Categorizing Hinduism

We started the quiz today after I gave students a little bit of time to study.  Well, I gave them a little time to study, and then I gave them a mini-review lesson on Hinduism.  This question appears on the quiz: "How would you define Hinduism, polytheistic, monotheistic, or pantheistic?"  I realize that leaves the door open to students saying, "well I wouldn't define it in the first place..." or some such answer - but I let them know that it's a trick question and that they should give reasons why Hinduism sort of fits all three categories.

I put the following on the board:

I mentioned that it's easy for people from our culture to think of Brahma as the "good" god and Shiva as the "bad" god - since Brahma creates, and Shiva destroys - but that Indians don't think of it like that.  Because their culture believes in reincarnation, the universe is also following a path of birth, life, death, and rebirth.  Shiva destroys in order to allow Brahma to start creating again.

So, we discussed how Hinduism could be viewed as polytheistic - because they obviously worship many gods.  Then I posted these pictures:

I mentioned that the three gods (and really all the Hindu gods) made up Brahman - the eternal spirit/essence/god of everything.  If those gods are actually a part of God - then that would make Hinduism monotheistic right?  Because Hindu worshipers are actually worshiping Brahman - singular.

Then I posted this picture:

I made the point that during creation Brahman becomes part of everything, and everything is part of Brahman.  As such, that would make Hinduism pantheistic - since Brahman is inserted into creation...


I think the point I was getting at was - so often we answer quickly without giving much thought, when oftentimes more thought is necessary.

What is it: polytheistic, monotheistic, or pantheistic?  It's complicated.

If you want the extra credit for reading today's blog entry, discuss the blog with an adult.  When you're finished, write your name, and the two things you discussed on a piece of paper.  Have the adult you discussed it with sign the paper.  Turn it in in the extra credit tray.

Thoughts on Hinduism

I know I said I would link to an old post today... but I find it's also nice for me to type out what's going on.

Maybe I already talked about them on here.  If you find these same stories in a different post, well bully for you!

Some thoughts:

Good gods, bad gods:

Growing up, I always thought of Hinduism as having "good gods" and "bad gods."  For instance, Brahma - the creator, and Vishnu - the preserver were "good gods," and Shiva - the destroyer was a "bad god."  I'm not sure whether this idea came from what I was taught of Hinduism, or from applying my Judeo-Christian culture/ world-view into the context of Hinduism.

For instance, in Christianity, God the Father is the Creator.  And He is good.  Satan destroys, and he is bad.  Technically, I'd argue he's the worst.  Literally... the worst.  Jesus says in Matthew, "Don't fear anyone who can destroy your body, rather fear the one who can destroy your soul." 

So, maybe I thought Satan destroys... destruction is bad... Shiva destroys... Shiva is bad.

But that's not the approach Hinduism takes.

I told the kids it's more like this.

Think of a gallon of milk.

The milk is created.  And that's good.  Your parents go to the store, and buy it.  They put the gallon in the fridge, where' it is preserved.  And this is also good.

Now, I have a 2 year old daughter.  Sometimes we give her a sippy cup of milk.  And sometimes she loses it.  There have been times we found the sippy cup days later.  Have you ever smelled spoiled milk?

We destroyed whatever was left in that sippy cup.  Poured it down the drain and washed the cup before the stench filled the house.

And that was a good thing.  The destruction was good.

Shiva destroys when it is time for something to be destroyed.  And it's a good thing.  And Shiva - the destroyer is also the re-creator.

To all my Hindu readers out there, I know that this is a vast over-simplification.  And I realize that - just like Christianity - there are many different beliefs in Hinduism.  If anybody ever wants to leave comment or thoughts, or clear anything up.  Please feel free.

In the mean-time, if you're in my class and want extra credit for reading and discussing my blog, discuss the milk analogy with the adult you read the blog with.  Write 2 or 3 sentences telling me whether you guys agree with the analogy.  Then, have the adult sign the paper.

Turn it in on Monday.  Have a great weekend.

Welcome to India

India is a fascinating place to study.  It's so diverse.  The country has hundreds of languages, with 18 official languages.  (Check it out.)  Granted, it depends how you define "official" to get this number.  But with hundreds of languages and dialects, it would be difficult to debate the linguistic diversity of the country.

