Monday, February 6, 2017
Class on the 6th of February
Today in class you were assigned a Current Event on Flint Michigan and we continued our Film Bigger Stronger Faster.
Class on the 6th of February
On Friday you will have a map quiz and be responsible for the following countries; U.K., Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and Belgium. On Monday you will have a current event due on a topic in Europe as well. Today in class we began a project on childcare in Europe.
Denmark
Sweden
Belgium
Iceland
Serbia
Norway
Hungary
Estonia
Lithuania
Name ________________
You will create a summary of what it
is like to have a child in 6 of the following European Countries. One of your countries must be Finland. For each country you must address supports
as they pertain to, Financial, Medical and Cultural elements. You will address each of these elements in a
one page typed self-contained report.
Your report will have in text citations and a properly formatted works
cited page for all countries.
|
91-100
|
80-90
|
60-79
|
50-59
|
0-49
|
|
All countries are thoroughly
completed.
Answers are in structurally complete
and contain varied sentences.
Answers show complete understanding of
the Country.
Student went above and beyond what was
expected (analysis & thoroughness).
|
One part of the assignment may not be thorough enough.
Answers are in structurally complete
sentences.
Answers show substantial understanding
of the country but more follow up is needed.
Student demonstrated an understanding
of activity.
|
More than half the assignment is
completed, but not analyzed thoroughly enough.
Shows an understanding of the country,
but they could use more detail, analysis, examples, and/or connections.
|
More than half the assignment is
incomplete.
Shows limited understanding of each
country, more detail and analysis are needed.
|
Assignment is either dreadfully
incomplete or needs significantly more detail and analysis.
|
Country List
FinlandDenmark
Sweden
Belgium
Iceland
Serbia
Norway
Hungary
Estonia
Lithuania
Friday, February 3, 2017
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Class on the 2nd of February
Today in class we expanded on the concept of the Social Contract into Civic Virtue. Remember you have a quiz tomorrow and as well as a current event due.
Name ________________
We the People
Lesson 3 Unit 1
Define the following Terms;
Civic Virtue
Common Good
Representative Democracy
Provide an example from Pembroke Academy of a rule that
promotes the common good. How does it
do this?
Provide an example of a law that promotes the common
good. How does it do this?
Provide an example of how someone at Pembroke Academy can
demonstrate Civic Virtue. How do they
achieve this?
Provide an example of how someone outside of Pembroke
Academy can demonstrate Civic Virtue.
How do they achieve this?
What did classical Republicans believe the purpose of
government should be? What test could
be placed upon the government to determine if it is meeting this purpose?
Why do small less diverse communities often foster greater
civic virtue than larger more diverse groups?
In what ways did James Madison recognize that the large
diverse US population would naturally have less civic virtue?
What is the difference between a Republic and a
Democracy? Which is the United States?
Class on February the 2nd
Today in class we began to look at the United Kingdom. Reminder you have a current event due on Monday the 6th as well as a Map Quiz tomorrow.
Name
______________
Period ______________
Country Breakdown Guide
Summarize the History of England.
Describe the government of England.
Summarize the economy of England.
Does England have a good relationship with the international
community? Explain.
What fact do you find the most interesting in this
breakdown?
What is Brexit?
CIA FACTBOOK
Background
The United Kingdom has
historically played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in
advancing literature and science. At its zenith in the 19th century, the
British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half
of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two world wars
and the Irish Republic's withdrawal from the union. The second half witnessed
the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and
prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security
Council and a founding member of NATO and the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a
global approach to foreign policy. The Scottish Parliament, the National
Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999.
The latter was suspended until May 2007 due to wrangling over the peace process,
but devolution was fully completed in March 2010.
The UK was an active
member of the EU from 1973 to 2016, although it chose to remain outside the
Economic and Monetary Union. However, frustrated by a remote bureaucracy in
Brussels and massive migration into the country, UK citizens on 23 June 2016
narrowly voted to leave the EU. The so-called “Brexit” will take years to carry
out but could be the signal for referenda in other EU countries where
skepticism of EU membership benefits is strong.
The UK, a leading trading
power and financial center, is the third largest economy in Europe after
Germany and France. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient
by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 2% of
the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil resources, but its
oil and natural gas reserves are declining; the UK has been a net importer of
energy since 2005. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business
services, are key drivers of British GDP growth. Manufacturing, meanwhile, has
declined in importance but still accounts for about 10% of economic output.
