Prompt 12: What is good writing?

This is a question that writing teachers struggle to answer, but it is at the heart of what you are learning through your work with this class. If you can begin to answer that question then you are on your way to become a reflective writer which will in turn result in your continued growth and development as a writer after you leave this class. That continued growth and development is my goal for you because I can only hope to effect so much change in one semester – certainly not your complete transformation as a writer – and also because at some point you need to accept your own responsibility for your growth and development as a writer. I can give you advice and tools, but ultimately you are the one who determines your future as a writer.

So let’s reflect on what makes good writing as we consider what others have to say about the subject:

·         The Principles of Good Writing

·         What is Good Writing?

·         What is Good Writing?

Nothing too earth shattering here, right? Probably all ideas you’ve heard before and came up with as you considered the question yourself. It is not that these ideas are wrong BUT they are too limiting, in my opinion. Is all good writing the same? If you are a good creative writer does that automatically mean you will be a good academic writer? Once you’ve achieved the status of a “good writer” does that mean you will never struggle as a writer again?  OK, that question made me laugh out loud and if I addressed it to my friends who work as professional writers they would probably smack me on the back of the head.

So writing with purpose, organizing your ideas, and observing the conventions is not enough to be a good writer. It is true that organization and conventions play a role in all forms of writing, but simply having a clear purpose is not enough – your purpose has to serve the needs of the intended audience. It is not enough to know what you are writing, you also need to know whom you are writing for and what they need and want from your writing. Good writing achieves your purposes and serves the needs of your audience.

Organization and conventions are important in every piece of writing BUT without understanding the expectations of your intended audience and the conventions of your intended format and genre you still could generate “bad” writing even if it is well organized and grammatically correct. Most audiences/communities expect good writing to observe grammar, spelling, and punctuation conventions but they are more willing to forgive the occasional convention error than your misunderstanding of the essential function of your piece.

Too often school writing is all about form (the surface structure and appearance) but in reality good writing is much more about function. This is not to say that grammar, spelling, punctuation, organization etc. are not important – they are very important as they can distract from and even interfere with the function of your writing and certainly influence the reader’s judgment of the value of your writing. However, in my belief as a professional writer and a writing teacher, it is the function that ultimately determines what is good writing and what is not.

What I want you to think about now, after considering the implications of this is to think about what this means for the evaluation of your writing. I have not yet created the scoring guide for your final paper and thought it might be helpful for you to work with me to create it. This is in part so you can create your own checklists for future projects as well as take another step in your development as a writer by making you more self-regulating.

Your job for the reflection cycle is to think about what qualities we need to consider in terms of evaluating your reports. Look at the scoring guides I created for the proposal and literature review.  What I do first is to come up with a list of topics or qualities that I consider essential to a “good” proposal or literature review and then begin phrasing the question or statement that covers that quality and sets us up to assign an appropriate value on the scale (5 = definitely to 1 = not at all). I may decide that some qualities should be weighted more heavily than others. I’m not asking you to create the whole scoring guide – just a list. I hope through our discussion this week we will be able to combine and refine a list that helps us all learn a bit more about evaluating writing. Your reflective Tweet can touch on that lesson rather than your evaluation list.

Prompt 11: What is community and why does it matter?

I created this video about Community and Genre for my Eng 200 class last semester and I think this is an useful place to begin our discussion of community. At around the same time I wrote this blog post – Community: Jumping to become a full-patch member which further extends my argument.

Links from the video (if you want to learn more):

Genre

Memo

Discourse Community

Gangland

Wolfpack

Reflect on this idea of joining a community. What communities have you joined and how has this process been similar or different from the one I describe?

I also want you to begin thinking about the ways that the web has made the process of learning about a community – and joining it – much easier (or perhaps more complicated?). This can help you with your project.

Look for the web site of an organization that relates to your project topic. For example, there are many organizations out there targeted specifically for first-generation college students, including First Scholars, and groups for nontraditional students. Read up about the organization’s mission, goals, and history. How easy will it be to join this organization? What are the steps to becoming a full-patch member?

I also want you to investigate some hashtags (read this post to learn more about hash tags: The Twitter Hash Tags if you still aren’t clear about them) that relate to your topic (and intended community). Here are a few that I suspect will be helpful for you:

#appalachia

#highered

#NCAN

#edchat

#college

#nontrads

As the post above describes, hash tags develop organically rather than systematically so you have to play and experiment a bit to find the most appropriate and relevant hash tags. Once you have found a few that will work for your project then investigate the Twitter stream for that hash tag and check out the links that people Tweet. You will often find great resources, blogs, and interesting folks this way.

