We made it! I cannot help but feel a sense of relief and amazement. This semester was incredible intense. I was challenged in so many ways in this class particular. The content we educational and entertaining at the same time, the activities kept me on my toes, the high standard pushed me to a higher level.
I know you all are going to roll your eyes when I say this, but I really like the Exploring Literature book that we read. It tied the reading from On Bullshit, Animal Farm, Reading Lolita in Tehran into our lessons so well. The questions that we had to answer for each week was tedious to say the least, but would I have read much of the book if I did not have to answer the questions? No, probably not! I would have skimmed enough of it to formulate a decent assignment.
The Discussions board in this class was different than in any other online class. I have never had to answer a question from our current readings from a classmate and then formulate one of my own. I feel that this requirement proved to be another check-point for me. You really cannot just formulate a question if you don’t have a clue what the book was talking about.
In other classes that I have taken you get very little opportunity to read other students work. Unless you have a study partner that you work closely with, you are really just kind of doing your own thing without anything to compare it to. In this class everything is out there. I was able to read so many other types of writing. I found that the blogging made it a personal class opposed to some of the other online classes.
I have learned that I really need to read the instruction slowly and clearly. I cannot rush through then. I learned the different types of communication, why they are necessary and how individuals and groups use them. I have learned that when I am analyzing a piece of literature, or anything for that matter, that I need to go word, by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph. I have learned that everything does not need to be a narrative. I have the tendency to write in narrative only. I have been difficult to write in the analytical or critical sense.
Not only have I grown academically, but individually. I have been faced over and over again with my natural ability to procrastinate and underestimate. I wait till the last minute because it really doesn’t take long to pump out a 7 page paper…Yeah Right!!! I need days, or even weeks to write anything worth posting. I know this now. This semester I was overloaded with life and work and school. I have learned to guard my schedule to put myself in the position to succeed in all aspects of my life.
Most of all I learned college is hard. I am graduating with my AS in Biological Sciences and man has this last two semesters kicked my butt! I know that each class that I take from here on out I will be ready to put in the time.
I hope that I have really learned these things and at the end of next semester I will not be saying the same thing.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Have you ever went to the gym feeling like you just had the best workout ever only to wake up in the morning only to find that you had muscles that you never knew existed in acute pain? The assignments in this class exercised every writing muscle in so many different ways.
Blogging was something I always associated with those really creative, perfect mom types of people. Probably because it is the overachievers that always have them, so you can imagine my dismay upon discovering I was not only going to have to write a blog, but also reply! I found it completely enjoyable. Blogging was one of the many highlights in the class. Not only did I enjoy writing in a relaxing setting, it gave me a chance to feel more comfortable about just throwing something out there and seeing what happens. I had a blast reading others blogs. Having to write responses allowed each of us to interact, I enjoyed getting the feedback as well as writing them. This was not a completely weak area for me, but I definitely needed the practice and appreciated relinquishing the misconception that only certain people could have a blog.
The group work that was assigned was incredibly challenging. I learned so much from my peers in this class. I was challenged by the diligence and expectation of those in my group. The PDR’s are a two edged sword. Not only did I have to read what others thought of my writing, but I was forced to use the tools that I had been learning in order to evaluate other essays. This put everything into practice; you know that muscle that was aching after the workout? Well, it did not have time to get flabby again because of this particular aspect of the class.
The discussion boards were very thought provoking. Some of the questions asked were difficult to answer. Sometimes trying to come up with a question to ask was harder than answering! This helped to view reading in a different light. I am not a critical thinker or reader in any way shape or form! I could no longer just read and take the information at face value, but to think deeper within and ask yourself, how this affects me, what would I do, or have done. How do I relate? These are incredible valuable lessons for me because in my previous reading I was reading at a very shallow level. Analytical thinking is not a skill I was in the practice of using…at all.
The essays were intense! I have never spent so much time delving into anything as deeply as I did when writing an essay for this class. I learned to analyze each and every word, and then every phrase, every sentence and paragraph. Analyze the author, their abilities and their qualifications. Just because they got published does not mean that they are qualified to sway anyone in one way or another.
