Blog #12 Holiday Calories, catching up, and reading your books

Good morning cadets. As we are getting ready to start this festive holiday season, I have to be the Grinch and remind all of you that you need to eat healthy and watch those calories.  Your task this week is to post how many Christmas goodies you ate  and how many calories they contained.  You have to post the URL link for the site that confirms your calorie amounts. In addition to this, you must post which calorie content surprised you the most. Remember to post your comments on your peer's work as well.  Last but not least, you must download your textbooks from the SKEDULA site and post back to this to confirm that you have them. Good luck, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza and a Blessed Eid. 

Blog #11, Your leadership book selection and vital information

Hi again cadets. Here it is December already and your term project is due just around the corner on the 6th of January.  Your homework this week it to go to the SKEDULA website and download the worksheets for your term project. The files are in Word Document and PDF Format.  Remember that these are just worksheets and you must follow the instructions to achieve and outstanding grade on this project. Once you have your book, you must post all related information about your book.

Author:
Title:
Publisher
Date Published:
Number of Pages.

Don't forget, when you are finished with the above task you must post your initial opinions of the book after you have started reading it.

If you can't find your book with over 125 pages, you may select another individual as long as you post that change to this site. Once you post it with the above information, I will leave an approval for you on this site as well.  Remember that this link is going to be posted on our SKEDULA site so get to work and make it happen.

Blog #10 Who is your favorite leader to read about?

Welcome to the 3rd marking period cadets. Since we are reading about leadership and management your task this week should be a relatively easy one.  You must select a leader from the 20th or 21st century that is a positive role model and read an autobiography or biography about that person. Below is a list of possible selections but they are not the only ones to choose from.  You must select your person, then find a web-site about that individual and post the URL back to our blog. You must then explain why you chose your person as well. The last thing that you must do is to comment on at least one other cadet's work. Remember that leaders come in all shapes and sizes and also from all areas and walks of life, not just from the military or politics. Anyone that has had a profound positive effect on society as a whole is up for grabs.  Don't forget that there are 4 parts to this assignment and that you must complete all 4 parts to get full credit.  See list that follow for ideas:

Blog #9 Thanksgiving and what you have to be thankful?

Here we are at the end of the 2nd Marking Period and it is hard to believe how quickly the time has flown.  As it is Thanksgiving, I want to give thanks for all of the great things that I have in my life.  From my wonderful wife, daughter, grand-kids, and other family members to my job and good health.  All of these things help make my life happier every single day. Here is a video that I really like that demonstrates my feelings very well.   

Make sure that you post a video and comment on your peers work as well. Enjoy the weekend and don't eat to much turkey tomorrow.  Be safe, stay warm and I'll see all of you back at school on Monday.

Blog #8 Honesty & Integrity, what a great story...

Hi and Happy Thanksgiving this week Cadets.  This week is a two-fer as you have to assignments to catch up on since we have a short week. This first one is easy and fun to do since it deals with Personal Character.  One of the 6 C's of a leader. The following story is about an honest person in New Orleans that finds $240,000 on the roadside in a bin and turns in back in.  Hope you enjoy the story.  Your task to find similar stories of honesty, courage, character, candor, commitment, and post one of those stories to this site. As usual, your task is to give a brief synopsis of the story and to also comment on your peers work. Remember to do all 3 actions to get your full credit for your work.  Have fun and don't eat to much turkey this week.

Blog #7 Leadership VS Management and who is your favorite Leader?

