The Lost Boys

           Today in Human-Geo class we finished watching the movie about The Lost Boys. In this movie the Lost Boys got a chance of having a better life in America. They got help from organizations like the UN to get them to America. When they finally got there they had three months to get jobs and repay the government for the plane tickets and for supporting them for three months. John was placed in Syracuse, New York and Panther and Daniel were placed in Pittsburg. Two of these three boys went to get a college education along the way to get better jobs. When they finally finished college John became the secretary for the Lost Boys. This meant he would have to give motivational speaking and help spread the word of the suffering in Sudan. I am glad to see how far these boys have come from being starved little boys in Sudan to business class men in America spreading the word of their fellow brothers. 

A Better World

Today in class we learned about the Lost Boys in a video called God Grew Tired of Us. In this video we learned about the hardships of three of the lost boys. Their names were Panther, Daniel, and John. They were forced to flee their country in the 80’s to evade the Sudan Civil War. They don’t know where their families since they’ve been separated for so long. I thought it was very sad what happened to them. Although I was happy to see that in their refugee camp they at least had some food and got an education. We later watched them leave their country and camp for the US. They were finally going to see how life was like outside of Africa. None of them had even used electricity or even used a fork. So I thought that it was a great thing to give them a better life in America.

First Quiz

            Today during Human Geography class we got back our tests we took last time we were there. When I heard he had already graded our first test I was very nervous. I didn’t know how well I did. I was glad when I saw my grade, because I was thinking of everything I could’ve gotten wrong. When we all the tests had finally been handed out I realized how incredibly lucky I had gotten on some parts of the test. On many parts of it I had to take a guess, because I hadn’t known all the facts about the individual countries. If I learned anything about my first test is to study hard and go over anything you learned. I just hope next time I can be more prepared for any tests or quizzes. At least this time I did a great job at my first quiz!

 

Sudan Civil War

            The second Sudanese Civil War lasted from 1983 to 2005, or about 22 years! When the war escalated over two million people died by famine and disease as a result. Some of these diseases were malaria and other such diseases carried in water and in insects. Meanwhile the famine was caused by the slaughtering of animals and killing of many other civilians. When there wasn’t enough food to feed the growing armies of both sides the civilians were left to starve. Most of their food was stolen from them and they died themselves. Another affect of the war was that over four million people were forced to flee their native country and birthplace, Sudan. More civilians died in this war than in any other war except WWII. This civil war left many displaced and even more scared for life with the losses and endurances hey went through. This was a horrible thing to happen and yet countries have wars like this almost every decade.

Get It Done

           In class on Friday we finally got to present our project to the class. My group and I worked on collecting facts about the United States of America. When we presented we also had to answer questions Mr. Schick gave us on the spot. I believe since we had one more day than the rest of the class we had the advantage of time. We had more of a chance to prepare our project and see what was going to happen when we presented our project. I think we did a great job on our project. When it was our turn, there were very few things we missed about our country. Mr. Schick did allow us however to use the CIA Factbook during our presentation, so that when he asked a question to us we could answer it correctly and quickly. I think this project was a good idea; it both helped us prepare for our test and helped us learn a little bit more about different countries.

Presentation Day

            Today in class we finished our country projects and presented them to Mr. Schick and the rest of the class. We watched three other groups present their projects today. One was Indonesia, another was Italy, and the last was a country in Africa. We learned many facts about each country, including their population, type of government, and even the emigration to immigration rate. I found the death rate over the birth rate interesting for most of the countries. Although my group had our presentation ready, we did not have time in class to do our presentation. So instead of doing ours today we got to watch everyone else’s. I hope we do a great job on our presentation since we did technically have a day longer to do it than the other groups. I just hope I we have all the information we need about our country, if not, we’re in trouble…

Country Presentation

      Today in class we formed groups and started a PowerPoint presentation. We started this after we did our unit about facts from the CIA Factbook. This is where we learned all sorts of information about countries all over the globe. For my groups project we were assigned the United States of America and each of us found different facts about it. In our groups we each assigned each other a topic for our country. There was communication, government, population, and even economy. My group assigned me to research the government portion of our presentation. Using the CIA Factbook I listed all sorts of facts about our government. Like our nation’s symbol, which is the Bald Eagle or when The Declaration of Independence was signed, which was in 1776.  By using the CIA Factbook we learned a lot about our countries and how they were doing in today/’s environment, but then again there’s still a lot to learn.

The World Moves Fast

            Today in class we talked about population and how fast the world moves and its population. Like the fact that today there are seven billion people alive and that number is still climbing. We also talked about the average life expectancy for people in our country and others. It seems the lowest life expectancy for people is in countries around Africa like Chad. We also discussed crude birth rate which is the number of births per one thousand of the population, and crude death rate which is the number of deaths per one thousand of the population. Near the end of class we also talked about push and pull factors of different countries. The push forces for someone to want to leave their country are: civil war, environmental degradation, unemployment, and religious or ethnic persecution. And some of the pull forces to bring people to the USA and Canada are: better economic opportunity, better health services, religious freedom, and political freedom. These are just a few things that can affect our world greatly today.