I want you to specifically study a relevant Twitter feed to look for people Tweeting and blogging about your topic. Do some searches for hashtag variations so you can locate the best choice(s) for your purpose. Then spend some time studying your chosen Twitter hashtag stream and gather information related to your topic. What can you learn from and about these individuals that confirms or contradicts what you learned from your literature review? Spend some time checking out (clicking on their names and links they provide) the individuals who post to the Twitter stream. Do any of these people have blogs and/or web sites? Perhaps consider “following” some folks of interest and posting to the stream yourself.

Prompt 10: Making Sandwiches or a recipe for using sources

As you work on your literature reviews it is a good time to discuss how you can and should share the information you will learn from your sources. We have already talked about how to find information and how to evaluate it, but that is the easy part of using sources.

Some common mistakes to avoid include throwing everything into the kitchen sink. This means including everything you find related to your topic. While this approach might seem like a good idea if you look at the kitchen sink pictured you will see that this approach is too overwhelming for the reader. There is no room to maneuver in here – throwing that much information at the reader feels like a bombardment of information with no chance to think or process. Plus, who knows what interesting or useful items might be buried under the clutter. As a reader I don’t have the time, energy, or interest in excavating – your job as the writer is to sift and sort through the information you find and share only the best and most important information so I’m not buried. However, there is more involved than that – good writing also means that your words and ideas should play a primary role here. This is your work and we should be able to see you in it.

This means sandwiching your nuggets of valuable information (and they should be nuggets – think bite sized tidbits rather than chunks that require a knife and fork) between full, thick layers of your own words. You need to make your argument clear first. What is the point? What do you want people to consider or ask? Why do you care? Why should they care? Only after you have drawn the reader into your topic do you bring in your source information to support your argument.

It is important, especially the first time you use a source in a particular project, to introduce your source. Who is this person and why should we care what they have to say? Have they conducted extensive research? What is their expertise? And don’t forget that every source also requires proper documentation including both in-text citation and a works cited page entry.

Now you are ready to use your source material but you still need to exercise caution. You have a choice about how to use that information. You could quote, paraphrase or summarize (learn more about the difference in Ch. 20 (specifically using source p. 555 as well as on the Purdue OWL) but essentially it is the difference between using their exact words, selected ideas, or the main ideas. It is very important to remember that the use of direct quotes, and especially block quotes, should be extremely limited. Only use the exact words when that exact wording is just as important as the ideas they present. In most cases, you will share the ideas rather than the words. Good writers are more than parrots.

One final important point is that the impulse of many writers is to now immediately jump to the next source or the next tidbit of information but remember you are not making a chain here – you are making a sandwich and that requires two pieces of bread for each filling. This requires that you return back to your own words and ideas. You need to explain the connections to your argument and then move your argument forward in your own words before beginning the process all over again with your next source.

For your weekly reflections I want you to consider where you have gone wrong in the past or your potential for straying from the path of good writing in the future. For example, all these mistakes (the kitchen sink, bombardier, parrot, and chain) are ones I have made in the past. Admitting the problem/mistake is the first step toward healing yourself! Let’s see if we can identify any mistakes that I’ve overlooked here.

Are you ready to make your own sandwiches?

Prompt 9: Information LIteracy

Our topic this week is information literacy. This is important to consider as you begin working on your next assignment (the literature review).

What is information literacy? Well, it is something you have been working on your entire college career (and hopefully before). According to Plattsburgh State (my alma mater),  Information literacy is the ability to recognize the extent and nature of an information need, then to locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed information. Some more information from your future alma mater as well as the University of Idaho and Wikipedia.

Many people make the mistake that it is about finding information but it is much more than that – it is about evaluating and effectively using it.

We live in a knowledge economy (read more about that with Drucker and the rise of the knowledge worker) and we are surrounded by more information than we can possibly process, use, or even store. This means we need to become good at Crap Detection.

Traditionally information comes to us in a variety of forms. Periodicals traditionally offer more current information than books, although of course the web usually has the most current information. Newspapers, popular magazines, trade journals, and academic journals are all examples of periodicals. Not all periodicals offer the same guarantees in terms of the quality of the information they provide and so do not provide the same weight of support for your arguments. For example, trade journals are typically written and edited by professionals working in the field so they are more credible than newspapers and popular magazines. However, academic journals typically publish articles that have undergone an intense peer-review process by experts in the field so they are the most credible of all sources. Books may fall somewhere in between trade journals and academic journals in terms of credibility -- although that may depend on the publisher. However, the time to publication is often lengthy so they may not include the most up-to-date information. The credibility of information on the web depends very much on the source of the information and how it has been examined, evaluated, and explained (see Crap Detection).


