Showing posts with label Bill Clinton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill Clinton. Show all posts

Monday, April 30, 2018

April 30


We finished off the George H.W. Bush administration, and I also got through the Clinton administration too. We should be able to get to the George W. Bush administration this week. This is our tie-in to Social 30-1 and concepts that you need to understand for the Social 30-1 Diploma Exam in June.


I showed you some exemplars for the TNC Dossier Assignment at the beginning of class. We got into a film study of "The Age of Wal-Mart" today, while you were watching the video you should have been looking for advantages and disadvantages of Wal-Mart. Please remember that you have the Chapter 10-11 Test on Thursday, May 3rd. Please see the study guide below.


Please make sure that you review Chapters 10 and 11. Please review your answers to questions/activities from your Unit 3 worksheet, as well as the key terms (from Chapter 10-11 and from the PowerPoint presentations). This test is on Thursday, May 3rd. 

Please review the following two PowerPoint presentations:

  • "Foundations of Economic Globalization"
  • "Expansion of Economic Globalization"

You should know these key terms really well:
  • Bretton Woods Agreement
  • international monetary system
  • fixed exchange rate
  • gold standard
  • floating exchange rate
  • World Bank
  • International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • centrally planned economy
  • free market economy
  • recession
  • John Maynard Keynes
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • Milton Friedman
  • totalitarian
  • General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
  • tariff
  • World Trade Organization (WTO)
  • Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
  • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
You should also be able to answer the following questions:


  • What is economic globalization?
  • How did 20th century world events shape contemporary economic globalization?
  • What factors laid the foundations of contemporary global economics?
  • What were the major global institutions that were created at the Bretton Woods Agreement?
  • What are the major differences between the ideas of John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek?
  • What factors contribute to expanding globalization?
  • How do international agreements and organizations contribute to expanding globalization?
  • How do transnational corporations contribute to expanding globalization?
  • How do communication technologies contribute to expanding globalization?
  • What are the benefits of the WTO system?
  • What are some criticisms of the WTO?



I did a homework check on the Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions today. We looked at the case studies of Kosovo and Catalonia today. I gave you some notes on nationalism and the pursuit of national interest, and then I showed you a CBC News in Review from April 2008 on Kosovo declaring independence from Serbia. As you watched the video you were supposed to fill in answers to the video review questions. I also showed you a quick video from the Washington Post on Catalonia's attempts to declare independence from Spain.


Friday, April 29, 2016

April 29


We had our last presentation today on the presidency of Bill Clinton. All of the presentation groups have completed their presentations and I hope to see your videos and Google Slides posted on the IB 30/35 wiki American Presidents page.

Please remember the following upcoming important dates for IB 30/35 History students: 
  • Paper 1 and Paper 2 Review session is on Wednesday, May 4th (during regular class time)
  • Paper 1 is on Friday, May 6th (pm)
  • Paper 2 is on Monday, May 9th (pm)
  • Paper 3 Review session is on Tuesday, May 10th (during regular class time)
  • Paper 3 is on Thursday, May 12th (pm)


We finished "The Corporation" today. All three film study sheets are due on Monday, May 2nd. I gave you the assignment sheet for the TNC Dossier Assignment, and you picked the TNC that you will be profiling. I'll give you some folders next week. This assignment is due on May 11th. On Wednesday, May 4th you will be writing your Chapter 10-11 Test (please see the study guide below).


Please make sure that you review Chapters 10 and 11. Please review your answers to questions/activities from your Unit 3 worksheet, as well as the key terms (from Chapter 10-11 and from the PowerPoint presentations). This test is on Wednesday, May 4th. 

