The Mediterranean Sea

Today we used Google Earth to talk about the geography of the Mediterranean Sea region.

The students shared interesting information about this part of the world:

• Isabella C. pointed out that the country of Turkey straddles two continents: Europe and Asia.
• Jack shared a helpful hint for remembering the shape of the Red Sea; he told us that the Red Sea has "bunny ears".
• We discussed the mythical Greek princess for whom Europe is named (Europa), and Peter reminded us about some of the details of the story.
• Isabella F. gave a shout-out to little Andorra. She told the class that France isn't the only country that borders Spain to the north -- Andorra does, as well!

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Finally, Alex posed this fascinating question: Who actually owns the Mediterranean Sea?

Lucas M. said that he doesn't think any person (or any country) should own oceans and other bodies of water, but Dawson pointed out that the U.S.A.'s borders extend 10 miles into the ocean.

Alex's question is relevant to history, and it remains relevant today. Various people and countries have answered his question differently over time, and sometimes they have even fought about what the correct answer should be.

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Today was our first musical Monday, and we watched a portion of this performance of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2.

Musical bonus question: After listening to Rachmaninov, several students in Core 3 asked: What's the difference between a tune and a song?

Bertie: A song has lyrics, but a tune does not have lyrics.

Cooper: There isn't any difference between the two.

Ariana: It depends!

Rachmaninov was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor.  He was born in 1873 and died in 1943.