English 111 - Week 8

Older ≠ Wiser

by  Via Prussner  - Friday, October 23, 2020, 12:42 PM

 

Part I: The Problems . . . 

A. Problems galore! Man. Have you ever heard anyone say, "With age comes wisdom"? Well, I have, and I have to say, it's not necessarily true. Knowledge, yes. But wisdom? Not so much. See, college students have learning difficulties, too. From my observations while reading Mike Rose's The Politics of Remediation, I would have to say the five overlapping problems he identifies are (with 80% confidence, which means the last one is still kind of being questioned): (1) the unawareness of a shift in expectations; (2) the inability to look beyond or accept a concept that directly opposes your belief system; (3) the refusal to accept (optional: the fact that you need) assistance; (4) the inability to apply knowledge to real world situations, or in essence, the inability to problem solve; and (5) the transition in language and vocabulary. 

B. So, why these problems? Well, let me explain. . . . One by one, just like in part 1a. [The unawareness of a shift in expectations] This is an issue because if you don't know what is expected of you, you won't understand what you are doing wrong. This means you'll have a harder time pinpointing when and where you're messing up, which leads to not being able to address and fix the issue. [The inability to look beyond or accept a concept that directly opposes your belief system] This is a problem because if you lack open-mindedness, then your ability to learn is impaired, and you won't be able to improve your comprehension. The inability to accept some concept or opinion as plausible based solely on your belief system could also inhibit your ability to do well, because you're closing your mind off from the topic covered in the course. [The refusal to accept (the fact that you need) assistance] This is a huge problem because if you believe you are doing great regardless what your professor thinks, you are signing up for failure. And if you refuse to acknowledge that you need some assistance . . . well, not only is that a bit egotistical and stuck up, you are even more likely to fall into a slump. When you decide not to ask for or accept help, you are saying that you think you are right, and you need nothing. Nobody help me, because I'm too smart (read: stubborn) to need your assistance. You refuse to accept help? Fine. Fail your classes. Maybe then you'll see how rash and ignorant you were. [The inability to problem solve] Why's that such a big deal? Because if you can't solve your problems, you're missing a whole lot of common sense. Plus you're missing the point. You should be learning to improve your intellect, not to just pass the class. And if you can't learn how to problem solve in college, how are you supposed to do it in the real world? [The transition in language and vocabulary] What's the issue here? Freshmen in college are not used to the verbiage used by college professors. It is more academic, and without the ability to understand what these instructors are saying, it is difficult to follow along, and to complete assignments. Which means your chances of passing the class just went way down. Go read the dictionary or something, bro. Playing video games ain't gonna improve your vocabulary.

C/D. Why do I think those are the issues? Hmm . . . maybe because that's how I interpreted the passage. Rose says that "virtually all the writing academics do is built on the writing of others" (Rose, paragraph 4). So it can be very easy to just assume that nothing in the writing process changes when you graduate from high school and enter college. This is not the case, though, as many college freshman find out in very eye-opening ways. He also states that one of the students' difficulties in understanding the reading assignment for one of her classes have "to do with her belief system" (Rose, paragraph 15). This, plus the lack of familiarity with the events being discussed, can cause many students to feel or be seen by professors as 'lacking in comprehension'. These students can lose confidence, and in turn do poorly in the class(es) they don't quite understand. Which sucks, as it's not entirely their fault for the teacher's perception of them. But, hey, that's what you have counselors and tutors for. On the third issue I listed, the student James is the model. He got a C- on an assignment, and doesn't want help. Here is what Rose has to say about James: "I work hard, he's really saying to me. I go to class. I read the book. I write the paper. Can't you see. I'm not a C-. Don't tell me I'm a C-." (Rose, paragraph 20). The refusal to accept help because you think you don't need it is very easy to do. Nobody likes to be told they aren't doing well, they aren't as good as they think they are. But this is a form of hubris. (No, not hummus. Hubris is a Greek concept. It's a fatal flaw. And an inflated ego is definitely fatal. That kind of attitude will get on people's nerves and some amoral people might try to assassinate you if you're high up on the political stepladder.) You don't accept help, you don't pass. Simple as that. And you refuse to shift that egocentric mindset? Again: nobody likes somebody with an inflated head. And that makes it hard for people to try to help you. Is there enough explanation here yet? Because I'm going on like a thousand words, and I'm not sure anybody likes reading essays, even if they do have a sarcastic sense of humor. . . . Sorry, y'alls. Can't be helped. I'd like to pass. How about you?

