Sunday, September 13, 2009

WH 2: 15 September 2009

Prayer


Current Events


"Congressional Democrats Consider Parting With Obama on Afghanistan;" Obama has already committed 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan and he considering an escalation of 4,000 more troops. Some organizations are asking Americans to "Rethink Afghanistan."




Review:


You should be acquainted with our Shanawiki page:
(http://shanawiki.wikispaces.com/) and know how to anonymously post.


I reviewed the textbook situation and HW; and, Grading:


Quarter Grades


60% = Tests & Papers


25% = Assignments (class work & homework)


15% = Quizzes (announced & unannounced)


Semester Grade


40% of each quarter grade and 20% of the semester exam grade


Final Year Grade


Average of the first and second semester grades.


Lecture:


Section 1 The Scientific Revolution


Lecture material on The Scientific Revolution.


What information did you find for the HW questions on Adam Smith, Galen, or other historical figures in Chapter 10?


I made some references and I have "show and tell" material.


LibraryThing:
Galen


Works on Adam Smith:


Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Penguin edition.


Smith, An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Harvard Classics)


Economics Explained: Everything You Need to Know About How the Economy, Robert L. Heilbroner


Descartes:


Discourse on Method and Related Writings (Penguin Classics), Rene Descartes


Who can summarize the iTunes podcast about "Adam Smith on the British North American Colonies," by Thayer Watkins of San Jose State University


Next, we will consider: WH 2: "Changing Views of the Universe" (After the Scientific Revolution).
HW


1. Why was Copernicus’s theory seen as radical?
2. Define contradict.
3. What basic biographical details can you find out about revolutionary thinkers Bacon and Descartes?

AP Economics: 14 September 2009

Prayer


Current events: US tyre duties spark clash between China and the U.S. as Obama decided to impose a new duty of 35% on Chinese tyre imports in addition to the existing 4% tariff.


Obama is attempting an economic measure known as protectionism. The idea is to protect domestic production against foreign products. According to the Foundation for Teaching Economics, they state:


Despite resultant harm to consumers and other users of protected products that outweighs benefits to protected industries, these trade barriers remain politically viable because of stronger incentives for political action by concentrated interest groups than by individual citizens.


In this instance, Obama is appealing to a political base of his, the concentrated support of labor unions.


A recent related article describes "The Five Financial Shockwaves to Expect When China’s Yuan Swaps Places with the U.S. Dollar."


Review:


Grading:


Quarter Grades


60% = Tests & Papers


The format, multiple choice & free response questions, will be similar to the AP Macroeconomics exam you will take in May. You must be able to apply the information from lecture notes, visual materials, and assignments (reading & written). Class materials should be reviewed on a nightly basis. Tests will be announced and posted in advance of the test date.


Papers will be assigned periodically and they will count as test grades. Each quarter you will submit an Article Analysis Report; it will count as a test grade.

25% = Assignments (class work & homework)

Since this course is modeled after a college course, you will be required to complete readings and answer content related questions, define terms, solve problems, write papers, perform projects, and participate in class simulation exercises. It is your responsibility to keep up with the work load in this class and to ensure that all assignments are completed and submitted on the assigned due date. Assignments will be posted by their due dates.

All assignments that are collected and graded will be checked for complete, fully detailed, and accurate answers.

Reading Assignments: you will be assigned reading to cover in preparation for discussion of the material in class. You must complete the reading by the assigned due date. You should be prepared for a quiz on the terms and reading material at any time; the quiz may or may not be announced.

Reading Questions & Terms: To complete these assignments, you must use the information from the reading to answer the questions and define the terms to post on the AP Economics Shanawiki page.

Practice Problems: All practice problems will be completed on the worksheets or loose leaf paper in blue or black ink; write out all formulas, show all work, and properly label all graphs. No graph paper or computer generated graphs will be accepted; draw all graphs on loose leaf paper.

Class Simulations: we will complete some class simulations during the school year. At the conclusion of these activities, or in-class lessons, you may be required to complete review questions or answer questions. If you are absent on a simulation day, you will be expected to make up the simulation in order to earn a grade for the follow up assignment; failure to make up the assignment will result in a zero.

Format for typed assignments (or emailed)

Heading:

Include your name, period, title of the assignment, AP Macro, and due date

15% = Quizzes (announced & unannounced)

Quizzes will check your comprehension of smaller portions of class content. The format will vary. Questions will require you to demonstrate comprehension of class notes, facts from video presentations, class simulations or lesson plans, reading and written assignments. Some questions will make you apply the material learned and use the facts to solve problems. They can be announced or unannounced.

Semester Grade

40% of each quarter grade and 20% of the semester exam grade

Final Year Grade

Average of the first and second semester grades.


Email procedure:


Email the introduction directly to me at: gmsmith@shanahan.org; never post personal information online. Never use any other email other than the shanahan.org address.


Who got a chance to view the "Broken Window Fallacy?"


Discussion: What is your reaction?


In-class new material: "The Story of Money," and, "The Story of Inflation" (hand-outs).


If not covered in class review the following material.


