Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Revisions whoohoo!
Revising work that you've already done can sometimes be very disheartening because you have put lots of time into your finished product. Standing back and looking at the big picture as a whole really helps to see flaws and errors that you may have not noticed while treading through the trenches of writing down the material. Going back over the research may also raise questions that you feel need to be answered to give your reader a better understanding of the point that your trying to get across. In the reading Ballenger talks about a boy who writes an essay on how families deal with alcoholics within the family. The reader was apparently confused about the purpose of the paper stating that it seemed more about outsiders influence rather than the family members themselves (Ballenger). It is very easy to get sidetracked while trying to convey one message and accidentally putting to much information on another aspect of the topic. This is where revision comes in handy. You may even be able to keep some off-topic info as long as it is blended well with your main point. Sometimes within an essay you'll cover one point and three pages later have a paragraph that is associated with the first. By revising you can get everything placed where it needs to be correctly to make more sense. The idea Ballenger gives us to highlight research material one color and our own input another is a great tactic to make sure we are evenly dispersing our thoughts throughout the research to combine both views in an effective manner. It's a little scary thinking about discarding any of the work we've done, but in many instances it is probably necessary to make our draft more complete. I guess we'll see where the revisions take us, won't we.
Last RR
It seems that the main point Ballenger is trying to make is that we should not be afraid to “attack” our draft. To many people, including myself, are afraid to make drastic changes to their essay; for me I think it is because I feel like I have spent days assembling my thoughts and am unwilling to undo all that hard work. But it will be imperative for me revise my paper, so that my ideas and sources flow. Making sure that I am “surrounding” my “sources” with my “own prose and purposes” is something that must be done (Ballenger).
When I recently went back and read my ethnography, first draft, I realized that it could use a lot of changes. It seemed that when I was first writing I was happy with all my hard work and how could I possibly change it for the better. According to Ballenger I was in to tight a relationship with my first draft and that it was time to take a step back.
I really like the idea of using two different highlighters; to highlight my purposes with one color and someone else’s idea with a different color. I am definitely curious as to how much of my paper is just facts or someone else’s idea’s.
Knowing how my leading question changed, from my first writings to present thinking, will give me an ability to begin honing in on revisions and even some rewriting of certain areas. I will have to reread my first draft, now that it has been a while it should be easier to see the actual theme and thesis that is presented. It may be easier as well to see it through the readers eye rather than the writers eye now. Ballenger suggests now is a good time to “get more specific about exactly what you're saying”. This will help me in my revision as it will bring to light what it is that I am actually saying.
I took Ballenger’s advice and had some friends read my paper, it was very helpful because they wrote down on the drafts that I gave them what they thought I was trying to say. I realized that what I meant to say, in some paragraphs, was totally obscure and would need some further explanation to get the point across.
When I recently went back and read my ethnography, first draft, I realized that it could use a lot of changes. It seemed that when I was first writing I was happy with all my hard work and how could I possibly change it for the better. According to Ballenger I was in to tight a relationship with my first draft and that it was time to take a step back.
I really like the idea of using two different highlighters; to highlight my purposes with one color and someone else’s idea with a different color. I am definitely curious as to how much of my paper is just facts or someone else’s idea’s.
Knowing how my leading question changed, from my first writings to present thinking, will give me an ability to begin honing in on revisions and even some rewriting of certain areas. I will have to reread my first draft, now that it has been a while it should be easier to see the actual theme and thesis that is presented. It may be easier as well to see it through the readers eye rather than the writers eye now. Ballenger suggests now is a good time to “get more specific about exactly what you're saying”. This will help me in my revision as it will bring to light what it is that I am actually saying.
I took Ballenger’s advice and had some friends read my paper, it was very helpful because they wrote down on the drafts that I gave them what they thought I was trying to say. I realized that what I meant to say, in some paragraphs, was totally obscure and would need some further explanation to get the point across.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Katy Kahla - CR RR
In this reading, Ballenger suggests different ways to reexamine and revise a paper. He especially emphasizes how we should be revising with a purpose and determining whether our paper’s purpose is clear with the supporting information surrounding it well organized. Ballenger also says that we can’t hold onto our first draft for dear life and say to ourselves that it is set in stone. Instead we have to remember that this is just a draft which requires us to let go of our preconceived notions of what we think our paper is like. Instead we should ask for feedback, whether it be feedback from a teacher or a fellow student, and use their advice to create a more polished paper. This concept sounds really easy, but as Ballenger points out this can sometimes require a major overhaul of your paper.
