Negatives and Positives

Positive:

- Europeans provided education for the Africans
- They tried to civilize the Africans
- They provided health care for Africans
- Provided jobs
- Stole resources from the Africans



Negative:

- forced tribes together that could not work together
- Africans were put into slavery
- When the Europeans evaded Africa they didn't think about the Africans
- Even now, African tribes are fighting because of what the Europeans did about 50 years ago
- Europeans gave them weapons

Note:

- Europeans discovered new parts of Africa; the Europeans will see this as a positive while Africans will see this as a negative
- Europeans taught them new ways of life; depending on the side you look at this could be both negative and positive

Europeans Footprint on Africa

I think this image is expressing the impact the Europeans made on Africa. I can make this inference because of the visual elements. One bold visual element is the white on black. This says to me that the white footprint is the Europeans mark on Africa while the black represents "The Dark Continent" also known as Africa. I can't truly tell from this image whether or not the cartoonist agrees with the Europeans mark in Africa or not. This is because the cartoonist might see the cartoon with a positive side such as, the footprint the Europeans made was a good thing because it brought civilization. On the other hand the cartoonist might not agree with the image and might think, the footprint the Europeans made on Africa was horrible because they enslaved them and tried to bring together tribes that had never got along which caused many wars. I think the cartoonist should have added something to the cartoon that would make it either look like the cartoonist agreed or disagreed with what the Europeans did. They could have done this by adding an image of a slave for the negative side or if they thought it was good that could of had a picture of a fat European guy with lots of money and wealth.

PIRATE ATTACK!

This article is about ten people being kidnapped on a French ship off of the coast of Cameroon. This happened on the 19th of November at midnight. The ship had been abducted by pirates while carrying “crude oil” from the Bakasi Peninsula. Out of the ten people that were kidnapped six of them were French, two of them were Cameroonians, one of them was Tunisian and one was Senegalese. None of the other crew members were harmed.
I believe this article is news worthy because these pirate attacks have been happening frequently throughout the past week. This is a good reason to publish this article because people want to know about what is going on and why it is happening. Since these pirate attacks have been going on for awhile now people will want to read about it in order to find out if it has been solved. In conclusion, I believe this article is news worthy because these pirate attacks have been happening more then once which means many people want to find out what is going on.

WEST AFRICA TODAY

West Africa is built up with many different ethnic groups but all with one problem. In West Africa there is the second largest country in Africa, Nigeria. Nigeria contains 95% of Africa's oil. It also has many rich resources. So why if Nigeria has so many rich resources is West Africa suffering? The reason is because of the so many ethnic groups. These groups have never been able to get along and now that they all have to it is very hard for them. This is what causes economic and political instability in West Africa.

WEST AFRICA - HISTORY

West Africa is full of different cultures. The slave trade hit West Africa very badly. This is because it was very easy to get to by many European countries. When slavery did end it had both a positive and negative effect on West Africa. The positive effect was that the European countries that conquered West Africa stayed and set up schools and transportation for the Africans. The negative effect was that many West Africans left their farms to work at factories and they were getting very low wages for it.

What people don’t realize about West Africa is that it is modern. Lots of people think that families still like in mud huts and some still do, but mostly lots of people live in houses of high-rise apartments. Also, the clothing that they wear is modernized. The material is still of African culture but the design is all very western. So as you can see, West Africa is a fairly modernized region.

SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA!

The Scramble for Africa was a simulation of several European countries scrambling to claim parts of Africa. All the different European countries wanted different things from Africa. My country, the Netherlands, wanted claim to the Suez Canal and raw materials like iron and zinc. Our strategy was to get claim over the Suez Canal. This is because once we got control over it all the area around it was where the raw materials that we needed were. Also, when we could 'battle' a country we chose to use negotiation as our first choice because this way we didn't have to worry about losing land. If the country declined our proposal only then we would 'battle' them. We were lucky because most European countries wanted the southern parts of Africa while we wanted the north part. Truthfully, I think the Netherlands won. This is because our strategy worked and we ended up conquering the Suez canal and most of the land around it where our raw materials were. Therefore, we were able to get everything we needed. I think the country that lost was Great Britain. This is because they wanted to conquer the Suez canal and failed to do it. This made it hard for them to get the resources they needed. All in all, this simulation was to help us understand what parts of Africa the European countries wanted to colonize.

