Some People's President

          This week, while Mrs. Gallagher was away, we worked in groups to learn about Andrew Jackson. As a class, we watched two videos about Jackson, then we broke up into six groups. There were two groups per topic, the Bank War, Spoil System and Indian Removal Act. In our groups we created presentations to answer the question, "Is Andrew Jackson's long-standing reputation as "the people's president" deserved? Why? Why not?"
           After sharing our projects as a class, the majority of the class decided that Andrew Jackson didn't deserve to be called the people's president. My group, and the other Indian Removal group concluded he didn't deserve that title. We said this because Jackson had no consideration for the Indian tribes that he forced to move west. He didn't care that they made a life there and that their fathers built their community. Jackson threatened them saying if they didn't agree to move, he would force them out. The two groups who researched the Spoil System, also agreed that Jackson doesn't deserve to be called the people's president. They said this because, Jackson was only nice to the people who supported him. He instated people in the government as a reward for being loyal to him. He even allowed criminals to work for the government. This system that Jackson created, cost the government over $1,000,000,000 when Samuel Swartwout, a man loyal to Jackson,  stole from the American government.
          Both groups who had the Bank War, agree that Jackson did deserve the title that he was given. They say that Jackson noticed the unfair power that the bank possessed and knew he had to stop it. Jackson had the idea to create many small banks, rationing the power, rather than one large bank. By distributing the power from rich to poor thus forth restoring power to all social classes. Andrew Jackson slightly deserves the title of the people's president. As shown through the Bank War, Andrew Jackson did great things for America, however he is not deserving of the title, the people's president.

Indian Removal Lauren, Natalie and Regan:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ydnSUSbjJiIVPG1wlvO96OpIu0InDkpV1TpZsMkMudA/edit?usp=sharing                                    

Early 1800's Democracy

         This week we learned about democracy in the 1800's. We analyzed a painting, two voting charts and a document about the Dorr War to answer the question. How should we define democracy? And How Democratic was the US in the early 1800's. In a group we made a poster with each source on it, under each source was a brief summary about how it demonstrates democracy. Overall, in the early 1800's, the United States was pretty democratic, although their ways vary from ours slightly.

"Race"ing to Indpendence

        In class this week, we learned about the Latin American revolutions We broke up in groups and each group studied a different revolution. There were  three revolutions, The revolution in Mexico, the revolution of Gran Colombia, and the revolution of Brazil. After creating a timeline of events for each revolution, we had a jigsaw conversation, where one person from each group comes together. After gathering all of our information, we answered the essential question. For this lesson the essential question was, Why is it essential to acknowledge human value regardless of race?
 How are the events in the Latin American Revolutions evidence of this social  imperative?
          My group created a timeline of the revolution of Gran Colombia. After reading and analyzing the evidence we narrowed the information down to a few important dates. (see timeline below) Next, we found similarities and differences between the revolutions. One commonality is that they all wanted to become independent of the ruler that wasn't there a race. Another commonality was that all of the revolutions ended in the same time period of 1823 to 1831. This could happen as a result of one country starting a revolution, other countries catching wind of it, liking the ideas, and starting their own revolutions in their own countries. One difference between the revolutions was The different people they fought against. The people from Brazil we're trying to gain independence from Portugal. The people from Gran Colombia, which is now known as Venezuela, we're trying to free themselves from Spanish rule. Lastly, the people of Mexico were fighting against Mexican Royalists, who are loyal to the Spanish. Another difference is that all of the revolutions were fought in a different place. One was in Brazil, one was in Mexico, and one was in Gran Columbia. In all of the revolutions, race was an issue because people were fearful of having a leader of a different race, that's why they revolted.
          Today, race is a huge issue. Just recently, the case and Ferguson Missouri, where in unarmed black man was killed by a white police officer raised huge protests and riots. The further conclusion did not send the officer to trial brought up A huge controversy in the US are people believe that Michael Brown was only shot because he was black. Even though we are far from Larry used to be with raise issues, there are many cases were race problems are still relevant. I believe that it is still very helpful to be aware and watch out for race problems in our world.

Time line

April 19,1810 - a junta expels the Spanish governor of the province of Venezuela and takes control

July 1811- National Assembly in Caracas formally declares Venezuelas independence

July 1812- Spanish authorities rally, recover military initiative, regain control of the entire province

1813- as head of army of liberation , he returns to Venezuela ans wins 6 successive engagements against Spanish forces

August 6, 1813- enters Caracas, takes political control with dictatorial powers.

July 1814- bolivar lost Caracas again, recaptures bogota from Spain

1817- back in venzuela building a new army in in inaccessible region of the Orinoco river

1819- use cowhide boats to cross tributaries of the Orinoco 

August 7, 1819- Spanish army surrenders 

Dec 17, 1819- republica de Colombia is proclaimed 

June  24, 1821- Bolívar wins a battle at carabobo 

May 24, 1822- Antonio josé de sucre wins victory at pitchina 

May 1830- Bolívar resigns as ruler 

September 1830- Ecuador and Venezula secede from gran Colombia 

L'Ouverture DBQ

 Adolf Hitler could be classified as the worst leader in the world. He discriminated against Jewish people, he killed many innocent people and ordered his army to fight in World War II. These bad leadership skills ultimately led to Hitler's downfall. Toussaint L'Ouverture did not use the same leadership skills that Hitler did so L'Ouverture was a better leader. L'Ouverture did lead his troops to war, however, it was not for selfish reasons. He took many risks to abolish slavery in Saint Domingue. As the ruler of Saint Domingue, he instituted many rules to make his country a safe and economically stable place. With all the things L'Ouverture did for Saint Domingue, he should be remembered as, most importantly, a liberator of slaves. His achievements as a military commander, and as a ruler of Saint Domingue should be remembered also.

         Toussaint L'Ouverture's main goal was to free the slaves of Saint Domingue. The "Timeline of Abolition in Saint Domingue" (document a) shows L'Ouverture's efforts to end slavery and why. In 1789, the French Revolution, specifically the Declaration of Rights of Man, triggered the slave revolution in Saint Domingue. In 1790, the free men of color in Saint Domingue proclaimed the,selves as citizens of France. The slaves heard this and they wanted to be given rights too. The slave revolt lasts 3 years until 1794 when slavery is abolished by Robespierre if the slave revolt ends and L'Ouverture fights with the French.  In 1797, L'Ouverture wrote a letter to the French Directory.  He wrote it to persuade the French Directory not to reinstate slavery. He tries to tell them that the slaves will revolt if slavery is brought back because the slaves already know what it is like to be free and they don’t want to lose that. In the letter he says “ Could men who have once enjoyed the benefits of liberty look on calmly while it is taken from them!” (Document B).  L’Ouverture was willing to address a major political power to keep Saint Domingue slave free. In 1801 L’Ouverture created the Saint Domingue Constitution. He stated that there would be no slavery and all men are free. The constitution states “There cannot exist slaves in this territory, servitude is therein forever abolished. All men are born, live and die free and French.” (document c). All of L’Ouverture’s goals as an abolitionist are present in his work as a ruler. Toussaint L’Ouverture should most importantly be remembered as a liberator of slaves because he was willing to do anything to abolish slavery, including, working with the enemy, threatening major political powers and ruling Saint Domingue.

    Toussaint L’Overture can also be remembered as a military commander. All of his military achievements had the same common goal, abolishing slavery and maintaining a safe and well organized nation. In 1801, L’Ouverture’s nephew, Hyacinthe Moyse, organized a rebellion against L’Ouverture. Moyse liked the idea of small holdings rather than large plantations, unlike his uncle. Moyse and his men rebel, saying “General Moyse is with us- death to all whites”( Toussaint L’Ouverture; A Biography[ document e]). L’Ouverture had no choice. He had to gather the rebels and execute them before they killed more innocent people. Toussaint also had to kill his nephew. This shows that L’Overture can put aside his feelings and relationships to get his job done. In the secondary source called  A Description of Toussaint L’Ouverture , L’Ouverture was described as generous, courageous and humane. These qualities helped L’Ouverture gain his soldiers respect and confidence. As a military leader, he did many good things. William Wells Brown, the author of the source, says “Toussaint levied fresh forces, raised the reputation of the army, and drove the English and Spanish from the island....” (document f). Toussaint should be remembered for his smart military tactics, his protective nature and his inspirational military ideas.

