Solid Start Continues

First off, many thanks to Mr. Little, who positively identified my grammatical error in my last post. It's a big one; I certainly hope my students never fail to impress me, not disappoint me. I told him that it was just a test to see if he still knew the English language like the back of his hand. I don't think he bought that.

Here's what's on tap for this week.

Economics has a test on Friday on market structure, the principles of economics, scarcity, the factors of production, etc. The students have really impressed me so far, and as a class mainly made of of underclassmen they are doing exceptionally well. 

US History I will continue our studies on colonial life, the Puritans, and might even include a Salem Witch Trial simulation in class. We'll also revisit life onboard a slave ship to the New World as well.

US History II's agenda includes debating Muslim profiling in the wake of 9/11, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Patriot Act. Looking forward to an exciting week in this class as well!

And last but certainly not least, World Geography's plans include a debate on global warming, population explosions, and stages that every nation goes through.

It's certainly going to be a well-deserved Labor Day break for my students- GREAT JOB so far! You are really impressing me- keep it up!

North to Alaska...for Oil Drilling? ANWR and Stuff

Wow, each year my Geography classes never fail to disappoint in their discussion on ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). Yesterday I introduced the idea of drilling for oil in this protected area of northern Alaska. There are 19,000,000 acres in the refuge, and 1.5 million of them have been set aside for drilling.

Although both classes felt very strongly that we should drill, they were able to see the dangers, risks and costs of doing so. They weren't chanting "Drill, baby, drill" as Sarah Palin's supporters were last year, but they were close! Maybe someday I'll tell the students how I really feel about ANWR...

Which brings us to the interactive part of this post: vote and share! Do you think the US should drill in ANWR? 

Parents and students, remember extra credit is available for returning the signed sheet acknowledging your receipt of this blog description.

Open House is this Thursday night! Be there.

PowerPoints Available!

Students,

My PowerPoints will be available in the Groups Shared Folder as we cover them. US History II's lecture on the Duke Lacrosse case is in there, as is US History I's slideshow on the early Spanish explorers. Please access them for notes when you need to!

...and another week bites the dust

Safely through the first week! And what a GREAT start it was. I have never been as excited for a school year as I currently am, and I can't exactly explain why. Maybe it's great students, a top-notch staff, supportive administration, or fantastic parents. Probably a combination of all 4.

I plan to begin online grad school classes at Grand Canyon University starting September 3. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to start class the Friday before Labor Day?! At any rate, they're coming whether I like it or not. Pretty hard to believe that I'm going back to school too.

I can't wait to see what challenges, adventures, and funny moments this school year will bring. We've already had a few this week: Jake Crosetto going to roll up the windows of his car, in a blinding rainstorm Wednesday, and coming back to US History II utterly and completely soaked. The guy looked like a drowned rat and the class was hysterical for a good 5 minutes, including their teacher!

Another gem from Thursday is Cody Easley: "So Christopher Columbus....that's the guy that invented electricity, right?"

Always a great day at Astoria High School, and folks- those are two big reasons why!

Back in Business

Are you ready for another year? That answer better be a resounding "Yes!"

I'm thrilled to be back in the swing of things as I start my 3rd year teaching. There's nothing like the clanks of lockers, confused freshmen roaming the hallways, and a full day of syllabi!

I'm currently in the process of completely revamping my US History I curriculum. Instead of being a complete course in government, we're going to cover early American history and take an extended rest stop during the Revolutionary and post-Revolution period for an in-depth study of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and all that good stuff. After we're done with that, we'll try to get to post-Reconstruction material where we will stop at 1877. Senior US History II class will pick up from there, covering 1877-present. That just makes more sense- or so I hope!

Other noteworthy tidbits:

1) World Geography class, once again, has the potential to be amazing this year. For the past two years it's been a very random mix of upper and underclassmen, and this year is no different. It's a great opportunity for the seniors to step up and be leaders/mentors to the freshmen and sophomores, and I have full confidence that they will. Last year seniors were complaining at the beginning of the year about being in class with freshmen; by the end of the year they were great friends.

2) Economics- wow. I'm as excited as one can be to teach this class, especially in a time like this. Great potential!

3) It's been nearly 8 months since I posted last. Wow.

It's going to be a great year. Here we go...