Nigerian With 86 Wives

This article is about a Nigerian man who has 86 wives and is refusing to divorce any of them. The reason this is so significant is because there hasn't been a man who has had so many wives before and Mr.Abubakar is Muslim. In the Koran, the holy book for Muslims, it says that a man can marry up to 4 wives as long as he treats them all equally. There has been a huge controversy against this because Mr.Abubakar says that Mohammad spoke to him and told him to marry all these women and that in the Koran there is no punishment for a man that has more then four wives but, many Muslims believe that there should be.
I do believe this article is worthy for posting because it is very unique. Unique situations are worth posting because they tend to be fascinating. This means the more fascinating it is then more people will want to read it. Also, if an article is unique people will talk about it more and more making the story huge. In conclusion, I believe that this article is worth publishing because it is a very unique situation and people all over the world will find it interesting.

URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7725413.stm

WEST AFRICA

West Africa's physical geography is very zonal. This means that West Africa is organized by zone into different climate regions. One of the main climate regions in West Africa are very dry plains. These dry plains are almost turning into deserts, this is called desertification. Since desert like conditions are spreading around West Africa one of the most important resources is the Niger River. It is one of the main resources for water. Also, since water is so important is West Africa most villages are located on the West Coast. So, since water is very valuable most of the crops in West Africa are grown either by the Niger River or on the coast. In conclusion, West Africa is becoming most desert like and the villagers need the water in their region to survive.

To Be A Slave

I think that you can believe most of what is said in "To Be A Slave." I think it is believable because Lester was very active in the Civil Right Movements and knew a lot about it while he was alive. I also think this book is believable because is contains many letters that slaves have written which show that it must be true. The reason that this book might not be that accurate is because since slaves wrote the letters you only hear their side of the story and the slaves tended to only say the bad things about their employers. This might make the book less accurate because the slaves could make up things in order to try and get their owner into trouble. All in all, I think that this book can be trusted even though it might not be a hundred percent accurate.

Sudan and Chad

This article is about Sudan and Chad resolving their conflicts in the past few days. Over the years, Sudan and Chad have been in constant battles, violent and verbal, between rebel groups. Both countries have been blaming one another for what one rebel group is doing to their country. For example, Sudan has been blaming the Chad government for supporting a rebel group from Darfur who attacked Khartoum in May. Chad denied all relations to Darfur. Finally, the two countries have come to an agreement. They both realized that they were “brotherly neighbors” and this was a great way to help Sudan’s crisis. Furthermore, the two countries have Ambassadors to start dealing with diplomacy.
I do believe this article is worthy for the newspapers. I believe this because the resolution that both countries came to was unexpected and will impact many people. When it is unexpected news, they might get support from countries outside of Africa like from the US.. Government officials will be happy to see Chad and Sudan trying to help one another. It will affect people in a good way because now countries will not have to live in fear of the other. In conclusion, I believe that this article is newsworthy because many people will want to read about the impact on both countries and the possible end to suffering in Dafur.


Article URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7718956.stm

5 Themes of Geography

I find this photo on : http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thefingerlakesimages.com


Movement- This describes movement because some of these people would have traveled to Ottawa, Canada.

Region- This represents Ottawa, Canada's physical characteristics. A physical characteristic in this photo are the snow which means that Canada has a cold climate.

Human Environmental Interaction- The canal in this photo is a man made canal called the Rideau Canal. This is interaction because people had to dig out the soil to create it.

Location- This is an relative location. It is the Rideau canal on the right of the National Art Museum.

Place- This place is the Rideau canal beside the Art Museum.

Violence Leads To More Violencet

I believe that violence does lead to more violence. I believe this because in the play Julius Caesar the same thing happens. The play is about Brutus deciding if he should choose Rome over his friend Caesar. On page 55, Brutus chooses Rome over Caesar and begins talking to the conspirators about how they will kill Caesar. On the Ides of March, in Act 3 Scene 1, Caesar heads to the senate there he is killed by the conspirators. The people are very upset by this and therefore follow Anthony, Octavius, and Lepidus in Act 4 Scene 1, and they fight Brutus and Cassius’s army and destroy them. This proves that violence leads to more violence because they killed Caesar and therefore Brutus and Cassius died.

Friend to Caesar of Friend to Rome?

