Supply, Demand, and GDP

We're jumping around a little bit here - between culture, standard of living, and economics.  Maybe, just by reading that sentence you can see how those things all relate.  Standard of living is one of the ingredients of culture.  The economy is a fairly reliable indicator of standard of living.

Of course, a teacher can't just say "economy" and expect the kids to know what he's talking about.

Yesterday, we reviewed the 4 types of economies:

• Traditional
• Market
• Command
• Mixed

We discussed the common thread between them - they all deal with how things are made, sold or traded for, and bought.

We also looked at their differences.  A traditional economy is based off of necessity and availability.  A market economy is based off supply and demand.  In a command economy, the government dictates production, distribution, and consumption.

And of course, a mixed economy is a mix of the others.

For instance, here in the United States, we're primarily a market economy.  However, the government does tell us there are certain things we're not allowed to make.  Can you think of any?

So, although we're a market economy, we're at least partially a command economy as well.

We discussed supply and demand - the less you have of something people want, the greater the value.  To illustrate this point, I told students a couple stories about aluminum.  (Students, if you remember any of the stories, quickly retell them now.  ...If not, feel free to click this link.)

We'll be discussing the economy (and how it ties in with culture) for the next several days.  Often, we'll do this through the lens of The Hunger Games, which depicts each type of economy.

One of the last things we studied and learned about was GDP.  Yesterday, after the bellwork, we played a computer game organizing countries by GDP.  (One might argue we were also looking at the standard of living for each of those countries, but it's a little more complicated than that.)

You should check out the game, too.  In fact, students, to get extra credit today, challenge whoever it is you're reading this blog post with.  Let me know who wins.  Write it down on a scrap of paper, along with what they thought of the game.  Make sure your name, date, and hour are on it.  Turn it in tomorrow.

Here's the link.

Natural Barriers

Oh, Katniss Everdeen, how you tie in to social studies - let me count the ways:
Governments, standard of living, culture, customs, civil disobedience, economic systems, ...  Today, in most classes, we got to the part where... (dang it... I don't want to give away what's happening in the book...)  Ok, some people have to travel through some mountains.  This is what is said:

 "I realize we must be in the tunnel that runs up through the mountains into the Capitol.  The mountains form a natural barrier between the Capitol and the eastern districts.  It's almost impossible to enter from the east except through the tunnels.  This geographical advantage was a major factor in the districts losing the war..."

Man, that hits so many standards.  (Granted, the standards apply to Asia, Africa and Australia - but I'm more concerned with the concepts they're teaching rather than the facts about places themselves...)

For instance:  "7.3.10: Describe the limitations that climate and land forms place on land or people in regions of Africa, Asia and the Southwest Pacific.

Example: Deserts in Africa, Saudi Arabia and China; the islands of Japan; mountains of Iran and Afghanistan; northern regions of China."

Yes, that deals with those specific places, but the concepts are the same for all of them.  I took a break from reading to discuss this with the kids - the difference between natural and man-made barriers.  My hands were the cow people and the lettuce people, separated by the Adidas Mountain range.  ...


It looked something like this:

We talked about why having a mountain range between these two groups of people might be beneficial - if the lettuce people try to attack the cow people, they have to cross the natural barrier - the Adidas Mountains.  That would make it more difficult.  Of course, if the lettuce people wanted to trade with the cow people, that would be more difficult as well. ...  I kept mixing up my voices... I couldn't keep them straight - which voice went with cow, which one went with lettuce... 

Anyway, we then discussed other forms of natural barriers, and types of man-made barriers as well.  Every class came up with the Great Wall of China as a man-made barrier.

Of course, we're still studying religions.  (You remember, standard 7.1.4 - which I mentioned in an earlier post.  I can't see how you can adequately teach a religion in a meaningful way - a way the kids will remember it, connect it with other religions, understand it in a way that is relevant to them and their world -  in less than a week.  (Classes are 45 minutes...)  The idealist in me says 3 days per religion...

We did go a little cross-curricular in one class today and use some algebra to figure out what year we're in on the Muslim calendar...

