Blog #12 Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I hope you are enjoying your time off for the Holidays. As promised, here is your "Term Project" worksheet. Remember to follow the instructions for your work and this is not a "BOOK REPORT"!  I hope you have enjoyed your book and learned that leaders do in fact come in all shapes and sizes and that they don't have to be from the Government or the Military.

Your assignment for this week is easy since we are coming upon our New Year of 2015.  You must post 1 Goal/New Years Resolution that you are going to achieve this year and explain how you will do so. Post a video/article that is related to you goal and remember to comment on one of your peer's work as well. Easy as pie and you will be done in no time. Remember to have a Safe New Years Party and come back to school healthy and happy on the 5th of January, 2015.  

Here's wishing you a Happy New Year in advance.

Term Project 2015 PDF File

Term Project 2015 MS Doc

LET2 Textbook Part1 PDF

LET2 Textbook Part 2 PDF

Cadet Reference JROTC #6

1. Make resolutions. People who make them are ten times more likely to achieve them (Norcross, Mrykalo & Blagys, 2002)

2. Be realistic. You are not Superman. Reflect on what you have tried in the past, what has worked, and has not worked. If you have succeeded whenever you made a short list of goals, then make a short list. If you know you forget your goals in February, set a reminder in you Calendar App to rewrite you resolutions at 9AM ever first of the month.

3. Be practical. Making a New Year's Resolution to get into shape is not going to help anyone. Make a resolution instead to go the gym every other day, or to go for 30 minute walks every morning. Make your daily tasks concrete and measurable so you can clearly see what you did and did not do.

4. Be accountable. Tell other people what you're hoping to accomplish. Choose people who care about you and will support your efforts in achieving your goals. Let them know you would appreciate their support and their checking in with you to see how you are doing every once in a while. Sign up for something. When you sign up, it's hard not to show up, and a deadline can do wonders for motivation.

5. Be patient. Heed the wisdom of an old Daoist saying: "A thousand mile journey begins with one step." Note that it doesn't say, "A thousand mile journey is complete in one step," or "in one day," or "before you know it." The Daosists were mystics, but they were idealists. Take yourself at a pace you know you will keep up with, and try to break any World Records. Even one step every day amounts to seven steps in a week.

Blog #11 Leaders that light your way to the future...

Since we are reading about leadership and managment, 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 the individual and post the URL back to our blogk and you must then explain why you chose that person. 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 the you must complete all 4 parts to get your full credit for this homework assignment. See the list that follows for ideas and remember that if you can't find your book right away, you must select a different leader as quickly as possible. Your book must also be at least 100 pages in length.

Blog #10 Assets of a Manager and how they are important...

Since we know that there are 4 Management Resources, your task this week is to explain which resource is the most important to you.  Post your response with your reasoning along with an Article or Video URL about your Manager Resource. Good luck and here is my Management Resource:
People: 

Blog #9 Management VS Leadership

You've learned about Management and Leadership in JROTC and have discovered some interesting fact about both. Your task for this assigment is to post which area is most important to you and describe why you made your selection. Post an article or video to support your point of view and remember to post your comments on one of your peer's work.  Take the time to examine the 4 management resources as well as P.O.C.D.C. and make this an enjoyable assignment for all. Hope you enjoy the following video.

Blog #8 I have so much to be thankful for, what about you?

Since the holiday of Thanksgiving is this week, I think that we should all reflect on what we have to be thankful for and post our opinions to our sight this week.  Once you have posted what you have to be thankful for, next select a video to support your post.  Good luck and I'll start the blog off with my own personal comment. "I am thankful for a loving and caring family that helps me through thick and thin. I have been blessed with great friends throughout my life and those two items are just the tip of the iceberg". Here is a video that I found that sums up my feelings.

Blog #7 What makes a good leader? Ask Colin Powell...

We are learning about Leadership and what makes a good or great leader.  The Army says that there are 14 Leadership traits that help make a great leader.  You need to watch the video of Colin Powell and then select which of the 14 leadership traits you feel is the most important. Post your opinon and explain why you chose that particular trait.  Find a website/URL or article online that supports your trait and post it back to our site. Lastly as always, remember to comment on your peer's selections and you will be on track with this assignment.  Here is your video:

Blog #6 Obama and the Executive Order

Hi again Cadets. Your task is/was to watch President Obama's press conference and see what action he takes with his Executive Order on Thursday night.  Once you have watched the conference, give a brief synopsis of what he said and also respond with your personal feelings about the situation. Once you have posted your information/point of view, make sure that you post a URL/Website that supports your information.  As we discussed earlier in class, there are quite a few myths surrounding the Executive Order so now is the time to set the record straight. If you add new information to our knowledge, then you are truly becoming a better citizen. I look forward to your posts and can't wait to see what you find.

