More Knights

    Yesterday in Western Civilization we reviewed the vocabulary for our last test before the final. I had not finished finding the meaning of the words before the class ended, but we had found the meanings to those words at the end of class. Hopefully this test won't be like the last one and I also hope that I can focus on the next and larger exam after this test. Best of luck to all my fellow classmates and best to other people soon to take it too.

Chivalrous Young Lads

     Today in West Civ Mr. Schick started to teach us about the Middle Ages. Although he doesn't seem to like that era and neither do, just because they never really seemed to advance or do anything well during that time. Although I guess you could say that there was the iron plow.... and the giant birds.... But anyway, I hope to have fun learning about the medieval times even though they seemed to be lazier than a pig when it came to new technologies...

Hardest Test So Far

     Today in Western Civ, other than getting to sit behind the new class president, I also finally got back my third test on Rome. This test was quite hard, and although I did not do well by my normal standards; I felt particularly proud considering I missed a full day of class without getting the material. All in all, I guess even though I had not done well on the test, I can still hope for the best on the final, for which I now know what I can study from our last section.

Barbarians Conquer Rome!

    Today in Western Civ class we got a chance to hear about the final days of the once powerful Roman Empire. We learned of how the Romans just couldn't handle the numerous tribes of Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia. As they slowly lost power; they were one step closer to their own demise. We learned that the barbaric tribes finally looted Rome in the fifth century A.D. The saddest part of it all, is that the barbarians didn't even bother with the Roman king. They simply threw the fifteen year old boy to the side rather than killing him like they'd do to an actual leader.

TEST

      Today in Western Civ, we had to take what I thought was one of the hardest tests of the semester. Even though it was short, Even I couldn't be quite prepared for it; it being fill in the answer. What made it even worse is that I took the test even after missing Friday's which I believe would've been essential to me doing better. Anyway, while you hear me rant, I still hope I did well; having other tests today and trying my hardest on each.

P.S. Mr. Schick, go check out the video of the astronaunt singing in the first music video in space.

Questions Anyone?

      Today in class Mr. Schick had us study in an unusual way, one that involved both thinking about a question and finding the answer. He tested our knowledge by making us think questions that would be on Wednesday's test. I thought up a few just like quite a few other people in class while others decided to play music and laugh the whole time. I hope that what I study will help me on my test and just in case you want them Mr. Schick here are my questions.

What is NOT one of the things Diocletian did?

What are some of the problems that Rome faced with Christianity? (Short Answer)

In what year did Constantine pass the Edict of Milan?

Sick Day :(

      Dear Mr. Schick,
              I am sorry that I couldn't be in class to see what we did the other day, because I was sick. I hope to be back next class and ready to get back on the lesson.

Christianity in Rome 101

     Today in West Civ we once again talked about Christianity and how it affected Rome and how its leaders reacted to the new religion. This time we learned of people who accepted Christianity like Constantine, and those who persecuted those who liked it like Diocletian. As class went on we were assigned questions to finish for homework about Rome's leaders and what they thought of and did to Christians. My least favorite one to learn about was Diocletian...

Pop Quiz!

         Today in Western Civ after finishing up our review over our test we found ourselves taking notes yet again, but this time was different. This time we didn't watch a video, but we listened to Mr. Schick as he showed us a powerpoint on Christianity. After we finished viewing all the slides, Mr. Schick quickly passed out Scantron sheets and told us we now had a pop quiz. Although I normally talk about how well I think I did. This time I'd like to say I think this was a good idea to make sure people pay attention. I would actually like to see a small five point quiz after every lecture just to make sure we were listening.

P.S. Good job Mr. Schick and I hope you can use a small quiz as a way to make people listen more next year!

Christianity in Rome

         Today after finishing our quiz in Western Civ class we read to ourselves a little bit about how Christianity both spread and affected Rome. In the early days of Christianity, it had been put down by the Romans and any followers of it were accused of "acts against the gods" and either crucified, murdered, tortured, or the worst of all, thrown into the Roman Coliseum and either feed to animals or killed by gladiators. Either way the Christians had a hard life trying desperately to convert the Romans, but eventually they would take Rome as its leading religion.  

Pax Romana

      Yesterday in Mr. Schick's class we not only talked more about Rome, but we also got a new assignment, which was about the Pax Romana. This was also known as the Roman Peace and we have to write a paper on it either alone or in pairs. I once again got paired with my friend Timmy and I hope that we can do a great job on this assignment.

Time To Review!

   Today in Western Civ class we finished watching the videos about Tiberius Grachus and how he tried to reform the Roman empire for the better of the plebians. He tried to not only get their land back from the partritians, but he also tried to get the people their right to vote for themselves for once. These principles which he had inherited from his father also lead to his death, when he tried to get re-elected as tribune and was brutally murdered by the Senate and hundreds of his supporters. His plan was genius.... only his brother can carry on his deeds now...

