Who WAS That Guy?

Last week we had a guest speaker come into our school.  He hailed from one of the most repressive countries in the world, and was visiting our class to discuss human rights, rule of law, and living life under a dictator.

The story was fantastic, intense, and needed no embellishment.

Some facts about his home country:

Government controls the media: TV, newspapers, internet, radio, etc...

People are imprisoned for no reason.

When imprisoned, they are detained indefinitely.

People are not given a trial.

People have to have permission to leave the country.

People have to have permission to move around within the country.

I won't tell the whole story on here.  (Parents, if you're reading this my students can tell you why.  Random reader - if you exist - you'll be left in the dark.  I'm sorry.)

If you want the extra credit today, read and discuss the blog with an adult.  Discuss the following questions/ topics:

• What did the speaker mean when he said many Americans take their freedoms for granted?
• How can Americans protect the freedoms they have?
• Why do you think dictators take away freedoms?
• If the dictator were to die, would that be good, bad, or unknown?

Again, don't just answer the questions, really discuss them.  Students, after the discussion, have the adult you read and discussed the blog with write a sentence or two about the discussion.  Students, it's then up to you to write two more sentences responding to their comments.  Turn it in in the extra credit tray tomorrow.