Blog #5 Paying your respects to our Veterans and the sacrifices they made

Good Morning Cadets! I hope you are enjoying your day off this Veteran's Day. I am posting the following video because it seems just like yesterday that I raised my right hand and said the oath of allegience to our country.  Your task it to watch the following video and respond on how it makes you feel.  Once you have done this, find your own video to add to our site to pay hommage to our Veterans for their sacrifices that they have made to keep our country free. Remember to lastly comment on one of your peer's work and your assignment for this week will be complete. Good luck and I look forward to viewing your selected videos. Try not to duplicate your other LET2's video selections if you can.

Blog #4 Illegal Pete's, what's in a name?

Good morning cadets and welcome to your 4th Blog. As we are studying Citizenship Skills and learning about the Constitution, this weeks video will be a hot topic.  Watch this video and express wheather you agree with the protesters or the store owner.  Either way, you must support your opinion using one of the 7 Citizenship Skills or the Constitution.  Remember to post a link/url to also support your answer and then you must post a comment on one of your peer's answers. There are 3 parts to this exercise as always and you must post all 3 in order to get a possible 100 score. Good luck and I look forward to seeing your work.  And here is your video:

Blog #3 Showing your true metal and spirit of a winner

Welcome again to your 3rd assignment with JROTC as a LET2. Since we are looking at becoming a great citizen and the 7 citizenship skills,  it is always important to examine and learn from other's lessons in life on what they have done to excel and stand out in a positive manner.  Your task is to watch the following video, post your opinion and to find another story that is in print or video that is online and post the URL back to our site. Last as always is to comment on your peer's work in a professional manner to inspire their work.  As always, good luck and I look forward to seeing your results.

Blog #2 Community Service with Pride and Integrity

Good morning Cadets and welcome to your second Blog Assignment. Your task this week is to watch the following video and comment on it's content. Once you have done so, you must find another Story, Video, or New Report that talks about positive Community Service like the story that you just watched. You must post the URL/link to your story. Once you have done this give a brief discription on what the story is about and lastly, you must comment on one of your peer's work.  Good luck as some of you had a great start last week, I hope hope that more get motivated for this assignment. Here is your video.

Blog #1 Welcome Back Cadets...Be Healthy, To Bee, or not to Bee, that is the question

Watch the video and give your own opinions about
what is taking place in our world. How important
is the Bee to our society and what will happen
without them. 1: You must give your own opinion,
2: You must add a link to this site with your response
that supports your opinion and adds new or
additional information and 3: you must comment
on one of your peers work. Once you have done
all 3 parts or your assignment, you will be elligable
for a 100 score.

Blog #29 What are your Dreams and Goals for...?

Your last blog of the year and here is your chance to be daring and let us know what your goals and ambitions are.  Since there is no wrong answer to this work, be honest and define your goals for your next year at the Fort and for life.  Remember to be specific as always and to define how you are going to accomplish these goals.  My personal goal for this summer is to lose 10 pounds over the next 2 months.  I am going to go to gym a minimum of 5 times a week and work out for at least one hour each day.  Additionally, I am going to ride my bike a minimum of 5 miles daily, more if time allows.  My food intake is already addressed so by limiting my calories and increasing my exercise, I should be able to measure my weight loss.  I hope to see you back in class at the start of the new school year, thinner and happier.  Regards and here is a video I hope that you enjoy.

Blog #28 70th Anniversary of D-Day, the price of Freedom

This Friday, the 6th of June is the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. The largest mounted amphibious assault ever launched by mankind.  We are forever in their debt for the sacrifices that they made to keep mankind free.  Here is a video commemorating the 70th Anniversay and gives you a personal point of view about these vets that fought there.  You are required to post a similar video or story along with the proper URL as always and commenting on your peers work.  Good luck and I hope you enjoy this short video.

70th Anniversary D-Day remembrance at Normandy

Battlefield Bravery of D-Day Recalled by Vets: Rocco Moretto,89, survived the invasion of Normandy. Video by Debbie Egan-Chin/NY Daily News May 30, 2014

D-Day Story #2     D-Day Story #3     D-Day Story #4     D-Day Story #5

Blog #27 Honoring the Medal of Honor and those who have received one

Since we are finishing up with the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam Conflict, your task is to research and find a service member from one of those two wars that received the Medal of Honor, post their Name back to our site along with a description of their actions that merited the awarding of our countries highest honor, The Medal of Honor.  Here is your example and I hope that you learn more about the sacrifices that these individuals made that clearly demonstrate their love of country.

