Grade 10 – Page 11 – Sophia Elahi RPC Blog

Business 10, Lesson 10 – Franchise Vs Independent

This week in Business, I learned about the pros and cons of having a franchise and having an independent business. In this essay, I am going to be comparing these two types of businesses.

Franchise

One of the best examples of franchise businesses are big fast food chains like McDonald’s or Chick-fil-A.

Franchises offer less risks, but can also present less rewards. They are easier to start compared to independent businesses since the franchisor will provide you with the supplies you will need and educate you on how to run the businesses. However, the franchisor also gets to share your profits and they are in control of all of your advertisements and campaigns.

Independent

An example of an independent business is the small lemonade stands children set up in the summer. They are the independent “owners” of their business.

Independent businesses have more risks than a franchise does, but if your business kicks off, you could get bigger rewards than a franchise. An independent business can be harder to start, since you begin with zero reputation. However, starting an independent business means you are the sole owner and you can keep 100% of the profits and have full control over campaigns, advertisements, etc. As Mr. Emmons pointed out in the lessons this week, not many independent businesses survive very long, but if they do, they usually attain great success.

Conclusion

As you can see, independent and franchises both have their advantages and disadvantages. For the purpose of my business (selling books I write through Kindle), I will obviously go with the independent business model.

Thanks for reading!

Western Civilization 10, Lesson 10, Essay 2 – The Minoan Crete

This week in class I spent a lesson learning about the Minoan Cretes, an Ancient Civilization that was forgotten by history until the year 1900 when British archaeologist, Arthur Evans, discovered it. In this essay, I am going to be talking about this fascinating and mysterious civilization.

The Minoan Cretes lasted from 3600 BC to 1400 BC. For those that do not know, the island of Crete is located in the Mediterranean Sea and is near Libya and Egypt. It is now part of modern day Greece.

Their language, known as Linear A, has not been cracked as there is not enough of it for historians to be able to decipher it. They have only been able to pick out a few words. Otherwise we know nothing about the Cretes from their writing besides the fact that they were aggressive accountants.

The Crete’s religion is also a mystery to historians. The only thing they could understand was that the people were very devoted to the religion and it seemed to be very Feminocentric (centred on women). They worshipped goddesses and appointed priestesses, not priests. They also seemed to participate in human sacrifices.

Their art, specifically their frescos, show some very interesting things, one of them being people jumping over bulls. Many have speculated that the jumping over bulls is a ceremony of their religion, but I personally think it may have been a sport that people participated in.

The Crete’s pottery is also very detailed. The jars are what Mr Woods described as “egg shell thin,” implying that the Cretes managed to get specialists to make them. But from where, we do not know.

Their buildings were not fortified, suggesting that they were a peaceful civilization and did not go to war with their neighbours. However, this lack of protection contributes to their downfall later on when the Mycenaean Greeks come down to conquer them.

It seems that in 1600 BC the Cretes destroyed their palaces, then rebuilt them in a new fashion. The design of the new palaces makes historians think that the Cretes were using a redistribution system, which is the government telling people how much of a certain thing they need to make or grow. Then the people would bring the goods to the palace, which would get redistributed back to the people in whatever amount the palace deems enough. This means that the people were not allowed to freely trade with one another.

Around 1425 BC, the palaces were destroyed yet again. The reason for this is not known, but it does not create that big of an issue as the Cretes were conquered by their Northern neighbours, the Mycenaean Greeks, around that time.

As you can see, the Cretes are a fascinating civilization with lots of mysteries and unknown details about them. There is also not much to talk about besides their culture and lifestyle as they did not seem like a warlike civilization. There are so many unanswered questions about this civilization, you cannot help but get caught up in the mystery of it all.

Western Civilization 10, Lesson 10, Essay 1 – Hector in Book Six of The Iliad

This week in Western Civilization I learned a lot of interesting things about the Minoan Cretes and Mycenaean Greeks. I also looked at the sixth book of The Iliad. In this essay, I am going to talk about one of the characters in The Iliad.

The Iliad is an epic poem about the Trojan War. In the story we meet Achilles, a warrior who is tired of never getting recognized for his accomplishments. When the Trojan War arrives, he refuses to go into battle. During the battle, his close friend asks if he can wear Achilles’s armour to scare the Trojans, which Achilles’s agrees to. However, during the battle Achilles’s friend dies, sending him into an enraged state. He joins the war and goes on a killing spree against any Trojan he sees. Achilles then targets the Trojan war hero, Hector, who is terrified of the enraged Greek and spends two days running away from Achilles.

Eventually, he yields and decides to face the man he has been trying to escape from. When the two face each other, Hector asks for mercy. He states that he will not harm Achilles and he requests the same courtesy. But, he understands if Achilles wants to kill him and asks for his body to be given back to his people so it can be buried in his homeland. Achilles, however, is too furious to listen and kills Hector, then drags his body around with his chariot.

Later on, Hector’s father (also the King of Troy), Priam, comes to Achilles and begs for his son’s body back. He reminds Achilles of his own father who has the luxury of imagining his son coming home to protect him in his old age, while he does not have this luxury because of Achilles’s actions. This makes the Greek hero pity Priam, and he agrees to not only return Hector’s body, but to spend nine days mourning the Trojan hero and three days of honouring and celebrating his memory.

From the descriptions we get of Hector, I would say that he is a man who is extremely loyal to his country and has a strong love for it. Despite his slightly cowardly actions by running from Achilles, which can be excused since I know I would have done the same, I believe that Hector is a man doing what he believes is right. In this case, he believes that protecting and fighting for his country is the right thing to do.

As you can see, Hector does not get a lot of page time in the story, but from the one incident where he is described, you can get a good sense of his character and who he is as a man. Before this class, I have always been extremely hesitant to read epic Greek poems. But from my lessons this week, I learned that when you have someone to explain the story in modern day English, like Mr. Woods did for the lesson, the story can be very interesting.

English 10, Lesson 10 – Ethics and Sanctions of Noah and the Flood

This week in class, I learned about the story of Noah and the flood. You are probably already familiar with the story. In this essay, I am going to be talking about the importance of ethics and sanctions in the story.

Before I begin, I would like to do a quick summary of the history.

Years after Adam and Eve left the Earth, the people became disbelievers and overall wicked. God creates a flood to wipe out the entire human race so they can start over. However, before He does this, He informs the only good man left, Noah. God tells Noah to create an ark for his family and two of each animal so they can repopulate the Earth. When the flood comes it lasts forty days and forty nights. When it is finally over, Noah sends a dove out. At the first attempt, the dove comes back emptyhanded. But when Noah tries again, the dove comes back with an olive branch. When Noah tries for the third time, the bird does not return, implying that it found land.

In the case of this story, I like to relate it to “cause and effect.” The cause was the people’s ethics, which is described as wickedness. The effect was the sanction, the big flood that wiped out the population.

As you can see, ethics and sanctions are very important in this story. Once you lay out all of the information, it will be easy to see that the whole reason the flood happened is because of the people’s ethics, leading to God’s sanction.

English 10, Lesson 5 – Hierarchy in Genesis vs. Hierarchy in the Islamic Theology

This week in class, Dr. North went over the first few days of Creation. He also went over the hierarchy of God, the humans, and the serpent in great detail. In this essay, I am going to do a brief comparison of the Bible narration versus Islamic Theology.

Hierarchy in the Bible

In Genesis, it is said that God created Adam as an image of Himself. Of course, Adam was only a human and was not an equal to God, but he was considered an image of Him.

God gave Adam the job of naming the animals, but when he saw how each of them came in pairs, male and female, he became lonely. God then created a companion from his rib. This companion is the woman who will later be named Eve.

At this point in time, the hierarchy is God, then Adam and Eve, who are considered equals.

Later on, a serpent convinces Eve to eat the fruit from the Forbidden Tree. Eve in turn, convinces Adam to eat the fruit. Once they have consumed the fruit, they become aware of their nakedness and cover themselves with fig leaves.

When God comes down to the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve are, He asks why they are wearing the leaves. They explain that they ate the fruit from the Forbidden Tree and realized their nakedness.

As punishment, God sends Adam and Eve down to Earth, but not before lowering Eve’s status. She is now subservient to Adam and will suffer the pains of labour. He also removes the serpent’s legs, forcing him to slither around everywhere.

Now, the hierarchy is God, then Adam, then Eve, then the serpent.

Hierarchy in Islamic Theology

There is no hierarchy between God, Adam, and Eve in Islamic Theology. God created Adam, and from his rib, Eve. The human being was His best creation and He ordered all beings in heaven to bow to Adam. However, Satan refused, claiming that he was created from a smokeless fire and that Adam was created merely from dirt; thus he had a higher status. But Satan did not know the knowledge that God had bestowed on Adam.

Adam and Eve lived in Paradise until they were tempted by Satan to eat the forbidden fruit. Once that had happened, God sent them down to Earth to live for “a while” and God, from time to time, would send Messengers to convey the message of the Oneness of God. Those who believe and repent for their sins would enter Paradise, and those who disbelieve would enter Hell.

Conclusion

As you can see, the blame lies not with Eve alone. Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan.

Business 10, Lesson 5 – Parts of a Business

This week in Business class I learned about the different structures of a business, and the three main functions within the business. In this essay, I am going to be using my acting school as a demonstration of these three functions.

The three functions of a business are Sales and Marketing, Operations, and Finance and Administration.

