Procrastination is a BIG Problem

Hi, I’m a student at Catlin Gabel, and I have a BIG problem. That problem is procrastination.
Procrastination has been a problem with students for a long, long time. This dilemma goes
back to 700 B.C. I’m serious! It all started with a Greek poet of the name of Hesoid. He had
put off all his writing to do the next day, and that’s what he wrote about. The poem was:

“Do not put your work off till to-morrow and the day after; for a sluggish worker does not fill his barn,
nor one who puts off his work: industry makes work go well, but a man who puts off work is always
at hand-grips with ruin.”

Our friend Hesoid was not the only one who struggles with procrastination,
the Blue Banner website did a study about how many college students procrastinate, about
90% - 95% of ALL college students procrastinate when doing school work.  When you step back
and take a moment to think about it, you realize that it is a very big problem.

Procrastination can also be the cause of other things beside bad grades, it can lead to
anxiety as well. For example, this year in math class, I have procrastinated quite a bit, and
it has lead to my anxiety and loss of sleep for me. I also know of many other students who
suffer from the same problem as me. The reason I like cultures class so much is because
I got to be better at not procrastinating. When I came to Catlin Gabel in 6th grade, I was
introduced to a new academic subject called Humanities. I knew it was basically history but
the new name threw me off. I thought it was a crazy new thing. The first few projects were
small, and pretty easy, but about four months in we were introduced to the main project, and
it was called R.I.C.E., standing for Rome, India, China, and Egypt. We had to research about
the history of the civilization that we chose, and eventually had to present a project in front of
parents. The teacher gave us a list of things that we had to do, and a due date and that was
pretty much it. We had to plan out when we were going to do it and how. Ours teacher gave
us almost every class just as a free period to work. I didn’t take the work periods seriously,
and I procrastinated SO MUCH. It came up to the last week of the project and I had to cram a
month of work into ONE WEEK. I was very stressed and I only worked in Humanities the whole
week, but I pulled it off. That week was one of the most stressful weeks of my life, and I
learned to STOP procrastinating.

Now, in 7th grade, we had two projects just like R.I.C.E., and I got through them just fine.
I am a lot more organized and less stressed, and I have 6th grade Humanities to thank for
that.

Credits:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/63887/procrastination-through-ages-brief-history-wasting-time

https://www.verywellmind.com/the-psychology-of-procrastination-2795944

Photo Credits: http://wittywinks.com/procrastination-a-step-by-step-guide-to-stop-
https://procrastination.com/what-is-procrastination

Frida Kahlo: How She Made an Impact

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican Artist who lived from 1907 to 1954. Frida is important to me because first of all, she was Mexican and secondly, she had a big impact on Mexican artists. Since she was an artist in the 1900’s, it just feels to me that she was carrying on the Artistic Revolution through her drawings. Frida’s father came from Germany, but Frida claimed that he was Jewish and Hungarian. Frida’s mother was a Mexican Catholic.

As a child, Frida had suffered polio. Polio is a disease that causes an inability to move ad when she was a teenager, she almost died in a bus accident. She had multiple fractures in her spine, ribs, and collarbone. She also, broke her foot, dislocated her shoulder, and shattered her pelvis. Frida went through 30 operations and ended up in a body cast. Frida knew that at that point, she should focus on art. 
In Frida’s lifetime, she drew approximately 200 paintings, sketches, and drawings. Out of these 200 drawings of hers, 143 of them were paintings, and 55 of those were self portraits. Her first ever self portrait was in 1926 and she named it,”Self-Portrait in Red Velvet.” Frida felt that self portraits were something that she had to keep coming back to. She states,”I paint self portraits because I am so often lonely, because I am the person that I know the most.”

Frida’s love life didn’t go so well. She married Diego Rivera in 1929, when she was 22 years old. She then divorced Diego in 1939 (I couldn’t find out why) to later remarry a year later in 1930. Even then, they lasted until Frida passed away in 1954 at the age of 51. It didn’t take Diego long to find another partner, because it only took one year for him to marry once again to Emma Hurtado.