You have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages for your particular rhetorical context. Different communities and different genres will privilege one over another – although even then that may depend on purpose. And last, but not least: Some strategies you can use to evaluate information.

Project Topics

The second half of the semester will focus on your individual projects which will include the following assignments:

·         Proposal

·         Literature Review

·         Paper

·         Presentation

Your projects will focus on researching, writing, and sharing information concerning one specific topic approved by the instructor. This week we will begin exploring possible topics for your projects. I want you to think about what we have read and discussed this semester in our weekly reflection activities as well as other topics that impact your college education and professional future.

We have explored eight reflective topics so far this semester on our class blog:

1.       Writing

2.       Literacy

3.       Why are we here?

4.       Occupying education

5.       Public Life

6.       Diversity

7.       Work

8.       Social Media

You can declare your own topic but they should in some way concern your college education and professional future. This would mean, for example, that you could explore issues related to religion but they should follow ideas such as those offered by Einstein and Patel. However, it does not mean you have to focus solely on topics such as those offered in Chapter 27 (the “work” chapter). You may want to revisit the “Why are we here” and “Occupying education” prompts as well to see what stirs your interest.

Some topics we haven’t explored but you could consider include:

·         The cost and value of your education. Here are some readings to get you started (affordability, value of education & student lending)

·         Teaching intellectual virtues

·         National goals for college education

·         College dropouts, contingent faculty and other challenges facing our education system

·         An important local issue, the UPike proposal

You can also consider very personal issues such as being a first-generation college student or nontraditional college student. In addition, you could explore issues such as choosing a degree program (and future career) or the challenges of pursuing a particular degree/career path.

This week you should complete an additional journal entry, Tweet, and class discussion exploring ideas for your own project as well as helping others find their own topic via Twitter and class discussion.

Prompt 8: Social Media

How many friends have you made today?

Prompt: In chapter 22 the author used many sources to write it. They used articles, youtube videos, and many sources. In all I believe that the sources that the author chose for this chapter are reliable. They all state statistics and state a main purpose which is to inform the reader or viewer about how the Social Network Sites (SNS’s) help society and hurt society. The author gathered a variety of sources eliminating the possibility of the sources being biased. The author did a great job on gathering information about the subject.

What is your favorite social network and why? Do you feel that social networks deserve the bad reps for under age contact, suicides, etc.?

Annotated Bibliography

· Boyd, Danah M, and Nicole B. Ellison. “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. Print.

                This article explains how social networks change and evolve into what we want them to be, and the history about how they came to be in the first place.

·        

Cheung, Christy M.K., Pui-Yee Chiu, and Matthew K.O. Lee. "Online Social Networks: Why Do Students Use Facebook?." Computers In Human Behavior 27.4 (2011): 1337-1343. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.

                The main point of this text is to show how students all over the world come together to share their ideas and wisdom.

Conan, Neal, and Kim Zetter, and Andy Carvin. “Talk of the Nation” Natl. Public Radio. 4 Dec. 2008. Radio.

                This text debates if creating a fake online profile is a criminal act. Especially because of predators luring teen girls in.

Lewin, Tamar. “Study Finds Teenagers’ Internet Socializing Isn’t Such a Bad Thing.” New York Times 20 Nov. 2008. Print.

                In this text Lewin is arguing that internet socializing is a good thing because it is giving them to technology skills they will need to succeed in this new world.

Pollet T, Roberts S, Dunbar R.” Use of Social Network Sites and Instant Messaging Does Not Lead to Increased Offline Social Network Size, or to Emotionally Closer Relationships with Offline Network Members.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking (2011): 253-258. Print. 

                In this text scientists are conducting a test to see how social media effects relationships between two online users.

Zwier S, Araujo T, Boukes M, Willemsen L. Boundaries to the Articulation of Possible Selves Through Social Networking Sites: The Case of Facebook Profilers' Social Connectedness. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking 14 (2012): 571-576. Print.

                This text main point is that people on facebook feel more connected and ‘popular’ when they have a lot of ‘friends’. They do not even have to know them, they can be completely made up. It gives them a sense of belonging. 

Prompt 7: Work

Why Are we here?

