HMS Team Names Video 2007

Here's the video from the Team name unveiling on Wednesday. We will be creating a team logo and motto in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.....

Field Music - In Context

This is an amazing video by the British band Field Music, that reminds me that if we take too narrow a view on life and fail to take a step back to see the big picture, then things won't make sense and seem disconnected.

For Project Citizen we need to constantly remind ourselves what our mission statement and goals are so that the individual assignments building up to the final group presentation stays on target with the "big picture" of the Project. At the end of the project all of our hard work sifting through research and interviewing people will pay off when we present our policy proposal.

Project Citizen challenges

The last two weeks we have been learning about public policy and local issues to get ready for Project Citizen. There have been great discussions in class about some very worthy issues that we can tackle with this project. Some of the discussions centerd on drugs, suicide, transfats, land use, water bottles in school, resource conservation, hunting near residential areas, and nutrition in the cafeteria (to name just a sampling of our discussion topics). Obviously, there were many opinions expressed. The challenge for us now will be to step back from what we personally think about the chosen issue and to do the hard work needed to produce an intelligent, realistic, and understandable policy. Working collaboratively in class and on Google Groups students will find out that the process of Project Citizen is far more important than whether or not the policy is ever enacted. By learning to effectively work together for a common goal with a diverse group of people students will be learning skills that transcend the PSSA's and SAT's. A student with a high IQ or test scores will be at a competitve disadvantage if they are unable to work with others effectively. To make positive change in our communities and to take part in the democratic process of our country involves not just knowledge, but also an ability to organize, communicate, and take risks. These three attributes are the true learning goals of Project Citizen. So regardless of what issues the classes choose, or how successfully they are ever implemented is really not that important in the big picture. The important measure of success for Project Citizen will be how well did we organize, communicate, and take risks???

Picture Puzzle #2 Answered

Impeachment. All of the people pictured in Picture Puzzle #2 were impeached. Some were convicted and subsequently removed from office, while others were not convicted and stayed in office. The impeachment process is one of the most important checks in our Constitutional system. It makes the concept of rule of law work by placing all government office holders under the law.

Article II, Section IV of the Constitution spells out how someone can be impeached:
"The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impreachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

Read more about some actual impeachments:

Impeachment of Bill Clinton- (President) Acquitted, stayed in Office

Impeachment of Alcee Hastings- (Federal Judge) Convicted, removed from Office

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson- (President) Acquitted, stayed in Office

Impeachment of William Blount- (Senator) Dismissed, expelled from Senate

Picture Puzzle #2

What do these people have in common?