Thanks for your video posting for your Veterans Day Tribute. I found them moving and well worth the time to watch.  For those who did not contribute, I am sorry that you didn't feel that you needed to post a thank you for those that fought to protect your freedom and defend your rights.  Your task this week is to select an individual from our society within the past 100 years that was influential in their work and had a major impact on our society today.  Remember, this should be someone that you admire and also someone that you know will be remembered for their contributions to society.  Here is my leader that I feel had a major impact on our society as a whole.  That person is Albert Einstein.  Without his scientific work and defection to the United States during WWII, we would not have known about Hitler's attempt to create a Nazi Atomic Bomb.  Here is the URL and site about Albert Einstein.  Albert Einstein Website

Blog #6 Veterans Day and I thank each and every one of you

Hi again Cadets.  As we prepare for our participation in the Annual NYC Veterans Day Parade in Manhattan, I thought that it would be a great time for you to post your thanks and video tributes to those men and women that have fought to keep us free all of these years.  Remember that if you create your own video and post it to You-Tube you will get extra credit.  Make sure that you post your own thank you in your personal message.  Add your Video Link to out site and comment on at least one of your Peer's work. Good luck and I hope you enjoy this lesson for this week.  Remember also cadets that there are only 2 weeks left for the canned food drive for the needy and that we are moving forward with the Holiday Social planning as well.
I almost forgot, I want to thank all of my fellow soldiers that served with me from 1971 to 1995. Without your support, guidance and sacrifice, I would not be where I am today in my life.  Your courage and commitment is beyond reproach and I salute each and every one of you.  I serve for the memory of my Dad that taught me what being an American is all about.
Here it the video that I chose as my selection:  

Blog #5 Sometimes Bullying never stops...

Hi again cadets and great work on the last assignment.  Since we have been discussing bullying, I am sure that you along with most sports fans in America are aware of this story.  Read the following NPR story and post your comments.  Once you have done that, you are required to search out a recent news related article or video on "Bullying" and post it to our site with the proper URL. Make sure you explain why you chose your video and also post a comment on at least one of your peer's work.  Here is the NPR article about the Miami Dolphins' story.  Sports Bullying in Miami

Blog #4 Trick or Treat? Freedom of Speech or Bullying, what's your opinion?

Happy Halloween Cadets! Since we are studying the Constitution and our Government, let's tackle the issue of Freedom of Speech.  Here is a News Story about costumes that a parent and her daughter wore to a School Halloween event.  Watch the News story and give your opinion on whether this violates the 1st Amendment of the Constitution and why. Does this infringe on any other personal rights?  Your next task is to find a related story to the 1st Amendment and post it along with the URL and your brief synopsis of the story. Lastly as always, remember to comment on your peer's work. There is a lot to do here but this should be an exciting homework. Good luck and I look forward to reading your responses.  Here is the video:

  

Fox 2 News Headlines

Blog #3 How to Fix the U.S. Budget woes

Hi again cadets and great job on the last assignment on what law you would change for the Constitution.  If you were King again, now you can tackle the job of balancing the budget for our government.  Look at the link that is provided and let everyone know what area of the budget you would cut and for what reasons.  Remember that there are always consequences when  you cut the budget so keep those in mind. Don't forget to also comment on your peer's work as well.
Good luck again and here is the link showing the Budget Information you need.
Federal Budget Link

Blog #2 If you were President, what law would you want to pass or remove?

  Hi again Cadets.  Great job with your first blog. I can hardly wait to see how you will handle this assignment.  Everyone always says "If I Were King", so this is your chance. If you were the President of the United States, what law would you like to pass or remove from our society. Explain your reasoning,  be specific and post your information along with the website where you found your information.  Remember part 3 to also comment on other Cadet's work.  Good luck and I look forward to reading your responses.  I would like to pass a law that limits the term limits for Congressmen to two terms, just like the President of the United States. I believe that this would reduce the gridlock in Washington and reduce the Good Old Boy issues that exist.
Here is my link and notice that there are more PRO's than CON's for limiting Congresses time
in office.  http://www.balancedpolitics.org/term_limits.htm

1SG Lewis

Blog #1 The Government Shutdown and You...

Welcome back Cadets to a new school year.  Since we are studying the Constitution and our government we would normally have started by studying the Mayoral Race in our fair town of NYC.  However, the recent shutdown of our Government because of a dispute between Congress and the President of the United States over budget issues has forced our government spending to be stopped.  People all over the country are being affected by this terrible course of events.  Your task this Blog Post is to #1: give your own personal opinion on the events at hand; #2: post the URL for a website that mirrors or supports your opinion, and lastly; #3: post your opinion of another cadets work and their website information.  Remember that  you have one week to post your work and after that your score will decline accordingly.  Good luck  and here is my own example of the information that I would like for you to post.

