one more thing

One more thing I noticed was that when the blogs had a specific purpose and due date, I was one of the first to post my blog. When they were free without constaints I forgot until the last minute and then didn't know what to write about. In my opinion, if you are going to have this blog it needs some constraints, like everyone needs to post by wednesday night and comment on someone elses blog by friday. Some times if you give someone too much rope they'll hang themselves. We need some guidance.

5/5

Mr. Brown looks at me in class one day and says "you are the type of student who would drive to class just to get your grade aren't you?" I smiled, "yes, yes I am!" It is true, I am an anal retentive control freak. I didn't used to be this way, but trying to gain admission to nursing school does crazy things to you. Crazy things like being completely distraught and crying for hours because you got an A- instead of an A. (yes, I did this). We are all like this, the pre-nursing bunch. Frazzled, uptight, nervous and trapped by the all consuming need to be perfect. No one is perfect, we are all flawed and now that the semester is over I realize that I did my best and it is out of my hands. I just have to hope that my best is enough. :)

4/5

I looked back at my work over the semester and was surprised to actually see the change in my writing. At the beginning of the semester i was reluctant to have to follow such a strict set of guidelines. In my last college comp class we wrote many short papers on a multitude of subjects. I found, however that my original writing was dull and lacked transitions. I worked hard all semester and really feel like I got something out of the class. I will use it as I move forward in my education and now feel as if I have a good foundation to build on.

3/5

So, I went to type my final drafts and my computer dies. I think to myself that it is sucky, but I will use my husbands laptop only to find out that it has no word processing program. The next day I lug all my stuff to the IUPUI library where I retype all my essays form scratch. I go to print and the system wont take my JagTag. I then go to the public library where i wait for like 45 minutes to get on a computer and the printers go down. I finally get ahold of a friend who allows me to come over and print. Why has the world conspired against me? What have I done to anger the English gods? It was the most frusterating infuriating experience ever, but I got it done so I guess in the long run I win.

Writing in the Future

During the last class of the semester, the theme was that writing stalks all of us like a starving vulture, and will continue to do so for the rest of our lives. The examples were cruel: essays in math about mathematicians, fourteen page papers in a basic western civilization course over a broad topic, and journals about patients for nurses. It is my opinion, however, that writing need not be such an ominous figure. Rather, I would have it as something to use in order to demonstrate your own effectiveness in life. If your boss demands someone to do a report, do it and make a name for yourself. Did you do poorly n that last exam? Then knock out the essay. If you view writing as something other than a task, it’s no longer a chore. Portraying a paper as something to dread until near the time it is due is incorrect, despite the common nature people have to do so. Embracing it, thinking about your approach, and reminding yourself on what you want to do long before the due date will lead to a more fluent paper written in less time, with less mind blocks too! Now, the odds of anyone taking my advice is pretty low; I do not even abide by it sometimes. However, try it out just once if need be. I assure you you will at the very, utter minimum, feel less nervous about writing the paper. Of course this also applies to anything involving paper and text, not just essays.

Reflecting on this semester

This will be my final blog posting for this semester. Altogether I feel it was a pretty decent semester. We had some good discussions as a class and some not so good discussions as a class. I have no regrets about anything. I feel that I have grown quite substantially as a writer this semester. Before this semester I did not care about reviewing or editing my work. I just let me writing flow and turned it in. After this semester I have realized that I cannot perform my best work in this manner and that some of my best work is performed while editing and reviewing my work. I worked hard to do my best and feel that my final work for this class was my best work of my life in writing. I plan to continue working on my writing on my own time, maybe write some short stories that I have floating around in my head. Im not exactly sure at this moment. I am pleased with what I have accomplished this semester and would like to thank our teacher for everything he has done, from putting up with my conversations to reviewing my work when his input was requested. I really appreciated the help.

Africa

Earlier in the semester, we read those two articles dealing with race. The African-American author proposed an idea of reparations being giving to African-Americans in an effort to make up for slavery, or at least the understanding that something wrong took place for all of those years. Some African-American activists propose the idea of going back to Africa, the Homeland of blacks. Most African-Americans turn their noses up at the thought of going back to Africa because of the poor condition the continent is in. Has anyone, black or white, taken the time out to consider why Africa is in such a disastrous state? Has anyone considered that Africa lacks scientifically, industrially, educationally, and in so many other aspects from America and other countries because their working men were stripped from them during the slave trade. We often attribute Africa's poverty to them just not being as advanced as us. We often forget that Egypt is apart of Africa, and their ancient culture is still more advanced than ours in certain aspects. We often forget that slavery still has monumental affects in our world today.

Reflecting on writing

I thought is was very reflective when we wrote about how we use what we have learned outside of this class. Personally, I use what I learned about targeting an audience. I am a member of IOPO ( Indiana Organ Procurement Organization). With that i go to different high schools and speak about becoming an organ donor. When I first started two years ago I followed the instructions the other members gave me. They said I should just go out and tell my story. Many times I was the the second or third person to speak about donating and by that time the audiences' attention was lacking. Instead of going and doing the same old thing every single time, I tried something different on Friday. Using the different tactics we have talked about in class has helped me get my message across to the different audiences. I am a living donor. I gave one of my kidneys to a family friend. She was in a hit and run by a drunk driver and suffered severe internal damage. many members of her family volunteered to donate what they could, but none of them were a match. On a whim I offered to help too. As soon as we found out I was a match I went in to sugary. Giving up one if my kidneys to help someone else is something i was honored to do. When I am talking to students about my experience I start with and activity that regains their attention and then I tell them how they can also help someone who desperately needs their help. I usually conclude my speech by passing out viva la vida bracelets from IOPO. Using a more directed message I feel I have been able to reach more people and help save lives.

