Red Space Rocket

riveting by yoganerd

Here are some links to help you Year Elevens with your assignment.

University of Texas index of propaganda posters.
Nazi Posters (German)
WWII Poster Collection at Northwestern University (American)
United Kingdom WWII
Weapons on the wall – UK WWII
British Propaganda Posters
Powers of persuasion – USA
WW2 Posters

Just a gentle reminder: this assignment is due on the 14th June.

And some late additons from Ryan. Thanks for these.

The Home Front Museum
Coast Guard Wives

Telstra Phonecard $10 Melbourne Skyline at Night, VIC by Clint Fowler

The story I found today is called Sale time: Telstra date fixed at last. I found this in The Age and it’s about the Federal Government.

It was the first sentance that gave away which level of government it was.
THE Federal Government’s controlling stake in Telstra could be sold in October as the Government moves to dress it up as a more attractive investment for the 1.6 million shareholders stung by big paper losses on their T2 shares.

propaganda by EmerEmer

I noticed in the local paper that there is an exhibition at Wyndham Cultural Centre called Patriotism, Persuasion and Propaganda – American War Posters. It is presented by the Australian National Maritime Museum and will be there until July 6th.

These posters are always entertaining but I think you get the most value out of them when you ask these three questions.
1. What does it say about “us” as people?
2. What does it say about “them” as people?
3. What is the call to action?

Australian Army Military Band by .-Rick-.

Today is my first day of the New Journal we are doing in year nine SOSE. My first story is called Urgent call: send troops now to NT which relates to the Federal and Northen Territory Government and their responsibilities in Indigneous communities. I found it on the front page of The Age.

Scrabble by Fragments of Sobriquets

When I was teaching primary school classes we always did games with the students. Not all the time but in every day there was time for a quick game. And it wasn’t until Miss Cole mentioned to me just now how important this is that I realised I haven’t done it at all in the four weeks I have been working with secondary classes and students.

But I am here for another week so there is time to work this back into classes. I know I work better if I’ve had a bit of fun time.

Newspaper by jamesjyu

In year nine SOSE we are getting towards the end of our work on Government. We have mostly looked at the three levels of government in Australia, taxation and voting.

In the next week we will be watching the news to see what all of this means in practice. Using a news journal we’ll collect just one story a day from the press that involved government.

If you read the paper or watch the news you’ll easily find one of these a day without any trouble. For example Police snoop on files of friends, family, celebrities.

This is a story about the police but also involved the government. Firstly I know that the Victoria Police are an arm of the State Government. Another tip is that there is a quote from the Victoria Premier Steve Bracks. So I put the name of the story and where I got it from (The Age) against Friday. By reading the story and particularly the quote from the Victorian Premier I know it is a state issue. Some issues will involve multiple levels of government so when that happens mention whichever level is involved.

If you don’t get the paper at home there are copies in the library every day. Or else if you are online here are some good places to start.

The Age
ABC News
News.com.au
Google News
Herald Sun

Tack Box by Alastair Bird

In year nine SOSE we talked about types of taxation, how they differ mechanically, and what they do in terms of social impact. I know tax sounds like a boring issue but governments will take money from you for most of your lives and you’d do well to know just how and why they are doing that.

I think a few people realised today that tax is only half about raising money. Certainly the money is a major issue but so is influencing and directing the behaviour of your citizens. We tax people extra when they smoke and drink and give them money back when they have children. None of this is by accident, these systems tell us what society and government think is good and bad, it’s about people and behaviour.

Lord of the Rings by stchuck

In history we were talking about the design and purpose of castes in the middle ages. Since we were in a room with a datashow I wanted to find a little bit of film to show what a castle was actually like.

In the end I chose Gondor in the third Lord Of the Rings films because the footage was just so good. We talked a little about the fact that real castles are much smaller, dirtier, and somewhat less prone to attacks from people riding dragons.

Also they tended to be surrounded by villages and fields rather than wide empty plains.

All the same it proved a good talking point and since the second half of the double session went to well we looked at the actually attack on Minas Tirith. I did have some doubts about the educational value of this but when we watched it we clearly saw what defences a castle provides and what the weaknesses and limitations were.

