Monthly Archives: November 2013

Actions for Bicycle Awareness + Safety

VCCool is leading three upcoming actions, starting with a ride tomorrow, Sat. Nov. 23, 2013:

1.) Bicycle Awareness Ride
Saturday, November 23, 2:00pm-4:30pm,
Starting at the HUB Community Bike Shop
1150 N. Ventura Avenue, Ventura

Wear signs about the SOLUTION!!
This is not a ride of silence. What’s our message?
Same Roads, Same Rights, Same Responsibilities.
“We’re all in this together!” or “Bicycling Makes Life Wonderful.”
Or “Coexist!”
The Route: Ventura Ave/Main St/Loma Vista/Then Back

My students can join the ride for extra credit or to make up an absence.

2.) Letters to the Editor
Share how our dangerous roads affect you, your family, and our community. What are some solutions that would serve all of us? What does the freedom to bicycle and walk in our City mean to you? Do you have a kind message that you think might educate readers?

Please take a few minutes in the next day or two to write and email or snail mail your letter in advance of the council meeting and to follow-up awareness after the ride.  My students can write AND SEND a letter for extra credit. Include the published letter in your portfolio.

3.) Bring the Issue to City Council
Monday, December 2
6:00pm- 7:30ish (come early to get a seat and fill out a PINK comment form)
Ventura City Hall
501 Poli St., Ventura, CA

Students can attend for extra credit–even more if you prepare something to say, speak, and include your notes/speech in your portfolio.

Read more details here. Students looking for extra credit or for a new research project might want to look into this more!

A Look at Wealth Distribution

art predator

Published on Nov 20, 2012, this video as been viewed nearly 12 million times. It shows up on my Facebook feed every month or so which makes me think that a lot of these views have happened through sharing. It shows infographics on the distribution of wealth in America, highlighting both the inequality and the difference between our perception of inequality and the actual numbers pointing out that reality is often not what we think it is. The video uses information from:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2…
http://danariely.com/2010/09/30/wealt…
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011…
http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/19/news/…

This video inspired the following look at the global distribution of wealth:

Published on Apr 3, 2013, this video is closing in on 400,000 and shows how the richest 300 people in the world are more wealthy than the poorest 3 billion combined, and every year rich countries take over 10 times more money from poor countries than they give in aid. Find…

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Ventura College Essay Contest Entries Due 11/15/13

The Food and Film Festival, sponsored by the Holistic Health Club, was held the first two weeks of October. Last year, the English and Health Departments offered a “GMO Essay Contest” with Barnes and Noble gift cards given to the winners.  
Here is this year’s prompt:
We live in an era where people approach food in vastly different ways.  Some are vegans, others vegetarians, while still others call themselves omnivores.  In a well-researched essay, write about your approach to food and the ethical, social, dietary, and environmental concerns you think about when you decide what to eat. 
Each instructor will be able to submit two student essays. There is no minimum or maximum length.  First, second and third place winners will be awarded a Barnes and Noble gift card.  Essay entries must be turned in by Friday, November 15.
If you are one of my students, please get your entries to me THURSDAY NOVEMBER 14 in class OR put in my mailbox before NOON on FRIDAY NOVEMBER 15. Some of you may want to consider whether your midterm essay on Rachel Carson might be a contender!

Is technology interfering with your family?

Please take this poll by one of my Fall 2013 students; it’s for her research paper so please help her out!

draftsof my life

Image

 

I am looking for some feedback to help with my research… please take the pole (if I can figure it out) or respond to the questions below my commenting.

Thank you friends.

Amy

  1. How many hours a day do you spend using the cell phone, computer and television?
  2. What age were you when you first learned to use a smart phone or tablet?
  3. What is the youngest person you have seen operate a smart device?
  4. What’s your first reaction to being told you will not have access to any electronic devise for a night?
  5. Give 10 examples of items in your home you classify as “Tech”?
  6. Do you communicate differently via technical devises that you would in person? How?
  7. Give three examples of how technology has benefited your family.
  8. Give three examples of how technology has impacted your family in a negative way.

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