There are a few different reasons that a paper may need to have extensive revisions. One could be if all the supporting evidence in the paper does not support what your central idea is. In the example that Ballenger gave, a student’s thesis stated one idea yet his paper developed more into a tangent of that idea. Another reason for revision would be if there are too many facts and not enough analysis. Ballenger says that papers need to be a balance of both outside information and your own thoughts on the topic or it dry and boring to read. When examining problems that a paper may have, this can raise new questions that need to be answered which of course can lead to more research. This however is a good thing as it shows how knowledge of a source you are on your own topic.
Ballenger also suggests a few different ways to help revise a paper that I found useful. I really liked the idea of going through a paper with two different colored highlighters to see if there is too much source and not enough analysis or too much analysis and not enough sources. This really allows for me to be able to see where what I am saying could use some more backing or whether I am making side tangents at any point. Ballenger also suggest cutting up, cutting out, and re-stitching your essay. I think that this idea is great for when you don’t know where to go with revisions. This allows for you to do what you can’t do on a computer by allowing you to move around everything easier to create a better essay. Ballenger’s tips will be useful when taking a look at any of my drafts.
There are a few different reasons that a paper may need to have extensive revisions. One could be if all the supporting evidence in the paper does not support what your central idea is. In the example that Ballenger gave, a student’s thesis stated one idea yet his paper developed more into a tangent of that idea. Another reason for revision would be if there are too many facts and not enough analysis. Ballenger says that papers need to be a balance of both outside information and your own thoughts on the topic or it dry and boring to read. When examining problems that a paper may have, this can raise new questions that need to be answered which of course can lead to more research. This however is a good thing as it shows how knowledge of a source you are on your own topic.
Ballenger also suggests a few different ways to help revise a paper that I found useful. I really liked the idea of going through a paper with two different colored highlighters to see if there is too much source and not enough analysis or too much analysis and not enough sources. This really allows for me to be able to see where what I am saying could use some more backing or whether I am making side tangents at any point. Ballenger also suggest cutting up, cutting out, and re-stitching your essay. I think that this idea is great for when you don’t know where to go with revisions. This allows for you to do what you can’t do on a computer by allowing you to move around everything easier to create a better essay. Ballenger’s tips will be useful when taking a look at any of my drafts.
RR CR!!
In this reading Dr. Ballenger poses ways of revising a research paper. These methods seem like they would be very successful is implemented properly. I see that the excesses involving cutting up the paper and examine each paragraph as very effective. This seems like a great way to “cut the fat” from my paper. I know that both my papers need this to happen. My argumentative paper has some places where I’m sure their are wholes and missing data. So if I can do this exercise properly I believe I will have a clear view as to what needs to take place to have a strong paper.
The other activity that is mentioned is having someone else read and examine my writing. This is a very important thing, because it would be impossible for my self to read and scrutinize my own work. My eyes would be impartial to changing my own work. So with that said, I need to get into the writing center and have an upper-division student read what I have and more importantly what I need to change.
The third point that Dr. Ballenger gives that Is very important is that of going back into the library and doing further research. This is key for filling in those whole that may be found in ether activity. Once I have my focus dialed out I should with little difficulty hone in on other sources for my work. As long as I don’t create further issues with the data. As a writer you never want your work to be weak, unfortunately this does happen early in the process. So to combat that issue more data, and sources are needed.
As I side note I liked the part of the reading where Dr. Ballenger discussed the idea of friendly design. Especially giving examples with using things like block quotes, bullet lists, white spaces. This done in a way to make the paper “more inviting”.
kristen kuchay response to curious researcher
Ballenger’s explanation on revision is very clear and uses great examples to prove his points on what he is saying. I especially like how he compared your first draft to a long term relationship. As Ballenger says, you cannot completely re-due or change your entire paper because then your main point or purpose of the paper is abandoned (Ballenger).
