Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Response to Education
Lawrence O’Donnell first begins with how he did in school. How he would get bad grades and blame it on the teacher. In all honesty, I did that too not too far back in High School. I would also blame my Pre-Cal teacher for giving us hard assignments that I thought I would fail on. I failed the class, but I know now that I didn’t really try hard enough. O’Donnell tells the audience about student achievement. He says that the teacher is one of the variables, but home factors are the most important part.
Mr. Campbell, my Algebra III teacher was probably one of my favorite math teachers. He gave us life lessons for the seniors and I remember one particular piece of advice. “When you learn, 50% is at school and 50% is on your own.” Mr. Campbell said. O’Donnell says, “Home learning environments, individual student aptitudes, individual student effort, the student’s expectations, the student’s family’s expectations, the number of students in the classroom, the list goes on and on”. However, O’Donnell explains that politics have assumed that the reason why students are failing is “entirely the fault of teachers”. Now I am well aware of the Blame the Teacher theory, because I have used it first hand and I have seen others use it. Until I got to college however, my perspective shifted. I do believe that a student must set high standards for him or herself in order to do well in school. Not to be racist or anything, Asian parents expect their students to have high grades.
In the Philippines, my dad wanted to become a journalist, but he was forced to become a doctor. But that is not the topic of this response. More importantly are the teachers who want their rights. This has been eye opening for me. I had no clue teachers were getting treated like crap, in fact they have to put up with uncooperative students as well. It did piss me off when that reporter compared teaching and acting. “It’s because they love teaching” Matt Damon says. Matt Damon has a love for acting and teachers have a love for teaching. O’Donnell touches on police officers, another government job. “No one investigates how well policemen do their job. Some have fired their gun and have accidentally injured others, but some have deliberately and maliciously used it.” O’Donnell explains.
“Teachers who have committed their lives to the classroom deserve better than our politics have given them”. I watched this video, and I also read what Christian Pyle had to say about adjuncts and the caste system of teaching. Not only that, but I know that Fayette County has hired Filipino teachers who work hard and receive little. They love teaching though, and they are good in their craft. I believe that the individual is truly the one who paves the road to success. Teachers will help students on their way to building levels for a house, but it is up to the students to either continue building/maintaining or breaking it down. From what I have read and what I know, I think that teacher’s should be given the credit they all deserve. They should be given the recognition for changing people’s lives. And in return I believe they should be given their rights.
Mr. Campbell, my Algebra III teacher was probably one of my favorite math teachers. He gave us life lessons for the seniors and I remember one particular piece of advice. “When you learn, 50% is at school and 50% is on your own.” Mr. Campbell said. O’Donnell says, “Home learning environments, individual student aptitudes, individual student effort, the student’s expectations, the student’s family’s expectations, the number of students in the classroom, the list goes on and on”. However, O’Donnell explains that politics have assumed that the reason why students are failing is “entirely the fault of teachers”. Now I am well aware of the Blame the Teacher theory, because I have used it first hand and I have seen others use it. Until I got to college however, my perspective shifted. I do believe that a student must set high standards for him or herself in order to do well in school. Not to be racist or anything, Asian parents expect their students to have high grades.
In the Philippines, my dad wanted to become a journalist, but he was forced to become a doctor. But that is not the topic of this response. More importantly are the teachers who want their rights. This has been eye opening for me. I had no clue teachers were getting treated like crap, in fact they have to put up with uncooperative students as well. It did piss me off when that reporter compared teaching and acting. “It’s because they love teaching” Matt Damon says. Matt Damon has a love for acting and teachers have a love for teaching. O’Donnell touches on police officers, another government job. “No one investigates how well policemen do their job. Some have fired their gun and have accidentally injured others, but some have deliberately and maliciously used it.” O’Donnell explains.
“Teachers who have committed their lives to the classroom deserve better than our politics have given them”. I watched this video, and I also read what Christian Pyle had to say about adjuncts and the caste system of teaching. Not only that, but I know that Fayette County has hired Filipino teachers who work hard and receive little. They love teaching though, and they are good in their craft. I believe that the individual is truly the one who paves the road to success. Teachers will help students on their way to building levels for a house, but it is up to the students to either continue building/maintaining or breaking it down. From what I have read and what I know, I think that teacher’s should be given the credit they all deserve. They should be given the recognition for changing people’s lives. And in return I believe they should be given their rights.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Forgotten Dreams
Someplace like America, has some sort of negative connotation associated behind it. In the introduction I was extremely shocked. The story grabbed my attention when I heard of a Hobo being murdered and a flier that warned other “tree people”. Now this is in Santa Barbara, one of the richest places in California. If I was homeless and if that would ever happen to me, I would feel like a criminal, especially if the police were to help clear the area of low lives. These journalists were pretty brave to live that day as hobos. They indeed had a good story to write about. “People will rise to the challenge of these hard times.”(Maharidge 3)
I believe in the quote, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”. Being poor, dirt poor, is something I have seen through my parents. They lived in the poor areas of the Philippines and in the dangerous areas of Queens, New York. People who are poor will truly value everything they have from the place they sleep to the food scraps they can find in the dumpster. The woman who was upper class and was suddenly poor showed me that shit happens. This intro that Michael and Dale have provided for the reader makes me wonder what economic experts do. I wonder about the level of education and experience they get, and what do they do financially with personal belongings. Dale did say, “The economic experts were repeatedly wrong in the lead-up to the 1929 market crash and they continued to be wrong through the 1930’s as they predicted a turnaround. How are American citizens depending on them today? We are already having problems with our stock market. Unemployment is still an issue that I am concerned about today too. I don’t think people don’t understand what labor truly is. That woman who had to work 3 jobs including a restaurant is really sad, because she won’t be able to retire. She is literally going to work until she dies, unless someone does something about it.
I think Michael and Dale wants us to be aware certain areas that are effected by unemployment. “You will be introduced to the city of Youngstown, destroyed by the closing of steel mills and the resulting loss of tens of thousands of well-paid jobs”, Dale explains. From being middle class or upper class to living in poverty, looking for places to sleep and food to eat, Somewhat Like America looks it is a promising book that show how citizens struggle every single day of their life. What I think Michael and Dale are doing is great. It sounds like they have a sense of adventure living out a different world other than their own. The pictures may influence the reader even greater, especially if there is a poor child looking straight at the camera. I would be inclined to help these people if I saw some pictures. One thing is for sure though. We need to make people aware of places like Youngstown, the struggles of the citizens, and figure out how we can improve America.
I believe in the quote, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”. Being poor, dirt poor, is something I have seen through my parents. They lived in the poor areas of the Philippines and in the dangerous areas of Queens, New York. People who are poor will truly value everything they have from the place they sleep to the food scraps they can find in the dumpster. The woman who was upper class and was suddenly poor showed me that shit happens. This intro that Michael and Dale have provided for the reader makes me wonder what economic experts do. I wonder about the level of education and experience they get, and what do they do financially with personal belongings. Dale did say, “The economic experts were repeatedly wrong in the lead-up to the 1929 market crash and they continued to be wrong through the 1930’s as they predicted a turnaround. How are American citizens depending on them today? We are already having problems with our stock market. Unemployment is still an issue that I am concerned about today too. I don’t think people don’t understand what labor truly is. That woman who had to work 3 jobs including a restaurant is really sad, because she won’t be able to retire. She is literally going to work until she dies, unless someone does something about it.
I think Michael and Dale wants us to be aware certain areas that are effected by unemployment. “You will be introduced to the city of Youngstown, destroyed by the closing of steel mills and the resulting loss of tens of thousands of well-paid jobs”, Dale explains. From being middle class or upper class to living in poverty, looking for places to sleep and food to eat, Somewhat Like America looks it is a promising book that show how citizens struggle every single day of their life. What I think Michael and Dale are doing is great. It sounds like they have a sense of adventure living out a different world other than their own. The pictures may influence the reader even greater, especially if there is a poor child looking straight at the camera. I would be inclined to help these people if I saw some pictures. One thing is for sure though. We need to make people aware of places like Youngstown, the struggles of the citizens, and figure out how we can improve America.
True Men Response I
American Ideals of Real Men
“Wealthy, Handsome, Strong, Packing Endless Hard-Ons: The Impossible Ideals Men Are Expected to Meet” is quite a title. Greta Christina explains about the expectations of Masculinity and Feminism in America. Her stance is made clear in the title. It’s impossible for men to meet these American Ideals. One of the sources she uses is from Express.co.uk. This is article is surprising in that male fitness models are not as healthy as we think. Christina says, “The image being sold is an exaggerated, idealized, impossible extreme of hyper-masculinity. They use a regime… to make their muscles pop that involves starvation, dehydration, excessive consumption of alcohol and sugar right before a shoot, and more…the magazines use lighting tricks, posture tricks, flat-out deceptions, even Photoshop, to exaggerate this illusion of masculinity even further.”
