1.) Heather's main insight is how Mad Men approaches the reality and truth of what the "American Dream" really is, and uses it heavily in her essay so much that she rides on it the whole time. She shows to be passionate about the show and loves it to the point that she flawlessly uses the details of it in her essay.
2.) She establishes authority by talking down the wide fantasies of the american dream and talks about how down-to-earth that Mad Men is, thereby trying to put herself on equal footing to talk about it to us in a conversational term.
3.) It appeals primarily in the first paragraph how the american dream has become very broad and not tailored to the individual's own goals, thereby making the reader interested in what alternative there might be.
4.) I've never watched Mad Men, so I cannot understand the deep connection to the characters and their points and depth, but Havrilesky made me think that the show is worthwhile and that I may just watch it myself to get a good view and insight on what she believes is the "reality" of the American Dream.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Position Essay
Why homeschooling should not be placed on a higher standard than public school
I went into some deep thought about how
homeschooling is thought of by the world as well as in America in various
states. The state governments in the extreme corners of the states do not seem
to be very allowing of any regular homeschool regiment. Speaking from a
perspective of living in the four corners of the United States at some point in
my homeschooling life, I can say that homeschooling is a very efficient process
when properly used and enjoyed, but can be diluted by the system surrounding it
which is regulated by the state government's school board which has mostly
public school oriented administrators. Homeschoolers should not be placed on a
higher standard than public school students and both should have equal
opportunity in all fields, from military to educational, and even to get out of
high school.
Georgia state legislation, according to the Home
School Defense and Law Association, requires that every homeschool student have
at least a single four and a half hour unbroken session of learning each day,
and requires a detailed report on how much the student only seemed to learn.
Though this as a concept isn't bad, the sheer fact that it needs to be an
unbroken session (meaning no breaks and constant "Learning") just
restricts the freedoms of a homeschooler to make them work more to get a proper
education on their schedule. Florida has less of a time frame but still
requires that the session be unbroken and uninterrupted even with family
emergencies. In order for homeschoolers to have a stable curriculum with
effective learning, they need to not be forced to sit and wait and be unable to
work in the manner that works best for them, rendering homeschooling useless.
The forces at work over in the Georgia legislative branch have made it
undesirable to homeschool, and therefore are just adding to the issue of
homeschoolers getting diplomas and college scholarships.
Texas is one of the few states that actually
understands homeschooling and frees it up to where someone just needs to say
they are homeschooling their child to qualify and be able to graduate.
According to the laws in Texas, a homeschooling parent would only need to
submit a letter of intent to homeschool in order to be granted the rights to
homeschool. Granted, this may just add to the false stereotype of "Dumb
Texans"; however, there are plenty of intelligent people who have come out
of those systems because they were able to achieve more by recalling detail of
what they learned versus what a manuscript from a public high school had told
them in interviews. Frank Mattosh, a retired Marine and survivor of Pearl
Harbor, said “Homeschooling helped me develop the problem solving skills and
decision making that helped me get my men to safety on that day.” Several
Commanders and Captains in the Navy in modern day America came out of
homeschooling programs, including: Commander Chad Hennings, Commander Andrew
Wiest, and Captain Douglas Perry.
Though there are instances where homeschoolers and
parents of those homeschoolers end up abusing the system to "Make up"
a diploma so that they're not forced into spending more money or having to send
in the actual reports and various paperwork involved to make sure education is
being given to the child. Though, this mindset still creates a problem of
homeschoolers having to do more to get their diploma and to apply to colleges
and various other organizations, such as the military. Personally, I’ve had
trouble moving about the states and getting the letter of intent to homeschool
into the school boards as they do not agree with homeschooling proper. The
instances of peoples’ own choices into faking homeschooling are part of what
makes it more difficult to advance in most careers in life, and only serves to
worsen the reputation of Homeschoolers. Though, if any school board or
administration had faith in the families and not wanting just more grades into
their system, homeschoolers would have a much easier time living their daily
lives.
The Military applies more harsh standards to
homeschoolers by making them jump through more hoops to try to enlist or even
get on commission to be an officer. They have to make better test scores in
both PT and the ASVAB to enlist in any portion of the military, while public
schoolers have to make much less score points to pass and enlist. These tests
are respectively the physical fitness and training and the actual test, much
like the SAT or ACT, to get into the military. This unfairness results in both
a rejection of the homeschoolers who met the public school standard, and only
brings more competent homeschoolers into the military itself be it Marine,
Navy, Air Force, or Army. A manner to make the military equal opportunity with
filters is to make the scores equal for all walks of life, not making any
mandatory pre-requisites or certifications to attempt to join the military.
After all, the military was designed
Homeschoolers
themselves are not incompetent, or even unfit for college. Many Ivy League
colleges take in a decent amount of homeschoolers yearly. Each year Harvard University takes up to 10
applicants who have had some home schooling. “In general, those kids do just
fine,” says David Illingsworth, senior admissions officer. He adds that the
number of applications and inquiries from home schoolers is “definitely
increasing.” A Havard administrations officer also stated that homeschool
students “have done very well. They usually are very motivated in what they
do.” Where the students still have to do more even to apply. Though any Ivy
League would be cautious about who they allow into the system, so it makes
sense to double check homeschoolers in areas of confirmation. Results of the
SAT and SAT II, an essay, an interview, and a letter of recommendation are the
main requirements for home educated applicants. On top of that, we have Jon
Reider, Stanford’s senior associate director of admissions. “Home-schoolers
bring certain skills – motivation, curiosity, the capacity to be responsible
for their education – that high schools don’t induce very well,” which is
further reinforcing that homeschoolers need to be taken seriously and placed on
the same level of public schoolers.
All
of these facts are important because homeschooling has proven to be an effective
learning system, but a homeschooler as smart as a public schooler is forced to
do more to get into any kind of recognition or job outside of high school. The
truth is skewed by the lack of knowledge and understanding put out by school
boards and various teachers who want more students to acquire a higher pay by
taxes or raise, or even for better chances at tenure. Getting down to the
basics, Homeschoolers are generally accepted by the world in college primarily,
but have trouble in every other area if they have chosen not to get a college
degree, mostly seen in the military and various states. So no, homeschooling
shouldn’t be forced to do more in order to accomplish the same goals of public
schoolers in everyday life and should be given an equal opportunity in every
respect to advance their own education and career goals.
Sources: hslda.org, interview of Retired Marine 1st
Lieutenant Frank Mattosh, review of Texas Legislation (Unmarked)
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Draft #2 for position paper
Why homeschooling should not be placed on a higher standard than public school
I went into some deep thought
about how homeschooling is thought of by the world as well as in America in
various states. The state governments in the extreme corners of the states do
not seem to be very allowing of any regular homeschool regiment. Speaking from
a perspective of living in the four corners of the United States at some point
in my homeschooling life, I can say that homeschooling is a very efficient
process when properly used and enjoyed, but can be diluted by the system
surrounding it which is regulated by the state government's school board which
has mostly public school oriented administrators. Homeschoolers should not be
placed on a higher standard than public school students because the systems are
designed together and both have valid curriculums.
Georgia state legislation requires
that every homeschool student have at least a single four and a half hour
unbroken session of learning each day, and requires a detailed report on how
much the student only seemed to learn. Though this as a concept isn't bad, the
sheer fact that it needs to be an unbroken session (meaning no breaks and
constant "Learning") just restricts the freedoms of a homeschooler to
make them work more to get a proper education on their schedule. Florida has
less of a time frame but still requires that the session be unbroken and
uninterrupted even with family emergencies.
Texas is one of the few states
that actually understands homeschooling and frees it up to where someone just
needs to say they are homeschooling their child to qualify and be able to
graduate. Granted, this may just add to the false stereotype of "Dumb Texans"; however, there are plenty of intelligent people who have come out of those
systems because they were able to achieve more by recalling detail of what they
learned versus what a manuscript from a public high school had told them in
interviews. Several Commanders and Captains in the Navy in modern day America
came out of homeschooling programs, including Commander Hennings, Commander
Andrew Wiest, and Captain Douglas Perry.
Though there are instances where
homeschoolers and parents of those homeschoolers end up abusing the system to
"Make up" a diploma so that they're not forced into spending more
money or having to send in the actual reports and various paperwork involved to
make sure education is being given to the child. Though, this mindset still
creates a problem of homeschoolers having to do more to get their diploma and
to apply to colleges and various other organizations, such as the military.
Personally, I’ve had trouble moving about the states and getting the letter of
intent to homeschool into the school boards as they do not agree with
homeschooling proper.
The Military applies more harsh standards to homeschoolers by making them jump through more hoops to try to enlist or even get on commission to be an officer. They have to make better test scores in both PT and the ASVAB to enlist in any portion of the military, while public schoolers have to make much less score points to pass and enlist.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Draft for Position Paper
Why homeschooling should not be placed on a higher standard than public school
I went into some deep thought about how homeschooling is thought of by the world as well as in America in various states. The state governments in the extreme corners of the states do not seem to be very allowing of any regular homeschool regiment. Speaking from a perspective of living in the four corners of the United States at some point in my homeschooling life, I can say that homeschooling is a very efficient process when properly used and enjoyed, but can be diluted by the system surrounding it which is regulated by the state government's school board which has mostly public school oriented administrators. Homeschoolers should not be placed on a higher standard than public school students because the systems are designed together and both have valid curriculums.
Georgia state legislatin requires that every homeschool student have at least a single four and a half hour unbroken session of learning each day, and requires a detailed report on how much the student only seemed to learn. Though this as a concept isn't bad, the sheer fact that it needs to be an unbroken session (meaning no breaks and constant "Learning") just restricts the freedoms of a homeschooler to make them work more to get a proper education on their schedule. Florida has less of a time frame but still requires that the session be unbroken and uninterrupted even with family emergencies.
Texas is one of the few states that actually understands homeschooling and frees it up to where someone just needs to say they are homeschooling their child to qualify and be able to graduate. Granted, this may just add to the stereotype of "Dumb texans", there are plenty of intelligent people who have come out of those systems because they were able to achieve more in recalling detail of what they learned versus what a manuscript from a public high school had told them. Several Commanders and Captains in the Navy in modern day America came out of homeschooling programs, including Commander Hennings, Commander Andrew Wiest, and Captain Perry.
Though there are instances where homeschoolers and parents of those homeschoolers end up abusing the system to "Make up" a diploma so that they're not forced into spending more money or having to send in the actual reports and various paperwork involved to make sure education is being given to the child.
I went into some deep thought about how homeschooling is thought of by the world as well as in America in various states. The state governments in the extreme corners of the states do not seem to be very allowing of any regular homeschool regiment. Speaking from a perspective of living in the four corners of the United States at some point in my homeschooling life, I can say that homeschooling is a very efficient process when properly used and enjoyed, but can be diluted by the system surrounding it which is regulated by the state government's school board which has mostly public school oriented administrators. Homeschoolers should not be placed on a higher standard than public school students because the systems are designed together and both have valid curriculums.
Georgia state legislatin requires that every homeschool student have at least a single four and a half hour unbroken session of learning each day, and requires a detailed report on how much the student only seemed to learn. Though this as a concept isn't bad, the sheer fact that it needs to be an unbroken session (meaning no breaks and constant "Learning") just restricts the freedoms of a homeschooler to make them work more to get a proper education on their schedule. Florida has less of a time frame but still requires that the session be unbroken and uninterrupted even with family emergencies.
Texas is one of the few states that actually understands homeschooling and frees it up to where someone just needs to say they are homeschooling their child to qualify and be able to graduate. Granted, this may just add to the stereotype of "Dumb texans", there are plenty of intelligent people who have come out of those systems because they were able to achieve more in recalling detail of what they learned versus what a manuscript from a public high school had told them. Several Commanders and Captains in the Navy in modern day America came out of homeschooling programs, including Commander Hennings, Commander Andrew Wiest, and Captain Perry.
Though there are instances where homeschoolers and parents of those homeschoolers end up abusing the system to "Make up" a diploma so that they're not forced into spending more money or having to send in the actual reports and various paperwork involved to make sure education is being given to the child.
Katherine Springs analysis
1.)What is the claim?
a.) The writer is trying to convince the reader to buy from local farms versus shipped and conglomerate groceries that come from other portions of state
b.) The Thesis is directly stated in the last sentence of the first paragraph.
2.) What support does the writer offer for the claim?
a.) The reasons are that buying locally helps save the environment by lowering transport costs, processing time and factories.
b.) The evidence is shoddy in that she stated statistics and titles without sourcing them properly, E.g; "A CNN article" without stating what the article was.
c.) The reasons are well intended, though the global warming statement is more of a red herring.
3.) How evenhandedly does the writer present the issues?
a.) The biggest notice is that she mentions Alex Avery's statement of buying produce from where it grows best, and she admits and changes her argument to "Buying as much as possible" from local farmers in your area, and also goes onto the efficiency issue of "All crops per acre" versus the standard measurement of amount of crop in a single acre.
b.) Katherine acknowledges the arguments against her statement and goes on to use them to elaborate her intentions on top of her normal statements.
c.) She treats the arguments respectfully.
d.) She deals with each argument individually and immediately.
4.) What authorities or sources of outside information does the writer use?
a.) Each authority is used in different areas of expertise as well as interviews with specific farmers. For example, she uses a statement from Mr. lermio for comparisons.
b.) Mr. Lermio is rather biased in that he's already a smaller farmer that would benefit greatly from buying locally, so of course he'd speak for it.
c.) He is current in that he is a family friend of the Springs family.
5.) How does the writer address you as a reader?
a.) She assumes we know which produce grows where.
b.) She uses "we" a good deal when talking about helping the environment, wherein I also feel detracted because she's just trying to pull me in forcefully.
c.) I don't think buying locally helps the environment in particular, but it does help the local economy to sustain the farmers' way of living.
a.) The writer is trying to convince the reader to buy from local farms versus shipped and conglomerate groceries that come from other portions of state
b.) The Thesis is directly stated in the last sentence of the first paragraph.
