Today

   Today we had three shadows in our class. People finished labeling things on their maps. I finished it yesterday so I didn't have basically a free period. I was able to do homework and could study for my Bio test. Today I also learned I have a shadow tomorrow! I'm very excited to meet her, and she plays basketball which is awesome!!! I don't have Mr. Schick tomorrow so during my free period I am going to introduce her to him. Mr. Schick was very nice because he is going to let me come in the middle while he's teaching a class, I'm very grateful to have such a great teacher. Also, I'm very excited because tomorrow is a dress down day and I can't wait to wear my flannels and jeans! YAY! I think it's cool because it's not just a dress down day for students but also for teachers. I think that's really cool. But today was a pretty laid back day and tomorrow is going to be awesome. Can't wait!

Map Notes Part 3

• divided 360 by 24 time zones equals 15 degrees
• each 15 degrees band of longitude is assigned to a standard time zone
• international date line is at 180 degrees longitude
• point you move the clock back 24 hours if you are heading eastward to America, the opposite going westward

today we had three maps, each map was different and on each map, we had to find a list of things. The equator, prime meridian, identify all seven continents, identify all five oceans, international date line, tropic of cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, and find the places of our origins and JC. It felt forever but I was able to get it done. Carson let me use all her colored pens so my maps are very colorful :) Most of this is review for me, I learned it in like third grade and every year I reviewed it, yay, another ear of it. However, something I did learn this year was the international date line. I didn't know there was a line that showed that a change of the clocks.

Map Notes Part 2

• a map is a tool that provided how to get from point A and point B and what will be in you path(geographically)
• scientific method of transferring locations on earth's surface to a flat map is called projection
• four types of distortion
• shape of an area can be distorted
• distance between points may become increased or decreased
• relative size of different areas can be altered
• direction between points can be distorted
• geographic grid is a system of imaginary arcs drawn in a grid pattern on earth's surface
• meridians are arcs drawn between north and south poles, each is a number known as longitude
• parallel are arcs drawn parallel to the equator and are right angels to meridians, each number is known as latitude
• points on earth's surface can be communicated by referencing points of latitude and longitude intersection
• further accuracy can be achieved by dividing each degree into 60 minutes and minutes in 60 seconds
• earth as a sphere is divided into 360 of longitude
• GMT(Greenwich mean time) is located at the prime meridian

Too many maps

Today we watched a clip from a tv show West Wing. I was people who wanted a change in the maps kids are shown in school. They've been wrong all along and no one has known it. Things on Mercator's map have been leading us in the wrong direction. On Mercator's map, Greenland is almost half the size of Africa, when Greenland is really 13 times smaller than Africa. Now, this map was made by Europeans which follow Christianity, all the other places that follow this religion and bigger than they actually are on the map. They are trying to show that these places have more importance then the places don't don't follow the same religion they do. Another thing is basically everywhere is skinnier, we're not sure why this is but things are longer then they are in Mercator's map. Peter's Projection has shown us that there are some things people want you to believe and they'll do what they have to to make you believe it, don't believe everything you see.

Maps unit notes

key questions:

• how do geographers describe where things are?
• why is each point on earth unique?
• why are different places similar?
• why are some human actions not sustainable?

1.1.1: explains the differences between early maps and contemporary ones
1.1.2: describes the role of map scale and projections and making maps(cartography)
1.1.3: explain how latitude and longitude are used to locate points on earth's surface

• geography is the study of where things are found on the earth's surface and the reasons for the location
• two simple questions: where are people and activities found on earth? why are they found there?
• maps are flat scale models of the earth's surface
• cartography is the science of mapmaking
• two purposes: a tool to identify an object absolute and relative location, a tool to convey the distribution of human activities or physical features
• earliest maps were reference tools
• first world map prepared by Eratosthenes(279-194 BC)
• improvement to world map later made by Ptolemy
• advancements in cartography primarily made outside of Europe by Chinese and Islamic world
• mapmaking revived during the age of exploration and discovery

Excellence unit test

Today we took the unit test on excellence, I thought I did ok. I studied really hard, it’s my first unit test in this class so I wanted to do well. Now, I never feel 100% about a test so I walked out of class feeling anxious, wondering what I got. I mean I feel pretty good about the multiple choice. The essay question I'm proud of. However, the short answer questions I'm a bit iffy about. There are some questions I know I got right, but there was one question where I didn't even know what to put down. The question was asking things that had the same meaning as polis, and I couldn't remember what it meant and so I had no idea what to put down for the question, yay. However, there was a bonus question I knew I got right so hopefully, that will make up for it. Fingers crossed.

