Part One: Gulen Essay

One paragraph about ONE of the issues.  Why is this one of the most serious issues facing children?  (Why are you choosing this topic?)  USE LOTS AND LOTS OF LOGOS (statistics, facts, examples) with parenthetical references/in-text citations.

Bottom of your page:  Sources in MLA format (use easybib.com).

Links to Articles Relevant to Gulen Essay Competition and Expository Essay

Violence:

Impact of Violent Conflict on Child Health
http://www.microconflict.eu/publications/PB6_PV_TB_RA.pdf
UN Rights of the Child:
http://www.unicef.org/rightsite/files/uncrcchilldfriendlylanguage.pdf
Preventing Violent Conflict:
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/94F326327650B3D3C12572DD004BD0CF-dfid-conflictprevention-may07.pdf
Peace Education in Afghanistan: 
http://www.helptheafghanchildren.org/pages.aspx?content=28
On the Brink:
http://www.humiliationstudies.org/documents/ScheperPrevention.pdfPoverty:
NPR story on Obama sending Troops to Fight LRA in Central Africa:  http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141667263/activists-support-u-s-move-against-uganda-rebels
Link to Invisible Children (Organization):  http://invisiblechildren.com/homepage

Poverty

Poverty Statistics:  http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
Good Overview on Wikipedia, but DO NOT CITE WIKIPEDIA:  See sources.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_poverty
State of the World's Children (UNICEF):  http://
www.unicef.org/sowc/
Poverty in America:  Faces Behind the Figures (CBS):  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/19/national/main20108085.shtml?tag=re1.channel
NYT Article About Poverty Spikes in American:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/us/extreme-poverty-is-up-brookings-report-finds.html?_r=1&hp
Kiva (Micro-Lending Organization):  www.kiva.org
Grameen Bank (Bank for the Poor, Micro-lending):  http://www.grameen-info.org/
Oxfam International:  http://www.oxfam.org/
Who Rules the Global Economy? (NYT):  http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/who-rules-the-global-economy/?pagemode=print

Child Labor:
New York Times Times Topics:  Child Labor:  http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/child_labor/index.html


Child Slavery:

Chocolate and Child Slavery (American University):  http://www1.american.edu/ted/chocolate-slave.htm

LA Times Article:  http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/12/world/fg-ghana-slavery12

UN fears rising child sex trade:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/nov/09/johnaglionby/print

Gender Inequality:
A Case for Global Women's Rights ("Strong Women Build Strong Economies" from CNN):  http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/28/womens-rights-strong-economy/
National Geographic Article on Child Brides:  http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/child-brides/gorney-text

Health Issues/AIDS:
UNICEF:  Children and HIV and AIDS:  http://www.unicef.org/aids/index_introduction.php
"Selling Water, Health Care in the Developing World" (NPR):  http://www.npr.org/2011/11/22/142184691/selling-water-health-care-in-the-developing-world

Education:

"Students Briefly Occupy Chile's Senate" (from New York Times):  http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/10/20/world/americas/AP-LT-Chile-Congress-Protesters.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Feducation%2Findex.jsonp

"The Allegory of the Cave" and the film, Chocolat

As you view the film Chocolat, take notes on similarities between the concepts in Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" and the plot and characters of Chocolat.

Following the viewing of the film, you will write a short essay (3-4 paragraphs) comparing Plato's work to the film.  In what ways is the film an example of Plato's allegory?

Gulen Institute Essay Competition 2011-2012

Click the heading above for a link to this year's essay competition:

Plato's "Allegory of the Cave"

Please read Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" and respond to the following five questions on binder paper.

Link to the text of "Allegory of the Cave" by Plato

Questions for response:
1.  An allegory, or parable, is a concrete story on one level and an explanation of an abstract idea on another.  Each part of the story symbolizes something.  Explain what each part of the story symbolizes.
2.  Although Plato does not say who placed people in chains, who seems to be the jailer when the freed prisoner returns to free the others?
3.  Plato equates the journey out of the cave with gaining knowledge.  Why would people prefer to remain in the cave with illusions of what is real?
4.  Why do you think Plato presents this as a dialogue?
5.  In the final paragraph, Plato summarizes the meaning of his allegory.  Do you think it is necessary, or would you have been able to put together the metaphor on your own?

The Danger of New Ideas

 What are some ideas that our society has feared throughout history?  On notebook paper, please write one paragraph explaining why you think that society often fears new ideas.

Why Government?

For what purpose does government serve? (One paragraph, 5 points)

Democracy is__________.

Please complete on notebook paper.

1.  Fill in the blank:  Democracy is __________________________.
(Please don't just use the formal definition.  See how creative and poetic you can be!)

2.  After you view the award-winning amateur video (from the Democracy Video Challenge) by Joel Marsden of Spain, respond to the following questions in one paragraph:   http://www.videochallenge.america.gov/video.html

What would a united, global democracy, with each person having one vote, look like?  How would the world change?  What are some positive and negative results of a world-wide democracy?

Peace Organizations Project

Researching Israel-Palestine Peace Organizations

For this project, you will independently, and as a group, research your assigned organization that is working for peace in Israel-Palestine.  Then, you will work as a team to create a PowerPoint presentation on your assigned organization. 

Organizations: 

Group 1:  B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories:  http://www.btselem.org

Group 2:  Seeds of Peace:  http://www.seedsofpeace.org

Group 3:  Hand-in-Hand –Center for Jewish-Arab Education:  http://www.handinhandk12.org/

Group 4:  The Abraham Fund – Advancing Coexistence and Equality Among Jews and Arabs in Israel:  http://www.abrahamfund.org

Group 5:  Friends of the Earth Middle East:  http://www.foeme.org

Group 6:  Ta’ayush Arab Jewish Partnership:  http://www.taayush.org

Group 7:  Parents Circle-Families Forum – Bereaved Families Supporting Peace, Reconciliation, and Tolerance:  http://www.theparentscircle.com/

Presentation Criteria:

Please respond to the following questions in your presentation:

1.  Give your audience a brief overview of the organization.

2.  History of the Organization:  How did the organization begin, by whom, and why?  Give your audience an overview of the history of the organization.

3.  Purpose of the Organization:  What is the group trying to achieve?  In other words, what is their purpose?

4.  Programs/Projects:  Discuss at least two of the specific programs or projects that the group is currently working on.

5.  Your Organization in the News:  Find and summarize one news article in which your organization is featured.  One way to find a news article about your group is to do a “Google News” search.

6.  How We Can Help: Discuss one or two ways to support the organization.  Also, if there are internships and job opportunities, please mention them.

7.  Social Media:  Does the organization have a Facebook and/or Twitter Account?

8.  Works Cited:  Include a Works Cited Page at the end of your presentation in MLA format that shows us where you got your information.  You do not have to cite your images for this particular project.

Criteria for Grading:

1.  Information is complete, accurate, and as up-to-date as possible.

2.  You have addressed all of the above questions and are clearly knowledgeable about your assigned organization.

3.  You have completed and handed in a “Group Contributions” sheet.

4.   Your PowerPoint is complete, aesthetically pleasing, informative, with images and a completed Works Cited page and Title Slide.

5.  Each group member must contribute to the “Speaking” portion of the presentation.