Is Ms. Erin Gruwell a good teacher?

    After viewing the first half of the film freedom writers, I felt Erin Gruwell was a good teacher. It first became apparent to me after a couple of her students got into a fight in class. Although she was unnerved, she did not give up. Most teachers would have likely high tailed it out the door and never looked back, and I would not blame them, instead she came back the next day only to be greeted with another fight, it was then that she started to observe the actions of these students and I think she realized that no one seemed to care what they were doing, or learning for that matter. You could see the emotion that she was feeling as she came to realize this, anger, sadness, and disappointment. I think it was then that she decided she needed to find a way to get through to the kids because no one else would. She first used the incident with the picture that a student had drawn and passed around the class, making fun of another student. She challenged the students true knowledge of what it meant to be in a gang, and used the opportunity to sneak in a little history lesson. This lesson caught one students attention and he wanted to learn more. Soon her job would consume her life as she started to spend more time focusing on the kids and less time at home. She took on a second job to purchase materials that the school would not supply, which showed her determination to teach these kids. She came up with a way to show the kids their similarities and get them to relate to one another, which showed her dedication. She eventually raised money so she and her dad could take the students on a trip to learn about the holocaust.
     These are just a few examples of what I felt made her a good teacher. It seemed that she would go to great lengths to stand up for these kids and their education, including breaking a few school policies.
       

Freedom writers notes part 1

    Erin Gruwell starts out excited to be a teacher in a new system of integrated students.
She learns quickly that she has no support from the staff as they think the students don't want to learn, and they can just sweep them under the rug because they will all soon give up and stop going.
Students start out with no respect for their teacher. They refer to themselves as being in the dumb class.
Teacher realizes she has no control when students start to fight in the classroom.
It was not what she had expected.  teachers didn't seem to concerned with the (OTHER) students education. She was angry, and says maybe if I teach them.
tries to joke and relate with the kids, still has no control when a fight starts outside. She then observes that their is no ingratiation and nobody cares about the students.
She realizes she has to assert some authority and discusses respect with her students after they are caught passing a hurtful note. She also used this incident to start a discussion about the history of gangs as well as  the Holocaust, which caught the kids attention.
She went to the school hoping to get materials that the kids would be interested in but soon found that she would have no support from the school.

What I feel makes a good teacher

   I have to say that I don't remember my teachers, as my last year in school was in the 6th grade and I don't really have any memories of elementary school. I can however go off of my experience with my children's teachers. My daughter Amanda who is now 19 would likely tell you that her favorite teacher was her fifth grade teacher. What made him a good teacher was his willingness to get to know each student and to build confidence in each of them. He would dance with them at events and joke around with them to make class more enjoyable, but in the long run he also made sure that every student understood what he was teaching, adapting to meet each students need  as" Hassett states in, What makes a good Teacher"   It was very apparent that he loved his job and would go to great lengths for the students in his class and their families if they were struggling. He even moved up with his students from 4th grade to fifth grade so my daughter had him for 2 years in a row. I feel that  teachers can be one of, if not the most influential and important people in a child's life and if they go into their job with that kind of an understanding and build off of it with patience and yet a good structure, we will have good students as well as good teachers.

Audre Lorde's teachers

        I have to say that I really enjoyed Lorde's essay. I found myself wanting to learn more about her life and experience in school although it didn't seem to me that it was very pleasant as "Lorde illustrates her first grade teacher at the catholic school and how stern she was by stating that "she ran the first grade with an iron hand in the shape of a cross". She them moves on to show her teachers feelings of the children stating that "caring for was not always caring about. And it always felt like Sister MPH hated either teaching or little children". Lorde then moves on further to illustrate  what I felt was a lack of confidence that her teacher had in her and an almost demeaning tone which is down right cruel when she placed her sentence paper on the chalk channel. "That was to much coming from a Brownie. Sister Mary of PH frowned. This was to be your own work children," she said. "Who helped you with your sentence, Audre?" she told her she had done it alone, and her teacher then went on to say, "Our guardian angels weep when we don't tell the truth, Audre. I want a note from your mother tomorrow telling me that you are sorry for lying to baby Jesus."
       I could easily go on to describe the many ways I feel that her style of teaching was wrong, but these were different times. I am just thankful that we have so many options these days and our children don't have to be belittled by their teachers.
     

