2012 Open House

What a fantastic night! We had many parents, students and even former students come to see what's going on in AP World History and Honors World History. We had many fun stations for our visitors. First guests were welcomed by Kathy, Alexa and Kaylan. If they were AP, then went to hear about some sample projects from Tien, Sabrina, Jessica and Tiffany. After then learned about our writing and document analysis, from Arlene and Jennifer. If students were honors, the visitors went to Victor to hear about some sample projects and then Adriana showed parents our strategy for learning the language of the discipline. The culminating event was something not to be missed-- The debate. The topic was Should the US have dropped the Atomic Bombs on Japan? It was a competition between Gerard and Jordan's AP World classes and it was intense. The whole class was filled with parents and students ready to hear the arguments. Both sides presented detailed rationale for their argument and appealed to their audience. Outstanding job to everyone! Jessica, Marisa, Quennie and Mike represented our class.

All parents loved hearing from our students and the debate. Great job everyone and keep up the good work.

Early Christianity

Our next topic by Tien is about the early days of Christianity. About 10 years ago, I travelled to Israel as part of a 3 week study tour. We visited all the historically significant locations for Christianity. There we learned archeology, history, church history and the conflicts that this land has endured over time. The pictures posted are of Capernaum a fishing village located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Archaeological excavations have revealed two ancient synagogues built one over the other. The first is one of the oldest to date. This town is also significant to the Christian’s New Testament. The town is cited throughout the New Testament. For example: Gospel of Luke where it was reported to have been the home of the apostles Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John, as well as the tax collector Matthew. In Matthew 4:13 the town was reported to have been the home of Jesus. According to Luke 4:31–44, Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum on Sabbath. Jesus then healed a man who had the spirit of an unclean devil and healed a fever in Simon Peter's mother-in-law. According to Luke 7:1–10, it is also the place where a Roman Centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant. Capernaum is also mentioned in the Gospel of Mark (2:1), it is the location of the famous healing of the paralytic lowered through the roof to reach Jesus. In the pictures you will see me with two of my friends entering the historical part of the city, and the oldest Synagogue (Jewish place of worship) and a home where evidence suggests that Christians had their religious service in secret.
Tien gives you a nice overview emphasizing Christianity's change over time. Thanks Tien and enjoy reading.
Mrs. Jordan

Historical Context: In the Classical period, Roman Empire started to expand and took over Greek lands. Religion in Greece influenced the Roman people. They became polytheistic, which means they who worshipped many gods and goddesses. About 117 C.E., Roman Empire controlled Western European lands: Anatolia, Syria and Jerusalem (which was the origins of Christianity). As Christianity gained popularity, the Roman emperor became very angry and pledged to persecute followers of this new religion. He did not like that Christians put their hope and faith in God and the promise of a heavenly afterlife instead of him.

Summary: Why did people convert? Many people endured great suffering under the Roman Empire and found peace in this new faith. Also the great missionary, Paul, had shared the tenets of his faith and the miracles that Jesus performed with people throughout the empire. The faith’s emphasis on equality and love of all people was something the early people had not encountered. As the religion continued to spread, the persecution began. According to tradition, ancient Christians, during their persecution by the Roman Empire in the first few centuries after Christ, used the fish symbol to mark meeting places and tombs, or to distinguish friends from foes. The "Jesus Fish" has become an icon of modern American Protestant Christianity. The dangers faced by the Christians in Rome meant that they had to meet in secret. They usually used underground tombs as these were literally out of sight. Rome had a large number of poor people within its population and Christianity continued to grow.
Despite this, Christians remained in Rome, and by the reign of the next emperor, Nero, the first major incident of Christian persecution took place in 64 AD. The fire that ravaged Rome in that year, and the subsequent building of Nero's golden palace on the destroyed property was wildly unpopular in Rome. Many placed blame directly on Nero, accusing him of intentionally lighting the fire, in order to build his palace. Nero burned his own palace to perfect his poem and then accused the Christians.
At that time, the emperor and his military started to persecute the Christians. The people, who followed Christianity, hid in the cave or underground to protect them. Miles of underground passageways were built outside of the city walls to obey the Roman law of the times that the dead must be buried away from the city. For five centuries the catacombs were used for burial, although very rarely as hiding places during persecution. The catacombs were still visited frequently however, especially by raiding forces from enemies through the eighth and ninth centuries.But when they get caught; Roman soldiers killed or imprisoned them. Oppression, persecution, crucifixion, burning were all that the Christians in ancient Rome had to go through or they could be feed to the hungry lion in front of the crowd. There was no way they could escape; the barbarians enjoyed and laughed at what Christian people had to suffer and die. The death tolls were as high as 100,000 people during that period.
However, Christians felt peaceful when Emperor Constantine claimed Christianity as a main religion. Now in this new government, Christian people played a prominent role. Only people, who were Christians, were able to work in the government and the priest became the advisor and was under the emperor in the social organization. In chapter 13, the schism between Roman and Byzantium Empires divided Christianity into two parts, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. Christianity is important in the Western Europe history. During the exploration and the imperialism, the motive of Europeans was to spread Christianity throughout the world.

