I'm not usually prone to making these types of comparisons -- because I don't really believe the old adage that "history repeats itself", but I do think we can draw lessons from the past to help us better understand the present. In this regard I think the 1930's in Europe is informative about the dangers of the rise of "Authoritarianism". This article in the Washington Post is well written and talks about these rising dangers in a compelling way. Check it out. (The text below is a clickable link) The strongmen strike back
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2019 has been an interesting ride so far. The Snowpocalypse really messed up my flow -- and has really meant some significant changes to try to get ready for the AP Exam. We have only 37 class days left until then -- two in class exams and the Final Exam at the end of April (see calendar) will hopefully give people a good idea of how prepared they are.
A few more weeks to really focus and then we can take things a bit slower as we enjoy classes until July. This article has some excellent video clips that detail the history of the concept of Fake News and the KGB. It's worth checking out. Note: it contains a few curse words. Russian Disinformation From Cold War to KanyeGreetings to all three of you who read this. The end of the Quarter is fast approaching and that means that your opportunity to turn in late work is running out. If you have any work to turn in from between the end of Mid Q1 and the end of Q1 you have until NOVEMBER 9th to turn it in. NO WORK FROM Q1 will be accepted after that.
This is a great article that shows how sometimes little things can have a big impact. Keep this in mind in the months and years to come. Article LinkTime sure goes by fast! It's already the end of the first Mid-Quarter and I have to enter grades by October 9th. Therefore, if you have any missing or late assignments that you are planning to complete you need to turn them in by the end of school on Tuesday October 9th. Plan accordingly.
So it's late August -- I'm feeling well rested and I guess it's time to return to school. I just finished setting up my planbook that I know will eventually be filled with all the activities and ideas we are going to examine throughout the year. I am looking forward to getting my 22nd year of teaching up and running and getting to meet all of you -- and I know 10 months from now that we will all have fond memories to look back on -- but at the present moment there is a lot of work to be done. :)
Writing the year 2018-2019 still sounds like something out of a science fiction movie to me -- shouldn't we all have flying cars that fold up into a suitcase by now? The Alice Cooper is great, but c'mon it's time to find a new end of the year song. There are some quality choices, but this is the one I've been trying to get people to catch on to...enjoy! This has been a fantastic year -- I honestly think I have enjoyed this year more than any other year in my teaching career. You all worked really hard and made teaching both rewarding and fun. I know I learned a lot (and hope you can say the same). I hope you will continue to keep in touch in the coming years. Let's be sure to enjoy are last few weeks together before summer.
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