Political Spectrum Quiz

One of the more important decisions for a young person to make is what their political opinions are going to be whether. Democrat? Republican? Independent? How are you to decide which one of these best fits your personality and personal beliefs. The labels are not as important as the reasons for them and the understanding of what they mean. Take a few moments and complete the quiz to find out what your political preference is today (it may change later).
Cut and paste this link in your address bar for the World's Smallest Political Quiz:
http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz

If you would like to get a more accurate picture of your political beliefs, cut and paste the following link in your address bar. It is a bit longer but will better show what your true political outlook actually is:
http://www.gotoquiz.com/politics/political-spectrum-quiz.html

Welcome back to School!

I would like to welcome you back to Collins Career Center! If you are a junior, you are going to be in for a wonderful experience. All of your teachers are here to help you and make this a successful year.
In Mr. Crawford's class, you will be able to use this service and all kinds of other resources to in our class to help you learn. Help me to help you make this a great year for everyone here!

Enlightenment Period

Our junior class has been learning about the early Enlightenment period of our history. This serves as the most basic foundation of our modern political system. It inspired both the American and French revolutions as well as thousands of other movements based on the idea of the individual liberty of every person. As we will soon learn, the Enlightenment period gives way to the revolutions of the late 18th century and eventually to the progressive era.
The progressive era will show you how a new class of citizens (the middle class) help inspire political change and demand equal opportunity. We will later find out how this democratic system works in the United States and see you can take part in this system through voting, participating, and a variety of other measures.

Martin Luther King Day

Last week, we celebrated Martin Luther King Day. This day celebrates the birthday of our most well known Civil Rights leader. He modeled the movement off of the peaceful demonstrations of Mohandas Ghandi. This is the greatest legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. Non-violence serves as the guide for all later movements in the United States that seek to change some aspect of our government.
It is still extremely important for us to learn about the Civil Rights Movement because it demonstrates how a group of people, committed to an idea, can change an aspect of our government. Even you, the student at Collins Career Center, can change anything about your government. It takes dedication, teamwork, and above all the peaceful measures that reflect the values of our country.

Country Research Project

As this semester is winding down, all of my social studies classrooms are researching countries of their choice. Each student is researching the government, economy, geographic features, and other elements of a country and are going to share their findings with the rest of the class through a presentation. CIA World Fact Book is an outstanding resource that will help you in your research and is available through my Moodle page.

Remember to incorporate appropriate and interesting pictures wherever possible. If you need any help, refer to some of the handy websites also available on Moodle or ask Mr. Crawford for assistance. You have been a wonderful group of students to work with and I hope that you enjoy this final project with me this year.

Vocabulary Quiz #10

Middle Class Reform

In class we have been discussing the role of the middle class to introduce reforms for the United States. Largely because of the money and better jobs made available from the Industrial Revolution, the middle class had more free time and initiative to make changes in government. They called for an end of child labor, better working conditions, and an 8 hour work day. All of these causes were formed into the Populist Movement of the early 20th century.

Remember that all of these reforms led to the Progressive Era in the United States as well. We made rapid and wide ranging changes to the current system and made our country better as a result. We can still see evidence of these changes today. What are some things you would still like to see changed or made better? How can we make these changes?

The Kremlin: Moscow, Russia

Москва. Красная площадь. in Moscow


Above is the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. It is the capital of Russia today and the former Soviet Union. Notice the unique buildings. Most of these were built by the Russian Czars during the monarchy period of Russian History.

The Cold War

We have been discussing in class the Cold War between the capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union. The differences between these two countries are very distinct during this time period from 1945 to around 1991. The threat of nuclear war between the two countries was the most significant factor during the conflict. We have briefly discussed MAD or Mutually Assured Destruction. This is the idea that if one country were to begin a nuclear strike the other country would retaliate and both sides would be destroyed in the end.

I would like for you to consider how the incredible power of the nuclear weapon would keep us from ever using it in war. There has been a lot of research done on the effects a nuclear war would have on the world. How could we ensure that we could stop this from ever happening? The International Court of Justice in 1996 issued its opinion that there was no law allowing or prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons. With this in mind, what can you do to help spread awareness about eliminating nuclear weapons.

Urbanization

We have been reviewing the pattern of Urbanization in the United States for the past few weeks. As we approach its end I would like for you to review our discussion of how life would be different in an urbanized area. Also, what do you think would be the result of a small town like Ironton suddenly becoming a major metropolitan center?
Most of this urbanization, of course, is due to the industrial revolution. As factories and industry could employ more people, urban centers could develop. This idea is important in understanding why cities like New York City can accommodate populations of 10 million plus.