Test

Today in class, we took the world leaders test. It was difficult, but since I studied, I knew most of the material. The questions that tripped me up the most were the ones with the maps asking which nation is this because I am not very good at reading maps. For one of those questions, I saw the shape of the United States near it and knew what the nation was because I could point out other countries around it. I hope I got at least an 85 or above. It would be nice if I got an A because I spent over an hour studying and making notecards which  I never do for any test. I was very glad that we were able to use our blogs because I put all my notes into the blog just in case we were allowed to use it.

Mexico
Enrique pena nieto
federal republic
fathered 2 children in extramarital affairs
called the Teflon candidate
married soap opera actress

United Kingdom
David Cameron
constitutional monarchy and commonwealth realm
went to heatherdown
went to eton
first born son had disabilities
youngest prime minister

Russia
Vladimir putin
federation
president from 2000-2008
re-elected in 2012
in the kgb
Russia's prime minister


Syria
bashar al-assad
authoritarian regime

Iraq
faud masum
parliamentary democracy

Canada
Justin trudeau
parliamentary democracy, federation, constitutional monarchy

World Leaders pt. 3

Today in class we finished the powerpoint on the world leaders. We learned about six new leaders. We learned about the leaders of Mexico, Russia, United Kingdom, Syria, Iraq, and Canada. We have a big test tomorrow on these leaders and I am very nervous about it because there is a lot of information. Though I did study for it, and I am still studying right now. I hope to do well on this test because if I don't, my grade will drop and I can't have that happen to me. I hope the test goes as planned and I get a good grade.

World Leaders pt. 2

World Leaders Up Close & Personal
Brazil:
-federal republic
-headed by President Dilma Rousseff
-opposed Brazil's military dictatorship- 1960s & 70s
-tortured in prison
-divorced twice
-degree in economics, now rules the country with the 8th biggest economy in the world
-underwent chemotherapy for lymphoma in 2009
-now in remission

China:
- a communist state
- ruled by President Xi Jinping
- son of a revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun, one of the communist Party's founding fathers
- married folk singer Peng Lijuan- holds rank of army general in 1987
- have a daughter named Xi Mingze, who is studying at Harvard University in U.S.

France:
- federal republic
- headed by Francois Hollande
-no previous experience in a natural government position
- mother of 4 children- Segolene Royal, with whom he has shared a 30- year relationship with
- born in 1954 the city of Rouen to an extreme- right physician father & progressive social worker mother

Germany:
-federal republic
-president Joachim Gauck
-Chancellor Angela Merkel
- graduated from the University of Leipzig in 1978 with a degree in physics and physical chemistry; earned Academy of Sciences in Berlin in 1986
-has been chancellor since 2005
- earned the top spot on the FORBES List of Most Powerful Women in the World for 8 of the past 10 years

India:
-federal republic
- President Pranab Mukherjee
-taught political science at Vidiyangar College, worked as a journalist before entering politics
-rated as one of the best finance ministers of the word in 1984 and was adjudged the best parliamentarian in 1997
- had a conflict with Rajiv Gandhi (who took over as a prime minister from his mother Indira after she was assassinated in 1984) and started his own party- Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress

Israel:
-parliamentary democracy
-headed by President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Netanyahu
- as a child/youth he lived with his family in the US in the years 1956-58 and again in 1963-67
-after his brother Jonathon (Yonni) was killed, in July 1976, in the course of Entebbe Operation of which he was one of the commanders, Netanyahu returned to Israel and started to advocate international cooperation in fighting terrorism

Checked Test

Today in class, we went over our test. I was very happy with my test grade because I got a 100. I actually studied for this one because I have a past of doing bad on Mr. Schick's tests. We also were informed of the rap for 10 extra credit points. I am very excited about this because in eight grade, I had to do something similar but for math class. I think it will be fun since I am doing it with Claire, Mallory, and Ava. Though we seem like we will mess around and not take this seriously, I think we will actually write a good rap that tells all about what happened this year.

World Leaders Assignment

Mexico

Germany

Russia



Israel

United Kingdom

Brazil

France

Iraq



India

Canada

Mexico:
President Enrique Peña Nieto



Syria

Federal Republic

China:


China

President Xi JinpingCommunist State


India:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Federal Republic

Russia:
President Vladimir Putin
Federation

Germany:
Chancellor Angela Merkel
Federal Republic

United Kingdom:
Prime Minister David Cameron
constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth realm

France:
President François Hollande
Republic

Brazil:
President Dilma Rousseff
federal republic

Syria:
President Bashar al-Assad
republic under an authoritarian regime

Canada:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
a parliamentary democracy, a federation, and a constitutional monarchy

Iraq:
President Fuad Masum
parliamentary democracy

Israel:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
parliamentary democracy

