**Blue Group English Assignment**

Respond to BOTH of the following prompts about "The Things They Carried":


1.) In the story titled, "Enemies" Dave Jensen breaks his own nose after breaking Lee Strunk's. What was he scared of, and do you think his fear was justified? How do you think Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen's relationship will change as a result?


2.) Based on what we've read so far in The Things They Carried, what effect do experiences in war have on otherwise young, just out of high school, men? Do the experiences make a person "grow up", or do they make men act like children? Explain why you think what you think, and use examples from the story to support your thoughts.

Mandatory Sentence Part 1

Please view the following video clip on Mandatory Sentence's and make a comment. What do you think the outcome will be, and why? Make sure you put your name to earn credit.

Mandatory Sentence Part 2

Please view the following video clip on Mandatory Sentence's and make a comment. What do you think about the sentence? When you make poor decisions, do you think of the people in your life you will leave behind? Make sure you put your name to earn credit.

Website Evaluation

Now that you have looked at the martinlutherking.org website, what is your opinion of the site?
Do you think anyone should be able to build a website?
Should there be separate laws concerning the freedom of speech on the Internet?
Please make sure you put your name to receive credit.

WHAT IS SELF-DETERMINATION?

Field, Martin, Miller, Ward, and Wehmeyer (1998) defined self-determination as:


"a combination of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that enable a person to engage in goal-directed, self-regulated, autonomous behavior. An understanding of one's strengths and limitations, together with a belief of oneself as capable and effective are essential to self-determination. When acting on the basis of these skills and attitudes, individuals have greater ability to take control of their lives and assume the role of successful adults in our society" (p. 2).


Martin and Marshall (1995) described self-determined people as individuals who:
"know how to choose-they know what they want and how to get it. From an awareness of personal needs, self-determined individuals choose goals, then doggedly pursue them. This involves asserting an individuals presence, making his or her needs known, evaluating progress toward meeting goals, adjusting performance, and creating unique approaches to solve problems" (p. 147).

Your assignment is to think about what self-determination means to you, and to think about what and how the decisions you make affect your day-to-day activities, including academic goals, post-school outcomes, and what it is that you can do to become more determined to reach your short-term goals. Please add your comments below, and make sure you put your name to receive credit.

Are you paying attention?

Since most of today's students can appropriately be labeled as "Digital Learners", why do so many teachers refuse to enter the digital age with their teaching practices?

This presentation was created in an effort to motivate teachers to more effectively use technology in their teaching.

Please see http://t4.jordandistrict.org/payattention to learn how you can become a better teacher.

web2.0 in 5 minutes

According to Wikipedia, Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies (tagging).