We'll get into that later though.  Today we worked on the map during the bellwork time, then we watched a video about Hinduism.  The students get a lot of the video - but they won't realize what all they've picked up until we discuss it tomorrow.  It is a fascinating topic to discuss.

Yesterday for bellwork, they worked on their new religions chart.  (It can be found HERE if you need a copy.)  The chart has the three monotheistic religions, along with Hinduism.  All four religions have a lot of similarities, but Hinduism - being pantheistic/polytheistic - is very distinct.

The students need to bring four things with them to class tomorrow:

• Their map (it should be almost finished)
• Their colored pencils
• Their Hinduism Video Viewing Guide
• Their Religions Chart

Here's the map, with instructions.  (They won't have a blue book, so they should look up the countries and cities online.)

Instructions

Map

Tomorrow's blog entry will be much more discussion heavy than today's or yesterday's.  Really, I'm just hoping you kids bring everything you need tomorrow.  You might want to read that list again.  Also again.  And again.  One more time.  Ok... that was all a big joke.  Ha.  Ha ha ha ha ha ha.  Seriously, *wipes tears from eyes* seriously, don't forget that stuff.

To get the extra credit, you should have read the blog entry with a adult that lives with you.  If you (collective) did read it, write the following quote on a piece of paper and have the adult sign it.

Quote: "No wonder you rise in the middle of the night/ to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war."  -Billy Collins  (Extra extra credit to the person who gives me the name of the poem that came from.  I can't recollect what it is...)  Remember your stuff tomorrow.

Hinduism: Some Concepts

It was another great day here in Social Studies Land.  We're continuing our discussions of Hinduism.  Some concepts we discussed:

• Samsara (Reincarnation)
• Moksha (the escape)
• Caste System
• Karma
• Dharma
• Judgment and grace
• How should we categorize Hinduism?  Monotheistic?  Polytheistic?  Pantheistic?

Classes today were great, as long as students didn't get too side-tracked on the dress code issues.  (This is me getting side-tracked for a moment: remember this, students that are reading this - we're all on the same side.  Sometimes that's difficult to see, but we are.  Don't let your frustration or anger cloud that.)

If you want the extra credit, read and discuss the blog with an adult.  I would discuss the bullet points.  Adults, ask the students what they remember.  If they don't remember anything about them, click on them.  I've linked them to older posts which go into more detail.

When you're done, students, write two sentences about the discussion in today's class.  If you have any questions, write them down.  Then, have the adult you read the blog with sign the paper.

Successful Review

We continued reviewing for ISTEP today by going over our last test.  Again, most of my students did a good job.  Today we focused on the questions a lot students missed.

Before going on, I'd like to explain something - should it come up tonight:

One of the questions a lot of students missed asked was "Which religion could be categorized as monotheistic, polytheistic, or pantheistic?"  The answer is Hinduism.  It's true they believe in many gods - such as Hanuman, Vishnu, Krishna, Kali, Ganesha, etc... which would make them polytheistic.  But they believe those gods make up the God/God Spirit Brahma.  This is somewhat similar to the Christian concept of The Trinity - except that there are more than three parts to the Godhead.  Either way, because of this Hinduism is sometimes labeled as monotheistic.  And since Brahma is part of everything Hinduism is often designated as pantheistic.

I mentioned that this is partially where the idea of karma comes from - that Brahma keeps the universe in balance.  Much like the scientific idea of homeostasis.  I thought students learned about homeostasis in science this year - but it must be next year.  ...ANYWAY, homeostasis is the body's way of keeping itself in balance.  For example, if you get too hot - you  sweat.  If you get too cold, you shiver and get goosebumps.  I mentioned that if you try to drink a gallon of milk in an hour, you'll end up throwing up.  I had a couple students who were adamant that they either a) could accomplish this, or b) had already accomplished this.


At any rate, I told the kids they could believe what they want, but I was advising them not to try it because 1 - vomit is disgusting, and 2 - it's potentially dangerous.

Ultimately, the point was - like homeostasis, Hindus believe karma keeps the universe in balance.