In 2008, the global
financial crisis hit the economy particularly hard, due to the importance of
its financial sector. Falling home prices, high consumer debt, and the global
economic slowdown compounded Britain's economic problems, pushing the economy
into recession in the latter half of 2008 and prompting the then BROWN (Labour)
government to implement a number of measures to stimulate the economy and
stabilize the financial markets. Facing burgeoning public deficits and debt
levels, in 2010 the CAMERON-led coalition government (between Conservatives and
Liberal Democrats) initiated an austerity program, which has continued under the
new Conservative majority government. However, the deficit still remains one of
the highest in the G7, standing at 5.1% of GDP as of mid-2015. London intends
to eliminate its deficit by 2020, primarily through additional cuts to public
spending and welfare benefits. It has also pledged to lower its corporation tax
from 20% to 18% by 2020.
In 2012, weak consumer
spending and subdued business investment weighed on the economy, however, GDP
grew 1.7% in 2013 and 2.8% in 2014, accelerating because of greater consumer
spending and a recovering housing market. As of late 2015, the Bank of England
is examining when to begin raising interest rates from historically low levels
while being cautious not to damage economic growth. While the UK is one of the
fastest growing economies in the G7, economists are concerned about the
potential negative impact if the UK votes to leave the EU. The UK has an
extensive trade relationship with other EU members through its access to the
single market and economic observers have warned an exit could jeopardize its
position as the central location for European financial services.
in 2002, Gibraltar
residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to reject any "shared
sovereignty" arrangement between the UK and Spain; the Government of
Gibraltar insisted on equal participation in talks between the two countries;
Spain disapproved of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius
and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory);
in 2001, the former inhabitants of the archipelago, evicted 1967 - 1973, were
granted UK citizenship and the right of return, followed by Orders in Council
in 2004 that banned rehabitation, a High Court ruling reversed the ban, a Court
of Appeal refusal to hear the case, and a Law Lords' decision in 2008 denied
the right of return; in addition, the UK created the world's largest marine
protection area around the Chagos islands prohibiting the extraction of any
natural resources therein; UK rejects sovereignty talks requested by Argentina,
which still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and
the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic
Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim;
Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands'
continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm
refugees
(country of origin): 12,383
(Eritrea); 12,667 (Iran); 9,045 (Zimbabwe); 9,354 (Afghanistan); 6,977
(Somalia); 6,319 (Pakistan); 5,279 (Sri Lanka); 6,076 (Sudan); 6,496 (Syria)
(2015)
stateless
persons: 41
(2015)
producer of limited
amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of
Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and synthetic drugs;
money-laundering center
England - Profile
|
||||||
England is the
largest constituent part of the United Kingdom, and accounts for 83 per cent
of its population and most of its economic activity.
Issues affecting
the United Kingdom as a whole therefore also apply to England in particular,
especially in the case of identity politics. England's continuing
contribution to world civilisation is significant, ranging from language to
sport, music and law.
The various
kingdoms set up by Germanic settlers in the 5th-6th centuries were finally
united into the Kingdom of England between 927 and 954. The Norman Conquest
of 1066 brought in a new ruling class from northern France and heavily
influenced the language, culture and European orientation of the country.
England gradually
annexed Wales and established hegemony over Ireland and Scotland. This
Kingdom of England had a distinct identity until it was subsumed into the
United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707.
The establishment
of devolved parliaments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales after 1997
gave those constituent parts of the United Kingdom their own political
identity, leaving England the only part directly run by the British
government.
This has raised
the profile of the "West Lothian question", namely that Scottish
MPs can vote on specifically English matters in the Westminster parliament
while English MPs have no say over Scottish affairs.
Between 1998 and
2010, England had its own quasi-governmental organisations and Regional
Assemblies. In June 2010, the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition
government announced that it was abolishing regional strategies and returning
planning powers to local government.
Only the London
Assembly, which was formed in 2000, is directly elected. The Assembly holds
the Mayor of London - the most powerful directly-elected politician in the
United Kingdom - to account by monitoring his spending and other activities.
