Coming of Age -- the 1930's

This week we started out with a Mickey Mouse cartoon from 1936 and a scene from a Shirley Temple movie from 1934.

Mickey:   https://youtube.com/watch?v=JVBjeUNQoLg

Shirley Temple:  http://youtu.be/WLLSqpYyPD8

General Paige gave us an in depth review of what was happening in the 1930's starting
with the Crash in 1929 and going thru until 1940.  We learned that FEMA was started
in the 30's.  Social Security was also begun in the 30's.  We also learned about protests,
riots, bread lines, bank failures, and unemployment.  

Our book discussion today was on Children of the Dust Bowl.  We all agreed that Leo Hart,
the man behind the Weedpatch School, was an amazing man and definitely qualifies
as a hero.

Our journal prompt today was "Why do we study heroes?"  Some of what was shared
with the class was that we study heroes to learn respect for them, to give us examples
of character traits we want to develop in ourselves, and for inspiration in our own
lives and missions.

General Paige ended class with a hero story about Irena Sendler.  She helped save the lives of several thousand Jewish children by smuggling them out of German occupied ghetto in Warsaw and providing them with false identity documents.  Google her for more information.

HOMEWORK:  

• Writing assignment:  "How does adversity affect my life?"
• Reading:  Start reading Flags of our Fathers  (adapted for young people)  We'll be discussing it in 3 weeks.
• Individual Hero Project:  Keep working on it.  You should have 1-2 heroes done by next class.
• Think about which hero you want to read a biography on.  I'll have sign ups for presentations on your biography hero next week.
• Start spreading the word that you want to interview folks that lived during WWII.

Next Week:  "The Rise of the Demagogues"

See you next Thursday!

~General Lisa & General Paige

Class Requirements

Here's the class requirements...

Please note that there is NO MEMORIZATION!!  :-)

1.)  Individual Hero Project

• Add a Hero every week (minimum of 10 for requirement)
• Choose any medium for you project.  (scrapbook, poster, notebook of quotes, quilt, painting, drawings, movie or power point, etc)
• Put together over time -- don't cram it.
• Bibliography.  At least one source for each hero.  
• Meant to be a personal search for people you can learn and grow from
• Look for heroes that show traits/virtues that you want to develop in yourself
• Only one hero is allowed to be fictional.  (Captain America, Super Man, Frodo, Sam, etc.)
• Heroes can come from history, modern day, core book, or even people you personally know.

2.)  Read the following 5 books:

• Children of the Dust Bowl by Jerry Stanley
• Flags of our Fathers (adapted for young people) by Ron Powers
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Tenboom
• Hiroshima by John Hersey
• Biography of choice -- Someone from the Depression/WWII era -- Some possibilities:  Harry Truman, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Eleanor Roosevelt, George S. Patton, Douglas McArthur, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Audie Murphy, Raoul Wallenberg, etc.  (Juvenile Literature section is okay as long as it isn't one meant for really young kids.)

3.)  Watch at least 3 movies:

• REQUIRED -- Tora! Tora! Tora!
• REQUIRED -- Ike-Countdown to D-day w/Tom Sellek OR The Longest Day w/John Wayne
• Life is Beautiful
• Saints & Soldiers
• The Monuments Men
• Captain America, the First Avenger

4.)  Hero Presentation

• from the biography that you chose to read.
• 5-10 minute oral presentation (we love visual aids :-))

5.)  Interviews

• Interview 2-3 people that lived during the Depression/WWII era.
• Presentation in class
• Video the interviews
• One phone interview allowed.

6.)  Writing Assignments -- complete at least 8 writing assignments.

7.)  Prepare for and participate in the Nuremberg Trial Simulation

We Didn't Start the Fire

Hi Everyone!

Today was our first day of Hero Project.  We started out with a fun sample of popular music thru the decades of the 20th century.  It's called "Evolution of Music - Pentatonix" on YouTube if you'd like to go look it up.

We talked about class requirements -- see next blog post or the FILA website.

LECTURE:  "Heroes & Your Generation -- Preparing Yourselves."
      Started out with the song "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel.  After discussing "What is the fire?" we decided that "the fire" was human nature/natural man.
      Reviewed the cycles of history and the 4 turnings.  Reviewed the Hero generation's role.

      Things millenials can do to prepare for their generation's role:

• values -- return to classic virtues
• pay attention & heed community norms
• build personal relationships of all kinds
• learn & practice teamwork
• develop/maintain good family relations -- immediate and extended family
• be self reliant
• varied education & skills.  Trade AND a Profession??  Broad education.
• learn to work.  learn to work hard
• learn and practice initiative
• public virture

ACTIVITY:  Simulation -- students were members of the English parliament.

JOURNAL PROMPT:  Make a list of all the heroes you can think of.

HERO STORY:  Nadezhda Popova -- WWII Night Witch

• Russian FEMALE bomber pilot who flew 852 missions
• Any German pilot who downed a "witch" was awarded the Iron Cross
• called "Night Witches" because thewhooshing noise their plywood and canvas airplanes made reminded the Gremans of the sound of a witch flying on a broom.
• flew only in the dark, with no parachutes, guns, radios, or radar.  They only had maps and compasses.

HOMEWORK: 

• WRITING: What is a hero?  Write your own definition of a hero.
• READING:  "Children of the Dust Bowl" is due next week.
• INDIVIDUAL HERO PROJECT:  Don't forget to get started on your individual hero projects.  You don't have to decide on your medium just yet, but you should at least start researching personal heroes.

See you all next week!

~Superheroes Lisa & Paige  :-)

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