International English

Gun laws – to protect whom?

According to the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Just last week, there was another school shooting, when 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley shot and killed four schoolmates and wounded seven others at Oxford High School in Michigan. His parents have now been arrested, charged with involuntary manslaughter because they allegedly let their son have unrestricted access to the gun he’s accused of using.

In the Rittenhouse Case, 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was aquitted on charges of killing two people at a demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year (he was 17 at the time). He claimed he acted in self-defense and the jury supported him in this. His trial is dividing the nation over questions about gun rights, violence at racial justice protests and vigilantism.

Study and discuss these two cases and look at gun laws and gun violence in the USA in your groups.

Useful resources: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

https://www.gunstocarry.com/gun-laws-state/

Support for gun control has hit its lowest rating since 2014 in a Gallup poll, with just 52 percent of Americans saying they support stricter gun control measures, according to a new survey. (https://thehill.com/regulation/other/581908-support-slips-for-stricter-gun-laws-gallup). What do you think are some of the reasons behind this development?

Congressman Thomas Massie (R) and his wife, Rhonda, pose along with their family, all holding weapons in front of a Christmas tree, an image widely shared in social media.

Write a blog post where you comment on what you have worked with today and what you think about the main question here – do guns protect, or do they kill?

Blah, blah, blah?

Did the GLASGOW CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE, which ended on Saturday, bring any results? Or was it, like Greta Thunberg said afterwards, just “blah, blah, blah? It certainly seemed like many people were disappointed, among them the President of the conference…

Study these issues in groups:

what did they agree on at the conference
what were the most contested points, and were there any last-minute changes?
Look at either China, India, USA or Russia: Were they represented by their state leaders? What role did they play at COP26? What policies do they have in effect or planned?

Ingunn

Girl Rising

“One girl with courage is a revolution”

Girl Rising is a film about the benefits of educating girls. It introduces nine girls from around the world in their struggle to get an education and achieve their dreams.

The film was released in 2013 and is part of the Girl Rising campaign.

As we watch the film, take notes, as you are to to discuss the film in your groups afterwards. Also, take a note of violations of human rights that you see in the film.

Discussion questions:

Which girls’ stories made the greatest impression on you? Why?
“One girl with courage is a revolution”. After watching the film, what does that phrase imply – do you agree or can you think of a better catchphrase?
Girl Rising is neither pure journalism, nor fiction. The filmmakers have tried to go beyond the facts into the human experience. Did you find yourself getting lost in the stories in a way that was interesting or effective? Why or why not?
The girls of Girl Rising live in very difficult circumstances. Give examples of violations of their human rights as they are portrayed in the film. Despite these violations, they do not consider themselves as victims. Are you able, through the storytelling, to relate to their lives in a way that lets you empathize rather than sympathize? Why or why not?
What are the messages from the film that you think will resonate most strongly with people who are not already familiar with this issue?

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Ingunn

September elections

September 2021 has been a month of many elections around the world, amongst them general elections in Canada, Germany, Iceland, Russia and Norway. Write a blog post to publish on your own blog in which you cover who won in these elections and by how much, as well as comparing voter turn-out. In addition, research whether there has been media coverage on election irregularities in any of these elections.

Consider and discuss your sources in all aspects of this task.

Hilde

Human Rights and the UN

The United Nations was founded in 1945, to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations and promote social progress, better living standards and human rights. In 1948, the United Nations passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Watch this video:

and then look at the complete declaration here: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

Discuss in your groups: Which articles do you find the most important or interesting? Are there rights which should be added, do you think? Which one(s) do you think are most often violated? Which ones have you come across being violated in the class work we have done so far?

Then read one of the stories on the violation of human rights here: https://news.un.org/en/news/topic/human-rights

Write a blog post where you answer the following questions:

What universal right(s) is/are being violated?

How does this affect the population?

Publish the post on your blog by the end of class on Thursday.

Ingunn

The International Day of Democracy

In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15 September the International Day of Democracy, providing us with “an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world” and arguing that “democracy is as much a process as a goal” (UN). In many countries we can see a deterioration of conditions for democracies, through various forces both internal and external. This has become more noticeable during the ongoing pandemic, but it started long before, which is also indicated by instituting such a day 14 years ago.

Study some of the maps on the Secretary General’s policy brief from April 2020 – in particular the two on school closures and stringency of government containment measures. Also read the concerns and suggested countermeasures on the UN Democracy Day’s website and prepare for a discussion of what threatens a democracy and how we can strengthen it.

Also read the New York Times Learning Network’s editors Schulten and Engle’s introduction to the late Congressman John Lewis’ essay “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation”. Check out thoughts and responses on the hashtag #DemocracyDay and reflect on Schulten and Engle’s questions posed after Lewis’ essay, as published on the New York Times Learning Network exactly a year ago.

