review for the exam

Today all we did was review for the exam on Thursday. Grace made a great quizlet for us to go over, and Mr. Schick went over it with us, and told her that it was a really good quizlet; it was, and we all knew most of the answers.  I think we all might be ready for this exam.

exam review

Today we went over the stuff that's going to be on the exam.  the study guide is on Mr. Schick's blog, and there is five different chapters on it, and there is nothing on the study guide that we didn't go over. there is some things on the study guide that we did with a video, and they are the video documentary of shift happens from Nike, and the video of Sudan and the few men moving to America. that's pretty much the study guide other than the actual chapters.

going over the microfinance test

today we went over the microfinance test, and most people got a 93, because there were fifteen questions, and getting one question wrong would get you a 93. I got question three wrong. the question was: Kiva is a successful microloan provider who has lent money to over one million borrowers. What is the approximate total value of these loans? the answer: A- almost half a  billion dollars. what I put down: B- nearly ten million dollars. other than that one question that I got wrong, I did well on the test. (haha (like gumby))

testing on microfinance

(I forgot to publish the last blog, so I published it on Thursday.)Today we took a test, and Mr. Schick put some inside jokes in with it like Gumby and Grace's name. I feel pretty good about the test, but I also feel pretty bad about the test. I think I did good on some of the answers, and less good on some others.

new unit

today we started a new unit.  it is a very short unit, and we are having a test on it soon.  everyone was pretty into the power point and Mr. Schick talking about it, and some people were on their computers taking notes.  we didn't have a break today in the middle of class because we were so into getting things done I'm pretty sure.

make-up test questions

1. what is microfinance? it helps people with no financial services
2. what are microloans? loan people money to get a kick start on their small businesses
3. how do these two relate? microfinance helps people with no typical access to banking, and microloans help to give people money to start small businesses.
4. what is malaria? a disease transmitted by mosquitos.
5. how can malaria be prevented? you can give money to poor countries so they have money to get/make mosquito nets.     you can send doctors over to poor countries to give people vaccinations to malaria.
6. what type of mosquito spreads malaria? a female Anopheles mosquito.
7. what is a micro lender? an organization that makes business loans to individuals who are not able to obtain financing from traditional lenders.
8. what is an effect of drought/heavy rain? the climate in the region affects the farming which is relied on in many because they are not as developed as other places.
9. what are Peace Corps volunteers doing? working on business issues and are focusing on increasing family income, improving the environment for business, educating young people, and helping business find markets for traditional products.
10. how can you improve microfinance? in order to improve microfinance, we need to think of a solution to give people a chance to have a better life.  when people need money, they need a loan. this will help them escape poverty. it should be something that people can lean on.

presenting about microfinance

today we presented our class power point, and everyone seemed to work it all out, because it was a pretty good power point.  some people were playing games until it was their turn 'cause Mr. Schick asked who's slide it was every time.  I did a slide on malaria, and how it can be helped.  after the slides on malaria, I put a picture of the mosquito you should watch out for.  everyone did a good job on the power point, but also kept asking if Mr. Schick could put it on his blog; we all have this power point on Google Drive.  Mr. Schick said that he used our slide to show another class how we did it.

class power point

We were working on a power point during class today, and everyone was doing pretty well, except for the talking.  I was not talking, because I wanted to get my slides don't, which I die.  my slides were on malaria, what it was, and how one could "prevent" it. others were working together on slides, and others were just doing slides so we had more than one subject on multiple slides.  We were working on this power point the whole class time.

conversation

today we talked about the sheet that we are doing in class, and we only got to question one.  we only got through question one because we spent twenty or so minutes talking about each part of the question.  I still have to take my test on the religions, and I'm planning on taking that test sometime in the rest of this week.  If I don't get the test in this week, I will do it next week.  I'm supposed to do it in class today, but I never got to it.  So, I am doing it in class on Friday.

WebQuest

We started a web quest, and mine kept getting frozen.  I kept restarting it, but every time I got farther, it would freeze.  I'm going to try again when I get home.  we also got a worksheet to do that is due next week I'm pretty sure.  I'm going to try to get the worksheet done tonight or tomorrow, so I don't have to worry about it at the last second.  everyone was in groups, except me and Grace.  We always pretty much do all the work out of the whole class; so, we worked alone, which is okay with me.

Leaders of the World

Afghanistan

Afghanistan is an Islamic republic headed by President Hamid Karzai.

