Exam review

Today in Human Geography, the class reviewed the test. Mr. Schick basically told us the topics that will be on the test. According to the link on Mr. Schick's blog, the test topics are: Excellence, Thinking Geographically, Population, Migration, and Close Reading. The topic 'Excellence' will be on A letter to Garcia, Elbert Hubard, Socrates, and ancient Greeks. The next topic which is 'Thinking Geographically', will be on maps, cartography, time zones, and CIA World Factbook. The third section of the exam will be on 'Population', which is on population pyramids, crude birth rate, crude death rate, RNI, TFR, immigration/emigration, NMR, push forces, pull forces, developed nations, and developing nations. The fourth section of the exam will be on 'Migration' which is on demographic transition, Han's Rosling's video, and the Industrial Revolution. The last and final section of the exam will be on 'Close Reading' which includes reading an essay on the topic of immigration, and there will be 10 questions to test our comprehension of the essay. I really hope that I get the grade that I want on the exam, because I need to boost my grade for this subject. That is all we did today in class. 

Working on essays: Day 2

Today in Human Geography, Mr. Schick gave us more time to work on the essays. I had already started my essay yestreday and have completed most of it. I chose option B, to write about. On Mr. Schick's blog, we have to "consider our studies of immigration, push and pull forces, quotas, asylum, legal and illegal imigrants, civil rights and human rights, and the current state of our nation. Then, thoughtfully answer these questions: What are different ways in which United States immigration policy has evolved over the last 100 years? What are the positive and negative effects of these polices? What immigration policies would you recommened the U.S implement right now, and what would be the effects (both positive and negative) of your policies?" The most questions I have answered in the option was up to "What are the positive and negative effects of these policies?" That is mostly all we did today in class.

Working on essays!

Today in class, we worked on our essays. Since Mr. Schick wasn't present, so we had a substitute. Our substitute was the teacher Mrs. Gauthier, she instructed that we work quietly. I decided to complete my blog first, then work on the essay. The blog is due today by 12, and the essay is due by this friday at the beginning of class. Unfortunately, I haven't started the essay for the exam, because I have been working and studying for other subjects that were due sooner than the essay. I do hope to start it today and get most of it done. Mr. Schick just entered a grade for the migration test, and I really wish that I did better on it. I just really want to have at least a B by the end of the second quarter. I also hope that I can do some sort of test retake or correct the test for extra points.

Test day!

Today in class, we took the test on migration. Before this class had happened, I was really busy with studying for other tests and quizzes. Also I have been preparing for exams, and starting on the essay for Human Geography. I hope that I did well on that test, I studied for an hour on it. It seemed pretty easy to me and I knew most of the answers to the questions. The only part on the test that I had trouble with was the mathcing section of it. I have been really trying to boost my grade up to the grade that I want. I hope that this test won't bring me down a letter grade, hopefully my letter grade will either stay the same or go up. I will also work on the essay for the exam later today, at first, it seemed a little confusing, and still is, but hopefully I will eventually get that essay turned in on time. That is all we did today in class.

Notes on presentation

Today in class, we took more notes on the slide presentation. I will be blogging about my notes. Some of the topics in my notes were: 'Unauthorized Immigration' and 'Attitudes Toward Immigrants'. The first section of notes was on 'Unauthorized Immigration'. Mexico's border with the United States. View from the U.S recognized motives that compel unauthorized immigrants to enter illegally. Employment opportunities. Family reunification. Better way of life. View from Mexico is more complex. Residents of northern Mexico wish for compassion to be shown to unauthorized immigrants. Residents of southern Mexico are less tolerant because of number of unauthorized immigrants entering Mexico from Guatemala. The next and last section of notes is on 'Attitudes Toward Immigrants'. Immigration by U.S citizens are ambivalent in nature. Border patrol. They would like more effective border control, but they don't want to spend more money to solve the issue. Workplace. Most recognize that unauthorized immigrants take jobs from U.S citizens, but they understand most citizens couldn't take the jobs, so they support a path to U.S citizenship for these unauthorized immigrants. Civil rights. U.S citizens favor letting law enforcement officials stop and verify the legal status of anyone, but they fear civil rights will be infringed upon the U.S citizens as a result of racial profiling. Local initiatives. Polls suggest U.S citizens believe unauthorized immigration is a pressing matter to the nation, but it should only be dealt with at the federal level and not the local level. Many were opposed to Arizona's 2010 law that obligated foreigners to carry a proof of citizenship with them at ALL times. More than 100 countries across the nation support additional rights for unauthorized immigrants such as a movement is known as "Sanctuary City". Immigration concerns in Europe. Population growth in Europe is fueled by immigration from other regions of the world, a trend disliked by many Europeans. Biggest fear is that host country's culture will be lost, because immigrants: adhere to different religions, speak different languages, practice different food and other cultural habits. Hostility to immigrants has become a central plank of some political parties in many European countries. Immigrants blamed for crime, unemployment rates and high welfare costs. Europeans as emigrants. Inhospitable climate for immigrants in Europe is especially ironic. Europe was the source of most of the world's emigrants during the 19th century. Most Europeans fear losing their cultural heritage to that of new immigrants. Characteristics of migrants. Ravenstein noted: most long-distance migrants are male. Most long-distance migrants are adult individuals rather than families with children. Most long-distance migrants are young adults. 

