While they don’t get paid as much as full-time professors, adjunct professors are just as effective in their teaching abilities and they are as well-liked by students as full-time professors.
During the 2008-2009 school year, Missouri Western employed 187 full-time faculty and a lesser 149 part-time faculty.
One adjunct professor in particular is Professor Shane Heard. He is best known as theatre teacher and play director Coach Heard at Lafayette High School. He teaches theatre I, theatre II, stagecraft and applied communications. At Missouri Western, he is Doc. H, a professor of English 104 and English 108.
In addition to being an adjunct teacher, Heard is a dedicated father and husband, with a bachelor’s degree in education from Missouri Western. He is also an alumnus of Baker University, where he received an educational doctorate in educational leadership and the University of Missouri in Columbia, where he received his masters of education degree in curriculum and instruction.
Lafayette High School graduate, Taylia Guyer always enjoyed her classes with Heard. “He made me really love theatre class more than I already did! Having his class first thing in the morning always brightened my days,” Guyer said.
Heard spends his days at Lafayette and teaches night classes at Western. “I like teaching college for the fact that students have paid to be there and therefore they tend to work harder,” Heard said, “It is interesting to see the mix of students in both the high school setting and the college setting. In high school, you have many levels of learners. The same is true for college.”
However, Heard says that his job with Lafayette pays more and he thinks that the students there need him more than the ones at Missouri Western.
Even after the bell rings, sometimes, he still cannot get rid of his students. He has had several students from both Cameron High School, where he used to also teach and Lafayette High School, who have attended his classes at Missouri Western. “As a teacher of both, I get to see the progression of learning from grade 9 all the way through to senior in college,” Heard said.
Although he would love to be a principal one day, Heard still enjoys teaching students at the college level that he has also taught in high school. “The older students get, the more they work for their grade,” Heard said.
Lafayette graduate and Missouri Western sophomore Courtney Boner had only wonderful things to say about Heard, regardless of the homework she has to do for his class. “He makes class interesting by making us laugh with jokes and humor when class begins,” Boner said.
Boner is not the only one who thinks he does his job well. On ratemyprofessors.com, Heard received an overall 4.5 out of a ranking of 5 points and scored high in every category. Although the comments are anonymous, the site reports him as being very nice, helpful and highly recommendable.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Which type of parker are you?
I originally got this idea from a blog post by Single Dad Laughing in his post called My Special Place.
I never really thought about it, but why worry so much about where you are parking when you go to the market, mall or other large establishment?
I see people during every visit to HyVee or Home Depot, driving in circles around the parking lot in search of the closest empty spot they can find. Or waiting with their turn signal on to take a front row spot from the man loading his groceries.
In Single Dad Laughing's post, he says:
I recently realized how much sense this made. Five or ten extras steps really isn't that big of a deal. I used to complain when my husband would park further away from the door because he wanted to lessen the chances of getting door dings, but I completely agree with Single Dad Laughing's logic.
I tried parking far away from the building and realized how much I loved not having to squeeze myself into or out of the car without hitting the one next to me. I found that I enjoy the luxury of not having to try multiple times to fit a huge truck in between a van and an SUV. Plus, those extras five steps are just that more exercise that can only be positive on the body.
Parking in the back allows for less stress when it comes to getting out of the parking lot. It also allows for never having to worry about where you are going to park or whether or not there is going to be a space open for you.
I suggest that everyone try it at least once. I, skeptically, did. Now I find nothing but logic in the argument of parking in the back of the lot.
I never really thought about it, but why worry so much about where you are parking when you go to the market, mall or other large establishment?
I see people during every visit to HyVee or Home Depot, driving in circles around the parking lot in search of the closest empty spot they can find. Or waiting with their turn signal on to take a front row spot from the man loading his groceries.
In Single Dad Laughing's post, he says:
"Some people spend obscene amounts of time driving around, trying to find something close. They'll wait 30 seconds, a minute, two minutes, five minutes, or however long it takes for another customer to load up their groceries, get in, get buckled, and pull out.
Why?
If they would have pulled straight in and parked in the back without ever looking for another spot, they'd be ahead by a minute or two by the time they started their shopping. They'd also have burned an extra calorie or two, stretched their leg muscles a little more, and felt a little better".
I recently realized how much sense this made. Five or ten extras steps really isn't that big of a deal. I used to complain when my husband would park further away from the door because he wanted to lessen the chances of getting door dings, but I completely agree with Single Dad Laughing's logic.
I tried parking far away from the building and realized how much I loved not having to squeeze myself into or out of the car without hitting the one next to me. I found that I enjoy the luxury of not having to try multiple times to fit a huge truck in between a van and an SUV. Plus, those extras five steps are just that more exercise that can only be positive on the body.
Parking in the back allows for less stress when it comes to getting out of the parking lot. It also allows for never having to worry about where you are going to park or whether or not there is going to be a space open for you.
I suggest that everyone try it at least once. I, skeptically, did. Now I find nothing but logic in the argument of parking in the back of the lot.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Being Bi-Lingual
Thomas Jefferson got it right in a letter to Peter Carr in 1988. The infamous quote from that letter reads “Apply yourself to the study of the Spanish language with all the assiduity you can. It and the English covering nearly the whole face of America, they should be well known to every inhabitant, who means to look beyond the limits of his farm.”
Everyone with the ability to at least study another language should take advantage of it, especially when it comes to the Spanish language.
Not only does it have the huge advantage of getting paid more at some jobs for being able to speak Spanish, but knowing the language can make international trips more fun and it allows for a great personal sense of accomplishment. Instead of giving into those happily oblivious moments when the robber yells a Spanish phrase on Law and Order, understanding what was said would make it that much more entertaining of a show.
I strongly recommend that anyone who has the means should at least somewhat study another langugae. Doing so is only for the better, in the long run.
Everyone with the ability to at least study another language should take advantage of it, especially when it comes to the Spanish language.
Not only does it have the huge advantage of getting paid more at some jobs for being able to speak Spanish, but knowing the language can make international trips more fun and it allows for a great personal sense of accomplishment. Instead of giving into those happily oblivious moments when the robber yells a Spanish phrase on Law and Order, understanding what was said would make it that much more entertaining of a show.
I strongly recommend that anyone who has the means should at least somewhat study another langugae. Doing so is only for the better, in the long run.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Review of: Behind the Burqa: Our Life in Afghanistan and How We Escaped to Freedom
Behind the Burqa
Our Life in Afghanistan and How We Escaped to Freedom
Batya Swift Yasgur
277 pp. Wiley Publishers. $23.27
Batya Swift Yasgur’s interpretation of Sulima and Hala’s tales of escaping Afghanistan, although seemingly bland at first, is a very interesting account of the sisters’ lives. However, the negative details in Behind the Burqa almost seem to be in place as an attempt at making Americans feel bad about invading the Middle East. Yet the book itself seemingly attempts to make Americans feel better about themselves after the United States began the war in Iraq.
Regardless, the book is written very well, it is a heart-touching story and it is very informative. “In Afghanistan, the father picks out a prefix or suffix for all his sons that stands for some ideal or important family value, such as courage or adherence to God’s will. Father chose Abdel, which means “servant of God.” But in day-to-day conversation, we called them by their individual names – Karim, Asim, and Zamin.”
This novel shows just how underdeveloped Afghanistan was. They allowed girls to go to school but didn’t prefer it. In fact, they were against school, period, for the most part. Also, they were not advocates of everyday hand-washing.
“What are germs?” Karim asked… “They are tiny things, so small we cannot see them… It is unsanitary to simple spread a cloth on the floor when we eat. I am having a special table built so that the food can be higher than the floor.”
On the other hand, Behind the Burqa seems to be in place with a very specific goal of making others, especially Americans, feel bad. The account of Suilma is told first. As a child, she began working, illegally and impressively, for women’s rights. As well, she survived a very abusive martial relationship that carried over into her escape to the United States.
During one account at a women’s meeting, she recalls, “One woman told me that the Qur’an specifically mandated this treatment of women and we had no right to violate the Qur’an’s words… Men are superior to women on account of the qualities with which God hath gifted the one over the other and on account of the outlay they make from their substance for them.”
After Sulima moves to the United States, her younger sister Hala begins doing good deeds of her own, such as secretly educating children when all of the schools are shut down.
When Hala tries to escape to the U.S., she is unable to speak English and she is put in jail. She relies on Sulima who attempts to help her gain asylum, as being deported back to their home country is one of Hala’s biggest fears.
“For all of us, healing from the wounds inflicted by our own governments was almost impossible. We felt no safety. We were in a harsh and alien world. And we had been caught completely off guard. We had come to the United States with high expectations… I thought people in America were treated equally. But when I came here, I found out that this wasn’t true. Bad things happen to people who come from other countries. You can be put in jail for no reason other than leaving your country to save your life.”
Our Life in Afghanistan and How We Escaped to Freedom
Batya Swift Yasgur
277 pp. Wiley Publishers. $23.27
Batya Swift Yasgur’s interpretation of Sulima and Hala’s tales of escaping Afghanistan, although seemingly bland at first, is a very interesting account of the sisters’ lives. However, the negative details in Behind the Burqa almost seem to be in place as an attempt at making Americans feel bad about invading the Middle East. Yet the book itself seemingly attempts to make Americans feel better about themselves after the United States began the war in Iraq.
Regardless, the book is written very well, it is a heart-touching story and it is very informative. “In Afghanistan, the father picks out a prefix or suffix for all his sons that stands for some ideal or important family value, such as courage or adherence to God’s will. Father chose Abdel, which means “servant of God.” But in day-to-day conversation, we called them by their individual names – Karim, Asim, and Zamin.”
This novel shows just how underdeveloped Afghanistan was. They allowed girls to go to school but didn’t prefer it. In fact, they were against school, period, for the most part. Also, they were not advocates of everyday hand-washing.
“What are germs?” Karim asked… “They are tiny things, so small we cannot see them… It is unsanitary to simple spread a cloth on the floor when we eat. I am having a special table built so that the food can be higher than the floor.”
On the other hand, Behind the Burqa seems to be in place with a very specific goal of making others, especially Americans, feel bad. The account of Suilma is told first. As a child, she began working, illegally and impressively, for women’s rights. As well, she survived a very abusive martial relationship that carried over into her escape to the United States.
During one account at a women’s meeting, she recalls, “One woman told me that the Qur’an specifically mandated this treatment of women and we had no right to violate the Qur’an’s words… Men are superior to women on account of the qualities with which God hath gifted the one over the other and on account of the outlay they make from their substance for them.”
After Sulima moves to the United States, her younger sister Hala begins doing good deeds of her own, such as secretly educating children when all of the schools are shut down.
When Hala tries to escape to the U.S., she is unable to speak English and she is put in jail. She relies on Sulima who attempts to help her gain asylum, as being deported back to their home country is one of Hala’s biggest fears.
“For all of us, healing from the wounds inflicted by our own governments was almost impossible. We felt no safety. We were in a harsh and alien world. And we had been caught completely off guard. We had come to the United States with high expectations… I thought people in America were treated equally. But when I came here, I found out that this wasn’t true. Bad things happen to people who come from other countries. You can be put in jail for no reason other than leaving your country to save your life.”
Monday, April 25, 2011
An Artsy Mommy
If being a mom and wife at 21 doesn’t seem hard, alone, throwing costume and web designing into the mix can make it even more difficult. Saint Joseph local Taylia Banks-Guyer plays the role of super-mom in finding time to express all four titles, plus many others in her life.
If not caring for her two boys, Aidan and Jordhán or entertaining Charles, her husband of almost 2 years, Taylia can be found at her computer, evolving a new chapter of her latest masterpiece or sketching another creation to life. She has participated in the annual National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo, for 3 years.
If not caring for her two boys, Aidan and Jordhán or entertaining Charles, her husband of almost 2 years, Taylia can be found at her computer, evolving a new chapter of her latest masterpiece or sketching another creation to life. She has participated in the annual National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo, for 3 years.
Taylia's oldest son, Aidan, on his first birthday
Taylia's husband, Charles and their youngest son, Jordhán
NaNoWriMo is an annual competition in which participants have the entire month of Nov. to produce a 50,000 word story and submit it for an award. Every November, when the competition begins, Guyer’s computer becomes her best friend for thirty days.
NaNoWriMo participants have until June to revise their stories for proof-printing to receive a copy of their story if they wish to do so.
“I have been winning NaNoWriMo since I started it, so that's three 50,000+ word stories,” said Guyer. Participants receive free proof copies of their completed NaNoWriMo novels in June of the following year. “The best part about NaNoWriMo is the absolute, utter, crazy chaos that ensues! No matter how much you plan throughout the year for NaNoWriMo, or how anxious you are for the clock to turn midnight into Novemeber to start, nothing will prepare you for it. You'll write for hours, you'll go without sleep, your characters will develop minds of their own and you won't be able to stop them from changing your plot on their own. That's the best thing ever!” she said.
Although writing has been a passion for her since she was in middle school, writing fictional stories about her favorite WWE professional wrestlers, she says that the process of creating a NaNoWriMo submission, no matter how well planned, never stays on track the way the author originally intended.
“I plan my story up to the closest detail, creating entirely new worlds, characters, relationships, religions and governments. I get to the point to where I can watch my story like a movie through my head and all I have to do is write it down once November 1st comes. But I've never had a NaNo go the way I planned it,” said Guyer.