The former Labour
government's proposals for other elected assemblies were dealt a blow by the
rejection of such a body in the North-East of England in a 2004 referendum.
Plans for referendums in other regions were subsequently abandoned.
A campaign for an
English parliament grew out of a belief in certain quarters that the
Devolution acts of 1998 had put England at a serious political and
constitutional disadvantage. Cornwall, an English county with a separate
Celtic identity, has also seen a campaign for its own devolved regional
assembly.
Identity
According to the
most recent census data, about 95% of the population of Scotland and Wales
identify as White British, rising to 99% in Northern Ireland. The comparable
figure for England is just under 85%. Therefore most of the British debate
about ethnic diversity, immigration and national identity in fact applies to
England.
This sensitive
political question is further complicated by two factors.
First, British and
English institutions and national identifiers such as flag, language, anthem
and popular culture largely overlap. As a result, markers of specific English
identity, such as the flag of St George, tend to be unofficial, while similar
signs of Scottish and Welsh nationhood are sanctioned by the separate
institutions of those countries.
Second, Scottish
and Welsh nationalist movements have long been part of the political
mainstream, and are seen as champions of legitimate historical national
identities. English nationalism, on the other hand, has often been portrayed
as a reaction to non-white immigration and seen as largely the province of
the far right. But there is a constitutional nationalist movement that
focuses on the English parliament issue.
This makes public
discussion of English identity politics difficult, as politicians on the left
and right have discovered, as accusations of racism and appeasement of
minorities are exchanged.
The one area where
English identity is able to develop without political controversy is the
realm of culture, and sporting teams are often the most comfortable focus for
national loyalty.
Culture
England has made a
number of major contributions to civilisation, perhaps the most significant
being its language. Through a combination of British colonial expansion and
trade, plus the world-power status of the United States since 1945, English
has approached de facto international second language status.
Outside the large
areas of the world where it is already an official if not first language,
English predominates in international diplomacy and has become the main
language in science, communications, business and the entertainment industry.
It is estimated
that more than a billion people can speak English at a basic level. Among
other cultural achievements, England's sporting life is followed worldwide,
in particular its football Premier League and cricket team.
In terms of popular
music, England's international impact has rivalled that of the United States
from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to the club scene of the 1990s and
beyond.
Law
English law
underpins a variety of legal systems worldwide. A common-law system distinct
from that practised in the rest of Europe, it spread with the expansion of
the British Empire and applies in many countries previously ruled by Britain.
Under common law,
judges apply legal precedent in court on the basis of previous court rulings.
This is distinct from civil law, the predominant legal system in the world,
which requires judges to apply prior abstract rules to cases under
consideration.
As the United
Kingdom is a member of the European Union, European civil law is also
applicable in England and Wales in matters pertaining to interpretation of
European Union law.
FACTS
·
England
·
Status: Part of United
Kingdom
·
Population: 51.45 million
(2008 official estimate)
·
Capital: London
·
Area: 130,395 sq km
(50,346 sq miles)
·
Major language: English
·
Major religion: Christianity
·
Life expectancy: 77 years (men), 82
years (women) (UN)
·
Monetary unit: 1 pound sterling =
100 pence
·
Main exports: Manufactured
goods, chemicals, foodstuffs
·
GNI per capita (UK figure): US $45,390 (World Bank, 2008)
·
Internet domain: .uk
·
International dialling code: +44
MEDIA
London is the hub
of the media industry in England and the UK. The capital is a major centre
for broadcasting, film and programme making, publishing and new media.
Most of the BBC's
UK-wide TV and radio networks are based in London, although the corporation
is moving some programme departments to Manchester, in north-west England.
The BBC and
commercial operators run TV and radio services across the English regions.
Local TV output often comprises a half-hour evening programme, featuring
regional stories.
The BBC's English
Regions local radio network comprises 40 stations, many of them serving a
single county. Outlets follow a news and speech-based remit.
Local and regional
commercial radio formats are often music-based. The radio market,
particularly in London, is highly competitive.
The UK's national
newspaper titles publish from London, although they have deserted their
famous Fleet Street home.
There is a lively
local and regional press scene; many dailies and weeklies are owned by large
publishing groups. Some papers distribute free copies in an attempt to stem
declining circulations.
|
||||||
LEADERS
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II became
queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1952 upon
the death of her father, George VI.