Back Into Blogging

            Today in class I found that some our blogs came back up after yesterday’s drama. Luckily I was one of those people that got their blog back. Although some people in both classes situation hadn’t changed. Their blogs were still down today. I only realized that my blog was back up, when early in the class I checked just out of curiosity. That’s when I posted the blog I made yesterday. We also went over the video we watched for homework. This was a video called “Did You Know?”. This video showed a list of facts about the world. It also explains how fast our world moves and changes. Mr. Schick also told us about how back in his time he used one of the earliest versions of a cell phone. He also said he never knew it could get any better than how it already was. Right now I don’t see how much better technology can get, but then again I can’t see the future.

Website Down!

           Today in class I found that my blogs were removed from blogger. I also found that I wasn’t the only one to lose my blog. Just about half of the whole had the same problem as me. So today I had to sit next to one of my classmates whose blog wasn’t taken down so we could listen to the questions and answers for last night’s homework. We also went into deeper detail about the questions and our answers. Such as going back onto the CIA Factbook and finding more information on countries. I am very surprised though why our blogs would be down in the first place. Could it just be a coincidence that just before it was taken down for “spam” we used the CIA Factbook to get information for our homework? I will have my suspicions from now on, but I’m still really upset this all happened.

Overview

            Today in class we went over the homework we had yesterday. That homework was twenty-five questions about the world while using the CIA Factbook. We went over who was the leading exporter, importer, and so on. We also talked about how we were running out of fuel and other important supplies quickly. I learned that we were also hated by some countries because we choose not to buy oil from them. I also learned about GDP and percentages of people who are out of work. The USA is also the main importer in the world. As well as importing I learned we do other things. We are the third in the world for cell phone usage just behind China for one, or how we consume the most oil and how we have the most airports in the world. I discovered many things from the CIA Factbook. I’m sure it’ll make a great research engine.

The CIA Factbook

1. What is the population of the United States?

The population of the USA today is 313,847,465.

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

The five largest countries based on population are China, India, United States, Indonesia, and then Brazil.

3.            What is the population of Pakistan?

Pakistan has a population of 190,291,129.

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

The United States has a strongly democratic government..

5.            What is the unemployment rate in Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe has an unemployment rate of 95%.

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

The largest country in the world based on area is Russia.

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

Mexico has third largest amount of airports in the world.

8.            What country has the greatest number of exports?

China has the greatest amount of exports, which is $1,904,000,000,000.

9. What country exports more oil than any other?

Saudi Arabia exports the most oil of any country.

10. What country imports more oil than any other?

The United States imports the most oil of any country.

11. What country consumes more oil than any other?

The United States also consumes more oil than any other country.

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

Woman can serve in the Chinese military if they are between the ages 16-49.

13. What is GDP?

GDP means gross domestic product.

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

Liechtenstein has the highest GDP per capita at $141,100.

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

The US is just outside the top ten for GDP per capita at number eleven.

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

The countries with the highest birth rates can be found in Africa.

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

The 11 of the top 12 countries with the highest number of deaths from HV/AIDS can be found in Africa.

18. What other country is in the top ten?

India.

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

The US ranks number eighteen on the list.

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

The US is not #1 in number of cell phones. We’re third the first is China.

21. What percentage of the US is Roman Catholic?

23.9% of the US is Roman Catholic.

22. What percentage of Mexico is Roman Catholic?

76.5% of the Mexican population is Roman Catholic.

23. What is Net Migration Rate?

Net Migration Rate is the difference between immigration and emigration in a certain area during a specific time frame

24. Does the US have the highest Net Migration Rate in the world?

The US does not have the highest Net Migration Rate.

25. What is the current population of the entire planet?

The world has a population of 7,021,836,029.

We Had a Sub

Today in class there was a sub in for Mr. Schick. In class we looked at a list of websites given to us off Mr. Schick’s website/blog. We had to review these websites during class as well. When we reviewed them we had to say whether or not they were good primary resources for a research paper, and why they were what we said. I found several good websites to use for a research paper although some of them only had games or stories on them. Like the site www.pbs.com; or even the media sites. I said that I wouldn’t like to use a media site on my paper because the media has been known to lie about a lot of things and make other people look bad. The best ones were like the CIA factbook and other such websites. I’m glad I finished all my research so I didn’t have to do it for homework!

Knowing Where to Look....

   

I found that the CIA World Factbook was an appropriate site to use for a research paper. I feel it talked about the almost everything going on in our world today.

I did not find PBS.org to be a useful site either. It seemed to tell more about stories than facts.

Although I then stumbled across a site called, theforbiddenknowledge.com, which seemed like it would make an interesting research topic, because it talked of major money makers and media who work together to control our everyday lives.

