Thoughts Thursday--due September 27
What concept we discussed these
past two weeks, whether briefly or at length, struck you as particularly
fascinating and relevant? Type 300+ words extending our discussion(s) to your
life experiences and the world's vastness. DO NOT MENTION YOUR INSTRUCTOR'S NAME. DO NOT FOCUS ONLY ON CLASS EVENTS OR PROCEDURES. EXTEND YOUR THINKING INTO ELSEWHERE. PERHAPS READ ANOTHER STUDENT ENTRY TO RESPOND TO.
Surge so you don't fizzle like Bruegel's empty-handed hunters in his famous painting.
Agree.
Disagree. Expand. Seek. Wonder. Ask. Muse. Doubt. Affirm. Connect. Confirm.
Share. Research. React. Respond. Analyze. Assess. Align. Judge. Realize. Think.
Discover. Explore. Extrapolate. Ponder.
85 comments:
Cain 2
Symposiums are wonderful tools for growth and development. Unfortunately, some people allow the improvement to solely apply to the essays we critique. It was noted in class today (September 19) that the tone of our symposium was perfect for improvement. Suggestions are not often made with malice or the intent to offend. With that idea, it is increasingly important to be aware of the way we respond to others. A harmless conversation consisting of harmless suggestions and helpful criticism can become sour in a matter of a few seconds—the amount of time it takes for one person to reply in a harsh or offensive tone. Body language and the tones in which we speak directly conduct where an encounter is sure to go. I wonder if this is why a number of people in our modern time use text messaging, social networks, email, and other electronic means of communication as a way of sharing opinions, conflicts and criticism. Communication means such as these are convenient and allow users to contemplate what they’re saying and choose their words carefully. However, it’s way too easy to click send, push OK, and wait as the person on the other end reads, analyzes, and assumes. There is absolutely no personality or reflection of the sender’s intent in most electronic messages simply because we have a terrible habit of posting things that are not completely thought through, don’t have any compassion and are not composed with precise words. Tone, attitude, and body language are more important in conversations than we give allude to. It’s easy to read something that we wrote and understand what context it’s intended to be in. Well of course! I’m the composer of my own thoughts, words, and ideas. Maybe this is why I abuse smiley faces and “haha”‘s in my text messages; I’m just trying to use a broken system in attempt to portray my thoughts accurately.
Story 2
Another person’s story may create an intense suspenseful emotion of the unknown to what is next or an inspiring, empowering, and wisdom consuming lesson to be learned. Knowing these possibilities shows just how important paying attention truly is when listening to a story, reading another’s essay, book, or report on any specific topic, and paying attention to a person’s visuals and emotion to create the presence of being in their story. Great benefits are bound to come out of paying attention to anyone for any reason. My instructor told a great example of how a real man should act in a sizzling and boiling situation bound to end up in a disaster. He clearly stood out on top as the man with most wisdom with his situation. When his daughter was being “Pummeled” as he put it, he took the right action in having his daughter come home; not realizing shortly after that a great force of rage and furry was about to come his direction. The results could have ended in a very physical manner of violence. However, he did the right thing in disarming the attacker; as the attacker came after him for “yelling” at his kids. He disarmed the raging train wreck with nothing but words. There was no need for physical violence, especially in front of his daughter. No little girl should ever have to witness a gruesome fight. Later, after the day of the incident, my instructor accomplished an event that proves to me, of being a man. He wrote a very strong, emotionally moving poem of forgiveness to the previous attacker, even though it was never his fault. That alone, stands out as one of the key elements to being a man for me. After I heard this story, I asked myself, would I have done the same? I could not answer this question. Then I wondered would my male classmates have done the same? I immediately started thinking back to my essay, with what my keys were to becoming a man. He conquered a very heated scenario with wisdom and no violence. What an inspiration I say. Whether if his intentions were to re bring up the thoughts and reminders of our manhood essays or not, I feel like I have a goal to pursue. When I am in a heated and sizzled situation, I need to pursue actions accomplished through wisdom and kindness, over being a savage like man who finds violence to solve problems. Savagery as I learned in Lord of the Flies does not end well for anyone. Being savage shows a low moral standard that does not appeal to a community based society. Savagery does not put any man on top of the food chain over another; savagery will drag a man into a deep canyon of hell that they cannot climb up. I feel that if I pursue my goal correctly, I will avoid violence and being thrown down into the canyon of hell, and uplift mine and others values through wisdom and knowledge. My instructor gave me a life challenging goal and an example of following through with the right intentions, which I will do my best to pursue effectively.
Coyle 5
The instance that really left an impact on my life wasn’t really anything to do with our class discussions. While in the computer lab on Friday (September 22) our class played musical chairs with critiques. The rule for the first round was to sit at the desk of someone of the opposite gender. The second rule, however, really got to me. For the second round we were supposed to sit at the computer of the person we knew least in the class. After this was mentioned I realized that this wouldn’t be much of a problem for me, merely because I don’t know any of the people in my class better than the others; all of my classmates are merely my acquaintances, nothing more. I personally feel that this is a very tragic circumstance. I have attended Brandon Valley since eighth grade and I still know little more than the names of most of my classmates. I believe that this is a mistake on my part, created because I feel so intimidated by the opinion of my peers that I keep inside my little shell; rarely do I make friends that I haven’t met before or aren’t friends of one of my current friends. Just as I don’t know them, my peers don’t know me very well either. I don’t want to be the person who lurks in the shadows anymore. I believe that this realization will help me to push myself out of my comfort zone. I understand that I will not feel “safe” if I push myself this way, but it’s all a part of growing up. Everyone must force themselves into uncomfortable positions in order to grow as a person. I hope that with this understanding I can change for the better and leave more of an impression on my classmates. I currently fear that I will be remembered as the quiet girl, when really I would like to be known for my academic achievements and for doing all of the things that I love like acting and singing and writing. I doubt most of my peers would guess that I would like many of the things I just listed because I don’t openly express myself very well. I have set a personal goal to get to know five more people from my class before winter break.
Larson 2
In class this week, Mr. C shared a very inspirational personal story of his to the class. I did not think anything spectacular of it till afterwards. Sure the story was funny and it had a good meaning to it as well, but that is about as far as my train of thought went that day in class. Coincidently when I got home that day, my mother was telling my dad of a customer she had that day that was downright rude. My mother seemed very disgusted and angry. That is when I started thinking about Mr. C’s story. I realized being the bigger person and taking the high road will be a life lesson I will have to work on for the rest of my life. In high school, there are many opportunities to be the better person, and a lot of times we miss them. We are too caught up with what we are doing at the moment or what other people might think of us to actually do the right thing. I thought I would grow out of this after high school. I figured in the ‘real world’ everyone is mature and makes the right decisions and no one was has to worry about taking the highroad. Mr. C’s story and my mother’s real life experience changed this point of view for me. I realized after high school, there will be people I will have to work with that I might not be able to stand. They might be rude, lazy, and sloppy or just plain mean—but this means I have to work even harder. I have to take the highroad, even if it means me apologizing for something I didn’t do, and work out the problem in a non-physical way. I must work on this lesson for the rest of my life to become successful from it- and I will.
Hallstrom 5
One of the major things in this class that I find rather daunting is the symposiums. Although I like the concept of them, sometimes I feel so much pressure to say something that it turns out I never end up saying what I am thinking. In class the other day we did musical chairs, and unlike the symposiums, everyone is getting a chance to get advice on their essay although it is not from every student. I like the idea of the musical chairs better because it gave everyone the chance to write things down that they are afraid to say in class and it also gave everyone the chance to improve their essays by getting help from their peers and even the teacher. The way our teacher set it up was to first go to the computer that was occupied by someone of the opposite gender. Secondly, we were instructed to go to the computer of someone in class whom we knew the least about. When it came time to do this, I could almost pick any computer in the class because I do not know much about each of my classmates. Even though it is not the most ideal way to get to know someone, I thought it was a very good way to get people to go to other peoples’ computers because it gives you an idea of how everyone else thinks. At times it makes me nervous to have other people read my essays because I know they do not meet my full potential, but I like the idea of symposiums and musical chairs for the reason that my peers help me achieve that potential. And in return, it makes me feel better when I know that I can return the favor and help them discover things about their essay that they never thought about.
Andersen 2
This past Friday, September 22, we spent our class period in the lab for symposiums, where we had our essays up and we played musical chairs. With instructions on where to go, we critiqued our peer’s essays. We first went to someone of the opposite gender and helped them, and added our ideas with our name so that they knew who had said what incase of questions. Our next instruction was to go to a computer or chair of someone whom we least knew in the class, until then, I thought it would be nearly impossible for me to go to a person’s computer I did not know. I knew merely everyone in the class, I had been in class with these people for numbers of years. I had been with some since kindergarten and most of the others since sixth-grade. I looked around to see who I did not know, and there was only one new student in our class. As I begin to think more about the exercise, and our second instruction, I realized I knew very few of my peers personally. I might know their first and last name, what sports they are in, or what instrument they play, but I do not know anything more. In fact, I do not know if they have jobs, siblings, from where they moved or how they ended up in the Brandon Valley School District. After realizing that I did not know anyone personally, I felt disturbed in a sense. I thought I knew my class but in all reality I knew their names, nothing more. That is when I knew I needed to learn who my classmates are personally and not their stereotype or category where they fit. The senior class leaves in less than a year and I only know about three people personally. Without the instructions to critique someone’s essay of the person we least knew, I do not think I ever would have known how many people I do not know.
Schwint 7
I have an issue with the new idea to print off mass papers to share during symposiums. I believe it is a waste of paper and not overly benifetial. Showing our work can help, but I believe doing in on the computer is way easier. It gives you a chance to read the whole essay and really see new ideas for your own essay. Being bombarded by numerous papers can seem a little overwhelming. I feel that if I printed out my paper and got many different replies, I would not have the time to read them all. I like it better when just a few people correct our essays. Musical chairs is a better idea and I enjoyed it more. It gives everyone the chance to get their essays reviewed by another person. Symposiums only go one at a time and I feel like some people do not want to go in front of the class, like me. I think we should do more computer lab work or change back to the old way we did symposiums. I do like trying new ideas, but this one does not seem best to me. I prefer musical chairs or passing paper from person -to-person. One thing I would like to explore more in class is the creative side of writing. I like how people are using more unique descritptive words. Creativity exercises would be fun, maybe make us describe something in the greatest detail we can. I believe it will also help expand our vocabulary. Sentence structure is also another thing I think should be addressed more. I struggle using alternative sentence punctuation and seem to have the same length sentances. Ellipses, colons, and semi-colons are rarely if at all seen on my papers. I do not even think I fully know how to properly use them. We should review the different sentence structures in class to help those who are lost, like me.
Breitzman 1
Last week in class, we partook in a discussion about a former neighbor of our teacher’s with whom he had gotten into a bit of an altercation. (Verbal, not physical) Our class was told that the neighbor was acting in a very rude, immature manner and that our teacher tried to make the most of the situation by acting as positively as he could. This story struck a few different chords with me, not only because the manner in which it was told was humorous. I started to ponder how rude and unrefined our society has become. Back in the olden days (at least from what I have perceived), people were much more pleasant and polite towards each other. I am certain that there were still people who acted in insulting ways even then; however, I gather that society has evolved from courteous to crude throughout the years. Why has this evolution taken place? I truly feel that our harsh society of today begins around the late 1960s with many of our parents. I think some of the historical events around that time triggered this evolution. The Vietnam War was going on, and Americans became more cynical during this period because of the government’s actions and such, particularly the government lying to the United States about war statistics. I do not place the blame for this change on any one person or group, but I think that the events of the time period started to play with people’s minds. They may have thought, “Well, if the government can lie to me, then I can lie to other people!” and those attitudes contributed to that cynicism that we now see today. Also, as a high school student I see teenagers treat their classmates meanly on a daily basis. Though I do think some of this behavior comes from seeing harshness portrayed in the media frequently (from politics to Hollywood), I think many of these behaviors have to do with our backgrounds and upbringing. Many kids do not witness their parents behaving classily and treating others with respect and dignity; kids instead hear their parents (and other adults, to be fair) bashing and insulting others whom they do not like or who do not “fit in” and acting in immature, conniving ways to achieve what they desire. These are not lessons that young people should be taught. Instead, we should be taught to love and respect everybody from all different backgrounds/lifestyles and to treat everybody with kindness and compassion. However, not all parents act this way; I know several who do raise their children to be caring individuals and set that example themselves. But I think that society as a whole needs to learn that EVERYONE is important and that none of the world’s problems will improve if they are treated with such negativity. Society needs to learn to handle itself with more grace and if we can achieve that through example, the world will be a much more positive place.
September 29th, our class went to the lab to play musical chairs. When class had five minutes left, and all the students were at their own computers, I invited my instructor to come over to me and help me with a question. After that question was answered, my instructor stuck around and noticed my sweatshirt. That day I was wearing a University of Iowa sweatshirt. He asked if that is where I was going. I responded “no, I am not D1 material”. I then explained how I may not be University of Iowa D1 material, but I was surely South Dakota State University D1 material. That same week, three days earlier, Mrs. Stemwedel came into my class to go over everything my graduating class needed to know before graduation. She talked about classes, SDMyLife.com, ACT, and SAT. The thing that caught my attention was when she started talking about colleges. I am a Brandon Valley High School senior, who has not given any thought into what college I want to attend after I graduate. Mrs. Stemwedel told the class that we should have already narrowed our choices of colleges down to at least two to three. I could not understand how I was so far behind schedule. I should have been applying, and visiting these colleges prior to my senior year. It is now crunch time for me; I have to pick a few colleges I want to go to in a little amount of time. Mrs. Stemwedel informed the class that if you want to play sports in college, that you should probably have been signed up with the NCAA in your junior year. I had just applied for the NCAA a few weeks prior. I am worried about the deadlines that colleges set for admissions, and scholarships. I just need to get in the game and check out all the options the schools offer. I want to further my education into college, and I am determined to succeed.
Tripp 5
Not only in the past week but in earlier weeks as well, I have enjoyed how comical stories are told to help us learn and remember the topics being focused on for that day. I feel like telling stories to help the class remember the lesson for the day is a good idea. Today, September 25, we were going through the final exam list of fifty things to know. We began to analyze the ten that we are to use in the compare and contrast essay and examples were being given for the different requirements. After talking about the MLA heading and the two different types of quotes-block and quoted quotes- we were asked if we knew what a gerund was seeing as we were to start a sentence with a gerund for this essay. Someone in class answered by saying that a gerund was a word ending in –ing that acts as a noun. This was correct and the example given was, “Sneezing on my friend…” which lead to an interesting story. The story was not completely relevant to what we were talking about at the time but the fact that the example had to do with the story made the story more relevant. Hearing comical stories to help us understand the topics at hand more completely has always seemed to help me. In any class, when a teacher can somehow tie in a real life example or story, I seem to remember that point in class better. Sometimes it is better to have comic relief during a class that can still be related to what the topic of the day is. Being told a story that has humor is more likely to stick with people which will in turn help the classes to remember the point of that day and in turn remember that when it comes test time. It is also fun to just hear a funny story for a break sometimes.
Van Ede, 5
While typing in the computer lab this Monday, I found the idea of working in silence particularly fascinating. The sound of the rhythmic clicks of keyboards was slightly eerie against the usual chatter. The concept of wordlessness grows increasingly rare in our highly social society, especially here in our high school. Social participation, study groups, and group projects are now customary in every class. Silence, deemed respectable and thoughtful in decades past, now appears atypical, but for good reason. The driving force of America, capitalism, thrives on social interaction. Every workplace involves committees, meetings, and think tanks to address problems with a greater amount of solutions than could ever be provided by a single individual. Faults are detected before they occur, and inspiration becomes defined through collaboration. By experiencing group work in education, we prepare ourselves for a pre-paved, public future. However, caution exists as a necessity when following any social idea. We must still be conscious of the full effects of our social habits. A phenomenon known as group polarization describes a consequence of social behavior: when people of similar beliefs get together in a group, those same beliefs gradually become extreme. A germane example of this would be the two political parties currently in power in our government. Originally, the individuals who make up either party may have held less severe views. With discussion and debate among fellow party members a rise and strengthening of party ideals can easily occur. A lack of proficiency and any general progress now exists in congress. The same social methods that create progress and stronger ideas can also develop stalemates. I am not calling for a change in the way our country or schools govern, but merely pointing out that one philosophy on progress should never be blindly adopted. America acts as a melting pot, incorporating all ideas. A strainer, leaving only the extreme principles, does not exemplify America's greatness and potential.
Pham 1
As I began progress on the September 27th blog task, I noticed a key feature. There was an addition to the prompt this time. I then viewed the posted comments on the forum. I realized that only a miniscule percentage of scholars had actually submitted to the prompt! This epiphany drove my contemplation of human society. In a world where all matters depend on who we know and not what we know, we overlook the minute details. An example of this is resolved locally and on a corporate level. Business executives tell their underlings to look at the "big picture" and exclude little details when speaking to customers. The court of law advises us to ignore the fine print. Businesses and lawmakers do this by creating excruciatingly lengthy bills and contracts. Taking advantage of the human inclination for laziness, we merely take a cursory glance of the document and sign our rights away to the corruption of both the public and private sectors. Society has brainwashed us into a state of antithetical paranoia in which we believe anything and everything that is fed to us. The use of the "big picture" as a means of accomplishment has driven us to be drones.
However, the "big picture" can only be acquired by the use of meager details. The rush of human life causes us merely to glance at instructions in order to save time. Howbeit, our attempts to save time cost us valuable resources when we are unaware of the clarifications of the current task. The drive to accomplish things in a timely manner does not always result in the most efficient of outcomes. Overlooking small details can lead to the evolution of a large problem. A prime example consists of this very blog task. If we do not read the capitalized print stating,
"DO NOT MENTION YOUR INSTRUCTOR'S NAME. DO NOT FOCUS ONLY ON CLASS EVENTS OR PROCEDURES. EXTEND YOUR THINKING INTO ELSEWHERE. PERHAPS READ ANOTHER STUDENT ENTRY TO RESPOND TO."
the result could be perverse. Losing points by not following instructions on this simple blog assignment is antithetical to the purpose of this very project. Doing well on this blog task serves as a buffer in case one goofs on their essays and does not want their mark in the class to plummet great lengths. The simple examination of the prompt could make the difference of a letter grade. In essence, the minutes spent acting with attention can counteract the lifetime it takes to fix a mistake easily fixed by mental awareness.
Shroll, 2
As I scanned through the other blogs, seeking inspiration, I came across one blog that contained the word “germane.” Germane is the one word in this vocab unit that I am having difficulty remembering. Because germane is defined as relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting, I will remember this word by thinking of Germans. While not being relevant to the topic at all, Germans are not appropriate when intoxicated. Beer is a large part of German culture. Drinking at a young age is more acceptable and as far as I know, people in Germany do not abuse the young drinking age as is done here in the US. Personally, I am not a supporter of drinking, especially underage drinking. I have personally seen the negative effects of the consumption of alcohol on the lives of my family members and peers. This is how I will remember the word germane; Germans are the antonym of germane when under the influence of alcohol. Is this a fair memory trick to use? It is often forgotten that we must view one situation through many different lenses. In this case, it would only be fair of me to put on my German grandmother’s glasses and analyze the situation through a German’s point of view. However, it isn’t that easy. While I am part German and took a couple of German classes, I know nothing about what a day in the life of a German citizen would entail. Perhaps I am not qualified to make this judgment of the German culture; it is quite possible that the German way of life is much more “appropriate” than the American way. The American society, especially the youth, is becoming more concerned with partying, the latest rap song, or the latest iPhone than they are with grades or preparing for a successful future. But in the end, who is to be the judge of what is the most germane?
Steffen 5
I completely agree with Emily Larson that after high school you will have to work with people you don’t necessarily like, but I also believe that it happens at all stages in our life as well. It makes me think of last year during marching band, when I had to endure the laziness one particular marcher. Every day it was the same thing over and over: selective hearing, dismal attitude, derogatory back-talk, and the inability to follow directions. Frustrated, I wanted this person to feel what he made me feel. However, I took the high road. I knew that if I retaliated with anger, it would only encourage him to continue this behavior. Instead I had to stay calm and patient, not allowing him to realize how much his actions were actually bothering me. After weeks of ignoring his pessimism, I finally broke down and had to say something to him. Telling him what I wanted to, in a nice way, was extremely difficult given the circumstances. We had our first marching band competition that weekend and we wanted to do well. Unless this kid got his act together, we were going to get docked major points. It was in my responsibility to prepare him for what was to come. After talking to him, I felt as if it went in one ear and out the other. Clearly, there was no desire to alter his efforts. Knowing that I had taken the high road to try and better the situation relieved the stress I had taken upon myself. I do not mean to make it sound as if I have mastered the struggle with always choosing to do the right thing. Granted, I have my shortcomings but this accomplishment has helps me to see that is possible. Though there is still work to be done, I am one step closer to this mastery.
Hallstrom 7
Throughout the year our instructor has used many different tactics in order to help us learn. All of them have been and will continue to be successful, however I feel that one way is particularly successful for me. I have always been one to laugh at something that sometimes no one else finds amusing, so when an amusing story is told to help further our education I feel as if I will remember it better, perhaps, than other things. Say it comes down to the final exam and there is a question that we had talked about in class, but it has been a while. If there is a funny story to remember it by or just any special way to remember it, students are more likely to answer correctly. I realize that the same may not be said for everyone, but having a memory to associate with is always helpful. We have also been told many person stories to, in a roundabout way, teach us a new concept or remind us of an old concept. The stories are usually entertaining to hear, and are therefore remembered as well. If we remember the story, we will remember the conversation and lesson that followed. In conclusion, I would like to say that our instructor has a very unique and wonderful way of teaching by keeping us entertained and, at times, being very silly.
Volk 1
In the past couple of weeks, many things have gone through my mind. Most of them just pass through and I do not think much about them. The one thing that left the biggest impact on me was our discussion of the instructor’s confrontation with his neighbor. Although I did not think much of it at the time and I played it off as a funny story, it seemed to stick with me. As I thought more about it, I wondered how I would have handled the situation. Even though I am not prone to violence and I am not a fan of confrontations, I probably would have hit someone. I then thought about how our teacher handled the situation...perfection. There was no bloodshed and even though they are not the best of friends, they are not sworn enemies either. I was also impressed by the note that was sent out. Instead of ripping into the man and placing all of the blame on him, the blame was much more spread out causing tempers to stay at a minimum. The fact that the situation ended as it did amazed me. Could I stay that calm? Could I share the blame? I contemplated these questions in my head for awhile and came to a conclusion. No. I understand that in life you will come across people who you do not particularly like and that conflicts will arise. It may take some practice and some mental and physical will power, but I think that in time I will be able to better handle any situation. Even though this topic had nothing to do with English, I believe that it is a subject that almost everyone can work of in their own way. It is amazing to think how much safer and kinder our world, even our school, would be if everyone could stay calm and think things over before acting out.
Olesen 1
During class on Tuesday, September 25 we had another symposium. Allie went up in front of the class while we looked at a page of her essay to talk about and expand on her ideas. Her essay was about the differences between boys and girls. Some of her topics included; outfits and make-up, ideal bodies, types of music and movies. During the discussion we expanded on this idea and decided she should write about the different ways in which boys and girls gain attention on a stereotypical approach. We talked about how girls always dress to impress the guys and how they cake on their make-up for them as well. I personally do not agree with this statement. For me, putting on make-up or dressing up is just for me. It makes me feel good and better about myself. I do not dress for anyone. I also do not believe in spending the ridiculous amount of money on Miss Me jeans just for the “butt bling”. I do agree on the fact that girls are being pressured to have the “ideal body figure”. In this society we have become so obsessed with being the slimmest and leanest. Girls are expected to be skinny and toned, while guys are expected to be muscular and masculine.
Marso, 7
As I was glancing though the responses to the prompt, Long’s blog caught my attention. The reason his particular response stood out was exactly what he stated in that we often glance over things without a second thought due to our laziness and carefreeness. His separated all caps type was flashy in a monotonous blog. If I had to guess the blog entry that the most people who respond to a prior entry, I would choose the first entry or Long’s because we refuse to put in the extra effort to read more than one entry. I would add two additional points to further his argument. First, “Interesting Fact # 135,560,596.258, you were probably too lazy to read that entire number” is a tweet I have seen and have been a victim to. The fact is that our culture has bred us to gather the relevant information, interpret it, and move on. I find myself doing this frequently. For example, if I ask a classmate what their golf score was for the tournament the previous day, all I desire to know is the final score, and possible if that was a successful round for them. To me, individual hole scores, front nine versus back nine scores, or even how they felt about each shot is useless and a waste of time. My second point deals with the license agreements you must agree to before you move on when installing or applying for something on a computer. Most of the time, I find myself simply clicking the “I agree” button to move on and save time; I assume many others do this as well. For all we know, a company could include a fee of $100 dollars per minute when using their product. Though a treacherous technique, could it take a drastic measure like this to motivate us to pay attention to the small details?
Hensley 5
After reading several of my fellow classmate’s posts, I came to the conclusion that for this thoughts Thursday, one of my fellow classmate’s responses has sparked my interest. I would like to play the role of devil’s advocate for a Mr. Schwint. I sincerely believe that using Mr. C’s new method of symposiums, one can maximize their essay’s potential for numerous reasons. Although it uses a substantial amount of beloved planet’s tree resources, I do not believe it is wasteful. Because the paper is used for higher enlightenment and to push our boundaries on our accumulated knowledge; one can not use the argument that the new method for symposiums is wasteful. Secondly Mr. Schwint’s argument that the stack of paper an individual may receive back can be daunting, the amount of information one receives back is more substantial than performing musical chairs with our essays. With musical chairs, one will only have the opportunity to receive critics from three people; those three people are selected at random. Although composition 101 consists of some of the brightest minds in Brandon Valley High School, to say that each critic is going to be beneficiate us as much as the last is only to kid ourselves. This brings into mind George Orwell’s Animal Farm’s famous quote, “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”. Likewise not all students excel in giving critiques holding and individual’s essay back from reaching its maximum potential. By using the new method for symposiums, an individual can receive critics from an entire class ensuring they receive feedback from the “more equal” critics. Mr. Schwint comes up with a substantial amount of valid arguments. The environment is a very critical matter and one that should not be taken likely. Furthermore the uninspired may find a stack of paper’s daunting when looking for critiques. Like all stories, I am merely presenting the other side to the table so that when one chooses to make up his mind, he may have all the view points to consider.
Bender 1
Symposiums inspire thoughts. After Allie’s symposium the other day I thought on all the differences between boys and girls. But that was not what struck me about the paper and the symposium. The most amazing thing to me was the expectations that people in class and adults had as expectations for the average male. Mention was made of how academic success was often viewed as a negative. We talked about how males were supposed to dress and look. Taste in movies and music was limited to a small section. Near the end of the class it was stated that all people do all things in the hope that it may boost their status in some area of another’s thoughts. Throughout the rest of the day I began analyzing myself and others. Why did he do that? What made her want to say that? I looked at my own life and motives. It was a tough essay for me to listen to because I fit very few of the definitions set forth in the essay of a high school male. I hate rap, don’t own any Jordan apparel and more often than not I could care less the opposite sexes opinion of me. Previous years are a totally different story. I along with many people cared about few things as much as what other people thought of us. In the end every one want s acceptance. This acceptance can come from clothing social status or sports to name a few. As ironic as it sounds acceptance often comes through lack of acceptance elsewhere. The change that I along with several others have noticed or mentioned about the transition to senior is astoundingly truthful. I believe the reason for this one eighty turn is because as seniors we have already found acceptance with our current friend group. It also helps that we will likely only ever see several classmates after graduation from high school. Minimum we only haveon3e year left with those we dislike like so fretting about their opinion of us seems pointless.