At any rate, it was a good day today.  If you're in my class and want extra credit - or if you're reading this and you want your kid (the one that's in my class) to receive extra credit, discuss the following questions:

1. What is a natural barrier?  What might be some positives and negatives from natural barriers?

2.  What does "standard of living" mean?  Can you give any examples from today's reading that Katniss had a relatively low standard of living in district 12?

3.  What is Islam?  What do you know about it so far?  Is there anything you don't understand about it?

When you're done discussing those, write the following phrase on a slip of paper: "It looks like you were ready for a flood in that picture Mr. Habecker..."  In order to get the extra credit points, the paper must be signed by the adult that discussed this stuff with you.  Adults, by signing it, you're saying that yes, so-and-so really did discuss those questions with you last night.

Cultural Ingredients Story

Remember, if you want the extra credit you have to read and discuss this post with an adult.

It's interesting how our culture permeates all aspects of our lives.  The technology you are using to read this right now is an example of our standard of living.  You're reading it in English - proving that you are both literate (another indicator of a high standard of living) and that you can speak this language: another ingredient of culture.  The fact that you are reading it tells me you care about your education (or the education of your child) which indicates your values. 

Ah, social studies, how I love thee.  You are my North, my South, my East, my West.  My working week and my Sunday rest.  You are everywhere, and I don't know where I would be without you.

Most classes finished up the list of cultural ingredients today.  You can ask them about standard of living.  We talked about cars, and tvs, but we also talked about more complex examples like infant mortality rate and literacy rate.  See if they remember what these are.  It's ok if they don't remember, it was just introduced.  If you're up for it, and you haven't spent too much time reading this, you could click on those two links.  They'll take you to the CIA World Factbook.  It lists countries with the highest and lowest infant mortality rate, and shows literacy rate alphabetically.  There are also definitions.

The students also started a story today.  It could have been about anything, but they had to include 5 of the ingredients of culture.  I saw a lot of good ones.  Some were non-fiction, but we also had some from the perspective of aliens, dogs, dolphins, and pirates, of course.

You're probably reading this because you want extra credit.  In order to get the extra credit for reading and discussing the post write a couple sentences on a scrap piece of paper.  Tell me how the discussion went, and maybe what all you talked about.  And tell me what your parents/grandparents/foster-parents/etc... thought about your bellwork story.  Then, have them sign the paper.  Adult-type-people: by signing the paper you're saying, "yes, we really did read and discuss this."

TESTING... TESTING...

Here are the essay questions for the test tomorrow.  (The essay portion will actually be on Thursday.)

Students have to choose two of the four.

When we hear that the economy is bad, we know it has to do with people who are unemployed, and it has to do with money.  For this essay question, explain what the economy is, and how it relates to employment and money.  Furthermore, explain the differences between a strong economy and a weak economy.

Being as thorough as possible, explain globalization and its positive and negative impact on cultures.  Furthermore, explain how technology is speeding up this process – how technology is “shrinking the world.”

We have discussed standard of living at length in this class.  Two indicators of standard of living are infant mortality rate, and literacy rate.  Explain what these are, as well as how they indicate standard of living.  When giving examples, make sure the evidence and quantity are substantial.

What is a culture?  Give some (at least 5) examples of various aspects of culture, and explain why they are important and relevant.  

Students received this today along with a scoring rubric.

To get the extra credit for reading the blog today, discuss two essay answers.  Then, write one essay.  Read it to the person you discussed the blog with and have them sign it.  Turn it in tomorrow in the extra credit tray.

Is the Capitol Actually North Korea?

First off all, I’d like to remind everyone that I post what we do every day.  Students can receive extra credit by reading the blog and discussing it with the adult they live with.  (Or in some cases some other adult.)  It’s five points a day… I think it’s worth it.

Please notice the polls at the top of the blog.  If you haven’t yet voted on them, do so now.  We’re going to discuss them in class tomorrow.  You will also have time to finish up your Hammurabi power point while we read The Hunger Games. 

We compared Islam and Judaism at the beginning of class, and then we spent the rest of the day in the book.

An excerpt from page 80:

“Electricity in District 12 comes and goes, usually we only have it a few hours a day.  Often the evenings are spent in candlelight.  The only time we can count on it is when they’re airing the Games or some important government message on television that it’s mandatory to watch.  But here there would be no shortage.  Ever.”

