They Say, I Say

                In the first article that we had to read, “Serve or Fail” by Dave Eggers, it is stated that college is too long and students have too much time on their hands. Students in fact have so much time on their hands that they could become a professional foosball player. Eggers says that people should not have this much free time while going to school and they should do something that is more productive. He then leads into the fact that colleges should have a mandatory service requirement for all students. College students have time to volunteer and would benefit from it because they would learn a lot from volunteering. He states that it wouldn’t work in all colleges because some colleges only have part time students, and volunteering interferes with their requirements. He says that if students just volunteer say 10 hours a year and if 6 million students were to do that, 60 million volunteer hours from college students would be contributed. He uses a lot of statistics which is a really great appeal to logic. However he uses a lot of examples which cover up what he truly wants to get across. I mostly agree with Eggers points however I do not agree that all students have too much time on their hands. Some college students take so many classes and have so much work that they don’t even have enough time for a social life. The thesis is that students will benefit from volunteering if they are required to give back to the community. I agree with Eggers that it is a great learning experience.

                The second article, “’Service Learning’ more than just a fad,” is more centered on Minnesota’s students.  It states that even though the college budgets are tight, people are still more than willing to volunteer. The article says that volunteering might even help to cure some of the issues of tight money. In Minnesota, there is a “service learning” compact that encourages students to volunteer through their colleges in many different ways. Not only does this article talk about students volunteering, but also faculty. By having faculty volunteer alongside students the fact that they are volunteering for a purpose gets put into their heads. The thesis of the article is that if both students and faculty volunteer, the idea will eventually build up to something larger than it already is. I completely agree with the points of this article and I wouldn’t change a thing. The author uses pathos to persuade and inform the reader which is a really effective technique. Overall I believe this article is effective in telling the reader what they need to know.

                The last article, “How to reduce student dropout rates: link volunteering to studies,” by the Monitor’s Editorial Board says that volunteering can reduce student dropout rates.  In this article the author states that the most effective way of volunteering is service learning. They say that if service learning is started early enough, then it will benefit someone throughout their lifetime.  It will benefit a student because what they learn when they volunteer will influence then with their academic instruction. Also while participating in service learning, a student can relate their schoolwork to the things that they do in life and that will continue to make the students want to go to school. The thesis of this article is that if students are involved in service volunteering, they will better understand situations in life. I also agree with this article that service learning is beneficial for a student; however, students should try different types of volunteering as well. Students should not be limited to only one kind of volunteering because they need to be open to the world.

                If all three of the authors were to sit at a table together and compare their thoughts about volunteering, there would be three main points that they would agree on. The first point is that without a doubt volunteering benefits a student. Students can learn life lessons through volunteering and also relate the ideas to school concepts. The second point is that all school systems should in some way instill a volunteering requirement. By being required to volunteer, students will get a broader concept of life. The last point they would all agree on is that volunteering benefits the community. By students seeing the community benefiting from them it feels as if they have a purpose. The thesis of the three authors would be that volunteering benefits a student and their community through learning. I agree that volunteering benefits students and it is a life changing experience. I also agree that students should be required to complete some sort of service hours unless they absolutely have no way to do it. Service hours help one learn and they help the community to grow. The three authors agree that volunteering benefits the students. However they disagree at what age the volunteering should start. One article says that volunteering needs to start at a young age and the other two articles say that it is more important that they volunteer at all in their lives.

Letter to Myself

Dear Ashley,

                You and Shelby have been best friends since fifth grade. You guys have done pretty much everything together. She’s always been there for you when things were tough. I know that after she moved things became rather distant between you two. You shouldn’t let Shelby moving affect your friendship.  I’m going to help you out with a few ideas as to not let that happen.

                First of all, after Shelby first moves when you’re in the eighth grade, you need to call her more often. You need to have solid conversations and ask her how she really feels about moving. The more she talks to you the more she’ll know you care. Also, you need to realize that she only lives an hour away, not a lifetime away, so go visit her. The more you visit her after she first moves the tighter your friendship will become.

                After Shelby moves and has been in school for a while, she’ll have made new friends. You need to like the thought of her having friends other than yourself, especially Leah. You being accepting of Leah is really the breaking point between yours and Shelby’s friendship. You should offer to hang out with Leah when you go and visit Shelby. The first time you really visit her you’ll be there for a week, offer to go to the movies, all three of you. The quicker you break the ice, the easier things will get.

                During the beginning of your freshmen year, Shelby will introduce you to her friend Frank. She will want you to get to know him and she also thinks he’s super cute. She thinks that you and he will make a really good couple. Well, she is your best friend, and she is obviously right. You two start dating and she is really happy about this. However, the first time you go over Franks, you need to let her know that you are going to be in town. She will be very mad if you don’t and she’ll feel left out. You need to make it a point to at least stop by her house and say hello, or invite her over Frank’s house. As you continue going to Frank’s house, you need to clue Shelby in, considering she’s the one that introduced you two. Whatever you do, don’t let Shelby feel left out, that’s the biggest mistake you can make.

                Over the summer, between your freshmen and sophomore year you need to focus on your friendship the most. Ask Shelby to go on vacation with you. Make sure you hang out with her at least twice a month. Talk about all of the girly things you two used to. You two should stay up late and have your talks about life. Basically do everything you need to, in order to stay close.