Along with writing, she also has a strong passion for cosplaying. Cosplay is short for “costume play” and is defined as a performance art in which participants dress up as specific characters to meet at a “Comicon”, commonly abbreviated simply as “Con”.
A Comicon is a convention of mainly comic book fans and gives masses of them the opportunity to meet and join and express their creativity and love for certain characters. In recent years, Comicons have become more well-known. Kansas City’s Comicon is called Naka-Kon.
“There are two types of cosplayers, those who just dress up, and those who actually become the characters when they do so,” said Guyer.
She makes all of her own costumes for these events. “I like to piece my costume together piece by piece, in the most cost efficient ways possible. Charles bought me a $200 suit for an interview,” she said. “Why just use it once? So I put it to use for my cosplay and actually won best costume for it. People cosplay lots of stuff, though it's mainly anime characters and video games. People will cosplay actors, musicians, and etcetera. To me, it's kind of like still getting to do the theatre thing that I miss so much”.
She has even expanded the craze onto her family. “When kids are older, you can dress them up to take them to the Con with you. That's my biggest thing; I want to get the whole family into it. I got Charles to agree to do it with me this year and it just helps to give us all something to do together. We're going to go to Anime Nebraskon in Nov. It's a little bit of a bigger Con than Naka-Kon but I am excited!” said Guyer.
While Guyer has extended her love of cosplaying onto her family, she believes her family has to come before cosplaying.
“Family has to take precedence over your cosplaying. Not only does it cut your time to work on it, but it cuts funds and all that. I love my little family, but it just means that it's something that makes my passion for cosplay a hobby and not a profession,” said Guyer.
In addition to cosplaying and writing for NaNoWriMo, Guyer also expresses her creativity through drawings, web design and voice-over acting as well.
Guyer says that although web designing was a good source of income for her, she lost her passion for doing it because she was getting paid to. Instead, she turned to voice acting.
“Anymore all I've been doing is some voice acting with some friends. That is what I want to do for a living; it’s just a hard business to get into. We write our collaborative stories and then end up picking scenes and acting them out,” said Guyer.
Not only does she have a talent and passion for voice-over acting, but Guyer also possesses a gift and desire for drawing, whether it being on the computer or with pencil and paper. Typically, she does drawings for herself, but creates them, more so, as gifts for her friends.
“I've been doing art commissions for people, mostly free stuff. A friend recently paid me $15 to do a picture of him and his girlfriend together, even though I told him it wasn't needed. But basically I'll draw any request for people, or make icons, or resize stuff for backgrounds. I actually hand-drew an entire background for a friend once,” she said.
For Guyer, drawing, like web designing, is more of a hobby that she does for free rather than for payment.
NaNoWriMo participants have until June to revise their stories for proof-printing to receive a copy of their story if they wish to do so.
“I have been winning NaNoWriMo since I started it, so that's three 50,000+ word stories,” said Guyer. Participants receive free proof copies of their completed NaNoWriMo novels in June of the following year. “The best part about NaNoWriMo is the absolute, utter, crazy chaos that ensues! No matter how much you plan throughout the year for NaNoWriMo, or how anxious you are for the clock to turn midnight into Novemeber to start, nothing will prepare you for it. You'll write for hours, you'll go without sleep, your characters will develop minds of their own and you won't be able to stop them from changing your plot on their own. That's the best thing ever!” she said.
Although writing has been a passion for her since she was in middle school, writing fictional stories about her favorite WWE professional wrestlers, she says that the process of creating a NaNoWriMo submission, no matter how well planned, never stays on track the way the author originally intended.
“I plan my story up to the closest detail, creating entirely new worlds, characters, relationships, religions and governments. I get to the point to where I can watch my story like a movie through my head and all I have to do is write it down once November 1st comes. But I've never had a NaNo go the way I planned it,” said Guyer.
Along with writing, she also has a strong passion for cosplaying. Cosplay is short for “costume play” and is defined as a performance art in which participants dress up as specific characters to meet at a “Comicon”, commonly abbreviated simply as “Con”.
A Comicon is a convention of mainly comic book fans and gives masses of them the opportunity to meet and join and express their creativity and love for certain characters. In recent years, Comicons have become more well-known. Kansas City’s Comicon is called Naka-Kon.
“There are two types of cosplayers, those who just dress up, and those who actually become the characters when they do so,” said Guyer.
She makes all of her own costumes for these events. “I like to piece my costume together piece by piece, in the most cost efficient ways possible. Charles bought me a $200 suit for an interview,” she said. “Why just use it once? So I put it to use for my cosplay and actually won best costume for it. People cosplay lots of stuff, though it's mainly anime characters and video games. People will cosplay actors, musicians, and etcetera. To me, it's kind of like still getting to do the theatre thing that I miss so much”.
She has even expanded the craze onto her family. “When kids are older, you can dress them up to take them to the Con with you. That's my biggest thing; I want to get the whole family into it. I got Charles to agree to do it with me this year and it just helps to give us all something to do together. We're going to go to Anime Nebraskon in Nov. It's a little bit of a bigger Con than Naka-Kon but I am excited!” said Guyer.
While Guyer has extended her love of cosplaying onto her family, she believes her family has to come before cosplaying.
“Family has to take precedence over your cosplaying. Not only does it cut your time to work on it, but it cuts funds and all that. I love my little family, but it just means that it's something that makes my passion for cosplay a hobby and not a profession,” said Guyer.
In addition to cosplaying and writing for NaNoWriMo, Guyer also expresses her creativity through drawings, web design and voice-over acting as well.
Guyer says that although web designing was a good source of income for her, she lost her passion for doing it because she was getting paid to. Instead, she turned to voice acting.
“Anymore all I've been doing is some voice acting with some friends. That is what I want to do for a living; it’s just a hard business to get into. We write our collaborative stories and then end up picking scenes and acting them out,” said Guyer.
Not only does she have a talent and passion for voice-over acting, but Guyer also possesses a gift and desire for drawing, whether it being on the computer or with pencil and paper. Typically, she does drawings for herself, but creates them, more so, as gifts for her friends.
“I've been doing art commissions for people, mostly free stuff. A friend recently paid me $15 to do a picture of him and his girlfriend together, even though I told him it wasn't needed. But basically I'll draw any request for people, or make icons, or resize stuff for backgrounds. I actually hand-drew an entire background for a friend once,” she said.
For Guyer, drawing, like web designing, is more of a hobby that she does for free rather than for payment.
A picture of Taylia that she altered with Photoshop
A digital drawing by Guyer
A digital drawing by Taylia
A Super Mario Brothers sculpture by Taylia
A Final Fantasy sculpture by Taylia
A pencil and paper drawing of Wolverine from X-Men, by Taylia
A drawing by Taylia
A pencil and paper drawing by Taylia
To view more of Taylia's art, please visit the following website: http://renoxrayneftw.deviantart.com/
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Penniless Midwest
Missouri Western sophomore Crystal Crawford knows what it is like to have to take out money for school with worries about being able to pay it back.
“I went to school solely on grants and scholarships at Northwest, but when I transferred here, I had to start taking out loans. I was surprised at how ridiculously fast it can add up!” she said.
Credit cards are also a big factor in college student debt.
“I got a Kay Jewelers card my freshman year and I did good keeping it paid until I had to start taking out loans, and it just gets harder and harder to keep things paid,” said Crawford.
According to The Institute for Higher Education Policy, a nonprofit organization that researches and features educational information, about 35 percent of borrowers made timely loan payments without becoming delinquent in 2005, totaling over $13 billion in loans.
In a March 2011 research of 2005 graduates, the IHEP reported, “About 15 percent of borrowers not only became delinquent, but also had defaulted on their loan(s) at some point during the first five years of their repayment term”.
According to USA Today, the average amount owed by college graduates is $19,000. However, they also reported that “Many undergrads, though, have debt exceeding $40,000”.
At Missouri Western specifically, according to the financial aid department, 56.24 percent of students have federal loans which totals $21,782,317. The average loan amount per Western student is $6,535. In some cases, almost double the amounts of students have loans as do students have grants, scholarships, or participate in a work-study program.
Not only are student loans a big factor in debt among college students, but credit cards attribute to that debt, as well.
Credit cards are typically part of the debt that college students rack up, as according to the College Student Credit Card website, the average balance that students owe on their credit cards is $885.
They also reported that the average student has at least two credit cards, some have up to 4 and only 17 percent of students do not own credit cards. On average, they reported that only 55 percent of college students with credit cards pay off their credit card debt.
Missouri Western junior, Courtney Boner knows what it is like to obtain and to use credit cards.
“I have one store credit card, but I always make sure I never charge so much on it that I am unable to pay the balance in full with my next paycheck” she said.
Boner uses her credit card intelligently, refusing to rack up any more debt than she has to.
“I figure I have enough with student loans, I would rather not owe any more than I absolutely have to once I graduate,” she said.
Missouri Western sophomore Lisa Winslow says she refuses to even sign up for a credit card.
“I used to have one, but they are all trouble. I have too much money out in loans as it is!” she said.
While credit cards can be a bad idea if they are not used and paid off wisely, there are some advantages to college students using credit cards. Using credit cards intelligently can help out by bettering your credit score which, in turn, can help you buy a car, a home, or get a job. They can also help a student establish credit, which is also very useful in making big purchases like a car or a house.
“If I see something that I want, but I know I can’t pay it off, I just refuse to buy it. Sometimes it is hard to do, but I haven’t let myself do it yet!” Boner said.
“I went to school solely on grants and scholarships at Northwest, but when I transferred here, I had to start taking out loans. I was surprised at how ridiculously fast it can add up!” she said.
Credit cards are also a big factor in college student debt.
“I got a Kay Jewelers card my freshman year and I did good keeping it paid until I had to start taking out loans, and it just gets harder and harder to keep things paid,” said Crawford.
According to The Institute for Higher Education Policy, a nonprofit organization that researches and features educational information, about 35 percent of borrowers made timely loan payments without becoming delinquent in 2005, totaling over $13 billion in loans.
In a March 2011 research of 2005 graduates, the IHEP reported, “About 15 percent of borrowers not only became delinquent, but also had defaulted on their loan(s) at some point during the first five years of their repayment term”.
According to USA Today, the average amount owed by college graduates is $19,000. However, they also reported that “Many undergrads, though, have debt exceeding $40,000”.
At Missouri Western specifically, according to the financial aid department, 56.24 percent of students have federal loans which totals $21,782,317. The average loan amount per Western student is $6,535. In some cases, almost double the amounts of students have loans as do students have grants, scholarships, or participate in a work-study program.
Not only are student loans a big factor in debt among college students, but credit cards attribute to that debt, as well.
Credit cards are typically part of the debt that college students rack up, as according to the College Student Credit Card website, the average balance that students owe on their credit cards is $885.
They also reported that the average student has at least two credit cards, some have up to 4 and only 17 percent of students do not own credit cards. On average, they reported that only 55 percent of college students with credit cards pay off their credit card debt.
Missouri Western junior, Courtney Boner knows what it is like to obtain and to use credit cards.
“I have one store credit card, but I always make sure I never charge so much on it that I am unable to pay the balance in full with my next paycheck” she said.
Boner uses her credit card intelligently, refusing to rack up any more debt than she has to.
“I figure I have enough with student loans, I would rather not owe any more than I absolutely have to once I graduate,” she said.
Missouri Western sophomore Lisa Winslow says she refuses to even sign up for a credit card.
“I used to have one, but they are all trouble. I have too much money out in loans as it is!” she said.
While credit cards can be a bad idea if they are not used and paid off wisely, there are some advantages to college students using credit cards. Using credit cards intelligently can help out by bettering your credit score which, in turn, can help you buy a car, a home, or get a job. They can also help a student establish credit, which is also very useful in making big purchases like a car or a house.
“If I see something that I want, but I know I can’t pay it off, I just refuse to buy it. Sometimes it is hard to do, but I haven’t let myself do it yet!” Boner said.
Tips from College Student Credit Card on using your credit cards wisely:
• Consider your purchases. Buy things you need
before things you want, and consider whether you
would buy the item(s) if you were not charging it.
• Budget. Do not spend more than you have.
Pay off the balance each month. If you pay off your
balance each month, you do not have to pay interest.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
On the Alabama State Line
Summers in Mobile, AL offer many attractions and this, of course, comes with increased revenue for those businesses.
Mobile is home to one attraction in particular, the U.S.S. Alabama battleship, also known as "Lucky A”. The battleship served in World War II in 1942 and carried 127 officers and 2,205 enlisted men. The battleship earned its nickname because it did not lose a single person to the enemy during its time of service.
Visitor Dorothy Flanagan, after her 4-hour experience aboard the battleship said “I really loved it a lot. Even though I am from a military family, I have never seen anything like this ship before. I really just enjoyed seeing everything and would recommend it to anyone who visits Alabama. Plus, it didn’t cost nearly as much as I expected to get in”, she said.
Mobile is home to one attraction in particular, the U.S.S. Alabama battleship, also known as "Lucky A”. The battleship served in World War II in 1942 and carried 127 officers and 2,205 enlisted men. The battleship earned its nickname because it did not lose a single person to the enemy during its time of service.
One room in the battleship has walls lined with the names of crewmen who served on the Alabama
The battleship was retired in 1962 and moved to Battleship Memorial Park in the Mobile Bay two years later. School children from Alabama raised the $100,000 to bring the battleship to Mobile Bay.
