Humanities 8 Subin

What is power?

2009-05-17T23:21:00.000-07:00

If the history of the world is a play, then power is the main character of the plot. Everything in history has changed according to power. Power has many definitions that lead in to one result which is; ability to change. The one who has power can change the view of the society and change the lives of other people. There has been some major events relating to the usage of power and the one who had the power and it started in the 1800’s as the Industrial Revolution began, followed by imperialism and conflicts such as the Russian Revolution

When people realized that key to success was education, their lives changed from slow motion to fast motion. Inventions were created and new ideas were developed. Instead of cottage industry, people started working in factories for more profit and efficiency. Systems such as assembly line and division of labor were developed for commodities. Soon, capitalism came into existence. According to Adam Smith, who wrote The Wealth of the Nations, capitalism is when people act in own self interest and rewarded on what your job is. Even though the wealthy though that the idea was logical, the poor got poorer as the working condition worsened and the wages lowered.

As the competition between the wealthy and powerful countries increased, imperialism began. Imperialism was the policy by a stronger nation to attempt to create an empire by dominating weaker nations. To become more powerful than other countries, the European countries exploited Africa to spread their religion, the steal raw materials and for cheap labor. The term “scramble for Africa” was used when the Europeans started dividing Africa between them, redrawing the boundary lines between countries without asking the natives who lived in the land. The lives of the people living in Africa were completely changed as they had to change their culture and lives according the European countries. The idea of slavery increased along with hatred for each other that had been unsolved by the imperialists still remain in parts of Africa.

However, the competition between the powerful countries never ended. Each country had high nationalism for their own country and made alliances in order to decrease the number of competitors. Sooner or later, World War 1 and 2 started between the two sides; countries that supported capitalism and the countries that supported communism. Unlike capitalism where one is allowed to have personal property, communism demands for equality and no personal property. The capitalists countries ended up winning. After all, communism was found to be full of flaws as even though the main purpose of communism was for equality, Stalin, the powerful leader of Soviet Union who helped the people of Russia to get rid of the Czar, became rich even though the laborers were still suffering from harsh conditions.

What is now is all thanks to power that had changed the course of history along the way. Its capacity to change the value of the society and the view of the world has impacted the world more than anything else. Even though the effects may have been negative, there still were positive effects. The result in power depends on the one who uses it and how it is balanced out.

Power and Control

2009-05-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

Power and control are two different things that are actually related to each other. However, I think that control is the big theme for power. In the novel I read called, The House of The Scorpion, the story begins with the procedure of cloning a powerful drug lord called El Patron. During his youth, El Patron had a hard time trying to survive in harsh conditions and poverty. Out of 8 siblings, El Patron was the only one to survive and grow up. However, as he started selling and trading opium all over the world, he became rich and powerful enough to have control over people although it may be illegal and brutal. To live longer, he also cloned himself for 8 times, the main character, Matt is the 8th clone, killing the clones and using their young, healthy body whenever he needed one. Later on his book, El Patron tells Matt the reason why he must sacrifice himself for El Patron which is: he feels that he owed the lives of his siblings and ought to live longer for them but also for his own greed. Even though all these reasons seem bizarre, no one dare try to disobey him and his evil orders. All this is due to the control El Patron has over the people and the workers. He uses eejits to do all the harvesting of opium, who are not able to think but only listen to instructions. Some of the "alive" workers and body guards know that this is not right and know that El Patron's way of thinking is absolutely wrong. However, they have no right to tell El Patron what they think of him and his rules because they "owe" him. In the book, one of the body guards of El Patron tells Matt that he can't help craving for his power and that most of the body guards El Patron has gathered owe him for not sending them to jails. He knows how to gain control over people by making them feel quilty and obliged to serve him.

Feedback - April 27 - May 1 - 7. Most valuable things learned from Population Project

2009-05-04T00:58:00.001-07:00

What are the three most valuable things you have learned during the Population Project process? How will they help you in the future?

Firstly, I learned to plan ahead to make sure that you get the tasks accomplished and be organized. By planning, I learned to finish my tasks in time so that I can work on other tasks at the same time. If I hadn't planned what to finish and what to work more on, I could have made big mistakes that could have been solved earlier on. Also, it was a good idea to keep on looking at the calender attached to the Population folder because if I hadn't looked at the due dates and the events happening during the project, it was possible that I had forgot to hand something in or to do something.

Secondly, I learned to use the time wisely; for example when to research my topic, when to stay after school for further research and lastly when to finish each parts of the project. If I hadn't wasted time on researching for more information for my research paper and just looked through what I already had, I could have finished my research paper earlier and could have worked more on my raise-an-awareness poster.

Thirdly, besides the point that I was not well organized, I hadn't really thought about how to design my poster so I had to put on my thinking cap and make sure to finish each task given to me in a short period. I also hadn't thought about how to organize my information that I had already collected and possibly wrote the same things down again ans again. I should have also looked back at what I already had so that I could collect more data that I still did not have.

Net Effect of Globalization

2009-05-04T00:56:00.000-07:00

In a minimum of two “good” paragraphs explain the net effect of globalization. Use information from class lectures and discussions, videos, websites and “The World is Flat” as evidence to support your opinion.

Globalization is a new word in the English dictionary which has brought a huge impact around the world after imperialism. Globalization can be referred to “the growing integration of economics and societies around the world” according to the World Banks. According to Thomas Friedman, from year 2000, “the world shrank from a size small to a size tiny and flattened the playing field at the same time.” As described, globalization connects people from different locations and make sharing of ideas and informational over the world. This is one of the positive effects of globalization; communication around the globe. Some of the other positive effects are opportunities for other people around the world to get the jobs through outsourcing, and increase the profit between the countries. For example, most of the companies in America produce their products in China and India where there is cheap labor therefore lowering the price of the products even though the quality may be the same.

Even though globalization seems to be a solution to many of the world problems that can open up the opportunities to people around the world who are desperate for jobs, globalization has its own downsides too One of the negative effects of globalization is that even though outsourcing opens up more jobs to people in other parts of the world, the jobs used to belong to someone else. For example, while people in India get the job that people in America had, more and more Americans are becoming jobless. Also, so-called “monoculture”, which means one culture, is mixing unique cultures around the world. It could mean a positive situation but actually it is the opposite. Because of the impact Western countries have on countries like India, people are losing their own culture and becoming “westernized”. To focus on India, due to globalization, there is less stability in economics due to outsourcing because they rely on outsourcing too much. When there are strikes going on in India, people might have to stop from working for at least a day. However, the days missed out due to little obstacles cost a lot of money therefore crashing the economy. Lastly, even though globalization boosts up the economy forcing countries like India to change fast like other rich counties when they are not ready, it creates a big gap between the rich and the poor. The rich get richer as they get more access to new information while the poor have to always be poor working for only minor jobs. As one can see, it is not a matter of deciding rather globalization is bad or not, it is a matter of how to benefit from globalization.

