American Government - Class Blog

Life as Youth

2008-04-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

When you think of the word homeless, you probably think of an old man, wearing clothes he dug out of a dumpster and asking for change. And you think about how it’s his fault because he could just get a job and work for a living, instead of depending on others. But this is only because the most visible type of homelessness.

What you don’t see is the family of mother and children or the teenagers alone, looking for places to stay at night. And for the very few people who do see these types of homeless situations, most turn away, thinking it’s their fault, and they can’t be helped anyways. But this is the type of thinking that pushes people to hide, and not seek help when they face these types of problems.

People don’t often see homeless youth, or homeless families, because they don’t want to be seen. If a mother seeks help, she risks loosing her kids. If a youth seeks help, he risks being taken away to foster care. I know this because I was a homeless youth.

My biggest fear of telling people I needed help was what their idea of help would be. Often enough, people are afraid to give out a helping hand, because they think they will get in trouble. But when does compassion finally override fear? As a former homeless youth, I experienced all this. I tried to go to school, and pass as a normal kid, and was so afraid a teacher would find out my situation. I was so afraid, because I knew the rules. I knew a teacher would be required to report my situation, if they found out. I was afraid to ask friends for help, because their parents said the same way. They felt it was their job in a sense, to report these types of situations. I was even afraid to go to a church for help, because the one time that I did, they called CPS as an alternative to “help”.

What puts a kid in this situation in the first place?

There are so many different situations that end up with a kid in this situation. Most of the times, it’s issues with parents. My personal situation was with my father. My whole life I was put through hard times, but it was always my mother who did what she could to take care of me.

When I was young, we moved a lot, and I was bounced around. Often times we stayed in cars, but usually we were lucky enough to end up in a hotel, or a friend’s house. Her problem was that she couldn’t stay away from drugs. My mom had never been married to my father, and my mom had lots of boyfriends, so I had a lot of men come and go throughout my life. My mom was the only thing that stayed constant in my life, when I was young. When CPS finally took me away from my mom, I was devastated. My fear of CPS, and foster care began.

I was sent from family to family, while sometimes getting lucky, and ending up with someone actually from my family. But I never stayed with any family for too long. I lived with my Aunt Robyn in Washington for the longest, and that was only about a year. After awhile, I was sent to my dad’s house, and the real problems started.

My father and I could never connect. We had nothing in common, and he resented that I had grown up with my mom. So we found ourselves in a violent war, each trying to break the other. My whole life, I grew up around Hip-Hop, and rap. At ten years old, I sagged my pants, just like the rest of my friends. I talked like any kid would growing up in a city full of mostly minorities. So I was “black-washed” as my father liked to call me.

His first idea was to take away everything I had, and replace it with what he thought was acceptably “white”. This meant wranglers, tighty-whities, and no music, MTV for me. But that didn’t work either. I lived with my father in Alabama for three years, before we moved to Las Vegas. His whole plan to replace my belongings and turn me "white" was now over. I was back in a school with a hip-hop culture, which is where I felt I belonged.

I was now old enough to earn money, and buy my own clothes. I could buy my own CD’s and listen to what I wanted when my father wasn’t around. And he knew it. So he made a new plan to turn me away from being a “wigger”. His new plan was to beat it out of me.

If I talked in a away that he though was ghetto, he would scream and yell for two hours. If he saw my underwear, he would give me the belt. If he came home, and I was listening to anything that a “ghetto” person would listen to, he would destroy it. He took the doors off its hinges to my room, so he could keep an eye on everything I did. I felt my life was depressing. To retaliate, I got back at my dad the only way I could. I became everything he hated when he wasn’t around.

I started smoking, and drinking, I started getting into fights, and failing in school, and I kept living my life the way I wanted. My friends became more ghetto, and less perfect as I grew older, and my father and I hated each other for it. He knew I did it to piss him off, and that itself made my life worse. But at 15 years old, I didn’t care.

Around this time, my dad was going through a divorce, he was in a motorcycle gang, and was with a different woman every weekend. One night, he brought home a new one. This one moved in with us, and stayed. At first my life got a lot better. But soon enough the good life ended. Myself and my father’s girlfriend soon started hating each other. Why father was leaving me alone at first, because all his time was on his girlfriend. But when she and I started disliking each other, she turned my father away from me even more. Often times, I would be grounded for simple things like being in a bad mood. They said I had a bad attitude, but it’s hard to be in a good mood in a house where you felt hated.

Soon we started yelling and screaming at each other every night. Sometimes it got physical, unfortunately for me. It got to the point where my father constantly talked about sending me away, or kicking me out. He talked about it everyday, until I finally told him, I don’t care anymore, and that I wanted to leave. He didn’t take that too well, and so I did what I had wanted to do the entire time I lived with my father. I packed my bags, and walked out the door.

I called a friend, and had a place to stay for a few days. But it wasn’t long term, and I had to find something fast. My friend lived next to an empty house, and we worked hard to figure out a way in. When we finally did, I began my life as a homeless youth in Las Vegas. I began breaking into different houses to sleep, and staying in a friends car when I couldn’t find a house. I stole from stores to eat, and walked around during the day, never drawing attention to myself, or my situation. I stayed in school, but didn’t do too much. I went tried to go home a few times, but that never turned out good. I had friends who helped me when they could, but I was never at “at home”.

This is just one example of an unfortunate situation. I’m not the only kid that has been homeless and alone in my life. There are many more kids in Vegas living behind dumpsters, in abandoned houses, or empty buildings. I know, because I’ve seen them, and lived with them. They were the only people I felt I had anything in common with, and the only people I felt I could trust for some time. And they each had their own unique situation as to why they were homeless. One of my friends grandmother had died, whom he had lived with. When she passed away, he lost everything too, because he had just turned 18 and all of her belongings went to another family member. Being that he was 18, he was too old to get help, but since he had never worked a day in his life, he was lost.

There are so many things that lead people to struggles. Some are their own fault, but still no less a struggle. Some are financial problems, some are family problems, and often enough, some are drugs problems. But there’s no way around the fact that some people in life need help. Kids who are helped sooner, can hopefully be taken away from living a life of poverty. The longer you live a lifestyle, the more accustomed and used to the lifestyle you become. Programs like Center for Independent Living, Boys and Girls Town, and Nevada partnership for Homeless Youth are designed to help youth kids in need. But making these programs is the easy part. The hard part is getting the kids to come and get the help.

I don’t know that there is any real solution to preventing homeless youth. I think the only solution, or way of help, is to get the youth back on their feet when the situation occurs. Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth helps with this, by setting some of the youth up in an independent living situation, where they are provided with the necessities, and guided on the path to using them right. They are helped with things like birth certificates, and ID’s, while encouraged to keep a steady job, or to finish school. They are allowed to basically live on their own, while still supervised to make sure the youth’s stay on track. A program like this works, because it gives kids the freedom they need, while still keeping them on track, and successful in life. The big problem, is getting youth’s to trust a program like this.

As a former homeless youth, I know the fears a youth would have before entering the program. I am in the program now, and before I joined, my biggest fear was how my life would change. Would I be treated just the same as I was at home? Would I give up everything I fought for to begin with? And one of my biggest fears, would I still be able to see and hang out with my friends, and have a social life? The last reason seems petty, but it’s one of the biggest, because as a homeless youth, all I had was my friends. And to leave those people as soon as I find something better feels like I’m turning on the people who stayed by me. And to leave the people who are closest to me was something I couldn’t do. To trust that I would still have this small freedom was hard. Getting the youth to trust that the program has nothing but good intentions, and that it can actually help is hard. Another problem is that homeless youth like to stay hidden. And coming to a program like one of these would be far from staying hidden. Its more like throwing ourselves onto the radar, which can cause big problems.

These are some of the problems that could be addressed to help with the homeless youth.

Staying on Track 31

2008-04-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

Quarter 4 - Week 4

Hi Guys, it's been a couple weeks. I know. You're probably saying "Yo, where you been Moses", that is if you're stuck in the '80s or are from Philly. Well, I've been around, just not around here. If you're wondering what I've been doing, stop by my office and check it out. Video tomorrow morning.

Alright, let's take a look at this class. Everything that you need to do is up (with the exception of the third honors project, sorry honors students it's coming soon). There's a total of 1150 points for this class. In order to pass you need to get yourself to 630 points. Do whatever it takes to get there and get there fast. If you're already there, awesome. Go after the grade you want to graduate with.

Political Update

2008-04-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, its been awhile. ;)

Anyone been keeping an eye on the Presidential Campaign? Not surprisingly, Huckabee is out for the Republican Nomination, so McCain is the Presumptive Nominee. But it seems the race for the democratic Nomination is where the spotlight has been the past few weeks. Last I checked, Obama was ahead with 1,629 pledged delegates, while Clinton was a very close second, counting 1,486 pledged delegates. Both candidates need 2,024 pledged delegates to win. Although Clinton is behind in delegates, CNN polls show her leading in favor for the upcoming primary in Pennsylvania. If she wins this with a nice gap, she could shoot ahead, although polls do show her favor slowly being chipped away, by Obama. While she does have the lead for now, Obama seems to be slowly growing in favor, while Clinton's favor is slowly going down for the April 22 Pennsylvania Primary.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/politics/04/08/democrats.pennsylvania/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/election/2008/

Unit 6 Project - Example

2008-03-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for an example of what I'm looking for in the Unit 6 project then look no further:

| View | Upload your own

Great job, Nicole T.

Staying on Track 28

2008-03-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

Quarter 3 - Week 9

Ladies and Gentlemen it's happened, the end of the third quarter is here. Here are some numbers you need to keep in mind:

1 through 6 - the units you should have done by the end of this week

935 - to the total number of points available at the end of this quarter

514 - the points your need to pass this quarter

632 - the points you need to pass for the school year

The end of the quarter is this Friday, 3/28, at midnight.

Go get it. Let me know what I can do to help.

Staying on Track 27

2008-03-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

Quarter 3 - Week 8

Well, the clock's ticking. The end of the quarter's only a few week's away. In fact the end of the quarter is 3/28. Next week's Spring Break. The week after the the quarter's over. Man, that's it.

Right now you should be working on Unit 6. To be specific you should be working on the Unit 6 project. Don't wait until the last second for this one. There's an interview that you need to do. Make sure that you take care that and give yourself enough time.

This could be you. You could do the interview thing by email too. :)

As always let me know what I can do to help.

Staying on Track 26

2008-03-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

Quarter 3 Week 7

Alright guys, you should be doing one of two things right now.

Thing 1: Working on the Many Voices for Darfur project. It's not too late. You can still get involved. For those of you involved in this project, you need to be ready to go by the 6th. Remember that this is taking care of both the Unit 5 and Unit 7 project. Neat.

Thing 2: If you're not working on the Many Voices for Darfur project right now you should be working on Unit 6. You should either have the lecture done right now or be real close. Then start working on the project. You should have it done in about three weeks because...

The end of the third quarter is 3/28.

That's it and if you read this before Tuesday and would like to play some blog ball... Who do you think is going to win Ohio and Texas and why?

Staying on Track 25

2008-02-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

Quarter 3 Week 6

This week you should start Unit 6 about state and local government...

Well...

That or keep working on the Many Voices for Darfur project. Yeah, I'd really rather that you were doing that. Why? Well, first the project rocks. Second, you'll take care of the Unit 5 and Unit 7 projects at the same time and third, um, the project rocks. If you're interested let me know and I'll send you an invite to the group part of the projects.

Staying on Track Week 24

2008-02-17T20:04:00.000-08:00

Quarter 3 - Week 5

If you're doing the Unit 5 project on influencing government you should be done with it by the end of this week. What do you mean, "if", Mr. Moses? Well, you can not do this project and the Unit 7 project if you get involved in another project that's going on right now.

