They Say, I Say

Dave Eggers says in the article, “Serve or Fail,” that college students should not only participate in volunteer work, but also get credit for doing so.  His third point was that volunteer services are a great opportunity to contribute what they know to the real world before their graduation day.  His tone of voice is very serious with a hint of sarcasm.  He really tries to prove his points by representing opposing arguments, but coming back with a strong rebuttal to support his position.  He appeals to emotion and logic a lot throughout his article. He says, “But exempt community colleges and you would still have  10 million college students enrolled in four-year colleges in the United States…America would gain 60 million volunteer hours to invigorate the nation’s nonprofit organizations, churches, job corps, conservation groups, and college outreach programs.”  This logical explanation appeals to the audience since Eggers has the correct statistical backup to support why he feels so strongly about volunteer services.  His tone of voice gives off the emotional appeal as well.

An unknown author says in a different article, “’Service Learning’ more than a fad,” that volunteering is a way to connect to the real world and strengthen one’s learning.  The article also includes that the person participating in the service learning will develop a stronger purpose for themselves after seeing the differences that they are capable of making.  The author also points out that many people lost motivation to help our culture because of the recession.  The article quotes the president of Winona State University, Judith Ramaley, who says, “What's happened [in the wake of the Great Recession] is that we have lost the sense that we have any control over our destiny.” Based on this quote, the rhetorical style that the author is using would be pathos.  When she brings in the subject of the recession, it pulls at one’s heartstrings that are affected by this.  Knowing that someone believes there is still hope by helping out others is an emotional way that will appeal to someone reading about service learning.

The Monitor’s Editorial Board says in another article, “How to Reduce Student Dropout Rates: Link Volunteering to Studies,” that volunteering has statistically proven that schools that have stressed service learning have had less dropouts.  They quote, “service learning weaves volunteering with specific academic instruction.”  Also, like the other 2 articles, the author mentions how this type of learning connects “school work to the real world.”  This piece appeals through logos since they mention many statistics and percentages that support the idea that the more volunteer work, the less dropouts. 

If I were to join in on the conversation about service learning with these three authors, most of my main focuses would match theirs.  I would stress the fact that volunteering does connect one’s prior knowledge to the real world and forces students to share what they know with people who could use that information.   Secondly, I would mention how although the idea of making service learning mandatory in schools is very positive, forcing students to do so might discourage them.  Students might see it as another task to “get out of the way”, when in reality educators want them to see it as a good use of their time.  Also, besides the fact volunteer work will give one a purpose, I would include that it will too higher one’s self-esteem and feel as though they have done something meaningful for someone other than themselves.  Most of the points that the authors brought up are strong and I agree highly with them.

After reading all three articles, most of the information brought up was mentioned from all three authors.  They all agree on the fact that service learning is a positive way to get students involved and connect schoolwork to the real world.  They also all agree that dropout rates are significantly lower when service learning is encouraged more.  One thing that they differ on, again, is that there is a possible chance that making this type of learning mandatory will have a “reverse psychology” effect on the students and make them not want to participate.  However, based on these three articles and reading the author’s very similar points, it is safe to say that service learning will not only help the one’s in need, but also the giver by making them feel like they have purpose, knowledge, and independence.

Letter to Self- Advice

Dear Ava,

      Why did you make plans with both your boyfriend, Matt, and best friend, Shannon, on the same day already knowing you made plans with Matt first?  That could’ve easily been prevented, and since you didn’t have the courage to speak up and say you already had plans, you promised both people something that you knew wasn’t going to happen. 

      It isn’t too hard to speak up, especially when these people are supposed to be close to you.  When Shannon asked you to go out for coffee that Sunday morning, the first thing on your mind should’ve been that you already told Matt that you could go out to breakfast with him.  After realizing this, you should have told Shannon that you had plans with Matt. Another thing you could’ve done was pushed back breakfast with Matt a little later so you had time to have coffee with Shannon in the morning.

      Sure, there is always the excuse of “Well, Matt is more understanding than Shannon, so I figured if I just went along with Shannon’s plans, Matt wouldn’t mind changing our breakfast date to a different morning.”  Yes, this might be true, but if this type of behavior keeps occurring, Matt is going to start feeling less important, even if you aren’t trying to give him that message. 

      The real problem here isn’t learning how to manage your time better, it’s getting the courage to speak up for yourself before you get the people you care about upset with you.  This situation could have been easily prevented, but instead you told both people you could join them for the morning, and in the end, they were both hurt when the truth came out.  Matt felt less important, and Shannon thought it was ridiculous how you couldn’t set time aside for her, just to have coffee. 

      If the reasoning behind this mistake was because you thought Shannon would be mad if you didn’t follow along with her plan, then you might have some things to think about.  If you were to have keep blowing Matt off, he would’ve gotten the impression that his time, quite frankly, met nothing to you.  After awhile, he probably would’ve dropped you real fast.  If you truly believe Shannon wouldn’t have understood that you already had plans, there might be a bigger problem.  Maybe the issue wasn’t about pleasing your friends, but it was realizing who they really are.  Think about it.

                                                                                          Sincerely,

                                                                                          Yourself 

Pop-Culture Analysis

The pop culture event that stands out to me the most is the Casey Anthony case.  This case was based on a woman, Casey Anthony, being accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony. There were many debates in the media on whether Casey Anthony was guilty or not, because the jury ended up not finding enough evidence to actually convict her of first-degree murder.  The assumption that the media made after this case was that Casey Anthony had gotten away with murder.   

The form of this event would be television, seeing as the case was all over every news channel there is.  The reason the Casey Anthony drama became so popular was because of the frequent news stories that ran throughout any time of the day.  There were even news stories analyzing how much it was on T.V. Some reporters thought that our culture was looking at the case as more of an entertaining event rather than a serious, heart-breaking lawsuit.  The audience that the case appealed to the most were adults, mostly because they have kids of their own so they felt the sadness and anger towards this suspicious woman.  Teenagers were also appealed to this case as well.  The information being distributed in the case was easy enough for a younger generation to understand and process. 

I believe that the Casey Anthony case became so popular because it took so long to end.  It was very drawn out over a period of three years and I feel as though as time went on, more negative evidence was found which fired up Americans.  Anytime a new piece of evidence was discovered or a new story was revealed to the court, the news would make sure to document it.  People kept up with his case like it was their job.  Many followed it for the full three years that it was on trial.  You could count on hearing it on not only the T.V., but the radio as well. 

I don’t see the Casey Anthony trial as a growing trend, however there was a case that happened in the past that was compared to Casey Anthony’s a lot.  O.J. Simpson’s situation was very similar to Anthony’s, which is why this comparison was made.  It was also based on the fact that our culture concluded that Simpson, too, got away with murder. 

The main issue that the popularity of Casey Antony’s case was that everybody was forgetting about the fact that Caylee Antony had brutally died, but simply using this case as entertainment. Since the case was all over the news, it almost became a soap opera, and society forgot about the reality that it held.  When Casey Anthony was proven innocent, however, the cultural issues grew even higher.  Society became very angry with the justice system and felt as if the jury didn’t do everything they could to investigate.  Everyone wanted Casey to pay her time for what she apparently “didn’t do.”  The anger of this case and towards Casey Anthony is what became so popular.

The Casey Anthony case falls into the high culture scale of pop culture.  My reasoning for this is because it was not meant for entertainment, even though that is what it transformed into.  This very serious court case was a lesson to our culture, which in my opinion makes it a valuable work of art.  Although this case was not a happy story and didn’t have the ending that the majority of our society had hoped, it teaches us how specific our government truly is.  I feel like this case influences Americans to look past everything they’ve heard, and to face the facts.  Even though many of the judges wanted to believe that Casey Anthony was guilty, there were not enough facts to prove it.  This is an example of following the law fairly; everyone is treated to a fair trial.  This court case doesn’t have to be perceived as negative, but a learning experience.  If future cases like this one ever arise, I feel as though the court systems will be ready to attack it properly.  Until then, pop culture believes Casey Anthony to be one lucky woman.

Response to Wednesday's Reading

In my elementary, middle, and high school years, I believe that my teachers prepared me to work with a technological world decently, however they didn’t go into enough detail and broaden their usage of programs.  The only programs I learned how to use were Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.  As far as any sort of blogging or video making, I pretty much taught myself.  By Facebook being so popular in my generation, I believe this was a helpful tool in learning how to blog; that’s why it was so easy to catch onto in college.  If I were to write my teachers an email of advice, I would tell them that our world outside of grade school is becoming much more digitally literate.  I would suggest that they use programs other than PowerPoint for presentations so that the kids can get a sense of something a little more modern.  That way they will know a stronger tool to use in college and with their future presentations in their career.

In my career, Psychology, I know I will be using Word a lot for reports.  It’s a good thing that I have already had a great amount of experience with this program in my earlier times.  I also will have to create presentations if I run a research study of any kind.  It will useful to know the correct way to use newer video or presentation programs rather than just a plain PowerPoint so my audience doesn’t get bored and stays focused.  I believe that Oakland will give me many opportunities to broaden my usage of technology and to create presentations.  With the many Psychology classes I am bound to take in the upcoming years, I know there are presentations waiting for me to present modernly. 

I write a lot more relaxed in a blog or an email.  I feel this has to do with Facebook being huge in our society today.  Since I am so used to blogging on a public site, it feels just the same when I blog for school.  I don’t feel as limited on what I write and it comes out a lot more personalized.  Sometimes writing essays are not a good representation of my true writing ability because they are so formalized.  In a blog, however, I feel more comfortable so my true thoughts and ideas always come to me more quickly and more clearly.  I would much rather write a long blog than a boring essay that sounds the exact same as a thousand other people.  I like to be original in my writing.

If I were a teacher, I would most definitely be working in the computer labs more.  Not to research so much, but to learn new programs that express writing in the same way an essay does. I have a lot to learn about technology as well, so as far as which programs I would want my kids to know, I am not so sure yet.  However I would want them to be extremely modern because times change quickly in our society now.  It’s not fair to say that technology is irrelevant just because most adults don’t understand it.  Pretty soon, it’ll be our only source of communication and presentation.