Karzai started out as a resistance leader under Taliban rule and worked to undermine the regime.

He is well versed in several languages, including his native Phesho, Hindi, French and English.

Several times in 2001, Karzai warned the US that the Taliban were connected with al Qaeda and that there was a plot for an imminent attack on the US, but his warnings went unheeded.

Brazil

Brazil is a federal republic headed by President Dilma Roussef.

it is the 8th biggest economy in the world.

She opposed Brazil's military dictatorship of the 1960's and 70's, and served three years in prison, where she was repeatedly tortured.

she has been divorced twice.

she has a degree in economics, and now rules the country with the eighth-biggest economy in the world.

she underwent chemotherapy for lymphoma in 2009, and is now in remission.


China

China is a communist state, ruled by President Xi Jinping.

Xi is the son of revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun, one of the Communist Party's founding fathers.

He married folk singer Peng Liyuan, who also holds the rank of army general, in 1987.  to many in China, Ms. Peng was the better-known half of the couple for Xi Jinping became leader of the communist party.

the couple had a daughter named Xi Mingze, who is studying at Harvard University.

France

France is a republic headed by Francois Hollande.

Hollande has no previous experience in a national government position.

the mother of his four children is Segolene Royal, with whom he shared a 30-year relationship.

he was born in 1954 in the city of Rouen to an extreme-right physician father and progressive social worker mother.


Germany

Germany is a federal republic headed by President Joachim Gauck and Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel graduated from University of Leipzig in 1978 with a degree in Physics and Physical chemistry; earned a PhD in quantum chemistry from the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin in 1986

Has been Chancellor since November 2005

Merkel has earned the top spot on the FORBES list of Most powerful Women in the world for eight of the past 10 years.


India

India is a federal republic headed by President Pranab Mukherjee.

He taught political science at the Vidiyanagar College, and worked as a journalist before entering politics.

Mukherjee was rated as one of the best finance ministers of the world in 1984 and was adjudged the best parliamentarian in 1997.

He had a conflict with Rajiv Gandhi (who took over as prime minister from his mother Indira after she was assassinated in 1984) and started his own party - Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress.


Iran

Iran is a theocratic republic, ruled by Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-Khamenei, and President Hasan Fereidun Ruhani.

Khamenei-

In 1963, in street protests against the US-backed Shah of Iran.  After the uprising was quashed, Khamenei was exiled.  Khamenei was imprisoned multiple times and, in 1975, was internationally exiled to a remote religion in southern Iran.

Was elected President of Iran in 1981 and re-elected in 1985.  Became Iran's Supreme Leader in 1989.

Hasan Fereidun Ruhani-

Mr Rouhani has held several parliamentary posts, including deputy speaker and has also served on the supreme National Security Council.

Was just elected President of Iran- June 2013

HE has been openly critical of the outgoing president, saying Mahoud Ahmadinehad's "careless, Uncaluculated and unstudied remarks" have colst the country dearly.

Israel

a parliamentary democracy, headed by President Shimon Peres and

Peres-

was born in Belarus.  to escape the Persecution of Jews there, the family fled to Palestine in 1934.

when Arab forces launched their attack on the new state of Israel in 1948, Peres was given the chief responsibility for securing military equipment for Israel from abroad.

Later he organized Izrael's nuclear program and is regarded as the father of Israel's tomic Bomb.

as Israel's minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres was in charge of the Israeli negotiations during peace talks with the Palestinians.  in the autumn of 1994 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with his own Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestinian leader Yasser....

Binyamin Netanyahu.....

Mexico

 Mexico is a federal republic headed by President Enrique Pena Pieto.

he was the eldest of four siblings in a middle-class family; his father, Gilberto Enrique Pena del Socorro Nieto, a schoolteacher.

reports that he fathered two children in extramarital affairs while his wife Monica raised the couple's 3 children, plus the investigation into the sudden death of his wife at home in 2007, have prompted many to call him the Teflon candidate because trouble seems to slide off him.

two years later he announced his engagement to soap opera actor Angelica Rivera.  Rivera became his wife in a star-studded wedding ceremony two years ago and is now the first lady of Mexico.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a kingdom ruled by Abdallah bin Abd al-Al Saud, who is both king and Prime Minister.

he has fathered 22 children, the youngest when he was 79.

he is wirth approximately 21 billion dollars.

he was appointed commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, a post he was still holding when he became king.

in November 2007, King Abdallah visited Pope Benedict in the Apostolic Palace.  he is the first Saudi monarch to visit the Pope.  in march 2008, he called for a "botherly and sincere dialogue between believers from all religions."