Students did a great job on the economics section of the test, but most needed to work on the religions section.  So, in order to get the points for today's extra credit - discuss 3 questions that were asked during the game today.  Write down the questions on a piece of paper.  Then have the adult you read the blog with sign the paper.

If you weren't at school today, write something about each one of the 5 religions we've studied this year, and have the adult you read the blog with sign the paper.

Quiz Day

Students took the Hinduism/Buddhism/Indian Independence Movement Quiz today.  I'm hoping to have all of the scores posted in the grade book by the end of the day.

I was surprised by how much some students struggled on the map portion.  We've gone to the computer lab several times, but it has been a while.  We've also done some other map work.  I'll want to look at that a little more closely to see if I can figure out what students are missing and why.

You should also know that I counted the essay as extra credit.  I graded these myself, and everyone scored well - well, at least out of those that I've scored so far.

Since we just took the quiz, I don't have anything vital to post.  But I do have something interesting.  If you remember back to Wednesday's post, I had students challenge adults to a game of Pictionary.  I received quite a few back.  I thought I'd post my favorite answers:

In case you couldn't get that, here are their answers along with the pictures:

Mom: Shrimp with arms

Tyler: Brahmin

Correct answer: Brahman.  The judges are still out as to whether or not Tyler should get the credit for this.  As a teacher, I don't grade for spelling when I'm trying to assess whether or not they know social studies.  I'll grade for spelling if I'm assessing spelling.  The problem is that "Brahmin" refers to the priestly caste within Hinduism, Brahman refers to the God of Hinduism.  The eternal spirit, if you'd prefer.

 Mom:  Pacman eating a garbage can full of money on fire.
Tyler: Suffering
Correct answer:  Gandhi.  Yeah... we were going for Gandhi on this one.  He's burning the passes.  Although, now I can only see Pacman eating a garbage full of money on fire.

 Mom:  A balloon wearing sunglasses next to a worm and the number 9.
Tyler: The making of salt.
Correct answer: The Ganges River.  In class, the artist drew the river first, and when the class couldn't get it, added Gandhi.  Then, when they still couldn't get it, he told them it began with the letter "g."  In Tyler's defense, the making of the salt is a fantastic guess.  In India, the making of salt was illegal, only the British could make it.  So, he famously marched to the sea to make it in defiance of the British.  It's something we talked about in class.  We have never talked about balloons wearing sunglasses...  But in Mom's defense, she's never been in my class, so I expect her to know none of these.

 Mom:  An old man looking at a melting ice cream cone.
Tyler: Gandhi
Correct answer: India.  Though, that is supposed to be Gandhi standing beside it.

 Mom: Man yelling at a boy who is getting hit by lightening.
Tyler: Karma.
Correct answer: Karma.  Good job, Tyler!  You've taken the lead 1-0.

 Mom: Four bullies w/ mohawks who are mad at three little siblings.
Tyler's answer: Oligarchy.
Correct answer: Oligarchy.  Tyler!  You'll pulling away!  2-0.  An oligarchy, is an unelected group of leaders who rule with dictatorial power.  It's one of the unlimited governments we studied about earlier in the year.  ...The crowns are deceiving.  It might lead one to believe it's some form of monarchy.  It's not.  But neither are they mohawks.

 Mom: A dog walking toward his owner.
Tyler: dead man.
Correct answer: Reincarnation.  Tyler is close.  But the arrow is supposed to mean that the spirit of the dead man was reincarnated into another living being.

 Mom:  A funeral.
Tyler:  Siddhartha Guatama.
Correct answer:  Siddhartha Guatama.  3-0 Tyler.  And a funeral is one of the things Guatama saw on his walk.

 Mom:  A rich man and a poor man.
Tyler:  Wealth.
Correct answer:  Standard of living.  The judges almost gave each of the contestants a point for this answer, but in the end decided against it.  It was very controversial, even though it wouldn't have affected the game's outcome.

 Mom: A farm
Tyler: Urbanization
Correct answer: Urbanization.  4-0

 Mom: Ranking of the classes of people
Tyler: Caste system
Correct answer: Caste system, however we're giving mom a point on this one.  5-1!

