"Right To Fail"

“Maybe we are learning again to cherish this right of every person to succeed on his own terms and to fail as often as necessary along the way.” The essay ends with this quote, but it caught my attention and seemed to sum up everything I had just read. I think the quote is meaningful, but do we really think in that respect, or is that just the way we should be thinking?

Today, it seems the younger generation is afraid of failure. They view the lives of their successful parents and hope that they will one day be just as successful, if not more. This is the case with me. I come from a very successful family who has always been hard workers. My mom has never been a stay at home mom, she has always worked. In fact she is a high manager at Hewlet Packard. My dad has worked his way up from being a commercial real estate banker, to opening up his own bank in Idaho, and is now president and CEO of his bank. He has also been very successful real estate (land) on the side. On top of my parents being successful, my brother is very bright. He just graduated with a 3.9 and a double major is accounting and finance, and was recently hired by a very big firm who hasn’t hired anyone in ten years. With everyone being so successful in my family, I often become stressed and worried. I am scared to fail and not be as successful as my parents and brother. I feel like I have extremely high standards to live up to. My dad has always told me, “no matter what you do, in my eyes you will never fail.” He knows the pressure I feel and has always made it clear to me that no matter what I do he is proud. I have noticed this the most now that I am in college and trying my hardest to have success in the near future.

Do we choose our own success, or follow the paths of the ones closest to us? If I chose to follow the path of my family will I ever be happy and successful? This refers back to the quote I stated at the beginning of my blog, I believe the right thing to do is cherish the right of every person to succeed on his own terms.

CRAAP TEST

http://www.martinlutherking.org/

The website I chose to analyze is Martin Luther King. This is obvious by the title of the website as well as the moment you encounter the page. The first thing that caught my eye was the big picture of him in the center of the page. They currency of the page has not been kept up. The most recent information posted is from 1998. It appears the information has not been revised or updated, and is considered out of date. Although, the links to the right side of the page, are functional and provide a lot of different information. Some of the other links are irrelevant. There seems to be many different sources used to make this website and many of them are questionable based on the content of the writing.

Some, but not all of the information is relevant to the information one might need to find when researching Martin Luther King. For example the link: “Rap Lyrics.” I think this is unnecessary and shouldn’t be on the site. The audience for this website is students, for the purpose of educating them about Martin Luther King. I know this because of the link at the bottom of the page providing flyers to print out and post around school. I would not use this source for a research paper.

This website was hosted by Stormfront, which is a broadcasting company. This host doesn’t seem very professional or accurate with their information. When you click on the link below they include a listing of the number of their radio station, and what caught me off guard the most was the fact that they are a white nationalist community, yet they have posted and provided this information on Martin Luther King. The URL reveals that the author isn’t a very good source because it ends in “org.”

The information comes from many sources and not a lot of it is supported by evidence. The tone is biased by stating “The King holiday should be repealed.” This is Stormfronts own opinion. Also it seems that the information hasn’t been reviewed for a really long time, and it also hasn’t been referred.

The purpose of the information is to inform people about Martin Luther King. There seems to be a personal bias against him by the things they have posted. For example: “…including kings cries of I’m f---ing for God and I’m not Negro tonight!” I think this is very inappropriate and makes him look like a bad character. I wouldn’t ever use this source for a research paper. The information is not accurate and bias.

Underage Drinking Not the Problem

The article I chose is about underage drinking. It argues many facts in hope to convince the reader that alcohol among minors is not a problem. The problematic situation according to the article is over consumption within our society. The author argues that many Western democracies have set their drinking age to 16, or 18 giving them an advantage to become more aware and educated about alcohol. The opposing argument states that Americans frown upon the act of underage drinking and consider it unacceptable. Instead of showing the activity of drinking done responsibly, children are exposed to horrific pictures and terror stories to become “educated.” Should children be exposed to alcohol early to be more aware of their actions and the difference between right and wrong, or should they drink illegally and irresponsibly because of poor education?

The author uses overgeneralization in the first paragraph. He states “Underage drinking is not a problem. The problematic situation here is over-consumption — a result of our society’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol.” This is an extremely broad statement to start the article out with. He then makes the mistake of not backing up the facts of the sentence. He gives no reason as to why the problematic situation is over consumption and not underage drinking.

The author also uses the bandwagon approach when he states that all of society frowns upon underage drinking. This is not a true statement because he does not back it up with facts, and also everyone has a different opinion about underage drinking, not “everyone” frowns upon it. He states: “Binge drinking is a direct result of the necessity for underage drinkers to consume alcohol before they go out.” This is false analogy. The author assumes the characteristics of underage drinking and binge drinking is based on “going out,” and “exciting.” Who is he to judge how many people binge drink to go out and have fun? He doesn’t have any facts to back this up. “Why do we trust young adults to choose the future leaders of our nation before we allow them to make a choice on what they can drink with their friends?” The author uses the patriotic approach by bringing in patriotism into his argument. He brings up a good point although he only states it in the article without supporting facts as to why this is the case.

This article contains numerous logical fallacies. The author has relied more on the techniques of appeal rather than fact. I concluded after reading the article that there is a lot of overgeneralization and oversimplification. This makes it hard to persuade the audience, as well as argue your topic. His arguments are broad, not containing reasoning behind his facts. He gives no evidence of why underage drinking is a law compared to why it is not in Western countries. Who defines what is considered “appropriate education,” for underage drinking?

"Middle-Schoolers Get the Pill"

Should middle schoolers be able to receive the contraceptive pill and patches from the student health center without their parents knowing? Realists as well as Margery Eagan argue some students are already having sex, and by taking actions such as these we are keeping students “as safe as possible.” The district is trying to make the same health care available to lower class girls who cannot afford a gynecologist. The nurses at the health center also inform girls who go to receive the pill the many risks of underage sex and the urge to talk to their parents. This provides girls with knowledge and maybe even persuasion to stop them from having sex. Although, the opposing side which involves Charles Sykes, states that middle school girls are too young to be having sex and that they should wait to have sex until they understand their hormones. If we look at this issue logically we might see that the evidence is urging kids to delay sex, or helping them to avoid getting pregnant or a sexually transmitted disease.

The opposing argument is that no one thinks it’s a good idea for 11-year-olds to be having sex. This argument was presented to challenge the argument of 11-year-olds having ability and choice of sex. The age of eleven is so young, and they have not yet realized the danger is having underage sex. They need to wait until they are informed about the risks of sex in order to make decisions they are comfortable with. This is in hopes girls will delay having sex. The only argument with this, is girls are already having sex at this age, and for those that are sexually active, they have a place to go in which they trust. It is a form of protection that makes them feel secure. They know it is private, and it’s a way for them to be able to make their own decisions without the consent of their parents, and also knowing they are being safe.

The article covered two main perspectives. They included the perspective of urging kids to delay sex, or helping them to avoid getting pregnant or a sexually transmitted disease. I think an issue that was highly overlooked was the concern of a parent, and their feelings toward their daughter receiving the pill without their knowledge. I think this is a major concern parents have, and it’s something they want to be able to inform their children about themselves. This brings up the concern again that: “Nobody thinks it’s a good idea for 11-year-olds to have sex,” (Eagan 1). If this is the case then why is it being overlooked and how come parents aren’t stepping up to take action to change this issue?

Rhetorical Analysis Reflection

“One must have chaos in one to give birth to a dancing star” – Nietzsche. The power comes from not hanging your head down but picking yourself up and striving to do the best you can. The way you learn is from your mistakes and when you pull through you realize the power within yourself. Every great thing you do starts with disappointment. In order to do the best you can you have to keep your head high. I believe the saying “You learn something new every day.” I think I have learned a lot of important lessons from this single paper. I will take each mistake into consideration and improve it on my synthesis paper. There is room for improvement and now I know and am able to understand what Nick is looking for within writing, and within a paper. I am a little disappointed with my grade because I know I can do better, although that just motivates me to try harder. The thing I need to work on the most is writing clearly instead of getting fancy with my writing. I tend to focus too much on elaborating on a subject and not stating what I want to say clearly. My sentences tend to be wordy and very in depth, and I need to cut down on my sentences and make them less wordy. It seems he is looking for a more factual form of writing in order for it to be clear and precise. If I focus more on a writing style such as this, I believe I will receive the grade I am looking for. Also, I need to constantly revise my paper for grammatical errors. I need to be careful on commas and quotations. Something that might help is having someone other than Nick also read my paper to check for errors. The writing center may possibly be a useful source. I have never been there personally, although I have heard it is very helpful. Even though my paper had flaws I also had some very good quotes to support what I was trying to say. All of my quotes were cited properly. I also made sure to really focus on the audience and keep them in mind throughout my entire paper. It is important to focus on you reader so they are aware at all times what you are talking about. I have always thought of myself as a decent writer and I know that in this class I will exceed. I’m excited to see the grades I will receive on my next papers after learning from my mistakes. I will continue to try my hardest to get the grades I want and hopefully they will continue to rise. I want an A in the class and to do this I will work hard. The effort I put into my paper from here on out will show. I know I will be proud of whatever I do because I know I will be trying my hardest.

