This is my Final Post

Hello random internet people who have stumbled across this. Well, today marks me finishing my sophomore year of high school. It has been much fun learning how to blog and I have started my own cosplay blog for fun. I've learned a lot this year but now It is time to say goodbye. I will leave you with one last picture.Well, this is MadDog signing off for the last time. (Sorry, I always wanted to say that. XD) Bye!

Final Documentary Project

Sources Citied:

NA. "Young American Heroes "Frederick Douglass: Pathway From Slavery to Freedom" on WXXI-TV." WXXI. PBS, 1 Apr. 2010. Web. 12 June 2013.

Marin, Lucian E. "Monument City Blog." Monument City Blog RSS. N.p., 20 May 2009. Web. 12 June 2013.

"American Experience: The Abolitionists." American Experience: The Abolitionists. American Experience, 7 Jan. 2013. Web. 12 June 2013.

"Paul Revere Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 12 June 2013.

Rathke, Wade. "Paul Revere and Darrell Issa: Two If By See!" Wade Rathke Chief Organizer Blog RSS. WordPress, 17 Nov. 2010. Web. 12 June 2013.

Robinson, Dean J. "To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversarry." Eavesdropping with Johnny. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2013.

McKay, Brett, and Kate McKay. "Lessons in Manliness from Atticus Finch." The Art of Manliness RSS. DIYThemes, 2 Feb. 2011. Web. 12 June 2013.

Agency MABU. "Hall of Honorees." North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame -. Medora Center, 2005. Web. 12 June 2013.

Wilkinson, Todd. "To Fox: Custer Did Himself In At Battle Of Little Bighorn." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Nov. 2010. Web. 12 June 2013.

Sterne, Christiane W. "SITTING BULL." SITTING BULL. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2013.

Check out my Cosplay BLOG!

http://maddogswickedcosplayguide.blogspot.com/

Activity #3: U.S. Intervention in Haiti Classwork

Well, now that all of the gold is in the vaults in New York and the Marines are protecting the Haitians, there seems to be a response of pure hatred. In everyday conversations, you can here them talking about the news of this and their talk is negative. We are even experiencing an attack from Charlemagne Peralte and his resistance movement. He has also claimed that President Wilson is a hypocrite. He also says, "Die for your country. Long live Independence! Long live teh Union! Long live the just war! Down with Americans!" He claims that he and teh rest of the Haitians are prepared to do anything to liberate Haiti. I would say that they have reacted... poorly. (And I don't blame them.)
We know that the marines have killed many a Haitian who tried to resist but what goes on in everyday life. Well, many American organizations actually oppose the U.S. occupation of Haiti. The NAACP actually opposed this very directly including an article By James Weldon Johnson countering the standard justifications for U.S. occupation of Haiti. American responses seem to differ.
That's all for now! Until next time!

Justin Kelley's New Original Song

Sir Bob Geldof Interview

My Oregon Trail Game

If you want to actually play the game (and not see the slides to come) you must click the little button in the bottom right-hand corner that looks like it will make it a full screen thing but really only fills up the window you have open. (At least that's what it did to me.) Also, Scribd has proven to glitch a little (as in the hyperlinks may not work perfectly), so just deal with seeing half of a possible next slide if it isn't working in it's full window screen thingy mode. (hope you got all of that.)
Have fun!

The Oregon Trail Game of MAD-Ness

Today's Takeaway

April 10, 2013

Today we worked in partners and did little "skits" about Manifest Destiny. Our topic for a "takeaway" is on whether or not we think Manifest Destiny was successful. I think it was definitely successful for the United States government. The US government got more land and power this way but in general, this question varies depending on what you define as "success."Americans did end up spreading west so technically that was a "success" but they also ended up killed tons of Native Americans and I would argue: is succeeding by committing wrongs really succeeding? Those are my personal beliefs and when I look at it that way, I'd say that Manifest Destiny wasn't a success.

And now for some tigers! They are my favorite animal!

Until next time!

Post About the Last Four Day's Takeaways

April 3, 2013
We were assigned a letter as we walked into class and did mini presentations at the end of class (on what we learned through a passage) with our fellow letter (partner). It was fairly interesting but my takeaway was that I really need to prioritize better. It's something I know I've needed to work on for a long time but it is now to the point where it's basically impossible to put off any longer. So my takeaway was really just "intervention" with myself.

