6/2/11

Today we took a test on The Fall of the Roman Empire and I think that it went very well.  It was a twenty question multiple choice quiz along with one extra credit question.  I expected all of the questions except for one or two of them about Jesus or something like that.  There was one date that we had to know.  It was 476.  The extra credit question was a hard one which many had just guessed on.  It was what language did the western half of the empire speak.  The answer was Latin and I got it right.  I got a 95% on the test.

6/1/11

     Since we have a test tomorrow we reviewed for the test again.  The test is basically on the second of three parts of the Roman Empire.  It is on the Fall of the Roman empire when the western side fell.  The eastern side had trouble but made it and thrived for another one thousand years.  The eastern side was not the Roman Empire any more though, it is the Byzantium Empire.  I very much feel like I am ready for the upcoming test tomorrow.

5/26/11 & 5/27/11

     Today we got to go outside for class which made class all that much better.  We today were discussing and learning about the setup for, and fall of the Roman Empire, and how it happened.  Their money had  been inflated because they had not as much silver in their money.  The money wasn't worth as much so prices shot up.  Diocletian started persecuting Christians and split the empire i half.  He died.  Constantine was the next emperor.   He had a vision and won a battle because he put crosses on his men's shields.  He became Christian and made it the empire's official religion.   The economic problems continued though and things like doubling the army size and using barbarians for men.  Things accumulated and Rome collapsed.

5/25/11

Today we turned in our final copy of the paper on Rome.  We then went over the test on Rome that I got a 91% on.  Here is my final copy which I better get a 100% on:

Change For the Better or Worse?

            The Roman government went through many huge and sudden changes, as did Rome as a whole.  They were the some of the most influential people in the world as they were conquering it.  They conquered what was at their time; the middle of the world and out.  They went through extreme changes and somehow managed to hold on to their nation for so long.  They went to extremes to get to where they were.  It was a time when change was everywhere and for everybody, as the government changed.  The changes everywhere that were made influenced the world as they owned it.  The Roman government was one of the most influential changes that was made.  The dictatorship changed to a republic, which changed to what we now know as the Roman Empire.  Was this change a good or a bad thing for the Romans?  There are many factors in this and not everyone agrees.

            A small dictatorship in one city is how Rome started and Rome started to get bigger.  Some dictators were to much of control freaks some times.  Then came along this guy named Tarquin.  The people got really fed up.  They finally decided to do what Greece did at first.  They overthrew him and eventually came up with the Roman Republic.  But the people would not remember this lesson they learned.

            A republic is a form of government where there are representatives that are elected by citizens who are supposed to have say or power in the government.  In Rome they had a bit of different way of running the government.  They had an assembly which a little bit like the modern day house of representatives.  That branch resembled a democracy.  They then had the senate which resembled an aristocracy.  There were then the two consuls who were like monarchs, but could veto each other.  There was then one dictator who would only have control for six times at a month when there was a huge emergency.

            Julius Caesar had been a dictator and then bent the rules.  He ended up being a dictator for over 10 years.  He was very good and became extremely powerful and popular.  He was killed by the members of the senate because they were afraid of him getting to much power.  Julius threw out the republic and things could change in a heart beat.  He chose three people to run the government.  Octavian had got rid of the other two and took power.  He started Pax Romana and Rome prospered.  He died and passed power to Tiberius who was about fifty five when he took power.  Tiberius once had a problem with soldiers rebelling since they thought they were treated unfairly.  He sent out Germanicus who had a son named Caligula.  Germanicus settled the issue.  Tiberius later killed Germanicus’s family accept for Caligula because Germanicus gained to much power.  Tiberius later started to like Caligula and made him the heir to the throne.  Caligula did well until he went crazy.  He would have “quick affairs” with other men’s wives and then talk about it during desert.  He also killed Jews and mocked them while saying that he was a god.  He was assassinated.  His heir was Claudius who actually had some disabilities and was sort of an outcast.  He was extremely humble.  He conquered Britain and Rome prospered.  He was famous for having a wife killed when she was with a guy who she was helping to get power.  Otherwise he built, renovated, and was the best that Rome had seen.

            I think that the republic was the best form of government.  Things were getting continually better with it until Julius threw it out.  Things were not consistent with the Empire.  Things were getting consistently better in the Republic.  One crazy person could not as easily destroy the world of Rome.  In conclusion the Republic was more consistent and should have been kept.   

5/23/11

Today we brought in our papers on Rome and peer edited them.  I did a three way switch, so I am not sure who's paper I got.  But I do know that Brad got my paper.  My paper was seven hundred and eighteen words long.  This was a bit too long of a paper.  Mr. Schick told me I need to shorten it to close to six hundred and fifty words.  I worked my butt off on that paper and apparently put to much detail in it.  Hopefully I will get 100 on it because it looked pretty much perfect to me with all of those words.

5/20/11

     Today Mr. Schick wasn't here...  so the smart ones worked on there papers.  I got most of mine done.  I finished a bit for homework.  Here is my rough draft...

Change For the Better or Worst?

            The Roman government went through many huge and sudden changes, as did Rome as a whole.  They were the some of the most influential people in the world.  They conquered what was at their time; the middle of the world and out.  They went through extreme changes and somehow managed to hold on to their nation for so long.  They went to extremes to get to where they got to.  It was a time when change was everywhere and for everybody.  The changes everywhere that were made influenced the world.  The Roman government was one of the most influential changes that was made.  The dictatorship changed to a republic, which changed to what we now know as the Roman Empire.  Was this change a good or a bad thing for the Romans?  There are many factors in this and not everyone agrees.

            A small dictatorship in one city is how Rome started and Rome started to get bigger.  Some dictators were to much of control freaks some times.  Then came along this guy named Tarquin.  He later earned the name Tarquin the Proud.  Superbus is actually what they called him and that translates to proud.  He was basically someone who loved his power and was a complete tyrant.  He had done things like kill senators and break a lot of traditions.  The senators were killed because he suspected them of still being loyal to a political enemy named Silias.   He even started wars with other people and his people didn’t approve of the wars. The people got really fed up.  They finally decided to do what Greece did at first.  They overthrew him and eventually came up with the Roman Republic. 