Frida Kahlo is an important artist to me because she went through really tough times in her life and she is a real inspiration. Her paintings show the rough things that she went through and it makes me feel more sympathetic to everyone who not only went through bad times, but just had to go through something bad in their life. For example, Frida’s,”The Two Fridas” is a drawing of two Fridas. The whole drawing represents how Frida married, divorced, and remarried to Diego. One Frida (the left) represents the Frida that loved Diego and would not leave his side and the other Frida (the right) shows the Frida that Diego wanted nothing to do with. This drawing shows that in her heart, she had a pain that was made by Diego when they divorced but also the love she still had for Diego. This painting makes me feel kind of sad for her because it seems like she is going through anger and in love at the same time which can be hard. I could not really relate to her but for me it seems like it is hard to go through mentally.

All in all, I think Frida Kahlo is a great artist that puts a lot of feeling into her drawings. She shows what she has been through in her drawings. I think that it is really cool that she puts a lot of emotion into her drawings and isn’t afraid to put out what’s on her mind or what she has been through.

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Catchers and Pitchers Report

Baseball field 

Catchers and Pitchers report for spring training and that means baseball season is just around the corner. Baseball season is a great time of year for me and my family. It is a long 162 games of blood, sweat, and dirt. All leading up to the playoffs. Thirty teams go in, one goes out with the trophy. But it all has to start somewhere and where better than beautiful -- at least in spring --Arizona or Florida.

Spring training field in Arizona

Pitchers and Catchers are prepping for a long season of injuries, wins, and loses. But that all begins during spring training. Arizona and Florida are two great places to kick of a baseball season so when we are here in rainy Portland, Oregon the sun is shining bright in Arizona and Florida. Each spring training area hosts about 238 games. Each team invites more than just the 40 players which make up the normal roster -- only 9 players play at a time but they have 25 on a set team, almost half of which are pitchers. The other 15 are on a major league roster, but even they spend time in the minors once the joy of spring ends.  Spring training is a great time for minor league players to show that they can make the jump from AAA, the minors' highest level, to the Majors. Even if they don't make the major league team, they have hopefully showed what they can do and impressed the coach and might make it next year or get called up to the show in the middle of the season.


For my family the baseball season is a fun and entertaining time of year, and we keep on hoping the Cardinals can get another World Series ring. I have grown up in baseball land with older brothers that would play, and I would sit up in the stands and day dream of when I could play. Every game -- watch, dream, repeat.

The regular season consists of 162 games and injuries are inevitable, even after all the spring training warm-up. A lot of players injuries are day to day but some are season or sometimes career ending. Sometimes the injuries are a bruised shoulder. Some are torn muscles. Some of the worst ones are torn ligaments or severe concussions. Imagine you are so exited for the first game of the season and then in a practice having a season ending injury right before the season started.  Some injuries happen later, like Shohei Ohtani (last year), who made a huge impression only to have his pitching season -- and possibly career -- ended by a ligament injury.  He could still hit for a while, but even that reality disappeared when he chose to have Tommy John surgery.  For Jonny Cueto, this year its possible his whole season may disappear because he is on the 60 day DL after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year in August.

2018 playoff bracket 

Spring training starts with all teams hoping to make the playoffs.  In the March heat, even Kansas City and Baltimore think they have a chance.  The best team from every division makes the playoffs, along with two wild card teams one from each league. The winners of the one game wild card series goes on to play in a best of five quarter final series, and then, whichever teams win play in a seven game series in the semifinals, although baseball people much prefer to refer to that as the league championship.  Then, the winners of those two series go on to play in a seven game final series.  That series is the World Series.

But there is no better place to start than beautiful and sunny Arizona or Florida. This is were spring training is held and the season beings. Whether you are playing in the games or watching the baseball season it is a very fun and entertaining time of the year.  It also means summer is coming.

Soccer - My Story

Soccer Tots

The first time that I played soccer was when I was two, and I was a Soccer Tot. Soccer Tots is a little kids soccer class, and you can see a picture of me participating in the class on the right. When I was in kindergarten, my mom asked me if I wanted to play recreational soccer, and I said yes, so she signed me up. My recreational team was
the Power Kickers, and we were a very good team for the three seasons I played with them. In third grade I stopped playing recreational soccer and I moved on to play club soccer because my parents thought there would be better coaching, more competition, and in general it would give me more opportunity to develop myself as a player. The club team that I went to play for was Willamette United Soccer Club, or WUSC. Since this was club soccer, I had to tryout, but nonetheless, I’m pretty sure everyone was offered a spot since it was just third grade soccer. Even though I made my age group team,

