Brutus

In my opinion, and if I were in Brutus' shoes, I would kill Caesar because I think that doing that with the good of the people of Rome in mind makes it less villainous and more valid. He's killing Caesar for the greater good, not for personal gain or out of spite for Caesar, just because he loves Rome. With Caesar around Rome is at risk of losing its freedom, its democracy, and peoples' rights if Caesar becomes a dictator. However, if Caesar were out of the picture then Rome would be safe and protected from losing the things that make Rome as great as the people and Brutus think it is.
On page 19, act 1, scene 2, is where Brutus' moral dilemma really begins to shape. He and Cassius are talking, Cassius is trying to persuade Brutus' that because he is as good as Caesar, why shouldn't he rule Rome, but Brutus is not thinking of himself. Cassius is saying that if the Romans took Caesar as their king, Brutus wouldn't stand for it, would he? And Brutus says," I would not have it that way Cassius, yet I love him well." He is here saying that no he does not think having Caesar as king in Rome would be good at all and he would act to change it, but he really loves Caesar and he is his friend, so he wouldn't want to hurt him. So yes, I think Brutus should kill Caesar.

Leadership

Some qualities that a leader has are experience, skill, and is good at motivating people. I think it's important that a leader has experience because they have to know what works best in a situation, and the best way to get everyone what they want without causing distress to the people they are leading. That's why the leaders are often the eldest people, such as the 8th graders in middle school, or the seniors in high school. It's just because they've been in that situation the longest and they know what works well and what doesn't.
I also think that just natural skill is needed in a leader. It could be people skills that are needed, like the students in Slams. It could be your speed or endurance or how high you can jump in track and field. Or even how well you play chess. In any situation you need a leader who is good and very talented in whatever it is they specialize in. I think you need that because you need a leader to have admirable qualities like that so that the people want to follow them. And it's these skills that make people feel motivated by these people because with such high standards they are constantly aspiring to be better and be as good as them.
I think that the leaders in our grade are Aysha because she is just who people look up too. I think it's mostly because she puts herself out there and is never afraid to talk to people. And I also think Michaela is a leader because she is really good at stuff and I think people want to be as good as it as her.

Imperialism

In the late 1800s, European nations were interested in only one thing; expanding their empire. They wanted to do this for a variety of reasons, mostly for gold(money), god( spreading their religion) and glory( having control over the most land or resources). They set out on this mission, conquering weaker nations militarily, politically, culturally or economically. Any place that had something (such as oil, lots of land, lots of labor, or an essential shipping port) to add to their empires wealth would do. They took control of economies, and the natives became the laborers. They stripped the land of any valuable resources. They converted the people to their religion, at this point, many forms of Christianity. However, they did often do some good such as advanced transportation networks, education, health and hygiene. That is why the colonies such as fertile Southeast Asia, oily Middle East and conveniently located Africa made such sounds investments to the European empires of the time.

Quarter 2 Goals

My goals for first quarter were to get more ticks on my socratic seminar and get a good grade(A or B) on my Outsiders final project. I think regarding my first goal, I did very well. I continued to advance my skills in a socratic seminar, and just having had our final one for quarter one yesterday, I think I did well and have come a long way with my skills since the first seminar. On the topic of my second goal I think I did relatively well alos. I got a B+ on my Outsiders final project and I think that grade satisfies my goal of getting a good grade on that.

My two goals for second quarter would be:

1.) Improve on my citation skills. At the moment I know how to go the BibMe or something, and type some information and get a citation, however I would like my works cited page to be in more correct format for my research paper at the end of the quarter, so I would defiently like to improve how i create works cited pages and make sure i am meeting all the criteria for a good works cited page by the end of the quarter.

2.) I am a little concerned about performing in front of other people. Whether it's debates, skits, formal performances, or even a small speech I kind of clam up and get nervous and don't perform to my full potential. I would really like to overcome my stage fright and do well when performing the Julius Caesar skits in front of the class. Hopefully, I will be able to just do what I have to do and not mess up or get extremely nervous. That is one of my other goals this quarter, to improve my performance in front of other people.