PowerPoint Presentation

Hello,

Today in class we finished Grace's presentation. It was good that she had her Powerpoint printed out. We still had to fill in a bunch of blanks, but It was much better. This was we didn't have to copy down a bunch of notes on the subject. After Grace had finished her powerpoint, my group went. We had Judaism as our topic and I was confident that our powerpoint was great. We researched the topic for a full class and we had some major things that Mr. Schick told us to touch on in our research. We talked all about those topics and our presentation went great. We had a few bumps and one incorrect thing, but  I think it went very well. Both my group members did great and I hope that if it was graded we got an A!

Going Over the Tests

Hello,

Today in Human Geo class we got our tests back. I already knew what I got because Mr. Schick had already put the grades in a short time after we took it. I already found out I got a 100%. Mr. Schick also told me this the class after the next. It was my first 100% in Human Geo, besides the blogs. After that and the Class Participation grade I still did not get an A. This is a bit of a shame because I thought that this class was pretty easy and I still did not get an A. I thought that overall my grades were really good for the quarter and I'm happy with them. After he passed back the tests and we looked over them Grace started her powerpoint. She didn't get too far because we ended up going over the tests for a while. So next class we will finish her powerpoint and others will present theirs.

Judaism PowerPoint Presentation!

Hello,

Today we worked on a PowerPoint presentation. We all had to get into groups and make a Powerpoint about different religions, there was Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. The religion that we got to look at was Judaism. I think that I learned a lot more about the culture than I had previously known of. Mr. Schick gave us some good topics to branch off of which was nice, so were wren't just putting random stuff down in the presentation. My group I believe got some great facts and all kinds of things about Judaism. Our presentation ending up being about 13 slides long so I hope that's enough. We only had one day to research it, but I think that we got a lot of useful information about the religion. We will be presenting them tomorrow, which I think will take most of the class. It will also teach everyone about the religion that the group studied so we can learn more about the 5 major religions in the world.

I hope our presentation goes well!

Cultural Geography Quiz

Hello,

Today in Human Geo we took a quiz. We had a quiz because many people requested it because some grades weren't the ones they wanted. So he had this quiz to give us another chance to get some points. I forgot that we had a quiz, until this morning. Grace sent us a little quiz that didn't really help. I studied all of my notes in Advisory and in the class before because we had a sub. I think I was well prepared and the test wasn't that hard. It wasn't really easy and I think I could have studied more, but it wasn't too hard. I think I got a good grade and I may even get a *DING* for getting an A. I wont know for sure what I got, but doing this test was good to get extra point because the quarter closes today so I may have just gotten an A to bring my grade up a bit before the quarter ends. We will be talking more about Cultural Geography on Monday.

I hope I got an A!

Which Country is Best?

Hello,

Today we watched a video about if America was the best country. The man in the video that was an actor in the TV show "The Newsroom," said that America isn't the best country. After listening to his opinions and giving my own, I would have to agree with him. I think hat all countries have their strengths and their weaknesses, but I think it's untrue to say we are the best. There are many countries that have the same problems we have. We clearly aren't perfect and we don't have everything together, but we could definitely change this and make ourselves the superpower. It would take a lot of tim, but with the right government and everything we could do it. I think that it is absolutely absurd to say that there is a superior country to everyone else's. Clearly everyone is going to have a different opinion and I don't think that there really is a right or wrong answer.

On Friday we will talk more about Cultural Geography and take more notes.

Cultural Geography

Hello,

Today Mr. Schick ranted. He ranted about wars, specifically religious wars. Well we first learned that religion can be both unifying and dis unifying force. There are 5 major religions and those are Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Most religions in the world have a sort of nationalism approach. Nationalism is the belief that your country is superior to all others. In this case I think that a lot of people believe this for their country and also, their religion. Not all religions feel this way, but I think this is what really starts many of the religious wars. There are some religions like Buddhism that will allow you to still believe in God and be a Buddhist. Since there are millions of followers in certain religions a lot of them are going to want to speak there mind and sometime offend people of other religions. 

