Dear class,
It's finally over! The semester that is, because I'm sure that none of you are glad that we will not be spending any more class days together, right? :)
Over the course of the semester we have had great conversations and arguments (sometimes distractions), listened to each others' perspectives and learned from one another. My hope is that through all those conversations, blogs, powerpoints, group activities and presentations I have equipped you all with the tools that you need in order to continue on with your undergraduate studies and be strong critical thinkers who are intrigued and enticed to ask question after question after question; because it is the questions that lead to research and research leads to solutions and new ideas.
As you have become critical thinkers, you have in turn become stronger writers, and we all know that you did a lot of writing, granted some more than others, but I have seen the growth and the development. Some of you simply becoming more refined, while others have made huge growth. I would like to think that most of you have walked away with a better appreciation for the art of writing and the art of rhetoric now that we have come to an end. Additionally, now that you know the techniques involved in argument, whether it be to persuade, inform or entertain, you can appreciate the importance of knowing who your audience is, what your purpose is, how to appeal to your audience through the use of logos, ethos and pathos, what kinds of claims can be used, and how not to commit a fallacy.
For this final blog I would like for you to write an entry describing your experience during this semester in class. Additionally, I would like for you to write about what you have learned, how you feel as a writer after taking this course, and what you would recommend that I could do differently or better. Touch upon whether or not the expectations you had of yourself and myself at the beginning of the semester were met or not.
My final thoughts...if you see me around campus don't be afraid to say hello or think that I would have forgotten you. One of the greatest aspects of teaching college is bumping into a student over the years and witnessing their growth and change. If you ever need to get in touch with me for help or advice or a letter of recommendation, please feel free to ask (but remember that I won't lie, so make sure I'm the right person you want to ask!). Feel free to keep in touch via twitter or Facebook and you can always follow my crazy mom stories on my blog stumblesthroughparenthood.com :)
In one way or another you have all touched my life and you will not be forgotten. I wish you all luck with your future endeavors and college experience and that you make the most of it and your potential. (can you tell I'm a mom!? :) )
With love,
Natasha
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Solving Homelessness...?
In class we watched the first three parts of "On Skid Row" by Sam Slovick. His exploration into the issue of homelessness on Skid Row in L.A. gives us a peak into a world most of us would rather not know about (or at least we live comfortably not knowing about it).
Homelessness is a huge issue in the U.S. and with the housing epidemic over the last few years, a new community of homeless has surged in numbers: families. But homelessness is an issue that most people choose to ignore, that most people believe is unsolvable, that most people are apathetic to. Why? Because if they weren't ok with being homeless than they would do something about it. Right?
Perhaps it's not that black and white. Like any issue dealing with marginalization there are plenty shades of gray involved which ultimately make dealing with or solving the problem/issue twice as difficult. Needless to say, it is a challenge. However, consider the possibly that the problem of "fixing" the problem lies in that people believe it takes only one persons solution to fix a problem. One solution; one right way to do things.
This mentality was in part used after the oil spill in the gulf, and now with the rescuing of the 33 miners in Chile, the world zooms in on the collaborative efforts that Chile put together with several other nations in order to come up with a solution. Is there something to be learned in this problem solving strategy?
In the last two video parts of his documentary learn about two other solutions to the problem that Slovick learned about while living on and documenting the community on Skid Row. In your blog, discuss your reaction to the issue on Skid Row and what other possible solution could be looked at to help solve this issue; because at the end of the day, whether you realize it or not, or want to accept it, homelessness does affect all of our citizen's lives, particularly our pockets.
Good Magazine: Skid Row Part 4: God
Good Magazine: Skid Row Part 5: Afterword
If you want to see what happens to a child who grows up in these sorts of environments check out Brenda Ann Kenneally's "Back on the Block: Andy & Tata". Brenda is a Miami native who moved to NY pursuing a masters in Photography and in this piece she follows Andy over the course of several years documenting his life through photography & video recordings.
And if you're interested in the report by Anderson Cooper on Hospital Dumping, click here
and if you want to see what others like yourself have done check out Enoch Magazine and their crew of young documentarists and what they've been doing on Skid Row as well as with prostitutes.
Homelessness is a huge issue in the U.S. and with the housing epidemic over the last few years, a new community of homeless has surged in numbers: families. But homelessness is an issue that most people choose to ignore, that most people believe is unsolvable, that most people are apathetic to. Why? Because if they weren't ok with being homeless than they would do something about it. Right?
Perhaps it's not that black and white. Like any issue dealing with marginalization there are plenty shades of gray involved which ultimately make dealing with or solving the problem/issue twice as difficult. Needless to say, it is a challenge. However, consider the possibly that the problem of "fixing" the problem lies in that people believe it takes only one persons solution to fix a problem. One solution; one right way to do things.
This mentality was in part used after the oil spill in the gulf, and now with the rescuing of the 33 miners in Chile, the world zooms in on the collaborative efforts that Chile put together with several other nations in order to come up with a solution. Is there something to be learned in this problem solving strategy?
In the last two video parts of his documentary learn about two other solutions to the problem that Slovick learned about while living on and documenting the community on Skid Row. In your blog, discuss your reaction to the issue on Skid Row and what other possible solution could be looked at to help solve this issue; because at the end of the day, whether you realize it or not, or want to accept it, homelessness does affect all of our citizen's lives, particularly our pockets.
Good Magazine: Skid Row Part 4: God
Good Magazine: Skid Row Part 5: Afterword
If you want to see what happens to a child who grows up in these sorts of environments check out Brenda Ann Kenneally's "Back on the Block: Andy & Tata". Brenda is a Miami native who moved to NY pursuing a masters in Photography and in this piece she follows Andy over the course of several years documenting his life through photography & video recordings.
And if you're interested in the report by Anderson Cooper on Hospital Dumping, click here
and if you want to see what others like yourself have done check out Enoch Magazine and their crew of young documentarists and what they've been doing on Skid Row as well as with prostitutes.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
1st Amendement; a fine line?
Freedom of Speech is a right that we value deeply as Americans. Recently however, a religious organization called the Westboro Baptist Church headed by Pastor Fred Phelps, has caught the attention of the nation leaving everyone questioning whether or not there should be limits to Free Speech. The members of this church have been around for a while. As a matter of fact, I introduced them to some of my classes almost two years ago. They are known for staging pickets with signs that say things like: "God Hates Fags," "Thank God for 911," and "Thank God For Dead Soldiers" and the name of their website (which I might add is a professionally designed looking website) is GodHatesAmerica.com.
Protesting and picketing is an American democratic tradition. However, should restrictions be put into place that would bar or ban groups such as this one from picketing at a soldiers funeral? It is the belief of the members of this "church" that God is punishing America and its citizens for all of its sins and that the soldiers dying in Iraq and in Afghanistan as a result of the war are God's punishment for....well, let me just cite what they claim:
"America was duped into the Iraq/Afghanistan war! Thank God for dead soldiers!
Hell has room for all of your soldiers, America! George Bush has been suckered into a bloody, senseless war that he can’t win by a God determined to execute vengeful justice on a disobedient nation. Now Obama is going to continue that trend! You hate your children, raising them for the devil and hell, teaching them to murder their unborn babies, eat feces, and practice every form of sexual perversion the dark mind of man can create. You cannot silence the preaching at their funerals, and if you had half a brain, you’d embrace it as the only truth of God you’ve ever heard. Number who have entered hell as punishment for your sins: 4,207 WBC Prays for it to be All Service Members!
“Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!” Hosea 9:10." (godhatesamerica.com)
The claim behind everything the WBC does is that we are all sinners and because we do not follow the word of the lord and respect the word of the lord, we are all going to go to Hell. You can not obey the word of the Lord and be tolerant of sin. This is a hypocrisy according to the WBC. Their biggest target is the gay community. If you're a "fag" (as they like to refer to gays) then you are going to hell and if you are a "fag lover" then you are going to hell. And all the bad things that are happening in the world are a result of our sins and God punishing us and we must accept our fate as such. Oh, and if you don't believe in God, don't think you're exempt, apparently you're still going to Hell.
Watch this video posted on Newsweek (click here) and hear for yourself what the Pastor has to say and how he supports his claim. Can you pinpoint what his support is and determine the strength of his support? Are his claims valid? Why is it so difficult for people to be persuaded by his claim? Does this seem like a cult? If so, what defines a cult? What are your thoughts on their picketing at soldiers funerals? What should the Supreme Court do? Is there a fine line to Free Speech? If we impose limits due to this, would you be comfortable with that? Is this a form of hate crime? What is a hate crime? What does it take to qualify as a hate crime?
Class, this post will be worth two grades; therefore, engage in a critical discussion about this topic. Be sure to formulate an argument that utilizes the rhetorical appeals (ethos, logos, and pathos). Establish your credibility, use support and appeal to your audience's emotions. Don't allow yourself to get carried away solely by emotions. Do not make broad generalizations and do not assume anything. You know what happens when you assume right? (in case you don't: you make an ass out of you and me).
Friday, September 3, 2010
Deconstructing the Controversial "Mosque"
In class we read and began discussion on the issue of the Islamic Cultural Center being built near ground zero. The way we shape our views on topics is framed by the immediate information made available to us as well as a foundation established at home, based on morals, values, politics, and religion among others. As we have discussed, these "interpretations" and the claims we make merit critical analysis as we try to formulate support for our opinions or claims. Logical reasoning is, thus, imperative in establishing a strong and persuasive argument. Those arguments that lack logic and are founded principally in emotion are the ones that tend to be easily deconstructed. Arguments based on emotion, while moving and powerful, depend on the fact that the audience targeted is moved by the emotional evidence because there is a common thread of values and principals upon which that emotional evidence is founded on. If that does not exist than the emotional argument fails.
In the following two videos watch how two different sources formulate their arguments and attempt to deconstruct the argument in opposition to the building of the center. Notice which source you believe more, which source is more credible, why that particular source is more credible, and in the end ultimately, no matter how you feel on the issue, does the source make a persuasive argument, why or why not?
For the first video you have to click on the link (the title): Controversial Mosque in Manhattan
Here is the 2nd video:
In the following two videos watch how two different sources formulate their arguments and attempt to deconstruct the argument in opposition to the building of the center. Notice which source you believe more, which source is more credible, why that particular source is more credible, and in the end ultimately, no matter how you feel on the issue, does the source make a persuasive argument, why or why not?
For the first video you have to click on the link (the title): Controversial Mosque in Manhattan
Here is the 2nd video:
Friday, August 20, 2010
Blog #1: Welcome To Blogging & Fall Semester 2010
Note: If you have taken a course with me in the past you will notice that this prompt sounds very familiar. Skim through it and go to the bottom that refers to those who have had a blog in the past.
It's the beginning of a new semester and with that comes the stress of delegating classes, studying, tests, maybe work, family, friends, personal and fun time along with trying to be successful in all areas. Have you ever really thought about how you manage everything in your life? Really thought about it; broken it down sort of thing? Maybe you don't have time to really think about how you manage your everyday life, and maybe it isn't that important to you to think about it. But if you're not thinking about how you manage your life and just going with the flow, chances are you probably don't really think about other issues.
Will you put up a picture of yourself? Your interests? Your email address? How much information do you want people to have access to about you? What did you name your own URL? How does it make you feel to have a URL?
This isn't your first time blogging??
If you have had a blog in the past, your own, for my class or for another class, then I challenge you to examine, question and analyze your experience with having a blog. Consider why you had one, how it made you feel, and how you manipulated the security settings for your own sense of security. Consider changes you may make now that you have grown and developed as a writer/blogger. Consider how writing a blog may have helped or hindered your writing ability. Will you continue writing in the same style, tone and voice or are you going to change? Who will be your audience?
So, this is your very first blog prompt/journal entry for the semester!! Are you excited? LOL! Probably not, but that's ok. Maybe, hopefully, eventually, you will begin to actually enjoy this process. Just remember: Always think outside the box!
It's the beginning of a new semester and with that comes the stress of delegating classes, studying, tests, maybe work, family, friends, personal and fun time along with trying to be successful in all areas. Have you ever really thought about how you manage everything in your life? Really thought about it; broken it down sort of thing? Maybe you don't have time to really think about how you manage your everyday life, and maybe it isn't that important to you to think about it. But if you're not thinking about how you manage your life and just going with the flow, chances are you probably don't really think about other issues.
And it's more than just thinking about issues, it's about challenging, questioning, analyzing and exploring issues. Breaking them down into pieces and examining each piece and how they work together to make a whole. Just like a business person or accountant would do with numbers, or how a biologist/chemist would do with cells/atoms and elements.
If this is your first time writing in a blog I challenge you to examine, question and analyze this idea of writing your thoughts or opinions on an internet blog as a journal. How does this make you feel? Uneasy, excited? Consider the fact that you have security settings that you can manipulate and that you are being required to do this for a class rather than a decision you have made on your own. Consider its purpose and who your audience is. Do you want for the whole world, or just for your teacher? What kind of style should you write in depending on that audience? Will you write in first or 3rd person, will you speak directly to an audience or not?Will you put up a picture of yourself? Your interests? Your email address? How much information do you want people to have access to about you? What did you name your own URL? How does it make you feel to have a URL?
This isn't your first time blogging??
If you have had a blog in the past, your own, for my class or for another class, then I challenge you to examine, question and analyze your experience with having a blog. Consider why you had one, how it made you feel, and how you manipulated the security settings for your own sense of security. Consider changes you may make now that you have grown and developed as a writer/blogger. Consider how writing a blog may have helped or hindered your writing ability. Will you continue writing in the same style, tone and voice or are you going to change? Who will be your audience?
So, this is your very first blog prompt/journal entry for the semester!! Are you excited? LOL! Probably not, but that's ok. Maybe, hopefully, eventually, you will begin to actually enjoy this process. Just remember: Always think outside the box!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Farewell Summer B 2010
Dear class,
I like to end the semester with a letter to all of you, my students, who decided to stick around with me even after the warnings and the high expectations, particularly for a summer semester. And, I have to give you props simply for that. Taking a writing course during the summer (a short one at that) could possibly be one of the most difficult challenges you could face in the college; so I applaud you. But for future reference, I recommend taking easier classes during the summer. :)
I have, however, for as quickly as it went by, had a blast with all of you. We had great conversations and arguments, listened to each others perspectives and learned from one another. My hope is that through all those conversations, blogs, powerpoints, group activities and presentations I have equipped you all with the tools that you need in order to continue on with your undergraduate studies and be strong critical thinkers who are intrigued and enticed to ask question after question after question; because it is the questions that lead to research and research leads to solutions and new ideas.
As you have become critical thinkers, you have in turn become stronger writers, and we all know that you did a lot of writing, granted some more than others, but I have seen the growth and the development. Some of you simply becoming more refined, while others have made huge growth. I would like to think that most of you have walked away with a better appreciation for the art of writing and the art of rhetoric now that we have come to an end. Additionally, now that you know the techniques involved in argument, whether it be to persuade, inform or entertain, you can appreciate the importance of knowing who your audience is, what your purpose is, how to appeal to your audience through the use of logos, ethos and pathos, what kinds of claims can be used, and how not to commit a fallacy.