SORRY THAT THE PICTURES ARE SCATTERED EVERYWHERE!! I COULDN'T MOVE THEM TO WHERE I WANTED THEM TO BE

Cultural Characterisitcs

We took notes on the PowerPoint today in class. Here are my notes:
Cultural Characteristics:
- part of your everyday life
- ideas and themes which group will teach to all members
-these characteristics can also link and divide a region
Examples:
1. language
2. religion
3. ethnic heritage
Language:
-Brazilians speak Portuguese
- Canada is a bilingual nation
-bilingual means speaking 2 languages
-French and English are Canada's official languages
-USA doesn't have an official language
-Switzerland has 4 official languages (German, French, Italian, and Romansh), but there is very little conflict between these groups
- English is considered a "bridge" language
Ethnic Heritage:
- In Yugoslavia, many ethnic groups (Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Albanians) compromised one country
-when strong leadership died out, different groups fought a very bloody civil war and now they all have separate countries (Slovenia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, and Macedonia)
- in the countries of Rwanda and Burundi Africa live the Tutsis and the Hutus
- the Tutsis are sometimes dominant in Burundi, they persecute the Hutus
-the Hutus dominate in Rwanda, they persecute the Tutsis
-this led to almost constant war between the groups
-during the 100-day period from April-July 1994, 500,000-1,000,000 Tutsis (70% of them) were killed by the Hutu majority
-this was called the Rwandan Genocide
-In Burundi, 3% is Muslim. 91% is Christian
-The U.S and Switzerland peacefully merged multiple ethnic groups in their countries
-Korea and Japan have primarily one ethnic group
-Religion can be both a unifying and disunifying force
- the 4 biggest religions are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism

Political Organization

Today in class, we looked at a powerpoint on political geography. We learned about how the world is organized. There is Country, Nation, State, and Nation-State. A country is an identifiable land area. A Nation is a population (group of people) with a common culture. A State has a capital "S", and it is a population under a single government synonymous with "country". A Nation-State is a single culture under a single government. It is a nation which has the same borders as a state.
A Nation:
- a group of people with a shared identity
- think of it as a culture group
- nations are culturally homogeneous groups of people, larger than a single tribe or community, which share a common language, institutions, religion, and historical experience.

Independent State:
-has space or territory which has internationally recognized boundaries
-has people who live there on an ongoing basis
-economic activity and organized economy. a country regulates foreign and domestic trade and issues money
-has the power of social engineering such as education
-has a transportation system for moving goods and people
-has a government which provides public services and police power
-has sovereignty. no other state should have power over country's territory
-has external recognition. a country has been "voted into the club" by other countries.

Judaism

Today we learned about the fifth most important religion which is Judaism. Here are my notes from class:
Judaism:
number of adherents: 14-18 million (9th largest)
call them Jews
geographic location: Israel
founder: Abraham
holy books: 1. Talmud
                    2. Torah (first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
                        Deuteronomy)
beliefs: ethical monotheism- God is one, and concerned with the actions of humankind
1. Ten Commandments
2. 13 Principles of Faith

In 8th grade in English class, we read a story about a Jew who survived the Holocaust. From that novel, I leaned a lot about what Jews went through during that time. I know how they were captured, put into concentration camps to be worked to death; they were gassed and some were burned alive in human ovens. After reading that story, it made me want to learn more about Judaism and what Jews are really like.

Presentations

Today in class we presented our projects on how to take down ISIS. I saw a lot of good ideas, but some weren't too good, or they had many holes in their plan. I think one of the best solutions was to stop their income and then 'take out' their oil supply. That would be a sufficient plan because that is what they make most of the money off of. If we take that away from them, they won't have money to buy and make guns, bombs, and other things. I think my group had a good idea with a lot of details, but after hearing the classes' questions and their problems with it, it made me realize how hard it actually would be to send spies and military personnel over to Syria as an ISIS member. If we were able to pull it off, I think we could definitely take down ISIS. I think this project really got us thinking about how dangerous they are because of all the research we had to do; how we had to actually put our heads together and create a well thought-out plan.

ISIS and Refugee Solution

Today, my group came up with a solution to the refugee problem, and the ISIS problem. For the refugees, we thought we should split them up into groups by last name so that they are with their families, and send them to a number of different safe countries, so a single country doesn't have to take them all in. Our solution for ISIS, is to send a couple military members over to Syria to capture one of their high ranking members, and bring him back here. While he is in the U.S, we will interrogate him, and with whatever information we get, we will send to the military members that took his spot in Syria. The military member that was sent to Syria is going to try to find out information and send it back to the U.S. With that information, we can take down ISIS once and for all.

ISIS

Today in class we were told to find a solution for ISIS. Unfortunately, my group couldn't come up with a solution because it's so hard to take them down when they aren't a nation, we don't know their leader, and we're not exactly sure where they are located. But my group did come up with some facts to get more informed on ISIS. The facts that we found are:

Where Did They Come From?

• “While extremist groups are generally amorphous organizations, ISIS can trace its history directly back to the Sunni terrorist organization al Qaeda, specifically the Iraq faction, al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). AQI, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was responsible for scores of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq following the U.S. invasion there.” (Ferran and Momtaz)

Who is ISIS?

