Working on our project

Today we officially started to work on our project. Katie was in New York so I was working with Christina today just trying to get a start on a project and have some work done. We answered almost all of the questions that are required for the powerpoint but we need to do a lot more research. I feel like this assignment project thing is more important than like any other assignment we have had before in this class. I think we will be done pretty soon and I think that we have done a good job as a start. We will be finishing it in class tomorrow and then we have to present it. I also like the set up we did for the slides like I think that our powerpoint will be pretty informative. We just have to finish it tomorrow and go over all the questions again to make sure that we covered everything that we needed to put in the powerpoint.

Group Project

Today in class we were assigned a group project thing. Some groups have two or three people. My group is Katie, Christina and I. I like doing group work as long as everyone participates in the project because it's not fun trying to do it all by yourself. I am confident that I have a good group and our assignment will get a hundred percent as the grade. I don't think what we have to do is even hard at all really, especially when we have more than one person in our group working with us. We can all find good information to put in our google slides and it will turn out nicely. I think it will be better than working alone because people have different opinions and they can say what they think is the best way to show the information and what will get an A and what won't. The assignment is just getting information on your group's country. Each group had to pick a country they wanted to do good research on and find more about its government. We also need to find more about the leadership and maybe the type or if there even are any elections people take in other countries around the world. I feel like we might be able to get some of the information from the CIA fact book but maybe not that much because the stuff we need to find out and know are so specific. I am kind of excited to see how this will play out and to find out more information about the world's countries and how they are run.

World Leaders

Today in class, we heard more facts about the world leaders we've been studying. So far this week we have learned many facts about the people we have studied and it is very interesting. I have learned so much in just a few days and the crazy stories world leaders have to tell. Like yesterday when we were talking about Dilma Rouseff and her amazing determination and courage. She is so inspiring and probably gives amazing advice when she does meetings and gives speeches. I think that she is also running her country pretty well. Brazil seems like a great country and it's economy seems like it's going well and pretty stable. Dilma seems like she knows what she is doing. Today we also talked a little bit about the prime minister of the UK. David Cameron is his name and he is said to be a normal nice guy. We learned things he had admitted in the past which is kind of shocking. He admitted that he did cocaine and weed when he was younger. He didn't try to hide it either even though he wasn't proud of his choices when he was younger. It was good though that he didn't try to forget that he did it and just told everyone how stupid it was and people were probably happy that he was honest and didn't try and lie. Other leaders have done some of the same sort of things and they seemed to have admitted it also. Not every leader of this world does great things, but they are people do and some of them made the same mistakes people do.

Facts about world leaders

Today in class we talked more about some of the world's leaders and some facts about their life. The facts we needed to find were ones that really told the story about the leader as to how they became one. Such as Dilma Rouseff, who had a really horrible past when she was arrested for trying to become president. She was tortured for 22 days straight by electric shock and punching. There were so many terrible things she encountered in jail and what those people who tortured her did to her. She didn't deserve it at all no one could believe she was still alive in the aftermath. She is a pretty incredible person because of what she did to become president and the amount of determination she had to go further and actually make her president. Just thinking about it is pretty amazing that someone would want to achieve that after everything she went though. Dilma Rouseff is a pretty amazing leader and has an incredible story. Other leaders have great stories too, but I feel like this story is extra important and really powerful. The message that Dilma is trying to send is amazing, saying to never give up no matter what happens and what seems to come your way. She is a very admiring person to many people.

Today's Class

Today in class, we went over our recent blog where we had a 60 point assignment due. I had to change one thing because I put the wrong leader for the United Kingdom. I had Queen Elizabeth II which was wrong because she isn't like the political leader that deals with all the big problems. She is just the queen, but there is a prime minister who takes care of all the important and big work that has to be done. So that was changed from my blog but everything else was fine. I checked my grade for it in Powerschool and I got a 60/60 which made my human geo grade go from a 87 to an 89 which made me really happy because I'm close to an A again. I had a 90 in the beginning of the year but it was taken down a little bit because of the second human geo test. Where I got like an 83 or something like that. We have a new assignment due on Wednesday about facts we need to find for each of the leaders we looked up. We have to choose at least two new facts about them that we don't know and put them into our next blog. It doesn't seem hard at all or much work, just some researching we need to get done. It also helps us write our next blog and sometimes we don't know what to write because sometimes we just review things in class. It should be easy though and also interesting because we will learn new things about some of our world leaders.