I did not like nasa.gov however; it looked like it was made for games more than research in my opinion. It would’ve made for a very good primary research source.

I then found cnn.com, and although it did have lots of information I wouldn’t like to use it as a source, because the media is known to lie about many things and so are sites like, nytimes.com and foxnews.com.

Wikipedia is a very trusted and well known site in my opinion and I would trust to use it for my research, because of its vast information. But it is known by me that Wikipedia is not allowed to be used for research unless given prior permission.

And then there was schickhumangeo.blogspot.com….. It can be very useful to find things from homework to what we went over that day in class; but it doesn’t quite have all the information in the world that I might need. Then again though, it did lead me to all those other sites, so it can also be very useful for helping you research. Overall it can be a very useful site when you know what to look for!

STEM Scare

           Today in class I told everyone that I would not be able to stay with Mr. Schick in Human Geo due to the STEM program. Mr. Schick even had me send him an email saying, “Help me stay in your class while still going to STEM!” Mr. Schick even said he would make the entire class sign a petition to keep me with them. I was happy to see no one wanted to see me go. I was even happier that I got to find a way to stay in Human-Geo while still taking the STEM program. It turns out that when I was working out my schedule with my guidance counselor she thought I was in band. I’m very happy now that I got that worked out and found a way to change my schedule without dropping this class. Otherwise I wouldn’t be writing about what I did today. It’s a great feeling knowing I don’t have to leave!

 

Essay #3

            The first part of my five-point plan to graduate from John Carroll is to focus on academics. If I can keep my mind focused I can do anything. Whether it be finishing a project or getting an “A” on a hard test. To keep my focus I will also have to get rid of any distractions that could keep me away from focusing. Like facebook or twitter. Focus will be very important in my plan.

            The second part of my plan is to join extracurricular activities. My favorite thing to do is run, so I could see myself in track or even cross country. Not many people know I can be very athletic. When I was younger I also played baseball and soccer. I don’t just have to try out for sports though, I could also join clubs. This step is crucial in graduating and getting into a good college.

            Getting into the best classes I can is the third part of my plan. Preferably I’d like to be in as many honors classes as I can, so I can learn more and be smarter. It helps you get better jobs to I hear. I hope this part of my plan will pay out in the long run.

            The fourth part of my plan is being nice to others. If you are nice to one another, then you can make better and more friendships. It may also mean less bullying. It’s a good thing to include others and get passed their differences. You have to treat people how you would want to be treated otherwise they’ll treat you like you treat them.

            The final part of my plan is to follow the rules. If I can follow the rules I can stay out of trouble and ultimately graduate John Carroll with a clean record and while I am here, have a great time. I hope when I do graduate John Carroll I make lots of new friendships and help other students achieve what I am trying to achieve now. I hope to have lots of fun in the future.

Essay #2

            If Elbert Hubbard and Socrates traveled to the present I would imagine that they would be both amazed and surprised what were like today. I’d imagine Elbert would think that were the same as people were in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. We are always trying to get out of doing extra work or asking questions to waste time. We stall and even just don’t do it. Most people hate their jobs and would quit if they had a choice. Elbert would be lucky to find another modern Rowan as in his story. People aren’t very different from his time.                           

            Meanwhile Socrates might think that we still haven’t learned from him. Mainly because not everyone knows about Socrates, but maybe the people who do know about him might be able to show him that some of us do think for ourselves. That’s the main thing Socrates was trying to teach to the ancient Greeks.

            If these two men traveled to our time and saw how not many of us were changed by what they taught. They might even teach it again to people of modern time. Hopefully then we can change for the better.

Essay #1

            Arete is the Greek word meaning excellence or really good. The ancient Greeks demonstrated this quality by their knowledge and culture. They created democracy and an excellent form of government where everyone gets to vote on anything. They were also excellent because there was almost nothing they wouldn’t vote on. They would even discuss the price of olive oil together.

 And then there was also the ancient Greek scholar, Socrates. He was excellent because he got the people of ancient Greece and even people today to think for themselves. He also created the Socratic Method which we still use now. Socrates even died for what he stood up for even when he had friends who could save him. He seemed like someone who wanted to make a difference, if he wasn’t today may have been very different.  

The Greeks and Socrates were both excellent because they created such great things for society that we use even today. They were in short excellent people.

My First Week

            Today in class we reviewed everything we did over this week of school. This was our first week of school and as freshman. We talked about Elbert Hubbard and the Ancient Greeks once again to make sure we had all the information we needed on them. My favorite part of the review was of the great Greek scholar, Socrates. He was a very interesting man with great ideas and morals. We even used his method of teaching in class. He was the smartest man of his time if you asked me, not because of what he knew, but of what he learned about and shared with others. By the end of today’s class we reviewed everything we needed and had fun learning it. In this class you really have to use your head to find an answer to anything. I am just glad I can have fun both learning and thinking at the same time. Getting people to question things is the best way to learn in my opinion!