Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day was this past Tuesday, April 22^nd. Earth Day began in 1970, following the 1962 publication of Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson.  Carson’s book raised awareness on our country’s use of pesticides and their pollution of the environment, and she is often credited as starting the modern environmental movement.  Earth Day originally started as a day of education about environmental issues, and has expanded ever since.  Since 1990, Earth Day has been celebrated globally, with 140 nations participating.

Those of you who know me, know that I like to live as environmentally-friendly as possible. I recycle, use re-usable bags and containers, and try to cook with as much local food as possible. Buying my first home a few years ago opened up new ways of living more sustainably.  In addition to using compact fluorescent light bulbs inside the home, I installed a photocell that harvests solar energy to run my outdoor lights. I started a small garden, and had IPL come out to install my low-flow shower and faucet aerators, as part of their Energize Indiana program. To me, it has become a lifestyle and I’m always looking for new ways to use less.

In a few weeks, we will be discussing climate change and its effects on the planet. I know there’s a lot of controversy around the issue, but quite frankly, I think this is one of the biggest issues your generation may have to face. So my question to you this week is, “Do you think humans contribute to global warming? What would you be willing to do to help lower your effects on the environment?”  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, April 30th, 2014. 

The Cyberage of Bullying

Today I read a news article about a school having to apologize for advice they gave students on how to combat bullying.  The advice included things like "Don't tell on bullies," and "Don't be a sore loser".  You can read more about the advice the school gave to students here: https://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/school-apologizes-for-sending-the-wrong-message-about-bullying-174040029.html

Growing up, my school, like almost every other school in America, had different “cliques” of students. There were the “jocks”, the “nerds”, the “band geeks”, the “Goth kids,” … the list could go on and on. In the interest of not offending anyone, (I probably already have – sorry to those of you who play instruments) I won’t continue, but you get my point. Some kids got bullied, some kids did the bullying and that’s just the way things were. Nowadays, school bullying is on the rise, and the issue is heating up all around the country.

Statistics on the rates of bullying and cyber-bulling vary between studies depending on the measures used and the population studied, however the general consensus is one out of every three students in bullied in school. School bullying can cause physical and mental harm to students. Students affected by bullying have lower attendance and grade point averages, and a higher propensity towards violence and criminal activity.

Indiana State Senator Tom Wyss said that while Indiana school systems may have bullying policies in place, he wants to make sure they are enforced. “We’ve got a lot of school systems where the administrators aren’t really following through like they should,” Wyss stated. Indiana law defines bullying as “any verbal, physical or other act committed by a student with the intent of harassing, ridiculing, intimidating or harming another student”. The law sounds pretty inclusive, but cyber-bulling isn’t specifically covered, which is another aspect Wyss is trying to change. It seems more and more students are victims of cyber-bullying, in which technology is used to harass, tease and spread rumors about students.

So, my question to you this week is two-fold. “Do you think bullying is on the rise, or are parents and the media making too big of deal out of it? Realistically, what do you think could be done to stop school bullying?” You must answer both parts to get full credit. Answers are due no later than Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014.  To all those who celebrate - I hope you have a happy and blessed Easter weekend!
 

Choose Your Own Adeventure

I hope you all enjoyed a nice Spring Break.  It's always hard coming back to school after break. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching and being surrounded by all the crazy, creative energy that is all of you. That being said, it's still hard to get back into the grind. So for our first blog post, I'll go easy on you.

This week we started our study of the Constitution and the freedoms that make us uniquely American. You can order your own free copy of the United States Constitution from: http://www.constitutionfacts.com/index.cfm?section=bookstore&page=freeCopy.cfm

A good portion of this class will be spent discussing current events and political issues that affect our everyday lives. For this post, I would like you to tell me at least one issue that you are interested in studying. To help you out, you can look over the blog posts that we've had in the past several years to get an idea of the type of things we've covered. Many of the topics are pretty controversial and I do my best to not censor the information available to you.

So my question to you this week is, "What is one issue that you are interested in studying in this class?" Answers are due no later than Wednesday, April 16th, 2014. I'm looking forward to a great quarter!

Your Thoughts and Feeback Are Appreciated!

Another quarter has almost passed.  What a long, crazy winter this has been!  I'm so glad that we are ending with what I'm hoping will be warmer temperatures and a little bit of sunshine! It’s been a pleasure getting to know all of you this quarter and I hope that you stay in touch, and continue to post on the blog whenever you want.

