Reflection

date observed: 11/22

date entered: 11/22

context: group project

activity: reflection on mm project

My group so far has done very little. We are composing a photo essay cataloging the waste at Clemson, especially since the school perpetuates an idea that it is "green" university. Each person is responsible for taking/finding his own pictures regarding his subtopic. While I wish I could say I have much faith in my group mates, in class no one is very willing to deal with work. Because of this, I feel like I constantly am delegating work and setting deadlines in hopes that it all will be accomplished outside of class. I am used to being in groups where one person seizes control and finesses all the details throughout the project and have been this person before. Nonetheless, there is some trepidation over the reliability of certain group members because one has not really been involved in the process at all (at his own discretion). So while I am sure that everything will turn out fine, at this point in the project there seems little to reflect upon beyond my fear of the finished project. We discussed adding music to the back of our Powerpoint, and though no definite has been made, I think "Big Yellow Taxi" may be the frontrunner. Also, the complementation of the pictures through Powerpoint should be no entirely difficult. We are going to put the slides on timers and have the only words for the essay on the last page detailing how there is little written availability of Clemson's plan to create a "solid green" university. With the paper, since there is little enthusiasm in class about beginning it, it too was divided into subtopics of 650 words that each person is responsible for and making one person the main editor to oversee its flow. This leaves proper space for an abstract and a conclusion and should complete the project soundly.  While right now it is easy to be nervous over the final results, I am sure by December 2, everything will be in order.

Commercial

date entered: 10/26/08

date observed: 10/26/08

context: individual

activity: controversial commercials

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy4_Dd-tmKQ

grammar

date observed: 10/18/08

date entered: 10/19/08

context: individual

activity: questions about grammar

When do you use 'then' or 'than'? And when would long dashes be used in writing?

thank you for smoking

date observed: 10/7/08 and 10/9/08
date entered: 10/11/08
context: individual
activity: Thank You For Smoking free write

The movie Thank You For Smoking is a entertaining way to expose argument at its most outlandish capacity. A movie that focuses around a the Vice President of the Academy of Tobacco Studies clearly has political undertones Though Nick Naylor is the hero of the movie, his pro-smoking lobbying shows how argument can even work to the advantage for one of the most dangerous, addictive, and highly contested legalized products in this country. I think that Nick Naylor and the movie make some really good points about argument. The quote that says, "if you argue correctly and you are never wrong" provides a good tip regarding our research paper. I feel like it almost encourages you to focus more attention to the holes in the opposition's argument rather than stress the correctness of your own logic. That is extremely logically too because you aren't bombarding the audience with an opinionated diatribe, but instead you present the fallacies in one way of thinking. And then the alternative argument would always come across as more plausible. Also, I think that Nick's son constantly used argument to appeal to his dad's ego by calling him "the sultan of spin." I think that technique is useful if your audience is more personally related and would probably always work in oral debate as well. Lastly, the power of choice is Nick's golden argument. He uses at the Congressional hearing to expose the unconstitutionality of prohibitive actions against smoking and to kill the argument for a visually graphic warning label. I think in many arguments the freedom of choice and that Constitutionally protected right works to quell oppositional arguments. Thank You for Smoking did give a good groundwork for effective argumentation that can be translated into our research assignments.

Preliminary Research

Date observed: 10/4/08

Date entered: 10/4/08

Context: Individual

Activity: preliminary search for research topic

I thought the tutorial was helpful. There was a lot of information that I wish I knew as a freshman. I thought that Jan did a really good job showing all the modes of research and her enthusiasm about the library kept the lecture interesting. I am writing my research paper on childhood obesity, its prevalence in modern culture, and whether state-enforced P.E. programs effect the rates. For keywords I have been using childhood obesity, which has led to articles and books about the influence gym class has on obesity. Also when I searched for articles, I used "childhood obesity" and "physical education" together and getting really good results. Just from the library search alone, I have 32 books. There are a myriad of articles, both from lexisnexis and academic one search. I also know that there has been an Inside Sports with Byrant Gumbel that looked into P.E. classes and its effects. There are nutritionists available on campus that I am sure will be able to give me good facts about childhood obesity and preventative measures. All in all, I am confident that there are good resources available for my project.

debate ideas

date entered: 9/21/08

date observed: 9/21/08

context: individual

activity: idebate.org topics

Five topics that interest me for the position paper are:

1. Should physical education in schools be compulsory?

2.  Should publicly supported education programs include the distribution of condoms?

3. What is the right balance between freedom an restrictions upon artistic expression?

4. Should the EU introduce one working language?

5.  Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland currently have a football team each. Should they combine?

free write

Date entered: 9/21/08

Date observed: 9/16/08

Context: Individual

Activity: free write

I watched an interesting documentary that focused on the historic Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore, Maryland. This film depicted the current failure of the school to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act. Due to the stipulations of the congressional bill, the school has been threatened with closure by the state. Though the school struggles with retention rates and statistically does not meet high school proficiency exam score, the recent administration has made strides in these areas. The introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act threatens the continued existence of the Baltimore landmark and does not account for the  recent improvements the school has undertook. I feel that the No Child Left Behind Act only subjugates the urban poor and further stunts the educational progress of the students.