Essay #3 Interpretive Response

The people who are being affected by the Oil spill are in the dark as to what efforts are being made to clean up the horrific mess. The people of the town being affected as well as the employees that have been affected, have come to a “dead end” of answers. Unanswered calls and emails must be frusturating when all you are asking for is a little bit of support and help. The essay by David Brooks states that ,“the effort has been bedeviled by a lack of preparation, organization, urgency and clear lines of authority among federal, state and local officials, as well as BP.” The question is why is it taking so long to get a response from the people who are responsible for the mess in the first place? It seems as though BP is playing a game of hide and seek and chooses to come out when they feel like they have been cornered. Everyone wants to talk about what a mess this spill is, but talk is cheap and more action needs to be taken. One of the most asked questions is, ”Who was in charge: the Coast Guard, BP or their subcontractors?” Who IS in charge? Great question! Who is really trying to step up to the plate? It seems as though whoever steps up to the plate also has to take the blame, and we all know everyone is avoiding that.

Brooks states that “Many locals say that they are perpetually in the dark. ‘Calls go into a maddeningly circuitous string of dead ends, as local residents, businesses and Herald reporters can attest,’ declared an editorial in The Bradenton Herald of Bradenton, Fla.”  Nobody really knows how to handle this kind of situation. But instead of sweeping it under the rug, BP and other officials need to be honest with the people and tell them that they have something in progress. On the contrary, something needs to be done, and fast. We don’t have time for the perfect solution, and need to figure out something quick.  All the people want are answers, their water supply is in BP’s hands and all BP is doing is hiding.

    Brooks ends by saying, ”We have vested too much authority in national officials who are really smart, but who are really distant. We should be leaving more power with local officials, who may not be as expert, but who have the advantage of being there on the ground.” This could be the best thing that needs to be done. We simply rely on experts to give advice to some situations that are beyond their knowledge. Yes, they offer good advice, but don’t always have all the answers. There needs to be more voice from the locals, and BP needs to step up to the plate and answer the questions demanded by the locals.

Response to Essay #1

This essay was written for the people being affected by the Oil spill and the people who are witnessing it as well. The context clues give off that this blog was written by a person who serves as a right side Republican. This is given away when the author of the blog says ”Republicans, and some Democrats, have argued without any real proof that capping and pricing carbon emissions would cripple the economy by driving up the cost of energy.”  This quote shows that the author feels as though Democrats are not stepping up to the plate as much as republicans. Although there is no specific date for this blog the author says ”On Wednesday” which means this had to have taken place in the last week.  This was written to give the people an update about what is going on currently, and how the Obama administration and congress plans to solve this crisis. The main claim of this essay is stated when the author says ”Mr. Obama also needs to push back a lot harder against critics who claim, wrongly, that such an approach will raise electricity and fuel prices to unacceptable levels.” Basicly saying that Obama needs to fight back against his doubters. They reason he says this is because the plan is being critiqued because it would cost American households at most an additional $150 a year. In a rebuttal statement he says that’s not a high price to solve such a serious problem that is threatening the wildlife and some people in the Gulf. The author of the blog offers a couple different solutions to assist with the problem and even credits a Republican who has “genuinely” stepped up to the plate offering to assist in ideas to help solve this problem. The essay ends by saying that this is going to take the work and minds of everybody put togther. This is a project that will take the efforts of both Democrats, Republicans and all those in-between. All parties need to put differences aside and solve the problem for our country.

Responding to Key Points

Key Point #1. I feel that asking students to not only read and interpret texts, but asking them to compose them for an audience, is something that will contribute to the overall success when going to compete for jobs. When I was a journalism major they told me that in order to be successful I would have to not only read what was on a screen for a broad audience, but put together a story, write it up on the internet AND edit your own text. I feel that now the job market is looking for students who are independent and don’t rely on others to do their own tasks, especially because we are in a more advanced technological world.

Key Point #2 This key point talks about the benefit of problem solving and how it is a tool that will promote growth within students. This “long-lasting lesson” is something that we will encounter whether we like it or not. Promoting tools like this is important because it allows students to think on their feet. This does not only have to be in school but could be taken into the context of “street smarts” as well. It also talks about how teachers need to recognize that the generation has changed and that we as a society have become more technologically advanced. Failure to do so could result in the learning process of both the students and the teachers.

Key Point #3 This key point focuses on the influence of media within our lives. The article does a good job of pointing out that we consume hours and hours of advertisements whether it’s on television or online, it is something that is familiar to us. The article points out that audio and visual components are engaging for students. When a teacher uses video or audio in a classroom it refocuses their attention. A teacher who is up to date with multimodal composition is more likely to maintain the interest and attention of the students.

Key Point #4 This key point talks about how the audio and visual composing requires attention to rhetorical principles of communication. It says that the rhetorical principles such as audience awareness, correctness, arrangement ect. need good steady audio and visual components. I think that this is interesting because when you think about rhetoric you think about only words. But in my class “rhetoric and western thought” that I took last fall, he showed us the Martin Luther King ”I had a dream” speech. If we would have just read it, I don’t think it would have had such a strong impact on the class. Rhetoric is more than just words, it is the art of persuasion.

Key #5 This key point states that teaching multimodality is one pathway to accomplishing long-valued pedagogical goals. Mary Hocks makes an outstanding point when she says, “A student-centered pedagogy asks students to work within their own cultures and discourses by using experimental forms to learn actively from one another and to engage with the world around them.”  I like this point because it shows that there are somethings that just cannot be taught in a classroom. In many aspects, if given the right tools, students can teach themselves. Multimodal composition is the new generations way of learning and connecting to topics, pictures issues ect from their own home. It is a way of interaction without having to be in a million places at once.

Arizona the Old Germany

Avoiding Arizona

Im sure we have all heard Arizona’s new bill that passed giving authoritative figures the right to go up to anyone that might fit the description of an immigrant and ask for documentation papers. The question is, Is it right? Of course not, It can easily be compared to branding the Jewish people in the Holocaust with a star and making them carry around their papers all the time. Although I know that the city is not necessarily killing the immigrants in concentration camps, but it is racial profiling and discrimination.

The United States really had no other way about resolving these immigration issues?

Latin Dance and Zumba

Zumba is one of the fastest growing forms of excersise used for a good cardio workout. This fast paced exercise routine uses a combination of the most popular latin dance moves, including: salsa, merengue, reggaeton cumbias and other dances. There is also a strong incorperation of Hip-Hop, Bellydance and other forums of dance. For many people it is a two in one deal, combinding two hobbies in one, working out and dancing. It is said that you burn up to 1000 calories per session. Most of the times these classes are taught at local gyms that have group excersize classes. It is fun, energetic and makes you wonder where the time has gone when you finish the class.