January 25, 2008 (Day 97)
Reflections
In Morning Meeting, we spoke briefly about the SAT. Some of us took it in December for the Duke TIP program, and the rest of us take it tomorrow. We then sought out information on the latest news on tomorrow’s Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina. We looked in different places and shared our findings with everyone else, and this involved looking at The New York Times (especially the SC profile), Intrade, The Post and Courier, The Greenville News, and The (Columbia) State. Once we were finished with this, we took an on-line survey to see how our views matched up with the candidates from the two major parties (Glassbooth). In Math, we learned about handling variables when dealing with fractions. In Spanish, we took a dictation and then reviewed our English grammar (pronouns). We also began a set of written translations. We also wrote individual “thank you” cards to Santi’s Restaurante (from our LOTC expedition from last week), and we used them as sources for the one card from all of us. In Humanities, we continued our discussion of The Scarlet Letter, but speculation about tomorrow’s primary consumed the second half of the class. In Flex Time, we watched CNN Student news. The main story looked at the proposed economic stimulus plan (largely entailing $100 billion+ in checks to Americans), and this linked to our discussion of the purpose and likely effect of the plan from yesterday. The other major story looked at the World Economic Forum that is meeting in Davos, Switzerland. We were intrigued by the segment that highlighted comments from young adults who were participating in the Forum, and this cross-section of the world largely addressed the coming aging of many countries and urging these nations to pull in youth effectively to prevent clashes and economic dislocations. In Science, many of us were surprised at the “egg-speriment” observations. Most of us predicted that the egg in syrup would grow in mass, but it appears that the one in water is the larger egg. We did not have scales today, so we could only make qualitative data and record what we saw in a chart. On Monday we will weigh the eggs to conclude our lab with quantitative data. Some of us desired to change the hypothesis we wrote because it seemed that our initial thinking was wrong, but Mrs. Ewing would not let us. She explained that scientific thought is not measured by being right all the time. Instead, science is about exploring answers through a series of steps. These steps were revisited on our returned lab reports from last week. We also took notes during an educational video on the cell and the cell organelles. We were amazed at how active each of the cells in our body are even while we were just sitting there listening and watching the video.
Assignments
Leadership & Life Skills
– for Tuesday, Moodle on-line response to National Gallery of Art’s exhibition about the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial / 54th Mass. Memorial
Math
– problems from the board
Spanish
– study the grammar on pages 100 & 102
– finish the translations
Humanities
– preface (p.9) and Chapter 1 in new history text
Science
– none
January 24, 2008 (Day 96)
Reflections
In Morning Meeting, we read and discussed William Ernest Henley’s poem“Invictus” (1875). It is filled with allusions, and it includes several lines which are used as allusions by others. These include “My head is bloody, but unbowed” and “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” We then learned that John McCain had memorized the poem for school, and we read an article by William Kristol (“Thoroughly Unmodern McCain”) that mentioned its profound influence on him (especially while serving as a POW in Vietnam). We also speculated that it bolstered him during the dark days of his campaign in summer and early-fall of 2007, and this was clear to us graphically in the Intrade line chart showing his “share price” over the past two years in his run for the presidency. Mr. Kreutner also familiarized us with our next Moodle assignment, and it involves tying together several of our recent activities (Old Slave Mart Museum, Magnolia Cemetery, and the film Glory). We will explore the National Gallery of Art’s on-line exhibition about Augustus Saint-Gauden’s Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth Regiment. Our final activity involved deepening our understanding of web searches and effectively reaching one’s audience with a website. This entailed looking at statistical data about a sample website. In Math, Mr. Longanecker guided us through a look at number theory. In Spanish, we engaged in a “bell ringer” activity and then reviewed the experience. The class concluded with a mini-assessment on “gustar,” and then we looked over the quiz and our performance. In Humanities, there were two distinct activities. First, we looked at a recent opinion piece (“The Blight That Is Still With Us“) in The New York Times that took South Carolina to task because the columnist, Bob Herbert, feels its history has warped its priorities. This attention to South Carolina stems from our presidential primary position of prominence. We discussed the arguments Herbert made, and several were very strong. However, we also felt the sting of this negative attention, and this connected to the response we saw in North Dakota to the “Emptying Prairies” piece in this month’s National Geographic. Second, we concluded our look at Benjamin Franklin, and this included reviewing his notable accomplishments as inventor, scientist, printer, diplomat, writer, etc. Mentor Zach Thames arrived during Science and spent the rest of the day with us. In Science, we took the eggs out of the vinegar and held the shell-less eggs in our hands. We then weighed them and put them in 2 different solutions. Before doing this we had to clarify the purpose of the “egg-sperimen.” After discussing the purpose, we had to modify our hypothesis, and this meant being sure to include the independent and dependent variables in it. We also learned to modify scientific procedures to maintain standardization using two different scales. We learned to use a standard of measurement to “zero” both scales. The eggs were put into two different solutions, and tomorrow we will measure the difference in the egg’s mass after being in the two solutions.