April 4, 2013
 Most of the class was out taking the Acuplacer (?) Exam and there was only six of us in class. We watched a video of Whitney Huston singing the star spangled banner and debated on whether or not she was lip-sinking. We also talked about jazz and 80s movies--both of which I was the only one who really knew anything about (or at least I was the only one who voiced my knowledge). Nothing really to "takeaway" there except for the fact that I'm a major nerd (but I think we already knew that).

April 8, 2013
There isn't much to talk about because we just did some writing about worksheets on the Oregon Trail. We had a substitute so there was no real discussions or anything. (No real takeaway either.)

April 9, 2013
We got into groups of three and read some worksheets. Then we talked about how ship were moved over the mountains though canal systems. It was a short talk that I found really interesting. I even did some short research on it because I found it cool. (Some pictures are shown below.)

When we got back form lunch, we looked at a bunch of different types of people's lives on the canal by reading cards form a game. I thought it was cool seeing all of the different scenarios.
One last thing:

Until next time!

Today's Takeaway

We are starting this new thing called actually thinking instead of just reciting what we did in class each day. So I'm starting fresh and just posting about today. Hopefully I will be more consistent because it does seem like fun posting all of my thoughts and things and I do not want to be a block head.

(That was a photo from my trip last summer to Iceland by the way. I like Iceland. It's nice.)
Today we had a pop-debate on all the events that could've triggered the War of 1812. The group that I ended up choosing as being the reason, was incitement because I decided that basically, in a nutshell, once weapons are involved, there is no going back and they are a much more real and much more personal threat than anything else we discussed.
My real takeaway wasn't on the topic itself though. I found it much more interesting that many people in the class chose the group who had the most confidence instead of the most supporting facts. I found it interesting that everyone just chose the more glorified group when in reality, had the same group been debating a completely different side, people would have gone with the completely different side because that side would've then been read with confidence. (I hope that made some sort of sense.) No matter how the information is conveyed, all that matters is the information itself and I thought that a lot of people didn't do that, they just looked at how it was conveyed.
But I also must admit, that I don't believe any of these single events themselves started the war but they were more each like stones in avalanche. You don't know what really "started it" because they all did, but I think that there was a "best answer" (as MCAS people put it and mine would be incitement) They were all very important in their own way and that is my takeaway.

Until next time!

The Last (Civil Rights Movement Fiction Book)

So I've been having this problem called the silly book website you gave to us is terrible. I have an iMac and it takes literally a half and hour to do one thing so God-forbid you have to do two or three all at once on it. Truth be told it has been working for me all week except now when I need to actually publish and embed my 'book.' So for the moment (until I can get myebook to actually do something that i want it to), I am just going to put my entire book in this blog post. Have fun reading it.

The Last
By Madeleine Schmuch

“Looking back on it, I realize how stupid my anger was. I know that it wasn’t worth it—it wasn’t getting angry like that over. I know that now… But how was I supposed to know what would happen next?” My voice cracked. I could feel tears spilling down my face.

Chapter One:

That night hadn’t been different from any other. That’s a lie. Everything about it had been different. It had been a great game—everything about it. When you win and the crowd is cheering, you feel like you’re on top of the whole world. As the adrenaline pumps through your veins, you realize that can do anything—that anything is possible. After that, the rest is a daze, well, at least until it happens again. Unfortunately for me, that night would be the last time I felt that feeling of pure ecstasy.

I closed my truck door and walked around to the other side opening the door for my girlfriend, Natalie. She hopped out and landed on the moist earth.

“Uugg, my shoes,” she said.

“Oh they’ll be fine,” I said. “Besides, no ones going to be looking down there anyway.”

“Woooooow,” Nat said unimpressed. “Let’s get inside before you think to hard,” she said overly sarcastic.

“That’s alright with me,” I said taking her hand.

We started towards the front steps. I had never seen the place before. It was an old mansion out in the middle of the woods. Well, didn’t matter anyway. The cars parks all over the front lawn and the pulse radiating like shockwaves through the ground was all that I needed to tell me that this was definitely the right place.

Just before we reached the porch, somebody slapped me on the back and tore me away form Nat.

“That was one hell of a game, boy, one hell of a game!”

“Jack, my man!” I said slapping his other hand and giving it a fist bump. Nat took out her phone and began moving her fingers rapidly about the screen. “That pass, man,” I said a huge smile breaking out across my face.

“If I do say so myself that arc was beautiful!” Jack said.

“I wonder who threw it?” was my response.

