Monday, April 30, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Men vs African American men
My friend is a Crime, Law and Justice Major. She is currently taking a CRIM class. She was informing me of all of the statistics on those who commit crimes and all the various crimes one can create. She then told me that the book speaks mostly about African Americans who commit those crimes. My friend proceeded to tell me about the different biases in the book and mentioned that the book separates the word men and African American men. Basically when the book talks about crimes committed it touch on the percentages of men vs. African American men.
How I take it is that they are saying that African American men are not men which hurt a lot. As a person who is mixed and who embraces both sides, I know what my ancestors have been through. I think it is disgusting that the book groups men this way. I think it is even more disgusting that the University would allow such a book to be used. I understand that there is probably valuable material in that book and maybe it was even used purposely to explain prejudices. Even so, I think it is wrong.
It is very apparent that racism still exists. If you say it doesn't you are quite blind. I think it would be better to acknowledge the fact that it still exists then pretend it does not and then see what my friend saw in her book. I just think that for it to be published for everyone to see, and for college students to study from, is unreal.
I wonder if the University or even the Professor has control over what he shows his students or even what book he can choose to teach his material from. I remember one time my friend asked my why there is African American history and why there is American History. The only way I've ever looked at it was that blacks have a lot of accomplishments and have come a long way. But then my friend said, "Aren't blacks American and don't their accomplishments contribute to American accomplishments?" "Accomplishments are accomplishments no matter which race contributes." I now look at things much differently.
How I take it is that they are saying that African American men are not men which hurt a lot. As a person who is mixed and who embraces both sides, I know what my ancestors have been through. I think it is disgusting that the book groups men this way. I think it is even more disgusting that the University would allow such a book to be used. I understand that there is probably valuable material in that book and maybe it was even used purposely to explain prejudices. Even so, I think it is wrong.
It is very apparent that racism still exists. If you say it doesn't you are quite blind. I think it would be better to acknowledge the fact that it still exists then pretend it does not and then see what my friend saw in her book. I just think that for it to be published for everyone to see, and for college students to study from, is unreal.
I wonder if the University or even the Professor has control over what he shows his students or even what book he can choose to teach his material from. I remember one time my friend asked my why there is African American history and why there is American History. The only way I've ever looked at it was that blacks have a lot of accomplishments and have come a long way. But then my friend said, "Aren't blacks American and don't their accomplishments contribute to American accomplishments?" "Accomplishments are accomplishments no matter which race contributes." I now look at things much differently.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
"What adults can learn from children"
http://www.ted.com/talks/adora_svitak.html
This video is beyond commendable. If you watch the video, you will see that Adora Svitak was twelve years old at the time of this presentation on "Ted Talks." Yes she was twelve on "Ted Talks". Adora was convincing her audience that adults should not underestimate the immense knowledge they can gain from children. Prior to her appearance on "Ted Talks" she was writing short stories since she was four and publishing her work at the age of seven. Adora also spoke at hundreds of schools and was the key note speaker at many educational programs.
This presentation is specifically hinting on the fact that adults can learn a great deal from children contrary to the stereotype of a typical learning setting: the adult teaching the lesson to their students. But if you look up the definition of a teacher from the Marriam-Webster Dictionary, a teacher is one that teaches; especially one whose occupation is to instruct. An occupation is simply a job or profession. In either of those definitions, neither of them express age limitations nor state "child" or "adult." This is simply the point that Adora Svitak is trying to make. She is even insinuating that, if you look in history, many children have made some of the most impacting changes that have helped the world progress or be at some type of advantage today. She uses a lot of thoughtful tactics to persuade her audience that, in fact, adults can learn from kids.
To capture her audience, she uses humor, irony, and satire. Humor comes in to play as she says things like, "We are the next generation who will bring this world forward...in case you don't think this has meaning for you, remember that cloning is possible and that involves going through childhood again in which case you will want to be heard just like my generation." This humor implies action. She hints that adults can learn from kids and that we need to consider this concept because we are the next generation. That is how she establishes need and why this matter should be taken seriously. She uses a lot of visuals with quotes on the screen, visuals of crafts that children have done and have won awards for, and even pictures of children who have made American history. She establishes her credibility by speaking on how long she has been writing and teaching adults by stating the statistics: "speaking at hundreds of schools and being the key note speaker at educational programs." The irony comes in when she was first trying to publish her short stories at seven years of age and the publisher had said they did not work with children. Adora responded, "really, a children's publisher not working with children, I don't know you're kind of alienating large client there."
I absolutely loved watching this entertaining presentation. She kind of makes my public speaking skills look amateur. But I will give her credit. After all, I learned something very valuable from her and I am legally an adult. Sometimes, age is literally ONLY a number.