Wilde7
Today in class, our instructor elaborated on a very fascinating concept. He demonstrated how the sole motivator for the phonetics of our language is simply our belief in the system. Our instructor proposed a scenario where he would teach an infant the incorrect, or socially unaccepted, phonetics for different letters. In doing so, the child would surely grow up speaking in such a way that would be completely uncommon to the English language. Unfortunately, the child would think nothing of this due to his/her belief that their speaking was perfectly usual. This idea reminded me of a concept we learned in government class. When considering our country’s currency, what exactly gives these paper bills value? Without the nationwide belief in our currency system, these bills would be no more valuable than finely-shredded pieces of paper. During the colonial times, people traded resources such as silver and gold. Unlike paper bills, these resources directly indicated wealth and prosperity. Wealth and success in modern day society is commonly portrayed through “big houses and hot spouses.” Contemplating the actual worth of paper currency is a frightening thought. Paper currency essentially acts as a go-between; consumers use the “cash” to buy other goods. What if our country’s currency system became corrupt and the value of our assets—bonds, trust funds, etc.—diminished? People could theoretically be millionaires without possessing any hard valuables. During the Great Depression, the stock market crashed. Once this occurred, speculators all over the nation began selling their dollars for gold. With everyone doing this at once, our nation experienced a time of deflation. The value of the dollar was gone, and the paper bills were worth no more than simply materials to burn.
It is truly amazing how effective America’s currency system works. This smooth system can be contributed to the fact that we, the people of the United States of America, believe in the value of the US dollar.
Larson 1
When I first discovered today’s (September 26) vocabulary quiz would be a partnered event, I was unsure. Knowing that I would not get to choose my partner meant I could very well be matched up with someone who paid not one whit of attention to the words set out for them to learn. While the actual trio I was thrown together with proved to be quite prepared for this quiz, just thinking about the opposite made my lip curl with derision. Why in the world should someone else benefit from the knowledge I worked hard to commit to memory, when they themselves did absolutely nothing? Is not the essence of a quiz to test a person’s own knowledge? The point was brought up that these vocabulary quizzes were more a celebration of words, and something to be enjoyed than a cut and dry show what you know. While I wholly approve of the celebration of words, as vocab has always been one of my personal favorites, allowing someone else to prosper undeservedly still does not sit right with me. If the point of such vocabulary assignments is to celebrate language and the expansion of vocabulary, wouldn’t a memory game or a partnered studying session suffice? In both examples partners benefit from the other’s knowledge and vocabulary prowess, indeed possibly more than in a quiz setting, as a partner’s memory tricks and acronyms would profit long-term learning to a greater extent. I can admit, I do not always wish to share whatever knowledge I may possess with the patience and grace it is best to offer in such a scenario. When my thoughts make sense to me, I sometimes do not want to waste time explaining them to others. I know I am right! I think others can empathize with me on this. But perhaps I am the problem in this situation, and this will be a good learning experience for me. The last thing I would wish is to be someone who has sat themselves on a high horse and will not get down to share their thoughts with the mere peasants below. In this way I accept a partnered quiz as a chance to exercise my communication skills, and my empathy towards others. Being partnered with someone who only wishes to profit from my hard work, however, will never sit well with me.
Grant Rasmussen
Throughout the past couple of weeks, there has been one thing that has been on my mind. As we have been trying to get better at our writing to improve our scores and become more scholarly, I was looking at myself and thinking do I really belong with this group of scholarly people? The average honors student seems to have a perfect to near perfect GPA and they have over a 30 on their ACT. They seem to be set up for life and their only focus is on improving to be the best of the best. In my opinion, I seem to be below all of the rest in the honors program. I don’t have an excellent GPA, I got an average score on the ACT. I don’t know what I am doing in this class. It gets me thinking about what I am going to do after high school. Most of the class will go to out of state prestigious schools where they will be valued as excellent students. I am afraid that I will lose all of the people that I have grown close to because they are better students than I. It made me draw another question which was, can 2 people still be friends if they are in totally separate worlds. By separate worlds I mean by school, by job, by income, by intelligence. Can people still keep in touch or still be able to relate to each other if these principles are so great in difference? I am on track as far as everybody knows but only I know that I can’t attend as grand of universities as the greats of our school. I don’t know if knowing this should effect my career decision or not. This is one of the hardest questions that I have ever faced.
Callahan 1
Upon review of the past week, one discussion has continued to resurface in my mind. This discussion was inspired by Allie Poppenga's symposium over her compare and contrast essay, which focused on the stereotypical differences between boys and girls. On the particular printed page we were viewing, Allie organized her ideas into these three paragraphs: clothing/style, movie and music taste, and what both genders will do to their body to impress the opposite sex. The first paragraph explained how girls will dress in constricting Miss Me jeans, slightly revealing tops, and cute shoes and accessories that match the rest of their outfit. This triggered amusement from nearly every student in the class-- why do girls wear jewels on their butts? The question seemed absurd, even humorous, but inspired our class to change stances and shift our point of view to more of a biological standpoint. Humans are attracted to shiny things, so what better way to draw attention to a physical feature than to add sparkles? It was then that the connection between the Miss Me's and Allie's third paragraph was realized. Our clothing choice depends, whether subliminally or consciously, on what makes us more appealing. Then I began to wonder-- is it really only for the opposite sex? I believe that we also compete for our own gender's attention. Like animals, there is a contest to see who is the most "fit". In high school, the most "fit" student is the one who owns the largest amount of expensive clothes that show off their body. In the wild, animals who have the advantage are the biggest/most dominant, the most vibrant feathers, or the most appealing strut. Yet, can this concept not be applied to high school students as well? The athletic jocks are similar to the most dominant animal. The most vibrant feathers are comparable to bright Jordan shoes or the blinged-out-butts of Miss Me jeans. The strut of a peacock appears in hallways as boys walk with a slow swag and girls swing their hips as if parading the length of a cat-walk. Like how humans are attracted to shiny things like bejeweled pants, raccoons are attracted to shiny tin cans and various other trash items; some girls further emulate the raccoon by blackening their eyes with make-up. This thought was realized later that night when I was watching Mean Girls by Tina Fey-- the scene when the students in the school literally begin fighting like wild animals. Humans are always setting themselves apart from animals: we empathize; we rationalize; and, to some extent, we individualize. To believe humans are different than animals, in my opinion, is a simple denial of the truth. Yes, we may be able to do all these things that animals cannot, but does that matter if all of our behaviors and tendencies are the exact same to those of a wild animal? Now, I really understand why we are dismissed into the jungle with a forewarning "'stay sane out there'" at the peal of the dismissal bell.
Peterson 1
Symposiums are a great way to help ideas flow in your brain with the help of classmates. I would like to expand on Cain 2. Criticism can be harmful, but it is meant to help. When a person critiques another’s ideas we may see that idea in a different and new way. Criticism can help a person realize their fault and then realize how they can make it better. Relating this to my life, all I can think of is dance over and over again. In dance, our team has to look coherent. We all have to have the same style and look and to accomplish this takes major criticism. Coach will tell us critiques on when we may be off or look sloppy. Hearing these comments are the only thing that will make us a better dancer and our team a more unified team. I would never know that I was always hitting a count late unless I had a mirror and saw it for myself which does not always happen or get a critique from someone else. Coach is not the only one who informs another person they are wrong. All of us teammates watch out for each other so that we can all be unified. Sometimes, rookies have troubles getting used to this idea. They take the criticism personally and let it hurt their feelings. In reality, that was not implied. When critiques were said to help they end up hurting a person. I think people in society are this same way. We want to be honest with a person but cannot be honest. Have people become too soft hearted? Is there a point where criticism is no longer helpful but just plain rude? I personally think our symposiums have consisted of helpful criticism and ideas. We all have the intent of helping each other and not putting each other down. That is the helpful part of criticism.
Rogen7
An item that has remains fresh in my mind the past few weeks has been the topic of vocabulary. This topic frightens me, for my track record with vocabulary is not impressive. In the past, my grades have done nothing but drop through the countless worksheets, quizzes, and tests. With these terrible memories motivating my miraculous comeback, I decided to try any form of studying I could try. I did all of this in an effort to reverse my luck and “utterly dominate” on Wednesday. When the day came I began to worry. I was carrying the book around during my walks in the hall, but now I was more frantic to learn and achieve. This down time gave me the ability to be confident in my answers and let me have something valuable to donate to my group. Between the hard work and the contributions of my lovely teammates, we achieved the grade we aspired for. Our productive conversation and silent debate my partners and I had allowed us to prevail to the common goal. Although I am unaware of the next date of a vocabulary quiz, it is easier to see the light of the situation. As unit two looms in the distance, I will be preparing for its raid on my newly found self-confidence with another round of flashcards and flip charts ready to do battle.
In addition to this I found Long, Van Ede, and Marso’s posts very insightful. Along with their extremely valid points upon the change in prompt and fluency, their word choice is the envy of my writing. Their incredible ability to put together a piece that critiques a topic is an absolute wonder, and I wish that I can ascend to their level with the aid of a larger vocabulary. With that being said, I could not help but have a soft chuckle when I read other’s blogs clearly violating this week’s different prompt. But then again, I do not always read the Terms of Agreement before I check the box to acquire my iTunes update.
Gallo 2
This blog post is in response to Mr. Zach Van Ede’s post as suggested in the instructor’s post. I find the idea of group polarization particularly fascinating. The notion of a group’s members growing increasingly radical in their beliefs and thought process over time is quite interesting indeed. It does seem that, in a conversation among peers, the ideas that receive the most attention are the most revolutionary, unusual ones. Perhaps the theory of group polarization explains this phenomenon the best. As a conversation continues, the participants feel as though they are obligated to come up with a new, pioneering thought to add. These thoughts overtime must become more radical, or they will no longer be original. I believe this principle is evident also in our symposiums. As our class continues deeper into the given symposium, each person feels obligated to voice their opinion. However, most of the neutral, less controversial opinions have already been shared. Each additional student feels the need to one-up the prior student in terms of helpfulness and relatedness of commentary.
In today’s society, fairly neutral beliefs are easily mistaken for a lack of beliefs. Those with moderate beliefs on an issue feel shunned as though their middle-of-the-road beliefs reveal a sort of deeply-seeded unintelligence regarding the issue at hand. Only those with polar viewpoints are given full consideration as one who has researched the issue and holds a valuable opinion. This is particularly true in politics, as Mr. Van Ede alluded to. Those with moderate beliefs feel almost forced to take a side, even if they believe both of the major parties hold too polar of beliefs. Consider which opinions and thought processes receive the most media attention. It is surely not those that have relatively neutral beliefs. Only the revolutionary new ideas receive attention. As explained in the notion of group polarization and applicable at a larger level, our nation as a whole is indeed becoming increasingly polar.
Arrowsmith 7
2+2=5. Immediately after reading, a hypothetical red flag dings in our minds. What a mendacious equation, even imbeciles know what two plus two equals. Or are we the imbeciles to be so certain in our answer? Recently our instructor discussed a topic that made me instantly ponder on how naive we truly are. From a young age we are told what means what and that is just the way it is. Our instructor provided an example that if a child was taught "incorrect" phonetics for different letters he or she would grow up with a firm believe in those untruths. After all, whatever mommy and daddy says is true. After pondering over that I chuckled at the thought of one population being taught one set of phonetics and another population believing in a different set, resulting in a clash of one belief against another resulting in wars and complete pandemonium. And then I realized that in essence that is exactly what the world does. For example, in English we pronounce vowels one way while in Spanish the same vowel is pronounce in a completely different form. Both populaces think their way is right, and yet somehow we find a way to coincide with each other, even learn one another's language. Then it dawned on me how strange it is that the world speaks different languages altogether. Would it not make much more sense if every population spoke the same language? Imagine the kind of unity the world would have, every person speaking the same tongue, zero translations or misunderstandings. But then again, is our language not part of who we are, our culture, our aura. and our being? If our different languages were stripped away, then so would our diversity.
Tibke 1
Over this past week we had many small conversations that seemed to detour us, for a small time, away from the topic at hand. The topic that really stood put was one we had about how a feud between two neighbors can lead to drastic events if someone does not step to become the bigger person. The conversation took me off guard because we went from talking about paragraph order ideas for a pupil’s paper to getting close to brawling with your neighbor but taking the high road. I do not quite understand how someone could admit to doing something wrong and accepting the blame when you know you had not fault. I do not think that if a similar situation were to present itself to me I would be able to be the bigger person. I feel one should always stick up for themselves because I know countless cases where people just get pushed around because they are thought of as someone who will not stand up for themselves. I do have a substantial amount of respect for people who can do this. To be able to take full responsibility for something not of your doing has to take a lot of guts. I was really glad for this small story to interrupt our normal class discussion. It was good to get out of the box so to speak and not always go by the book. Even though this had little relevance to our lesson, this story made me think about how even the little things can stop a small conflict from escalating to an all-out battle. I have no doubt small conversations like this will arise in future lessons and I cannot wait to see how they can make a connection to everyday lives, whether large or small.
Guthmiller 5
“Paradise” by Coldplay enters the sound waves with a precise orchestra that quickly builds into an electro-crescendo. Not only pleasing to the ear, it is also emotionally pleasing to me. While listening I conjure up important moments in my life, whether I’ve experienced them or not. Places impossible to our earth flow freely around my thoughts. I think of landscapes filled with magnificent waterfalls, cites built upon the clouds, the Aurora Borealis hovering over flowing grasslands. While one landscape molds to another like water rapidly melting and freezing, my conscious forms a sublime Paradise that beckons me. But with these unworldly expectations of grandiose and wonder flirting with my mind, I question if this Paradise exists outside the realms of my imagination. Pondering this question throughout the day, I change my mind from no to yes. Although impossible to create the landscapes I envision, it’s possible to emulate the emotions commonly associated with Paradise. Euphoria, bliss, and ecstasy: emotions felt in Paradise. Events that trigger these emotions allow me to feel Paradise. A word that once described a place, changes, in my mind, to a word that describes a feeling. I can now feel Paradise, and when I feel it I know I’ve felt it before. I’ve felt it moments after winning football games, playing cards with my grandparents, fishing with my dad, and many other times. If I were to be locked in those moments forever with those emotions felt, I would be in Paradise. A place once landlocked by the Cerebrospinal fluid in my brain is now real. This sudden epiphany of my views and definition on Paradise gives me great hope of my future. Before writing this I thought I could never be satisfied; tainted by wondrous places, my soul was weary of earthly moments. But now I see that there are moments of Paradise scattered among my life. Paradise exists.