Sales and Marketing is advertisement/promotion. Operations is how the product is produced and sold to consumers. Finance and Administration is how the business uses their income. Typically, a CEO oversees all three of the functions, making sure they run smoothly and efficiently.

Sales and Marketing

My school has quite a few different marketing strategies. Before COVID-19, my school would go to hospitals to sing for the patients. They also require students to wear a uniform which consists of a shirt with the school logo and leggings (or shorts). Many of the students commute wearing the uniform since it is casual and convenient. Before classes, there will be tons of children walking around the nearby malls or travelling on the train wearing the school logo.

This is a subtle, yet effective way of getting their name out.

Operations

Operations is how the product of the business is produced and sold to consumers. In this case, the “product” are the classes my school offers to students. These classes are taught by teachers who are involved in the local theatre scene and have theatre experience.

For example, one of the teachers at my school is a graduate of LaSalle, an acting college in Singapore.

Finance and Administration

The school uses consumers’ dollars to pay the rent for their location and to give the students better sets and props.

For example, this semester we are doing Into the Woods Jr for our semester show. For our show, the school is building a legitimate set for us to perform on, which is quite costly to do in the location they are currently in.

Administration also includes insuring compliance with regulations and laws, filing and paying taxes on time, and supporting Sales and Operations people.

Conclusion

As you can see, every business relies on these three main functions. Even schools operate using these functions. Think of any business like Walmart, or even your local grocery store, I bet you can identify each of their three functions fairly easily.

Thanks for reading!

Western Civilization 10, Lesson 5 – A Brief History of Events from Abraham to Moses

This week in Western Civilization Mr. Woods briefly reviewed humanity’s early history, starting with Adam and Eve and ending the review in 70 AD when the Roman prince, Titus, attacked Jerusalem. In this essay, I am going to briefly talk about all of the main events that happened between the time of Prophet Abraham and Prophet Moses.

Before I begin, I would like to give a disclaimer. The events described in class are the Biblical version of history. Since I am a Muslim, I will be talking about the Islamic version.

Abraham

Abraham was originally from the Babylonian city of Ur, which is situated in modern day Iraq. When Abraham tried to call his people to worship the one and only God, they tried to punish him by burring him in a pyre. After this incident, Abraham left Ur with his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot, and moved to the precincts of Jerusalem. After many years of his marriage to Sarah, he married Hagar, who bore him his first son, Ishmael, in his old age.

God commanded him to move to the desert with his wife, Hagar, and infant, Ishmael. Some years later, he had another son with Sarah whose name was Isaac. He would thus travel between those two places.

When Ishmael was in his preteens/teens, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son and seeing that he was completely devoted to God, He replaced the sacrifice with a goat.

Subsequently, through Isaac, Abraham had Jacob and Esau as his grandsons.

Jacob and Joseph

Jacob had 12 sons through multiple wives. They are known as the Tribes of Israel since Jacob was also known as Israel.

One day, the older sons took one of the younger sons, Joseph, along with them on a trading trip, and out of jealousy that Joseph was Jacob’s favorite, they threw him into a well. A trader rescued Joseph and sold him to the king in Egypt. Joseph was granted wisdom of interpreting dreams by God and in an important interpretation of the king’s dream, he was elevated to a high position within the king’s court.

Eventually, Jacob and his entire tribe moved to Egypt and lived with Joseph.

After about 400 years, after the king had been defeated by a pharaoh, the tribes of Israel had become slaves. Through one of Jacob’s descendants came Moses.

Moses

God chose Moses to be one of his prophets to deliver his message of the Oneness of God, as he had done with Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.

God in his Infinite Wisdom, created circumstances where Moses grew up in the Pharaoh’s household. In his adulthood, he killed a man and escaped to modern day Upper Arabia. He married and lived there for 10 years before deciding to go back to Egypt. On his way, he saw a burning bush, and that was his first meeting with God. God instructed Moses to deliver the message of the Oneness of God to the Pharaoh.

After the Pharaoh rejected his messages and ridiculed him, God instructed Moses to take the children of Israel/Jacob out of Egypt and into freedom. You have all heard of the story of the parting of the sea and the drowning of the Pharaoh and his troops.

Once freed from the Pharaoh’s grasp in the Sinai Desert, Moses ascended Mount Tur and met God one more time where God gave him the Commandments on tablets. On his return, he found his people worshipping a golden calf that they created themselves. He ejected the disbelievers from his tribe and threw the golden calf away.

From there he made his way to Jerusalem, but because of the unwillingness of his people to fight the natives living there, they ended up wandering in the desert for 40 years.

Moses eventually died, never having set foot in Jerusalem.

Conclusion

As you can see, this is a very brief history of events that happened from Prophet Abraham to Prophet Moses. You may have noticed that the stories of Islam and Christianity overlap in quite a few places.

Thanks for reading!