            A republic is a form of government where there are basically representatives that are elected by citizens who are supposed to have say or power in the government.  There is then a President who “overseas” things.  This is the “modern day” definition.  In Rome they had a bit of different way of running the government.  They had an assembly which a little bit like the modern day house of representatives.  That branch resembled a democracy.  They then had the senate which resembled an aristocracy.  There were then the two consuls who were like monarchs, but could veto each other.  There was then one dictator who would only have control for six times at a month when there was a huge emergency.

            Julius Caesar had been a dictator and then bent the rules.  He ended up being a dictator for over 10 years.  He was very good and became extremely powerful and popular.  He was killed by the members of the senate because they were afraid of him getting to much power.  He chose three people to run the government.  Octavian had got rid of the other two and took power.  He started Pax Romana and Rome prospered.  He died and passed power to Tiberius who was about fifty five when he took power.  Tiberius once had a problem with soldiers rebelling since they thought they were treated unfairly.  He sent out Germanicus who had a son named Caligula.  Germanicus settled the issue.  Tiberius later killed Germanicus’s family accept for Caligula because Germanicus gained to much power.  Tiberius later started to like Caligula and made him the heir to the throne.  Caligula did well until he went crazy.  He would have “quick affairs” with other men’s wives and then talk about it during desert.  He also killed Jews and mocked them while saying that he was a god.  He was assassinated.  His heir was Claudius who actually had some disabilities and was sort of an outcast.  He was extremely humble.  He conquered Britian and Rome prospered.  He was famous for  having a wife killed when she was with a guy who she was helping to get power.  Other wise he built, renovated, and was the best that Rome had seen.

            I think that the republic was the best form of government.  Things were getting continually better with it until Julius threw it out.  Things were not consistent with the Empire.  Things were getting consistently better in the Republic.  One crazy person could not as easily destroy the world of Rome.  In conclusion the Republic was more consistent and should have been kept.   

It came out to be 718 words.

5/19/11

     Well today we waited a few minutes for Mr. Schick.  Jordan and I were tossing a water bottle back and forth when he decided to throw in behind his back and hit Morgan in the head.  Then it bounced of her head and hit Julia.  Jordan got a double kill then blamed me.  We then took a twenty five question multiple choice test on the Roman Empire.  It was a fairly hard test.  I think that I did really well on it.  I will win the wager with Jordan. I definitely got 100 including the extra credit question.  I wouldn't doubt it if I got 103%.  we the were assigned a paper to do by Monday.

5/18/11

     Today we finished the Power Point on the Roman Empire.  Here are my notes on what we did today:

Romans had their own Gods and Emperors occasionally are proclaimed Gods.

The Jews (Zealots) started a revolution.

Christians and Jews were persecuted because they were monotheistic.

Christians were fed to lions at coliseums.

By 200 AD 10% of the Roman Empire was Christian.

We have a test tomorrow.  So after we did a small part that was the last of the Power Point.  We then got in groups and kind of studied and socialized.  I was with Jordan and Zach.  We just kind of got stuff organized.

5/16/11

     Today we went over a Power Point about some of the main points of the Kings and Jesus.  Here are my notes:

Augustus started Pax Romana and Rome built and prospered.

Augustus died and passed power to Tiberius.

Jesus was a Roman citizen and practicing Jew.

Jesus argued with high priests and stuff.

"My kingdom is not of this world" worried many Jews and Romans.

Jesus preached to all people especially to poor people.

The governor of the Roman province of Judea, Pontius Pilot.

Paul was an important word spreader about Jesus.

Tiberius was August's stepson and adopted son.

Tiberius hated the Senate.

Tiberius sent Germanicus to calm soldiers and he later killed him because he was powerful.

Caligula was the only survivor of Germanicus's son.

Caligula did good for the people and then startd to fight with the senate, claimed to be a god, and mocked the Jews.

He tried to make his horse a consul, screwed other men's wives during dinner and then bragged about it over desert.

He was then assassinated.

Claudius had some disabilities but was the last adult male in the family and became Emperor.

Claudius conquered Britain, built, renovated, and worked for the people.

His wife messed with some one who wanted to mess with the government he killed them.

I quote Jordan: "Kevin thinks all Muslims are terrorists."  I want to address this issue.  This is not true at all.  We had a discussion about Muslims becoming more of the population.  I said that this could be bad news.  First off I said that there just happen to be more Muslim extremists who use terrorism.  This has a lot to do with it being in the Koran that all who are not orthodox Muslim are horrible people and should be gotten rid of.  Or at least it can be translated this way by the Muslim extremists, and they take it to heart.  They then take action.  So there being more chances of their being more terrorists is bad.  Christians, because of this interpretation would not be treated well.  Indoctrination may would also be started by orthodox or extremist Muslims and it could be indoctrination like the Nazis and the Jews all over again.  Christians would then be looked down upon as the people who were ruining the world because we were different than the extremists.  This is just a dramatic example of what could happen way way in the future.  There is an example in Egypt where Christians are often looked down upon by the 90% Muslim population.  They are extreme rivals.  This is part of what I was trying to explain.  Short and simple: Christians may be looked down upon if the Muslim population goes way over the Christian population.  

PS:  I hopefully will blog about our socialism issue later. 

Group Project

Caligula and his family got in an argument with Tiberius and Tiberius was worried that because Caligula's father was a hero that he would be a political threat.  Tiberius had the family accept Caligula killed.  He was the survivor. Tiberius hated him until one day he for some reason warmed up to him.  He made Caligula his heir to the throne.  Caligula at first exceeded expectations and then slid into insanity.  He became a crazy tyrant and a perv.  One thing that he did well was construction.  He was later assassinated by his closest people. 

