first assignment of the second quarter

After studying the leaders of twelve influential countries, our classwork this week will consist of an analysis of the governments of these nations.  

How will this work?

Working in pairs, you will make a Google "PowerPoint" (known as Google Slides or Google Presentations) of one particular country, containing the following information:

• the kind of government the country has
• how long they have existed under their present form of government
• how long their present leaders have been in power
• how long they are expected to stay in power (if known)
• some of the ways their people can effect a change in leadership

Keep track of where you find your information, so we can check how "legit" your source is.  When you are done researching, you will present your findings to the class, and be prepared to answer questions from me and your peers.

my version of your homework

Russia
Federation
President Vladimir Putin

• his family was so poor, he hunted rats in his house as a youth
• served as an intelligence officer in the infamous KGB
• holds a black belt in judo
• passed stricter anti-gay laws in 2014

China

Communist state

President Xi Jinping

• Xi's father held the position of Vice Chairman of the People's Congress, but was jailed in 1963 during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution
• he studied Chemical Engineering at Tsinghua University; received an advanced law degree after submitting a questionable PhD thesis
• he holds the top positions in the government, military, and the Communist party

Israel 

Parliamentary democracy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

• Netanyahu's nickname is "Bibi"
• he was a member of the Special Forces Unit of the Israeli Defense Forces
• his brother was killed attempting to rescue kidnapped Israelis during Operation Entebbe

Brazil
federal republic
President Dilma Rousseff

• she was a left-wing political activist, arrested and tortured for opposing the military dictatorship
• she is a cancer survivor (lymphoma)
• she studied economics at Rio Grande do Sul Federal University

Syria
republic under an authoritarian regime
President Bashar al-Assad

his brother Bassel died in an auto accident, opening the way for Bashad to become Syria's leader

has been proved to use chemical weapons on his own country's civilians, including children

he has been personally implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity by the United Nations

United Kingdom
constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth realm
Prime Minister David Cameron

• he is a descendant of King William IV
• his first child was born profoundly disabled, and died at the age of 6 of cerebral palsy and severe epilepsy
• he attended Oxford, studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)

Mexico
federal republic
President Enrique Peña Nieto

• at age 15, he began delivering propaganda in favor of his relative, a memory Peña Nieto still recalls as the turning point and start of his deep interest in politics
• he has had two children with two different women while married to his first wife
• his present wife is a Televisa soap opera actress
• he has had difficulty fulfilling his promise to reduce the influence of drug cartels in Mexico

Canada
a parliamentary democracy, a federation, and a constitutional monarchy
Prime Minister Stephen Harper

• he has a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Economics
• he voted against restricting the definition of marriage to that of "one man and one woman" way back in 1994
• he joined the Young Liberals Club in high school, but is now a member of Canada's Conservative Party

Japan
a parliamentary government with a constitutional monarchy
Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

• Abe comes from a politically prominent family
• he is Japan's youngest post-war Prime Minister
• he studied Public Policy at the University of Southern California
• Emperor Akihito is the fifth son of Emperor Hirohito

Germany

federal republic

President Joachim Gauck and Chancellor Angela Merkel

• Merkel learned Russian at an early age, and is quite fluent
• Forbes Magazine has named her the 5th most powerful person in the world
• she is the de facto leader of the European Union

India

federal republic

President Pranab Mukherjee

• his father spent several years in prison for opposing British rule
• he has advanced degrees in history, political science, and law
• he served as editor of a monthly magazine

France

republic

President François Hollande

• his father was a doctor whose politics were "far right;" while his mother was a liberal social worker
• he was raised Catholic but is now an athiest

leader biographies

Work continues on our studies of the leaders of twelve influential nations.  As we discuss these individuals, we will consider what may have happened previously in their lives to influence their rise to power, as well as key events that helped them become the people they eventually became.

There are a number of good websites to use when researching these world leaders, including Biography.com, the Chiefs of State section of the CIA World Factbook, even the Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People.

Continue blogging about these people as we discuss them in class.

further explanation

Five things to do for each of twelve countries:

(1. country) Brazil

(2. form of gov't)  Federal republic

(3. title) President (4. leader) Dilma Rousseff

(5. photo of leader)



Due at the start of the next class.

