Artifact 1: Adventures in 104 Wonderland”

“Adventures in 104 Wonderland”

 

            My journey in this English 104 class has truly been one to remember. My first day is this class, I thought to myself “ This is going to be a piece of cake. My teacher is spunky and happy to be here and my classmates aren’t. This will be interesting watching her teach them.” The second time our class met I was beyond entertained. It was only day two of class and I had already figured out Ms. Volmer’s favorite word. She would say something about an article we were reading and end her statement with “Right?” Maybe that was her way of  showing us a rhetorical question. She would say “Right?” and in my head I would say “Right!” Another thing I found entertaining about the class were my fellow classmates. It was hilarious to come to class in the morning and see half the class in the computer lab trying to print the article that was supposed to be read the night before. Everyone would read the first couple of paragraphs and think they were good. Class started and Ms. Volmer would ask about something that the author stated towards the end of the passage and everyone who read the first paragraph would avoid all eye contact with her. Classic move! I loved how our classroom didn’t feel like a classroom. We were able to share our own ideas and question things that the teacher had said. She made the class feel openly free, if that explains anything.

Strengths and Weaknesses

 

            Challenges aren’t meant to be easy nor are they meant to be simple. That is probably because they are meant to challenge your mind and make you think differently. English 104 was definitely a challenge when it came to writing. We went over different ideas and strategies that made me think differently as a writer. For example, appealing to my audience was something I had to learn and understand because as a writer I have an audience and I wanted to keep them interested in what I had to say. Even if that meant buttering them up by saying something that wasn’t necessarily about them but made them think I was speaking to them personally. I loved opening my writings with a controversial question that made people analyze both sides.

            As a writer, I think my strength was my creativity. I could pick a topic and instead of following the path that everyone takes, the safe path, I chose a path that would challenge me intellectually. I chose things that forced me to think outside of the box. When it came down to class writings and I had to give my opinion about something in my writing, I wasn’t afraid to disagree with anyone. Many people agree so they don’t have to explain themselves. I’m different, if I didn’t like something I said I didn’t like it. Many of the articles we read were BOOORING but there were some that made me want to look at how I was writing and how I could get my audience thinking, agreeing or disagreeing with me. “Apocalypse Now” was my favorite piece. Wilson made us think that he really did care about the Pastor’s religion but as I read on, I started to think that he stated their similarities and differences to get the Pastor to understand they weren’t so different. Then out of nowhere he asks for help. That was so smart the way he made the Pastor feel important then said how the Earth needed this important person to help save the Earth’s Biosphere.

Reflection: Gaining Skills

Reflection: Gaining Skills

 

            Starting this semester in English 104, I came prepared and thought this class would be a breeze. I knew I would be faced with challenges and introduced to new ways of writing but I never thought I would enjoy learning the information in the process. I was challenged to step back from my writing and analyze it as a reader and not as the author. It made me think differently and care about who was reading my work. I had an audience I had to appeal to.

            I love writing about any that comes to mind. It feels like I’m drifting off into a different world where I can express myself without being questioned. What I failed to realize was my writing is being questioned because I’m not the only one reading it. I have an audience. A group of people that are different in so many ways. My teachers were reading my writing so I had to appeal to them in some way. My peers were also reading my work so I had to appeal to them. It wasn’t about satisfying me anymore. Analyzing different audiences made me think more in depth. I had become cautious of the things I was saying because I didn’t want to offend anyone. While writing my final project I stated “I believe that single parenthood is just as good as a married couple taking care of a child, if not better.” I had to go back and say “I’m not saying that being married and having a child isn’t a good thing, I just believe that people do just fine raising a child alone.” I didn’t want to offend any parents who weren’t single parents that were reading my work.

“Parenthood”

What is the definition of a good parent? Is it someone who is strict on their children? They want them to be successful in life, so they are tough on them. Maybe a good parent is someone who is lenient with their children? They will let them stay up to watch a movie but only if they have done their homework and finished their chores. What about this one, Is a good a single parent or a married couple? I think a good parent is anyone who puts their child/children first. They love their children unconditionally and cherish every second of their lives.

Many people disagree with the whole notion of single parenthood. They believe that single mothers are home wreckers, mistresses, miss fit mothers and so many other things. According to “Housing for Single Parents: Four Walls and a Roof for You”, majority of households are led by single mothers. Not once did it define “single mother”. It didn’t give them the stereotypical names we hear everyday. I don’t believe that the best way to raise a child is in a two parent household. A parent can raise their children  just as good  as a two parent household. There is no law that says the proper way to care for a child is for both parents to be involved in the child’s life. That would be great for the child to have a mother and a father but it’s not a crime  if they don’t.

My mother is a single parent and she’s done a great job with my younger siblings and I. People are so negative and so quick to judge when they don’t even have all their facts straight. I don’t think having two parents or one parent has as much effect on children as many people say. Who says a man can raise a boy better than a woman? Who says a woman can raise a girl better than a man?

“A Look Into Blog Sites”

When I think about blog sites, I imagine a website full of stories. Stories that I may find interesting or maybe even disturbing. A place where a variety of different minds come together and create a world you can become lost in. Stories from bloggers that vary in different ages, backgrounds, ethnicity or culture. While exploring the internet for my research topic, I came across a blog site called About.com: Single Parent. This site was very helpful and had the hands on feel. I knew exactly how to use the site, how to make comments and interact with other bloggers on the blog site. This particular blog site got straight to the point. There weren’t any bright colors or pretty pictures to reel you in. It was almost classy in a way.