5/111/11 & 5/12/11 & 5/13/11

     I'm gonna make this quick. Blogger was down or something...  We watched a movie both days about Rome going into the first century.  Julius Ceazer had a lot of support and pretty much threw out the republic.  He created the triumvrant to rule when he died.  Octavian had won fights with and gotten rid of the other members when they started hating each other.  He became Ceazer Augustus.  As the first century unfolded Rome controlled pretty much all the way around the entire Medeteranian.  After Augustus died they had a bit of trouble controlling some areas.  Tiberius was the 50 year old heir to the thrown.  Two far away armies decided to rebel. Germanicus was sent and he solved the problem.  He had a son named Caligula who was adored by everyone too.  They called him Bootsey.  Peace was made.  Tiberius killed Germanicus and his family all died accept for Caligula.  Tiberius embraced Caligula and made him the heir.  Meanwhile Jesus changed everything when he died and the Christians made of it what they did.  Tiberius died after Jesus did.  Caligula exceeded expectations at first and then became became crazy and started killing Jews.  His friends killed him.  Claudius then came along and was humble.  He helped people and obtained Britain. 

5/9/11

     Today we went over the tests that we did from Greece until Rome.  We did not touch the essays though because they are not graded yet.  I got and eighty seven on both tests.  Or at least I'm pretty sure.  Anyway I didn't do as well as I had expected to do on the Greek test.  But on the Roman test I did exactly how I had thought I'd do.  I didn't get the triumvrant questions.  I got everything else on it right.  We also talked about how exams are not to far away.  So the review was good and that's about it.

5/8/11

    Today we had a pop quiz.  This is the third pop quiz.  Mr. Schick said that it wasn't a pop quiz.  He didn't tell us about it but it is on his blog.  He posted it after school yesterday.  It was on Rome.  It was a mix of the pfds that he emailed us and the projects that we had done.  Not all of the projects have been shared yet and so I am actually predicting another test.  But anyway, I don't think I did bad on it.  The only questions that I had no clue about were the triumvrent questions.

5/5/11

3 Govs Rolled Into One

Society was made up of plebeians and patricians.

The democracy part part of the government was the assembly which was the least powerful.

The senate was the aristocratic part of the government.

The consuls were the monarchy part of the government.

Legions and other soldiers were also high in society.

After the war with Carthage they they decided that they needed and emergency dictator.

Hannibal was in charge of the Carthaginians and they attacked Rome from the back.

After the Punic Wars

When the soldiers left rich people would seize their properties if they didn't keep up with their payments of something.

The Gracchus Brother attempted to pass a land reform that would redistribute huge pieces of patrician land among the plebeians. 

The brothers were both assassinated for their attempts.

Julius Ceaser

He was a Roman General and statesman.

He manipulated the government to become a dictator for 10 years.

A guy named Sulla tried to kill him but Julius bribed him.

General Pompey and Crassus had political alliance with Julius.

They both gave him money.

Julius crossed his army over the Rubicon and conquered Gaul.

The senators told Julius to leave his army on the other side and Julius brought his army anyway.

Julius crossig was considered an act of war.

Julius was proclaimed dictator for life.

A group of senators led by Brutus assassinated him.

The assasination resulted in civil war.

Murder of Julius Ceaser

He was stabbed on the Ides of March in 44BC in the theater of Pompey by the senators 23 times.

He had to much power.

Second Triumvirate

Octavious was born into an equestrian family.

His father was the first in the family to  be a senator.

He was a senator under Julius Ceaser.

Lepidus was a patrician and one of Julius's biggest supporters.

Cleopatra was Egypt's last pharaoh.

Octavious, Antony, and Lepidus formed a triumvrant.  They were official.

Cleopatra tried to take over power from Octavious.

Antony slept with Cleopatra.

She later committed suicide.

???
Augustus made Roman peace in which they prospered.

Roman roads were built.

In coliseums the had gladiator events.  

5/4/11

     Today Mr. Schick wasn't here.  We were told by the sub to check his blog.  Sure enough were suppose to continue our Power Point project on Rome.  Vinny was sick today.  Brad was sick yesterday.  Brad joined our group.  He got pictures while I worked on putting information in...

The Etruscans and the Greeks were very important in Roman history.

The Etruscans had a written language which the Romans took most of their writing technique from.

The Greek gods and goddesses were used by the Romans.  The Greek culture had a huge influence on the
Romans.

The Latins were the first ones to live in the area.

Many of the words that the Romans had came from Latin.

Many modern words and languages are based on Latin.

The Latins had a huge influence on the world. 
The Tiber River is where the Latins lived.
The Latins were the dominant and civilized people on this area of the river.
The Romans soon became in this region and the Latins became part of it.
They soon had a king called Tarquin.
He later earned the name Tarquin the proud when he became a control freak and peole didn’t like him.
The people got angry and later drove him out of Rome.
Because of this the people learned how bad a king could be.
They never had another dictator again.
They then came up with their republican government.

5/2/11

Today at the beginning of class we talked about the killing of Bin Laden.  We pretty much talked about if we believed or not.  We also talked about why it was important.  Then we started discussing the rap that Mr. Schick wrote and made.  We then got in groups or partners and picked a picked a number paragraph and we have to make a power point.  Vinny and I got the second paragraph (paragraph 1).


The Etruscans and the Greeks were very important in Roman history.  The Etruscans had a written language which the Romans took most of their writing technique from.  The Romans basically got they're gods from the Greeks.  The Greeks contributed a lot of culture to the Romans.  And then there were Latins who were there first.


This is about as far as we got along with some pictures to go with the Power Point.

4/29/11

                                             Greeks

                                                    Etruscans

                                             Latins

                                                    Tarquin the Proud

                                                        Legion

                                             Cavalry

                                                    Carthage

                                                 Julius Ceaser

                                                            Julius Ceaser

                                                   Cleopatra

4/28/11

Today we took a pop quiz on what Mr. Schick was suppose to send us.  He sent the wrong thing.  So anyway, I basically failed this quiz.  So we went over some stuff from yesterday...