The battleship opened as a museum on Jan. 9 1965. It was added to the National Historical Landmark registry in 1986.
Visitor Cheryl Gann said her favorite part was getting lost inside the battleship.
“We tried to follow the arrows and stay on track, but it was really easy to get lost. It was a little confusing and the doorways were kind of hard to step through since I am so short, but I really enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind coming back again,” she said.
A hallway inside of the battleship
Navigating the battleship can be slightly confusing and visitors must watch where they step because of holes in the floor that lead to lower levels of the ship. Touring the ship is led by red, yellow or blue arrows. Visitors follow each color from beginning to end to ensure that they see everything on the tour.
Examples of knots used on the Alabama
The U.S.S. Alabama is similar to many battleships from its day. However, this ship is much larger than a typical battleship.
The U.S.S. Alabama, the sixth completed ship of the United States Navy, is one of the biggest ships ever built. The walls of gunmetal grey, while dull and colorless, stretch upward for what seems like forever. From outside the main building, at least 10 feet away from the U.S.S. Alabama, the ship will not fit in one full picture. Instead, the photographer must snap two shots to capture the entire battleship. Even being inactive today, the ship’s presence is reinforced by its oversized demeanor.
The U.S.S. Alabama
The beginning of the journey is a trip from the ground, up the wide, grey ramp to the ship’s deck of informative signs and gadgets.
A walk on the deck, from bow to stern, is nearly a 5-minute walk. The ship can be clearly seen from the highway across the bay. The battleship covers 175 acres and it could hold nearly 160 football fields. However, even in the rain, visitors still seem to enjoy their experience aboard.
Children can be seen pretending to take down enemies from behind the ship’s massive guns, shouting “pshoo, pshoo” at one another. All the while, mothers are snapping photographs. Fathers are warning them not to slip when they climb back down and grandmothers are telling fathers “let them just be kids”.
On deck of the U.S.S. Alabama
Visitor Dorothy Flanagan, after her 4-hour experience aboard the battleship said “I really loved it a lot. Even though I am from a military family, I have never seen anything like this ship before. I really just enjoyed seeing everything and would recommend it to anyone who visits Alabama. Plus, it didn’t cost nearly as much as I expected to get in”, she said.
A diving suit used during Alabama's active days
The battleship was joined in Mobile Bay by the U.S.S. Drum submarine in 1969, which is also open to guests.
Battleship Memorial Park is scattered with war honorary sites, tanks and stone statues. Their Air Pavilion includes planes from World War II and a simulation flight for children. Although the building received damage and flooding during Hurricane Katrina, the site was remodeled and remains up for display.
The U.S.S. Alabama received on-screen time when it appeared in the films Under Siege and Rapid Fire and was in the ABC television series War and Remembrance.
The battleship was used as hurricane shelter during Hurricane Katrina. It suffered some damage that shifted the ship’s anchorage, but served its purpose well.
Directors of Battleship Memorial Park were unavailable to comment on the income increase the U.S.S. Alabama brings to Mobile Bay.
The U.S.S. Alabama and Battleship Memorial Park is open for touring every day except Christmas. The park is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Nov. through Feb. and from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. March through Oct. Admission for ages 12 and up is $12, for ages 6-11 it is $6 and for children under the age of 6, admission is free.
Friday, April 22, 2011
About Me
As a senior at Missouri Western State University in Saint Joseph, Missouri, I am majoring in both English: Public Relations and Spanish. I am looking to graduate in a minimum of two years from now and begin a career in either translating and/or public relations. Ideally, I would love to study Spanish, learn to be a translator, move to South America or Spain. Initially, I have no desire to be a teacher, but I think it would be very interesting to move to a Spanish-speaking country where I could teach ESL (English as a Second Language) classes.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Volleyball
Just got back from the Truman @ MWSU volleyball game. I had to go for my journalism class and I'll write a season wrap-up story. It was Senior night.
Going to this volleyball game really made me miss playing volleyball in middle school. Of course, I hated it then. I didn't talk to anyone on the team. I had no friends on the team. I liked volleyball, I just didn't get along with the stuck-up people. But tonight made me want to play again. On a school team. I think I would like that. I just don't have my own vehicle, since my mom has my car, to get to practices and such, plus I am sure that my hubby would not only throw a fit about me spending more time with my team than with him, but about the uniforms they wear too, because the shorts are super skimpy and tight.
I really like tennis, too, though. Except they wear skirts. And he'd bitch about that too. I've never actually played tennis on a team, but I have tried to teach myself to play. It's more of an almost one-on-one or two-on-two, though.
I did like volleyball when I played in school, though. It was fun. You felt a sense of inclusiveness. I am strongly debating emailing the coach and seeing about getting involved with the school's volleyball program. I really think I would enjoy playing again.
But then it comes down to trying to start a family. If I get pregnant at any time during the season, I am basically screwed on playing. I'm not in the best of shape and I really hate running. Volleyball would be a good motivator, though, to get me back into shape. I just don't think I'd be good enough to be accepted onto the team. I'm actually not even sure how that works. I thought they did mostly recruits and didn't have try-outs or anything. I guess it is just something that I would have to look into. I think I may do that, though. But I do not know. I have no decided yet.
At the same time though, college is just like high school all over again in some aspects. In the athletics aspect. Those who are there for a real education typically do not play sports. Those who are there playing sports are only getting a degree because they have to attend class to play. Personally, I think, anymore, my #1 goal, my main reason I am there, is to learn. More specifically, to learn to speak Spanish. I fear I couldn't do that if I joined a sports team. But I feel I am never fill my uselessness without SOMETHING else. Like an activity in my life. I believe that is part of the reason I want to have a kid. There would be something else there, other than Blogger, other than facebook, other than FarmVille to occupy my time. I think, ultimately, that is what I am searching for.
Going to this volleyball game really made me miss playing volleyball in middle school. Of course, I hated it then. I didn't talk to anyone on the team. I had no friends on the team. I liked volleyball, I just didn't get along with the stuck-up people. But tonight made me want to play again. On a school team. I think I would like that. I just don't have my own vehicle, since my mom has my car, to get to practices and such, plus I am sure that my hubby would not only throw a fit about me spending more time with my team than with him, but about the uniforms they wear too, because the shorts are super skimpy and tight.
I really like tennis, too, though. Except they wear skirts. And he'd bitch about that too. I've never actually played tennis on a team, but I have tried to teach myself to play. It's more of an almost one-on-one or two-on-two, though.
I did like volleyball when I played in school, though. It was fun. You felt a sense of inclusiveness. I am strongly debating emailing the coach and seeing about getting involved with the school's volleyball program. I really think I would enjoy playing again.
But then it comes down to trying to start a family. If I get pregnant at any time during the season, I am basically screwed on playing. I'm not in the best of shape and I really hate running. Volleyball would be a good motivator, though, to get me back into shape. I just don't think I'd be good enough to be accepted onto the team. I'm actually not even sure how that works. I thought they did mostly recruits and didn't have try-outs or anything. I guess it is just something that I would have to look into. I think I may do that, though. But I do not know. I have no decided yet.
At the same time though, college is just like high school all over again in some aspects. In the athletics aspect. Those who are there for a real education typically do not play sports. Those who are there playing sports are only getting a degree because they have to attend class to play. Personally, I think, anymore, my #1 goal, my main reason I am there, is to learn. More specifically, to learn to speak Spanish. I fear I couldn't do that if I joined a sports team. But I feel I am never fill my uselessness without SOMETHING else. Like an activity in my life. I believe that is part of the reason I want to have a kid. There would be something else there, other than Blogger, other than facebook, other than FarmVille to occupy my time. I think, ultimately, that is what I am searching for.
The Merchant of Venice Theme Paper
An Anti-Semitic Premise in The Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, is, without a doubt, an incredibly anti-Semitic play and seems to be, predominantly, via religion. Christian guards keep Jewish people in captivity, refusing them the right to own land. The Christians’ ways of treating Shylock and the other Jewish populace show’s Shakespeare’s anti-Semitic undertone of the play. For instance, their calling Shylock derogatory names, or, rather than referring to him by his birth-given name, calling him “The Jew” proves this point. Among these examples, at the beginning of the play, Antonio spits in Shylock’s face and all of the Jewish citizens are required to wear red caps to identify themselves in public. Religious anti-Semitism is verbally known, specifically, when Shylock says:
“These be the Christian husbands. I have a daughter;
Would any of the stock of Barrabas
Had been her husband rather than a Christian!” (lines 293-295)
Considering the end of act four, scene one, which is commonly referred to as the court scene, when Shylock makes a considerable tribulation concerning the switching from the Jewish religion to the Christian religion, it is perceived that said conversion is a fate worse than death. Shylock’s greed in caring more about his material items and his contract with Antonio, as well, confirms the anti-Semitism of the comedy. Not only is Shylock’s greed proof of anti-Semitism, but the court scene in itself contains a vast amount of anti-Semitism. This anti-Semitism and stereotypical theme is displayed not only by Shylock, but by Portia and the entirety of the audience. Shylock’s voracity is proved by his words in the fourth act:
“Nay, take my life and all! Pardon not that!
You take my house when you do take the prop
That doth sustain my house. You take my life
When you do take the means whereby I live.” (372-375)
During the court scene, Portia frequently refers to Shylock as “The Jew” in place of calling him “Shylock”. For instance, in lines 319-320, she states “The Jew shall have all justice… He shall have nothing but the penalty.” Additionally, when Shylock reiterates what his name is, he puts emphasis on “Shylock” (174), asserting the fact that that is his name, rather than “The Jew”. Portia and the other inhabitants behave callously towards him in their judgments through the entirety of the scene. Portia’s actions are verification of anti-Semitism, as are Shylock’s own dealings. Shylock is offered double and more what his contract with Antonio was worth. He states:
“When it is paid according to the tenor.
It doth appear you are a worthy judge.
You know the law. Your exposition
Hath been most sound. I charge you by the law,
Whereof you are a well-deserving pillar,
Proceed to judgment. By my soul I swear
There is no power in the tongue of man
To alter me: I stay here on my bond.” (233-240)
He, selfishly declines and demands, instead, that they honor the bond and he receive a pound of flesh in lieu of the offered ducats. As Antonio emphasizes:
“You may as well do anything most hard
As to seek to soften that-than which what’s harder?-
His Jewish heart.” (78-80)
Portia’s witty ploy carried out against Shylock is the prevalent example of anti-Semitism in the entire scene. She cons him into believing he will be allowed to receive the pound of flesh that he desires and then contradicts her verdict by informing him that he may take only the flesh, but must spill no blood. She enlightens him of this fact by saying:
“Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou less nor more
But just a pound of flesh.” (323-324)
She also informs him that:
“if the scale do turn
But in the estimation of a hair,
Thou diest, and all thy goods are confiscate.” (328-330)
Another confirmation of anti-Semitism in The Merchant of Venice is Lancelot’s treatment of Shylock’s daughter, Jessica in act three, scene five. This is best seen in Lancelot says to Jessica in the beginning of the scene. He asserts that
“the sin of the father are to be laid upon the children; therefore, I promise you, I fear you. I was always plain with you, and so now I speak my agitation of the matter. Therefore be o’ good cheer, for truly I think you are damned. There is but one hope in it that can do you any good, and that is but a kind of bastard hope, neither… Marry, you may partly hope that your father for you not, that you are not the Jew’s daughter… I fear you are damned both by father and mother. Thus when I shun Scylla, your father, I fall into Charybdis, your mother. Well, you are gone both ways.” (1-16)
In response to which Jessica declares “I shall be saved by my husband. He hath made me a Christian.” (17-18) The Jewish religion is thought less of by Christians, than the Christian religion is. For one to be considered damned due to being Jewish, yet saved if revolutionized into a Christian, is yet another illustration of anti-Semitism in the play.
Shakespeare portrays Shylock as a stereotypical Jewish man, not only in that the play as a whole has an anti-Semitic tone to it, but through Shylock’s greed. Not only is he insatiable in his yearning to maintain the accord between himself and Antonio, but he is also gluttonous concerning his daughter and his wealth. Shylock mentions, after he discovers that Jessica has taken his ring to trade with Lorenzo, that he would rather her be dead than be his Jewish-turned-Christian daughter made off with his material wealth.
Concisely, Shylock’s penchant to uphold his contract with Antonio and his desire for wealth above family demonstrates his orthodox, Jewish gluttony. However, Shylock’s greed, along with the treatment he and his daughter receive from the Christian’s and the other characters of the play substantiates the very anti-Semitic theme of The Merchant of Venice en bloc. Antonio spits in Shylock’s face, he is constantly identified as “The Jew” and Jessica is said to be damned as a result of her religion.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. 6th ed. New York: Pearson Longham, 2009.
