Month: March 2019

We are trapped in a society that if we have no education people look down upon us and treat us unfairly. Many people think they could buy their way through education. We should bring real reforms that make sure we have a good teacher in every classroom and gives parents the option of where they send their kids to take the steps they need in order to be successful. “The federal government throws dollars at the state, the state throws dollars at local school boards and the local boards throw dollars at schools”, which shows money affects the way schools operate because if they don’t do what they are told the money schools get could be affected. So, schools have no say in education because their primarily focus is the “money”, the positive is making the school better but on the other hand the  government controls every aspect of education. According to Robert Ware, the school board should develop a SWOT analysis Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) which shares reports with other schools to help each other. “Buying education” by Robert Ware is connected to people cheating their way through education because they are afraid of failing.

“College is super easy, I pass all of my exams, my GPA is sitting pretty at a 4.0, I don’t have to study after class, and my social life is flourishing!” said no successful college student ever. Being completely candid, more often than not, failing grades, long hours pouring over textbooks and class notes, along with turning down offers to turn up with friends are common college experiences.

College life is not an easy task, students often must overcome problems both in and outside the classroom. The struggles that arise tend to negatively affect schoolwork. A common misconception is it is the teacher’s responsibility to take extreme efforts to combat the issues that arise. Students need accountability to persevere and seek help when necessary. Education is not a passive process it takes time and considerable amounts of effort.

Dr. Robert Leamnson wrote “Learning (Your First Job)”, which describes the components of the learning process (understanding and remembering) and several methods to aid this process both in and out of the classroom. Many of Leamnson’s learning strategies ring true. Leamnson writes, “…we have to practice what we understand. Without rehearsal, that fantastic circuitry that enabled our understanding will gradually disintegrate and we can no longer reconstruct what we once understood.” (Leamnson 3) This stresses that without repetition, the initial learning that was achieved will be forgotten. Leaving the learner unable to access the knowledge. The teacher can help the student with the initial understanding portion. But in order to truly learn and commit the information to memory, the student must then put in the effort to review and deepen their understanding of the material.

Leamnson writes, “You cannot be ‘given’ learning, nor can you be forced to do it. The most brilliant and inspired teacher cannot ‘cause’ you to learn. ” (Leamnson 1) A good teacher can not force a student to learn it is the student’s responsibility as well. Conversation is not one sided neither is the learning process.

A person’s achievements are not based solely on their educational background but their motivation and perseverance are major components. That being said, some careers, such as medical doctor, require substantial schooling that would seem unattainable without the “twelve-year wringer” as a adequate base to build upon. School systems, teachers in particular can help spark curiosity in a given subject by escaping the humdrum routines. Whether it’s bringing the lesson to life in new and unexpected ways or offering incentives to ignite passion in the material, teacher are integral parts of the education process.

Works Cited

Leamnson, Robert. “Learning (Your First Job).” MA, Dartmouth, Dec. 2002.

Hey everyone! For Thursday, I would like you to write (and print out) an introduction for your revision. This should be about 200 words. Your intro  should also:

• Have a clear sense of audience–WHO are you writing for (recent high school graduates? College professors?) and what is the best way to reach this population? Think about diction (word choice) that best reaches this group
• Know what publication you are writing for– remember, you are writing this revision as though you’re writing for a magazine/ newspaper/ website, etc… This should be a publication your audience reads!
• Your intro should be interesting! That is, it needs to HOOK your readers. Think about the last time you read an article online. You read the first few lines and if you were bored, you stopped reading. How can you get your readers’ attention?
• You should also, toward the end of your intro, introduce your thesis statement (probably.) It’s true that not all published articles do this, but it’s also true that it’s much harder to write with a “hidden” thesis than an explicit one.

There will also be a quiz on Thursday of some of the grammar stuff we’ve reviewed in class. There will also be one short essay question on “The Maker’s Eye” which we read last week. The grammar issues we covered are:

• Sentence fragments and run-ons (review HERE)
• Capitalization (look up on the Purdue OWL)
• Apostrophes (look up on the Purdue OWL)
• “Their/ They’re/ There” and “Your/ You’re”

Here is a copy of “The Maker’s Eye.” You may bring it to class.

Microsoft Word - Murray, Donald - The Maker's Eye.doc

 

Meetings (all in my office, Namm 525)

Weds, March 27:

• 2:00 Raymond
• 2:20 Ismael

Thursday, March 28

• 10:20 Ashley
• 10:40 Britney
• 11:00 Hadeel
• 12:50 Deo
• 2:40 Saalik

With headlines such as ” murderer walks free after judge dosnt show up for 15 minutes” to their infamous in america” ‘no way to prevent this’ said only nation where this regularly happens”, it’s easy to see why people come for the satirical and cynical nature of the onion, but not much is said about the surprisingly well written, and in sometimes deadly accurate representation of our nature, of the articles themselves.
Even with fake quotes, edited pictures, and sometimes morbid or weird ideas, their articles are great for tricking gullible and naive readers. To poking at sometimes sensitive or redundant topics or just blatantly ripping at a disgusting or corrupt system, their ease of narrative shifting some reader to believe whatever come south their mouth, something that should be taken more often into opinionated articles or stories on events in more recent news.