End of the Year

This semester has been very helpful for my writing. I feel as though I have greatly improved in several areas, including transitions. THe most difficult thing for me to do is to just get started. Once I was able to get the first few sentences down it flowed a lot better for me. THe thesis staments also gave me problems, I felt as though I could not capture the point of the essay in just one statement. I would still like some ideas on how to become more successful in my writings.

College

Why does everyone have to go to college just to get a job? When my parents were coming out of high school, not even half of the class planned on attending college. This is my first and last year of college, feel as though I have wasted time and money. College should be for a need-to-go basis for a job, like being a doctor for example. Most degrees are almost a waste of time for someone to spend 4 years in school for, just proves to a company that the person had enough time and money to learn some idea of what they could be doing in the future. Even though on the job training is what is most important. Don't mean to complain, just don't like the way America views college these days.

Blog Blitz

     The free-form blog was a bad for me, or I was ill suited for it. Either way, the structure of the assignment for the second half of the semester was an epic fail for me. By now I’m sure you’ve noticed a trend in the most recent posts and my name. It was easier for me when we had set topics and deadlines, as I had a target date and a writing goal.  With five kids, a job, school, and the military to keep track of, a blog (which I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole unless made to in the first place) with no due date was the first victim of my daily time constraints. While I am sacrificing one good night of sleep tonight to complete this assignment and it will be finished, I think the quality of writing I would have posted would have been better in assignment form. I know that likely I am a minority in this, and that the autonomy granted to us in this task was probably beneficial to the majority of my class. Several people were excited when we were given this information after spring break. I’ll know if this happens again to simply take one night and write all of my posts, and then dole them out one week at a time.

What a mess

     The final portfolio is done as of later today. I had thought I was doing well in this class until I went for the final revisions on the included essays. My god, what a mess! I had to laugh at some of my sentences; some of my sentences reminded me of Mr. Brown’s example sentences like “my luggage was on the plane, which was later misplaced” (Mr. Brown: “I sure hope they find that airplane”). I think I lost my thesis a few times. Luckily, before I had it plastered on a milk carton in hopes that someone else might find it, it turned up. My poor synthesis essay read like a clothing advertisement in the local paper, as often as the word [generational] gap appeared. Thank heavens none of my sources were named Gucci. My efforts to straighten out the spaghetti-bowl knots reminded me of a quote from Wesley Snipe’s character in Blade: “Some mother-!&^%$#s are always tryin’ to ice-skate uphill.” Then came my favorite; the reflective essay. After writing it the first time I re-read the instructions and realized I was supposed to cite my own essays from the portfolio in this, so I retooled it for specific examples. Then I find the “bonus instructions” on another sheet that give another set of instructions to write this essay thematically around a contribution to a conversation. Good times, of course, but I’m glad I’m done. It was a headache to put together and I’ll be glad for a bit of down time.

Poorly prioritized

     Is anyone else severely struggling to find that last ounce of give a s#$t about Hollywood? Seriously, I can’t be the only one disgusted that entertainers such as these are making millions of dollars per year to play make believe while the people teaching our kids are one dollar away from destitution, many of us are having to work ridiculous hours to make ends meet (and pay daycare facilities to raise our kids), social workers and fire fighters (whose jobs typically are helping others) are on food stamps, and law enforcement is stripped too bare to man the streets? In the greater scheme of things, Lindsay Lohan going to jail isn’t going to mean anything in five years (it didn’t mean anything to me for five minutes), and Charlie Sheen despite trying to lower the country’s IQ into the single digits with his outrageous behavior has had relatively zero impact. I bet the first time someone’s trying to break into one of our houses and responding officer has to come from twenty blocks away because they zoning has too few officers covering too much area has an impact. When my fifteen year-old daughter comes home from school barely able to read the vanilla crap that passes for literature in the schools system these days because the township had to cut back English/Literature funding to save their football program, that has an impact. I personally don’t have cable, don’t even have regular television; we read. I’d love to see one unified movement to stem the tide of cash flowing to them. Perhaps some of it could go where we need it, taking care of each other, our community, and our children rather than buying Ben Affleck another new car.

Narcoleptic Writings

     The synthesis essay was quite a challenge. Throughout the course, my Achilles’ heel has been MLA formatting. Not only was this essay relying heavily on other sources, but I ended up with three sources instead of the recommended two. This became very complicated, and I bet I could compile one of the pages of the essay into just attributive tags. Thankfully, the three sources’ points of view were more or less like Goldie Lock and the Three Bears; One said this way, one said that way, and one said let’s try to find the middle. The downside is that one of the articles was by Dr. Jean Twenge, which just like her book Generation Me was filled with outstanding points and valuable information; but it read like hypnotic stereo instructions. I would recommend anything by her to an insomniac, and wait around for them to start snoring. Her writing is not boring, her subjects are not dull, but something about the structure of her writing has my chin diving for my chest a few paragraphs in. I’m certainly not the world’s most exciting academic writer, but sheesh. The works cited page was a nightmare as usual for me until I admitted defeat and summoned the easybib gods to save me. I’m glad that essay’s done. One more revision and I’d by trying to pull my hair out…and I’m already shaven-bald!

Bobble Head Vader

I enjoyed this writing assignment. It was the closest thing to creative writing with a bit of freedom that the course offered. I chose a sideways writing technique full of humor, and ran with it. In the interests of purpose and audience, I went with showing how assumptions about images could be deceiving, and chose to write it to my classmates so I could keep it informal. In terms of structure and process, it was likely my best work in the class. That’s not really a surprise, though, considering I’m usually all-in on something that I enjoy. I went with only one image for the first few drafts, but realized I ran out of steam. I stalled at three pages, and couldn’t go any further in expanding on my thesis. After re-reading the intro, I had mentioned an optical illusion picture in it that wound up becoming my second image for the essay. It was pretty easy to tie it in as well; my concept was already about assumptions formed when viewing images, so an optical illusion was a perfect fit. All in all I had a blast just describing my main image, which was a picture of my son trying on his Halloween costume. We had a Star Wars themed Halloween, and he was Darth Vader (may favorite character from the films)…or, as the other kids joked, bobble head Vader. Imagine roughly a full sized Vader mask on a four-year-old. At any rate, I got to relive Halloween and finish my assignment all at once. Bonus!

Blog Post 5/5

Current state:

So I was thinking about what to blog about and then I saw the news about our popular "friend" Osama. I'm not sure what to make of it. I have thought for a long time now that he has been dead years ago. Or, very well hidden outside of the Middle East. Watching our Commander in Chief talk about how the military accomplished this is hard for me to swallow. But it makes for a good topic to do some research on. I'm not sure what to think these days. The days of war are behind me but it's unavoidable still to this day. Turning on the TV is like watching a different world while sitting inside these four walls. One thing that I have learned is that today more than ever the world is motivated by greed and ill gotten riches. Maximize gains and minimize losses. Or I might be speaking mainly about my current environment/location. I try not to watch the news anymore. It's so sick and twisted it makes me want to leave and go somewhere where there's no more "noise". Where I can appreciate this life and the natural environment and avoid this greed-driven, sick and twisted place. But I think about it and in my point of view that would be defeat. Avoiding the issue doesn't make it go away. Dealing with the issue is what will make me overcome and eventually set my mind to uphold my values in the face of all this garbage. Being born and raised in a foreign country, having served in the US military, and having been independent for a long time has made me somewhat different compared to others my age. My eyes were opened at a young age and I have a hard time not pointing out what is BS and what's not. Experiences give great insight and also build character. But you have to learn from them and appreciate that knowledge. I see too many of my peers walking around thinking they know what is right or what is important. But the sad thing is that if they know they are wrong, too many aren't willing to correct themselves, leading to more selfish greedy fools that fight against each other for material and temporary gains. I seriously don't think that's life or the purpose of life. Don't know what is our purpose here but I'm sure it's not how much money I can make and what status I can achieve. I guess I shouldn't expect anything different though, we are a young species and we are weak. It's only at the brink of collapse that we will change and if change does come someday, it will be a revolution. I look at history and the evidence leans towards that belief. But, in the mean time I will avoid the news and focus on living. Not living with fear, greed, and doubt; but with courage, hope, independence, and the balls to say that is bull s#1t.

Blog Post 4/5

Synthesis Essay

The synthesis essay was a very interesting project. Not only did I find it hard to do but it allowed the use of my creativity as an amateur writer and my critical thinking ability in order to put my ideas on paper. What was most challenging was picking the pieces of writing that I would find interesting to synthesize and that would support my purpose effectively. Initially, I didn't find any of the writings interesting enough to talk about. In my opinion, I think I would've done a better job if I was allowed to use external sources. I think it's like that across the board. When people have something they have a real interest to talk about they tend to do better when expressing their ideas in writing. But I found something worthwhile... at least I think so.

My topic was bridging the gap in values. The gap in values that exists between Millennials and Boomers. I took a concept called code switching which is used to interpret between sublanguages to better understand and appreciate differences, therefore being able to communicate effectively and avoid demeaning the language differences of others. I think that if we use this concept, we can come to a common ground when it comes to our differences and respect and value those differences instead of butting heads all the time. The final result being working together on solving the issue instead of fighting it with no end.

Overall I think that I expressed myself and point of view very well on this paper. But again, I was limited to the pieces of writing provided on the Oncourse resources therefore limiting my imagination and creativity. It was a good experience though and doing things that take you out of your comfort zone builds character... most of the time.

End Results

The entire purpose of this class was to learn something and to pass the class. When coming into this class of course I wanted to pass the class but that was not my only motivation for the class. I know that I will use and do need English in my everyday life so it’s best that I master it early on.  English will take everyone into pretty much any profession there is. We need English in order to be able to write things such as emails, letters, and possibly speeches. We also need English to help us to speak. We have to speak to people of authority all of the time and we need to know the correct way to speak to a person. This semester in W131 I learned to not just focus on the grammaticism of my writing but the quality of my writing. I used to focus more on having the comas in the right places and spelling things correctly but this class helped me to dig a little deeper. I not only thought just about grammar but I thought about  the paper as a whole. Thinking about the paper as a whole helped me to further develop my writing. I spent more time thinking about how to elaborate on my writing and expand it in order to get my point across to not just myself but to the reader also.

Image Analysis

I found a lot of difficulty with the image analysis essay.  For weeks and weeks I had so many problems and I was stuck for so long.  I didn’t know what to write. The difficulty didn't actually come with writing the page but it came with the photos I chose. I chose some pictures that were not an advertisement or anything of that sort. I chose photos from natural disasters. When beginning the assignment I did look at a lot of different pictures. When looking at the pictures I learned to put more thought into the picture I am actually looking at because a picture can tell a lot. There is always some type of story behind every photo. Each person has their own idea of what is going on in the picture but no one really knows what is going on. It's like a mystery waiting to be solved and that is what is so interesting about photos. You can capture an image to tell a story, but not many people really know that story. After figuring this out, the ideas were able to flow a lot better and I was able to get the things done that I needed to get done.

