Jack's CO150 Blog

[jackyboy94]

[jackyboy94]

Racism in the Classroom

In the articles about teacher ideology in the classroom, I couldn't help but notice the general trend of accusing someone of racism. One teacher called the republicans racist, another teacher was accused of being a racist herself. In a country where the poisonous ideology of racism is claimed to be overcome, I find it interesting that it is still an issue. Why is racism linked to a political party for being conservative? Why is racism being brought up in a Mass Communication class? Part of the reason why this issue in particular interests me is because I grew up in a mixed race family. My father is white and my mother is both black and asian. It was hard for me to understand racism growing up because it was difficult to figure out what "side" I was on. I've never felt white because no white person outside of my family had ever treated me like a white person. And its the same with black and asian people as well. I've always been accepted as just being mixed. However, growing up this way has helped me to understand that racism is still very much alive in the U.S. I can recall a time when a white man once said to me,"at least you're half white." 

In the case of Shannon Gibney, I sympathize with both the offended students and the accused teacher. It's true that the professor should not have singled out the students in her class for being white. There is no need for relating white students to other people who have or are doing bad things just because they both happen to be white. Their skin color is not something that they have chosen, and it is certainly something they should not feel judged for or ashamed of, because that is what racism is. In the professor's defense, she probably did not want these boys to feel discriminated against. She probably viewed these boys as the future of white males who have never known the struggles that minorities face. The problem that both parties seem to not understand is that they are maintaining what I call an "us versus them" mentality that appears to be just as dangerous as racism but more widely accepted. They both are both assuming that they are different from one another because of their differences in skin pigment. It seems rather silly when put that way, right?

The problem of people viewing themselves as different due to their race is becoming a new problem in the U.S. In a CNN article titled, Are White's Really Oppressed?, the article describes the anxiety many whites are going through in becoming a minority in the U.S. They are scared because they are no longer becoming the norm and because they are starting to feel oppressed. In my opinion, this change is much needed in America. We need a cultural change where what is normal does not include a race but instead can be any race. We need to stop viewing other races as a different people but as individuals. Better yet, as other Americans. 

[jackyboy94]

This photo shows both the problem of students not spending enough time in nature and the solution of implementing outdoor education into the higher education system. On one side, the picture shows a teacher lecturing in a school building to an uninterested student. The student is probably bored, tired, or simply isn't interested in the material. On the right side, the student is much more interested because he is engaged in the material through nature. He is also much more lively due to the energizing and ADHD reducing effects of nature. 

[jackyboy94]

Collaboration

Over the past few weeks working on this project, I have noticed that collaboration is a very useful tool. So far, it has facilitated the progress of my project greatly.

Coming up with ideas for a research paper can be very challenging at times. It certainly was for me. In my experience, the best way to overcome this challenge is by talking it out with other people. Ask them if they have any good ideas. Often the conversation will turn to what you’re interested in and so on. If you do not know what to write about, there is a high chance that someone else has an idea that may relate to your interests. My problem when starting Project 3 was finding a way to relate things I enjoy such as hiking or backpacking to a higher education. The two things seemed pretty hard to relate to each other and I couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to make the subject stretch into a research paper. However, I later found through talking with others over possible subjects a topic that I thought was both interesting and relatively easy to write about.

            The activity the class did when we circled up and asked each other about our theses was also extremely helpful. Seeing what other people were working on was very interesting, especially when their subject related to mine. It helped to see how other people had structured their thesis and made it easier for me to strengthen my own. It also helped to actually talk about the subjects of our projects. I felt that with each person I talked to, I was becoming more confident in my argument. Talking about the thesis also helped me to realize which facts were best able to support it. By repeating the same things to all my classmates, it was easy to see how I was going to have to structure my paper. All in all, I pulled a lot from the activity.

[jackyboy94]

Logical Fallacies

I decided to find logical fallacies from all the ads that pop up on my Facebook news feed. The ads usually depict misleading pictures or misleading statistics.

The first ad to pop up was labeled “Healthy Living All The Time.” I found it ironic that this ad was for a legal steroid. The ad shows a before and after picture with one showing a child and another showing a muscular adult. This is a non sequitur fallacy because it assumes that the steroid turns the child into a muscular man. There is no way the steroid could cause the child to age quicker.

            The next ad is for Head& Shoulders products. The ad states “Head & Shoulders washes in Olympic levels of confidence. Are you ready to go for gold?” The add shows an Olympic hockey player washing his hair. This is an example of citing inappropriate authorities fallacy. The ad convinces the viewer that the hockey player is confident and athletic because he does not have dandruff.

            Another fitness ad depicts a doctor in front of a diagram of the human body with a picture of a flexing man next to it. This ad is from Elite Fitness Journal and suggests that the man in scrubs is a medical expert. The ad creates the illusion that the product advertised is both medically safe and also effective. This is another example of citing inappropriate authorities.

            The next ad reads, “Millions have signed up for health insurance. Don’t get left behind.” This is an advertisement for government health care. It wants the reader to think that everyone but him or her has or is signing up. The ad is an example of a bandwagon fallacy.