Playing recreational soccer

I was placed on the B team, which was not the team I wanted to be on. I strongly disliked the fact that I wasn’t on the A team, yet I would scrimmage and practice with them all the time, so I asked my mom why I wasn’t on the A team, and she told me that it was probably because the coach didn’t know me very well in the beginning of the season when she made teams. After all, my coach had coached most of the girls in my age group the year before, so it made sense that she didn’t know me as well as the other girls. Because I hated being on the B team so much, I worked harder in practice to improve my game, so I could move up to the A team the next year. However, things didn’t go as well as I wanted them to go because we got a new coach, and after tryouts I was once again placed on the B team. This didn’t make me happy, so I continued working hard and trying my best at practices and games to show the coach that I was good enough to be on the A team. Eventually this work paid off because later that season in the spring when rosters were readjusted, I was put on the A team. Even though I got rostered on the A team, I didn’t stop working hard because in order to keep myself on the team I needed to prove that I was willing to work hard and improve. I continued to play with WUSC the following year, but there were a couple of changes that affected my team and me. One change was that we got a new coach, and another change was that the way

Playing soccer with Willamette United

teams were separated based on age was changed. Previously, teams were divided by grade level, but leagues were changing it so teams now had to be divided by birth year. This change affected my team because some girls that were born in 2005 moved up to play with players that were a grade level ahead of us that were born in the same year, while the rest of us that were born in 2006 were joined by some girls that were born in the year we were, but were a grade level below us. Luckily, the people who left my team weren’t super close to me, and they weren’t necessarily on the A team with me, so my team didn’t experience super dramatic changes. Also, I had been playing midfield for pretty much my whole life, and then my new coach started playing me as a center defender, which has a very different role than a midfielder, and I didn’t like playing so far back. I was used to being able to get further up the field on the attack, and because I was moved to center defender I gained greater defensive responsibilities that I didn’t previously have. Because playing defender wasn’t what I wanted to be playing, I tried to prove to my coach that I could play midfield just as well, and even better than the people who were currently playing there, but my coach kept playing me as a center defender, so I had to learn to like it.

Playing soccer with Willamette United

Even though there were changes that affected me in the beginning of my 5th grade year playing soccer, my team ended up being successful. In the summer, we did very well in the tournaments we played in, and even won a couple, which got us off to a great start. We finished in second place for the fall season, which gave us a good seed for the state tournament (State Cup) which we participated in later that spring. As State Cup drew closer, everyone got much more serious in training and during games because it was the first year we were able to participate in the tournament, and we all wanted the win under our belts. We started off the tournament by fighting our way to a 1-0 victory over PCU (Portland City United), and then solidly defeating CUSC (Clackamas United Soccer Club) 3-0. Then, we rolled over LOSC (Lake Oswego Soccer Club) 9-0, which collected us our third win, and gave us a spot in the semifinal. We played Westside Timbers in our next game, which was very close from the first whistle to the final whistle, and both teams had many opportunities score, but neither did. The end of regulation ended in a draw, so we entered the first fifteen minute period of overtime. I was very nervous going into overtime because if the score was still tied after the two overtime periods, we would have to determine a winner in penalty kicks, and my team had experienced that several times before, and it was not fun. Luckily, the game wasn’t sent into penalty kicks because Bri, my teammate, scored a goal in the second overtime to give us the lead, and we were able to hold that lead up until the final whistle.

When I won State Cup

After the game, my team joyously ran onto the field jumping excitedly because we were headed to the finals! In the finals we rematched PCU, who we had previously played in the first game of the tournament. The game felt very professional because there was someone filming it, and before we played, we all lined up behind the refs and walked out to the middle of the field, and then stood in a line adjacent to them, so all of the people that were watching us could see our teams. The final game ended up being a lot less stressful than the semifinal match we had just played because the game ended in regulation with us winning at a comfortable 3-0. This win meant we were 2017 state champions, and my team as well as myself were overjoyed! Yes, this game wasn’t like winning the World Cup or the Olympics, but it was a big win for us, and a great way to end our season. My team had moderate success the next season, coming in the middle of the rankings in the fall, then coming in a little higher in the rankings in the spring, and then losing the semifinal match of State Cup, but overall it wasn’t a bad season. When tryouts came around for the 2018/2019 season, many of my teammates took a different path, including myself. I decided to try out for a different team the next season because my parents and I thought it was time for a change, and also because our team was losing about six of our players, so the team would be very different if I had stayed. The two clubs that I was looking at to play for next were GPS (Global Premier Soccer), and Westside Timbers. It was a pretty tough decision with many things to consider, but in the end I decided to try out for Westside Timbers. I ended up making the team, and I am playing my first season as a Westside Timber currently. Since the beginning of the season, I have

