Well, this is it.  The end of our time together in World History is now at hand.  I just wanted to take a moment to tie up some loose ends.  First of all, please remember to bring your books back to my class on Monday.  We need them for next year’s students.  Also, if you do not bring them back, it means you owe the school 75 dollars.  Knowing this, you should make sure you return the World History texts tomorrow.

I will not be in class on Monday as I have graduation practice with the seniors.  I wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed being your history teacher this year.  I believe we covered some topics and events in a unique way.  I think we had some very productive and thought-provoking discussions over the course of the year.  I tried to show you how the past impresses itself on our lives today. 

Most of all, I hope that you see how people from the past are much the same as we are today.  Even though the people we studied come from hundreds and sometimes thousands of years ago, they are motivated by the same things as we are now.  Just like us, they are capable of extraordinary good and monstrous evil.  Understanding that unchanging part of history and human nature will hopefully help you learn from the successes and failures of the past and make good decisions in your own lives.

I’ll be updating this site every so often over the next few months, so make sure to check it out once in a while.

With that, I bid you farewell.  Have a safe and enjoyable summer, my excellent students.  May you be blessed with good health and great times.

Dear Awesome Students:

With 9th period’s final tests graded, nearly everyone can refer to PowerSchool to find their 4th marking period and final grades for the year.  The only students that do not have finalized grades are those who have not given me back their books. 

PLEASE RETURN YOUR BOOKS TO MY CLASSROOM ASAP ON MONDAY.  It is worth a test grade and it will save you money.  The history text books are 75 dollars each.  That is real money.  Just hand the book back and everyone will be happy…most importantly, you.

Thanks.

Please continue to study for all your finals.  You are all so close to the top of the mountain.  Don’t give up now.

Anyway, here’s some more cool tunes to fill your time while studying.

Beastie Boys – Root Down

Bob Marley – Stir It Up

Torche – Across the Shields

The coolest version of the shortest song ever written

Again, I saw some very encouraging signs.  Many students scored nice high grades, which makes me think that you’ve been studying.  That remains a good plan for those who haven’t yet taken the final.

Keep studying for all your finals, not just mine.  You’re almost at the finish line.  Good luck.

Here’s some more studying music:

Jesu – “Blind and Faithless”

High on Fire – “Rumors of War”

Snoop Dogg – “From tha Chuuuch to da Palace”

Beastie Boys – “Intergalactic”

My second period class took their final test today.  The tests have been graded.  I am seeing good grades from a lot of the students.  That is a very encouraging sign.

Don’t get complacent.  Study hard for this final (as well as all the rest of your finals, of course) and you should do fine.  You might even surprise yourself with how well you do.

Here’s some studying music:

Mastodon: “Oblivion”

Run-DMC: “It’s Tricky” 

Jesu:  “Transfigure”

Public Enemy: “911 Is A Joke” 

Okay, students.  Start studying.  See you next week.

Monday 6/8:  WWI Test.  Be sure to get the notes from this link.  Also study your vocabulary and open-ended questions from the centers.

Tuesday 6/9:  Prescription Sheet is due/Turn in textbooks

Wednesday 6/10:  Final Review

Thursday 6/11:  Final Review.

Please remember to turn in your books on Tuesday.  Nobody wants to owe the school money right before summer vacation.

As a way to get you ahead of the game, I’ve uploaded the notes that you’ll need for the big final we’ll be having soon.  Click here , follow the fairly easy instructions and download the Microsoft Word file.  The review will have all the notes, as well as sample multiple choice questions, vocabulary and sample open-ended questions.  Good luck and I will see you all on Monday.  Have a pleasant weekend.

I’ve assembled some famous quotes about the nature of war.  Read ahead.

 ——————————————-

Only the dead have seen the end of war.  ~ Plato

 

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. ~ John Stuart Mill

War is a series of catastrophes that results in a victory ~ Georges Clemenceau

 

There was never a good war or a bad peace. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Which one makes the most sense to you?  Why?

World War I Notes

• Causes of the War: 1-Nationalism=Many ethnic groups in Europe wanted their own countries, were angry at their rulers. 2-Imperialism=European competition over colonies created tension. 3-Entangling alliances=European nations had created a web of military treaties that put them on the hook if even a small conflict came between two nations.
• 1879: Triple Alliance-Military treaty between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. 1907: Triple Entente-Military alliance between France, England & Russia.
• 6/28/1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist. This sets off big chain of events, WWI begins.
• WWI Sides: Central Powers-Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire. Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, Russia (Japan & Italy later joined).
• Western Front-deadlocked region in Northern France. Germans used the Schlieffen Plan, hoping for a quick victory over the French, then would rush over to Russia to defeat them.
• 9/5/1914: First Battle of the Marne-Germans defeated by the French in France, pushed the war into a long stalemate. The Schlieffen Plan was in ruins, the Germans would be fighting on two fronts.
• The Western Front was full of trench war battles; the Eastern Front was relatively mobile in comparison, but still full of death. Russia had a hard time keeping up, they hadn’t industrialized. The war also put pressure on the Russian monarchy, the people were growing unhappy with their leaders.
• By 1915, the war had spread beyond Europe, with battles in Asia and Africa.
• January 1917: The Germans were practicing Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, attacking any vessel they thought were carrying supplies to the Allies. German subs sank 3 US ships during this time, angering America.
• February 1917: America intercepts the ‘Zimmerman memo’ German communication to Mexico offering Mexico help to ‘reconquer’ territory in America if the Mexicans aligned itself w/Germany. America takes this as an act of war, joins the Allied side.
• March 1917: Russia, under stress of revolution, exits the war. Eventually the Communists take over Russia, sign the Brest-Litovsk treaty with Germany, ending the war between the 2 nations on March 1918.
• March 1918: German troops once again reach the Marne area, close to Paris, but they’re exhausted. The fresh American troops assist the Allied effort, causing the German offensive to collapse. Soon the Bulgarians and the Ottomans surrender. October 1918: The Austria-Hungarians revolt & surrender. Finally, the Germans surrender on November 9, 1918.
• Treaty of Versailles (June 28th, 1919): Peace plan created by the British French and US.
• Treaty created new nations out of Austria-Hungarian, Ottoman and Russian Territory-Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Palestine, Iraq, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Romania & Poland gained territory out of the treaty.
• Treaty also put all the blame on Germany for the war, subjected them to huge reparations. They had to pay massive amounts of money to France & Britain.
• Versailles Treaty left many in the Central Powers bitter over the terms of the peace. This bitterness helped to cause WWII two decades later.

The Red Baron

The Red Baron’s plane

I was reading about Baron Manfred Von Richthofen, the World War I German flying ace also known as the Red Baron.  I thought this passage was pretty interesting:

Though several other flyers had painted different sections of their planes special colors, Richthofen noticed that it was difficult to see these during a battle. To get noticed, from the ground and from the air, Richthofen decided to paint his plane bright red…no one had yet been so ostentatious as to paint their entire plane such a bright color.

“One day, for no particular reason, I got the idea to paint my crate glaring red. After that, absolutely everyone knew my red bird. If fact, even my opponents were not completely unaware”

I thought it was cool that the guy was so confident he painted his entire plane bright red just to make sure people knew it was him flying.

What part of your life could you celebrate like the Red Baron?  What things are you particularly proud of about yourself?

Center Four is due Tuesday June 2nd 2009.

Center Five Due Thursday June 4th 2009.

After You Read homework questions due Wednesday June 3rd 2009.

Notes will be given intermitently during the week.

Test Friday June 5th 2009.

Prescription Sheet due Monday June 8th 2009.

World War I era machine gun team with gas masks