Happy Thursday! Today's Core Concentration blog doesn't really relate to Core. For today's blog, we have to talk about our best and worst memories of the seventh grade. I almost typed second grade, oops.

One of the best memories of my seventh grade year at Computech was probably my first band performance? It wasn't in-school; it was on a Friday at the beginning of the year. We played at a football game with Edison's marching band. A close second was the day before the actual beginning of the school year when we were led around the school by our WEB Leaders. I'm going to be a WEB Leader next year, by the way. I liked these experiences because I had fun with my friends from school technically outside of school. The other band concerts were enjoyable for me, also, because I got to socialize and have fun while doing something for school. One positive memory that had to do with something in-class was the recent building of my Core board game with my friends from that class. We presented them and began playing them today.

The worst memory of this year might have been the times when I checked ATLAS to find that one or more than one of my grades had been dropped because of missing assignments, poor work, mistakes, or bad time management. I think the worst single event of all was when I missed the bus because I couldn't open my locker correctly on the first day of the second week of school. I had to take the 4:30 bus and I didn't even get home until after 5:30. That was terrible, but even though I was late getting out of P.E., I still could have caught the bus from Edison or even from Computech. It taught me that worrying can be the cause of negative things even over mistakes. That was one of the most important lessons I learned here this year. 

Vas happenin'? Today's Core Concentration blog assignment is to name some positive and negative effects of the Columbian Exchange. I'm going to do this in bullet point format, if you don't mind.

Positive effects:

• Most notoriously, a ton of new crops were introduced from the Americas to Europe as a result of explorers navigating there and claiming land for various European nations and states, and vice-versa. From the Americas, Europeans got things like corn, potatoes, cacao, and turkeys, and from Europe the native Americans got things like grapes, coffee beans, and onions.
• Cultures of Europeans and native Americans blended and many new cultures and traditions were born.
• Both Europeans and the people of the Americans became more worldly and their knowledge of the world and its people increased, probably the most important thing you can pick up from this history unit and these chapters. This helped Europeans develop the philosophies of enlightenment and human responsibility that were born in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
• European countries gained more land, as I mentioned before, and Europeans as a whole expanded their reach politically.

Now, some negative effects:

• Reminder: Africans were also involved in the Columbian exchange in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Millions of West Africans were sent as slaves to the Americas and subjected to mistreatment, the tradition of which lasted until the late 1800s.
• The native peoples of the Americas were also mistreated by the Europeans who conquered them. Social hierarchies formed within the new European settlements and Americans were always at the bottom. Their cultures were erased like those of the Africans.
• European explorers and conquerors also brought diseases with them when they went to the Americas. Many natives and slaves died because unlike the Europeans, they had not built immunity to them. These diseases included smallpox and the measles. This caused a population decline among these native Americans, which contributed to the erasing of their culture and the racism involved in the interactions between Europeans and Americans.

I hope that this blog post helped you see that while the Columbian Exchange had many positive outcomes and results, one of the things that makes it a unique and memorable historical event was its many negative effects. In this way, we can study and learn from the Columbian Exchange in terms of its success and its mistakes. I hope this helped. 

Hello ladies!!!!!! Today's Core Concentration blog entry is to explain what our favorite station at the zoo on Tuesday was and say why we liked it!!! This was also a question on the Zoo Reflections sheet we were given out that afternoon.

My personal favorite station at the zoo was probably the Sea Lion Cove one. I thought the exhibit itself was pretty rad, and it was the first station my group did in the morning, so I had a lot of energy and wasn't very tired. Basically at the station, we stuck our hands into various substances, each to represent a layer on the coat of a sea lion. For fur, there were soft feathers. For blubber, there was a bag of Crisco. To represent water, there was cold water. We had to measure the temperature of our hands in the bag and write it down. I think we learned that the one that best insulated a marine mammal like a sea lion was the fur. I liked this part because it was fun and not difficult.

I also liked it because it helped us to better understand some examples of animal adaptations. In addition to their coats and layers, sea lions also have sleek bodies and flippers to help them move around their environments. My group's zoo animal was the plecostomus, which we learned has whiskers and a dark, spotted body to help sense things around them and hide from predators, among other things. Learning about adaptations this year in Science was very fun for me, so I enjoyed finding practical examples of them like these ones. 

Happy Thursday, y'all!!!! Yeehaw!!!!!! Today's Core Concentration blog assignment is to explain how the fall of the Inca civilization was similar to that of the Aztec civilization. Okay, this thing can be done!!!!