Taking notes on slide presentation

Today in class, Mr. Schick had us take notes on the slide presentation. Some of the notes I took were on 'Controlling Migration', and 'Unauthorized Immigration'. The first set of notes was on 'Controlling Migration'. Countries have adopted selective immigration policies. Preference shown for specific employment placement and family reunification. Passing the Quota Act in 1921 and the National Orgins Act in 1924 by the U.S congress marked the end of unrestricted immigration to the U.S. More people seek admission to the U.S than is permitted by the quotas, thus preferences are shown toward: Family reunification, Skilled workers, and Diversity. The next topic of notes is on 'Unauthorized Immigration'. Unauthorized immigrants are those who enter a country without proper documents. Characteristics of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S are Source of a country, and Children. Years in the United States, duration of residency has increased for unauthorized immigrants. In 2010, 35% of adults had been in the U.S for at least 15 years. Labor Force. Approximatley 8 million unauthorized immigrants are employed in the U.S. Distribution. Texas and California have the largest number of unauthorized immigrants. That is mostly all I took notes on in class today.

Note taking

Today in class, Mr. Schick handed out a packet to each student in the class. We were given instructions to take notes on the packet and highlight the context that we thought was most important. The packet was called 'Why Do Migrants Face Challenges'? Here are some of the notes that I took. The first topic was named 'Government Immigration Policies'. The two reasons that most visas are granted are four sepcific employment placement and family reunification: The U.N. classifies countries according to four types of immigration policies- maintain the current level of immigration, increase the level, decrease the level, and no policy, similarly, emigration policies are identified by the same four classes. Accoring to the U.N, 21 countries seek more immigrants, 32 want fewer immigrants, 116 wishes to maintain the current level, and 25 don't have a policy. The U.N. considers 67 countries to have policies that encourage more highly skilled immigrants and 14 countries to be encouraging greater family unification. The U.N. found policies to increase emigration in 18 countries. Decrease emigration in 46 countries. Maintain the current level in 43 countries, and 88 with NO policy. The second topic was, 'Unauthorized Immigration'. People who enter without proper documents are called unauthorized immigrants. Unauthorized Immigrant- is the term preferred by academic oberservers, including the authoritative Pew Hispanic Center, as a neutral team. Undocumented Immigrant- the term preferred by some of the groups that advocate for more rights for these individuals. Illegal alien- is the term preferred by some of the groups that favor tougher restrictions and enforcement of immigration laws. Distribution- California and Texas have the largest numbers of unauthorized immigrants. Nevada has the highest percentage. That is all the notes that I took today in class. 

More debates!

Today, we didn't do much in class besides take more notes on the podcast. We also started a little bit of a debate in class as well. One topic that we chose to debate was on whether police forces should use tear gas during protests, in case they get out of control. Tear gas is gas that causes severe irritation to the eyes, chiefly used in riot control to force crowds to disperse. Now I was a little on the fence, about this topic because I think you shouldn't use tear gas in protests/riots because they don't need to fight violence with more violence. Another reason they shouldn't use this is because, this can possibly kill someone who may have breathing problems. On the other hand, I do think this is a good weapon to use in riots or protests because, it can easily get any people out of the infected area without much violence. That is basically all we did today in class, besides our blog.

Talking more about podcast

Today in class, we discussed a little bit more about the podcast and listened to more of it as well. Some notes that I recorded on the podcast was that just after 2009, the United States granted domestic violence as a type of asylum. Overtime, courts were granting people asylum because of sexuality, terrorism, etc. There was an increase of over 1700 percent in immigration! The U.S has taken people in (granted asylum) m for over 200 years! At one point in time, the United States only accepted 30 people a day, this was a very difficult time in U.S history to handle. People were probably very frustrated to have to wait the least of five weeks to a month to be granted asylum. That is mostly all we talked about today, I think Mr. Schick announced that he will be having a debate set up for us! I think that'll be a really fun expereince for the students to interact with. As long as you have important notes and facts about the topic, you will probably end up winning the debate. 

Debate class!

Today in class, we did something a little more unique than any of our other classes. Mr. Schick talked to us about how he used to be in a debate club. He also talked about some of the topics they discussed in the club, like if we should be spending money on exploring space or not. After the talk on debate, we listened to a podcast on helping other country's or states that may be in need due to racism. Some notes that I recorded was that we need to grant and asylum for people in need. During the Holocaust, there was no asylum for the people that were the victims of it, countries and states turned their backs on them. In 1951, the United States were discussing and agreeing something called "non reforman", to not return people to situations that may be dangerous. If someone or a population of a race are trying to flee racism, we should be responsible for their safety, acceptance, etc. People may be persecuted due to race, nationality, religion, political views, and or social groups. The persons or person that is being oppressed have to prove that your country and or state is doing this because of these reasons. Some units of people are accepted, while others are not.

Notes in context

Today in class, Mr. Schick gave us a packet on 'Migration'. He gave us this packet because, he wanted us to find the answers to the questions on the slide presentation. Mr. Schick selected people to stand up and read the answers out loud in front of the class. Besides that, students Robert and Dimitri drew a map on the white board to further explain the topic of this class to the students. Some of the key issues that we discussed today, that were in were where are the world's migrants distrbuted, and where people migrate within a country. The packet was quite long, so I had to make sure that I was underlining and or highlighting key notes. Finally, we only had five minutes left in class, so Mr. Schick decided that we could start our blogs if we wanted to. I chose not to because, I didn't want to rush on my blog and get a poor grade. That is mostly all we did in class as of today.

