They Say, I Say

Dave Eggers says in the article, “Serve Or Fail,” that students have too much extra time on their hands, community service would be a good learning experience for them, and that community service would help prepare them for the real world. The article explains that with the extra time that students have that they should spend it doing community service. The community service would be a learning experience for them so it makes since that college should put it into their curriculum. It would be good for them to learn about the needs going on in their communities. This will make students better-rounded.  Their community service could also benefit them by helping prepare them for their future jobs. An example that he uses is that a student majoring in history would benefit by teaching a middle school classroom about the Underground Railroad. This way they are getting involved in the community while having a learning experience.

Eggers does make some strong opinions about students wasting time and stating that college should only be three years. He makes this assumption based on his own experience with college life. He appeals to pathos by talking about the meaningful connection a student could have by doing community service and working with others.  He appeals to logic by stating college is based on requirements so why not make service learning a requirement.

At the Star Tribute website it says in the article “more than a fad,” that community service is a free way to benefit communities, having students learn through community service deepens their learning, and it also helps their sense of purpose. The article talks about how communities are getting less and less funding. If people take the time to help each other out than it will help benefit the community. This will help to make up for the fact that they do not have funding.  Getting involved in the community is a great way for students to learn and get a better understanding of the world.  Working and helping other people will also help boost students’ confidents. It will make them feel good to help other people and give them a sense of purpose and meaning.

This article was a little complicated to read. It was hard to see what the main points of the article were. This article does not really apply to pathos. There was not anything that really connected the article to the reader. It applies to logos because it makes sense that helping other people would improve your sense of purpose. It uses ethics by talking about helping other people and showing it is an ethical thing to do.

The Monitor’s Editorial Board says in the article “How to reduce student dropout rates,” volunteering helps to keep students in school, students should start service learning at a young age, and Students should reflect on their learning.  The article uses facts showing that having students do community service prevents them from dropping out of school. It states that students should start doing service learning at a young age. This is to help get them in the habit of it and help them to move onto bigger things. The article also talks about how the students reflect on the services they have done. This way they are not only just doing the projects but they are learning why they are doing them.

This article stated a lot that service learning lowers dropout rates, but it did not mention how it does. It applies to pathos because it talks about the rates of students dropping out of school. This makes people feel sad about the fact children are not finishing school. It applies to logos because it uses statistics showing the logic in having children do service learning. It applies to ethics because people want students to be able to finish school and have a good opportunity in life.

I think that students should be involved in community service, community service will broaden students’ minds, and that taking the time to help other people is an important part of a community. Some students do not have free time in their schedule. So they would not have much time for community service. To help make that time they could have a class where students get credit for doing so many hours of community service. Community service will give students different perspectives on life. This will help to open and broaden their minds.  Communities prosper if people work as a team. If we take the time to help one another out then the whole community will benefit.

I agree that students should take part in service learning. I agree that it benefits the communities and the students themselves. It helps students to have a better understanding of themselves and of the world around them. I disagree that students have a ton of time to waste. College may come with freedom but it also comes with a lot of responsibilities and obligations. Some students are going full time and have to work more than one job to help them pay for college. They also need time to study and do homework.  I also disagree that students who are going to community colleges are the only students who have family obligations. There are many students that are commuting to four year colleges.

The authors all agree on the importance of service learning. They all think that the education system should include community service. The “Serve Or Fail” article was more opinionated than the other articles. Instead of just focusing on how service learning would help people it talked about what college is like without service learning. Other than that the articles were all pretty similar. They were all trying to get the same point across.

Letter to Myself

Dear 7^th grade Kimmy,

                You have friends from many different groups of people. Your friends do not always get along. You will be put into tricky situations where your friends will say mean things about each other. They will write notes to each other making fun of someone and they will also start rumors. It is important that you stand your ground and do not take part in this. It can hurt feelings and ruin friendships. I will explain to you different things that you can do to prevent this from happening.

 First of all, try staying away from drama and rumors. When somebody is telling you something that somebody did one thing you can do is just ignore it. Most definitely do not repeat the information. You do not know if it is valid information or how the story has been twisted. Always think of the telephone game where a sentence or word has to be repeated through a line of people. It is never the same word or sentence in the end. Even if the information is true, it is none of your business.

Do not have any part in making fun of people. You may think that by not making the jokes that you are not being mean. Truth is being a bystander can be just as hurtful. Do not laugh or support jokes made about other people. Instead say that the joke is not funny and that it can be hurtful. This will show the people that they do not get the attention that they want for making fun of people. It will show them that it is an unacceptable way to act.

Writing mean things does not make you funny. People may write mean things and others might laugh but that does not make it funny or okay. In the end you will just feel guilty or ashamed of yourself for saying such things.

