My favorite Educational Narrative

The Educational Narrative I liked the most was Mike Roses "I Just Wanna Be Average".  While the topic of his writing is serious he presented it in a colorful and entertaining way.
 I prefer to read fiction.  In fact I have to really focus and remove any distractions when I have to read non fiction.  I did not have that problem with Mike Rose.  I found that I  wanted to continue reading as much as I could as he writes in such a way that the reader feels that they are with him as he goes thru life at Our Lady of Mercy. 

"And then there was Ken Harvey. Ken was good-looking in a puffy way and had a full and oily ducktail and was a car enthusiast. . . a hodad"

  It is statements like this that bring the story out so vividly.  I pictured someone like Vinnie from the original Grease movie when I read this. 
There is just so much detail that is woven into the story.  That is what stuck out with me, that I could be transported to that bus that took Mike to school and the feeling that  I was sitting in the back of the classroom when

"One day Billy lost it. Out of the comer of my eye I saw him strike out with his right arm and catch Dweetz across the neck. Quick as a spasm, Dweetz was out of his seat, scattering desks, cracking Billy on the side of the head, right behind the eye."

Ouch.

Differences in the readings

This post examines the differences in the writings of Malcolm X, Mike Rose, Feross Aboukhadiejeh, Joshua Romero and Cate Huston. 
Romero wrote about a issue he had and the processes he went thru to remove it from his  life.  His article was written in manner that I felt would be best suited for a news magazine article.  It informed and explained with a few links provided for the reader to investigate further.  I would say this was a persuasive article.
Aboukhadiejah wrote about something he accomplished.  The article took the reader from the beginning of his journey of developing websites to when he wrote the article.  He  provided lots of graphics and links for readers.  His writing was an informative article.
Cate Huston wrote about learning to love to travel solo.  This was an informational article. 
Mike Roses writing was very entertaining.  I liked how he was able to tell his story in such an entertaining and funny way. 
Malcolm X 's writing on the other hand I would say would qualify for more than one purpose.  While his writing was informative - he told the reader how he loved to read and its importance in his life, I also felt that he was arguing his point in many parts of his essay. 
This was a good exercise for me.  After reading the WS and rereading some of the above writings it is more clear about what my goal is for my first essay. 

Pattys Post on “How I Learned to Love Traveling Solo”

 

So on this one I am to comment on the article as it relates to the first unit – both as an Educational Narrative and as a blog. 

As an Educational Narrative it was not one of my favorites.  The one I enjoyed reading the most was the writings of Mike Rose.  It was very easy to read and to take that imaginary journey with the writer.  This one by Cate Huston was purely informational and as someone who has done a little traveling I found myself focusing too much on what she was writing about and not how she wrote it.  The second time I read it I compared it to the other articles I read and what the similarities and differences were.  There were differences but no similarities besides that she was writing about something she learned to love.   Differences – I did not think that this article followed a timeline of any kind.  In all of the other readings the writer led the reader thru a timeline of their educational experience. 

On the other hand, as a blog post I thought this article was great.  She explained the topic and then had several sub- topics that she went on to detail.  Each section had a bullet heading so that the reader could see what that particular paragraph would be covering.  

As a possible format for my first paper, I think I will pass on this one but I will keep it for use in upcoming blog posts (maybe).

Patty

What is the most important lesson you ever learned

The most important thing I ever learned was that I am the only person that can make me happy.

After being married for 26 years and having three children I thought that they(my husband and sons) could make me happy by returning my affection.  This is not true.  They did return my love but not the way I gave it out and that ticked me off.  I wanted them to want the same things for them that I wanted.  I wanted my boys to grow up, be happy and successful at whatever they chose to do.  I wanted them to appreciate me and the things that I thought were important. 
What I found out was that there was nothing they could do if I was not personally happy with  myself.

Why is this the most important lesson:

It is the most important lesson because at the end of the day I have to look myself in the mirror and ask if I have done my best.  If I did not do my best than what can I do tomorrow to make it a successful day.  No one else is responsible for my happiness and no one can do anything that will make me happy.  If I am not happy it is a choice I have made - sometimes not consciously but a choice all the same.

Malcolm and Mike

 

 

 

The assignment was to read and then compare and contrast the writing of Malcolm X and Mike Rose.  Their articles “Learning to Read” and “I Just Wanna Be Average” respectively were supposed to be about their experiences in learning.

 Malcolm X talks about where he learned to read and the excitement (passion) he got out of reading and learning.  I think he also wanted to convey to the reader why he became so passionate about reading and unfortunately it tended to divert the subject of the article into a history lesson on how horribly his race had been and continued to be treated thru- out the world.    

Mike Rose on the other hand wrote a very colorful article that was upbeat and read more like a good story.  It was crafted in such a way that I felt like I was reading a good work of fiction and not the day to day life of a student.  He was able to stay on topic while inserting interesting and vivid descriptions of his classmates and teachers that added to the richness of his story.

In comparing the two articles, I would have to say that I think both writers wrote how they thought.  Malcolm X even after becoming educated still had a lot of his old speaking habits left that flowed into his writing.  His writing was depressing.   I do realize that had to do with the circumstances of his life and what happened that got him put in prison.   Mike Rose on the other hand seems to have come from a fairly rough upbringing and was still able to project a more imaginative story for the reader. 

On the entertainment or stimulation factor, Mike Roses style of writing wins with me.  It was more interesting and it held my interest so much that I read well past the noted stopping point. 

Pre-writing Post

The assignment was to read out of the WS guide and answer the question "What sorts of pre-writing have you used successfully in the past?
Here's the thing - I have been out of school for a little more that thirty years.  After graduating high school in 1981 I did attend college for a bit but not long enough to earn a degree.  I spent a few years in the military and then married and had a family.  I chose to stay home and raise my children and not work outside the home.  This left little time for me to complete my degree and really I wasn't ready to start school again. 
I do remember some of what I learned in high school English about writing reports and after reading the WS guide what I remember is way out of date.  The only pre-writing I can recall was making an outline before writing a report or story.  It was all very basic compared to the different types of pre-writing that are taught these days. 
I am looking forward to trying out some of the pre-writing techniques as described in the book but the answer to the question quite simply is - I don't really have a writing technique that I used successfully!  Hopefully that will change soon.

Drugs in Kitsap

Drug use in Kitsap County is out of control.  My concern regarding this topic is mainly because I see so many people get derailed from life when drugs become a problem in their lives.  How do we discourage kids from using drugs in the first place?  Nancy Reagan had a great motto in her fight to stop drug use - "Just say no".
Unfortunately, even though it would work if her advice was taken, it is just unrealistic to think that just telling your kids to say no to drugs is going to keep them from using.  Some people can use illegal drugs once in awhile and not get addicted but a large number need only use drugs once and they are then addicted.  So what happens to those people?  Jail, homelessness, poor health, death.
This post should be used to spur debate and create more awareness on the subject. More to come from my perspective....