Taking notes in class!

Today in class, we recieved some graded assignements and took notes on a slide presentation. The key issues of the notes were: Where are migrants distributed? Where do people migrate within a country? Why do people migrate? And why do migrants face obstacles? The next section of the notes was on migration, mobility is most generalized term that refers to all types of movements. Journeying each day to work or school. Weekly visits to local shops, and annual trips to visit relatives who live in a different state. Short-term and repetitive acts of mobility are referred to as cirrculation. An example is, college students moving to college each fall and returning home each spring. A permanet move to a new location constitutes migration. Emmigration is migration from a location, on the other hand, immigration is migration to a location. The next section of notes is on distance. Ravenstein's laws for the distance that migrants typically move. Most migrants relocate a short distance and remian within the same country. Long-distance migrants to other countries head for major centers of economic activity. The next section of notes is on distance of migration. Migration can be divided into two categories: International migration which is voluntary or forced, and Internal migration which is interrgional or intraegional. The next section of notes is on International Migration Patterns. Approximately 9 percent of the world's people are international migrants. Global patterns refelct migration tendencies from developing countries to developed countries. These are called net-in-migration and net-out-migration. The last section of notes is on the United States Immigration Patterns. The U.S has more foregin-born residents than any other country: approximately 43 million as of 2010 growing by 1 million annually. There are three main eras of immigration in the United States: Colonial, Mass European, and Asian and Latin American.

Pop Quiz!

Today in class, Mr. Schick surprised us with a pop quiz. Everybody was pretty mad that we had one today, but it ended up being easy. When he handed out the pop quiz, and I as reviewed the questions, I had already known almost all of the answers to them. Plus, there were only ten questions on the quiz.We watched and took notes on a video that the quiz was based on. Overall, the pop quiz looked almost exactly like the notes that we were given in class, so if you had those answers correct, you would've gotten a good grade on the quiz. I hope that I did well on the pop quiz because I really need assignments to boost my grade in this class. Lastly, Mr. Schick showed us a video that I had talked about with him before, which I think is important for this class to see.

Video on Hans Rosling

Today in class, we watched and took notes on a video featuring Hans Rosling. This video was mostly about Global Health, Life Expectancy, Income, the poor and sick, and rich and healthy. We filled out some of the worksheet questions, which were only five. One question was- one of the videos we watched in class featured Hans Rosling, who teaches a college course. What is the name of this course?- Global Health. The second question was- Hans Rosling constructed a chart which has two seperate lines of axis. What did the X-axis (the horizontal axis) measure?- Income. The third question was- What did the Y-axis (the vertical axis) measure?- Life Expectancy. The fourth question was- What description did Hans Rosling give to the are that was in the lower, left-hand side of the chart?- Poor and sick. The fifth question was- What description did Hans Rosling give to the area that was in the upper, right-hand side of the chart?- Rich and healthy. Those were all of the five questions that we answered whilst watching the video. That is all we mostly did today in class.

We got our tests back!

Today in class, we really didn't do much besides get our tests back from Mr. Schick. As I've mentioned before, Mr. Schick has a funny yet unique way about giving out tests. If you got a hundred percent on the test, the teacher would ring the bell twice when he calls up your name. If you were to get a grade above 80% I think, you would get one ring. The good thing about this process is that in class 102 more people got at least one ring compared to the last test we took. Unfortunately, when Mr. Schick called me up to collect my test, I didn't get any rings at all. After this process, Mr. Schick went to call on each row to answer the question given. We spent the entirety of the class doing this, after class I spoke to Mr. Schick about my test grade, and asked if I could retake the test, which I can. I hope that I can bring me grade up by the end of this quarter with these tests and blogs. That is all we did for the duration of this class today!

New Unit!

Today we started a new unit following a slide presentation. The slide presentation that we took notes on was based on an A/P Human Geography textbook, so we only had to take some notes. The new chapter was called 'The Cultural Landscape'. The key issues of this topic were; where is the world's population distributed? Why is Global population increasing? Why does population growth may very among regions? And finally, why do some regions face health threats? For the topic "where is the world's population distributed"? The population concentrations of that are; 2/3 of the world's inhabitants are clustered in the following four regions: East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Europe. There are also site and situation of population clusters, low-lying areas with fertile soil and temperture climate, and also near an ocean or near a river with easy access. The second part or slide of that section is based on humans avoiding clustering in certain physical environments, such as dry lands, wet lands, cold lands, and high lands. Places that are considered too "harsh" for occupancy that have diminished over time. The next section was 'Population Density'. Density can be compared in up to three ways for a place. Number one, Arithmatic Density, with a computation that divides the population by the land area. Number two, Physiological Density, which is the number of people supported by a unit area of farmable land. The computation divides the population by the arable land area. Finally, there is Agricultural Density, which is the ratio of the number of farmers to amount of arable land. The computation for that divides the population of farmers by the arable land area. The last section of the unit that we covered today is, "why is global popualtion increasing"? This is because there is a Crude Birth Rate also known as a (CBR)- the total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in society. The second reason is because there is a Crude Death Rate also known as a (CDR)- the total number of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in society. These topics are components of population growth. This is all we covered today in class.

Test Day!