Question to ponder:
Why were Christians persecuted?
What made Emperor Constantine claim Christianity as a state religion?



About our Blogger:
My name is Tien Nguyen and I am a sophomore. When I have free time, I usually read book or watch television. One day, I was watching television about traveling to Rome. It was very interesting how the host talked about the buildings, pictures and religions in Rome from the ancient time. It had information about the persecution of Christianity in early Rome but there were not a lot of details that explained why Christian got persecuted. So I was curious and wanted to know more about this event. I hope this information will help you to understand how Christian people suffered in the classical period.

Tennis Anyone?

Our next blog is about the history of tennis. Tennis is famous for its Grand Slam tournaments: Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. When the tournament begins, there is always a great amount of media and publicity about the current "it" players and the prediction of who will be the winner. As time continues on new players and new technology evolve the sport, but it's the legacy/traditions of this great sport that keeps tennis fans glued to the t.v. or internet to find out about each upcoming match and tournament.
Thank you Casey for sharing the history of Tennis. Like you I was once a tennis player and this brings me right back to my tennis days.

Historical Context:

Many people in the world believe that the sport of tennis has been around for a few centuries, but as a matter of fact it dates back several thousand years! During the early years of tennis, the game was first created by European monks to be played for entertainment purposes during religious ceremonies. Unlike modern day tennis, (usually played with a racquet) monks had use their hands to hit the ball across a net with a wooden ball instead of an air-filled rubber ball. Relating to our studies, a fascinating detail about the “historic tennis ball” was that in 1480, King Louis XI of France forbade the filling of tennis balls with chalk, sand, sawdust, or earth, and stated that they were to be made of good leather and stuffed with wool. Monasteries across Europe has cherished this sport so much that it eventually became increasingly popular in France where it was adopted by royal families.

Summary:
Why is the sport called “tennis”? The sport was referred as Jeu de paumme or hand of the palm during the 16^th-18^th century; the French players would start the game by shouting out “Tenez!” which meant play. That term eventually led to the English translation of tennis.
Dating back to several thousands of years, the sport of tennis has upgraded and advanced into becoming one of the most popular sports around the world. The most renowned tennis events are the Open Tournaments that are hosted every year in different stadiums around the world in which the top professional tennis players and new rankers compete in order to win the Grand Slam. Each and every day as I am playing tennis, I will be reminded that hundreds of years ago; people had been playing the sport as I am.

About our Blogger:

My name is Casey Tran and I'm a sophomore. My hobbies are spending time with family and friends and playing tennis. I chose to write about the history of tennis because I am truly amazed of how long tennis has been around. It has changed drastically over the years from using a rough ball to a rubberized ball and playing with your hand instead of a racquet. Tennis interests me because it's a sport that's solely based on skill, hard work, dedication, and motivation.

Trial By Jury!