This video is beyond commendable. If you watch the video, you will see that Adora Svitak was twelve years old at the time of this presentation on "Ted Talks." Yes she was twelve on "Ted Talks". Adora was convincing her audience that adults should not underestimate the immense knowledge they can gain from children. Prior to her appearance on "Ted Talks" she was writing short stories since she was four and publishing her work at the age of seven. Adora also spoke at hundreds of schools and was the key note speaker at many educational programs.
This presentation is specifically hinting on the fact that adults can learn a great deal from children contrary to the stereotype of a typical learning setting: the adult teaching the lesson to their students. But if you look up the definition of a teacher from the Marriam-Webster Dictionary, a teacher is one that teaches; especially one whose occupation is to instruct. An occupation is simply a job or profession. In either of those definitions, neither of them express age limitations nor state "child" or "adult." This is simply the point that Adora Svitak is trying to make. She is even insinuating that, if you look in history, many children have made some of the most impacting changes that have helped the world progress or be at some type of advantage today. She uses a lot of thoughtful tactics to persuade her audience that, in fact, adults can learn from kids.
To capture her audience, she uses humor, irony, and satire. Humor comes in to play as she says things like, "We are the next generation who will bring this world forward...in case you don't think this has meaning for you, remember that cloning is possible and that involves going through childhood again in which case you will want to be heard just like my generation." This humor implies action. She hints that adults can learn from kids and that we need to consider this concept because we are the next generation. That is how she establishes need and why this matter should be taken seriously. She uses a lot of visuals with quotes on the screen, visuals of crafts that children have done and have won awards for, and even pictures of children who have made American history. She establishes her credibility by speaking on how long she has been writing and teaching adults by stating the statistics: "speaking at hundreds of schools and being the key note speaker at educational programs." The irony comes in when she was first trying to publish her short stories at seven years of age and the publisher had said they did not work with children. Adora responded, "really, a children's publisher not working with children, I don't know you're kind of alienating large client there."
I absolutely loved watching this entertaining presentation. She kind of makes my public speaking skills look amateur. But I will give her credit. After all, I learned something very valuable from her and I am legally an adult. Sometimes, age is literally ONLY a number.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Public Policy: Federal Funding of Research and Development Issues
http://www.asme.org/about-asme/advocacy-government-relations/programs,-public-policy,---society-policies/federal-funding-of-research-and-development-issues
Tomorrow in class, we will be discussing ideas for our argumentation paper on public policy. I researched public policy issues and one of the policies that actually seemed important was the Federal Funding of Research and Development Issues. This policy basically covers Obama's 2013 Fiscal Budget request to increase funding for research and development enterprise on science, technology, engineering, and math. The increase would be over two billion dollars higher than the spending on these matters in 2012.
I wanted to touch on this policy and its importance in my opinion. I think funding for developmental programs and businesses would not only create jobs for those who have a degree in these fields with no job, but also prospective students seeking a future job with a concentration in these fields. I feel there is a high demand in science, technology, engineering, and math based careers. Furthermore, if the overall goal is to repair the economy, funding in these areas would do the job. It is known that jobs in these fields pay significantly higher than those with Liberal Art Degrees. If our society can generate people who major in these fields, they can graduate college and make a higher salary which might help in re-establishing a middle class again. Additionally, our world today is advancing in medicine, in the degree of difficulty in math, the instruments and new discoveries in science, and most importantly technology. I believe in order to succeed in this world, our generation must know as much as possible in these fields and be willing to apply that knowledge in the workforce.
Although it is a ton of money on just this one policy, I think it will be a great investment long-term wise. Maybe short term issues may arise but if it works out well in the end, why will it matter. Or does it?
Tomorrow in class, we will be discussing ideas for our argumentation paper on public policy. I researched public policy issues and one of the policies that actually seemed important was the Federal Funding of Research and Development Issues. This policy basically covers Obama's 2013 Fiscal Budget request to increase funding for research and development enterprise on science, technology, engineering, and math. The increase would be over two billion dollars higher than the spending on these matters in 2012.
I wanted to touch on this policy and its importance in my opinion. I think funding for developmental programs and businesses would not only create jobs for those who have a degree in these fields with no job, but also prospective students seeking a future job with a concentration in these fields. I feel there is a high demand in science, technology, engineering, and math based careers. Furthermore, if the overall goal is to repair the economy, funding in these areas would do the job. It is known that jobs in these fields pay significantly higher than those with Liberal Art Degrees. If our society can generate people who major in these fields, they can graduate college and make a higher salary which might help in re-establishing a middle class again. Additionally, our world today is advancing in medicine, in the degree of difficulty in math, the instruments and new discoveries in science, and most importantly technology. I believe in order to succeed in this world, our generation must know as much as possible in these fields and be willing to apply that knowledge in the workforce.
Although it is a ton of money on just this one policy, I think it will be a great investment long-term wise. Maybe short term issues may arise but if it works out well in the end, why will it matter. Or does it?
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