Indonesia

     In class today we talked more about the Nike sweatshops in Indonesia. It is unfair how the people there live and work. However without them we would not get Nike products. My opinion on this is that if Nike gives their workers better working conditions then they will work harder or at least be more willing to work. Their mood change could help to produce more Nike products. We also discussed that if they paid their workers more the price of their shoes go up. But if people have more money they will be able to pay for the products anyway. I disagree with the working conditions but I wouldn't want to lose Nike because of it.

Nike

       In class today we watched a video about the Nike sweatshops. It showed how the people working there were living. It was rough, they barely had any space and lived in a cement box. They aren't given furniture and are paid only $1.25. They are surrounded by toxic waste and get sick very easily. The man in the video traveled to Indonesia where the sweatshops are located and he decided to stay there and work and live in those conditions for a month. The people want to keep their jobs because they are proud of their work. All they want is better working conditions. The workers are constantly abused at work and treated like dogs. My impression on Nike is that they should treat their workers better, because without them their business wouldn't be very successful. I will continue to wear their products because the workers are proud of what products they have made. If Nike would treat their workers better, the workers would be happier to work and more shoes would get made.

More on Globalization

  Today in class we switched seats. We then went over globalization again. We looked at all of these pictures and described what they had to do with globalization. One of the pictures showed the Silk Road. It showed that without the trade route, silk wouldn't have made its way to other places. There was also a picture of a Philippian women with a Jesus statue. This showed that religion has spread throughout the world as people travel and spread this information. There was a picture of different restaurants that had originated in America, and made their way to China. Also there was a picture with a Male from Kenya that was using a cell phone. The cell phone itself, and the things you need to power it, all came from other places before they made it to Kenya.  

First test scores

   Today in class we got the tests back that we took a few weeks ago. The tests were about Socrates and life in ancient Greece. It was multiple choice and fill in the blank, and included two short essays. we went around the room and everyone answered one of the questions. Most people had theirs right which made the process a lot faster. We also had two shadows in our class, which was very interesting. Overall class was very calm and we just sat and talked.

Globalization

     In class today we focused on globalization. We looked at pictures of people with people on the phone, restaurants that originated in America in other countries, and more examples of globalization.
Globalization means, the interaction, and integration of people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment, and aided by information technology. This process of globalization has changed our world. With this process many techniques and companies have transferred over to different parts of the world. Places like China hold McDonald's and KFC's after America introduced these places to them.

Did you know?

   Today we watched a video called "Did you know". It had many facts about our world today and how much it has evolved. One of the facts was; if you are number one here, that in china there are 1,300 people just like you. Also that China will soon become the number one English speaking country in the world. Another fact was; the 25% of India's population with the highest IQ's is greater then the total population of the United States. And that, we are currently preparing kids for jobs that do not exist yet. "one out of 8 married couples met online" "there are 845 Facebook users monthly" "there are about 600 tweets per second on Twitter" "the number of texts daily exceeds the population on Earth" and many more facts like this. A lot of the facts were talking about how the statistics would change in the future, and it was made in 2012 so that means a lot of the numbers have changed. Some of the facts seem crazy but I do send a lot of texts!

First Test

Today in Human Geography we took our first test. It was about, "Message to Garcia", Socrates', and ancient Greece. The test was pretty easy, mostly written responses, so you couldn't just guess, you actually had to know the answer. I think I did well on the test. I knew most of the questions, except there were two I wasn't positive about. The responses were easy too. They were short and I knew the answers to both of them. I hope I got a good grade on this test, I think I did. The two questions I wasn't sure about were the one about the date of when "message to Garcia" was written and what war it was after. Next time I will study even  more to insure that I remember everything.

Unexamined Life

   Today in class we learned what the word "Idiot" meant in ancient Greek. It meant someone who was self-centered and didn't take part in public life. The term "idiot" is used differently now, "a stupid person"  We also ended up discussing how people are drafted into the army, and how they get out of it. We also talked about Jury duty, and how to get out of it. Then we went over all the different ways that people go when given the death sentence: drinking poison, electric chair, and firing squad. Socrates' says; "the examined life is not worth living." meaning that if your doing nothing with your life and your not happy, it's not worth living.