As Brutus I would have chosen Caesar over the good of Rome. This is because Caesar would have been one of my closest friends and friendship is one of the most important things in my life. As Caesars closest friend I could have persuaded him to think more like I did (Brutus). Being his friend would work to my advantages because the people of Rome look up to Caesar and listen to a lot of what he says. So, if Caesar decided to listen to my opinions then I would get to keep both my good friend and my preferred side of Rome. All in all, I choose not to kill my friend Caesar because he is a nice guy who has been misguided into thinking what he is doing is for the better of Rome.

Leaders

What are the qualities of a good leader? Who are the student leaders in Grade 8? How do they demonstrate the qualities of a good leader?

What are the qualities of a good leader?

I believe a good leader should be able to get along with everyone. Leaders should listen to other and try and help them.

Who are the student leaders in grade 8?

I think Alice and Sophia are one of the 8^th grade leaders.

How do they demonstrate the qualities of a good leader?

They show good qualities of a leader because they are kind to all and help you when you have a problem. They are also in SLAMS and so if you have any idea of something you would like SLAMS to do they always try to make it happen.

Imperialism

Imperialism brought along many changed. The motivations of imperialism were based upon three things gold, glory, and god. Gold was based upon the countries natural resources and labor. Glory was based upon making your own country stronger and wealthier. God was based upon converting people into Christianity. The way many countries achieved these things was either through war or a meeting where the leaders from all of the countries would come together and come to a solution. Countries main ambitions generally changed the way of many peoples’ lives. Most of the changes made were negative ones. They were negative in both long and short terms. Short terms because people were forced into labor, long term because discrimination began. These changes suited the wealthier and white people while the poorer blacks hated it. As you can see imperialism was great for some yet horrible for others.

Goals!

This quarter I think I did well meeting my goals. My goals for this quarter were to get an A in AR and improve my spelling. I achieved my A in AR because I planned ahead and read many books over the summer so I wasn’t stressed about it when time came to take the quiz. My spelling has always been a weak spot but I think this year I have improved a lot. Although I have improved at spelling I still think there is room for even more improvement.

Next quarter I want to carry on my goals for this past quarter as well as add some new ones. Some new goals I would like to add is not to procrastinate with homework and when I do my homework I should attempt to complete it to my fullest ability. I also think it would help if I turned on the filter between my brain and my mouth more. I think I will be able to achieve these goals if I work hard and stay focused.

Political Cartoon

This picture is making a statement about the negative sides of Capitalism. This image shows a man (fat man) squeezing all the money out of a laborer. The issue this political cartoon is portraying is how the people who own the factories use the laborers to make a profit by making them do all the work and giving them minimum wages. That is the reason for making him fat, the wealthier he is the more food he can buy. The cartoonists’ idea of this issue is that the laborers are not getting the amount of money that they deserve and that the factory owners should be earning less. The reason for me saying that is because in this image the factory owner is the “bag guy” with lots of money that he did nothing to earn and the laborer is shown with no money when he was the one who worked for it. In order to make the picture more persuasive the artist could have made the laborer more distressed and prominent.

Goal Update

I set two goals for myself for this quarter. My first goal was too improve my spelling. I think compared to last year I have. The other goal I had was to get an A for A.R. I can't say I have done this yet because I haven't taken an A.R quiz yet. I think I will probably get an A though because I read many books over the summer. I read three series of books and each series had 3 or more books in them. In all i think I will I will be able to reach my goals by the end of the quarter.

1870's Stock Market Stimulation

I did well on this simulation and I really enjoyed it. One thing that I found was very important was our first tip “Buy low…Sell high.” After the few two or three years when I saw that a product was increasing I bought it and then when I sold it when it was much more expensive. This made my profit large.

Positives

• The growth of businesses
• New inventions
• Faster transportation
• People began living longer lives
• When the Industrial Revolution was moved to New England the products became cheaper

Negatives

• Lots of people did not like the idea of big factories
• Women and children were forced to work
• Spying began
• Pollution became horrible




imagine URL: http://www.alpharail.net/spsisq/S9mer1.jpg

Factory Game #1

I really enjoyed the factory game. I liked being able to create a toy ot of scraps. I can relate this to the farmers because they didn't have enough money to buy toys for their children so they would make it out of scraps.

