September 27, 2012

Today's class was very entertaining. I love the video God Grew Tired of Us because it draws all of my attention because I feel so bad for them all and I want to learn more. I was laughing most of the time when a few of the refugees came to America because they did not know a single thing. It was so funny the things they did and strange how excited they got about several things. They all looked terrified when they had to go up the escalator. Many said that they have never used electricity before or even a shower. It is so weird how we take these kinds of things for granted and most of the things here in America are unimaginable and unknown to them all. They do not even have a real place to use the bathroom. I think that the opportunity they were given was not a mistake and I know that after all of the fights with hunger and shelter, they will do their best for the best.

September 24, 2012

Today we took our very first test. I was really nervous to take it because the first tests are always the most stressful because you do not know how your teacher tests you on certain material. The material may get harder throughout the year, but the tests themselves are easier because you know what to expect. I was relieved to see that my studying had paid off and I am confident that I did fairly well. I knew more information than I thought I actually knew. The test took a whole mod and the second mod was quite devastating. We watched a very sad video that made me think twice about life and it makes me more thankful for the country I live in. I am very fortunate that I do not have to worry about not being fed and it was hard to look at how skinny the children were. I did not think that was possible.

September 21, 2012

Today was my turn to present my group's power point. I usually get really nervous presenting things, but I felt very comfortable. I actually enjoyed presenting it. There were two other groups that had to do their projects and I was laughing so hard when Eleanor’s group wrote her name as “butt face”. I have to admit that it was really funny. While my group was presenting, I was pretty entertained by all of the terrible spelling mistakes my partners made. The words looked so odd and I was not the only one humored by it all. We went over what was going to be on our very first test on Monday. I have to study every single thing we learned since the beginning of the year which should not be too difficult. I try my best to pay attention in class so hopefully my memory will come in handy as I am studying so I do not miss anything. 

September 20, 2012

Today was sort of a review to what we did the other day when we took our notes. We learned the information and it was similar to us when everyone presented their power point. I really liked the power point project and I love doing group work. Usually I am always the one who has to do all of the work, but this was something that gave every member of my group a chance to contribute. It was nothing super challenging, and of course, that is always good but it was not something too easy. I learned a lot by doing this project and presenting it will be very good practice for when I need to present a major project all on my own. I like to be able to decorate things and make them my own. This project gave me the opportunity to do so. This is one thing in school that I actually look forward to doing throughout the school year.

September 19, 2012

Today, we worked on our Google Presentation in class.

Septiembre doce, 2012

Today was rather tragic and devastating, as Mr. Schick had pointed out to the class. He had many stories to tell us as we answered the twenty five questions we had to search for homework. We talked about our population and how it will never stay the same because every second there is a baby born or a person dead or dying. It is tragic to think about but it is true and it is reality. We learned about another bombing yesterday and it just so happened to be the day of 9/11. More than half of the class had been outside of the country and if we were to be in the past, very few students would have raised their hand. That shows the difference in the way we do things today and the way we did things yesterday. You never know what will happen because at this very moment, if Washington D.C. were to be attacked from a nuclear bombed, we would all be dead. Now is not that something exciting to talk about?

September 10, 2012

1. What is the population of the United States? 313,847,465 

2. What are the five largest countries in the world, by population? China, India, United States, Indonesia, Brazil

3. What is the population of Pakistan? 190,291,129

4. What kind of government does the United States have? Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition

5. What is the unemployment rate in Zimbabwe? 95%

6. What is the largest country in the world by area? Russia

7. What country has the third greatest number of airports? Mexico

8. What country has the greatest number of exports? China
9. What country exports more oil than any other? Saudi Arabia
10. What country imports more oil than any other? United States
11. What country consumes more oil than any other? United States
12. Can women serve in combat roles in China’s military? yes
13. What is GDP? gross domestic product
14. What country has the highest GDP per capita in the world, and how much is it? Liechtenstein $141,100
15. Is the US in the top ten for GDP per capita? negative
16. Most of the countries with the highest birth rates can be found in what continent? Africa
17. 11 of the top 12 countries with the highest number of deaths from HIV/AIDS can be found in which continent? Africa
18. What other country is in the top ten? India
19. Where does the US rank in HIV/AIDS deaths? 18
20. Is the US #1 in number of cellular phones? no
21. What percentage of the US is Roman Catholic? 23.9%
22. What percentage of Mexico is Roman Catholic? 76.5%
23. What is Net Migration Rate? the difference of immigrants and emigrants of an area in a period of time
24. Does the US have the highest Net Migration Rate in the world? No
25. What is the current population of the entire planet? 7,021,836,029
26. I think the population of the world and of the United States is the most interesting and important question of the 25

