Category Archives: Uncategorized

February 8, 2013 · 6:05 pm

A Google Docs Debate – The Cider House Rules

A Google Docs Debate – A Follow up on the Cider House Rules…

You have four posts to make in this Google Docs Debate. Posts #1, #2, #3 must be up by Tuesday February 12 @ 6:00 PM. The replies must be posted by class time on Wednesday. This is a fifty point assignment.

Four posts total. I’ve asked you all a couple of questions about Candy and Homer. Below these – I’ve posted your names. I want you go to your name and highlight Candy (post #1) to respond to my query in regards to her and highlight Homer (post #2) after your name and answer me concerning him. Use the movie and your thoughts to back it up. For your third post – I want you to comment on somebody elses post – push a little bit on their evaluation of Candy or Homer – hold them accountable to their position. For this post I expect you to talk to the originator of the idea. Just you and them. I don’t want you going into the middle of a thread for this. This thread is just a two person deal. If somebody has already been questioned…that is OK you can question them as well. Highlight the individual and start a thread with them. Just remember for post #3 you must address the originator of the thread on your own. Once you make post #3 your responsibility is done in regards to that thread – however you may always go back and reply after they respond to you.

For #4 respond to any comments that you are queried on. Posts #1 and #2 – 150 words. Post #3 and #4 – be thorough no word limit. However, I want to hear some thoughtful and probing questions.

Candy – After reading ALL of your responses and thinking about your answers on a sunny snow day in February – one thing seems consistent. Nobody has much sympathy for Candy. How come? You don’t know what her’s and Wally’s history is – its never revealed in the movie. Were they together for six months, a year, three years. Wally volunteered for the

Burma run. Does it matter that she obviously DID NOT want him to do that? And does it matter that this was World War II? Is she really such a tramp? Didn’t she say to Wally and to Homer I am not good at being alone? And didn’t she in the end go back to Wally, even though she knows her life will be miserable? Didn’t she defend Rose and get the ball rolling when nobody else was pushing the issue – none of the guys in the Cider House – not even Homer – went to Rose’s aid? Why is everybody trashing Candy?

Homer – Post abortion Homer. Everybody seems to think Homer is going to run back to the Orphanage and live a Disney world happy life with a changed attitude to towards abortion. He is in the doctor business / and briefly with Rose was in the abortion business as well. And so after he aborts her child, after he sees Mr. Rose die, after he comes back to the Orphanage, what becomes of this abortion portion of his life? Think about it. Does an individual because of one situation change a belief that he’s held firm for his entire life? And what about the law…if he’s caught doing abortions now with fake credentials up at that orphanage Homer’s gonna find a new home that’s for sure – in the state penitentiary. It’s one thing to come to the aid of your good friend. Its another entirely different matter to hang out a shingle that says “Abortions Available – new doctor in town” when it violates state law. You all seem to think that he will go back and do abortions on demand. Well, tell me why.

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Filed under 1 Senior Current Issues, Uncategorized

February 6, 2013 · 4:57 pm

2/6/13 – Close Up News

OK guys we need our deposits in for Close UP. Deadline for $300 deposit is Valentines Day…February 14. Check or cash works…besides the flight costs we will not need payment again until two weeks before we go.

And we go on May 4 to May 10…Also Good News – Saturday May 4 is D.C.’s “Around the World Embassy Tour”. It’s pretty cool…two times a year they open up a bunch of international embassies in D.C. off of Dupont Circle. All sorts of food, dance, music and interesting people. We’ll be there!

The Around the World Embassy Tour is a signature event of Passport DC, an annual celebration of international culture in Washington DC that showcases embassies from Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, and the Americas, with artists and artisans, performers, lecturers, teachers, and others. See the following photos and get a glimpse of the Around the World Embassy Tour.

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February 3, 2013 · 9:38 am

2/3/2013 – Selma Update

Four Weeks to Selma! We need to be ready to take this trip.

This is not a sight seeing voyage, although you will see sights. We aren’t going for the food, although I do believe that you’ll all get Southern Fried fat in the process. And we aren’t going for the weather, although we should, if Apollo has any say in the matter, find it warm and sunny. We are going to Selma, Alabama for the Bridge Crossing Jubilee because this is a historic celebration of a very significant time in American history. If you do not fully understand the events of the day – back in 1955 in Montgomery, or 1963 in Birmingham, or March of 1965 in Selma, Alabama, then the experience loses its meaning. Then its just two days out of school and a trip down south for the helluva it.

So, we need to prepare! I have books…lots of copies of Let the Trumpet Sound by Stephen B. Oates. A story of the life of Martin Luther King Jr., it’s a wonderful read and will supplement the trip quite well. The Eyes on the Prize video series is the Bible when it comes to the Civil Rights Movement. I have the series (which you may borrow), and links here to on-line sometimes quality – sometimes not you tube version, for your viewing pleasure. If you did nothing more than sit down with your folks or your friends and watch these movies together you would educate yourself tremendously on the movement. Things would certainly be more focused.

Finally – we will have two meetings as a group. Each will run an hour afterschool or at night – your call. And these concentrate solely on the events of Selma, Alabama. I will have some reading for you to do…and will present a look at the events in Selma of 1965. This will certainly enrich your trip…but you can do a whole lot more by digging in to all the other resources on your own.