For this final blog I would like for you to write an entry describing your experience during this semester in class. Additionally, I would like for you to write about what you have learned, how you feel as a writer after taking this course, and what you would recommend that I could do differently or better. Touch upon whether or not the expectations you had of yourself and myself at the beginning of the semester were met or not. And lastly (and most importantly for me), what you wish you would have learned in high school that would have potentially helped your performance and understanding of writing and rhetoric prior to this class.
My final thoughts...if you see me around campus don't be afraid to say hello or think that I would have forgotten you. One of the greatest aspects of teaching college is bumping into a student over the years and witnessing their growth and change. If you ever need to get in touch with me for help or advice or a letter of recommendation, please feel free to ask (but remember that I won't lie, so make sure I'm the right person you want to ask!). Feel free to keep in touch via twitter and you can always follow my crazy mom stories on my blog stumblesthroughparenthood.com :)
In one way or another you have all touched my life and you will not be forgotten. I wish you all luck with your future endeavors and college experience and that you make the most of it and your potential. (can you tell I'm a mom!? :) )
With love,
Natasha
I like to end the semester with a letter to all of you, my students, who decided to stick around with me even after the warnings and the high expectations, particularly for a summer semester. And, I have to give you props simply for that. Taking a writing course during the summer (a short one at that) could possibly be one of the most difficult challenges you could face in the college; so I applaud you. But for future reference, I recommend taking easier classes during the summer. :)
I have, however, for as quickly as it went by, had a blast with all of you. We had great conversations and arguments, listened to each others perspectives and learned from one another. My hope is that through all those conversations, blogs, powerpoints, group activities and presentations I have equipped you all with the tools that you need in order to continue on with your undergraduate studies and be strong critical thinkers who are intrigued and enticed to ask question after question after question; because it is the questions that lead to research and research leads to solutions and new ideas.
As you have become critical thinkers, you have in turn become stronger writers, and we all know that you did a lot of writing, granted some more than others, but I have seen the growth and the development. Some of you simply becoming more refined, while others have made huge growth. I would like to think that most of you have walked away with a better appreciation for the art of writing and the art of rhetoric now that we have come to an end. Additionally, now that you know the techniques involved in argument, whether it be to persuade, inform or entertain, you can appreciate the importance of knowing who your audience is, what your purpose is, how to appeal to your audience through the use of logos, ethos and pathos, what kinds of claims can be used, and how not to commit a fallacy.
For this final blog I would like for you to write an entry describing your experience during this semester in class. Additionally, I would like for you to write about what you have learned, how you feel as a writer after taking this course, and what you would recommend that I could do differently or better. Touch upon whether or not the expectations you had of yourself and myself at the beginning of the semester were met or not. And lastly (and most importantly for me), what you wish you would have learned in high school that would have potentially helped your performance and understanding of writing and rhetoric prior to this class.
My final thoughts...if you see me around campus don't be afraid to say hello or think that I would have forgotten you. One of the greatest aspects of teaching college is bumping into a student over the years and witnessing their growth and change. If you ever need to get in touch with me for help or advice or a letter of recommendation, please feel free to ask (but remember that I won't lie, so make sure I'm the right person you want to ask!). Feel free to keep in touch via twitter and you can always follow my crazy mom stories on my blog stumblesthroughparenthood.com :)
In one way or another you have all touched my life and you will not be forgotten. I wish you all luck with your future endeavors and college experience and that you make the most of it and your potential. (can you tell I'm a mom!? :) )
With love,
Natasha
Friday, July 23, 2010
The Not-So Newest Form of Pornography
Sharing pics or vids of sexual content is not something new. What is new, is the method in which they are shared today that is getting young men into a lot of trouble.
Technology.
On several occasions we have discussed the use of technology and the pro's and con's of it. Today, sharing pics and videos on phones through text messages can be considered one of the greatest innovations that allows us to instantly share with friends and family special times or moments. Sending a picture to your boyfriend can be as innocent as the smile on your face, or as risque as a little sneak peak peep show. Whatever it is, there is an unspoken rule of courtesy that the sharing is being done between two individuals and no one else. This is an understanding that most adults comprehend and respect. But what about kids?
The new generation is being raised by technology with tech devices acting as attached limbs, but do they really understand the responsibilities and consequences that come along with the power of technology? And how can we expect parents to teach them when so many of them are afraid, weary or disinterested in learning the in's and out's of it themselves? Today, most kids are teaching their parents how to use technology.
No parent would expect their daughter to take a picture of them self half naked or naked never mind text message or email that picture to another boy. No parent would want to believe that they hadn't taught their daughter "right from wrong" or hadn't instilled enough self esteem or self confidence or values or morals or whatever you want to call it. But does it really have anything to do with that, when the boy you're in love with is asking you to show him a little sum' sum' and all you really want to do is put a smile on his face?
Then on the other hand, no parent expects their son to share indiscreet pics of a girl with all his buddies. No parent wants to believe that they haven't instilled the morals, beliefs, values, etc etc in their son and that instead of sharing he would simply delete the pic. And then BAM!
Handcuffs are being slapped on his wrists and he's being taken to jail for distribution of child pornography and will be forever labeled as a sex offender. Some cases in point include:
This January in Pennsylvania, 6 teenagers were charged. Three girls for creating child porn, and three boys (who it was sent to) for possessing it. In Texas, an eighth-grader actually spent a night in prison after his coach found a nude picture on his cell phone which had been sent by another student. In Wisconsin, a 17-year-old was charged with child pornography after posting naked pictures of his girlfriend, who is a year younger, on the internet. In Rochester, New York, a boy aged 16 faces seven years in jail for circulating an image of a girlfriend to friends.
Technology.
On several occasions we have discussed the use of technology and the pro's and con's of it. Today, sharing pics and videos on phones through text messages can be considered one of the greatest innovations that allows us to instantly share with friends and family special times or moments. Sending a picture to your boyfriend can be as innocent as the smile on your face, or as risque as a little sneak peak peep show. Whatever it is, there is an unspoken rule of courtesy that the sharing is being done between two individuals and no one else. This is an understanding that most adults comprehend and respect. But what about kids?
The new generation is being raised by technology with tech devices acting as attached limbs, but do they really understand the responsibilities and consequences that come along with the power of technology? And how can we expect parents to teach them when so many of them are afraid, weary or disinterested in learning the in's and out's of it themselves? Today, most kids are teaching their parents how to use technology.
No parent would expect their daughter to take a picture of them self half naked or naked never mind text message or email that picture to another boy. No parent would want to believe that they hadn't taught their daughter "right from wrong" or hadn't instilled enough self esteem or self confidence or values or morals or whatever you want to call it. But does it really have anything to do with that, when the boy you're in love with is asking you to show him a little sum' sum' and all you really want to do is put a smile on his face?
Then on the other hand, no parent expects their son to share indiscreet pics of a girl with all his buddies. No parent wants to believe that they haven't instilled the morals, beliefs, values, etc etc in their son and that instead of sharing he would simply delete the pic. And then BAM!
Handcuffs are being slapped on his wrists and he's being taken to jail for distribution of child pornography and will be forever labeled as a sex offender. Some cases in point include:
This January in Pennsylvania, 6 teenagers were charged. Three girls for creating child porn, and three boys (who it was sent to) for possessing it. In Texas, an eighth-grader actually spent a night in prison after his coach found a nude picture on his cell phone which had been sent by another student. In Wisconsin, a 17-year-old was charged with child pornography after posting naked pictures of his girlfriend, who is a year younger, on the internet. In Rochester, New York, a boy aged 16 faces seven years in jail for circulating an image of a girlfriend to friends.
A 15-year-old girl in Ohio and a 14-year-old girl in Michigan were charged with felonies for sending along nude images of themselves to classmates. Similar charges have been filed in cases in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, and Utah. Some may remember back to the case in Florida a few years ago where a teen couple took pictures of themselves nude, and engaged in “unspecified sexual behavior.” The police got involved somehow when one of the kids sent the photo to the other. They were tried in the courts and convicted for both production and distribution of child pornography, and the teenager who had received the image also had the charge of possession. It was taken to an appeals court, and they lost. The convictions stood.
The list could go on and on. So what exactly is the problem? Is there something wrong with the parents, the kids, technology or the law? Better yet, what's the solution? You tell me.Friday, July 9, 2010
Back on the Block: Andy & Tata by Brenda Ann Kenneally
Some marginalized communities are more obvious than others. Some have serious problems, are a serious problem, and/or cause serious problems. Some appeal to our emotions and our logic and make us feel like we should do something. Some don't appeal to us at all. We think, that's their problem, they got themselves there, they don't get out cuz they don't want to. Perhaps that is a superficial way of looking at these sub-communities that "we" the "normals" the "regs" have cast outside onto the margins of society as different from us; something other than us. Perhaps ignorance is bliss and it is soooooo much easier to ignore the intricacies of these "others" and point the finger at them and blame them for their mis-haps and their choices. Or perhaps there is nothing complicated about it and is it what it is and that's the way they want it and I don't need to feel moved or feel guilty for not being moved.
But if I do that, then doesn't that simplify the human being? Doesn't that reduce the being to some essentialist, unchanging, mold of a robot? Are beings not complicated, ever changing, mind blowing, incredible pieces of art?
Maybe not. What do you think? But before you think and before you answer, check out this link and watch the video, and listen to his words.....does he move you?
BACK ON THE BLOCK: ANDY & TATA by BRENDA ANN KENNEALLY
But if I do that, then doesn't that simplify the human being? Doesn't that reduce the being to some essentialist, unchanging, mold of a robot? Are beings not complicated, ever changing, mind blowing, incredible pieces of art?
Maybe not. What do you think? But before you think and before you answer, check out this link and watch the video, and listen to his words.....does he move you?
BACK ON THE BLOCK: ANDY & TATA by BRENDA ANN KENNEALLY
Friday, July 2, 2010
A Vision of Students Today & The Milennial Generation
The other day in class I showed you a video titled "A Vision of Students Today" (in case you missed it see it here).
After having watched the video and the message the students have, what are your thoughts? I touched upon the fact that most of you belong to what is now called the Millennial Generation (children born after 1980-1995). Click on the link below and watch the video clip to learn a little more and then engage in a discussion (on your blog) about it and share your thoughts and insight.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Blog #1: Welcome to Blogging!!
Note: If you have taken a course with me in the past you will notice that this prompt sounds very familiar. Skim through it and go to the bottom that refers to those who have had a blog in the past.
It's the beginning of a new semester and with that comes the stress of delegating classes, studying, tests, maybe work, family, friends, personal and fun time along with trying to be successful in all areas. Have you ever really thought about how you manage everything in your life? Really thought about it; broken it down sort of thing? Maybe you don't have time to really think about how you manage your everyday life, and maybe it isn't that important to you to think about it. But if you're not thinking about how you manage your life and just going with the flow, chances are you probably don't really think about other issues.
Will you put up a picture of yourself? Your interests? Your email address? How much information do you want people to have access to about you? What did you name your own URL? How does it make you feel to have a URL?
This isn't your first time blogging??
If you have had a blog in the past, your own, for my class or for another class, then I challenge you to examine, question and analyze your experience with having a blog. Consider why you had one, how it made you feel, and how you manipulated the security settings for your own sense of security. Consider changes you may make now that you have grown and developed as a writer/blogger. Consider how writing a blog may have helped or hindered your writing ability. Will you continue writing in the same style, tone and voice or are you going to change? Who will be your audience?
So, this is your very first blog prompt/journal entry for the semester!! Are you excited? LOL! Probably not, but that's ok. Maybe, hopefully, eventually, you will begin to actually enjoy this process. Just remember: Always think outside the box!
It's the beginning of a new semester and with that comes the stress of delegating classes, studying, tests, maybe work, family, friends, personal and fun time along with trying to be successful in all areas. Have you ever really thought about how you manage everything in your life? Really thought about it; broken it down sort of thing? Maybe you don't have time to really think about how you manage your everyday life, and maybe it isn't that important to you to think about it. But if you're not thinking about how you manage your life and just going with the flow, chances are you probably don't really think about other issues.
And it's more than just thinking about issues, it's about challenging, questioning, analyzing and exploring issues. Breaking them down into pieces and examining each piece and how they work together to make a whole. Just like a business person or accountant would do with numbers, or how a biologist/chemist would do with cells/atoms and elements.
If this is your first time writing in a blog I challenge you to examine, question and analyze this idea of writing your thoughts or opinions on an internet blog as a journal. How does this make you feel? Uneasy, excited? Consider the fact that you have security settings that you can manipulate and that you are being required to do this for a class rather than a decision you have made on your own. Consider its purpose and who your audience is. Do you want for the whole world, or just for your teacher? What kind of style should you write in depending on that audience? Will you write in first or 3rd person, will you speak directly to an audience or not?Will you put up a picture of yourself? Your interests? Your email address? How much information do you want people to have access to about you? What did you name your own URL? How does it make you feel to have a URL?
This isn't your first time blogging??
If you have had a blog in the past, your own, for my class or for another class, then I challenge you to examine, question and analyze your experience with having a blog. Consider why you had one, how it made you feel, and how you manipulated the security settings for your own sense of security. Consider changes you may make now that you have grown and developed as a writer/blogger. Consider how writing a blog may have helped or hindered your writing ability. Will you continue writing in the same style, tone and voice or are you going to change? Who will be your audience?
So, this is your very first blog prompt/journal entry for the semester!! Are you excited? LOL! Probably not, but that's ok. Maybe, hopefully, eventually, you will begin to actually enjoy this process. Just remember: Always think outside the box!
Friday, April 9, 2010
SB6 - The Future of Florida's Public Education
"At about 2:30 this morning, after hours of debate, the House passed SB 6 by a vote of 64-55 (all Democrats and 11 Republicans voted against the bill). It now will go to the Governor." (Civic Concern)
But before the House convened, it was obvious to everyone that the bill would pass with a Republican majority House. Now the future of Florida's public school children lies in the hands of Governor Crist who has seven days to decide whether or not to pass this bill. Although he showed support for it from the beginning, as of a week ago it appears that the Governor is rethinking his position. He was quoted as saying,
“I had a conversation with a friend of mine for many years. He was concerned about the provisions of the bill that require progress. And he’s like, `How can my son have progress?’ ” Crist said. “It’s very challenging, and that’s weighing on me heavily.”
It would seem that anyone who hears such a comment should be a bit concerned about our dear governor having the power to sign off on a bill that he does not seem to be adequately informed about. If that was a comment made by one person with one of the concerns of this bill, imagine how "weighing" it would be if he listened to a couple of teachers, or more public school parents. I don't know, I'm just saying.