The demise of the South American Incas was similar to the fall of the Aztecs of Mesoamerica in a lot of ways, probably, but most people usually recognize one thing that made them alike. Like many other civilizations before and after them, both the Incas and the Aztecs were conquered! Both were taken down by the Spanish, though both ambushes were carried out differently and had different commanders and results.

The Aztecs fell eventually in the early 1520s after a Spanish Conquistador Dude named Hernan Cortes decided to team up with a poorer enemy tribe, the Tlaxcala (sp?). The Aztecs, religious devotees to the end, believed Cortes to be the second coming of God -- literally. They were tricked by themselves into treating Cortes with respect and worship, and eventually, it was too late to stop Cortes from taking them down.

The Incas were also invaded and conquered by the Spanish, but their conflict was not the cause of any religious tale being retold. They were simply overpowered by the small but fierce army of Francisco Pizarro, a fellow Spaniard. The Incas were amazing craftsmen with innovative and inventive stone tools, but as was a problem for the Aztecs, the Spanish had horses, guns, and swords. Eventually, the current Sapa Inca was captured along with many of his people and killed. On the other hand, the ruler of the Aztecs at the time of their fall, Montezuma, was killed in a riot, possibly by one of his own men. 

I hope this helped explain how the respective collapses of Aztec and Inca civilizations were similar but different.

Bonjour! Today's Core Concentration blog assignment is to name one of our strongest or most fun memories of this school year, since it is coming to something of an end. I have a lot of memories, positive and negative, but I guess I'll talk about one or more in particular.

I think it was in January or February, but one of the memories I remember most fondly was the pizza party my French class had because we sold the most tri-tip fundraiser meals. I hadn't sold any, but one of my friends sold more than 70 of them. We had it in my Core classroom at lunch one day. Other than eating, we had a lot of fun talking and bonding, I guess.

Another memory I remember fondly also had to do with French class, only it was more recent. It was the fashion show we had a few weeks ago! The best part was acting silly with my friends and on the camera, and showing what kind of music we liked. The best days in any class are the ones where we get to combine our curriculum with having fun, as corny as that probably sounds. We have those days in almost all of my classes.

The end of the year is usually my favorite time. Tonight, I have an end-of-the-year concert. It seems almost surreal because  concerts at the end of the year are supposed to be the prime for the band, and even though we're good, it still feels like the beginning of the school year. My memories from that time are faded, but I still don't feel at all like the school year is really coming to a close. I didn't have very many memories that would seem to stand out to a lot of people, but I really do feel like I worked hard this year and will continue to work hard through the end and next year. I think the feeling of accomplishment I'm telling you about right now is something I remember fondly. 

Good morning, soon to be afternoon! Our Core Concentration blog prompt for today is to explain which of the theories about the downfall of the Maya civilization we believe to be true.

Background information: scientists have, and have had for awhile, a lot of theories about why the Maya civilization suddenly began to collapse around 900 CE. They didn't really collapse, in a classical sense, but rather the people suddenly began to move and disappear, leaving behind only ruins that modern-day Mexico would grow from and that Spain would one day have to their own. Some scientists and historians believe that it was due to the Mayans feeling overwhelmed by demands from their rulers. Some believe that it was due to too much warfare and slash-and-burn agriculture destroying the climate. Others believe the climate changed naturally.

As usual, I'd definitely say it was a mix of some of these theories. My best bet, however, probably leans toward the second theory that I named as well as the last one. People tend to take the environment of the area where they live for granted. Human innovation, as brilliant as it is, can always be harmful, especially to nature. This is what global warming is doing to all of the world now, and it's the reason we're told to recycle and conserve energy. Even though the Maya were masters at their arts and running their civilizations, they didn't know any better than to continue doing as they always did. They didn't have conservation efforts like we do now. Even though Western society as it is could definitely learn from the Maya, they weren't aware that everything should be taken and done in moderation. I guess.

Happy Thursday! Our Core Concentration blog prompt for today is to put ourselves in the shoes of someone from a long time ago, a nomadic hunter-gatherer. We're to imagine that we're the leader of a tribe of them and we've just discovered new land. Do we settle there or keep moving? Explain why we chose what we did.

If I was in the same situation, I wouldn't choose one option. As the leader of the tribe of hunter-gatherers, I had control and authority over the others in my group, and I would do what was the best for all of them, and mix both of the options. I would have some of us settle and see if we can use anything to farm or build our living and have others venture out still and try to find new lands. In addition, I'd also call back certain or all members of the tribe who were still moving back if what I found in the new land was fortunate, plenty, or fertile. If I was the leader of a hunter-gatherer tribe, I'd want my group and its settlements to be large and plentiful for the benefit of the group I was leading.