Let’s face it, for some of us writing is painful. It takes forever to write anything good, and it is humbling. Just when you think you have figured the writing thing out, you find out that you still suck. I know that I have grown in my writing abilities in the last 16 weeks in each and every way mentioned above, but I know that I have more to learn than I thought. The most valuable lesson that I will take away from all of these exercises is that I will have to practice; I will have to take my time when writing. I will not wait and attempt to “pump” out a good essay in a couple of hours. Writing a good paper feels good; I feel that I am equipped with all the tools in order to accomplish that. I am now challenged to always do my best when writing, never take anything for granted and always ask “why”.
Thank your Jennifer for designing such an amazing learning experience or “workout” for us all. I will miss being pressed to excel and write. Have a fantastic summer everyone!
Blogging was something I always associated with those really creative, perfect mom types of people. Probably because it is the overachievers that always have them, so you can imagine my dismay upon discovering I was not only going to have to write a blog, but also reply! I found it completely enjoyable. Blogging was one of the many highlights in the class. Not only did I enjoy writing in a relaxing setting, it gave me a chance to feel more comfortable about just throwing something out there and seeing what happens. I had a blast reading others blogs. Having to write responses allowed each of us to interact, I enjoyed getting the feedback as well as writing them. This was not a completely weak area for me, but I definitely needed the practice and appreciated relinquishing the misconception that only certain people could have a blog.
The group work that was assigned was incredibly challenging. I learned so much from my peers in this class. I was challenged by the diligence and expectation of those in my group. The PDR’s are a two edged sword. Not only did I have to read what others thought of my writing, but I was forced to use the tools that I had been learning in order to evaluate other essays. This put everything into practice; you know that muscle that was aching after the workout? Well, it did not have time to get flabby again because of this particular aspect of the class.
The discussion boards were very thought provoking. Some of the questions asked were difficult to answer. Sometimes trying to come up with a question to ask was harder than answering! This helped to view reading in a different light. I am not a critical thinker or reader in any way shape or form! I could no longer just read and take the information at face value, but to think deeper within and ask yourself, how this affects me, what would I do, or have done. How do I relate? These are incredible valuable lessons for me because in my previous reading I was reading at a very shallow level. Analytical thinking is not a skill I was in the practice of using…at all.
The essays were intense! I have never spent so much time delving into anything as deeply as I did when writing an essay for this class. I learned to analyze each and every word, and then every phrase, every sentence and paragraph. Analyze the author, their abilities and their qualifications. Just because they got published does not mean that they are qualified to sway anyone in one way or another.
Let’s face it, for some of us writing is painful. It takes forever to write anything good, and it is humbling. Just when you think you have figured the writing thing out, you find out that you still suck. I know that I have grown in my writing abilities in the last 16 weeks in each and every way mentioned above, but I know that I have more to learn than I thought. The most valuable lesson that I will take away from all of these exercises is that I will have to practice; I will have to take my time when writing. I will not wait and attempt to “pump” out a good essay in a couple of hours. Writing a good paper feels good; I feel that I am equipped with all the tools in order to accomplish that. I am now challenged to always do my best when writing, never take anything for granted and always ask “why”.
Thank your Jennifer for designing such an amazing learning experience or “workout” for us all. I will miss being pressed to excel and write. Have a fantastic summer everyone!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Not A Seven Page Paper!!!!
A seven page paper analyzing dialogue between Reading Lolita in Tehran and Pride and Prejudice is due tonight. Hmmm…this will be fun. Can't I just put a toothpick in my eye? No? Alright then...to begin my long and painful endeavor I must first find the book that will be my main text. What did I do with that book! Ok. The only logical thing I can do is pray. Dear God….Oh please let me find my book…quickly. Please let it be somewhere on my desk. (This will be a task only the brave will be able to endure…so many things on my desk). These kinds of assignments are so very time consuming. Really, that is the only thing that I find to be my problem. Just like most of us, I want to get an assignment, whether it be work or school, sit down for an hour or so and Viola! A completed project! Not very likely in this case.