When you revise your paper, you need to look at it through the reader’s eyes instead of just yours as the writer. As the writer, you need to understand your purpose, which is where Ballenger says is your starting off point, but also look at the purpose as the reader. Would you as a reader understand the purpose of the paper? You need to ask yourself questions when you are revising your paper to make sure your information is correctly in order, but also put together in a way that makes sense and the transition between information is smooth. Ballenger says you need to look at all the information you have after completing your first draft along with the new information you have picked up since then and compare it to when you began your draft and the questions you posed in that paper. Have any of the questions or main points changed? If so, how (Ballenger)?
Ballenger says one of the, if not the, most important thing you can get from the reader (whether it be your teacher or fellow classmates) is feedback and comments. This helps you as the writer go back in your draft and see where things might have been confusing and if you even understand it after reading it. Also, one of the best things to do is re-print your draft and make changes to it yourself after reading the comments left by the readers. This way, you can correct any errors or mistakes you made that maybe the reader didn’t catch but helped you take a closer look at a specific paragraph. Basically, you need to look deeper into your paper and compare the notes you have now on your topic to the notes you had when you first wrote your draft, along with what you had written in your first draft. Re-examine the main purpose or stance you had taken in the beginning of your paper and whether or not things have changed. If not, simply correct the information given and even emphasize more on it to make it more clear to the reader (Ballenger).
When you revise your paper, you need to look at it through the reader’s eyes instead of just yours as the writer. As the writer, you need to understand your purpose, which is where Ballenger says is your starting off point, but also look at the purpose as the reader. Would you as a reader understand the purpose of the paper? You need to ask yourself questions when you are revising your paper to make sure your information is correctly in order, but also put together in a way that makes sense and the transition between information is smooth. Ballenger says you need to look at all the information you have after completing your first draft along with the new information you have picked up since then and compare it to when you began your draft and the questions you posed in that paper. Have any of the questions or main points changed? If so, how (Ballenger)?
Ballenger says one of the, if not the, most important thing you can get from the reader (whether it be your teacher or fellow classmates) is feedback and comments. This helps you as the writer go back in your draft and see where things might have been confusing and if you even understand it after reading it. Also, one of the best things to do is re-print your draft and make changes to it yourself after reading the comments left by the readers. This way, you can correct any errors or mistakes you made that maybe the reader didn’t catch but helped you take a closer look at a specific paragraph. Basically, you need to look deeper into your paper and compare the notes you have now on your topic to the notes you had when you first wrote your draft, along with what you had written in your first draft. Re-examine the main purpose or stance you had taken in the beginning of your paper and whether or not things have changed. If not, simply correct the information given and even emphasize more on it to make it more clear to the reader (Ballenger).
Friday, November 13, 2009
Op-Ed First draft
We didn't do it THEY did!
Truthfully, yes people can be irresponsible with their money. As well as people do make bad borrowing choices, by running up credit. However I respectfully disagree that that is the primary reason for our recession. With all this turmoil you cant ignore the fact that Wall Street has made some of the worst decisions of all. On top of that are the uses of our central banks, and the creation of money that we don’t have.
Due to the bad investment behaviors of Wall Street the FED has had to authorize the creation of billions of dollars in order to bail out the companies that have been deemed “to big to fail.” This is all because we don’t want to see another failed Lehman Brothers. Because the economy couldn’t have handled another failed firm of that magnitude the FED extended an $85 billion credit to AIG. The Economist explained weeks after that this was done because AIG posed a “systemic risk.” Even if the company will own almost 80% of AIG, it is because of poor investment choices that this bail out happened.
The investment tycoon Warren Buffett examined derivatives he called them “financial weapons of mass destruction.” The problem is that these financial companies have their derivatives market to exposed. The Last Resort explains that the failures sounding the sale of derivatives suggests that Wall Street has too much leveraged and too much capital devoted to products of questionable economic utility. So what he have is the sad truth that our financial system is becoming more dependent on the taxpayer. You and Me!
Op-Ed, Michael Mccormick
When the topic “green” is introduced in a conversation most think of recycling or hybrid cars. But, what is the real thinking behind “going green”? Is it just to lower carbon emissions and pollution? Or, is there a deeper purpose?
