Class Recap 5/20, 5/21

On Monday, in class, we focused on Teddy Roosevelt and his influences on the Panama Canal. The class was based off of the Sophia we watched the previous night about how America gained control of the Canal from France. It was interesting to learn that France tried to build the Canal directly through the mountains. It is understandable because the only other Canal they knew how to build was at sea level, and the method for digging it was the only method they knew. America bought the Canal from France after they went bankrupt trying to complete the dig, and America tried to get Colombia in on it. Colombia refused the monetary amount. After some mysterious activity, Panama revolted against Colombia with the help of America and declared themselves an independent country. They went on to accept America's offer, which happened to be the exact same one they offered to Colombia. It was also interesting to learn that the completion of the Canal cut the route from New York to San Francisco by almost two thirds and cut the travel time in half, from 60 days to only 30. After we had a small discussion of the Sophia, we looked at political cartoons with a partner and answered some questions concerning their content. It was neat to see other people's interpretation of Teddy Roosevelt and the Panama Canal. After we looked at the comics, we read a speech of Roosevelt's and essentially picked it apart. I liked Monday's class because I never knew the history of the Panama Canal, but it also made me feel a bit sleazy as an American to be associated with Roosevelt's trickery.
Today in class, we gathered into groups of four and interpreted two different documents. We picked out the words we felt were the most important, summarized the documents, and then put them in our words. Then, we shared them "Boggle style" and edited each others' statements on the projected image. It was a pretty simple class as far as classes go.