So there I sit, looking at the instructions. This seems so deep! So many places to find information. Crap! I am really going to have to read this stuff! So I figured maybe if I start out with an outline and then just fill in information under each heading it will make life easier, maybe. See I have this problem grasping concepts. I can read the same instructions as everyone else and get something completely different! The sad thing about that is that I am 37 years old and I figured that out just last month. Bad. It explains so much!
Back to the paper. Since there is such a small section in Reading Lolita in Tehran devoted to Pride and Prejudice I think that I will start there. This will give me an idea of what my focus will be on. If there were not such a creation as Double Stuff Oreo’s I really do not know how would ever defeat this monstrous paper. I have already consumed half of a package and I have 4 points for my 7 page paper. I’m going to need to go to Wal-Mart. Yes…I need to do that now. I will come back to my paper later.
As I resume this hideous task ahead of me (cookies at hand) I decided to go back over the instructions, due to my very great ability to miss important information, and mentally get things in shuffle. Ooh. I missed the part about 5 sources. Five sources! On what?! What will I use these sources for? Where are those cookies?! I must convince myself that this is really no big deal. Really…I mean its only two books, five sources, and 7 pages; ok…I needed a really good quote! Ah Ha! How do you eat an elephant? One bit at a time.
One bite at a time, the first thing I need to do is to complete my outline. At least I will be much more familiar with the issues that I have to analyze. Once I have them in different categories, with examples from each book and a source to back up the meaning, the similarity type or difference, then I can begin the excruciating process of turning this jumbled mess into a paper. Yikes…panic….no, your fine….really….Oh gosh…I’m going to fail!
So there I sit, looking at the instructions. This seems so deep! So many places to find information. Crap! I am really going to have to read this stuff! So I figured maybe if I start out with an outline and then just fill in information under each heading it will make life easier, maybe. See I have this problem grasping concepts. I can read the same instructions as everyone else and get something completely different! The sad thing about that is that I am 37 years old and I figured that out just last month. Bad. It explains so much!
Back to the paper. Since there is such a small section in Reading Lolita in Tehran devoted to Pride and Prejudice I think that I will start there. This will give me an idea of what my focus will be on. If there were not such a creation as Double Stuff Oreo’s I really do not know how would ever defeat this monstrous paper. I have already consumed half of a package and I have 4 points for my 7 page paper. I’m going to need to go to Wal-Mart. Yes…I need to do that now. I will come back to my paper later.
As I resume this hideous task ahead of me (cookies at hand) I decided to go back over the instructions, due to my very great ability to miss important information, and mentally get things in shuffle. Ooh. I missed the part about 5 sources. Five sources! On what?! What will I use these sources for? Where are those cookies?! I must convince myself that this is really no big deal. Really…I mean its only two books, five sources, and 7 pages; ok…I needed a really good quote! Ah Ha! How do you eat an elephant? One bit at a time.
One bite at a time, the first thing I need to do is to complete my outline. At least I will be much more familiar with the issues that I have to analyze. Once I have them in different categories, with examples from each book and a source to back up the meaning, the similarity type or difference, then I can begin the excruciating process of turning this jumbled mess into a paper. Yikes…panic….no, your fine….really….Oh gosh…I’m going to fail!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Style and Email
Style
This word has a different connotation for all of us. But for right now we are going to consider style and the way we communicate online. Just as we communicate using different styles verbally in different situations, depending on who we are communicating with, it would make sense that this would carry over into our email, blogs, etc.
I am a relatively “cut to the chase” type of person. I don’t really like to wade through a lot of irrelevant information in order to locate the important nugget that I was looking for. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good story…but in certain situations I just want facts. So you can see already that my communication style is complicated.
