Humanities December Newsletter
December 2012
How Do Ideas Become Law and Still Allow for Evolution & Change?
Anthem for Anthem
At the end of November we finished the book Anthem, by Ayn Rand. Instead of taking a test on the book we were assigned a project. We had to create an Anthem for Anthem. In groups of four, we were told to find five passages from the book, and then act them out as a skit in our groups. The project was assigned to challenge us creatively with our groups. Groups took many exciting approaches towards creating their Anthems for Anthem, but all of them turned out great and were exciting to watch.
What Ideas Create a Culture that Balances the Needs of the Individual with the Needs of the Whole?
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
In this unit, we are reading The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail, by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. It is a play about “If the law is of such a nature that it requires you to be an agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law." So wrote the young Henry David Thoreau in 1849. Three years earlier, Thoreau had put his belief into action and refused to pay taxes because of the United States government's involvement in the Mexican War, which Thoreau firmly believed was unjust. For his daring and unprecedented act of protest, he was thrown in jail. The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail is a celebrated dramatic presentation of this famous act of civil disobedience and its consequences. Its poignant, lively, and accessible scenes offer a compelling exploration of Thoreau's philosophy and life.” This summary was quoted off of the website: http://www.amazon.com/Night-Thoreau-Spent-Jail-Play/dp/0809012235.
Landmark Cases of the Unites States Supreme Court
This past weekend we talked a lot about the United States Government and our Constitution. We had another project assigned to us! It was the landmark cases of the Supreme court.For the project we were assigned a partner and a Landmark Case of the United States Supreme Court. We had to research our cases then make a PowerPoint to present to the class that included background information, broad facts, the question being asked of the Supreme Court, the decision of the Supreme Court, and the impact the case had on how people changed how they looked at cases after. The cases we learned about by listening to our classmates’ presentations were: Marbury v Madison, Dred Scott v Sandford, Korematsu v United States, Mapp v Ohio, Miranda v Arizona, Regents of CA v Bakke, Hazelwood v Kuhlmeier, United States v Nixon, Coffin v United States, McCulloch v Maryland, Plessy v Ferguson, Brown v Board of Education, Gideon v Wainwright, Roe v Wade, New Jersey v T.L.O., Tinker v Des Moines, Texas v Johnson, and Adamson v California.
In addition to the presentation we will be taking a test on all of the landmark cases that our peers presented to us! Good luck to everybody!