1: I feel that the government officials in Congress have lost sight of their responsibility to the American people that elected them and the President to their current office. The repercussions of this action will only affect the poor and the middle class and the government officials that failed to act will not be harmed.

2:

Blog #28 Thanks for your Service and Sacrifice this coming Memorial Day.

Cadets, it's that time of year again where we try to honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice and gave their all serving our country. As we have learned studying the Korean Conflict, the award of the Medal of Honor is the highest tribute our country can pay to those that sacrifice themselves for the protection of all.  Your task this week is to post the URL for a video that pays tribute to those soldiers for Memorial Day. If you create your own and post it to Youtube, you will get double bonus points for this homework so let's get started. Here is my post and I hope you like it. Remember to comment on your peer's work and to pay your respects.

Blog #27 Korean Conflict and Term Project Download

Good morning cadets. Hope that you and your mother's had
a great day together.  Your mission this week is to find out
information about the Korean Conflict that started in 1950
and ended in 1953.  You should try to find interesting information
that can be discussed in class and also bring to light new
details about the Korean Conflict.  As you have already learned,
the Soviet Union installed a Puppet Government in N. Korea
after the end of WWII and North Korea wanted to have a
united Korea while South Korea wanted to keep their
Democratic Government. That is my fact for this blog and
here is the website to confirm this fact:
Kim Il Sung Puppet Government

As promised, here is the link to download your worksheets
for the term project on the Vietnam War.  You can download
either document, MS Word or Adobe PDF.
Vietnam Term Project MSWord

Vietnam Term Project PDF

Blog #26 Pearl Harbor survivor receives last Navy Medal.

Hi again Cadets. Since we are moving from the end of WWII to the cold war and into the Korean Conflict, I thought I would give you one last video to watch about Pearl Harbor. This one is very fitting and honors a survivor that fought there. As promised, your information about your term project will be attached to this blog so be ready to be first to get a chance to select your Vietnam War movie. After the video posting is a list of Vietnam War Movies that are available. Select at least 3 that you would like to watch. You will be able to select your movie by the end of this coming week so make sure your posting is up first to get the best choice in class.

Here are a few of the Vietnam War movies that are available to watch online or downloadable from various sources. Remember to post your 3 choices and you must explain why you want to watch at least two of the movies. Post a URL for the movies and also comment on other Cadet's work. Good luck and I hope that you are one of the lucky ones to post first in your class.

Movie Name	Year		Movie Name	Year
84 Charlie MoPic	1989		Platoon Leader	1988
A Bright Shining Lie	1998		Rescue Dawn	2006
A Yank in Vietnam	1964		The Anderson Platoon	1967
Apocalypse Now	1979		The Deer Hunter	1978
Bat 21	1988		The Green Berets	1968
Born on the 4th of July	1989		The Hanoi Hilton	1887
Casualties of War	1989		The Iron Triangle	1989
Coming Home	1978		The Odd Angry Shot	1979
Faith of My Fathers	2005		The Siege of Firebase Gloria	1989
Full Metal Jacket	1987		The Walking Dead	1995
Go Tell The Spartans	1978		Tigerland	2000
Good Morning Vietnam	1987		Tunnel Rats	2008
Hamburger Hill	1987		Uncommon Valor	1983
Heaven and Earth	1993		Under Heavy Fire	2001
Platoon	1986		We Were Soldiers	2002

Remember to look again next weekend for your Movie Worksheet to download for your term project. Good luck and remember that Memorial Day is fast approaching to make sure you are working on making your Tribute Videos to post on You-Tube as well for your bonus points.