When I am communicating via email, I tend to be very conscience of who I am emailing. I think that emails carry a tone. Unfortunately it all depends on your own experiences on how you “read” these emails. In my head something sounds fine, but when read out loud by someone else it sounds short and irritated. This is usually not what I’m going for, but because I am so direct, I can come across rude or snobby. I use a lot of words like, I was thinking, I was wondering, sorry to bother you, I have a quick question for you, just let me know when you get a chance. I have found that this smooth’s out any rough edges that may come across in an email.
When I am on the phone the other caller usually asks “are you still there?” several times. I am not very good at saying things if I really don’t have anything important to say. This trait actually works well with email because there is never an awkward silence. These are usually more friendly emails and I generally don’t have to worry so much about tone. If you know me, I am rarely upset, or mad in any way, when my emails are read by friends they can pretty much guess that, even though, it may sound abrupt, there is nothing wrong.
I have had to really come face to face with the implications that my communication style says about me as a person. As I have gotten older, I have come to terms with the fact that I am not your typical “girl”. I am not insecure nor do I feel the need for everyone to like me. This can come across as rude. The first time that I noticed this came out in simple communication was during an email. It made it clear to me that I have to be super careful about offending others that have the sensitivity trait.
You can see how personal style has so much to do with the way we communicate. In my case, I don’t do a lot of what most would call girl talk. I do not get involved in gossip, I don’t read novels, and I am not creative in any way shape or form. This comes across quite bluntly and can offend readily. My facial expressions are what have saved me from seeming rude. There is no body language in email, except for the smiley faces, so you can see that I have to use discretion when communicating via email.
This word has a different connotation for all of us. But for right now we are going to consider style and the way we communicate online. Just as we communicate using different styles verbally in different situations, depending on who we are communicating with, it would make sense that this would carry over into our email, blogs, etc.
I am a relatively “cut to the chase” type of person. I don’t really like to wade through a lot of irrelevant information in order to locate the important nugget that I was looking for. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good story…but in certain situations I just want facts. So you can see already that my communication style is complicated.
When I am communicating via email, I tend to be very conscience of who I am emailing. I think that emails carry a tone. Unfortunately it all depends on your own experiences on how you “read” these emails. In my head something sounds fine, but when read out loud by someone else it sounds short and irritated. This is usually not what I’m going for, but because I am so direct, I can come across rude or snobby. I use a lot of words like, I was thinking, I was wondering, sorry to bother you, I have a quick question for you, just let me know when you get a chance. I have found that this smooth’s out any rough edges that may come across in an email.
When I am on the phone the other caller usually asks “are you still there?” several times. I am not very good at saying things if I really don’t have anything important to say. This trait actually works well with email because there is never an awkward silence. These are usually more friendly emails and I generally don’t have to worry so much about tone. If you know me, I am rarely upset, or mad in any way, when my emails are read by friends they can pretty much guess that, even though, it may sound abrupt, there is nothing wrong.
I have had to really come face to face with the implications that my communication style says about me as a person. As I have gotten older, I have come to terms with the fact that I am not your typical “girl”. I am not insecure nor do I feel the need for everyone to like me. This can come across as rude. The first time that I noticed this came out in simple communication was during an email. It made it clear to me that I have to be super careful about offending others that have the sensitivity trait.
You can see how personal style has so much to do with the way we communicate. In my case, I don’t do a lot of what most would call girl talk. I do not get involved in gossip, I don’t read novels, and I am not creative in any way shape or form. This comes across quite bluntly and can offend readily. My facial expressions are what have saved me from seeming rude. There is no body language in email, except for the smiley faces, so you can see that I have to use discretion when communicating via email.
Friday, May 6, 2011
I don’t know about you, but when I think of comics or cartoons, my first thought is not directed towards adult entertainment. I think of Garfield, Batman, Archie, etc. Since I don’t spend a lot of time reading the newspaper, I rarely bump into them in the newspaper, which, is exactly the place that I think of to look for them. I find that a large amount of cartoons are geared more towards adults, not always found in the newspaper ,but on TV.
This becomes obvious when you take into account The Simpsons, South Park, and the like. Not only would I never allow my children to watch them, I would not watch them myself. I find them intensely crude and lacking any type of entertainment value. I do not find them a bit amusing. I do realize that it is a personal opinion, and that I am not right and everyone else not wrong.
