Blog #8 - How has life changed for your interviewee?

This is your chance to conduct an oral history interview and compare it with the time period that we're studying in Europe. Between 1760 and 1850, Britain saw unparalleled economic growth with new technologies, expanded business opportunities, and improved transportation and communication. Men accumulated vast fortunes yet thousands upon thousands went hungry and lived in abysmally awful conditions. The poor were left to struggle for survival and either fight to live or die. Thinkers like Malthus and Ricardo discouraged handouts b/c - as they thought - the handouts would artificially give the poor a helping hand in the survival of the fittest. New religions even emerged to focus workers' anger and energy on the after life and doing good deeds in the present - the message being that you can't change your situation, so make peace with it. Your reward will come later.



America had its own Industrial Revolution, first between 1800 - 1850, and then again, a massive explosion after the Civil War in which the U.S. surpassed all other industrialized nations in the output of manufactured goods (1865-1900). Similar things happened: workers attempted to unionize on a large scale but failed; large numbers of workers flocked to cities and lived in overcrowded tenements; and the U.S. had their own version of Malthus and Ricardo in an aptly named concept called social Darwinism.



In the 20th Century, only the World Wars interrupted the flow of industrial and technological progress. For instance, my grandmother, born in 1911 only a few years after the Wright Brothers had perfected the plane, could now fly around the world at the end of the century. Also at the end of the century, all homes had central plumbing and heating, electricity and phones - luxuries that only the wealthy could afford in 1911. In 2000, cell phones were popular and cheap. You could send an image on a piece of paper from one part of the world to the other with just a phone call instead of using the slower mail. Media had also changed. Instead of just getting the news from the newspaper, you could get it online, on the radio and on the TV.


Your question:
How has 1. technology, 2. jobs and economy, 3. religion, 4. entertainment, 5. politics, 6. news media, 7. communications and 8. travel changed since your interviewee was young (or about your age)?

Your entry should be around 200 words ( 50 words per choice b/c you're required to pick a minimum of 4 of the 8 topics to write about for your blog post) and will be due Tuesday, Dec. 15th.

Blog #7 - What obligations do wealthy nations have?

"Coketown... was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it; but as matters stood, it was a town of unnatural red and black like the painted face of a savage. It was a town of machinery and tall chimneys, out of which interminable serpents of smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever, and never got uncoiled. It had a black canal in it, and a river that ran purple with ill-smelling dye, and vast piles of building full of windows where there was a rattling and a trembling all day long, and where the piston of the steam-engine worked monotonously up and down, like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness. It contained several large streets all very like one another, and many small streets still more like one another, inhabited by people equally like one another, who all went in and out at the same hours, with the same sound upon the same pavements, to do the same work, and to whom every day was the same as yesterday and to-morrow, and every year the counterpart of the last and the next."

Charles Dickens, Hard Times.


As we're studying the social impact of the industrial revolution in Europe, the chapter brings up some interesting ideas about the social impact of the huge expansion of industry upon a rural society. Among the major things that happened in Britain between 1760 and the mid 1850s were:


1. Many farmers were kicked off the land they'd farmed for generations, so they moved to the cities to find jobs where living conditions were horrid;

2. Many jobs were dangerous, dehumanizing and boring - no longer was there any variety with regards to the seasons or weather, changes to due to chance or innovation, but just repetition;

3. In some of the poorest places in Britain, children as young as 5 worked in mines and other dangerous places;

4. Wages were low because much of the profit was reinvested by the owners / managers into newer and improved machines (which could, in the foreseeable future, put the same workers out of work);

5. Since power sources were continually improved (but Britain had practically used up all of its charcoal - trees), coal-burning engines led to pollution which covered the land, air and water.

The British aristocracy didn't feel obligated to help the poor, and so many people fell through the cracks. When America, France, Germany and other European countries industrialized, they made many of the same mistakes that Britain had done. Could they have benefited from Great Britain's wisdom and experience as the leader of the industrial revolution?