“I dunno, but he must be pretty brilliant. But I must admit, that other guy might even be better than him. I mean, he ran how many yards?”

We both started laughing like fools our heads already the size of small sofas.

“Morons,” Nat muttered. “I’m gonna go meet up with Emily and Sarah but I will see you later,” she said making eye contact with me.

“See ya, I said.”

Jack blew a kiss at her and she gave him a small thwack with her purse the size of a pack of gum before slowly walking into the house. As the door opened, the noise that had been fairly well sound-proofed escaped and caused me to jump before the door was shut again.

Jack snorted and then said, “Well, I dunno what your doing but there are definitely some fine, young ladies waiting for me to venture into the scary kitchen for them. And with that, I will be off,” he said and made his way into the house as well.

I looked at the peeling paint on the old door and took a deep breath before stepping in to the bouncy room. The atmosphere was sweaty and smoky as people danced and drank. I made my way toward the kitchen and grabbed my own cup before looking for Nat. When I found her, she was talking with some guy. He looked like a kind of rapper. He was tall and lean but all slumped over with chains around his neck and was just letting off a “slacker” vibe. He said something and Nat laughed tilting her head back. I walked over.

“Hey, babe,” I said putting my arm around her waist.

“Hey,” she said. “Meet our host, Joe.”

“Sup,” I said holding out my fist.

He bumped it saying, “Hey.”

“Cool party,” I said.

“Yeah,” he said. “Well it’s not the best… but it’s alright.”

He said something softly to Nat and she laughed. I was beginning to really dislike him. He seemed a little too confident in talking to Nat—with me right there even. After what seemed like ages, he finally left.

“What a loser,” I said.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, come on, Nat,” I said. “Didn’t you see that creepy, smug look of his?

“He didn’t look creepy and smug to me,” she said pretending to be interested in something across the room.

“Whatever. Need a refill?”

“No,” Natalie said still annoyed. “Joe’s gone to get me one. Or weren’t you paying attention?”

“Whatever,” I said and started walking toward the kitchen.

I didn’t talk to Nat for most of the night. Whenever I saw her she was with ‘slacker Joe,’ which is what I had taken to calling him. I guess I had found it humorous but I really don’t see any humor in it now. So I just continued on drinking way through any unhappy thoughts and having all the fun in the world. I was constantly reminded of the game we had had and I was feeling pretty good. But at the height of the party, I started hearing a rumor. Nat was with someone and that someone wasn’t me—it was some kid named Joe.

Chapter Two:

As I trailed in and out of consciousness, the plastic seat I had been shoved onto began to feel more like wood. I saw lights in the blackness outside the car and heard voices. Then the blackness became the lights and the lights became the blackness.

“Whadaya doing there, boy?”

“What?” was my incredible response. My voice sounded weird so I cleared my throat and whipped my mouth for good measure.

A man was looking down at me. I looked into his cold, dark eyes.

He didn’t say anything so I said, “Whadaya want?”

I was surprised with my own voice. It was much deeper than it usually was and I was taken aback.

“Look kid,” the man said. “I will take you wherever you wanna go, but if you get on that bus, I ain’t never forgiving ya.”

I was confused by the stupid old man’s words and annoyed by his tone of voice. He also really needed a shower—and a toothbrush. His shiny brown skin had trails of grime on it and his teeth were a dark yellow. I looked around at my surroundings and realized that I was sitting on a bus bench and an old-fashioned bus was puttering up the road. I cocked my head to the side and looked at it again. It almost looked like what the Mystery Machine might look like underneath all of the flowers painted on it. There was also luggage on the roof. I rubbed my eyes because I had never seen luggage on the roof of a bus before. It took me a moment but I realized something else was off also. I looked at my hands and realized that they were not my own. Mine were a nice bronze but these hands were a dark chocolate color. I jumped taken confusedly. I moved my hands and the brown hands moved. I put my hands to my face and the brown hands went to my face.

“What the hell?!” I said.

“Hey,” the stupid old man said. “You will not be speaking like that in my presence again!”

“What?” I said again. My voice was still too low.

I stood up and started walking across the street. I didn’t want to talk to him anymore. What was I wearing? My clothes were… dressy. I looked up hoping to see a store or something where I might have been able to wash my face and clear my head but I stopped dead in my tracks right in the middle of the street. People were walking around in old style dresses and what was more was: I was right in front of a newspaper stand displaying the date.

December 6^th, 1955.

