By: Larissa D.
With the semester drawing to a close, one cannot help but to reflect upon the events and coursework that have led to this point. Of course, such reflection tends to drift into contemplation as to whether or not a certain course holds enough merit to be considered a requirement for a degree. The first-year composition course is one that many tend to look upon with disdain, especially those interested in a degree field that “doesn’t require writing.” However, what most fail to realize is that every area of study does require skills that are obtained in English 101.
Writing is an important avenue of communication and self-expression that is utilized more frequently than most would believe. If one were to ask a group of college students how often they think they will write, the majority would likely respond that they would only be required to write for composition classes. That is because few recognize how often they are required to compose outside of the English 101 classroom. For example, many courses in college, even those in the areas of Mathematics and Science, require students to write papers on subjects that they are studying in class. While different fields may require different styles and formatting, the basics of composition do not change.
Additionally, most students make the mistake of assuming that once they are out of college they will no longer need to know how to write effectively. However, the opposite is true. One of the most important pieces of writing outside of the realm of academia is the resume. Employers often look for spelling and grammar errors on applicants’ resumes as a means of narrowing down the pool of potential employees. Additionally, once a job is secured, employers still expect a basic understanding of composition from their employees, especially those that are required to draft reports or other written presentations for their position. The skills necessary to complete such tasks effectively can be found in the English 101 classroom, which is why the course should be valued by all college students.
Of course, being an English Education major, I place a lot of value on the first-year composition course. I am aware of how important writing will be in my career and I want to be sure that I can effectively express myself to my employer and the students that I will be teaching. This semester has given me a solid foundation in writing that I intend to build upon throughout my academic career. Going into the course, I was terrified by the thought of attempting to draft a six to eight page research paper in proper MLA format. I had only written one other paper in MLA format, and that experience was over seven years ago. However, once it came time to sit down and write my first draft, I was no longer afraid. We had been using MLA all semester, and I knew that I had the tools I would need in order to complete the assignment.
Looking back, I can say that I am pleasantly surprised with how much I learned about composition in just sixteen short weeks. In addition to gaining confidence with MLA formatting, especially works cited entries, I was also able to brush up on my grammar skills and push the envelope with word choice in my essays. I am still working on balancing quotations with my own voice as a writer in my papers, but I am confident that I have gained the tools I will need to be successful as a writer, both in college and in my career, from my English 101 class.
Happy will always find you.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Research in a First-Year College Writing Course: Is it Valuable?
By: Larissa D.
While it may not be immediately apparent, college course structure follows a path similar to that of primary and secondary education. While students do have more choice about which classes to take, there are certain prerequisites that all must meet in order to advance to the upper level courses. English 101 would certainly fall under this category. In a first-year college writing course, one is expected to obtain a basic knowledge of how to formulate several different types of academic papers, including research papers. While those who plan to obtain a degree in a field outside of the humanities may think that these skills are of no value to them, the contrary is actually true: there is a tremendous amount of value to be placed on research skills learned in English 101.
Whether it is obvious or not, most areas of study will require students to do research at some point in their academic career. Learning how to evaluate sources and properly gather and organize materials are valuable skills that will be utilized throughout a student’s college experience. English 101 is an excellent course to introduce these concepts to students, as it is a course that most will take during their first year of study. English 101 is designed to provide students with the knowledge that they will need to excel, not only in the area of English, but in all areas. For example, a computer science instructor may require a student to write a paper on cyberbullying or plagiarism, while a biology professor may assign a presentation on Darwin’s theory of evolution: without a basic understanding of how to properly conduct research, as well as how to effectively present one’s findings, students would not fare well with such assignments. However, the skills presented in English 101 provide a great foundation for students to build upon when it comes to research.
The writing and research skills that students learn in their first-year college writing course are to be valued, and students should make the effort to truly understand these skills in order to be successful in college and in life.
While it may not be immediately apparent, college course structure follows a path similar to that of primary and secondary education. While students do have more choice about which classes to take, there are certain prerequisites that all must meet in order to advance to the upper level courses. English 101 would certainly fall under this category. In a first-year college writing course, one is expected to obtain a basic knowledge of how to formulate several different types of academic papers, including research papers. While those who plan to obtain a degree in a field outside of the humanities may think that these skills are of no value to them, the contrary is actually true: there is a tremendous amount of value to be placed on research skills learned in English 101.
Whether it is obvious or not, most areas of study will require students to do research at some point in their academic career. Learning how to evaluate sources and properly gather and organize materials are valuable skills that will be utilized throughout a student’s college experience. English 101 is an excellent course to introduce these concepts to students, as it is a course that most will take during their first year of study. English 101 is designed to provide students with the knowledge that they will need to excel, not only in the area of English, but in all areas. For example, a computer science instructor may require a student to write a paper on cyberbullying or plagiarism, while a biology professor may assign a presentation on Darwin’s theory of evolution: without a basic understanding of how to properly conduct research, as well as how to effectively present one’s findings, students would not fare well with such assignments. However, the skills presented in English 101 provide a great foundation for students to build upon when it comes to research.
The writing and research skills that students learn in their first-year college writing course are to be valued, and students should make the effort to truly understand these skills in order to be successful in college and in life.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
How Can We Predict Student Success?