Material on scarcity is available online, e.g., on scarcity:


http://www.fte.org/teachers/programs/rightstart/curriculum/scarcityandopportunitycost.html


HW


1. Post the definitions (first come, first serve) on the back of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's hand-outs "The Story of Money," and, answer the five (5) questions on "The Story of Inflation" on "The Story of Money and Inflation" Shanawiki page.


The five questions for "Inflation" are:
a. How is inflation defined?
b. What causes inflation?
c. What are the effects of inflation on individuals and the economy?
d. How is inflation measured?
e. How can inflation be prevented?


Anyone can add to the definitions, add to the materials already listed, or ask questions as well.


2. From the material on scarcity, at:


http://www.fte.org/teachers/programs/rightstart/curriculum/scarcityandopportunitycost.html


print out and bring to class your own copy of "Identifying Needs," "Identifying Needs – Again," and "ADAM and EVE: In the beginning there was a production possibility frontier."


We will be answering questions such as:

What could you be doing instead of being here for this session? (List your alternatives)


What is your opportunity cost for being here for the next hour?


How do economists use the concept of opportunity cost to explain a person making a mistake?


What is the Opportunity Cost for a high school student to study one hour for Economics?

WH 2: 14 September 2009

Prayer


Current events


At least 1.5 million and perhaps as many as 2 million people marched on Washington, D.C. on Saturday. To put the number in historical perspective, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "March on Washington" was estimated at 250,000 people.




Review:


To use the Shanawiki page:
(http://shanawiki.wikispaces.com/) effectively, you need to know how to anonymously post.


You post using a random three-digit number. For example, a student in first period, who sits in the first row, in the first seat, is #111. A student in the 7th Period, who sits in the seventh row, in the seventh seat, is #777. Each student then can determine their unique, anonymous, randomly assigned three-digit number. The number order is period first, row second, and then, your seat within the row.

N.B.: you should never post any personal information online, there should be nothing online that really identifies your actual name, address, or any other personal information. The randomly assigned three-digit number keeps you anonymous online.


Other housekeeping matters are to update the textbook situation and HW.


Grading:


Quarter Grades


60% = Tests & Papers


The format may include a variety of question types such as multiple choice & free response questions. You must be able to apply the information from lecture notes, visual materials, and assignments (reading & written). Class materials should be reviewed on a nightly basis. Tests will be announced and posted in advance of the test date.


Papers will be assigned periodically and they will count as test grades.


25% = Assignments (class work & homework)


You will be required to complete readings and answer content related questions, define terms, solve problems, write papers, perform projects, and participate in class. It is your responsibility to keep up with the work load in this class and to ensure that all assignments are completed and submitted on the assigned due date. Assignments will be posted by their due dates.


All assignments that are collected and graded will be checked for complete, fully detailed, and accurate answers.


Reading Assignments: you will be assigned reading to cover in preparation for discussion of the material in class. You must complete the reading by the assigned due date. You should be prepared for a quiz on the terms and reading material at any time; the quiz may or may not be announced.


Reading Questions & Terms: To complete these assignments, you must use the information from the reading to answer the questions and define the terms to post on the Shanawiki page.


Class Activities: we will cover activities, simulations, and other work during the school year. At the conclusion of these activities, or in-class lessons, you may be required to complete review questions or answer questions. If you are absent on a simulation day, you will be expected to make up the simulation in order to earn a grade for the follow up assignment; failure to make up the assignment will result in a zero.

Format for typed assignments (or emailed)

Heading:

Include your name, period, title of the assignment, WH 2, and due date

15% = Quizzes (announced & unannounced)

Quizzes will check your comprehension of smaller portions of class content. The format will vary. Questions will require you to demonstrate comprehension of class notes, facts from video presentations, class simulations or lesson plans, reading and written assignments. Some questions will make you apply the material learned and use the facts to solve problems. They can be announced or unannounced.

Semester Grade

40% of each quarter grade and 20% of the semester exam grade

Final Year Grade

Average of the first and second semester grades.


Lecture:


Section 1 The Scientific Revolution
Sixteenth-century Europeans began to question the scientific assumptions of the ancient authorities and to develop new theories about the universe. Nicholas Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei revolutionized astronomy. Copernicus claimed that the sun, not the earth, was at the center of the universe—an idea considered heresy by the Catholic Church. Equally revolutionary were Isaac Newton's explanations of gravity and the movement of the planets. There were breakthroughs in medicine and chemistry, and numerous women contributed to the body of scientific research. The new view of the universe affected Western philosophy. The Frenchman Rene Descartes, the first rationalist, declared that matter could be independently investigated by reason. Francis Bacon, an English philosopher, developed the scientific method—a system for collecting and analyzing evidence.


Lecture material on (Pearson 13.5) The Scientific Revolution.


HW

1. In the textbook (but as I stated, everyone does not have a text, thus, we will-also cover this material in class for everyone), answer p. 299 #6-9.


2. Research on LibraryThing and report the bibliographical information or any material you can find on Adam Smith, Galen, or other historical figures in Chapter 10.


Extra work: Cf. On iTunes, you can download "Adam Smith on the British North American Colonies," by Thayer Watkins of San Jose State University, and summarize his lecture in a two-minute presentation.

AP Economics: The Circular Flow of Money