Homework Assignment for countries

Mexico

Constitutional Republic

President Enrique Pena Nieto




China

Communist Party

President Xi Jinping




    India

Union Government

 President Pranab Mukherjee

Russia

Constitutional Republic

President Vladimir Putin

 

Germany

Federal Republic

President Joachim Gauck, Chancellor Angela Merkel

United Kingdom

Parliament

Prime Minister David Cameron







France

French Fifth Republic

 President Francois Hollande

Brazil

Federal Republic

President Dilma Rousseff

Syria

Semi-Presidential System

President Bashar al-Assad

 

Canada

Parliamentary Democracy

Prime Minister Stephen Harper

 

Japan

Constitutional Monarchy

Emperor Akihito

Israel

Parliamentary Democracy

President Reuven Rivlin

Reviewing our second human geo test

Today in class we got our second human geo test back. I was worried about that test a little because when I turned it in I didn't think that I did my best. I knew like almost all of the information but I thought that I would get a bad grade and I didn't do well. I got the grade today and I saw that I got an 82% which wasn't as bad as I thought. It really could have been worse I think because I felt like I would've gotten way more wrong but that wasn't the case and I did okay. I wish I would've gotten a better grade but I am not that upset about it because I got a B and hey a B isn't even that bad. I just know that I will do better on the next test and try harder so maybe I can get a hundred. I was happy because the timed part of the test I got all correct and that part gave me some anxiety because we were timed and I thought I wouldn't have finished. Luckily, I was done in the nick of time and the answers weren't wrong so that was good. It showed that on timed tests or quizzes in the future, I can work pretty well with and not stress too much about them. That was the bright side of the test. I was unhappy about the push and pull forces because I thought I gave okay examples and I would've gotten them all right, but I only got 1 out of 4 right. That bothered me but in the end, it didn't mess me up as much. The next test I really want to get a grade in the 90's or a hundred.

Retreat

On Friday, I went to the last of the freshman retreats. When I heard about it, I really wasn't looking forward to it at all. I just wasn't into the whole idea of retreats since I have already been on like three or four. I just didn't enjoy them really. I honestly think I was very wrong. I actually liked it a lot because I met so many new people that go to John Carroll and becoming friends with them. They were all really nice and gave good advice. There were six juniors that went on the retreat with us as well and it was really nice to get to know each of them. They told us many things they experienced during their freshman year and how things will change. They all gave a lot of good advice and I think everyone of them resemble a good patriot. The stories they told us and how we should always be yourself was really inspiring and motivational. I thought it was amazing to experience that. The whole day wasn't bad at all and everyone seemed to feel even more comfortable than they were before which was great. The day was a success, in my opinion, and when I am a junior I would love to be one of the juniors that go on the retreat with the freshman.

TEST TOMORROW!

Tomorrow is our second human geo test of the year. I have to take it after school because I go to the retreat tomorrow. We reviewed what would be on the whole test today and I think for the most part that I am ready. I hope that the population pyramid part is a little easier than it sounds because it seems like I will get that wrong because we have to pick the right one. We only get to use the computer for one part on the test which has to do with the CIA fact book. I am happy that we are going to use that because it will help answer the questions and be easy to get the answers. That is if you know how to use the fact book which I know how to navigate around now. It seemed pretty much simple and easy from the start, so I should excel on that part of the test. I am still wary of the population pyramid part just because I want to not screw it up because you really have to think and look at the bars on the pyramid to determine the countries. I think that figuring out the african nations are going to be easy because you have to look at the lower bars and see if young people are out populating older people who may be like close to their 40s or 50s. The nation that might be harder to determine would be like maybe the US or Canada. I do know that we will get three pyramids that will look totally different according to the bars and if the pyramid is wide or not. If the pyramid is like wider at the bottom, the younger generation or population is growing rapidly and there is a reason that so many more people that are younger are being born. I am really hoping I will do pretty well on this test even better than I wish and get a good grade to make my human geo grade go up higher.

Review for test on Friday

Today in class, we reviewed what material would be on our 2nd human geo test. We had to go over terms that we needed to know in order to take the test. I pretty much knew almost what every term we had to define meant. I think that I will hopefully do well on the test and bring up my grade even more. I do have a 90 in this class which makes me happy but I want to get back to a hundred. I actually think this class is taught really well and it's easier to understand than other classes that I have. I overall enjoy taking this class because it is easy and kind of laid back. I am not saying that it won't get hard but like our only homework is to update our blog whenever we have class and to write about what we did that day. I like the idea of the homework almost all the time being that way because we don't need to ask many questions and we just automatically know what is expected and what is going on. I have to say that writing the blog can get boring and I usually don't write this much on a daily basis but it isn't as bad when you get used to it. Also, I do dread doing the blog almost everyday because I am so used to it but that's what happens when you are used to things that you wouldn't want to do or feel like doing. I also really like how we can use spotify for free and how we use it while we are trying to learn new things about the world. I am happy that we can use our computer on the test because than we can get answers easily and it won't take as much time to take the test just because some people are slower at taking tests and some people are much faster. I have to say I am kind of in the middle of that scale and I like to take my time to make extra sure that I have the right answers or the answers that I think are the best. I am taking this test after school on Friday which sucks because it is a Friday but it is better to do it because than I would have to take it like next Tuesday and I was thinking that the information wouldn't be as fresh in my mind so it is much easier. I hope I do very well on the second test even better than the first one and get an A.