By: Larissa D.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that David Coleman, President of the College Board, has announced radical changes to the SAT set to begin in 2016. According to the article, Coleman explained that the college admissions exam has become “out of touch” with what current high school students are actually learning and is therefore no longer an accurate means of measuring a student’s readiness for college. This change may also be due in part to the fact that in recent years, the SAT has “lost ground” to the rival ACT, with 1.8 million students opting to take the ACT last year in comparison to the 1.7 million who took the SAT. Among the numerous changes to the exam, the math section will cover fewer topics (with greater emphasis on linear equations), the vocabulary terms will focus on words more commonly used in college courses, the essay will become optional, and students will no longer be penalized for guessing incorrectly.
Many of these changes seem to be taking steps in the right direction. From what I remember of my own experience in taking the SAT as a junior in high school, I left the exam room feeling far less confident in my abilities than I had when I had entered. Many of the questions had left me baffled, and my self-esteem diminished with every passing minute. I can still recall talking with a close friend later that day and telling her that I was sure I had somehow “lost brain cells” during the test. Needless to say, I was sure that I had done a terrible job on the exam. Once I received my scores, I found that they were not as terrible as I had imagined and, to my delight, they did not hinder my acceptance to my first choice of the colleges that I had applied to.
However, a part of me always wondered if my test scores accurately reflected my intellectual strengths. In retrospect, I suppose that they most likely did, especially if, as Mr. Coleman said, the SAT had become out of touch with what students were learning. At the time I took the exam, it would be fair to say that most students, myself included, had not been afforded the opportunity to learn what the SAT expected us to know. I can recall several instances in which my high school classes came to a standstill because students needed to be re-educated on materials they should have learned in elementary and middle school. In fact, in my Sophomore Honors English class, the teacher had to wipe out a week’s worth of lesson plans in order to go over grammar lessons, because she had grown tired of honors students turning in essays that she could hardly decipher due to errors. Math classes were no better, as there were often students there who could not do basic arithmetic without using a calculator or counting on their fingers. I would say that the people who developed the SAT did not take these facts into consideration when creating the test that year. If they had, most students would have done far better.
For the most part, I am in agreement with the changes that are being made to the exam, especially the stipulation that students no longer be penalized for incorrect answers. From my own experience, most college professors tend to appreciate the efforts of students who at least try to answer a question on a quiz or an exam, even if they are not correct. In fact, some professors will give partial credit for an answer that was close but not quite right. I have never once seen a teacher at any grade level take points away from a student that guessed incorrectly. Instead, test scores are based on the “rights-only scoring” method that the new SAT will employ. In addition, narrowing the scope of the math portion will most likely increase a student’s chances of success, as they will be able to devote more time to studying a few key areas, rather than attempting to cover several areas in the same amount of time. The fact that the essay will now focus on analyzing an author’s argument is another improvement, as this will demonstrate not only a student’s abilities in composition, but will also be an indicator of how well that student can comprehend what he or she reads.
With that said, I am opposed to one major change to the SAT. I honestly believe that the essay should remain a required element of the exam. While I understand that the College Board believes that the essay does not benefit the student when it comes to gaining admission to an institution, as several do not factor in the writing portion of the exam when determining a student’s entrance to their college or university, writing is still an important skill for a student to have in college. Many students do not realize that even if their major does not require them to take several English classes, they will still be required to do quite a bit of writing. The research paper appears to be a universal assignment across all areas of study, and students with poor writing skills will not do well. While reading and math skills are definitely important, writing should not be set aside, as it is a skill that is utilized outside the classroom on a daily basis. Both the College Board and Admissions Offices in colleges and universities across the country should take a student’s writing abilities into consideration when determining college readiness.
While critics of the exam have pointed out that high school grades are a better predictor of college success, the SAT should not be eliminated just yet. Just like the Stanford 9 and other standardized tests, the SAT establishes a baseline measurement of knowledge and understanding for all the students in the country and allows colleges to see how a particular student ranks among his or her peers, in addition to how the student ranks in relation to the scores that the college deems “desirable.” Comparing a student’s score against a “minimum for consideration” is not wrong. Each student should be able to demonstrate a basic level of knowledge and understanding before moving on, just as those wishing to move toward career goals should take the LSAT, MCAT, and Praxis exams to demonstrate their abilities. However, college admissions representatives need to understand that there is always a margin for error, as some students do not perform well on standardized tests despite their possession of the knowledge and their ability to do well in their classes. Instead, the SAT should be just one piece of the overall puzzle, which should also include transcripts, any awards received for academic excellence, an overview of extracurricular activities, an admissions essay, and samples of student work. Careful consideration of all these pieces individually and of how they relate to each other as a whole will create the best method of determining student success.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that David Coleman, President of the College Board, has announced radical changes to the SAT set to begin in 2016. According to the article, Coleman explained that the college admissions exam has become “out of touch” with what current high school students are actually learning and is therefore no longer an accurate means of measuring a student’s readiness for college. This change may also be due in part to the fact that in recent years, the SAT has “lost ground” to the rival ACT, with 1.8 million students opting to take the ACT last year in comparison to the 1.7 million who took the SAT. Among the numerous changes to the exam, the math section will cover fewer topics (with greater emphasis on linear equations), the vocabulary terms will focus on words more commonly used in college courses, the essay will become optional, and students will no longer be penalized for guessing incorrectly.
Many of these changes seem to be taking steps in the right direction. From what I remember of my own experience in taking the SAT as a junior in high school, I left the exam room feeling far less confident in my abilities than I had when I had entered. Many of the questions had left me baffled, and my self-esteem diminished with every passing minute. I can still recall talking with a close friend later that day and telling her that I was sure I had somehow “lost brain cells” during the test. Needless to say, I was sure that I had done a terrible job on the exam. Once I received my scores, I found that they were not as terrible as I had imagined and, to my delight, they did not hinder my acceptance to my first choice of the colleges that I had applied to.
