Process of my drafts

I felt as though I could really identify and relate with the writer Anne Lamott when it comes to writing the first draft. I can get easily frustrated with writing papers if I keep starting over and trying to write the entire paper in one sitting. I am one of those people who prefer to sit down for hours and complete an entire project instead of doing a little at a time. I suppose this is also why I tend to procrastinate, which is an even worse habit. Lamott expands on her writing process and how she would start writing and then cross it all out and keep starting over. She would take a break from her work for a while because she was frustrated, and then came back to her work and just let lose. She would stop being so hard on herself and just let her writing flow without restrictions."So I'd start writing without reining myself in, " lamott said. At times I have done this and it makes the writing process so much easier, even if it is just ideas or questins I have.

Practicing Using MLA Format

1. Burby describes, that when students enter seventh grade, hormones begin to kick in and peers become the most important people in their lives. Their catch phrase seems to be, "school is boring" (Burby, 108)!

2. Burby describes what excites children and how they have fun. "Kids just don't get the same adrenaline rush memorizing a poem in school that they get from going to a party," says Russ Quaglia (Burby,108).

Childhood Event

An event that sticks out in my mind is the time my brother broke his arm at my other brother's baseball game. I was probably about 6 years-old at the time. We spent a lot of time as a family attending Bobby's baseball games. He played baseball into his college years. I remember playing with a couple girls during that game, but I did not see very much of Jacob ( my other brother.) We tried to get into the basketball courts but the gate had been jammed so no one could get into or out of the courts. At some point during the game, a player hit a foul ball into the courts, leaving the ball stranded there.

I'm not completely sure what happened next, but apparently when no one was really paying attention, Jacob was making attempts at climbing the fence to get the ball. This was not the first time that Jacob has climbed something ridiculously steep. By the time someone actually noticed what he was doing, he had already made it to the top of the fence. The fence was about 20 feet in height. As he was climbing down to the other side he fell and shattered his arm. The worst part about all of it, was that he was stuck inside the courts and it took a while before anyone could break in to get him. I remember seeing our van fly out of the parking lot, thinking that I was going to be stranded at the game, even though my parents had already made arrangements for me to stay with another family for the night. All night long I was so worried about my brother.

Blogging My Research Paper

I stuggled at first with my decision for the subject of my action research writing paper. I knew it had to be something that I was passionate about that I could research in a scholary manner. I jumped from subject to subject of social issues that I am interested in and would find intriguing to research. Ever since high school, I have first-hand experienced the issue of schools shrinking emphasis on art programs and placing all their attention and importance on reading, writing, and math. I whitnessed teachers complaining about having to change their curriculum and teach certain lessons they did not find particularly important. I began to see new teachers hired for the purpose of tutoring certain students in math or reading during study halls. Why was this happening? My school was becoming obsessed with standardized testing. Depending on how well the schools does as a whole on the test, the more money the school recieves through the government. Art class was one of my only classes where teachers were safe from the pressures from the school board. Until, they went after the art supply budget. Because art is not tested, it was not viewed as impoarnt as other subjects. I am an art education major and someday will be an art teacher. This subject is very important to me and I would like to research further and find the importance of art in schools and the impact it has on students. I started with my research question..."Why are schools cutting art programs and how is this affecting students?" I decided to interview the people who would find this subject most relatable to their lives. I chose a teacher, parent, and student for my interviews.

Summaies

The copying of direct quotatation while forming notes can lead to the excessive use of quotes in a student's research paper. A student should only use about 10% quoted material in their research paper. The goal is to cut back the amount of copying source matter when composing notes. (Lester, 1976)

Discussion Questions for Chapter 3

Bernie Goetz is my opinion is a cold-blooded murderer. The main fact of the story is that we went onto an express train with a gun and the intention of killing. He walked over and sat down next to the kids ( who he already knew might start trouble,) and as soon as they tried to rob him, he shot them down cruelly. He was going out into the night looking for trouble, and he found it. There is nothing heroic about what he did. He is a racist jackass.
Yes, the kids were in fact starting trouble on the train, but he physically and knowingly put himself in that situation. If someone knows that it might be dangerous to jump into fire, they don't jump into a burning building. He may have been trying to handle crime, but he definitely went about it in the wrong way.
yes, I believe that certain individuals are more sensitive to their environment than others. I am strong believer that one's environment has much control over their actions. I believe that in nature verses nurture, nurture will always have a greater impact.
To some extent I do believe that crime is contagious. The power of the aesthetics of what is going around one has such a huge impact on how they act. If a student is sitting is a room filled with junk, garbage, and loud music...chances are they are not going to get any homework done. If that same student is in a clean, peaceful room, chances are they will at least get some homework done. If a group of kids are in a run down neighborhood and all they ever see is vandalism, they're going to think that this is acceptable.
I would say that a person may have certain traits as far as criminal personality type goes--but overall how a person grows up and what they are exposed to has more of an impact on their actions.
With the video which we saw in class during the peer presentation, I now believe that the living conditions and the environment set a tone for how the prison is run and how the inmates lives are run. Personally, I do not think that prisons should better their living conditions because this is punishment. These people are serving a sentence for crime they have committed, but I still believe that if the living conditions and environment were changed, the feeling in the prison would change substantially . Even something as small as having everyone wear different colors of uniforms instead of the usual orange.
Gandhi and Mandela are exceptions to this rule. The had such a passion for a cause which overcame the brutal environment they endured. They were extremely strong individuals and surpassed this rule because of their believes and passions in life.

English Conference

The conference which I attended discussed the idea of using a web quest--like technology in schools. It seemed a little similar to moodle or webct--only this was set up like an actual website that students can go on. The only problem I see with this is if some students do not have access to a computer at home, even though most students do now. I have also taken a a couple online classes and have found that sometimes the information can get confusing over the internet, or if there isn't enough access to the professor to understand the requirements--if any questions arise. Overall, I do think that web quests are great ideas, but maybe should not be relied on so much in the classroom (just as a reference.)