Unit 72: Listening to Story Ballads

The following artists are master storytellers thru song.
Songs which tells stories are called "ballads".
Go to http://www.youtube.com/

Here is a selcetion of artists and their ballads.

Kenny Rogers: The Gambler, Coward of the County, Graybeard, Lady, Ruby
Harry Chapin: Cat's in the Cradle, WOLD, Shooting Star
Arlo Guthrie: Alice's Restaurant, Motorcycle Song
Peter, Paul & Mary: Puff the Magic Dragon, Greenland Whale Fisheries
Charlie Daniels Band: Devil Went Down to Georgia
Weird Al Yankovic: The Night Santa Went Crazy
Loyd Taylor: The Ballad of Big Joe
Susan Vega: Tom's Diner

You can also type in "ballad of" and search for something interesting. There's quite a selection.

Listen more than once. Then come back and report on the ballad you listened to.
What did you listen to?
What was it about?
Did it have a happy ending?
What was the moral of the story?

Small Claims Court

Small Claims courtrooms have become a daytime television phenomenon.
Truth is often stranger than fiction and you won't believe some of the characters who appear in these courtrooms.

Go on http://www.youtube.com/ and search for some of the following shows:

People's Court Judge Milian
People's Court Judge Wapner
People's Court Ed Koch
Judge Judy
Judge Joe Brown
Judge Mathis
Judge Jamie Kennedy


Look for segments that are at least 9 minutes long. Then come back to the blog to discuss.

1. What was the case? (Who was suing whom and for what)
2. How much money was involved?
3. Who do you think was right?
4. What was the judge's ruling?
5. Do you think the judge ruled fairly?

Family Law Essays

The following is due Monday in class.
Unit 71: Essay Topics for Family Law

Write a short essay (5 ¶s) on one of the following topics. Don't just paint with broad strokes. Good papers use a particular case as a profile of a wider issue. In the best papers, the author is personally invested in the issue.

1. What are “Children’s Rights”? What are a child’s legal options if these rights are violated? At what age do you think should a child be able to make these decisions?

2. What are “Parental Rights and Responsibilities”? When are parents overstepping their authority and how can they lose their rights as parents? Most people agree with spanking, but what about a belt? What about verbal abuse? How many chances should unstable parents be given to get their children back?

3. Where’s the line? When should a child be re-united with his/her birth parents and when should they not? What if a mother abandonned her baby, but later changed her mind? What if the parents have gone successfully thru their rehab program? What if the children don't want to be re-united?

4. Custody Battles: Who gets custody of the kids? Does a mother necessarily make a better parent? What factors should a judge consider when making this decision? Do the courts lean to one side? Do they lean too far?

5. Adoption: What factors should an agency consider when choosing adopting parents? Should single people adopt? What about same-sex couples? Should the birth-mother stay in the picture or disappear? (On this question, research Open Adoption, an arrangement in which a birth-mother has visitation rights with her child.)

6. Same-Sex Marriage: Should same-sex couples have the same rights and privileges as married couples? Does this include the right to adopt children? Is marriage just about love and companionship, or is it about raising a family? There was a gay trio that went to the courthouse for a license. Is this going too far?

7. Polygamy: Can you have more than one spouse? Can a child have more than one mother or father? Should governments recognize such arrangements? If a state makes it illegal, doesn’t that conflict with religious freedom? If all parties concerned are consenting adults, why shouldn’t it be legal?

8. Mixed-Race Adoption: The National Association of Black Social Workers opposes the adoption of black children by non-black families stating that black children feel more comfortable, loved and nurtured when they are raised by people who look like themselves. Are they right or wrong? How important is it that children resemble their parents? How does this contribute to a child's sense of identity?

9. Early amnesty from parents: Can a child grow up quickly, faster than his/her peers? Can a child become an adult sooner if they are ready and willing to function as adults, earning their own income and attending to their own needs? When is a child ready and able to take this step. Under what circumstances should a child seek early amnesty to end his parents' rights over him?

10. The Big Decision: Who has the right to make decisions for those not capable of speaking for themselves? If a spouse, child or parent is on life support, who has the right to "pull the plug"? If the patient is a child, which parent should decide if they disagree? The patient is a parent, which child would make the best decision?  (For information on an actual case of this nature, google "Terry Schiavo." What should have stayed a family matter became a national media circus.)

 
If you have an idea for an essay not covered on this sheet, be sure to clear the topic with me, first.

Unit 70: Controversial websites for debate

The following are links to controversial web sites. It must be absolutely clear that neither EF, nor I, endorse the content or views of any of these sites. I have posted these links to show the potential benefits and pitfalls inherent in freedom of speech. The purpose of this exercise is for you to educate yourselves in preparation for Friday's debate.