"Allegory" and "Banking Concept"

Palo Freire’s essay “The Banking Concept of Education,” and Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” both make the point that very often students as well as others believe what they are told. It becomes a concept in their mind of what is right and wrong and what is factual in this world. Throughout Freire’s essay the teacher is the supreme authority who knows everything, while the students are to learn from and trust the teacher. Plato’s essay talks about ignorance and learning explaining you can’t go through life with a closed mind. The understanding comes from what you perceive and your senses. There is no authority telling you what to think. The point that both authors portray is there are authority figures in life who we believe tell us the facts and there is what we as people perceive from our senses. It is for us to decide what is right and wrong, and who is correct.

Palo Freire’s banking concept of education consists of the students receiving the information, repeating it, and memorizing it. They then repeat the process again. This concept limits the ability of a student to think freely on their own. It’s controlling their thought process and altering their ability to learn in a critical way. Humanists highly agree with this idea that students will eventually be alone in this world and they need to know how to handle it themselves. The students taught using the banking of education method will not be prepared for what is to come, and they will be unable to think on their own.

Plato’s “Allegory of the cave,” argues and different point of view. He portrays the students are full of knowledge, while the teachers are there to help guide and act as a support system. Plato’s ideas come from what you perceive as factual. He believes we learn through reasoning and this is the correct path to take in order to do so. With an open mind and learning through reason students will be prepared for situations to come.

Through the eyes of a student the teacher is authority. Although it is not factual that the teacher is better than the student. Students simply need to participate to their ability while learning. Believe it or not the teacher also learns from the student. It works both ways. We need to seek learning and not let this perception get in the way of our education. It is a thought perceived by many. The best thing to do is be active and learn from others.

The Evolution of Unemployment Relief in Great Britain - Synthesis

The article “Evolution of Unemployment relief in Great Britain,” is about the unemployment insecurity of British workers during the nineteenth century. In Britain, business downturn was occurring every five to eight years, and not only was this affecting worker’s lives personally, but it also had a huge impact on the economy. Unemployment lasting longer than a few weeks lead to “acute financial” distress. This forced them to rely on other sources such as the government or charities as a form of income. The author focuses on Britain although this is happening too many of us in today’s society. Unemployment has been in existence and a big issue for a long time. It’s something the government is trying to fix, but it continues to occur. Do you think the problem of unemployment will ever diminish?

In this article, the main evaluation is that little has been written about unemployment relief during the period between the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834 and the adoption of national unemployment insurance in 1911. Public assistance was more generous to the unemployed then they probably should have been. This was a huge problem, and in 1870 cities throughout Britain cut the payment of relief to able-bodied males, while many skilled workers received unemployed benefits from their trade union. This showed no improvement to those who didn’t work in the union or from preventing unemployment.

This lead to the adoption compulsory unemployment insurance in 1911, paid for by a government subsidy. The controversy remained between the Poor Law Amendment Act, and compulsory unemployment insurance. This is true because the Poor Law Act still remained an important income for those who were unemployed. It also had a way of deciding who would pay the unemployment rate. They can be divided into three groups: factory owners, workers, and the remaining ratepayers (merchants, shopkeepers, landlords, tradesmen, etc.). In total they would contribute twenty 20 to 46 percent. The Poor Law was able to cover most everyone, but the increases in the poor rate tended, causing further increases in the default rate. The good news is, both public and private charity would take a lead on the few turndowns the law could not afford. It had its “ups” and “downs,” but it helped. This information is key to understanding the main idea of the article as well as what the author is trying to come across.

This particular article related closely to the film “Roger & Me,” each author working to portray similar messages to the citizens as well as the world. Both authors use of persuasive research combined with relevant information proves their point and gains the respect they needed. The citizens of Flint, Michigan were going through extremely hard times, many being unemployed. It relates to the fact that in both places they were unemployed but they had the help of others. In Britain’s case it was the Poor Act being passed which was established by the government with the help of charity. In Flint’s case it was the support of the community and the help of those who were successful in the community such as Miss Michigan. Although, the authors posses the same subject matter they also have their differences. In the documentary “Roger & Me,” Moore leaves out the government while Boyer talks a lot about the governments support. Moore does this in order to distract his audience in order to focus more on the people. Boyer’s goal is to focus on the government, and the many laws passed. Each author takes a different approach allowing the audience to comprehend the two pieces differently. When you narrow your views, all of these factors come down to one thing and that is to preserve the place in which they live, and to protect their economy.