Please review the following two PowerPoint presentations:

  • "Foundations of Economic Globalization"
  • "Expansion of Economic Globalization"

You should know these key terms really well:
  • Bretton Woods Agreement
  • international monetary system
  • fixed exchange rate
  • gold standard
  • floating exchange rate
  • World Bank
  • International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • centrally planned economy
  • free market economy
  • recession
  • John Maynard Keynes
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • Milton Friedman
  • totalitarian
  • General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
  • tariff
  • World Trade Organization (WTO)
  • Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
  • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
You should also be able to answer the following questions:
  • What is economic globalization?
  • How did 20th century world events shape contemporary economic globalization?
  • What factors laid the foundations of contemporary global economics?
  • What were the major global institutions that were created at the Bretton Woods Agreement?
  • What are the major differences between the ideas of John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek?
  • What factors contribute to expanding globalization?
  • How do international agreements and organizations contribute to expanding globalization?
  • How do transnational corporations contribute to expanding globalization?
  • How do communication technologies contribute to expanding globalization?
  • What are the benefits of the WTO system?
  • What are some criticisms of the WTO?


I finished lecturing on the parliamentary system, and gave you the rest of the class period to work on your Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions (this is due on Tuesday, May 3rd). On Monday, May 2nd, you'll be writing the Unit 2 Final Exam (please see the study guide below). On Wednesday, April 4th you're writing the Unit 2 WRA II Essay. I gave you the essay question sheet today, so if you missed class today, you should check your e-mail because I sent you the sheet.

Your Unit 2 Final Exam is on Monday, May 2nd, and the Unit 2 WRA II Essay is on Wednesday, May 4th. 




The Unit 2 Final Exam is on Monday, May 2nd. It will be a 70-75 multiple choice question test. In your textbook, this is material from Chapters 3-8. Please look at the studying hints below:

  • study "The Development of Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "Responding to Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Evolution of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Techniques of Dictatorship" (ppt)
  • study "20th Century Rejections of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Origins of the Cold War" (ppt)
  • study the key concepts from the Chapters 3-8 worksheets
  • please see the summary notes from the Ideologies textbook: Chapter 7 (Private Enterprise)
  • supply-side economics
  • boom and bust cycle/business cycle
  • laws of supply and demand, Adam Smith, invisible hand, market forces
    self-interest, consumer sovereignty, competition, private ownership, profit motive
  • basic economic problems/questions
  • advantages/disadvantages of the market economy
  • causes of the Great Depression
  • FDR and the New Deal 
  • please see summary notes from the Ideologies textbook on the Mixed Economy Case Studies #14 (Sweden) and #15 (Canada), #16 (Japan), #17 (Fascism and Nazism)
  • also see the Democratic Socialism booklet on Sweden (indicative planning, "cradle to the grave" economics)
  • characteristics of a mixed economy
  • nationalization
  • privatization
  • democratic socialism
  • welfare capitalism
  • Keynesian economics
  • the business cycle and fiscal and monetary policies (study all of the notes I gave you and the booklet that I gave you)
  • demand-side economics
  • neo-conservatives
  • monetarism
  • trickle down economics
  • supply-side economics
  • Thatcherism and Reaganomics
  • Milton Friedman
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • how Keynesian economics deals with a recession (remember "the percolator": increase circulation of money reducing taxes, increase government spending on "make work" projects, and reduce interest rates, which according to Keynesian economics is going increase demand for goods and services and lead to more money circulating in the economy)
  • how supply-side economics deals with a recession (remember "trickle down coffee maker": government should stimulate the goods and services sector of the economy by reducing corporate and personal taxes, eventually benefits will "trickle down" to the middle class and working class, make connections between supply-side economics and laissez faire economics/classical liberalism)
  • advantages and disadvantages of a mixed economy
  • neo-conservative criticism of government intervention
  • characteristics of a centrally planned economy
  • advantages and disadvantages of a centrally planned economy
  • Marx notes (sent by e-mail)
  • Lenin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • establishment of the Soviet Union
  • Soviet economic system (top-down decision-making process)
  • Lenin's War Communism and the New Economic Policy
  • "Stalin and the Modernization of Russia" (see film notes)
  • Stalin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • "Changes to Soviet Society After Stalin" notes (this bridges the gap between Stalin and Gorbachev)
  • Gorbachev to Collapse Notes
  • Economic Planning in the USSR booklet
  • techniques of dictatorships (USSR and Nazi Germany case studies)
  • modern liberalism
  • features of the Nazi state
  • Hitler's rise to power
  • Characteristics of Democracy
  • Characteristics of Dictatorship
  • Democratic Systems notes
  • Non-Democratic Systems notes
  • Types of Dictatorships notes (includes Techniques of Dictatorships as well)
  • A Comparison of Communism and Fascism notes
  • Totalitarianism notes
  • Fascism/Nazism booklet (has techniques of dictatorship in Nazi Germany and USSR)
  • do a brief review of the political spectrum and economic spectrum and the quadrant model