When we won the Beaverton Cup

been a starting center midfielder, which is where I actually want to play. This season has been pretty successful so far for both me and my team because we tallied wins in the Adidas Beaverton Cup, the Beaverton Cup 4v4 tournament, and the Mt. Hood Challenge, and we also tied for first in the fall league. I have also developed a lot as a player over the past few years in many different areas of the game. I have improved different areas of my game from ball skills to endurance all the way to my mentality. I plan to keep working to improve myself as a player on and off the field, and hopefully that work will pay off in the near future of my soccer career.

Hard Work, Stress, and Muscle Relevant Gel

https://ica.smugmug.com/Camp/Music-2018/Intermediate-Music-2018/2018-Intermediate-Concert-Orchestra/i-HSqshXj

To be told that my pain is not validated that my hurt is fake because, I don't try hard enough. That I don't do anything, because I'm a musician, and that's what musicians do. Musicians also practice 4 hours a day, wake up at 5 am, and get arthritis when they are 12 years old, because being a musician isn't just a hobby, it's a full-time job. It takes up your whole life. We go to practices like an athlete does, we go to concerts like an athlete goes to games, and we train like an athlete does, but yet, we are not treated as one. We are treated as though we are weak, lazy, as if our hard work doesn’t amount to anything. Because although we work and practice the same or even more than athletes, there is still a large bias against committed musicians. I asked Lizbeth Carreno and Shin Young Kwon, violinists from the Oregon Symphony, and they said that many people don’t believe that being a full-time musician is an actual job. They also think that every time you pick up your instrument, you feel immense happiness. While it is very rewarding in the end, to get there you have to go through a lot. Practice long hours, sometimes on a single measure. You will get hurt a lot; your fingers usually are riddled with calluses and turn black from the combination of the fingerboard and sweat. There is also the daunting fear that something will happen to your wrist or fingers that could end your career. As for me, I am also a committed violinist. I attended Interlochen, an intense arts academy in Michigan this past summer, and I plan to apply to high school there. During last season, as I was preparing for the many auditions it took, I started to feel tingling in my fingers which then spread to my wrist and eventually to my whole arm, which was from the long hours and stress of the upcoming auditions and competitions.

https://ica.smugmug.com/Camp/Music-2018/Intermediate-Music-2018/2018-Intermediate-Concert-Orchestra/i-gS2Gk6N

I was not able to play as long, or as much as I would’ve liked, and every morning and night I slathered my arm with muscle relevant gel, in hopes that it would slow the process that might one day prevent me from pursuing something that I love. During that time of uncertainty, I felt like I didn’t have anyone but my teacher, Shin Young Kwon, who understood. I was scared, and my parents pushed and pushed me to keep practicing, even if I was hurting. My teachers didn’t care, or in some cases pushed me even harder, in classes like PE, I was constantly being compared to my brothers, who are division 1 tennis players. I feel as though if my peers and people close to me hadn’t of labeled me, and supported me more, I would have gotten through this time more successfully, and come out as a better violinist and overall person.

Interplanetary Travel

The photo above is where I want to someday go. Yup, that red, lifeless ball of rust, 54.6 million kilometers away. It is not isolation I seek, but the feeling of knowing that I have expanded the horizons of humanity, and the possibilities of Mars colonies. Just to imagine being able to see the earth from afar already boggles my mind, but to me 54 million kilometers away takes it to the extreme. Theoretically, the hardest part of the trip there would be the trip in space, because you are in deep space for 300 days without dying. Once you are on the Mars surface, you wouldn't be there for very long, because you have to bring all of your supplies, which is limited by the size of the ship.

Previously, we have sent many other things to Mars, including rovers, landers, and satellites. Above is the Opportunity Rover (above, left), whose mission was supposed to last 30 days, but when on for 15 years. It lost connection and shut down after a planet-wide dust storm cut off the light to its solar panels, so it couldn't get power, and died. It's last message to Earth was "My batteries are low and it's getting dark", as tweeted by science reporter, Jacob Margolis. Opportunity's companion rover, Spirit, died much earlier. Another rover is on mars with the two dead other ones, called Curiosity (above, right). Loss of solar power will not kill Curiosity though, because instead of solar panels, Curiosity is powered by an MMRTP (Multi-Missions Radioscope Thermoelectric Generator), which relies on the heat generated by the decay of a large chunk of plutonium dioxide, a very radioactive substance. So because of the MMRTP, the Curiosity rover could never die due to loss of sunlight, but it can lose radio connections to Earth.