When we think about saving the planet, what first comes to mind? Is it buying eco-friendly products to save some far away place? I say that the underlying goal should be plant conservation. In a text called “Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet” Maurice M. Iwu talks about how food “contains many necessary and useful chemicals which help in the maintenance of optimal health”. The problem therein lies with mass farming and the introduction of less nutritional food. According to Dr. Holcombe, an Oregon based physician, eco-friendly farming produces eight times more nutritional crops then when compared to the same type of crop from a commercial farm. That is not to say that commercial farms cannot be eco-friendly it’s just to say that most are not. The future of Homo sapiens will be determined by the survival of genetic variability and nutritional content in our diet.
With the changes in our planets ecosystems, due to deforestation and the encroachment of indigenous lands, most populations are now suffering from eating a “civilized” diet according to Maurice. The Igbo of Africa are a perfect example of once having an indigenous diet, but who are now suffering with an increase in their health issues. Maurice says this is because first world nations are bringing in processed foods and encouraging them to buy modern varieties of crops. He continues by saying that the Igbo are loosing their traditional uses of wild and domesticated crops and that they have not had thousands of years to adapt to digestively to new chemical compounds found in modern crops and processed foods. I believe that it is critical to conserve plants and peoples use of plants. If we forgo thousands of year’s worth of accumulated knowledge about plants and their conservation we as a species are threatening our very existence.
It is imperative that we expose our kids to the outdoors and teach them about conservation says Dr. Douglas a professor at Boise State University. She continues that it is ignorant to treat plants with the mindset that they don’t affect you or me. Even my textbook Biology talks about how New York City, New York saves billions of dollars each year in water filtration costs. New York City opted for cleaning up and preserving the Catskill Mountains ecosystem, where they get their cities water supply; rather than building huge water filtration facilities to meet the EPA’s new clean water standards.
“Going green”, it appears, is not for the survival of the planet specifically, but for the survival of you and me. Plants have survived for thousands of years and through many dramatic events, is it not possible that they could replenish after the extinction of humans. We need to consider the behaviors of our ancestors, many of who learned how to conserve and live with their ecosystems, and adapt modern ways with ancient practices. What is your part in conservation?
When we think about saving the planet, what first comes to mind? Is it buying eco-friendly products to save some far away place? I say that the underlying goal should be plant conservation. In a text called “Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet” Maurice M. Iwu talks about how food “contains many necessary and useful chemicals which help in the maintenance of optimal health”. The problem therein lies with mass farming and the introduction of less nutritional food. According to Dr. Holcombe, an Oregon based physician, eco-friendly farming produces eight times more nutritional crops then when compared to the same type of crop from a commercial farm. That is not to say that commercial farms cannot be eco-friendly it’s just to say that most are not. The future of Homo sapiens will be determined by the survival of genetic variability and nutritional content in our diet.
With the changes in our planets ecosystems, due to deforestation and the encroachment of indigenous lands, most populations are now suffering from eating a “civilized” diet according to Maurice. The Igbo of Africa are a perfect example of once having an indigenous diet, but who are now suffering with an increase in their health issues. Maurice says this is because first world nations are bringing in processed foods and encouraging them to buy modern varieties of crops. He continues by saying that the Igbo are loosing their traditional uses of wild and domesticated crops and that they have not had thousands of years to adapt to digestively to new chemical compounds found in modern crops and processed foods. I believe that it is critical to conserve plants and peoples use of plants. If we forgo thousands of year’s worth of accumulated knowledge about plants and their conservation we as a species are threatening our very existence.
It is imperative that we expose our kids to the outdoors and teach them about conservation says Dr. Douglas a professor at Boise State University. She continues that it is ignorant to treat plants with the mindset that they don’t affect you or me. Even my textbook Biology talks about how New York City, New York saves billions of dollars each year in water filtration costs. New York City opted for cleaning up and preserving the Catskill Mountains ecosystem, where they get their cities water supply; rather than building huge water filtration facilities to meet the EPA’s new clean water standards.
“Going green”, it appears, is not for the survival of the planet specifically, but for the survival of you and me. Plants have survived for thousands of years and through many dramatic events, is it not possible that they could replenish after the extinction of humans. We need to consider the behaviors of our ancestors, many of who learned how to conserve and live with their ecosystems, and adapt modern ways with ancient practices. What is your part in conservation?
Rough "ruff" Draft Dustin
When is congress going to quit giving away money bags to people who couldn't even manage their own bankroll. These large corporations asking for handouts are wicked evil bastards who secretly corrupt and destroy the world's environment and serenity. It sickens my soul to hear about such things as the plastic island that is just floating around in the Pacific Ocean, not to mention all the smog that looms over our cities as a dark cloud foretelling our doom. Nobody wants to take credit for the problem but it seems that we are all probably somewhat responsible for the mess. Why can't we just take the billions of dollars that we're using to bailout failures and use it towards taking care of the planet that provides life for us all. The government needs to grow a spine and rein in these arrogant aces (large corporations) and exile them to the plastic island that they created in their efforts to make huge profits. What day was it when legislature became such pushovers that they allow free-trade with countries that have undervalued currency. This is the kind of behavior that poisons our economy and consumer conduct. The excess of unwanted and unneeded products being shipped to America are just filling our landfills to the point of bursting at the seams. Small businesses and our elected officials need to grab up their lanterns and pitchforks and take a stand against ogre-ish corporations that are killing us slowly like an incurable disease that shuts down our vital organs, vile parasites!!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Katy Kahla - Op-Ed
Who determines what is beautiful? It sure isn’t the Joe Schmo that sits next to you in class with his greasy hair, acne, and dated clothes. No, who really determines what the beautiful standards are are the people behind the magazines, TV shows, billboards, photo shoots, fashion shows, and anything that displays these “beautiful” people. And these alluring people are all the same really. For women they are tall, slender, with 0% body fat and for men they are tall with very muscular chests and they appear in every advertisement. According to Body Image and Adverting the average person sees over 600 advertisements daily so it is no wonder that with all those images, people of every age and class what to look just like them. Isn’t this why women debate over what shampoo and conditioner to buy? Do they get the product that is shown on TV by the cute girl getting the guy or the generic brand that they know nothing about? What about men? Do they buy Axe which displays guys being swarmed by girls or Bod where women are seen goggling over the men playing basketball? People want to be like them and they will do whatever it takes. Period.
Why is it that a whole generation wants to look like one body type with all the same features and conform themselves to not eating or strict diets? It’s pretty simple. In every sitcom, TV commercial, movie casting, runway show, or music video it is the pretty, thin culturally beautiful person that gets the part. It’s the gorgeous girl that gets the coolest boy in school and no matter what always wins at whatever she does and it’s the rugged guy that has every girl hanging off him and no worries. According to MediaWise.org, TV shows show the skinny girl being praised and idolized by male roles while the overweight character is the butt of all jokes. All of this is encouraging girls to conform to what I like to call the Barbie standards. The blonde bimbo with the unattainable 36-18-33 measurements that would put a normal woman in serious health risks but this is what young girls identify as beautiful. And it encourages boys to idolize the thin while terrorizing the fat. It sets the standards for who is popular in school and how people should act towards others.
This affect encourages men and women into wishing to project the media’s body image onto themselves which can cause serious health risks. The biggest risk is getting an eating disorder. The people that succumb to eating disorders are just normal people who are dissatisfied with how they look because they aren’t the models from the magazines. They are so convinced that they must look like these models that they will put themselves in harm’s way to get it. In a survey done in 2004 by the U.S. Census Bureau, it showed that currently over 10 million women and 1 million men are being affected by an eating disorder and once any person gets a disorder, they are affected by it for life. Eating disorders can drain a person mentally, physically, and financially. These disorders led to preoccupation with food, weight and body, malnutrition, serious heart, kidney and liver damage, depression, low self-esteem, mood swings, “All or nothing” thinking, or even death and can cost over $100,000 per month to treat. Since people suffering from eating disorders must face their problems every day, treatments generally last for two years or more which quickly drains anyone’s pocket book.
