Class,
Today we discussed the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War, and its role leading toward the Revolution. Remember, the debt incurred led to the taxes. England wasn't just levying taxes against the colonies for their own personal gain. However, these taxes were decided without any representation from the colonists themselves, something British subjects in England enjoyed and expected. This week I want you to consider some of these taxes, like the Stamp Act, the Sugar Act, the Tea Act, and the Intolerable (or Coercive) Acts and consider if these were justified or "tyranny." What did you learn about the relationships between the British soldiers and the colonists? What factors do you see at play? I'd like you to take a stand here, deciding whether the colonists or the English were more justified. In other words, how much "tyranny" were the colonists experiencing before their rebellious Boston Tea Party? Remember to make a claim and back it up with specific details. I'm far more concerned with your ability to argue well than your position. You are welcome, even encouraged, to look into some other sites discussing this issue, but don't plagiarize. Consider this position for yourself. Not everyone in the colonies considered themselves Patriots. Many were Loyalists, siding with the King.
As far as our literature in class, we read a couple primary documents from Benjamin Franklin. First, we examined an excerpt from his autobiography, focusing on his 13 Virtues. I asked you to consider his virtues and then to come up with your own list of 8 virtues. What are your own personal rules for productivity, success, and a good honest life? How do your habits today reflect your virtues? What might you consider changing or adding? I think Franklin was on a really smart path with these personal guidelines, even if my list looks a bit differently than his. However, I am interested in not just learning about these remarkable people in history, but learning from them. What can Franklin teach us about goal setting? What does your list look like? And here's the big challenge: Can you implement those changes over the next week? Try it. You might be surprised! Would you miss that extra hour of video games? What if you used it for working out instead? What if you used that extra hour you spend on Facebook towards personal development? What if you committed thirty minutes a day to studying something you want to be an expert on? In a week, you can glean 3.5 to 7 hours of body building, bible study, science knowledge, artistic development, or writing. In a month you can have between 105 hours and 210 hours of expertise. By this time next year, 1,260-2,520 hours of expertise. That's incredible! Just half an hour to one hour a day of reallocating your time to become more efficient. Franklin was certainly onto something! What do you want to be an expert in? How can you start now? For me, I need to renegotiate my time on social media sites. For you, that might look differently. I'd like you to take your list and try it out for a week and then write up a short response on the results. Was it hard? Was it worth it? What worked? What didn't? Do you need to re-adjust your list?
Next, we read Benjamin Franklin's letter to Ezra Stiles. I think this letter is important because it does give us a glimpse into Franklin's belief system. I've come across many curricula in my day that has incorrectly portrayed the beliefs of some of our Founding Fathers. This is why I believe it is imperative to study primary sources. Let's go to the source and draw our own conclusions. What some might interpret as one position, others could easily refute or find problematic.
Finally, you need to do your research for our history topic next week. This was on the board and you all wrote your name down, so hopefully, you remember. For those of you that were out, pick from the following list: Battle of Lexington, Battle of Concord, Phyllis Wheatley, African Americans and Slavery during the revolution, Women during the Revolution, and Native Americans during the Revolution.
Your only literature assignment this week is to read Phyllis Wheatley's poem on page 13. Since this is so short, read it two or three times. I'd like you to be able to write a response on this poem when you come to class. I haven't decided if that will happen or not. But be prepared just in case. :)
Next week, we are going to push further into the Revolution and read some of the Declaration of Independence. I will likely have us look at this closely and perhaps even assign some extra reading on this for next week's homework. This is a document I want you to know, not just know about.
I will work on your essays this week and I hope to have most, if not all of them, graded by next week. You're doing great! Keep it up.
Today we discussed the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War, and its role leading toward the Revolution. Remember, the debt incurred led to the taxes. England wasn't just levying taxes against the colonies for their own personal gain. However, these taxes were decided without any representation from the colonists themselves, something British subjects in England enjoyed and expected. This week I want you to consider some of these taxes, like the Stamp Act, the Sugar Act, the Tea Act, and the Intolerable (or Coercive) Acts and consider if these were justified or "tyranny." What did you learn about the relationships between the British soldiers and the colonists? What factors do you see at play? I'd like you to take a stand here, deciding whether the colonists or the English were more justified. In other words, how much "tyranny" were the colonists experiencing before their rebellious Boston Tea Party? Remember to make a claim and back it up with specific details. I'm far more concerned with your ability to argue well than your position. You are welcome, even encouraged, to look into some other sites discussing this issue, but don't plagiarize. Consider this position for yourself. Not everyone in the colonies considered themselves Patriots. Many were Loyalists, siding with the King.
As far as our literature in class, we read a couple primary documents from Benjamin Franklin. First, we examined an excerpt from his autobiography, focusing on his 13 Virtues. I asked you to consider his virtues and then to come up with your own list of 8 virtues. What are your own personal rules for productivity, success, and a good honest life? How do your habits today reflect your virtues? What might you consider changing or adding? I think Franklin was on a really smart path with these personal guidelines, even if my list looks a bit differently than his. However, I am interested in not just learning about these remarkable people in history, but learning from them. What can Franklin teach us about goal setting? What does your list look like? And here's the big challenge: Can you implement those changes over the next week? Try it. You might be surprised! Would you miss that extra hour of video games? What if you used it for working out instead? What if you used that extra hour you spend on Facebook towards personal development? What if you committed thirty minutes a day to studying something you want to be an expert on? In a week, you can glean 3.5 to 7 hours of body building, bible study, science knowledge, artistic development, or writing. In a month you can have between 105 hours and 210 hours of expertise. By this time next year, 1,260-2,520 hours of expertise. That's incredible! Just half an hour to one hour a day of reallocating your time to become more efficient. Franklin was certainly onto something! What do you want to be an expert in? How can you start now? For me, I need to renegotiate my time on social media sites. For you, that might look differently. I'd like you to take your list and try it out for a week and then write up a short response on the results. Was it hard? Was it worth it? What worked? What didn't? Do you need to re-adjust your list?
Next, we read Benjamin Franklin's letter to Ezra Stiles. I think this letter is important because it does give us a glimpse into Franklin's belief system. I've come across many curricula in my day that has incorrectly portrayed the beliefs of some of our Founding Fathers. This is why I believe it is imperative to study primary sources. Let's go to the source and draw our own conclusions. What some might interpret as one position, others could easily refute or find problematic.
Finally, you need to do your research for our history topic next week. This was on the board and you all wrote your name down, so hopefully, you remember. For those of you that were out, pick from the following list: Battle of Lexington, Battle of Concord, Phyllis Wheatley, African Americans and Slavery during the revolution, Women during the Revolution, and Native Americans during the Revolution.
Your only literature assignment this week is to read Phyllis Wheatley's poem on page 13. Since this is so short, read it two or three times. I'd like you to be able to write a response on this poem when you come to class. I haven't decided if that will happen or not. But be prepared just in case. :)
Next week, we are going to push further into the Revolution and read some of the Declaration of Independence. I will likely have us look at this closely and perhaps even assign some extra reading on this for next week's homework. This is a document I want you to know, not just know about.
I will work on your essays this week and I hope to have most, if not all of them, graded by next week. You're doing great! Keep it up.
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