From the reading, I sense a tone of frustration since a lot of people over the age of 40 do not think that technology is as important as it truly is.   I agree with Virginia Heffernan when she says, “Simply put, we can’t keep preparing students for a world that doesn’t exist. We can’t keep ignoring the formidable cognitive skills they’re developing on their own. And above all, we must stop disparaging digital prowess just because some of us over 40 don’t happen to possess it. An institutional grudge match with the young can sabotage an entire culture." I think older adults need to open their eyes and realize that things change.  Just because our source of communication and presentation has changed since their time, it doesn’t mean it’s wrong.  We have to adjust to whatever will get us by, and in this case, technology is our world, we have to get used to it. 

My Literacy Timeline

• Learning to speak my first words from hearing my parents.  (2 years old)
• Getting read to by my Mom.  "Rainbow Fish" I enjoyed seeing the different colors and becoming familiar with the words. (3-4 years old)
• Introduced to letters and small words. (Pre-school)
• Having to draw pennies for an "In-Class Assignment".  I was frustrated since I had no idea how to draw it by memory, so I just began to draw it by simply looking at the picture and copying it for every detail.  (Kindergardnen)
• As elementary school moved on, I began to learn to read and write through different strategies from teachers.  (1st grade)
• Learned about segregation and slavery.  Had a chance to read texts in the english language with some african american slang. (4th-6th grade)
• Started Piano lessons and played the clarinet in the band.  I got the chance to learn the language of music notes.  (6th-7th grade)
• Started taking dance lessons.  I learned how to express words and emotion to the audience through body language.  This also required memorization skills. (7th-12th grade)
• Being in dance and learning how to play 2 instruments opened me up to the music world in general.  I began listening to various artists with all different back grounds and eventually began to comprehend that singing is a whole other language as well, you can express yourself through many different tones, harmonies, and lyrics. (Middle School-Present day)
• I started taking Spanish in high school and advanced all the way up to AP by my senior year.  I literally learned a whole other language and also about the cultures that hispanic countries follow. (9th grade-Present)
• Meeting my boyfriend helped me become literate in many ways.  First, since he is enlisted in the Navy, I helped him study the Phonetic Alphabet which also taught me how people in the military communicate with each other so there are no errors.  To me, this is Military language which adds on to my literacy.  (17 years old)
• Also, my boyfriend and I come from different parenting styles.  By building a relationship with him, I have gotten the opportunity for him to point things out to me about others that I couldn't realize on my own or with the help from my parents.  He has taught me to look deeper into a person and to try and understand their back ground before judging them. (Present Day)
• Finally, reading about the problems in the world, analyzing other cultural back grounds, adapting skills of structure in order to read and write, and adjusting to our current society makes me literate enough to realize many things.  I now know that even though everyone is made up of different types of literacies and has different experiences getting there, our words express the same pain, sorrow, happiness, and love.  There are billions of words that exist, whether they are the same language or not, they all mean the same thing. 

Free Write-September 14th, 2011

1.  I feel as though people read print more carefully and try to comprehend the words where as when we read digitally, we tend to skim through the information by quickly scrolling down.  Another reason that I believe people generally read print better is because print is the basis of any text.  In earlier generations, print was the way people grew up reading.

2.  I feel that the difference between being a participant in digital realm and being an active, critical, and digitally literate is how a person processes the information that they are reading. If someone is considered a participant in the digital world, that might simply mean that they have a Facebook account in order to communicate with others.  I believe that someone who is completely digitally literate is someone who has the ability to read and comprehend information through online articles or other computer-based research and uses these sources as their main network of information.

3.  Facebook is a way to consume, distribute, and contribute information to one's audience. (Friends)  Although some of the information posted on Facebook could be over-the-line to some people, it is a way of showing who you are through a digital society.  It is a free, personal space that is open to any idea, thought, or status that your friends an use as a tool to keep track of your life.

4.  I believe someone who is truly literate needs to understand the digital world because learning to communicate with others in a digital atmosphere is learning a whole other language in itself.

The Importance of Writing in Psychology

Although the career of Psychology isn't necessarily a "writing" field, there are many circumstances where it will be required. The field of Psychology includes many observations, whether these observations are on people or animals.  At the end of any observation, it is essential to report your findings.

There are many times when psychologists observe a group of people and end up getting an unexpected result.  Even if the outcome of an observation of experiment isn't what the psychologist thought, it is still very important to report it in order to pass on the message to scientists.  Also, when a patient see's a psychologist, they might also request to see a report of their symptoms/diagnosis, and how they will be treated.

Since reporting is such a key factor in this field, it is important to know how to develop a clear, detailed response in order to pass down your messages or findings to scientists or patients.  Without learning the tools to writing, it would affect my position in this career negatively.  Since our economy is so competitive, knowing these writing skills will automatically put me above someone who does not.  Being familiar with writing reports will advance my knowledge in the growing field of Psychology.