Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Hour of Code

My home room did the Hour of Code in 25 minutes.  They are so sweet.  They all gave it a try just because I asked them too. And what do you know? Several of them really liked it.  Dan O'Shea from Central Office showed up so we could posterize him coding

From Mike Harvey and Anne MacDonald:

Why Computer Science and the Hour of Code?

Students are constantly using technology today, but how many are learning to build it? Every 21st-century student should have the opportunity to learn computer science, yet fewer schools teach computer science than 10 years ago.

Here is the website we have been sending students to - https://tackk.com/fhs
There is a great video at the top of the page that  you can watch together or they can watch on their own.


Friday, December 5, 2014

Sophomore Research Project: How are you doing with your essential question?

Many people have written me to ask about their essential questions.  Here are excerpts from some of my correspondence with you all around your EQs from email:

It's a good question. I don't think it's an A question but you are getting closer. Perhaps as you get more into answering it you can develop it further. Remember the difference to me between an A and a B question is does the answer to the question matter to us?

So basically is American society less sexist? 
I think you could answer this a little too easily. Would anyone say society is more sexist today then in the time of huck finn or the help? I could be wrong here thats for sure.

So you feel like you could answer your question with the Help and the Awakening?  As long as you are comfortable doing that you will be good I think. How will you use the Help?  Now that i think about it the guys in the book do fit stereotypes pretty well.

The Ceo of yahoo. Several members of the Supreme Court, Oprah, Hillary Clinton
That kind of example for a strong woman?

I think it needs some work as I could answer your question like this:
Racial discrimination still exists today.  According to the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Unconscious biases and perceptions about African Americans still play a significant role in employment decisions in the federal sector." and "Narrow recruitment methods negatively impact African Americans."(EEOC)
A little to easy to answer and i think the answer to the question is not something too many people would debate.
Are you struggling with this?

Hope you are all doing well and not struggling to hard.  Thanks for staying in touch. 

Here is a link to the assignment in case you need it.

Mr. W