English 341 - Shakespeare
The Merchant of Venice Theme Paper
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, is, without a doubt, an incredibly anti-Semitic play and seems to be, predominantly, via religion. Christian guards keep Jewish people in captivity, refusing them the right to own land. The Christians’ ways of treating Shylock and the other Jewish populace show’s Shakespeare’s anti-Semitic undertone of the play. For instance, their calling Shylock derogatory names, or, rather than referring to him by his birth-given name, calling him “The Jew” proves this point. Among these examples, at the beginning of the play, Antonio spits in Shylock’s face and all of the Jewish citizens are required to wear red caps to identify themselves in public. Religious anti-Semitism is verbally known, specifically, when Shylock says:
“These be the Christian husbands. I have a daughter;
Would any of the stock of Barrabas
Had been her husband rather than a Christian!” (lines 293-295)
Considering the end of act four, scene one, which is commonly referred to as the court scene, when Shylock makes a considerable tribulation concerning the switching from the Jewish religion to the Christian religion, it is perceived that said conversion is a fate worse than death. Shylock’s greed in caring more about his material items and his contract with Antonio, as well, confirms the anti-Semitism of the comedy. Not only is Shylock’s greed proof of anti-Semitism, but the court scene in itself contains a vast amount of anti-Semitism. This anti-Semitism and stereotypical theme is displayed not only by Shylock, but by Portia and the entirety of the audience. Shylock’s voracity is proved by his words in the fourth act:
“Nay, take my life and all! Pardon not that!
You take my house when you do take the prop
That doth sustain my house. You take my life
When you do take the means whereby I live.” (372-375)
During the court scene, Portia frequently refers to Shylock as “The Jew” in place of calling him “Shylock”. For instance, in lines 319-320, she states “The Jew shall have all justice… He shall have nothing but the penalty.” Additionally, when Shylock reiterates what his name is, he puts emphasis on “Shylock” (174), asserting the fact that that is his name, rather than “The Jew”. Portia and the other inhabitants behave callously towards him in their judgments through the entirety of the scene. Portia’s actions are verification of anti-Semitism, as are Shylock’s own dealings. Shylock is offered double and more what his contract with Antonio was worth. He states:
“When it is paid according to the tenor.
It doth appear you are a worthy judge.
You know the law. Your exposition
Hath been most sound. I charge you by the law,
Whereof you are a well-deserving pillar,
Proceed to judgment. By my soul I swear
There is no power in the tongue of man
To alter me: I stay here on my bond.” (233-240)
He, selfishly declines and demands, instead, that they honor the bond and he receive a pound of flesh in lieu of the offered ducats. As Antonio emphasizes:
“You may as well do anything most hard
As to seek to soften that-than which what’s harder?-
His Jewish heart.” (78-80)
Portia’s witty ploy carried out against Shylock is the prevalent example of anti-Semitism in the entire scene. She cons him into believing he will be allowed to receive the pound of flesh that he desires and then contradicts her verdict by informing him that he may take only the flesh, but must spill no blood. She enlightens him of this fact by saying:
“Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou less nor more
But just a pound of flesh.” (323-324)
She also informs him that:
“if the scale do turn
But in the estimation of a hair,
Thou diest, and all thy goods are confiscate.” (328-330)
Another confirmation of anti-Semitism in The Merchant of Venice is Lancelot’s treatment of Shylock’s daughter, Jessica in act three, scene five. This is best seen in Lancelot says to Jessica in the beginning of the scene. He asserts that
“the sin of the father are to be laid upon the children; therefore, I promise you, I fear you. I was always plain with you, and so now I speak my agitation of the matter. Therefore be o’ good cheer, for truly I think you are damned. There is but one hope in it that can do you any good, and that is but a kind of bastard hope, neither… Marry, you may partly hope that your father for you not, that you are not the Jew’s daughter… I fear you are damned both by father and mother. Thus when I shun Scylla, your father, I fall into Charybdis, your mother. Well, you are gone both ways.” (1-16)
In response to which Jessica declares “I shall be saved by my husband. He hath made me a Christian.” (17-18) The Jewish religion is thought less of by Christians, than the Christian religion is. For one to be considered damned due to being Jewish, yet saved if revolutionized into a Christian, is yet another illustration of anti-Semitism in the play.
Shakespeare portrays Shylock as a stereotypical Jewish man, not only in that the play as a whole has an anti-Semitic tone to it, but through Shylock’s greed. Not only is he insatiable in his yearning to maintain the accord between himself and Antonio, but he is also gluttonous concerning his daughter and his wealth. Shylock mentions, after he discovers that Jessica has taken his ring to trade with Lorenzo, that he would rather her be dead than be his Jewish-turned-Christian daughter made off with his material wealth.
Concisely, Shylock’s penchant to uphold his contract with Antonio and his desire for wealth above family demonstrates his orthodox, Jewish gluttony. However, Shylock’s greed, along with the treatment he and his daughter receive from the Christian’s and the other characters of the play substantiates the very anti-Semitic theme of The Merchant of Venice en bloc. Antonio spits in Shylock’s face, he is constantly identified as “The Jew” and Jessica is said to be damned as a result of her religion.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. 6th ed. New York: Pearson Longham, 2009.
English 341 - Shakespeare
The Merchant of Venice Theme Paper
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Map of Othello
I.i When Brabrantio’s daughter leaves the house at night, Iago and Rodrigo tattle on her.
Iago: “I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs.” (118-120)
I.ii Brabantio is convinced his daughter did not leave willingly and orders Othello to jail.
Brabantio: “Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her!” (64)
I.iii Desdemona tells her father that she chose Othello.
Desdemona: “And so much duty as my mother showed To you, preferring you before her father, So much I challenge that I may profess Due to the Moor my lord.” (188-191)
II.i Othello announces the defeat of the Turks and is reunited with Desdemona.
Othello: “’Twere now to be most happy, for I fear My soul hath her content so absolute That not another comfort like to this Succeeds in unknown fate.” (189-192)
II.ii Othello and Desdemona’s marriage celebration is announced by Herald.
For, besides these beneficial news, it is the celebration of his nuptial.” (6-7)
II.iii Iago, Cassio and Montano celebrate until Othello breaks up a fight.
Cassio: “Oh, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial.” (257-258)
III.i Iago gets Othello out of the way so Cassio can talk to Desdemona.
Iago: “I’ll devise a mean to draw the Moor Out of the way, that your converse and business May be more free.” (39-41)
III.ii Othello asks Iago to do an errand for him.
Gentlemen: “We’ll wait upon Your Lordship.” (6)
III.iii Othello asks Iago his thoughts of Cassio.
Iago: “She did deceive her father, marrying you; And when she seemed to shake and fear your looks, She loved them most.” (218-220)
III.iv Convinced she’s unfaithful, Othello tells Desdemona of the handkerchief’s importance, but she has lost it.
Desdemona: “Believe me, I had rather have lost my purse Full of crusades; and but my noble Moor Is it true of mind and made of no such baseness As jealous creatures are, it were enough To put him to ill thinking.” (25-29)
IV.i Iago talks to Cassio about Bianca, making Othello think they discuss Desdemona.
Iago: “Did you perceive how he laughed at his vice?” (179)
IV.ii Othello discusses Desdemona and Cassio with Emilia, proclaiming her innocence.
Emilia: “I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest, Lay down my soul at stake. If you think other, Remove your thought; it doth abuse your bosom. In any wretch have put this in your head, Let heaven requite it with the serpent’s curse!” (13-17)
IV.iii Desdemona and Emilia discuss the infidelities of wives.
Emilia: “But I do think it is their husbands’ faults If wives do fall.” (89-90)
V.i Cassio stabs Rodrigo and Iago , pleasing Othello, stabs Cassio, then doesn’t admit involvement.
Iago: “Cassio hath here been set on in the dark By Rodrigo and fellows that are scaped. He’s almost slain, and Rodrigo dead.” (114-116)
V.ii In incorrect order, Othello kills Desdemona, Iago and himself and Emilia is killed by Iago.
Desdemona: “That death’s unnatural that kills for loving.” (44)
English 341 - Shakespeare
Othello Map
Iago: “I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs.” (118-120)
I.ii Brabantio is convinced his daughter did not leave willingly and orders Othello to jail.
Brabantio: “Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her!” (64)
I.iii Desdemona tells her father that she chose Othello.
Desdemona: “And so much duty as my mother showed To you, preferring you before her father, So much I challenge that I may profess Due to the Moor my lord.” (188-191)
II.i Othello announces the defeat of the Turks and is reunited with Desdemona.
Othello: “’Twere now to be most happy, for I fear My soul hath her content so absolute That not another comfort like to this Succeeds in unknown fate.” (189-192)
II.ii Othello and Desdemona’s marriage celebration is announced by Herald.
For, besides these beneficial news, it is the celebration of his nuptial.” (6-7)
II.iii Iago, Cassio and Montano celebrate until Othello breaks up a fight.
Cassio: “Oh, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial.” (257-258)
III.i Iago gets Othello out of the way so Cassio can talk to Desdemona.
Iago: “I’ll devise a mean to draw the Moor Out of the way, that your converse and business May be more free.” (39-41)
III.ii Othello asks Iago to do an errand for him.
Gentlemen: “We’ll wait upon Your Lordship.” (6)
III.iii Othello asks Iago his thoughts of Cassio.
Iago: “She did deceive her father, marrying you; And when she seemed to shake and fear your looks, She loved them most.” (218-220)
III.iv Convinced she’s unfaithful, Othello tells Desdemona of the handkerchief’s importance, but she has lost it.
Desdemona: “Believe me, I had rather have lost my purse Full of crusades; and but my noble Moor Is it true of mind and made of no such baseness As jealous creatures are, it were enough To put him to ill thinking.” (25-29)
IV.i Iago talks to Cassio about Bianca, making Othello think they discuss Desdemona.
Iago: “Did you perceive how he laughed at his vice?” (179)
IV.ii Othello discusses Desdemona and Cassio with Emilia, proclaiming her innocence.
Emilia: “I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest, Lay down my soul at stake. If you think other, Remove your thought; it doth abuse your bosom. In any wretch have put this in your head, Let heaven requite it with the serpent’s curse!” (13-17)
IV.iii Desdemona and Emilia discuss the infidelities of wives.
Emilia: “But I do think it is their husbands’ faults If wives do fall.” (89-90)
V.i Cassio stabs Rodrigo and Iago , pleasing Othello, stabs Cassio, then doesn’t admit involvement.
Iago: “Cassio hath here been set on in the dark By Rodrigo and fellows that are scaped. He’s almost slain, and Rodrigo dead.” (114-116)
V.ii In incorrect order, Othello kills Desdemona, Iago and himself and Emilia is killed by Iago.
Desdemona: “That death’s unnatural that kills for loving.” (44)
English 341 - Shakespeare
Othello Map
Map of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
I.i Egeus demands Hermia marry Demetrius, so she plans to flee with Lysander.
Helena: “I will go tell him of fair Hermia’s flight: Then to the wood will he tomorrow night Pursue her;” (246-247)
I.ii Quince gives play parts for Theseus’ wedding day play.
Quince: “Marry, our play is ‘The most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe.’” (11-12)
II.i Oberon wants to put flower juice in Titania and Demetrius’ eyes.
Oberon: “And with the juice of this I’ll streak her eyes, And make her full of hateful fantasies. Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove: A sweet Athenian lady is in love With a disdainful youth: anoint his eyes; But do it when the next thing he espies May be the lady:” (257-263)
II.ii Puck anoints Lysander mistakenly, who now loves Helena, not Hermia.
Lysander: “Content with Hermia? No! I do repent The tedious minutes I with her have spent. Not Hermia but Helena I love.” (117-119)
III.i Titania awakes and loves Bottom, who has a donkey’s head.
Titania: “And I do love thee. Therefore, go with me.” (150)
III.ii Anointed, Demetrius and Lysander love Helena, angering Hermia, causing fights.
Puck: “When you wak’st, Thou tak’st True delight In the sight Of thy former lady’s eye:” (453-457)
IV.i Titania’s spell’s gone; the disputers found and allowed marriage respectively.
Theseus: “Egeus, I will overbear your will; For in the temple, by and by with us These couples shall eternally be knit.” (178-180)
IV.ii Unfound, Bottom’s arrival brings survival of the play and joy.
Bottom: “And, most dear actors, eat no onions not garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them say it is a sweet comedy.” (39-42)
V.i The play ensues, and Puck assures life’s amendments by his kind.
Puck: “If we shadows have offended, This but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumbered here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, Not more yielding but a dream Gentles, do not reprehend. If you pardon, we will mend.” (418-425)
English 341 - Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night's Dream Map
Helena: “I will go tell him of fair Hermia’s flight: Then to the wood will he tomorrow night Pursue her;” (246-247)
I.ii Quince gives play parts for Theseus’ wedding day play.
Quince: “Marry, our play is ‘The most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe.’” (11-12)
II.i Oberon wants to put flower juice in Titania and Demetrius’ eyes.
Oberon: “And with the juice of this I’ll streak her eyes, And make her full of hateful fantasies. Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove: A sweet Athenian lady is in love With a disdainful youth: anoint his eyes; But do it when the next thing he espies May be the lady:” (257-263)
II.ii Puck anoints Lysander mistakenly, who now loves Helena, not Hermia.
Lysander: “Content with Hermia? No! I do repent The tedious minutes I with her have spent. Not Hermia but Helena I love.” (117-119)
III.i Titania awakes and loves Bottom, who has a donkey’s head.
Titania: “And I do love thee. Therefore, go with me.” (150)
III.ii Anointed, Demetrius and Lysander love Helena, angering Hermia, causing fights.
Puck: “When you wak’st, Thou tak’st True delight In the sight Of thy former lady’s eye:” (453-457)
IV.i Titania’s spell’s gone; the disputers found and allowed marriage respectively.
Theseus: “Egeus, I will overbear your will; For in the temple, by and by with us These couples shall eternally be knit.” (178-180)
IV.ii Unfound, Bottom’s arrival brings survival of the play and joy.
