Born on the Fourth of July by Ron Kovic
5 pages - complete on Monday May 28
Stop the Sun by Gary Paulsen
7 pages - complete on Monday May 28
To Heal a Nation by Joel L. Swerdlow
12 pages - complete on Monday May 28
For your final readings of Times of Change, I would like you to set aside some time on Monday (Memorial Day) to read the choices above. Once you are done, I would like for you to post in your blog a note to the men and women on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. After what you have learned over the past few days, and what you saw when we went to D.C., what would you want to say to them?
Dear men and women who fought in Vietnam,
You may think that people don't appreciate you for going 10,000 miles over sea to fight communism because of the protests, but they do, as well as me. They wanted you soldiers to come home instead of dying for no reason. i think they were wrong though. You guys put your lives on the line for our country so that communism wouldn't spread, and we could do things without the government's permission. You weren't dying for no reason. We weren't trying to win the war and gain land, we were trying to contain them and make sure that North vietamese didn't succede. you guys did what you were told as many died, and i am grateful for that. Thank you for risking it all so that many people around the world can be free.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Thursday readings times of change
Farmer Nguyen by W.D. Ehrhart
1 page - complete by Wednesday May 26
Massacre at My Lai by Hugh Thompson
2 pages - complete by Wednesday May 26
A Nun at Ninh Hoa by Jan Barry
1 page - complete by Wednesday May 26
What do these two poems and the article say about the impact of the war on the native Vietnamese? Can you think of any other ways in which the war will impact the native Vietnamese?
The impact on civilians was huge. Villagers were treated like trash and thrown around and murdered. I think that civilians will continue to be treated poorly and that many accidental obstacles and napalm will badly effect natives.
1 page - complete by Wednesday May 26
Massacre at My Lai by Hugh Thompson
2 pages - complete by Wednesday May 26
A Nun at Ninh Hoa by Jan Barry
1 page - complete by Wednesday May 26
What do these two poems and the article say about the impact of the war on the native Vietnamese? Can you think of any other ways in which the war will impact the native Vietnamese?
The impact on civilians was huge. Villagers were treated like trash and thrown around and murdered. I think that civilians will continue to be treated poorly and that many accidental obstacles and napalm will badly effect natives.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Times of change- 2 readings due Wed.
Jack Smith by Ron Steinman
9 pages - complete by Wednesday May 23
What challenges does Jack Smith face as a soldier in Vietnam? (a bulleted list is fine)
-napalm
-bombs
-booby traps
-crossfire
-sickness
-heat
-dying friends
-animals
-recon by fire
-mines
How does Smith’s attitude toward war change?
It changes when they are ambushed at the LZ. His group was mowed down by machine guns behind ant hills. Then when he is getting rescued, another group is going around looking for wounded VC soldiers to kill. He thinks that it is cynical and is angry at them. This is different than when he first volunteered and was in training, before he expirienced real combat.
I Feel Like I’m Fixing To Die Rag by Joe McDonald
2 pages - complete by Wednesday May 23
This song by Country Joe and the Fish became one of the first protest songs of the Vietnam Era. Read the lyrics to the song, and then respond to the following:
What is the song asking the “big strong men to do”?
To pick up a gun and volunteer for the army.
… the “generals” to do?
to kill the VC and do it fast.
… “Wall Street” to do?
To make supplies to support the war.
… “mothers” to do?
to send their boys to vietnam.
Write down four specific lines from the song that display sarcasm, cynicism, or anti-war sentiment.
-"Whoopee! we're all gonna die"
-"He (uncle sam) got himself in a terrible jam"
-"to have your boy come home in a box"
-"they drop it on the viet cong"
9 pages - complete by Wednesday May 23
What challenges does Jack Smith face as a soldier in Vietnam? (a bulleted list is fine)
-napalm
-bombs
-booby traps
-crossfire
-sickness
-heat
-dying friends
-animals
-recon by fire
-mines
How does Smith’s attitude toward war change?
It changes when they are ambushed at the LZ. His group was mowed down by machine guns behind ant hills. Then when he is getting rescued, another group is going around looking for wounded VC soldiers to kill. He thinks that it is cynical and is angry at them. This is different than when he first volunteered and was in training, before he expirienced real combat.
I Feel Like I’m Fixing To Die Rag by Joe McDonald
2 pages - complete by Wednesday May 23
This song by Country Joe and the Fish became one of the first protest songs of the Vietnam Era. Read the lyrics to the song, and then respond to the following:
What is the song asking the “big strong men to do”?
To pick up a gun and volunteer for the army.
… the “generals” to do?
to kill the VC and do it fast.
… “Wall Street” to do?
To make supplies to support the war.
… “mothers” to do?
to send their boys to vietnam.
Write down four specific lines from the song that display sarcasm, cynicism, or anti-war sentiment.
-"Whoopee! we're all gonna die"
-"He (uncle sam) got himself in a terrible jam"
-"to have your boy come home in a box"
-"they drop it on the viet cong"
Monday, May 21, 2007
A Dubious Crusade by James A. Warren
2 pages - complete by Tuesday May 22
Look up both words in the title of the short essay. What do they mean?
dubious-hesitating crusade- organized campaign concerning a political, social, or religious issue.