Peltier 5
After reading Rachel Volk’s blog about our instructor who remained calm during an argument with his neighbor it came to my attention that many of us would not have responded with such maturity. If I had been in that argument, or if my neighbor had touched my nose, I would have become angry and maybe retaliated. Whether I would have used harsh words or another form of communication to get my point across I do not know for sure if it would have been in a mature manner. I would like to think that I would respond calmly but if I were put in the situation, I do not know how I would react. I believe knowing how to react to certain situations like that is all about how old you are and how experienced you are with life. Imagine an elementary school kid on the playground getting in a fight with another kid. In most cases, one of them would run and tell the teacher for the teacher to resolve the problem. As we grow older, we learn to deal with situations like that on our own and become more independent. Sure, there may be times where we may tell others about a problem we may have with someone, but we learn to resolve the problems on our own. As a student in high school I would probably be able to resolve an argument with someone on my own but my apology would be much greater if I used harsh words. As I grow older and mature more, I hope that I can learn to take the higher road in a situation where it would be much easier to get revenge. I hope I can be the one to step up and apologize for something like our instructor did, even if the situation I am in is not necessarily my fault.
Poppenga 1
Throughout the past week, I have been studiously working on my comparison and contrast essay. What I decided to compare were stereotypical high school boys and girls. It was not difficult for me to expand on my ideas and creations. My essay is divided into three various topics viewing both genders: clothing/style, movie/music tastes, and keeping up with their bodies. What I did have trouble with was having more ideas within my essay other than the obvious ones I have now. Knowing this, I went up in front of the classroom for a symposium yesterday. I found how helpful these tools are if you are in need of assistance. I printed off one of my pages that I needed the most help on for the rest of the class and, as of right now, there are ideas spilling off of my paper. We brought to attention the main idea of my whole essay is how genders obtain attention. Whether it be of the opposite gender or of the same gender, mostly everyone strives to seek attention to make them feel good about themselves. More than one of my classmates also brought to my attention all of society’s pressures. Society forces girls to believe they have to look flawless every day, purchase the most “blinged-out”, expensive jeans, and name-brand clothing. There is so much societal pressure on not only girls, but also the guys. Guys are expected to be cocky (that’s how they attract the ladies), muscular, and wear all the athletic brands. Writing this essay and reviewing all of the ideas that not only I, but my other classmates have brought forth, makes me realize how perfect each individual is. No person needs to be better than everyone else; be who you are and people will accept your bravery in this cruel, judgmental world.
Forster 2
As I sorted through my thoughts on how to begin this blog task, I sifted through the comments left early today and this week. I am choosing to respond and elaborate on Long's post, as I agree and would like to expand upon the points he began to make. Human nature, as I have found, has an undeniable inclination towards overlooking the details. One may scan directions, but reading and analyzing instruction is sadly uncommon. Like reading the simple instructions to a blog task, truly listening during a conversation with a friend or acquaintance can be rare. Discovering someone who will take the initiative to actively listen and respond to conversation is a frustrating concept for me. The fact that most people (this may be simply from my perception) would choose to blow by other human beings' thoughts and feelings to insert their own is an alarming idea. Those who I have grown closest with over the years are individuals that not only have similar interests to myself, but are people who achieve an air of thoughtfulness and concern. These people have taken my struggles into their own lives and attempted to repair them. Their actions inspire me to do the same. If we are to achieve meaningful relationships with those around us, then we must actively "read the directions". By this, I mean we must not only look out for the details, but we must track them down. True friendships will take root when people show their caring and nurturing emotions-those that I believe exist in everyone.
Rusten 7
There are several issues and topics that I am going to write about these past few weeks. My first issues are printing out papers for the symposiums. I believe that they are beneficial to that person but why waste all of that paper when you can just as easily go into the computer lab and play musical chairs. I am not a tree hugger by any means but it just bothers me when you have to print out 20+ copies per class, per person when you can have almost the same effect in the computer lab. It does mix things up for the class room though. There is also the idea of getting more minds in at one time, where everyone writes down their improvements for that persons’ paper, but everyone’s’ paper gets improved in the lab where there is only one in the classroom. The next topic I will discuss is the vocab words. I enjoy the fact that we are using them again like we have for the past years. I particularly enjoy the fact that the pages inside the book are not due, even though I do them regardless. I like the fact that we are broadening our vocabulary and it also helps with our writing. Bigger, stronger words equal more points on the essays. I have mixed views on the partner tests though; I do like the fact that we are helping each other but some students will take an advantage of this and not study because they think they can use their partner to get them a good grade. So I am glad that our instructor will mix up our tests, like having partners this week and being by yourself the next. That way students will study and be prepared(hopefully).
Clemenson 1
Taciturn…someone who is inclined to talk very little. As I was studying for my vocabulary quiz, I effortlessly remembered the word taciturn because I was able to link the term to myself. Then, I began to recall the story our instructor shared with us about students who do not participate in classroom discussions. He believed that if their grade was based completely on participation, timid student still would not contribute to the discussions. I realized that I am one of those students who rarely participates in class. I believe that I would contribute if my grade was based solely on my input but I would have to push myself out of my comfort zone. I would still be quieter than many of the other students participating. Our instructor mentioned how sad it was that the taciturn students do not contribute because someone gave them the impression that their ideas were worthless and no one would appreciate their idea. This comment caused me start to examine why I am so hesitant to participate in class. I came to the conclusion that I have a naturally quiet voice and when I was younger I had to repeat everything that I said. Eventually I grew tired of repeating myself therefore I stopped talking in general and just listened. Now I have become an attentive listener while people talk. I also do not contribute because I feel like I lack original ideas so I do not share mine. I have heard people give advice during symposiums that was similar to my own thoughts. I regret not sharing my own thoughts but I have to accept that I was too apprehensive about my own ideas. I hope to eventually become more comfortable contributing in classes but I will have to work at it. Little by little I feel that I have participated more in classes but I am still a taciturn person.
Rist 2
While looking through a few of the blogs posted already, I came across Long Pham's blog. He elaborated on how we are told to look at the "big picture" and ignore the little details. I began to ponder the way our brains work and why we decide to leave out certain details. I recalled a time in Psychology class this past week where we looked at a paragraph that was written. The letters in words were rearranged but we could still read the entire paragraph because the first and last letters were in the correct location. Our brains do not read words by each letter, but rather as a whole. Also, we viewed a video about focus. We were asked to count how many time the players in white passed the ball. Players dressed in black were also tossing a ball around, but they were only there to make you lose focus. Upon finishing the video, we were asked how many passes they made. Each person was in agreement that they had made 15 passes. The answer was then revealed that they indeed, made 15 passes. Continuing to watch the video, it then asked if we had identified the gorilla walking across the screen. Most people had not noticed the gorilla and were in awe. How could someone not notice a giant, hairy, black animal walking across the screen? Our brains became so focused in on the white players passing the ball that we did not even realize the gorilla was there. People's brains work in wondrous ways and it can be interesting to observe the ways we can be tricked. Often, we do just look at the "big picture" instead of reading the little details, but from now on I know that I will pay more attention to the little things and focus on what is more important.
Petersen 7
The way someone teaches someone can affect how that person learns. Globally certain customs and traditions are taught in the same way. There is a general acceptance of how something should be taught. When teaching kindergarteners how to read, every teacher pronounces the letters the same way. But what if one of those teachers decided to teach that ‘b’ sound like the letter ‘z’ instead, those children wouldn’t know any different. But yet no teacher would teach it that way, there is a general understanding that the letter ‘b’ sounds like ‘bee’. We discussed this concept during class. What if everybody had their own way of teaching something, such as ‘c’ to them actually sounds like ‘bee’? Therefore reading cat it would sound like bat. There would be no understanding across people. If someone read a paper that person wrote, they would be confused and mistaken what that person had written. It is strange that everyone agrees on the way certain symbols sound or mean but it is very important to how society functions. If no one agreed the world would not be able to communicate through the written word. It is important now in our society that letters stand for the same thing. In class we discussed how you could teach a child the “wrong” meaning or sound of a letter and they would not know the difference. The trend could continue and we could end up with a generation that does not comprehend what the generation before them has written. Globally accepting a certain way of teaching is important to the improvement and growth of society.
Beckman 2
Today in class we, very briefly, talked about phobias. What phobias do people have? Some had fears of feet, spiders—common things, while others had more outlandish fears. Majority of the fears could be backed by a logical explanation, some traumatic even that has since left them scared. During class I found this to be a rather odd topic, and couldn’t quite figure out where something like this could go or what the point was. Ironically, in my next class period we got onto the same topic—foot phobias. Having now talked about phobias, particularly foot ones, for two classes now I started to think about what some of my biggest fears are. Maybe not even what my greatest phobias are, but what my greatest fears in life are, or should be. I then spent the rest of my day sifting through thoughts. Most clearly in my mind was the fear of the future. Speech pathology is what I have in mind as of now with a minor in American Sign Language, but without having shadowed anyone in that field yet I often find myself second guessing this choice. How do I know I will be any good at it? Will I even enjoy it? Then there was the fear of college, not the college experience itself but the deciding of where to go. This thought has plagued my mind for well over a year now. There are schools I would love to attend which offer my major but not necessarily my minor. Finding a school that offers both speech pathology and sign language has not been an easy task. Matters are not helped any when very few schools offer speech pathology to begin, though. However, as I sit here I realize that there will always be the fear of the unknown, or Xenophobe, will always be present in my life. I do not have any powers that allow me to see into the future and know that everything will be okay. Part of life is living in the present, not knowing what the future brings which I accept. Worrying will not make things go away.
Voigt 7
In preparation for this blog task, I began by skimming through some of my classmate’s posts. In doing so, I was yet again very impressed and surprised by the ideas I read. Each and every individual has contributed something particularly fascinating. The abundance of superb, yet still very individualistic ideas fascinates me. Although there were many intriguing posts, Brianna Clemenson’s ideas particularly drew my attention. Brianna discussed the matter of her participation in class. What was more interesting to me though, were the reasons Brianna believes she tends to be less vocal or outspoken. Brianna further explained that being soft-spoken was something that began when she was a child. It is unbelievable how much we as humans are shaped by things that occur when we are children. I often wonder if miniscule happenings from my childhood were altered, if I would find myself to be a completely different person. For instance, I have a strong liking of old black and white films. Earlier this week, I was asked why this is so. It seems to be a fairly straightforward question. However, it is one of those questions that one does not initially have a good response to, so I desire to spit out a quick - “I don’t know.”, and move on. What if everyone decided that ‘I don’t know’ is not an acceptable response to any question. Would we then find that although not obvious, there is a deeper reason behind absolutely everything? When I refuse to allow ‘I don’t know’ to be an answer, I realize that the reason I feel drawn to old movies stretches back to my early childhood. I have fond memories of listening to my parents watch old movies at night when I was supposed to be asleep or watching old movies with my Grandma when visiting her. Not only do I have adoration for these classics because of memories, but because the plot of the movies themselves bring a sense of security. Movies from the Old Hollywood time period typically possess mere one-dimensional problems. So, I find through some thought and honesty, that it is the security of my memories and the desire for a world with fixable problems that draws me to old films. Humans are undeniably shaped and molded into individuals by their past experiences.
This week was a particularly thought-intensive week as far as class discussion is concerned. The symposiums were previously insightful whereas now, with the new format, they are not only helpful but also an excellent exercise in both technical and creative editing. Having a solid copy of the material during a symposium makes assisting the writer easier. Being up front with your paper in everyone else’s hands is nerve-wracking, but the advice and suggestions offered up are more relevant than before.
A topic that incited the most thought this week, for me, was the story told by the instructor about a confrontation with his neighbor. The story was well-told and thoroughly explained, but what struck me was the intensity of attention called to the storyteller. Listening to the anecdote made me realize that inflection plays a larger role in communication. Writers (and readers) have a habit of omitting the aspect of linguistic relativity in a paper and reading a work as a technical writing instead of an artful composition.
This idea applies to me, as I was among the few to be a symposium subject this week. It irks me, for lack of a better word, that many of the suggestions regarding my paper were to “re-word” certain phrases and completely edit full sentences because they “didn’t make sense.” In reality, the structure made perfect sense; the only problem was the readers were taking the work for its value as an analytical report instead of an artful composition. There is a world of difference between a textbook and an epic. Many of the students in this course need to be reminded that people once read for fun. As Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of instant media make up more of young people’s lives, true writing becomes lost among meaningless updates and empty conversations. Perhaps, before we all become permanently plugged in, we all need to relax and get lost once more in a good book.
^The above comment is mine.
-Robertson 2
Nifong period 2
Although the symposiums are beneficial to the person who is receiving help, I do feel like they are overkill sometimes. The printed off paper symposiums are helpful if the advice is actually taken. I do think most of the time people just view the comments without real serious consideration of actually using the corrections to benefit their paper as a whole. The person who is hosting the symposium often has already made their mind up about their paper. They may think that their paper doesn’t need corrections or improvement. The paper holder may already be close minded. This directly counteracts the prime goal of the symposium. Contrastingly, some people benefit incredibly from symposiums because their ideas are not completely developed at the time of the symposium. Symposiums help the writer to further their ideas and expand their thinking to deeper and more meaningful levels. The writer benefits greatly because they are open to suggestions and criticisms. I also feel that if one person receives a symposium the whole class should receive a symposium. Equal opportunities for improvement should be given. I feel that the writers that receive a symposium have an unfair advantage versus the writers that are not given a symposium. Unfortunately, we do not have enough time to give adequate symposiums to everyone. I think the symposiums should be chosen wisely, picking the writers who would most benefit from it.
Lenz, 2
As I write my essays I always think, “I wish I would have taken honors.” Today, I came to the realization that even without Honors, I am still capable of writing an essay competent enough to write an essay worth a perfect score. I also realized that the handbook will help immensely. I have already caught myself using better grammar during my everyday normal speech. Before this class, I would never have used the words “competent” and “immensely” in the same paragraph. I have never cared that much about what I say. I would use proper grammar, but I would never use big words and I would just stick to the same old everyday words. Doing vocabulary words has helped as well. I enjoy broadening my vocabulary so that I can awe people, including future college professors, with my knowledge of words and proper usage of them. I also got the thinking the other day that I am really glad that we were issued the handbooks. Although I have not used mine as much as I probably should, I plan on doing so in the future. Doing the activities out of them in class the other day proved to me that even though it is just a few short sentences that need revision, it has the potential to teach me quite a bit about proper English. I hope that in the future we have more chances to do some of those activities during class. Even if we are not allowed class time to do them, I for sure plan to accomplish the task of fixing some of them on my own. Partner work seems to make everything easier, which is why I would like to do them in class. Partners not only help if you do not understand something, but they give you another person’s perspective that you may not originally think of. I am so glad that we were issued the handbooks at the beginning of the year, and I plan on using it a great amount more than I have this previous month of school. I have also considered buying one for college. I feel that it would come in handy with not only English classes, but also if I ever were required to write essays in other subject areas as well. My main goal out of these college classes this year is to ease into college work and ultimately impress my college professors. I feel as if I am on the correct track to accomplishing my goal.
Hanzel 7
Today our class invaded the room of another teacher to sing him happy birthday. This small action of singing a banal song filled the atmosphere with excitement and everyone had a smile spread across their face. I then realized there has not been a single day that I have dreaded coming to class, and I cannot say that for any other class I have taken in my high school career. Daily, something unexpected or particularly interesting catches my attention and gets me thinking in a new way. Often times it is the stories associated with our topics or merely just the variety of topics we cover in a short fifty minutes. One specific topic that struck me recently was the outlook on vocabulary workbooks. In previous years the night before it is due, I would find myself frantically trying to complete the unit workbook pages as opposed to spending that time learning and applying the words’ definitions, synonyms, and antonyms into my daily use. I found this process very effective. I was able to spend my time working on the pages that would benefit me. After taking the quiz over the first unit of vocabulary words, I felt more confident with my answers than ever before. Following the quiz we were given directions to complete an exercise out of our books but the directions were not as specific as I would expect. We were told to complete the exercise that would benefit you the most. I then wondered why we did not do this in other classes. Why do we all complete the same worksheet day after day even if it does not benefit each individual? These examples are only a few of the reasons this class has been and will continue to be extremely beneficial to the remainder of my high school year and later on in life.
Dutson 1
In class we almost always have the opportunity to discuss some perverse that seems to be a random tangent off of the subject. As much of a case as this may seem one can realize that such discussions actually relate fairly well to topics that we have discussed or may discuss in class. An example of one discussion is during a symposium a students essay was comparing stereotypical boys and girls in today's high schools. Every time we came across a characteristic of a gender we paused and analyzed the reason as to why the gender behaved or dressed in that way. This discussion made us focus, not on the surface of the topic, but assisted us in delving deeper and seeking to understand the characteristics of the boys or girls. I have found this skill to be quite helpful and at times entertaining when perusing public places. In a most recent event, my father and I were attending my sisters cross country meet at Tut hill. As we were waiting for her race to start, we were positioned under a picnic shelter where we had an exceptional field of view of the attending fans. Since my mom breeds dogs, my family has come pretty accustom in judging dog behavior and in turn how that reflects the owner. As we were watching we noticed a Border collie mix and its' owner standing on the course sideline. The result of judging the dog's behavior and obedience is that the man was more quiet and reserved but stern in his expectations. Continuing our observations and as he cheered on the kid he was there for my dad and I saw that our observations were correct because he did not shout or have excited jesters (granted it was middle school event). We also saw that the dog resembled how the owner looked, from mannerisms to complexions. It was entertaining and allowed an insight of other peoples behaviors.
Stephens 7
Stephens 7
Today in class you spoke about the meaning of AD, which is Anno Domini, meaning year of our Lord. If you ask almost anyone they would say it mean after death. This made me think, how many misconceptions are out there that I have been told my whole life that are false? Also, why does AD stand for Latin terms while BC is English? If anything, the earliest time period should be in Latin because Latin is no longer used in this time period! This short discussion provoked many thoughts. Domini is used very commonly in choir music, so I was very interested to hear the actual translation and know what I have been singing all this time. Another intriguing part of this short discussion was that the terminology for the separate time periods has been changed to be friendlier toward other religions. It has been changed to CE for Common Era and BCE for Before Common Era. I find this absurd. The terms BC and AD have been in place for centuries. The date when it changes from BC to AD is still the birth of Jesus. That cannot be changed, so why not just leave the original terms? How could one argue that it was that date that was marked as the beginning of the “Common Era”? The concept makes no sense. I think people have blown the separate religions out of proportion and are too touchy. The focus is always on differences and setting people apart from one another. Finally, after we spoke of the meaning of AD you mentioned that 10 AD Jesus would be ten years old, which made me smile. Most people never think about Jesus as a kid and it is an interesting thought. JESUS WENT THROUGH PUBERTY!!!! How strange! I am very intrigued by your statement concerning being age 33. I am looking forward to have that experience.
Woody 5
Noticing all of the blogs that mention overlooking “minor” details, I must agree that this is a problem that modern society and I both have. By overlooking even the most minute of details can change the meaning or intention of anything. For example, while I was studying for the first vocabulary quiz, I neglected to see the number two in the top left corner of the page. Can you imagine my surprise when I looked at the quiz stocked full of words I had never even seen, let alone studied? Thankfully, I had a quiz partner, Trey, so I was fortunate enough to pass with flying colors. Although this incident is the first time that I have studied the wrong information, it is not the first time that I have overlooked something. I realize that I overlook many things on a daily basis, but since there is usually not a major consequence, I hardly ever notice that I overlooked anything. When I was just a small child, I noticed how often everyone overlooks details. One day, I happened to be standing on my head in the living room – I am not sure why – and I observed every aspect of my home as if it were the first time that I had been inside of it. For some reason, being upside down forced me to truly look at every detail in my house that I had taken for granted. I then asked several of my friends to try this and they had similar results. What I am not saying is that everybody should go home immediately and try this, but everyone should truly observe locations that they see on a daily basis; you may notice some things that you constantly overlook.
Lippert 2
I very much enjoyed the small group symposiums that we did today. All the benefit of a symposium wrapped up in a little package. It was a new experience, being in small groups, showering each other with our ideas, improving each essay one step at a time. Symposiums are a great tool for helping our fellow classmates develop and improve their essays. In a small group I believe we will be more effective in delivering ideas that will strengthen their essay and help achieve even more. When the whole class is involved in a symposium, I believe that some ideas may be lost in the sea of pupils eager to help their fellow student. In the small group setting everyone can have equal opportunity to present the writer with their ideas for improving their essay. For example, in the small amount of time we had in class my symposium group managed to create a smoking hot title to an essay that had formerly been title less. Yes, yes I do very much like the idea of small group symposiums. I just now thought of another benefit to the small groups: you can delve deeper into the essay than you would be able to during a class symposium. It is simply not possible to go over every aspect of any essay (whether it be with the whole class or in small groups) but when consulting with only a few other people more can be uncovered in less time. We are able to go farther faster since only four people are presenting ideas as opposed to twenty, and are ideas fit the essay better since we can have a more thorough look at it. Yes, I truly do believe small group symposiums are very, very, very effective at generating ideas and molding better essays.
VandeBerg 1
I enjoyed the partner vocabulary quiz. It helps in the fact that you can consult with someone before your answer needs to be given for a certain answer. As you stated, it also makes you feel more dependable or relied upon. For those who have not studied, they receive a breather. For those who do study, they feel as if they are dependable and feel a sense of power. They feel that they were the responsible ones and that they were the ones who did what was expected as opposed to those who choose to rely on someone else. It also can show us what kind of people students are. You can tell who would rather have the group rely on them and who would rather just rely on someone else. It helps show us who wants to take charge and who wants to just go with the flow. Diagnosing these people can actually help us shape them. By this I mean that we can make those who would rather rely on people turn and become people who would rather be relied upon. In the end, that's what we really want. We want people who want to be relied upon. We want people who want the pressure. We want people who have the confidence within themselves to have their group rely upon them. It's not a bad thing if all the people in the group are like that. People who are confidence within themselves benefit the people around them and themsleves. I don't think we should do them all the time. But it is a nice change up from time to time. We don't want those are simply rely on people to just benefit from other's hard work. Having it be unexpected with help all who are taking the quiz. It will help make the guy who studies tell his group, "Hey, I got this."
Heisel 5
Day after day, one classmate has been presenting their essay for the masses to pick apart and improve. Although this concept seems completely beneficial, the awkward silences that permeate the class cause me to think otherwise. Perhaps this uncomfortable feeling is caused by the motivation of speaking. Speaking in a public forum seems unsettling to many people, yet they “brave the storm” as they make minuscule improvements to their classmate’s essay. When part of our grade is determine by participation in class, we will not be making comments to help our peers, but rather to improve our grade. I find the small group symposiums to be much more helpful, when your peers feel more comfortable critiquing you, the critiques will be more honest, and less forced. True opinions may never be conveyed to people, for fear of offending them, but with smaller groups, the truth will be more prevalent. It also becomes easier to suggest larger adjustments for the essays. When you are able to ask more frequently what the plotline of the story is plot holes are easier to spot. Knowing many introverted people, I find the class participation grading scale to be unfair. Extroverted, I still find great difficulty in critiquing student’s essays in plain view of the class. When you critique them, you critique their hard work and emotions, and when the whole class hears it, the student’s confidence in their writing drops dramatically.
The more I contemplate my own essay, the more I can link it to the world around me. I notice when people act introverted or extroverted, and I know how to respond accordingly. In writing my essay, I have discovered I am primarily extroverted, but have slight introverted leans in public speaking. All students’ essays should teach others or themselves in some way. If I learn something meaningful from your essay, the large vocabulary and interesting sentence order become less important. If it did not inspire me, I did not like it.
Rollag 5
The inspiration I found most intriguing these pass two weeks was the talk of how things need to build and should never be allowed to fissile out. If your composition whether a story, song, or poem is allowed to fissile out at the end due to a lack of power or fresh ideas the purpose of the composition is lost as reader and listener tune out and focus more on the fizzling and not an the message one is attempting to get across. Upon reading the blogs of my fellow classmates one can clearly see in the weaker blogs that the point they are expanding one begins to fade as they add unnecessary detail and unrelated ideas at the end of their main points in a futile attempt to increase the length of the blog to the mandated length. When they do this however they fail at yet another suggestion hidden more by the power of the prior capitalize section than its place on the page. This shows one way that things can fizzle in that the main topic is followed by less important instructions on the assignment that they themselves state one should not “fizzle like Bruegel's empty-handed hunters.” The story must always surge ahead in a grand crescendo of importance and power the cements the idea of the composition in the brains of the observer before ending swiftly and concisely. A prime example of the power of a final surge and the failure of the fizzle is that of the mock presidential election held biannually. The mistake of many candidates is that the greatest commercial ideas are often used on the second commercial leaving the final one lacking in persuasion and power and the candidate the save their masterpiece till the end often is victories because the surged and did not fizzle. The greatest compositions of all time always end following the height of the crescendo leaving their audience little to wonder and much to ponder.
Svartoien 1
In a symposium, while ideas were being thrown around like bouncy balls, a comment was made. Someone suggested that high Grade Point Averages can in fact lower intellectual level. I believe they meant that students will take facile classes in order to gain an A. However, by doing so, they do not challenge themselves in any way. Their brains are not forced to work through foreign ideas and problems. By taking easier classes, a student also misses out on the challenge of time management outside of school. When taking multiple difficult classes, time becomes more valuable than gold. Learning how to prioritize and discipline oneself forces them to grow and mature, therefore creating a challenge. The thought mentioned in class was then expounded upon by stating that a high ACT/SAT score can limit you. This statement made me think a little. I had always thought that a high score is the perfect tool to boost your future. I had never thought of it as a hindrance. However, some may repel friend opportunities by possessing such a score; it may intimidate others and it may come with stereotypical presumptions. I found it funny that this comment was made this week because just the weekend prior, I had encountered a similar idea. I was considering the pros and cons to getting a Masters of Business Administration degree. When I expressed this concern of mine to my dad, he suggested I look at what I want to do after college, and whether a masters is nessasary. When I wasn't quite sure, he went on to explain how during a recession a masters degree can hold you back (similar to an astronomical ACT score). When you obtain such an education, it increases your worth. So, companies feel they have to pay you more (which you would expect as well). However, if they feel that a person with a bachelor's degree is capable of accomplishing the same job AND they can pay them less, they are more likely to hire the later. Therefore, your choices are again limited, similar to the "easy" 4.0 and high ACT score.
Bauer 7
Today in class the defender of the faith and I, Allie, talked about what type of music we listen to while writing our essays. This really made me wonder what type of music creates the best writing environment for each person. Alex and I talked about the movie V for Vendetta, it made me look back at cinema club last year with our instructor. Cinema club was a great experience last year; we watched movies and analyze them when they finished. Analyzing was such a great learning strategy, it makes you think a lot more and you will never be able to watch a movie the same. Our instructor always does a great way of introducing new learning strategies. We recently took a partner quiz, I liked that a lot. Not because it meant I only had to do half the work, but because I was given the opportunity to learn writing techniques from someone other than our instructor. I think learning from our fellow classmates teaches as well as learning from our instructor because we hear other students, questions and the answers also help you. Our symposiums we do in front of the class are always helpful even if you are not the one in front of the class. When people ask questions, often makes me think if I did what they are asking in my essay. I am always open to more ideas to help make my essay better. I enjoyed when we went to the computer lab and edited essays on the computer. The people who commented on my essay were very helpful in making my essay sound so much better. Whether it was adjusting a cama or replacing an entire sentence, it was always helpful and helped made your essay be the best it could be.
Pederson 5
In the beginning of this week when my teacher told the story of using words and not our fists, I reflected on this saying and how it tied to an event I recently went to. On Wednesday evening, I drove with my mother to Brookings to see the author Sherman Alexie. Throughout his life he faced adversity but he used words, humor, and a quick wit to resolve conflicts. He was born with hydrocephalous (water on the brain). It was thought he’d be mentally challenged, but he actually became very smart. Growing up on an Indian reservation near Spokane, Washington, other Native Americans of his tribe began to bully him about his appearance and for being interested in education and learning. As a result, he found comfort in books; he read at a young age. At age five, he was able to read full length novels like The Grapes of Wrath. As he became older, his teachers recommended he transfer to a school where he could get a better education. When he went to the all-white school, he faced negative comments and actions directed at him from both Caucasian and Native American students. He was labeled a part-time Indian because he bridged two cultures. So, he used his words and not his fists to excel in school and in life. He persevered and became successful in high school and college. In college, he faced the reality that he couldn’t become a doctor, as he fainted at the sight of dead body parts and blood. However, he discovered a new outlet that he could delve into: creative writing. Alexie found out he had a true talent for writing, and became a success by using his words to relay his life experiences. He has composed sixteen novels as well as numerous short stories, poems, and screenplays. However, he still is faced with people that use their fists and not their words. Going to convenience stores, he worries about people who drive trucks or wear cowboy hats because they may express their ignorance and hate through brawling. I loathe this idea of people looking at someone and forming a pre-conceived negative impression without even knowing your first name. Because of this author’s story, I plan to become more open to others, and will remember that the pen is mightier than the sword.
Rise pd 5
I also would like to add onto Long’s and chase’s comment; I think it is human nature to be lazy, to skip over things. Explaining why it is so difficult to become successful, rich. Fortunate aspects in life take work, and time, making the overly successful people the outliers of the crowd. You must work diligently against your primal instinct to be lazy and comfortable, a constant battle. You must make a constant effort to focus and aware of things around you. When you are studying history or even current, living people who made great things happen, you should acknowledge how difficult it was, how difficult becoming president was for Obama. The addition of grey hair to his head adds some proof to the stressfulness of his job. Obama has worked hard for his job and has worked harder to progress the country’s well-being. A lazy individual could not be president, and most people are lazy, thus the rarity of becoming president. I think the country, city, family, friends, and school have a powerful impression on the way you will be raised and taught to act, yet I still believe that humans prefer to be lazy, it is easier. We are constantly producing more technology… to make our lives easier. Everything we do has the purpose of making life more efficient, hence allowing us to be lazy. In school we are taught to summarize quickly, like chase said; important as that is, we also need to learn to acquire the focus for studying very detailed, and lengthy details. The talent of a sharp memory is valuable, particularly in college. A good memory could be the difference between graduating and failing. Just as important is mental awareness, it is the basis of intelligence. Having both of these qualities is a gift and should be used, not thrown to the side to self-destruct in laziness.
Backer 1
As I contemplated on what topic I was to expand on this week, I decided to skim through some of my peers’ blogs. I came across several profound thoughts and ideas. One that I found was particularly relatable to myself was Courtney’s blog. In her blog, she expresses the stress she is undergoing while trying to make her future plans. She feels pressured to catch up with the classmates that already seem to have their futures set in stone. Her thoughts reminded me of a conversation I had with my dad earlier this year. I can recall him saying that the decisions I was to make in the next few years or so were important because they were going to impact the rest of my life. As I continue further into my senior year, I am realizing more and more how correct my dad was. The college I choose to go to and the major I wish to pursue will help paint a path for my future. A difficult concept to grasp, but a reality we all must face. Knowing that the decisions I make in the next few years will have a major impact on my future can be a nerve-racking thought, but the fact also motivates me to strive to achieve success now. I have been reading the inspiring novel, Do Hard Things, and the authors address the issue about teens not living up to their full potential. The authors, who are young adults themselves, discuss the challenges young people face in stepping outside their comfort zone and taking part in events much larger than themselves. The novel introduces many individuals that are my age that have overcome their doubts or fears to accomplish astounding things. Do Hard Things correlates well with what is happening in my life because the novel illustrates how my age group is capable of accomplishing the unthinkable. The success stories of the teens inspire and give me faith that I am able to achieve the goals that I set forth for myself as well. I am willing to take the additional step to ensure that I have no regrets later on in my life.
Albertson 5
Until recently my goal was to make it through the essays in first semester Composition and move on to second semester Literature, which I had envisioned as being much easier, but now my views on writing are shifting and I have come to find thorough pleasure in organizing cohesive thought on paper. Through my entire life I have always enjoyed math and despised writing essays. I used to defend this by saying that math is objective: there is only one problem with only one right answer and once you have it you are done. The reason I despised writing essays is because the writing process is the opposite of solving a math problem. When you write you can conceive any opinion on any topic, and when your last sentence is typed your work is far from over. Perfection in writing is either impossible or undefined, which I used to find frustrating. The amount of time, effort, and resources that you invest in your writing is directly related to the quality (not to mention the letter grade) of your essay, as well as the growth of your intelligence. I have come to see the value of subjectivity in composition. Writing forces you to exercise beneficial skills such as language, reason, creativity, vocabulary, observation, analysis, and persuasiveness. Refining your writing aptitude will enhance your life as a whole. Language is our most powerful form of communication; when mastered language can even disarm angry neighbors amicably. It takes more than a knack for numbers and scientific concepts to achieve success in life; it takes persuasiveness and creativity. I believe that Van Ede is correct when he says that many ideas in modern business come from collaboration. To thrive in collaboration requires creativity to conceive original thought and persuasiveness to convince others that your idea is worth hearing. Advertisements, films, and social interactions that I have witnessed many times before have become more entertaining to me as my abilities in observation and analysis have improved. Writing teaches you to have a voice. You must form individual thoughts and submit them confidently to your peers. Because these peers are among the best and the brightest I feel compelled to compose my essays well so that they will take my writing seriously. Studying my peers’ papers and comparing theirs to mine grants me the chance to assess the way that my mind, and everyone else’s mind, is organized uniquely. When you read your essay you gain an outside perspective on yourself, with which you can observe and teach yourself. By not making an effort to improve my writing skills in the past I regrettably did not do much to improve the creative half of my brain. This semester, my goal will no longer be to make it through, but instead to take advantage of the time I have left in Composition.
Weidenbach 1
In class the other day we had a symposium. The student sitting up in front of the room was talking about the various differences between boys and girls. These discussions lead our group into a controversial topic, society. In the past society was dominated by those who beckoned to gain more knowledge of the world, and unlock its secrets. Those people were revered as scholars, philosophers, and poets. Few examples of these individuals are Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Giovanni Boccaccio. This time period was commonly known as the Renaissance. During the Renaissance people wanted to learn about math, science, and about medicine. People were interested in art, reading and an idea called Humanism. The fundamental core of the Renaissance was to become more intelligent. Later in more recent times there was an idea stirring in the minds of Europeans and new formed America. This idea was called the enlightenment. It had the same mentality as the renascence years before. People wanted to gain knowledge and learn about the world. In America there were great minds like some of the founding fathers that partook in the enlightenment. Some names in the enlightenment period will sound familiar like John Locke, David Hume, and Newton. The enlightenment period helped our great nation become what it is today. The enlightenment did this by John Locke’s idea of natural law. Natural law helped by staying that the best state of man was a free man. This idea helped instigate the American Revolution and our Constitution. Now in the 21st century people are looked down upon if they are smart or have a high GPA. Sometimes society shuns those that want to gain knowledge. Society calls these people nerds, dorks, or geeks. It is hard to believe that once society was dictated by if you had intellect. It is sad to see now that those kinds of people are looked down upon. Also it is depressing that society allows and even accepts it to happen.
Peterson 2
Almost everyday in class small conversations, not at all dealing with the topic being discussed, come up and have been extremely beneficial. The small discussions help me, as well as my classmates, relate what we are learning to things that pertain to events in our daily lives. One particular conversation about a confrontation between two neighbors really stuck out in my head over the past week. At first this repartee seemed like a funny story with no relatable lesson but after thinking more in depth about the discussion I began to question the way I would have been able to handle the situation that occurred. I don’t quite understand how someone can take the blame for something they know for a fact was not their fault. To keep the escalating conversation under control the more mature neighbor stayed calm and did not fight back the way the other neighbor wanted. I do not know if I would have been able to be the bigger person and just walk away without standing up for myself. I think that in itself is a huge lesson. Because of our pride, we feel the need to put others down and argue with things we do not agree with. Often times we forget about the other person’s feelings or beliefs, which is not at all the way we should act. The more sophisticated neighbor walked away when being accused of something he knew he had not done, and later wrote a letter apologizing. The letter affected the other neighbor tremendously and compelled him to apologize also. I wonder if I could write something that would have such a huge impact on another person and I hope through the symposiums and other techniques used in our class, such as musical chairs, I too can become an influential writer that may someday change someone’s life.
Scholten pd. 2
Incorporating a comical story with a lesson helps children of all ages –even high schools!—learn the lesson. This teaching style was used in the classroom this past week. A few days ago, we were reviewing the paper with the 50 terms and ideas to know on the final exam. Looking at the ten that were assigned for the current essay we are working on, we came to the word “gerund”. After explaining that it is a word that ends in –ing that acts as a noun, a humorous example about snot was given to the class. “Sneezing on my friend…” was the start of the story which got me thinking about how in ancient times when sneezing equated to expelling demons from the body. Somehow this got me thinking about the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The play is about the Salem Witch trials in colonial Massachusetts in 1692. How scary would it have been to be accused of being a witch? With basically no way to defend yourself, you were sentenced to death because of false accusations and people going with what was popular. This mass hysteria of witchcraft caused many innocent people to die. Books, movies, and plays have been written to act as a vivid tale about the consequences of false accusations and taking things too far out of context. High school is the home to drama and false accusations. I realized that many teenagers are like Abigail and her gang in The Crucible. The other girls followed Abigail even when it was the wrong thing to do; similarly, young adults continue to do that today. Ultimately, the little story about sneezing made me recognize the fact that girls were full of drama way back in the 17th century as they are in the 21st century. Drama, whether at school, work, or home, is completely pointless and starts with accusing people of petty things that they did not do. With false accusations comes taking a statement out of context. This causes more drama. I was baffled by the fact that we girls have not changed all that much in maturity and sincerity even though the world has changed in many ways since the time of the Salem Witch trials.
Bakke 5
Vocabulary has been a pleasant departure from the norm within our class’s curriculum. For me, vocab is a simple concept to grasp. I enjoy looking at the English language and seeing how different words are constructed, the meanings, and the connotations. Other perspectives on words such as the “ghoti” spelling of fish are interesting to explore. Even if I do not agree with the message or the meaning, seeing how other people think fascinates me and makes me curious to see how other minds in the world work. Being able to apply this thirst for knowledge has allowed me to find my own personal strengths and weaknesses. I use this awareness to improve myself in all aspects of life: with my school assignments, my work ethic, and my relationships. Having a strong vocabulary builds confidence and allows you to move forward unquestioning stride in your own personal intelligence. Poised and intelligent-sounding people tend to have better chances in the real world. They are hired more often and given promotions/raises on a greater frequency. For this reason I am grateful to have the opportunity to improve my knowledge base of word and language whenever possible. Grasping the wealth of learning that is placed before my eyes is an offer that I cannot refuse. My mind would go crazy if I passed up a chance to increase my personal wisdom. Vocabulary is one of the best and easiest ways to improve a paper. Using strong verbs and adjectives make an essay so much more enjoyable and interesting for a reader than using bland, stale word that have no amount of originality. This can be applied so heavily to the first semester of English for the students to be able to become great and successful writers. I hope they take the content of class seriously.
Koehn pd. 7
Yesterday was my eighteenth birthday. Mr. Stadem made a special point to walk into our English 101 class to inform the entire room of this fact. Why would he do this? Nothing less than to get a rise out of me was his goal (accomplished also.) My next thoughts drifted to why people do not like to be sang to or celebrated in front of an audience, including myself! I wonder why others and myself do not embrace the celebration or even indulge in the praise? Surviving from one birthday to the next in this world is an accomplishment, especially in third world countries where danger lurks everywhere. I think sometimes the birthday individual already feels special on their birthday, and does not want to seem conceded or greedy for the attention of others. On the other hand, I think there are some who wish their birthday was every day of the year. These people count the number of Facebook notifications at the end of the day or the dollars received in their cards. Another selfish observation I noticed came from the family and friends of the birthday boy/girl. The family and friends seem to almost compete for the affection from their celebrated one. Making a scene by shouting out someone’s birthday or buying the most expensive present portrays the friend of the birthday individual as working their way to be the “most thoughtful friend” and thus taking away attention from the one the day is actually about. I am puzzled as to why friends and family members are always competing to be the kindest, most loving, or considerate. I am not going to lie and say that I do not like getting nice gifts, because I do. However, I realized that the original wishes and thoughtful efforts were the things I appreciated most about my birthday. Hearing the unexpected “Happy birthday!” from someone I do not talk to often or the thoughtful cards and letters reinforced my beliefs that quality always overrides quantity. A birthday is not about one more year of success, one more chance to collect gifts from approval searching friends, or a time to party; a birthday provides a perfect time to reflect on all meaningful relationships and blessings one’s life has been graced with.
