And Let the Testing begin....

So just a friendly reminder that you will be having a 30 - 35 question multiple choice test on FRIDAY. In class. You get 80 minutes to write it. That's it. For honest and for true. Hopefully, by Friday, you have recovered from staying up so late and watching the Canadian's men's team win gold!

This week, we are pretty much finishing up with our introductory unit.  Everything that we have looked at so far, we will be looking at again in much more depth and detail.  I can't remember if we decided which topic we wanted to do next (economics or politics) but we do need to decide that for certain on Thursday in class.

So what's going down this week?

Monday

• Like I said to you guys on Friday, you will be having a sub today.  Please also remember that the good copy of your essay, preferably a paper version, is due on Monday.  I'd like them in by the end of the school day.  Those of you who didn't finish your rough copy need to give me something by the end of the day or the mark goes in as Insufficient.  Which means 0.
• For the first 30 minutes of class, work on the acrostics for Democracy, Dictatorship, Free Market and Central Planned
• Finish up vocab sheets with missing definitions and drawings.  This is also an opportunity to fill in the side bar with related terms and people that are relevant to that vocab term
• Watch in class the Crash Course videos on the three important revolutions.  Take notes in your handouts

Tuesday

• Influence on North American Democracies - Classical Liberalism or Iroquois Confederacy?

Wednesday

• Picto-Jeopardy Review Game - Winner gets a deliciously baked treat of their choice
• Second type of writing assignments - Interpreting sources for both -1 and -2

Thursday

• Ranting this week are Jonathan and Rachel Mayko
• Planning for writing assignments, if there is time.  You will probably write the rough draft next week, Tuesday or Wednesday

Friday

• Your favourite thing - TEST DAY!!!!!!!

We Are Almost Done With the Basics!!

So, we are almost done covering the basics of what the course will be covering, which MEANS there will be a test coming up, you lucky dogs!! I'm thinking that it will probably be the last week of February, and it will be strictly multiple choice. If it is not on the last Friday of the month, it will be the following week.  As well, I should have your essay feedback to everybody do by Wednesday at the latest. If you were not in school on Friday to write the essay, you will have to make that up on Tuesday during the school day some time - either a spare or at lunch.

Last week, I thought our first rants were a great start from Landon and Sabrina. You guys generated  lots of discussion, which is what the purpose of the rant is.  Last week, we covered the basics of individualism and collectivism, as well as looked at the important philosophers of the Enlightenment. Please be sure that you understand their ideas.  Go back through your notes and watch the videos from last weeks blog. If you don't want to do that, at least watch the one on John Stuart Mill. It's got a very cute example!

So what will we be learning this week?

Tuesday

• Watch ideology videos
• Video and questions on liberalism
• Start on classical liberalism notes - the actual PowerPoint is in Dropbox, but the I do have the handout slides for you guys already printed. I will try from now on to put a PDF of the notes like I have been handing out to you, as well as the actual PowerPoint 
• Videos on the Renaissance, Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment - you will need a phone or iPod with a QR bar scanner (free app) and headphones to listen to the videos

Wednesday

• Vocabulary - political system, democracy and dictatorship
• Similarities and differences, different names, characteristics
• Acrostic activity

Thursday 

• Rants by ETHAN and ASHLEY
• The revolutions that implemented classical liberalism 

• Notes on the different revolutions

Friday

• Vocabulary - economic systems, capitalism and communism
• Similarities, differences, characteristics, different names
• Acrostic activity

Basics of Ideologies

Please send me an email to jacquelines@eics.ab.ca for the email address that you want to use for class this semester.  This way, I can make a class list for you guys and send mass emails with assignments, if necessary.  Preferably, it will work best if you use a gmail account.  If you are using your school email address, but do not know how to get access to it, go to mail.eics.ab.ca  When you get to the login in page, log on EXACTLY like you would to get on to the school computers. 

As well, check out the homework/projects page as I put the details for your brochure assignment on there.  Also, I will start putting all of your assignments/notes into this Dropbox folder.  This will give you access to my PowerPoint slides - meaning that if you want to fill in the PowerPoint notes, that you need to print them off for yourself AHEAD of time.

AS WELL...last week you guys were to watch the video that was posted at the end of the blog and comment on whether or not you agree with what she says in the TED talk.  One person did this.  I will give you one more week to get this done - meaning BY VALENTINE'S DAY.  This is just another opportunity and way for you to practice expressing and defending an opinion, which is a vital part of essay writing.

Back to Learning...

So last week, we looked at the bare bones basics of what an ideology is actually composed of.  Things to remember:

• Every single ideology has four basic characteristics:
• Nature of Human Beings - Are humans inherently good or inherently bad?
• Interpretations of the Past - What are the shortcomings of the way things have been done that leads to the requirement of change?
• Beliefs about Society - How should society be structured politically, economically and socially to make a smooth functioning nation? What are the roles of the citizens and the governments?
• Vision for the Future - If we follow this ideology, what will our society look like in the future?
• Every ideology is influenced by at least one of the six themes:
• Nation
• Reflect beliefs and values related to the idea of a nation, concerning themselves their own sovereignty, self-preservation, identity, citizenship and rights of citizens.  This can come into conflict if the ideologies based on nation do not agree with the views of another nation.
• Religion
• Basic beliefs of religion are important to many streams of thought and society focuses on ethics and morality.  Some states use religion as the basis for how they govern their territory
• Class
• Pertains to how society is structured - are there people who are considered elites, is everybody considered the same, should there be a gap between the rich and the poor, etc.
• Relationship to the land and environment
• Reflects the relationship between people and the environment, dealing with with how we live in, interact with and develop our environment
• Race
• Deals with how to interact with other races, whether races are equal to or different than other races
• Gender
• Reflects how genders should be treated and whether there is a difference between them.  Also can relate to what the roles of the genders

Good Extra Information Video

 

This is a good video to watch to look at what life was like before the age of the individual came about.

 
This week in Social Class...

Extra Material: 

• You can read Chapters 1 and 2 in your text book (red ones) and Chapters 1 - 3 in the blue ones
• What is Liberalism?

Monday

• Vocabulary words Radical, Liberal, Conservative and Reactionary
• Spectrum Notes - PowerPoint or graphic organizers
• Work on group projects - Remember projects are due on Tuesday, February 18

  Tuesday

• Philosophers of the Enlightenment
• Adam Smith

 

• John Locke

 

•  Jean Jacques Rousseau

• John Stuart Mill

• Thomas Hobbes

 

•  Voltaire

• Monstesquieu 

• Activity - placing philosophers on the spectrum

Wednesday

• The BIG SOCIAL ESSAY
• 30-1 = Writing Assignment #2
• 30-2 = Writing Assignment #1 and 3

Thursday

• Rants by LANDON and SABRINA
• Development of Liberalism
• Renaissance
• Reformation
• Enlightenment

Friday

• Rough copies of writing assignments - DUE AT THE END OF CLASS