Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Reminder

Seniors, please come by during your senior week next week (May 31 - June 3) to pick up your final projects.

Mr. McCarthy

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Final Exam

Your Final Exam will consist of two parts.
Please take a moment and read the following speech by Elie Wiesel:

The Perils of Indifference (April 12, 1999)

Part 1:  Please answer the following questions concerning the speech in a typed, 1/2 page to 1 page thoughtful response:
           a.) Do you agree with Elie Wiesel in that " Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction"?

          b.)  A course such as this would never have been offered even 15 years ago.  It is my hope that by helping you to experience and see what is occurring in the world, we will slowly eradicate indifference.  Elie Wiesel states his concerns about the future poignantly when he asks "Does it mean that we have learned from the past? Does it mean that society has changed? Has the human being become less indifferent and more human" Do you feel that humanity has learned from its past, or do you think we are simply doomed to repeat our old mistakes?

Part 2:

          We will hold a Socratic seminar on the day of your final exam.  Students who do not need to take the final exam, do not need to be present.  Please come to class with notes and ideas based upon the speech and your thoughts on the questions above. Attendance is Mandatory for those that need to take the final exam.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Literature Circle Grades

Please be aware that your Literature Circle Grades have been posted (for the homeworks). Be sure to log on to the grade portal and see what you received or if you are missing anything.


Last Full Week of Classes

The following calendar is designed to help you and act as a reminder of what we will be completing for the final week.


Monday May 16, 2011
           Computer Lab 321
            I will be collecting When the Emperor was Divine Socratic Seminar Write ups.

Tuesday May 17, 2011
            I will be collecting When the Emperor was Divine Novels.
            Final Day to work on projects
             ** at 2:30, a make up Socratic seminar will be held for all students who missed their schedule Socratic seminar or Spar on Friday.

Wednesday May 19, 2011
               No D block
              C block:  Turn in term four projects (all parts and paper)
                    Small group discussions of the projects, with the potential to expand for the whole class.

Thursday May 20, 2011
             No C block
               D block:  Turn in term four projects (all parts and paper)                  
                             Small group discussions of the projects, with the potential to expand for the whole class.

Friday May 21, 2011
               Both class will be able to walk around and observe projects.  You will be asked to react to at least one toolbox project and one missing voices project and its merits.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Reparations for Japanese Internment

The following documents are designed to aid in your discussions on When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka.

The Redress of the US Government.

In 1980, Congress established the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) to study the matter. On February 24, 1983, the commission issued a report entitled Personal Justice Denied, condemning the internment as "unjust and motivated by racism rather than real military necessity". The Commission recommended that $20,000 in reparations be paid to those Japanese Americans who had been victims of internment.

In 1988, U.S. President (and former California governor) Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which had been sponsored by Representative Norman Mineta and Senator Alan K. Simpson — the two had met while Mineta was interned at a camp in Wyoming — which provided redress of $20,000 for each surviving detainee, totaling $1.2 billion dollars. The question of to whom reparations should be given, how much, and even whether monetary reparations were appropriate were subjects of sometimes contentious debate.

www.wickipedia.com

 ________________________________________________


Unfortunately, I am unable to post the document itself, but here is a link to Bill Clinton's apology letter released October 1, 1993:

http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/asian/images/apology-gr2.jpg

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Socratic Seminar/ Spar Questions


Spar Questions

1.)    Should Japanese-American Internment during World War II be classified as a genocide?  Defend your point.  (you may want to review the definitions of genocide - Article 2).

Side A:  Yes, what the US government committed during Japanese American Internment was a Genocide.
Side B:  No, it was a not a genocide, but an attempt at National Security.

2.)    Do you think that the US government was justified in their actions of interning all Japanese-Americans from the west coast during World War II?

Side A:  Yes
Side B No


3.) Are Reparations and an official apology acceptable forms of forgiveness?


Side A: Yes
Side B: No