15) Optional Student Choice: 500 words or 5-minute video. You author content that includes a title, category, and a reflection about your experiences in this class. Consider specific assignments, specific readings/films, specific conversations, and/or specific processes that helped you learn and grow.
Let’s Talk Part Two Here is more about Let’s talk. For the first of our final two challenges we had to piece together a couple pages of a book called The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr. Once again we were given ten minutes to complete this. This challenge was the more difficult for me and my group. We nearly lost it all for our class. We just could not seem to get the pages together. My hands began to shake and I was sweating. I did not want be the group that lost the big prize for all of us. By the way we still did not know what the prize was we were all working for. Finally, the show host Sabatino Mangini allowed us to look at another groups work. But we were only allowed to look for a minute. We could still not get it! Time was running out and I was freaking out. Once again the host gave us a break he let the other groups come over and help us. Finally, we got! Thank the Lord. The show has run out of time we would have to wait until our next class to start the final challenge, but we were let in on what our prize would be. We were told that if we do three optional blog post they would add half a letter grade to our grade. In our next class we returned to the show to finish our third and final challenge. For this challenge we went to the front of the room in groups and had to shit with our backs to the projector screen. On the screen was a group of words related to topics we have talked about in class. The groups left in the audience had to describe the words to us without saying the actual word. We only had two minutes to do so. Once again my hands began to shake. The first two groups went up and did well. They got through all the words with some time left. Then of course my group was called up last. The host was teasing us knowing I was nervous. “These are the hardest words. Erica has to try and answer them all first.” The timer started, I was shaking. We did pretty well but we just could not seem the get the last word. We ran out of time. Luckily we were given a bonus question. If we got this question right, we would be given thirty extra seconds to get the last word. We got it! We won the game show! We when then told on top of our original prize of an extra half letter grade, we were given a deadline extension. Below are the pictures from the piece of the chapter we had to put in order.
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14) Optional Student Choice: 500 words or 5-minute video. You author content that includes a title, category, and a reflection about your experiences in this class. Consider specific assignments, specific readings/films, specific conversations, and/or specific processes that helped you learn and grow.
Let’s Talk In our last couple of classes were on a game show called Let’s Talk. In this game show the game show host made it very clear “we lived and died together”. We were split up into the groups we were put into in the beginning of the year. Our groups were then given three challenges. Throughout this blog post I will be talking about our first challenge. We were given ten minutes, and an envelope with four categories and words or phrases that would go under each of them. These categories and the related words and phrases all had to do with the things we’ve learned over the past semester. The first category was Rhetorical Modes, which describes the variety, conventions, and purposes of the major kinds of language-based communication, particularly writing and speaking. The four words we placed under this were description, argumentation, exposition, and narration. These are the most common rhetorical modes. Our second category was Motives. Throughout this semester we were constantly talking about our process and what we want to do with our writing. Our motives are what pushed us to get there. Under motives we placed seven different phrases. One I think was most important was make meaning. From the start of this class make meaning has always been talked about. This class was not just an ordinary composition class. We did not just come in write and hand in a paper. We work as a class, we talk about our writing, and we were given time to work on and revise all of our work. We were taught how to make meaning with our writing. The third category we set up was Rhetorical Purposes. Rhetorical purposes seek to persuade an audience, seek to manipulate the way that audience thinks about the given subject. In class when we talked about this we were taught PIE, Persuade, Inform, Entertain. Our fourth and final category was Genres/Subgenres. In this category we put memoir, creative nonfiction, and reflective writing. We talked about many different genres and subgenres in class. We read, wrote, and learned about them too. Each week our blog assignments had to do with a different genre of writing. This class has really opened my eyes to the many different genres. After reading and writing about them I think it will be easier for me to recognize them. In my next blog post I will be talking about the second and third challenge of the game show if you would like to hear more about Let’s Talk. Below is a pictute of the categories and the words and phrases that go with them. 13) Optional Student Choice: 500 words or 5-minute video. You author content that includes a title, category, and a reflection about your experiences in this class. Consider specific assignments, specific readings/films, specific conversations, and/or specific processes that helped you learn and grow. Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi
Reflecting on Where to Invade Next The documentary Where to Invade Next really opened my eyes to things going on in the United States. I always knew we as a country had issues but I guess I kind of always choice to turn a blind eye to them. I never really wanted to accept that maybe we are not as great of a country as so many Americans make us seem. Moore really opened my eyes to the injustices we are facing as Americans. We deserve better than what we are being given. Moore visited countries such as Italy, Finland, Germany, Norway, Iceland, and a couple of others. When Moore was in these countries he talked to people about things such as the work week, paid vacations, school systems, war on drugs, rehabilitation, and health care. My boyfriend and I always seemed to disagree on our opinions in most of these areas. I always defended the United States. I always believed were on top. I do not want to come off as ignorant to our problems as a country though. I am very aware of the social injustices going on. I guess what I always choose to ignore or to think we could make better were the issues with our school systems, health care, and the justice system. But over the past year and after watching this documentary I am not so sure. I know things are not going to change overnight but it seems as though we as a country are going in the exact opposite way we need to be going. The policies in the other countries would of course have to be customized to the United States but I think it would really benefit us to adopt some of them. As Michael Moore said throughout his documentary all of the ideas discussed started in the United states. 12) Formal Assignment #2. A Reflection. [Categories: Reflection]: Please complete the following:
