Final Blog

These past fifteen weeks have truly been unforgettable. I can honestly say that this has been my most challenging class at Antelope Valley College, but I have learned the most from it. When I first began this class, I thought it would be a walk in the park because English classes have never been too much of a challenge for me. But oh boy was I wrong! This class has been everything but leisure. Believe it or not, I actually worried throughout the semester if I was going to be able to make it till the end. I really thought long and hard about withdrawing from the class, but to me that would be considered quitting, and I always try my hardest to never quit. I am so thankful that I persevered through this class because I have learned so much from it. From doing all of our reading and writing assignments, I have grown a lot as a student. And furthermore, what I have learned in this class will help me in the future, both as a student and as a person. Not only have I learned academically, but I have also learned how to mange my time with all the work we were given throughout the weeks. Between practice, away games, work, and my four other classes it was hard for me to squeeze the all the work into my schedule. I probably pulled out all my hair and have permanent bags under my eyes from all the stress of this semester. I will be the first one to say the work load in this class is out of this world, but it all pays off in the end. And I must say I am proud of myself for working through it all. Looking back, I remember freaking out after our first essays were graded. I did horrible, and it was the first time I realized how much essay grades factored into our overall grade. After that first essay, my grade had dropped so low! I freaked! But now as the end draws near, I have worked so hard and I am so close to getting that A that I have wanted so long. Wish me luck!

Even though I never got to meet my classmates face to face, I feel like I really did get to know a lot of you. From reading blogs to participating in group discussions I wish you all good luck as we are heading toward the end of the semester. Do not give in now and work hard these last two weeks. And no matter how you finish the class take pride in the fact that you made it through. Lastly, I thank all of my classmates and Professor Gross for making this course a great experience for me.

On Critical Thinking, Again

At the beginning of the semester, I had a good Idea of what critically thinking was, but throughout the semester I learned even more and more of what critically thinking entails. Upon begging this class I knew that to think critical means to take a look further than what things seem to be on the outside and to read between the lines, however from my participation in this class I have learned so much more about thinking critically. Like spotting the use of an illogical fallacy in an argument, or how ethos, pathos, and logos can be used to persuade a person, how to use inductive and deductive reasoning, articulate biases and even to recognize when someone is bullshitting. As I stated when I was first asked this question, it is often said that the average human only uses ten percent of its brain. If we could use more than ten percent of our brain, imagine what intellectual powers we could possibly tap into. I am sure that upon leaving this class I have learned to use more than ten percent of my brain. Not only have I learned the importance of thinking critically, I have applied my critical thinking skills to my whole life. Often, when I am in class listening to a lecture I try to find any fallacies in my teacher’s arguments. When I read from text-books, or even watching the seven o’ clock news I think critically about every bit of information I receive and try to figure out if it is bullshit or legitimate information. And when a friend is trying to persuade me, I take notice if they are using pathos, ethos, or logos. Overall, I have learned that critical thinking is so much more than just analyzing something. We can analyze something without truly thinking critically, but it is what we do with the information we analyze that manners. Earlier in the semester I said that “I am greatly looking forward to sharpening my critical thinking and reading skills in this class. I hope that my abilities to analyze writings will transfer over to even more aspects of my life including academic areas and a more in-depth look as to the way I view the world in general.” Well, my hopes have been fulfilled, and the way I look at the world has most definitely changed. And believe it or not, thinking critically has helped me in my other classes so much, now whenever I get an assignment I am eager to begin analyzing away at it.