Bottom: “And, most dear actors, eat no onions not garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them say it is a sweet comedy.” (39-42)
V.i The play ensues, and Puck assures life’s amendments by his kind.
Puck: “If we shadows have offended, This but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumbered here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, Not more yielding but a dream Gentles, do not reprehend. If you pardon, we will mend.” (418-425)
English 341 - Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night's Dream Map
Enterprise Story - Student Debt
Money burning a hole in your pocket? Not college students. More and more of them are having to take out loans to pay for school.
The number of college students who take out loans to pay for school has steadily increased in the past six years.
Missouri Western, however, is well below the national average. At Missouri Western, 56.42 percent of students have loans, with an average amount per person of $6,535, as of the 2010 school year. The total amount of loan money taken out by Western students is $21,782,317.
National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), a nationwide study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education every four years that determines how college students pay for school reported that “At public universities, [(such as Missouri Western)] average [student] debt was $20,200” in 2008, which is much higher than Western itself.
The most common student loans, federal loans require no co-signer. They do not require a good credit score either. Federal loans have a grace period of six months after the borrower’s date of graduation or six month after they drop below the status of a part-time student. 12 credit hours is the lowest amount of hours a student can take to be considered a full-time student.
Alternative types of student loans are private student loans. Private student loans have a higher interest rate than federal loans. According to campusgrotto.com, these types of loans have become increasingly popular. They reported that “Last year, students borrowed $18.5 billion from private lenders, up 6 percent from the 2005-2006 school year, and now equal to 25% of all student loans in America.”
The terms of student loans can be found under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Concerning the payments of loans and defaulting on loans, the website reported that “[Title IV guaranteed] repayment to the lender if a student defaults. Because the loans are guaranteed by the US Government, they are offered at a lower interest rate than the borrower would otherwise be able to get for a private loan.”
The two different types of federal loans are subsidized and unsubsidized. While the borrower is in school, the government pays all of the interest on unsubsidized loans, making them the better of the two choices if one must take out a loan to pay for school.
There are many ways to avoid student debt, or at least lessen it, if one learns to manage their money wisely.
According to George Mannes’ article “Earning a Degree in Debt”, when it comes to student loans, the borrower should set limits on the amount they take out and when it comes time to pay the money back, make payments early and make them often.
FinAid.org advises taking out no more than what is needed to pay for school when taking out a loan, take out federal loans before private loans, choose to attend a less expensive school, cut unnecessary costs, work a part-time job, talk to your financial aid department and consider saving for college by investing in the 529 College Savings Plans.
Concerning taking out loans and paying for school, one business major wishes she would have done things differently. “If I had it to do all over again, I would not have taken out student loans no matter what,” said sophomore Lisa Clifford. She advised that students find their books as cheap as possible to help save money. “I would have bought my books online, from the beginning, instead of at Missouri Western’s bookstore,” said Clifford.
Another student had a rather comedic view of student loans. “Student loans are like S.T.D.’s,” said freshman Mike Nagel. “You don’t know if you’ll get them, you don’t know how much and when or if you can get rid of ‘em, but it’s a risk you have to take [to get through school].”
The number of college students who take out loans to pay for school has steadily increased in the past six years.
Missouri Western, however, is well below the national average. At Missouri Western, 56.42 percent of students have loans, with an average amount per person of $6,535, as of the 2010 school year. The total amount of loan money taken out by Western students is $21,782,317.
National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), a nationwide study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education every four years that determines how college students pay for school reported that “At public universities, [(such as Missouri Western)] average [student] debt was $20,200” in 2008, which is much higher than Western itself.
The most common student loans, federal loans require no co-signer. They do not require a good credit score either. Federal loans have a grace period of six months after the borrower’s date of graduation or six month after they drop below the status of a part-time student. 12 credit hours is the lowest amount of hours a student can take to be considered a full-time student.
Alternative types of student loans are private student loans. Private student loans have a higher interest rate than federal loans. According to campusgrotto.com, these types of loans have become increasingly popular. They reported that “Last year, students borrowed $18.5 billion from private lenders, up 6 percent from the 2005-2006 school year, and now equal to 25% of all student loans in America.”
The terms of student loans can be found under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Concerning the payments of loans and defaulting on loans, the website reported that “[Title IV guaranteed] repayment to the lender if a student defaults. Because the loans are guaranteed by the US Government, they are offered at a lower interest rate than the borrower would otherwise be able to get for a private loan.”
The two different types of federal loans are subsidized and unsubsidized. While the borrower is in school, the government pays all of the interest on unsubsidized loans, making them the better of the two choices if one must take out a loan to pay for school.
There are many ways to avoid student debt, or at least lessen it, if one learns to manage their money wisely.
According to George Mannes’ article “Earning a Degree in Debt”, when it comes to student loans, the borrower should set limits on the amount they take out and when it comes time to pay the money back, make payments early and make them often.
FinAid.org advises taking out no more than what is needed to pay for school when taking out a loan, take out federal loans before private loans, choose to attend a less expensive school, cut unnecessary costs, work a part-time job, talk to your financial aid department and consider saving for college by investing in the 529 College Savings Plans.
Concerning taking out loans and paying for school, one business major wishes she would have done things differently. “If I had it to do all over again, I would not have taken out student loans no matter what,” said sophomore Lisa Clifford. She advised that students find their books as cheap as possible to help save money. “I would have bought my books online, from the beginning, instead of at Missouri Western’s bookstore,” said Clifford.
Another student had a rather comedic view of student loans. “Student loans are like S.T.D.’s,” said freshman Mike Nagel. “You don’t know if you’ll get them, you don’t know how much and when or if you can get rid of ‘em, but it’s a risk you have to take [to get through school].”
Journalism 202
Enterprise Story - Student Debt
November 9, 2010
City Council Meeting Story
The St. Joseph City Council voted 8-1 against the amendment to the Fire Prevention Code at their meeting on Monday, November 1.
This bill requested a regulation of smoke detectors in homes to be interconnected so that when one goes off, they all go off. This bill also asked that land lords be responsible for these new detectors.
The cost of these smoke detectors would have a negative effect on land lords. “We’re talking about people that have contacted many of us here that are telling us it’s going to be a burden on them,” council member Pat Jones said. “They voted us in these offices and they’re wanting us to hear them and I think they’re telling us loud and clear they can’t afford this right now.”
According to the St. Joseph fire department chief, the smoke detectors cost approximately $40 each and are good for ten years. Therefore, they would cost under $3 per month.
On the issue of price, council member Starr said that she knew of some families who would not be able to afford these smoke detectors and they would not have even the ones they have now, had the fire department or Red Cross not bought them.
Council Member at Large, Donna Jean Boyer, in opposition, thought that the new smoke detectors would be more beneficial. “They would know that they are protecting not only their own families but the families that are trusting them to keep the property safe,” she said.
This bill was one of the most important discussions of the night and the one which triggered the greatest amount of discussion. Other than the amendment to the Fire Prevention Code, each bill on the agenda passed, save for bill #255-10 and bill #246-10.
Bill #255-10, requesting the purchase of a Native American hunting buffalo exhibit for the Remington Nature Center of St. Joseph was withdrawn.
Bill #246-10 which authorized an agreement with Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co., Inc. to design the Whitehead Creek Stormwater Separation Conduit and an agreement with Black & Veatch Corporation for program management services was postponed.
Among the bills passed, the council voted 9-0 to pass bill #243-10. This bill was to enter a contract with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to provide Child Care Health and Safety Consultation Services. The department will offer more extensive training for the care of those with special needs.
As well, bill #1636-06 which authorized a contract with the International Association of Fire Fighters was passed. As did #261-10, authorizing the purchase of 7 patrol cars and 1 crew cab truck for the St. Joseph Police Department.
This bill requested a regulation of smoke detectors in homes to be interconnected so that when one goes off, they all go off. This bill also asked that land lords be responsible for these new detectors.
The cost of these smoke detectors would have a negative effect on land lords. “We’re talking about people that have contacted many of us here that are telling us it’s going to be a burden on them,” council member Pat Jones said. “They voted us in these offices and they’re wanting us to hear them and I think they’re telling us loud and clear they can’t afford this right now.”
According to the St. Joseph fire department chief, the smoke detectors cost approximately $40 each and are good for ten years. Therefore, they would cost under $3 per month.
On the issue of price, council member Starr said that she knew of some families who would not be able to afford these smoke detectors and they would not have even the ones they have now, had the fire department or Red Cross not bought them.
Council Member at Large, Donna Jean Boyer, in opposition, thought that the new smoke detectors would be more beneficial. “They would know that they are protecting not only their own families but the families that are trusting them to keep the property safe,” she said.
This bill was one of the most important discussions of the night and the one which triggered the greatest amount of discussion. Other than the amendment to the Fire Prevention Code, each bill on the agenda passed, save for bill #255-10 and bill #246-10.
Bill #255-10, requesting the purchase of a Native American hunting buffalo exhibit for the Remington Nature Center of St. Joseph was withdrawn.
Bill #246-10 which authorized an agreement with Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co., Inc. to design the Whitehead Creek Stormwater Separation Conduit and an agreement with Black & Veatch Corporation for program management services was postponed.
Among the bills passed, the council voted 9-0 to pass bill #243-10. This bill was to enter a contract with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to provide Child Care Health and Safety Consultation Services. The department will offer more extensive training for the care of those with special needs.
As well, bill #1636-06 which authorized a contract with the International Association of Fire Fighters was passed. As did #261-10, authorizing the purchase of 7 patrol cars and 1 crew cab truck for the St. Joseph Police Department.
Journalism 202
City Council Meeting Story
November 6, 2010
Newt Gingrich Convocation
The former speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich will be speaking at Missouri Western State University’s 2010 convocation about jobs, economic growth and prosperity, in the Looney Complex on Oct 7.
The Executive Director of the MWSU Foundation, Dan Nicoson anticipates about 3,000 people in attendance at the convocation.
Newt Gingrich, who is a presidential candidate hopeful, has also authored 19 books and served as Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1995. Gingrich is the general chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future and he is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. As well, he was elected to Congress in 1978 and served the Sixth District of Georgia for 20 years, along with many other achievements.
Gingrich, in comparison to last year’s convocation speaker, RFK Jr., is a conservative. “We do try to balance the political perspectives of the speakers over the years,” Nicoson said. “I am appreciative of the fact that our sponsors and patrons appreciated that the Convocation on Critical Issues brings nationally recognized speakers to our community and they are supportive whether or not they agree with the perspective of the speakers.”
Bringing Gingrich to speak on campus took a lot of planning and involves many factors. When budgeting the convocation, Missouri Western relies greatly on guarantors, as opposed to spending the university’s operating funds. Rather than his normal speaking fee of $75,750, Gingrich is only charging the university $50,750. $38,200 of which has already been donated by sponsors.
According to Nicoson, the university begins to work with the speakers bureau to decide who would be available and is within their price range. They submit a proposal to the speakers bureau to inform them of the dates during which the university can host the convocation. The person who is chosen is someone “who will help us achieve a balance in political or other perspectives, and to do the best we can at achieving diversity in the speakers over the long term,” he said.
Despite the hard work it requires, many students are intrigued to hear Gingrich speak. President of the College Republicans, Kelsey Breckenridge is happy that Gingrich will be the speaker for Missouri Western’s convocation this year. “I know how difficult it can be to get young people interested in politics and showing up to the polls,” Breckenridge said. “The more people are immersed in the issues the more likely they are to make smart, researched decisions when voting so hopefully this will give some the motivation to understand the issues and realize the seriousness of their vote and how it affects every aspect of their life.”
Like Breckenridge, Missouri Western sophomore Loriann Winslow is also glad that the foundation brought in a conservative to speak this year. “I am excited to hear a republican speaker,” Winslow said. “I am sure a lot goes into bringing someone to school to speak, so I think everyone should see him even for that reason alone.”
Nicoson, as well, hopes to see many people from the university and surrounding community in attendance. “Our eagerness to hear these speakers should not be affected by whether or not we agree with the views of the speakers. For that matter, how do we really know if we agree without hearing them? We may leave the presentation approving of what the speaker said or taking exception, but either way we have availed ourselves of the opportunity to listen and then further develop our own views.” Nicoson said.
A convocation dinner will be held on Oct 6, the night before the speech. The dinner, at $40.00 per plate, sold out to 500 attendees in just three days.
The Executive Director of the MWSU Foundation, Dan Nicoson anticipates about 3,000 people in attendance at the convocation.
Newt Gingrich, who is a presidential candidate hopeful, has also authored 19 books and served as Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1995. Gingrich is the general chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future and he is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. As well, he was elected to Congress in 1978 and served the Sixth District of Georgia for 20 years, along with many other achievements.
Gingrich, in comparison to last year’s convocation speaker, RFK Jr., is a conservative. “We do try to balance the political perspectives of the speakers over the years,” Nicoson said. “I am appreciative of the fact that our sponsors and patrons appreciated that the Convocation on Critical Issues brings nationally recognized speakers to our community and they are supportive whether or not they agree with the perspective of the speakers.”
Bringing Gingrich to speak on campus took a lot of planning and involves many factors. When budgeting the convocation, Missouri Western relies greatly on guarantors, as opposed to spending the university’s operating funds. Rather than his normal speaking fee of $75,750, Gingrich is only charging the university $50,750. $38,200 of which has already been donated by sponsors.