However, a part of me always wondered if my test scores accurately reflected my intellectual strengths. In retrospect, I suppose that they most likely did, especially if, as Mr. Coleman said, the SAT had become out of touch with what students were learning. At the time I took the exam, it would be fair to say that most students, myself included, had not been afforded the opportunity to learn what the SAT expected us to know. I can recall several instances in which my high school classes came to a standstill because students needed to be re-educated on materials they should have learned in elementary and middle school. In fact, in my Sophomore Honors English class, the teacher had to wipe out a week’s worth of lesson plans in order to go over grammar lessons, because she had grown tired of honors students turning in essays that she could hardly decipher due to errors. Math classes were no better, as there were often students there who could not do basic arithmetic without using a calculator or counting on their fingers. I would say that the people who developed the SAT did not take these facts into consideration when creating the test that year. If they had, most students would have done far better.
For the most part, I am in agreement with the changes that are being made to the exam, especially the stipulation that students no longer be penalized for incorrect answers. From my own experience, most college professors tend to appreciate the efforts of students who at least try to answer a question on a quiz or an exam, even if they are not correct. In fact, some professors will give partial credit for an answer that was close but not quite right. I have never once seen a teacher at any grade level take points away from a student that guessed incorrectly. Instead, test scores are based on the “rights-only scoring” method that the new SAT will employ. In addition, narrowing the scope of the math portion will most likely increase a student’s chances of success, as they will be able to devote more time to studying a few key areas, rather than attempting to cover several areas in the same amount of time. The fact that the essay will now focus on analyzing an author’s argument is another improvement, as this will demonstrate not only a student’s abilities in composition, but will also be an indicator of how well that student can comprehend what he or she reads.
With that said, I am opposed to one major change to the SAT. I honestly believe that the essay should remain a required element of the exam. While I understand that the College Board believes that the essay does not benefit the student when it comes to gaining admission to an institution, as several do not factor in the writing portion of the exam when determining a student’s entrance to their college or university, writing is still an important skill for a student to have in college. Many students do not realize that even if their major does not require them to take several English classes, they will still be required to do quite a bit of writing. The research paper appears to be a universal assignment across all areas of study, and students with poor writing skills will not do well. While reading and math skills are definitely important, writing should not be set aside, as it is a skill that is utilized outside the classroom on a daily basis. Both the College Board and Admissions Offices in colleges and universities across the country should take a student’s writing abilities into consideration when determining college readiness.
While critics of the exam have pointed out that high school grades are a better predictor of college success, the SAT should not be eliminated just yet. Just like the Stanford 9 and other standardized tests, the SAT establishes a baseline measurement of knowledge and understanding for all the students in the country and allows colleges to see how a particular student ranks among his or her peers, in addition to how the student ranks in relation to the scores that the college deems “desirable.” Comparing a student’s score against a “minimum for consideration” is not wrong. Each student should be able to demonstrate a basic level of knowledge and understanding before moving on, just as those wishing to move toward career goals should take the LSAT, MCAT, and Praxis exams to demonstrate their abilities. However, college admissions representatives need to understand that there is always a margin for error, as some students do not perform well on standardized tests despite their possession of the knowledge and their ability to do well in their classes. Instead, the SAT should be just one piece of the overall puzzle, which should also include transcripts, any awards received for academic excellence, an overview of extracurricular activities, an admissions essay, and samples of student work. Careful consideration of all these pieces individually and of how they relate to each other as a whole will create the best method of determining student success.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Selfless Acts in a Selfish Wolrd
By: Larissa D.
In this day and age, it seems that the general response to someone’s plea for help has become, “What’s in it for me?” Unfortunately, this has become a common question, perhaps even a “natural” inquiry. All too often, the human race is most concerned with its own desires and cannot be bothered with the needs of a neighbor. Instead, before offering help, we consider how the action will benefit us, and sadly, when it becomes obvious that there is no benefit for us, we often choose not to offer assistance. Whether we know it or not, we have developed into a society of selfish beings. Even those who appear to help “out of the goodness of their hearts” may not be as wholesome as they seem. It could almost be argued that there are no true selfless acts, because while no monetary profit is made, the giver earns a different and sometimes more valuable form of currency: recognition and praise.
Nowadays, everything is uploaded to social media the instant that it happens. When it comes to “selfless acts” or “random acts of kindness,” there is no exception. I have come across several posts on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram that detail the person’s acts of service. I have seen photos of people wearing aprons and holding ladles with a caption that reads, “Helped out at a soup kitchen today,” wall posts that detail the hours spent photographing “those without a voice” for an animal shelter’s webpage, and even blog entries about a mission to complete 40 “random acts of kindness” in one day in celebration of the author’s 40th birthday. What is the significance of these posts? They are huge bulletin boards to the online world that shout, “Look at me! I went and helped someone today, isn’t that great? I gave up my time to complete a task for no payment, isn’t it wonderful?” And by all means, it is wonderful to help others. Please do not get me wrong, I definitely support those who make the effort to improve the lives of their fellow men, and there is nothing wrong with promoting a worthy cause. However, when the focus is solely upon being recognized for their actions and receiving praise, such as “likes” and comments about how “kind” and “thoughtful” the poster is, rather than on helping those in need, the action is no longer selfless.
Even upon introspection, I have found that some of the “selfless acts” that I have performed are not without benefit for myself. For example, every time that I drop off donations at Goodwill, I can claim it on my taxes, including the cost of the gas used to drive to and from the donation center in addition to the value of the items I left behind. I can also list the volunteer experience I gained while performing blood pressure checks at a free community health event on my résumé in hopes of setting myself apart from other job applicants. While I would have performed the same acts without the added incentives, I would be lying if I said that I did not enjoy my benefits. Honestly, in today’s competitive job market, who would not want to take the time to “spice up” their résumé in the hopes that an employer will take notice? I doubt that some of my classmates who are fresh out of high school will understand the point that I am trying to make here, but once they are out in the world with their degrees in hand waiting in line with one hundred other equally qualified candidates for an interview with a potential employer after receiving five rejections from other companies, it will make sense to them.
Now that I have given my thoroughly depressing take on acts of service in the world today, I will say this: there are still those out there who perform truly selfless acts of kindness for their fellow men. Last month Eyewitness News on WCHS/WVAH reported on two different children in West Virginia that have collected toys to donate to children who are sick or in need. Both of these remarkable youngsters asked their family members and friends to purchase the toys in lieu of presents for their own birthdays. That request is what sets them apart from others: even at their young age, they understand that it truly is better to give than to receive, and they are willing to think of others before thinking of themselves. Hearing their stories has given me hope for the human race. If every single person on the planet would do just one truly selfless act just once in their lifetime, it would mean that an estimated 7 billion life-touching moments would take place, which is 100 times more than the number of people served by McDonald’s every day. The acts don’t have to be huge or gain attention from news and social media. They can be as simple as purchasing a hot meal for someone who would otherwise go hungry or helping another customer in a snowy parking lot unload her groceries so that she can put her children in their warm car seats. While they don’t seem like much, those acts of kindness can mean the world to the person in need.
It is my sincere hope that I can raise my children to be thoughtful and caring individuals free from concerns about praise or compensation. I want them to help others because they understand that not everyone in the world is lucky enough to have food to eat or a warm place to sleep. I want them to be generous because they understand that the feeling they will get by bringing joy to another individual is better than anything money can buy. And I want to lead them by example. Although I noted earlier that I have performed acts of service that have benefited me in my quest for employment and when paying my taxes, it is those acts that I have not self-promoted that have brought me the greatest benefit of all: seeing the smile on the face of someone I have helped. I have lifted the heavy case of water out of an elderly woman’s grocery basket at the checkout line and held the door open for the man with his hands full at the post office, and all the while, I have let my children watch me in the hopes that one day, they will want to emulate me. Last December, every week during our shopping trip to Kroger I had my children help me pick out ornaments that had the names of families in need on the Salvation Army tree to take to the cashier so that we could donate a $25 grocery card to them. As they grow older, we will spend time together picking out items to take to a Toys-for-Tots drop-off center, collecting cans of food to take to the food bank down the street, and bringing bags of dog food and cleaning supplies to the local animal shelter, and we will not be snapping “selfies” to post to Facebook while we do it. Instead, my hope is that we will be looking at the smiles on the faces of those we help and reveling in that warm and fuzzy feeling that we get from knowing that we made a difference in someone’s life, no matter how big or small.
In this day and age, it seems that the general response to someone’s plea for help has become, “What’s in it for me?” Unfortunately, this has become a common question, perhaps even a “natural” inquiry. All too often, the human race is most concerned with its own desires and cannot be bothered with the needs of a neighbor. Instead, before offering help, we consider how the action will benefit us, and sadly, when it becomes obvious that there is no benefit for us, we often choose not to offer assistance. Whether we know it or not, we have developed into a society of selfish beings. Even those who appear to help “out of the goodness of their hearts” may not be as wholesome as they seem. It could almost be argued that there are no true selfless acts, because while no monetary profit is made, the giver earns a different and sometimes more valuable form of currency: recognition and praise.
Nowadays, everything is uploaded to social media the instant that it happens. When it comes to “selfless acts” or “random acts of kindness,” there is no exception. I have come across several posts on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram that detail the person’s acts of service. I have seen photos of people wearing aprons and holding ladles with a caption that reads, “Helped out at a soup kitchen today,” wall posts that detail the hours spent photographing “those without a voice” for an animal shelter’s webpage, and even blog entries about a mission to complete 40 “random acts of kindness” in one day in celebration of the author’s 40th birthday. What is the significance of these posts? They are huge bulletin boards to the online world that shout, “Look at me! I went and helped someone today, isn’t that great? I gave up my time to complete a task for no payment, isn’t it wonderful?” And by all means, it is wonderful to help others. Please do not get me wrong, I definitely support those who make the effort to improve the lives of their fellow men, and there is nothing wrong with promoting a worthy cause. However, when the focus is solely upon being recognized for their actions and receiving praise, such as “likes” and comments about how “kind” and “thoughtful” the poster is, rather than on helping those in need, the action is no longer selfless.
Even upon introspection, I have found that some of the “selfless acts” that I have performed are not without benefit for myself. For example, every time that I drop off donations at Goodwill, I can claim it on my taxes, including the cost of the gas used to drive to and from the donation center in addition to the value of the items I left behind. I can also list the volunteer experience I gained while performing blood pressure checks at a free community health event on my résumé in hopes of setting myself apart from other job applicants. While I would have performed the same acts without the added incentives, I would be lying if I said that I did not enjoy my benefits. Honestly, in today’s competitive job market, who would not want to take the time to “spice up” their résumé in the hopes that an employer will take notice? I doubt that some of my classmates who are fresh out of high school will understand the point that I am trying to make here, but once they are out in the world with their degrees in hand waiting in line with one hundred other equally qualified candidates for an interview with a potential employer after receiving five rejections from other companies, it will make sense to them.