This project is called Many Voices for Darfur. You can learn a little about it at that link. There are some other things that you'll need to do for this class, and to get credit for the Unit 5 and Unit 7 projects. Let me know if you're interested and I'll get you going.

In other news: Only 11 more weeks until graduation.

Staying on Track Week 23

2008-02-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

Quarter 3 - Week 4

This week you should continue to work the Unit 5 project. Right now you should have either set up your interest group (like Shayla has, and she's looking for people to work with if you want to work with someone) or you should join an interest group.

Blogball points if you know 1) What this means in English and 2) If you can tell me what's going on in this picture and what it has to do with interest groups and 3) If you can tie it all in to people your age getting involved

If you're not up to this point, get there as soon as you can. If you see:

0 pls do

in the grade book, then, um... please do that assignment. If you need it reset send me an email and I'll take care of that for you.

There's going to be two posts, very soon, about a new project for this class (that will take care of unit 7) and an alternative to the Unit 5 project (in case you're not digging it).

Only 13 more weeks until graduation.

Barack Obama

2008-02-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

Have you all picked your 2008 Candidates? I think I like Barack Obama for President this term. I usually side with republicans, but none of them caught my attention. Barack Obama on the other hand, seems to be well educated, confident, rational, and friendly. He was Senator of Illinois, serving his term, starting 2004.

Barack Obama would like to implement Universal Health care, by 2008, which would provide anyone, and everyone with health care, regardless of ability to pay. He differs from me, when it comes to the Iraqi war, which is probably the only thing we greatly disagree on. He wants to implement a plan to pull out troops as soon as possible. Civil Rights are very important to Obama, and he is working to try and equalize wages for men and woman, of every race.

I would normally consider myself a Republican, but it seems this term, their are no good Republicans, in my opinion of course. Barack Obama seems to be the best choice, to a bad bunch. Not to say they are all bad, but none of them particularly agree with my views 100%. The Democrats seem to have two great candidates though. Hilary Clinton, (who I am actually against 100%), and Barack Obama.

This election I, as many of you, will be old enough to vote. I'm not 100% sure about who my vote will go to, but I am 100% sure about the fact that I am voting. Are you going to help make a difference too?

Staying on Track Week 22

2008-02-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

Woah, I just realized it's the 22nd week of school. Man, that means there's only 14 weeks of school left. That's it, just 14 weeks. Crazy.

This week you need to start your Unit 5 project.

This project is about getting the government to do what you want it to do. Really. You can do this. I'm not kidding. You can get our government to do what you, (yes, you), want it to do.

With that said, check out the project, if you've got something else in mind let me know and we can go that way too.

Alright, so get to it. I'm not asking for too much. Just for you to take over the world. Let me know what I can do to help. :)

Ning Network (Bush's "Real" State of the Union 2008) Video Response

2008-01-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

I have embedded a video onto my page in the American Government Ning Network.

I think the video is amusing! Please, watch the video, then give a response/comment to the comment link below.

Any one say, "Blog points for Caleb." ;)

Posted Wednesday, January 30, 2008 by Caleb.

Welcome Back!

2008-01-28T15:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to a new quarter, and a new semester! Hope everyone did well!
I know it's been awile since I posted, and I apologize. I will hopefully be posting more
frequently now. Good luck with the new Semester!

Afro!
=]

Unit 4 Project Example

2008-01-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a good one, in case you want to see one:

Great job, Nicole. :)

American Government - Class Blog

2008-01-22T13:06:00.001-08:00

Martin Luther King Jr, Research -2008- PPP

From: See, 27 minutes ago

| View | Upload your own

This presentation was created on Monday, January 21, 2008 (Martin Luther King Day).
It contains a history of the Kings' family, interesting word definitions, interesting facts, a few words and sources.

SlideShare Link

Staying on Track Week 20

2008-01-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

Quarter 3 Week 1

Sorry about skipping last week. Not a great explanation or anything, just didn't happen. Busy with the end of the semester, just like you guys.

So, right now you should have Units 1 - 4 complete for your class. If you don't, no big deal. You should probably get in touch with me to make sure that every thing's in-line for your graduation. You know, not passing this class would sort of wreck the whole graduation thing, so how about not letting that happen.

In other news, you should start working on Unit 5 this week. It's about how people influence our government. Most importantly it's about how you can influence our government. Really. You can do it. Not kidding. These dudes, had some ideas about how to do that:

Blogball points for identifying the people in the photo

That's about it. I think we're going to spend four weeks on this unit, so you should complete the Review and the Lecture this week. That'll give you three weeks to work on the project.

That's about it. Let me know what I can do for you.

New Hampshire Primary

2008-01-09T07:03:00.000-08:00

Anybody stay up and watch the primary results last night? No. Well:

Clinton and McCain. Who saw that coming? Anyone? Thoughts?

Staying on Track Week 18

2008-01-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Quarter 2 Week 9

Yes. That's right. It's almost the end of the first semester. The last day of the semester is the 18th. Of January. That's in, like. two weeks. Woah!

You need to have all of the work done from Units 1 - 4. If you need any help with in of it, or if there's anything you'd like to discuss please let me know.

Also, 20% time students. Please stop by some time in the next two weeks to show me what you've been doing with your 20% time. If you don't know what 20% time is, put a comment in the class blog and we'll go from there.

Finish off this semester strong and let me know what I can do to help.

While I have you here, any thoughts on Obama or Huckabee?

Staying on Track Week 17

2007-12-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

Quarter 2 Week 8

It's the week before Winter Break. With that in mind:

It's also time for you to start your Unit 4 project about civil liberties. Think about what hip-hop has done for you and your civil liberties. Seriously. You don't have to dig the music, but lots of court cases over what can and can't be said on the radio have come about because of late 80s rap. Not to mention all of the cases of sampling other people's music. Yes, all of this has something to do with your civil liberties.

Keep that in mind as you enjoy one of your other major civil liberties, in the way you celebrate the holidays.

Have a good, and safe, holiday season. If there's anything I can do for you let me know. :)

Peace on Earth.