Tyler gets the prize for most correct answers.  Mom gets the prize for the most humorous answers.  In fact, part of me likes her answers more.  ...You know on those standarized tests where it always say, "choose the best answer...?"  This game is really making me second guess that.  Luckily, those tests are multiple choice - so we'll never see answers this good.

My students can get extra credit if they read and discuss this blog with an adult.  Ultimately, I just think it's important to discuss social studies outside of the classroom.  The more you do that, the better.  Maybe tell your parents (or whoever you're talking to) how you did on the test.  Or how you think you did.  Maybe you could check the grades to see if I've posted them yet.

When you're done, write a couple sentences telling me about your conversation.  Have the adult sign the paper.  Turn it in to me tomorrow.  (Make sure your name, date, and hour are on it.)

*EDIT*  To the other students who asked me if I could post what your parents put, sorry for the let down.  I didn't have a chance to give them a call to get permission.  Also, I don't have time to add them to this post.  But you're right: there were a lot of good responses.

Suffering: The Pink Eraser

Buddhism and Hinduism have many similarities.  They both believe in karma, dharma, they both believe in reincarnation, and that there is an end to the reincarnation cycle - at least for the individual soul.

It's worth noting that even though the religions share these similarities, they don't hold identical beliefs on any... for instance, even though dharma relates to rules and order and teachings, the concept is different between the two religions.

Hinduism and Buddhism are similar much like Islam and Christianity are similar.  They share some concepts, (both Christians and Muslims believe in one God, trace their roots back to Abraham, believe Jesus Christ was a prophet...) but those practicing the religion would not claim they were the same.

One major way Buddhism differs from Hinduism is that Buddhism deals primarily with suffering.  Siddhartha Guatama (the founder of Buddhism) taught that suffering comes from desire.  Buddhism tries to point out how to end suffering.

I think we see this concept played out pretty clearly in children.  How many of us have seen a child throw a fit at the check-out line because they want a candy bar and the parent won't give in?  (In this case, the parent is also suffering, because they want the child to stop throwing a fit...)

I thought about this the other day when my middle daughter Gwen lost her pink eraser.  This was a big deal because it was given to her by one of her best friends at school.  (Maybe her best friend?  ...Kindergarten friendships are sometimes difficult to keep straight.)




Or, here's my youngest daughter.  She's sad because she wants her mommy:




I have a video where I'm crying because I wanted Notre Dame to beat Kentucky, but I've been advised against including it.

In all three cases, people were suffering because they wanted something, and they didn't get it.  What do you think?

If you want the extra credit for reading and discussing the blog with an adult, discuss this with them:  Buddhism teaches that everyone suffers, and that everyone suffers due to desire.  Do you agree?  Why or why not?  Is it possible to end suffering?

When you're done, write a short paragraph about your discussion.  Then, have the adult you discussed with sign the paper.  (Make sure your name, date, and hour are on it.)

Turn it in tomorrow.

Moksha: Equating versus Relating

I had multiple students point out that I haven't posted anything in 10 days.

I make no apologies.  Teaching takes a lot of time.  :)


We're moving from Gandhi and the Indian independence movement into the study of Hinduism.  (This seems like a natural progression since Gandhi was Hindu.)

One of the (minor) struggles I've had in teaching is getting students to relate, but not equate.  And sometimes, I don't even want them to relate two things - but they do.

Many of my students are Christians.  Many of those who aren't Christian are at least familiar with Christianity because they live in Northern Indiana.

So, when they hear about avatars: Hindu gods that come to earth in the form of humans - many draw comparisons to the Christian belief in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  But Christians wouldn't say Christ was an avatar - they would say he is God (or the Son of God.)  Maybe students could relate the two, but definitely don't equate the two.

In Hinduism, Shiva is the destroyer.  In Christianity, Satan is the destroyer.  But Shiva is not Satan.  In Hinduism, Shiva is not even evil.  Here, I'd like students to neither relate, nor equate.

Christians believe in heaven.  Hindus believe in Moksha.  Moksha is not heaven.  Again, noting the similarities is fine.  Equating them is not.