Now that I have given my thoroughly depressing take on acts of service in the world today, I will say this: there are still those out there who perform truly selfless acts of kindness for their fellow men. Last month Eyewitness News on WCHS/WVAH reported on two different children in West Virginia that have collected toys to donate to children who are sick or in need. Both of these remarkable youngsters asked their family members and friends to purchase the toys in lieu of presents for their own birthdays. That request is what sets them apart from others: even at their young age, they understand that it truly is better to give than to receive, and they are willing to think of others before thinking of themselves. Hearing their stories has given me hope for the human race. If every single person on the planet would do just one truly selfless act just once in their lifetime, it would mean that an estimated 7 billion life-touching moments would take place, which is 100 times more than the number of people served by McDonald’s every day. The acts don’t have to be huge or gain attention from news and social media. They can be as simple as purchasing a hot meal for someone who would otherwise go hungry or helping another customer in a snowy parking lot unload her groceries so that she can put her children in their warm car seats. While they don’t seem like much, those acts of kindness can mean the world to the person in need.
It is my sincere hope that I can raise my children to be thoughtful and caring individuals free from concerns about praise or compensation. I want them to help others because they understand that not everyone in the world is lucky enough to have food to eat or a warm place to sleep. I want them to be generous because they understand that the feeling they will get by bringing joy to another individual is better than anything money can buy. And I want to lead them by example. Although I noted earlier that I have performed acts of service that have benefited me in my quest for employment and when paying my taxes, it is those acts that I have not self-promoted that have brought me the greatest benefit of all: seeing the smile on the face of someone I have helped. I have lifted the heavy case of water out of an elderly woman’s grocery basket at the checkout line and held the door open for the man with his hands full at the post office, and all the while, I have let my children watch me in the hopes that one day, they will want to emulate me. Last December, every week during our shopping trip to Kroger I had my children help me pick out ornaments that had the names of families in need on the Salvation Army tree to take to the cashier so that we could donate a $25 grocery card to them. As they grow older, we will spend time together picking out items to take to a Toys-for-Tots drop-off center, collecting cans of food to take to the food bank down the street, and bringing bags of dog food and cleaning supplies to the local animal shelter, and we will not be snapping “selfies” to post to Facebook while we do it. Instead, my hope is that we will be looking at the smiles on the faces of those we help and reveling in that warm and fuzzy feeling that we get from knowing that we made a difference in someone’s life, no matter how big or small.
Friday, February 21, 2014
A Good President: How Do We Judge?
By: Larissa D.
Public figures often tend to be the subject of scrutiny, whether they are politicians or Hollywood celebrities. However, in the United States, one public figure tends to receive the most judgment from his fellow citizens – the President. Going down the line from the first to the 44th, historians and laymen alike form opinions of which Presidents were good and which were not. However, this scrutiny begs the question: What makes a good President? There are several qualities to consider, but few as important as a desire to protect the freedoms granted to citizens through the United States Constitution, an ability to work with members of both political parties to reach solutions to the nation’s issues, and the foresight to create programs and policies that will ultimately improve America’s future.
When a President takes the oath of office, he swears to do what he can to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States” (US Const. art. II, sec. 1). In doing so, he takes on the responsibility of protecting the rights granted to American citizens through the Constitution. Many of the Presidents that are well admired are those who have fought to protect the rights of their fellow Americans and enacted legislation to ensure that the same freedoms are granted to all members of the nation. By upholding his sworn duties, a President has the potential to become known as one who did his job well.
Another important trait for a good President is the ability to work well with members of both political parties. History has shown us that a nation divided cannot stand. To protect the country from crumbling, a President should work to reach agreements with those not just from his own party, but with those across the party lines as well. In doing so, he will ensure that the nation continues to function and he will also gain the respect of citizens of both parties. Of course, not every person will agree with every decision that he makes, but most will likely be glad to live in a country in which the government, especially the Commander in Chief, can put aside party differences to reach an agreement that will ultimately benefit everyone.
Finally, a good President should have the foresight to create policies and programs that will improve the future of the United States. It can be all too easy to focus simply on how actions will immediately impact the nation, but the President should also think about the long term impacts of his actions. Several Presidents have spearheaded programs during their terms in office that still affect Americans today, including the United Nations, Social Security, and the National Parks program. A good President should strive to ensure that the impacts of such changes are positive not only while he is in office, but for future generations as well.
When all is said and done, there are several different qualities to be possessed by a good President, and the above are simply the three that I consider to be most important. I would encourage readers to develop their own criteria for what makes a good President and use that to determine which of our Commanders in Chief have done the job well and which have not. After all, an opinion that is supported by evidence is more convincing in an argument than blind judgment. It may not be possible to change someone else’s opinion, but it never hurts to attempt to make them think…
Public figures often tend to be the subject of scrutiny, whether they are politicians or Hollywood celebrities. However, in the United States, one public figure tends to receive the most judgment from his fellow citizens – the President. Going down the line from the first to the 44th, historians and laymen alike form opinions of which Presidents were good and which were not. However, this scrutiny begs the question: What makes a good President? There are several qualities to consider, but few as important as a desire to protect the freedoms granted to citizens through the United States Constitution, an ability to work with members of both political parties to reach solutions to the nation’s issues, and the foresight to create programs and policies that will ultimately improve America’s future.
