Week 14: SUPER BLOG!

                College English was a big adjustment from high school English for me. The biggest adjustment was online assignments due on certain days without having to turn in physically. It was completely hard to remember when to do the blog, and when to comment. I am used to having one thing do on a specific day. However, it is not too big of a hassle. Most of the problems with the blogs are that they are not getting done every week and a lot of the students either forget or just do not want to participate. Comments have been made about how pointless and aggravating the blogs are.  The biggest complaints that are heard, though, are that the blogging site is too hard to understand and often messes up, the posts are too hard to understand, and it is too much work for one blog.

                The first solution would be to pick another site for the blog to be on. Another class I have had this semester used a private Facebook page for our class instead of moodle. I think that is a wonderful idea for many other class activities such as this blog. If you moved the blog to something that students have experience working with, such as Facebook, it would be easier for them to meet the blog assignments without any excuses. Of course, the cons of this would be the amount of blogs the teacher would have to go through on one wall. Facebook often messes up and some blog posts may not make it on the page. Also, posting on a wall, there may be a word count and you could be limited. So, maybe keeping it on an actual blogging website would be preferable.

                Another problem that I listed was the posts that are too hard for some of the students. A solution for that problem would be to let the students read the material you have selected and write about what they want to write about, but make it go along with the assigned material. That way the questions would not be as confusing for the students to handle and the material will still be read. Another plus about that would be that the student would have to read the entire piece instead of look for the answer to the question through the paragraphs of the essay or article. However, the downside of that would be the grading process for the teacher. How do you grade just random ideas about a piece of material that was asked to be read?

                These blogs are assigned to students every week and that is extremely stressful sometimes. I do think that with the journals we do in class, a blog once a week is too much. Maybe doing a blog every two weeks would be better for students to handle. It could even be a longer blog than what we get once a week to make up for the week we did not do it. The points received could just double, since a week is knocked out. With everything else we are asked to do, plus our other classes, it is a lot to take in. Upper level English, I can understand. However, for freshmen who are coming from a high school that maybe does not do as much as others, it is hard to keep up. The downfalls of every two weeks would be that students would not get into a consecutive pattern and routine of actually doing their assignments. Along with doing our blogs, students have been placed in a certain blogging group and those are the fellow students whose blogs you must comment on two days after your blog is posted.  I personally think that may not be the best idea. Some students in that group may not post a blog for the others to comment on and that could serve as a problem and a nuisance for the student who actually did their work. Instead, everyone in the class should be able to comment on other students’ blogs. That way the people who did their work would able to complete the blog assignments with fellow students who work hard. 

                All in all, I believe that the blogging process is not complicated for students at all. Only minor changes should be made.  As for the site that the blog is located, it should stay on blogspot. The blog should be every two weeks instead of every week for the reasons I listed above. Also, for students’ comments, as I mentioned before, that should be fixed by not setting up particular groups. Other than those minor adjustments, the blogging system is actually a very good one.

Week #13

Bus Problem:

Thank the Lord above for the good professors I had this year and the luck I had with their generosity. If I was late to class, most of them, if not all, were just glad I made it in the first place. However, I have no doubt that I will not be as lucky in the semesters to come. I have heard from many upperclassmen that a handful of professors will mark you absent if you are late. Is it fair, though? Sure, some students are late because of not wanting to roll out of bed or waking up with the worst hangover of their life. The majority of the time, though, these students are a victim of the ridiculous busing system that the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has to offer. The buses are supposed to be at any destination at less than ten minutes apart. So, if you are standing in a line and the bus gets too full for you, another one should be there as soon as possible. However, just because it is supposed to happen, does not mean that it actually does. I have waited several times for over fifteen minutes to get on a bus to take me to or from the university. It does not matter how early I get to the bus stop, I will be late for my eight o’clock class.

Week 12: Part-Time Teacher

1.) First things first, the teacher probably "acted like an ass" because he was just as aggravated as she was about the situations that they were put in. Also, a.) One thing that these teachers could propose is building a new building with new classrooms, since they obviously do not have a lot of room. However, the possibility of it actually happening is probably not likely. It would have to be done pretty fast for the classes and it would cost too much. So that idea would probably be rejected. b.) These teachers could also propose to have more classes online instead of in a classroom. Not much of a cost and also, not much time consumed.

2.) The problems that Claitor faces affect her students, because they have a will to learn. So, the fact that they are not provided the right surroundings or material to be taught, they are not going to excel.

3.) The students would probably propose that the University assigns more Professors to courses. However, realistically, that would probably cost more money and take a long time to find the ones that would specialize in that field. Another proposal would be the same as the professors. Online classes. And like I said before, it would be easier.

