Marisa Ziegler

     Today in class we discussed situation. Situation is the location of a place relative to other places. An unfamiliar place can be described by comparing it with a familiar place. This also helps to understand its importance. For example, when describing to directions to someone who does not know where they are going, you use landmarks, buildings and streets that are familiar to the person. A locations situation can also determine its strategy or reason for its place. For example, Singapore is near the Strait of Malacca, so Singapore became a center for trading. Situation determines a places resources and its purpose. Also, in class, we looked at our everyday things like our shoes, shirts, and laptops to see where they were made. We talked about how Apple, a very rich company, has their products made in China where they do not have to pay minimal wage. If they were made here, the price of the products would go up and nobody would buy them.

   Today in class we discussed another way geographers determine a location: Site. Site is the physical character of a place and includes things like climate, water sources, topography, soil, latitude and elevation.  Climate is important because it affects types of animals, food, and the way of life. Water sources include rivers, lakes, oceans, etc. A good example of a water source is the Nile River in Egypt. This river is used for transportation and irrigation. Topography is the elevation of an area. It can be flat, hilly, and contain mountains. This land can contain fertile farmland vital for a good food supply. The soil can provide vegetation and be fertile. The latitude includes ideas like the equator. All the area around the equator is warm and some of it is tropical. As the latitude lines go further from the equator north and south, it gets colder. Elevation is the high of an area, similar to topography. Based on where you are, the air can be thinner. For example, in high elevati

   Today in class we went over the world regions maps which led on to some other discussions about the world. As we checked over, we discussed some of the individual areas. For example, some students were confused about Sub- Saharan Africa versus Africa. Sub -Saharan is the part of Africa below the Sahara. The remaining part is considered Africa. We also talked about some countries in the regions like in East Asia, countries like China, South Korea, and North Korea. We talked a lot about North Korea and the United States relationship with them. North Korea and the U.S. aren't allies and are very close to nuclear war. Some think it could cause . World War III. It was interesting hearing Mr. Schick's and other students in class perspective on the problem. We also discussed other current events in our world today like the football players kneeling. Again, it was very cool to listen to other people's interpretations of it.

    Today in class we went over the key question: Why is Each Point on Earth Unique? A place is a unique location of a feature and regions are areas of unique characteristics. Each place on Earth is unique in its own way, but can also be similar to other places. Things are found where they are based on their geographic questioning and their similarities. Place and region help make a place unique and differentiate it from other places. The difference between these two terms is that a place is a point, a region is an area. We also talked about our own areas and how where we live is unique from the other people in our class. Some people live on acres and acres of land, with another house maybe a quarter mile away. Some people live in town homes where your neighbor is right next door and they live on about a half acre. This shows how even the people in our class live in completely different areas in Maryland.

  Today in class we talked about how our perspectives of the world and how it looks can differ. We used the term "mental map", which is a person's point-of-view perception of their area of interaction, most commonly called your activity space. We talked about how many kids who have never traveled to France believe the stereotypical statement that the French are rude to the Americans. The people who have been to France say it depends on the situation and where you are. If you go up to them and scream in English hoping they will understand you, they will most likely be rude. So basically, if we come to their country and disrespect them, they're going to be rude. Wouldn't anyone? If you were to attempt to speak their language, they would probably treat you a lot better. After hearing this, it made me think a lot. It completely changed my perspective about tyhe world and the French.

   Today in class Mr. Schick needed more grading time for our test, blogs, and essays. In order for him to make some progress, he gave us a free period to work on our blogs, and to finish up any extra work or homework we received so far today. I got my french homework almost completed I just need to look and double check my textbook on a question. Mr. Schick said our tests were pretty go so far and that they looked as good as honors. I'm really excited to get my grade back since it will be our first test grade. I am very happy we got this "free period" because it's nice to kind of cool off every so often and plus I can get some of my work done so I don't have to stress about it tonight after practice and I can relax and finish my homework without staying up terribly late. Going back to the whole map thing, today I walked into the classroom and saw how the Peter's map was flipped upside down and it gave me a whole new perspective of our world. I thought this wa

   Today in class we talked about the different maps of our world, and which ones were the accurate ones. The Mercator map was invented in 1569 by Gerardus Mercator. The map altered the longitude and latitude lines of a map by making them 90 degrees. By doing this, sailors at this time no longer had to calculate their bearings for their trips. It made planning their trips a lot easier. This map stuck around and was even used in schools and is used today. We have become used to this map and we perceive it as the actual size of the continents. However, in 1974, the Peter's map was presented. This map was said to be more accurate than the Mercator. The continents sizes were no longer distorted, and all them were proportional to their actual size. When I first saw the Peter's map, I saw the obvious difference and I was in disbelief. I had seen the Mercator map my entire life, and now looking at the Peter's map, my whole perspective of our world changed immensely. We also talked

   Today in human geography we started a new unit and went over the key questions and new information. We started off talking about regions. Regions relate to space, place, and location. They are very important in human geography. A formal region is an area with a high level of consistency in a certain cultural or physical attribute. In these regions everyone shares a common attributes or traits like language, climate and political systems. Formal regions help outline and determine cultural, political and economic regions. Regions group and generalize common characteristics. After we discussed regions, we did multiple maps. We did a map that included regions like North America, South America, Oceania, Antartica, Brazil, etc. On the other map we labeled things like Western Europe, East Asia, Sub-Sahara Africa, Africa, etc. I was able to label these maps without difficulty. I hope I will be able to memorize the regions soon and learn some new ones.