We will be talking more on this topic tomorrow

Mr. Schick's Vacation

Hello,

Well today we focused more on cultural geography. It was a sad day because Spirit Week was over which means we miss some classes and some are shortened and stuff. Mr. Schick told us about how he went to Emerson in Boston to visit his daughter. It sounded pretty fun. First, he told us about he saw his daughter, who studies journalism at the university, Emerson, but Mr. Schick's "adventures" had just begun. He was in her dorm and heard the sounds of the Red Sox game because it was right near Fenway. Well he decided to go over and check it out. He saw all of the news crew cars and stuff. He said that he wanted to go inside and there was a gap in the fencing. So he just walked in like he owned the place. He said hi to the cops and just walked in. He ended up getting to meet a man who he emailed later and said if his daughter needed an internship he would put a good word in for her. So it seems like he had a good trip

We will be talking about Cultural Geography again next class.

AP Human Geo Test

Hello, 

Today we took an AP test for Human Geography. The score on the test wouldn't affect your grade though. Instead, we are using it to see how much we know. When we take another test at the end of the year, we can now compare our final scores to this test and see how much we have learned. I didn't get far at all on the test. I think if I had another class period I would have finished. It was too bad that Mr. Schick wasn't there today, because today's class wasn't fun. I thought the test was a bit difficult. Mostly because I just simply did not know a lot of it. For a good amount of the questions I guessed too. I think that this big test really gave us an idea of what we would be doing later in Human Geography. From what I have seen it doesn't seem like it will be easy. 

Going Over Test

Hello,

Today in class we went over the tests that we took. I didn't get a great grade, even though I thought it was a bit easy. I originally got a B, but I got 2 questions right. After some convincing. After adding those points back I got an A. It was a bit disappointing not hearing the ding from the bell in class, but over email is good too. We carefully went over the test and then we started going over what we a re going to be learning next. We went over cultural characteristics. Cultural characteristics are parts of a group's everyday life. Its the ideas and themes in which the group will teach to all of the members. Having similar characteristics can link regions, but they can also divide them. Some examples of cultural characteristics are: language, religion, and ethnic heritage.

I can't wait to learn more on this topic. 

KIVA

Hello,

Today in class we took a quiz. I think the quiz was a little easy. I hope I did well and I think that I did. After that we didn't have that much time left because some people took a while to finish the quiz, so we talked a little more about KIVA. KIVA is an organization that allows you to loan to someone that needs money in a struggling country to get something like clothes, food supplies, and even college tuition. The great thing is that eventually you will get repaid your money when the person can pay off the loans that people gave them. People usually go and give a loan to someone else with that money then. I think this website is actually pretty amazing when I think about it is that you can make a loan to someone from another country around the world. I think if you did this as a class or school it really could make a difference in many people around the world's life.

This is a great thing to do for people and I can't wait to learn more about KIVA and maybe even make my own account.

Population and Migration Pt. 2

Hello,

Today we talked more about the population charts. We also talked more about the 3 types; the X-Mas Tree, The Box, and The Cup. We took a look at a lot of the countries that have different types of populations. Many of the population charts had to do with something special like we took a look at Ann Arbor, Michigan today. The 20-24 age group was fairly high because in Ann Arbor there is a huge college; Michigan University. It is a great school and has one of the largest football stadiums in the country! That's even include professional stadiums! Populations in towns can be highly affected by something this small like a college. Another place we looked at was a fort in North Carolina. The 30-35 age group in both men and women were huge because it was a military town which is why there was an extremely low number of older people living there. This just shows you what a small thing can do to a places population.

We have a quiz on Friday and I hope I get an A on it! Can't wait for next class!

Population

Hello, 

Today in class we had a shadow which was cool, and I think he noticed that are class is awesome! Anyway though we talked about population in class. We talked about 3 types of population graphs the Christmas Tree, The Box, and The Cup. Basically a Christmas Tree form is when you look at the population and how many people of each age there are in a country. On a Christmas Tree graph it is usually a developing country that has a high birth rate, but doesn't have a lot of older people. The Box is a very good country that has a normal birth rate and has plenty of older people. Therefore the population chart is in the shape of a box. The Cup is for a nation that has a lot of older people in it. These graph are very interesting and I can't wait to learn more tomorrow!

