A Leisurely Class

Today's class was a good one because we had a little leisurely class today. We just finished our maps that we started yesterday and we also got called up to Mr. Schick's desk where we got helpful suggestions from Mr. Schick. So today I just finished the last few things I needed to finish on my map and began my blog. It still feels really weird looking at the Peters Projection Map compared to The Mercator that I've had since I first started learning social studies back in third grade. But if it is accurate I can see why and totally agree that we should start putting them into schools because to me that one does seem accurate and the better one for the labeling we did yesterday and today. This is my favorite class just because we get to have fun discussions and we have a great teacher, but I also like learning about the world and the Greeks and Romans and all their mythology.

Time Zones

So today's class was much like yesterday's. We progressed some more in the Power Point on maps, where we continued talking and discussing longitude and latitude. but today we also learned about the different time zones such as the International Date Line time zone, Greenwich Mean Time, and the ones in the U.S. We continued to write notes in our notebook as we went through the map Power Point. We then proceeded to start labeling several maps that we received from Mr. Schick. We had to label the Prime Meridian, all seven continents, the five oceans, International Date Line time zone, the equator, the Tropic of Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn, the nation of our origin, and JC. We didn't finish the maps in class though considering we had a ten minute shorter of a period today. So today's period was short but we really got quite some things done while playing catch-up.

Maps

So in today's class we got back into actually learning some things instead of having those fun talks about conspiracies and how we were lied to. We began learning about the parts of maps such as latitude and longitude and the different types of scales used for maps. We also talked about how Antarctica looks massive on a flat map when it's not that big in real life, it's how things on the bottom look since it's a big circular continent. Both poles do this actually, and you can see that difference on the different types of maps how it's bigger on some and smaller on others but none of the maps will ever be exactly correct. We compared the size of Greenland to Africa on two maps we hadn't yet looked at so that was kinda cool to see two different looking maps. I thought the squiggly map was a pretty cool and unique way of drawing a map but I thought it was pretty creative.

Peters Projection Map

In the video from The West Wing we see cartographers proposing the Peters Projection Map to officials from the White House. They say that the Mercator Map should be taken out of schools since it is inaccurate whereas the Peters Projection Map is more accurate. One point they made is that the Mercator has fostered European imperialist attitudes for centuries and created an ethnic bias against a third world. A second point they made was how the Mercator map was designed in 1569 as a navigational tool for European sailors to use. A third point they made was how the map enlarges at the poles to create straight lines of geographic direction saying that the map makes it easier for sailors to use, but it distorts the size. A fourth point they made was how the Mercator distorts the sizes of continents and nations such as Greenland, Africa, Russia, Europe, South America, Alaska, and Australia. I do agree with these points and think they are valid since they backed up their presentation with good evidence and I see how much more accurate the Peters Projection Map seems.

Today's class was another interesting one and a great follow-up to yesterday's class. It was quite like yesterday's class except we got into talking about how crime is worsen Baltimore than in Chicago. Mr. Schick told us how he lived in Chicago and never once was faced with crime for half his life until he moved to Maryland. I remember him saying that his house got robbed when his daughter was being born at the hospital. We also discussed things about the maps again and we saw what other things we were lied about from the table of contents of a book Mr. Schick's brother give him. We also argued about conspiracy theories including the theory that Earth is flat and the moon landing is fake. I really did think today was way more interesting than yesterday's class and more exciting in my opinion. Definitely looking forward to the next class have o Monday.

We Were Lied To?

During today's class I felt as if I had been punched in the face because of a video we watched. Today was definitely one of our more...interesting classes if I do say so myself. Despite having a shadow within our room, it became one of the most interesting classes this year so far. I say so far because we still have like a hundred and sixty days left of school and a great human geo teacher who has been everything you want in a teacher. So today we began with writing down key issues from a power point and then on the board. So then Mr. Schick put on a clip from the TV show, The West Wing, on Netflix and watched that. Within this clip, three people are giving a presentation to a woman and a man about the maps that schools use. They claim they are wrong by pointing out that Greenland is nearly the size of Africa on the map, when in reality, Greenland is fourteen times smaller than Africa. They say that Germany is not where it should be and that Europe is bigger than it is in real life along with Alaska. So they are proposing to put a more accurate map into schools which shows these changes and what the continents actually look like. This caused the class to get dumbfounded along with the woman in the clip when they flipped the map upside down. We began getting into a big discussion on why the crap we haven't seen this map before if it's more accurate and why we had been lied to with the other map. Yeah today's class was a...very interesting one.

Test Day

Today we had a test on the things we learned about excellence. I found it quite easy, except for the one question about the man who assassinated McKinley on what his political belief was. Another harder question was the essay about the unexamined life not being worth living. Not that it was hard, but I felt that it was just hard to explain and go into detail without being too confusing or rambling too much. So with the essay question I really did try my best not to ramble and rant on about the same thing over and over again, I just tried to get straight to the point. Another question that gave me bit of trouble was the extra credit but it wasn't one I had to know so I just took my best guess at the question and hoped to be right in case I got another one wrong. So all in all the test was pretty easy.