     Noble Roman soldiers were at the op of the class in society.  Patricians were the aristocratic and also on top.  Plebeians were at the bottom.  Patricians and plebeians wanted to make he laws public so they carved them into the 12 tables and posted them on the public forum.  They had a senate, assembly, and consuls.  The consuls were like presidents and could veto each other.  They were like the monarchy.  They only served one years terms with ten years in between.  The consuls also controlled the army.  At first only patricians could run for the senate and there were one hundred members.  The senate was like the aristocracy.  The senators could serve their entire life.  The assembly was "the lowest" branch of government.  They weren't usually just patricians.  They were like the democracy.  They later came up with the office of dictator which was the "OMG what do we do" branch of government.

4/27/11

Today we talked about and reviewed the paper that we read last night and took a ten question pop quiz.  That's right... a pop quiz!!!  I guess it was more or less a reading check.  We did discuss the answers to the questions which are on the previous post.  I got them pretty much right.  Two big discussions were about the pater familias and the republic.  The definitions again, are on the previous post.

2/26/11

     Today we found that Mr. Schick was crazy sick and still felt horrible.  He also said that his break as well as his Easter was horrible.  So after he finished telling us about his lonely Easter and calling me a raccoon because of my sunburn, he told us to read a few pages and do some questions for homework...

republic- a form of government with a leader and committees to make up a government
gravitas- the Latin word meaning of seriousness or dignity
pater familias- the head of a Roman family; "father of the family"
toga- Roman clothing
patrician- a person of aristocracy, richness, or power
plebiean- of or belonging to the commoners or regular people of Rome
legion- a unit of of the acient Roman Army
century- a smaller unit of elite Roman soldier

1.  The geography is a help to them because there is a lot of mountain surrounding a flatter area in Italy.  There is also ocean everywhere.  The mountains were extremely fertile and they were easy to protect.  The ocean gave them those resources.  The flat land gave them plains and places to build cities to run the empire from.

2.  Rome began as a settlement of Latin shepherds.  Greece had a lot of settlements along the coasts of Italy and Sicily and they became close with Rome.  The Etruscans were very civilized and moved into North Italy.  They had writing and were very languisticized (if that's a word).

3.  In Roman society it was good to well educated and rich.  You didn't want to be in the bottom of society.  If you were a man warfare a very much a part of your life.

4.  In the Roman household the oldest capable man in the family was the patrician.  Next came the other men.  It was then the women.  And the children were finally at the bottom.

5.  The army was linked to Roman society because the men usually were part of it when they were capable.  They always wanted to do the best they could and come back a war hero.  This is how there respect for them and their family.  It was honorable to be linked to a war hero or honorable person.

4/20/11

     Today we had a test.  It was pretty hard but I think that I did well on it.  Break Time!!!

4/18/11

    On Wendsday we will have a huge test.  I think that this test will be quite tough.  The test is on everything that we have learned since Egypt, which is Greece.  The test involves the project as well as the other stuff that we have learned from Mr. Schick.

4/15/11

Today we watched some of a movie called Alexander.  We watched when Alex get his horse and the Battle of Gaugamela.  The battle seen showed how they really fought back then and was completely epic...

    Philip the Second had mistresses and a wife who was Alex's mom, Olymias.  Alex was Philip's oldest son.  Alex said that if he could ride a horse and tame it that his dad would pay for it.  If he couldn't his dad would buy the horse.  He tamed it and named it Bucepules.  The battle of Gaugamela is a pivotal point.  Alex had to use strategy to defeat Darius's Persian Army because the Persians had much greater numbers.  Alex believed that Darius hired his father's assassinator.  A legend about Alex is that a bird of prey flies over when they are getting ready to fight.  Alexander tried to kill Darius and came close in the battle and Darius just ran.  Alex conquered Persia.
 

4/14/11

     Today we watched more of the movie.  It was about the time of Socrates fame...

• Socrates was ugly.
• Socrates got the Greeks to take the Gods out of being everything.
• The Greeks learned about the moon and sun.
• Thales was able to figure out the height of the Great Pyramid by using its shadow.
• They also wrote the first guide on how to use the stars for navigation.
• Socrates studied people.
• Socrates was the first Urban fanatic.
• Socrates used logic.
• "The unexamined life is not worth living." 
• The Spartans invaded Greece and destroyed the farm land.
• Athens got goods from overseas and they brought plague which killed over a third of the population.
• The plague killed Pericles.
• Athens became ruled by the mob.
• The naval leaders of a one battle came home and was thrown in jail for leaving fallen men after the won battle.
• Socrates wanted people to calm down but could not sway the assembly.
• The generals were put to death.
• The conflict between Athens and Sparta lasted a long time.
• When Sicily asked for protection from a Spartan ally they did.
• Athens lost in Sicily because they lost because they had no good strategy because the leaders were undisciplined.
• Athens was crippled militarily and the Persians saw an opportunity so they payed Sparta who built a fleet.
• The Spartans blockaded the Athenians.
• In 404 BC the Athenians finally surrendered.
• The Athenian walls and fleets were destroyed.
• Socrates was arrrested on charges of undermining the city and corrupting the youth. 
• Socrates was blamed for the loss because he questioned what they did.
• Socrates said that Athens is like a lazy horse and Socrates is like a stinging fly.
• Socrates demanded free dinners for life for his work.
• Socrates was condemned to death.
• Socrates was going to die by Hemlock.
• As the hemlock was poured his friends broke down and he told them to calm down.
• Socrates calmly drank the Hemlock.
• Socrates was a new type of hero to Athens
• Athens was a good city once more and mob rule ended.