More Tiberius

    Today in Western Civ we continued to learn about Tiberius as an early leader in Rome. This time, his life was spared by the senate after his friends stood up for him. And he tried even harder this time to help the plebians get back their land. He did this after by becoming tribune and telling the people how he would help them. Just as Tiberius won the vote we also learned that his old friend was already trying to create conflict by lying to the people.
     Will Tiberius beat the senate? Will he help the people? Find this out and more next time in Mr. Schick's Western Civ class!

Tiberius No!

     Today in Western Civ we got to watch yet another cool video that Mr. Schick found about Western Civilization. Today we watched a video about ancient Rome, or more specifically about Tiberius' son who was also named Tiberius. We learned that Tiberius' father was not only a champion to Rome, but that Tiberius also had to live up to his father's footsteps. We saw his first mark on history when he conquered Carthage, Rome's greatest rival on the Medditerranean. We'll have to keep watching, but until then. This is me signing off.

Sick Days and Quests

        The other day in Western Civilization class we reviewed or "quest", which was half quiz and half test. It seemed fairly easy to me, but after listening to what our teacher Mr. Schick had to say, I quickly learned that nearly half his students had failed the quest. When we went over the answers, we also found out that there wasn't one question that everyone had gotten right, even this one, "Which teacher/rapper made up the song "Rome"? I'm glad to have even did as well as I did after hearing those averages. But even so the only parts that were actually troubling to me were those questions about which parts of the Roman government are similar to parts of our government.

P.S.- Mr. Schick I'm sorry I couldn't do the blog yesterday, because I had a migraine.

The Quest!

        "Lord today we have a quiz, tell us what the answers is" and, "Lord today we have a test, help us all to do our best" are just some things we as Mr. Schick's Western Civ class say before a quiz or a test, But what happens when we have a quest? I'll tell you this much... I don't know... But either way, today we had a quest that was twenty five questions long. It seemed rather easy, but I guess even though I already know what I got, that sometimes you just have to wait for the next quest.

Quests Are Coming!

    Yes tomorrow we have a quest, Mr. Schick class it this because it is literally have quiz and half test. Although I'm not quite sure how that will work, I'm sure that Mr. Schick will find a way to make our quest half quiz and test.. During class we had also reviewed partially for this quest by going over the song by Chi-Cago called "Rome". I hope I'll do well because I memorized everything from the Punic Wars, to Julius Ceasar, to Hannibal and I hope that helps. Until next time, this is me signing off.

Music Video!

     Today in Mr. Schick's Western Civ class we got to see the videos made by other classmates for Mr. Schick's song that taught us about Rome. First there was the video by Abbey and Victoria and it was actually way cooler than I had expected it to be. It had everything from the pictures to changing font size and moving the text so it looked even more professional.
     Then there was Harry and William's video which although was funny at first, it only went for the first nine seconds and then kept looping.
     And then there was mine and Timmy's which was pretty cool and funny with the pictures and we both thought we did well. Can I hear extra credit? Yep. Anyway, until next time.

Dat Music

          A few days ago in Mr. Schick's Western Civ class we got to see a fellow classmates music video. Except they added their own little touch to the song. Not only were their pictures and acting really good, but also the fact that they sung the song by Mr. Schick! I can honestly say that, that was really cool to see and that I hope that me and Timmy can do this well as well. P.S. Timmy I'm sorry I couldn't help on Friday or Saturday D:

Dat Music Video

       Today in Mr. Schick's Western Civilization class we continued to work on our video for Mr. Schick's song! Timmy and I so far got a new program for editing the video and got over 15 pictures. I really like some of them that really capture the intensity of the Roman battle. And until next time when I write again... Bye!

Could that Be Mr. Schick?

         Finally after about five days without having Mr. Schick teach class, he came back into action and began to teach us once again. Today however, we had to have a fire drill and had very little class time as a result. Although this set us back a bit, we still eventually got to find out that we were going to make a movie or music video for Mr. Schick's song! Hope to get to that soon and have more fun in the future!

Scipio! Finally!

             Yesterday in Western Civ class we had yet another sub for Mr. Schick. This time, the Honors German teacher, and although we didn't have as much fun as yesterday, like when we made our comics: (http://Pixton.com/ic:hw728lhh). But what we did do was getting to take the entire forty minute class to take notes on the Romans like I have below. Believe it or not, I actually found the Romans to be very interesting, and although I didn't take notes on it, I also read all of LO-3 which seems way more interesting than the lesson before. It taught me about Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, and even my favorite of all Scipio. :D. I hope to learn more about Rome and its civil wars in the future, but until then, this is me, signing off.

             The Romans relied heavily on military power and farming to continue their expansion. They first conquered their neighboring countries such as the Etruscans and other competing Italian tribes and barbarian invaders. One of Rome’s most powerful weapons was its military that was based heavily off of the Ancient Greek and Macedonia militaries. The Romans also based other things off of the Greeks, including their government. Although the Romans had a different system, it was very closely related to the Greek’s. 

Yep, It's A Comic

          Today in Western Civ, or should I say Spanish class... Just kidding, today in Western Civ class we had a sub, Mrs. Magner. And although Schick-ago couldn't be here to make everything as awesome as usual, we still got to do some fun stuff while he was gone, including making a comic! Somehow Mr. Schick still has us doing fun things even without being there... In this comic, we were supposed to tell the story of Romulus and Remus and how they came to be and create the origin of Rome!
           I hope Mr. Schick laughs at Timmy and I's, because I think it'll be great. :)
http://Pixton.com/ic:hw728lhh

Do Da Rap!

        Today in Mr. Schick's class we started out things a little bit differently... When class started, instead of the usual Mr. Schick in a dress shirt and tie, we got rapper Schick or Schick-ago. You see what he there (just like Flo-rida :D). After Mr. Schick-ago and Schick La Mar finished doing their awesomely made rap, we got to go over some notes about the new LO-1 and we got our tests back! I did great like I hoped I would and I was happy to see some of my friends did the same. But anyway.... Schick-ago "What What" peace...

NOTES LO-1

• The Romans loved the way the Greeks did things, and both imitated what the Greeks did and improved onto them (at keast in terms of military and government)
• Everyone feared the Romans for the most part
• The Latins settled in Italy, just west of the Greek mainland
• Italy had a great location for military invasion, farming, and spotting an enemy navy/army
• The Etruscans and the Greeks also settled Italy
• Italy was another male ran society- The Senate
• Patricians were the more wealthy and powerful Romans, the plebeians might have been doing well in business, but they weren't "conected"

Lord Today We Had A Test!

       Today, as you can probably already tell by the title; we had a test. Test was on Alexander the Great and his life. Somehow, I seemed to have forgot about having this very test over the break and was very lucky that I had gotten the chance to use my blog to help find the answers. I was happy to also see that I was one of the first to finish the test and that I felt all my answers had been correct. I'm sure that although I lot of people, including myself, had been taken by surprise by the test, that they also did very well like I feel I did. Until next time, R.I.P. Margaret Thatcher. :(

NOTES

After Alexander's troops conquered Persia he decided to move for India in 326 B.C.

He crossed the Indus River and met King Ambi in Taxila

Alexander's horse, Bycephalus, died in the battle of Hydaspas

Alexander was born on July 21 of 356 B.C.

He died on the June 10 of 324 B.C.

He died from Typhoid Fever

When he died, his empire almost immediately collapsed

When his people asked who should take over, he said, "It goes to the strongest"

First fought King Darius II, King of Persia

The Battle of Granicus

The Battle of Issus

The Battle of Tyre

The Battle of Gaugamela

For Glory at Last!

            Today in Western Civilization class we were able to finish some of our projects on Alexander the Great and the important people around the time of Alexander. We also got to watch part of a movie about the life of Alexander the Great and the Battle of Gaugamela. Sadly we didn’t get to see much of the actual battle, but we did get to see Alexander the Great’s speech and him and how he got Bycephalus, his horse. Some of us had a lot of fun watching the gore of the part of the battle that we actually saw, while others seemed like they didn’t want to watch. Personally I really liked what I had seen so far in the battle scene and wanted to see more. But until next time; see ya Mr. Schick and have a great Spring Break!

Scary People at the Door...

          Yesterday in Western Civilization we started to present our group projects on either Macedonia, King Philip II, or Alexander the Great. During the presentations, I learned many things include the affair King Philip had and that his wife, Olympia, had told Alexander that he was the son of Zeus, the father of the gods. The class yesterday was also quite interesting since when my group finally got up to talk, Robert scared nearly the entire class by slamming against the door. We might not have gotten to finish because of that, but we'll start up next week and have more fun too :D.

Another Day Bites the Dust

                Today in Western Civilization class we continued to work on our projects in our small groups. These projects are due tomorrow, and my group had a great idea to split the three subjects, so that each person had to do one. My subject was Alexander the Great’s decisive military battles, Joseph’s was battle the Persians, and Jack’s was conquering Egypt. I was glad to see that some of the group finished their part of the project like me. And I also hope to see the rest of the project finished by the due date, but until then, I have to hope for the best. Let’s just hope everything comes together.  

New Project

Today in Western Civilization class, we were assigned a project about one of the most important people in Macedonian history, Alexander the Great. My group was composed of Joseph Camello and Jack Eye with myself, and we had to do our project on Alexander the Great’s military life. We had a part in that also, mine was about his decisive military battles, Joseph’s was about his campaign in Persia, and Jack’s was about his campaign in Egypt. We didn’t just work on our projects though, we also went over the answers and our opinions to the Peloponnesian War assignment we had from Monday. On that assignment we had to talk about King Philip II, define what Hellenistic meant, and do research on why the Athenians lost the Peloponnesian War.

The Not So Exciting War and More

      The Peloponnesian War was started when an arrogant Athenian King, Pericles, decided he could beat the Spartans, who had the most powerful land based infantry in Greece just by simply staying within Athens' walls. Today, we can say that plan didn't work at all mainly because; he basically had his people within the walls not even fighting, so there would be no victory unless the Spartans went to sea (Which never happened). At one point the Athenian ships brought home an unwelcome guest along with the regular supplies, this guest was....(Insert dramatic/ evil voice here) The Plague. After one third of the population including the king Pericles died it seemed that there was nothing left, but defeat for Athens. And in my point of view, at that point they had lost the war...