New Beginnings

As you walk into the school, cue all the stares. People whisper and point. Okay, I'm making that up, but, have you ever been the new kid at a school? Not knowing where to go, who anyone is, or what is expected of you. When you finally figure out where your first class is, you sit in your seat very quietly, waiting for some familiar faces. Well, maybe that's not what other people do, but I know that's what I've done. 

"New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings." Yup, I can agree with that. The first time my mom decided to move; mind you this was across the country, I was in 2nd grade. And just let me say, I was not expecting to move another four times in the next three years. Anyway when I first heard that I was going to move I thought I was the coolest 2nd grader EVER!!! I also never thought that other kids move whatsoever, especially not from Boston , to Portland. Then before I knew it I was in a whole new place, looking for a house.  I had no idea who anyone was, and where to go. And yet there is something special about being in a place that is brand new, with only my mom. When this happened it made my mom and I rely on each other, which brought us together.

Fast forward five years of moving to different houses, meeting new people, going to new schools, and my mom becoming a record box packer. Fast forward all the way to my first day at Catlin Gabel. I know it may seem a little cliche to be writing about being new to a school. The thing is being new to this school was very different then being new to any other school. Everyone is so kind, and you end up having friends on the first day of school, which helps since it is sorta awkward to be in a class with no idea who anyone is.
Another unique thing about Catlin is the campus. Our campus has many trees/greenery. The amount of trees on our campus could put the Congo tropical forest to shame.  Whenever I see the dimpled light underneath a tree, I can't help but smile. Something about broken up light shinning on leaves has a bewitching, and magical look.
 

Overall, being new may have hard parts, but it always will become better. You must survive the darkest part, to get to the light.

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Hopes and Dreams

"Don't play what's there, play what's not there."
Miles Davis

As the new year begins, we all have hopes and dreams.  Some of us dream big, others will be happy with smaller successes.  Now that the year is under way, what are some of your hopes and dreams?  You might have class specific goals or you might have overarching goals that apply to every class.  You might be inspired by a quote or you may wish to reflect quietly, then share a bit of yourself.  This post should have the following labels:  hopes and dreams, 7th grade, writing, goals, cultures, English.  Don't forget to read the posting guidelines and include images and links to your post.  Always credit your sources.

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/hopes-and-dreams/

...The Fine Art of Procrastination

So, procrastination. Apparently ‘the ultimate barrier to a good education experience’ or something like that. The cause of stressful all-nighters, almost falling asleep in class, and the inevitable misspellings and stupid mistakes that end up in the project completed at 1:00am. But these are symptoms of a first or second time procrastinator. I myself happen to be an expert procrastinator so I have refined my putting-it-off-until-the-night-or-even-morning-before-it’s-due skills.



 I have been told countless times by my parents, exasperated friends, and even my 9 year old brother, that I should stop watching Netflix, or running around outside, or having FUN, and just suck it up and do it. But I think it actually takes incredible skill to write a 4 page essay (that was assigned two or three weeks ago) in only 1 hour at 11:00 at night. The final result can actually be surprisingly good. Because for experienced procrastinators such as myself, some pretty good writing and ideas come from the delirious final hours filled with the glow of the computer screen, the ticking clock, and late-night snacks that are the results of extreme procrastination.

 The idea that a huge, enormous project is due tomorrow morning, and I only have a couple of hours to complete it, somehow spurs me into action, the ‘I really have to get this done NOW’ type of action. If you are given a real, legitimate time limit, it is much harder to succumb to meaningless distractions, such as your phone, and just finish the task at hand.

When working on a project you have procrastinated on, you may find yourself getting small rushes of adrenaline, and also randomly pumping your fists and shouting “YES!” when you finally turn the project in.
I mean, it really feels good to turn in a project that you just worked really hard on for a solid two hours, and  barely made the deadline for turning it in versus turning in a project 2 days early that you spent little amounts of time on until it was done, so when you finally turned it in it was like “Oh ok so that’s done now. What’s next.”