Relate the title to the reading. What is Warren saying? How do you think this will relate to the rest of our study if Vietnam?
He is saying that the government was hesitant during the war. The hesitant part will play a large role in our study because many citizens were unsupportive of the war and thought that our government was bad.
History by Thuong Vuong-Riddick
2 pages - complete by Tuesday May 22
What is the overall theme of Vuong-Riddick's poem?
His theme is that the control of Vietnam changed many times from country to country. Another theme is that once a country helped the other they killed that country.
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution … by Goldberg
What is the main thesis of the essay?
-That the Gulf of Tonkin, where a US ship was shot at, might have been a lie.
What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?
-A US navy ship was shot at and Lyndon Johnson wanted to protect the ship and other ones there.
What evidence does the author give to support his thesis?
-The president wasn't under oath when he said it, the ship had no damage, and the congress was forced into supporting Johnson.
How does this link to the theme of the first reading, “A Dubious Crusade”?
-That some people were hesitant in making the decision to protect US ships in the Gulf.
2 pages - complete by Tuesday May 22
Look up both words in the title of the short essay. What do they mean?
dubious-hesitating crusade- organized campaign concerning a political, social, or religious issue.
Relate the title to the reading. What is Warren saying? How do you think this will relate to the rest of our study if Vietnam?
He is saying that the government was hesitant during the war. The hesitant part will play a large role in our study because many citizens were unsupportive of the war and thought that our government was bad.
History by Thuong Vuong-Riddick
2 pages - complete by Tuesday May 22
What is the overall theme of Vuong-Riddick's poem?
His theme is that the control of Vietnam changed many times from country to country. Another theme is that once a country helped the other they killed that country.
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution … by Goldberg
What is the main thesis of the essay?
-That the Gulf of Tonkin, where a US ship was shot at, might have been a lie.
What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?
-A US navy ship was shot at and Lyndon Johnson wanted to protect the ship and other ones there.
What evidence does the author give to support his thesis?
-The president wasn't under oath when he said it, the ship had no damage, and the congress was forced into supporting Johnson.
How does this link to the theme of the first reading, “A Dubious Crusade”?
-That some people were hesitant in making the decision to protect US ships in the Gulf.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Korean War facts
- Chiang Kai-shek led the nationalist party to Taiwan, after they lost to Mao Zedong and the communists.
- USSR controlled korea north of the 38th parallel.
- Ike promised to end the war as soon as possible and negotiated with the USSR and privately warned the that he would use nuclear weapons.
- China entered war when the US had gotten almost to the Korean-Chinese border.
- Douglass McArthur was in charge of all UN forces.
- Douglass MacArthur was fired because he wanted to bomb china to stop their involvement, but Truman didn't approve and thought it would cause world war, so MacArthur was fired.
- War was very unpopular and Truman didn't run for president again. Ike was elected
- War was never declared by either sides.
- Cease fired ended fighting and war ended in stalemate.
- Americans were upset about war, because it solved nothing.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Has MLK's dream been realized?-Labor
I found that african americans have lower percentages in every labor statistic than whites, except for unemployment. The labor participation rate in 2004 was the lowest it had been in since 1980. on the other hand, the projected rate for 2012 is an all time high. also in 2012 hispanics, asians, and blacks are projected to have higher participation percentages as whites, but the white labor force is still larger than those three ethnic groups combined. the only occupation that blacks were clearly more was mailmen and recyclable material collectors. the unemployment rates for african americans were also very high at 8.1, but only 3.9 for white workers. numbers have steadily been going down though. I don't think that labor is a major issuse for blacks because the total numbers are much high for whites, but the percentages are in the same ballpark. I also think that because all the numbers are improving. the only suggestions that would be reasonable is to make more people get jobs.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
MLK Jr. questions
Why does the author feel that whites owe King the greatest debt?
Because he freed whites from the hardships of hundreds of years old history, of the blacks not having sufficient moral standards. America wouldn’t be able to say that they were the leader of the free world if not for MLK Jr.
Was King "the right man at the right time"?
Yes, because if not for him, the civil rights movement wouldn’t have had enough leadership and courage to march, boycott, perform sit-ins, and use civil disobedience. He made the civil rights movement seem further away from the present as it really was.
Would King be upset with the current use of his most often quoted line? Why or why not?
I think he would be because it doesn’t show the harsh extremes and need for change in the Civil rights movement. He also wouldn’t like it because some people, who use that statement, use it in ways that MLK didn’t believe in. He said more things than he wishes that blacks would be judged by the content of their character, he wanted a lot more things like desegregation.
Because he freed whites from the hardships of hundreds of years old history, of the blacks not having sufficient moral standards. America wouldn’t be able to say that they were the leader of the free world if not for MLK Jr.
Was King "the right man at the right time"?
Yes, because if not for him, the civil rights movement wouldn’t have had enough leadership and courage to march, boycott, perform sit-ins, and use civil disobedience. He made the civil rights movement seem further away from the present as it really was.
Would King be upset with the current use of his most often quoted line? Why or why not?
I think he would be because it doesn’t show the harsh extremes and need for change in the Civil rights movement. He also wouldn’t like it because some people, who use that statement, use it in ways that MLK didn’t believe in. He said more things than he wishes that blacks would be judged by the content of their character, he wanted a lot more things like desegregation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)