Current Events – Journal Entries

CURRENT EVENTS – JOURNAL ENTRIES Journal Entries (JE) must be a minimum of 3 lines of writing in complete sentences (unless otherwise specified), and are worth up to 3 points for each entry. Since you are given in-class time to work on these each day, they will only be accepted for up to one week after their due dates.

Collected 1/11/08 – Will NOT be accepted after 1/18/08 1/7: 1/8: Do you think that people whose homes are destroyed by natural disasters (flood, tornado, wild fire, earthquake, etc.) twice within 5 years should still be eligible to purchase insurance? Why or why not? 1/9: Do you think that elderly drivers should have to pass driving tests? If so, why, at what age, and how often? If not, why? 1/10: Do you think there should be consequences or penalties for people who file “frivolous” or unrealistic law suits? Why or why not? 1/11: Where do you think the line should be drawn in interrogation techniques? What is ok or not ok? Why?

Collected 1/25/08 – Will NOT be accepted after 2/1/08 1/14: Why do you think some leaders or groups use terror as a tactic of achieving their goals? 1/15: 1/16: How do you feel about reporters who make negative comments about the people on whom they are reporting? Should they be allowed to do this? Why or why not? 1/17: Is immigration a problem in the U.S.? Why or why not? 1/18: Are your actions more likely to be guided by internal principles or external pressures? Why?

1/21: 1/22: What did you think of the motivational speaker? 1/23: In what ways are newspapers a better source for news than TV news programs? 1/24: If the media can choose the content of it’s reports (TV, newspapers, etc.), could some news stories be considered propaganda? Why or why not? 1/25: Do you think that students should be paid for good attendance or good grades in school? Why or why not?

Collected 2/29/08 – Will NOT be accepted after 3/7/08 1/28: Do you think that many people will watch the President’s State of the Union Address? Why or why not? 1/29: If you could have a robot that could do one thing for you repetitively, what would it be? 1/30: 1/31: 2/1:

2/4: 2/5: 2/6: Do you feel that you are more aware of current events since you’ve been receiving newspapers? Have you been reading the paper and using it as a source of information? Why or why not? 2/7: Why do you think political parties and analysts spend so much time trying to predict the outcome of elections? WHAT’S THE POINT? 2/8:

2/11: 2/12 – 2/15: 2/18: 2/19: Do you think that single-sex classrooms would foster increased student achievement and higher overall grades? Why or why not? 2/20: 2/21-22:

2/25: The U.S. has two major political parties – do you think that these two parties have too much power? Why or why not? 2/26: 2/27: 2/28: On Meet the Press, Ralph Nader said that Washington D.C. was “corporate occupied territory.” Do you agree? Why or why not? 2/29: Do you think people tend to learn from the mistakes of others, or do people need to make their own mistakes in order to learn?

In progress – not yet collected 3/3: Do you think that our society focuses more on protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens or the rights of criminals? Explain your answer. 3/4 – 3/5: 3/6: How would you feel about a camera in your car recording what you do while driving & providing your parents and insurance company with statistics such as speed? 3/7: Free write – write an entry about a current event or issue you are interested in and why.

3/10: We know who will be the Republican presidential candidate, but the Democratic candidate will not be known for several weeks or months. Do you think this is an advantage or disadvantage for Republicans? Why? 3/11: Does the personal life or character of a political candidate or office holder concern you? Why or why not? 3/12: Should schools make rules to accommodate people’s religious beliefs? Why or why not? 3/13: Below are three key words. Each can be related to a current news story – what are the stories? 1) Endeavour 2) Spitzer 3) Rebate 3/14: Do you think that most people make an effort to understand people of different ethnic backgrounds? Why or why not?

3/17: “If Obama was a white man he would not be in this position, and happens to be very lucky to be who he is.” – Geraldine Ferraro. Do you agree with this quote? Why or why not? Do you believe this was a racist comment? 3/18: Our nation’s capital does not allow its residents to possess handguns. How do you feel about this and why? 3/19: 3/20-21: 3/24: