Gannon-English 99: Literacy Among the Ruins

This article was in some ways humerous. For example in the beginning, othe professor believes his new job is going to be like one in a movie, which is not always the case. "I used Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting as my goal and I was very close" (215). Over all, the article was tragic. Meaning, the professor felt pitty for the students and by the end of the article so did I.

I have not been in such a segregated class myself, though I have been in a pre-baccalauerate ccourse that was on a Pass/Fail basis for math not English. However, I have seen classes that have certain groups that stay together in a section of the class and you can always single out the students who take the course seriously. That does not mean that any of these students are dumb,by reading this article it only showed how some students need more help and specific instruction to demonstrate and develope how well they can write. It seems to me that the students had incredible potential to write not only about the topics in their current lives but other broader topics. All they would need is to learn how to further elaborate and describe their ideas. I do agree that English is not something to be learned, it's somethinig you learn how to do, by practice.

Mori-School

"No one should have power that is unjustified and unjustifiable, regardless of how convinient or effecient it may seem for smooth runninig of the classroom, the educatioinal sysytem, or the country"(263). Here, it seems that Mori has some resentment toward the Japanese method of teaching. She notes that her American teachers told her the exact mistakes she made, that helped her become successful. On the other hand, Japanese teachers were not specific at all and expected students to gain knowledge by catching their own mistakes. However, it is not to say that either American or Japanese is better than the other, they are just different techniques which both are effective. Japanese emphasize self-discipline, detail, and obedience of authority, while Americans focus on self-motivation, overall concepts, and questioning.

In some cases it is best to learn from trial and error because a person can not always depend on ithe instructor to correct them, and it is more beneficial to learn by observation. Yet it is also advantageous to have a more experienced or educated individual to help point out our faults so we can see what to improve. For some, it helps to have a teacher tell them what mistakes they are making because they did not realize them before, to understand it from another perspective. For others it helps them to be more independent and know what they are expected to do by discovering it for themselves. I, myself, can agree with both methods I can understand things better when an instructor can further discuss it, or elaborate on it; but I can comprehend things easily and learn them easily when I can see on my own what works and what doesn't.

Another point Mori brought up in her artcile, that stood out was when she stated "most Americans take college for granted"(254). I do not believe entirely. Of course there may be some people who do take college for granted but I think that the majority of college students know the importance of it and what a privelege it is to be there. It is not just a place where we can just get up and decide to go one day. It is a process of planning, goal setting and securing money for that particular purpose. There are countless factor that can effect people from going back to college. This notion of the "real world" is composed of things such as, careers, public places, day-to-day people and circumstances, families, and economic situations, without school restraints, that is, what school or college can not always prepare you for. College is a preperatory stage, it is much part of the "real world", because you learn to interact with others differently, learn to strategize in new situations, and learn not only knowledge but things about yourself. However, the outside world is really considered the natural, expected and unexpected roads in life.

Sokolove- Football is for Suckers

Personally, I am not a big football fan, so this article wasn't that appealing to me. However, I do enjoy watching it live, though it is very rare. Anyway, this article was a good example of the rewards of traditional aggressive competition, not opnlpy on the field but with universities as well. It is not enough to have the label of "the best" but to have the best paychecks is essentially what these big league football teams are about. Though, it was nice in this article, to have a glimpse into the personal life of football players, not only about there academic struggles but their family lives. There seemed to be some favoritism with the U.S.F players making them seem like mild-mannered Olympians. How do we know that football players in the other "big time" football leagues are not in the same situations, such as being a young athletic star managing grades and a family. However, compared the opther universities, it seems that U.S.F has kept a clean image while breaking into mainstream college football scene.

Readings: Chenney/Tannen

First off, I thought these readings were inetresting. In the Chenney article, Politics in the Schoolroom, when she mentioned the National History Standards neglected the good in American history and the bad in another countries history. I was upset to think that an organization would allow children to be taught that. I believe that history should tell both sides, that is, mention both negative and positive aspects of what's being taught, I don't see where the problem is in that. Also, the segment about how girls are being "shortchanged" and meritocracy. There should be some preperation in schools on on meritocracy because that is essentially how American capitalism works. We are tolled that we all have the opportunity to succeed but our success is usually measured by the our salary and things we own. Though material things are not all that measures success our society is revolved around competition.

Second, Tannen's article, The Roots of Debate in Education and Hope of Dialogue, I found that I can agree with reasonable arguementation and understanding to listen. For example, when people are taking part in senseless argueing I personally don't want to listen or I feel they don't know how to argue because they are trying to prove the other person wrong instead of giving them reasons why they're right.

Kagan-What is a Liberal Education?

I agree very much with Kagan for the most part and had a very similar perspective with Newman. I agree in the sense that he believes a liberal education is a little bit of everything and it is a necessity to be effective in the social world and to make any kind of impact in the community you must know how to go about doing it. In earlier times a liberal education was not only a variety in knowledge but it was a tool to find truth, which was very much tied into religion, which also focused on values. However, he states that now, since the university and students are so diverse, sometimes these values are forgotten.

Kagan also implies that a liberal education is supposed to free your mind, challenge your set beliefs without compromising your morals, understand these beliefs, and make a change within yourself. He gives the impression that you can go to college to gain mastery in your feild but at the same time gain some type of background on various subjects, concepts, in order to relate to people and communicate with them. "Most important of all, we must provide our children with an education shaped by the purpose of creating citizens of a free society who will love liberty, who will understan discipline and sacrifice needed to preserve it, and who will be eager to do so". This quote sums up most of it, saying that for future generations beginninig now we have to maintain a productive, caring, educated, and prosperous society we must revisit what are morals are as well as what our goals are.

Newman and Lee Readings 9/11/07

In Newman's "The Idea of a University", the major point I got from it was the idea of a well rounded person. An educated person shouldn't only have to be limited to their own particular feild of study but should also have a broad understanding of the world around them. "He is at home in any society, he has common ground in any class..."(pg.55) . A person must be able to socialize, learn from their experience, learn from others, and carry on a conversation pretty much with anyone. The university is simply a tool that is there to provide us with educators and certain facilities, but it is the job of the student to take advantage of the opportunities that the university offers.

The Lee artcile to me was a reminder that college may not be for everyone, however, a person can still be successful without a college degree. And by success I not only mean making alot of money but also being happy with your job. Lee's son found success somewhere where most people don't. It seemed that her son just slacked off in college and wasn't really there to learn. "But he went because all his friends were going, because it sounded like fun..." (pg.503 pargraph 6). I believe that these types of decisions are made by the type of person you are and the person you want to be, and learning to mature. Though if a person does decide that college is right for them, that opens other opportunities such as meeting new people/networking, perfecting their major, potential salary earnings or going to places they may have never been before. Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to any decision especially when deciding what is the next step in your life.