September 6, 2012

Today, we learned three things, but we learned numerous things about Illinois. You are not supposed to pronounce the "s" when you say Illinois. It is the fifth largest state in the United States and half of the population lives in the great city of Chicago. The second thing we learned was about the birth of Jesus II. The story was almost identical to the birth of Jesus I. The third thing we learned was how to take notes. The lesson that was given was supposed to be taught to fourth graders. We then had to transfer the notes we took on Illinois to a paragraph. Mr. Schick called on a few people to read theirs and I am positive that Austin wrote the most out of the whole class. As of a few minutes ago, I learned one more thing. Wilfred, who is sitting next to me, has the same birthday as me! He is the first person I have ever met who was born the same day as me.

September 5, 2012

Alike most of our Human Geography classes, today was a double mod. We took our second set of  notes on how to add a new gadget to our blog, but we did not use our computers at all today. When Mr. Schick was showing his screen on the projector, he described it to look like the Star Wars credits at the end of the sensational film. It was weird because no one knew why it was doing that. We talked about Mr. Schick's admiration and love for Wikipedia. It was an interesting love story and he informed me a lot about Wikipedia that encouraged me to use it now since it was forbidden in my other school. We then had to say whether or not we thought a certain website was legit. There were lots that were pretty legitimate and the false ones were actually a good laugh. I now know what to look for when I am forced to write a research paper.

Essays

Essay #1: My original definition of arete was a person being the best they can be to their full potential. Socrates was a wise man and he knew that every person had the ability to achieve greatness and he expected nothing less. That is why he himself did the best he could and encouraged others to do the same. Ancient Greeks had an interesting lifestyle and personality. I think that they always did their best because of the standards they made for their gods. They were very faithful and they knew that nothing could get by the gods, forcing them to be scared at the fact of displeasing them. 

Essay #2: If Elbert Hubbard and Socrates were to experience our present lives, I am positive that they would be as disgusted as I am. People are very lazy and that is very much unlike the lessons Hubbard and Socrates taught. They were motivators and their goal was to be involved as much as they can. They lived to their fullest potential and gave a lot to this world. For them to see the lifestyles of today, I think that they would feel as if they failed. 

Essay #3: My number one goal going into every grade would be to try my best. That is the number one thing on my list especially going into High School. The second thing would have to be turning in all of my homework on time. I know that I can forget a lot of things and I get very distracted, but I plan on doing my best to not turn in any assignments late. Another thing would be receiving straight A's on my report card. I haven never gotten anything lower than an A in all of my years in middle school, and I wish for it to stay that way. I have a tendency to talk a lot and it is because I am very social and outgoing, but I hope I am able to pay more attention when I need to the most. I learn that it comes in handy most of the time. My last thing on my list is to be the best person I can be. I always want to be as friendly as I can and I want to graduate High School with no regrets. 

August 31, 2012

On Friday, our class surprisingly got work accomplished. We learned vocabulary for Ancient Greece and I assume it is a foreshadowing of our first unit in Human Geography that we are going to learn. Some of the things I find are very interesting, but sometimes it can get really confusing. I try to pay attention in class as much as I can and I know it pays off whenever we get tested. For homework we have to write three essays and hopefully I have listened enough for a passing grade. I honestly do not mind writing as long as I know what I am writing about. It is obviously difficult to write about something you have no knowledge about. Friday was not that bad because it was the last school day of the week and I like the students in my Human Geography class. Sometimes they can be really funny and I like when they volunteer a lot because Mr. Schick is really nice when they do.