Staying in touch

June 5, 2008

Many of you said you’d like to keep in touch and asked about letters of recommendation, SAT/ACT tutoring, college applications advice, etc. I’d love to hear from you.

The best way to reach me is via email at duncan.brook@gmail.com. If you like, you can also use Facebook to stay connected or visit my personal website. The site is due for an overhaul, but it will house any travel blog/photos I create.

Posted by Duncan Brook | Filed Under African Studies, World Studies

Spring exam grades

June 5, 2008

Spring exam results are now posted on the grades page. All World Studies grades (Q4 & exam) are now online, so please spread the word.

This exam was hard, wasn’t it? Know that I enjoyed seeing that you’ve really learned a lot this semester. On the last question, almost all of you said you most enjoyed learning about one of the topics … I most enjoyed teaching. So, we’re in agreement.

Check back sometime soon. I’ll likely post a few of the more amusing snippets from people’s exams (anonymously, of course)…

Here’s the grading explanation:

The grade sheet tells you how many points you received on the multiple choice, your raw multiple choice percentage, and your curved multiple choice percentage. I considered that curved MC score and your score on the subjective pages of the exam (the last column) when I calculated your overall final exam grade.

Combining those two scores qualitatively allowed me some flexibility to accommodate those students who clearly performed better on one part of the exam than the other. If you’re way better at writing than at answering multiple choice questions – or the other way around – I worked to recognize that fact.

Posted by Duncan Brook | Filed Under World Studies

Updated fourth quarter grades

June 5, 2008

I’ve posted updated fourth quarter estimated grades to the site. Please read the note at the top of the sheet about the final late penalty calculations and/or read below for more detail:

In this final version of the grades spreadsheet, late penalties have been calculated as follows:

These calculations are generous.

Zeroes remain zeroes
Most late items lose a letter grade off their graded score
Late but fully completed work receives a B, but, for example, a late item with a raw score of a B+ receives a C+
All 28.1-28.3 late penalties are forgiven
Some sections completed this work in class, but others didn’t receive that blanket “on-time” opportunity. In the interest of fairness, everybody gets an “on-time” opportunity on this assignment
Late binders do not receive a late penalty on all four items
Instead of a late penalty applied to each of the four grades in the early-quarter notebook check, the late penalty only applies to the overall organization grade. For example, a complete but late binder receives a 5 out of 20 points on the organization grade but the full 110 homework points
Work turned in “at the end of the day” is late
Students asking for full credit for work they turned in “at the end of the day” have been denied. Assigned work is due at the beginning of class
Take-home test late penalties are 1/2 grade for same-day lateness & full grade for anything more

Posted by Duncan Brook | Filed Under World Studies

Spring class photos

May 26, 2008

The spring class photos are up on the photos page. I uploaded all the pictures that came out well, but there were a few that just didn’t come out (e.g. probably the best one of G period is completely out of focus). The thumbnails and even the actual photos look sort of small, so if you click through to an individual photo’s page, you’ll see a “View full picture” link that lets you see a huge version.

Posted by Duncan Brook | Filed Under African Studies, World Studies

Fourth quarter grades

May 24, 2008

Updated fourth quarter grades are now on the site. Look at the color key at the top of the sheet and the note there about late penalties. If you still owe me work, get on that.

I’ll adjust the late penalties on homework before I report your grades, but the penalties a few of you see here for your take-home review test are final. For most people who turned in late homework this quarter, your actual quarter grades will be somewhat higher than you see here.

However, remember that when you turn in work late to any teacher, you put your grade in their hands instead of keeping it in yours. As much as possible, always work to ensure that you’re the one in control of your destiny, rather than leaving it up to other people…

Clear plastic binder

Posted by Duncan Brook | Filed Under World Studies

Final exam review guide

May 23, 2008

Here’s the detailed review guide for the second semester final exam. If I make any changes to the file, you’ll be able to find them on the website: the version marker on the filename will change (e.g. “v1″ will become “v2″), and the purple time/date on the first page will be modified.

Posted by Duncan Brook | Filed Under World Studies

Cold War timeline

May 22, 2008

Here’s the Cold War timeline from our last class; know the basics for the bolded items and be able to explain the key terms.

Posted by Duncan Brook | Filed Under World Studies

About grades

May 21, 2008

I’ve graded your take-home tests and will return them in class Wednesday & Thursday.

Your fourth quarter grades will be posted here sometime in the next day or so; I have to finish compiling everybody’s before I can post a new spreadsheet and still have a few to do.

If you haven’t turned in things to me, you MUST do so immediately, or your future is bleak.

If you’ve turned in everything for the fourth quarter, you should turn your focus towards organizing for the exam. I will post and hand out a study guide on Friday, but start by organizing your notebook. The core second semester material comes from Chapters 12 to 31.

Posted by Duncan Brook | Filed Under World Studies

Women at war

May 7, 2008

I encourage you to read this Washington Post article about the extraordinary heroism of 18-year-old Pfc. Monica Brown. She’s only the second female since World War II to receive the Silver Star, our nation’s third-highest combat medal, but the publicity surrounding that honor led to her removal from combat.

In class, we watched this video – Brown and her colleagues describe what happened that day in Iraq:

Think back to our discussion of the role of women in World War I. They were deeply involved, from manufacturing weapons and ammunition on the home front, to serving in the nursing corps on the front lines. At the same time as women were making such progress, however, sexist attitudes remained (remember the slogan “The girl behind the man behind the gun!”). Even in today’s U.S. military, women are not technically allowed to participate in combat operations and are not eligible for the draft.

Why do you think such rules remain in place? What attitudes about women do they reflect?

According to the newspaper, U.S. Army policy on women in combat is as follows:

The Army’s policy for female soldiers was set in 1992. It allows women to “serve in any officer or enlisted specialty or position except in those specialties, positions, or units (battalion size or smaller) which are assigned a routine mission to engage in direct combat, or which collocate routinely with units assigned a direct combat mission.”

However, the Post also shares the following charts, which clearly implies just how many women are indeed deployed in de facto combat zones. According to the Post:

Women in the Line of Fire – Tens of thousands of women are serving in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they are often exposed to combat and required to act in self-defense amid counter-insurgencies with no clear front lines.

Posted by Duncan Brook | Filed Under World Studies

Revolution-era art study guide

April 14, 2008

Jacques-Louis David (pronounced dah-veed) was Napoleon’s favorite painter and himself a prominent revolutionary. His neoclassical style was markedly different from the contemporary frivolous rococo style. Here are Wikipedia links for David, Goya, and Delaroche.

Be sure you can explain the events depicted in these paintings – the historical significance makes them important. Also be sure to note that there are two paintings named “Napoleon Crossing the Alps.” David’s version glorifies Napoleon and is more famous; Delaroche’s version was painted in 1850 and … does not glorify Napoleon.

In some sections, we did not look at “The Death of Marat” (also translated as “Marat at His Last Breath”). It’s a reverent, sympathetic, man-of-the-people portrait of the assassinated leader of the sans-culottes.

Here are the works that you’re required to know. Click on any thumbnail to see a larger version and click again on that version to see the full size: