Why you Don’t Need to be Smart to Get Good Grades Sophomore year, AP U.S. History. My class was writing a Document Based Question (DBQ) over Christopher Columbus and the Age of Exploration. (A document based question is an essay where you use factual evidence given in the form of documents to write an essay). I knew nothing! My mind was blanker than the vacuum of space itself. So, I told a story, but every single shred of lead that came off of my pencil was garbage. It was F worthy. I thought to myself “It’s Christopher Columbus, How do you not know anything about his explorations!” I drew from common stories of mutiny on the ship or reasons for why he decided to take his trip, but none of which I had ever formally learned. I stood up and …show more content…
Now, of course I had APUSH at the end of the day. So it left me plenty of time to think about and become exhausted over the dread that was building up inside of me for just receiving back a test. I couldn’t focus in any of my classes, and didn’t think about anything other than “I can’t believe I failed.” The instant I walked into the classroom my knees almost buckled to the point where I collapsed. All I could do is sit in the corner with my hands on my head as Ms. Bradley said “Some of you did amazing on this essay! Others not some much, those who didn’t do as well need to see me so that we can talk about it.” I just knew that it was directed towards me, and the more I heard people react to their good grades on the essay the worse the butterflies in my stomach just increase in horror of my grade compared to the rest of the class. As Ms. Bradley walked up to my seat she set my paper down upside down making sure that nobody else saw my grade. All that did is make my situation even worse as she obviously didn’t want anyone else seeing my bad grade. As I turned the paper over my hand wouldn’t stop shaking to the point where I couldn’t read the grade on the front. Yet, when I finally calmed myself down to see the grade I was astounded. I had received a 95% on the paper. I knew nothing, and I got an A! How could that have been
I believe that Columbus is a hero since he kinda figured about America. I believe that he figured our America since if he never sailed there no one wouldn't had known that America existed. Even when Columbus did figure about America he did hold some people as hostage to explore the area i think he just did that since he probably didn’t feel safe around that
When I am posed with the question “to what extent should I as a citizen respond to how Christopher Columbus colonized Canada” I do not find it that difficult because I honestly do not agree with most things that he was associated with. A few points that I would like to use to “drive my opinion home” are his greed for getting paid, the conditions that he put his slaves through and his overall treatment of the Aboriginal people that he met. One thing that was Christopher's first downfall was his greed for gold- or as they called it back then, cheddar. The only reason he went on his 1492 expedition in the first place was because he wanted to have more money. As a child, he did not have the richest family and he grew up in the middle class household.
Introduction Christopher Columbus's first letter, written in 1493, is a crucial document that reflects his initial impressions and ideas about the people, land, and resources he encountered on his first voyage to the Americas. In this letter, Columbus represents the natives, the Spanish, and the land in a particular way, which reveals his underlying motivations and intentions. Moreover, Columbus used the topic of "locus amoenus," or a "pleasant place," for political purposes, highlighting the abundance and beauty of the land and its potential for colonization. This essay will analyze Columbus's representation of the natives, the Spanish, and the land in his first letter and examine how he utilized the concept of "locus amoenus" for political purposes. Columbus's Representation of the Natives
I got more out of that class than I have ever gotten out of my high school career. Of course I still got an education. I can
The history of Christopher Columbus has been a shared piece of history in the education systems. American history books and majority of cultures portray Columbus as a hero. The United States of America honors Christopher with a holiday named Columbus Day, which occurs the second Monday in October. Also, historians divide Columbus’s history in a similar way as Jesus, example: before 1492 known as pre-Columbian. The school textbooks preserve Columbus with a positive life story and don’t include all the negative events that took place.
Loewen argues, “The authors of history textbooks have taken us on a trip of their own, away from the facts of history, into the realm of myth.” As historical events regress further into the past, writers may misinterpret facts that they may have studied. A story of discovery and friendship or a tale of conquest, murder, and greed, which of these are Christopher Columbus’ true stories? I believe the best method to teach American high school students about Christopher Columbus’ story is through historiography because historiography teaches students to compare and distinguish different outlooks from different writers’ point of views instead of just remembering misinterpreted facts. Historiography would guide and force students to study and learn history through a diverse set of historians who focused on the same subject and come to different conclusions.
In sixth grade I failed a Virginia history quiz. I sat quietly as my teacher indirectly talked about my grade. She ranted and raved about how as sixth graders we should know simple facts about the Powhatan Indians and the Jamestown Colony. However, I had no idea what she was talking about. I had learned about the Kumeyaay and Sutter’s Mill in California.
This podcast briefly summarizes the significance of role of Christopher Columbus as one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. Contrary to the beliefs in 19th and early 20th century of him as a hero and symbol of bravery and a visionary, they talk about how he was actually heading in the wrong journey and overthrowing the indigenous people. Along with this many of his characteristics were known to be whitewashed to show importance of certain agendas. His every memory is carefully scrutinized and is broken down into various incidence over the hundreds of years. Christopher was well known confidence and his distinct view of the world being round instead of flat are always in reference with his name.
As promised during our first meeting of this course, we have received a copious amount of handouts. Papers detailing everything from Frederick Jackson Turner’s 1893 frontier thesis to the cast of Stagecoach have graced my desk. Consequently, with each week yielding more enthralling and informative packets than the last, it has grown increasingly difficult to select my favorite. Originally, the piece that resonated with me the most, was by far the packet detailing “The Rancid Myth of Columbus”. This was largely due to the fact that it was distributed during the first week of the class, and really set the tone.
n Lies My Teacher Told, James W. Loewen discusses how American students who enter college are less knowledgeable about their own history than any other subject. He claims that American history is the least liked and worst remembered subject in the American curriculum. High school students hate history and see it as “boring and irrelevant” (Loewen 2). Loewen argues that the uninteresting, Eurocentric treatment of history bores most elementary and high school students, who also find it irrelevant to their lives. To make learning more compelling, Loewen suggests that authors, publishers, and teachers should make history appealing and be engaging to the students.
In his book, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus, Charles Mann introduces a controversial topic regarding the Americas prior its colonization. Contrary to what is taught in American history, Mann reconstructs our understanding of life in the Americas before Columbus as he exposes that there were large civilizations living at the time. The indigenous were not wild and untamed; rather they were highly civilized and complex. The author successfully shows that by the time that the Europeans arrived to the Americas they did not witness it in its primal form, as it had already been altered by the indigenous people that were living there. Among the highly civilized cultures that existed at the time were the Mayans and the Aztecs.
In addition, in paragraph 11, the author says, “We must review the threat of flunking and see it as it really is-a positive teaching tool. It is an expression of confidence by both teachers and parents that the students have the ability to learn the material presented to them.” This shows how the threat of flunking is actually
I also found out the hard way that procrastination and simply making stuff up would get me absolutely nowhere in this class, because it was actual research with real-life
The teachers couldn’t understand my concerns. It was just me being me. I remember when I took a beauty therapy course in my mid twenties. The director of the school told me she was concerned because I was getting 100% on every test.
As i handed my teacher the test my stomach dropped not knowing if I bombed it or even I passes it. He called me up to see my test grade and I got a …… It’s 6 o'clock, my alarm goes off and I haven't even rolled out of my bed yet and my cumulative geometry test is already on my mind. I brush my teeth, wash my face, eat breakfast and bolt out of the door on my way to school. I left earlier than usual just to try and get about 20-30 minutes of studying in before I start off my day.