1955.

“Hey, just because you folk don’t wanna take the buses anymore does not mean that you can stop us from bein’ on our way!” The bus driver was leaning out the side of the bus and when I didn’t respond he said. “Get out of the road fool!”

I stumbled out of the road not saying a word. And tried to make sense of what was happening. Then I saw my reflection in a shop window. Well, it wasn’t really my reflection—but it was. I put my hand to the glass and it lined up with whoever was touching the glass—so I guess that had to be me. I was leaner than usual—in fact one might say I was thirty pounds lighter. I was taller too but neither of those things were really standing out to me against one particular observation. I was black. I had been hoping it was a trick of the light but I was definitely not the right color—I mean my usual color. This was not normal.

“Hey, Billy! Brother! Hey, Billy! He-ey!”

I turned to see who was making the fuss.

“Finally, man. I thought you was goin’ deaf or something.” The black kid slapped me on the back and said, “Did you hear about that reverend King guy? I heard he’s a real talker. Well anyway,” he said lowering his boisterous voice, “I guess he was elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association. Pretty big, huh? We should go to the next meeting tonight. I wanna be a part of this! This is history in the making brother!”

He started walking backwards as he said that last sentence and then turned around and ran off. I started to stumble away when black shapes encircled me.

Chapter Three:

There were people walking in a circle around me but it wasn’t just me in the circle. There were others enclosed in it as well, eight to be exact, slowly walking so that we all stayed together. Horrid yells could be heard form the other side of the circle but the eight of us all walked along quietly. I ignored anything that I couldn’t see which included everything on the other side of the circle barrier of people so that I could think.

I was so confused. I was in 1955—I think. But then I was somewhere else. This was definitely not where I had just been. The air was heavy and filled with people. There was no possible way the street could’ve filled that quickly—it had only been a split second.

“Aaahhh!”

I looked up to see that something had hit one of the heads of a person walking with me. I could hear laughs form outside of the circle. I went back to trying to make sense of what was happening.

“All they want to do is go to school.” One of the members of the enclosing circle had spoken. “Can’t you just let them do that?”

It was so quiet, I was sure no one had heard him speak except for me. And that’s when I got the idea.

Chapter Four:

“Do you think your father may have ‘led you down the wrong path.’”

“Whataya mean?” I asked. I was pretending to be oblivious. Before she had a chance to speak again though, that idea grew boring and I asked, “How are you supposed to know?”

The woman in the soft, blue chair didn’t respond.

“When, you’re five,” I said, how are you supposed to know that’s why you’re moving? When your five… you don’t understand that they should be treated the same… you just do what your daddy tells you.”

She started to speak but I cut her off. “How are you supposed to know that your way of living—the way of living that you’ve been brought up on and you consider the norm—isn’t fair?”

“You’re not—you can’t rather,” she said.

“I’ve only lived in areas with… people like me. But I didn’t think that there was any reason for it. You don’t realize that… that your own family is controlling your way of thought.”

Chapter Five:

I was in a diner. Old style. Like the past two ‘visions’ had been. There was a crowd. Screaming and screaming and screaming. I could barely hear myself think. Everyone was facing the direction of the counter and I moved to the front. A whole manner of colored people were sitting down on the stools. They were clearly just trying to deal with the people around them who I quickly realized to be all whites. The standing whites were the ones screaming—the only ones screaming. They  were being… They were dumping things on the people at the counter. They dumped ketchup down there backs and spilled disgusting mixtures of drinks on them. I was surprised that the people at the stools weren’t fighting back.

Then I realized their plan. They wanted to provoke a fight—almost innocently. I remembered reading something about this. Black teens would go and take turns sitting at the counter so that the diner would get no service and the white teens would get violent. Then, in the eyes of the government, the blacks would look only like innocent people who wanted freedom. My theory was starting to become a reality.

A girl at the counter who looked particularly disgusting and truly disgusted turned around at on her and searched the crowd for someone. Her eyes locked with mine and she motioned for me to go to her. I held up my hand to show her that I would only be a moment and saw that my skin was again not my own. The brown color was back. I was black again—instead of white. I ran over and quickly took her place.

“It’s just for a half of an hour.” She whispered into my ear and smiled. “Not too bad.”

Chapter Six:

I was running down the stairs. I didn’t know what Nat was thinking. I didn’t know why she would do this to herself or anyone else—it was ridiculous. Why was she hanging out with that creep anyway? He seemed like an awful person—no, I knew he was an awful person. I ran outside and to the back of the house. The ground was wet and I slipped. But I was up again as quick as I had been on the ground.