United Kingdom

the UK is a constitutional

Afghanistan: president Hamir Karzai
Brazil: President Dilma Rousseff
China:President Xi Junping
France: President Francois Hollande
Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel
India: President Pranab Mukerjee
Iran: Supreme leader Ali Hoseni-Khameni
Israel: President Shimon Peres
Mexico: President Pena Nieto
Saudi Arabi
England: Prime Minister David
Venezuela: President Nicolas Maraudo

Starting the Slideshows

We stared to present our slideshows, and we did the one about the Hinduism.  It wasn't my group; I did take some notes on it, because I was told that these religions would be on the exam.  My group didn't go today, but I think we will tomorrow.  We are now completely done with our Power Point, and I am pretty proud of that, because my group did pretty much nothing.

Religion Presentation

Today we started to do a PowerPoint on different religions, and we were in groups.  My group was me, and three others.  My group had the religion of Islam.  I was pretty much the only one doing any of the work, but two of the other people were helping me; a little.  we almost have our presentation finished, and I am proud of it.  We all did at least one slide, except for one.  He did none of the work; he wrote his name down.  We worked together to get the presentation done, and all we have to do is proof-read it, and then present it.  

America: is it the best?

We watched a movie about America, people debating weather or not it is the best country in the world or not.  Everyone in class was talking about it after the movie, and no one thought that America is the best.  Some of the reasons were:  all countries have problems and flaws; some countries are doing better than others in some subjects, and some are doing worse than others in other subjects.  We are not the best country in the world, but we are not the worst country in the world.  Some people are saying "my country is the best! We have the best..."  and that's not true, whatever they are saying their country is the best for; most of the time.  A country may have the best soccer team in the world, but that doesn't make their country the best at everything.

Cultural Geography- day 2

The notes that we took today were Religion cont., and they are:
-Jews believe they are decedents of Abraham-Abrahamic (also Christians and Muslims believe this).
-The break came of Islam, Muslims split into- Shiites and Sunnies.
- They have millions (or hundreds of millions!) of followers all believing the same thing.
-religion can also be a dividing force around the world.
-Hindus and Muslims fight in India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim).
-there are conflicts between Catholics and Protestants (2 forms of Christians) in North Ireland.
-Jews, Christians, and Muslims all claim Jerusalem as their religious holy site.
-they are constantly fighting over the land
-Spatial Divisions-
-spatial divisions are how we divide the livable space found on the earth by establishing social, economic, and political control.
-you can be a member of more than one social group.
-spatial divisions can also cause conflicts or cooperation.
-examples of spatial divisions-
*countries
*economic alliances
^European Union (EU)
^ Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
^North American Free Trade Agreement  (NAFTA)
^Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
-Political Alliances
^North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
^Commonwealth of Nations
^Organization of American States (OAS)
^League of Arab States
^African Union (AU)
-Reasons for Spatial Division Conflicts-
*Cultural differences (language & religion)- Indonesia, Canada (Quebec), Ireland, Sudan.
*Nationalism- (the belief that your nation is superior to all others).

Cultural Geography

we started a new unit called Cultural Geography, and we already took many notes on it:
-parts of a group's everyday life
-the ideas and themes which the group will teach to all members
-these same characteristics can also link or divide a region
*examples:
-language
-religion
-ethnic heritage
*language:
-Arabic unites the Arab world.
-Spanish unites the Hispanic world.
-Brazil is the only South American nation which does not speak Spanish. It speaks Portuguese.
-Is Brazil Hispanic or Latino?     It has its own identity.
-Canada is a bilingual nation. French and English are its official languages.
-Switzerland has multiple languages but very little conflict between the groups.
-English is now considered the world language and is used for most business transactions around the world (Lingua Franka)
*Ethnic Heritage:
-In Yugoslavia, many ethnic groups were made into one country (Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Albanians)-When strong leadership dies out, the different groups fought a very bloody civil war and how they all have separate countries.
-In the countries of Rwanda and Burundi in Africa, two ethnic groups are dominate, the Tutsis and the Hutus.
-The Tutsis are dominant in the other-- they persecute the Hutus.
-This had led to almost constant war between the groups.
-The United States and Switzerland have peacefully merged multiple ethnic groups in their countries.
-Korea and Japan have primarily one ethnic group.
*Religion:
-Religion can be both a unifying and a disunifying force.
-There are five major religions in the world today--
^Hinduism
^Buddhism
^Judaism
^Christianity
^Islam