Money is very hard to come by these days.  Some work two jobs just to pay the bills.  Many believe that a higher education is the solution to the problem. But, is it? How much more money can you make with a degree?  Younger people as young as teenagers are having to experience the cruel world of work.  Unemployment rates increase more and more each year.  Can a college degree keep you out of the unemployment line?  If you do decide to further your education, what difference is there between a two year program and a four year program?  Pages 1000-1005 in your book shows some really good graphs on education and earnings.

When going to college, how do you decide what major to go in?  When a child is young, you almost always hear them say to their parents or caregivers, "I want to grow up and be just like you."  I don"t think we realize how true that statement can be.  How a child grows up and what job or career their parents have really do have a big influence as the child turns into an adult, both good and bad.  How has your life been influenced by your childhood? Do you see yourself pursuing a similar career as your parents?

The workforce is hard, and so is school. We should consider both the pros and cons of college and how it will impact our future and the future of our offspring. We should ask ourselves this, Why Are We Here? We are all here to get a higher education, but why are you personally here? Because you can't get a stable job? Because your parents want a college graduate?

Works Cited

Carey, Kevin. "What Do Your Grads Make? Students and Parents Deserve to Know. -     Commentary - The Chronicle of Higher Education." Home - The Chronicle of   Higher Education. Web. Feb. 2012. <http://chronicle.com/article/What-Do-Your- Grads-Make-/127891/>.

This text first talks about Shaw University and how they have been criticized for having the worst return rate for income upon graduation. Because of a tornado and natural disasters the school and the classes were shut down, putting a halt on students graduations. It discusses the benefits of attending a two-year college versus a four-year because it is centered more around a particular job and not needing extra unnecessary classes.

Gibbons, Melinda M.Woodside, MarianneHannon, ChristineSweeney, Jeffrey R.Davison,                        John. "The Lived Experience Of Work And Career: Women Whose Parents Lack                    Postsecondary Education." Career Development Quarterly 59.4 (2011): 315.      MasterFILE Premier. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.

This text discusses the exploration and research done on women whose parents did not have a formal education or secondary education. They discuss how encouragement has played an effect on their motivation and willingness for their education.

"How Parents Become Role Models and Inspire Family - Randall Metting - YouTube."                 YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. Feb. 2012.             <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-hzyf2WOgc>.

This video discusses how people motivate and treat one another and the positive effect of being positive. He discusses his father and the fact that he was a good man who treated his peers with respect, he then treated his peers the same way. His father was his role model and the reason he is the person he is.

Lunsford, Andrea A., John J. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. Everything's an      Argument: With Readings. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. Print.

This text brings up the question “What are you working for”. There are narratives about different and their experiences with work. It discusses all age groups from teens to senior citizens. Lastly it discusses the benefits of a degree and if it is necessary for everyone or even worth your time.

Potter, Claire. "A New Deal For Higher Education: Start With More Small Classes For                  Everyone - Tenured Radical - The Chronicle of Higher Education." Home – The                       Chronicle of Higher Education. Web. Feb. 2012.                                                         

<http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/tenuredradical/2010/02/new-deal-for-higher-education-start/>.

This peer-reviewed article discusses the benefits of having a small number of students enrolled in his classes. It discusses how you can have more one on one time with the students, you are better able as a student to comprehend the material faster, and as a teacher you can move on to another subject faster.

"Which College Degrees Pay The Most? - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.                     Web. Feb. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb_N6s5Yi7Q>.

This video is a brief interview with a woman discussing what people can expect to make upon graduating. She discusses with others the return rate of tuition verses how much you will make back. She discusses having a “game plan” going into college and even go to a community college because you have time to think about what you want to do. 

Prompt 6: Diversity

Think of a world without Diversity, where everything was exactly the same.  Where race, ethnic groups, cultures, music, your mind, style, romance, the way you spend your money is exactly the same as everyone else. Now think of your workplace, where your co-workers had the same ideas as you, where everyone talked, acted, spoke the same way. No one was different from another. You may find it hard to imagine a place like this; America is a country full of diversity. Whether it be cultural diversity, economic diversity, or workplace diversity it is something that makes us all unique in our own way.   