Assignments
Leadership & Life Skills
– Moodle assignment – read the NY Times article about black women voters in South Carolina. Do not write an essay, but you do need to prepare for a web chat (connected to the objectives from the assignment)
Math
– 9 problems from the board
Spanish
– study “Gustar” on p. 70
– take notes and complete Act 14 on p. 102
Humanities
– The Scarlet Letter – chapter 10
Science
– write a hypothesis and purpose for the egg experiment
January 23, 2008 (Day 95)
January 22, 2008 (Day 94)
Reflections
In Morning Meeting, we addressed several topics. First, we had a chance to review our trip to the MPW wastewater treatment plant when we watched a CNN webcast about a new sewer water to drinking water plant in Orange County California. As we learned from MPW, this is what the future holds for sewer and water treatment. We also talked briefly about upcoming community events about suicide and resources for intervention, and this information has proven poignant and immediate in the wake of the tragic death of Kathryn Dozier (an assistant principal at Cario). The period concluded with Mr. Kreutner addressing the weaknesses (likely infidelity and the plagiarism of portions of his doctoral dissertation) of Martin Luther King, Jr. and examining his strengths (shepherding black Americans to protest non-violently and shake the conscience of people worldwide and also taking up the cause of those with little voice – the poor). This full-view of Dr. King helps one to better appreciate his human qualities and to admire his singular accomplishments (and this included receiving the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize). In Math, we touched upon numbers of different scales and different forms in preparation for our upcoming science labs. This entailed understanding parts-per-million, very small fractions, decimals, and percents. In Spanish, after talking about our long weekends, we talked about how Hispanics often spend their weekends. Then we talked with each other in Spanish about what we wanted to do this upcoming weekend. Mrs. Rowland also got us familiar with writing a thank you card in Spanish, and we will do this for the restaurant we visited during last week’s Learning Outside the Classroom expedition (Santi’s). In Humanities, the discussion centered on Ben Franklin as America’s Renaissance Man (talented in many areas and knowledgeable of many disciplines). Mrs. Logan also reviewed with us several of his famous epigrams (short, witty sayings that illustrate some basic truth) such as “a rolling stone gathers no moss” and “little strokes fell great oaks.” We also continued our conversation of The Scarlet Letter. In Art, we drew some more cartoons, and Mrs. Johnson talked about a comic strip with us. We also took a shape and made a cartoon out of it. In Flex Time, we spent some time refining our proficiency in analyzing the presentation of data and reading graphs. This included looking at web site visitor statistics, and it culminated in our breaking down all aspects of a graph in today’s USA Today about vegetable consumption in America. 
In Science, we started an “egg-periment” to study the transport of substances across the cell membrane. The initial phase of the experiment was started today, and it entailed starting to dissolve an egg shell with vinegar. This will allow us to study the cell membrane and osmosis. This story will continue throughout the week as the cell is introduced to different solutions.
Assignments
Leadership & Life Skills
– 1) Moodle assignment on small talk due Wednesday, 1/23
– 2) Moodle assignment on North Dakota’s response to the National Geographic article due on Thursday, 1/24
– 3) Moodle assignment on black females role in the Democratic presidential primary in S.C. due on Friday, 1/25
Math
– page 212, complete problems 14-27 (odd) and page 218 problems 16-35 (odd)
Spanish
– study pages 94-100
– Complete Acts 10 & 11 on pages 100-101
Humanities
– for Thursday, read and take notes on chapters 32 & 35 in text (open notes quiz)
– for Friday, read chapter 10 in Scarlet Letter
Science
– test corrections due tomorrow (1/23)
