Finals

So this semester is wrapping up and it's time to finish everything up. I feel like I have SO much to do in every one of my classes, mostly my fault for being an incurable procrastinator. My research paper I'm really unsure how much more editing I feel like I need to do. There is a part of me that says you really aren't going to be able to do much better with what you have. But there is another part of me that is scared that it is so crappy that if I don't change the whole thing I will get a horrible grade. At this point the only thing I know for sure is that I need to cite within my paper and also add my works cited page to the paper (the last thing I need is to get an F for plagiarism). I also really need to redo my second paper. I knew when I handed it in that it wasn't going to be a good grade (could it be because I wrote it in two hours the night before?). I really do not want to take the grade that I got on it but at this point I'm wondering if I really will have time to finish it. Also we are required to hand in a portfolio as our final for this class. We need to write a letter about what we have learned in this class...well what our teacher has tried to get us to learn from his goal statements. What I have learned.....? Hmm, well...I have learned that I find it impossible to critically read in class because my professor is usually distracting us when we are suppose to be reading. I have learned that the definition of rhetorical is more complicated to understand than most poetry I have ever read. I have learned that trying to write a paper in two hours doesn't work, it never will, so why even try. I have also learned that Wikipedia is not a good source to use for a research paper, but it has some funny things to read when you are suppose to be writing your paper. And finally I have learned that whether it is APA or MLA, I will never really know where the periods are suppose to go but I'm pretty sure know one really knows that answer either. Oh and I have also learned that I hate being forced to argue about something when I don't know what their actually point of view is. Now I'm off to try to finish one of my ten papers I have to do.

Comments

After we turned in our research paper rough drafts, we all took turns reading and commenting on other classmates papers. It was good to read what other people thought about my paper. It was also good for me to see what other people had written about and there style of writing. It made me feel a little more comportable with my writing, seeing whether I am in the same place as other people. With my paper the one main comment that both people said was that my argument as a whole was not extremely noticeably, especially at the beginning of the paper. They felt that it should be more defined, maybe even explained a little more. I actually did find that a little surprising because I thought that it was there. They also pointed out a few run on sentences that I needed to take care of, but besides that it seemed that the paper was OK. I think that this process was helpful. It gave me another point of view and took myself away from my own paper. When I go back to my paper, it will make me aware of the fact that I need to pick apart my paper a little bit and make my main argument more obvious.

Practice Paragraph

From the opinions of some experts, the No Child Left Behind Act has a lot of work that needs to be done to it. One of the reasons for this act is to ensure that our children are learning what they need to learn for higher education. Our current Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan has recently made an opinion on the act by saying that " we are lying to children and families when we tell children that they are meeting standards”. His vision of their futures is not bright either. He believes that “they are woefully unprepared to be successful in high school and have almost no chance of going to a good university and being successful." Other opinions on this act are that it is just a starting off point, not a finished policy. "We think the federal law is like a first draft of a paper - and we don't think it's developed very well," Jack Jennings, President of the independent center on Education Policy, stated in September of last year. The other issue is the gap between different cultures. In an article in Diverse Hispanic in June of 2008, Dr. Sheryl Denbo discussed the problems with certain groups of children still being left behind.“If we are to make change in the educational system, we have to include everyone.” Though NCLB Act may be a great starting off place, even after years of being in progress there are obviously many people who feel there is still change that needs to be done.

Research Paper

I have decided to do my research paper on parts of Obama's education plan. There is so many things that he seems to be extremely passionate about but you begin to wonder if everything is achievable and whether the programs he is thinking about funding really deserve it. One problem is Head Start. Yes head start could be a great program that helps underprivileged children but there are some research articles out there that discuss some major problems with this program as well. Without a discussion about things that might need to be fixed, is it really appropriate to shove money their way. Another is performance pay among teachers. This itself is such a good idea but as so much controversy and issues that need to be discussed with it that it seems unattainable in the near future. The problem that I can see with my paper is whether I can really pick a side. I could argue both sides to each argument, I am just unsure on whether I could pick one.