Another positive side effect of procrastination is not really having to worry about the project until the very last minute. Personally, this reduces my stress about school. I mean, I can have weeks of not worrying and watching TV, and rock climbing, and having fun in exchange for a couple of hours of really intense stress. I think it’s worth it*. Procrastinating can also kind of boost self-confidence because you're able to say “Hey, I know I can do this two week project in an hour and still have it turn out well” (however you can only say this if you continually pull off procrastinating). Whether you procrastinate or not, always know that the option is open**, should you find yourself wanting to watch the new season of Stranger Things, or play Capture the Flag at night, or even just have a thoughtful discussion with your family or whatever.
Taking into account that I’m writing this very late at night (procrastination), thank you for reading my blog!



*Note: Procrastinating should only be done if a project is individual. Procrastinating on group projects is not recommended because it may lead to angry classmates/teachers/parents/everyone.



**Other note: (This one is for all the teachers) Only procrastinate if you are at least 85% sure you can turn the project or homework in on time, and done somewhat well.

***One more note: Procrastination may come with side effects such as getting a horrible grade, being really tired, and having mad/exasperated people asking you why you didn't finish it earlier.

-MC

For another view on procrastination click this link (video): https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator#t-831739 

For a more scientific view click on this link (article): https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/time-management/procrastination OR on this link (another article): http://share.upmc.com/2015/07/the-science-behind-procrastination/?doing_wp_cron=1517467571.2776761054992675781250

Burger Experience

Burger Experience

    Has anyone ever asked you what your favorite food is? I mean I know I have.  Like me you most likely did not have your answer off the top of your head (or in it at all during that time) and were caught off guard, but deep inside your brain you formulated and got an answer. My answer is the burger (and I can’t think of why anyone would chose any different.) Most likely you have experienced the exquisite taste of a perfectly cooked (perhaps not) juicy, medium rare paddy with the ludicrously marvelous melted cheese encasing it (and of course any other kind of ingredients you would like). Just imagine the slightly crispy bun crunching beneath your jaws, just imagine dipping the fries into the fire truck red catsup. I also bet that you have had the bogus burger, the false nasty dry fast food burger (if not, good for you.) As you might have found out I LOVE BURGERS!!! They are the world's greatest creation (besides the porta potty.) Part of the magnificence of the burger are the combinations of the condiments, my personal favorite is fresh onions, crunchy lettuce from an non gmo farm, crispy tomatoes, non colored cheddar cheese and fries with truffle oil. Part of my obsession with burgers is the inability to consume them often leaving the taste always exotic in my mouth, I eat burgers about once a month and driven by my lust I gulp it down, I never learn. Growing up in Portland on the eastside was a lucky break for me, the options of food was not limited (although not unlimited either) and there was a great choice for burgers. My personal favorite is Little Big Burger ( hear is a link to their site http://www.littlebigburger.com/.)  Little Big Burgers burgers are small but tall and anything but bad, they have fantastic fry sauce that has a tinge of heat but not to much and the space is friendly to all cultures ethnicities and religions making it a place for all people. Although Little Big Burger is very good the place I had my very favorite burger was at my friends house, the thing that makes this burger so good is that most of the condiments come from their own backyard also my favorite part is the over easy egg on it, the egg comes from their neighbors chickens. Despite the fact that I find Little Big Burger the best burger shop I have ever went to their are still many different burger places that are still astounding. Some of these include Killer Burger (https://killerburger.com/,) Lardo (http://lardosandwiches.com/) and In and Out Burger (http://www.in-n-out.com/#close.) Some Burger places I dream to go to are AU CHEVAL,

THE COZY INN and HOLEMAN & FINCH PUBLIC HOUSE I hope this blog has inspired you so when the next time you go out for dinner to ask, beg,

plead, implore for a burger.

The World is Changed--annual revisit

This post kicks off our annual exploration into the power of social media on a deeper level.  As we begin year five of Revolution! it seems appropriate to revisit and update the information.

The opening line from Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy seems an appropriate title for the first Cultures Revolutions blog post.  Our class at Catlin Gabel School in Portland, OR is setting sail on a unit called Revolutions!.  We are studying the period from the Enlightenment to World War I.  Along the way we will study revolutions in science, industry, politics, society, information, and agriculture among other topics.  Students will be blogging about topics they wish to study more deeply or just pique their interests. They will be including relevant links and images in their posts.  Additionally, they will be commenting on one another's posts in thoughtful, deep ways.

