Ladies and Gentlemen, Instructions on How Women Can Break Through the Glass Ceiling.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, discusses the complex reasons why women on average do not rise to the top of their professions.   What she discusses is a little bit in your future but it is food for thought on how you might want to live your life.  Sort of an existential discussion in a way.   Do you agree with what Sandra says?   Go ask your mother/motherly figure what she thinks (+10 pts.)    

Pipeline under investigation for Environmental Impact

This article from The New York Times discusses the environmental investigation that is taking place into the proposed TransCanada Pipeline. Do you think it is ethically correct for the government to hire this company to conduct the investigation? Does this forecast the approval of the pipeline? Do you think that our government is showing bias? What does this say about our government?

Palestine's fight for an independent state!

  One hotbed of information and conflict in the world is the Israeli/Palestine debate that had been going on for a long time.   This is an article that discusses recent developments in the fight for Palestine to become an independent state.  Scratch your chin and ponder some of the following questions:


Does this promote unity of the Palestinians?

Is this civil disobedience at the international level?

Who gets to decide if Palestine gets to become a
 state?
Imagine being a Palestinian-would you support a push for UNESCO recognition? Why?

Check it out here

Murdered 18 year old girl Syrian potential propaganda?

This is a pretty wild story relating to the mutilation of a young woman and the disapearance of another.   An 18 year old girl who was reported mutilated by the government in Syria are now saying that the same girl is alive!   Watch the video and look at the documentation that the reporter brings to the story.  Do you think that the girl is the real girl?   Do you think that she is not the family's daughter?  Imagine being the parents or the family member of this girl and her brother.  What would you do?   Check it out here.

TEACHERS STRIKE! Acapulco teachers strike over drugs

Not over fair employment conditions but over salaries. Well, sort of.   Drug cartels in Acapulco are "requesting" that teachers fork over half of their salaries to them.  IF they do not there will be violence.  Last night, five severed heads were found at the doorstep of an elementary school as a  response to the protest.   If you were living in Acapulco what would you do?   Would you continue to go to school?  What would you want your teachers to do?   Would you protest?   Would you hide?http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/22/world/americas/mexico-acapulco-teachers/index.html

Call of Duty in the English Classroom?

Here is an interesting news clip from NPR discussing a new game that puts you in the battlefield as a journalist and not as a soldier.  It looks like another example of how technology could potentially play out in the classroom if you as a player are writing the story.   The question: Does this glamorize violence in a new way?  Should video games that provide morality be played in the classroom if they allow students to be engaged in what they are doing?   Just think of how much students would write and use real world applications of reporting and photojournalism....Here is a link that looks at the game with a trailer too.

Hi Everyone! Thanks for joining in on our discussions!

I thought this would be a good opportunity to look at this video from Frontline:Battle for Haiti since we have been discussing the problems of Haiti recently.   This particular movie is incredible in the portrayal of the struggle and problems that Haiti is facing.   It really brings the issues to light and put faces to the problems.   Very powerful.  It's 2 hours long so if you want to watch the whole thing feel free.   If not, when you post something and you are discussing a certain part, please post the time on the time meter so that we can all take a look at the particular scene you're discussing.   Can Haiti be rebuilt?