Bienvenidos & Basics! (9-8 & 9-10)

Weirdness, I know. I think we'll all feel "off" for quite a bit (forever?) this academic year. While I know about 20% of you, and know of probably another 25%-30%, that still leaves at least half you as new to me. Getting to know someone via GMeet in a class with others will be difficult (& awkward?). But we'll do our best, right?!?!

For our first day, I walked you through my GooClass and we tried out some things. You can see my Posted Daily Agenda, blog, and EVERYTHING through the GooCLas, and even see many things via my MPS-WHS Teacher Page. I even assigned some HW *gasp* that should be completed by our next mtg (Thurs or Fri). But, if you forgot, fell asleep, or simply missed something, I hope you can (re)familiarize yourself with that Day 1 experience by reading the rest of this first blog entry.

First off, I hope you received my first present (Romo IBA Emergency Print) within your WHS Grocery Bag of Gifts from last Monday. It included a syllabus (read it!), an explanation of the Weekly WIL (What I Learned), your first seminar rdg (Kohn's "From Degrading to De-Grading" for Thurs/Fri!), followed by some seminar tips.

The WILs, combined with the seminars are the BIG things to focus on. I HATE "busywork" and while I may assign some things that may seem as such, I will NOT collect & grade it - blech! I'll suggest you organize thoughts & notes, collaborate, and push one another to justify positions.

I submitted a print request for ALL Sem 1 Rdgs into Unit Booklets. They should be available for distribution/pickup soon. When I have the info, I will share it with you. Just know that EVERYTHING is always available via the Google Classroom. I emailed class codes & GMeet links, but if you are still confused/lost/switched, just email me for a gentle reminder. 

We started with you downloading a 6-min video excerpt to be watched later in the lesson. I anticipate lag, glitches (sound?), and other difficulties if/when I ever plan to show something "in-the-moment" so I am asking students to download the videos from my IBA Media Archive GDrive beforehand - this was practice.

After watching the video, I then read some excerpts from two short readings:

• von Daniken Chariots of the Gods? - which was to explore the (ridiculous) theory proposed by the video. Yes, it may seem plausible, but there are some underlying components that must be brought to the foreground. von Daniken is a Swiss "academic" who questions how some civilizations were able to do things that were unimaginable (to his European ancestors, at least). He theorizes that it was only through alien intervention (like, real Extra-Terrestrials) did things like the pyramids of Giza, the temple bases in Teotihuacan, and the city of Machu Pichu get built. I mean, when all you can look back on from your own continent is Stonehenge, it does make the Euros out to be a bit pathetic, right? In reality, those "brown people" civilizations were able to devote resources to such grandiose construction partly because they were pretty unified culturally & even conquered politically by others within the region. Europeans spent A LOT on constant fighting for control over one another, so whatever was built was simply destroyed in the conflict. This also explains why the Europeans advanced militarily (even technologically) and were then able to conquer other parts of the world.
• Adams Prehistoric Mesoamerica - explained the concept of Mesoamerica as a term used to define the region of central/southern Mexico and Central America. The Aztecs & Maya never called themselves Mesoamerican - it is a term developed in the 1920s and formalized by 20thC academics as a means to help study a region & people. Categorization helps us sort and process information. But even people & places developed at different paces over not only place, but time. Settlements differed between highland and lowland. And the lack of a wheel was not due to a lack of imagination - it was due to not having a large domesticated animal; able to pull a wheeled cart. People moved better on foot and by canoe, so goods also traveled the some way. In fact, there were wheels on toys - so the tech was there, just impractical in the ways Europeans, Africans & Asians would apply it.

Via the Google Classroom, I asked you to do some "housekeeping" things, like complete my survey, create & share (THE LINK!) an IB History Journal (just to help you keep organized). I will NOT grade it - you may simply want a place to copy&paste material we cover in class. A paper notebook is perfectly fine!

I also formally assigned some assessable work:

• The Kohn (From Degrading to De-Grading) (due Thurs/Fri for our first seminar)
• I rarely (if ever) will “check your notes/annotations.” As seniors, you either know how/why or you don’t (& will suffer in your own way). Annotations are FOR YOU TO REFERENCE during seminars and just for study/reflection.
• WIL 1.1 Failure due by Monday Sep 14
• Zinn Readings (Use & Abuse of History and Why Students Should Study History) for Seminar 2 (next Weds 9-16)

We have a 2-hr block on A & B days. While I do not plan to ever use the FULL 2 hours, I may go over or under an hour each time. I think we went about 80 minutes today, but I did give a 10-min break about midway through. There are some days that will be "check-in only" as you will have a reading, a video or even collaborative work to complete without my hovering. If/when we figure out a rhythm, I'll share my FULL calendar with you, so you know what to expect ahead of time. I do not want to get ahead of myself (or you) right now as we navigate the apocalypse.

Overall, my expectations are simple - Read, Learn, Think, and Participate.  If you keep up and contribute, you'll not only earn a nice grade and be prepared for the IB History HL Exam, but you should be ready to tackle college with some valuable experience.

I can be harsh, but never cruel. I am honest, have high expectations, and want to prepare you better than I was when I graduated from Washburn 30 years ago (wow - that is painful to write). NEVER hesitate to ask for (or even offer?) help. We will need to rely on each other more than ever before - and I certainly hope we find a way to familiarize ourselves with one another - that is more than half the fun of this job.