Put yourself in other people’s shoes. Imagine if the joke was being made about you. How would that make you feel? How would you feel about the person saying it? You would most likely feel hurt and upset. You also would probably not think to highly of the person who said it.

Think about the person you want to be. Do you want to be remembered as the person who made people feel bad about themselves or do you want to be the person who made people feel good about themselves. Think about who you are and what feels right to you. If there is a voice in the back of your mind saying that what you’re doing could be hurtful, you should listen to that voice.

Do not fall into the drama. Stick up for yourself and for other people. Think about the person that you want to be. You know what is right in wrong. These are things you will need to remember for the rest of your life. Even as an adult you will be faced with situations that you will need to decide how to respond. Be a true friend and remember to be true to yourself.

From, Future Kimmy

Pop Culture

          The reality T.V. show Jersey Shore is widely known in America. Even if you do not watch it you have probably heard of it. You may have heard of Angelina’s drama, Snookie’s drinking, or Mike’s “situation”. Many viewers are dedicated to the show and will not miss an episode. What makes this show so addicting and what kind of influence does it have on our society?

                Jersey shore is about eight people living in a home together for the summer. There are four males and four females. Their daytime hobbies include gym, tanning, and laundry.  Their nighttime hobbies are going to the club, drinking, and finding people to bring back to the house with them. Putting eight different personalities in one household creates tension.  There is a lot of fighting and talking behind each other’s backs.

                Reality T.V. shows are very popular and are a growing trend. This show would be low culture because of its availability into most every ones homes. You can just turn on your T.V. and there it is. It is something that the general population is into. Jersey Shore is popular among teenagers and young adults. This is generally because it is shown on MTV which has the audience of teenagers and young adults. There are many commercials for it that draws people’s attention in. Once some people started to watch the show, the word spread.  It is also most commonly watched by Caucasians sense the characters on the show are all Caucasian. Although both males and females watch the show, it is more popular among females.  Females tend to be attracted to the drama. They like to know what is going on in other people’s lives. Also many people will talk about what is going on in the show so some people may feel out of the loop. This causes more people to want to watch it so that they can join in on the conversations with their friends.

The show also keeps viewers interested by consistently leaving the episode off on a cliffhanger.  Sometimes they would end the show in the middle of an intense argument or when somebody just finds out something important. Viewers want to see the reaction and the outcome so they make sure to watch the next episode. Also at the end of each episode they would show some clips of the next episode. They always show something really dramatic such as people screaming at each other, stuff getting thrown, or somebody getting hit. This catches the interest of people making them want to watch the next episode to figure out what happens.

In addition people want to watch the show because of some of the things it portrays. They have money, a nice house, nice clothes, and little responsibilities.  They do not have to work as much as the average American. They do not take their job seriously and they can get away with disrespecting their bosses.  These people are society’s view of good looking. They have people hitting on them wherever they go. But is this really the life that viewers want to live?

Jersey Shore has a mostly negative influence on our society. The main audiences of the show are teenagers and young adults whose minds can be greatly influenced. The Jersey Shore cast spends a lot of time focusing on how they look. They also judge other people on how they look. Some of the women have breast enhancements and many spend a lot of time in front of a mirror. This could be sending the wrong signal to both females and males. People may start to put high priority on their looks. They may also feel that they need to change things about themselves instead of learning to love themselves the way that they are. They also may become shallow and judge people on their looks.

The cast also spends a lot of their time drinking, partying, and not taking their jobs seriously. This may attract the audience into thinking that these things are all fun and do not have consequences. They may think that getting drunk is what they should do to have a good time. The show rarely shows the true effects of alcoholism. Many of the cast members show up to work late, hung-over, or do not show up at all. This is something that they laugh at and joke around about. This could be giving young adults the wrong idea about the workplace. They may think that they can get away with slacking off and not doing their job. In the real world you would not be able to sustain a job like that.

Although the show has negative effects, it can be looked at as good entertainment. These people may be fun to watch because of their dumb decisions. We just have to understand the difference between reality T.V. and the realistic world around us.

Education needs digital upgrade

            I think there are many ways that my teachers could have prepared their students to enter a society that uses so much technology.  They could introduce us to new technology and show us how to use it. Whenever we would use technology, it was the student’s job to figure it out themselves. Also for projects teachers could have us use technology instead of always doing posters. I would have liked to use media of some sort to present my information. I would encourage teachers to try new things and try new ways of presenting and learning information.

            Going into Psychology I will most likely have to know basic computer skills. I will probably be using the computer to do research because there will always be more stuff for me to learn. If I do any experimenting I will have to know technology because I will have to use different kinds of equipment. Oakland will help me by broadening my knowledge on technology. The more I use and know technology, the easier it will be for me to use equipment that I have never used before.