According to Nicoson, the university begins to work with the speakers bureau to decide who would be available and is within their price range. They submit a proposal to the speakers bureau to inform them of the dates during which the university can host the convocation. The person who is chosen is someone “who will help us achieve a balance in political or other perspectives, and to do the best we can at achieving diversity in the speakers over the long term,” he said.
Despite the hard work it requires, many students are intrigued to hear Gingrich speak. President of the College Republicans, Kelsey Breckenridge is happy that Gingrich will be the speaker for Missouri Western’s convocation this year. “I know how difficult it can be to get young people interested in politics and showing up to the polls,” Breckenridge said. “The more people are immersed in the issues the more likely they are to make smart, researched decisions when voting so hopefully this will give some the motivation to understand the issues and realize the seriousness of their vote and how it affects every aspect of their life.”
Like Breckenridge, Missouri Western sophomore Loriann Winslow is also glad that the foundation brought in a conservative to speak this year. “I am excited to hear a republican speaker,” Winslow said. “I am sure a lot goes into bringing someone to school to speak, so I think everyone should see him even for that reason alone.”
Nicoson, as well, hopes to see many people from the university and surrounding community in attendance. “Our eagerness to hear these speakers should not be affected by whether or not we agree with the views of the speakers. For that matter, how do we really know if we agree without hearing them? We may leave the presentation approving of what the speaker said or taking exception, but either way we have availed ourselves of the opportunity to listen and then further develop our own views.” Nicoson said.
A convocation dinner will be held on Oct 6, the night before the speech. The dinner, at $40.00 per plate, sold out to 500 attendees in just three days.
Journalism 202
Newt Gingrich Convocation story
Monday, September 27, 2010
First Spanish Compostion
En el pasado, comía muchas comidas con grasa. Yo antes había bebido muchos refrescos. Ahora, yo como muchas frutas y no como grasa. Yo bebo mucha agua y jugo de fruta. Yo como una dieta equilibrada. Yo consumo suficientes vitaminas y minerales. Yo no consumo demasiada grasa. Yo tomo vitaminas de C y vitaminas de calcio. Quiero perder peso. Antes de mis clases en la universidad, ya había perdido peso. Recientemente, yo aumentado de peso. Este año, he empeorado mi bienestar físico. Este año, yo había comido mucho chocolate y dulces. Yo había comido muchas calorías. Yo voy a mejorar mi bienestar físico, porque en el futuro, yo voy a comer muchas frutas. Yo voy a comer frutillas, manzanas, bananas, peras, naranjas, uvas y otras frutas. ¡Todas las frutas son muy deliciosas! Yo voy a comer muchas verduras, también. Yo voy a comer zanahorias, tomates, lechuga, maíz, champiñónes y otras verduras.
Yo hago ejercicios todos los lunes, miércoles y viernes. Yo antes había hecho ejercicios una vez todas las semanas. Yo no voy al gimnasio. Sin embargo, yo levanto pesas y hago ejercicios de estiramiento y paseo por mi pueblo, Amazonia. Yo juego tenis y yo juego fútbol a veces, también. Yo nado, y yo juego golf. Yo me he mantenido en forma, más o menos.
Yo sufro muchas presiones de mi clase de Advanced Composition, mi clase de Shakespeare y mi clase de periodismo. Para aliviar el estrés, yo debo me relajo y conseguir más sueño. Este año, mi bienestar emocional ha mejorado, porque yo he hecho ejercicios y he estado más tranquilo. Para mejorar mi bienestar emocional, yo debo conseguir más sueño.
Yo hago ejercicios todos los lunes, miércoles y viernes. Yo antes había hecho ejercicios una vez todas las semanas. Yo no voy al gimnasio. Sin embargo, yo levanto pesas y hago ejercicios de estiramiento y paseo por mi pueblo, Amazonia. Yo juego tenis y yo juego fútbol a veces, también. Yo nado, y yo juego golf. Yo me he mantenido en forma, más o menos.
Yo sufro muchas presiones de mi clase de Advanced Composition, mi clase de Shakespeare y mi clase de periodismo. Para aliviar el estrés, yo debo me relajo y conseguir más sueño. Este año, mi bienestar emocional ha mejorado, porque yo he hecho ejercicios y he estado más tranquilo. Para mejorar mi bienestar emocional, yo debo conseguir más sueño.
Spanish 200
First Written Composition over a given topic to discuss
12 Noviembre 2010
Electronically Inclined to Not Speak No Good No Mo'
In posting messages on Facebook to friends, or inviting them out for dinner via Facebook inbox message, one is using internet language. While it is a form of a standard language, or a dialect, both parties comprehend the message and the language being used. The language being used is appropriate to the situation. The sender of the message, although it is not in Standard Written English, understands that he has asked a friend out to dinner and the recipient is aware that he is being asked. However, a foreign speaker who has learned English as a second language and has learned Standard Written English may not understand the message. Why is that? How does the use of internet language affect the writing, spelling and other grammatical aspects of the Standard Written English?
Internet language is predominantly found on online blogging sites or social networking sites, such as Facebook. According to Williams and Merten, these sites “involve individuals creating and maintaining personal Internet sites allowing authors and other users to post content, thus creating a personal network” (254).
Williams and Merten define social networking sites and blogging by saying:
Social networking profiles present a unique research opportunity as the process of blogging involves individuals voluntarily posting information about themselves—personal thoughts, feelings, beliefs, activities—in a public arena with unlimited access for anyone with an Internet connection. The amount of personal information contained in a blog is completely dependent on the author's judgment (254).
Personal blogs and sites on which people can broadcast themselves can easily alter others’ opinions. Things done online can change someone else’s view of the blog or site’s host. I have personally discontinued associations with people due to things they have said on a social networking site. Similarly, Gonzales and Hancock report that “the perceptions of others are decreased in computer-mediated interactions” (171). One of my personal pet peeves, even online, is the misuse of words that sound the same but have different meanings, like “there”, “their” and “they’re”, misspelling words and the incorrect use of Standard Written English grammar. For example, phrases such as “they is going” rather than “they are going” drive me crazy. I have not only encountered these mistakes frequently when speaking English to someone, but I have also encountered similar mistakes when speaking with someone in Spanish. Via instant message, I recently told someone “gracias”, or “thank you” in Spanish. To this, I got the reply “tú invitas”. The responder was attempting to say “you’re welcome”, which he did, however, in the wrong context. He told me “you’re welcome” in a way of, for example, offering entrance into your home. The correct response would have been “de nada”. In English, however, we would not encounter this issue since “you’re welcome” is the same for either expressing gratitude or for offering another person access.
Incorrect grammatical use Standard Written English is exhibited by people of many different ages on social networking sites. I have learned this from personal experience and by reading posts and status updates from my friends on Facebook and in text messages. Not only do my twelve-year-old and sixteen-year-old cousins misspell words frequently, omit proper capitalization and punctuation, but I have seen these mistakes often, from a fifty-year-old woman, a sixty-year-old man and from those within those of my own age group as well. With these mistakes in existence so often, blogging or social networking sites would not be an appropriate educational tool.
Although I do not agree, Hourigan and Murray believe social networking sites could be very useful in the educational field.
The potential impact of the blog writing phenomenon upon teaching and learning contexts reveals an important area for consideration for all university educators, and in particular for e-learning practitioners. Today, web users may access a wide variety of media to express themselves and to communicate with others. These may include conventional blog websites such as blogger.com or indeed social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook or Bebo, which continue to integrate blog tools and which also encourage self-expression on the part of the users (209).
The educating of Standard Written English is best learned in person, rather than through distant education. If classes are conducted online, the internet language will integrate with schooling and will slowly demolish Standard Written English. Divergently, regarding online education, Hourigan and Murray reported:
[T]he context in which the actual learning takes place is regarded by many as being paramount to helping the teacher to implement realistic goals throughout the duration of the study (214).
Concerning the younger demographics, though, according to Williams and Merten, “fifty-five percent of teenagers online use and create online social networking profiles” (254). This would make for easy access and communication between the teacher and the student. However, my personal opinion is that education is best completed, when concerning Standard Written English errors, in person, regardless of accessibility.
According to All and Armstrong, there are many ways to use Facebook. To be most successful, they say to do ten things. A few of those ten things are:
1. Update your status
2. Ask your supporters to donate their status
3. Start a cause
4. Promote an event (18-19).
The least spelling, grammar and punctuation errors are found in latter two points. These two topics are more professional than a simple, personal page. A cause typically has an important goal to reach and that goal is more easily attainable when Standard Written English is used rather than a dialect of the English language. An event that is open to anyone with a Facebook account is better understood by their audience in Standard Written English as opposed to a dialect, as well. Alternatively, the most Standard Written English errors I have encountered online on social networking sites have been on Facebook by means of status updates. I have found spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammatical errors within other aspects of Facebook. However, upon observation and documentation on my own account, I have found that there are approximately 80% fewer mistakes in causes or invitations created by Facebook account holders within a given week, than there are in status updates within that same week.
Page describes status updates as mini-stories. She says:
The stories reported in updates fall outside the literary, conversational, and electronic narrative canon, but are a rich data source for re-examining key concepts in narrative theory, including factors that give rise to perceptions of narrativity (423).
Due to internet language through Facebook status updates, for instance, contain grammatical, spelling and punctual Standard Written English mistakes that are forced into daily vocabulary, omitting and superseding the use of Standard Written English. When writing to someone and saying “u” instead of “you” or updating ones status to say, for example “immago tada apple market” as opposed to “I’m going to go to the apple market” has greatly affected Standard Written English in the educational field. These incorrect uses of punctuation, capitalization, etcetera have found their way into formal written papers and emails to a superior. Emails themselves, whether to a boss, a professor or anyone with whom speech should be formal, can greatly affect the recipient’s perception of the sender. These misuses yield an appearance of less maturity and intelligence than that person may actually have. Page believes that status’ have high importance, despite their toll on Standard Written English. She says:
Given the trend toward using mobile devices (cell phones, e-book readers such as the Kindle) for connecting to Internet services, the importance of small narrative units in online text capable of episodic distribution looks set to continue (440).
I conducted a study to record deviations from Standard Written English among different age groups. This study concludes that Standard Written English errors are exhibited among every age group. Internet language does not affect teenagers or profuse Facebook users solely. In this study, I required that each person send me a twenty word text message, a one hundred word email acting as though I were their boss and they were explaining why they missed a day of work and each person was required to write a letter on paper describing how to make a sandwich. In this study, I analyzed children ages eleven to seventeen, young adults ages eighteen to twenty-five, adults twenty-six to fifty and seniors over the age of fifty-one. The study was conducted in English. From this study, I learned that errors in the text messages came 50% from children, 35% from young adults, 10% from adults and 5% from seniors. In the emails, I found that, again 50% of the mistakes came from children, 35% from young adults, 10% from adults and 5% from seniors. In the letters, however, I discovered that only 35% of the mistakes were made by children, 35% were made by young adults, 20% by adults and 10% by seniors. My study group was more limited than I would have liked for it to be, therefore, affecting my results. The education completion levels among the test subjects were not consistent and the subjects were all from the same area of Missouri, specifically Saint Joseph, therefore, giving me a smaller geographical range as well.
Alongside my experiences with mistakes deviating from the standard language in English, I have also seen spelling mistakes in Spanish on an online social networking site. However, spelling mistakes are the only mistakes I have personally seen, other than the contextual mistake I encountered when I was told “tú invitas”. My inadequate detection of these mistakes is due to my trivial understanding of the language. On Facebook, a native Spanish speaker posted “ola”, in attempt to say “hello” to a friend. However, when “hola” is spoken, the ‘h’ sound is silent, leading this speaker to, in turn, spell the word without an ‘h’ at the beginning. Internet language has not only negatively affected Standard Written English and English speakers, but it has also, the extent to which I am uncertain, affected other standard forms of languages such as Spanish.
In the end, I simply wish for you, my fellow member of society, to be more aware of your language use and misuse. I implore you to represent yourself, online as well as offline, as an adult through your language use, when the situation is formal or public. From this analysis, I would like to be taken simply the knowledge of these misuses and a more in-depth knowledge about representing oneself on an online social networking site updating one’s status or making a post, or when blogging. When writing an important paper for school or in a job, I would like to, with this information, help by saving even a trifling amount of time editing, by avoiding the use of common Standard Written English mistakes found in online situations, rather than later omitting or altering them. Use “you’re” in the first draft, as opposed to “ur”, or “they’re” instead of “theyre”. I would like for this analysis to raise awareness of internet language drifting into and engulfing Standard Written English, with hopes of dismantling the issue of incorrectness being more common than correctness.
Works Cited
All, David, and Jerome Armstrong. “Ten Ways to Use Facebook to Get Your Message Out.”
Politics (Campaigns & Elections) Issue 282 (2009): 18-19. Print.
Gonzales, Amy L., and Jeffrey T. Hancock. “Identity Shift in Computer-Mediated Environments.” Media Psychology. 11.2 (2010): 167-185. Print.
Hourigan, Tríona, and Liam Murray .“Using Blogs to Help Language Students Develop Reflective Learning Strategies: Towards a Pedagogical Framework.” Australasian Journal of Educational Technology 26.2 (2010): 1-17. Print.
Page, Ruth. “Re-examining Narrativity: Small Stories in Status Updates.” Text & Talk 30.4 (2010): 423-444. Print.
Williams, Amanda and Michael Merten. “A Review of Online Social Networking Profiles by
Adolescents: Implications for Future Research and Intervention.” Adolescence 43.170 (2008): 253-274. Print.