Blog #25 Cold War outcomes and the Sequestration

Good morning Cadets.  Since we are learning about the cold war, the one outcome of WWII was the creation of the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild and restore war ravaged/damaged Europe and speed their economic recovery.  Along with that, the United States started to spend more money on Foreign Aide for countries around the world. With Sequestration in place, we are required now to decrease spending to help foreign governments.  Your goal this week is to select a country from around the world and find out how much money the US is sending that country for foreign aid. Along with that, you need to find out what that country does with the money that we send them.  As usual, post your URL for the website where you obtained your information and also comment on other cadet's work.  You must complete all 3 tasks to receive full credit for this work.  Good luck and here is my posting:
Foreign Aid to China  . According to this article, we are giving China $12,000,000 in foreign aid, $4,000,000 for environmental issues.  That is right, 12 Million Dollars to a country that we owe money.  Wow, I am surprised.

Here is the link to download the Cold War/Military Booklet we are using in class as well:
Cold War & Military History JROTC Let2

Army JROTC Chain of Command

Blog #24 Drugs, drugs, & more drugs. What's your choice to learn about and teach?

Good morning Cadets.  This week you are involved with teaching about the different drugs that you may come into contact during your life. Each student is required to work as a team and use Google-Docs. You have created your presentation and will show your group work and knowledge in your classroom setting. Your task for this blog is to post the Drug that you and your group is teaching about.  You must identify information that you learned while researching about the drug and then must post the URL for the site that you collected your information.  If you have a video that you used, please post the URL link to that video as well.  Once you have accomplished these tasks, your final one is to comment on other students works.  Remember that you will get extra bonus points for creating a video yourself using your material as well as making a wall poster for our classroom.  Good luck and here is a video that I chose about music and Psychedelic drugs from the sixties.

Although some of these songs are not related to drugs, the bands music played a major part in expanding the use of mind expanding drugs in our culture during the sixties.

Blog #23 In Honor of National Women's Month

Good morning cadets.  This week we are paying our respects to the women
in our lives and the ones that have made a difference in society.  I can never
say enough about my mom and the support that she gave me while I was
growing up, she was truly an amazing woman.  So this week your task is to
select a woman that has made a difference in our society and honor her by
placing your comments and a URL for the website/link for that person on our
blog as well. Remember to comment on your peer's work and once you
have done that, you will be finished with your assignment for this week.  I hope
you enjoy this video about a woman that made a difference for our society.

Blog #22 It's All About Bloomberg

Good morning cadets, I hope that you are all doing well. As you are aware, Mayor Bloomberg's larger sugary drink ban was overturned by a NYC Judge that ruled against the Mayor.  During his time in office, Mayor Bloomberg has championed many initiatives to improve the health of NYC.  He was behind the ban on saturated fats in restaurants; the ban on over-sized sodas; the ban on unhealthy foods in school lunchroom  cafeterias and has also stated that he wants to champion the end of ear-bud headphones that damage the hearing of those that choose to use them.  Your task is to comment and give your opinion on whether you are for or against these ideas. Be specific and make sure that you cite documents or web-sites that support your information.  Lastly as always, remember that you must comment on your peer's work.  Good luck and I look forward to hearing your opinions.  Here is my video for you to watch:

Blog #21, Salt, sugar, fats, and there's a reason for that.

Good Morning Cadets.  I am very proud of your work so far on our health unit. Your work has been excellent both in class and online.  We have found out that there are some errors in labeling when it comes to the correct amount of calories listed on the food that we eat. We have found out that restaurants in NYC don't always label their calories correctly because they are not being held accountable for their honesty.  The real question now is why does the food that we eat taste so good; who makes it that way; and who is responsible for deciding how to advertise the products the way that they do?  Read the following story from NPR by a Pulitzer Prize winning author and I hope you are as surprised with this information as I am. Once you have read the article, your must do the following: 1, list what food or drink you bought with your own money the first time you spent your own money. 2, Find a website for advertising the product that you bought and post their URL to our blog, and 3, explain if you still buy or use the same product/item today.  Remember to explain your answers and also to comment on other students work.  Good luck and here's your story.
Salt Sugar Fats article NPR

Salt, sugar, fat, Audio Author Interview

Blog #20 How to get your kid into a Service Academy

Cadets, share the bottom link with your friends and family if you are
seriously interested in applying to one of the Service Academy's. The
story is great and so is the information, it will open your eyes to the
possibilities that are available to you. Good luck and I hope that
you find this information useful.