• “Born from an especially brutal al Qaeda faction, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has grown from relative obscurity in recent years to overshadow its extremist patrons. It now terrorizes large swaths of Syria and Iraq, has become the target of the largest U.S. military operation in Iraq in years and, with the public, cold-blooded execution of multiple Westerners, dominates headlines the world over.” (Ferran and Momtaz)

ISIS’ Goals

• "Since at least 2004, a significant goal of the group has been the foundation of a Sunni Islamic state. Specifically, ISIS has sought to establish itself as a caliphate, an Islamic state led by a group of religious authorities under a supreme leader—the caliph—who is believed to be the successor to Prophet Muhammad.[166] In June 2014, ISIL published a document in which it claimed to have traced the lineage of its leader al-Baghdadi back to Muhammad,[166] and upon proclaiming a new caliphate on 29 June, the group appointed al-Baghdadi as its caliph. As caliph, he demands the allegiance of all devout Muslims worldwide, according to Islamic jurisprudence"

ISIS Information

• Western officials only have rough estimates on ISIS’s total fighting force, but in late 2014, the CIA said the group was believed to be up to 30,000 fighters strong including local supporters, and growing. Most disturbing to Western security officials, they say, is the huge portion of foreign fighters who left their homes and at times traveled halfway around the world to join the terror group.
• “Social media accounts associated with ISIS have published disturbing videos purportedly showing ISIS fighters taunting, torturing and executing scores of unarmed prisoners."  (Ferran and Momtaz)

 

All these facts came from reliable websites. Here are their URLs.

• http://abcnews.go.com/WN/fullpage/isis-trail-terror-isis-threat-us-25053190
• http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/
• http://abcnews.go.com/WN/fullpage/isis-trail-terror-isis-threat-us-25053190

P.S- this is not my work, I got all these stats from these websites, so I made sure to cite them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Save the Children

Today in class we watched an extremely deep video about the children in Syria. It definitely changed my perspective on the topic, but I still have a strong opinion on why we shouldn't let all the refugees into the United States. I think that we should help them, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they have to come to our country. Because in all honesty, I'd rather keep myself and my country safe rather than have them be safe in their own country. That sounds selfish, I know, but we can't always help others even when we want to. If all the refugees split up and some went to each different country that is safer than their own, a lot of lives would be saved that way. I don't understand why the United States is always the place people look to go. Who knows, just because they're white and not Muslim doesn't mean they can't still be a terrorist. I think it's extremely racist to say that people of a different color and religion are more of a threat to you than someone that looks like you, but that's just my opinion.

Paris

Today in class, we talked about the terrorist attacks in Paris, France. I think it's extremely sad, and such an awful thing that happened to these people. I wish that there was something I could do to help them, but the only thing I can do is pray for them. We live in such a sick world, it's awful to see something like this happen to them. This is like Paris's 9/11. But another thing that is awful is discrimination against Muslims. Just because some of them are bad does not mean they are all sick people. I read this social experiment on Twitter where an American girl put a hijab on her head and went to the mall to experience first-hand discrimination.  She said that people totally ignored her: cashiers, vendors, random citizens. She said that she was in one store and a little girl looked at her then asked her mom, "Mommy, is that a terrorist?" And the mom glared at the girl and grabbed her daughter's hand and pulled her out of the store. Just because this girl wore a hijab, she got treated differently. That makes me so upset because not all Muslims are bad. People need to stop stereotyping.

Religion and Babies

Today in class, we watched the TED Religion and Babies video. Here are my notes:

•  3 billion people in 1960- 7 billion people in 2014
• the map is divided into Abrahamic religion and Eastern religion
•  India and China- Eastern religion
•  Southern Europe and Indonesia- Islam
•  Europe, America, Africa, and Asia - Christianity
• number of babies per woman is decreasing
• women with a lot of babies usually have a low income
• countries with the highest mortality rate have the highest population growth
•  the babies per woman decrease when:
• 1. children survive
• 2. many children are not needed for work
• 3. women get education and join the labor force
• 4. family planning is accessible
• the average number of children per woman in Columbia is 2.4 per woman
• studies show that religion has very little to do with the number of babies per woman

I think that the chart was very interesting, but a little confusing. There were a lot of dots moving all at once, and I couldn't really understand the guy so I was having a hard time understanding what was going on. I think that Christianity had the most dots and that didn't surprise me. After watching the NOVA video, I realized that poorer woman do tend to have more children, and that was showed in this chart.

I think the world that I will soon inherit is kind of scary but also good. The video shows that there will be around 10 billion people by 2100. I think that is an overwhelming number of people, but who knows, maybe since there are more people, more jobs will open up and there will be a better economy. But more people could also mean that more people are out of work, the economy is bad, and there will be more families living on the streets which is not a good thing. I guess I will just have to wait and see how this world changes.

The quiz on sporcle is not working for me, it keeps freezing then it exits out of it.