I would not consider these to be offensive to me, although I find them disgusting, I don’t particularly understand the mentality of those that enjoy them, and think very little of those adults that allow their children to watch this form of entertainment. I am disgusted but not offended.
While pondering this topic, I decided to look up some political cartoons to see what is really circulating out there. I found cartoons that poked fun at presidents, different wars, and other political issues. There were a couple of cartoons that poked fun of victims of Katrina in Louisiana.
I am unwilling to discuss the actual content of the cartoons, but I was completely mortified that anyone would consider it, not only funny, but also believed that others would find this humor funny.
These people have had their entire lives destroyed and altered by one very catastrophic event. They lost their homes, land and worst of all their family members. The pain and feeling of loss is hard for me to imagine. Some ridiculous person thought that they could gain something, probably in the form of money and fame, by targeting these victims as the center of a sick joke.
I cannot imagine the type of person that would possibly find this form of entertainment funny. To be able to take a disaster, whether it is a personal disaster or a community disaster, and laugh at it, I find it to be cold and inhumane.
This becomes obvious when you take into account The Simpsons, South Park, and the like. Not only would I never allow my children to watch them, I would not watch them myself. I find them intensely crude and lacking any type of entertainment value. I do not find them a bit amusing. I do realize that it is a personal opinion, and that I am not right and everyone else not wrong.
I would not consider these to be offensive to me, although I find them disgusting, I don’t particularly understand the mentality of those that enjoy them, and think very little of those adults that allow their children to watch this form of entertainment. I am disgusted but not offended.
While pondering this topic, I decided to look up some political cartoons to see what is really circulating out there. I found cartoons that poked fun at presidents, different wars, and other political issues. There were a couple of cartoons that poked fun of victims of Katrina in Louisiana.
I am unwilling to discuss the actual content of the cartoons, but I was completely mortified that anyone would consider it, not only funny, but also believed that others would find this humor funny.
These people have had their entire lives destroyed and altered by one very catastrophic event. They lost their homes, land and worst of all their family members. The pain and feeling of loss is hard for me to imagine. Some ridiculous person thought that they could gain something, probably in the form of money and fame, by targeting these victims as the center of a sick joke.
I cannot imagine the type of person that would possibly find this form of entertainment funny. To be able to take a disaster, whether it is a personal disaster or a community disaster, and laugh at it, I find it to be cold and inhumane.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Media and Propaganda
Language, Media, Doublespeak and Wordplay: how they affect us daily
I realize that I have chosen a controversial issue to use my newfound skills of acknowledging different kinds of word tricks that are bestowed upon us as citizens. I felt that this particular issue is perfect because it exposes the propaganda of each side efficiently. All of the participants in this debate use some words that will, they hope, win the hearts and minds of all those listening. By using the media, the propaganda of each ones statements begin to spread and catch like a wildfire. Due to the sensitivity of Section 8 in Lancaster you will see a clear example of how words can be used to put forward one’s own ideas and beliefs.
In an article found in Our Weekly Fran Paolinelli, wrote “Half the people receiving Section 8 housing vouchers are neither elderly nor disabled, nor is there any incentive for them to get off the program, according to a report from the Los Angeles County housing authority.” Notice, how she is pointing out that section 8 is for those who would be qualified as elderly or disabled. This is identifiably propaganda because there is no rule that states that these are the only two qualifiers, this is her way of influencing the reader into believing subconsciously that is the only reason one should receive this housing benefit.
After you believe that all those other people are on it un-neccessarily, she give you the information to really make you upset, not only should normal people not be able to benefit from Section 8 but there is no incentive for them to get off! So now you have all these well equipped people sitting there receiving discounted housing assistance and they never have to try to get off. There are some that have been accepting this assistance for 16 years
When asked in another article, Maria Badrakhan, acting assistant executive director for the Housing Authority, stated that “Lancaster is an attractive location because of "the affordability, the quality of housing and the willingness of landlords to participate in the [Section 8] program," she said. In his essay, Doubts about Doublespeak William Lutz coined this type of political wordplay as a euphemism, a word or phrase designed to avoid a harsh or distasteful reality. The reality here is that investors ( willingness of Landlords) bought these new, large homes (quality of housing) with the intent that they are guaranteed a paycheck from the state while only a small portion actually comes from the tenant(affordability). ! Lets’ put the icing on the cake, in the article is a picture of a beautiful, two-story house, built in 2006, 6 bedroom, 3 full bathrooms, and normal lease for this house would be $1995.00 a month but it is Section 8.
When you take a look at the way the two sides approached the situation the manipulation on both sides is apparent. I cannot help but wonder why they did not just simply state their case.
Side 1: Look, it’s not fair for able bodied people to receive this much help for this long. I am all for helping out but these people are living with this assistance for 16 years?!
Side 2: Yes, but it is only fair to give under privileged families an equal opportunity to live in a decent home while getting on their feet.
Compromise: You can only be on Section 8 for X years, (plenty of time to get a degree and a job) and then you pay in full your own rent. If you are cited for inappropriate conduct or receive complaints totaling X amount, you forfeit any and all Section 8 privileges for the rest of your life. Why is this so hard?!
I realize that I have chosen a controversial issue to use my newfound skills of acknowledging different kinds of word tricks that are bestowed upon us as citizens. I felt that this particular issue is perfect because it exposes the propaganda of each side efficiently. All of the participants in this debate use some words that will, they hope, win the hearts and minds of all those listening. By using the media, the propaganda of each ones statements begin to spread and catch like a wildfire. Due to the sensitivity of Section 8 in Lancaster you will see a clear example of how words can be used to put forward one’s own ideas and beliefs.
In an article found in Our Weekly Fran Paolinelli, wrote “Half the people receiving Section 8 housing vouchers are neither elderly nor disabled, nor is there any incentive for them to get off the program, according to a report from the Los Angeles County housing authority.” Notice, how she is pointing out that section 8 is for those who would be qualified as elderly or disabled. This is identifiably propaganda because there is no rule that states that these are the only two qualifiers, this is her way of influencing the reader into believing subconsciously that is the only reason one should receive this housing benefit.
After you believe that all those other people are on it un-neccessarily, she give you the information to really make you upset, not only should normal people not be able to benefit from Section 8 but there is no incentive for them to get off! So now you have all these well equipped people sitting there receiving discounted housing assistance and they never have to try to get off. There are some that have been accepting this assistance for 16 years
When asked in another article, Maria Badrakhan, acting assistant executive director for the Housing Authority, stated that “Lancaster is an attractive location because of "the affordability, the quality of housing and the willingness of landlords to participate in the [Section 8] program," she said. In his essay, Doubts about Doublespeak William Lutz coined this type of political wordplay as a euphemism, a word or phrase designed to avoid a harsh or distasteful reality. The reality here is that investors ( willingness of Landlords) bought these new, large homes (quality of housing) with the intent that they are guaranteed a paycheck from the state while only a small portion actually comes from the tenant(affordability). ! Lets’ put the icing on the cake, in the article is a picture of a beautiful, two-story house, built in 2006, 6 bedroom, 3 full bathrooms, and normal lease for this house would be $1995.00 a month but it is Section 8.
When you take a look at the way the two sides approached the situation the manipulation on both sides is apparent. I cannot help but wonder why they did not just simply state their case.
Side 1: Look, it’s not fair for able bodied people to receive this much help for this long. I am all for helping out but these people are living with this assistance for 16 years?!
Side 2: Yes, but it is only fair to give under privileged families an equal opportunity to live in a decent home while getting on their feet.
Compromise: You can only be on Section 8 for X years, (plenty of time to get a degree and a job) and then you pay in full your own rent. If you are cited for inappropriate conduct or receive complaints totaling X amount, you forfeit any and all Section 8 privileges for the rest of your life. Why is this so hard?!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Little Intrigues
Little Intrigues
If you have a busy schedule, then it is likely that you don’t get a lot of time to sit and watch the news, or to read through a favorite news website in order to find the most recent happenings. If you are like me, you will depend on the “one liners” in the headlines that intrigues you into feeling the need to read it.