This morning I found myself sitting in a juror room with 300+ Orange County citizens. We all checked in, found a seat, and then listened carefully to the role of a juror. Then we raised our right hands and took an oath to tell the truth and to abide by the laws of the court. The tone was very serious and we all knew how important our role for the day or days would be.
As I was doing this, I couldn’t help but think about the origins of democracy and how our democratic system has changed over time. I first thought about Socrates and how he strongly believed in man’s ability to reason and that all citizens (which happened to be only land holding men) should be able to participate in government. While he did leave some people out, he was on the right idea. I agree that we are all born was brains that have tremendous ability to analyze and problem solve. The best part of using our brains in a democracy is having different points of views represented. This not only helps create better ideas, but with different points of view any problem can be solved. If we all thought exactly the same, the progress we’ve seen in history would not be as great as it is. His protégé Plato took a different approach and thought that Philosophers should be kings because they wouldn’t get corrupted by wealth or power. Then Aristotle returned back to Socrates’ ideas and expanded them by creating a mixed gov’t that had checks and balances to ensure that one group would not be too powerful.
Meanwhile to the east, the Romans also had a democratic system called a Republic similar to the Greeks. The republic was made up of two counsels (elected by the citizens )who ran the gov’t and was and a senate that advised the two counsels. They also had a written law code, The Twelve Tables, that require all citizens to follow .
Both the Greeks and Romans used many democratic practices still used today like Trial by Jury. This allowed citizens to be tried by a group of their peers to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. This is done to ensure equality for all citizens. These ancient people groups had some groundbreaking ideas, however these ideas somehow got lost over time and democracy was lost for many many years. Perhaps because of constant battles with neighboring peoples, famines, plagues, Crusades, etc.
However, thankfully with England’s Magna Carta in 1215 democracy returned with the king’s power being limited and shared with Parliment. Also Due Process of law and Trial by Jury returned. From here on, democracy slowly returned and by the 1750s, Enlightenment period, the people had enough of absolute monarchies and their abuse of power. Angry North American Colonist and citizens all around the world sought out revolution seeking greater personal liberties and freedoms.
This brings me back to America. Many of those nations who sought out democracy had a rough time keeping it, and at one point we did too. Thankfully the Union stayed together and our Constitution stood strong. Our country values democracy and natural rights for all citizens of the wrold and we have fought many wars and battles to maintain democracy in our nation and our sister countries. Living in this great democratic nation there are very few things it requires of its citizens: pay taxes, fight in war when needed and be part of the jury system. I’m glad that today I could come and do my part. While the court system is not always perfect, I still think it is fairer than other systems out there. Thankfully, we have system where citizens can come together, participate, think and determine the outcome of a particular problem.

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the great structures I long to visit. The history of this wall starts from the earliest period and even today is a still a major point of interest in China. Tien describes the history of the wall and how it was an important fortification during Mongol invasions.

Historical Context:

The Great Wall was begun around 2000 years ago during the Zhao State period but the main early construction linking existing structures was undertaken during the Qin Dynasty by the Emperor Qin, who was responsible for the Terracotta Warriors from 221 – 206 BC. Qin Shihuangdi unified China by conquering independent states know as the Warring States. In order to defend his new unified country against invading nomads, Qin Shihuangdi built the first long wall in China. According to Chinese legend, more than 800,000 soldiers, peasants and prisoners worked for 10 years to build it. Over the years, the wall fell into ruins and other walls were built by other emperors to keep out invaders wherever they appeared. In 1449, the Mongols attacked China and kidnapped Zhu Qizhen, Son of Heaven, sixth emperor of the Ming dynasty and ruler of all China. Once again, power had shifted to the Mongol invaders and they threatened to invade the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Chinese people were so frightened of the Mongols being in power again that they decided to once again build a wall to keep invaders out.

Summary:

There was no master plan for re-building and adding to this wall during Mongol Invasions. Each leader in a given town built a portion of the wall where they thought the Mongols threat of invasion was the greatest. Construction across northern China continued in this way for 200 years. This way the routes through mountain passes that the Mongols used most often to reach China were blocked with walls. Those walls were then connected with other sections of wall, thus creating the Great Wall of China.
How does it work? In the western part of China, the wall was constructed out of pounded earth. In the eastern part of China, the city of Beijing, workers used bricks and blocks of stone. Many workers were needed to build the wall. Peasants and prisoners were used to make of pounded earth, and stonemasons and brick makers were needed to make of brick and stone. Tens of thousands of men were involved in building the Great Wall of China that ran 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles). The Great Wall was 10 to 15 meters (33 to 49 feet) high. Along the wall, they built forts and watch towers. The Great Wall’s main defensive purpose was as a signaling outpost more than a standing army garrison. Many sections of the wall were in desolate places, and food and quarters had to be supplied via narrow paths to the wall where they are pulled over the side in baskets. Hence, it was not possible to have troops stationed in big numbers to anticipate an attack. The fast riding nomadic horsemen to the north of China could congregate and attack any section of the wall and breach at will. However, with the alarm given at any sector, reinforcement could be sent to counter the attack. Soldiers patrolled the walls sending up smoke signals and cannon shot as communication signals if Mongols approached. The Chinese had a system of smoke signal in which one smoke was for 100 enemies, two smokes for 500 and three smokes for 1000. An attack could thus be communicated for a thousand km within a few hours.
There is a legend of a lady called Meng Jiangnu, who went seeking for her husband at the Great Wall. She made a coat to protect her husband from the northern cold, but then she found that her husband has died while helping to construct the wall, and was entombed under the Great Wall. She cried with so much sorrow that heaven took pity on her. A section of the wall then broke off, exposing her husband’s remains so she could offer him a decent burial.
The wall was built to shape and fit the Chinese landscape it passed through. In the hilly areas, it twisted and turned like a dragon and in the desert, it ran straight. At its eastern end, the Great Wall of China ran into the sea. The Great Wall shows the wealth of China and the technique that they built to be able to protect the country and stop the invaders. William Lindesay who founded the group International Friends of the Great Wall has said, “The Great Wall shows itself as something more than a building, it is a succession of varied landscapes, more than history alone, but part of the country’s geography that has attracted the attention of cartographers for centuries”. In 1987 the Great Wall was added to the World Heritage List, one of the first heritage sites in China.

