Bible Story Background Info

Daniel Quinn makes some references to Bible stories in the novel Ishmael , and it is easier to understand some of his ideas if you have a prior knowledge of those stories. (As a note, this is a public school and these stories are taught as stories, not as truth. In this unit, just as in any other unit of study in this course, students are encouraged to examine and try to understand ideas and beliefs or others in a respectful atmosphere, and we attempt to teach the ideas as objectively as possible.)

Here is a link to the Bible online. You can choose what language and which version to read. Hopefully one you are comfortable with is here. To find the chapter you want, either type it in the search box next to the version/language box, or use the forward/back arrows. This link starts with Genesis 1. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201;&version=31;

Stories from the Judeo-Christian background of relevance to Ishmael include:

The Creation Story (Genesis 1 - 2:1)
Key question: What is different about God's creation of man than his other creations?

The Garden of Eden -- Paradise (Genesis 2:3 - )
Key question: What is Paradise?

The Serpent in the Garden, or The Fall (Genesis 3)
Key question: What impact does the punishment by God for Adam and Eve's choice have on mankind?

Cain and Abel (Genesis 4)
Understanding this story is vital to understanding one of Daniel Quinn's key ideas in Ishmael. Remember which one is the farmer of crops (Cain starts with C, so does crops), and which one was the shephard (Abel starts with A and so does, well, animal).

Abram and God's Promise (Genesis 12 -13)
Key Question: Why was God's promise seem strange to Abram?

Promise of a Son (Genesis 15 - 17:15 and Genesis 21:1 - 20)
Key Questions: How did God fulfill his promise to Abram? How is this story relevant to Daniel Quinn's Ishmael?

Socrates

In class we discussed who Socrates was and explored the importance of his ideas, especially about knowledge and learning (truth is not discovered, it is pursued). We discussed how his style of teaching -- asking questions to promote thinking -- gives you ownership of your learning. There are links in yesterday's post for background information about Socrates.

Here are some links about the "Socratic Method," the name by which his teaching style is commonly known:

Socratic method compared to scientific method: http://www.soci.niu.edu/~phildept/Dye/method.html

This site is good, but pages 3 and 4 are particularly helpful in explaining how he thought:
http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/htmlver/characters/f_socrates.html

Socratic Method

Today we finished watching the Nazi Hunters Unsolved History episode and began discussing Socrates and the Socratic Method.

Assignment: Research Socrates and come in with a background knowledge of who he was and why he was important.

Also: Tomorrow is Friday.....Current event day! Come in with your CE ready to hand in.

Here are some links to help you out with your Socrates research:

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/socrates.htm (intro level)

http://www.answers.com/topic/socrates (general background, links to other good sites)

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/ (more in-depth background)

Nazi Hunters

Today we watched the Discovery Channel's unsolved histories episode on Nazi hunters. For introductory information, go to:

http://shopping.discovery.com/product-55869.html

Some students have asked what happened to Dr. Mengele and Adolf Eichman. Here are a couple of links that will help you begin your search for information on their fates.

http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/history/mengele/epilogue_7.html

http://www.posner.com/articles/mengele.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2875368

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005167

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/biographies/eichmann.htm

Tuesday, 4/24

Day two, and I haven't fallen behind yet. That's a good start, for me!

In all classes we discussed the world's response to the Holocaust. Each student brainstormed what they would ask countries to agree to in order to prevent another holocaust from happening. We discussed their ideas, and then compared them to excerpts from the University Declaration of Humnan Rights adopted by the U.N. in 1948 (pages 70 - 75 in the holocaust packet). We discussed specific provisions and how they apply to situations. We discussed why some of the provisions are so similar (to prevent countries from finding loopholes). And, we discussed how this document is the ideal, a goal that we are still trying to meet worldwide.

Assignment: write well-developed answers to questions 1 -3 on page 75 of the Holocaust packet.

Hello!

Welcome to my first attempt at a blog. I am going to try to use this method to keep students and parents updated on what is happening in class. Some of you are absent on occassion (and some of you on several occassions!), and some of you are sometimes forgetful (and some of you are often forgetful!), so it is virtually impossible to keep up with each of you as needed. Therefore, I've decided to make a new attempt to help catching up run more smoothly. My fingers are crossed. My effort is sincere. I will do my best. (Please, those of you students who get some joy out of nagging me, feel free to remind me to update!).

So here goes....update 1!

April 23:

Today in yellow and green we examined Simon Weisenthal's The Sunflower story, and examined the concept of forgiveness. The readings are on pages 56 - 59 of your Holocaust packets that have the map on the first page. The assignment is to write about forgiveness, and in the process, consider the questions Weisenthal posed that are re-stated on page 59 of the reading.

Red and Blue did the same, but also completed a writing assignment that the other classes worked on last week: a deliberate current event connection between the VA tech shooting and Schindler's List. Some students took the connection further by examining ideas brought up in reading The Lord of the Flies.

More info on Simon Weisenthal: http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=242023