I open my yahoo mail up every day and when I do, there are lists of things that show up that are considered top news. Unfortunately, I do not get time to open them up and read about them, but at least I have a vague idea of what is happening. I then take this information with me once I have gotten my children ready for school, downstairs for breakfast. This is where a good chunk of my daily intrigue comes from. I get to turn on the news for about 15 minutes before running out the door. Next, to the car we go, we live about 22 minutes away from the kids school which give a lot of time for tidbits of information between songs in the car (that is only if I am not giving spelling test, or some other type of review while driving). This is enough bits and pieces of information to keep me curious all day.
By the time I get to work I have so many questions! I usually ask “hey did anybody hear about __________? This is where I get the rest of the information to try to fill in the blanks. It at least relieves my intense curiosity for a while. I have to admit, by the time I get home, depending on the news that day, all I want to do is turn on the news. Between baseball practice, games, a busy dancing daughter, and my school schedule, this is not always possible. In the desperate times of deep curiosity when the daily news was quite interesting, I pull out the big guns! I call my friend. He knows everything! This way I do not have to try to fish around channels, or the internet in order find the conclusion or running story of what is happening. It works quite well.
There are a few snags to my system. One of them being, when you rely on bits and pieces of information coming from different sources you can never be sure of the slant you are getting. The way the informant perceives the information and then retells it is impactful. Simple connotations can lead you to believe a positive is a negative or the other way around.
It is important to consider you sources. A liberal person or news cast may find something to be good news. I’m sure everyone is familiar with prop 8 so we will use that. Depending on the side you are on, a gay rights parade is either good news or bad news. They way you see it will affect the way you report, if you are for it you will report the success of the parade, or the abuse that was displayed by the opposing side, however; if you are against it the reports will show the more as much opposite information as possible.
If you have a busy schedule, then it is likely that you don’t get a lot of time to sit and watch the news, or to read through a favorite news website in order to find the most recent happenings. If you are like me, you will depend on the “one liners” in the headlines that intrigues you into feeling the need to read it.
I open my yahoo mail up every day and when I do, there are lists of things that show up that are considered top news. Unfortunately, I do not get time to open them up and read about them, but at least I have a vague idea of what is happening. I then take this information with me once I have gotten my children ready for school, downstairs for breakfast. This is where a good chunk of my daily intrigue comes from. I get to turn on the news for about 15 minutes before running out the door. Next, to the car we go, we live about 22 minutes away from the kids school which give a lot of time for tidbits of information between songs in the car (that is only if I am not giving spelling test, or some other type of review while driving). This is enough bits and pieces of information to keep me curious all day.
By the time I get to work I have so many questions! I usually ask “hey did anybody hear about __________? This is where I get the rest of the information to try to fill in the blanks. It at least relieves my intense curiosity for a while. I have to admit, by the time I get home, depending on the news that day, all I want to do is turn on the news. Between baseball practice, games, a busy dancing daughter, and my school schedule, this is not always possible. In the desperate times of deep curiosity when the daily news was quite interesting, I pull out the big guns! I call my friend. He knows everything! This way I do not have to try to fish around channels, or the internet in order find the conclusion or running story of what is happening. It works quite well.
There are a few snags to my system. One of them being, when you rely on bits and pieces of information coming from different sources you can never be sure of the slant you are getting. The way the informant perceives the information and then retells it is impactful. Simple connotations can lead you to believe a positive is a negative or the other way around.
It is important to consider you sources. A liberal person or news cast may find something to be good news. I’m sure everyone is familiar with prop 8 so we will use that. Depending on the side you are on, a gay rights parade is either good news or bad news. They way you see it will affect the way you report, if you are for it you will report the success of the parade, or the abuse that was displayed by the opposing side, however; if you are against it the reports will show the more as much opposite information as possible.
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