Let me back up a bit. What exactly is SB6 (Senate Bill 6) and what is the problem with it? For now SB6 does not have a name, but it is an education bill meant to close the achievement gap on student learning outcomes and is a furthering of teacher accountability. Sounds good right?? Of course it does. We have the responsibility t make sure that our children receive quality education, as a matter of fact, it is part of the Florida Constitution: "The purpose of the Florida K-20 Education Code is to provide by law for a state system of schools, courses, classes, and educational institutions and services adequate to allow, for all Florida's students, the opportunity to obtain a high quality education." (Title XLVIIII, CHapter 1000, Section 3)
But the reality is there are bad teachers. I'm sure you can list a few of those who didn't teach you anything, who didn't care if you passed, who were obviously miserable with their jobs and took out on their students. Do teachers need to be held accountable? Of course. Do we need to get rid of all those teachers who don't care about their job or their students and who are not doing their job up to par. Heck, yeah! Is testing students the way to prove that they are doing their jobs to the best of their abilities? I guess it is if we are evaluating how well our teachers can teach kids test taking strategies that leave no room or time for teaching students how to THINK. Gee, imagine that, teaching children to think. Hmmm, now that's an ingenious concept; thank you very much. :)
Ok so let's take a look at what some of this bill proposes (if you want to read the entire thing click here):
(info acquired from the United Teachers of Dade website; yes it is a bit bias)
· The majority of a teacher’s evaluation would be based on student test scores.
·A teacher’s certification would ‘expire’ if the teacher fails to achieve ‘effective performance’ based only on student’s test scores. The bill contains no definition of ‘effective performance’.
· More than 50% of a teacher’s salary would be determined by student test scores. Teachers would have no idea what their salaries would be from year to year, making them completely unable to make long term financial decisions for their family, such as buying a home. Teachers who currently own homes may not be able to afford them under this irresponsible system.
· Newly hired teachers would remain on probation for 5 years and then on an annual contract for the remainder of their career, leaving them with absolutely no job security.
· Experience would no longer be a component of the salary schedule.
· Advanced degrees and professional credentials would not be a component of a teacher’s salary.
· Teacher lay-offs would be determined by students’ performance on tests.
· Teacher evaluations would be developed and controlled by the Florida DOE, not by the local school district that now negotiates these working conditions with their teacher unions.
· This bill mandates more testing for students AND teachers, which takes away more of our children’s precious instructional time.
· Thousands of new tests would need to be created from the district’s operating budget. The new tests will cost millions of dollars during this time when school funding in Florida is slashed.
· Teachers could be moved from school to school without warning to fill gaps created by arbitrary terminations.
· National Board Certified Teachers will no longer receive supplemental pay. The Dale Hickman Act would be repealed.
· This bill is a disincentive for teachers to work in low performing schools or with our most fragile children.
· Teacher salary schedules would be set by the Florida DOE.
· This bill contains absolutely nothing that is research based to have shown increased performance in our students. It contains no additional funding for increased instructional time, or funding to decrease class size. On the contrary it is full of red-herrings and pseudoscience that will harm student achievement.
· By making teachers itinerant, the current senate bill will devastate professional teaching in Florida and harm our children’s chance to get a high quality public education.
So what does this all mean in a nutshell? Well, let's see, more tests (because we all know how great it is to test children and stress them out, but hey now we can tell them, well if you do really bad you can get your teacher fired....hmmm, kid thinks about this idea, looks at his teacher, "I really don't like her" he thinks to himself...), it doesn't matter how much education you have (because we all know how cheap it is to continuing going to school for a Master's degree for a whopping $4000 teacher raise), your pay will be based on how well your students do (regardless of the fact that your class is full of special needs children, or you teach in a low income school where just getting them to school in the first place is a huge achievement?), lots and lots of money to be spent on creating these oh so wonderful tests (because we just have that kind of money floating around while some of our schools are falling apart) and let's not forget about the fact that now all the teachers, at least the ones that decide to stay in Florida, will not want to teach in the failing schools (also known as the "bad" schools) and those children will suffer.
At least there's still hope. Crist has a few days to make up his mind and perhaps educate himself a bit more and after all he said it himself: “Shame on any public servant who doesn’t listen to the people.” (then again, he is running for Senator so he has to secure those vote!)
So if you notice an unusually large amount of people walking around dressed in all black, you'll know that they are attending a funeral: "The Death of The Florida Teachers." :)
If you're interested in supporting opposition to this bill, that is of course, after you have educated yourself on it and made up your own mind, there are a few Facebook pages you can follow like:
Stop Senate Bill 6
Florida Teachers Against Pay for Performance Salary/Pay Scales
The following is a little FYI:
A Little Political Information (although it would seem that politics has no place in education, right?)
Many opposed to SB6 claim that the Principal foundations of SB6 come from "the Bush handbook" (Jeb Bush that is) and that they are being pushed through in same manner as Bush's A-plus plan of '99 was by the same legislator John Thrasher. Hmmmm. Taking a closer look at Thrasher we learn that Thrasher was supported for the GOP leadership position by former Florida governor, Jeb Bush, who consequently appointed Mr. Thrasher to the Clay County Board of County Commissioners, year 2007-2008.
At the moment Thrasher is the chair of the Florida Republican Party. This would appear to some as a conflict of interest.
Another interesting tid bit of information is that brother Neil Bush financially benefited from the legislation that his ex-governor brother produced and resulted in the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. How did he he benefit? Well, turns out he co-founded a company called "Ignite! Learning" that created software used in Florida for students to study for FCAT.
But before the House convened, it was obvious to everyone that the bill would pass with a Republican majority House. Now the future of Florida's public school children lies in the hands of Governor Crist who has seven days to decide whether or not to pass this bill. Although he showed support for it from the beginning, as of a week ago it appears that the Governor is rethinking his position. He was quoted as saying,
“I had a conversation with a friend of mine for many years. He was concerned about the provisions of the bill that require progress. And he’s like, `How can my son have progress?’ ” Crist said. “It’s very challenging, and that’s weighing on me heavily.”
It would seem that anyone who hears such a comment should be a bit concerned about our dear governor having the power to sign off on a bill that he does not seem to be adequately informed about. If that was a comment made by one person with one of the concerns of this bill, imagine how "weighing" it would be if he listened to a couple of teachers, or more public school parents. I don't know, I'm just saying.
Let me back up a bit. What exactly is SB6 (Senate Bill 6) and what is the problem with it? For now SB6 does not have a name, but it is an education bill meant to close the achievement gap on student learning outcomes and is a furthering of teacher accountability. Sounds good right?? Of course it does. We have the responsibility t make sure that our children receive quality education, as a matter of fact, it is part of the Florida Constitution: "The purpose of the Florida K-20 Education Code is to provide by law for a state system of schools, courses, classes, and educational institutions and services adequate to allow, for all Florida's students, the opportunity to obtain a high quality education." (Title XLVIIII, CHapter 1000, Section 3)
But the reality is there are bad teachers. I'm sure you can list a few of those who didn't teach you anything, who didn't care if you passed, who were obviously miserable with their jobs and took out on their students. Do teachers need to be held accountable? Of course. Do we need to get rid of all those teachers who don't care about their job or their students and who are not doing their job up to par. Heck, yeah! Is testing students the way to prove that they are doing their jobs to the best of their abilities? I guess it is if we are evaluating how well our teachers can teach kids test taking strategies that leave no room or time for teaching students how to THINK. Gee, imagine that, teaching children to think. Hmmm, now that's an ingenious concept; thank you very much. :)
Ok so let's take a look at what some of this bill proposes (if you want to read the entire thing click here):
(info acquired from the United Teachers of Dade website; yes it is a bit bias)
· The majority of a teacher’s evaluation would be based on student test scores.
·A teacher’s certification would ‘expire’ if the teacher fails to achieve ‘effective performance’ based only on student’s test scores. The bill contains no definition of ‘effective performance’.
· More than 50% of a teacher’s salary would be determined by student test scores. Teachers would have no idea what their salaries would be from year to year, making them completely unable to make long term financial decisions for their family, such as buying a home. Teachers who currently own homes may not be able to afford them under this irresponsible system.
· Newly hired teachers would remain on probation for 5 years and then on an annual contract for the remainder of their career, leaving them with absolutely no job security.