        During the time 359 B.C. in ancient Greece, King Philip II of Macedonia ruled and was the father of Alexander the Great, the man who would later become a great conqueror of nations. During 359 B.C. King Philip II also won the 106th Greek Olympics in the chariot races.  



Hellenistic- Hellenistic is used to describe the time of great learning and literature from the life of Alexander the Great to the death of Cleopatra. When Greek characteristics were modified by foreign elements.

Class notes

 1600 – 1200 BC- The Mycenaean Civilization

1200’s BC- X
1150 – 750 BC- The Dark Ages
776 BC- First Olympic Games
750 – 700 BC- Homer composed the Iliad and the Odyssey
621 BC-When Draco set up his law system- very harsh
600 – 371 BC- X
594 BC- X
508 BC- The Athenian people revolted against their leaders, it was the first time in history that anyone has done this in the world. (Took power Isagoris, their king at the time)
490 - 471 BC- X
490 BC- Battle at Marathon
480 BC- When Xerxes decided he would get revenge for his father, King Darius. (But failed)
480 – 430 BC- X
461 – 429 BC- Age of Pericles
447 – 438 BC- Pericles built the Parthenon
431 – 404 BC- Peloponnesian War (Athens vs. Sparta) (Sparta won and Pericles and one third of Athens died of the plague)
399 BC- Trial of Socrates and Death of Socrates ( Was blamed for the loss of the war)
336 BC- X

MEN, WOMEN, GODS AND GODDESSES YOU SHOULD KNOW:  In one or two sentences, describe what is significant about the following people (or immortals):
Homer- Homer was a poet that traveled around Greece telling stories about the Trojan War like the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Odysseus-He was a legendary Greek king and a hero in one of Homer’s books as he tried to get home from the Trojan War.
Zeus- The main Greek God and God of Thunder and of the sky, and was also known as the “Father of the Gods”.
Athena- Athena was the goddess of wisdom, and the patron goddess of Athens.
Draco-He replaced Athens’ system of judgments and punishments of oral tradition and blood feuds for crimes to courts that were known for their harshness.

Solon- X

Pisistratus-A “good” tyrant, who seized power by claiming the woman who had been traveling with him, was Athena. He had also managed to give rights to lower class workers; not only that but he lowered their taxes and gave them loans.
Cleisthenes- He was yet another tyrant that seized power from Hippias, who was Pisistratus’ paranoid son. He also took back power after Isagoris was thrown out by the Athenian people and was tasked with making a new government called a Democratic Republic.
Darius (the Great)- He was the king of Persia and tried to invade and conquer Greece once before, but failed when the Athenians beat him at the battle of Marathon.
Xerxes- Xerxes was King Darius’ son and according to Greek history he built up an army of six million men to try to invade and conquer Greece once and for all. (Although his army was most likely made up of just hundreds of thousands of men, not millions.) He lost to the Athenians as well, when he sent his navy into Strait of Salamis and was ambushed by Athens’ superior army.
Pheidippides- The runner that declared that, “We have won the Battle of Marathon”, when he reached Athens from the Battle of Marathon.
Themistocles- He was elected by the people, built an excellent navy, beat the Persian army at sea, and was soon ostracized ironically.
Pericles- Pericles was a slightly arrogant king, in the way that he thought he could beat the Spartans by simply staying behind Athens’ walls. He would later die of the plague along with one third of the population.
Aristophanes-One of the great play writers; he mainly wrote comedies.
Socrates- Socrates was an ancient Greek scholar who made people question things, and lead them to their own answers to questions. He died of hemlock and was famous for the Socratic Method. He was accused of disrespecting the gods and corrupting the youth. Died in 399 B.C.
Plato-Plato helped to lay the foundation for modern philosophy. His mentor was Socrates and his student’s name was Aristotle; all these men would go down in Greek history for good things.
Aristotle-
Alexander the Great- Alexander was a king and a “great” (you see what I did there) conqueror as he took control of places such as Macedonia, Egypt, Persia, and Asia. Most of this land was first controlled by King Darius III.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION:  Be able to locate the following on a map:
Athens                         Sparta                                      Peloponnesus                          Ionia
Ionian Sea                               Aegean Sea                             Persian Empire

GREEK POLITICAL STRUCTURES: Describe these political institutions:
Monarchy                    Democracy                  Oligarchy                    Aristocracy

PERICLES’ THREE GOALS FOR ATHENS: Name ‘em; describe ‘em.

GREEK ART: Identify and describe examples in these fields:
Sculpture                    Architecture                            Drama (tragedy and comedy)    

Harsh Rules Draco, Harsh...