4.) The most common cause she addresses is very drastic salary cuts.
Another cause would be limited space for teachers.
An argument made by other people would probably be that the pay that teachers get are sufficient for the amount of work they do.

5.) A.) On behalf of the teachers, and seeing the causes, the only thing I would change would be more of an argument to the administrators about their salary instead of the argument of new classrooms.
B.) I still stand with what I said before about students wanting online classes as a proposal.

Week 11: Scenarios to Test Your Definitions Against

1)  A person has Baccalaureate degree, but they weren't content with their field of study, so they only half heartedly worked toward their degree. Also, they cheated on the final exam that they took right before getting the degree. Can they still be considered intelligent?
- The person can still be considered intelligent. They obviously stayed in college long enough to get that degree and they must have taken hard courses. Besides, if they were in a field of study that they were not content with, but still did well enough to make it to the final exam, then they are pretty intelligent. I find it hard to focus on something that I am not interested in. If I did not like what I was majoring in, I do not think I would even make it far enough to cheat on the final exam. So yes, despite their wrong doings and bad choices, they can still be considered intelligent.


2)  Bill Gates was a college drop out.  Do we consider him intelligent?  Why or why not?  How might this affect your criteria for your definition of intelligence?
- We do not know the exact reasons he dropped out of college. It could very well be because of finances. However, we still consider him intelligent, because he invented something that was useful and used all around the world. Though he is still an intelligent man, it puts a twist on my definition of intelligence. Instead of me saying that intelligence has something to do with academics in college, I should probably just stick to the power of the mind no matter what the surroundings are. College or just work.

3)  A man with a BA goes into politics and proposes going to war with another country.  He knows the war will drag out, and he knows many people will be killed during the duration of it.  Was this an intelligent decision?  Are people we admit are intelligent allowed to make unintelligent decisions from time to time?  Why or why not?  How might this affect your criteria for your definition of intelligence?
- I do not believe this was an intelligent decision, however I do not know all of the background information that could have started his thought of battling another country. Yes, intelligent people are allowed to make unintelligent decisions, but this was a decision that should not be allowed as an "oopsie". War is a very delicate subject and no matter how smart he was, politcally, intelligence also needs a bit of common sense. You must think outside of the black and white and give room for that grey area. This just helped my definition of intelligence even more, giving the example of common smarts for intelligent people.

Monday November 7, 2011 Online Class Assignment

1.       After reviewing the information about the drafting introduction on page 3, review your own intro and decide what you can do to:

a.       more clearly show what is at stake for your issue

For my introduction, I can more clearly show what is at stake when you are unhappy with your career and not only use examples that link with success.

b.      more thoroughly contextualize your issue with background information (this is helpful for both intro and conclusion)

When I revise my paper, I can pick a specific career field instead of broadening it to any. Then, I can use background information from scenarios of actual successful people in that certain career.

c.       write a few sentences for a. and b. that you will insert into your next draft.

If you are stuck in a career that makes you completely unhappy, not only will you live your life in depression, but you will lose sight of your job. What I mean is that you will not be satisifed with the outcome of whatever you do anymore. For instance, most teachers are teachers because they love it. It has nothing to do with salary, but more about their passion for the subject they are teaching to students.

2.       Review your topic sentences of your body paragraphs:

a.       Whether you are doing org. plan 1 or 2, your topic sentences should contain the criteria that you are discussing in the paragraph.  (Review bottom of page 4 and all of page 5). 

b.      If you have any main topic sentences (do at least two here) that don’t contain the criteria of your definition that you are about to discuss in your paragraph, paste the old sentence, then write the revision of it that you will change in your next draft, like this:

                                                               i.      OLD SENTENCE:   YADDA YADDA

                                                             ii.      NEW SENTENCE   YADDA YADDA now with criteria clearly stated so we know what to expect out of this paragraph

                               i.   OLD SENTENCE:  Now, of course there will be people who disagree on my terms of being successful.

                               ii.   NEW SENTENCE: Some people are going to disagree with my terms of being successful by saying it is all about the money and nothing else.

                               i.   OLD SENTENCE: To be satisfied with your job, you must like your career field.

                               ii.   NEW SENTENCE: If you like your career field and you enjoy being at work, then you are probably satisfied with your job.

                             

3.       Now, go through your body paragraphs and make sure that in the evidence sections of them, you are “developing” the criterion you are discussing, which means: explaining/defining each criterion for your definition.  By the end of your paper, we should be able to tell a) your definitions, b) the criteria for those definitions, and c) the definitions of those criteria. (Look at page 5, description of BP1).

a.       Find your shortest body paragraph.  This is a quick way to determine which one needs more development. 

b.      Paste it in.

c.       Then paste in a revision of it that contains more details and explanations of the criterion under discussion.