4/13/11

Alexander's Conquest  97
What was his horse's name?... Bucepalus
What did he tell his men to do?...  To marry conquered women
At what age did he die?...  32

Homer  95
Who was Homer?...  An early Greek poet
When did he live?...  Around the 8th century
What two poems is he extremely famous for?...  Iliad and the Odyssey 

We then talked about the story about the people in the cave.  We also watched a video on it.  The people in the cave only see the shadows that are shown to them and so that is the world to them.  When a prisoner is released they go outside and see the real world.  Then he comes back and tells the other prisoners.  They do not believe him because the shadows inside the cave is all they've ever known.

4/11/11

Hellenic Age  95%
What is another name for the Hellenic age?...  Classical age
What kind of art was especially revolutionized?...  Sculptures
What goal was being tried to achieve?...  They wanted to make their art look realistic.

Ancient Greek Battles  90%
What is a phalanx?...  It is a battle formation.
What were hoplites?...  Heavily armed and trained soldiers.
What were mainly used?...  Armor, Spear, Xiphos

4/8/11

Greek Drama  95%
What is a comedy?...  A funny or mocking play with a happy ending
What was a satyr?...  A small comedy after a tragedy used to lighten the mood
Could women act?...  No

Greek Poetry 98%
How was poetry memorized?..  by song and by story telling
Who was a famous woman poet?...  Sappho
Who is the most famous poet of all?...  Homer

Pericles  100%
Pericles's father and mother; what were they?...  His mother was a member of the royal family and his father was a politition.
What were two religious events celebrated during his golden age?  Panathenaia and Dionysia
How did he die?...  He died from the plegue because after Sparta invaded a wall was built around Athens then illness swept through.

Parthenon  93%
What style was the Parthenon built in?...  Doric
What period was the Parthenon built during?... Classical period
What was built at the entrance?...  A 40 ft statue of Athena

4/7/11

Alexander the Great  100%

Who was his mother and what did she do for him?...  Her name was Olympias and she told him that he the son of a Greek god.

Who is his father and what was he?...  His father was Philip and he was a well known general who gave Alex his first horse and was later assassinated.    

Who was Alexander's tutor?...  Socrates 

Parthenon  95%

Who designed it?...  Pericles and Phidias

Where is it?...  On the Acropolis in Athens

What style was it built in?..  Doric

Greek Philosophers

Who were the main Greek Philosophers?...  Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato

Who taught Alexander the Great?...  Aristotle

Who is the Socratic method named after?...  Socrates

4/6/11

Acient Greek Art
What is Doric Order?...  A style of architecture that was big and started in the mainland.  (Parthenon)
What is Ionic Order?...  It was thinner and more popular.
What is Corinthian Order?...  It wasn't as popular but was fancier and more expensive.
What are different types of art?...  Architecture, Sculptures, Painting, Pottery

Olympics
What god were the Olympics in honor of?...  Zeus
Where were the Olympics held?...  Olympia
Who could compete in the Olympics?...  Everyone accept women competed in the Olympics, including poor people and aristocrats.

So I Don't know If We Are Suppose to Post Our Project From Over Spring Break Or Not... But Here It Is... My Rap About Greek Mathematic and Scientific Breakthroughs/Innovations

So anyway at first I was unfortunately assigned,

The breakthroughs in math and science,

So I decided to write a rapp’n rhyme,

About this rap that I was assigned,

So just a brief moment on what this is about,

Alright, Enough, I’m goin in,

C’mon, lets go,

Yeah, alright give me da beat,

The Greeks built the Parthenon,

And the beams of the triremes,

Which were in ports,

It helped develop their courts,

Pythagoras was famous for his right triangle formula,

And figuring out pie,

Archimedes was the one that came up with the law of physical displacement,

Which happens to your face when you hit the pavement,

He also came up with the idea of a screw,

Yeah back then it was brand new,

Yo ok we use it today

Anyway lets keep rappin about a few other important things that happened back in their day,

Not to mention his weapon inventions,

They were extremely crazy and amazing,

This was also when they came up with 0,

Euclid invented geometry,

Ptomely was arguably the best in Greek astronomy,

Stuff they never had a concept of before,

They got conquered by the Romans,

And the same thing happened again a lot more inventions came along,

More inventions then ever before,

Used in war and more things than  ever before,

This stuff helped to build today’s world the way we know it,

Many modern aspects of western modern civilization are modeled after this,

Greeks math and science inovations:

Davies Out.

                

4/4/11

     Today Mr. Schick came up with his own philosophy... don't wait to eat.  So of-course we ate the projects that we had time for today in class.  I saw Brad and Haley's project which were pretty awesome particularly.  Anyway, we ate cup cake for some reason after a Power Point on the Peloponnessian war was shared.  Another cake was eaten that had Socretes on it with some of his words.


Pelopennesian War  (Sparta Won)
Who was the Pelopennesian war between and why?...  Athens wanted to eliminate Sparta
How long was the Peloponnesian War?...  27 years
Who was the most important victim of the plegue and whatwas it?...  Pericles died along with more that 1/3 of Athens.  The wall that Athen built around themselves had everyone living in close quarters so the plague was devastating.

3/25/11

     Today you could tell that it was the day before spring break.  We took our test two days ago and went over it yesterday.  So today we cleared some things up about Greece.  We also told Mr. Schick what exactly we were doing for our projects.  I told him that I had decided on rapping.  We then joked around a lot of the class and had cookies.

3/24/11

     Today we went over the answers to the test that we took yesterday.  I had heard from others that the test was pretty hard because of the format.  I actually like the format and thought that the test was pretty fair.  I knew that I did well and I did.  I got an A on the test.  It was a good thing to go over because we got to hear the answers.  Morgan kept talking about Sam's nails so Mr. Schick told them that they had some issues to work out. We also got donuts and projects for over spring break.  I am just going to rap about a couple of important thing in math and science for the Greeks.