So…I need to know what your schedules are, when you want to meet, if you’d like a book, and provide the links to other sources. Remember – this trip doesn’t have an opportunity to walk you back into history – unless you first are awake to the era in which we walk. You can do that through study. So get moving.

Let me know your thoughts. And as for the final bill…I’m still figuring it. But it should be, at least $100 less than previously stated. Talk to you soon.

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February 2, 2013 · 8:58 am

“Google Docs Debate” – President Obama’s Second Inaugural Address

Deadline for Post – Tuesday February 5, 11:59 PM – 50 point assignment.

We will DEBATE President Obama’s Second Inaugural Address. Go here for a copy of the text to the Second Inaugural.

Go here for Period #2 – Google Docs Post.
Go here for Period #5 – Google Docs Post.

I will also have shared this post with you. If you did not get an email with the shared Inaugural Address contact me at bobwoodmsu@gmail.com and I will take care of that.

Your requirements for this Google Docs Debate:

You must make two long posts – (label them LP)...

This means that you must bring an unique idea of your own to the text and post it, highlight a portion of the actual speech. Try to keep your highlighting to no more than a paragraph…that is fine if it merely starts the place that you refer to in your post. Your comments need not take any assigned direction, other than they need to make sense and state a position as to how you feel in regards to the particular part of the Address. You don’t have to necessarily agree with President Obama or contest him; you may use the quote as a platform to raise like minded issues. Your post must have some connection to the speech however. These two long posts should shoot for 100 to 150 words. Think before you post – write it up in Word. Check the grammar and spelling. You will be held accountable for each. Then handle any comments or questions or challenges that thread off of your post. There is no word limit for your threaded answers; be thoughtful and thorough. In order for you to fulfill this part of the requirement you must carry any thread off of your post to a conclusion. Which means stay in touch with the thread.

Special Note: when dealing with politics in this country we have tended to yap instead of listen, yell instead of talk, and talk instead of think. I don’t want any loud angry rants on these posts. Your ideas are yours – and you are encouraged to take them in any direction you choose. However I expect you to respect others opinions and to be intelligent. I’m tired of a country in which its citizenry is loud, arrogant, and stupid. Be reflective, measured, and thorough. This is not Facebook and it is not Twitter – it is an academic exercise. In Google Docs Debate online discussion with others concentrate on making your case through thoughtful discourse and depth of your position.

You must make two short posts (label them SP)…

This means that you must make two short posts off of another’s long post – this can be a question or a comment. You can agree or disagree with the said post. However as in the long post you must take this conversation to a conclusion. If the thread opens up and people begin to comment to you – continue with it until the exam deadline or the thread has concluded on its own. That means you may need to go back and check it after you think that the post was completed. No word limit on the short posts. Please check your grammar and spelling. One more thing here…your two separate short posts need to come on a different thread. Don’t make the mistake of counting your answer in a thread discussion as qualifying for a second short post in one that you already counted.

Two short. Two long.

Questions? In the midst of a thread it can get confusing. How does somebody know I’m talking to them? Identify them at the beginning of your thread post. So start your post with the name of the individual who you are addressing. You need not type your name on the post as it comes through on the google docs posting that is shared by us all.

Questions? Can I answer somebody’s long post with a long post of my own? In a way you can. Begin a separate post and identify who you are talking to and what you are talking about. Too difficult for me to ascertain a long from a short if its embedded in a thread. I would suggest that you type it up in Word…check the spelling. Check the argument before you post. Often when we are in the midst of an online discussion we confuse any comment with an adequate comment. And then you look back at your post a half hour later and wonder, “what on earth was I thinking.” Make sure any long post is well thought out. Short is conversation…keep it moving. However, always think your position through before you start yapping.

Question? How will my grade be figured? Your grade will consist of how well you fulfill the requirements of two short and two long posts. Are your thoughts founded? Do you fulfill the long post word limit? Does your line of reasoning make sense? Do you carry each of the four posts to a legitimate conclusion? Do you reflect (especially on the long posts) an intelligent well-thought out position.

Question? What if Mr. Wood disagrees with my position? Who cares? Mr. Wood will be posting as well. In fact he might post and ask you to clarify yourself. However, your position will have no baring on your post grade. The depth and clarity of your position will define your grade. And the fact that you fulfilled stated requirements.

Question? When will I know my grade on the Google Docs post? Mr. Wood will post grades on – the Google Docs post within 48 hours of the close of the Google Docs discussion.

Questions? Is this something that I can expect to see in the future? Absolutely. College classes are doing more and more online discussions. Many college classes today are hybrid in nature – which means they have classes in person and online assignments, such as this. Your depth of knowledge of the issue – stemming from that active reading of the article – should provide you a solid platform for some thoughtful discussion.

Get organized. Bring some sensibility and depth to the web. And lets have an intelligent discussion.

Good luck. Make sure to ask any questions and meet your deadlines.

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Filed under 3 Economics, Uncategorized

January 29, 2013 · 6:34 pm

SEMESTER A’s for Mr. Wood’s Classes

Congratulations to the following individuals who earned an “A” for semester #1 of the 2013 school year in Government, Economics, and Senior Current Issues. Well done guys! My pleasure to have you in my class for Semester 1…Let’s repeat the effort the next time around.

Senior Current Issues (period 1)