Ending of God Grew Tired of Us

Hello, I was told to write an epic blog so.. here it is.

      So today we finished God Grew Tired of Us, after watching it for 4 classes. In today's part, Daniel wants to go to a community college, but since he doesn't have the money he enrolls in the Work Core. This allows him to get a job and lets him enroll in college. Although this makes him leave his home with the Lost Boys and stay in the college's dormitories. John Bul also receives a letter that is from his mother and sisters that says they are still alive. The only problem is that they are living in a Ugandan refugee camp. The camp is not doing well and his family is naked and ill. After hearing this John believes he has not choice, but to skip the college that he was going to attend and juggle 3 jobs at a time. He decides to do this because he wants his family to come to America, because the conditions in Uganda are so bad for them. He sends money to them from America so they can get food, medicine, clothes, and come to America. Soon one of the "lost boys" that traveled with them was reported missing. He was found a few days later in bad shape and got arrested because he was mentally unstable. Eventually he was admitted into a psyciatric hospital for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Many of the lost boys were suffering from this because they were reliving the times of the war in Sudan. All of the lost boys soon try to get in contact with their families to see if they are still alive. One of the lost boys starts a walk in Syracuse to tell people about their country and to tell them about the war. Sudan later came to the agreement to because North Sudan and South Sudan. They divided the countries by religion, which was the reason that they had been fighting. After the walk all of the lost boys have a reunion in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The lost boys at this point have now been living in America for over 3 years. Panther graduates from high school and gets his official diploma and thinks about going back to Africa to go marry his long-time girlfriend back in Africa and help the people of his village. John Bul then travels to Phoenix because he has been elected the secretary of the lost boys. The whole organization is being formed to raise money and and help the lost boys and girls survive. The oraganization also tells many people about the situation they have and many of the lost boys tell their stories and how they came to America and what they saw in Sudan. After much contact with his family John Bul finally gets his to see his mother and sister after being separated for over 17 years. John tells the press and they are there for the loving reunion. His mother and sister come and his mother is so over joyed to see him that she collapses of happiness. She later skips through the airport singing songs because she is just so joyed to see her son. After this Panther packs his bags for Africa to go and marry his girlfriend and see his homeland. After marrying his girlfriend he reunited with his mother and brother and returned to America. There he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Economics and plans to go back to his homeland and build a school there for the children to be properly educated. John Bul continues to support his family. He founded a non-profit organization that will eventually build a medical facility in his hometown, Duk, Sudan. Daniel continues to in Pittsburg, is still enrolled in the Job Corps and is taking classes at a community college. However, he has yet to locate any members of his family. 

      This documentary was in a word, fantastic. The dedication to film something like this is absolutley outstanding. It took over 4 years to film it and that doesn't even include editing it and everything else. That is just outstanding. We have a quiz tomorrow on it and I believe that I am very prepared. I can't wait to see what we do next

God Grew Tired of Us Part 2

Hello,

Today in class we continued to watch the documentary. It was very sad in the beginning because all of the people that they had started with, most of them had died. After a while in Egypt three of the people came to the U.S. The change for them was amazing. I can't imagine coming from Africa to the U.S. Two of the people that we were following went to Philadelphia. The other one went to Syracuse, New York. The crew followed them everywhere and it showed what dramatic change it was for them. They came from living in dirt houses to living in a nice apartment. They followed them everywhere and things to them that we take for granted everyday like electricity, quality food, and appliances were so new to them. They didn't know how any of these things worked and they didn't know how to properly eat and what foods to eat. It was just the biggest change that they have ever faced.

We will be watching more tomorrow and most likely Friday. Hope it gets really good!

God Grew Grew Tired of Us

Hello,

Today in class we started watching a documentary called God Grew Tired of Us. It is about people in SUdan having to leave there country. They had to do this because of war and the fact that their government said go find all of the men and boys and kill them. They then endured a journey. This journey was thousands of miles long. They had to walk from Sudan to Ethiopia. After they couldn't stay there for long they left and went to Egypt. They found safety there and found that over have of the people that they started with had died.

So far this is a sad documentary, I hope it gets better soon because we will be watching it for the rest of the week.