Sanum's Blog

Reflection on Blogging

Sanum — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:32:10 +0000

I learned that blogging can be a form of socialization between people and they can get their opinions heard of and out there. In the beginning, I never really understood the use of blogging. I thought that only qualified professors or professionals’ blogged and I saw it as a burden. But now I know that anyone can blog and about any subject. However, there were some challenges to blogging such as the deadlines. It was difficult for me to get the blogs published on time. The posts that were most interesting to me were about the group research topics and posts about Darcey Steinke. It was nice to know how some classmates felt about their own group, their members and the topic chosen. It helps me to reflect on my group and how to handle negotiations.

Response to Presentations

Sanum — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:26:37 +0000

The Green Team’s presentation was good. I liked their adequate use of surveys and statistics. It seemed to me from the presentation that they did their research. Their presentation was informative and eye-catching. What I remember most from the presentation was The College of the Atlantic that was considered the most “green” college/univeristy in the U.S. The tuition was a mind-blowing forty-thousand a year. However, I think it’s worth the money. Personally, if I had a chance I would go there. Each student gets their own organic lunch and they recycle basically everything and green facilities.

As for the next presentation the group,Yellow Domain(my group), it seemed such a depressing subject. Teen Suicide is a sad topic in its self but just talking about it for almost ten minutes straight made it seem even more depressing. But overall, I think we did a pretty good job presenting. I think that we hit all the main points and the need for an increase of awareness.

Comment requirement

Sanum — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:20:30 +0000

Since I was absent on the day the presentation were given, this post will be about an issue that seems relevant to me at this point in the course. It seems to be a challenge to fullfill the blogging requirement of commenting on everyone’s blog. Not everyone has posted recent blogs and it seems irrelevant to comment on another subject that isn’t relevant to the required blog post of that week. So, it is difficult to accomplish that. I had to comment on another perons’ blog and the most recent post they had put up was from about over a month ago.

Response to Darcey Steinke Visit

Sanum — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:45:40 +0000

I went to see Darcey Steinke last week when she came to campus. She started out with reading a chapter of her book, Easter Everywhere. She read the chapter on her mother’s depression. Her mother just had Darcey’s younger brother and was suffering from severe postpartum depression. And as Darcey read more of the chapter, her mother’s depression got worse. Darcey explained how her mother’s suffering and father’s absence caused her to move away from religion. I liked the question and answer session of the seminar because I learned more about Darcey Steinke than I thought I would. It was interesting how she described writing the book, and how her family’s reaction was. Her advice about writing was most helpful to me. She said that every writer has trouble writing. She mentioned that she sometimes revises her work about twenty to thirty times before coming to a final version. I cannot imagine writing that many drafts. Writing three drafts for me is already too much.

Connection strategies applied to Essay two

Sanum — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:33:21 +0000

The connection strategies I’ve used are: pointing words such as their and it, and transition terms like therefore and also.

My initial thesis that I wrote in my proposal was, “A child’s curiosity is more active than that of an adult’s so children are more willing to find out what they don’t know.” As the research came along, I found out that my thesis is false. Motivation isn’t dependent upon age; it is dependent upon the reasons why a person would want to continue their education. Children and young teens have a desire to continue their education because of their level of curiosity and outside pressures. Adults are willing to continue their education so they can earn a better living.

The standards of society coincide with the generation that one grows up in, therefore educational paths have dramatically changed in the last decade. Superintendents are focusing on discipline and higher test grades. Schools are rated based on state-wide and national tests; and no school wants to be labeled as the “dumb one”. So, after school programs have been extended, time in the classroom has been increased and teacher’s daily planners are full of topics all to be taught in one day.

Pressures placed upon children to be “number one” are also a contributing factor. Parents want their kids to be the best at everything they do, whether its sports, school, or other recreational activities. Also, the increase of educational standards is reflected in early childhood education programs recently developed. Studies claim that “children who attended programs were significantly more likely to meet their school’s basic requirement” (Irving and Darlington, pg.1).

Draft of Essay 2

Sanum — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:49:06 +0000

1) This is my draft paragraph for Essay two. The quote in the following paragraph is obtained from the source: Lazar, Irving and Darlington, Richard. Lasting Effects of Early Education: A Report From the Consortium for Longitudinal Studies. Cornell University Society for Research in Child Development. abstract. (1982). Web. 1 Oct 2009 >

The expectations of elementary school children have increased in the last couple of decades. Parents today are pressuring their children more into becoming the best at everything they do, whether it’s sports, school or other recreational activities. Another factor in the increase of educational standards is the early childhood education programs that have developed. Studies have shown that “children who attended programs were significantly more likely to meet their school’s basic requirements”. The question lies in the school’s requirements for these kids. Are those standards really helping the child to become better educated or not? This may be the link between the lack of motivation in some adults, which were born previous to this era of early education programs, to continue their education for its own sake.