Throughout this blog post I am going to be reflecting on my writing process for my classes second formal assignment. For our second formal assignment we had to write a research paper. We had to choose a topic that was discussed in the documentary Where to Invade Next. Before writing my last blog post and this one I watched a short video that explained the process of reflective writing. It made sure to point out the very three important steps. The first step was looking back on the event, but also making sure to remember to think about what you were thinking and feeling during this event. The second step is analyzing what happened. The third step is projecting into the future and seeing how this past event can be worked on or help you later. For my research paper I choose to write about America’s educational system compared to Finland’s educational system. I argued that we should try and model our teaching styles and systems off of Finland’s. For this paper I worked with the help of many academic journals and articles, Michael Moore’s Where to Invade Next Documentary, and feedback from my professor. With the help of all these sources I believe I wrote an informative and persuasive paper. I wrote this paper many different places. I wrote some at home in bed, some at school in between my classes and some during class. With a research paper I would love to just be able to sit down and write it all out but that just does not seem feasible. It is something that needs to be done over time and with a busy schedule like mine there not much time to do it in one place. I definitely still procrastinated with this project but not nearly as much as I did with the last formal assignment. I choose this topic because I myself would like to go into teaching and throughout my school years I feel I was taught with a “teaching to the test” approach. With this project I will continue to work on it. I believe learning more about Finland’s teaching style can help me figure out how I would like my teaching style to be. 11) Formal Assignment #1. A Reflection [Categories: Reflection]: Please complete the following:
For this fan-fiction I mostly worked by myself, but I did receive comments and ideas from my professor at our mid-term conference, and also some ideas from my mother. For my fan-fiction I think I used Drama as it's genre. I have always been a horrible procrastinator so of course I did the same for this project. I will be honest I did not start working on it until about three days before it was due. This was not a good approach. Although I did get the project done I think it could have been better if I had given myself more time. I usually hate working on papers or assignments like this in class, I’d rather be sitting in my bed typing a paper. But for this paper I completed most of it during in class work time. I found this useful because I was less distracted and could focus more on getting the work done. I choose to write this fan-fiction because I not only enjoyed the original story but thought it would be fun to make it somewhat my own. It was really cool getting to give a story I like my own twist. Writing About Where to Invade Next. An Argument. [Categories: Where to Invade Next, Research Paper, Argument]: Please complete the following:
Topic: Education in America Research Question: Should American schools change their homework policies? In the documentary Michael Moore visited Finland and talked to the Minister of education, teachers, and some students. In Finland homework is almost non-existing and standardized testing is not a thing. When Moore spoke with students they said the amount of time they do spend on homework if they even have any is only about twenty minutes. When Moore asked teachers about homework most said that after school is students time to socialize and be with family and homework would just get in the way of that. This homework policy should be adopted in the United States. Kids spend all day in school just to come home and have to do more hours of homework. Children need time to spend with their family and friends to help them socialize. Twenty minutes of homework has proven to be effective in Finland and could possibly help kids in America too. Topic: Work week in America Research Question: Should Americans get more paid vacation time, and work less hours with a longer lunch break? Topic: The justice system in America Research question: Should America focus more on rehabilitation in the justice system? Writing About Where to Invade Next. A Summary. [Category: Where to Invade Next, Research Paper, Summary]: Please complete the following:
Writing About Our Course Stories [Categories: Life Choice, Course Reading, Re-Genre]: Please complete the following:
) Writing About A Good Man is Hard To Find [Categories: Life Choice, Course Reading, Re-Genre]: Please complete the following:
In this found poem I used the theme of family…and whether they are a blessing or curse. You could say that Bailey should have listened to his mother, or you could say the grandmother jinxed the family. Mother Knows Best THE GRANDMOTHER didn’t want to go to Florida “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida… “Yes and what would you do if this fellow, The Misfit, caught you?” the grandmother asked. “I’d smack his face,” John Wesley said. She had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady. Just as she said it, a horrible thought came to her. The car turned over once and landed right-side-up in a gulch off the side of the road. “We’ve had an ACCIDENT! The grandmother was curled up under the dashboard, hoping she was injured so that Bailey’s wrath would not come down on her all at once. Behind the ditch they were sitting in there were more woods, tall and dark and deep they saw a car some distance away on top of a hill The grandmother had the peculiar feeling The grandmother shrieked. “You’re The Misfit!” There was a pistol shot from the woods, followed closely by another. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest. “She would of been a good woman,” The Misfit said, “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.” In my second found poem I used the theme of faith. The grandmother clearly had strong faith and believed if she could get “The Misfit” to pray her life would be spared. Pray, pray, pray “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” the grandmother said and removed a clean handkerchief from her cuff and began to slap at her eyes with it. “I would hate to have to,” he said. “Listen,” the grandmother almost screamed, “I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have com- mon blood. I know you must come from nice people!” “Do you ever pray?” she asked. “Pray, pray,” the grandmother began, “pray, pray . . .” “That’s when you should have started to pray,” she said “If you would pray,” the old lady said, “Jesus would help you.” “Well then, why don’t you pray?” Alone with The Misfit, the grandmother found that she had lost her voice. There was not a cloud in the sky nor any sun. There was nothing around her but woods. She wanted to tell him that he must pray. She opened and closed her mouth several times before anything came out. Finally, she found herself saying, “Jesus. Jesus,” meaning, Jesus will help you, but the way she was saying it, it sounded as if she might be cursing. “Jesus!” the old lady cried. “You’ve got good blood! I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray! Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady. I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!” For my third found poem I used the theme of reminiscing. Throughout the whole story the grandmother wants to go to Tennessee instead of Florida. She talks about all the memories she has of Tennessee on their drive to Florida. Reminiscing She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change Bailey's mind. "The children have been to Florida before," the old lady said. "You all ought to take them somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be broad. They never have been to east Tennessee." She said she thought it was going to be a good day for driving, She pointed out interesting details of the scenery They passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island. "Look at the graveyard!" the grandmother said, pointing it out. "That was the old family burying ground. That belonged to the plantation." They passed a large cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island. "Look at the graveyard!" the grandmother said, pointing it out. "That was the old family burying ground. That belonged to the plantation." He and the grandmother discussed better times. Writing About Bullet in the Brain [Categories: Life Choice, Course Reading, Re-Genre]: Please complete the following:
Bullet in the Brian is a story about a book critic who seems to be angry at the world for its lack of creativity. He goes to a bank close to closing time. While waiting a teller closes her line and the women in front of Anders makes a snarky comment. Anders although mad about the line closing too seems to direct his anger at this woman. While making snarky comments back to the woman she begins to look over his shoulder in fear. He turns and behind him are two men with guns getting ready rob the bank. They tell everyone to be quiet but Anders cannot seem to keep his mouth shut and continues to comment on the robbers choose of cliques. One of the robbers steps to Anders and instructs him to be quiet. Anders begins to laugh in his face, and the robber shoots Anders in the head. Anders has a flashback while the bullet is going through his head. Re-Genre Analysis: Fatal Bank Robbery A bank in a small town was robbed at gunpoint today. A man in his sixties was fatally shot. It was near closing time when two men entered the front entrance taking the security guard hostage while entering the establishment. The robbers now identified as Marshal Smith, and Greg Johnson made off with about $5,000, but were later apprehended five miles away from the bank on their way out of town. The men both have extensive criminal backgrounds. We were able to get an interview with Lydia Murphy a woman who was inside the bank during the robbery. Murphy is a forty-year-old native of the town. She could not recall any major crimes like this one occurring in the town before. Although she was extremely shaken up Murphy managed to give us a recap of the events. She told us that the men came into the building wearing black ski masks and blue business suits. She almost did not notice them because she was in the middle of disagreement with Anders Williams. Anders Williams, the man who was fatally shot. The two men were holding the security guard with a gun to his head, they then went on to threaten the tellers saying “One of you tellers hits the alarm, you’re all dead meat. Got it?”. They handcuffed the guard and knocked him to the ground where he hit his head cutting it open. She began to sob at this point telling us how Williams the man who was fatally shot seemed to find the situation funny. She told us he began to laugh at and mock the robbers. Anders Williams, was a book critic in his sixties. According to Murphy he could not help himself but to laugh at the clichés Smith and Johnson were using. Murphy recalled Anders’s last words, fighting to hold the tears back she told us he was in conversation with Marshal Smith. Smith told Anders “F**k with me again, you’re history. Capiche?” At this Williams burst out laughing and responded with “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Caphice—Oh, God, caphice”. At this point Lydia could barely hold the tears back. She said after Williams last comment Smith was fed up so he raised his gun and shot Anders in his head. Lydia told us minutes before the shooting happened she looked at Anders with pleading eyes and asked him “Please be quiet”. But Anders rudely disregarded her pleads and continued to antagonize the robbers. Lydia distraught, with some of Williams blood still on her shirt from being just inches from Anders when he was shot remembers him muttering the words “They is” while he was falling to the floor. Murphy was not sure what these words meant but hoped his loved ones would have a connection to it. After getting in contact with and talking to Anders daughter she told us what these words could possibly mean to Anders. She paused thinking to herself to a little bit and then went on to tell the story her dad used to tell her as a little girl. When he was a little boy Anders and some neighborhood kid would always play baseball. One day one of the boys brought their cousin along. When the cousin was asked what position he wanted to play he said “Shortstop, Short’s the best position they is.” Anders became fascinated with that. He repeated “they is” over and over in his head. He believes this I where his love for language began and credits it for him becoming a book critic. |
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Erica O'Brien
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