When I hear students equate, it usually sounds something like this, "Oh... so Moksha is the Hindu heaven?"  Or "Oh... so Shiva is the Hindu version of Satan."

No.

Moksha is the Hindu afterlife, but it's not the "Hindu heaven."

Maybe, if I have time tomorrow I'll give you a better description of Moksha.

If you want extra credit for reading and discussing the blog, write a couple sentences telling the difference between relating and equating.

Have the adult you read the blog with sign the paper.

Turn it in tomorrow.

Comparing Buddhism and Hinduism

We'll be wrapping up our studies on Buddhism within the next couple of days.  ...Come to think of it, that means we'll be completely done with religions for the year.  Wow.  I feel like I just met this class.

We did a Venn Diagram today comparing Buddhism to Hinduism.  If you were absent, I'll post a copy here in a little bit.  I'll also upload a copy to the H-Block Assignments page.

Again, the religions share a lot of similarities, but they are not the same.

Over the winter break, I watched the Scorsese  film, Kundun.  I watched it to see if it would be worth showing in class.  I had never shown it before, but I had briefly taught about the China/Tibet conflict, as it ties into the Indiana standards.  It's a good movie, but we just don't have time for it.

We DID have time for the trailer today, though.

We see a lot of Buddhist thought in the trailer.  We also get a little glimpse of history: finding the Dalai Lama, the China/Tibet conflict.

The last thing we did today was grade the China map practice from yesterday.  Because that map came from Junior Scholastic, I only have copies here in the classroom.  If students want (or need) to make it up, they'll have to get a pass from me and come in during CAP class.

Students in my class can get extra credit from reading and discussing this blog with an adult.  In order to get the extra credit today, watch the Kundun trailer and discuss it.  See if you can identify any Buddhist beliefs from the trailer.  Then, students, find a scrap piece of paper and write a few sentences about your discussion with the adult.  Make sure your name, date, and hour are on the paper.

Turn it in tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Poppy!

Look, I know you're not here to hear about my kids, but it's my daughter Penelope's birthday, so I thought I'd post this picture that my wife sent to me this morning:

*Sigh*  They grow up so fast.  She's two today.

In class we're finishing up the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  We looked at the 5 pillars of faith again, and then did an interactive Venn Diagram.

There will be a quiz coming up pretty soon.

But tomorrow we're moving on to Hinduism.  I haven't decided yet if I'm going to break the religions apart - you know - give a quiz on the three monotheistic religions, and then a separate quiz on Hinduism and Buddhism.  I'm leaning on giving one test covering all the religions we've studied.

Last thought: one of the vocabulary words that's going to be on the Wellness vocabulary test on Friday is monogamous.  This is where learning those prefixes and suffixes comes in handy.

If you're in my class and want extra credit for reading and discussing the blog, make sure you read it and discuss it with an adult.  Tell them the 5 Pillars of Faith from memory, if you can.  Tell them about the Venn Diagram we did together as a class.  Explain how it worked.

Then, write the quote: "Happy birthday, Poppy."  on a piece of paper, and have them sign it.

Plenty to Discuss

I love this curriculum.  I love my classes this year.  We took notes today - which we hardly ever do.  In spite of this, most classes had some really great discussions going on.

We started out by discussing the various ways to view a person.  I stated that there are at least three.  There's the way you view yourself, the way others view you, and the "true view" of you...  We discussed these in depth.  I generally ask the students how many agree with the statement, "I know myself better THAN anybody else knows me.  I know my thoughts and motives.  I'm the only person that's with me 24-7.  I know myself best."  The majority of students agree with this.  Then I ask them, "how many of you know someone who thinks they're really cool - but they're actually not maybe as cool as they think?"

Again, the majority of hands go up.  "Interesting," I say.  "Can you have it both ways?  I mean, you're saying that you know yourself better than anybody else knows you - but you're also saying that you know others better than they know themselves.  Somewhere somebody's mistaken."

It makes for some pretty interesting discussion.

We discuss what makes up a person:

Once again, we had some great discussion.  (Is that all there is?  Is there a such thing as a soul?  Is all of this stuff for real?...)