Then I saw them. They were talking by the gate to the woods way at the back. All I could think of was how terrible he was—and how terrible she was! I would never trust a girl like her again!

“Hey!” I yelled almost to where they were standing.

“Hey yourself!” Nat said sounding just giddy.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” I said.

Then I said it and I hit him as quickly and as hard as I could. I punched him full force and he flung back against the iron gate. Natalie screamed. But even with her screaming I still heard it—the crack.

Chapter Seven:

The atmosphere had changed. I was now in a noisy, stuffy type of vehicle. I pulled myself up and realized that I was in a type of bus. All around me were people of all shapes, sizes and colors.

“Why are we going so slowly?” I asked nobody in particular.

“Were so asleep you didn’t feel it, boy?” a plump woman replied. “We got a flat.”

When she said, her words were filled with fear—like a flat tire was the worst thing that could’ve ever happened to anybody. Then it dawned on me. All of the passengers were sitting quietly. The noise I was hearing was not inside the bus but outside of it and the slower the bus moved, the louder the noise grew to be. Then it happened.

A ghostly white hand rammed a brick against my window and it shattered the glass spewing everywhere and slicing some of my skin. Other windows began to break also—some by work of crowbars, rocks, wrenches, anything that could be used. Now the noise was inside the bus too as people screamed their fears or simply prayed. I couldn’t make out what the men outside the bus were saying but I could easily guess their intent.

I ran to the front of the bus hoping to get off but a big, burly, white man blocked my path and spat at me. I ran back toward the rear to see if there was another exit when a bottle came flying through the broken, back window. It exploded on one of the seats and flame erupted from it in a giant cloud.

Seconds later, I was on the floor of the bus. My eyes stung I was coughing but my throat wouldn’t clear. The smoke was everywhere. It filled the bus and it filled my lungs. I could faintly see it trying to escape through the broken windows before my eyes glazed over and I had to close them. On my knees I started crawling back to the front again.

This time, the man was nowhere to be seen so I took my opportunity and fumbled of the bus. I crawled as far away as I could manage before vomiting into the grass. I looked back at the bus spewing out smoke and tears started pouring down my face. Another man came over to me kneeling in the grass and helped me up, He asked my if I was alright and before I could respond, he had punched me in the cut—a clean upper-cut. Reflexively, I spit out anything that was in my mouth so that I could breath and the man screamed at me.

Other men also came to beat me but I didn’t pay attention. As the bus went up in flames, I looked for the other passengers’ safety. My tears grew more frequent as a saw I girl in a pink and white pokka-dotted dress get thrown to the ground. These men were animals who just wanted to feel better about themselves and they would stop at nothing for that feeling. The awful truth was: they would use any excuse to and they wouldn’t stand for changing this way of living. I started vomiting again as I watched flames spew out of the bus and the last noise I heard was the scream of a little girl before everything went black.

Chapter Eight:

I was standing at the back of a courtroom. It was hot but not nearly as hot as the flames that had engulfed me but a moment ago. A woman was at the stand. She looked oddly familiar and surely about to cry. But she held it in as she spoke quietly. Then a lawyer said something to her.

“It was my son but… His… His face was… He had been beaten so badly… And the water… How could those men…”

“Wait.” I said thinking out loud. Could this really be the trial…

Then I was looking down and into a coffin. I wanted to scream but I was afraid if I did I would vomit instead. All around me people were moaning and crying and praying. I wanted to do the same but my feet led me somewhere else. They walked me to a public restroom and my hands washed my face. When I looked into the mirror, I really did scream. When I looked in, Joe stared back at me. My heartbeat grew louder and quicker when blood started oozing from his/my eyes. I tried to look away but his/my body wouldn’t let me. I put my hand to the mirror and touched my/his reflection and my/his hand slid. Bloody fingerprints dripped down the mirror and I screamed again.

“I’m sorry!” I screamed to the mirror. “Please! Please forgive me! I didn’t know!”

Finally, I was able to turn my head but not all the way. Just enough so that I could she the matted hair at the back of his/my head—wet with blood. It oozed its way through the back of my shirt and tricked down my spine. I reached back behind my/his head trying to cover it and my heart missed a beat. Even though I/he couldn’t feel any pain, I/he could feel the gravel like bits of skull protruding through the skin.