Questions:
Why did the Chinese people throw the workers who died during the Great Wall project under the wall?
Were there rebellions from the workers who worked on this project during the Ming Dynasty?

About our Blogger:
My name is Tien Nguyen and I am a sophomore. I like to draw and love to read adventure books and watch TV. I really want to travel to China to visit the Great Wall of China. Although I lived in Vietnam for several years, I still didn’t have a chance to go to China. When I was little, I heard someone told me that there were many people buried under the Great Wall. It brought my interest at that time. That’s why I want to learn and understand more about the history of China and the Great Wall

Peru Adventure

Background

Francisco Pizzaro conquered Peru in 1535. Lima was Spain’s largestAmerican colony. In Peru, there is a lot of Spanish influence in architecture, religion and customs, but Peru’s pre Spanish inhabitants (Incas and other native tribes) have an even longer richer history. Simon Bolivar from Venezuela and San Martin from Argentina liberated Peru from Spanish colonization on July 27th 1921.

Our trip began in Lima, Peru.Lima is the capital of Peru. The first most amazing observation about this city was the amount of drivers on the road and insane traffic. There is no underground subways or train systems because of the frequent earthquakes which makes vehicles the main method of transportation. Needless to say, the cars drive fast and there are no lanes, which creates a pushing your way to the front of the line atmosphere. Lots of horns!

The main plaza is named after San Martin in the city center. There you will find the Presidential Palace, the main cathedral, archbishop’s palace and City Hall. The most modern part of the city is along the coast in the area call Miraflores. It is located on the Pacific Ocean and has great shopping and culinary restaurants.

Our next part of the Journey was our flight to Cusco. This city is the highest in Peru at 13,000 feet above sea level. This was the ancient capital of the Incas. Here the Inca king ruled his empires that stretched across the highlands.The highlight was the trip up to Machu Picchu, which is currently celebrating its 100-year anniversary of discovery. Though many local inhabitants knew this location, it wasn’t until an American adventurer in 1911 with the help of National Geographic re-discovered it, began preservation, and turned it into a tourist attraction. Known now as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. To get there was quite a journey: 2 hour car drive, 1.5 hour train ride, 30 min bus ride and then we arrived in the ancient city surrounded by the Andes mountains. What a site to see- nothing can describe the detail and beauty that this ancient site holds. Many scholars believe the main purpose of the city was for religion, astronomy and retreats for the king. The level of detail and architecture is amazing. After a long day of exploring, we relaxed in the village of Aguas Calientes surrounded by jungle before our long journey back to Cusco.

The last part of the trip was a journey through the sacred valley. It’s called the sacred valley because the land is very fertile perfect for growing over 5000 varieties of potatoes and 400 varieties of corn. The terrace farming is what the Incas were known for. You can see them all through the highlands. The terraces are built into the mountains for aesthetics reasons and also to help prevent landslides. We visited 3 ancient ruins (Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Chinchero) all in the Sacred Valley. All were very detailed and breathtaking. These ancient cities had terraces built into the mountains in the design of the Andes sacred animals: Condor, Puma and Llama.

Peru showed us a mixture between old, new, rich and poor. The people, culture and geography were all interesting and added to our understanding of Latin America.

The End of the Year 2011

Dear Students,

I can't believe that the end is here. It seems like just yesterday it was the first week of school and we were getting to know each other. I know that it wasn't always easy and there was so much to learn, but each and every one of you has grown tremendously. You should feel proud of all you've accomplished and how hard you worked. To my AP students, I wish we had more time together to continue our study, but I know you'll love U.S. History. Please come back to visit. Remember that no matter what your AP results are, you've set yourself apart by taking this very challenging class as a sophomore. I'll miss you all! For my honors freshmen... I also wish we had more time together, but for some of you... I might see you in class again next year. I know you'll be ready for AP and you should feel proud of all you've accomplished. The final presentations were awesome! The Genocide Prevention organizations that you created were so great. I can tell that each group put a lot of effort and thought into your presentation. The Ancient Civilizations projects were also great! Your hard work has definitely prepared you for next year! You've all made teaching so fun! Thank you!

Overall, I've honestly had the best year and that is thanks to my wonderful students. Come back to visit and enjoy looking at your pictures! Mrs. Jordan