Socratic Seminar

In the socratic seminar the participants started debating about facts that each one says. They started talking like if they were at court. I liked the way each person defended his/her ideas. Our teacher helped the dialog forward by asking us more question to reflect on. He gave us more complex situations to think about rather than the simple examples that we gave. When there was disagreement between two people the seminar would lapse into a debate/discussion.

Fortunately, the group was very mature in handling this because they took turns sharing their ideas and supporting them with details. There was almost no interruption in the seminar. People were listened too most often. Jehanne Aghzadi and Yousra Bouftas dominated the conversation because they knew a lot about the cause and effects of societies and they did further research to learn more about them. This means they had true facts that they based their ideas on. Though Jehanne and Yousra somehow dominated the conversation there was no interference of why they talked a lot and said what they said. They were listened to very well.

Evidence that I saw of people building up on other's ideas is that they didn't repeat what someone else said. They listened well to other people's ideas and developed them by giving new accurate suggestions. My understanding of each EQ has changed after listening to what people said in the seminar because they had great facts that influenced my ideas. This lead me to think and reflect differently on each EQ. Some of my opinions were changed by real life situations that the people in the seminar gave as examples. They strongly supported their ideas and this is what lead my to change various of my opinions.

The best part of the seminar was when you won the argument with your good supportive reasons. You felt smart after that. The worst part of the seminar is that we were sitting in the sun and it was getting too HOT because some of us were wearing black. This made it hard for us to concentrate. What I would like to do differently as a participant the next time I am in a seminar is to have the questions that we will talk about before hand in order to investigate furthermore on them specifically.

Current Event: Haiti Disaster

On the 12th of January 2010, an earthquake stuck Haiti with a magnitude of 7.0. This was a deadly earthquake that caused numerous deaths, and destruction of houses and infrastructure. Fully eighty percent of the haiti population lives under the poverty line. Three million survivors are affected and will require emergency aid. Emergency aid is required because Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and therefore cannot afford healthcare. Emergency aid is given by the help of all countries around the world who are sending medicine and covers for the poor population.

This is politically important because other countries get to help Haiti and in the future Haiti will support them when they are in need of support. This is exactly why Morocco is helping Haiti when it has many starving and poor people on the streets in need of the same care as the people in Haiti.

Reconstructon Successes & Failures

　

Successes

1. Union is restored.
2. The South's economy grows and new wealth is created in the North.
3. Fouteenth and Fifteenth amendements guarantee African Ameican the rights of citizensship, equal protection under the law, and suffrage.
4. Freedmen's Bureau and other organizations help many black families obtain housing jobs and schooling.
5. Southern states adopt a system of madatory education.

Failures

1. Many white southerners remain bitter toward the federal government and Republican Party.
2. The South is slow to industrialize.
3. After federal troops are withdrawn, southern state government and terrorist organizations effectively deny African Americans the right to vote.
4. Many black and white southerners remain caught in a cycle of poverty.
5. Racist attitudes toward African Americans continue, in both North and South.

I disagree with the compromise of 1877 because President Hayes getting rid of the federal troops in the South was not advantageous to the African Americans. This is because the federal troops were the ones who defended them and made oppositions to give them their rights.

However, I do noit disagree with it completely because the southerners were going to regain their politics, and have new railroads. This will enhance their economy. Furthermore, this ended the Reconstruction. This is a significant change because the Reconstruction was mainly between the white southerners and the freed slaves. Fortunately, this ended and the thirteenth and fifteenth amendments remains and guaranteed African Americans the rights of citizenship, equal protection under the law, and suffargae. This means the white southerners couldn't try to treat them poorly because now they were equal!