I Say, They Say

Dave Eggers says in the article, “Serve or Fail,”:

1.    

1.  Volunteering should be required to graduate from college because students have the time, and it could help students find a major, and even change lives.

2.     

 2.Even though service requirements won’t work everywhere, for instance, community colleges, there would still be almost 10 million college students enrolled in four-year programs that could still volunteer.

3.    

  3.“Volunteering is nature transformative- reluctant participants become quick converts every day…”

I say:

1.      

1.When volunteering is required, students may not benefit from it as much as when they actually volunteer. Forced volunteering will sometimes cause students to not perform well, and might even snap at people while volunteering.

2.2.      Volunteering is a great way for students to find an activity while in school. The biggest struggle for any student is trying to find an extra-curricular event that’s a good fit during college.

3.

3.      Volunteering is a great way to transform a bitter person into a good hearted person. It could change a student’s life entirely.

Author unknown says in the article, “‘Service Learning’ more than a fad”:

1.      

1.Volunteering doesn’t always mean students leave campus to tutor and help the surrounding communities, but also for the surrounding communities to come and help on the campuses of universities and colleges.

2.

2.      When students learn through real world activities, the learning experience is deepened.

3.    

3.  Community interaction and collaboration restores the sense that we can make a difference.

I say:

1.     

1.Service learning should not only be about students helping the community, but the community helping the students in some way as well. By doing this, the community could gain a sense of closeness that is rarely seen.

2.

2.      In order for a person to completely understand a topic, the person must be involved with the topic. For example, if a student is writing a research paper about homelessness, the only way for the student to completely understand homelessness is for the student to work with the homeless.

3

3..      When students see that they can make a difference, it gives them initiative. This initiative allows students to have the motivation to continue volunteering, working, or even continue with school.

The Monitor’s Editorial Board says in the article, “How to reduce student dropout rates: link volunteering to studies”:

1.     

1.In 2009, 63.4 million people volunteered, 1.5 million more than 2008.

2.    

2.  Service learning help prevent students from dropping out. John Cruz, a superintendent in Central Valley district in California, used this method to prevent drop outs.

3.   

3.   Cruz’s dropout prevention strategy has a 97% attendance rate, and less than 1% dropout percent.

I say:

1.      

1.Service learning is a great way to help students gain a full understanding of a topic. For instance, I had to perform service learning for a project in high school, and it helped me tremendously.

2.      

2.Student learning will cause students to take more of an initiative, and could even help a student find a career path.

3.    

3.  Volunteering can give a student a sense of self-worth, which in turn causes them to want to stay in school in order to help others.

These three articles all deal with volunteering, but more importantly, service learning. Service learning is a great way to find a career, become a better person, and gain wisdom to use in the future. All three authors agree that volunteering should be part of a student’s schooling, whether it’s high school or college. Volunteering is key to success. The difference is how the volunteering is executed. Eggers states that it should be a requirement for college students, while the Editorial Board is trying to persuade the reader that volunteering will lower the dropout rate. The unknown author tries to state how volunteering will cause a sense of closeness among the community. Although all three authors have different stances on volunteering, there is still a common ground. Volunteering is vital to any sort of success. Without volunteering, the population could lose a sense of closeness, and even lose the initiative to be helpful.

Letter to Myself

This letter would be sent to myself early summer before freshman year of high school.

Dear Aaron,   

Drama club is something that is insanely awesome. It was one of the best activities to be involved in during high school. The group of students involved tends to form a family. It’s one of the greatest clubs to ever be brought into high school. The one thing you should do is join freshmen year of high school. Don’t wait until your sophomore year to join. You’re going to miss out on all sorts of friendships, opportunities, and other interesting times.

You’re going to get to Lapeer East High School and not know what to do. There are so many opportunities, but at the same time, you’re somewhat nervous about what to do. One thing that is extremely major is making more friends. The best way to go about this is definitely joining drama club. The people in drama club are extremely accepting. The people are willing to talk with you, and help you feel welcome. With all of these people that like to talk, you’ll get a nice start at making friends. Also, the diversity between East and West are extremely helpful. It’s a great way to bridge the gap between the rival schools.

The opportunities available are tremendous. Acting is extremely fun. To be in this group will give you the chance to go out and have some fun. There’s nothing like being on stage. Well, except for the backstage work. Not only will you experience the on stage perks, but you will learn how to work the backstage. It’s extremely interesting. The lights and sound is particularly interesting. This is where the most exciting parts of the play occur. It takes the most skill, precision, and the right amount of attention to detail to make it work. The things you will learn from this are phenomenal.