This is one of my reasons for having the blog...  I'm teaching about Hinduism, but these questions come up naturally.  I want to make sure you know what I'm teaching, and I want you to know the questions that your kid, or nephew, etc... has.

Hinduism teaches that there is a soul.  So we continued talking about the Hindu view, the caste system, and reincarnation:

I was encouraged by the students today.  They were very respectful throughout the lesson.  Obviously, being a public school there are a variety of faiths and ideas that are brought into my classroom.  Throughout the day, students listened appropriately to what others had to say and asked insightful questions.


In order to get the credit for the homework tonight, students are required to discuss this blog post with the adult they read it with.  After you've read and discussed the post, write two complete sentences in response to it.  Then, students, have the adult you discussed the post with sign the paper.  (Make sure your name is on the paper as well.)

T-Minus 13 Days

On the top of a bellwork paper from a highly esteemed colleague, it reads: "T-MINUS 13 DAYS."

I have not been reviewing for the ISTEP yet, but when I see numbers like 13, I start to think... I probably should have started reviewing, you know... 30 days ago.

So, I'm glad he sent me a copy of his bellwork.  I changed my plans for the morning, and switched over to a light review before continuing on with Hinduism.  I think I'll continue that trend until ISTEP is over.  A little review, a little lesson.

One of the best parts about working at Concord, and specifically CJHS is that we generally help each other out.  I really appreciate that.  Maybe we compete to some extent, but in general we're there for each other - and we're looking for success from all our students - whether they're in our class or not.

We've finished up our discussions on Hinduism.

The bell just rang, so I'd like to direct you to THIS POST.  Just read it and do what it says if you want extra credit.  :)

Pictionary Part II

We've got a quiz on Friday.  It shouldn't be too overwhelming... just overwhelming enough.

As you know, the quiz will deal mainly with Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Indian Independence Movement.

One of the portions of the quiz will have a list of terms: beliefs, ideas, people, places, etc...  Students will have to place them with Hinduism, Buddhism or Both.

Here's a quick list:

1. Karma
2. Gandhi
3. Moksha
4. Eternal Spirit/ Brahman
5. Siddhartha Guatama
6. India
7. 4 Noble Truths
8. Reincarnation
9. Nontheistic
10. 5 Pillars of Faith

Today we finished up our quick discussion on banking, then we played some Pictionary.

If students want some extra credit today, they can get it by challenging an adult to the Pictionary game here on the blog.  Find a scrap of paper.  Adults have to write their guesses first.  Then students write their answers.

When you're done, have the adult you challenged sign the paper.  Turn it in tomorrow.

Troublesome: Globalization

Yesterday, upon arriving back to class after spring break, I decided to give my students a little review sheet for bellwork.  When they had finished, and graded the sheet, I tallied up how many students missed each question in each class.

Most students did well - even thought they hadn't thought of school in over a week.  For instance, here are the numbers of students who missed a question about the British Empire in each class: 4, 1, 4, 5, 5, 3.

One question question (on human capital) came out like this: 3, 6, 3, 6, 14, 5.  So, I know I need to review with the class that had 14 students miss that one.

But two questions really stood out to me: one was on globalization, and one was on urbanization.

Here are the numbers: globalization:  17, 14, 20, 13, 19, 8.  Urbanization: 18, 21, 24, 15, 25, 19.

A SIGNIFICANT number of students missed those questions.  The globalization question is especially troubling, because we spent quite a bit of time covering it.  (...Although I didn't always tie the topics - such as cultural borrowing, cultural diffusion, etc... back to the term globalization.)

The two parts to globalization that students really need to know are world culture and international trade.  And even though they didn't get the answer on the test, my gut is they understand the concept.

The urbanization question had even worse results, but the students explained why they got it wrong.  I gave them a definition: "the increasing growth and spread of cities all all over the planet."  They had to come up with the term urbanization.

Several students pointed out that the definition I'd given them before was, "people moving to the city - usually for better paying jobs."

It didn't take long to point out that these definitions were essentially the same thing: if people move to the city for better paying jobs, what is going to happen to that city?  It's going to grow.

It's a continual struggle for teachers to get students to understand ideas and concepts rather than just memorize facts and definitions.

