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.

Cartoon Analysis

Around the IR many people, often muckrakers, expressed their opinions through expository articles and political cartoons. The cartoon displayed here, on the right is one of these attempts. The picture describes a gluttonous man who represents capitalism, robbing the skinny immigrant, who represents labor, of his money. The idea that the author attempted to portray was that the capitalistic system robbed immigrants and workers of their money. Capitalism is portrayed as an obiese man becuase the higher classmen that controlled the capitalism system were often gluttonous, and indulged in everything they could. Meanwhile, labor is portrayed as a skinny imigrant, becuase usually immigrants who The money bags around the men are filled with the money derived from child labor. The little caption on the bottom says, "Fi Fi Fo Fam, I smell the blood of the working man. Be he swift or be he slow, I'll grind his bones and get his dough." In this case dough is a slang term for money. This is my evidence that my analysis of the cartoon coincides with those of the author. Overall, this cartoon attempts to point out how the working class was thouroughly exploited by the capitalistic system.

My Goals, an update.

My first goal is to be able to have a Socratic Seminar where we actually have all the facts to back up our ideas and opinions. My second goal is to be able to write and revise my own essay without too much peer revision.

Well, so far one of my goals has been ticked off the list. In the final Socratic seminar, we rambled a little bit but over all we managed to base most of our facts off of points in the book. Also my final grade wasn't that bad either.
On my second goal, I think I'm doing pretty well. On the Interview assignment, I managed to edit my piece with an equal amount of peer revision. There wasn't much destructive criticism, and the comments were few, but helpful. I think that by the end of this Industrial Museum segment, I'll be able to publish a good piece that meets my goal.

The Stock Market Game

"You have to spend money to make money."

I feel that this quote relates to me in the stock market game we played. We started with only eighty dollars, but I managed to make it over two hundred dollars through buying and selling stocks. Part of this quote involves taking a risk, or spending money on what you think is a good investment. If you make the correct move, the money you spent can double or even triple in value. When Drexel Morgan hit a low of five dollars, some people thought I was crazy buying up that stock. However, when it spiked I made over fifty dollars per share. There was a risk that if Drexel Morgan had fallen farther, then I would have lost a lot of money. If you don't spend any money in investments, then you can never gain money if your potential stock rises. For every risk there is an equal and great reward. You can either take that risk, or stay happy with what you have, it's up to you.

Feedback August 25-29

Pros
-The Industrial Revolution promoted a century of economic and social growth
-It promoted the creation of time saving machines
-Created an evolved form of capitalism that benefits the buyer
- It created better infrastructure, roads, canals, etc.
- It promoted trade between nations all around the world

Cons
-The amount of air, water pollution that was emitted during the IR was enormous
-The horrible working conditions that people faced in factories
-The Laissez-faire that was created was out of control
-Monopolies were created that shut out small business owners
-With a rise in economy, living standards fell to shambles

So far, my view on the industrial revolution is described in the picture below