Reflection on Anthony's Vietnam Presentation

This song talks about how rich kids avoided the war/draft -


Fortunate Son lyricsSongwriters: Fogerty, John;
Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Ooh, they're red, white and blue
And when the band plays "Hail to the Chief"
Oh, they point the cannon at you, Lord

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no Senator's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one, no

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand
Lord, don't they help themselves, oh
But when the tax men come to the door
Lord, the house look a like a rummage sale, yes

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no millionaire's son, no, no
[. From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/c/creedence-clearwater-revival-lyrics/fortunate-son-lyrics.html .]
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one, no

Yeah, some folks inherit star spangled eyes
Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord
And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"
Oh, they only answer, more, more, more, yoh

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no military son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one, no, no, no
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate son, no, no

Unit Lesson Plan Reflection

     When teaching the subject matter associated with Social Studies, it is extremely important for the instructor to understand that they are not just teaching history. Yes, social studies does include history as part of its content, but the other elements of the content – geography, economics, and civics, are of equal (if not more) importance. The goal of a good social studies teacher is to place events in past history into the current frame of the events occurring today, while also exposing the students to civics, economics, and geography at a level that is relevant to them as individuals and citizens.   

     The thematic unit lesson plans that I presented to the class were based upon the role of the United States in the emerging global theater.  The unit was designed for 12th grade social studies, using the scaffolding principle of Lev Vygotsky to construct each individual lesson upon the foundation of the prior lesson. The initial lesson was based upon the students prior knowledge of World War I, and involved the repercussions of the war with respect to both the participants and the periphery. Students were required to form work groups to act as individual nations which comprised the League of Nations, and form an argument that would justify or rationalize their nation’s stance.

     The subsequent lessons addressed the United States attempts at imperialism in Latin America via President Roosevelt’s “Good Neighbor Policy”, the failure of the League of Nations, and the onset of World War II. The final lesson in the unit dealt with intense issues of human rights violations, genocide, war crimes, and the ultimate formation of the United Nations. These lessons were designed to incorporate global thinking (the big picture) within the realm of not just the United States, but the world as a whole. Students were shown political cartoons, online maps, war footage (including concentration camps), and primary source documents – and then participated in rational, instructor-moderated discussions.

     The purpose of these discussions was to allow the students to view the topics from different perspectives, to gain a better understanding of political, social, geographic, and economic factors which played a part in the evolution of mankind in the early twentieth century. Students were required to keep an individual running “KWL Sheet” for each lesson, with a “Master KWL Sheet” for each group. The students were then required to transcribe their master sheet to an online database (Weebly Blog) for use by the instructor when formulating the final assessment for the unit. This practice allows the students to have input in creating their own test questions, while also requiring them to use critical thinking skills.

     To further to scaffolding approach, while bridging into the next unit plans, the students were shown a YouTube video of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire”. The video is a visual and auditory prompt that depicts events from 1949, the end of the period which was covered in the previous unit plan. Among these events was the formation of the Communist Bloc nations, the Cold War, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, and continues through 1989. The primary message of this video is that though we didn’t start the proverbial fire, we inherited it and now have to devise methods to fight it. The lyrics of the song also illustrate the decline of world morality, the rise of popular culture, and the effects of these changes on our society. In addition, the lyrics also expose students to people, places, events, and objects to which they might not otherwise. The hope being (somewhat ironically) that the instructor kindles a fire of desire to learn more about these topics.

     Based upon the reaction of my classmates, I feel that my presentation was successful and needed just a few minor changes. I would have liked to have had more time to present the lesson in its full capacity as one of those changes. The other would have been to have used the Smartboard, in its full capacity, as an extension of my computer. All in all, I thought it was a good presentation.

Works Cited

   Billy Joel. We Didn't Start the Fire. N.d. Infographic. YouTube.com

      Britton, Jill. "Jill Britton's Website." Icosahedron Globe. Camosun   

    College, n.d. Web. 25 Nov 2011.

    <http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.ca/globe/globe.htm>.

    White, M. (1997). Map of league of nations. In Retrieved from   

    http://users.rcn.com/mwhite28/lego-nat.htm

     Killtron. (Producer). (2006). World war one footage. [Web Video].

    Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVDUXPB_sTs

    United Nations website. (n.d.). Retrieved from

     http://www.un.org/en/index.shtml

The course is fine the way it is.

End of Term Reflection

Wow!

It's hard to believe that the semester is drawing to a close...something that is bittersweet to me.