Today in class, we took the test using our computers. Before we started the test I was a little nervous because I didn't really know what to expect on a test like this. Then Mr. Schick handed out the test to everyone, as I quickly looked over the first section of the test, I realized that it was the part of the test where we could use our computers. But we only get permitted access to one website, which was 'The World Factbook'. This website had all twelve answers for this section. Unfortunately, I only finished I think nine questions in the allotted time. Some answers were harder to find than others, the website didn't just give you the answer. You had to search the country or place and look for the answer in the headings below. After that first section, the rest you were not allowed to use your computer. Overall, I think I did pretty well on this test, and I hope that I get the grade that I want.

Review for Test!

Today, in class we reviewed for our test that we are having this Thursday. This test will be a little different compared to the other test and or quizzes we have had in the past. Instead of a regular old-fashioned test, we are actually going to be able to use our computers this time. But we only get to use one website for the test, or it will be counted as cheating. The website we are only allowed to use is 'The World Factbook' or also known as cia.gov. The test will have questions like; "what is the death rate of a certain country"? Or "what is the population of this country"? I think that people are going to get a decent grade on the test, I hope that I will get at least a B+ or higher. Especially since it's a brand new quarter and I wanna get that A, that I've always wanted.

Population Pyramids Review!

Today, we really ddin't do much but explore on a website where you can serch up any country in the searchbar, and see what the population pyramid for that country is. As we went over before, the three types or shapes of population pyramids are the cup, christmas tree, and the box. We have also went over that the "christmas tree" country has a rapid growth with a big base. The "box" has a slow growth. And finally, the "cup" has a negative growth with a loss of population. Also, on the website you can see the year and population of men and women of that country. For example, the United States has a population of 326, 474, 013 people. The U.S also has a high percentage of mid fourty year olds to fourty-five year olds in the population of men and women. The population has actually increased greatly from 1950-2018. That is all we went over today in class, we basically reviewed what we learned from last week.

Population Pyramids!

Today, in class we talked mostly on Population Pyramids. Population Pyramids are geographical drawings that shows the distribution of many age groups in a population.The three types or basic shapes of pyramids are known as the box, the christmas tree, and the cup. The christmas tree is what is known as a "developing nation". The growth rates are slow, it may have a high birth rate, and a short life expectancy. Some examples are places like Namibia and Bangladesh. The box is also a devloped nation but has slow growth as well. It also may have low infant mortality, slow population growth, and a long life expectancy, compared to the christmas tree. Some examples are places like the United States and Sweden. Finally, the cup is a fully developed nation; with a negative growth. Which my have a low birth rate, shrinking population, and a long life expectancy like the box example. Lastly, we reviwed and looked over some examples of Population Pyramids, figuring out why people are dying slower in this country versus another, why people are living longer, etc. That pretty much sums up the discussion of class today.

Factbook Fun!

Today in class, we reviewed our blogs about Factbook. For our last blog, we had to type a paragraph about Factbook, a country, and how it connects to population and migration. Some of the students in the class volunteered to say something about their country that they chose. I chose the country Italy, and one interesting fact to me was that the entire country of Italy only has 98 airports! Then Mr. Schick announced that we had a test! I was pretty nervous even hearing that we had one because I didn't do so well on the last one.I think that he said that the test is 100 points, so I really hope that I do well on it. Also, the test will be placed sometime in the second quarter, I am not sure when though.  Last, Mr. Schick told us a story about him, back when he was making movies. He said that whilst he was creating a movie in Los Angeles, he went out onto the football field, and sung the National Anthem! Which I thought was pretty funny of him. At the end of the class, I discussed with Mr. Schick my grade, and I really want to boost it. I have worked so hard to get that passing grade, and I hope Mr. Schick is lenient enough to do so. That is mostly all we talked about in Human Geography today!

CIA World Factbook Research!

Today in class, we discovered and learned about the website 'Factbook'. Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. On this website you can search any country you perfer to learn about. For example, if I chose the country 'Italy', when you click on the title, the page shows the map of Italy and the over 153 photos of Italy. The page also shows an introduction of Italy, which is mostly about the orgin and birth of Italy. Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united  under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parlimentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy is a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC) and its subsequent successors the EC and the EU. It has been at the forefront of the European economic and polictical unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include sluggish economic growth, high youths and female unemployment,    organized crime, corruption, and economic disparities bewteen southern Italy and the more prosperous north. The geography of Italy, is that the location is in Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia. The coastline is 7,600 km. The population of Italy is 62, 137, 802 people, as of July 2017. Some common langauges there are Italian, German, French, and Slovene. The government of Italy is called the Italian Republic. The capital of Italy is Rome. The legal system there is a civil law system; judicial review of legislation under certain conditions in Constitutional Court. Italy has a total of 98 airports. Some other facts that I learned about Italy was that it's population growth rate is -0.1% which would be an annual change in 2017. The unemployment rate is 9.7% as of August 2018. The life expectancy is age 82.54 years as of 2016. Lastly, the fertility rate is 1.35 births per woman, as of 2016. Other interesting facts about Italy is that it is the fifth most populous country in the world, which I thought was interesting because I never really thought Italy had that many people living there. The capital of Rome is almost 3,000 years old! That is the overall status of Italy as of today.

Missed Class Due to Sports!

Today, I missed most of the class due to sports. I had an 'away' soccer game against McDonough. I only was present for ten minutes of the class, I didn't get any notes for that amount of time, so I will be emailing Mr. Schick. When I left class, I went to my locker to get all the supplies that I needed for each of the classes that I had homework in. Then, I went to the locker room to change into my soccer uniform. We took the bus to the school, in my opinion the school was huge compared to ours. It had much more tennis courts, and even had a rock climbing course, which I thought was crazy! Unfortunately, we had lost the game, the score was two to one. We were in the lead with one goal, then they tied us, and got lucky with one last goal to end the game. Lastly, some of the team took the bus home, others traveled by car. That is mostly what happened that day after Human Geography, I hope that I can get all the notes that I need for class!