The late civil rights activist and Congressman John Lewis argued that “[d]emocracy is not a state. It is an act”. Compare this with UN’s claim that democracy is both a process and a goal. What is democracy to you?

In the news: The situation for women and girls in Afghanistan

Study the two news stories below to find out more about the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan now that the Taliban is back in power.

Discuss: what do the two stories tell you about the situation for females in Afghanistan, past and present? What do girls and women have to face should they want to study? Do these stories make you more pessimistic or more optimistic on the behalf of Afghanistan’s future? Why?

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/07/asia/afghan-university-male-female-segregation-curtain-intl/index.html

Students attend class at Avicenna University in Kabul, Afghanistan, on September 6, 2021, in this picture obtained by Reuters from social media.

In the news: What’s going on in Afghanistan?

The Taliban is in power again in Afghanistan, 20 years after 9-11 and the following invasion of Afghanistan. The USA have decided to pull out all their remaining troops by August this year, leading to total chaos and heart-breaking scenes at the airport in Kabul, with local Afghans trying to board planes to get out of a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. US President Joe Biden has stated that the withdrawal will be completed and that the main concern for him is getting American troops home safely.

So what is the problem? Should we care about the development in Afghanistan? Is it an international responsibility to “clean up” after the mess we have left and to ensure a democratic development in Afghanistan? Or should we just leave them alone and hope that human rights will be respected and democracy thrive? (not very likely….)

Using the sources below, discuss these questions in your groups. Choose a secretary who writes down the main points of your answers and discussion. Also, discuss the reliability of these sources and how they differ in language and style.

Who are the Taliban:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11451718

Timeline of the history of Afghanistan:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11-timeline-afghanistan

(excerpts in class)

Welcome to a new school year! Congratulations on choosing English 1:)

International English is now history and the name of our subject is English 1. However, many of the things from International English are also very relevant in the new subject. So for now, we are leaving the categories and previous posts as they are, but as the school year progresses, we will be adding and editing more.

The first order of business is for you to create your own blogs. Remember, this is an educational blog, which will be evaluated, so keep it tidy and professional. Use https://www.wordpress.com and choose a free account. When making your account you can choose whether to have a public, private or hidden blog, but no matter which you choose you have to share the link with your teacher.

You will receive assignments to publish on your blogs, and some of these will be graded with grades, others will be graded “approved” / “not approved”. This is a good way to practice and develop your writing skills.

So, get to it! Create your blog, and include links to other public blogs of your classmates, as well as our teacher blog, if you find other relevant sites you are free to link to these as well. You might also include a map so you can see where your visitors are from.

We encourage you to read some of your fellow students blogs – both for inspiration and to support each other. Maybe also leave a comment?

Once you have created your blog, it is time to write your very first blog post, in which you include the following:

a bit about you – who are you, your interests etc.
why you chose the subject English 1
what expectations you have for this subject and what your teacher can do to best help you thrive in it
and finally, write a paragraph about something you would like to learn more about and why, based on the competence aims and the preliminary year plan in the subject. Also include suggestions or thoughts on how to work with this topic/these topics.

Working with the film Babel

Babel (2006)

We talk about the border as a place only, instead of an idea. I believe that the real borders are the ones that exist within us.

Alejandro González Iñárritu, director of Babel

Discussion questions to the film:

What does the Biblical story of Babel in chapter 11 of Genesis illustrate?
In which countries does this film take place?
What languages are spoken by the main persons?
Where do you find acute misunderstandings between persons?
Give a short summary of the plot and the main conflicts in the film.
How well do the actors portray the main characters, do you think??
Which scenes do you think are the most important ones?
Is the story chronological? Are there any flashbacks and/or flash forwards?
What techniques are used to tell the story? (sound-color-camera use)
It is claimed that this film is filled with emotions that need no translation. They are universal. Give examples of this.
Does the film have a clear message, or does it leave room for different solutions?
Your personal evaluation of the film. Give reasons for your view.
To whom would you recommend the film “Babel”?

After having watched the film, write a blog post on one of the following tasks:

The title and the actions in the film strongly indicate that communication and lack of communication, or rather breakdown of communication is a main theme. Discuss and explain how this is reflected in the film.
Another theme related to this might be intercultural communication and challenges represented by globalization. Why is it so difficult to reach out to each other across cultures? Discuss and explain by referring to the film. You may focus on:

Japanese vs. Western culture
Mexican vs. American culture
American vs. Arab culture
Yet another theme related to communication might be loneliness. How is this reflected in the film? Give examples and explain.

Ingunn

NB! Postponed because of home school – see itslearning for link and task to the film Desert Flower instead.