Liberal Education

Edmundson's essay on Liberal Education was interesting and proposes many different topics for debate. While reading the essay I did use the with the grain and against the grain technique and found that there were many points he made that I agreed and disagreed with. Overall Edmundson is basically saying that students these days are a lot different than students in previous decades. He thinks that students are less passionate, and more laid-back. He says, "Your inhibited, except on ordained occasions, from showing emotion, stifled from trying to achieve anything original." He goes on to fully examine students' actions and personalities throughout the essay.

Overall I think that the points Edmundson makes in this essay are very interesting. He states his opinion but also backs it up with evidence that we, the students, might not even realize. I am looking forward to analyzing this essay a lot more.

Chapter 6

For this blog I thought I would talk about the Reading With the Grain and Against the Grain technique. I found this section of the chapter really interesting. To read with the grain is to be an "empathetic learner" and see what the author wants you to see. You have to look at the writing through the author's eyes and adopt their beliefs and values. Using this technique you support the author's thesis with your own examples. You can take what the author states and apply the information in new ways, so it makes sense to you, as the reader. This strategy can help you develop a strong response to the text.

The other way of reading a text is reading it against the grain. To do you must question and argue the author's ideas. You have to have the total opposite way of thinking and become a resistant reader. The reader must read the text and and see different things that the writer isn't trying to show to you. You can raise points that the author didn't use to go against the writer. This will help you create a very strong response because you will challenge the author's reasoning, sources, examples, etc, and provide alternative ones.

This strategy will help the reader interact with the text that is provided. It is very similar to the believing and doubting game that we learned about already. It makes you see both sides of the text, rather than reading and just analyzing it with one view.

Chapter 5:Two Contrasting Descriptions and a Self- Reflection

Positive Description
A warm, sunny day students are outside engaging in friendly conversations. A clear, blue sky attracts students to sit on the newly, cut grass and relax in the peaceful atmosphere. Boys laugh and throw a football around while people watch as they walk by. Couples walk, hand in hand, as they make their way into one of the buildings. Everyone holds doors open for one another, exchanging smiles along the way. Students are listening to music as they walk to their destination, while saying hi to people they know as they pass by. Birds flying overhead as students eat their lunch. Someone walking by drops one of their items and someone runs to make sure that it is returned. The politeness seems contagious.

Negative Description
A windy day blows papers around and students chase after them. Students are walking alone, with their headphones on, and not interacting with others. People are rushing to get to class on time, as they push their way through the doors of the building. Students are trying to do all the work they possibly can before they become too stressed out. The empty, crushed, plastic cups fill the trash cans. The obnoxious and loud cell phone conversations are overheard. So many students trying to accomplish what they need to crowds the area. The sun beating down on your body makes it uncomfortable and you can't even sit still. Birds flying around, making noise is distracting and bothering you. A football hits someone in the head and tension builds. Garbage is piling up and the unpleasant aroma fills the air.

Loose Change

The video clip that we watched was about the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. This video used the angle of vision strategy we read about in Chapter 3. The filmmakers wanted to show the possible corruption that could have occured that day and wanted their audience to question the government. They used the angle of vision to raise awareness about this topic to the general public. Throughout the video they use the rhetorical aims, pathos, logos, a nd ethos, that we talked about. I think the video definitely could have influenced some people's minds about this horrific day, but if you really look into the information that they provided there seems to be many flaws.

The filmmakers throughout the movie use many eye witnesses and sources that definitely could be questioned. They definitely showed their side of the arguement but they also used unrelated evidence that had nothing to do with the events that occured at all. I think that since they have made many different versions of this event, they should have eliminated many of the flaws that they had in this video.

U.R. Riddle Letter

To whom it may concern,

Although I have not been in contact with Mr. Riddle recently, I frequently worked with him as a student several years ago. I am hoping to portray as accurate a picture as possible of what I remember of him.Mr. Riddle was not known for having a punctual nature and a heavy criticism for the overall appeal of my class. He has issues with prioritizing and a lack of responsibility. Mr. Riddle missed the midterm for being out of town during the time signed up, but when the test was taken, he received an A on it. He has shown major theoretical principles through his term paper on the psychology of management. It has proven to be one of the best term papers I have ever read.In the business world, his presentation would not be up to par. His appearance was commonly unkempt. His appearance also reflected his attitude. He commonly was considered a loner and had trouble interacting with other classmates that could reflect badly into a business team atmosphere. He failed to participate in a group project because he openly criticized other students as “idiots”.Although he had a very intellectual mind, Mr. Riddle failed to show promise in the business world. From my perspective, he didn’t show the necessary qualities necessary for the job.

Sincerely,
Chad Hanna
Kristen Walters
Loren Stoehr

Angle of Vision

In Chapter 3 of our textbook they bring up a strategy you can use to persuade a reader called the Angle of Vision. I thought this concept was very interesting and helpful. Not only are you able to emphasize you points but you also get to control how and what your readers "see." The example of Angle of Vision where they used different ways you would talk to your friend and your grandmother was very helpful and helped me understand the full concept. I think that this ia definitely something that I will incorporate into my writing to help get my point across and to persuade readers to see what I want them to see. If the writer omits or selects certain details they can really control the picture that the reader will see when they read their work. I think it is a good thing when readers lose their awareness because it would be eaiser for them to accept and understand other writer's views and opinions.

Get It Right. Privatize Executions

The article by Arthur Miller has some very interesting opinions. I agree with what Arthur Miller is argueing. If the United States were to privatize executions it could possibly make people think twice about their actions and the rate of crime in our country could decrease. If citizens saw how criminals were being executed it could definitely have an impact and maybe make them think twice about certain situations they could get themselves into. If executions were public it might help families that were affected heal easier. They could finally see that these murderers and criminals were getting what they deserved. When people commit crime and/or murder they never think of the people that are going to be affected. This is a way for all family members and friends that were affected by these criminals' actions to that justice was served. Everyone has their own opinion and if they dont agree with privatized executions they don't have to participate or watch them. No one is making anyone watch these excutions therefore, it gives citizens the option to witness these executions if they would like to. If the country does privatize executions and it becomes popular, it will be an easy way to make money as well as provide entertainment to the citizens.


Arthur Miller's ideas are totally absurd. He compares executing criminals to entertainment we watch. There is no way you can compare the murder of someone to a television show or a sporting event. Executions should always be done inside prisons or in a secluded place where only certain people may watch. Executions are not something our country should be proud of and should publicize. There should be no reason for children to see these horrible events. It will traumatize them for the rest of their lives. Privatized Executions will create more violence, controversy and drama. For the families of the criminal, it would be horrible and unbearable to watch someone you love being execution in front of thousands. These criminals are humans. No matter what they did to put themselves in those situations they are still humans and should not be treated with such malice. If we privatize executions it will affect the way other countries view our society and it will lower our standards. Executions are not something our country should be proud of and should not be something we flaunt so everyone can see.