Socrates

We spent most of the class today learning about Socrates. As a young man he worked as a stonemason. He also fought in the Peloponnesian war. His working background and battlefield experiences may have shaped the way he viewed the world. He began meeting with young students outside the agora for workshops. Socrates had a specific method he used when he was teaching. He asked a series of questions to determine students underlying beliefs and the extent of their knowledge. This led to the scientific method, in which you start out with a hypothesis, then set out to prove/disprove your theory through experimentation. Socrates was charged with 2 crimes, corruption of Athens youth, and impiety. He defended himself and even admitted that he did these things but said he was right in what he did. A jury of 500 male citizens found him guilty, and he was sentenced to death by poison (hemlock) He even had an opportunity to escape, but refused, proving his loyalty to Athenian democracy. We also talked about Athens and how it attracted many great thinkers to trade their knowledge. Visitors from all around came and shared their knowledge about science.

Ancient Greek

Today in class we continued to take notes about "A message to Garcia". We also discussed the tragedy's that occurred on September 11th in 2001. We talked about what happened and what everyone was thinking during this. Aside from that we began discussing ancient Greek. The Socratic method is, a pedagogical technique in which a teacher does not give information directly but instead asks a series of questions. A Polis is a Greek city-state. An agora is a meeting place in the middle of a Greek city-state. Socrates was a Greek philosopher in 469-399 B.C. He invented the teaching practice of pedagogy, where a teacher asks students questions in a manner that draws out the correct response. He also created the Socratic irony, and Socratic method. Socrates was sentenced to death by poison (hemlock) and his last words were "Crito we a cock to Asclepius. Please, don't forget to pay the debt." In 508 B.C Kleisthenes began reforming Athenian code of laws, and establishes a democratic constitution.

Furthering "Message to Garcia"

       "Message to Garcia" was written in 1899 as an inspirational essay, by Elbert Hubbard. After selling over 40 million copies it was made into a pamphlet, book, and translated into 37 languages. Then it was made into two different movies, one in 1916, and the second in 1936. "Take a message to Garcia"  became a popular slang term for taking initiative, which is still used in the military. The essay takes place during the Spanish-American war. Garcia was a revolutionary seeking Cuban independence from Spain. Rowan the man sent to give the note to Garcia, was an army officer and in the west point class of 1881. During this time our president was William McKinley. He was the 25th president, (1897-1901) and was assassinated six months into his second term by an anarchist. Mt. McKinley was originally called Denali. It is the tallest mountain in North America, and recently it was changed back to Mt. Denali.

5 things to improve my years at John Carroll

  Throughout my years at John Carroll I hope to accomplish many things. I want to enjoy my time here but also do well academically.
1. Have good grades.
    I hope to work hard and study to get and maintain good grades.
2. Participate in all of the theatre production.
    I hope to audition and get parts in most or all of the shows at JC. I enjoy doing theater and am      excited to work with others at JC.
3. Participate in a club.
    I am interested in joining the service learning club and helping out in our community.  It would
    help to earn service hours as well.       
4. Join an organization.
    I would to try to be apart of the national honor society and possibly the Spanish honor society.
    Both of these society's are a great opportunity and I want to be apart of one of them.
5. Go to football games and dances.
    I plan to go to events like these to support our school, and have fun with my friends. Through
    events like this you can even meet new people and make new friends.

Essay discussion

In Human Geography class today we discussed the essay we read yesterday "A Message to Garcia". We talked about the words we didn't recognize and we identified their definitions. We discussed our opinions on the essay and if the essay relates to our generation. We also discovered that no one in our class likes to raise their hand and talk. In my opinion we are all just getting used to everything and our participation will fully begin next week. We talked about our blogs again, and how we are going to need to participate for part of our grade.

Message to Garcia

   In class today we read an essay "A Message to Garcia". It was about how when your given a task you should complete it. You shouldn't have to ask questions or put it off no matter how strange or hard the task is. I don't agree that the message applies to today. The essay mainly talks about the fact that men do most of the hard work. Presently women and men can both do hard work. On the other hand I did agree with the essay. People in our generation are lazy sometimes and try to get out of doing things. While reading the essay I ran into some words I didn't recognize or understand. The word traversed means to travel across or through. Also the word Dowdy means unfashionable and without style of appearance. And Shipshod means characterized by a lack of care thought, or organization.

Bloging

Today in class we set up our blogs and fixed problems on our computer. It took most of the class time and we didn't get to do much else. We also talked about a few things we would be learning about in class tomorrow, Greek Philosophers.  We all brought in our notebooks that we will be using for class. Everyone in the class remembered to bring in their notebooks! Our teacher noticed an unattended lap top and posted a blog saying that it was the best day of his life from the students account!