More About Pay

http://www.education-world.com/a_issues/issues/issues374a.shtml

This article discussed more in depth the issues that could arise with performance based pay among teachers. The one thing that I found most interesting about this article was the issue on how to measure teachers performance. There is so much controversy about standardized testing and whether it really works that there is really no way that that could be used. Teachers could begin to teach only for what the test is asking instead of what the students need just so that it looks like their students are performing. That is already apart of the controversy with standardized testing already but with the issue of pay along with it, there could be more problems than ever before. And what about those teachers who take more difficult positions in extreme conditions where the word performance is impossible to define. Without discussing how they are really going to measure the teachers performance it is impossible to decide whether this could be a good thing for our future students or not.

Falling Behind

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/opinion/08besharov.html?_r=1

With all this talk about stimulus money and where it's going, I would hope that money wasn't just being thrown around (I know, extremely naive of me. You can stop laughing now.). Education is something that we do need to spend more money on but also more time. Yes, a lot of programs do need money to help them out, whether it's to get resources and help pay teachers to being able to offer it to more people. But if the program itself isn't working, why give it more money. Head Start, from what I know, is suppose to be a great place for children to start their education. Like its name, it's suppose to give them a head start when it comes to school. But according to this article, some of it's facilities aren't functioning to their full potential. The one example given was that after 6 months in head start, the average 4 year old could only identify two more letters than a child who had not been in Head Start. Why would anyone want to spend the money for a program that really doesn't seem to be working. Hopefully more research will go into these programs before the money is given.

Performance-Based Pay

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/03/10/2009-03-10_president_obama_education_plan_calls_for-1.html


I think that some people are too afraid of the changes that might come from Obama's ideas on education. Even one of my professors brought up his plan, admitting that she didn't like his idea of performance based pay. Not only did she think it was a horrible idea, but that it was almost an uneducated solution. Something needs to be done and those that are scared have a reason to be. I don't really think that it wouldn't be that horrible of an idea. In any other job, if your performance is poor, you wouldn't get a raise or a promotion of any kind. You probably wouldn't have a job. Why is that those who are educating our future population are not put up to the standards of others? I will admit that there would have to be a better way to analyze the teachers efforts besides standardized testing but as a whole I do not think that it is a horrible idea. I also liked that he commented on those who thought that he was trying to do too many things at one time. Yes, our economy is in trouble. But I agree that without giving our children the best when it comes to education, than it will become a vicious circle of problems for everyone.

Sex Education

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/09/mccain-ad-obamas-lone-edu_n_125205.html

Though this article is a little bit on the old side and outdated I felt that it was something that I needed to write about. There are so many arguments on education starting with where to spend the money to how much we should depend on standardized testing. When it comes to politicians, of course they are going to go to trashing the other side instead of listening to what anyone has to see. During an election year it is bound to be worse. I had never heard of this ad until I read about it online. In my opinion its not a surprise why we have problems with our education system when the people who are supposed to be helping "reform" it can't seem to even have an educated and civil conversation about sex education. Instead of listening to what one person had to say about the issue, it seems like all they care about is twisting words. I believe that age appropriate sex education would be smart. Maybe if our children where slowly brought into an educated way of thinking about themselves and the possible dangers that surround them, less crimes could happen. I guess now that I look at it, this article would be better fitted for someone who was writing about politics but with all of the controversy and discussion surrounding education, sex education is something that needs to be talked about.

Letter from Biringham

I actually really enjoyed reading this piece. He wrote this letter with such intelligence and calm that it would make it almost impossible to not agree with him. I loved how he never did seem to get angry or talk down to those he was writing to. One statement he made that got me was in the part when he was speaking about being told to wait that some day action would happen. "We must come to see with the distinguished jurist of yesterday that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."" I feel that even though we have come so far in this country that there are still moments today that people have that exact feeling. It was great to hear an argument that had a strong base to it that wasn't just calling the other side names. He wasn't afraid to make his point for something he was strongly willing to stand behind.