Success in the work field is based on being able to get up in the morning with a smile, being happy to start the day off at your job, getting along with your employees, being good at what you do, and forming a small connection with your boss. Without those key factors, you really just are not successful. If you go through life, as stated before, with just making a load of money and not being happy with your career, you will not think of yourself as a success. Sure, you can pretend, but deep down, there will be no form of fulfillment. 

Revised: Success in the work field is based on being able to get up in the morning with a smile, being happy to start the day off at your job, getting along with your employees, being good at what you do, and forming a small connection with your boss. Without those key factors, you really just are not successful. Making a load of money and not being happy with your career can make powerful, money wise, of course. However, will you think of yourself as a success? By that, I mean would you look at yourself and feel a sort of fulfillment? If you can not look at yourself and be satisfied with what you are doing and how you are living your life, then you might conisder yourself a failure. That is the complete opposite of success.

4.       Look over one of your rebuttal areas.  If you have one (and you should; “considering the opposition” or “other viewpoints” is on the rubric) look for a way to revise it to be more developed, if you don’t have one, make one now to add into your next draft.  Review page 6 and the ways that you 1) acknowledge opposition to your argument, 2) but prove how the opposition is not strong enough to invalidate your argument.

a.       Paste in the old and new rebuttal sections

b.      Or say that you hadn’t gotten around to that yet in your first draft and make one up now to include in your next draft.

Old Rebuttal: Now, of course there will be people who disagree on my terms of being successful. Success, to them, would mean making a lot of money, working extremely hard to be promoted, and making yourself known in that career field. Happiness, after-all, does not pay the bills. If you work as a small theater actress, which nothing is wrong with, you will not be making the best living for a family. You are not considered successful, then, unless you make it on the big screen and become the next Natalie Portman. But is that true? No, it is not. A small theater actress will be considered an accomplished citizen when she leaves the stage with pride after nailing a difficult scene. A local newspaper will talk about her brilliant skills and she will feel like a very important person. That, the sense of pride and achievement, is what makes you successful in your job.

New Rebuttal: Now, of course there will be people who disagree on my terms of being successful. Success, to them, would mean making a lot of money, working extremely hard to be promoted, and making yourself known in that career field. Happiness, after-all, does not pay the bills. If you work as a small theater actress, which nothing is wrong with, you will not be making the best living for a family. You are not considered successful, then, unless you make it on the big screen and become the next Natalie Portman. But is that true? No, it is not. A small theater actress will be considered an accomplished citizen when she leaves the stage with pride after nailing a difficult scene. A local newspaper will talk about her brilliant skills and she will feel like a very important person. That, the sense of pride and achievement, is what makes you successful in your job. Saying that being successful is all about money is like saying people with smaller income jobs are failures. However, they may get to go home every night to people they love while rich cardiologists have to stay in the operation room all hours of the night to make big money. What about their family? Is true success not about what you have done in life? Would having beautiful children and a wonderful family not be considered a success?

Discussion #10

Claim: Without being satisfied with your job, you will never be successful to yourself.

Reason: If you are unhappy with what you do you then you do not have the drive to work hard and succeed.

Warrant: Success is more personal gain than what the media broadcasts it as.

Grounds:

If you are content with your job, you can be more successful in it.

A good relationship with your boss can make work less miserable, plus you can get benefits.

If you wake up in the morning actually happy about leaving for work, your day will be much better which means that you can actually get work done.

Conditions of Rebuttal: Grounds:

Job satisfaction is not about happiness, but about money or a well-known name.

You are not considered a success by other people unless they know you and your accomplishments.

Backing:

Success is an ideal and about how you feel about your accomplishments.

Conditions of Rebuttal: backing:

Success is about what other people know about your achievements.

Discussion #9

1.) "Recognizing that central responsibility of a woman to herself, without which we remain always the Other, the defined, the object, the victim; believing that there is a unique quality of validation, affirmation, challenge, support, that one woman can offer another. Believing in the value and significance of women's experience, traditions, perceptions. Thinking of ourselves seriously, not as one of the boys, not as neuters, or androgynes, but as women." That was a very powerful point of Rich's speech that shows how women can take themselves seriously. It is a very important point and something women should carry with them for later generations. Today, I do still think there are some mild forms of sexism when it comes to females. I do think that it is still relevant today, but not as much as in the year 1978.

2.) Back in the 60s and 70s, I do agree that maybe gender, class, and race were all linked together and treated equally. However, today not so much. Race and class is discriminated agaisnt much more than gender is and that is not right. It is, though, very true. The University has made it very possible to treat every individual as an equal. I see no prejudice in UL's campus, whether that is social standings to female or male.