Week 2 Reminders

Reminders to all classes:

If you have any questions about ANYTHING and I mean anything, school or life related do not hesitate to ask me. I was a 9th grader once, and it was not that long ago. I will be more than happy to help you out in anyway that I can.

Your 3 paragraph reflections are due Tuesday, in one of three formats: email to thewis@augsburg.edu; post to this blog or turn in a hard copy.

4th Hour: Hours 5 and 6 convinced me to have all homework due on Tuesdays. I agreed. If you are in 4th hour and are reading this feel free to hand in your reflection on Tuesday with out penalty.

5th and 6th Hour: Your Lucy reading with questions (you should have 7 total, 5 from the reading and 2 extra from me) and your reflections are due on Tuesday.

If you would like to bring in music for the class to listen throughout the class period let me know and bring in a cd so I can listen to it.

We will begin Monday with some tunes and time to finish up your "back to the present" work time.

Yay for the weekend.

Dan

Week 2 Highlights

Greetings All!

We are at the end of week 2 here are the highlights:

Monday: No School!

Tuesday: We discussed the meanings of History, how it is personal and how it is always changing due to new information, and how our personal view points (lenses) shape how we interpret events or history. (For further reading I have a book in the room titled "the Historians Craft" it was written by Marc Bloch while he was in prison for taking part in the French resistance. He does a nice job discussing the "many uses of History.")

Wednesday: Survivor! Groups of 4 took on the task of surviving on a deserted island with some rope a pocket knife and a garbage bag. All group members had to survive for a month. Most groups found that meeting human needs of food, water and shelter were the priorities. They also found that team work and staying near the water source were important. Hunting and gathering were the most common means of survival. While some groups chose to be nomadic and follow the food, other chose to stay near the water source.

The purpose of the Island Survival was simulate how our ancestors may have survived. As we found out in the History of the world in Seven Minutes video, hunting and gathering works once it is perfected. As we move through next week and look deeper into our past, keep this activity in mind.

Thursday was the Media Center Orientation. Anyone that was absent that would like to know how to use their student email, Google docs account or how to check their grades online let me know.

Friday: Lucy!! Today we had a Lucy themed day. We listened to "Lucy in the sky with Diamonds" by the Beatles. (song is named after a drawing done by John Lennon's son Julian)

We also viewed a clip from "I Love Lucy" just for fun. Our main purpose on this day was to 1. experience the exhausting work it takes to be an anthropologists working to discover information about our past through watching the video, reading the handout and working on the "back to the present" activity. We will wrap up the "back to the present" activity on Monday. I hope that will pull the video and the reading into perspective for everyone.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or comments.

I think that is all for now. Cheers!

Dan

Extra Questions for Lucy reading

You may pick 2 of the 3 to answer.

1. What is the significance of Lucy?

2. What skills would you need to dig up and piece together a skeleton like Lucy?

3. What can we learn about Lucy's culture from her bones?

What is History discussion wrap up

On Tuesday the 7th we started our discussion reflecting on the question "What does history mean to you?" There were alot of fantastic reflections on this topic, I however never did share what history means to me, I will do that now. History to me is the discovery of "the others" We discussed in class that history has been mostly written by the winners, mostly white men. Because rich victorious white men have written alot of history, most of what we know is about rich victorious white men. I do not like that, I do not care about the history of rich victorious white men, I am very curious about the others.
A phrase I like to use is "history from the bottom up." This means that instead of studying the stories of kings and queens, we would look at the stories of peasants and serfs. I think we can learn so much more about a society or an ancient civilization by studying the people that make that society or civilization run. Of course studying the poor or middle class poses a problem in that until recently, historians did not care about recording their stories, so our sources are limited.
That is one answer that I have. Another answer is to provide an understanding. By studying history from the bottom up, I can provide a better understanding of my purpose, my reason for being. Not only do I better understand my purpose, I can understand the lens through which I interpret everyday events, I can also better understand my involvement and interaction with others. Long story short, I believe that your interpretation of the past, does effect how you act today and tomorrow.