Google Is The Best!

In class today, we were supposed to look back at the Power Point on excellence and give an "oral report" to help us study for the upcoming test on Monday, September seventeenth, but Mr. Schick's computer had other plans. So, since he couldn't get into his Google account, we had a discussion about any questions we had for the test, and about two people raised their hands to ask questions. As the discussion ended, Mr. Schick sat behind his desk still trying to log into his Google account before finally giving up. Other kids thought it was a good idea to whip out their computers and play a game, clearly forgetting if you were caught doing that in Mr. Schick's class, it was an automatic detention. The kid who was caught was only let off with a warning so he should feel lucky. And then after this, Mr. Schick allowed us to work on our blogs before we head out to the Opening Mass.

Socrates

In today's class we began with talking about Socrates' trial. He was charged with the two different crimes; the corruption of Athens' youth and impiety. We then went into what these two crimes meant: corruption of Athens' youth meant that he was damaging the minds of kids or abusing their minds, and impiety: not believing in the gods of state and telling others that or saying some other superior being or beings are out there. We talked about his defense in which he just disrespected Athens and was cocky about himself. The class then discussed what our votes would be if we lived then and what our votes would be now-a-days. For if we lived then, we unanimously voted for him to die (6-13) and for now-a-days we voted to keep hi alive (everyone voted for hi to stay alive). We then saw a portrait of Socrates' death which the jury had voted to kill him. Back then you were forced to drink poison hemlock which would shut down each of your organs and stuff one by one and hour or so later. He had apparently had a chance to escape but refused because this wash the democracy worked.

Excellence Part Two

In class today we continued with the Excellence Power Point from where we left off at last class. We started by learning some terms; agora, polis, the importance of 508 BC to the Greeks, and Socrates. Before we got into learning what these terms meant, we were showed an example of a working synergy. We learned the definitions of agora and polis and then had a really long discussion about 508 BC and how the Greeks had revolted against their rulers to form a democracy. Then we saw a liftoff countries that had also revolted over the past thousands of years, including the United States. Mr. Schick then began telling us how Iran used to be like our buddy-buddy of the Middle East until a revolt sent their former leader out and they didn't want to be in cahoots with us anymore since the former leader was. After he finished talking about that, we began learning about Socrates, where we are going to be picking back up tomorrow.

Excellence

On Monday, in Human Geography, we began talking about excellence. Within this discussion and Power Point, we learned more about A Message To Garcia and what affects it had on modern day life at the time. It was apparently so popular and inspirational, it had to be made into a movie...twice, and had to become a term used in the military. We also learned some of the weird vocab that was in the essay and what they meant; such as perihelion and slipshod. We talked about how this essay could relate to our lives and current situations. Then we started getting into the discussion about arete and how it referred to an excellence of any kind, moral virtue, the fulfillment of purpose or function, and the act of living up to one's full potential. We discussed arete and then got into a bit of the philosophical background of the term. And we talked about hotdogs are more absent minded than us since their brains aren't as well established as ours. And then class ended.

Elbert Hubbard Essay

A Message to Garcia adresses taking initiative because Rowan tooth initiative to take the message to Garcia and did not argue nor throw a fit nor ask a billion questions; he just simply did it. Another example in the essay is when Hubbard gives you a scene in which we are an office man giving an order to the clerks. We ask them to look in the encyclopedia and make a brief memorandum for us concerning the life of Corregio. And the clerk will ask at least one question about this task, instead of being like Rowan, who did not and accepted the task without any questions asked. This scene with the us as the office man and the clerks also includes the theme of incompetence because with them asking so many questions, it seems like they are unskilled for the task. This essay speaks to me as I begin my high school career because it shows me to take initiative and do my homework and study my notes and to always be prepared. It also shows me to be competent and always ready for upcoming events at school and tests and quizzes.

My First Day At JC

My first day at John Carroll was pretty good. I got see all of my wonderful and amazing teachers again from Thursday and see the smiling faces of the John Carroll students and faculty. They me feel at home and comfortable, like a really belonged here. During my first day, I also felt kinda sad that I was already a high schooler, though I may have wished that last year, but now I wish I wasn’t just asking for my life to progress so quickly. I was ready for this day for so long, to be out of St. Joe’s and into high school, but I feel like time is going too fast, but during today, I realized that no matter how fast time goes, I should be around happy and friendly people who care about each other, and as long as I’m positive and friendly along with them, my time here should be great.. So my first day at John Carroll gave me some mixed emotions, but I surely think that I’ll fit in with everyone and find a good group of friends and click with everyone.