As one of the world's leaders in industry and technology, the United States and many of the western nations can help China and India benefit from their experience. But should they? Are they obligated to do so? Why? Here's a few questions to consider when answering this question:

1. What are the benefits from helping out China and India install greener energy sources (than we had used when we industrialized 50-100 years ago) compared to not helping them out? Each country has 4-5x the population of the U.S. which equals that many more consumers, polluters, energy consumers, etc. The world is already running out of oil...

2. Why should we help the competition? Both countries can each produce more engineers and doctors in one year than the U.S. can in ten just based on the size of the population. Plus, American companies outsource work to India, so we want to help them be better because...?

3. Can the United States continue to risk its financial and military security by being so dependent on foreign oil (specifically going to war in the Middle East to protect the biggest source of the stuff in the world)? On the surface, this might not seem like it deals with China, India and other developing nations, but we're all competing for the same energy sources. Importing so much oil from this region forces us to make hard choices about our future. Can we continue to risk American lives b/c we haven't developed alternative fuel sources yet?

4. What happens if either of these countries develops a new source of energy first (much like the steam engine was invented back in the 1720s and perfected in the 1760s by James Watt)? Would they be willing to share or sell it if we had been stingy? Would the western nations be left out of the new revolution in green technology while China or India or both leapfrog ahead of us?

5. What is the moral thing to do in this case? Or, in other words, what is the right thing to do? For the sake of the planet's health, what should be done?

Use at least 3 of these questions to help you answer the "should wealthy nations feel obligated to help out other nations who haven't industrialized yet?" concept.

150 words minimum due Monday, December 7th.

10,000+ books!

We've reached 10,000 books! Awesome job, guys and gals. You've worked hard and put a ton of time into it - thanks! Invisible Children can add our 10,600 + books to their total of 350,000 books.

Blog #6 - China and pollution concerns

Pollution is a big problem in China since they now have become the world's manufacturer. It is blamed for raising the birth defect rate 40% just since 2001 (http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/charity-news/pollution-china-defects-.htm). There was major concern over air pollution and how the athletes would perform under those conditions.

According to China Daily, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-02/24/content_7508856.htm, a government official is quoted as saying:

"'The general situation of environmental pollution does not allow us to be
optimistic,' Zhang told a national meeting on pollution control in Shanghai.
'The fundamental way to overcome this is to continue to press enterprises to
reduce pollution emission through technology and management,' he said."

90% of China's lakes and underground water is polluted, according to the same article.

Because China's pollution affects the world, do you think that China should be pressured to fix its pollution problems? If so, who pressures China to do this? U.S.? U.N.? How should China pay for these fixes? Taxes on manufacturers? Foreign companies pay for it?

Minimum 150 words, due Friday, 2/27.

Link to "China Makes, The World Takes"

All right. Here's the link to the Atlantic Monthly article, "China Takes, The World Takes."

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200707/shenzhen

A slide show of pictures that goes along w/ life in China. http://podcasts.theatlantic.com/2007/06/made-in-china.php

Questions for "China Makes, The World Takes."

Intro pgs. 49-52

1. How has trade with China been beneficial to both China and the West?

2. How is the rise of China today similar to the rise of 19th Century America?

How It Works: The View from the Four Points pgs. 52-65

3. How does Shenzen's growth parallel that of China?

4. What did it mean Shenzen to be a "special economic zone"? How did this status help the city become a huge manufacturing center?

5. What does the term "Mr. China" mean? Why has it been so difficult for someone to keep this title?

6. Describe the life of a typical migrant worker who has left the countryside and moved to the city looking for work.

7. What is the work week like for a typical factory worker? What do these workers do after working in the factory for 2-3 years?

