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10th Grade

Tenth grade students in Mr. J's class are student researchers who inquire about Tupac, Immigration, Myth, Mysticism, and Magical Realism, The Harlem Renaissance, Las Vegas, and A Place Called School.  Scroll down or click on the links to view current news and articles related to these topics.
  • Tupac
  • Immigration
  • Myth, Mysticism, and Magical Realism
  • The Harlem Renaissance
  • Las Vegas
  • A Place Called School
  • Tupac

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    ​Slow Burn Season 3: Tupac and Biggie

    In its first two seasons, Slow Burn looked back at two of the biggest stories of the late 20th century—the Watergate scandal and the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Season three tackles another: the murders of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. The story takes place at a moment when hip-hop was taking over pop culture, and a former theater kid from the Bay Area and a one-time crack dealer from Brooklyn were changing the music forever. They went from friends to enemies. And they ended up victims of a deadly rivalry between two rap scenes.  
    How is it that two of the most famous performers in the world were murdered within a year of each other—and their killings were never solved?

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    Armed members of the Black Panther Party stand in the corridor of the Capitol in Sacramento with guns May 2, 1967. They were protesting the Mulford Act, which sought to make open carry of loaded firearms illegal. Don Mulford (R-Piedmont) had proposed the bill in response to armed Black Panther patrols of police in Oakland, which had been initiated as a check on police harassment of black residents. This photo is part of an exhibit at the Center for Sacramento History on Oct. 26, 2019.

    Tupac Course Syllabus From Berkeley 1997
    Tupac A. Shakur Arrested for Meth Possession in Tennessee
    KCRG
    Oct. 2019
    Tupac lives!
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    Tupac Shakur 2oth Anniversary Hub
    XXL Magazine 

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    Code of T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E
    by Mutulu Shakur (Tupac's Stepfather)

    Tupac speaking to a conference about the T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. social movement.
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    Politics of Protest: Tupac and Thug Life
    by Malcom Tariq



    Malcolm Tariq was a junior from Savannah, Georgia when he wrote this essay.
    He majored in English and Sociology and has been a member of the Stipe Society for Creative Scholars since 2009. After graduation he planed to enter a graduate program in English, Comparative Literature, or American Studies. 

    ​Malcolm is now a graduate student at University of Michigan in English.




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    Picture Me LOLin’
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    The long-gestating biopic All Eyez on Me is as awkward and laughable as the Tupac hologram.
    ​
    By Aisha Harris
    Slate

    This Film Review does not make me want to watch this.  Sounds pretty bad.

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    Why White Americans Don't See Themselves When They hear the Word Race
    Michael Eric Dyson
    Interview by PBS

    Dyson wrote probably one of the more important texts on Tupac.  We use selections from this book in our class.  A couple of nights ago I was watching PBS Newshour and Dyson came on to speak about white privilege and implicit bias.   This link will take you to the interview.  

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    Should Tupac Be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
    by Greg Hadley
    Sac Bee
    10/17/16

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    CHANGES: Tupac's First Manager, Leila Steinberg, Remembers the Early Days of a Blossoming Superstar Who Seemed Wise Beyond His Years
    by Nicole Lopresti
    XXL
    October 2011





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    Afeni Shakur, Survivor 
    Interview by Venessa Satten
    October 2003

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    True Blood: Billy Garland, Tupac's Father, Speaks
    by XXL Staff
    Sept 2011

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    20 Years Ago, Tupac Broke Through
    by Sami Yenigun
    NPR
    July 19, 2013

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    2Pac musical ‘Holler If You Hear Me’ headed to Broadway
    By Yukio Strachan   

        
         




    Immigration

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    The Deadliest Crossing
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    Rolling Stone
    With no better options amid Trump's border crackdown, migrants are taking their chances with Arizona’s perilous Sonoran Desert

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    Border Trilogy Part 1: Hole in the Fence
    Radio Lab



    Backpacks left by migrants crossing the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.


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    What It Costs To Be Smuggled Across the US Boarder
    ​
    The New York Times


    Bribes and shakedowns. Days in hideaways without food. For many fleeing violence in Central America, this is what thousands of dollars gets them on the journey to the United States.
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    The Phantom Border Patrol Agent: Snap 728
    Snap Judgement Podcast 

    When Rocky Elmore became a Border Patrol Agent along the US-Mexico border, he knew it would be a scary job … just not this scary.
    For more stories of natural and supernatural happenings on the border, be sure to check out Rocky’s book, Out On Foot: Nightly Patrols and Ghostly Tales of A U.S. Border Patrol Agent and his website.

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    Shining a Light on Border Crisis
    Without Attorney, Children Fleeing Violence More Likely to Face Deportation
    by Susan Sward 
    Sac Bee
    9/7/14

    A group of immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally are stopped in June in Granjeno, Texas.

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    Border Patrol Killings Raise Questions of Accountability: Critics See Few Safeguards for Migrants
    by Tim Johnson
    McClatchy Foreign Staff
    2/27/14

    Sister Christine Garcia, a Roman Catholic nun, takes part in a protest near the border crossing in Douglas, Arizona, on Feb. 11, 2014. Garcia holds up a cross with the name of a Mexican migrant who died trying to reach the United States.

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    World's Top Drug Cartel Arrested in Mexico, U.S. Official Says
    Washington Post
    2/22/14

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    Steps to College Conference Helps DREAMERS in Education Path
    by Sammy Caiola
    Sacbee
    2/2/14

    Eva Vega, 18, of Galt, at left above, is counseled Saturday by financial aid technician Sonia Diaz at the Mexican Consulate office in North Natomas.

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    Feds See Surge in Children Crossing US Boarder 
    Judson Burger
    Fox News
    12/23/13

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    The Devil's Highway Map
    UC Davis






    This nonfiction text is about 13 Walker's who are abandoned in the desert to die by there guide.  We will read this parts of this book in class.  To read reviews click here

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    California Poised To Allow Undocumented Immigrants to Practice Law
    by Peter Hecht
    9/21/13
    Sacbee

    Sergio Garcia arrived in Northern California illegally 20 years ago The U.S. Department of Justice is trying to block his request to be a California lawyer.


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    Young Mexican Immigrant Returns to a Nation She Barely Knows
    by Franco Ordonez
    McClatchy Washington Bureau
     

    Alejandra Pinzon, 20, who lived in the United States illegally, was told by lawyers if she returned to Mexico before she was 18 she could avoid immigration violations. An estimated 500,000 Mexicans between the ages of 15 and 32 have returned to their homeland since 2005. 

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    Death in the Desert
    By Terry Greene Sterling
    Newsweek




    Two unidentified human skeletons, a militarized desert, and a mother's American Dream.

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    Supreme Court Immigration Ruling in Arizona v. U.S. Got It Backward
    by Robert Morgenthau.

    Defining
    American

     
    Why is America special to you? What
    values do we, as Americans, share? What
    is the role of immigrants and
    immigration in America?


    Please tell us what it means to you to be an "American" today, or share your 
    stories about our broken immigration system, by recording a short video, 
    uploading a photo, or writing your thoughts. It's time for a new conversation 
    about immigration in America, and it starts with us.


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    The Dream Act

    Myth, mysticism, and Magical Realism

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    Joseph Campbell on the Roots of Halloween
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    Murakami is my favorite Magical Realist novelist.  This is an excerpt from the book that questions whether dying brings us closer to life.  Haida's father tells him a story that he retells to Tsukuru about a person who is destined to die in two months.  He can either die or get someone else to die in his place.  The man who is destined to die claims that he doesn't want anyone to die in his place and the experience pushes Haida's father to want to live a fuller life.  Read the excerpt and think about your life.  Are you satisfied?
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    Haida’s Story: A folktale from Haruki Murakami’s new novel,Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.
    by Haruki Murakami


















    I will be ordering this on August 12th, and I probably finish it in a day or two!

