Building a New Nation

My 7th graders just started a unit on building a new nation. Their key vocabulary words are citizen, democracy, representation, crown, liberty, taxes and government. The students are given a brief history of the reasons behind the American Revolution which is then enforced through excerpts of speeches from Abigail Adams (supporting the colonists) and Nathan Powell (supporting the king). For one of my classes this abstract vocabulary is way too difficult and they are really not interested.(I don't really blame them..after all they will only have Turkish history for 12 years and they have their hero in Ataturk)..But for the other class one student spent her entire recess trying to understand why we would through a bunch of tea into the sea. She was genuinely interested, and when I explained it in terms of the cost one glass of chai plus some taxes for the King in England, she really understood and we had a great discussion.

I think the ultimate goal of this unit is not necessarily to understand American history but rather to have each student write and give a speech. The idea of speech writing is reinforced by the fact that on the pages directly following Abigail's and Nathan's speeches is as two page spread of "great" speeches in American history. Here's the list:

Abraham Lincoln - Gettysburg Address
Cesar Chavez- Political Activist but no speech referenced
Frederick Douglas - What to the Slave is the 4th of July?
Maya Angelou - On the Pulse of the Morning - not a speech but a poem..
Soujourner Truth - Ain't I a Woman
John F. Kennedy - Ask not what....but what you can do for your country.
Eleanor Roosevelt - Human Rights for UN but no speech referenced.
Barack Obama - No speech referenced but he "gave a good speech" before he became President.

This got me to wondering...Are there any "great" speeches given by conservatives to give balance to this list...some speeches that may have even influenced history? A quick Google search yielded many  positive results but here are just a few:

Ronald Reagan - A Time for Choosing
Milton Friedman - The Role of Government in our Society
Dinesh D'Souza - Why America is So Great

Coincidentally, I'm currently reading Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham which is an excellent refresher on the thinking, courage, risks, and doubts before, during and after the American Revolution. I'm sure there are numerous Jefferson speeches that could be referenced regarding Building a New Nation that would much better fit the theme and title of the unit and illustrate the goal of delivering a good speech than a poem by Maya Angelou or a political activist with no speech mentioned.

But then I ask myself why I care what a book is teaching across the Atlantic...and the answer is simple...I miss America...not the foreign view of America where were are the "bad guys" that "consume the most, fight the most, pollute the most, cause of most of the world's problems, and (oh, by the way, thanks for the billions in aid) donate the most." I miss the America where we work hard, do great things, change the world for better, and  to give just one small example make great, functional toilets.

So, to have some fun, I will locate a good speech...I'm open for suggestions here..and create a listening exercise of a "great" American speech by someone of my own choosing.

Greece's Economic Crisis - One Tourist's Perspective

Black Pebble Beach

Today I read an article with my Turkish students about Greece's economic crisis. I don't know the date of the article or where it was "copied from" but it was in the "curriculum" so today we read and discussed. I learned a lot of facts from this article and  was probably much more interested than my students because I'd just returned from a weekend jaunt to Chios. Here is a little of what I learned from the article:
 - 2 out of 5 people work in tourism and Greece hopes to increase that number to 2 out of 4.

Outside the monastery.

 - Greece believes that just selling its islands as a cheap "sun and sand" vacation isn't working. It needs to sell the history and sites as well, which means digging some artifacts out of storage, dusting off some customs officers desks to make island entry quicker, and unlocking the doors to some places that have been closed for the past 400 or more years.
- Greece realizes that they need broaden their market..for example invite their neighbors (notice I didn't say friends) such as Turkish citizens who live nearby and have some disposable income.

We couldn't find Homer's Rock but this seems like a good place to teach from.

That being said, here's what I witnessed during my off season trip across the sea:
 - It felt like 4 out of 5 people were working in tourism except they weren't working between 12 and 3 on Saturday and Sunday because it is nap/lunch time..The rest weren't working at all.

Road to the monastery

- Because it is the off-season we were mainly interested in historical sites. The "sun and sand" would have to wait until next summer. Unfortunately, the historical sites were not well-marked. With 4 people in the car navigating, reading signs, reading maps, and turning on data roaming for GPS we were unable to locate one of the Trip Advisor top 10 sites and the other was so hidden and tucked away up a narrow 4-wheel drive road that we had to park the tiny rental Fiat and walk the remaining 2 kilometers only to find this UNESCO World Heritage Site closed. (austerity measures...maybe?)
- Greece has followed through on their promise to market to Turkey. As a matter of fact the stacks and stacks of tourist information brochures were written only in Turkish. We couldn't find a single English version. But the reality is, of the 15 or so people on the ferry, at least 6 of us were English speakers working in Turkey. Although the hotels are relatively inexpensive and therefore a good buy for the Turks, the food and drinks are at European prices and the currency is the Euro so Turkish citizens are not going to buy anything. Therefor the impact on the Greek economy is may be minimal.

As an active tourist,  here's my advice to Greece:
- Write some brochures in English and keep them on hand at all times. You'll reach a much bigger spending crowd with a few of those puppies on hand. I enjoyed the pictures from the Turkish version but I might have actually shopped if I could read the details.
- Advise your tourism workers that they might want to consider changing their ancient custom of closing at lunch time because when a the once-a-day ferry arrives with weekend tourists at noon and leaves the next day at 4 pm, they've removed lots of possible times for tourists to spend their money.
- Take those brochures, go for a drive around the island, and check for a match of signage to site. You might even add a few signs and post some hours of operation, too.

Even if Greece doesn't take my advice here's what you will like if you visit:
- The people...They smile. They're friendly. They like to party. They like to sing and dance.
- The coffee bars...maybe these are European and I'm just out of touch ..but Greece has the coolest coffee bars, decked out like real bars, and buzzing with atmosphere and fun.
- The scenery...You can't believe how many different types of beaches, mountains, coves, rocks, trees, churches,  monasteries, and vegetation awaits you on each tiny island.
- The food...from the baklava and pastries to the calamari and Greek salads with fresh feta, you'll never go hungry.

Wish vs. Resolution

I've been beginning each class this week with the student's task of writing their New Year's Resolution(s). We've always made resolutions in our family and I like the opportunity to pass along some culture.

lighting a wish balloon on New Year's Eve

In the case of teaching, I had to check the  understanding of "resolution" and not "wish". It reminds me of when our youngest was about 5 years old and her resolution was to "Go to Disneyworld." We all laughed because we thought she was so cute, but we also realized that she didn't understand the difference between a resolution and a wish. In Turkey they make New Year's wishes. For example, last weekend in Cesme we saw and photographed many "wish" trees. On New Year's Eve, we lit paper hot air balloons, made wishes, and watched our balloons fly off into the dark sky. To help explain "resolution" without a dictionary, I gave examples like "I resolve to eat more fruits and vegetables" or "I resolve to do 10 push ups per day." For most students that was enough but several still needed more. So I a continuum where I started with words like "I would like"  (25 - 50% possible ) - "I wish" (51-90%ish) -  "I resolve" (90--100%). This seemed to work for the rest of the students and they began to write. But, when I saw their answers and behavior, I still wasn't so sure.

For example, in one of my lower classes most of the students wrote they "resolve to get better grades". Most had to borrow a pencil to write this. Most never take notes (except those who had extra pencils and paper to lend) or bring a book, or stop talking long enough to listen. Many started eating the scraps of paper left over from an earlier exercise while thinking of the "resolution". ( Luckily they didn't have any pens or mechanical pencils with which to shoot the spit wads.)

I've been wondering if it is Turkish students or most students in general who do not understand the connection between a "resolution" (you're going to make it happen) or a "wish" (there's a pretty good chance nothing will change.) I guess my point here is that even in making a "resolution", the attitude is  more like a " wish" as in "I wish my grades would magically improve without me doing a lick of work"  or "I wish I would ace this exam although I haven't studied one bit."

wish tree in Cesme

So back to the idea of "wish" vs. "resolution". I wish you all health and happiness. But, I resolve to...well. not everything is public.. but rest assured I have the steps in place to make it 90-100% sure.