Digital Literacy & Expression: August 2011

Friday, August 26, 2011

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Hello beautiful students...

I am unexpectedly away today (perhaps I am sick, who knows? But you still need your education and when I get back we will use the information you get today to work on our next project!)
Please be nice to the substitute and remember that I hold you to even higher expectations when I am away!

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Today we will be exploring the cost of living in the Bay Area and examining what that means.
First I want you to read this blog post from a few years back and then return to this posting to answer a few questions:

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Now that you've read the article, please answer the following questions.
Every few questions the teacher will pause you to discuss the answers and classroom leaders should assist in leading the discussion.
(you will need to flip back and forth between the questions and the article to review what you've read)

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Well, I hope you found that interesting!

Now we are going to look at income figures for Oakland. Again the data is a little old, but that is the nature of how it is collected.
Go the the following link and then scroll down to the last three lines before the 'Business QuickFacts". Ask your neighbor or the teacher for help if you can't find the information.
Look at the numbers for "Per capita money", "Median household income" , and "People of all ages in poverty", and then return to this posting to answer some questions.

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Now that you've looked at the Oakland income numbers, please answer the questions on THIS question form.
After every question this time the teacher will pause you to discuss the answers and classroom leaders should assist in leading the discussion.
(you will need to flip back and forth between the questions and the data to review what you've read)

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Now we are going to look at our city compared to other places we could live. To do this you first have to decide two numbers:

First, decide how much money you think you would need to live a good life. Is it $100,000 like the people in the first reading? Be realistic, you are unlikely to make much more than that but if you think you could then use whatever number you think is realistic on the high end.

Second, think about how much money the adults around you make. If they don't have a college education the likely make between $25-35,000 per year. If they do have a degree they likely make $50-60,000 (which is also the median for the Bay). Think about your current educational path and decide how much money you are REALLY likely to have.

Now, with those two numbers in mind go to the cost of living calculator and compare living standards between Oakland and another city you might like to live in for those two income levels. You can choose whatever city you want to compare with Oakland: New York, Chicago, Miami, LA, SF, Atlanta, Fresno, whatever. When you are finished, return here for your last task.

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Now you've done the cost of living comparison open an email to ME (john@envisionacademy.org) and write to me about your experience today.

Do you feel you learned something about the real cost of living?
Has what you learned today influenced how you think about your future and what you need to do to obtain the future that you want?
Include any other comments as well so I can design the next steps of this lesson well.

Thanks again for your attention today, this was an important lesson. See you soon.

Digital Literacy & Expression