AP testing

Today we took the AP test, but it wasn't for a grade; it was to see what we know.  It was pretty hard, there were 75 questions on the test and I only got to question 32.  Thankfully the test wasn't for a grade, or I think I would've failed.  I know some of the material on that test, but most of it I didn't know.

cultural geography

We started a new unit, cultural geography.  We didn't take many notes on it because we had about five minutes of class left, because we were going over the test.  The notes we did take for the new unit are:
-cultural geography is : parts of a group's everyday life
-the ideas and themes which the group will teach to all members
-these same characteristics can also link or divide a region.
---examples---
-language
-religion
-ethnic heritage

testing

We took a test, and we had two shadows along with the day.  They were both from the same school.  The test was on pretty much all the things we talked about in the beginning of the year.  Mostly it was about the vocab words, which were: life expectancy, crude death rate, developing nations, net migration rate(NMR), immigration, emigration, push forces, and pull forces.

Population Pyramids - day 2

We were talking about the different types of population pyramids, and the females are always on the right for any type of pyramid.  The females are on the right for the Christmas tree pyramid, the box pyramid, and the cup pyramid.  Every once in a while, the males will be on the right.  The box pyramid is not always almost a perfect rectangle, it usually bulges around the middle of the graph.  A Christmas tree pyramid is not always a perfect triangle, but can look a little morphed.  The cup pyramid does not always look like a cup, but it can look more like a vase.

Population Pyramids

Today we started a new unit, and it is called population pyramids.  We use more population pyramids to analyze growth (or decline) of fertility, mortality and migration in cities.  60+ are called oldies, they are old people, or the elderly.  The ages 20-59 are economically active, or adults.  the ages 0-19 are kiddos, kids, or children.  the basic shapes of any pyramid are a triangle (Christmas tree), a square/rectangle, (the box), and a trapezoid (the cup).  What do they all mean though?  the Christmas tree pyramid is a developing nation. The growth rates are slow, high birth rate, and have a short life expectancy.  Namibia and Bangladesh are some examples of the Christmas tree.  The box pyramid means that the nation is developed, and they have a low infant mortality, slow population growth, and long life expectancy.  Some examples of that pyramid are Sweden and the U.S.   The cup pyramid is a developed nation.  Low birth rate, shrinking population, but a long life expectancy.  Italy and Japan are some examples of this.

God Grew Tired of Us - final day

Panther works at a restaurant as a waiter, and John enrolls at the Syracuse community college.  Daniel gets involved in Job Corp., who is going to help him get en education and go to get a job.  John is doing pretty well; his mother and sisters are alive, and they are coming to America to be with him.  He is very excited, and is now working three jobs to support his family back in Kenya, and to bring his family to America.  One of the lost boys went missing on July 2, and was found a few days later.  The lost boy was arrested for certain behavior on a bus, then put in a mental hospital because he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); he was mentally unstable.  The lost boys reunion was held in the Grand Rapids, Michigan.  South Sudan is the newest country in the world, it is now four years old.  Pittsburgh, 3 years:  Panther earned a high school diploma, and can now officially go to college.  Panther also has a girlfriend back in a refugee camp, and he wants to go to her.  John went to Phoenix, Arizona to go to a National Conference for the Lost Boys Foundation.  He was voted secretary for the foundation.  Daniel works at a grocery store called Whole Foods, and it has been 17 years since he has seen his family.  His mother got so happy, that she screamed and fell on the floor crying.  Panther is going to Africa, and he is very excited that he is going to see the girl he is going to marry. 

God Grew tired of Us - day 3

we were going on with the movie, and I learned that the tribe that John is from is called Dinka, and they are very tall.  This is why John was supposed to burry all the boys that died along the way to freedom.  In Sudan, the people would celebrate Christmas by singing and dancing all in around the town, which is different from America, because they didn't have a Christmas tree in Sudan.  John works in a factory for one of his jobs, and he grills burgers at McDonalds for his second job. 

God Grew Tired of Us - day 2

The three men went to America, and they have not yet adapted to the culture, but they will learn.  Panther and Daniel moved to Pittsburgh, PA and they are living with a few other men that moved with them.  Same with John, but he is now living in Syracuse, New York.  They eat food with their hands, but that's just because they want to keep their culture alive within them.  When John and the other lost boys were walking along the routes that they took to get away from Sudan, he was taller than the other boys; therefore, he was to stop and burry all the dead boys.  All the men that moved want to do their best in America, so they don't let down the ones they left behind.  In three months, all the men are to pay the government back for their air fair. 