He is stating that schools kill creativity and we need to rethink the principle on which we are educating our children. I highly agree with his findings, however I think there must be a balance between creativity and the structured learning system as well. All children should learn some form of math,english, etc. because it will be used in most life situations at some point.  The arts help to expand more on personality, enjoyment, etc. His style of teaching was interesting. I enjoyed the humor that he used to engage the audience, and help them to relate which he used to his advantage. Once he got their attention, he would make his point. It was effective but a little distractive from the point.   It seems that what he states may be more of an opinion then facts because he doesn't present enough evidence, but he is convincing.

What was main point of ed narrative

The main point of my education narrative was, you can get through anything if you keep an open mind and put in the effort to try to change. At first I was very skeptical about the rehabilitation program They were sending me,  so I didn't think it would do me any good. Once I gave it a shot, It helped me in a big way.

Education narrative final draft. How I learned to live with a painful disability.

                             
Heather Mews
English 101
Professor: Begert                    
                           How I learned to live with a Painful Disability 

Most people who don’t know me on a personal level are unaware of the debilitating pain I am faced with daily. I was midway through my work day - when I had to run an extension cord underneath a sleeper sofa - this was part of my usual routine so I didn't think twice when I  lifted the sofa, and twisted to reach for the cord - it was then that I realized something didn't feel right. I reported the incident, but continued to work with my injury for several more weeks - due to fear of losing the income that I needed to support my 3 children. Little did I know - these actions would soon lead to what is now a very permanent, and painful disability.

After several years of spinal injections, physical therapy, chiropractic care, laser therapy, and massage therapy - basically every form of treatment that did not involve taking drugs - I came to the decision along with several orthopedic surgeons - that surgery would be my best option. Upon making this decision - I was informed that L&I would require me to attend a very extensive pain rehabilitation program before they would allow me to move forward with the surgery. In my opinion - this seemed to be yet another way for them to avoid taking the necessary steps for my recovery. If they had just done this in the beginning - I would have been well on the road to my recovery, and saved them a lot of money on ineffective treatments. I feel  the government wastes enough money as it is. I had spent an ample amount of time preparing myself for the surgery - so I was not happy about this little adventure they were about to send me on.

It was the beginning of December when I got the call "your rehabilitation program will start on December 11^th, and you will need to stay here for the duration". Not only did I hate the big city, but I felt they had no regard to the fact that they were making me leave my family over the holidays - my dog whom I felt played a huge role in helping me manage my depression, and the comfort of my own home. When I first arrived in Seattle I was angry, and had already formed an attitude that the program they were requiring me to attend - was going to be no more effective than the other treatments I had received prior. The apartment I was to stay in was cold and drab, impersonal, and there were people camped out on the side of the road with their sleeping bags - leaving me with little comfort - as I was by myself. I missed my family immediately, and I just wanted to give up and go home. Little did I know - that attitude was about to change.

The next morning - I was to meet with the doctors, therapists, etc. First I met with the doctor - she performed several tests - after doing so she gave me the opportunity to ask questions about the program, and my injury - you better believe I had questions, and I can assure you there were many. I had every intent on breaking down this little program of theirs, and exposing it for the scam that it was. I also asked her to explain my  injury, and the procedure - this is where the education began. She presented me with an over whelming amount of evidence pertaining to the outcomes of my procedure, and the results were very alarming. I decided it would be a good idea to do some further research on my own. What I found out - supported what she had told me. On average there was only about a 20% chance that a spinal fusion "a metal plate on each side of my spine to secure it" would fix the damage to my spine, and there was a higher risk that it could make me worse in the long run. It would be likely that I would need to have a new fusion to support the next section of my spine, and so on - then by around age of 50 it was possible that I wouldn't be able to walk. It was then that I began to realize "Hmm L&I might actually be looking out for my well being, and not just their pocket books". After learning all of this information - I was still reserved, and not yet willing to make any decisions, but I did have a more open mind.

The next step after meeting with the doctor - was to meet my occupational therapist. They had me perform a series of  tasks as I normally would at home - while videotaping my postures. We then went over the film, and she customized a routine that would help me to better compensate for my injury. This routine would be performed twice daily - as it takes 30 days to build a habit, and would hopefully enable me to perform everyday tasks much easier. My occupational therapist then introduced me to Linda, "my physical therapist" she ran me through a bunch of tests to see what my physical abilities were - so she could customize a plan with realistic goals in mind. I realized early on that she was a lot like me - to the point - no bull, but with a good since of humor. I told her not to put up with my stubborn butt, and to push me as hard as she felt appropriate. She did exactly that, but we laughed our way through the whole process. I noticed the impact that the positive energy had on the other patients - so I began to encourage others, and joke around to lighten the atmosphere. Even the staff was having fun. We also dedicated 30 minutes a day to learning different forms of meditation - which helps to relax the muscles, and take the strain off of my spine. I found that I enjoyed Tai-Chi the most. After meeting with my physical therapist it was time to move on to psychology.

