Brutus's Dilemma

If I were Brutus, and had to choose between my country and my friend, then I'd choose my friend. I would do so because I think you can always change a person. Even though Caesar may be becoming too powerful, you can always change his opinion. I think that by having Brutus's support, Caesar would be able to become the change that all the conspirators want him to be. Also the people aren't positive that he will become an evil dictator, and because of that, they can also try to steer his mind in the right direction. Brutus and Caesar were also good friends for a very long time, so Brutus probably knows the true Caesar, if it's not the big dictator that he's portraying. If Brutus is a loyal friend, he wouldn't let down Caesar like that. Brutus should stay loyal to his friend, and try to change him instead of killing him.

Leadership

In 8th grade, I don't think there are any student leaders, as everyone gives their own input whenever necessary. There are some people who step up a bit more than others, like the SLAMS members, but I wouldn't call them "leaders." I would say the qualities of a good leader would be someone who is willing to take time out of their own life, and work at making things better for other people, as well as helping others, and being a good example for others. I don't think anyone in the 8th grade really does that.

Imperialism

When comparing the 4 cases of Imperialism that we talked about in class, India, Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast India, there are a lot of similarities. First of all, when overthrowing another country or empire, they were all after one thing; the natural resources of the country they were overthrowing. When they ran out of resources they would travel to different countries abundant in that certain resource, like Britain did with India for cotton. Also, sometimes the domination was to gain more respect, to be the first to overthrow that specific country, to gain "glory", as Mr. Coyle put it. Also, in some cases they were trying to spread God, or at least used God as an excuse to go into a different country. Strong countries would overthrow the weaker countries mostly by bringing armies, or by changing the economy. Sometimes countries would change culturally, like in the case of India. In all cases that we studied, the domination brought on new leadership. In India and Southeast Asia, there was a case of hunger and better school and health care.

First Quarter Feedback/Second Quarter Goals

My first quarter goals were to keep up with my homework, and to really understand what we were learning in class. In terms of my homework, I turned in all but one assignment, which was a big improvement from last year. I hope by the end of next quarter I'll turn in everything :]. When it comes to my second goal, I think I achieved that, too, except for some little things and the economic stuff. There was a lot of information in a little amount of time, and I think I just got really confused, but as I think about what we learned more, I think I'm starting to understand more as well.
One of my second quarter goals is to get better at Socratic Seminars. I talk once in awhile, but I really want to get more involved in them more. But that is where my second goal comes in :] Once again, I would like to really understand what we do in class. I tried last semester, but as I said, I didn't completely understand everything. I really would like to try to pay more attention in class as well, as that will probably help too.