Blog Day Twenty- One: Absent

Today(2/28) I was not in class, because I was on a dance field trip.

Blog Day Twenty: Test on Greece Part 1

Today in class we had a test. I studied really hard for it for the past two- three nights. I did use a Quizlet, that I made myself, and it really helped. I actually knew the information, instead of just having to memorize question to answer. There were about three questions that I am hesitant on if I made the right choice for the answer or not. My hope is that I did make the right answer, and if I didn't that it doesn't bring my grade below a B. Overall though, I would say I was probably the most prepared I could have been for this test. It just always happens that you don't look or study enough of one thing and there is a question about it on the test. I am very proud of myself for studying and making sure I knew almost all of the material. I am excited to learn more about Greece. It is really interesting to see where the root of our government began. Today will be my last blog of the week because tomorrow I will be on a field trip with the Dance Program.

Blog Day Nineteen: Rulers and Reforms

Today in class we finished taking notes on the information we have to know for our test. The test is going to be our next class which will be Thursday. To prepare I took good notes in class and I am going through each PowerPoint slide to make a through Quizlet of all the information we have to know about Greece. I took notes on a few people and their reforms to the Greek government. The first was Draco. His reform and rule began around 621 BCE. His reforms were that all Athenians are equal under the law, death is a punishment for most all crimes, and debt slavery is okay. Then, next was Solon. His rule and reforms began around 594 BCE. His reforms were that  all Athenian citizens can speak at the assembly, any citizen can press charges against wrongdoers, and that debt slavery was not okay and it was outlawed. Cleisthenes came next in the PowerPoint. His reforms were that citizens were allowed to submit laws for debate and the Council of 500 would counsel the assembly. These reforms happened around 500 BCE. We learned a lot in class today, and I'm hoping I paid enough attention to get a good grade on our test on Thursday.

Blog Day Eighteen: More Notes on Greece

Today in class we took more notes on Ancient Greece. I was absent on Friday, so I sadly missed the pop quiz Mr. Schick had. He let me taking the quiz, in front of the entire class, and I only got one questions wrong. It was the Mycenaeans who ruled from 1600- 1200 BCE. I mainly took the quiz because Mr. Schick said most all of the questions on the pop quiz would be on the test we have this Thursday. I plan on studying really well for this test because I need an A to keep my overall average over a B. Some notes I took today was The Iliad by Homer was the story of the Trojan War and The Odyssey was the story of Odysseus trying to get home after the war, and Poseidon stopping him almost every time. Another thing was the The Dorians, who ruled from 1150-750 BCE brought the Greek world into the Dark Ages. They did this because they didn't write down or record anything, they completely cut themselves off from the rest of the world. Homer takes the Greek world out of this decline in 750-700 BCE by telling and spreading his stories throughout the Greek world. Another thing that I think is important was the in an Aristocracy, the leaders had Symposiums were they made political decisions in a relaxed and party environment. We have one more class until our test and I want to make sure I'm paying attention so I get a good grade on the test this Thursday.

Blog Day Seventeen: Absent

Today I was not in class. I sadly missed a pop quiz and taking notes. I will take notes this weekend to catch up with the class!

Blog Day Sixteen: More about Greece

Today in class we continued taking notes on the PowerPoint (Ancient) Greece is the Word. I wrote down that 1/4 of the land of Greece is fertile, but only 20% of that land is arable, which means it is suitable for farming. Another thing that I found important was what was in the Greek diet. The Greek diet consists of grains, grapes, olives, and fish. The temperature in Greece ranged from low 40's in the winter to mid 80's in the summer. Because of their mild climate they were active, outdoorsy people. Now onto the three civilizations that we learned about. The first was the Mycenaeans. They lived on a rocky ridge in Peloponnesus and had a 20 feet thick wall protecting them. When they conquered Crete in 1400 B.C. they adopted many parts of Crete's culture. This would later be called cultural diffusion. After them was the Dorians. Their civilization led the Western area into the Dark Ages. The Dorians were very isolated, and they didn't like to trade, which eventually led to their downfall. Today we had this class last, so I will see you on Friday!