I met with a psychiatrist several times, and attended classes daily - that I found to be very informative. I learned that the effect Pain has on your mental well being, and vice versa was quite significant, and when I started to find alternative ways to do the things I love - I began to live again. On my last day - I met with each of my program leads - so they could assess my progress, and report back to L&I. What a difference from their first assessments of me." Dr. Forseit my psychiatrist" Heather seems to be depressed.  She feels she has let everyone down, and has an unhealthy amount of guilt. The last Day "Dr. Forseit" Heather has played a key role in helping, and encouraging others in their recovery. She has been a model patient. She will be missed.

I continue to stay in touch with the staff at RIW to this day, and can say that my new career choice was influenced by this program. I am studying to be a chemical dependency counselor to help pain patients - as most at some point will become addicted to pain medication. I try to keep up with my home therapy as much as possible, but I would be lying if I said my pain is gone. What I can say - is although I chose not to have the surgery for now - I feel I can live with my disability, and be a functioning, and contributing person in our society - which is enough for me.

Education narrative Rough draft. How I learned to live with a painful Disability

                             
Heather Mews
English 101
Professor: Begert                    
                           How I learned to live with a Painful Disability

Most people who don’t know me on a personal level are unaware of the debilitating pain I am faced with daily. I was midway through my work day staging and inspecting furniture when I had to run an extension cord underneath a sleeper sofa, this was part of my usual routine so I didn't think twice when I  lifted the sofa and twisted to reach for the cord, it was then that I realized something didn't feel right. I reported the incident but continued to work with my injury for several more weeks due to fear of losing the income that I needed to support my 3 children. Little did I know, these actions would soon lead to what is now a very permanent and painful disability.

After several years of spinal injections, physical therapy, chiropractic care, laser therapy, and massage therapy, basically every form of treatment that did not involve taking drugs I came to the decision along with several orthopedic surgeons, that surgery would be my best option. Upon making this decision I was informed that L&I would require me to attend a very extensive pain rehabilitation program before they would allow me to move forward with the surgery. In my opinion this seemed to be yet another way for them to avoid taking the necessary steps for my recovery. If they had just done this in the beginning I would have been well on the road to my recovery and saved them a lot of money on ineffective treatments, the government wastes enough money as it is. I had spent an ample amount of time preparing myself for the surgery  so I was not happy about this little adventure they were about to send me on.

It was the beginning of December when I got the call "your rehabilitation program will start on December 11^th and you will need to stay here for the duration". Not only did I hate the big city, but I felt they had no regard to the fact that they were making me leave my family over the holidays, my dog whom I felt played a huge role in helping me manage my depression, and the comfort of my own home. When I first arrived in Seattle I was angry and had already formed an attitude that the program they were requiring me to attend was going to be no more effective than the other treatments I had received prior. The apartment I was to stay in was cold and drab, impersonal, and there were people camped out on the side of the road with their sleeping bags, leaving me with little comfort, as I was by myself. I missed my family immediately, and I just wanted to give up and go home. Little did I know, that attitude was about to change.

The next morning, I was to meet with the doctors, therapists, etc. First I met with the doctor, she performed several tests, after doing so she gave me the opportunity to ask questions about the program and my injury, you better believe I had questions and I can assure you there were many. I had every intent on breaking down this little program of theirs and exposing it for the scam that it was. I also asked her to explain my  injury and the procedure. This is where the education began. She presented me with an over whelming amount of evidence pertaining to the outcomes of my procedure, and the results were very alarming. I decided it would be a good idea to do some further research on my own. What I found out supported what she had told me. On average there was only about a 20% chance that a spinal fusion "a metal plate on each side of my spine to secure it" would fix the damage to my spine, and there was a higher risk that it could make me worse in the long run. It would be likely that I would need to have a new fusion to support the next section of my spine, and so on, and then by around age of 50 it was possible that I wouldn't be able to walk. It was then that I began to realize "Hmm L&I might actually be looking out for my well being and not just their pocket books". After learning all of this information, I was still reserved and not yet willing to make any decisions but I did have a more open mind.