Life Expectancy and Test Review!

Today in class, we reviewed the test that we had all took. But when Mr. Schick called your name up to get your test. He had a bell to ring, one rang would mean that you got a ninety percent on the test, and two rangs meant that you got one-hundred percent. Unfortunatley, I didn't get a rang added to my name because I got a lower grade than that. There were quite a few people in the class who got two rings, which was good. But I think only one girl in the entire class got two rangs. Instead of Mr. Schick just announcing the answers out loud for us to check. We went through each row of people, answering the questions, in order. As we went through the test, Mr. Schick was really disappointed to see that some people in the class, got the easy questions on the test wrong. After we finished reviewing the test, he said that the people who got a low grade can retake the test for extra points, but only before the quarter! Which I will be doing soon, and I hope that it helps my grade. Then, we took notes on one slide of the presentation. The slide was on 'Life Expectancy', which is the average number of years to be lived by a group of people born in the same year. One high life expactancy was in a place named Monaco. Which was 89.52 total: 85.63 men, 93.58 women. Then we looked at the U.S. Which was, 79.68 total: 77.32 men, 81.97 women. Last, was the life expactancy of Chad, which was, 49.81 total: 48.64 men, 51.03 women. Lastly, we talked about why women might live longer than men, which is probably because women actually cared about their health and wellness, more than men did. They also visited the hospital more frequently than men, because of female problems.

New Unit!

Today we discussed a new unit, which was about population and settlements. We went over a slideshow with the teacher. We also took notes about the population on Earth as of today. There are Over 7.5 billion people on the planet right now. It's increasing by over 73 million people per year. 90% of this population growth takes place in the developing countries of Africa, South and East Asia, and Latin America. We also saw a website online where you can see the amount of people that are on Earth as of now. You can also how many people die in a certain amount of time, and how many people are born. More people are being born than dying, which is a postive thing. I think the estimate was that every 12 seconds someone dies, and every 8 seconds someone is born. Then it showed the top 10 most populous countries in the world. Which are China, India, U.S, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, and Mexico. That is all we mostly talked about today in class. 

Test Day!

Today, we took the test. I felt pretty confident before taking the test, and other people told me that it was easy. Before the test started, Mr. Schick let us review our notes a little. Then he explained the directions of the bubble sheet and how to fill it out. We also had to write an 'honor code' which we wrote "I am a person of integrity." I thought that was strange, but as long as I'm signing the Honor Code somehow, I'm fine with it. Then, he finally passed out the test, I was a little nervous at first, I have to be honest. But when I reviewed the questions on the test, I knew the answer to most of them. I answered the questions I knew first, then went back to answer the ones I was unsure about. That's usually my method for taking tests. I only didn't know the answer to a couple, or at least I think I didn't. After the test, he let us start off our blogs, but I didn't start mine then, because someone was taking a little more longer than expected. Overall, I hope that I got at least a passing grade on that test.

Second Review Day

Today in class, we reviewed for the test on Friday again. We went over the second part of the test and other aspects of it. Dimitri was back from his abscence, we told him what he missed on that day. Then instead of a regular class, we played a game about the test. Dimitri set up two sections of the classroom, we had team names, and captains. The two captains were Jillian and Alexa. To play the game, the captains had to pick a player from their team, to go up and answer the question. Whoever wrote down the answer on the board first, won that round of the game. As we were going through the game, there were some questions that were hard to answer and understand. But, I think Dimitri picked some of the questions that weren't going to be on the test. Then we went back to Unit 1 and played from there. I'm pretty sure that we lost the game, but I still learned a lot anyway. I also learned that I need to study more, which I will do. Now, I feel okay still, about the test, but I still have some more studying to do.

Review Day

Today in class, we reviewed for the test on Friday, October 18th. The section on the test where we have to identify the time for another place besides Maryland, is the only part that I am really haveing trouble with. It would be nice if Mr. Schick would post information on how to do find the time of location. The rest of test review, was pretty simple, all we did in class today, was time of location. We also looked through our maps, which I think we can use for the test. I hope that I do a good job on the test because, I need to really boost my grade for Human Geography. I also, would apperciate if Mr. Schick would post a small, overall, review of the test on his blog page. Overall, I feel okay about this test, so far, but I think I will study more for the test.

Answers for Assignment on Monday!

Ancient Cartography: Eratosthenes was a Greek astronomer, geographer, and mathematician who lived from 276-194 B.C.

Time Zones:
Portland, Orgeon- 7:00 AM.
Greenwich, England- 3:00 PM.
Toronto, Ontario- 10:00 AM.
The South Pole- 3:00 PM.

Locations and place names:
List five toponyms that are named after physical features: 

• Bharat.
• Bolivia.
• Cambodia.
• Colombia.
• Cook Islands. 

 List five toponyms that are named after Native American places: 

• Philadelphia.
• Sante Fe, New Mexico.
• Providence, Rhode Island.
• Chicago. 
• New York City.