Hinduism and Buddhism

Today in class we learned about two new religions: Hinduism and Buddhism.
Hinduism:
* number of adherents- 1.1 billion
* call them Hindus
* geographic location- India, Nepal
* holy book- the Vedas- eternal truths revealed to ancient sages; composed in verse form (meant to be sung and easily memorized.)
* founder- no distinct founder: oldest religion, it's less of a religion than a way of life.
* example of this- "as a person puts on new clothes and discards old and torn clothes, similarly an embodied soul enters new material bodies leaving the old bodies." this represents reincarnation.
* sentient being- one who can make a decision for oneself

Buddhism:
* number of adherents- 500 million to 1.5 billion ( estimates vary quite a bit)
* call them Buddhists
* geographic location- southeast Asia, China, Nepal, Japan (there are 1.2 Buddhists in the United States)
*founder- Siddhartha Gautama
*four noble truths:
1. there is suffering
2. attachment to desire is the origin of suffering
3. there is a cessation of suffering
4. the Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of suffering

* Eightfold Path:
1. right view
2. right intention
3. right speech
4. right action
5. right livelihood
6. right effort
7. right mindfulness
8. right dedication

5 Major Religions

Today in class we looked at a powerpoint on the 5 major religions. We only got to look at 2 of them because we ran out of time, but we looked at Christianity and the Islamic religion. Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ. We call these people Christians. Their beliefs are that Jesus is both man and divine; that he suffered; died; resurrected; and ascended into heaven. Our clergy is the Pope, and the priests are other authorities. The Islamic religion was founded by Muhammad. They are called Muslims, and they call their God "Allah". (I have more facts on both of these religions but I left my notebook in school so this is all that I can remember).

Reviewing the Test

Today in class, we wasted 15 minutes doing absolutely nothing. Mr. Schick was late, so we just sat around and talked, and played on our computers. Then once he got here, we went over the test from yesterday. I was very disappointed with my grade because now I am failing this class. And I feel like it's going to be very hard to bring it up because we only do blogs and tests. The thing that bothers me most is that I really did study for the test, but no matter how much I study, I still seem to fail it. The only thing that made me a little happy is getting 3 extra points on the test. Even with the extra points, I still am failing the class :)

NOVA Test

Today in class we took the test based off of the information we learned in the NOVA video. I think that it was fairly easy, and it was helpful that we could use our blogs. But I think I need to start taking better notes, and put those notes in my blog more. A few of the questions I don't even remember hearing in the video, but I wish I would have paid a little more attention. Other than that, the test was pretty easy, and I'm glad I studied for it. I think the easiest part of the test was the questions with statistics in them. I felt like those were the questions I remember most when studying because they/re just straight facts that are easy to remember. Some of the questions I don't think I did well on were questions regarding the GDP per capita because honestly, I don't remember seeing that in the video. I thought the question about the desert was tough but then I remembered what the video referred to as Africa. I remember them calling it the Sub-Saharan nation, so that is what helped me with that question. Overall , I think this test was a lot easier than the last test we took.

Test Review

Today in class we reviewed for our test tomorrow. I think that if I study my notes, then I should do fine. Some of the questions we went over in class were things like "Which country has a TFR of 1.4" and then the class would answer, "Japan" I think that was a good way to review as a class. But what struck me as extremely shocking is when Mr. Schick told us that someone in his other class said that to solve India's problems, we should drop a nuke on them. I think that is an awful idea and anyone who agrees with that is crazy. Unless we are in the middle of a war, there is no reason to totally wipe out a nation like that. At the end of class, we watched some interesting videos on youtube... They were really funny but it made me think, who has the time to make these? and who has the time to look them up.. and why???

NOVA part 5

Today in class, we finished watched the NOVA video. The last 10 minutes were definitely the saddest part of the video. After we finished the video we had a long discussion about it. We were saying our opinions on whether we should use our money to help their country get introduced to birth control. I think we should at least introduce it to them, and that way they at least have some knowledge about it. We should then leave it up to them to decide whether they want to use it or not. But I also agree with some of the students when they said it starts with the economy. If the economy was better, the women could have jobs and get money that way instead of having to become a prostitute to provide for her family. I think that the stuff that goes on over there is extremely sad.

NOVA part 4

Today in class, we talked about the article that Mr. Schick showed us about how in China, the government is allowing more than 1 child per family. In my opinion, I think it is ridiculous that a family can only have 1 child. I think that they should be able to have as many children as they want because it is their family. We also watched more of the NOVA video. In that, I learned that in the Sub-Saharan nations, a woman averages 6 children. Compared to China, that is so much more. I also learned that if the ecosystems go down, the people are at a huge risk. Also, the death rates are rising. In Kenya, 6-9% of people are infected with HIV AIDS. That's actually a big number of people, and it's really sad.

NOVA 3

Today in class we watched more of the NOVA video. I learned that the TFR is dropping in Japan. In the video, it was 1.3%. But now, it is 1.4%. Japan's population of 126,000,000 will shrink in half by the end of the century. In some work forces, women with children are considered a burden. The Japanese women have to work to keep their family considered 'middle-class'. They work for long hours at a time. By the year 2050, 1 in 3 Japanese women will be alive over the age of 60. Japanese people live the longest. The men average 78 years and the women average 84 years old.

