First day blog

Today in class we reviewed Grids and Time zones for the test. We went over the facts and definitions of longitude and latitude. Something new I learned was that Denver is 39 degrees north just as Bel Air is also 39 degrees north. Also, today Mr.Schick's lights were turned on for the first time and it was definitely an experience. Everything looks so much more different. Also, Mr.Schick informed us that tomorrow is China's national day. Tom explained that it is a huge event were people dance and sing. Also, everybody is off for 7 days straight.

Today in class we talked about the major imports in the world and the way we would describe directions. Mr.Schick asked us how we would describe Bel Air and John Carroll. We all had good answers but they weren't descriptive enough, or vise versa, they were to descriptive. This can relate to how geographers do there work on web pages on the internet. When they put important cities or capitals on a map, they have to be very precise and descriptive about the location so people are informed on where they are going, where they want to go, or just simply where they want to know something is. Second, Mr.Schick talked about the major exports and imports China has. China has many factories that need many workers. Workers don't get payed much, so if they injure themselves, that is their own fault. Finally we finished off class by sharing where our notebooks were made.

Today in class we talked about how geographers describe where tings are. Our answer as a class was they pin point the exact spot of the country. Mr.Schick talked about how we almost have the exact longitude and latitude of North Korea. For example, if you take your finger and put it on Harford County, then go exactly across them map, you will land on North Korea. Also, we talked about how humans have the ability to modify the characteristics of a site. For instance, Harford County and North Korea are almost on the exact same longitude and latitude, but yet have very different and similar physical features. We discussed that a location on a map will have these features. Climate, terrain, water ways, etc. For the rest of the class we talked about how Mr.Schick never grew up having grab feats. So it was new to him when he first moved here. Just the thought of eating an animal that was just alive grosses him out the door. He could eat it for a little bit but there better be more food.

Today in class we went over the test. I got a 95 on my test and I feel very good about that score. The only answer I got wrong was the second word for the origin of polis. It turns out there are many origins for polis, such as, Annapolis, Metropolis, Police, Poll, etc. For the most part I did good on my essay's. I was missing a few details on the Socrates' trial and death essay. His actual crimes, the offer to escape, and the "gadfly" defense. The second essay I got a 20/20. My reasoning was not guilty, my explanation had a good defense. Mr.Schick explained why we should keep all of our tests for the exams and should study them so our brains dont frie.

     A Mercator map looks as if it was a perfect shape of all the continents and countries. From what we have learned a Mercator map is the perfect map. It defines different colors to represent borders, it labels all bodies of water, labels all major cities and capitals and most importantly has a key. According to Britannica.com, the Mercator was developed by Gerardus Mercator in 1569. On a small scale geographic shapes can be moved without being distorted which is exactly what a Mercator map does. For instance, Africa is 15 times larger than Greenland, but on a Mercator map, they appear to be the same size. Since the scale on a Mercator map is distorted, areas farther away from the equator are disproportionately large.      A Peter's map looks to be very stretched and distorted at an extreme level. It is pretty similar to the Mercator map when it comes to details. They both have colors except the Peter's map separates the continents by colors. The Peter's map labels the b

Today in class we discussed our notes and theory's on 3 different kinds of maps. The first map was just of the United States of America. The map had topography, showed the rivers, highways/routes, surrounding bodies of water, the states were different colors defining the borders, etc. The second map was a map of the entire world. This map had topography, showed all names of the oceans, the countries were in different colors defining the borders, only wrote the major cities and capitals for each country, was in our perspective of the world(left to right). The third was another world map just more stretched and distorted. These continents were different colors instead of the countries, not all bodies of water were labeled, only major cities and capitals were labeled, this map did not show topography or any detail of terrain. Once we were done taking notes on all the maps, we had a short little discussion on basically the shape of the earth and how you would fly a plane around it. The

Today in class we took a test. The test was about Socrates and A Message to Garcia. Personally, I think I got an A. I remembered everything we learned in class and if it weren't for those notes we took yesterday I would have never been able to remember what I studied. The test wasn't that hard in my opinion. It went over everything we learned in short easy questions. If you paid attention and took notes you should receive a B+ or higher. I think Mr. Schick should do more tests like these. Ones that are short and sweet but require some effort to study. Plus, the unit was only a few days long and I already know a good bit of information. Also, I think the essays were perfect. They were questions that didn't require a whole lot of thinking. The second essay was a good one because of the question. It was one of those questions that a lot of people would love to answer and I think that is what makes writing essays fun. Finally, for the rest of the period everyone who was done sa