An excerpt from page 83-4:

“’I’d leave here,’ Peeta blurts out.  Then he looks around nervously.  It was loud enough to hear above the chimes.  He laughs.  ‘I’d go home now if they let me.  But you have to admit, the food’s prime.’
                He’s covered again.  If that’s all you heard it would just sound like the words of a scared tribute, not someone contemplating the unquestionable goodness of the Capitol.” (Emphasis mine.)

We’ve discussed standard-of-living multiple times because of this book, but here it comes up again.  This time, though, it’s a little bit different.  We see that the people in District 12 have a low standard of living because the money gets funneled into the government.  We also see examples of government propaganda.

One of the countries we study in this class is North Korea.  The Capitol and North Korea share some striking similarities: dictator, food shortages, and government sponsored propaganda.  In the first quote above Katniss mentions important government TV messages that are mandatory to watch.  North Korea has state sponsored radio in every house.  You can turn it down, but you can’t turn it off.  (I learned that from THIS MOVIE, by the way.  It’s pretty good.)

In the second quote, Peeta is scared to speak out against (or even appear to speak out against) the Capitol.  Kim Jong Il just died.  (If you haven’t seen this on the news, go ahead and check for yourself…)  Here’s aline from one of the CNN articles: “There will be the compulsory large crowds of mourners in the streets of Pyongyang to honor Kim Jong Il.” (article by Scott Snyder)  Of course there will be.  Will there be people who refuse to go?  Will there be North Koreans who “contemplate the unquestionable goodness of Our Dear Leader?”

So, today we hit standards 7.1.2 – dealing with theocracy  - Kim Jong Il is revered as a deity and his dead father Kim Il Sung even more so.  He actually maintained the role of President after his death… his position according to their constitution is “Eternal President of the Republic.”

7.1.18 – deals with recent political conflicts.  The state gives North and South Korea as an example.

7.2.2 – identify and compare contemporary governments in Japan, Korea, China, etc…

I’m hoping to discuss this more in depth tomorrow, but we’ll see.  We also have to discuss historical context, and Hammurabi…

In order to get the credit for the homework, vote on the polls at the top.  Then, read the blog and discuss it with an adult.  Discuss the following questions: what were the similarities between Islam and Judaism that I gave at the beginning of class today?  Will people attend Kim Jong Il’s funeral because they want to, or because they were coerced?  Will there be any exceptions?  Why?  What makes you think that?  What’s happening right now in The Hunger Games?

Like usual, it’s not enough to read and discuss the blog.  Write the following on a piece of scrap paper:  “I wish we could learn B about chess P during social studies.”  Have the adult you read this with sign the piece of paper.  Adults, by signing the paper you are signifying that you did indeed read the blog and discuss the questions with whoever is in my class.  Please don’t sign it unless this is true.

Culture to Standard of Living to Economy to Human Capital

There is no perfect path to teaching social studies.

I want to review culture, and the cultural ingredients:

• food
• dress
• religion
• language
• standard of living
• the arts
• government
• values
• customs
• ethnicity

But I also want to dig deeper into understanding them.  But digging deeper takes time.  Take standard of living, for instance.

To understand that, we've got to understand the economy.

And to understand the economy, we have to know what GDP is.

And when I teach economy, I want to teach human capital, because they tie together so well.

...But now we're many degrees of separation from culture.

So, Monday we're going to fly back to culture, and hope that we don't all forget the lessons on economics.

If you want credit for reading discussing the blog today, find a scrap of paper and define human capital on it.  (We did this today in class.)  If you were absent, and need to make up the points, go to the "human capital" link.  Figure out what human capital is from that.  Write it on a scrap of paper, and turn it in tomorrow.

Tying Things Together

So many of these big, BIG concepts that we've been learning about tie in with other big concepts we've been learning about.  The term and idea of globalization encompasses so much.  Economy is the production (making), distribution (selling), and consumption (buying/using) of goods - but we could go off on lessons about standard of living, and human capital, and banks, and economic spillover (externalities), and jobs, and industrialization, and urbanization...  And each one of those terms/concepts/ideas/whatever you want to call them is another lesson or series of lessons.