One thing that’s wonderful about joining your freshman year is the seniority you will gain from it. You also won’t feel any regret. If you wait till sophomore year, you will regret it. The experiences and fun you will gain from this club is unbelievable. It will change your life significantly. There are so many things gained from this time period in your life. To miss out on that first year would just be a shame. Forget about being nervous about things, and just try them. Overall, it will help you in the long run. It tends to make things more interesting than they already are.

Just remember, drama club is amazing and no matter what others say, join it. It’s a great way to meet people, and it will change your life for the better. You will gain more experience, more friends, and learn about the wonderful magic that goes into creating a piece of art on stage. Don’t wait, it’s not worth it. Just take this advice, and life will be more fun the first year.

Sincerely,

You in the future

P.S. When you get your stitches taken out, be careful on wet surfaces. There is a high chance you will reopen your wound.

Pop Culture: The Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, A.K.A., the Oscars, are viewed by millions annually. The Oscars is the film industry’s premiere award ceremony. The top actors, directors, producers, and many more come on this pristine night to get some entertainment and to view some of film’s best. The Oscars would fit under two types of events: television and film. The ceremony is televised on a major television network, which gives it the television event, but it also, since it celebrates films and the film’s success, it also fits under film.

This event became popular because films themselves became popular. In 1929, the Academy Awards first started. They were called the Oscars because an actress said the little statue looked like her Uncle Oscar. Since 1929, the Academy Awards have been held annually. The Oscars gained even more popularity when the award ceremony was televised for the first time in 1953. The popularity of the Oscars has grown over time due to advertising, internet, people talking, the news, and pretty much everywhere. To be invited to this event is truly an honor, and just being in the Kodak Theatre during this time is breathtaking.

This event seems to be most popular with adults of the middle to upper class. Also, it seems to gain the attention from some teenagers. I noticed, in my high school at least, that girls, and a few guys, showed interest in the academy awards. Although the reasons for watching varied, it was still gaining popularity. Every year, there are new hosts. The hosts open up with a monologue that contains jokes and reminisce on the past years films and film star’s moments. Some of these happen to be just average, but occasionally, there is an insanely impressive monologue. For instance, Hugh Jackman’s monologue at the 81^st Annual Academy Awards turned into an opening number. It was one of the most memorable openings ever. Year after year, the Oscars consistently have great hosts. Last year the hosts were James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Although the reviews weren’t great, several people enjoyed them. The hosts are part of the reason people tune in for the event.

The Oscars are most definitely a growing event. It’s been growing since it’s installment in 1929. Other awards, such as the Grammy’s, the Tony’s, and the Espy’s, don’t have as much popularity as the Oscars. The Oscars have always been the king of the award ceremonies. There are not a whole lot of cultural issues brought up at the Oscars. Occasionally there is some sort of spot about breast cancer awareness, or homelessness or something along those lines, but it typically doesn’t address too many issues. It’s just an entertaining night.

The Academy Awards falls under the high culture. This isn’t some event where people can show up looking like bums. People get dressed up for this event. Dresses can cost up to ten thousand dollars. This event is even considered one of the highlights for the year. It’s just plain amazing and is always fairly decent, if not great.

Society receives a night of stars and entertainment when the Oscars come around every year. Not only does it receive this entertainment, but it also gives people hopes and dreams. Every day, people dream of hitting it big in the film industry. An invitation to the Oscars would just be the cherry on top. When people see a new face on the Oscars, they think that they could be that new face some day.

The Oscars definitely have a positive effect on society. No matter what, there really isn’t too many negative effects. If there might be one, it would be the people who seem to criticize all the outfits. Other than that, there’s mostly positive. I’ve never seen a negative outcome from the Oscars. As time progresses, I feel the Oscars will continue to grow in popularity, and cause more and more people to dream about one day achieving enough success to receive an invitation to the Oscars.