We've been studying Hinduism.  But, with ISTEP coming up, and the results of the globalization question on that review, I'm going to continue to review globalization while teaching Hinduism.

Today, we started in on a series by NPR.  It's worth checking out.  Here's what we watched today:

If you want extra credit for reading and discussing the blog with an adult, write a paragraph about your discussion.  Explain the two parts of globalization (world culture and international trade).  Have the adult you read the blog with sign the paper.  Turn it in tomorrow in the extra credit tray.

Life is Pain

Anyone who says differently is selling something.

We are moving from Hinduism to Buddhism.

I asked students this morning to think about and write down some big questions religions try to answer.  I hadn't taught them this, per se.  And as I believe it's important to teach students how to think instead of simply what to think, I let them struggle through it for a while  (So often teachers give students information, then students give that same information right back on the test.  It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.  But if we only teach them how to regurgitate information, we're going them a disservice.)

Some students came up with some good "big questions":

• What happens to us when we die?
• Is there a God?
• How does God want me to live my life?
• What do I have to do to get to heaven?
• Is karma real?
• Why do people get cancer?  (Or why do good things happen to bad people?)

We've looked at what Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism believe.  We're moving on to Buddhism.  The biggest two questions Buddhism tries to answer are these: Why do people suffer?  How can someone stop the suffering in their life?

One of The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism is that we suffer because of desire.  We watched to videos in class today.  If you want to get the extra credit for reading and discussing this blog with an adult, tell that adult what the videos were about.  Tell who was suffering and why.  Finally, tell the adult whether you agree or disagree - and why.  Do we suffer because of desire?  If not, what do you think causes suffering?  Then, write a few of your answers from the conversation down on a piece of scrap paper.  Have the adult you read it with sign the paper.

Turn it in tomorrow.

(In case you were absent:  video one from class, video two from class.)

Review: Pictionary

We've got a lot to review for: ISTEP, our Hinduism/Buddhism Quiz, and the Year-End Final.

We'll use a variety of styles to review.  Today, I gave students a couple minutes to look over their notes - especially some of the charts we've filled out throughout the year.  Then, we started the game.

The students were in groups.  Each group had 2 dry-erase boards.  Every group starts the game with 3 points.  One member of each group came up to me.  I wrote down a word - a term, concept, idea, name, etc... that we've learned this year.  (Today, I focused mainly on Hinduism and Buddhism, but I threw in a couple other items as well.)  The students went back to their desk and drew a picture of what I wrote.  Other members of the group tried to figure it out.  They couldn't shout out the answer, though.  They had to write it down and hold it up on the second dry-erase board.  The first group to hold up the correct answer earned 2 points.  The second group to hold up the correct answer earned 1 point.  Every other round or so, I'd choose 1 student to draw in front of the whole class on the SMARTboard.  Scoring was the same - 2 points for the first group with the correct answer, 1 point for the second.

Every once in a while, I'd ask students a bonus question.  It is offered first to the group with the lowest score, then works its way up to the group with the highest score.  For instance, after they drew a picture of "suffering," I asked them why I would have them draw that picture.  What did it have to do with social studies?  Or, after drawing "the middle path" I asked them to recount the story of Goldilocks.  ...And for an added bonus question, I asked why I would ask them to recount that tale.  Anybody?  Anybody?

Occasionally, students would complain that I should let everybody try for the extra credit questions.  I told them that they could change their strategy.  They could play for last place in order to get the questions...  Why not try that?  :)

The winning team got Jolly Ranchers.

That was our day in class.  If you weren't here, you missed out.  You totally would have been on the winning team.

If you want to make up the participation points, play the game here.  (Or, if you want extra credit points, you can play it.)  Write down what you think each of these pictures are supposed to represent.  Before you judge on artistic ability, remember that in Pictionary, one must draw fast.  If you don't know the answer, you have to give a guess.  Ask your parent (or whoever you're reading with) to guess for one before you give the answer.  They'll probably be wrong, since they weren't in here.  Write their guess next to your guess for at least one picture.  If they want to try all of them, that'd be great.

When you're done, turn it in tomorrow.  Make sure your name is on it.  Here are the pictures;

Hinduism Kahoot!