Think of everyone believing in one religion, being from the same area. This is cultural diversity, which can be defined as the differences in race, ethnicity, language, nationality, religion, and sexual orientation represented within a community (Amadeo). Being exposed to diversity can be a tremendous benefit for a community, whether it is a specific community or a widespread community. Although it may seem like the benefits may outweigh the negatives, but whenever you mix different cultures, values, and opinions together, you will get arguing and ultimately conflicts. As mentioned in everything’s an argument; very few of today’s scientists believe there are not such things as races like there were in the past, instead there are social entities; however, they agree races haven’t disappeared. This means that we have all shared our cultures with each other so much that we all have something in common but still maintain our differences. Having respect for other heritages and beliefs while respecting those of others, an important factor is when being a part of a diverse culture.

   However, there are those who resist diversity. These people might be unable to accept diversity or just completely refuse to accept it. What comes from this could be considered racism. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines racism as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial difference produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” This cannot be better described than the segregation in America’s own history regarding Native-Americans and African-Americans.

 Thankfully, as society progresses and communication becomes easier between people of one culture to another, we now celebrate our diversity and our rich cultures throughout the nation and accept them. As society continues to progress, acceptance of cultures will become even better, which will result in more people being able to keep and practice their heritage with greater acceptance from society.

Go back to thinking of your job without diversity. Think of having to share the same role with everyone in your company. Now your job title as boss doesn’t mean anything. The ideas you bring to the table is the exact same as the person sitting across from you. This is where diversity in the workplace makes things different. It could be said to be a people issue, based on the differences and similarities that the people bring into an organization. To accept diversity in the workplace would mean creating a workplace that respects and includes differences. There are many different ways to look at diversity in the workplace. There is what is called workplace discrimination. For African, Hispanic (Latino), and Asian Americans to overcome racial discrimination they must be able to recognize the problems, understand the remedies and be willing to take action. This process could be used in other situations regarding diversity in the workplace. One of the challenges of diversity in the workplace is communication which includes language and cultural barriers, ineffective communication, and low morale. Another challenge is implementation of diversity in the workplace polices. This is the overriding challenge to all diversity advocates. They must build and implement a customized strategy to maximize the effects of diversity in the workplace for their particular organization. Another challenge is the resistance to change. Often there are employees who chose to not accept the fact of social and cultural makeup of the workplace is changing. Managers need to be prepared to handle the complexities of modern organizational life.

When organizations handle their diversity issues in the workplace effectively, develop and implement diversity plans, there are multiple benefits such as increased adaptability. Organizations that are employing a diverse workforce are able to supply a greater variety of solutions to problems in service, sourcing, and resources. Employees from diverse backgrounds bring individual talents and experiences in suggesting ideas that are flexible in adapting to changing markets and customer demands. There is also a broader service range. A diverse collection of skills and experiences such as languages and cultural understanding, allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis. There is also a more effective execution. Companies that encourage diversity in the workplace inspire all of their employees to perform to their highest ability. Company wide strategies can then be executed, resulting in higher productivity, profit, and return on investment.

Diversity in the economy can mean several things. It can mean that the economy is widespread and contains many different businesses and other aspects.  China, for example, has a very diverse economy. Just think of all the different things that are made and marketed in China. It’s astounding! It has brought them from a third world country, into a developing enterprise that may be a world super power as the U.S., or Russia once was.  According to Economy Watch, the Chinese economy will grow between 10 and 12% each year between 2010 and 2015!

  Diversity in the economy can also refer to the people in the economy.  The main thing that drives an economy is capital and big business. So big business decisions can make or break an economy. Recent economic studies show that in the creative power of groups, sometimes the best answers will come from a group of intelligent people with very different cultural backgrounds and lifestyles as opposed to a group of people with similar backgrounds. According to Scott Page, a Professor of Political Science and Economics at the University of Michigan, diversity within groups leads to a diversity of problem-solving approaches and drives the power to innovate. Someone’s cultural background or upbringing can affect their point of view and thought process, so they will perceive problems in a different way. Also people from diverse backgrounds will know better what customers “like them” want out of a product. Diversity is becoming more widespread in our ever changing economy. Look as far back as the invention of the term “The Glass Ceiling” by Carol Hymowitz in 1986. Women fought an invisible barrier to management position.  It was once thought that women would never be able to break through this invisible barrier but they did. “Through the Labyrinth” by Eagly and Carli confirmed through research that there were many more women in CEO and managerial positions in 2008 than in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Not only have women faced a glass ceiling, current-day minority groups are facing the barrier as well. Our economic workforce has come a long way in the past 20 years.