          Yesterday on Friday in Mr. Schick's Western Civilization class, there were a few new things that happened. The first was that Mr. Schick gave everyone new seats after he posted on his blog the new seating chart the night before. There was something new that happened too. People were actually quiet during most of the class. In class we went over the review sheet or outline that we started as homework. Mr. Schick helped me a lot with my notes since I didn't have everything filled out. Like some of the people on the sheet like Draco; whom I knew nothing about. When I did look up what he did, all I found was that he set up a system of new rules. What I was told until yesterday was that that set of rules pretty much said if you make someone lose their eye, you lose "YOURS". That scares me. D:

It was Quiet and Depressing :(

      Today in Western Civilization class, we really only seemed to work on our study guides. It was very quiet today and I don't know exactly why we didn't just sat down the entire time. It seemed fairly strange compared to our typical classes. It was nice to be able to work on that outline though since we hadn't gotten a whole lot of time in class to do it. I was planning to do some at home, but that really helped with my homework problem. I also saw the new seating chart, which I think was caused by people in certain parts of the room constantly having their own conversation during Mr. Schick's lecture. I really hope this new seating arrangement helps to make people be more quiet, as sometimes I don't like it when Mr. Schick has to stop. :(

Socrates :(

          Today in Mr. Schick's Western Civilization class we got to learn more about the Greeks yet again! But this time, the video was sad; not because it had drama in it, but because we finally learned exactly why Socrates, who we learned about during the first semester, was killed with hemlock. Before, all that we knew was he was sentenced to death for corrupting the youth and forced to drink hemlock, but now we know there was another reason. After Athens had lost the Peloponnesian War and its leader Pericles had died of plague; the Athenians needed someone to blame it all on. And sadly.... that was Socrates. Oh, and one more thing, Hi Mr. Schick! I saw you at Target!

The Test Results Are In

                Today in Western Civilization class we went over the test on the early Greeks and their life as their civilization grew. Overall I did very well on the test, based on my own opinion, mainly just because I scored over the average score, which was a seventy six percent. I was also a bit surprised by the scores of myself and of the average score, because it was after all an open book test. Nevertheless, we got to review every answer with Mr. Schick, which I was happy to do, because it lets me know not only what I did wrong, but also; if I need to put the information on my blog, I can do so correctly and very easily. I hope next time I can use this test to help me and maybe even help set a new average :D. But until then, I guess I’ll just keep studying.

A "BIG" Mistake

            Yesterday in Western Civilization class, since Mr. Schick was elsewhere; we had a substitute teacher and continued to watch more about the achievements and loses the ancient Greek city-state, Athens, went through. The first thing we learned about Athens, yesterday, was that after the Athenians ostracized their king, who had given them the greatest victory of all over the Persians. After this king was ostracized they turned to a new man named Pericles, who divorced his wife one day and married someone named Aspasia, who according to legend was also a prostitute. We also learned that this man named Pericles built a whole new Parthenon, and in the first year alone used 5,000 talons! This was a great deal of money in the ancient world. Although Pericles had built several great things and his people loved him; he made one of the biggest mistakes in Greek history. He challenged the Spartans to war…

The Greeks! Part II

             Today in Western Civilization we continued to watch the video on the Greeks and their leaders. Today we learned about Themistocles and how he both tricked the Athenians and gave them their greatest victory by defeating the Persians in the Strait of Salamis. Here’s what happened in summary. Themistocles, who was originally a serf, got to power and proposed to the Athenians that make lots of ships, in particular, triremes, which could ram enemy ships to sink them, or just flip them over. After finding a silver vein in Athenian territory, he proposed that the Athenians should use it to build a navy to fight back another city-state. Little did they know, he was anticipating an attack from the Persians and built a total of two hundred ships. After the death of King Darius, a Persian King who tried to invade Greece once before, his son Xerxes took over and built up an army of two million men! After Themistocles lured the Persians into the Strait of Salamis, he ambushed them with the newly made two hundred triremes and destroyed their ships. Then Athens was on the road to becoming a new world super power.   

So Many Tyrants D:

            Today in Western Civilization class we continued to watch the video in class about Greece and how its shape as a country and civilization was formed. The last time we were in class we learned about a man by the name of Pisistratus and how even though he was a tyrant, he made the social class of Greece so that even the poorest people of the time, known as the serfs, could get out of their social class and into a better one.

            Today however, we learned about his son, Hippias, and how he became a very paranoid leader who was only focused on his own well-being. This is proved when he kills the men who killed his brother and also tortures their wives to death. Although, with bad things come good, because after Hippias was overthrown, another good leader like Pisistratus came, by the name of Clisthenes. But even then, Clisthenes, the good leader was overthrown by an abusive tyrant named Isagarus, who used the Spartans to gain power. Soon even he would be overthrown in 508 B.C. by the will of the Athenian people in a “cu” that would end with Clisthenes once again in power. 

The Good Tyrant, Pisistratus

        On Thursday in Western Civilization class we got to learn even more about none other than the Greeks in a video! In this video, we learned about a man, named Pisistratus, who seized power or a tyrant using an extremely tall women from nearby village, he claimed she was Athena, and convinced the Athenians that he was being guarded by a God which in turn made them give him the power to rule Athens. After he gained this power, we learned he was actually one of the good tyrants and started to lower taxes and gives loans to the serfs, who were lower class citizens at the time. He made it so that the serfs were no longer stuck in their class and controlled by the aristocrats. Meaning, everyone was equal, the way it should be.