NOVA 2

Today we watched more of the NOVA video on youtube. There were some gruesome images that showed on screen, and it actually made me sick to my stomach that such terrible things happen to innocent women. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that if a woman doesn't have a boy child, there is a chance for them to be burned and either killed or badly burned. What's even crazier is that it's okay for men to do that. I don't think that is right at all. I'm not sure what I would do if I had to go through that. I wish there was something I could do to stop it from happening, but there isn't. Also, I think it's crazy how tons of women are aborted. What is so wrong with girls? We are smart, talented, and most of us can do everything guys can do, if not more. Women take great care of themselves and others so why do they need guys to take care of the parents when they get old? Women are capable of getting a good job if a good education is provided. I feel awful for every woman in India/ Uttar Pradesh/ any country that is like this.

NOVA video

Today in class, we watched a video called NOVA- World in Balance- The People Paradox. There were some interesting facts in this video that I did not know. For instance, I did not know that Japan's population will most likely decrease by half by the end of this century. Also, the elders over 60 in Japan out number the kids under the age of 4. More children in developing countries are surviving than ever before. The largest youth in history are entering their reproductive years. This is around the age of 14, and there have been an explosion of births. We also learned about demographic divide.
     In the video, we saw the Taj Mahal, a famous building in India. Taj Mahal was built to honor a queen who died while giving birth to her 14th child. I also learned that India is going to pass China for biggest population. Uttar Pradesh would be the fifth biggest nation in the world if it was considered a nation. It has 177,000,000 people in it. In the video, there was a woman named Goody. She is 30 years old and almost died while giving birth to her 8th child. She went through 3 days of obstructed labor. Goody does not want to have another baby, but that isn't her decision. I know it sounds crazy, and I think it is, but Goody is the least involved in the decision of having more kids. The reproductive decisions are made by men. Boys are the preferred gender for children. If a woman is to have a girl and not a boy, it is considered her fault. In Uttar Pradesh, 1 out of 10 kids die before they reach age 5, and that is extremely sad. Also, 95% of marriages are arranged by the parents. I would hate to have my parents arrange who I am going to marry without any word from me. I don't think I could get married to a stranger at the age of 15 or 16. The things that go on in India is way different from in the United States, and I am so lucky that I live here and not there.

Extra Credit

      I am beyond fortunate for all that I own, and I feel like I should give some of what I have to those less fortunate. On kiva.com, I found a women who is trying to raise $700 to build a toilet in their house so they can have a clean, and healthy environment to do what they need to do.
    
     Sisula is a 25-year old women who is married with two children. Her children are enrolled in a local public school. Sisula only makes 300 INR per day to help and support her family. Sisula and her family live in the rural area of Nayagarh District, Odisha, India. Where they live, it is hard for everyone to find a toilet. Sisula and her other group members are working to raise 45,000 INR to supply a toilet for everyone to use. Sisula will use her portion of the loan to provide a toilet for her and her family. The article says that she is very happy with her loan, and she hopes to get this toilet to, "promote her health, environment, and living standards."
    
     I think kiva.com is a great way to help the less fortunate in other countries. I really want to help this woman and her group to provide a clean toilet for their families to use. I still have yet to talk it over with my parents, but I really hope they allow me to loan $25. Helping others makes me feel good, and it warms my heart to know that I have helped a person get one step closer to his or her goal.

     The second person I researched is Teresita from the Philippines. Teresita is trying to raise $225 to buy bananas for her business. Once Teresita gets the bananas, she resells them to make money for her and her family. She has been in this business for 2 years, and she is hoping to provide a future for her family.

     After a typhoon hit the Philippines, a lot of businesses lost everything they worked for. Loans have been offered to those who lost their stuff from the typhoon. I want to be able to help these who lost their stuff by loaning $25 to this organization. Both topics that I researched go towards great causes, and I really want to help. If I could, I would donate to everyone on this website because I have so much and they have so little.

Test Review

Today in class, we reviewed the tests that we got back. I was disappointed with my grade, but that only makes me want to try harder on the next one. I think this test was a lot harder than the first one. The problems were based off of total memorization from the powerpoint. I think the easiest part of the test was when we could use the world fact book, but that part was also stressful because there was a certain time we had to find the answers. After the outcome of that test, I am now going to study a lot harder than I did, and my goal is to get an A on the next test. We also talked about the extra credit opportunity which I think is a great idea, and I am going to participate in the donating money, but I still have to check with my parents. It helps a great cause, and it can help my grade, and I need it.

Comparing Countries

Today in class, we visited a website called www.ifitweremyhome.com, and we compared three different countries to the Unites States.
Jamaica:
1. Jamaica has 2,930,050 people, and it is ranked the 139th largest country in the world.
2. Jamaica was discovered by Christopher Columbus is 1494, and it was settled in the early 16th century.
3. Jamaica gained full independence in 1962 when it withdrew from the Federation.

France:
1. France has 66,259,012 people, and it is ranked the 21st largest country in the world by population.
2. It is one of the most modern countries in the world today, and it is a leader among European nations.
3. If I lived in France, I would make about 32.39% less money than I would in the United States.

