Rational Argument Day 1

I come into class today not knowing what I would write about for this rational argument, the last paper of the semester. I have written this whole semester about the wrong doings of funding among schools and the injustices it has done in our society. I decided to continue with this idea of attacking the education system after speaking with my professor as she had asked what was on my mind and the only thing I could think about were these injustices. This whole semester all I have heard about were the interactions some of my friends have had with these bias instructors. I decided to focus on this very topic for my rational argument as a way to draw attention to the subjective way professors have become over the years.

Celebration of Scholarship

Today was celebration of scholarship at Lewis University, the halls were filled with posters and classrooms were packed for presentations! The talk that I went to was entitled: "Let Your Life Speak: Connecting the Personal with Public Advocacy". Andrea Holm was the first to present and she read from part of her essay entitled "Other People". She mentioned how she never truly had to check her white privilege before until she enrolled in a sociology class. The part that she read focused on a teacher who was laid off and he struggles of facing life without a paycheck and finding a new job all while taking care of a family. She mentioned that her motivation for minoring in social work was because of this very story!

Multimodal Presentation

https://spark.adobe.com/video/KmQ7jgEKQn7q4

Free Write: Argument Essay

This current project of the summary and analysis has gotten me to reflect a lot about how I used to write argument essays. Coming into any English course in college, every student has had an extensive history of teachers beating into them what structure essays should have. This has conditioned us to pull out that format every time we have to start a new essay. I was guilty of this when starting this assignment. I immediately thought back to my teachers in high school and could almost hear their voices saying: "It should be a five paragraph essay format where you present a new idea and argue that till the end of the paragraph. The conclusion should be a summary of all arguments put together." This, I have realized being a student in Dr. Kyburz's class, is not how it should be at all. I need to have a more open mind when writing and not limit myself to a template I learned a couple years ago. I need to write and just see where the argument takes the paper instead of where the paper can take the argument.

Art In Island

        My generation is unfortunately very into technology which consequently has caused us to stray from tradition, which is something I repel. Maybe it was how I was raised or what my parents chose to entertain me with as a child, but attending museums was something I looked forward to, even something we planned our family vacations around. One of the first quotes in this article talked about the may hours one can stay in a museum and "You don't even have a single proof of you being there". If this doesn't sum up my generation in a single sentence. As distant as I try to make myself from identifying with this generation, I am an advocate for ANYTHING that will change them. I think the idea of a selfie museum, which encourages not only the attendance of museums but the interaction with art, is an effective way to accomplish this change. This museum called "Art in Island" takes about two hours to get through but all throughout there are 3-D approximations of paintings, museum goers are encouraged to touch and sit on. This would be an awesome way to trigger interest for some students to start learning about the "traditional" ways of the past.

Public Discourse

In relation to my microtheme which centered focus onto the importance of music as part of education; I have found an article about promoting STEM education and cutting liberal arts funding all together. This article posed a vicious attack about the importance of focusing getting a job in something that will ensure a salary upon graduation. There were several statistics posed on salaries compared by major. It also highlighted that when it comes to funding it is all about dividing up a pot of money among majors. Some even get a "premium". While I do not agree with this stance it is important to acknowledge the arguments that have been posed. These positions reflect the motivation behind the content of my microtheme.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/22/business/a-rising-call-to-promote-stem-education-and-cut-liberal-arts-funding.html?_r=0

Microtheme Drafts

         Below is a link to the four drafts of the microtheme constructed for my writing class. The progression of each draft is notable. It is clear that in the beginning of this assignment I was very much stuck on the idea of writing a persuasive essay. It is clear that a microtheme uses very clear and concise language to bring a single idea to the audience. My microtheme focuses on fine arts and music education in schooling.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B62KM8pC3s-2N05TUFJwVnRjNWM