So how do we defend ourselves against a multi-billion dollar industry that spreads the “Thin is In” message everyday through every medium? We get informed. We make ourselves realize that every photo, commercial, or ad are edited to make it more appealing to the eye to encourage us to buy whatever they are selling. Whether it be make-up, clothes, or the idea that only thin is beautiful. Instead we should embrace the bodies we were given and realize we can’t conform ourselves to the Barbie standards.
Why is it that a whole generation wants to look like one body type with all the same features and conform themselves to not eating or strict diets? It’s pretty simple. In every sitcom, TV commercial, movie casting, runway show, or music video it is the pretty, thin culturally beautiful person that gets the part. It’s the gorgeous girl that gets the coolest boy in school and no matter what always wins at whatever she does and it’s the rugged guy that has every girl hanging off him and no worries. According to MediaWise.org, TV shows show the skinny girl being praised and idolized by male roles while the overweight character is the butt of all jokes. All of this is encouraging girls to conform to what I like to call the Barbie standards. The blonde bimbo with the unattainable 36-18-33 measurements that would put a normal woman in serious health risks but this is what young girls identify as beautiful. And it encourages boys to idolize the thin while terrorizing the fat. It sets the standards for who is popular in school and how people should act towards others.
This affect encourages men and women into wishing to project the media’s body image onto themselves which can cause serious health risks. The biggest risk is getting an eating disorder. The people that succumb to eating disorders are just normal people who are dissatisfied with how they look because they aren’t the models from the magazines. They are so convinced that they must look like these models that they will put themselves in harm’s way to get it. In a survey done in 2004 by the U.S. Census Bureau, it showed that currently over 10 million women and 1 million men are being affected by an eating disorder and once any person gets a disorder, they are affected by it for life. Eating disorders can drain a person mentally, physically, and financially. These disorders led to preoccupation with food, weight and body, malnutrition, serious heart, kidney and liver damage, depression, low self-esteem, mood swings, “All or nothing” thinking, or even death and can cost over $100,000 per month to treat. Since people suffering from eating disorders must face their problems every day, treatments generally last for two years or more which quickly drains anyone’s pocket book.
So how do we defend ourselves against a multi-billion dollar industry that spreads the “Thin is In” message everyday through every medium? We get informed. We make ourselves realize that every photo, commercial, or ad are edited to make it more appealing to the eye to encourage us to buy whatever they are selling. Whether it be make-up, clothes, or the idea that only thin is beautiful. Instead we should embrace the bodies we were given and realize we can’t conform ourselves to the Barbie standards.
Kristen Kuchay's Op-Ed
Many people do not realize the struggles that special educators face today. They think that because they get paid more than a general educator, that it must be somewhat easy to only have to teach a couple kids at a time. This is a big misconception.
In today’s society, more and more children are being diagnosed with learning disabilities and special needs. Because of this, the demand for special education teachers as gone up significantly. But yet there are fewer and fewer special educators each year in school districts. Why is this? Because there is not enough money to keep special educators and the special education programs going. The cause of this problem? Government Funding. Or should I say lack of. According to Special Education Professor Jack Hourcade at Boise State University, the Federal Government promised 40% funding to the special education programs. This was in 1975. Today, special education programs are lucky if they see 20% funding from the Federal Government. Because of this money issue, special education programs have to shut down because they do not have the money to keep them running or enough money to recruit any new teachers. How can this be resolved you might ask. A few things have been tried by the school districts and school officials, but nothing has been successful.
The most that the school districts and officials can do is contact their local and even Federal Government and try to encourage parents of special needs children to do the same. This kind of planning takes a good amount of time; time in which these teachers and working parents do not have.
This sort of situation caused a chain reaction. Because the promised government funding at not been met, the special education programs do not have the money to keep their programs going and cannot hire new teachers. The few teachers that do work in the programs have money struggles because they need to pay for the things for their classroom and individual students who may need specific learning utensils out of their own pocket. This causes teachers to look for another job or a second job. Because teachers are leaving and programs are shutting down, these children do not get the help they need. Putting them in general education classrooms can be harmful because they are very far behind or cannot understand. Parents cannot teach their children because they are working to help support their family and pay the extra hospital, doctor and medication bills.