  Since the recent economic downturn, we have witnessed the demise of big-business behemoths one by one. This is a tragic event, but it does present some interesting opportunities. All the holes left in the market of our economy can be filled by newer, younger entrepreneurs. This is the economic regrowth that is necessary, but it also diversifies our economy. Not only are the old businesses replaced with new ones, but a gap in the market can also present new markets altogether. The gaming system market diversified after the Atari went out. We then had more than one brand of gaming system from which to choose. The diversification of an economy is almost inevitable so long as there are resources, capital, and a workforce.  Diversity IN an economy may not be inevitable, but it is definitely advantageous.

So see without diversity this world would be whack, who wants to be the exact same? Diversity is one thing everyone in the world has. So celebrate it!

"Racism." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2012.

Mon. 13 February 2012.

Hurwitt, Mara. "Cultural Diversity: Towards A Whole Society." City College of San Francisco . CCSF, n.d. Web. 13 Feb 2012. <http://www.ccsf.edu/Resources/Tolerance/lessons/div01.html>.

Amadeo, Kimberly. "About.com US Economy." About.com. About.com, n.d. Web. 12 Feb 2012. <http://useconomy.about.com/od/suppl1/g/Cultural-Diversity.htm>.

Lunsford, Andrea, John Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. everything's an argument . 5th. New York, Boston: Bedford/StMartin's, 2010. 963-969wssw. Print.

Platt, Andrew. "Diversity Powers Innovation, Economy." Center for American Progress. 08 01 2008: n/a. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/01/difference.html>.

Legarde, Christine. "Chinese Economy." Economy Watch. 30 06 2010: n/a. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/china/?page=full>.

Boschetto, Laurence. "How Diversity Efforts Can Boost The Economy." AdAge Blogs. 02 11 2009: n/a. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://adage.com/article/the-big-tent/marketing-diversity-efforts-boost-economy/140134/>.

Fine, Marlene G.Johnson, Fern L. "Cultural Diversity In The Workplace." Public Personnel Management 19.3 (1990): 305. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 10 Feb. 2012

Broadnax, Walter D. "Diversity In Public Organizations: A Work In Progress." Public Administration Review (Washington, D.C.) 70.(2010): s177-s179. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 13 Feb. 2012.

Prompt 5: Public Life

In today’s society religion is constantly being debated.  A major aspect of this debate is religion in politics and what boundaries should be set.  As an American citizen, what are your feelings about this?  Should religion play a role in politics?  Remember to think of all aspects of politics, from voters to politicians.  If you think religion should play a role in politics, and then explain where the boundary lines for religion should be drawn.  When answering keep in mind that government makes decisions for all types of people from all different religions.  Some good articles to refer to are, “Religion in Public Life:  Americans Yearn for a Middle Way” and “Do Americans Disagree When Church Leaders Mix Religion, Politics?” 

Olson, Laura R.  “The Essentiality of 'Culture' in the Study of Religion and Politics.”  Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 50.4 (2011):  639-653.  Print. 

This article shows the many theories of political scientists when analyzing the connection of religion and politics and the bridges connecting the two.  It also covers the social movements that follow religion in politics.

Medhurst, Martin J.  “Mitt Romney, “Faith in America,” and the Dance of Religion and Politics in American culture.”  Rhetoric and Public Affairs 12.2 (2009):  195-221.  Print.

This journal covers how religion interfered in the 2008 Republican primary election.  It cites Mitt Romney’s speech and analyzes the place religion takes.  The audience’s response to Romney’s speech is also discussed and shows how religion influenced voters.

Howe, Daniel Walker, Sheila Suess Kennedy, Kevin Phillips and Winnifred Fallers Sullivan.  “Religion and Politics on the American Scene.”  Religion & American Culture 18.1 (2008):  1-26.  Print.

This text discusses the interplay of religion and politics in America.  It stretches and covers everything from evangelism in politics and the Protestants of the nineteenth century to the alleged faith-based reasons behind the United States administration.

Lampman, Jane.  “Religion in Public Life:  Americans Yearn for a Middle Way.”  The Christian Science Monitor.  30 August  2006.  Web.  February. 2012.

This article claims that Americans strive for more religion in public life due to society’s immorality.  Yet, when a national poll was taken almost half of the country says there is too much religion from conservatives, but then over half say liberals don’t have enough religion.  Americans aren’t divided into two dead set sides; they are desperately looking for a happy medium. 

Gutting, Gary.  “Should Religion Play a role in Politics?”  The Opinion Pages.  The New York Times.  27 July 2011.  Web.  10 Feb. 2012.