The next step after meeting with the doctor was to meet my occupational therapist. They had me perform a series of  tasks as I normally would at home while videotaping my postures, we then went over the film and she customized a routine that would help me to better compensate for my injury. This routine would be performed twice daily, as it takes 30 days to build a habit, and would hopefully enable me to perform everyday tasks much easier. My occupational therapist then introduced me to Linda, "my physical therapist" she ran me through a bunch of tests to see what my physical abilities were so she could customize a plan with realistic goals in mind. I realized early on that she was a lot like me, to the point, no bull, but with a good since of humor so I told her not to put up with my stubborn butt, and to push me as hard as she felt appropriate. She did exactly that, but we laughed our way through the whole process. I noticed the impact that the positive energy had on the other patients so I began to encourage others and joke around to lighten the atmosphere. Even the staff was having fun. We also dedicated 30 minutes a day to learning different forms of meditation, which helps to relax the muscles and take the strain off of my spine. I found that I enjoyed Tai-Chi the most. After meeting with my physical therapist it was time to move on to psychology.

I met with a psychiatrist several times and attended classes daily that I found to be very informative. I learned that the effect Pain has on your mental well being and vice versa was quite significant, and when I started to find alternative ways to do the things I love, I began to live again. On my last day I met with each of my program leads so they could assess my progress and report back to L&I. What a difference from their first assessments of me." Dr. Forseit my psychiatrist" Heather seems to be depressed, she feels she has let everyone down and has an unhealthy amount of guilt. The last Day "Dr. Forseit" Heather has played a key role in helping and encouraging others in their recovery, she has been a model patient. She will be missed.

I continue to stay in touch with the staff at RIW to this day, and can say that my new career choice was influenced by this program. I am studying to be a chemical dependency counselor to help pain patients, as most at some point will become addicted to pain medication. I try to keep up with my home therapy as much as possible, but I would be lying if I said my pain is gone. What I can say is although I chose not to have the surgery for now, I feel I can live with my disability and be a functioning and contributing person in our society, which is enough for me.

The narrative I enjoyed most

                  The Narrative I Enjoyed Most
      I actually had a hard time deciding which narrative  out of my two favorites I enjoyed the most. I found Malcom X's narrative very interesting as he described in depth how he taught himself to read. Even though he was not in an ideal situation, he made the most of it. Which is something I can relate to because I have been in less then ideal situations for the better part of my life, and tried to make the best of those situations. I plan to purchase this book so I can read the whole story. The narrative that was my favorite though was Mike Rose's I just want to be average. First I felt he did an incredible job describing his surroundings, and the people in his narrative, I almost felt as if I was seeing the story through his eyes. (The second drifted through neighborhoods with trees, parks, big lawns, and lots of flowers) Which lead me to to believe it may have been a warm sunny day.  (There was Bill Cobb and Johnny Gonzales, grease- pencil artist extraordinaire, who left Nembutal-enhanced swirls of "Cobb" and "Johnny" on the corrugated walls of the bus. And then there was Tyrell Wilson. Tyrell was the coolest kid I knew. He ran the dozens like a metric halfback, laid down a rap that out rhymed  and out pointed Cobb, whose rap was good but not great-the curse of a moderately soulful kid trapped in white skin.). His description of the characters really brought out their personalities. I could likely break down this whole narrative and point out things that I liked about it, but as I have learned through reading all of the narrative so far, a blog is meant to be more simple and not quite so formal.  This is just my opinion of course.
 

How blogs differ from print books

                             How blogs differ from print books  
I have spent some time rereading the blogs and the book prints after researching the meaning of tone,depth, and style, in the form of writing. It is still all very new to me, but what I can say is oddly, I prefer the book prints over the blogs. The book prints in my opinion paint a larger and more in depth picture, because they give far more detail which then enables me to be more engaged in what they are trying to say, where as the blogs seemed very hurried. I do enjoy that they are a little more toward the point and not quite as serious or formal. Blogs are a great way to deliver information quickly without adding the extra details, (they can add links instead). How I learned to live google free seemed to have a little more serious tone as I felt he was concerned when he realized how much of our information just lingers in cyberspace for almost anyone to get ahold of, yet he had to spend quite a large amount of time retrieving it himself. This did cause me to ponder a bit over the amount of time I spend on google. The print narratives were more enjoyable to me though. I prefer the detail that is given (or the depth) because it allows me to place myself into what ever setting they are trying to portray, and draws me in. The tone to the print narratives Mike Rose and Malcom X were a bit serious and even sad at times, but to me that is what they are trying to relay. They were serious topics.  Mike Rose's Ed narrative angered me. To see that the school system  lacked the skills to educate  these children and really didn't seem to care made me feel anger toward the school, and sadness for the students and their families.                                 