End of the Year

Time has gone by so quickly. Just yesterday I was back home in South Bend packing up to come to college. I was saying my goodbyes to my friends and family waiting to come to a whole new world. There were some troubles, some hurdles, and large tests but I have managed to surpass them all. I have set goals for myself and although I may not have accomplished them all, I did not fall too far behind my goals. I was able to learn from all of my mistakes to better my mistakes. I am now a lot more acquaintanced with this whole "college" thing. I actually almost complete with my freshman year of college. It makes the last three not seem so far away. I am definitely proud of myself for coming this far and I know I will be able to make it so much further will only a little more hard work. Now I find myself packing back up to go back to South Bend for the summer. Then after a couple months of relaxation it’s back to the books, the hard work and studying. One thing that is for sure is that it will all pay off in the end and that is why I continue to work so hard.

Sex Education

When I first began to write my synthesis essay I felt a certain way about sex education. In the beginning I thought it would have been better to teach abstinence in the schools. Coming from a Christian background I have always been taught that you were supposed to wait until marriage to have sex. I never once questioned it so I always thought abstinence should also be taught in schools because everyone may not want their child to be about sex. Never once, until I began to think more about my paper, did I change my way of thinking. It was always obvious that everyone did not think the way that my family and I thought, and that there would still be young people engaging in sexual activities, but I considered it to be up to the parents to teach their child until I sat back and thought that not everyone has both parents. Some people have no parents at all, they have no one to be there for them and teach them the basic things they need to know. I now see the importance of sex education because there will always be young adults engaging in sexual activities and we have no control over this. What we do have control over is the information they need to know if they are or are planning to engage in sexual activities. This info is what makes the difference.

Finals question

Like everyone else on campus, I spent my week studying for finals that are required in most class. One class in particular had me asking a question that I could answer both ways... MATH. Why do we as students study countless hours memorizing formulas? So we can use them to help us on our final is the first response is that I thought of. But why do we have to memorize them if in the real world we will be able to use notes and ask peers for assistance?

The answer that I came up with is that in the real world, I wouldn't trust my doctor who didn't know the difference between a broken bone and a sprain. This memorization allows us to be able to perform our tasks in the real world faster and be more successful. with math, I wouldn't trust my contractor who couldn't do addition in his head.

What does everyone else think about this?

Goverment Regulations

This is a continuation that another student and I had about government regulations, such as the EPA.

The other student stated their hatred for the government having the right to enter a place of business and than shutting them down because they failed to meet federal guidelines. They said it was a large waste of money and time by the government in meddling in someone else's business.

While I understand why they think this way, I don't understand why they think this is a bad thing. We have the EPA mandates for a reason: To protect the public. They were set fourth to keep business from creating waste and pollutants without having any responsibility. The example I explained to this student was the nuclear power plant that was to be constructed here in Indiana; Marble Hill.

Marble Hill was a nuclear plant that started construction in 1977 with an initial cost of $1.4 billion. on March 29, 1979, there was a nuclear accident at the Three Mile Island Nuclear facility in Pennsylvania. With this accident, the public became afraid of nuclear power. Federal regulations changed the construction requirements for Marble Hill to help ease public fears and to make sure the same accident couldn't happen again. These new guidelines changed what type of concrete and how think the reactor vessels could be in addition to having multiple new safety features that had to be added, features that were learned of the accident on Three Mile Island.

In June 0f 1984, after 7 years of construction and $2.5 billion spent, the facility was only 40% complete. With an estimate to finish the facility at $7.1 billion, the construction project was terminated. This figure was due to new EPA standards required of power plants and the NRC's requirements of the facility.

Imagine if the facility were to be finished without any of these new safety features and without having any sort of regulation. If it were to have an accident, countless lives would be lost as well as the area of property damage. The public would be demanding of the government to have done something before the disaster happened.

This is why there are regulations in place. These regulations were not thought of as just something to make it tough to run a business. All the regulations that we have now came AFTER a disaster happened and were put in place to help keep the same disaster from happening again. An example of this is now every ship must carry lifeboats for everyone on board after the sinking of the Titanic.

I for one am glad that the government has set forth regulations. It's just something that needs to be monitored and to make sure the regulators actually do the safe thing when the time comes and shuts down a business when guidelines are not followed rather than just accept a fine and allow the process to continue. This is what happened with BP and what led up to the great oil spill in the Gulf.

Opinions

One of the major points I have to address in one of my papers is the concept of applying all viewpoints, sides of an argument, or involved parties into the meaning of an essay. The piece I’m speaking specifically of is the synthesis essay. In my case, I can see where I missed the point; I mentioned my view on my topic, but I did not delve into others’ and how I could make my point reverb to them. However, I do not think this aspect is universal to all papers. This line of thought goes back to determining the intended audience. Sometimes, it can come off more powerfully to make known personal values over those of others, particularly in persuasion. Most often, when bringing other opinions into a persuasion piece, the writer needs to add as to why the reader should consider their take over the others’. In these cases, significantly more emphasis is placed on the writer’s view. I find that it is very important for a writer to be able to determine whether or not to tackle a broader take on their topic. Not to seem preachy, but I believe this is one of the most powerful abilities a writer can learn from taking this class. Most assuredly, this skill will definitely come into play in later writing classes, and probably in other classes that require interpretations or for students to voice opinions. It is strange, though; I wonder whether I should have voiced more opinions on this topic in this blog post.