The firstset are websites that could get you into big trouble if you logged on from a computer in China or Iran.
http://newton.uor.edu/Departments&Programs/AsianStudiesDept/china-rights.html
http://www.iran.org/
http://www.faluninfo.net/
http://www.underminingdemocracy.org/iran/
http://www.freetibet.org/

This link is an article about an operation that was shut down because of its content.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-511969/Snuff-movies-website-shut-Mail-Sunday-probe.html

The following are articles that -one may argue- should be shut down because the ideas are potentially dangerous to society. One may also argue that they are expressions of the freedom of speech and that true tolerance must by definition include viewpoints which are offensive.

http://www.normemma.com/arhemloc.htm
http://kkk.com/
http://www.americannaziparty.com/about/index.php
http://www.nambla.org/

Unit 70: Web Page Critique

Hello, Class.Here are links to web pages to organizations in San Diego.
Choose any 4 that you think might interest you and critique them.

Consider the following:

1. Is it easy find the information you are looking for?

2. Is it visually interesting?

3. Is it too plain or too busy? (By "busy" I mean too much for your eyes to take in at one time.)

4. Do you want to explore it further?

5. If you wanted to remember the url, would you be able to remember the name and find it again easily?

6. What does each site need to improve?

• http://www.sdmaritime.org/

(This is a museum featuring historic ships and submarines, family events and education programs.)

• http://www.ieallaboard.org/
  

(This is a company of mimes offering fun and educational shows for schools. Their site features numerous videos of their work and television appearances.)

• http://www.jazz88.org/

(This is a public radio jazz station operating out of City College and maintains a calendar of local jazz productions. Live broadcasts can be heard on-line.)

• http://www.nps.gov/archive/cabr/home.html (This is a local historic landmark, Cabrillo National Monument/Park and is a great place to go hiking, whale watching and fish in the tide pools.)

• http://jyotibihanga.com(This is a vegetarian restaurant that sports a peaceful, meditative atmosphere. They call themselves "enlightened" whereas others call them a cult. See what you think.)
  
• http://goaztecs.cstv.com/ (This is the sports page for San Diego State University.)

• http://www.cultureshockdance.org/ (This is a hip-hop dance troupe with shows, classes and education outreach to schools.)

Once you have perused these web pages, add your comments on the blog.

Having work done

For a few examples of people who have "had too much work done" google images of the following people:

Goldie Hawn
Joan Rivers
Bette Midler
Donatella Versace

and just to show that men are not immune from such vanity, you can also see

Michael Jackson
Kenny Rogers


Look for some articles about plastic surgery. What are people having done and why? Then come back to the forum and comment. Post a link to the article and give your opinion.

Covering Letters

Your project for this week is to write a covering letter for your resume.
Make it a job that you are definitely interested in and qualified for.

To that end, here are some web sites that give tips for writing a professional cover letter to go with your C.V.

This one gives general tips and information.
http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/career/guides/cover_ltr.shtml

This woman gives very straight-forward, step-by-step guidelines using a single cover letter.
http://www.writing-cover-letters.com/

This site has samples of letters that students used successfully to secure interviews.
http://www.csuchico.edu/plc/coverltr-ex.html

Happy Hunting.

Unit 68: Relgious bios

Here are the guidelines for your biographies.

• 1.5-2 pages typed and double-spaced
• Choose a religious figure (such as a saint) or an important figure who lived by religious principles (such as Abraham Lincoln)
• No two people can choose the same person. Register your choice here on the blog. Read everyone else's choice first. If someone else has claimed your first choice, make a second choice.
• Use five of the verbs that we learned for indirect speech.

As to content, I am looking for the following:

• Who was this person?
• What was the shape of the world that X lived in? (eg ML King grew up in a country that talked about freedom and equality, but denied it to many of its citizens.)
• What ideas did X live by? (eg Gandhi believed in the principles of Satyagraha, non-violent resistence to oppression and turning the other cheek when hit.)
• How did X put these ideas into practice? (eg Mother Theresa identified with the poorest of the poor and she dedicated her life to helping people that no one else would touch.)
  What did X have to sacrifice to follow his/her principles? (eg When Reb Shlomo was seen coming out of a church, he was fired from his job as a Jewish rabbi.)
• How is the world better or worse because of X? (Because of Osama bin Laden, thousands of people died horribly and extra security measures are needed in the airports. Many people no longer feel safe when travelling because anyone could be a fanatic.)
• Why did you choose this person?

Thank you. I hope this is clear enough. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in class.