Another Great Unit 3 Project

2007-12-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

Click the image to go to the presentation

Check out this project that Brittany and Jarred worked on together. They completed it using the Presentation part of our Odyssey Google Docs. Awesome.

Staying on Track Week 16

2007-12-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

Quarter 2 Week 7

This week, you need to complete the lecture assignment for Unit 4. You can find it here.

By the way, I'll give you 10 extra points if you use the Odyssey Google Docs to complete this assignment. What! 10 points on a 40 point assignment, are you serious. Oh yeah? I'm serious.

But, Mr. Moses, I don't know how to use the Odyssey Google Docs. Check out this video. Check. It. Out.

A Second Unit 3 Example - Great Job, Caleb B.

2007-12-03T18:34:00.000-08:00

Download a larger version here.

Staying on Track Week 15

2007-12-02T20:08:00.000-08:00

Quarter 2 Week 6

It's time to start learning about your civil liberties. We're going to do that in two ways. First we're going to look at citizenship and what it means to be a citizen and second we're going to look at the rights you have for your friend and mine, the United States Constitution.

Before you get too deep into that though, take a moment to review Unit 3. Remember that it was about the three branches of government and you should have learned these things from the unit:

Students will identify the roles of the three branches of government and explain how their powers are distributed and shared.
Students will analyze how various forms of government function in different situations.
Students will demonstrate effective teamwork in school, community, and workplace.
Students will demonstrate skills that improve team effectiveness (e.g., negotiation, compromise, consensus building, conflict management, shared decision-making and goal setting).
Students will identify different types of teams and roles within each type of team, describe why each role is important to effective teamwork.

So, go complete the 13 Unit 4 - Review Assignment. Let me know what I can do to help.

Step-Up Your Vocab and Feed the World

2007-11-29T10:59:00.001-08:00

and help feed the world

click the image and go

If you've got an idea how we can work this into the class, for points, say so in the comments.

Staying on Track Week 14

2007-11-25T21:01:00.000-08:00

It's time to finish your Unit 3 project. Remember that this project is all about teamwork and how our government has to work together to get anything done. Did you decide to work with anyone else on this project? It's kind of odd that you can complete a project about teamwork without having to do any, no? Oh, well.

Let me know what you think about working in groups in this school. Is it something that you'd like to do or something that you'd rather not deal with. (blogball points anyone?)

Recruiting for Recycling

2007-11-21T11:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I had another Idea to gain support for this whole recycling idea I'm trying to push. I've Ok'd it with Mr. Moses, so here it is. I think a great way to gain support would be a petition. Try and get as many people as possible from the school to sign it, and then hand it back to Mr. Moses. So here's what I need. About two people from each class day to volunteer to take the paper around through the different classes, and get it signed by as many students as possible. I'll take care of teachers. I can also take care of Monday PM, since it's my class day. I would like to get about eight more people, for the different days and times. Thats Monday AM, Tuesday AM, Tuesday PM, and so on.

ALSO, I think Mr. Moses said something about extra credit for helping out with this, but he'll have to explain that part.Anyways, please leave a comment here if your interested!

A new cartoon!

2007-11-19T12:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a cartoon for you blog readers to ponder about over this short school week.

When I first read this cartoon, it took me a couple of minutes to get it. I now realize the humor in it. Doesn't it seem that ever since Al Gore came on to the scene talking about things like global warming and problems with nature, that it's now a big deal? People are only starting to realize things that other people have been talking about for years. Why did it it take Al Gore to make our society take a second look? I have no bad feelings toward Al Gore and what he's raising awareness for, but why does it take someone with a big name to raise awareness for such a cause? Makes you think about our society, doesn't it?

This cartoon was created by Mike Lester of Rome News Tribune, Rome, GA.

PowerPoint Help

2007-11-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

Lots of students have been taking the offer to do their unit projects in PowerPoint. Those that have, have done a great job. I want to help each of you create presentations that will knock people's socks off and avoid this situation:

toothpastefordinner.com

I offer you this PowerPoint to give you guidance.

Staying on Track Week 13

2007-11-18T20:23:00.000-08:00

Quarter 2 - Week 4

Veteran's Day followed by Thanksgiving, I love November!

This week you need to work on Part 2 of your project Unit 3 project.

This part of your project can be a little confusing, so check this out...

Start with each branch of the government and then decide who the most important two are three people are. List their names and what they do in their branch. The explain what each of these people do to make our government work. Explain how they do what they do.

Happy Thanksgiving, guys. :)

Mitt Romney and his New Christian Friends!

2007-11-14T14:34:00.000-08:00

Mitt Romney Republican Presidential Hopeful, has found support in an unlikely place. Bob Jones University, teaches that the Mormon Church is a cult, but it seems the University, and it's leaders, such as Bob Jones III (University Founders Grandson), and Robert Taylor, a Top Dean at the University, have put there faith in Romney as a President. Also he has gained the support of Don Wilton, the past president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention and pastor of a nearby megachurch, as well as Dr. John Willke, a founder and past president of the National Right to Life Committee. Altogether, it seems that, while some disagree with the tenets of his Mormon faith, some have decided to support Romney in his quest for Presidency.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21451031/

Unit 3 Project Example - Good Work, Chris F.

2007-11-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

Here's a great example of a complete Unit 3 project.

A little too small for you to read? Download the PowerPoint here.

Staying on Track Week 12

2007-11-12T11:37:00.000-08:00

Quarter 2 Week 3

Happy Veteran's Day! If you know anyone that's been in the military tell them thanks for getting you the day off, er, I mean joining the service. Seriously, thanks.

Warning, factoid ahead. Veterans day happens on 11/11 every year because 11/11/11 was the day that World War One (you know "The War to End All Wars") ended.

Points for commenting on who this is.

Alright, on to this class. It's time to start the Unit 3 project. This project is about the three branches of government and how they all have to work together to get anything done. By doing this project you'll learn how people on opposite teams have to work together, why our government is soooooooo slow at getting anything done (and why this may be a good thing), and what it takes to get anything done for our nation.

