Grammar

This week I chose to do Colons. On my political cartoon essays I was advised to work on my colon usage so I decide to give it a shot. Like most of the English grammar I don't know how to properly use the colon. I kind of just throw it here or there.
After doing some research it is apparent that you can use the colon in many different aspects of writing such as emphasizing something, to better explain a previous sentence, and to introduce a quotation. The most common use of colons seem to be signal a list of words, phrases or clauses that follow a complete sentence.

You can read more on colons and also find examples at the following address
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/punct/colon.html

Poems/Art

I think politics has a huge influence on art. Every decision the government makes impacts and influences us all. Before the government decided to go to war against terrorism there weren't as many pics, and poems about terrorism. Before Obama ran for office there werent as many pics, and possibly no poems about him. Polotics encompass us all and have a very strong influence over the economy, civil rights, and pretty much all categories of art.
The the second poem made me think about all the people who I have ever offered something better than what they had, and they turned me down. The reason is, because there are always people out there who are worse off than us, or at least to us they seem worse off. You and I can't imagine being homeless. To us it would be impossible to live a life like that, and I am sure to some rich billionaire it would seem impossible and horrible to live my life. Now I am not saying that the homeless person is completely happy, I actually don't know how he feels, and I am sure, like all of us, he has dreamed of something more. In life you get what you see. If you see yourself as just average and you see average as something bad than you are something bad.
As for the money poem, well the power behind money scars me. It is amazing to see what people will do for money and even with money.

An American Education

I like this essay a lot. I never really thought much about how our educational system does involve so much debate and that is what we are trained to do. It is interesting to me that we are also taught to debate subjects we dont even agree with. The example of the student who wrote a paper trying to make another writer look bad when the student agreed with the writer in the first place but knew if he wanted to get recognized he would have to attack someone famous. After reading it I began to pay more attention on how I would react in certain situation and found that most of my reactions where the form of a debate, whether it was reading a story, or talking with someone I found myself trying to prove them wrong.
I wonder where we would be if our society would, instead of debate, encourage and agree more. Where would we be. Would we be more advanced or not as intelligent as we are. Does all this debating really affect the students ability to learn. I know that there are many times where I am not really willing to ask a question or make a statement in class because I feel that it is a dumb question or comment. I thought the research and conclusion about females in the learning environment was awing. As I look back on all of my educational years it dosent seem to be that way with females in the classroom. They always seem to participate in the discussions, and always seem to have a great point of view. I will be paying more attention now to see if it is true in all cases.
The last thing I found interesting was how competitive schools outside the U.S. are. Living in the U.S. really has put me in a bubble to the outside world. I never really stop to consider how things are different outside of the U.S. and after reading about the educational systems in other countries, I am glade to get my education here.

Thesis

I have never really have been good at creating a strong thesis. I guess I dont fully understand what the readers are looking expecting. I always think that I have a good thesis but am usually wrong. I have done some reach search and have found some info that has helped me better understand what a thesis should consist of, and how to create a thesis.


You should fully understand the text you are writing about, your thesis statement should consist of two parts, argument, and evidence. You should decide what type of paper you are writing ex. analytical or argumentative etc. Is specific, takes a stand, expresses one main idea, and justifies a discussion. Also you can brainstorm your topic and come with a question, and the answer to that question can be your thesis statement. I liked this suggestion because it helps you really consider what you are going to be writing about.

I found this info in my notes from class and from the following two websites.



http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml

1st Conditional

I was just searching the web and came across conditionals. I don't really know the English discourse terminology very well so I decided to read up on it and it turns out that the 1st conditional is a future event that will happen when and if another future events occurs. It is something I already knew, but like I said I did not know the terminology.

The below address gives and example as follows if + present simple, will = 1st conditional

http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/1st-conditional.html

Along time ago

As I sit here thinking about all the teachers I have had throughout the years many names, and faces come to mind. I have learned something from all of these wonderful people in their own little way, but one teacher sticks out more than others. His name was Mr. Watrous. He was a quite and simple man, one that you could not easily pick out in a crowd. To anyone else he was just another teacher, but to me he was something more he was someone who loved what he taught and who he taught, and for this I respected him and wanted to learn more. When he taught it was simple and very casual. His voice was very soft and refreshing like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. He would teach as though everyone was listening and pay attention to every word that was being said, even though we werent and he knew it. It was interesting because he never talked about his personal life, but the scars on his forehead said enough for anyone to understand this man and his simplicity. He wasnt the best teacher by no means but it was his love and passion that inspired me to learn from him.
While writing this paragraph I was thinking how big of a variety there are of teachers and how some teachers we love others we can't stand. I dont think there were many students who felt the same way about this teacher as did I and I noticed that there were many teachers who some kids loved that I did not. It is the same way in life. Some people we are able to get along with and others not really.

Dependent Cluases

Last week when I was looking up info on commas, I came across Dependent Clauses and realized that I really didn't know what they were or at least the correct definition of what it was. Here is the definition of what a dependent clauses is.

A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent clause is marked by a dependent marker word.

I hope that helps explain what a dependent clause is. If you go to the following address they will also provide an example of a dependent clause, and will help you better understand clauses.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_clause.html#definitions

Average

I really enjoyed this essay because it made me stop and think a lot about the educational system that we have, and ask myself what can be done about it. It seems that the school systems do have many flaws, but what can be done about it because there are so many people in the U.S.A and they are all unique in their own little way. What may work for someone will be hurtful to another.
One of the things that stuck out the most in his essay was about his parents. He said that the school was encouraging the parents to get more involved with their kids education, but then he goes on to say what help could his parents really provide. I think that the best thing his parents could do is encourage him to do well in school, but what did they really know. They didn't sound like they even had much experience with education so how could they really help him.
I really liked his teacher, and how he would challenge the kids. He would get them involved and was able to make learning fun. I also liked how the teacher helped him get into college, and also find some financial support. The teacher didn't sound like the coolest guy in the world, but he did love knowledge and wanted to share his love for it with others and because of him Mr. Rose was blessed with a future in education and a chance to achieve his full potential.
I this essay makes you wonder how many hidden Einsteins, Beethovens, etc. are out there and they are missing their opportunity to shine because they aren't given the opportunity. I mean where would we be today if every student had equal opportunity to learn and exercise their talents, and skills. It makes you wonder how big of a difference would it make if we did in fact focus more on the educational system and were able to discover all of the Einsteins out there. I think we would be a lot more advanced in technology, medicine, etc. then we are now. Hopefully one day we will be able to improve the school systems and give all students a better hope of a future as did Mr. MacFarland did for Mike Rose.