Not My Best Test Memory

          Today in Western Civilization, to my surprise, we got to finish our tests from Monday if we didn't finish them. Although I was happy at first, I soon found out that part of the test was about memorizing something we mentioned earlier in a different class. This was bad for me especially since although I remembered Mr. Schick talking about the books written by Homer; I didn't actually know what their names were. So when I found out that the answers weren't in the textbook, you could say I was disappointed; and also a little upset. Mainly because after I turned in my test Mr. Schick showed me the right answer which was on the tip of my tongue the entire time. I still hope I did good though, even with a guaranteed minus five points off....

A Test...

            Today in Western Civilization class we had a test on Early Indo-European barbarians and the societies that followed them, including the Greeks. One of my favorite parts of the chapter we just had the test on was learning about the Mycenaeans and the Minoans, and how they ended and came to be. So far, we know that the Mycenaeans conquered the Minoans and had the entire Mediterranean Sea at their disposal for trading. Soon after this however we learned that the Mycenaeans were conquered by some group of people that we can only call the “sea people”. It was fun learning about this chapter and even though the test was open book and I didn’t feel all that comfortable with my answers, I’ll still look forward and hope for the best. Even if I get a bad grade, there is always next chapter to look forward to and more fun!  

Democracy in Action!

          Yesterday in Western Civilization class we got to do something similar to what the ancient Greeks did, but in our own society. Another difference is that we also respected the girls’ opinions, unlike the Greeks. During the entire class we all expressed our opinions and points of view on whether or not the Chinese exchange students should be able to use their translators during the test. Some of these points of view were that the Chinese students were here to learn in an English speaking environment and that they should have to use the textbook just like anyone else. Yet, there were other points of view including that their vocabulary isn’t as good as ours and they should be able to use their translators to at least know what a word means (in their language). Personally, I chose that they should use their translators and that idea won. Good job Greeks for helping to invent democracy!

Be Carried Back on Your Shield...

            Today in Western Civilization we continued to review over Mr. Schick’s outline which he made to help prepare us for the chapter test. Today we focused on the Greeks and the early Greek civilizations like the Mycenaeans and the Minoans, who lived on Crete, Greece’s largest island. Sadly though, all we know about how they were wiped out was by oral tradition and even then all we get from it, is that they were wiped out by the sea people…

            As class went on we also started to talk about the Greeks and their types of government. One of these was called a tyranny, which is when someone claims power from the current leader and rules with an iron fist. My favorite Greeks, the Spartans, however, had a different point of view, they had every male since they turned seven put into the military and were only released when they turned sixty. And these Spartans, since they had most of their men in the army and only the old men and all women stayed at home; were forced to make a oligarchy, where the elders made all the choices.

            Either way you think about it, the Greeks were some of the coolest people in history and I’m glad that they’re still around today; even if they’re not the same people they were back then…   

I Have to Know the Truth!

             Today in Western Civilization class we listened as Mr. Schick went over the entire chapter with us and even taught us some new information. As we went over the outline we only got through the Early European barbarians and the early Greek societies such as the Minoans and the Mycenaeans. We also heard from Mr. Schick that Camren Exter of one of his other classes found a way that was possible for the early barbarians to make Stonehenge. But by all the most intriguing thing Mr. Schick brought up today was what happened to the Mycenaeans? It’s like a mystery in my head that I just can’t stop thinking about. I want to know where the book got the information about the “sea people” and even more. Mr. Schick, if you’re reading this, I’ll try to find these things out and discover what really happened to the Mycenaeans…

A Sneak Peak

                Today in Western Civilization class we got to see two other groups’ projects, their notes, and their progress. When we saw the other team’s projects my group of Victoria, Timmy, Abby, and I also tried to volunteer, but sadly we were not picked. I guess that could have been a good thing since many of our slides were either out of place or out of order. Still, we learned about a lot of stuff that the other groups had written down in their slides that we didn’t, and I think we’re going to benefit from it. Not only because it will help us learn what to do on our project, but also because we get to use our project to help us on the next quiz. I just hope that next time when we actually do start to present our projects that it will be well prepared and ready to present.

Reviewing Da Test

Yesterday in Western Civilization class instead of working with our groups on our project; we went over the test on the first Learning Objective we had last week. The test was early civilizations and early human life. This included early societies like Egypt and Mesopotamia. This test focused on Egypt and more specifically how their life was affected by the Nile. As we reviewed the test we talked yet again how the Nile shaped the Egyptians everyday life. The essays were some of the better examples of this. In my essay I explained that the reason the Nile helped the Egyptians, was because the Nile helped the Egyptians with things like transportation, irrigation, and better soil for planting. Throughout Egypt’s time, its survival even as an early civilization was affected by the Nile. I just hope we get to us this test on our next one with our project!  

Another Day With the Team

          Today in Western Civilization class we continued to work on our project with our partners. Today we also did a lot better than yesterday and got more done. This is because today we knew what each of us were going to do and we all got started almost immediately. I mainly focused on the LO-2 section of the chapter, which focused on the Greeks and their way of life. I also explained the geography of Greece and how important it was in shaping how they moved and developed, such as the fact that the Greeks mainly used the seas as transportation, because most of the Greek Peninsula was a mountainous region. The Greeks also built great structures like the Parthenon in Athens. I think all together we’re doing a great job on our project and next time we will get even more done. I can’t wait for the next class to get this project finished! 