Spain:
1. Spain has 47,737,941 people, and it is ranked the 28th largest country in the world by population.
2. If I lived in Spain, I would be 79.8% less likely to be in prison than I would living in the United States.
3. People in Spain live 1.91 years longer than the people in the United States.

Absent

Today I was not in class because I was home sick.

Test Prep

Today in class we talked about our test that is on Thursday. Mr. Shick said that this test will be a lot harder than the last one, so that means I have to study harder. I'm nervous for the test because I want to do well on it. As a review, we went back onto the World Fact Book and looked for more answers to the questions that Mr. Schick asked. I think the most difficult part of the test is going to be the 10 questions about the World Fact Book because we only have 10 minutes to do it, and sometimes it takes me awhile to find the answer. I think that if I study a lot, I'll do well on the test.

CIA.GOV

Today we looked at cia.gov again and answered more questions. We also looked at a powerpoint about what you need to not be considered impoverished. You need to have safe drinking water less than 15 minutes away from your house. You need to be able to eat food, the lowest BMI you can have before you're considered emaciated is 16. Every person must have a shelter with no clay, mud, or dirt floors, and there must be a bathroom near by. Everyone is to have access to newspapers, the radio, televisions, or phones. Each person is to be educated whether it is at an actual school or homeschooled. (There are more requirements but I forgot my notebook and this was all I could remember.) I think that all these are necessities, and if you don't have them, then you are considered impoverished.

The World Fact Book

Today in class, we spent the whole time finding the answers to Mr. Schick's questions in the website. The CIA website was actually pretty cool and had a lot of interesting facts. One thing that I learned from the website is that the U.S was ranked second in the crude oil rate. It amazes me that we can produce that much oil everyday. Another interesting thing that we learned was that our population was 321,368,864 people. I won't even meet a quarter of these people. The World Fact Book is such an interesting sight, and I think we should continue to use it in Human Geography.

Migration

Today in class we looked at a powerpoint about the net immigration rate and the total fertility rate. Net immigration is the difference between the number of persons leaving and entering a country during a year. Immigration is an excess of persons entering the country. Emigration is an excess of persons leaving the country. Emigration is written in negative numbers, but immigration is written in positive numbers. The total fertility rate is the average number of children born per women. For a population to remain the same, the TFR must be 2.1 If it's higher than 2.1, then the population rises. But it it's lower than 2.1, the population falls. The world TFR is 2.42. The U.S TFR is 2.01, and it was 2.06 last year.

Powerpoint

In class, we looked at the power point from last week. I learned that life expectancy is the average number of years to be lived by a group of people born in the same year. The highest in the world is Monaco with 89.52 total. That's 85.63 men and 93.58 women. I honestly would not want to live to be that old. U.S is the 42nd country in the world. It has a total of 79.68 years. For men, the expectancy is 77.32 years and for women the expectancy is 81.97 years. The lowest in the world is Chad, Africa. The total is 49.81. For men, it's 48.64 years and for women, it's 51.03 years. I wouldn't want to die that young either. We also had a little discussion about the shooting in Oregon last week. Like I said in my last blog, that's extremely sad and people are sick. I think it's crazy that there are a lot of mass shootings going on because you never know, it could be your school that it happens to.

Gun Control

Today, we talked about the school shooting in Oregon. I think its extremely sad that 10 people lost their life, and 20 people were injured because of one crazy person. We talked about whether there should be a longer process to buy a gun, such as a physciatric tests. We also discovered that you can buy guns on Amazon. I think that is crazy because anyone could buy one on there, even kids. Mr. Schick showed us a graph about the death by firearms including a bunch of countries, and U.S was 20 times higher than any other country. Personally, I don't think that mass shooting always have to do with being mentally ill. I think they could result from being bullied or harassed. People might not realize it, but if you bully someone, who knows, maybe they'll come in to school the next day with a weapon intending to hurt someone. I always see this question and it really makes me think. What is more deadly: a gun or a thought? A gun gives you the chance to kill someone, but a thought makes you pull the trigger.  

Pros and Cons of Globalization

Today in class, we discussed the pros and cons of globalization. One pro is that globalization is the logical "natural" expression of modern international capitalism. The con is the globalization is a policy promotes by core counties; it results in equities between "haves" and "have nots". Another pro is that new wealth will "trickle down" from rich to poor (countries and individuals). The con is that it is not just working; in the last 20 years, rich countries have grown richer, while poor countries have become more impoverished. A pro is that globalization will spread benefits of new ides and technologies. A con is that it promotes free-market, export-oriented economies at the expense of localized, sustainable economies. A fourth pro is that the world's poor countries will catch up to the rich ones. A fourth con is that it's not fair: the richest 20% of world's people consume 86% of the world's resources. The final pro is that each country can produce the goods for which it is best suited. The last con is that the whole economic system is very unstable, too easy for a crisis to escalate. We also looked at a powerpoint on population and settlement. I learned that there are over 7 billion people on the planet right now. It increases by over 73 million per year. (0% of this population growth takes place in the developing countries of Africa, South America, East Asia, and Latin America. It amazes me that there are that many people on this earth and I will not even meet 1/16 of them.