Service Academy (How To)

Blog #19 Bonus Calorie Information

Again, with Mayor Bloomberg, his worry is about the soda that our
citizens consume but I guess he isn't worried about the issue of false
calorie counts at restaurants.  Watch the following video and post
your opinions and comments. Also find other links or URL's to show
more information about calories.  Good luck and I hope that you are
getting wise to the information that is being passed around.

Blog #18 Sugary sweet sodas or Trans Fat laden chips and cookies

Hi again cadets. While we are studying our Health Section in JROTC, we have learned about the choices that we have to make on a daily basis to maintain our proper weight so that we remain healthy.  For  those of you that are aware of Mayor Bloomberg's Soda ban in NYC, you know that sodas and beverages over 16 ounces cannot be sold in restaurants that sell or deliver food.  This law goes into effect on the 16th of March.
Your task this week is to analyze common food items that can be purchased in businesses and schools and determine which ones are worse for your overall health.  Is it the sugary sweet sodas or the trans fat laden cookies and chips.  The choice is yours to decide. Should the government be involved in restricting what you eat and drink?  Post your data and information along with your opinion on our site. Remember to post your URL for your site that you obtain your facts from and also a brief synopsis. Once you have completed this task, your last part is to comment on other student's work. Good luck and sound off so that your neighbors and local government can hear you.  Here is a small video to get you started.

Blog #17 Health issues and Eating Disorders

Good day cadets.  As we learn more about health, we find out that there are more issues that come into play with our body than just losing weight.  Weight loss can become an obsession or a disease.  My post today is about Karen Carpenter.  She was a fabulous voice of the Carpenters Duo and have numerous hits during the 70's but unfortunately she was stricken with Anorexia as a young adult and because of this, her body was ravaged by the weight loss and it took her life due to health issues.  Here is an article on NPR that highlights her story both medically and musically.  I hope you enjoy this story and learn from her issues and mistakes. Please post your own article or story that is related to a person of interest in the news that is health related. Be sure to give a brief synopsis as always and comment on other cadet's work.  Good luck and I hope you learn more about these diseases.
NPR Link:  Karen Carpenter NPR Link

In addition the above link, here is the audio portion as well:  Karen Carpenter NPR Audio Link and last but not least, here is a video off of Youtube to enjoy.

Blog #16 Your health, eating late at night and other old wive's tales

Good Morning Cadets.

    I hope that you had a great weekend and survived the Super Bowl without any problems.  As we are going into our health phase of JROTC, this weeks assignment is to find out what truths and mis-truths there are out there regarding weight loss and gain.  We have all been told that we shouldn't eat late at night and recently there was a study that stated that it didn't matter when you eat as long as you controlled the amount that you eat. Well, according to this newest study, it does matter and you shouldn't eat after a specific time.  Watch the video, listen to it, or read and respond with your comments.  You must also find a story or website that debunks myths about weight loss and your health.  As always, remember to comment on your peer's work and post your URL/document to our website for others to read.  Here is your story:
NPR Weight Loss Study and here is the listening segment for you auditory learners: NPR Audio Weight Loss

Blog #15 Modern Medical Miracles. Health and science march on

Welcome back to the second semester cadets. I hope you enjoyed this past semester and have gained a wealth of knowledge.  This week we are taking a look at modern medical breakthroughs that are related to your health.  The following video is something that many people would have thought impossible even 10 years ago.  This soldier was one of the first quadriplegic injuries of the Iraq was and he never gave up. Now he is being given another chance.  Watch the following video and I hope that it inspires you to find other medical advances that are taking place in our every day life. Remember to post your video link or URL for the article that you find. Give a brief synopsis of your site and remember to comment on other cadet's work.
Here's the video and enjoy: