No Mr. Schick

Mrs. Stathes subbed for us today but we got still watched the movie.  In the begging we talked about what the movie was about and told Mrs. Stathes what happened.  That took about twenty minutes, and she told us to write some things down, so once she found the movie we put it in.  In the movie the three men are full U.S citizens and are on their own.  All of them have found jobs, but sadly Panther went missing one time and then was placed in a mental hospital.  But besides that John was going to college, realized his family is alive, dropped out and it working three jobs.  I forget where we ended but all we did Friday was take some notes and watch more of the movie.

More Movie

We watched more of the video about Sudan and its civil war.  We started at the part where Panther, Daniel and John Bul Doa got on the plane with others and left for America.  They took a small plane to I forget, and then a big plane to I forget also, then America.  It was kind of funny how they acted in the plane, especially since they didn’t know how to work electricity, what they should eat, and how to shut the bathroom door.  When they were served their food on the plane they didn’t know that the butter and mayonnaise go on things so they ate everything separately, EW.  They even thought that it tasted really bad.  When they got off the plane and had to use the escalators they had no idea what to expect and how to walk on it, so they were all anxious to get off.   When they were taken into their houses to show them around they had to be shown to use the electricity, toilets, refrigerators, soap, shower, etc.  When they were interviewed they all talked about how they really missed their family brothers back home and it’s hard for them to be happy when they know their family is not living the life they are.  Also they have to pay the government back for the air travel when they get their jobs in three months.

Cookies

When we walked into class we each got a cookie!  Apparently his advisory at 37 or so.  But, we got our tests back in class today.  If Mr. Schick rang the little bell on his cart, it means you got an "A", if not then, well, you got below a 90%.  I got a bell!  It was actually really funny at first because we all were like, "oohh", or eeehh" when someone didn't, but then, he told us to still be positive.  We reviewed the entire test and went over the answers.  It was HILARIOUS when Damon thought that the push and pull factors were about Canada, so he wrote down answers along the lines of "It is cold".  When we finished going over the test we watched some more of the movie, it took us a little while to get started, so we only watched about 15 minutes of it.  It was basically how the boys didn't want to leave, and they were unsure because they didn't know how to use electricity, what showers looked like, etc.  The boys they were leaving were like family, so it was difficult.  We basically did just that in class today.

First Test!

We had our first test today in Human Geography.  Surprisingly it was not hard, a lot easier than I thought so that was good! First thing we did though is go over the prayers and still there are several who just don't know it and others who just try and be funny my saying something else.  During a there is NO talking when anyone has a test on their desk, so when he put it on a desk everybody shut up.  After the test there a little time of waiting because some weren't finished with it.  When everybody finished with it we talked about what we were going to be doing with the second chapter.  From what he said it’s going to be about Sudan.  We watched a video about the war between South Sudan and North Sudan.  Before the war started everyone was doing well because there was rich soil, plenty of water, and animals to eat.  When they started fighting over the oil and religion, the Muslims just decided to wipe everyone out.  So what they did was everyone and lock children in houses and burn them down.  (Idiots)  The video we watched though was specifically about three boys and theirs stories to survive the war.  27,000 boys started out walking from Sudan to Ethiopia and when they finished the trek of over 1,000 miles, there were only 12,000 survivors.  The UN decided to set up refugee camps and taught the boys math, science and english.  Sadly though, there wasn't enough for the boys to learn for 10 years (how long the war lasted).  The United States agree to take some in so they could have new starts in America.  So the boy Daniel we were listening to is being sent to Pittsburgh with his friend.  That's about where we got to, and so then the bell rang and that was the end of class.

Presentations

In Friday's class we were told that he test was moved to Monday, thankfully.  This was because we weren't done with all the presentations.  Doori and her group went, Daniel's did too, but that's all of the people I can remember.  I believe Nigeria took the longest time, so USA had to rush through theirs, then the bell rang.  In our conversations, we played the song, "The Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga.  I think someone sang a line from it because everyone seemed to sing it too when Nick played it on his laptop.  Somewhere in between, we talked just a little bit about the test, and make sure to study.  Also, we talked about mid-quarters, and to make sure you get all of your late and current work in and updated before the end of to day.  (Which reminds me, this is late, lo siento).

Presentations

Our group was the first to present our country information to the class.  It was Italy and luckily for Italy, they are doing really well.  It is a developed country and they are gaining more immigrants, so they have much more pull factors.  Jake and I went up to the front of the room to present the slideshow.  Erin and Alex were at their seats and were finding more information that was helpful to the discussion.  Once we finished, Liam and Matt when up to present theirs .  Nigeria is a developing country and has a lot of problems.  They also have a high number a deaths and a high number a births.  It was actually a really good presentation.  The third group was Dori's and we got a little bit through the presentation when the bell rang, and that was the end of class.  (Their country is India)

Google Presentation

Today in class we got in groups and started working on our PowerPoint Presentations for tomorrow.

Powerpoint

We went over a PowerPoint that was supposed to be extremely boring.  Thankfully it was not as bad as he said it would be.  We took notes on a lot of rates and discussed why the population has been rising so drastically since 1960.  "Baby boom" was right after WWII and we won so the men came home and within a few years there were so many babies.  When Mr. Schick grew up most every kid in his family had 4 or 5 brothers/sisters.  Now its very few amount of people who have over 4.  Also, women live longer! For two reasons though: they have jobs that aren't as dangerous, and they are mostly inside.  We also talked about the TFR (Total Fertility Rate), which is 2.1.  If Mr. Schick were to ask anyone of his students in the hallway "What is the TFR" nine out of ten would automatically reply "2.1".  Besides that we just wrote down information in our note books.

Evacuation and Future

In Class Friday we didn't do much work, but we did go over the evacuation plan for the day and what we would be doing.  Everybody seemed to have questions, and sadly most of the questions were instances that would never happen or were odd.  That took up a good half of the class and then we got on the topic of how we liked the video and what we thought was the most interesting.  We got on the topics of internet dating and how creepy it is and also how technology will be considerably different when we are adults.  Maybe there would be a type of chip in you head and if you look at someone they would connect with the chip and hear what the want you to hear. Oh my God that would be the coolest thing if it were real right now.  Also that currently there is a computer/keyboard thing that is just a little black box and it shines a light on a flat surface for you to type.  I can only imagine how much they cost. :(

Wednesday's Class

We went over the last little bit of homework and had some discussions about that.  We somehow got on the topic of sex and Damon asked why people in sub-Africa have sex if they know they will get HIV/AIDS.  Mr. Schick did best he could by not getting into too much detail while still explaining that it was a human desire and sometimes our desire overpowers our common sense.  So, people are still getting pregnant even if they cannot afford the children.  Though, some crazy people think that if you have a bunch of kids its OK because some will die because of starvation, etc.  In a sane mind having one kid would be the smart choice.  After that we watched a video and when Mr. Schick tried to turn on the projector he said something along the lines of, "You're all going to see me fall off this stool and break my neck."  Anyway, that was funny because we all talked about how we would put it in our blog and not call for help (Not like we would actually do that)  The video was about technology and how everything has increased and what technology will be like in the future.  During that video he told us to find 2 facts that were interesting to us.  Mine are:

How China will soon be the number English speaking country in the world.  That is so weird seeing as their language is Chinese and ours is English.  Also that people are preparing students for jobs that don't exist and technologies that haven't been invented in order to solve problems that we don't know are problems yet.  How would they know how to prepare them, if no one knows what to prepare them for?

9/11

We first went over our homework which took up most of the class time.  Every question was talked about and discussed.  We also were given candy if he liked our choices for the most important ones.  But, like usual for our class, we got side tracked A LOT.  So, in between many of the homework questions we asked other questions.  From these discussions we learned that it was Mr. Schick's first year of teaching at John Carroll when the twin towers were struck.  One of his students asked him if it was the beginning of a WWIII.    At that time, nobody knew the answer.  Also that there was a study where 90% of all items in Wal-mart are made in China-China is the #1 exporting country in the world.  There was one discussion where the leader of Venezuela called Former President, George W. Bush a devil!  (Venezuela doesn't like us.)  For the whole class we basically talked over the blog questions.

CIA

We went to the CIA website and looked at how to get information on countries-reliable information.  First we just picked a country and looked through it.  This is what we did with several.  We also talked about how Somalia is a horrible place and Mr. Schick said, I quote, "I would rather be in North Korea than Somalia"  When we went to Pakistan we talked about how Osama Bin Laden was hiding there a few blocks away from the military base.  Also that we pay them one billion dollars a year and still they kept a secret like that from us.  But we still pay them the billion a year because otherwise worse, unimaginable things would happen (possibly a WWIII)  since they border India, whom they hate, and Afghanistan.  If there are high infant mortality rates then that means there is corruption and bad health care.  For the majority of the class we search around CIA and read information about certain countries.

Question for CIA

What is the population of the United States?

• 313,847,465 people in the United States

What are the five largest countries in the world, by population?

1. China 
2. India 
3. America
4. Indonesia
5. Brazil

What is the population of Pakistan?

• 190,291,129 people in Pakistan

What kind of government does the United States have?

• Constitution-based on federal republic; strong democratic tradition

What is the unemployment rate in Zimbabwe?

• 24.9% total

What is the largest country in the world by area?

• Russia

What has the third greatest number of airports?

• Mexico

What country has the greatest number of exports?

• China

What country exports more oil than any other?

• Saudi Arabia

What country imports more oil than any other?

• United States

What country consumes more oil than any other?

• China

Can women serve in combat roles in China?

• Yes

What is GDP?

• Gross Domestic Product-The value of all goods and services produced by a country in a given year.

What country has the most GDP per capita (per person), and how much is it?

• Liechtenstein, at $141,100 

Is the US in the top ten for the GDP per capita?

• No

Most countries with the highest birthrate can be found in what continent?

• Aftrica

What other country is in the top ten?

1. Niger
2. Uganda
3. Mali
4. Zambia
5. Burkina Faso
6. Ethiopia
7. Somalia
8. Burundi
9. Malawi
10. Republic of the Congo

Where does the US rank in HIV/AIDS deaths?

• Number 18

Is the US #1 in used of cellular phones?

• No

What percentage of the US is Roman Catholic?

• 23.9%

What percentage of Mexico is Roman Catholic?

• 76.5%

What is the Net Migration Rate?

• It is the difference of emigrates and immigrants of an area

Does the US have the highest Net Migration Rate in the World?

• No

What is the current population of the entire world?

• 7,021,836,029 people in the entire world.

I as an American citizen find "Which country consumes more oil than any other" and "The unemployment rate in countries" because oil is a limited product and society bases most of its needs on oil.  Also it does not get recycled and it destroys the oxygen we breath.  Unemployment rate is important because people without jobs do not get any money.  Money pays for food, clothes, shelter, etc.  Without these basic needs, you die. 

Notes about Notes

Grace and I were the first ones in Human Geography Class, but had to go to the bathroom, so after we set our books down, we used the bathrooms.  When we got back they were talking about who knows what because where just got there! Finally, the lesson started on taking notes.  The class had to take notes on how to take good, precise notes.  Because our class gets sidetracked easily we got onto the subject of college.  Why is college so expensive?  We concluded that it is because people think it is neccessary so they will pay the money to go.  Once we got back on track we wrote down what was being said:  A note is a fact fragment, not a sentence, a piece of information so when you come back to it you'll still know what you were talking about and can gather as much as you can.  Like every class, we talked about the effects of plagiarism.  Also we briefly looked at an article about 125 Harvard kids possibly being expelled because of cheating on a exam.  Then, we did a practice round of taking notes on a paragraph about Illinois.  Some people were confused and didn't catch anything of the paragraph, but others read theirs aloud.  Once we were finished reading class basically ended and we left.

Websites?

Today in Human Geography, Mr. Schick told us what websites are reliable and how to tell whether or not one is. We learned that he loves Wikipedia because it is constantly being updated. Also that if you click on the number after a sentence then it will take you to the source and the source will take you directly to the article they got it from. CIA- the World Factbook is another GREAT and reliable source. Also during class today we learned that ".gov" websites are always reliable (but Doori said that her father told her some people have learned how to fake ".gov", but who would want to take the time to do that anyway?!) After we looked through his list of websites we added The World Factbook to our blog page so we have a shortcut to it always. Mr. Schick told us that The New York Times News Paper has been around since the 1800s! Also, that all opinion articles are not good for research papers. That is basically all we did in class, and then the bell rang.

Essay #3

I can obtain excellence at John Carroll by using a five-step action plan. First step will be to not procrastinate on anything. I will try to do my homework and projects as soon as I can. Also not come home and watch TV and tell myself "I can just finish this show" or "I just want to check my notifications". I will also try to use my off mods for studying or getting homework done once I have eaten so I can have less to do after school. Secondly I can pay attention during class. It would benefit me greatly if I listen to all that is being said and take notes, this way I will be ready for future test, pop quizzes etc. Thirdly, it would help to have all my books and supplies, this way I will not have to worry about those minor thing deduction points from my grades. Fourth would be to stay active with my sports and social live as well as school. If I put off all but one, that can also keep my GPA lower than it could be. So I just need to find a way to balance all three of those. Lastly, I need to stay positive about what I'm doing. This will make it much easier to pay attention, and get through my studies. If I am not willing to get up, go to school, and learn, what the point of it? I need an education and I might as well use the chance I am given to learn.  If I follow these steps, I will be able to achieve success in high school.

 

Essay #2

If Elbert Hubbard and Socrates time-traveled to the current century today, I do not think they would be too happy with the way people are today. Except Socrates would be happy to know how well his methods of question have turned out. It may also come as a surprise to Socrates to know that even to this day; people are still learning about Greece and the Socratic Method etc. Sadly, he would be disappointed to see that it only went so far and people have become lazy. Elbert Hubbard stated that humans are becoming lazy and they always try to do the least possible amount that they can. People have become too relaxed in what needs to be done, rather than what they want to do. Too much is relied on others. Even though Socrates and Elbert Hubbard would be disappointed, there would still be relief to know not everyone is like that. There are still people today that demonstrated arête and qualities of Rowan.

Essay #1

Arête is a being your own hero.  It is being able to achieve all that you can and knowing that you did your best.  Socrates demonstrated arête very well because during his time as a Greek philosopher he taught his students and young children new ways of thinking that would affect the world in so many ways.  During this time it was normal to listen and not question anything, just obey.  In some ways that may be good, but not when there are better ways to do things.  Questioning was wrong and rude, but Socrates did it anyway, he knew that it would be difficult but it did not stop him, because it was beneficial.  His methods of questioning repeatedly allowed people to open up their minds and think for themselves, he is considered a hero and a great achievement to Greece, and the whole world today.  Greece demonstrated arête because they were the first to stand up against their leaders and demand another form of government.  This took great courage to stand up to your country when no one has done it before.

Class on Friday

Today in Human Geography Class we went over the vocabulary words about ancient Greece, which are arête, Socrates-his death and way of teaching, the Socratic Method, what happened in 508 BC, agora, and what it meant to be called and idiot in Greece. Those who did not do them were to do them the next night. Mr. Schick announced that there were several people in all of his Human Geography classes that did not do the Greece vocabulary in their blog. He also said that somehow all of those students were in section one, our section. So we were to have them done that night.  We were explained the assignment that we are supposed to post to our blogger website by Monday.  Our class has the choice to do one of three essays and submit them to our blog website.  Our choices are about what the arête is and how the Greeks demonstrated this, what Elbert Hubbard and Socrates would think of the twenty-first century if they time traveled, or an opinion of how we can approach excellence at John Carroll.