Test Review

Today in class, we looked over our test as a class. I was satisfied with my grade, but I wish I did a little better. We took a lot of time to discuss the written portions of the test. The question that a couple people were confused about was when we had to give our personal opinion on what we thought Socrates' quote meant. I think people were confused because the question was unclear. Mr. Schick wanted us to give our personal opinion of the quote based off of the facts we were taught about Socrates. When I hear the words, "give you personal opinion," my opinion is based off of what I think along with the facts of Socrates. I think what most people did is they put their opinion of the quote as if they had no idea who Socrates was. If I was given that quote, but had no idea who said it or anything about them, I would have put a different answer than what I did when I knew it had to do with Socrates. Though it was a good debate between the teacher and the students, I just wanted to move on with the review of the test. Other than that question, I think most people were satisfied with their grade.

Nike

Today in class, we went into further detail about the Nike video. We talked about how Nike's net worth is so much, 86.2 billion to be exact, that they should at least pay the Indonesian workers a little more so they can live with more than a 9x9 cement house, and one or two items a day. We also said that if Nike can't pay their factory workers a decent amount, they should pay for school so the children can get an education and maybe find a better job than working in a sweatshop. I found out that Nike is 86 times bigger than Under Armor which amazes me because I think they are both pretty popular. Mr. Schick told us about how Walmart locks their workers inside so they can't take breaks, and I think that is ridiculous because what if there is an emergency? If there is a fire, like the Triangle building, then all the workers would most likely die, and it would be Walmart's fault. It amazes me how stupid some people can be.

Behind the Swoosh

Today in class, we watched a video called Behind the Swoosh and it talked about the sweatshops in Indonesia. Nike is the largest sportswear in the world, but little people know what really goes on in the factories. The workers get paid $1.25 a day, barely enough to buy the basic necessities. Each family lives in a 9x9 cement box, and in some houses there are 4 or more people living there. The bathrooms are shared by 5-10 families. Jim, the main guy in the video, lost 25 lbs. from living how the factory workers live. His partner got extremely sick with a 104 degree fever. The workers usually work over time just so they can have enough to get by. They can't afford education for their kids, so they don't go to school. Every worker for Nike sweatshops struggle with fear of being beaten, stripped of their belongings, or even death. Watching this video made me realize how lucky I am with the things that I own, and it made me realize that I should be grateful for the stuff I do have, rather than complain about the stuff I don't have. It is extremely depressing to see these people living like this, and it makes me want to help them. This video gave me an idea of how factories are. Though not all factories are like this, I can guarantee that a lot of them are.

Globalization part 3

Today in class, we talked about globalization again. We looked at the last few pictures and talked a little bit about it, then we switched topics multiple times. At the beginning of class, we talked about the speech and debate team. Then a few students and I found animal crackers and ate them, but then we got to talking about serious stuff. We watched a video about Muslims and how they are stereotyped when they shouldn't be. I will admit when I see them in the airport, I get a weird feeling just because of what people make them seem like. Not all of them are bad, but they are all perceived to be terrorists. We got into talking about 9/11 which really interests me because I don't know much about it since I was only a baby when it happened. Overall, we learned that we can't stereotype all Muslims because of what a couple of them did.

Globalization part 2

Today in class we talked about globalization again. We went over the pictures as a class and when we looked at the picture of the KFC and McDonald's, we talked about the employees that work there and how they don't make as much money as someone who works in a more professional place. We also talked about how people in tribes in Kenya are becoming more like the modern world by using cell phones which confused me because if they live in huts and on farms with their tribes, then who else do they need to contact? And lastly, we heard Maureen sing Amazing Grace, I'm not quite sure why she had to sing it though.

Globalization

Globalization is the connection of different parts of the world. It results in the expansion of international, cultural, economic, and political activities. It has a very long history. The conquer of Alexander the Great came from the globalization of the Greek culture. The silk road is a trade route between China and the Mediterranean Sea, and it promoted the exchange of ideas and knowledge.
I also learned that globalization was accelerated in the nineteenth century with the Industrial Revolution, as mechanical mills and factories became more common. If we didn't have globalization, all the different countries would not be so connected.

Did You Know?

Today in class, we watched a video that informed us about all these interesting facts of 2012. One of the facts that amazed me was that India had more honors kids than America has kids. 25% of India's kids have extremely high IQ's, making them honor students. Another fact that I did not know of was that China would soon become the number one English speaking country. I find that hard to believe since in America, most people speak English as their first language. But if you think about it, there are a lot of immigrants in America who might not be as fluent in English as others, while over in China, the students learn how to speak English each day. The last fact that I thought was interesting was that 1 out of 8 marriages were people who met online. I think that is interesting because most people that meet over the internet either don't know each other as well as people who know each other from meeting in person. There were so many other interesting facts from this video in 2012, but I would love to see these statistics today, in 2015.