She further explains that men try to attain this type of ideal. I see bodybuilders at Lexington (LAC) all the time. I regularly see them carry huge bags of supplements and work-out with extremely heavy weights. What I didn’t know was that models of some fitness magazines would actually try to do dangerous habits routinely and that guys want to attain that type of goal. “And we're not just talking about physical ideals of masculinity. We're talking about cultural ideals. Sexual ideals. Economic ideals. Emotional ideals.” Christina elaborates. Christina says that ideals of men contradict each other like “being a mechanic and a CEO. I've talked with men who are convinced they're not Real Men because they aren't rich and I've talked with men who are convinced they aren't Real Men because they don’t work with their hands." Bottom line-It’s Impossible to attain these manly ideals. Not only does Christina talk about men, but she shifts into women ideals. In conclusion, she believes everyone should just be themselves.
“Wealthy, Handsome, Strong, Packing Endless Hard-Ons: The Impossible Ideals Men Are Expected to Meet” is quite a title. Greta Christina explains about the expectations of Masculinity and Feminism in America. Her stance is made clear in the title. It’s impossible for men to meet these American Ideals. One of the sources she uses is from Express.co.uk. This is article is surprising in that male fitness models are not as healthy as we think. Christina says, “The image being sold is an exaggerated, idealized, impossible extreme of hyper-masculinity. They use a regime… to make their muscles pop that involves starvation, dehydration, excessive consumption of alcohol and sugar right before a shoot, and more…the magazines use lighting tricks, posture tricks, flat-out deceptions, even Photoshop, to exaggerate this illusion of masculinity even further.”
She further explains that men try to attain this type of ideal. I see bodybuilders at Lexington (LAC) all the time. I regularly see them carry huge bags of supplements and work-out with extremely heavy weights. What I didn’t know was that models of some fitness magazines would actually try to do dangerous habits routinely and that guys want to attain that type of goal. “And we're not just talking about physical ideals of masculinity. We're talking about cultural ideals. Sexual ideals. Economic ideals. Emotional ideals.” Christina elaborates. Christina says that ideals of men contradict each other like “being a mechanic and a CEO. I've talked with men who are convinced they're not Real Men because they aren't rich and I've talked with men who are convinced they aren't Real Men because they don’t work with their hands." Bottom line-It’s Impossible to attain these manly ideals. Not only does Christina talk about men, but she shifts into women ideals. In conclusion, she believes everyone should just be themselves.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
First Blog
Basically this is my first REAL Blog.
I had a blog for my photography class in High School, but it was different in that it was mainly for photos.
So what will I write about?
Anything that comes to my head.
One of my favorite blog sites is called:
theCHIVE... Probably the most awesome site
it consists of different photos that just make my day
DAR- Daily Awesome Randomness is my favorite because a lot of the pictures are unique.
I hope I will be able to improve my writing through this blog and to improve my writing in this class. I want to be able to organize my thoughts a lot better.
Just got out of HS. So I am ready to start a fresh new life.
I had a blog for my photography class in High School, but it was different in that it was mainly for photos.
So what will I write about?
Anything that comes to my head.
One of my favorite blog sites is called:
theCHIVE... Probably the most awesome site
it consists of different photos that just make my day
DAR- Daily Awesome Randomness is my favorite because a lot of the pictures are unique.
I hope I will be able to improve my writing through this blog and to improve my writing in this class. I want to be able to organize my thoughts a lot better.
Just got out of HS. So I am ready to start a fresh new life.
Politics: Am I a Left Authoritarian or Left Libertarian?
For a while I was wondering where I stood in American politics. I am a speaker, but I don't really like sticking my head into politics. Mainly because I don't know much about current news and how everything works. I don't like debating over issues I am not well informed or prepared about.
I would like to debate and take a stand with ease, but my beliefs are not written in stone yet.
John Coltrane is the Man
There are other Jazz artists I really like. According to Pandora I am interested in classic jazz that involves piano solos, bass solos, and different runs.
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