Test on excellence

Socrates "the unexamined life is not worth living"

Today Mr. Schick talked about our first test on excellence on Tuesday. There are going to be multiple choice questions and a short essay about Socrates quote. The test will be 100 points and will cover Elbert Hubbard, A message to Garcia, the ancient Greeks, Socrates, and the concept of excellence. I took good notes during class and I really hope I'm ready. I know A message to Garcia was published in March 1899, the setting was the Spanish-American war. Also, Garcia was a revolutionary Cuban, Rowan was the man who found him, and McKinley is the one who sent Rowan. Areté is living up to your full potential, and how democracy and excellence build off each other. I know that a big thing is that in 508 BC was the birth of democracy. Another thing is Socrates, who was a war hero and a brilliant mind, he was proved guilty for corrupting Athens’s youth and not believing in the gods of the state. He was sentenced to death by hemlock poison. But, even with all this information, if we're being honest, I have zero confidence, what so ever😅

Socrates notes

• Athens attracted brilliant thinker
• visitors from all over the world shared their knowledge
• this was often at odds with traditional teachings which centered around Greek gods
• Socrates was charged with two crimes, corruption of Athens youth, and impiety not believing in the gods of the state
• 279 people said Socrates was guilty and 221 said not guilty
• Socrates was sentenced to death by drinking poison hemlock
• Socrates had the opportunity to escape, but he refused to show his loyalty to Athenian democracy
• idiot in Athenian democracy was someone who is self-centered, only concerned about private affairs
• idiots were born, citizens were made through education
• declining to take part in public life was considered dishonorable

Notes on Excellence Part 2

• imbecility: stupidity, incapability
• stenographer: a person who takes dictation in shorthand, every single word
• missive: a letter, along or official one
• Areté, an ancient Greek word for excellence, the act of living to one's full potential
• Areté is all abilities and potentialities available to humans
• the highest hum potential is knowledge, all other human abilities are derived from us
• democracy and excellence build off each other
• agora: gathering place, assembly
• polis: political entities ruled by their bodies of citizens, big cities
• 508 BC was the birth of democracy
• Socrates: he fought in the Peloponnesian war, was a war hero, was a teacher, he asked a series of questions to determine their belifs and their knowledge, this led to the scientific theory

Notes on Excellence

• A message to Gracia was published in March 1899
• inspirational essay
• due to popularity, reprinted as a book and pamphlet
• sold over 40 million copies
• translating into 37 languages
• made into a movie, twice (1916, 1936)
• "take a message to Garcia" became a popular slang for taking initiative (used in the military)
• setting: Spanish-American War
• Gracia: revolutionary seeking Cuban independence from Spain
• Rowan: an army officer (west point, class of 1881)
• McKinley: 25th president (1897-1901), assassinated
• The tallest mountain in North America, Denali, we renamed Mckinley (until 2015)
• perihelion: the point when a planet is closest to the sun, at its brightest
• slipshod: careless, lackadaisical, remiss

A Message to Garcia

To me, A Message to Gracia was an inspirational essay. It talked about how people don't go looking for things that no one knows where they are and don't if they don't have enough information to find it. People don't just go and have an adventure anymore. People have become lazy and I agree with that 100%. A Message to Gracia actually helped me with my start of high school. I needed the inspiration to help me through this first week and I needed to know that we didn't always use to be so lazy and ask stupid questions. Now I know we used to and may, may still go out and just adventure to find what you're looking for. I'm ready to adventure out and find what I'm looking for here at John Carroll and I'm not willing to give up, just like Rowan did.

First Day as a JC Patriot

Today was my second day as a John Carroll patriot. So far I've enjoyed it! I've met very nice people that I've become good friends with. It was hard coming to a school where I didn't know anyone, but I was very happy to find people with the same interests as me. My teachers are very nice and are willing to help me which is something I did not have at my old school. I've even gone out for something I never thought I would do. To get involved I signed up for the newspaper when I did I was, well, desperate. However, after I did, I can't wait for it to start, I can't wait to see what I can do. Yeah, sure it's the first couple of days which mean, hi I'm your teacher, what your name, here's the rules, this is what we'll be doing this year. So school hasn't really got into motion yet but I feel ready for when it does. I have good feelings about the 2018-19 school year!!