With that being said, my final question to you is, “What did you like or dislike about the class?  What could I do to make the class better?”  Answers are due no later than Sunday, March 23rd, 2014  After that, the blog will be down until class resumes next quarter.

Crimea and Punishment

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Many of you have heard about the crisis going on in Crimea, Ukraine, which is shaping up to be the biggest crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War.  The crisis began when 11,000 soldiers loyal to Russia took control of the Crimean peninsula and blockaded Ukrainian bases. 

Crimea, which is legally part of the Ukraine, is an autonomous republic, meaning they elect their own parliament.  Historically, Russia has been a dominant power there, but in 1954 it was transferred by Moscow to Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union.  Did you get all that?  It kind of makes our own history seem relatively simple.

Troops loyal to Russia have taken control of the region and a pro-Russian parliament has voted to join the Russian Federation.  Since the end of February, thousands of pro-Russian and pro-Ukraine protesters have clashed in the streets.  Those in power have asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to help ensure peace, a move the United States vehemently opposes.  The United States and the European Union are considering economic sanctions against Russia, meaning they will deny imports, exports and financial assistance to Russia in an effort to get Putin to change his behavior.

This week in class we will learn about several foreign policy theories, including internationalism and the Bush doctrine, which state the United States has a responsibility to work together with other countries to ensure peace and promote democracy.  We will also study isolationism, a belief the United States should stay out of international affairs unless another country directly threatens us.  So my question to you this week is, “What do you think the United States’ response should be towards Russia regarding Crimea?  Should we employ economic sanctions, begin military action, or just stay out of it?”  Please explain your answer, which is due no later than Sunday, March 16^th, 2014.

Who Runs The World?

This Saturday, March 8th, is International Women's Day.  It's a day set aside to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women.  Those of you who know me, know that I am a big supporter of my fellow sisters.  It's disappointing to me when women hate on other women.  How can we ever expect better treatment from our male counterparts, if we constantly try and bring each other down?

Despite all of our achievements, women still lag behind men in several key areas:

• In 2012, women working full-time made an average of $37,791 annually, compared to $49,398 for men.
• Although women are now earning more Bachelor degree's than men, women with a four-year degree make an average of $930/week, while men with the same degree make an average of $1,199.
• only 4.6% of Fortune 500 companies have a female CEO.

We are also bombarded with society's expectations of how a woman should look, think and act.  Beauty advertisements tell us we are too wrinkly, our hair is too dull and lifeless, and our bodies are just too fat.  Television commercials say we should be focused on what detergent gets our whites cleaner, what diapers keep our kids cleaner, and what we should make for dinner tonight.  We are taught from a young age that we need to aspire to be someone else.  To hear more on this topic, stated in a better way than I could ever say it, check out this speech by activist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc

So my question to you this week is two-fold.  First, ladies - I would like to know "How were you affected by society's standards for women growing up"  Guys - This isn't just a female issue.  You all have mothers, some have sisters, and many of you will have daughters one day.  So for the men, I would like to know "How you think men contribute to these standards for women?"  Second, it's possible that Hillary Clinton will decide to run for President again in 2016.  In fact, we could possibly have several female candidates running for President in the next election.  So for everyone, I would like to know, "Do you think America could handle a female President?"  Answers are due no later than Sunday, March 9th.

The Mile High City May Be Higher Than We Think!

I will be traveling to Denver, Colorado in a few months for business.  I’ve been before and have always enjoyed my time there, but this will be the first time I’ve been since they legalized marijuana.  Colorado’s law legalizing the drug for recreational use became effective January 1^st of this year.  Colorado residents can purchase up to 1 ounce and out-of-state visitors can buy .25 ounce during their stay.  Colorado expects to take in $184 million in tax revenue in just the first 18 months.

I’ve blogged before about the economic benefits of legalizing marijuana, even if only for medicinal uses.  If you’re interested in reading my thoughts and your fellow students’ comments, you can click here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2009/10/can-marijuana-save-te-economy.html

However, despite the fact that legalizing marijuana may provide much needed revenue, opponents say legalizing pot will only add to social woes; increasing crime, drug addiction, mental health disorders, and driving up insurance rates.  So my question to you this week is "Should the United States legalize marijuana, medicinally or otherwise?" Answers are due by Sunday, March 2^nd, 2014.  P.S.  And for those you who are bound to ask – the answer is “No – I won’t be smoking while I’m there! I’m too afraid of employment drug tests! J”