“Please!” I screamed. “Please!”

Chapter Nine:

“You say that you’ve been having visions?”

“Ever since that night,” I replied.

“What are these ‘visions’ of?”

I squirmed in my chair. I’ve been… living… or re-living I guess… history…?”

“Could you explain?”

I exhaled loudly. “I’ve been the people…”

I looked up hoping that she would understand even though I knew she wouldn’t. She cocked her head to the side and waited patiently for a response.

“I’ve lived their lives—or parts of them. I’ve seen their struggles and I’ve fought for their freedom. I get it now. I don’t get how I couldn’t have seen it before. I can’t believe I was ignorant. I don’t understand.”

She didn’t say anything for a long time. She didn’t even make a scribble on her clipboard. After an eternity had passed she said, “Do you see it?”

I knew what she meant and I looked down as my eyes blurred. Tears fell onto my lap and I tried to take deep breaths to clear my head. All I succeeded in doing making myself more of a mess.

“All of those people… all that they’ve worked for… and they still never succeeded…”

“But do you—”

“You know all they wanted was to be treated the same! But if there’s still people like me in the world… Someone as ignorant and terrible… someone who was brought up to be that way… they’ll never be free! I can’t live with that! It’s not fair that people like me still exist…”

I looked up tears streaming freely down my face. Her eyes were closed.

“Of course I see it! Every day when I get up… Every time I close my eyes… Every time I take a breath—a breath that keeps me alive—something that—that—that—”

“It’s al—”

“No it’s not!” I screamed. “Not it’s not! No it’s not! No it’s not!” I paused trying to catch my breath and wipe my face. “Miss… I just don’t know how you expect me to live with myself… With all of the things I’ve done… And unknowingly… It just shows how unfair I made life…”

“Listen to me,” she said it strictly and with such force I forgot about my sorrows for a moment. “You are not the reason people are the way they are. You can change your ways. You. Are. Not. Your. Father.”

I stared into her eyes. She truly believed what she was saying.

“You are a good person. In the past you were unknowing but that doesn’t make up you today. You can live again and you will.”

“But how… how… whenever I… the blood… I just… The last thing he ever heard was… was… He didn’t do anything wrong. I made a stupid assumption based on stupid morals of stupid people… I kept trying to convince myself that I didn’t like his tone of voice but… I knew… I knew… I knew…”

“What did you know?”

“I knew that wasn’t it… It was… it was… it was…” I didn’t want to admit it. It required me to admit being so… “It was his skin. I was afraid because he was… different. And now I have to deal with knowing.”

“Knowing what?” she asked. Maybe I would truly believe what she was saying someday.

“That the last thing he ever heard was… nigger.”

Muhammad Ali Video Project

Happy...

π DAY!!!

(Make sure you eat some pie also.)

Post About Classwork (Every Two Cycle Days)

March 11, 2013 and March 12, 2013

On the 11th, we read a clip about a racism in the not-so-distant past. (The clip was from 2007 to be exact.) It was, to be quite frank, scary to see that things we've grown up to 'know' are in the past actually aren't. To hear this account of hanging nooses on trees and attempts at murder and whatnot was terrible. I know racism is still present in the world today but guess with everything that I've grown up with, I would have thought that it at least wouldn't be this extreme. Then we talked about segregation and how even in our own school we segregate ourselves. Of course we don't segregate by race but by groups of friends (like the bandos and the jocks). This class was just a huge dose of reality.

On the 12th, I'll be taking part in the District Music Festival which is an in class field trip that starts as soon as I get to school in the morning and lasts until about 9:00 at night. So I'm blogging now and will be back after the next couple of days.

Until next time!

Post About Classwork (Every Two Cycle Days)

March 7, 2013: Day 3
We read worksheets in groups of six. They we each about the time around the Montgomery Bus Boycott. They were either directly related to it and describing it or describing things that were happening because of it. We filled out a worksheet (on the lot of them) about its success and how exactly it was successful. We analyzed and discussed it after. It was fun.

March 8, 2013: Day 4
School has been canceled for the day. (But Anything Goes will still be showing as of right now, 11:40ish AM.)

Until next time!

And Now...

Make sure you come to Anything Goes showing this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Here's a little something to get you pumped. (We aren't Broadway but we do work our butts off.)