When a President takes the oath of office, he swears to do what he can to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States” (US Const. art. II, sec. 1). In doing so, he takes on the responsibility of protecting the rights granted to American citizens through the Constitution. Many of the Presidents that are well admired are those who have fought to protect the rights of their fellow Americans and enacted legislation to ensure that the same freedoms are granted to all members of the nation. By upholding his sworn duties, a President has the potential to become known as one who did his job well.
Another important trait for a good President is the ability to work well with members of both political parties. History has shown us that a nation divided cannot stand. To protect the country from crumbling, a President should work to reach agreements with those not just from his own party, but with those across the party lines as well. In doing so, he will ensure that the nation continues to function and he will also gain the respect of citizens of both parties. Of course, not every person will agree with every decision that he makes, but most will likely be glad to live in a country in which the government, especially the Commander in Chief, can put aside party differences to reach an agreement that will ultimately benefit everyone.
Finally, a good President should have the foresight to create policies and programs that will improve the future of the United States. It can be all too easy to focus simply on how actions will immediately impact the nation, but the President should also think about the long term impacts of his actions. Several Presidents have spearheaded programs during their terms in office that still affect Americans today, including the United Nations, Social Security, and the National Parks program. A good President should strive to ensure that the impacts of such changes are positive not only while he is in office, but for future generations as well.
When all is said and done, there are several different qualities to be possessed by a good President, and the above are simply the three that I consider to be most important. I would encourage readers to develop their own criteria for what makes a good President and use that to determine which of our Commanders in Chief have done the job well and which have not. After all, an opinion that is supported by evidence is more convincing in an argument than blind judgment. It may not be possible to change someone else’s opinion, but it never hurts to attempt to make them think…
Sunday, February 16, 2014
What is Freedom?
By: Larissa D.
I was asked recently what freedom means to me, and, to be quite honest, I had never given it much thought. I suppose that is the result of having been raised in a country where I do not have to worry too much about that idea. I have, in a way, lived a very privileged life – I have never been told that I could not one day own property, vote, or obtain an education. However, if I had been born in another country, or even in the United States a mere century ago, I would not enjoy the same freedoms that I have today.
That still begs the question: What is freedom? Whenever I hear that word, I always picture a bird in a cage. She is free to express herself through song, but she cannot soar through the sky with the wind blowing beneath her feathers. She cannot perch herself in a tree and feel the sunshine beat down upon her back. She cannot flit from place to place as she pleases. She is instead at the mercy of another being. She is not free.
How does this apply to mankind? Of course, human beings are not simply free to do whatever they please. They cannot kill or steal without being reprimanded. However, at least in the United States, people are free to protest peacefully, vote in elections, own property, obtain an education, sit in any seat that they choose on the bus or in a diner, and so on. Basically, man has the freedom to choose his own fate and to live life on a path chosen by the person himself, rather than by some other entity, as long as the choices that he makes do not infringe on the rights of another human being.
However, being free and being entitled to certain rights is not the same thing. For instance, while Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was imprisoned for murder, he certainly was not free. He was at the mercy of the judicial system until his conviction was overturned a second time 22 years after the crime he had allegedly committed had occurred. However, even during his imprisonment, Carter was still entitled to a trial before a jury of his peers and to exercise his right to appeal the decisions made against him all the way up to the United States Supreme Court.
Another highly publicized legal battle exists within the trial of Amanda Knox in the Italian courts for the alleged murder of her roommate in 2007. While Knox is now back in her hometown of Seattle, she has been convicted once again in the retrial that began in September 2013. According to an article from CNN, the retrial was the result of the decision from the Italian Supreme Court in March 2013 that stated that the jury that had acquitted Knox did not “consider all the evidence and discrepancies in testimony needed to be answered.” Knox does have the right to appeal this decision and now faces the possibility of extradition to Italy, although it is argued whether or not such action would be carried out due to the 5th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prevents a person from being tried twice on the same charge. However, for the time being, Amanda Knox’s freedom is questionable. Surely here in the US, she enjoys more freedoms than if she were in Italy, and for the time being, she remains out of prison. Still, she is at the mercy of not one, but two different judicial systems with two different sets of laws. That does not exactly sound like freedom to me.
Finally, what about those who have no connection to the legal system in the United States? How can we decide if they are free? Take for example the case of Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned in South Africa from 1964 until 1990. Certainly, it would be difficult to say that Mandela was free during those years. He was at the mercy of those who placed him in prison, and I am not familiar enough with what rights he had (if any) under the government of South Africa during that time. However, it is my belief that of the three persons discussed in this post, he achieved the ultimate freedom. He fought for what he believed in and did not give in, despite several conditional offers of release that had been made to him, according to the biography posted on the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s website. Instead, he stood by his beliefs and ultimately earned his freedom upon his release from prison in 1990. He was awarded a joint Nobel Peace Prize with President FW de Klerk in 1993 and in 1994 he became the first democratically elected President of South Africa. He chose his fate and was allowed to follow a path that he carved for himself, which most resembles freedom to me.
I believe that United States citizens are entitled to more freedoms than those who lived here in previous decades. I am most grateful for my right to pursue an education, to choose my own profession, to own property, and to vote, because they allow me to establish myself as a free and independent citizen of the United States. I remember doing mock trials in my eighth grade social studies class, in which I was a Puritan woman on trial for theft during the early days of the American colonies. However, I had not stolen money or an item from someone’s home – I had run away from my husband. It was explained by the teacher that in those times, women were considered to be property that belonged to their husbands and could be charged with stealing themselves and the clothes on their backs if they were caught trying to flee. Despite the many events that I have experienced since that day, I will always remember what it felt like not to be free, even if it was “only pretend.” That feeling motivates me to make the most of my freedoms and to choose my own fate in this world, one that will lead me down the path toward life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the way this country's forefathers intended.
I was asked recently what freedom means to me, and, to be quite honest, I had never given it much thought. I suppose that is the result of having been raised in a country where I do not have to worry too much about that idea. I have, in a way, lived a very privileged life – I have never been told that I could not one day own property, vote, or obtain an education. However, if I had been born in another country, or even in the United States a mere century ago, I would not enjoy the same freedoms that I have today.
That still begs the question: What is freedom? Whenever I hear that word, I always picture a bird in a cage. She is free to express herself through song, but she cannot soar through the sky with the wind blowing beneath her feathers. She cannot perch herself in a tree and feel the sunshine beat down upon her back. She cannot flit from place to place as she pleases. She is instead at the mercy of another being. She is not free.
How does this apply to mankind? Of course, human beings are not simply free to do whatever they please. They cannot kill or steal without being reprimanded. However, at least in the United States, people are free to protest peacefully, vote in elections, own property, obtain an education, sit in any seat that they choose on the bus or in a diner, and so on. Basically, man has the freedom to choose his own fate and to live life on a path chosen by the person himself, rather than by some other entity, as long as the choices that he makes do not infringe on the rights of another human being.
However, being free and being entitled to certain rights is not the same thing. For instance, while Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was imprisoned for murder, he certainly was not free. He was at the mercy of the judicial system until his conviction was overturned a second time 22 years after the crime he had allegedly committed had occurred. However, even during his imprisonment, Carter was still entitled to a trial before a jury of his peers and to exercise his right to appeal the decisions made against him all the way up to the United States Supreme Court.
Another highly publicized legal battle exists within the trial of Amanda Knox in the Italian courts for the alleged murder of her roommate in 2007. While Knox is now back in her hometown of Seattle, she has been convicted once again in the retrial that began in September 2013. According to an article from CNN, the retrial was the result of the decision from the Italian Supreme Court in March 2013 that stated that the jury that had acquitted Knox did not “consider all the evidence and discrepancies in testimony needed to be answered.” Knox does have the right to appeal this decision and now faces the possibility of extradition to Italy, although it is argued whether or not such action would be carried out due to the 5th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prevents a person from being tried twice on the same charge. However, for the time being, Amanda Knox’s freedom is questionable. Surely here in the US, she enjoys more freedoms than if she were in Italy, and for the time being, she remains out of prison. Still, she is at the mercy of not one, but two different judicial systems with two different sets of laws. That does not exactly sound like freedom to me.
Finally, what about those who have no connection to the legal system in the United States? How can we decide if they are free? Take for example the case of Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned in South Africa from 1964 until 1990. Certainly, it would be difficult to say that Mandela was free during those years. He was at the mercy of those who placed him in prison, and I am not familiar enough with what rights he had (if any) under the government of South Africa during that time. However, it is my belief that of the three persons discussed in this post, he achieved the ultimate freedom. He fought for what he believed in and did not give in, despite several conditional offers of release that had been made to him, according to the biography posted on the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s website. Instead, he stood by his beliefs and ultimately earned his freedom upon his release from prison in 1990. He was awarded a joint Nobel Peace Prize with President FW de Klerk in 1993 and in 1994 he became the first democratically elected President of South Africa. He chose his fate and was allowed to follow a path that he carved for himself, which most resembles freedom to me.
I believe that United States citizens are entitled to more freedoms than those who lived here in previous decades. I am most grateful for my right to pursue an education, to choose my own profession, to own property, and to vote, because they allow me to establish myself as a free and independent citizen of the United States. I remember doing mock trials in my eighth grade social studies class, in which I was a Puritan woman on trial for theft during the early days of the American colonies. However, I had not stolen money or an item from someone’s home – I had run away from my husband. It was explained by the teacher that in those times, women were considered to be property that belonged to their husbands and could be charged with stealing themselves and the clothes on their backs if they were caught trying to flee. Despite the many events that I have experienced since that day, I will always remember what it felt like not to be free, even if it was “only pretend.” That feeling motivates me to make the most of my freedoms and to choose my own fate in this world, one that will lead me down the path toward life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the way this country's forefathers intended.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
"Why should I care?" - A look at how argument and logic apply to writing on a controversial topic
By: Larissa D.
One of the most amazing things about the English language is that a single word, spelled only one way, can have multiple different meanings. Take the word argument, for example. An argument can be a disagreement between two individuals (or two groups or even a single person and a large mob) that can turn nasty or even violent. But an argument can also be the means by which an individual attempts to illustrate a certain point of view on a subject. For instance, the argument could be made for more measures put in place to prevent man-made disasters, such as the chemical spill into the Elk River that was previously discussed in this blog. However, one cannot simply state that there should be more environmental controls applied to private companies like Freedom Industries. There must be evidence from credible sources to support this claim in order to present a logical argument.
Logic is truly the backbone of any argument. Without logic, an argument can become laughable. To say, “There should be more protective measures put into place to prevent future man-made disasters because I said so,” would turn off even the most receptive of audiences. There must be more than “because I said so” – there must be a why. Why does the person presenting the argument think that there should be more controls in place? What evidence is there to support this idea? Does the evidence presented come from experts in the field, or laymen who like to run their mouths about a problem with no evidence to back up their claims? Whether these questions are stated bluntly or not, the human mind often considers these things when it is presented with an argument.
