Monday, February 23, 2004

FINALLY!

I've finally got my computer to work. There was problem after problem after problem, I wanted to throw my computer out my window.  Now that its finally fixed, I can post all the blogs that I had written on paper. Here you go! Posted by Christina Santamaria on 2/23/04; 9:14:46 PM from the dept. Discuss (1 response)

Text for the Day-4

"That sounded right, and the more he thought about it the more right it sounded. Schools teach you to imitate. If you don't imitate what the teacher wants you get a bad grade."                                                       -Robert Persig, The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, 1974 This quote could never be more right.  All my life I have had teachers that made their students do it the teacher's way.  The answers to test questions have to be exactly what the teacher is looking for or points will be taken away.  The teachers intentions may be for the betterment of students but other teachers just want to make the answers detailed so they could take points away.  I had a teacher intentially make questions extremely hard so there would not be that many A's in the class, that teacher admitted to it, too.  It wasn't until I went to college did i get a little of the freedom to do as i please, in school at least.  We don't have to read, we don't have to turn in the homework, we don't even have to come to class.  But there are still teachers/professors out there that want it done they're way, and I guess we'll just have to listen to them, because they're the one who has the ultimate decision of making or breaking your GPA. Posted by Christina Santamaria on 2/23/04; 9:12:52 PM from the dept. Discuss

Text for the Day 3

"In working through the stages of reading, interpretation, and criticism, we move from a submission to textual authority in reading, through a sharing of textual power in interpretation, toward an assertion of power through opposition in criticism. "                                           -Robert Scholes, Textual Power, Yale University Press, 1985 I believe that it is essential that the reader learn about the auther before one ones their novel.  It definitely helps the reader understand where the author is coming from.  Learning about where the auther was born, where they lived, during what time period did they live in, what major events did this author go throught defines the authors style.  And from that we will be able to understand the author a little bit better.  I'm not saying that we should find out every little detail about the authors life, but to read a little biography, to get the jist of the author we'll be able to figure out what the author's message in their novels is.  Only then can we criticise the author and state our opinions.  Without doing so, we make have no argument to back up our criticism which will make us look ignorant.  This concept not only applies to english but to life as well.  It sounds cliche but we should not judge a person by the way they look without getting to know the person.  There's a little lesson of life for you guys. :-) Posted by Christina Santamaria on 2/23/04; 9:12:43 PM from the dept. Discuss

The Yogurt Model

-"The group "takes off" and functions at a new and higher level. There is a great new force for learning and satisfaction"                                  -Peter Elbow, Writing without Teachers, Oxford University Press, 1973 After reading the yogurt model, I immediately thought of my English AP Literature class I took last year in high school.  The discussions we had in class were dictated by the teacher and everyone was forced to participate or they would lose points.  But it wasn't until towards the end of the year where the class would hold the discussions and the teacher would just sit there. That was when i found the discussions to be more interesting.  We had finally gotten comfortable with each other and we were able to talk freely without the fear of the teacher judging what we had to say.  I believe that the yogurt model is a great way to engage with your classmates and to enhance our communication skills.  If we didn't have discussions no one would be able to voice their opinion, and life would get pretty boring that way. Posted by Christina Santamaria on 2/23/04; 9:12:32 PM from the dept. Discuss

Indian Camp

This story was one of the first story's I read in the book In Our Time, and my first impression was that it would be fairly easy to read.  Boy, was I wrong.  I guess I liked the story Indian Camp because it was an easy story to understand.  Another story about a boy coming of age and seeing the realities of life.  The details of the story appealed to me, because there were many authors that i have read (which aren't many) that were afraid to go to the gruesome details of death.  The fact that the son witnessed the birth of the baby, then witnessing the suicide of the father, immediately threw the boy into this world of adulthood.  I liked the fact that Hemingway realistically showed what happened during that time.  Maybe I'm being bias, and I like the story because I have some Native American in my blood.  Hemingway's style of writing was one it took getting used to.  I had read For Whom the Bells Toll and at the end of the story I was finally able to understand what he wrote.  But then I guess I "lost" my understanding of his style and it took getting used to again. Posted by Christina Santamaria on 2/23/04; 9:12:07 PM from the dept. Discuss