List five toponyms that are named after a person of prominence: 

• Abbot, Maine- John Abbot (treasurer of Bowdoin College).
• Abbott, Texas- Joseph Abbott (Texas politician). 
• Abernathy, Texas- Monroe Abernathy (one of the developers of the town).
• Abington, Massachusetts- Anne Venables Bertie, Countess of Abington, Cambridgeshire. 
• Ackerman, California- John Q. Ackerman (first postmaster). 

List five toponyms that have some religious affiliation: 

Sangre De Cristo mountains -- (Blood of Christ)

• San Francisco -- (St. Francis) 
• St. Paul (Minn.) 
• Bethlehem (Penn.) 
• St. Charles (M0.)
• San Jose (Cal.) -- (St. Joseph)

Latitude and Longitude: 

• Baltimore, Maryland- 39.2904 N, 76.6122 W.
• Quito, Ecuador- 0.1807 S, 78.4678 W.
• Taveuni, an island in Fiji- 16.8414 S, 179.9813 W. 
• Christchurch, New Zealand- 43.5321 S, 172.6362  E.
• Juneau, Alaska- 58.3019 N, 134.4197 W.  

Antipodes: 

• Geographic Antipode- In geography, the antipode of any spot on Earth is the point on Earth's surface diametrically opposite to it; the antipodes of a region similarly represent the area opposite it. 

Finding the Antipode locations: 

• Beijing, China- Departamento Conesa, RN, Argentina.
• Bermuda- Most likely the ocean.
• My house- Most likely the ocean.

Dimitri was the teacher for today!

Today, in class one of the students, Dimitri, taught us instead of Mr. Schick. I thought that this was a creative and yet humerous idea from you. I had a great time in class, because it was unique than any other class that we had so far! Also, I took a lot of notes that will postiveley affect me for studying for  the test. We took notes on 'Regions of Culture', culture is the body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people. Orgin of word, culture, is the Latin cultus, which means "to care for". It has two meanings: to care for, and to care about. Geographers study both definitions of culture. Culture: What people care about. Important cultural values derive from a group's language, religion, and ethnicity. Culture: What people take care of. The second element of culture of interest is production of material wealth, such as food, clothing, and shelter that humans need in order to survive and thrive. Also, we talked about why different places are similar. Scale, space, and connections help geographers explain why similarities among places and regions do not result from coincidence. Scale is the relationship between the portion of the Earth being studied and Earth as a whole. Globalization is a force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in space. That is all we talked about in class today.

Discussion on religions and culture

Today, we discussed more on religions and culture. We talked about ancient maps, the orgins of them (Eratosthenes, Ptolemy, Chinese, Islamic, Age of Exploration). Some types of ancient maps are (Mercator, Peters, Robinson). There are round globes v.s flat maps, problems with projection purposes. Navigation (getting from point A to B). Refrence tools (relative and absolute locations). Geographic chracteristics of places.Toponym, site, and situation. We also talked about map features, some of the features are the scale, latitude and longtitude, equator, Prime Meridian, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Degrees, minutes, and seconds. We talked about the GPS, which stands for the 'Global Positioning System'. We discussed what its good for, how it works, and the possible disadvantages. Lastly, we talked about regions, the cultural landscape, the types of regions (formal, functional, and vernacular). Overall, we got caught up on our notebooks and saw if we had everything up to date.

Missing class again

I missed class today due to being sick.

I missed class on Wednesday due to being sick

I am sad to inform you that I wasn't in class on Wednesday, due to being sick. I know that blogs are still due the night of class, but I really couldn't write my blog, because I was very tired, nauseaous, and dizzy. I hope that you understand what I am trying to tell you, and that you don't take points off for it. I started feeling sick about a couple days ago, but at first, it was just a fever, now it is worse, hopefully I should be back to school by Friday! I checked your blog recently for any information about homework, classwork, etc. I have to take my 'returned' test from you, and study from my mistakes I made on it. Apparently, we also have recieved new seats which I think is good, so that some of us can focus better in class, and achieve excellence! Again, I really hope that you don't take points off for not having my blog on time, like I said I was really sick.

New Maps!

Today we recieved new maps to fill out, but we didn't fill out the same essentials that we did last time. Some of the objectives that we had to fill out last time were the 'Prime Meridian', the 'Equator', and our 'Orgin of Place'. Instead, this time we need to fill out objectives like the 'John Carroll School', Chicago, San Francisco, London, Moscow, Berlin, Beijing, Seoul, Honolulu, and Aluja. We also had to find these objectives on three different 'Time Zone' maps, which were pretty easy to find. I think that we are turning the new maps as a grade though, instead for our reference. Although, I dislike doing these maps becausen I find it boring and dull. But I guess it is somewhat resourceful to us for studying for tests. We also took more notes on the slide that we are currently on. Some notes were on the 'GPS', which is a Global Postioning System. It accurately determines the precise postion of something on Earth. The 'GPS' includes three elements: Satellites, tracking stations to monitor and control satellites. A reciever that can locate at least four satellites, for figuring out its distance from one another. The applications of a 'GPS' are 'Tum-By-Tum' which is directions in vehicles. A navigation aid that pilots and ships captains. Provides location for social media applications. We talked about why each point on Earth is unique. A place is a specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular chracteristic. Describing the features of a place is an essential building block for geographers to explain similarities, differences, and changes, across the Earth. Geographers describe a features place on Earth by identifying its location, the position that something occupies on Earths surface. I hope that we get to learn more about other things besides maps, and study more of the history side of 'Human Geography'.

Catch-Up Day!