The mentor article that I chose for my Unit one revision is entitled, “What Role Do Teachers Play in Education?” by Cathy N. Davidson. There are several reasons why I chose this particular article to be my mentor. One of these reasons is that the topic of this article correlates to one of the points that I, as well as Gatto makes in both of our pieces. In Gatto’s article, he makes a point that the teachers at public schools are more bored than the students themselves. He also goes on that teachers play a role in conditioning young minds into “mindless zombies”. But, on the other hand, in my essay I firmly disagree with Gatto’s statement about teachers, as well as how the public school system affects our brain. I go on to talk about how my AP English teacher was the exact opposite of the teacher that Gatto seems to portray in his article. Another reason why I chose this article is because it goes into a more ‘modern’ outlook on public education. This article is talking about how “an unlikely coalition of corporate philanthropists, educational technology entrepreneurs and public education bureaucrats has spearheaded a brand of school reform characterized by the overvaluing of technology and standardized testing and a devaluing of teachers and communities.” I think the introduction into the “Education Wars” opens up the opportunity to talk about a number of topics in my revision paper.

The mentor text that I chose for my first revision is “What is the importance of Education in One’s Life” by Nitish Soni on the “Inspire Advices” website. In the article there are a lot of scenarios presented where students would choose big paying majors instead of their passion. The writer states a list of what education is really about which is self improvement. They also state that education isn’t just in school, but within the world. Everyday is an education experience whether it is in or out of school. I like this article because it can help me reinforce my claim of education preparing students for the real world. There were some good examples of why education is important for doing so and does a good job of putting other claims to rest such as education being only for money when it is more about what you personally enjoy. The article basically states that education is determined based on how you view and use it, not what other people think who have not used it for self improvement. I believe that I can use a lot of good examples from this article in order to shape my own piece.

Mentor Article: “College Is Hard: Stick With It” By: Tamisha Worrell

Published in: The Companion For The First Year At City Tech: 5th Edition

I like how the writer describes different types of students in different situations and includes them in her discussion of her article. I also enjoyed the personal tone of her paper and usage of “you” including the reader in the work. Using “you” helps identify the audience as fellow students of City Tech. She continues in her article to describe her situation and the obstacles that she has to deal with in order to succeed in school. Her analysis of the importance of going through college to get a degree is stressed; when she puts focus the cost of living in New York and the implications of trying to find a good paying job without a degree. I liked how she explained her experience with registering for classes and misconceptions when it was time to register for the next semester. I enjoyed the way the writer tied in the inspirational tone and information about services provided in the school to facilitate the returning to school process. The writer provides names of specific programs she utilized in the school. She ends the article stressing the importance of early registration which would have helped her more than once. Moreover, she reminds the reader to make use of the various programs the school offers to students.

For my mentor text, I have chosen a article called “You can’t buy education” by Robert Ware which shows people trying to get through life with money. But if you have no education or any type of education money can’t get you far. Buying education is connected to my essay because some people cheat their way through education because they are afraid of failing. Bringing real reforms that ensure a good teacher is in every classroom and gives parents options of where they send their kids are the steps we need to take. I learned that the The federal government throws dollars at the state, the state throws dollars at local school boards and the local boards throw dollars at schools (which shows money affecting the way schools operate because if they don’t do what they are told the money could be affected). School Board should  develop a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) for each school located in the county, then share that report with the public. “While there are bright spots in some private school systems, the public education system, where the vast majority of our children are being taught, guided and motivated is a dated, bloated, inefficient, bureaucratic dinosaur”, which shows it lost sight and understanding of its students education and the way they are taught.

Link: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/03/15/yogyakarta-play-shines-light-on-rape-victims-despair.html

The publication I chose is The Jakarta Post. I decided to use “Yogyakarta play shines light on rape victims’ despair” as my mentor article for various reasons. I really like the structure of the article and would like to apply some of these techniques into my own writing. The author could have started off by talking about this play and what it was about but instead he utilized a specific scene from the play as an introduction. The flow of the article felt natural for me that it was easy to follow which is what I want for my own paper, an organization which doesn’t leave the audience having to think where and how this paragraph and the next paragraph are linked. The author also incorporated with the performers’ feelings and thoughts of the play in the article which made me, as a reader, sympathize with the victim. The play was inspired by Ela’s experience of being raped by her stepfather. Towards the end of the article, the author provided statistics on the number of cases involving sexual violence in Indonesia. I think that it helps the readers grasp how important this play is considering the many sexual violence cases that are taken lightly. Basically, I want my paper to be able to make people feel just like how this paper made me feel after hearing Ela’s story.