Do you see how one thing that may seem small can have a huge impact on thousands of people? If the Federal Government had actually kept their promise of 40% since 1975, more special education programs might still be open. Who knows the kind of effect this could have had. But it would have been a positive one. Maybe if the Government focused more on our country’s education for our children instead of other countries, this issue might not even exist.
In today’s society, more and more children are being diagnosed with learning disabilities and special needs. Because of this, the demand for special education teachers as gone up significantly. But yet there are fewer and fewer special educators each year in school districts. Why is this? Because there is not enough money to keep special educators and the special education programs going. The cause of this problem? Government Funding. Or should I say lack of. According to Special Education Professor Jack Hourcade at Boise State University, the Federal Government promised 40% funding to the special education programs. This was in 1975. Today, special education programs are lucky if they see 20% funding from the Federal Government. Because of this money issue, special education programs have to shut down because they do not have the money to keep them running or enough money to recruit any new teachers. How can this be resolved you might ask. A few things have been tried by the school districts and school officials, but nothing has been successful.
The most that the school districts and officials can do is contact their local and even Federal Government and try to encourage parents of special needs children to do the same. This kind of planning takes a good amount of time; time in which these teachers and working parents do not have.
This sort of situation caused a chain reaction. Because the promised government funding at not been met, the special education programs do not have the money to keep their programs going and cannot hire new teachers. The few teachers that do work in the programs have money struggles because they need to pay for the things for their classroom and individual students who may need specific learning utensils out of their own pocket. This causes teachers to look for another job or a second job. Because teachers are leaving and programs are shutting down, these children do not get the help they need. Putting them in general education classrooms can be harmful because they are very far behind or cannot understand. Parents cannot teach their children because they are working to help support their family and pay the extra hospital, doctor and medication bills.
Do you see how one thing that may seem small can have a huge impact on thousands of people? If the Federal Government had actually kept their promise of 40% since 1975, more special education programs might still be open. Who knows the kind of effect this could have had. But it would have been a positive one. Maybe if the Government focused more on our country’s education for our children instead of other countries, this issue might not even exist.
Op-ed
Musical education has become a little less encouraged to many these days. For many reasons some people may think it looks useless to go to college for music education because there isn’t much you can do with it afterwards and not much requires you to have it. Music education is important and it should be more useful in getting students jobs that require a music degree. Amy Tompkins, a sophomore at Boise State University in Viola Performance share with us what professional orchestras think of music education when in the hiring process “…it's more about your ability than it is your education. If you can play well, then they don't care about how you learned”. In the performance side of things, musical education is not required. Being hired in a professional orchestra is all about how well you can play and pretty much nothing else.
But music is important for getting a job in other ways. For example you wouldn’t be able to get a job at a school, teaching music if you did not have a degree for this field. It also depends on the level of education you want to teach for the level of degree you’d need to have. Elementary through high school would only require a Bachelors degree. College would require at least a Masters if not a Doctorate. So having a Music Education degree is important in this field.
Music education has benefits to us in other ways. In a video from Youtube.com Jack Stamp talks about how the brain is working when kids are playing music. The left side of our brain computes all the technical things like what note is on the paper and how to play it, along with doing the math of how long to hold the note. The right side helps us to put the emotion into the music. This part of our brain is what makes us feel something when we hear or play music. Nothing in schools is able to connect both sides of our brain like music does, yet music education is still not recognized as being important.
Shelly Schwartz, who is a writer for CNBC and has reviewed many job and money related topics tells us how one with a music degree can get a job as a secretary, a teacher of elementary school, and a sales occupation including retail. How many of these jobs can someone without a college degree obtain? Why do places like this appreciate that you’ve graduated from college and yet a musical occupation doesn’t even take it into account? This seems a little wrong to me. We might have an easier time obtaining a secretary position with a college degree than someone with out it, yet we have a slim chance getting a job in which we use what we’ve actually learned from that degree.
Musical occupations should be making education a bigger deal and thus encouraging more students to go earn a degree in music rather than try to do music on their own. If the importance level of musical education stays where it is, eventually there will become no need to have it and less and less students will desire to earn it.
But music is important for getting a job in other ways. For example you wouldn’t be able to get a job at a school, teaching music if you did not have a degree for this field. It also depends on the level of education you want to teach for the level of degree you’d need to have. Elementary through high school would only require a Bachelors degree. College would require at least a Masters if not a Doctorate. So having a Music Education degree is important in this field.
