Victoria's Human Geography Blog

     Today in class we talked about how to find Exact Location more clearly on a map or globe. We also got to practice finding the exact location using lines of longitude and latitude. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. You just need to know the coordinates of where the location you are trying to find is. We also talked about the importance of time zones and how far ahead different places are compared to the time that it is in the United States. Such as china which is about eight hours ahead of us. We also turned the lights on in Mr. Schick's room for the first time. I am so used to the lights off that it felt so off to have the lights on. We also started talking about the culture of the Chinese national day. We also talked for a bit about the quiz that we have on the North and South American countries.

     Today in class we talked about the importance that lines of longitude and latitude have on the globes and maps that we look at every day. We talked about how we can use longitude and latitude lines to determine the exact location of where things are shown on a map or globe. it was cool to see how the lines of longitude and latitude clearly are shown on every globe or map no matter the size or shape of the map. We also talked about how different coordinates mark the different landmarks such as where the equator lies and the different countries it runs through. we also talked about absolute location. Absolute location is the exact point at which a certain place or object is located. Lines of longitude and latitude help you determine and show you how to find the exact location of a specific place or object. The equator is an example of an exact location based on where it is marked based on the lines of longitude and latitude.

     Today in class we talked about how a situation affects what people know about different things and different places. We also talked about where different things are manufactured and why they are manufactured there. The reason that we get certain products from countries outside of the United States is labor is a lot cheaper than where we live. We then went into a talk about how ports need to change so that we can use the ports in Baltimore so that we can use the resources to better the economy in the United States. I didn't realize how many places or countries that we get certain products from. All the countries seemed to be close together or at least near each other. No country that we get supplies from was not super far apart. I bet this makes the trade and having an economy like this more swift and saves time and money that we can spend as a country to better grow our economy and our ways of trade.

     Today in class we talked about how where we come from affects the things that we see as normal versus what other people see as out of the ordinary. Also about how humans have the ability to change the site that they live on based on different things that they want their area to have. We also talked about how different sites were put together based on available resources. Such as how people live in main because lobsters are considered natural resources and how it is a great state with a lot of access to water and many ports. Mr. Schick also talked about how he thinks its weird and boring that people from Maryland enjoy sitting for long periods of time to just eat small pieces of meat when u can just buy it at the store. Then we went into a talk about how we all thought it was weird if u eat squirrels the same way that we eat crabs. That is something I now cannot unsee.

North America  South America 

     Today we got our first test back. I am overall happy with the grade that I got on the test. When we took the test I was concerned about what my final grade was going to be because even though I studied I began to forget some of the information that I had studied. This test gave me a better understanding of how the test in this class will be. I just need to make sure that I stick to studying and going over the notes and making sure that my blogs stay organized and put together. From now on I will make sure to make Quizlets for the test to make sure that I am not only going over the notes but actively studying. Now that I know these things about test-taking in human geography I am confident that my study skills will get me a good grade on our next test or quiz.

     Today in class we spent time researching the differences between Mercator Maps and Peters World maps. There are many differences between the maps and there are many similarities. Starting with the Mercator Map.  Mercator map is a cylindrical map projection presented by the Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. It became the standard map projection for navigation because of its unique property of representing any course of constant bearing as a straight segment. Next onto the Peters map. The Gall-Peters map projection that maps all areas such that they have the correct sizes relative to each other. There are many obvious ways that you could pick out how the two maps are different from one another. Such as the Mercator map has many ridges and shows small towns and rivers and mountain ranges that are obviously shown on the map. The Peters Map is very different in the way that it doesn't show the mountain ranges or small towns. It clearly sh...

     Today in class we didn't really do as much note-taking like we usually do but we did something more interactive. Mr. Schick put three maps up on the board and labeled them Maps "A" "B" and "C". Then he told us to go up to the board for about fifteen minutes and look at the maps more closely and make observations and write them in our notebooks. He didn't tell us what to look for or what to write down specifically so everyone took notes on what they saw on their own. I separated my notes into three different sections for each of the maps and began to write down my observations. To me they seemed very broad and like they didn't matter and they were basic observations but after the time was up and we went back to our seat we began to have a discussion about the observations that my classmates and I had.