Test Day

Today, we took our first test. In my opinion, the test was easy, but I should have studied a little harder. There was one question that I could not think of the answer, but once I turned in my test, the answer hit me. The one question that I could not think of the answer to, was the two crimes that Socrates committed. After turning in the test, I remembered that he was arrested for causing corruption in Athens, and for impiety, which is not believing in God. I think if the tests are all like the one we took today, I will have a great grade in human geography.

Arete

Today in class, we learned that arête means excellence of any kind, moral virtues, and most importantly the act of living up to full potential. Arete comes from the ancient Greeks. It involves all of the abilities and potentialities available to humans. We also learned that the highest human potential is knowledge. We also learned some words and had to look up their meanings. The words are: agora, polis, the importance of 508 BC, Socrates, the death of Socrates, the Socratic method, and the meaning of the term idiot when ancient Greeks used it.

• agora- a public open space used for assemblies and markets
• polis- a city state in Greece, especially as considered in its ideal form for philosophical purposes
• importance of 508 BC- Athenian democracy in the city of Athens is established under Cleisethenes following the tyranny of Hippias
• Socrates- an ancient Greek philosopher who was the teacher of Plato
• the death of Socrates- Hemlock poisoning & forced suicide
• the Socratic method- a form of inquiry and discussion between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas
• idiot (ancient Greek meaning)- a private person

PowerPoint Notes

Today in class, we took notes from a power point regarding the essay, A Message to Garcia. In the power point, I read that this essay is an inspirational essay published in March, 1899. It was reprinted as a pamphlet and book. The book sold over 40 millions copies and it was printed in 37 different languages. The essay was later made into a movie, twice; once in 1916, and again in 1936. "Take a message to Garcia" became a popular slang expression meaning taking initiative. This term is still used in the military. In the essay, it was set during the Spanish-American war. Garcia was a revolutionary seeking Cuban independence from Spain. Rowan was an army officer from West Point, class of 1881. McKinley was the 25th president, from 1897-1901. He was assassinated six months into his second term as president by an anarchist. The mountain Denali was named after president McKinley, but as of last week, the mountain is called Denali again. I also learned what the words perihelion, slipshod, imbecility, stenographer, and missive meant. At the end of the power point, I copied down a quote from Elbert Hubbard. He said, "The world bestows its big prizes, both money and honors, but for one thing. And that is initiative. What is initiative? I'll tell you: it is doing the right thing without being told."

Action Plan

Going from middle school to high school was a big change for me. In my freshman year, I hope to make tons of new friends. I can be shy when it comes to new people, but with some people, we click automatically. A second thing I hope to do is advance my lacrosse skills. I hope to tryout all four years at John Carroll. Everyone says they want to get good grades, and I do, but I've had straight A's all 3 years of middle school, so I'm going to try extra hard in my classes to keep straight A's. My fourth idea for high school is to do things on my own. In middle school, there was a lot of assistance. Though I didn't always need it, there were times that I was very lost. At John Carroll, I hope to become very independent and do everything for myself. My final thing I hope to accomplish at JC is to graduate as a well-educated student. I want to finish my four years of high school with 10x the amount of friends I started with, a good education, and the opportunity to say that I was a patriot.

Work and Social Life

Today in class, we talked about the essay from yesterday. Some of the students brought up great points about how most employees are lazy and value their income more than getting their work done. I think that statement is half true. A lot of workers actually work hard for their income, but others are lazy. For instance, I was at the Verizon store and the employee was extremely rude and lazy when we asked questions. When we went back another day, we had a worker who was extremely helpful. It shows who is lazy and who isn't. Another point that was brought up in class was that adults think kids are antisocial except for using social media. They claim teens are always on their phones, which is partly true, but that doesn't mean we are being antisocial. A lot of my friends are people I met through social media. In my opinion, adults only think teens are antisocial because a lot of things have changed since their time as teens.

A Message to Garcia

In my opinion, A Message to Garcia was very confusing. There were a lot of words that I didn't know such as, perihelion, endeavored, imbecility, stenographer, and a few more. I looked up these words and found out that perihelion means the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which is closest to the sun. Endeavored means to try hard to do or achieve something. Imbecility means an instance or point of weakness; feebleness; incapability. It could also mean stupidity; silliness; absurdity. And finally, stenographer means a person who specializes in taking dictation in shorthand. After looking up these definitions, the message made a little more sense. I think Hubbard was trying to say that the President needed to find someone very reliable and trustworthy to deliver this message.

First day at John Carroll

My first day at John Carroll was both exciting and nerve-wracking. I was excited because I was tired of middle school and ready to start new things.  I was really looking forward to meeting new people and having new teachers. I was extremely nervous because John Carroll is so much bigger than my middle school, and I felt like I was going to get lost. Luckily, I have my older brother at the school to help me if I need it, and I know a bunch of upperclassmen. The thing I like best about John Carroll is the off mods. They gave me a great opportunity to get some homework done, socialize with friends, and visit teachers if I need it. I'm very excited to spend my next four years at John Carroll.