RLIT

Ah, the research project. Normally I hear the word research and get really excited. In fact it is probably my favorite part of learning. For the most part I enjoy research so much because it allows you to learn things that you never would have known, but the hard part about researching this topic is that there are very limited sources on Reading Lolita in Tehran. But I have found ebsc host, a tool that I have used in my other classes, to help me find more scholarly sources on the subject matter. I used to hate ebsco with a passion, but with this project it seems to be a lifesaver. As of now I am still researching and putting together what I really want to write about. Normally I can jump right in on a paper and start writing right away. But this time is different for some reason. My mind is drawing a blank, and I have no idea where to even begin. Surprisingly, it was hard for me to formulate a thesis for this paper. I really had to push myself to think through it. It will also be hard for me to meet the required page minimum. I have always been a concise writer, short and straight to the point, and I simply can not go on and on about this subject. Do not get me wrong, six pages is in no way difficult, and it does not even come close to the longest paper I have written, but for this topic matter it exceeds what I really have to write about. Another thing I am struggling with lately is time management. Having a research paper due this time of year is everything but pleasant. It is getting busier at work with the holidays coming up; the work load in my four other classes is just about tripling; I will have to take time away from it all for thanksgiving next week; and playoffs are coming up and my team is spending more time in the gym than ever—and all this means is less time I can devote to this project, and even our other assignments for that matter. In fact just allocating and reading the second novel has been an issue. By the time I finally could find a moment to read it, I would fall asleep within ten minutes! Finally I was able to buckle down and finish it. But for now, I am slowly moving along chugging through the project.

Consequences of Internet Communcation

In the past decade nothing has grown faster than internet communication. Myspace, Facebook, instant messaging have all become the new source of human interaction. It is unarguable that the internet and cyber technology are great mediums to communicate with one another, to express ones self, and to update your status, but all this comes with a cost. Often we do not remember that the information we put into the cyber world stays there forever and has the potential to be viewed by anyone. This being said, too many of us frivolously tell all of our private life’s online, not realizing the internet is a public forum—and sometimes some of the information we give comes along with some major unwanted consequences. I have always tried to pay close attention to the things that I post online, but sometimes things do slip through the cracks. One time I posted a picture of my best friend and me in a provocative pose with a provocative caption. The picture was flirty to say the least, but I never though of it as more than a joke—but that all changed. Even though the picture I posted was private and only viewable by certain people, I did not realize that people could take it for more than it really was. My teammates all saw the picture, which I was ok with, but I did not realize that my coaches would also see the picture. I have always wanted my coaches and my elders to have respect for me, but this picture had reeked everything but respectful! Needless to say this was a big deal to me and I immediately removed the picture, but it was too late. I am not the only one who has had this experience. I have even had friends who were passed over for job opportunities because their would-be employers did not approve of the content on their Myspace of Facebook pages. Technology has made it very simple for anyone to do a Google search and find everything from your twitter account to a blog and even personal photos on Facebook. We have to realize that everything on the internet can be seen by someone, somewhere. Since my mishap with the internet, I have always paid special attention to what I put online. You never know who will see it and the effects this could eventually have on you.

Writing. Writing. Writing

Of all of our somewhat tedious assignments in this class including blogging, responding, group work, discussion boards, essay writing, pear draft reviews, critically thinking assignments and more, I have been tired and stressed out to the point of no return, but I can truly say that my writing has greatly improved. I know that I have benefited most from the essays assigned to us in the EL Critically Thinking Book. Although I must admit that sometimes they are a drag, reading the essays have made me a better writer and a more critical thinker. The essays in the book are so diverse and they have opened my mind to new interesting subjects. By reading all the essays, I was exposed to a variety of authors and their different styles, voice, and form. I have also expanded my knowledge of a lot of subjects and I have more ideas on what to write about. Furthermore blogging has helped improve my writing tremendously. Having an actual written assignment due every week has been great. Not only do I get to express my ideas, but I also get to practice my writing, and we all know that practice makes perfect. I believe a person can never get enough practice no matter how talented he or she may be, so being forced to constantly write has come along with some great improvements. Blogging has also been helpful for me because for the most part I have had the choice to write about subjects that I am truly interested in. That way I did not get the dreaded writers block and I rarely ran out of ideas. The reader’s discussion forum has been yet another tool that has helped me become a better writer in terms of critically thinking. For me, the hardest part of the Readers Forum is not answering the previous question, but thinking of a question to ask. Asking questions in that forum makes me think hard and critically. I truly believe that practicing this type of critical questioning helped improve my writing and critical thinking. Peer draft review is the ultimate tool that has helped to improve my writing. For one, having my writing analyzed and critiqued by my peers is tremendously helpful. Seeing others opinions about my writings and having things that I overlooked fixed is great. But also reviewing my classmates writing has been very helpful to me. By looking over their papers I can also see where I may have gone wrong in my papers and I also get to see how others express themselves. All in all, even though the assignments we have in this class have come in loads, I have considerably helped me improve my writing skills.

