Ashley Bubp’s GSW 1110 Blog (Fall 2009)

After reading the revising section of the homework, i think i’m going to stick with my definition of honesty and academic integrity.  I believe that being honest is basically just telling the truth.  And by telling the truth, you don’t have to try to make anybody believe you, in some cases.  Cases pertaining to school work, you do have to have people believe you.  You have to be honest about where you get the information you put in papers and correctly site it.  As for academic integrity, i think that even if you chose to copy someone else’s work, it’s being true to yourself and creating a piece of work that is truly original.

for starters, this is the second time i’ve done this because the dumb computers in the lounge froze and completely erased my blog. and i was finished. stupid internet.

i’m going with the second prompt, do parents have the right to monitor their chilren’s various web accounts? i chose this topic because i feel that it’s most relatable with parents univerally, and is slowly becoming more of an issue with parents and their children.  i’m going to have to say that i think parents have the right to monitor their children’s web accounts.  i know that when i was younger and first got an email account, the last thing i wanted was my parents to look at my coversations.  not because i wasn’t being myself like some kids, but because it was my own personal space and was a way i could talk to my friends about things i didn’t want my parents hearing about, like boys, which they could hear if it was over the phone.  i think most kids don’t want their parents invading their online space because they’re embarassed about things.  when you’re younger you’re more gullible, easily embarassed, and are trying to “find yourself” and don’t want your parents butting in.  it’s almost like the “terrible twos” an awkward phase in a person’s life and they’ll start making decisions that will base their personailty and the person they’re going to become.  i know if i had a child, i would monitor their accounts.  at like the age 17 almost 18 is a little extreme, but 14ish is still acceptable because they’re not into high school yet.  not that i don’t love the internet because i do and couldn’t go without it, but it’s almost like the creation of the internet brought out a whole new level of danger and creepiness not only in the world, but in people. and i don’t like to think that my baby girl or boy could someday encounter it just by sitting in front of a computer.

The video about teenagers growing up online is a good “Arguing a position” video because they are promoting their view.  Also, they promote is very clearly.  there’s no gaps in their arguements.  and they give very valid points.  also, like it said in chapter six, they left room for an arguement and had very clear points.  a good arguement uses points that are arguable, which is what the video does.  the thing that i thought made the video a little less boring was that they used teens in it.  they didnt just have adults preaching what they think about their children’s online habits. and that it was up-to-date. not some 1970’s video that’s been used for the past 30 years.also in the video, the adults don’t assert their ideas or try to force their beliefs on somebody. they don’t only support their decisions with facts, but also with statistics, authorities, and anectdotes. finally, the video is even stronger since the adults recognize opposing arguements.

Arguing.  it’s something that’s basically inevitable to avoid and happens daily.  i feel that arguing is important because  it helps shape who people are and has definately helped shape the world that it is today.  however, there’s good arguing and bad arguing.  like the video we watched in class, some people don’t really argue, they just say yes or no over and over, driving the other person who actually has an arguement insane.  to argue effectively, you need to take a side on a conversation and (preferrably) have facts to back up your decisions.  you don’t always need facts, it just makes your case stronger.  also, try to not raise your voice.  once one person raises their voice, others start raising their voices and soon you just have one big scream fest that can end up with the police getting involved.  arguing is beneficial because it brings out points that others may not have thought about.  for example, bob creates a toy for children and wants to market it.  he has other inventors look at it and sally argues that it would not be an effective toy because a part of it could easily be broken off and become a choking hazard.  although this may or may not be true, it gives bob something to improve on and think about before he can market his toy.

first i didn’t realize there were two parts to the blog, and since i already did the first paragraph which is basically the two parts combined, i’ll just keep extending on the whole thing.

With the clip on Obama’s speech getting interrupted, that wasn’t really arguing.  Obama was talking about an arguementative topic, and some guy (i have no idea who it was) yelled, “liar!” in the middle of  his speech.  This wasn’t only rude, but it was very unacceptable.  since this guy is old and a professional manner, you’d this the guy would have better manners. and to top it all off, the speech was televised so he didn’t only make himself look like a butt in front of the people that attended, but also to the world.  you could tell it hurt the president’s feelings by his facial reaction.   Obama stopped in the middle of his speech, which not only upset him, but also the democratic party, anybody with a basic knowledge of manners, and nanci.  it was out of line, not his turn to speak, and he should be punished somehow for it. and take a course on arguing! like in the other video we watched in class.  however, in that video clip the man wanting arguing lessons didn’t even get them because the man he was told to go see just said no and yes. which is like an annoying conversation, not an argument.

i can’t pick just one strategy, so i’m going to try a couple of them. the first one i’m going to try is reading it aloud because i’ve never done it before and it seems like it would be a good thing to do to catch mistakes and hear how it sounds rather than just reading it multiple times.  the second thing i’m going to do is have others read it because i’ve done this in the past and it’s a good way to get a fresh look at your paper.  the final strategy i’ll be using is to let it cool off and come back to it later.  i’ll be using this  because i did it throughout high school and it’s good to get away from a paper so you’re not starting to stress about it because that gets you no where.

For my This I Believe essay, I have a lot of revising to do.  I am happy with the beginning of my essay, so i don’t plan on changing that.  It’s not too lengthy and states what i believe.  For the end of my essay, i like it but and not happy with it.  Honestly, i have no idea what i’m going to do to change it yet.  As for the story within my story, it’s not so good.  I like the story but it needs a lot of work.  My plan for fixing this is to take what i have an pull it apart.  Since there’s sooooo much i could say about Heidi, i need to gradually get into the camp portion of it, but not too gradually since it’s a short story.  I probably need to explain what DECA is and take what i have on junior and senior year and make it more detailed.  The hard part about it is that i’m covering two years of my life in a matter of sentences, so i’m not really sure exactly what details i should put within it.  Also, i need to make it longer since it’s right under the word minimum.  My final step is to have another person, probably the roomie,  look it over the day before the final copy is due and make sure it sounds okay.

as i read through the six essays, the one thing i noticed the most was passion.  all of the writers had a passion for what they were writing about.  this is probably one of the more “obvious” things. but, i’ve read things written by people who claim “writing is their passion” yet it doesn’t show through their writings like the essays in This I Believe.

If i had to explain the This I Believe goals to somebody, i would start off by saying this is a personal writing in first person.  it’s what you believe, maybe a moral or a life lesson you chose to live by.  try to stick away from controversial topics such as abortion and gay rights.  the point isn’t to start arguements with others. also, in the writing open up. pick an experience in your life that best goes with your This I Believe that not many people know about and encorporate it into your writing.

writing is important because it’s one of the more common forms of self- expression.  through writing, people can say basically whatever they  want to and not have to say it aloud and feel uncomfortable. also, writing is something that is done internationally, which puts everybody around the world on the same level (somewhat).

i would tell you the same thing i would tell anybody else. writing is a way of self- expression.

i would tell my ten-year old that writing is important because it’s something they’ll encounter the rest of their lives.  Children start writing at a young age, then in high school, college, and even past college.  Writing is done not only through papers, but notes, emails, blogs, ect, in which a person should be able to properly write as they get older.