E.  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DGov6LCR7gwiBX2M9eSZoDXQSQJTALcUA-nxenjKM3g/edit?usp=sharing

Part II: Problems Ignored

One thing I noticed that wasn't talked about a lot in The Politics of Remediation is the fact that college freshmen often feel separated from other students. In high school, basically everybody knows most of the other students. In college, there are no connections between anybody. Which means that you don't have any friends or acquaintances when you enter college. Not knowing anyone can be hard to get used to, and for a lot of people it's very difficult to bring themselves to talk to someone they don't know. I have met a lot of people who wouldn't talk to me until I talked to them. A lot of my friends, I just went up to and said, "Hi, we're friends now." And they're like, "Ummm . . . Okay . . . ?" But it works out most of the time. Some people, though, have difficulties in talking to strangers (Stranger danger! Right? Isn't that what mama always said?). So they are kind of cast adrift in this new environment, and they feel alone. Which is why it sucks when you're shy/antisocial. Kinda like me. . . At least, now. I never used to be. . . . At least I have a sense of humor.

Part III: The Rhetoric 

One rhetorical appeal I noticed Rose used was ethos. He used personal experiences in his writings. In multiple cases he inserts his experiences at Loyola (coincidentally, that is actually one of my top college picks after I finish dual-enrollment): "When I was at Loyola . . . " Rose, paragraph 6). He also, in the textbook, recites the fact that he was erroneously placed in remedial classes because of a testing error. He was from a working class immigrant family, and this error wasn't corrected until years later. This inclusion of personal experiences makes it much easier to relate to him, so I suppose you could say that he uses pathos instead of ethos, but honestly it's a combination of both. He uses his credibility to appeal to the reader's emotions. Impressive!!

A'ight. That's all for today. Ciao!

~V

DF Midterm

by  Kody Blades  - Friday, October 23, 2020, 9:52 AM

 

The five overlapping problems that I discovered in the article wrote by Mike Ross were 1- unprepared students,2 being lack of working hard on school, 3 being lack of literacy, 4 being students not getting the proper amount of education needed, 5 being cultural differences. My first problem I said was unprepared students, I believe that was a overlapping problem because of how he wrote about in paragraph 21 " Students were coming to college with limited exposure to certain kinds of writing and reading", what that means is that these students that graduated high school and now are off into college and only have a high school education level and way of thinking, there thinking only enough to pass and not enough to learn from something. That also ties into the overlapping problem of number 4 of students not getting the proper amount of education in order to succeed and grow as a student. Another problem is the students having a lack of literacy or a having troubles with reading and writing as for like Marita who used other sources on her paper because she couldn't understand the reading enough to get her own knowledge out of it. That ties into also problem 2 of students are not working hard enough like they should on there school there slacking.  Another issue was cultural differences as having issues like learning another language in school and having a hard time learning new things more than others

Annotations are on the word file

As I read this paper I realized that after he told the problems he seen in each student he left out an important one and that is the life outside of college. What I mean is most of us college students don't know our classmates and teachers out of school and just because we show up to school looking and feeling our best doesn't mean that is how we are all the time. A student may have a rough life outside of school but when he or she comes to school they act fine so no one questions it. For example in paragraph 16 where Lucia had brought her baby to school, she tries her hardest at school to succeed in life but then comes home to a baby that she has to take care of by herself because she is single mom, and Mike wrote, "I began to think about how many pieces had to fall into place each day in order for her to be a student" and "travel alone took up almost 3 hours of her school day". I picked them quotes because each has a powerful message the first being the pieces have to fall into place that means everything has to be smooth and no changes in her daily schedule. The second one being she is taking care of a baby alone and riding buses for 3 hours a day just to be a student, she is trying her best for herself and her baby. We all have lives out of school and some are bad and some are good but we need to not only focus on students in school life but make sure they succeed on the outside.