Factory Game Day Reflection 1

Today, we learned about cottage industry. We had to make a product using certain pieces of paper. The product we made were of high quality. This refers to cottage industry because in cottage industry they produce high quality products but few of them.

ROLLER COASTER

The piercing sound of screams filled the air as I stood there- waiting. My heart beating a mile a minute as I got on. The smell of leather filled my nostrils as the top safety pad came down. Then, we started our climb. Clink, clank, clink, clank…up we went, higher and higher. My eyes clamped shut my breathing rough. Then we fell, dropping like a rock. A scream left my mouth. Faster and faster we went, climbing, dropping, twisting, and twirling. Yells of excitement flew into my ears making me feel excited too. Slowly my breather went back to normal, my hands left the bar in front of me, and my eyes flickered open. My heart still pounding, only this time for excitement. Then, before I knew it it was over, my first roller coaster.

Mother Necessity

What does the phrase, “Necessity is the mother of invention” mean? Please include at least three good examples to support your thinking.

I think “Necessity is the mother of invention” could mean a look of things. My first idea was that when something is necessary that it becomes a priority to invent it. For example, the telephone, in the old days it would take days and maybe even weeks to get a telegram from one place to another. Now, thanks to Mr. Bell all we have to do is pick up the phone, dial in a number, and hope it’s not busy. Another example is the sewing machine. The sewing machine helped the public produce clothes in a much quicker fashion. My last example is the plane. When people wanted to get from England to America it would take weeks on boat. Now that the plane is very advanced it only takes about seven hours. So as you can tell when something becomes a necessity it is invented therefore saying “Necessity is the mother of invention.

Ways Of Learning

One way I learn best is Auditory. I like listening to people discuss topics that fascinate me. Although I learn well then people talk about topics that intrigue me it’s hard for me to pay attention to something that does not. If I enjoy the topic then I find that I do really well talking and writing about it. If I find the topic dull then when I have to talk or write about it I find it hard to write deeply about the subject. All in all I do learn well by listening if the subject is presented well.

A way you could help is if you try to make the topic worth listening to. If you present the topic well with real life information or fun facts then it would be easier to listen to and people would get a lot out of it.

1st Blog

1.

The first week of school was full of many joyful times. My favorite by far was seeing all my friends again. I came early to school on the first day and was one of the first people in the H.O.P. When everyone started pouring into the Hall of Peace, I went crazy saying hi to my friends and kids that I recognized from the year before.

The second thing I loved about the first week of school is getting to know new people. I love having many friends so when new people come I’m always very happy to meet them.

2.

I was very excited to start humanities because humanities has always been one of my favorite classes. After the first humanities class I guessed this year would be good. I assumed this because I had a great group of people in the class and I liked the way Mr.Coyle taught humanities.

3.

This year, in humanities, one goal of mine would be to improve my spelling. Spelling has always been something I struggle with in humanities so I am hoping that if we ever have a spelling quiz/test I get 90% or more.

Another goal I have in mind is to reach the A zone for A.R. Usually I am able to reach it but as the year goes on I find it harder and harder to reach that goal because I can never find good books to read.

My G's : )

My gang is made up of many people. We have mainly six girls in the gang.My best friends would be Beka, Alice and Sophia. Beka is the person of the gang who can make everyone feel excitable. We have been together ever since KG and I don't know what I would do without her. Alice is always there to help and is always up for a challenge. She's the one that can tell if I'm sad even if I have a smile on my face. Sophia can make everyone laugh. You know you will have a good time when she is there. The talkative girl is Raina. She is great to be around because you will always to have sometimes to talk about. Morgann is the sport type who tries out for almost any sport team and usually will make it. Jem is shy but everyone knowns you can trust her.
Our gang contains many guys as well. Austin is my best friend out of them. He left but we still keep in touch. Garrett is the most hyper boy in the gang. He can always make something boring very fun. Alex G is also one of the guys in the gang. You can tell Alex your secrets and you know they won't be around school the next day. Dylan is the youngest boy in our gang. He is fun but sometimes can act very immature. Sebastien is shy but once you get to know him he is very energetic and crazy. Sam G is the most dramatic guy I know. He always is impersonating characters from movies,which always gives us sometimes to laugh about. Sam R is the newest person in our gang. He is really shy but after awhile he is very fun to talk to.
I love the people in my gang because they all are very energetic and easy to talk to.