Really, December 1st already?

Where does the time go?  I swear it was just August 1st yesterday!

We have been having difficulties with completing many Globaloria activities, but I believe we are getting a handle on all of our issues and soon will be making progress again.  Yesterday and today, for example, Katelyn has been working on her mini game.  You can see her progress here.  As you can see we are working on getting her mini game files on her project page.  Katelyn has been working very hard at getting her mini game complete so please go wish her luck.

Aaliyah has completed her mini game and it is posted on her projects page.  Kelly has also completed her mini game and you can see it on here.  Mercedez, Kayla, and Pam are all starting their mini-games tomorrow. 

We may be slow, but we are steadily gaining ground.  In the whole scheme of life, I believe the process teaches us the most. 

What Worries Me Most

I come from a long long line of worriers.  Yes, I am the product of a Warrior Worrier Family.  I would spend the day at my grandmother's when I was sick.  She would literally stare at me when she wasn't covering me up because I looked too cold, uncovering me because I looked to hot, feeding me because I looked weak, giving me a drink so I would not dehydrate, making sure I wasn't too close to the television so my eyes would not go bad, and so on.  My mom worried about everything as well.  If  I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night the questions would ensue:  Did you wash your hands?  Did you flush?  Is the toilet still running?  Are you sick?  Did you drink too much before you went to bed?  Are you sure you washed your hands?  My point being I was inundated with constant worry and anxiety I never really worried ever.

I think when you grow up with so much worry you either become just as bad or you do not worry at all; neither are good.  I believe to function you need to worry about the important not the improbable. A good healthy dose of worry about  paying bills, getting to work on time, your children being healthy, etc seems okay to me. 

I worry more as I grow older.  My sources of worry are not the color of the sky, December 27, 2012, whether or not the toilet is running, or worry of worries what if....  My worries are more about my children.  Are they getting enough sleep, are they doing well in school, am I being a good parent, can I make it to work on time so I can stay employed and take care of my children, how do I schedule all of their activities, will they go to college, will they be productive adults, etc.  I also worry about the girls I teach.  I worry if I am doing all I can for them, if they are learning, will they go on to college, will they be productive adults,etc. 

My advice, worry just do not let it take over your ever waking moment.  Don't worry about what you cannot change and if you worry about something you can change do what you have to do to change it.

Okay, I am done preaching today! 





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Happy Teacher!!!!

Most of you are ready to move on to Choosing a Topic if you haven't started it already.   Please make sure you complete all sections under Choosing a Topic including the blog assignment.  Here is an example of someone who is well on their way to completing their Choosing a Topic assignment.  Please follow her lead and get your assignment finished as well.

I have also noticed many of you did not complete your "What is Civics" and "Game Genre" blog assignments.  Here is an example of someone that completed both blog assignments.  I know I have not been blogging very much and I plan to rectify that immediately starting with this blog post.  If I expect you to be responsible I must model good behavior.   

Our biggest bumble, and yes, I said our, is the neglect of our learning logs.  This is mostly my fault, but we all will be remedying this immediately as well.  Okay, let's make me a happy teacher and all of you happy students. 

Our 39th President

James Earl Carter, Jr. was our country's 39th President.  Many people my age remember when he was president.  We remember a fuel crisis where gas went up to almost $1.00 a gallon, American hostages being taken and held in Iraq, Three Mile Island, the $200 Sony Walkman (which played cassette tapes),  Bungee jumping beginning, peanut farming,  Trivial Pursuit, The first Alien movie, Mork and Mindy,  and Amy Carter living in the White House(some of us were very jealous).  President Carter was the leader of our country in a tumultuous time in our nation's history. During his tenure as president he encountered the disaster of Three Mile Island, Iraqi Hostage Crisis, stagflation and the gas/energy crisis.  President Carter a supporter of negotiation not violence aided in the Camp David Accords, SALT, and The Panama Canal Treaties.  As long supporters of human rights, President and Mrs. Carter opened the Carter Center to aid in bolstering human rights across the planet.  President and Mrs. Carter still volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.





I could go on and on; only President to receive the Nobel Peace Prize after leaving office, a Naval Officer, a two term Georgia State Senator, a peanut farmer, a family man, a proponent of civil rights, created the law making life in prison a substitute for the no longer available death penalty in Georgia, writer, public speaker, and negotiator.

President Carter has been involved in great acts for many decades, so why am I blogging about him today?  I am blogging about him today because even at almost 86 years old he flew to North Korea this week and negotiated the release of American School teacher, Aijalon Gomes.  Mr. Gomes was sentenced to 8 years hard labor for crossing the border from China to North Korea and committing a "hostile act".  Not only did President Carter bring Mr. Gomes home to the United States on Friday, August 27, 2010 he discussed North Korea's nuclear program with Kim Yong Nam.  This is a man I feel we can and should all learn from.  Long story short, after talking with my students and researching President Carter I felt compelled to invite him to speak to my students.  My theory is if you want to change what is wrong in the world start with the children.  My students may not be young children, but they are young and they are or will be having children.  Violence does not have to be the answer to every conflict


See my letter to President Carter below:



August 27, 2010

President James E. Carter
Carter Foundation
453Freedom Parkway NE
Atlanta, GA 30307

Dear President Carter:

I would like to invite you to speak to my students at Crittenton Services in Wheeling, West Virginia. Crittenton Services is a gender specific treatment facility, and our students range in age from 13-18. Many of our girls have experienced great turmoil in their lives and have suffered many hardships. We try to help them get emotionally healthy, educate them, prepare them for adulthood and all of its responsibilities, and give them skills to handle anything that may come their way. I want to instill upon them violence is not the answer to their problems, and I could think of no person better than you to discuss this with them.
We participate in Globaloria, a five year pilot program focused on teaching 21st century skills utilizing wikis, blogs, and Adobe Flash programming. Our focus in this pilot is civics. Today, the students read the article about you securing the pardon for Aijalon Gomes and bringing him home from North Korea. They then researched you and blogged about your missions of peace.
Please let me know if you are ever available to speak to our girls any time in the future. You can contact me at 304-242-7525 or mmilliken@crittentonservices.com. If you would like to know more about our organization, please visit our Web site at http://www.florencecrittenton.net/.
Sincerely,
Melonie Milliken
GED Instructor

Welcome Back

Welcome back!  Okay, I realize most of you just were in class last week, but still welcome back.

Tuesday

Hello Everyone!

Paul McCartney

I guess I would have to say Paul McCartney is my favorite Beatle. I know impressions of artists, musicians, singers, actors, etc are skewed because they generally let us see what they want us to see and their managers construct their images, but I find Sir Paul to be a classy man. Paul, comes from England is a singer songwriter, is an active member PETA, plays many different instruments, is a composer, entrepreneur, producer, painter and a poet. Plus, my mom says he was the "cute Beatle". One of my favorite Beatle songs featuring Paul is