    Lastly, Toussaint L’Ouverture should be remembered as a ruler of Saint Domingue. In the Constitution of Saint Domingue, L’Ouverture made new laws and rules based on the economy of Saint Domingue. He encourage agricultural work where each cultivator was entitled to profits. When he signed the constitution, he made himself the ruler of Saint Domingue for the rest of his life. In 1801, four months after the constitution, L’Ouverture made a proclamation to establish rules and to control people who aren’t doing their jobs. He instituted punishments too, including “ punishing by the conformity with the law, getting arrested, and spending one week in jail.” ( Document d) Again, he acts as a ruler by enforcing laws and punishments.

    Toussaint L’Ouverture should be remembered as a hero for Haitian people. Most importantly he

should be remembered as a liberator of slaves, someone who would do anything to achieve his goal.

Secondly, he should be remembered as a military commander, someone who puts their feelings aside

to do what is best for their country. Lastly, he should be remembered as a ruler of Saint Domingue,

someone who enforces rules to better their country. Without L’Ouverture’s help Haiti would be a

very different place today.  

Revolt Monkey

         Recently in class, we studied the revolutions of 1830 and 1848. We broke the class up into 5 groups, by revolt, and each made a survey monkey asking 10-12 questions about each revolt. After we created the surveys, everyone in the class took them, using documents about the revolts to help us. Then as a class we went over the results of the surveys. The last question of everyone's surveys was something along the lines of, " Would you rate this revolution as a success, minor success, neutral, minor failure, or complete failure?" The last question answered the essential question which was, " Were the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 really failures as many historians have conduced?" 

          The revolution that my group studied was the Decembrist Revolt. After Tsar Alexander of Russia dies, there was confusion over who should take the throne. Constantine refused the throne leaving Tsar Nicholas to step up. The people of Russia wanted constitutional change, an end to serfdom and poverty and to remove Nicholas from the throne. The people wanted Constantine to be the Tsar, Tsar Nicholas said, "I approached them, wanting to stop the men and place them in formation, but when I called out “Halt!” they replied: “We’re for Constantine!”" (Tsar Nicholas Describes the Decembrists’ Revolt on 14 December 1825) In order for Nicholas to end the revolt, he had to take drastic measures. "At that point, seeing no other alternative, I ordered “Fire!” (Tsar Nicholas Describes the Decembrists’ Revolt on 14 December 1825) Nicholas fired on his own people, shutting down the revolt Many people understood the ideas of the Decembrist Revolt. The knew that the goal was constitutional change and to end serfdom, they knew that Tsar Nicholas had to fire on his own people to end the revolt, and they knew that this revolt was a complete failure.   (1) https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TV729JM (2) https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TVZCJPB

         Another revolution, the Frankfurt Assembly, was a partial success, the nationalists and liberals got what they wanted but there was still monarchy. The Hungarian revolt of 1848 was a neutral revolution because there was little change. Lastly, the French Revolution of 1848 was somewhat of a success too because they got some of the things they wanted while they didn't get all of them. I believe that the revolts of 1830 and 1848 are not complete failures like some people believe. The majority expressed a change and the people received what they were fighting for. Therefor they are all partial successes.

Congress of Intervention

           This week, we learned about the Congress of Vienna. We explored what people should do when their power is threatened. We also looked at a series of problems and decided which solution Klemes Von Metternich (http://www.edline.net/files/_5TIQ1_/9db0e841f87ecf833745a49013852ec4/Unit_2_Activity_3_CongressofViennaProblems.pdf  problems link) would choose. Metternich was a conservative who commanded Napoleon to restore old boundaries and give up his conquest and if they don't Austria will declare war. After we predicted the resolutions that Metternich would be in favor of, we revealed what really happened and why. We looked at a Balance of Power, Principle of Legitimacy, Holy Alliance and Principle of Intervention.

           The Principle of Intervention was a reaction of European powers when they defeated the threat of Napoleon. Metternich and other members of the Congress of Vienna used this to send troops into a country to stop revolution and restore monarchy. England was an exception because they chose not to take part in the intervention. In the 1820's, Austria crushed an Italian uprising. The uprising was caused by the Italians because they wanted one big, strong country rather than small separate states. Also in the 1820's, there was a meeting to decide what to do about revolutions in the Spanish colonies and against the Spanish king. Louis XVII sent an army to crush the uprising in Spain. The Congress of Vienna impacted Europe in a big way. There was no war between countries until 1853, almost 40 years. However, there were numerous revolutions that could not be contained including the revolutions of 1848 in which Metternich lost power and was forced to flee Vienna. 