Berndt 1
Once again, I seek to write about our symposiums, as well as the conversations that come up in class. Our instructor tells us what seem to be meaningless stories during the class period. We talk about starting sentences with a gerund or infinitive to make a verb the subject of a sentence to relationships and how our society communicates now days. Eventually his stories make sense or we eventually ponder on them when we are put in those specific situations. One day we were talking about our new forms of technology and how we would rather send bland text messages, with no emotion or confusing, abbreviated, grammatical errors, than call a person or even talk to them in person about that simple subject. We can now have a conversation with a person through instant messaging in record time. We don’t have to wait for a letter to be mailed or replied to, which becomes a lengthy process. Text messages are rushed and little thought goes into them, causing confusion and miscommunication. Text messages are impersonal and are typically not remembered by the recipient. As for a letter, a letter will be kept, and read over and over depending on its content, and it will be remembered, whether happy, sad, hurtful, apologetic, or loving, one will more than likely remember a letter they received because effort had been obviously inserted within the letter. If the only way of contact a person has with another is over a cell phone, through a text message, they will never get to know each other well. Like I said before, text messages are difficult to express emotions unless using an overbearing amount of exclamation marks, which imply excitement or anger. Letters in all caps have the same effect. Texters that do not use emoticons make their reactions hard to interpret. One is better off to talk with a person one on one, like we do with our symposiums. I feel that I have grown closer to my classmates and everyone’s ideas are accepted in class. Starting conversation, imputing everyone’s ideas, and talking about subjects as a class is helping us get along and work with the people we thought we would never talk to. Not only because we are forced to for the sake of our grade, but because we are comfortable in our class room.
Waldera 2
I have noticed in the past few weeks there have been several slightly off topic conversations. I say slightly off topic because these conversations tie in with that particular day’s topic but also tie into a much broader topic about the real world. One conversation I remember was about a meth addict and his children. This conversation has stuck with me because I occasionally volunteer at the Sioux Falls Banquet as I am one of the four leaders of SALSA. When I volunteer at the Banquet I get a rich experience every time. If you have never volunteered there, and I highly recommend you do, you simply serve food that is prepared for those in need. Half your time is spent serving the food and the other half is spent sitting down conversing with the people that come through the line as they eat their meal. Some of the stories you hear will break your heart. The hardships and challenges people have to go through every single day is incomparable. More moving yet is that these people live in the same town I do. When the discussion of this addict and his children was brought up in class I instantly thought of the Banquet and some of the conversations I have had there. I also thought to myself that maybe he went to the Banquet every week because of his lack of money. I had no way of knowing for sure but it got me thinking, thinking about how more people should be involved with their community. I understand most adults are busy with jobs and possibly children but today’s youth has a lot of free time on their hands. SALSA meeting participation is the highest it has ever been at Brandon Valley right now. However, the numbers are still not that impressive considering we have a student body of near 1,000. I think discussions that tie in with the lesson but also have a broader message about life are very important to have in class. I hope that this conversation got other classmates thinking similar to how I have. If more students would join SALSA or even just get involved more with their community, we could help people in need just like the addict and his children brought up in class.
Westcott 5
Silence; it seems so foreign in a world full of noise. Monday afternoon as I walked into Composition, I noticed that the instructions for the day were to type in silence. The thought at first seemed silly, as we are supposed to work on our own every time we go into the lab, but the more I contemplated the idea I realized we never do work in complete silence. Giving yourself the time to just sit and think is a very important part of writing. To sit alone with your individual thoughts to improve the work you created takes patience and skill. It takes a person who is willing to take one hour to solely focus on the task at hand. In class, the background noise of keyboards typing away was strangely comforting. I found myself making little mistakes in my essay, and I was glad to have the time to correct those mistakes. In the real world, I feel as if we need to take more “silent times” to just sit and think. Some people consume themselves with activities to a point where they don’t make alone time. This time gives each individual a time to cut themselves off from the rest of the world and just sink into the thoughts of that day, week, or even month. I feel as if some alone time is a crucial part of life. As human beings, we try to fit as many things into one span of twenty four hours as we can, and push ourselves to the breaking point. Everyone needs that couple minutes of time to relax and not do anything but reflect at least once every day. In Composition this week, during our silent work time, I came to the realization that I have not given myself enough of this alone time and need to find a way to work in a couple free minutes in my busy days.
Pieter Bruegel's painting displayed as the picture of this blog assignment reminds me of a movie we recently watched in cinema club: Melancholia. Melancholia is another term for depression. I won't give the movie away, but it is about a woman (played by Kirsten Dunst) who is getting married. However, she is depressed...very depressed. On the night of her wedding, her dysfunctional relationship with her mom causes her to go into an even deeper depression. The events that transpire on that night ultimately cause her husband to completely abandon her. She ends up living with her sister in an enormous, elegant mansion, and in her baby-like state induced by her depression, her sister is forced to take care of her. At the same time, a planet (coincidentally called Melancholia) is fast approaching, which will result in a "fly-by". A fly-by is when a planet comes extremely close to another, resulting in an elliptical flight around the other planet. This is where I will stop as not to give away the good parts, but I strongly recommend anyone reading this to watch Melancholia; it is a great, thought-provoking film. Watching this movie could potentially teach you a lot about primal human nature, or even about yourself. The reason the painting brought Melancholia to mind was because in the beginning, there is a series of images and slow-motion shots relating to melancholia in general; Breugel’s painting is one of the images. The hunters are returning from their daily food-finding expedition, but they are empty-handed. If you watch Melancholia (and take it seriously), you will more greatly appreciate your time on Earth with your loved ones. I personally guarantee you won’t regret watching this movie. Cinema club is a really great way to have fun and learn more about the world and yourself. It is unfortunate that cinema club is only available to students with fourth period lunch, because it is great for ambitious students. Maybe teachers with fifth and sixth period lunches should be persuaded to start their own cinema clubs in other lunch periods.
Kirkus 2 ^
Ullom 7
Last week we went to the computer lab to work on “musical chairs.” Our instructor introduced this new peer editing concept to our class. The process starts with each individual opening their own essay document on Microsoft Word. Once the whole class had opened their document we were supposed to find someone’s essay that was the opposite gender as us. We were given the task to make suggestions for their essay in bold font. After about ten to fifteen minutes we were told to switch. Also, with each rotation, we were supposed to write who made the comments in order to help out the individual receiving help. Our next rotation was to find a person who we do not normally associate with. This time, our corrections had to be in all caps. Again, we were given between ten and fifteen minutes to do our work. When finished it was time for our last station. For the last one, we were supposed to just pick any random person’s essay. This time we corrected in italics. Like the other two rotations we had approximately ten to fifteen minutes to be completed. When the rotations were finished, there was just enough time to glance over what the three individuals had written for us. We named our new and improved document “3 Wise Men.” You could of course change the word men to women or people if you chose to not be sexist. I believe that this concept of peer editing is very beneficial. Instead of only receiving editing from only one person, it is extended to three different people. I feel like this was effective because we were able to gain knowledge from people with different opinions. This in turn will create a powerful final essay. I know this comes across as one of those daunting responses strictly about procedure, but I would like to emphasize how great of an impact these types of symposiums can be. All in all, after experiencing “musical chairs” I would certainly love to continue something similar in the future.
Johnke 5
This week we started using our vocabulary books in class. Although I am sure many do not feel the same way, I personally enjoy working with the vocabulary books. Working with the vocab books is something that I find to be enjoyable and almost relaxing. A pleasant change from the normal class homework, learning different words makes me feel like I am accomplishing something. Working on editing my essays improves my writing, but after working on it a little bit every night for a week straight all the work starts to become increasingly tedious and tiring. Being able to take out the vocab book once in a while and study terms is a nice change. On top of the fact that the vocabulary is something different to do, it also plays a role outside of the classroom. Expanding my vocabulary has always been a goal of mine and being able to recognize unusual words increases knowledge. Knowing more words helps me with my creativity in essays. Instead of settling for boring words, an increased vocabulary can assist in turning all of my uniform linking verbs into “Lynxing” verbs. Increases vocabulary can improve life even outside of the classroom setting. Confidence in oneself can be increased simply by being able to define two separate words. That extra boost of confidence can make a tremendous difference in a person. Hopefully, instead of complaing about vocabulary words, students this year will be able to accept vocab and appreciate all of the positive items that can be obtained from such a small book.
Livingston 5
The scratches inked on a page with the rhythmic motion of our hand create the biggest and most important instrument of communication available – words. Words. The simplicity of the idea goes deeper than the marks it makes on a scholar’s paper, deeper than their accepted value. Every word has a distinct sound and enunciation created by the letters assembled. For example, the word ‘duke’ is pronounced as we have been taught: the first letter makes a ‘duh’ sound, followed by an peculiar looking etching creating the sound ‘ooo’, a wicked looking letter making a ‘cah’ sound, and wrapped up with a silent vowel. A question was posed the other day as to why these words sound the way they; what if we taught different pronunciation of each letter we know? The idea truly stupefied me. It made me think outside of the box for once, as English is one of the largest givens we as students and people accept. To question English like this was different, but the question was certainly interesting and applicable to me. Some days, I myself become infatuated with the sound and meaning of a certain word. For instance, the other day I reiterated the word ‘both’ in my mind constantly. Say it enough times and the human mind singles in on the abstractness, mesmerized and hypnotized by the repeated sounds. I am certainly intrigued as to why the letter ‘b’ could not make the sound of an ‘s’, or why the letter ‘t’ could not make the sound of a ‘j’. Grammatically this would be incorrect, but the idea, perhaps, is sound. No one is stopping me from creating my own words and sounds, let alone a dictionary-sized vocabulary from such! The idea of twisting the English language is almost amusing; words are a very powerful way to convey numerous things. The 19th century reformer Henry Ward Beecher once stated, “All words are pegs to hang ideas upon.” With the words used to compose this blog, I hang the controversial idea of changing the sound of letters and words themselves upon them.
Hamann 5
I think the symposiums we did in small groups today were extremely helpful. When we do symposiums in front of the whole class I think some people don’t feel comfortable voicing their ideas and opinions in front of everyone, but with only five people it was easier to have all comments and ideas heard. We started by discussing our titles, or lack of, and then worked to improve them. We talked about different things to mention in our essays and shared sentences that we thought needed to be improved. The symposiums in front of the entire class are also very helpful even when you are not the one in front of the class. It’s good to see what other people are writing about and improve your own essay by seeing what they are improving. I like having the printed off the pages to use because it allows us to read their essay on our own and write down comments which can be easier than explaining our fixes to the person. Some people have said that it wastes paper, but I think it’s fine as long as we are getting use out of them and recycling when we are done. The greatest downside to printing off the sheets is that the person giving the symposium has to read though 30 pages to get all of the information written by the class. I also really liked musical chairs in the lab. It was nice to see people’s comments on your essay and made it easy to make improvements. We were able to get comments from people who have different views and writing styles than our own and it really helped with my essay.
Redford 7
One event that has really stuck out to me in these past few weeks happened just today. Instead of having a rather large symposium where one person’s paper is the main focus of the class, there were small group symposiums. Doing symposiums in this style really helped me because it made it seem more personal. People could read a whole essay and give feedback in a more personal manner. There were fewer people in the groups so it gave it more of a relaxed atmosphere. I also found it useful that the group members got to read the whole paper, instead of just a portion of it. When one only reads a page of an essay, they tend to lose some of the context. It also makes it easier to ensure that one has all the requirements met. These smaller groups also were a little more personalized. Since each group got to decide how to run their mini-symposiums, each person got the help they needed in the way they wanted. It helped everyone get the most out of the experience. My group ended up passing our papers around and reading them and making changes in ways that we thought helped each other the most. I got quite a few suggestions that really helped me think of ways to improve my essay even more. It also helped me realize which areas of my paper were the weaker portions of it and it gave me ideas as to how I could strengthen them. I think it was a very useful activity to do on the day before it’s due. Since everyone’s paper becomes the focus at one point or another, everyone receives help on ways to finish up their paper. It was also convenient for me because the two people in my group previously read my paper while we did the “Three Wise Men” activity in the lab last Friday. Because of this, they got to see how much my paper has improved over the past week as well as how their critiques impacted my paper. I can use today’s proceedings to help me out in various other classes because it really got me thinking deeper.
Etrheim 5
This past Wednesday we took the unit 1 vocabulary quiz. The vocabulary quiz was different than any other quiz that we have taken before in an English class. The quiz was a partner quiz. Therefore, the quiz scores should’ve been very high as two minds are better than one. However, my partner failed to study the correct words. My quiz partner studied the unit 2 vocabulary words – an honest mistake but an unfortunate one. Because of his mistake, I took the lead on the quiz and managed pretty well. My partner’s mistake made me think if we can and should rely on others. The phrase ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself’ says that you should not rely on others. However, you need to have trust in others to live life. For example, if you are sick or injured, you need to rely on a doctor to get you healthy again. If you are accused of committing a crime, you need to rely on a lawyer to prove your innocence. Although difficult at times, trusting others is essential. My partner had to trust in my abilities and knowledge to succeed on the quiz. His mistake also made me question if I was a reliable person. On Wednesday, I’m happy to say that I was a reliable person. I studied the correct words and helped my partner overcome his error. Although unreliable for the quiz, my partner still is a reliable person. If you are not reliable in a certain aspect of life, then you have a feeling of uselessness in that aspect of life. On Wednesday, I am positive that my partner had this disgusting feeling of useless during the quiz. I am sure that throughout my quiz partner’s life, he will not allow himself to feel as useless as he did on Wednesday. People can and need to rely on others to live life.