The style of the font, in my opinion, suggests that someone more reserved created this site. Twitter, although a social network, can be a blog site if the “following” and “twit pics” weren’t a part of the social network. Minus those two things, twitter would be a haven for bloggers. The site is very appealing. The little blue bird is appealing to the eyes as well as the soft blue color. The formatting of these sites play a huge role in their appeal as well. I believe, if any reader is faced with a huge block sized blog over a small sized slimmed format, they would pick the slim one. Although it contain the same amount of words, the trick is to make the appearance of the blog seem short and interesting. The slimmer one gives off the illusion of being shorter but in actuality, it’s not.

As far as audio is concerned, I haven’t come across any blogs or blog sites that included it. Audio would probably  shine more light on the blog. The more elements that are added to the blog and/or sites the more people would want to read or explore them.

“Adventures In 104 Wonderland”

“Adventures in 104 Wonderland”

    My journey in this English 104 class has truly been one to remember. My first day is this class, I thought to myself “ This is going to be a piece of cake. My teacher is spunky and happy to be here and my classmates aren’t. This will be interesting watching her teach them.” The second time our class met I was beyond entertained. It was only day two of class and I had already figured out Ms. Volmer’s favorite word. She would say something about an article we were reading and end her statement with “Right?” Maybe that was her way of  showing us a rhetorical question. She would say “Right?” and in my head I would say “Right!”

Another thing I found entertaining about the class were my fellow classmates. It was hilarious to come to class in the morning and see half the class in the computer lab trying to print the article that was supposed to be read the night before. Everyone would read the first couple of paragraphs and think they were good. Class started and Ms. Volmer would ask about something that the author stated towards the end of the passage and everyone who read the first paragraph would avoid all eye contact with her. Classic move! I loved how our classroom didn’t feel like a classroom. We were able to share our own ideas and question things that the teacher had said. She made the class feel openly free, if that explains anything.

I enjoyed her teaching style. I like how she would introduce something then automatically had examples ready for us even if we hesitated to ask questions. I like how she would introduce a lesson then tell us to read an article that played a part in the lesson taught. For example, we talked about format then read “Apocalypse Now” that had a completely different format from the other articles we had previously read.The only thing that didn’t get my blood pumping or spark any interest in me were the blog.I enjoy writing but the prompts seemed boring to me.  understand they had to relate to the class but MAN were they boring. ‘m the type of person who wants to write about whatever is on my mind at the time. I guess it’s a bit of a challenge for me to write about something that is required of me. That may be the reason I do not like writing papers. Overall, I enjoyed my time in this class. The only regret I have is not doing these encounters on time!

Be Yourself

As a child, we are all taught a simple but important saying: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” What about the saying, “Respect thy neighbor?” Growing up, I lived Harvey, Il before it was given the name “Harvey World”. The neighborhood was quiet except for when us kids came out to play. Everyone knew everyone. We could walk to the neighborhood store and the people that worked there knew us all by name. They would say, “How’s school, are you getting good grades?” The mayor would drive down the blocks speaking to whomever was sitting on their porch, mowing the lawn, washing their cars, etc. It was a close knit community. So close that everyone know everyone’s problem but never thought twice about judging them. Just like the residents in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans.
In Ari LaVaux’s A Different World: Compost and Community, Not Literacy, he really outlines what a great community is by doing an article on these individuals. They came together to create a school called “Our School at Blair Grocery” (OSBG), which was originally a grocery store before Katrina hit. This is no ordinary school. Those kids didn’t learn how to read and write or how to cite a book or website. Although they weren’t deprived from learning these things, they took a different route when it came to learning something. They were being taught the true meaning of community. They worked together to produce and grow food for their community. They worked together building ideas on what to grow and how much to sell it for.This one project brought the neighborhood closer. Former gang members joined because they knew it was time to step up and do something good. If they didn’t have OSBG those individuals would probably have left New Orleans or they could have gotten themselves into some serious trouble trying to survive.
When I think of community and the definition of it, I think of unity. A group of people from the same area or even different areas coming together for a change to something that would not only benefit them but oters around them as well. A community doesn’t have to be a lot of people. All it takes is a few hands to come together to make a difference in the place that they call home. If people had the heart and attitude that the people of New Orlean’s Lower Ninth Ward did, things would be a lot better in the United States alone. They are great examples of positive thinkers. They were motivated and although their situation wasn’t the best they still went on with their lives knowing that there will be a brighter day. While reading this article, not once did I come across anyone being selfish. None of those people put themselves first. That is something that we can all learn from. Although it is a dog eat dog eat world and “every man’s for himself’ none of those kids ever put themselves before anyone else.

Out with the old, In with the new…Blog Takeover

The blog sites that I’ve come across are looking more and more like social networking sites. From the setup of the webpages to the way people are commenting. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It’s actually a plus because its attracting new bloggers to the sites and it’s almost a little bit more exciting to read stories of random people than to log into faceboook and in your newsfeed you see the same people talking about the same stuff. Websites like Gateways are a great way for people to write whatever they feel and not have to worry about being judged negatively. On blog sites, you are almost a different person, social media sites as well. The difference is, when you’re on a blog site you’re not being a bully or thinking you’re better than others. You are being the person that you know you can be in real life. The more intellectual you. On facebook, people aren’t really trying to hear what you have to say. They are too busy liking photos and poking people. You don’t have to worry about fitting in. t’s not about appearance and how you look, its about what you have to say for once. Blog sites really get the thought process going. Not saying people on facebook and tweeter don’t have valid arguments but people get so caught up in the other features of the social network sites that they look pass what the site was intended for. SOCIAL networking! DUH!