By the way, in our version the singer of the this song, Reno, and one of the main stars of the show will be played by the fabulous Maddie Solomon and the angels you see (the four back up dancers) will be played by Jessica Biel (Purity), me/Madeleine Schmuch (Chastity), Hannah Cagney (Charity), and Kristen Seibert (Virtue). That's just a taste of our cast and to see the rest of it you'll just have to come to the show. Thanks!

Post About Classwork For the Past Lot of Days

So, I haven't posted in forever and I'm really sorry about that. You know way back when when I did that thirty day challenge thing? Well right now it's basically been tech month for Anything Goes. I kept meaning to do collective posts but by the time I get around to doing my post, it's technically the next day so I tell myself it won't really count anyway and put it off a little more. I'm a terrible person, I know. Well, I apologize, but I'm not even going to attempt to talk about anything before break (except for the fact that we did our whiteboard video project things) but I will make an attempt to struggle though all of the other days. Again, I'm sorry.

February 25, 2013: Day 2
Before we did any work, I think this was the day we had a huge assembly and Mr. Boyle talked about it with us during class. It was interesting to hear what he had to say about our generation and it was big wake-up call. Then, we started our new unit which is on the Civil Rights Movement. (Everything really is linking together beautifully.) We started it off by reading worksheets having to do with some key figures. These figures happened to be W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington.

February 26, 2013: Day 3
We continued with our worksheets form the day before and discussed them. Then we learned about Garvey and the UNIA but didn't quite finish with him.

February 27, 2013: Day 4
We continued a little more with Garvey and then moved on to something completely different. We read poems by Langston Hughes who talked about the south metaphorically. Then we looked at how lots of African-Americans went to cities and took part in the Harlem Renaissance by looking at painting. We finished the period by listening to some Duke Ellington which I enjoyed thoroughly. (I love jazz!)

February 28, 2013: Day 5
We (each group) got a person to read about form the Scottsboro trials. My group had Victoria Price, one of the woman who claimed they were raped, and we tried to decode what actually happened. We then wrote diaries from her point of view at different points on the trial's timeline.

March 1, 2013: Day 6
It was a half day so we didn't have class.

March 4, 2013: Day 7
Drop. (We didn't have class.)

March 5, 2013: Day 1
We split up into groups of three (in a confusing fashion) and did worksheets about Brown v. Education Board. Then we split up again so we could learn about other people's worksheet and all get three worksheets worth of information by the end of the period.

March 6, 2013: Day 2
We watched a movie on Emmett Till and filled out a worksheet while watching. It was highly disturbing and so, so sad. (I teared up.) I wish I could say that I couldn't believe they got away with murder but I can and it was and is terrible.

Tomorrow I'll talk about today with the addition of what we do tomorrow in class and then, I do believe, I will be up-to-date.

Until next time!

Updated Timeline Once Again

Post About Classwork (Every Two Cycle Days)

January 31, 2013 and February 1, 2013

On the 31st, we spent half of the class reading an obituary on Andrew Johnson. Then for the rest of class, we discussed what we had read. This included a lot about what he did after the death of Lincoln and his own political beliefs. We also discussed how the thought of assassinating a president had never really come up before so nobody thought that he actually would have to step into the shoes of the president.

On the 1st, we walked into the room to find a picture on the board. We came to the conclusion that it was probably of slaves and then Mr. Boyle told us what was actually in the photo. It was a picture of sharecroppers. Then we learned about sharecropping contracts and how former owners tricked former slaves into signing contracts with loopholes that basically made them their slaves again. It was pretty awful.

Until next time!

Post About Classwork (The Last Four Cycle Days)

January 25, 2013, January 28, 2013, January 29, 2013, and January 30, 2013

On the 25th, we took a lot of notes on the assassination of Lincoln. It was kind of ironic because if he hadn't been assassinated, it probably would've benefited the south more. We also listened to some epic music dedicated to him. I thought that it was cool and had some really nice dynamics.

On the 28th, we went to the library and worked on the computers. We looked at a specific state in the south and tried coming up with ideas of what southerners might think and/or want after loosing the Civil War. It was interesting trying to think like that because I've grown up in a completely different time with completely different ideas. We also looked at a political cartoon that brought up the KKK and filled out worksheets for these activities.

On the 29th, we learned about the 14th Ammendment. We filled out a worksheet, discussed it, watched a short video clip, and made magazine covers about what the latest news could've been after it was passed. Then we presented and left.