· Experience would no longer be a component of the salary schedule.
· Advanced degrees and professional credentials would not be a component of a teacher’s salary.
· Teacher lay-offs would be determined by students’ performance on tests.
· Teacher evaluations would be developed and controlled by the Florida DOE, not by the local school district that now negotiates these working conditions with their teacher unions.
· This bill mandates more testing for students AND teachers, which takes away more of our children’s precious instructional time.
· Thousands of new tests would need to be created from the district’s operating budget. The new tests will cost millions of dollars during this time when school funding in Florida is slashed.
· Teachers could be moved from school to school without warning to fill gaps created by arbitrary terminations.
· National Board Certified Teachers will no longer receive supplemental pay. The Dale Hickman Act would be repealed.
· This bill is a disincentive for teachers to work in low performing schools or with our most fragile children.
· Teacher salary schedules would be set by the Florida DOE.
· This bill contains absolutely nothing that is research based to have shown increased performance in our students. It contains no additional funding for increased instructional time, or funding to decrease class size. On the contrary it is full of red-herrings and pseudoscience that will harm student achievement.
· By making teachers itinerant, the current senate bill will devastate professional teaching in Florida and harm our children’s chance to get a high quality public education.
So what does this all mean in a nutshell? Well, let's see, more tests (because we all know how great it is to test children and stress them out, but hey now we can tell them, well if you do really bad you can get your teacher fired....hmmm, kid thinks about this idea, looks at his teacher, "I really don't like her" he thinks to himself...), it doesn't matter how much education you have (because we all know how cheap it is to continuing going to school for a Master's degree for a whopping $4000 teacher raise), your pay will be based on how well your students do (regardless of the fact that your class is full of special needs children, or you teach in a low income school where just getting them to school in the first place is a huge achievement?), lots and lots of money to be spent on creating these oh so wonderful tests (because we just have that kind of money floating around while some of our schools are falling apart) and let's not forget about the fact that now all the teachers, at least the ones that decide to stay in Florida, will not want to teach in the failing schools (also known as the "bad" schools) and those children will suffer.
At least there's still hope. Crist has a few days to make up his mind and perhaps educate himself a bit more and after all he said it himself: “Shame on any public servant who doesn’t listen to the people.” (then again, he is running for Senator so he has to secure those vote!)
So if you notice an unusually large amount of people walking around dressed in all black, you'll know that they are attending a funeral: "The Death of The Florida Teachers." :)
If you're interested in supporting opposition to this bill, that is of course, after you have educated yourself on it and made up your own mind, there are a few Facebook pages you can follow like:
Stop Senate Bill 6
Florida Teachers Against Pay for Performance Salary/Pay Scales
The following is a little FYI:
A Little Political Information (although it would seem that politics has no place in education, right?)
Many opposed to SB6 claim that the Principal foundations of SB6 come from "the Bush handbook" (Jeb Bush that is) and that they are being pushed through in same manner as Bush's A-plus plan of '99 was by the same legislator John Thrasher. Hmmmm. Taking a closer look at Thrasher we learn that Thrasher was supported for the GOP leadership position by former Florida governor, Jeb Bush, who consequently appointed Mr. Thrasher to the Clay County Board of County Commissioners, year 2007-2008.
At the moment Thrasher is the chair of the Florida Republican Party. This would appear to some as a conflict of interest.
Another interesting tid bit of information is that brother Neil Bush financially benefited from the legislation that his ex-governor brother produced and resulted in the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. How did he he benefit? Well, turns out he co-founded a company called "Ignite! Learning" that created software used in Florida for students to study for FCAT.
Friday, March 26, 2010
A new kind of Revolution!!
As you all are perfectly aware, obesity is on the rise in this country; it is becoming an epidemic. It would seem that many elements are contributing to this problem, from an increase of two parent working households that result in more takeout and less homemade dinners, to the usual bombardment of visual rhetoric that sells fast food and sugary cereals, all the way to the impact FCAT is having in public schools who are not scoring according to standards and are being punished by eliminating Physical Education programs from the curriculum. There are many more reasons that I am sure you can think of, and the problem is obviously serious. So much so, that people are waking up and now deciding that it is time to do something about it.
One of those advocates for change is a chef named Jamie Oliver. His reality based tv show called Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, aired for the first time this past Sunday. He is one man on a mission to change our perspective on food and the manner in which we eat. More importantly though, he wants to educate children. He recently was the recipient of the TED wish award, an award given "annually to an exceptional individual who receives $100,000 and, much more important, "One Wish to Change the World.""
Every time an individual wins this prize they are invited to give a talk about their cause. I invite you here to listen to Jamie's persuasive presentation and blog about your thoughts in regards to his revolution. Can it be done? Can he succeed to feul the flames and start a Food Revolution??
Click here to be redirected to his talk.
One of those advocates for change is a chef named Jamie Oliver. His reality based tv show called Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, aired for the first time this past Sunday. He is one man on a mission to change our perspective on food and the manner in which we eat. More importantly though, he wants to educate children. He recently was the recipient of the TED wish award, an award given "annually to an exceptional individual who receives $100,000 and, much more important, "One Wish to Change the World.""
Every time an individual wins this prize they are invited to give a talk about their cause. I invite you here to listen to Jamie's persuasive presentation and blog about your thoughts in regards to his revolution. Can it be done? Can he succeed to feul the flames and start a Food Revolution??
Click here to be redirected to his talk.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Two Seperate Prompts for each class
This weekend I will give seperate prompts for each class, so only read the one for your class.
ENC 1930/1101: You are to write a self evaluation of your first essay and the process that you went through in order to write the final draft. Are you satisfied with the final draft? If you had more time what would you change or work on? If you were to submit that essay to the individual you addressed it to, do you think they would pick you up for their team? Lastly, discuss what you learned from writing this essay and the class sessions as far as rhetorical techniques and strategies are concerned. (min 200 words)
ENC 1102: We are coming to the end of the first unit and soon we will head into a capstone project that will last the rest of the semester. From this project you will learn how to write an exploratory essay, how to design a an effective document design to rally support for a cause, present a persuasive and informative oral argument, and propose a business like solution to an issue that you feel needs to be addressed.
The issue you will choose should be one that you are interested or curious about, and likely to be or already are passionate about. The issue should however revolve around the topic of marginilization. As mentioned at the beginning of the semester the prevailing theme for the course is marginilization. As you will recall marginilization is the practice of excluding a social group from mainstream society who are not part of the “majority”, by placing that group on the “margins” of society.
Inevitably, we all belong to a marginilized group in one way or another. Some are given more attention than others, some are not even acknowledged at all. I want to give you all a taste of some of the past issues my classes have dealt with by providing you links to some of their work. This will jumpstart your brainstorming into a topic that you might want to work on for this project.
Your blog entry should discuss any of the issues that you read up on from other classes (you don't have to look into all of them), and it can also be a brainstorming activity on issues that you are aware of and might want to research more.
Precautionary Note: Some are much better than others; do not assume that because I am linking you to it here that the project got a good grade. Also, some of these are much older when this project was in the beginning phases of my expectations of a document design. Lastly, this is only one part of the document design, the second part is a flyer or brochure.