For Sections 3 and 6, that's Monday.
For Section 4, that's Tuesday.

More details are in the "Political Geography" PowerPoint I posted.  See slides 7 and 8 for details.

test results

Sections 3 and 4 received their test results today, and we devoted class time to making sure everyone understands the questions they missed.  Section 6 - tomorrow you get yours.

taking care of business

So many people were out on test day last week, that we took today to play catch-up.  This makes sense on a couple levels - I can't yet return tests with so many of you still needing to take it; we don't have class tomorrow due to standardized testing; I only see two of my three sections today.

So, starting Thursday, I will return and review tests.  And then we will begin our next unit: Political Geography.

mission accomplished

The unit on Population and Migration is over.

Possibly.

Note:  if you did not take the test today (Friday), you need to take it after school on Tuesday.  Be in the TV Studio at 3:00, with your computer, prepared to take the Population and Migration test.

Keep in mind that we don't have school on Monday, and you will be taking standardized tests on Wednesday.

Special thanks to Christina for entertaining the class today with her awesome Chinese music.

Have a great extended weekend!

test tomorrow

The test is still scheduled for tomorrow, and the strategy for success is still as I posted on yesterday's blog.

For those of you on retreat, I will be giving the test after school Friday in the TV Studio (Room 121 in the Fine Arts wing).  If you can't take it then, you can make it up after school Tuesday at 3:00 in the TV Studio.

Study hard, and be ready!

the key to success

How can you be ready for Friday's test on Population and Migration?

• pay attention during the in-class review
• be sure you are familiar with the CIA World Factbook
• study your notes and your blog
• review the information I have posted on my blog
• look at any videos I have posted on my blog

The test is worth 100 points, so it is worth being fully prepared.

notes on Population, Migration, and Spotify

Some things you need to know as we approach the end of this unit:

• The test originally scheduled for tomorrow, will now be given on Friday, October 10.
• We will use a class or two to review for this test.
• All three sections have been given their Spotify codes.  If you have not been able to redeem your code, please let me know (in class, or better yet, via email), and I will issue you a new code.
• More guidelines on the Spotify "assignment" will be given soon.
• Hint: the more familiar you are with navigating the CIA World Factbook site, the better you will do on a significant portion of Friday's test.

See you tomorrow!

The Greatest Country in the World

Very impressive discussions today!  Good to see so many of you with passionate opinions about the world you live in. You seem pretty well-informed, too, which is a key element in being a responsible, intelligent member of society.

Along those lines, here is a quiz you can take about current events, in case you are curious about how "in touch" you really are. Click HERE to take the quick test.

these pyramids sure are useful

Amazing what you can learn and infer just from viewing a country's population pyramid.

For example, what do you make of this one?

By the way, next time you see your fellow freshmen Grace Hollin and Arthur Zhang, congratulate them on participating  in their very first high school speech tournament!  Also, high fives to Drew Forthman for winning First Place in Declamation, and to Nicole Kanaras & Hayes Stancliff for taking Third Place in Team Debate!  Woo-hoo!

Update:  the reason for Qatar's oddly shaped population pyramid is because they are an oil-producing country, and a lot of the jobs in oil fields, refineries, shipping, and construction are filled by men, not women.  Women - especially from the West - are not likely to want to relocate to an area where they are not treated as well as men, which is true of many countries under Islamic rule. Interesting fact: only 13% of Qatar's population are Qatari nationals.

...and the story of the pyramids continues to build...

All three sections met today, and heard more on the very useful Population Pyramids.  

The one for the United States is pictured to the left (courtesy of the CIA Factbook).  

Sometimes the bars represent the percentage of the country's population; this one represents the US population in millions.

What else does the Factbook have to say about these pyramids?  How about this:  A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

See if you can find the bar that represents you!  Or your parents! Or your grandparents!

Also, for your listening pleasure, here is a story I heard on NPR just yesterday that describes something we have been discussing in class: the continuing trend of American women getting married later in life, and having fewer children.  I recommend that you check it out, to see the real-world relevance of what you are learning in our Human Geography course.