Today we played a Hinduism Kahoot.  If you want credit for the extra credit, explain what it is, and how you did.  If you REALLY want to go for it, you could play it.  You'll probably want a computer and some mobile devices.  Have the person on the computer click THIS LINK.  The people with a mobile device should GO HERE.  (kahoot.it) Type in your access code, etc...

You could even tell your friends you're playing.  I think that would work...  Who knows?

If you've done that, write a note telling me how it went.  If you stick to the discussion instead of playing the Kahoot, write me a note about that.  Either way, make sure your name, date, and hour are on it.  Have the adult you discussed with sign the paper.

Turn it in tomorrow.

It'a a new day.  It's a new dawn.  It's a new marking period.  And I'm feeling good.

Tihs Deosn't Mkae Snese

We read from the textbook today, and discussed the trans-Saharan trade - continuing on from the gold/salt trade activity we did the other day.

We don't read from the books too often, but I enjoy it every once in a while.  The students don't like it as much as The Hunger Games or the gold/salt activity, but if we're preparing students for the future, they'll probably have to continue doing somethings they don't enjoy there as well.

While reading we discussed some reading strategies: sub-vocalizing, sounding out tough names and practicing them, slowing down, timing, etc...

We also discussed some reading theory today.  We discussed phonics and whole word, we discussed "sounding it out..."  I tyepd a lttile on the baord lkie tihs.  I thnik msot poeple are albe to raed this.  It's because once you can read, your brain doesn't recognize individual letters anymore, it recognizes whole words.

The class went well.  We're going to finish up the trans-Saharan trade tomorrow, then move into colonization, India, and Hinduism.

In order to get the extra credit, read the blog and discuss it with an adult in your home.  Then, write the following word on a piece of scrap paper and have the adult sign it: Ivory.  Make sure you have your name on the scrap paper as well. 

Caste System

Well, things got pretty heated today - let me tell you.

We've been studying Hinduism and are currently focused on the Caste System.  Yesterday we read an article and watched a video on Dalits - the group formerly referred to as Untouchables.  (There is a lot of readily available information on this group of people.)

The main point of both the video and the article is that the caste system, although illegal, still influences India today. And, the Dalits are heavily discriminated against.

I draw parallels to discrimination in our own country - that even though we have anti-discrimination laws, many groups still face discrimination here.

Today though, we looked at the Indian Social Structure Pyramid (also called the Caste System Pyramid) and I asked the question, "Is there a caste system at CJHS?  If so, what does it look like?"

(Here's the Indian Social Structure Pyramid, by the way:)

I received many answers, but the two that came back most often dealt with authority and popularity. 

In the authority version, the principal or superintendent is on the top, and the students are on the bottom.

In the popularity version, you've got the popular kids at the top, and the unpopular kids at the bottom with various "castes" making up the pyramid, determined by the author/artist.  (Are "Preppy Kids" at the top?  Athletic?  Artistic?  Intelligent?)   ...This is where the class got heated.  Some students contended this was a Hollywood contrivance - that we're all more complicated than this.  True enough, there are kids who are involved in athletics, music, the arts, etc...  So, where would they go?  Others said that yes, it's overdone by Hollywood, but cliques still exist in Jr. High.

I don't have time to mention all the ideas that came up: castes by grade level, or one that had the students at the top, because everything is about them.  Concord is a student-centered school.  We're here to meet the needs of the students.  (While that may be true, I don't think it address the social structure of our school.)

What do you think?  If you've read and discussed this with an adult, write down a paragraph based on your discussion.  Write down thoughts pertaining to India's former (remember it was outlawed in 1947) caste system and the social make-up of CJHS.

Then, once you've written the paragraph, have the adult you read and discussed with sign the paper - proving that you've read and discussed it.

Moving to Hinduism...

I'm not posting extra credit today.  If you're here and you want some... make sure to write me a long letter telling me how unfair I am.  I would include lots of snarky comments, and some glary-faces.  Those always help.

I'll probably use an old post for extra credit tomorrow.  I wrote some good ones on the topic last year.  And if I'm not going to do a better job this year, why not just use them?

Alright.  Peace.