Feedback - April 13-17_Blogging cartoon analysis

2009-04-20T00:17:00.000-07:00

1. What are the main visual elements?
Some of the visual elements are a woman, a man, and a kid, all together probably a family, sitting at a table eating and the quote at the bottom of the cartoon, probably said by the father talking to his son.

2. What issue is this cartoon about?
I think that the cartoon is about technology and its flaws; the fact that there is no privacy.

3. What is the cartoonist’s opinion on this issue?
I think that the cartoonist's opinion on this issue is that although there are good points about technology, there also are some cliche and flaws in technology that people must know about. For example, if people start relying only on computers for security and information, there could be a chance of people hacking in to their information and accounts; one mistake could cause a life-time damage and ruin ones life.

4. What evidence in the cartoon supports your opinion on how the cartoonist feels?
One of the ways the cartoon supports my opinion and the cartoonist's thoughts is the sentence written at the bottom, which the father, looking stern and strict, is telling his son. It is written, "
Well, yes, we could read your blog...or you could just tell us about your school day.".

5. Why is this cartoon ironic?
I think that the cartoon is ironic that families don't get to "talk" about their day, and rather read each others blogs, even though they are closest to each other and live in a same house.

6. How does this cartoon relate to our study of technology and the future?
I think that the cartoonist is trying to show that "too much" of technology and relying on it can ruin social life as well as other problems. The cartoonist has expressed his feelings through the cartoon about the question, "how much should machines and technology do for us in our daily lives?".

7. What other techniques could the cartoonist have used to make this cartoon more persuasive?
To make the cartoon more persuasive, the cartoonist could have exaggerated the feeling of a family in a same room but using technology to talk and communicate with each other.

Population Project Work Plan

2009-04-13T02:03:00.000-07:00

This week is your week to work on your Population Project in Humanities Class. What I would like you to do for this week’s feedback is to create a work plan for using your class time most effectively. Take a few minutes to figure out what you have left to do and then lay out your plan day by day for this week.

Monday:
-research for information and start organizing in on the note cards.
Tuesday:
-Get more information(note cards). Start thinking about the layout of the research paper.
Wednesday:
-Get more information(note cards). and start writing the first paragraph of the research.
Thursday:
-Keep on writing down the information on the note cards and begin writing rough draft of the research paper.

Feedback March 16-20 - Technology?

2009-03-23T01:50:00.000-07:00

1. What is technology?
I think that technology is something to do with machinery and electricity instead of man power. It can help people find or do something much easier and faster without having to waste time on something that is not necessary. Technology builds up on the one that has been already there and developes.

2. What are the 5 most and 5 least important technologies used today?
I think that the 5 most important technologies used today are the computers, mobile phones, music players (mp3 players), transportation, and lastly light bulbs. As one can see, the machinery listed above are used almost everyday and are basic technologies to everyones' lives. They all use electricity too. The computers are used every day, everywhere, by everyone around the world. It is a vital source of information and ideas. It is used in schools, hospitals, factories, and even at home. The 5 least used technologies used today are; fans, hair dryers, light-up shoes, automatic or sliding doors, and christmas lights etc. These are used only on special occasions and mostly they have been developed and people use the newly made ones of these techonlogy. For example, people use air conditions instead of fans because it makes the room cooler faster.

3.How do you feel about the amount of and use of technology at AES?
In AES, technology is used everywhere for every subjects; humanities, science, Spanish, art, physical education and algebra. Art, physical education and Spanish will seem out of place but technology is actually used during these classes too. For example, in 7th grade, our class was assigned for homework where we have to figure out what is a normal heart rate for an athlete and normal people. All the information was found by using computer and we even visited the computer lab to share our homework. In art, to make a name card, we had to use scanners and Photoshop in the computer to make more copies of them quickly and perfectly. In Spanish, we use 3-D programmed game to practice speaking in Spanish. As you can see, technology is used everywhere; especially computers. They are the vital source of information where people from around the globe can enter and share their knowledge and ideas. I think that it is true that too much technology is used in AES. Every single studies require some sort of technology. It takes away a lot of money and electricity. It's also a lot of waste.

Evaluating Vonnegut Quote

2009-03-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

Using examples from “Harrison Bergeron”, “The Euphio Question” and current events evaluate the statement:

“Do you know what a Luddite is? That’s a person who doesn’t like newfangled contraptions. Contraptions like nuclear submarines armed with Poseidon missiles that have H-bombs in their warheads, and like computers that cheat you out of becoming. Bill Gates says, “Wait till you can see what your computer can become.” But it’s you who should be doing the becoming. What you can become is the miracle you were born to work—not the damn fool computer.”

- Kurt Vonnegut

I think I actually do agree with Kurt Vonnegut in a way but not completely. It is true that there are disadvantages of technology but there also are advantages. Kurt Vonnegut always focus on how technology. In stories such as "Harrison Bergeron" and "The Euphio Question" deals with how technology, which was supposed to help us, and live comfortably without having to spend a lot of time or a lot of energy, ends up making us, the human beings, "less-human".

In "Harrison Bergeron", the people are made to be all "equal" by machinery and technology but in Kurt Vonnegut's point of view, people are made like machines, which do not have free will and difference. The main character Harrison, son of George and Hazel, is one of the people who realized that the "equality" that human beings had wanted for a long time and finally achieved, is not really what they wanted; people being forced to become dumb like anybody else, naturally beautiful or talented people covered up heavily with machinery for being "selfish". And when these people with enlightenment try to tell the world that there is a flaw in the law, they are punished or shot at.

In the story "The Euphio Questions" is about a discovery of high technology that was bought by a salesman and used in a wrong way. Fred, the scientist, discovered something amazing but also monstrous. The radio wave found in the faraway space has an ability to make people go mad but happy like when they are taking tons of drugs. the main character and the scientist descided that this discover should not be revealed for the sake of the entier world. However, not understanding the seriousness of the problem , a man who was trying to sell the discovery to people, ends up having the acess to the radio wave.

I think that both the stories show that too much of anything, even technolgy, could end up harming what you already have.

http://mrcoyle.edublogs.org/files/2008/03/kurt_vonnegut_jr_associated_press.jpg

End of Q3 Feedback

2009-03-16T01:58:00.000-07:00

Go back and review your goals for quarter three in humanities. These can be found in the January Archive of your BLOG in a posting titled,” End of Quarter 2 Feedback”. Evaluate how well you have achieved those goals. Include specific evidence from the quarter to validate your evaluation.

In addition to your evaluation please create three specific goals that you have for quarter four in humanities. Remember that a good goal is realistic, measurable and specific.

My goals from last quarter were all similar to the goals I had in previous quarters: to improve on writing, enrich vocabulary and try to improve on my oral presentation skills. I think that I have achieved some goals but not completely. i got to write in different forms in this quarter and I think I've improved on writing independently, but I still need some work on persuading and stating my idea and back it up with specific reasons. It is the same for oral communication. I have to learn to be more specific so that I can make the people listen to me. I think that I'll have to work on my vocabulary again, since I can see that I repeat many words and always think of easy, dull words rather than descriptive and vivid vocabularies.