Grade A

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/secondaryeducation/4400192/Ofqual-A-levels-should-be-toughened-up.html

Getting an A is the greatest feeling any student can have. I remember when I was in high school that getting a B was almost as great. Reading this article made me think that some people may have things just a little bit wrong. I don't necessarily agree that things have been dumbed down for students making it easier to get an A. Coming back to college I noticed that what used to be average and OK now seems to be below average and a disappointment. I don't agree that things are being dumbed down for students. I think that students have learned to fight harder for grades that have been pushed at them throughout the years. Parents and teachers have asked for the best and students have answered. Have things been dumbed down, not necessarily. Do things need to be adjusted for the hybrid students that our system has created, probably.

Mainstream Education

http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/the-benefits-of-mainstream-education-192945.html

From Kindergarten to 8th grade I went to a private school. The reason my parents gave me seemed like good ones. Not only did they want to monitor what I was being taught but they also felt that it might give me a better, more rounded education. The school was a very small Christian school, my class fluctuated from 8 to 12 people throughout the 9 years, so I did get a very personal education. The teachers had time to help students individually, they seemed to know where everyone needed help. But when I got to the public high school, I was socially unprepared. I was able to adjust to my surroundings and at graduation I felt ready for the real world. For the most part, my education got me through. I of course need to learn more, who doesn't. But I made it through. Now looking back, I realize especially reading this article, that if I would have been educated completely in a private school I would have been given a very fuzzy image of what the world was like.

Regret

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-02-12-early-admissions_N.htm

When I started my senior year in high school. I knew where I was going to go to college. I hadn't quite figured out what I was going to go to school for, but I knew where. I had not been pressured by my parents in anyway, but I felt the pressure from others. It seemed like a requirement in life to go to college right after school, so get going. I was signed up and had my housing before Christmas, I was ready to go. Exactly one year later I was back on my parents couch after just being officially suspended for poor grades. I was so unprepared for college and had no idea what I wanted when I got there, so I didn't care and I didn't try. I just wasn't ready. Reading this article made me feel sad for other who have issues too. I agree completely that colleges shouldn't allow students to enter so early, but that can't save every unprepared student. some just aren't ready.

Unschooling

<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15029646/>

The problem discussed in this article is the effectiveness of a new education method for homeschooling called "Unschooling". The process is that the children pick what they want to learn at what times. It is almost encouraged that the children change frequently. The problem that some people have with this method is that some children may not be getting all of the education that they need. Another problem discussed is that the education may be coming from uneducated parents.

The author doesn't necessarily offer a solution to the problem. He does state that he realizes that this form of schooling is not for everyone. Not only do the parents have to have the time, but they have to be as he puts it "Intellectually Curious".

I'm actually at odds with whether I agree or disagree with the thought of Unschooling. I do see the good points of children not being forced to learn things that they might not be ready for and at their own pace. Not only could this type of education be more interactive for them, it gives those who might need more assistance a very one-on-one education. But I also disagree with it because children could be sent to college completely unprepared. There are many things that I did not want to learn, that I hated going to class for. But without those classes I would have been completely behind for any kind of higher education. This author did have a great point that you would have to look at the parents that would be doing the educating. Also integrating the children into public schooling when they are prepared is a great idea. In my opinion it may be a good way to start, but unless the parent is well educated, I wonder whether this form of education would be that effective.

Closing the Achievement Gap

<http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_11344.shtml>

After reading this article I do agree with the author. I have read statistic after statistic that states who under-educated the minorities in our country our. That some students are in their senior year reading at an 8th grade level. To me that is amazing to read. Without teachers that are culturally aware and sensitive to certain students needs, they might find it extremely hard to learn. I really liked the one comment in this article from Dr. Denbo, "We’re not asking for something that’s just for Latino students, we’re not asking for something that’s just for African-American students [and] we’re not asking for something that’s just for working-class students, We’re looking for something that’s for everyone.” I really think that that is all that anyone wants, is to feel included.

