Blog Post #4 -Should New Guinea be Modernized?-

     Today in class we continued to watch the guns, germs, and steel video. I know in my last blog I said we finished it, I have no idea why I said that because we obviously didn't considering we have like 30 more minutes left. Although, before we watched like 15 more minutes of the video we had a huge discussion on why New Guinea is basically stuck in the Stone Age. A lot of the people in my class had their opinions. Some were how maybe they like the way of their life and if people tried to make them into modern civilization they might reject the offer. Mr Schick however pointed out that it wouldn't be done in a nice way and they would probably force the New Guineans off of their land and cut down all the trees and ruin their home. I kind of agree with this. New Guineans have been doing the same thing for so long, why would they want to be modernized. If they did end upon wanting to be a think it should be little by little so they don't get overwhelmed.

Blog Post #3 -Finished Watching the Video-

     Today in class we watched the rest of the guns, germs, and steel video. At the beginning of class we talked about how we could buy sago and bring it in for the class. After that small discussion we actually got the video to work so we started taking more notes. Here are some extra notes that we pointed out today: Barely and wheat are much more nutritious and plentiful than sago. It can be stored too, sago can not be stored for a long time. Draa is where there are ancient dwellings that some archaeologists have uncovered. There was a village of 40 to 50 people where they would live together in a community. They think this is the oldest place where there has been a community of people living. The village has the worlds first granary. This is also where domestication and starting to plant food on their own started. Most of the notes that we've said I have in my other blog.

Blog Post #2 -Pop Quiz-

     Today in class we took a pop quiz. The pop quiz was six questions on the video we watched in class yesterday. Since I didn't have my earbuds I watched the entire video at home and did a 400 word blog on the notes I took. Today when we took our quiz it made me really mad that I didn't know like any of the questions. I just checked my grade and I got a 3/6. If I didn't watch the whole video like some people I wouldn't have been that mad but the fact that I spent a lot of time on it and got that grade on a pop quiz makes me really mad. So far my western civilization grades are not going the way I want. After we took the quiz we started watching the video again but as a class and we would stop to discuss important notes. Every point that we stopped at to write down I already had in my notes on my blog. Today could have gone better but I am pretty sure it'll get better as the semester goes on.

Blog Post #1 -Video Notes-

     Today in class our assignment was to take notes on the video "Guns Germs and Steel". Here are my notes:    

   The secret to peoples' success of taking over populations were guns, germs, and steel.  Jarad Diamond has been trying to answer these following questions for more than 30 years: How did they develop these advantages in the first place?, Why did the world ever become so unequal?, and How did Guns, Germs, and Steel shape the history of the modern world? He has been trying to explore the very roots of power in the modern world. Jarad first starts off in New Guinea. There have been people living in New Guinea for at least 40,000 years. A question Jarad is trying to figure out is why do Americans have so much more money than them, which is an example of the world being unequal. How did our worlds ever become so different? He starts going all the way to prehistory after an ice age. He talks about hunter gatherers, and how it was different back then to how it is now for the people in New Guinea. Then, it goes to the worlds global temperatures dropping again. The drought lasted for more than 1,000 years. People were forced to travel much farther and look much harder for food. A new way of life came to be, one that would change the face of the Earth. The stoneage people of the Middle East were becoming farmers, the first farmers in the world. They figured out domestication. The inequalities of the world were born from the crops we eat. The wealth of modern America could have never been sustained by taro and bananas. Then he gets into animal domestication. The best animals to farm are large plant-eating mammals. The Middle East became known as the "Fertile Crescent". Places like New Guinea never developed advanced technology. In conclusion, places like New Guinea never became modernized because they weren't exposed to the same agriculture as we were. They were more focused on feeding themselves than figuring anything out. Many people think Jarad's view on this is too simple, but honestly I agree.

Blog Post #57 -I am so done-

     Today in class we took our five major religions test. I got on elf the lowest grades in our class which dropped my grade down six points. I mean I still have an A in the class but it dropped my GPA down a lot which makes me really mad. I really did not want to have school today so I could have all weekend to study. Also makes me mad because instead of studying for this test I was doing my math homework which I got an incomplete on anyways so I got a D for nothing. I'm so glad this class is over and we are going to western civilization because human geography really tested my patience this year. At the moment I'm really mad and i just want to go home. We are also adding two new more students in our honors class which I feel bad for them because our class is a little crazy and it is going to take some time to adjust. Anyways this is the last human geography blog and it was super positive. Bye.

Blog Post #56 -Got Our Tests Back-

     Today in class we didn't do anything for the first 40 minutes of class because Mr. Schick was grading our exams that we took in December. We have our test on Friday about the five major types of religions that we might have to end up taking on Tuesday. We might have to take it on Tuesday because the whether could be bad and so we might not have school. Then, on Monday we are off because it is a holiday so we could end up getting a four day weekend thankfully. The funny thing is that on Tuesday it should be our first world civilization class and we would be taking a human geography test. Right now it is 2:30 and he is still grading the tests and I can't do my math homework because my stuff is at home. I could potentially fail this test but honestly we're just going to see how it goes.