Project Class?....

            Today in Western Civilization class we got into groups and started making our project for the LO-2 in our textbook. In this part of the textbook the book talks about some early Greek civilizations specifically those located in the southern area of Greece. This area contained the Greek island Crete. This island was very beneficial to the early Greeks, because the Greek’s lives were mainly controlled by the sea, which was used for transportation. The reason the Greeks used the sea so much to get things around was because most of Greece consisted of mountainous terrain.

            Above it what I was taking notes on for my slide in my group’s project. When we picked our partners I was placed with Timmy, Abby, and Victoria. I think that together with our knowledge of being smart and how to make people laugh we should do pretty well on our project and maybe have some fun too!

New Chapter!

            As we read the new chapter in our textbook for homework I learned about several new things, including: barbarians, megaliths, tribes, and people from both the west and Indo-European areas. As I read the chapter I learned the importance of these terms and what they actually meant. There were also many examples for each of the terms that I found. As I continue on I will explain them.

            The first term is called barbarian; in my own words I described it as a human that lived around in early times and whose job it was to raid or sack other villages or civilizations. The Vikings could be thought as one of the groups of barbarians as they attacked all sorts of placed throughout their lifetime. The second term is called a megalith; these giant structures were often built for some form of religious practice or to show power. One example is Stone Hedge which was used by cultists long ago. The third term is known as a tribe; tribes were more often seen in older civilizations and were just small groups of people, which sometimes migrated like a nomad. Yet another term used in the reading was Indo-European, these people were the first to migrate to Europe from other places including modern day Russia. The final term I included from the reading was Western, this term in the book is used to describe a group of people who first got to Europe which was in a western direction from where they came.

            Through reading LO-1 of this new chapter I learned many new terms, places, and names that I’ve never heard before. I also learned that these discoveries and inventions were some of the most significant for their time and even now. I think it’d be cool to go back and see how they built these and maybe even meet Socrates….

 

Barbarians.... Like Vikings?

          Today in Western Civilization class we reviewed about what we read in the book or the LO-1. In the book we learned about barbarians and more specifically about giant ancient monuments. Like the ancient Greek monuments such as the Parthenon. As we continued to review we also learned about the barbarians and how before some of them moved to Europe that they built the monument known as the Stone Hedge. There are many theories about Stone Hedge and how the materials got there and how they were placed at an exact point and positioned perfectly. My personal theory is…… aliens! But if there are aliens, where are they and how did they come to us then but not now? There will be answers! But first we need to learn about the past and what we did, how we did it, and why we did it. Hit the books kids, it’s learning time. 

Mr. Schick Came! :D

            Yesterday in Western Civilization class we had a quiz about ancient civilizations and how those ancient civilizations started. During the quiz we could use our blog, and although I do keep up on my blogs, I don’t however put many notes on my blog. I like to put most of my notes in my copybook, so I ended up just using my memory to do the entire quiz. Although this was a lot harder than having the notes right in front of you; I still think I did a great job on the quiz.

            You could even say class continued over the weekend as Mr. Schick came to the robotics competition in Harve De Grace, Maryland. It was a shock to see Mr. Schick, but once I realized why he was actually there, I and the others were actually happy to see Mr. Schick. Although we didn’t win at least we can tell Mr. Schick and others that we came in the top ten….

Tomorrow There be a Quiz

            Today in Western Civilization class we watched another video featuring John Greene. He is a really awesome guy and is almost as cool and good at teaching as Mr. Schick. It’s fun to be able to learn by watching videos and hearing jokes along the way. Mr. Schick said that he also liked us learning this way, because we actually pay attention to the video and that John’s information official, who corrects everything that might be wrong, is his old History teacher.

            Mr. Schick also announced to us today that we would have a quiz on Ancient Civilizations, Mesopotamia, and Egypt and what they discovered or how they helped us evolve our civilization today. The most important civilization was Egypt in my opinion, because it introduced many things including: a social class system, religion, and many new architectural advancements. Some of these included the pyramids and the Sphinx, which had its nose shot off by the Turks in later times. Egypt is one of the coolest places around to learn about advancements in everything from technology, to civilization, and even to new beliefs.

More Games Please?

            Today in Western Civilization class we got to learn how to build a pyramid! We went on to the BBC history website to learn about both what is needed to make a pyramid and how to make one. The most necessary things for building a pyramid are types of building material, good workers, ample food supply, and being close to the river for easy transportation and being able to easily get water. The hardest part of the game was trying to finish the passage going up the river and actually having enough people and food to build the pyramid. After tons of tries with my partner, Timmy Yantz, we finally finished building the pyramids. It took many trial and error experiments though, but we had both completed our pyramids in less than 25 years, according to the game of course. I had a lot of fun playing this game with Timmy and I hope Mr. Schick teaches like this more often.