Queen Elizabeth II
|
She is the second
longest serving head of state, after the Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was
crowned in 1946.
She is also head of
state of 16 independent countries including Canada and Australia.
As a constitutional
monarch, her role in the legislative process is largely ceremonial.
Prime minister: David Cameron
David Cameron became
prime minister at the head of a coalition government on 11 May 2010, returning
his centre-right Conservative Party to power after 13 years of rule by the
centre-left Labour Party.
David Cameron: First Conservative prime
minister in 13 years
|
Mr Cameron formed a
partnership with the third party, the Liberal Democrats, after an inconclusive
parliamentary election from which the Conservatives emerged with the largest
number of seats, but without an absolute majority.
It is the first
formal coalition government in 70 years to govern the UK, where the electoral
system usually guarantees a majority for the largest party.
The new PM was
confronted by a daunting economic situation, with the UK only slowly emerging
from a deep recession caused by the 2008 global financial collapse, and facing
a rapidly mounting budget deficit.
Assuming office, Mr
Cameron promised that cutting the deficit would be his top priority. In October
2010, Mr Cameron's government announced a programme of deep cuts in government
spending - the UK's largest in generations.
In 2011, the prime
minister was criticised for hiring a journalist implicated in the scandal
surrounding the hacking of phones by the now defunct News of the World
newspaper as his communications director. The journalist, Andy Coulson, a
former News of the World editor, resigned and was later arrested in connection
with the allegations.
Born the son of a
wealthy stockbroker in 1966 in London, Mr Cameron was educated at Eton College
- Britain's top private school - and Oxford University. Aged 43 on coming to
power, he was the youngest prime minister since 1812.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Class on the 1st of February
Today in class we applied the Social Contract to life at Pembroke Academy. Reminder you have a quiz on 1-20 on your Citizenship Test and the Social Contract on Friday, as well as a current event.
Class on the 1st of February
Today in class we examined the St Louis in 1939. Remember you have a current Event on the U.K. due on Monday the 6th and a map quiz this upcoming Friday.
SS St Louis: The ship of Jewish
refugees nobody wanted
What happened next?
Name ______________________
What percentage of the passengers of the SS St Louis were
killed by the Nazis upon its return to Europe?
Why couldn’t the family of Gisela Feldman wait for her father before leaving Europe?
Describe the living conditions of Jews living in Germany in
the late 1930’s.
What happened when the SS St. Louis arrived in Cuba?
What happened when the SS St. Louis tried to dock in the US?
Why did Cuba and the US choose to send the SS St. Louis
away?
Write a paragraph explaining to the Jewish passengers of the
SS St. Louis why they must return to Nazi controlled Germany, justifying the
decision.
SS St Louis: The ship of Jewish
refugees nobody wanted
"It was
really something to be going on a luxury liner," says Gisela Feldman.
"We didn't really know where we were heading, or how we would cope when we
got there."
At the age of
90, Feldman still clearly remembers the raw and mixed emotions she felt as a
15-year-old girl boarding the St Louis at Hamburg docks with her mother and
younger sister.
"I was
always aware of how anxious my mother looked, embarking on such a long journey,
on her own with two teenage daughters," she says.
In the years
following the rise to power of Hitler's Nazi party, ordinary Jewish families
like Feldman's had been left in no doubt about the increasing dangers they were
facing.
St Louis
Jewish
properties had been confiscated, synagogues and businesses burned down. After Feldman's
Polish father was arrested and deported to Poland her mother decided it was
time to leave.
Feldman
remembers her father pleading with her mother to wait for him to return but her
mother was adamant and always replied: "I have to take the girls away to
safety."
So, armed
with visas for Cuba which she had bought in Berlin, 10 German marks in her
purse and another 200 hidden in her underclothes, she headed for Hamburg and
the St Louis.
"We were
fortunate that my mother was so brave," says Feldman with a note of pride
in her voice.
Tearful
relatives waved them off at the station in Berlin. "They knew we would
never see each other again," she says softly. "We were the lucky ones
- we managed to get out." She would never see her father or more than 30
other close family members again.
By early
1939, the Nazis had closed most of Germany's borders and many countries had
imposed quotas limiting the number of Jewish refugees they would allow in.