God Grew Tired of Us - day 1

We learned that there wads a civil war in Sudan in about 1983 between North Sudan and Sudan.  There were about 27,000 "lost boys" that traveled from Sudan to Ethiopia.  "Lost boys" are males who run away, which is what they were called.  After about 3 years in Ethiopia, the government kicked the lost boys out, so they traveled back through Sudan and got to Kakuma, Kenya.  By this time, the war has been 5 years on-going.  By the time they got to Kenya, only 12,000 made it.  These boys were 5-10 years of age; for the boys that the terrorists let live.

answers

We answered the questions on the homework we had, and that was pretty much the only thing that we did.  I got a few of them wrong, but I fixed them while we went over them.  we are going to watch a movie tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure we are going to do that for the whole class.  Some of  the questions that I got wrong were not that hard to do.  To be honest, I wasn't trying that hard because I was tired the night I did it, so I didn't get every single question right.

scavenger hunt

1.     What is the population of the United States?
316,668,567

2.     What are the five largest countries in the world, by population?
China, India, United States, Indonesia, and Brazil.

3.     What is the population of Pakistan?
193,238,868

4.     What kind of government does the United States have?
constitution

5.     What is the unemployment rate of Zimbabwe?
95%

6.     What is the largest country in the world by area?
Russia

7.     What country has the third greatest number of airports?
Mexico

8.     What country has the greatest number of exports?
China

9.     What country exports more oil than any other?
Saudi Arabia

10.     What country imports more oil than any other?
United States

11.     What country has the second largest proved reserves of crude oil in the world?
Venezuela

12.     Can women serve in combat roles in China's military?
yes

13.     What is GDP?
gross domestic product-
all goods and services produced in a country in any given year

14.     What country has the highest GDP per capita in the world, and how much is it?
Qatar, $103,900

15.     Is the US in the top 10 GDP per capita?
no (#14-#11 one year ago)

16.     Most of the countries with the highest birth rates can be found in what continent?
Africa

17.     11 of the top 12 countries with the highest number of deaths from HIV/AIDS can be in which continent?
Africa

18.     What other country is in the top ten?
India

19.     Where does the US rank in HIV/AIDS deaths?
eighteen

20.     Is the US #1 in number of cellular phones?
China

21.     What percentage of the US is Roman Catholic?
23.9%

22.    What percentage of Mexico is Roman Catholic?
82.7%

23.     What is Net Migration Rate?
the difference between the number of persons entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons (based on midyear population).  An excess of persons entering the country is referred to as net immigration (e.g. -9.26 migrants/1,000 population).

24.     Does the US have the highest Net Migration rate in the world?
   no - #26  (3.64/1,000)

25.     According to the factbook, what is the population of the world?
7,095,217,980 (July 2013 est.)

power point

We finished the power point, and we went over what we think on immigration.  Most of us think that immigration is helping both the US and other countries, because the immigrants are working as hard as they can, and that is why they are doing mostly the outdoor work, like landscaping and construction.  I said that the immigrants are grateful for coming in and getting jobs that are paying for their food and families. 

testing day 2 and power point

We finished the test today, having 20 minutes and all I had to do was the last essay.  I got 30 out of 30 for the bubble-in questions, and I was pretty proud of myself.  I'm not sure how I did on the essay questions, but I think I did pretty good on them.  After the 20 minutes we had to finish the test, we went over the power point that Mr. Schick had for us.  We got new definitions, and we got a new unit.

testing

We started to take a test, and we had a fire drill so we went outside on the football field, and we were outside for about ten minutes.  Then we went back inside, and kept going with our tests.  I got  to the last essay, and then we had to leave class.  We had the fire drill about two or three minutes after class started, and we were outside for about half the class, like I said.

presentation

Today we presented our power points, and my group was first.  We all read our slides, and Grace explained all of them.  When we were done, the other groups went.  This was not for a grade, but to get some knowledge on globalization.  After we all presented, we talked about globalization and what we all think about it.  For the last three minutes of class, we had free, so I went on my email and checked that.  After that we left to go to the next class.

