Maddie's Western Civ Blog

We started off class today by watching a video of a dog in a Halloween costume. The dog was dressed up as an ambulance and howled the whole time. After that video, we watched another called, "200 years in 4 minutes." The video discribed how, over the course of 200 years, certain countries were poor and sick and then became healthy and wealthy. However, some countries are still on the bottom. For example, lots of African countries are still very poor and unhealthy and have low life expectancies. But, some countries that had were very unhealthy and had low life expectancies, like China, are thriving now. My favorite part about the video was the "action replay". I thought the video was really cool and I loved Hans Rosling's accent. He was so positive the entire time. He believed that any country can make it to the healthy and wealthy corner with age, trade, green technology, and peace.  

Today in class we finished going over the rest of the test. After that, we watched a video about population pyramids. In population pyramids, the data is divided by gender; men are on the left and women are on the right. The pyramid is shown in five-year intervals and starts with ages 0-4 and ends with 100+. There are three groups inside the population pyramid. The first group is the pre-reproductive group, containing ages 0-14. The second group is the reproductive group, containing ages 15-44. The third group is the post-reproductive group, containing ages 45-100+. We also discussed how population pyramids can predict the future. We learned that if a population pyramid has a large base and looks like a triangle, the population of that country is growing rapidly. However, if the pyramid has a small base and more people in the reproductive and post-reproductive group, the population of a specific country is increasing very slowly or is decreasing. Below is a population pyramid of the U

Today in class Charlotte had to make-up the test. Just like everyone else, Mr. Shick gave Charlotte twenty minutes to complete the cia.gov section. While she was doing the first part of the test, the rest of the class watched a video on population pyramids and took notes. After Charlotte finished the first section, she went into another room so we could review the test. I checked on Veracross before I got the test back, so I already knew what I got. I got a 95. I am very happy with my grade. I did way better than I did on the last test. I made a really stupid mistake on the front and made another mistake on the second and third page. However, I made those points up by getting the bonus questions. The first bonus question was easy because Mr. Shick went over it right before the test. The second bonus question was, "What is the total Net Migration Rate for the world?" This was a trick question. I put 0 for the answer and I got it right!!!

I just finished taking the test. I was very tired last night and I ended up not studying as long as I would have liked to. However, I think I did well. This test was not as hard as the last one.  The first part of the test stressed me out. We had to go to cia.gov and only had 20 minutes to complete 15 questions. As time went on, I realized that I had a lot more time than I needed. I found an answer to every question. The next part was fill in the blank. This was harder than usual because there were more words than spaces. It took me a little while to narrow it down, but I got it done. The next section was about death rate, birth rate, RNI, net migration rate, emigration, and imagration. In my opinion, this was the hardest part of the test. I don't really know how I did on this section. Hopefully, I did well!

Tomorrow we have a test on population and settlement. In class, we went over what was going to be on the test. I am nervous but I think I will do well. I understand this unit a lot more than the last one. On the test, the first section will be the cia.gov questions. On this section, we will have to visit cia.gov and find the answers to the questions. I think that I will do well on this section because I am familiar with the site and it is very easy to use. The next section will be matching. Tonight I need to figure out what two push forces and what two pull forces I am going to be using. Overall, the test will be worth 30ish points. I am pretty sure I will get a good grade on this test. I am going to study a lot tonight and I hope I will be more prepared than last time!

In class today we went over the World Factbook questions that we completed yesterday. I thought the questions were pretty easy and I only had a little trouble finding some of the answers to them. It took me a while to find out what top three countries produce the most crude oil, and what top three countries import the most crude oil. I think the fact that I was most shocked about was that 1.201 billion people in the world do not have electricity. Another shocking fact is: there is only 1218 airports in Russia. Considering Russia is the biggest country in the world (in terms of square miles), I thought that Russia would have had more airports because of all the free space. I also had no idea that on average, very person Luxembourg makes $105,100 every year. Compared to the United States, this is VERY high.

What is the population of China, and of India? -The population of China is 1,384,688,986. The population of India is  1,296,834,042 What is the Total Fertility Rate in Japan? - 1.42 children born/woman What is the death rate in El Salvador?  - 5.8 deaths/1,000 population What percentage of the French identify “none” as their religion? Is this statistic verifiable, and why? - 23-23% identify as "none". France is very secular and hasn't collected reli-gious data since 1872. What percentage of Mexicans identify themselves as Roman Catholic?  - 82.7% What is the GDP - per capita (PPP) in the United States? - $59,800 What is the GDP - per capita (PPP) in Nigeria? - $5,900   What is the GDP - per capita (PPP) in Luxembourg? - $105,100 What percentage of the United States’ population are Internet users? -76.2% What is the number of airports in Russia, and in the United States? -Russia: 1,218 United Stat

Today I walked into class and I was very tired. I don't know why. I slept very well last night and had a good breakfast. Maybe it is because it's a Friday.  In class we discussed many topics about population/death rate/birth rate. First, we talked about how on average, women live longer than men. One of the reasons for this is because women usually see the doctor earlier and more often than men. Then, we talked about crude birth rate and crude death rate. This means the number of births/deaths per 1,000 of the population. Lastly, we talked about why people migrate. Pull forces attract people to a location and push forces push people of a certain location. Something that might push someone away from an area is unemployment or underemployment. Another reason why a person might leave an area is environmental degradation. Something that might pull someone toward a certain location is religious or political freedom.

Today in class we talked about life expectancy. We discussed how different our (people born in 2004-2005) life expectancies might be compared to Mr. Shick's generation. For example, our generation's life expectancy might be longer because we have developed more vaccines to give to children. However, our generation's life expectancy might be shorter because we tend to eat less healthy and more processed foods.  Tomorrow we do not have class because we are taking the PSAT. The test usually takes two and a half hours. I am nervous because I think it is going to be very hard. I am also sad that we have to wear our uniforms! However, I am glad that we get off at 12:00. After the test, I have a little bit of a break and then go right to soccer practice. I hope that our team plays well in our game on Thursday.

Today in class we started a new unit. In the beginning, we all we asked to write down a list of terms that we need to know. After that, we started talking about the world's population. It is crazy to think that a person is born (on average) every eight seconds and a person dies (on average) every eleven seconds. I liked watching the number of people born in the world go up. It made me very happy that a new life had been born into the world. We also learned that 90% of the world's population growth comes from developing countries like Africa, South and East Asia, and Latin America. This is because it is not easy to get birth control in these countries. I think this is very sad. I believe that it should NEVER be difficult for a man or woman to get any kind of birth control. 

Today is class we reviewed the test. On the test, I did not do very well. I got a 70%. Because I did so well on the first test, I thought this test would be easy too. I was definitely wrong. The part that I really struggled with on the test was absolute location and relative location. On this section, I got one out of six questions right. I didn't fully understand what I was doing on this part of the test. I know for the exam that I have to practice absolute and relative locations. Other than that part, I only got two questions wrong. There was some material on the test that we did not review in class. Mr. Schick said that we could get two questions right that we got wrong. Hopefully this will bump my score up a little bit. Next time, I know that I need to study more than I think I have to.

In Human Geo today, we took a test. I don't know if I did that great. I studied a lot during my off-mod. I do not know if I studied enough. I did not feel very confident when I was taking it. I have a good grade in Human Geo, so if I did not get a good grade, I might still have a high grade overall. Now, that I have taken the test, I know for next time that I need to study more than I think I do. I am so tired. And I just want to go home. I am very hungry and I want food. I have a soccer game today. I am excited for the game. Hopefully, I play well and maybe even score. Supposively, the team that we will be playing is very good. I am nervous but excited. Also I have a very good lunch today.

Today, I presented my argument about why we should abolish time zones. I think I did ok. Over the weekend, I worked on my argument and made it a lot better than it was. I am very thankful that I had the chance to present my argument later than the rest of the class.  When I went up to the front of the class, I was nervous. But then I looked over at my friend Reagan and I smiled. I knew that presenting this argument was not a big deal, and I could do this. I started reading what I had put on the slide and tried to make eye contact with the class. I can't even remember what I said, but I know I finished my argument. We also learned that we have a test tomorrow. To prepare for the quiz, Mr. Schick gave us a pop quiz. I actually failed the pop quiz. This is not very good. Hopefully, I will get a better grade on my test than my quiz.

Today we had the debate in class. During the class period, everyone went up to the front of the room and presented their argument. We eventually ran out of time. I did not get to present. I was very happy. I get nervous when I get up in front of a whole group of people. Even though they are my classmates, and I know most of them, I still can't calm myself down. I need to work on getting comfortable with talking in front of a group. I need to stop being afraid of messing up and just speak.  I will argue for the "Abolish Time Zones" side. I will talk about how am/pm are very useless and how confusing they are. If we switch to the 24-hour clock, this will eliminate am/pm. For example, say you have a soccer game tomorrow. Your mom tells you that it is at 7, but you need to leave at 6. You wake up very early and are prepared to leave. But, your mom tells you that your game is actually at 7pm. If we used military time, we can avoid situations like these.

Today Mr. Schick decided that we would have a debate on time zones in class. I am on the side of switching to the 24-hour clock. Our group started working together and making a google site. Here is my point that I will make:  One of the reasons I’m convinced that a 24-hour clock is superior is shown in this example. Hypothetically, say the current time is 8 a.m. and I’m notified that an important event will occur in 10 hours. With a 24 hour clock, I simply add 10, putting the event at 1800. Done. Alternatively, with a 12-hour clock, I have to think… Ok, it’s 4 hours until noon and then another 6 hours puts me at 6 p.m. A little more tricky, especially if I’m telling someone where I’m going. I can’t just say I have a thing at 6. I have to say 6 p.m. To avoid confusion with 6 a.m. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.itstactical.com/intellicom/mindset/why-arent-you-using-military-time/amp/ 

Today, we started off class by taking a quiz. The quiz was on the countries of North and South America. I studied a lot last night, so it was very easy. I think I got everything right. I am not nervous to get it back. After the quiz, we moved on to our notes. Today, I wrote a little bit faster than yesterday and got all the notes down.  We spent most of the class discussing time zones. Time zones are a region of the globe that observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes.  We talked about how the world is divided into many different time zones (24). I think that it would be much easier if all of the world used a 24-hour clock. This way, we could get rid of am/pm, and the day could actually start when we get up, instead of the middle of the night.