CURRENT EVENTS ACTIVITY 2.2

1.  The Bastrop fire's potential causes are a farm accident and an intentional burning, as there was a burn ban placed there a while ago. At 10;30 a.m, officials let residents who live in the burn area to return to their properties. The estimates for covering the cost of all the damage done by the fire is probably going to be hundreds of millions of dollars. The interviews that the reporter went out and did give the story more of a personal feel. Instead of just covering the topic and leaving it detached and just full of information, they go out and talk to the people affected and the things they say make it more relatable. Like they aren't just faceless people who don't exist to us, they have families and valuable things and they exist. 

2. Paper textbooks are being replaced by digital copies, while the old paper ones stay in the classroom at all times. These digital copies of the textbooks is a lot cheaper and help prepare students for their computer dependent adult lives. For the Robertson family, helping their daughter with her geometry homework was a struggle, and they said that it was hard to go from the examples and the instructional pages and the pages with the problems, so the father dropped 75$ for a geometry textbook and that solved that. Melinda Prepster, a teacher at Gorzycki Middle School, said that it's a lot more interactive and able to be understood easier. The Eanes district has tablets and computers for every student, and are one of the few who do. While Austin and Leander have underestimated the amount of textbook copies needed for the classes. My feelings about it are pretty positive. I think that considering different students learn different ways, textbooks that have just writing and examples might not be enough for some students to fully grasp the material. I think it also saves a lot of money for more important things like art and music programs, instead of spending money on tons of textbooks that some students won't even understand. In my science class we have digital and printed copies of textbooks. i think it would be a good topic for The Shield, if only because of the fact that this is a school newspaper, and this is school related

3. The newest elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is making huge changes. He is legalizing marijuana, dropping out of the U.S-led bombing campaign against the Islamic state, as well as deficit spending to pump up the economy and rebuild infrastructure. There will be a change in Canadian policies on a broad spectrum of issues. The relationship between the US and Canada will most likely get stronger, as Obama and Justin are philosophically similar. 

4. Alan Guckian, a High School band director, is up for a national award. The award is the 2016 Music Educator award, and inspirational musician SaulPaul volunteered him, as he was an obvious choice. Guckian has made it to the semifinals and said that if he wins he is throwing a pizza party for his students, but not to mr. Gatti's.

5.