This week take a look at the Project Introduction and complete Part 1.

Part 1's all about who's who in our government and where the powers are. It's not tough. You just have to go find information. If you need any help let me know. :)

Staying on Track 11

2007-11-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Quarter 2 Week 2

This unit is all about teamwork and how our government has to work together to get anything done. This week you need to complete the Unit 3 Lesson 3 assignment. Before you get there there's a game for you to play on the introduction page.

That's about it. Make sure you check out the bookmarks for this Unit. There's a lot of information there that will help you complete the assignment.

Next week we are going to start the project for this unit, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll tell you about that next week.

Computers Hate Me Week

2007-11-01T15:19:00.001-07:00

Hi Guys,

The class blog is down, apparently, for a little while. Sorry for the test posts. Class bloggers, hang tight I'll have a solution as soon as I can.

Oh! and YouTube hates me this week too. Either I can't connect to the server to make my video or the audio all comes out like white noise.

Fun!

Blogged with Flock

More Extra Credit Points Than You Can Imagine

2007-10-30T14:46:00.000-07:00

Hey. Hey! Heeeeeeyyyyy!

Check this out:

YouTube/CNN Republican Debates

If you submit a question I'll hook you up with some serious extra credit. If your question ends up on the air... well, that's where the more points than you can possibly imagine comes in.

If you're interested and don't know how let me know and I'll help you ask a question to our Republican presidential hopefuls on YouTube.

Get in on this.

Staying on Track Week 10

2007-10-30T07:15:00.000-07:00

Quarter 2 Week 1

One quarter down, three to go.

It's time to start working on Unit 3. It's about the three branches of government. The project for this unit is my least favorite of the year. This means a couple of things 1) I need to rework this project and 2) If there's something that you'd rather do to show me that you can do the objectives for this unit let me know and I'll let you do that instead.

Also, you notice that things are a little different in eCollege. When you click on Unit 3 only the assignments show up in the left-hand navigation bar:

So, where's the work?

.

This week please complete the Unit 3 Review Assignment. It's a review of Unit 2. Let me know what I can do to help. :)

Cartoons delivered weekly!

2007-10-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a cartoon for you this week. These cartoons are proving to be tough to resize. So, I'll be posting links when using this website.

Ugg for President!

What are your guys thoughts on the cartoon? To me, it symbolizes what the Republicans want to hear and what it seems they're looking for.

Staying on Track Week 9

2007-10-22T07:16:00.001-07:00

Quarter 1 Week 9

This week you should complete parts 4 and 5 of your Unit 2 project. And that's it. That'll wrap up the first quarter for you. There's only 28 weeks until graduation. Neat.

Unit 2 - Project Option

2007-10-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little late to be throwing out another project option, but I saw this yesterday:

22nd Amendment from Andrew Sloat on Vimeo.

and If you're not digging the Unit 2 project you could pick one of the amendments and make a visual essay about it like this. If you're interested let me know and I'll help you make it happen.

A new cartoon!

2007-10-14T23:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of cartoons! I've been a little busy recently. Senior year can be a little tiring. Anyways, here's the cartoon. More to hopefully come this week. :]

This week, I'm providing a link due to my photoshop not working. Cartoon itself will be up soon!

Green Bombs

Staying on Track Week 8

2007-10-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

Quarter 1 - Week 8

It's the eighth week of the quarter. Man, we've been in school for two months already. Seeing as you're a Senior that means that you only have seven months of high school left. Seven months and it's all done. Seven. That's it. All done.

Before you get there, there's a few last hoops to jump through. For example, this week you should be working on Part 3 of your Unit 2 project:

Lesson 8: Unit 2 Project - Part 3: The Amendment Process

Now that you know what problem you're trying to solve you're going to try to add that sucker to the Constitution. There's only two ways to do this. You should have learned that from the Lecture page, but if you missed it check out this link: Amending the Constitution @ About.com

And, that's it. That's what you should be working on this week. If you need more time to work on this project make sure you stop by and see me this week or by Wednesday next week. If you worked on the class blog or class network stop by too. You guys are getting points for doing that. I want to talk about how much. If you want to get in on the class blog, let me know. If you haven't joined the class network send me an email and let me know you'd like an invite.

There's a big announcement going to go up in the class network next week. Keep an eye out for it.

Candidates + Issues Matrix

2007-10-10T05:28:00.000-07:00

I found this interactive site that allows you to view the issues and then rate the candidates on msnbc.com. It also shows you what other people’s ratings are.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21116732/

Mitt Romney - Answer the Question!

2007-10-10T05:16:00.000-07:00

The legalization of medical marijuana has been a hot topic in the past. Recently Mitt Romney was asked if he would arrest someone who used medical marijuana. While he did say that he did not support it, he never directly answered the question. While some believe that the guy in the wheelchair was a political plant (and the subsequent conversation was placed on You-Tube for all to see), the candidate should have answered the question.

Whether or not Mitt supports the legalization of marijuana will not determine if I vote for him. However, his inability to answer a question posed to him by a voter is ridiculous. In my opinion he has shown that if he doesn’t like or agree with the question being asked, he will just ignore it. Does this foreshadow how he will behave if he is elected to President?

New Recycle Bin

2007-10-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

Odyssey allready has recylce bins, but how many of you students know about them? And for any of you who do, how many of you actualluy USE them? Not many. Odyssey uses a TON of paper each day. Infact the highschool office alone orders 30 reams of paper every rwo weeks. One ream holds 500 sheets of paper, that is on average, thrown away only hours after being printed. Thats 15,000 sheets of paper being thrown away, wasted, never to be used again.

Not only the amount of paper, but the cost! One ream of paper cost $2.70. The school records that on average $165 dollars a month is spent on paper alone, that usually goes to waste. And thats ONLY white paper. Another $30-$40 dollars is spent on colored paper each month. And like I said, thats the highschool office alone. The K-8 office spends almost DOUBLE that amount on white paper alone.