Swimsuit writing activity

                              Swim Suit Writing Activity

A swim suit is an article or articles of clothing that most people wear when the weather becomes warm. When people hear the word "swim suits" most of us think of bikinis, but that's not the case. Swim suits have become very universal and very fashionable. Everyone can find a swimsuit that fits and shows their personality. Swim suits aren't restricted by colors, they come in any color you could imagine and they come in all sorts of styles, from one pieces to speedos. There is uniqueness that can show everyone's personality making them feeling equally comfortable and confident.

With all the unique styles available it is not surprising that swim suites come in many different ways. Even though they all look different they are made out of the same material. They can come in any pattern, color or design imaginable. You can get one in a almost any style you want. However the most common styles are bikini style or one piece. It just depends on how much skin you’re willing to show. All swim suits have the same purpose, which is covering your naughty bits. This is the common goal of all swim suits.  Even though covering is important fashion is becoming just as important.

Swim suits are very fashionable for nowadays. We can say in the fashion world swim suits are a big part in summer season. For women, swim suits come in varieties and women enjoy choosing them. For instance, we hardly see women wear the same style of swim suits on the beach, unless they buy it from the same store. Swim suits can give confidence to whoever is wearing it. Yet, it may motivate someone to be in good shape to wear it too. Swim suits are not just made to be stylish; it can warm our bodies when we are swimming. For example, no one would like to swim naked in the cold water. They would rather wear it even if it is just a bikini. Swim suits could be fashionable in the sports world too. They pay a lot of attention to what design of swim suit is great for sports. It’s not just about looking good it’s about expressing your personality as well.

I feel a swim suit can almost always shape ones first impression of an individual. For instance someone wearing a swimsuit with polka dots or bright colors may have a very open and upbeat personality where as someone wearing a swimsuit in one solid color might be more reserved. I feel the same goes for a 1 piece or a 2 piece suit. A 1 piece might reveal that you prefer to keep to yourself or that you are guarded. A 2 piece in my opinion states that you are more comfortable with yourself and may be more open or comfortable with your surroundings.  Although swim suites do many different things we can all agree on one thing that there is one for everyone.

My feelings about a swimsuit

        I feel a swim suit can almost always shape ones first impression of an individual. For instance someone wearing a swimsuit with polka dots or bright colors may have a very open and upbeat personality where as someone wearing a swimsuit in one solid color might be more reserved. I feel the same goes for a 1 piece or a 2 piece suit. A 1 piece might reveal that you prefer to keep to yourself or that you are guarded. A 2 piece in my opinion states that you are more comfortable with yourself and may be more open or comfortable with your surroundings.

Explore/ Examine How I learned to live with a painful disability

                     How I Learned to live life with a painful Disability

                                                       Explore/Examine.