   Today we took our first human geography test. It was not very difficult, but I'm still glad I studied. There was some multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and even 2 small essays. I think I did pretty good. This was my first test in high school, so it was kind of special in a way. I hope I get a good grade so I can start off the year in the right direction. I didn't really have any trouble on the questions, except for one about the importance of the year 508 BC to the Greeks. I knew it was when they were first introduced to democracy, and that it was the first time someone has ever revolted, but I didn't know who they were revolting against. I guessed that they were revolting against their ruler, and after looking at my notes I found out I was right. This made me feel a lot better about the rest of the test, and I hope I continue to understand the information as we go forward in the curriculum. I plan on keeping up with my study habits, especially after I s

    Today in class we thought about some good test questions and answered them. Our questions included the topics we have talked about over the last few days like excellence, ancient Greek terms, Socrates, areté, and A Message to Garcia. We talked about the test, how many questions, and how many points it would be. Some of the questions we discussed in class were "What does Socrates' quote mean to you?", "What happened at Socrates trial", "What is the importance of the year 508 B.C. to the Greeks?", "What is the Socratic method?", and other questions about taking the initiative and other Greek terms. Also, we talked about cell phones and how much our world has changed. For our generation, cell phones are an everyday thing we use and something we never think twice about. For people who grew up without them, having a cell phone is something they marvel about. Cell phones were such a big change from our other forms of communication. They are a v

     Today in class we continued to talk about ancient Greek terms. We elaborated on their meaning of "idiot". An idiot in ancient Greece is someone who is selfish and participates in private affairs instead of public. This was considered dishonorable. They said idiots were born and citizens were made through education. We also got to talking about the hurricanes affecting the U.S. We talked about their paths, and how the areas were being affected. Some of the kids in the class shared personal stories about their family and how they were being affected. Also, we talked about how people from around the country have helped and aided the people in the bad areas who are without homes. Another thing we talked about was Socrates famous saying, "the unexamined life is not worth living." This saying means that if your living your life just to get up, go to work, then go to bed, that's not a good lifestyle. It is "worth living" if you get up and accomplish some

     Today in class we learned about terms and life in ancient Greece. We learned that an agora was a central public space for gatherings, assemblies, and a  marketplace. A polis is political entities ruled by their bodies of citizens. The year 508 B.C. was very important to the ancient Greeks because it was the year when they were first introduced to democracy. This was also the first time people revolted against their ruler. Socrates was a Greek philosopher who was responsible for the fundamentals of modern western philosophy. Socrates fought in the Peloponnesian war, met with young students, helped the creation of the scientific method, and he was a stone mason. Socrates was killed by drinking poison hemlock, after he was convicted of impiety. The jury had 500 people and the guilty vs. non-guilty was 279-221. Socrates had the chance to escape his execution, but stayed loyal to the Athenian democracy and took his punishment. Socrates also created the Socratic method which is cooperat

     Today in class we learned about excellence and went deeper into A Message to Garcia. We learned more information about the time period, the story behind it, and the popularity of the story. A Message to Garcia was published in 1899, and became very popular extremely quickly. It was reprinted into a book and translated into 37 languages. It was made into a movie and the phrase "take a message to Garcia" is still used today as another way of saying take the initiative. The "message to Garcia" took place during the Spanish-American war, when Cuban wanted its independence from Spain. Rowan was the deliverer of the message and showed heroic traits. His delivering of the message was crucial to the victory. President William McKinley was president at the time, but was later assassinated. North America's largest mountain was named after him after his death, until 2015. The message of the story is to take the initiative (do the right thing without being told). Ar

A Message to Garcia             This essay really showed me the fine line between excellence and zero integrity. The essay explains a situation where integrity was displayed, and another situation where it wasn’t. When Garcia was nowhere to be found during a war in mysterious territory, the President sent someone named Rowan to go find him and deliver a letter. Rowan didn’t ask any questions, he just went. I believe the writer was trying to show how Rowan was able to concentrate on something, and complete the task. The author thinks that everybody should be able to do this. Not a lot of people are able to succeed without the help of someone else, bribing, threat, etc. I think if we all were able to complete the task without assistance we could live more effectively. Everyone would be interdependent and not reliant on anyone else. This not only helps the world but it helps ourselves. We become more independent human beings and do not have to rely on other people every hour of every