            I definitely feel best when I am writing in a blog. When I am writing a paper I am constantly questioning myself and worrying about it sounding good. When I am writing in a blog I am just writing what I feel or sharing my thoughts or ideas. I don’t necessarily take the time to plan out exactly what I am going to say or the structure of how I say it. Instead I just state what I need to say to get my point across.

            If I were a math teacher I would allow my students to use calculators on exams. I understand that they want you to think for yourself and not always depend on your calculator but for an exam I think you should be able to use it. In the real world you will be able to use a calculator for your job. I hope that architects are checking their work and not just going off of their brain. If I were a science teacher I would definitely be using technology.  There is so much experimentation that requires technology. I feel students also learn better by doing hands on things then by just taking notes.

            I completely agree with the reading. Although sometimes I don’t always enjoy using technology, I think it is important to learn. Students should be learning technology in school because school is supposed to be getting your ready for the real world. In the real world there will be a lot of technology that the students will have to use in the future.  Technology surrounds us and there will only be more to come. Teachers should not be holding students back from technology. Instead they should be supporting them and teaching them about it.

Questions from Monday’s Readings

1.       Sherman’s goal was to get off the reservation.  He could have been like his father and just gone with what was expected of him but he chose to aspire more.  In order for him to reach his goal he needed to be literate so that he could get a job and earn money. This is something that is also essential for me. In order for me to become a psychologist I need to be able to be literate. I want to be successful at my job and in order to do that I need to be able to read, write, and comprehend. You need these things for any job that you may be going into.

2.       My culture doesn’t really show through my literacy. My parents always spoke proper English so that was all I knew. I only notice how I talk when I go to other people’s houses and I hear them say “aint” or “I seen”. This became a pet peeve of mine because my parents always corrected me when I was younger for saying things like that.

3.       I really connected with “Two Questions” by Linda Barry. The poetry I wrote always made me feel good and I never thought about whether it was good poetry or not. When we started doing poetry in school it became less enjoyable. I knew that I would have to share my poems so I constantly was second guessing myself on my work. I would ask myself the same questions that Linda would ask herself. I was so focused on what everyone would think of my poems that I didn’t let my true poetry show.

4.       A circular narrative is when the story says something and then repeats it later in the story as if looping the story together. The sentence may make more sense to the reader in the end or have a different meaning. It makes you think more about the purpose of the sentence. In the story “Superman and Me” the writer states “I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky” and in the end of the book he says “I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky”. This ties the story together.

Literacy Timeline

Present

-Wrote my first story in Creative Writing class. I actually enjoyed writing it because there were no specific guidelines. I could write it the way I wanted to.

-My Dad always talked about the effects of drugs and alcohol with me. I always said “Yeah, yeah, I know Dad”.  I never really understood until high school. I had friends who lost themselves and completely changed because of drugs. This put more meaning into my Dads words.  

-Was going through a lot and was very stressed and upset. I got my emotions out through poetry. I would put the pencil to my notebook and the words would just start flowing. I only wrote when I was sad or mad. It is the way that I release my pain and stress. I enjoy it because I am writing for myself and nobody else. I wrote whatever I felt and didn’t have to worry about punctuation or spelling.

-I pretended that I had my own magazine company and I would write articles for it and take pictures. I would do this in my spare time as a hobby. I loved to design the pages and write the articles.

-I wrote something mean about another girl. She saw it and it of course really upset her. This made me realize the impact that words can have. They can hurt someone or they can make someone feel good. You have to choose what kind of effect you want to have on people.

-I always loved to listen to music but I never was truly listening. It wasn’t until I heard the song “Where is the love” by Black Eyed Peas, that I started to think about meaning.  After that I started paying attention to song’s lyrics and their meaning

Birth

Why is writing important?

Writing can show feelings, tell a story, or share information. I use writing as a way to express how I feel. It is important to me because it is a way to release stress. I can look back at my writing and understand what was going on in my life and how it felt. Writing is also great for sharing information or stories. Stories can be passed through generations. This is a learning experience for other people. They can learn about what it feels like to be in someone elses shoes. They can learn what it is like to live in a different place or a different time period.

Writing is a form of communication. People may be sharing stories or feelings. Either way it is something that can be learned from. Writing down thoughts is important. Everyone has thoughts and ideas to share. We can expand our mind by reading other peoples thoughts. Writing is very important in many ways. It can be a way of releasing emotions to some and a way of learning for everyone.

For going into psychology I will need writing. I will need to know a lot about the brain and peoples conditions. I will have to do a lot of research and will write down the information that I learn. I will need to learn more writing skills so that I can better organize the notes that I write.