          I believe that the Congress of Vienna made a good choice by using the Principle of Intervention. Without this important idea there would have been many more wars and deaths. There was no better way except creating peace will all of the countries and not having to intervene. The powerful need to sacrifice themselves to show everyone that they are making decisions for the greater good and not themselves. 
         

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Basler04/CV

The "ide(a)" ology of Conservatism, Liberalism and Nationalism

This week in class we discussed, what the major political ideologies of the 19th century and how they influenced social and political action. In 6 groups, two for each ideology, we made one minute videos or presentations. As a class we voted on which groups video was best for conservatism, liberalism, and nationalism. 

 My group had conservatism as our ideology. We made a common craft style video. We explained that conservatives liked things to be traditional. They believed that monarchy works. They also believed that if something is going wrong look at worked in the past and take ideas from that. Conservatism influenced social action by not believing in innovation and reform. New ideas weren't welcome and the people suffered. It influenced political actions when they support monarchy. 

Some people, like liberalists, didn't believe in monarchy. Conservatives believed that when things happen in order to upset tradition, chaos is caused and everything falls apart. 

Liberalism was the belief that the task of the government was to promote individual liberty. They viewed tradition as an obstacle to freedom so they argued in favor of reform. The also believed in God given natural rights. Liberalism impacted social action and political action by supporting meritocracy. Meritocracy, or the system where people are rewarded on their merit and not their social class, changed the way people thought about liberalism. It made for a new way of government. Nationalism is the bringing together of nations through shared language, customs and history. Nationalists believe in natural boundaries, shared cultural traits, and a historical destiny to fulfill. Nationalism influenced political and social action by being an ally with liberalism. This way a lot of people are in favor of new things and have a bigger outlook than the conservatives. 

Tired of the Tyrant

   In class this week we learned about Napoleon. We watched a video about him and took notes on all the places he took over. Then we read two peoples view on Napoleon. These people were Madame de Staël, a writer who opposed Napoleon, and Marshall Michel Ney, one of Napoleon's officers. We also looked at a series of statements about Napoleon and decided whether it relates to the world or France. Using all these sources we could answer the question, "What was Napoleon's impact on the social, economic, and political systems of Europe?”

         Many people believed that Napoleon was a great military leader, they even go as far as to say that he was a genius. Others say that Napoleon was a tyrant and they hated him. Napoleon did many good things to France but also some bad things. Napoleon's economic impact was positive for France. The French control trade routes and the roads and canals are good economy boosters. Also, Napoleon looted money from Italy which improved Frances economy. The people who respected Napoleon's positive economic changes and support Napoleon, like P.C. Headley, said "Napoleon was great -- intellectually towering above the princes and monarchs of many generations." He believed that Napoleon was greater and stronger than any monarch in the past. Napoleon also made positive changes to the political system in France.He overthrew the directory, which was disliked by the French. Marshal Michel Ney said, “ the times are gone when the people were governed by suppressing their rights.” The directory was the government in France which Napoleon got rid of because the people disliked it. Napoleon also had a positive effect on the social system of France. Napoleon’s rule gave people more rights to property and education. He created a system of meritocracy, which rewarded people by their skills not their social class. As much as Napoleon contributed positively to French society, he did make some negative impacts as well. According to Madame de Stael, “virtue, dignity, religion, enthusiasm; in his eyes they are the ‘eternal enemies of the continent’”. She doesn’t believe that Napoleon has any moral values. She sees him as a ruthless tyrant.

Many of the historians that were mentioned in the Lost Voices of Napoleon article believed that Napoleon was both good and bad for France. I agree with them. Ida M Tarbell said, ‘“yet he lacked the crown of greatness -- that high wisdom born of reflection and introspection which knows its own powers and limitations, and never abuses them; that fine sense of proportion which holds the rights of others in the same solemn reverence which it demands for its own."’ She believed that Napoleon was one of the greatest military leaders ever, but he was a tyrant. Napoleon had a big effect on France.