For the fourth quarter, my goals are still the same with the goals I had before: to write better, improve on my word choices and become more persuasive with specific reasons to back up my opinion when having a debate. To improve on my writing, I will have to learn to construct sentences more fluently. To do that, I will read more variety of books and also write on my own. To enrich my vocabulary choice, I will try to be thoughtful as I write and read more books to learn from them. For the last one, I'll have to keep on trying to be more specific and confident when I'm debating. And before the debate day, I should practice saying it to myself and edit.

Feedback March 2-6_Oxymoron Reflection

2009-03-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

An oxymoron is two words that don’t belong being used together. Why is the phrase “Holy War” an oxymoron? Why is it that so many conflicts in the world today are based upon religious differences yet all major world religions condemn killing?

Obviously, the phrase "Holy War" is an oxymoron because the words, "holy" and "war" do not have the same kind of image. In fact, they are antonyms! The word, "holy" means something to do with religion and sacred. Holy also gives an insight of something peaceful and calm. On the other hand, the word, "war", means something brutal: A struggle between two different ideas. The term usually gives an image of blood and hatred. Therefore, the word, "Holy War" does not make sense because how can a war be peaceful and loving?

There also is a major cliche in many of the wars going on nowadays, especially in Middle East. To start off, it is obvious that every religion banns violence and conflicts because hatred is the worst kind of emotions that can lead to bigger conflicts and cause a lot of problems with nothing left. However, when people start a fight, they reason it with religious problems.

Feedback February 16-20 - World War III ???

2009-02-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

Do you think there will be a World War III in your lifetime?

If you don’t think WWIII will occur please explain why you feel this way. What structures are in place that will prevent WWIII from happening?
If you do think WWIII will happen what will be the causes? Which nations will be on each side? Where will it be fought? What will be the net effect?

I think that WWIII is most unlikely to occur because people know how to negotiate and understand other people's point of views. Back in the beginning of 1900's, competition between powerful countries was intense, and the idea of war was viewed with less concern at that time. There were clearly two major conflicts between strong countries; democratic capitalism and communism. When ever there was a conflict between two big countries, they never tried to negotiate because war was thought to be the best solution to become more powerful even though lots and lots of people would suffer from it. High nationalism and greed made the people proud and selfish, thinking that there country is the best and the rest, uncivilized and unworthy.
But now, there are many organizations to prevent war and conflicts because most people know that war would only bring hatred and destruction. A lot of people now live abroad in a totally different environment, trying to learn and understand about others. More people now understand that difference does not mean the quality of one's value. If some country would start a fight, the more educated countries or richer countries would sometimes come in between and stop the war.

World War II: A Letter from the Battlefield

2009-02-17T07:23:00.000-08:00

To: 124, 2nd Avenue,
West Reading,
Pennsylvania.
From:
365th STA HOSP
Normandy,France
US Army Base

August 14th, 1994

Dear Mom and Dad,
I hope you are well with Rose and Emily. I’m truly sorry if I had worried you by not being regular with my letters recently. In fact, our troop was very busy. Our troop had invaded Normandy on the 6th of June, and had attacked the German Army which had forcefully occupied France. It was very successful and I hope you are proud of the fact that I now will be a part of history. I will be able to write back some letters for a while, since I’m stuck here in this hospital. Fortunately, I was almost unscathed with only an arm broken and I assure you that it will heal quite fast, so don’t worry.

The war was brutal and bloody but it was worth it. We, the Allied Forces, finally got control over the German base and made a huge impact on the German Army. My troop was sent to the Omaha beach, out of the five other coastal land marks. About 32,450 of our troops were sent there along with my team. The night before, nobody could sleep and rest and in the dawn everyone got up to get ready for the battle. I bet everyone was excited like small children as I was, since the date of the battle had been delayed due to the bad weather and the Omaha Beach was going to be the largest assault area. But we never knew how the battle would truly be like until we got closer to the battle field.

It was a four-mile stretch of sand between Point du Hoc and the town of Ste-Honorine-des-Petres. As we approached towards the beach, I could feel the tense atmosphere surrounding and suffocating us. The wind and the weather weren’t fully at our side yet and the current was rough; I could barely see anything due to the cloudy weather. We were supposed to step out of the landing craft once it had gotten near the beach but as we finally did, the shooting began. The enemies were prepared with funneled mortars, machine guns, and artillery for they had been waiting for us.

The battle was not as easy and adventurous as we thought. Bullets were shot everywhere. A heavy load of bombs poured down at us and as they crashed on to the surface, they made thundering sounds of explosion. (Please do not freak out by my vivid descriptions). The smell of the gun powder was horrible and I used all my energy on trying to swim ashore alive. I just hoped that I wouldn’t be bombed but could not do anything to protect myself from it. We could not get much help from our tankers because only 5 out of 32 tankers could make it ashore. Garbage and useless pieces of our bombed armors floated here and there. At first, I almost gave up hope and was convinced that I couldn’t make it alive when I saw what was happening around me. It was a shocking and formidable sight and I’m quite sure that I shall not forget the scene for the rest of my life. As I dragged myself out on the beach and started shooting at the enemy side. I did not care where I was shooting; I just kept on pulling the trigger of my M1 "Garand" rifle and pointed towards the German Army. It was reckless and that’s how I got my arm broken. Despite this negative aspect, my companions and I fought like lions. Our commanders, Omar Bradley and Clarence R. Huebner were troubled by their plans and strategies as they did not work out as successfully as it did on the other beaches. However, they had kept our morale high, so that when we landed on the beach, I was ready to fight for my country and freedom.

After all, the battle ended in a success and the survivors returned back to the army and most, to the hospitals like me, in tremendous triumph. When we were back in the army, there was a great contrast of emotions in the building; many were somber and bitter in loss of a good friend or a great commander, while some were jubilant and glorious, busy celebrating the victory. I was in both the moods. While I was proud that I actually survived through the battle and that our side had won, but on the other hand, I couldn’t help feeling poignant for my new friend whom I’ve made during the war. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it. His fellow friends and I are planning to pray for him tomorrow morning.

Love,
Johnny

p.s. I’m so sorry that I had to send you such a terribly depressing letter but I’m not much in a cheery mood at this moment; I hope you don’t worry too much about me. It’ll pass soon. Please remind Rose and Emily that I really miss them and love them. I hope I can see you soon. I love you.

Image citation: http://www.mikelavella.com/portfolio/wd/Dreamweaver/Media/dday4.jpg

Resources: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/may/28/secondworldwar.features111

http://www.britannica.com/dday/article-9389941

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1749.html

http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=2

http://www.war-letters.com/

Feedback February 9-13 _Anne Frank Discussion Reflection

2009-02-17T00:22:00.000-08:00

In her diary Anne opined: “…if you’re wondering if it’s harder for the adults here than for the children, the answer is no…Older people have an opinion about everything and are sure of themselves and their actions. It’s twice as hard for us young people to hold on to our opinions at a time when ideals are being shattered…” (July 15, 1944.) Do you agree or disagree with this quote? When was the last time that you experienced the “shattering” of an ideal?
Most people think that adults have to deal with harder problems than children do because they have more responsibilities over things. But that is not always true. Adults and children shouldn't be compared to what kind of problems they face, but how the problems affect their lives. Of course, some problems are different according to the age of the individual. For example, if you were a child, you'd be worried about getting your presents for Christmas. If you were a teenager, you'd be worried about your grades, your friends and so on. To adults, these problems would seem like nothing serious but to the people facing these problems at that certain age, these problems could seem horrible.
The last time I experienced the "shattering" of an ideal was when I realized that Santa was not real. I bet that everyone had experienced this kind of things. As I grew older, I realised that some things that were told to me and that I've believed in were actually not true.

Recipe for World War II

2009-02-11T06:31:00.000-08:00

The Bitter Taste of World War II

First, for the bottom layer,
grab a handful of Versailles Treaty.
Then mix it with an abundant amount of reparation
and a pinch of guilt and appeasement.
Swirl and mix the ingredients until
they ooze thick with revenge.

Secondly, for the second layer,
scoop out from
the League of Nations thoroughly and then mince it
into tiny fragments.
On top of the thin layer of the League of Nations,
pour another layer of the fear of communism,
just in case.

Thirdly, for the third layer,
pour a cupful of enmity with a spoonful of greed and revenge
with a few fascists: Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and Hirohito.
Make sure to sugar coat them with prejudice and dictatorship.
Don't forget to add the German aggression sauce and Japanese agression sauce;
mix them till they blend in united liquid.

Lastly, for the icing and the decoration,
cover with whipped creme and sprinkle some sweet ideas
of a strong government, power and conquering the world.
Now you have a WWII!
But be careful; it will explode as soon as the temperature reaches 1939
and there will be a chaotic mess in the kitchen.
All it would leave are destruction and bitterness in the heart.

http://kids.lovetoknow.com/wiki/images/Kids/thumb/d/d3/Baking_cake.jpg/200px-Baking_cake.jpg

Critique of Animal Farm (The Movie)

2009-02-09T07:38:00.000-08:00

The movie Animal Farm was actually quite different from what I thought it would be. I thought that the movie showed the emotions and the background theme well, although some details from the book were missing. Surprisingly, I didn't really find the missing parts disturbing. It was actually quite subtle and if I hadn't read the book, I wouldn't have noticed at all. What I most found surprising was how the movie showed the emotions of the characters and their thoughts vividly while there was barely any word spoken by the animals. And I found the animation quite depressing and it left a bigger impact on me than the book did. I thought that the movie would be really cute with pretty animals and a light tone in the background but it rather made me absorbed into the movie. However, I still think that movie wasn't quite as satisfying as the book did. After all, the movie did take out some details and actually showed what would happen to the pigs at the end.
Some of the examples of the missing parts are the characters. In the movie, several characters such as Mollie, the white mare, was not mentioned. In some characters, it did not fully develope the characters in their personality. For example, I thought that the donkey, Benjamin, was supposed to be more cyninical and be negative about everything. However, in the movie, it didn't quite show it. While there were parts that were missing, there were some extra parts too. I found it really wierd how the movie showed what would actually happen at the end, rather than to foreshadow it. In that way, it kind of showed what level of understanding was viewed from the movie.

Feedback January 26-30 _Which character in Animal Farm are you?

2009-02-01T19:17:00.000-08:00

With which character in Animal Farm to you most closely identify? Using examples from the novel justify your comparison.
I think I'm like Mollie and Boxer, some of each animal's characteristics mixed together. Mollie and Boxer are both horses but they both have two very different personalities. Mollie is a pretty white mare, who loves sugar and plaiting her hair with colorful ribbons. She's kind of lazy and loves freedom. On the other hand, Boxer is a strong horse who is very diligent as well as hardworking. His motto is "I'll work harder" and 'Napoleon is always right". He is very loyal and played an important role in building the windmill.
The reason why I think that I'm a part Mollie because I do prefer some things that she likes. Such as sugar, ribbons and I could be lazy sometimes when I'm not interested in the topic. I can also girly when I want to be and wear pretty clothes. And I also like freedom. I don't usually like long instructions when I'm doing something. Who doesn't want freedom?
But when I'm really into something such as school projects or group projects, I always try to do the best, like Boxer because after all, the grade that my group gets would go into my grade too. But I'm not really loyal to one individual and do whatever that person tells me too. I make my own decisions.

Feedback January 19-23- Tyranny, Injustice and Self-determination in Animal Farm

2009-01-26T23:22:00.000-08:00

In your own words define, tyranny, injustice and self-determination and then using examples from Animal Farm explain how they all relate to the overthrow of Farmer Jones.
Tyranny is an unfair and unjust way of ruling by an autocrat or one person. Injustice is an unfair or unjust way of treating someone else. Self-determination is someone's or something's right to choose for itself.
Farmer Jones was an autocrat and a tyranny to the animal's point of view, who took away their harvest and the commodities they produced. The animals had no such idea as justice or self-determination and just led their lives. And then came the pigs who were the brain stormers, who thought of all the possible ideas and decisions. They told the animal that they were only doing it for justice as Farmer Jones was injustice. And so the animals started to dream about their life with self-determination and no one ruling over them. All these ideas presented by the pigs caused the animals to go against the farmer and overthrow him.

WWI Illustrated Poem _The Sounds of Bells

2009-01-22T01:51:00.000-08:00

WWI Illustrated Poem
The Sounds of Bells

The air is filled
with the sounds of bells
The cows are here! Here they are!
They jingle past the doorways
the tingle giving pleasure to inmates.

The air is filled
with the sounds of bells
The soldiers are here! Here they are!
They march past the doorways
the welcoming peals of bells
linger giving pleasure to the soldiers.

The air is filled
with the sounds of guns
The foes are here! Here they are!
Bang bang the bullets boom past the trenches
as the soldiers crawl over the blood-dried barbed wires
and enter no man's land
bodies scattered like dead autumn leaves .

The air is thick

with the sounds of bells

The soldiers are back! Here they are!

The coffins past the doorways

the death tolls of bells

linger as grief spreads to every house.

The air is thick

with the curses for the war
The dead are here! Here they are!
buried cold and pale
as the moaners circle the graves
the cries echo in the hills.

SuBin

citations

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/A_World_War_1_Story,_Part_6._Hutt_Valley,_Wellington,_New_Zealand,_14_April_1916_(437353411).jpg

http://dailydish.typepad.com/the_daily_dish/images/einsatz1.jpg

http://www.ralphmag.org/CG/war-dead388x278.gif

http://www.southlakes-uk.co.uk/old/thegillww1.jpg

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/10_02/trenchPA_468x607.jpg

Would you join the military?

2009-01-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

In some countries, joining the military is mandatory, in other countries, optional. For example, in Israel and Singapore both men and women are required to perform two years compulsory military service right after high school. Does your country require military service? If so, how do you feel about this? If not, under what conditions would you ever join the military to defend your country?
In South Korea, both women and men are allowed to join the military. For men, it's mandatory to join in the military while it's optional for the women. One is required to work in the military for 24 to 28 monthes which will change into 18 monthes in 2016. You have to be aged between 18 to 26 and have atleast have had a middle school education to be able to join in.
I thought that this was nethier good or bad. It could be good in a way since women are free to choose rather they'd like to join the military. But I think that it's more towards the good side since people are free to join in unless they atleast have a middle school education. I think if I was required to do the military service, I would do it. I don't think that I would want to run away from it.

Feedback January 5-9 _Political cartoon evaluation

2009-01-12T01:36:00.000-08:00

The political cartoon on the left includes men and a bear, shaking hands with each other. Except for a girl standing in the left corner and no one's trying to shake hands with her. This political cartoon shows the treaties made between countries in the 18th century. Each one of the characters in the cartoon represents a powerful country at that time. Some of the men have a lot of allies while some only have a few. But as everyone start to make more treaties with each other, the treaties become more entangled.

This cartoon relates to the Great Powers Game where people were divided into each countries and had to make the countries stronger. We could also make treaties with other countries to make sure that the other countries would not attack you. But making alliance never gave you profit because the other countries could break the alliance whenever they wanted to and attack you. The powerful countries would not care about the alliances they had made and just start a war to gain more profit. So no one could trust each other completely.

The cartoonist is trying to tell the reader that making alliances just for the sake of making more would not help you later on. The alliances would be so tangled up that it gets confusing and make everything more difficult.

Some evidences in the cartoon that supports my opinion about the cartoonist's feelings are the fact that the cartoon is intectionally made difficult to uderstand which is connected to which and who is against whom.

To make this cartoon more effective, the cartoonist could have made it more entangled up and clear about who is who. And to make this cartoon more persuasive, the cartoonist could have made the hands more entangled because that is what the cartoonist is trying to show.

As you can see, the cartoon relates to the Great Powers game, in a way. In the game, we were allowed to make alliances with the countries that we did not wanted to fight with. However, the alliances got all mixed up between the countries and at the end, the alliances did not matter. No matter you had made alliance with a powerful country, it wouldn't help your country if it did not want to and it could attack you at any moment.

Great Powers Game Debrief

2009-01-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

1. Which country were you? How did it feel to build your empire? Which countries had the advantage at the start of the game? Why? How did you empire compare to other empires?
My country was the Ottoman Empire. At first I was really worried that the game would be to complicated. I also was depressed at the descripsion of my country. I think that countries such as The Great Britain, France, and Germany etc had more advantages that the others since they were already storng and powerful as they had expanded their land. On the otherhand, my country was weak in economy, and while having a lot of enemies, we had only a few allies.
2. In the long run was it more important to buy armies, navies, industries or colonies? Why?
At first it much important to buy more colonies an industries to get more armies. Because by expanding the land and the economy, more people are available to build a strong army. and in the game, the more industry cards and colony cards you had, the more cards you could get in return.
3. What did you do well? What would you have done differently?
I think that we tried our best to keep peace and stay out of wars. It was to risky for us to go to wars since we were not so powerful and had poor armies. If I could do this game again, I would buy as many colonies and industries I can, and then to make my armies strong.
4. How successful were your alliances? Did they help or hurt you? Could they be trusted?
My alliances were mostly very successful but we never got anything in return since we never participated in wars or helped our alliances. I thought that I couldn't trust them entirely, just in case. But none really cared about my little country so I didn't really worry about our trust to them.
5. What are three specific things you learned about conflict from this simulation?
One of the things I learned from this simulation was that you should be ready to risk to get more powerful. Also, that buying armies from the the very beginning wont help later. All the powerful countries that became mighty thoguth really carefully when choosing between armies cards and industry cards. The stronger countries knew that taking more industry cards will give more apportunities to get other cards so they started with industry cards. Also, when they were strong enough, they started a war which was risky but when they won, they could get richer the easy way out. The last thing I learned from the simulation was that life is unfair. Eventhough you were one of the strongest countries, you could lose everything and become one of the poorest coutries.

End of Quarter 2 Feedback

2009-01-05T21:09:00.000-08:00

My goals in the 2nd quarter was to improve in writing essays and learn more vocabularies by reading and try to read more non-fiction than fiction. I think that i have improved on writing essays but still needs an improvement on sentence fluency and grammar. I think I never really got to read a lot and didn’t learn new vocabularies.

What are three specific goals that you have for quarter three in humanities?

My first goal is the same as the last quarter’s goal: I’m going to improve on writing essays by practicing grammar and reading other people’s essays. My second goal is also the same: I’m going to learn more vocabularies by reading. My third goal is to improve on my oral communication skills since I’m weak at speaking in public. I can achieve my goal by reading out loud when I’m reading a book and talk in English with my sister more.

Pros and Cons of Imperialism in Africa

2008-11-30T19:13:00.000-08:00

Pros
1. The African people got the hospital and other public systems after the Europeans left.
2. People got educated.
3. The people in Africa came to know what kind of valuable resources were in their land
4. Railways and mines were built.
5. The cities got civilized.
6. People can speak other languages such as English and French which is an advantage for them in economy.
Cons
1. Innocent people were taken to the America as slaves.
2. It ruined the culture and changes the way of life of the people
3. The Europeans took away a lot of the good resources that could have been used to benefit the African countries.
4. More civil wars occurred after the Europeans left because they divided up the land without thinking about the relationships of the native tribes.
5. Many families were separated from each other when dividing up the land.
6. Forced labor was used to make people to gather resources for the Europeans.

Central Africa_Central Africa Today

2008-11-19T07:44:00.000-08:00

Central Africa is rich in raw resources but most of the countries in that region are poor. Most of the people in Central Africa live in rural areas. One of the reasons is that the governments are not stable. Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the countries in Central Africa had been ruled by a dictator, Joseph Mobutu, who worsened the whole economic system in Congo. Democratic Republic of Congo is called the "treasure chest of minerals" and other countries around it are rich of copper, diamond, gold, and cobalt. The forest provide rubber, wood and food. But some obstacles such as religion and ethnic conflict, civil wars, and health slow down the whole economy of the region.
Ethnic and religion differences create a civil war, which ends up in a disaster. A mix of ethnic groups and competing desires for power led to civil war in many of the region's countries. War has made a lot of damages to economies of Central Africa. Many people get injured which gives a disadvantage in industry-it lacks labor. The fighting also destroyed all the usable land for farming and the resources that could have been used more productively. Also, people are not getting enough nutrients which lead to famine. Important industries are destroying the environment for farming. Lumber companies are cutting down the trees, destroying the rain forests, mining diamond and copper removed large areas of land and destroyed landscapes. Even though Central Africa is trying to speed up and catch up with other countries, these obstacles keep on slowing the economies down.

Africa News Current Events #3

2008-11-18T06:27:00.000-08:00

Congo Rebels Take Advance as Militiamen Steal Govt. Weapons
The Congo rebels are taking advantages as the government force is retreating. There still is a battle going on in the rebel-held teritorry and as the soldiers and the civilians are fleeing, the rebels are stealing the government soldiers' weapons. The latest battle madea cease-fire between the rebels led by Laurent Nkunda and the government. Nkunda was glad to take the advantage of the cease-fire as there weren't enough food and supplies left for the rebels. Congolese President Joseph Kabila, was willing to meet Nkunda but thought that he would need more time to think about it. He said he would tell Nkunda that the international community expected a "durable cease-fire to address the issue of humanitarian crisis and tragedy," followed by a "durable peace and political stability." The conflict in Congo has been complicated by ethnic differences. Nkunda, a Tutsi, has repeatedly blamed the Congolese government for not helping Tutsis from attacks by Rwandan Hutus who fled over the border in the 1994, that left hundreds of thousands of Tutsis dead.
I thought that this article was intersting because it has been continuing for more than a week and it seems like their is a hope for it to finally end. It has killed many people and destroyed Congo. I think that this could lead to more stories since the Congolese government is trying to make peace with the rebels and find a solution.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/18/congo.ceasefire.rebels/index.html

Reflection on Imperialism Cartoon

2008-11-17T00:22:00.000-08:00

What are the main visual elements?
There is a drawing of the Africa continent and there is a big foot step dug in the middke of it. In the spot where it has been stepped on is dry and the land is cracking up.

What issue is the political cartoon about?
I think that the cartoon is about imperialism and how Europeans affected the lives of the people in Africa and Africa itself as they took over the land.

What is the cartoonist's opinion on this issue?
The cartoonist thinks that imperialism was negative and that it has left a lot of damage in Africa and other countries after the Europeans had taken over the land. The native African culture and their ways of life has "dried up", and physically, a lot of raw materials had been taken away by the Europeans and there is not that much left now.

What evidence in the cartoon supports your opinion?
I think that it is obvious that the cartoon shows the negative side of imperialism since there is a visible drought in the spot where there was the foot mark. I think that the dry land shows that natural resources there have been "soaked up" as much as it could and there is not much left of it could symbolize the religion and culture of the natives in that area. Because imperialism did cause a lot of conflicts and changes to the native Africans who lived there.

What other techniques could the cartoonist have used to make this cartooon more persuasive.
I think the cartoonist could have used more intersting symbols and more clear pictures because I couldn't really recognize which continent the land was.

image from:http://img.photobucket.com

Central Africa_History and Culture

2008-11-16T23:49:00.000-08:00

Early humans lived in Central Africa thousands of years ago. However, the customs and the way people lived have changed due to the Tribes from the West Africa and the European colonists. About 2,000 ago, many people from the West Africa began to migrate to Central Africa and soon formed several kingdoms. One of them was the Kongo Kingdom, located near the mouth of the Congo River. The Kongo Kingdom grew rich as they established trade routes to western and eastern Africa and trades such things as animal skins, shells, and ivory.
The Europeans came to the region in the late 1400s. They wanted to take as many resources as possible in that area including the slaves and the items mentioned above. Some African kingdoms became rich after trading with the Europeans but they soon lost their power to the European influences. In the late 1800s, the European countries started to divide up the land between themselves and the tribes in that area that never got along had to interact. They spoke different languages and had different customs. It caused conflicts after the colonies won the independence.
The culture in Central Africa is all mixed up with the native, the Western Africa and the Europeans. The religion, the language, and even art is influenced by the outside forces. Many people in Central Africa speak Bantu language but they also speak hundreds of different languages and dialects. But the official languages of the countries are French, English, and Portuguese. Religion is also influenced by the Europeans and almost all the regions are Roman Catholic. Central Africa's traditional cultures influence the arts of the region. The region is famous for sculpture, carved wooden masks, and cotton gowns dyed in bright colors. Overall, Central Africa is a region influenced by outside forces and many cultures and the customs has been mixed.

Humanities 2-8 Scramble For Africa

2008-11-14T04:16:00.000-08:00

1. What strategy did you use to claim land?

We used the natural resources map which shows what kinds of resources are available in each countries. We tried to claim parts of the land with the most natural resources in it especially the ones with the resources that our country needed.

2. What factors did you consider in claiming land?

First, the resources in the land and the resources that our country required. We didn't really care where, unless it did have coal and iron in it. Because coal and iron were teo of the resources that out country was looking for.

3. Who won the Scramble for Africa?

I think that Great Britain won the game because they had the most dices to claim the lands and rhey were lucky to win over other countries lands as they risked their own. And by gaining alot of land, you have higher chance of having possesion of the land with the most resources.

4. Who lost in the Scramble for Africa?
I think that Spain lost in the game as they did gain the least amount of land. And by not havign alot of land, they might not have possesion of the land withthe resources they needed.

Africa News Current Events #2

2008-11-13T06:58:00.000-08:00

Ten Hostages Seized Off, Cameroon Freed
On October 31st, pirates had attacked a French ship in the waters of Cameroon, taking 10 crew members as hostages. Six of the captured were French nationals, two were Camerronians, one was Tunisian and onew waus Senegalese. No one was injured according to Bourbon, shiping company.
The attack in the middle of the night when 3 boats of armed man came by. The Bourban Sagitta had been loading crude oil from a field off the Bakasi Peninsula, about 180km away from Cameroon when suddenly pirates attacked the ship on the way and took 10 crews as while fleeing. French Foreign Minister had called Paris to deal with the situation. But on November 11th, the hostages were brought home safe and sound. President Nicolas Sarkozy's office and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner's office said that they credited help from Cameroon's president, Paul Biya and Nigerian government.

I thought that this article was important because this article also had impact on other parts of the world-France- and it is a very recent news. It lead to more articles and at the end the hostages were released. And I thought that this article was kind of interesting that the pirates had attacked the ship and fled with 10 hostages. I didn't know that there were that many pirates in the sea near Cameroon.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/11/cameroon.hostages.freed.ap/index.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/10/31/cameroon.hijacking/index.html

Central Africa_Physical Geography

2008-11-11T21:47:00.000-08:00

Central Africa is a region that has two distinct climates, mostly humid. Central Africa is shaped like a wide, flat bowl and in the middle of the bowl is called the Congo Basin. Many low hills and plateaus surround the Congo Basin. A huge river called the Congo River lies in the middle of the region. It is fed by hundreds of smaller rivers. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean and there are many waterfalls that lie along its route making it impossible for the ships to travel through. Central Africa lies along the equator and in the low altitudes. Therefore, most of the region in Central Africa are humid and receives warm temperature and a lot of rainfall all year long. The climate support the large tropical rain forest which is a home to such organisms as gorillas, elephants, insects and birds. The government has set up many national parks to save the forests from farming and logging. While the middle of the Central Africa is always rainy and humid, North and South of the Central Africa have a tropical savanna climate. It is warm all year long too, but it has distinct dry and wet season. There are grasslands, a few trees, and some shrubs. Dry area and desert areas are found in the far southern part of the region. The warm weather and water source make a perfect condition for the crops to grow. Common crops are coffee, bananas, and corn. Africa is rich in natural resources as well. The forests provide timber, and the rivers give out hydroelectricity. Central Africa also has a lot of valuable minerals such as diamond, gold, copper, etc. Overall, Central Africa is a region rich of natural resources.

TBAS- Can We Trust It?

2008-11-10T19:24:00.000-08:00

Can we trust the “truthfulness” of what we read in To Be A Slave ? Why or why not? Support your answer.

I think we can trust the book, To Be A Slave, but not entirely. It is true that African people were taken away from their homes and that they were tortured. First of all, the author, Julius Lester is a teacher from a well-known college and teaches human rights. He wouldn't have written the story wihout specific facts because the book won a New Berry Honor prize which is another stong reason that this book is reliable. And thirdly, I think Mr. Coyle wouldn't have let us read this book if it was exaggerated on the slve's point of view and had personal ideas in it.

Africa News Current Events #1

2008-11-09T23:22:00.001-08:00

U.N. Chief: Rebels 'poisonous' for Congo

This article was about the rebels in Congo. The rebels are fighting the government troops in The Democratic of Congo and the U.N. chief was concerned that the rebels will be "poisonous" for Congo. The violence and the attacks were worsening the whole issue and the situation. A lot of innocent people have been exposed to the battles and though many of them fled to other countries or the U.N. protected camps, hundreds have died during the last past eight weeks. It had started from the killings of a half-million Tutsis by Hutu militia in Rwanda and Congo's civil wars in 1994. A lot of people were killed and people near by could hear someone screaming and would find a corpse being taken away in the morning. People demanded that Nkunda and Mai Mai commanders should order their troops to stop committing such horrible crimes and that they should be responsible for all the deaths. Other countries have agreed to stop arming, financing or support armed group in anyway.

I thought that this article was important because the rebels could end up worsening the whole country. A lot of innocent people are getting murderd out in the streetins and making all the people around the country more stressed and panicked. Many people, including the neighboring countries and the U.N. have to suffer from it and is trying to work things out.

cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/07/congo.summit/index.html?iref=newssearch

5 Themes of Geography

2008-11-06T21:48:00.000-08:00

There are people seating out in the restaurant watching the view and eating. There aren't that many people walking around and a there is a man dressed up like a waiter. The climate is very good and the sky is pretty with clouds and the sky is azure. The whole place is really bright and clean. The people are wearing normal European clothes and are just ambling through the streets. There is no car on the street. The houses are not tall and have a slanted roof. The ground floor of the buildings are shops and on top are houses where people live in.

photos.igougo.com/images/p401154-France-Paris.jpg

Violence Leads to More Violence

2008-11-03T01:11:00.000-08:00

Evaluate this quote, “Violence leads to more violence.” Use evidence from Julius Caesar and current world events to support or reject.

The meaning of the quote is that once you start a violence, it'll never end or become worse. You should never solve things by violence because it could come back to you. I think that was what happened in Julius Caesar. Brutus and the other conspirators shouldn't have had killed Caesar without telling him what their problems were. Because at the end, they all ended up like Caesar. You wouldn't know who would be holding grudges against you. I think that happens in modern world when people murder other people usually because they hold grudges against that people. It happens in wars too. When a country A start attacking the other, B, country B won't just let country A attack their country. Some other countries who haven't been liking country A might start helping country B to defeat country A. And other countries would start making teams which will lead to a calamity and end up killing a lot of innocent people.

Brutus's Dilemma

2008-10-20T00:22:00.000-07:00

If I was Brutus, and had to choose between my best friend and my country, I would choose to save my country and join the conspiracy. Even though Caeser is a good general and popular to the commoners, it doesn't mean that he is a good leader who can make peace and improvement to Rome. And the situation Brutus is in makes it harder for Brutus to choose Caeser over Rome, because he also loves his country and according to Cassius, Caeser will be a bad infuluence to Rome. Brutus doesn't really have the choice because Cassius is making the decisions for Brutus by making him think that many others also agree with him. Brutus thinks that Caeser will do anything he wants to do and not care about other people's suggestions. It's natural for people like Caesar who has power to become selfish and greedy.

Imperialism

2008-10-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

Imperialism is when a powerfull country take over smaller country for land, capital and labor. Imperialism began in Europe where the countries are all small. For example, England took over India for cotton and indigo, and Muslim countries for the access to the seas. It was easier for European countries to take over countries such as India and some in Africa where there was no one big community. Also, England and the other European countries were advanced in technology. When other countries would ask for help in governing the country, they would gladly help them and slowly take over the land. That's what happened to Turkey, Persia, and Egypt. But Imperialism wasn't all that bad. It brought some advantages for the poor countries. For example, India could learn some new technology and everyone started speaking in English which now is a great advantage for them. In Turkey, after loosing all the lands, the leaders decided to modernize their country and now Turkey is one of the richest countries.

Leadership

2008-10-13T00:24:00.000-07:00

What are the qualities of a good leader? Who are the student leaders in Grade 8? How do they demonstrate the qualities of a good leader?

People who become leaders in a gang or in a school are people who are usually loud, dramatic, bright, handsome or pretty, and makes school interesting. These people do thing that others want to do but cannot do either because they are not allowed or not brave enough. The leader type people are very brave to do things and makes things seem fun. People around these people think that everything they do is "cool". Because school is a dull place where there are strict rules and things to learn. These people make others want to come to school.

End of Quarter 1 Feedback

2008-10-06T22:34:00.000-07:00

My goal in the first quarter was to memorize more vocabularies by reading and improve on writing essays. I think I didn't really reach my first quarter goal. I did a really poor job on writing assignments and didn't work hard on them. The vocabularies are always the same in my essays so that proves that I hadn't really worked in learning vocabularies.
What are three specific goals that you have for quarter two in humanities?
For this quarter, I think that I should keep the same goals; improving on writing essays and learning more vocabularies by reading. I should read more educational books. I think that for this quarter, I should read more about the topic at home and improve on researching for more specific informations by using the library books instead of internet.

Reflection on Political Cartoon

2008-09-22T00:46:00.000-07:00

What are the main visual elements?

There is a fat, gigantic man standing with a wicked smile with a tag saying “capitalism” and he is holding a thin, small man labeled “labor”. As the fat man shakes the small man, who is struggling to get rid of the fat man’s hand, money falls out from him and it goes in the bag labeled “child labor”. Underneath the cartoon, there's a poem or a poice of writing about the evils of capitalism.

What issue is this political cartoon about?

I think this political cartoon is about capitalism and the author is trying to tell the cons of capitalism. It’s about the way capitalism works for the laborers. It shows that the rich people keep on getting richer while the laborers have to work the hardest and don’t get paid well.

What is the cartoonist’s opinion on this issue?

I think the cartoonist doesn’t like the idea of capitalism and how it works for the poor laborers. The cartoonist thinks that there must be a change in a way capitalism

What evidence in the cartoon leads you to believe that the author feels this way?

You can see that the man labeled “capitalism” is shown big and mean. It shows that the richer man has the power to "use" the people in the labor class. All he needs to do is shake the tiny, helpless laborers to get the money. It shows that capitalism is using the laborers as if they’ve got no rights.

