KIVA results are in

A hearty thank you to the students who participated in the (optional) Kiva support program! A total of 11 students made a microloan to help out someone looking to grow a business or help out their family. The Honors class had 3 of 18 students participate, for a rate of 17%. My 101 section had 8 of 25 students make a loan, for a rate of 32%. I'm proud of all of you, and grateful for your generosity!

applying our knowledge of Population Pyramids

Here is a video (one of the TED Talks - my favorites!) that describes the effects of the Population Pyramids we've been studying.

And here is the amazing Hans Rosling, who teaches a course called Global Health, using data to explain the world's past, present, and future development. Cool stuff!

an opportunity to do some good (for the world, and for your grade!)

The Human Geo Kiva Project

You have a strong sense of social responsibility, and you want to help Kiva help entrepreneurs in developing nations. Or maybe you just need some extra credit. Perhaps there is a combination of a desire to help others AND help your grade. In any case, here is how you can participate in our Human Geo Kiva Project.

To earn five extra credit points:

• Research Kiva.org . Describe your findings, such as their goals, methods, efficiency, and reputation.
• Research potential borrowers. Find at least two borrowers and describe their business, their reasons for wanting a microloan, their past history, etc.
• Look at the big picture. Check out the city and country they live in, and describe what effect their location has on their need to borrow.
• Write your findings in an essay and post it to your blog. This should be a well-written, informative, and possibly inspirational essay that shows how much you have learned about developing nations, poverty throughout the world, and ways of dealing with this difficult situation.

To earn five more extra credit points (for a total of ten points):

• Do all of the above steps. This includes posting an excellent essay to your blog.
• Choose a borrower and make a $25 loan through Kiva. You will need your parents’ permission and assistance to do this, since it requires a credit card purchase to be made.
• Forward the confirmation email to me at rschick@johncarroll.org .

To earn five MORE extra credit points (for a total of fifteen points):

• Be a contributing member of the most generous class. I will calculate the percentage of students who make a loan for each class I teach. If your class has the highest percentage, and you made a loan to a Kiva borrower, you get five more points, for a total of fifteen extra credit points. (In case of a tie, both classes win!)

Additional notes:

• You are not required to participate in this program. If you choose not to participate, there is no penalty.
• Your parents must make the purchase for you. I really want you to discuss this with your family - tell them what you are learning, explain why you want to apply this learning to a real-world situation, even use some of the terms you have learned to educate your parents.
• I will not accept any cash from you to give to Kiva. This is a joint decision between you and your folks.
• Deadline is Monday, November 27, 2017.

Please let me know in class if you or your parents have any questions. I hope lots of us demonstrate our social responsibility and make a difference in some people’s lives!

some material to review before the next test

Here is the Population and Settlement PowerPoint that I presented in class. This PPt can also be found in the sidebar to the right, as well as on Veracross.

Terms you should be familiar with include the following:

• crude birth rate
• crude death rate
• infant mortality rate
• life expectancy
• total fertility rate
• net migration rate
• GDP per capita
• population growth rate
• rate of natural increase
• population pyramid
• push force
• pull force

the dreaded Group Work!

Here is the link to the assignment you worked on in class today.

If you did not finish the project in class, please do it for homework. The assignment is due at the start of class tomorrow (Fri Nov 10, mod 2).

Each member of the group should post the assignment on their blog. PLEASE make sure I am invited to view and edit your Google Doc, and make sure ALL of your names are listed on the Doc so you all get credit.

Population Pyramids are the BEST

If you are as excited about Population Pyramids as I am, you are going to LOVE LOVE LOVE these two sites.


Understanding Population Pyramids is the site that has the "Where's Waldo" background. It give a pretty good description of how they work, and how they can be used to analyze growth (or decline) of fertility, mortality, and migration.



PopulationPyramid.net gives PPs for every nation on earth (plus many regions) from 1950 to 2100. How cool is that?