You're Going on a Trip Overseas

Photo retrieved from http://www.boracayonline.com/gallery/scenery.html

Pretend you're going on a trip overseas. You choose the country and then put together a list of things you are going to need to bring.

Leave a comment here that includes the country you are traveling to and the five most important items that you need to bring.  Please include the reasons why you chose these as the five most important items.

6 Weeks Down, 12 To Go - Let's Reflect

Photo retrieved from: http://www.portlandoctopus.com

We are one-third of the way through the first semester. It's a good time to reflect or look back at what's happened. Time goes by so fast and there are so many things I have to do each day that I rarely look back to see what went well and what didn't go well. I think that many of you also have very little time to reflect. Let's take some right now...

What are some things that went good for you over the last six weeks (since the beginning of school)? What are some things that went bad? Why did they go good or bad? What are some things you'd like to change? More importantly, How are you going to change? What steps are required to change (break it down)?

Make sure you leave your name if you post your comment anonymously.

Personal attacks OK or NOT?

Photo retrieved from http://nazret.com/blog/media/blogs/new/t1land.2042.obama.mccain.ap.jpg

You've probably seen a lot of these two faces over the last few months. They are presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. They have been campaigning against each other for quite a few months now in hopes of winning the office of President of the United States of America. 

As they campaign they give many speeches and also have debated each other once so far. They will be debating two more times over the next two weeks (Oct 7 & 15). During the campaign there is a lot of talk from both sides. Some of it is about issues America is facing and some of it is simply comments to put down the other candidate.

There is a recent article stating that John McCain has been trying to destroy Obama's reputation by attacking him with personal comments. This is often the case in presidential elections and Obama has made similar comment to McCain.

Do you think they should be attacking each other personally or should they be only talking about issues facing our country? What are some of the issues you think they should be talking about? What are the most important issues/problems in your opinion? What would you like to see them answer in the next debate?

Share your comments and receive extra credit. I look forward to reading your responses.

USA Economic Crisis

Photo retrieved from http://1k30days.com/bad_economy.jpg

The United States economy has taken a severe turn for the worse over the last few months and even dating back to December 2007 in some cases. This includes real estate (houses and property), the stock market, banks, and retail (items that we purchase such as gas, groceries, clothes, and electronics).

You may have heard a lot about what's happening in the US right now or you may have heard very little, but it is a very tough time for many people and it is not turning around any time soon according to economic analysts (people that know a lot about economics). Most of us have noticed the price of gas rise and maybe the cost of groceries, but there is much more going on. A number of big US banks have gone bankrupt and the stock of many companies has lost its value. Many people have lost a lot of money that they had invested in the stock market because of the worsening economy.

How has the decline of the economy affected you (and your family)? What have you heard about this situation? Maybe from friends, parents, extended family, or teachers. How do you feel about the state of the USA? Feel free to answer these questions or leave other thoughts or questions that you have about the current state of the US economy. I have left a comment as an example for you. I look forward to reading your ideas. Later.

Cultural Competence

Photo retrieved from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/images/hands%20globe.jpg

Maybe you've heard the saying, "It's a small world." With the ease of air travel and ongoing technological development, the world is only getting smaller it seems. We have only to look around us at the makeup of our city to see that there are many people from different cultures.

What is culture? Culture is defined as "the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior shared by a people in a certain place." It's the things we know and believe and the way we behave. People from other cultures generally speak a different language and may also look different than us. Competence means you have the skills you need to do something. Someone can be a competent teacher, a competent carpenter, a competent soccer player, or culturally competent. We are all competent in many areas of life; we have many competencies.

In a world with many cultures living in the same city or neighborhood we have to learn to be culturally competent. I would like you to brainstorm freewrite in your comment this week and come up with some ideas about what cultural competence might mean or look like in a person. Remember I am looking for a comment 8 sentences in length. You can check out my comment to get you started if that helps. It will be the first one.

