Thursday, December 5th, 2013

Students do this: 
1) If you haven't already, create a folder in Google drive called "lastname firstname" (no quotes) and share it with brewsterjburns@gmail.com.
2) Return your Ernie's Ark Books
3) Next Wednesday, at the beginning we'll be taking a test on the fall of Rome.  You will asked to name and explain 10 reasons Rome fell.  Make sure you have this document on the fall of Rome.
4) Click the link Assignments with Problems on the right
5) Take the poll
6) Look at the calendar tab above and check out what's due in the future.
7) HONORS (or extra credit for all): read a biography of your choosing (that you have not read before). You will be quizzed on the book by Mr. Burns. Write an essay by January 6th in which you explain what it is that made your subject successful. Make at least one reference to an article or video about that quality. Show me the book by Monday, December 9th.


Computer Organization
Set up google drive on your computer. If you have already done this, help others.

Vocab Test

Should We Teach the Fall of Rome?
Challenge Narrative: Mr. Springer, a former history teacher, believes that teaching the fall of Rome is a waste of time.  Your challenge is to prove him incorrect, unless the evidence proves otherwise.
Challenge: Using the data from your surveys and the Keynote you have created, put together a presentation that explains why Rome should be taught.
Requirements: 
1)  A written and memorized introduction;
2)  Three Keynote slides for each reason (you need 3 reasons):
      a) Slide 1: A reason Rome fell
      b) Slide 2: The question you asked staff
      c) Slide 3: A chart showing the responses for each question ( you may focus on your responses on community and nation)
3) A written conclusion stating why you think the fall of Rome should be taught.

In the Future:

Maslow Self-Assessment

Philosophy Challenge--Why study philosophy?  "You can't step in the same river twice."

Split Activities: Careers Work and Surveying Norway
Careers Work
Work
Surveying Norway
Challenge: Find out everything you can about Downtown Norway.
Possible Tasks:
Survey questions on Rome
List of businesses and categories
List of things that are missing in Norway (through surveying people)
Brainstorming things that are missing (students)
From a busy location, do a visual survey of number of people and gender
Cars per hour

Philosophy Challenge
Purpose: Philosophy and religion exist for the sole purpose of giving purpose and explaining how life works. They can be very useful when things aren't going so well and can make one's life significantly better.  Personal philosophies can be by-products of where you live, "inherited" from your family or chosen by you.
Challenge Narrative: Pretend you are have just been zapped by the Men In Black stun device. The device has been set to remove all philosophical beliefs from your normally driven, purposeful brain. You no have no idea what the purpose of life is and are shopping around for a philosophy that make sense.
Challenge: You're going to be given one quotation at at time. All the quotes come from different philosophies.  For each quote, you must 1) Find out who said the quote; 2) name the philosophy it came from; 3)  explain exactly what the quote means, as simply as possible, and; 4) explain a time in your life the quote and it's underlying belief would have been useful.  If your group finishes with a quotation, you will get another.  You will be quizzed next class on the quotes' meanings.
The Quotes:

• You cannot step in the same river twice.
• God is dead.
• Death need not concern us because when we exist death does not, and when death exists we do not.
• An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.
• The struggle itself...is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy
• The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, we did it ourselves.
• Man is the measure of all things.
• Nothing in the world—indeed nothing even beyond the world—can possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualification except a good will.
• Man is born free and is everywhere in chains.
• The unexamined life is not worth living.
• I think therefore I am.
• Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily.
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
• To lead the people, walk behind them.