Globalization Part II 9/11/13

Today in Human Geo class we continued our discussion from yesterday on globalization and how it effects America as well as other nations. An aspect of life that is greatly affected by globalization is language. Understanding more than one language is becoming more and more popular as globalization brings cultures into more direct contact and interconnect them. Interconnection was an important word in today’s discussion because it perfectly represented globalization.

Along with language, another thing we talked about today relating to globalization was United Nations. The U.N is when nations come together from all over the globe to try to talk their way out of disagreements peacefully. In other words, they try to make decisions before war and tragedies occur.  

            We also reflected on how life in America would be if it weren’t for globalization. Without trading, there would be no bananas, or other tropical fruits. We would also have to spend more money on American workers to manufacture clothing and other materials.

            Globalization is a part of everyday life even if we don’t always recognize it.

Globalization 9/10/13

Today in Human Geography class we talked about Globalization. I took a few notes on this topic:

· Globalization is often associated with "Americanization" or the exporting of American brands and consumer goods.

· Globalization is as old as civilization it's self. The silk road (established BCE) was made to trade with other nations. It is still in use today.

· Globalization spreads multiple religious beliefs beyond their area of origin

We also looked at a few images to help understand globalization. One picture we examined was a KFC and McDonalds in Japan. Another picture we looked at was a man in Kenya talking on a cell phone. This proves that secluded countries in Africa are still going through globalization. In order for him to be talking a phone, he would need cell phone service and an outlet to charge his phone with. Even some of the most secluded places are experiencing globalization.

 

Google Drive 9/9/13

Today in Human Geography class we discussed our new assignment. We were told to put ourselves in groups of three or four. Once we were in our groups, we talked about Gmail Drive and how we will use it for future assignments. Gmail Drive is a way for people to do group projects without everyone meeting up in one place. It's basically a word document that if you are connected to, you can view what other people are saying and add to it. The way you get connected is when one person creates the document, they add the e-mails of who they want joined. Our first assignment with Gmail Drive is to make a study guide for A Message to Garcia. In this study guide we should write questions we expect to be on the up- coming quiz and answer them correctly.  When completed, this document will be helpful to study.

 

Video on Technology 9/6/13

     Today in class we watched a video that demonstrated how small America is compared to other countries. Along with that, it also compared our population, the role of technology, and our jobs with other countries such as China and India. The video started out as a slide show and stated many unknown, interesting facts. I wrote down a few of them: By the time you're 38, the average American is estimated to have already had 12- 14 different jobs. In America, it is estimated that 1 in 4 workers have been with their job for less than a year.

     One reason a person may only stay with their job for a short period of time is that they are trying to expand their horizons and try new things. But the reality is, people get fired. I'm not saying it's expected for someone to do something wrong, but if you've been working in one place for a long time and collecting yearly raises, then at some point, you may be making twice as much as someone who just started.

            Some of the facts in this video you really had to think about. For example, it stated that we are currently preparing students for jobs that haven’t been invented yet. In other words, the economy is expanding and changing so rapidly we don’t even know what to expect in the next 4-10 years and I think that was the overall message from watching this video.

    

 

Socrates Part II 9/4/13

Today in Human Geography class we continued to discuss the trial and death of Socrates among other things. At Socrates' trial, if he would have said, "I'm sorry, I was wrong it will not happen again." he most likely would have been dropped of all charges. Instead of saying that, he said that Greece was like a big stupid horse that would not move, and he was the horse fly, whose job was to sting it until it moved again. Because of his sassy response, the jury gave him the option to either be punished to exile or to drink a poison called hemlock, which would kill him in under an hour. Socrates, being the proud man he was, chose to drink the deadly poison. We also discussed a famous painting literally called "the death of Socrates". The painting illustrated the moments before Socrates drank the poison which would end his life. Instead of looking frightened or upset, he looked strong and willing, while his peers crowd around him in despair.

Socrates 9/3/13

Today in class we went over our five point plan homework about how to insure a successful freshmen year at John Caroll which was assigned to us last Friday. We also discussed the multiple definitions we were supposed to blog about over the weekend. Agora is a gathering place in ancient Greece, The year 508 BC was when democracy was established in Athens when the people overcame their previous leader. We went over the Greek's ideas of excellence (otherwise known as arête) and went into great depth of the death of Socrates. Socrates was a Greek philosopher who was charged for questioning Greek's leaders and corrupting the youth. He was given the option to either drink a deadly poison called hemlock, or be punished to exile. He chose to die and turned down every opportunity that came is way to escape. Socrates would rather die than be known as a coward.

Greek Vocabulary

Agora- a gathering place in ancient Greece
Arete- excellence
Polis- a city in Greece
The year 508 BC- democracy was established in Athens
Socrates- He was a Greek philosopher. One of the founders of Western Philosophy
The death of Socrates- 399BC,
The Socratic method- similar to the scientific method, examination of good and justice