Joe Jackson Vietnam War

This story tells of a Pilot that through no thought for safety for himself, he flew his plane into a firebase that where 3 controllers had been left behind.  Read the rest of the story and you will be amazed.

Blog #26 Medal of Honor, Memorial Day and Term Project

As we approach Memorial Day, your task is to locate a Video and post the link to our site that pays tribute to service members that have paid the ultimate sacrifice and died in the service of our country.  Here is video about the newest Medal of Honor Recipient:



Here is the Memorial Day Tribute Video from YouTube that I selected:

Term Project 2014 DOC

Term Project 2014 PDF

Cold War Text LET2

Blog #25 Music and Art in the Cold War

Hi again cadets. Since we are ending our Semester studing the Cold War, Korean and Vietnam conflict we are going to do something different this time.  Your task this week is to find music or art that created during periods of conflict and to post that information onto our site. You must post a video, image and URL about your piece.  Hopefully this will open your eyes to different issues or items that were an outcome of these conflicts that did not always depict horror or tragedy.  Lastly, remember to post comments on your peer's work and I hope that you have a great time with this blog. Here is my posting that features Spike Jones, a musician from the 30's to the 60's that was an inspiration to Weird Al Yankovic.

Blog #24 News Surprise

Hi Cadets, remember that you have your test tomorrow and if you have 100% attendance, you will get an extra 5 points on your test.  Your news story will be a story about what happened to the L.A. Clipper's owner. Check out the story on CNN or NPR and be ready to give your personal opinion as well. Remember that your essay is to compare the Drug Alcohol to the Drug that you taught in class so good luck and see you in class tomorrow.

Blog #23 The Early Bird gets the worm

Since we are nearing the home stretch for JROTC as LET2's you need to know about your term project so here it is. We are going to be studying the Cold War; the Korean Confict; and the Vietnam Conflict this coming marking period so your term project will revolve around movies and learning from a video You assignment is an easy one as you will see from the following list.  You first must select a movie about the Vietnam Confict and watch the movie.  Once for pleasure and the second time to fill in your movie review term project paperwork. Once you have completed this you will be on your way to passing LET2 as long as you have passed all of your other requirements.

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                                                    Movie Name                              

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                            Tunnel Rats - 2008
Good Morning Vietnam - 1987                        Under Heavy Fire - 2001
Hamburger Hill - 1987                                       We Were Soldiers - 2002
Heaven and Earth - 1993    
Platoon - 1986    

Blog #22 Anyone can fall prey to the lure of drugs...

As we finish our classes on drugs, here is a story that shows what can happen to a person in a position of authority when the lure of drugs is to easy.  Read the story and post your responses. Find another story on the WEB and post the link along with your opinion about that story as well. Don't forget to comment on your peer's work and once you have completed all 3 tasks, your assignment for this week will be finished.  Here is your link:  The lure of drugs

Don't forget to check back during Spring Break as you will find a new posting to get you ready for your Term Project.  Have a great time during Spring Break and I look forward to seeing all of you when you return.  

Blog #21, Drugs and new facts learned

Great work on your presentations. For those that took up the challenge, your work in class has truly been interesting. I hope you learned new skills with using Google Docs and now feel comfortable with sharing your work with others online to better your team efforts.  Your work this week varies from last weeks because you now have to list 3 new facts that you learned from other cadet's presentations. List the drug that was taught, the cadet's name that taught the class, and the 3 facts that you did not know before.  As always, post a site/URL to support your facts that you learned about.  The very last part of this task is to voice your own opinion as to whether you think that the drug marijuana should be legalized or not.  Be support your opinion with facts so that your argument is a reliable one.  Good luck and I can't wait to see your work this week.

Blog #20 Everything you always wanted to know about drugs...

Hi again cadets and welcome to this weeks lesson.  Your assignment this week is to post (3) three facts that you learned that you did not know before about the drug that you are researching to teach for your class in JROTC.  You must also post the URL address where you obtained your information and lastly, you must read and post comments on your peer's work. Remember to make your slides for your class using Google Docs and good luck with your assignment.  

Blog #19, Let's Go Back...The Natural Effect

Not everything that you see or read on labels is honest and accurate as you can tell by the video above.  Your task is to find information on labels or in adds that are either false of misleading and post that information back to our site.  Make sure to post the URL for the site where you obtained your information and give a brief synopsis about the site. You last task as always is to post comments on your peer's work. Good luck and I thought this a real eye opener about the use of the word "Natural".   