Monday, April 28, 2014

April 28


I showed you a video from the United States History series that covered U.S. Politics from 1980 to 2000 (the Reagan to the Clinton administrations). While you watched the video, you should have taken notes. I talked a little bit about the 2000 U.S. Presidential election today as well. We're getting into Social 30-1 material tomorrow when we start talking about illiberalism and the USA PATRIOT Act.

I showed you a video today called "Life + Debt", which is a good case study of Jamaica's increasing foreign debt, and impacts of economic policies from the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO, and the Inter-American Development Bank. We looked at the impact on the Jamaican produce industry, the dairy industry, the banana industry and the impact of the "free zones". We'll Please remember that your WTO charts are due tomorrow, and your Chapter 11 Questions are due on Wednesday.


We finished off the War of 1812 documentary today and then you wrote your Unit 6 Quiz afterwards. Your War of 1812 Website Assignment is due tomorrow.

Friday, April 25, 2014

April 25



I finished off the lecture of George H.W. Bush administration and then I moved to cover the Bill Clinton administration. This would be a great weekend to do some IB History review. You should edit pages on the Collaborative Notes section of the wiki for the American Presidents that we've been studying lately.



I gave you back your Unit 2 WRA I three source analysis assignments today. I will be going through these assignments on Monday in tutorial (starting at 8:15), you are strongly encouraged to attend tutorial. I went through a PowerPoint lecture today called "Expansion of Economic Globalization" today. I also gave you a booklet on the WTO today as well. You must make an advantages and disadvantages chart on the WTO, make it a detailed chart too. The WTO chart is due on Tuesday. Your Chapter 11 Questions are due on Wednesday.



You wrote a current events quiz today. We continued watching the PBS documentary on the War of 1812, we didn't finish it, so hopefully we'll be able to finish it on Monday. You do have a homework assignment this weekend (although it is due on Tuesday): please go to the IB 20 wiki this weekend, go to the Unit 6: Nation Building and Challenges section. Please complete the War of 1812 Website Assignment for Tuesday, April 29th. Please remember that you have your Unit 6 Quiz on Monday. This quiz has a matching section and an OPVL analysis section.

Monday, April 29, 2013

April 29

I gave you back your Paper 3 on the Civil Rights Movement today. We watched a video from the US History series that covered U.S. Politics from 1980-2000. While the video was playing, you were supposed to take notes. We also did some exercises related to Paper 1.
You wrote your Chapter 7 Cold War Exam today. You'll get the results back tomorrow. Please remember that your Unit 2 Final Exam is on Thursday, May 2nd. Please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it).
We finished our film study of "Gandhi" today. The film study questions (the content questions) are due on Thursday. I have bumped the due date for the Unit 2 Research Project until Monday, May 6th because I forgot to send out the rubrics.

Friday, April 26, 2013

April 26


I delivered a lecture on the Clinton Administration today, which took most of the class period. I have posted this PowerPoint presentation and the George H.W. Bush presentation on the IB 30/35 wiki in the American Presidents section. We didn't have time to continue with the Clinton documentary today, and we won't on Monday either. If you wish to continue watching it, you can find a link to the PBS American Experience website on the Presidents.

You were given most of the period to work on your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions, which are due on Monday. Some of you used the time that you given very effectively, others not as much. Please remember that you have your Chapter 7 Cold War Exam on Monday, April 29th. you can find the study guide for this exam here (scroll down to find it). The Unit 2 Final Exam is on Thursday, May 2nd, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it) .

I returned some homework checked work at the beginning of the class. We continued our film study of "Gandhi" today. We should be able to finish this film off on Monday. Please make sure that you are keeping up with the questions. This is your last weekend to work on your Unit 2 Research Project, which is due on Tuesday, April 30th.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

April 25


You were supposed to hand in your background information on India questions today. We started our film study of "Gandhi" today. I don't think that we'll be able to finish it off tomorrow. In all likelihood, we'll finish this film on Monday. Please remember that your Unit 2 Research Project is due on April 30th.


We finished watching "Good Night, and Good Luck" today. Your film study questions are due tomorrow. The film study for this is due on Thursday. "Good Night, and Good Luck" contains a few powerful scenes that I will post here on the blog.



This film explores a lot of issues that are relevant to today. You also have to understand the political climate at the time in the United States to fully understand the movie. Many Americans were drawn to communism in the 1930s due to the effects of the Great Depression, especially academics and those in the labour fields. In the movie they made reference to friends and spouses that had attended meetings long ago. The "Red Scare" caused a huge backlash against those sympathetic to communism or the USSR. Remember, during WWII the Soviet Union was an ally, and many people may have attended meetings out of curiosity. The junior Senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy in 1950 charged there were communist sympathizers in the U.S. State Department. Hearings were held, charges were discovered to be unfounded. McCarthy continued accusing communist infiltration in the Democratic Party. McCarthy became the chairman of the House Subcommittee on the investigation of un-American activity (HUAC). On December 2, 1954, McCarthy’s actions were called into question and his accusations were deemed unfounded. On Murrow's show "See it Now", he begins to publicly go after McCarthy. A very public feud develops when McCarthy responds by accusing Murrow of being a communist. Murrow is accused of having been a member of the leftist union Industrial Workers of the World, which Murrow claimed was false.
In this climate of fear and reprisal (which we now refer to as McCarthyism), the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity ultimately strikes a historic blow against McCarthy. Historical footage in the movie also shows the questioning of Annie Lee Moss, a Pentagon communication worker accused of being a communist based on her name appearing on a list seen by an FBI infiltrator of the American Communist Party. In the first half of the film Murrow talks about how McCarthy didn't create the political climate and anti-Communist hysteria sweeping the country, but that he capitalized on it for political gain very effectively. As David Strathairn (playing Murrow in the film says, "We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and doctrine and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes which were, for the moment, unpopular. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of the Republic to abdicate responsibility.") The film is framed by the performance of the speech given by Murrow to the Radio and Television News Directors Association in 1958, in which Murrow harshly admonishes his audience not to squander the potential of television to inform and educate the public. I found this short video on YouTube that spliced together Edward R. Murrow's speech that appears at the beginning of the film and continues at the end of the film. I find that this speech has relevance even today when you talk about the level of discourse in the media.




Your Chapter 7 Test (The Cold War) is on Monday, April 29th, please see the study guide below. Your Unit 2 Final Exam is on Thursday, May 2nd, please see the study guide here.

It is a multiple choice test with 70-75 multiple choice questions. Please make sure that you have read Chapter 7. Here are some other study tips:

  • study "The Origins of the Cold War (ppt)"
  • study all notes on the Origins and Causes of the Cold War
  • study notes on the Korean War
  • study notes on the Cuban Missile Crisis
  • study notes on the Vietnam War (see notes package and Vietnam War booklet, and the notes that I sent to you on the Vietnam War)
  • make sure that you know all the Cold War Concepts
  • know the chronology of events of the Cold War (study the Cold War timeline and the Vietnam War timeline, and the end of the Cold War timeline that I will be giving you in subsequent class)
  • know key events that we've emphasized in class (for example: Berlin Airlift, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War) plus other key events from the timeline
  • know major arms reduction agreements (bilateral agreements and multilateral agreements)
  • know about the formation of alliances (NATO, Warsaw Pact) and the formation of "spheres of influence"
  • anything that I gave you as a handout is testable material and should be reviewed!!
  • know how the Cold War ends and its results/consequences

We finished off the George H.W. Bush Administration today. I will post my PowerPoint lecture on the wiki tonight. We also started to watch part of the Clinton documentary from the American Experience series on "The Presidents". There's a link to these videos on the wiki in the American Presidents section. You'll probably have to watch these videos directly from the PBS website. I will try to lecture on the Clinton Administration tomorrow (if my voice holds out).