Today in class, we got caught up on all the work that we needed to complete, including blogs. I am actually pretty contempt that our teacher is allowing us to do our blogs in class, and other homework that we need to do! We don't really have much to do besides our blogs and maps. I hope that we get to do more homework in this class more often, even though I know we need to be educated in this class. I also hope that we discuss something else other than maps, because it was a little boring, I hope we learn more about the history side of Human Geography! Today in class I will be working a little on Algebra maybe and possibly English. Our teacher really wanted us to be quiet because he wanted us to work hard and concentrate on our blogs.Which I think is good, because the class can get very noisy sometimes, but I also don't want to be in complete silence. Again, I had a pretty good time in class today!

Map Assingment

Today in class, we worked on a map assignment, and specific tasks we had to complete on the maps. We had to write down our orgin of place, the Prime Merdian, the Equator, and the International Date Line. I haven't really been experienced with Human Geography, and topics related to that, so this is brand new to me. At first, I had a little trouble understanding it, but I finally got a hang of it, and completed it throughly. We had to label three maps, all of them were different, so it was even harder to label them. At the first couple minutes of class, the teacher was not present in the classroom, so everyone was socializing, and having fun in class! We had to finish the maps for homework for our refrence, but it was not a grade. I hope that next class we do something a little more different and interesting, since the last class was a little insipid. 

Maps and Globes

Today, we talked about maps again, but we also talked more on globes. We took some notes on the slide presentation created by our teacher. Maps are not to be on globes, for they are inaccurate. You can't have a map on a flat surface. We discussed a little more about our next test, which I don't know when it will be, but hopefully, later rather than sooner. Every single map is inaccurate because it is impossible for humans to calculate the entire world and where exactly everything is. We also discussed time, and different timezones, and why the start of day is at twelve and not at one. I don't think humans really found that out yet, because it is impossible for them maybe. When we are counting a quantity of something, we don't just start at twelve, we start at one. Our teacher was really questioning that, and possibly making a conspiracy on time. Sometimes, class really gets off topic, but in a good way, because we start to question life and its defects. 

Mercator and Peters Projection Map

Today in class, our teacher wasn't present, for which he was taking his Television Production class on a field trip to the Newseum in Washington, DC. I re-watched the video that talked about the Peters Projection and Mercator Map. I think that the points being made in the video were very valid and evidential. The Mercator Map has fostered Europeon imperialist attitudes for centuries and created an ethnic bias against a third world. The Mercator Map was also designed in 1569 as a navigational tool for Europeon sailors. It distorts the relative size of nations and continents. Greenland and Africa appear to be roughly the same size, but in reality Africa is 14 times bigger than Greenland. Also, Alaska appears three times as large as Mexico, when Mexico is larger by 0.1 million square miles. The Peters Projection Map shows and describes where the continents and nations are on the map. There are many, many differences bewteen the two maps, these differences could affect the way we look at the world. 

Discussion on 'Maps'

Today in class, we talked about different types of maps and map scales. Relationship of a features size on a map to its actual size on Earth. Relationships are presented in three ways, in a ratio or fraction scale: Ex: 1:24,000. A graphic scale usually consists of a bar line marked to show distance on Earths surface. The Scientific Method of transferring locations on Earths surface to a flat piece of paper. The four types of distortion, is the shape of an area can be distorted, distance between points may increased or decreased. relative size or different areas can be altered, and direction between points can be distorted. It was interesting to think about how maps changed significantly over time. Also to think about how maps can cause social injustice. I had a great time learning about this topic and watching a educational episode off Netflix. I hope we get to learn more about this topic and more on social injustice. 

I missed class!

The blog that I am going to write tonight is why I missed class, I missed class because I had to be early dissmissed because of a soccer game. The soccer game was against Archbishop Curley, one of the best soccer teams in Maryland! Unfortunately we lost the game 3-0, I wish that we would've at least tie them, because I knew we weren't going to win. The players tried they're hardest, and hopefully won't let them beat us back at home! Some of the things that we needed to work on that game was, passing the ball, communicating with our teammates, and taking a shot on goal. Our team also needs more chemistry, and to be more positive towards each other. Because, we are in this as a team, not a single person. We hope to work on these things during practice and games. I hope we can improve as a team, and take home the trophy! 

Test Thoughts

I think I did a decent job on the test, I really wish we didn't already have one! But that is the way high school is, I just hope I got a 'B' or higher. Hopefully not a 'C'. I knew most of the questions, but some of them I didn't know. I studied all day for the test, and I feel like I deserve a good grade, but I probably did good on the test anyway. I'd rather have quizzes than tests, but I guess the teacher likes to do it that way. I'm certain the test was a total of 100 points, each question was four points and the essay portion of it was 80 points. For the essay part, I think I did really well on the question, the question was: What does Socrates mean when he said, "The unexamined life is not worth living", the test asked what my opinion was on that quote. Overall, I think I did a decent job on the test and hope that I got a good grade.

Test on Monday!

On Friday, we talked about our big one-hundred point test on Monday. I am a little nervous about it, I won't lie. I wish we didn't have a test in this class already! Especially, it being one-hundred points. I hope that I can do well on the test and achieve a better understanding of what we have been learning in class so far. I think the test is mostly on Socrates, the Athenian government, 'Excellence', and 'A message to Garcia'. I am going to study very hard on this test and hopefully get the grade that I want and deserve! It will take a lot of time and work to get an 'A' on this test, but I think I'm up for it! We have 'Human Geography' at the end of the day, so maybe I can get some extra studying during the lunch time. I am determined to take my high school work seriously as the year starts off, I am going to prove to my parents and myself that I am serious about school. My education at John Carroll is very important.

