End of the Semester

For some reason, Spring '15 got away from me and I have three class periods left. I expanded a few chapters this semester, adding a third day on the Cold War and adding a couple on South America. In the case of the latter, I did so because I have one guy from Brazil, a girl from Argentina and another from Chile. Its just too good an opportunity to collect some first hand knowledge. The Chilean girl is interesting. Her parents, so it seems, were active during the anti-Pinochet era and I've been trying to goad them into sharing their memories by telling their daughter that I like Pinochet.

I have no problem whatsoever with the ethics of this.

So now I'm wondering what to spend the last few classes on. I'm cutting out the modern Middle East entirely. You need two or three class periods to do it justice. Can't be done in one, so its out.

That leaves modern Asia. These kids really should know something about modern China, the Pacific Rim, and India.

I'll probably cut Post-Colonial Africa. Its fun, a lot of fun. And depressing. But honestly, do they really need to know about Kwami Nkruma and Mobuto Sese Seko?

Too bad. Most of these kids have never heard of We are the World, and man, is it a culture shock: