August Third , 2012

9/3/12

Essay #1:  Give your original definition of arête, and describe how Socrates and the ancient Greeks demonstrated this quality.

Arête is the highest state of being a human being can achieve physically, spiritually and emotionally. I believe that Socrates demonstrated this behavior by standing up for what he believed in while in court. Socrates was asked to apologize But, Socrates did not apologize because he knew that he was right. I believe that standing up for what you believe his Arête. Arête is excellence of the highest nature, and fighting for what you believe in (when in the right) is excellent.  

However, I think that the Greek’s exhibited on a day to day basis. For example in Spartan Society, Men and Women strove to be the best they could physically. However in Athens men and Women strove to be the best they could be mentally and physically.  Both city-states had an emphasis on Arête in their cultures. This shows that the Greeks showed Arête in important aspects of life.

Essay #2:  Imagine that Elbert Hubbard and Socrates have time-travelled to the present.  Describe what they would think or say about life.

Elbert Hubbard would be disappointed in life nowadays. He would be heartbroken to find out that almost no one in this world strives for arête on a day to day basis. There are no “hard workers” anymore; people just go to work for money and nothing more. He also would be disappointed in the way “America” does things. America is a Capitalist country (Technically half), but Elbert Hubbard believes in Capitalism. In conclusion Mr. Hubbard would be disappointed with life today.

Socrates would be proud of life today. Imagine a country that is democratic, that everyone has their own say and no voice is ignored (Almost). Socrates would be overjoyed, because in Socrates native Greece you could be killed (like he was) for expressing your thoughts but in America, you can say almost everything. In Conclusion, Socrates would be happy with life today.

Essay #3:  Assuming that you think that excellence is a good thing, write out a five-point action plan that  describes how you are going to approach your career at the John Carroll School over the next four years

• 1.      Pay Attention in All my Classes.                                                                                               I am going to pay attention in all my classes so that I understand everything that is going on in the class, at all times. If I can understand what my teacher teaches me , test’s and quizzes will be a breeze.
• 2.      Homework
• I am going to do all my HW this school year. Regardless of the time or amount I am going to do it. Usually HW is a big problem because I like to wait until the last minute. But this year I will try not to do that.
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• 3    Not Quit
• I will try my best not to quit anything at John Carroll unless I have to. Giving up will not be something I do this school year.
• 4    Organization
• I am a very messy person when it comes to keeping a binder. This school I’m using a computer instead of a binder, but that can get messy to. I will try to keep all my files in a organized fashion that way I don’t get unorganized.                                                                                Have Fun
• Sometimes if you Work too hard you forget to have fun.  This is the only time of my life that I get to go through High school, so I should just enjoy the ride. That doesn’t mean that I become a bum and not do any of my assignments. It just means that I don’t stress to hard and I have a good time.

That is my 5 point Action Plan to becoming Successful At JC.