On the one hand, it's always good to advance one step closer to my goal of graduation.

On the other hand, it's been a "fun ride" with my classmates...and Melda is the "Conductor", and I will geniunely miss meeting on Wednesday's.

I want to thank all of you who made the class what it is, and I hope that I have made some life-long friends in the process.

I wish everyone my most sincere best wishes in your future endeavors...who knows...some of us may end up being co-workers someday...wouldn't that be nice? Until then.

Cheers, Adios, Sayonara, Ciao, Zai Jian, Adiu, Elveda, and Happy Trails.

Gregg

I Saw It on a Car

The award for best bumper sticker goes to the car that had "Kill Your Television"

What Am I?

I was born in Queens, New York (United States)

I am of Cuban, English, French, Dutch and Irish heritage.

I am caucasian. I am male.

What am I?

Many people would reach various conclusions based upon these descriptions but...

I am a Pangean...a global identity.

Teaching Philosophy

Social Studies Philosophy

     The term philosophy is derived from the Greek “philosophia” which, loosely translated means love of knowledge or wisdom. It is with this understanding that I can expound upon my own philosophy in terms of life in a broad context, as well as my philosophy pertaining to my desire to teach social studies in a more specific context.

    In terms of my general philosophy of life, the word eclectic is probably the proper assessment. As a mature adult, having lived a great portion of my life and experienced its highs and lows, I can draw from a bank of varying philosophies. I tend to be a person who treats people the way that I hope to be treated (The Golden Rule), and would rather be respected than feared. Fear is respect that is commanded, while natural respect is earned via modeling. I also believe that knowledge is power, not in physical terms, but rather in spiritual and intellectual terms. The acquisition of knowledge is a constant process, and those who keep an open mind are often the most well rounded individuals.  

     My philosophy of social studies education is built upon the foundation of my general philosophy. Teaching skill and content knowledge augment that core foundation, while other elements are drawn from the environment of the school – the students, the classroom, and the school itself. The students bring their diversity (both cultural and learning). The classroom provides the proper back drop or setting to enhance learning. The school provides a sense of community which is an essential component social development. All of these elements combine to create a climate that fosters exploration of knowledge. It’s my duty to act as a guide to this exploration.

     My goals as a social studies teacher are to orchestrate the various components of the subject matter – history, geography, economics, and civics - into cohesive, coherent, effective thematic unit lesson plans. By blending the elements of National Council for Social Studies themes, under the umbrella of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, I hope to provide students with a thorough knowledge of:

·         Culture      

·         Time, Continuity, and Change 

·         People, Places, and Environments

·         Individual Development and Identity

·         Individuals, Groups, and Institutions

·         Power, Authority, and Governance

·         Production, Distribution, and Consumption

·         Science, Technology, and Society

·         Global Connections

·         Civic Ideals and Practices

     I hope to instill strong work ethics in my students by incorporating a multi-disciplinary approach to learning via encouraging the use of critical thinking skills, and the effective analysis and synthesis of information across the curricula. By the end of the journey the students will have developed the “ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.” By accomplishing these goals, students will have a firm set of values which are founded on honesty, integrity, altruism, and ingenuity. They will learn to listen, and listen to learn.

     By displaying the proper mix in my disposition - including confidence, compassion, kindness, knowledge, and a touch of humor, I hope that my behavior will serve as a model for the behavior of my students. While I realize that students, like adults, have good days and bad days, I don’t expect each student to conform to my exact expectations in terms of disposition. What I do expect is that each student gives the best effort that they’re capable of giving on any given day, and is willing to persevere through the trials and tribulations of the learning process.

    My philosophy is just that…a philosophy. It may be correct or incorrect, but it’s mine. It might work one day, but it might be a dismal failure the next day. As an effective teacher, it’s my responsibility to modify my approach as needed to ensure that I manage my classroom effectively, while developing the student’s overall abilities to the optimal level of efficacy. As Socrates once said “education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” My job is to kindle that flame.

  

    

Eclipse

All that you touch
and all that you see
All that you taste
All you feel.
and all that you love
and all that you hate
All you distrust
All you save.
and all that you give
and all that you deal
and all that you buy,
beg, borrow or steal.
and all you create
and all you destroy
and all that you do
and all that you say.
and all that you eat
And everyone you meet
and all that you slight
And everyone you fight.
and all that is now
and all that is gone
and all that's to come
and everything under the sun is in tune
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.