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    Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel-winning, Master of Magical Realism, Dies at 87
    by Marcela Valdes
    Special to the Washington Post
    4/17/14

    In this 2003 photo released by the Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, left, is seen in Monterrey, Mexico. Behind is Colombian journalist Jose Salgar. Garcia Marquez died on Thursday, April 17, 2014 at his home in Mexico City. The author's magical realist novels and short stories exposed tens of millions of readers to Latin America's passion, superstition, violence and inequality. The FNPI was founded by Garcia Marquez.

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    Which Mythical Creature Are You
    by Kelly Flaherty
    Buzzfeed
    3/7/14

    Leadership in Yoga Blog

    Harlem Renaissance

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    Coming Soon, a Century Late: A Black Film Gem
    by Felicia Lee
    SEPT. 20, 2014
    New York Times


    Footage from what may be the earliest surviving feature film with a black cast, made in 1913.

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    'African American Art' a Revelation at the Crocker
    by Victoria Dalkey
    Sac Bee
    7/4/14


    Frederick Brown’s “John Henry” (1979) is part of “African American Art” at the Crocker.

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    Click on Langston Hughes to learn more about the Harlem Renaissance.

    Las Vegas

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    Treatment Lags as Betting Sites Surge
    by Jim Miller
    ​Sac Bee
    ​11/12/15


    ​A recovering problem gambler from Northern California talks about being a compulsive gambler and the turning points in his addiction that got him to Gambler Anonymous meetings and a better life. To help preserve anonymity, the pitch of the subject's voice has been electronically altered and his face is photographed in shadow.

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    Why Phil Ivey Got a Raw Deal: Where Is the Ethical Line Between Advantage Play and Cheating?
    by Jeff Ma
    ESPN
    10/10/14


    "But casinos also have an obligation in this agreement. They get to create the game and set the rules -- all the rules. They can refuse service to you. They can kick you out. They can change the rules of the game. They have all the power. What they don't ever say explicitly is that in their minds part of this agreement is that you (the gambler) will lose. So when someone figures out how to beat the game that they created, how can that be unethical"


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    Strip Down at the Sexist Pools in Las Vegas
    by Jackie Strause
    Fox News
    7/18/14

    Las Vegas pool parties are so chic, they actually have dress codes — no tank tops allowed, guys. Seriously. And leave the baseball hats and sports jerseys at home, too

    I was watching a movie and this Las Vegas commercial came on--it spoke to me.  I immediately said to my wife lets go to Vegas.  Right as I said it, I came to my senses.  I remembered that the commericial is as good as it gets.  The rest  of it is just a story that Las Vegas is selling, and they are good at it.  
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    J.C. Tran Is the Latest in Region's Full Deck of Poker Aces
    by Stephen Magagnini
    Sac Bee
    11/2/13

    ​Tran of Sacramento will be at the final table in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas starting Monday.

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    In Las Vegas, clubs threaten to become a bigger draw than gambling
    by Hannah Dreier
    AP 

    As nightclubs increase their market share, they compete to offer wildest experience.

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    This American Life: Blackjack


    Stories about the casino game everyone thinks they can beat.  In one, a
    woman gambles away her inheritance and then sues the casino, saying they're to
    blame. In another, Christians join forces to take down casinos — by becoming
    professional card-counting blackjack players. Plus: MIT Blackjack Team member Andy
    Bloch
    teaches us to count cards.

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    Gambling Addiction Affects More Men and Women, Seduced by Growing Casino Accessibility
     By  Daniel  Bortz     / U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT


    The number of casinos across the country is growing, not to mention online gambling, but programs to combat gambling addiction have not kept pace. About 2 million adults meet the criteria for 'pathological gambling,' according to estimates. 
     

      

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    Poker Players Continue to Insist Playing Poker Takes Great Skill
     by Joshua Brustein
    Bloomberg Business Week

    A Place Called School

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    How to Design a School That Prioritizes Kindness and Caring
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    Edutopia

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    Architecture, Psychology... and Furniture?
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    Edutopia

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    Pay Attention! Can Technology Solve the 2500-Year-Old Problem of Boredom in the Classroom
    ​
    Slate


    Is this the way to keep kids engaged?