Model UN Post 4--Wrap up

Model United Nations Simulation Debrief 

Answer the questions as fully as you need to. The following questions are about your role/feelings/ participation in the model United Nations simulation activity you just completed.

1. What was your country delegation like? Give a concrete example or two.

2. In your own words, what world problem were you looking at? How much did you know about this problem prior to the simulation?

3.Was it easy to solve the problem? If not, why did it seem so difficult to reach a compromise?

4. How did you feel during the activity? Did you ever feel frustrated? How do you feel about the ability of the UN to deal with problems now?

5. Was this activity helpful to you? Why/Why not?

6. The simulation consisted of 4 activities, learning about your country, researching the issue, writing resolutions, and participating in committee session. Which was your favorite? Why? Which was most difficult? Why?

7.  Was this activity fun?  As you answer, explain what you learned through this simulation.

Oh, yeah....image and labels, please....7th grade, cultures, Learning, mun, simulation,

Model UN Simulation--Day 2

Congratulations on a successful first day of our MUN activity.  Now that you have been assigned both your country and learned what your topic is, you are probably thinking, "now what?"  Here's the topic for today's reflection...

1.  What is your topic?  What world issue are you trying to address?  How does this issue affect your country?  If you don't know, how will you find out?  How do your personal feelings differ from the way your country views this problem

2.  What do you think of the simulation so far?  How is your group functioning?  Are there any solutions or possible resolutions that you are thinking of?

3.  Don't forget to include an image.  Use the same labels as yesterday....7th grade, Learning, cultures, mun, simulation

Model UN Simulation--Day 1

Welcome to Day 1 of the Model United Nations Simulation.  Each day, for the next week (B-F days), you will be asked to reflect in your blogs how the simulation is proceeding.  Your post will consist of three parts:

1.  Something assigned that you must write about
2.  An opinion prompt that will reflect your role in your group
3.  An image reflecting your country or the topic assigned to your group.

Posts will be 2 paragraphs long......5 sentences per paragraph = 10 sentences

Your first prompt

1.  What is your country?  What continent is it on?  Doing no research, what do you know about your country already?  Again, doing no research, what is your initial reaction to your country?  Finally, do a bit of research....how do people greet each other in your country?

2.  What is your understanding about the simulation?  That is, what do you think your group needs to do on days 2 and 3 in order to be ready for day 4?

3.  Use these labels:  7th grade, Learning, cultures, mun, simulation    and don't forget an image!

Model UN Simulation--Day 3

Wow!  Time is flying.  Day 3 already!!!!  You have researched your country's culture, know how to say hello in the language, and know a bit about the issue before your discussion group.  Here is today's post:

1.  How would your country address the problem?  Would they just ignore it?  Would they side with a powerful country such as the US or China?  What are possible solutions?  What would it take for a solution to work?

2.  What is your country's top resolution?  How will you present it? How will you defend it?  Will all countries agree to it or are there likely to be countries that disagree with you?  Who do you think will vote with you?

3.  Don't forget image and labels.  7th grade, Learning, cultures, mun, simulation

Image Credit

WorldMapper Activity

Click on http://www.worldmapper.org/. Click on Maps. Choose any map by clicking on it. In your blog post, explain why certain countries are depicted as larger or smaller. Compare this projection with any map projection from your Ways to Draw the World chart. How are they different? The same?  Finally, imagine that you are from a country or area that is depicted as being smaller than what a map used in class (including yours) indicates.  How would this make you feel?  Why?  Alternate question-How would you feel if your state/country were in someone's geographic blind spot and forgotten on a map? Use the labels cultures, g&he, geography,maps,worldmapper.  Please include a Worldmapper  image in your post. Image Source: https://worldmapper.org/natures-heartbeat/

Innovations Of The Chicago's World Fair 1893

The Fair Of The Future

The Chicago's World Fair of 1893 celebrated the 400th year since Columbus made his first voyage to the new world. This world's fair was famous because it was not only a huge celebration, but it also produced many firsts to the world.

Over 26 million people visited the fair over 6 months time, and enjoyed sights and experiences that they had never seen before or experienced before. This fair was the first time that foreign countries from all over the world could have their own pavilions that displayed their cultural arts, industry, etc....