Grande Finale

Ah, the end-of-the-year rush to get everything done and in order has come. For some, it is a time of panic and cramming, while for others it is business as usual and passes by smoothly. Personally, I find that the end of a semester is a good opportunity to practice one’s professionalism in college. By this, I mean that a student can use this hectic period as a test to see how they perform under strict timeframes with high pressure. In this class, as I type, I’m sure most of the students are working on putting together their portfolio. The pressure placed upon their shoulders to improve their writing is larger than ever before in this class. Success on this assignment is great proof that they can make the most of themselves during hectic times. However, it is my opinion that polishing up past works and closing them with a final essay is quite less work than a difficult final exam. If the pieces are good to begin with, then it would not be too tough to make them more perfect. On the other hand, the studying needed for a final does not usually consider prior experiences in the class; you have to prepare for the now no matter how well the class had been thus far. I also believe that portfolios give a student more control over the results, since studying cannot cover all possible questions in the same amount. For portfolios, the student decides the end result for themselves. I consider myself lucky, perhaps, that I have a portfolio to compose rather than a thirty page exam to brace for.

Writing through the years

Just a few days ago I was looking through my old school papers. The ones I have deemed special and kept to remember my journey through education. I decided to go on a quest to find a paper I wrote for each and every year of school. Wow was I surprised at really how much I have changed. I started in kindergarten talking about living in a mansion with a zoo and spelling every word very wrong, with somehow my teacher knowing what I meant and correcting "I hat bokli" to "I hate broccoli". I went through a time in elementary where I always wrote about my dog (who is still around and 15) and each one was oddly exactly the same except for better grammar.
Once I got into middle school is when I thought I was smart. I would write about big political issues and get A's, not because they were profound or offered any real insight, but because the teacher were surprised that at a 7th grade level I was writing about politics! Once I moved into high school the topics were a little more set, they were done just wanting to see if you can write. They now wanted you to write on certain topics. But given the opportunity to verge off a set topic I found my myself writing about social issues. The need for universal healthcare, the tragedy of cancer, the problem with capital punishment, etc.
Now that I am in college I don't feel I have to many issues with writing. While my grammar may not always be sound, I think I normally get my point across quite well. This is just one stop in my writing journey. I am exact looking back at what lies ahead.

End of semester

As the semester ends we all have to begin on our final portfolios. I feel like the final portfolio is more beneficial to us rather than an in class final. In class finals can be very stressful and can make students very uncomfortable. Personally I don't like being in test room and being forced to complete something in a short amount of time. This final portfolio gives us plenty of time and lets us complete our work to the best of our ability. We are able to work on our own in a non-stressful enviroment. Working in a non-stressful enviroment gives you the ability to focus more on the writing and not the distractions around you. I would like every class to have a take home final. I would do much better on each final if that was available. Although I know that will never happen due to cheating and other factors it would be really nice if it would. Do you feel like the final portfolio benefits you rather than an in class final?

Blog Post 3/5

The Image Analysis Essay

Personally I like analyzing images. I use to, as a hobby, buy books with pictures where you have to find the differences between the same pictures. You have to "pay attention to detail" when doing this and through this activity I was able to develop that skill to a certain extent. It's like intelligence analysts that view photographs and gather information about what they see in them. It also helps with situational awareness. Like when someone says "what wrong with this picture?" when walking into the office and finding small details/things that have been shifted from their place or are not there at all. Or, when you're walking down the street and you see a couple of guys with hoodies and sun glasses at night walking towards a convenience store. Image analysis makes you use your brain and develop skills that I think are helpful not just to analyze specific images but your surroundings also. Because you are able to analyze details, you are also able to gather information about behavior from the people around you and be aware of what is going on in your surroundings. I think that's important because it allows me to prevent accidents or even a life threatening situation. I like to know what people are doing around me at all times. I try not to focus ONLY on what I'm doing but what is going on around me also. It's something that takes practice and a different mentality. Your peripherals are something to use if you don't want people to notice you noticing them... I hope this was of interest to you. Always be aware.

Nearing the End of the Semester

We are nearing the end of the semester and have less than a week to prepare our final drafts for Monday. I plan on having someone revising my paper and I plan to read it out loud myself to proof ready my paper. I really like the reading out loud strategy of reading it backwards to try and catch any errors. Even though I feel that I read through my errors and actually correct them out loud, I am still going to try to read it backwards and hopefully that helps. I was also thinking of taking one of Mr. Brown’s suggestions of having someone reading my essay backwards out loud to me. Maybe that will help me catch some of my mistakes. So I was wondering if any of you guys had any suggestions for poof reading. I am open to any suggestions that have worked for anyone in the past or something that you are thinking about trying for the first time when you proof read these papers. Also, is anyone planning on going to the writing center? I have never utilized this resource on campus and I do not know if it will be worth my time. Does anyone have any opinions about it?

Blog Post 2/5

Blog Posts

Writing to this blog is not something that I find useful. Honestly, I like keeping my ideas and thoughts to myself. This makes me a horrible writer since I don't like to express my ideas much. As you can imagine I'm having a hard time right now just writing these words. But, since it's a requirement,I guess it's unavoidable. Freedom of speech is a great thing and blogs are useful tools to express thoughts and feelings about any topic, concern, or incident. Sharing information is important also. Blogas are also useful to gather intelligence from the points of view of others. I guess people like me are too stubborn to get ideas and thoughts out there because I don't take into consideration the ideas and thoughts of others. Is stubborn the right word though? I'm not sure if a little bit of narcissim is mixed in there also. I don't really care.

You could say that this posting is useless, I think you would be right. Not only am I not writing anything that is of use to you the reader but I'm ranting about writing, on a blog, against my will. There aren't many things that I do against my will anymore. Realizing that life is too short to do stuff that I dislike, I have changed and have a different view of life and how I want to live mine. I use to follow orders as part of my profession before coming back to school. Orders that would go against my values and morals. I use to put up with stupid, selfish people that were above me and I had no option but to listen to them. That is out of my life...to an extent. Stupid is unavoidable. You find it everywhere.

I'm done with my useless writing against my will. I guess that the remarks I would expect from you is a rant of your own or talk about your way of living life. Whatever you chose is fine.