       Most people who don't know me on a personal level are unaware of the debilitating pain I am faced with daily. I was midway through my work day (staging and inspecting furniture) when I had to run an extension cord underneath a sleeper sofa, this was part of my usual routine so I didn't  think twice when I lifted the sofa and twisted to reach for the cord, it was then that I realized something didn't feel right. I reported the incident but continued to work with my injury for several more weeks due to fear of losing the income that I needed to support my 3 children. Little did I know, these actions would lead to what is now a very permanent and painful disability. After several years of spinal injections, physical therapy, chiropractic care, laser therapy, massage therapy, (basically every form of treatment that did not involve taking drugs) I came to the decision along with several orthopedic surgeons, that surgery was my best option. Upon making this decision I was informed that L&I would require me to attend a very extensive pain rehabilitation program before they would allow me to move forward with the surgery. In my opinion this seemed to be yet another way for them to avoid taking the necessary steps for my recovery.  If they had just done this in the beginning I would have been well on the road to my recovery and saved them a lot of money on ineffective treatments. Needless to say, I had spent a lot of time preparing myself for this surgery including quitting smoking after 20 plus years so I was not happy about this little adventure they were about to send me on.
     It was the beginning of December when I got the call ( Your rehabilitation program will start on December 11th and you will need to stay here for the duration) Not only did I hate the big city, but I felt they had no regard to the fact that they were making me leave my family over the holidays, my dog whom I felt played a big part in helping me manage my depression, and the comfort of my own home. (How dare they)! When I first arrived in Seattle I was angry and had already formed an attitude that the program  they were requiring me to attend was going to be no more effective than the other treatments I had received prior. The apartment that I was to stay in was cold and drab, impersonal and there were people camped out on the side of the road with their sleeping bags, leaving me with little comfort, as I was by myself. I missed my family immediately, I just wanted to give up and go home. Little did I know. that attitude was about to change.
      Jumping forward for a bit. On my last day I had to meet with each of the program leads so they could assess my progress and report back to L&I.What a difference from their first assessments of me. Dr. Forseit my psychologist ( Heather seems to be depressed she feels she has let everyone down, and has an unhealthy amount of guilt ). The last day Dr. Forseit (Heather has played a key roll in helping and encouraging others in their recovery, she has been an inspiration and a model patient. She will be missed.

     

Thoughts on how I learned to love traveling Solo

                                             

              My thoughts on How I Learned To Love Traveling Solo!

    In my opinion, How I learned To Love Traveling Solo is a great read if you are looking for tips on traveling solo. However I am not sure that she touched on what I expected to be the main topic, (how I learned). It may be that I was focused more on her title then her opening paragraph , so I think I will have to explore that more in class and in our text.

        

        She started her blog by telling us a little bit about herself, and how she felt traveling solo. ( It was scary to set off by myself), moving on to explain why she likes to travel solo. Next she told an interesting story about an experience she had. ( I ate some poorly labelled peanut sauce, had an allergic reaction, and then got ripped off by a corrupt cabbie. This drew me in! Like in the Mike Rose's  Ed nar when he described some of his experiences in the class room or things he observed on the bus.  It made it easier for me to relate.

        In prior narratives they offered examples of how they implemented what they were learning. They also told us how they came to find this information (details). I felt Caty Huston did so as well, but I am not sure what makes her advice valid, as she offered no supporting evidence other then her word and experience. It also seemed apparent that she was lacking paragraph hooks (a device used to connect one paragraph to another smoothly) as defined in section 34 of our text Writing Simplified. I am still learning how to identify these details in our reading assignments, but it felt like she jumped from one paragraph to the next without a clear connection. I did however find that her transition from her topic sentence gave good examples of the main point. 

        Over all I enjoyed her narrative, and  feel that I took a lot away from exploring the examples in our text and comparing to others we have read so far. I am finding this exploration to be very helpful in preparing and understanding how to complete my first assignment.

         

Education narrative I liked most

I have never written a paper before, as I was not formally in school. so What I have been focusing on the most so far is the style and formats of the blogs that I have read, and the reading assignments that we have been given in class so I will understand how to convey the information in a way that looks appealing  and people are able to process without loosing interest.  I have been taking notes on all of the readings so I can choose what will present the information without confusion. So far I found that I liked the style of writing  in Malcom X's narrative the best, because it painted a good picture while also relaying the point that he was trying to make. I found that I liked the free writing because it helped me come up with ideas an gave me a better understanding of the significance of what I was writing. I found that It is easy to ramble on when free writing, while in writing a formal paper you have to be careful to stay on task. Unlike How I lived to be google free, which to me bounced all over the place and failed to keep my attention.

