Questons for Refection and Writing......Fredrick Douglass

Answer to question 2..
    I think my history of education is just the opposite of Fredrick Douglass's. Douglass always had people trying to stop him from learning how to read. He had to teach himself how to read with very little material, without people knowing. His master did not want him to learn how to read or learn any type of education. Because to his master knowledge was power and he did not want any of the slaves to have power.
   On the other hand, I was tought how to read at a young age by several people at school. In order to get any place in the world today you have to know how to read. The one simularity between Douglass and myself is, Douglass had Mrs. Auld's teaching him how to read and his alphabet at a young age. When I had my mother teaching me and making me read for her every night after dinner or before bed. Nobody forced Douglass to learn how to read, he did it on his own. Where in some cases when I was young I had to be forced to read, I did not like to read in my younger days.

Experiences with reading and writing

      Growing up reading was not my favorite thing to do. As a matter of fact, I believe I only read three books the whole time that I was in school, reading ws very boring to me.The stories that were in the books seemed to go on and on, I would always lose interest real quick. As I turned older, I started to read more often. Short stories are my favorite. One of my favorite set of books are Chicken Soup for the Soul.( And of course if you ask me in front of people I will deny it.) I also like reading books about famous murderers and criminals. At the present time I am reading a book called American Murder, Criminals, Crime and the Media. I is written by Mike Mayo. Its about America's most infamous psychopaths, assassins, criminals and villians. It consists of about 300 short stories.
        Writing was something I avoided to. The essays that I have done in English 100 are probably the most that I have wrote in 25 years. It is hard for me to put my thoughts done on paper, but after taking English 100, it made it a lot easier for me to do. Taking this course i was worried, English was probably one of my worst subjects in high school. I figured that I was going to have a hard time taking English in college, but to my surprise it has been a good experience. I was not sure that after 25 years of being out of school, that I was going to remember anything. A lot of stuff has changed in those 25 years. I never had to write an essay or even any kind of a story that I remember back in school. We didnt have computers either, so when you mentioned the word blog, I was lost in space.I have learned a lot and enjoyed the past 3 months.

Self evaluation for Task Three

    What is my thesis? Under Botstein's proposed system, a 16 year old  would fail in society today. It is essential that the system stays the way it is, and students graduate at eighteen.  This would allow them  to continue maturing and learning. At this pointthe economy could possibly be more prepared to provide them with jobs.
    Main points? That 16 year olds are still immature, their brains are still growing and lacking knowledge. They should stay in school the full 4 years of high school. This might give them the knowledge and training they need to go out into the work force and get a good paying job.
   Most helpful advice from peer evaluation? That I need a title for my essay, and that my cites was wrong.
   Most helpful information I received in  class? I would say that it had to do wiyh learning how to summerize the essay into my own words. That was kinda of a starting point for me, on writing the essay.
  I wrote two drafts of this paper, took down lots of notes, 5 minute outline in workshop, and put i all together as a rough draft.
 I am still having problems with run on sentences and fragments. But my biggest problem seems to be writing the conclusion.
 The thing that pleases me the most is how much I have learned to put my words and meanings down on a piece of paper. Before I started English 100, I was a lost puppy with writing down thing. and of course getting a good grade, thats very pleasing to me.

Task Three

    Well I think that I am going to use the essay '' Let Teen-Agers Try Adulthood '' by Leon Botstein.
     My focus will be on, how I disagree with Botstein when he says, that young people graduate at the age of 16, rather than 18. And that they should enter the work force next to adults.

Analysis

     I have been fortunate to never see a school system like Kozol describes in this story. I agree with Kozol, I do believe that the children in a savage environment that he writes about are very much innocent. They have done nothing wrong, but they are the ones that end up paying for it.

'Savage Inequalities; Children in American's Schools

     - Do you think our education system is effective, or do you think changes need to be made?
       My answer to this question is, I think that education can be effective if it is taught right, and by a teacher who is educated in the subject that they are trying to teach. By this I mean there are certain subject that need to be stressed upon. Those subjects should be taught at a level that everyone tha is being educated in that subject can understands it. There are a lot of students that pick things up real quick, and on the other hand , there are alot of students that have a difficult time at everything  that they try to learn or do. These are the students that fall behind, or do poorly in the class. Eventually these student tend to get frustrated and give up, either they drop out of the class or in some cases quit school altogether. Eduction is only effective if all the student can learn from it. I also feel that education is more effective when it is taught  in a stable environment. Not in a classroom where student have to worry about bomb threats, peer pressure,drugs and violence. These can only have a negitive affect on the students ability to learn, or this will sway them not to attend school at all.
       I think that changes should be made in some of the subjects that are being taught. Back when I was in high school I was taught a lot of things that I never used after graduation, such as American History, World History and math. Some of these subjects are manditory and I dont think that a student should have to waste their time and money learning them.

''Let Teen-Agers Try Adulthood''

     2) What problems with U.S. high schools does Botstein assume the audience will understand and agree with? Do you think he is right in his assumptions?  That the American high school is obsolete and should be abolished. Team sports of high school dominate more than students culture. Giving the poor quality of recruitment and training for high school teachers, it is no wonder that the curriculum and enterprise of learning holds so little sway over young people. The primary reason high school doesnt work anymore, if it ever did, is that young people mature substantially earlier in the late 20th century than they did when high school was invented.
        I disagree with his comment, that American high school is obsolete and should be abolished. High school gets the students prepared for college, and the future. You have to learn how to crawl, before you can walk.
        Team sports dominate more than student culture is true, and they probably always will. In some school districts, its the sports that keep the schools alive. If you take away the sports, then you might have to close the school. About poor quality of recruitment and training for high school teachers. I disagree with that comment, back in the early eighties when I went to high school, the teachers were very educated in the subject or subjects they taught. And now I am attending college and I feel the same way, that the teachers are very knowledgeable in the class that they teach.
        The comment, that high school doesnt work anymore, because young people mature substantially earlier in the 20th century than they did when high school was invented is just wrong in my opinion. I believe that it is just the opposite from what Bolstein says. The young people are more immature and spoiled, they rely on their parent or someone else to take care of them or their issues. They have no concept of work or what it means to be responsible.