On the 30th, we looked at Lincoln's, Johnson's, and the radical's ideas for reconstruction after the Civil War. Each had different ideas for punishing the south while still bringing it back into the country. We also thought of what our own ideas would have been had we made the decisions. Then we colored a map that showed how the radical's would have divided the south.

Well, until next time!

Post About Classwork (Every Two Cycle Days)

January 22, 2013 and January 23, 2013

On the 22nd, we did a ton of worksheets and discussions. I started off with reading about Charles Sumner and then moved on to U.S. grant. Then we all moved on to reading about Jefferson Davis and what happened with the Confederates after the war ended but didn't finish so it was assigned for homework along with another worksheet.

On the 23rd, we talked a lot about what each side wanted and what the outcome really was (based on the Jefferson Davis worksheet). We spent most of our class on that before moving on to President Lincoln's second Inaugural Address.It was interesting seeing what he had to say after he had been president for four years already.

Winnie the Pooh Assignment:


Expectations:
I've never seen the (or if I have I was too young to remember) but judging by this list, I think that I'd be Roo because I think I'm kind of simple-minded and good-natured and bouncy.







Results:
You are Winnie the Pooh. Oh, bother. You are sweet, simple, and popular for your honesty and goodwill. Though you may be the biggest personality in the woods, you sometimes need the help of others in the brains department!




Well, I'm happy with who I am and I think they are both pretty similar. I don't think much went wrong. Still pretty simple-minded and happy and whatnot. The only reason I think I would not get a character like this is if I happen to be in an awful mood which will happen every couple of months or so. I am decently pessimistic but I guess I balance myself out. Here's a picture of my actual chart. Agree or disagree if you feel like it but I'm pretty happy with my results!

Until next time!

Post on the Last Few Classes and the Upcoming Week

January 10, 2013
We presented our projects in the morning (down at the library). And then had our actual class period to study for midterms and talk with people to answer our questions.

January 11, 2013
We had the period to study again.

January 14, 2013
Day 7 so G period dropped.

January 15, 2013
Took A period midterm and asked questions about our upcoming one in class.

January 16, 2013
E period and C period midterms.

January 17, 2013
B period and D period midterms.

January 18, 2013
F period and G period midterms. (G period is when I'll be taking the midterm.)

Sorry these are just quick little blurbs but because I am trying to use all the time I can to study for midterms, this is all you are getting.
Until next time!

Post About Classwork (Every Two Cycle Days)

January 8, 2013 and January 9, 2013

On the 8th, we took notes the end of the American Civil War. We talked about how much the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg affected the outcome of the war and that they really were the turning point. After those two battles, everything went downhill for the Confederates and I mean in a landslide. Lee was quickly forced to abandon Petersburg and try to join up with other forces but eventually he just surrendered to U. S. Grant because the Confederates simply couldn't continue. The two opposing sides met at Appomattox Court House, VA to discuss the Confederate terms of surrender. The United States was whole once again.

On the 9th, we took our Civil War test.

Until next time!

Post About Classwork (Every Two Cycle Days)

January 4, 2013 and January 7, 2013

On the 4th, We walked into class to another giant picture on the board. We learned about the  54th regiment by first filling out a worksheet about the giant sculpture in Boston (which was the picture on the board) and then just class discussion. We also took notes form a PowerPoint and Watched a clip from "Glory."

On the 5th, we took a lot of notes on Sherman's army. We learned about how he basically decided that he wanted the south to be punished to the point where nobody would ever even think about seceding again. He took on the Scorched Earth Policy and his army even gained the unique nickname of Sherman's Neckties (because they bent bent and destroyed railways beyond repair as they traveled along). We also watched a short video and took our memorization quiz (on the Emancipation Proclamation).

Guess who!

Until next time!

Post About Classwork (Every Two Cycle Days)

December 21, 2012 and January 2, 2013

So... it has been a while but I will try to remember what we did way back before vacation started. Oh yes. On the 21st we watched a video. (I remember because I had to leave early to set up my trombone.) We watched part of a movie on the Civil War. It was interesting because it depicted both sides very closely that way you could see what each side was really fighting for. I liked being able to see how each side justified themselves.

On the 2nd, we walked in to a giant picture on the board. We ended up finding out if that it was the 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The picture showed people waiting to see the document itself. We read about it and watched a short clip also. Then we filled out a worksheet to get our brains going and sparked a discussion on it. We talked about what it said very specifically but also whether or not it was effective at all. We reached a lot of different conclusions and it got all of us thinking again (School Mode: On.

Until next time!