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!