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    How Google Took Over the Classroom
    New York Times


    Students at Newton Bateman Elementary School in Chicago use Google-powered laptops and Google education apps for classwork. More than half the nation’s primary- and secondary-school students — more than 30 million children — use Google education apps, the company says.

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    For Back to School, Reimagine Classroom Design
    Mindset
    8/7/2012

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    Why Are More Teens Putting That First Job on Hold?
    by Lily Leung
    The Orange County Register
    6/23/14

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    Check these desks out!

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    Rethinking the School Desk
    Is the best way to fix the American classroom to improve the furniture?

    By Linda Perlstein


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    Shades of Green: 
    Inderkum High's eco design seen as a way to help planet and reduce costs -- and it may also improve learning. Just ask the students. 
    by Ngoc Nguyen
    Sac Bee  2007

    Click here to read about the design.

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    American Classrooms should Stop Churning out Stepford Kids
    by Katy Waldmen
    Slate

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    You Came. You Thought. You Fixed Everything.
    Your best ideas from Slate's 21st-Century Classroom event at the Newseum
    .
    By David Plotz
    2010


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    Classrooms around the World
    Slide Show on Slate

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    The Fifth-Grade Exploration Studio
    The Winner in Slate's Contest To Reinvent the American Classroom

     by Linda Perlstein


    NAC Architecture Firm designed the the 5th Grade Exploration Studio
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    NAC Architecture








    ​Awesome ideas for designing your facility.  This is the firm that designed the 5th grade exploration studio above.  







    ​

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    The Architecture of Ideal Learning Environments

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    Learning Spaces
    Larry Macphee

    Educational Leadership 
    Edutopia
    Tracking Students

    Should Students be Separated?
    By Mitch404, sacramento, CA

    Fun Learning

    Something New
    by Axulm, Sacramento, CA

    Music Education in Schools
    By KevanH, Bradfordwoods, PA

    School Clubs
    By kwhaley2000, Fort Lauderdale, FL

    Youth Lack Life Skills
    By bb-rocks, Uniontown, OH

    The New Diploma Mills
    Slate


    Peer Pressure
    Facts for Families
    School Rules

    Can we have an honest conversation about phones in the classroom?
    A.J. Juliani

    School Start Times Really Do . . . .
    ScienceDaily

    School Start Times: A Wake-Up Call
    By kristenxo, Wilmington, MA

    Do School Dress Codes End Up Body Shaming Girls?
    CNN

    Dress Codes
    By NocScrittore, Lafayette, CO

    Gum: Not so Dumb?
    By Selah, Knoxville, TN

    Diversity And Equality in the Classroom


    Gym Class and Gender Equality
    By ahheredia, Mexico City, Mexico

    Suspending Suspension
    By Kellen G., Oak Creek, CO

    Unhelpful Punishment
    Slate

    Grading


    Should Students Get Paid for Good Grades
    By Mariah F., Bronx, NY


    Students with Handicaps

    Together We Learn Better



    The Struggling Student

    Bullying in School
    by CarrieAnn13, Goodsoil, Canada


    Cyber-Bullying
    By javajournalist, Leawood, KS
     
    ​Mental Heath in Schools
    NPR

    So We Know Students Are Stressed Out . . . Now Let's Talk about It
    NPR

    School Shootings Are Preventable 
    Edweek

    ​SEL is Good Teaching

    The Language Learner

    The Language Learner
    NCTE

    English Language Learners: A Complex Endeavor 
    ​
    Edutopia
    Role of Race in School

    Confronting Segregation in New York City Schools

    Keeping Our Kids in School: Restorative Justice


    Addressing Racial Inequity in School Curriculum and School Culture


    Homework

    Too Much Homework, Too Little Time
    by LAXdoubleK, Aurora, CO

    Testing


    Testing, Testing
    By Sri P., sewickely, PA

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