Bad Apple

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was in a group with a couple of bad apples. The one kid especially was the worst of them all. The first day we got assigned to the project, he straight up told me that he was lazy and didn't want to do anything. At first things were alright and then his attitude did begin to rub off onto the other group members. It was obvious that they wanted to be lazy just like him, so they decided to just mess around as well. What I did to sort of help the situation was I gave him tasks that I knew that he could do, that were fairly easy, but helped the project along. When dividing up the work, I knew it wouldn't be even for everybody, but if I could just get him to do something productive would help. I also had him help me with what I was doing for the project. This allowed him to get involved and have someone helping him so he didn't feel alone. These strategies seemed to work well, because we were in a group together later in the semester and he worked a lot harder than the first time.

Previous Group Project Outcome

It was my first semester in college and I was in an engineering class. Everyone was pretty new to the material that was being taught and for one project we had to work in groups. My group had 5 people. When we got our assignment, it turned out that only a few of the group members wanted to participate. What it lead to was one kid and myself doing mostly all of the work and the other kids not very much. I tried to give them smaller tasks that they could do to get them to feel like a part of the group. They would do some things but it was tough, because they didn't show up half of the time, or were late to everything. We ended up getting everything accomplished that was asked of from the project, but it was not a very good experience. Two people should not have to do the work of five and it would be nice if everyone just pitched in a little bit.

UCLA Study Says Drinking Soda Causes Obesity

UCLA Study Says Drinking Soda Causes Obesity

"Fecundity" -- Annie Dillard

Homeplace:

The flatness that spans across the horizon stretches for miles upon miles. Ground as level as a freshly planed wood table top. Green fills your eyes and explodes your mind. How can this be? Rows upon rows of growing corn and soybeans scatters the land. Driving, I encounter field after field seeming to be endless. The lone paved road breaks the fields apart and allows for farming equipment to get to their destinations. Fertile land spreads the countryside and the distinct aroma of the soil fills my nostrils. I have lived many years in this area and every year, the land always produces a plentiful crop. The best crops in the world come from this nutrient filled soil. With the flourishing amount of crops, many other animals and organisms are able to live. I love how the deer are able to run free and be as wild as possible. I believe they are in heaven around my area. Deer always have food to eat and an abundant source of water. Often times late at night I catch them sneaking drinks of water from a pound in a near timber. Fog slowly starts to creep in on them as the sun sets slowly over the horizon. I believe that this land makes a perfect home for many living organisms.

Stay Eco-friendly by adopting proper waste collection and recycling service

Stay Eco-friendly by adopting proper waste collection and recycling service

"Manifesto" and "The Making of a Marginal Farm" -- Wendell Berry

"Manifesto"

I didn't connect with this poem that Wendell Berry wrote. I thought it had some very good lines and thoughts to it, but I couldn't for some reason come to grasps with it. His intent was to let people know that it is okay to make mistakes and just live your live happy and don't worry about what others are doing or trying to make you do.

"The Making of a Marginal Farm"

I enjoyed this essay. I was able to connect to this piece of writing extremely better than "Manifesto." I come from a farming background, so I was able to see the farming aspect and how his farm had grown over the years. Our farm was the same way, it started out small and we have made it larger over the years. His description of the land and how it was steep or had pasture on it, gave me a vivid description of what it looked like. This description helped me to be there on his farm in a way. His intent of this piece was to inform readers that it's possible to be well off with such marginal land, and when you replenish the earth, it in return revives and replenishes the human.

Things I've changed

For me, being a good role model is extremely important. With being a good leader and role model with the young kids, it can change there life by how you interact with them. I was at a pep-rally in Cedar Rapids about a month ago, and when I interacted with the kids, I thought of how important it was to talk to them about good stuff. For example, I would talk to the kids about practicing what they want to achieve and their dreams can come true. I also talked to some of the kids about hard work and how it doesn't come easy. When I was younger, I looked up to athletes so much. I would be disappointed when they would make mistakes. I now understand the pressures and other troubles that college athletes have to struggle through. Part of being an athlete has high responsibilities. We are held to a higher standard than just the average college student. This makes it easy for younger kids to look up to us if we tell them that they should work hard to achieve what they want, or if it is as simple as telling them to be kind to others. I believe that they way to change the next generations, we need to start with the youngest and get them going down the right path. If we can get our children to start working hard and being kind and believing they can achieve, it will help to better further generations.

"Having Faith" -- Sandra Steingraber

Q: What is her purpose/ audience in writing this?

A: Sandra Steingraber's purpose was to inform people of the problem about how chemicals are getting into the human system. Her audience, can be anyone who wants to change the future for our newborns and humankind in general. Sandra commented many times about the new generations and how they can be prevented from these harmful chemicals.

Q: How does she get her message across?

A: Steingraber does an outstanding job in this essay of making her point. There are many facts that back up everything that she says in her writing. The studies that Sandra mentioned in her essay also back her up. Sandra begins the essay with some background info on herself and why she has come to believe in what she does. The author also uses ethos to get the reader to believe in her writing which Sandra is then able to use the logos and list a number of facts.

Q: Would you consider this writing-as-activism? Why or Why not?

A: Yes, I would consider it activism. Steingraber tries to get a message across to many people with this writing. She tries to inform people of all that goes on with the chemicals and how they get into our bodies. Whenever somebody tries to inform people, I believe that it is a form of activism.