Egyptian Discoveries

            In Western Civilization class on Thursday we wrote down notes on the slideshow we watched about Egypt and how it was one of the most important parts of life between the early humans and now. Egypt brought several things into play, including a social class and great new architecture. Some of this architecture included things like the Sphinx and the pyramids. It’s hard to believe that these massive structures could be created by such primitive people and some of these things like the building of the pyramids still confuse us today. The fact of how they were built not by slaves, but by workers stuns me and also how the pyramids were literally designed, placed, and made perfectly. The Egyptians also brought religion into play. They believed that there was a god for everything including: war, children, the sun, the moon, and the after-life. How did they get to discover so much and create so much though?

Pop Quiz! Sorta....

           Today in Western Civilization class we had a pop quiz! This pop quiz only had five questions and it seemed to be really easy. Mainly because we got fifteen minutes to study before that five question pop quiz even started, which made everyone very happy I am sure. After the pop quiz we were assigned a reading assignment and it was to read pages 20 to 29 in the textbook otherwise known as the Learning Objective Three.

            In the textbook I read not about how civilization started, but how it progressed and what things were added over time. Some of these things included social classes being developed and new types of architecture and tools being developed. Some of the most important parts of society we have today were originally from Ancient Egypt. According to our book without early civilizations we wouldn’t have things like religions, leaders, or the awesome skyscrapers we have today.

Poor Cows :(

            Today in Western Civilization class we watched a video about how us humans came to advance to much in technology and thrive in today’s environment. This video was again confirmed Jared Diamond’s theory that everything that decided our fate was geographical luck. Although this video went a step further and even went into detail about what happened in the past and how it affects us today. The host of the show, John Greene, even told us about how complicated it is to even make a burger! That’s when Mr. Schick stopped the video and talked to us about what happens to cows and other animals that fast food restaurants use. He told us that at places like the McDonald’s slaughter house they line up cows in pens that are just barely bigger than the cow and constantly feed the cow hormone filled food. The saddest part of this why of life is that the cows spend their entire life in these pens until they are walked out to get slaughtered. It’s sad to think that this happens and I wish that we are as healthy as those that came before us, but until we eat more natural things we won’t be the same.

Just Another Day of Fun

            Today in my Western Civilization class we talked about our recent blogs and not just that, but also our first project which was also placed on our blogs. Although we did spend some time talking about exactly what to do for our blogs and our project; the next thing we talked about was the LO1 or the learning objective one, where we read the textbook and it was about the evolution of man in the way of technology and civilization. We learned that some of the most important connections between Jared Diamond and the book was the introduction of domestic plants and animals. This allowed us humans to stay in one place and keep a civilization up and running until present day. Advancements in technology like plows and other inventions allowed people to specialize in other jobs since there was a surplus in food production. Just think of how far we’ve come and today we’re advancing in technology faster than anyone can imagine. 

The Link: Guns, Germs, and Steel-Western Civ LO1

       In Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond theorized that the whole reason that people became so diverse was because of sheer geographic luck. This is proven through our textbook by the way it describes what happened to us after we discovered all these new things we could use to our advantage.

            Some of the first things we did as early human beings was called hunting and gathering which involved some people going out and hunting for large animals which could be eaten or staying back and gathering things like plants which could be harvested and eaten as well. Although this was a quite effective strategy for surviving, the people inside these hunting and gathering communities were always on the move and wouldn’t always have food to follow.

            Soon after the hunters and gatherers, came villages and domestics animals and crops; some of the most important features that helped early people thrive according to Guns, Germs, and Steel. The area known as Mesopotamia or the Fertile Crescent was the pinnacle for human life, where villages were formed and people could be specialized in certain types of work. Some even became inventors for their time. Those inventors created one of the most important features for their time, which would benefit them for a great time. They created the granary.

            With the invention of the granary and human life thriving in the Fertile Crescent even larger villages were formed, just how Jared Diamond’s book said it happened, so many great things happening at such a fast rate. It is incredible to think of what we accomplished so long ago.   

Best Be Learning

Yesterday in Mr. Schick’s Western Civilization class we talked about two things. One was that we started reading in the textbook and another was that Mr. Schick assigned us a blog project due any time before our class on Wednesday at 10:21. During class we talked a little bit about what we learned last semester about Jared Diamond the man who thinks he solved what happened to humanity and cultural diversity in Eurasia. In our textbook we read about the earliest societies, where they first appeared, how they got there, and what helped them strive. We learned that geographic luck is what caused people to stay where they were (The Middle East), and that people that did stay there and used the animals and plants in their area were beginning to interact with other people that were located in different areas. This helped the people who are now our ancestors to spread out and become what we are today.

Starting Over

           Today in Western Civilization class with Mr. Schick we started to set up our blogs and went over the rules that I had learned at the beginning of the school year. While in class I remembered what a great time I had with Mr. Schick and my old class during the first semester. Although I feel I had an awesome time in my Human-Geo class, I hope to have an even better one in my new Western Civilization class. I guess you can't just assume something, when you haven't really done anything yet. Today was just the start though to something fun and enjoyable that will last until we start next year. I hope to have many fun adventures with my new classmates, whether it be just doing well on grades or just having. I guess I'll have to wait and find out, but for now things are looking good.