Government makes a Marx (mark)

          This week in class we were learning about capitalism, socialism, and communism. We did an activity to demonstrate what it feels like to live in a communist society and to live in a capitalist society. Each student was handed three chocolates, except for two people who were handed 10 chocolates, they represented the rich people of the community. The chocolate represented ourl money. Next, everyone went around the room playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!" and giving away a piece of chocolate when you lost. This round of games was to represent capitalism. Each person had private ownership and freedom of competition to do what they want with their candy. In the end, some people had no chocolate, they were poor,  the proletariat group. Others had a plethora of chocolate and were the upper class, the  bourgeoise. Next, our teacher collected all our candy, like the government collecting our money. She redistributes the candy equally giving each person three chocolates. This caused a problem with the rich because the government took their money and just gave it away. However the poor loves this because they got money without having to work for it. This part of the activity represented socialism and communism. This activist was both fun and frustrating. At first, it was fun to gamble and play "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!" when you could end up with a ton of candy. After the redistribution, no one wanted to play because they didn't want to risk losing the only 3 chocolates they got. It was frustrating losing money, chocolate, and getting it taken away in the end. 

          Both Marx and Smith had very different ideas on how their systems would help the poor. Marx believed that his government of Capitalism, Socialism then Communism would help the poor by even distrbuting money to all of the people therefore eliminating social classes. Marx thought that by having a classless society everyone will be happy because they are all equal with no competition. Smiths theory of the "Invisible Hand",( video link  http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ulyVXa-u4wE&feature=youtu.be )helps the poor in the way that he thought that the flourishing of the market would make lower prices and the poor would be able to buy lower priced, high quality items. He thought his theory would allow poor people to have more options.

          I believe that the "Invisible Hand" is the better theory. It allows the people who worked hard to keep the money they deserve while the people who work hard but can't make money can also find a way to get a higher income. The third theory of government is Capitalism, like what we have in the present. There are class distinctions but everyone has equal opportunities to make money based on their effort. 

          

Not so Great Britain

           In Great Britian and Lowell Massachusetts, the factory workers working in harsh conditions. Some conditions being worse than others, causing illness, limb loss or even death. These awful conditions made life during the industrial revolution very hard.
         
           Mill workers had to endure terrible conditions in the factories. Some conditions include dirty air. While working in cotton factories, many pieces of cotton fiber circulate in the air. Sadly, it is inevitable but to breathe in some of those small fibers. After breathing in so many fibers people contract a disease called bisinossis, which is a condition where your lungs don't function properly due to cotton fibers in them. Another condition workers had to endure was the dangerous machinery. Since the majority of workers were women, they had to pay careful attention to their hair. If they got their hair caught in a machine, they would get pulled up and killed. When we had our Google video museum tour, Jamie explained these dangers to us. In document D of the DBQ it says, "; he beats the little children if they do not do their work right... I have sometimes seen the little children drop asleep or so, but not lately." They treat children horribly too. 

          As awful as these conditions are in both places, England and Lowell, the conditions in Great Britain are far worse than the conditions in Lowell. In Lowell, the mill workers lived in boarding houses. They were given Sunday's off from work and they weren't beat, as it said in "Daughters of Free Men." In Britain, the girls didn't live in boarding houses. Young children were beat whenever they didn't do their work. They were also rarely given breaks. The conditions were worse in England because the U.S. didn't have an abundant supply of cheap labor like England (land was plentiful, most families could move west to purchase more). Also, the lack of workers made industrialists look to change the perception of manufacturing.

Factory Fun

          This week, I got to do something I never thought I would be able to do. My class toured the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester England. The best part about this tour was that we could do it straight from our classroom via Google video chat. To prepare for our video tour, we did an internet investigation on the MOSI website Textile Gallery. We also watched a video of Jamie, our tour guide,or explainer as they say in England. The video highlighted a few machines that we would be looking at in our tour and a few that we weren't going to see. We took notes on the machines and came up with definitions as a group using Google keyword search skills. Next, as a small group, we thought of a few questions to ask Jamie when we do our chat. The questions varied from, "How long does it take to make cloth in the factories?" or "What are the dangers of working in the factories?".

          I learned  a lot of interesting things while video touring MOSI. I gained new knowledge about many machines used to make cloth. One process that stuck out to me was the Hand Cards. They are 2 big brushes that have wires that brush cotton fibers into a straight line which is turned into a thread. What struck me about the hand cards, was that the young kids would operate them.

Handcards a picture from the Google chat with Jamie

Which brings me to another thing that we discussed in our chat. One of the most interesting topics we talked about would be the dangers of working in the factories. One danger of working was the risk of Bisinossis, which is a condition when too much cotton fibers are in your lungs. Jamie also said, one of the most dangerous jobs ever, was children, 5 and under, would have to clean under machines while they were running. Jobs like these put children and other workers in grave danger. In other cases, children or girls could get there hair stuck in machines and get pulled in. Many children lost limbs or lost their lives. Jamie also said that many children tried to run away from factories so factory owners would tie them to the machines.

          This experience was very interesting. I didn't think it was possible to learn so much from a museum in another country on video chat but it was! I would love to do this again on other topics. The only downside is that if the technology wasn't functioning right, we would be able to learn. Otherwise, I loved this opportunity to learn from a museum in England.

Curate to Create

          Recently, in class we acted as museum curators and created our own museum exhibits. In order to make these exhibits, we had to go through an interesting process. The first step to making our exhibit was to gather and read all of our sources. We needed to find the main argument of each and pick out the mot important information to display. Next we had to decide how to  arranger our title, sources, and any brief placards we wanted to add. We wanted everyone who visited our exhibit to understand the main point, which was child labor. We needed to find the most accurate way to arrange our sources while making it understandable. We chose to display or exhibit as a timeline show the progression of child labor through out the industrial revolution. It is important to choose a clear and concise way to arrange your sources so the information is helpful and not confusing to visitors. 

          The next day, we toured each others exhibits. Each exhibit said something new about the industrial revolution. The first exhibit I toured was called "From Spinning Wheels to Power Looms." This exhibit explains how the innovations of the spinning machines in mills impacted people. It says, when spinning machines were invented in mills, people who previously worked in their homes had to move to cities and the populations grew rapidly. The second exhibit was called "Thomas Takes Great Britain." This exhibit describes the conflict that was presented when steam engines were invented. Many people argued against railroads and they didn't want to build them. It was surprising to me that people didn't want railroads because they could expose them to states and cities they know nothing about. The next exhibit was called "Living in Filth." This exhibit was very interesting. It shows the amount of pollution and how it affected living conditions. Coal factories polluted the air and water which made people unhealthy and made for dangerous living conditions. The last exhibit was called "More Cotton, Less Freedom." This exhibit shows that when there was a higher demand for cotton there was an increase in the US slave population. After the Textile Industry took off in 1820, the population of slaves grew even higher. 

How Technology and Transportation Changed The World

          This week in class we have been talking about "What is so 'revolutionary' about the Industrial Revolution.". We learned that there are 4 Ingredients to Industrialization. They are People, Resources, Technology and Transportation.  We worked in groups and took notes on one of the subjects, then shared our notes to the class. After taking notes, the two ingredients that stuck out to me were technology and transportation.
         
          During the industrial revolution, many new and innovative machines came about. As helpful as these new machines are, they do have some negatives. One new machine is the Steam Engine. The Steam Engine used coal to pump water out of mines, fuel boats and fuel locomotives. Another new invention was Improved Iron. Abraham Darby used coal to smelt iron and separate it from it's ore to remove impurities from coal. This iron was used to build railroads. It helped people produce better quality and less expensive iron. On the downside of these new inventions. there was a lot more pollution. Also, the machines were doing the jobs that people used to do so people started to lose their jobs. Some innovations in textiles include John Kay's Flying Shuttle, which outpaced the spinners allowing a single weaver to weave wider fabrics. Also, there was the Spinning Jenny and the Water Frame, allowing better and quicker textile production. Link to Industrial Revolution Inventions video

Spinning Jenny 1769
http://deanqdrummonds.blogspot.com/2011/09/spinning-jenny-1769.html

        

         
          There was also a lot of new transportation during the Industrial Revolution. One new invention was the Steam Locomotive. This steam powered train pulls carriages along tracks, moving goods across land. After building the Steam Locomotive there were more railroads created throughout Europe and North America. Another invention was the Steam Boat. The Steam Boat enabled faster shipping. It could carry 10 to 20 times the amount of a wooden ship and travels at an above average pace. With these new innovations there was faster shipping, more goods going to different places and more jobs provided. However there are a few negatives to great innovations. One negative is pollution from coal. A few more are price raises in goods, loss of farmland and local economies were hurt because goods were being shipped to other places.