I have had some experience with argument writing, although when I was in high school, it was called a persuasive essay. It was the writer’s job to present a logical argument and persuade the audience to adopt his or her thesis as a true statement. At least that is how I remember them… Granted this all took place more than seven years ago, so my high school memories are not as sharp as they once were. In preparing an argument paper in my English 101 class, I am getting a refresher on taking a stand on a controversial issue and presenting evidence to support my claim.
I have chosen to write my paper on the topic noted above: the argument that more environmental controls should be applied to private companies in order to prevent future man-made disasters. I will not simply state my argument and leave it at that. My readers will want to know why my thesis is sound. They will ask themselves, “Why should there be more controls in place? Why should we allow government agencies like the DEP to have more control over privately owned companies? Why should we care about this issue?” The answers to these questions lie within the evidence that will be presented in the paper. I plan to not only research the circumstances surrounding the chemical spill at Freedom Industries, but to also examine another man-made catastrophe in West Virginia: the Buffalo Creek disaster in 1972, which occurred when a series of dams that had been built to contain coal mine waste failed and a large-scale flood ensued. I plan to look into what regulations existed at the time of both incidents and how those regulations were being enforced. I plan to examine why these events were allowed to occur and to ask myself what else could have been done (and by whom) to prevent these disasters.
As for the question of why the audience should care, the answer is simple: because one day, someone that reads my paper may be in the wrong place at the wrong time and end up on the business end of a man-made environmental disaster. Once a person loses his home, a loved one, or even his own life to a preventable catastrophe, it will matter to him. But should he wait until that day comes and it is too late to do anything about it? Or would he rather attempt to prevent those loses before they occur? While I was not personally affected by either of the aforementioned disasters (I was not even a glimmer in my parents’ eyes in 1972), I do live downstream of a plant that uses creosote in their production of timber products. Do I want to wait until that chemical spills into my water supply and makes my children sick before I worry about the effectiveness of the measures currently in place to prevent such an event? Absolutely not. My goal is to clearly illustrate to my readers why this issue is important through the evidence that I will present within my paper. While it may not change anyone’s mind, it should at least make them think.
One of the most amazing things about the English language is that a single word, spelled only one way, can have multiple different meanings. Take the word argument, for example. An argument can be a disagreement between two individuals (or two groups or even a single person and a large mob) that can turn nasty or even violent. But an argument can also be the means by which an individual attempts to illustrate a certain point of view on a subject. For instance, the argument could be made for more measures put in place to prevent man-made disasters, such as the chemical spill into the Elk River that was previously discussed in this blog. However, one cannot simply state that there should be more environmental controls applied to private companies like Freedom Industries. There must be evidence from credible sources to support this claim in order to present a logical argument.
Logic is truly the backbone of any argument. Without logic, an argument can become laughable. To say, “There should be more protective measures put into place to prevent future man-made disasters because I said so,” would turn off even the most receptive of audiences. There must be more than “because I said so” – there must be a why. Why does the person presenting the argument think that there should be more controls in place? What evidence is there to support this idea? Does the evidence presented come from experts in the field, or laymen who like to run their mouths about a problem with no evidence to back up their claims? Whether these questions are stated bluntly or not, the human mind often considers these things when it is presented with an argument.
I have had some experience with argument writing, although when I was in high school, it was called a persuasive essay. It was the writer’s job to present a logical argument and persuade the audience to adopt his or her thesis as a true statement. At least that is how I remember them… Granted this all took place more than seven years ago, so my high school memories are not as sharp as they once were. In preparing an argument paper in my English 101 class, I am getting a refresher on taking a stand on a controversial issue and presenting evidence to support my claim.
I have chosen to write my paper on the topic noted above: the argument that more environmental controls should be applied to private companies in order to prevent future man-made disasters. I will not simply state my argument and leave it at that. My readers will want to know why my thesis is sound. They will ask themselves, “Why should there be more controls in place? Why should we allow government agencies like the DEP to have more control over privately owned companies? Why should we care about this issue?” The answers to these questions lie within the evidence that will be presented in the paper. I plan to not only research the circumstances surrounding the chemical spill at Freedom Industries, but to also examine another man-made catastrophe in West Virginia: the Buffalo Creek disaster in 1972, which occurred when a series of dams that had been built to contain coal mine waste failed and a large-scale flood ensued. I plan to look into what regulations existed at the time of both incidents and how those regulations were being enforced. I plan to examine why these events were allowed to occur and to ask myself what else could have been done (and by whom) to prevent these disasters.
As for the question of why the audience should care, the answer is simple: because one day, someone that reads my paper may be in the wrong place at the wrong time and end up on the business end of a man-made environmental disaster. Once a person loses his home, a loved one, or even his own life to a preventable catastrophe, it will matter to him. But should he wait until that day comes and it is too late to do anything about it? Or would he rather attempt to prevent those loses before they occur? While I was not personally affected by either of the aforementioned disasters (I was not even a glimmer in my parents’ eyes in 1972), I do live downstream of a plant that uses creosote in their production of timber products. Do I want to wait until that chemical spills into my water supply and makes my children sick before I worry about the effectiveness of the measures currently in place to prevent such an event? Absolutely not. My goal is to clearly illustrate to my readers why this issue is important through the evidence that I will present within my paper. While it may not change anyone’s mind, it should at least make them think.
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