Ascending through the "Marble Steps of a Dream" with "the Fierce Urgency of Now"

When Dr. King spoke of "the fierce urgency of now," he articulated a reality that both encompassed his time and transcended it. In any endeavor that seeks to transform reality from what is to what should be, there is the undeniable "fierce urgency of now" that has a determinant impact on whether or not our endeavors are successful. When 7.8/3 Social Studies students entered Room B405, consciously or not, they became a part of a similar social experiment. (Cami from Period 1 says that this expression is overused, but I tend to disagree. She gets credit for recognizing its importance, though.) They became participants in an endeavor to move them from students to scholars. This week might go far in seeing how successful this transformation is.

7th Grade
* All Field Trip money and permission slips are due Tuesday, 2/15. WE ARE ALSO IN NEED OF FIVE MORE PARENT VOLUNTEERS! IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
* Students should be studying on a nightly basis for the Final Exam that takes place next Tuesday through Friday. A letter detailing the basics of the exam will be going home on Monday. Extra credit for students who return the letter back to me signed on Tuesday.
* Our field trip to DuSable Museum and the State of Illinois Building is on Friday.

8th Grade
* Students will have an exam on World War I this week in two parts. Wednesday's exam will be focused on the historical elements of World War I, with a 20 question multiple choice test from the textbook that will be taken on line. Students will have to take the assessment, take a snapshot of their score, and then email me the snapshot by the end of the class period. Thursday's exam will be focused on analysis of the Primary Sources that have been read thus far for World War I.
* Students will have to complete a Technology Task on one of the Primary Sources by 2.25, worth 2000 points. Students should be working on this outside of class, as well.

We are past the midway point of our journey, reaching the completion of 2/3 of it. My hope is that students recognize this instant, this "fierce urgency of now" and seize it in order to make the most of it.

All best and please feel free to initiate contact with me should you have any questions about this journey or your student's place in it.
Mr. Kannan

E.C. for both groups. Read the article linked here.
7th Grade- Explain how the article, the recent events in Egypt, as well as what you have been studying all fall under the idea of "forming a more perfect union." Why were the ideas in Senator Obama's speech consistent with World and American History?

8th Grade- Explain how the article, the recent events in Egypt, and Progressivist thought are all linked? How does the idea of a "hero of construction" tie into what was read in the article?

You can email me your thoughts, handwrite it, or compose another technological medium to express your ideas for extra credit. Due Friday.
Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/168540802/sizes/l/in/photostream/ and http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/