Cuba was seen
as a temporary transit point to get to America and officials at the Cuban
embassy in Berlin were offering visas for about $200 or $300 each - $3,000 to
$5,000 (£1,800 to £3,000) at today's prices.
When
six-year-old Gerald Granston was told by his father that they were leaving
their small town in southern Germany to take a ship to the other side of the
world, he struggled to understand what that meant.
"I'd
never heard of Cuba and I couldn't imagine what was going to happen. I remember
being scared all the time," he says, now aged 81.
For many of
the young passengers and their parents however, the trepidation and anxiety
soon faded as the St Louis began its two-week transatlantic voyage.
Feldman, who
shared a cabin in the lower part of the ship with her sister Sonja, spent her
time walking around the deck chatting with boys of her own age, or swimming in
the ship's pool.
On board,
there was a dance band in the evenings and even a cinema. There were regular
meals with a variety of food that the passengers rarely saw back home.
Under orders
from the ship's captain, Gustav Schroder, the waiters and crew members treated
the passengers politely, in stark contrast to the open hostility Jewish
families had become accustomed to under the Nazis.
The captain
allowed traditional Friday night prayers to be held, during which he gave
permission for the portrait of Adolf Hitler hanging in the main dining room to
be taken down.
Six-year-old
Sol Messinger, who was travelling with his father and mother, recalls how happy
everyone seemed. In fact, he says, the youngsters were constantly being told by
the adults that they were now safe from harm: "We're going away," he
heard people say again and again on that outward journey. "We don't have
to look over our shoulders any more."
But as the
luxury liner reached the coast of Havana on 27 May, that sense of optimism
disappeared to be replaced by fear, then dread.
Granston was
up on deck with his father and dozens of other families, their suitcases packed
and ready to disembark, when the Cuban officials, all smiles, first came
aboard.
What happened next?
- 288 passengers went to Great Britain, all of whom survived WW2
except one who died in an air raid in 1940
- The Netherlands took 181 people, Belgium 214 and France 224
- 87 of these emigrated before Germany invaded - of the 532 left,
278 survived and 254 died
- The journey was the subject of the 1976 film Voyage of the
Damned
It quickly
became clear that the ship was not going to dock and that no-one was being
allowed off. He kept hearing the words "manana, manana" - tomorrow,
tomorrow. When the Cubans left and the ship's captain announced that people
would have to wait, he could feel, even as a little boy, that something was
wrong.
For the next
seven days, Captain Schroder tried in vain to persuade the Cuban authorities to
allow them in. In fact, the Cubans had already decided to revoke all but a
handful of the visas - probably out of fear of being inundated with more
refugees fleeing Europe.
The captain
then steered the St Louis towards the Florida coast, but the US authorities
also refused it the right to dock, despite direct appeals to President Franklin
Roosevelt. Granston thinks he too was worried about the potential flood of
migrants.
By early
June, Captain Schroder had no option but to turn the giant liner back towards
Europe. "The joy had gone out of everything," Feldman recalls.
"No-one was talking about what would happen now."
As the ship
headed back across the Atlantic, six-year-old Granston kept asking his father
whether they were going back to see their grandparents. His father just shook
his head in silent despair.
By then,
people were openly crying as they wandered the ship - one passenger even slit
his wrists and threw himself overboard out of sheer desperation. "If I
close my eyes, I can still hear his shrieks and see the blood," Granston
says quietly.
In the end,
the ship's passengers did not have to go back to Nazi Germany. Instead,
Belgium, France, Holland and the UK agreed to take the refugees. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee(JDC)
posted a cash guarantee of $500,000 - or $8 million (£4.7m) in today's money -
as part of an agreement to cover any associated costs.
On 17 June,
the liner docked at the Belgian port of Antwerp, more than a month after it had
set sail from Hamburg. Feldman, her mother and sisters all went on to England,
as did Granston and his father.
They both
survived the war but between them they lost scores of relatives in the
Holocaust, including Feldman's father who never managed to get out of Poland.
Messinger and
his parents went to live in France but then had to flee the Nazis for a second
time, leaving just six weeks before Hitler invaded.
Two-hundred-and-fifty-four
other passengers from the St Louis were not so fortunate and were killed as the
Nazis swept across Western Europe.
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