I think for a rhetorical appeal he used a logos appeal because behind everypoint he made he made sure there was evidence and or proof to back it up. There wasn't really no emotion appeal used a little but not like there was information. He used facts and examples to really put his point across.

DF Midterm

by  Shawnee Sprowls  - Thursday, October 22, 2020, 6:13 PM

 

Part 1:

From my observations, the five overlapping problem areas students have that Mike Rose talks about in his article are: 1) the lack of critical thinking, 2)the lack of literacy, 3) underprepared students, 4) cultural differences, and 5) not enough education being provided. College life is not easy. It can be extremely challenging at times, overwhelming, and sometimes even alienating. Although the challenge is worth acquiring new knowledge, it is unfortunately not like this for all students. There are students who come to college that are unprepared on many levels, and the causes for this are all for different, yet connected. A student Rose mentions, Marita, was one of the unlucky ones. She was on the verge of legal actions against her after being accused of plagiarism. Marita's cultural background and upbringing was one of the reasonings behind this. Her father was very adamant on keeping your mouth, "Don't talk unless you know." as Rose quotes from him. This caused Marita to hold back her opinions, how could she critically take apart an article when she was taught not to voice her opinion? After Rose read her article he states "She was still unsure as to how to weave quotations in with her own prose, how to mark the difference, how to cite whom she used, how to strike the proper balance between her writing and someone else's-how, in short, to position herself in an academic discussion." Unfortunately, Marita was one of the students who not only had the unfair end of cultural difference but fell into all 5 of the overlapped issues. 

Not only did students cultural background affect them, the educational system was also at fault for some of these issues, or as Rose states, "Students were coming to college with limited exposure to certain kinds of writing and reading and with conceptions and beliefs that were dissonant with those in the lower-division curriculum they encountered. And that curriculum wasn't doing a lot to address their weaknesses or nurture their strengths." It is unfair for colleges to demand students be able to perform at these academical levels, not knowing if they have the required knowledge from their previous education. These things caused some freshmen students entering college to feel withdrawn and estranged. These are problems I feel we still face every day, but with people like Mike Rose in this world, it is with great help to some who are taught to advance in ways they never knew they were capable of.

Link for my annotation: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pWD7C4BZr58pmt2iKqxFD5q23KlKAqhe_3iL_33mSdk/edit

Part 2:

An overlapping problem with learning I feel Rose missed was every day at-home life challenges students can face. He does mention a student, Lucia, who must overcome many obstacles for her college life, but it is not a topic he discusses. Along with the other 5 issues, this is one many students face that can sometimes go unnoticed. As Rose does describe "...and I began to think about how many pieces had to fall into place each day in order for her to be a student: The baby couldn't wake up sick, no colic or rashes, the cousin or a neighbor had to be available to watch him, the three buses she took from East L.A. had to be on time-no accidents or breakdowns or strikes- for travel alone took up almost three hours of her school day." This is something I, and many others can relate too. You see, not all students get to simply go to college and focus on school. I, like Lucia, know this from experience. As a single mother, challenges at home most days overweigh the challenges of college. With a toddler at home, work, babysitters, childcare, home care, and providing the everyday needs for not only myself but a child, it can be quite overwhelming. There are many students like this. Some must work full-time to help provide for families at home. Some have sick family members to care for. Some struggle to simply make ends meet, or even with mental illnesses and learning disabilities. So, although unprepared students is a major issue, it is not always lack of knowledge that can affect the learning of students and their abilities to focus. 

Part 3:

I think Rose uses a lot of the logos appeal in his article. While working with students one on one, Rose did a lot of discovering the reasoning behind students struggles. "Chip and I used to talk about our special programs as attempts to create an Honors College for the underprepared", Rose says. He not only tried get behind the struggles of students and their learning but tried to develop programs for these unprepared students so they could excel the way they deserved too.