Digital Upgrade

   Technology is constantly changing. Although most students would say that they were not adequately taught about the technology requirements, I feel I had a decent amount of preparation. Up until fifth grade, I went to school on  military bases. These schools usually had the most recent technology. For instance, my elementary school in Missouri had Macs for computers. Then in seventh grade, I returned to a school on a military base, and there, each student received a laptop to use throughout the course of the year. In high school, all the student computers were replaced with new technology. So, I feel that the technology I had at hand was on the upper level of what most students receive while in school.
   I cannot answer what type of technology I will use in my career field because I have no clue what I am going to do for a career. If I go into engineering with sustainable energy, my technology will constantly change. There will always be new advances in technology that will cause me to have to learn how to use new equipment. The only problem with this career choice is Oakland doesn't have a sustainable energy program, so Oakland wouldn't be too much help. I could always do research on the solar powered building that is on campus.
   I feel that I am not a strong writer no matter what setting I'm in. I must say that I enjoy typing my papers more than writing them out. I just feel more comfortable on the computer. I find it a bit more entertaining, and I also like how easy it is. I just feel that erasing on the computer is so much easier as well. The one thing I really like about college is that everything is on the computer. It can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but other times it is extremely convenient.
   For any future jobs that are going to be invented, or just develop over time, I would want to make sure that the people learning for the job are well trained in the technology used. As a science teacher, I would try to get as much of the most recent technology for students to use. The technology is quite important for science. Without a lot of the modern technology, most of the scientific breakthroughs would not have occurred.
   The tone of this is definitely informative, and persuasive. The author is trying to tell the reader that educators are not doing a sufficient job of teaching for the future and the constant change in technology. I would agree with this statement in most cases. I feel there are few exceptions to this thesis. Most of the education establishments in this country are not teaching for the future. I don't know if the educators don't expect technology to change an extreme amount in the near future or not, but the emphasis on technology is not what it should be.

Free Write

1. In today's digital society, the line between print and digital text is extremely distinguished. It's like they're two totally different languages. Readers consider print to be much more proper, while any digital text is more "laid back." For instance, when a high school senior receives an acceptance letter to a college, he or she doesn't get an email, but a printed letter. The university doesn't post on that students Facebook page to congratulate him or her.

2. Playing W.O.W. is different than posting on Facebook. W.O.W., a game of old folklore, is a role playing style game. A gamer would create a character, and might have an alternative identity. He or She can be whoever he or she wants to be, while playing a game. On facebook, a person is that person. Once can create an alternative identity, but not as often. On facebook, posts are generally in words, therefore, there is a difference from W.O.W. W.O.W. uses actions, while Facebook uses words.

3. Facebook has become a powerful influence in today's society. People using this service can share, read, and spread all sorts of things. It has become a giant mass of short stories. Every post may or may not have a deeper meaning, but it gives just a little insight into one's life. Everyday, people contribute, distribute, and consume ideas on this site. Posting on walls, sending messages and game requests, and read other posts are just some of the ways this happens.

4.  Anderson's definition of literacy is based on society's adjustment to technology. Literacy discussed on Monday had a meaning based on the idea of development over time.

My Timeline

May 26, 1993- Birth, Fort Polk, LA
1993- Moved to Texas
1995-Moved to Kalamazoo, MI. Goodnight Moon becomes favorite book.
1998- Move to Davison, MI. Couldn't pronounce the "th" sound.
1998- Learn to read.
1999- Courage the Cowardly Dog, Loony Toons, and Hockey become my favorite things to watch on TV.
February 2000- Moved to Fort Leonard Wood, MO
2003- Moved to LA
2005- Moved to GA
2006-Moved to AL
2007- Moved to MI
2007- Freshman Year: Hated the Odyssey, but loved To Kill a Mockingbird.
2009- Public Speaking Class = Fun Time
2010- Acted in first full play.
June 2011- Graduated.
August 2011- Officially at OU.

Why is Writing Important?

            For my career, I want to do something with science; either physics, possibly engineering of some sort. I’m not entirely sure yet. Writing may not seem like it is necessary in this department, but it is quite crucial. If I was to come across some sort of breakthrough, I couldn’t just blurt out what I discovered and expect people to believe what just happened. If I wanted to be taken seriously, I would have to write to scholars of the scientific community. If my engineering career has a focus on alternative energy, and I find a new and improved way to power an automobile, and I had my idea patented, I’d have to write and explain to an automobile company to get money for my idea.

            Another thing I want to do eventually is open a restaurant. In order to get publicity, I’d have to advertise. I could just send out flyers with pictures, but I think a letter to the community would be nice as well. Just a little bit about the restaurant and the owner/s. This gives people in the community a little insight. I think that people enjoy hearing about business owners in the area.

            Writing is crucial in every career, whether it is a simple memo, or a business proposal. If a person’s writing isn’t up to par, then he or she could lose some opportunities. I have a lot to work on in order to become a good writer. There’s so much to do that specifics would be unreasonable. All I know is that my writing needs to advance into a higher stage in order to be successful in almost any field. With time these capabilities will come, but the key to getting there is perseverance and patience.