8. Who were the first entrepreneurs that came to Shenzen? Why did they come?

9. What are the two reasons (low-road, high-road) why American buyers keep secrets about their Chinese suppliers?

10. Why are Chinese factories attractive to those companies who have / need a quick turn-around time?

11. How is the Inventec Computer factory like the "Ford Motor Company's old River Rouge plant"?

Good For Us - For Now pgs. 65-72

12. The 11th Five Year plan in China is named "harmonious society" or hexie shehui. What does this 5 year plan attempt to do?

13. How does the Chinese government justify the low wages and terrible treatment of its workers?

14. The smiley curve shows where the Chinese workers come in at the manufacturing section. At both ends of the smile, America is there "where the money is." Why do you think it's important for America to be on both sides?

15. (p. 69) How have the Chinese helped out America's economy?

16. How do China and Japan's economic development differ?

17. What kinds of complications does America have to beware of when dealing with China in the future?

18. How is China trying to move out of the bottom of the smiley curve?

19. Why do you think the author has the opinion that manufacturing jobs that have been outsourced or sent to China will most likely, if never, come back to America? Explain.

Choose 10 total questions - you must do five that are bold and red, and you choose the remaining 5 questions to answer.

Due Thursday, 2/26/09

Blog #5 - Evaluation of book drive

Due Wednesday, February 4th. 200 words minimum.

Reflection time!

A couple questions to think about as we reach the completion of the book drive. As of Monday night, we have over 6,700 books; we're 2/3 of the way there!

So, here are the questions:
1. How do you think these books and money collected will affect the schools and kids of northern Uganda? Explain.

2. How do you feel that the Groves community has responded so strongly to the book drive? Why?

Thanks.

Invisible Children to air at Seaholm on Thursday, Feb. 5

Partnering with a student organization at Seaholm, Volunteer Africa, we have agreed to offer a public viewing of the 54-minute film, Invisible Children at the school's media center on Thursday night, February 5th, to be followed by a Q and A session.

Currently, the book drive is just tipping the scale at about 6,000, so we could really use your help by bringing new and/or gently used books, DVDs, and CDs to the showing. We will also sell t-shirts to benefit the cause - Just 7 Books - Just 7 Bucks. The money will go to help pay for additional books, DVDs or CDs if we haven't reached 10,000 yet or will be donated in one lump sum to IC.

To see which items are acceptable, please visit http://www.invisiblechildren.com/bookdrive before bringing your donations.

Spread the word!

Invisible Children on YouTube

Hey guys and gals, if you want to show your friends and family the video, Invisible Children, I have found it here on You Tube. It's broken up into 5 segments. If the embedded videos don't work, just follow the links beneath each video and watch it there.

Please be forewarned that in each of the vidoes, PG-13 subject matter is covered ranging from violence and civil war, discussion of contraception, images of dead soldiers, and other scary stuff. In the first two clips, the three guys who make the video Jason, Bobby, and Laren, get sick and vomit. Also, their host, Jolly, shows them how to behead a chicken. The images are brief, but still graphic.

PLEASE VIEW FOR YOURSELF BEFORE SHOWING TO ANY YOUNG TEENAGER.



Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qds5MQCqWnk



Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viEMFvP4kPM



Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ped11Culq0



Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnqAdV40QTE



Part 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJnYcHWx6H4

Trailer for the feature film of Invisible Children!

Whoa! Guys and gals, I may have told you that Jason, Bobby, and Laren of Invisible Children are working on a full length version of their film. I just found the "teaser" trailer, and as you can see below, it goes beyond what we've already seen in our version.




Intense stuff!

If the video above doesn't work, click this link:

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/media/videos/detail.php?id=217720924

You'll be glad to know that the staff was very receptive to the film today (Monday, Jan. 19). They are getting behind the book drive even more, and some classes will begin a 1st hour competition to see who can bring in the most books, DVDs and CDs. Also, released library books are fine, so let's go out and find them!

T-shirts will be here Thursday. Make sure you bring your money by Wednesday. Also, Mrs. Brice has contacted the Baldwin Library to see if they have any extras they'd like to donate.