  

3/23/11

     Today we took a test and ate Smarties.  I was told by some that the test was extremely hard.  When Mr. Schick showed us the format I thought it kind of complicated at first, but the test turned out to be not real bad.  The test was actually very fair.  It was a matching test with areas, buildings, items, and people that were to be matched with descriptions.  It was fair because if you payed attention in class you did well and that is how all tests should be because that is how you can tell if people listened to and understand the concepts being taught.

3/21/11

     Today we continued with the movie.  Athens formed a form of their own empire called the Dalian League.  This was like a friendly conquer and the people of these areas were like their allies.  Pericles was born into an aristocratic family and knew what people wanted.  He made a real focus on things like art to get the culture and economy going.  He had a huge building called the Parthenon built on top of the Acropolis.  It was a huge monument dedicated to Athena and was the most expensive and awesome building of the time.  Under Pericles many things were done for the first time.  Drama was also invented at this time.  They had huge theatres carved on the side of hills where thousands of people would go to watch plays.  There were two types of drama; comedies and tragedies.  Pericles made one mistake.  He proposed war with Sparta because Sparta was up there with Athens and he wanted to eliminate them.  The proposal was accepted by the people.  They made a mistake going to war with Sparta when they lost.  

3/18/11

Today we just watched the movie all class.  While Themistocles had power in Athens, Xerxes had power in Persia after Darius died.  Themistocles knew that Persia was still a threat.  He had shops called triremes built which were ships that can ram holes in other ships.  He got a bill past that helped him build a lot of them.  Athens then had the best Navy.  Xerxes wanted revenge so he invaded Athens.  Athens was evacuated.  The women and children went north and the men went to an island with the whole navy.  Athens was invaded when there was no one there and took it.  Themistocles then sent a servant to tell Xerxes where they were and that they were week.  Athens had lured the Persian ships into a thin area where they destroyed.  The Athenians then retook Athens and prospered.

3/17/11

Today we got off track right away.  We were suppose to go off track anyway.  We started talking about the recent events that have occurred in Japan.  We also watched some footage that a guy took for six minutes of the tsunami.  We also talked about the Nuclear situation over there.  So we then continued to talk about the movie.  We then continued watching it.  After Cleisthlenese took power the Olympics started in Olympia.  A man named Isagoris then decided that he wanted to have power.  He got the Spartans to help him.  Cleisthlenese was then captured along with many others and then banished from Athens.  The people then rebelled and captured Isagoris.  They called back Cleisthlenese to help them and rule.  Cleisthlenese came up with democracy.  The people could vote and speak about what they wanted done.  Cleisthlenese later died and other people took over.  There was suddenly word of a Persian attack on Greece at Marathon.  Pheideppeees then was famous for running  140 miles in 2 days to Sparta to ask for help.  They said no.  Darius had power in Persia at the time.  The Athenian citizens fought along with Hoplites which were the best soldiers and beat Persia in the battle of Marathon.  Themistocles was then voted into power and was the first ruler that was not at one point an aristocrat.  That is it for today.

3/16/11

     Today Mr. Schick decided that we were going to start over watching the movie so that we could stop in the movie at certain points and explain things.  So we watched the movie during the whole class while we stopped the movie to get spellings and have discussions about what was happening.  Athens was built on and around an Acropolis.  Cleisthenese was an aristocrat.  In the early days of Greece the aristocrats controlled the common citizens.  Cleisthenese's brother in law rolled into town with a tall woman that he claimed to be Athena and took control.    He gave Athens a chance to prosper and they did when he lowered taxes and allowed them to take out loans.  Greece was then a good trading country.  During this time they also developed a unique style of art.  Pisistratus then died and his son Hippias took over.  Hippias did well until his brother was murdered and he went crazy.  The Athenians then lost their rights and had problems.  Cleisthenese then decided to try to overthrow Hippias and was successful.  That is it for today.

3/14/11

     Today we went over the movie that we watched on Friday.  The movie was called The Greeks.  We started summarizing what we watched.  We basically started to clear up the orders of the events and the people that played major roles in them.  I pretty much got what happened.  The names just confused me.  It was a series of people going into and out of power before the people got total control and gave one man the responsibility of figuring the government out.  They finally came up with democracy.

3/11/11

     Today we watched a movie called The Greeks.  Mr. Schick was not here; so the movie was a little confusing especially when it came to all of the names.  I took the best notes I could it One Note.  The movie has been so far about how the Greeks became so elite.  The Greeks invented a lot of things that we use and do today and that our country models.  The Greeks went from oppression to not being oppressed a couple times.  They then finally got a good leader back who made up democracy which worked extremely well.  They invented politics, history, and philosiphy.

3/10/11

     Today we went over what we will be studying next again.  We will be studying Greece.  This was the second day that we spent on Greece.  Today we shared our Google Docs Presentations.  I had to research Xerxes.  He was the one that conquered Greece temporarily.  He led Persia during the famous battle at Thermopylea.  He had problems in Asia so he pulled all of his troops out and the Greeks regained control.  Other people had other events and people that led up to Xerxes and his Empire.  There were battles talked about like Marathon.  There were people talked about like Darius who happens to be Xerxes father that started the war.

3/9/11

Today class was very short but productive.  First Mr. Schick told us about a "boring" class that he is taking.  Then he continued on to read a story of the Greeks and the Persians fighting.  The story was about the Persians making a ridiculous bridge to Greece and then them fighting.  Greece had to unite to fight them.  It took a lot of political strategy.  It was an extremely hard fight that Greece well strategized.  It was a story that involved a lot of advancement in warfare, politics, history, and civilization.  We were then assigned a project on Google Docs.  I have to do a slide on Xerxes.

3/7/11

     I can't necessarily write a hundred words about what we did in class today because we took a test.  I think that I did amazing on it.  So...  That's about it.