WebSites:
Slum Rescue; The slums of India
Teen Pregnancy
Not For Sale; Sex Trafficking
Wiki's:
Natasha's ENC1102 Wiki Page (click on any of the links to see their proposals)
Video's:
Outsourcing & Child Labor
Fight Against Obesity
Olelo Now; Loss of Language in Hawaii
Natasha's Youtube Channel (I have uploaded some here)
ENC 1930/1101: You are to write a self evaluation of your first essay and the process that you went through in order to write the final draft. Are you satisfied with the final draft? If you had more time what would you change or work on? If you were to submit that essay to the individual you addressed it to, do you think they would pick you up for their team? Lastly, discuss what you learned from writing this essay and the class sessions as far as rhetorical techniques and strategies are concerned. (min 200 words)
ENC 1102: We are coming to the end of the first unit and soon we will head into a capstone project that will last the rest of the semester. From this project you will learn how to write an exploratory essay, how to design a an effective document design to rally support for a cause, present a persuasive and informative oral argument, and propose a business like solution to an issue that you feel needs to be addressed.
The issue you will choose should be one that you are interested or curious about, and likely to be or already are passionate about. The issue should however revolve around the topic of marginilization. As mentioned at the beginning of the semester the prevailing theme for the course is marginilization. As you will recall marginilization is the practice of excluding a social group from mainstream society who are not part of the “majority”, by placing that group on the “margins” of society.
Inevitably, we all belong to a marginilized group in one way or another. Some are given more attention than others, some are not even acknowledged at all. I want to give you all a taste of some of the past issues my classes have dealt with by providing you links to some of their work. This will jumpstart your brainstorming into a topic that you might want to work on for this project.
Your blog entry should discuss any of the issues that you read up on from other classes (you don't have to look into all of them), and it can also be a brainstorming activity on issues that you are aware of and might want to research more.
Precautionary Note: Some are much better than others; do not assume that because I am linking you to it here that the project got a good grade. Also, some of these are much older when this project was in the beginning phases of my expectations of a document design. Lastly, this is only one part of the document design, the second part is a flyer or brochure.
WebSites:
Slum Rescue; The slums of India
Teen Pregnancy
Not For Sale; Sex Trafficking
Wiki's:
Natasha's ENC1102 Wiki Page (click on any of the links to see their proposals)
Video's:
Outsourcing & Child Labor
Fight Against Obesity
Olelo Now; Loss of Language in Hawaii
Natasha's Youtube Channel (I have uploaded some here)
Friday, February 12, 2010
So many topics...I couldn't choose
In 1102 yesterday morning we discussed various topics we could blog about this weekend and I decided I just couldn't choose for you, so I would let you make up your own mind. Here are some topics that I will allow you to blog about:
Religion (always a fun conversation, especially if you know what you are talking about, I recommend watching clips of a movie called Zeitgeist, particularly the first part that is on religion, click on the link to watch on youtube)
Homeland Security Issues (pat downs, perverted security guards, the difference between here and other countries; getting out is easier then getting in, the randomness of tougher screenings and the new machine they are using called Body Scanners (click on link to learn more)
Controversy with Rx drug addiction (this could lead into a conversation about MJ's death and other celebrities like him that have died as a result of this and the dr's who provide them with the medication and what their role in all of this means)
Analyzing song lyrics; if you want to do this, please copy and paste the song lyrics on to your entry, include a picture and/or video link. Remember that you want to not only analyze the "meaning" (which you will never really know), but you want to analyze audience, and claims, and context (when was it made, what was going on at the time), and purpose.
Another topic that we didn't discuss in class but I learned about yesterday on the news has to do with the role and job description of security guards, particularly transit security guards. A 15 year old girl was beat to unconciousness as three security guards watched on because their job desciption allows them only to "observe and report." The incident was caught on video. You can read and watch at this link from the Seattle Weekly newspaper.
Another option I wanted to offer was an evaluative/critique blog entry on any movie you might see this weekend. There are some great ones coming out; Wolfman, Valentines Day, Percy Jackson's The Lightning Thief. So if you watch a movie, blog about about, evaluate it, critique it, and rate it. How many stars would you give it?
Some of you may have another idea you may want to blog about, and if so, please shoot me an email first so that I can give you approval. Have fun with this, have a great weekend, and Happy Valentines Day.
Religion (always a fun conversation, especially if you know what you are talking about, I recommend watching clips of a movie called Zeitgeist, particularly the first part that is on religion, click on the link to watch on youtube)
Homeland Security Issues (pat downs, perverted security guards, the difference between here and other countries; getting out is easier then getting in, the randomness of tougher screenings and the new machine they are using called Body Scanners (click on link to learn more)
Controversy with Rx drug addiction (this could lead into a conversation about MJ's death and other celebrities like him that have died as a result of this and the dr's who provide them with the medication and what their role in all of this means)
Analyzing song lyrics; if you want to do this, please copy and paste the song lyrics on to your entry, include a picture and/or video link. Remember that you want to not only analyze the "meaning" (which you will never really know), but you want to analyze audience, and claims, and context (when was it made, what was going on at the time), and purpose.
Another topic that we didn't discuss in class but I learned about yesterday on the news has to do with the role and job description of security guards, particularly transit security guards. A 15 year old girl was beat to unconciousness as three security guards watched on because their job desciption allows them only to "observe and report." The incident was caught on video. You can read and watch at this link from the Seattle Weekly newspaper.
Another option I wanted to offer was an evaluative/critique blog entry on any movie you might see this weekend. There are some great ones coming out; Wolfman, Valentines Day, Percy Jackson's The Lightning Thief. So if you watch a movie, blog about about, evaluate it, critique it, and rate it. How many stars would you give it?
Some of you may have another idea you may want to blog about, and if so, please shoot me an email first so that I can give you approval. Have fun with this, have a great weekend, and Happy Valentines Day.
Friday, February 5, 2010
This Weekend's Sneak Peak
I want to change it up a bit for this weekend's blog prompt and fill you in a little on my trip to Nicaragua this weekend. Do not expect me to pose explicit questions to guide you into answering this prompt. This is not going to be a "Do you agree or disagree" prompt. Rather, simply allow yourself to become an active participant in my narration of the accounts and issues I dealt with and then "wallow in complexity," that is, dwell on the topic, examine the complexities of it, think of alternative solutions or perspectives, whether from first hand experience or previous research, and then write, but most of all, have fun writing about it.
So, when most people think of Nicaragua (assuming they know anything about it), they automatically think of Managua, the capital. Typically, if you ask someone from Nicaragua where they are from, they will tell you that they were from Managua. Managua is the most industrialized and most populated city in Nicaragua (which happens to be the third poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with Haiti being the first). Like any big city, Managua has crime and a lot of poverty. Nevertheless, it is where most people like to stay because it has the better accommodations (i.e. hotels, homes, businesses with people who speak English). I, however, do not go to Nicaragua to visit Managua. My husband's family lives in a small city in the northern region of Nicaragua called Ocotal (13 miles south of the Honduran border).
I like it in Ocotal. It's small, it's quiet, the people are wonderfully pleasant, and it's safe.
My family's husband owns a small farm about 20 minutes outside of Ocotal in an area called Savana Grande which is a farming community. For the last two years, my husband and I have been working on a reforestation project 
on the farm (the first time I visited Nicaragua I was astonished at the depletion of the forests, the chopping of trees used for fire and building, and the burning of trash and I couldn't understand how nothing was being done to stop this problem from continuing as the repercussions were quiet obvious; the rivers have turned into creeks, animals are becoming extinct, and the natural e
cology is being destroyed). In the course of the last two years we have had several volunteers arrive who have helped with the pursuance of this project and little by little we have been expanding our efforts.
on the farm (the first time I visited Nicaragua I was astonished at the depletion of the forests, the chopping of trees used for fire and building, and the burning of trash and I couldn't understand how nothing was being done to stop this problem from continuing as the repercussions were quiet obvious; the rivers have turned into creeks, animals are becoming extinct, and the natural e
cology is being destroyed). In the course of the last two years we have had several volunteers arrive who have helped with the pursuance of this project and little by little we have been expanding our efforts. Most recently my husband and I decided it wasn't enough to simply reforestate the farm. We decided that we would build an educational reserve center where tourists and locals alike could be educated on how to help protect and preserve the ecology. This of course works well when you target young children, as they are the future of the country. Therefore, we intend to eventually have schools take field trips to the project and learn.
