Category: Unit 2

Category: Unit 2

Part 1

READ AND ANNOTATE: “Research Starts with a Thesis Statement” from Bad Ideas about Writing

READ AND ANNOTATE: “Schools are Killing Curiosity” from The Guardian 

WRITE: Blog Post (200 words): 

What is something you were interested in when you were a kid? Are you still interested in that topic? How did asking questions help you learn more about that topic?

If so, how has your curiosity changed and grown over the years? And what role did the educational system play in your curiosity (good or bad)? 

If you are not interested in this topic anymore, what do you think happened to that interest? Do you remember the specific time you LOST interest?  What did you become interested in instead (and why?) 

THINK: Start thinking about a topic you are interested in, something you might want to know more about.  This can be something heavy, like police brutality, or it can be something that seems on the surface more light-hearted, like ballet.  The only criteria is that you are actually curious about it.  

This may seem like strange advice, but it can be helpful to go for a walk and think about topics you’d like to write about. Come home and jot down a few notes. I would recommend maybe making a list of a few potential questions.

By our next class, you will be expected to have some idea of a topic you’d like to research, even if it’s a bit vague. 

Category: Unit 2

After reading “A talk to the teachers” it made me think more deeply about what type of society we live in. What I think he is trying to say is that there is much more to the reality of this world than what they tell us. He mentions if those truths were to be taught exactly how they are we would be in chaos and things would be different. From my understanding James Baldwin is trying to tell us the education system teaches us what they want us to believe to keep us from questioning and almost for them to keep us under control. I believe the education system isn’t something that was made up entirely to help us but rather restrain us from learning about the real world. In my opinion we should have the “necessity” to question everything and everyone. The way I think of it, especially after seeing James Baldwin’s POV is you can’t rely on others(teachers) to tell you the truth about history and this world if they weren’t there to experience it. The education system is holding back on things that should be obligated for kids to learn. For example how to file taxes, how to set up a bank account, the first steps to live on your own different career paths and job options. There are some optional classes that offer these things however kids don’t know they should be learning these things if they were never mentioned in school. Some will argue it is a parents responsibility to teach their kids these types of things. However I disagree we go to school to learn how to read, write and learn about the world’s history of why it is the way it is, then why are any of these topics any different? If they are things we learn to use in the real world. Like James Baldwin mentions in the end of the the article if he was a teacher he would teach them to “he must never make his peace with it.’’ meaning it is up to them to use their energy and find their own answers not so much depend on the teachers.

I think James Baldwin means that teachers are a big influence on society. When kids come from different families, different parts, different social classes, they tend to have false views, false hope, or false information. For instance, if a lower class student has parents that tell them they are never going to make it out of the lower class because their background and people before them didn’t make it, they are going to believe that they won’t be able to make it out of there as well. This wouldn’t be a problem if a teacher were to teach the student about the history of the other social classes and what they did to get there, and how any class can become a higher class. By doing this the student who was told he or she can’t be more than what they are, can strive for a better future. I also think that Baldwin is making sure it is understood that this isn’t a type of communism, it is just basic knowledge and history that shouldn’t be kept from anyone no matter what race, ethnicity, or social class they are. When he states that the world is larger I think he means that you are never limited to whatever is being told to you in the situation you’re in. For instance if in America you are in a place where they restrict your ability to do anything due to discriminatory reasons, then the world is large enough for you to go somewhere you are appreciated and don’t have to take shit from anyone who believes that are superior. In school I think it’s good to learn about different opportunities, and different careers. It took me so long to figure it what career I wanted to pursue, in which I could’ve taken some courses that would’ve helped me in doing so. Although, since we were never taught about the different careers, I would always tell myself I sucked at drawing so I wouldn’t be able to pursue architecture. Now that I am pursuing it, turns out it’s more about measuring and envisioning then drawing, and I am confident in my work.