Is America the greatest country in the world?

From our discussion from Friday's class, we pretty much made the conclusion that America is not the greatest country in the world anymore. There are many reasons why this is the way it is. I'm not trying to say that America is horrible and we suck. No way would I say that obviously because America is a very successful country in some ways and that I was born here. I just think as a nation alone, we need some adjustments. When I say adjustments, I mean that we should change things like how we run the government because I notice how the government doesn't like to tell us all the details of things that happen and they only like to show and tell the bad things that happen rather than anything good that happens in the world. I have always thought that was weird and fishy in a way. There are so many conspiracies that can explain that theory specifically. I have seen some before and read about them and sometimes I honestly agree and believe some things that are stated. The reasons they have some of the time just make so much logical sense because how do we know the real truths or the real lies? Who would be to judge what is right and wrong unless you have real evidence and proof. Those are some good questions to ask yourself when you are watching the news and reading things online or in the newspaper wondering if what they say is true. I also think they change some of the information because they might not want to freak people out too much or try and worry them too heavily. But sometimes they might want to worry us because they want to give us warnings. Honestly, in my opinion, I would want to know every little detail because I would want to be informed and know all about what happens so there could maybe be ways to prevent it from occurring again. I feel like what happens in this country has good and bad intentions at the same time if that could be possible.

Discussion about America as a country

Yesterday in class, we watched a video from The Newsroom and it was like one of the first episodes they made. During the video, they were having a discussion about America and why it is the greatest country in the world. The one guy spoke up and didn't agree that it was the greatest country in the world because of how far behind we are on some things. We had all these great things happen with our country that made it great but for the last 100 years it just hasn't been as great as it used to be. I agreed with every part of what he said of why America isn't the best country in the world. He brought up all these statistics that were true and made sense because we aren't number one in everything either. We are 7th in literacy rate which seems hard to believe because of how much we encourage and make education a required thing. We also aren't the number one country in speaking English, which is even weirder because we speak English pretty much more than everyone in any other country in the world. In China, they encourage people to learn English so much so they can get good jobs and be successful when they get older. That is one reason why we probably aren't the number one country in the world that speaks English. Those aren't the only two categories there are much more but I don't know all of them of course. I am thinking maybe one time we were the best country but so many negative things have happened through the years and especially how our government and taxes work. It just isn't where it should be anymore. We can make it better though as long as people are willing to make it happen.

Spotify

Today we all joined the popular music app spotify. We joined the app because we are trying to include music more with education. It also makes the class more interesting because I kind of like the class but sometimes we get into lectures and it can be tiring. The class isn't really bad it's a good class but sometimes like I said it isn't that fun. It is a class though and it's not supposed to be fun but it could be not dreading to go to class. I think that this music education thing that spotify is trying to do is an amazing idea and I am all for it. I am a VERY big music person and like music is my life so I really think it makes sense that they are trying to do this. It's kind of crazy how only 23 teachers in the US who agree and really want to take action and make this a thing. I can't believe it because there should be way more because it's a really good idea. How could you honestly think it was a bad idea? Everyone wants to be not bored in class because everyone always has to go to school and it takes up like 5 days a week which takes up most of the week. It could make everyone that goes to school more interested in what they do in class and it could tie in with the assignments that they do in class. I don't think it could ever really distract anyone. I obviously listen to music everyday and all the time when I do my homework and never have any problems. There are some people that do get distracted and don't try and pay attention to the work they have to get done. I don't think that could be much of a big deal because for the most part people love the idea of including music. I love the idea so much and I can't wait until we start using this and I also love how we got the codes to have it for free until december.

Industrialization

Today in class, we discussed more about the population pyramids. I feel like after we talked more about the whole idea, I better understand what it means and how to properly read a population pyramid and what information you can collect from them. We also talked about industrialization which means what some countries are going through. For example China may still be in the pre-industrialization stage because they make so much for the world and even more the US alone. Whenever you look at what you've bought, it seems like everything is almost always from China. They are a really good developing country and they make many successful products that can be popular all around the world. I was thinking about where my macbook was MADE today. Not designed or anything of that nature. I meant where the factories are in this world and the locations of where they actually make the computers. I looked at the bottom of my computer and it said that it was made in China or assembled. It was designed in Apple in California. Those are two totally different meanings when it comes to who or what country actually made it. China does seem to create many things in the world and that's probably why it could be one of the richest countries one day. Maybe not as close to the money we have and the opportunities we offer, but they get lots of money from not only the US for products but also other countries. China I think also is just better at doing that job anyway. I feel like we as a country don't really have the right tools or environment to have all these factories anymore these days. We are over with industrialization and now we are in the post stage of it. Back in the days, we did make a lot of things such as steel, where we had one of the best industries in the world. Now we kind of like to design things much more than to actually make them.