Feedback November 11th

Can we trust the truthfulness of "To Be A Slave?"

I believe that we can for a few reasons, the first one being that the book was published under "history" in the first place. If the editor didn't think that the information in the book was credible he wouldn't have published it in the first place. The second reasons is that the reviewers have commented on the truthfulness, "This [To be A Slave] is how it was-a powerful chronicle of tragedy skillfully assembled from the eloquent slaves themselves..." Let me continue with the fact that this book is the winner of countless awards, one of which is the Newbery Honor Book Award. It also appears that Mr. Lester was a deeply motivated historian, with a lot of his books dealing with ideas about race and African culture. In conclusion, I believe that Mr. Lester is a credible author for three reasons. The first was that the boook was published in the first place, the second is that critics believe it's truthful, and finally that Mr. Lester was a historian and all his books deal with African Culture.

South Africa Current Event (1)

SADC leaders fail to break Zimbabwe impasse.

This link links to an article found on NewZimbabwe, an online Zimbabwean news network. 

The article talks about how, yet again, the South Asian Development Council has failed to end hostilities between President Mugabe and opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai. The old attempt at equality, a power sharing deal between the two, has collapesed in a dispute of control over the powerful Home Affairs Office. The two stand at opposite ends of the spectrum. Even with eminent speaker President Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa leading the approach, committee members failed to organize a strategy to heal the rift.  Meanwhile, the inflation rate of Zimbabwe is still rising, and coupled with a breakdown of basic services has led to complete panic across the capitol. So while a country slowly tears itself apart, it's two most powerful leaders spend their time bickering.

This news is relevant for a few reasons.  The first one is Impact, because if this problem is not sorted out, its going to change the lives of many Zimbabweans for the worse. Also Conflict, because apparently, the rivalry between Mugabe and Tsvangirai  has been going on for a while.  Timeliness and Relevance are also legitimate reasons, because this story affects almost all of the "local" community in Zimbabwe, and the story is pretty recent, and is still going on. 

Five Themes of Geography

Image taken from http://www.interstate-guide.com/

I think that this photo (above) has all five of the themes of geography. The first theme is movement, and the cars and motorcycles in the picture are moving, carying ideas, to New York. They move along asphalt and cement roads which were created by clearing out the environment in that area. The point mentioned before is an example of the third theme (H/E interaction). You can tell these cars and infrastructure are part of the western region because the writing is English and the state of New York is in the USA. This is also part of the location. The full location is probably somewhere on one of the boulevards coming into NYC. The photo is connected to many overlapping regions of culture. The first major one is of the USA and New York State. On a broader scale, the "West" and on a smaller scale, Interstate 95. This place is unique from all the other places for a few reasons, the first being that it is located in New York instead of anywhere else. Also it has a special type of sign that was discontinued from use shortly after all the intestates leading into New York Area were completed. 

All the above covers, M.R. HE.L.P.

Feedback October 27-31

"Violence leads to more Violence."
Well, most of the time this statement is true, because human beings react solely on danger, but it can also be wrong. For instance, there are times when swift and necessary action have saved the day. However, even swift action can lead to violence, for example in Julius Caesar, Brutus believed that assassinating Caesar would free Rome. Instead, this small act caused a full scale revolution and civil war. The death of Cinna the Poet is also a good example. A man who had nothing to do with the conspiracy to kill Caesar was murdered to quench the bloodlust of the rioters. Also, going back in American history, a blacksmith threw a rock at a American boy. The result of this puny act was the Boston Massacre. Even today, in the modern social environment we exist in, a threat is always responded to with another threat. The terrorist attack of 9/11 and from there straight to the Iraq War. In places where this statement is wrong, the death of Adolf Hitler lead to the freedom of Europe and Germany. So in my opinion this statement is mostly true, and only sometimes, in the presence of great individuals, wrong.

Feedback October 13-17

I believe that as Brutus I would have chosen the good of rome. I have a few reasons why I believe that is true. The first reason is that Caesar was millitary leader, and while loved by the people, not of the people. If Caesar came to power, he would rule rome as a dictatorship, using the millitary to gain power, not social forms like research and trade. For example, in Act two Scene one, lines 18-20, Brutus states, "That at his will he may do danger with. The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power." This statement reveals that Caesar might abuse the power of Rome's army. Secondly, Brutus thought about the big picture of Rome, how it might or might not survive depending on his decision. If something I could do would define the future of a country, I would make sure something like friendship didn't get in the way.  Finally, it comes down to personal values. As we can see from the book, Brutus is all about Honor, and doing the right thing. In my case, my values would and my loyalty would be to something greater than just one person, which is, in this case, Rome. So in conclusion, if I was Brutus, I would have chosen the good of Rome over Caesar. 

Feedback October 6-10

As the west strove in the sciences and technology, resources were necessary to fuel the world-spanning economy created at the peak of the Industrial Revolution. The gleaming gem of the Asian continent, rich in land and labor, quickly attracted the attention of the British people’s immense greed. They set their sights on flourishing cultures in India, Africa, and South East Asia. Their method of attack and control was first trade related, then a complete invasion using brute force. For example, the East India Company, a trading conglomerate that controlled almost all trade routes in and around Asia, infiltrated India and other wealthy nations through trade. With the British led trade came the superior knowledge gained from the Industrial Revolution. Knowledge that improved transportation by building railroads, improved communication by building telephones and telegraphs, and largely affected the lifestyle of Asians in general. Other countries like Singapore and Malaysia or the Africas didn’t escape the expansion of British control. They too were modernized and utilized to their fullest potential. But there were reasons for British Imperialism, and these stemmed from three major aspects of British culture; God, Gold, and Glory. The gold aspect was cash crops, cheap labor, and vast stretches of unused land which was rare in England. Also, the glory of taking key ports like Singapore and Madras defined England and the British Monarchy as the ruling power in the world which consisted of trade. Overall, Imperialism greatly affected the people of the Asian continent culturally, economically, socially, and politically. While some of the aftereffects were bad, most helped sustain a period of growth after Brittan released it’s iron grip. Countries all around the world were changed by British Imperialism, and nowadays, it is these countries that shape our way of life.

Part 2:
The qualities of a good leader are hard to describe. There are the unseen ones like charisma and luck, but these aren't the ones most often used to describe leaders. A good leader must be able to do two things, one is to be able to work together with almost anyone, and the second is to be able to think outside of the box. A leader must be a trendsetter, someone who doesn't conform to society completely and lose his/her initiative. This doesn't necessarily mean they have to be smart, with an IQ of over 140, but it means they can innovate. When a tense situation comes up, a leader is someone who can take control and mediate between those two groups. There are alot of leaders in and around the schools, but one of the more noticeable ones is Aysha. Aysha is a trendsetter, who has an opinion and isn't afraid to show it. Everyone follows her not because she exerts control, but because she works together with everyone well.

End of Quarter 1 Feedback

I'm happy to say that I've managed to cover all three of my goals. The first one, about the socratic seminar was completely finished yesterday, when I got back my grade for the IR socratic seminar. The rubric said that I backed up 75 percent of my facts. My second goal was one about being able to write and review a an essay without too much peer revision. On my expostiory piece, I got an okay amount of peer revision and got an A on it.

I have a three goals for the next quarter. The first one is a long term goal, and it's to turn in all my assignments on time. I didn't manage to keep that goal over the last quarter, but I think I'll be able to this quarter. My second goal is to study harder for my tests, and review along the way. The third goal is to read for my AR a little earlier, because last time I had to rush to finish AR before the due date.