So what if, instead of recycle bins being in places that students don't normally go, the school placed one in each classroom, including the learning lab. It would be way more excessible for students, and much easier then searching for one of the "hidden" bins. Kids would find recycling paper, easy as throwing it away.

Still not convinced? What's in it for you? What if there was some type of reward? What can go wrong with that? Maybe have each class compete to see who can recycle the most, and offer the winning class a pizza party. OR maybe set a school wide goal to recycle a certain amount of paper, and the WHOLE school gets a pizza party!

No matter how you look at it, everyone wins. The school gets money back, we get free food, AND most importantly,we're helping the enviorment as we're doing all this.

So, what do you guys think? Let me know! I've already talked to administration about this idea, and so far, I've had nothing but good feedback! If we can get enough support, we could see this happening as soon as next semester! So let me know!

Again, thanks for taking the time to read!
James!

Staying on Track Week 7

2007-10-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

Quarter 1 Week 7

This week you should be working on the second part of your Unit 2 project. For this part of your project your are going to do two things:

1) Identify (come up with) a problem that you'd like to solve. I think that you'll have a better time with this project if you pick something from your life, but if you want to go with something else you can.

2) Analyze (take a close look at) the problem. Explain both sides of your problem.

After that, it's your job to sell your issue to other people.

You need to explain why this is a problem and why other people should care about it. This is a great place in your project to put in some pictures, some charts and graphs, some videos from places like YouTube, or for you to make something that tells other people that this is problem and why they should get involved in solving it.

So, that's this week. Let me know what I can do to help. :)

Looking for a Candidate

2007-10-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for someone to vote for, for president?

Yeah?

Me too.

Select a Candidate 2008

Please use the comments section if you have questions about any of the question. Big bonus points for asking questions about the questions.

Bigger bonus points for guessing who my candidate was (you'll never guess. NEVER).

For more information about candidates see this post from Afroman and there's another great post in the Class Network forum from Caleb.

Staying on Track Week 6

2007-09-30T21:11:00.001-07:00

Quarter 1 Week 6

It's time to start your Unit 2 Project. This project is about adding amendments to the Constitution, sort-of. I mean, it's not that difficult to learn about adding amendments to the Constitution. There's only two ways to do it. Here check it out:

Amending the Constitution

Really this project is about solving problems. You should know by now each of the amendments solves a problem that our nation was facing. Now it's your turn to try to solve a problem in your life by adding it to the Constitution.

A few last things to keep in mind. Be creative. If you're looking for some fun, and creative ways to complete your project check this out.

If you're looking for other people to work with, join the Class Network. Let me know if you need an invite. I'll send one your way.

Please have some fun with this project. Go after an interesting problem. Create a crazy project dealing with a problem. It's important to remember that creativity counts in this class.

As always let me know what I can do to help.

Oh, and bonus points for anyone who comments about what's going on in the picture at top of this post.

Mr. Moses - On the World's Smallest Politcal Quiz

2007-09-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

You should (should don't have to but should) have the assignment dealing with the World's Smallest Political Quiz done by now. In case you were wondering where I scored:

Any surprises there?

What's this mean for me when it comes time to vote?

If you'll notice the little dot is to left and to the top. It means I have a hard time finding candidates to represent what I believe in.

Why's that?

The people to left (Democrats) don't match real well with the people to the top (libertarian). You see, Democrats want the government to be more involved in your life by providing support for citizens, etc. That goes well with the down (statist) part of the spectrum, just like the right (Republican) goes well with the top.

What I am to do when it comes time to vote?

I have to look at each candidate carefully and the usually end up settling for the one that's closest to what I believe. It's not easy, let me tell you. :)

State Senator Chambers vs. God

2007-09-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

You know those wacky lawsuits where the person at fault actually sues the victim, and wins? Like that one where the robber breaks into a house, gets locked in for eight days, and then sues the person who lived there! Or the one where the woman sues a furniture store after tripping over her OWN SON, and breaking her ankle. People have been making all kinds of crazy accusations, taking them to court and ACTUALLY winning, like the two people above for a long time now.

But what about suing God? Do you think anyone could actually get away with it? Would a court who rules so often against God, observe him in court as someone tries to sue God? One State Senator in Oklahoma is trying to point out how frivolous the court system is, by actually SUING God. He's filed all the necessary paperwork, and has recognized in the paperwork that God is omnipresent, and even though he won't be in court, he will be knowledgeable of all court proceedings.

He’s filed against God in court for various catastrophic activities in which God has caused, resulting in mass deaths, and continuously making terrorist threats against the world. Ernie Chambers, the State Senator states that he has tried to contact God on several occasions, without any response. Chambers is seeking a permanent injunction in which the court is to order God to cease certain harmful activities.

Remember, Senator Chambers is just trying to make a point that there are certain types of lawsuits that should not be allowed in court. He’s even introduced a few bills prohibiting certain types of lawsuits, his main objection being that the constitution says the courts should be open to all, which means anyone can sue anyone, even God.

So what do you think? The suit is still in process, so there’s no outcome yet. What do you think the outcome will be?

I’ll report back on this story, when there’s more information. Thanks for reading guys!
James

Cartoon 2

2007-09-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

This weeks cartoon is once again brought to you by Toothpaste For Dinner. (I'm going to try my hardest not to over use this website!) Have you ever had someone come up to you and try to explain some crazy reason on how the Government is trying to control you? Or how the Government has some big inside job with tracking devices in our vegetables? Well, ladies and gentleman, welcome to the world of conspiracy theorists. The chances are, you've seen it somewhere. Whether you saw it in a movie, or your friend has some crazy conspiracy, they're everywhere. So, this weeks cartoon is dealing with just that. :] Enjoy!

Unit 2 Lesson 4 - Assignment Help

2007-09-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

Watch the video. Send me your questions.

Staying on Track Week 5

2007-09-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Quarter 1 Week 5

It's time to start Unit 2. Which means that it's time to start thinking about government. I know that this sounds backwards, but go check out the project for this unit. Do it. Right now.