Yesterday, we discussed the factory collapse in Bangladesh.  We talked about people who lived in countries with low standards of living, where they worked for so much less than the U.S. minimum wage.  And how, consumers possibly share the blame for the deaths of those factory workers.

In a way, globalization has led to the exploitation of those workers.  Our desire to have well-made, inexpensive clothes led to that.

But globalization is also strengthening the economies of these countries.  Their production is getting them money, and getting us the products we want.  This is a case of everybody elevating everybody else.

Today, we showed this with a trading simulation.  We formed groups of countries.  Each country had a main export.  All the other countries wanted that export.  Yarn represented a trade deal between two countries.  If there was talking, the trade deal fell apart, and I cut the string.

Ultimately, by trading, everybody

• Got better stuff and a variety of stuff
• because certain goods only come from certain areas
• i.e. if you could only eat bananas grown in Indiana, you probably wouldn't be eating too many bananas
• Got cheaper stuff
• people can focus on producing what they're good at producing and make a lot of it
• i.e. if I had to make my own telephone, I would have no telephone
• also... cheap labor is driving globalization

We still haven't really tied all these things together, but we're going to try to.  Maybe tomorrow?  Maybe next week.

Here are some pictures of today's activity.  Instructions on how to get the extra credit points will be below them.

If students want extra credit, they should read and discuss this blog post with an adult.  When they've finished that, they should find a scrap of paper and write 2 sentences telling what they thought of the activity.  Have the adult that they read and discussed the blog with sign the paper.  Make sure your name, date, and hour are on it.  Then, turn it in tomorrow in the extra credit turn-in tray.

...One more thing, for those who care.  I try to conserve.  You know, reduce, reuse, recycle.  So, I spent a lot of my free time winding up the yarn.  But boy, there were a lot of knots.  Several times, I thought of the Gordian Knot.  Alexander and I... we're two of a kind.

Hunger Games: Big Ideas

As promised, there's a blog post today.

We've started The Hunger Games!  Woo hoo!  I'm really excited about it, and I'm doubly excited that this year I get to work in tandem with Mr. Ogle, who will be teaching the Language Arts side of things.

Why The Hunger Games?

The content of The Hunger Games ties in with multiple 7th grade social studies standards.  It's a well-written, captivating story about the dangers of unlimited government.  Many of the big concepts we study are expressed in narrative fashion, allowing me to reinforce what we're learning in class.

Today, we talked about 4 of the big ideas that will show up in the book.  I had students write down a definition/explanation (in their own words) for:

• Government
• Economy
• Culture
• Standard of Living

These are hardly the only social studies topics that will show up in the book.  After students wrote down what they thought those things were, I gave them my definitions and explanations.  By page 6, each of these concepts had been brought up in some fashion.  We'll delve into it more, as we read the book.  I can't wait.

For now, here are some pictures of some things we did during the days I missed posting.  (The information on how to get some extra credit points is found below the pictures.)

If you want the extra credit, define/explain at least one of the following terms on a sheet of paper: government, economics, culture, standard of living.  If you were class, try to use my definition/explanation.  If you were absent, give it a good guess.  You may get help from a parent.

When you're done, have the parent or adult you read and discussed the blog with sign the paper.  Make sure your name, date, and hour are on it.  Turn it in in the extra credit tray tomorrow.

More Difficult Ingredients

We've been discussing culture, and the ingredients of culture.  I tried to order them by difficulty, going from the easier to the more complex.  For instance, food is a part of our culture.  Most students already understand food.  In fact, sometimes I think it's all they think about.  ...Especially 5th hour...

And they understand language, and dress.  Most have a general concept of religion, government, customs and the arts.

But ethnicity?  Standard of living?  Values?  These are a little bit more difficult.  In fact, even academics bicker about their exact meanings?  Are ethnicity and race the same thing?  How does nationality fit in?  Is there a choice component?

And how do we gauge standard of living?  Is it just GDP, or is it more than that?

And, as a colleague always says, "We may value our valuables, but they are not our values."

So, we discussed some of the more difficult concepts today.  I did give students a paper, but it is NOT homework.  I don't care if you work ahead, but make sure you bring an AR book along with you if you're an over-achiever.  Don't distract the rest of the class.