Paper one Reflection

When it came to writing my paper, I thought that it was going to be easy. Just state your argument, whether you agree or disagree with the writer, state the points you want to make, and finish. What I realized is that I think to much and I try to hard. I remember my professor making a comment about the introduction and how you want to make it interesting enough that people want to keep on reading. You don't want to make people fall asleep before they get through the first sentence. That became my problem. I had all of these ideas that I was going to use to try to make my point, I was going to paint a picture of what I thought something would look like. I wanted the reader to see it to. I feel like I blew it. I handed in the paper like that, to me slightly unfinished and I wasn't sure if I really did make my point, but it made it in on time. I do think that I made known what side of the argument I was for. I don't know if I really backed myself up as much as I wanted. I'm just worried that I tried to hard at the beginning of my paper to grab the readers attention that I lost focus on what the point of my paper was. And even if I was given my paper back to try again, I'm not sure what I would do with it. I think I just ended up rambling on and on. But I also always think of the worst results when it comes to papers and tests instead of the good grade that I might get. Hopefully my professor understands what I was saying.

Plastic Surgery, Free Speech, and the FCC

Smooth Operations
The Problem discussed in this article is the rising number of African Americans who feel that they need plastic surgery to perfect themselves. I found it interesting that African Americans reasons behind not getting surgery seemed to have more to do with not upsetting their family or insulting their ancestors.(pg 552) There really wasn't a solution that was written in the article, it was more of a discussion about the rising statistics and the differences between what the different races prefer.

Are Limits on Freedom of Speech Ever Justifies?
This was more of an intro to the Chapter than an article but it was a good start. It would make me want to read the rest of the chapter.

Why We Need to Abolish the FCC?
The problem discussed in this article is the control that the FCC has over our freedom of speech and whose interest they are protecting. The right of freedom of speech is something that many hold dear, but what one person finds morally OK and what another does may be totally different. Is it OK for a committee of people who may have a strong Catholic religion say what is right for a person who is an atheist to hear and see? I do not completely agree with this article, but I disagree less. I do understand that there are children watching certain shows and parents want to protect what they see, but for someone I don't know telling me what is and is not OK to hear I feel isn't right. The solution that this writer gives is to abolish the FCC, that we were founded on the freedom of speech and that the FCC is taking that right away.

Body Image

Problem:
The problem in this article is that with the pressure from media and it's images of normal bodies, teens get the wrong impression of whats expected of themselves from the very beginning. They even use the unproportioned body of the barbie and ken dolls as an exmple. On page 538 they compare in the table what barbie and kens size would be in real life and compare it to the real average person. It also states on that same page "If Barbie were real, given her proportions, she would barely be able to stand upright." Whether they are getting it from their toys, magazines, or tv shows, the images being sent to kids is telling them what our entertainment world preceives as normal.

Solution:
The only solution that this author seems to offer is to do screenings for body image issues and help each child "foster a healthy body image."(p.540)

General:
I do agree that doing screenings might help, but I would think that there would be more answers than that.

Are We Fixing the Wrong Things?

Problem:
To main problem discussed in this article is not necessarily that our education is falling behind from other countries but it does have an effect on it. A report discussed at the beginning on page 619, A Nation At Risk, stated that "Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world." The Education Reform feels that they need to toughen up our education systems and our standardized testing so that other countries like China and Japan do not take all of our jobs in those fields. "China now graduates six times as many engineering majors are the US; South Korea and Japan, four times as many." (pg. 620) I think that the main problem in this article is not necessarily that we might be under educating our children and being outsmarted by other countries but that we are possibly taking away what is important, not just to the US, but to other countries. In the section Our Secret Weapon, it states that other countries hire US employees for their creativity. "The advantage is we come from a very conscientious culture. You tell our people what to do , they'll follow the rules, they"ll do it. The downside is they are not as creative. We fixed that by having a US-based R&D team that's doing more advanced research." (pg. 621) While we are toughen our education and strengthening our testing, other countries like China are loosening up and aiming at more creativity. "As the United States calls for more homework and more study time, China has launched a battle to reduce such burdens on its students." The main problem is not necessarily our lack of a more difficult and structured education, but a good education.

