Semestre Dos: Blog Numero Diez

Choose an article to read from my twitter feed: twitter.com/rlsclass

"Should College Be For Everyone?"

1. Your personal response, which should include the thoughtful selection of direct evidence from the article itself.
This article has been really helpful and understanding such in a way that I have created my own opinion about what I think college is referred to as necessary for success or not. This article was intended to persuade people into debating their opinion on what college is going to be worth for in the future and what might the outcomes of it all going to be. I think this was a really concerned point that many of us students from high school are prepared to face and choose weather or not to go to college right after graduating from high school. I believe that high school is the basic preparation that you get before you are ready to go into college which is going to define what you are good at or something you would want to persuade in a future to come. The skills that you might acquire in college are all based on yourself, this depends on you only if you choose to stay in college and get your certificate or drop out in the process of it all. To me reading this article has made me see all the things college is going to get you prepared for, but it has also made me look at the bad outcomes of going into college which for one part is a money based problem that most students have. Which was argued by someone who left a comment sharing her experience in college with a debt that she is still paying today. "I graduated from a four year private university in 2003 and worked in an on campus office during that time. It helped with bus and train fare and living in my parents’ middle class home. I’ve racked up 60k in debt and have not been able to make over 30k a year. I’m 33 and will never be able to pay this debt off. I now know that I never should have borrowed any student loans in the the first. I pay my rent, make my car payments and utility bills. I work at a place three miles away from my apartment on purpose. I can barely and sometimes simply cannot make my income based student repayment bill every month. If you have to ask how much it costs then you can’t afford it. Darn foolish of me to have never asked. The university industry sure wasn’t going to tell me outright. Thank god the debt won’t be passed on to a relative when I die." Many students deal with the same problem and I agree in favor of supporting students who would like an opportunity to have a high education in life if that means going to college, I mean there also has to be a variety of students who are committed to this and won;t drop out, but I'm sure the financial support is going to be well received and used. As well as this, people don't actually have to go to college to have a high education, others prefer to do their own thing and go for other programs that help fulfill their career choice. For example, in the article it stated "And, I have heard many conservative and liberal educational policy experts demean destinations other than college. We need a nation that has and values all sorts of work and skills, which means providing decent pay and benefits for many types of jobs." This really impacted me because I actually saw the reason for many people to not want to go to college. It says so in the quote, many people don't care for having someone presenting a certificate for college proving nothing other than a piece of paper. They want proof of their skills put into action, and not only that but how prepared they really are for the job they are intended work in.

2. A link to an article that you recommend from a reputable, or academic, or professional, source that either supports the points made in the article you originally picked, or argues with it in some way. Include a brief piece of writing in which you explain your recommendation.

This is a link to an article that states that college is a really important factor for jobs that anyone can do, but are payed better when people are college graduates. I think this a really good article supporting its statement because not only is it giving evidence of how high school and college graduates compare or contrast to each other, but it also gives real statistics that everyone cares for or relates to when they are looking for a job. Jobs now are getting hard to find but we need to look into the future and see the skills that we need to have in order to make more jobs work for us as well.


3. Questions for discussion, things to think about, ways to move forward, etc.
How can we meet the standards for us to get a good education?
What is a good example of a well payed job that doesn't require college graduates?
Is it fair to spend money on college when some decide to not go to college?
Is college worth paying for?
Do we really need college for a high education?

Semestre Dos: Blog Numero Nueve

What makes a great forum post? What makes a great conversation online?
What makes a great forum post is having what you might have questions about in the book, and the reasons why you don't get the point. And for commenting on other posts, there should be clear explanations of why your reasons are for your answer because the whole class is going to refer back to this question being answered right and understand it for the test on Friday. And, so having a good conversation online is explaining different reasons why you think that your answer is correct with backing up your statement with evidence given in the book.

What have you contributed to the forums that leads to a positive, productive, helpful way to understand and enjoy the book?
What I have contributed to the forums are questions that introduce another meaning to they way Gatsby is trying to gain Daisy's house even though he lies, cheats, and is very vulgar in the way that he does it. I also post answers that show my thinking in a positive way that answers the questions that other people might not understand thoroughly. I guess that people will read what I have to say and my interpretations of The Great Gatsby, so that way maybe people will understand the book a little better.

What can you do to improve your posts as you go?
Well, to improve my posts I think I could try to use more evidence straight from the book, so that way I could support my perspective and answer. I could also try to explain my opinion with logical reasoning having explains that could help explain it more thoroughly and precise, so that way it could actually be like arguing for a point of simply agreeing with it.