Blog Day Fifteen: Greece is the Word

Today in class we started by talking about the pipe that was not really a pipe. We started to talk about the philosophy idea just by discussing it in class. It kind of connects to the Allegory of the Cave. It is almost like you can't believe everything that you see is what it actually looks like it is. For example the pipe wasn't a pipe, it was a projection of of picture of a drawing of a painting of a pipe. Confusing, right? I guess it makes sense, but it also makes me question what other things I'm seeing in my life that aren't what they look like to be. We sadly didn't go that far in class, because it just didn't flow super well. But it is an interesting thing to think about, and it reminds me that I should always ask questions. After that we starting are (Ancient) Greece is the Word PowerPoint. I loved the title, as Grease is one of my favorite movies. For our test, in the future, will we have to know the rivers that match up with each great civilizations. I will also have to learn where the following things are on a map: Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, Adriatic Sea, Peloponnesus, Athens, Sparta, Crete, Asia Minor, and Macedonia. I'm excited to learn more about Greece next class.

Blog Day Fourteen: Allegory of the Cave Video

Today in class we got heart-shaped candies to celebrate Valentine's Day. I took one of each color because Mr. Schick said I could. After that A few people retook the Egypt quiz and did really well. Then we watched a video about Plato's Allegory of the cave. Although Mr. Schick said we didn't have to take any notes, I did because it is a helpful way for me to retain information. The theme of the allegory is said by Pluto in his allegory. He said, "The effect of education and the lack of it on our nature." This allegory comes from Pluto's most famous writing  The Republic. I remember the video saying that everyone who didn't know about the ideas and thoughts about philosophy are the people in the cave. The people who have experienced the thoughts of philosophy, like Socrates and Pluto, are the people who have been out of the cave. And like in the story, and in real life with Socrates, those people who have experienced the light usually get killed for their beliefs. I found this whole video very interesting and thought we had a good discussion about it in class. Since we have Monday off, I will see you one Tuesday!

Blog Day Thirteen: The Allegory of the Cave

Today in class we went over our Egypt quiz. I did okay on this quiz, but I wish I had done better. I got three questions wrong, still got a B, which is fine. After that we started something new. Mr. Schick opened this by asking if anyone knew who the three great philosophers were. I didn't know any of them, but I learned that the three are Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Then we started to learn about the Allegory of the Cave. We were read a story to learn this allegory and I volunteered to help Mr. Schick read it. I am glad I did because it helped me comprehend the allegory better than I think listening to it would have. I read the role of Plato's brother, Glaucon. The allegory was interesting. It told about prisoners who have only be told about and taught by these shadows of images on a wall. Then one day the people controlling the images brought one of the prisoners out into the real world and the sunlight. At first the prisoner was blinded by the bright, strong sunlight. Then the prisoner's vision adjusted and he could see out into the world and everything around him. He was held out in the real world for so long that he saw how days shifted into nights. Then the people who dragged him out into the world pulled him back into the cave with his fellow prisoners. The exposed prisoner was trying to tell the other prisoner what was really out in the world, but no one would believe him. Eventually the other prisoners got annoyed by his constant mention of the "real world" that they all killed him. I thought this was quite and interesting story as it can still be compared to how people think now. I don't think I would believe someone if they said I was living in a completely false world, so why would the people in the cave believe the exposed prisoner. Yet at the same time if I was the person exposed to the real world, I think I would try to convince people that there is a better place to live in, but who no who would believe me. I think this allegory could be related to almost anything in our society tody, which is really cool since it was written so long ago.

Blog Day Twelve: Athens vs. Sparta

Today in class we had a sub for Mr. Schick. We took notes on "Warring City-States." This was a longer sections so it basically took me the whole class to take notes and read everything in the book. I am slow at taking notes, so I wasn't surprised when the bell rang and I just finished reading. I took notes about Athens, Sparta, and the Persian War. Some things I wrote down were that each city-state each had their own government. For example, Athens had a democracy, or rule by the people. The men of Athens went to school to learn how to become good citizens of Athens, so they could participate in their government. Men also were the only ones considered citizens in AThens, all other were minorities and didn't count when it came to the government. The women of Athens were taught how to raise a household. Yet, over in Sparta, everyone was told to put Sparta first, even over their own family. Men also went to school in Sparta, but for mainly military purposes, as they were expected to be in the army until they were 60 years old. They boys went to school at 7 years old and stayed until 30 years old when they moved into military. Women also had to train with physical labor. They still had to run the household while the men were gone, but they were considered part of the citizens of Sparta. Overall it was cool to learn about Athens and Sparta and how their societies differed from one another.