Blog Post #55 -Review-

     Today in class we went over what would be on the test Friday. However, the whether might be bad  on Friday so if we didn't have school we would have it on Thursday, but oh wait we don't have class so we would have to take it tomorrow. Personally I don't want to take the test because I know it's going to bring my grade down but whatever. I read the paragraph about Buddhism. Other people in the class read their paragraphs as well and Mr. Schick would give us a "subtle" sign as if any of the information would be on the test. Apparently I only covered two questions from my paragraph so some people didn't not learn the information needed but oh well that sucks for them. They had good paragraphs so I think they are fine. To be honest I might not do that bad on the test if I actually study.

Blog Post #54 -The Five Major Religions-

     The first major religion is Christianity. This religion has around 2.2 adherents, which is the largest in the world. We call them Christians. The geographic location of Christianity is in Europe, the Americas, and Southern Africa. The denominations are the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Protestants (Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and many more). The founder of Christianity was Jesus Christ (Christianity is Abrahamic in origin). The holy book is The Bible, especially the Gospels in the New Testament. The beliefs of Christianity are: Jesus is both human and divine (the son of God); he led a virtuous life; he was crucified, died, buried, and resurrected; he ascended into heaven where he reigns with God the Father. The clergy of Christianity is the Pope which is the head of the Catholic Church, and priests are local authorities.

      The second major religion is is called Islam. The number of adherents is 1.5 billion which is the second largest religion in the world. We call them Muslims. This religion is located in Indonesia,  the Middle East, and North Africa. The denominations of Islam are Sunnis (75-90%) and Shiites (10-20%). The founder was Muhammad (570-632). Their holy book is the Qur'an (Koran). Their beliefs are monotheistic and Abrahamic. The first one is that there are five pillars (testimony, prayer, alms-giving, fasting, and pilgrimage). The second one is that Muslims see their purpose in life as serving and submitting to Allah (God), and observing Islamic Law.

      The third major religion is called Hinduism. The number of adherents is 1.1 billion which is the third largest religion in the world. We call them Hindus. This religion is located in India, and Nepal. Their holy book is the Vedas- eternal truths revealed to ancient sages. This book is composed in verse form (meant to be sung and easily memorized). Hinduism has no founder. It is a series of intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid, strict set of beliefs. It is probably the oldest extant religion, although Hinduism is less a religion than a way of life, or a faith. For example, "As a person puts on new clothes and discards old and turn clothes, similarly an embodied soul enters new material bodies, leaving the old bodies." This is an example of reincarnation, which is what the Hindus believe in.

      The fourth major religion is called Buddhism. The number of adherents is 500 million to 1.5 billion. We call them Buddhists. Their geographic location is in Southeast Asia, China, Nepal, Japan, and there are 1.2 million buddhists in the United States. The denominations of Buddhism are Tibetan, Zen, Theravada, and Amidist. The founder was named Siddhartha. Part of Buddhism is living out and understanding the "Four Noble Truths" and "The Eightfold Path". The Four Noble Truths are: There is suffering; Attachment to desire is the origin of suffering; There is a cessation of suffering; and The Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of suffering. Next is the Eightfold Path which consists of 8 ways of thinking. These are: Right View; Right Intention; Right Speech; Right Action; Right Livelihood; Right Effort; Right Mindfulness; and Right Dedication. Buddhists don't believe in one God, and this religion is okay with people practicing other religions as well.

     The fifth major religion is called Judaism. The number of adherents is 14-18 million people. This is the ninth largest religion. We call the Jews. The geographic location is in Israel (6.4 million, 75.4%) and in the United States (5.3-7 million, 1.7-2.6%). The founder of Judaism was Abraham. The holy book is the Torah, which is the first five books of the Old Testament. These are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Their beliefs are ethical monotheism. They believe God is one, and concerned with the actions of human kind. They have 13 principles of faith as well. That concludes all five of the major religions in the world.

Blog Post #53 -Five Major Religions Part 4 (Judaism)

     Today in class we started going over a packet called religions. We underlined some main points, and we also got the objective part of our exam back today. Since I have one more major religion to do I'm just going to put it in this blog. The fifth major religion is called Judaism. The number of adherents is 14-18 million people. This is the ninth largest religion. We call the Jews. The geographic location is in Israel (6.4 million, 75.4%) and in the United States (5.3-7 million, 1.7-2.6%). The founder of Judaism was Abraham. The holy book is the Torah, which is the first five books of the Old Testament. These are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Their beliefs are ethical monotheism. They believe God is one, and concerned with the actions of human kind. They have 13 principles of faith as well. That concludes all five of the major religions in the world.

Blog Post #52 - random day-

     Today in class we didn't do that much. The first thing we talked about though was a story that Mr. Schick told us. It was about how he went to the hospital to cuddle babies last night and the baby he was cuddling was only 4.5 pounds. He was explaining how it had to eat through a tube since it could barely drink from the little bottle. After that somehow we got to talking about Christian versus Catholic versus Lutheran, not in a competitive way just talking about differences. Some classmates told stories about their religious journey through their lives. We were having lots of fun. Lastly, we started going over our blogs that we had to do last night. It was three questions, one on vedas, one on indulgences, and the other on the Hajj. Today was a short day so we did not get to finish going over everything. I was in the middle of reading my paragraph when the bell range so I'm going to finish reading that tomorrow. Today overall was pretty fun, I like class days like these.

Blog Post #51 -Three Questions-

     1. The first veda is called the Rig-Veda which is the "Knowledge of the Hymns of Praise", and it is used for recitation. This has 1,017 hymns. The second veda is called the Sama-Veda which is the "Knowledge of the Melodies", and it is used for chanting. This has 1,549 hymns. The third veda is called the Yajur-Veda which is the "Knowledge of the Sacrificial formulas", and it I used for liturgy. This has 1,017 hymns. The last veda is called the Atharva-Veda and this is the "Knowledge of the Magic formulas", and it is named after a kind group of priests. This focuses on the procedures of everyday life and has 730 hymns.

     2.  The practice of indulgence is a way to reduce the amount of punishment someone must go through because of their sins. Another form of indulgence would be when people would pay the church for their family members or someone they knew to get out of Purgatory. As stated from the website [http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his101/web/37luther.htm], "Like many others, he [Martin Luther] feared that the Roman Catholic Church had become too corrupt to provide people with the guidance they needed to obtain salvation. Luther thought that individuals could seek salvation on their own, without relying on priests". In this he is basically saying people shouldn't be allowed to pay or rely on priests for forgiveness, they should earn it themselves.

     3.  The Hajj is an annual Islamic Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims that are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey. Hajj means heading to a place for sake of visiting. Hajj is a pilgrimage made to Kaaba, the "House of God". The rites of Hajj, which according to Islam go back to the time of Prophet Abraham who re-built Kaaba after it had been first built by Prophet Adam, are performed over 5 or 6 days, beginning on the 8th and ending on the 13th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah, Salet, Zakat, and Sawm. The Hajj is the 2nd largest annual gathering of Muslims in the world. A Muslim who fulfills this condition is called a mustati. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to the God Allah.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj

Blog Post #50 -Five Major Religions Part 3 (Buddhism)-

     In class today we played a game for 35 minutes deciding what holy book a statement belonged to. Since I have more notes I'm putting that in my blog. The fourth major religion is called Buddhism. The number of adherents is 500 million to 1.5 billion. We call them Buddhists. Their geographic location is in Southeast Asia, China, Nepal, Japan, and there are 1.2 million buddhists in the United States. The denominations of Buddhism are Tibetan, Zen, Theravada, and Amidist. The founder was named Siddhartha. Part of Buddhism is living out and understanding the "Four Noble Truths" and "The Eightfold Path". The Four Noble Truths are: There is suffering; Attachment to desire is the origin of suffering; There is a cessation of suffering; and The Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of suffering. Next is the Eightfold Path which consists of 8 ways of thinking. These are: Right View; Right Intention; Right Speech; Right Action; Right Livelihood; Right Effort; Right Mindfulness; and Right Dedication. Buddhists don't believe in one God, and this religion is okay with people practicing other religions as well.

Blog Post #49 -Five Major Religions Part 2 (Islam and Hinduism) -

     Today in class we did more notes on the Five Major Religions. The second major religion is is called Islam. The number of adherents is 1.5 billion which is the second largest religion in the world. We call them Muslims. This religion is located in Indonesia,  the Middle East, and North Africa. The denominations of Islam are Sunnis (75-90%) and Shiites (10-20%). The founder was Muhammad (570-632). Their holy book is the Qur'an (Koran). Their beliefs are monotheistic and Abrahamic. The first one is that there are five pillars (testimony, prayer, alms-giving, fasting, and pilgrimage). The second one is that Muslims see their purpose in life as serving and submitting to Allah (God), and observing Islamic Law. The third major religion is called Hinduism. The number of adherents is 1.1 billion which is the third largest religion in the world. We call them Hindus. This religion is located in India, and Nepal. Their holy book is the Vedas- eternal truths revealed to ancient sages. This book is composed in verse form (meant to be sung and easily memorized). Hinduism has no founder. It is a series of intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid, strict set of beliefs. It is probably the oldest extant religion, although Hinduism is less a religion than a way of life, or a faith. For example, "As a person puts on new clothes and discards old and turn clothes, similarly an embodied soul enters new material bodies, leaving the old bodies." This is an example of reincarnation, which is what the Hindus believe in.

Blog Post #48 -Five Major Religions Part 1 (Christianity)-

     Today in class we started a new unit called Five Major Religions. The first major religion is Christianity. This religion has around 2.2 adherents, which is the largest in the world. We call them Christians. The geographic location of Christianity is in Europe, the Americas, and Southern Africa. The denominations are the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Protestants (Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and many more). The founder of Christianity was Jesus Christ (Christianity is Abrahamic in origin). The holy book is The Bible, especially the Gospels in the New Testament. The beliefs of Christianity are: Jesus is both human and divine (the son of God); he led a virtuous life; he was crucified, died, buried, and resurrected; he ascended into heaven where he reigns with God the Father. The clergy of Christianity is the Pope which is the head of the Catholic Church, and priests are local authorities.