The buddha Said I am Awake

April 18, 2013 · 11:48 am

CLOSE UP FINAL BILLS – and cost breakdown

OK – guys here we go. Final Bill and what you owe. Go here for breakdown of the final bill.

Please take a look and let me know if you have any questions. Also we need to have a parent meeting next week – April 22 to 26, to go over final costs, final questions, final comments and synchronize time for the trip. Please pay me your balance of the Final Bill as soon as you can. It would be nice to have the balance by the time we have the parent meeting.

One more thing...I need to know your schedules so that I can set the parent meeting. It will be in the evening and will last close to an hour. Parent and student must attend.

Final Cost Breakdown and Explanation – go here.

Final Bills – go to the links below….
Almanda Molter
Breanna Esparza
Hannah Zint
Marc Santose
Mitchell Vanderkolk
Simone Nielsen
Travis Simmons

Let’s have that meeting next week – talk to me!

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April 16, 2013 · 12:40 pm

The Last King of Scotland

“In like some horrible way he was a puppet come to life, he was like a plaything of the empire that turned around and said “boo!”

Movie Review below – Amy Blancolli Houston Chronicle

The Last King of Scotland is a film so good, about a man so monstrous, that its shortcomings seem less like flaws than highlights devised to increase the horror. The puniness of one character emphasizes the sickening power of another. The exaggerated swing of the plot — from pool-party frivolity to repugnance and dread — intensifies the savagery of the climax.

Even the movie’s dog-tired dependence on a white protagonist to illumine black history clarifies the dangers of being complacent, of feeling all too comfortable while atrocities occur. When the movie finally shows those atrocities, their lurid overstatement plays up the ugly import of the story.

How obscene it feels to say so, but Forest Whitiker’s Amin is a much more likable fellow. He is first of all charming, second of all chilling, third monumental, and he is all three things at once. See the movie for Whitaker alone: He’s possessed by evil and possesses it wholly, rendering the film (and everyone in it) his plaything.

We will do a google docs assignment – but don’t worry about until the end…just watch this movie and be amazed!

Two links that will provide you a little background on the movie and the maniac.

Movie Trailer – Last King of Scotland
Featurette on Edi Amin of Uganda

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Filed under 1 Senior Current Issues

April 11, 2013 · 3:22 am

Come visit with two Pakistani Fulbright Phd Students on Friday

Come and visit with Beenish and Khan.

If you would like to visit Mr. Wood’s class first or second hour on Friday April 12 please go here to download a letter to take your regular first hour teacher. Anybody is invited to come. Talk to your teacher ASAP, see if it is alright, download this letter, have your teacher sign it, and bring it to Mr. Wood’s class on Friday.

Khan is 31 years old. He is a college professor of gender studies in Pakistan. Although he lives in Pakistan, Khan is Pashtoon and considers himself an Afghan. He lives in an area that is dominated by the Taliban. It makes life dangerous for he and his family, since his political views are liberal and supportive of the United States and Kabul government in Afghanistan. Khan has three small children, one who was born last week who he has never even seen. He is studying for a Phd in Political Science at Western Michigan University. Khan will be flying home for a month in August to see his family, after which he will return for two more years to complete his studies at WMU in Kalamazoo. Upon completion of his degree, Khan will return to Pakistan to teach or possibly to Kabul in Afghanistan to work with Pashtoons to obtain their independence. Khan hates the Pakistani military and the Taliban.

Beenish comes from the heart of Punjab in Pakistan which is located in the East bordering on India. Her father and her grandfather served in the Pakistani military. She has worked at a number NGO’s – Nongovernmental Organizations – in Pakistan that help marginalized communities affected by natural disasters. She earned an MA in Development Studies from the school Oriental and African Studies in London. Her efforts have been critical in helping Pakistanis to help themselves out of poverty. She comes from a big family and she LOVES movies – Indian, Pakistani, and American made. She also loved my mom – and so did Khan. Beenish is in her second year of a five year Phd Program at WMU with the goal of earning a Phd in Political Science. Ultimately she hopes to return to Pakistan and to teach Political Science.

These are two very good people. And I think you would really enjoying meeting each of them. So, if you can join us…we’ll just talk for a few hours. So please stop by and join us!

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Filed under 1 Senior Current Issues, 2 Government, 3 Economics

April 1, 2013 · 7:54 pm

I’m Going to South Africa this summer

Thanks guys.

I was just selected today for the National Endowment for the Humanities – South Africa – Continuity and Change – a five week seminar this summer (June 20 to July 28). Please go here to learn more about that seminar.

Whenever I apply to these seminars – I do it with you all (Oakridge students) foremost in mind. I want you to travel, to see the world, to experience all the diversity that is out there. When you go to college and so many of you will, spend a semester abroad. Do whatever you can do to take a voyage to another world. Grab a Eu-rail pass and see Europe. And then go into the third world. You’ll never be the same. You will know that your little sperm and your little egg came together in this first world country – that you can do whatever it is that want to do – and it makes all the difference. Know that for sure.

The key to life is that you experience life. Stay awake guys. And thank you for inspiring me to reach out for these experiences.

And I promise I will find Prudence!

Thanks. Mr. Wood.

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Filed under 1 Senior Current Issues, 2 Government, 3 Economics, Uncategorized

March 29, 2013 · 11:12 am

SCI Exploring Africa Timeline Final Grades

Go here for Timeline grades and upcoming assignments on Exploring Africa project. Upcoming assignments are also summarized below…

Next step will be a fifty point (Fix it) homework assignment when we return. All items that need fixing – will have a week to get it up and get it right. We’ll have some time in class – a couple of days. For the most part you just need to make the alterations and run them by me when they are complete. Two timelines will need to be moved. T.J. and Alberto – the wind will knock it down. And Almanda and Ashley – the Digging Deeper pages will block the overhead.

by the way…We’ve been having trouble understanding that the African state borders, as they are currently drawn, are not native to the continent. The best way to see this is by examining a map like the one above. British possessions are pink. French possessions are yellow. Most current state borders don’t yet exist at the time of this map (early 2oth century)- they are created at a later date and are not natural to the history of the African continent. Do you understand how this situation, with state borders cutting through clans and culture, could fuel all kinds of regional conflicts. If your country is located in the north – approximate where its borders would fall. And don’t forget that while not noted on the map, Denmark was by far the most aggressive world power at fostering European imperialism on the African continent – no matter what stories our Danish transfer students tell us.

Digging Deeper – 100 point CA assignment – You will take your three Digging Deepers – and create a one page (front and back) hanger to drop from the original slide. At the same time change the original slide to an appropriate photo representation of the topic. You still want to label it, however remove any of the explanation font and include it in the hanger. As you research deeper into the chosen issues – remember that you will be responsible to present for the final CA assessment below. I will provide in class time for this assignment.

Digging Deeper Presentations – 100 point CA assignment – Each group will be provided one full class period to take each of their three chosen topics and present to the class. An hour is a pretty long time – which means you better be prepared – Audio Visual and lecture presentation. Each participant is required to be involved. You’ll be graded both by students and by me. Students will take notes on the presentations and have a final grade open note test on those presentations. We will run the presentations two per week for four weeks, and include other assignments in the process. I will let you know when these presentations will take place.

Final Africa Exams