                Throughout the rest of high school as you feel yourself pulling away from her, you need to make it a point to meet with her and stay in contact. I know, her boy craziness, will be the number one thing to drive you crazy, but just deal with it. She’ll need someone to be there for her when things don’t work out. If you’re not there for her, she’ll start confiding in others rather than you. Once she starts telling her other friends her problems more than you, everything will just fall apart. So please just don’t let that happen, because Shelby is literally the best friend you’ve ever had. Try everything you can possibly do in order to keep it that way. You will need your friendship with Shelby more than you ever know. Don’t let mistakes blow up in your face. If you follow everything I told you, you will have a best friend for life.

Pop Culture Analysis: Skip-It

What do you think of when popular culture is mentioned? Maybe you think of celebrities, songs, or movies, but popular culture embodies so much more. It can be a television show, a fad, a game, or even a certain toy. Popular culture is anything that is popular at a certain time and everyone knows about that item. For my pop culture analysis, I decided to examine a childhood toy, the Skip-It.

                Skip-It was a toy that was first released in the late 1980’s. It was a plastic toy that went around ones ankle and connected to a ball. You would swing the toy around in a 360 degree motion and when the plastic line that connected to the ball came around you had to skip over it. This toy was all the rage when it first came out, but quickly lost interest. A newer version of the Skip-It came out in the early 1990’s and this one had a counter to tell how many skips you did. This toy came in bright colors and had streamers that you could add on to customize your own. The Skip-It of the 1990’s was quite possibly one of the coolest toys a little girl could have.

                This toy targeted young girls of any race. It was a fun toy that was also used for exercise. This toy probably became so popular because of the marketing. The marketing of this toy was directed right to kids through television commercials and ads. Also, while growing up, almost every girl had a Skip-It that she brought to school for recess. As more girls brought these toys to play with, more girls wanted their own.

                In the time that the Skip-It was popular, it was a growing trend. From the 1980’s when this toy first came out, into the late 1990’s, it was the most used toy during recess at school or in driveways at home. This toy could be compared to a jump rope in terms of being alike. The Skip-It seemed like it was a cooler way to exercise than the jump rope. It was a flashier item and it also kept count as you skipped.

                This toy, with its popularity, raised not many cultural issues.  In fact, the only issue would possibly be an issue with family funds. Not every little girl’s family could afford to buy a Skip-It. However, there was a solution to this problem. Knock-off brands of this toy were made, so you could always buy one of those. If you really could not afford one, you could always borrow someone’s because this toy was so popular.

                The Skip-It was definitely a low culture artifact. This toy could was popular for a good amount of time but was soon forgotten. For this reason, that is why this toy was considered popular culture. It was a popular toy for the time being and everyone knew about it.

                Through this toy, I think society saw how much fun little kids could have while exercising. I really do not think this artifact influenced our culture; however, it is one that will always be remembered by the people of that generation. Skip-It had a generally positive effect of the population of its time. This toy showed how fun exercising could be and how easy it was.

                The Skip-It was the popular toy of its time. It is considered popular culture because it was popular for a certain amount of time. This toy will forever be remembered by people of our generation.

Education NEEDS a Digital Upgrade!

Throughout both elementary school and middle school, I had very little knowledge of technology. I only learned the basics which were typing, using internet, Microsoft paint, and maybe a few others. It was not until high school where I really learned about technology. However, I did not learn about it from my teachers, I pretty much taught myself.  If I could send the staff from my high school a brief message it would be that they need to use their technological resources to everyone’s advantage.

            If teachers had their students turn in papers online, create online blog discussions, or had tests and homework online, they would be preparing students for college. I feel as if I was thrown into the world of technology in college. If I was better prepared with technology I feel as if I would not be as overwhelmed. If technology was used in every classroom, students would become more cultured in the field.

            I believe that a lot of technology is going to be used when I am a pediatric hematologist/ oncologist.  I will need to know how to access patients’ charts, which are kept on a computer program. I will need to know how to read MRIs and CAT Scans, which are done digitally. I will need to know how to read patients vitals, which involve a bunch of technologically advanced machines. My schooling at Oakland University just in this short amount of time has taught me a lot about basic technology. I believe that as I further my education I will get an even better understanding of technology. I think once I get into medical school, I will begin to understand more about what is expected of me to know. I will become more technologically advanced as my education progresses.

            I feel as if I do write better in a more relaxed setting. I believe this is because there is not as much stress on perfection. In a blog, you have the choice of stating your opinion with your own little twist on it. You don’t have to have the exact right words for everything to make sense. Typing is also a lot easier than writing with pen and paper because the words just seem to flow easier.

            If I were a science teacher, I would use the internet and the computer as my means of all assignments, tests, and quizzes. It almost seems as if we learn better when we are on the computer. I believe that students would feel more independent by doing this. I would still have labs and what not in the classroom, but then the students would have to turn in a lab report online.  I would post videos and articles online for the students. By doing this, we could then have class discussions rather than having the students sit in class the whole hour doing homework and not really learning much. By discussing the students are becoming more socially advanced. By using the internet as a tool, students become better prepared for their futures.

            The tone of this reading piece was that as technology is increasing, society needs to be increasing its skills. As career fields become more advanced, so does the technology used. I agree with the thesis because all careers keep advancing and if they advance, the people working them need to, too. The better everyone is keeping up with the technology changes, the better job advances people will get. There is no saying what type of jobs we’re going to have in the future, all we can hope for is that the children of this generation and generations to come will keep up with the times. By doing this they will be better prepared for the careers of the future