This article argues that religion has no place in American Politics.  The author does acknowledge that religion is internal and therefore cannot be seen and weeded out of politicians.  Gutting says it’s the theory of religion that does not belong in politics, not the spirituality. 

Samuel, Stephanie.  “Do Americans Disagree When Church Leaders Mix Religion, Politics?”  Politics.  The Christian Post.  23 August 2011.  Web.  9 Feb. 2012.

This Article argues that most Americans don’t like when religious leaders are seen with political icons.  Americans don’t want to feel like any religion is influencing how they are being governed.

Cauthen, Kenneth.  “Church and State, Religion and Politics.”  The Ethics of Belief:  A Bio-Historical Approach 2 (2001)

This article is about the distinction between religion versus politics and church and state.  Church and State is in reference to two different institutions and practices.  Religion and politics is the differences of activities of the same person or persons.

“Religion a Hot Issue in 2012 GOP Race.”  Fox News.com.  3 Sept. 2011.  Web.  Feb. 2012.

This article discusses the importance some Americans feel in religion and therefore demand a leader with religious beliefs.  It claims that due to culture debates and societal changes, political leaders religious beliefs are no longer considered private.  The article references Mitt Romney as an example of a leader trying to hide his religion. 

“Religion and the 2012 Nevada Republican Caucuses.”  The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.  6 Feb. 2012.  Web.  10 Feb. 2012.

This article is about Mitt Romney’s win in the 2012 Nevada Republican caucuses.  This was due to his overwhelming support from Catholics and Mormons.  His religion proved to greatly help Romney gain votes and win the election.  The big question now is whether or not his religion will help him when it comes to the entire nation voting.

Rabens, Tye.  “Faith Wars:  Religion and Politics in America.”  State Press Magazine.  10 Nov. 2010.  Web.  12 Feb. 2012

This article discusses the newly raging war in America between the conservative morals of the Christian community and the opposite liberals.  It uses multiple examples illustrating each of the two sides and the arguments for each.

Dobbs, Lou.  “Dobbs:  Keep Religion Out of Politics.”  Religion and Politics.  CNN U.S.  26 Sept. 2006.  Web.  Feb. 2012.

This article discusses all the different factors Dobbs says should play a role in politics.  He does not claim that religion should affect politics or how America votes. 

“Pew Global Attitudes Project.”  Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins: Boston MA, 2010.  851-857. Print.

This article is about the United States being different than the rest of the world in religious importance.  In other countries around the world religion plays a huge role in every aspect of public lives.  In the United States religion is much more hidden and there is much debate on whether or not it should stay hidden.

Goodstein, Laurie.  “More Religion, but Not the Old Time Kind.”  Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins:  Boston MA, 2010.  858-863. Print.

In this article the author claims that Pentecostalism has had the greatest increase in membership.  It shows all different countries and charts their religious diversity.   Religion is changing and adapting to the new society the world is creating.

Lindsay, D.  Michael.  “Evangelicalism Rebounds in Academe.”  Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins: Boston MA, 2010.  865-871. Print.

This article discusses the growth in evangelism on college campuses.  The importance of religion to young people is increasing.  Lindsay also compares fundamentalism and evangelicalism and their major differences.

Bryant, Michelle.  “Selling Safe Sex in Public Schools.”  Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins: Boston MA, 2010.  872-876. Print.

This article is an interview with Shelby Knox.  Knox is a national supporter and promoter of sexual education, women’s rights and youth empowerment.  Interviewing her helped the author grasp a good perspective on sexual education.

Mock, Melanie Springer.  “Separation of Church and State:  A War on Christmas and Other Misguided Notions.”  Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins: Boston MA, 2010.  877-880. Print.

This article is about different religious notions that have been publicly altered.  A good example of this is the controversy being debated over Christmas and whether or not it should still be referred to Christmas.

Scallia, Antonin.  “God’s Justice and Ours.”  Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins: Boston MA, 2010.  881-887. Print.

This article takes the U.S. Constitution and compares it to the rules and regulations of the Catholic Church.  It discusses things such as the death penalty and society’s changing attitude towards it. 

Rahmani, Mariam.  “Wearing a Head Scarf is my Choice as a Muslim:  Please Respect It.”  Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins: Boston MA, 2010.  888-891. Print.

This article is about a law in France that bans all public display of religion.  To Rahmani, this means losing the right to wear her head scarf.  This is a violation of religious freedom which is not a right in France like it is in the United States.

Cohen, Randy.  “Between the Sexes.”  Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins: Boston MA, 2010.  892. Print.