Today's Notes

Today, we progressed more through the 'Excellence' slide, We talked about Athens, traditions, corruption, and Socrates. Athens was a great city which attracted brilliant thinkers and visitors from all over the world, shared their knowledge of astronomy, medicine, meterology, literature, philosophy, and all things scientific. This was often at odds with traditional teachings which centered around the Greek Gods, which got young people thinking and questioning about their terms. Socrates was charged with two crimes, corruption of Athen's youth and impiety which is not believing in the Gods of the state. His defense was stated "It's my job to be gadfly to the lazy, sluggish horse that is Athens." He also stated, "I should actually be rewarded with free dinners for life." As a jury of 500 male citizens found him guilty, he was sentenced to death by poison 'Hemlock'. He had the oppurtunity to escape, but he refused, proving his loyalty to Athenian democracy. An 'idiot' in Athenian democracy was someone who was chracterized by self-centerdness and concerned almost exclusively about nothing. In Athenian democracy, idiots were born, and citizens were made through education. If you were to decline in taking part in the public life, such as democratic government of the public (city state) was considered dishonorable. 

Transcription of Notes

We learned about some key terms and their significance in class, we also learned more about different revolutionary's and the background of them. Two of the key terms were Agora and Polis. Agora means gathering place, assembly, and marketplace. It is the center of athletic artistic, spiritual, and polictical life in the city or state. Polis means that political entities ruled by their bodies of citizens. The orgin of the worlds politics, metropolitan, and poll. Some times that citizens have revolted against their leaders are, in the United States in 1776. France, in 1789. China in 1851, and 1949. Russia, in 1917. Iran in 1979, and Egypt in 2011. And of course, there are many others. We also learned about this historical figure named "Socrates", as a young man, he worked as a stonesmen. He fought heroically in the Peloponnesian war. His working class background and battlefield experiences may have shaped the way he viewed the world. He met with young students in workshops just outside the Agora/ Socrates' method was that he would ask a series of questions to determine their underlying beliefs, and the extent of their knowledge, this led to the 'Scientific Method'. I really enjoyed learning more about some the revolutionary's that occured during the years. I also really liked learning about Socrates, and who he was as a person.

Arete

In class, we learned about the overall history of 'A Message to Garcia' and some aspects of it. We took notes on when it was published, the characters, setting, and the backstory. It was written during the 'Spanish-American War'. A character named "Rowan" finally delivered the message to Garcia. Garcia is the general of Cuba. It was published as an inspirational essay in March, 1899. 'A Message to Garcia' sold over fourty million copies, and was translated into 37 langauges. It was reprinted as a pamphelt and a book. It was written by Elbert Hubbard, and made into a movie twice! The slang "Take a Message to Garcia" became a popular expression for taking initiative. The story is mostly about a revolutionary seeking Cuban indepenedence from Spain. "Rowan" is an army officer of Westpoint, class of 1881. I really enjoyed reading more about this, and learning new information!

'A Message to Garcia'

I believe that 'A Message to Garcia' relates to my high school career because it shows what it takes for high school. Honeslty, from what I can say, is that tonight is a good example of the message the essay is trying to portray, because I was really stressed out because of all the homework that was assinged for me tonight. I also had a soccer game, which I was exausted from. But here I am, typing out this essay at eleven o'clock. I could've not completed the task, and use that I wasn't at the full class as an excuse. But, I didn't I perservered through my homework, and finally got it done on time. That is what I call taking inititative, that is hard work, that shows how much I care for school. In high school, life will be like this, you can't shy away from it or you will not succeed. For those who do take initative, pay attention in class, and get homework turned in on time. I'm happy that I am one of those people, I want to be a leader, not a follower. It is my second day of freshman year, and I already feel stressed out. That's how you know that your working hard to get that grade you've always wanted. Like the essay said, there are people who can deliever the message to Garcia, and those who can't. And I will remember and charish this night and everynight, because I will be doing schoolwork, I won't be playing videogames or sleeping too early. No I will stay up all night if I have to get my homework done. I all in all, love staying up late to do homework, because it truly shows me how strong I am. I am comitted to succeed in all four years of being a patriot...

First Day at John Carroll!

Today was my first day at the John Carroll high school! I am officially a patriot! I am really excited about this school year and the years to follow! At first, my experience so far with the John Carroll school was hard to get used to. The good thing was that I wasn't late to school at all, I knew where to go and at what times. The only thing that was confusing at first, was my locker. I was struggling to get it open the first few times, but then, I eventually got around to opening it easily. I went to a private school for grades sixth, seventh, and eighth. But my private school was fairly small, now this school compared to my middle school is much bigger! I couldn't believe how big this school was at first! Now for my classes, I did pretty well in each and every one of them. For my first period, I had Biology, my teacher was Mr. Grzanna. I was a little confused in that class though, I did eventually come around and do well in it. Another one of my classes is Spanish, I did really well in that class, I participated in class, trying to answer every question.  I hope to be very successful in that class, and help guide others to be too! I was only late for one class, and that class was your class, which is ironic. I was late to this class because I thought I had an 'unscheduled' MOD, but then my friend told me that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I will try to be more diligent in paying attention to my class schedule. All in all, I was really nervous about today, but by the end of the day, I felt welcomed and much more confident.