            The last ad is also for healthcare.gov and takes a little less obvious approach. The ad claims that if the reader enrolls in healthcare, it will make his or her mother happy. Healthcare and parent happiness have little to do with each other but the ad tries to make a connection. This is another example of non sequiturs fallacies.

[samanthachrisman]

An extracurricular activity I try to keep up with during the winter is snowboarding. I love just getting out side and enjoying the sun and the snow in the mountains. Snowboarding gives me a chance to just really clear my mind and focus on myself. I love snowboarding because it can be a social or...

[jackyboy94]

I like how you described snowboarding. I agree that its cool that it can be both a social and individual activity. It is definitely something I want to get more into. As a fellow broke college student, I can relate to struggling to find money for snowboarding trips and equipment. 

[jackyboy94]

Why I like Logging Sports

When I first heard about logging sports, I could hardly believe it was a real sport. Early on in the year it came up in conversation with a friend. I had never heard of it before so when he said he was in logging sports I asked about it. My friend described to me a sport where I could play with chainsaws and throw axes immediately sparking my interests. After attending one practice, I knew that it was something I wanted to get involved with.

            Logging sports originally evolved from normal logging activities that lumber jacks eventually started to use for competitions. As a result, all events relate to some practical logging activity. I’ve always viewed it like track but with a lumberjack twist. There are a variety of events that one can compete in that test for strength, speed, balance, precision, and endurance. There is really no ideal type of athlete for the sport because everyone is bound to be better at one event than another. My favorite events are the obstacle pole and pole climbing though I’m far from mastering either of them. Obstacle pole involves racing up an inclined pole with a chainsaw then balancing to cut off the end. I like this event because it is dynamic and exciting. Pole climbing is a race to the top of a tall wooden pole that looks like a telephone pole.

            Aside from having fun, I have found my new hobby to be very beneficial. Practice can be as strenuous as you make it so getting regular exercise and participating don’t conflict. Practice 3 times a week also keeps things exciting for me. It is nice to leave campus for a bit and go spend time outside. The large variety of activities to practice gives me options for each day preventing boredom from routine. Competitions are often held out of state giving me time to travel to new places and check out the area. Out of the many benefits of being in logging sports, being a part of the team community is one of the best. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. Starting out, many members took time to show me the proper way to do things and to give me advice. I couldn’t have felt more supported.

            Like all sports, a lot of time and effort is required to get anywhere. This means less free time to do other things from homework to watching television. In my opinion, this is a worthy trade off. The other draw back is that all the travel and membership fees can add up. It can be quit costly though it is only a fraction of the cost for other club sports.

            Overall, joining logging sports is a decision that I do not regret. I greatly enjoy participating and am eager to progress into a better athlete. As a forestry major, I believe that practicing certain activities in logging sports could be very relevant later in life. The benefits greatly outweigh the drawbacks and so far it has been an outstanding experience.

[jackyboy94]

The Next Step

When I was a senior in high school, college was all anyone was talking about. Choosing a university seemed as if it was the most important decision of my life. At the time, getting into college was my main goal. My peers all trended on choosing the most prestigious, selective, and expensive colleges they could. The debt didn’t seem to matter to them. It didn’t matter to me either. To us, all that mattered was that we made it in and the other factors never crossed our minds. Wasn’t getting into college supposed to be the end goal of high school?

            Now that I’ve started my college career and have a clearer view on what it takes to earn a degree and the benefits a degree has to offer, I wonder why I was pushed so hard to be here. A degree will not get me as far as it did in the 1950s yet it will cost me triple the amount. The price of a degree is rising yet the value of a degree is dropping. Don’t get me wrong. I love the experiences that college has given me so far but is it really for everyone? Over the course of my college experience, I have seen many friends drop out after paying thousands because they felt like college wasn’t worth it. My friends are among a large population of college students who pay up to years in tuition only to find out that this isn’t what they wanted. This decision initially struck me as stupid but after a little research I started to think I was the stupid one. My friends’ college alternative plans struck me as a much more practical way to get started in the U.S. After questioning myself for reasons to stay, I decided that college is only worth it if it is valued greatly enough by the individual attending. Attending college because it is what society, parents, teachers, and peers push for is a terrible idea. The problem that seems to be causing high college dropout rates is that many students simply don’t want it bad enough. A college education is much too expensive and time consuming to simply be the next step after high school. Our society needs to stop pushing people to keep piling on debt for something that they don’t value.

            Personally, I value my college experience very much and fully intend on earning a degree. Despite the descending value of degrees, I believe that college was the right choice for me and that a forestry degree will allow me to do something that I will enjoy as a career. However, I recognize that college is not the only way to obtain an enjoyable career. I feel like this is the proper way to view college. Not as THE next step after high school but as an option just like any other. 

[jackyboy94]

Peer editing strategies

Peer editing is key to the writing process. To have an effective final product, the viewpoints of others are very useful. They can check papers for proper format, grammar, and more. Peer editing is also a good exercise to improve one’s own writing. By correcting and checking other papers, writing papers properly becomes much easier. In other words, more peer reviewing equals better writing. To improve peer editing, it is important to learn certain strategies. In my research I have found a few useful skills.