If you read consider discussing the ingredients of culture - giving an example for each.  If you do this, find a scrap of paper and write down the ingredient, and its example.  Then have the adult sign the paper.  Put in the extra credit tray tomorrow.

Government Pictures

Bellwork question: Which type of government typically has a higher standard of living for its citizens, a dictatorship, or a democracy?  Defend your answer.

As always, we had some great answers.  Some students misread the question and answered dictatorship, because the dictator has so much money.  Of course, I was asking about the citizens, so democracy was the correct answer.

A democracy cares about the people, because it's a government made up of people.  Because dictators often use fear to stay in power, they do not care about the people in the same way as a democracy.  So, the citizens in a democracy typically have a higher standard of living.

Students are working on government pictures.  If you need a copy of the paper, you can download it HERE.  (You may have to change it a little bit after downloading.  Mediafire sometimes messes with my documents.  Just delete the excess lines.  ...You'll see what I mean.)

Yes, they are homework.  Finish them if you didn't finish them in class.

If you want the extra credit today, read and discuss the blog with an adult.  Then, on a scrap piece of paper, draw a quick picture representing one of the government types.  (Don't spend much time on it...)  Show it to the adult you read the blog with and see if they can guess what type of government it is.  (They can use the chart, it's on yesterday's blog.)  Then, have them sign it.

Turn it in tomorrow.

Don't forget the homework.

...Also, don't forget the homework...

Busy, Busy Days

It's been pretty busy around here.  Grades continue to be updated.  If I were you, I would double-check them to make sure they're accurate.  If there's anything you need to turn in, well...  Get it turned in.

I'm hoping to post some of the ingredients of culture pictures here on the blog, but I might not get that done for a day or two.  We're still studying culture, but we're mixing it with economics.  We're working our way toward globalization.

Today students reviewed the ingredients of culture by writing a short story which included each ingredient.

After that, we got new seats.

Then, they looked in The Hunger Games and found examples of some of the things we've been studying.

They had to find:

• standard of living (3 examples)
• economies
• traditional (1)
• market(1)
• command(1)
• ethnocentrism (1)
• ingredients of culture
• food (1)
• dress (1)
• religion (1)
• customs (1)
• ethnicity (1)
• values (1)
• the arts (1)
• government (1)
• language (1)
• standard of living (already listed above)

I think it went pretty well.

Students can get extra credit by reading and discussing this blog with an adult.  After you've read and discussed it, write a sentence about your discussion.  Have the adult you read with sign the paper.  Make sure your name, date, and hour are on it.  Turn it in tomorrow.

Review for the Test

We're having a test in here on Wednesday.  It's probably a good idea to review for the test.  So, here's what's going to on it:


Latitude & Longitude:
     • Know the difference
     • Plot on a map
     •  Locate places using
Cultures:
     • Ingredients
     • Definitions of ingredients
     • Examples of ingredients
     • Standard of living
             o Infant mortality rate
             o Literacy rate
     • Ethnocentrism
     • Cultural borrowing
     • Cultural diffusion
Globalization:
     • Technology speeds globalization
     • Positives of globalization:
             o i.e. gain knowledge
             o improve standard of living
             o etc…
     • Negatives of globalization:
             o i.e. loss of culture
             o outsourcing
             o spread disease
             o etc…
   Economics:
     • Definition
     •  4 types
             o Traditional
             o Market
             o Command
             o Mixed
Anything I forgot…   ...like continents and oceans or 9/11.

If you want the extra credit for reading and discussing the blog today, read and discuss it with an adult.

Adult, ask them about 5 topics from this list.  Hopefully they're able to answer.  If not... looks like it's time to break out the notes.

If you discussed at least 5 topics, find a sheet of scrap paper, and write: "No need to break out the notes here..."  Then have the adult sign it.

FYI, there will be no blog post tomorrow.

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.

???

What?  11 days left?  How does this happen?

We don't have school on Monday?  What?  Didn't we have basically every day off this winter?

Here's the way I see the rest of this year finishing up:

We're done with North Korea tomorrow -and we start Ancient China.
We finish up Ancient China next week and review for the final and tie everything together.
Take the final.

Go on summer break.

...How does that sound?