What other techniques could the cartoonist have used to make this cartoon more persuasive?

He could have shown what effects it would have on all of the readers if the way the capitalism works did not change to persudade the reader. He could have shown what was happening to the laborers more.

Quater 1 Goal Reflection

2008-09-07T22:35:00.001-07:00

I think I haven't not made much of a progress on improving on essays though I did get many chances to write a lot in humanities. I should be more descriptive and show more than tell. Also I think I should work on making better sentences and using right words for them. I need to work on making my essays sound more like the characters and think deeply about what the characters would think about and what they’d really be like.
I think I did learn some nice vocabularies about industry and economy though I didn’t learn it by reading. But I should still work on descriptive vocabularies. I think I should read more books of different varieties and not only fiction.

1870's Stock Market Reflection

2008-09-04T06:05:00.000-07:00

1. Buy Low…Sell High

I think the very first tip that Mr Coyle gave us was the most important. At first I didn't understand what the whole game was about and used half of my money to buy the stock that would have been popular in 1870's. And then as the years passed, the price of the stocks changed as the supplies and demand changed. Sometimes, when the stock price would get really cheap because of some small problems, you would buy it eventhough you would be taking alot of risk. In another words, we became entrepreneurs, people who take risks to earn money. At the end, the stocks that seemed to be unuseful became really expensive and it was a great advantage for the people who had bought alot of stocks when they were cheap. So you should buy stocks when they are cheap and see if you could make profits.

Pros and Cons of the IR

2008-09-02T02:14:00.000-07:00

Pros
· When the machines were introduced to the factories, people could make more money efficiently and didn’t need many laborers.
· Faster and better transportation was invented.
· The population increased since the transportation became faster and people could grow more food.
· The country became wealthier since they could produce things more efficiently
Cons
· The machines were able to produce commodities much faster so many laborers lost their jobs.
· More women and children were forced to work since the children’s hands could get into small spaces in the machines to fix them.
· The country became polluted because of the use of coal.
· The factories destroyed the lands usable for farming.

Factory Game Day 2 Reflection

2008-08-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

I found the game really exciting and real like we were actually working in an assembly line. Though if we were really working in a factory we'd have to close down the factory. I was one of the cutter and I enjoyed being one. I'm good at working fast and being serious about it. Besides, I like to cut and color things. But I realized that even if you do a good job of cutting the paper, the people who glue the pieces and people who color it need to do a better job to make a perfect doll. Everyone must pay attention to each other and also take care of themselves. I thought that working in groups in this case was more effective way of learning than the activity we did before. Because we could experience what it was really like to work in an assembly line and in factories.

Factory Game Day 1 Reflection

2008-08-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

When we were assigned to make a doll out of a paper imagining I was one of the peasants and had to make a doll for my younger sister, I kind of panicked. What was I supposed to make out of a bunch of circles and a ribbon? All I could think of was a teddy bear. We only had a few minutes to finish it and we had to color it, glue it and be creative. Without hesitation I glued the two bigggest circles together as a head and a body and glued the rest on the body like I was putting the puzzles back together. I've never really made a present to someone. I had made a card but never an actual object. I found this activity really interesting because I think that it's a nice idea to learn thing in diffent ways- sometimes by writing, sometimes by acting and sometimes by making.

Rollercoaster

2008-08-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself from shaking as my cousin dragged me towards the rollercoaster. She forced me onto the black seat and sat beside me. She tried to comfort me in all sorts of ways. Suddenly the rollercoaster quivered and it moved slowly towards the slope. I felt tense and nervous-I held tightly to the bar infront of me- as the gravity made my body feel heavier and pressed my back toward the seat. Soon we were on top of the slope and I could view the whole amusement park. I dared not to look down as a drop of perspiration ran down my neck and then I was flying. The rollercoaster fell down the slope as fast as a bullet and I could feel myself floating in the air-even with the protection-for a brief moment. As soon as my body was back on the seat, the rollercoaster started to spin around in circles. The whole amusement park went up-side down and I could feel my hair flying in the air. I couldn't even shout out for help and crouched down to make myself feel better. My heart felt like it was floating in the air- I did not like it- and I could hear my tense heartbeat pounding furiously. Soon I was on the ground and I've never felt so grateful for it.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

2008-08-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

The saying, “Necessity is the mother of the invention” is a famous quote which has a deep meaning in it. It means that when you are in desperate need of something, you are able to invent anything that’s helpful. Some things like telephones, pens and glasses which are used in our daily life to help us do something easily were made by someone who was in need of it. Like dynamite which was created by Alfred Nobel was created for the convenience of making tunnels and digging ground. Thomas Edison created light bulbs to be able to see in light so people did not have to walk around blindfolded. And so people say that “necessity is the mother of invention” for necessity created many helpful inventions for conveniences of our lives.

http://www.imaginenationstudios.com/index.php?Ice-Sculpture

How Do I Learn Best?

2008-08-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

How do you learn best? Visually (watching videos or reading), Auditory (listening to lectures or discussions), Kinesthetic (simulations or making or doing something). What can I do to help you learn most effectively in our classroom?
I think I learn the best by auditory-listening to lectures or discussions. It doesn't really matter how I learn but I prefer to listen to people and do class discussions. I also like to learn by watching videos and reading but doing discussions and listening will help me to think of things I didn't realize before.
You can help me learn by asking hard questions which can help me to think deeper and and think more carefully. I may understand the easy concepts but not the deep thoughts. I also like the socratic talk and listen to other people's ideas. Except I personally like to listen more than to talk.

Quater 1 Goals

2008-08-13T04:07:00.000-07:00

What were two highlights from the first week of school?
One of the highlights from the first week of school was that I got to meet my friends again and second one was that I'm in yearbook again!

What was your first impression of Humanities?
My first impression of humanities was that there were a lot of people I knew so it would be comfortable. I also liked the fact that there were a lot of the The Simpsons toys and a big window wall!

What are two goals you have for this quarter in Humanities? (Remember a goal needs to be specific, realistic, and measurable)
Learn more vocabularies by reading or writing and improve on writing essays.

My Gang

2008-08-12T02:13:00.000-07:00

In my gang there are Hye Jin, Min Kyung, Hye In, Youn Ji, and Yoon Ah. We usually hang out together because we speak same language and have lived in a same country. When someone is new to a school, that person will probably try to find someone from the same country and someone who looks familiar. And that's what I did when I first came here.
Hye Jin is someone I'd call first if I'd wanted to watch a movie with someone. She came to India in the same year I did and in 5th grade we were in a same class where we became really friendly. In middle school, I had a lot of classes with her and got to know her better. She's a little shy but she's really kind and she's always cheery.
Min Kyung and Youn Ji have been living here in India for a long time. So when new kids had problems, they could ask for solutions to any one of them. They are also good at English and have been in French or Spanish before any one of us so we get a lot of help from them.
Hye In and Yoon Ah are the most recent members of the gang. Even though they are new, they had such good personalities that we became friendly easily.
But the biggest reason we stick together is that we are from a same country and feel comfortable being together.