronaut
Life in a Box: The Perilous Psychology of Isolation & Confinement
Star Crazy: Can Space Blow Your Mind?
You Go First: The Alarming Prospect of Life Without Gravity
Unstowed: Escaping Gravity on Board NASA’s C-9
Throwing Up & Down: The Astronaut’s Secret Misery
The Cadaver in the Space Capsule: NASA Visits the Crash Test Lab
One Furry Step for Mankind: The Strange Careers of Ham & Enos
Next Gas: 200,000 Miles: Planning a Moon Expedition is Tough, but Not as Tough as Planning a Simulated One
Houston, We Have a Fungus: Space Hygiene and the Men Who Stopped Bathing for Science
The Horizontal Stuff: What if You never got out of Bed?
The Three-Dolphin Club: Mating Without Gravity
Withering Heights: Bailing Out from Space
Separation Anxiety: The Continuing Saga of Zero-Gravity Elimination
Discomfort Food: When Veterinarians Make Dinner, and Other Tales of Woe from Aerospace Test Kitchens
Eating Your Pants: Is Mars Worth It?

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451

By Ray Bradbury

Part I: The Hearth and the Salamander

Part II: The Sieve and the Sand

Due: Friday, 14 October

Captain Beatty

We meet Captain Beatty in Part I and he quickly becomes a main character in Part I and Part II. Is he a good man or is he a bad man: hero or villain?

State your premise. Then defend your premise by developing three contentions supported by statements describing actions and dialogue from Part I and Part II.

Limit your explanation to 150-250 words. Use your best English please. Prepare your responses in MS Word. You may submit your responses as hard copy or as an attachment to an email to ChrisM.Flanagan@gmail.com.

Science Friday

Science Friday for 3-7 October

Listen to the Friday, 30 September segment titled The Real Virologist behind “Contagion.” It is not unheard of for a director to hire a scientist as a consultant to make sure a movie has its science right. Listen to the program and follow the links below (one of the links will take you to a podcast) and investigate whether or not this is one of those instances. Check out the movie details as well.

By Thursday or Friday of this week, be prepared to take an oral or written quiz on the information is this story and in the provided links.

Consider some outside reading on this topic. What sort of a project could you do in the areas of virology or epidemiology?

The Real Virologist behind “Contagion”

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/30/140954029/the-real-virologist-behind-contagion

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/opinion/the-real-threat-of-contagion.html

http://pressblog.uchicago.edu/2011/05/03/traffic_carl_zimmer_and_w_ian.html

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451

By Ray Bradbury

Part I: The Hearth and the Salamander

Due: Monday, 3 October

When we first meet Guy Montag he appears to be enjoying his work . . . burning the books and other possessions of a fellow human being. As the chapter closes he is no longer enjoying his work. Why? Explain what you think has caused this change in him to come about?

Develop three contentions and support them with statements from the novel. (Hint: Restate this change in Montag as a question in your introduction and use your three contentions to bolster your thesis.) Limit your explanation to ~150 words. Use your best English please. Prepare your responses in MS Word. You may submit your responses as hard copy or as an attachment to an email to ChrisM.Flanagan@gmail.com.