Today in class we reviewed Socrates and his method of discussions, had a debate on whether or not you should be able to Mary the same sex and the day Mr. Schick remembers about 911. Socrates started the evolution of democracy. People loved his ideas, thinking for themselves. Unfortunately he was sentenced to death but came very close by losing the votes by about 50 out of 500. Second, we had a debate on if marrying the same sex is right or wrong. We all had different opinions but it was kind of weird, as we were speaking, we were following the Socratic method. Things started to get a little heated but for the most part everything was calm and collected. Third, Mr. Schick told us about what he remembers on 911. He explained that his first thought when a teacher said that a plane had crashed into the world trade center, was just a tiny little plane that hit and fell to the ground. Then after mass, the principle made an announcement that the second tower has been hit and the nation was un

Agora: An Agora was a central public place in Ancient Greek City-states. It was where decisions would be settled. Polis: A small community of Greek citizens who agreed on certain rules and customs, sort of like a small government. Usually a polis was centered in a small town or outside a village In 508 b.c., democracy was introduced to Athens by Cleisthenes, he is often caused the "Father of Athen Democracy" Socrates was a Greek philosopher who is known for laying down the fundamentals of western philosophy. He is known for creating Socratic Irony and the Socratic method. He had a huge influence on western philosophy. Socrates technically committed suicide when he stood in front of a jury of 500 and was accused of corrupting the youth and refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state. He was put to death for his actions. The Socratic method is a form of cooperative argument dialogue between two individuals, based on asking and answering to stimulate critica

Today we discussed and elaborated a little more on the popularity of the letter. We learned it made 40 million copy's and was made in 37 different languages. We learned that Rowan was actually an Army Officer in the Military. He was a tough man that took no excuses. We also discussed Elbert's vocabulary choices in his essay. The words were Perihelion, Slipshod, Imbecility, stenographer and missive. We use these definitions everyday, just in different words. These words were basically his way of saying, rowan was a bright man, Employees at the time were idiots and people used shorthand writing to quickly jot down a note. Finally, we went over the initiative of his essay. It is doing the right thing without being told. He expresses his emotions all the way through the essay. If this man didn't get his point across, I believe he would have went on a rage.

Today in class was very laid back and relaxed. We were squaring up our problems with how to create a blog and the struggles of high school. For the students that were already done their blog, they got the luxury of going around helping others that didn't quite get so far. Personally, I think it was good for the class. Helping each other not only helped us get to know each other, but also become more comfortable with school in general. For about the last 20 minutes of class, we discussed the struggles of high school. The homework, the grades, the time, the sports, it's all part of the struggles. But to me,I personally don't mind those struggles. They don't bother me in anyway shape or form, I came into high school knowing I was going to face these challenges, I just prepared myself for the ones that come know and the ones that will come in the future.

Today in class, we read an essay about Elbert Hubbard's view of how america needs more people like Rowan. During the Spanish-American war, the President of the United States a man named Rowan to go search for leader of the Insurgents, Garcia. Rowan made no excuses, took the task as a challenge and found Garcia with in the midst of 3 weeks. Elbert Hubbard heard about this fantastic man and wanted to send a message to the working society of America. He believed if employees are not performing their jobs correctly or make up excuses, their should be consequences. He wanted everyone to understand the reality of what employees are really like, and everyone did. His well thought out essay reach newspapers across america, as we would say, going viral. Some people agreed with his opinion on how brutally lazy these employees were, some didn't. But that didn't matter to him, he wrote on and on about his belief, that everyone just had to be like Rowan. A determined, no feared who gets

   So far, the first day of school has been a good one. I am starting to learn my classes and get to know my class mates. If I had to explain my worst part of the day, I wouldn't explain anything at all. John Carroll has never put bad vibes down on my emotions. The first has never made me feel pressured and embarrassed. I felt ready and prepared. I am also very excited to start the volleyball season with the boys. We are starting to have cohesion within the team, our season is looking good so far. ,   I like my seat, I have a clear vision of the board and can easily hear you. If you want to move me, I am fine with that but for now I am good where my seat is.