Also, in order to collect as many books as possible, we may have to consider extending the book drive one more week to include other schools in the district so that they can have their own "micro" drives. This would mean that we'd miss out on the contest, but since we had such a late start on it to begin with, I don't know how much of a chance we had. One question to think about is: why are we doing this? Are we doing this for a contest? Or are we doing this so that we can help out those who are in desperate need of a better life?

We'll talk on Tuesday in class.

Blog #4 - Most influential person in early Russian history?

Yeah! Happy Cold Day!

Blog #4 due Tuesday, January 20th.

Who is the most influential person in early Russian history?

In class today, we talked about the monk, Cyril, who helped bring the written language to the Russian people by mashing the Hebraic and Greek alphabet together around 800-900 C.E./ A.D. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Cyril_and_Methodius

Also, there was Prince Vladimir who converted to Christianity and then made Eastern Orthodox the official religion of the Russian realm wen it split with the Roman Catholic Church in 1054 C.E./ A.D. Prince Vladimir: http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/saints/vladimir_prince.htm

Could your candidate be Ivan the Great who shifted the center of power to Moscow in the 15th Century? He strengthened the Russian empire by expanding its boundaries. Wikipedia's site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_III_of_Russia

Sometimes, your candidate for most influential could be in a negative way. Ivan the Terrible of the 16th Century set the Russian people back two centuries by pushing them farther into feudalism. He also influenced Russia in other negative ways. Most of the bad stuff during his reign, however, came in the latter half of his life after his wife died and his paranoia rose to unbelievable proportions.

Ivan the Terrible and some of the famous people in history he's connected to: http://www.nndb.com/people/933/000092657/

Or is your candidate Peter the Great who strove to modernize Russia by catapulting it into the 18th Century? History Learning site (domestic, military, and government achievements at the bottom of the page) on Pete: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/peter_the_great.htm

150 words minimum - Due Tuesday, January 20th.

Ideas for the book drive

There were a ton of great ideas on blog #3 - here are just some of them:

1. Go to church and ask the congregation for books.

2. Go door to door in my neighboorhood asking for books.

3. Make a pamphlet that can be used to explain the book drve and/or Invisible Children.

4. Make a big sign to hang by the football field or near the entrance of the school as a reminder of the book drive.

5. Bring boxes.

6. Have a showing of the movie at Groves.

7. Contact the local newspaper about the book drive.

8. Hold a bake sale to raise money for the book drive and/or IC.

9. Connect the book drive with sports - pass out fliers at games.

10. Find books around the house and bring them to school.

11. Sell the bracelets / t-shirts to raise money and awareness.

12. Talk to teammates or other members of your club/group.

13. Email / call family and friends about the book drive and collect the books from them.

14. Spread the word about the book drive and IC around Groves to friends and teachers.

15. Create a Facebook (www.facebook.com) group and invite everyone you know to it.

16. Go to Baldwin library and see if they have books to donate.

17. Put up the posters everywhere we can.

18. Get the FANN announcements going.

19. Have a donation box set up at lunch.

20. Get the parents involved.

21. Go to Borders and talk to the management and see if they have books to do donate.

Great job, guys.

Blog #3 - Think of new ways to promote the book drive!

Hey,

I know we brainstormed a couple of ways of promoting the book drive. What I would like you to do here is come up with three ways that you can:

1. personally push/promote the book drive and

2. what kinds of action can you do to make those things happen?

For instance, you could say "I'm gonna call my uncle, Steve, b/c I know he's got a lot of books and see if he has any extras. Then I'll have my mom drive me over to his house this weekend, pick them up, and bring them to school on Monday, January 12."

This may seem like an easy blog (10 pts). But the hard part will be to keep your end of the deal by following through with your three suggestions (5 pts. extra credit per suggestion with my approval).

Due Friday, January 9.

Remember, just 7 books!