Of course you have to take fiction with a grain of salt but there was heaps to be learned in watching just these few minutes.

affiche casablanca movie poster by ADNxtc

When we were talking about the Second World War today in class it got me thinking about movies, as things do, and particularly about Casablanca.

I used to think this was a boring story that only old people, like my parents, liked. Then then I watched it one day and discovered that it is crackingly good and really entertaining. I think it’s even more interesting because it was actually made during the war and knowing this makes me think about it differently.

On a simple level it is a story about a world-weary American joining the war effort but it is much more than just that and contains many gems of information, human drama and snappy dialogue. If your at all interested in the issues for people and countries in the war then I highly recommend watching this.

Party animal by gummy_care_bear

I provided some links to Australian political parties a couple of days ago and today we did a lesson about the parties and what they stand for.

Perhaps people were just tired after the cross country run but no one seemed to care or connect much with what the parties are about. I know this stuff seems pretty remote and uninteresting when you don’t vote yet but before you know it you will be voting and political parties are a massive part of our political systems.

Sure, there are certainly problems with political parties and you can’t always believe what they say. All the same you’re far better off having a bit of a look and knowing the basics. At the very least this means when you complain about them your know exactly what it is they do that you don’t like.

Just my 2c.

It seems lots of teachers are getting the idea of using a blog to help them with their work and especially on services like edublogs. So much so that they are almost up to 10,000 blogs there. They are having a competition and my guess is that the 10,000th blog will be created on Friday 19th May at 4.32pm (GMT +11).

My guess is part maths and a big part guess work.

Anyhow I guess the point, aside from my greed, is that you will probably we seeing more blogs like this in the future and hopefully that’s a good thing all around.

japan 289 by ppaladin123

When looking for films to give some perspective about Japan before World War II I realised two things. The first was just how little I know about this subject and the second was just how slanted Western Cinema is to portrayal of ourselves in opposition and contrast to people like the Japanese.

Some of the films I considered were Bridge on the River Kwai, Empire of the Sun and Paradise Road. And while there are all notable films they are all films about Europeans in the conflict with the Japanese. This makes heaps of sense as these situations and battles are a large part of our story as people in the Western World. All the same I was conscious just how hard it is to get a sense of the Japanese story itself.

Even films set in modern times such as Lost in Translation and Rising Sun are about Western experiences in dealing with Japan. Of course there are actual Japanese films you could watch but when it comes to mainstream Western cinema the absense of Japanese perspective in really start.

Knowing what you don’t know it is a good start but only a start.

Party goers by dreadfuldan

In the text book there are brief defintions of Australian politcal parties and what they stand for. If you’re the curious type you might like to see how the parties describe their philosophy and aims on their websites.

Australian Labor Party
The Liberal Party
The Australian Democrats
The Greens
The National Party
Family First

When reading all of these keep in mind that when political parties describe themselves, their aims, and their beliefs it is to encourage voters to support them. Knowing this try to read between the lines and think critically about these messages.

For a view that might be less biased and self-serving you could try looking any of these parties up on Wikipedia. However, as with all resources, you still need to read critically and thoughtfully. Remember that everyone has a point of view when writing as you read and think about our political parties.

Wooden horse at Troy by Stuart Yeates

On the general topic of knights, the plague and castles we are thinking of showing Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the years eight class next week.

Certainly it’s a strange film but it’s strange and interesting. I feel certain there is some educational value in the absurd also. You wouldn’t want to base your whole understanding of the time on comedies but I think they are good for creating a link between times long gone and today. Monty Python comedies particularly as also good for seeing how modern and old views are funny seen side by side.

Perhaps it is just me.

Warwick Castle – The Mound by Kevin & Kathy

In the time when castles were being built in England and Europe Australia was still populated by the Indigenous peoples so there are no genuine castles in Australia like there are in Europe.

However just outside Ballarrat there is a place called Kryal Castle which is made entirely for tourists. I haven’t been there is more than twenty years and from vague memories it is not especially historically accurate and quit hokey in spots. But all the same it’s as close you are going to get to seeing a castle in Australia so it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re in that part of the world.