Caitlin's Final Portfolio

Understanding world history involves having knowledge on many other subjects and being able to utilize other tools. I realized this throughout our world history course this year. We used a lot of unique sources and creative projects to learn and we focused on many different time periods, including things happening in the present day.

Something I realized throughout the year is that change does not come easily and it takes hard work. Most communities are divided by social classes and once your class is decided it is extremely hard to change. If your class depends on your income, it’s possible to change your social status but it takes a lot of work. The easiest solution is to get a new job or to get a promotion if you already have a job. When you get more money you can possibly move away from the poverty. But it takes a long time to save up enough and so much more goes into the process of making a change. In a journal entry of mine I wrote, “I don't think my hands are clean and I don't think anyone else's are either. It is practically impossible to find "clean" and responsibly made clothing these days." It’s hard to know what stores sell responsibly made clothing and those clothes are always more expensive. A lot of people try to have a smaller environmental footprint but a lot of times it’s difficult because price and location matter so clothing made with sweat shops is still bought more often than not. Another instance where change is hard to make is in schools. In class we had a discussion on women’s roles in science. A quote of mine is, "Women's roles in science have changed. It is more common to see a woman involved in science, whether she is a scientist or a science teacher. But woman scientists in the past are still not taught in schools nearly as much as men. Women who have made big discoveries or invented something important are not recognized. Women now have more rights but the fact that women were not recognized back then is still not recognized now." The majority of scientists taught in history are men and very few women are recognized for their discoveries. It’s always possible to make changes to anything but it is very difficult and that remains true now as it did thousands of years ago.

Social media aids in the understanding of historical and current events. In one of my past journals our question was “How would you do about deciding what topics/units to include in a world history class?” I replied with, “I think you should see what’s going on in the world because if it’s coming up in social media more people will be able to make connections to it.” At the beginning of this course I figured we would focus fully on events in the past. But multiple times during the year we discussed current events individually or we connected them to the history lesson we were learning. One of the benchmark projects we did during the year was a digital story that asked a question or explained a certain aspect surrounding revolutions. I made my video explain how a successful revolution is made and one of the most important tools to use while doing that is social media. “Social media allows people who are interested in the cause to make a difference even if they live halfway around the world and can’t physically participate.” Ideas and events spread so much faster or the internet and it’s so easy for anyone in the world to support a cause. The same thing goes for religion. A unit it our history class was on religion and a quote of mine from a discussion we had it, "I think religion is a worldwide similarity. Even if you don't follow any certain religion you still have your own beliefs, which is what religions is basically made up of." No matter the beliefs you have, someone living somewhere in the world probably shares the same idea as you. So many stereotypes and facts about religion are shared around on the internet and it’s hard to believe that religions created so long ago became so successful without the internet. Our lives revolve around the internet and social media is how most people find out what’s going on in the world and also what has happened in history.

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Quote #1: "I don't think my hands are clean and I don't think anyone else's are either. It is practically impossible to find "clean" and responsibly made clothing these days."

Quote #2: "Women's roles in science have changed. It is more common to see a woman involved in science, whether she is a scientist or a science teacher. But woman scientists in the past are still not taught in schools nearly as much as men. Women who have made big discoveries or invented something important are not recognized. Women now have more rights but the fact that women were not recognized back then is still not recognized now."

Quote #3: “I think you should see what’s going on in the world because if it’s coming up in social media more people will be able to make connections to it.”

Quote #4: “Social media allows people who are interested in the cause to make a difference even if they live halfway around the world and can’t physically participate.” 

Quote #5: "I think religion is a worldwide similarity. Even if you don't follow any certain religion you still have your own beliefs, which is what religions is basically made up of."