Books against racism

Here you have 7 books recommended by The New York Times to learn and fight racism:

“White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo

“How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi

“Between the World and me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (a letter to his 15-year-old son)

“They Can’t Kill Us All: A New Era In America’s Racial Justice Movement”, by Wesley Lowery (Lowery was a journalist of The Washington Post who witnessed the racial riots during Obama’s mandate, so it is a totally up-to-date reading).

“Freedom is a constant struggle” by Angela Davis

“Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race” by Reni Eddo-Lodge

“So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo

4º British: World War II overview

To sum up all the work of this term, here you have the links to the World War II stages we have studied: 

Stage 1: Road to war

Stage 2: Meanwhile in Germany...

Stage 3: Transition (1941-42)

Stage 4: Victories of the Allies (First part: from 1943 to 1944)

Stage 5: Victories of the Allies (Second part: Berlin and Hiroshima)

Mini-survey: feedback for online classes

Hello everybody!

To help me design the online classes for the next academic year, please answer this survey: only 4 questions! (the last one is an open question where you can freely write your comments or suggestions). It is anonymous and will not have repercussion on your mark.

It will be available during this June.

Thank you! :)

2º British: Global Warming

Good news! This is the very last activity of this academic year! I promise :) Today we have talked about hazards and the Global Warming.

Global warming could do more than just melt polar ice. It could change our maps, and displace thousands of people from cities and tropical islands, creating migration and political crisis.

As complements, you can watch the following video by Dr.Binoocs (6 minutes) and a video by NationalGeographic (only 2 minutes!). 

Now let's check what you have learned! Answer the following questions as complete as possible. As usual, send your answers to blogeducativo08@gmail.com (last day: Monday, 8 June). 

• What is global warming ? Explain it in your own words.
• What are the causes of global warming?
• Does everybody agree with the theory of global warming or is there some kind of controversy? If yes, why?
• In science, what is the difference in meaning between "theory" and "hypothesis"?
• What is "Carboon footprint"?
• What is the Kyoto Protocol?
• Make a list of 10 things YOU can do to help reduce pollution. Try to include as many tips as possible (about transport, clothes, plastic bags, food, heating / air conditioning...)
• What is "circular economy"? 

And... that's all!

4º British: Online World War II lesson. Stage 6: the consequences of the war

This is the last chapter of the war: click on the linkto pdf to see the presentation.

New research speculates that the global death toll may have reached as high as 100 million people, nearly five percent of all humans on Earth at the time.

The war also affected the international relationships. The Anticolonialism spread over the world; most part of the colonies and protectorades started independence movements. Even more, local ethnical groups gained the respect of Europeans thanks to their brave participation on the Allied side, such as the Maori people of New Zealand.

The decolonization process was not always simple and peaceful. The creation of Israel, for example, after the British left the area, created a coexistence conflict that lasts to now a days because... nationalism, mainly. Watch this video by John Green - Crash Course and probably you will understand it a bit better (12 minutes).

There were many other major events as a result of the war. For example, the Nüremberg trials. This animated video by History scope is long (17 minutes, in English) but very well documented and explained. Please, watch it carefully.

The Nüremberg trials showed the importance of international cooperation for the common benefit and peace. United Nations was created October 1945 (trying to fix the mistakes of the previous League of Nations). If you click on the link above, you will visit the official UN website and learn about its history, members and duties. The photo below shows the first meeting of the United Nations Security Council in Palais de Chaillot, 16 September 1948 Paris:

Final questions (as usual, send your answers to blogeducativo08@gmail.com before the next Tuesday):

1. How did the Cold War affect the functioning and purpose of the United Nations?

2. How did the UN evolve over the course of the twentieth century?

3º & 4º British: your exam!

Hello everybody!

As previously explained, this term you will have an alternative to exam. To get the 60% of the mark this term you will write a special essay (that is, your opinion) about a specifical topic. And today is the day!

Read carefully the following newspaper article: Geopolitics after covid-19 (in Spanish). Yes, it is long (7 pages) but after all this activity is replacing an exam so it should be a bit demanding, don’t you think so?

You have to write an essay with your personal opinion about it. Do you agree or desagree with the article? Why? What is the sentence o fragment that shock you the most and why? As is “opinion”, all answers will be valid BUT remember that you must write fully developed and well argumented explanations, ok?

Specifical requirements:

The essay must contain minimun 40 lines (times new roman 12 – simple line spacing, as in the article) and must be sent in pdf format.

You must also include comments to the following sentences:

• “La última fase de la globalización comenzó en 1989 y quizás termine hoy, con el coronavirus”. (Page 1 - line nº 24) Do you think that the economy will change after this situation? Why?

• “Las plagas afectan con distinta intensidad a diferentes clases socioeconómicas” (Page 3 - line nº 2) Do you agree or disagree? Why? If yes, how?

• “Quedan claras las prioridades del globalismo: por encima de la propia vida humana está el dinero”. (Page 3 - line nº 37) Do you agree or disagree? Why?

• “El espacio hispano-americano como el espacio euro-mediterráneo, que deberían unirse en defensa de la idea de solidaridad, comunidad y pacto inter-generacional”. (Page 6 - line nº 6) Do you agree or disagree? Why? Do you think that those institutions would work better than the European Union? Why?

• To sum up your essay, answer the article’s final question: ¿La sociedad al servicio de la economía, o la economía al servicio de la sociedad? (Page 7 - line nº 7)

When finish, send it as attached file to blogeducativo08@gmail.com. LAST DAY: FRIDAY, 29 MAY.

Ready? Steady?... go! Good luck!

4º British: Online World War II lesson. Stage 5: Victories of the Allies (Second part: Berlin and Hiroshima)

The following link will revise the last year of the war: the surrender of Berlin and the Atomic Bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In Europe, the allies start competing to conquer Berlin, for showing their political and military superiority, besides the enormous symbolism of such a victory. The Battle of Berlin took place in April 1945. As mentioned in my class, a very interesting and educative visit is the “Berlin underground”.

On April 30th 1945, when Hitler committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin two days before the Soviet took the city. Below, the iconic photo taken by the Russian photographer Yevgueni Jaldéi after the fall of Berlin:

  

Meanwhile, in the Pacific Front, it was necessary to fight every single island. Some episodes were sadly famous, such as the defense that Colonel Kuribayashi prepared in Iwo Jima (see the photo colecction in National Geographic). As told you in the online class last Monday, there are two movies about it, from the two different perspectives; you can watch the official trailers in the following links:

• Flags of our fathers (USA soldiers)
• Letters from Iwo Jima (Japan soldiers)

After years of research, called “The Manhattan project”, a big group of scientist created a powerfull weapon: the atomic bomb.

Above: photo of Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer. Einstein warned that the Germans were researching an atomic bomb and suggested that the United States do the same. Oppenheimer was the leading scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Finally, on the 6^th August 1945 President Harry Truman ordered to drop off the first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. It killed 100,000 people; many more suffered injuries and illnesses for the rest of their lifes. You can watch a BBC-simulation video here (4 minutes). On the 9^th August, he ordered to drop a second bomb over Nagasaki, with similar dramatic results. Japan surrendered several days after that. But, was REALLY necessary to use such a destructive weapon? Even nowadays is still a controversial topic, although it seems to have more political that militar motivations (John Green video: 1’40 minutes only)

The Second World War officially ended on 2nd September, 1945

That’s all. As you attended my class on Teams last Monday, there are not “control questions” about this part :)