3/4/11

     Today in class Mr. Schick showed us a Power Point about modern Egypt.  The Power Point was a good snap shot of what has happened that has led up to the current situation.  It went from basically World War 1 till current day.  Their economy consists of oil, natural gas, tourism,and agriculture on their 3% of their land that is arable.  They grow some good crops and their best crop is cotton.  They have the biggest middle east population.  They have the third biggest population in Africa.  They are 90% Muslim and 10% Coptic Christian. 5th worst country in the world for tolerating religious freedom.  They are the12th worst in the world in religious violence.  Egypt was once UN territory.  Egypt was then declared a republic.  They were then ruled by Gamal Nasser who nationalized Suez Canal the forms allegiance with Soviet Union.  Anwar Sadat came into power after Nasser died and allied with the US, and attacked Israel over Sinai Peninsula, but later made peace.  Sadat was then assassinated in 1981.  Hosni Mumbarak then took over, who kept alliance with the US(helped us in the Iraq war); he was accused of corruption, human rights violations, political persecution; driven from office by mass demonstrations last month.  Egypt is currently run by temporary military junta.  Elections are scheduled for September 2011.People want Mubarak arrested for all kinds of crimes including stealing billions from the government. 

 

3/3/11

     Today was a good class.  Mr. Schick went over what we did yesterday.  We also finished the second half of the Prezi.  We went over a lot more about the priests and the pharaohs.  We also talked about women pharaohs in depth.  We talked about how they had rights and were not discriminated against.  We also talked about how slaves and servants weren't treated like more recent slaves.  We also talked about how the soldiers were set up for battle.  They used wooden bows and arrows, and spears.  Once they started using bronze they started putting bronze tips on their weapons.  They also would ride in chariots.  Then Mr. Schick let us go, which was awesome.

3/2/11

     Today we went over what is going to be on the next test.  The first category is the Geography.  We basically have to know what effects the Nile had on their technology, culture, civilization, and way of life.  We also have to know about daily life of the Egyptians.  We have to know about the social hierarchy and the money system.  We also have to know about the Gods and Goddesses.  We also need to know about the pyramids.  So to sum up the ancient Egypt part we have to know how all of the elements put together created the ultimate civilization.

     We also have to know about modern Egypt and the revolution.  We need to remember the conversation with Sarah.

2/28/11

Today we reviewed how cool the Skype call was with Sarah.  Mr. Schick was saying that he talked to her after the Skype call and conversation.  He said that she is an intern at a paper in Egypt and that she will try to write an article about the Skype conversation that we had.  He also told us that a John Carroll photographer for the patriot may also have work put in an Egyptian paper.  We also reviewed our tests from Guns, Germs, and Steel.  So we basically did an express review of the first unit.  Mr. Schick also told us about the test on Egypt that will happen on Friday.

2/25/11

     Today we got to talk to a 22 year old woman in Egypt about her people's revolution.  She majors in journalism at an American University in Kyro.  She was very involved in the movement that threw their dictator out of power.  She also knew a lot about the issue because she was involved.  My question was about her family and the different age people supporting the movement.  She said that people of all ages and all of her family supported the movement.  Her parents are both journalists so they are also very educated about the issue.  Someone else also asked about the Muslim Brotherhood being dangerous or having power.  She does not think that they will have a lot of power and that they are only a small part of the movement.  It was a very cool and interesting class.  

2/24/11

Questions For Sarah:
1.  What is your personal story with Mombarak?
2.  Do you know anyone who has been tortured by the government?
3.  Is it at all scary to be protesting in the square?
4.  Is fun to protest?
5.  Do a lot of young friends that protest with you?
6.  Do you know a lot of older people that protest?
7.  What are your family members' positions on the resignation of Mombarak?
8.  Do you and family talk about the issue of the government and politics?
9.  Who told you about the movement?
10.  How did you get involved in the protests and the issues?

2/23/11

Today in class we started rapping. Jordan started out reading his and Zach's rap. I then read mine which went ok.  I got an A though, so I'm happy.  We then heard a couple of other raps.  There are still a lot of people that have yet to rap.  We then talked about the Egyptian revolution.  Mr. Schick said that he would try to get his Egyptian aquaintence to Skype us so we ask questions and talk to her about it.  We also talked about another revolution along with Egypt's is sparking revolutions everywhere.  We then started watching a video that was on a news channel's website.  It is a video of a young girl who is for revolution that has a family who is not.  She explains everything.

Egyptian Rap

Egypt is the rhyming,

Rapping capital of the world,

We invented this stuff,

And it ain’t no bluff,

We name the name,

We play da game,

Rippin your organs out,

Halt,

Here comes the salt,

Your now dry as the sand,

Yeah that we did,

We’ll get rid of you in a pyramid,

After I wrap you up in this rhyme,

We do dis stuff all the time,

And every day,

We’ll bury you in pyramids of clay,

You may say no way,

You may say,

That your goin in,

You may go in but there,

But there is somdin that we all know,

Your not comin out,

Death could be instantaneous,

Or it could be slow,

I don’t know cause I’m alive,

I’m not the guy to die young,

I’m not suicidal,

Don’t be rebelial,

The floor might fall,

Trap door,

The ceiling may pick you up,

Watch out for the pit of tar,

Yeah, There they are,

In the chamber of death,

You die,

Your left for dead,

While we drink from the Nile,

It waters our crops so give us props,

We are so cool that we’ve used it to make pools,

Our gods are just crazy amazing,

We mummify you while we glorify the gods,
By the way I'm so undenied that I have my own scribe,

The first big civilization is the best of the best,

If I say rap 3 more times that’s 5 raps to rap up this rapped up rhyme.

2/18/11

Today Mr. Schick showed us a game that was building a virtual pyramids.  We got in groups of two.  I was with Vinny.  The first two groups to finish got A's.  The others got B's.  It was an insanely hard game.  You had to do and know how to do everything.  A lot of it was also just luck.  Vinny and I were the second to last ones to finish.  So we got B's.  We had to think about the area where the pyramid was built, what it was made of, workers, and what do do with the workers.  So we basically had a little bit of fun learning to build pyramids.