Semestre Dos: Blog Numero Ocho

"Their house was even more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay. The lawn started at the beach and ran forward the front door for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sun-dials and brick walks and burning gardens-finally when it reached the house drifting up the side in bright vines as though from the momentum of it's run. The front was broken by a line of French windows, glowing now with reflected gold and wide open to the warm windy afternoon." This quote, is the description of Tom and Daisy's house, because Materialism in the 1920's materialism was born, it was a time when people looked beyond daily chores and family. They started to focus on material things and who had more possesions than others. This was a time where social status was all people cared about, and Nick might have given a lot of detail to the house because he looked at all the material things that they had.


Mrs. McKees said, "Chester, I think you could do something with her," she broke out, but Mr. McKee only nodded in a bored way, and turned his attention to Tom. "I'd like to do more work on Long Island, if I could get the entry. All I ask is that they should give me a start." "Ask Myrtle," said Tom, breaking in to a short shout of laughter as Mrs. Wilson entered with a tray. "She'll give you a letter of introduction, won't you, Myrtle?" "Do what?" she asked, startled. "You'll give McKee a letter of introduction to your husband, so he can do some studies of him." His lips moved silently for a moment as he invented. "George B. Wilson at the Gasoline Pump, or something like that." During these times people were somewhat religious and maybe they didn't want to get a divorce because they didn't believe in divorces.



"I have gotten drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon; so everything that happened has a dim, hazy cast over it, although until after eight o'clock the apartment was full of cheerful sun." Everyone gets very drunk, including Nick. He says the party is only the second time he’s been drunk. In 1920 alcohol was prohibited in the United States. Every saloon and bar ran dry immediately. Although the supply took a hit, the demand was still there, and was growing. This gave birth to the moonshine and bootlegging era. The moonshine was a very raw and potent form of alcohol. It was made in the deep woods in order to mask the smell and the noisy contraption that made it. Most Bootleggers of the time were poor farmers and saw this as a way to make quick money. While the elder supervised the youngsters did the dirty work and delivered the potent substance. Because the law was after these bootleggers their cars had to be fast. So they “souped” up their cars and couldn’t be stopped. Because this was a weekday job the Bootleggers often sat around and boasted about who's car was fastest. And of course this led to the Sunday races, which would son bring crowds of over 5,000. These races led to the forming Nascar. As Nascar’s popularity rose quickly, so did the funding, this led many Bootleggers to abandon the outlaw life and become a race car driver.

Semestre Dos: Blog Numero Siete

What stands out to you most in your first experience with The Great Gatsby?
What stands out to me the most about "The Great Gatsby" is the way the author made the narrator so reserved and to himself but that is what he apperants to other people, but as I read the book he expresses all the judgments that he sees in many people. For instance right when I started reading the book in the beginning he stated what his father had said to him, which was, "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one." he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." This really made me think about how the author thought about the structure of the book and how he made the narrator talk about the contrary of what he was taught to do.

Semestre Dos: Blog Numero Seis

In the course of the Industrialization Newspaper mini-project, what stands out most to you?
What stands out to me in this project is all the research information that we gained from it all, and how much effort we put into it when we were trying to put the newspaper articles all together. This was really helpful because I understood the early 90's back then more efficiently. I was so unaware of all the injustice things they did to the immigrant workers whom worked in "sweatshops" and were payed so little. Theses things stood out to me the most because I had to include all these horrible experiences without stating my opinion on it all.

What stands out about the work of one specific other newspaper that you saw in class?
Looking through other newspapers I saw various things that were really interesting and detailed, which made their newspaper stand out more. For example when I saw one that had a unique photo representing the event that they focused on, I thought it was a really creative way to show the main thing that they were talking about in their article.

How does this affect the way that you see news or information around you?
I see news now as a way to express other peoples opinions on things that are happening around us, and in another way stating facts and statistics that give you the real scene where everything happened and the reasons for it all. I also see news as a way for people to be informed and keep in touch with the outside world that is changing every few seconds that pass by.

What new thoughts do you have about the subject matter (i.e., the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, the Pullman Strikes, etc.) covered by your newspaper or the others in class?
I think that from the beginning the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was an injustice that could have been prevented with only having a couple of safety practices that could have been performed in the act of having a fire. This would of really saved so many innocent lives from burning in that awful building. And the only people that I blame are the owners.

What new thoughts do you have about the way that you work through specific assignments, projects, etc.?
I think that I work through projects best when I'm interested in the subject that I am supposed to research and make of it all. It makes me be more involved in what I'm doing and I will always try to do my best. If I would wither get something that is not to my best interest, or just simply doesn't fit with me, I would honestly not pay much attention to it overall.