Zoom tomorrow?

Would you all be able to Zoom for maybe 20 minutes on Friday at about 1:35?

Ch 9 "Targeting Men"

Sorry, Anna...I meant to make the due date as Saturday.

Good job, Josh and Emma. Emma are you personally aware of any boys or men who have been impacted by anti-male bias?

We will read and respond to “BIAS” for the next while. I’ll bring in videos and other sources to complement the topics. I may assign an essay as a major project.

Please read Chapter 9 “Targeting Men”. As before, post at least a 300 word response. What do you think is Goldberg’s main point about media bias in this chapter? Explain how you think one or more examples he uses support the point. 

In your experience, are you aware of negative stereotypes of males-- boys and men?

March 23 Please post by Wednesday

Welcome home, Emma 🙋

I wish we were face to face again, not virtually, but we'll work together using this blog, Zoom, and the Teams app in Office 365. And, I'm going to try using the Notebook app to present and organize class materials. You will probably be quicker than I in adapting to the new reality. Be patient, I'll catch up eventually.

So we will focus on critically reviewing the media, both in "BIAS" and thinking about the issue which faces us all, which President Trump calls "The Chinese Virus."

Watch the first clip and respond before watching and responding to the second:

Clip 1: Reporter suggests Pres. Trump is racist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zatCqqRY_I

Do you agree that referring to the "Chinese Virus" is racist? Why or why not?

Clip 2: Today, the media say it's racist but what were they saying on March 12th?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=5eZtCq1aj2g&feature=emb_logo

What do you think about the big switch in attitude? Why do you think they are doing this now? What does the fact that the entire msm--mainstream news media--switched to a different 'narrative' imply about their reliability?

Congrats, Emma, Josh, Anna

Your responses to the three chapters we have read so far are articulate and wise. At a young age, you understand a great deal more than I did. My excuse is that I wasn't a Christian :), but neither did I have such an academic foundation. At this rate, it is going to be impossible for me to differentiate your grades!

Well done! 

March 2

Good work on "I thought our job was to tell the truth". We'll look closely at the issue of fake or non-reporting on racism today.

March 2 What are your thoughts?

PHOENIX — Former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas, who oversaw the state Department of Education, sounded the alarm about what is happening in government schools across America in an interview with Alex Newman. From dumbing down children and promoting globalism to extreme obscenity and sexualization, she warned that public schools are out of control. It is a battle for the hearts and souls of children.

The best thing parents can do at this point is remove their children from public school in favor of homeschooling or private schools, the former top education official for Arizona explained.

Douglas ran to repeal Common Core, but the powers that be did everything possible to sabotage her efforts. Douglas also made clear that Common Core was not the only problem. “It’s so far beyond Common Core,” she said, warning about a “global agenda” infecting the schools.

“This is part of a 100 year or 150 year battle for the souls of our children,” continued Douglas, who now serves as a leader in U.S. Parents Involved in Education with Newman and others. “John Dewey was very clear, his intent was to change our society and make sure our children were un- or under-educated.”

Reading is so important because it allows children to learn on their own, without any help or guidance from government. “Frankly, if kids can read and do those basic things, they don’t ever need a teacher again,” Douglas said, celebrating phonics as the correct way to teach it. “They can learn anything they want to for the rest of their lives.”

Despite opposition from the education establishment, she was able to make some progress, such as restoring phonics and cursive while removing obscene literature. But much of the horrible content was preserved, Douglas said, adding that students are taught not even to question evolution or consider both sides of the argument.

The sexualization of children is now one of the most important battles in the state’s government schools, she told Newman, who was reporting for The New American after speaking to a crowd of about 150 people in Phoenix about the danger of government schools.

Douglas also urged parents to get a copy of The New American magazine’s Special Report on “Rescuing Our Children.”

“What took many years to learn, and many many volumes of books, they can get the Reader’s Digest version and understand what we are facing, and how far it goes back,” she said, calling for parents to homeschool or use a private school.

“Understand the battle we’re fighting,” she said. “I wish I had had the courage to homeschool my daughter, but I was chicken at the time.”

This is truly “the battle of our lifetime,” Douglas added.

Feb 27: Homework due Saturday Ch 7

Post your response to Ch 7: "I thought our job was to tell the truth" here.

Post your 300 words per usual. In addition, answer the following. Doesn't have to be in paragraph form.

The basic questions are the same:

• What do you think is the main point Goldberg is making?
• What are two or three of the most interesting examples he uses to prove his point?
• In your opinion, how serious is the "liberal bias" described in this chapter? Not very, somewhat, or very? Explain in terms of what you think the public should know about an issue. What are some consequences of not knowing the truth.

Also, feel free to express your opinion--agree/disagree or to ask questions issues about which you are not clear.

• Is the false reporting on racial crime: eg the chain gang in Alabama or the looting in the Caribbean a serious issue? 
• What do you think about the news falsely calling the victim of a beating an African American when he was not? Why would they do that? 
• Who might be affected by these kinds of fake racial crime stories?

The chain gang story did make it to air, but it is clear that the bosses wanted a made-up story. The looting during the hurricane story wasn't aired.

Feb 26

Josh will send out email to parents. Make sure you ask them to reply by email, lets say, on the weekend to give permission or to decline.

Tomorrow, we will read Bias together in class. This time, the focus will be on how the msm--mainstream media deal with racial reporting. If you have time you might want to read Ch 7 "I thought our job was to tell the truth" in advance. Otherwise, we will read together tomorrow. I'll broaden the topic to other issues regarding race and reporting. For instance, we'll take a look at "Black Lives Matter"...have you heard of them?

Feb 20 Journalism

Upcoming:    

Interviews and newsletter here at school?

Plan for kids’ interviews: dates

Respond to Newmarket Times journalist

Artist may come next week

Soon:        

"To end all wars": thinking about terrorism, this is a film about how the Japanese brutalized Allied soldiers in WW2. In fact, it is about how the soldiers were split into how to respond. Very provoking, especially with Easter coming up.

Response Ch 6 "Epidemic of Fear"

Post your response here.

Feb 18 Weekly Chapter Responses

I'd like you to post up a response to each chapter in the book on a weekly basis.

The basic questions are the same:

• What do you think is the main point Goldberg is making?
• What are two or three of the most interesting examples he uses to prove his point?
• In your opinion, how serious is the "liberal bias" described in this chapter? Not very, somewhat, or very? Explain in terms of what you think the public should know about an issue. What are some consequences of not knowing the truth.

Also, feel free to express your opinion--agree/disagree or to ask questions issues about which you are not clear.

Your responses should be 300 words or more.

Start first with Chapter 14 "Connecting the dots to Terrorism". Post here by Sunday.

Homework: by Saturday post here

Which school news article(s) would you like to work on?  Give me a plan. 

1.When will you do it?
2.Who will you interview?
3.How long will it take?
4.What is your purpose?
5.Do you need any particular resources?
6.Besides interviews and/or reporting on observed events, do you want to take photos or videos?
7.Do you need to do any research?

Keep in mind that your audience is all the students, teachers, and parents of Innova. Some outside of Innova will possibly read your articles too.

Feb 13 Question re "Epidemic of Fear"

I like your ideas for school newspaper articles. 

Also, Anna's questions would create some fun responses, I think.

Let's do two things right now:

We'll read and talk about Ch 6 "Epidemic of Fear". Then you can comment on what you have read. 

Why do you think the msm--mainstream news media--did not and has not told us the truth about AIDs?  

Did you know the following facts:

• Heart disease affects about 700,000 people per year. It is the most common deadly disease at #1. 

• AIDS affects a few thousand people in North America and very few die. AIDS is #21 on the list of serious diseases and has been for almost two decades. AIDS is 100 percent preventable.

Yet, AIDS patients, per capita, receive 13 times more research money than heart disease.

Ideas for Spring Concert Multimedia

It could be interviewing little kids as if they are on, "Kids say the darnest things." Put down all ideas that you have in the comments

Feb 12 Your thoughts about newspaper articles/projects?

What do you think?

Feb 11: 3 Project Ideas---what do you think?

Feb 11^th  Journalism ideas: 3 Projects

1.What is screen addiction?

·        What age does it begin?

·        Symptoms?

·        What should parents do?

·        How can parents be informed of the how, when, why, and why not of internet and cel phone use

·        Books like ‘good pics’ ‘bad pics’

·        Research: eg Pornified

·        How can parents ‘innoculate’ their kids?

2. A project to teach elementary kids about screen addiction

·        likes on games like Roblox lead to likes on social media—twitter, facebook---lead to popularity obsession—real vs fake friends;

·        social media make you a product and sell you to advertisers

3. A project to teach young teens about dangers of porn addiction

·        What to do when your friends introduce you to porn

·        What to do if you are worried that a friend is into porn

·        Connection between porn and human trafficking

Projects could combine media: presentation on video by Tim Barnett; interview with Tim; produce a ppt; produce a publisher type doc or portfolio in Adobe Acrobat and make available for parents; work with Mr King in our studio.

I have several good books and videos on pornography and on sex trafficking. We could invite speakers and/or plan field trip to interview people on camera. I’ve had York Region police, RCMP officers, and the leader of a local anti-trafficking group speak to my students. Could do same here. Invite speaker to talk to the 7’s through 10’s.

Feb 10 A school newspaper

Today, we will look at a webpage that has some excellent information about and ideas for topics that we could design a school newspaper around.

We'll look at a few elements of this together and see if we can agree on a couple of topics. This is something Emma can contribute to when she is away.

I will hand back your first assignment either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Do not say "pet"...you are a bad person!

One of the main problems with the word “pet,” she said, is that it is patronizing to animals.

“A lot of people at home who have dogs or cats will call these animals pets and refer to themselves as owners and this implies that the animals are a possession, like a car for example,” she said, as Morgan spoke over her, saying “Oh for God’s sake!”

https://nationalpost.com/news/world/animal-rights-group-peta-says-the-word-pet-is-patronizing-to-animals-and-we-should-stop-using-it

Homework: due tonight

Thoughts about projects/assignments for evaluation. Comment on anything we discussed today. Add ideas of your own.

Print out responses to Chapter 1 questions and hand in tomorrow.

Anna:
https://nypost.com/2020/01/23/dont-buy-the-media-hype-over-the-new-china-virus/

February 3 Your thoughts about the news media elite?

What facts about the media do you find most interesting? Why?