This last time though, another issue became obvious to me.
Sitting comfortably in the patio of the farm, working on my book with the luxury of a laptop, I noticed a young girl attempting to start a fire on the grill (used with wood). She was helping the cook prepare lunch for us (the Gringos). I asked her if she worked for my brother-my-law and she told me no, that she was simply helping the cook because the cook had asked her to give her a hand. She continued to tell me that she used to work at the farm sweeping and cleaning up but now that she had a baby she needed to spend time with her, but that occasionally she would come over and help Margarita (the cook).
Baby? How old are you? I asked. I just turned 16. And how old is your baby? 9 months.
I contemplated. That's quite young, but nothing that's foreign in the United States.
Are you going to school? I asked her. No. She answered. What grade did you go to? 6th grade.
6th grade? Now this is definitely not something you would see in the United States.
Why didn't you keep going? I asked. Because the school is 10 miles away and my parents couldn't afford the bus to take me there, plus uniforms and books. It's just too much money.
Later on I would find out, through my husband, that children are only required by the government to attend school up until the 6th grade. Most of the kids that don't continue with their schooling past the 6th grade are the children of "campesinos," farmers. As a result, the boys of these families work the land with their father (as is the case with the caretaker of my husband's family's farm who has four children - 3 boys and one girl - the boys all help their father labor on the farm and the girl, who only studied up till 6th grade, helps the mother at the house cooking and cleaning) and the girls prepare for procreation. There is nothing more to do. Women in "el campo" will never do much more but give birth to offspring and cook and clean.
On the right is a photo of her with her baby.
This trip has left with many more questions and concerns about the children, the future generation of this country, and their native land and what they (the people and the government) are or are not doing to preserve, conserve, and protect both the children and the land. I am not Nicaraguan, I was born in the states, and yet I feel "Nicaraguan" (whatever that means), and I love the country and its people as though I had been born there and could claim some sort of national pride. What can be done? Is it worth it or is it a useless cause? Who cares? No one seemed to care about Haiti and its people until it was hit for the third time in three years by a natural disaster and everyone finally woke up and decided it was time to help; so why would anyone care about the deforestation in Nicaragua, or children who don't go to school past 6th grade, or girls having babies because that is all their future entails? Who cares?
Monday, January 11, 2010
Blog Prompt #2: Are you being spied on?
With your first blog entry you were asked to consider who your audience might be for your blog (other than me of course) and how you would decide to adjust your privacy settings (i.e. public or private). But the reality is, we live in a social media affairs era where nearly everyone is using the web as a form of communicating thoughts, ideas, opinions, causes, etc., etc.; the list goes on and on and being that it is on the web, it is never really "secure" from anyone being able to see. (Take for example, on Facebook if you create a photo album and you make it so friends of friends can see it and you have 200 friends and each of those 200 friends has 200 friends, that's 40,000 people who have access to your photo album!)
Most of you, if not all of you, have a Facebook or a Myspace and, now, you all have a Twitter account. Again, you negotiate your security settings, but let's get real, the web is an open market space for anyone to find out about you including your phone number and address. Just for fun, google your name and see what comes up (google mine too if you want).
This all begs the question: how much of ourselves are we putting out there for the world to see, and how much of it is detrimental to our relationships with friends, family, coworkers, teachers, or even potential employers or universities, and our future?
Most people on Facebook, on an average have about 150 friends. Those friends might include, school friends, family, younger siblings or cousins, coworkers, etc. When you post your updates, do you take into consideration that large diverse audience of "friends" on your list and determine what to say or what not to say based on that awareness?
Let's move on to something else: When you go in for a job interview, inevitably you adjust in order to present yourself to the potential employer (audience) in a manner that will be convincing and will ultimately persuade them to hire you, right? You might get dressed up, you'll be conscious of your posture, your handshake, your smile, you make sure your resume is in tip-top shape, you talk in an educated and professional manner, you tell them your strong points are that you are dedicated and hardworking and your weak points are that you are a perfectionist; basically you are selling yourself. But now in this world of social media, the personal interview is no longer the only way of getting to know you, the potential employee.
An article written by Jenna Wortham on August 20, 2009 said the following:
"According to a new study conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com, 45 percent of employers questioned are using social networks to screen job candidates — more than double from a year earlier, when a similar survey found that just 22 percent of supervisors were researching potential hires on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The study, which questioned 2,667 managers and human resource workers, found that 35 percent of employers decided not to offer a job to a candidate based on the content uncovered on a social networking site. (The survey has no margin of sampling error because it was not drawn from a representative nationwide sample but rather from volunteer participants.)
The report showed that Facebook was the most popular online destination for employers to do their online sleuthing, followed by LinkedIn and MySpace. In addition, 7 percent followed job candidates on Twitter.
More than half of the employers who participated in the survey said that provocative photos were the biggest factor contributing to a decision not to hire a potential employee, while 44 percent of employers pinpointed references to drinking and drug use as red flags."
So potential employers are "spying" on potential job applicants? Or are they just trying to get a "fair" idea of who they are hiring? They should have the right to do that right? Should we be more conscious of how we present ourselves to the internet world? Or hey, I am who I am, like me or not.
You tell me.
Most of you, if not all of you, have a Facebook or a Myspace and, now, you all have a Twitter account. Again, you negotiate your security settings, but let's get real, the web is an open market space for anyone to find out about you including your phone number and address. Just for fun, google your name and see what comes up (google mine too if you want).
This all begs the question: how much of ourselves are we putting out there for the world to see, and how much of it is detrimental to our relationships with friends, family, coworkers, teachers, or even potential employers or universities, and our future?
Most people on Facebook, on an average have about 150 friends. Those friends might include, school friends, family, younger siblings or cousins, coworkers, etc. When you post your updates, do you take into consideration that large diverse audience of "friends" on your list and determine what to say or what not to say based on that awareness?
Let's move on to something else: When you go in for a job interview, inevitably you adjust in order to present yourself to the potential employer (audience) in a manner that will be convincing and will ultimately persuade them to hire you, right? You might get dressed up, you'll be conscious of your posture, your handshake, your smile, you make sure your resume is in tip-top shape, you talk in an educated and professional manner, you tell them your strong points are that you are dedicated and hardworking and your weak points are that you are a perfectionist; basically you are selling yourself. But now in this world of social media, the personal interview is no longer the only way of getting to know you, the potential employee.
An article written by Jenna Wortham on August 20, 2009 said the following:
"According to a new study conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com, 45 percent of employers questioned are using social networks to screen job candidates — more than double from a year earlier, when a similar survey found that just 22 percent of supervisors were researching potential hires on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The study, which questioned 2,667 managers and human resource workers, found that 35 percent of employers decided not to offer a job to a candidate based on the content uncovered on a social networking site. (The survey has no margin of sampling error because it was not drawn from a representative nationwide sample but rather from volunteer participants.)
The report showed that Facebook was the most popular online destination for employers to do their online sleuthing, followed by LinkedIn and MySpace. In addition, 7 percent followed job candidates on Twitter.
More than half of the employers who participated in the survey said that provocative photos were the biggest factor contributing to a decision not to hire a potential employee, while 44 percent of employers pinpointed references to drinking and drug use as red flags."
So potential employers are "spying" on potential job applicants? Or are they just trying to get a "fair" idea of who they are hiring? They should have the right to do that right? Should we be more conscious of how we present ourselves to the internet world? Or hey, I am who I am, like me or not.
You tell me.
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