Human Geo Class 9/15/14

Today in Human Geography we went over what is going to be on our test on Wednesday. The 4 things that will be on our test are a Message to Garcia, Ancient Greece, Did You Know 3.0, globalization, and americanization. We have to know who delivered the message to Garcia, who wrote it, who was the president during the time, and what war was going on during the time it was written. We also have to know the definitions and concepts of "Arete", "Agora", and we have to know about democracy. We have to know what happened in 508 BC and when Cleisthenes granted power to men in Athens. We also have to write an essay about Socrate's quote "The unexamined life is not worth living."  We don't have class tomorrow so our job is to study for the test.

Human Geo 9/12/14

Today in class we talked about globalization and its effects. Globalization is the connection with different parts of the world. It results in the expansion of international cultural, economic, and political activities. Globalization has been around forever, it is not a new thing to society just because we have computers. It was even around during Alexander the Great's time. In class, we checked the tags on our clothes and shoes to see where they were made, we came to a conclusion that most were made in China because it's cheaper to pay Chinese employees. I found it interesting that usually when Chinese people get sick they just get fired and they get replaced very quickly. Globalization has lead to americanization of other countries. Americanization is the influence the United States has on other cultures such as the food they eat in different countries. Japan now has fast food places such as KFC and McDonalds which is obviously very common in America. Americanization has an effect on the economy and health of other countries. An example of globalization was the Silk Road of China. The Silk Road interconnected them with the rest of the world through trade of silk, tea  and other items. We also talked about the difference between BC and BCE. None of us had ever heard of "BCE" before so we learned that it means "Before the Common Era." Also, more on globalization, it spreads religious beliefs and the art of knowing more then one language. I found today's class very informational and interesting.

Human Geography Class 9/11/14

Today in class we talked more about the video we watched "Did You Know 3.0".Mr. Schick explained the fast-moving world we live in. We live in exponential times where information is spread so quickly that it is almost too hard to keep up with all of the new technology and websites. Mr. Schick explained to us the first time he used a "cellular phone" and how he called his friend Carl to tell him about it and it just showed how advanced things have become in the last 25+ years. It's funny because the computers and phones we have now most likely will not even exist in the future because everything will just be in our minds...such as the chips in our heads I have talked about in my previous blogs. We then began to talk about the new watch that basically does more then our phones and computers now. The watch enables you to swipe your arm over your bill in a restaurant and it automatically pays because its connected to your credit card. It is crazy how fast things are advancing in todays society.

Did You Know 3.0 video

Today in Human Geography we watched a video called "Did you know 3.0". This video illustrates how quickly the world is changing and how technology is advancing very quickly. Honestly, when I first saw this video I was mind blown and amazed. Its insane to think about all of that stuff. It's honestly kind of scary to think about because technology is basically taking over the world. There was a fact in the video that said "The amount of new technical information is doubling every 2 years. For students starting a 4 year technical degree this means that half of what they learn in their first year of study, will be outdated by their third year of study." It's almost pointless so learn software that is just going to be outdated soon after it's made. That right there just shows how insanely fast the technology is being updated and how fast everything changes. Another thing in the video that was mentioned was that if Facebook were a country it would be the third largest country in the world. That shows how consumed we are with social networking. It's crazy to think that there are that many people on one website. The problem with that is, people are losing social skills in real life. So many people use social networks that it's almost like they forget how to interact with people in person. That's why 1 out of 8 married in the U.S. last year met online. Clearly technology is a huge role in our lives these days if we are marrying people we met through a screen. It's honestly sad that our world is like this now.

Human Geo Class 9/8

Today in Human Geography we had quite a loud and entertaining class. Mr. Schick started out the class by telling us he was giving us assigned seats. So once everyone got got to class he assigned our new seats...of course everyone complained and said they hated their seat. It was actually pretty funny because the class was almost fighting like brother and sister with each other about seating arrangements. We then decided to challenge Mr. Schick in a debate started off by Nate speaking first. Nate definitely added some spirit into the debate and made some key points as did Reece. It was definitely funny watching all of this happen. Finally after everyone gave their opinion we took a vote and majority ruled to switch seats. Then, each of us found our new seats next to whoever we wanted and we continued to talk about ancient Greece. As Mr. Schick said, we turned the classroom into an Agora.

Definitions

Agora: A central spot in ancient Greek city-states. Normally was the center of athletic, artistic, spiritual, and political events Literal definition is "gathering place" or "assembly". They were all over the mainland and were independent nations in a way. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agora

Arete: Excellence of any kind. http://mythology.wikia.com/wiki/Aretez

Polis: an ancient Greek city-state where everybody lives and gathers. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/polis

the year 508 BC: This is the year democracy began in Athens. Meaning 'ruled by the people'. Male citizens were given the chance to vote to decide how the city-state should be run. Cleisthenes granted full rights to all free men of Athens. This was the first time that people revolted against leaders and seized power for themselves. Males were able to discuss and vote. ://www.schoolsliaison.org.uk/kids/access/greek/timeline_greece.htm

Socrates: was an Athenian philosopher whose beliefs are known through writings of other philosophers. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle were the 3 main people of western philosophy. He taught that virtue was based on knowledge. "The unexamined life is not worth living." - Socrates http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/socrates

the Socratic method: He wanted to get the views of his students and colleagues by asking questions until a contradiction was exposed which would prove the fallacy of the initial assumption. This is was named "The Socratic Method". ://www.law.uchicago.edu/prospectives/lifeofthemind/socraticmethod

what the ancient Greeks meant if they called you an idiot: "person lacking professional skill". Someone who is characterized by self centeredness. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot

death of Socrates: Socrates was charged with 2 things (corruption of youth and introducing strange gods.) He went to trial with 500+ jurors to decide his fate. They voted to have him put to death by the Athenian government for his teaching methods because they thought it was impiety toward his students. He accepted death from Hemlock. https://www3.nd.edu/~plato/bloch.htm
Below is a painting by Jacques- Louis David from 1787.

Human Geography 9/3

Today in Human Geography we actually got a lot done and talked about a lot. We started out class today by Mr. Schick checking to see if all of us had our composition note books. Then, he went over how to do our blogs again because some people didn't submit theirs right or on time so he made sure we all knew how to use blogger. We then started talking about cyber days and how useful they really are and how we will probably use it a lot this year. It was funny because Mr. Schick brought up how we might use Skype and how we would have to turn our cameras on so he could make sure we were really there. All of us joked about the Skype calls and how we would probably be eating during them or still be in our pajamas which is funny and true. Then we talked about how in years from now when all of us are married and have kids we will probably all have chips in our heads so we could easily transport information to each other and stuff like that which is probably true because technology keeps getting more and more insane every year. Then we expanded more on the topic of "A message to Garcia". We learned all about the metaphor that is illustrated through the story and all of the important facts we need to know. Elbert Hubbard wrote this rant in 1899 during the Spanish-American war. The president at this time was President McKinley who wanted this message spread and needed the message to get to Garcia. So a trustworthy man named Rowan carried this message all the way to Cuba. The metaphor in A message to Garcia is all about taking the initiative and being a reliable person. It's basically all about not being lazy and saying "do I HAVE to?" it's about getting up and going to do something without question. Oh yeah and we also watched Mr. Schick's ice bucket challenge video which was hilarious.