The only change I can hope for is that I can still get my friend in here to speak.  Also, that Sanabel replies.

The questions I want you to discuss today:

• What type of Government does North Korea have?
• What was that cartoon about in class?  Explain it.  What was it trying to say?
• Overall, do the people in North Korea have a high standard of living or a low standard of living?

After you discuss those questions, write one of you answers down on a scrap of paper, and have the adult you discussed it with sign the paper.

Turn it in tomorrow for extra credit.

What Would You Do?

You own a factory.  (Congratulations.)  An opportunity has arrived that will allow you to relocate your factory to Nicaragua.  Because you can pay your workers less, and you won't be burdened with paying over-time or benefits, etc... you will end up making quite a bit more money.

However, moving the factory will not gain you a lot of friends here in the United States.  You have been in business for over 25 years, and many people that work for you have been with you since the beginning.

Will you move your factory or not?

Here are some aspects of globalization we've hit upon so far

Globalization: 

• development of world culture/ loss of individual culture
• benefits of trade: goods, services, technology, possibility of higher standard of living
• possibility of exploitation
• learn about other cultures
• technology's impact on globalization
• outsourcing/ loss of US jobs

We won't talk about it too much longer, but as you can see it is very easy to go into great detail on one standard.  And, as the ISTEP often asks very specific questions, this is necessary.  Of course, this means that we can't cover all of the standards...  C'est la vie, I guess.

If you want extra credit, read and discuss the blog with an adult.  Tell them whether you would move your factory to Nicaragua or not. And tell them why.  Then write the following quote on a scrap piece of paper: "What's wrong with me?  I've just been layin' around."  Then, have the adult you read and discussed the blog with sign the scrap piece of paper.  Turn it in tomorrow.

Odd Man Out

What is an American?

We're spending a decent amount of time studying cultures in my class right now.  Our social studies department gives 8-10 examples of "ingredients" of culture.  For instance, here are the ones I use:

• Food
• Dress
• Language
• Religion
• Government
• The Arts
• Customs
• Ethnicity
• Values
• Standard of Living

There are more, of course.  (Sports, history, architecture, etc...)  And perhaps some don't belong - is government an ingredient/part of culture or is it something that influences/creates culture: like climate or weather?

Either way, it is perhaps important to note "odd man out."  I feel like this is especially true in America.

When I went to China or when I lived in Haiti, it was evident early on that I was a minority ethnically.  I remember times in Haiti where people would want to touch my hair because they'd never seen hair like mine before.  (My brother got this even more than me because his hair wasn't just blond when he was a kid, it was white.  Our Haitian friends called him, "Blanc Blanc.")  In China people snuck pictures of us, and there were multiple occasions where people asked to take pictures with us, or especially with our daughter because they'd never seen a white person in the flesh before.

We weren't from those cultures, and it was evident.  Our language, our mannerisms, our food preferences...  Most everything screamed, "FOREIGNER!" even though we were trying to embrace the culture we were in.

That said, we can be a part of a culture, and still be the "odd man out."  For instance, although the Han Chinese make up 92% of the Chinese population, there are other ethnic groups that are also Chinese.  And those other ethnic groups are Chinese as well.

I'm pausing to note that there is a difference between culture and sub-culture.  And I'm also acknowledging that within nations there are often multiple cultures.  But lets not get distracted.

There are times you can be part of a culture - completely part of a culture - and still not embrace certain ingredients of that culture.

I believe this to be especially true in America.  In fact, I believe one of America's cultural traits to be diversity.  Even though the majority religion in America is Christianity, there are non-Christians who are part of America's culture.  Even though American cultural food includes McDonalds, there are some who enjoy Pad Thai.  America's ethnicity has always been diverse - more so now that ever.

I have a confession to make: I don't like baseball.  I struggle to watch games when I'm with friends who understand the intricacies of the game.  And I know that baseball is American culture.  It's America's Pastime.   

But I'm still American.  And I still embrace American culture.  But when it comes to baseball, I'm the "odd man out."

Students can earn extra credit by reading and discussing the blog with an adult.  In order to prove that they've read and discussed the blog, they need to write down one example (other than baseball) of how someone can be an American, but be the "odd man out" with certain cultural ingredients.