Today in class we had our first official test. It was on A Message to Garcia and Excellence. The test overall when I first got it was very overwhelming for me. I had studied for the test the past two nights and felt I was fully prepared and would be able to retain the information I needed for the test. I felt confident on the first page of the test and for the majority of the second page. I didn't understand one of the questions that were on the second page so I decided to skip that one question and move on to the essay portion of the test. The two essays I felt prepared for and got through them with no problem. When I went back to the question on the second page after completing the essays I still had no idea what the answer was so I hoped for the best and I took a guess.

     Today in class we talked more about the importance of the different terms that we learned in the previous class. Such as how we went over the definitions again and it helped me have a better understanding of the terms and how they applied to ancient Greece. I feel like having the class discussions helps me better understand what is being covered in class. For me, it is easier to retain information when my fellow classmates are sharing there thoughts and opinions about the topics in class. Toward the end of the class period, we also talked about the effects that 9/11 had on the John Carroll community and what took place on this day throughout the school day. We were told to go home and ask our parents one thing that they remember from 9/11. My father says "I remember that I was at work watching it on TV in disbelief. Everyone was scared and confused and concerned about what was happening in New York." My mom says that she was teaching and was with a group of parents a...

The Agora was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. A polis was a typical structure of a community in central Greece. The importance of the year 508 BC the first time in human history when people formed a democracy. Socrates was a classical greek philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Socrates was killed in front of a jury of 500 of his fellow Athens by drinking poison. He refused to follow the greek mythology. The Socratic Method is a form of a  cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions.  

     Today in class we went over more information about A letter to Garcia.   We took notes in our notebook about the powerpoint we went through in class. Some more facts about the essay include that A letter to Garcia has been rewritten twice into a book and a pamphlet. I was also translated into thirty-seven different languages. It was also remade into a movie twice. Once in 1916 and once in 1936. The first movie that was put out was also a silent film because the sound was not fully developed yet. After president Mckenly was assassinated, the president decided to name Mt. Denali into a tribute to president Mckinley. Shortly after Obama became president he decided to rename it back to its original name. Obama decided to change the name because he thought it wasn't fair to name a mountain in Alaska after a president if he hasn't even been to the state. It was also not fair to the native people who knew that the mountain was named Mt. Denali for many many years ...

Today in class we read an essay called A Message to Garcia.   This essay was written by Albert Hubbard in 1899. The main point of the essay was to point out the context of Rowan's reason for delivering the message. In my personal opinion after reading the essay for a second time it seemed like Elbert Hubbard was sort of ranting about how he thinks that people should do there job like Rowen. I think in this essay he is trying to prove a point to the public about how they should ask invalid questions and use their common sense to figure out simple questions. Elbert Hubbard wanted the public to know that Rowan did his job without asking questions and completed the task as soon as he was assigned to it. Elbert Hubbard's essay was a bit hard for me to break down at first but when I got home and read it from a different perspective and began to view the essay in a new light. The essay surprisingly can easily compare to the situations in our everyday life today.

     Today was the second day of classes or our first normal day of school. Today in class we went over all the issues that we had with getting our blogs completed. We were able to talk to other students who were able to get into the blog and troubleshoot the issues we were having with our own blog post. After the class was over I felt more confident about how to post and write blogs for class. So far I have noticed that the blog posts give you a chance to reflect on what we learned in class. I think it will be a good tool throughout the year to help me keep track of what topics were going on when and can look back on the topics and find them in my notes to study. After we worked out all of the issues we were having with the blog we started to have a class discussion on how high school in a new change and can be stressful and how to deal with having stress and handling all the tasks throughout the day.

     Today was my first day at John Carroll. Looking back on today I was very nervous at the beginning because I was worried about not knowing what to do, where to go, or who to talk to. once I walked through the school doors I began to see familiar faces and started to feel at ease. Finding my locker was much easier than I thought, and finding my classes was a breeze. My favorite part of the day was once I got to enjoy time away from the classroom to meet new friends. After my first day, I feel excited about the upcoming school year.      It was nice walking into most of my classes and not worry about who I would sit next to because of the seating chart. I like the seat I was assigned to in geography because it's off to the side and near a window. I look forward to getting to know the people who sit around me.