Sex education

I am doing my synthesis essay over sex education, what a surprise every paper I have written this semester has been about sex. I was wondering what your guys thoughts were on sex education. It is a touchy issue for a lot of people and I can see both sides of the argument. I feel that it comes down to two things, either we want our kids to be prepared by educating them with comprehensive sex education or we want to keep them in the dark with abstinence only education. Obviously there are good and bad consequences that come from both options but I feel that comprehensive sex education is the best options for today’s teens. One time in high school I did a persuasive speech on how sex education should be taught in all public schools. In my speech class full of seniors in high school I asked for them to name four different types of birth control form the list of 20 that I had. Of course, the majority of them could only name the two most common types; the pill and condoms. I then asked them what was the success rate of the pill and condom when used correctly, none of them knew the answer to my question. I honestly feel that this is something teens should be aware of how effective each option is and most importantly they should aware of ALL their options. Teens will have sex if they want too. There is not much parents can do about it unless they lock their kids up in their room so they can watch them 24-7. I feel that this is not the solution to the problem and that GOOD education is going to be the answer to our problems with teens and sex.

Synthesis Essay

I personally loved writing the synthesis essay. I chose to write about promoting and educating children on homosexual sex along with the "traditional sex" as well. It is said that developing our kids into smart, sexual beings is vital to their future happiness. So why should this not be applied to every child if it is so important for their future happiness and not just to the children that are "socially accepted." There are many reasons on why I think this approach would benefit everyone. The gay community would feel more apart of "society" and would be more comfortable with who they are without worrying about being harassed, along with the heterosexual population being more open to accepting homosexuality with open arms without discrimination. This was along the lines I was going with in the essay. During class discussions where homosexuality was brought up I heard dehumanizing words, such as "dyke" and "butch". When was it ever OK to dehumanize anyone for just simply being who they are? For the parents out there with children now, how would you feel having a gay daughter or son being pushed out of society and discriminated against because they just so happen to be homosexual? Just a thought I guess everyone should think about. Having a gay sister myself I have seen her struggle to be accepted all her life, and with homosexuality being more and more openly expressed as the generations grow, I think the time has come to treat everyone equally and stop the isolation and putting labels on the people who do not fit "your" category on what is "normal" and giving every child the opportunity to reach happiness.

What the image analysis did to me

I chose my peices and began writing my image analysis. It wasn't until I really got to the meat and bones of my essay that I began to realize that I was very connected with what I was writing about. I wrote about how the camera angle and posing of the female subjects made them appear as docile and subserviant and how the unralistic portrayal of these models was a large proponent inn young girls and their body image problems. No one tells these girls that the models ahve been photoshopped to be blemish free and made even skinnier than they actually are. I found it infuriated me how calously these ads circulated without regaurd to the damage it could cause to a young persons self image. When will companies take responsibility for their actions?

2-Per-Week Limit

This is a very odd restriction to place on a student. While I myself have put much less priority in filling these than others, I do not see how this restriction could benefit writing. For example, say Student A publishes two exemplary blog postings on Tuesday, and then at class Wednesday, he is enlightened by the discussion, and gains an idea for a new blog posting. Sadly, he must wait several days to post this, and in the meantime he has other classes and various tasks to handle. By the time he comes again to post his blog, he has lost his initial vigor on the topic, perhaps even going so far as to forget it. I say this now at eleven PM on Saturday, technically the last day of a week, on a constricted schedule. Perhaps this is a form of punishment for prioritizing or forgetting differently, but the question remains: how does it help develop a writing style? My answer is that it is pointless, but then again what position am I to talk. This is probably just myself complaining at something for having to do this now, having basically forgot about it until now in comparison to other things I need done. Oh well, a blog post is a blog post. Perhaps I am wrong; this one in particular seemed to be an efficient probe for writing as an outlet of annoyance.

Editing

If there is one thing this course has emphasized, it is the development of writing a paper in steps. This includes having papers act as precursors for the final portfolio. Personally, and perhaps conceitedly, I find that this could imply that students should not give it their all on the first “draft,” rather type up something to get the job done and edit it however their peers or instructor says. When I write, I tend to do a majority of it in one sitting. by this, I mean that I get my thesis, body structure, and general paper direction down completely straight all at once. This way, I can get into the flow of writing, and maintain this flow throughout the paper for a greater effect. If I were to work in parts, I would lose the feel and begin to stutter and trip over myself. This is why I dislike the concept of drafts. I believe that if I am to edit something, it should not by any means be an expanding of ideas or addition of some. While I can add these if needed, the flow would break apart. Writing the second paragraph after I have already done the third through fifth is a bit contradictory, I find. Then again, this is just my idea. The point I wish to make is that each draft someone does should be properly and totally managed before submission.

Final Portfolio

I like the idea of have a final portfolio instead of a final test. Personally, I always freak out during tests I don't like the pressure put on me during them so I tend to do worse than I would if I didnt have that pressure on me. This final portfolio gives us the opportunity to express our writing in the best way possible. We have tons of time to work on it and plus it still counts for 55% of our grade. It is pass or fail do or die time for this portfolio but atleast we dont have the pressure like we would a math test or something. I feel like a lot of people would agree with me on this because it reall is a lot of help doing it this way with out so much pressure rather than being in a huge room with 100 kids while its burning up in there. Thats not ideal for test taking. Mr. Brown has done a good job at letting us know what is expected of us and lets us know where we stand on our grades.