Andrews1
Sometime last week our instructor mentioned writer's block. He was adamant that it didn't exist. He listed off numerous cures like rambling, making a list, and scribbling. Our instructor was positive that even the simplest of notions would work. It is only in our heads and we are allowing it to be there. I think this is true to a point. When I am writing my essay I will have something that I just can't stop typing about and my fingers frustratingly enough just won't move fast enough.It seems like I know what exactly what I want to write about and it is going to be extremely simple. Then all of a sudden everything comes to a halt. I do not have anymore possible ideas, creative inspiration, and all the power in my brain seems to have been unplugged and my thoughts were unsaved in the process. At a time like this it is hard to not believe writer's block is real. We want it to be real, because we want to be able to blame our procrastination on something other than on our lazy selves. We want to believe that maybe instead of concentrating on the problem and doing tasks to rid the complication we can just procrastinate enough to where an idea will magically come to us. Every once in awhile this can happen, but most of the time we need to take matters into our own hands. We need to use the cures our instructor luckily gave to us in order to improve our skills. It doesn't matter if it's just rambling nonsense or a chaotic scribbling mess. If it helps relieve stress and helps us creatively think again it will be worth it. It is true that writer's block can be real if you make it, but when you make it so you have it then it can be all too real.
Minihan 7
Last week in class, our instructor shared a story, while our class listened intently. The story was about attending a raging concert with his wife. The concert, filled with crazed, drunk, and high individuals, featured the superstar, Slim Shady, otherwise known as Eminem. Our teacher talked about how they showed poor behavior, like smoking illegal substances. This statement reminded me of the various country concerts that I have attended in the past. Although I have not encountered the high type of concert-goers, I have shared concerts with people around me who have had plenty to drink, and still have a need for more. Watching their irresponsible, staggering behavior, I cannot help but think, “How can one even start to consider that state of being a time of enjoyment?” How sad to see someone so out of focus that they cannot even stand up by themselves, they cannot talk with meaning or comprehension, and they are not capable of clapping to the beat, along with the artist’s music. Although this problem- drugs and alcohol- have been around for quite some time, the present decades have still not realized the mistakes of the past generations. Imagine the world if we would actually have the courage, strength, and intelligence to overcome mistakes form the past. Children would no longer have drunk parents to come home to them, we could prevent car wrecks involving drugs and alcohol, and many more terrible occurrences that are just repeats of previous bad decisions. Another detail from the concert that our instructor mentioned, was how there were many Eminem-look-alikes running around to confuse the audience. I think the singer always is a visual summary of the crowd, like Eminem and his fans. For example, at the Mark Chesnut concert a few years back, there was a drinking crowd. Before too long, Mr. Chesnut also had a Coors in hand. Because of my instructor’s concert story told in class, I was able to analyze the concerts that I have attended.
Anderson 2
This blog post is in response to Sir Brendan Gallo. When pondering about the idea of group polarization, I immediately became intrigued. Referencing Mr. Van Ede, politics is a banal archetype for this phenomenon. Truthfully, I fall victim to this societal dilemma incessantly. Surrounding myself with biased television networks, I succumb to the latest conservative talk shows while I inadvertently forget about redundant school work. Politics is of the utmost importance in my life. Knowing that someone is capable of controlling my livelihood is disturbing yet remarkably breathtaking. Therefore, you can consider this script as campaign literature for my future endeavors in the world of public policy! Continuing onward, I would like to relate my in-class experiences to Brendan’s philosophical wisdom. I have noticed that my relative emotions and participation are a result of this depicted occurrence. Group polarization is altering the outcomes of class responsiveness. As more and more legitimate critiques are given to particular classmates, new spontaneous ideas emerge. Whether or not the concepts suggested are beneficial or essential, credit is still earned. If not for occasional observances, one might mistake this class as Helping 101. As a person who struggles with abstractness, my motivation and attentiveness are in decline; however, I shall not falter. As I become acclimated with daily challenges, I will continue to pursue excellence and promote supportive techniques that will undoubtedly help my peers.
Since polarization is terribly popular in Washington D.C., I found it interesting that Brendan commented on neutrality and its seeming disappearance within politics. Unmistakably though neutrals, or moderates, are truly the most important members of the voting class. Encouragement should be bolstered for the “melting pot” politicians. America is on the verge of a fiscal cliff overlooking a swallowing sea: If we were to fall, we will plummet, and potentially drown. Instead of producing continuous years of stalemates within Congress, as citizens of the United States it is our duty to place people in charge with abilities to unite and compromise with other bureaucrats. While we slowly are adapting to adulthood, I insist you – my classmates – to exercise your right to vote. With my advocacy, I implore that you participate in this year’s 2012 Presidential Election. Ideologies will be tested and group polarization will surely account for a handful of electoral votes, but I am confident that the people will make the right decision.
Kasma 5
Throughout this year, it’s been challenging for me, as I have not yet handed anything, except quizzes, in to my mentor. I’ve disappointed him, and in turn, disappointed myself. No one said it would be easy, and it’s obviously the case with me. Yet, over the past two weeks, ideas have been rolling inside my cranium, waiting to come out into words, to be known by others. However, my mind has developed mental blocks to keep me from expressing these wondrous, thoughtful essays that my readers could find fascinating. Currently, I’m in the process of perfecting ideas for the compare-contrast essay between males and females. Deciding on what to discuss between these two had caused quite a debate among my group today, whether I should focus on their physicality, mentality, or how society views both these sexes. I kept thinking that I could incorporate these three and make them into one, but was met with opposition to the idea of this from my groupies, being told that it would take at least fourteen pages to include such topics. Because of this, doubt has risen in my mind whether I can effectively type this essay. I know I need to be independent when it comes to this class, but now-and-then even the most independent person must ask for help or advice to further advance their own education or status in this world. I need to be brave and ask for help if it means I will graduate from high school, make a better life for myself, because if not, I’ve already failed. If I can get it through myself that I can overcome these blocks, if I can finish these essays without the constant questioning of myself whether it’s good enough or not, then maybe, just maybe, I could have a chance at redemption. I could have a chance at succeeding.
Dawn 2
As I sat thinking about the blog task ahead of me I got to thinking about symposiums again but in order to differ from the norm I looked at many comments and read them thoroughly. I also did not fully understand the prompt; I merely glanced at the description as a whole instead of actually reading the details of the entire prompt. I ended up rereading the prompt and looking to others' comments for help before I had thoroughly understood everything that was expected on the current blog task. While looking at other blogs—Pham’s, Forster’s, and Rist’s—I realized that I was not the only person disregarding the details of the prompt—I did however correct my mistake—but it is in fact human nature. Most of humanity does not care for the details but only looks at the whole picture. I agree with Long Pham that humankind has a natural inclination towards laziness, when someone actually works on something that they do not want to be doing they want to get it done as quickly and effortlessly as possible. When a person is concentrating hard enough on something they need to get done quickly, that person becomes oblivious to everyone and everything that is going on around them, for this reason it is understandable for someone to make the mistake of not completely fulfilling the prompt requirements. I am currently in California preparing for my Great Uncle’s and my Grandfather’s funerals and I have a lot of things that I would rather be doing, but instead I am working on my homework. This is a choice I have made, but I cannot say that I enjoy doing this work, and therefore I am trying to get it done with minimal time and effort requirements on my part—illustrating humanity’s laziness yet again. With chaos and sorrow going on around me it becomes difficult to even complete simple tasks at my full potential, again magnifying the laziness of myself and most of humanity, so I am looking at the picture as a whole and avoiding the little details of this blog.
PS: I AM IN A DIFFERENT TIME ZONE CURRENTLY. I FORGOT ABOUT THIS FACT UNTIL JUST NOW AND I AM LETTING YOU KNOW THIS BLOG WAS TECHNICALLY TURNED IN ON TIME, DEPENDING ON THE TIMEZONE THE STUDENT WAS IN.
Wehrkamp 5,
Little did I know a discussion started with the phrase - contact buzz- would lead into great examples of literature? I did not expect to learn, in a classroom, the meaning of a contact buzz; getting a high from marijuana being smoked around you, which guided the topic of an Eminem concert. Talk of the concert channeled into talk of music/ poetry written by Eminem. Relating literature to the modern age instead of the old William Shakespeare or Edgar Allen Poe. When I think of an artist such as Eminem my thoughts immediately think of poetry, along with a few of his songs. Lyrics to a song can articulate an entire novel in four minutes with a melody, and still remain a beautiful peace of literature. If you think of your favorite artist, then think of lyrics in your favorite song that artist wrote, but really think about what he/she is saying, it is all poetry. Pushing limits of comma usage, grammar, and sentence fragments, poetry is presumed to be rebellious in the society of literature. Poetry is written in various forms, but all give a deep message through different styling of words. Metaphors give poems their respect of being misunderstood because they can go on almost unending. A phrase such as “sunshine through the clouds” can emulate a mundane meaning, but sunshine could represent a light source, an epiphany, or happiness. Then the word cloud may depict darkness, an obstacle in life, or a bad day. The phrase itself can interpret the discovering of something important, the understanding of nonsense, or even finding peace at the hour of death. In the end, sunshine through the clouds really meant happiness in the darkest moments throughout life. Different interpretations can be made of one little phrase; the trick is to catch metaphors early and to understand what the poem is about. If you cannot understand what the poem is about, how will you be able to depict words in the poem? Then again, if you cannot depict these words, how will you understand the true meaning of the poem?
Miller 2
I love when we do symposiums, but I feel that sometimes it can be a little harsh what people say. I know that we are trying to critique and help our fellow classmates, just some people unintentionally sound more rude and critical. In life you need to know how to word your thoughts into something constructive not hurtful. I understand that no one in our class would ever wish to attack verbally anyone else, but with their tone, and body language it seems insensitive at times. All in all, that is the only problem I have with symposiums.
When listening to our teacher tell stories or recount events, I always try to pay attention. Not only do I listen because it is polite, but our teacher has a way of making you learn through his story if you are attentive and think about what he is saying. I call from my memory a tale of our teachers’ daughter being “pummeled”, as he put it, by the neighbor kids. Instead of physically fighting with the other father, our teacher walked away and composed a very formal letter of apology; with plenty of his big words I’m sure. After this encounter and delivering the letter, there were no more problems between the two households. All I remember thinking during his whole story was; “The pen is mightier than the sword”.
Finally, when we read each others’ essays, I first off liked how we named it ‘three wise people’. In addition to the great title, I loved reading my peers essays, and helping them to better their writing; at the same time knowing that one of them was doing the same for me. I got more help then I could have asked for by the three peers who corrected my essay and gave me great insight into what my reader would think.
Anderson 5
As I was perched on my chair, attempting to help a peer with their essay, I had an epiphany. My “mini symposium” group was trying to help a classmate understand that his essay would leave the readers’ brains scattered, just like ours were discussing his complication. I realized that my very own essay was not an essay at all, it was merely a list. My essay had started out as a list and then progressed to be a list with words placed strategically around it, not making it an art of composition. The mini symposiums helped me broaden the ideas that went into my essay. I finally realized that helping others helps me with my own essay. Although the topic of my essay was very different from my classmate’s, the ideas that we gave him still pertained to my own essay. This week, we also played musical chairs during class. I loved how we had to go to a computer to edit an essay of a person we knew the least in the class. Reading and editing their essays helped us get a better understanding of them, even though the essay was not about their personality. I was lucky enough to have my hard copy and computer copy of my essay with me on that day. Since one of my classmates did not have a copy of their essay, my essay was edited in two different spots. I had edited three of my peers’ essays and had six peers edit mine. Some of their ideas were the same, but many of them had different areas and ways to improve what I had already put onto paper. Other classmates helped with my title and gave me other ideas to include into my essay. This past week was very productive with my classmates, along with myself, helping improve my essay.
Boerhave 7
For a couple of weeks now we have been discussing bringing in our essay and printing off a page for each person in the class. Then each student would write corrections, grammatical errors, or constructive criticism on this page of the student’s essay that was handed out to them. This was supposed to be a way to enhance symposiums and to help the student receive opinions and help more in depth. At first the idea seemed pretty good to me. Then about a few days ago our class went to the lab and did musical chairs with our essays. We then pulled up our essays onto the computer for other students to peer edit. We switched three times to different students’ essays and wrote in our opinions. I liked this so much more than the printed page symposium because it not only saves paper but also encourages students to share even more ideas and /or opinions due to the fact that the student is not sharing it in front of the entire class. I also liked the musical chairs idea better than the “one person sitting in front of the room” symposium. There is not one student in the spotlight; we all are getting the help we need in a fun and creative way while getting to know our peers better.
Tew 1
Lately I have been reading two different books. Both of which we have talked about. The first one being Jane Eyre. I was told it is a great book and that I should talk about it with peers. When I first started I found it really hard to get into. It was slow and boring most of the time. I had to get in twenty pages before something interesting happened. This interesting moment only lasted a short while however, and it was back to a dull rant about nothing. The book is about one of the most uninteresting people ever. She is so uninteresting she clearly states that she wanted to leave her current position to find something interesting to do. You literally have to read forty pages to find anything of merit. I am not trying to bash this novel, but the few highlights it did show lasted maybe two pages before it throws you back to sleep. Another problem, which is nobodies fault, was that I could not relate. The book was about a boring woman who is a school teacher to a little girl and works with women. The lack of a mixture of sexes left different opinions out of the story and ultimately I did not have a taste for it.
The second book is The Lord of the Flies. This book is significantly more interesting than the last due to the fact that you are captivated from the beginning. These boys are all stranded on a desert island. This is often used in a metaphor to see what is more important to people. They are constantly doing something and trying to get rescued. There are arguments and complications throughout the whole thing. On the downside there is the gender specific quality to the book. However because I was once a boy, I can somehow relate. The perspective flipped on me but this time it worked out.
Grapevine 7
Like the comment above me, I am also reading Lord of the Flies...for about the tenth time, I suppose? The book is a complicated book that really strikes into you, making you think about it, and try to relate to the characters of this piece of work.
For me, it is a little more difficult to connect with the characters, being that they are both younger, and male, and it is sometimes hard to try and put yourself in that mindset and feel what they are feeling. The switching of perspectives and the number of characters throws you off at first, but you soon learn how to identify all of them (ironically after half of them are gone). I'm not really sure, I guess I just find it hard to relate to some of the characters, being that they are so young, and a different gender. But it is a fun book to read, and makes you think, and makes you wonder about the events of the book mirroring events of the real world.
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