Catch up day

Today in class we had people finish maps and catch up if they are behind. I'm am not behind so I got to do my blog during class. There are only a few people who need to do the maps so it should be pretty fast and easy today. It is more of a review day, or off mod. In class, Mr. Shick had people come up and talk about there blogs with him and also go over his thoughts on them. I had a good review, but I had to just look over it better when I turn it in. For example, I said "I right" instead of "I write". It was a stupid mistake but it's my fault after all. Finally I was also able to finish my math homework. In the end It was an easy class and I had pretty good blogs.

Classwork and maps

Today in class we had to right on maps. What we wrote included, oceans, continents, and more. It was a pretty stupid waste of time in my opinion and was just boring. However I guess that's life sometimes. Also in class before Mr. Shick came into class, Robert became the teacher. He stood up in front and sat in the chair while talking to us about random things. It was funny and everyone enjoyed it. Finally we talked about the Tropico of Cancer and Capricorn. It made no sense to me and it seemed pointless. In the end, I like maps and think they are very useful, but spending four classes on them is boring. I want to learn about war history and conflicts.

Maps 3.0

Today we talked about maps again. It was on how if maps aren't on globes, they are inaccurate. It is impossible to have an accurate map on a flat paper. It's impossible because at the top of the map it is saying that there is the same distance around the top as the equator. That simply just isn't true. In class we also saw Mr. Shcick kick Roberts desk because he was asleep and wasn't paying attention. It was pretty funny because I like Robert but he has some problems when it comes to school and discipline. Finally, we talked about longitude and latitude. The grid for directions and time zones on the globe. In the end, there are many flaws with many maps and it will be a lang time until we can get a perfect one.

why certain maps are wrong

In class we re-watched a little clip from a part a show and it described why we should use different maps in our education systems. Some of the points they made were that Greenland was fourteen times smaller than the size of Africa, but in the map used all around the US they were almost identical sizes. They also said that with the other map it makes the north look better and on top rather on the bottom and worse. I personally agree with these points and I believe they are good and have the force to change the map being taught to all of America's youth. In the clip it shows you that this is a serious matter and it needs to be listened to. In the end I think maps will continue to become more and more accurate, and will have the same problem again.

Maps 2.0

Today we talked about maps again and watched a little bit of a video of people proving a certain map is more accurate than another. I found this interesting because people were being mislead for centuries and didn't question it at all. Also in class we took notes on maps and learned that Greenland is 14x smaller than Africa. However, on certain maps they look the same size and it's wrong. This is one of the biggest mistakes on the Mercader map and why a lot of things on it are inaccurate. In addition, we also had a good conversation on how shocked we were at the inaccuracy of certain maps. In the end in was a very educational class and I learned a lot.

Maps

Maps are a tool that are essential to organized life in the modern world. Whether its on a device, paper, or GPS, it is used all the time and everywhere. Therefore that is something that people take for granted in todays society. They think that you should just look it up and you can do that now, but not even twenty five years ago we couldn't do that. This just shows how technology has changed for the convenience of basic necessities like knowing where you are much easier for the average Joe. Back then people had to use paper maps and look at the roads they were on with a decent chance of mistaking it because of how small the print was. Now our phones and cars speak to us and we just follow directions. In the end everyone should know how to use a map in case of an emergency.

The Test

Today we had a test in human geography and it was easy. I knew everything except I guessed on one, but I'm confident in my answer and am confident in my grade. Right now I have a twelve percent in the class but I have completed everything on time it just needs to be updated. The test was on everything we learned in class but only the big things and major topics. For example, we covered "A Message to Garcia" and we only answered like three questions on it. We also covered the birth of democracy and had one or two questions, so it wasn't very hard at all. You just had to pay attention and take decent notes. In the end I feel like this class will be easy because it covers history and that is my favorite subject, so its easy to pay attention and learn.

The wasted life of the world

In todays society there are about 7.6 billion people in the world and many places are over populated. For example, I used to live in California and many people were moving there because it is a great place with great weather. The thing that was bad though was that California was in a serious drought and many people were coming in which means more and more water was being used. The reason there was a serious drought was because California hasn't seen rain for almost a year and was sunny all the time. This caused wild fires, and many overpopulated areas in the way of them. In my opinion, I think that a natural disaster will come soon and the people that rely off of others and the low of the earth will be taken out, and the world will be smaller. This would benefit the amount of resources in the world for the producers of the world, and make it a better place.

The death sentence

Today we talked about Socrates and him drinking poison after breaking the law. This is called the death penalty. It is the punishment for seriously breaking the law today, but was used all the time back then. It was used for almost anything. For example, if you stole something,  killed someone, or anything that was against the rules, you had a chance to be killed for your crimes. In this situation a man that was a legend in Athens, and all of Greece was telling people to think on their own, and the government didn't like it. This ended in people calling for him to die. So they voted like civil people, and it ended up that he would be killed by poison. I disagree on what he was sentenced with but I do agree with the death penalty for certain crimes. In the end back then it was a high risk for high reward and today it is very high risk for little reward. So just don't commit crimes.

Revolution

In the year 508bc the Greeks overthrew their leader to put democracy in place. This was the first time in recorded history that this happened. Democracy means power in the hands of the people and they elect their leaders. It is the form of government that is used most primarily in the world. For example, United States, United Kingdom, etc. It has proven to work, and work well no matter what is going on in the world. Democracy has gone through wars, revolutions, assassinations, and it's still going strong. I personally don't see an end to it for a long time because people get to vote for whatever they want. This gives the people the power to get rid of someone without violence. That was also one of the reasons people like democracy because their would be a war every few years for power. In the end I agree with democracy because I am apart of it and I don't have a problem.

Arete

Arete. Arete is the Greek way of saying to do everything to the best of your ability. In human geography, we have been learning about the Elbert Hubbard story A message to Garcia. In this story the solider Rowan out of West Point was given the task of taking a massage to Garcia, A cuban General. With this task he had to put in maximum effort to perform well for his country during the Spanish American War. Also with Arete you are the best person you can be. In life if you don't try then you will get what you put into things. For example, with school, if you don't try then then you will get a bad grade. In this situation, if you don't get the information to the leader then he could make a vital mistake. In the end you should always put as much effort in to things that matter.

A message to Garcia reflection

In the beginning of the story I didn't understand it at all until I got to the end. The morale of the story was that we need more hard working, selfless men and women in the workforce to actually work for what they earn. I strongly agree with that. I agree because I believe that America is too soft with all of the protests and riots that go on because people don't get things their way, so they decide to throw a fit about it. The thing that is even worse in today’s workforce is that people have a sense of entitlement that they need their specific ways of doing things instead of adapting and getting over the challenges themselves. However, back to the story, in my opinion Garcia is either God or your boss and you are working for him. You have been given the task of giving him a message. Elbert Hubbard is asking for a person that won't think twice and do what is needed when asked to without complaining. In today’s society however, people have a bad work ethic and are lazy which is why we have many people who don't like work and put in a poor effort. In the end I agree with Elbert Hubbard.

Day One at John Carroll

I have known about John Carroll for about three years now and I have always heard good things about the school. My brother went here starting in sophomore year after our family moved here from California and he enjoyed his experience, which has given me a positive view on the school and sports. After the first day of school I enjoyed my classes and the people in them. I feel like I will only have a problem with math, but other than that I am very excited for the years to come and the relationships with my classmates to form into a family for life. Specifically, in human geography, I really don't know what we are going to be learning, however I know it is a history class, which is my strongest subject. It is my strongest subject because I have always been fascinated by the wars of the past and how they shaped the present and how America is the superpower it is today.