4-20 Mary J Wanna

I am in support of the legalization of marijuana. Although I do not smoke and never plan to smoke I feel like it needs to be legalized. People make such a big deal about marijuana but I don't see if being any different than alcohol or cigs. I personally believe there SHOULD be an age limit outlawed on the substance though just like cigs and alcohol. I am writing about this topic obviously because the date today is 4-20 a potheads dream. I am getting annoyed of everyone making a big deal about 4-20 just because they smoke weed all day. If it was legalized I think no one would make that big of a deal about it. Plus the tax payers wouldnt have to pay as much because we could get the potsmokers stuck in jail out of there. People will have different opinions on this subject because really it is a very controlversial subject but thats just the way I feel. Once again I do not smoke so I am not biased to it or anything.

End of the Semester

I have heard about one million people talking about all the work they are getting at the end of the semester. I technically only have one final exam to take. In here, W131, we just have the portfolio, my biology class is just an exam-not even cumulative, and my F200 class is just a project, that we get to do in groups. My math class is the only class that I have a real final exam. I know people don't like it and like to complain but isn't it the professors job to do an end of the year assessment? In high school, well any grade for that matter, people don't agree with standarized testing or similar things. But people still complain when you get to college and you get different things to do. Maybe you don't want to do everything at the same time but I personally believe that it is better than taking two hour tests all week. Plus, the portfolio shouldn't be too hard if the work was all done on time ( and at least decently) throughout this half of the semester. I think Professor Brown is really good at time management and providing us with enough time to work on it all before having to turn in the finished product.

Language

Yesterdays class really opened my eyes to what exactly what language is. I has also been under the impression that how people talk in a professional setting is "proper" grammar. When in fact the only thing that is proper about it is that everyone in that setting expects it and talks that way themselves. This is the only thing that makes language and grammar proper. So we talk proper English most of the time, given that we adjust our English and grammar based on the company we are entertaining.
While I realize that there is still a "proper" grammar for writing in an academic setting; I now realize that there really is not a proper way to speak as long as those around you are speaking the same way. I also learned that speaking above the way everyone else in the setting you are in can actually be looked at in a negative way by those around you. I must admit, I had never thought of this fact before this class. This is the first time attending this class that the topic was something I had never really considered before. I wish delighted to go to class yesterday and hope that this feeling is mutual for the rest of us.

April 18

Today's class discussions kind of caught me off guard. Everyone has perfect grammar? Now this is an idea I don't understand. I do understand that the way you talk does not determine how intellegent you are or even your eductaion. But how is saying "ax" instead of ask more efficient or fluent. Mispronouncing the word probably, I guess I get. But ax and ask are both completely different words that do not mean the same thing, so how can you say one for the other? Why do we learn anything in elementary school if it doesn't even matter? As an elementary education major I wonder if things will have changed by the time I start teaching and if I will be just teaching my kids useless standards. Even things you learn in high school seem to not be important at the university level. Although I do respect that the language has changed for hundreds and that we, as english speakers, are able to communicate.

A deeper meaning

When discussing certain topics in class, it appears that so many people have differing opinions. That is not only great but can also halter any topic that may need to be discussed. Speaking for myself, I am not the greatest at putting in advice when I know nothing about the topic at hand. I am a much better listener. Quite honestly I didn't expect this class to turn out the way it has. There is more debated about off-hand subjects than what I really need to know. I say that only because I have been out of school for almost as long as some of you have been alive and need to learn all of the fundamentals of doing assignments moreso than arguing my opinion. Don't get me wrong, some of it is helpful, but for the most part, not for me. Having a home, children and work gives me little time for getting schoolwork done. Then not having a clue what or where I am suppose to start with assignments sts me back having to learn everything from the very beginning. Am I the only one who is in that position? I can definitely relate to the ideas that most are giving thanks to my daughter, but on the other am very disconnected.

so far in w131

So far in W131, my writing has improved significantly.  I have always been a decent writer and really enjoy writing both in my free time with blogging or professionally with classes.  When I find something really interesting to write about I seem to not be able to stop.  I do tend to lose my determination and focus though when I don't enjoy the topic that I am researching or writing about.  But since I've been in 131 this semester, the teaching and readings have helped expand my knowledge on basic structure of an essay.  Ill say that the total aspect of my writing such as ideas has not been effected much but more the composition and organization of my writing.  This leads to the all over flow of the writing and much of the sense the writing makes.  Ive learned how to better structure my essay to add tension and to make better sense of it.  Ive also learned how to best write a thesis statement and what needs to be included in that sentence.  As well as the fact that it doesn't have to be the last sentence of the first paragraph.  I've also noticed that I tend to not add introductions into my writing and just jump right into the topic of the essay. I need to introduce my idea before I just start describing it.  Another thing that I've caught onto is that a revision of your first draft is not an editing of it but more of a broadening of your topic.  It includes you looking at the purpose of your essay and continuing to explore that idea.  Going deeper and writing more about it or specifying the idea even more to be more clear and precise.  Writing is a much more in depth process than I had originally thought and good writing is a product of focus and time investment.  Without these tools and resources to ensure that your writing is properly put together and makes sense, you just have a first draft of an essay...or a story.

Image Analysis

So far my favorite assignment this semester is the Image Analysis essay.  I think that this assignment was fantastic and still is for that matter.  This is mainly because it allows you to really analyze the advertisements that are floating around in todays society and think about what they mean.  What are advertisement companies attempting to promote through the things that they display? Exactly what meanings are hidden behind the photos? It helps to look at these different aspects of the photographs because the meanings that are trying to be addressed and plastered on our billboards and magazines are effecting the people in society as well.  Young kids have to see these pictures and form their conclusions about society and life from them.  If an advertisement is portraying an act as correct or normal, people will gather that information and conclude that it is in fact normal.  This can be good or bad depending on what the depiction is. If it is something harmful and demeaning to people then it's of course bad.  Advertising companies however do not care about this issue.  They are merely in the business to make money and play on things that they know will catch the audience's eye.  That's why there are so many advertisements that portray sex and drugs.  Our society has been structured upon things such as popularity and conformity when it used to be founded on honesty and integrity.  However that's the way that evolution works i suppose.  I like analyzing ads because I like to see what they really  mean and what crazy meanings they are trying to sell. 