            The first thing that a peer editor needs to do is find the thesis statement. A thesis statement must accurately depict the main idea of the paper. The body of the paper should focus on supporting this statement. As a peer editor, one should check to see if the paper meets these criteria. The paper should all be relevant to the thesis statement.

            The next thing to check for is coherence and clarity. The paper should flow nicely and ideas should be explained thoroughly. A way to help improve a paper is to suggest how the writer could explain something better. The paper’s audience should also be clear to the reader.

            The content of the paper should also be checked. The paper should follow the correct structure from introduction to conclusion. These parts of the paper should also be written so that the conclusion refers back to the introduction. The paper should also transition well from paragraph to paragraph.

            When marking the draft, there are certain strategies that can be employed to make editing clearer. Straight lines can be drawn under words or sections that are especially effective. Wavy lines can be drawn under sections of the paper that are weaker or could be improved. Brackets be used to suggest that two or more sentences can be combined. From personal experience, I have found that side notes with suggestions are also effective.

[jackyboy94]

Forestry Major Research

I am a Forestry major with a concentration in Fire Science. I chose this major for several reasons. I love the outdoors and almost every job that can be attained with a forestry degree involves spending a significant amount of time outside. I couldn't imagine working a job at a desk and most forestry positions would often present opportunities to leave the office. Forestry positions are also physically demanding and perfect for hands-on people like me. I chose the Fire science concentration because I have been in the fire community since I was 16 and love the excitement and brotherhood of it. Fire management techniques and fire as an ecological process also interest me. 

A forestry degree will allow me to choose from a variety of jobs. Most graduates pursue traditional paths as foresters, park rangers, biologists, scientists, and managers for government agencies or private firms. I like that this degree doesn't limit me to only a few options. I'm hoping to acquire a job as a firefighter for a government or private land management agency directing and participating in forest fire suppression but its nice to know that I have many back up plans. Firefighting can be dangerous and an injury could be career ending. If anything were to happen I know that I am still qualified for less physically demanding jobs. 

A forestry major will not make me rich. Foresters start out making 33k and average around 50k. Firefighter's average salary falls at 45k. Job prospects for forestry majors aren't bad but are growing slower than average. The majority are government jobs in the western states. Recent fire damage and current fire suppression efforts have caused demand for forest managers who can implement better fire mitigation techniques. Foresters will also be employed to restore damaged lands. Increased elderly population and fire activity will also increase demand for firefighters. Many firefighter volunteer positions will be converted to full time jobs. Firefighting jobs are notoriously competitive and often receive hundreds of applications per position. I hope that by obtaining a degree and getting involved early I will make myself a more competitive applicant. 

In order to achieve my goal of being a forest firefighter, I will need additional training on top of my degree. I am currently enrolled in two courses that will give me basic firefighter qualification. These courses only cost $40. Once I am employed, I will need to take more training courses as I progress in my career that will usually be paid for by the employer. Keeping up to date on techniques and procedures will be important to stay effective. Some courses are mandatory in order to qualify for promotion. In other words, If I want to make more money or take on more responsibility, I will have to take more courses. 

[jackyboy94]

Response to "To (all) the colleges that rejected me"

I largely agree with the author on how colleges have unrealistically high expectations of applicants. It seems like the focus on “diversity” often discourages students from pursuing their own interests and pursuing things that will increase their chances of admission. The author is right in stating that students are misled into believing that “being themselves” will make them stronger applicants. High school students are encouraged to take on extracurricular activities colleges like leaving little room to be themselves. The average hardworking student has very little probability of getting into a competitive school under current expectations.

Though I enjoyed the article, I thought that the author could have made her argument stronger. The sarcastic tone was entertaining but the author abuses it to the point that her opinion can’t be taken seriously. By adding in bitter statements, the author comes off more as a pissed off teenager instead of an informed writer. The author could have gotten the point across better without the ignorant content. Too many people could be offended from the article and the offensive comments diminish the quality of it. The author also should have included facts to back up the main points. The article is easily relatable for recent college applicants because they know the context but other audiences may be confused. Middle-aged readers may not know how college expectations over the years. Integrating facts into the texts could have made it both easier to understand and more credible.

To me, the article was very relatable. I remember trying to make myself more competitive by getting involved with multiple extracurricular activities. Testing myself by taking on a lot wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. I enjoyed being an involved student and doing the activities I signed up for but I shouldn’t have chose to do these things out of fear for missing out on an education. I completely understand the author’s frustration with the current system. I sacrificed a great deal of time to things I didn’t care about to make me a better applicant. It was disappointing to receive rejection letters from schools after putting in the effort. I too felt somewhat angry with the system. Looking back, I felt similar to the author thinking I could’ve put more time into it but that time wasn’t worth it to me. I could make many excuses why the system is unfair but all in all, I don’t regret holding back the free time I had from activities colleges wanted