Blog #18 Drugs, here, there and everywhere

Welcome back cadets to the 2nd Marking Period of JROTC. Your
task is to find news stories about the Drugs that you are teaching
about in class and present the story online to our blog. You know
the requirements to post your URL along with a brief synopsis on
what the story is about. You must also read a fellow cadet's post
and give a review/critique of their work as well. Remember to use
good grammar and to spell check your work before posting.
Here are two articles that I found very interesting that should start
you off with some ideas. Good luck and good reading.

Poppy Shortage for Drug Companies

Colorado strikes it rich with Pot

Blog #17 Drugs, they can do a body good?

Cadets, as part of your assignment this week, you have to post your class information about your:
Drug you are teaching about
Class Group Name
Group leader's Name
Members Names

Once you have finished this part of  your work, you need to post a recent
story or news video about something related to your drug. The most
current big story about Heroin is the death of the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman.
He was found in his apartment in Manhattan with 70 small bags of heroin, 5 syringes, Dr. prescribed medications and a syringe in his left arm when he was found dead.  Sometimes good people make bad choices and this one finally caught up with him. Here is a news video on his death:

Blog #16 First Aid and saving a persons life

Welcome back to your second semester of JROTC as a LET2.  For those of you that did exceptionally well, I hope you were satisfied with your semester grades. For those of you whom were not, I hope you take the challenge to improve and make the changes that you need to in order to raise you grades.  This week's Blog is all about saving a persons life.  There are many ways that this can be accomplished as you are going to learn in class. Your task this week is to select one of the ways to save a persons life and explain why it is important to know.  Once you have done this, you must find a news story video or an online article that tells a story about a person saving another person's life using the first aid method that you selected.  Good luck and don't forget to comment on your peer's work as well in order to get full credit for your assignment this week.  Here is the story that I selected on Life Saving and it is a great way to demonstrate what Good Samaritans can do.

Blog #15 Something new to consider about the Olympics

Hi again cadets:

     Thanks for your hard word these past two weeks while I have been away. I am getting better and should return shortly.  Saying that, I thought I would give you something that is really on topic today.  The Winter Olympics are coming up at Sochi Russia and our U.S. Team along with teams from around the world are going there to compete.  With the recent revelations about the Olympic Games, my question to you this week is would you go if you were representing your country? Would you bring your family?  You must support your decision with facts and data.  As always, you should use internet sites to support your decision and make sure you comment on your peer's work as well. Good luck with your work this week and Go Team U.S.A. I am also proud to say that our team is actually wearing uniforms that were made in the U.S.A. again, the way that it should be!

Blog #14 Calories equal energy but to many calories equal fat...

Hi again cadets.

Sorry for not being there for the next few weeks, but we all know that the show must go on. Your substitute teacher will continue on without me being there. The rest of this week your lessons will center on calories and how quickly they can add up. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories and that only takes 700 extra calories a day for a week.  You will also learn about the amount of sugar in your soft drinks, so make sure you pay attention and take good notes. Your final is going to be this Friday, January 17th.  Because I misinformed you of the final date I will reduce the amount of questions. Check back here on Thursday night and I will tell you what your essay question is going to be about.  Your task this week is to post a video that is related to calories in fat or sugar in soda.  Good luck and I'll keep you posted on my outcome of my surgery after Tuesday when I come home.

Imagine one pound of fat is equal to how many big macs? You must also log on this week by Thursday to let me know how much you learned about the rest of calories and soda this week. Good luck and I hope to see you all very soon.

Blog #13 Happy New Year for a healthier and more successful year.

Welcome back from the holidays cadets. Here's hoping that you had a wonderful time this past 2 weeks and that you completed your term project on schedule.  Every New Year people make resolutions that include everything from exercising more to eating healthier. The problem with resolutions is that they usual get broken very quickly and go by the wayside very easily.  Whatever your resolution this year, the idea is to make it a habit with 30 days of repetition. Once you have achieved this goal, it should now be a habit and easier to keep.  You task for this week is to list your Resolution / Goal for 2014 and explain how you plan to attain your goal.  Remember to use the "S.M.A.R.T." model to help you with your explanation.  Once you have posted your work, find a URL website that will assist you with your goal for the rest of the year. Remember to motivate your peers with positive comments to help them with their goals as well.  My goal for this year is to improve my "To Do" list work by getting at least 90% of my list work accomplished each day. In addition to this, I plan on returning to the gym once my health issues are resolved later this year and will continue with my workout schedule.