Evaluating Changes in Our Lives

Photographs (left to right): Ultrasound of Maya (one month before birth), Maya (one day old), Maya (five months old).

My wife and I have noticed many changes in our daughter, Maya, over the past 5 months. Babies seem to change every day, not only in their appearance, but also in their abilities and mannerisms. I was thinking that we must change a lot more as babies, and less and less as we get older. However, then I realized that changes are not just physical changes that we can see in our appearance. Changes also occur in our personality, habits, ideas, and thinking. These types of changes are happening all the time. Sometimes they are things that we are trying to change on purpose and other times they seem to change on their own, sometimes without us even realizing it.

As I think about some changes that have happened in my life recently I would like you to do the same and then evaluate whether or not the changes occurring are "moving you in the right direction" (good changes) or "pushing you down a path you'd rather not go" (changes for the worse).

Recently, my life has changed drastically in that I have become a father. This is most definitely a good change, although not always an easy change. I have more responsibilities and less freedom, but I get to watch and guide the growth of a child. My life has also changed and become more busy, and with that comes stress. This is a change that I am not so excited about. I would like to get better at dealing with stress so that I don't become angry with those around me. I am also trying to remember that relationships (people) are more important than "doing things". This is a change I am hoping to make in the way that I think.

What are some changes happening in your life? Are they good changes? What are some changes that you'd like to make in your life? Please write at least 8 sentences on this topic. Remember that other people can read your comments so make sure that you are posting appropriate material.

Welcome Back!

Image retrieved from http://hlperson.com/mt/archives/Back%20to%20School.png

Hope you all had a great summer! I had a fun summer hanging out with my wife and daughter, being visited by family and friends, camping, and relaxing.

Leave a comment and let me know how your summer was and anything else about you that you think might be good for me to know.

My summer

Oneonta Gorge

Representing her favorite soccer team, River Plate.

On Mount Hood

In our backyard

At Edgefield

Thanks for all the great comments!!

Hey guys.

Just wanted to say thank you for all the time and thought you put into the class blog this year. I hope we all learned a lot about the world, ourselves, and our peers, or classmates, through this blog.

The blog will continue through summer. I hope to put up some posts with pictures during the summer vacation. If you get a chance, check it out and leave a comment saying hi, or telling me what you're up to.

I hope you all have fantastic summers away from school. Enjoy the outdoors (when it warms up a little more...) and have fun with family and friends. Take care, and keep yourselves safe. I look forward to seeing all of you who aren't seniors back at school next year.

Hasta Luego
Zai Jian
Joi Gin
Poka
La revedere
Bud zdorov
Chao ong
See you later

The Importance of Compliments

Compliments are an expression of praise, respect, or approval. What does that really mean? Compliments are when you say something nice to another person, or when they say something nice to you. They are the opposite of insults. Compliments are things said about us that we like to hear.

They could be as simple as, "You have a nice smile," or more specific like, "You have a good eye for decorating."

The problem is that many of us (including myself) don't give out enough compliments to the people we come into contact with, or even the people we really care about. Often, we are quick to criticize, but slow to compliment.

It is proven that compliments increase a person's self-esteem and cause people to be more happy. It is also true that it takes quite a few compliments to cancel out one insult.

Try to give a compliment to someone today and start a good habit!! Click here for some ideas. Leave a comment and let everyone know what you think.

Nature and Stress

Information for post retrieved from the following sites:

http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/April03/nature.kid.stress.ssl.html

http://panicdisorder.about.com/cs/selfhelp/ht/nature.htm

Natural surroundings have been found to reduce stress in children and adults alike. It has been shown through a number of studies that being out in nature, or even just looking at greenery (trees, bushes, flowers) through a window, helps a person relax and even increases attention span.

I have a garden in my backyard with a lot of flowers and other types of plants. I find that being out there pruning (trimming) plants or even just taking some time to walk and look around is very relaxing. We are also growing some lettuce, peas, tomatoes, and herbs in our small backyard garden. It is surprisingly fun to watch a plant grow from a seed to the stage where it flowers or bears fruit.

Here are some suggestions for using nature to reduce stress and anxiety in your daily lives:

• Take walks - Get some sun and fresh air, but also make sure to look around and notice trees, bushes, flowers, and small animals as you walk.
• Find a Park - Take time to hang out in a local park every week. Maybe take a frisbee or soccer ball with you.
• Plant a Garden - Plant something outside, if you have room, or inside, using a flower pot. You might be surprised how fun it can be to grow something.
• Make time to be outside - Everyday spend some time outside doing something.
• Adopt a Pet - Pets have also shown to reduce stress and improve health, plus they are a reminder of nature.

Even without much time we can still make sure to notice the nature around us as we drive or walk around during our daily routines. Get out and enjoy nature and you will be less stressed!

What do you think? Leave a comment.

Body Image in the Media

Photo retrieved from: http://www.face-body.com/Art/home_pics.jpg

Every day we see thousands of pictures telling us what is and what isn't beautiful.  Every one of us is affected by this. Our ideas about what makes someone beautiful or handsome affects our own feelings about our body image.

I would challenge you to think about what you think are the things that make someone beautiful (handsome) and then ask yourself why you think that. Where did you learn that?

We need to develop critical thinking skills because the media is constantly telling us that we need something else to be beautiful. They also tell us that if you're not beautiful or handsome you're not worth as much as the person that is. We need to redefine (come up with a new meaning) what it means to be beautiful.

In addition, the media isn't even using real photos of people. Instead they are edited on computers (photoshopped), so that the images we see on TV, in music videos, on billboards, and in magazines are not even real.

As you watch the following video think about what you have just read and leave a comment with a reflection of your thoughts on this topic. Thanks for taking the time to read this post.

• Evolution

Values

Photo retrieved from: http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20071004/300_castaway.jpg

What are your values? These are the things that are most important to you. By things I mean things, people, and ideas.

Some examples could be relationships (family and friends), money, possessions and property, privacy (time alone), safety, faith (religion), fitness, caring for the environment, simplicity (living simply or without many possessions), and health and appearance. Try to think of at least one for yourself...

Your values determine the decisions you make in your life and the direction your life goes. That's the reason for the above picture of a person at a crossroads. He has a few different options, but can only choose to head in one direction.

Whatever you thought of reflects something about you and your priorities in life. If you value education, most likely you will decide to finish high school and go on to college. If you value relationships, you may decide to take a job in Portland (close to family and friends) rather than taking a higher paying job in Los Angeles. This shows that you value relationships over money.

I have many values - relationships, fitness, health, money, simplicity, and faith.  It is a challenge to rank them in order of importance. If I was to rank them it might look like this:

1. Faith - it is important to how I see and relate to the world, and to who I am
   
2. Relationships - I think it is important to treat everyone with respect and love
   
3. Simplicity - I think it is good to try to live as simply as possible and help those around you that don't have as much
   
4. Money - It is important for staying alive and for providing your family and sometimes I think it is too important to me
   
5. Health and Fitness - I think it is important to take care of your body
   

Leave a short reflection (comment) on the topic of values. You could give a list of your values and why they are important to you if you want. Please make it as personal as you can so that it is more meaningful.

Animal Testing Should Be Illegal

Photo retrieved from: http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/graphics/products/regular/AW2152.jpg

Every year 50 to 100 million animals are used for scientific experiments worldwide.  Animals are used to test many products from medicines to new surgical methods to beauty (cosmetic) products, like eye shadow and lipstick. The testing often results in the animals being seriously injured and killed. The most common victims of animal testing are rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, and mice, but dogs, cats, monkeys, pigs, birds, and horses are used as well.

The reason scientists give for using animals in testing is to make sure that products are safe before they are used by, or on, humans. However, because of the differences between animals and humans we still can't be sure that they are completely safe for humans. For example, products that have been shown to work on a rabbit in testing might still be harmful to a human being.

Many people feel that modern technology has advanced to the point where animals are not the most safe and reliable method to test new products. In addition, animals that have already died could be used instead of live animals, much like medical students use cadavers (dead human bodies) to practice on, prior to becoming doctors.

It is the opinion of the authors that animals shouldn't be viewed as products or resources, but as beautiful creatures that should be allowed to live free lives. Animals used for testing are taken from their natural habitat and placed into cages with hardly any food or water. In our opinions, animals should be respected and treated with love and care and NOT used for animal testing.

What do you think? Share your opinion about animal testing. You can do your own research if you like before you write your comment.

There are many videos on animal testing that you can find on youtube, but be prepared to see pictures of animal testing that are disturbing and gross.

***This information was researched and collected by Rebecca Linares and Candra Mondragon. Their opinions are also reflected in the above post.

Discrimination against Women - A Worldwide Problem

Women's rights have lagged behind the rights of men for many years. Even today, women face challenges because of laws that discriminate against them.

Women were first allowed to vote in elections in the United States in 1920. Only in 1963 was the equal pay act passed which made it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job.

Women are discriminated against in almost every country around the world.  70% of the world's women are poor and women own just 1% of the world's land.

Even basic laws like the legal ages for marriage could have a huge impact on women's lives. Many countries still have different ages of marriage for young women than they have for young men, and the age for girls is always lower then the age for boys.

This leads to problems, for example of a girls' right to education, if she has to leave school at 14 to get married, and this impacts upon her chances in life. It ends up being a life-long violation of her rights because she can't often finish school and she often has children too early.

Why do you think women's rights seem to always be behind the rights of men? What can we do to make sure that men and women are both treated fairly and equally? How have you seen women discriminated against in your life?

Watch a short video about this topic here.

Information retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7331813.stm

My Spring Break

As you may know, my wife and I had a baby girl, named Maya Kate, on March 22nd at 8:28 am. With that being said, I spent most of my Spring break with this fiery, little bundle of joy. It is certainly amazing to have a child, but at the same time it is hard. My life used to be mostly about doing what I wanted to do, however, now even just getting some sleep is difficult. I can no longer just look after myself and my wife, but now am responsible for a little girl as well. It is an exciting, but scary responsibility.

I will be taking two weeks off to be with my wife and new baby. I will return on Monday, April 14th.  Until then I hope that all of you will work hard with Mrs. Plainfield and when I come back I will be able to see that you were able to complete the work. I hope that I can bring little Maya to school sometime and have show and tell with you all.

I am also very interested in what you guys did over your Spring break. Did you go anywhere special? Did you do anything exciting? What was the best part? What was the worst part (if there is ever a bad part about having no school)? Leave a comment and let me know. Remember to write appropriate comments on the blog!

Maya Kate Enns!!

My wife, Mary, and I had a baby girl on Saturday, March 22nd at 8:28am. She weighed 8 lbs and 10 ounces and was 21 inches long. She is a beauty.

USA Health Care and Medicine - Part 2

Medication, or Pills, for Everything??

Everywhere you turn these days there are advertisements for the next pill that is supposed to cure some sickness or in some way make your life better. Pick up a magazine and you'll find an ad for medication on nearly every other page, along with a page describing the side effects (bad things) that can happen from taking it.

In fact, pharmaceutical companies (the ones making all the medications) spend twice as much money on advertising for their medications than on research and development. That means that they spend twice as much money promoting the use of their medications compared to researching their effectiveness (how well they work) and health risks (the problems that could arise from taking them).

Does it seem like the number one priority of the health community should be promoting their products or services?

Medications are being overused and abused throughout America. Does all the advertising contribute to this?

What can we do to combat the abuse of medicine? Think back to last week's blog post...if we thought more about maintaining health, instead of a cure-all pill, it might make overuse of medicine less of a problem.

USA Health Care and Medicine - Part 1

Treating Sickness vs. Promoting Health

I don't know about your experiences with the health care system (hospitals), but I usually go to see the doctor when I am not feeling well. In the United States we think of getting checked out only when something's wrong. This makes sense because none of us want to have to pay money unless we really need to; unless we are really sick.

However, this affects our thinking. It seems that in the United States we think about treating, or fixing, sickness instead of promoting, or encouraging, overall body health. We focus on pills in this country as the cure for everything without putting a lot of thought into how our lifestyles could be healthier.

What are some ways that people might focus more on promoting heath, instead of just treating sickness? Here are just a few ideas:

• Drinking water - important for many body functions
• Eating healthy food
• Daily exercise
• Seeing a chiropractor or massage therapist once in a while
• Getting enough sleep
• Make sure you have time to relax/kick back
  
• Hanging out and talking with friends - For Real!! - helps us relax and talk about what's going on in our lives (good and bad) with other people
  

What do you guys think?

Do you agree that we focus too much on fixing health problems and not enough on keeping ourselves from having health problems by living healthier?

What are some things you could do to promote health in your life?

Segregation in U.S. Schools is Increasing

What is segregation?

Segregation is separating people of different races or classes, and can occur within schools, neighborhoods, or other public places. This is a form of discrimination.

Segregation by race is pretty obvious to us, but segregation by class may not be. Class refers to the economic status (income or salary) that a person earns. A person can be lower class, working class, middle class, or upper class depending on their income. Throughout a person's lifetime they can move up or down in class depending on how their life situations change.

A study published in June of last year shows that public schools in the United States are becoming more racially segregated and the trend is likely to accelerate (get worse).

The rise in segregation threatens the quality of education received by non-white students, who now make up 43 percent of the total U.S. student body.

Many segregated schools struggle to attract highly qualified teachers and administrators, do not prepare students well for college, and fail to graduate more than half their students.

The United States risks becoming a nation in which a new majority of non-white young people will attend "separate and inferior" schools.

Latinos are the fastest growing minority in U.S. schools. Researches noted that "often Latino students face triple segregation by race, class and language."

In your comment think of the following questions:

What are your feelings about the increase in segregation in U.S. schools? Do you think that segregation in schools is negative or positive? Why? If you think it's negative, what do you think should be done to keep schools from becoming segregated?

Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902111.html

Exercise - The Cure for Depression?

I think we all understand the importance of physical activity for overall health. The problem is that even though we understand it's benfit, we don't exercise very much as Americans. We mostly just sit around. Most Americans don't exercise vigorously. In fact, only 15% of Americans engage in vigorous exercise for 20 minutes 3 times a week.

We all know that exercise helps keep our bodies at a healthy weight, however, exercise is also proven to help the mind. Inactivity (a lack of physical activity) has been proven to lead to depression and dementia (insanity, or "going crazy"). Exercise can also reduce the risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Not all of us are going to experience depression or dementia in our lives, but it is valuable to understand that exercise does more than just help our physical body. It affects our minds, our brains, the thinking center of our bodies. Read this article for more information on how exercise can combat (fight) depression.

What are some ways that you exercise? How much vigorous exercise (minutes, hours) do you get each week? What is something you can do to increase your activity each week (doesn't have to be something huge)?

Let's all get out there and exercise so that we can keep our minds healthy and active!

Retrieved from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7234303.stm

Goals for the New Semester

As we start a new semester it is a great time to think about setting some goals for yourself. Some of you may have had goals for the last semester. Did you accomplish them? If not, why weren't you able to acheive your goals?

I set some goals for myself last semester and I wasn't successful in acheiving all of them. I didn't go running very often, which was one of my goals. I think the main reason is that I got too busy and forgot about the goals I had set. However, I was able to acheive some of my goals. I was successful in my university classes. I've gotten A's in each class so far. I also biked to school nearly every day, which was another one of my goals.

Take a look at the picture at the top of this post. Does it make sense to you? "To get started you must have a destination (a place you are heading toward)."

What are some goals that you would like to set for yourself for this semester? They could be health goals (to take better care of your body), academic goals (to do better in school), relationship goals (to be a better friend), financial goals (to use your money wiser or to get a job), or any other type of goal.

Leave a comment here as a way of setting a goal for yourself for this semester. It will stay here and you can check it later and see how you did. If you acheived it or not?

Here's a funny picture about goals...

Immigration Cartoon

Thought this cartoon was accurate in showing that all Americans (other than Native Americans perhaps) are immigrants. We have all come from somewhere else, although some of us have been here longer than others.

Test Taking Tips

Check out these test taking tips. Good luck with your exams!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?

He was an extremely important figure in U.S. history and a great speaker. He made many great speeches throughout his lifetime on the ideas of justice for people who were being mistreated (treated badly). You've probably heard about him in some of your social studies classes, but please take some time now and check out this video about what it takes to become great according to Dr. King.

What do you think about the video? Do you agree that anyone can be great? What does it mean to serve, or to be a servant? Leave a comment of at least 3 sentences answering some of these questions.

Presidential Race 2008 is On

With Iowa and New Hampshire down, and Michigan up next, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have each won one state for the Democrats, and John McCain and Mike Huckabee have each taken one state for the Republicans.

Pictured above from left to right are Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and John Edwards.

Click here to read about each candidates political platform (what they believe and want to do). Find a candidate that you agree with on a topic (issue) and write a comment about it.

For example, I agree with Mike Huckabee on the topic of abortion. We are both pro-life, or against abortion. I also agree for the most part with his stance (position) on immigration. I agree with Barack Obama's policy on Iraq as well.

World's Cheapest Car

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7181432.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7180396.stm

People living in India with little money to spend on a vehicle have another option now. Instead of fitting an entire family on a motorcycle or scooter, families may be able to afford a car.

Tata motors, of India, has released the Nano. The vehicle will sell for about $2,500 and allow those in developing countries to ride on four wheels.

You won't find many extras in the Nano, in fact there is no air conditioning, power steering, or power windows. The four-door five seater car, which goes on sale later this year has a 624cc engine in the rear. The Tata Nano has passed emission standards and would average about 50 miles to the gallon.

The Nano will allow for more safety and convenience as families travel. Company chairman, Ratan Tata said, "I observed families riding on two-wheelers - the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder." It made him wonder if he could create a safe, affordable, all-weather car for families with little income (money). (story retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7180396.stm

What's your take (opinion) on the Tata Nano? Good? Bad? Cool? Leave a few sentences and let me know.

Christmas Break

I hope that all of you had a good Christmas break. I sure did. There were two main parts to my Christmas break. The first part I spent visiting my family in Canada and the second part was spent hanging out with my wife's family at a cabin near Mt. Hood. The pictures above are of Mary and I at Trillium lake after cross country skiing and our decorated Christmas tree.

When in Canada I was able to spend a lot of time with my family and friends. One night we went out and played some hockey on an outdoor ice rink while the snow was coming down. We were also able to get together with my grandma and my uncles and aunts. In addition, we were able to see my brother and sister-in-laws new house, as well as my sister and brother-in-law's apartment. We spent a lot of time playing games together throughout our time up there. It was great to be able to be back home and around my family.

We rented a cabin in Rhododendron, which is on the way to Mount Hood when Mary's family came out from Michigan. Again we spent a lot of the evenings playing games together. We spent our days skiing at Meadows, sledding at Trillium lake, having snowballs fights in the backyard, visiting the Pittock mansion in Portland, and playing Nintendo Wii with my nephews. It was nice to catch up with all of them, especially since we last saw them last Christmas.

How did you spend your Christmas break? What were some of the highlights (the best parts)? What were some of the lowlights (the not-so-good parts)? Take some time and write a comment about your time over the break.