Solution:
A solution that the writer seems to offer in this article is not that we should necessarily toughen up on our education but that we should broaden our education. Instead of it be more difficult, we should teach them more about the world that we are surrounded by. Make our children more prepared for interaction with people from other countries. Make them comfortable with other countries cultures. "We need people who can speak other languages, who understand and respect other cultures, and who realize that globalization and economic development in other nations do not necessarily mean job losses, lower wages, and trade deficit in the United States."

General:
I do agree with this article. I understand that some of our education has been weakened and that we do need to toughen up. But to take away everything that makes us unique is not the best idea for our children. I think that our schools should come up with different classes to teach of the world. If you are comfortable with the knowledge you have on other countries you are dealing with, than you could possibly have the edge that a supposed more intelligent person would have.

This article does partially help me with my topic. Education is an important topic for me to learn a great deal on. I plan on being an educator in my future, I would prefer not to be one that makes class easy, but hopefully makes one interesting.

Immigration and Height!

I know the two don't really go together, but my classmates choices forced me to.

Article one, The Hard Truth of Immigration
It is really hard for me to find one particular problem being discussed in this article. It seems that it started off with us trying to find a way to control the immigration coming in, than it turns to the problems of Hispanics poor education. I feel sorry for those discussed who have had their wages lowered two years in a row. Though I do agree that we do not to figure out some sort of solution to our illegal immigrant problem, it seems that all there is is a lot of talking and no action. Even in this article, there is a lot of discussion about the problems but I do not see a solution other than stopping them from crossing our borders and providing legal status for the ones already here.

Article Two, All to Be Tall
When you hear girlfriends talk to each other you will more than likely at some point get to one saying how fat their thighs are or how their short legs make it impossible to fit into cute pants. When you hear guys all talking to each other, you think that its about sports, parties, and sex... OK so I know that's stereotyping but you know what I mean. You never really think of a man uncomfortable with a physical feature, except maybe weight gain. So to read this article about men who will go as far as to have an operation to break their bones just so they MIGHT gain 2 inches in height is amazing. To have to go through so much pain and so much time depending on others for two inches does not seem worth it to me at all. Also to read that taller men make more money and are hired more often than shorter men was an interesting fact to read. I did a lot of hiring with my last job and even though I was not hiring for an extremely professional job, I don't think I ever noticed height. To me it was cleanliness and personality. I guess that if an extra couple of inches really would boost someones confidence that much than it would probably be worth it for me....maybe.

Supersize Your Child?

This article to me was all about arguing about morals. When it comes to advances on Genetics and DNA there are so many good things that could come out of it its to hard to completely ignore. But there will be a constant fight over everything that has to do with it.

With Stem Cell research, it is a moral argument over harming an unborn child. With genetic modification, is it morally OK to change someones genes so they do not get cancer. The fight with that also is who is going to say what is to far. With genetic modification, you could pick the sex of your child, you could choose whether they are tall or short, fat or skinny.

The argument that is taken in this article is what is to far, who should say it's to far, and who is going to stop those who want to go over the edge when it comes to all of these advances. With the everyone having to many different opinions, one person could say that being a midget is a horrible thing, while another finds it livable and a blessing. Some of the country thinks that there is a gene that decides whether you are gay or not, is that something that a parent should be able to change?

What to Pick??

When I was told on my first day in class that I would need to pick one topic to write all of my papers about, I immediately starting thinking. In my Composition I class every paper I wrote on was something that I was interested in, but not all the same topic. I had politics, the green movement, international aid, and cancer. With all of them, the decision to write had been easy. They were topics that I found interesting and that I wanted to learn more about.


Looking at the back of the textbook and reading through some of the topics, nothing jumped out at me. Though Freedom of Speech, or sometimes the lack of, is a topic that did catch my attention, it wasn't enough for me.


I want to write something that I feel I need to learn more about. Right now the one topic that comes to mind for this class is Education. I hope to be an educator someday and at this point I still need to learn so much. Whether it is making sure that younger children get a faster start or better education for young adults on sex and drugs, there is many things that I could write about that deals with education. I am just unsure what there is out there for me to write about. I'll probably keep thinking.