Music education has benefits to us in other ways. In a video from Youtube.com Jack Stamp talks about how the brain is working when kids are playing music. The left side of our brain computes all the technical things like what note is on the paper and how to play it, along with doing the math of how long to hold the note. The right side helps us to put the emotion into the music. This part of our brain is what makes us feel something when we hear or play music. Nothing in schools is able to connect both sides of our brain like music does, yet music education is still not recognized as being important.
Shelly Schwartz, who is a writer for CNBC and has reviewed many job and money related topics tells us how one with a music degree can get a job as a secretary, a teacher of elementary school, and a sales occupation including retail. How many of these jobs can someone without a college degree obtain? Why do places like this appreciate that you’ve graduated from college and yet a musical occupation doesn’t even take it into account? This seems a little wrong to me. We might have an easier time obtaining a secretary position with a college degree than someone with out it, yet we have a slim chance getting a job in which we use what we’ve actually learned from that degree.
Musical occupations should be making education a bigger deal and thus encouraging more students to go earn a degree in music rather than try to do music on their own. If the importance level of musical education stays where it is, eventually there will become no need to have it and less and less students will desire to earn it.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
CR reading response.
The first part of the reading addresses how to two different sides of an argument in the same paper or which information to use. If you have two reliable sources on your topic but each talks about the opposite side of the argument which do you choose to use? I think since we’ve talked about that we should address both sides of the argument why not use both sources. It would be a great way of introducing the opposite side of your argument if you had a great source with firm information that the reader could take seriously. You may use it and then contradict it with your argument or “politely disagree” with your source you’ve just used. Just because they’re a source doesn’t mean you have to agree with what it says. In fact this may be the reason you choose to use it is to have the reader understand what you’re apposing and why you’re doing so.
The second half of the reading deals with starting your draft and what approach to take on it. There are many ways to do that and as he says it’s probably the hardest part of the whole paper. After completing the opening you’ve finished 90% of your paper. It is after you think about it sort of true because if our opening is supposed to inform the reader of where the paper is going you almost have an outline for yourself after writing the introduction. But it also starts out your writing voice as Ballenger states we need to have. So thinking about it the introduction truly is the most important part of your paper but I try not to think about it otherwise I’m scared to start writing. I just have to start by putting words on the page and then gather my thoughts from there and brush them up to make my point clearer. After I write my intro it’s so much easier to write the next few paragraphs because I’ve started a direction for my paper and I try to stick with that part of my topic till I’ve run out of things to say on it. Then I move to the next point. He also reminds us that we shouldn’t just plop down the facts of our paper and exactly everything we will say right at the beginning of the paper because then there’s no more imagination for the reader. I like his examples of the whale story and how the first one says here’s what I will say, and the second one tells a story that inquires your curiosity for resolution to the problem. Think about the color you want your paper to paint in the readers mind and how you will convey that through your intro before you just write an announcement type intro.
The second half of the reading deals with starting your draft and what approach to take on it. There are many ways to do that and as he says it’s probably the hardest part of the whole paper. After completing the opening you’ve finished 90% of your paper. It is after you think about it sort of true because if our opening is supposed to inform the reader of where the paper is going you almost have an outline for yourself after writing the introduction. But it also starts out your writing voice as Ballenger states we need to have. So thinking about it the introduction truly is the most important part of your paper but I try not to think about it otherwise I’m scared to start writing. I just have to start by putting words on the page and then gather my thoughts from there and brush them up to make my point clearer. After I write my intro it’s so much easier to write the next few paragraphs because I’ve started a direction for my paper and I try to stick with that part of my topic till I’ve run out of things to say on it. Then I move to the next point. He also reminds us that we shouldn’t just plop down the facts of our paper and exactly everything we will say right at the beginning of the paper because then there’s no more imagination for the reader. I like his examples of the whale story and how the first one says here’s what I will say, and the second one tells a story that inquires your curiosity for resolution to the problem. Think about the color you want your paper to paint in the readers mind and how you will convey that through your intro before you just write an announcement type intro.
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