Internet language is predominantly found on online blogging sites or social networking sites, such as Facebook. According to Williams and Merten, these sites “involve individuals creating and maintaining personal Internet sites allowing authors and other users to post content, thus creating a personal network” (254).
Williams and Merten define social networking sites and blogging by saying:
Social networking profiles present a unique research opportunity as the process of blogging involves individuals voluntarily posting information about themselves—personal thoughts, feelings, beliefs, activities—in a public arena with unlimited access for anyone with an Internet connection. The amount of personal information contained in a blog is completely dependent on the author's judgment (254).
Personal blogs and sites on which people can broadcast themselves can easily alter others’ opinions. Things done online can change someone else’s view of the blog or site’s host. I have personally discontinued associations with people due to things they have said on a social networking site. Similarly, Gonzales and Hancock report that “the perceptions of others are decreased in computer-mediated interactions” (171). One of my personal pet peeves, even online, is the misuse of words that sound the same but have different meanings, like “there”, “their” and “they’re”, misspelling words and the incorrect use of Standard Written English grammar. For example, phrases such as “they is going” rather than “they are going” drive me crazy. I have not only encountered these mistakes frequently when speaking English to someone, but I have also encountered similar mistakes when speaking with someone in Spanish. Via instant message, I recently told someone “gracias”, or “thank you” in Spanish. To this, I got the reply “tú invitas”. The responder was attempting to say “you’re welcome”, which he did, however, in the wrong context. He told me “you’re welcome” in a way of, for example, offering entrance into your home. The correct response would have been “de nada”. In English, however, we would not encounter this issue since “you’re welcome” is the same for either expressing gratitude or for offering another person access.
Incorrect grammatical use Standard Written English is exhibited by people of many different ages on social networking sites. I have learned this from personal experience and by reading posts and status updates from my friends on Facebook and in text messages. Not only do my twelve-year-old and sixteen-year-old cousins misspell words frequently, omit proper capitalization and punctuation, but I have seen these mistakes often, from a fifty-year-old woman, a sixty-year-old man and from those within those of my own age group as well. With these mistakes in existence so often, blogging or social networking sites would not be an appropriate educational tool.
Although I do not agree, Hourigan and Murray believe social networking sites could be very useful in the educational field.
The potential impact of the blog writing phenomenon upon teaching and learning contexts reveals an important area for consideration for all university educators, and in particular for e-learning practitioners. Today, web users may access a wide variety of media to express themselves and to communicate with others. These may include conventional blog websites such as blogger.com or indeed social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook or Bebo, which continue to integrate blog tools and which also encourage self-expression on the part of the users (209).
The educating of Standard Written English is best learned in person, rather than through distant education. If classes are conducted online, the internet language will integrate with schooling and will slowly demolish Standard Written English. Divergently, regarding online education, Hourigan and Murray reported:
[T]he context in which the actual learning takes place is regarded by many as being paramount to helping the teacher to implement realistic goals throughout the duration of the study (214).
Concerning the younger demographics, though, according to Williams and Merten, “fifty-five percent of teenagers online use and create online social networking profiles” (254). This would make for easy access and communication between the teacher and the student. However, my personal opinion is that education is best completed, when concerning Standard Written English errors, in person, regardless of accessibility.
According to All and Armstrong, there are many ways to use Facebook. To be most successful, they say to do ten things. A few of those ten things are:
1. Update your status
2. Ask your supporters to donate their status
3. Start a cause
4. Promote an event (18-19).
The least spelling, grammar and punctuation errors are found in latter two points. These two topics are more professional than a simple, personal page. A cause typically has an important goal to reach and that goal is more easily attainable when Standard Written English is used rather than a dialect of the English language. An event that is open to anyone with a Facebook account is better understood by their audience in Standard Written English as opposed to a dialect, as well. Alternatively, the most Standard Written English errors I have encountered online on social networking sites have been on Facebook by means of status updates. I have found spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammatical errors within other aspects of Facebook. However, upon observation and documentation on my own account, I have found that there are approximately 80% fewer mistakes in causes or invitations created by Facebook account holders within a given week, than there are in status updates within that same week.
Page describes status updates as mini-stories. She says:
The stories reported in updates fall outside the literary, conversational, and electronic narrative canon, but are a rich data source for re-examining key concepts in narrative theory, including factors that give rise to perceptions of narrativity (423).
Due to internet language through Facebook status updates, for instance, contain grammatical, spelling and punctual Standard Written English mistakes that are forced into daily vocabulary, omitting and superseding the use of Standard Written English. When writing to someone and saying “u” instead of “you” or updating ones status to say, for example “immago tada apple market” as opposed to “I’m going to go to the apple market” has greatly affected Standard Written English in the educational field. These incorrect uses of punctuation, capitalization, etcetera have found their way into formal written papers and emails to a superior. Emails themselves, whether to a boss, a professor or anyone with whom speech should be formal, can greatly affect the recipient’s perception of the sender. These misuses yield an appearance of less maturity and intelligence than that person may actually have. Page believes that status’ have high importance, despite their toll on Standard Written English. She says:
Given the trend toward using mobile devices (cell phones, e-book readers such as the Kindle) for connecting to Internet services, the importance of small narrative units in online text capable of episodic distribution looks set to continue (440).
I conducted a study to record deviations from Standard Written English among different age groups. This study concludes that Standard Written English errors are exhibited among every age group. Internet language does not affect teenagers or profuse Facebook users solely. In this study, I required that each person send me a twenty word text message, a one hundred word email acting as though I were their boss and they were explaining why they missed a day of work and each person was required to write a letter on paper describing how to make a sandwich. In this study, I analyzed children ages eleven to seventeen, young adults ages eighteen to twenty-five, adults twenty-six to fifty and seniors over the age of fifty-one. The study was conducted in English. From this study, I learned that errors in the text messages came 50% from children, 35% from young adults, 10% from adults and 5% from seniors. In the emails, I found that, again 50% of the mistakes came from children, 35% from young adults, 10% from adults and 5% from seniors. In the letters, however, I discovered that only 35% of the mistakes were made by children, 35% were made by young adults, 20% by adults and 10% by seniors. My study group was more limited than I would have liked for it to be, therefore, affecting my results. The education completion levels among the test subjects were not consistent and the subjects were all from the same area of Missouri, specifically Saint Joseph, therefore, giving me a smaller geographical range as well.
Alongside my experiences with mistakes deviating from the standard language in English, I have also seen spelling mistakes in Spanish on an online social networking site. However, spelling mistakes are the only mistakes I have personally seen, other than the contextual mistake I encountered when I was told “tú invitas”. My inadequate detection of these mistakes is due to my trivial understanding of the language. On Facebook, a native Spanish speaker posted “ola”, in attempt to say “hello” to a friend. However, when “hola” is spoken, the ‘h’ sound is silent, leading this speaker to, in turn, spell the word without an ‘h’ at the beginning. Internet language has not only negatively affected Standard Written English and English speakers, but it has also, the extent to which I am uncertain, affected other standard forms of languages such as Spanish.
In the end, I simply wish for you, my fellow member of society, to be more aware of your language use and misuse. I implore you to represent yourself, online as well as offline, as an adult through your language use, when the situation is formal or public. From this analysis, I would like to be taken simply the knowledge of these misuses and a more in-depth knowledge about representing oneself on an online social networking site updating one’s status or making a post, or when blogging. When writing an important paper for school or in a job, I would like to, with this information, help by saving even a trifling amount of time editing, by avoiding the use of common Standard Written English mistakes found in online situations, rather than later omitting or altering them. Use “you’re” in the first draft, as opposed to “ur”, or “they’re” instead of “theyre”. I would like for this analysis to raise awareness of internet language drifting into and engulfing Standard Written English, with hopes of dismantling the issue of incorrectness being more common than correctness.
Works Cited
All, David, and Jerome Armstrong. “Ten Ways to Use Facebook to Get Your Message Out.”
Politics (Campaigns & Elections) Issue 282 (2009): 18-19. Print.
Gonzales, Amy L., and Jeffrey T. Hancock. “Identity Shift in Computer-Mediated Environments.” Media Psychology. 11.2 (2010): 167-185. Print.
Hourigan, Tríona, and Liam Murray .“Using Blogs to Help Language Students Develop Reflective Learning Strategies: Towards a Pedagogical Framework.” Australasian Journal of Educational Technology 26.2 (2010): 1-17. Print.
Page, Ruth. “Re-examining Narrativity: Small Stories in Status Updates.” Text & Talk 30.4 (2010): 423-444. Print.
Williams, Amanda and Michael Merten. “A Review of Online Social Networking Profiles by
Adolescents: Implications for Future Research and Intervention.” Adolescence 43.170 (2008): 253-274. Print.
English 301 - advanced composition
Internet Language
Major Project #1
21 October 2010
The Language of Reading Challenged and Banned Books
Missouri Western State University held their Fourteenth Annual Reading of Challenged and Banned Books, hosted by Dr. Cadden, on Wednesday, September 29, 2010. During this reading, readers gave the reasons that their book of choice was either challenged or banned, and continued with reading a passage from that book. Each reader named and detailed their selections with a tone of comprehension entwined with ambiguity as to why said book was either banned or challenged. Each banned book listed seemed to be banned for ignorant reasons. Whether it is J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, read by Jessica Wilkinson, for being too racy, or Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson’s And Tango Makes Three, read by Mr. John Minnick, for promoting homosexuality; all concepts of these banned or challenged books, despite whether one agrees with the ideologies of the books or not, offer assistance for a well-rounded and open-minded educational experience for men and women of all ages.
With each book read being challenged or banned, every reader projected a section of their book with confidence and intelligence, with no regard for provincial reasoning as to the book’s ban or challenge; Thus showing no consent to the book being banned or challenged. The book reading colloquium was presented more formally, with Dr. Cadden and most of the readers dressed in suits and ties, skirts, or other forms of nice clothing. However, the language that was used by the book readers during the reading was more on the side of informal.
In the region of formality, the reading showed respect for books and authors presented. It showed reverence for the reasoning of books being banned or challenged and showed that it was a university-organized event. On the other hand, the informality of the speech at the reading showed disagreement with the reasons the books chosen were banned or challenged, and provided for a friendly environment that was open to discussion. It showed that the readers felt the books that they chose were banned or challenged for ill-mannered reasons, such as Shel Silverstein’s poem “How to Not Dry the Dishes”, read by Dr. Cindy Heider, being opposed because parents thought that it taught civil disobedience to children. Children, however, learn much more about disobedience though negligence from their parents, and from the things they are exposed to more often, like television and society.
Upon first glance at the program for the reading, one would believe that it was more of a formal presentation than an informal one, due to the list of readers. Going down the list, three out of eight readers have doctrines of some sort and all others are given the title of ‘Mr.’ or ‘Ms.’ along with explanations of their social status. For instance, the reader is enlightened, automatically after the reader’s name, that Ms. Sarah Lawson is an anchor and producer of New-Press 3 Now and Mr. Steve Silvius is the president of the student chapter of the International Reading Association. Notice that the reading continues to uphold the inequalities of society, in its program, between men and women, by labeling the women in regards to whether they “belong” to a man and are married or not. Nevertheless, the curriculum is very well written, detailed and organized. It does, though, have the playful tact of ‘Banned Books’ in the title being crossed out. This shows the audience, before the reading even begins, that it will not be entirely formal and there will be room for personal interpretation and the expression of personal opinions. The crossed out ‘Banned Books’ shows disregard for the fact that the books being presented were either banned or challenged somewhere in the world, at some point in time and proves an embrace for education in all forms, by associates and members of the university, whether the topics in the books are something with which one would agree or not.
With each book read being challenged or banned, every reader projected a section of their book with confidence and intelligence, with no regard for provincial reasoning as to the book’s ban or challenge; Thus showing no consent to the book being banned or challenged. The book reading colloquium was presented more formally, with Dr. Cadden and most of the readers dressed in suits and ties, skirts, or other forms of nice clothing. However, the language that was used by the book readers during the reading was more on the side of informal.
In the region of formality, the reading showed respect for books and authors presented. It showed reverence for the reasoning of books being banned or challenged and showed that it was a university-organized event. On the other hand, the informality of the speech at the reading showed disagreement with the reasons the books chosen were banned or challenged, and provided for a friendly environment that was open to discussion. It showed that the readers felt the books that they chose were banned or challenged for ill-mannered reasons, such as Shel Silverstein’s poem “How to Not Dry the Dishes”, read by Dr. Cindy Heider, being opposed because parents thought that it taught civil disobedience to children. Children, however, learn much more about disobedience though negligence from their parents, and from the things they are exposed to more often, like television and society.
Upon first glance at the program for the reading, one would believe that it was more of a formal presentation than an informal one, due to the list of readers. Going down the list, three out of eight readers have doctrines of some sort and all others are given the title of ‘Mr.’ or ‘Ms.’ along with explanations of their social status. For instance, the reader is enlightened, automatically after the reader’s name, that Ms. Sarah Lawson is an anchor and producer of New-Press 3 Now and Mr. Steve Silvius is the president of the student chapter of the International Reading Association. Notice that the reading continues to uphold the inequalities of society, in its program, between men and women, by labeling the women in regards to whether they “belong” to a man and are married or not. Nevertheless, the curriculum is very well written, detailed and organized. It does, though, have the playful tact of ‘Banned Books’ in the title being crossed out. This shows the audience, before the reading even begins, that it will not be entirely formal and there will be room for personal interpretation and the expression of personal opinions. The crossed out ‘Banned Books’ shows disregard for the fact that the books being presented were either banned or challenged somewhere in the world, at some point in time and proves an embrace for education in all forms, by associates and members of the university, whether the topics in the books are something with which one would agree or not.