I chose this answer mostly because of what I mentioned above. If I wanted to make a memorable settlement and civilization, I'd spread it out and make it large. This would give the people I led a better chance at finding a larger variety of food and more environments as well as a sense of pride in their land and people. This is how the people we're currently studying, the first people in the Americas, came to create their settlements and civilizations. Once the emphasis on hunting and finding bare needs could be set aside, other things came into play. In fact, this is how most early human civilizations, even great ones that eventually became empires, were first formed. 

Happy Thursday! Our Core Concentration blog prompt for today is to name our favorite book that we've read so far this year and explain why it is our favorite.

When I first read the prompt, I wasn't sure if it meant what our favorite book we'd read in class was or our favorite book that we had read for leisure or Reading Counts. I've decided to name the latter, which was Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card.

The book is about a street urchin in the distant future, born as a genetic experiment in a world where that's possible though highly illegal. In the world, a race of aliens called the Formics, commonly known as the Buggers, have invaded the earth twice and the world is in constant fear of a third one. It's a parallel novel to the more famous Ender's Game, which I read last year. The book follows Ender's friend, Bean, through his early life and his admission and time in Battle School serving and befriending Ender. It also follows him as he connects his past and goes through the last book's climax, ending when Bean finds out who he really is and what his future could mean.

One of the things I liked about the book was the writing and overall the plot. I liked that the author fleshed out some of the characters from the previous book, Bean included, and gave full closure on what Bean was feeling and thinking when Ender was becoming himself. It explained his back story in great detail and showed us how complex and developed the character really was. In other words, it showed Bean coming out of being "Ender's shadow". 

Good morning! Today's Core Concentration blog prompt is to explain why the Scientific Revolution was so important in history using claims and evidence.

There are a lot of reasons why the Scientific Revolution is important. For one, most of the science we study and practice today was discovered and first used during the period following the Renaissance and preceding the Enlightenment. We call this period of time the "Scientific Revolution". It's typically said to have lasted from about 1540 to 1700. It's called a revolution because it completely turned around the way people thought of science and their world. This is one of the reasons it's viewed as being so important.

Another reason why we study it and its significance is because many important scientific discoveries and observations were made during this time. The scientific method was first said to be used by Tycho Brahe in the late 1500s, and the more famous Galileo Galilei used it all the time to test and prove his experiments. Scientists like Brahe, Galileo, Kepler, and Copernicus fought hard to prove their ideas about the solar system and stars as true despite being accused of heresy. Others, like Sir Isaac Newton, were renowned for their work in other fields, like physics and optics. Many important scientific laws and theories were first proposed during this period. Many early scientists built their work and research on past teachings, with many eventually disproving them and each other. It was also a great time for philosophy and art, as it shares some years and elements with the Renaissance.

Happy Thursday! Today is not a late start as we had Monday off. Our blog assignment for today relates to an important historical figure we are learning about, Martin Luther. We have to list five things we dislike or want to change about the school. This mirrors Luther's 95 Theses written in 1517 that began the Protestant Reformation. Here is my list.

1. This seems very picky and selfish, but I think that the class periods should be lengthened by just a bit. This isn't my biggest issue or concern with the school, but I do feel like we don't have enough time to get all of the material we need in sometimes, especially on late start days.
2. This is more of an issue with the district, but I don't think we should have as many days off. We have to make up holidays at the end of the year, which explains why we get out in the middle of summer when we could be having fun and enjoying ourselves. Other districts don't have almost month-long vacations and three-day weekends every few weeks and their students get out at the end of May or at the very beginning of June.
3. I'd like the dress code to be a bit more loose, if anything. I think we should be able to wear jeans on days that aren't Jeanious Day, even though I like the idea. I also think we should be able to wear pants in more shades and colors and not have to change in the office. I've never been dress coded, though.
4. The amount of work I get in some of my classes can be a bit overwhelming for myself and others. Some students are just plain slacking on their work, but others are trying their hardest and still not getting good grades because the amount of work creates a lot of pressure for them. This is especially true when teachers don't give good enough instructions, which is a good way to slow kids down in their learning.
5. This one, I'll admit, is really picky. I feel like the CCN broadcast isn't up to stellar quality sometimes and should be a bit more vividly spoken and reported.