Most important educational experience

I feel that my most important educational experience was how to care for my children (becoming a mother).
When the reality that you will have a child depending on you to teach them and care for them an comfort them arises, it is a real eye opener. In the early stages of my pregnancy
I remember thinking to myself how am I going to know if my baby is sick, or hungry?
Will I know what to di if she is crying, and how to calm her, how much should she eat, etc.
    I continued to worry until the day she was born, then it hit me...you just know, and what you don't know, you learn as you go along, through experience. As she got older things I had to learn were quite different, how to answer a question that was  appropriate for her age level to understand, why are the clouds white, how to handle a fit that made no since to you what so ever, or how to convince them that a shot won't hurt (bribery of candy worked great with my first one) although I do recall my youngest daughter who is now 14 wanting to get her ears pierced before she started kindergarten, and I actually told her if she was good and got her shots without a fuss, I would take her to get her ears pierced afterwords (I know it sounds harsh) but it worked, she sat without a peep, and when she was done, said can I go get my ears pierced now. My oldest was a different story though, the nurses had to show me how to restrain her with my legs as well as the help of 4 others to hold her down. She would psych herself out before even going into the office. I guess what I am trying to say is that all children are different and there is no one way to raise them all, so I had to learn what worked best through experience as I went along. Some peope didn't like the way I bribed my now 14 year old with the ear piercing. They said I was evil. Imagine how my kids are today as this is how they were raised. Middle daughter who is now 19 was very easy, she was a passive kid and just wanted to make everyone else happy, so I really  didn't have to worry about much. As a result she is a bit shy  because I relied on her to be the easy one. The point I am trying to make is,  when raising your children, you are responsible for shaping them into the person they are today, or the adults they will be in the future, you will learn as you go along, but it may not always be the right way, so asking your peers for advise, or seeking the help of other parents could be of significance at some point. I was a bit stubborn and felt I could learn on my own. At the ages of 21 19 and 14 I am still learning how to be a better parent and how I can approve or change some of the thing I taught them. I have a feeling I will continue learning until  I am at rest. I don't feel that one specific way of parenting is right for a specific person.

Malcom X, and Mike Rose Ed narrative

                                                Malcom X and Mike Rose's Ed Nar.

  I found both of these essays to be engaging and enjoyed their style of narrating. I also enjoyed the fact that they started with a short bio of themselves enabling me to connect with each of them and understand where they were coming from. I am not to familiar with writing terms, but I will do my best to describe my points in a way everyone can understand. 

  To me both stories described in detail, where and how they came to their topics but also the environment and time surrounding their experiences, which is something that I find very engaging. It helps you to understand the people or topic they are talking about whether or not you relate. In other words (paint a better picture). Both stories seemed to be about their struggles with education and how they used these struggles to their betterment.  Although I do feel Mike rose would have done better if the school system  had actually paid attention to their clerical errors.  (Malcom X being in prison choose to learn to read, eventually helping him to further educate himself through books) using the very thing that at one time in the past he would only pretend to understood, to teach himself. Mike Rose using the actual experience he had in school and the situations he observed among other students and teachers to influence his decision to try to better the schools system of educating those needing a little push, understanding, or a different curriculum.  (They were both motivated through life). Which  in my belief, is the very thing that will shape you and the life that you choose to live.

  

  

  

How learned narratives. Joshua J. Romero,and Feross Aboukhadiejeh

How I learned Narratives!

   I found that after reading  both narratives, I prefer How I learned to program computers over How I lived to be Google free. How I learned to live Google free seemed a bit scattered, along with to much information, and did not stay on a main focal point, (which left me to loose interest several times), in turn having to reread his article. I did however appreciate his minimal use of photographs. Having one picture in the beginning of the article helped to personalize it for me, but did not distract me from the main point, as did the use of several pictures in  How I learned to program computers.  That being said How I learned to use computers was laid out in a manor that was easy to follow. He had a very simple and yet effective focal point, so you knew what you were going to read about and outlined every step with a heading and to the point explanation. I like that he used a small amount of humor, personalizing the article, and yet walked us through each step in his learning process using no more information then necessary,  finalizing it with a clear end result. 

   What I have taken away from these 2 articles and will reflect on to mine is the use of a picture in the beginning, so the reader can feel more connected with my story, and to be clear and to the point (not rambling on or skipping around to much).

  

Narrative Essay Assignment Descriptions

1: choose an  educational experience
2: explain the experience in detail, (how you learned ,who else was involved)
3: explore other examples in text or through peers, to help support information
4: do not use others information as your own
5: research through text book how to right a formal paper and the style of format preferred
6: write to a wide range audience or consider, who you are writing to
7: Does not have to have a clear thesis statement, and can use connection such as I, or using your own voice
8: Use clear grammar and punctuation
9: Use detailed examples and proper format
When we originally posted this I added my commentary in the comments section. I then realized  I could edit and actually add to my blog. Lesson learned.
 I have learned quite a bit more since then. Making sure paragraphs flow and sentences transition well, have a key roll in writing an effective paper. I have also learned that I tend to ramble on, which will cause a person to loose interest. Will have to work on that.

TESTING!!!!

Hoping this works. I am not computer savvy so this is a bit intimidating.