Politcal Cartoons

When you look at a newspaper or any editorial the first thing that catches your attention is the editorial cartoons. We share them with friends and post them on refrigerators and office doors. Political cartoons are arguably the simplest and most powerful form of communication that symbolizes a topic of interest, and most often that topic is one of great controversy. Because political cartoons are a combination of verbal and visual satire, it comes as no surprise that many political cartoons are often extremely offensive. A political cartoon published in the South African Sunday times is a prime example of just how offensive these cartoons can get. South African cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro’s derogatory drawing was offensive to me, and was the source of world wide controversy. Shapiro drew a vicious, downright disturbing image of the ANC (the South African ruling party) leader Jacob Zuma unbuckling his belt, looking down on a woman labeled “Justice System,” blindfolded and held down by leering men. The cartoon shows Zuma preparing to rape the justice system, portrayed as a blindfolded woman pinned down by Zuma’s political allies including the ANC, the Communist Party, unions and the ANC Youth League holding the woman or the “justice system” down and rooting Zuma to “go for it”. In other words Zuma was preparing to rape the justice system. It is important to remember that Zuma’s leadership has been characterized by corruption and he has even been accused of rape. In the second part of the political cartoon, president Zuma, standing with his pants unbuckled warns that he “respects” the justice system that he is about to rape. I must admit, that I understand and agree with the point that Shapiro was trying to make with his cartoon, and that is that Zuma is taking pure advantage of the South African justice system. Zuma is in fact a corrupted leader, but this cartoon is still offensive due to its graphic nature. In the picture, we do not get to see that Zuma is raping the justice system, we only see him and his allies’ gang rapping a woman, and we can all agree that seeing images of a woman about to get gang raped is in no way appropriate to be printed in a nationwide news source. And furthermore comparing the leaders corruption to the lewd act of rape is also something that needs to be reconsidered. I must say that even though I find this cartoon highly offensive, and I do think that Shapiro could have expressed his views in another way, I feel that Shapiro has the right to draw and publish whatever he wants.

Free Speach V. Abusive Language

In no way do I take the privilege of having my first amendment right to free speech for granted but I do feel that we as a society are too hypersensitive and need to wake up and stop letting what others say about us have such huge effects on us. Nevertheless, I am very considerate to the needs of others around me and do feel that outward use of abusive language toward another individual is wrong and is not something that I would take part in. So when asked if I would sign an agreement to refrain from using such language to gain acceptance into my school, then I would sign, but I would do so reluctantly. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with agreeing to not using offensive language. Actually, in my opinion, an agreement should not be necessary and its existence shows the true character of people in our society. Are we that rude and inconsiderate? I cannot understand what motivates people to be so disrespectful, and it is disappointing that so many people are. The way I was raised you never use this type of language and offend people, even if you do not agree with the person, and I do not know how a person can be heartless enough to fix their lips to hurt another person.
Even still, upon signing the agreement I would be very suspicious of my right to free speech being oppressed. My right to say what I want to when and where I want to is ultimately compromised by signing this agreement, and if it were not for positive means, I under normal situations I would never sign such a thing that takes away my right to free speech, but since this promotes social ‘behavior adjustment’ I would in fact sign.