Kelly Burlile response questions

Sanum — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:56:55 +0000

1) Burlile’s central claim is that advertisements are settings the standards of beauty in society, affecting the image of beauty negatively.

2) Burlile compared and contrasted magazines containing the same product. She first wrote a paragraph for each magazine she looked at, describing to the reader what kind of imagery was used to make the product appealing to the audience reading those particular magazines. She pointed out specific details that would indicate the message being sent out to readers of the magazines. Then Burlile criticizes the advertisements and its intention to manipulate how one see’s beauty. Her response does fit with the “They Say, I Say” templates.

3) The evidence she uses are different types of magazines targeted at different groups of women. It is effective because she makes a clear connection between her claim and what is in the magazines. For example, she talks about Seventeen Magazine and the acne products shown. Acne is a skin condition found primarily among teens and the advertisement is placed correctly where teens would be most likely to see it.

4) Burlile does address the “so what, who cares?” questions in the last sentence of the essay. However, it is a weak point where she doesn’t clearly focus on the impact.

Response to “They Say, I Say”

Sanum — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:05:12 +0000

“They Say, I Say” is a book useful to those that want to practice argumentative writing. That is probably why I’m trying to get the most out of it. Knowing how to use argumentative writing to the best of its ability is one of my goals for this class. But to do that I would need to know the steps to form an argument in the paper I’m writing.

The templates in “They Say, I Say” helped me to structure my writing into something that provides thorough explanations of my perspectives and strengthen them through conflicting perspectives. The writer needs to show the opposing side of the issue being discussed then states his/her view. Also, the writer has to distinguish their view from the other so the reader won’t be confused about the message of the paper. Specific templates in “They Say, I Say” give the writer a starting point from which he/she can draw an argument from.

The constant repetition in the book is something that kind of irritated me. Almost every chapter mentions that the writer should state what he/she says then what “they” say. This is the order from which a good paper is written from. The importance of it is apparent and I think that readers will realize that when they read it in the introduction and the first chapter. Also, it gives too many example templates that just go on and on. On page twenty-two, they give templates for introducing “standard views”. They listed eight templates which to me is too much. Around three templates are enough to get the idea across to the reader.

Teen suicide blog- “They say, I say” templates

Sanum — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:16:35 +0000

1) John M. Grohol is a psychology expert is the author of the blog “The Story Behind the Increase in Teen suicide Rates”. In this blog he states that the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention have gathered information about what the cause of teen suicide is. They link it to the decrease in anti-depressant presciptions given out. John M. Grohol claims that the research done by the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention is inaccurate because they do not check their facts due to deadline schedules that must be fullfilled.
This blog follows one of the “They say, I say” templates in chapter one. The writer starts out by stating data found by the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention linking the decrease of anti-depressants and the increase in teen suicide.Then he disagrees with the data explaining his reasons and supporting it with evidence. He uses a template in the third paragraph when he says what the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims the main issue is then frankly disapproves. In the following paragraph after he supports his argument.
Here is the link to the blog: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2007/02/15/the-story-behind-the-increase-in-teen-suicide-rates/

2) My whole life I have heard it said that to make a better living you need to be educated. And to get an education, you need to go to school and do your best. People spend so much time in school, with their heads stuck in books that they fail to experience life and learn from hands-on experience. From every experience, one learns how to deal with life better. One learns more than they did before. That’s basically what education is. It’s merely knowing more than you did before. And applying that knowledge to one’s actions in the hopes of leading a better life. Books don’t tell a person how to settle arguments they have with their mothers. Nor how to wash their own clothes when no one is around to do it for them.

Research Project

Sanum — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:08:07 +0000

A research topic is aimed to be a question rather than a statement. Research topics I’ve done in the past were merely a one-sided argument. They were statements given to me by my teachers, and I was told to find and analyze evidence supporting it. I was never told that college research papers will requires you to express your opinions on a two-sided issue. A researcher is supposed to provide evidence for their opinion and also provide sources for argument. This is what most high school teachers fail to emphasize to their seniors.

At least the teachers mentioned the importance of a thesis statement. A thesis is a sentence, at the end of the introduction paragraph, stating one’s standpoint on the issue being discussed. However, if the title of the project already states the researches opinion, it denotes the necessity of a thesis. Therefore confusing students about the format of college research papers.

A study was done of how prepared high school students are for college and entry-level jobs. They interviewed employers and college professors. The study results were that students are being properly prepared for life in college and beyond. Some teachers may put it on the students claiming that it’s the student’s responsibility to find this information out. A high school senior cannot know what’s going to be expected it they’ve never been prepared for it.

http://www.achieve.org/files/pollreport_0.pdf