The fair was futuristic and many inventors all over the world displayed their inventions. The tourists were awed by new technological advances that they had never seen before, such as neon lights, electric railway, washing machines. Another wonder that impressed them was the fact that the city of the fair was completely electrically light at night and this was something that they had never seen before.

This fair had the worlds first Ferris Wheel which was invented by George Washing Gale Ferris Jr. It was 60 m tall and the rides lasted 12 minutes. People rode in capsules that could hold several passengers. This was considered a very daring ride and some of the passengers would panic and crawl at the walls screaming. The Ferris Wheel ride was so popular, that was how the fair made so much money.

Besides being famous, the fair is infamous because murders happened there. A man named Patrick Prendergast assisnated Chicago's new mayor on closing day (the celebration had to be canceled). More shocking is during the fair a serial killer named Dr. H.H Holmes, lured unsuspecting guests to his hotel, The Castle. His hotel was littered with traps to kill and torture people. After the fair police found lime pits filled with skeletons and parts of bodies in the furnace. Police confirmed 9 kills, he confessed to 27 but, it is suspected that he killed up to 200 people in his hotel.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_Columbian_Exposition

How video games influence our social life and culture.

Video games, we all know what they are, you probably have played them once before.  Right now I will discuss my options on how they affect us in good ways, and in bad in our social life and culture.

Many people regard video games as a new impressive technology, but 26% of adults think that most video games are a waste of time (according to pewresearch.org).  Many adults dislike video games and gamers because most of them when they were born they were not exposed to such a high amount of screen usage.  My parents and many other parents who have kids at my school, did not grow up with video games in their lives.  Video games are now getting increasingly more violent and I think a lot of parents are opposed to having their kids play shoot ‘em up games. Even if video games get less violent parents would still prefer that their kids spend more time away from the screen.

155 million americans play video games regularly (this statistic was found on bigfish.com, and includes mobile games) this means 3 to 4 hours each week.  This shows that video games are becoming more and more popular in the world, with the Call Of Duty franchise’s net worth at over 3 billion dollars in 2009.  Many people love video games and even enjoy watching others play them in “let's play” videos, these are videos where you watch someone else play a video game.

Many people have heard of mass shootings or issues of violence in our country, and many try to link those to violent video games.  Also people say that video games glamorize guns, weapons, and killing.  I believe that a mere simulation could not drive someone to take someone else's life.  All though video games can be linked to aggression and being anti-social.  For example when you go play a video game like CS:go or call of duty, a game with a voice chat.  You will notice that people usually yell rude words and curse at you.  I think this is linked to using screens a lot.  Also there are some gamers who are very polite and don’t get mad at people.  Even though many parents and adults dislike video games, the industry is continuing to grow.

The Fake News of the French Revolution ¯\_(O.O)_/¯

Marie Antoinette - EXPOSED

"Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" means let them eat cake in French. This was the famous quote spoken by the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette, who helped provoke a revolution upon learning peasants were suffering from widespread bread shortages. Because brioche was a luxury bread, enriched with with butter and eggs, the quote was said to reflect the princess's disregard for the peasants. With that callous remark, the peasants banded together to form an army, invaded the palace, and beheaded the monarchs and palace officials using guillotines.

Who knew cake could contribute to the start of a revolution? Nobody, and that is because it didn't. Marie Antoinette was actually very sensitive to the poor population of France, and she never said “let them eat cake.” The quote would have been highly uncharacteristic of her, as she was an intelligent woman who donated to many charities, despite her lavish lifestyle.

So, if she never said "let them eat cake," where did this rumor originate? It was first told by a spanish princess named Marie Therese. She allegedly suggested to the French, "La croûte de pâté,” let them eat cake. Later on, about eighteen others were blamed for the irritable remark, most famously, the philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau. Whoever uttered those unforgettable words, it was certainly not Marie Antoinette

Now that we know Marie Antoinette was not responsible for the distasteful quote, why did the revolution even start? Marie Antoinette was only a small part of the revolution, as the actual revolution started because her husband, King Louis XVI, as he was found conspiring with foreign powers, later being charged with treason, and beheaded as well. Even if she hadn't said “let them eat cake,” the people wanted to contribute to the uprising around them, and they needed a reason to do so. An easy target like Marie Antoinette would destroy the monarchy. All in all, the entire let them eat cake shenanigan was merely the fake news of the French Revolution!