English 301 - advanced composition
Language analysis of MWSU Challenged and Banned Books Reading
Outside Activity #1
30 September 2010
An Analysis of Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was unable to read or write. Therefore, her speech was transcribed by the Frances Gage and given the title “Ain’t I a Woman?” in Gage’s 1881 publication of The History of Woman Suffrage. Sojourner Truth was born in New York and grew up in a Dutch family. However, the Gage’s text portrays her of having a seemingly southern drawl. Taking these facts into consideration how did Frances Gage affect Sojourner Truth’s speech in regards to reproducing it from spoken word onto paper?
Sojourner Truth, being from New York and having never been to the south, would not have a southern accent as Gage portrays her to. In Gage’s account of Truth’s speech that includes dialect, found online at About.com, Gage reports that Truth said things such as “I tink dat ‘twixt de niggers of de Souf and de womin at de Nork”, or “Den dey talks ‘bout dis ting in de head; what dis dey call it?”. According to Available Means ”Truth… would not have had a Southern dialect and that therefore any representation of dialect was likely created by the transcriber”. When I read the speech with dialect, it sounded, to me, very much like something that came out of the movie Gone with the Wind. When I read some of the dialect aloud, it reminded me of Scarlet O’Hara’s accent in the movie. It reminded me, more so, of the way Scarlet’s nurse, Mammy spoke in the movie. However, I would imagine that Truth’s voice would be less high-pitched and less “girly” than Scarlet’s, but possibly pretty similar to Mammy’s, assuming she did speak in a southern dialect. The fact that Truth was from New York shows Gage may have added the dialect herself and it was not really said by Truth. Therefore, Gage had an effect on the speech. Not only does Gage have an effect on the speech with the addition of dialect, but the spelling of the dialect is another way Gage’s affect’s Truth’s transcribed speech.
When it comes to the spelling in Gage’s speech, the “dialect” parts are spelled very inconsistently. In Gage’s version of the speech with dialect in it, “and” is spelled out. However, from Redd and Webb’s book, I learned that “and” is shortened to “an”. Gage writes “I have ploughed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me!” This selection of speech, though, sounds very much like Standard English. Gage also reports that Truth said, at one point, “wouldn’t ye be mean…”, however, later in the speech, Truth is reported as saying “Whar did your Christ come from?” The first form of ‘you’ is written in dialect, but the ‘your’ is in Standard English. Therefore, my question is: why would Truth say this part in Standard English, yet say other things with a southern dialect? Gage’s spelling of the dialect being inconsistent is yet another way that she affected the transcription of Truth’s speech. Not only is the spelling in Gage’s report a way that she affected Truth’s speech, but the fact that it is argued whether the speech took place or not is another way Gage affected the speech.
The uncertainty of the speech taking place is an example of the affect Gage had. Available Means reports “Some scholars question whether Truth ever delivered this speech at all, suggesting that it was invented by Gage to advance white women’s causes”. This speech could very well have been made up by Gage to assist women in the Women’s Rights movement. The speech, however took place in 1851 and Gage’s book, in which she included the speech, was not published until thirty years later in 1881. Personally, I think it would be very difficult to remember, word-for-word, something that took place thirty years earlier. Since it is argued whether this speech actually took place or not, Gage’s reproduction of the speech is another way that she affected Truth’s speech. Despite whether the speech actually happened or not, including the speech in her own book towards the advancement of Women’s Right’s is another example of Gage’s affect on Truth’s speech.
“Ain’t I a Woman” has been known as an important part of the history of Women’s Right’s. According to Available Means, “These few words… broke open the ideology of the nineteenth century’s assumptions about ‘true womanhood’… [and] presages many of the central issues in women’s rhetoric to this day”. This speech having become such a respected, important document would have been a good reason for Gage to fake the speech to help advance Women’s Rights by putting it in her publication. The speech, in assistance to Women’s Rights makes Gage look good because she supposedly transcribed it. This is a way that Gage had an effect on Truth’s speech.
English 301 - advanced compositionSojourner Truth, being from New York and having never been to the south, would not have a southern accent as Gage portrays her to. In Gage’s account of Truth’s speech that includes dialect, found online at About.com, Gage reports that Truth said things such as “I tink dat ‘twixt de niggers of de Souf and de womin at de Nork”, or “Den dey talks ‘bout dis ting in de head; what dis dey call it?”. According to Available Means ”Truth… would not have had a Southern dialect and that therefore any representation of dialect was likely created by the transcriber”. When I read the speech with dialect, it sounded, to me, very much like something that came out of the movie Gone with the Wind. When I read some of the dialect aloud, it reminded me of Scarlet O’Hara’s accent in the movie. It reminded me, more so, of the way Scarlet’s nurse, Mammy spoke in the movie. However, I would imagine that Truth’s voice would be less high-pitched and less “girly” than Scarlet’s, but possibly pretty similar to Mammy’s, assuming she did speak in a southern dialect. The fact that Truth was from New York shows Gage may have added the dialect herself and it was not really said by Truth. Therefore, Gage had an effect on the speech. Not only does Gage have an effect on the speech with the addition of dialect, but the spelling of the dialect is another way Gage’s affect’s Truth’s transcribed speech.
When it comes to the spelling in Gage’s speech, the “dialect” parts are spelled very inconsistently. In Gage’s version of the speech with dialect in it, “and” is spelled out. However, from Redd and Webb’s book, I learned that “and” is shortened to “an”. Gage writes “I have ploughed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me!” This selection of speech, though, sounds very much like Standard English. Gage also reports that Truth said, at one point, “wouldn’t ye be mean…”, however, later in the speech, Truth is reported as saying “Whar did your Christ come from?” The first form of ‘you’ is written in dialect, but the ‘your’ is in Standard English. Therefore, my question is: why would Truth say this part in Standard English, yet say other things with a southern dialect? Gage’s spelling of the dialect being inconsistent is yet another way that she affected the transcription of Truth’s speech. Not only is the spelling in Gage’s report a way that she affected Truth’s speech, but the fact that it is argued whether the speech took place or not is another way Gage affected the speech.
The uncertainty of the speech taking place is an example of the affect Gage had. Available Means reports “Some scholars question whether Truth ever delivered this speech at all, suggesting that it was invented by Gage to advance white women’s causes”. This speech could very well have been made up by Gage to assist women in the Women’s Rights movement. The speech, however took place in 1851 and Gage’s book, in which she included the speech, was not published until thirty years later in 1881. Personally, I think it would be very difficult to remember, word-for-word, something that took place thirty years earlier. Since it is argued whether this speech actually took place or not, Gage’s reproduction of the speech is another way that she affected Truth’s speech. Despite whether the speech actually happened or not, including the speech in her own book towards the advancement of Women’s Right’s is another example of Gage’s affect on Truth’s speech.
“Ain’t I a Woman” has been known as an important part of the history of Women’s Right’s. According to Available Means, “These few words… broke open the ideology of the nineteenth century’s assumptions about ‘true womanhood’… [and] presages many of the central issues in women’s rhetoric to this day”. This speech having become such a respected, important document would have been a good reason for Gage to fake the speech to help advance Women’s Rights by putting it in her publication. The speech, in assistance to Women’s Rights makes Gage look good because she supposedly transcribed it. This is a way that Gage had an effect on Truth’s speech.
Sojourner Truth analysis
Critical Response Journal #4
28 October 2010
A Negative Language Misapprehension Slowly Altered by Higher Education
I was always taught that African American English, while it may not be proof that the speakers is unintelligent or uneducated, it is not a language on its own. I was taught that it has no rules and it is merely a dialect of Standard English. Growing up in a white, middle-class, conservative family, I had no exposure to anything otherwise. I was blind to African American English, for the most part, all the way from elementary school up to high school. I only knew the language that African Americans spoke as “lazy”, “rebellious” and “dumbed-down” until my Language Awareness class in college.
I had heard it spoken in elementary school and middle school somewhat, but it was something I pretty much just ignored. It was in high school when I began to really comprehend what was meant when things were said like “They’re just lazy and trying to be rebellious, they’re idiots and need to learn to speak proper English”. From hearing these misconceptions my entire life, my friend base was predominantly white and I paid no never mind to those of any other ethnicity because it had been burned into my head that they were less worthy or senseless.
Spanish, on the other hand, is a language that I have always been interested in and interested in learning since I was in elementary school. The discrimination against Spanish-speakers, though, to my knowledge, did not start in my family until Triumph opened in south end Saint Joe. Therefore, I was at an age where I was able to make my own, unbiased decisions and conclusions. I had only heard Spanish in my foreign language classes and through the few words and numbers my mother had taught me at an early age.
When it comes to African American English, I still have a hard time hearing and not automatically thinking “uneducated” or “lazy” because it is so embedded in my up-brining. It has gotten easier with my college courses considering the topic, however, in the back of my mind, occasionally, it is still there. I can ignore it, but I cannot ignore the fact that it exists. The language used in my childhood has been hard to erase and adjust. Its assertiveness and magnitude has been with me, even before I was old enough to really understand it. I do realize and acknowledge the negative effects it can and has had on my life. It has inscribed pessimism in my mind that has taken years to change.
The language that is used around a child, frequently, while they are growing up can strongly affect their entire life negatively and positively, whether intentional or not. Even a simple descriptive word like “lazy”, or calling things “stupid”, if used often enough, can lead to automatic assumptions by a child in later life, causing generalization, racism, segregation and discrimination. Frequently saying “d*mn Mexicans need to learn English or go the f*ck home” around a six-year-old, can, inevitably, lead that child to hating Spanish-speaking people and not being able to properly comprehend, or be willing to learn about the language and ethnicity as a whole. Whether it is being said jokingly by the adult, or very rarely, the more it is said, the less effort is takes for it to stick in young minds. The affect can take a lifetime to reverse. The negative generalizations I have been exposed to certainly have taken a while to repeal.
African American English, I know now due to my college classes, has its own rules and guidelines. An openness to accepting African American English as a language rather than a dialect and allowing its speakers to be accepted as opposed to categorized and classified by how they talk would, in my person opinion, but an effective way to eliminate some of the racism and discrimination in American society. With African American English known as “rule-governed” rather than “lazy” and “incorrect” would be an efficient way to eradicate the low self-esteem and instructional sacrifices of African Americans in the world of education all the way from elementary school to the college and university level as well. Doing away with these characterizations begin at the home front and changing the language taught to children.
I had heard it spoken in elementary school and middle school somewhat, but it was something I pretty much just ignored. It was in high school when I began to really comprehend what was meant when things were said like “They’re just lazy and trying to be rebellious, they’re idiots and need to learn to speak proper English”. From hearing these misconceptions my entire life, my friend base was predominantly white and I paid no never mind to those of any other ethnicity because it had been burned into my head that they were less worthy or senseless.
Spanish, on the other hand, is a language that I have always been interested in and interested in learning since I was in elementary school. The discrimination against Spanish-speakers, though, to my knowledge, did not start in my family until Triumph opened in south end Saint Joe. Therefore, I was at an age where I was able to make my own, unbiased decisions and conclusions. I had only heard Spanish in my foreign language classes and through the few words and numbers my mother had taught me at an early age.
When it comes to African American English, I still have a hard time hearing and not automatically thinking “uneducated” or “lazy” because it is so embedded in my up-brining. It has gotten easier with my college courses considering the topic, however, in the back of my mind, occasionally, it is still there. I can ignore it, but I cannot ignore the fact that it exists. The language used in my childhood has been hard to erase and adjust. Its assertiveness and magnitude has been with me, even before I was old enough to really understand it. I do realize and acknowledge the negative effects it can and has had on my life. It has inscribed pessimism in my mind that has taken years to change.
The language that is used around a child, frequently, while they are growing up can strongly affect their entire life negatively and positively, whether intentional or not. Even a simple descriptive word like “lazy”, or calling things “stupid”, if used often enough, can lead to automatic assumptions by a child in later life, causing generalization, racism, segregation and discrimination. Frequently saying “d*mn Mexicans need to learn English or go the f*ck home” around a six-year-old, can, inevitably, lead that child to hating Spanish-speaking people and not being able to properly comprehend, or be willing to learn about the language and ethnicity as a whole. Whether it is being said jokingly by the adult, or very rarely, the more it is said, the less effort is takes for it to stick in young minds. The affect can take a lifetime to reverse. The negative generalizations I have been exposed to certainly have taken a while to repeal.
African American English, I know now due to my college classes, has its own rules and guidelines. An openness to accepting African American English as a language rather than a dialect and allowing its speakers to be accepted as opposed to categorized and classified by how they talk would, in my person opinion, but an effective way to eliminate some of the racism and discrimination in American society. With African American English known as “rule-governed” rather than “lazy” and “incorrect” would be an efficient way to eradicate the low self-esteem and instructional sacrifices of African Americans in the world of education all the way from elementary school to the college and university level as well. Doing away with these characterizations begin at the home front and changing the language taught to children.
English 301 - advanced composition
AAE analysis
Critical Response Journal #3
13 October 2010
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