2.) What support does the writer offer for the claim?
a.) The reasons are that buying locally helps save the environment by lowering transport costs, processing time and factories.
b.) The evidence is shoddy in that she stated statistics and titles without sourcing them properly, E.g; "A CNN article" without stating what the article was.
c.) The reasons are well intended, though the global warming statement is more of a red herring.
3.) How evenhandedly does the writer present the issues?
a.) The biggest notice is that she mentions Alex Avery's statement of buying produce from where it grows best, and she admits and changes her argument to "Buying as much as possible" from local farmers in your area, and also goes onto the efficiency issue of "All crops per acre" versus the standard measurement of amount of crop in a single acre.
b.) Katherine acknowledges the arguments against her statement and goes on to use them to elaborate her intentions on top of her normal statements.
c.) She treats the arguments respectfully.
d.) She deals with each argument individually and immediately.
4.) What authorities or sources of outside information does the writer use?
a.) Each authority is used in different areas of expertise as well as interviews with specific farmers. For example, she uses a statement from Mr. lermio for comparisons.
b.) Mr. Lermio is rather biased in that he's already a smaller farmer that would benefit greatly from buying locally, so of course he'd speak for it.
c.) He is current in that he is a family friend of the Springs family.
5.) How does the writer address you as a reader?
a.) She assumes we know which produce grows where.
b.) She uses "we" a good deal when talking about helping the environment, wherein I also feel detracted because she's just trying to pull me in forcefully.
c.) I don't think buying locally helps the environment in particular, but it does help the local economy to sustain the farmers' way of living.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Summary of "Our schools must do better"
Herbert starts out the essay with a story of how he asked a kid a question about modern day history, to which he received a response he wasn't hoping for, "I don't know." to which it got him thinking about this, and brought up the federal test results for math and reading scores for public schooling. He continues on to compare modern day public schools to being linear and remaining precisely the same since World War II, and that the system needs drastic change to match up to today's technologically oriented society.
Going forward, Herbert uses various statements from Professor Thomas Kane about how the system is trying, but not being drastic enough to give a lasting impact. Though he admits teachers have some to blame as their qualifications have nothing to do with their true ability to teach. He wishes for the teachers to be the first and biggest reform in that they should be evaluated before being given tenure. Though he ends off with having alternative models for schooling systems that involve more interactive teaching and longer school days, he ends with the statement "They need something better than a post-World War II system in a Post-9/11 world." which would be more powerful if he didn't compare America to being the world.
__________________________________
His tone is solid, but he doesn't acknowledge the opposition very much or really counters any arguments against himself.
He establishes the importance in the very beginning by presenting a story of when he asked a child what they knew about current events.
"They need something better" to appeal to a parents' want to have the best for their child.
Herbert also deflects blame from the child's own willingness to learn by saying the teachers also need a more rigorous process and "2 or 3 years" of evaluation before granting tenure for longer term teachers.
Though I can agree with Herbert's morals, I can't quite agree with "longer school days" When the efficiency of the current school days aren't fully used with schools presenting more empty time slots inside the time allowed. His point of more training and quality in teachers as well as their evaluation is a must though, and would help our system better.
Going forward, Herbert uses various statements from Professor Thomas Kane about how the system is trying, but not being drastic enough to give a lasting impact. Though he admits teachers have some to blame as their qualifications have nothing to do with their true ability to teach. He wishes for the teachers to be the first and biggest reform in that they should be evaluated before being given tenure. Though he ends off with having alternative models for schooling systems that involve more interactive teaching and longer school days, he ends with the statement "They need something better than a post-World War II system in a Post-9/11 world." which would be more powerful if he didn't compare America to being the world.
__________________________________
His tone is solid, but he doesn't acknowledge the opposition very much or really counters any arguments against himself.
He establishes the importance in the very beginning by presenting a story of when he asked a child what they knew about current events.
"They need something better" to appeal to a parents' want to have the best for their child.
Herbert also deflects blame from the child's own willingness to learn by saying the teachers also need a more rigorous process and "2 or 3 years" of evaluation before granting tenure for longer term teachers.
Though I can agree with Herbert's morals, I can't quite agree with "longer school days" When the efficiency of the current school days aren't fully used with schools presenting more empty time slots inside the time allowed. His point of more training and quality in teachers as well as their evaluation is a must though, and would help our system better.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Strong opinions (Neither side I take is listed for personal reasons)
- Media and how they go about their postings
- Marriage
- Church rights
- Market objectivity
- Crime subjectivity
- Abortion
- The N word
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)