Alright, I'm glad you're back. You may have noticed that the project is about adding an amendment to the Constitution. Really though it's about solving problems.

So, before you start doing the work for this week start thinking about some problems (some things that bug you to death) that you would like to see fixed. Next week you'll get to start solving that problem.

For this week there are three assignments that you need to do:

1) 06 Unit 2 - Review Assignment (which is a quick review of Unit 1)...

2) 07 Unit 2 - Lesson 3: Assignment (which will help you get some ideas about your politics) and...

3) 08 Unit 2 - Lesson 4: Assignment

A quick word about the "08 Unit 2 - Lesson 4: Assignment".

This is the first real government assignment for this class. You're going to need to watch the videos, do the readings, and ask me questions. The questions you need to answer for the assignment will require you to make some leaps. Remember that I am here to help you. Also, I'm going to post a video for help with the questions on Monday. Keep an eye out for that.

Two things to remember while you work on this unit:

1) Creativity counts, a lot, in this class.

2) This unit is really just about solving problems.

Keep these two things in mind over the next five weeks.

The Candidates 2008

2007-09-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

I was watching the Democratic Debate in Iowa. Although I may not be old enough to vote now, I will be before I graduate and I sat down to watch what the issues would be about when I go to vote for the President of the United States.

While watching, I saw the difference between simplicity and complexity. But when yo listen to what they say rather than just hear it, can you really say you understand what they're saying? I mean, for me, I was surprised at hearing some of their statments. The Senator of New York, Hillary Clinton, was standing on a strong, sturdy platform that was out there and open. She seemed to target the things that seem to matter most. And she made a great statement about her view on the Iraqi war that I could really agree with for more tha one reason. But she's probably going to be the first female representitive to the whole world for the United States. She may take my vote if I were to vote soon.

And then there is the Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson. Although he made strong statements, some of the time, he seemed to be thinking of what he was saying RIGHT when he's saying it, rather than before opening his mouth. I may be just blabbering away about something simple, but if you have to say something, you should think about something good to say. But Richardson could've taken my vote if he didn't make an irrational statement as taking "ALL" the American troops from Iraq. However, he still stood strong on his platform that he was building himself upon. He should make it very far, maybe even farthur than Clinton may make it. But he's still got a ways to go.

John Edwards, former Senator of North Carolina, was a terrific man in the words he spoke, but he often ignored others who were asking him to slow down and let other's take their turn. All of the things he said make perfect sense if you perfer the way one can think. Edwards and Clinton seem to be on the same platform in more ways than one, even if they are from different genders and she may make it farther than him, I think he'll go far and make us wonder.

Christopher Dodd could be the violent peacekeeper that we all don't want. He comes to the debate with a feirce fire to end a war, to bring people together, and to become the persona of something that's strong enough to "cease" the fire. I may be wrong about him, just like I may be wrong about everyone else that's representing the Democrats. Dodd has done more than just speak, he's also shown that he wants to end something violent with more force by saying, not exactly, but same meaning, "We have to end this war." I think that everyone might agree with what they believe, but I think he's just a violent peacekeeper.

Joe Biden may be the only one with a great sense of humor for a guy running for the hardest position in the United States. He may reign from Delaware, but I'm sure that he's got a good head on his shoulders and a good way to just put his feet up and relax. Biden and Dodd seem to agree that he's got a sense of humor, as they laugh about it. Biden also wants to do things with a straigh thought and a clearer head. Even if an option is presented, I believe Biden will be able to overcome the opposition of any doubt about an option that may be presented.

The one thing I want everyone to know is; you can push our government in the direction you want. This is my voice, my feeble little voice, that I don't think will reach all the way out there into the public eye, but I do believe that whomever the next president is, they won't be laughed at like President Bill Clinton was, with the whole "Impeach Clinton and her husband" bumpersticker madness. We should just agree to disagree sometimes, you know? Anyways, I was watching debates and decided to make my voice be heard.

Cartoons in Government!

2007-09-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

Yep, you've read that title just right.

I'm Brittany and I'll be your cartoon gal! I've picked up the duty of cartoons for a couple of reasons. My main reason being that there is a humorous side to American Government. Everywhere you turn, someone is making some kind of political joke and I'll be that person. I've always loved learning about Government and found that a cartoon or joke had always made it a little more fun!

I hope everyone will enjoy the cartoons in some way! :]

My first cartoon is from Toothpaste For Dinner. A website I'm very fond of. The cartoon deals with Ralph Nader who has tried to run for President of the United States three times. He is a democrat and has found organizations such as Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA). Nader is big with the Green Party, and has never successfully won the role of President.

Staying on Track Week 4

2007-09-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

Quarter 1 Week 4

We're starting to get to the heart of this class. This week you need to finish your Unit 1 Project. Next week unsats go out and if you don't have the Unit 1 Project complete you'll be getting one of those.

But Mr. Moses, you said that there aren't really any due-dates or deadlines for your class. What gives?

Well, there are some things that I have to do because we're still a pretty normal school. One of those things is send out unsats. If you get an unsat it doesn't mean that you can't still do the Unit 1 Project.

Dude, I just got in this class sending home an unsats pretty harsh.

Yeah I know. There are lots of students who have just joined the class. If you're really worried about getting and unsat you can take care of the first unit in just a few days. How do I know? Because there are lots of students already working on Unit 2. Again though, even if you get an unsat you can still do any of the work that's in the grade book to get a great quarter grade.

Here's what you need to do to not get an unsat:

Complete the Unit 1 Project by the end of this week. It's all about you and I know you like talking about you. So go get it. Let me know what I can do to help. :)

Obama on the 10 Commandments

2007-09-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. I was watching Democrat Hillary Clinton get grilled by Bill Maher today, and saw an interesting video. Check out this link, and watch Barack Obama's response to Bill Maher's question on the 10 commandments. Now, I'm usually on the Republican side, but I think it's good to look at every party running to be our next President. Anyways, heres the link.

http://debates.news.yahoo.com/

Click on Obama's face, then click on the video feed from Bill Maher, and click play.