Society Does It: So Should I

     College population are increasing, there is no doubt about that.  Universities and trade schools are overflowing with young adults just itching to reach that career they have dreamt of for years.  They study hard, test hard, party hard, and live hard for four years, and then, they graduate.  They worked so hard for that degree!  They are so ready!  "You're fired." "What?"
     How many of us (students) are actually prepared for the job we intend to have?  Each of us go to classes and we are handed assignments which already have answers.  When we solve problems we are given the variables.  We aren't being taught how to properly problem solve.  If we are sent into the world with an inferior skill set to what is required, what is the use of attending a university.  While we prove ourselves capable of solving past problems, we inhibit ourselves from solving future problems.  This is not to discourage students from attending college, this is to encourage universities to adjust their methods of teachings.  If colleges can shift their focus to preparing students to actually solving problems at hand instead of meeting state standards, we wouldn't have this problem.  Instead of only giving students problems that we already know the answers, we need to relate the information to real life situations.  Time and time again I have found myself in class learning math equations and biological processes only to wonder how I will actually use this in the field I enter.
     This basically dwindles down to guidance.  We can guide students to become book smart and be comfortable completing assignments.  But when he or she becomes a doctor, they better hope that dying patient hands them an anatomy worksheet and says, "Fill this out before I die."  Or, we can guide students to become experienced and comfortable working hands on.  Knowledge is useless without action.

Sex

I have seen a couple posts about sex among teens and I just thought I would express my opinions on it. Technically no one like a dirty girl. But in todays society sex is more accepted than ever. Although I don't think "kids" should be having sex I dont see a problems with teenagers doing it. No matter what teens are going to have sex. It is just the parents job to educate the youngters about condoms and STD's. We don't want a bunch of kids getting herpies but sex makes most teens happy. We shouldnt punish them for being happy. And again im not saying that it is ok for boys and girls to go out and be as dirty as possible im just saying that sex makes teens happy and we shouldnt frown upon people who do or have had sex. A lot of people are still good people but just chose to have intercourse.

Racism

Well first off I don't believe people are "racist" anymore. It is more of a culture dispute rather than skin color. Honestly, people don't care what color you are they care about how you portray yourself in the community. There is more and more interracial couples now a days than ever before, so you can clearly tell people don't care about color. Culture is a big divide between people. A lot of people think that there way is the only way there is and dont accept the fact that other people have different beliefs and customs. I feel like people just need to accept that just because they listen to country or rock and other people listen to rap or hiphop it doesn't make them any different. All people have feelings and a heart so they deserve to be treated the same. This country is the stirring pot of the world. It is the land of opportunity and we are making it more peaceful for different ethnicities to live here but there is still a long way to go. African Americans arent the only ones who get discriminated against. White people obviously dont belong at dancing parties.

Little 500

I'm sure everyone has heard of the little 500 that takes place in Bloomington at the IU campus. It is a fun time I experienced it last year and it was alright, but this years is going to be awesome I think. It is going to be a chance for all my friends that go to different schools that I do not get to hang out with very much to hang out together and I am sure that it will be like that for many people as well. With all the fun activites going on there it is important to still be safe and look out for one another. It is meant to be fun and is a way for students to get away from the stress of school. So with that lets go little 500 and everyone that does go be safe.

Oh Really?

It has been said that girls who engage in sexual activities at young ages are more prone to depression, and they are more likely to regret their decisions.  The study claimed that 19% of those who engaged in underage sex suffered from depression, whereas roughly 9% of those who did not have sex suffered from depression.  While the percentage difference seems significant between the two, neither number is extremely high.  Isn't it possible that this study is mildly confirming the fact that girls with depression are more apt to engage in sexual activity before the age of eighteen?  If 9% of girls who hadn't engaged in sexual activity still suffer from depression, it is likely that depression precedes any activity and is the defining factor in personality.  In order to validate this study, and solidify the results, psychological assessments should be done before and after said sexual activity.  Another factor to be looked at are the types of companions these underage girls are committing to.  Yes, 19% of the girls who engaged in sexual activity suffered from depression; could that depression have been caused by the pressures exerted by their sexual partners.  We must look at external factors as well as internal factors before we come to conclusions.  If 9% of those girls who didn't engage in sexual activity suffered from depression, could it be said that sex actually helps to eliminate depression if the circumstances are right.  The other 81% of girls engaging in sexual activity were happy, or at least said to be happy.  A logical fallacy is presented in almost any case like this, and must be dealt with accordingly.

synthesis essay

I really like the synthesis essay assignment. I think that it's a really great way to refresh your mind to analyzing and looking deeper into the meaning of a topic or article.  In general, I believe that analyzing a topic allows a person to really understand everything that was meant to be involved with the topic whether it's an argument, comparison or just facts.  Analyzing any piece of writing further more enhances the learning process.  You also get more or a feel for writing and styles of writing.  I think that the synthesis essay is even more beneficial to learning about the writing process because you have to introduce an idea.  I  had a lot of trouble with this at first because I didn’t quite understand how to do that.  I still don’t know if I accomplished the skill completely.  I do know that it was definitely a learning process in my analysis of the two articles that I chose.  I found the topics extremely interesting which of course always helps with the writing process.  However, I introduced a new idea based on a similarity between the two readings.  Im hoping that I correctly synthesized this way, but afterwards it wasn’t the same as our in class work.  Either way, it was good practice for the final portfolio!