Red States and Blue States

Please watch this short video from Stanford University about the geography of US elections.  Then write a short response to the following question:

Oregon has been considered a "blue state" for the last few decades.  Imagine that you are a Republican living in Oregon.  Do you believe that your vote counts in a Presidential election?  Will you still choose to vote?  Why or why not?

Jon Stewart on the Youth Vote

Please watch the short video of Jon Stewart discussing his idea of how to increase engagement between politicians and young voters.  Then reply to this post and answer the following:

Do you agree with Jon Stewart's opinion of how to get young voters to pay attention?  Please suggest at least one idea that you feel is important to young voters that you would like to see politicians address.

Blog Rules!

As in this blog rules, yes...but also, before we start posting away I want to set some ground rules:

1. All postings in this blog are to be respectful of others.  The purpose of this blog is to facilitate open and respectful student commentary.  I will not tolerate any form of trolling, flaming, name calling or any other sort of digital harassment. 

2. No form of spam is permitted.  Please do not attempt to advertise anything that is not related to this class.  I'm sure your band is awesome but keep all forms of self promotion elsewhere.  Save it for your personal Facebook page.

3. All communication on this blog is to be conducted under the same rules as the Hillsboro School District's internet use policy.  All rules set forth by the district will also be enforced on this blog.


This blog is part of your educational experience and I expect you to behave with the same dignity and good manners that you display every day at school. Or for some of you, I expect you to behave with dignity and good manners!

Welcome!

Congratulations! You have navigated through the thicket we call the interwebs and out of all the pages out there, you found mine.  Great job!  Take a minute to pat yourself on the back.  Ok, now that we all feel good about our internet skills, it's time to get down to business and explain we we're all here.

This page will serve a valuable resource for the class.  In one centralized location, you can find supplemental course materials, a forum to ask and answer any questions about the class, and also an online resource to suggest ideas for what you would like to see taught in class.  And it's all free!  What a bargain!

Please check in on this blog regularly.  Some of your homework assignments will be exclusively accessed through this blog.  You will receive points for your level of participation and also for whatever assignments will be due.  So welcome, have a good time, and let's get started.