This article is about an orthodox Jewish man who refused to shake hands with a woman due to religious beliefs.  The response of Cohen was that no religion has a right to discriminate against any group of people.  He’s pretty much saying that feminism overrides freedom of religion.

“Letters in Response to Cohen’s Advice.”  Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins: Boston MA, 2010.  893. Print.

These letters were written in response to Cohen’s opinion on an orthodox Jew refusing to shake hands with a woman.  Cohen said he had no right to refuse to shake hands solely because she was a woman.  The letters, however, say the opposite.  They criticize Cohen and say that freedom of religion allows the man to refuse to shake the woman’s hand. 

Einstein, Albert.  “An Ideal of Service to Our Fellow Man.”  Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins: Boston MA, 2010.  895-897. Print.

This article was written by a Jewish man and explains how great the manifestation of God is.  Einstein claims that people’s morality must be driven by compassion.  He also regarded individual education highly and said that the individual must be responsible and educate themselves.

Patel, Eboo.  “We are Each Other’s Business,” Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins: Boston MA, 2010.  897-898. Print.

This article is written by an American-Muslim.  In the beginning he claims to be a believer in pluralism but neglects his friend when a group uses anti-Semitic slurs against him.  Patel says that America is the perfect place for us to accept each other and all religions.

Jillette, Penn.  “There is No God.”  Everything’s an Argument.  Ed.  Karen S. Henry.  Bedford/St. Martins: Boston MA, 2010.  898. Print.

This was an article written by an atheist.  Jillette claims to be beyond atheist because he doesn’t just not believe in God, he completely denies the existence of God.  He claims that believing in no God makes him more thoughtful to others because he is being nice without a deity making him.

Prompt 4: Occupying Education

I’m sorry for posting this later than usual but I struggled with it a lot. I knew what I wanted to stay and what I want you to think about this week but I kept getting the tone wrong. If I still didn’t get it right please don’t be offended. I tried but sometimes I’m not the writer I want to me. See, even writing teachers sometimes have trouble writing. I did tell you before that writing isn’t always easy, didn’t I?

Unless you’ve been stranded on a desert island with no one to talk to but a volleyball then I am sure you have heard about the Occupy movement. Wikipedia gives us an overview but the essence is that money corrupts politics/government. Whatever you think about the actually Occupy movement (and I don’t want to get into that debate) I think we all have to agree about that! But I like this description of the Occupy movement better: “We have questioned the basic assumptions of our institutions and our society and found the answers given wanting.”

There is actually an Occupy Education movement. Some interesting links include:

·         Content vs. skills

·         Definition of education

·         Test Scores Are Lowering Standards

What are some essential questions that we should be asking about education?

Obviously we could spend a lot of time talking about the failings of the education system (K-12 or K-16) and similarly we could find some of the things that are still being done right, but most of these things are being done TO you as a student. Obviously when you are 5 years old there isn’t much you can do (except perhaps go on a crayon strike and refuse to color in the lines) but now you are adults. What responsibility are you willing to take for your own education? Can you take control of your own education? How? Do you want to Occupy Education to force a change? What changes do you want to see?

Prompt 3: Why are we here?

This week I want you to think about why you are here...why are you taking this class at this institution? In other words, why are you pursuing a college degree? But along with that think about why others (as in society, the government, etc.) want you to have a higher degree and why are there universal (general education) requirements (such as Writing I) to earn that degree?

Obviously you are here to be educated, but what does it mean to be educated? Check out this short video about what some kids think it means to be educated: http://vimeo.com/33896868 What does it mean for us as a country for you to be educated? The 2012 State of the Union Address specifically mentions education in terms of job training and the economy, but why else is it important to be educated? What is the value of education?

• Why College Is Still Relevant in the Age of Free Information
• What’s a College Major Worth?
• General education classes produce well-rounded students
• The Purposes of Higher Education
• What does college teach you
• Liberal arts as workforce development

If everyone thinks education is so important then why are there so many problems with our current education system? What are some of those problems? Here are two that concern me. What concerns you?

• A disconnect between what we know about how we learn and the way we are taught as well as what we need to learn and what we are taught:

Read about education's outdated model

• Education is not fostering creativity and critical thinking but is instead focused on standards and tests:

Read more about the Creativity Crisis

As someone who believes the ability to communicate effectively is essential this commentary on the way we teach writing really strikes home.

How should education look? 

Is this class simply (just?) about writing? Should it be? Or should it be about something more -- such as how to manage (find, sift, process, share) information?