Let me know what you guys think!!!!!

Current Events

2007-09-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

My name is Shayla. I'm sure no one knows me.... yet!
I've chosen to write about current events in this blog because I think it's awesome to keep up. Most of my information will be coming from TIME, CNN (although I'm not a big fan of CNN), RJ [Review Journal], and anything local or national. I want to have some up-to-date information for the whole class...
So, when I get around to it, I'll be sure to find something unique for you all to digest as of the new news! In the mean time, this is just me saying "HEY!" in the Class Blog.

Christianity in the Government

2007-09-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Post in the class blog do not, necessarily, reflect the view point of Odyssey Charter Schools or Mr. Moses. The Class Blog is open to opposing points of view. If you'd like to blog about the other side of this issue please let me know. :) -Mr. Moses

Hi guys! For those of you who don't know, my name is James. For those of you who do...What's up!

I'll be covering Christianity in the Government for this year. I know some of you, or a lot of you may not be Christian, or may be of a different religion, and so I would love to hear feedback from any of you on any of my upcoming blogs! Just for reference, I am a Christian, and have been for the last two years or so. But I hope to keep a more philosophical, and historical approach to my blogs. I will try to keep my biases to a minimum, and I will do my best to respect all choices in personal belief when it comes to religion, or for many of you, non-religion.

Some of you may not know this, but religion is a huge part of the government! For the past years, there have been tons of arguments in the government, over things such as God being apart of the pledge of allegiance, the word "God" being on money, and God being in school.

I hope to report on these and many other current events on this subject, and to hear your guy's feedback. Your feedback is important to me, because this is our country. It isn't the government that decides what name is in the pledge of allegiance, it's YOU!

I look forward to the rest of this year, and hope to meet some you guy's as well throughout this upcoming year. Feel free to add me on OCHS Network, if you haven't already!

Political Leanings May Be in Your Head

2007-09-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

From ABC news

Political Leanings May Be in Your Head

You may be a Republican or a Democrat because of how your brain works. Cool.

The Up Comming Primaries

2007-09-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

Cross posted in the Class Network (send me an email for an invite if you're not part of it already)

Alright everybody, its time to talk politics. My name is Caleb and I will be covering "The upcoming primaries" topic.

Primaries and Caucus are two terms everybody should know in this network.
Primaries : is a preliminary election in which people nominate candidates for their party to run for an office.

Caucus : is a meeting of party leaders to select candidates they wish to run for an office.

This year the date set to chose the candidates to run for each party (Rep. and Dem.) is scheduled earlier than ever. This is heating things up in the political realm, because candidates are trying get their message out, but are running short on time. This years set dates are for February, 6 months earlier than usual in August.

That it for now, but I post more later. Someone should step up and take another topic. I sent a friend invitation to everyone, so make sure you check it out.

Staying on Track Week 3

2007-09-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

Quarter 1 Week 3

It's time to get going on your "About Me" project. You have two full weeks to work on this project, so I'm expecting you to dazzle me. That's right, dazzle.

This week you should work on

Part 1
Part 2

of your Unit 1 project. This will give you plenty of time next week to do the other two parts and put the whole thing together.

Please remember that all of the projects for this class are Groupwork Positive meaning that you can work in groups if you want to. If you'd like to meet other people who want to work in groups for this class check out the Class Network (if you don't have an invite let me know and I'll send you one).

Have a great week and let me know what I can do to help along the way.

New Republican Candidate

2007-09-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

Did anyone watch the Republican debates last night? Yeah, me neither. In other news, there's a new Republican presidential candidate:

Fred Thompson.

It feels like he's got a good shot at being your next president.

If you know anything about this guy please post it in the comments. If you want to blog about the Republican candidates for president send an email to gmoses@odysseyk12.org and you can put your thoughts right here on the class blog.

Looking for Class Bloggers and Staying on Track Week 2

2007-09-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

Quarter 1 Week 2

Because this is a class blog I am looking for people interested in putting posts up.

I would love it if some of you would be willing to cover the following topics for the class:

The Upcoming Primaries
The Democratic Presidential Candidates
The Republican Presidential Candidates
Independent Presidential Candidates
Current Events

If you have another topic that applies to this class and you'd like to cover it let me know.

I know what you're thinking, "Moses, I've got a bunch of other work that I need to do for your class and you want me to be a blogger on top of that?". The answers is, well sort of.

If you choose to be a class blogger at the end of each quarter I'll discuss with you what your grade should be, regardless of what the grade book says. This means that if you're a class blogger you can negotiate for a grade much higher than the one in the grade book!

Even if you've never blogged before, maybe especially if you've never blogged before , I want you to take part in this project. I will teach you what you need to know about blogging.

If you're interested send an email to me at: gmoses@odysseyk12.org

Assignments for This Week

01 Unit 1 - Lesson 2: Assignment
02 Unit 1 - Lesson 3: Assignment
03 Unit 1 - Lesson 4: Assignment
04 Unit 1 - Lesson 5: Assignment

When You Get to Unit 3

2007-08-31T14:11:00.000-07:00

When you get to Unit 3 you're going to think this is so funny:

Welcome Back - Staying on Track Week 1

2007-08-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

Quarter 1 Week 1

Welcome back! Well, this has been quite a summer for me. I've grown up to be an assistant principal, but I've still got one foot in the teacher pool. How can you tell? I'm your government teacher and your assistant principal. That's about it for the big news over the summer, because I worked as an assistant principal all summer and I don't want to bore you with the details of that. And it would bore you. I promise.

I'm excited to be teaching this year. This class will be as much fun as you let it be. Here's the promise that I'll make you: I'm going to have a blast.

This Week's Assignment

Here's what you need to do to stay on track this week:

Look at all of the information under the Course Home button in eCollege
Complete the Week 1 Assignment

How's this Class Different?

2007-08-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hey, Mr. Moses! I came to this school because I was looking for something different. How's this class different? Well...