Steam Locomotive
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_locomotive

A Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus a Day

          Recently in Honors History we used two really neat activities  meant to teach us how to search and use online resources responsibly. One activity was called " A Google a Day." This activity tested our research skills by asking a series of three questions that you need to research the answers to by using the " A Google a Day"search engine. The second activity was a website called"Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus" . This activity was used to prove how well we can judge liable websites. We needed to determine if the website was Accurate, Authentic and Reliable. 

          

          "A Google a Day" was a website that is powered, obviously, by the search engine Google. As I said before, it asks three questions from the categories of Sport,  Science, Pop Culture,  History,  Arts  and  Literature, or Geography. The website times you while you research and try to answer your question. One of the fun aspects of the activity was that it was a race between the groups in our class room. It was interesting to have to, not only accurately find information, but quickly as well. One difficult and frustrating thing about this activity was that the information could be difficult to find, granted that was the point of the activity. Although, when our group put our heads together we worked through the difficulties and found the answers to all the questions. ( A Google a Day link http://www.agoogleaday.com/#game=started ) 

          The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus website activity was also a very interesting activity that we did in class.The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus website is a fabricated website dedicated to teach about the " Tree Octopus". Our job was to decide if the website was Accurate, Authentic and Reliable. For a website to be accurate it has to have all correct information. For a website to be authentic it has to has to serve the purpose that the name implies. Lastly, for a website to be reliable, it needs to have a trustworthy source of information and a trustworthy author. The Tree Octopus website was neither accurate or reliable, however it was authentic. It wasn't accurate because the information was false, there is no such thing as a tree octopus. The website wasn't reliable because the author is just an author, he doesn't study endangered animals and doesn't know much about them. The website was authentic because it serves it's purpose, which was to inform people about  "The Endangered Tree Octopus."(Tree Octopus Link  http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/ )

The Recipe for A Great Classroom

                Hi, My name is Lauren and I'm in 10th grade Honors History. The purpose of this blog is to show the work I have created this year in History class.This post, however, is to describe the qualities of a great teacher. I've had many teachers in my 11 years of school but only a handful made an impact in  my life. The teachers who made an impact put together with good students create the perfect recipe for a great classroom. 

                

                 All teachers have the potential to be great teachers. Many live up to their potential and make a excellent learning environment for kids. Out of all the teachers I have had, the great ones all express many of the same qualities. One of these qualities is equality. Some of the best  teachers I've had treat the class like adults rather than kids. It makes the teacher seem approachable and friendly. It makes the class want to ask questions, get involved and do well in the class.  Also it seems cliche, another quality that great teachers posses is the ability to make learning fun and relatable.  A good class consists of deep discussions and meaningful conversations but there is no way to get kids involved unless the topic somehow relates to them, and that the lesson is interesting and fun. As much as a great teacher is important for success, they're only half of the ingredients for an excellent classroom.
                 
                The second half of the recipe for a great class room is the children in the class. As a student, we are given the keys to the world. It is in our hands to be the next generation of doctors, lawyers, astronauts and so much more. It is in our power to find and discover amazing things, as long as we work our hardest in school. I believe, and agree with John Green, that as students it is our job to change the world and make it a place that we will be proud of. It may seem a little far- fetched that we could do something so immense but the reality is that every small thing counts and eventually it will amount to something great and we will have fulfilled our duty as students. Personally, this year I hope to achieve a few things. Academically I'm striving for an A in all of my classes. Athletically, I really want to run my first 5K road race. In order to reach my goals I need to work very hard this year. I will complete all my assignments, study hard and meet with teachers after school for extra help. Alongside volleyball and basketball, I will train my body to run 3 miles and hopefully achieve my goal. Together students and teachers make the perfect recipe for a great classroom.


John Green Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x78PnPd-V-A&feature=youtu.be

Candy Rose Collection Mixing Bowl
http://www.dunelm-mill.com/shop/candy-rose-collection-mixing-bowl-392578