Blog Day Eleven: Questions about Greece

Today in class we were told to answer these questions.
1. For each term or nme, write the significance. 
Mycenaean: Indo- Europeans who settled on Greek mainland around 2000 B.C.
Trojan War: Attack on Troy, once thought to be a myth, by the Mycenaean civilization. Now confirmed true.
Dorian: After the Trojan War, these people settled into the war- torn countryside. May have been distant relatives of the Bronze Age Greeks.
Homer: A blind man, who was a great storyteller, and wrote many epics.
Epic: Narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds.
Myth: traditional stories, about Greek gods.
3. What impact did nearness to the sea have on the development of Greece? 

• Greeks lived off the sea, never farther than 85 miles away from one. 
• Being near the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and Black Sea meant they had easy access to transportation. 
• Travel equals trade
• Greeks didn't have many natural resources like timber, precious metals, and farmland. They could travel and trade to get what they needed. 

4. What aspects of culture did the Mycenaeans adopt from the Minoans? 

• When Mycenaeans met the Minoans, saw opportunity for greater seaborne trade. 
• Mycenaeans traders started to sail through different places like Syria, Egypt, Crete, and Italy to trade for needed things. 
• Mycenaeans adapted the Minoans writing into Greek so that they could use it. 
• Minoan culture also changed religious practices, politics, art, and literature in Greece as well. 

5. Why were the epics of importance to the Greeks of the Dorian period?

• Greeks at this time learned right from wrong by the spoken word. 
• Epic told about the stories, and about heroic people doing the right thing. 
• Epics were used to teach arete which in Greek meant virtue and excellence.
• Greeks believed in having good moral and epics taught and encouraged that at this time. 

These questions were from page 126 in our textbook. 

Blog Day Ten: A Quiz and Notes

Today in class we took a quiz on Egypt. Overall I thought the quiz was easy, but I definitely got a few questions wrong. I hope I did well enough to have earned an A. After the quiz I took notes on Greece from the textbook. Surprisingly, I was able to finish taking notes. Usually I take a long time to take notes, but I think I have finally found a system of taking them efficiently. A few vocabulary words I learned were Mycenaean, Trojan War, Dorian, Homer, epic, and myth. The Mycenaean civilization were Indo-Europeans who settled on Greek mainland around 2000 BC.  The Trojan War was an attack on Troy, once thought to be a myth, by the Mycenaean Civilization, now confirmed to be true. The Dorian civilization were the people who settled into the Mycenaeans territory after their downfall and the Trojan War. Homer was a blind man who told great stories; all his stories were written in a collection called an epic. An epic is a group of narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds. Myths are traditional stories about the Greek gods. Today was our last class of the week, see you on Monday!

Blog Day Nine: Review for Quiz on Egypt

Today in class we review a few facts about Egypt. We have a quiz on Egypt tomorrow/ on Thursday. A few things that I wrote down to ensure that I remember them were that Upper Egypt is to the south and on higher terrain. And with that the Lower Kingdom of Egypt is to the north in the lower terrain of Africa. I also learned that the Nile river is longer than the United States if you go from the West coast to the East coast. The river itself is about 1,400 miles long. If we drove next to it, Mr. Schick said it would take 5 days to get to one end from the other. In class we also watched a video about mummification. I thought it was really cool that a person who was mummified about 2,00 years ago is still intact today. Using X- Ray technology, people have discovered that the skin and all the bones of the person are still intact because they were mummified. To study, I plan on looking over my notes and making sue I recall everything important we talked about in class.

Blog Day Eight: Pop Quiz?!

Today in class we took a pop quiz. I am glad I made sure I read everything from the textbook, or else I would not have gotten a good grade. It was only seven questions, which may seem easy but if you get one wrong it is a B. Thankfully I think I got them all correct. Hopefully that pop quiz will help my grade. After discussing the quiz we took notes in the Egypt PowerPoint. Since I was out of class for the last two days, I already took notes on that PowerPoint to insure that I was all caught up with the class. I did take a few more notes, though, while Mr. Schick was talking. I wrote down that the Nile River flows from south to north. Another fact is that the ink that the Egyptians used to write on papyrus was from smashed berries. The final extra note I took was that the Egyptians created the sailboat. It was revolutionary because it was the first type of boat the could go against the current, using the wind. Tomorrow in class we are reviewing for our quiz on Egypt on Thursday.