Personal Mission Statement

I am committed to living a happy and respectful life. I feel that being a leader to others can create a huge impact on the world. If I can show people proper things to do and to live by, others may follow in my foot steps. Being happy can have a huge impact on how others see me. When people see that I am happy, it can be addicting and then they could possibly be happy as well. There needs to be people in this world that can work together and not always fight all the time. It is important to realize that there will be different opinions on many subjects, but I have to understand why they think that because they have the right to believe in it. Respect needs to be given to people that deserve it because if you can give respect, then you are able to receive it. Leading by example and trying to be as happy as possible rubs off greatly onto this world!

Sociology and Social Change -- Personal Response

This essay Sociology and Social Change, was a piece that I felt had a lot of good thoughts and ideas in it, but also some bad. When I read this piece, I started off and was agreeing with a lot of the things the authors were trying to say. I feel strongly that one person can make a difference in the world even though they may not think that themselves. It can be as simple as saying "hi" to someone on the street. I thought that the authors made a good point of how that societies are changing over time. If you look back over history so much has happened for example segregation and so on. People need to take time and understand that they are taking part in transforming the next generations society by what they are doing today. Iowa State does a good job of trying to keep things "green" on campus. We try to recycle as much as possible and use as less as possible. There were a couple reasons why I didn't like parts of this essay. I felt that they were constantly trying to get you to spend your money, or do some club and give a few dollars here and there. It seemed too much like an add to me at times. I disagree when the authors say that eating meat is not environmentally friendly. How can they say that? The authors need to get their facts straight in the "Eat Green" section of this essay. This essay did a wonderful job of getting their point across that people can change the world on their own. I thought these were really good thoughts and the world does need to come together as one. The money that could be saved by not fighting and spent on better things would be tremendous. Things can get much better.

"Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Rhetorical Strategy: Substance

In this piece by Rachel Carson, she uses grabs the reader in by their emotions. Carson then follows by telling many facts about the eagles and all the birds. By Carson's use of trying to get your emotions going ties into pathos. She begins here essay with a fable that gets your attention gets you thinking. Carson follows this fable into her main context of the essay about the birds and how they are dying. She really reached into the logos in this piece by telling about all the facts of these birds. For example she states: "There a retired banker from Winnipeg, Charles Broley, achieved ornithological fame by banding more than 1000 young bald eagles during the years 1939-49. Carson gives a lot of facts but that also gives her a lot of credibility which that gets into the ethos. With all the people that she mentions about their findings and what not, as a reader, they get the feeling that she knows what she is talking about so they are able to believe the essay. This idea that a reader can believe Carson, helps her purpose to be supported. Carson's purpose lets people know that this problem needs fixing and can't go on anymore, so if the reader buys into her, then the reader is better able to understand the purpose. With all the substance in this piece, I feel that Carson does a good job of appealing to the reader and getting them to understand the situation.

"A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf" by John Muir -- Reading like a Writer

Q: What kind of rhythm does the writer create? Is there a variety in the sentence structure? Write about the writer's rhythmic choices and their effect on the overall tone of the piece.

A: In "A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf" by John Muir, he had a different rhythm to his writing than many others that I have read. When I read this piece, I felt that there was a very choppy feel to the piece. There was a lot of variety to the sentence structure in this piece as well. If you look at the second paragraph and the last line of it, it reads: "They, also, are his children, for He hears their cries, cares for them tenderly, and provides their daily bread." This sentence to me is very cut up. There are a lot of commas. John also capitalizes "He" which I believe he did that to emphasize the "He" that Muir is talking about. Muir also has sentences that have dashes ( – ) in them. I think the way the Muir added these touches to his work really made it a lot stronger. The sentences were better and weren't just normal sentences. Even though he writing was a little different, I enjoyed it a lot.

"Polemic: Industrial Tourism and the National Parks" by Edward Abbey -- Reading like a Writer

Q: Are there any moments that seem weak of cliched to you? If so why? If this were your essay, how would you change these moments?

A: I thought that a week moment was when he talked about the three things he would do to change the parks. I didn't like his three things, so that is probably why it made me feel that it was weak. With him saying the 3 things that he would do to change the park, I didn't feel that it was necessary to do so. If I were to write this essay, I would get ride of the three things that he would do to change them. I would maybe mention them in the essay, but I wouldn't elaborate on them as much as he did. I though he was very hypocritical by mentioning that the park rangers were lazy when he was talking about himself watching the clouds go by in the beginning.

"A First American Views His Land" -- Reading like a Writer

Q: Look at the transitions between paragraphs or between sections. How does he or she make these transitions? What effect do they have on the forward momentum of the piece?

A: N. Scott Momaday does a very good job of transitioning between paragraphs in "A First American Views His land." It seemed to me that she really tied the previous paragraphs to the next really well. Some paragraphs would talk about the Indians and what they and then it would transition to the next paragraph where it talks about her experiences. For example on page 576 the first paragraph talks about the Indians and then the next paragraph Momaday talks about her own experiences. I think Momaday's use of good transitions really helps to enhance this piece of work. The transitions make it easy for the reader to stay on track and really stay interested in the reading. Bad transitions can often loose a reader's attention, but Momaday does a good job of keep it tied together.