Nike

today we watched a 20 minute long video about how Nike is abusing Indonesia and making the workers work for $1.50 a day and in horrible conditions.  I know this because a guy named Jim Keady went to Indonesia and lived off of the wages that the Nike workers are living off of and he lost 25 lbs. in one month, which I think is ridiculous, because he is a very athletic parson, being amazing at soccer and all; Jim bought a cheap razor and the smallest shaving cream at the store, and he didn't eat for the rest of the day.  The girl he went with, Leslie, got sick off the conditions, and if Jim bought medicine, then he would not eat for the rest of the day, but he bought the medicine anyway, because she was sick and she  needed it.  After we watched the video, we went back to our groups and did more research, then we left class.

research

We started to do a slideshow for globalization.  We did research for the definition of globalization, and we started to find out whether we are against it or on the same side of globalization .  I'm not sure what side we are on, because we are still looking at data.  We have Devin, Matt, Grace, Grant, and me in our group, and I feel that we sort of work together well.

google drive

Today we went on Google drive, and set up an email chat where you can work on the same document at the same time without physically being in the same room.  My group is me, Grace, Devon, and someone Bataglia, I don't know his first name.  After we had that class, we went to Mass, took a picture for the 50th anniversary for in the yearbook.  after that, we all went home.

The Video

In class, we looked at a video that used to be a slideshow, and it was connecting us to human geography more.  It was about how India and China might be two of the biggest countries in the world that have good education.  What I mean by that is China might be the largest English-speaking country in the world, and India might be one of the smartest countries in the world.  India has more honors kids than America has kids! 

Seria being bombed

Today I was late to class, because I was thinking of a different class.  Anyway, we went over the Greeks, and the painting The Death of Socrates.  We went over what is happening in Seria, and if Obama sent troops over there to help.  What Grace said made a lot of sense; she said that if Obama sent troops over to help, then Seria would just turn around to bomb us.  If they  do bomb us, it might be nuclear bombs, and we would all die.  But, I don't think that we will all die, because if our troops do go over there, I believe that we will stop the bombing, and prevent from the U.S being bombed.

defenitions

      what we did in class on Friday was talk about the blog a little more about the blog and read a message to Garcia.

Agora- "Was the central spot in ancient Greek city-states.  The literal meaning of the word is 'gathering place' or 'assembly'. "

Arete- " in this basic sense, means excellence of any kind."

Polis- the word "city" in Greek.

The year of 508 BC- "The city of Athens was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Hippias.

Socrates- " was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. Many would claim that Plato's dialogues are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity."

The death of Socrates- "Is a 1787 oil on canvas  painting by the French painter Jacques-Louis Davis.  Like many of his works from that decade, the painting focuses on a classical subject, in this case, the story of the execution of Socrates as told, by Plato in his Phaedo."

The Socratic method- "Named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and discussion between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. It is a dialectical method, often involving a discussion in which the defense of one point of view is questioned; one participant may lead another to contradict himself in some way, thus strengthening the inquirer's own point."

What the ancient Greeks meant if they called you an idiot- "In ancient Greece, the inventors of democracy set up a law that required every person to vote, regardless of who they voted for. If anyone was found not voting, the person would be publicly marked and labeled an idiot, someone who thought their own personal needs trumped those of the society around them, and over time, the word "idiot" has evolved into today's usage."

5 point action plan

1. get better grades
2. study harder
3. pay attention as mush as I can in class
4. do all my homework
5. get better handwriting

First Day

This morning when I got dropped off, I was a little nervous for my first day of high school.  The first thing I did was go to the stations.  The first station was the brown room, where the freshman learned about up-coming events.  The second station was in the lower gym, where we talked about the rules and regulations.  Next, we went to the upper gym to get our pictures done.  Last was the library, where we learned how to treat the school.  after all the stations, freshman went to  the auditorium to listen to a guest speaker.  He was funny, and told us how to make our lives at John Carroll fun and worthwhile.  After all of this, we had our first class. When I got to the chorus room for orchestra, we talked about concerts, trips, and concert dress.  Next I had Human Geography.  We looked at the website and got the homework, and that was pretty much it.  Next was computer support.  Again, we went over the rules about the dress code.  the class I had after that was free MOD.  I had lunch and started some homework.  In my next class, English 1, we played a game to get to know each other better.  I went to Algebra 1 and we went over the rules, and then was French 1.  We said prayer in French, and then we went over the rules for that class.  we then went over some French.  I went home after that, and it was a fun day at John Carroll.