2/17/11

Today Mr. Schick explained his weekend and absence during the past two days, one of which we didn't have class.  His daughter was horribly sick so he told us the long story.  Today we worked on our power points and pretty much finished them.  We then watched a couple of power points.

     Egypt was the first civilization to come up with a writing system called hieroglyphs.  They had highly specialized workers that did the writing, numbering, and censuses.  Hieroglyphs are basically symbols and letters.  The huge Nile River also runs through Egypt.  The Nile river made for good soil after the floods.  People started to realize the spring floods and everything else, which made for better farming.  This led to innovations in farming and other things.  For instance they learned how irrigate the crops.

2/16/11

Today Mr. Schick was not here.  We had two different substitutes.  We got into groups to work on a power point about Egypt.  The idea is to put a couple of ideas, notes, and finally power points together to get more out of a power point.  I am partners with Vinny on the project and we have generally organized what we will probably do.  I don't really have any notes from today because I was busy putting the info from my research of the previous days in a power point.  Despite the lack of time because of the one hour late bell schedule, I did get a good amount of work done today. 

2/14/11

Today we talked about what was holding Mr. Schick up on grading the tests.  Mr. Schick then reviewed with us what we did on Friday and what we were going to continue today.  Then we started working.  We got in groups but I kind of did my own work.

     After the pharaoh's, death they believed that he became the God of death, Osiris.   They believed that the new king became the God of the Heavens, Horus.  It was believed that part of the king's soul stayed in the body.  This was called the Ka.  The people had to make sure that the king's body was taken care of correctly, or Egypt would be destroyed or plagued.  Because of this they mummified the kings and gave them luxurious tombs, such as the pyramids.  The tombs weren't always pyramids.  These tombs are notorious for having traps and for being dangerous to protect the tombs so nothing was disturbed and so that Egypt was fine.  This is just one big example of their customs and beliefs.

2/11/11

     In class we talked about the test.  We talked about how it was pretty easy and how well we thought we did.  He then told a lot of us how well we did on he multiple choice part.  We then talked about what would make the test easier and better.  After talking about the test we started talking about the current issue in Egypt.  Mr. Schick told us about his friend in Egypt.  We then started researching general historical topics of Egypt.  I did some research on the pyramids.

   Many people think that the pyramids were built by Jewish slaves.  Some of them were, but most of the pyramids were built by the Egyptians themselves.  The pyramids are said to have been built with traps and danger to keep people out.  The pyramids are mainly tombs with hieroglyphics, which is thier style of writing, on the walls.  The traps are to keep people like grave robbers from taking people of honor, pharaohs, and wealthy people out of their tombs.  The people were often put in the tombs with their valuable possessions and jewelry.  This is why the tombs in the past have been so sought after.  The bodies and jewelry have been worth a lot of money on the black market.

To be continued...     

Essay: Analyze Jared Diamond's Theory of Geographic Luck

     Jared Diamond's theory of geographic luck is a very believable and continually advancing theory.  Nally's question was a very logical question and luck is a big chunk of his answer.  The middle east was given gifts that Papua New Guinea wasn't.  New Guinea got stuck with everything that required hard labor and work while the middle east had it easy.  This is why a lot of Papua New Guinea is still stuck just plain hunting and gathering while the rest of the world was associated with the middle east which shared their luck and resources with the world.
    
     The middle east was a bunch of hunters and gatherers until they "got smart" and found out what they could do with the easy to use and versatile resources around them.  They first found out that you could plant and grow crops like wheat and barley.  When this technique called farming was starting to become universal in the area people started to establish permanent settlements.  The easy to get and make food led to many people to do other things than hunting and gathering.  When people could invent there were technological breakthroughs like making and using plaster to build things.  Because the food could stored for a long time they never had to worry about running out.  They ten starting domesticating animals for their meat, milk, and hide to make things.  These animals were perfect for them.  They didn't know that land could be over farmed so when the the land no longer profited well for them they moved east and west because the climate was the same and they could do the same things.  The moving out started civilization everywhere.

     New Guinea didn't have any ideal plants like the middle east for domestication.  They didn't have any ideal animals  either.  They always have to do the hard and manual labor by hand.  The y did not invent any thing because everyone has to worry about getting food all of the time and takes forever.  They also didn't have anywhere to go because they are an isolated island.  New Guinea didn't have any technology because they did not have ideal resources.  They did not have rescources because they didn't have geographical luck.  This is the bottom line of how civilization came about.  This is the answer to the century old question.

 

2/7/11

For some reason and some how I have to write 100 words.  Anyway...  Today we came into class and Mr. Schick told us how we were ahead and how it's a problem.  He then told me it sounded more like I was going to be writing a letter of complaint.  I guess it is kind of a letter of APPRECIATION and complaint.  It's not really either.  It's pretty much just a summary of what we did in class.  I'm kind of talking to my self right now on my blog at the begining of class.  Anyway it's nice to be able to chill, not have to anything.  So right now I'm kicking it old-school listening to some Boston and writing this blog.  I'll probably just chill or do some homework or something for the last mod of this class.  

This is the Mini Project That Our Groups Wrote

     New Guinea is constantly modernizing them-selves.  They currently have a population of 6,064,515.  Their population is continually growing.  They have picked up about 20% of their population in nine years.  They have almost nine-hundred languages.  They have about 12 religions.  Most of their religions are Christians.  Their most practiced religion is Roman Catholic.  They currently have 541 airports with unpaved roads and 21 airports with paved roads.  This means that they have a grand total of 562 airports.  They have 2 heliports.  They currently have 9,349 km of roadways.  In the way of natural resources they have a lot of precious stones and oil.  Their capital city has a population of 300,000.  Only about 18% of their population lives in urban areas.  The rest of the population lives in the mountains with their native tribes.  Their industrial growth rate is 10%.  The unemployment rate is only 1.8%.  Their literacy rate is about 57%.  Their New Guinea army is 2100 strong.